City council weighs options for $$$

Flooding and child care.

The city would like to fund both, if it can.

Portland City Council on Monday discussed potential use of its American Rescue Plan Act funds with a focus on proposals for a Meridian Street storm sewer project and a child care facility.

Council also received an update on its capital improvement plan.

Doug Inman, executive director of The Portland Foundation, visited council to request funding for the renovation of the former Judge Haynes Elementary School building on the west side of Portland to turn it into a child care facility. He asked for $325,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds for the renovation to go along with $925,000 requested from the county. County council and commissioners later approved $700,000 to ward the project with the caveat that The Portland Foundation could return if more funding is needed (see related story).

Jay School Corporation has agreed to donate the building to be used for a child care facility. The Portland Foundation, which would own the building and likely lease it to a non-profit to run the day care facility, has agreed to put in up to $500,000 for engineering, equipment and other expenses.

Inman noted that the facility would be required to meet highest level of Indiana Department of Education standards.

“It provides a solution to the need that we have for early childhood education in this community,” he said. “We know that there’s a demand. We know that there’s a limited supply.”

Later in the meeting, council discussed further the use of its about $1.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, with several saying they feel mitigating flooding should be the city’s priority. (The planned Meridian Street storm sewer project designed to address that issue has seen its cost go up by about $400,000 because of the increasing cost of construction materials.)

Council president Kent McClung then asked about the possibility of funding both the flood mitigation project and the child care effort.

“I believe we can,” responded Portland Mayor John Boggs.

“We need it,” he added later. “And I think having the foundation involved is probably the best chance we’ll ever have.”

Council members generally agreed that they’d like to fund both projects, if they are able to do so, though council member Janet Powers noted that others, such as Jay County Humane Society for a new animal shelter, may be coming with similar funding requests.

Boggs acknowledged that possibility, but said of the suggestions he’s been approached with the flood mitigation project and child care effort are the only ones that fit within American Rescue Plan Act guidelines.

Council members Don Gillespie, Matt Goldsworthy, Mike Aker, Dave Golden, McClung and Powers, absent Michele Brewster, also heard a presentation from Ross Hagen of accounting firm Baker Tilly regarding the city’s capital improvement plan.

Working with elected officials and department heads, Baker Tilly put together a plan that involves $16 million in capital improvements over a five-year period. The most expensive on the list are a future stormwater project at $5.5 million, the construction of a new street department building at about $2 million and the Meridian Street sewer project that is planned for next year.

Hagen noted that some of the projects on the list qualify as “wants” but most of them are “needs.” He added that Baker Tilly has determined the city should be able to fund the projects while keeping cash balances similar to where they were at the end of 2020. (Some of the projects could require bonding.)

In other business, council:

•Approved an ordinance to make the intersection of Charles and Arch streets in Portland a three-way stop. Currently, only Arch Street has a stop sign at the intersection.

•Heard from Boggs that Wessler Engineering recently visited the Bailey Building and The Greazy Pickle on Main Street in the downtown area to assess their structural integrity. (The owners of the former Tom and Rod’s restaurant building denied the city access for a similar assessment.)

•Approved the closure of Brick Alley from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday for a Christmas event hosted by Jay Small Business. (See story later this week.)

•Heard Golden and Boggs compliment Cruis’n the HoliJay Lights at the Fairgrounds. The lighting display is open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.