Redkey receives grant for planning

REDKEY — The town will be putting together a plan for how to address the long-term health of its utilities and fix existing issues.

Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced Thursday the town will be receiving a $81,000 water infrastructure planning grant through the Community Development Block Grant program. The funding will go toward a master utility study.

Redkey Town Council has discussed conducting a master utility study for months. The town missed a Nov. 30 deadline imposed by Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to remove two combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which are located near Redkey Run and Union Street. IDEM has given Redkey six months to come up with a plan for how to deal with the CSOs, and hopes are to address them in the study.

The town selected Choice One Engineering to inspect its water, wastewater and stormwater utilities and put together a plan for tackling utility issues. Redkey will contribute a $9,000 match to go with the $81,000 in grant funding.

“I think it’s good news for them,” said Jay County Development Corporation executive director Travis Richards. “It’s been several years since they’ve done a planning effort, so it’s time to refresh that and figure out which steps to take (moving forward).”

It’s been about two decades since Redkey last invested in a master utility study.

Other utility grants offered through OCRA also usually require a utility plan in place in order for a municipality to be eligible for funding, meaning Redkey likely will need the study done in order to secure grants for future utility work. (Town employee Randy Young noted at an April meeting Redkey’s sewer infrastructure dates back to the 1960s and some of its water infrastructure dates back further.)

JCDC helped the town apply for the grant, which required a public hearing before it was submitted in May. Redkey applied previously, having been denied in the February grant cycle. At that time, JCDC and Redkey worked together to adjust the town’s application and add more input from the community. Residents were encouraged in April to take a survey available on Redkey Town Hall’s Facebook page or in-person at town hall.

Plans are in the works to get Choice One Engineering to begin the study as soon as possible, with Richards noting he would like to bring a grant agreement to council’s next meeting in July but wasn’t sure yet what the grant’s timeline will look like.

“Hopefully we can put it to good use,” said council president Erik Hammers.

OCRA awarded a total $231,640 in planning grants Thursday between five other Indiana communities for addressing utilities, public facilities and comprehensive planning efforts, according to a press release from the department.

“Developing our communities immediately correlates with economic development across Indiana,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch in the press release. “I am pleased that we are able to invest in more Hoosier communities through these planning grants.”

Planning grants encourage communities to plan for long-term development with help from experts and community input. The water infrastructure grant awarded to Redkey allows “communities to complete a holistic study of potential issues and opportunities across their drinking, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure,” according to the press release.

Funding for OCRA’s Community Development Block grant program comes from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.