Council OKs $

Jay County Baseball Club may be getting financial support from the county for its new building.

Jay County Council agreed Wednesday to contribute $220,000 in wind farm economic development dollars toward the nonprofit organization’s new facility, The Clubhouse.

The request for funds must also be approved by Jay County Commissioners, who next meet Oct. 23.

Members of the group’s board of directors — Kyle Teeter, Adam Homan, Brady Johnson, Zack Wasson and Zac Green — pitched a request for funding to council members. Jay County Baseball Club members, including parents and children, filled more than half the seats in Jay County Courthouse’s auditorium Wednesday in support of the project.

The group recently purchased a $575,000 building on county road 500 West with a plan to renovate it into a turfed sports facility. Plans shared in August included an office space, a golf simulator, a classroom area for teams and a main room with turf and six batting cages. Per the purchasing agreement, the club will gain access to the building Jan. 1.

Teeter explained that the turf will provide space for athletes who may otherwise not have a place to practice locally in the winter months, such as those who play soccer, baseball, football or golf.

Technology, equipment and labor to outfit the building was estimated to cost $320,000. The group started a fundraising campaign for the project in August. (To donate, visit bit.ly/ClubhouseFundraiser.)

So far, according to a handout distributed by the group, it has raised $185,000, with another $35,000 pledged.

Teeter asked council on Wednesday to consider matching their funds at around $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, although he noted the group would be happy to receive any financial support. He said it would be a one-time request to pay for equipment needed to make the facility operational.

“We would sure love it if you guys would consider getting on our team and getting this done,” said Teeter. “Putting something positive in our community. Something that these kids are going to benefit from. It’s not about making All Stars and Major League Baseball players. It’s about developing young kids to be good citizens and have things here that they want to come back (to).”

Johnson pointed out high costs to take children to turf facilities outside Jay County. One in four children live in poverty in Jay County, he noted, and he advocated the facility will provide the opportunity for those children to have the same opportunities as others.

Council member Cindy Bracy asked how the group plans to make its facility affordable to lower-income families.

According to the general cost structure listed in the group’s handout, family memberships for one cage come to $100 for one month, $200 for three months, $280 for six months or $350 for one year. (For an individual, it’s set at $40, $100, $180 and $300, respectively.) Non-member prices are listed at $30 per hour for a standard cage.

Homan noted the facility has to pay off the $420,000 loan it took in order to purchase the building. Funding from travel teams in other counties and other groups utilizing The Clubhouse should help, he added.

“This is with our current loan structure for us to be able to operate,” said Homan. “Our goal is to impact our community, and so if we can raise more money and help bring down the cost of the building and the cost of the loan and take that out of our budget, we will do this much cheaper for the kids.”

Teeter noted the facility could draw groups from folks in Randolph, Adams, Wells and Blackford counties as well as Mercer County, Ohio.

Bracy asked if the group has sought funding from Jay School Corporation. Teeter noted they don’t plan to ask the schools for help. The goal, he explained, is to build a facility with an open schedule.

“It would be at a disadvantage to have them run it,” he said. “They would be in control of the way we could use it, how we could use it, the hours in which it could be used. It wouldn’t be beneficial for these kids.”

Houchins told the group county attorney Wes Schemenaur, who wasn’t present for Wednesday’s meeting, suggested any funding for the project come from economic development payments received from Bitter Ridge Wind Farm. 

Council member Harold Towell noted his coaching background, referencing many of the adults in the auditorium as previous players on his teams.

“This program out here is probably 30 years past due,” he said.

He commended the group for its choice to run the facility without the school system’s financial assistance, and he made a motion to contribute $220,000 in wind farm economic development dollars toward the project.

Council members Faron Parr, Randy May and Towell voted in favor of the request. Council members Matt Minnich and Bracy dissented, both noting they would prefer to at first approve a lesser amount, such as around $125,000. Dave Haines was absent.

Also Wednesday, council approved the county’s 2024 budget, with Towell in opposition.

Next year’s total budget sits at just under $22.5 million, up by nearly $1.64 million for the current year. It includes $10.7 million in the general fund, which increased about $1 million from this year’s general fund total.

Other major fund totals are listed at $3.32 million for Jay County Commissioners, $3 million for Jay County Highway Department — the department also had an additional $1.85 million from the state in the Local Motor Vehicle Highway restricted fund — $1.85 million for Jay Emergency Medical Service, $1.76 million for Jay County Jail and $1.29 million for Jay County Sheriff’s Office.

Increases to next year’s budget are largely because of inflation, raises and small changes across the budget. Around $500,000 of the increase is designated for raises. 

Towell voted in opposition because he disagreed with several choices made during the budgeting process.

Also Wednesday, council:

•Made the following additional appropriations: $24,970 for the health bioterrorism grant, an annual grant given to Jay County Health Department, $25,000 for the truck and tractor repair fund for Jay County Highway Department, $11,422 for firearms with Jay County Sheriff’s Office and $840 for pauper counsel

•Transferred the following: $5,001 for holiday pay and trucks in the Jay County Surveyor’s Office budget, $1,500 for translator wages in Jay County Superior Court’s budget, $4,500 for part-time registrar wages in Jay County Health Department’s budget, $24,500 for employer health insurance in Jay County Highway Department’s budget and $6.67 for medical and hospital costs in Jay County Correction’s budget

•Approved Scout Clean Energy’s compliance forms for Bitter Ridge Wind Farm’s tax abatement. Houchins noted the company had not been paying its county property taxes but that taking it to court in an effort to recoup those funds would be costly. Scout will be sent a bill for last year and this year’s taxes, county auditor Emily Franks confirmed.