Dollars pulled from project

Jay County Redevelopment Commission has pulled its contribution of tax increment financing (TIF) dollars to the county’s 68-acre project.

The redevelopment commission voted Wednesday to withdraw its $1.5 million commitment to the infrastructure project planned on county-owned land on the north side of Votaw Street on the western edge of Portland.

Commission members also decided to move forward with creating three new TIF districts, which will encompass the four prospective solar farms in Jay County.

Indiana Economic Development Corporation distributed a letter dated June 11 indicating Jay County’s 68-acre project has received a pre-commitment offer of $1.21 million from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 2.0. (According to the letter, it does not guarantee a formal offer.)

CWC Latitudes consultant Ed Curtin pointed to the letter Wednesday as confirmation the county should receive READI 2.0 dollars.

He explained the state will begin releasing funds after it has spent at least 65% of dollars allocated in the first round of READI funds, which he said is nearly accomplished.

Jay County Commissioners president Chad Aker said the county is on track to receive the funding, noting that officials indicated the dollars are expected to be released in the next few months.

The redevelopment commission entered into an agreement with Jay County Council and commissioners in November to spend the remaining $1.24 million American Rescue Plan Act dollars on the project. Nearly a year ago, the redevelopment commission also committed $1.5 million in TIF dollars from its own coffers toward the project.

Redevelopment commission member and former county commissioner Chuck Huffman noted the group has discussed the 68-acre project for months, and he asked members to make a decision Wednesday. He voiced concerns about committing redevelopment commission’s $1.5 million in TIF dollars, pointing out the county’s request for READI 2.0 dollars did not yield as much as hoped. 

“I have a hard time committing. It’s one thing that we have this other money, state money, but now our job is with Jay County taxpayer money,” Huffman said. “I have a hard time keeping that money committed since I think we have the ability to pull it back. We just really, at this point, don’t know where it’s going.”

Aker noted that the redevelopment commission pulling its funding could result in losing out on the potential for READI dollars as well as the county’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars, which were allocated for the 68-acre project.

“The public safety building is a need that we’ve got. Housing is a need that we’ve got,” Aker said. “We’ve started working with JCDC (Jay County Development Corporation) on this. We’re coming up with plans and solutions to try to fix the problems we have in Jay County. No one else is coming up with this. They’re just putting down our plans …”

He pointed to the need for housing, as well as the money already invested into the project.

“To kill this project right now I think would be foolish,” he said. “If you don’t put infrastructure in here, you’re never going to have anything there.”

Huffman again voiced concerns about the lack of a plan and commitment to the project across the community. Other redevelopment commission members voiced similar concerns to Huffman, saying if companies or Portland were interested they would be more involved.

Aker said there are companies ready to bid for development plans.

“I just think we’re digging this hole deeper without having any solid numbers,” said redevelopment commission and Jay County Council member Harold Towell. “Because we’re looking at that, the city said, ‘Yeah, we’d like that, we can maybe do that,’ but we’re getting nothing concrete to work with on. This whole thing has been that way … they’re wanting $4 million to put this in? We’re in deeper.”

“(If he’s) got a guy that wants to come out here and build houses, he would be in front of the public saying, ‘Hey, if you guys get it to this point, I’ll take it,’ but that’s not what we’ve got, and if we’ve got that, somebody’s not being honest with us,” he added. 

Redevelopment commission member and commissioner Doug Horn shared worries that the 68-acre project is holding up other potential projects that could receive funding. Council member Faron Parr questioned what other projects redevelopment commission could be considering to help fund. As one example, redevelopment commission president Carl Walker pointed to a housing project in Dunkirk. He also referenced projects that could be pursued on the county’s capital improvement plan, saying the plan has not been prioritized.

Walker noted that the redevelopment commission has roughly $1.6 million in its bank account currently.

“Maybe it’s time for us to take our money out and ask the city to step up,” he said of the 68-acre project.

Redevelopment commission members Walker, Huffman, Towell and Horn, absent Ted Champ, then agreed to withdraw the $1.5 million commitment toward the project.

Also Wednesday, redevelopment commission agreed to move forward with consulting firm Baker Tilly and law firm Barnes & Thornburg in order to establish TIF districts around prospective solar farms.

The county could generate up to $3 million in TIF dollars annually with the new districts. (TIF districts capture additional property tax revenue created by improvements, such as solar facilities, and set it aside to be used to help fund initiatives related to the district, with redevelopment commission overseeing those dollars.)

Plans include creating three new TIF districts encompassing the four locations planned for commercial solar energy farms. That includes two — Leeward Renewable Energy’s Rose Gold Solar and Hodson Energy’s New Jay Solar — TIF districts in the Dunkirk area, a TIF district in Jefferson and Richland townships surrounding Scout Clean Energy’s Sun Chief Solar and a TIF district around Invenergy’s Skycrest Solar in Penn and Jackson townships.

In other business, the redevelopment commission approved a $10,000 claim from Baker Tilly and a $3,528.18 invoice from CWC Latitudes.