No request

County officials have been coordinating efforts for an infrastructure project along Indiana 67 for  years.

Without a local financial commitment, that project may no longer happen.

Jay County Commissioners decided not to make a formal financial request Monday to Jay County Redevelopment Commission for the 68-acre infrastructure project. 

They also voted 2-1 to seek farming bids for the property for next year. 

Cecil Penland of design firm Rundell, Ernstberger and Associates estimated the project at roughly $2.654 million Monday. That amount covers the cost of the first part of the project’s first phase, which includes water main, sanitary wastewater and lift station work along with Indiana Department of Transportation right-of-way permit requirements. He noted water work comes to $826,210 of that estimate, adding that if it were removed from the project, the total could be decreased to just under $1.64 million.

Jay County Council and commissioners agreed in November 2024 to enter into an inter-local agreement with the redevelopment commission for the county’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars to go toward the 68-acre project. Those federal dollars had to be allocated by the end 2024. Per guidelines, they’re also supposed to be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

Jay County also applied for Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 2.0 funds with hopes of receiving money for the 68-acre project. Officials say the state has indicated plans to grant $1.21 million, although a formal announcement awarding the dollars to Jay County has not been made to date.

Portland City Council agreed Oct. 6 to commit $400,000 toward the project, with its motion contingent on the county redevelopment commission contributing the remaining dollars needed. Earlier this month, the redevelopment commission questioned how much their contribution would be. 

Commissioners president Chad Aker indicated at Portland City Council’s meeting in October that redevelopment commission would be asked to fund the remaining $235,000 for the project. That amount has since changed to allow for contingencies in the project, with Aker saying the request would be for the redevelopment commission to fund up to $400,000. In response, redevelopment commission requested that commissioners make a formal funding request for the project.

Aker brought up the discussion Monday with his fellow commissioners, suggesting they make a formal request to the redevelopment commission. He said the project would help to address a housing need in the community. He also pointed to other factors, including that the area is within Portland’s tax increment financing (TIF) district and would capture additional tax dollars for the city’s redevelopment commission, and said the project could have a return on investment up to $60 million. Penland later noted that estimate could be higher now that the county is planning to build a proposed public safety building in a different location. 

Commissioner Doug Horn questioned if the county would be liable for additional infrastructure costs in the future. Penland noted it would depend on agreements made with developers. (No proposals were submitted for the project following a request from the county. Per Indiana law, because there were no proposals, county officials may begin negotiating with individual firms. Aker indicated Monday there is a developer interested in the project.)

Commissioner Duane Monroe said he would not vote in favor of the project, saying he won’t ask the redevelopment commission to contribute up to $400,000 toward it.

“The developers, they never came,” he said. “It sounds like a great idea, but if you don’t have someone to build it, you don’t have anything.”

He also argued the American Rescue Plan Act dollars and READI money could have been utilized for other projects.

Horn said he’s been back and forth on the matter, pointing out that the county has made it this far with the project. He pointed to concerns about whether the county will need to take out more from its coffers to pay for constructing roads through the property in the future.

Aker argued in favor of the project, noting that additional housing has been identified as a major issue across the state and country. Addressing Horn’s concerns, he pointed out the county can’t know at this point whether it will or won’t receive additional grant dollars or if a developer will contribute further infrastructure costs.

“We don’t have a crystal ball to tell us this, but one thing we don’t need a crystal ball for is if we don’t do something, we’re going to continue to die,” he said. “You look all around us, you look down in Randolph County, they’re putting in developments everywhere. You look down in Delaware County, they’re growing everywhere. We’re the only place that’s not growing because we’re not investing in our community.”

He said there aren’t other ongoing housing developments in the county, with Monroe pointing to efforts in Dunkirk. Aker noted housing projects start with an investment. He argued $400,000 is a small price to pay compared to the return on investment, and he said he felt it would be foolish not to act on the project at this stage. 

Redevelopment commission president Carl Walker pointed out the county’s contribution also includes past costs, including the initial land purchase at $1.16 million and the $395,000 cost for the design contract with Rundell, Ernstberger and Associates. Aker noted those dollars came from American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

There were also concerns Monday about whether the county’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars will still be viable for the project. (Per federal guidelines, they are supposed to be spent by end of next year.) 

County attorney Wes Schemenaur said he wouldn’t feel comfortable giving legal advice on the matter. He indicated consulting firm Baker Tilly has suggested a process that would involve designating the funds as revenue replacement and backdating them to “reimburse” the county.

Horn also pointed to the fact that the county hasn’t received a formal award letter from the state for READI 2.0 funds, with Aker saying representatives have assured county officials they have received as much of a “yes” for the project as they can give at this point.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see progress, but it’s like we jumped in with everybody’s borrowed money, and that still wasn’t enough,” he said.

“Now I’m going to have to maybe make people pay more to make it happen when we could have used that money to actually make something happen, and, there’s just so many dang things we don’t know …”

Aker again argued for the need for housing, saying the project makes an effort to create growth in the county. He also pointed out the project has made it this far.

“Schools are closing up. We’re losing students, we’re losing population,” he said. “We need places to live. And this is what we’re trying to do. There’s nothing else on the board, anyone trying to do this … 

“We’ve got the engineering done, mostly done, we’ve got the property bought, I don’t know what else you want to do. If someone else has a better idea, I’d love to hear it, because we haven’t been approached by anything. I’ll leave it at that,” he continued. 

Aker opened the floor for a motion to request up to $400,000 from the redevelopment commission, but no motion followed. 

Monroe then made a motion to seek farm bids for the property for next year. Horn and Monroe voted in favor, with Aker dissenting.