Redevelopment Commission representatives asked the Dearborn County Council for permission to apply for a $250,000 Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) grant to help fund construction of a county road to serve the Whitewater Processing site, and the council approved the request.
Jim Deaton, president of the Redevelopment Commission, told the council the grant would support construction of a new county highway into the Whitewater Processing facility and asked, "May we submit this grant request?" He said the requested REDI amount is $250,000 and that the county match on the form is $494,000.
Council discussion expanded beyond the single grant application as members and redevelopment representatives reviewed a separate proposal to retarget ("retif") two parcels into a new 25-year tax-increment financing (TIF) allocation area for West Harrison. Deaton and redevelopment members said Baker Tilly will present a draft tax-impact statement at a public Redevelopment Commission meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. and that that draft shows, according to Baker Tilly, "the tax impact revenue, as a result of this proposed retif is $0."
Council members raised concerns about delaying when underlying taxing units would receive new tax revenue. One council member observed that if the retif is approved and the allocation period is reset starting in 2025 for 25 years, the county general fund would not receive incremental tax revenue from future development on those parcels until 2050. Redevelopment representatives said the retif would allow the commission to fund infrastructure such as water, sewer and fire equipment and to pass funds through to taxing units if projects are not ready.
The council approved a motion to allow the redevelopment representatives to apply for the REDI grant. The vote, as recorded in the meeting transcript excerpt, showed two council members voting "no" and multiple members voting "yes"; the chair announced the motion passed.
Redevelopment representatives also described project cost estimates (roughly $7.4 million to $7.5 million for the road and related railroad reconstruction work) and said some parcels are in or near the floodplain. They noted portions of the Whitewater Processing parcels had previously been tax abated on a graduated 10-year scale and that some of the current revenue from the parcels is going to underlying taxing units rather than redevelopment because base assessed value was set when the parcels were originally placed in the TIF.
Deaton and other redevelopment officials emphasized that TIF proceeds have already funded local infrastructure projects, including radio equipment for a fire department and a recent $250,000 payment toward a fire truck being evaluated for purchase. Redevelopment officials said further investments in water and wastewater infrastructure are under early discussion and that the commission has been conservative in spending since the TIF was first established.
The council was directed to the Redevelopment Commission meeting for more details; Baker Tilly's presentation and the commission's tax impact statement were described as public information to be available after that meeting.
What the council approved today was only permission to submit a grant application; no county appropriation or TIF amendment was adopted at this meeting.