Logansport RDC approves $36,037 grant for Lewis Cass High School agriculture program

The Logansport Redevelopment Commission approved $36,037.37 from the industrial park tax-increment finance (TIF) fund to support Lewis Cass High School's agricultural and horticulture programs.

The money, approved by vote during the commission's meeting, will reimburse the school district for equipment and site work the high school requested, including greenhouse tables, a misting/irrigation system and timer, a tiller, hoses, a water line and hydrant near the school garden, and multiple welders for the ag/engineering pathway.

Taylor Plank, who identified himself as an agricultural teacher at Lewis Cass, told the commission that his high school enrolls roughly 373 students in grades 8–12 and that about 220 students — roughly 46.5 percent of that population — take at least one agricultural class. He said students run a school garden whose produce is donated to the community, and that additional equipment would support community-facing activities and dual-credit course work the school offers through Ivy Tech.

Plank and FFA President Lily Yaks walked commissioners through the requested items. Plank said the greenhouse built in 2014 is a ‘‘shell’’ that needs tables and a misting system so plant starts do not wilt; he described a desire for a timer-controlled misting system so classes can run watering experiments and students can learn greenhouse operations. He said a tiller and hoses would reduce repeated manual labor and allow the program to expand into landscaping projects on school property. Plank said the proposed water line and hydrant would be located roughly 400 to 800 feet from an existing water source and that the district would likely contract a company to install it rather than have students perform trenching.

Yaks described FFA participation beginning in eighth grade and said the program ‘‘opened so many doors and opportunities’’ for students who pursue horticulture, landscape nursery work, greenhouse production and related careers.

Commission staff and members discussed how the request fits TIF rules. A staff member noted that Indiana code allows up to 15 percent of industrial-park–generated TIF revenue for education and training purposes; the commission cited last year’s industrial-park revenue of $296,603 and calculated a 15 percent cap of $44,004.90. Commissioners said Lewis Cass School Corporation is the school district associated with the industrial park and therefore eligible to seek the industrial-park allocation.

The commission approved the request; the motion passed with one abstention. Commissioners told the school they could submit paid vendor invoices for reimbursement or ask the commission to pay vendors directly. Staff said reimbursements are typically processed within about two weeks after appropriate invoices are submitted and that awardees should retain and submit invoices for audit purposes.

The school representatives said they will assemble vendor invoices and noted that some items (for example, the cost to trench and install the water line) lacked firm quotes in the materials presented. Plank said the students helped assemble the proposal but that school maintenance staff and outside contractors would likely be used for installation work that requires licensed trades or trenching safety.

Commission members asked for documentation of vendor invoices and indicated they might like a future site tour of the program, but no additional funding conditions were added at the meeting.

The commission treated the request as a one-time reimbursement from the industrial park fund rather than an ongoing appropriation; staff said school reimbursements and vendor payments will be tracked in the redevelopment fund for future audits.