Regional economic development officials report three large projects and expanded business support in Scott County

Regional economic development representatives updated the Scott County Board of Commissioners on the office’s outreach, business retention and attraction work, and highlighted three recent projects they said will add jobs and capital to the county.

The presenters told commissioners that their office logged 110 new project leads in 2024. Matt Hall, who the presenter identified as a long‑time regional economic development leader working with Clark and Floyd counties, described the team’s outreach and follow‑up with local employers as a first step in retention and expansion work.

The update named Conco as a project that entered Scott County in March 2023 and later expanded in October 2024. Officials provided a slide summary showing Conco’s first announcement listed 175 jobs and $51 million in capital investment; a second phase showed another 175 jobs and about $70 million in additional investment. The presenters said local abatements for the Conco phases totaled $6.1 million and that, after abatements, the county could expect net local revenue in the first years and growing revenue over the abatement period; the personal property abatement was said to phase out after five years and the real property abatement after 10 years. The presenters said the combined local revenue over the abatement life was “just under $8,000,000” in their model, based on conservative assumptions about employees living locally.

The update also described Genpact, which the presenters said currently employs about 139 people in the county and is planning to add 45 workers at an average wage the presenters described as $22.65 per hour. The presenters said the three highlighted projects averaged a $28.28 hourly wage (a figure described as “stripped‑down,” not including benefits) and that total capital investment across the three projects was about $134 million; the presenters said Genpact’s expansion alone was nearly $10 million.

Staff described complementary programs they run or coordinate: Rachel Armstrong, identified on materials as the region’s small business navigator and a shared employee with the Indiana Small Business Development Center, provides free business consulting and planning; a revolving loan fund is available with about $70,000 to lend (up to $30,000 per borrower) for gap financing or projects that are otherwise difficult to finance.

Economic development staff described workforce and manufacturing efforts, including a lean‑manufacturing training event hosted at the Mid America Science Park that attracted employers and multiple employees per employer, and an on‑going Metro Manufacturing Alliance partnership. The office also presented a new external marketing brand called “4Door” (rivers, rails, roads, runways) intended to package regional assets for site consultants and investors; staff said the 4Door collateral was privately funded and will launch in March.

On childcare and community services, staff said they worked with the Indiana Economic Development Association, Ivy Tech and Duke Energy on a regional childcare survey and that the full report was provided to commissioners. They said the YMCA and regional partners plan a 30‑minute broadcast on child care and community resources to air in late February featuring the River Ridge Learning Center and other regional partners.

Commissioners asked about local coordination and about the county’s local point person; staff noted frequent communication with Chris Wakeman (identified in the meeting as the county’s local economic development contact) and encouraged commissioners and constituents to contact the regional office or the small business navigator for follow up. Staff offered to arrange a more detailed briefing or one‑on‑one meetings on any item discussed.

The presentation was descriptive; no formal action was taken by the board during the report.