Redevelopment Commission approves police vehicle buyout, grants and development agreements; multiple votes summarized

Michigan City — The Michigan City Redevelopment Commission on Oct. 16 voted on a series of financing, grant and development items, approving a police vehicle lease buyout, grants and an economic development agreement while accepting an annual TIF presentation and deferring adoption of the 2026 TIF spending plan.

Votes at a glance — key outcomes

- Police lease buyout: Approved a lease buyout for 11 Dodge Durango police vehicles in the amount of $220,100.65. The commission approved the request by roll call (Clarence Halsey: aye; Phil Latchford: aye; Tracy Tillman: aye; Sherry Wilson: aye).

- Riverfront liquor permit (Hokkaido/High Coyote Sushi): Approved a municipal riverfront permit for United Ocean LLC (operating as Hokkaido/High Coyote Sushi) at 701 Washington Street; the liquor license committee had recommended forwarding the application to the full commission and the commission voted aye.

- Façade grant (The Brew Box, 920 Franklin Street): Approved facade grant funding for The Brew Box not to exceed $40,000. The commission voted aye following a presentation on historic rehabilitation and cost overruns for unforeseen site and plumbing work.

- Fifth & Pine Economic Development Agreement (DAC Developments): Approved the Economic Development Agreement (EDA) with DAC Developments to move the Fifth & Pine project into a 90-day due-diligence period leading to a phase 1 project agreement. Roll call approved the EDA.

- Trail extension at Westcott Park: Approved a trail connection/spur under U.S. 12 to connect Westcott Park to Taylor Street; the commission approved funding with an owner-controlled change-order contingency of an additional $5,000 (commission total approximately $55,000) and asked that naming be addressed by the Board of Works (the motion included a recommendation to refer the name “Westcott Way” to the Board of Works).

- Settlement, 742 E. Eighth Street (Trail Creek cleanup): Approved a settlement and release with a recovered judgment payment of $627,500 from a responsible party (identified in the meeting as Milton Roy) toward the city’s environmental cleanup costs; commission approved by roll call.

- Sale of city-owned parcels to MCRC: Approved Resolution 10-25 supporting the sale of six city-owned parcels in the Michigan Boulevard expansion area to the Michigan City Redevelopment Commission for a total of $244,000; the commission voted aye.

- RIF loan program signatory (Resolution 11-25): Approved adding Deputy Controller Tamiko Smith as an authorized signatory for RIF loan pay applications; the commission voted aye.

- Contract for legal services (annexation/growth strategy): Approved retaining Rags Law PC (Trammell Rags) for annexation and growth strategy work at $250 per hour; the commission voted aye.

- TIF annual presentation and spending plan: The commission accepted the TIF annual presentation prepared by Baker Tilly (presenter Andy Mauser) and voted to defer adoption of the 2026 TIF spending plan until the next meeting to allow members to review copies of the plan.

What the votes mean

The package of approvals advances several active redevelopment projects and the commission’s immediate financing and grant activity. The Fifth & Pine EDA advances a multi-phase, mixed‑use development through a formal due‑diligence window; the settlement for 742 E. Eighth Street moves the Trail Creek cleanup toward financial close on a major polluter contribution; and the TIF presentation acceptance preserves the commission’s statutory annual review while delaying formal spending-plan adoption until the document can be distributed and uploaded into the state gateway.

Selected attributions

“This presentation is an annual requirement that all redevelopment commissions have to go through,” said Andy Mauser of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors during the TIF briefing.

On the Fifth & Pine proposal, DAC representatives said the project would be delivered in phases and include residential units, parking and ground-floor retail; Antoine Resco (DAC) described phase 1 as a four‑story building with approximately 239 residential units and about 11,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail.

Process notes

All votes recorded in the meeting transcript were taken by roll call where noted. Formal amounts and motion text in this summary are taken from the public meeting record; where the transcript recorded amounts ambiguously, the commission’s recorded roll calls and the presentation figures above were used.