Redevelopment commission approves TIF spending for two road projects and updates plan to DLGF

Kosciusko County Redevelopment Commission members voted to increase Tax Increment Financing (TIF) spending for two road improvement projects and to amend the commission's 2025 TIF spending plan to reflect those allocations.

The commission approved raising the previously authorized $500,000 for paving on 700 West (from State Road 25 toward 700 South) after county highway staff reported contractor estimates had risen and recommended increasing the appropriation to cover bidding and construction contingencies. The commission also approved allocating $444,000 from TIF funds to pave Mock (Mach) Road between Old State Road 15 and 200 East and directed staff to update the spending plan filed with the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF).

Steve, of the Kosciusko County Highway Department, told the commission that a contractor’s estimate to pave the 2‑mile stretch referred to in the coop/Mentone area ran “upwards to $700,000” and that the county’s own forces typically pave for “about $120,000 a mile.” He recommended increasing the previously authorized amount to about $660,000 to allow the project to be bid and completed if contractor pricing required it. “With that being said, it would not be that for that just that 1 mile for us to do it, but I wanna make sure that the projects would be separate and that that's good to go,” he said.

Commission members discussed timing, other potential uses for the TIF balance and the limit under state purchasing rules that allows the county to use in‑house crews only for projects up to $250,000 before going to formal bid. The commission approved the increased allocation for the coop/Mentone paving and directed highway staff to put the project out to bid, advertise for two weeks, open bids, and report back at subsequent meetings on award and pricing.

On the Mock/Mach Road request, highway staff said the $444,000 request represented the current TIF balance for the Maple Leaf/Van Buren area and would likely be short of the total contractor cost; the county would cover the remainder. The commission moved and approved the allocation to proceed to bid.

After both project votes, the commission voted to amend its 2025 TIF spending plan filed with the DLGF so that the recently approved actions would appear in the official spending plan. A motion to require that “all action items with regard to spending TIF allocations should be updated with the DLGF and the commission’s spending plan” was made and adopted.

The highway department said if bids came back significantly over budget the commission could reject bids, rebid or scale back a project; staff would report results of the bidding and next steps at future meetings.

Votes at a glance: The commission approved (voice votes) the increased TIF allocation for paving near the Mentone coop (increase to approximately $660,000 as requested), approved allocating $444,000 to improve Mock/Mach Road, and approved updating the commission’s DLGF spending plan to reflect these actions.

Clarifying details: the highway department reported the coop/Mentone TIF balance of $694,006.32; staff said contractor estimates for the larger paving scope could reach $700,000. County in‑house paving was described as roughly $120,000 per mile for typical work, and the county stated it must go to public bid for projects over $250,000 (per state procurement rules).