Evansville redevelopment staff present 2025 spending plan; commissioners ask about Fifth & Main and bond items

Commission staff presented the Evansville Redevelopment Commission’s 2025 annual spending plan and took clarifying questions from commissioners about major line items. Commissioners asked whether Fifth & Main costs were being charged to multiple allocation areas; staff confirmed the city has a separate financial commitment for an underground parking garage and that developer-related TIF flows are accounted for separately.

Staff said the city’s obligation for the underground parking garage is about $9.5 million and that $4.2 million noted in the spending-plan draft represents funds held in escrow related to Fifth & Main and the 2024 B bonds. Staff also identified an estimated $800,000 redevelopment district property tax levy figure tied to a new fire station; they called that an estimate because bond sales have not closed.

The spending-plan report follows a newly required statutory submission process. Staff said Barnes & Thornburg circulated a draft template and the commission’s municipal advisor, London Witte, advised that the commission should file the best current plan and submit updates if material changes occur during the year.

Staff confirmed they will upload the plan to the Department of Local Government Finance and file it with city council and the mayor by Dec. 1; the submission is informational and does not require commission approval.

Commissioners discussed the possibility of updating the plan midyear if circumstances change and flagged the need for clearer communications about large bond-funded items in future briefings.