Randolph County United seeks grant releases, readies Ready 2 and a $500,000 brownfields bid

Randolph County United (RCU) told the commissioners at their Sept. 15 meeting that it is working to release older revolving loan/grant funds and to deploy those dollars as one-time grants to support small businesses and local projects.

RCU representative Sydney said the organization administers three programs—through the EDA, OCRA and USDA—and that it is “conditionally approved to have those funds released.” Once program criteria are finalized, RCU said it will run a public application process and expects to make funds available as grants rather than loans. Sydney estimated the available pool as “a couple hundred thousand” dollars and said the office hopes to open applications by December.

Sydney also said RCU intends to apply for a roughly $500,000 brownfields grant to pay for phase 1 and 2 environmental testing of potentially contaminated properties. The county’s consulting partner on that application will be BCA Consulting, which recently completed a similar brownfield grant for Union City. Awards for the brownfields program were described as competitive, with a target application window in November and award notifications expected in December.

On regional economic development, Sydney reviewed Ready 2 funding in Region 6 (the East Central Indiana partnership). She said Ready 1 met required thresholds and that roughly $1 million became available after one project in Winchester fell through; that money could be reallocated locally if counties submit eligible projects to the region’s steering committee. Sydney urged local entities that did not apply in the first round but have projects matching Ready priorities—childcare, housing, quality of life and infrastructure—to contact her office immediately to assemble an application and local match.

Why it matters: the released RLF/grant funds and the Ready 2 reallocation represent near-term dollars local governments and small businesses can tap for redevelopment, housing and remediation. If RCU secures the brownfields grant, it could remove obstacles to reuse of contaminated sites and speed redevelopment in Winchester and other Randolph County communities.

What happens next: RCU will finalize eligibility criteria for released funds and publicize application dates. The local Ready 2 steering committee meets to vet potential reallocation requests. Commission discussion focused on confirming budget edits and the county’s willingness to restore prior edit balances so RCU’s budget aligns with its plans.

Quotes from the meeting: “Once they are released, we are required to disperse them in a grant form,” Sydney said of the older revolving funds. On brownfields she added the application is “pretty compelling… it’s a competitive process,” and that the county should act quickly amid federal funding uncertainty.