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Commissioners table decision on county commitment for Westgate watertower application
Summary
Greg Jones said the Redevelopment Commission committed $1 million as a local construction match for a proposed Westgate watertower EDA application; commissioners expressed concern over engineer-selection and tabled the authorization to the July 14 meeting.
Greg Jones, Upland Regional Land Bank Director, asked the Daviess County Commissioners on June 23 to authorize him to submit an Economic Development Administration grant application for a Westgate watertower and to note a local match commitment from the Redevelopment Commission.
Jones said the Redevelopment Commission is committing $1,000,000 as the construction match and that soft costs are currently estimated at roughly $1,000,000, producing a total local commitment of about $2,000,000 for construction plus soft costs. He said preliminary engineering work would cost approximately $20,000 and that Eastern Heights prefers to use Wesler Engineering for projects they maintain.
Vice President TC Cook pressed Jones on how the county would pay and voiced concern that the county might supply funding without input over engineer selection. Jones said Eastern Heights has a preferred firm and that bids would run through the county. Commissioners decided to table the request for further discussion and follow-up at the July 14 meeting.
Why it matters: A local match of this magnitude would commit county or redevelopment funds and raise questions about vendor selection and county oversight over design choices.
What’s next: The item was tabled to the July 14 meeting for additional review and coordination between county staff, the land bank and potentially affected landowners.
