Vernon mayor asks county to help leverage grants, cites $12.5 million funding need

Brad Bender, mayor of Vernon, told the Jennings County Redevelopment Commission he brought a revised capital plan and was seeking county help to fund public infrastructure so the town could leverage larger grant programs.

"Well, I have a new spreadsheet, revised our capital plan that will reflect what we're trying to do," Bender said, outlining needs for streets, sidewalks and utilities and noting Vernon serves as the county seat.

Bender told commissioners he had met with the county commissioners about the request and that they agreed the effort was worth pursuing but tabled any decision to do more research. He said the commissioners suggested tax-increment financing (TIF) could be a viable funding vehicle: "they thought TIF would be a great vehicle for this." The mayor said a $50,000 planning grant looked attainable but added: "A $50,000 planning grant is pretty, I'm told we're eligible and we'll get it. But we need $12,500,000 in cash money to do that."

Commission members said they supported exploring options but emphasized that additional detail and a joint session with county commissioners would help clarify responsibilities and limits. The chair said the request would remain on the agenda for follow-up and that Bender would share plan documents and images from the Vernon proposal so the commission could review them in advance of any joint meeting.

The presentation did not result in a funding vote; commissioners agreed to request more information and revisit the item after a joint discussion with county commissioners.