The Indiana Economic Development Corporation is taking some time to better understand how the Regional Cities implementation process is proceeding.
IEDC President Jim Schellinger stopped at Hoosier Racing Tire in Lakeville on Wednesday morning to meet with local economic development officials, and members of the Regional Development Authority Board.
The North Central region, consisting of St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Marshall Counties were one of three recipients of $42-million in grant funds awarded earlier this year. Those monies are being used for quality of life improvement projects.
Schellinger says the ultimate goal is the attraction and retention of Indiana’s population.
“It’s working. I’ll tell you, what’s going on up here in Marshall and St. Joe and Elkhart Counties is awesome,” says Schellinger. “What’s happening in the 11 counties Northeast, four counties Southwest. We’re now giving grants, a $150-thousand grant to each of the four regions that did not receive the money.”
The RDA board has met regularly since the announcement earlier this year that the North Central region was selected by the state. Marshall County, specifically, requested funding for an aquatic center, affordable housing, additional shell buildings and a bike trail in-and-around Culver.
So far, only the aquatic center has been fully funded. Other projects are awaiting contracts or even price estimates before seeking full funding from the IEDC. Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jerry Chavez says he appreciates the RDA’s concern for everybody’s needs.
“Sometimes you have to make hard decisions on what those needs are, but I think for us in Marshall County we have seen Regional Cities funding in almost all of our communities,” says Chavez.
Regional Cities funding was appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year through tax amnesty dollars. The program was considered sufficiently successful to fund all three regions. Each of the areas was chosen after an extensive research, application, and presentation process.
Due to the apparent success of the Regional Cities effort, the IEDC board has asked its administration to do some fact finding for a possible round two. The general assembly would first need to agree to budget the funds in the New Year.
Schellinger says they’re looking to set parameters, whether all areas of the state should be considered in the same playing field with their population, and how much money should be sought. He anticipates a recommendation will be made to the IEDC board in December.
Chavez says he believes Marshall County is ready for any round two proposals that come out of the statehouse. Specifically, he says workforce development and other quality of life projects are needed in the area.
Hoosier Racing Tire President John DeSalle represents the region on the RDA board. He says the state should strongly consider a second round of funding.
“Some time has been devoted to ‘what’s the next thing?’ We have all this momentum, a lot of great things are going on, a lot of people are talking about the future and we don’t want that to diminish.,” says DeSalle. “But we’re spending a lot of our energy and time now with the current projects that are under development.”
The IEDC says that St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Marshall Counties are progressing similarly to the other two regions awarded Regional Cities funds.
The next 12 to 18 months should see some of the projects reach completion in the North Central Region. The RDA Board fully funded two projects and partially funded a third project during their meeting earlier this week.
Schellinger says he’s very confident in the success of the Regional Cities program, but would like to see a population increase as a result over the next five to 10 years.
