No news not bad news on bond issue plan

A community center or an East Side infrastructure project?

One an attractive venture long perceived as a quality-of-life dividend, the other a much-needed shot in the arm for day-to-day life and local traffic management.

No decision has been reached yet, the Redevelopment Commission was told this week, on which way the City of Greencastle will turn for a bond issue project necessary to extend the life and usefulness of its TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district.

"It's moving along," Mayor Sue Murray told the Redevelopment Commission during its February monthly meeting at City Hall..

The community center has been the obvious preferred choice, but not without securing a partner to fund operations and maintenance one it's built.

Meanwhile, the reconstruction of Indianapolis Road has been deemed a fallback position for securing the TIF district longevity should the community center idea not pan out.

Regardless of the project of choice, the plan is still to move forward in two phases, city officials said.

The first bond issue, expected to be less than $500,000, would fund the architectural drawings and preliminary site work, whether the choice is a community center at Big Walnut Sports Park (or somewhere else in the city) or an upgrade to Indianapolis Road east of the stoplight at the Kroger store.

The second, larger bond issue would be to fund the construction of either the community center or the road improvement project.

Regardless, the deadline is June 30 to extend the life of the TIF district, established on the city's East Side in 1992.

That's because a new state law taking effect July 1 requires all legacy TIF districts established prior to 1995 to expire June 30, 2025, unless they are

repaying bonds that have been issued before July 1, 2015. Those districts that are extended then would not expire until June 30, 2040.

Mayor Murray has cautioned that while most of the TIF issue discussion has focused on a community center at Big Walnut Sports Park, it remains just "a possibility" that it would be on city park property, not necessarily a reality.

"We've had preliminary discussions of a public-private partnership," the mayor told the Park Board last month, stopping short of mentioning the Wabash Valley YMCA, which was openly discussed at the February Redevelopment Commission meeting.

At that latter meeting the mayor said she had approached the Wabash Valley YMCA, which runs the "Y" in Clay County and operates an after-school program at Ridpath School in Greencastle. The YMCA is reportedly interested in expanding its local operations.

The community center has been envisioned as a $3.5 million to $5 million project (with bonds repaid through the capture of incremental new assessed valuation within the existing TIF district), depending on amenities. An earlier version had been designed for $2.5 million but that was conceived without locker rooms, a kitchen or much meeting space that would add significant flexibility to the facility.

At its February meeting, the Redevelopment Commission gave its blessing to proceed with engaging bond counsel while continuing to explore the possibilities of either a community center or infrastructure work.

Meanwhile, it was anticipated that the Redevelopment Commission would see a preliminary schedule for engaging bond counsel and an accounting firm for the bonding effort at its meeting Wednesday evening. That, however, proved too ambitious a timetable and now will likely come to pass at the March meeting (reset for 5 p.m. March 18 to avoid spring break week and provide an extra cushion of time as the June 30 deadline nears).

After the redevelopment group looks at it in March, the paperwork will be passed along to the City Plan Commission and City Council, City Attorney Laurie Hardwick said, before returning to the Redevelopment Commission for final approval.

"So that's where we are," Hardwick said. "We'll have a whole lot of paperwork for you next time."