The Press-Dispatch

April 28, 2021

The Press-Dispatch

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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, April 28, 2021 D-3 Submit East Gibson news items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: egnews@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg EAST GIBSON Redevelopment touches on pass-through rates By Janice Barniak Gibson County Redevel- opment Board discussed the amount they pass through to local schools in their April 12 meeting, saying they'd looked in the past at raising the amount of pass-through to schools, right now at 40 % . With redevelopment dol- lars, the board is to use the money on economic devel- opment projects that di- rectly benefit the district in which those taxing dollars are raised during the time the TIF is active. Across thousands of boards in Indiana, most TIFs capture 100 percent of the taxing dollars, but they do have the option to pass through a percentage of their revenue to the school corpo- rations, said board member Marc Iunghuhn to newer member Larry Michel. Iunghuhn is a longtime school board member, as well as serving on the redevelop- ment board, and said across Indiana, some school cor- porations benefit off the top with an automatic 15 percent given to them, or in some cases, a specific amount, for example, $120,000 per year. The Toyota-based TIF will expire in 2025, and all the money will pass through to the school district, primarily helping schools' capital proj- ects funds. Michel suggested a 50/50 split. Iunghuhn said the coun- ty has used TIF as a way of shoring up the budget. "We've created another economy, dependent on this thing called TIF," he said. Board president Phil Young said they'd discussed raising the pass through in years past. "We have discussed it would be easier to transition toward 45 and 50," he said. "It wasn't somewhat of a com- mitment, but those words came out of my mouth sev- eral times over the last two years, and I feel a little bad at keeping it at 40 percent." In 2025, however, the full amount will go to schools, and they'll no longer cap- ture those dollars. No action was taken to raise the pass- through at the meeting. By Janice Barniak Gibson County Commission- ers have sent a request to Gibson County Redevelopment Board to fund the new Gibson County YM- CA to the tune of $13.2 million. Princeton Mayor Greg Wright and Councilwoman Sherri Greene appeared with YMCA officials be- fore commissioners to make the re- quest April 20. The Christian non-profit dis- cussed their feasibility study show- ing that in Gibson County, approx- imately 4.9 percent of households were interested in YMCA member- ship, and those households were shown to be an inactive part of the local population. The rates will be lower locally than the Evansville centers, prob- ably between 15 to 30 percent less expensive, though if families can- not afford even the reduced rate, there will be sponsorships for them. In 2021, the YMCA is already planning programming, includ- ing a summer school childcare collaboration with North Gibson schools, before and after school care for North Gibson in the fall, a Summer Explosion partnership, a STEM lab and a team center. The first phase opening this year will include an addition of 5,300 square feet, and the facility plans part of the building to house a healthcare partner, the same way Ascension St. Vincent is partner- ing with the Evansville YMCA. The first phase is $2.5 million, with $1.5 million already pledged. In phase two, a broader addi- tion, plus a pool, walking track and more are planned. "We've been trying to get a Y over 30 years...It's going to finally come true. It's got to come true," said Commissioner Mary Key. Cecil "Bob" Allen asked com- missioners if they'd considered the impact of the $13.2 million request on the TIF budget, espe- cially when paired with the Fort Branch Teen Center project ap- proved the same night. "I don't want you to overextend yourself," he said. Commissioner Warren Fleet- wood said that were he going to err in spending too much on a proj- ect, he'd rather it be projects that impacted children. He said his goal was for every child to have at least one caring adult in their life, and the YMCA might provide that person. "To a child, a caring adult is a great contribution." Baker Tilly has looked at the numbers and said the redevelop- ment board can afford to approve it, however, and still have enough left for a few other projects, assum- ing that the commissioners ap- proved passing 40 percent of the TIF dollars through to the school districts, and keeping 60 percent towards redevelopment projects, instead of raising the amount the school districts receive, as the re- development board has discussed doing for several years. The board did approve keeping the same pass-through amount. "I've got 22 grandchildren," said Commissioner Ken Montgomery. "They need a place like that to go to." County forwards YMCA request of $13.2 million PHASE 1 5,068 square foot addition/ entrance lobby $540,000 Locker Rooms $290,000 Support Circulation $200,000 Elevator $100,000 Renovation Gymnasium $ 37,000 Administration $15,000 Youth Activities $225,000 Wellness Center $433,000 Wellness - Group $27,000 Restrooms $128,000 Furniture/Fixtures/ Equipment $ 375,000 Fire Suppression System $130,000 Total $2,500,000 PHASE 2 Addition of 27,000 sq. ft. Lobby/Ramp $ 860,000 Administration/Kitchen/ Multipurpose $1,050,000 Pool Enclosure $1,370,000 Pool and Equipment $1,700,000 Locker Rooms $470,000 Auxiliary Gym $1,640,000 Corridor Extension $110,000 Mechanical Rooms/Support $240,000 Renovation Walking Track $500,000 Window Replacement $ 90,000 Facade Improvements $125,000 Phase 2 Sitework $500,000 Total 8,655,000 Hafer Design provided a rendering of the proposed YMCA facility, which will provide child- care and eventually a pool. A presentation by YMCA leadership estimated the revenue of what will be the Princeton Y. Phase One and Phase Two are estimated at $2.5 and $8.6 million respec- tively, however, the ask of the center is higher due to construction contingen- cies. County Commissioners approves ambulance purchase Gibson County Commis- sioners approved the pur- chase of a new ambulance from Crossroads Ambulance out of a broadband grant matching fund in their regu- lar meeting last week. EMS Director David Pond said he appreciated commis- sioners acting on the bid; he had previously discussed ex- tensive issues with the cur- rent ambulance, and concerns about not being able to air con- dition patients in the summer heat. The cost was $183,810. Trojans fall to Chargers last week Wood Memori- al's Aubree Speicher meets the ball during action at Pike Cen- tral last week. The ju- nior plays short stop for the Lady Trojans. Left: Senior La- dy Trojan worked the mound for Wood Memorial for two in- nings and was re- lieved by senior Lee- Ann Melton in the run rule loss at Pike Central. James Capo- zella photos

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