Wabash County Council may consider withdrawing from NEI Regional Development Board

“I think its a good time to have a public discussion on the topic,” Dillon said, motioning to repeal a 2015 ordinance that authorized Wabash County’s membership in NIRDA and to table discussion until the Council’s March meeting.

Dillon was one of three County Council members to vote against joining NIRDA in May 2015.

Council members Kyle Bowman and Claude Markstahler also voted against the measure. Markstahler resigned in December.

While Dillon’s motion did not receive a vote on Monday, the County Council is expected to discuss the subject at its March meeting. It has not been determined whether that discussion will include a vote to leave NIRDA.

Several Wabash-area projects have applied for Regional Cities grant funding through NIRDA, including the Wabash River Trail extension and Eagles Theatre renovation.

Meanwhile, NIRDA has already committed a $520,000 grant for Manchester Early Learning Center, a daycare in North Manchester.

Should Wabash County choose to exit NIRDA, funding for these projects would be jeopardized.

Mayor Scott Long said these projects are one reason the community should consider staying in NIRDA.

“In my mind, we’re leveraging private funds with this money,” Long said. “I think its a benefit to the community, but I want to do my research and talk to people and go from there.”

Eleven counties form NIRDA, which was created in 2015 to compete for $42 million in State grants through the Regional Cities Initiative.

The underlying philosophy of the initiative is to promote population growth through public and private investment in “quality of life” projects, such as bike trails, daycare centers and entertainment destinations.

In defense of the program, Keith Gillenwater, president and CEO of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County, said that talent attraction and retention are just as important business attraction in areas like Wabash County, which has seen a net decline in its population for decades.

“It’s the largest single threat to the future well-being of Wabash County,” he said. “The philosophy of the Regional Cities plan was how do we encourage talent attraction and talent retention in our region and that centers around making our community livable.

“I think business attraction will always remain a cornerstone of what we do, but there’s a lot more to bringing jobs when you have a declining population and your workforce is aging.”

Population decline has not only impacted workforce development efforts, but has hurt Wabash County’s ability to publicly fund projects, according to County Commissioner Barry Eppley.

“We’ve got to get behind some momentum to bring in people,” Eppley said.