Clinton County pledges to work with Frankfort for I-65 economic development

Looking at criteria on what makes an area attractive to development, Hamm said the study determined that the most immediate barrier to development is the lack of utility infrastructure in much of the area. 

While State Road 28 sits adjacent to a wealth of groundwater resources, the area lacks the wastewater facilities needed to clean the water. Without wastewater and sewer stretching to I-65, Hamm said there is too much risk for many developers to initiate a large project at I-65 or anywhere outside of the Frankfort city limits. 

According to HWC’s findings, the best way to mitigate that risk would be for the county to create a shovel-ready environment, which would mitigate up-front costs for a potential developer. 

The plan also includes a picture of what could be possible on just the 400 acres surrounding the I-65 corridor, if the county moves forward with creating the shovel-ready environment. According to HWC’s mock-up, the area could host 1.5 million square feet of industrial space, 450,000 square feet of office space and 350 square feet of retail space, or some comparable configuration. 

To move beyond the plan, Hamm recommended that the commissioners hire financial, legal and engineering consultants to kick off the next phase of bringing utility infrastructure to the corridor. 

After Hamm’s presentation the commissioners invited local stakeholders to present their views.

Clinton County Economic Development Director Shan Sheridan agreed that wastewater is the biggest barrier to economic development from Frankfort to I-65, citing several times that developers have lost interest after hearing about the wastewater problem.  

“You can get electric out there and you can dig a well, but you can’t get wastewater out there,” Sheridan said. “We have had hotels, warehouses, industries ask about 65, but the biggest thing they ask is, ‘Is it shovel ready?’ We always have that discussion, and we have to tell them, ‘No.’” 

Sheridan, Frankfort Mayor Chris McBarnes and Frankfort Municipal Utilities General Manager Todd Corrie asked the county to work with the city to build the infrastructure. 

McBarnes and Corrie told the commissioners that the city is almost ready to reveal plans to extend wastewater infrastructure to County Road 450 West. McBarnes said the city council and utility service board would be meeting in a joint work session on May 16 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the plans.

McBarnes is hoping for a repeat of the successful city-county partnership that resulted in water infrastructure being extended to Jefferson. 

“The vision the county had to extend out to Jefferson was a tremendous vision. That lift station that is already there sets us up to essentially bring wastewater back to the city,” McBarnes said. “We are hoping that, in a few years, people will be saying that we had a tremendous vision also.” 

Commissioner Scott Shoemaker said the county had three options on the table: a new utility run by the commissioners, a public-private partnership or a city-county partnership.

However, Shoemaker and fellow Commissioners Josh Uitts and Steve Woods all agreed that the city-county partnership stood out to them as the best option. 

“It can’t happen fast enough. I move that we partner with the city of Frankfort to get water and sewer to that interchange as fast as we possibly can,” Uitts said.

County Council President Alan Dunn recommended at the meeting that the commissioners go forward with pursuing financial advice. Dunn said the council allocated funds for professional services at their April meeting, so the commissioners already have approval to hire a consultant. 

Dunn recommended contacting Umbaugh and Associates to create a finance plan. The quote offered was from $12,000 to $15,000.