Portland received a total of more than $2.5 million in grant funding during 2016. In 2017, Mayor Randy Geesaman hopes to continue to aggressively pursue a variety of grants to continue tackling the city’s biggest problems.

Geesaman addressed those and other issues in his State of the City Address to the Jay County Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon Tuesday at Jay County Hospital. 

In addition to the success in acquiring grants, Geesaman highlighted a series of projects completed in 2016 to address flooding in the city, celebrated the success of Portland Water Park’s inaugural season and presented a series of proposals that the city will prioritize in 2017.

The city received five grants in 2016 for use in improving the city’s infrastructure. The largest, at $1.08 million was used for a construction project to improve Blaine Pike and separate sewers in the area. A $600,000 grant was put toward a project to improve and upgrade facilities at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The Federal Aviation Administration awarded the city a $532,232 grant that was used to buy land on the west side of the Portland Municipal Airport, paving the way for a runway extension. The city also received $337,600 as a part of Indiana Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program to improve sidewalks near schools and a $239,005 Community Crossings grant to put toward road improvements in the city.

Geesaman also gave an overview of four different projects that were completed in 2016 that should reduce the flooding risk in Portland. 

“The westside sewer separation project was just over $1 million that not only satisfied our agreement with OCRA (Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs), but more importantly addressed flooded areas,” Geesaman said.
 
A new 42-inch sewer line was laid to replace an aging 18-inch line on the north bank of the Salamonie River, to enable the city’s sewer lines to handle a larger volume of water during periods of heavy rain. New catch basins were added to west Race and North streets, and the lines were cleared of debris. The fourth project of 2016 was the demolition of the home at 509 W. High St., which allowed the repair of a collapsed sewer line underneath the property.

Geesaman discussed the success Portland Water Park had during its first season, both in attendance and financial numbers. The city’s old pool had operated at a loss for a number of seasons, but the water park finished 2016 with more than 33,000 visitors and $8,000 in profit.

“What’s most important about these attendance and revenue numbers is that school started the second week of August,” Geesaman said, explaining that attendance numbers dropped in the second half of August, but still finished the season averaging 428 visitors a day. 

Geesaman also summarized a series of plans he has for the city in 2017. Chief among his priorities are continued work on the city’s flooding issues and a focus on economic development. He said there are  a few opportunities in the works for attracting new industries to Portland, but said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss details of any deals before they were finalized. Geesaman said it is a priority for the city to attract new businesses to the Portland Industrial Park.

 Geesaman also showed attendees a diagram of a retention pond owned by the city north of county road 100 North, near the Portland Industrial Park. Geesaman said that with the help of county engineer Dan Watson and Choice One Engineering, the city is considering expanding the size of the detention pond in an effort to take pressure off of Millers Branch, which flows into the city’s sewer system.

Work on the city’s wastewater treatment plant will continue in 2017, to improve the plant’s daily volume and prevent combined sewer overflows.

Geesaman also plans to continue work with county officials to convince the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Salamonie River, aiding in flood prevention. The mayor also plans to push hard with other area communities in targeting Indiana’s Regional Cities Initiative, a program that was created in 2016 to award funds to different regions in Indiana for major improvement projects.

The recently completed Ball State revitalization study will also be a priority for Geesaman in 2017. He said he hopes to first address adding new gateway signs to the city’s main thoroughfares and assess a series of other proposals for improving Portland’s business district.

Geesaman also said he is going to continue work to assess the city’s housing needs and attract new developers to address those needs.
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