By Jeff Tucker, Shelbyville News staff writer
In a continuing effort to court Harley-Davidson into building a large assembly plant in Shelby County, the Shelby County Council Tuesday allocated $220,000 to the Shelby County Development Corp. to fast-track a study for a wastewater treatment plant in northwestern Shelby County.
The county council also unanimously approved giving Purdue University $1.15 million for an equine center that a Purdue official said could make Shelby County the veterinary capital of Indiana.
Both appropriations came from the county's racino fund, which Shelby County Auditor Amy Glackman said stood at $2,854,804 before Tuesday night's council meeting, although the August distribution has not yet been received.
The racino fund was reduced nearly by half by the two appropriations approved Tuesday by the county council.
Council members Margaret Brunk and Tony Titus asked if the SCDC could provide reports on how the county's tax dollars are being utilized for economic development.
"All of our expenditures are open for anybody to see," said Dan Theobald, executive director of the SCDC. "Any expenditures we have, it's very much up front."
Chris King, vice president of the SCDC, approached the council about the SCDC's request for $220,000 of racino funding for a wastewater study.
King said the money would be used for a preliminary engineering report, full design and permitting for a treatment plant to serve Brandywine, Sugar Creek and Moral townships. A regional sewer district could be created to serve the area, King said.
A wastewater treatment plant has been requested by Harley-Davidson officials, King said, adding a possible Harley plant would have a daily outflow of 140,000 gallons of wastewater.
The county approved $25,000 earlier this year for a sewer study of northwestern Shelby County, which is currently being performed by M.D. Wessler & Associates of Indianapolis. King said the new funding would dovetail with the prior allocation and "bring them all under a single project."
"The main reason we're coming to you is because of the Harley-Davidson project," King said.
King said Harley has a tight schedule as it considers Shelby County and two other final sites in Shelbyville, Ky., and Murfreesboro, Tenn., for a possible relocation of Harley's biggest production facility in York, Pa.
Theobald said the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker is eyeing sites along I-74, near Pleasant View, and would like a wastewater treatment plant near a potential factory in Moral Township.
Harley officials have indicated they plan to make a decision by the end of the year after initially considering 70 sites for a new plant when it announced in May it was exploring a relocation of its York motorcycle assembly facility that makes its Touring and Softail models, as well as some custom models, and employs 2,300 people.
King said the hope is to have the engineering work for the treatment plant completed by the end of the year and start construction in the spring.
"We could find out tomorrow that we're not in the running," King said, "but the goal is to move forward and stay in the running."
King said Harley wants a new factory operational by February 2011, if it is relocated from Pennsylvania. He said that following Harley's "compressed schedule" would "prove to them that we're working forward."
"The timing is such that the funds would be used by the end of the year," King said.
The appropriation passed unanimously, with Councilwoman Linda Sanders abstaining.
The last major item discussed by the council Tuesday was Purdue University's proposed equine center.
The Shelbyville Common Council approved its $1.15 million contribution to the project last week, despite some opposition from area veterinarians, who said the equine center could unfairly compete with their practices.
None of the concerned veterinarians attended Tuesday's council meeting, and there was no expressed opposition to the equine center.
Local attorney Dennis Harrold of McNeely Stephenson Thopy & Harrold, who is representing Purdue in the local venture, said the local tax funding would be used to purchase property and contribute to the construction of the equine center, which is estimated to cost $10 million.
The Purdue Research Foundation is responsible for raising the remaining funds needed for the facility, which Harrold said last week is to be built at an undisclosed site "very close" to Shelbyville city limits, and is expected to be completed in 2012.
"It will be a teaching hospital, with some horses," Harrold said. "It is hoped this facility would draw from surrounding states additional horses."
Harrold said the equine center will be the first university-sponsored horse hospital in the United States. He said it was not intended to be in competition with area veterinarians.
"Last week, at the city council meeting, there were some concerns from veterinarians, I think three of them, about competition," Harrold said. "It is hoped this facility would attract other agribusiness to this community. Maybe even, some day, not just an equine center but for all kinds of livestock. I think that local veterinarians do not need to be concerned."
Harrold said the equine center would be no more a threat to veterinarians than Indiana University's medical center is to Indiana physicians.
Dr. Mimi Arighi, director of the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in West Lafayette and a faculty member, said the local facility would establish Shelby County as the equine center of Indiana.
Arighi also said the Shelby County site would place the equine center in close proximity to Indiana's two horse-racing tracks in Anderson and Shelbyville and expand opportunities to local veterinarians, whom she said could rent the facility.
She said an improved, state-of-the-art equine center would enhance the university's chances of receiving research money and would also enhance the university's ability to teach veterinary technicians and other students, as well as interning and residential veterinarians.
Eventually, Arighi said the equine center would treat more than just racehorses.
"We really hope this partnership would be a positive partnership for everyone involved," she said.
Former state Sen. Robert Jackman, R-Milroy, who has promoted the creation of a regional equine diagnostic and surgical center for two years, said it was a proud moment for him.
"This is going to be huge," said Jackman, who is also a veterinarian. "It's a partnership of Shelby County, and Purdue, and the rest of the state. It's all about education. I'm just very, very honored to have been a small part of this project.
"There will be no more public money in this project, I say that right now," Jackman said looking to Purdue representatives.
Brunk said the equine center would bring in a lot of skilled jobs, replacing some that have been lost because of the recession, and act as a seed for other businesses considering Shelby County.
The council also unanimously approved the second of two $50,000 appropriations for SCDC operations. That appropriation came from the county's economic development income tax revenues.
Tony Newton, president of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, made the request to the council for SCDC funding. In April, the county approved an initial $50,000 for the SCDC's 2009 budget.
Newton said there has been a lot of business interest in Shelby County in the last two months, depleting the SCDC's funds.
He said the SCDC would use the funding to advertise Shelby County and also possibly to place options on land along the Interstate 74 corridor that Harley-Davidson or others might be interested in acquiring.
"Eventually, if Harley doesn't come, other companies are looking at those same lots," Newton said. "Something's going to come. We need to be ready when it does.