Donovan Estridge, Madison Courier Staff Writer
LAWRENCEBURG- With a bang of the gavel Wednesday, Jefferson County received a $500,000 grant from Lawrenceburg to purchase land in the Dawson Smith Road area for development of an industrial park.
The grant was one of seven awards totaling $8,336,500 from the city of Lawrenceburg to southern Indiana counties. The grants are designed to stimulate economic development.
The money is from a revenue sharing package from the Argosy Casino and Resort.
"I am feeling great for the county," Jefferson County Commissioner Mike Frazier said.
"I think today is a step in the right direction," Lawrenceburg Mayor Bill Cunningham said when announcing the grants.
Since Lawrenceburg announced its intention to share gaming revenue with a nine county consortium in December, counties had the opportunity to apply for grants that would spur economic progress. Lawrenceburg originally allocated $10 million to be shared with the counties.
As counties submitted their requests, Lawrenceburg was inundated with requests for the $10 million. In all over $40 million in requests came in.
"When you offer this much money you have a lot of takers," Lawrenceburg city manager Tom Steidel said over the summer.
Once the deadline to submit grant requests passed, a committee in Lawrenceburg combed through each application to determine who would get the grants. This week, Madison and Jefferson County learned the committee approved a project for the area.
Though the county received $500,000 from Lawrenceburg, the day was still somewhat bittersweet. Jefferson County officials also applied for $600,000 to renovate the 4-H fairgrounds.
"It is kind of bittersweet," County Commissioner Julie Berry said. "We will try to find money for the fairgrounds."
But commissioners and city officials were happy that the Lawrenceburg committee chose one of the county's proposals.
"We will use this grant to help create jobs and investments in southeastern Indiana," Berry said.
Another aspect that pleased Madison Mayor Al Huntington about the grant was that a new industrial park could help solidify Madison as a perfect package for industry. Throughout the summer, Madison has been on the receiving end of good news in regards to economic development.
Earlier this summer, the Indiana Department of Transportation announced its decision to replace the aging Madison-Milton Bridge, a move Huntington calls crucial to business.
The local infrastructure received another boost in the form of national support for a longer runway at the Madison Municipal Airport that could lure additional business into the area.
"With this grant and our infrastructure, this gives us a whole package," Huntington said minutes after Lawrenceburg officials granted the money to Jefferson County.
To complement the $500,000 grant, the county might be in line to receive additional funds from Lawrenceburg in the upcoming year. Because of the gaming revenue that Lawrenceburg receives, the city hopes to continue distributing money to nearby counties.
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