By Steve Walsh and Andy Grimm/Post-Tribune staff writers
GARY — The first $10 million check from the state to the Regional Development Authority will be in the mail by January.
But Gov. Mitch Daniels landed at the Gary/Chicago Airport on Thursday to hand over a ceremonial check and praise the growth potential of Northwest Indiana — and remind local leaders to spend the money wisely.
“This is formally the day Northwest Indiana is welcomed into the whole Hoosier family,” Daniels said. “This investment is an important step in signalling how critically important the northwest corner of the state is.”
The $10 million is the maximum amount the state can spend on the RDA, which also will receive $17.5 million a year from Lake and Porter counties and the cities of Gary, Hammond and East Chicago.
The airport, which will need millions to match federal funds for a proposed $90 million expansion plan, is considered likely to benefit most from early RDA spending. The RDA also is mandated to improve commuter rail and other economic and transportation efforts in the two counties.
The RDA board, composed of members appointed by Daniels and local officials, is preparing a study that will define development priorities, said RDA board member Gus Olympidis of Valparaiso.
“How can you not feel good about this airport?” he said. “It’s hard to envision how you can fulfill the mission of the RDA without coming across the airport somehow.”
With support from Daniels, the state Development Finance Authority approved the first payment Thursday with little debate.
Daniels and other speakers at the airport also stressed the need for transparency on how the money is spent.
Legislation passed last spring commits the state to spending at least $5 million each of the next two years, but Daniels said he would like to see contributions of at least $10 million for the next 10 years.
The state share comes from surplus revenues from the Indiana Toll Road, which state finance officials said has $21 million in reserves. Daniels said without support for his Major Moves package of transportation spending, future state RDA contributions might be smaller.
Daniels has proposed leasing the toll road to a private company and using the millions from the lease to fund transportation projects statewide.
The money from Lake County casinos and an income tax in Porter County, will begin to flow into the RDA later in 2006.