The Terre Haute City Council approved tax abatements for real and personal property for rail car refurbishment company GATX Corporation on Thursday evening, allowing it to expand its business.
GATX will be adding $20 million in improvements at its plant as well as $7 million in equipment. It will also add 20 more jobs to the tune of an additional $1 million in salary and benefits.
GATX — also known as Great American Transportation Corporation — will expand its plant at 4400 Maple Ave. on Terre Haute’s northeast side.
In other business, the Council approved a number of requests from city engineer Marcus Maurer, two of them focusing on city sidewalks.
One was an appropriation to use $104,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to acquire sophisticated mapping software that will rate the city’s sidewalks to determine which ones are most needing repairs. The other will finance $211,000 in ARPA money to build a new sidewalk on Poplar Street from Baesler’s Market to Heritage Drive and to replace crumbling sidewalks on the southeast side of 12 Points.
Council President Tammy Boland took an informal survey of her fellow council members, asking how many of them do not have sidewalks in front of their homes. Five of the seven members raised their hands.
Maurer also asked the council to amend the City Code to address utilities working within the rightof- way. Utility companies will need to mark their utility poles with information on how to contact the company responsible for those poles when they need repairs.
“It protects the motoring public,” Maurer said. “It’s a good way to clean up the city.”
The Council also approved requests from Ed Stewart, the director of the city Wastewater Utility, for $1.7 million to construct a lift station at Honey Creek Mall, where the current one is falling into disrepair. He also asked for $1.3 million to design a new lift station on Park Avenue.
Rezoning requests were also approved by the council. Two properties, at 2904 and 2924 Fenwood Ave., were rezoned to single-family residential. Councilwoman Cheryl Loudermilk explained that some of the houses in the area had been there 60 years without it being rezoned, making it difficult for owners or buyers to get mortgage loans from banks.
Property at 3010 S. 7th St. was rezoned regional commerce, so that the owner could use it as a car sales lot.
The bulk of discussion at Thursday’s meeting, however, was devoted to an ordinance that would amend the City Code regarding downtown parking violation fees.
City Attorney Michael Wright said that charges for the city’s parking lot violations were among the lowest in the state, and requested raising the fee from $10 to $25. Council members were concerned about a number of issues, wondering if the fee hike was too considerable and wondering why drivers were allowed to amass five tickets before the city would put a boot on their vehicle.
They proposed reducing the fee hike and booting cars after three unpaid tickets, suggesting that would bolster the city’s receipts nearly as much. The council voted to withdraw the ordinance, so that the city could rewrite its request.
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