The Accelerate Rural Indiana Regional Development Authority Friday approved to reallocate the $2.5 million READI funding set for a sports complex at Blue River Memorial Park to two other Shelbyville community projects.
This comes at the recommendation of the region’s steering committee, who was advised by City of Shelbyville leaders that the project would not be able to meet a deadline set by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative program.
The funding works through disbursements. Project developers submit invoices to the RDA, which then approves that invoice and submits a disbursement request to IEDC in the amount of the invoice. The IEDC’s deadline in question is to have the project’s first invoice submitted by September.
Mayor Scott Furgeson said the deadline concern comes in light of difficulties the city is having with the company they’ve partnered with to build and run the sports complex, Edge Sports Group.
“They seem to be having a problem getting all the same people in the room to make a decision on their end,” Furgeson told the board. “I don’t know if it’s the fact there’s a new administration in, or the fact that the economy is bad, or if it’s going to cost three times as much as what was originally allocated into this, but for some reason we can’t get them to sign anything saying they want to move forward.”
The $2.5 million designated toward this complex is to be reallocated toward the amphitheater at Blue River Memorial Park and toward the Shelby County Player’s Wortman Family Civic Theater, pending IEDC approval.
Both of these projects are already underway. The Parks Department working with Cornerstone on the design phase of the amphitheater, which will receive $2 million of the reallocated funds. The Civic Theater will receive the remaining $500,000, and that project has already broken ground.
Both of these projects were on the region’s list for potential READI 2.0 funds. IEDC announced earlier this year the region would receive a $30 million award in this second round of funding.
With this approval, the RDA will submit this request to IEDC. IEDC will have to approve this request before the reallocation actually takes place.
The sports complex was not the only regional project the RDA approved to reallocate funding for. Greensburg’s planned Allen Memorial Pool was nixed after the county commissioners publicly moved not to move forward with the project, said Board Chair Bryan Robbins, who is also the Decatur County Development Corp. executive director.
“The County felt that they were unable to commit to the project, particularly not within the timeline that was set forth, so the Commissioners at their second June meeting voted to not move forward with the project,” Robbins said. “They also voted against trying to flip another project within Decatur County with some of the same concerns.”
In light of this, the region’s steering committee collectively decided to reallocate that funding toward a housing project in Rushville. The North Washington Street project is building at least 30 homes.
“We opened up the floor to the region to submit proposals,” Gordon said. “We received alternative proposals from North Washington Street, the Amphitheater in Shelbyville, Tom Hession Drive, Shelby County Pride in Place, and the Kosovo project in Batesville. After discussion, Washington Street was the one identified as most feasible and could quickly get funds spent.”
This housing project comes in direct response to Rushville’s Diamond Pet Foods facility creating 300 jobs in that community, Gordon said. The Diamond Pet Foods facility, now complete, also received READI funding.
This reallocation of funding sparked conversation among the Regional Development Authority about creating a formal procedure and policy to guide them as they move forward with READI 2.0. The board took no action on this policy.
Gordon presented a “question tree” the board can use moving forward. The first question is simple: In the event that funding needs to be reallocated, is there another project within the same community that is ready to go?
If yes, could it meet the timelines set by IEDC and the RDA, and will continue to meet the public:private match ratio set forth by IEDC?
If no, is there another feasible project within the region that could meet the timelines and match ratio?
These projects would be discussed within the steering committee and by the board. The RDA would then make the recommendation to change the allocation to IEDC. IEDC always has final say on project approval.