Tipton — A group of 20 Tipton County elected officials and residents came together Wednesday to discuss what the future of economic development should look like.
Currently, the three county commissioners and the mayor of Tipton oversee the operation of a county economic development department with an annual budget of $115,000. But since December, the future of that structure has been uncertain after Tipton Mayor Dan Delph refused to renew a contract. He is holding out because he wants Gayle Van Sessen replaced as the director of economic development.
A group of officials and citizens have been meeting under the direction of Commissioner Phil Heron to determine the proper structure for overseeing future economic development efforts.
Dick Heupel, director of Economic and Community Development at Ball State University, and Heather Kemper moderated a 90-minute session Wednesday seeking input from residents and officials on how direction economic development in the county should proceed.
Heupel and Kemper created a strategic plan for Tipton County in 2008, and will condense the ideas discussed Wednesday by the residents and present them to Heron.
Heron said following the meeting that he would ask Heupel what he would charge to serve as a consultant as the process moves forward.
Heron said he favors an executive board that would appoint an economic development director and oversee the operations of an economic development department.
The contract with Van Sessen ends on May 31 and Heron said a decision would be made by then on what direction economic development will take in the future.
“I hope the mayor will participate,” Heron said of Delph, “I have not excluded him. We want to go forward in a positive direction.”
He said there have been recent discussions with Delph.
Heron said if the decision is to go with an appointed executive board, that decision could be made in one meeting.
Commissioner Mike Cline said it would take time for a board to get organized and begin functioning.
He said it’s essential for the city and county to work together.
Heron said an executive board would be similar to the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance that was created in Howard County in 2009. However, Tipton County’s board would be on a smaller scale.
During the meeting, Heupel said the goal was to gather lots of ideas in the areas of a vision, goals, governance, funding and staffing of an economic development department.
“We’re not here to sell the plan developed two years ago,” he said.
During the discussion the idea arose of having more than one economic development director with separate responsibilities for community development and economic development. The function of a director, if there is a need for one, and accountability for the money spent on economic development was also discussed.
Beth Roach, a member of the Tipton County Council, said the goal should be to determine what model works best for Tipton County.
“There are a lot of different models in Indiana,” she said. “We should see what other counties are doing.”
The group discussed the community’s assets and why a business would want to locate in the county. It was noted that existing companies should support and the community should want thriving businesses to keep young people in the county.
“What you do with this is up to you,” Heupel said. “Your stake is larger than ours. We want you to be successful.”