GOSHEN -- Elkhart County officials are talking with at least one LaGrange County commissioner about creating a regional development authority with some of the money from the Indiana Toll Road lease.
Elkhart County will receive $24.8 million from the $3.8 billion lease of the toll road to a Spanish-Australian consortium.
And officials hope to use a portion of the money for an RDA with LaGrange County. Attracting economic development projects beneficial to both counties would be the RDA's job.
An RDA is a consensus-builder, said Elkhart County Council President John Letherman on Friday. It would allow both counties to work together without duplicating economic development efforts.
"We want to see if we can do some things collectively, better than individually," Letherman said.
Elkhart and LaGrange counties are joined together so closely that the idea of an RDA makes sense, said George Bachman, LaGrange County commissioner. Economies in both counties depend on tourism and agriculture, he said.
"While we're a lot the same, we're different as well," Bachman said. Unlike Elkhart County, LaGrange is mostly rural. The economy is based primarily on agriculture. Only about two years ago, the county started pursuing industries to locate there, he said.
Bachman said the counties are in "preliminary discussions" about the RDA.
"We expressed interested in working with (LaGrange County)," said Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder.
Asked why Elkhart County would form an RDA with LaGrange County rather than St. Joseph County, Yoder said, "Initially, they were more interested in 'Major Moves' than St. Joe."
Major Moves is Gov. Mitch Daniels' 10-year transportation plan that includes the Indiana Toll Road lease for 75 years.
"We have extended at least two invitations to St. Joe to form an RDA with Elkhart County -- since January," Yoder said. But the commissioners received no response from St. Joseph County.