NIPSCO Task Force talks economic development for Jasper County

Eastridge shared that there has been new development within the county such as the Premiere Bio farm, and the new approval of Dunn’s Bridge Solar Farm. The solar farm will be located in the same township as the Schahfer Generating Station. It will be a $300 million-dollar investment. Eastridge said, “This will not plug all the holes from NIPSCO’s closing but it will help.”

The project could start as soon as 2021 and at the latest start in 2023. The project is waiting on a power agreement to be purchased. He then went on to talk about the future opportunities Jasper County has for economic development. Those were infrastructure, the airport, and agriculture.

A member of the task force asked if they had an opportunity to bring a sports facility to the county since travel sports are so incredibly important to young families and the development of a community. Eastridge shared that they have partnered with the Parks for People Campaign and DeMotte Little League to upgrade their ball fields and provide lighting to help better accommodate those families participating in local sports.

A community member asked if JCEDO actively goes out and prospects for new development. Eastridge shared, “Our philosophy is in attracting developers to our area, prospecting potential developers cost the county time and money. If we focus on the five pillars (business retention and expansion, workforce development and attraction, small business development and programming, tourism and community engagement), we can engage developers to come to the area and we act as the open line of contact between a developer and our (county) officials.“

Commissioner Kendell Culp asked, “With all the negatives that are surrounded by the NIPSCO closing , are there any positives?” Eastridge shared that the positive could be that our unemployment rate in Jasper County is 3.8% and that even though some of those workers could potentially lose their jobs there are many places within the county that are struggling to pull in new quality workers.” He continued, “If we focus on the quality of life in Jasper County, we will help create jobs, housing, and development will follow.” He mentioned that they have been working on bringing broadband to rural communities, and that will help raise the quality of life for many families.

Commissioner Culp asked. “Stephen you came into the county with a strategy and goals, with NIPSCO closing does that change your strategy or your approach?” Eastridge replied, “It changes the approach in two ways. We have to continue focus on our 5 pillars but place additional emphasis on business attraction. Secondly, it is important to evaluate projects on a project by project basis. We have to be open to hearing every opportunity that comes to the county.” He continued, “The economic development organization is not a deciding factor, our role is to facilitate the conversations with our county and let our officials make the decisions.”