Wells County will join the Regional Development Authority, a step towards possible Regional Cities Initiative funding.
Several community and regional representatives, including Wells County Economic Development Director Tim Ehlerding, were before the Wells County Council Tuesday evening in support of the county joining the RDA. Council members were told that leading up to the meeting, Huntington, Wabash, Allen, DeKalb, Noble and Whitley counties had all approved joining the RDA of which Wells would be a member.
Regional officials are also targeting LaGrange, Steuben and Kosciusko counties for this area.
Council members were able to discuss and air their concerns Tuesday; the topic was introduced and talked about at length during the council’s May meeting. The RDA is considered the vehicle for possible Regional Cities Initiative funding through the state to enhance qualities of life at a regional level in Indiana.
President Jim Van Winkle said he knew about the RDA in advance and encouraged state legislators to support it as he views it as necessary. Other members – Todd Mahnensmith, Vicki Andrews, and Chuck King – also expressed their support for the RDA Tuesday.
Councilman Jim Oswalt said he is concerned about if the county joins and then the state changes the rules in a couple years. Still, the council can’t stick its head in the sand, he said.
Mike Mossburg asked if the $84 million to be split between two winning regions is a one-time thing or if this will be a initiative the legislature will continue to fund. He was told the plan is that the funding would be long-term, but lawmakers vote on the budget two years at a time.
Councilman Steve Huggins then argued if this region isn’t selected, Wells County taxpayers’ money would go to another region for projects and he was against that piece of it, not the economic development side of things.
“But that decision has already been made,” King countered, referencing the state legislature’s passing of the law that creates the Regional Cities Initiative by distributing tax dollars.
Huggins said he understood that and later quoted a portion of the Indiana Constitution – which he reminded the council members they pledged to uphold – noting it ensures equal opportunity for all Hoosiers and arguing this initiative goes against that by only offering certain regions funding.
Ehlerding said that while the Constitution guarantees equal opportunity – and he argued this program is available to all regions – it does not promise everyone will be successful.
Meanwhile, Van Winkle said quality of life enhancements don’t stick within county boundaries – people come here for the state park, for example, that Wells just happens to have.
When Van Winkle entertained a motion, King moved that the county join the RDA with Mahnensmith issuing the second. All voted in favor except Huggins.
If the northeast region is awarded funding, possible projects identified for Wells County – according to a packet Ehlerding handed out Tuesday – include an Ossian trails system, a food innovation center in Bluffton, an amphitheater in Ossian, and a manufacturing technology academy for the Adams Wells Manufacturing Alliance.
© 2024 Bluffton News-Banner