PIERCETON — The Pierceton Redevelopment Commission discussed ideas for the usage of tax increment finance monies during a meeting Thursday.
A spending plan for the TIF fund is due in December. The monies can be used as long as the proposed projects benefit the employees of the TIF district. TIF monies have several permitted uses, including public safety projects, recreation facilities, public infrastructure and site improvements for private developments.
The commission primarily discussed using the TIF monies for digital and directional signs, as well as bathrooms at Brower Park and an indoor recreational building.
Pierceton Redevelopment Commission President Matt Brubaker suggested the potential for TIF monies to be used as matching funds for an indoor recreation building for residents to use in the wintertime.
Redevelopment Commission member Chip Hill suggested possibly placing a recreation building close to Pierceton Elementary School and have it offer after-hours programming for the community. Hill and Brubaker both discussed the possibility of having the YMCA get involved, mentioning the organization's nearby location in North Webster.
Pierceton Redevelopment Commission member Glenn Hall inquired about creating permanent bathrooms at Brower Park, which is in downtown Pierceton. Currently, there are several portable toilets at the park.
The commission also discussed placing decorative directional signs at the north and south sides of Ind. 13, greeting people coming into town and thanking people for visiting. A digital sign outside of Pierceton Fire Department was also mentioned as a project for the TIF monies, to be possibly used with scrolling announcements for town events or clean-up days. The commission said the directional sign project would be doable for 2025.
For project quotes, Brubaker will handle digital signs, Hall will research directional signs, and Pierceton Town Superintendent Casey Boggs will get quotes for bathrooms at Brower Park.
Hall also said he invited representatives with the Pierceton Alumni Association to attend a town council meeting in the near future. The alumni association is wanting to establish an area within the town as a museum and is also considering offering tours of historical areas within Pierceton.
Hall also mentioned a meeting he had with State Rep. Craig Snow about the orthopedic industry retention initiative. Kosciusko County has $30 million as part of the initiative to utilize, with $5 million solely for communities outside of Warsaw and Winona Lake. Redevelopment Commission Vice President Eric Trump will soon meet with Snow to discuss the monies as well. Trump encouraged the commission to look into the initiative, and Hall said the parameters for utilizing the initiative's funds are minimal.
Brubaker also discussed the potential for addressing sidewalks and curbing in the downtown area.
"I just walked through downtown this afternoon and I didn't realize how bad it was," said Hall. "It's actually dangerous for people walking."
Following the redevelopment commission meeting, Pierceton Town Council held a special meeting to discuss next steps for K21 Health Foundation projects that were approved in 2023. Pierceton has $200,000 from K21 that it is using for improvements at Pierceton-Washington Township Park, which includes four dugouts, as well as tennis, basketball, and pickleball courts.
Town attorney Tammy Keirn said in the statute for letting bids, there is a slightly different procedure dependent on pricing. For any projects under $50,000, the town does not have to publish a legal notice with media outlets. She said the town could contact companies on their own with a notice about opening bids for each part of the project.
The council also talked about having town representatives attend the Whitko School Board's upcoming May meetings regarding the town's sidewalk project on School, Third and Catholic dtreets. Hall offered to attend the school board's May 15 work session. The council asked Clerk-Treasurer Myra Mast to see if Chad Salzbrenner or Donny Ritsema, who have worked with the town on the project, to see if they could attend and bring renderings of the sidewalk layout.
Pierceton Redevelopment Commission's next meeting is at 5:30 p.m. July 25. Pierceton Town Council's next regular meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 13.