Landing a King’s Hawaiian facility in Taylorsville is only one step Bartholomew County government is taking to establish itself as a significant economic development player.
After $2.7 million in county reserve funds was approved Nov. 30 for off-site infrastructure, county leaders are now making another investment intended to lure more companies to German Township.
The Bartholomew County commissioners have agreed to pay Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. $110,000 annually to provide and promote an environment conducive to economic vitality. That is the same amount paid for the same services by the city of Columbus. The money will come from the county’s economic development income tax revenue.
The $110,000 is more than the $15,000 the county has paid each year for two seats on the corporation’s board of directors. If the commissioners wanted to keep things status quo with the GCEDC, those two seats would have cost $20,000 this year.
But paying more to become a “Platinum”-level member of the GCEDC reflects the commissioners’ desire to expand their investment in economic development, commissioner Tony London said.
“Bartholomew County is becoming a major, major area for businesses to consider,” London said during Monday’s regular commissioners meeting. “We have wonderful resources and are seeing successes. And I can’t imagine a worse idea than landing a few great fish – and then stop buying bait.”
If the contract had not been approved, the county would have been forced to hire at least two employees to handle the same responsibilities, commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said.
Another reason for the county to step up its game is that the city of Columbus has begun to run out of room for commercial development, Bartholomew County Council president Jorge Morales said.
In the contract for professional services approved Monday, the GCEDC agrees to strive to:
- Bring new jobs to the residents of Bartholomew County.
- Work to expand the county’s tax base through increased commerce, new capital investment in real and business personal property, and increase local income tax revenues.
- Provide new business opportunities to local secondary businesses that will result in more jobs and a larger tax base within Bartholomew County.
- Strengthen the local economy through diversification by attracting new commerce from a variety of business sectors.
These services include marketing the county to prospective businesses; identifying and assembling state and local incentive packages; and overseeing the entire site selection response process.
In addition, one county commissioner and one county council member will continue to serve on the the GCEDC board of directors.
“We have expected results, and they will be measurable results,” said London, who will fill one of the board seats.
Both the commissioners and council have emphasized their investment of $2.7 million of reserve funds into off-site infrastructure for what’s called the “Northern Gateway” is to attract other companies to German Township and serve the residents of Bartholomew County, as well as meet King’s Hawaiian’s water needs.
Several “shovel-ready” commercial development sites will be created in the near future. Shovel-ready is a term that means parcels are already developed to a degree where construction can begin almost immediately. For several years, county officials said the lack of shovel-ready sites has prompted many companies to look elsewhere for expansion.
A few developments that will make the “Northern Gateway” sites shovel-ready will be improved water pressure, new or upgraded sanitary sewers, traffic signals and intersection improvements at U.S. 31 and Bear Drive. There will also be a reconfiguration of radius at Hubler Drive at Bear Lane to facilitate truck turns.
Besides the county’s contribution, some improvements will be financed with economic development income tax revenue, an Indiana Infrastructure Development grant fund, and other state and local financial resources totalling up to $3,746,000.
The contract expires on Dec. 31, but can be renewed annually for four additional years. But the agreement will expired at the end of 2028 unless both parties agree to extend it.
