Clinton, Tipton, Howard, Cass, Miami and Fulton will receive $30,000,000 in Readi Grant Funds.
$30,000,000 is not what the North Central Readi Grant Committee was originally hoping for, but this allows ALL districts in Indiana to receive some funding. No districts in Indiana will go away empty handed.
The district funding varies from one area to another. Some districts received the full $50,000,000 originally sought by all districts. This is an unexpected approach.
Shan Sheridan, Clinton County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director was happy to receive the funding but showed some disappointment based on the strength of the proposal submitted December 1 in Speedway by Clinton, Tipton, Howard, Cass, Miami and Fulton Counties.
Shan Sheridan and the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce will issue a press release soon to go into more detail what this means for the exciting projects that now will have limited funding.
The committee worked several months of work on a proposal that came down to a 50 minute presentation at the Dallara Indy Car Factory in Speedway earlier this month.
The co-ordinated complimentary plans will need to be reviewed to find out where the $20,000,000 in cuts will need to be made. The fully funded proposal included the following.
- 120 Room Hilton Garden Inn with 40,000 square foot conference center in Downtown Kokomo
- Build-out of the proposed Tech Center in Frankfort at the former Marsh Supermarket location designed to provide skilled trades education for area students. These facilities will be shared by area high schools and Ivy Tech in co-ordination with area industry.
- Regional Cultural Center showcasing African-American, Native American and Latin American displays for multi-generational populations in a downtown Kokomo Community Center.
- Addiction and Mental Health center in a Public/Private initiative partnering with Turning Point.
- A Silo Concert Center venue build out which will serve up to 25,000 concert fans. This venue will have the ability to handle concert attendees along the lines of the Ruoff Music in center in Hamilton County which opened in 1989.
- Cloverleaf Trail Extension of bicycle and walking trail network from Kokomo to Frankfort, then enabling continued trail network from Frankfort to Rochester.
- Urban Park in Cass County which provides a trail head location, community amenities and location for Cass County Community Events.
- Housing stock projects throughout the North Central Indiana 6 county region including buildout of Meadow Brook addition in Frankfort.
- Water and Sewer Extension from Tipton to the intersection of 28 and 31 which will enable development of a 300 unit subdivision on a 130 acre plot, an Ag Tech Education Center, service for Transmission plant and continued business development at this strategic location.
- Grissom Airport/Grissom Air Force Reserve Base Tarmac Replace and Repair project beside Indiana’s longest runway (12,501 feet). This airport is not only used as the 434th Air refueling wing and U.S. Army Reserve, but several businesses are beginning to locate at this facility because of the logistics and facilities available. A major tarmac rebuild/repair project will accelerate growth of this unique location for existing and future businesses.
- Innovation Hall on the campus of IUK in Kokomo. This facility will house a business lab, tech studio and career connection center for skilled trades and the IUK Career connection that partners with local industry and students.
- Several other projects in the six county area compliment these quality of life/quality of place initiatives to leverage the 51 million dollar Ready Grant to serve the area and state.
Paul Wyman, Howard County Commissioner and President of The Wyman Group Real Estate firm, helped lead the grant proposal initiative and said during his proposal “We are well positioned to make these investments to aid and accelerate these opportunities” with use of the Readi Grant. “Join us. Partner with us to accelerate the growth we have been experiencing. Partner with us to attract talent and grow population. Partner with us to positively impact lives”.
Referring to the process and proposal efforts, Shan Sheridan Executive Director of the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce said “It has been a team effort with six counties, local development directors, elected officials, business leaders and educators. A strong collaborative effort all the way around.”
