LAWRENCE COUNTY - JUNE 10 - The Lawrence County Redevelopment Commission meeting consisted of an information meeting on Thursday morning about various financing options for proposed projects for the Mitchell area.
Proposed shell building for the Mitchell Industrial Park
The amount of money going towards those projects and timing of the projects are still being planned out as the Lawrence County Redevelopment Commision determines what projects will be funded.
Some of those projects include:
Construct a shell building in the Mitchell Industrial Park to attract business to the city
Road repair in and around the Lehigh Construction site once the project is completed
Public safety - Help with the construction of Marion Township Fire Station
Housing project - Consideration residential TIF district housing or some other form of housing project which will also have to be approved by the Mitchell Community School Corporation
One of the projects being considered is helping with the construction of the Marion Township Volunteer Fire Station
Lawrence County Redevelopment member Jeff Qulye and Attorney David Smith have been in talks with ICE Miller and Baker Tilly on various options for bonds. Some of the projects will have to use taxable bonds such as the proposed shell building in the Industrial Park.
The RDC and City of Mitchell are still in talks about a Memorandum of Understanding between the two groups and who will ultimately own the building, funding and other agreements that will need to be worked out.
In addition, Gary Martz, GM Development presented the Lawrence County RDC members about Build - Operate - Transfer Management option in constructing and operating the shell building proposed in Mitchell.
The Indiana Code 5-23 statue was enacted in 1997 and establishes the framework for Build - Operate and Transfer agreements. The statue helps small communities such as Mitchell and local governments to enter into P3 contracts for infrastructure and economic development projects.
This a growing trend for procurement projects in the State of Indiana which allows a public entity to negotiate directly with the developer of a project. The agreement can be a long- or short-term lease anywhere from three to ten years depending on how the RDC and developers come into agreement.
Martz told the RDC members that they should make sure any agreement puts the RDC in charge of the term and conditions of any sale or lease, and not the developer. This would give the RDC more flexibility in controlling and help determine shared profits from an agreement that RDC enters into.
The Build, Operate, and Transfer model allows flexibility in funding and project costs. Some public entity may elect the traditional funding sources such as bond proceeds, or cash on hand to pay the project costs a BOT agreement may involve a alternate structure.
Lawrence County RDC have proposed building a 50,000 square foot shell building. In order to fund the building the RDC may use a funding resolution or capital cumulative fund to help move the project forward. The Lawrence County Commissioners and Council may also decide to cumulative capital fund to move the proposal forward.
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