Elkhart dam will not receive additional advocacy funding

Yahoo

8 hours ago

GOSHEN — The Elkhart County Council on Thursday voted against additional funds that would support measures to preserve the Elkhart dam.
Elkhart County Commissioner Susie Weirick told the council that RJL Solutions, an advocacy and lobbyist group out of Terre Haute, was working with the county to advocate for the protection of the dam as the licensure is up for renewal in 2025 and federal operating license is set to expire in 2030.
'We needed some assistance in lobbying and advocating for the Elkhart dam and it's retention and relicensure,' she explained.
The current owner of the dam, AEP, has since made a public announcement to make 'permanent repairs' to stabilize the dam. Weirick said they will drive piles into the riverbed to stabilize the dam.
'They cannot announce yet that they will keep this in their plan but we are very hopeful and we are anxiously awaiting some situations outside of Indiana to find out what that is, and when they do announce it, we have a lot of support from them. So we're expecting them to move along positively,' she said.
So far, commissioners have funded RJL with about $36,000 toward advocacy for the dam and they requested from the council from the General Fund an additional $16,000 as they begin discussions with Indiana's Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
'The current goal is to hope that the federal regulation commission will support the application for more than the minimum — the minimum is 10 years,' Weirick said. 'It would be a great goal to have them extend the permit for up to 50, although that's unrealistic. We will be needing to advocate for that. We will also need to advocate with the Indiana [Utility] Regulatory Commission on their timelines as well as all the regulations that go around repairing the structure, the utility powerhouse and the area around the dam.'
Weirick said the process is cumbersome and having the support of RJL Solutions in Indianapolis would be of great benefit.
Councilman Doug Graham said he believed the advocacy group was originally engaged to convince AEP to tackle the project, with the agreement ending back in June.
When asked how they help, Weirick said they've answered questions, helped prevent legislation to protect commissioners from broad removal without due process, advocate for the wheel tax and worked against SB 1.
Weirick said she's also been told there is environmental pressure to remove the dam, but she doesn't know for sure.
Councilman Graham also noted that the company was hired for the dam, but used for other things. Councilman Tom Stump said the council should support the appropriation because entities that are skilled in certain issues should handle those issues.
Councilmen Doug Hess, Randy Yohn and Stump voted in favor of the appropriation, but Adam Bujalski, Steve Clark, Graham and Darryl Riegsecker voted against it, so the motion failed.
OTHER BOARD ITEMS
• The council also did not approve final design and bid documents to bid the Lily Greenway project from the C.R. 6 and C.R. 17 Improvement TIF.
Elkhart County Redevelopment Director May Kratzer explained that the tax increment finance district captures $7.4 million per year and isn't expected to change much with the new tax laws related to SB1 so the money, $125,000 requested, wouldn't create a burden for the TIF.
Still, the council did not approve the funding, less concerned about the immediate cost and more concerned about future maintenance costs.
The property has been considered as a future county park, with a possible memorandum of understanding that the Osolo Township Trustee's Office would be responsible for maintaining the property. Councilman Clark said he's worried about what happens if the trustee's office becomes unable to maintain it financially due to tax decreases, as they are likely to see a much larger impact than the TIF district there will.
The council seemed to mostly agree with Clark's concerns, with Clark, Riegsecker, Graham and Stump all voting against it and Bujalski, Hess and Yohn voting in favor.
• The council reviewed and had hearings for five CF-1 forms compliances for local businesses to determine whether they should be held in compliance.
Dynamic Metals and Furrion were both unanimously determined to be substantially compliant. Smoker Craft was determined substantially compliant as well but, it was not unanimous with Councilman Graham voting against it. Smoker Craft did not, in fact, meet their goals, however, it was noted and determined by the council's vote that it was due to factors beyond the company's control, namely current international relations with Canada.
Steel Harbor and General RV Center were both unanimously deemed substantially not compliant.
• Several appropriations for the IT Department were approved including funds to cover a gap with the county's Microsoft server license found through audit for $150,000 and funds to purchase shelf hardware for repairs rather than being charged a maintenance fee by CISCO at $75,000
• The Elkhart County Assessor's Office was approved funds to purchase, rather than lease, a copier for $17,000.
• The council approved funds from an interlocal agreement with the city of Elkhart of a paving package on C.R. 6 between C.R. 9 and C.R. 11 for about $280,000.
• The council approved $5,100 of donation from the commissioners for maintenance to the Parks & Recreation Department to cover the cost of part-time maintenance at Six Span Landing.
• They also approved the annual contribution of $2,500 from the Elkhart County Historical Society for the department, which helps cover the cost of operations at the Elkhart County Historical Museum.
• The council approved three items, totaling about $97,000, a supplemental fund that coincides with the initial grant setup for the fiscal year 2026 grant. It's the Juvenile Community Corrections Project Income Fund, correlating with the Juvenile Community Corrections Grant, supplementing salaries due to the grant no longer covering the total cost.
Councilman Graham asked why the numbers should be approved, given the county's current policy that if the grant goes away the position goes away. Elkhart County Court Administrator Ross Maxwell said cost has to do with increasing pay scales and that grant used to cover payroll as well as some operational budget items which have also had to be moved to the project income budget. He said it's the first year they'd had to dip into the money to cover the costs. He also noted that it's not general fund money, but money garnered from fees from the department.
• The Juvenile Detection Alternative Initiative Grant, totaling about $80,000 — an increase from last year, was also approved for the Elkhart County Judiciary. It contributes toward items like Teen Court at Bashor, some Boys & Girls Club programs, Lifeline programming, therapy dogs at the detention center and various ways to keep low-risk juveniles in the system engaged without being placed into the detention facility.
• The health department requested approval of a grant that helps combat vaping and nicotine in the school systems. The council approved a grant for about $173,000 and another for $1,750 for staffing and programming from the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Fund.
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