'So much good news,' say Vigo commissioners

Feb. 28—Summing up Vigo County's past year and its forward momentum, Vigo County Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard said Wednesday, "There's just so much good news."

Commissioners Clinkenbeard, Mike Morris and Chris Switzer presented the State of the County on Wednesday morning before more than 200 residents at the fourth annual Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce County Update.

The event, at the Terre Haute Convention Center, drew the largest crowd yet for a county update.

The commissioners said their goals of halting population decline and increasing per capita income inform all of their efforts. They presented the following data.

Tourism: Vigo County collected a record $3.2 million in its innkeeper's tax last year, a 14.8% increase, underscoring how much its tourism industry has expanded. And the opening of the Terre Haute Casino Resort on April 5, the April 8 total eclipse and the Terre Haute Air Show June 1-2 can only contribute to 2024 surpassing that total.

"We are a destination and becoming more of a destination all the time," said Clinkenbeard.

Homes for the Future: Thrive West Central, which received $10 million in American Rescue Plan money from the county and the city of Terre Haute to address the area's housing shortage, set a goal of building 3,420 to 4,570 homes over the next five years. It has already supported the construction of 322 homes over the last six months, nearing 10% of that goal.

Economic Development: Securing ENTEK's $1.5 billion investment in the county was the year's biggest accomplishment, creating 642 new jobs. Amazon Warehouse recently announced a new distribution outlet, costing $10.8 million and adding 100 new jobs.

Previous incoming businesses included Steel Dynamics (a $232 million investment yielding 84 new jobs) and Saturn Petcare (which invested $50 million and created 50 new jobs).

Clinkenbeard said that new land needs to be found to expand the county's industrial park.

County infrastructure: Vigo County maintains 827 miles of road. In 2023, it improved 36 of those miles and 45 more are slated to be upgraded in 2024.

There are 200 bridges of 20 feet or longer in the county, with six scheduled for repairs. Construction will begin on two in 2025, one in 2026, two in 2027 and one in 2028.

American Rescue Plan Act funding: ARPA funds have been disbursed to a variety of projects. Vigo County received $20,790,877 and besides the $5 million for Homes for the Future, has devoted $3 million to an early childhood learning center, $2.1 million to culvert repairs and $1.5 million to bridge improvements.

The project to expand Vigo County trails received $1 million, which also received $1.9 million from the Next Level Trails grant program to advance the Riley Spur Trail from the town of Riley to Rea Park. Happiness Bag and the West Central Business Hub both received $750,000. Educational concerns received $500,000 apiece — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Rose Ventures and St. Mary-of-the-Woods' equine event center.

The Vigo County Humane Society received $250,000 to build a clinic offering spay and neuter services. Board president Rick Burger added that the facility needs to find a veterinarian to hire. The Swope Art Museum received $225,000. The Vigo County School Corp. was awarded $125,000 to continue its mental health program.

Two museums received money — $75,000 to the Terre Haute Children's Museum and $49,500 to the Vigo County Historical Center to repair its exterior wall with the Coca-Cola bottle mural.

Education: VCSC's graduation rate is 77%, which the commissioners agreed needs to be improved. Of those graduates, 34.3% go on to earn another degree. Current enrollment at public schools is at 13,401.

Indiana Theatre: "It's in terrible shape," conceded Switzer. Repairing the roof will cost $1 million alone, and inside, plaster is falling off walls and mold is pervasive in the basement. A feasibility study on renovating the building will be completed in June, and grant money will be sought to restore it.

"It's the most underutilized facility in the city," Switzer said.

Interstate 70: The Indiana Department of Transportation has plans to widen the freeway through Terre Haute to three lanes in 30 years. Given the number of accidents which occur on it and the fact that its slowed traffic has a negative impact on local businesses, that is way too long.

Morris said he met with Department of Transportation officials in Washington, D.C. and they advised him to form a coalition to urge INDOT to hasten its timetable.

Vigo County Security Center (Vigo County Jail): The old jail, in grave disrepair, is slated to be demolished at a cost of $4.6 million. "It would cost more to renovate than build a new building," Clinkenbeard said.

The land will be converted into a green space in conjunction with Wabash Valley Art Spaces while other possibilities for the area are explored.

After the presentation, Clinkenbeard was asked that given a wealth of good news, what news could be better for the county?

"We still want to continue to improve our workforce," he said. "Obviously, workforce is a problem, and we've got to improve that and we've got to continue to make our place look attractive so other people do want to come here. And maybe just retrain people who are here. There are good jobs here. Maybe some are lower-level jobs, we've got to help (those in them) move up."

He added, "The city's working on blight removal — the rundown, worn-out houses where people don't live anymore. We'll be doing more of that in the county, too. We're scheduled to do about 20 this year."

Clinkenbeard expanded on the Clean Streets Initiative, which he mentioned in passing during the presentation. It's a joint effort with the mayor's office.

"We're trying to clean up our streets, our neighborhoods," he said. "We have facilities where people can easily recycle, and we have a place now where people can dump their old mattresses and couches."

Getting the community involved in the effort is important, he said.

"We'll work with Mayor Sakbun to get out there and get into schools — talk to kids and teach them young," he said. "Also, do a better job of reaching out to our chamber members who own businesses here and try to get them to help us with that."

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.