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[0:09] LaPorte County Redevelopment Commission meeting from
[0:10] September 30th. More
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[0:13] meeting can be
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[0:22] Good afternoon. Welcome
[0:24] to the
[0:27] La Porte County Redevelopment Commission meeting of
[0:29] September 30, 2026.
[0:30] Please mute
[0:31] your phones.
[0:32] Stand up for the oath.
[0:36] Mr. Parkman.
[0:37] I pledge
[0:38] allegiance to the
[0:40] flag of the United
[0:41] States of America and to
[0:42] the republic for which it
[0:44] stands, one nation
[0:45] under God,
[0:46] indivisible, with
[0:47] liberty and
[0:47] justice for
[0:49] all.
[0:51] I was surprised myself.
[0:52] I think I had a
[0:53] big
[0:54] flag behind me here.
[0:55] Yes. That's right.
[0:57] Is it possible to conduct a
[0:58] general check of
[0:59] those present?
[1:00] Adam Koronka.
[1:01] Present.
[1:02] Don Carr. Scott Cooley.
[1:06] Jennifer Geet.
[1:07] Present.
[1:08] Mark Parkman.
[1:09] Present.
[1:10] Connie Gramarossa.
[1:13] Brett Kessler.
[1:14] Here. Mr.
[1:14] Chairman, you have a
[1:16] quorum.
[1:16] Thank you. I am now
[1:18] ready to consider
[1:19] the proposals for the
[1:20] agenda.
[1:21] I propose to approve the
[1:22] agenda as
[1:23] presented
[1:24] .
[1:24] Second.
[1:25] Motion from Mr.
[1:26] Parkman, seconded by
[1:27] Ms. Geet. I ask everyone who is "in
[1:28] favor"
[1:28] to express themselves with the word "
[1:29] agree."
[1:31] Who is "against"? Thank you.
[1:34] Public comments.
[1:35] Since we have a lot of
[1:36] members of
[1:36] the public, does
[1:37] anyone want to speak?
[1:39] Good. The public comment period
[1:42] has ended.
[1:42] Approval
[1:43] of the protocol.
[1:45] I propose to approve.
[1:46] Second.
[1:47] Motion
[1:47] to approve from Mr.
[1:48] Kessler, seconded by
[1:50] Ms. Geeth. I ask everyone who is "in
[1:51] favor"
[1:51] to express themselves with the word "
[1:52] agree."
[1:54] Who is "against"? Thank you.
[1:59] Okay, let's move on to the
[2:00] treasurer's report and
[2:02] consideration of claims.
[2:04] Report after paying
[2:06] your claims today:
[2:09] US 421 distribution area
[2:12] one, $653,065. US 421
[2:16] distribution area two,
[2:18] negative balance $63,368
[2:21] . KIDC TIF, $234,542. 39 North TIF,
[2:31] nil. I-94 35, $10,436. And the
[2:39] loan balance
[2:42] is $434,960.
[2:48] End of
[2:48] Treasurer's Report.
[2:49] Good. Do
[2:51] we need to take any
[2:52] action to get
[2:54] US 421 zone two out of
[2:55] negative balance? And
[2:56] in the council we usually
[2:58] have to
[2:59] Uh, no. We will wait
[3:01] until the fall
[3:02] distribution.
[3:03] Good.
[3:03] And then we
[3:04] will balance the account
[3:05] by the end of the year.
[3:06] Good, very good.
[3:07] So, I am willing
[3:08] to consider any
[3:09] suggestions regarding the
[3:10] treasurer's report.
[3:11] I make this
[3:12] suggestion.
[3:13] I support.
[3:14] Motion by Ms.
[3:15] Geet, seconded by Mr.
[3:16] Kessler. All in favor?
[3:17] Agree.
[3:18] Who is "against"? Thank you.
[3:20] Now, looking at
[3:22] the claims, uh, for KIDC, I
[3:25] see $1,000 for
[3:26] professional services
[3:28] from MCR Partners, uh, $1,500 for
[3:30] legal services from
[3:32] Guy Astley DeMartino PC.
[3:35] Look, $207.57
[3:37] to the Herald Dispatch for
[3:38] lawsuits or, uh
[3:40] , legal publications
[3:42] , $87.50 to Senator
[3:44] Dalton for financial
[3:46] advisory
[3:47] services, and
[3:48] $113.60 to Keel
[3:50] Media for additional, uh,
[3:53] public hearing notices,
[3:55] which together makes a
[3:56] subtotal of
[3:58] $2,908.67.
[4:01] I propose to
[4:02] approve the
[4:04] KIDC requirements register.
[4:05] Second.
[4:05] The motion was approved by
[4:06] Mr. Parkman,
[4:07] seconded by Mr.
[4:08] Kessler. All those in
[4:09] favor, please
[4:09] say yes.
[4:11] Against? Good. And on 421
[4:14] number one, we have
[4:16] $5,000 for MCR partner, uh
[4:17] , partners for professional
[4:19] services and
[4:21] $87.50 for Senator
[4:23] Dalton for financial
[4:24] advisory
[4:26] services, making a grand
[4:28] total or
[4:29] subtotal of
[4:31] $5,087.50.
[4:33] I propose to approve
[4:34] the payment.
[4:36] The motion was approved by
[4:37] Mr. Sees,
[4:37] seconded by Mr.
[4:38] Parkman. Everyone who is "in
[4:39] favor" of US 421,
[4:41] please say "yes."
[4:42] Yes.
[4:43] Against? Thank you. Old
[4:46] questions.
[4:49] Matt's favorite part.
[4:50] Yes, sir.
[4:51] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[4:52] Update on 421 I-94
[4:55] TIP.
[4:56] Earlier this month,
[4:57] we had a meeting with a
[4:58] developer
[4:59] looking at a site
[5:00] that the commissioners may
[5:01] remember, or some of
[5:03] you may still have been in this
[5:04] position. It was, uh, a
[5:05] company from South
[5:06] Bend that was going to
[5:07] build a
[5:08] small warehouse
[5:09] distribution center there.
[5:10] It's about 22 acres
[5:11] right off
[5:13] Kiefer Road. And, uh, we had a
[5:15] meeting with them. Uh, I
[5:15] met with the
[5:16] road service and
[5:17] Mitch. And, uh, they
[5:18] want to do a
[5:19] pretty big
[5:20] project. I think the
[5:21] investment is
[5:22] , Carlton?
[5:25] 13.
[5:25] million, 65 new
[5:27] jobs. Uh, we
[5:29] were discussing the type of
[5:30] structure they
[5:31] want to build here.
[5:32] They, they
[5:33] lean more towards
[5:34] metal
[5:35] structures. It's
[5:36] quite close to a
[5:37] fairly expensive
[5:37] hospital and right next to an
[5:39] intersection. So, like,
[5:40] uh, during
[5:41] the negotiations with Great Lakes
[5:42] Capital, I assume it will be something like
[5:44] that.
[5:45] Hey, look, we
[5:46] probably want this to
[5:47] look a little
[5:48] different than what you
[5:49] guys are planning to
[5:50] do. Uh, in connection
[5:52] with this, they, uh,
[5:52] asked to consider
[5:54] the possibility of
[5:55] tax breaks. Uh,
[5:56] I said, "Sure,
[5:57] let's discuss
[5:58] it." Uh, so they
[6:00] actually filled out
[6:01] and, and, uh, to
[6:02] give this
[6:03] company credit, they
[6:04] filled out the
[6:06] benefits declaration paperwork correctly, which, uh, they
[6:07] must have someone who
[6:08] knows what they're doing. I was
[6:09] shocked. Uh, and
[6:11] they sent it to us.
[6:12] So, we have a very
[6:12] good idea of
[6:13] what they want
[6:14] to do and when they
[6:15] want to do it. Uh
[6:16] , they have a preliminary
[6:17] plan of the site. So, I
[6:22] assume that this
[6:23] project will be at the
[6:24] council meeting,
[6:25] perhaps on the
[6:26] agenda for the 25th,
[6:27] to consider a
[6:28] declaratory
[6:29] resolution regarding this
[6:30] zone; since we
[6:31] separated the TIF, I'm not
[6:33] sure if
[6:34] we need permission
[6:35] from the
[6:36] bondholders, but I'll
[6:37] check with
[6:38] Sender to
[6:38] see if
[6:40] we need to get
[6:41] their consent. Again
[6:46] , this is now a
[6:47] piece of
[6:49] farmland right next to
[6:50] the interchange,
[6:50] located in an area where the
[6:52] county previously
[6:53] invested in
[6:55] sewer and
[6:55] water improvements. So that
[6:57] makes sense. Building
[6:59] water and sewage systems is
[7:00] already possible. They had a
[7:02] pretty tight
[7:03] deadline and
[7:04] wanted to get started
[7:05] . I don't know if
[7:06] they tried to
[7:07] make it this year,
[7:08] but it's a little late
[7:10] for that
[7:10] unless they have
[7:11] projects ready. And I'm
[7:13] not sure they
[7:14] are, but we'll find out.
[7:15] Here's the news regarding
[7:18] 421 and 94.
[7:19] Okay. Do you have any
[7:20] questions for Matt?
[7:22] OK. Update
[7:24] on KIP TIF.
[7:27] The technology park with an
[7:28] overlay
[7:29] zoning area was
[7:30] approved by the planning
[7:31] commission and
[7:32] commissioners. And what does
[7:34] this mean for us? This
[7:39] means that the zone
[7:40] within Kingsbury,
[7:41] category M2 (heavy
[7:42] industry),
[7:43] allows for the construction of
[7:47] digital
[7:48] infrastructure, which
[7:49] means data, energy
[7:50] and batteries, in accordance with the requirements of the zoning overlay. A battery project is currently
[7:57] underway in Kingsbury, near the First Line.
[8:01] They are currently in the
[8:02] design stage and I
[8:03] have met with the
[8:04] planning department before
[8:06] and they have the right to
[8:07] build
[8:08] as this
[8:08] area has already been
[8:10] zoned M2. There will be
[8:15] some activity happening in Kingsbury.
[8:18] In the coming weeks,
[8:19] some contracting
[8:20] companies
[8:21] will conduct
[8:22] due diligence there.
[8:23] So some equipment may appear in Kingsbury
[8:25] ; not that
[8:26] most people
[8:27] know where it is or
[8:28] can see what's
[8:29] inside, but there
[8:30] might be people there.
[8:32] was a lot of discussion
[8:34] about land sales,
[8:35] land transactions,
[8:36] etc. I think the fact that
[8:39] the county
[8:40] has clearly identified where exactly it
[8:41] wants to see
[8:42] digital
[8:43] infrastructure built is very
[8:44] beneficial for the market. It
[8:46] also effectively
[8:47] directs people to the
[8:49] Kingsbury Industrial Park, which
[8:51] I believe
[8:52] was
[8:53] the idea of ​​most
[8:54] people involved in the
[8:55] development from the beginning. We can't do anything about
[8:57] people who don't
[8:58] want something, but there's a better
[8:59] way to do it—to
[9:00] direct
[9:01] investors to where they
[9:02] should be investing.
[9:03] I believe the district has
[9:04] achieved this. Whether
[9:06] anything worthwhile will come of this
[9:07] remains to be seen. The market
[9:10] exists, and we
[9:10] continue to
[9:11] work with
[9:12] any companies that
[9:13] contact us.
[9:17] OK. Have a question?
[9:21] Good. 35,194?
[9:25] Before we
[9:25] go on, you know,
[9:27] we're getting request after
[9:28] request about
[9:29] wildlife in Kingsbury
[9:30] because people think we're
[9:31] involved in that
[9:32] proposed
[9:33] land swap. So
[9:36] if anyone
[9:37] asks you a question,
[9:38] know this: we have nothing to do with
[9:39] it
[9:40] . This is not our
[9:41] land, this is state
[9:42] land, zone eight. We
[9:44] have nothing to do with this
[9:45] .
[9:46] No
[9:47] non-disclosure agreements,
[9:48] no agreements
[9:49] —nothing.
[9:50] Just so you all know
[9:51] .
[9:52] Of course.
[9:52] Yes.
[9:53] I think this is important.
[9:54] Of course. There are
[9:55] no non-disclosure agreements
[9:56] .
[9:56] There are no non-disclosure agreements
[9:57] .
[9:58] Certainly.
[9:58] We do not own or
[9:59] control this
[10:00] territory. It's not that
[10:03] the county hasn't tried
[10:04] to get this land
[10:05] before, because we have
[10:06] . But
[10:08] nothing just
[10:09] happened. And again
[10:12] , there are many requests, but
[10:14] we don't have any agreements
[10:15] . When you do everything
[10:18] right, there really is
[10:19] nothing to hide.
[10:20] This is our position
[10:22] . I
[10:23] completely agree,
[10:24] thanks for the clarification.
[10:25] Okay, now
[10:27] let's move on to 3594.
[10:31] Things aren't going so well for us, for us, for us there.
[10:33] Not as much
[10:34] progress as in other
[10:35] areas.
[10:36] Not as much progress as I would like to
[10:37] see.
[10:39] We need a project of the
[10:41] appropriate
[10:42] scale, as we
[10:43] proposed for that
[10:44] corner, to attract
[10:45] TIF funds and encourage
[10:46] Michigan City to
[10:47] participate financially.
[10:50] Yes.
[10:51] And until that
[10:52] happens, we will be where
[10:54] most communities are:
[10:55] if communications are not brought to the site
[10:57] , people will
[10:58] not go there. So
[11:00] she'll just
[11:01] play around and play
[11:01] around. So,
[11:03] you know, we keep our
[11:04] ears open. I
[11:06] know that...Yes, to be honest
[11:10] , I have nothing
[11:11] . You know, that
[11:13] small
[11:14] hotel owner is starting
[11:15] to realize that the overall
[11:16] cost of
[11:16] maintaining
[11:17] the project is unprofitable.
[11:19] Right.
[11:20] And I think the engineer
[11:21] finally understood
[11:23] why the county's position was to
[11:24] take a holistic
[11:25] approach: to provide
[11:26] enough capacity
[11:28] for the interchange so that
[11:29] not one
[11:31] project could be implemented, but more, and it
[11:32] would pay off. I think
[11:33] they're just now
[11:34] realizing it, but
[11:35] sometimes you have to
[11:36] let the private
[11:37] sector figure it out on its
[11:38] own.
[11:38] I think they've arrived.
[11:40] So that's all I have
[11:41] .
[11:41] Perfectly. So, we have an
[11:43] item in the "New
[11:44] Cases" section. Is there?
[11:47] No.
[11:48] New cases?
[11:49] This was
[11:51] Campion's property.
[11:51] Yes. That...Yes, in a
[11:56] closed meeting
[11:57] we discussed
[11:58] real estate. I
[12:00] will contact the company
[12:01] that made
[12:02] the offer. This gentleman
[12:04] was here today. I
[12:05] explained
[12:06] the situation to him and said that
[12:07] we had ideas, which was
[12:08] entirely permissible under the
[12:09] statute. I just
[12:10] want to make sure
[12:12] everyone knows about it.
[12:13] Yes.
[12:13] This is part of our
[12:15] process for what is allowed for
[12:16] real estate.
[12:17] So, the reconstruction commission
[12:19] went through the
[12:20] proposal submission procedure.
[12:21] No proposal
[12:22] was accepted. This gives
[12:23] you the right to
[12:24] negotiate. Going forward,
[12:25] we have one
[12:26] interested party.
[12:27] We will continue
[12:28] negotiations on
[12:29] this. And when an
[12:32] acceptable
[12:33] solution appears, we will present
[12:35] it to the council
[12:36] at a meeting.
[12:39] Perfectly.
[12:40] OK.
[12:41] Good. Thank you.
[12:42] Do any board members have any questions or
[12:43] comments
[12:46] ? None.
[12:48] Thank you.
[12:49] OK. If there is nothing else
[12:51] ,
[12:52] I propose to adjourn the
[12:54] meeting. I
[12:54] support.
[12:55] The meeting is closed.
[12:57] Those who are "in favor", please
[12:57] vote by
[12:58] saying "yes".
[12:59] Yes.