The Vigo County Council approved the expenditure of American Rescue Plan Act funding for a variety of projects Tuesday, the largest being $1 million for Chances and Services for Youth’s (CASY) proposed childcare facility on the city’s northeast side.
Brandon Halleck, CASY’s chief operating officer, is hoping to covert 50,000 square feet of warehouse space at 2001 N. Hunt Rd. into a childcare facility. Childcare is at a premium in the area, and this service would be able to assist 192 children in its first phase and an additional 96 in its second. The goal is reach the Quality Level 4 designation, a childcare facility’s highest ranking.
The council approved the appropriation, 5-1, with Aaron Loudermilk absent and David Thompson voting no.
Thompson said he’d discussed the matter with Halleck. His issue was that grants had been established to pay the facility’s roughly 50 employees for the first couple of years, but where those funds would come from after that remained a question.
Having the county’s budget potentially expand that much that suddenly could prove problematic, the councilman said.
Nonetheless, Halleck said he was “pretty excited” that the county gave CASY the requested money, because it meant he could begin fundraising in earnest for the project, the entire budget for which is an estimated $6.8 million.
“For me, it wasn’t a question of ‘Can we do this?’” Halleck told the Tribune-Star last week. “It was more ‘How can we not do this?’
Halleck added that he had already requested around $7 million in various grants, but knows not every ask will be accommodated.
Other appropriations
Thompson also was the lone “no” vote for another appropriation concerning the food pantry Manna from Seven. The nonprofit requested $50,000 to help it purchase a $150,000 refrigerated truck that would allow volunteers to pick up food in Indianapolis and make additional food runs and deliveries.
The councilman’s concern here was that Manna from Seven gives food away well outside the community, sometimes as far away as Effingham, Illinois.
The Vigo County Parks Department received $300,000 from both ARPA and EDIT funds to construct a building for visitors to relax and buy gear at the Griffin Bike Park.
The council awarded the Vigo County Juvenile Center $400,000 to add a sally port that will provide additional security on one side of the building. The $400,000 included $20,000 for additional counseling and programming at the center.
The Vigo County Fairgrounds received $75,000 to rebuild its dilapidated water system, which has been responsible for hefty leaks and sewage bills.
Also the the Vigo County Courthouse was granted $50,000 to renovate an area that will contain two holding cells for suspects during trials.
Two appropriations involving the Honey Creek Fire Protection District were approved without the use of ARPA money. One was for $50,000 to pay for a study to find out what can be done to update its 50-year-old firehouse, which it has significantly outgrown.
Honey Creek also received $25,000 to supplement money from the Terre Haute Department of Redevelopment to hire an additional three firefighters.
The meeting took place at City Hall because the council’s space in the Vigo County Annex has been given over to early primary voting.
