Major step for wellness center project yields important dates

Thursday, November 3, 2022

By ERIC BERNSEE, Editor Emeritus

Courtesy photo

Not only did passage of an additional appropriations resolution on the proposed Greencastle Wellness Center -- aka, community center/YMCA -- elicit a round of applause, it set forth a number of bond issue details and a timeline for the project.

With the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2022-4 upon a motion from Gary Lemon and a second from Gwen Morris, the room burst into applause in response to moving forward with a project that has been a community target for nearly 40 years.

That allowed Mayor Bill Dory to announce a tentative date of March 2, 2023 for groundbreaking at the 73-acre site on the south side of State Road 240, east of the Walmart superstore, that the city purchased from the Ballard family for the project.

Going along with that, Dory listed a construction completion date of May 31, 2024.

The Greencastle Redevelopment Commission conducted a public hearing on use of tax increment revenue bonds for the $28,866,159 project at City Hall Tuesday evening.

The lone person making a comment was Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Executive Director Kristin Clary, who addressed the impact of the facility on the community.

Clary said the Development Center’s focus is on “planned, smart growth,” and the community center fits in well with that idea.

She called it “a great amenity for the workforce” and another thing that can help attract employees to live and work here.

With the resolution passed and wheels in motion to close on the bond sale on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with Horizon Bank of Lafayette, Mayor Dory announced that the proposed fixed rate from Horizon will be 4.7 percent over 17 years on the $14,160,00 bond.

Sources of funds will also include cash on hand of $14 million in TIF funds accumulated through tax increases accompanying industrial development in the TIF district.

Dory also thanked the local banks who submitted proposals but said the Horizon proposal was the best one.

Construction of the YMCA and medical office building to be occupied by Putnam County Hospital factors to 59,725 square feet for the YMCA and its three gymnasiums and 11,270 square feet for the medical portion of the facility.

The hospital will be paying an annual lease of $260,394 on 20 years of the principal only.

Board members Erika Gilmore, Lottie Barcus and Brian Cox joined Lemon and Morris in passing the resolution that approves the issuance of bonds payable from tax increment financing in an amount not to exceed $17.5 million in order to procure funds for the project, funding a debt service reserve and costs associated with issuance of the bonds.

The Greencastle Redevelopment Commission will next meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at City Hall.

Comments

View 4 comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Over the last few years the subject of this proposed "YMCA" has been discussed with mixed feelings. I don't know know on what side a majority falls but so many have voiced less then favorable support for this project. The price continues to skyrocket and yet the elected officials are not listening. When tax dollar are going to a major project such as this many neighboring communities actually put the question on the ballot for a clear answer of yes or no. I myself do not support tax increases for a YMCA { TIF=

TIF allows local governments to invest in public infrastructure and other improvements up-front. Local governments can then pay later for those investments. They can do so by capturing the future anticipated increase in tax revenues generated by the project} - I may be wrong but I firmly believe the YMCA will only benefit a small number of Putnam County residents. Are our elected officials afraid to put this to a Putnam County vote?

-- Posted by anotherPointer on Fri, Nov 4, 2022, at 3:45 PM
Anyone with such concerns should attend the public meetings and voice them, as is your right.

-- Posted by techphcy on Sat, Nov 5, 2022, at 5:49 PM
I second techphcy’s comment. I for one am glad this thing seems to be finally happening!

-- Posted by flubnik on Sun, Nov 6, 2022, at 4:24 PM
Putnam County hospital's "wellness center" will be billing you the "hospital rate" for service, which is multiple times more expensive than a private practice physician or other outpatient service. That's why they've been buying all the doctor's offices, so they can bill you and your insurance a whole lot more than normal for the same services. This is what's causing your insurance premium to go up and having to pay a ridiculous out-of-pocket amount for healthcare.

-- Posted by Raker on Sun, Nov 6, 2022, at 5:44 PM

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register