Indiana American Water has signed a long-awaited deal to extend water lines to the Nucor Road corridor, laying the groundwork for new expansion on the county’s east side.
The agreement, approved Tuesday by the Montgomery County Commissioners, allows construction to begin on the project’s first phase linking the company’s State Road 32 East plant to Nucor Road. That segment is expected to be in place next spring.
Future phases, which are not part of the contract, would extend the line along Nucor Road as far south as C.R. 600S.
“It’s something that’s really needed to help move our economic development forward,” said Ron Dickerson, president of the Montgomery County Redevelopment Commission, which was slated to give final approval to the agreement Tuesday evening.
As part of the deal, the company will fund the project in exchange for a property tax exemption. The company agreed to reimburse $200,000 to the redevelopment commission for preliminary engineering work, “which was an important part of the negotiations,” county attorney Dan Taylor said.
Commissioners designated an area from Overcoat Road to C.R. 600S between C.R. 200E and 625E where water service could be extended.
Dickerson said the contract includes an “aggressive” timetable to complete the first phase.
“If we waited until a company came and said, ‘how long is it to get water?’ and we started right then, it would be literally years,” Dickerson said.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved a request from county engineer Jim Peck to begin engineering work for improvements to Jim Davis Bridge and the C.R. 500N bridge in Darlington.
• Approved a contract with DLZ Corp. for accessibility improvements to the Thomas K. Milligan Justice Center.
• Opened bids for Memorial Drive buffer trees from Lafayette-based Bellinger’s Professional Ground Maintenance for $54,540, Crawfordsville-based Yund Outdoor for $35,893.04 and Crawfordsville-based ProGreen Garden Center for $38,050. The bids were taken under advisement.
The next meeting is 8 a.m. Nov. 25 at the Montgomery County Courthouse.
