Local residents received an update Friday on government happenings during a Crawfordsville/Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce sponsored luncheon.
Attendees heard from Montgomery County Councilman Jake Bohlander, Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Guard, Crawfordsville City Councilman Andy Biddle and Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton.
All four officeholders presented information on recently completed projects as well as what is in store for the future as they try to improve Montgomery County and the city of Crawfordsville.
Guard reported commissioners and the county council have been working on a plan to allocate more funds to the highway department. He said that due to the current economy, the cost to maintain the county’s 500 miles of paved roads and 300 miles of gravel roads continues to rise.
The Tempur Sealy project and two major expansions by Nucor Steel continue to move forward.
Guard said the county continues to pursue a state grant for a bridge over U.S. 136 East at Nucor Road. The overpass is projected to have a price tag of $25 million.
The county has $1.7 million remaining in its allocation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The money must be spent by 2025. The initial amount received from the federal government was $7.46 million. Funds have been used for the Tempur Sealy project and other projects, Bohlander said.
Bohlander reported the council has been working on the 2024 budget. He said 25% of the budget will go to the justice system and 24% will go to the highway department.
Barton said the city’s 2024 budget has an increase of 6.5% over the 2023 budget. The mayor said part of the increase is due to the economy and because city employees are getting a 3% pay raise in 2024. Barton said the city continues to lose good employees because they can go elsewhere and make more money.
After seeing a growth in assessment evaluations of $80 million in 2023, Barton anticipates the growth will be $30 million in 2024. He reminded attendees that a growth in evaluations spreads the tax burden over a broader segment.
Barton expects to make an announcement soon on two new projects at the Crawfordsville Industrial Park. The mayor said the two projects will bring the industrial park to capacity.
Barton said the ongoing expansion of the Purple Heart Parkway will mean more housing and commercial business on the south side of the city. The expansion is a joint collaboration between the city and county and Barton said the cooperation has been good between the two government entities.
The road project located on Wabash Avenue is expected to be completed in three to four weeks. Barton thanked the community for showing patience since problems early in construction took more time than anticipated to complete the road work.
The mayor also reported the grant application to build an overpass over the Market Street train tracks is still active. He hopes the latest grant application will find favor with the state.
Barton feels good about the expansion of the retail segment of the city. He did say if you read something on social media about new stores entering the Crawfordsville market are not true. However, the mayor expects to see new retailers within two years and that a new grocery store is high on his list.
