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The CEDIT budget of the city of Bluffton could be getting a workout in 2009. Among the items:
• $58,000 for the Bluffton Food Speciality Incubator/Test Kitchen.
• $25,000 for a culinary arts project proposed by the Bluffton-Harrison schools.
• $100,000 for the interurban trail.
• $500,000 for Adams Street.
• $50,000 for downtown street lights.
• $10,000 for downtown facade grants.
• $40,000 to the Chamber of Commerce to support economic development efforts.
Bluffton Common Council members didn’t vote on the County Economic Development Income Tax budget Tuesday night during a 2.5-hour-long meeting, but they did spend a lot of time considering it. They also heard from two prominent individuals supporting the more tasty items — Karl LaPan of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, whose group is helping the city put together the incubator project, and Dr. Julie Wood, superintendent of the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District, on her district’s joint venture with Ivy Tech on culinary arts.
LaPan went later in the meeting, submitting a request for $58,000. The NIIC will add $15,000 plus mileage and will cover time and effort costs to get the project off the ground.
LaPan stressed the need for a long-term commitment and patience as the incubator program moves forward.
“With any incubator — food, software, high-tech, low-tech — you have to realize that these are community development engines, not profit machines,” he told council members. “It does take public sector revenues to bridge the gap.”
He also said very few business incubators become sustainable within five years. He repeated a quote: “If this was quick, we would call it a microwave, not an incubator.”
The idea of the business incubator for food processing was presented during a series of public meetings earlier this summer. The idea is to take advantage of the four food producers in Wells County and encourage entrepreneurs.
LaPan also presented printouts of Web surveys taken after those public meetings, showing no opposition to the ideas presented. However, only 22 people went online to fill out the survey.
In response to a question from council member Bette Erxleben, LaPan said there was no timetable for taking the next step. He said, however, that NIIC was ready to get to work on the project after the first of the year.
“We’re going to do it when it’s right for you,” he said.
Dr. Wood was the first individual to address the council Tuesday night. She said the home economics area at the Bluffton Middle School will be made available to Ivy Tech — and that the fledgling culinary arts program already has 32 students — half from Wells County, half from other nearby school systems — signed up with it begins with the second semester.
The school district has some of the items needed to start the program, but some items — sub-zero refrigerators, ovens, flooring — are beyond the scope of what the school system can provide.
Ivy Tech made some items available when it closed down its program at the Fort Wayne state hospital. That allows the program to get started.
If the city can help with funding for the program, Wood said, “I will happily open up the middle school building at night so people in the community, other than just students, can take these courses.”
When the program is intact, she said, a student can take the culinary arts classes during his or her junior and senior years and graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in food preparation.
Mayor Ted Ellis went through the other programs. Some of the projects may be put into the budget, but the money may not be spent on them, he said.
Under the terms of the city’s economic development agreement with the Chamber of Commerce, Ellis said, the city gives 10 percent of its CEDIT income to the chamber. Since the first installment this year was about $200,000, he said, it was reasonable to think that the take for next year would be $400,000 for the year.
The spending plan also takes into account that the CEDIT fund has built up over the years. “We’ve been very frugal with out CEDIT dollars,” Ellis said.
The CEDIT plan for 2009 will come back before the council at a later date.
by DAVE SCHULTZ
daves@news-banner.com
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