Wayne County’s new land bank selected its board and committee leaders to oversee home acquisitions while preparing to hire a part-time employee.
The land bank’s board met Tuesday, July 7, at Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County’s office.
The land bank’s goal is to acquire, stabilize and secure blighted residential properties in hopes of increasing home ownership. EDC wants to collaborate with the land bank to hold the properties until developers can be found to renovate them into single-family homes.
Through detailed project agreements, the land bank can hold developers accountable if no annual reports are submitted and no improvements are made. It can pull back properties without having to go through lengthy legal channels.
The seven-member board includes a mix of stakeholder appointments.
The land bank board’s appointment is Alex Dickman, owner of A.M. Dickman Properties and a certified residential real estate appraiser and licensed real estate broker.
Wayne County commissioners appointed Steve Higinbotham, county administrator, while Wayne County Council appointed Kyle Clark, Wayne Bank’s senior vice president and chief lending officer.
Richmond Mayor Ron Oler appointed himself. EDC appointed Sarah Mitchell, its economic development manager.
Richmond Common Council selected councilor Gary Turner and Cambridge City’s council approved Brent Brinkley, who works in the funeral industry.
During the meeting, the new board selected Oler as chair, Mitchell as vice chair, Turner as secretary and Clark as treasurer. Oler, Mitchell and Clark will serve on the executive/governance and finance committee.
Higinbotham will serve as marketing/community engagement committee chair, assisted by Brinkley and EDC President Valerie Shaffer as a community member.
Turner will chair the acquisition and disposition committee with assistance from Mitchell and Dickman.
EDC is overseeing the land bank’s creation in partnership with the Indianapolis-based Intend Indiana organization.
While the land bank’s formation was being finalized, EDC entered into a purchase option last October with Richard and Kathleen Anderson’s K & R Hoosier Investments LLC to buy 16 properties totaling 22 housing units in Richmond’s northside Starr neighborhood.
In December, the board exercised the option to buy the first three vacant homes — 221 N. 12th St., 1200 N. A St. and 205 N. 13th St. They were purchased for $40,000, $60,000 and $40,000, respectively, plus closing costs.
The land bank plans to buy seven more this year and six next year. Those addresses are: 229 N. 10th St., 225 N. 10th St, 115 N. 12th, 117 N. 12th, 303 N. 10th, 222 N. 12th, 218 N. 12th, 214 N. 12th, 121 N. 12th, 223 N. 13th, 219 N. 13th, 222 N. 13th and 218 N. 13th, for a total of $990,000.
No tenants are being removed before their leases expire, Mitchell said.
Funds toward the project are coming from Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative 2.0, supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. Wayne County and the City of Richmond have each contributed $60,000; EDC gave $100,000; and Cambridge City contributed $5,000.
Joe Fillenwarth, land bank manager for Intend Indiana, is helping Wayne County’s board get started. He previously worked for Muncie’s land bank.
“It’s going to make a huge impact,” Fillenwarth said, citing other area efforts that are seeing results.
During the meeting, Wayne County’s land bank board approved bylaws, opening a bank account and other formative matters.
Members also reviewed a potential job description for a part-time director. However, they agreed more budget information is needed to determine the employee’s weekly hours before posting the position.
Oler offered available office space in Richmond Municipal Building for what could be a hybrid position.
The board agreed to meet at 1 p.m. the first Thursday each month at EDC’s office, 900 N. E St. Richmond. The public is invited.
Despite the similar name, the land bank is separate from the Wayne County Land Trust formed by Wayne County Foundation in May 2025. That effort is focused on acquiring, restoring and revitalizing several Richmond downtown and depot district commercial buildings with private funds for mixed-use purposes such as housing and retail spaces.
A version of this article appeared in the July 15 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
