Business plans 30 jobs, $17M investment

An existing local business is moving forward with a $17 million investment that will create 30 new jobs, and a longtime factory site could have a new tenant. 

At Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County’s Aug. 5 board meeting, President Valerie Shaffer said staff have been meeting with several existing businesses about retention/expansion projects. 

Although Project Lightning’s identity remains confidential, more details will be revealed after an Economic Development Income Tax grant request is presented.

Other developments: 

• There’s new interest in the former Dana foundry at 2153 Williamsburg Pike owned by the City of Richmond. City officials are negotiating with an unidentified company and asked EDC to lease the land and sublease it to the third party. The board agreed Shaffer can handle the transaction. Richmond receives the sublease’s net proceeds. 
• In July, EDC staff provided tours of Midwest Industrial Park for representatives of Project Route, a manufacturer seeking 20 acres with rail access. They’d considered the Richmond park for about a year before contacting EDC. 

In other business

• EDC has reviewed and approved 44 properties as part of a new countywide blight elimination program. The board approved a contract with Heartland Environmental Associates for asbestos building inspections at a discounted rate ($700/property for 40 properties). Sarah Mitchell said Heartland helped EDC with Midwest Industrial Park’s demolition process. She said it would be difficult for small towns to arrange for their own asbestos assessments. Consolidated EDIT funds will pay for the study. Any hazards identified would be removed with blight funding. Board treasurer Jim King called it “an excellent opportunity.”    
• Wayne County’s 55 applications for $2 million in downtown improvement funds are being reviewed. Wayne County might seek more funds for those improvements from the region’s $35 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 2.0. A committee is ranking the county’s top five priorities to advance for regional consideration. 
• The board reviewed a proposed 2025 budget ($802,973.50) that Shaffer presented Aug. 7 to Wayne County officials. It recommends an approximately $27,000 increase (3.5%), mostly for personnel/payroll taxes, higher rent and promoting newly refreshed Home in Wayne recruitment efforts. EDC returns unspent funds to the county. 
• EDC is working with Earlham College and the City of Richmond on a potential agreement for grant dollars to flow through EDC to a potential downtown Richmond developer as part of Earlham’s $25 million Lilly Endowment grant for community improvements. A developer is considering adding 120 apartments. Shaffer said it’s “quite a complex process.”
• EDC seeks reimbursement from Ball State University for its new program to recruit and train local child care providers. The first cohort offered with help from Eastern Indiana Works, Reid Health and others has ended. It offered background checks, first aid/CPR training and other required lessons. Six of the seven who passed are joining a new Hagerstown day care. Employers say availability of quality childcare has been a hiring barrier. The second training is in September.  
• Five farmers attended a prebid meeting discussing leasing of industrial park ground. Bids are due in late August.