Wayne County government continues to invest taxpayer dollars in bolstering water capacity to serve current employers and tempt new ones to locate here. On Nov. 25, the county’s Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved contributing $1 million toward construction of a new Gateway Industrial Park water tower.
The planned water tower will store a million gallons, complementing the existing water tower’s 400,000 gallons. The 1.4 million total would then exceed a state regulation requiring water storage to meet the industrial park’s 777,000-gallon daily water use. The $7.6 million tower also leaves room for the industrial park near Cambridge City to develop about 80 acres that remain unused.
After receiving a $2.8 million grant for the project, Cambridge City proposed $600,000 contributions from the town, the consolidated economic development income tax fund, the county EDIT fund and the Redevelopment Commission. During the Redevelopment Commission’s Nov. 25 meeting, Wayne County Commissioner Jeff Plasterer suggested the Redevelopment Commission boost its contribution to $1 million, so county EDIT could contribute just $200,000.
Plasterer noted that Redevelopment Commission money may not be spent outside the industrial park redevelopment area, while county EDIT funds have a variety of uses. While the total contribution between county EDIT and the Redevelopment Commission remains $1.2 million, the county retains more flexibility in spending the $400,000 saved in county EDIT money.
County commissioners and council members heard the Cambridge City proposal during a Nov. 19 workshop session; however, no decisions were made about the consolidated EDIT or county EDIT contributions. Cambridge City would bond the remaining $2.4 million and pay the annual debt service by raising water rates paid by industrial park tenants and water customers at the Interstate 70 and Indiana 1 interchange.
Sugar Creek Packing Co. would bear the brunt of the increased water rates as the industrial park’s largest water user. Cash contributions reducing the bond amount from $4.8 million to $2.4 million would lessen Sugar Creek’s burden.
The Redevelopment Commission also unanimously approved a 2026 spending plan that’s required by the state. The plan budgets $1,882,000, including the $1 million for the water tower and $800,000 for debt service. Plasterer called the plan “doable.”
The Redevelopment Commission has paid all of its 2025 bond payments, leaving $1,050,000 in its fund before receiving its fall property tax allotment.
A version of this article appeared in the December 3 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.