I hope you are enjoying your summer.
July’s County Council meeting almost acts as a midpoint to the summer and the midpoint of our year of activity on the Council. Halfway through my first term as President of the Council, I would give myself an incomplete.
The agenda was full of activity but much of it was procedural in nature. The main topics included a resolution for the County Courthouse expansion bond, the introduction of the County’s Business of Entertainment, Sport and Tourism (BEST) Capital Fund creation, a resolution for creating a Utility Board to manage the Baker’s Corner project, and the appointment of a Sheridan Library Board member who made their interest known using the County appointee portal.
The first resolution was the County Courthouse expansion, which has been discussed in previous columns. This resolution is due to the size of the project requiring additional procedural hurdles. Currently, we are in a procurement process to select a developer for the project and this resolution doesn’t affect that process. This merely puts in motion the opportunity to petition the public seeking support to allow us to move forward with a bond for the project. The procurement of a developer will allow us to secure options for expanding the existing Courthouse or seeking an annex to support County functions. I am for this project and see us bursting at the seams.
The introduction of the BEST Capital Fund is a necessary step to allow the innkeeper’s tax to grow 3 percent and match cities and regions who we compete with in securing tourism activities. Everyone knows the impact that Grand Park has had on central Indiana, and with other cities spending taxpayer dollars to fund tourism investments, we are becoming a bit co-dependent on these activities. Our restaurants, hotels and businesses continue to thrive and see spikes because of tourism.
Ultimately, we were faced with a decision – do we let taxpayers fund the projects and ongoing maintenance, or do we follow the path that many other communities are using by increasing taxes on visitors?
The legislation that passed through the Statehouse this year allows for us to establish this with the goal of creating a revenue stream that can be distributed to fund tourism-focused capital projects in and around the county. Does this help the county? Sure, but the real focus is to provide revenue sources to aid our cities and towns invest in their communities. I truly believe the County’s thought is that “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
It is imperative that our county, cities, and towns work together; as our borders blur, we must recognize that we are stronger together than we are apart. This has been a long time coming, and had it been in place years ago, the tax burden on Westfield would have been greatly reduced for a tourism investment that every city and town has benefited from.
The second resolution was the creation of a Regional Utility District (“District”) to support the utility that is being created as part of the Baker’s Corner project. We have spoken often about this, but this is truly a huge opportunity for the county and will do more to help support parts of the northern parts of the county so often forgotten.
So why do we need a District? This body will make decisions regarding the financial decisions of the Utility. It does not impact tax dollars and will be authorized to issue revenue bonds to support growth and capital investment. While these decisions could go through Council, the reality is that this model is nearly identical to other utility districts who run the business of the Utility. I can say that this safely removes politics and government from the business of the utility and is good for the people in and around the service area.
Lastly, we filled an appointment to the Sheridan Library Board. As shown on our website, this board has a four-year term that ends in the middle of the year, so it is outside of the norm, but our portal was still used to collect interest from the community.
The decision was made to re-appoint our existing appointee. It was not a hard decision as she was the only one who applied. I say all this because I want to make sure that people keep an eye out for upcoming appointment opportunities, most of which will be voted on prior to the end of the existing term. Please try and have your applications in the portal before our Council’s September budget hearings as I believe we will use this time to discuss some of these opportunities.
The Council appointment portal can be found at tinyurl.com/HamCoApptPortal.
I am extremely proud to support our county and you, the taxpayers. I didn’t know how to feel about getting involved in politics when I decided to run, but it has proven to be very gratifying. I often say that local politics is rarely political and is more about supporting your community. It is important to get new blood in and keep bringing in new ideas. I have three and a half years remaining on Council, and as I contemplate my next steps hoping to move from an “incomplete” to an “A,” I want you to know that I will continue to vote my conscience and always look at what is best for our community, not just my hometown of Westfield.
Thanks for reading my columns, and I hope that these last few weeks of summer are filled with joy and fun. I am blessed to live in this great county and honored to serve you in my capacity.
Ken Alexander represents District 4 on the Hamilton County Council, which includes Adams and Washington townships, and part of Clay Township. He currently serves as the President of the County Council.