A $5.8 million dollar city loan will go to a downtown developer of apartments and Sixth and Washington streets in Columbus.

That comes after the approval of Columbus City Council this week and a large number of residents protesting the plan.

Flaherty & Collins plans to build an estimated 50-apartment complex on the small lot beside the Cummins parking garage. The company plans to construct a complex with first floor commercial space and apartments above.

The developer plans to spend about $11 million for the project, but are turning to the city for another $5.8 million in financing to make the project work.

Many residents spoke out against the project over several city meetings, with concerns about why the city is subsidizing a higher-end apartment building, when there is such a need for affordable, low-income housing in the city. The apartments are expected to rent for local market rates, in the neighborhood of $1,300 a month according to the developer.

The forgivable loan funds would come from the city’s tax increment financing district revenue, which comes from the growth in property taxes in the city’s special taxing units.

Columbus City Council gave its final approval to the loan at its meeting this week with a 4-2 vote. Councilmen Tom Dell, Frank Miller, Tim Shuffett and Dave Bush voted in favor. Council members Jerone Wood and Grace Kestler voted against the proposal. Councilwoman Elaine Hilber abstained from the votes because she works for Cummins.

Photo courtesy of Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation.

Columbus city offices will be closed Friday, and Monday for Christmas.

Normal trash routes will be running this Friday. Next week, all curbside trash and recycling collections will be delayed by a day , with Friday, Dec. 29th pickups occurring on Saturday, December 30

Columbus City Utilities offices will also be closed on these days. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service, please call 812-372-8861.

A downtown Columbus development group will be offering grants to help spruce up the faces of downtown commercial buildings.

The non-profit Office of Downtown Development has been approved for a $250,000 grant from Columbus redevelopment funds to offer a program to help stimulate investment, promote historic, cultural, and architectural appreciation, and make improvements to the appearance of buildings in the downtown area.

Commercial buildings in the area between Water and 11th streets and from Chestnut to Lindsey streets will be eligible to apply for the grants. To apply, the property and its owners must be current on their property taxes, not be under any city liens or owe fines to the city, nor can they have any outstanding code violations.

Ike Declue, head of the Office of Downtown Development, said the grants will require a 50/50 match from the business owners. He said that older buildings are expensive to maintain and the grants will help stimulate improvements as well as encourage businesses to locate downtown.

The grants will be limited to about $15,000. Applications will be reviewed by a five-member
Downtown Improvements Grant Program Committee. Several businesses are already lining up to apply for the grants in the new year, said Laura Miller the president of the non profit group’s board.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved the grant Monday.

An architectural firm from Arkansas will design the new tower at the Columbus Municipal Airport.

The airport is announcing that Marlon Blackwell Architects, based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, will design the new 100-foot tower slated for the airport. The design will be in conjunction with the Woolpert engineering firm with offices in Indianapolis and the Federal Aviation Administration. A grant from Cummins Foundation Architecture Program will be used toward the architecture fees for the project.

The new tower will cost an estimated $11.5 million dollars and will replace the airport’s existing 80-year-old tower. The new tower will meet current Federal Aviation Administration standards including those for sighting, backup cooling and power, security, fire and life safety, and FAA equipment.

Marlon Blackwell said that the agency hopes “the new Columbus Municipal Airport Air Traffic Control Tower will become a beacon of Columbus’s architectural and design heritage, that will mark a key gateway into the city.”

Construction is expected to begin in April of 2025 after a year-long design process.

The Bartholomew County courthouse will receive much needed HVAC upgrades and repairs under a proposal approved by the county commissioners this week.

The total project cost will be just under $3.28 million dollars and will include replacing chilling and hot water lines as well as air handling units. The current HVAC system was installed mostly in the 1990s according to county officials and much of it is in bad shape. The courthouse, built in the 1870s, was never designed for modern HVAC.

Dunlap and Co. from Columbus was the low builder with a base bid $3.375 million. The commissioners also approved several alternates including replacing the outdoor flood lights with color-changeable LED lighting and removing and replacing a chandelier that was part of the original building.

After also adopting some cost-saving measures, the total project was reduced by almost $200 thousand dollars. $2 million of the project funding will come from the county general fund, another $1 million from COVID relief funds and the rest from county economic development income tax revenue.

Several area communities are receiving a share of more than half a million dollars from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management through the agency’s Community Recycling Grant Program.

According to agency officials, community recycling grants provide direct investments that make recycling more accessible to Hoosiers. The grants are intended to create successful, cost-effective programs. The grants are available to counties, municipalities, solid waste management districts, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations located in Indiana.

IDEM awarded just over $541,000 to 15 applicants. Locally those included:

• Brown County Solid Waste Management District $8,363
• Johnson County Soil and Water Conservation District $3,000
• Shelby County Recycling District $22,954

The grant funds come from the solid waste management fee, which is 50 cents per ton on waste disposed of at Indiana municipal landfills and incinerators. None of the funding comes from tax dollars.

Outgoing Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and retiring City Engineer David Hayward were recognized last week for their service to the community.

Lienhoop received the the Sagamore of the Wabash honor while Hayward was recognized by Lienhoop with the proclamation of David Hayward Day.

Mayor elect Mary Ferdon presented the award to Lienhoop. saying that “We believe that Mayor Lienhoop has done exemplary work for the City of Columbus and Gov. Holcomb agrees.”

The Sagamore of the Wabash is the highest honor which the Governor of Indiana bestows. The award was created during the term of Governor Ralph Gates, who served from 1945 to 1949. According to the state website, the term “sagamore” was used by the Native American tribes of the northeastern United States to describe a lesser chief among the tribe to whom the chief would look for wisdom and advice.

According to the city, the awards took place at the employee holiday luncheon Friday.

Photo: Mayor Jim Lienhoop, City Engineer David Hayward and Mayor-elect Mary Ferdon. Photo courtesy of City of Columbus

The National Weather Service is warning that you could see some bitterly cold temperatures this morning with wind chills between 6 and 20 degrees across central Indiana.

Forecasters say that it feels like 12 in Greensburg, 14 in Seymour and 15 this morning. They urge you to dress for the cold weather.

You can also expect areas of black ice this morning wherever there was snow yesterday.

Temperatures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are expected to be in the mid 50s, well above normal. And instead of snow in the holiday forecast, there is a good chance of rain.

Two Columbus business organizations believe they have found a new home, after a $400 thousand dollar grant from the city was approved yesterday.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation are planning to refurbish and move into a building at the corner of Franklin and Third Streets, next door to the Crump Theater and across the street from the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building.

Until last December, the two agencies had been housed at the corner of Fifth and Washington Streets for many years. That’s when the neighboring buildings burned down in a weekend fire. Their building and its contents suffered fire, smoke and water damage making it unusable.

The groups have formed a non profit organization called the Bartholomew Economic Growth LLC for this venture. The organization asked for help from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission for the project at the new location, which has a total pricetag of about $1.4 million dollars. That includes $555 thousand to purchase the building, more than $600 thousand in renovations and improvements and nearly $175 thousand in other expenses including furniture.

Cindy Frey, president of the Chamber explains

The group hopes to close on the property early next year. In addition to the basic renovations to the existing building, the group is working with the LAA Office of designers to revamp the building. The plan is to turn it into an illuminated metal structure almost like a lantern. However, additional funding will have to be found for that part of the project.

Cindy Frey:

The redevelopment commission approved the grant request Monday afternoon. The money would come from the city’s tax increment financing district revenue, which comes from the growth in property taxes in the city’s special taxing units.

Photo: Concept rendering of Bartholomew Economic Growth LLC headquarters by the LAA Offices.