TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Back in 2021, Vigo County received over $20 million in federal funding tied to the pandemic.
On Tuesday, they approved over $5 million in spending on nearly a dozen projects– a big step in finalizing the spending of all those dollars.
It comes after the council changed the process on how it picked requests, according to councilmember Marie Theisz.
“One of the things that we did, we decided as a council at the end of the year to make a committee that included commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard and two of our councilmembers working together,” she said. “I think they put a great list, it was very easy to for us to support.”
The projects are listed below, from the largest amount to the smallest:
- Culverts and drains- $2,104,000
- Bridge improvement- $1,500,000
- Recreational trails- $971,189
- Vehicles- $241,000
- VCSC Mental health program- $150,000
- Courthouse dome- $128,000
- Vigo Rural Water- $60,000
- Historical society- $49,500
- Paving- $30,000
- Tiny homes- $15,000
- Building repair- $10,000
Vigo County Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard said he thinks this new committee helped speed things up.
“We got things passed much quicker because we came to an agreement on something we could talk about and ask questions about, things like that,” he said. “I think, if we wouldn’t have done that, what we passed tonight probably would’ve taken three months.”
As for what’s next, Clinkenbeard said local officials still had to figure out exactly how much was left– before moving ahead with selecting the final requests.
“Now that we know what passed tonight, we will be working with Baker Tilly to see what we have” he said. “We’ve already scheduled a meeting for next week with our joint committee and we’ll put some other requests in the next couple of months.”
