A project to connect a Winnebago factory to the town water supply passed the final hurdle this week at the Middlebury Town Council meeting in Indiana.
This story by Dani Messick originally appeared in The Elkhart Truth.
The town agreed to borrow money from the Local Major Moves Construction Fund to pay for what’s called the Winnebago Water Main Loop project.
The project, which is meant to provide adequate fire protection for a $12.2 million factory expansion, is expected to cost about $344,900.
“We need to boost up the fire flow volume for their suppression systems,” Town Manager Mary Cripe said. Prior to the loop, the systems ran at about 600 to 700 gallons per minute and will increase to around 1,700 gallons per minute.
Winnebago has agreed to pay back 50 percent of the project cost over five years, Cripe said, and Elkhart County Redevelopment Commission has agreed to use money from the Middlebury East TIF District, owned by the county, to repay the other 50 percent back to the town.
Winnebago’s expansion was planned in two phases, starting with a combined 180,000 square feet of new space in the form of a new manufacturing and assembly building and a new lamination building. Phase 2 would include another two buildings for manufacturing and customer service and an expansion of the lamination space.
The expansion was said to be worth about $10 million in real estate, $1.2 million in machinery and $16.8 million in payroll for 225 new jobs.
