As two RV makers prepare to expand in Middlebury, Ind., the Elkhart County Redevelopment Commission looked at separate plans to extend water lines to support the sites.
This story by Jordan Fouts originally appeared in the Elkhart Truth.
Winnebago and Jayco have both announced plans to expand their operations and Middlebury town officials say they’ll need adequate water for things like fire suppression. On Thursday, the RDC signed an interlocal agreement for installing a water loop along County Road 37 for Jayco and expressed support for a loop along C.R. 14 to serve Winnebago.
Under the interlocal agreement, Middlebury will request a $100,000 appropriation of Middlebury Southeast Tax Increment Finance District funds from the Elkhart County Council this month to cover about a fifth of the project cost. Town Manager Mary Cripe told the RDC in February that a total of $200,000 would be requested from two TIFs and Jayco would cover the rest, with possible reimbursement from city TIFs.
Jayco will fund the first part of the project, which will take the water line from the existing 10-inch main between Buildings 80 and 81 to the west side of C.R. 37, north along the road and then loop back to connect to an existing eight-inch main line that’s currently a dead-end. The town will pay for the next phase of the project, which will build a water main under the southbound lane of C.R. 37 from the driveway along the south side of Building 20 north to U.S. 20.