Dubois Strong announces new nonprofit for public money

Dubois Strong is creating a new nonprofit called Grow Dubois County to funnel public money to priority projects it identified earlier this year when it requested additional funding from the Dubois County Council.

Dubois Strong requested an additional $180,000 in county economic development funds for 2014. This amount was in addition to the $60,000 already allocated from the county bringing the total for 2014 up to $240,000.

For 2015 and 2016, the organization asked the county to increase funding to $320,000 annually.

Dubois Strong stated the extra money would assist them in paying a new executive director and the group’s new economic initiatives.

According to Alan Johnson, dean of Vincennes University Jasper Campus and president of the Dubois Strong board of directors, the new plan includes three initiatives:

–Grow the county’s population by collaborating with local governments, builders, developers, realtors and planners to create more moderately-priced housing. They will also support enhancements that will attract individuals and families to live here.

–Assist companies that are already here to grown and thrive through proactive outreach by the Dubois Strong leadership. They will also seek new businesses to complement the current businesses.

–Foster an entrepreneurial environment by supporting business startups with Dubois Strong programs, advisers and network resources.

The annual contribution from the county has been $60,000 since the organization was formed, but to assist the organization’s plans moving forward, the council approved injecting an additional $140,000 into their budget this year. According to County Auditor Kathy Hopf, Dubois Strong has not requested the money since it was approved in May.

According to state public open door laws, the funding would likely have moved Dubois Strong into the public eye. If a private organization receives over $200,000 or over 50 percent of their annual budget from public (taxpayer) funds, they are considered a public agency and are subject to public access laws.

At the County Council meeting Monday night, Bill Kaiser, legal counsel for Dubois Strong, informed the council of a new nonprofit organization being created to funnel the money from the county into the announced focus projects. Grow Dubois Strong will be established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit designed to hold money to be used for identified economic projects.

“In this instance, that funding would include the housing study, the entrepreneurial work, and the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program,” Kaiser told the council. “Grow Dubois County will be asking for part of the funding that the council identified for Dubois Strong.”

Dubois Strong pays a portion of the fee for the Purdue University TAP program to be headquartered at the Center for Technology, Innovation and Manufacturing on the VUJC campus.

According to Kaiser, Grow Dubois County will be a transparent organization that will report how the public money is used in its economic development efforts.

The new nonprofit’s board has not been announced yet, but Kaiser stated that the president of Dubois Strong would be a member. “We will ask the council to appoint someone to the board,” Kaiser said. “We would like to see a large business owner, a small business owner, and then someone from workforce development or the training field on the board.”

Kaiser also stated Dubois Strong would be lowering amount they will request from the county’s allocated $140,000 by $10,000 to $15,000 since it took them the majority of the year to appoint a new president.

Kaiser told the council that Dubois Strong may still fall under open door laws in 2015.

Earlier in October, Dubois Strong announced D. Edward Cole would take the helm as president of the organization effective October 20. Cole attended the council meeting Monday night and gave a brief introduction. He explained that the group is moving forward with a housing study for the county and they are waiting on responses to the requests for proposals that have been sent out to consulting groups.

The council gave a consensus for the increased funding for Dubois Strong in 2015 and 2016 but three council seats will change hands after the 2014 election. The allocated amount will be up for approval by these new elected council members.

The Dubois County Council also took the following actions.

–Approved a contract with the Muncie firm Waggoner Irwin Scheele & Associates for $45,000 plus travel expenses to complete a wage study and create job descriptions for county employees. The motion passed 4 to 3 with the nays coming from council members Mark Brescher, Nick Hostetter, and Shane Lindauer.

The three voiced concerns that there was no guarantee the county would use the study after it was completed. During discussion, Brescher asked what the council would do if the study determined that certain positions were being overpaid. “Are you going to lower their wages,” he asked.

According to council president Greg Kendall, he wasn’t willing to make a statement on what the council would do to wages if they were found to be too high or too low. “I can’t speak for this council with the upcoming election and the new members that will be here next year when we could act on the results,” Kendall said. “I think we need to wait.”

–Approved advertising for $71,000 for a renovation to one of the shower and bathroom areas of the Dubois County Corrections Center. The renovation includes adding urinals — there are no stand-up urinals in the building —, drywall to the bathroom ceilings to replace a drop ceiling where participants have been known to hide contraband, low-volume flush toilets, and better drainage for the showers.

–Approved advertising for $25,000 to outfit the refurbished ambulance bay at Huntingburg when it was finished. The city is currently renovating the old gas storage garage to be used as a permanent location for the ambulance service in Huntingburg.