City, county leaders talk Regional Cities Initiative plan

March 29, 2016

City, county leaders talk Regional Cities Initiative plan

Krista Miller | NBC33

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (NBC33) - A week after Governor Mike Pence signed the Regional Cities bill into law, the two fiscal bodies for the Fort Wayne, Allen County community are asking "What now?"

As weve reported, $42 million is coming to the area to help fund various public projects.

That's certainly no small amount of money, but it is divided among the 11 counties that make up the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, smaller pieces of a larger pie.

Tuesday night, Fort Wayne City Council and Allen County Council members heard from the Regional Development authority to learn about the next steps in turning the money into something we can see.

"Dozens and dozens of projects were part of the application and were celebrated with the award. But we're hearing that only a few of the projects are going to be selected, so going forward, how do we as a community obtain as much of that funding as possible, knowing that only a few of those projects will actually be funded," said City Councilman Russ Jehl.

"I think that can be an absolutely awesome thing. Obviously, there needs to be great oversight over those projects, and if that's in place, I think that will be great for the community in the long-haul," offered Leo-Cedarville resident John Eastes.

Leaders with the Regional Development Authority tell us they plan to have these same meetings in the ten other counties that make up the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.

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