Winona Lake Town Manager Craig Allebach speaks with Warsaw Community Schools’ Board about a proposed residential TIF district. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WINONA LAKE — Winona Lake Town Manager Craig Allebach, alongside several legal representatives, talked about a residential TIF resolution with the Warsaw Community School Board of Trustees during a meeting on Monday, Oct. 26.

Essentially, the town of Winona Lake hopes to replicate a residential TIF plan with WCS similar to one that the city of Warsaw established with the school district about a year ago.

Winona Lake’s Redevelopment Commission approved a resolution to create a residential TIF district during an Oct. 7 meeting. Warsaw Community Schools is one of the parties the redevelopment commission has to bring the resolution to for approval since Jefferson Elementary School is inside the proposed district.

The proposal follows a new law that allows taxing units to create tax increment finance (TIF) districts to help boost residential development. Establishing TIF districts would allow the city to capture new property tax revenue and use it to provide infrastructure for residential development.

The Raccoon Run and Stonehenge Golf Course areas are also included in the proposed district.

“We’re willing to work with you to create a collaboration and move our community forward; Jefferson is a big part of that,” said Allebach. “A lot of people want to live in Winona Lake. A recent housing study said people want to be here, but we have a housing shortage. Not only do they want to be in Kosciusko County, they want to be in Winona Lake.”

Allebach also noted the town’s greenway expansion and upcoming ice rink addition as incentives for bringing people to the area.

WCS Board President Heather Reichenbach asked Allebach and Todd Samuelson, Baker Tilly, about the need for the school board’s approval of a residential TIF proposal.

Samuelson said statute requires the school board’s approval.

“The logic there is that development of residential homes hopefully comes with students that need to be educated,” said Samuelson.

The school board will be voting on the TIF district proposal at the November work session.

WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert also gave a brief update on the school corporation’s COVID-19 situation during the meeting. He noted that there has been no community transmission of COVID-19 within any of the school buildings and that the school corporation’s primary goal is to safely stay open.

“We all understand how tired we are and how much we want some normalcy back in our lives,” said Hoffert. “But at the same time, we want to encourage that to be able to do this safely inside of our schools, we need everybody’s help.”

Hoffert also said if COVID-19 numbers within the local community continue to rise, he foresees some changes coming within the school’s response to the pandemic.

One of the school’s biggest needs currently due to the pandemic is more support staff and substitute teachers.

“Nationwide, there is a sub shortage,” said Hoffert. “We understand that these challenges are still here, but we also have a lot to celebrate. We are still open and serving our community.”

In other business, the school board also approved its 2021 budget. The budget totals $83,016,176, with $45.7 million in the education fund and $1.7 million in the rainy day fund.

The board’s next work session is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the school corporation’s central office. Warsaw Schools’ next regular board meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at Leesburg Elementary School.