County council agrees to support Regional Wellness Center
At Monday’s regular meeting, the Dubois County Council approved supporting the Regional Wellness Center being developed in Jasper.
The Regional Wellness Center is a planned project involving a partnership between the City of Jasper, the Tri-County YMCA, the Indiana National Guard, and Memorial Hospital to create an indoor sports and recreation facility connected to the existing National Guard Armory on Bartley Street.
The estimated $37 million project will create a 91,000 sq. ft. facility with an 8,000 square foot fitness center, four full-court gymnasiums, 14,000 square foot indoor aquatic center, an indoor elevated walking track, four group exercise studios, and five community rooms including a community kitchen.
Resident Adrian Engelberth spoke to the council about making decisions that support economic and population growth.
Pointing to economic development, Engelberth noted the best investment is into initiatives that support quality of life. “The hard and fast data is a six- to one-dollar return on investment,” he said.
Following that line, Engelberth reported the data indicates investing in schools has the greatest impact on growth. That is followed by public safety second, infrastructure third and then parks and recreation.
Engelberth indicated his goal was to advise the council to take a data-driven approach to economic development and spending public funds.
Mike Steffe, executive director of the Tri-County YMCA, also spoke to the council regarding their support for the Regional Wellness Center. “This Regional Wellness Center is going to be a great point for attracting people back,” he said, with a nod to Engelberth’s data.
Councilman Alex Hohl stated that the fastest growing county in the state is Hamilton County. “They have no shortage of parks, community centers,” he said. “I think if you asked the Hamilton County Council if they regretted building Grand Park (Sports Campus), I think the answer would be no.”
Grand Park Sports Campus is a 41-acre sports campus in Westfield, Ind., that was largely built using public funding and tax increment finance funds.
“He (Engelberth) had a valid point with what people look for in communities; I think we’ve checked them off,” Hohl added, pointing to the quality of the schools in Dubois County.
Tammy Miller, Clerk-Treasurer for the Town of Ferdinand, stated she was surprised the council was considering helping fund the Regional Wellness Center in light of the potential impact it could have on other businesses and the questions about membership for the new facility that haven’t been answered.
“What about the businesses with fitness centers? They risk their own money to build a business; now, they are going to be competing with something that is being funded with county dollars,” she said.
She stated the Town of Ferdinand only receives about a million dollars in property taxes annually for funding the city operations. “I would just highly caution you funding that because we have a lot of needs, too,” Miller said. “Our parks, which are free, the paving needs done … the trail at 18th Street Park needs paved; we don’t have a sprinkler pad; we don’t have a pool between the high school, the town and the Y.”
“That is a sore point,” Miller added in reference to the Tri-County YMCA’s position on bringing a pool to Ferdinand.
Councilman Daryl Schmitt told her the council didn’t initiate the project; they were approached to support it for the impact it could have on the entire county.
“It is something that is going to affect the biggest majority of people in the county,” he said.
Mayor Dean Vonderheide told the council the Regional Wellness Center was important for the future of the county. “I understand what he (Engelberth) is saying,” he told the council. “That’s why the emphasis has been on attracting talent to this area so that we can continue to keep our businesses healthy and keep our economy strong.”
In considering providing funding for the project, the council walked through its decision-making process.
Councilman Schmitt stated he supported the project based on the state’s initiatives for improving public health in light of Indiana’s poor health ranking and that the funding could be provided without raising taxes.
“If this continues to draw people back into the county. If this allows us to keep another corporation that doesn’t decide to move from the county,” he postulated. “Ultimately, the side benefits are economic benefits.”
Councilman Ryan Craig echoed Schmitt’s statement. “We have to look at this as a gift for wellness and the fact that something is going to be built,” he said. “From the county standpoint, what we are giving is fair.”
Councilwoman Sonya Haas said that in researching the issue, she had heard a lot of negative from residents. She said inflation is a big issue for everyone and that even though she thought the YMCA would be a good thing, she didn’t think she could support giving tax dollars to the project based on the economy right now.
Councilwoman Meredith Voegerl stated she had received many negative responses towards the project, but she had also heard support for the project from her constituents as well. “I keep coming back to the region and supporting everything as a region,” she said. “With the amenities involving healthcare — having been involved in healthcare my entire career — it seems counterintuitive to me and what I know best to not support that in some fashion.”
She said the inclusiveness and multigeneration aspect of the Regional Wellness Center was important to her consideration. “In working towards a healthier county, I absolutely think we need to have something that supports all ages,” Voegerl said.
Councilwoman Voegerl also stated that as a former business owner, she could appreciate the potential impact the Regional Wellness Center could have on other fitness-based businesses. However, she stated that while the broad scope of the YMCA’s programming would impact a lot of people, it likely wouldn’t hurt these other businesses that provide more niche fitness options.
She commended Engelberth for his comments and said she took them into consideration in making her decision to support the project.
In explaining he supported it, Councilman Hohl agreed with Voegerl’s statement regarding the potential impact on other fitness businesses.
People want year-round activity, and we need a healthier population, Hohl said.
Councilman Doug Uebelhor said that by the county showing it supports the Regional Wellness Center it will help the project receive better consideration for larger grants, additional private donations and funding through state programs.
Councilman Mike Kluesner said he was concerned with it being too early for the county to commit to the project. “Personally, I think we are in the first innings of this thing (Regional Wellness Center),” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
He explained that the council would have to consider how to pay for the regional sewer district in Haysville in the near future. “We’ve got E. coli running in the White River that we have to figure out how to stop, or IDEM is threatening that they’re going to shut any new development up in that area,” Kluesner said. “That is a priority in health and wellness. Somebody has that running in their backyard.”
The Regional Sewer District is being designed and engineered now, with plans for it to go to bid in early 2024. Money from the America Rescue Plan Act has been allocated to help fund the project, and those funds must be used by 2025.
He asked the council to wait until the 2025 budget to consider contributing to the Regional Wellness Center but also said if they do approve it, they do so with assurances the project would move forward.
Councilman Ryan agreed that there should be contingencies in the agreement to provide the funding. But supporting it now would also help the project receive more favorable consideration for other funding sources like grants and donations.
In a five to two vote, the council agreed to provide $500,000 towards the project over five years and would add a $100,000 appropriation to the 2024 budget. Councilwoman Haas and Councilman Kluesner did not support the addition.
A public hearing for the 2024 budget is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 6 p.m. in the County Annex, 602 Courthouse Square. The budget will then be up for adoption on October 30 at 4:30 p.m.
