ERIP BUDGET

09/05/2024

Evansville Regional Economic Partnership staff members struggled this week to answer questions from a county commissioner and attorney concerning details in an audit provided to the county.

EREP staff provided information about efforts to attract new residents and its riverfront redevelopment plan at the regular Vanderburgh County Commissioners meeting. After the presentation, Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave asked about attracting new jobs.

“One of the key reasons why the commission contracts with EREP is to recruit new business and support existing business, of course, but my question is has any business located in the county in the last 12 months?”

E-Rep Economic Development Director Patrick Hickey responded, “Twelve months, not that I’m aware”

Musgrave also inquired about the public’s access to E=REP meetings. The three staff members present looked behind them to Chief Economic Development Officer Josh Armstrong, who was sitting in the audience.

Armstrong stood and said, “E-REP meetings are not open to the public.”

Though it receives hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars and helps allocate millions in state money, E-REP is a private corporation not subject to disclosure laws like a government agency.

Armstrong remained silent as attorney David Jones inquired about a recent audit provided to the country as a condition of the funding it provides EREP. His line of questioning concerned ownership of the property at 420 Main Street, where E-REP is spearheading a mixed-use development using millions of state and City of Evansville dollars.

Jones asked about the nature of the investment.

Program manager Colten Pipenger responded: “I am not 100 percent positive on the official terminology from a financial standpoint, I’ll have our finance team get back with you but EREP through the Downtown Evansville Community Development Corporation played a part in the Fifth and Main redevelopment.”