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WL Redevelopment Commission approves spending plan

The West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission has a spending plan for 2014 that totals nearly $4 million. The money comes from tax increment financing (TIF) districts.

Commission president Larry Oates says there are significant projects included in the plan, specifically road work. That includes work on Cumberland Avenue, Happy Hollow Road and the intersection of Salisbury and Navajo.

“And we will take Northwestern Avenue now from a state highway, since it’s been turned over to the city, and make it much more pedestrian and citizen friendly.”

There also will be spending on such things as vehicles for the police and fire departments, street cameras in the Village area, and equipment for the Parks Department.

Oates says since the money comes from what’s on-hand from the TIF districts, the commission won’t have to borrow – something many Indiana cities and towns are doing to pay for projects.

“Interest rates are pretty low,” he says, “but when we’re talking about projects, a good example is Cumberland Avenue – that’s a $2.5 million project – and when you start running interest rates on those kinds of numbers, it becomes a sizable chunk of money.”

Projects include public artwork and sidewalk improvements.