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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

City Council To Discuss Funding Options For Electric Works

Zach Bernard/WBOI News

A bipartisan group of Fort Wayne City Council members are presenting a set of options available in order to help the Electric Works development meet its funding needs.

Ground can’t be broken on the former GE campus on July 1 if $65 million in public and private dollars aren’t committed, which could jeopardize the project. The City is aiming to help fund one-third of the missing capital, utilizing CEDIT and Legacy Fund dollars and the goal of returning on the investment through property tax revenue.

At-large councilman John Crawford says the package was put together to force an open dialogue not just between members of council, but also the public. He notes while time is of the essence, no proposal within this package as it stands is binding.

“We’re not taking a risk at this point. This is just our way of saying, ‘We want to go ahead and look at this plan and they can go ahead and do their part, we’ll look at giving out the money later.’ We have to get started, or it’s just not going to get any further.”

Republican councilman Tom Freistroffer and Democrat Geoff Paddock were there to support the measure. The options will be laid out before council Tuesday, February 27 at 5:30 pm. Crawford said a vote may take place that night, but it’s unlikely, noting the desire to see how the public responds to the proposals.

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.
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