Elkhart County, Indiana

diversity, the Elkhart County Redevelopment Com- mission (RDC) is busy figuring out when their dol- lars will go to support long-standing businesses in the community, like Winnebago, and when to focus the financial support on other key initia- tives; such as bringing in a new medical facility, or starting an innovation hub in the area. Those types of questions are challenging and unique to Elkhart, because of the valuable and extensive RV industry presence. Kauffman notes, “Also, when we’re thinking about expanding into green space, we have to re- member we’re a ‘REdevelopment’ commission, as opposed to a development commission. Counties don’t have fun things like internal downtowns to remake and often the projects commissions are looking at are new development projects that they’re extending utilities out to or building new roads. Thinking about ourselves as an agrarian county, with strong industry and two medium-size cities, means you have to consider where those utilities and roads expansions are going. Because that affects the different agriculture areas, and our significant Amish and Mennonite population.” ELKHART COUNTY, INDIANA The Prairie Creek Run neighborhood is a carved-out space under County jurisdiction sur- rounded by the Elkhart City municipality. It’s a world that’s not really country, but has that coun- try feel. The neighborhood has serious issues with utilities, since the homes are small, very close togeth- er, and dependent on septic systems and well water. In 2015, the neighborhood became part of the Coun- ty’s profitable Northeast Corridor Tax Increment Financing (TIF), specifically focusing on the major corri- dors of County Roads 6 and 17. The area has benefited from a lot of commercial and road development over the past year. By extending that TIF to cover the Prairie Creek Run neighborhood, it allows the use of funds that came from commercial development to help residents in the area, through projects that are on tap for the future. Kauffman explains, “The initial project that spurred that extension is a water and utility project. This area has houses on very small lots that each have their own septic and well system. Even if you have ten people on the block and nine of them take care of their system but one doesn’t, there’s a chance it can move through and affect other people’s water.” Unfortunately, flooding of- ten occurs on the creek and it’s one of the reasons Lilac St., particularly, had very bad water conditions. The wells and systems at the back end of houses on that street suffered from cross-con- tamination and runoff that resulted in the homes having black water issues for many years. Black water looks clear in a glass but has black sediment that makes the water cloudy when you shake it up. It’s not good for drinking. That was the first area where the RDC