VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - A low-income housing project will have to wait another month before securing county money.
In a joint decision, the Vigo County Council and Mental Health America voted to table a request made earlier this month. The organization had asked the county for money to put toward its Mullen Flats Project.
Mullen Flats will include 42 low-income housing units and a diversion center. It will be located next door to Liberty Village in Terre Haute.
However, the nearly $15 million project is a million short.
Mental Health America Chief Executive Officer Myra Wilkey asked the county council to front $750,000. She asked the city council for the other $250,000.
It didn't go over well.
The county thought it was unfair they were asked to do the heavy lifting.
Then on Tuesday, she requested to table her request -- stating that she may have a different path.
The council agreed.
"We made that in the best interest of the project. There are possible other funding sources that we may be eligible for -- that we did not previously know about," Chief Executive Officer Myra Wilkey said.
Wilkey cannot disclose those funding sources at this time.
Council President Todd Thacker said he was happy to table Wilkey's original request. He, too, thinks there are more practical ways to get the money for the project.
"I thought it fit the description of ARPA to the T. It is a shovel-ready project that already has committed $13.7 of a $14.7 million dollar project," County Council President Todd Thacker said.
Thacker thinks the project should fall under the commissioner's government relief money housing budget.
The city council also tabled the request for its portion of the money last Thursday.
Wilkey says this gives her a chance to get everyone on the same page.
"Kind of getting the city and the county, so we can kind of come to this together," Wilkey said.
The council will revisit this project at April's meeting.
The project is still scheduled for groundbreaking in May.
