TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Friday morning, Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce hosted its City Update Event, marking Mayor Brandon Sakbun’s second opportunity to address community leaders.
A record 320 city leaders gathered at the Terre Haute Convention Center.
The mayor emphasized the construction and street projects that are already in progress.
“In 2025, you’re going to see Herz-Rose Park open”, Sakbun said. “You’re going to see a new YMCA begin construction. You’re going to see public safety finally be equipped with the resources they need, like a fourth ambulance, to deliver quality to an individual when they call 911. If you look at our street paving plan, we’re paving more streets this year than we have the previous 10.”
Changes are also coming to the downtown area.
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kristin Craig said the area will be a priority to interest tourists.
“I’ve heard downtown Terre Haute described as the living room of your community”, Craig said. “If you can make it look really nice, that really puts on a fresh face and good approach for anyone that is coming to the community. I think the changes we’re going to see, the new hotels, the additional development that will bring, will really be a game changer.”
The mayor also drew attention to the work completed last year, through state and federal funding. He says it will continue to be a priority to not use taxpayer money for these projects.
“We will utilize outside funding sources instead of just property tax”, Sakbun said. “We don’t want your taxes to go up. We will find other ways to fund these transformational projects. Like I touched on in the address, 26 optional grants that we identified, 14 of which we applied for, 7 of which we received.”
The mayor also mentioned that $1 million of debt from 2023 was paid off with funds from gaming revenue and Vigo County’s innkeeper’s tax revenue marked the highest annual total in history, a 6.83% increase from last year.
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