Statement from Mayor Jerome A. Prince On S.B. 434

On behalf of the Mayor’s office, we’d like to inform the citizens of Gary on our efforts and the success that SB 434 is currently having in the Indiana General Assembly. SB 434 is an important bill for our community as it promotes economic development in not only Lake County, but in the city of Gary.

As a status update, SB 434 passed the Indiana House chamber on Thursday, April 13th. Because it was amended in the House, the bill will go back to the Senate for concurrence before it can be sent to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. It is this amendment in the House that we would like to recognize, as it put the nuts and bolts into the bill that were missing and strongly needed to see this project succeed.

We must thank Rep. Hal Slager, who sponsored the bill in the House and took the time to meet with us on several occasions in order to get the numbers together necessary to draft this amendment. We’d also like to thank Chairman Thompson of Ways and Means for hearing this bill and giving us the opportunity to explain how SB 434 will excel Gary forward.

SB 434 is a bill that will transform the Gary Metro Station and set up Gary for endless economic development opportunities in the future. The bill creates two significant funds: one that will help develop the metro station, and another that will help reinvent the abandoned, blighted buildings in and around the metro station. This will set up several business opportunities in the area, and around the city, as well as allow for easy and safe access in and out of the city. The amendment that Rep. Slager authored and worked with us on developed funding mechanisms that will create matching grants that will propel this project forward, while still being economically feasible for Gary.

We will continue to update you on the success that this bill and other efforts of our administration are having, as well as keep you informed on the specifics that matter to the success of our great city.