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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> hundred-twenty(120)days after the Indiana Finance Authority passed the finance plan which was
<br /> in June. So, at this point and time, I'm going to turn it over to Mark Pasquarella whose joined us
<br /> today from Indianapolis to talk about that aspect of it, and I'll certainly be here to answer any
<br /> questions you may have.
<br /> Mark Pasquarella, Indiana Finance Authority, One (1) North Capitol Avenue, Suite 900,
<br /> Indianapolis, IN 46204, stated, So, as Mike was eluding to, I come here from the Indiana Finance
<br /> Authority because we represent the State portion of the funds that are going to be coming in. So
<br /> therefore, we wanted to come up here to (A), to kind of give you just the big picture of how this
<br /> project is going to be financed. (B), to also go through the approvals that were necessary. Also, to
<br /> talk about the importance of the project.We'll start first with the funding of the project. So,to give
<br /> a big picture,you really have three(3)major funding sources. You have what we deem as the local
<br /> share, which are the counties. Saint Joseph County and LaPorte County, as you are well aware of
<br /> Then there's the State portion that's coming in, and then there's the Federal portion. When this
<br /> project originally started, we were looking at a fifty-fifty (50-50) split between the Federal
<br /> Government, and then the locals and the State. However, as Mike eluded to, they moved the ball
<br /> if you will, and wanted to see more of an over match, which would be sixty-two percent (62%)
<br /> coming from the locals, which would be the locals and then the State as well, and then thirty-eight
<br /> percent (38%) coming from the Federal Government. Obviously, it lessens the amount of money
<br /> that they are putting into the project. This is not Indiana specific. This is actually just nationwide.
<br /> In order to do that, as you can imagine with the way that the math and the percentages work, that
<br /> means more money had to be kicked in. So, at that point, the State really stepped up and within
<br /> two (2) weeks we were able to get the legislation down in Indianapolis. I'm sure several
<br /> representatives from up here had a big say in that to be able to approve an additional $205 million
<br /> dollars to be put into this project and the Westlake project.That was very important because at that
<br /> point that is just going to be cash contribution coming in, and that's what enabled us to close the
<br /> funding gap and allow us to come here and say we're not asking the counties for any additional
<br /> funds.
<br /> Mr. Pasquerella continued, So, the amount that we originally started out at, the 18.25 million for
<br /> each county will stay at the 18.25 million and then the State of Indiana funds will come in. The
<br /> other thing that I would like to note is that it was supported throughout the State. That was another
<br /> thing that I thought was really interesting. It wasn't just the localized portion that voted for it. The
<br /> entire State, basically, voted for it. So, there is a lot of momentum and a lot of excitement in
<br /> Indianapolis about this project. What that ends up doing is that the locals will come in at about$73
<br /> million and the State will be coming in at about $180 million. Originally, it was supposed to be
<br /> fifty-fifty(50-50).Again, I say that because that's how much excitement is coming from the whole
<br /> state for this project. Another question that I often get is ok, once we put the money in, meaning
<br /> local Saint Joseph, LaPorte, which of course, includes Michigan City and then South Bend, when
<br /> that money comes in we all just want to make sure that people understand that money will be
<br /> protected. So, as that money comes in, it will be placed into a trust account for monies that can
<br /> only be used for this specific project. So,the money can't be used for anything else. I always think
<br /> that's important when we're dealing with this amount of money. So, the last thing that I wanted to
<br /> talk a little bit about is the support from the Governor and from the State, but I think really, when
<br /> we start talking about the passing of the $205 million, I think that really says all there is to say
<br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov
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