The Goshen city council voted at its July 20 meeting to annex about 160 acres of land southeast of the city, near County Road 36.
The land is owned by Ryan Thwaits, who owns the development firm Last Dance LLC. Thwaits said at the council meeting Tuesday that one parcel of land will be developed for RV manufacturing, while the other two could possibly be sold or developed into other industry.
Some council members expressed concern about adding more RV industry to the city, saying it would do little to diversify the city’s economy.
“I have nothing against the RV industry,” Councilwoman Megan Eichorn said. “I just feel like our city is really putting all of our eggs in one basket. I have a lot of friends that work in the RV industry, and it just goes up and down.”
But Council President Brett Weddell said the other two parcels could incentivize other kinds of companies to settle in Goshen.
“We might have that capability of those smaller companies – technology-based companies, medical-style companies – come out and have access to property they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” he said.
Several citizens spoke in opposition to the annexation, both at Tuesday night’s meeting and at the proposal’s public hearing on July 6. Their main concerns were the development increasing traffic and worsening stormwater flooding issues in the area.
Mayor Jeremy Stutsman said a traffic study is underway, and that the developer plans to address the stormwater issues the property faces.
The project is estimated to cost $15 million, approximately $10.5 million of which would be financed by the developer. The remaining $5 million would come from the city’s tax increment funding (TIF), and would mainly address the property’s water issues.
The mayor said the city wouldn’t be able to invest $15 million in a single project, meaning the development is an opportunity to address the flooding in the area without sacrificing other improvements.
“The only way to pay for this would be to cut city infrastructure projects through other departments, or cut quality of place or raise rates on every citizen in Goshen,” Stutsman said.
The annexation proposal ultimately passed 4-3.
Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.
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