(BEDFORD) – Gene McCracken, Director of the Stonegate Arts and Education Building, provided Bedford City Council members an update on the operation and costs of the Stonegate Arts & Education Building.
The ownership of the building is under the guidance of the Bedford Redevelopment Commission who uses Tax Incremental Finance funds to operate the building.
The 2019 budget for the operation of Stonegate Arts & Education building was $160,000. The Bedford Redevelopment Commission has paid this yearly amount from 2017 to current.
A lease agreement between the City of Bedford and Oakland City University, who donated the Bedford Development Center located at 401 I St., states that Oakland City University will have free office space and classroom space for 10 years. This agreement started on July 1, 2014.
Oakland City has a current enrollment of around 80 regular students.
Ivy Tech receives a yearly grant from the Indiana Department of Education 21st Century Learning Centers Program that provides them with the Southern Indiana Education Alliance grant. With those funds, they pay $54,000 a year to Stonegate for utilization of space.
Ivy Tech has a current enrollment of 164 students who are enrolled in one or more courses at Stonegate. This includes 95 full-time and 69 part-time students.
Vincennes University received a one-year free lease for the 2019-2020 school year in an effort to help them start up at Stonegate.
Vincennes University has around 20 regular students. Enrollment with General Motors employees is around 30 students.
North Lawrence Gateway was granted a free year in an effort to help them get Gateway Academy off to a good start. North Lawrence Gateway enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year was 59 students.
Following the consolidation of the North Lawrence Community Schools, these students will now be attending classes at Stalker Elementary School.
Currently, the Bedford Redevelopment Commission is paying a USDA Loan of $4.5 million with an interest rate of 3.25 percent for the construction of the Stonegate Arts & Education building. There can be an early payoff of that loan. The final payoff of the loan is expected to be made in 2037. The interest from the entirety of the loan is $1,090,000.
Oakland City offers business courses, with several undergrad and graduate course offerings.
Ivy Tech offers 17 different courses ranging from medical, HVAC, electrical, business, and English.
Vincennes University offers courses for apprenticeship training for General Motors and a clinical medical assisting training program.
There are a total of eight people who serve on the Stonegate Arts & Education Center board of directors. The people include Brian Blackwell, Jamie Blackwell, Sam Craig, Shawna Girgis, Julie Hewetson, Ty Mungle, Nathan Nikirk, and Everett Southern.
