Jasper Pool Takes Shape and North Ridge Subdivision Makes Plans

The Jasper Redevelopment Commission met on Tuesday morning to hear updates on the Jasper Municipal Pool’s construction and to take the first steps in utilizing Indiana’s residential TIF program for Jasper’s new North Ridge Subdivision. 

A claim from Hafer was approved for professional services related to the new outdoor pool from June 16 th to July 13 th in the amount of $7,504. This claim is part of the regular contract, and leaves the city with approximately $67,000 left to pay on the contract. Park Director Tom Moorman then provided the Commission with a pool construction update. He said that the project is starting to take shape and the final footprint of the pool is starting to become visible. The maintenance building show start to show some vertical rise within the next week. The tree line modification project will be completed as part of a separate contract after the pool’s completion. The project’s timeline is on track and on budget, even with the recent severe weather, with an estimated completion at the beginning of May 2025 and opening Memorial Day weekend. 

The Commission then turned their attention to a discussion about Indiana’s residential TIF program and its possible use in Jasper’s new North Ridge Subdivision. City attorney Renee Kabrick explained that the residential TIF’s purpose is to incentivize single-family residential housing, saying that this would allow Jasper “to collect the new incremental property tax on this development and use it to assist in the infrastructure development for the subdivision.” This works similarly to existing TIFs in that the money is used for items that benefit the development. Kabrick said that, statutorily, this was created within the last several years. Although it has not been utilized yet in Jasper, it has been used throughout the state of Indiana. 

Ruger Kerstiens from Kerstiens Custom Builders appeared before the Commission to discuss the possible use of the residential TIF for the new North Ridge Subdivision located at 40 th and Portersville Road. This area went through the annexation process in the summer and was approved to be included into the Jasper city limits. Kersteins said that the goal is to bring back more entry level housing for single families and also have a few villas available, similar to those at Autumn Creek. Phase one of the development’s construction allows for 155 housing units to be developed over a 3-year buildout window. 

The land price for the acquired 110 acres that was annexed was higher than in the past, so Kerstiens said that the residential TIF will be an important tool to bring down the price point for the units and make them more accessible for first-time buyers. He said that Kersteins will bypass the bonding process, and the funding will be more performance-based by utilizing the residential TIF. He stated that this reduces the risk for the city since it doesn’t require the same up-front investment from the city and will reduce the lot cost by approximately $6500 for residents. Kabrick reiterated that the purpose of today’s meeting was not to approve the TIF, but to begin the process by passing a resolution that would give authorization to go forward by sending out notices of a public hearing. The Commission approved the resolution with a vote of 4 to 1, so plans will be made to schedule a public hearing in September to discuss implementing the residential TIF in the development of the North Ridge Subdivision.


For more information on these and other updates, visit jasperindiana.gov or JasperGov-Indiana on Facebook.


- By Drew Hasselbring