FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Fort Wayne City Councilmen Glynn Hines and Tom Didier announced Tuesday they will request city council to conduct a formal investigation on the termination of the Electric Works’ economic development agreement (EDA).
RELATED: Agreement with developers of Electric Works terminated by Redevelopment Commission
Hines and Didier say the resolution “into the motivations and facts behind the EDA termination” will be introduced at the next city council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission voted on Aug. 3 to terminate the EDA with developer RTM Ventures.
The pair says that council has requested Mayor Tom Henry, Deputy Mayor Karl Bandemer, Redevelopment Commission Chair Christopher Guerin and then-Redevelopment Director Nancy Townsend to attend a council session to discuss why the EDA was cancelled. However, they claim only Townsend, who is now the Director of Community Development, and the Corporation Council for the City of Fort Wayne have agreed to discuss the matter.
“It is important to figure out why the EDA was terminated,” said Didier. “There’s a lot riding on the Electric Works deal, especially the future of Do It Best, Corp., in the community. All interested parties need to have the same information in order to put together the best possible plan to keep all of these jobs in Allen County. We wish the Mayor would share this information with his partners willingly, but we need to figure out how to obtain that information if he is unwilling to share it.”
A release cites that the council has the right to investigate departments, officers and employees of the city under Indiana Code 36-4-6-21. That grants access to all records related to the investigation.
