Jasper Regional Wellness Center Planning Paused

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Dean Vonderheide provided his regular quarterly address to the Economic Development Commission. The Commission is responsible for reviewing tax abatements and making recommendations to the Jasper City Council. With the Outdoor Pool construction coming to a close, the mayor turned his focus to an upcoming tax abatement application. 

The Regional Wellness Center is currently in the design phase. The City of Jasper has contracted with Krempp Lumber as a developer. Krempp will use a Build-Operate-Transfer methodology. With BOT, a private company builds and operates a project, and then transfers ownership. This will allow Krempp to provide a guaranteed maximum price after the design work is complete, which is expected to be within the next couple of months. 

Mayor Vonderheide told the Commission that the project “has been put on pause because of the unsettling of our future funding…with all the legislation that is under consideration at this time.” The estimated $45 million total would be funded through several sources, including a $15 million goal set by the City of Jasper and Tri-County YMCA in their Better Together Capital Campaign. The remainder would be financed through the City of Jasper Food and Beverage Tax, Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) Funds, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Funds, and a Regional Economic Acceleration Development Initiative (READI) Grant. 

The decision has more to do with future uncertainly, since the $15 million Better Together goal has almost been reached through substantial commitments from private donors. A $5 million READI grant has also been secured. Even with the funds that the City has already set aside, Vonderheide says that the plans for the Wellness Center “may have to be scaled back and phased in.” 

He said that the decision will not be made until the summer when questions surrounding state and federal funding can be answered. Most of these concern state legislation currently under consideration with potential shifts in property and income taxes. For now, Vonderheide said, the plan is to “put things on pause and focus on the things that we have going on throughout the city.” 

In an update on the North Side Estates project, the Commission heard that “dirt is being moved.” Funding is now in place, with all paperwork concluded for the RIF infrastructure loan through the IFA. Vonderheide observed that there are several other developments in consideration throughout the city. He noted that it’s a good sign when “even in times of uncertainty, there are positive signs of development.” 

The next meeting for the Economic Development Commission is Wednesday, July 9, 2025. 

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


- By Drew Hasselbring