A Pulaski County Council member was asked to clarify his concerns with the Community Development Commission’s track record Monday. CDC Executive Director Nathan Origer asked Mike Tiede to elaborate on comments he made to the county commissioners last week.
“He suggested that he had concerns with the track record of community development in Pulaski County,” Origer said, “and I would like for him to give me some guidance as to what his concerns with that track record are, if he doesn’t mind.”
Tiede said he didn’t want to get into an argument with Origer, but he did seem to take issue with Origer’s opinion on the placement of Medaryville’s Dollar General store. “I remember you saying, ‘Well, I think they should be uptown. They shouldn’t be on the highway because of traffic,’” Tiede told Origer. “Well, you know what? Dollar General’s not going to go uptown, and that’s just one example. That’s in my district. And then if you go to Francesville, a lot of stuff’s closed down. That’s not your fault, but I do know you criticized Dollar General. That ticked me off. That’s nothing, you know. That’s okay. It’s just your opinion, just like I have an opinion.”
Tiede has proposed taking about $97,000 out of the CDC’s budget and distributing it to the county’s towns, based on their population. “All towns are dying, and it’s not, like, your job, but I just think we could do better,” Tiede said. “And I just think we’ve got to change to do better, change, do something. I don’t know. I don’t know what the answer is. But that’s just one person. I don’t know why you’ve got to hammer me all day long because I’m the one person that came up with an idea.”
The discussion came as Origer tried to make the case for reinstating the CDC’s project coordinator position into the 2020 budget. That measure ultimately failed, with Tiede casting one of the four opposing votes.
