Terre Haute's Sakbun on government shutdown, safe property initiative, ENTEK

In this week’s installment of Ask The Mayor, Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun addresses this issue and more at City Hall. Listen to the full conversation with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren by clicking on the play button above, or read some of the questions and answers below. A portion of this segment airs 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. Wednesday on WFIU. Here are some highlights.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Hren: Is the federal government shutdown affecting anything locally?

Sakbun: You know, we definitely keep an eye on some of those federal grants that we have applied for, or some of that grant-based funding, to see when that will be delayed. Of course, we have the 181st intelligence wing. We recognize there could be some delays in weekend drill schedules there, and a good amount of federal employees who live in the city of Terre Haute. So we're cognizant of it.

Direct impacts... we're not seeing as much as like a state like Virginia, but unfortunately, when government shuts down, it sends a horrible signal, not just to voters, but to the nation and frankly, the world, we should be able to govern and should be able to find compromise, and I certainly hope that both sides of the aisle in DC find a way to get something done.

Hren: You tweeted that you had a visit with the State Treasurer Daniel Elliott. What was that like? What kind of information, or help can you get through a state treasurer?

Sakbun: We had a good conversation about the police, fire pension. It's a billion-dollar pension, and I understand the legislator says, hey, we believe in police and fire, so we need the employer to pay more. But when you cut tax revenue and ask the employer to pay more, that's got to come from somewhere. And our conversation focused around, well, a lot of these pensions are self-sustainable.

We need to have conversations with the folks who oversee the pension and do the trading and strike a deal with them to help offset the employer match portion. Really strong policy focused conversation.

Joe Hren

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WFIU/WTIU News

Hren: I heard some results from the safe neighborhood and property crime initiative? Can you tell us about this program, how it started and why?

Sakbun: Our violent crime numbers were going down, and our property crime numbers were flat, and we wanted to tackle that head on. There's this perception that crime is drastically risen. Part of that I do think, is because of social media. But instead of just hiding from that, putting your head in the sand saying, well, here's what the data shows, we wanted to put our best foot forward.

So the safe neighborhood property crime initiative adds additional officers to the road, different shifts, different hours, different days, to really be proactive with presence patrols and respond at a quicker rate. We've seen great results thus far.

Hren: How is this funded?

Sakbun: We got the funds from some gaming revenue. We wanted to create a targeted program. And what we really want to do is bring this program to the legislator and say, hey, when you cut funding, you make it harder to do stuff like this.

This is a way for us to combat crime. This is a way for us to put a specific dollar to it, and this is a way for us to have a productive conversation with the state government and federal government about how to really help law enforcement, really help keep cities safe.

When you overstep and send in other agencies, it convolutes the process, and frankly, there's some fraud, waste and abuse involved. So we believe that local solutions to local problems is the way to go, and we want to bring a proven strategy to folks at the higher levels of government.

Hren: I wanted to follow up on ENTEK receiving a $1.2 billion loan from the U.S. Energy department back in 2023 for a plant in Terre Haute's manufacturing campus. They make battery parts and would employ 640 people, but really didn't get that off the ground. What happened first, and let's catch up, because now there's a new development.

Read more: I Squared Capital Acquires Majority Stake in ENTEK to Reshore Critical U.S. Battery Manufacturing

Sakbun: We went from one president to another, pause federal funding. That pause has slowly been lifted. Private equity firm stepped in to cover the match, the private sector match. Now construction has resumed again. They're going to finish their first two buildings, move some employees in, and then hopefully start their next two buildings.

Hren: From what I understand, ENTEK sold the majority to I Squared?

Sakbun: I believe they're based out of Florida. We met with their leadership team, with Entek when they came to town a couple weeks ago. We believe in this product, and frankly, what they're making should be made in America.

We're very thankful the Biden administration created this program, and we are also thankful that the Trump administration recognized this is something that we should continue. So we look forward to the 600 jobs coming here to Vigo County, Terre Haute, and want to continue to recruit companies.

Hren: Something I can remember covering about for years, are crows. The ongoing saga. From fireworks to neighbors coming out certain nights banging their pots and pans. I see the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board approved some funding for lasers.

Sakbun: I sit on that board. We did a study and it came back that this laser could be used. My big questions were about insurance, like, who's covering the liability of the laser, and the chamber is going to own that, so we went ahead and approved it. It's about, I think, $17,000 to try this laser out.

But all kinds of strategies to combat crows. And when you do these reports, you learn of all those strategies. And I believe in some European state cities, there is a crow and pigeon birth control. Fun fact, that's an opportunity, and instead, we went with the laser option. So we really do hope it works out, because it does affect downtown businesses, cleanliness and public health, so it is a problem.

Hren: I thought Bloomington folks would enjoy this, where Terre Haute South retired Cam Cameron's number 10 Braves jersey. You declared Friday, September 26 Cam Cameron day. And of course, he was coach at IU.

Sakbun: We did retire coach Cameron's jersey. He's been great for our city. He spoke to the team at Terre Haute South. Did a remarkable job. He actually sat in this seat. Even came and paid me a visit. And so we wanted to make it Cam Cameron day in the city of Terre Haute.

Great coaching career. Did some good work down south with LSU, obviously, with Indiana University, offensive coordinator for the Chargers, the Ravens and, you know, speaking of IU football, big game this weekend against Oregon, College Game Day ranked matchup, I actually think it's going to be a shootout, really fast pace, high scoring game.