Dec. 30—Indiana has been one of the major benefactors of the solar energy boom sweeping the country, but it remains to be seen if Howard County will be a part of it.

ENGIE, a multinational utility company, and Ranger Power, a Chicago-based solar development company, both hope to install large-scale solar farms near Greentown in rural Howard County.

The proposed developments have been in the planning stages for a couple of years now, but the projects have so far faced an uphill battle.

In July, ENGIE had its special exception permit request once again denied by the Howard County Board of Zoning Appeals. The special exception is needed for the company to move forward with the project, which the company estimates will bring in $30 million in tax revenue for local taxing units, including $19 million to Eastern Howard School Corporation, over the life of the project, which is expected to be 30-40 years.

In August, the company filed an appeal arguing that the board was "capricious" in its ruling, its rejection was "unsupported" by evidence and that one board member was biased against the project.

The proposed project has been controversial.

Supporters and most local elected officials have argued that the solar farm would be beneficial to both the local taxing units and participating landowners and that the county should not miss out on alternative energy opportunities.

Opponents, however, have expressed skepticism over ENGIE's revenue claims, the actual benefit of solar energy and some have expressed a desire to keep fertile farmland just that.

Currently sitting on the sideline is Ranger Power, which has not yet filed a request for a special exception permit.

ENGIE's appeal is still in litigation as of Thursday.

HOUSING

When asked by the Tribune at the city of Kokomo's second annual Christmas Parade what his wishlist for Santa Claus was this year, Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore said more housing.

With the StarPlus Energy EV battery plant arriving in 2025 and 1,400 new jobs with it, housing, specifically new housing, is certainly going to be a need for the city moving forward.

This year was a mixed bag for large-scale housing projects in Kokomo.

Most prominent this year was Indianapolis-based company Arbor Homes. The company has begun construction on an extension of its Webster Crossing subdivision on the city's southside. The extension is set to bring nearly 70 new homes to the subdivision, which was first developed in 2005.

Also this year, Arbor Homes proposed a nearly 400-home subdivision on a 116-acre plot of land on the southeast corner of the intersection of West Judson and North Dixon roads on the city's far northwest side.

The proposal received rezoning approval this summer, and representatives from the company said they would be back to receive approval to make the 116-acre plot a planned unit development, but that has not happened as the project appears to be stalled.

Another major housing project that stalled was a 172-unit single-story apartment development called Redwood Apartment Neighborhoods. After presenting the project to the Kokomo City Council this spring for rezoning, the developer pulled the plug after deciding the project wasn't financially feasible due to rising construction costs.

Other housing projects that saw smaller expansion this year were the Highland Springs subdivision just east of Indian Heights, Prairie Farms located just east of South Goyer Road near Meijer and Frederick Farms located just west of the north Kroger.

Martino's new owners

For the first time in decades, Martino's Italian Villa is owned by someone other than the Martino family.

New owners Mike and Brandy Conner took over the restaurant in March, ending a six-decade reign of local restaurant ownership by the Martino family and ushering in a new era — though the new owners say it will be a similar one for the beloved Italian restaurant.

Martino's Italian Villa needs no introduction. It's the same for now-former owners Angela and her son Michael Martino. When the two aren't making you happy with their food, they're doing it with their infectious, upbeat and never-too-serious attitude and plenty of jokes.

It's what's made Martino's such a local staple: good food and good company.

And it's what made the October 2020 announcement that the pair were looking for a buyer such big news in the community. The publication of the business being put up for sale garnered hundreds of reactions and comments on Facebook.

When asked by the Tribune why the family was selling, the answer was an often-heard one: We're not getting any younger.

"And as we get older, the last thing you want to see is something happen to one of us and we can't continue," Michael Martino told the Tribune at the time. "The only way for succession is to sell it so the recipes and the restaurant can keep going for the community.

"Like I've been telling people, my heart doesn't want to, but my mind and body say something else."

The Martinos know they've found that someone else in Mike and Brandy Conner.

Both Mike and Brandy have extensive experience in the restaurant business.

Mike Conner recently retired after working nearly 40 years in the corporate offices of Steak 'n Shake, while Brandy Conner has worked in and out of the restaurant industry in various positions for years.

Conner said he approached the Martinos last September about possibly buying the restaurant. For Conner — a Kokomo native who grew up going to Martino's — owning it would be a dream come true, and it seemed like the perfect thing to do after retiring last December.

"I had so much drive to be a (business) owner ... but we never found the right fit," Mike Conner said. "COVID was such a hard time, and that made me really make the decision to be an owner and find something I want to do outside the corporate world. I got to meet Mike and Angie for the first time. From meeting them and the staff, it just clicked, and it kind of just snowballed from there."

Tipton County travel center

The southeast corner of Indiana 28 and U.S. 31 in Tipton County will soon be transformed.

In April, developers made public their plan to build a mixed-use commercial development near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Indiana 28.

According to a concept plan presented at the time, the development will include one or more hotels, a bank, a light industrial park, a travel plaza, a MedCheck, recreational vehicle stopover, restaurants and a dog park.

The travel center, which would include a food court with various restaurants, convenience store-style shopping and fresh produce, would be located on the north end of the property near the entrance. Additional restaurants, commercial space and hotel(s) would be on the west side of the property near U.S. 31 and a dog park on the east side. RV parking would be available near the middle of the development and the light industrial development would be located south of Dixon Creek, which could include businesses such as a distribution center or similar last-mile businesses.

Later that same month, Matt Skelton, a lawyer at Church, Church, Hittle and Antrim representing the project's developers, told the Tipton Board of Commissioners that one of the requests developers have received for the project has been to bring a Chick-fil-A to the county.

Skelton said an effort is being made to do just that.

"If we don't get one, it won't be because of lack of trying," he said. "We are trying."

Chick-fil-A or no Chick-fil-A, once the development is finished, it will transform that major intersection. County leaders have for years marketed and pushed for development in that area, seeing it as a prime spot for future development given the state's plan to make U.S. 31 a free flowing highway and growth from Hamilton County moving north.

Haynes posts 2022 profit

Like for many companies, the COVID-19 pandemic challenged Haynes International.

In fiscal year 2020, the company reported a -$6.5 million loss, followed by a -$8.7 million loss in fiscal year 2021.

In the 2020 shareholders letter, CEO and President of Michael Shor said he had a lot of faith in the company surviving the pandemic headwinds.

"I firmly believe that the future for Haynes is bright," Shor said. "We are a strong company. In our nearly 109-year history, this company, in various ownership forms, has overcome several significant issues, including the Great Depression, the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the aerospace industry and the COVID-19 pandemic."

Shor's optimism proved to be true.

After two straight years of unprofitability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Haynes International posted a $45.1 million profit in fiscal year 2022, its best performance in a decade.

"Our employees have driven this improvement," Shor said about the record high backlog during the earnings call. "My sincere thank you for both their efforts to get us to this point and the relentless focus on the actions that will drive — will safely drive the additional volume and profitability improvements that we anticipate in the future."

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.