Collaborate Culver

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I attended the first Collaborate Culver meeting on March 5th. The group is mostly downtown merchants, so I’m not sure why I was asked to attend. I’m always interested in what’s going on in Culver, so I decided to spend a couple of hours and see what I would learn.

The group was mostly comprised of downtown merchants. The stated goal was to bring together business interests and prepare a list of wants and needs for the community assessment being put together with funding from the Culver Redevelopment Commission. For those interested, the first Downtown Strategies community assessment meeting will be at the Culver Union Township Public Library on April 1st, Noon to 1:30.

For better or worse, I was the oldest business represented there as well as the person with the longest history of community involvement. As such, I tried to sit quietly (hard for me!) and not squelch any enthusiasm. The reason I say that, is many of the ideas brought up were not new… either having been discarded or having experienced trial and failure in the past.

It was great to see a large number of new faces there. In fact, other than myself, none of the more established businesses were represented. Some of them may be jaded, like myself, and have a “been there, done that” attitude towards starting a new group. I get that, but if that’s the case, I hope they at least stay out of the way, if they choose not to directly support the new group. We always talk about wanting “new blood”, but we need to support the new people and not be wet blankets.

One of the more important discussions was regarding Zoning. There was no consensus from the group, but the discussion points were salient. Some wanted to see more downtown buildings converted to housing. Others were adamantly against that. There seemed to be consensus that a mix was good and encouraging second floor housing was positive. There was also a discussion of the limited commercial lots available. I mentioned that the Plan Commission had rezoned the Easterday Dentist office back to residential after the dentistry shut down. There seemed to be consensus that the change was not positive. I couldn’t speak to the status of that going forward, since the Plan Commission had discussed rezoning the other houses used as businesses back to residential, but the Comprehensive Plan advocated the other direction, suggesting allowing expansion of the commercial areas. (A better compromising solution would be Hierarchal Zoning rather than Euclidian Zoning as is used in Culver now.)

There was also discussion of more collaboration. I repeated my Main Street Mantra, suggesting that they need to work like a mall and coordinate hours of operations, sales events and other things that create a place people want to stay after visiting one location. I also reiterated my admiration for Wabash and their efforts to cross advertise the commercial areas via sidewalk ads. I asked how many of them had ads for other Culver businesses at their locations and suggested collaborating on that would create more of a Culver Destination, cultivating those that already came for their merchant of choice.

The only thing I felt was a negative was a list of missing businesses and a desire for the town government to somehow foster them. I am always surprised when this kind of thing comes up amongst a group of entrepreneurs. They should understand the difficulties in creating a start up business. If they were truly convinced that these missing ventures would be successful, why aren’t they investing and profiting from them on their own? I did suggest that if this was truly a need they saw, maybe the approach would be to recruit an existing business from a neighboring municipality to set up a trial satellite facility and test the waters. Setting up in some incubator space would be a much more economical venture than going all in on a new store or business. We already have several of these operating in town.

The thing I thought was missing in the conversation was The Dunes. No one truly knows how that project will affect the town. The percentage of full time residents will remain a mystery until leasing reveals it. That still doesn’t change the fact that there will be an additional influx of residents, if it is successful in any form. If it successfully brings in people from outside Culver, the local merchants need to become known. I pointed out that Culver doesn’t have a Welcome Wagon or an active Chamber… two of the main methods that outsiders learn about the community and it’s businesses. Getting something in front of them as them move in could make a critical first impression.

Chamber of Commerce in Culver

There was further discussion about the Culver Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and its rocky relationship with the town government. I suggested that I thought that could be reformed. I also suggested that reviving the CCC would be more effective than creating a similar entity, since Chambers are a known entity and often the first place visitors and new residents turn to learn about their community. This discussion was left with the group assigning several volunteers to look into this further.

All in all, it seemed like a good group and I wish them the best. I hope the group gels and is able to do some good things. I don’t know how much I’ll participate going forward as I don’t really have a retail presence nor much of a connection to it, but as always, I’m more than happy to kibitz and share my experience and knowledge.

Jackye Berger’s Passing

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Jackye Berger

Easterday Construction lost another of its third generation last week. Jacquelin (Jackye) Berger passed away Monday evening, February 9th, after the long good-bye of Alzheimer’s disease. You can read her obituary here: https://mountainviewfuneralhomeandcemetery.com/obituary/jacquelin-jackye-berger/

While never an actual employee, Jackye was an integral part of the ECC supporting cast. She would run errands, pick up supplies, help with entertaining clients and hosting company gatherings. While Larry Berger ran the company, Jackye was a stay-at-home mom. Larry was fortunate to be able to walk home for lunch most days, so he was able to spend lunch hour breaks with her. She served as a reassuring break from what was often a stressful job.

As outlined in her obituary, Jackye was also very involved in her community, volunteering and and serving on multiple boards and service entities. Her willingness to give of her time, knowledge and talents had an outsized effect on the Culver community.

Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease and the ECC family was saddened to watch her decline.

There will be a Celebration of Life this Summer when Larry returns to Culver, date yet to be determined. For those so inclined, her family requests in memoriam donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arbitrary and Capricious Fees

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Letter to Culver Town Council

I just received the billing for this year’s Fire Protection Sprinkler System fee for Sand Hill Farm Apartments in Culver. I have discussed this fee here and here in the past. Despite protesting the initial basis for this fee, and the proposed increase during budget season, an 83% increase was passed.

The previous cost, $1,203.81 + sales tax was excessive and unjustified. The 83% increase to $2,198.98 + sales tax is nearly twice as onerous! There is no inspection or scheduled inspections, no maintenance, and no record-keeping. The only justification given is the cost of bringing water to the site, which the municipality would do anyway for residential service. Reasonably, water usage for a fire in a building with sprinkler system would be significantly less than that used to fight a fire using traditional methods, since fire sprinklers generally put out the interior source before the building is engulfed. I’ll just skip over the whole idea of why there’s sales tax applied, other than to ask, what is being purchased?!

In the United States we have a generally progressive income tax system where individuals are taxed more when they make more. Conversely, we often have regressive fees that disproportionately hit the lower end of the income level. Culver’s Fire Protection Sprinkler System fee is an example of a regressive fee. There are not that many buildings with fire protection sprinkler systems in Culver, but those that do have it vary widely in size. A one-size-fits-all per building fee doesn’t take this into account. Of the buildings being affected by this fee, five of them are residential and subject to some form of rent control. Since there was a rather large rate increase to the water bill passed at the same time, this puts these lower income residents subject to a double hit.

7-24-25 email to Council President

Culver recently adjusted building permits. They were changed from a because-we-can high rate to a cost-of-service rate, justified by time tracking completed by the Culver Building Commissioner. This is a much more reasonable and defensible way of determining fees. If this were applied to the Fire Protection Service System fee, it would likely be zeroed out.

In the current Town Council’s defense, the water service fees have been left unchanged too long across the board, resulting in a larger than average increase. The blame for that lies on previous councils. That said, it’s not appropriate to hit the most vulnerable in the town’s population with an extra fee just to save a few cents on everyone’s water bills as the new fee structure is rolled out.

Exit Interviews for Businesses

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Max’s Playhouse (before)

Brandy Pohl announced the closing of Max’s Playhouse late last year. We worked with Brandy and her Architect, SRKM Architecture, on the remodeling required to bring the buildings up to early childcare standards in 2019-2020. (See this 2019 post after getting BZA approval.) We completely changed the look of the old duplex to give it a modern, clean, professional feel. We became friends and her business journey has been of interest to me. No one can accuse Brandy of not being passionate about her business and childcare in general. It was sad to see her journey in Culver end the way it did.

Brandy posted an offer to explain what transpired, causing the business model to fail, to anyone interested. This was to tell her story about why she closed, how she got to that point, and how she saw that affecting Culver. Only three people from Culver responded and in the end, only two of us showed up.

Max’s Playhouse (after)

I am not going to attempt to tell Brandy’s story. It is hers to tell. But what struck me is that this isn’t a story about just a failed business. She has other similar businesses that are successful in other communities. This is a story of a business that couldn’t make it in Culver… A business that was struggling and, openly and publicly, questioning its ability to continue in Culver, while posts on Culver’s list serve, TGL, were asking for additional childcare facilities.

This was a somewhat unique opportunity. Unless there is a public statement about a retirement, most businesses close quietly. Business failures, even when beyond the owner’s control like this one, are hard to talk about. They usually involve financial costs and sometimes worse, like in this case, shattered dreams. I was disappointed there were no elected officials that took Brandy up on this. (Marty Oosterbaan was there from the CRC.) I’m not privy to whether they have met privately with her, but this seemed like a forum where they should have been represented. This was the chance for a rare, business exit interview.

The town is embarking on a new downtown redevelopment study. As I understand it, this is geared towards several goals, two of the most prominent being; 1) filling vacant commercial buildings and 2) preparing existing and new businesses to serve the growth expected from The Dunes development. Bringing in new businesses is much tougher than supporting existing businesses, and while not directly in the downtown target area, Culver just added another business vacancy with the loss of Max’s Playhouse. There doesn’t seem to be a question that this was a needed service.

I’ve learned from Brandy that childcare is a difficult business in Indiana. Unlike what we are hearing about the Minnesota debacle, there is excessive oversight paperwork, with many standards to meet. On top of that, it would appear that the rules change, at a minimum with every administration, but in general every year or so. That’s a tough model within which to work.

I would suggest that Culver could work on some form of business exit interview strategy. You would hope that there is communication before it comes to the point of a business closing, but if not, there should be an attempt to learn from any turnover happening. This could be something that the new consultant helps develop. Having the consultant do some of these along with a town official could provide valuable insight. A perfect example: How valuable would it be to the NFP group trying to revive the theater to know the personal and financial challenges that caused the theater to close? Others that fulfilled a perceived need that would merit a conversation, would be: 1) The Bennett family, who recently closed a second generation contracting and appliance business, 2) Don Baker, who ran a bicycle shop (Which seems like a natural fit with the push for trails and other outdoor recreation.), 3) Kyle Pugh, who ran the Axe to the Max axe throwing venue (Another entertainment venue that is a perceived missing piece in Culver.), and 4) George & Tammy Pesek, who moved the Evil Czeck Brewery (Another popular request.) and the Corndance to South Bend.

In the past, MCEDC has helped fill this role with their BEAR (Business Expansion And Retention) interviews, but MCEDC’s focus is more industrial. Also, when interviews are conducted, they need to be done in a friendly, open manor, rather than accusatory. Town officials can’t be offended when shortcomings are pointed out. Often, to the town’s credit, some of the shortcomings I heard turned out to be communication issues not actual deficiencies, i.e. there was a program or other service available of which the business was unaware. Culver generally does a good job of communicating, but respectful non-defensive listening is a part of that.

In whatever format, asking what businesses need in order to thrive is never a wasted effort, but it can become wasted if there is no follow up. In most cases, the exit interview is too late, but ongoing conversations could help eliminate the need for them.

Culver – Downtown Redevelopment

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The Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC) will be having a special meeting this Wednesday at 6:30. (See the notice to the right.) They are really making an effort to get a good turnout, thus the venue move to the School Admin Building.

The presentation will be from a company called Retail Strategies. They are one of three firms that responded to an RFP the town manager put out earlier this year. As you can see from the announcement, they are proposing to provide consultation on downtown revitalization for Culver, particularly looking at the two downtown corridors on Main Street and Lake Shore Drive.

The discussion at the CRC has been to look into what can be done to make our downtown areas more successful as a first step with future expansion to the rest of the town. This is partially a response to The Dunes and how to provide services for the additional full time residents the town hopes to attract.

I have a conflict, so I won’t be there for this presentation. My two thoughts on what I would have liked to hear are:

  1. The concentration on the downtown areas is fine as a first step, but that shouldn’t be done without also looking at the town as a whole and how everything fits together. Too often Culver falls into a one step back before two steps forward pattern. Inefficient at best. Generally costly too. I know we have a rough framework of what should happen in the town as a whole from the Comp Plan, but making sure any sub-plans fit holistically into the master plan is important. How will this concentrated plan fit?
  2. The thing Culver needs more than another analysis (We’ve been analyzed more than Tony Soprano!) is an implementation plan the town can actually do. Culver did great things with Stellar, but has somewhat stalled since then. The impetus to move things forward has to come from the Town Council. I’m not sure that they have the same fire that was there for Stellar. A restating of the problems we already recognize won’t hurt, but it’s that next step towards action that matters. Will the Town Council be at the meeting and will they step up?

This is meant for the downtown merchants, so I hope they step up too. This could be a major benefit to them, but only if they participate and help work the plan. I appreciate the Town Manager and CRC taking this on. They can’t just do it though. They need active participation and help from those affected. The town can assist in this, but the merchants and property owners have to take the reins at some point and make it happen.