For those of you looking for the Firemen’s Memorial post I discussed at the Town Council this evening, I’ve conveniently linked it here.
For those of you that couldn’t make it to the meeting, I presented the Firemen’s Memorial to the Town Council this evening. The project is proposed for the northeast corner of the intersection of Slate Street and Lake Shore Drive. The lot is owned by the Town and is currently used as a parking lot for the firemen. The lot is zoned C-1. The basic conundrum was that Culver’s Zoning Ordinance doesn’t have a designation for Monuments or Memorials no matter what the zoning district.
I had discussed this with Russ Mason, Culver’s Building Commissioner, and we agreed that the best solution was to request the Town Council to accept the structure as a Municipal Sign. (The Town Council is exempt from ordinance requirements for their signs.) I presented it as such to the Council this evening. Russ was there to back me up. After a brief discussion, the Council agreed that this was an appropriate designation for a worthy project.
This knocks down another obstacle, so the project is moving forward. Now we’re just held up by the minor problem of fundraising…
This has been a Public Service Announcement… If I were a little more ambitious this evening, I would find a mpg of NBC’s “The More You Know” tag music to play in the background…
The Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council (LMEC) is sponsoring a Canoe/Kayak Poker Run at Lakefest this year. They currently have 25 registrants and are looking for another 27. I think Kathy wants to try playing with a full deck…
If you’re interested, contact Kathy Clark at the LMEC office at (574) 842-3686 or stop by at 116 North Main Street, Culver. You can also find a registration form online here. The registration deadline has been extended to July 11th at 3:00 pm. Participants will get a tee shirt commemorating the event.
It should be a fun event! Canoes and Kayaks will hit the water Friday, July 20th, at 5:oopm. Good luck to everyone that decides to give it a try!
Just as an update to our previous post here, Jeff Kenney wrote a piece regarding Kris Bex’s presentation to the Culver Kiwanis Club in the June 14th edition of the Culver Citizen. (You can click on the article to the below to enlarge it.) Thanks for the plug Jeff!
I would imagine Jeff found a kindred soul in Kris Bex, knowing Jeff’s interests in writing and history. The Remnant Trust’s focused mission to preserve documents promoting Liberty and Dignity makes it a unique asset to Northern Indiana.
I will be attending a Remnant Trust event this evening. There will be a tour of the facility, some period character actors and a social gathering for local supporters. I’m looking forward to the event (even though I’m forced to wear a tie!). It is always interesting to go back to completed projects and see how they evolve from the original plans. The Remnant Trust is a particularly interesting example since the facility serves as somewhat of a museum and is constantly changing their displays and presentations.
Jennifer Laurent, Executive Director of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), gave an update to the Culver Town Council last night. Aside from giving a report on some of the activities MCEDC is involved in throughout the County, she discussed some of the specifics for Culver. One these was her interactions with Elkay Wood Products, formerly Medallion Cabinetry. Jennifer facilitated a radio interview June 15th on WTCA with Rick Coffman, Operations Manager, to discuss what they do and what their plans for the future are. I think a key point here is that no one else in Culver is making these kind of contacts and making sure our largest industrial client is helped.
Jennifer also commended the Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission for making the first steps towards a new Comprehensive Plan. (20/20 Vision for Culver!) She stressed some of the visioning needs that the plan should address along with the nuts & bolts infrastructure and land planning functions.
This is much like what I’ve been trying to promote with the various groups… We need to use the development of the new Comprehensive Plan as the catalyst for new ideas about Culver’s future. Communities are either growing or dying. Maintaining the Status Quo is impossible.
Jennifer is also working with Culver’s new Town Manager, Jeff Schoeff, to coordinate some training sessions for the Redevelopment Commission, Plan Commission and Town Council. One important topic will be TIF Districts. Others topics relating to finances and the various powers of these boards will be considered as well.
I hope the council members and those in the audience recognize the value Culver gets from leveraging their funds in with Marshall County and the other Marshall County communities. Budgets will no doubt be tight again this year, but without MCEDC, who would be doing these things for Culver? We have so many individuals with good intentions, but they can’t make up for someone with dedicated time and tenure based on performance.
Last night the Culver Redevelopment Commission met for their regular monthly meeting. Kathy Clark spoke to the group in support of some projects that had come before them. (Kathy was the chair of the Redevelopment Commission when it was first formed.)
She was there to help my cause of getting the Redevelopment Commission to fund the new Comprehensive Plan. She stated that the Comprehensive plan is an integral part of retaining and bringing new business to Culver by setting goals and planning on where development should occur. She cited examples of how the original Redevelopment Commission used the Comprehensive Plan to determine how to layout the TIF districts and where to spend the money that was provided by the TIF districts. She also gave her reasoning on where TIF money should be spent. The Commission was moved by her insights and has chosen to fund the Comprehensive Plan. They did put some caveats on the cost and they did ask for involvement in selecting the consultant, but overall it was a big step forward. Culver just may get 20/20 vision before 2020 arrives!
Bob Porter, Culver Utilities Superintendent, was there to request funding for a clock to be added to the Downtown Revitalization Project. The Commission agreed to fund this too, probably due to Kathy’s pep talk. Bob didn’t give a lot of details other than that it would be a four faced post clock which would be set in the Right-of-Way somewhere around the intersection of Main Street and Jefferson Street.
Tom Kearns and Mike Stallings were there from the Culver Tree Commission requesting funding for a tree project to improve School Street starting at the intersection with S.R. 10 and running south to Academy Road. (See sketch) Tom indicated that they had the support of all the property owners involved. He also stated that the tree selections were made with the power lines in mind as well as a goal of having color throughout the year. It was a good night to visit the Redevelopment Commission as they chose to fund this project as well!