It seems that The Dunes is not just the talk of Culver, but that has bled over into other areas of Marshall County. It came up in side conversations at the last One Marshall County meeting, which was interesting. Local Architect, Brent Martin, made the comment, “300 doors? That’s a small community.” That made me think. Most of the conversations in Culver revolve around that number being more than 25% of the current population of Culver. So Culver grows by about 20% with this addition. That number is 17% of the population of Argos. That number is 61% of the population of LaPaz. That number is less than 3% the population of Plymouth. It’s probably at least 6 times the population of Burr Oak! And yes, all these numbers assume that there is no more than one soul behind each of those 300 doors; an unlikely prospect.
But this is an unusual conversation. I don’t recall that kind of percentage being discussed when other developments have been planned. It’s more usual for there to be a discussion about jobs created, kids in school, etc. Few communities in our area would consider adding population a negative. I know the fact that The Paddocks and Sand Hill Farm Apartments was adding residents was never discussed as a percentage, though using the same fuzzy math, they added 6% to Culver’s population.
I’ve heard from multiple people how much this will change Culver. Many of these are people that moved here and undoubtedly created some change in the fabric of the town as well. When I look at the pie chart I included here, 20% doesn’t seem that large to me. Though most of us know the 80-20 rule, I doubt that this 20% will be that cohesive and organized.
But this is also why I’ve advocated for some additional urban planning input on this. I think the Town has done a reasonable good job in hiring appropriate legal representation. They have hired appropriate financial representation. Why not hire a consultant that will look at the land-use/infrastructure/social-fabric parts of this addition to the town? It would seem to be money well spent considering the amount of angst it is causing with current residents. It will never and has never been easy. Back in the dark ages when I was on the Culver Chamber of Commerce board, Eric Freeman, then Chamber President, and I joked that the unofficial motto for Culver was, “Change is bad, even if it’s Change for the Better.” That’s one thing that hasn’t changed…
Just a mini rant… I was a bit upset to find out that the September Plan Commission meeting was cancelled because there wasn’t anything on the agenda. (Per the Building Commissioner) I know it’s a mostly thankless job and that the pay is poor. ($0: They’re volunteers) I was still disappointed that the commission didn’t take the opportunity to catch up on some of the things that they don’t have time for because their meetings are usually busy. Here’s a short list off the top of my head:
That’s my short list… With a little thought, I’m sure I could double it, but there are hours and hours that could be spent related to the five thing above.
I give volunteers a lot of respect. I’m not going to come down hard on them for taking a breather. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t important things to do.
This month marks 40 years since Easterday Construction Co., Inc. (ECC) joined Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). I’ve written about this before, and our continuation with ABC has been for the same reasons. In recent years, our chapter, ABC of Indiana, has become ABC of Indiana/Kentucky. Despite some continuing concerns, this has mostly been a good combination.
Our main reason for continuing with ABC is the the voice it has in the Statehouse. That’s not to say we don’t take advantage of other membership options. We currently have an employee in their NLRB approved Carpentry Apprenticeship program and we yearly document our safety through their STEP program. We have also participated in their Excellence in Construction program, winning awards for our work on the Charlie Creek Inn, Dr. James Ford Historic Home and the St. Mary of the Lake renovation. We have a representative on the Chapter Board.
While ECC hold memberships with several Chambers of Commerce, NFIB and other groups, ABC is the only business group that caters specifically to the Merit Shop construction industry. We’re proud to be ABC members and support their work while they support our work.
I don’t know about you, but I keep driving through Burr Oak and wondering when they are going to finish the project there. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s done! What a weird little project for INDOT to take on… They probably spent nearly as much on traffic control as they did for the actual work. (Along with all the signs on S.R. 17, there are orange warning signs on North Street and Center Street.)
Lurkers know, I have long predicted a renaissance in Burr Oak, starting with “If it ain’t Burr Oak, don’t fix it” back in 2014 and again in 2017, but I’m not sure what these little pieces of sidewalk really accomplish.
There are now ADA compliant sidewalk intersections with ramps, with ADA warning pads and ADA compliant widths choked down to meet existing non-compliant walks… where there are existing walks… In the case of the the walk shown to the right at the southwest corner of North Street and SR 17, neither sidewalk this improvement ties into goes anywhere beyond a couple of houses.
The improvement at the north west corner of Center Street and SR 17 is even more bizarre, as the walks in either direction are impassible and I assume, because there was no existing walk at the southwest corner of Center Street and SR 17, they didn’t do anything there. This makes the ADA warning pad shown to the right, point to… nothing… You’re back to walking on the highway.
I assume the new walks terminate on the west end where the Right of Way for SR 17 ends. I’m curious though, that if the State deemed it necessary to upgrade these sidewalks at these intersections, then why was this not a complete project, extending accessible sidewalks from the Burr Oak Whistle Stop on the south to Sunstar Hybrids (Osborn Seed) on the north? The same question applies to the east side of SR 17…
I don’t begrudge the citizens of Burr Oak the improvements. As I said, their time is coming. If the County sewer districts that are in the works materialize, that time maybe soon. I do question the use of these funds in this manner. As they are currently installed, if a follow up project materializes to continue the walks as contemplated above, these corners would need to be at least partially demolished and reworked. This is a mistake Culver has made in the past and one I’ve ranted about here…
Urban Planner
October 9, 2023
Kevin Berger
Commentary, Culver
Community, Culver, government, Planning, The Dunes, Trends
Riffing off my last post, here are a few things that I think an Urban Planner or similar professional can bring to the table… In the vein of my post, “Culver Needs an Infrastructure Czar”, an Urban Planner could step back and take a holistic approach on how this affects Culver now and into the future making sure we aren’t making another two steps forward, one step back mistake. I’ve broken these things up into major headings for some organization:
Infrastructure
in-fra-struc-ture – /ˈinfrəˌstrək(t)SHər/ – the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.
Aesthetics
aes-thet-ics – /esˈTHediks/ – a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art.
Culture
cul-ture – /ˈkəlCHər/ – the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular social group.
I feel that an outside eye is needed here. I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface of things that should be considered. Someone (or firm) that has worked with communities like ours and has experience in this type of change to smaller towns. Just like the funds being expended on outside legal advice and outside financial advice, this is place where we could benefit from planning advice. I think it could go a long way to making things better.
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