MCEDC Annual Report
Great to see that Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is back on track with Annual Reports. (And not just because of my teeny-tiny picture on the cover! Ha!) Riverside Commons actually has two references in the report, though not by name.
The lack of an Annual Report was one of the major issues in my last couple of years on the board. It got contentious with that director fabricating a false schedule for producing a report that never happened. Then it was apparently just completely disregarded by the next director. I’m glad to see that the new leadership under Greg Hildebrand includes living up to commitments, the Annual Report being one of these.
I don’t know how Greg is doing on the State and National levels, but on the local level, it’s been refreshing to have a MCEDC President that is not constantly burning bridges, MIA or joked about due to the inability to contact them or find them in the office. He also doesn’t take his title too seriously. IYKYK This will go a long way to improving MCEDC’s image and returning it to the mission it had when it was founded.
I hope we will be seeing quarterly newsletters again too. The organization has to be seen and seen as productive in order to continue to move the county forward. Even at its low points, I felt it was positive for Marshall County to have MCEDC. Good luck to Greg as he strives to make it an organization of which we can be proud once again.
Electronic Sign Update
Well, following up on my previous sign posts (Pun Intended), there was some improvement around graduation with some good info on schools and congratulatory posts, but that ended rather quickly. We’re back to Date & Time, Affirmations and the Farmer’s Market.
I didn’t see anything about LaPaz’s Sesquicentennial celebration last weekend. There’s been nothing about the Mayor’s Months of Music kicking off at River Park Square in Plymouth. I know there are a lot of other things going on throughout the County we could share.
Locally we have a concert at the park on Saturday. The Park has a movie night on June 23rd. We have calls for Miss Maxinkuckee entrants. The library has programs almost weekly. It’s never too soon to start promoting Lakefest coming up July 14th. There is no reason to ever see the Date & Time on that sign! Ha!
Crosswalks
At the Culver Town Council meeting this Tuesday, Don Fox made a presentation on Make My Move. It’s an interesting pilot program to encourage full-time remote workers to relocate to Indiana. Culver is a participant in the pilot program and already has someone interested.
Later, under public input, Don again spoke. He first commended the Council for their wisdom for installing the crosswalk markers in the middle of Lake Shore Drive at the Beach Lodge, Osborn’s Mini Mart and The Lakehouse Grille. He then requested they consider adding these at State Street, Washington Street and Madison Street.
It was quickly pointed out that the crossing at State Street was included in the original sign placement, but it quickly became apparent that it interfered with the ingress/egress of fire trucks at the fire station. Someone in the audience extrapolated this to be a problem if a sign was installed at the Madison Street crossing due to the narrowing of the street in this area created with the landscape/traffic islands. This also devolved into a conversation about whether this would require a sign ordinance reference or if it was exempt since it was State Law. At that point it was tabled until the next meeting.
Culver’s traffic is not unique, but it is often comprised of a mix of locals that know the area and visitors, both motorists and pedestrians, that are not as familiar with the area. One suggestion I would put forward in lieu of the center-of-the-road signs is to use Shark Teeth as an added reminder. (See left) They serve two purposes: 1) Providing a visual cue that there is a crosswalk and 2) Providing a visual cue for where to stop when there is a pedestrian in the intersection.
Nothing is free, so even though it’s just paint, there would be some cost for installation and maintenance. These will not work for snow covered roads, but at that point, you can’t see the crosswalk either! Also, the Town only has the the yellow center-of-the-road signs up Spring through Fall, since they would be destroyed by snow plows in the winter. To the best of my knowledge, Shark Teeth have not been used within the Town of Culver, but they were installed by INDOT on S.R. 10 at the crossings to the Academies sports fields. Unfortunately those are currently an example of what they look like when they aren’t maintained…
The ones in the picture above are from Plymouth, IN and I believe they are on one of their Safe Routes to School. I will say that when I first ran across them, I slowed to try and figure out what they were, but had to look it up later to actually know. I’ve also been behind people in Culver that have seen the little yield sign on the center-of-the-road signs and stopped… even though there were no pedestrians anywhere near the crosswalk… Education is an important component of any plan. But just some slowing and extra attention is the point, isn’t it?
I’m sure there will be other ideas, but this seems to be an economical and efficient solution.
Kids Rule
It often comes up that Marshall County is disadvantaged by not having public transportation. This is one of many “Save the Planet” initiatives and often called out as a CC problem. But I can’t help but wonder how effective it would be when we don’t use the one that’s already in place? I’m talking about School Buses…
I’m not picking on the current generation in school (except for Greta), because this has been an issue for decades. The number of kids on the buses continues to dwindle as the parking lots at schools continue to grow. There’s some justification in the older kids that have extra curriculars and maybe after school jobs, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we have a working public transit system that is largely being abandoned.
To some extent, this appears to be a trained response. Schools are forced to accommodate the “car line” phenomenon, where increasingly, kids at younger ages are dropped off and picked up by a parent. Despite new accommodations, there are still traffic jams around schools in the mornings and late afternoons as parents line up to pick up their kids. Watching from the outside, I don’t see many cases of carpooling in these lines either.
I know a few school administrators that would probably shoot me for pushing more bus use, since they are constantly looking for drivers, but allowing for the personnel problem, the rest of the system is already in place and budgeted. Are there options for creative scheduling to at least accommodate the extracurricular things? Would promoting school bus use for students help stem the tide of personal vehicle use? Could school buses be repurposed during non-school delivery times to serve as public transportation, saving the creation of new infrastructure?
Honestly, I’m not sure how viable public transportation is for rural areas; school buses or otherwise. Even at the size of Plymouth (10,000), I’m not sure there’s sufficient mass to justify the cost, let alone for all of Marshall County. But my point is, if we’re not weaning the next generation off individual car transportation, then it’s not going to matter. If we continue to cater to them, acting as personal chauffeurs for 5-year-olds, and making personal car ownership a right of passage at 16, then the trend won’t be broken. Kids Rule…
++++++++++++++++
For more of my thoughts on school buses, try Commuting Observations.
Culver’s Electronic Sign Spoke to Me!
July 3, 2023
Kevin Berger
Commentary, Culver, Humor, Stellar
Community, Culver, government, Rants, Volunteering
On my way into the office this morning I noticed the cute little Lakefest signs along School Street. Of course, I wondered if Lakefest was on the electronic sign, since all I had seen on my way past it was the day and date. (See right)
So I looped back to see what was on the sign:
So, I was a bit upset that the biggest event on the Culver Calendar is this month and it’s not on the sign, but then wait… “Don’t Give Up”!? Was the sign speaking to me? Ha!
For my lurkers, I’ve been harping on the sign not living up to it’s charter, let alone it’s potential for months now. I’m more tactful in public as I don’t want to offend those in charge, but I still think it would be great to see Lakefest on the Culver Sign and repeated on the other Stellar signs in Argos, Bourbon, Bremen, Lapaz and Plymouth.
So, with the encouragement of the sign itself, I decided to put out another post, encouraging the Town to make better use of this asset. Lakefest is a Culver event that should be drawing visitors from around the County, so it really should be on all the signs this month.
To some extent I understand this responsibility should fall on the Visit Marshall County, but unless the communities step up, it won’t happen. If each took responsibility to spread their respective events, this would (well should) take hold. Lets make it happen, people! Do it for the Sign!
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