Culver Plan Commission September MIA?

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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:

  • The Comprehensive Plan – Most of the Plan Commission has not been involved in the production of the new comp plan, having delegated it to Culver Crossroads. Only one Plan Commission member has been an active Culver Crossroads participant. While the production has been delegated, passing of the plan will still fall on them and this would have been a good time to familiarize themselves with the current draft before the required public meetings. As it stands, they are going to have trouble answering public input questions, since they are not familiar with the new document or the decision making process that went into it.
  • The Solar Ordinance – They have discussed the need to move this forward quickly as the moratorium passed by the Town Council has left property owners in limbo. This would have been a good time to start assembling names of potential subcommittee members.
  • The Zoning Ordinance – We have been talking about cleaning up the mistakes from the last go around for several years. Just taking a section at a time in slow meetings would move this forward.
  • The Dunes – This too will be coming before the Plan Commission as a subdivision request. The planning for this is an important function of the commission.
    • Related to The Dunes, we are about to start the process of establishing the biggest subdivision (that I know of) since Culver established zoning in the 50’s. I don’t know when the last time the Subdivision Ordinance was updated, but it has been more than 20 years. It references old standards and doesn’t include things like the Complete Streets Ordinance, which was passed 4 or 5 years ago.
  • Beste Property – The Planned Unit Development zoning district for these parcels has been undone and the property has gone back to its previous zoning designation, S-1. There has been discussion that there should be a change to this, since the property has been annexed. The property is on the market, so giving some guidance to future buyers would be appropriate.

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.

40 Years with ABC

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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.

Strange Use of Funds…

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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.)

Southwest corner of North Street and SR 17

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.

Northwest corner of Center Street and SR 17

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.

Looking South to the Southwest corner of Center Street and SR 17

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…

9/11 Remembrance

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9/11 Memorial Creator: BrianEKushner | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Congress has designated Sept. 11 as a day of observance known, officially, as Patriot Day, the date most Americans know as 9/11. It’s been 22 years since that fateful attack on New York and Washington, DC.

There are those arguing that it should be a National Holiday. While I think there should be conversation about the event and that the lives lost surround it should be honored, I struggle to see how another day off does this. The number of my peers that actually use Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day to honor our lost troops is small, while those losses are great.

That said, I would like to take a moment to express my sorrow for my fellow Americans lost that day. Not just those that were initially lost in the tragedy, but the hundreds of fire fighters, ambulance personnel and police officers that lost their lives rushing to help.

Bald Eagle Paying Respect…
Photographer, Frank Glick, at http://www.liketophoto.com

I would also like to thank all of the service men and women that have answered the call since this event. For the past two decades they have been fighting the evil around the world that would hope to do this again. By fighting them on foreign soil, they have served to protect their (our) homeland from these acts. May their efforts prevent this evil from reaching our shores again.

And finally, I would like to admonish those of our politicians that have forgotten this and would make us vulnerable again. 9/11 should never be a day of political speeches. That is absolutely the wrong message, here and abroad.

Another Dalmatian in Culver

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New public art has appeared at the corner of Lake Shore Drive and Ohio Street in the form of a painted fire hydrant. It appeared without any fanfare that I saw, so I’m guessing this wasn’t an approved installation! Ha! While I am not a big fan of the other Dalmatians in Town, this one makes me smile every time I drive by it.

I’m sure there are those out there that consider this defacing public property. That’s probably part of the reason that this was done with no fanfare. I had a former client that was known for saying, “It’s quicker and easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Back in the day, my mother, Jackye Berger, was part of the Maxinkuckee Jr. Women’s Club (sic?) and as a bicentennial project, they painted many of the fire hydrants in Culver Red, White, and Blue with some of the more artistic members creating versions of Uncle Sam and Founding Fathers. I couldn’t find any original pictures from Culver’s past, but I found the FL version to the right, which is a pretty good representation. Obviously this was part of some national movement. Too bad it lost steam. It resulted in a lot of fire hydrants taking on patrons. Some were kept up for years, but I only know of one that still has the patriotic colors. With the exception of a few red & white ones downtown, the only one I know if that’s still Red, White and Blue is on the Millers Merry Manor property fronting on S.R. 10. (See below)

The Culver Crossroads Committee has an Arts Committee. They are promoting art installations and things such as the various murals going up around Culver. I wonder if this kind of blast from the past could be taken under their purview as public art…

If you know of more decorated hydrants, share them in the comments!