Culver Stellar Update
Last Thursday I traveled to Carmel with a contingency from Culver (Ginny Munroe, Jonathan Leist, Anna Campbell and Mike Reese) to attend an information seminar on the 2017 Stellar Communities program. The meeting was hosted by Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) at their facility.
The meeting consisted of presentations by all the participating agencies, most of which are represented on the graphic to the right. The big three in this group for Culver are Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs (OCRA), Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA), and Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). But in saying that, that is where we concentrated efforts last year, and hearing some of the presentations from other service providers there, we found that there are additional programs we should be considering. This was further emphasized in the breakout session where we were able to talk to representatives from each group and find out specifics on what programs might apply to Culver. We received a lot of encouragement from the people at the Arts Commission (IAC), Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and even the Indiana Bond Bank (IBB).
The Stellar Communities presentation underway at IMPA in Carmel
The agencies involved continue to go out of their way to emphasize that this is not a grant program. This is a program to accelerate initiatives that are already underway in the community. Three of last year’s projects, Sand Hill Farm Housing Development, the Community Bike/Pedestrian Trail and the improvements to the Beach Lodge/Park, are moving forward as we speak. To paraphase Jennifer Vandeburg, our OCRA Community Liaison, “Stellar Communities is designed to be nitrous in your community gas tank, giving that boost to allow projects with a 8-10 year horizon to accelerate to completion in 3-4 years.”
Jonathan Leist, Town Manager, recently reported that over 125 community members responded to the Stellar Survey he sent out. The survey was designed to assess whether the Stellar Committee was still on track. It also include a few additional projects to consider. While this is a good response, more is needed. One of the things we will be graded on is community participation and support.
Sand Hill Farm Preliminary Plan
Part of this community support is making sure that Culver’s various boards and commissions are behind this effort. The two major players in this field will be the Town Council (Ginny Munroe, Sally Ricciardi, Dave Beggs, Joel Samuelson, Tammy Shaffer and Town Clerk, Karen Heim) and the Redevelopment Commission (Brandon Cooper, Sue McInturff, Tammy Shaffer, Rich West, Tom Yuhas). Be sure and encourage any members of those two entities to get behind this effort. Go out of your way to do so! That doesn’t mean that many of the other boards and commission won’t play a role. Please also encourage the members of the Plan Commission, BZA, Tree Commission, etc. to do their part to support the effort. They all need to hear that the community is behind this.
Even if we don’t get Stellar this year (I hate to even say that!), the effort has no doubt been time and money well spent. Everyone we spoke to made mention of remembering our community and the golf cart tour. The golf cart I drove had two representatives from IHCDA, both of whom recognized me and spent extra time talking to me about our housing project. The representatives from DNR have now actually walked and ridden on part of our pedestrian trail, so when the plans comes before them, they can visualize the potential. The representatives from INDOT have actually ridden down Jefferson Street and understand the improvement needs. The representatives from the Arts Commission, having seen our Town, made specific suggestions on what they could do to help. I truly believe that our OCRA Community Liaison now is invested in seeing us succeed, where before we were just another one of many communities in her territory. As our President would say, “This is HUGE!” We have made great strides in building relationships that will pay off in the future. Go Stellar!
Congratulations to Jennifer Martin and Country Auto Center
Congratulations Jennifer! It’s always nice to see our friends, clients and business partners succeed. In this case, we count Jennifer and Country Auto Center as all three. (The article to the right appeared in the February 4-5, 2017 edition of the Pilot News.)
We have worked with Country Auto Center and Jennifer & Joe Martin on several expansions over the years including their most recent facade update and vehicle birthing room addition. We have also purchased our last three vehicles from them as well as one corporate vehicle.
Charley Creek Inn Dedication Plaque
It’s fairly timely after my January 9th post regarding the Plymouth High School dedication plaque that the dedication plaque for the Charley Creek Inn Expansion project was installed. It was discussed last Fall that having a plaque to dedicate the expansion to Richard Ford, since this was one of his last visions. I’m sure he would be proud that his nephews followed through on this vision and made the project possible. The plaque was produced for us by Vanadco in Argos. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. and SRKM Architecture participated in this plaque for the honor of having our names included.
The plaque is Bronze relief with a dark brown mottled background. It was placed on the northeast column on the front of the courtyard where it can be read from the street. It was mounted to the brick using concealed fasteners. One of those nerve wracking installations since it involves drilling holes into the brick without causing spalling. It was also critical to get the mounting correct so that the plaque sat level and centered on the column when the installation was complete. John, Scott and Zack did a nice job with this installation.
Some of my lurkers know that I serve on the Marshall County Community Foundation board of directors. At the last meeting, the board president asked each of us to name a couple of individuals that were an influence on my life. This past year working on the Charley Creek Inn expansion, Richard has been in my thoughts and I want to do my best since he’s watching. I named him as one of the people who was an influence on me. He is an endorsement on our website. I will never forget when I asked him if he would endorse us, he said, “Of course. My father told me never to pass up a chance to do something good for someone.” I know that Richard took those words to heart and they have influenced me as well. I was fortunate to serve on a philanthropic board with Richard and learn from his generous donation of time and energy. This also influenced me on my decisions to serve on other boards and give back to the community.
