Culver
ECC & Culver Stellar
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. showed up twice in the latest Culver ‘Stellar Update’ for December. We were part of the Marshall County Crossroads Stellar Team serving on the Housing Subcommittee. Kevin Berger is pictured on the stage with the Stellar Committee after the presentation in Indianapolis last November. That group met once or twice a month from late Spring to late Summer helping to prepare the housing portion of the application. This included two new IHCDA LIHTC projects and additional funds for owner-occupied housing rehabilitation. We were extremely pleased to help make this another successful Stellar application. Congratulations to Marshall County Crossroads for achieving Stellar designation.
We also appeared later in the Stellar Update with an article about the progress of The Paddocks. The Paddocks was the signature project for Culver’s Stellar application and the Stellar designation which Culver achieved in 2017. The investment Culver made in the housing development was instrumental in achieving Stellar designation. It was proof that Culver not only had a plan, but was working that plan.
A lot of additional work has been completed since that picture was taken. The building is mislabeled in the Stellar Update. It is actually one of the townhome buildings. The wall framing for this building is nearly complete and the trusses are currently being set. We’ll be installing windows and doors shortly so as to get it weathered in.
We have been pleased to play a part in the two Stellar designations in our area and look forward to seeing the fruits of these efforts appear over the next few years.
Max’s Playhouse at the BZA
Last Thursday Brandy Pohl appeared before the BZA to get a Special Use Variance for Max’s Playhouse‘s new location at 450 & 454 School Street. I’ve been helping Brandy through the construction process and appeared with her at the variance hearing. The article to the right appeared in the December 26th Edition of the Culver Citizen.
Max’s Playhouse is an interesting project as it is basically residential construction with added caveats required for licensing as a child care provider. Brandy knows her requirements backwards and forwards, but blending those into residential construction has created a few challenges for us.
The location on School Street seems to be a perfect one as it is grouping three of the main child care providers, Max’s Playhouse, Culver Community Schools and Wesley Church within a two block area. There are some issues with the traffic flow which Brandy hopes to work out with the Town Council soon. Solutions there could affect the budget and the work she hopes to do.
As a personal side note, the BZA is a tough sell when the Town is looking for citizens to serve. Very rarely do all sides appearing before the board leave happy. Dan Adams has served on that board for years. He demonstrated his pragmatism and tact again Thursday night as he condensed the hearing down to the basic issues and brought the board to a unanimous decision. There was some public opposition, but most of it didn’t pertain to the issues before the board. He allowed the audience input and then tactfully ended it before it became contentious. I was pleased to hear that Dan has agreed to serve another term on the board. His steady hand there has served the Town well. I always know I will get a fair hearing when Dan runs the show.
Marshall County Crossroads Presentation at the Statehouse
Tuesday morning I braved the elements to head to Indianapolis to support the Marshall County Crossroads team for their Stellar Presentation. This was their last effort and last chance to make an impression on the State officials that would be judging the competition this year. This was Marshall County’s second attempt at Stellar Region Designation. The experience they gained last year showed.
I had attended the workshops at Swan Lake, served on the housing committee and helped with the LIHTC portion of the application, so I was familiar with the goals and the changes from last year. I think this year’s application was much stronger than the year before. It was obvious that community engagement was better and the initial partnerships had grown. There was a lot more buy-in from community groups. An example of these expanded buy-in was through the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF). They purposefully reviewed the grants in their Fall round for projects that enhanced not just the Stellar application, but the overall Quality of Life plan. Linda Yoder, MCCF Executive Director, was one of the presenters.
Last year there was no IHCDA LIHTC project, but this year I stressed the importance of including LIHTC. This year there were two – one in LaPaz and one in Plymouth. I met with representatives of all of the communities, but only LaPaz and Plymouth felt that LIHTC was a fit for them, were able to come of with property and were willing to pass supportive resolutions. Brent Martin of SRKM Architecture also stepped up to spearhead the IHCDA Owner Occupied Housing portion of the application, so overall the housing section stood out.
While the presentation was well done, what really stood out was the Question & Answer section at the end. All the presenters were seated on the stage and the State Agency’s asked them questions about the initiatives. The answers were provided seamlessly by various representatives and without any competition for the microphone. They worked well together as a team. Some of us were in the audience as back-up if in depth questions came up. There were very few of those that the presenters couldn’t answer on their own. They were well prepared.
The team had arranged for students from some of the schools to be there. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the number of students were limited, but because of the efforts made to involve them, the attendance was appreciated. At one point, somewhat out of the blue, the INDOT representative turned to the students and asked them questions. With no preparation or expectation of this, the two students that spoke answered the questions flawlessly! Very Cool!
Overall I was impressed with Marshall County’s leadership for stepping up to this. The highest Kudos go to Ginny Munroe, Culver’s Town Council President, for stepping up to this challenge. On the heals of Culver’s Stellar Designation, this was a big undertaking. Culver has been moving their Stellar projects forward while this has been happening at the County level. Despite this, Ginny stepped up and lead our region, building on the experienced gained in Culver. I think that was key to making Marshall County competitive. If Marshall County wins, Culver’s assistance will have been a huge part of making it happen.
Big Splash
This past Saturday saw the individual ribbon cuttings for the combined Marshall County Philanthropy Center and the Dr. Susan Bardwell Aquatic Center project. The picture above is from The Pilot News documenting the speeches that were given before the ribbon cutting at the Philanthropy Center.
I represented Culver on the Marshall County Economic Development (MCEDC) Board and the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) Board when these projects started. I helped more on the development side while at MCEDC and then helped MCCF with architectural plan reviews, construction site visits and oversight advice. I sometimes give public boards and commissions grief about not making the best use of community knowledge. Sharing expertise is the most valuable form of volunteering. MCCF took full advantage of what I could offer and I was glad to share it. A win-win all around! It’s always better to get involved than to just complain.
Heritage Park Mural
Sometimes our projects make the news. Sometimes it’s our staff. This time it’s equipment! We are leasing scaffolding to the Town of Culver for the mural being completed on the wall of The Garden by Elizabeth. The picture above appeared on the front page of the Oct. 3rd, 2019 edition of The Culver Citizen. The new mural will be a bold addition and eye-catching update to the Park. It has been interesting watching the progress.
The tie-in is interesting because Easterday Construction Co., Inc. built the trellis and arbor for the original Heritage Park. (See a post regarding the carpentry work we completed here.) Since that time, some of the structures suffered from age and “deferred maintenance”. Some of the plantings are past do for some thinning.
Landscapes change and parks adapt to new uses over time. It’s not surprising that there is a new vision for the park. A lot of thought went into the original design though and I hope some consideration is given to the vision and investment of Richard Ford, Richard Fisher, Mark Holeman and others when they originally created Heritage Park, not to mention the loving care Ansel “Bud” Cripe put into the construction.
