Stellar
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.
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.
Elkay Visits Sand Hill Farm Apartments
One of Elkay’s crews at the Sand Hill Farm Apartments Site Visit October 16, 2018
Earl Lilly, Plant Manager of Elkay Wood Products in Culver, brought a large contingency of Elkay employees to observe the cabinets going in at Sand Hill Farm Apartments this past Tuesday. Representatives of several divisions that worked on these cabinets were there including engineering, scheduling, production & shipping. They often don’t get to see their products in place, so this was a great opportunity to see a large installation underway just a block from the plant. Steve Deford of Deford Kitchens, the cabinetry installer for the project, was onsite to discuss how the installation was going. The installation is going well!
It was great to see some of the people that work in our community and could potentially be future residents at Sand Hill Farm Apartments at the site. The optics of the private/public partnership that occurred here was instrumental in Culver’s success in the Stellar Communities program. Elkay Wood Products and Easterday Construction Co., Inc. helped developer Culver Sand Hill Farm, LLC step up to the challenge of creating affordable housing for the Town.
Shelby Harrell, editor of the Culver Citizen, was on site to document the event. Her article appeared in The Pilot News on October 18, 2018. (See the article to the right.) The exposure can only help the project’s success. We count this as part of the community effort to see more entry-level housing in Culver. Thanks Shelby!
Unfortunately progress is currently impeded by the late start on the street. Lack of utilities is slowing us down and may force a stop soon. Currently we’re moving 5 gallon buckets of water to the site from our office in order to keep working. NIPSCO could not bring gas and electric to the building without the completion of street utilities. The furnaces are ready but can’t be fired without gas and electric, so we’ve started providing temporary heat with space heaters in order to keep things warm enough for the various sealants, adhesives and paint needed to finish out the project. The fire sprinkler system is full of water and in danger of freezing with the cold nights we’ve been having.
The lack of fire protection is also a concern, since the sprinkler system has water in it within the building, but does not have a hook up to the Town water system yet. The fire hydrants that serve the building currently have no connections. We’ve been assured these things will be available soon.
Damore Amphitheater Completion
Ginny Munroe, Town Council President, making a dedication speech at the Ribbon Cutting for the Damore Amphitheater
July 12th Culver held a dedication ceremony and the inaugural concert at the Damore Amphitheater. This is a project that we completed earlier in June. This Spring was challenging, with our pre-construction meeting being held with snow on the ground, but despite that, we were able to complete the project with minimal delays. FH Deck and Landscaping did great work placing the stones and completing the landscape work. In house we completed wiring and assembly of the pergola structure. The site was designed by Mike Reese with Troyer Group.
Inaugural Concert at Damore Amphitheater
The cold start this year made it difficult to get the plants in place as all of nurseries were behind. The original design called for hydroseeding parts of the site, but again, they were behind so we ended up donating additional sod to the project. Then it turned hot just as everything was completed. It was a challenge going forward to keep things watered, but the except for a few brown patches of sod, everything looked good for the grand opening.
This was one of the projects from the 2016 Stellar Communities application that Culver was able to move forward without Stellar. This is a project that received funding from IHCDA and Marshall County Community Foundation. That made room for other things in the 2017 application. The separate funding of this project and the advancement of the Sand Hill Farm apartment project, both outside Stellar, contributed to our Stellar Designation in 2017.
Hopefully the Town will be able to start scheduling performances here and make the site a destination. We’re proud of our part in bringing this project to fruition.
Sand Hill Farm Drone Pictures
Aerial from Southwest
Les McFarland, Bourbon Town Council President, did us a solid Sunday, July 15th, and used his drone to take these (and a bunch of others) aerial pictures of Sand Hill Farm Apartments under construction. These are being used in the IHCDA application for the second phase – The Paddocks at Sand Hill Farm. This will be additional entry level housing. The application is supported by Culver’s Stellar Designation. It goes in July 30th and we’ll find out if we were successful in November.
Aerial from the Northwest
This is the kind of collaboration and connections that have been achieved due to Marshall County Economic Development Corp.’s (MCEDC) County Development for the Future meetings that brought Marshall County and all of our community leaders together to meet and discuss common goals. I would not have known Les to ask for his help without this connection. Les may or may not have helped Culver in the past before we met and shared our common goals. Now we’re embarking on Marshall County Crossroads – an effort to duplicate Culver’s Stellar success under the new Regional Stellar program. We should have an advantage as we have been collaborating between our communities for over five years.
Thanks Les! Your help is sincerely appreciated.
