Tag:Comprehensive Plan
Culver’s Community Conversation
Last night the Culver Chamber of Commerce sponsored a Community Conversation bringing together representatives of the Chamber, Second Century Committee, LMEC/F, Town Council, Plan Commission, Redevelopment Commission, the Town Clerk and Town Manager as well as others. Linda Yoder of the Marshall County Community Foundation was also in attendance. Dawn Brockey with the Culver Coffee Company and current Chamber President was kind enough to host the event providing wine and light appetizers for the group.
The goal was to discuss strategies to strengthen the business community in Culver. Ralph Winters brought up the proposed new Comprehensive Plan. I was asked to discuss how it would affect the community (20/20 Vision for Culver!) and there was a spirited dialog. There was discussion as to how the various groups could participate and what funding sources were available. One thing that Ralph emphasized was that everyone needs to read the current plan before we start on the revisions. I thought that was an excellent recommendation.
There was quite a bit of discussion on how to extend the business season beyond the summer. There was discussion of how the Triathlon, Winefest and Ice Fishing Tournament can help the retail merchants. (One sad note was hearing that the L’Max Film Fest will be moved to the Culver Academies and away from the downtown theater.) There was a request for brainstorming for other events like those. I’ve been negative on the Marshall County Tourism in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear how they were helping with many of these events.
There was discussion regarding a need for a community calendar. I found that discussion interesting since there have been many attempts at this which have not gotten support. One of those, IHeartCulver, is still up, but struggling and close to being taken down due to lack of support. It would seem that an existing model such as that could be built on and support a local entrepreneur in lieu of reinventing the wheel.
All in all there was good discussion. It will be interesting to see how the Chamber moves forward with the input they received.
MCEDC Culver Update
Jennifer Laurent, Executive Director of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), gave an update to the Culver Town Council last night. Aside from giving a report on some of the activities MCEDC is involved in throughout the County, she discussed some of the specifics for Culver. One these was her interactions with Elkay Wood Products, formerly Medallion Cabinetry. Jennifer facilitated a radio interview June 15th on WTCA with Rick Coffman, Operations Manager, to discuss what they do and what their plans for the future are. I think a key point here is that no one else in Culver is making these kind of contacts and making sure our largest industrial client is helped.
Jennifer also commended the Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission for making the first steps towards a new Comprehensive Plan. (20/20 Vision for Culver!) She stressed some of the visioning needs that the plan should address along with the nuts & bolts infrastructure and land planning functions.
This is much like what I’ve been trying to promote with the various groups… We need to use the development of the new Comprehensive Plan as the catalyst for new ideas about Culver’s future. Communities are either growing or dying. Maintaining the Status Quo is impossible.
Jennifer is also working with Culver’s new Town Manager, Jeff Schoeff, to coordinate some training sessions for the Redevelopment Commission, Plan Commission and Town Council. One important topic will be TIF Districts. Others topics relating to finances and the various powers of these boards will be considered as well.
I hope the council members and those in the audience recognize the value Culver gets from leveraging their funds in with Marshall County and the other Marshall County communities. Budgets will no doubt be tight again this year, but without MCEDC, who would be doing these things for Culver? We have so many individuals with good intentions, but they can’t make up for someone with dedicated time and tenure based on performance.
Culver Redevelopment Commission
Last night the Culver Redevelopment Commission met for their regular monthly meeting. Kathy Clark spoke to the group in support of some projects that had come before them. (Kathy was the chair of the Redevelopment Commission when it was first formed.)
She was there to help my cause of getting the Redevelopment Commission to fund the new Comprehensive Plan. She stated that the Comprehensive plan is an integral part of retaining and bringing new business to Culver by setting goals and planning on where development should occur. She cited examples of how the original Redevelopment Commission used the Comprehensive Plan to determine how to layout the TIF districts and where to spend the money that was provided by the TIF districts. She also gave her reasoning on where TIF money should be spent. The Commission was moved by her insights and has chosen to fund the Comprehensive Plan. They did put some caveats on the cost and they did ask for involvement in selecting the consultant, but overall it was a big step forward. Culver just may get 20/20 vision before 2020 arrives!
Bob Porter, Culver Utilities Superintendent, was there to request funding for a clock to be added to the Downtown Revitalization Project. The Commission agreed to fund this too, probably due to Kathy’s pep talk. Bob didn’t give a lot of details other than that it would be a four faced post clock which would be set in the Right-of-Way somewhere around the intersection of Main Street and Jefferson Street.
Tom Kearns and Mike Stallings were there from the Culver Tree Commission requesting funding for a tree project to improve School Street starting at the intersection with S.R. 10 and running south to Academy Road. (See sketch) Tom indicated that they had the support of all the property owners involved. He also stated that the tree selections were made with the power lines in mind as well as a goal of having color throughout the year. It was a good night to visit the Redevelopment Commission as they chose to fund this project as well!
Culver 20/20 Vision Update
At last night’s meeting of the Culver Town Council, I again broached the subject of funding a new Comprehensive Plan. (See previous entries on this subject here.) Apparently the idea of pursuing a new income survey has been shelved, so it now becomes a budget item that will need to be funded internally. At the behest of Kathy Clark, I have approached the Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC) about funding all or part of a new Comp Plan. I also discussed this with Jennifer Laurent at MCEDC and she concurred that this is a viable use of the TIF funds that the CRC controls. The CRC is interested in pursuing this, but they would like participation from the Town, thus my request last night.
I brought this issue up again before the Plan Commission last week and offered to make the request to the Council on their behalf. I think the Council understands the importance. I reminded them of the recent article in the Pilot News last week that discussed Plymouth’s effort to update their Comp Plan since their current outdated plan was limiting their ability to obtain grants.
The Comp Plan is such an intrinsic piece of the puzzle for everything from infrastructure maintenance and expansion, land development, zoning issues, grant pursuits and economic development that it is critical that we have an up to date plan. There once was a chart on the wall in the Council Chamber showing how everything flowed down from the Comprehensive Plan. That is still an important point of understanding that I think is often missed.
The Town Council made the decision to schedule a work session on this issue around the middle of next month once the new Town Manager is in place. His start date is scheduled for June 4th and I’m sure he’ll have a lot on his plate. I hope we can keep this issue near the top of the agenda. With the Town coming up on the budget season, I’m hoping that we can get some money set aside to provide a Comp Plan that will provide the necessary guidance for the community.
