Tag:Culver
Culver Garden Court Ribbon Cutting
Yesterday was the Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Culver Garden Court. I want to thank all of the Culver people that made this project possible that turned out for the event. The Culver Town Council was represented by Ed Pinder and Bill Githens. (Ralph Winters, a former Town Council member who was instrumental in getting this project approved, was there as well.) The Plan Commission was represented by Ralph Winters. The Culver Redevelopment Commission was represented by Jerry Ney. Pete Trone also came. (Pete was instrumental in helping get the needed variances while he was on the Culver BZA.) The Culver Chamber of Commerce was represented by Sue McInturf, Tony Sellers and Greg Fassett.
Reverend Liechty, President of Garden Court, Inc., was the keynote speaker. He made a nice speech introducing the attending dignitaries and giving some history regarding the organization. He allowed me to speak and I explained how we had worked to make this project happen for over 10 years and through four Town Managers. We both thanked Wade and Claudia McGee for making the property available. I also congratulated the various Town Boards and Commissions for taking the additional steps to annex the surrounding 80 acres, change its zoning and start water and sewer lines to open the area to additional affordable housing.
Reverend Liechty will be stepping down as President of Garden Court and retiring from the board when they elect officers this coming November, so after 7 Garden Court projects, Culver Garden Court will be the last project where we work with him. I took the chance to publicly thank him for the opportunity to work with him and thanked him for his guidance and friendship through the years.
All in all it was a good day. The sun was shining. There was a good turn out. I heard nothing but good comments about the project.
Culver Redevelopment Commission
The Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC) met for their first 2012 meeting on Wednesday, March 21st. There are two returning members, Grant Munroe and Jerry Ney. There are three new members, Brandon Cooper, Rick Tompos and Ralph Winters. (Cooper was absent.) They reorganized with Munroe as Chair, Winters as Vice-Chair and Tompos as Secretary.
Members brought two issues before the commission as projects to consider for the year:
- Munroe suggested that the group continue their consideration of facade improvement grants as were discussed extensively last year. I suggested that they approach Trent Bennett regarding participating in a Task Force or Sub Committee in order to complete this project since he was so heavily involved in it the previous year. They thought that was appropriate and planned to contact him. They are going to consider this at their next meeting when they have a better handle on financing.
- Winters suggested that the group consider funding or helping to fund a sidewalk project which would extend the sidewalk along the west side of Lake Shore Drive from where it stops up to the intersection with S.R. 10 and then west along S.R. 1o to the Family Dollar store. He suggested this due to the number of Culver Academies students that walk this route to the Park ‘N Shop and to the Family Dollar. Obstacles concerning this were discussed including that part of the area was not in the TIF District and part of the area would be on INDOT Right-of-Way. They are going to consider this at their next meeting as well.
I presented a proposal that they consider participating in funding of a new Culver Comprehensive Plan. (See 20/20 Vision for Culver) They agreed that this would be a good project as it did impact the TIF District, but they felt it would be appropriate to partially fund it rather than be the sole source of funding. I explained that this suggestion originated with Kathy Clark, a former chair of the CRC. I also explained that I have vetted the idea with Jennifer Laurent, Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Executive Director, and she had indicated that it was a common use of Redevelopment funds and outlined some steps for them to take. They are going to consider this at their next meeting as well.
They plan to have updated financials for their next meeting so that the new members can familarize themselves with the funding and available funds. They’re behind this year since this was their first meeting, but it sounds like they intend to hit the ground running. Their next meeting will be April 18th at 5:30pm. They are changing their meeting dates to the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the new 5:30pm time.
CUTPL Knox Box Presentation
I will be discussing adding a Knox Box (or two) to the Culver Union Township Public Library (CUTPL) building tonight at the library board meeting. This discussion was prompted by one of the board members seeing my previous post regarding Knox Boxes and Culver Garden Court.
I’m pleased that others in the community are picking up on this. I still believe this is a positive step forward for our community and can lead to greater safety in emergency situations. Knox Boxes can be installed on commercial, industrial, municipal and residential buildings as well as private residences. When combined with a safety walk-thru to familiarize the emergency personnel, this installation can improve safety for both the occupants and the first responders. It can save emergency repair costs as well! If you’d like a quote on installing a Knox Box in your home or business, please don’t hesitate to call! You can also use the Contact Us page on our website here.
