There was an article in the Culver Citizen on April 7th answering Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Stellar Communities program and the Town of Culver‘s plans to compete for the award again this year.
Culver competed in 2016 and was a finalist. The Town has been encouraged by the State Agencies sponsoring the program to compete again this year. The Town Council and the Town’s Stellar Committee have again taken up this challenge. I’ve include the article to the right and the continuation can be seen here.
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!
I had the opportunity to meet Lt. Governor Holcomb when he was in Culver to to get a personal preview of our bid for Stellar Communities on July 8th. He didn’t get the video and golf cart tour, but we walked the park and had one on one conversations about Culver and what Stellar would mean to the community. This was before the shake-up in the Governor’s race and his ascension to the Republican candidacy. I found him to be personable and the questions he asked to be insightful. I have met some politicians who are obviously just smiling and nodding while off in their own world. I felt that Holcomb was engaged and truly interested. I would fully expect to be able to ask him questions about that visit and have him remember the discussion. That’s not always the case when State officials blow in and out of town…
As my lurkers no doubt know, Easterday Construction has been a member of ABC, Associated Builders and Contractors, for decades and I have represented the Northwest Council (previously the Michiana Council) on the state board of directors for many years. I am pleased that ABC has stepped up to endorse Eric Holcomb for Governor of Indiana. (See the endorsement below). My impression is that he will do a fine job. Unlike the national election, I think this is a place where I have the opportunity to vote for a good candidate that will do a good job, rather than voting for the lessor of evils… That doesn’t happen often enough…
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Associated Builders and Contractors Endorses Eric Holcomb for Governor
Indianapolis, IN, 9/21/16– Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana/Kentucky (ABC) announced today that it has endorsed Eric Holcomb’s candidacy for Governor of Indiana.
John Roop, the 2016 ABC Board Chairman stated, “Indiana is moving in the right direction economically due to our strong Republican leadership in the Governor’s office. Eric Holcomb and Suzanne Crouch will continue this great leadership for the continued betterment of our state.”
“The goals and the values set forth by the Holcomb-Crouch ticket align perfectly with those of ABC, “ said J.R. Gaylor, President of ABC Indiana/Kentucky, “We share a belief in the freedoms that allow economic development and job growth, which, in Indiana, have far exceeded most other states during the last 16 years of Republican leadership. At ABC, we see no reason to change this positive trajectory.”
ABC Indiana/Kentucky is the leading voice of promoting free enterprise within the construction industry. ABC’s merit shop philosophy drives member services, political advocacy, and the need for all types of industry training and education.
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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Indiana/Kentucky represents commercial and industrial contractors, who believe in the merit shop philosophy. ABC Indiana/Kentucky and 69 other chapters around the country help members develop people, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically, and profitably for the better of the communities in which ABC and its members work. Visit us at www.abcindianakentucky.org and www.abc.org
The “Brexit” vote has me thinking about voter responsibility. I honestly only knew about Brexit peripherally until about a week before the vote. I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to it for a couple of reasons: 1) I had no say, and 2) I didn’t really see that it was going to affect me much. A 20/20 hindsight look at the turmoil in the stock market and how that affects my 401(k) negates #2, but in reality, #1 was still valid. No matter how much concern I had placed on it, I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it. I can’t even name one British citizen I know that I could have gone up to and said, “Look here Old Chap, you need to do the right thing because this decision is going to affect the whole world!” Not that I even thought that. I had pretty much trusted those in the know to have factored either result into the markets and that the outcome would be a blip outside of Great Britain.
There was an article in the Culver Citizen on April 7th answering Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Stellar Communities program and the Town of Culver‘s plans to compete for the award again this year.
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 (
As my lurkers no doubt know, Easterday Construction has been a member of 