Volunteering

Sand Hill Farm Update

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Sand Hill Farm
Sand Hill Farm

There have been several status changes to Sand Hill Farm this Spring.  The first was the retirement of the County drainage easement through the property.  It was replaced by a new easement to the Town of Culver.  This was part of the agreement with the Town that saw the relocation of the storm drain from running diagonally across the property to a new location along the property line.  This also included removal of a large area of brush and scrub trees which generally improved the property.  The second was the inclusion of Sand Hill Farm in the talks regarding Entry Level Housing for Culver.  I have served on Culver’s Task Force looking into this issue and helped with the Request For Proposals (RFP) that went out to developers earlier this month.  I have been contacted by one developer who has shown interest.  We shall see how it proceeds from here.  The goal of the RFP is to explore opportunities to obtain an Affordable Housing project that can be parlayed into additional market rate housing through an additional portion of the property.  

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Fletcher Cemetery Veterans Memorial Dedication

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Fletcher Cemetery Memorial Dedication 5-25-15I attended the dedication ceremony for the Fletcher Cemetery Veterans Memorial on Memorial Day last week.  Despite an inordinately windy day, the rains held off and the ceremony was well received.  Easterday Construction was contracted to provide the new memorial foundations, plaza and retaining walls.  We donated the flag pole foundation and erection of the pole as well as some modifications to the sprinkler system.

As discussed previously here, we were a bit hesitant to take on the relocation of this priceless monument, but things came off without a hitch.  (Move pictured here.)  It looks good in its new location.  It is now flanked by two new stone obelisks ready to receive the memorialization of future veterans.

Congratulations to the Fletcher Cemetery board for the completion of a great project.  It will stand as a symbol of their respect for veterans for generations to come.

Invest in Marshall County!

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Four Year Capital Campaign “Invest in Marshall County” Launched  

Plymouth, IN (April 27, 2015) – Bill Davis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), announces the launch of “Invest in Marshall County,” a four year campaign with the goal of increasing private sector participation to further grow and strengthen the county economy.

“Local governments across Marshall County have been very supportive of MCEDC’s economic development program over the past seven years,” stated Mr. Davis.  “In anticipating the need for private sector participation, the Board adopted a long range strategic plan that will guide economic development activities and growth for the next five to ten years.”

Economic development is extremely competitive. The most successful programs are based on a number of key elements coming together, and funding from both the public and private sectors is a must.

The strategic plan, as adopted, highlights four specific programs:

  1. Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) – Through the use of interviews with business leaders, the BEAR program aims to learn about the issues companies face so MCEDC can develop solutions.  In particular, the BEAR program will uncover expansion opportunities, and assist in these expansions.
  2. Business Attraction – MCEDC will identify and develop our county’s business assets, and market them to targeted businesses in order to attract new industries to the area.
  3. Entrepreneurial Hub – MCEDC, with area partners, will develop an entrepreneurial center, incorporating elements for success and allowing innovative business ideas to prosper.
  4. Workforce Development Program – MCEDC, with area partners, will develop an immediate plan to address the availability of workers and ensure that our future workforce has the skills that our employers require.

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Affordable Housing Task Force

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The Affordable Housing Task Force met on Monday the 27th to discuss the information Jonathan Leist, Culver Town Manager, had assembled through various meetings.  I attended four of the six meetings he reported on and was able to help fill in background.  In a nutshell, there are opportunities and developers that can be enticed to do work.

In a MCEDC site visit with Elkay, we were able to recruit Elkay’s management to assist us in our endeavors.  Two Elkay representatives attended the Monday meeting and brought demographics for our use.  They also volunteered to help with surveying to determine how many Elkay employees would be interested in relocating to Culver if housing were made available.

In the meeting with IHCDA, we learned that funds are available, but only for income based housing projects, not market based housing.  We did find that much of the projected income based rental rates are actually above the local market rate rents.

The Task Force agreed that it would be prudent to pursue both market based and income based housing to keep our options open.  The group tasked Jonathan to take a couple of things before the Town Council:  1)  A budget for a Needs Assessment Survey and 2)  A tentative agreement to consider tax abatement for the properties.  (Tax Abatement was requested by all of the developers Jonathan met.)  Jonathan accomplished #2 at last night’s Council meeting, but #1 was not approved as it would require an additional appropriation for the unbudgeted cost.

Image Source:  www.homeloanstoday.com

 

Marshall County Entry Level Housing Meeting

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I sit on the Affordable Housing Task Force for Culver and as part of that as well as wearing my MCEDC hat, I sat in on a meeting at the Culver Library with Darin Edwards, Underwriting and Closing Manager for IHCDA.  The meeting was arranged by Jerry Chavez, MCEDC Executive Director, and included representatives from the Marshall County communities of Culver, Argos, Plymouth and Bremen.

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