The City of Wabash will host a series of three public discussion workshops on future economic development strategies and projects, officials from the city and the Economic Development Group of Wabash County announced Monday.
The workshops will take place in the EDG conference room, located on the second floor of City Hall. Workshops are scheduled to run from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and again on March 21 and March 27.
Each workshop will focus on one geographic “target area” of Wabash, officials said. The public workshops will seek the public’s help in identifying economic development needs in the area as well as possible strategies and projects to address those needs.
EDG President Bill Konyha said that the workshops will be part of a process to update the city’s strategic economic development plan, which can lose its effectiveness if not regularly updated.
While the workshops are part of the application process for a Stellar Communities grant, which is awarded by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), Konyha indicated that they will proceed with updating the strategic plan whether the grant is awarded or not.
Konyha said that some of the city’s plans, such as the location of the new industrial park, are “pretty set in stone,” but one workshop may gather suggestions for the kinds of businesses people would like to see recruited for the U.S. 24 corridor.
He said that organizers would like to hear from residents, businesses and local organizations at the workshops.
Thursday’s workshop will focus discussion on the north side of Wabash, in the vicinity of the U.S. 24 corridor. The Thursday, March 21, workshop will discuss the historic downtown area. The Wednesday, March 27, workshop will address the city’s south side.
Konyha indicated that Wabash Mayor Bob Vanlandingham asked EDG to put together a set of strategies and projects that address the economic development needs of the community.
“The EDG, the Redevelopment Commission and the Plan Commission will attempt to develop a single document which will let everyone move forward in a coordinated fashion,” Konyha said.
After the workshops are completed, a “Comprehensive Economic Development Plan” for the community will be finalized by city administration, the Wabash Redevelopment Commission and EDG. Specific economic development strategies and projects will reportedly be included for each of the city’s “target areas.”
Vanlandingham said that each agency and commission has worked independently in the past, while respecting the roles of other such groups.
“What we’re trying to do here is to let our primary economic development and neighborhood development people work together in a coordinated fashion,” the mayor said. “I’m interested to see what they come up with.”
The public workshops are taking place after a series of focus group meetings with various community constituencies such as the Wabash County Chamber of Commerce, the EDG, Wabash Marketplace and other community leaders.