A vision of what Vincennes could be has started to take shape.
A group of about 25 residents and elected officials meet for a 2-hour listening session on Thursday at City Hall to pitch their ideas on what changes they'd like to see in the community to engineers with Luckett & Farley.
The city council has contracted with the engineering and architectural firm from Louisville, Kentucky, to dust off the city's 7-year-old strategic plan and turn it into an outline of feasible improvements that could be made throughout the city.
Input from the public was key to get the ball rolling, and the public certainly delivered.
A common theme was connectivity, whether that's connecting large employers or connecting sections of town.
“Our downtown has the strategic advantage of being between our two largest employers, Good Samaritan Hospital and Vincennes University,” said city councilman Duane Chattin, who is also public affairs director for the university. “Anything we can do to increase the connectivity, to get people walking and going down the streets or trails or biking, I think that would make a tremendous difference in energizing our downtown.”
The Wabash River was continually touted as a major asset, both by Luckett & Farley engineers Steven Greseth and Mark Arnold and by locals. While the River Walk has certainly added to downtown, many said, there's room for improvement there.
It would be nice, several said, if there were more exit points and more connectivity between the River Walk and Riverfront Pavilion, where there are public restrooms.
County council president Bob Lechner also noted that there's an opportunity to make the River Walk safer for walking or running at night or in the early morning hours.
Safety was also another common theme during the listening session. Angie York is an avid runner and while Second Street is well lit, she said, there are areas by the river that are still in the dark.
Hope's Voice director Melissa Haaf highlighted safety as well.
“We need to make sure parking lots and sidewalks are safe, secure, well-lit places,” she said. “We don't have a lot of public transportation here, so making sure sidewalks have lighting enhances that a little bit.”
Arnold proposed placing emergency push-button stations in hotspots around town, too, to enhance safety and security.
The history of Vincennes and different ways to ensure the city tells that story also took center stage.
Vincennes Fire Department battalion chief Tony Jarrell noted that the department has a “fireman's park” on Vigo Street that could be turned into an interactive spot for people of all ages to learn about the history of the department in particular.
“A dream of mine was to recreate an old archway of the fire station with some drop murals, but also have some interactive things like an old fire pump, even possibly a waterfall area,” he said. “It would open that up, provide some interactive things to get the youth down there. And it would be right in the middle of town.
“We need to have some type of passing of history to the youth.”
Mural walks have been created in other cities and towns, Arnold noted, as a way to tell the history of a particular place. There's a story here in Vincennes, he said, and it needs to be brought to the surface in a way that connects all the existing dots, from the county's agricultural prominence to the Clark Memorial to Grouseland to the Buffalo Trace.
Better ways to accentuate all that the city has to offer and promote a sense of place once folks arrive in town, like a gateway, was a topic of discussion, too.
With the exception of the Lincoln Memorial Bridge, Chattin said, when people enter Vincennes through its other arteries, there's nothing that entices them to come further into the community.
“We look like any other town,” he said. “I think we need some element on those approaches, beyond the wayfaring signs, that will entice people to go beyond.”
And even if people do decide to briefly stay for an event like parent's weekend at VU, Lechner said, there's not a whole lot that persuades them to explore.
“I think it's great to pull in the guy off U.S. 41 but the person that's already on the VU campus or in the hotel, they're here, they're stopped,” he said. “Let's get them immersed into the culture.”
Hosting live events downtown, establishing a boutique hotel and/or conference center, and revitalizing the landscape ordinance were also suggested during the meeting as ways to improve the community.
All the different things that were brought to the table — art, murals, the river, history — it all has to be cohesive, Arnold said, and that's one of the goals their firm is focused on.
“We're going to try and put all these things together and bring them back to you, establish a set of some actual goals,” he said. “Then we want to look at those goals and say, 'What are our objectives to meet these goals?'”
After that, Arnold said, they'll present some target projects to help turn those goals into realities.
But they're not yet done gathering public input: There will be another listening session, Mayor Joe Yochum said, on the morning of Dec. 9 or 16. An exact time and date haven't been set.
He was pleased with the turnout on Thursday, Yochum said, and looks forward to hearing even more ideas at the next meeting.
“I think it went great,” he said.