Tens of thousands of dollars have been poured into the Wabash community due to funds from the State's Place Based Investment Fund (PBIF) in recent years and more could be on its way.
A release from Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann's office recently announced that applications for 2015 funding through PBIF are now available and Wabash Marketplace Inc., (WMI) could be on the hunt for a third successful endeavor to secure grant monies.
WMI has twice applied for PBIF funds, with the first attempt resulting in a full return on a $100,000 request and a second try in 2014 yielding $92,000, WMI Board Member and Public Art Subcommittee Chair Andrea Zwiebel said, adding that the grants require a 1:1 match.
A small portion of the first round of funds went to North Manchester's Riverfront Park, due to it being a community partner in the grant application, with some going to the Wabash County Historical Museum in the second round for the same reason.
The PBIF, the release said, gives communities throughout Indiana the opportunity to apply for grants to support community and economic development projects that focus on furthering quality of place initiatives. They're administered through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.
It offers communities the chance to apply for $20,000-$50,000 through the competitive application process to fund creative projects.
PBIF, now in its third year, is a $500,000 competitive matching grant program targeted towards communities promoting quality of life, improved tourism experiences and developing multi-purpose gathering places.
"The goal of the Place Based Investment Fund is to encourage local collaborations based on visualizing the connections between quality of place and quality of life, tourism, business and personal investment," Ellspermann, who statutorily serves as Indiana's secretary of rural development, said. "Communities of all sizes and populations have the opportunity to assess their local assets and attractions to determine what is needed to attract people to make the choice to work, live and play there now and in the future."
WMI was one of six entities to receive the 2014 funds.
Zwiebel reported to the Plain Dealer that the funds are being used for several projects.
"We are beautifying the East Market District public parking lot between Bulldog Battery and the Moose Lodge," Zwiebel said. "It was re-paved and striped last fall and will receive more improvements in early summer, including a sculpture installation.
"The Canal/Market walkway is also receiving improvements. It was re-graded and paved last fall. The plan is to install a cable system just below the second-story windows. This would be a multi-purpose structure that could be used for temporary art installations, banners, lighting, etc."
The PBIF monies are also allocated locally for the caboose project at the Wabash County Historical Museum, she added. Additionally, the continuous upgrades to benches, trash receptacles and bikes rack throughout downtown will be funded.
The way the funds are spent comes from a plan created through WMI.
"We wrote a Creative Placemaking Master Plan prior to spending any funds," Zwiebel added. "We use this plan as our guidebook for prioritizing projects. We wanted to start with the basics-for example, selecting trash receptacles that match our aesthetic design. Then we are targeting projects within the downtown core, gateways into the city and parks/waterfront/trails. We are very pleased with the progress we've been able to make since June 2012.
"Other projects we can credit to the Public Art Subcommittee include the 'Explore Wabash' mural at the intersection of Canal and Wabash streets, the newly installed 'Explore Wabash' billboards and the Veterans Plaza rehabilitation."
Zwiebel noted that no formal talks have begun for the third round of funding, but she is optimistic they will begin soon with 2015 funding opening up last week.