The City of Crawfordsville has been named a finalist in the 2015 Stellar Communities Program. Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton was notified Tuesday by Indiana Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann.
The Stellar Communities program is a multi-agency partnership designed to fund comprehensive community development projects in Indiana’s smaller communities. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and Indiana Department of Transportation are participating in the program. Grants awarded to Stellar Communities range from $500,000 to $1.5 million.
New this year is the creation of two divisions based on public feedback received from smaller communities who felt they were at a competitive disadvantage. As a result, it was determined that creating two divisions based on population would be the best way to provide opportunities to communities of all size to compete for the designation. Division 1 is for communities with populations over 6,000 and Division 2 is for populations below 5,999.
Joining Crawfordsville in Division 1 as finalists are Decatur and Marion. The other two finalists in Division 2 are Dunkirk and North Liberty.
Thirteen communities submitted letters of interest for the 2015 Stellar Communities program.
Crawfordsville’s proposal was originally created by local authorities and submitted in early March. The proposal builds on recent successes within the community and is focused on creating a community in which people want to live and work.
“Our efforts to transform Crawfordsville are focused squarely on one overarching belief,” Barton said. “We must create a community in which people want to live and work. While the term quality of life is thrown around a lot today it isn’t merely a catch phrase for us. We operate with an unwavering passion to steadily improve our quality of life because we know our very survival is dependent upon it.”
Barton said realizing societal trends is important in creating a stellar community that attracts people who want to live in the city. The first trend Barton points to in the grant application deals with the declining number of professionals in the city.
“First, we have experienced a noticeable decline in the number of professionals choosing to live in our community,” he said. “This has a very negative impact, not only because of the loss of spending power, but the loss of human capital and the leadership potential it brings.”
Secondly, Barton said Crawfordsville also is losing its young adult segment.
“Young people ages 22 to 35 are not choosing to call our community home,” Barton said. “It is a trend that is very disturbing and represents a credible threat to our future. Most notably, local young people choose not to return to Crawfordsville after completing their college education.”
People in this age group are typically beginning careers, buying cars, purchasing homes and starting families. Their lack of presence in a community has a significant economic and social impact, Barton said.
“While the lack of suitable employment opportunities can be a factor in the decision to locate elsewhere for each of these groups, we believe quality of life is a far more significant factor,” the mayor said. “Our realization is tempered by the fact that quality of life has a dynamic definition. It’s mere definition varies greatly from one generation to the next and we must find a way to appeal to not only our target populations, but to everyone.”
The city’s application contains the following initiatives:
• Improving a sense of place through community gathering points.
• Promoting well being through trails, parks and bike/pedestrian friendly streets.
• Promoting economic growth to spur investment in improved retail, dining and entertainment offerings.
• Engaging residents to improve their sense of worth by utilizing their human capital.
• Harnessing the tremendous power of our high sense of volunteerism.
• Increasing community pride through aggressive blight elimination.
• Capitalizing on a strongly emerging tourism industry.
The city must now submit a strategic investment plan in late June. Furthermore, members of various state agencies will visit Crawfordsville.
Communities chosen as Stellar Communities will be announced at the Indiana State Fair in August.
North Vernon and Greencastle were named pilot Stellar Communities in 2011. Princeton and Delphi were named in 2012 followed by Richmond and Bedford receiving the designation in 2013 along with Huntingburg and Wabash who were designated in 2014. To view the outcomes of the eight designated Stellar Communities who have been tracked by the Sagamore Institute, visit www.stellarindiana.org.