As curator of the Parke County Historical Society Museum, Karin Woodson lives Rockville’s past. But she hopes a new comprehensive plan can help revitalize her community, for tourists and residents alike.
“We’ve let it go too far,” said Woodson, the historical society’s vice president. “There’s too many things, that we’ve got to clean up our act.”
After a nearly year-long data gathering and public input process, Woodson and other residents had their first look Tuesday evening at a draft of the plan during an open house at Rockville Jr./Sr. High School. The document, written by Indianapolis-based planning firm American Structurepoint, is partly designed to assist local policy, land use and infrastructure decisions. A grant sponsored by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs funded the process.
Guided by a local steering committee, the firm identified top priorities it said are crucial to the plan. Those include residential infill, downtown revitalization, town growth, a thoroughfare plan and sidewalk network and developing a capital improvements plan.
Project manager Rachel Uthe encouraged residents to provide additional input on any other priorities that need addressed.
“Right now, we’ve got 12 identified,” she said. “We think that there are really 12 that are critical to moving forward with establishing and achieving the vision.”
A copy of the document is available at www.rockvillecompplan.com, with print copies to be distributed at locations throughout Rockville. The steering committee will have an opportunity to review the draft and suggest any edits. Rockville’s plan commission is expected, with favorable recommendation, to forward the final version to town council for adoption.
Uthe said the plan was designed to be revised as change occurs within the community.
“There’s a lot of things that can start to be checked off, and there’s actually a few things that have been in the works just since the beginning of this process,” she said. “So it’s definitely a living document.”
Speaking to the Tribune-Star following the presentation, Uthe said residents had already designed a town logo as part of the plan’s goal for community branding.
Steve Waltz, a steering committee member, told about 25 attendees the town must start working now to prepare for the future.
“Wise investment in the community over time is essential for growth in the future,” said Waltz, also president of Rockville’s town council. “And you can’t make that wise investment without assessing where you are and where as a community you want to go.”
West Central Indiana Economic Development District Executive Director Ron Hinsenkamp attended the meeting and expressed support for the plan.
An online community survey conducted this spring identified roads and sidewalks among the highest priority for improvement. Residents also expressed the desire for more grocery and shopping options.
The survey results were included in the draft plan, broken down on large poster boards displayed throughout the school’s multipurpose room.
“I like what I’m seeing,” Woodson said as she looked at the plan’s details.
Susan Phillips, a Terre Haute resident who works in Rockville, studied a map showing a conceived extension of the Covered Bridge Gateway Trail from Rosedale into Rockville. The Covered Bridge Gateway Trails Association has assembled a master plan linking the trail from Terre Haute to Turkey Run State Park and connecting the National Road Heritage Trail to the B&O Trail.
An avid walker, Phillips was personally drawn to the plan’s vision for trails and transportation. As a whole, she said, the plan would help people from outside the area realize that Rockville’s always been a good place.
“It’s very exciting,” she said.