Mayor Tom DeBaun’s plan to redevelop the Public Square in Shelbyville got mixed reviews at his Town Hall meeting.
Roughly 60 people – including several other elected officials, city employees and members of the media – attended the gathering at McKay Manor, 1473 E. McKay Road, on Tuesday evening.
DeBaun called the meeting to talk about his Downtown Redevelopment Plan and other initiatives.
The mayor reviewed the city’s efforts to partner with schools, such as Ivy Tech Community College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, to boost educational opportunities for local residents, and other plans to attract well-known retail businesses to the city.
But it was DeBaun’s proposal to revitalize the Public Square that was the hot topic.
The goal of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan is to attract young, educated workers – so-called millennials – and high-level corporate executives to live in the city.
Shelbyville’s population is aging and the city’s growth is anemic, DeBaun said.
“If we don’t do something, we’re going to die as a community,” he told the crowd.
However, the audience had a number of questions and comments about the downtown redevelopment.
The total cost of the Downtown Plan and related items, drawn up by the city’s consultant on the project, Ken Remenschneider, is $38.7 million.
The portion funded by public tax dollars totals nearly $27 million.
DeBaun says the city will seek private investors to cover the remaining $11.8 million cost.
That private portion of the plan includes a proposed multigenerational center housing Shelby Senior Services and arts organizations at the current site of Major Hospital, and a brownstone townhome development across the street from it.
One woman, Laura Brewer, said she felt residents had been left out of the decision process and wanted to know if there could be a referendum vote in the upcoming election.
“Can it be voted on this fall ... or is most of this a done deal?” she asked.
DeBaun replied that a referendum would have to be done through the Indiana Secretary of State’s office which oversees elections.
A man in the audience questioned the proposed underground parking garage and its cost.
“That’s not my prime choice either,” DeBaun said, adding the city is looking at surface parking options.
Another woman said she’d like to see more small boutique stores open up, and DeBaun said that’s the part of the plan.
As for a timeline to roll out the Downtown Redevelopment Plan, the mayor said it depends on funding – it could be two to four years before things get underway, he said.
“If we use local money, we could start in two years,” DeBaun said, or four years for other public funding options.
The city is in the process of applying to be named a Stellar community, a state program designed to spur redevelopment in Indiana cities and towns. The application is due by July 1.
Winning the Stellar Communities designation could make millions of dollars in grant funding available to the city.
DeBaun did tell the audience that his goal is not to raise taxes to do the projects, which got a hearty round of applause from the crowd.