State officials announced Thursday that Madison has been chosen as a finalist for the 2017 Stellar Communities Designation Program.
Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs made the announcement after officials evaluated letters of interest submitted in April by communities around the state.
The letter submitted by Madison Mayor Damon Welch and the Stellar Communities team detailed the type of projects city officials hope to accomplish during the three-year Stellar Communities Designation.
Madison’s proposal highlighted the city’s 'One Madison' Comprehensive Plan, with projects on both the hilltop and downtown based around a “MADISON” theme. Projects included: the Madison Connector, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, destination development, inviting gateways, student-community partnerships, overhauled corridors and neighborhood revitalization.
Work leading up to the Stellar Communities Designation application has been going on for years, the city’s Community Relations Director Andrew Forrester said in a release. The letter of intent submitted for the Stellar Communities Designation also draws from the community revitalization plan submitted to the multi-year America’s Best Communities competition, which ended earlier this year.
“We drew from the public’s feedback in ENVISION (Jefferson County), the Comprehensive Plan and worked hard to make sure that the community’s vision for the future was implemented in the letter of interest,” Forrester said. “We have already proven that we are one of America’s Best Communities. Now it is time to show that we are ready to be designated an Indiana Stellar Community!”
Welch also thanked the community for working with officials during the years-long process to create the city’s recently adopted comprehensive plan.
“This is a validation of all the hard work and planning that our community has undertaken the last few years, beginning with ENVISION Jefferson County and finishing with our Comprehensive Plan last fall,” Welch said in the release. “I am grateful to the community for their feedback the last few years, and I know Madison residents will stay involved and engaged the next few months as we pursue this designation that would take Madison to the next level in attracting people, businesses, and visitors.”
The Stellar Communities Designation Program began in 2011 as a collaboration between several state offices “to support community planning and development initiatives by streamlining access to available funding sources and capacity building resources,” a release from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor said. The designation provides resources for “transformative quality of place community improvements” by using a community’s previous planning efforts, leveraging existing assets, fostering regional investments and stimulating growth for long-term relevance.
Current and former Stellar Communities include: North Vernon and Greencastle in 2011, Princeton and Delphi in 2012, Richmond and Bedford in 2013, Wabash and Huntingburg in 2014, North Liberty and Crawfordsville in 2015, and Rushville and Corydon in 2016.
“We have seen such transformation throughout the previous cities and towns who have received the Stellar Communities Designation and recognize the hard work, collaboration, and dedication it takes from the local team to work alongside our state agencies committed to making a true impact throughout smaller communities across Indiana,” Crouch said in a release. “I congratulate this year’s six finalists for taking the fundamental first steps or in some cases, after reevaluating previous efforts, heeding advice to identify quality of place projects in line with their local visions for the future. We look forward to receiving the strategic investment plans from each of the finalist communities to see what state and local collaborations might be possible to take our hometowns to the next level.”
Six communities – three each from two divisions based on population – were chosen as finalists. The finalists in Division 1, or communities with a population of 6,000 to 50,000, include Madison, Greensburg and Vincennes. Finalists in Division 2, or communities with a population of 5,999 and under, include Churubusco, Culver and Union City.
Madison will receive a planning grant to create a strategic investment plan to detail projects, partnerships and proposed sources of funding. Strategic investment plans from the finalists are due in August and site visits will be conducted in September.
One community from each of the two divisions will be named a 2017 Stellar Communities Designee in October.
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