Posted on July 3, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
The proposed Stellar projects for the Constellation of Starke region are starting to take more shape following recent conversations between community representatives and officials from DLZ.
As a reminder, DLZ is the firm that was selected to serve as a consultant as the regional development plan is being created for the Stellar Communities Designation Program.
Various members of the Constellation of Starke Executive Team partnered with community members who could provide an additional perspective to go over project details with DLZ employees throughout the day on Tuesday.
Some things that were discussed during those sessions included beach improvements at both Koontz Lake and Bass Lake, park upgrades in Hamlet, North Judson, Knox and San Pierre in addition to a county-wide connector project.
DLZ officials will work on a number of things with the information gathered, including attaching some more solid figures to the projects. That data is expected to make its way back to the Executive Team by Monday, July 22nd.
DLZ Program Coordinator Jodi Coblentz went through and identified the various Stellar funding sources that could potentially cover specific projects and included the anticipated match commitments.
She mentioned that from Tuesday’s conversations, she was confident that local communities felt the match commitments could be acquired. She noted that project representatives will be busy solidifying match sources in the coming weeks.
It’s worth noting that matches are not always monetary. They can also include labor, equipment, land donations and things of that nature.
There are some other important projects, such as ones related to daycare, the arts and transportation that are conceptual or programmatic so they will rely more on local collaboration rather than DLZ’s input.
In addition to holding project discussions, the Stellar Executive Team also set dates for future organizational meetings.
To discuss the housing aspect of Constellation of Starke’s regional development plan in greater detail, members of the Stellar Housing Committee will be meeting with a developer on Monday.
More specific committee meetings will be scheduled in the near future and community members who expressed an interest in serving on one will be notified.
The Executive Team also intends to meet up to coordinate prior to a Stellar Technical Assistance meeting scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, July 9th.
Looking further ahead, the Team is interested in hosting another public presentation in August. This will be an opportunity to fill every one in on the Stellar process and to gather additional community input. A specific date, time and location will be shared once those details are finalized.
In the meantime, to keep up with the Constellation of Starke Stellar efforts, follow their social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Also keep an eye out for COS representatives at upcoming events including the 4-H Fair, the Bass Lake Festival and HealthLinc’s Annual Summer Health Fair.
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