Posted on January 8, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
Officials in North Judson are seeking public assistance to secure funding in order to comprise an updated Comprehensive Plan, as the Town’s hasn’t been amended for more than 20 years.
KIRPC Community Development Planner Emily Albaugh appeared before the town council on Monday and informed them that North Judson did not receive the Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant they applied for in November.
She explained that the state is currently going through a transitional period and they’re now scoring their planning grant applications the same way they score construction grants. Albaugh said that made the process a bit more competitive and added a few new requirements.
Some feedback the Town received from OCRA was that there wasn’t enough community input in the initial application.
In order to gather more responses from the public, a survey has been comprised which asks citizens to reflect on various items related to North Judson and the necessity of a comprehensive plan. That survey can be accessed on the Town of North Judson Facebook Page.
While the Town Council recently decided to take action about the comprehensive plan because of a requirement for the Regional Stellar Initiative, they’re apparently long overdue for an update according to Albaugh and Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe.
Rowe commented, “It’s been a long time since we’ve had one, so that’s a part of it too, just having a direction to look toward is a big deal.”
Albaugh added, “And we looked it up, 1956 was the original comprehensive plan and it was amended in, I believe, 1998 is what we were able to find…so there’s a definite need.”
Printed copies of the survey can be picked up at North Judson Town Hall. The online survey will be open until this Friday at noon.
Albaugh said she will be in town that day to collect the hard copies and take some photos to include in the application, which is another new requirement.
While a few changes were made to account for the new scoring, the conditions in the application will remain the same. In order to cover the cost of the $44,000 Comprehensive Plan project, the Town is applying for $39,600 Community Development Block Grant that would require a local match of $4,400
Albaugh said that the adjusted grant application will be resubmitted on January 15th and the award announcement should be made by the end of the month or in early February.
Click the following link to directly access North Judson’s Comprehensive Plan survey.
Showing posts with label OCRA's Regional Stellar initiative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OCRA's Regional Stellar initiative. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Monday, August 20, 2018
Local Officials Consider Existing Assets Within Starke County while Talking with Stellar Community Project Manager
Posted on August 20, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
When community leaders gathered in the Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s office last week for an informational meeting about OCRA’s Regional Stellar initiative, they were asked to consider some of the existing assets within the county.
Stellar Community Project Manager Michael Sinnet said they should consider a variety of different elements within the community that could encompass a number of categories including natural, human, financial and physical assets.
Knox Mayor Estok noted the relaxed atmosphere as an existing asset as well as the air quality and safety compared to bigger cities.
Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem mentioned a few of the county’s natural resources such as the lakes and reserve as well as the county forest. She said officials are working to better utilize these areas but there are definitely some things that could be done to build on those existing resources.
She also said she considers the Starke County Justice Center as a strong asset. She noted that it has been recognized as a model for small and medium-sized jails. She mentioned that some discussions have been happening about the possibility of expanding some of the helpful substance abuse recovery programs and potentially utilizing the additional acreage around the jail to build a rehabilitation center.
She said in addition to addressing the existing drug problem that plagues the county and surrounding areas, it would also result in the professionals who work at that type of facility searching for homes and utilizing local services in the community.
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe listed the cross-country trails that the Erie Trail is a part of as something that their town brings to the table.
He noted that while it does result in people from across the continent coming into the area, it would be great to get a local connection going to give people who bike from Knox to North Judson to have a more direct pathway.
Hamlet Councilman Brian Earnest noted that though it may be considered negative currently, the existing space that they have can be an asset when looking for places to build and expand within the county.
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston added that he considers the altruistic nature of the citizens to be an asset, with a large portion of the community members who are willing to volunteer to lend a helping hand and assist with events. It was also mentioned that Starke County also has a very good network of charitable organizations that work together to assist the community in so many ways.
Sinnet stated that while it’s good they were able to come up with a few key assets, in order to construct useful comprehensive plans and a compelling letter of intent, they would need to have a lot more in mind.
An asset mapping exercise will be held in the future to help local officials identify more assets and to assist them with developing their own plans for improving or capitalizing on the existing ones.
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
When community leaders gathered in the Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s office last week for an informational meeting about OCRA’s Regional Stellar initiative, they were asked to consider some of the existing assets within the county.
Stellar Community Project Manager Michael Sinnet said they should consider a variety of different elements within the community that could encompass a number of categories including natural, human, financial and physical assets.
Knox Mayor Estok noted the relaxed atmosphere as an existing asset as well as the air quality and safety compared to bigger cities.
Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem mentioned a few of the county’s natural resources such as the lakes and reserve as well as the county forest. She said officials are working to better utilize these areas but there are definitely some things that could be done to build on those existing resources.
She also said she considers the Starke County Justice Center as a strong asset. She noted that it has been recognized as a model for small and medium-sized jails. She mentioned that some discussions have been happening about the possibility of expanding some of the helpful substance abuse recovery programs and potentially utilizing the additional acreage around the jail to build a rehabilitation center.
She said in addition to addressing the existing drug problem that plagues the county and surrounding areas, it would also result in the professionals who work at that type of facility searching for homes and utilizing local services in the community.
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe listed the cross-country trails that the Erie Trail is a part of as something that their town brings to the table.
He noted that while it does result in people from across the continent coming into the area, it would be great to get a local connection going to give people who bike from Knox to North Judson to have a more direct pathway.
Hamlet Councilman Brian Earnest noted that though it may be considered negative currently, the existing space that they have can be an asset when looking for places to build and expand within the county.
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston added that he considers the altruistic nature of the citizens to be an asset, with a large portion of the community members who are willing to volunteer to lend a helping hand and assist with events. It was also mentioned that Starke County also has a very good network of charitable organizations that work together to assist the community in so many ways.
Sinnet stated that while it’s good they were able to come up with a few key assets, in order to construct useful comprehensive plans and a compelling letter of intent, they would need to have a lot more in mind.
An asset mapping exercise will be held in the future to help local officials identify more assets and to assist them with developing their own plans for improving or capitalizing on the existing ones.
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