Officials around Marshall County are putting the finishing touches on the latest Stellar Community application. A group called Marshall County Crossroads – made up of the county government, along with the county’s six municipalities – is a finalist for this year’s Regional Stellar Designation.
Culver Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe reported last week that as part of that process, a packet of application documents has to be turned in to the state by this Friday. “I’ve seen the drafts of the RDP, or redevelopment plan, itself, that we’ve had Troyer Group, MACOG, and our steering committee working on, tons and tons of support letters, and it’s coming along really well,” she said.
Munroe added that a list of proposed complementary projects has been finalized. That will include David’s Courage, a planned drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Plymouth, along with a Tippecanoe River project.
Additionally, Munroe said business and Main Street groups plan to work together on a county-wide inventory of downtown buildings, “So we know what our buildings have, what their capacities are for development,” she explained, “and this would help make it easier when there is an empty business to market it.” That same group will also work on upgrading wayfinding signs in local communities.
One newer addition to the list of complementary projects is broadband planning. Marshall County was recently awarded $50,000 for that purpose by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. Munroe said OCRA encouraged the county to apply for that grant, to go along with its Stellar efforts.
Meanwhile, a big part of Marshall County’s Stellar plan is the addition of walking and biking trails as part of a rural health project. Marshall County Crossroads representatives will give a presentation to state officials on November 15.
