The Culver Town Council members discussed a match toward Develop Culver’s work with the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership and a Make My Move initiative.
As described by Don Fox, the initiative works to pair up out-of-state remote workers to move someplace else to find a better climate or a sense of community. Partnership officials wanted to see how this would work in Northern Indiana and identified South Bend, Elkhart and Culver as target communities for a pilot program.
To be eligible, the worker has to work remotely 100 percent of the time and have to physically move to the area. There is a cash incentive of $5,000 to move, but the person has to live in that location for a full year before that incentive is disbursed.
Fox noted there is already an application from a family in Texas to move to Culver.
The South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership would provide $2,500 of the relocation bonus up front. The second component would be after they stay 12 months. The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation has agreed to put in $2,500 of that second component and $1,250 match was requested from the Culver Town Council to put toward that $5,000 incentive.
The council unanimously approved a motion to match that $1,250 up to 10 families with that benefit to be paid out beginning in August 2024.
