Nearly a hundred leaders from every town in Marshall County will participate in a workshop this Thursday morning to facilitate Marshall County’s application to become one of Indiana’s Stellar Regions. The presentation and workshop will take place in the ballroom at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth from 9 a.m. until noon.
Current regional projects under consideration will be presented to the public, and input from participants will be encouraged.
“This will be an informative planning session,” said Kevin Overmyer, President of the Marshall County Commissioners and co-chair of the Marshall County Crossroads Stellar Initiative steering committee. “But what we’re really doing on Thursday is encouraging new ideas and community feedback that will help tailor our application. Citizen input and feedback is critical to our process, so we’re excited about this opportunity on Thursday.”
Dozens of private, non-profit and government leaders from Argos, Bourbon, Bremen, Culver, LaPaz and Plymouth will be on hand as major regional projects are unveiled and discussed over the 3-hour session. The committee will also encourage the development of new ideas and projects from Thursday’s attendees.
Marshall County leaders have been meeting regularly for the past few weeks in preparation for this planning session.
Seven regions from across the State of Indiana submitted letters of interest (LOIs) for the 2018 Stellar Region Designation Program earlier this year. Of those seven, six regions were chosen as finalists and are receiving Stellar planning grants. The six cities and towns in Marshall County self-identified as a region during the application process and was selected as one of the six finalists.
Each finalist is required to submit local Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs). The SIPs detail quality-of-place and economic development projects, partnerships and proposed sources of funding that will help grow and sustain the future of their region. The SIPs are based on feedback and input from each community within their region.
The Marshall County initiative, known as the Marshall County Crossroads Stellar Initiative, will spend the next two months working with leaders in the county’s cities and towns to fully develop, promote and communicate its plans, partnerships and sources of funding in preparation for site visits by Indiana’s Stellar Team later this fall.
Stellar Region designees will be announced later in the fall or early winter of 2018.
About Stellar Regions
Given the increased competitiveness within economic development, a regionalism trend has evolved as a popular strategy across the nation. Indiana is incorporating regionalism into one of our most successful programs: The Stellar Communities Program. Beginning in January 2018, the program evolved into a regional partnership design. A minimum of two or more communities are encouraged to partner to create a self-selected region. Any incorporated Indiana communities of any size that are not entitled to direct Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding through U.S. HUD are eligible to apply.
Ball State and Purdue University Participation
Ball State University and Purdue University are participating in the program. Their involvement includes project support, guidance and data analytics. Ball State University’s Indiana Communities Institute will assist communities in the planning stages with project alignment and data analytics. Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development (PCRD) will assist communities’ post-designation with long-term sustainability efforts and project implementation.
