The group working to designate Culver as an Indiana Main Street Community is looking for new members, and they believe they have the resources to expand.
The Office of Community and Rural Affair’s Main Street program looks to bring local resources together to improve both the look and economic value of a community’s downtown area. An organizing group, known as Second Century, has been tasked with formally planning efforts that will lead to revitalization projects at some point in the future.
Culver Town Manager Jonathan Leist says he likes the fact that it requires help from different backgrounds.
“There are all these resources already in our town,” says Leist. “If we can bring everyone together and inform each other of what we’re all working on and make sure everybody’s not going in different directions, or we’re not being redundant. That we’re really maximizing our efforts to improve the town.”
There are a handful of active members in the Second Century Committee, but the state of Indiana has recommended at least seven members from business, government, merchants, and even the library.
A volunteer meeting was held on Tuesday in Culver to attract greater interest. Recruits showed up, and that may lead to some new ideas developing over the next year. Culver has already spent time developing a list of projects and goals for the Main Street application with aid from OCRA representatives.
Leist says the addition of so many new members bring a new perspective.
“We did all of the first step, but now honestly we’re hopefully bringing in so many new people I feel like we’ll probably have to review all that,” says Leist. “There might be some tweaks here or there to it.”
Once a plan has been solidified with the aid of an expanded volunteer base, Culver will submit a formal application to the state seeking an Indiana Main Street designation.
Statewide, the program has led to nearly $170-mllion in public and private investment. The Second Century Committee will meet for the first time this month to begin the process.
