The moment of truth arrives Thursday for the Town of Culver.
Officials with the Town government will be giving a presentation to representatives of state government for consideration as an Indiana Stellar Community. The program is run through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs and provides planning and grant application assistance for the winner.
Culver Town Manager Jonathan Leist says they will get three hours today to give their pitch.
“We have been working on that pitch, that plan, the presentation in full force since January,” says Leist. “So it means finally after more than six months of work, we get to put on our show and do the best we can and see what happens from there.”
Culver is one of three finalists for small population communities. If they are designated as the winner in their category, it would likely provide Culver with priority recognition for future grant applications.
Communities designated as an Indiana Stellar Community in past years have received millions of dollars in grant funds and investment for projects included in their “Stellar” application.
Today’s tour will last from 9:00 a.m. until Noon EST and will include a tour of the community. Culver has been getting in the Stellar Communities spirit with street banners, business signage, and community investment pledges. Leist says the Town has practiced their presentation and they feel good about it.
“We feel like the unique things we have in Culver between the Academies and the lake and just the unique population that we have here, the businesses, the restaurants,” says Leist. “All that really comes together to make a unique package and we really want to emphasize the potential in what we see here in Culver.”
OCRA is expected to announce a winner in the small population category at some point in August. It may be a year or more before Culver ultimately sees funding begin flowing to the community should they be designated.
