By Rusty Nixon
CULVER – The Culver Town Council heard from members of the Marshall County Crossroads committee regarding support for a hoped initiative to enhance communication across the county in economic development.
Marty Oosterbaan in person and Ginny Munroe of the Marshall County Crossroads Committee appeared before the Council to seek their monetary support for the forming of a hierarchical group to streamline communication between several county entities such as the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation, the Lifelong Learning Network that work towards quality of life projects and other initiatives to attract business and workers to Marshall County.
The group would also work to bridge the gaps between businesses, the community, and county leadership to bring about those improvements.
Oosterbaan said that the Crossroads Committee – formed and in operation since 2015 with basically the same faces and all volunteers – was growing “tired”. He said that the Committee felt that it was time to have a handful of paid staff members to complete work that could not be addressed by the all-volunteer committee.
The group was responsible for bringing Stellar Grant money to Marshall County which has enabled communities and groups around the area to undertake infrastructure projects that would not have been possible without those grant monies.
Culver was able to make improvements to their parks and also create new walking trails around the community with a portion of that grant.
The group would like to hire a full-time Executive Director and ideally a grant writer to take over everyday work.
The Executive Director would also be able to coordinate the county’s economic development agendas with similar groups within the region, such as Elkhart or South Bend, to leverage greater opportunities that are available for such regional cooperative groups.
Monroe pointed out that nearly every government group as well as others in the county are continually seeking grants from various sources. The application process can be difficult and time-consuming. Having a full-time grant writer available on the Crossroads staff to assist in the process would lighten that load for groups in Marshall County.
Crossroads was seeking support from the Council for $20,000 to help with the process. Monroe said that they had presented the request to several governmental organizations already and had received a favorable response.
Council members said that there was a concern about a possible deficit in the town budget for the coming year but despite that concern felt the return on the investment would be worth it.
Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim told the Council that the budget had already been filed with the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). The item had been part of a list of options when the budget was put together and “…there was no response.”
Heim said that she would find the funds but said “I wish you had taken action earlier.”
The Council voted unanimously to explore the option of adding the $20,000 to the coming year’s budget.
