Youth Council Gets Grant For Downtown Mural
April 23, 2019 at 1:32 a.m.
By David [email protected]
Three members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) on Monday requested the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approve a $5,000 grant awarded by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority for the implementation of the 2019 My Community My Vision project. The Board of Works unanimously approved.
The three members of MYAC making the presentation Monday to the Board of Works were Mason Charlton, Jacob Kissling and Katie Swain, all Warsaw Community High School students.
Kissling told the Board of Works, “My Community My Vision is basically a statewide effort that includes the youth of our communities to make downtown more attractive to us in the future when we try to come back after college and other stuff.
“We’ve been working throughout the whole school year, planning events and just brainstorming ideas of what we want to do. And now we have chosen an idea.”
Charlton said after exploring the feasibility of the Advisory Council’s ideas, “We decided that the most impactful thing that we could do with our grant is to commission a mural in downtown Warsaw.”
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the Advisory Council has been working since September. They applied for the My Community My Vision program and were successful, as the $5,000 grant attests.
“Obviously, very excited and pleased that we were approved and awarded. Now it’s to the point they spent a lot of time with (School of Public and Environmental Affairs) down at Indianapolis. The AIM annual conference and several other meetings. They’ve done some traveling, they’ve been working almost weekly through the process, trying to refine their ideas and come up with a lot of really great ideas,” Thallemer said.
City of Warsaw senior planner Justin Taylor and Steven Caltrider, from Zimmer Biomet, have served as advisors to the Advisory Council.
Taylor told the Board of Works, “It’s been really exciting to see them work through some of these ideas and different things. ... It’s been exciting to see them evolve their ideas and not get disheartened by not being able to do some of their initial ideas. So it’s been really exciting to see them find something they really like.”
Thallemer said he was “very happy” to see the Advisory Council work through all the different ideas they had.
“They pulled it off, they’re going to do a great project working with one of the businesses in town to provide a mural on the side of their building,” Thallemer said. “I couldn’t be happier with what they’re doing as representatives of the city of Warsaw.”
Jeff Grose, Board of Works member and WCHS teacher, told the students, “I think it’s great. Thanks for being here and taking the lead with this.”
After the meeting, Taylor said the mural concept is being created by local artist Robert Hudson.
Total cost of the mural is $7,500, so the students need to raise $2,500. Anyone wishing to donate can email [email protected].
Other members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council are Addison Price, Carson Kerlin, Elizabeth Stone, Kendyl Silveus and Regan Brouwer.
Three members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) on Monday requested the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approve a $5,000 grant awarded by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority for the implementation of the 2019 My Community My Vision project. The Board of Works unanimously approved.
The three members of MYAC making the presentation Monday to the Board of Works were Mason Charlton, Jacob Kissling and Katie Swain, all Warsaw Community High School students.
Kissling told the Board of Works, “My Community My Vision is basically a statewide effort that includes the youth of our communities to make downtown more attractive to us in the future when we try to come back after college and other stuff.
“We’ve been working throughout the whole school year, planning events and just brainstorming ideas of what we want to do. And now we have chosen an idea.”
Charlton said after exploring the feasibility of the Advisory Council’s ideas, “We decided that the most impactful thing that we could do with our grant is to commission a mural in downtown Warsaw.”
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the Advisory Council has been working since September. They applied for the My Community My Vision program and were successful, as the $5,000 grant attests.
“Obviously, very excited and pleased that we were approved and awarded. Now it’s to the point they spent a lot of time with (School of Public and Environmental Affairs) down at Indianapolis. The AIM annual conference and several other meetings. They’ve done some traveling, they’ve been working almost weekly through the process, trying to refine their ideas and come up with a lot of really great ideas,” Thallemer said.
City of Warsaw senior planner Justin Taylor and Steven Caltrider, from Zimmer Biomet, have served as advisors to the Advisory Council.
Taylor told the Board of Works, “It’s been really exciting to see them work through some of these ideas and different things. ... It’s been exciting to see them evolve their ideas and not get disheartened by not being able to do some of their initial ideas. So it’s been really exciting to see them find something they really like.”
Thallemer said he was “very happy” to see the Advisory Council work through all the different ideas they had.
“They pulled it off, they’re going to do a great project working with one of the businesses in town to provide a mural on the side of their building,” Thallemer said. “I couldn’t be happier with what they’re doing as representatives of the city of Warsaw.”
Jeff Grose, Board of Works member and WCHS teacher, told the students, “I think it’s great. Thanks for being here and taking the lead with this.”
After the meeting, Taylor said the mural concept is being created by local artist Robert Hudson.
Total cost of the mural is $7,500, so the students need to raise $2,500. Anyone wishing to donate can email [email protected].
Other members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council are Addison Price, Carson Kerlin, Elizabeth Stone, Kendyl Silveus and Regan Brouwer.
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