Mentone Adopts Strategic Investment Plan
March 14, 2023 at 1:06 a.m.
Mentone Adopts Strategic Investment Plan
By David [email protected]
Pierceton and Milford also approved theirs Monday, with the county scheduled to fully adopt the SIP in April.
Community Coordinator Amy A. Roe told the Mentone Council, “Basically, we are here today to officially close out this portion of the HELP. So, we went through the four phases. This is the fourth. Once each of the towns adopt this portion, then it will go to the county to be adopted. Once that’s complete, then that basically closes out the entire program, and then we can unlock the funding, which is the fun part.”
She said all the Mentone board needed to do Monday was to approve that the document is spelled correctly, the information and map are correct and the projects identified in the document are correct.
“It’s nothing about funding as of yet. That will be another conversation that we have once we determine what that looks like,” Roe said.
For Mentone, the projects include enhancing Mentzer Park, creating a technology training program at the library, a building facade grant program, a Mentone sidewalks project and creating a downtown master plan.
Clerk-Treasurer Amanda Yaprak asked if the dollar figures in the SIP were just rough estimates, and Roe said they were.
“All of it is a rough estimate. The real work is going to be done (later),” Roe said. “... This was just to get kind of a rough estimate for anybody that would be an investor to look at. Any projects that we choose for the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds or the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, we will have to sit with (Michiana Area Council of Governments) and really drill out what the current costs of those projects would be and what funds would be available, based on what information that we obtain once the county determines how much CDBG money they can use.”
Roe said they recognize that the price of everything has gone up since those cost estimates were previously determined. If and when a project is picked from the SIP to be moved forward, she said they will have to get new quotes.
The Mentzer Park enhancement and beautifying project is Mentone’s biggest project that would be eligible for funding, and had a previous projected cost of $555,500. Roe said there most likely will have to be an income study or survey done for Mentone and Pierceton. She said it’s technically not a big deal. Asked by Councilwoman Shelly Krueger about the income study, Roe said it’s looking to see if 51% or higher of Mentone’s population is low to moderate income.
Krueger asked, if they don’t make that criteria, what happens. Roe said there should be no reason the town doesn’t make it because they’re at 50.8% low to moderate income. If the town doesn’t make the criteria, it wouldn’t be eligible for the funding, but Roe said she doesn’t know how they wouldn’t be.
Hopefully, she told the council, the timeline started Monday with the three towns approving the SIP; then the county council and commissioners will be asked to approve the SIP in April; MACOG assists with the income survey in late April or early May, and that will take about six weeks; and then there will be a collective meeting between the commissioners and council to determine and analyze all the data and decide on project eligibility.
The county also has two projects that are to be considered. One is a trail project extending Chinworth Bridge trail to Atwood, which Roe thinks is a project most likely to be eligible for CDBG funds, and the other is providing broadband to the town of Sidney.
“Best-case scenario, you get $333,000 additional. Worst-case scenario, it goes back to the dollar-for-dollar match,” Roe told the Mentone council. “Our hope is to have that meeting in July where we can analyze that and make the determination because then we’d have to circle back around and find which projects in the Strategic Investment Plan are the fastest because the CDBG money has to be spent first because the deadline is fastest.”
Councilman Tim Croy made a motion to accept the SIP, Krueger seconded it and it passed 2-0. Council President Jill Gross was not present at the special meeting.
Kosciusko County was one of three communities selected in 2021 by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to participate in the first round of the HELP. HELP assists and equips rural communities with developing strategic investment plans, resulting in a legacy project for each community focused on at least one of four community development pathways/focus areas including advancing e-connectivity, enhancing quality of place, promoting community wellness and strengthening local economies.
The communities of Mentone, Milford and Pierceton agreed to participate with the county in the program. Each of those communities had to agree to provide a 30% match from their ARPA funds. When the process is complete, it unlocks a $1 million in CDBG funding that the county will receive and the county will divvy it out.
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Pierceton and Milford also approved theirs Monday, with the county scheduled to fully adopt the SIP in April.
Community Coordinator Amy A. Roe told the Mentone Council, “Basically, we are here today to officially close out this portion of the HELP. So, we went through the four phases. This is the fourth. Once each of the towns adopt this portion, then it will go to the county to be adopted. Once that’s complete, then that basically closes out the entire program, and then we can unlock the funding, which is the fun part.”
She said all the Mentone board needed to do Monday was to approve that the document is spelled correctly, the information and map are correct and the projects identified in the document are correct.
“It’s nothing about funding as of yet. That will be another conversation that we have once we determine what that looks like,” Roe said.
For Mentone, the projects include enhancing Mentzer Park, creating a technology training program at the library, a building facade grant program, a Mentone sidewalks project and creating a downtown master plan.
Clerk-Treasurer Amanda Yaprak asked if the dollar figures in the SIP were just rough estimates, and Roe said they were.
“All of it is a rough estimate. The real work is going to be done (later),” Roe said. “... This was just to get kind of a rough estimate for anybody that would be an investor to look at. Any projects that we choose for the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds or the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, we will have to sit with (Michiana Area Council of Governments) and really drill out what the current costs of those projects would be and what funds would be available, based on what information that we obtain once the county determines how much CDBG money they can use.”
Roe said they recognize that the price of everything has gone up since those cost estimates were previously determined. If and when a project is picked from the SIP to be moved forward, she said they will have to get new quotes.
The Mentzer Park enhancement and beautifying project is Mentone’s biggest project that would be eligible for funding, and had a previous projected cost of $555,500. Roe said there most likely will have to be an income study or survey done for Mentone and Pierceton. She said it’s technically not a big deal. Asked by Councilwoman Shelly Krueger about the income study, Roe said it’s looking to see if 51% or higher of Mentone’s population is low to moderate income.
Krueger asked, if they don’t make that criteria, what happens. Roe said there should be no reason the town doesn’t make it because they’re at 50.8% low to moderate income. If the town doesn’t make the criteria, it wouldn’t be eligible for the funding, but Roe said she doesn’t know how they wouldn’t be.
Hopefully, she told the council, the timeline started Monday with the three towns approving the SIP; then the county council and commissioners will be asked to approve the SIP in April; MACOG assists with the income survey in late April or early May, and that will take about six weeks; and then there will be a collective meeting between the commissioners and council to determine and analyze all the data and decide on project eligibility.
The county also has two projects that are to be considered. One is a trail project extending Chinworth Bridge trail to Atwood, which Roe thinks is a project most likely to be eligible for CDBG funds, and the other is providing broadband to the town of Sidney.
“Best-case scenario, you get $333,000 additional. Worst-case scenario, it goes back to the dollar-for-dollar match,” Roe told the Mentone council. “Our hope is to have that meeting in July where we can analyze that and make the determination because then we’d have to circle back around and find which projects in the Strategic Investment Plan are the fastest because the CDBG money has to be spent first because the deadline is fastest.”
Councilman Tim Croy made a motion to accept the SIP, Krueger seconded it and it passed 2-0. Council President Jill Gross was not present at the special meeting.
Kosciusko County was one of three communities selected in 2021 by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to participate in the first round of the HELP. HELP assists and equips rural communities with developing strategic investment plans, resulting in a legacy project for each community focused on at least one of four community development pathways/focus areas including advancing e-connectivity, enhancing quality of place, promoting community wellness and strengthening local economies.
The communities of Mentone, Milford and Pierceton agreed to participate with the county in the program. Each of those communities had to agree to provide a 30% match from their ARPA funds. When the process is complete, it unlocks a $1 million in CDBG funding that the county will receive and the county will divvy it out.
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