Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER - Some more good news regarding the North Webster Community Center was given by clerk-treasurer Peg Lawrance to the town council Wednesday.
Lawrance said the center qualified for the maximum amount - $100,000 - of the Public Facility Energy Efficiencies Program. The town of North Webster is the sponsoring agent of the loan for the community center. The loan is from the Department of Energy and the town has 10 years to pay it back.
"We were excited to get that," she said.
According to council member Jeff Morgan after the meeting, the loan is for energy efficiency updates to the community center. Those updates could include such things as insulation, better windows or anything else that will help make the building more energy efficient.
In another community center matter, Lawrance reported she and other members of the community center board picked up the $500,000 Community Focus Fund grant check Wednesday in Indianapolis from the Indiana Department of Commerce.
Lawrance said, "It was a pretty exciting moment."
In this round of funding, the second round of the year, 37 communities shared more than $15 million.
Lawrance said State Sen. Bob Meeks played a big part in the town getting the grant.
"It makes a difference," said council member Kay Andrews of Meeks' involvement in the project.
Rep. Bill Ruppel also was recognized by the board for his participation.
According to a press release from the Department of Commerce, the grant will be used to rehabilitate the abandoned North Webster elementary school building.
North Webster Community Center Inc. purchased the school, which includes a full-size gym, cafeteria, kitchen and many rooms on one level that can be used by area organizations. This grant will allow NWCCI to convert the newer portion of the building into a community center to house the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Library, a senior citizens' center, a latchkey program in the summer, the YMCA and the Lakeland Youth Center. In total, these organizations serve more than 600 youths and 400 adults.
CFF is a federally funded grant program administered by the IDC. The funding is available to small cities, towns and counties for construction projects designed to benefit low- to moderate-income individuals or to eliminate blight in communities. Grants are awarded through competitive funding rounds to assist small communities in long-term development projects.
While community centers are one way to attract businesses to an area, another way is to advertise the community itself.
The town council approved spending $657 for such advertising in the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors' Bureau's Splash magazine. However, it was approved with a recommendation from the town council that the CVB may want to look at putting the magazine online in the future.
Morgan said printed pieces will continue to reach a decreasing number of people. People are looking more to the Internet for travel information, and he could support something such as Splash if it was going to be on the CVB's Web site.
"We'd like to see that going into the CVB Web site with links," said Andrews.
Members of the North Webster Town Council are Kay Andrews, Jeff Morgan and Ken Wagoner. The next regular meeting is Dec. 11.
