Warsaw Not Finalist For Stellar Communities Program
Posted
Staff Report-
Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann announced Tuesday the finalists for the 2015 Stellar Communities designation program. Warsaw applied for the designation, but was not selected as a finalist. “The City of Warsaw, as a first time applicant, was privileged to participate in the planning and application process for Stellar City,” said Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer. “While most confident of our preparation, we realized the competitive nature of the process. Our planning and project development will continue along the Market Street neighborhood. More important, our community partnerships with the Town of Winona Lake and all of our other collaborators have strengthened as a benefit of the process. We wish the best of luck to all of the finalists and thank all of the state agencies that worked to create this wonderful opportunity.” 2015 Stellar Communities finalists Division 1 include the cities of Crawfordsville, Decatur and Marion; and Division 2, the city of Dunkirk and town of North Liberty. According to the lieutenant governor’s website, Stellar Communities, established in 2011, began as a collaboration between the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Department of Transportation to support community planning and development initiatives. The program pools funding sources for a variety of projects identified by the communities as key elements in their comprehensive strategic development plans. Thirteen communities submitted letters of interest for the 2015 Stellar Communities program. After evaluating the plans, the top five communities were chosen as finalists which will receive planning grants to either create or build upon existing Strategic Investment Plans detailing projects, partnerships and proposed sources of funding. Site visits will then be conducted by staff, with representatives from the partnering agencies following a standard agenda and set of questions.
