Community plan coming

DUNKIRK - A community-wide meeting is planned to review a revitalization plan for downtown Dunkirk.

The report, prepared by consultants over the past several months, includes sections on a streetscape design for downtown Dunkirk as well as marketing strategies to attract new business ventures to the community.

"I think the plan reflects what the people at the previous community meetings said, and what we want our community to look like down the road," council member Judy Garr said.

At Monday night's council meeting, city officials referred for further review this report about revitalizing downtown from SDG Planning and Research Solutions, the Architecture Trio and Rundell Ernstberger Associates, a land planning and urban design firm.

Jay County Community Developer Ami Huffman explained that the report would be used as the focus of a community-wide forum she is planning to hold in the near future at the West Jay Community Center.

This report, numbering more than 100 pages, follows up on previous community meetings in Dunkirk. Huffman explained that the city had received a state planning grant to do this work.

After the council meeting, Mayor Ron Hunt said he was looking forward to the community-wide forum that will include a presentation by the planning firm representatives. However, he said that a date and time for the meeting has not been set yet.

The plan includes four basic components: streetscape enhancements including banners promoting Dunkirk as the Glass Capital of Indiana; expansion of Webster-Depot Park and its entertainment programs; restoration of facades on commercial buildings in the downtown; and strategies and resources for attracting new development including a market analysis.

The report's vision statement and goals call for establishing a community revitalization committee, renovating buildings that are in poor condition along Main Street, improving the appearance of the downtown, and attracting diverse businesses and services that in part will provide basic goods and services to residents.

In other business at Monday night's session, council members:

•Listened to a report from councilman Craig Faulkner who explained that the recent open house at the new combined Dunkirk fire station and Jay County Emergency Medical Services ambulance base building had gone very well.

•Agreed with a recommendation from Faulkner to set aside $1,000 in the fire department budget for the July 4th fireworks display. Also at the meeting, the fire department received a $50 contribution from the West Jay Optimist Club toward the fireworks program.

•Noted that the exterior of the city water tower had received a new coat of paint and work was continuing to clean the interior of the reservoir tank.

•Approved a promotion for Dace Mumbower from laborer in the water department to lab technician-laborer, increasing his pay to $12.70 an hour. Under the new arrangement, Mumbower will do testing work in the water plant lab as well as other departmental duties, as needed. It's only been about a month since Mumbower was demoted from superintendent of the water department to the laborer position.

•Approved a contract with Deicing Technology of North Olmsted, Ohio, to supply road salt for the winter of 2009-10. Councilman Eric Bowler explained that the cost will be $79.71 a ton for deicing salt with an option to purchase as much as 100 tons of salt.

•Approved contracts with Culy Construction and Excavating Inc., Winchester, to televise and clean sewer lines for $13,928; and improve seals for 15 manholes at a total cost of $14,707.

•Granted permission for city-wide rummage sales on the weekend of Aug. 7-8. Rummage sale location maps will be provided and the normal $5 rummage sale registration fee will be waived for those days, organizer Pam Bunch explained.

•Heard city clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler ask that department officials submit their budget requests for 2010 to her as soon as possible. Kesler said she has already begun the process of preparing next year's city budget.[[In-content Ad]]