Grant process seems backwards

This seems backwards.
The city of Portland is scurrying around, trying to figure out whether it should or should not apply for a Stellar Communities grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
Why the hesitation?
Because the city is still under a black cloud with OCRA until the ill-fated Geesaman Industries grant is behind us.
City officials, including Mayor Randy Geesaman, are hopeful that black cloud will dissipate soon.
But there’s still something missing from the equation: A credible proposal for how any potential grant dollars would be used.
In other words, the city has — once again — fallen into the same old trap.
Instead of developing consensus, strong community support, and a well-defined concept first, then seeking available grant dollars later, it looks like dollars-first-ideas-later.
In other words, it looks as if we have things backwards.
Sure, there are some worthy ideas being talked about. But the best of those — a new municipal swimming pool comes to mind — don’t fall into the realm of what Stellar Communities grants are all about, as we understand things.
And it would be foolish to try to force the square peg into a round hole simply to be in a chase for grant money.
It would also be foolish to cobble together a grant application just for the sake of asking, without giving it the thoughtful consideration it deserves. That’s the sort of thinking that has made Americans cynical about “Uncle Sugar.”
Doesn’t it make sense to take a step back?
Doesn’t it make sense to let the folks who run OCRA know that the city is chastened and humbled by the Geesaman Industries fiasco, that we’re grateful a resolution has been reached, and that we realize it would look a little greedy to be asking for more money when we haven’t really erased the earlier loss?
And, most of all, doesn’t it make sense for any Stellar Communities grant application to be born from ideas first — not just a chase for “free money”?
We think so.
And we also think the folks at OCRA are smart enough to appreciate the difference between a community that’s chasing grant dollars and one that’s seeking assistance for an idea-driven project. — J.R.

[[In-content Ad]]