April 8, 2015 at 5:35 p.m.
Dunkirk named Stellar finalist
The news was worth the wait.
Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson learned Tuesday in a call from Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann that Dunkirk has been selected as a finalist for Stellar Communities grant funding.
“It’s awesome,” said Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson. “And it felt better that there’s only two finalists in our group. So we have a 50/50 chance. You can’t beat that.”
“It’s pretty darn sweet,” added Jay County community development director Ami Huffman, who has worked with the city on its application. “It’s exciting because they work so hard and they’re such a team. It’s exciting to take that next step.”
The decision was originally scheduled for Thursday, but state officials instead sent an email last week announcing a five-day delay.
Dunkirk and North Liberty, which is about 15 miles southwest of South Bend in St. Joseph County, are the lone finalists in the division for municipalities with populations of fewer than 6,000.
OCRA had planned to select three finalists in each division, but decided those two were best-suited to move forward with the process.
“I think we’re farther along than most communities … as far as having a revitalization plan. Even though we haven’t been awarded the last two years, we still try to keep moving forward,” said Watson. “We’ve secured all the buildings. We’ve got control of all the properties. We’ve got all the environmental (studies). Everything is done. We’re just ready to go. The only thing we’re lacking is funding.”
Dunkirk will now begin work on the next step of the process, which includes a final application book that is due June 30 and a visit from state officials. There are also several more rounds of paperwork that must be submitted to the state.
“That’s going to be the key,” he said. “It’ll have to be a pretty elaborate show of support.”
Dunkirk is requesting $2.6 million in grants and tax credits that would be used for projects such as relocation of the city’s library and glass museum and construction on a senior housing complex.
Crown Crossing Senior Housing Development, which Dunkirk is pursuing in partnership with Buckeye Community Hope Foundation of Columbus, Ohio, is the largest part of the proposal. The $3.4 million facility, to be built on the west side of Main Street between Center Street and the railroad tracks, would include 28 units, a courtyard, kitchen, social hall, laundry room, library, computer room and administrative office space.
The Stellar funding would also allow the city to move the library and glass museum from their Washington Street location to the Stewart Brothers building on Main Street.
“It would be awesome. The No. 1 issue I think is the library and glass museum, getting that moved,” Watson said. “That’s been our No. 1 priority … I envision the Stewart Brothers building as the Weiler building (John Jay Center) to Portland. That’s what it could do.”
Lighting in the downtown area and Safe Routes to Schools are also part of the city’s Stellar application.
Finalists in the division for municipalities with 6,000 or more residents are Decatur, Marion and Crawfordsville.
The winners in each group will be announced at the state fair in August.
“Each year the selection of the finalist is becoming more difficult as the applications are including more creative plans with greater private sector investment,” said Ellspermann in a press release Tuesday. “The 2015 finalists represent some extraordinary work and collaboration among the public and private sectors in each community.”
Dunkirk had applied for Stellar funding twice before, missing the finalist list in 2013 and ’14. Portland was a finalist in 2011, when North Vernon and Greencastle were selected as winners.
Other Stellar winners were Princeton and Delphi in 2012, Richmond and Bedford in 2013 and Huntingburg and Wabash in 2014.
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