Redkey receives planning grant

The Town of Redkey has been awarded a $30,000 comprehensive planning grant to assist in the development of its downtown.

Town officials were notified Monday that they received the grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

The money will be used to hire an engineering firm to establish a detailed redevelopment plan for downtown Redkey, similar to ongoing efforts to develop a revitalization plan in Portland.

Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley said the grant will also help Redkey qualify for additional OCRA funding.

“This is the first step, or the gateway, to entering into many of the programs OCRA offers,” Bradley said. “Wisely, OCRA says, ‘We want communities to plan first before we give them money.’”

Redkey Town Council will vote to accept the grant contract at its Thursday meeting, finalizing a deal between the town and an engineering firm to develop the plan.

“It’s the beginning of a really neat process in the community of Redkey, to look at its future especially with relationship to downtown and to lay out some designs and plans,” Bradley said.

According to the preliminary grant agreement, the revitalization plan will include information about market conditions, existing land usage, demographics, facade recommendations, cultural and social analysis, historic structures and will include cost estimates and a series of alternatives for potential projects.

Debbie James, Redkey clerk-treasurer, said the news is welcome.

“It’s going to be very helpful for the town of Redkey,” James said. “We’ve got a number of businesses downtown and it will be useful to continue to plan for the future.”