Jay! named Stellar finalist

Four years after Dunkirk was a finalist for the Stellar Communities designation, all of Jay County now has the chance to reach for the stars.

Local officials got the word from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs that the county and its municipalities — collectively being referred to as the “Jay! Region” — have advanced to the finalist stage for the Stellar designation.

The Stellar program opens the door to millions of dollars in grants through Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Housing and Community Development, OCRA and others.

“This is what we work for. This is as big as it gets,” said Jay County Community Development director Ami Huffman. “This is really transformational work … so I’m really happy to have the opportunity for the communities, because there’s a lot that can be done. And every one of our communities that are partners are very deserving.”

Huffman and other local officials were notified this morning by Jodi Golden and Michael Sinnet of OCRA that Jay! Region had been selected as a finalist. The news was made public about 11:15 a.m. via a press release from the lieutenant governor’s office.

The other finalist regions are:

•Constellation of Starke — Hamlet, Knox, North Judson and Starke County

•Marshall County Crossroads — Argos, Bourbon, Bremen, Culver, Plymouth and Marshall County

•Safe and Welcome — Knightstown, New Castle and Henry County

“Rural Indiana is comprised of so many burgeoning communities, and through this program they can really enhance the quality of life for the Hoosiers who call it home,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch in the press release. “During my travels of the state, it is truly incredible to see what some of the previous designees have done with the investments from the state. I am excited to see what the four regions that were selected unveil during this planning process.”

State officials will offer feedback to the local Stellar leadership team in the coming weeks, prior to a meeting May 20 that will be open to the public. A second meeting for Stellar leadership team members only will be held June 12. (Times for those meetings have not yet been set.)

In the months that follow, regions will work to hone their plans — a $20,000 grant is available for a consultant to help with the process — and final presentations will be made to state officials in early November. Ball State University’s Indiana Communities Institute and Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development will be involved in helping the finalists through the process.

The Stellar winner(s) will be announced Dec. 5, with a reception at the statehouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11.

Huffman emphasized the importance of community involvement as the process continues, including by providing feedback about preferences and priorities via surveys and community meetings. County engineer Dan Watson especially noted the importance of that May 20 meeting at Ball State.

“This first meeting they have, we need to have a huge crowd,” said Watson, who was mayor of Dunkirk when the city was a finalist in 2015. “The more people that show up to that first meeting, it shows that there’s definitely (countywide support).”

Jay County has a long history with the Stellar program, as the City of Portland was one of 12 cities in the running during the inaugural year in 2011. It did not make the top five, while Greencastle and North Vernon were selected as winners.

Dunkirk then was one of three finalists in the small community category in 2015 before losing out to North Liberty. (The city applied again a year later, but did not make the finalist list.)

The program, which targeted individual communities when it was launched, shifted to a regional focus last year, with Allen County and Hancock County selected as winners. Previous Stellar Communities designees include Richmond, Wabash and Rushville.

The Jay! Region’s work toward the Stellar designation has been ongoing for about a year, since local officials decided to forego the 2018 process in favor of preparing for the 2019 round. The effort this time is a partnership between the county and all of its municipalities — Portland, Dunkirk, Redkey, Pennville, Bryant and Salamonia. The largest of those four communities have created and or updated revitalization plans in the past year, with part of the goal being to use that information to put together a strong Stellar application.