Dunkirk proud

In his first State of the City Address, Dunkirk Mayor Jack Robbins touted existing and new local businesses and looked ahead to planned infrastructure updates.

Jay County Chamber of Commerce hosted a networking breakfast for the city this morning at West Jay Community Center, with local business owners, city and county government officials and other members of the community in attendance.

Robbins, who took office in January, thanked both the larger and smaller factories in the area, calling them the “foundation” for Dunkirk. He recognized several new businesses that have opened in the city recently, including Cute as a Button Salon and Spa, Sculpt Fitness and the Glass Capital Café.

The city should see several other new businesses soon, he noted. Private investors have purchased and are upgrading a few buildings in town, including the masonic lodge and the Weaver building.

“Things are moving in Dunkirk and I think it’s all for the better,” Robbins said. “We’ve got a lot of people that’s counting on downtown Dunkirk,” Robbins said.

A big change for the downtown area will be the installation of “bump outs” — Curb extensions that narrow the crossing distance for pedestrians — at the intersection of Main and Commerce streets. They are necessary to keep the traffic light in place while making the sidewalks ADA-compliant.

“It’s going to funnel the traffic down and slow them down,” Robbins said.

The construction is part of Indiana Department of Transportation’s planned upgrade of Indiana 167 from Albany through Dunkirk this year. The city is also asking for funding from INDOT’s Community Crossings grant program to revamp seven other streets in the city.

While flooding remains an issue in the city, Robbins noted that the governing boards are working on the problem with a five-year utility master plan. It will take millions of dollars to make all the needed improvements, he said, but the city is making progress.

“We’re going to have to do little steps before we get to where you can see a big difference in Dunkirk, so we are working on that,” Robbins said.

The traditional Glass Days Festival was canceled this year, but the city will still host a community gathering this spring — just on a smaller scale. Dunkirk Community Glass Days will be held in Dunkirk City Park from May 28 to 30 and will still include the Cinderella Queen of Glass Pageant, glass demonstrations, bands and vendors. (See related story.)

Robbins also noted that the 4th of July celebration with fireworks will be held at the park July 4.

He ended his presentation with praise for the city and its community members.

“Dunkirk’s awful lucky,” Robbins said. “We’ve got small businesses coming in. We’ve got three lodges in Dunkirk. It takes a lot of volunteers to make things like this go so I think we ought to be proud of Dunkirk.”