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Step 1
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The Letter of Intent
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Crawfordsville has made four attempts to become Stellar-designated community. The city was a finalist in 2012 and also applied in 2013 and 2014 but did not become a finalist. In 2015 the city successfully reached the finalist stage and attained designation, along with North Liberty.
Prior Attempts In 2012 Crawfordsville applied for Stellar designation and made it to the finalist stage. This forced Crawfordsville to reconsider their scope and vision for their 2014 application for which the city hired HWC Engineering to develop a stronger letter of intent and application. In return, HWC would have been the program manager for the projects. This application did not reach the finalist stage though and thus the city was unable to gain a second $10,000 grant to develop a SCIP. Final Attempt In 2015, Crawfordsville decided to go forth with a fourth application that “sharpened” the vision of the city. The letter detailed the city’s desire to attract younger residents and businesses that will establish themselves in the downtown or near the Commerce Park. Even further, this plan was created and driven by the city rather than by a private consulting firm. Crawfordsville reached the finalist stage and received the $10,000 grant to develop a Strategic Community Investment Plan. |
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Step 2
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The Strategic Investment Plan 2015
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Once becoming a finalist, the city used the next six weeks to develop their Strategic Community Investment Plan (SCIP), which outlines the expected projects, their outcomes, and their impacts on the community. For Crawfordsville, the projects had a goal to develop a “quality and unique experience” in the city for both local residents and tourists. The target area included the historic downtown, the Whitlock neighborhood, and the area just east of Wabash College. These spaces include plans that both enhance business exposure but also improve the environment for residents. Much of the SCIP was built upon the city’s other plans such as their Safe Routes to School Plan (2013) or their Bike/Pedestrian Master Plan (2014).
Total costs for the six projects and the hiring of a Director of Operations was $16,878,500. From this total, Stellar funding will be primarily local and private, with about 70% coming from these sources, and the remaining 30% ($5 million) from INDOT, IHCDA, and OCRA. Projects include:
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Step 3
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The Site Visit
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Once Crawfordsville completed its Strategic Community Investment Plan, the state selection team came out for a site visit in the summer of 2015. The site visit consisted of various components put together by Crawfordsville's Stellar planning team. The Crawfordsville Stellar Planning Team was introduced multiple community stakeholders and volunteers at its site visit to illustrate their ability to foster local, private, and regional partnerships as well as local support for the ISCP initiative. In addition, there were storyboards around the room describing each project. City of Crawfordsville, 2015.
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Step 4
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The Announcement
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On August 17th, 2015, Crawfordsville was designated as a Stellar Community by Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann. Out of thirteen applicants and five finalists, Crawfordsville was designated the Division I winner for towns larger than 6,000 persons. The city held their “Stellarbration” in September, an event also attended by the Lieutenant Governor.
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