Quality of place initiatives seeks community support

Jan. 30—GOSHEN — Leaders of Elkhart County met at the Goshen Theater on Tuesday afternoon to seek feedback on some of the thousands of quality-of-place ideas that have become of the Vibrant Communities Action Agenda 2.0 campaign.

The information on the possibilities is being presented at multiple open houses across Elkhart County communities.

"Without it being a grassroots effort, I think it's not sustainable," said Jon Hunsberger, executive director of the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "If the residents are bought in and they believe it, it will last generations."

The movement, launched in 2016, is designed to "advocate for community building, unity, and quality-of-place initiatives and promotion," according to a press release from leaders of Vibrant Communities. Some ideas include capital projects, some need volunteers, and some are in need of project leaders.

"That's really where community members can step in and say, 'If this is important I'll be the champion,' whether that is an individual, an organization, a group of individuals, group of organizations, to address whatever the project or initiative may be," Hunsberger said.

For example, in the first iteration of the Vibrant Communities Action Agenda, there were many projects revolving around arts in the community, but only Nappanee had an arts organization. Community members were able to rally together to develop arts councils in Goshen, Elkhart and Middlebury.

Vibrant Communities' first action agenda also included completed projects such as the Goshen Theater renovation and reopening, the Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center, the Little Big Idea Grant, upgrades to parks and trails including the newly established Ridge Run Trail, along with various smaller community-driven programs and initiatives. Of the 77 action agenda items in the Vibrant Communities' first iteration, 76 of them were completed or are in the process of being completed, but all required community support in a variety of ways.

Meetings have already occurred in Nappanee on Monday and in Goshen on Tuesday. On Thursday there will be a meeting at the Middlebury Public Library. On Feb. 7, there will be a meeting at the Bristol Opera House, and the following day at the Elkhart Public Library's downtown location. On Feb. 12, there will be a meeting at Millersburg Town Hall, and on Feb. 13, at Doc's Pavilion in Wakarusa.

"Some of (of the projects) are well on their way, but some of them need a lot of work," Hunsberger said. Vibrant Communities seeks to help facilitate meetings and rally support for things the community cares about to get done.

Topics of discussion at each of the open house meetings explore six main themes identified including for that community's downtown. The themes are parks and trails, arts and cultural activities, volunteerism and community involvement, neighborhood projects and programs, and environmental and natural resources.

"It depends on where there's energy and there has to be a project champion," she said. "The action agenda reflects the will of the people. Are people willing to step forward and help see those things through to completion?" said Goshen Mayor Gina Leichty.

In 2022 alone more than 3,200 ideas were submitted by Elkhart County residents. There was also an online survey with the help of Indiana University of South Bend in 2023, and the next steps, according to Hunsberger, are to visit each community and garner feedback.

"Besides the action agenda, one the major initiatives (of the CVB) is encouraging people to think, again, about volunteering for the projects and the things that they love because it can't just be government and it can't just be a few philanthropists that are going to make things happen," he said. "It has to be the broader group of people getting involved, and so just taking that first step and sort of casting the vision and coalescing people around the ideas is the first step."

Goshen's action plan includes additional Goshen Theater renovation work, establishment of a quiet zone, creating a bike-friendly community, river preservation and blueway recreational opportunities, Shanklin Park Pool redesign, a green space at Power House Park, a possible new music festival, Net Zero by 2035, and many other projects, but Leichty none is more important.

To view the action agenda in its entirety, and see topics for other Elkhart County communities, visit https://vibrantelkhartcounty.org/action-agenda-2.

Near the bottom of the PDF, interested volunteers can find lead coordinators, possible partners, and time frames for each of the projects. If a lead coordinator isn't shown, interested parties can reach out to the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau for more information.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.