Presentation Promotes Public Promenades, Parks, & Pretty Places

COLUMBIA CITY-Tuesday’s Common Council meeting ran a bit longer than usual, as a significant portion of time was devoted to a presentation about the Downtown Revitalization Project. Those involved with the project have been excitedly waiting for several years now for progress. Catherine Puckett of HWC Engineering praised Columbia City’s success and growth, saying that many other cities do not have the activated alleys, downtown art projects, facade grants, and downtown activities that Columbia City does. Through the efforts of a 12-member steering committee, a public survey, an event at First Fridays, a public meeting, and discussions with the Youth Council and department heads, collected input was used to plan. Public statements included requests for a public place to skate over the winter, feedback for the trails that bemoaned the lack of bike racks large enough for a family of four, complaints about blighted buildings, praise for First Fridays and the Farmers’ Market, and a suggestion to make Van Buren a 1-way street to create more greenspace downtown. A repeated complaint for many years now, specifically from mothers of small children, has been Columbia City’s lack of an indoor play option, and that made the board as well. Since the loss of the indoor playplace at Burger King and later McDonalds, the closest (free) option for littles with the “winter zoomies” is the Chick-Fil-A playplace in Fort Wayne.

Figure 1.1: Plan RecommendationsPhoto byPhoto by Melany Love

Councilman Daniel Weigold complained about the large trucks that park on Van Buren Street, between Chauncey and Line, saying they stick out too far and the road is too narrow. He suggested widening the road two feet might be a solution, or returning to parallel parking, which the city had changed from before Weigold’s time in the Columbia City Plan Commission. It was mentioned that changing back would diminish the amount of parking spots available downtown, and Mayor Ryan Daniel pointed out that downtown parking is only an issue during “day work hours” and that there is plenty of room in the evenings. Additionally, when the jail moves to its new location, a great deal of parking and a building will become available, which one of the plans presented took into consideration as an improvable spot.

Location 3 Image, Downtown Revitalization PresentationPhoto byPhoto by Melany Love

The two other plans presented looked at updating the Chauncey Street area, closing off part of the street to the North (by Pickles Cafe) and/or the South (by the gazebo) to allow for potential ideas like a brick promenade, splashable fountain, displayed art, landscaping, and outdoor game tables/play structures. Puckett also mentioned that the city may wish to “purchase strategic properties to attract desired development,” which would allow more direct control over how downtown space is used in keeping with the current goals. She asked the council to consider whether downtown is for cars or people.

Location 1 Image, Downtown Revitalization ProjectPhoto byPhoto by Melany Love

Location 2 Image, Downtown Revitalization ProjectPhoto byPhoto by Melany Love

Weigold said that though he was skeptical at first of the ideas, having seen them now, he is in favor of “vacating some downtown space to make downtown more user-friendly.” Councilwoman Jennifer Romano said the downtown project is worth investing in, and Weigold added that his remaining question was, “Now where do we get the money?” Mayor Daniel responded that Indiana’s Ready Communities 2.0 project (https://regionalopportunityinc.org/readi-ready-communities/) could provide some funding towards the project, explaining that lawmakers are seeking to improve quality of life for residents, and with the lack of beaches, mountains, etc., that means making the downtown areas nicer. Romano offered that the city has been successful in obtaining funding through grants as well.

Weigold then mentioned that the blighted buildings downtown were a source of frustration, saying that many owners are not maintaining or improving their buildings. Mayor Daniel gave kudos to the businesses taking advantage of the availability of the facade grant money and improving their buildings and admitted that there are some buildings that still have issues. He said he thought for too long a time they’ve been leery of “big government takeover,” but there is an expectation of the city government to maintain the safety of buildings. The discussions were closed with the mayor cautioning that the city needs to be cognizant of everything involved in the process and that, “It won’t be cheap; it won’t be tomorrow.”

Further discussions at the meeting included the addition of a second supervisor in the water department, meant to oversee the storm water crews and allowing for multiple crews at a time. With the large projects being done in the city currently, it has proven too much to also keep up on the storm water, and many of the other city departments have multiple supervisors already. Mayor Daniel pointed out the importance of succession planning as well, to make sure everything operates smoothly, even if/when a leader leaves.

A conversation was had about the new Bowen Center and Community Foundation buildings, with Weigold pointing out that a lot of discussion has been had over who is responsible for the needed new sidewalks in those areas. He said it should have been part of the original plan, but it was overlooked. Weigold, Councilman Walt Crowder, and Mayor Daniel all agreed that crossing 205 should be kept to a minimum, as it poses a safety risk, though Mayor Daniel reminded that INDOT controls 205, and there is unfortunately little that the city can do in changes.

The CIP budget was discussed and passed unanimously, and the acceptance of bids for the new park will begin Dec. 1. AP delayed the city’s conversion to their system, with the new date being Dec. 8, and the new Parks and Recreation office will have their open house on Dec. 4. Mayor Daniel proudly shared that the Veterans Day marathon had representation from 22 states and Canada, from as far east as Maine and west to Utah. He also shared the current status of the Propel US 30 Project and mentioned that their website (https://propelus30.com/) allows comments there as well, if anyone is unable to attend their meetings. He passed on that in wrapping up this phase of their work, they have officially dropped the ideas of a bypass and of adding more lanes of travel, and they are still considering J-turns, true interchanges, and several other options.

Romano announced the Christmas parade will be downtown at 6pm on Nov. 24, and those wanting to participate in the city’s lighting contest need to have their lights up by the 24th, as it takes a long time to do all the judging.

In public comment, Melany Love pointed out that the downtown parking for events like First Fridays and the Haunted Jail is a problem for residents who have had to park as far as a block away from their own homes in some instances, though she hopes that the increased parking once the jail moves will help against that. She also spoke about the need for backyard chickens in town, citing the recent uptick in avian flu outbreaks at large chicken facilities which has led to over 60 million chicken and turkey deaths since 2022 and over 2,500,000 total in the last month alone, in three states. Love said she expects egg prices to rise again and that backyard chickens would help citizens avoid that financial burden. She added that backyard chickens do not carry the same risks of bird flu that massive factories do, as they do not cram birds into close quarters indoors or have many employees potentially spreading contamination. Avian flu is spread from chickens coming in contact with migratory birds, contaminated feed, and/or equipment, and human contraction is through prolonged exposure to infected saliva, mucus, or feces; it cannot infect through consuming properly cooked poultry or eggs.

The next Common Council meeting is at 6:00 on Nov. 28.