8 minute read
PILLAR OBJECTIVE
Quality of Life
Invest in quality-of-life amenities that draw young professionals and families to the region, fostering population and economic growth.
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Infrastructure
Continue working to expand broadband infrastructure across the region through efforts such as Broadband Ready Community Certification and Next Level Connections Broadband Program funding.
Infrastructure Proactively upgrade and/or extend municipal utility services to key development and redevelopment sites in alignment with growth and quality of life goals.
Governance
Work with the IND15RPC to establish and develop an economic development team that focuses on attracting new businesses and industries within and to the region.
Quality of Life
Work with the State of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration to determine a better way to assess data for funding needs for childcare facilities in rural communities.
Infrastructure Maintain and increase sewer and water capacity to support desired development and job attraction efforts.
Education
Communicate the benefits of working locally to engage teachers, students, parents, and the broader community to highlight the training opportunities in place, and the rewarding careers awaiting them.
Infrastructure
Develop a regional infrastructure revolving loan fund to help developers or communities in the region with the cost of infrastructure expansion and/or capacity issues to support new residential or job growth.
Housing
Establish a regional land bank to acquire blighted properties and structures, prepare them for sale, hold if necessary, and then sell them so that they may return to attractive and tax positive assets in the community.
Governance
Train and organize grant writing workshops to facilitate finding, writing, and submitting grants on behalf of communities and non-profits in the region.
Pillar Objective
Quality of Life
Economic
Education
Economic
Quality of Life
Housing
Housing
Develop accessible public transportation options focused on workers commuting to and from jobs.
Create talent pipelines to meet the growing needs of regional businesses, especially in key targeted industries and growing startups.
Develop a regional plan for quality childcare for the regional workforce.
Diversify the region’s economic base towards high-skilled jobs.
Promote downtown revitalization to enhance the sense of community and attract new residents and businesses to the area.
Attract land developers and production home builders to the region to help increase housing choices and values.
Create a residential tax increment financing (TIF) toolkit to help reduce the cost and facilitate the use of housing TIF districts in area municipalities.
Housing Create and provide initial funding for a revolving loan fund to help fill financing gaps associated with infrastructure development for new residential construction.
Education
Foster deeper relationships with local technical colleges and universities to expand non-degree programs (e.g., certifications and credentials) that meet the needs of current and future regional employers.
Governance
Utilizing the IND15RPC, develop an implementation committee that will oversee the implementation of the Recovery & Resiliency Plan and report to the board and the communities regarding the implementation of the strategies.
Education
Establish pathway programs for workers within the region for career advancement.
Pillar Objective
Economic
Develop a regional revolving loan fund to be used to support operational, equipment, or construction improvement needs associated with expanding existing businesses as well as recovery from the pandemic/disaster.
Quality of Life
Housing
Expand counseling, addiction recovery, and mental health services throughout the region.
Establish a residential rehabilitation grant program for improvements to owner-occupied dwellings.
Governance
Create or update existing plans and ordinances to close gaps and bring vision and goals to fruition. Where plans do not exist, they should be created.
Governance
Work with local governments and organizations to develop a “one-stop-shop” approach to promote intergovernmental coordination, provide resources for recovery, ensure timely communication, and serve as an overarching umbrella for the public and business community.
Infrastructure Promote renewable energy projects across the region and grow job opportunities to replace losses in the extraction and energy industries.
Economic Develop a targeted industry study for the region.
Economic Develop a more robust directory of resources & opportunities for businesses and the community.
Education
Establish a workforce development director to bring together the organizations within the region to focus on the workforce.
Priorities By Pillar
The following subsection lists the priorities by pillar. Each pillar lists the top 10 priorities as ranked by the Task Force members. These are ranked in order of importance in which they should be completed. In some cases, it might take 15 to 20 years to achieve some of these priorities.
Education
• Establish a workforce development director to bring together the organizations in the region to focus on the workforce.
• Establish pathway programs for workers within the region for career advancement.
• Develop a regional plan for quality childcare for the regional workforce.
• Communicate the benefits of working locally to engage teachers, students, parents, and the broader community to highlight the training opportunities in place, and the rewarding careers awaiting them.
• Foster deeper relationships with local technical colleges and universities to expand non-degree programs (e.g., certifications and credentials) that meet the needs of current and future regional employers.
• Develop a talent attraction program for the region.
• Expand technical education opportunities for students within the K-12 system to train and engage a workforce that has the technical and soft skills that are aligned to the future needs of the regional workforce and helps businesses remain competitive.
• Work with local businesses to integrate them into the education process to ensure training and classes provide necessary skills to students.
• Provide early childhood educational opportunities for families in the region.
Economic
• Develop a targeted industry study for the region.
• Create an innovation ecosystem by providing incubator and makerspaces.
• Develop a regional revolving loan fund to be used to support operational, equipment, or construction improvement needs associated with expanding existing businesses as well as recovery from the pandemic/disaster.
• Develop a more robust directory of resources & opportunities for businesses and the community.
• Create talent pipelines to meet the growing needs of regional businesses, especially in key targeted industries and growing startups.
• Create and provide an on-demand library of resources, guidance, and training.
• Develop E-Commerce training and assistance programs for small businesses to diversify and expand their customer base.
• Promote development of underutilized spaces by re-imagining new uses and matching new business owners with building owners.
• Identify angel investing networks to develop a business accelerator program for the region.
Housing
• Attract land developers and production home builders to the region to help increase housing choices and values.
• Create and provide initial funding for a revolving loan fund to help fill financing gaps associated with infrastructure development for new residential construction.
• Create a residential tax increment financing (TIF) toolkit to help reduce the cost and facilitate the use of housing TIF districts in area municipalities.
• Establish a residential rehabilitation grant program for improvements to owneroccupied dwellings.
• Target public infrastructure investments (streets, sidewalks, streetscape, lighting, utilities) in priority development areas to leverage additional private sector housing investment.
• Establish a regional land bank to acquire blighted properties and structures, prepare them for sale, hold if necessary, and then sell them so that they may return to attractive and tax positive assets in the community.
• Institute a rental registration program to ensure accurate and up-to-date contact information for owners to better keep negligent landlords accountable for their properties.
• Establish relocation incentive programs to attract residents that have a potential focus on southern Indiana to move to the region for two years.
• Promote adaptive reuse of commercial and industrial properties for residential use and conversion or construction of upper floor residences in downtowns.
• Consider using incentives, such as reduced tap/connection fees, reduced or waived permit fees, and tax abatement, to realize housing development and redevelopment.
Infrastructure
• Proactively upgrade and/or extend municipal utility services to key development and redevelopment sites in alignment with growth and quality of life goals.
• Maintain and increase sewer and water capacity to support desired development and job attraction efforts.
• Audit and improve wastewater systems to reduce inflow and infiltration thereby increasing treatment capacity in a costeffective manner.
• Develop a regional infrastructure revolving loan fund to help developers or communities in the region with the cost of infrastructure expansion and/or capacity issues to support new residential or job growth.
• Continue working to expand broadband infrastructure across the region through efforts such as Broadband Ready Community Certification and Next Level Connections Broadband Program funding.
• Promote renewable energy projects across the region and grow job opportunities to replace losses in the extraction and energy industries.
• Explore and implement strategies and technologies to reduce water demand and consumption, preventing the need for costly system upgrades and improving resiliency efforts.
Quality of Life
• Invest in quality-of-life amenities that draw young professionals and families to the region, fostering population and economic growth.
• Promote downtown revitalization to enhance the sense of community and attract new residents and businesses to the area.
• Work with the State of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration to determine a better way to assess data for funding needs for childcare facilities in rural communities.
• Develop accessible public transportation options focused on workers commuting to and from jobs.
• Expand counseling, addiction recovery, and mental health services throughout the region.
• Develop community centers across the region complete with classrooms, gyms, and indoor sports and recreational facilities to help support and build a healthier community.
• Continue to enhance and support existing tourism destinations to provide year-round programs including additional lodging options to attract visitors during all seasons.
• Develop and market a tourism trail to promote week-long visits to the region by connecting the existing tourism destinations.
• Develop a regional tourism marketing plan and visitors center to elevate the viability of three regional initiatives.
Governance
• Utilizing the IND15RPC, develop an implementation committee that will oversee the implementation of the Recovery & Resiliency Plan and report to the board and the communities regarding the implementation of the strategies.
• Work with local governments and organizations to develop a “onestop-shop” approach to promote intergovernmental coordination, provide resources for recovery, ensure timely communication, and serve as an overarching umbrella for the public and business community.
• Work with the IND15RPC to establish and develop an economic development team that focuses on attracting new businesses and industries within and to the region.
• Train and facilitate grant writing workshops to facilitate finding, writing, and submitting grants on behalf of communities and nonprofits in the region.
• Create or update existing plans and ordinances to close gaps and fulfill visions and goals. Create plans where they do not exist.
• Develop a communications plan for information during a pandemic/disaster. This could include developing a series of messages, how that is disseminated to the public/businesses/community leaders/ organizations, a central website for the region, etc. Publish updates, information, and plans/links in the communications plan.
• Document and share case studies, tactics, programs, and techniques used in the region and across Indiana and the Midwest that are successful in reaching similar goals as the regions. Document tactics/programs/techniques that are successful for future reference.
• Develop an ongoing communications campaign to raise awareness of the need for planning in the community. (This could be for any type of plan, effort, program, etc.)
• Establish a resource coordinator to help coordinate data, and other information sharing as they are often working toward similar goals or regional initiatives or programs.
• Working with IND15RPC, review existing meetings, and determine the most effective way to communicate information, data, initiatives, and progress from the Recovery and Resiliency Plan. This should be coordinated with several other strategies in this plan.
Benchmarks
Implementing the Steadfast: Creating Deeper Roots for a Stronger Future Plan will take time. Some strategies and their objectives can be completed in the next three to five years and yet others will take closer to fifteen to twenty years. But above all, it requires diligence, continued work, patience, and committed resources from member communities, partners, and the IND15RPC board members and staff. It will be hard work and will not produce immediate results, nor will indicators immediately change.
The following benchmarks are outlined to help keep all involved focused on the strategies and objectives ahead and stay invested in the region. These benchmarks are standard across many different levels and regions of government so that local, county, regional, and state entities can track how well the region is doing and submit the metrics to various entities for funding, awards, or other similar needs.
