THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 37, Number 21 Thursday, June 3, 2021 United for the Greater Good by Kim Nowatzke Not wanting to fall behind fort’s Action Agenda. other counties or miss out The last similar undertak- on opportunities that ben- ing was in 1992 when the efi t LaPorte County, two local LaPorte County Extension entities have led the charge Offi ce and Purdue University in creating the Vibrant Com- released the LaPorte County munities of LaPorte County “Take Charge” Summary Re- Movement. port. More than 500 volun- Vibrant, indeed, is the word teers over 18 months devised The Unity Foundation of La- the “citizens-based strategic Porte County and LaPorte planning effort.” County Convention & Visi- But the time arrived for an tors Bureau chose to describe updated version. their strategic, comprehensive Co-Chairs Maggi Spartz and exhaustive plan for a suc- The Vibrant Communities of LaPorte County Movement and Jack Arnett, in an open- cessful future here. Over the emphasizes “People, Prosperity and Place,” examples seen ing letter on www.vibrantlp- course of six months, from here ranging from a local farmers market to Michigan City’s county.com, stated, “Our com- September 2019 to February Uptown Arts District. munity has seen signifi cant 2020, Vibrant Communities considered input from change since our last strategic plan over thirty years more than 900 people through several in-person ago. We’ve experienced success in many areas but events and online activities, culminating in the ef- Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 June 3, 2021 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 Beacher Company Directory e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] Don and Tom Montgomery Owners email: Classifieds - [email protected] Andrew Tallackson Editor http://www.thebeacher.com/ Drew White Print Salesman PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by Janet Baines Inside Sales/Customer Service T Becky Wirebaugh Typesetter/Designer T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Randy Kayser Pressman Dora Kayser Bindery Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is Jacquie Quinlan Production also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. John Baines, Karen Gehr, Tom Montgomery Delivery The two knew, “This isn’t a Maggi and Jack United… Continued from Page 1 pipe dream: this might get some traction,” Arnett have left ourselves vulnerable. New growth was oc- explained. “…This is the fi rst time that we have curring in surrounding communities with LaPorte worked together like this. We both brought differ- County beginning to fall behind. Leaders from across ent strengths to the table.” the county realized that without a unifi ed vision for In addition to the leadership team, a diverse our future we may miss opportunities to enhance our 24-member steering committee supported the pro- communities. Building off the dozens of planning ef- cess, guiding communities through the process. forts since the “Take Charge” plan, partners pooled Meeting several times during the fi ve-month plan- their resources to engage the communities of LaPorte ning process, they discussed communication strate- County in a big discussion. The Vibrant Communi- gies, reviewed ideas gained from the public process, ties of LaPorte County movement represents our col- identifi ed possible actions and provided feedback on laborative spirit.” the fi rst draft of the Action And so, the momentous Agenda. effort began with the lead- Spartz said the steering ership team of Spartz, the committee contained a large Unity Foundation of La- number of young people, Porte County president, and “because this is especially Arnett, the tourism bureau for them.” executive director, together In October 2019, the six with community planning in-person Community Con- consultants planning NEXT versations began. More than managing the process. Oth- 750 people representing all er local individuals involved the 15+ communities at- in the process include Katie tended, generating more Dermody (LPCCVB), Gail than 4,000 comments. Johnson (LPCCVB), Seth As explained in the Vir- Spencer (Sera Solutions), tual Communities Execu- Lauren Varga (Unity) and tive Summary, these were Shannon Walker (Unity). “designed to inspire com- Arnett had witnessed the munication throughout the success of planning NEXT’s process and stimulate dis- work and was impressed by cussion on how everyone the results. can achieve a more vibrant “Elkhart County did this and prosperous county. The before,” he said, “so we had agenda included a brief in- a ‘leg up’ and got to see what troduction from the leader- they had put together. We ship team, an overview of the were so shocked how much All the ideas generated through The Vibrant Communities of process and a series of indi- Elkhart County mirrors La- LaPorte County Movement are contained in its Action Agenda. vidual and group activities Porte County.” to generate ideas.” There, similar entities, including the Elkhart Spartz said LaPorte County proved passionate County Convention & Visitors Bureau, together about its community. with local government entities were involved in the “Some people came to every meeting that we decision-making process. had,” she said. “We wanted to build on this. We kept When Arnett and Spartz held a meeting at the it positive. We asked them good questions.” visitors bureau in 2018 to gauge interest, they were Arnett said it was surprising that “folks were so convinced they were moving in the right direction enthusiastic to engage with us.” because 150 people attended. Thousands of comments were compiled on sub- THE June 3, 2021 Page 3 jects such as pride in diverse communities, improv- ing amenities and providing services to all residents. “It was a good mix of people talking about La- Porte County like they hadn’t before,” Spartz said. In addition, the leadership team facilitated more meetings with specifi c groups underrepresented at the Community Conversations. Meetings-In-A-Box materials were specially packaged so small groups could meet and share their ideas about the county’s assets and opportunities. Groups engaged through this format included: middle and high school stu- EQUIPPED TO MAKE YOUR AIR dents; Keys to Hope Community Resource Center; Hispanic/Latinx community; African-American community; and LaPorte Ministerial Association. PERFECT. “The consultants were surprised how many Meet- ings-In-A-Box were used,” Spartz said. “It was a fun way to include people.” For those unable to attend the in-person meet- ings, comments were encouraged on www.vibrantlp- county.com. There, participants could share their thoughts and ideas to help defi ne the future of the county in a similar fashion as the attendees of the in-person meetings. RECEIVE UP TO $900 IN REBATES with the purchase of a complete Ultimate Comfort System.* Next in the process was the Summit on the Future $73 CHECKUP ON held Dec. 4, 2019, at LaPorte Civic Auditorium with 160 participants. It was designed to reveal the key AIR CONDITIONERS fi ndings from the fi rst round of community engage- ment and test the direction of the Action Agenda. “This was a big moment for this process; we’ve been engaging everyone in the county over the past few months to shape our future. The vision state- ment, goals and statements represent what we’ve heard from all those conversations,” Spartz said in a December press release. “Like the 1992 ‘Take Charge’ process, this vision will guide our communi- ties and county for decades. We want it to inspire us as we address our communities’ changing needs.” The Action Agenda Structure includes the follow- ing Vision Statement: “We envision LaPorte County to be a vibrant collection of unique communities that Owner Kevin Doler invest in their diverse people, grow their economic and health vitality and promote innovative leader- 219-879-8525 ship through talented citizens for a rich quality of Taking care of your family has been my life for all.” family’s business for more than 60 years! Three major theme chapters – People, Prosper- ity and Place – are supported by a goal and several strategies that organize the 67 specifi c action recom- mendations. 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Continued on Page 4 Superior Products-21SP-BW-B2.indd 2 3/2/21 2:54 PM THE Page 4 June 3, 2021 rolling out to local governments, information gained United… Continued from Page 3 and compiled through Vibrant Communities is even more valuable. tions for Vibrant Communities. To support their ex- “Now,” Spartz said, “we can look at it and decide ecution, potential leaders or partner organizations what makes the most sense. The governments are have been assigned to each item. wanting to talk to us.” Spartz said it was a “pleasant surprise” when the need for available housing options topped the list With COVID-19 breaking out locally in March, of county needs.