Officials are focused on the silver lining found in the cloud that settled over City Hall Wednesday afternoon.
“This process really brought a lot of people together,” Mayor Joe Yochum told a small crowd gathered at City Hall, 201 Vigo St., all of them having just learned that the city had fallen short of its goal to receive a state Stellar Communities Grant. “I'm really proud of how the community stepped up and showed support for this.
City officials made application last month to receive the grant and the millions of dollars in tax credits and grants that came with it; only to find out Wednesday that Madison, a historic riverfront city of about 55,000 people in Jefferson County, had been named instead.
Elected officials, department heads and community leaders gathered to wait for the news — which came shorty before 3 p.m. — and while most left disappointed, no one was disheartened.
“We gave it the old college try,” said councilman Duane Chattin as he headed out into the late afternoon sun.
“And tomorrow is a new day,” said Ellen Harper, executive director of the not-for-profit INVin and a leading member of the mayor's Stellar team. “We'll see what kind of follow up (state officials) have for us later. Then we'll regroup and go from there.
“Certainly we're disappointed,” she said, “but by the same token, the community showed so much support for this effort. And we're proud of that.”
Members of the state Stellar selection committee visited Vincennes on Sept. 25, and dozens of local residents and business owners, as well as members of the Mayor's Youth Council, lined Main Street to welcome them.
The city's application outlined several improvements, including transformation of the Gimbel Corner into an urban park as well as the construction of a more than 40-unit affordable housing complex on the banks of the Wabash River. It also called for an expansion of the city's Riverwalk out to the Indiana Military Museum.
The city had to come up with just under $2 million in matching dollars. Twenty percent of that $2 million — or $200,000 — had to come from "private" investment, and the mayor secured commitments from the Utilities Service Board, the Vincennes Tourism Bureau, the Knox County Development Corp. and Vectren Corp.
The city council itself voted in August to commit $1 million over the next four years should the city have been successful.
Yochum said that kind of support for these projects is something he wants to build upon, both in applying for Stellar again next year but possibly in moving forward with some of the projects now.
“It's clear people are excited about these projects and want to see them happen,” the mayor said. “So we'll work with the council to see what we can do even without Stellar.”
The city also this week learned that it would receive a state grant aimed at making facade improvements downtown. Coupled with a 20 percent match from nine property owners, nearly $700,000 will be invested into Main Street buildings.
“Sure, it's disappointing,” Grove said. “I was really hoping for this shot in the arm.
“But I think it's also shown that we can all work together,” he said. “We'll get what we can get done now and focus on next year.”
“I'm happy for Madison,” he said. “And I think everything we learned this year will only help us in applying next year.
“We'll improve and move forward.”