JASPER — Studies have, in recent months, become a focus in Jasper as planning for a variety of issues continues.
With the public’s help, Jasper is reviewing its zoning and subdivision control ordinances, embarking on an assessment of the city pool and its aquatic needs, and contemplating how to use the newly acquired 60 acres of land that used to be a private golf course.
Last year’s study of the city’s downtown and riverfront areas was completed and has led to ... other studies. In total, the studies have cost the city more than $200,000.
Why the studies? Why now? And what are the benefits to residents?
Mayor Terry Seitz said most of this planning is for the future, but “tomorrow is the future,” he said. “This is a matter of growing the city and improving the quality of life, which benefits current and future residents.”
Residents will soon benefit from at least one review that has not yet been completed.
Because the study underway on the former Jasper Country Club golf land, now called The Parklands, has shown the public would prefer the area to stay in a more natural state, the 59 acres of land won’t be heavily developed and filled with attractions. It may open soon.
“The Parklands will have a quick payout,” Seitz said. “The parks department is working on getting that open now, so that the public can have access.”
Jasper Park Board members plan to discuss Parklands access at their next meeting in April.
As for the other studies, it will take a little longer to see direct results.
“For the public, it looks like a lot is going on, and it is,” Seitz said. “We are investing in the future of Jasper. Much of the work we are doing has been identified in the comprehensive plan. Or they are things that have come about that we have reacted to, like The Parklands. No one would have thought that property would have become available.”
The 14-chapter comprehensive plan is broken into three parts — Our Community, Aspirations and Building Our Future. The chapters focus on different components of the city’s development.
“We are acting on what citizens have asked us to do and we want to make sure we engage the citizens and involve them in the process,” Seitz said.
One of the chapters in the comprehensive plan is dedicated to downtown.
“There have been several investments that have enhanced the riverfront. Attractions like the Riverwalk, the train depot, the mill and Schaeffer Barn attract residents and visitors to the river and downtown. We have a group interested in placing a labyrinth there. The next logical question is how else can the area be enhanced?”
To answer the question, the city hired Louisville-based CityVisions Associates of Louisville and Boston-based Gamble Associates to work as a team to complete as assessment. The study’s findings, which included a bevy of suggested enhancements, were added to the city’s comprehensive plan. Some of the possibilities involve developments across and on the banks of Patoka River between the Third Avenue bridge and Veterans Memorial Bridge on South Newton Street. That led to the city enacting a study on that portion of the river.
“It is a natural progression,” Seitz said.
In the meantime, suggested projects in the downtown and riverfront plan have been submitted to the state as part of the Stellar Communities competition, in which two communities will be awarded state funding.
Another idea mentioned throughout the comprehensive plan was updating the city’s zoning and subdivision control ordinances.
“Before I came into office, I knew that needed to be done,” Seitz said. “It started with the sign ordinance” which was reviewed and updated in 2012.
Seitz set aside economic development income tax funding in 2012 for the zoning and subdivision control ordinances review. But work didn’t start until this year.
“It takes a lot of preparation to start an assessment. There is a process you must go through,” he said. “We must make sure we comply with state regulations and do things correctly.”
Studying the city’s aquatic needs has been on city officials’ radar for a while; it is also listed in the comprehensive plan.
“We need to determine what needs we have in aquatics,” Seitz said. “More people have their own pools at home than they did when the pool first opened. Pool attendance has gone down. We have outdoor and indoor water parks nearby. We need to determine ... how important public pools are in a community.”
A series of public meetings is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday to collect comments and ideas.
Seitz’s plan wasn’t necessarily to have several studies ongoing at once. It just happened that way as “a matter of timing and budget and reacting,” he said.
Seitz believes once the studies are done and individual projects are completed, the changes will help improve the quality of life for residents as well as attract new people to the city by offering more options for things like housing, services, entertainment and activities.
“We are not fundamentally changing the city. We are taking something good and making it better,” he said. “All of this relates to the economic development and the city’s needs. We always look ahead. We have to look at the bigger picture. We must lay the groundwork for the future.”
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