Kentland’s Community Presentation
Kentland’s Community Presentation
While Opportunity Zones might sound complicated, intimidating or downright scary, we promise they aren’t.
Mystery in the Air
There was an air of mystery going into the Community Presentation on June 17th. Resident after resident entered the Community Center once its doors opened at 6pm. There were over 100 people in attendance.
We were spread out among the bleachers and on the ground floor. By 6:20pm, Mike Davis, took center stage. He introduced Kentland’s Opportunity Zone Task Force of 10 members from the community. This group is assisting him on his journey to help bring about positive change in Kentland through an opportunity zone initiative. We also met Vast Creative Co., a branding agency based out of Northwest Indiana. They were given the responsibility of creating a strong brand for Kentland that represented who we are as a town and our values. Working together, the Task Force and Vast were building a prospectus. What’s that? We’ll tell you all about it!
Kentland’s Great Opportunity
Kentland is located within an opportunity zone, which is great news! The Opportunity Zone Program is a federal program designed to spur community change. It provides tax benefits to investors who hold their investment in select areas (Opportunity Zones) for a period of five to ten years. We’re wanting to invite new industries, jobs and families to flourish in our hometown, and the best way to do this is through what’s called a ‘Prospectus’.
It’s best to think of a prospectus as a business card that carries valuable information and data regarding a town. We’re creating a prospectus that invites interested parties to invest in our Opportunity Zone.
Helping us with the formation of a prospectus are two entities: the PCRD (Purdue Center for Regional Development) and OCRA (Office of Community and Rural Affairs). Together, they comprise a program known as ROZI (Rural Opportunity Zone Initiative). ROZI is investing in six counties, offering their expertise and technical assistance along the way.
Unveiling the New Town Brand
Through many conversations with Kentland residents and business owners, Vast was able to pinpoint three core values in the Town: Quality, Community, and Dedicated. Kentland carries a love for providing its residents the very best quality of life. We’re an extremely community-focused people. We look out for each other, because that’s what good friends and family do. We’re also dedicated to seeing big things take place here. These values can be seen in tangible ways. For instance, a great quality of life can be seen by the sheer fact that children can ride their bicycles through the town’s streets at night without their parents ever having to worry about their safety. It’s a safe town. Kentland’s community-focus can be seen in the friendliness of interactions with complete strangers. Kentland is dedicated spirit in how passionate people are about doing whatever it takes to boldly move the town forward.
With these values in mind, Vast started working through how they could convey all of this meaning into a logo. Through much conversation, a triangle was chosen as the backbone of the logo because it’s the strongest shape in nature. Triangles are representative of strength, robust pride and security. This knowledge was coupled with the imagery of Kentland’s beautiful sunrises and sunsets amidst green fields, establishing a solid foundation that’s symbolic of the community’s ability to grow stronger everyday.
Current Development Projects
Over the course of the presentation, Kentland’s Fire Chief Matt Wittenborn spoke about the new 9,911 sq. ft. firehouse being built on Bailey Street. Funding for this project was provided by the following sources:
- $500,000 OCRA Grant
- $300,000 Grant from Newton County
- $250,000 Loan from Newton County (10 Years No Interest)
- $150,000 Grant Jefferson Township Trustee
- $100,000 Pledged from the Town of Kentland
- $69,880 raised by the Town of Kentland, which includes a $10,000 donation from John & Kathy Cassidy and a $10,000 donation from Don & Abby Funk. These funds were raised through combined efforts at the Jasper-Newton Foundation.
President of the Kentland Aviation board, Jim Butler, also took the stage to speak about the $4.5 million that have been invested in the municipal airport over the last decade. He then went on to discuss a new $1.3 million stormwater improvement project, including a new taxi area, new hangars, and a new terminal. 95 percent of the funding would come from the FAA and the remaining five percent from the State of Indiana.
Thrive Intergenerational Wellness Center & Business Development
Under Mike Davis’ leadership, the Task Force and Vast Creative Co. worked together with ROZI to develop Kentland’s prospectus. This involved gathering community input through a focus group, taking part in a ROZI-led workshop in order to sort through the data gathered at the focus group and then identifying two initial projects. The first would be the estimated $4.5 million Thrive Intergenerational Wellness Campus. Phase 1 would be a privately funded 28 unit Senior Living Center, Phase 2 would be a five classroom childcare center, and Phase 3 would be a wellness center for Urgent Care, Primary Care, Mental Health and Nutrition. wellness services, as well as a walking path, green space, and an updated Batton Park.
This project is said to create upward to 30 jobs. The second project involves business development in six key areas: warehousing, logistics, solar energy, agribusiness, real estate and manufacturing.