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BY GLEN WERLING
The sidewalks in downtown Ossian are great — if you’re a horticulturist fascinated by weeds.
For anyone else, they’re an eyesore.
That’s about to change, however.
Ossian Economic Revitalization has been planning and dreaming and working on a master plan to change the downtown since 2001.
Patience has paid off —literally.
Last month, the town received word that it had won a $500,000 Streetscape matching grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The grant will be formally awarded to the town during a ceremony in Indianapolis in July.
“There are people on the committee, including myself, who find ourselves saying we cannot believe it,” said Revitalization president Natalie Milholland.
“Oh my gosh, after all of this time, we just can’t believe it. The night that we found out, we all got together and celebrated,” she added.
Grant writer Bob Murphy of R.P. Murphy Associates of Larwill had cautioned the committee to not be too optimistic over landing a grant on the first round. Ossian applied for the grant on March 20.
So imagine the surprise and joy the committee members felt when they learned that they had succeeded.
“We were absolutely elated to get it the first round. I attribute it to the hard work of the members of the committee.
“The feeling has been over the last number of years, we’ve had all of these fundraisers and people wanted to know why nothing has been done,” said Milholland. “This grant makes it all possible.”
To try and let the citizens of Ossian know that their donations were not lying dormant, about a year ago the town installed lights that outline the tops of the buildings. “One of the reasons we did that was to show people that we want to do things. But now we can actually show people that there is something happening and this is what we’re going to do with their money.”
Ossian Revitalization, through the Ossian Town Council, plans to match that $500,000 OCRA grant through local funds from the town’s:
• Storm water utility, $20,000.
• Water utility, $135,000.
• Economic Revitalization Fund, $75,000.
• County Economic Development Income Tax funds (Ossian’s share), $75,000.
• Riverboat casino tax funds, $95,000.
The town has also received a $10,000 grant from the Wells County Foundation.
Ossian Economic Revitalization has also raised just shy of $78,000 through various fundraisers, including — and especially — their highly popular Days of Wine & Roses fundraiser held annually in February.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $1,010,000 with the construction costs estimated at $870,332.35, professional fees at $91,667.65, labor standards at $5,000, an environmental review at $3,000 and administrative costs at $40,000.
Costs are all estimates, though, because actual costs will not be known until the project is bid. That’s expected to happen in September. The hope by the town and the revitalization committee members is that the down economy will result in contractors being hungry for work and willing to come down a bit on their prices.
The project will include:
• Removing the existing light poles.
• Installing eight new decorative (and functional) street lamps on Jefferson Street. The street light installation is not included in the cost of the project. Fundraising cash will be used to pay for the lights.
• Installing American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb extensions at the corners of Jefferson and LaFever, Jefferson and Craig and Jefferson and Mill streets. The new sidewalks will feature a “cobble” pattern band behind the curbs. All of the sidewalks in the downtown paralleling Jefferson Street will be completely replaced with this pattern.
• Water line upgrade (this will actually be part of the town’s planned water main replacement project). The water main will replace a crumbling main under the sidewalks on the west side of Jefferson Street and in the alley paralleling Jefferson between Mill and LaFever Streets.
• Storm water drainage improvements on Jefferson and Craig Streets
• Four new traffic signal poles with arms (two each at Jefferson and Mill and Jefferson and LaFever).
• Decorative benches and planters. The plans include the existing benches and planters purchased over the past few years with funds raised by the committee. In-ground planters will also be incorporated along Jefferson Street.
• Removal of steps or obstructions to the entrances of buildings within the town’s right-of-way, making the sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Eight pillars made out of brick pavers, including the pavers already sold by the fundraising committee. There will be two pillars each at the intersections of Jefferson and Mill and Jefferson and LaFever Streets, and four pillars, one at each corner, at Jefferson and Craig Street. The pillars at Jefferson and Mill and Jefferson and LaFever will be lit, but will not contain street lights, however, the four pillars at Craig will feature street lights.
Another feature that is still being considered but hasn’t yet been finalized will be a public drinking fountain similar to the one downtown Ossian had years ago.
When seeking the grant, Ossian Revitalization Committee member Jerry Springer probably best summed up Revitalization’s attitude toward what downtown Ossian has become. “What was once a bustling shopping district has crumbled into decrepit sidewalks, obsolete lighting and a lack of handicap accessibility,” stated Springer.
But thanks to eight years of patience and hard work, that’s all about to end.
The $500,000 check is coming to the town in July. the plans are in the final stages of engineering and will be ready for September bidding. Construction may start as early as November.
Once construction is started, will Revitalization’s work be done?
“There will still be much to do. We’re going to continue selling the bricks and try to sell the street lights. We will have commemorative plaques on the street lights honoring those who donated. Once that’s done, we still have issues with upgrading the facades of the buildings and there are still sidewalks that need replaced on the side streets.
“There’s lots to be done in Ossian, but with finally accomplishing this project, we’re encouraged to think about doing more,” said Milholland.
glenw@news-banner.com