Draft for Cloverdale downtown revitalization presented

CLOVERDALE -- Adrienne Schmetzer and Katie Clark for R & B Architects and StructurePoint, respectively, delivered a presentation on the current downtown revitalization plans during the Cloverdale Town Council’s regular March meeting.

Clark first addressed safety and accessibility issues. While most roads in the downtown -- from Columbus to Logan streets and from Grant and Lafayette streets -- were rated as good, the roads between Main and Lafayette streets were fair, and there were a few places classified as poor.

Full-depth road replacement was suggested for the poor pavements, with the possible addition of lanes, curbs and sidewalks. For the fair and good roads, the town was advised to set up a yearly budget and program for resurfacing and other maintenance.

Sidewalks along Main Street were good, but outside of that most were poor. In 22 places the sidewalks needed ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant access ramps, and in eight the ramps needed updating.

There was also a low retaining wall ready to fall down on Grant Street and between Fulton and Columbus streets, which will need complete replacing. The cost of this will fall to the owner, but the council was not sure whether it belonged to the town or a resident.

Schmetzer then detailed the plans for improving capital, safety and comfort, and branding the town’s image.

Capital improvements included makeovers for 14 facades in the downtown, as well as turning some of the vacant lots to additional parking and “green spaces.” It is hoped that these changes will increase the chances of the six vacant buildings being taken.

The intersection of Main and Market streets was a much discussed topic as students from Cloverdale High School often walk through it on their way home. Rumble strips and flashing “this is your speed” signs were suggested to slow the traffic and reduce noise.

The intersection could also be raised by a foot and painted to improve visibility, and mid-block bump outs added to narrow the road just before the intersection.

Branding the town could be as simple as personalizing road signs and banners, adding landscaping and street art (like stamping clovers into the sidewalks).

In answer to a question from Gary Bennington, Schmetzer said some parts of the plan could take just a few months and cost no more than $1,000, while others could take up to two years and cost much more.

After a “soft” (unofficial) approval from the council, the plans are now on their way to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (IOCRA) for approval. They will then come back to the council for official approval, and the process of applying for construction grants will begin.

In July 2016 Kristy Jerrell, of Jerrell Consulting (the company responsible for administrating the grants), estimated that the construction grant application process could begin this fall and construction in spring 2018.

In April 2016, the downtown area was declared under blight in Resolution 2016-7 in the hopes that this would increase the town’s chances of receiving more funds from construction grants.

The Downtown Revitalization Project has been in the works since last March when the council approved applying for the Community Development Block Grant, a planning study grant, from IOCRA in the amount of $36,000. The council later secured another planning grant, Comprehensive Planning Study Planning Grant, in the same amount. Both grants required a local match of $4,000 from the town’s cumulative capital improvements fund.

The next Cloverdale Town Council regular meeting will be April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Cloverdale Town Hall. The council will meet in a special meeting on March 22 to consider bids for repairing Beagle Club Road.