By: Kathryn Fenstermacher

Blackford County has a lot to offer. From our parks network to our local small businesses, the county offers amenities that make it a great place to live, work, and play. How can we enhance these local spaces for even greater enjoyment and wellbeing of residents, both now and in the future? With this purpose in mind, the Blackford County Purdue Extension, along with community leaders and decision-makers, has initiated the Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces program in Blackford County.

The Extension has employed this program across Indiana counties since 2014. The program starts by defining the community “capitals” or existing resources that provide value to the community, and then strategizes how to better utilize or improve those capitals. Then community participants develop an action plan, breaking it down into manageable tasks.

On April 14 and May 17, Extension staff led the community through the first steps of this process via workshops focused on improving Blackford County’s parks, trails, and outdoor public spaces. These open events were attended by representatives of local government, businesses, and other stakeholders who want to see the community flourish. 

One attendee was Pam Weiseman, who serves on the Board of Works. Weiseman has participated on several teams in the past that have rehashed some of the same ideas, but that didn’t end up going anywhere. This time, she said, something seems different. “People were really aligned,” she observed. “I love the way people in the community can come together and throw out ideas. A lot of people are on the same page, so…I think it’s very doable.”

“We have so much to offer in Blackford County, we really do,” Weiseman continued. “We just have to market it for one thing, people don’t know it’s there, and utilize the assets that we have, [and] to increase them.” 

Parks and other outdoor spaces were chief priorities in the discussion, as the Extension recently opened a survey on behalf of the newly formed Blackford County Park Board. The community insights and data collected through this survey will help the new Park Board create a five-year Parks and Recreation master plan, as well as a county comprehensive plan, according to Lindsey Cox, Blackford County Community Wellness Coordinator.

The anonymous survey remains open for a few more weeks, and can be accessed online at https://tinyurl.com/2ndrm4zp. Paper copies of the survey may be completed and returned at your local city hall or the Purdue Extension Office. “We’d love to have even more input from Blackford County community members,” Cox said.

While the first two workshops centered on identifying existing public spaces, then setting goals and identifying strategies for enhancing them, the third and final workshop will build on this framework to develop the action plan. Cox said that the plan that emerges from this program can be used for all sorts of community planning projects, and will also contribute to the parks and county plans, which “can help our community be eligible for more funding opportunities.”

In other Indiana counties where the program has been implemented, developing this action plan has been a significant step toward positive local change. In the Town of Frankfort, it served as the basis for a $40,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. In Valparaiso, it guided the development, funding, and completion of a Central Park Plaza that is now a local hub for live performances, farmers markets, and outdoor recreation, and has increased both the foot traffic to surrounding businesses and the demand for housing, driving up adjacent property values.

At the end of the day, the success of the program depends upon the engagement of the community where it is being implemented. “A lot of people…come up with ideas,” Weiseman said, “but it’s making them work, putting them into place, that makes a difference.

With an enthusiastic team from the Extension taking the lead, participants in the program are confident that positive change is within reach. “Blackford County has invested heavily in Purdue Extension,” said Cheri Brown, Community Development Educator and Director of Blackford County Purdue Extension, who is leading the program’s efforts. “We have more capacity than we’ve ever had…and will continue to build.” 

She added, “These plans will not just sit on a shelf.”

Community members are welcome to attend the final workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at The Invitation Clinic. Advance registration is requested via https://tinyurl.com/y8s2bukm or by calling the Extension office at (765) 348-3213.