THE COLLEGE’S HOMETOWN was on the verge of scoring one of the biggest economic victories in Crawfordsville’s history, and Mayor Todd Barton ’00 didn’t have a speech.
He wasn’t going to jinx it.
“I’m superstitious,” he admits. And the city had applied for the Indiana Stellar Community Designation—an award that could bring the city $17 million in grants and access to state funds—five times. Been a finalist once before. He’d had a speech ready then.
Not this time.
That decision was even more ironic because the city’s previous apps had been penned by consultants, but this one was all Barton and City Planning Director Brandy Allen.
“Consultants do great work, but each year we didn’t win I’d look back and think, Those weren’t our words. They didn’t have the passion and the feel that came from the heart, from Crawfordsville,” Barton says. “So this year we decided to write it ourselves, and we went below the surface. Most communities talk about the nice things they’re going to do, the pretty things, but we said, ‘Those things are great, but we’re also going to change the way we do business.’”
It was a risky decision that could put the city either over the top or out of the league.
The former fire chief thought it was time to go for it.
“When I chose to run for mayor I was so upset with the mentality that had crept into our local leadership, that we should just roll over and die, that we don’t deserve to be better,” Barton says. “I don’t believe that. I don’t roll that way. That fire comes from within.”
Not winning the Stellar in previous years only made Barton more determined. So he and Allen put hundreds of hours into the writing and presentation.
The writing was personal, but the process was more collaborative than ever. In multiple sessions—including some led by the College’s Democracy and Public Discourse Initiative students—Barton had listened to what citizens wanted and needed.
“The College was really engaged and a full partner in this process, and President Hess and I meet on a regular basis to talk about our projects, our vision, and how we can work together,” Barton recalls.
“Crawfordsville had not had a huge win for a long time, and we needed one.”
And a five-minute speech just in case we did win?
No way.
So when Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann stepped to the mic during the Indiana State Fair, Barton was “on pins and needles, hanging from every syllable.”
When she hung a banner with the word “designee” on the city’s placard to symbolize Crawfordsville’s victory, the mayor was literally speechless.
But the Crawfordsville contingent’s cheering and nearly leaping into the air was voice enough.
When the applause stopped Barton stepped up to the mic and talked about how the funds would be used, in part, to retain young professionals by improving the city’s downtown.
“This is not about one individual, but it’s about Crawfordsville and Montgomery County,” he said. “This is about all of us.”
Of course, this is when the real work begins, as they say. But here’s a glimpse at some of what that work is going to create:
The Gamechanger: FUSION 54*
A 20,000-sq.-ft. building at 231 and Franklin St. will house:
• Visitors Center
• Chamber of Commerce
• Indiana West Advantage
• Wabash College Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship (CIBE)
• Small-business incubator
• Senior Center
• Volunteer Center
• Light retail, coffee shop
* 54 is the state’s designation for Montgomery County
The Centerpiece: BEN HUR Condos, Hotel, and Restaurant
Renovation of the Ben Hur Building, constructed in 1912-13, is a $9.1 million project that includes a restaurant/bar on the first floor with a lobby and conference space, and a combination of condominiums and hotel space on the second to fifth floors.
The Big Four and Downtown LOOP TRAILS
The project will extend the five-mile Sugar Creek Trail through the Wabash campus to downtown and the Amtrak station and will create bike/pedestrian-friendly streets.
The POCKET PARK
Adjacent to the already-successful location for the Farmer’s Market, the Pike Street Pocket Park will be used for everything from performances to lunch in the park.
The Miracle: WHITLOCK NEIGHBORHOOD
The long-awaited renovation of the former Culver Hospital for housing is already well under way, and the rehabilitation of homes in the same neighborhood is a companion project that will dramatically boost the appearance of the area adjacent to downtown.
The INTERNS
Several Wabash students worked with Mayor Barton on past Stellar Designation efforts, and Niki Kazahaya ’18 (left) worked on this year’s application.
“Niki follows a line of very good interns and student workers from Wabash I’ve been fortunate to have in my office, and he was in the right place at the right time. We even had him give part of our presentation to the state team,” Mayor Barton says. “He’s the prime example of the people we want to keep in our community, and he could speak to that. He did a fantastic job.”