A $379M comeback plan for East Central Indiana
"We want to stop the bleeding," a regional official says.
(First in a two-part series)
MUNCIE — Thankfully for those who live, work or visit here, someone is paying attention to — and planning to do something about — the decline of East Central Indiana.
How bad is it?
The region has set a goal of boosting population trends by 11% by 2030, which would result in a net 0% population change.
In other words, zero population growth would be a victory compared to ECI’s long-standing depopulation.
And the population is not just getting smaller; it’s also getting older.
Which is just another of the many “sobering statistics” published in a new report. The population is also struggling to achieve prosperity and diversity (nearly 90% white, with very little change expected). The region’s owner-occupied housing rate is decreasing. Yes, the cost of living is low, but that isn’t enough to prevent brain drain.
“While our region is home to 18 institutions of higher learning, local college and trade school graduates are leaving . . . for more lucrative locations to start their careers,” according to a new, $379-million action plan called “Forge Your Path.” “The East Central Indiana region is bleeding talent and highly skilled workers.
“As we face these challenges, some residents and stakeholders have lost track of the valuable assets located across the region and are exhibiting a general apathy regarding our future. Each county in our region has been working hard to chip away at these colossal problems, but it will take time and continued investment to turn the corner.”
To jump start the plan, the Muncie-based East Central Indiana Regional Partnership has applied for a share of the state’s $500 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) — a program financed by the federal government’s American Rescue Plan, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package.
The state will award up to $50 million per region to accelerate regional development plans to increase educational attainment, raise household income, grow population and stimulate the economy.
Speaking of acceleration, READI itself is being rolled out the door in a hurry. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. began hosting READI informational meetings in May, and regions were given until July 1 to submit a notice of intent to participate.
“I feel like we are in pretty good shape, because we have worked together as a region for so long,” Mindy Kenworthy, outgoing president of the East Central region, told me. “We already went through the state’s 21st Century Talent Regions process, so a lot of the work for the READI grant application had already been done.”
In January, the state designated East Central Indiana as a “talent region,” after a core working team including Ball State University and a larger stakeholder team was created to outline regional initiatives focused on talent attraction, development and connection. (BSU is also an anchor organization for the READI project).
If the region had been in the position of having to start from scratch, there is no way it would have been able to meet the deadline to apply for READI funds, said Kenworthy, who happened to retire the day after I interviewed her on Oct. 25.
State officials recently told her that the East Central region should be ready to present its plan to a READI review committee at a public meeting sometime during the last week of November or first week of December. Final funding decisions are expected later in December.
Originally, it was announced that the $500 million READI program would support 10 regions across the state, but then 17 regions applied for funding.
“We don’t know what they’re going to do — stick with 10 or divide it 17 ways,” Kenworthy said. “We have no idea.”
The East Central region consists of Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Henry, Jay, Randolph and Wayne counties, whose seats are Hartford City, Muncie, Connersville, Marion, New Castle, Portland, Winchester and Richmond.
The East Central region’s plan calls for a total investment of $379 million, 40% of which would be funded privately, 23% publicly, and 18% with READI dollars, leaving a funding gap of 18%.
The region’s plan runs 328 pages long and outlines a large number of projects and initiatives.
Will the state choose which projects to fund or just award a region a lump sum?
“We have no idea,” Kenworthy said. “No one knows how the state’s process is going to work, and I can’t speak for the IEDC. But we are all hopeful. We were very pleased with the quality of the projects submitted to us. We want to stop the trends that are going in the wrong direction, like population loss. We want to stop the bleeding.”
There is good news, too, in the action plan, but even that isn’t all good.
For example, the manufacturing sector has the highest gross domestic product of all industries in the region, followed by health care/social assistance, educational services, real estate/ rental/leasing, and the retail trade.
But while manufacturing has the highest GPD, it is losing its competitiveness relative to manufacturing throughout the state, according to the report.
“It is ALARMING that the largest sector contributing to regional GDP — manufacturing — is rated as less competitive than the state (average),” the report says.
And there is this from the report:
“The region is home to 18 community colleges, universities, and learning centers … While 41% of the region’s population 25 and over have earned a high school diploma … or similar credential, only 28% have earned an Associates Degree or higher. This can create challenges for employers when looking for qualified workers to fill management-level and/or industry-specific positions. Lower educational attainment level has been on East Central Indiana’s radar for quite some time.”
Other highlights of the report’s analysis of ECI:
“Current data is telling us that the lower cost of living is not working to attract or retain talented workers or residents. This suggests that quality of life and lack of employment opportunities could be the driving forces behind the population and workforce challenges.”
“Agriculture as a Leading Industry. The total number of acres dedicated to farming and the total number of agriculture-related jobs is increasing in ECI . . . The Midwest represents one of the most intense areas of agricultural production in the world and consistently affects the global economy. East Central Indiana is home to a significant portion of the agricultural land in Indiana.”
“Alternative Energy: ECI is home to both wind and solar installations. There are several clusters of wind farms throughout the region … The majority of wind farms are located in Jay and Randolph counties … There are 38 solar installations around the ECI region. … The region is fortunate to have several power transmission lines with the capacity to allow renewable energy ready access to the power grid … Utilizing alternative sources of energy could set the ECI region apart.
“The region’s parks and recreational land covers 12.5 square miles which translates to 22 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. For comparison, the statewide level of service recommendations for local parkland is 20 acres per 1,000 residents indicating that as a region, ECI is aligning with statewide standards.”
“Each county within the ECI region has a Community Foundation that serves their geography … The ECI region has 12 established Main Street organizations including Main Street Richmond, Cambridge City Main Street, Heart of Hagerstown, Centerville Main Street, New Castle Main Street, Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, and Discover Connersville. Chamber of Commerces are another key community organization … “
“At the local level, there are over 60 arts and cultural destinations and groups dedicated to providing and promoting the arts. Ranging from theaters, art galleries, and cultural centers to museums, historic societies, and antique malls, the ECI region is well-positioned to leverage these assets for tourism and promote them as a strategy for attracting artists and performers to the region.”
“Since 2010, Delaware County experienced the most significant loss in the population of any county in ECI, and Henry County experienced the least. ECI lost approximately 10,700 people from its population in the same timeframe. Estimates show ECI may lose about 1,000 more people in the next five years, and all the counties are expected to experience some population loss.”
“Entrepreneurialism: The number of self-employed ECI residents is rising much like they are across the state and nation. Implications: An increase in self-employed residents can be an opportunity for ECI … The flip side to this is self-employed individuals have the freedom to take and do their business from wherever they choose. ECI needs … a high quality of life and great places to live to retain these self-employed individuals.”
“Within the region, there is a long history of strategic thinking. The Forge Your Path Regional Development Plan builds directly on previous planning efforts. This plan intends to be additive to all previous work done at a regional and local level. At the onset of this regional planning process, over 40 municipal strategic plans were reviewed and assessed for relevant information, insights into the region, and the identification of projects and programs that could support the plan’s goals.”
A new comprehensive plan (called TogetherDM) to guide the future of Delaware County and Muncie echoes the call for action in Forge Your Path.
“What we’ve been hearing through this process is that the community isn’t getting enough of those basics right, and before it can really think bigger, it needs to focus on those basic things that can have a really big impact on quality of life and people’s perceptions of their communities,” Peter Lombardi, an urban planner at cbz, told me during a recent open house for the TogetherDM plan.
That sounds somewhat similar to the findings in “Forge Your Path:”
“Our region should focus on becoming a better place to live. We must preserve what we have and concentrate on the fundamentals of infrastructure, housing, and education while building on the stellar post-secondary offerings of Ivy Tech, BSU, Earlham, Taylor, and Indiana Wesleyan.”
Getting back to the basics or the fundamentals will hopefully make a big difference.
“The East Central Indiana Regional Partnership and our planning and implementation partners seek to make East Central Indiana one of America’s great comeback stories,” the regional action plan says.
Who’s overseeing the plan?
Board of directors, ECI Regional Partnership
Chair: Ashley Savieo, Indiana Michigan Power
Vice Chair: Tricia Stanley, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital
Past Chair: Bryan Brackemyre Indiana Municipal Power Agency
Treasurer: Dave Heeter, Northwest Bank
Secretary: Brian Gildea, Centerpoint Energy
Susan Reed, Baker Tilly
Hank Milius, Meridian Health Services
Trent Dowling, Star Financial
Barbara J. Alder, Purdue University Office of Engagement for Metropolitan Indianapolis
Haley Tomlinson, Duke Energy
Mary Walker, Richmond-Wayne County Convention & Tourism
Tim King, Stant
Wade Amos, Indiana American Water
Delaina D. Boyd, Ball State
Mike Row, Eastern Indiana Works
The ECI Regional Partnership READI Governing Board
Warren Brown, Blackford County Economic Development Corp.
Traci Lutton, Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance
Tim Eckerle, Grant County Economic Growth Council
Corey Murphy, New Castle- Henry County Economic Development Corp.
Travis Richards, Jay County Development Corp.
Ceann Bales, Randolph County United
Valerie Shaffer, Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County
Dan Parker, Fayette County Economic Development Group
Dr. Jeffrey Bird, IU Health
Tricia Stanley, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Foundation
Becca Rice, Ball State University
Jennifer Fox, Henry County Community Foundation
Sherrilyn Johnson, Hills Pet Nutrition
Adam Kline, Heartland Harvest
Andy Fahl, Shoestring Enterprises
Cheri Brown, Blackford County Purdue Extension
Jeremy Gulley, Jay School Corp.
Alexandra Pflug, Fayette County Community Foundation
ECI Talent Collaborative
Delaina Boyd, Office of Community Engagement, Ball State
Erin Moore, Office of Community Engagement, Ball State
Lauralee Hites, Caitlin Fleenor, Stratavize Consulting
(Next: How will the money be spent)