The following by Maddie Jo Shultz, Times-Union Correspondent
At Wednesday night’s meeting, the North Manchester Town Council approved funding requests from the Heartland Career Center and Manchester Community Schools.
Council members voted to contribute $10,000 toward Heartland’s construction of a new adult education center. The 37,000-square-foot building will house advanced manufacturing- and healthcare-related training programs for community members, including high school students.
The Council also approved Manchester Community Schools’ request for $25,000 toward Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) equipment.
Council President Allen Miracle recognized concerns surrounding one tax entity funding another tax entity, but remarked “not all [high school] kids are college-bound” and that with the town’s proximity to manufacturing opportunities in Warsaw, the SACA program “is an option we should encourage.”
In new business, the Council heard a county comprehensive plan update from Keith Gillenwater and Patty Grant of Grow Wabash County and the Community Foundation of Wabash County, respectively.
Gillenwater and Grant reported on population decline in Wabash County and findings from the Imagine One 85 project. Since 1980, the community has lost 100 households per year, and non-family households rose 28% from 2012 to 2018. Data from the project reports is available at https://imagineone85.org/reports-analysis/.
Grant invited Council members to attend the July 14 Growth Summit at the Honeywell Center in Wabash. The event starts at 6 p.m. and will feature food trucks and live speakers.
Diane Randall, of the North Manchester Public Library, provided her yearly update on events, ongoing programs and user statistics. Randall remarked on her innovative staff and especially high attendance at the summer reading kickoff this Tuesday.
There will be a Friends of the Library book sale Aug. 26-28.
The Council approved a street closure request for the Manchester University campus during this year’s homecoming festivities.
In his report, Town Manager Adam Penrod said the Community Crossings-funded repair work to West Main and North Wayne streets has been completed.
The Council will next meet at 7 p.m. July 7.
