PRESS RELEASE
Submitted by: Candy Yurcak
The Whitewater Canal Byway Association has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the National Scenic Byway Program to establish the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. WCBA President Candy Yurcak said, “There are several objectives this grant will help us pursue,” including developing an interactive map and pursuing the objectives arrived at during a Whitewater Valley Regional Conference in Connersville in 2009.
“The interactive map will allow visitors and locals to identify, say for example, all the golf courses in the Valley,” Mrs. Yurcak said. “But it’s not just golf courses it will be any recreational or historical activity in the Valley, and so much more.”
She used the example of a couple who visits the Valley where one might want to golf and the other might want to shop for antiques. The map will allow them to find a location that has both. Another enhancement to the Valley’s tourism product will be a complete listing of B&Bs and hotels available.
Pursuing the Connersville conference’s findings is important because many ideas were developed over the day-long session but due to lack of funding they have had to be shelved. “This grant will allow us to reinvigorate those participants and give them a way to get back involved with the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway again,” she said.
Other key points of the corridor management plan include developing a phased management plan as well as an asset management plan. The grant will also fund a preservation protection plan and allow the association to conduct community outreach meetings to stimulate public interest in the Byway. Several of the technical requirements required by the grantors are already completed, Mrs. Yurcak said.
The association applied for the grant on May 27, 2011 and the State gave it a #1 priority level, which showed how important the Byway Association’s mission is to Indiana. This top priority helped the National Scenic Byway Program’s decision to award the grant. Mrs. Yurcak emphasized that this is federal money which has a twenty percent local match which the organization has already covered.
Because it is federal money a Local Public Agency (LPA) is needed to be the Grant Administrator. After a Tuesday morning meeting with the Dearborn County Commissioners, Dearborn County has agreed to serve as the LPA. During the meeting the Commissioners commended the Whitewater Canal Byway Association for its efforts and offered assistance to the WCBA if needed.
When the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan is complete, it will make it possible for the WCBA to apply for either national designation of the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway or for designation as National Heritage Area.
For More Information Contact: Candy Yurcak 765 647-2541 or 765 647-5879
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