Heart of Jasper Gives 2024 Report

As the city was still covered in a blanket of snow, the Jasper Redevelopment Commission assembled early Tuesday morning to hear the 2024 Heart of Jasper report and get updates on the city’s construction projects. 

Kate Schwenk provided her annual Heart of Jasper Report to the Redevelopment Commission, highlighting some of the organization’s successes from 2024. In its fifth year of operation, Heart of Jasper continued its Façade Grant Program. 10 new signs and 4 new awnings were installed using these funds in the past year. The report showed that the façade program saw $98,000 in private investments for businesses that went into downtown. In Heart of Jasper’s downtown business target area, 7 new businesses opened in vacant spaces and 5 relocated to the area. $23,000 was funded by a private donor for new business incentives. This will be the final year that the private donor will be providing funds, after 4 years of generous donations, and Heart of Jasper will be looking for new funding. 

In 2024, Heart of Jasper merged with ROJAC and joined the Avenue of Flags with the Optimist Club. The organization added two additional board members and five committee members. More than 30 downtown events were hosted, and monthly events were held with merchants staying open late for shoppers. Heart of Jasper also partnered with Jasper’s Park and Rec for cleanup days to help take care of the square and mobilize volunteers. Green Thumb, who is responsible for the courtyard landscaping, said they would need 6 full-time employees working 8-hour days if not for volunteers, so this has been an important component of maintaining the new downtown area. Astra Alley was completed this year, and a goal for next year is to start focusing on perimeter lighting for the tops of area buildings, which Heart of Jasper would install and maintain. Next year, they would also like to create a “business pitch” fund, which will be started with the $1744 remaining in 2024’s downtown activation fund. The Redevelopment Commission thanked Heart of Jasper for their work and approved its $25k contract for 2025. 

In other business, the Commission approved a $8,950 lump sum payment to Alt Witzig Engineering for a Geotechnical proposal. The Evansville engineering firm will be testing soil stability for the Regional Wellness Center. This will help to determine what area will be the best location for the Center and what would provide the best foundation. This will also more accurately project costs as the construction project moves forward. 

In an update on the Municipal Pool construction, a claim for Hafer was approved for $5,810.16 for their services. Tom Moorman showed the Commission photos of the concession area and manager’s office, among multiple other areas that have been making rapid progress. Jasper Elementary is going to rent out the facility for several days to have multiple events so that all of their students will be able to attend. 

For more information on these and other updates, visit jasperindiana.gov or JasperGov-Indiana on Facebook. 

- By Drew Hasselbring