Prior to tonight’s meeting of Indiana Borough Council, Downtown Indiana, Incorporated will conduct a public hearing in council chambers to discuss the new Business Improvement District plan, which has been re-branded the “Indiana Downtown Improvement Area”, or “IDIA”.
The new five-year plan replaces one that expired last year. Downtown Indiana’s David Janusek says there are many revisions to the previous plan, one of which is the creation of a Property Owners Advisory Board. “One member of that advisory board will have a place on the D.I. board, so it really goes beyond just lip service but puts somebody actually on in those monthly meetings where decisions are made.
Other new aspects of the plan noted by Janusek include quarterly meetings of Downtown Indiana, new boundaries, and switching assessments from linear footage to assessed property value.
Josh Rosenberger, the owner of The 700 Shop, says the new IDIA plan will help secure funding for downtown improvement projects, fostering better collaboration between the borough, Downtown Indiana, and the property owners. “We can’t go to Harrisburg and get these R-CAP grants and these dollars to bring back to Indiana without having a sustainable future (planning)…and all the different things that D.I. is able to do through the BID.”
Under the new plan, Downtown Indiana will seek state recognition as a Main Street program, which would qualify Indiana for additional funds for façade renovation and other public improvements.
The hearing tonight is at 6 PM. Bill Fontana from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center will be on hand. Starting today, downtown property owners will have 45 days to cast a vote for or against the plan. It needs to win sixty percent of the vote in order to be enacted.
