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HOPE May Get Permanent Broad Street Home

Information reprinted with permission of the Courier Times, local newspaper New Castle, Indiana www.thecouriertimes.com

HOPE may get permanent Broad Street home

Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 12:00 am

The Henry County Commissioners have offered to lease a one-story building on the northwest corner of 15th and Broad streets to the HOPE Initiative, a volunteer group involved with many community projects around New Castle.

The building previously housed the Henry County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The sheriff’s department recently moved the CID detectives to 1124 Broad St., the former Work Release Center. The county found itself in possession of an empty office building and reached out to HOPE Initiative. HOPE co-director Cathy Hamilton and board member Jerry Cash spoke at the commissioners meeting Wednesday about the prospect of leasing the 1426 Broad St. building.

 

“Well, this is actually a wonderful surprise,” Hamilton said. “With that space, we see ourselves partnering with some other entities in the community.”

The office space would give HOPE Initiative a place to call home. The community group currently meets in the lower level of the New Castle-Henry County Public Library. The building serves as a gateway to downtown New Castle and features a community mural, courtesy of the Art Association of Henry County and several local painters. The building sits on the intersection of the Robert Indiana Arts & Culture Campus and the proposed 1400 Plaza project.

Cash said the building will provide HOPE with on-site training and education rooms. The facility may also serve as a part-time intake location for community organizations that also lack permanent space, Cash said. Hamilton told the commissioners that the building will also provide office space for a consultant for the local Early Childhood Initiative, a program that looks to improve the quality of education from birth to kindergarten. The consultant is provided by the Huffer Memorial Child’s Center out of Muncie, Hamilton said.

“We also have those many, many projects we’re working on for both city and county,” Hamilton said.

One of the HOPE Initiative’s next focuses is on addressing the drug issues that plague Henry County. Hamilton noted that a permanent location will give consultants and program partners a space to “have real conversations and not have to pack up after every meeting.”

The Henry County Commissioners asked their legal counsel to work with HOPE and draw up a lease agreement for consideration next month. Hamilton and Cash said the next step is to investigate grants or other methods to cover the lease and utility costs.

In other news, the commissioners accepted Landmark Drive into the county highway system. After a $60,000 privately-funded project to bring drainage and the asphalt up to county specifications, the highway department will now take care of routine maintenance and snow removal of the road.

County Engineer Joe Copeland informed the commissioners about a preliminary letter from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) about rehabilitating the Six-Mile Creek bridge on Ind. 109. INDOT did not give an expected start date for the project, Copeland said.

The Henry County Commissioners accepted a plan for Aspen Tree Service to remove designated trees near Memorial Park to prevent future power outages. As part of the arrangement, Memorial Park will be able to use the felled trees for firewood.

The commissioners have also begun accepting sealed bids for winter fuel. They will accept proposals until Dec. 9 and open the bids Jan. 15.

The Henry County Commissioners meet again at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 on the second floor of the Henry County Courthouse, 101 S. Main St., New Castle.