WESTGATE@CRANE TECHNOLOGY PARK, (Odon) Indiana — The White River Military Coordination Alliance held its second quarterly meeting in early May and its first session with newly elected officers Chair Gene McCraken, Vice-chair Brianne Jerrels and Secretary Jathan Wright.
The 26-member, multi-county stakeholder and state agency group continued its discussion to develop plans that will support long-term economic growth, increase the area’s military value and strengthen relationships between Naval Support Activity Crane and its neighboring communities.
The meeting focused on two major efforts that the Alliance will undertake in the coming months — encouraging compatible land use around NSA Crane and Lake Glendora Test Facility, and improving communication between NSA Crane and communities near the installation. The Alliance has selected two consultants to support these key areas of work, and both firms were present at the meeting to introduce their preliminary proposals.
Colorado-based Tierra Plan, which specializes in building geographical information systems and databases, will help address issues identified in the 2017 Joint Land Use Study related to compatible land use in the 3-mile buffer zone surrounding Crane and Lake Glendora. Part of Tierra Plan’s proposal includes the development of a web-based mapping toolkit that will allow residents to learn more about beneficial programs for landowners and will also give them an avenue to connect directly with Crane with questions and concerns. In the coming months, Tierra Plan will conduct a pilot program with a small group of community stakeholders to begin testing the toolkit, with public launch planned for fall 2019.
“We’ve identified over a dozen conservation programs in the region and are gathering GIS data that will become part of a Conservation Incentive Toolkit resource for the landowners neighboring Crane,” said Kevin Knapp, president of Tierra Plan. “We look forward to sharing the tool with a group of test users this summer, then sharing it with the community in the fall.”
Bloomington-based public relations and strategic communications firm Crafted Communications was selected to enhance and formalize communication between NSA Crane and the community.
“We’ve already started gathering input from community members, the Alliance and Crane on priorities and challenges for strengthening communications, and the response has been outstanding,” said Amanda Craft, president of Crafted Communications. “It is apparent that we have an engaged group of people that are committed to this effort, and we look forward to working with the Alliance and Tierra Plan in the months ahead.”
Crafted Communications will develop and implement a communications and outreach plan that will include an Alliance public information website, an Alliance social media presence to deliver important news, and a schedule of community involvement opportunities for Crane, Alliance members and community stakeholders. Crafted Communications will also work to create a Memorandum of Understanding between Crane and its neighboring cities and counties, which will establish a communications agreement between all parties, as well as build a framework for future collaboration.
“The Alliance had a clear set of objectives from the onset, and with this talented group of people we have assembled, we are moving forward on some very important agenda items. We are developing new communications channels that will help Crane and the community connect and putting tools in place that give landowners the information they need as a neighbor to the base,” said McCracken.
The next quarterly Alliance meeting will be held in August.
About the White River Military Coordination Alliance: The Alliance was formed in 2018 to promote positive development and growth in the Naval Support Activity Crane and Lake Glendora Test Facility regions (Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Martin and Sullivan counties) by focusing on three key areas: Facilitating two-way communication between the communities, counties, state agencies and NSA Crane; helping sustain and grow NSA Crane’s established capacity to provide military value; and fostering mutually beneficial economic development in the region and create a problem-solving platform for all engaged parties.
The Alliance includes economic development directors, mayors, county commissioners, county and city council members, command-level officers from NSA Crane, the CEO of the Regional Opportunities Initiative (ROI), the executive director of the Southern Indiana Development Commission, state agency administrators, Radius Indiana representatives, and others.