Flood Damage Report Form

2 1/2 to 3 inches of rain fell in a short period of time on the evening of Friday, June 26th and much of the city experienced some amount of water intrusion. If you experienced damage to your property due to flooding that occurred on June 26th, 2015, the City of Muncie is asking that you fill out this online form. Resident claims may help the city meet the federal threshold for emergency assistance.

Won’t you be our neighbor?

WIPB-TV is planning its first BE MY NEIGHBOR DAY for Sept. 12 at Canan Commons in downtown Muncie!

The free family event will focus on the importance of being a good neighbor, based on the PBS program “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” which is an animated tribute to Fred Rogers (“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”).

The day will include appearances by Daniel Tiger himself and live performances by Ruditoonz.

But at the heart of this event will be the booths and activities that foster a neighborly spirit, including support of the arts and culture, and learning about and getting involved with our neighborhoods/community.

This is where YOU come in.

We would love for you to come and set up a booth in our “neighborhood.” The booths and activities will be lined up like neighborhood streets (complete with street signs), and children will be given maps for this neighborhood, where they will not only learn about their great neighbors at each stop, but participate in some activities designed to give back to our community.

Parents will be encouraged to learn about each organization, join in the fun with their children and, hopefully, sign up to volunteer or help in some other way.

And that’s just the beginning. There’s so much more! (Can you tell we are excited?)

That’s Sept. 12, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Canan Commons.

For more information about how to get involved, please contact Michelle Kinsey, WIPB-TV & IPR Community Engagement Coordinator, at  765.285.5887 or mkinsey@bsu.edu.

BBN in the News

Muncie Neighborhoods Graphic Map

Building Better Neighborhoods connects Ball State resources to local initiatives

Building Community Connections Newsletter – May 2015

BBNsketchA new oasis is coming to the corner of West Main Street and North Cherry Street near downtown Muncie. The former site of a blighted house demolished in 2011, the planned pocket park will have pergolas, ornamental trees, native plants, an herb garden, and a seven-foot-tall sculpture designed and built by resident artist, Brenda Whitaker. The project is funded by a Ball Brothers Foundation Rapid Grant and donations of materials and labor.

Many hours already have been donated by Ball State assistant professor of anthropology Nick Kawa and a student team of landscape architecture, urban planning, and anthropology majors who designed the park after talking with Old West End Neighborhood residents at their monthly association meetings. According to Kawa, the students have been involved largely on a volunteer basis and have strived to reflect the desires of the residents and the unique characteristics of the neighborhood. He believes that the pocket park, coupled with the HUB Community Garden at Main and High Streets, will be the start of a larger movement for “greening” downtown Muncie.

This project is just one recent example of Ball State faculty, students, community partners, and residents working together to transform Muncie neighborhoods. Heather Williams sees these types of successful collaborations all the time. As Ball State’s director of the Building Better Neighborhoods (BBN) Initiative, Williams is tasked with connecting university expertise and resources with the development efforts of Muncie’s 48 neighborhoods. In her words, “what I try to do is fill gaps and needs, finding ways to get Ball State students involved.”

RoseCourtthumbThe Building Better Neighborhoods initiative was launched in 2014 through a three-year, $200,000 grant from the Ball Brothers Foundation. Research shows that neighborhood associations can be instrumental in promoting self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and a sense of community among residents[1]. In support of the Muncie Action Plan and Delaware County’s VISION 2016 economic development plan, BBN’s goals include raising up fully-functioning neighborhood associations across the city, deploying Ball State resources to support these associations, engaging Muncie’s nonprofit sector in neighborhood development, and developing an evaluation system to measure the impact of neighborhood-related projects.  BBN is headquartered in the Rose Court building in downtown Muncie.

Williams is a Ball State alum, with bachelor degrees in history and Spanish, a master’s degree in business administration with a specialization in entrepreneurship, and a master’s degree in urban planning with focus on community development, economic development, and international planning. She has served the city of Muncie as a zoning officer and structural inspector for the Building Commissioner’s Office, planner and NSP3 coordinator for the Community Development Department, and assistant administrator of the Unsafe Building Hearing Authority. Her graduate thesis, A History of Neglect: The Use of Federal Recovery Funds to Combat Vacancy and Blight in Muncie, IN, was recently published by Lambert Academic Publishing and is available via Amazon.

The 27 neighborhood associations established to date represent more than half of Muncie’s neighborhoods, but Williams is aiming for 100% participation by the end of 2015.

“Every neighborhood has its own culture, its own approach to tackling problems. Therefore every neighborhood association looks different, too,” she said. “But the positive outcomes are the same – a unified voice, greater connection with neighbors, increased neighborhood pride, improved safety, and empowerment of residents.”

Williams will continue to find creative ways to connect Ball State faculty and students with local improvement projects. Over the last school year, five Building Better Communities Fellows projects have focused on specific Muncie neighborhoods, including surveys and/or action plans for Blaine/Southeast, IndustrySouthside, and Riverside/Normal. This summer, urban planning faculty and students will work with the Vectren Foundation in the Thomas Park/Avondale neighborhood to assess energy use and implement energy upgrades. In the same neighborhood, Ball State business students will support Habitat for Humanity’s neighborhood revitalization efforts by surveying and interviewing local businesses to understand their perceived needs.

The Building Better Neighborhoods website (muncieneighborhoods.org), created by Williams and Chris Flook, a telecommunications instructor at Ball State, highlights current projects as well as maps, events, and neighborhood association meetings. Williams hopes that this site will become a key portal for neighborhood-related information in Muncie, but her primary goal is to establish more face-to-face contact through neighborhood meetings. Not only do these meetings reinforce a sense of community, they provide a valuable venue for city officials – such as representatives from Muncie’s Community Development Department, Sanitary District, Streets Department, and the Building Commissioner’s Office – to meet in person with residents and address their concerns.

“It is amazing the difference that simple communication – saying hello, knowing your neighbors’ names – can make to how you feel about where you live,” said Williams. “Community is essential to our personal health and well-being, as well as to the well-being of our city. By connecting with those people who live closest to us, we can set our neighborhoods on paths toward wellness and prosperity.”

[1] Ohmer, M. (2007). Citizen Participation in Neighborhood Organizations and Its Relationship to Volunteers’ Self- and Collective Efficacy and Sense of Community. Social Work Research 31(2): 109-120.

Neighborhood Rummage Sales

Many of Muncie’s neighborhoods are working together to organize and host rummage sales. Please check back as this list will be updated as new sales are advertised.

Robinwood: May 16th (8:00 am – 12:00 pm)

Ludingwood: June 5th – 7th (starting at 8:00 each day)

East Central: Saturday, June 6th (8:00 am – 2:00 pm)

Indian Village: Friday & Saturday, June 12th – 13th (starting at 8:00 am each day)

Old West End Bazaar: August 8th

Thomas Park/Avondale: September 12th (8:00 – 1:00 pm) in conjunction with and located at the Avondale United Methodist Church

*The Delaware County Sheriff’s Department created a short blog to educate the public on rummage sale safety.

World Changers Looking to Repair Homes in Several Neighborhoods

According to an article posted in the Sunday, May 3rd edition of the Star Press, World Changers will be returning to Muncie this summer to do exterior repairs on a total of approximately 20 properties within the Blaine, McKinley, Gilbert, East Central and Whitely neighborhoods. World Changers’ work may include foundation or porch repair, vinyl siding, door or garage repair, house painting, wheelchair ramp/accessibility items and other miscellaneous repairs. In order to qualify for the program, homes must be home-owner occupied, be located in the target neighborhoods, be current on sewage and tax bills, and have property insurance. Owners must submit an application and provide proof of income. A PDF version of the application is available below. It is also available at the City of Muncie’s Community Development Department office,online, or at the Kennedy and Maring-Hunt libraries. Applications are due by 4 p.m. May 22 at the Community Development Office.

For more information call Community Development at (765)747-4825.

World Changers 2015 – application