FRANKTON — It might not arrive until 2014, but Frankton residents Tuesday evening applauded news that a state highway project to spend nearly $7 million on Indiana 128 through town was back on.
“We asked a lot of questions, we were pushy and it worked,” Jody Chandler of the Frankton Project Improvement Committee said Tuesday night.
Chandler was addressing a gathering of about 30 people Tuesday night who met to hear an update on community projects. She said that, among others, state Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, and state Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, had helped make the case to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The project envisions a reconstruction of Indiana 128 along Sigler Street in Frankton, along with new curbs, sidewalks, lighting and benches. Residents said that Sigler had been paved so many times through the years that the road had topped the curbs. Volunteers collected hundreds of letters in support of the project, which has been on the drawing board for nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, volunteers Tuesday evening also plotted a more immediate project — a makeover of Jefferson Park. And they’d like it to be nearly free, with help from the community.
The group already has received a donation of 20 pieces of playground equipment from a Hamilton County school and has a $5,000 Madison County Community Foundation grant to use for the park’s renovation. But the grant requires that a matching $5,000 be raised.
“We’re going to need a lot of help raising money,” Chandler said. “We’ve got one year” to raise the matching $5,000.
Jerry Bridges of the Madison County Council of Governments said that group would provide a free park design. The park might be able to handle only about 10 pieces of playground equipment, so the others might be installed elsewhere in Frankton at a later date.
Loretta Richardson said she had been rounding up names of people who could help when the park renovation is ready to go.
“Those are the people I had signing up that knew how to do concrete, knew how to do construction,” she said.
Those at Tuesday’s meeting stressed a volunteer spirit that they believed could be called upon to make the park project a success.
“If you can, spread the word, get us help” for the park makeover, Jerry Cunningham told his neighbors at the meeting. “This is a community, and we could be so much more.”
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Frankton’s big ideas
Who: The Frankton Project Improvement Committee
What: A volunteer group advocating improvements in Frankton, including a $6.9 million Indiana Department of Transportation renovation of Indiana 128 along Sigler Street, and a planned volunteer renovation of Jefferson Park
When: Meets monthly; next meeting is July 28 at 6 p.m.
Where: Heritage Days Building
Learn more: Contact committee chairwoman Jody Chandler at 621-3898 or 643-5441
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John P. Cleary
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John P. Cleary
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John P. Cleary
Discussion
Frankton residents seek improvements
Committee ‘pushy’ about roads project, park renovation
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