By Kylene Swackhamer—
MUNCIE, IN—As the Muncie Action Plan (MAP) wraps up another productive year, we are excited to reflect on our efforts to enhance the quality of life in Muncie and Delaware County. As we gear up for our Annual Report to the Community on Wednesday, January 29th, at 6:00 p.m., we invite the public to join us in the Multi-purpose Room at Ivy Tech. During this gathering, each of our four task forces will present their accomplishments and progress throughout 2024. This article marks the first in a series of updates from our dedicated task force leaders, showcasing the impact of MAP’s initiatives and collaboration within the community.
Muncie Action Plan’s Task Force 1: The TogetherDM Coalition began the process of moving forward the county-wide initiatives identified in the Delaware-Muncie Comprehensive Plan: TogetherDM. The goal of this process was to identify actionable items within the TogetherDM that would ultimately produce visible, incremental improvements to our community. This process included identifying and receiving input from involved stakeholders and community agencies, establishing strategies to identify and prioritize action items, and having an implementable plan to move forward. American StructurePoint, LLC. was hired as the consulting firm to facilitate the action planning process and ultimately develop a “Workbook” of actionable items for the Muncie-Delaware Metropolitan Plan Commission to take the lead on future implementation.
Task Force 1 engaged in six months of meetings with American StructurePoint, conducted outreach to stakeholders, and gathered input from all those who have a role to play in improving our three overarching priorities we call the three “Big Things”: Strengthen Quality of Place, Improve Housing Conditions, and Expand Opportunities for Upward Mobility.
Task Force 1 wrapped up 2024 having set clear goals for 2025. A voting process will determine prioritization for the actionable items identified. A draft action “Workbook” will be presented by American StructurePoint for review and comments. Task Force 1 will then engage the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission as the responsible agency for implementing the action “Workbook”. The work of Task Force 1 in 2024 will now culminate into a clear path for the plan to take, and sets the general direction for policymaking and investment by our County and City governments to address the needs of our community.
We hope to see you on January 29th to learn more about all four task forces initiatives at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-purpose room at Ivy Tech, downtown.
