Jasper Community Arts: Fundraising for Cultural Center nears halfway point; referendum passage imperative

More than $3.94 million of the $8 million goal has been raised by through the capital campaign Jasper LEADS.

Jasper LEADs was created in May to combine efforts to raise funds for the Cultural Center and other center pieces of Jasper’s redevelopment efforts.

Jasper LEADs and Jasper Community Arts Commission member Linda Kahle along with Jasper Community Development and Planning Director Darla Blazey announced the total raised at Tuesday’s regular arts commission meeting.

Kahle explained the goal is to have about $6 million raised by the time of the November election. “That is because we’re really wanting to have $2 million for the library so that their referendum will be less than the $6.5 million,” she said.

The future for the Jasper Cultural Center hinges on the passage of the library’s referendum question. The library is asking the public to allow them to bond for up to $6.5 million to pay for the new library at a cost of about $0.0595 per $100 of assessed property value.

The money raised through Jasper LEADS that goes to the library could reduce the amount needed for the bond and in effect, reduce the impact on taxpayers.

Kahle, Blazey and Jasper Community Arts Commission chairman Mike Jones presented the reality that if the referendum fails, the entire Cultural Center concept will die with it.

“The Arts Center project won’t go forward and the library will have no improvements made at it either. Either way, nothing happens,” Kahle added.

Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz, who was in attendance at the meeting, said reaching 75 percent of the $8 million is critical so that the matching $1.7 million pledged by Jasper residents Jim and Pat Thyen will be reached. Reaching the $6 million will include $2 million for the library.

“At this point, we have roughly $10 million in hand for the Jasper Cultural Center,” said Seitz. “The only thing pending is the referendum.”

Seitz explained Wednesday morning he was referring to the $3.5 million in state tax credits for the Cultural Center from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the nearly $1.7 million from private donations, the $1.7 million matching grant from the Thyens and the potential bond amount through the City of Jasper.

“We’re hearing a lot of support from organizations and companies saying ‘look, give us a sign, we want to send out information to our employees. We want our employees to realize that we as a company believe in this, or I as an individual – a chairman or an owner, CEO – believe in this as well,’” Seitz said.

The mayor says there’s been a groundswell of support for the project and issued a public thank you to everyone who has donated or is considering donating to the project while the fundraising is continuing.

The Cultural Center project conceptual plans will be presented by CityVisions at a special Library and Arts meeting scheduled at the Jasper Common Council Chambers Thursday at 6 p.m.

Kahle said that the plans and drawings presented Thursday night are just a conceptual drawing of the potential building. Both portions, the Arts and Library, will be built new on the site of the former Hoosier Desk property. The only portion of the old factory building potentially included in the site plan is the former boiler room.

Also in the meeting:

-The board heard from Technical Coordinator Corina Mack that a new mural that will be painted on the side of the building at 408 Main Street will have community involvement, too. Mack says that individuals will help paint parts of the mural, something that the artist, Jesa Simon of Henderson, Nevada, has done with previous mural projects. The community ‘painters’ will be supervised during the process and will be given stencils with a specific paint color to put on the mural wall.

Matt Crane contributed to this story