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Questions about Coatesville:
Contact Town Hall at 4994 Milton Street
Coatesville, IN 46121  765-386-7205
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Coatesville Downtown Revitalization (CDR) Semi Annual Update

SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2019 UPDATE

This has turned out to be a stellar year for the CDR.  We had several great accomplishments in 2019 and we hope to top it in 2020.  During the year we also had to make several difficult decisions on what events continue forward and what does not.  We will take a few moments to cover both our accomplishments and what events will be coming up the remainder of this year and what we have planned for 2020.

Accomplishments:

  1)  The new monitors on State Highway 75 have been up and operational since early this year.  These
monitors are available for the local in-town businesses to advertise on as well as for town related
events.  Businesses can advertise for free. 

  2)  The car show went off as scheduled this year with no rain date delay like last year.  We did some different
        things this year, some worked and some did not.  Even though the day of the show was the hottest day
        of 2019 with a heat index of 108, everyone still had a great time.  Yes, we were down about 30 cars, but
        we made more than 2018 and netted out at approx $10,500 after expenses.

   3)  Also continuing with the car show, we were able to get FOX59 out to do a segment on the car show.
         Frankly it was a great segment that aired four times and was probably the best coverage that any car
         show has ever received in the State of Indiana.  If you missed the segment, click HERE to view it.

   4)  Completion of the Standard Station.  In January of this year, a simple idea hatched into a plan that
        was thoroughly scoped out with a planned budget and goal to complete it in time for the car show.
        Within three months, we received a $5,000 grant from the State of Indiana through OCRA (Indiana
        Office of Community and Rural Affairs).  This combined with in-find donations allowed us to fund
        the project and complete it as scheduled.  This could not have been possible with out all the time and
        donations from the community, the town, the CDR and the property owner, Dave Clarke.

        Note:  As part of the OCRA grant from the state, I had to document the progress from start to
        finish of the Standard Station in photos.  Well, I decided to take it one step further by documenting
        our story and photos in a short video/slidehow that I thought was very creative.  I will post it on
        Facebook soon, but are giving those reviewing this update the first opportunity to view what I put
        together.  To view it, please click HERE.   There is sound.

   5)  We successfully created the Coatesville Historical Society.  We have had several donations and are
         working on finding a location to display these items nd create a mini-museum of Coatesville's
         History.  I personally have been working on trying to find some hard to find items.  I recently
         secured a vintage Coatesville Postcard (actually 2), and a very special find is a 1929 FNB Issued
         Coatesville $10 Bill.  If you have anything you'd like to donate, please let me know.  We are
         always looking for artifacts and old photos.  When we find space, even if you want to just display
         some items on a temporary basis, we'd appreicate that too.  Also note that the Historical Society
         was created as an extension of the CDR (rolls-up to the CDR).  This means it is a separate and not
         CDR driven, but some members of the CDR may also be on this committee and we welcome others
         that have an interest in Coatesville's History.

These have been our major successes this year to date.  Of course we have several events coming up in the next few months that we will outline below.  We will even cover some of the non-CDR events that we support and that are coming up, but are not CDR events or activities.  We just want everyone to be aware of them.

    1)  Halloween Activities for October.  Dates/times will be confirmed once known.  Unfortunately, we will
          not be having the Scarecrow Contest or Pumpkin Carving Contest this year.  We had no entries for
          the pumpkin carving contest last year and the scarecrows have dwindled down to just a handfull
          not making it worth the effort.  Given the decline in interest in these activities, we have eliminated
          them at this time, but may revisit if we feel the interest returns.

     2)  Christmas Tree Lighting and Entertainment:   Friday, November 22nd
          At 6:30 pm, we will have the official tree lighting cermonies outside and then all meet in the
          Community Building for some Christmas Cheer and music performed by the Coatesville United
          Methodist Church Choir.  I'm sure Pastor Danny will have a good Christmas Story too.

          Note: there will not be an official Christmas in Coatesville this year with vendors in the Community
          Building on Saturday.  Just the tree lighting on Friday night.

     3)  We will have a House Tree Lighting Contest.  More will be posted on the Town's Facebook page
           in November on how to enter and prizes (the process will be the same as last year).

     4)  Bingo:  November - Sat, Nov 16th, 6pm   /  December (Ugly Sweater Contest) - Sat, Dec 14th, 6pm

          Note: These will be the only two Bingo nights.  There will not be a January or February Bingo.

     5)  Chili with Santa (This is put on by your Coatesville Fire Dept - This is not a CDR Event)
          Always a great event and proceeds support your local volunteer fire department.  It will be held as
          it is each year on the first Saturday night in December which falls on December 7th this year.  Come
          see Santa, enjoy some Chili, and get involved in the raffle for what we are sure will be more great
          items this year.

As we get ready to close out the year, there is still more planned in the community.   You probably noticed some of these changes already.  The Town of Coatesville has been very busy working on revitalizing the main street area.  You probably noticed the new sidewalks are already in place.  The wooden poles around the center of town at Milton and Main Streets have been removed and we have six new vintage style lights that have been installed and will soon be operational and will brighten things up.  The street repaving and drainage is scheduled to start this week and will cover Main Street from Hadley through downtown just east of the Milton intersection.  Please be patient while these changes are in progress.  It won't take long.  Again, this is not an CDR effort, but is fully supported by the CDR and we've provided help on these changes.

We are also working with another building owner on plans to revitalize the outside of another building in the downtown area.   This will all be done with in-kind donations and may start this year, but probably won't complete until the spring as we are sure to move into winter soon.  We will use winter months to plan out the project with the building owner.  I'm sure you'll be very excited to see what we have planned.  After that, there is an active business front we'd like to do next, but have not had any discussions on that yet.

As you can see, it's been a busy and successful year.  Of course I did not cover everything or all events for this year, but touched on the highlights.  As always, we hope you like the changes you are seeing in the community. 

Thank you.

Steven Schultz
President, Coatesville Downtown Revitalization