French Lick – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) announced Connersville has earned an Aim Community Placemaking Award for the renovation of Second Street Park. The city was honored with this award on Thursday, November 3 during the Annual Awards Luncheon – presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC, during the 2022 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick. Connersville won in the 15,001 – 25,000 population category.
Connersville’s Second Street Park was originally built in the 1970s, eventually becoming unkept and unsafe. In 2017, community members initiated a revival of the park, and in 2018, five community organizations partnered together to revitalize the park. At the same time, Purdue University piloted a program called “Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces,” choosing Connersville as a focus. The program allowed for a Purdue Landscape and Architecture Class to develop renderings for the park. Through these plan designs, along with input from the surrounding neighborhood, the park would now provide a safe and beautiful green space in an area in need of investment. The renovation concluded in 2022 when the park officially reopened for the public to enjoy.
Aim CEO Matt Greller said, “The Connersville project is not only an example of placemaking, it’s also a symbol of what can happen when municipal government, concerned citizens, and public institutions band together in search of solutions.”
In its 46th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.