By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

MENTONE — Mentone hopes to get five projects accomplished using American Rescue Plan Act monies and other funding.

At a special meeting on Monday, March 13, at Mentone Town Hall, the Mentone Town Council approved a strategic investment plan regarding those projects.

That plan is part of the process for participation in the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs’ Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program. The state selected Kosciusko County for HELP, and county representatives invited smaller communities within it to join, with Mentone being one that agreed to take part.

The county hired Community Coordinator Amy Roe to help with the program through which communities are assisted with spending their ARPA money on projects to better their communities in four specific areas: Advancing E-Connectivity; Enhancing Quality of Place; Promoting Community Wellness; and Strengthening Local Economies.

Mentone had to decide what projects it would like to complete in town via HELP following under the four specific areas, which it did via residents’ input. Those projects, which descriptions may be found in full here, are: making improvements at Mentzer Park and building facades downtown and town sidewalks, training seniors on how to use technology at Bell Memorial Public Library and creating a downtown master plan.

The next step will involve the county OK’ing funding for the potential projects. HELP is designed to train communities to seek out other funding like grants, so even if Mentone cannot accomplish all five of the projects via HELP and ARPA now, it can learn of other ways to pay for them.