Public libraries emerged as the third strongest of 26 community assets in the community leader survey, and the proposed renovation of the downtown facility has broad support. Even without appearing on the survey, the YMCA received numerous endorsements for its proposed new facility. Also on many wish lists are more trails for biking and hiking. Beyond those three – the library, the Y, and trails, we found mostly disappointment in Howard County's amenities.
"Ah, the 'things to do in Kokomo' dilemma. Eat, drink, or shop. Not a lot of good nightlife. I'm aware of the various arts and cultural organizations, but often don't hear about the events they put on – not enough 'in your face' publicity."
Just as the County's higher-income workers are drawn toward Indianapolis to live, residents who can afford it are pulled there to play. Citizens wish for more shopping and leisure-time options close by, but the market is evidently insufficient to support them, in part because discretionary spending flows south, and so the cycle continues.
For its size, Howard County has a remarkably rich variety of arts and cultural offerings including a civic theater, several museums, a number of annual festivals, and not one but two symphony orchestras (one for youth). For most if not all of them, though, attendance is usually disappointing and survival is an ongoing struggle.
The group that focused on quality of life amenities agreed that some form of collective action is in order. The core collaborative functions are to coordinate the scheduling of events, produce and communicate a calendar, and write grant proposals. A staffed arts council is one option. (An all-volunteer one fizzled a few years ago.) The Historical Alliance provides an alternative model. Very informal, it meets several times a year with two goals: to "avoid hurting one another" and to promote historical awareness and preservation. There was a suggestion to revisit a regional strategic plan for arts and culture that was developed several years ago and approved by the City Council, but not yet carried out.
The City allocates $60,000 per year to the arts, distributed through a number of small grants. Using it to support an arts council was suggested as one way of getting more mileage out of that resource. Another thought was to dedicate the fund to meeting matching requirements of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Indiana Arts Commission, and other major funders. Another ready resource is the four-person staff of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, which among other things publishes a community calendar.