Greetings, and welcome to the 2026 State of the City of Nappanee. Thank you for allowing me to serve this great community as your Mayor for the last ten years. It is my pleasure to work alongside so many amazing people that are moving Nappanee forward. I would like to especially thank our City Council members, our Clerk-Treasurer, Jeff Knight, our Department Heads, our Board of Works members, our entire city staff, and all of our various commission and board members for your leadership and devotion to Nappanee.  I would also like to thank all of the residents, businesses and visitors for contributing to the vibrancy of this city.

The State of the City is an opportunity for us to evaluate our effectiveness over the past year and set a course for the upcoming year and beyond. As we turn the page from 2025 to 2026, let us be resolved to face the challenges and celebrate the successes together. Nappanee possesses a spirit of resiliency and determination to meet the demands of an ever changing world.      

Jeff Knight and the staff of the Clerk-Treasurer’s office, continue to carefully steward the City’s finances. We are pleased to report that each fund maintains healthy cash reserves and we have another balanced budget for 2026. The collaboration between the Mayor’s office, the Department Heads,  the Council, and the Clerk-Treasurer’s office allows us to be financially secure and plan for modest improvements that continue to move Nappanee forward.

Some of the highlights of 2025 include the completion of the new fire station, enhancements to our downtown, and a groundbreaking for a new clubhouse at McCormick Creek. 

In October, we dedicated the new fire station and held a public open house. Here is a portion of what I shared for the dedication:

“What a truly momentous day for our city. We are gathered here to dedicate more than just a building; we are dedicating a new chapter in our commitment to the safety and well-being of our community. This building represents more than mere bricks and mortar, it is part of a long legacy of volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, serving the people of Nappanee by being there for our residents in their greatest time of need…May this building be a symbol of our shared commitment to one another. It is a promise that when help is needed, it will be there. May this new fire station be a beacon of safety, a hub of community pride, and a home for our heroes for generations to come.”

In 2025, the Redevelopment Commission (RDC) continued to invest in our downtown through planning and projects enhancing our image and attracting guests to our community. Cartoon Alley opened in September, showcasing our community’s rich legacy of creative art through the celebration of our local syndicated cartoonists. To make this project possible, the RDC partnered with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Stillson Studios, the Nappanee Art Council, and Anglin Electric. Several downtown businesses made improvements to their facades using the NIFTY grant. The RDC has increased the grant amount originally offered by the Business Improvement District (BID). For more transformational projects, the RDC has utilized a forgivable loan program to encourage development and renovation activities in the BID district. After a successful project at 106 S. Main Street, the RDC partnered with a developer this year, utilizing the forgivable loan program, to renovate the former Kountry Cabinets building on West Market Street. One additional item the RDC accomplished in 2025 was the purchase of the Dietrich Building on the southeast corner of US 6 and SR 19. The intent is to partner with a developer to restore and renovate one of our largest downtown buildings. To add to the attraction of guests downtown during the holiday season, the City partnered with the Nappanee Art Council, Visit Nappanee, and the RDC to start a new tradition of nutcracker sculptures located throughout the downtown and created a Christmas Market, S. Claus & Company, in the Dietrich building.

The success of McCormick Creek Golf Course has allowed us to begin construction of a new clubhouse this past fall. Revenues from increased play at the City-owned golf course will be used to finance the project and add to the golf experience for residents and guests. The new facility will include a new pro shop, a dining area, and four simulator bays. The lower level will provide a storage area for golf carts and a future locker and training area for the NorthWood golf team. The building will have an outdoor seating area overlooking the golf course, pond, and sledding hill and include additional parking to the east of the new building. The current clubhouse will be renovated to expand offices for park staff. The move allowed us to remove the original golf course clubhouse from 1980, located near Stauffer Park.       

As mentioned in last year’s State of the City address, I expressed concern about how property tax reform legislation at the statehouse would impact the city’s revenue. Despite our efforts to lobby our legislators of the potential negative financial impacts to our local budget and municipal budgets across the state, the property tax reform bill passed. While we recognize that a change was needed to provide relief from rapidly rising assessments, the full implementation of the current law over the next 5 years will result in major cuts to our City staff and services, including public safety. The estimates for the net loss in property tax revenue for Nappanee in 2026 is $249,000, in 2027 is $202,000, and in 2028 is $230,000. On top of the property tax losses, we are estimated to lose between $500,000 and $800,000 in income tax revenue beginning in 2028. If you add all of those numbers up, that is a 1.2 to 1.5 million dollar reduction in our revenue. Our 2026 budget for General Fund (including police and fire), Streets, Parks, and Aviation, is 10.27 million dollars. That means we will need to cut our budget by 12-15%.

We are hopeful that the legislature will consider some changes to the income tax law this session that will allow municipalities to partner with counties to reduce the income tax impacts. The Mayors of all three cities in Elkhart County, along with the Elkhart County Council and Commissioners are in agreement that leaving the current income tax structure alone will be best for our county. Allowing the current county income tax to remain in place would keep income taxes around 2% and neutralize the negative revenue impacts facing municipalities.

Despite the uncertainty, we continue to look forward and plan for our future, even if that means putting some projects on hold until we have more certainty. Some of the projects we are planning include the renovation to the Elder Haus, the addition of the turn lanes on US 6 near the airport, the extension of Jackson Street south to CR 1350, replacement of some of our oldest water mains, improvements to our water treatment and wastewater treatment plants, and working with developers on downtown improvements and additional housing subdivisions.

With remaining Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dollars from our Neighborhood Stabilization Program, we were able to work with the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to transfer those funds to renovate our Elder Haus Senior Center, located in the former Central School on North Main Street. The renovation will include improvements for handicap accessibility and provide a newly renovated kitchen, dining, and hallway. These improvements will help us meet the needs of our senior residents of Nappanee.   

Right of Way acquisition for the US 6 turn lane project is nearly complete. Once acquisition is complete, utilities can be moved, bids can be received, and construction to add a center turn lane from Challenger Design to the Nappanee Raceway can begin. We will work closely with the successful contractor and INDOT to minimize travel disruptions during construction.

We hope to start the construction of the extension of Jackson Street to CR 1350 in 2026. Plans are being finalized, as we work with Kosciusko County and IDEM on stormwater and ingress/egress to CR 1350. The extension of Jackson Street will allow for a safer route into Nappanee for our Amish neighbors. In addition to the new roadway, the project will include a 10’ wide sidewalk that will eventually extend north to Stauffer Park.
Our water and wastewater utilities are in need of upgrades. Piping for water and sewer in some areas are 80-100 years old. As part of our asset management plan (AMP), we have scheduled projects that we would like to complete in 2026 and 2027. Water mains will be replaced along Nappanee Street, Clark Street, Hartman Street, and Centennial Street. The filters inside the water treatment facility are scheduled to be repacked. At the wastewater facility, improvements are needed to our grit system and our anaerobic digester. Rather than replace older sewer lines, we will be able to line the current pipes without disrupting the streets above these sewers.

The RDC and the Planning Department will be working on several projects, some short term and some long term that will provide a roadmap for growth and stability. The RDC will continue to work on expansion of the downtown to the west pursuant to the master plan developed in late 2024 and into 2025. They will also look at an alley connector on the east side of downtown that will provide better connection from SR 19 to Coppes Commons. The Nappanee Art Council and RDC are planning for another alley activation for the east side of SR 19 between Key Boutique and Bella’s Books. RDC and Planning will be working together to find the next locations for industrial, commercial, and residential growth.

The planning department will also be amending some of the zoning ordinances to give clarity to some of the code violations we are seeing on a regular basis. We want to work with residents to address excess junk, abandoned vehicles, recreational vehicles, and unkept homes and landscapes. Many residents in Nappanee take great pride in their properties. We want to protect those investments and make Nappanee the most attractive place for residents and visitors. We understand there is a balance between individual property rights and the collective good of the community and we will attempt to find that balance as we work through this together.

As we plan during the uncertainty of funding, we will continue to work with our local partners in Elkhart and Kosciusko Counties, including their Council, their Commissioners, their Planning and Economic Development Commissions, their Chambers of Commerce, their school systems, their cities and towns, and their community foundations; our regional partners including MACOG, the South Bend Elkhart Regional Partnership, and the Northern Indiana Workforce Board; and our state partners, including INDOT, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), and our elected state and federal officials.  Working collaboratively allows us to leverage additional resources to reach our goals.         

Although the path forward is one step at a time, we continue to look out at the horizon and dream about what could be. As we move forward together, I am hopeful that our children and grandchildren can experience a better community than we have today. Nappanee continues to attract visitors and businesses with its unique charm, strong sense of community, and hard work ethic, but we can be so much better when we work together. I am committed to “Building a Better Nappanee!” Will you please join me in our continued effort to improve Nappanee for many future generations. May God continue to guide and bless the City of Nappanee!