FRANKFORT, Ind. — The City of Frankfort is pressing residents, workers and business owners to complete two ongoing surveys that will shape municipal planning for decades to come, Community Development Director Kimberly Black said Monday on WILO’s “Party Line.”
Black told host Melissa Miller that the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan and a separate extreme-heat preparedness survey are both open now, and that public participation is critical to building policy documents that will guide development, infrastructure and emergency response long after current city leadership has moved on.
Comprehensive Plan Nearing 500 Responses
The comprehensive plan survey, which had drawn roughly 500 responses as of last week, will help the city set priorities for roads, parks, housing, education and other services, Black said. She said Frankfort’s previous plan was adapted from Clinton County’s countywide document and proved a poor fit once city staff began the downtown parking study and a housing feasibility study.
“We started to notice when we did the downtown parking study, when we did the housing feasibility study, that we were way off — we were way off kilter,” Black said, explaining why the city sought its own tailored, grant-funded plan rather than relying on county-level data.
Black said a first draft of the plan is expected by the end of December, with the document ready to guide city decisions in the first quarter of 2027. She emphasized the survey is not limited to Frankfort residents. “Even if you don’t live in Frankfort or you don’t live in Clinton County, but you work in Clinton County or you work in Frankfort, we still want you to fill out those surveys,” Black said, adding that the city wants full sentences, not one-word answers, in the open-ended questions. Survey information available HERE.
Embedded within the comprehensive plan survey are additional questions tied to a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) initiative being conducted with American Structure Point, covering road safety, walkability and bike access. Black said folding those questions into the broader survey avoided asking residents to fill out yet another form. The SS4A data could eventually support a Community Crossings Grant application for road funding, similar to the city’s 80-20 matching project on Maish Road, she said.
Heat Survey Ties to Climate Resilience Planning
Frankfort is also collaborating with Healthy Communities on a state grant-funded survey examining extreme heat and its effects on vulnerable residents, including children, pregnant women and older adults, Black said. The effort follows a “Beat the Heat” awareness event held last week. Responses will help determine whether the city needs cooling stations or should pursue additional grants — potentially working with Clinton County Emergency Management — for resources such as backup generators, she said. High Temperatures in Frankfort have risen about one degree Fahrenheit in the last 50 years. Black said the same planning framework will later be applied to extreme cold preparedness.
Both surveys are anonymous, Black said, and paper copies are available for residents without computer access at her office in the Old Stoney building, or by using a city computer on-site.
Basketball Courts Complete, Caboose Restoration Finished at TPA Park
Black also confirmed that new basketball courts at TPA Park are complete following a roughly $75,000 improvement project, with only donor and sponsor signage remaining to be installed. She credited Frankfort Parks and Recreation staffer Brandon Iman for leading the project. Separately, the park’s historic caboose has been restored, with Ron Cruz repairing the roof and Dick Perkins and his family completing a fresh paint job over the past week.
City Finalizing 2027 Budget
Black said all city departments have submitted budget requests for review by the mayor and Clerk-Treasurer Carol, ahead of review by financial advisors and the Frankfort City Council, which has final approval authority. The city’s fiscal year runs January through December, and departments must have budgets finalized this fall ahead of state deadlines.
Fall Events Ahead
Black previewed a busy September for Frankfort, including a concert this weekend, the annual Raices Festival, and continued weekend hours at the city pool and Splash Bite splash pad, staffed on weekends now that lifeguards have returned to school. A Labor Day community day and free swim, sponsored by First Bank Midwest, will mark the pool’s final day open for the season. The city’s rescheduled Frankfort Rocks summer concert series, delayed repeatedly by weather, will resume with performances including Flying Toasters on Friday, Oct. 2.
The city’s Christmas Barn will reopen shortly after Labor Day as decorations go up around town.
Residents can find both surveys online through the City of Frankfort’s website or complete paper copies at Black’s office. More information on city events is available through the Frankfort Parks and Recreation Department.