Cloverdale Town Council President continues pushing forward

One has to excuse Cloverdale Town Council President Brandon Tancak for feeling like Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. 

No, he isn't hearing a voice saying, "If you build it, they will come," but Tancak does admit he sees potential for people coming to his town every day. 

"We get emails and phone calls from people on a weekly basis, not only for residential, but commercial applications. Families will come to the county, specifically, I hope they come to the town of Cloverdale, which we are preparing for that. It is going to be a great thing, but it is our job to make sure, as town officials, to make sure it grows in a positive way," Tancak told Giant fm WREB and The Putnam County Post. 

Cloverdale currently finds itself in the midst of several big projects that have either wrapped up or will be wrapping up soon, according to Tancak. 

"We have a couple of projects that are either kicking off or are in progress that will be completed by the end of this year. Big projects, and things are moving in the right direction," Tancak said. 

Tancak said the Bennington Way and Beagle Club Road projects have been wrapped up, and the Lieber State Park project will wrap up by the end of the year, as well as the town's stormwater project. Tancak added the I-70 water main extension project is being kicked off as well. 

"We are sitting in a great spot. We are financially sound. We have more great projects in mind, not only for 2025, but for the foreseeable future for the betterment of the residents, the town and the county. The growth is going to happen," Tancak said. 

As for the proposed budget, Tancak said the town clerk, Kelly Mitchell, has been hard at work on the town's budget and the town is "financially strong."

"We always brainstorm during the budget exercise what projects we want to see happen for the coming year and years down the road. We always try to put a figure on for what that may be and we know there's grants out there and we prepare for that. Next year's budget, everything is looking good. Early in the year, we redid our bond and one of the main emphasis was to not have a rate increase to the residents in the town limit, and we did it," Tancak said. 

As the year marches toward the winter, the excitement is only growing, according to Tancak. 

"It is very exciting. Our town manager, clerk and everybody in the office and town council members, there is a vibe coming from Cloverdale. If citizens in Putnam County and surrounding counties don't sense that, they will soon. We are preparing and putting things in motion and I always say it is not a matter of if, but when that first item gets set, it will be a ripple effect and I can assure you it is in the very near future. When it happens, it will be great for the town and county and I hope everyone is paying attention. 

Tancak said he believes in years to come, when people see and think about Putnam County, they will see and think about Cloverdale ahead of any other town in the county. 

"Hendricks County to the east is growing at a very rapid pace, and there will come a time when they are out of room. Putnam County, specifically, Cloverdale is next in line and we are preparing for that. The groundwork we are doing today will be the success for the town of Cloverdale and Putnam County will have when we are long gone. When people think of Putnam County, it is going to be Cloverdale. There is a vibe going on in the Southern part of the county," Tancak said. 

The "vibe" isn't tied to only town council activities, as Tancak said he can feel it at Cloverdale High School sporting events and the youth sporting events. 

"I am a huge advocate for youth sports. When the school started investing in youth sports and you get a program like the high school football program and you get a leader like Coach Lotz and people start believing in what his vision is, you are going to end up being successful. For a very long time, Cloverdale has not been successful in all capacities of every sport that they have to offer, but things are turning around and moving up. Vibes are good and it is all over the town of Cloverdale," Tancak said.