By JOHN EBY

Dowagiac Daily News

Sister Lakes Streetscape, similar in tax-capturing concept to the Downtown Development Authority which revitalized Dowagiac in the early 1990s and Edwardsburg’s Uptown effort, has a 20-year economic development plan.

In the meantime, area residents will hear of Sister Lakes Streetscape trying to raise money Saturday, Aug. 7, for Sister Lakes Fire Department in partnership with the Lions Club, according to Priest Lake resident Becky Wilson, who works in Dowagiac for Gregory Osborn’s State Farm Insurance Agency on M-51 North.

Wilson said Wednesday she and other volunteers will be raising funds for downtown improvements to the resort community northwest of Dowagiac, straddling the Cass-Van Buren County line.

Lions will hold a car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. followed by a Swiss steak dinner from 5 to 8 p.m.

Sister Lakes Streetscape hosts the third annual summer dance featuring VanDyke Revue from 8 p.m. until midnight, also at the Lions Club off 95th Avenue.

Beer, wine, soft drinks and water will be available.

Beyond immediate events, in December 2009 Keeler Township hired Wightman and Associates to develop a parks and recreational plan by which to create a trail system, along with a Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA) development and tax-increment financing plan to qualify for grant money for improvements.

CIA Chair Mary Kinney said “downtown” Sister Lakes follows both M-152 coming east from the Berrien County line and County Road 690 down to Driftwood for such desired improvements as street lighting, non-motorized pathways, correcting drainage issues and, at the expensive end of the spectrum, reconnecting two of the lakes with a bridge.

Officials are guided in their decisionmaking by two public input sessions.

While items will be prioritized by  availability of grants, Kinney said drainage and filling in deep ditches could likely be the first undertaking.

“We’re now in position to apply for grants,” she said. “I’m learning patience. It took a long time to get this far.”

Keeler Township Supervisor Bill Kays said the corridor is composed more than 50 percent of commercial property.

Kays said relying on captured taxes from growth instead of CIA having  taxing authority of its own “sits better with the public.”