Since the director of Muncie's nonprofit Downtown Development resigned last month, the city has been striving to make the organization self-sustainable through more events such as Mardi Gras and End of Summer Jam.
Brian Lough, who stepped in about five years ago, resigned in late December because he felt it was best for the Urban Enterprise Association Board "to look for a director that would accommodate their needs," said Cheryl Crowder, events coordinator of Downtown Development.
"I think Brian was a very, very creative person and was most interested in development, and it is a very time-consuming role," Crowder said. "I think the board was looking for someone who would take a more active role in the administrative side of it, accounting and such, and that's just something Brian wasn't interested in doing."
Downtown Development receives up to $150,000 per year from the city, in addition to generating money through events such as Muncie's version of Mardi Gras in late March and the 5-year-old Ribfest, Mayor Dan Canan said.
"My goal is to decrease city funding to zero in a year or two, so that's why they need to find additional sources of funding," Canan said.
That is something a permanent hire will be responsible for doing following a search to begin in the next two or three months, he said. Canan said he does not know how long the search will take, but until a new director is hired, interim Director Ken Hughes, a downtown property owner and member of the Urban Enterprise Association Board, is taking over the role.
"The intent of the office was to bring people downtown either through economic development or events that are downtown," Canan said. "We've achieved that, so this is just kind of an evolution."
One of Hughes's main responsibilities is to help update the day-to-day accounting that was neglected during Lough's term as director and to maintain the budget. No misappropriation of funds or missing dollars caused Lough's resignation, Crowder said.
"We've been without an office manager for almost a year - actually a little more than a year, so in the process of doing what Brian felt was important to the job, the paperwork just didn't get done," Crowder said. "I don't think they've found that there was any huge problem, it was just a matter of getting data to where it needed to be and entered as much as anything."
Canan's major goals for downtown Muncie are to continue developments, provide more retail spaces and events and draw more residents to the area, he said. Although Mezza Luna restaurant closed last month, Canan said he is confident with the progress Downtown Development has made since 1998 and has no worries about Hughes's transition.
"He's very familiar with downtown, and that's why we put him in there," Canan said. "He's very familiar with the operation."
Hughes said he is willing to remain in the position for as long as necessary but has "not considered the permanent position one way or the other." He said he is also confident downtown events will remain popular enough to generate revenue.
Last year's Mardi Gras event, which has existed for three years, attracted 10,000 people, Hughes said.
"It's a large event," he said. "I think it was probably larger than it was two years ago."
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