The City of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division is hosting a Speaker Series this summer at the Envision Fort Wayne Center, 916 S. Calhoun St. A variety of topics will be discussed over the lunch hour on Thursdays throughout the summer months. Because the Speaker Series coincides with the Downtown Improvement District’s Lunch on the Plaza, residents can conveniently bring lunch from one of the local food trucks or downtown restaurants and join the conversation.

Topics include:

July 9, noon: Downtown Economic Development, Toolbox of Finance Programs

• Join Sharon Feasel from the City’s Community Development Division to learn about finance programs available to businesses in the downtown area. Information about small business loans, façade grants, brownfield grants, tax credits and more will be discussed.

July 16, noon: Riverfront Environmental Center

• Join Bruce Kingsbury from IPFW for an opportunity to learn more about the Downtown Environmental Center; a project that was proposed as part of the Riverfront Fort Wayne Master Plan. The Center will look to enhance the quality of life in Fort Wayne and beyond by encouraging environmental stewardship through education and experience. It will provide educational opportunities and solutions to environmental challenges, including water quality, the health of the rivers and associated habitats, and energy conservation and generation.

July 23, noon: Reducing Sewage Overflows

• Join Kelly Bajic from City Utilities to learn more about Fort Wayne’s stormwater management and pollution prevention efforts. Kelly will explain the Three Rivers Protection and Overflow Reduction Tunnel (3RPORT), why it’s needed, where it will be located and how it will help promote better river water quality.

July 30, noon: Fort Wayne’s Rivers

• Join Dan Wire from the Tri-State Watershed Alliance for an opportunity to learn more about our City’s three rivers. Totaling over 800 miles of primary rivers and streams, the St. Joseph and St. Marys watersheds impact downtown Fort Wayne in very different ways. Learn about the many agencies that monitor these waters for flow volumes, river water quality and other data and where this information is available for public review.

The Envision Fort Wayne Center is a downtown storefront that provides citizens the opportunity to comment, discuss and review aspects of City of Fort Wayne projects. Currently, the Envision Fort Wayne Center’s display features the architectural renderings from the Riverfront Fort Wayne Conceptual Master Plan. Summer hours for the Center are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Residents may also call 311 to schedule an appointment to use the Center for their groups’ next meeting.