A Look Back at 2002 - by Pat Andrews

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The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers.

A Look Back at 2002
by Pat Andrews
[Vice-President, McANA, and editor of Common Ground]

The issues that affect the neighborhoods of Indianapolis are many and quite varied. This is reflected in the activities of McANA and, subsequently, the content of the articles written for Common Ground. From time to time it is a good idea to look back and assess the progress, or lack of it, that has occurred. The New Year tends to be the traditional time for reflection. So, in that spirit, we look at what has happened to some of the issues brought forth in the pages of Common Ground during 2002.

Grocery store definition: 2002 came in with a feature article that highlighted this issue, and it went out with one as well. Last January we discussed Representative Phil Hinkle and Senator Murray Clark’s visit to the McANA Board meeting. One of the hot items was the legislation they introduced that would finally define grocery store. This is important because establishments that regular people would call gas stations have been able to ‘qualify’ for a wine and beer licenses by declaring themselves to be grocery stores. Well, the legislation on the definition did not make it through to law. Mary Walker, McANA Director for Washington Township, has been tireless in representing the issue at the Marion County Liquor Board meetings. Last month we ran an article again calling for the Legislature to enact a law defining a grocery store. Currently, Bill Soards, City-County Councilor, who represents a portion of Pike Township, is introducing a Special Resolution asking the Indiana General Assembly to “address this issue by defining a ‘Grocery Store’ in a manner that is consistent with common sense and one that would stop the proliferation of the least regulated alcohol beverage outlets –gas stations and convenience stores”.

Board of Waterworks: In January we also reported that McANA’s board had adopted a resolution that the new Board of Waterworks should have the authority to monitor and maintain water levels sufficient to prevent fishkills and other ecological damage when removing water from drinking water reservoirs. In May the Mayor wrote about the City’s purchase of the Water Company, the creation of the Board of Waterworks to oversee the new water company, and the appointment of US Filter to run the daily operations. Since then, things have not always been smooth sailing. Clarke Kahlo, Co-Chair of the NATE committee reports that management did a number of good things. They agreed to promote water conservation as a tool in water management planning, regulate withdrawals to maintain water levels required for aquatic life, and committed to a public review process. Still being ironed out are issues involving the Citizens Advisory Committee, which was formed but with few seats going to regular citizens and whose meeting dates, times, and locations are not always revealed.

Family Strengthening Coalition: A few articles and columns covered the Family Strengthening Coalition activities throughout the year. These included the Family Circles program as well as the third annual Family Strengthening Summit held this past November. The activities of the Coalition are constantly evolving, as this is ground breaking work. Beverly Rifleman, McANA Director for Pike Township, is McANA’s liaison with the Coalition. She reports that the Summit was not as well attended as in years before. “I have not been notified of a date for the ‘wrap-up’ meeting, but as soon as I get some facts and figures I will pass information on to you.”

Comprehensive Plan: Perhaps the issue that garnered greatest amount of ink in Common Ground in 2002 has been the Comprehensive Planning process. We are delighted to get monthly updates directly from Keith Holdsworth, Principal Planner in charge of the City’s effort. During 2002, the Community Values Component was completed, it was determined that the mapping portion of the process would be conducted in units closely aligned with Township boundaries, and the mapping for Pike and Wayne Townships was completed. Mr. Holdsworth reflects thusly : “The Comprehensive Planning section, along with our citizen partners, have accomplished much that we can be proud of in the last year. The Community Values Component, adopted in February, 2002, contains a lot of important and complex information and presents it in a readable manner. The Land Use Mapping meetings which began in May and June with the Pike and Wayne Planning Areas went better than I expected. We (staff and our meeting participants) accomplished a lot of excellent work on a rapid pace. I think that the members of the Issue committees would be pleased with the way their work is being translated onto the Land Use Maps.” Looking forward he says, “Establishment of the Indianapolis Insight Implementation Committee is also a notable achievement. To my knowledge, this is the first time Indianapolis has set up a citizen committee to help prioritize and monitor the recommendations of a Comprehensive Plan.” Norm Pace, McANA Director for Warren Township, Chair of the McANA Land Use Committee and omnipresent participant in the Comprehensive Planning meetings, relays the work of the Implementation Committee this way: “The purpose of this committee is to assist the DMD in implementing the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan, Community Values Component. There are 283 recommendations, which need to be prioritized, and then monitored as progress is being made. There are four categories in the Community Values Component. The four categories are Land Use, Development Methods, Supporting Issues and Recommended Ordinance and Procedures Changes. The committee has started with the Land Use category first.” See Mr. Holdsworth’s column in this issue of Common Ground for more information on this Committee.

Billboards and Signage: McANA’s Signage Committee, under the leadership of Nancy Meade, McANA Director for Lawrence Township, has continued to press for a comprehensive look at the Signage Ordinance and for a moratorium on new billboards. Norm Pace gives us the following update: “The Signage issue, especially billboards, is still being argued on a case-by-case basis. McANA was successful in bringing the issue to the Mayor's attention last August and this month the Mayor has requested that DMD elevate this issue to a higher priority.” And regarding enforcement of the existing ordinance, he says “the Mayor has promoted Rick Powers to the Code Enforcement Administrator position. We have high hopes that, under Mr. Powers’ leadership, this issue will be addressed in the near future. Mr. Powers was instrumental in code enforcement of illegal signs in September/October of 2001.”

Administration Evaluation: Back in February, the Mayor invited the community to participate in a survey designed to evaluate City services. The forms were made widely available. The deadline for submitting the completed surveys was March 22. Although some of the results were released a few months later, McANA still awaits release of the entire survey.

Abandoned, Inoperable, and Junk Vehicle Enforcement: Among other code enforcement issues, this initiative stands out. As announced by the Mayor in his column in April, he brought together a number of agencies in order to determine a single, unifying procedure that everyone could follow – all to bring a more rapid resolution to one of the most visible and detrimental code enforcement problems. Rick Powers, the new Administrator of the Division of Compliance, analyzed it this way: “I would note that everyone within the city staff considers this program to be a great success thus far. We have formed a fully functional integrated team of agencies now, working in concert to address this issue. The zoning and Health and Hospital staff within the communities, the Department of Public Works, our City Prosecutor, the Mayors Action Center (MAC), and finally the towing contractor providing their services are all focused on providing a solution through our continued efforts. We are still in the process of building our final annual report. However, we do know that since the program's inception the MAC has referred over 3500 cases involving inoperable/abandoned vehicles on private property for review and action by the Division of Compliance. As a result we have only needed to refer 551 vehicles to the towing contractor for further action. We regard the balance to have abated the condition voluntarily or there was no noted violation. We are still refining the process and the means of recording via our automated case handling system where we have already established a case specific to the program (case type VEH). This case along with all other inspector activity is now available for public inquiry via ‘permit research’ on our website at INDYGOV.ORG.”

Gravel Mining: The effect of living next to a mining operation was brought to our readers’ attention in a feature article in the September issue of Common Ground, written by Dale Best who is known as the ‘Mayor’ of Hi-Acre Manor. McANA’s January General Membership meeting will sponsor a panel discussion of Neighborhoods and mining and Marion County. Furthermore, McANA looks to identify and unite the Indianapolis Neighborhoods that are affected by mining. The City has been engaged recently in trying to open up a profitable dialog between Hanson Mines and some of the nearby residents. Look for more to develop on this issue in the coming year.

I-69: The McANA Board established a position against the new terrain alternatives for I-69 in May of 2000, citing the increased damage to homes, neighborhoods, and the environment, as well as the increased costs associated with these routes. Articles were published in Common Ground in August, September and October, 2002. The ‘preferred’ routes announced by INDOT in August had the most impact on Decatur and Perry Townships. As everyone knows, a single route was announced by Governor O’Bannon on January 9, 2003, which travels up SR 37 to I-465 in Perry Township. McANA has issued a press release that goes into more detail than can be afforded here. It will be posted on our website – www.mcanaindy.org. As the author of one of the I-69 articles in 2003, and as an active participant in this drama over the last few months, I would like to expand on that statement in two ways. First, is to thank the numerous Elected Officials who did support their constituents. For those of us in Marion County these people would include: US Representative Julia Carson who was constant and firm in her support. US Senator Richard Lugar who wrote a strong letter, as a citizen, that made several important contributions to the dialog. State Representatives Robert Behning and David Frizzell both wrote letters in opposition to New Terrain routes through their Districts. The Decatur Township Board and the Trustee, Steven Rink, issued a well-considered resolution against the New Terrain route in Decatur. The second expansion of the McANA statement that I would like to make is that we sought, needed, and wanted leadership from our City Councilors and the Mayor. City Councilors Robert Cockrum and Phil Borst both wrote letters to the Governor and the INDOT file opposing the New Terrain alternatives for Decatur and Perry Township. They did not , however, introduce a resolution to the City Council as did a number of other Councilors and Commissioners throughout the state. Mayor Peterson declined to take any position on the issue.

Other Issues: The Tree Preservation Task Force continues its work and expects to rap up fairly soon. The Zoning Commitment Task Force anticipates one or two more meetings. The Mayor’s discussions with the Colts continue privately. Improvements in code enforcement efforts continue to be made as well as called for by the public. Improvements in the mutual understanding between members of the community and code enforcement staff continue to be made. A budget was finally agreed upon between the Mayor and the City Council. Many budget items that would require tax increases were postponed to 2003.