The March 2005 Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) public meeting drew about 55 people. One great thing about holding the meetings at the Indianapolis Art Center is that attendees get to check out the latest art on display. This month the lobby was filled with very cool knitting art. I wouldn't have thought that cool and knitting would go together, but these pieces were definitely cool. This exhibit should be on display until April 24.

BRVA president Ellen Morley Matthews called the meeting to order a little past 7pm. IPD officer Ben Hunter was the first speaker on the agenda. Ben described the beat team concept. Broad Ripple Village is beat Adam 11. The idea behind a beat team is lots of communication with the entire team. Traditional beats treat each shift like a new team. "The troublemakers know all about the shift changes," said Ben. "They know exactly when they happen and that it usually wipes the slate clean. The new shift won't know what went on during the previous shift." The sharing of shift information helps each shift know what is happening - what warnings were issued earlier, etc. It gives continuity to a beat.

Ben mentioned that taxi lane signs have been disappearing from the parking meters on the north side of the avenue. Cars parked in the taxi zone during towing hours will continue to be towed, with or without signs.

Due to some IPD organization changes, Ben may not be able to attend future BRVA meetings. "This is my favorite neighborhood group," said Ben. "It has been a joy to work with the BRVA and Brad [Hopper]." We told Ben how helpful he has been and that, if this is his last meeting, he will be missed.

The next segment of the meeting started calmly, but ended with kind of a bang. Ellen introduced Indianapolis deputy mayor Jane Henegar. Jane came to discuss mayor Bart Peterson's Indianapolis Works! plan. "We handed out the mayor's proposal in August of last year," explained Jane. "It is a continuation of Unigov. Unigov saved [Indianapolis] back then."

The details of Indianapolis Works! and of the discussion that followed is beyond the scope of this article. Briefly, the plan addresses what Unigov omitted: the public safety sector. The proposal is that Marion county's fire, sheriff, and police departments, township assessors, and trustees would consolidate. The reason for this consolidation is cost reductions.

After the presentation there was time for questions. A few of the questions were what criticisms the plan has received and when the savings would begin. According to Jane, the main criticism of the plan is that it is too big of a step to take and that more analysis should be done. She replied that the original Unigov was also a big step, and yet it passed after only two months of discussion. Jane also explained that there have already been extensive studies performed on the details of the plan and that savings due to the consolidations would be realized in 2006.

District 3 councilman Jim Bradford joined the question session. He raised several concerns about the plan. It was at this point when the discussion got a bit overheated. Ellen attempted to defuse the situation, suggesting that this type of political debate would be best served in a separate public forum, not at a monthly BRVA meeting. The councilman stated that his concern was that "We are only hearing one side of this at the BRVA meeting." Ellen restated that the BRVA meeting was not the place for this politically charged debate. A few additional questions from the audience were answered before time demanded that the meeting move on to the next agenda item.

There was not time for me to ask, "How will Indianapolis Works! directly affect Broad Ripple Village?" I know that the 54th Street Assessors Office would close. I have also heard that it is likely that our fire station would close. Perhaps I can get either the deputy mayor or mayor Peterson to address this in a separate article in the Gazette.

Ellen moved to the next agenda item by introducing BRVA board member Linda Shikany to discuss the upcoming Broad Ripple Village clean-up. Volunteers will gather at the fire station at 8am on Saturday, April 2 to help clean up the Village.

Next on the agenda was executive director Brad Hopper. Brad mentioned several opportunities coming this summer for volunteers to help with Village events. Brad also explained that X103/Q95, Yellow Cab, and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will offer free cab rides home on St. Patrick's Day. "We want people to get home safely," said Brad, "so they can come back another day."

Linda Shikany was back to describe the American Heart Association program Broad Ripple Goes Red For Women, April 14 - 17. Many local businesses have offered to promote this event which is intended to raise awareness that of heart disease in women. Anne Bonds, of Happy Trails Studio, will design a t-shirt that will be for sale at participating stores that weekend.

Brad announced that the station chief Lt. David Little is retiring after 15 years at the Broad Ripple fire station. He also reported that the only zoning issue before the board is the Thrapp project on 65th Street between College and Carrollton. A business owner stood and asked the BRVA to reconsider their support for the project. It was stated that the board will wait to see the Department of Metropolitan Development's staff report before any decision is made.

The April BRVA meeting will be Tuesday, April 19th, 2005, at 7pm at the Indianapolis Art Center. Come early to check out the current art on display.