There was a surprisingly strong turnout for the January 2001 Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) meeting, which was held at the Indianapolis Art Center (IAC) on Tuesday the 16th. About 40 residents came out in the snow to find out what is going on in the Village. All were treated to pastries, cookies, and bagels with cream cheese. The food was courtesy of Suzannah Held, manager of Scholar's Inn Bakehouse, which is located at the corner of Broad Ripple and College Avenues.

BRVA president Ellen Morley Matthews called the meeting to order a few minutes past 7pm. First on the agenda was IPD detective George Burge."We will try to get someone [from IPD] to every one of your monthly meetings," said Burge. "Since the merger, we counted, and we have over 300 crime watch groups and 192 neighborhood associations, but we will try to get someone here."

Detective Burge stated that the crime statistic reports, which are normally handed out at the meetings, cannot be generated at this time due to the changing of the district boundaries. He distributed a crime statistic sheet that compares ten categories of crimes in the old north district boundary for the years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and part of 2006.

Detective Burge said that during this transition time, police runs are not as smooth as they will be once the manpower distribution is finalized. He mentioned that the largest crime category in Broad Ripple is larceny from cars, and to not leave valuables in plain sight when you park your car.

Announcements were next on the agenda. Ellen said there is a scheduling conflict for the IAC auditorium on the third Tuesday of each month during the BRVA meeting time. The BRVA is working with the IAC to see what can be worked out. It is possible that a new venue will be needed for future BRVA meetings.

Carolyn Savill announced that the BRVA board re-elected Ellen Morley Matthews as president for another term.

The BRVA committee reports followed:

• Beautification: Caryn Atkinson reported that the committee is working on plans for a 2007 community beautification campaign. In addition to gardens and landscaping, this would include litter and graffiti cleanup, tree plantings, and façade improvements. "There is no reason Broad Ripple can't be as clean as Zionsville, or any other beautiful little community," said Caryn. "We have big ideas. Hopefully, we can get more people involved - it's going to take a lot of people." Ellen added that if someone gets graffiti on their building, please take care of it right away. If you are not sure what to do, call the BRVA office at 251-BRVA.

• Communications: Diane Seybert reported that the BRVA is working toward a March launch of the official BRVA news in the Broad Ripple Gazette. This will be like a paper within a paper. The BRVA news section will offer discounted advertising to BRVA business members.

• Cultural tourism: Sharon Freeland announced that Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (IDI) is providing Broad Ripple Village logo license plates and is arranging the painting of two murals - one at 902 Westfield Boulevard and the other at 801 Broad Ripple Avenue - to promote the Village. Another IDI program under development will help the cultural districts find and attract businesses that are desired for that area. For example, Broad Ripple could use a hotel and a theater.

• Merchants Group: The popular Broad Ripple Merchants Group (BRMG www.broadripplemerchants.com) is becoming part of the BRVA. Starting this year, any business that joins the BRVA will automatically be a member of the BRMG.

• Public Safety: IPL is asking for residents to report burned-out street lights. Call IPL at 261-8222, or the BRVA at 251-BRVA.

• Special Events: Sue Zilisch reported that the 2007 Historic Home Tour committee is currently identifying possible houses to be included on the next tour. If you are interested in having your home considered for the tour and have not been contacted, call the BRVA at 251-BRVA. This year's tour will be on Saturday, September 29, 2007.

• Zoning, Land Use and Development: Peter Dean announced that only one petition is currently before the committee - the property located at 6310 North College Avenue. This petition has come before the committee several times and will go back to the land-use committee to be re-heard due to the request of neighbors. The zoning committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30pm at Broad Ripple United Methodist church.

The last portion of each meeting is reserved for community sharing. Joyce Karns, manager of the Glendale IMCPL, announced that the library will remain at Glendale. The hours will be changing to match those of some other branches. Instead of the current mall hours, it will be open Monday through Thursday 10am to 9pm, Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 1pm to 5pm. A question was raised about the fate of the penguin sculptures at Glendale (I thought they were seals). Joyce said she heard that they will be donated to a history museum. I commented that the sculptures used to be outside, back when Glendale was an open-air mall. Maybe they could be installed outside again.

BRHS campus administrator Greg Allen was recognized. Mr. Allen said that he will attend the BRVA meetings as his schedule allows.

The next public meeting of the BRVA will be Tuesday, February 20, 2007. The Gazette will let you know where that meeting will be held as soon as we know.