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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v04n11)
Mayor Bart Peterson speaks at BRVA meeting - By Lisa Battiston
posted: Jun. 01, 2007
Mayor Bart Peterson visited the Broad Ripple Village Association's meeting on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007.
"Broad Ripple is my second home," Peterson said. "As we sit there in city hall on the 25th floor, it's easy to get disconnected from what's really going on in the city. We do recognize that Broad Ripple is a very special and unique place in this city."
Peterson described Broad Ripple as a special kind of cultural district within the city. The Village is a cultural district that created itself, he said.
"We recognize that because of the fact that you are a cultural center, an entertainment center, a dining center, a commerce center of Indianapolis, that you also have some very unique challenges that are different from anywhere else in the city," he said at the BRVA meeting.
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson at the public BRVA meeting.
image courtesy of Ashley Plummer
Peterson went on to promote his Indy GreenPrint initiative.
"[GreenPrint] is not an action plan, but it is the beginning of the action plan," Peterson said, noting that the components of the plan will become more specific over the course of the spring and summer.
According to the handout Peterson provided at the meeting, GreenPrint will encourage the city to, "encourage businesses and residents to embrace energy efficiency and conservation; lead by example by implementing policies and measures within city government; monitor and verify the results of increased energy efficiency and conservation; and create a 'Green Commission' to explore new policy areas and make recommendations for additional ways to achieve this vision."
The Green Commission, Peterson said, is, "going to be an advisory body that will help us generate ideas, help us flesh out some of the ideas we already have. I'm going to be assigning a full-time staff person to this position."
Peterson then addressed questions concerning crime prevention in the area, focusing most of his discussion on the number of streetlights in Broad Ripple and Indianapolis as a whole.
"The demand from the neighborhoods is definitely there to have more street lighting [in order to help prevent crime]," Peterson said.
Peterson explained that, in the past, there was an informal moratorium on the installation of new streetlights due to the cost to install and then operate streetlights in already-developed areas of the city.
"When the violent crime wave hit us last summer, we started re-examining all of our assumptions about the way things ought to be done," Peterson said.
"[We] found that our predictions as to what the installation costs would be were far too high," Peterson said. "As far as operating costs, it's time to step up."
One hundred new streetlights have been installed in the city, and there are plans to install a hundred or so more (including within the Broad Ripple area) with consideration for where lights have been requested in the past.
Cameras are also going to be used, Peterson explained, whether they be infrared cameras in places known for illegal dumping or surveillance cameras in and around neighborhoods.
Crime reports drop significantly when being monitored by cameras, Peterson explained, though the trouble comes in finding police-oriented individuals to monitor the cameras. He encouraged individuals to make him aware of where and when more security would be helpful.
Questions concerning how the city will help the developments at 49th and College were also asked of Peterson by Susan Smith, a local retail business owner. Peterson admitted to being aware of the proposed developments, not knowing many details, but wanting to be more aware of the project.
"I am committed to taking some of the techniques that have worked in the downtown area that have helped our downtown area and taking them out to the neighborhoods," he said.
The developer of the site said it would take approximately a year-and-a-half to do a comprehensive development of the site. The developer said he was waiting to hear from the city.
"We're waiting to hear if it's something that makes enough economic sense. It's got to create enough return to the city to warrant [the city's] and our investment," the developer said. "We've done studies for the last year and a half on the project. . . We understand that it would make a giant impact."
However, the developer also noted that it was important to make the city aware of the impact the developments would make, as well.
Peterson also mentioned the $5 million received this year from the new toll roads. This money will be spent, in addition to the $3 million already spent (for a total of $8 million), on resurfacing and repairing roads and sidewalks.
Officer Michael Martin followed Peterson at the meeting, addressing parking problems in the alleys surrounding businesses on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Many of these lots turn into pay lots, Martin explained, and he advised the BRVA to contact those running the lots to contract a wrecker service for towing purposes.
Martin also addressed problems with vandalism in the neighborhood, referring back to Peterson's comments concerning the positive effects of future streetlights and cameras to be installed in the area eventually.
"It's a partnership between us and the community," he said. "I'm not expecting [Broad Ripple residents] to get up at 3:30 in the morning when the bars close. . . We do travel after we take care of things on the main strip. We go through the neighborhoods, we go through the alleys.
"The only thing I can suggest, and I will suggest it to my supervisors, is extra patrols. . . We're getting more and more officers as these recruit classes come out and they're going to be plugged into these places where we need it."
Graffiti was also addressed at the meeting.
"There's nothing that says we can't use you as a deterrence," Martin said, and encouraged residents to take their own measures to help prevent unsightly graffiti.
Announcements followed Martin's address and Q&A. It was announced that the March Public Meeting minutes are now available online or by request and that the Annual Broad Ripple Art Fair would take place on May 19 and 20.
Rich Bees then spoke for the beautification committee, encouraging any volunteers to join the effort to clean up Broad Ripple.
"We will be planting several hundred trees towards the end of summer on College Avenue. We will need volunteers for that," Bees said. A meeting for the committee of volunteers will be held on June 4 at the old National Bank on College at 6 PM.
A Broad Ripple "clean-up" is also scheduled for June 2 at 8 AM, meeting at the old fire station. This team will be involved in trash and residue pick-up from the evening before.
Bees also reiterated that the Sherwin Williams on Broad Ripple Avenue provides paint at cost to both commercial and residential individuals who would like to paint over their graffiti, encouraging interested parties to take part immediately.
"The longer [the graffiti] sits, the more it makes," Bees said. "It's one of those things that really needs to get stepped on."
Bees also mentioned being allied with the Green in Broad Ripple to recycle found bottles in the area and encouraged those interested to volunteer.
Elizabeth Ricke then addressed the meeting about the business division. She encouraged individuals to get involved in the business division, promoting an after-hours event sometime during the summer, a directory that promotes Broad Ripple businesses and a tri-fold brochure that will support shopping, dining and services in the area.
Sharon Freeland spoke on the cultural districts, noting that Emmis would be doing radio spots on the cultural districts. Being marked as a cultural district was explained to benefit the area in that it would benefit tourism.
The Farmer's Market was brought up by Carolyn Savill. The market will open on Memorial Day at 8 AM behind Broad Ripple High School.
Peter Dean spoke on the proposed condo development, which is in the 6100 block of Winthrop Avenue.
Catherine Adler then encouraged interested individuals to become members of the BRVA, referring them to the BRVA's e-mail at BRVA@mybroadripple.com.
Michael Seufert then spoke on public safety, referring back to the idea of lights deterring criminal activity and encouraged residents to put up their own lights.
Special events discussed at the meeting included the Spring and Fall Gallery Tours, the Historic Home Tour and the Ripple Effect 4K Run.
The next public meeting of the BRVA will be on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, at 7 pm at the Indianapolis Art Center.
image courtesy of Ashley Plummer
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