The Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) met on September 18, 2007, to discuss village issues and was greeted by voices of change for the first time in ages.

Bill Levin, owner of Bling! Of Broad Ripple was present to address his idea for a village youth center and John Kastner was also present to discuss the need to "bring Broadway back to Broad Ripple" via the construction of a theater company in the Village.

Levin and his partner, Beth Bay, have come up with the idea and partial funding to open a youth center for what Levin calls the "punk kids" who hang around the village. Levin believes that if these kids had a place to go and hang out, the rate of graffiti and small thefts in the area would possibly go down, assuming that they are the crowd responsible.

"I'm currently working with 10 area businesses that would love to donate money towards the cause of a youth center," Bay said.

Levin continued by noting the large numbers of teenagers in the area that "hang out" in the village on a regular basis. His business, Bling!, is currently in charge of Saturday Pizza Nights in partnership with the New Paradigm Church.

BRVA President Ellen Morley Matthews assured Levin and Bay that the BRVA tries to do as much as possible to help the area youth, but that projects with such a substantial amount of funding require many methods of planning before they can be put in place.

Kastner's theatre idea was greeted by the village association with pleasure, but also seemed to revolve around the same problem as the youth center-funding.

Kastner is the current president and artistic director of Stageworthy Productions, a small theatre company that is gaining a large amount of momentum and is based wherever he can find space.

"I feel that [with Broad Ripple] being one of the cultural districts, one of the great needs of the area would be a working theatre company," he said. "I am willing to work as hard as I can to 'bring Broadway back to Broad Ripple.'"

The Gazette will keep Broad Ripple residents informed on the progress of both developments as they unfold. Morley Matthews made the comment that, while both ideas would be wonderful for the area, "everything starts with baby steps."

Beyond these ideas that were brought before the association, business at the meeting went as usual.

Morley Matthews made a note that the next BRVA meeting will be a town hall meeting, rather than the usual meeting. The meeting will take place on October 16 at 7 pm at the Indianapolis Art Center and will focus entirely on property tax issues.

Peter Dean explained that there will be a four person panel present to address new issues that will continue to surface throughout the fiscal year. The BRVA hopes that residents wishing to have their questions answered will join them on the 16th.

"While we know we all have our own stories and problems, this is a meeting that we want people to come to with questions, not complaints," Dean said.

After discussion, business went as usual. The following are the reports given by the individual committees:

Beautification/Critical Mass: Rich Bees was present to discuss a meeting held by the committee on Thursday, September 20, 2007, at Old Pro's Table regarding the formation of an advisory cleaning committee of Broad Ripple Merchants.

The committee will focus primarily on the current contract in the works that will set standards and regulations for area businesses' cleanliness.

He also noted that the next village clean-up is October 6, 2007, from 8 am to 11 am, at the Broad Ripple Fire Station. There will also be a tree planting get together on October 20, 2007. Volunteers who wish to participate are asked to meet at Mug Shots on College Ave. (formerly known as the Steel Pony) at 9 am Breakfast will be provided for all volunteers.

Business Division: Elizabeth Ricke promoted the Broad Ripple Music Fest on October 13, as a family-friendly function that will be taking place all day throughout the village. For a complete line-up of participating bands, she said to check out www.Nuvo.net or page B7 of this issue.

Cultural Tourism Districts: Sharon Butsch Freedland announced to members that Broad Ripple has finally received its identity location mural.

"To celebrate, Indianapolis Downtown Inc. (IDI) has asked that all districts hold an event to celebrate," she said. "We are hoping to hold a cocktail party here at the Art Center. We are currently looking for food sponsors and printing invitations."

She also said that IDI would be providing most of the funding for the event and the main purpose was to review why Broad Ripple was chosen as a Cultural District as well as how it has grown in the past couple years as a result.

Farmers' Market: Carolyn Savill announced that the next Harvest Dinner (where all the food is made by local farmers and food producers) will be on October 22, 2007, at the Barking Dog Café located at 49th and Pennsylvania.

Land Use and Development Committee: Peter Dean spoke again about the most recent votes made by the Board of Directors;

The decision was made to support the building of an awning over the Canal Bistro, located at 6349 Guilford, as long as the support poles were contained within the restaurant's wooden fence. They also said they would support an extension in the Bistro's seating variance since the illegal seats are actually already in place. For a more updated report on what is happening with Broad Ripple zoning, see the most recent story on the Winthrop condominium development.

Public Safety Committee: Michael Seufert reported to the audience that there may be options soon in protection, specifically dealing with township dollars. He also noted that, according to the reports issued by the Midnorth Safety Committee, the Broad Ripple area is one of the worst areas dealing with property crimes.

However, ending on a good note, Seufert did mention that the Broad Ripple area will be receiving five new street lights.

Special Events: Diane Seybert and Sue Zilisch got into the holiday spirit by wearing reindeer ears and a Santa Claus hat when they discussed "Lights Up" Broad Ripple. As mentioned in a previous article, Lights Up will be a holiday decorating competition for both merchants and residents. The event is scheduled to take place on December 14, 2007, and will work in coordination with downtown's "Circle of Lights" celebration.