Map
The Broad Ripple Gazette
Vol. 10 No. 3
Including the Cultural Districts and Midtown: Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, and Meridian St.
page 18
Sudoku page 10
Feb 8 - Feb 21, 2013
Midtown TIF Receives Bipartisan Support By Thomas P. Healy
photo by Austin Stovall
Callie and her owner, Betsy Alt.
Callie Cares Pet Food Pantry
A grassroots initiative to stimulate transformational Midtown enhancements received overwhelming bipartisan support at the City-County Council’s January 28 meeting. By a 23-5 vote, the Council passed Proposal 291, which establishes the North Midtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Allocation Area. Midtown is the “city within a city” that includes Broad Ripple, Meridian-Kessler, Mapleton-Fall Creek and Butler-Tarkington. For the past five years, community leaders from these neighborhoods have collaborated on strategies to address common interests and concerns such as population decline and deteriorating neighborhoods. In an era of reduced federal, state and local funding to stimulate development and repair infrastructure, the neighborhood allies felt a self-financing model like TIF was appropriate. Creation of the TIF district allows increases in assessed value of commercial property within the allocation area (the increment) to be “captured.” Instead of going into the general fund, these monies accrue in the TIF coffers for use in retiring a bond issued to fund improvements in the area. The City makes its determination on the amount of the revenue bond it can issue
See TIF pg. 3
By Mario Morone
mario@broadripplegazette.com Broad Ripple resident Betsy Alt’s idea to provide supplemental pet food has united area canine and feline animal owners by creating Callie Cares Pet Food Pantry (CCPFP). “I started a not-for-profit whose mission is to help struggling families with urgent needs for their pets. Our biggest initiative is a pet food pantry. As far as I know, there are only two other pet food pantries in Indy, one run by F.I.D.O. (Friends of Indianapolis Dogs at www.fidoindy.org) and one at FACE (Foundation Against Companion-Animal Euthanasia at www.facespayneuter.org/outreach.html). We are only in the beginning stages and awareness is our number one goal... awareness among those who need our service, those who may be able to donate and of course, volunteers. Our pet food distributions will take place twice per month and for the immediate future, they will be held inside the old family center in Broad Ripple Park,” she mentioned. December 22 was CCPFP’s first official distribution of cat and dog food and treats from inside the former family center in Broad Ripple Park at 1550 Broad Ripple Avenue. Two additional distributions occurred in January. The next distribution dates are February 9 and 23 and March 9 and 30, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 Noon. Ms. Alt started Callie Cares Inc. last year ccipetfoodpntry@gmail.com because her own dog, whose name www.calliecaresinc.com the organization bears, had sustained a serious injury and needed expensive and complicated treatment. “I didn’t know how I was going to afford to get her that treatment. I started putting together some fundraisers, including a pasta dinner and raffle. I set up a donations website where friends could help out,” she said. According to Ms. Alt, she basically created a mini-public relations campaign through social media. The College Avenue Old National Bank branch got involved by opening an account in Callie’s name to receive funds and several other local small business donated products and services for a raffle. “There weren’t really a lot of financial donations – small events like offering massage services (She has a bodywork studio on 54th Street), organizing an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner at Moe & Johnny’s - mostly raised money for Callie’s surgery and post-op therapy. “The effort was so successful, it raised enough for the surgery in about four weeks,” Ms. Alt explained. “Before Callie even had her surgery, I decided to start a non-profit to ‘pay it forward’ for other pet owners in need in some way,” said Ms. Alt. “Callie Cares Inc. was formed in April, 2012, and I felt the best way to help the most people immediately was via a pet food pantry. The other two Indianapolis pet food pantries are farther south, so it seemed Midtown might be a good location for CCPFP,” she added. CCPFP stocks its shelves with cat and dog food donations and financial
Callie Cares Pet Food Pantry
See PANTRY pg. 6 6 Random Rippling Dojo
14 Frog's Random Rippling
20 Random Rippling BRVA
1 Midtown TIF
8 Random Rippling Tymes
10 Where in the Village?
15 Random Rippling Avec
20 From the BRMHS anncmts
2 Random Rippling chili
7 Local Contacts
10 Hidden History/Sudoku
15 Historic Ad/Crossword
21 Gettin’ Ripped in Ripple
3 Calendar
8 Classified Ads
11 Random Rippling boxing
16 Wine Scene Jill A. Ditmire
21 BRVA zoning
4 Buzzing Around Town
8 Public Notices
12 Random Rippling CWB
16 Random Rippling radio
22 Old Town Minutes
5 Random Rippling MNS
9 Poetic Thoughts
12 Random Rippling UPL
16 Random Rippling soup
23 Right in my Own Backyard
5 BR Brewpub Quiz
9 Random Rippling recycle
13 Random Rippling JT's 1st
17 Business Directory/Maps
23 Random Rippling Fat Dan
INDEX
1 Pet Pantry
9 Random Rippling brides