Map page 16
The Broad Ripple Gazette
Vol. 14 No. 22
Including the Cultural Districts and Midtown: Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington, and Meridian St.
Crossword page 13
Oct 27 - Nov 9, 2017
Mayor’s office advocates - BR and MK areas By Mario Morone
mario@broadripplegazette.com
Mark Wolf presented Barbara Wilder with the Esprit de Corps award.
Annual BRVA meeting and election held at St. Paul’s By Alan Hague
alan@broadripplegazette.com There were approximately 90 in attendance at the October 17 annual public meeting for the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) and election that was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 60th and Meridian Street. Refreshments at the meeting were provided by Broad Ripple Brewpub and Average Joes. BRVA president Mark Wolf started the presentation with the year in review, highlighting the projects and accomplishments of the BRVA since the last meeting. Mark then announced the winner of the 2017 Esprit de Corps award - Broad Ripple Farmers Market manager Barbara Wilder. City-County Councillor Colleen Fanning gave the status of the numerous street resurfacing projects in the Village. She also explained that before the Red Line construction begins, the city will fix the drainage issues near the corner of College and Broad Ripple Avenue. She also hinted at a Broad Ripple Avenue beautification/reconfiguration that will occur during that street tear up - “kind of a mini-Georgia Street,” she said. IndyGo Spokesman Bryan Luellen gave an update on the Red Line project, stating that each week www.indygored.com will be updated to show the next three-week construction schedule. Ground-breaking is expected early 2018 and the project should be completed in 12 months, when the system testing would begin. There will be a series of public meetings as the schedule details are firmed up. Rob Sabatini, public safety committee, spoke about the lower Village crime rates. Then, each of the seven candidates for the five open positions on the BRVA board were allowed to make a statement. At three points during the meeting, door prizes were given from Marigold, Half Baked Pottery, and Flatwater. On October 20th the BRVA announced that the five open board positions will be filled by Christen Wall, Kip Tew, Kent Springer, Kris Decker and Kerry Barmann.
Random Ripplings Opti-Park was packed with vintage cars of every type at the annual Hoods and Hops event on October 22nd. Car enthusiasts streamed by over 100 cars on display. Broad Ripple Brewpub sponsored the event and poured the beers. Proceeds from the event go to the Broad Ripple Village Association.
Gregory Garrett and Joel Smith are Mayor’s office advocates for the Meridian-Kessler and Washington and Lawrence Township areas, respectively. They recently discussed their work. Tell me about your background. Garrett: I worked at the Trustee’s Office at Warren Township. Before that, I worked with neighborhoods and spent many years working with the Holy Rosary Neighborhood Association located off Virginia Avenue and East Street. I started that neighborhood association in 2010 after getting my law degree from the (Indiana University) McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. I grew up here in Indianapolis, graduating from Lawrence Central High School and Indiana University’s Bloomington campus with a degree in informatics and a minor in business. In initially working with Holy Rosary’s Neighborhood Association, there was opposition with Fletcher Place and the Indianapolis Historical Preservation Committee (IHCP) since they wanted Amelia’s, Bluebeard and South of Chicago to maintain historical building facades. There were a lot of buildings in the area that they wanted to keep in their historic way. We went back and forth, but eventually in working with these groups, I was able to see many things develop within them. While Photo courtesy of City of Indianapolis working with them, I was appointed to the Gregory Garrett is the Mayor’s Office Marion County Board of Public Works Advocate for Meridian-Kessler. from 2011 to 2016. It’s a separate board for Marion County under the direction of Public Works during the tenure of the Ballard Administration. Most of my other background and experience was as a Statehouse intern in 2014 and with the Trustee’s Office after that. The most important thing I did was work with Holy Rosary Neighborhood Association and the Board of Public Works with the Department of Public Works to see how things are done and how they work throughout the city. Smith: I’m originally from Highland, in northwest Indiana. From there, I attended Ball State University, where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and moved to Indianapolis to begin my career. Throughout the first three years of my career, I focused heavily in constituent work while working in the state legislature and the Indiana Department of Education. What are some of the responsibilities of a mayor’s office advocate? Garrett: The basic thing that we do is work with citizens in each of the districts within the City of Indianapolis, like community groups, neighborhood groups, crime watch associations and individual citizens. We kind of deal with the issues of the day. For photo by Mario Morone example, if a family or individual calls me Mayor’s office neighborhood advocate with illegal dumping occurring behind their Joel Smith at the Nora Library branch. home, we refer them to the Mayor’s Action Line and get this complaint registered in our computer system. We can help organize neighborhoods to have associations with that process. We also help people look for resources in the Martindale-Brightwood Neighborhood. Many senior citizens in that area have a hard time financing home repairs. I give them resources like the Indiana Housing Neighborhood Partnership (IHNP). It’s kind of like being a jack of all trades. I’ve handled everything from homeless camps to proclamations for individuals. This past weekend (in late June), I helped emcee a birthday for a lady who turned 100 years old. I helped her daughter invite Mayor Joe Hogsett to present her with a proclamation. It’s a job based on situations where we’re there to provide citizens with city resources and partners with the City of Indianapolis. When I started in April of 2016, I was asked by the mayor to help citizens, but if it’s an ongoing thing, like the levees in Rocky Ripple, people deal with that long-term. Joel (Smith) brings that information back to mayor. Another long-term issue is the forest in Crown Hill where we bring in information on what people say. Smith: I think the main responsibility is that I’m a conduit of communication between the Mayor’s office and the residents of the area I serve in Indianapolis. I think it’s a very important role and I love being able to get out and meet residents of the Northside, while advocating for them in the Mayor’s office. One example of advocating on the resident’s behalf, would be the It’s My City Campaign (www.itsmycityindy.org).
INDEX
See Advocates pg. 5 1 BRVA meeting/election
3 Calendar
7 Mistakes winner
11 Random Rippling AT&T
14 Wine Scene Jill A. Ditmire
1 Mayor’s advocates
4 Random Rippling Goodfellas
8 Buzzing Around Town
12 Cultural Random Rippling
15 Directory
1 Random Rippling Hoods
5 BR Brewpub Quiz
8 Random Rippling plaque
12 Where in the Village?
16 Maps
2 Random Rippling pumpkins 6 Classified Ads
9 Random Rippling sewing
12 Hidden History/Sudoku
19 Right in my Own Backyard
2 Random Rippling pets
6 Public Notices
9 Poetic Thoughts
13 Historic Ad
19 BR Farmers Market
3 Fall Art Walk
7 Local Contacts
10 Round the Ripple
13 Crossword/Historic Ad
20 Random Rippling garden