July 6, 2021 — Zionsville

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July 6, 2021

COMMUNITY

Current in Zionsville

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Some local residents oppose solar project

By Jarred Meeks jarred@youarecurrent.com Local residents have raised concerns about a proposed solar farm in Boone County, with RENEWABLE ENERGY some hosting their own information session to inform other residents of what they believe are the project’s shortcomings.

The Brickyard Solar Project is proposed on more than 1,100 acres in Marion and Union townships in Boone County.

The Brickyard Solar Project is owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, a wind, natural gas, solar and nuclear energy provider. The project would consist of approximately 386 fenced-in acres in Marion Township and approximately 785 fenced-in acres in Union Township in an area near U.S. 421. The project could bring renewable energy to the area, but some residents are concerned that a project of its size has never been decommissioned and that the project will negatively affect nearby housing prices and wildlife.

So far, NextEra officials have submitted a project application to Boone County and Zionsville officials. The company awaits a July 7 board of zoning appeals meeting in Zionsville, a future Zionsville Area Plan Commission meeting and a July 14 Boone County area plan commission meeting, followed by a Boone County board of zoning appeals meeting. NextEra officials said the company would submit more detailed project plans as the proposal moves forward.

A group of residents has formed the Boone County-Union Marion Citizens for Responsible Development and voiced disapproval of the project. The group held a public information session June 15, sharing data members believe support their skepticism of NextEra’s claims.

NextEra officials have said the project will not affect property values, citing a 2018 study by Cohn and Resnick, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in property valuation.

Members of the group claim the study and others like it have not researched solar projects’ effects on more expensive houses.

NextEra’s application includes a landscaping proposal that would feature a double-row hedge with 200 linear feet of view shed for residents that are within a 400foot proximity to the panels, said Ally Sexton, project developer of the Brickyard Solar Project. NextEra officials have contacted landowners within the proximity to discuss

Some local residents are concerned about aspects of a prosposed solar project in Boone County.

(File photo)

landscaping options, Sexton said.

“Some folks would rather waive the landscaping and would rather do some of their own in coordination with a one-time payment from NextEra in order to do so,” Sexton said.

The group also fears wildlife will be negatively affected by the solar project.

“We work with state agencies to ensure our project will not harm wildlife populations,” Sexton said. “We conduct surveys on the land to ensure just that. We will be able to monitor and avoid that impact. One of the details of the project is understanding how the layout is designed and recognizing there won’t be any adverse impact to migration patterns or any sort of movement of populations.”

Sexton said wildlife would be able to move around and through the project outside of fenced-in panel areas.

“We have a lot of wildlife, and you’ll read articles that say it’s not going to hurt the birds, and you have articles that say, yes, it very clearly does,” said Nancy Brownlee, a Whitestown resident and Boone County-Union Marion Citizens for Responsible Development member. “In the end, there aren’t a lot of answers to these things because they are so new.”

The project could be decommissioned within 30 years, according to NextEra, but the group claims a project of the same size has never been decommissioned.

The solar panels are expected to last at least 30 years, but if there is no longer a demand for the project after 30 years, NextEra officials said the company would decommission it.

“A lot of solar projects are designed to last for at least 20 or 30 years,” said Conlan Kennedy, a NextEra communications specialist. “During that time, they are carefully managed and maintained. Every project NextEra Energy Resources develops (has) a fully funded decommissioning plan that is actually required by local law. It’s a requirement for us to provide a decommissioning plan to remove all the solar panels and return the land to its original condition.”

Kennedy said he was not aware of a universal-scale solar project that has been decommissioned. According to the company’s website, nexteraenergysources.com, NextEra operates 33 universal-scale solar projects in the United States, the first of which came online in California in the 1980s.

“The difference between residential and universal-scale (solar projects) and why this project is not residential is to generate the amount of energy that Brickyard Solar would generate — 200 megawatts, a very sizable amount. To do that across residential installation, it would require so many rooftops,” Sexton said.

Sexton said a residential solar project of the same scale would be “inefficient.”

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July 6, 2021

Current in Zionsville

www.currentzionsville.com

COMMUNITY DISPATCH Boone County Senior Services offers art classes — Boone County Senior Services Inc. offers weekly art classes in Zionsville from 9:30 a.m. to noon every Tuesday at Zionsville American Legion, 9950 E. 600 S. Instructor Shirley Luttrell leads the class, which costs $5 per class. Luttrell works with beginners, intermediate students and any medium — oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.

Zionsville home prices increase — The highly competitive residential real estate market in Zionsville continued in May. According to F.C. Tucker Company, Zionsville homes sold in an average of four days, or 91.1 percent, faster than this time last year.

Homes in Zionsville also increased in price compared to May 2020, up 4.9 percent to an average sale price of $515,104. The average price per square foot for a Zionsville home also increased — up 10.1 percent to $184.14.

Zionsville Nature Center is now open — The Zionsville Nature Center is now open in its new location inside the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, on the library’s first floor. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The move to the library provides a temporary location for the nature center as the Town of Zionsville continues to look for a permanent space for the center. The new location also allows the nature center to increase its hours and provide additional programs and features to the community, Amanda Vela, the town’s public information officer, said.

Mental health services — Mental health services in Boone County can be found by contacting the following organizations: • Crisis text line: HOME to 741741 • Aspire Indiana Health: 800-560-4038 • Boone County Suicide & Referral Line: 765-482-1599 • InWell: 317-912-1399 or 765-680-0071 • Mental Health America of Boone County: 765-482-3020 or 765-3661050 • National Suicide Prevention: 800-273-8255 • Project Lifesaver: 765-485-3017 • Veterans Crisis Line: 800-273-8255, press 1 • Witham Health Services: 765-485-8700 • Zionsville Police Dept. Police Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Frost, who heads the department’s REACH Unit, can be reached at 317-873-5967 ext. 8023 or at efrost@zionsville-in.gov.

Celebrating our Home Sweet Home We wish you a happy and safe celebration of our nation’s independence!

Carmel Showroom 99 E. Carmel Drive, Carmel Meridian-Kessler Studio 5912 N. College Ave., Indianapolis Zionsville Studio 117 S. First Street, Zionsville

Independently Owned and Operated

CaseIndy.com 317-846-2600

KITCHENS | BATHS | INTERIORS | ADDITIONS | OUTDOOR SPACES

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July 6, 2021

Current in Zionsville

www.currentzionsville.com

COMMUNITY HEARING SOLUTIONS OF INDIANA OPENS AT WHITESTOWN PARKWAY

Hearing Solutions of Indiana and the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the company’s new location at 6659 Whitestown Pkwy. Hearing Solutions of Indiana provides hearing aids, tinnitus care and hearing tests. For more, visit indianahearing.com.

(Submitted photo)

Current Publishing Electronic Tear Sheet | Publication: Current in Zionsville | Date: July 6, 2021 | Page: 12

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Current in Zionsville

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Current Publishing Electronic Tear Sheet | Publication: Current in Zionsville | Date: July 6, 2021 | Page: 13 July 6, 2021

Current in Zionsville

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July 6, 2021

Current in Zionsville

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currentnightandday.com

BEEF & BOARDS Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre presents “The Sound of Music” through Aug. 15. For more, visit beefandboards.com.

RED BARN SUMMER THEATRE Red Barn Summer Theatre’s production of “The Marvelous Wonderettes” runs July 8 through July 18 at the Frankfort theatre. For more, visit redbarntheatre.net.

FEINSTEIN’S Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael presents Don Farrell at 7:30 p.m. July 7 and Lillias White at 7:30 p.m. July 9-10 at the Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel.

12 Stars Media filmmakers Joe Frank and Jacob Butler film artist Samuel Levi Jones for “Third Space,” a documentary available on Hoodox.

(Submitted photo)

‘Watch local’: Fishers filmmaker launches nonprofit streaming platform

By Anna Skinner anna@youarecurrent.com With a push in recent years to support local businesses, such as restaurants and retail, Fishers resident Rocky FILM Walls thought it was time people learn to “watch local,” too.

Walls recently created Hoodox, short for Hoosier documentaries, and is the organization’s executive director. Hoodox is the state’s first streaming service with exclusively Indiana nonfiction content.

“Most people have an idea in their mind when they think of documentaries, and that may be accurate or they may also think documentaries are long or boring or PBS, and all those things are fine, but ‘documentary’ can mean a lot,” Walls said. “Documentary is just a way of saying nonfiction storytelling. Everything on the (Hoodox) platform is documentary storytelling, either

by Hoosier filmmakers or about Indiana or both. So, we are sourcing all of these films and curating them from all across the state

and putting them on the platform for people to subscribe and watch.”

Hoodox launched June 17 with more than 30 documentaries, including feature-length films and shorts. A monthly subscription is $10 or $100 for a full year.

“We also have two founding memberships, tiers that are above and beyond the subscription that allow people to donate because Hoodox is also a nonprofit organization, and we use the revenue that we generate to pay licensing fees, the filmmakers whose work appears on the platform and the costs to run the platform and promote it,” Walls said.

Walls said he spent a lot of time thinking about the “local mindset” during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The owner of Noblesville-based 12 Stars Media, he recently directed a documentary called “Finding Hygge,” a feature-length film exploring Denmark’s secret to happiness, which taught him lots about what it takes to create a film and market it.

“We had read that it can cost as much or

more to promote and distribute and market a film than it does to even make the film,” Walls said. “A lot of times filmmakers, especially independent filmmakers in Indiana, they’re finding stories they feel strongly about telling and they put all this time and energy and their own money into telling this story through film, and the best thing they know to do with it or can do is put it online for free on Facebook or Vimeo. The vast majority of people who would want to see it, they don’t know where to find it and don’t know it exists. So, over the summer during the pandemic, I spent a lot of time thinking about the local mindset in general.

We were all sort of thrust into this time period where everything was local, and your own neighborhood or own community became a lot more important, and you took more notice of it. The marketing tagline we are using is, ‘You shop local, you eat local, it’s time to watch local.’ Hoodox is kind of born out of that.”

For more, visit watchhoodox.com.

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre sets 2021-22 schedule editorial@youarecurrent.com Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre announced its 2021-22 performance season schedule will include new works and past favorites. Season tickets will be available for the four concerts at The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel beginning July 12.

The season begins with “Under The Big Top” at 7 p.m. Aug. 26-28 at The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. GHDT is back at The Tarkington for “There’s No Place Like Home” Oct. 28-30, featuring a unique adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz.” GHDT’s presentation of “The Nutcracker” is set for Pike Performing Arts Center Dec. 3-4.

The 2022 portion of the schedule opens with “The Black Dahlia” at The Academy of Dance Theatre, which will convert the rehearsal space into a black-box theater. “The Black Dahlia” debuted in 2017. It is based on the unsolved Hollywood murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947.

“Exodus” will be presented at The Tarkington April 7-9. GHDT will close its 2021-22 season with the world premiere of “Antony and Cleopatra” at The Tarkington June 9-11.

For more, visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.

Join us for a night of socially-distant fun with performances by Actors Theatre of Indiana!

Friday

JULY 16 SUMMER FUN

with Dwight Lightning and the Conch City Allstars

Please visit atistage.org for more information and to purchase tickets for this performance.

Dear City of Carmel, Hamilton County and Central Indiana citizens and guests! > It’s hard to believe that coming out of a pandemic we could pull off a wildly successful CarmelFest.

However, it would not have been possible were it not for the selfless community servant leaders from Carmel Rotary Club, City of Carmel, and the Carmel Fire and Police Departments, as those key partners provided people support and resources that made it possible for our community to attend this first-class festival. > A huge thank you to CarmelFest Parade Sponsor Centier Bank! Also, huge thanks to our stage sponsors, Allied Solutions and Geico. I sincerely encourage every business leader and community servant to join me in thanking all of our sponsors and volunteers for a fabulous CarmelFest 2021!

Steve Krusie 2021 CarmelFest Chair

BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!

Congratulations to our Carmel Rotarian of the Year Beth Sexton And to our Carmel Rotary Outstanding Service Award (ROSA) Winner Josh Kirsch

THANK YOU SPONSORS!

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LIFESTYLE

Current in Zionsville

www.currentzionsville.com

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6 Calisthenic Exercises ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ 5 Rappers ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________

4 Salad Dressing Ingredients ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ 3 Official Indiana “Symbols” ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ 2 Indy-Area Vintage Stores ____________________ ____________________

1 February 25 Indiana Honoree ________________________________

Celebrating 10-years

Carmel, IN

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