From Susan Blair, President of Pike Township Residents Association
“Good news! Received a call from Trustee Johnson today, we can resume our meetings at the Govt. Center in July! This seems like a long time coming. Looking forward to being “normal” again. Our next meeting will be July 8th.”
Susan
NOTICE: This is PTRA’s first meeting since March 11, 2020. Due to recent Executive Orders issued by Governor Holcomb and Mayor Hogsett regarding Covid-19 guidelines and restrictions, we are unable to utilize the Pike Township Government Center. This meeting will be held at the Lions Club Indiana headquarters, 8780 Purdue Road. Parking to the rear of the building; enter through the rear door next to the parking lot. Due to attendance restrictions, the meeting will be limited to 50 attendees with a six-foot seating separation. For land-use cases, should attendance exceed 50, petitioners and residents on a particular case may be asked to remain in the parking lot until the petition is called.
From Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocate Kayla Wright
Indy Parks Summer Camp Registration is Open!
We have camps at 12 different parks, including brand new day camps at Windsor Village and Brookside. Payment plans and scholarships are available. And camps are available for kids age 4 to 15!
You can download the full brochure here: https://citybase-cms-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/fc4c6672df6c4450b904554ed943965d.pdf
It’s an awesome way to engage kids this summer! Register at https://bit.ly/2RTZPHu, at your local Parks family center, or by calling 317.327.PARK.
Indy Parks’ camps are accredited by the American Camping Association.
The Indianapolis Department of Public Works and Department of Metropolitan Development will host a discussion about improvements to be made at the intersections of 38th St. at Commercial Dr. and 38th St. at Moller Rd. The project aims to reduce traffic congestion and enhance multimodal accessibility through the use of dedicated turn lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks and a 10-foot wide multimodal path.
Construction at the intersections is tentatively planned for spring-autumn of 2020. The estimated cost of the project, which is currently in the design phase, is $200,000.
A public discussion about the intersection improvements will take place at Eagle Branch Library (3905 Moller Rd.) on Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 4:30-6 p.m. Members of the public are invited to attend to share feedback and ask questions about the latest project launched in the International Marketplace.
Pike Township Residents Association (PTRA) – February 12 @ 7:00pm
The Pike Township Residents Association (PTRA) received notice that the old farm property at the corner of 79th & Marsh Road, adjacent to Normandy Farms (7802 Marsh Road) has filed a request to rezone 15.052 acres at the southwest corner. They are requesting a rezone from D-1 (Dwelling-1 unit per acre) to D-A (Dwelling-Agricultural). This request proposes to utilize this property for agricultural activities, particularly the growing of hemp. The existing D-1 zoning classification does not permit farming, which is why the rezone to D-A is requested.
If you are interested in or have concerns about what has been happening at the old farm at the corner of 79th & Marsh Road please plan to attend the PTRA meeting on February 12 @ 7:00pm at Pike Township Government Center located at 5665 Lafayette Road.
Thank you,
Pike Township Residents Association, Inc.
PTRA1972@aol.com
From Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocate Kayla Wright, City of Indianapolis
2020 Annual Park Passes are now available for purchase at the gate houses, park office, online, and through the Eagle Creek Park Foundation. Annual Pass prices: $50 Marion Co. Resident, $60 Non-resident, $40 Senior (62+), ½ for Veterans, $85 ECPF membership pass
This year, the Eagle Creek Park Foundation is supporting $38,600 of our park wish list! We couldn’t be more excited!!! The funding will support the purchase of an Avant Loader trail machine, raptor food grant ($2k of frozen rats, chicks, quail), Wildflower Weekend special event ($1.6k budget), stipend for volunteer appreciation events ($700), and staff trainings ($1,500), yay! 2020 is going to be a great year, thank you ECPF!
Monday and Tuesday night, IMPD will conduct a field training exercise at Eagle Creek Park, utilizing our facilities while the park is closed. We are happy to provide a safe place for the IMPD recruits to get their final training before hitting the streets. Best of luck to the 2019 recruit class! Thank you Park Rangers for the coordination and support of the FTX.
From Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocate Kayla Wright…
INDIANAPOLIS – One year since Mayor Joe Hogsett joined Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) and community leaders on the northeast side to launch the second phase of Operation Night, more than 1,000 new lights have been approved for installation throughout Marion County. In addition, more than 14,000 streetlights have been converted to LED technology, bringing clearer, brighter light to neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis.
“We launched Operation Night Light in 2016 with the goal of increasing public safety for residents and achieving cost and energy savings for the City of Indianapolis,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “Today we are proud to announce that, thanks to stakeholder collaboration and community engagement, we have brightened dozens of areas throughout our city that have been too dark for too long by installing brand new lights and bringing existing streetlights up to 21st century technology standards.”
Mayor Hogsett’s Operation Night Light ended a 35-year moratorium on new city streetlights – a moratorium that left residents in the dark in many portions of the community. The first phase of the initiative began with the installation of 100 lights in 2016 and will eventually bring up to 4,000 new streetlights to neighborhoods throughout the city by 2025.
The city has approved 912 new streetlights throughout Marion County since October 2018, in addition to the initial 100 new lights. Once approved by the city, project partner IPL installs the streetlights as materials are available, which can sometimes take several weeks. As of this week, IPL crews had also retrofitted 14,740 existing lights to more energy-efficient LED lights – more than 52% of all city-paid, traditional streetlights.
The retrofit started in April 2018 and will continue throughout Indianapolis through spring 2021 with the goal of converting more than 27,000 cobra head streetlights. As savings are realized from the conversion to the more energy-efficient lights, the city reinvests in new streetlights, taking into consideration darkness level of the area, pedestrian and public safety, and community input.
IPL crews are currently working through Wayne Township to retrofit lights there and will finish work in Center Township this winter. City leaders encourage community engagement during the process and will hold an information session for Wayne Township residents in December and one for Center Township residents early next year.
The City of Indianapolis encourages residents to continue to request new streetlights for their neighborhoods. The process for approval is as follows:
1. Resident submits request for new streetlight
2. City evaluates request
3. City reviews request for feasibility
4. IPL conducts site review
5. City reviews feedback
6. City approves request for installation
7. IPL installs new streetlight
Residents can make a request for lights by visiting Streetlights.Indy.Gov, through the RequestIndy mobile app, or by calling the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4MAC (4622). Once residents receive a service request number, they can track the progress of their request through RequestIndy or by calling the Mayor’s Action Center.
From Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocate Kayla Wright
INDIANAPOLIS – This fall, Count Me INdy is passing out and partnering with community organizations to plant 5,000 tulip bulbs across Indianapolis to encourage residents to “plant a brighter future for Indianapolis.”
“The idea is that people will plant the bulbs this fall and then they’ll bloom in the spring as a reminder it’s time to participate in the census,” said Callie Kennington, Manager of Count Me INdy. “We are constantly thinking of creative ways in which to engage, educate, and encourage residents to participate in the 2020 Census, as the next ten years of Indianapolis’ future – and the dollars for it – will be determined by our count.”
Count Me INdy has been passing out bulbs at farmers’ markets and other events, as well as partnering with local community organizations to get the tulips planted. Community organizations who are assisting with plantings include Downtown Indy, Inc., Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick. As the tulips start to bloom in the spring, yard signs will be installed in planting areas to explain the significance of the yellow tulips. Census Day will take place April 1, 2020 and will be the first time in our nation’s history where residents are invited to respond online.
Since the kick-off event in February, Count Me INdy has formed partnerships across the city to form a Complete Count Committee. Complete Count Committees are community-based programs affiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau designed to create awareness about the census and motivate residents to participate. Committee members are volunteers and represent a diverse cross-section of the Indianapolis community, with representatives from local government, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, schools, businesses, the media, and more. Count Me INdy’s campaign is particularly focused around reaching historically undercounted populations within Marion County.
About Count Me INdy
Count Me INdy is the City of Indianapolis’ Census 2020 Complete Count Campaign, dedicated to counting all residents – whoever they are and wherever they’re from. The counts are used to distribute power at every level of government and distribute more than $675 billion each year to communities across the nation. Learn more online at countmeindy.com.
Today, the City of Indianapolis announced trick-or-treat hours for Halloween and offered up tips to help trick-or-treaters stay safe.
Trick-or-treat hours in Indianapolis will be from 6 – 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 31. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) will have extra patrols and enforcement in neighborhoods during these times to protect the safety of residents during Halloween festivities.
If you are joining in this year’s trick-or-treating fun, please consider the following safety tips:
Wear light-colored clothing short enough to prevent tripping and add reflective tape
Wear fire-resistant costumes
Make sure children can see well through face masks
Don’t wear masks or disguises into businesses
Adults should accompany young children and children with special needs
Go out in daylight hours if possible or carry a flashlight if you’ll be out after dark
Motorists are reminded to slow down and be aware of their surroundings
Only give and accept wrapped or packaged treats
Examine all treats before allowing children to eat them. If you find a suspicious item, contact police as soon as possible at 327-3811; if an injury is involved, dial 911
Avoid props such as toy guns, which can look real
Consider block parties instead of trick-or-treating
Don’t fire guns – not only is this illegal but what goes up, must come down
Check the weather and have appropriate dress under costumes in the event of cold temperature
