Growth, safety discussed at Mayor’s Night In

0

Zionsville Mayor Tim Haak hosted a Mayor’s Night In Nov. 28 at Zionsville Town Hall. Community members were invited to hear an update on the town and ask questions. Kim’s Cookie Cafe provided free cookies.

New construction

Haak discussed the timeline on construction projects, including the Zionsville Road Bridge, which includes the addition of two 10-foot pedestrian pathways on either side of the bridge.

“If the weather gets a little better, it will be open by the end of the year,” Haak said.

With a $2.25 million investment that includes $500,000 in grants, 3.3 miles of Zionsville roads were resurfaced in 2018 and an additional 3 1/2 miles of roads will be resurfaced in the spring of 2019.

In 2019, improvement of Zionsville Road will continue south toward 96th Street. Decorative light posts similar to those on Main Street will be installed along Zionsville Road.

Construction also will begin 2109 on the new Zion Nature Center, which will house the Zionsville Parks Dept. headquarters

Parks and maintenance

The town also planted 75 trees and picked up 675 tons of leaves from residential homes. The leaves were sent to Greencycle and turned into compost.

“We are one of the only communities of our size that provides this service,” Haak said.

According to Haak’s presentation, Zionsville has a higher park maintenance standard than 95 percent of other parks maintenance programs and has a certified arborist on staff. The department maintains nearly 35 acres of prairie wildlife, planted 45 large trees in parks and maintains more than 90 existing ash trees.

The irrigation system at Zionsville Golf Course is being updated to an automated system. The course closed early this year to begin the install.

Growth and development

The Zionsville Plan Commission approved several new projects, including the expansion of Zionsville Fire Dept. Station 92, development of the Holliday Farms community, building of a Zionsville Community Schools Clinic and more.

More than seven new businesses opened in Zionsville and at least four expanded.

Zionsville reached its “80-20 by 2020” objective two years early, a goal to have 20 percent of the tax income from commercial property. By the end of 2018, projected growth expenditures are $80 million in single family home construction, $24 million in single family remodels, $21 million in commercial and industrial construction, and $19 million in existing commercial remodel.

Safety

Zionsville Fire Dept. trained more than 400 community members and students in CPR this year and installed five emergency warning sirens. ZFD hosted 96 events interacting with approximately 6,510 children and 3,340 adults. Proceeds from the annual ZFD Pancake Breakfast paid for three new carbon monoxide detectors that attach to EMS bags.

Zionsville Police Dept. hired five new officers and placed school resource officers in five schools. It also installed three new public safety cameras.

One resident, Korena Dearholt, said the Village Walk Homeowner’s association met recently and was concerned about increasing crime at Quail Run Apartments. Village Walk is directly west of Quail Run, where a shooting occurred Oct. 29. The victim was grazed by the bullet and survived.

“There was a concern the night of the shooting,” Dearholt said. “We had a lot of police activity for a week after.”

Zionsville Police Chief Robert Knox, who was in attendance, said security measures have increased and officers are assigned to each neighborhood. He also said the community was still a safe one.

“Zionsville is diversifying rapidly,” he said. “We are growing our police department. Believe it or not, people who commit crimes want to feel safe too. They (also) live here.”

Dearholt said her family feels safe but cautious.


Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Share.

Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact