OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Carmel Commission on Senior Living Meeting - September 24, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, September 24, 2025
BodyCarmel, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, September 24, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:08:03

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Hello.

0:06

Stay kind of far away.

0:07

It's very loud.

0:09

Well, hi.

0:10

I'm gonna I'm gonna just I'll just call it to order, okay?

0:13

Go for it.

0:14

Um I'm calling the commission on senior living to order on September 24th at 5 30 p.m.

0:20

here in Carmel City Hall.

0:23

Um tonight we're just going to go through our agenda, and first on our agenda is Monica that has been working on our uh survey, and I will ask her to um give us a summary so far, and then we probably have some questions for you, Monica.

0:39

Yeah.

0:41

Well, as of today, uh five minutes ago, we have uh 496 completed surveys, so we're almost at 500.

0:50

Um 30 of those came in on Monday.

0:53

Uh the first week we had about 240 the first week.

0:59

So basically we got a big chunk, and it's just getting lesser and lesser as the weeks go on.

1:03

Um, but we're still you know getting some each week.

1:07

Um so about 500.

1:09

What we did is we um our original plan was we got enough um numbers or got enough addresses that we could send out 10,000 surveys.

1:22

Um because of the way printing works for us, for whatever reason, it was cheaper to send out all 10,000 rather than a thousand, a thousand at a time.

1:30

So we sent out ten thousand.

1:32

Um so in theory, if everyone answered, we we would have ten thousand.

1:37

Clearly, we have five hundred, so that's not the case.

1:40

Um our response rate is really low right now.

1:43

Um 500 is still good.

1:44

I mean, it's good to have that much feedback, but uh percentage-wise, we're pretty low.

1:50

Um so what our plan is is to wait until uh the surveys completely plateau.

1:56

Um so where we're getting you know one or two back a week, um, and then we'll revisit sending out a follow-up survey.

2:04

Um so the point then would be to follow uh send it back out to the people who haven't uh who didn't send it back to us, so not new people, the same original 10,000 um to try and get them to respond.

2:16

So that's our plan.

2:18

Um based on the way things are going, I would say in the next maybe two-ish, two to three weeks, we would hit like full plateau with how things are going.

2:28

That is to say, I know that a reporter was doing a story on it, so if it ends up in the what uh so it is possible that we'll get um increased response rate.

2:42

The problem is some of those people might have already thrown away the paper.

2:46

Um so then we might need to resend it back out so that people it's now in their mind.

2:50

Um so that's where we're at.

2:53

Um it's going.

2:55

And how many do you really hope that you can get?

2:58

We've got 495.

2:59

What would you like to get?

3:01

We want as many as we can.

3:02

Um so I would say uh I don't know that I want to answer that question.

3:08

I want as many as possible.

3:10

Um I think the biggest thing is that what we can start doing once we get a little bit uh a little bit more numbers, we can start to look at kind of the demographics of Carmel and the demographics of people who have answered, and then see if they're matching, and if not, then we really need to try and push it out to get that representative sample that we talk about, right?

3:31

Um so there will be people who are more likely to respond to a survey just because they have more time or more interest.

3:39

Um those people are gonna be more likely to respond, but maybe if we nudge the others, then they'll um get back with us.

3:45

So that's our question.

3:48

When you said um looking at the demographics of Carmel, yeah, and then others, I thought this was just Carmel.

3:56

Oh no, I didn't if I said others, I didn't mean it.

3:59

This is just Carmel.

4:00

I'm maybe Miss Heard.

4:01

Oh, yeah, yeah, just just Carmel, just people with um Carmel zip codes, and then um there is a small caveat that surveys have been sent out to people.

4:12

I don't know the workings of Carmel, but that have been sliced off from Carmel and are now in Fisher's or one of the other counties.

4:21

We still have that information, so we're still including them in the survey, but there's not very many of them, but we can always cut them off if we don't want their answers.

4:29

So they're in the survey now, but I don't know which zip code it is because I don't know.

4:34

And then further clarification, was it mentioned previously that you needed 500 for it to be scientific data?

4:43

I don't know if that's the case, but 500 um is again a great start.

4:47

We're three away from that, so that's awesome.

4:50

Um I do think that I think that was probably when we were thinking about sending out 1,000 at a time.

5:00

And because we sent out 10,000 at a time, this is like it's a very low response rate, right?

5:04

So if it was 500 out of a thousand that answered, that'd be 50% response rate.

5:08

And honestly, for the kind of work we're doing here, that would be great.

5:12

But 500 out of 10,000 is not 50%.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Senior Services█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Affordable Housing██████9%
Transportation Safety████6%
Parks and Recreation███5%
Community Engagement███5%
Food Access█2%
Personnel Matters█2%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Carmel Commission on Senior Living Meeting - September 24, 2025

The Commission on Senior Living met on September 24, 2025, at 5:30 PM in Carmel City Hall. The meeting focused on updates on a community survey, a new senior resource website, transportation options, housing developments, outdoor spaces, and the upcoming senior conference. The commission also discussed the resignation of a member and future ideas for affordable senior housing.

Discussion Items

  • Survey Update (Monica): Monica reported that as of the meeting, 496 surveys had been completed out of 10,000 mailed to registered voters aged 55+ in Carmel. The response rate is low (~5%), but the survey is still collecting data. A follow-up mailing is planned once responses plateau, likely in 2-3 weeks. The survey is funded by Dr. Malaz Mustani's personal research funds, with no cost to the city. Monica noted that the first wave of responses may skew toward more engaged residents, and weighting will be used to adjust for demographics if needed.
  • Website/Resource Page (Lisa): Lisa presented a plan for a new city webpage that organizes senior resources by need-based categories (e.g., housing, social services, health, transportation). The page would link to approved external partners, but the city would not manage those partners' content. A video from the mayor is proposed to welcome users. The subcommittee recommends vetting all links through the commission and marketing department before going live. Lisa requested 30 days to reach out to partners and come back with a proposal.
  • Transportation (John): John reported that the transportation committee is ready to move forward with Hamilton County Express (HCE) and Carmel Clay Schools. A bus would be parked in Carmel to avoid deadheading from Noblesville. The service costs $3 one way/$6 round trip, operates 6 AM-6 PM weekdays, 7 AM-3 PM Saturdays, with 24-hour advance notice required. John plans to personally test the service. Concerns about staffing and cancellations were raised. A bus will be displayed at the conference.
  • Housing Update (Carol): Carol provided updates on several 55+ housing projects: The North Inn (rental, ~$2,000/month, concierge, not yet started); BHI expansion at Barrington/Hoosier Village; Signature 55 (200 apartments, 4 acres for veterans, funded by TIF bonds, approved by City Council); Metalstone (at 146th and Gray, now taking applications, prices ~$700k-$900k). Carol noted Carmel is landlocked, limiting new senior communities.
  • Outdoor Spaces (John): John discussed using AARP's livability index and toolkits to enhance parks and public spaces. He noted Carmel has 20 city departments and 37 committees/boards/commissions that could be leveraged. The goal is to make existing resources more visible to seniors.
  • Conference Update (Chair): The senior conference will be held October 10, 2025, at Carmel Public Library, 10 AM-3 PM. About 60 people have registered, with expectations of 100-150. Speakers include fire/police departments, Dr. Bastani, library, Medicare fraud, SHIP, and HCE. Six thousand dollars in sponsorships have been secured, covering costs. The mayor will attend. Volunteers are needed for setup, food, and registration. A commission table will be staffed to answer questions.
  • Resignation: The chair announced that Steve Gross has resigned from the commission effective immediately. Members are asked to suggest potential replacements.
  • New Business (Lisa): Lisa proposed the idea of a "block of rooms" model where the city could reserve a small number of apartments (5-10) at a fixed, non-increasing rental rate for long-term seniors, as an affordable housing strategy. The chair encouraged further exploration.

Key Outcomes

  • The survey will continue collecting responses until a plateau, then a follow-up mailing will be sent. No timeline for final analysis was set.
  • The website/resource page plan was approved for further development; Lisa will return in 30 days with partner commitments.
  • Transportation: The committee will finalize an agreement with HCE and Carmel Clay Schools, with a goal to launch the service soon. The bus will be at the conference for promotion.
  • Housing: The commission will monitor ongoing projects and continue exploring affordable options.
  • The conference will proceed as planned; volunteers are needed.
  • The commission will seek a new member to replace Steve Gross.
  • The idea of a fixed-rate senior housing block will be discussed further by the housing committee.

Meeting Transcript

Hello. Stay kind of far away. It's very loud. Well, hi. I'm gonna I'm gonna just I'll just call it to order, okay? Go for it. Um I'm calling the commission on senior living to order on September 24th at 5 30 p.m. here in Carmel City Hall. Um tonight we're just going to go through our agenda, and first on our agenda is Monica that has been working on our uh survey, and I will ask her to um give us a summary so far, and then we probably have some questions for you, Monica. Yeah. Well, as of today, uh five minutes ago, we have uh 496 completed surveys, so we're almost at 500. Um 30 of those came in on Monday. Uh the first week we had about 240 the first week. So basically we got a big chunk, and it's just getting lesser and lesser as the weeks go on. Um, but we're still you know getting some each week. Um so about 500. What we did is we um our original plan was we got enough um numbers or got enough addresses that we could send out 10,000 surveys. Um because of the way printing works for us, for whatever reason, it was cheaper to send out all 10,000 rather than a thousand, a thousand at a time. So we sent out ten thousand. Um so in theory, if everyone answered, we we would have ten thousand. Clearly, we have five hundred, so that's not the case. Um our response rate is really low right now. Um 500 is still good. I mean, it's good to have that much feedback, but uh percentage-wise, we're pretty low. Um so what our plan is is to wait until uh the surveys completely plateau. Um so where we're getting you know one or two back a week, um, and then we'll revisit sending out a follow-up survey. Um so the point then would be to follow uh send it back out to the people who haven't uh who didn't send it back to us, so not new people, the same original 10,000 um to try and get them to respond. So that's our plan. Um based on the way things are going, I would say in the next maybe two-ish, two to three weeks, we would hit like full plateau with how things are going. That is to say, I know that a reporter was doing a story on it, so if it ends up in the what uh so it is possible that we'll get um increased response rate. The problem is some of those people might have already thrown away the paper. Um so then we might need to resend it back out so that people it's now in their mind. Um so that's where we're at. Um it's going. And how many do you really hope that you can get? We've got 495. What would you like to get? We want as many as we can. Um so I would say uh I don't know that I want to answer that question. I want as many as possible. Um I think the biggest thing is that what we can start doing once we get a little bit uh a little bit more numbers, we can start to look at kind of the demographics of Carmel and the demographics of people who have answered, and then see if they're matching, and if not, then we really need to try and push it out to get that representative sample that we talk about, right? Um so there will be people who are more likely to respond to a survey just because they have more time or more interest. Um those people are gonna be more likely to respond, but maybe if we nudge the others, then they'll um get back with us. So that's our question. When you said um looking at the demographics of Carmel, yeah, and then others, I thought this was just Carmel. Oh no, I didn't if I said others, I didn't mean it. This is just Carmel. I'm maybe Miss Heard. Oh, yeah, yeah, just just Carmel, just people with um Carmel zip codes, and then um there is a small caveat that surveys have been sent out to people. I don't know the workings of Carmel, but that have been sliced off from Carmel and are now in Fisher's or one of the other counties.

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