Indianapolis-Marion County Public Works Committee Meeting Summary – October 22, 2026

The Public Works Committee of the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council met at 5:30 p.m. on October 22, 2026, in Room 221 of the City-County Building. Chair Kristin Jones (District 18) presided. Councilors present included Mike Dilk (24), Josh Mascalier (21), Derek Cahill (23), Brian Mowery (25), Nick Roberts (4), Ron Gibson (8), and Jessica McCormick (16). The committee reviewed eight grouped speed-limit proposals and a weight-limit proposal, received a presentation on the Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (IAMP), and heard an update on Snow Force GPS conversion.

Consent Calendar

• Proposals 307 through 314 were heard together with Chair Jones’s consent. DPW Chief Engineer Mark St. John said DPW Engineering supported and recommended approval of all eight proposals.
• The eight proposals authorize 25 mph speed-limit reductions in: Parc Estates North (District 11); Parc Estates, Westridge Place, and Westridge Village (District 16); the area bounded by Adler, Morris, and Meridian Streets and Madison Avenue (District 18); Ashton Estates (District 1); the area bounded by Rybolt Avenue, Holt Road, Kentucky Avenue, and Sam Jones Expressway (Districts 17 and 21); the area bounded by Girls School Road, High School Road, Rockville Road, and the CSX Railroad (District 16); Franklin Gardens and Woodland Trails (District 20); and Spring Mill Estates (District 2).
• Note a discrepancy: the agenda lists Proposal 312 as authorizing speed humps, but St. John described it as a speed-limit reduction. Chair Jones said there was a scrivener’s error on 312 that would be corrected later.
• There were no questions or public comments on Proposals 307–314. A voice vote sent them to the full council with a do-pass recommendation; all ayes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Lori Klinger (zip code 46201) asked whether the IAMP could be used for Indy Parks infrastructure. She described a deteriorated bridge in Brookside Park with chain-link fencing and fallen railing, estimated at about $1 million to replace with a footbridge, and noted prior fundraising for the Nolan Avenue Bridge. St. John responded that DPW and Parks have different funding sources and that new state infrastructure funding has restrictions, but DPW is happy to collaborate with Parks on options.

Discussion Items

• Proposal 315, 2026: weight limit restrictions on Indian Creek and McGregor Roads from Franklin to Acton Roads (District 25). St. John said DPW supported the proposal as written. Councilor Mowery thanked DPW for reviewing the roads, saying heavy truck traffic has made the roads deteriorate faster. No public comments were made. The committee moved the proposal to full council with a do-pass recommendation; voice vote passed.
• Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (IAMP) presentation: St. John presented the plan, describing it as an ongoing, data-driven process to maintain, upgrade, and operate physical assets cost-effectively. He said it is not a replacement for the Capital Improvement Program but expands it into strategic capital and dedicated asset management funding. He cited existing assets including 4,000 miles of roadway, 8,400 lane miles, 537 bridges (closer to 541), 868 large culverts, 3,000 miles of sidewalk, 154 miles of trail, 14,000 traffic signal heads, and over 130,000 signs. He stated that 90% of vehicle miles traveled occurs on 40% of roadways, and that the current vehicle-miles-traveled weighted Pavement Condition Index (PCI) is 53. The plan sets goals to improve thoroughfare/collector condition to fair (PCI above 55), keep local road condition stable, and eliminate failing pavements (PCI below 10). It uses a need score combining pavement condition, traffic volume/AADT, public input from the Mayor’s Action Center, and crash cost. The treatment distribution is about 4% preventative maintenance, 46% minor rehab, 44% major rehab, and 6% reconstruction. The recommended five-year plan includes 39 new projects, about $560 million in expenditures, and nearly 1,500 lane miles addressed. The selected funding scenario (3C) allocates $480 million to thoroughfares and collectors and $80 million to local roadways, which St. John described as about $16 million per year for local roads; the transcript also references $24 million per year in local road investment. The plan projects raising the systemwide weighted PCI from 53 to 62. St. John also described a public-facing ArcGIS dashboard.
• Councilor comments and questions on the IAMP: Councilor Roberts questioned Sergeant Road appearing blue/low need despite being, in his words, the road he hears most about and in horrible condition. St. John explained that roads with planned capital projects were excluded from the analysis, and PCI data for some roads may be three or four years old; a new vendor contract will update PCI data beginning this fall. Councilor Cahill asked about PCI data refresh and the weighting of Mayor’s Action Center requests. St. John said PCI data is collected on a three-year cycle, moving toward two years, and that strip-patched roads were not given higher PCIs; he also said the Mac request count is capped to limit gaming. Councilor Gibson asked about alleys; St. John said Indianapolis has about 411 centerline miles of alleys and that the new data collection will include alleys. Councilor McCormick asked about milling frequency and whether the funding distribution could change; St. John said roadways are viewed on a 50-year life cycle with mill/overlays around every 15 years, and future plan iterations may shift the distribution. McCormick noted the systemwide PCI difference between funding splits was small and raised the possibility of more local road investment.
• Snow Force GPS conversion update: Deputy Director Daniel Stevenson said he and others would receive a first look at the new Snow Force viewer and Snow Fighter backend the next day. He described real-time dashboards for public information officers, ongoing route audits, and that GPS routing is more complex than expected; solid waste GPS routing may roll out first, with snow routing hoped for next year. Chair Jones asked for graphics to share with community members and requested a future committee update.

Key Outcomes

• Proposals 307–314 were advanced to the full council with do-pass recommendations by unanimous voice vote.
• Proposal 315 was advanced to the full council with a do-pass recommendation by unanimous voice vote.
• The IAMP was presented for information; no formal action was taken. DPW will provide maps to the committee, make the dashboard public, update the plan annually, and continue asset-management work for bridges, sidewalks, and alleys.
• The Snow Force update was received; DPW will provide graphics and return for a future update.