MCANNA General Membership Meeting on May 20, 2024
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Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations General Membership Meeting
On May 20, 2024, the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (MCANNA) held its regular monthly meeting at North United Methodist Church. President Kathy Burton opened the meeting, welcomed attendees, and led introductions. The meeting featured two guest speakers: Laura O'Brien from Citizens Energy Group and Juliana Kennedy from the Marion County Health Department. The meeting also included neighborhood announcements and a preview of the June meeting's naloxone training.
Announcements & Community Updates
- Kathy Burton announced Franklin Township's Memorial Day celebration (parade at 12:30 PM, cemetery ceremony at 1:00 PM) and an all-township cleanup on June 15th.
- Clark Hollow remembered Glenn Pratt, a longtime MCANNA and environmental activist, who recently passed away.
- An attendee shared the contact for Chris West (317-460-5797) at INDOT for help with road closure issues.
- Marla David from Purdue University announced the new Purdue Indianapolis campus, with the first academic building expected in about three years on Indiana Avenue across from Madam Walker. She invited neighborhoods to request presentations.
Presentation: Citizens Energy Group – Laura O'Brien
Laura O'Brien, Manager of Corporate and Public Affairs, provided updates on several initiatives:
- Dig Indy Tunnel System: A $2 billion project to address combined sewer overflows. Six deep-rock tunnels (28 miles total, 250 feet deep, 18-foot diameter) will store over 270 million gallons of sewage, eliminating 95-97% of overflows. Four tunnels are already operational, capturing 5 billion gallons of sewage. The system is set to be fully complete in 2025. Citizens also planted 10,000 trees through a complementary program with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
- Lead Service Line Replacement Program: Citizens estimates 55,000 customer-owned lead service lines, primarily in pre-1950 homes. The $500 million program replaces lines at no cost to property owners. In Martindale Brightwood, 3,000 lines will be replaced over four years with $11 million in low-interest loans from the Indiana Finance Authority. Work is coordinated with DPW to minimize disruption.
- Customer Assistance: The LIHEAP application deadline was May 20 (the meeting date). Qualified customers are automatically enrolled in Citizens’ Universal Service and Low-Income Customer Assistance Programs. Other resources include the Winter Assistance Fund (via United Way), the Warm Heart Warm Home Foundation, and flexible payment plans. The annual Community Resource Day is scheduled for October 5, 2024.
- Community Engagement: Citizens highlighted events like Sharing the Dream (refurbishing Indy Parks facilities), the 500 Festival Mini Marathon water station, and the inaugural Greatest Spectacle in Pickleball fundraiser. Programs include a Volunteer Grant Program, Neighborhood Ambassador Program, iCON (low-interest loans for CDCs), and philanthropic partnerships.
Q&A Highlights:
- Attendees asked about wetlands preservation, well water lead lines, stormwater reporting, and road cuts. Clark Hollow urged Citizens to consider the ecological value of wetlands and tree canopy in development decisions. A resident from the Irvington area reported frequent road cuts after repaving on Brookville Road and Post Road, criticizing poor coordination between Citizens and DPW. Laura O'Brien took notes and promised to follow up with her team.
- Questions about the STEP (septic tank elimination) program were referred to Alex Haberfield, Citizens’ public outreach coordinator.
Presentation: Marion County Health Department – Juliana Kennedy
Juliana Kennedy, Administrator for Housing and Neighborhood Health, explained the department’s enforcement roles and statistics:
- Complaint Statistics (2023): 12,508 registered complaints; 5,639 housing repair orders; 10,512 trash orders; 618 vehicle order complaints (361 issued); 2,605 court filings.
- Types of Orders:
- Occupied Housing Orders: For interior/exterior health or safety hazards in occupied properties. Common violations: holes, electrical/plumbing issues, lack of heat/AC, sewage back-ups, hoarding. Emergency orders require repair within 24 hours; non-emergency orders allow 30 days. Non-compliance can result in court with fines up to $2,500 per violation per day.
- Trash Orders: High weeds/grass (≥12 inches), junk vehicles, large debris, scattered rubbish, animal manure. Initial 2-week compliance period; tickets ($250 rental, $100 owner-occupied) and cleanup crews (cost billed to property taxes) if not resolved. Certain obstacles (e.g., fences) require additional legal steps.
- Vehicle Orders: For abandoned vehicles (mechanically inoperable, ≥3 model years old, visible from public property). After non-compliance, contractor tows the vehicle at owner’s expense.
- Distinction vs. City (BNS): Health Department handles occupied structures; the City’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services handles vacant structures. The Health Department will refer complaints that fall under city jurisdiction.
- Outreach Programs: Community education liaisons, apartment complex outreach, and a housing social worker. Partnerships with NeighborLink (assists elderly/disabled with yard cleanups) and SONS program (helps seniors).
Q&A Highlights:
- Attendees asked about illegal dumping of tires and logs, hoarding cases, natural landscapes vs. overgrown yards, and jurisdictional issues. Juliana clarified that the department does not target neatly stacked firewood or natural habitats that are not health hazards; disputed cases get a hearing with an impartial judge.
- A resident described a hoarding case that has gone on for years with only partial cleanups. Juliana acknowledged that hoarding cases are difficult and may result in permanent injunctions or court-ordered vacates. She offered to look into a specific address.
- Another resident raised a case where a vacant house used for storage was cited by the city as occupied, preventing interior cleanup of mold. Juliana noted that if the property is truly occupied, the health department would have jurisdiction, and suggested a re-evaluation.
- The department’s contact information: complaint line 317-221-2141, online at marionhealth.org (under Programs > Environmental Division).
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or resolutions were taken during the meeting.
- The next MCANNA general membership meeting is scheduled for June 15, 2024, at North United Methodist Church, featuring a free naloxone (opioid overdose reversal) training led by board member Jim Floyd. Attendees will receive two doses of naloxone after training.
- A brief board meeting will follow the June meeting to discuss committee structure.
- MCANNA will coordinate with Marla David for a Purdue Indianapolis presentation at the July meeting.
- Both Citizens Energy Group and the Marion County Health Department encouraged attendees to use their contacts for neighborhood concerns, emphasizing persistence and cooperation.
Meeting Transcript
So I want to say good morning to everybody who is here with us this morning. I know our summer activities are beginning to heat up this in for the for the year, and so um I did get a lot of I'm sorry I can't be there tomorrow. My neighborhood's having a cleanup or um but um I want to welcome I think we might have some new faces here this morning, so I want to welcome everybody this morning. My name is Kathy Burton, and I'm the current president for the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations. This is our regular monthly general membership meeting. Um and I want to tell you a little bit about McCannna for those who are here the first time or those who may be watching on channel 16. We are a 501 C3 neighborhood organization that was founded in 1990. We are a countywide organization, um and we invite everyone who is involved in a neighborhood organization and hoa or is just a general neighborhood advocate um to join us. These meetings are open to the public. They are held on the third Saturday of every month at North United Methodist Church from 9 to 11 a.m. At those meetings. We have a speaker or speakers that come to talk with us about neighborhood issues and other issues that are important to the neighborhoods of Marion County so that we have a chance to connect with each other, um, find out what issues are important to you, lend support to each other, which is getting more and more important in our city, um, and generally share experiences with each other so that as we are moving through the issues that are important to our neighborhoods, and we're not reinventing the wheel every time. Um in just a minute, I am going to ask if we could go around and have introductions so that everybody will know who's here and what area of the neighborhood you're on. I'm working on getting um a Marion County map that's mounted on some kind of a board so that we can kind of do one of those things where you put your pen in or draw in your boundaries of your neighborhood so we can get more familiar with where everybody is from. Um I do want to um again thank North United Methodist Church for providing us so generously with the meeting space every month. It's conveniently located and you're able to get there on the bus system. Um you may not be able to get there around the roads that are closed, but you know that's always a changing target every month. Um and I also want to check thank Channel 16 who comes to film our meetings in um I and I still have never tied down if it's streaming, if it's watching them online, what the proper technological term is, but people have access to watching channel 16 to find out what's going on in our neighborhoods, viewing the McCannna meetings, even if they're not being be able to be here. Um and we really appreciate the resource that channel 16 offers to the neighborhoods in Marion County so that you are able to keep up with things, even if you're trying to keep up with things somewhere else. Um with that I'm gonna ask um if we could go around and introduce ourselves in the neighborhoods that you are from. Um and you might indicate in addition to naming your neighborhood if you're generally east side west side downtown, um, because sometimes people are not familiar with the names of the neighborhood. So um, we're gonna start with Jim. Jim Spaholski, near East Side Community Organization. Go over here with the hi, good morning. Hi, Dr. Jim Boyd. I actually live in War Township. My name is Will Lotta Atkins. I'm on the East Side and Oak Hill Neighborhood Association, but it's Martindale Brightwood area. Good morning, everyone. My name is Jacqueline McMillan Gunn. I'm a I'm a resident of Martin Dale Brightwood, and I'm affiliated with one voice, uh, Phil Side and um a lot of other things. All right, we're gonna go to the back. Oh hi, I'm Lara O'Brien. Um I'm gonna be sharing some information today from Citizens Energy Group and I live in the Arsenal Park Sobro neighborhood. Okay, Clark. Uh Clark Hollow, um, Murray and Kessler Neighbors Helping Neighbors right here in the mid-north area. And uh if I might uh I don't know if you're gonna ask for announcements uh in a few minutes. I'm a flight. And I also have in Township Hair Trader School. Pat Andrews, uh uh with the Cater Township Pacific Council. Hi, I'm Marla David. I live over in Hawaii. And I'm here as a member of the Purdue faculty as part of the new Purdue campus coming to the city here to visit with neighbors. Welcome. Thank you. Linda Phipps, I'm in Donberry. Nobody knows where we are. So from 62nd to 65th, out of North Keystone over to Evanston. So we've got 200 homes in that square.
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