All right.

I want to welcome everybody to McCannna's regular monthly meeting.

My name is Kathy Burton, and I'm the current president for McCannna.

We are having kind of a work session this morning where the neighborhoods get to talk to each other.

That was actually something that we did last year, and it was very well received.

And I've had a couple of requests from people to do that more often.

And since our speaker for this morning had to reschedule, I thought, well, we'll take advantage of that.

And just to talk this morning, just neighbors to neighbors about what we need to do next on several issues that are going on.

Before I start though, I want to talk a little bit about what McCannna is for people who are here for the first time or who are watching on Channel 16.

McCannna was founded in 1990 as a not-for-profit 501c3.

And the purpose of that is to connect neighborhoods from all across the county with each other.

And as time has gone on, we've also had the opportunity to work with a couple of our neighbors who are not right inside Marion County, but who touch Marion County's boundaries.

And so what we do on the outlying township on our boundaries affects them directly and indirectly.

What Marion County is doing, often affects them as well.

Either immediately or sometime in the future, they can see development continuing to roll out across the county lines.

And so, like I said, we've had an opportunity to work some work with some neighborhoods that are outside of Marion County.

As I said, our purpose is to connect neighbors with each other from across the county to share experiences, talk about what's worked and what has not worked, and to lend support to each other.

We're going to talk about that a little bit later in the meeting.

So that a neighborhood that may not have a strong voice can figure out how to get that strong voice and have and have their neighbors join in supporting them.

And then also to share experiences.

You know, one neighborhood has gone through a particular issue and has been successful or not so successful.

They can talk about what worked and what didn't work and how things how we can guide things from the neighborhood standpoint.

We meet once a month on the third Saturday of every month, except in December.

We meet at North United Methodist Church, which is at 38th and Meridian.

And our meetings are from 9 to 11.

They are open to anyone who is interested in community activities, whether they belong to a neighborhood association or not, these are open to the community.

At those meetings, we normally have a speaker or speakers that talk about issues that are of interest to neighborhoods, and also to talk about some specific issues that may be going on at the time, which is a lot of what we're going to be doing this morning.

If you would like to contact McCana, you can reach me again.

My name is Kathy Burton.

Sorry, have a little bit of a cold.

You can contact me at 317-847-9959, or by email at CB 7801 at AOL.com.

Or you can contact us through our Facebook page.

Also, I want to remind everyone that our membership dues are $20 per organization per year, and those are due now.

So anytime you would like to like open your walls and let go a little bit of your money, you're welcome to send those to us.

You can send it by mail to P.O.

Box 1082, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46206.

Again, those are 20 per year per organization.

With that, we are running a little bit behind time this morning, so I want to wind up by thanking the North United Methodist Church for lending us their meeting space.

It's centrally located.

It is on the bus line so everybody can get to it.

And we also want to thank Channel 16 for recording our meetings and airing streaming, whatever the proper term is on channel 16 and then on channel 28.

You can also get to them through the IndieGov.org indie.gov website.

And so you can watch those meetings anytime you would like to, and that will help keep you engaged, even if you're not able to attend the meetings in person.

They've been with us, they've been partners with us for a long, long time, and we appreciate their continued efforts.

With that, I want to tell you that our next meeting is March 21st.

We are, I'm still working on a speaker.

However, thanks to the efforts of Dillian Novak, who is one of the mayor's neighborhood advocates, we were able to get a group of speakers to come and talk about the homeless initiatives that are in Indianapolis.

A representative from the city and then also from CHIP, which is the coalition.

Help me out, Jim.

I can never remember the right acting acronym, but the homeless issue has gotten to be of a bigger, a bigger and bigger concern in in the community about you know how do we assist those people in becoming finding places to live, how can communities deal with the homeless camps that have cropped up in a humanitarian way and was finally able to pull that together for us.

So that will be the speaker for our April meeting.

Also, with midterm elections coming up, I want to remind everybody that political candidates are welcome to come to McCannna.

They do not need to let me know ahead of time, although it is helpful.

They can have five to ten minutes to come up and speak about the initiatives that are important to them, how to get in touch with them.

The one thing that we do ask is that they do not spend their time talking about what everybody else did wrong.

We want them to come and talk about what they want to do to in order to deal with issues that they have before them.

So again, any political candidate is welcome to come in any time because the issues that the politicians are dealing with certainly impact us directly.

With that, we're going to kind of reverse instead of doing announcements.

First, we have a representative here from Andre Carson's office.

And he has a few announcements that he would like to make and then has to head off to another meeting.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Hi everyone.

For those who don't know me, my name is Andrew Baknica.

I'm the community outreach coordinator for Congressman Carson.

I meant to have papers for you all, so I'm very sorry.

I haven't had my morning coffee yet.

So I'm gonna email everything to Kathy if you want the all the details.

Um I really do have a hard stop at 9 30, so I'm gonna try to keep this as compressed as I can.

Uh obviously, there's a lot going on in Washington.

And I'm not here representing Andre Carson a candidate, uh, simply the office of Congressman Carson, taxpayers paid for me to be here.

Um to Kathy's point about impacting the community.

Uh, we put out a press release on Thursday.

Um if you had been following the the drama on the hill, they just passed most of the federal funding uh legislation, and as part of that, they finally uh came around to uh including the appropriations requests from members of Congress.

Um so we're very happy that we got over the finish line at $13.8 million worth of investment in Indianapolis.

Um it falls broadly into four categories.

Uh two appropriations were for public health, and in the public health category, we got around 1.5 billion dollars for community infrastructure.

Uh there were four projects that got funding, and that totals up to about 4.8 million dollars.

Um we have kind of a throwaway category, kind of like a general umbrella that we're calling community development.

Um, that is four million dollars of investment that we got across five different projects in community development.

And then uh the final uh umbrella term would be public safety.

Uh, there are three projects that we got funded for public safety across Marion County, and that totals uh 2.7 million dollars.

Um that press release is on Carson.house.gov.

I'm sorry I didn't have uh them here for you today.

Um I'm sure we're gonna put something out on social media here in the near future, so just be on the lookout.

And you're always welcome to give our office a call if you want more details.

Um, our numbers 317 283 6516.

Um I also wanted to mention there is one part of the government that is not funded right now, which is the Department of Homeland Security.

Um, you may have heard that we were trying to reach a deal on uh putting some um some different qualifications, restraints, reforms on ice, whatever you want to call them.

Um the congressman has uh voted against uh additional funding for ice, and uh he voted against additional funding for DHS until some sort of solution is reached on this.

We thought we were getting close, and then uh the other side walked away from the table.

So every part of the government is funded except for DHS, which unfortunate for people like TSA who fall under that agency who are working without pay right now, um, but everything that happened in Minneapolis was quite frankly out of hand.

So the Congressman felt that it's not moral to fund this agency unless we're able to get some uh barriers.

And as someone who's law enforcement, um, you know, from his perspective, what was happening in Minnesota did not meet the definition of law enforcement.

Um so just wanted to explain that we're still working on that front.

Uh we don't have a lot more information because most of that is happening in the Senate.

Um, but we really do want to have DHS funded as soon as we can so they can do their work and get paid.

Um, ICE is continuing to operate because if you remember the one big beautiful bill, gave them I think three billion dollars, something like that.

So, uh, regardless of whether or not DHS is funded, ICE has sitting on essentially a rainy day fund that will keep them funded for many years, unfortunately.

Um a more positive note, I wanted to ask people to please mark your calendar for March the 12th from 4 p.m.

to 7 p.m.

This is gonna be the Congressman's annual youth opportunities fair over at the Ivy Tech Community Uh Center.

Uh we are still looking for, I think a handful more exhibitors.

So if you know an organization that's looking to hire young people, uh we're talking about 16 to 24 would be the age range.

They have internships, if they have job opportunities, if they have volunteer opportunities, these are the type of uh organizations we want to have at this event.

Um so I think we have somewhere around three or four different openings left uh for this event.

So if uh you know someone who might qualify, we want them to apply, they can go to Carson.house.gov or give our office a call.

Again, that number is 317, 283 6516.

And then uh really the only other announcement I have before I turned it over to questions is that uh we do all sorts of different events throughout the community.

Um we have our next one coming up.

Uh we call these Congress on your corner.

They're basically like taking our office and making it mobile.

It's gonna be Wednesday, February the 25th from 10 a.m.

to noon.

We're gonna be uh over at our friend uh Annette Johnson's Pike Township trustee office.

Um so for anyone in Pike who wants to pay us a visit or needs uh casework assistance with a federal agency, uh you can find us on February the 25th at 10 a.m.

But that's everything for me.

I'm happy to take questions.

Um real quick, I wanted to ask if there are any changes or conversations going on about health benefits.

Yeah, it's hit a lot of people very hard.

Right.

Um, if you recall at the end of the year, the longest shutdown government history was about trying to extend uh uh tax uh credits for people who are on the Affordable Care Act.

Um that bill passed the House, um, but we had to go around House leadership to do it because they refused to bring a bill to the floor, so we simply got enough signatures on the bill.

I think it was like six members from the other side signed on.

So it was forced to a floor vote, and it passed, I think, with some pretty good margins, actually.

Um the Senate leader has refused to hear the bill.

So you can say it's dead on arrival in the Senate.

I think there's enough room if uh they could go around Senate leadership the same way as in the House.

I think the bill would pass, but that's unfortunate.

Um we're trying to explore different solutions to uh public health, but as you know, it's under attack right now.

So whether it's the Affordable Care Act or it's the NIH or uh Medicare, I mean a lot of changes are going through right now.

Um, so there isn't really the appetite from the administration to move forward with public health solutions, unfortunately.

For people that want to express their opinion either pro or con.

Right.

We're getting the bill heard in the Senate, what's the appropriate action to take?

I think you should call your senators, um, Senator Young and Senator Banks.

Um I don't think they've publicly supported the legislation, um, but I have not spoken to their staff about it.

Um but I mean I think some people get a little discouraged if you think your representative doesn't agree with you, you kind of just self-censor.

But it's your right as a citizen, you should call your representatives.

So absolutely call Senator uh banks and call Senator Young.

Does anybody have any questions or anything or any information they want to pass along to Senator Carson?

Sorry, representative Carson.

I know you're not the set representing our in the Senate, but uh you said dead on arrival, but it's not really dead until the end of the year.

Right.

Um so legislation in the Senate moves differently than it does in the House.

In the House, you can kind of force stuff through on a party blind vote.

In the Senate, typically legislation needs to advance by what's called unanimous consent.

And so that's why Senators are so powerful is that even if one of them objects, they can basically derail the bill.

And if you see that with the, I didn't mention it, the SAVE Act, the quote unquote election reform.

Uh of all people, Mitch McConnell is the one who's preventing it from getting to uh a hearing in a committee.

Um so basically, if you don't have all the senators on board with something, it's very difficult to advance it.

Um you can force it to go through a lengthy series of different uh hoops to jump through in the Senate, and then someone can filibuster it.

So you're really trying to find consensus on all legislation, and that's just simply this is a very contentious issue.

So it's not literally dead until some calendar.

Absolutely mark, right?

Absolutely or something.

We hear dead in the state house, and many cases that's true here locally, but yes, in Congress, every bill is alive until the end of session.

You know, it might be interesting sometime sometime because legislation moves differently through the state than it does through the federal government, and apparently it moves differently in the two houses.

Right.

If we could kind of get a synopsis of how does legislation move through at the federal level, if that's something you might consider doing.

Yeah, I'll go and I'll talk with my district director about it.

I mean, I'm no expert on how to move a bill through Congress, but um they gave me a four-hour training on it to try to tell you like so it depends how much time do you got to try and explain it.

Um but it is really fascinating process, and I wish more citizens watch C-SPAN because it's a lot of good content on there.

You know, and certainly when I say that, I want to make clear, although and I am so sorry, can I just call you Andre because I can't pronounce your last meeting?

Umre represents a democratic representative.

If there is someone from the other side of the aisle that wants to come and talk at McCann, they are absolutely welcome to do that.

Um we put Andra on the spot because he showed up.

Yeah, I know um I know Rep Shreve has a very tight operation down in Greenwood.

Um I think he has I think three staffers.

I'm sorry.

They don't answer the phone.

Yeah, I as I understand they have three people at the Greenwood office.

We have nine at our Indianapolis office, so it is just kind of uh I think their availability.

I know someone from Senator Young's office who used to uh come to these sorts of meetings, but now she's running for state senate.

So I I've been trying, believe you mean.

Well, and we appreciate your efforts.

It's just we want to make clear that we're not taking by asking you if you could do it, we're not taking political sides, it's more about who's available and will come.

Absolutely.

But I think I think understanding at least that high level um at the high level about how legislation moves through might be helpful to people.

Oh, yeah, totally.

I think citizens ought to know, or I mean, otherwise you're just reduced to calling people and hoping they do something.

Okay, all right.

Well, I know you have a hard stop here that you've got it.

Julie's got one more question for you.

Does any Carson have a position on any of the time?

Um his uh position right now would be the communities need to be heard.

Um, I think what we're seeing is uh a lack of balance where you you know, and this is typical in Indiana, where you have communities that want one thing, and we have perhaps the the business community that wants another, it's you know typically things when they're working right should be everyone's perspective getting heard.

And I think what we're seeing in Indiana is there's a lot of incentives that really benefit the business community right now.

I mean, uh, we kind of saw with some of these data centers, they can go up very quickly, and there's very little public engagement at times, and that is detriment of our communities.

We're an urban uh I mean we're the largest city in the state.

Um there are so many other places data centers could go besides perhaps the neighborhood.

Um, and if the neighbors don't want it, their voice should be heard as equally as the developer's voice should be heard.

So essentially the state has given too many incentives, um, I would think to uh to data centers right now, and the congressman's position is obviously people have power, you know, and they need to be heard a lot more than they are right now.

Can I just mention that um it's not just the state house at this point?

Um it appears very real to be the mayor.

Right.

And the uh it would be wonderful if the uh represent representative Carson would tell the mayor that because it it doesn't it looks like the mayor is um running things behind the scenes, and that is anti-democratic, and it's the worst case I've seen in the 30 some odd years I've been following city government here.

Yeah, and it's frustrating because at the federal level we don't really have much control over local land use policy, unfortunately.

I mean, we have a lot that we can say, but um, you know, it it's one of those things where we just try to bring home the bacon and hope it's spent right.

But he does have influence with the mayor, so yeah, and I I think in this situation, I mean, clearly it's it's it's quite a concern to so many of our neighbors.

We've got plenty of calls about it, and so he's heard your voice.

And uh obviously we need to uh uh reform how we're doing this development.

It can't just be thumb up.

I mean, we saw what happened with the warehouses during COVID, right?

Like they built so many warehouses and now they're vacant.

You know, I I think there's a lot of incentive in Indiana to build build build, and I think in recent years we've seen uh environmental legislation get pulled back, we've seen the ability of people to sue get taken back.

I mean, it's just I think it's kind of followed money on these sorts of things, and it's obvious what they're trying to do.

So yeah, I I'm happy to pass that along to them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, we have time we have time for one or something.

Um just from a standpoint of you, your office coming to the different individual community groups.

Um, we Nora, we keep a space open for you all on a comment and talk.

And if you're not, it would be great if you could say, Oh, we're we're gonna come in April.

Sure, we're gonna come in June.

Are you with the Nora at NCC?

Yes.

Okay, yeah.

I guess you guys is emails.

Yeah, so I understand you can't come to every meeting and we're I understand that, but there's a way that you can tell our president, okay.

I'm gonna this is kind of the schedule, right?

Probably come on June.

Yep.

That way, you know, we sort of have a sense of okay if we have questions for absolutely Carson, we sort of save them up.

Yeah, you know, if we want to talk.

I think I was last there in September.

I was pretty sure I didn't even know.

Yeah, yeah.

So I'm not I'm not not casting dispersion.

I'm just saying, yeah, hey, if that's possible, that'd be very useful for us.

Absolutely.

Yeah, thank you.

Your web address and phone number once again.

Our telephone number is 317-283-6516.

Okay.

Well, thank you very much.

And we'll let you get about your business.

We appreciate you coming with us.

Thank you.

Hopefully we'll see you again soon.

Yep, and I'll send you everything by email.

Okay.

Sharing with us.

Okay.

Um we're gonna um flip backwards now to find out if there's anybody that has announcements of upcoming meetings, hearings, um, or issues in your neighborhood that you want to make people aware of, keeping in mind that um the the airing on channels 16 and 28 is a little bit delayed, so something in the next week or so might not make it on the air, but we all want to know what's going on.

So anybody Pat?

I bet I know what you're gonna say.

I bet everybody I probably didn't have to say it.

So um Thursday, this Thursday, uh, February 26th is uh the data center hearing down in Decatur Township for the hearing examiner, one o'clock, city county building.

Um it appears um if the hearing goes forward that um we would be second on the agenda with a very short parks thing, you know how that will go.

Um so it's extremely important, and I'll let Jackie talk about Martin Dale Brightwood, but for the minute I'll combine the two.

It's extremely important that the um the neighbors do get heard, and solidarity around the county is um irreplaceable.

Um and it all indications are that the mayor has a heavy hand in this, which a is uh untoward to good government um and uh I'll get other words going through my head and I don't want to say them out loud.

But they are in church now.

It's um it's disheartening to see uh this kind of a jugger not being pushed when they don't even understand the spectrum of possibilities in a data center.

We have no law to uh assist the communities that are being targeted, and targeted is the right word because this uh any data center that is um allowed now before there is an ordinance in place, and we can go into more detail in a bit, um, are susceptible to unregulated uses because they'll be grandfathered in.

Okay, and we will talk a little more in depth in a few minutes, but if you could go ahead and repeat when and where and what you like people to do.

Well, Thursday um February 26th, one o'clock, city county building, public assembly room.

Um if folks can show up in solidarity, that would be really appreciated.

Um I know that they'll pay more attention to frankly letters from the community, and there have been quite a few.

Um but this can happen in anyone's neighborhood as long as the council doesn't put in a moratorium.

Uh people wanting to get in under the you know, under the wire of having any kind of backup uh legislat uh ordinance.

Do you off hand know what the case number and address is if people want to send a letter in?

Okay, the act the case number is 2005.

I'm sorry, 2025 dash C A P comma C V Right Five Six.

And it's various addresses.

Uh I want there's the number of RC.

If they have the case number, who should they direct it to?

Um it's Bryce dot Pat's P-A-T-Z at Indy.gov.

B-R Y C E dot P A T Z at Indy.gov.

Okay, we'll drop back into some more of the details and set a little in the agenda.

Is it Judy, whatever?

Words hall, yes.

Is she appointed by the mayor?

No, she's under contract.

Uh she's an attorney with a lot of experience in zoning matters.

So she's really she really is um by you know I don't want to pre assume what's gonna happen Thursday, but um I've been very impressed with the the way she um decides her her cases, and it's because she's steeped in what the ordinance is, what it means, how it functions.

Um it's not she's under contract with the city, and then there's a backup person for times when she can't make that um meeting date.

It's not giving words.

It is Judy Wurtz Hall.

Oh, I thought you were saying Holly's never mind.

Oh, I'm sorry, yeah.

Judy Wertzhall.

Yeah, she's under contract.

I think it's she's hired by the city to not apply.

You know, I technically it's CMDC, but you know how that's functions are actually administered administered through DMD.

So I don't know technically who exactly is giving giving a contract to her, but she is under contract with the city.

I think my question is do you feel like she's behold to the mayor?

Okay, I think this is a discussion we can have later because we're still kind of doing announcements.

So we can talk about that in a little while.

Um, anything else anybody wants to announce?

Yes, Jackie.

Just want to announce that uh Martin Del Brightwood will be going before the City County Council March the 4th.

The MDC, I'm sorry, thank you.

Oh, for their hearing.

Seven, what time?

That was in the evening.

No, still MDC Council.

The MDC.

So it's one o'clock.

Yes.

What's that again?

What day?

Um Wednesday, the 4th of March.

Okay, Jim.

No, sorry.

Okay.

If that then we are going to um Delia Novak is the representative for the mayor's neighborhood advocate today.

I'll give a little plug.

Daily happens to be the um Mayor's neighborhood advocate for my neighborhood, and um she has been very effective.

Um I know that there have been different levels of success that neighborhoods have had with MNAs, and we were very glad to see Delia come to us.

Um, I don't know how she covers what she covers, but she's she's been very effective and responsive, and we're very happy to have her with us this morning.

So, Delia, with that, what do you have?

You can either come up here where the microphone is, which is what we'd like.

Okay, yeah.

Um, so again, hi everybody, I'm Dillian O'Back as an MA.

I represent Area 3, which is most of Perry and Franklin Township, southeast corner of the city county.

I've got a few kind of round robin city agency updates to give you today, um, but then I'll stick around for the duration of the meeting.

And if anyone has general city questions, happy to discuss those.

First thing on the Indy Parks front, it's just a reminder that day camp registration and summer jobs are open, so they've got hourly summer jobs and some full-time positions open if you know anybody that is looking for something to do this summer.

With D DNS Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, they are going to be hosting new quarterly webinars on department updates with public QA.

The first webinar of this like new series is going to be on Wednesday, February 25th from 11 30 to 1 p.m.

And the focus is on accelerated review in the streamline ND permit program.

So we think the audience for that is primarily kind of developers contractors, but again, open to the public if you want to know more about D DNS protocols.

Highly recommend signing up for those online webinars.

And those are all on indie.gov as well.

Also, reminder for DBNS as we're approaching construction season, is to use the new online tool dot maps that the city released last year.

So if you go to road closures.gov, it pulls up a map of the city county, and you can see all permitted work happening in the right-of-way on that map.

You can search by address or intersection, but that's a great way to find out if there's a Department of Public Works construction project on a road near you, or like right now.

I know in Franklin Township, we're seeing a ton of fiber optic installation.

You can see the little pinpoints where permits have been pulled to do that work.

And you would be able to do that.

Yes.

Road closures.gov is the short address.

Um next from animal care services, just a reminder that the brand new animal shelter will finally be opening this spring.

I believe they're hoping to get animals in there in the end of March or April, and that building will be open to the public in May.

It's at Emerson and Raymond on the south side.

And it from the pictures I've seen looks beautiful, and will I think more than double the capacity of the existing animal shelter.

Next, Office of Public Health and Safety reminder that the city's winter contingency emergency shelter program is running through March 31st.

So we do have overnight shelters available if you know someone that needs emergency places to sleep or kind of emergency temporary housing through the coldest part of the year.

We've got two shelters operating for that on the west side, and then work with additional community partners to find other beds in other parts of the city.

Then IMPD, we have officially welcomed our new chief Tanya Terry to the police department.

She will be at a coffee with the cop session on the west side on Tuesday, February 24th at 1030 a.m.

That location is the NEST Event Center at 2108 West Michigan Street.

But Chief Terry and other IMP command staff will be there if anybody wants to chat with her or their team about new leadership with IMPD.

This week you may have seen in the news that IMPD also released their new five-year strategic plan from 2026 to 2031.

I think the main priorities of that are officer training and data transparency, which kind of builds on the transparency hub that they launched online in December for you to view different accent and crime reports and like officer training information.

So that's fully online on Indie.gov.

If anyone wants to review that strategic plan, and then last thing are just two community partner reminders.

IndieGo is now running their food and transit program year round.

It used to be just in the summer, but now it's 12 months out of the year on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at the Carson Transit Center.

You can get meals and food ingredients completely for free from 3 30 to 4 30.

And spring cleanup schedules open with keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

So just to plug if anybody wants to do a beautification or cleanup project in their neighborhood.

I believe all their April Saturdays are booked with the Packer Trucks, but that program runs through October if anybody has a project they want to do.

That's all I have.

Does anybody have questions, comments for the city?

Are those um webinars gonna be posted permanently after they're done after they're live?

Probably, I don't know for sure.

I'll send that information to Kathy.

I assume they'll be recorded and posted on the DBNS Indy.gov page, but I'll confirm that.

A good topic would be um code enforcement.

I'm sure that will be one of the upcoming or lack thereof.

Can you read about the food pantry?

You were yes, sorry, I speak a little bit quickly.

Indigo has a program called Food in Transit that is a partnership with Second Helpings where they provide free produce and different kinds of groceries at the Carson Transit Center twice a month.

It's on the second Tuesday and the fourth Thursday, I believe, from approximately 3 30 to 5 o'clock.

I know that the food does run out pretty quickly, so it's advised to get there as close to 3 30 if you can.

And are there any particular qualifiers for people to receive that food?

No, totally free and totally first come first serve.

You don't need ID income verification or anything like that.

Does the city have any?

I've heard in places that they'll have a bus or a van or whatever, something large that brings produce to neighborhoods on the schedule.

Yes, that's usually administered through the Office of Public Health and Safety's division of community nutrition and food policy.

So they have their own food team.

We haven't done any yet in 2026, but they often do like several times a month.

They call them food distribution events with OPHS at tons of different places around the county.

I know they always post information about that on social media, and it's on the OPHS's page on Indie.gov Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy again is where that homepage would be.

But I know I know that's a mouthful.

I I don't know if local news covers that or not.

Um, and again, they haven't done any in 2026 yet, to my knowledge.

Diana?

So I wanted to pay you back real quickly on keeping the napules beautiful spring cleanup efforts.

So if any neighborhood cannot get in with KIB, they can always call the Marion County Public Health Department and speak with our environmental health safety and management office.

We have a tool loan program.

If we can help you clean up during your spring cleanup time, if you tell us where you're going to put all the waste, we actually will come and pick it up and dispose it for you.

So if KIB is full, just give us a call.

And that number is 317 221596.

I wanted to ask, um, there has in the last couple of years been a substantial percentage of turnover in department heads, and it is difficult for the community to keep up with who's in charge of what is there a way that we can get a list of who the current department heads are.

I can send you that myself.

Okay.

I don't know if that information is consolidated on the city website.

That would certainly be a good thing for us to do that.

And the the subdepartment that you just talked about that was health and nutrition.

I had no idea that ain't even existed.

Yeah, I mean, they're a small team, but that is a really important community event when they provide those um groceries to people.

I don't think that the website actually mentions who the director of you you punch in for DMD, for instance.

It doesn't say the director, it doesn't say who the various um heads of the staff are listed on the staff.

Well, certainly not all the staff, not that none of the administrators are used way back when before it was updated, it used to give that list, which was handy.

Absolutely.

I will I'll Kathy, I'll send you a direct list of all the current department leadership, and then I'll see if that exists somewhere else.

I agree that that should be on the website.

So we'll try to make that okay.

Any other questions, comments, feedback for Delia?

Okay.

Oh, do you have any idea when Decay's actually going to get from they I know they're interviewing for the Area 4 MA right now?

So I would hope they can't be at the end of them.

Oh, you can't right now.

All right, I'll be here till the end if anyone wants to talk one on one.

Okay, thank you.

Um, Dana, since you're with us this morning, any updates or information from Marion County Health Department?

Um, let's see.

I guess the the best thing I can tell you is that we're still working on our new building that is facing 38th Street that will house our lab and our vital records department and maybe another smaller department.

But the big news for the community is that we will have community rooms that will be available should you want to hold uh meetings in that building.

We're looking for an opening date in September.

We hope to get it open in September, and maybe early October, but we're moving as quickly as we can.

That's the big thing.

Are the meetings room for each community?

Oh, yes, absolutely.

Absolutely.

And are they available in the evenings?

Yes.

Yes, they'll they will be available in the evenings.

That's how we did our first floor conference room in our Hasbrook building, but it was becoming too small.

Um, and we had a lot of um requests to use that room.

So the room will not only be bigger, but I think there are at least two community rooms in the building.

Do you know that yet?

I don't know that yet.

But in the past, um, usually we had groups that would schedule that that room months out, like they would always have a meeting, let's say every second Thursday of the month or something like that.

So you'll be able to do that again.

Okay, thank you.

And are you going to retain the old building or is it a complete?

Oh, yeah, we're retaining the old building, and that building is scheduled to undergo a two-year renovation.

Oh, those of us that are in there right now, we're trying to figure out where we're going, right?

So to out on the sidewalk.

No, please don't.

And it's really difficult because the whole work from home movement, it doesn't really work a lot for the health department because we need to collaborate a lot.

And we kind of like each other too.

So it's kind of hard to do that.

So just watch the news, you'll hear a lot happening.

And but the building looks beautiful if you passed it, and they're doing a great job.

Our facilities department is doing a great job getting that building together.

Well, that's good to hear.

I know it is always a challenge for community groups to find places to meet.

Um I know our specifically got Franklin Township, we have a building that used to be our old library.

Um, and when we acquired it, one of the um commitments that we made to the library board at the time was that we would provide pre-meeting space to to community Franklin Township community groups, and it is booked so heavily that sometimes we have to look for a place to have our own meetings.

So, you know, I would certainly make a uh plea to buildings and groups that might have access to large meeting rooms to consider making them available to to groups to meet.

You know, that's what North United Methodist does from Canada here, but it's getting harder and harder for groups like that.

And I understand it, you know, there are utilities that you have to pay in, and maybe pay times they have to have custodians present.

Um there's insurance Japan, I get that maintaining a pre-community meeting space is not always an easy thing, but it is becoming more and more necessary.

Well, we're a public entity, we're here to serve the public.

That's what public health does.

Oh, we absolutely appreciate it.

Um we're gonna do our best to be able to be available.

And we'll we have on-site security, so what I normally do is I let them know who's coming because right now at the Hasbrook building, you have to sign in and out.

I will go downstairs and say, there's a meeting, we're going to have it on the sixth-floor conference room, and they'll say, Thank you for letting me know.

And because this is another group, but that room is so small, I'm just gonna warn you now.

Um so when they know that they're coming, they just let them up, they know what to do, they sign out, and they leave.

And I think that this will probably work the same way.

There'll be a security guard there, and my if I can remember the plans correctly, these rooms are on the lower level, so there's no going upstairs or all that.

We're trying to make it user-friendly.

We want to serve the public.

Well, and I want to extend the invitation again for Dr.

Kane to come back again sometime.

Unfortunately, I didn't miss it when she was here the last time I was ill, but um, we always enjoy hearing from the health department.

Have you guys been able to cope with the reduction in funding and figure out how to keep doing what you're doing?

So far, that's all I can say.

So far for you.

So far, it's it's been tough.

Um but you know, Dr.

Kane's philosophy often is we get calls that for services that we don't provide, and some way or another, we either help the individual find who does, or we do it some way or another, we figure it out.

So the Bureau of Environmental Health, which is the Bureau I'm over, we haven't been impacted too badly right now.

What we're getting calls about are things like um uh EPA's endangerment policy that they got rid of.

So now what are we going to do about the air?

And we don't really do air monitoring, and so we're concerned going forward with how we're going to help with those types of issues because I don't believe the city is doing air monitoring on a regular basis, and then I did we can't really get them to answer our phones a lot, but I know that there's some really good staff there, but we don't know what they're being told to say or do.

It's just difficult environmentally all around.

But getting back to the health department, yes.

We we're doing okay.

We're doing okay.

That is good to hear.

Okay, um, if there are no other announcements, then we are going to go on to um I'm gonna flip the agenda a little bit.

Um last year, McCannna began talking about um a program that we named Neighborhoods SOS that's saving our strength, where um communities could identify some very specific issues that they wanted to see support from communities or neighborhoods across Marion County.

Um, and there's a form over on the table there, and I think I have it in a format now where I can put it on our Facebook page.

If there is a specific issue going on in your neighborhood, a zoning issue, uh health issue, a public safety issue, uh traffic issue, whatever, um, that you haven't been able to get any traction with getting it resolved, um, you can ask McCannna to pick it as one of our neighborhood SOS initiatives.

Um, and what we will do then is pick two days in a month where we ask neighborhoods from all across Marion County to weigh in, so to speak, um, to say, you know, this neighborhood has had tried.

I'm gonna go back to that alley behind the post office on Sherman Drive, it just seems to never ever get repaved, and they have tried every avenue, but for everybody to weigh in on the same day by contacting their city county councilmen, sometimes their state legislators to say, please pay attention to this neighborhood so that we can lend our voices to each other and show support to each other to try and get some of these issues dealt with and off the table.

And call the mayor's action.

Call the mayor's action center, in other words, a contact blitz, and I realize that sometimes that overwhelms the legislators that we have elected, um, but it is sometimes necessary in order to get their attention.

And so um we were James Whitfield submitted the first one that we have, um and I will be getting the information out on how on who to contact and when that is for neighborhoods to be more engaged and reached out, reached out to that's probably very poor English, but um, with the impact that converting the one-way streets to two-way streets will have on the neighborhoods downtown and whether or not the citizens have been able to participate, express their concerns, share their ideas before all the decisions are final, and some of those decisions I realize may have already been made.

Um so what James is asking is that at least neighborhoods have the opportunity to be more engaged and meet with the officials and that are making the decisions about how this is all going to work.

Um so that is the first one that has been submitted, and then we will also have one for the post office on Sherman Drive that has the alley behind it with the access to the post office and the library.

So if there is an issue in your neighborhood that you have not been able to get attention for, you know, a wooded lot that needs to be saved, an intersection that needs to have additional traffic controls.

Um there have been several mentioned, especially in the downtown neighborhoods, where you just can't get anything moving forward of code enforcement issue that has been languishing and lingering for a long period of time.

Um there are some forms up there, and you can ask for support from your neighbors from across Marion County.

Um, and let's see if we can build the momentum and the number of voices that are speaking up that are saying we need you to pay attention to this and not just acknowledge that it exists but help us find solutions to it.

Um I remember very distinctly one time when I was a kid at a Thanksgiving family Thanksgiving, where the kids are getting a little um impatient perhaps with the the length of the prayers before the meal, and I don't even remember who it was.

One of my cousins said talk talk talk.

When do we eat?

And that is kind of where the neighborhoods are in a lot of issues where it's been acknowledged that it's a problem, but nothing happens to change it, and we need to figure out how to affect that change.

So again, it's called neighborhoods, and it's and the SOS stands for sharing our strengths.

I'm gonna encourage all of you to try and participate, and when the information comes up on Facebook, make use of that information, share it with anybody that you want to to try and get some of this stuff off the table because we all need to eat.

Um, with that, then we are going to go back to the neighborhood kind of round table.

And I'm sorry that the glasses are coming on and up getting old.

What can I say?

Um, there are several issues that are on the table currently, and if you got the email, which went out late, and I apologize for that.

Um, it seems a lot to center around the issue of data centers.

Um there are currently, as I understand it, two living zoning petitions in Marion County, um, one in Decatur Township, one in Martindale Brightwood, the one in Pike Township was withdrawn, as was the one in Franklin Township at the end of last year.

But if you look at what's going on at the city level, the state level, even the federal level, it is clear that data centers are being welcomed and encouraged in many communities that may not be ready for them, may not know how to deal with them.

Marion County is certainly one of them.

So I want to deal with the two specific ones that we have currently with updates on where they stand.

Um, I will tell you that both Martindale Brightwood and Decatur Township McCannna has taken a position to oppose both of those.

Um Martin Dale Brightwood already had its initial hearing before the hearing examiner.

And Jackie, I'm gonna ask if you would give us an update on where things stand with that.

Well the petitioner got approved.

Um but we are appealing, and we have sent our appeal documents in.

And so we meet on December on March the 4th.

Um that's how we will be addressing it from appeal perspective.

And um at this point, do you feel that additional support from other neighborhoods would be a benefit?

Absolutely, absolutely.

Uh, the more people involved, the better.

Um, I know it's gotten that that case has gotten a lot of coverage in the press.

Right.

And if I understand it correctly, mirror ending, which is the online news platform is doing some kind of a community thing on February the 23rd.

24th.

Um chat and two.

Is that is that an online no it's in person?

Yeah, it's in person.

Is that part um sorry?

I don't have I don't have a smartphone, so I can't look it up while we're talking.

Yes, 8 and 16 tech, yeah.

The hands on the nearby site.

And where is 16 tech?

I mean, I know where it is, but other people should.

It's like waterway and boulevard um just moved just south of 16th Street, but I don't know what the other cross would be.

I think the information is probably available.

I saw it on their online payments, you know, mirror ending.org, I think it's dot org.

It is dot org.org, okay.

And that's a community meeting about data data centers, I think.

In general, I know that there's a group from Decatur Township, I think that's going to be there to talk about data centers.

Yeah, Alice and somebody do you know her?

All the books will be presenting at that in that forum.

Yeah.

They asked me to go.

Yeah, I know her name.

Um, so that was going to be appealed, and then if it if the MDC approves, do you know whether or not you're going to be able to appeal it to the council, or do you have the support to do that?

Yes.

We will be appealing to the council.

Um Paul Brooks has taken the lead on this project with us, and um, just based on what we've been collaborating on.

We're not going to stop, we're just going to take it to where we need to take it to to have this issue addressed because we want we want to pull down, we want that thrown out.

We don't want the data senate and Martin Del Bright.

Do you have a city county council that's agreed to call it down?

Um Jesse.

Jesse Brown.

Can he do it?

No.

He's not your guy.

Right.

And the one guy is the one that's promoting.

Right.

Ron Gibson, he's the one that's promoting it.

Right.

And you should be the recall petition against Gibson.

There isn't any.

I don't think correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think there's anything in law or statute that says a counselor from outside the district cannot call it down.

I think their kind of gentleman's agreement policy is it's usually the district counselor.

There's a urban forest uh activities where another council from another area called down something because the counselor for who was in where the forest was located, wanted to cut down the forest, so they were we were able to get other counselors to speak for that activity.

I said there was an urban forest um redevelopment program a couple years ago where another counselor who was outside of that region where the forest was called it down so that it would be stopped.

So I don't think that you would have to have.

But I I can think of another example where that where you can have somebody else call it down.

Okay, but like as was mentioned, it's not looked upon favorably, you know, it's kind of contentious thing to do, you know.

So I can confirm that with council staff too procedurally.

I don't because I know as written it is the district counselor who has that authority, but I don't think there is a written prohibition on other counselors from doing so.

But I can get I'll get that information from council so if if councillor Gibson declines to call it down, councilor Brown would well we have not asked him yet, but okay.

He would be the person to go to because he's he's a very huge support of what the community wants.

Okay.

Okay, so again, March the 4th is when it's going to be heard at the MVC, which is downtown in the city county building at one o'clock.

Um, where they're going they'll go through the whole presentation again.

Okay, Pat, we're talking about Decatur Township.

Whose hearing is coming up this Thursday.

Thursday, Thursday.

Um yeah, we're in the position that should be ominous to other neighborhoods in Marion County, and that the um the petitioners filed a variance of use on a hundred and thirty two acres.

So this variance of use um precludes us, denies us um any ability to go to the city county council because a variance stops with a decision of the NBC.

So that means that the next step is court rather than our elected officials.

We have an elected official who um is playing both sides, trying to pretend he's protecting us by coming up with commitments and will support the petition, uh, even though the uh community has made it plain that just absolutely opposed to this, and he should be fighting with us, um not against us.

Um we had a civic council meeting.

We're civic council does not have a board structure, members vote.

So uh we had uh a meeting and discussed the data center.

The petitioners lawyer was there, presented their thing.

Um and the vote was two to support and 95 to oppose.

I mean that gives you the sense, and and that's you know the sort of ratio you feel when you're out in the community as well.

So it's highly unwanted.

Um we also have an issue where we are zoned, but uh the community just barely supported the zoning that's on the ground now, and the reason we did was because um it would be like an RD type park with limited uses that are targeted industries in the state of Indiana at a certain year, and um it would provide thousands of jobs.

So we're being asked to trade thousands of jobs, which would entail you know, entry-level jobs and career level jobs for a hundred, maybe a hundred jobs, permanent jobs at a data center.

Um plus we'll probably get into all the other issues that come with data centers.

Um our case should be a canary in the coal mine for other communities because if this is successful, whatever reason, whether through its merits or through the fix being in, um, then this same approach, I assume will be used by everybody to get it through to avoid the city county council.

Whether your counselor is actually in favor or opposed to it, uh they will never get to the council for so then you know you're denied, your community is denied a vital piece of any zoning structure.

So whatever different this works, any I2 land is in danger.

Um that's what they're well, you can ask for a variance of use from anything.

It can be zoned residential and they could ask for the organs of use.

Yeah, the variance of use it doesn't have to lose anything, I don't think you might have a better argument when you go to the hearing.

But I think this I'm just gonna say it.

I know it's on camera, but the sense for the Franklin Touches, the sense for the Pike Township, the sense for the Martinville Brightwood, the sense for Decatur Township is that the fix is in, that it's being driven by the mayor of Indianapolis who is not interested in meeting with his constituents to talk about the issue and see why people are so opposed to these uh coming into their neighborhoods.

Um every time you ask.

So on his thing, it's up to the industry.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, that's where the fix comes in.

It's some conversation on the phone or whatever.

So you could have a res, like Kathy said, it's there's no law against having a residential area and having a variance of use for something that's different.

But let me take a point.

We have a very we have one parcel that's a D5, and it has a variance of use.

Um it's it's maybe a quarter of an acre, half an acre.

They have a variance of use for commercial um uh little store.

So it is possible, but usually it is in small spots, and it's an added um uh use, not taking over all of the uses other that are otherwise allowed.

So if this formula works, the data center lawyers are more than likely going to be going this route because the what happened to the council with Franklin Township was exhibit a what you don't want to have to deal with.

And if they can preclude that, um I don't know why they wouldn't.

So it doesn't have to be zoned I2.

Um both of our parcels are happening to be zoned I2s.

Um but uh is here we have I don't I don't know how much you want to so many things that keep going all stocking on here.

We have a point in time where the administrator for current planning has written his document saying that there is no place in our ordinance that resembles anywhere near what a data center is.

There's just no place to plug it in.

And that very fact leaves the community without its structure to argue whether pro or con this fits.

So you have in 15 minutes, you have the petitioner saying, oh yeah, this is great.

See, that's they're Nimbeing, this is it's really there's no ripples at all from this stuff.

And then you've got 15 minutes where petitions are trying to make the case that these data centers are quite disruptive, especially when they're clunked down in neighborhoods.

So in 15 minutes, your whole community is at risk because we have nothing in our ordinance.

You know, the whole Marion County from any more of these while they get the ordinance together.

And once we have an ordinance, then we'll have some kind, it'll be publicly you can come, we'll be able to comment on and help fashion it, and hopefully what comes out the other end is something that has common agreement that hey, that's not a bad compromise.

You know, you may not agree with everything in the final ordinance, but at least there will be an ordinance.

Yeah, so you know, you're sitting there saying 15 minutes.

How do you you've been the steep learning curve about uh data centers, and perhaps we can have one whole meeting on what is a data center?

So um, but the steep learning curve, and how on earth are the decision makers, are they preparing?

Are they reading all the things that you have to read?

Are they dissecting how the size of a data center impacts and how close a neighbor really should be until an ordinance comes out?

Once the ordinance is out, you have uh an idea of where they should or shouldn't be placed.

Well, did you attend that environmental whatever committee meeting?

Because it's it felt like there that they were, but that's just a committee.

But it is not the law yet, right?

And but I I did like their direction.

City of Indianapolis, when it wants to know exactly how to do a great public process for input on changes to the ordinance.

The sign ordinance would be a case in point, and um so I think there are people who have serious information that they can uh convey and uh care about the issue and impact on the community.

So that's good.

The trouble is right now we're in the wild wild west.

And it happens that there were four communities that went through hell, yes, thank you.

And you put it well, and then um what how many more?

How long will it take to come out with a final ordinance?

And that's where a moratorium has totally called for until uh because the staff inside the city hall has got to get up on top of this steep learning curve about what is a data center, um, and what are the ramifications because there are a lot of ramifications, and it's it's been it's like um they the data centers of our past, like the old Amazon where you have your website or you have um your uh what you you um that you call you um order your stuff from keep coming with Amazon, I don't know why I've got a block, but they they're fairly small, relatively small, and it's just all of a sudden when they got to the AI that's required so many servers and so powerful um chips that these untoward impacts have really become noticeable, and people are rising up not just for no reason across the country about data centers because they've they've leaped into something different.

The old data center is a different beast than the new data center, and um we are have been unprepared to make that meeting.

Some of them are laughing in our face.

Who's laughing in our face?

Representative Saladay up in the region.

He said that the rhetoric has gotten out of hand, the people don't know what they're talking about, and this is good for Indiana, and we should settle down.

And I'm like, you gotta go.

Well, the he's probably not investigated it too far then.

Okay, could we back up for just a minute because we are going to talk more about data centers in general in a minute, but we need to make sure that we've got all the specific information out about the Decatur County.

Yeah, um, it's the the critical aspects from our perspective is the fix in.

I think that's a real question that this point.

That's not even a question.

Well, I think it has to be a question.

Um things we saw happen in that process where people met with people that was totally outside the view of the public.

Yeah, um, so from our perspective, it is the fix to this variance approach.

I've never seen a variance approach on a hundred.

We have a lot of hundred plus acre zonings.

Never saw a variance of use that subsumes the entire parcel as well.

It's not an added little thing in the corner that you might, you know, maybe for a gas station suddenly, you know.

But the I've never seen that happen.

I've never seen staff take a position on modifying commitments that they had nothing to do with.

And they are they are standing by the data center people's request to modify the commitments that protect our dog community.

So can you give a little more specifically with the Cater Township?

We did have a land use meeting last month where we talked about some specifics, but for people to know the variances that you're referencing exactly what they are for Decatur Township, and then we're going to go back to the general discussion about data center.

The land is zoned I2, light industrial.

They have a variance because parking is determined in the city by square footage of your buildings.

They have a million plus square feet proposed.

And so they would have a lot more parking spaces required than they will have employees to use.

So they've requested a variance of use, a variance, sorry.

708 development stands.

So they're to drop it, the number of required parking spaces.

They have another variance for development standards to it for those of you who in your we hours, you read the coordinates.

Here it has two components.

So they have a request for variance of development standards to allow the outdoor storage and operations, which is the diesel and diesel powered generators, to be within 500 feet of protected district.

And it's a kind of a triangular shape, and then on the north side, it has another protected district.

So but they want to be able to encroach within that to down to 200 feet from a 500 feet requirement.

So that calls that if it was an I-4, they would not have to have that variance.

There's another variance similarly placed about outdoor storage and operations that dictates the percentage of the floor space that could be outside.

You know, your how your building is 100 square feet.

You can, if you're an I2, you can have 25 square feet outside, 25% of the gross floor.

They are asking, not for they want to change it from 25% around one building, they wanted 120%, and around the other building, they want 160%.

So it's all flamboyant.

That's all for the generators.

Well, there'll be water towers, generators, mostly it's generators on the footprint outside.

And isn't there a requirement for the fact that that's all supposed to be on the interior of your development?

Oh no, I don't believe so.

Um you point that out to me later.

Okay.

I think that's a proposal.

There is in some ordinances, but not ours.

Okay.

So is so those are the um building height?

Oh no, they have because we're near the airport.

The airport has a graphic computer program where they look at the height of structures somewhere anywhere around where planes might be landing or coming in.

So they have to get a variance from the um the air space, something something and the this is a good one too.

The air space um says that it should be no taller than 50 feet.

Right now, the current um commitments on the ground say 44 or 42 feet, which is what we negotiated.

So 50 feet is the limit, and um they want to go up to 75 feet, and the airport signed off.

The airport is now with the FAA.

The airport is now with the FAA, so they you know they have a commitment, they won't pull a permit until the FAA says, Yeah, that's fine.

So, anyway, uh there's that one.

That's for both buildings.

One building they want 75, the other they want 50.

So that's that one.

Now the big kahuna is includes stuff on top of the house.

That's all the stuff on top, yeah.

And our commitment for 42 to 44 feet includes all the stuff on top.

So then the big one is the variance of use, and so they are requesting that all of the uses that are allowed on this 132 um acres be put aside and a data center use, which is undefined in our ordinance, plunked down on the 132 acres.

And if the data center doesn't come in, then the uses that are allowed right now would still would be um back on top.

And are they saying if the data center doesn't come in that the number of parking that the reduced parking spaces would have to be elevated back up to the number?

So that's that would if you had a large building there that was unused, it they would have to go through another process in order to convert it to have the proper number of parking spaces for potential employees.

I see you've been at this a while, yes.

Even if the data center does come, these commitments would stay, the 75 feet in all.

Yeah, variances go over the ground just like um zoning goes on the ground.

Um they've not limited any anything.

Um they've made us strange, um, and I think it's because the you know, variants of use uh really ought not be to take over an entire parcel.

If you have to have those kinds of variants, caveat where it's a default position as a compared with those kinds of variances and that number of variances that warrants a rezoning.

Yes, you know, how can they do that?

Because there's no category for a data center.

He said his choice number two was to go for CS zoning.

They were given two choices by the administrator.

One is to go for CS, which is the same, I assume the same offer or not offer, the same letter was sent to everyone.

Uh so every uh the other three have all gone for the CS, in which you define what you're doing, which is at least one step for, you know.

I don't want to put anybody under the bus, but you know, it is one step forward.

Um, but uh to take something that's totally undefined and say it's now a use here, and it's it's never going to be defined because they'll be grandfathered in before an ordinance takes effect.

So um, yeah, what so if so if people were going to send in a letter or an email opposing it in support of Decatur Township's position, it would be that the a CF zoning would be more appropriate that they need to wait until an ordinance is enacted by this count committee of the council and then we asked that they withdraw their petition until such time as there is uh a description in the ordinance, and and they've declined to do that.

Um I think top tier is j jobs.

We would have thought tooth and nail if this wasn't the commitments weren't to have something in the this the form of an RD park there, and it's called a Decatur Technology Park by commitment as well.

So the jobs our community needs those jobs, and they'd be good jobs, not you know, we've got a one person an acre kind of jobs in the in the Miraplex.

Um so we need those jobs.

That's really important.

Um the commitments should not be modified because the the the benefit to the community is only going down if we remove all those jobs.

So there's the jobs, they're gonna store a million gallons of diesel on site, uh houses across the street, houses right next door.

200 feet, 200 feet.

These diesel and these engines, these uh generators, they were designed originally to propel ships at sea and locomotives.

They are huge, they're 20-cylinder, which means a lot to my husband and not so much to me, but it's you know, big, you know, over 5,000 horsepower, each one of them, and there's a hundred and sixteen of them, and these are right next to homes.

I mean, and staff is supporting it.

So I don't know, you know, the community at large, what we're you guys faced it, you're facing it, yeah, we're gonna face it, is now our realistic thing is to look long term, it is to court, where the community now has to come up with a whole bunch of money instead of being able to petition its own government for fair treatment, we will have to go to court to get fair treatment, and uh that's that's disheartening, you know.

Kathy's I don't know which one is started earlier, but I've been at you know, here I've been with the civic council for for 30 years in the land use committee, and I've never seen anything like this.

It's such an anomalous um what's the upside?

It's an upside down uh unicorn, you know, it's an evil unicorn, but it doesn't it doesn't make sense to be proceeding when you don't have any idea what a data center is to begin with.

There's no definition, the ordinance will talk about, but it's gonna have to um deal with the fact that there's teeny weeny little data centers that and then there's really big you know meta what multi-gigabyte gigabyte um gigawatt, you know.

So um the ordinance is gonna have to struggle with how to deal with that spectrum, and yet we're being left out here, and Martin Dale Brightwood's being left out here, blowing in the wind, right, and without the support of our government to say, hey, hey, hey, okay, let's have something reasonable in place so these people aren't sacrificial lamps, flush down the toilet, and they have to deal with this that may be a very untoward neighbor that with no rules in the in place uh for the operation of that.

Is there any path toward getting the city to pay for the fact that you need an attorney?

Well, no, but we don't have to say this is ridiculous, the people should not have to be able to do that.

Well, you're you're um you're suing the city, actually.

Right so I think they can't pay without both sides.

Wouldn't that be awesome if we could get them to pay?

Well, they can't defend themselves and pay for their opposition at the same time.

That's the same.

Yeah, but if the MDC or even ultimately the council were to approve it, well, it won't be on a council at this point.

The only alternative is to file a court case, in which case you're not suing the petitioner, you're suing the city.

Yes, right.

Yeah, the petition is not Scott Fruit.

They're waiting.

That happens all the time.

It's just that it's not usually at the scale, usually it's good, you know.

Okay, well, let's wind this back, like I said, we need to talk about data centers in general, but to to talk about the decatur township hearing that's coming up, and then one in Martin Dale Brightwood.

Jobs, I think is really important, not to lose sight of what's on the ground and the promise that that it is for the community.

Um the unfairness of going for a variance of use, uh, so that it precludes us uh being able to petition our elected officials to stand with us.

Um so those are probably the two largest.

If you just want to, you know, there's a laundry list of really important reasons to oppose this, but those two would um be succinct and hit a lot of topics, and ultimately, even if the ground, even if there were an ordinance in place that defined data centers and established standards, um, if uh if a petitioner is seeking that number of variances, substantial variances on such a large parcel, it would re it would warrant rezoning as opposed to variances.

The use of variances needs to be pretty judicious, and to be honest, in Marion County, most of the variances that are granted don't meet the five statutes that you're supposed to meet about hardships and you know, even Franklin Township, we've supported ones that didn't meet all five statutes, but not on a parcel of ground this large.

And this doesn't mean any of them.

And this is what I don't feel like this meets any of the five.

Well, there is to me, there is nothing about that property where you can demonstrate a hardship or other that precludes development if the variance isn't allowed.

Staff argued otherwise.

Okay.

Okay.

I haven't read the staff report.

It just came up.

So to kind of cap the discussion on those two specific petitions, the Decatur Township petition comes up on Thursday, the 26th, and for in front of the hearing examiner.

Martin Dale Brightwood comes up in front of the MVC on March the 4th that appealed the recommendation of the Green Examiner.

Right.

The difference between the two is in Martin Dale Brightwood, they're going for CS.

Yes.

And here it's the well, there are attributes of the ground that the neighbors have had to deal with you know surrounding it, it's contaminated.

But the difference in why they can pull it down and you can't.

Oh, yes.

They're a rezoning.

Yes, dear.

Because uh variance never goes to the council.

Even if it's a variance of use, which might need changing.

That cost is changing.

Because you are basically rezoning the ground.

Yes, you know.

Maybe you need to take that tact.

Maybe that.

This is not this does not belong as a variance, this belongs as a rezoning.

Maybe and therefore get the commission involved.

So that leads us then to the discussion.

McCannna has in the past um established general policy positions on different topics.

Um the billboards, the digital billboards, um, the idea of selling liquor out of gas stations.

Um there have been some others.

I think one had to do with the number of park rangers that were available to the parks department and whose jurisdiction those the park rangers should fall under.

Um we have been asked about taking a general policy decision about data centers.

We are kind of in the same position in that there is no policy currently that the city has that specifically governs data centers, and so what I would ask McCannna to consider at this point is a request that the that there be a moratorium declared on data centers, establishing new data centers, until the city county council committee that has been established has an opportunity to get an ordinance in place.

I remember a long time ago when cell towers were there was no ordinance for cell towers because they weren't a thing.

When they when they became a thing, there was a committee that met for several months to establish that ordinance that included city planners, elected officials, representatives from the cell phone industry, and neighborhood representatives that all worked together to come up with a set of standards for cell towers, which compared to the size of and potential impact of the data centers, seems relatively small, and it took several months to do that.

There was that much attention paid to looking at all of the information and deciding how tall they could be and where they should be placed.

So there should be no less effort and time spent looking at the potential impact of the data centers.

So this rush to get the data centers done seems ill-thought.

Indianapolis Marion County cannot be the only municipal municipality that is encountering this right now.

Oh, absolutely.

Are there other cities in either the same position or are there other cities that have already solved the problem that we can go to?

There are currently six counties in Indiana, I believe, that have declared moratoriums until they can give the whole issue some more thought.

You know, all of us, even those of even those people who do not use the internet religiously.

I think of my own mother who doesn't own a computer, um, are impacted by the services that these big data centers provide.

You know, they that is where everything is stored, whether you agree with it or not, you know.

If you are banking, if you are in the if you are experiencing health issues, you know, the hospitals, the banking industry, the schools.

I'm gonna correct you if I can.

Yeah, those are the smaller old-fashioned ones.

Um the the um it's a different kettle of fish now.

When you go to the types of uh concentrated servers they need in the I guess my point is we are all more rely on data centers regardless of their size and type.

That's fair.

And everybody is, even if they don't use and interact with them daily, you know.

If you pull up to McDonald's now and they say you're gonna use your app, and I'm going, I can't, I don't have a phone that will use an app.

All everybody's relying now.

I know, you know, with the state of Indiana.

Um almost all of your business has to be conducted online if you run any kind of a business that has regulations or pays taxes.

You have to do it all online.

So whether it's a good idea for us to become so reliant on electronic technology, I suppose is a whole other debate, but we are here.

And to and we have to have some way to continue to facilitate that.

I think the question before us now is what kinds of regulations should be placed on data centers in order for them to be able to function compatibly and safely in our communities.

But you're looking for a motion for McCana to support the moratorium.

How long are the moratorium?

However long it takes the city county, the city of Indianapolis to establish zoning regulations, development regulations for data centers.

Well moved.

Okay.

So now that we have a motion, I mean it's it's just that simple.

The city county council has established.

Uh sorry I've got to write you who made the motion before I forget.

Um, the city county council has established a committee to review this.

I don't know how extensively they intend to review.

Well, they're looking at why are you frowning at me?

They have one committee that's taken it up.

Right.

One meeting.

I don't know if they're gonna have more meetings.

They didn't say, but the meeting actually was going in a good direction, and they were asking all the questions who else has done this, who's doing it right.

But what sway they have then over the full council.

I I didn't get that, and they didn't say what was next.

Well, so maybe the motion needs to be that they need to establish a committee specifically.

But that the process is the inside DMD, they investigate what the ordinances are around the country, so they can start getting an idea.

They're gonna have to get on top of the issues arising with data centers, um, and then they will, you know, still kicking it around inside DMD.

Um, at some point they will come out with a draft, and the draft would go to the public for comment.

Once that's incorporated, um, it goes to the MDC for their approval or not.

And then once the MDC approves it, it goes to the city county council where it is assigned to a committee, and that is another point of public process uh public involvement at the committee level in particular.

Um, and they can either uh take a couple of times.

I know uh the sign ordinance did that, uh, it can take a couple of months at the committee level, but at some point the committee would um either modify what the MBC sent them or adopt uh or do pass give a do pass recommendation on exactly what the MBC gave them.

Then it goes to the full council where it is um approved or not.

Um if it's changed, um it definitely has to go back to the MDC for approval of the change.

Okay, but this motion is not in regard to the process.

It is in the way that this count the committee of the council is not the origin of the first steps in in crafting an ordinance.

It's D.

But they are the ones who can protect us until this whole process is completed.

What we want is for data centers to have to go through the same process that every other use goes through to have an ordinance written and established.

Yes.

That's what this motion would correctly is covering.

And what that process is, you know, is details.

Yeah, what the we just wanted to do what everybody else has to do.

Yeah, yeah, for the however long it takes.

So that's what the moratorium is.

If they can get it done in a month, okay, they can't, but but if it could, that's what makes sense.

A city the size of Indianapolis shouldn't be flying by the seat of its pants.

I understand that this is a new use, relatively, but it needs to be defined and have the same kinds of standards, the development standards that any other use is required to have.

Does that make sense?

You know, whatever that process is, and it only makes sense.

Now there are data centers that operate in current currently in Indianapolis, lots of small ones that are mostly owned by the entities that use them.

And most people don't even know where they are, don't notice that they exist.

Um but a use like this, especially since they now have the potential to be either little tiny ones or these high percenters that are huge.

Um they're not being treated unfairly to be asked to adhere to local standards.

Now, one of the things that we're kind of up against is that there is a huge push from the state level at least, and from the federal level to some extent, to welcome data centers into our communities.

That we need to have them, they've got to be put somewhere, they're being referenced as economic development drivers.

Um I don't know that I agree or disagree with that.

Um, I do know, but um, but like I said, it's it is not unreasonable.

We all live by rules and regulations, all of us.

It is reasonable to expect them to do the same.

The additional thing is that they're offering they're being offered so many um financial incentives and exemptions that are not available to other businesses.

This whole issue with being exempted from sales tax is as I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong, but that is limited to data centers.

Why are they getting that specific break when other industries are not?

Um that is a huge question to grapple with.

That's why we have elected officials, and you know, I think the DNB staff, when they do craft new ordinances to be considered, um, are very careful trying to make sure that the ordinance can meet a legal test if they are challenged in court.

Um my experience has been that they do a lot of research from across the country, billboards being an example where they look at previous court cases to say, okay, what were the legal challenges?

Did the court decide in favor or opposed, so that we don't end up having an ordinance that's written and then sits there spinning while it goes through the judicial system.

Were there moratoriums with cell towers and with whatever that well thing was?

Were there moratoriums in those cases?

I don't think there were moratoriums.

There was with the billboards.

Yes.

Um, with and with the I think with the sign ordinance, but it may it may have just been specific to billboards.

The billboard portion again because digital billboards were a new thing, where the technology hadn't even didn't even exist when the sign ordinance that was in place at the time was there.

So it was, and that happens all the time.

New uses, new technologies developed that change the landscape, and you couldn't have predicted.

You know, it's like when you have a kid, you can't predict what they're going to be like when they're 30.

Sure, but so we shouldn't be referencing our thing that there is precedent for this.

Yes, yes, and it was, and it was a successful president, president, and it has withstood the test many, many times, most recently, um, although it was at the state level, um at the state level.

So there is a precedent that we can sign for the city of Minneapolis saying we're not saying no, we're saying we want time to really look at this and give it some thoughtful consideration, reach a reasonable compromise if we can.

And I think that makes absolute sense in this case, but it should be a process that does include not just the paid staff and the elected officials, but the community and the and the industry, but the community.

Yes, and to and at least from our perspective, that's where the community gets left out a lot is it seems that a lot of the decisions are made before the community even becomes aware that anything is going on.

Yes, Jackie.

My interest is how are they going to control all of the illegal activities that are being generated through the data centers at AI?

Um, there's just a whole lot of illegal activities going on.

Uh people's bank accounts being ripped open, taken money.

I mean, it's just a lot of illegal stuff going on with the use of AI data centers, pertinent to the motion.

That may be uh issue that's resolved outside of a zoning ordinance because I think AI certainly makes it easier, but it existed before AI even came on this the scene.

They've got progressively worse.

Absolutely, but that feels like a criminal illegal.

It is criminal, that's different things on the you know that goes to cybersecurity, which kind of falls outside of the zoning ordinance, but I understand the concern, right?

You know, I know for a lot of elderly people that do not use the internet.

Their thought is if I don't use the internet, my information won't be out there, which is man, it's out there.

It doesn't matter whether you use the internet or you use the computer, your information is out there.

So that is that's an absolutely legitimate concern.

I don't know about you, but I check my bank account two or three times a week just to make sure nobody's messing with not professor in there, but hey.

Yes.

My question concern in this unknown is they're asking for all of these extras things that weren't there before.

They build it, not to their specs, but now they're going outside of their extended it.

We didn't quite fit in.

There was a construction error that went over 10 feet on each side.

How can that be held, controlled?

Um consequences to those types of things.

Well, that goes back to first we have to have an ordinance in place that says this.

But then we get into that area of code enforcement, and how effective is that in Indianapolis.

And that question applies not just to data centers.

And certainly the effectiveness of code enforcement.

I want to try and get somebody from BNS in here and from city legal because there is definitely a backlog disconnect, whatever adjective you want to use there about the books, it says if you do this, this is what's going to happen.

And that doesn't seem to be happening.

So that's kind of a like the cybersecurity.

That's kind of an issue that falls outside of the zoning ordinance.

The first thing we have to have is the ordinance in place.

The idea of can we get code enforcement to be more effective in Indianapolis and how do we do that?

That is a whole other discussion.

And that's what this motion is referencing is the moratorium to do just what you said.

Got to get it, gotta get the rules there.

Otherwise, it's a free-for-all.

So the motion on the floor is that we um respectfully request that the city county council enact a moratorium on data center petitions until such time as an appropriate ordinance can be written and adopted.

So moved.

Written and enacted.

I'm sorry, written and inacted.

That's adopted.

Is it the same?

Yes.

As far as the next steps.

So I'm going to call the question.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Okay, we have about we have about 10 minutes left.

Um, so we then, and we then once that as the ordinance moves forward, we can adopt a more formal policy on data centers.

But the first step is we've got to lobby very hard to get that moratorium in place.

Um, and that means when I send the email out, and this will be, I mean, we want to be fair about the ordinance, you know, and make sure that we're not just saying no data centers ever.

That may be the inevitable outcome, like we did with billboards.

But the first thing we have to do is let the process work, and so far it hasn't even really been formally started.

So then the next issue or the last issue that we had is the Marion County comprehensive plan.

Um we had asked Logan Lane from DMV to come back to tell us about this, but um he declined, indicating that the city of Indianapolis had already held public meetings and opportunity for public input, which is now closed, um, and that they because their contract with whatever consulting firm they had hired was coming to a close, that they had neither the time nor the personnel to devote to coming to any more public meetings to speak.

Um I was a little frustrated when I got the email.

That's true.

Um Mr.

I don't know, Mr.

Lane very well.

Um he came to a meeting or two with McKenna and said he would come back and update us, and apparently that is not going to happen now.

How long ago was he here?

Uh it was November.

November November I was here.

No, it wasn't November this year, it was November or it wasn't November 2025, it was November 2024, I believe.

It was before the things started.

Right, right before the public comment.

So as I understand it now, the staff is the DMD staff is now looking at all of the comments that did come in.

Um, and we'll make some decisions from there about whether or not there will be amendment amendments to the map that was proposed.

Um and the pattern book.

One of the big questions that I have is there is a pattern book that's the narrative that kind of goes along with the comp plan, which as we all know are the suggested uses, but are not written in stone.

Um, and when you read through the pattern book, um, there are a lot of very good standards that are suggested should be in place before development happens.

But it seems to be even less enforceable than the comp plan is you know, it talks about developments of a certain side should be on main arterials or thoroughfares or four-lane roads or however you wanted to find them.

You know, it talks about the preservation of woodlands and wetlands and waterways and those kinds of things.

But when push comes to shove, I don't know that what's in the pattern book is really taken into consideration as much as it should be.

But the next steps in the comp plan is then once all that assembled, then um it will be made available to the public to view perhaps online or perhaps in person.

Which makes it even more difficult for the public to engage before it goes to the MDC for approval.

So there they he did say they'd send emails out to let people know when it was available, but to have to go look at it in person.

That's what he said.

He didn't say that to me.

He said you have to watch the agendas.

No, and that makes it difficult.

You don't know when the agendas are.

Sometimes the indie govsite is difficult to navigate, at least for those of us who had are not computer savvy.

Um when they've done it in prior years, the information has been available at least in the public libraries to make it more accessible to people, and apparently that's not going to be the case this time.

I don't know why there were such great changes to how things worked this time, but it seemed that the opportunity for the public to engage and to have discourse with each other were not as great.

The very first comp plan process I ever participated in, there were 18 meetings in my in my township alone, there were in-person meetings, and I realize things have changed.

They've had stack reductions, which make it difficult more difficult for them to handle the workload that they're given.

And I realize that there may have been reasons, but to me it doesn't seem like the opportunity.

The opportunity for people to sit down and actually talk face to face with each other and bounce ideas off of each other real time, ends up in a better compromise with the amongst the community members.

You know, sometimes there's a difference of opinion between what the community wants and what staff or what the city seems to want, but there are within communities, you know, people don't agree with each other about what should go on this parcel or what use should happen over there, and and being able to talk to people face in face to face where those ideas can be shared and discussed, they weren't there.

He said when I said why, you know, there was you can make comments online, and I said, Why can't other people see my comments?

He said that we don't want people feeding off each other's comments.

It was supposed to be um available to everybody to see comments, and it was not.

Well, and sometimes they know they do get people, you know, just get nasty with each other for no good reason.

But but sometimes ideas are out there that just didn't occur to someone else.

Well, the city has the technology available to post the maps that are current online.

Um there are even functions within the map Indy where you can drill into your you know a parcel, but regardless of that, they can at least post um static uh non-interactive maps um uh uh that are drafts of or or that what there's gonna go to the MDC so that the public can have the opportunity to review it and then go to the MDC meeting and comment, but to have to go downtown during a work day, no doubt, where parking is impossible, right?

Yeah, there's you know, um, is extraordinarily unlike the city of Indianapolis in a public process.

I've again not ever seen them not make things as available and easily accessible as possible.

Well, and they did have public meetings, okay.

I mean, I have to say that they had public meetings where people could come in.

They were not always convenient to for people to attend, and I realize that's a difficult thing to manage, and it's very labor-intensive for them to do that.

Um, one of my other concerns is again for people who do not use the internet, they've been largely excluded from the process.

Um you don't agree to I I I would disagree with that because they had I believe it was four meetings in various locations where you could go in, you could review the maps, they had the pattern books there or the pattern book there, and you can make comments.

You were expected to make your comments on the site, there was no information about what had changed between the previous pattern books and the previous map.

It was impossible to make comments on the site other than generic general things.

I had to go home and do a lot of research to figure out what changed and then comment.

When I went to the meeting, they specifically said this is not a meeting, this is just for the public to view these documents.

Exactly.

And I will speak again, taking off my mechanic hat.

There were no meetings that were convenient to people in Franklin Township.

And on the at the beginning part of it, there were.

There was one, yeah, at the beginning there was.

There meeting in each township in one countywide meeting at the front end, and then they did not repeat that in the 2026.

So once you had a chance to go and view all the documents, then to go back, you had to go to one of these other poor meetings.

There was one in Warren Township, I think, at the very beginning.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

But then once you had a chance to view the documents, go home and review them.

Then you had to travel across town to be able to share your comments again and look at what the what the proposed end result was.

Yeah, don't know.

That was when they rolled out everything.

Yeah.

So you couldn't review in advance of those four meetings.

They rolled them out at the meetings.

Yeah.

You could not review in advance.

Well, before they they held meetings in every township.

Now I said, I realize that's labor intensive, and it costs money to do it that way, and I get that, but this is a this is a huge issue.

Um, and the other thing that concerned me is as Julie found out was um for those townships that had critical areas identified in them.

They said they had incorporated all that into the pattern book, but when you went and reviewed it, it didn't have all of the elements in the pattern book.

A lot of them got left out.

But regardless, we are where we are in the process.

Um I would guess that there is always going to be dissent from the community that the government didn't do it right, and whatever you look at.

Well, um, I guess I mean again, Indianapolis knows how to do a good public process.

They do, and they have people, and yeah, and they and they've shown it over and over and over that they can do that.

So when it doesn't come to those standards, it's particularly disturbing.

Yeah, I mean, I personally I still don't understand why they they're updating it.

I I haven't heard a good reason why they they you know it was supposed to last 20 years, and that one was adopted 2018.

2019, so um yeah, I don't know why they all of a sudden had to fix something in there yesterday.

I was reading that 40-page thing on cater, and I was counting how many times she referenced the pattern book, and I'm like, this is why it's important, and the pattern book now doesn't have the public input, and yet she's gonna use it to make these decisions against us.

I mean, you talk about Martha Brightman.

No, I'm talking about yours.

Judy, we're that from the Judy has a look at it.

That's the staff of that that's price.

Okay, yeah, she's they referenced that repeatedly.

Here's the standards from the pattern book overnight.

And I'm not sure.

So it's very important, yes.

Yes, and it's used against us all the time, and now it was created without our input without vigorous input, anyway.

But again, why were they even doing that?

Why now?

Yeah.

Well, the important thing is the process is now moving forward, whether we agree with how it went in the past, so we need to keep an eye on the website, the city's website to go long-range planning to keep track of when there are going to be any other opportunities when it's going to come before the MDC for public hearing.

I have never seen any information on this on DMD's website.

I've seen it on their Facebook page.

It but on the uh MBC's agendas.

Oh, yeah.

That's what he told me to watch.

There'll be a pre-meeting that's gonna give information to the commissioners because they're not gonna sit there and learn about it.

Okay.

So let's do this.

Like I said, it's moving forward.

If any of you get information about when this is going to come up with the MDC, pre-meeting, actual meeting, whatever, we need to share that as quickly as possible with people.

And then they have the opportunity to say, yes, we like it, no, we don't like it.

You know, but that will be our opportunity to have that last piece of public input.

Okay, so McCana has now taken a stand on the moratorium.

When is the next city council meeting?

Okay, okay, we're not on the we're not on the data center right now.

The moratorium, we took a stand, yes.

Yes.

Okay, when's the next city county meeting?

I am not sure I don't have a calendar.

Okay, when's the next MDC?

That will be the 4th of March.

Okay.

These are the these are the places where they need to be made aware that McCann is made taking the stand.

So we will I mean we will the letter the the stand about the moratorium will send to the city county councillors.

Okay.

The issue about the comp plan is when we need to make the the MDC aware.

Okay, we want to keep track of it.

Well, and the council too.

They need to know.

Ultimately, they're the heavy hammer, I guess, as you would so put as I would put it.

Well, we've we've made the decisions.

Right.

And are you looking for a motion for the uh process on the comp plan?

No.

No.

We're just making people aware that they need to be keeping the public aware.

Okay.

And they need to be keeping track of the process.

There's really not a motion to be made on that.

Okay.

Um the last piece of business, and we're out of time here, is um people need to keep an eye on what's going on in the state legislature.

There are several bills that are coming up remote, I think on the 23rd, which is Monday, that would if going through.

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of the folks from the billboard committee that went downtown and testified at the state legislature about the digital billboards.

Um they were trying to the digital billboard industry.

Not digital.

Or digital, excuse me.

The billboard industry was trying to go around local zoning laws about billboards.

Um, and the bill died in committee before it got to legislature.

And I have to say that the people on that billboard committee have been doing a lot of talk about a functional committee.

They've been doing a lot of work to try and protect that political ordinance, and now there are several bills moving through that had to do with um prohibiting things that would prohibit rentals of uh uh individual homes that would take away the city's ability to have local standards for development, specifically residential and zoning.

Um it's let's see, there's bill 12, there's House Bill 1210, um, 130 one third one three three three one zero zero one, they all have to do with different topics that would basically remove some local authority for governing zoning in Marion County or any county in the state of Indiana.

Um, and we need to watch those very closely because that seems to be coming a typical thing for people to try and go around what would be look what would be called home rule, and I have always personally I've always been in favor of that because every neighborhood township county has different unique qualities where the ability to locally govern are more appropriate than having the state government.

There are some issues like water quality and air quality with across county lines and township lines where government from a higher level is more appropriate, but for for things to really work for local neighbors, we need to have our local government have a say in it.

Um those bills that are gonna be voted on on Monday, quite frankly, it's probably too late for us to have any impact on them at all.

But I think it would be wise for us to keep a closer eye on what's going on in the state legislature when the next session comes around because things sneak up on you, and as you all know, things move very fast at the state house and sometimes we get very very little notice about when a bill is gonna come up that's gonna impact us.

So, with that, is there anything else that we need to talk about today?

Okay.

Then I will adjourn, remind you that our next meeting is on March the 24th and 1st, and again in April, I think our meeting is on the 18th.

That will be about homelessness in Indianapolis and how Indianapolis is dealing with that in a humanitarian way.

I don't think anybody likes to see people living on the street, whether it's because it intimidates you or you feel badly for those people.

It's something we need to get our arms around.

And I think the city has a lot of things going on that we all need to know about.

How can we participate and find a way to resolve this?

In a city the size of Indianapolis, there's no reason for people to have to be living on the streets.

And we need to figure out a way to resolve it.

And if you think it doesn't impact your neighborhood, you're probably wrong.

There are people who are homeless in every part of this county, whether it's downtown or out in the suburbs.

So I hope we can get people to come in and talk about that.

With that, I will see you all next month.