OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

McCanna's Monthly Meeting – August 17, 2026: Data Centers, Township Governance, and Neighborhood Resources

Other Meetings (J-Z) — Monday, August 17, 2026
BodyIndianapolis, Indiana
SessionOther Meetings (J-Z)
DateMonday, August 17, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:28:46
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Well, good morning.

0:02

Welcome to McCannna's Monthly Meeting.

0:07

McCannna is a 501c3 association of associations, the Marion County Association of Neighborhood Associations.

0:17

And we have as members HOAs and neighborhood groups.

0:24

And the membership is the calendar year.

0:28

Dues are $20 a year.

0:32

We meet once a month, the third Saturday of the month from 9 to 11, usually, at the North United Methodist Church.

0:41

And they've been kind enough to secure, let us secure this room for the September, October, and November.

0:49

We do not meet in December, so and then we'll make arrangements for next year a little later in the year.

0:56

But we do appreciate them giving us this meeting space, it's centrally located for anyone in the county, whether you drive or need to take the bus or want to take the bus.

1:10

And so we do appreciate that.

1:14

We do appreciate Channel 16 for many reasons, not just for covering our meeting, but also for covering all of the city meetings.

1:40

So but we do appreciate it.

1:46

Um to our government is to know what decisions they're making.

1:51

Okay, and uh this meeting I have uh sorry, excuse me.

2:06

Um the unpleasant uh task of saying a few words uh sorry.

2:16

As you know, Kathy Burton passed away a couple of weeks ago.

2:21

Her family had a really nice uh funeral.

2:26

Uh a well-deserved send off.

2:30

Uh if anybody likes to read by those net about that for you.

2:38

Uh uh neighborhoods all over Marion County.

2:45

Uh most of whom probably don't realize how much uh she did for them.

2:51

Uh she's been with McCannna for decades.

2:55

Uh I think trying to track back the time she's been president since like 2000.

3:03

So she uh she knew uh all of the ordinances, she knew all about zoning.

3:16

She was there to help any neighborhood you know, learn those basics so that they could represent themselves.

3:24

Um stand up.

3:26

Uh one of her sayings always was um uh the decisions are made by those who show up, and um that's continues to be true, and we try to be involved in uh decisions as uh they open up within the city with public processes, hearings sometimes, and sometimes it's developing ordinances and and participating that way to represent um neighborhoods and Kathy was really really good at it, and one thing she was excellent at was writing, and she would write those her statements to city departments about what needed some kind of an improvement or attention, and she just would nail every intricacy of what needed to be said about it.

4:22

So uh we will miss her on many levels.

4:27

Excuse me.

4:29

But uh so with that we will move forward.

4:36

I apologize.

4:41

Are there any community announcements?

4:47

No.

4:49

Uh I have a couple.

4:51

Um the MDC has a full docket this Wednesday.

5:00

It's probably too late for McCann for the broadcast of McCannis meeting, but uh Wednesday the MDC will undertake the second and final determination for abatements for the Martin Dale Brightwood Metro Blocks Data Center.

5:20

They're offering um 60% uh real property abatement over 10 years since 60% each year.

5:31

Um and they're offering a 50 15 year personal property tax abatement of 90% for each year.

5:45

Um I have the the I printed it off the the uh documents.

5:50

There's a couple of documents that are mentioned in the staff reports, but it's not or in the agenda reports, but it's not um uh not actually included.

6:03

So I'll try and grab the get a hold of those.

6:07

Uh hopefully they can be attained before Wednesday.

6:11

So though that's for Martin Dale Brightwood is the second hearing that the property uh tax abatements go in two steps.

6:21

They were preliminary, and then they have the final, and for Wednesday it would be the final.

6:26

It is a public hearing for Martin Dale Brightwood, so folks can step up and have something to say.

6:31

I don't know what rules um the MDC will lay down, but um it is a public hearing.

6:38

Who was the preliminary?

6:40

Pardon me?

6:41

Who did the preliminary I think the IEDI from best I can read?

6:47

Uh they do uh allude to uh memorandum of understanding between um metro blocks and the city, uh but I'm not positive that that was obtained.

7:00

So if the MDC says yes, it's done.

7:03

Doesn't go to the council?

7:06

No, um the only time and Jason will correct me.

7:11

Um Jason Holliday is uh Decatur Township's uh trustee, and he used to be our counselor, so but it only goes my understanding, it only goes to the council if there's a TIFF involved.

7:22

And there's not there's not and then uh the second one is the preliminary abatement for the uh Sabby data center in Decatur Township, and again they're proposing a 60% real property over 10 years, 60, 60, 60, and um a 15 year 90 percent on personal property.

7:51

Um and they do and in here they do have the numbers that they expect um will be gratis, and there's a lot of things in this that are just formulaic, they just check a box, and I've never seen proof in any of the abatements I've followed over the years where they just say that the project wouldn't happen unless there was an abatement.

8:18

Is there a TIFF with that one?

8:20

Is there a TIF with yours?

8:22

No, no, I think Irvington's the only one that has a TIFF.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Township Representation███████████████████████23%
Public Safety██████████████14%
Budget███████████11%
Public Records Management█████████9%
Public Engagement████████8%
Public Health██████6%
Taxation████4%
Animal Welfare████4%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

McCanna's Monthly Meeting – August 17, 2026

McCanna's Monthly Meeting of the Marion County Association of Neighborhood Associations convened on August 17, 2026, to hear updates on data center tax abatements, the city budget, township government finances, and local resources. The meeting included remarks from the mayor's neighborhood advocate, Decatur Township Trustee Jason Holliday, and community partners.

Remembrance & Community Announcements

  • Meeting leaders remembered Kathy Burton, McCanna's longtime president since about 2000, who recently passed away. They recalled her saying, 'the decisions are made by those who show up,' and praised her knowledge of zoning and ordinances and her advocacy for neighborhoods.
  • Nick, a case manager from FIDO Indy, introduced the organization's services for Marion County residents with dogs, including a pet food pantry, kennel builds, low-cost spay/neuter, vaccinations, and microchipping. Open registration is held Thursdays from 1 to 5 p.m. at their warehouse off 16th and Sherman; more info at fidoindy.org.
  • Julianne Kennedy, administrator of the Marion County Public Health Department's Housing and Neighborhood Health division, announced a carbon monoxide education push. She noted a 2024 health code update requiring rental property owners to supply CO detectors in homes with gas appliances or fireplaces. The department provides free CO alarms to Marion County residents and can be reached at 317-221-2150 or via Marionhealth.org.

City Updates from the Mayor's Neighborhood Advocate

  • Charles Russell III, mayor's neighborhood advocate, shared city updates:
    • Budget timeline: started Aug 10; committee hearings run Aug 11–Sep 23; council review and analysis Sep 10–Oct 1; public hearing Oct 5; final council vote Oct 19, requiring at least 13 of 25 council members; adopted budget due to the state Nov 1; 2027 fiscal year begins Jan 1.
    • Community Powered Infrastructure (CBI) applications are open for tactical urbanism and neighborhood projects.
    • Two food distribution events: Aug 17 at MACH High School, 1401 Indiana Avenue, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., and Aug 22 at Indiana Council on Education Students of Color, 4900 E 38th Street, 10 a.m. until supplies last.
    • IndyGo's old MyKey app is being replaced by MyKey Plus, launched July 1, 2026. Funds on old cards can be used until Sept 1; transfers to the new app are available. City transit center office hours are Aug 17–28, Mon–Fri 7–9 a.m. and 5–7 p.m.
    • The city's Office of Sustainability has an extreme heat resource page; cooling stations include Indy Parks family centers, and splash pads are open around Labor Day.
    • DPW strongly advised residents in Rocky Ripple and Ravenswood to evacuate due to flooding; DPW crews were working 12-hour shifts.
    • INRC Collaborative Spirit Award nominations are open, and Health by Design Weaver Awards ($2,500–$5,000) have nominations due Aug 17.

Township Government Presentation

  • Jason Holliday, Decatur Township trustee and former city-county councilor, explained township government and its role in Marion County. Indiana has 1,008 townships; Marion County has nine, each with a five-member township board, while other counties have three-member boards. Township duties include township assistance, cemeteries, some fire departments, and small claims court facilities and staffing.
  • Decatur's budget is about $20 million, with $15 million for fire protection and roughly $119,000 for township assistance. In 2025, Decatur's fire department made about 8,200 runs, including 6,000 EMS runs; the court handled about 1,500 cases; the township processed more than 400 assistance requests; and firefighters logged more than 8,800 training hours.
  • Holliday warned of state legislation impacts:
    • Senate Enrolled Act 1 (2025 property tax relief) is likely to eliminate most townships' local income tax revenue. Decatur expects to lose about $4.4 million, roughly 20% of its budget.
    • House Enrolled Act 1461 (2025 road funding) requires townships to remit 30% of unrestricted general fund reserves to the city/county for road projects, unless the township identifies capital spending plans.
    • Senate Enrolled Act 270 will force townships that do not meet certain requirements to consolidate services with neighboring townships; Marion County is exempted.
  • Holliday expressed concern about data center tax abatements, noting he was one of only two Decatur Township elected officials to oppose the proposed data center. He said property tax caps mean many homeowners and apartments are already capped and would see no tax reduction; new assessed value mainly benefits commercial and industrial taxpayers. He disputed claims that the township would gain about $800,000 from data center development.
  • In response to questions, Holliday noted township budgets are audited by the Indiana State Board of Accounts, with reports available online, and that public records requests are governed by Indiana's Access to Public Records Act; the State Public Access Counselor can resolve disputes.

Data Center Abatement and Moratorium Updates

  • The meeting chair reported that the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) has a full docket Wednesday, including a second and final public hearing for the Martin Dale Brightwood Metro Blocks Data Center abatement: 60% real property abatement over 10 years, at 60% each year, and a 15-year personal property tax abatement at 90% each year.
  • A preliminary abatement for the Sabby data center in Decatur Township proposes the same structure: 60% real property over 10 years and a 15-year, 90% personal property abatement. Its final hearing would be Sept 2.
  • The chair noted the data center ordinance sent to the City-County Council was changed into a moratorium and is heading back to MDC for a Wednesday vote; the mayor has publicly supported the revised version.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken by McCanna at this meeting.
  • Neighborhood associations were encouraged to participate in Wednesday's MDC public hearings on data center abatements and the moratorium ordinance.
  • Attendees were urged to mark the budget public hearing on Oct 5 and final council vote on Oct 19, and to seek CBI grants and community awards.
  • Free carbon monoxide alarms and emergency resources are available through the Marion County Public Health Department.

Meeting Transcript

Well, good morning. Welcome to McCannna's Monthly Meeting. McCannna is a 501c3 association of associations, the Marion County Association of Neighborhood Associations. And we have as members HOAs and neighborhood groups. And the membership is the calendar year. Dues are $20 a year. We meet once a month, the third Saturday of the month from 9 to 11, usually, at the North United Methodist Church. And they've been kind enough to secure, let us secure this room for the September, October, and November. We do not meet in December, so and then we'll make arrangements for next year a little later in the year. But we do appreciate them giving us this meeting space, it's centrally located for anyone in the county, whether you drive or need to take the bus or want to take the bus. And so we do appreciate that. We do appreciate Channel 16 for many reasons, not just for covering our meeting, but also for covering all of the city meetings. So but we do appreciate it. Um to our government is to know what decisions they're making. Okay, and uh this meeting I have uh sorry, excuse me. Um the unpleasant uh task of saying a few words uh sorry. As you know, Kathy Burton passed away a couple of weeks ago. Her family had a really nice uh funeral. Uh a well-deserved send off. Uh if anybody likes to read by those net about that for you. Uh uh neighborhoods all over Marion County. Uh most of whom probably don't realize how much uh she did for them. Uh she's been with McCannna for decades. Uh I think trying to track back the time she's been president since like 2000. So she uh she knew uh all of the ordinances, she knew all about zoning. She was there to help any neighborhood you know, learn those basics so that they could represent themselves. Um stand up. Uh one of her sayings always was um uh the decisions are made by those who show up, and um that's continues to be true, and we try to be involved in uh decisions as uh they open up within the city with public processes, hearings sometimes, and sometimes it's developing ordinances and and participating that way to represent um neighborhoods and Kathy was really really good at it, and one thing she was excellent at was writing, and she would write those her statements to city departments about what needed some kind of an improvement or attention, and she just would nail every intricacy of what needed to be said about it. So uh we will miss her on many levels. Excuse me. But uh so with that we will move forward. I apologize. Are there any community announcements? No. Uh I have a couple. Um the MDC has a full docket this Wednesday. It's probably too late for McCann for the broadcast of McCannis meeting, but uh Wednesday the MDC will undertake the second and final determination for abatements for the Martin Dale Brightwood Metro Blocks Data Center. They're offering um 60% uh real property abatement over 10 years since 60% each year. Um and they're offering a 50 15 year personal property tax abatement of 90% for each year. Um I have the the I printed it off the the uh documents. There's a couple of documents that are mentioned in the staff reports, but it's not or in the agenda reports, but it's not um uh not actually included. So I'll try and grab the get a hold of those. Uh hopefully they can be attained before Wednesday. So though that's for Martin Dale Brightwood is the second hearing that the property uh tax abatements go in two steps. They were preliminary, and then they have the final, and for Wednesday it would be the final. It is a public hearing for Martin Dale Brightwood, so folks can step up and have something to say. I don't know what rules um the MDC will lay down, but um it is a public hearing. Who was the preliminary? Pardon me? Who did the preliminary I think the IEDI from best I can read?

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