Farley Neighborhood Association Meeting

Summary, April 21, 2009

The Farley Annual Meeting was held on April 21, 2009, at 7:00PM in the multipurpose room of the Chapelwood Elementary School. Larry Wood presided over the meeting and introduced a number of public officials that made themselves available for the Farley neighborhood. Several issues were discussed during the meeting including: traffic and street repair, drainage, neighborhood watch, and specific Farley issues of concern. New Board members were introduced for the upcoming year. The Board Members for this year are:

Pat Colcord, President
Pat Wood, Vice President
Don Griffith, Treasurer
Crime Watch, Steve Reynolds
Aimee Bilgen
Mark Edison, Distribution
Linda Thompson, Membership
Shannon Cooper, Webmaster

The following local officials were present at the annual meeting. Their participation and
contribution to the betterment of the neighborhood are greatly appreciated.

Carlos May, Indianapolis City Liaison
Lawrence Jones, Indianapolis Public Works
Robert Lutz, Indianapolis Councilor, District 13
Phil Hinkle, State Representative
Bob Bowman, City Engineer, Drainage
Indiana Department of Transportation representatives not identified

I-465 Construction
Several comments and questions were addressed to the INDOT representatives regarding the road construction on I465 and the 10th Street Bridge. Two additional traffic lights have been installed along 10th Street allowing I465 traffic onto and off of 10th Street. The eastbound lane bridge of the 10th Street has been removed and construction of a new bridge will start later this year. Two lanes of traffic in both directions now run in the former westbound lane bridge of 10th Street. INDOT felt that the present timing of traffic lights optimized traffic flow but that traffic-delays during busy traffic times were unavoidable. INDOT will consider turn restrictions at High School Road to reduce bottlenecks. Additional reflectors and reflective road stripes were suggested to INDOT for consideration. The construction will take two years to complete. During the meeting it was noted that additional traffic was coming through Farley by non-resident drivers avoiding 10th Street and Girls School Road traffic. Phil Hinkle addressed the neighborhood emphasizing that road construction on the west side seems to be out of control. The 21St Bridge over I465 is expected to open between May 5th and May 12th 2009. This should reduce some of the traffic on 10th Street and through Farley. Rockville Road should open up by May 22nd. “Yes” west-siders want road improvements but “no” we do not need it done all at once! The Westside thoroughfares are subject to gridlock with one car accident or one stalled vehicle during rush hour.

Farley Issues
The discussion moved onto specific street issues in Farley. These items were addressed by Lawrence Jones with Public Works. Specific street issues included surface repairs on Eleanor, Carlsen, Furman, and Glen Arm. Installation of speed bumps was discussed to slow down the extra traffic thru Farley, but would take numerous bureaucratic steps for a permanent fix to a temporary problem. The Mayor’s Office can be contacted about speeding through Farley with increased Police patrol. Carlos May addressed the issue of street lighting. If a street light is out, repair requests can be made through the City. New street lights can be requested but installation costs can be very high. For street lights that are already installed but not operational, citizens can request that the street lights become activated. The cost for the monthly electric bill for lighting must be paid by the citizen making the request for activation. The monthly cost for one light is low – usually under $15 per month. Neighbors benefiting from the street light are encouraged to share the monthly cost with their neighbors. That’s what neighbors are for!

Mr. May addressed the issue of homeowners operating a business out of their home. Farley is zoned for residential. It is illegal to operate certain businesses here. In particular automobile repair businesses cannot be operated in neighborhoods. Other issues: automobiles cannot be left on the street and may be considered abandoned if unlicensed or unused for a long period of time. Sump pumps are not allowed to discharge directly onto the street but can discharge safely into yards. If water from a sump pump causes damage to city infrastructure such as roads and bridges or create potentially dangerous conditions the homeowner can be subject to penalty. The City has a new ordinance restricting basketball goals in the right of way of city streets.

Carlsen Avenue Parking Ordinance
Bob Lutz sponsored a new ordinance for Farley. The ordinance restricts parking on Carlsen Avenue between the hours of 7AM and 3PM. Students from Ben Davis High School have been parking on Carlsen to avoid the cost of parking permits at the school. The numerous parked cars along Carlsen impacted trash removal trucks and emergency vehicles entering and leaving the neighborhood. The parked cars also created a traffic nuisance for cars entering and leaving Farley. Signatures were gathered last winter from the homeowners on Carlsen and the large majority of the homeowners on Carlsen supported the new ordinance. Thanks to Councilor Lutz.

Crime Watch
Steve Reynolds addressed the Crime Watch program for Farley. We are in need of folks willing to get involved in crime watch. The program is basically a network of people who communicate issues in Farley. Crime-watchers do not go on stakeouts and confront criminals—that’s what the police are for. Contact is Steve Reynolds at 269-3422 if you want to receive e-mails and other correspondences on crime watch issues. The idea of the crime watch program is to spread the news and be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. It really helps!

Farley Neighborhood Dues
Linda Thompson addressed Farley Association membership dues. She mentioned that association dues pay for snow removal in the winter time, insurance, and garage sale advertizing. Dues participation has dropped recently perhaps because of difficult economic times. She compared our annual dues to other neighborhoods and Farley’s are much lower than almost all. Twenty dollars a year is a bargain to have our streets cleared on those heavy snowfall days. Your twenty dollar contribution will give you a sense of
community pride and you will know that you are contributing to the benefit of the neighborhood.

Don Griffith gave a report on the Farley Budget. We have a healthy balance in our bank account for now.

Drainage
Bill Bowman from the City Engineer’s Office, and Anchorage resident, gave an interesting historical perspective on the City’s ability to address drainage issues on private property. The City has not been funded to address drainage issues on private property for a very long time. Mr. Bowman explained that if your home is located along Topp or Farley Creeks, you will have to deal with any erosion issues that you find. If the erosion in the creeks can cause damage to city infrastructure, such as bridges and roads or create a potentially dangerous condition, the City should be able to fund repairs. The City has a webpage that addresses drainage issues.

Garage Sale
The Farley Garage Sale will be on June 13th, 2009 from the hours of 8AM to 4 PM. A rain date is set for June 20th.

Remember that the Farley Neighborhood Representatives deal primarily with snow removal and garage sales and other odd and ends. We will not get involved in disputes between you and your neighbor. We will gladly act as a go-between for issues dealing with City government or the Mayor’s Office, but you can do this yourself just as well as the board members can.

For issues dealing with City Services you can contact Carlos May who acts as a neighborhood liaison for the west side. Carlos can be contacted at 327-5216 or at cmay@indy.gov. For issues with the city council, you can contact Bob Lutz at 327-4230 or at rlutz@ indygov.org.