In the first Town Council meeting of 2013 on Jan. 7, two new leaders were apppointed in accordance with a new rotation procedure initiated by the council. Jeff Papa will serve as the new town council president and Steve Mundy will serve as the vice president. Goals of these leaders echoed those of previous leader, Tim Haak, and Town Manager, Ed Mitro.
“We’re going to have to add business, or we can’t maintain,” Papa said.
Mundy had a similar message, “I want to keep the intensity of commercial development at a high level. A lot involves the Dow property project. The initial phases of Dow will be important.”
In November 2012, a partnership was formed between Zionsville Community Schools and the Town of Zionsville to buy property owned by Dow at 106th street, east of Zionsville Road. This land, which encompasses 100 acres, is under an environmental impact study, and if favorable, the developer will begin to lay out preliminary plans. It will likely be a mixed-use property with potential buildings along Zionsville Road similar to downtown and areas behind for offices and light industrial use. Other commercial development opportunities include the Ripberger property, half of which is being occupied by the new FedEx distribution center, and the remaining half is available for potential mixed-use development, similar to the Dow structure.
Commercial development is on the forefront of these leaders’ minds as a result of tight budgets now in place.
“Citizens passed the tax caps, and you have to live within your means,” Papa said. “We’re being stretched so thin with tax caps that we’ve had to cut a lot of the budget. Tom and Ed have done a really good job.”
Other on-going issues leaders and town council members will continue to address this year are the storm water utility rate, development of south Main Street with the arrival of Bub’s and additional commercial retail, Town Council’s strategic plan to help establish priorities, and infrastructure improvements, specifically with traffic issues.
Many of these issues will be deliberated in the various committees which appointed new members at the meeting. A complete listing of committee members and descriptions can be found below.
2013 Town of Zionsville Boards and Commissions
(*means appointed or reappointed in 2013)
Plan Commission
Seven-member citizen commission charged with zoning, land use, and subdivision approvals as well as approving development plans for new projects within the town. The commission also recommends updates to the town’s comprehensive plan to the Town Council.
David Franz (rural – Eagle)
Wayne Haynes (rural – Union)
Larry Jones (Town)
Larry Mitchell (Town)
Allan Rachles (Town)
*Jay Parks (rural – Union)
*Kevin Shiferl (rural – Eagle)
Board of Zoning Appeals
Five-member Citizen Board charged with hearing petitions to vary from the standards of the town’s zoning ordinance requirements (either the use of the land or the development standards for a project).
Larry Mitchell (Town)
Steve Schanke (rural – Union)
Jay Parks (appointment must be rural)
*Gregory Morical (rural – Eagle)
*Al Wopshall (Town)
Park Board
Five-member citizen board charged with the operation, maintenance and improvements to the town’s system of parks – as well as running the Nature Center and the Zionsville Golf Course.
Manda Clevenger
Neal Clements
Steven Bullington
Phil Howard
*Steve Mueller
Zionsville Redevelopment Commission
Six-member citizen commission (five voting, one school board appointed advisory member) charged with the development and oversight of the town’s redevelopment area/TIF district, including infrastructure development and enhancement to spur new development, economic development incentives to potential new development, and implementation of the town’s micro-loan program to small businesses within the community.
*Craig Anderson
*Bradley Johnson
*Mike Latz
*TBN
*Mark Plassman
James Longest (School Board appointment) (School Board must re-appoint)
Economic Development Commission
Seven-member citizen commission (three voting, four non-voting advisory members), charged with developing long-term development strategies and plans for the town (i.e. – the Economic Strategic Plan for the southeast quadrant of Zionsville adopted in Sept. 2012).
Robert Goodman
Bret Swanson
*Charles Edwards
*Kent Abernathy (Advisory)
*Carol Marquiss (Advisory)
*Tammy Kelly (Advisory)
*Boone EDC Executive Director (Advisory)
Zionsville Architectural Review Committee
Seven-member citizen committee charged with the implementation of the town’s Façade Grant Improvement program for Zionsville downtown, including review and approval of applications for matching grants for qualifying façade improvement projects.
*Chris Bucher
*Eileen Davis
*Lisa Bick
*Tom Casalini
*Bradley Johnson
*David Rausch
*Mike Zeller
Zionsville Pathways Committee
Mission of the committee is to plan and provide implementation for alternate means of transportation (bicycle/pedestrian pathways) linking main points in the Zionsville community.
*David Brown
*Tim Cassady
*Phil Howard – Park Board ex-officio (Park Board must re-appoint)
*Bernie Paul
*Geoff Brown
*Bill Spitz
*Paul Watson
*Evan Williams
*Town Council ex-officio – Tom Schuler
*Art Small
*Chad Pittman
Zionsville Safety Board
Three-member board (made up of elected Council members) that are responsible for oversight of the fire department, traffic code and right-of-way concerns, and other health and safety related matters.
*Susana Suarez
*Jeff Papa
*Steve Mundy
Zionsville Board of Police Commissioners
Five-member commission (three Council members, two citizen members) primarily responsible for the oversight and guidance of the Zionsville Police Dept.
*Susana Suarez
*Madison Carney
*Jeff Papa
*Steve Mundy
Suzanne Nagy
Redevelopment Authority
*David Grebe
*Clyde Bodkin
*TBN
Zionsville Municipal Building Corporation
*TBN
*Larry Jones
*Paul Watson
Zionsville-Eagle Township Municipal Building Corp.
*Kent Abernathy
*Larry Jones
*Larry Mitchell
Zionsville Town Hall Building Corp.
*Steven Lonn
*Rob French
*Geroge Tikijian
PZAZ (People of Zionsville for the Asthetics of Zionsville)
*Jean Apple
*Charles Ewing
*Clyde Bodkin
*Lana Funkhouser
*Nancy Tikijian
*Town Council ex-officio – Elizabeth Hopper
Town Prosecutor
(Position appointed by full Town Council)
*Lori Schein
Park and Road Impact Fee Review Board
John Demaree – real estate broker licensed in Indiana
Jim Longest – engineer licensed in Indiana
Dave Franz – certified public accountant
MPO Policy Committee
*Elizabeth Hopper
MPO Technical Committee
Lance Lantz
Water Advisory Board
*Tom Schuler
Boone County Solid Waste Management District Board
*Candace Ulmer
Union Township Building Corp.
*Charles Naber, Jr., President
*Christopher Henry, Secretary
*Christopher Maher, Treasurer
Directors of the Zionsville Stormwater Management Board
John Connor
*Sanjay Patel
Candace Ulmer
Citizen Advisory Committee (Stormwater Department)
(Positions appointed by full Town Council – ongoing committee)
Jeff Papa
Beth Bugbee
Doug Vawter
Jeff Butz
Gary Artman
Ken Woods