Zionsville Mayor Emily Styron and the Zionsville Town Council have announced new appointments to town boards, commissions and committees, and the council unanimously adopted an ordinance to reestablish the town’s safety board after the two parties disagreed on its language late last year.
During the town council’s Feb. 1 meeting, Styron, a Democrat, and town council members, who are all Republicans, said they were able to work in collaboration to create an ordinance to reestablish a town safety board that both parties agreed with.
The safety board “effectively mirrors what the board of police commissioners does,” Zionsville Town Council President Josh Garrett said during the meeting. “It is a five-member panel of three councilors and two civilians that are the disciplinary oversight for our fire department.”
One exception between the two boards, however, is that the board of police commissioners requires political balance among its members, while the safety board doesn’t have the same requirement, according to the town council’s legal council, Heather Willey.
Garrett said the last time Styron and the council addressed the topic publicly it was “perhaps a little more contentious.” The council unanimously voted during an Oct. 19, 2020, meeting to uphold Styron’s veto of an ordinance to establish a safety board. During the meeting, Styron said the move likely prevented litigation between the council and the mayor’s administration, as she questioned the legality of the proposed ordinance as it was written at the time.
Styron said she appreciated the council’s continued work on reestablishing the safety board.
“It has taken out some components we talked about (and) I had some issues with,” Styron said. “This document is perfect. It gives us a tool we desperately need.”
While the town waits to name members of the safety board, Styron made eight new appointments to the town’s various boards, commissions and committees. The town council made six new appointments.
When making appointments, one of Styron’s priorities was to include more women and add more diversity to the town roles. Through the recently formed Use of Force Review Board, the Zionsville Community Enrichment Grant Committee and the Pedestrian Mobility Advisory Committee, the town has “the most diverse group of citizens participating in municipal government policy and programs,” according to a press release.
“We recognize that diversity within our town’s boards, commissions and committees is critical to ensure town policies and programs serve people of every race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ability,” Styron stated.
All appointments are for one-year terms with the exception of park board (four-year term for town council appointments, one-year term for mayoral appointments); the park and road impact fee review board (five-year term); the plan commission (four-year term); the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Library Board (four-year term); the board of zoning appeals (four-year term); and the board of police commissioners (three-year term after initial term).
Mayoral new appointments:
- Chris Lake to the plan commission
- Chris Lake to the Board of Zoning Appeals
- Amanda Cecil to the Economic Development Commission
- Jacklyn Spillane to the Community Development Corporation
- Janet Campbell Baker, Jennifer Cross and Wendy Schrepferman to the Zionsville Community Enrichment Grant Committee
- Kenneth Johnson to the Use of Force Board*
Mayoral re-appointments:
- Mary Grabianowski to the Plan Commission
- John Stehr to the Park Board
- Colleen Hittle, Cindy Madrick and Kate Swanson to the Redevelopment Commission
- Tammy Kelly, Ericka Pickell and Ben Worrell to the Community Development Corporation
- Patricia McCarthy to the Non-Discriminatory Practices Review Committee
- Pauline Coderre, Molly Hanlon, Chris Lake, Lance Lantz, Monisha Mitchell, Sarah Moore, Bethany Narkiewicz, Chad Smith and Deb Weidner to the Pedestrian Mobility Advisory Committee
Town Council new appointments:
- Mark McDonald and Quincy Cunningham to the Pathway Committee
- Michael Rinebold to the Union Township Building Corporation
- Scott Condes and Ed Thomas to the Zionsville Community Enrichment Committee
- Craig Melton to the Boone EDC
Town Council re-appointments:
- Steve Mundy to the Board of Zoning Appeals
- John Salewicz to the Park Board
- Kent Esra and Sanjay Patel to the Redevelopment Commission
- Bob Kuzman and Mark Plassman to the Economic Development Commission
- Larry Jones, Aaron Walton and Paul Watson to the Zionsville Municipal Building Corporation
- Sean McHale, Larry Jones and Craig Melton to the Zionsville-Eagle Township Municipal Building Corporation
- M.J. Deras, Justin Hage and Craig Melton (Town Council ex-officio) to the Pathway Committee
- Steve Lonn, Rob French and George Tikijian to the Zionsville Town Hall Building Corporation
- Brad Burk (Town Council ex-officio), Tom Casalini, Mervyn Cohen, Greta Sanderson and Nancy Tikijian to PZAZ
- Craig Olsinski as Town Prosecutor
- Emily Styron to MPO Policy Committee
- Lance Lantz to MPO Technical Committee
- Brad Burk to Water Advisory Board
- Jason Plunkett to Boone County Solid Waste Management District Board
- Michael Billig, Tom Casalini, Steve Freeland, Steve Herron, Carol Mullet, David Rausch, Todd Rottmann and Cara Weber to the Architectural Review Committee
- Charles Naber and Bryan Traylor to the Union Township Building Corporation
- Molly Hanlon to the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Library Board
- Brad Burk, Josh Garrett, Craig Melton and Johnny Vargo to the Non-Discriminatory Practices Review Committee
- Emily Styron to the Boone EDC
- Lance Lantz to the White River Alliance Board
The Use of Force Review Board includes three members of the Zionsville Police Department, Capt. Marius Klykken, Lt. Drake Sterling and Det. Joshua Samuelson, and two civilian members, Kenneth Johnson, appointed by Mayor Emily Styron, and Monisha Mitchell, appointed by the board of police commissioners.
