Reorg sub-committees identified, leaders appointed

Next task, selecting the rest of the committee members

The White River Township/Greenwood reorganization committee has identified the six sub-committees which will be responsible for creating the reorganization proposal. Based on the model of Zionsville, the only other town to reorganize under the 2006 law, chair Patrick Sherman suggested six sub-committees: Parks and Recreation , Finance, Health and Safety, Infrastructure, Planning and Land Use, and Governance. Each will be led by one of the six members of the primary committee, with a second primary committee member also serving on the sub-committee. They, in turn, will be join by about five community members on each committee.

Parks and Recreation
Led by Eric Kapka and assisted by Forrest Chambers, this group will look at the facilities in Greenwood and White River Township and determine future needs and how the facilities would be managed by the new entity.

Finance
Led by Paul Reed and assisted by Don Hanlin, the team will explore the financial impact on White River Township, Greenwood, the new entity and how the tax burden may differ between the urban and rural areas of the newly formed city.

Health and Safety
This group, lead by Forrest Chambers and assisted by Eric Kapka, will determine the impact on the fire departments, how cemeteries and poor relief will be handled and investigate such things as how nuisance complaints will be addressed, another area where there is expected to be a difference between the urban and rural districts.

Infrastructure
David Payne will lead this sub-committee with Paul Reed assisting. As the name suggests, this group will look into the maintenance of roads, the provision of utility and the management of drainage.

Planning and Land Use
Led by Dale Tumey, backed by David Payne their charge will be to review the future of commercial and residential land use in the new entity. Zoning regulations will also be considered by this group. As with essentially all of the sub-committees, it is expected that they will have to make a distinction in their recommendation for the urban, sub-urban and rural areas of the proposed new city.

Governance
Don Hanlin will lead this team, assisted by Dale Tumey. They will investigate the current responsibilities of the White River Township government, the Greenwood city government and Johnson County Government. They will then be responsible for making a recommendation on how to form a new government for a potential population of over 80-thousand residents. They will need to make provision for essentially all the services provided by these three existing levels of government. They have wide flexibility in their recommendation and are not require to follow the model of any of the existing entities. They are bound only by Indiana law for towns and city governments.

How you can serve
Each of the sub-committees will completed with the addition of about five additional members selected from those who volunteer to serve. Volunteers are urged to submit resumes through any of a number of channels. They can be sent the the Greenwood Mayor’s office at mayor@greenwood.in.gov or they can be submitted to any of the committee members who will ensure they are properly considered. In fact, if you care to e-mail your resume and area of interest to us at centergroveinc@gmail.com, we will ensure that it is passed on as well. The idea is for the committee to accumulate as many resumes as possible over the next two weeks, so they can formulate the final committees and begin their work.

In addition to the committee members, the teams will be assisted by John Griffin and Forrest Mellot. These men will be responsible for ensuring that the teams are making progress in a timely manner. The Chair of the Reorganization Committee Patrick Sherman, encouraged the team to complete their work within eight months, this would allow time for the proposal to be put before the voters during the 2010 primary election. By law, the group has 12 months from their formation to make their recommendation. It is generally agreed that the clock started December 8, 2008. So, Mr. Sherman’s suggested time table does put some pressure on the teams.

While it was clearly stated that the scope of the new entity would include all of the current city of Greenwood and the entirety of currently unincorporated White River Township, it was also clear that a distinction would have to be made between the varying areas of the new entity. Some ares of unincorporated White River Township are largely rural, while others are commercial or residential. All of the committees were charged with taking these differences in to consideration as they proceed with their investigation and formulate their recommendation.

The committee intends to meet on a regular basis, but the next meeting has not yet been scheduled.

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