WRT Board listens to citizens, again

It was a standing room only crowd 10-minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. With all due respect to those who attended the first meeting, where was everyone when the Reorganization Committee was forming the plan and requesting input? Where was everyone when there was a real chance to make an impact? Why have so many chosen to remain silent for so long? The room was filled to capacity, with additional chairs being setup twice and people slipping in the back door. The crowd was counted at 157 attending; slightly exceeding the posted capacity of 150.

The event? The second public hearing of the White River Township Board concerning the proposal to merge Greenwood and the unincorporated areas of White River Township. The earlier meeting was declared invalid because, even though about 300 people were aware enough to attend, it was not properly announced with a paid notice in local papers. This meeting was called to order promptly at 7 PM. After listening to the citizens for about three hours, the board voted and again passed the measure 3-0 to send it to the voters for a final up or down vote.

The citizens speak
The first speaker, Ken Baker, referenced the calling of the Greenwood police to the December meeting, a meeting held outside of the department’s jurisdiction. He said that perhaps the Greenwood Council member who alerted the police was not familiar with the more lively approach of the citizens of White River Township. He also said with a grin that if anyone in the crowd should feel threatened, they should feel free to dial 911 and the appropriate authority, the Johnson County Sherriff’s department, would quickly respond.

Nick Kile, Bargersville town attorney, pointed out that one of the requirements for a reorganization proposal requires a map of the area to be included in the reorganization area. The current plan includes two maps that include areas of White River Township that are now part of Bargersville. His expressed concern is voters may go the polls unclear on what they are voting for.

Time and again residents spoke in support of the services of the County and the responsiveness of the County administration. Equal frustration was expressed about the management of Greenwood. Many identified the many proposals being floated by the Greenwood mayor such as the water park, Old Towne Greenwood restoration, and the recent proposal for another exchange off of I-65 as advancements for Greenwood that would be paid for by citizens of WRT.

John Jefferson, Great-Great-Great-Nephew of Thomas Jefferson, discussed how we are a representative republic, where representatives act on the behalf of the citizens. He questioned if the Board was really representing the will of the people when it voted to put the issue on the May ballot. He then took a straw poll of those attending and when asked who supported the merger only two people raised their hands. When asked who opposed the merger, the remaining 150+ hands shot up.

Later in the meeting John Griffin spoke and asked those attending how many have actually read the plan of reorganization. Far fewer than half of those attending raised their hands. He went on to highlight a number of “facts” brought up by speakers were in fact wrong and were addressed in the Reorganization Proposal. For example, the proposal for another exchange from I-65 would be funded by the current residents of Greenwood. As for the issues attendees have with the current Greenwood administration he reminded those attending that under the new organization the mayor’s position would be weakened and the council would become stronger. In addition, White River Township would be fully represented on that board. So, the past performance of the Greenwood administration should not be used as a gauge of how they will act in the future. He encouraged votes to consider “What is this going to do for my grandchildren? What is this community going to look like 30 years from now? You’ve got to look forward and make a decision of what is best for your children and your children’s children.” He then lightly chastened the crowd for their limited involvement in the process so far and encouraged them to continue to show the kind of active participation being demonstrated at tonight’s meeting.

When another speaker asked the Board members if they intended to run for office in May, Mark Messick said that he has personally chosen not to run for reelection. The other members did not respond to the question.

Another attendee spoke in support of self-incorporation. Those complaining about the potential for self-incorporation were reminded “if we become a city we will elect our own officials.” For those who reflect on how they left Indianapolis many years ago it was noted that the proposal is not to join with Indianapolis. Those who lament the loss of the rural flavor of the area to housing development were reminded that no one can change history and the progress this community has made toward becoming more residential. The speaker then spoke to the advantages of incorporation such as having truly local public servants looking after our planning process in order to maintain property values and to ensure that we have a tax base that will support our schools. In closing the speaker encouraged the measure to be put on the May ballot to give people a chance to review the proposal and then vote their conscience. As a parting shot it was asked why the attorney, retained by the Board, had not alerted the board to the requirements for a proper public meeting, which would have avoided tonight’s repeat. [Editor’s note: Based on exchanges at earlier WRT Board meetings it was made very clear that the attorney serves at the pleasure of the Trustee and did not serve the Board. If the Board wanted to ask the attorney a question it would have to be routed through the Trustee. In addition, the Trustee, who controls the Township funds, refused to hire an attorney for the Board.]

“Cleo” a White River Township resident shared her experience during a recent traffic stop by the Greenwood Police. She was not impressed by the professionalism of the officer and was particularly upset that the Greenwood police were called to the last WRT Board meeting. This one event apparently had a very strong negative impact on those attending, leaving them wondering why they would want to be patrolled by such a force.

As the public comments came to a close Jay Marks, Township Trustee, took the floor with a litany of complaints and concerns about the Reorganization Proposal as written. He noted that the current tax of White River Township is about 1-cent or about $250K/yr. Bargersville would not pay tax and would still get poor relief. Marks expressed concern that the proposed city council of 11 members would be larger than the council of any other city than Indianapolis. He then went into a lot of detail concerning the effective dates of the reorganization and the ability of the city to make the changes needed in the amount of time allocated. He went on for some time highlighting other deficiencies he found with the plan, including a charge that some of the meetings held by the Reorganization Committee were held in violation of the Indiana Open Meeting Law. What is unclear is why Mr. Marks, a resident and business owner in the Town of Bargersville, would speak against the proposal, suggesting that it should remain an open question, rather than allowing the citizens to vote on the proposal. While saying he personally opposed the plan, his clear intent was to encourage the Board to vote against putting it before the voters, effectively keeping the issue alive for at least another year. The only way to avoid a long delay under the Trustees proposal is to have any amendments made by the Board returned to and agreed to by the Greenwood Common Council by the end of the month. The probability of this occurring is extremely low, the result being that the “study” would continue for at least another 12 months.

Mark Messick, WRT Board Chair, make an impassioned defense, not of the proposal itself, but for the process that was followed and providing the citizens of the township the right to vote the proposal up or down.

As noted at the beginning of the article, I was unable to stay to the end of the meeting, so we will not be able to publish the final results until Tuesday.

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