FEB 2014
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communications@westfield.in.gov
IN THIS ISSUE • Grand Park Update • Westfield: Where You Want to Be Utility Transfer Facts • Spotlight on Parks Programming • A Plower’s Perspective
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westfield.in.gov
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR Winter is my favorite time of year. Westfield is so pretty with fresh fallen snow, and there is something about having four distinct seasons. My family knows exactly how much I love to be out in the elements; they even bought me a plow to hitch onto my yellow jeep. Every snow season I use that plow. I use it to plow out my children’s driveways, I use it to clear snow off my own driveway and I use it to plow city streets. I don’t have to use it to help the Public Works Department, but I do it anyway because I want to help out in the snow clearing efforts. This winter has been one of those winters for the record books. January tied as the 5th snowiest month on record and with as much plowing as we’ve had to do, I believe it. The snow storm early in January tested us all. It tested families who were hunkered down in their homes with their families, praying their power would stay on; it tested those who had to battle the conditions and go to work; and it tested the ones people depend on most, such as nurses, doctors, police and firefighters. The storm also tested municipalities such as ours.
STAFF Andy Cook
Every year, we guess what winter will bring us. The Public Works Director calculates estimates for the season by evaluating past winters, determining the amount of roads that need to be plowed and salted, and uses estimations from the Hamilton County Co-op, which gives the City a cushion if more salt is needed. This year we are through January and we’ve used less than half of the salt we ordered for the entire winter. That’s because we’ve been able to conserve salt by focusing on plowing first and then salting.
MAYOR
Todd Burtron
CHIEF OF STAFF
Joel Rush
POLICE CHIEF
Melody Jones
PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR
John Rogers
ENTERPRISE DIRECTOR
Matt Skelton
Keeping up with the plowing needs hasn’t been easy, but the Public Works crew has been doing a fantastic job. Central Indiana is not used to seeing this much snow, so most cities don’t plan for this type of weather. Planning for this would mean more tax dollars spent on equipment and crews that the city wouldn’t need for the average Indiana winter. Our City has done a great job with our resources in keeping up with Mother Nature. Public Works has even contracted out to help with big storms, like the ones we had the first week of January; they’ve handled the rest of the snow and ice with our plow trucks and dump trucks.
ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Ken Alexander
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Derrick Cash
INFORMATICS DIRECTOR
Erin Verplank
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
While we can always look ahead and strive to be even better, I know our City employees have gone above and beyond and my little plow has seen its fair share of work this winter. Sincerely, Andy
GRAND PARK UPDATE Despite the wintry conditions, the City and its partners are still hard at work at Grand Park Sports Campus. Construction has continued on the concession stand structures as well as the parking lots and pathways. This activity is anticipated to ramp up significantly as temperatures rise in preparation of the spring tournaments and a Grand Community Opening event being planned for June. The baseball tournament dates were recently announced by the Lids Indiana Bulls and Bullpen Tournaments. The first game takes place on March 8 when DePauw University will play Manchester University followed by a bustling tournament schedule of more than 5,000 baseball games being played through October. Each tournament will include an average of 60 teams coming from 15 states and two countries. The first two soccer tournaments will be held in March hosted by Westfield Youth Soccer Association (WYSA). The first is a Boys Showcase taking place March 14-16, and the Girls Showcase is scheduled for March 21 – 23. The club expects more than 50 teams to play in front of around 40 college coaches during the event. Additional soccer dates will be announced in the near future as the schedule is finalized.
COUNCIL UPDATE Below are some important points taken from the January 13 City Council Meeting: •
Police forces and first responders were thanked for their quick handling of the double homicide.
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Public Works crews were recognized for their snow removal efforts.
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Bridgewater PUD/Woodland Terrance was introduced.
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Chatham Hills PUD adoption was approved.
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Oak Park petitioned to rezone or larger lots for custom homes. There will be a public hearing February 3rd.
City Council Meetings occur on the second Monday of each month at 7:00pm and tentatively on the fourth Monday of each month (as needed) at 7:00pm.
JANUARY SNOW PICTURES
UTILITY TRANSFER FACTS The upcoming utility sale proceeds that the City will receive totals $91 million dollars. Of that $91 million, $45 million will pay off Westfield’s utility debt, $5 million will be used for transaction fees, and $40 million will pay for future City projects. Some examples of upcoming projects funded by the sale are listed below: • Roundabout at Carey Road and 161st Street • Roundabout at 156th and Spring Mill • Roundabout at 161st Street and Oak Ridge Road • Expansion of the Monon Trail, connecting four gaps throughout the City • Extending the Midland Trail from Gunther to Gray • Reconstruction of Mill Street and new construction south of Park to create the perimeter of Grand Junction • Extending Grand Park Boulevard to Wheeler Road • Roundabout at 186th Street and Grand Park Boulevard Completing these projects is part of the “Westfield: Where You Want to Be” initiative, illustrating the City’s continuing commitment of making Westfield a great place to live! Be on the lookout for other “Westfield: Where You Want to Be” initiatives in the future.
UTILITY TRANSFER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Billing: Once Citizens begins billing for water, the first storm water and trash bill from the city will be mailed in April. In that bill, residents will be paying for services in February, March, April, May and June. The next bill will be in July. Storm water and trash will be billed quarterly starting in July. Drop Boxes: Drop boxes were removed throughout the city, except in front of City Services, located at 2728 East 171st
Street. Citizens will be installing a drop box at City Services once the transfer is complete. No other drop boxes will be installed at this time.
PARKS PROGRAMMING SPOTLIGHT Wine and Canvas – Friday, February 21st from 7:00 – 10:00pm Location: Westfield Parks & Recreation Programming Facility Wine & Canvas makes painting easy and exciting! This will be a fun, social, group setting, with an artist to guide you step by step in re-creating the featured painting. At the end of the event, you’ll take home a work of art that you created. Life is too short for blank walls – unleash your inner Picasso! A variety of beverages will be available for purchase at the event. For ages 21+ My Little Valentine – Friday, February 14th from 1:00 – 2:30pm Location: Westfield Parks & Recreation Programming Facility Celebrate Valentine’s Day this year with your little valentine at the Main Street Programming Facility! We will make valentine crafts, play themed games, and enjoy a valentine dessert and story. For ages 3-5, and a parent or guardian must attend and participate. To register for either of these programs, simply go online to www.westfield.in.gov/parks or call (317) 804-3183.
UPDATES A PLOWER’S PERSPECTIVE For Neil VanTrees, City Engineer, plowing City roads is not necessarily part of his job description. However, with the early January snowstorm, over 13 inches of snow fell in Westfield, and Neil was on deck alongside many other City employees to help clear roads. In fact, all Public Works employees were called out on Sunday, January 5th to help plow, in addition to employees from both the Community DeTRAVIS STETNISH AND NEIL VANTREES velopment and Parks Departments. The City also contracted with Hittle landscaping to assist with the heavy snowfall on Sunday. With an event of this magnitude, the City snow plows were out in full force and employees started preparing 3 days prior to the storm to make sure all trucks were in top operating condition. The main goal during peak snowfall was to keep roads safe for emergency services. In total, the City had all of the street department’s vehicles (6 dump trucks and 21 pickup trucks) in operation to treat approximately 180 miles of City roads.
EMPLOYEES OPERATE PLOWS THROUGH THE DAY TO CLEAR THE SNOW.
“Our usual objective is to clear snow from curb to curb,” Neil said. “In some areas, there was so much snow that at times we had to use a backhoe or payloader to scoop the snow and pile it further off the roadway to make room”.
Travis Stetnish, Lead Street Supervisor, coordinated the large salt truck crews who worked 12 hour shift rotations non-stop from Saturday night until Friday evening. The other subdivision plow teams worked 12 hour shifts intermittently and on Friday 10 firefighters helped plow to relieve the exhausted plowers. “Altogether it was a situation where teamwork became the most important factor in our success,” Travis said. “It required a lot of communication between everyone who was trying to clear main arteries and residential streets.” At times when the wind was blowing, it was difficult to have enough visibility to plow. In the end, plowers know it is worth the hard work. “Many people were showing us our appreciation on Monday,” Neil said. “Even when temps were 10 below zero, I had a couple come out of their house to thank me and offer me a coke.”
WOODLAND TERRACE SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY A new senior living community is coming to Westfield. Located next to the Bridgewater Apartment complex on the corner of 151st and Gray Road, Woodland Terrace will consist of 165 units on a 12 acre parcel and is expected to start construction later this year.
CHATHAM HILLS PUD APPROVED The zoning for Chatham Hills, a 750-acre+/- mixed-use golf course development generally extending from the southwest corner of State Highway 38 and US Highway 31 to 199th Street and the Monon Trail, was approved at the first City Council meeting in January. When constructed, Chatham Hills will feature a Pete Dye-designed 18-hole championship course and a mix of both single family and multi-family residential as well as commercial and recreational uses.
TAX RATE UPDATE The City of Westfield will lower the tax rate for 2014. The decrease in the rate is due to increased assessed value and a $2 million property tax bond that will be paid off in 2014.
PRESORT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID
130 Penn St., Westfield, IN 46074
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FEB 8 & 22 • Heart and Soul Free Clinic 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, 202 Penn Street
FEB 10 • City Council Meeting 7:00 pm, Westfield City Hall, Assembly Room
FEB 11 • Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting 9:00 pm, Westfield City Hall, Assembly Room
FEB 17 • Presidents Day City Offices CLOSED
FEB 25 • WeCAN Meeting 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm, City Services Center