APRIL 2015
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communications@westfield.in.gov
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westfield.in.gov
IN THIS ISSUE • Construction Updates • Metronet Moves Forward • Smart Parks • Bike to School
Infrastructure improvements ramp back up as weather improves.
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR Greetings everyone and welcome to another edition of Your City Matters.
Mayor Cook takes a selfie with students from the WHS marching band.
ELECTED OFFICIALS Andy Cook MAYOR
Cindy Gossard
CLERK TREASURER
Jim Ake
CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Robert Horkay, Steve Hoover, Chuck Lehman, Bob Smith, Cindy L. Spoljaric, Robert Stokes CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
STAFF Todd Burtron
CHIEF OF STAFF
Joel Rush
POLICE CHIEF
As the temperatures begin to get more tolerable and Winter says goodbye, we are finally able to get back to doing some important infrastructure work. You’ll start to see work on two roundabouts, and of course we’ll be out doing our routine maintenance work on potholes and the like. Speaking of potholes and other service requests, don’t forget you can request these kinds of things on our customer service portal “WeConnect.” Simply go to weconnect.westfield.in.gov/ and you can let us know about potholes, find permits, pay bills and a whole lot more. If you read the last issue, you know that March was Music in Our Schools Month. The City Council and I presented a proclamation to the Westfield Band Boosters and were given an impressive demonstration of why arts education matters at the Council meeting on March 9th. I even got to take a “selfie” with the students. It was a great time. If you’re not currently receiving our Your City Matters eNewsletter, simply follow this link to sign up: http://eepurl.com/bcATB5 We will shortly be moving to a quarterly printed edition, so the eNewsletter will serve as a way to stay more connected between hard copy editions. Thanks for all you do for the community.
Joe Lyons
FIRE CHIEF
Melody Jones
PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR
John Rogers
ENTERPRISE DIRECTOR
Matt Skelton
ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Ken Alexander
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Derrick Cash
INFORMATICS DIRECTOR
Erin Murphy
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
J. Andrew Cook Mayor
WESTFIELD FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT IN HAMILTON COUNTY TO INSTALL SEAT BELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES Westfield, Indiana, home of Grand Park, and recently voted nationally as one of the Top 50 “The Best Places to Live” by Money Magazine, as well as one of the “10 Best Towns for Families” by Family Circle, is again leading the way in Hamilton County. On Friday, March 6th Westfield Mayor Andy Cook, along with Westfield-Washington school officials and city leaders announced a ground-breaking program to provide better safety for students traveling out of town on their school buses. “The most valuable asset in the Westfield community is our children,” Mayor Andy Cook said. “We are proud to partner with IMMI to help keep our kids safe.” “School buses are the only vehicles, traveling down our highways at 65 miles per hour that don’t offer the protection of seat belts for our kids. We can do better, and in Westfield, we will,” said Tom Anthony, president and owner of Westfield-based IMMI, which is the leading provider of seatbelts for school buses. “We’re thrilled to partner with the city and the school district, and their commitment to take the next step to better protect kids on school buses is just one more reason why Westfield is one of the best cities to live for families.” The announcement was held at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), on IMMI’s campus at 18881 IMMI Way in Westfield. CAPE has safety tested more school buses and school bus seats than anyone else in the world combined. Just last month, ABC News featured IMMI and CAPE on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and Nightline for their work on seatbelts on school buses. As a result of those stories, the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency is re-evaluating whether seatbelts on school buses should be mandated. More than 600 school buses have been involved in rollover accidents in the past 5 years, and annually, 17,000 students are injured in school bus accidents. Indiana legislators are currently considering a bill that would mandate seatbelts on all new school buses.
SMART PARKS IN WESTFIELD
The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen will soon be coming to Simon Moon Park. Westfield Parks is currently installing new “smart playground” equipment that doubles the fun by offering physical exercise and also smartphone capability that allows users to read – or have read aloud – the popular fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen via QR code. Simply bring a smartphone or tablet to the playground and unlock another dimension of learning and play. The new equipment will offer great exercise opportunities for kids 2-5, stimulate language and learning and teach kids the kinds of moral insights for which Hans Christian Andersen is known. Be on the lookout for installation to be completed this month! Simon Moon Park is located on 171st Street, between the City Services Building and Carey Commons.
ROAD PROJECT UPDATES Now that the weather has improved, infrastructure work has kicked off. Here are a few updates to help you know how to handle your commutes! 156th & Spring Mill Roundabout: Utility work has been ongoing for months now, but the actual construction of the intersection is just getting started. The intersection will be closed starting the first week of April. This project is slated to have a 60 day closure. Please be mindful if you are heading in that direction, to go another route. 161st & Oak Ridge Roundabout: Important to note, this construction will not close down the 161st & Oak Ridge intersection until the 156th & Spring Mill Roundabout is open to traffic. Currently crews are prepping for demolition of the acquired property for the project and utility transfers have begun. Construction is slated to start in September and will last around 60 days. Contractors are mindful of the daily US 31 traffic, but they are planning to close the intersection while the construction work is underway. For the latest information on travel advisories please use the City of Westfield app. You can find it in the Apple store and in Google Play. As always, we appreciate your patience!
UPDATES AGRELIANT TO EXPAND HEADQUARTERS AgReliant, located at the intersection of 169th Street and the Monon, has filed expansion plans for their headquarters. The company has committed to 31 additional jobs over the next ten years, in addition to their existing 54 jobs. This expansion project is estimated to be around $4M. AgReliant is the third largest corn seed company in the United States. The company’s research program operates 13 research facilities across North America and is ranked among the top five agriculture research programs in North America. AgReliant’s brands include AgriGold, Eureka Seeds, Great Lakes Hybrids, LG Seeds, Producers Hybrids, Wensman and PRIDE Seeds.
DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHT: PARKS EVENTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!
The start of spring is always invigorating, and for the Parks and Recreation Department it means the special events season kicks off.
The department stays busy with coordinating monthly events starting in April. Whether the department is assisting in the 7th annual Floral Display Competition or organizing Westfield’s National Trails Day; the Parks’ employees strive to make every event they touch, an inviting and memorable experience. The Parks and Recreation Department is also assisting in the Bike to School Day. Every year, hundreds participate to show their support of Westfield being a trail progressive community while promoting an active lifestyle. In cooperation with the Westfield Washington Schools, the Mayor, the Police Department, the Fire Department, students, families and teachers will ride their bikes to schools that are connected to the trail system. However, if your child’s school isn’t trail connected, no worries because this year every school in Westfield is participating in Bike to School Day. The department invites you to check out the city website for a list of Westfield events, and if you are able to participate, please stop by and say hi!
METRONET MOVES FORWARD Gigabit broadband provider Metronet has received approval from the Westfield Redevelopment Commission to proceed with a tax increment financing (TIF) initiative to be paid by the company’s personal property taxes. The approval will allow Metronet to move forward installing their state-of-the art fiber optic network throughout the community. “It took Westfield 64 days to get from declaratory resolution to its confirmatory resolution,” said Steve Biggerstaff of Metronet. “That’s gig speed for a community.” The communities Metronet serves are among the first handful of cities in the U.S. to receive this technology. Westfield will be the 22nd Metronet Gigabit City in Indiana to work with the fiber provider. Because of their 100% fiber optic network, Metronet can consistently deliver blazing-fast Internet speeds up to a Gigabit per second. And, with every customer they service directly connected to the fiber network, customers receive consistently fast speeds rather than sharing a connection with their neighbors. Metronet also provides TV and phone service. Residents are encouraged to call Metronet at 1-855-477-8754 with any questions or visit www.metronetinc.com/westfield.
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130 Penn St., Westfield, IN 46074
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 4 • Imagine Church Easter Egg Drop 2:30 pm, Grand Park Sports Campus
APRIL 6 & 20 • Advisory Plan Commission Meeting 7:00 pm, Westfield City Hall, Assembly Room
APRIL 13 • City Council Meeting
7:00 pm, Westfield City Hall, Assembly Room
APRIL 14 • Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting
7:00 pm, Westfield City Hall, Assembly Room
APRIL 11 & 25 • Heart and Soul Free Clinic
9:00 am, 202 Penn Street
APRIL 29 • Board of Public Works & Safety Meeting
1:00 pm, Westfield Public Works Conference Room