Citizens Speak Out Against ICE in Carmel

Hello neighbors,  

ICE is coming to Carmel, and it’s important to be proactive by preparing. Learn practical ways to protect your and your family in my recent blog post and a video made in conjunction with Hamilton County Democrats. 

While Carmel cannot prevent ICE from renting office space, we can express our displeasure to the private entities that enabled this to occur and we must use every available tool to ensure that they comply with our city’s code. Our community has both the right and the responsibility to demand transparency, accountability, and adherence to local standards. If you see something concerning, please inform me, Carmel Police Department, the mayor, or your other Councilors. I promise to be as transparent as possible and keep you updated. 

As always, you can watch the entire City Council meeting here. 

CITY COUNCIL MEETING UPDATES

Swearing in of New Police Officers 

• Mayor Finkam swore in Radhika Choudhray and Zachary Graham as our two newest Carmel Police Officers. We are so lucky to have such dedicated, educated, and experienced people protecting our city. 

New CCI CEO

• I’d like to introduce you to our new Christkindlmarkt CEO, Jason Adamowicz! Mr. Adamowicz brings a wealth of experience in working with city governments, nonprofits, and grant funders. I’m confident that he will do an excellent job in bringing the magic we all love to the Market this holiday season. 

CCI CEO Jason Adamowicz

Mayoral Comments

• 5th Grader Navtegh Singh was our deputy mayor for the evening! He shared some of the Mayor’s updates, including: 

  • The East Side or Rangeline Road is getting a promenade soon! Construction will start around July and end in November. 

  • Carmel has a new volunteer platform to help you get involved with the city. 

  • Apply now for the 2026 Spring Carmel Citizens Utility Academy, a unique opportunity for residents to gain a behind-the-scenes understanding of the essential utility services that support our community. 

  • Vote for the Carmel Arts and Design District for USA Today’s 10 Best Arts Districts in the nation!

Deputy Mayor Navtegh Singh

Public Comments

• Sallie Peeler, Mark Roger, Joey Basu, Maaike Mora, and Kay Gaither all spoke against the coming ICE office and suggested ways to mitigate harm. Some ideas they brought included refusing to use city funds and resources to assist ICE, implementing civilian review boards to investigate complaints, more transparent communication, and clear leadership from the Mayor and councilors. 

• William Clontz said that though our road snow removal has been excellent, the sidewalk removal needs more work so that pedestrians can walk freely. 

Mayoral Comments on ICE

• Mayor Finkam made it known that Carmel does not have the power to restrict this ICE office and emphasized that Carmel PD will remain the cornerstone of safety in our city.

• She promised that her office will maintain open lines of communication. 

Council Comments 

I was so moved by the compassion and clarity that our residents displayed during the blue card sessions that I could not help but reiterate how important it is for community to come together at this time. I truly believe that local community knows best and that it is our civic duty as neighbors to hold us accountable and look out for one another.

• Councilors Worrell and Locke are concerned about the ICE office and believe that Carmel has the power to make local decisions to keep ICE in line. They expect Carmel PD to keep residents, as well as people working in and visiting Carmel, safe.

• Councillor Aasen thanked our speakers for their contributions and asked that residents reach out with any concerns or questions.

Land Use Committee

• At the Land Use meeting on February 18, we discussed the Restoracy of Carmel planned unit development, which would add 24 skilled nursing unit beds to the current skilled nursing facility.

  • We will find more details about drainage, landscaping, fencing materials, and buffers for the neighborhood on the East side and bring them to the next meeting.

• We also made progress on the Illinois Street Townhomes PUD. 

  •  The developer, Pulte, brought some wonderful examples of the materials they propose to use, and they will return to the next meeting with more detailed drawings of the new materials and renderings.

• We also reviewed the final iteration of the US 31 Corridor Subarea Plan.

  • Thanks for all your feedback!

• Come to our next meeting on March 4th at 5:30pm at Carmel Public Library. 

Library Board Report

• Bob Swanay, director of Carmel-Clay Library, gave us an update on all the important and wonderful things that the library system is doing:

  • Out of their total $10M budget, 20% of that is for materials 

    • State standards say you need to spend at least 7% on materials, so 20% is a huge accomplishment. 

  • Patrons checked out 2.1 million materials in 2026.

    • In addition, more than 8,300 got new library cards. 

  • Despite growing bigger and better, the library’s tax rate decreased this year. 

  • 96.5% of residents say that they love the library!

  • Their annual programming has been a huge success. This year, they hosted:

    • 264 adult programs with more than 7.6k attendees, 

    • Over 1k programs for children with 34.5k attendees, and  

    • 260 programs for teens with 6.8k attendees. 

  • 50 homebound patrons were served regularly, with staff making 532 home visits. 

  • The Carmel-Clay Library Teen Artist-in-Residence program has been a huge success. Eligible students in grades 6–12 can apply to use the studio space for 4 consecutive months, and all materials are provided.

    • This is a great opportunity for your budding artist!

  • Get involved with the Carmel-Clay Library Foundation to make our libraries even better. 

  • Come support the library at their event on March 21: Library After Dark. This special fundraising event for ages 21 and over offers an opportunity to support library programs during an evening of after-hours fun. 

Finance Update

• The Council received a review of the 2025 general fund:

  • Some revenue streams were below target:

    • Property tax: -$1.1M

    • Auto excise tax: -$.5M

    • Supplemental LIT: -$1.7M

    • Food and Beverage tax: -$3.8M

  • While others were above target: 

    • Supplemental Medicare Reimbursement:s +$.3M

    • Interest/investment savings: +$1.4M

• While Carmel owns 56 buildings or structures, we do not have a comprehensive plan to assess our facilities. The Council recently appropriated $100,000 to solve this problem.  

Enterprise Resource Planning

• Enterprise Resource Planning is a software that integrates all the tools a city needs to be successful, from marketing to human resources to data analytics. 

• The Finance Committee chose to move forward with exploring the implementation of an ERP to ensure Carmel’s financial and administrative systems receive accurate data automatically, enabling us to be more efficient overall. 

• This is expected to cost about $1 million, and the city has received quotes ranging from $500,000 to $2 million.

  • Licensing fees are expected to be $300,000 per year. This may seem steep, but we hope for some cost recovery using this tool. 

  • I voted to move this exploration forward as no additional fund are required to do that at this time but reserve the right to question its ROI as we learn more.

Public Hearings 

First Reading of Ordinance Z-703-26

• Sent to committee

• This ordinance establishes the Illinois Street Townhomes Planned Unit Development District, which the developers say will expand housing options, enhance walkability, preserve mature trees, and protect single-family neighborhoods.

• The HOA of the neighborhood across from this project supports the townhomes because they won’t affect lighting, sound, or cause other annoyances.

Site of Illinois Street Townhomes Planned Unit Development District

First Reading of Ordinance D-704-26

• Sent to Land Use

• This ordinance amends the Green House Cottages of Carmel Planned Unit Development Ordinance and receives a unanimous recommendation from the Planning Commission.

• There are already 6 nursing buildings and a small administration building, and this project will add 2 new cottages so Hoosiers can age in place. 

Site of the Green House Cottages of Carmel Planned Unit Development

Events Around Carmel

• See The Great Gatsby at the Tarkington on February 20 and 21 at 7pm. 

• Until the end of February, Rosie's Place bakes its own renditions of famous Girl Scouts goodies. Proceeds from these goods go to benefit the Girl Scouts!

• Come to the Carmel Winter Farmer’s Market every Saturday until March 28. 

Thank you all for reading this recap. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions.

Caring for Carmel,

Dr. Anita Joshi

If you have a fifth grade Carmel student who would like to give the mayoral update at a council meeting next year please reach out to me and I will be happy to put your student's name forward.

As always if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please reach out to me. I’m always here to listen and advocate for you. If you wish to review the details of our city meeting, the recording is available here, and the meeting agenda is available here! If you’d like to attend a City Council meeting, committee hearing, or other council events, please visit our website for the calendar!