West Side Update - Feb 7, 2025

City Council Update 02/03/25

Hello neighbors,  

I had a great beginning to my February, meeting with the people and visiting the institutions that make Carmel great. First, I got to visit with members of the International Council to hear all the work they do for people in the community.

Then, I had an opportunity to visit the archives of the Great American Songbook located right here in Carmel and got to see some amazing artifacts from one of my favorite vocalists Ella Fitzgerald. You all know my love of the arts, so this was thrilling!

CITY COUNCIL MEETING UPDATES

Recognition of Persons Who Wish to Address the Council

• Chris Potts spoke in support of the 146 & Town Road development’s decision to disallow townhomes. He thanked the Council and Lennar for listening to the community’s needs.

• Robert Spaller asked the City Council to establish a policy that would allow enforcement of pet waste cleanup ordinances. 

• Jodi Schwind asked for help from the Common Council over concerns in the Williamson Run neighborhood over traffic safety and noise.

  
  

Mayoral Comments

• Jameson Parkinson, a fifth grader at Cherry Tree Elementary was given the opportunity to read Mayor Finkam’s comments. He told the Council that the Leadership Team’s first strategic plan is to be reviewed by the Council later this year. The plan seeks to make Carmel the most desirable city in the nation. Improvements in the plan include a fifth ambulance for the West Side. Thank you, Jameson! 

Carmel Redevelopment Commission 

• Redevelopment Director Henry Mestetsky reviewed development updates from last month. While most complexes are still under construction, 1st on Main is nearly finished and selling condos, and the Muse is complete and leasing retail. 

  
  

Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation Quarterly Report

• The Parks Department announced their achievements, including:

  • National re-accreditation 

  • Earning the IPRA Excellence in Resource Improvement Award for River Heritage Park 

  • Adopting the 2025-2029 Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Plan that will guide the department 

• I am thrilled with the responsibility with which Carmel Clay Parks manages its assets and continually invests in accessibility and sustainability of our park system.

  
  

Old Business:

Seventh Reading of Ordinance D-2741-24; Ordinance amending budget procedures of the City of Carmel. 

• This was returned from the Finance Committee with a favorable recommendation.

• This ordinance aims to make our budget process so much easier by: 

  • Simplifying fund transfers within the same budget category 

  • Eliminating departments’ ability to rollover funds without a contract

  • Streamlining the chart of accounts

  • Putting the Controller in charge of budget forms 

• I’m so happy that this ordinance is one step closer to approval because it will make Carmel’s budget a more transparent process

Third Reading of Ordinance Z-694-24; This establishes the Towne 146 Planned Unit Development District Ordinance.

• Sent to the Land Use and Special Studies Committee.

• Lennar truly listened to the community and changed their plan drastically according to resident comments. The modifications include: 

  • Removal of townhomes 

  • Lowered the density of homes in multiple areas

  • A new prototype of a 2-story home with a primary bedroom and full bath on the first floor so that aging at home will be a reality 

    Fellow councilwoman Shannon Minnar and the planning commission put together rental restrictions on this development. I believe that preventing corporations from buying up our limited inventory in order to rent them is critical to supporting homeownership and growing community.

• I’m so pleased to be working with a developer that actually cares about what’s best for the people of Carmel.

Second Reading of Ordinance D-2755-25; Ordinance amends the order of business for the Carmel Common Council agenda by adding Finance Department’s budget quarterly reports

• Simply put, this makes sure the Council gets a quarterly report from the Finance Department

  
  

Public Hearings

First Reading of Ordinance D-2756-25; This ordinance appropriates $1,249,700.00 to cover costs related to the White River Greenway North Extension Project AND First Reading of Ordinance D-2757-25; This ordinance appropriates funds to cover costs related to the White River Greenway North Extension Project.

• Both ordinances were approved

• This will transfer funds from grants received by the Park Department from the City account to the Parks account to allow them to continue their excellent work.

First Reading of Ordinance D-2758-25; This ordinance appropriates funds to support the operation of an additional fifth ambulance for the Carmel Fire Department, utilizing existing personnel at Fire Station 342, located at 3610 West 106th Street. This station serves the southwest side of Carmel.

• Approved 

• This fifth ambulance will bring this area of Carmel up to national safety standards. The ambulance is already sitting at the 106th street station. This directly benefits our district, ensuring that we can hire ALS personnel to staff this ambulance and reduce response times, and transporting patients to the hospital as quickly as possible. This is a great use of funds to make the city safer. 

  
  

New Business

First Reading of Ordinance D-2759-25; Amends certain sections of the Carmel City Code related to park and recreation facilities’ operation rules.

• Approved

• This codifies park regulations, like keeping dogs on leashes and a 15 mph speed limit, into the city code so that they can be enforced by Park Resource Officers.

First Reading of Ordinance D-2760-25; Amends the regulation of parking on Randall Drive.

• Approved

• Many residents were concerned about safety on Randall Drive and now restricts parking on both sides of Randall Drive. 

First Reading of Ordinance D-2762-25; Establishing 15-minute parking space(s) at the beginning of each block along Main Street from Knoll Ct to 1st Ave SE, regulating parking on Range Line from Main Street to 1st Street, and removing inconsistencies and duplications of code.

• Sent to Land Use Committee

• This is mostly a cleanup of the existing code, but the City is undertaking a parking study over the next several months to create a more comprehensive parking code so we will use that data to help us make better decisions on parking.

The next four Resolutions have to do with Tax Increment Financing (TIF) areas, which is a designated zone where tax revenue is reinvested to develop the area. These areas were all approved to be included as TIF areas. The Resolutions and areas are:

1. Resolution CC-02-03-25-01; Creating the Legacy II Allocation Area. This area was already committed to a project years before, but the project has not yet begun, designating this area as an allocation area allows the city to capture the TIF

2. Resolution CC-02-03-25-02; Creating the 106th and Illinois Economic Development Area. Designating these areas as allocation areas does not approve a particular project

3. Resolution CC-02-03-25-02; Creating the Clay Terrace Economic Development Area

4. Resolution CC-02-03-25-04; Creating the BJ’s Wholesale Economic Development Area. This allows us as a city to conclude the interlocal agreement with the county and help to promote and direct the Clay Terrace redevelopment.

Resolution CC-02-03-25-07; Refers a proposal to amend Articles 5.72, 9.08, and 11.02 of the Carmel Unified Development Ordinance to the Carmel Advisory Plan Commission for public hearing and recommendation to the Common Council.

• Sent to Land Use and Special Studies Committee

• This was tabled because the Indiana Supreme Court is currently in litigation about group home licensing requirements.

• This Resolution does three things:

  • Ensures group homes must be licensed 

  • Puts authority into the Board of Zoning Appeals instead of a Hearing Officer 

  • Limits groups homes to 8 people in residential districts

  • Ensures no group home in a residential district can be located within 3,000 ft of another group home

Resolution CC-02-03-25-08; Approves the contract between the City of Carmel and the Carmel Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 185 that will be effective from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026.

• Sent to Finance Committee

• Mayor Finkam recommended that this is pushed to the March meeting so that the Council can see this contract and the International Association of Fire Fighters contracts together.

Ordinance D-275325; Increases salaries in the Office of Corporation Counsel to align with the municipal market and retain experienced employees. Will allow the City to create roles that fulfill the legal needs of our city. 

• We voted to acknowledge 

• This will strike three positions, and put two of them back at a higher salary.

• A study is currently underway to learn more about salaries across the City, but it’s not set to be ready until July. This matter was expedited in order to retain a valuable city employee with a wealth of experience. 

• Increasing salaries is one of the best things we can do to retain talent in Carmel, and I pushed the Controller to finish that salary study as soon as possible. 

Legal services agreement with Kroger Gardis & Regas LLP

• Approved

• This is the 2025 contract for the Council’s counsel

  
  

Mayoral Appointments

• Kelly Baskett was appointed to the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission (Term expires 12/31/27, three-year term)

  
  

City Council Appointments

• Councilor Jeff Worrell discussed a proposed nominating group to appoint counselors to the Nonprofit Review Committee which will address residents’ questions about changes to Christkindlmarkt. Counselor Worrell is disappointed he will not be nominated for the board because he is a vendor for one of the nonprofits under review. He accepted the decision of the Council and emphasized the importance of transparency.

• Carmel Advisory Committee on Disability (Terms expire 12/31/2026, two-year terms); Two Appointments.

  • The City Council, based on the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, appointed Melissa Keyes, Executive Director of Indiana Disability Rights, and Joshua Marraccini, who works with children with special needs.

  • Unfortunately, my nominee Dr. William Bennett was not appointed at this time but Counselor Green asked that the City Council keep him in mind when an appointment opens.

    
    

  • I would like to see each and every committee appointment be a result of a thorough process of resume review and conversation. Carmel is blessed to have a citizenry with a wealth of knowledge, expertise and perspectives and committees work best when we have multiple perspectives and lenses through which issues are vetted.

    I encourage members of our community to put their names forward for consideration to serve on the city's various committees and boards.

    
    

• Affiliate Review Committee

  • Based on the recommendations of the Nominating Committee, Counselor Green nominated Counselors Ryan Locke, Teresa Ayers, and Shannon Minnaar. All three were appointed to the committee

    
    
    
    

Exciting events around Carmel

• The first She L.E.A.D.S. women’s leadership conference hosted by Mayor Sue Finkam will be held on February 20 at 205 East Event Center. The professional development portion is taking place 11am-4pm, and the youth portion for middle school girls is 4pm-7pm.  I am excited to be facilitating one of these youth panels.

  
  

As I continue on my mission to make Carmel the greatest city in the world, I want to stress the importance of listening to and prioritizing the needs of our residents. In this meeting, we made significant strides towards making sure no one’s voice is lost in the noise by appointing accomplished individuals to committees and hearing directly from citizens on how we can keep their neighborhood safe, maintain the cleanliness of the city, and establish new housing developments that work for the people of Carmel.

Let’s keep the dialogue going—I’m here to listen. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the policies that make Carmel a top-tier city.

Looking towards a brighter future,

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!