Plans Hit a Traffic Jam

Wednesday night, August 18, Union Township residents got together on three-days notice - via 15 information signs posted at strategic intersections - to discuss the fate of the township - 78 people crowded into a Union Township residence, and were joined by Town Councilors Judith Essex and Candace Ulmer. Essex and Ulmer were former township trustees from Eagle and Union respectfully before they became de facto Zionsville Town Council members as a result of government consolidation.

What gave rise to the meeting was the possibility that Cooper Road would be extended from Ind. 334 north through Union Township as part of the roadway link involving an interchange at Cooper Road and I-865 - a proposal on the drawing board being considered by the Zionsville Transportation Master Plan Study Committee.

Residents along Cooper Road south of Ind. 334 and adjacent property owners in what is provincially known as "Horse Country'' rode to the hounds when they found out about the possibility of the Cooper Road-I-865 interchange. Since those plans surfaced, town officials have been besieged with emails protesting the idea, and residents of the area have been packing the working group of the transportation study committee meetings.

At last Friday's meeting (8-20) of the study committee, it was announced that the proposed extension of Cooper Road north of Ind. 334 has "been separated out'' of consideration for the updated Zionsville Transportation Master Plan. No reason was offered why this extension of Cooper Road had been "separated out'' of the proposed planning.

However, Zionsville Confidential has learned the reason for the separation. As originally proposed, the "Cooper Road project'' begins at I-865, extends north to Ind. 334, and the proceeds to connect with 875, and onward to 900 linking with Ind. 32. It should be noted that there are parts of the alignment that would have to be constructed through some very expensive real estate.

With the furor that the project has caused along Cooper Road in the equestrian district, planners were worried that should, for some reason, the project fail to become part of the updated Zionsville Master Transportation Plan, the entire alignment would have been doomed. So, to safeguard the segment of Cooper Road north of Ind. 334, planners decided to split the concept into two parts in the master plan. One wonders just why the extension north of 334 is so important. Not many people live up there. Yet.

How's that old saying go? Oh yes, "Build it and they will come." And then so will the interchange.

Stay tuned.

Going For Broke

How's this for big kahunas.

The Mulberry Street Gang is betting on the come the referendum is a done deal.

So, confident is the Zionsville School Corp. that the referendum tax will pass in November that $5.8 million of the first year's proceeds from the tax was included in the 2011 budget, which the Zionsville school board has on its agenda again at Monday night's meeting (8-23)! Page 8 in the budget shows a line item for "referendum fund" with $5.84 million in it. ZCS apparently feels like they are playing with the house's money because, "The Referendum Fund, if the operating referendum is approved, will also be included in future years." (page 10.) Isn't it grand to play with O.P.M.?

But, perhaps the Robison administration should make some side bets, just as insurance.

It must be in the cards that the referendum will be protested. The 2011 budget is being challenged by a group of local residents, with more than the required number of signatures.

A devoted and die-hard group of anti-tax folks has formed a committee - Zionsville Taxpayers for Responsible Education - to do battle with the Zionsville Community Schools PAC, ZCS Yes. The ZTRE is currently soliciting contributions through a post office box - Zionsville Taxpayers for Responsible Education, P.O. Box 93, Zionsville 46077.

And, from the sounds of the cash register, the money is rolling in - and the group is only two weeks old. But with $5.8 million a year on the table, expect Robison to scramble for his trump card.

David Drexel's money is on the underdog.

Let Them Eat Pizza

When Marie Antoinette told the French people, "Let them eat cake,'' the Revolution began.

But not so in apathetic Zionsville.

When asked how much the $42 million November referendum tax will cost Zionsville taxpayers, the school superintendent Scott Robison quipped:

"About the same price as a piece of pizza a day.''

At $5,850,000 a year for 7 years, make mine double sausage, double cheese please.

Where is the public outcry that will cost Zionsville property owners millions to pay off the School Board's humongous boondoggle of a new sports complex, new football stadium? All that and a multi-million dollar school sitting vacant.

The famous line from the school's financial guru Mike Shafer was that the empty school is being held in "strategic reserve.''

Are we in Kansas yet Toto?

And if residential property owners are not concerned yet, Main Street should be doubly worried because it will shoulder the greater weight of the referendum tax than a residential property of equal value.

Commercial properties, unlike residential ones, are not eligible for deductions for mortgages and homestead exemptions which add up, meaning that Zionsville businesses will have to cough-up almost three times that of the residential properties.

In a letter to the editor in this week's Zionsville Times-Sentinel, Peter Heles of Zionsville writes:
``There are approximately 50 parcels of commercial real estate on Main Street. The average gross assessed value of these properties is $485,000 based on the March 1, 2009 assessment. That means, on average, a commercial property owner on Main Street will pay an additional $10,015 for the seven year referendum tax.''

Heles is worried, as all Zionsville should be, that as hard as shopkeepers are trying to survive in the economic downturn, and in addition to increases in property taxes owing to the reassessments of the past few years, this new tax could cause some to shut their doors.

Pass the pizza.

Slick Ads, Slick Talk...Higher Taxes

Remember 2007 when an upstart quartet ran for the Zionsville Town Council?

Remember those slick mailers that arrived in your mailboxes promising change?

Under that mantra, Matt Price, Michelle Barrett, Tim Haak and Mark Plassman promised `"our property taxes will go down.''

One of Price's mailings stated, `"Zionsville taxpayers don't have a say in many of the decisions that affect our school district - and our tax bill. On the council, Matt will take a proactive approach to controlling growth, giving us a voice in the decisions that affect our schools and our wallets.'' That sentiment was also echoed in the Times Sentinel's Candidate questionnaire.

Well folks, 60-80 percent of your Zionsville tax bill goes to the Zionsville Community School district. (Check out your property taxes here.)

And yes, the Town Council has no control over school spending.

But, with a referendum looming in November for the school district to increase taxes 29.5 cents on each $100 of assessed value, where is the Town Council? Not a peep, nary a discouraging word, na da about what could be a whopping extra $1,000 in taxes on a home valued at $300,000.

One would think that the Price administration would take a stand on the referendum if it were really concerned about taxes as they appeared to be in 2007. Could it be that the schools are fodder for the development industry, which dumped thousands of dollars into the campaigns of Price et al? Don't bite the hand that fed us. After all, there are empty schools to fill up.

It's a given that good schools attract people. Zionsville's schools are among the best in the state, so folks with children keep coming, new homes and multi-family housing go up, and who bears the burden? Look in the mirror.

And, where is the Price administration as Zionsville's school debt approaches $240 million? His council is focusing on major issues - $50,000 for a new town logo; $30,000 for a new town website; $20,000 for an annual report, and it goes on and on. And, don't forget the weeds on Main Street.

One would think that the more affluent Zionsville residents have money trees in those spacious well-groomed yards. There seems of be an apathy about the referendum, except for those backing the school referendum - the school administration's controlled lackies and its well-oiled propaganda machine.

Don't say that Zionsville Confidential didn't sound the warning bell when the tax bill rolls around and you wonder where the money went.

Horsefeathers

Whoa hoss.

Want to send the horse country gentry galloping into a lather?

Mention the possibility of an interchange with Cooper Road and I-865.

Over the past six months, the Zionsville Transportation Plan Steering Committee has been discussing alternatives to get traffic in-and-out of Zionsville. It's all part of updating the Transportation Plan to fit with the town's revised land use plan.

The engineering firm of HNTB is under contract with the Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) to develop the updated transportation and land use plan for Zionsville. The MPO is a quasi-governmental body comprised of representatives of Marion, and the doughnut counties, which passes on transportation projects to the Indiana Department of Transportation and federal highway agencies.

Members of the steering committee are: Tim Haak, Art Harris, Judith Essex, Chad Sweeney, Chad Pittman, Larry Jones, Jim Longest, John Ottensman, and Sanjay Patel; together with MPO members Stephanie Belch, Cat Schoenherr; Ed Mitro, Lance Lantz and Terry Jones, of the town's staff; John Myers and Matt Miller, of HNTB.

The interchange at Cooper and I-865 was ``introduced as part of the long-range transportation plan'' in 1988 and has been pretty much dormant until this latest go-round.

Since then, residents of southwestern Boone County, who have large tracts of land devoted to raising, training and boarding horses, have sought to protect the bucolic landscape. This was accomplished by the creation of special zoning - R-E1 - and having the area declared a rural historic district by Indiana Historic Landmarks, all of which was privately funded by the landowners.

One of the prime jewels of the area is the internationally acclaimed, annual Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show, which has been privately sponsored and organized over the years by the Johnson family - the late Sylvester Johnson, his wife, Liz and son, Johnny.

Cooper Road dissects the heart of this equine district, dead ending at Indiana 334 - its northern terminus. South of I-865, Cooper Road ends at 88th Street in Marion County.

Residents of the country north of I-865 are concerned, and rightly so, that the traffic generated by an interchange at Cooper Road will not only greatly decrease property values, but seriously damage what they have created. They can honestly argue that gas stations at an interchange won't lend to the bucolic atmosphere.

Viewing the interchange and what will surely follow from a strictly transportation perspective, the interstate connection makes sense because it would siphon vehicles away from Ford and Zionsville roads and reduce traffic congestion in the village.

But, when and if the plan is accepted, the results would be disastrous to the area - the eventual widening of Cooper Road to accommodate increased traffic volumes - driving a stake through the heart of a special part of rural Zionsville and Boone County.

But, before getting too exercised, the Transportation Plan will have to be approved by the Zionsville Town Council. And, if the Price administration turns a deaf ear to the horse country folks and approves the plan, bet the farm that money will be no object in funding opponents to oust those voting for it.

Pay to Play in Zionsville

Ever wonder how some of Zionsville's town business is engineered?
It doesn't hurt that your campaign consultant is a big shot lobbyist, or you were all clubby members of the Zionsville High School Class of '86.

Back in 2007 when upstarts Matt Price, Timmy Haak, Michelle Barrett and Mark Plassman set their sights on the incumbent Crane administration, a hired-gun named William F. Stuart was brought into the stable to run their campaign, according to a highly placed confidential source, Stuart was the brains that got three of the four elected, at an astronomical cost of $80,000, for a town council spot that paid a council member $5,000 a year.

The possible return on the investment must have been mouth-watering to the development interests.

Stuart, a long-time Democrat operative, and a registered agent for the engineering firm of Beam Longest and Neff - (BLN) - worked hand-in-hand with a San Francisco firm of Terris Barnes Walters to design the expensive campaign brochures, and media ads.

Campaign filings show that Price, Plassman, Haak and Barrett paid over $38,000 to the firm for campaign services and mailings.
Those same documents show that Price paid $6,000 to Maple Hill Consulting of Fishers for "consultation.'' The resident of the Maple Hill address is William F. Stuart.
Coincidentally, the San Francisco company's web site also listed Jim Longest as a client along with Zionsville's Reorganization, and several Indiana Democrat legislators. (The reference to Jim Longest's campaign has been taken down now.)
That's the same Jim Longest who is president of Beam Longest and Neff, and a current member of the Zionsville School Board, and also a member of the Class of '86, along with Price and Haak.

And good old ZHS buddy Longest dumped $950 to Haak's campaign coffers, and Longest's brother Tim coughed-up $500 to Timmy.
Fast forward to 2009 when the contract for the town's engineering services was up for renewal.

The engineering firm which had the town business for over 25 years was HNTB, a highly-respected Indiana company, but the newbies pushed for BLN, despite the fact they could find nothing wrong with HNTB's work.

So along with the new council mummy-dummies Judie Essex and Candy Ulmer, (defacto members because of the newly constituted consolidated government) BLN was awarded the contract a few months ago, which is worth approximately a half million dollars yearly.

Did Haak recuse himself from voting for a firm, whose officials gave him $1,450?
Guess again.

Stay tuned for more Pay-to-Play Zionsville style.

Talk about the Pay-to-Play Chicago style!

The Lobbyist for Everyone - Almost

Guess who's doing extra duty these days, in addition to looking after the Town's business?
None other than Matthew M. Price, the current president of the Town Council.
Aside from that thankless job, which incidentally pays Mr. Price $10,000 annually, as an attorney with the powerhouse Indianapolis law firm of Bingham McHale, he also registered as a ``compensated lobbyist'' with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission on Jan. 1, 2010, according to documents on file there.
In his filing, Mr. Price also noted that W. Tobin McClammroch, is the managing partner with Bingham McHale. Mr. McClammroch is not an unknown name to Boone County government.
Under a section of the form, Mr. Price was asked to list all subject matters ``for which you anticipate performing lobbying activity on behalf of this employment.''
When asked to identify the topics that he anticipated he would be associated with in his lobbying efforts, Mr. Price checked off 44 boxes.
Those included: AIDS, Business, Construction, Education, Housing, Infrastructure, Licensure, Medicaid/Medicare, Nursing Homes, Pharmaceuticals, Property Tax, Teachers, Alcoholic Beverages, Commerce, Consumer, Gaming, Homeless, and Human Services.
And more - Local Government, Medical Records, Municipalities, Public Safety, Regulation, State Government, Telecommunications, Budget, Community, County Government, Economic Development, Energy, Finance, Health Care, Hospitals, Industry, Legislative Ethics, Managed Care, Mental Health, and Reproductive Rights.
And finally - Safety, Taxation, Utilities, Welfare, Other and lastly but not least, Women's Issues.
Gadzooks, that's certainly a full plate in addition to tackling the many weighty issues Mr. Price has to deal with as Town Council president, such as weeds on Main Street.
But, Zionsville Confidential would wager its collective soul he can pull it off.