INDIANAPOLIS GREENWAYS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEEREVISED MINUTES OF PUBLIC MEETING -- June 2004 City County Building -- Room 107 Voting Members Present: JOHN, VOLLMER, MYERS, PAPENMEIER, PAYNE, DORSA, QUINN, and SHIKANY Voting Members Absent: SILVER, HENNEKE, MOONEY, BARTON, and SOMMERS Others Present: Ray Irvin and Lori Block (Indy Parks Greenways) Meeting called to order at 5:07 PM Minutes from May 18, 2004 meeting approved PROJECT UPDATES: BLOCK & IRVIN reported on the following: Eagle Creek Greenway -- The 1.8-mile trail will connect 56th and 46th Streets. Storrow/Kinsella combined the trail plans with the Pike Youth Soccer development plans, thereby reducing the total project cost. All necessary permits have been obtained, and the contractor, Gradex, has begun trail construction. Greenways installed signs to inform neighbors about the upcoming trail. Construction should be complete in 2004, pending the installation of boardwalks. Fall Creek Greenway -- Phase I (Monon to Keystone Ave.) is complete; the contractor is making final repairs per the pre-final inspection in May. The new concrete box culvert recently constructed to repair Labor Day flood damage at Tacoma Ave. will prevent future flood damage to the asphalt. Indy Parks will bid out a small retaining wall needed at Millersville Rd. to repair erosion from the railroad tracks. We have partnered with DPW to construct a sidewalk at the 38th Street crossing. Monon to Central -- Butler Fairman & Seufert has completed the trail design. A TEA grant was submitted to INDOT for $1.2 million to fund this phase, and if awarded, construction could begin in 2005. Plans for Phase II from 56th to Skiles Test (Shadeland Ave.) were submitted to INDOT for review; bidding will occur in August 2004. Construction should begin in 2005. Indy Parks Greenways and Land Stewardship have undertaken a large restoration project in preparation for the trail. The 1st Annual Upper Fall Creek Cleanup was held on May 22, 2004 to involve local neighborhoods in preparing for the future trail. South White River Trail -- Greenways submitted a TE grant application to INDOT for $1.8 million to fund this project. Ninebark is developing construction documents for this 2-mile trail piece from the zoo to Raymond St. We will meet this week for a 90% review of these plans, which will be complete this summer. The trail will include several interpretive signs at the trailheads. Partnerships with National Starch, General Motors and Eli Lilly continue to facilitate trail development. Pogues Run -- Ongoing meetings have occurred to open this 40-acre wetland mitigation/flood control project in 2004. Encompassed by a 1.5-mile loop trail, the basin will become part of Indy Greenways as an art and nature park. Trail opening is pending 1) a signed Memorandum of Understanding between Indy Parks and DPW, 2) appropriate signage displayed onsite, and 3) a decision about locking the gates every night. A $30,000 grant was received from the Indianapolis Foundation for site amenities. Indy Parks is working toward hiring Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects to complete a site masterplan. Arsenal Tech High School will begin environmental education programs onsite in fall 2004. Other trail partners include Parks Environmental Education staff, Parks Rangers, Indianapolis Arts Council, universities, and the Caleb Mills Organization. Town Run Trail Park -- This park contains 8 to 9 miles of single track trail for hiking and mountain biking. Greenways owe much of the park's success to the Hoosier Mountain Biking Association (HMBA), who volunteers for the majority of all trail work and cleanups. The Dirt Days event on June 5-6 attracted about 1000 hikers, runners and mountain bikers. Little Buck Creek -- A bridge from Whispering Hills on Brookville Rd. will be refurbished and utilized over Little Buck Creek to connect the trail pieces constructed by C.P. Morgan. Two pony trusses will be constructed to complete each end of the span. The bridge will cost $196,000 and will go to bid in 2005 due to city budget restrictions and DNR permits. Pennsy Corridor -- The Pennsy Corridor runs from Arlington, east to the county line, south of Washington St. The future Indianapolis Pennsy Trail will connect to the existing Pleasant Run Greenway Trail, the Town of Cumberland's future Pennsy Trail, and eventually east to Greenfield. Nine adjacent property owners agreed to support the trail in meetings last month. The city continues to focus on land acquisition while design team at Storrow and Kinsella Associates continues design efforts for the corridor. Development could begin in 2006. IUPUI Trailcam Project & Trail Counters -- IUPUI has installed a trailcam on the Monon Trail to facilitate trail user data collection. Individual faces cannot be seen from the camera. IUPUI students will merge data from 27 trail counters, which span five greenway corridors all over the county. A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation made possible the additional trail counters. The IUPUI database is crucial to further greenway partnerships with health and fitness organizations. Volunteer Projects: C.D.D. Crime watch Spring Alley & Street Cleanup -- Residents partnered with the City of Indianapolis, DPW, Kroger, Southside Landfill, and Coca Cola to clean the streets and alleys from 46th to 49th Streets between the Monon Trail and College Ave. Residents filled dumpsters with trash and debris to improve their neighborhood and the alley adjacent to the Monon. Arthur Jordan YMCA Monon Trail Access -- A partnership between Indy Greenways, Arthur Jordan YMCA, ACE Hardware, and Butler, Fairman & Seufert continues to improve this trail access. The access has been resurfaced and continually treated for weeds and invasive species. Butler Fairman & Seufert will install a memorial bench for greenway enthusiast Nelson Steele. The YMCA recruited mural artist Linda Lowman to paint the wall of ACE's building, and ACE will donate all necessary supplies. Landscaping will continue to improve the access throughout 2004. Adoption of Landscaping Beds -- Volunteers with plant knowledge ranging from beginner to advanced can adopt greenways flower beds for maintenance. Greenways will supply and necessary materials and recognize volunteers on the Greenways Foundation website. So far, JF New Native Plant Nursery and Mama Carolla's Restaurant have committed to adopting beds on the Monon Trail. SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES: At the May 18, 2004 meeting, the IGDC delegated members to the following subcommittees: Arts Subcommittee -- SOMMERS (Chair), SILVER Maintenance and Design Subcommittee -- VOLLMER (Chair), HENNEKE, MYERS Marketing Subcommittee -- JOHN (Chair); Additional member needed. Property Subcommittee -- SHIKANY, MOONEY Safety and Security Subcommittee -- PAPENMEIER, DORSA. IPD North District has increased security patrols on the South Monon Trail. Members discussed meeting with Greenways staff once per month to advise staff on the subcommittee's respective issues. NEW BUSINESS: Pedal & Park -- Sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, this partnership between the Greenways Foundation, Central Indiana Bicycling Association, Indiana Bicycle Coalition, and Indy Greenways allows trail users to ride their bikes to special events and park them in a secure area for free. Upcoming events include Indiana State Fair August 11-22. Visit www.indygreenways.org for further information. IPD North District Partnership -- IPD North District's Bike Patrol moved into the Boulevard Station office on the Monon Trail at 38th St., in partnership with Indy Greenways, Parks Rangers and community Crime Watch groups. A press conference was held Monday, May 24 at Boulevard Station. Cultural Trail -- PAYNE and IRVIN attended a meeting this week on the Cultural Trail's development. This trail will serve as the downtown hub for the entire Greenways Master Plan, while connecting all the cultural districts and downtown neighborhoods. The engineering scoping study will be complete July 15, 2004. Total project cost will be $20-30 million; half will be funded through private donors while the other half will come from federal transportation funds. Meeting adjourned 5:54 Respectfully submitted by Lori Block, Indy Parks Greenways *All IGDC meetings are recorded and aired on WCTY Channel 16, copies available through WCTY. |