Hello neighbors,
I hope everyone enjoyed the month of May in Indianapolis. The next VRA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10 at 7:30 at the SullivanMunce. Town Council President Jeff Papa will be attending to answer questions and specifically speak about the Zionsville-Perry reorganization and the mayoral implications.
I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on a couple of topics brought up at the last Zionsville HOA Roundtable meeting by Mike Nielsen from the Boone County Sheriff’s office and Ed Mitro, town manager.
Major Nielson spoke about safety as we head into “the prime time of the year for burglaries.” He emphasized that neighbors watching out for neighbors is a key to a successful watch program and suggested writing down any license plate numbers of suspicious vehicles.
The bulk of the discussion with Nielsen focused on whom to call with concerns. Specifically, someone asked what the non-emergency number is because “they did not feel comfortable calling 911 for something that may not really be an emergency but more of a suspicion.” Nielsen explained why everyone should just call 911. First, it makes no difference whether it is a “true” emergency or not because the non-emergency and 911 calls all go to the same dispatch center. The center will prioritize and dispatch accordingly based on the dispatchers judgment at the time of the call, balancing a non-emergency call against the other runs going on at the time. He also pointed out that both the Sheriff and Zionsville Police use the same dispatch center, so it really doesn’t matter where you are calling from, the center will dispatch the appropriate people to the appropriate place. He felt that the only reason to call a number other than 911 was for a pure administration question.
In summary, look out for your neighbors, trust your instincts and don’t hesitate to call 911 even if it is just a suspicion.
Ed Mitro updated us on quite a few topics including Bub’s Burgers traffic concerns. Ed let us know that the RDC is moving forward with a traffic light, turn lane and crosswalk at Zionsville Road and 106th. It should be completed this year.
Also, a roundabout at Main and Sycamore and a light at First and Oak are being proposed. And the Bloor Road and Ford Road roundabout project has been pushed to the summer of 2015.
The last topic was the HOA registration program that Ed had suggested in my meeting with him back in January. He explained to the rest of the Roundtable that he envisioned a program similar to Marion County where an HOA that was registered with the town would be notified by the town of any development within a certain number of feet of the HOA boundary. There was great interest in pursuing this by the other HOAs.
On a much lighter note, we are a sponsor of the Lincoln Park Concert series once again this year. While the concerts last all summer, we’ll have a formal presence to distribute VRA info and answer questions four of the evenings: June 11, June 25, July 23 and July 30. Stop by and say hello, and if you’d like to assist any of those nights please let me know.
Have a great month of June and enjoy the beginning of summer,
Scott Lusk
President
Zionsville Village Residents’ Association
Village News and Events
Zionsville Garden Tour
On June 14th, enjoy six gardens in Zionsville. Get great summer tablescape ideas and bid on potted planters designed by area vendors at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center. Tickets available online Gardens of Zionsville
Hoosier Riverwatch Basic Training
June 21, 2014 at 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Town Hall Fireplace Room (morning) and Elm Street Green (afternoon)
Gavin Merriman, Stormwater Program Manager, would like you to know about this Riverwatch training event. He says, “This is a great opportunity for our residents to get out and enjoy a great local resource, Eagle Creek, and learn about local water quality.”
Participants will become “Certified Volunteer Monitors”. Topics and activities are correlated to Indiana’s Academic Standards for Science and educators may also receive Professional Growth Points. Please bring lunch, water, creek shoes or waders and be prepared to be indoors and in the creek. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required by contacting Riverwatch Instructor John Ulmer at watersheds@tds.net or 317-769-3500. Click here to find the flier to download: River Watch Training
The VRA continues to pursue organizing a golf outing this summer. We are in the preliminary planning stages. Our event will be held on Saturday, August 9th, with tee times starting at 3 PM. We will golf at the Zionsville Golf Course, with a small meal afterward at the course which will likely consist of burgers, brats, chips and potato salad. At this time, we expect the cost to be between $25-$30 per player. This price includes 9 holes of golf, a cart and the meal. Golf will be a scramble format (4-person teams each hitting the best shot). Teams can be created at sign up if you wish to play with a specific person or group, or we are happy to place you on a team.
Our goal with this event is to provide an opportunity for residents to get together, have some fun and to meet new neighbors. If you are interested in participating in this event, please email Todd Rech at tcrech@ymail.com or Scott Lusk at president@zvra.com
Based on feedback, I will provide more specific information at the next meeting and in the Village Voice.
Todd Rech
Old House Love
By Jennifer Bucher
Cottage Home, one of my favorite old home neighborhoods, held their home tour in May. Cottage Home consists of a collection of small “working man’s” homes on the near east side of Indianapolis. Bordered by 465, 10th Street, Arsenal Tech and New York Street, the district was featured as a top ten “best cottage community” in 2006 by Cottage Living Magazine.
Unlike the Zionsville Village, Cottage Home has taken steps to preserve its historic homes by designating itself as an IHPC Conservation District. This designation helps protect these cottages from demolition and helps to maintain the architectural integrity of the neighborhood. Interestingly, this Conservation District allows for modern architecture to coexist alongside historic cottages. Old house lovers might cringe at this, but with good design modern homes can fit beautifully in an old home neighborhood. These new well-thought-out homes are scaled appropriately to existing historic cottages and their unique modern architecture will allow them to stand the test of time. These modern structures will be the old homes of the future.
I have to admit, (and I am an old home lover, through and through!) these modern marvels were appealing. The floor plans were scaled to real life-these weren’t over-the-top mega homes. Rooms were intimate, not cavernous. Windows provided ample light. Kitchens were compact and welcoming. The outdoor spaces were functional and not fussy. Actually, these modern homes had all the things I loved about an old home, except the drafty windows.
I was impressed by Cottage Home’s proactive approach to dealing with what many old home neighborhoods have to endure. Aesthetic fads and trends of the times (Two story entry? The need for a bonus room? Maximum square footage?) often lead to the destruction of many still useful and endearing old homes. Cottage Home has allowed the new home lover to build in the district in a thoughtful and neighborly way.
The Dining Room
I still have high hopes form my Dining Room. Someday I’d like to open it up just a bit to the kitchen (maybe) and the windows will soon become patio doors, but for now it is a perfectly functional room. We don’t have an eat-in kitchen-not even a (gasp!) kitchen island to stand around, so the dining room is our everyday eating area.
When we purchased the home, the walls were a peachy color and the floors were carpeted. After repairing and smoothing out the very rough ceiling, the carpet came up-I’ve always been a little squeamish about carpeting in eating areas- and the well-preserved poplar floors that we uncovered were refinished.
We installed a new lamp and painted the walls-as always-a clean white.
A reclaimed walnut table was made specifically for the room and we added modern chairs and art-because, you know, modern and historic can coexist in perfect harmony.
If you have a story of old house love you’d like to share, please send it to editor@zvra.com.
Of course, I am perfectly willing to continue the love with my home.