President's Letter:
Dear Neighbors –
I hope you are all having a great
summer so far! August is sure to be an eventful month with school
starting again. In my house the kids are very much looking forward
to going back to school. We have new backpacks, lunchboxes, etc. in
hopes that they will be able to attend in person for at least a
little while. The school year will look different this year but the
spirit is still there. ZCS is doing a great job trying to anticipate
all of the challenges that may arise while keeping it exciting for
the kids.
It is with great regret that the VRA
has decided to cancel the annual fall picnic that usually occurs in
September. The nature of our fall picnic…potluck, community
tables, hamburgers and hotdogs grilled by the VRA…does not lend
itself well to the current COVID-19 environment. We waited as long
as possible to make a final decision but with other town and
community events being canceled, we decided to follow their lead. I
know it will be a disappointment to many of our members, who look
forward to this yearly event.
On a brighter note, the VRA has also
decided to extend all paid memberships for 2020 to 2021. Phil
Martini, our treasurer, sent an e-mail at the end of July that
perfectly summed up our year. In response to the COVID spread, the
Town canceled the large community events (e.g. street dance, park
pick up). A lot of members are still uncomfortable with large
gatherings. In response, the VRA followed suit and canceled our
planned events as well – the Elm St. Park spring potluck, Lincoln
Park music events, tour of the fire station, and the annual fall
picnic. The silver lining is that our expenses this year are
essentially $0. Therefore, we are rolling all paid memberships
forward a year.
This year has been a challenge, to say
the least, and it is only August. The VRA has gone from a year with
record membership to a year with only one meeting due to COVID-19.
Given how the year has gone so far, I suspect that most of our
remaining fall/winter events will be canceled as well. BUT this
gives us the opportunity to make 2021 an excellent comeback year!
Until then, be sure to wave/chat with your neighbors from a socially
acceptable distance, support our Village merchants, and enjoy the
sunshine!
Julia
president@zvra.com
Town Council:
Greetings
Town Council (and all boards and
commissions) continues to meet virtually due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The Governor’s orders allowing these meetings to happen
virtually runs through July 31st, although I suspect it
will be extended given the recent trends we’ve seen around
infections. If that is the case, you can always follow and
participate in these meetings via Zoom or can watch them on YouTube
during or afterwards to keep track of what is going on within the
Council.
Our agendas these past few months have
been relatively light. I was honored to join Councilor Choi in
helping to draft a resolution around a call for social justice. This
came because of the tragic death of George Floyd, and the subsequent
protests around the country, including the peaceful gathering at Town
Hall.
The resolution itself is broken down
into several statements and actions. It was important for us as a
Council to pass more than just words of support and provide actions
that can be taken or guidance that can be given for how the Town
should operate. Besides condemning racism and inequality, we also
pledged to work with the Mayor and Police Chief Spears to review all
policies and ensure proper funding for police training is in place.
In addition to this resolution, we’ve
been busy with a few economic development drivers for the Town. If
you go up I-65, you’ll notice several warehouses going up the West
side of the road before you get to the SR 267 exit. This area has
become a hot bed for warehouse, distribution and light industrial.
Many of those warehouses are currently in Whitestown, however we’ve
recently approved some of our own from Van Trust, Becknell and are
working with ProLogis.
I read a story last week that the
United States may need up to 1 billion square feet in additional
warehouse and logistics facilities over the coming 5 years as there
continues a move to online shopping and a reduction in just-in-time
distribution. We are well positioned with our Interstate access to
have these types of facilities in that area. This will be further
enhanced with an additional interchange that will be built South of
the SR 267 exit off CR 550S.
I expect to see more of these projects,
and the property tax revenue they generate, coming to our area in the
coming years.
