Letter from the President

Dear Villagers,

August has been a busy month with school starting, and I think that September will be even busier!
With the Fall Festival, the farmers’ market, and the VRA annual picnic, September will be full of exciting events.

The VRA picnic will be taking place on September 16th at 6:00p.m. at the residential end of Main Street. Halcomb Singler LLP is generously sponsoring our picnic this year. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers will be provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert. All villagers are invited whether a member or not. Set up will begin at 5:00 p.m. If you’re able to come early to help, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks to all those that have already offered to help pass out flyers for the picnic. Each year we hand deliver flyers to each house in the Village so that everyone is invited and knows about the picnic. If you’d like to volunteer to pass out flyers, please send me an e-mail to president@zvra.com.

During the August Planning Commission Meeting, the rezoning of the “200 West” property from B-2 and B-3 to Village Business District has been continued to the September meeting. If you would like to express your view of the rezoning, I encourage you to attend the meeting. Also, during the August Planning Commission meeting, the rezoning of the properties 410 S. 4th Street and 500 S. Main Street (aka the trailer park development) was recommended for approval to Town Council. Plans for the development can be found on zvra.com or at Town Hall.
This winter, the VRA is bringing back the Christmas trees in the Village! This tradition was started a few years ago by Jane Forbes and fellow villagers. The VRA will be selling Christmas trees for $30 a tree (pick up will be from Lion’s Park), or $35 a tree with delivery. The idea is to place the tree in your yard and decorate it for a truly festive season! The boy scouts have been working with us to help bring back this tradition. We’ve ordered 85 trees, so only the first 85 people to place their order by November 11th will receive a tree. Keep an eye out for more information to come!

Lastly, our next meeting will be on September 26th at 7:30p.m. at the Sullivan Munce. We will be voting on the new board. Who will be the next VRA President??? Maybe it will be you! Have a great rest of your summer! See you at the farmers’ market and the picnic!


Town Council Insights
Update on transactions supporting current and future Zionsville businesses

While summer may still be holding on, it feels over now that the kids are back in school. You may be aware that the start time for elementary has now flipped with the middle school, so the little ones going to Eagle will now be there starting at 7:50. Keep an eye out in the morning, especially when the days start getting shorter and the morning light comes later and later.

You may have seen in the paper that the Town is selling the remaining open lots of Creekside Corporate Park to a developer. A group named Rockland Development is buying all the lots and will turn them into office space over the coming years. Given all the possible outcomes, I was happy to see the Town get out of the land development/sales business. It allows for monies loaned by the school district to be paid back sooner, while hopefully increasing the size of our tax base through private development.

Speaking of development, I was happy to vote in favor of a new business coming to Zionsville. Capstone Benefits has announced they are moving their headquarters to the Northwest Technology Park (96th and Zionsville Road) and will be opening a 11,000-square-foot facility. This is a space that has sat empty since at least 2002 and will add tax base. We did offer a $10,000 grant to help incentivize this move, along with a matching grant from the Boone County EDC. The Council, while supportive of this and other expansions, has asked the EDC to better track and report on the results of these grants, both in terms of living up to their promises and the revenues generated.

Finally, I took another tour of the new Town Hall last month. It’s an impressive and well-designed facility that will allow us to continue to grow Town services as our population expands. There are many more community meeting rooms, as well as a better flow for Town services. I know there was much debate on the need here, however the current Town Hall had outlived its usefulness and has a strong sewer odor from aging infrastructure. The plan is to sell the two out-lots for private investment, further helping to pay for a facility we can use for the next 75 years.
Found Hound and Phat Cat Silent Auction
Once again, the artists of Art IN Hand Gallery (211 South Main Street) have donated work for their annual silent auction with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Humane Society For Boone County.

The Humane Society for Boone County finally has a physical animal shelter located at 5366 South Indianapolis Road between State Road 267 and Whitestown Parkway! This event seeks to raise funds to help them maintain the new facility and to personalize it to meet their needs and the needs of the animals they help.

The Found Hound and Phat Cat Silent Auction begins Sept. 7, 2017. Do your part, place your bid at the gallery and support our furry friends! Bidding ends September 30th!