Dear constituents.
On behalf of the board of directors for the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA), I thank those who reached out to the organization to express their thoughts regarding the Ballard administration’s selection of the Westfield Blvd. Alignment and its decision to proceed to find funding to complete the construction of Phase 3B of the Indianapolis North Flood Damage Reduction Project.
In 2012 the BRVA recorded its position with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and City of Indianapolis as “withholding support” for the Corps recommended Westfield Blvd. Alignment due to “Concerns raised about the safety of Rocky Ripple residents, the gross clear-cutting of trees, the risk to the City of Indianapolis’ drinking water supply, and the walling off of neighborhoods.” During that time many issues were still under evaluation. Neighborhoods and environmental preservation organizations were examining options to preserve trees along the levee, as there seemed to be legal precedent in other areas of the country that trees could be saved. Groups were exploring the possibility of partial certification for the existing length of the flood wall, as well as, digesting the possibility of a sixth alternative alignment that, if feasible, could protect the City’s drinking water supply and lessen several southern neighborhoods’ concerns about being “walled off”.
The City and the Corps both confirmed that funding Phase 3B was not in hand and that they couldn’t speculate when funds may be found as funding for these sorts of projects are difficult to come by. Believing that the City and Corps should evaluate every possible option to protect and preserve neighborhoods, we, the BRVA, in consensus with other affected Midtown neighborhoods, asked the City to study this sixth alternative, which was coined the Canal West Bank Alignment. The city agreed to fund the study.
On December 9, 2015 the Ballard administration announced it would support the Corps recommendation to complete the Westfield Blvd. Alignment, citing study results that deemed the Canal West Bank Alignment infeasible. The study document was edited on December 18, released to the public on December 28, and the Ballard administration left office on December 31. The BRVA board discussed the announcement and study findings at its January 5, 2016 board meeting and determined a course of action.
As residents and business owners of the Village ourselves, we are your neighbors. We share your interests and your desires to make the Village a safe and prosperous neighborhood and Cultural District. Please find our letter to the Hogsett administration attached, calling for his attention to the flood wall issue and asking for his help in completing the flood wall.
Sincerely.
Kent Springer
President
Broad Ripple Village Association
Brooke Klejnot
Executive Director
Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA)
6323 Guilford Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone: 317-251-BRVA (2782)
Fax: 317-251-1322
brooke@brva.org
http://www.BRVA.org
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