Original letter posted HERE
January 11, 2016
Mayor Joe Hogsett
2501 City-County Building
200 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Dear Mayor Hogsett:
The Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA), founded in 1969, represents approximately 3,000 residents and 700 businesses in Broad Ripple, a designated Cultural District located within the North Midtown Economic Development District. As previously stated in our September 27th, 2012 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, our organization is “eager to support a flood wall completion plan that can be certified in a timely manner and that ultimately offers relief from the expense of flood insurance and/or flood proofing.”
We continue to be in support of the alignment that provides completion and certification of the flood wall. The prior administration announced a decision in December 2015, prior to releasing the results of a long-awaited study to evaluate the Canal West Bank Alignment option. Now that the full study is available, we ask your administration to review the study results and to confirm the City’s position regarding the final alignment.
We recognize that a decision affects more than just our neighborhood and we hope the City selected alignment, to the best of its ability, maximizes the preservation of life and property and protects as many families and homes as possible in the impacted flood area. We do, however, proudly represent the individuals and businesses of Broad Ripple and our constituents remain in a precarious position without the completion and certification of the flood wall.
During your review, we ask your administration to carefully consider the protection of the City’s drinking water supply and, to the extent it can be preserved, Holcomb Gardens on the Butler University campus.
We kindly request an update regarding whether or not the City will accept the Ballard administration’s decision as it stands or if it plans to reevaluate it by February 15, 2016.
The BRVA supports the completion of the flood wall and an alignment that will ultimately be certified by FEMA, thereby relieving our constituents of the costly expense of flood insurance and/or flood proofing, broadening opportunities for development and, preserving life and property in Broad Ripple.
Sincerely,
Kent Springer
President, Broad Ripple Village Association
cc: Colleen Fanning, City-County Council, District 2
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