A Greenwood redevelopment commission member and school board member with a lifelong goal of serving on the city council will face a long-time city councilman in the upcoming Republican Primary.
Steve Moan is taking on incumbent Ron Bates for one of six district seats. Both men are educators, and both share a similar goal: Keep Greenwood, Greenwood.
Voters will decide who should get the Republican nomination for all city council seats this spring. Whoever wins the District 4 seat will face any Independents who may file in the fall general election, or the Democratic party could slate a candidate to fill a vacancy on the ballot. The winner will join the other five district council members and three at-large members for the next four years.
District 4 is Greenwood’s most developed district, serving the northwest corner of the city, from U.S. 31 to State Road 135, and from Main Street to the county line. The district’s biggest issue heading into this year’s elections are its streets, many of which are old and worn out, Bates said. Some of those are slated to be repaved this year.
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Following along those same lines, traffic congestion is an issue for District 4, and Moan expects it will get worse once Interstate 69 is built through Johnson County. For the most part, construction of I-69 will not affect the city, but will increase the amount of east-west traffic traveling through it.
"East-west travel on two-lane roads can get quite congested. We have to think big picture," Moan said.
The city needs to look at what improvements should be made to Main Street and Fry Road before that happens, he said.
Whoever wins the District 4 seat will vote on issues that affect all Greenwood residents, most notably future growth throughout the city, particularly in hotbed areas such as southeast Greenwood, which has the most land available for development, and downtown on the former middle school property, which will likely come to fruition during the next council’s term.
When the city decided to buy the former middle school from Greenwood Community Schools a few years ago, it was a perfect match, said Moan, a school board member.
Now he has his hands in just about every aspect of that development — as a school board member, redevelopment commission member and city council hopeful.
He likes the ideas that have been discussed so far, including plans for high-end retail, apartments and townhouses. He wants to see more green space too, he said.
Bates is supportive of that vision as well, but wants it to have a traditional Greenwood feel to it, he said. He envisions locally owned cafes and steakhouses.
"Citizen input is important," Bates said. "We (also) have to think about what are we going to look like in 15, 20, 25 years from now?"
Both men have different visions for the city’s newest interchange on the southeast side, which comes up at just about every council meeting lately.
Bates appreciates the pristine farmland east of I-65, he said. He supports industrial developments north of Worthsville Road, but land south of there should be reserved for housing developments, he said.
Moan would rather skip on the traditional exit feel. He hopes the city continues toward an earlier vision for that area which called for a farmer’s market feel, he said.
"It was more of a homegrown local taste that kind of enveloped the farming community out there in the southeast corner of the city. I do really like this idea of farm-to-table," Moan said.
"It was more of a bed and breakfast, home-cooked meal feel. I heard that vision and fell in love with it. That area could be, really, a unique taste, really provide a unique country-fresh experience."
That kind of development doesn’t mesh well with industrial, he said.
Both candidates are educators, so they have unique perspectives when it comes to the city’s spending within its TIF districts.
“I see the value in TIF districts. But from a schools perspective, that’s (money) I know the school is not getting,” Moan said.
“If we’re going to put it in this pot and hold it for economic development, we have to make sure we continue to use that money in its intended form.”
Bates sees the benefit of having TIFs, but is not a fan of how the city has been spending that money lately, he said.
“The idea was to have a municipality that has a plighted area and earmark it for infrastructure improvements,” Bates said.
One of Bates’s platforms is fiscal integrity and proper allocation of revenue streams.
His other platforms include growth management and enhanced infrastructure. He enjoys the job, and his work isn’t done, he said.
Moan promises to take a common-sense approach to decision making, he said.
“One of the things that makes me an excellent candidate is my ingrained belief that Greenwood is the best place to live on this entire earth,” Moan said.
“I’m not a guy that’s set and wants to be on council because I have an axe to grind. I’m the guy who wants to serve his community. It’s always been a goal of mine.”
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Name: Ron Bates
Age: 71
Family: Wife, Donna; four adult children
Occupation: Educator at Suburban Christian School
Education: Ross High School, Missouri; Temple University, Tennessee
Political experience: Greenwood City Council member since 2004
Memberships: Suburban Baptist Church; Greenwood Women’s Republican Club (associate)
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Greenwood City Council District 4
Term: Four years
Pay: $12,612 per year
Duties: Set annual spending for the city, make policy changes, adopt new local rules and ordinances, approve new taxes, appoint members to various city boards.
District 4: Represents the northwest side of Greenwood, from U.S. 31 to U.S. 135, and from Main Street to the county line. Serves mostly established residential neighborhoods and retail west of U.S. 31 and east of U.S. 135.
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Name: Steve Moan
Age: 48
Family: Wife, Liz; an adult daughter
Occupation: Educator at Perry Township Schools
Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Butler University; Master’s degree in accounting and MBA, University of Phoenix; teaching certification, University of Indianapolis; administrator’s license, Indiana Wesleyan University
Political experience: Greenwood redevelopment commission; Greenwood Community school board
Memberships: Harvest Bible Chapel Indy South
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