Two newcomers are battling it out for a coveted spot on the Greenwood City Council.
Republican Michael Williams and Democrat Terri Roberts-Leonard want the District 3 seat on the nine-member council. The winner will join the other five district council members and three at-large members and set annual spending for the city, make policy changes, adopt new local rules and ordinances, approve new taxes and appoint members to various city boards.
The seat is currently held by long-time council member Bruce Armstrong, who often provides a lone "no" vote on the council. He lost to Williams in the Republican primary in May and will leave the post come January.
Expansive as it is, District 3 includes an area ripe for development in southeast Greenwood, and the candidates have philosophies about what that development should look like.
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“District 3 is the hotbed of everything happening in Greenwood right now because it’s the biggest open land area. So being able to help shape the future of that land … are we going to move the industrial warehouse route, or are we going to try to add things that improve the quality of life for the district?” Williams said.
Both candidates have lived in Greenwood for about eight years, and both work in the education field.
Williams is a recruiter for Kelly Educational Staffing and a former businessman.
Roberts-Leonard is a Franklin College administrator who has devoted her life to diversity and inclusion. She would like to continue that work at the city level, she said.
"I’ve always been involved in community service, but I really think it’s time for people to step up and put their money where their mouth is. My way is to provide service to my community," Roberts-Leonard said.
Her priorities include improving the city’s quality of life, mainly by putting more police and fire on the street, as well as fiscal responsibility and transparency.
The focus of Williams’s candidacy — and his focus if he wins the seat — is on improving the city’s quality of life, particularly in southeast Greenwood, with more options such as parks, trails and restaurants for families near their homes.
“As someone who lives on that side of town, there’s not a whole lot there in terms of quality of life,” he said.
The I-65 and Worthsville Road interchange is the perfect opportunity to create a new gateway to the city, Williams has said, something city leaders intended to do when it was first built. How the area east of that interchange should be developed is a hot topic in Greenwood with potential development and rezoning proposals coming before the council regularly.
“Warehouse development is still an ongoing battle. There is still a lot of work to be done with balancing that growth in Greenwood and making sure we’re listening to residents and homeowners,” Williams said.
“I want to be a strong voice for the district. I want to be a very present voice and a very vocal voice, but also be an ear. That’s something that’s been missing from the district for a while.”
Outside of District 3, Williams supports Mayor Mark Myers’s plan for the former middle school property, and the revitalization efforts in Old Town Greenwood.
“Greenwood is growing outward, but while we’re doing that, we can’t ignore the inward,” Williams said.
The city is in the process of soliciting bids for development of the former middle school property just south of the city’s core. But a lot of people are unhappy with the initial numbers included in conceptual plans the city released in August, Williams said.
Redevelopment of the former middle school property is part of the years-long $24.5 million plan from Myers to revitalize downtown. His hope is the area will eventually be home to more than 580 apartments and townhouses, 75,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants and office space, 9.9 acres of open green space and include 1.9 miles of new or renovated streets.
The 523 South Madison Master Plan, as they’re calling it, also calls for a four-story parking garage with 256 spaces, 110 parking spaces at other buildings, 39 parking spaces at the fieldhouse, 180 public parking spaces at Our Lady of the Greenwood Church and 56 additional street parking spaces on Madison Avenue and Meridian Street.
"I again feel that the area is prime for development, but maybe I’m not so worked up because I believe in a free market. Developers are going to come in and say what can actually work there," Williams said. "I do like the fieldhouse proposal and green-space areas."
He would also continue Armstrong’s efforts to get a new fire station built in southeast Greenwood. With Fire Station No. 93 moving about a mile west, there is concern about there being no fire station east of the railroad tracks, and what those residents and first responders would do if a train was moving through the city during an emergency situation east of the tracks.
Roberts-Leonard would push for another fire station as well, and more full-time firefighters. Part-time doesn’t work because those firefighters don’t stay; they leave for other full-time jobs, which leads to constant turnover within the department, she said.
Community policing is another issue, Roberts-Leonard said. Both departments being adequately staffed should be the city’s No. 1 priority, she said.
She is supportive of the mayor’s downtown revitalization efforts as well, but wants to make sure it appeals to both future residents and current residents.
"We want to draw in people and keep the residents we already have," Roberts-Leonard said.
“We have to have growth and development or we’ll get left behind and people will move to other places. But we have to be cautious. I really do think that plan would be helpful for the city.”
She sat down with Mayor Mark Myers recently to learn more about his vision for the property, she said.
“I think sometimes it’s hard for people to envision when you’re just looking at dirt and cranes. But once we get it in place, it will be a good thing,” she said.
Roberts-Leonard is not opposed to warehouses entirely, and said proposed developments should be measured on a case-by-case basis.
"Distribution centers are worth more because of the personal property. I don’t think you can really say you’re for or against all of them," she said.
“I am here because I truly care. I am blunt and upfront and honest. I’m not here to be a politician. I’m here to serve the people.”
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Greenwood City Council District 3
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 3: Represents the east side of Greenwood, east of Interstate 65 on the north side of the city to County Line Road, east of Valle Vista Golf Course near Main Street, and east of the railroad tracks on the south side of the city to Worthsville Road.
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Name: Michael Williams
Party: Republican
Age: 33
Family: Wife, Kristin; five-year-old son
Occupation: Recruiter at Kelly Educational Staffing
Education: Shelbyville High School; studied organizational leadership at IPFW
Political experience: None
Memberships: Emmanuel Church Greenwood
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Name: Terri Roberts-Leonard
Party: Democrat
Age: 39
Family: Husband, Edward; foster children
Occupation: Diversity and Inclusion Director at Franklin College
Education: Degrees in organizational communication, sports administration and school counseling
Political experience: None
Memberships: Emmanuel Church Greenwood; United Way of Johnson County Board of Directors; Windrose Health Network Board of Directors; Clark-Pleasant Education Foundation Special Events Committee; Clark-Pleasant Community Schools Diversity and Equity Committee; Turning Point Domestic Violence Services Johnson County Coalition; Leadership Johnson County graduate; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter; ACPA – College Student Educators International
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