Myers touts Greenwood’s progress, upcoming projects during State of the City

Going into 2023, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers says he’s confident in the direction the city is going.

The city has a low tax rate and continues to have strong financial health while investing in its residents and progress, Myers said during his 12th State of the City Address Thursday. The address took place before a sold-out crowd at the Greenwood Fieldhouse as part of an Aspire Johnson County Legislation Matters event.

“We chose the Greenwood Fieldhouse to host this year’s State of the City as it symbolizes everything that makes our city great: pride in our history and our dedication to progress,” Myers said.

Though the event was ticketed, the public was able to watch a live stream of the event on Facebook. The video is still viewable on the city’s Facebook page.

During the address, Myers highlighted several of his accomplishments over the last few years, including the completion of the fieldhouse and Westside Regional Interceptor Project. He also highlighted the upcoming completion of The Madison and praised city employees for their work.

Before he did, Myers spoke about the July 17 mass shooting at the Greenwood Park Mall — “a day that will be impossible for many of us to forget.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, the community came together, and Myers said he would never forget the prayer vigil held in the aftermath of the shooting where people from all walks of life joined together in remembrance and peace.

“It will not define our community or our future,” Myers said.

Public safety

Public safety continues to be Myers’ top priority, he said. For this year, the city increased its fire department budget by 25% and its police department budget by 19%, he said.

Since Myers’ first budget in 2013, police funding has increased by 40% — from $6.8 million in 2013 to $11.1 million for 2023. The fire budget went from $4.9 million in 201 to $10.9 million in 2023 — a 122% increase, he said.

In terms of staffing, the city has gone from 33 full-time firefighters and 53 full-time police officers in 2012 to 68 full-time firefighters and 77 full-time police officers in 2023. This growth has “far outpaced” the city’s growth in population, he said.

Like many cities and towns across the country, Greenwood officials have seen difficulties in recruiting police and fire personnel. To solve this, officials looked at increasing compensation. With the aid of the city council, base salaries for public safety personnel are now over $70,000. Adding in health insurance and the city’s contribution to pensions, the total compensation is over $102,000, Myers said.

Over Myers’ tenure, officials have also invested in making sure first responders have the necessary tools to do their jobs, he said. Updates have been made to the city’s Police Training Center, the Tactical Athlete Clinic has opened and officials began designing the city’s newest fire station: Station 95. The station will be located on the city’s southeast side.

One thing Myers is particularly proud of is that all of Greenwood’s police officers are now Crisis Intervention Training-certified and are better equipped to handle mental health crises, he said.

Other public safety upgrades the city has embarked on include using federal coronavirus relief funds to give local schools grants to improve security. Officials have also updated crosswalks and signals at 14 public schools and plan to install a bi-directional amplifier at the Greenwood Park Mall to improve the reliability of the public safety radio communications, Myers said.

For 2023, city officials will be adding a new civilian watch commander position for the police department — freeing up a sworn officer to go back on the streets. The watch commander will handle call-in reports and reports filed over the computer.

Infrastructure

Myers also touted the city’s infrastructure projects, including the completion of the multi-million dollar Western Regional Interceptor sewer project and the construction of a roundabout at Stones Crossing Road and Honey Creek Road. As part of the Worthsville Road project, construction crews reconstructed 1,600 feet of roadway for this roundabout last year.

The second to last section of the Worthsville Road project is also continuing ahead and is on schedule to be completed this summer, he said.

The city also received another $1 million in state Community Crossings grants last December, which will be used to improve roads throughout the city. Myers applauded city employees for “aggressively seeking state and federal funds” to offset costs.

“By being on our toes and proactive, we continue to bring taxpayer money back home to Greenwood,” he said.

The city’s street department also poured more than 3,100 feet of sidewalks throughout the city in 2022, Myers said.

For the future, there are $67 million of road improvements planned, including the Smith Valley Road and Averitt Road roundabout. Officials are planning to begin designing the roundabout later this year with funding from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Along with road improvements, city officials also plan to update the city’s 16-year-old comprehensive plan — a “monumental project,” Myers said. The plans set the city’s vision for its future, including what types of development should go where.

The updated plan will need input from the public, and Myers strongly encourages residents to participate.

“We want your ideas for your community,” Myers said.

Comprehensive plans are typically redone every 10 to 15 years. For the last six months, city officials have been talking about starting the process, but were waiting to have the right staff in place, Myers told the Daily Journal following the address.

“Now that we’ve got a solid team in planning and engineering, we can pull it together now,” he said.

Economic development

The city has also had strong economic development over the last few years. In the last year, city officials have seen companies like Endress+Hauser, PLS and VisonQuest have announced plans to expand in Greenwood, while ERMCO is expected to relocate from Indianapolis to its new Greenwood facility later this year, Myers said during his speech.

In Old Town, development is continuing with The Madison, which is expected to be completed later this year. There is more than $68 million in private investments pledged to Old Town because of the city’s commitment to redevelop what was a “decaying downtown,” Myers said.

“As a lifelong Greenwood resident, I have seen the evolution of our downtown,” Myers said. “That is why I have particular pride in the developments here.”

Myers also commended the small businesses in Old Town that are “living through and finding success” amid construction.

Later, he announced he had green-lit a study of the Main Street corridor. This study will propose improvements to the city’s “front door” to make it both visually appealing and safe, he said.

“We’ve been considering a quite a while, but as we’ve seen more growth, and we’ve done road improvements, we know that there’s still more that needs to be done,” Myers told the Daily Journal.

These improvements include widening Main Street near Interstate 65 and adding an additional westbound lane.

“It’s the gateway to the city, and we want to make it something that looks amazing when people come in,” Myers said.

Quality of life

Myers also praised the city’s parks department in his address, saying they accommodated more than 240,000 experiences both in-person and online.

“We are a city of roughly 65,000 people, to say we have an engaged community is an understatement,” he said.

More recreation is coming to the city with the construction of the Greenwood Sports Park on Worthsville Road, Myers said. The facility — which will include four baseball and four softball diamonds, a multi-use soccer field with a cricket pitch, a state-of-the-art playground, a splash pad and a multi-use trail — is expected to open in fall 2024.

City officials are also continuing to add to the city’s trail system, and are working to enhance the city’s parks and programming, he said.

“Our community wants options, and we continue to meet the demands of an active and engaged community,” he said.

Myers also highlighted the city’s growing MyGreenwood program. MyGreenwood is an app that helps citizens communicate with the city and access resources, including submitting complaints.

The future

There is a lot going on across the city, and city officials are “focused and smart” about how they invest taxpayer dollars. While the last few years have been challenging, officials rose to the challenge and did not quit, Myers said.

“Thanks to our staff, I have presented 11 balanced budgets to the common council, and all have been approved,” he said. “Greenwood still has the lowest property tax rate of any city over 10,000 people in the state.”

Myers has never felt more confident in the direction the city is going than right now. The city continues to have strong financial health while investing in residents and progress, and the city and its residents can overcome any challenge, he said.

“Our citizens and our city are strong and we will never quit,” Myers said.