Greenwood’s District 2 encompasses two of the most talked-about areas in the city right now — the former middle school property, and the Interstate 65 and Worthsville Road interchange.
The race for that hotbed seat pits an experienced politician and businessman against a military veteran and cyber security expert whose primary goal is stopping further warehouse development in Greenwood.
District 2 includes everything southeast of Worthsville Road to the city line. It also includes Greenwood Park Mall to the north. Its expansiveness puts the council’s District 2 representative at the center of many important conversations and decisions.
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Republican incumbent Ezra Hill has been at the forefront of that conversation since 2011, when he campaigned with Mayor Mark Myers, and earned a spot on the city council.
Democrat candidate Jason Boudi is a lifelong Greenwood resident who appreciates the direction the city is headed, but wants it to slow down. He says city officials should be more picky about what warehouses they allow in.
Voters will decide who should get the seat for five city council seats this fall. The winner will join the other five district council members and three at-large members for the next four years.
Hill shares Myers’s vision for downtown, and wants to see many of the projects Myers has outlined, such as redevelopment of the former middle school property, through to the finish line, he said.
A resident of downtown Greenwood, he has promised to revitalize that area.
“We have had many conversations about what our downtown is and what it needs to be. A lot of those projects, I have been involved with and pushed those projects to bring them to fruition. I mainly want to promote economic growth, but also preserve the downtown feel and historic aspect of our city,” said Hill, a water utility specialist and vice president at Whalen Construction Co.
His main focus is on further redevelopment downtown, but his constituents’ focus has turned to southeast Greenwood, which has the most available land.
Southeast Greenwood, near the I-65 and Worthsville Road interchange, looks completely different today than it did when he took office seven years ago. One of his biggest tasks as a council member has been deciding what kind of developments should fill out that area, and for the most part, that’s been single-family homes.
Now those conversations and debates have shifted east of the interstate. Developers have their sights set on that land for industrial uses, such as large warehouses and light manufacturing businesses, which area residents are adamantly opposed to.
Hill is too, to an extent.
“A lot of residents are pushing back on industrial, especially south of Worthsville Road, and I’m right there with them on that. But as far as north of Worthsville Road, those (proposals) need to be looked at closely. Some of those projects are good for the city as a whole because it brings in more tax dollars, and a city needs those types of projects that provide tax boosts,” Hill said.
“We just need to be careful and strategic about it.”
It is clear the residents of southeast Greenwood want to see more single-family homes in that area, mixed with upscale shops and restaurants. WHO SAID?
Boudi lives among those residents and agrees wholeheartedly. But if a developer wanted to build a warehouse anywhere in Greenwood, it would take a lot of convincing for him to vote yes, he said.
“There’s an influx of warehouses going up in neighborhoods, specifically in District 2, that is having an impact on my ability to enjoy the neighborhood that I currently live in,” said Boudi, a cyber security investigator at Eli Lilly and Company.
Southeast Greenwood’s infrastructure is not built to handle it, he said. Getting in and out of his neighborhood is becoming more challenging with every new development.
“In my impression, it doesn’t seem like they’re making any rhyme or reason with these warehouses. Some are even speculative. They are building it on the idea that if they build it, somebody will probably want to use it,” Boudi said.
While Boudi appreciates Greenwood’s growth, it’s happening too fast, he said.
“Besides that, I’m actually kind of excited and impressed with what Greenwood plans to do in making it a walk-able, family-friendly environment,” he said.
His second priority would actually be making sure the city achieves the vision they have set out for downtown, specifically with the former middle school property, he 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.
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.
“Selfishly, I would like to take my family and kids down there,” Boudi said. “But it’s great for our city as a whole to have a vibrant downtown. I am truly open to any kind of development that make sense for the use of land.”
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Name: Ezra Hill
Party: Republican
Age: 41
Occupation: Water utility specialist and vice president at Whalen Construction Co., Inc.
Education: Roncalli High School; Purdue University
Political experience: Greenwood City Council since 2011
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Name: Jason Boudi
Party: Democrat
Age: 43
Family: Wife, Lauren; 3 children
Occupation: Cyber security investigator, Eli Lilly
Education: Center Grove High School; Bachelor’s degree, Wright State University; Master’s degree, University of Dayton
Political experience: None
Memberships: Information Systems Security Association; Infraguard
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Greenwood City Council District 2
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 2: Represents everything southeast of Worthsville and Averitt roads to the city line. It also includes Greenwood Park Mall to the north, and much of downtown, including the former middle school property.
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