The Greenwood City Council is considering spending $600,000 in federal relief funds for a backup power generator.
Federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, will be used to purchase a 450 kilowatt natural gas backup power generator, a natural gas line and a meter. Security fencing would also be purchased for the generator, according to city documents.
The city currently has generators for all of the fire stations, the justice center, the Department of Public Works, the community center and the fieldhouse. But the Greenwood City Center does not have one, which is both a “glaring” issue and a security issue, city controller Greg Wright told the city council Monday night.
If the city center loses power, officials lose the ability to access controls for door locks. Security cameras and computers would also go down in the building, he said.
“We thought this was an important security feature to add back into this building now,” Wright said.
The ordinance was introduced Monday and go through two more readings in January. The last reading is final passage.
In other business, the city council unanimously approved granting a $100,000 tax break for a growing Greenwood optometry clinic.
Council members voted 8-0, with one member absent, to grant VisonQuest Eyecare, a $119,157 five-year real property tax abatement to build a new approximately 9,600 square-foot office in the Swartz Crossing development, located off State Road 135 and Stones Crossing Road. The optometry office, which is currently located at 1160 N. State Road 135, is expected to invest about $2.8 million as part of the project, according to city documents.
VisionQuest is expected to add six new jobs with the new office and retain 26 jobs, Amanda Rubadue, vice president of economic development for Aspire Johnson County, told the city council last month
Construction is expected to start this month with operations beginning in September 2023, documents show.
Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers also came before the city council Monday to request permission to consider outside candidates for the city’s fire chief opening.
Current Fire Chief Darin Hoggatt announced earlier this month that he plans to retire from the department in February. He will be taking a job with Indiana University Health, he said.
The search for Hoggatt’s replacement will soon begin, and Myers plans to interview candidates inside the department. For Myers to consider outside candidates, however, he needed approval from the city council. This is because of a city ordinance, he said.
The city council voted unanimously, with one member absent, to approve Myers’ request.
