[0:08] Good evening, everybody. And
[0:13] welcome to the. Meeting AUGUST
[0:16] 27th of the Parks and
[0:17] Recreation Committee. We are
[0:20] going hear some budget
[0:21] presentations this evening
[0:22] from the Department of Parks
[0:22] and Recreation and the Arts
[0:28] Council in Annapolis in the
[0:28] Parks, recreation
[0:29] presentations up for director
[0:33] grown. You have the floor. And
[0:34] besides that, we're going
[0:35] introduce my colleagues. Thank
[0:37] you for all the hand signals.
[0:38] I don't even know sign
[0:41] language. What I caught the
[0:46] yeah PRESIDENT, to my left.
[0:48] Good evening, CHAIRMAN. That's
[0:50] thank you so much. Welcome to
[0:51] everyone. Chris Tilley Wells
[0:56] District 11, far West side.
[0:57] Thank you. CHAIRMAN Jesse
[0:57] Brown District 13 near north
[1:04] near East side. I think you
[1:05] MR. CHAIRMAN Brenda Lee
[1:06] District 2 and I just came
[1:09] from Riverwood part where it's
[1:11] the epicenter of the flood
[1:13] response. So I just want to
[1:14] remind everybody that we do
[1:17] have a lot going on in our
[1:18] city parks as it stands
[1:19] serving as epicenter of
[1:20] response for the flood. So
[1:22] thank you for allowing us to
[1:26] use the parks. Thank you.
[1:27] Thank you. CHAIRMAN Jessica
[1:28] McCormack District 16. My
[1:33] side. And I boots, District 3
[1:35] and had the honor of chairing
[1:36] the committee. So now we are
[1:37] ready for the presentation of
[1:38] parks and director grown. You
[1:41] now have the floor. Thank you
[1:42] very much, MISTER Chair and
[1:46] counselors of the committee.
[1:47] Before we get started tonight.
[1:49] I also want to take a moment
[1:51] to acknowledge those in our
[1:51] community and across the state
[1:52] impacted by that recent
[1:56] flooding. As you all are
[1:58] likely thinking as well our
[1:59] thoughts and the Parks
[2:00] Department continue to be with
[2:00] those impacted with our
[2:02] neighbors who are suffering
[2:05] through this crisis. I'd also
[2:07] like to thank all of our city
[2:09] and local response teams to
[2:10] this disaster. I'm incredibly
[2:11] proud of the role our parks
[2:15] have played in this response
[2:16] as counselor doing any mention
[2:17] river would park continues to
[2:19] serve as a committee community
[2:21] hub for the entire ravenswood
[2:22] neighborhood. That was so
[2:23] impacted by those flood
[2:26] waters. Perhaps. Most
[2:27] importantly, I want folks here
[2:28] and anyone watching at home to
[2:31] know that broad Ripple Park
[2:34] will be hosting fema tomorrow
[2:35] and Saturday from 08:00am to
[2:38] excuse me. 09:00am to 06:00pm
[2:40] for residents to register for
[2:42] individual assistance. And so
[2:43] that will be Friday and
[2:45] Saturday at Broad Ripple Park
[2:46] family Center where fema is
[2:48] connecting with those
[2:50] residents impacted. Please
[2:51] share this information with
[2:53] anyone who was impacted. They
[2:55] do not an advance registration
[2:59] or specific items or forms
[2:59] filled out or anything like
[3:00] that. It'll be a hands-on
[3:04] approach from fema. Ripple
[3:05] Park had previously served as
[3:06] a connection point for those
[3:09] in need of a place to stay
[3:09] with pets. And we were able to
[3:13] connect 15 households with
[3:14] those resources the first day
[3:17] and night after the flood came
[3:18] in. And I cannot think our
[3:19] team a broad ripple enough for
[3:21] their support with those
[3:22] operations. I also want to
[3:23] shout out of some of our team
[3:25] members, Andrea Dead men.
[3:27] John, get Gretchen sort men
[3:28] and the entire resource
[3:30] development team for scene
[3:32] damage at our parks due to
[3:35] those floods. Kim Campbell and
[3:36] Sky Mackenzie for being on
[3:37] call and supporting throughout
[3:40] the entire response. Erik
[3:41] Davenport and filter Povick
[3:43] for supporting operations at
[3:45] broad Ripple when we made that
[3:47] donation site and Alex
[3:48] Courtright, he's sitting here
[3:50] to my right for keeping the
[3:51] media, our website and social
[3:54] media channels up to date. And
[3:55] of course, John George, our
[3:57] cfo for keeping our damage
[3:58] reports and expenses
[4:00] organized. Please join me in
[4:00] giving them in all of our
[4:01] staff around the place for
[4:13] that. So to get into our
[4:15] presentation. Now, I want to
[4:16] start off with some context of
[4:19] our department has been the
[4:19] generational investment we've
[4:20] seen come to life this year
[4:23] and over the past few years
[4:25] and look at how we address
[4:26] some of our challenges going
[4:27] forward says is going to be a
[4:29] lot of information over the
[4:30] next several minutes. And I'm
[4:31] excited to share this with you
[4:34] all and just ask everybody to
[4:34] hang on with us as we go
[4:37] through the wonderful updates.
[4:39] This year's budget will look a
[4:40] little different than years
[4:42] past as we implement program
[4:43] or outcome based budgeting for
[4:46] the first time. So instead of
[4:48] seen just our budget based on
[4:49] character this year, our
[4:49] budget will be broken down
[4:53] into 15 program nodes such as
[4:54] capital and maintenance
[4:56] community nutrition. Aquatics
[4:58] summer camps and environmental
[4:59] education. We are, of course,
[5:01] proud of the more than
[5:03] 150 million dollar capital
[5:03] improvements that are largely
[5:06] wrapping up this year. It's
[5:07] also important to note that
[5:08] our annual budget is more than
[5:10] 3 times larger than it was in
[5:11] 2015 when it was just
[5:15] 17 Million. Our team is not
[5:17] resting on any of these.
[5:18] However, in this presentation,
[5:19] we will cover topics,
[5:19] including a major new grant
[5:23] secured this year. Our goals
[5:24] for 2027 and talk about the
[5:27] future of our aquatic system.
[5:29] As always, I'd like to start
[5:29] off with a reminder of what
[5:32] guides our work. Our mission
[5:32] is to provide enriching
[5:35] experiences for all while our
[5:36] vision for the city is
[5:38] healthier lives inspiring
[5:40] experiences and vibrant
[5:41] communities. You can also see
[5:42] our full racial equity
[5:46] statement here as well. We are
[5:47] fortunate to have a huge, an
[5:49] extensive park system in our
[5:52] city. Our 218 parks cover
[5:53] nearly 12,000 acres and served
[5:56] more than 10 million folks
[5:58] each year. The Eagle Creek
[5:59] Park alone seized nearly 1.5
[6:01] million visits a year, which
[6:02] is on par and sometimes above
[6:06] of what our national Park c.
[6:07] Art rail network is so long
[6:07] that it is over half the
[6:10] length of the Grand Canyon and
[6:11] our total parking garage is
[6:12] nearly the size of the entire
[6:15] city of Lawrence. Thanks to
[6:16] recent investments, we're
[6:20] upgrading over 40% of our 136
[6:21] playgrounds. And we've added 2
[6:22] new splash pads this year at
[6:22] Chapel Hill and Dew, Berry
[6:25] Parks. Quickly, I wanted to
[6:26] provide a reminder of our
[6:29] department's leadership team
[6:30] this year. We were thrilled to
[6:32] promote Andrea Dead men to
[6:33] Deputy director and he has
[6:34] done a phenomenal job
[6:37] overseeing what we have. To
[6:37] believe is the most
[6:38] significant year of
[6:39] construction in our
[6:43] department's history. This
[6:44] slide you see now is a quick
[6:45] reminder of how our system is
[6:46] divided between the
[6:46] administrative staff in the
[6:50] city County building and the 6
[6:52] regions that oversee our 218
[6:54] parks. I cannot thank our
[6:55] regional managers enough for
[6:58] their expertise, their
[6:58] dedication and their
[7:03] leadership in the field. Hour.
[7:05] More than 150 full-time staff
[7:06] do an incredible job. Keeping
[7:08] our department going and
[7:09] provide incredible programs
[7:10] and opportunities for our
[7:13] community. While details are
[7:14] still being finalized will be
[7:16] adjusted. Fire department. We
[7:18] are really excited about the
[7:19] new step in great pay policy
[7:20] that we that will go into
[7:22] place next year. Our
[7:22] department is very supportive
[7:26] of this kind of policy and it
[7:28] more fully recognizes the
[7:28] experiences and expertise of
[7:32] our talented staff. Through
[7:32] this policy staff will see pay
[7:33] increases in accordance with
[7:34] their position and time with
[7:38] the city. We in any park see
[7:41] this as a crucial retention
[7:41] tool that will more accurately
[7:43] compensate our dedicated team.
[7:45] And this is a very big deal
[7:46] for our team and for our city
[7:47] to keep talented folks in our
[7:50] department. Speaking of
[7:52] retention, I also want to take
[7:53] a moment to highlight some of
[7:53] our staff who have been
[7:55] promoted over the last year.
[7:59] This list is not all
[8:01] conclusive, but I simply can't
[8:01] thank all of our staff enough
[8:04] for what they do and we would
[8:04] be here all night because our
[8:07] team is that phenomenal. The
[8:09] names on your screen are
[8:11] incredible group of parks
[8:11] professionals and are examples
[8:12] of well-deserved promotions
[8:13] and professional development
[8:16] within our department. These
[8:17] promotions range from our
[8:18] programming operations teams
[8:19] with Gideon Scott Miller,
[8:20] Tanya Jenkins and new Park
[8:23] managers. All the way to
[8:24] DeAndre Dement. And Jonathan,
[8:25] get on our resource
[8:26] development team and Robert
[8:32] Luck on our finance team.
[8:33] Also, I want to take a moment
[8:35] for park recognition to
[8:36] acknowledge the 100 year
[8:37] anniversary of the Frederick
[8:39] Douglass Golf Course. I was
[8:40] able to join our staff for
[8:42] that celebration this past
[8:44] Saturday. And it's a very cool
[8:46] story that Douglas and it's
[8:47] for is the first golf course
[8:48] named after a black man in the
[8:52] entire country. The very first
[8:53] this, of course, was also the
[8:55] same golf course that black
[8:56] residents played during
[8:59] segregation. Frederick
[9:00] Douglass Park is an incredible
[9:02] place for lots of reasons. And
[9:04] this is certainly one of the
[9:06] most significant. Thank you to
[9:08] Cook Ryder, Golf Management
[9:08] out operator at Douglas for
[9:09] the event this past weekend.
[9:11] And all they do at this
[9:16] beautiful and historic course.
[9:17] As you all MAY recall at the
[9:19] end of last year, we adjusted
[9:20] our fees and prices to improve
[9:22] our long-term sustainability.
[9:23] Even with these modest changes
[9:26] in the parks remains the most
[9:27] affordable options for a wide
[9:29] range of essential and Richie
[9:31] programs from our free meals
[9:32] programs to our low-cost
[9:34] summer camps to wellness and
[9:36] fitness programs. These low
[9:37] and no cost options are
[9:38] essential to the healthier
[9:42] lives aspect of our vision. A
[9:44] big part of what makes our
[9:45] park special are the great
[9:46] programs we offer and the
[9:48] special events we host some
[9:49] new and noteworthy programs
[9:51] this year that you all MAY
[9:54] enjoy hearing about include
[9:55] fencing, our continuing arts
[9:57] for all programs that bring
[9:57] arts to parks that have been
[9:59] historically offer them. And
[10:01] of course, are very, very
[10:01] popular. Environmental
[10:05] education programs. Our team
[10:06] does an incredible job.
[10:07] Corning is special events in
[10:09] our parks as well. We posted
[10:10] more than 159 special events
[10:14] so far this year that bring
[10:16] neighbors together for food,
[10:18] entertainment music, culture,
[10:19] and community in ways that
[10:23] only our public spaces can.
[10:24] I'm also very proud of our
[10:26] growing summer concert series
[10:27] that our production arts team
[10:29] puts on year after year. We've
[10:31] had over 100 performances this
[10:32] year at parks. And it's a long
[10:34] list of parks where those
[10:38] concerts took place. Our team
[10:38] has done an excellent job
[10:40] targeting these programs to
[10:41] all ages, including our new
[10:43] series of kid focused
[10:44] performances that have been
[10:45] tied in with summer camps and
[10:47] summer meal distributions. As
[10:50] we mentioned earlier, our
[10:51] summer camps are among our
[10:51] most essential programs for
[10:55] families in our city. Thanks
[10:56] to expanding partnerships and
[10:56] the expansion of camp
[10:59] offerings at several parks. We
[11:00] saw a 10% increase in the
[11:01] number of youth served this
[11:06] year with over 4,700 campers.
[11:06] With affordability and
[11:07] ever-present concern for
[11:09] residents are camps are low
[11:11] cost and we offer scholarships
[11:11] to further ensure affordable
[11:15] access. Our staff does a great
[11:16] job, ensuring that these
[11:17] programs are not just
[11:18] affordable, affordable, but
[11:20] enriching for our youth while
[11:20] they are away from school,
[11:23] whether the camp is general or
[11:25] wide-ranging or more narrow,
[11:26] all to help kids explore their
[11:31] interests. Similar to last
[11:33] year. We saw a strong summer
[11:34] hiring season more than we did
[11:36] during and coming out of the
[11:38] pandemic. Those roles are
[11:38] crucial not just for pool
[11:41] access, but first central swim
[11:42] lessons. We were also able to
[11:44] continue our Tuesday and
[11:45] Thursday cost community swim
[11:48] hours this summer in our
[11:48] Saturday Free Pool partnership
[11:49] with Indiana Sports Court in
[11:53] JULY. And as you all MAY
[11:55] recall, we did adjust our pool
[11:56] emissions by a dollar this
[11:57] year due to the increasing
[11:59] cost of chemicals and overall
[12:01] pool maintenance. We still saw
[12:04] people attendance of over
[12:05] 106,000 this summer, which was
[12:06] in line with the weather and
[12:07] the number of pools that were
[12:12] open last year. Are splashpads
[12:13] to date are still open through
[12:14] Labor Day weekend and serve as
[12:15] another important resource for
[12:18] the community, especially for
[12:19] younger kiddos. And this year
[12:20] we completed 2 news Splash
[12:22] Pads as part of the Lilly
[12:24] Endowment grant. And those
[12:24] were at Chapel Hill and debris
[12:27] Parks. As I mentioned earlier,
[12:28] Graham Edward Martin Park will
[12:29] be our next posh pad when
[12:30] construction wraps up there
[12:33] next year. Will talk more
[12:35] about these details later in
[12:37] the presentation. But the
[12:38] national model for aquatic
[12:41] access and similar cities
[12:42] continues to include adding
[12:42] more splash pads. And we are
[12:47] following that model. As
[12:47] always. I want to give a huge
[12:49] shout out to our amazing food
[12:51] program. Staff. They provide
[12:52] some of our city's most
[12:53] essential services, whether
[12:54] through our summer servings
[12:56] for youth in the summer or are
[12:57] many other pantries, some
[13:01] programs. Our team,
[13:01] unfortunately did see some
[13:02] major impacts from the
[13:06] flooding at Riverside Park.
[13:07] Deflating did impact that food
[13:09] storage that we have on site.
[13:10] Our team is still working
[13:10] through those issues and we
[13:12] hope to have the restock
[13:15] available soon as possible.
[13:17] We've served over 56,000 meals
[13:18] this year and continued
[13:20] partnerships with second
[13:22] helpings. We've also fulfilled
[13:25] nearly 10,000 grocery orders
[13:25] through our drive and Dish
[13:26] program that I will go into
[13:28] more detail later on. We're
[13:30] really proud of the success
[13:31] and expansion expansion of
[13:33] drive and dish with the Pacers
[13:35] and cleaners as well as and
[13:37] the Hunger Network this year
[13:37] are locations had nearly
[13:39] 10,000 orders of 312,000
[13:43] pounds of groceries, 312,000
[13:45] pounds. As a reminder, this
[13:47] program works much like mobile
[13:48] ordering groceries where
[13:50] residents register and then
[13:50] they can order groceries.
[13:51] Online weekly, with incentives
[13:55] for healthy options. We know
[13:56] the need a significant in our
[13:58] city, which is why we are
[14:00] working with our partners to
[14:00] out a new location, Christian
[14:02] Christian Park later this year
[14:03] and identifying other
[14:03] potential sites for the
[14:08] future. I also like to share a
[14:08] great story that our partners
[14:11] at cleaners pass along
[14:13] recently, a resident who picks
[14:14] up food that you're park on
[14:15] the West side. Share that
[14:16] because of this program, she's
[14:18] been able to catch up on bills
[14:19] and make ends meet without
[14:22] having to cut back on food. We
[14:23] know that this is the case for
[14:24] many program beneficiaries
[14:26] across the city. And another
[14:27] reason why parks programs like
[14:28] these are considered
[14:34] essential. Speaking of our
[14:36] great staff, I want to call
[14:39] out Amy Anderson and Jason
[14:40] Green for their leadership
[14:41] coordinating major
[14:41] partnerships and days of
[14:44] service across our system. The
[14:45] numbers on your screen share
[14:46] just how impactful this team
[14:48] and our partners are from over
[14:50] 340 landscape areas improved
[14:53] to 10 pool decks, improved and
[14:54] over 1000 bags of litter and
[14:57] weeds removed. This is just
[14:58] incredible work. We can't
[15:00] thank them enough going into
[15:01] the next few years. We are
[15:04] working to identify bathhouse
[15:05] improvements as an area of
[15:06] focus with many of these
[15:06] partners to make best use of
[15:09] all of our resources. These
[15:11] projects not only improve our
[15:12] parks, but strengthen our
[15:12] community connection to our
[15:17] parks. The slide here just
[15:18] show some additional examples
[15:20] of the volunteer sizes, the
[15:21] parks. That's all service
[15:26] states this year. Speaking of
[15:27] partnerships, I want to take a
[15:29] moment to talk about our
[15:30] incredible partners at the
[15:31] Parks Alliance of
[15:33] Indianapolis. As a reminder,
[15:34] the Parks Alliance mission is
[15:36] to connect community
[15:36] government and philanthropic
[15:39] partners on behalf of any
[15:40] parks to invest in and
[15:41] elevate. Indianapolis says
[15:45] parks trails and public spaces
[15:46] and the newest executive
[15:47] director of the Parks Alliance
[15:49] has already made a tremendous
[15:50] impact working with my team
[15:53] and I on advancing our various
[15:53] needs. We're so grateful for
[15:57] her. To that end, you'll see
[15:59] some information about 3
[16:00] exciting projects. We're
[16:00] working with the Parks
[16:03] Alliance on here. Those
[16:03] include brand new playground
[16:06] at Tarkington Park. The major
[16:09] 10 million dollar investment
[16:10] at Reverend Moselle Sanders
[16:11] Park is part of the half
[16:13] Riverfront Vision plan. And
[16:15] our latest is to relocate the
[16:16] historic traders point covered
[16:17] bridge to Lily Lake Eagle
[16:21] Creek. Will be excited to
[16:22] share more information about
[16:22] that last project here in the
[16:26] coming weeks and months as we
[16:26] anticipate that adding yet
[16:27] another great reason to visit
[16:31] Eagle Creek Park. These
[16:31] impactful and unique projects
[16:32] are major part of our upcoming
[16:33] capital improvement in the
[16:35] coming years. I also want to
[16:37] thank all of our foundations
[16:39] and our friends, groups for
[16:40] their continued partnership
[16:42] and support of our parks. And
[16:44] there is no indie parks. If we
[16:45] don't have those partnerships,
[16:46] we love our community members
[16:48] and appreciate their work.
[16:51] Speaking of major capital
[16:52] projects. I'm very proud of
[16:53] the work our entire team has
[16:55] done on the 40 Lilly Endowment
[16:57] Grant projects roughly half of
[16:58] those projects are already
[16:59] open to the public with nearly
[17:00] all wrapping up by the end of
[17:04] the year. We could easily
[17:05] spend the rest of the
[17:05] presentation talking about
[17:07] these incredible new
[17:09] amenities. So instead of doing
[17:10] that will just give a reminder
[17:11] that these projects have
[17:12] happened in every township and
[17:15] they are truly county wide.
[17:17] You'll see 2 of the fun and
[17:17] colorful playgrounds completed
[17:20] from the grant on your screen.
[17:21] And those are at Southside
[17:25] Park and Chapel Hill Parks.
[17:27] These projects are happening
[17:29] in on on top 9 townships, as I
[17:31] mentioned, and include 30 new
[17:31] playgrounds, 3 new splash
[17:33] pads, new pickleball courts at
[17:36] 6 parks, sports fields at 3
[17:37] new parks and new trails at 3
[17:40] other parks. More details
[17:42] about all of these
[17:44] improvements can be found on
[17:46] our website, parks indeed dot
[17:49] Gov. And the best way, of
[17:51] course, to explore our parks
[17:51] and learn more about all the
[17:53] new amenities is by getting
[17:54] out and checking out our parks
[17:59] in person. So now I also like
[17:59] to go through several other
[18:00] major projects and initiatives
[18:03] from the last year. And as as
[18:04] I mentioned at the beginning,
[18:06] we're going to keep going
[18:06] through all this. I appreciate
[18:11] everyone holding on here. This
[18:12] spring. We were very excited
[18:13] to open the renovated and
[18:15] expanded mlk Park and landmark
[18:18] for Peace Memorial. One of the
[18:19] most historic sites in our
[18:21] city. This space has now been
[18:23] upgraded to better reflect its
[18:25] place in our city's and
[18:26] nation's history. This site is
[18:28] a powerful reminder that parks
[18:28] also play a significant role
[18:30] in preserving our history and
[18:32] sharing it with future
[18:34] generations. New panels cover
[18:35] both the history of dr King
[18:38] and Senator Kennedy along with
[18:38] Indianapolis residents who
[18:40] witnessed Senator Kennedy
[18:44] speech in 1968. I can't
[18:45] recommend visiting the site
[18:46] enough if you haven't already
[18:51] had a chance. Now, downtown is
[18:51] one of the areas of the city
[18:52] where we have a shortage of
[18:54] parks and protected green
[18:55] space. So as part of their 200
[18:58] and 50th anniversary, Lilly,
[19:00] along with the Caitlin Clark
[19:01] Foundation partnered with us
[19:02] to donate a new land downtown
[19:05] to become a park and build a
[19:07] new multi-use basketball and
[19:09] soccer court through that
[19:10] partnership. Lilly will
[19:10] support us by overseeing the
[19:14] maintenance of the park. Truly
[19:16] awesome. We've already seen
[19:17] downtown residents and
[19:18] visitors alike. Enjoy this new
[19:19] spot for recreation and quiet
[19:22] reflection. It was also a
[19:23] treat for our team to meet and
[19:25] speak with Caitlin Clark. And
[19:25] we're grateful for her
[19:26] continued commitment to our
[19:30] city. Our biggest new
[19:31] announcement this year was
[19:33] securing that 10 million
[19:34] dollars to implement the first
[19:36] phase of the half, Riverfront
[19:36] vision plan at Reverend
[19:38] Moselle Sanders Park from the
[19:41] Bezos Earth Fund. The Hondo
[19:43] River from Vision plan was a
[19:44] community-driven partnership
[19:45] with visit Indy and the
[19:46] friends of beach to develop
[19:49] Reverend Moselle Sanders Park.
[19:50] And I'm not beach. So we are
[19:51] really excited to make this
[19:52] major step forward toward that
[19:55] vision. The project will plant
[19:58] more than 400 trees will
[20:00] restore native wetlands, built
[20:01] 2 miles of new trails and out
[20:04] of community farm and orchard
[20:05] multi-use fields. Sports
[20:06] courts gathering lines and
[20:08] Central Park infrastructure.
[20:09] It will also allow us to build
[20:12] out construction plans for the
[20:13] entire site, including Belmont
[20:14] Beach. So that will be shovel
[20:16] ready for future funding
[20:18] opportunities. We were one of
[20:19] 8 cities across the country to
[20:21] be selected in this grant
[20:22] process. So I want to thank
[20:25] our team. The office of
[20:26] Sustainability, the Parks
[20:26] Alliance of Indianapolis led
[20:28] by Jenny Boyd, this central
[20:31] Indiana Community Foundation
[20:32] in our team for their very
[20:33] hard work to show the indie
[20:34] parks is an attractive
[20:37] investment. Our team will
[20:39] continue to identify and apply
[20:40] for a range of grants to both
[20:42] provide essential programs and
[20:42] high-quality spaces to our
[20:46] neighbors. While we do have
[20:47] several major projects next
[20:48] year as the Lilly Endowment
[20:51] grant largely wraps up our
[20:53] Capitol budget will be the
[20:55] main focus, as you know, are
[20:56] 5.8 million annual capital
[20:58] budget must cover a lot of
[21:01] needs this year. Cip has
[21:03] largely provided for largely
[21:04] projects that Graham at
[21:06] Belmont Park and Guy Soccer
[21:07] complex with an additional
[21:08] part and minor replacements at
[21:11] our pools. Next year. We are
[21:12] excited to start construction
[21:15] on Jack Butler Park, which
[21:15] will be the first parks and
[21:18] building in Decatur Township.
[21:20] This was a previously donated
[21:21] building and land from late
[21:22] 2023 in an area surrounded by
[21:26] new housing. While plans
[21:27] changed due to unforeseen
[21:28] issues. We anticipate
[21:30] investing around 20% of our
[21:32] cip to upgrading aquatic
[21:34] amenities along with building
[21:35] and maintaining playgrounds
[21:36] and making improvements to our
[21:40] facilities and outdoor courts.
[21:42] You can see our current cip
[21:43] plan for 2027 here and in your
[21:47] packets. This also includes
[21:47] the 2.1 million dollars
[21:48] dedicated in the fall fiscal
[21:52] proposal. And one important
[21:53] thing to note here is that our
[21:54] team is currently working on
[21:56] an assessment of all of our
[21:58] pools when that assessment is
[21:59] complete in the coming weeks,
[22:00] we will have a better sense of
[22:02] how we will allocate the 1.1
[22:04] million under the jfc various
[22:07] park projects line item. Even
[22:09] before that, you can see that
[22:10] we anticipated spending
[22:11] roughly a million on our aging
[22:12] aquatics infrastructure next
[22:17] year. Over the next few years.
[22:19] We anticipate that our cip
[22:21] will focus largely on heavy
[22:22] aquatics investments
[22:22] renovations to that that
[22:25] you're Park family Center
[22:27] developing Century Park in
[22:28] Franklin Township, structural
[22:30] work at some of our flexion
[22:31] facilities, playground
[22:34] resurfacing far pour in place.
[22:36] Playground surfaces around
[22:37] 2029 as those arpa playgrounds
[22:37] began to need potential
[22:41] maintenance. As well as
[22:42] improving our courts trails
[22:45] drives and parking lots. I
[22:46] also want to highlight that
[22:48] this budget further invest in
[22:49] our capital and maintenance
[22:51] with $30300,000 increase in
[22:52] our facility, maintenance
[22:53] budget and establishes a
[22:55] capital asset. Lifecycle
[22:56] Development Fund for capital
[22:57] budget so that we can plan
[22:59] more strategically from year
[23:01] to year and prioritize medium
[23:02] and long-term fixes rather
[23:06] than short-term patches. Now,
[23:07] we've already mentioned
[23:10] aquatic several times, but we
[23:11] also want to talk to you about
[23:13] the big picture and future of
[23:14] aquatics with with this
[23:16] council committee. Our team
[23:19] has been looking at what a
[23:20] high-quality unsustainable
[23:21] aquatic system looks like for
[23:22] several years. Our department
[23:24] in cities across the country.
[23:27] Face a common set of problems,
[23:28] a large number of outdoor
[23:29] pools with aging
[23:32] infrastructure is one Midwest
[23:33] or similar weather that taking
[23:35] major toll on the outdoor
[23:36] infrastructure as the second
[23:39] and 3rd. Short school summer
[23:40] breaks that make seasonal
[23:46] hiring highly inefficient.
[23:48] We're not here to simply
[23:48] identify challenges. Of
[23:49] course, the move for many
[23:50] cities dealing with the same
[23:51] issues we face is the
[23:55] following. They are moving to
[23:56] more indoor pools for
[23:58] year-round use. This would
[23:59] allow us if we made the change
[24:02] to have staff for more than 2
[24:03] to 3 months and are then able
[24:03] to build on their skills and
[24:08] expertise. Other cities also
[24:10] make more splash pads
[24:11] available that require less
[24:13] staffing, less maintenance and
[24:14] they are able to stay open
[24:15] longer even after the school
[24:17] summer season is over and
[24:21] reducing our outdoor cool
[24:22] footprint. That's another move
[24:23] the other cities MAY can.
[24:24] Identify those pools that
[24:26] require costly, ongoing
[24:27] maintenance in order to
[24:28] prioritize reducing that
[24:31] footprint. Now, this will not
[24:32] be something that our existing
[24:36] cip can handle alone while we
[24:37] are prioritizing investments
[24:39] and modernizing our pools.
[24:41] Many date back to at least the
[24:42] 80's. Those pools have had new
[24:45] parts added over time. And
[24:46] that's still only a partial
[24:48] solution. It's a short-term
[24:49] fix in the same way that
[24:51] putting a new engine in a car
[24:53] from 1986. Still leaves you
[24:57] with a car from 1986. Those
[24:58] teams will be especially
[25:00] important as we consider
[25:02] Aquatic Centre Twenty-twenty a
[25:03] comprehensive plan which will
[25:04] include public input include
[25:06] conversations with this
[25:06] council committee as well as
[25:10] with our staff. Additionally,
[25:11] our staff is working on an
[25:12] updated post summer assessment
[25:13] of the conditions of our
[25:15] pools, which I mentioned
[25:17] earlier. Looking ahead, we
[25:17] would like any of those
[25:19] changes to entail. Adding a
[25:20] splash pad in place of a pool
[25:23] where that becomes necessary
[25:25] for larger projects like full
[25:26] renovations or new outdoor
[25:29] excuse me, new indoor pools
[25:29] that would require identify
[25:31] new funding sources. They're
[25:35] quite quite an investment. I
[25:36] also want to give you an
[25:38] update on the council selected
[25:38] park projects from the 2025
[25:43] budget cycle. Now. Wish Park
[25:44] in Pike Township was selected
[25:45] by Council Robinson and we
[25:47] broke ground back in the
[25:48] spring that new playground in
[25:49] full renovation will be
[25:53] wrapped up by this fall.
[25:54] Councilor dilts election at
[25:56] Thompson Park was a nearly
[25:57] shovel ready project last year
[25:57] to replace the playground and
[26:00] make trail improvements. So we
[26:00] were able to wrap that project
[26:04] up back in MAY. Canterbury
[26:06] Park was selected by
[26:06] vice-PRESIDENT Birth and is
[26:07] currently under have a heavy
[26:08] construction that will wrap up
[26:09] this fall and be ready to open
[26:12] up to the community. This
[26:13] project is going to be an
[26:13] excellent example of our
[26:15] trails and parks coming
[26:17] together to provide special
[26:18] assets as the Monon trail goes
[26:23] right up to camp or park. Robi
[26:24] Parks makeover, including new
[26:25] shelter, restroom
[26:27] improvements, improved hard
[26:29] courts and trails was just
[26:30] awarded by the Parks board
[26:32] this week. And we are very
[26:32] excited to get construction
[26:35] started there. Finally, we are
[26:36] working with counselor Delaney
[26:37] and the Indiana Wildlife
[26:38] Federation on the preservation
[26:41] of Havre Stick Woods. There
[26:42] have been some initial public
[26:46] meetings on this project,
[26:47] including one this week while
[26:48] a neighboring parcel to this
[26:49] property goes through the
[26:55] Indy's rezoning process. Now
[26:56] on the next screen and you'll
[26:57] see the new playground at
[26:58] Thompson Park, which is
[26:59] actually very similar to what
[27:01] wished Park we'll see on the
[27:04] far north side this fall, as
[27:05] you can imagine, kids have
[27:07] shared with our staff that
[27:08] they absolutely love climbing
[27:09] this giant, place that and
[27:16] slide structure. Over the last
[27:16] 2 years. We've been very
[27:19] grateful to work with the
[27:19] council and administration to
[27:20] secure more than 3 million in
[27:22] additional fiscal
[27:23] appropriations with an
[27:24] additional 2.1 million
[27:25] introduced for the budget,
[27:28] fiscal. These funds are
[27:32] crucial. Given our 5.8 million
[27:33] cip budget from 2025. You'll
[27:33] see the list of projects
[27:37] funded on the screen, the most
[27:38] substantial of which was the
[27:39] nearly 60 court improvements
[27:42] across the city. All of the
[27:43] projects you see there were
[27:44] allocated last year and are
[27:45] either already completed or
[27:49] will be completed this fall.
[27:50] On your screen. Now you'll see
[27:50] an example of the court
[27:52] improvement projects from
[27:52] Arsenal Park. The basketball
[27:56] court was resurfaced painted
[27:56] and the new back Gordon goals
[28:00] were installed. Improvements
[28:02] vary based on existing court
[28:03] conditions. So some received
[28:03] this level of improvement
[28:04] while others MAY have just
[28:05] been repainted or just
[28:08] happening. That's install all
[28:10] of the projects will make for
[28:11] a better plane. Experience for
[28:14] residents going forward. And
[28:15] similar to the previous slide.
[28:16] This is an example of the
[28:17] tennis court improvements done
[28:22] at once on the park. This
[28:23] year's spring. Fiscal also
[28:25] provided some crucial one on
[28:27] one time. Investments for us
[28:28] to address safety,
[28:30] landscaping, maintenance and
[28:32] technology. Our security team
[28:35] was able to stretch our
[28:36] resources to cover 3
[28:37] additional permanent camera
[28:38] installations that were not
[28:40] originally in this plan. And
[28:43] still come in at the out. More
[28:45] than half of those
[28:46] installations have already
[28:46] been completed and the rest
[28:47] will be finished in the coming
[28:51] months. These both help us
[28:52] with safety and protection of
[28:53] our assets on insurance
[28:56] claims. As we talked about
[28:59] earlier during our cip, we are
[29:00] planning for substantial
[29:00] product improvements over the
[29:02] next few years and the
[29:03] additional $200,000
[29:05] Appropriation will help us
[29:06] move forward on some of those
[29:09] improvements this fall. This
[29:10] funding also help to secure
[29:11] new credit card readers that
[29:12] will allow patrons with easier
[29:14] payment options going forward.
[29:20] A much needed improvement. The
[29:22] introduced budget, fiscal
[29:23] appropriate, additional 2.1
[29:24] million to support a new
[29:25] playground at Roadies Park,
[29:27] which is the home of our only
[29:28] adaptive and inclusive camp
[29:31] for kids with Disabilities.
[29:32] 700,000 to support court
[29:35] improvements at 18 parks and
[29:36] another round of funding for
[29:37] cameras at 23, additional
[29:39] locations to support Park
[29:40] safety for patrons and our
[29:42] staff to be clear, these are
[29:45] not flock cameras, rather the
[29:46] same kind of security cameras
[29:48] this building right here in
[29:48] the ccb have and other park
[29:52] facilities already have. I now
[29:53] want to go into some of our
[29:54] departments, high-level goals
[29:57] for 2027. Our first 2 goals
[30:01] are directly connected. For
[30:02] over 4,500 high quality
[30:04] programs every year. And we're
[30:06] looking to continue our growth
[30:10] in some of those areas from
[30:11] citywide sport leagues to
[30:12] summer camps to arts nature
[30:14] and seasonal programs. These
[30:18] all add. To quality of life
[30:18] enrichment experiences that
[30:21] folks are looking for in
[30:23] Indianapolis, a major part of
[30:24] how we hope to accomplish this
[30:26] is through our new recreation
[30:27] management software. Also,
[30:31] you'll hear me say are ms, as
[30:33] we discussed the spring,
[30:34] fiscal provided an procreation
[30:35] allowing us to purchase and
[30:38] install new technology. This
[30:39] new system will also greatly
[30:40] improve how residents view
[30:41] learn and enroll in our
[30:45] programs. Technology has come
[30:46] a long way since we last MAY
[30:49] to change in the system.
[30:51] Decades ago. And we're
[30:52] confident that these modern
[30:53] tools will build on our recent
[30:57] Web site improvements and the
[30:58] physical improvements in our
[30:59] parks for a overall improved
[31:02] customer experience. We've
[31:03] already spoken year about
[31:03] public safety, especially
[31:07] around new cameras. We've had
[31:08] great conversations with impd
[31:08] the summer about how we can
[31:10] work together on Park safety
[31:13] and also plan to incorporate
[31:13] Park safety as part of our
[31:17] upcoming comprehensive plan.
[31:18] Look forward to continuing
[31:18] those conversations, but the
[31:22] council as well. Speaking of
[31:24] which 2027 will be a
[31:25] significant years. We begin
[31:25] the process of doing our next
[31:28] 5 year master plan. Look
[31:32] forward to engaging with the
[31:32] our board, the council and the
[31:33] community about what they want
[31:35] to see next within the parks.
[31:37] This will include the future
[31:39] of the products as we
[31:40] previously mentioned, the
[31:40] kinds of programs and
[31:42] opportunities. Folks want to
[31:43] see and what the next phase of
[31:44] capital improvements could
[31:48] look like. Much as the 2023
[31:50] plan has shaped the last 3
[31:51] years. The twenty-twenty a
[31:52] comprehensive plan will shape
[31:56] the department into the 2030's
[31:57] and so and beyond. So our team
[31:58] will be hard at work on that
[31:58] this fall and into the next
[32:03] year. Our 5th goal is to
[32:05] officially break ground on the
[32:06] 10 million dollar renovation
[32:07] of Reverend Moselle Sanders
[32:10] Park next year. As we talked
[32:11] about earlier, this project
[32:13] will be a generational
[32:14] investment along the river.
[32:15] And our goal is to break
[32:16] ground next year with
[32:16] substantial completion in
[32:22] 2029. So we will now move into
[32:22] the details of our 2027
[32:26] budget. All city departments
[32:28] this year moved to program
[32:30] based budgeting and in simple
[32:32] terms, that means we are
[32:32] moving to a budget system that
[32:33] provides detail about how our
[32:34] budget breaks down by
[32:37] outcomes. This is our first
[32:38] year doing our budget this
[32:40] way. So we anticipate refining
[32:41] and improving it in this
[32:42] budget season and in the years
[32:45] to come as well. For
[32:46] reference, that means most of
[32:48] these more detailed sides will
[32:49] not have comparisons to
[32:50] previous years because this is
[32:51] the first year we're doing
[32:55] this type of budget. Our
[32:56] budget this year includes a 7%
[32:58] increase in our Parks. General
[32:59] Fund, which also includes golf
[33:03] and local grants. Both our
[33:04] Parks, General fund and
[33:05] overall budget are larger than
[33:09] the 2026 2025 adopted budgets.
[33:09] Those increases largely cover
[33:13] 3 areas. A 20% increase to our
[33:16] facility maintenance budget
[33:17] character. One increases for
[33:18] cost of living adjustment or
[33:19] cola, health insurance and
[33:24] step in grade. And increases
[33:25] for utilities and contracts,
[33:28] including janitorial services.
[33:29] The decrease in our federal
[33:31] grants reflects that spending
[33:32] down of those grants, not a
[33:35] reduction in grant amounts.
[33:36] That spending includes the
[33:38] design cost for the Riverside
[33:40] archery range and from a
[33:43] program, federal earmark which
[33:43] provides upfront funding for
[33:44] programs that was largely
[33:49] spent over the last year. This
[33:50] next slide shows that same
[33:51] budget breakdown. But by
[33:53] budget character, as you will
[33:54] recall, this is how we
[33:55] previously reported our
[33:56] budget. But this year it will
[33:57] be done by programs in more
[34:00] detail on the coming slides. I
[34:01] do want to know that following
[34:03] our board presentation of this
[34:04] budget, we received feedback
[34:06] from them on how much more
[34:07] understandable the program
[34:11] budgeting approach was. So the
[34:13] first section here breaks down
[34:14] several categories under
[34:17] administration. These programs
[34:18] largely cover our staffing in
[34:20] several categories. Things
[34:22] like utilities, our dpw, I sa
[34:24] and occ charge backs for
[34:25] grounds maintenance technology
[34:28] and legal. Other smaller
[34:29] categories here include
[34:31] property management leases
[34:35] communications and media
[34:36] financing grants and
[34:37] additional staffing categories
[34:40] for specific staff groups.
[34:42] This slide breaks down than on
[34:43] capital and maintenance
[34:46] portion of aquatic spending.
[34:47] This spending is largely for
[34:49] staffing, including seasonal
[34:50] staff, along with pool
[34:50] chemicals, equipment, uniforms
[34:56] and other supplies. Many of
[34:58] our sports programs are
[34:59] low-cost leagues, open gyms or
[35:00] partnerships, which is why
[35:03] you'll see that our overall
[35:03] spending on athletics and
[35:04] sports relatively low here at
[35:12] 207,000. This next slide is
[35:14] kind of but it is labeled
[35:15] under brownfield remediation
[35:16] because it's for part of the
[35:17] Graham. Edward Martin Park
[35:23] remediation efforts. Next. We
[35:24] have our capital and
[35:25] maintenance funding breakdown
[35:29] for this note. One technical
[35:29] but important change to our
[35:32] capital budget going forward
[35:33] is that it has been formally
[35:33] changed to a non reverting
[35:38] fund. In English for all of
[35:39] us. That means that those
[35:40] funds do not revert back to
[35:41] the city's general fund at the
[35:44] end of the year, which is
[35:45] incredibly important for our
[35:46] team because it gives us a lot
[35:46] more flexibility going
[35:50] forward. The facility
[35:51] maintenance category,
[35:54] increased by over 300,000 to
[35:55] 1.6 million dollars. This is
[35:56] part of our effort to ensure
[35:57] that more of the capital
[35:58] budget can support medium to
[36:00] long term capital
[36:02] improvements, rather than just
[36:05] short-term maintenance. As a
[36:06] reminder, facility maintenance
[36:06] is the side that is under
[36:13] indie parks and not dpw. Our
[36:14] community engagement budget is
[36:16] at $213,000. And this includes
[36:17] our customer service and
[36:22] community relations. Staff. As
[36:23] we talked about earlier, our
[36:25] food program team does an
[36:26] incredible job serving our
[36:27] community. As you can see, our
[36:30] budget for this category is
[36:31] just under 2 million dollars,
[36:31] which includes our grant
[36:33] funded summer meals program
[36:34] among others and our staffing
[36:38] costs for those programs. Now
[36:39] for the Cultural Arts section,
[36:40] you'll see that it is divided
[36:45] into 2 sections. The 1.3
[36:45] million dollars passed through
[36:48] to the in the Arts Council and
[36:49] 2.1 million that goes toward
[36:51] our arts programs, concerts
[36:53] and fantastic staff that plan
[36:53] and put on those events and
[36:57] programs year round. Speaking
[37:00] of incredible staff, our
[37:01] environmental education team
[37:03] does equally excellent from
[37:04] environmental camps to the
[37:05] day-to-day operations and
[37:07] programming at our
[37:08] environmental centers. That
[37:10] section of the budget accounts
[37:10] for over 1.1 million dollars
[37:16] out of our budget. Next. This
[37:17] section covers our fleet
[37:19] management which covers the
[37:20] character one expenses for
[37:20] overseeing our departments,
[37:23] vehicles and maintenance, the
[37:24] fuel and maintenance costs
[37:25] themselves would fall under
[37:26] the larger charge that
[37:32] category 2 dpw. Our policy and
[37:33] planning node covers some of
[37:34] our contract management staff
[37:36] and related contracts for our
[37:39] policy planning, including our
[37:40] national accreditation, which
[37:42] is known as Capra and our
[37:47] comprehensive plans.
[37:48] Recreation and leisure is
[37:51] divided into 2 sections. The
[37:52] first large section is the
[37:53] actual funding for the plant.
[37:54] Riverside Archery range, which
[37:55] we completed design for over
[37:59] the last year. The second
[38:00] covers are golf and
[38:02] concessions. Fitness and
[38:03] wellness programs and other
[38:04] community programs that didn't
[38:05] necessarily fit into other
[38:10] categories. Now, on this
[38:15] slide, you'll see $231,000 of
[38:17] our budget is for special
[38:20] events, which is limited to
[38:20] staffing costs across special
[38:21] ovens facility and shelter
[38:26] rentals. For summer camps.
[38:30] This $568,000 accounts for
[38:33] staffing supplies, shirts and
[38:34] other camps other camp needs
[38:34] across our adaptive arts,
[38:35] environmental in traditional
[38:38] camps. And a final note here
[38:42] covers our departments
[38:42] training budget for
[38:44] certifications, staff
[38:45] conferences and larger state
[38:48] and national conferences. For
[38:53] the year. And that is $40,000.
[38:54] Since we have been talking a
[38:56] lot about staffing. These
[38:57] final 2 sides show details
[38:59] about our staffing demographic
[39:01] breakdowns. These numbers are,
[39:05] of course, a snapshot in time,
[39:06] but they give a good breakdown
[39:06] of the demographics of our
[39:08] staff and how those numbers
[39:13] break out across pay ranges.
[39:15] And finally, this slide is a
[39:16] continuation of the previous
[39:17] one just broken down by
[39:23] gender. And we certainly had a
[39:24] lot of information to cover.
[39:25] But with that, we are happy to
[39:33] take any questions. Chair.
[39:33] Thank you. Director must admit
[39:35] it was most present budget
[39:39] presentations. I bet that's We
[39:43] like to keep it that yes, like
[39:44] that with the presentation via
[39:46] prose. I appreciate Any
[39:50] questions? We Thank you so
[39:51] much. I really appreciate the
[39:52] presentation. It was very
[39:53] pleasant. I definitely co sign
[39:56] on that CHAIRMAN. I think my
[40:00] questions as I look
[40:01] specifically at some of the
[40:02] things that were actually
[40:06] raised in my supreme budget
[40:08] conversations with dpw
[40:12] included Director crown
[40:15] specifically under that
[40:15] facilities spend facilities.
[40:20] General the park facilities
[40:22] parking lots drives and
[40:23] pedestrian bridges. One thing
[40:25] that really stood out to me
[40:27] not only for this coming
[40:28] year's budget, but in future
[40:32] years. First for 2027, it
[40:34] looks like 192,000 is
[40:40] allocated for. $192,550 is
[40:42] allocated for that. And I I
[40:43] feel like that's a little
[40:46] small. And as I flipped
[40:49] forward to future years, 2028
[40:52] and on. It looks as though it
[40:56] goes to $400,000. 4. 2028
[41:03] 2029. And is over a million in
[41:04] at 2030. And so those are all
[41:05] great and good. So I'm just
[41:06] really concerned that for
[41:11] 2027, it's so low, especially
[41:13] since the council overturned
[41:16] the Mares veto on some of the
[41:16] dollars that will be receiving
[41:18] from increase. We'll tax. And
[41:23] so I guess my thought was
[41:24] initial question, how can we
[41:26] maybe increase that? Because I
[41:30] think the construction is
[41:31] amazing I know we can't pay
[41:31] salaries and staff are
[41:33] beautiful parks with that
[41:37] money. But I am concerned
[41:38] about the conditions of some
[41:41] of the inroads into our parks,
[41:44] specifically as it involves
[41:45] driver safety, you know,
[41:47] vehicles, even some of these
[41:48] large buses and things that
[41:48] bring bring our kiddos to and
[41:54] from the parks. Frankly, I was
[41:55] on a zoom call talking with
[42:00] our dpw Team win a very
[42:01] sometimes annoying and the
[42:02] park staff member that lives
[42:05] in my house came behind. Seems
[42:06] like excuse me, I'd like to
[42:08] talk about our inroads in our
[42:09] parks. And so I yield my time
[42:13] to her as I, you know, kindly
[42:14] do. But I think that has
[42:15] really shined the light here
[42:16] for me to take a look at this
[42:18] tonight and knowing that with
[42:21] the council's, you know, focus
[42:24] on roads specifically. Can you
[42:26] talk a little bit director
[42:27] crown about maybe how we
[42:30] arrived at that number with a
[42:31] weapon and maybe any
[42:33] conversations that have
[42:34] happened since this budget was
[42:37] drafted. I'm sure this was
[42:38] chosen back, you know, in in
[42:39] the late spring, early summer
[42:44] and I think to kind of put it
[42:45] side-by-side with the
[42:46] community outreach budget.
[42:49] That's over 200 grand but
[42:50] roads and bridges for an
[42:53] entire year is less than that.
[42:53] So can you talk a little bit
[42:54] about maybe how you arrived
[42:55] there? Maybe maybe what could
[42:57] we do to bridge the gap? Pun
[43:02] intended. Yes, ma'am,
[43:02] absolutely out so well as we
[43:03] can speak to that. Turn it
[43:04] over to Alex Courtright chief
[43:08] communications officer. Yeah,
[43:10] great I think a couple things.
[43:12] One first kind of a separate,
[43:14] right. So what we're talking
[43:15] about here is our capital
[43:16] budget versus what obviously
[43:20] dpw will see that increase. So
[43:21] I think 2, 2, phone
[43:22] conversations with the
[43:24] answers. One is with dpw
[43:25] because generally we have to
[43:27] pull money for those types of
[43:27] improvements out of our
[43:28] budget. Right. So I think
[43:29] there's some conversation. So
[43:33] we have there. The second
[43:34] piece over the last couple of
[43:36] years as we've done more for
[43:36] schools and parks has been
[43:38] involved in more of those one
[43:41] of the things we looked at are
[43:42] those one-time not maybe not
[43:43] one time, of those capital
[43:45] improvements that we can make.
[43:46] And I think as we've done a
[43:46] lot of hard courts and things
[43:50] like that in recent years, as
[43:52] we look into the future, one
[43:53] of the ideas that we have
[43:54] identified internally has been
[43:54] our roads and bridges and
[43:55] things like that as well
[43:56] because that seems to make a
[43:59] lot of sense. And then I think
[43:59] that gives us 2 different
[44:00] funding mechanism center that
[44:02] we're going with is ares
[44:03] internally talking dpw because
[44:06] again, many of our roads are
[44:08] not just roads and park,
[44:08] right? It's a road that goes
[44:09] through a park and then
[44:10] continues on into a
[44:11] neighborhood right? So I think
[44:12] it's a multi faceted
[44:15] approaches. The answer. I
[44:16] appreciate that and I agree
[44:17] with you 100%. I don't want to
[44:20] see to be clear, everyone. I
[44:20] don't want to see you moving
[44:24] money around in your budget. I
[44:24] want to see funding that is
[44:27] already dedicated to roads, be
[44:29] utilized to better connect
[44:33] people to our parks allow them
[44:36] to more safely access them,
[44:37] even if it's them being
[44:39] dropped off by an indigo bus
[44:41] or them riding their bike you
[44:44] know, where there's not a
[44:45] trailer greenway there. We're
[44:46] sharing roads with bicycles as
[44:47] well. And it's a lot of game
[44:51] of chicken and cyclists going
[44:52] off on the side of the road
[44:55] and it's very, very dangerous
[44:56] for all parties involved. And
[44:58] so I would advocate MR.
[45:01] CHAIRMAN, that because I know
[45:03] you're a champion of this road
[45:03] funding for school and I
[45:06] really would love to see some
[45:09] of those dollars really
[45:11] dedicated in and around
[45:12] playground so that families
[45:14] can get there safely and home
[45:18] safely as well. I don't think
[45:18] I have any other questions.
[45:21] Just a thank you. I know you
[45:23] deal with so much, especially
[45:24] on those pools as a pool
[45:25] owner. It is an absolute
[45:27] nightmare. I just pray every
[45:28] single time I have to replace
[45:30] the chlorine Carter's or
[45:32] something. The chlorine cost
[45:33] going up is absolutely insane.
[45:35] I want to say it's doubled and
[45:37] the last 5 to 10 years which
[45:41] it used to be semi affordable
[45:43] and now it's definitely not.
[45:44] So these are hard decisions
[45:48] that we have to make. And I
[45:50] know you don't have to staff
[45:51] splashpads the same way you do
[45:52] pools and all of those things.
[45:54] So kudos to the team for
[45:56] making those hard decisions
[45:57] and with that, MISTER
[46:00] CHAIRMAN, I yield my time.
[46:01] Thank you, counselor. Any
[46:04] other questions? Yes, because
[46:05] LeBron, thank you as Thank
[46:07] you. Director Crown for an
[46:09] excellent presentation. I
[46:10] would echo what cause the
[46:14] wells and what your board dead
[46:15] about the breakdown by And by
[46:19] node that is very helpful.
[46:19] I've been doing with a bunch
[46:23] questions here. But my first
[46:24] concern was looking at your
[46:25] character, one funding. You
[46:26] know, because I do love the
[46:29] step in grade. I do love that.
[46:30] You're giving cost of living
[46:33] increases. But when I look at
[46:37] the change year over year.
[46:38] That's hard to reconcile
[46:40] rights or we were move forward
[46:41] with significantly fewer staff
[46:43] due to attrition because I
[46:44] know you mentioned several
[46:45] people being promoted. Several
[46:47] people running from within.
[46:48] That worries me that we're
[46:51] trying to spread. I know you
[46:51] all work very hard already.
[46:52] And so trying to spread even
[46:54] more than I worry about that.
[46:57] So can you reassure me that?
[47:00] We certainly appreciate your
[47:01] comments, counselor and you
[47:02] know it. It's in the best
[47:04] interest of our entire union
[47:05] city are our neighbors and our
[47:07] staff included that we be very
[47:08] intentional and have a
[47:12] critical eye on where and how
[47:16] we're placing staff across our
[47:17] system. We turn it over here
[47:18] to our cfo. Jon Georgia can
[47:21] speak a little bit more
[47:24] clearly about the attrition
[47:25] rate, but we were very
[47:25] grateful to defend this year.
[47:26] And for the efforts of this
[47:28] committee and our council
[47:30] body, we did see a reduction
[47:32] in our attrition rate. So to
[47:32] your question specifically, we
[47:35] were all so advocating for
[47:36] that. And we know that you all
[47:39] were as well if I can have
[47:40] John step up to the mic, he'll
[47:41] be able to explain a little
[47:42] bit more clearly about our
[47:43] character. One while he's
[47:48] coming up. I also we'll we are
[47:50] conducting an internal
[47:52] staffing assessment and that
[47:52] will continue to shed light on
[47:55] where we need to to direct
[47:57] staff. I think we also want to
[48:01] be really mindful of. How how
[48:01] we're stretching staff and
[48:02] make sure that when we talk
[48:03] about quality of life, it also
[48:05] means quality of life for our
[48:06] team at any parks, which is
[48:07] hard to do because we want to
[48:10] keep. Programs going doors
[48:13] open and all those things. So
[48:14] cfo, Jonathan George here can
[48:15] speak a little bit more about
[48:19] that attrition. Thank you for
[48:22] the question. Counselor. We
[48:23] did not get rid of any
[48:25] positions, any budgeted
[48:28] positions, this budget season.
[48:29] We're still maintaining all
[48:29] the budgeted positions that we
[48:34] had going into this year. We
[48:36] think we are properly funded
[48:38] to have, you know, reduce
[48:38] attrition rate to step in
[48:39] grade. The colon health
[48:40] insurance increases are all
[48:41] afford it. That is our
[48:45] understanding. So. You don't
[48:46] quick follow-up question.
[48:46] Appreciate that. I'm glad to
[48:51] hear it. How is the increase
[48:51] for character, whatever you're
[48:54] so low, then? I mean, it is
[48:55] positions were left unfilled
[48:58] for a while. And yet the the
[48:59] speed at which replace people
[49:03] is low or or forgive me my
[49:06] math is just thank you
[49:07] council. That's We actually
[49:08] and John, if you don't mind,
[49:11] we would want to them in on
[49:13] that conversation. You know,
[49:13] just out of respect for the
[49:15] decisions they have to make.
[49:16] Unless Alex, he'd like to add
[49:18] anything to that. Yeah. Thank
[49:19] you so much for your
[49:20] questions. And and the the
[49:21] care and concern that your
[49:24] brain to our staff.
[49:26] Absolutely. And that if you if
[49:30] I MAY, chair I will try not to
[49:34] do so. But Yeah, I understand
[49:37] and agree with, you know,
[49:38] we've had many conversations
[49:39] about the pools and I
[49:41] understand that most cities
[49:42] are moving to more splashpads,
[49:44] more indoor pools, which makes
[49:46] a lot of sense, especially
[49:46] It's just impossible to keep.
[49:48] We have the parts in stock,
[49:50] etc. I get all that. But I
[49:50] just worry about this trend
[49:54] where we have fewer just
[49:55] people, staff, people in the
[49:57] parks. I think cameras MAY
[49:58] help with that but activating
[50:01] a public space and having
[50:02] personnel, I think, is
[50:03] providing a really valuable
[50:08] public safety and so I just
[50:09] kind of worry about that trend
[50:11] as well. As you know. I know
[50:11] you're not the only
[50:12] department, but in general,
[50:13] we're trying to do more with
[50:15] less across the enterprise and
[50:17] I fear that that will lead to
[50:18] worst public safety and then
[50:21] more on it. The shoulders on
[50:22] that point. I wanted to ask
[50:25] about the park Rangers are
[50:26] they included in this budget?
[50:28] Is that through another What
[50:33] can tell me about them? So
[50:34] they're included under budget,
[50:39] not ours. Appreciate that.
[50:41] Related question to that as
[50:43] well is with the camera
[50:44] funding. I've had many
[50:45] constituent of mine advocate
[50:45] for more cameras. And so I'm
[50:48] pleased to see you. Listen to
[50:49] constituent feedback. But part
[50:51] of wonders if we're not
[50:51] pivoting to heart in that
[50:54] direction, just looking at
[50:55] that this goes, it's that or I
[50:56] wonder what kind of metrics we
[50:58] have about how effective these
[50:59] cameras are. Again, I'm not
[51:01] getting pushback from many
[51:02] constituents despite all the
[51:03] pushback on flock and other
[51:05] sorts of cameras. Parks
[51:06] cameras are generally pretty
[51:08] well supported by just
[51:09] wondering what data we're
[51:10] using make those purchase
[51:16] decisions. Kind to fall into,
[51:16] i think for says the scale of
[51:19] our parts right, 218 of them,
[51:20] many of them have multiple
[51:21] access It MAY seem like we're
[51:22] doing a lot. We are. We are
[51:26] covering our priority areas
[51:28] realistically. So I hope that
[51:29] helps a little Just the scale
[51:34] outside of that. And in terms
[51:38] of was the 2nd half your
[51:39] question. Yet, just what date
[51:39] are we using to show that it's
[51:40] worthwhile to buy these
[51:43] cameras? Yeah. So it's all
[51:44] related starting our security
[51:45] team. That's great job with
[51:46] incident reports and things
[51:47] like that. So that's really
[51:49] what informing us is. You
[51:50] know, we certain centers,
[51:53] certain part parks, certain
[51:54] sections of parks, racy these
[51:55] issues. And that's really
[51:55] what's informing. As those
[51:59] incident reports. And I added
[52:00] counselor, again, lot of
[52:03] gratitude for the questions.
[52:03] As with anything in the
[52:06] quality of life. Pillar. It's
[52:10] never a one stop shop
[52:11] solution. Cameras are an
[52:14] essential part of how we
[52:15] protect our staff. You know,
[52:18] there have been incidents.
[52:19] We're unfortunate situations
[52:20] have happened and because of
[52:24] the camera footage impd was
[52:25] able to apprehend individuals
[52:25] responsible for that. And so
[52:29] we see that as a protection of
[52:30] our patrons and also our
[52:33] staff. And, you know, of
[52:33] course, that has to be
[52:35] balanced. It's not the only
[52:36] answer. We agree. That
[52:39] programming is the number-one
[52:39] preventative measure that we
[52:40] can have in a space and we
[52:43] want to continue striving
[52:44] towards that reality. And and
[52:47] while also balancing the you
[52:48] know, to support impd and
[52:49] their partnership that they
[52:52] need from from our expansive
[52:53] system in the parks. So it's
[52:56] it's one of several
[52:57] strategies. We certainly
[52:58] appreciate the support for it.
[53:03] And the consideration. Again,
[53:04] you make of such a supportive
[53:04] for everything I've heard. So
[53:07] not trying knock at all. Just
[53:07] glad to hear, you all these
[53:09] background details that's
[53:10] helpful. Just a couple more
[53:17] questions. MISTER Chair so you
[53:21] know, I heard CHAIRMAN Boots
[53:22] push in the past for increase
[53:22] user fees as one source of
[53:26] revenue that could help the
[53:27] park's maintain. And I'm
[53:30] wondering how much we can do.
[53:31] And forgive me for not knowing
[53:32] this firsthand because I
[53:32] haven't participated parks
[53:34] programs myself as much as I
[53:36] should have. But I am really
[53:38] glad that we have such
[53:38] affordable or free programming
[53:41] and our parks. And I also
[53:43] wonder, you know, if at the
[53:46] end of such programming we're
[53:47] offering, you know, qr code
[53:50] saying, hey, if you went to
[53:50] any private, you know,
[53:51] organization to do the same
[53:52] level of programming it to be
[53:55] 3 times the cost. If you can't
[53:57] afford it, chip in here to the
[53:59] Parks Foundation or fund that
[54:01] could help because I think
[54:02] likely some people going to
[54:05] these could afford to chip in.
[54:06] And to me, we're providing
[54:10] really awesome level also
[54:11] quality of programming. And
[54:11] that would be the best time to
[54:12] ask people for money you've
[54:14] seen the value yourself, help
[54:17] your neighbors do this in the
[54:19] future. So I just don't know
[54:19] if we're already doing
[54:20] something like that or if
[54:21] that's an idea that we could
[54:23] look at next year. A fantastic
[54:25] idea. And I think Jenny Boyd
[54:26] said the Parks Alliance might
[54:30] agree with me. We need to add
[54:31] council brown those
[54:33] conversations. All jokes
[54:34] aside. Yes, that's a wonderful
[54:37] idea. What I'm excited about
[54:38] in our partnership with the
[54:40] Parks Alliance is to have a
[54:41] team at the helm, you know,
[54:42] especially executive director
[54:44] and Jenny points willing to
[54:46] get really creative and look
[54:47] at all the various streams,
[54:47] the opportunities as
[54:48] individual donor
[54:51] opportunities, you know, in
[54:52] ramping that kind of
[54:55] experience up, how can we get
[54:59] the friends groups or the the
[55:00] the park's foundations that
[55:00] are existing. How can we
[55:01] direct donations to those
[55:04] happen? We direct donations to
[55:05] the Parks Alliance and there
[55:06] are a number of ideas flowing
[55:08] from that. And we welcome any
[55:09] and all creative ideas for
[55:11] that. Thank you very much. My
[55:13] very last thing was another
[55:14] creative idea which will call
[55:16] it at getting you homework
[55:18] assignments. But Dr points.
[55:19] You know, I really love the
[55:20] huge investment and that was
[55:24] all Sanders Park. And I also
[55:24] see, you know, just and I see
[55:25] other people who were involved
[55:28] in the force for all campaign.
[55:29] And so I wonder whether land
[55:32] acquisition could be a higher
[55:33] priority. Yeah, as we've seen
[55:35] the historic flooding this
[55:36] year, I think storm waters at
[55:37] the top of everyone's minds
[55:38] and we also know how cash
[55:42] strapped the city isn't. So to
[55:44] the extent that snow already
[55:45] on the radar and I'm sure it
[55:45] was along with 10,000 other
[55:47] things. I would just encourage
[55:48] you to continue to be creative
[55:51] like how we can acquire
[55:53] wetlands and mature forests in
[55:54] particular cause. I don't
[55:54] think there's any better bang
[55:56] for our buck for storm water.
[55:57] So just that last comment and
[56:00] thank you, MISTER Chair. MR.
[56:03] Brown council around great
[56:04] questions. Just a couple quick
[56:04] ones. I have none. I'm going
[56:07] to hand it off to counselor
[56:12] McCormick Trail maintenance.
[56:15] Is parks responsibility or dpw
[56:15] responsibility? Combination of
[56:18] both. It would be a
[56:22] combination as we can most
[56:22] clearly described the
[56:24] greenways and trails are
[56:26] predominantly maintained by
[56:30] dpw. We do have trails within
[56:32] our parks that we also
[56:32] contribute. But dpw is
[56:34] predominantly responsible for
[56:36] that. And I'm going to look to
[56:37] my deputy director and see if
[56:39] that is correct. Okay. He says
[56:40] that's correct. So thank you,
[56:45] Andrea. Andrea, do you have
[56:46] any other thing like that to
[56:51] the presentation tonight? Feel
[56:54] free to come up and share your
[56:56] thoughts. You've been really
[57:01] you MR. Parts. So let's take
[57:03] all the Thank you, counselor
[57:04] Andrea them and deputy
[57:04] director for the director
[57:06] Cronin Excellent job.
[57:10] Presenting our budget for 2027
[57:12] as you say, MR. Park said with
[57:13] also say we have a strong team
[57:14] with many employees who are
[57:17] sitting here behind me. So one
[57:19] person can do the whole heavy
[57:21] lift. We're thankful for dpw
[57:23] for the operations, the things
[57:25] they do. Thankful for your
[57:26] questions. And we've shown in
[57:28] the last couple of years here.
[57:30] But the record funding that if
[57:33] you fund us, we will make
[57:35] improvements that will make
[57:35] our parks incredible and the
[57:38] citizens happy. So thank you
[57:39] for all you do. Thank you,
[57:40] director. Thank its staff.
[57:48] Thank you. Did. I see that f 2
[57:48] e town is to 21. Is that
[57:55] right? That a number? I?
[57:56] Grabbed out of this
[57:57] presentation. Didn't make that
[58:02] up. George. The fte number
[58:07] should be to 99. It was 307.
[58:07] The reason for the decrease is
[58:11] we. The positions that we had
[58:14] to defund due to budget cuts
[58:14] that happened last year going
[58:17] into this year. Those
[58:19] positions that were defunded
[58:22] taken So they didn't have
[58:23] budget attached to them.
[58:24] That's why I said we did not
[58:27] lose any budgeted positions.
[58:29] So we but the the hours since
[58:30] or hours attached to those
[58:30] positions, even though they
[58:33] did not have a budget, they
[58:33] technically Fte cause Fte goes
[58:37] is based off hours. So sorry.
[58:43] So the number. I'm sorry, I'm
[58:48] confused 2.99 is what it was.
[58:49] 2.99 is what our active ft is
[58:53] right now. Right now, it was 3
[58:55] of 7. Ok, what now, many
[58:59] vacancies you currently have.
[59:00] Of flight full-time positions
[59:02] are like all. If you had to
[59:06] take a head count. We just did
[59:07] our mass terminations in
[59:09] summer ended. So we just got
[59:10] out all the lifeguards in
[59:11] summer camp counselors and
[59:14] things like that. So they can
[59:18] seize would probably be. We
[59:19] might 500 because they would
[59:24] like to get back to for So the
[59:26] vacancies count your seasonal
[59:27] employees. Okay. Okay. So that
[59:28] number is almost but not a
[59:29] seasonal employee would not be
[59:32] one fte. So like one Ft is 40
[59:33] full time. So like it's a
[59:34] seasonal employee will be a
[59:41] fraction. Much that. Yeah, my
[59:45] last quick question was the
[59:46] increase in the budget this
[59:51] year, 7% or 0.7% 7%. The
[59:52] increase in our Parks, General
[59:56] budget was 7%. But that is
[1:00:02] fraction of the whole budget.
[1:00:03] The whole budget, 1.7% because
[1:00:07] we spend our grants. And so we
[1:00:09] accounted for grant spend
[1:00:10] which brought down, the
[1:00:12] overall budget because you
[1:00:13] know, we're just spending the
[1:00:15] money. So we we got to reduce
[1:00:16] it. But the fun we care about
[1:00:19] the most, the park's general
[1:00:20] that that went up. So that's
[1:00:21] yeah. That's good. That's a
[1:00:24] good Thats a great the think
[1:00:24] what John? Thank you, is that
[1:00:26] both of your numbers are
[1:00:28] correct. Percent for parks,
[1:00:30] general and then 0.7 overall
[1:00:30] because all spend out on
[1:00:32] federal grants. Great. All
[1:00:34] right. COUNCILMAN Garment.
[1:00:37] Thank you, CHAIRMAN. Thank you
[1:00:39] for the presentation as
[1:00:41] always. My favorite one of the
[1:00:42] year because it's fun stuff
[1:00:44] and happiness and how
[1:00:45] wonderful memories for me and
[1:00:48] my family. So as always, thank
[1:00:49] you for the wonderful
[1:00:49] presentation of the refer to
[1:00:50] pay for being here and what
[1:00:54] you do for our community.
[1:00:55] Couple questions. So just to
[1:00:57] go back. So the because we
[1:01:00] have, you know, 3 lifeguards
[1:01:01] could be one fte, right?
[1:01:02] Depending on how many they
[1:01:06] work. But that year round
[1:01:07] vacancies. I'm just curious
[1:01:07] like that number, because it
[1:01:08] looks like that's about 150
[1:01:09] number that was in the
[1:01:10] presentation. The full time
[1:01:14] staff. Is that what? I guess?
[1:01:15] That's what I'm wondering
[1:01:16] because I kind access to
[1:01:20] counsel Brown as well. But
[1:01:20] cancer. Yeah. Would you mind
[1:01:21] sharing what slide? Cannot
[1:01:35] save 6. So you're referring to
[1:01:36] the 150 fold asked staff, okay
[1:01:39] and asking about vacancies.
[1:01:40] I'm very nice. Yeah, get
[1:01:42] there's quite a few vacancies.
[1:01:43] There was just curious. Other
[1:01:45] departments she adds. We
[1:01:47] appreciate that is if you're
[1:01:48] willing, we would be able to
[1:01:48] get in a specific number back
[1:01:50] to you instead of conduct.
[1:01:51] There's a big number, but I'd
[1:01:54] rather get you the specifics.
[1:01:56] And then for the 2.99 So it's
[1:01:58] about half of 1st half of the
[1:02:00] full-time equivalent, right?
[1:02:00] So those hours are seasonal.
[1:02:04] So about half of the ftc's are
[1:02:05] seasonal sounds right. If you
[1:02:09] got about 150 new to 99. So
[1:02:11] one, 50, maybe a typo. That's
[1:02:12] why I want go back because
[1:02:13] there's a chance that's not a
[1:02:14] problem. That's what seems
[1:02:16] like. There's a big gap. And
[1:02:18] then I guess with that act,
[1:02:18] not the seasonal, but with the
[1:02:20] effort to ease and we have
[1:02:23] that reduction, we feel like
[1:02:23] we're fully-staffed are
[1:02:25] adequately staffed with what
[1:02:27] we have budgeted for f to ease
[1:02:32] or for year-round seasonal. I
[1:02:32] appreciate that question,
[1:02:33] counselor. It's something you
[1:02:34] know, we we certainly always
[1:02:40] want to see. More staff. At
[1:02:41] our spaces that most
[1:02:42] programmed because that means
[1:02:46] that we can do more. And, you
[1:02:47] know, for this year, the fact
[1:02:50] that our attrition rate was
[1:02:53] produced and we also have the
[1:02:53] opportunities in our
[1:02:57] maintenance budget were seen a
[1:02:59] new level of support to the
[1:03:01] department. Our staffing
[1:03:02] assessment is going to
[1:03:02] demonstrate for us. Once we
[1:03:03] complete that internal
[1:03:05] project, it will demonstrate
[1:03:08] to us what what else could be
[1:03:10] possible in what should be
[1:03:13] possible? There are some of
[1:03:14] our newer park facilities that
[1:03:16] could benefit from additional
[1:03:19] staff. And we we'll continue
[1:03:21] to to request an advocate for
[1:03:23] that. And I think, you know,
[1:03:24] residents are always pleased
[1:03:27] when we can program the things
[1:03:28] that they want to see program.
[1:03:31] So a lot of that is public
[1:03:32] feedback. It's our internal
[1:03:33] staff assessment and then it's
[1:03:34] looking at our character one
[1:03:38] and what's available to
[1:03:39] reallocate or reorganized as
[1:03:40] needed. And it's an ongoing
[1:03:43] project for us at the moment.
[1:03:43] Thank I think this is kind of
[1:03:48] goes to what? 3 of his brought
[1:03:50] up. But that making sure that
[1:03:52] we're adequately staffed
[1:03:53] because we do have these
[1:03:54] programs right there. It's
[1:03:55] important work that we do. But
[1:03:56] you also I'm sure have these
[1:03:58] ideas that you would love to
[1:03:59] implement. That would be so
[1:04:00] amazing. But you just don't
[1:04:01] have that bandwidth to do it.
[1:04:03] And so I think making sure
[1:04:04] that we're least have to be
[1:04:05] able to do what we do. But
[1:04:05] then also do that vision for
[1:04:06] the future as well to make
[1:04:10] sure the facts. This is one of
[1:04:12] the few budgets where that is
[1:04:12] important to be included,
[1:04:13] right? Is that vision of what
[1:04:14] we want to do? Not just what
[1:04:15] do we have to pay for what we
[1:04:19] have to maintain so. That's
[1:04:21] the fun part of one of the few
[1:04:22] budget. Few from part budget
[1:04:26] things. I think and then going
[1:04:30] to the cameras. How did you
[1:04:31] choose the ones that you said
[1:04:33] high priority? I think cancer
[1:04:35] Brown's question. Kinda answer
[1:04:35] that. But is was that just
[1:04:39] based on a priority or raise
[1:04:41] their benchmark data numbers
[1:04:42] from what hap events that
[1:04:45] happened. Maybe these were the
[1:04:45] priority locations
[1:04:48] predominantly because they are
[1:04:50] the buildings themselves, the
[1:04:52] facilities that we have that
[1:04:53] either had a very limited
[1:04:56] number of cameras or no
[1:04:57] cameras at all. We have are
[1:05:00] our chief technology officer
[1:05:00] who looked very closely. We
[1:05:02] also have our park security
[1:05:05] team last year. You all would
[1:05:06] remember learning about our
[1:05:07] first parks safety
[1:05:08] Administrator Erik Davenport
[1:05:12] into the team, worked on
[1:05:12] various angles and identify
[1:05:13] the gaps in the camera angles
[1:05:16] that we have available to us.
[1:05:17] And what was being protected
[1:05:19] by a camera view when it comes
[1:05:21] to assets as well as insurance
[1:05:22] claims. If something were to
[1:05:23] go wrong and then support our
[1:05:26] partners and impd. So it was a
[1:05:28] priority list based on those
[1:05:30] data points. These priorities
[1:05:33] also came from visit levels.
[1:05:33] You know, the size of events
[1:05:35] that are hosted annually at
[1:05:37] these sites. The amount of
[1:05:38] programs that are attendant at
[1:05:40] the sites, et cetera. Thank
[1:05:42] you. I just wanted to it. Just
[1:05:43] make sure that like kind
[1:05:46] curious about that part. And
[1:05:47] then the last part is I know
[1:05:48] there were a few pictures on
[1:05:50] the slides. Chapel Hill Park
[1:05:52] got some much love over on the
[1:05:54] West Side. We have the
[1:05:55] pickleball. We have a splash
[1:05:57] pad. We have a new cut like
[1:05:58] updated covered area,
[1:06:00] beautiful playground. I'm not
[1:06:01] joking like the picture on
[1:06:03] this, but I when they're
[1:06:04] people there, they were like
[1:06:05] waiting for that sense to come
[1:06:08] down like the community was so
[1:06:09] thank you to you for all the
[1:06:09] work on that. And also the
[1:06:10] Lily Foundation for the money
[1:06:11] there as well. And I back.
[1:06:15] Thank you. Thank you.
[1:06:16] COUNCILMAN Going a couple just
[1:06:22] close in questions. Tell me
[1:06:23] about the status of the public
[1:06:24] safety officer program how
[1:06:28] that's coming and is that
[1:06:31] helping with the park Ranger?
[1:06:35] Deficiencies or is it? Being
[1:06:36] suitable substitute? Where do
[1:06:40] we stand there? Thank you, MR.
[1:06:42] Chair. So they park's safety.
[1:06:45] Ambassador as we're calling
[1:06:46] them is what we've been able
[1:06:49] to accomplish this year so far
[1:06:49] as developed the job
[1:06:51] descriptions for those and
[1:06:53] propose and initial phase of
[1:06:54] what that program could look
[1:06:59] like based on the former
[1:06:59] consultant recommendations
[1:07:03] that Parks received in the
[1:07:04] past. Right now where we're at
[1:07:07] working with impd to offer
[1:07:08] overtime hours to any officers
[1:07:10] that are interested in picking
[1:07:12] that up. And then, you know,
[1:07:15] we look forward to coming back
[1:07:16] to this committee with another
[1:07:18] proposal in the very near
[1:07:19] future to see if we could get
[1:07:23] that off the ground. But right
[1:07:25] we are continuing to develop
[1:07:26] the structure of what that
[1:07:27] program could and would look
[1:07:34] like if it funded. So we
[1:07:35] currently do not have any
[1:07:36] public safety officers in our
[1:07:40] parks. That is correct. We do
[1:07:42] not have the public safety
[1:07:43] ambassadors. We do have impd
[1:07:45] officers and we have park
[1:07:46] rangers that we don't have
[1:07:47] those public safety
[1:07:48] ambassadors that would be
[1:07:49] reporting up to that Park
[1:07:53] safety administrator. And
[1:07:54] doing it dissipate. Those
[1:07:54] officers having law
[1:07:57] enforcement. Authority or less
[1:08:02] or so. It's still a question
[1:08:04] that we're working to answer.
[1:08:05] What would be the right
[1:08:06] scenario? I think in ideals
[1:08:09] scenario what my safety
[1:08:10] administrator has advised that
[1:08:13] they should have police
[1:08:14] powers. So we continue to look
[1:08:17] at the research and work with
[1:08:19] partners internally to develop
[1:08:19] that program. We would also be
[1:08:20] open to the recommendations of
[1:08:24] this committee. And then
[1:08:28] finally trailing on this
[1:08:29] question of staffing and many
[1:08:31] you cover this little bit. But
[1:08:36] what are your? Plans or ideas
[1:08:39] were providing more incentives
[1:08:40] and to attract more staff and
[1:08:44] talent. I know in the past
[1:08:45] we've given signing bonuses
[1:08:47] and things of that sort. What
[1:08:51] do you anticipate for 27 next
[1:08:53] question? An important
[1:08:54] CHAIRMAN Boots. So the
[1:08:55] incentives that we've seen for
[1:08:57] lifeguards in the past to
[1:08:58] attract that talent for the
[1:09:00] pool season. We will continue
[1:09:03] offering those that is a
[1:09:04] strategy that has worked. And,
[1:09:06] you know, in years past in
[1:09:08] 2024, it worked the best ever
[1:09:10] had. You know, every year we
[1:09:12] see a different group of
[1:09:14] applicants come through for
[1:09:17] those positions. So that's
[1:09:19] it's it very unique roles that
[1:09:21] that folks are playing for
[1:09:21] their that we can't always
[1:09:22] predict, but will find that
[1:09:24] the incentives with those
[1:09:25] sign-on bonuses continue to be
[1:09:27] a strong strategy and we'll do
[1:09:31] that again for 2027. We are
[1:09:34] also again, very excited about
[1:09:35] the cost of living adjustments
[1:09:37] that our staff will receive.
[1:09:38] And then the step in great
[1:09:39] policy that's coming online.
[1:09:40] We do see that as a excellent
[1:09:43] strategy in tool for retention
[1:09:44] as well as attracting people
[1:09:47] to the rolls that we have
[1:09:50] available again open to
[1:09:50] additional ideas that that we
[1:09:53] should be pursuing and that
[1:09:54] we're not And always looking
[1:09:57] internally for how we can
[1:09:58] rewrite some job descriptions
[1:10:00] so that they are more pointed
[1:10:04] or more attractive. We invite
[1:10:05] anyone in the city who is
[1:10:07] interested in working with our
[1:10:09] amazing department to please
[1:10:10] apply. We would love to have
[1:10:16] folks join us. Well, I will
[1:10:16] give a public kudos to that.
[1:10:17] My daughter 10 years ago rose
[1:10:20] to the level of a lifeguard
[1:10:21] manager. That's some part And
[1:10:24] still to this day, keeps those
[1:10:26] Rens. It was one of her best
[1:10:27] experiences as a looking for
[1:10:30] the parks department. So I
[1:10:31] encourage anybody out there to
[1:10:33] sign up to be a lifeguard
[1:10:35] every been in the room to take
[1:10:36] us short stint, you'll love
[1:10:41] it. I guarantee it couple.
[1:10:41] Sure. Of I've got a couple
[1:10:46] closing comments, but please
[1:10:48] Thank you, MISTER Chair. I
[1:10:49] briefly want to quickly, I
[1:10:52] guess, make a comment,
[1:10:53] although welcome feedback on
[1:10:53] on slide. 64 the appendix
[1:10:57] after the slide you know, I
[1:10:59] just know those top 3 line
[1:11:03] items in particular. All
[1:11:04] that's great that we increase
[1:11:06] nature program. Participants,
[1:11:06] a mature. We've estimated that
[1:11:07] we will at least by the end of
[1:11:10] the year. I can't help but
[1:11:14] noting that are 2027 goal for
[1:11:16] our major Parks for minority
[1:11:17] low-income residents. Our goal
[1:11:18] is lower than we did 2 years
[1:11:22] ago. For the arts program
[1:11:23] dispense, it's what 60% of
[1:11:25] what we had 2 years ago. And
[1:11:26] that combined with what I've
[1:11:28] seen as the flat funding every
[1:11:30] year for Arts Council. It's
[1:11:34] just very disappointing.
[1:11:35] Again, I that you're not the
[1:11:35] only department who's being
[1:11:39] squeezed. And I know we have
[1:11:40] our state to blame for much of
[1:11:45] that. Just one of the register
[1:11:46] that disappointment appreciate
[1:11:48] honest numbers about that. But
[1:11:49] field of those are pretty
[1:11:51] start to look at. So just
[1:11:52] kinda want to mention that on
[1:11:55] the record couple quick things
[1:11:58] that might help with that.
[1:11:59] First is a lot of those
[1:12:02] previous years. Kind inflated
[1:12:03] with American rescue plan and
[1:12:06] some other funding dollars.
[1:12:07] And second of all, you'll see
[1:12:08] the metrics underneath. Those
[1:12:08] are actually kind of what the
[1:12:10] new ones that we've rolled
[1:12:12] out. So those 3 on top are
[1:12:13] ones that we have been
[1:12:15] tracking in previous years and
[1:12:16] kind of moving into new So
[1:12:19] we're not to. Dismiss
[1:12:20] anything. Just a little bit of
[1:12:25] context. I think helps. Yes,
[1:12:28] because the rules. Thank you,
[1:12:29] MR. CHAIRMAN, I think one
[1:12:31] thing I'm sitting here
[1:12:32] thinking as a member of both
[1:12:33] the public Works Committee and
[1:12:34] the Public Safety Committee is
[1:12:37] that. And I used to be a
[1:12:39] librarian. And so I was often
[1:12:40] disappointed when I had to
[1:12:41] leave in my kids were just
[1:12:42] getting off a school or
[1:12:44] getting out of practice. And
[1:12:45] that was the time that they
[1:12:46] really wanted to come to that
[1:12:47] 3rd place or be in the Parker
[1:12:49] be in the library. And I know
[1:12:50] many of our parks are open
[1:12:52] dawn to dusk and then some of
[1:12:54] those community centers close
[1:12:54] at 7, 8 o'clock. But you say
[1:12:55] that's actually accurate.
[1:12:59] Director Crown. While we have
[1:13:01] a variety of hours across
[1:13:02] facilities based on the
[1:13:05] community engagement that we
[1:13:07] see there at our sites. We do
[1:13:07] have many of our centers are
[1:13:10] open until 7 or 08:00pm. Yeah,
[1:13:14] I just I think that. Our Steph
[1:13:15] do so much. They already work
[1:13:17] long hours. They're the ones
[1:13:18] who have the keys and open and
[1:13:19] close the doors. And I think
[1:13:23] to see an expansion in evening
[1:13:24] programs extension and hours.
[1:13:26] That would not be necessarily
[1:13:27] something I would put on the
[1:13:28] current staff. It would be an
[1:13:30] expansion of personnel. GOD
[1:13:35] bless you Moreland. But that
[1:13:38] is something that when we talk
[1:13:42] about the increase youth gun
[1:13:47] violence. Their inability to
[1:13:48] have big feelings while
[1:13:51] carrying big guns around. And
[1:13:54] I think that arts and parks
[1:13:55] are a space in place where
[1:13:59] we're going to rectify these
[1:13:59] issues and we have to rec
[1:14:00] rectify them together and
[1:14:02] we're not going to do it. We
[1:14:04] close our doors when the sun
[1:14:05] is out and we're not going to
[1:14:08] do it when our most highly
[1:14:09] trained nationally certified
[1:14:14] stellar. Like magicians of
[1:14:18] parks, Wizards. Our need to go
[1:14:19] get some sleep. So we need to
[1:14:21] grow and duplicate and have as
[1:14:25] many, you know. Brett Knese in
[1:14:27] Gideon's it that we can have
[1:14:28] because that to me is where
[1:14:30] the real solution is in our
[1:14:31] city is making sure that we
[1:14:34] have those 3rd play spaces
[1:14:36] open. And I mean, we're
[1:14:39] missing a huge, huge
[1:14:40] opportunity here in my opinion
[1:14:42] and these investments in these
[1:14:43] projects when most families
[1:14:45] are working or at school and
[1:14:46] then as soon as they're done
[1:14:50] doing those commitments. Base
[1:14:52] is they want to go to and
[1:14:53] frankly pay for are closed.
[1:14:59] And I know that. That a
[1:14:59] solution that's going to cost
[1:15:00] money. It's going to take
[1:15:03] courage and dollars. And I'm
[1:15:04] here to say I support that
[1:15:11] increased 100% I don't
[1:15:12] necessarily approve of more
[1:15:13] police officers in our parks.
[1:15:16] And I would not support that
[1:15:21] funding increase but I do
[1:15:21] think that the cameras
[1:15:23] specifically and anecdotally
[1:15:26] council McCormick. Previously
[1:15:27] when I was the COUNCILWOMAN
[1:15:31] Over Eagle Creek Park, I can
[1:15:33] tell you lots of damage,
[1:15:35] theft, break-ins. You know,
[1:15:38] kayaks being stolen from
[1:15:38] children and you know, and so
[1:15:42] that's really the huge, huge
[1:15:43] assets, even just being on
[1:15:45] park property. People's
[1:15:47] personal assets being damaged
[1:15:48] and then not wanting to go and
[1:15:49] enjoy our parks because
[1:15:52] there's no recourse. So that
[1:15:53] has been a longtime coming in
[1:15:55] those installs once they come,
[1:15:57] I believe, will also be a
[1:15:58] deterrent. So I really
[1:16:00] appreciated all of your
[1:16:00] responses and questions
[1:16:04] because those are super valid,
[1:16:05] but sometimes dummy cameras
[1:16:06] are the best deterrent for
[1:16:11] Turkey's out there. So thank
[1:16:11] you, MR. CHAIRMAN and view my
[1:16:16] time. But before I do, we just
[1:16:19] we have to do better. Not
[1:16:23] talking out of both sides of
[1:16:23] our mouths or however you want
[1:16:24] to phrase that because you
[1:16:26] can't say you're your frankly,
[1:16:29] about gun violence and then
[1:16:30] support a budget where we
[1:16:35] close our parks 07:00pm. Thank
[1:16:36] you, counselor. Couple closing
[1:16:40] comments that I have. One
[1:16:40] thing that seemed very helpful
[1:16:42] it. My area of my experience
[1:16:46] has been the friends of
[1:16:47] organizations. Some in my area
[1:16:49] have even raise their own
[1:16:51] funds and really help
[1:16:53] supplement my little. I've now
[1:16:55] only have one little Gem,
[1:16:58] Mobley sleeve of a park, if
[1:16:59] you will, are slimmer. This
[1:17:00] Kyle's Tessa Nature preserve
[1:17:05] and unbeknownst to me at the
[1:17:05] time there was a friends group
[1:17:09] and unbeknownst to them. They
[1:17:09] had 10's of thousands of
[1:17:11] dollars in a fund. And they
[1:17:15] did not know. And it wasn't
[1:17:17] until we were pushing them and
[1:17:18] saying, you know, when we get
[1:17:19] a memorandum understanding
[1:17:21] with the parks that will help
[1:17:24] communications, help support.
[1:17:25] Now we've got a lot of things.
[1:17:27] Good things going at that
[1:17:30] little park. So I would
[1:17:31] encourage you to expand that.
[1:17:33] To the extent you can because
[1:17:38] if you give some. Investment
[1:17:39] or some skin in the game to
[1:17:41] the local residents, I find
[1:17:43] will step up. With work.
[1:17:48] Sessions. Financial donations.
[1:17:51] Really? I mean, we have a I
[1:17:51] know Allie's out there and the
[1:17:54] crowd She was. We've done
[1:17:59] there. She did. We get more
[1:18:00] people than we can deal with
[1:18:02] on our little cleanup for our
[1:18:05] little part. And it's So I
[1:18:06] encourage you to expand that
[1:18:07] to the extent you can because
[1:18:11] I think. When people feel they
[1:18:12] have against getting in that
[1:18:14] game. And this is my part. I'm
[1:18:15] the one that claimed this. I
[1:18:17] did that. I did this. My
[1:18:19] family does this every year.
[1:18:22] They begin to own it. And I
[1:18:24] think that goes a long way to
[1:18:25] helping. So just encourage you
[1:18:29] to look at that I will also
[1:18:31] take this opportunity to stand
[1:18:33] my little political pedestal
[1:18:34] here because mentioned this in
[1:18:39] every committee. Tonight, this
[1:18:41] discussion of funding and, you
[1:18:42] know, budgets 0.7% I agree
[1:18:43] with counselor. Well, I do not
[1:18:45] like that. And that is one
[1:18:48] reason, in my opinion. At
[1:18:49] least my own personal
[1:18:53] motivation to override the
[1:18:53] mayor's veto of our tax
[1:18:55] proposal. One 92 was exactly
[1:18:59] this reason. If we're
[1:19:01] squeezing every ounce of juice
[1:19:02] out of this onion to put it
[1:19:05] toward roads. Every year,
[1:19:08] which was the mayor's plan.
[1:19:11] Taking money spring physicals,
[1:19:12] which we used to fund
[1:19:16] additional project for parts
[1:19:17] which we use to land
[1:19:17] acquisition to turn into
[1:19:22] parks. That was going away. So
[1:19:25] for the public out there. Yes,
[1:19:27] no one likes to raise taxes,
[1:19:29] but this is what tax money
[1:19:30] goes to. It's going to improve
[1:19:32] the quality of life. It's
[1:19:34] going to allow us to do things
[1:19:35] for parks that otherwise we
[1:19:39] could not touch. And so I just
[1:19:40] want people to understand
[1:19:40] right here is the
[1:19:43] manifestation of the issue.
[1:19:45] We're talking about. We can't
[1:19:47] hire lifeguards. We can't keep
[1:19:48] the grass moon on a timely
[1:19:50] basis. Things like that. Those
[1:19:53] are budget issues that are
[1:19:55] driven by a long term plan of
[1:19:56] squeezing all the juice out of
[1:19:57] the tournament. And that's not
[1:20:01] a way to again. Managing
[1:20:04] governor growing City that's
[1:20:06] trying to have a quality parks
[1:20:08] department. So we hope to
[1:20:09] expand the budget to the
[1:20:11] extent we can. And again,
[1:20:13] that's why we overrode. You
[1:20:17] telling my opinion And I
[1:20:18] mentioned this again, you
[1:20:19] know, I think Parks department
[1:20:26] is one of the most it in my
[1:20:27] opinion more important
[1:20:28] departments around because it
[1:20:29] has truly to the quality of
[1:20:33] life in the city. And that
[1:20:35] attitude is retains talent the
[1:20:38] tracks to hold it keeps
[1:20:40] families here. Keeps them in
[1:20:41] Marion County keeps taxpayers
[1:20:45] in Marion County adds to our
[1:20:45] local income tax base which
[1:20:51] goes to other things. And so
[1:20:52] as our parks degrade Morgan,
[1:20:57] go into prevent that. So does
[1:20:57] our quality of life and
[1:20:58] society in Napoles. So I
[1:21:00] encourage you to to all you
[1:21:02] can you've got all the
[1:21:06] supporters right here. Again,
[1:21:09] the parks, every everybody in
[1:21:10] my opinion on our council
[1:21:15] loves the parks. So we're
[1:21:16] going to work into fight for
[1:21:17] parts of precinct. That
[1:21:17] billion here to also follow
[1:21:21] him, Paula, mind and fight for
[1:21:25] 2. Yes, rally the troops with
[1:21:26] that. Thank you, director. I
[1:21:27] appreciate your time and
[1:21:28] appreciate presentation this
[1:21:30] evening. Thank you all so much
[1:21:33] for your continued support.
[1:21:33] And we we love being a part of
[1:21:36] a winning team as well. All of
[1:21:38] our agencies and the city. And
[1:21:39] with you fighting for quality
[1:21:41] of life, we really
[1:21:43] appreciated. And hope to
[1:21:44] continue to see more good
[1:21:45] things for Parks. Thank you
[1:21:57] very much. Thank you. Next
[1:21:58] will give a couple measure
[1:21:59] transition here. We're going
[1:22:00] to have the Arts Council of
[1:22:06] Indianapolis. With the
[1:22:06] honorable Judith Thomas
[1:22:19] presenting In the final
[1:22:27] minute. Introduction. I don't
[1:22:27] there's always the very last
[1:22:29] page to have special She was
[1:22:33] saying only in the final 1, 0,
[1:22:33] that's I'm going to go home
[1:22:34] and check. But I think it's
[1:22:43] much. Very last page. Table
[1:22:45] and have 4th free. Can a
[1:22:49] council and then yeah. So
[1:23:04] yeah, but it's missing.
[1:23:12] Lots
[1:23:27] to say.
[1:23:54] This is Thomas. You
[1:23:56] tell me when you're ready,
[1:24:01] many have to do this tonight
[1:24:03] afternoon or evening. Show us
[1:24:05] CHAIRMAN Councilors got a good
[1:24:06] to see everyone will jump
[1:24:08] right in a presentation. We
[1:24:08] are always excited to be here
[1:24:11] in front of the committee to
[1:24:12] talk about the in the Arts
[1:24:14] Council. You know, we were
[1:24:15] created just a brief
[1:24:16] background as an initiative of
[1:24:17] the Greater Indianapolis
[1:24:19] Progress Committee in the late
[1:24:20] 80's. We're actually going to
[1:24:21] have our 40th anniversary next
[1:24:22] year. So we're excited about
[1:24:25] that. Yes, we're still here
[1:24:27] driving, it was focused to
[1:24:29] facilitate open a city
[1:24:31] investment in nonprofit arts
[1:24:33] and culture. And we've been
[1:24:34] honored to be entrusted
[1:24:36] trusted partner and
[1:24:38] administrator of the city of
[1:24:41] Indianapolis is annual plans
[1:24:42] program and other city arts
[1:24:43] culture, arts and culture
[1:24:45] priorities for the past 39
[1:24:46] years. So we have a sizzle
[1:24:47] reel. We're hoping that it can
[1:24:49] work here. This gives you a
[1:24:49] good idea of the excitement
[1:24:51] that we always have. And so
[1:24:53] many ways here. So there we
[1:24:56] go. Is a real. The sound is
[1:25:11] working.
[1:26:19] Gives you an idea of
[1:26:21] the energy that we have and we
[1:26:22] continue to keep going. So
[1:26:23] with me to have could beat the
[1:26:24] Mahoney, a former city
[1:26:27] employee as well. Vice
[1:26:28] PRESIDENT At the Arts Council
[1:26:29] and track users here as well.
[1:26:30] That runs programming in our
[1:26:31] audience. So want to give you
[1:26:32] a quick overview of our
[1:26:34] strategic plan. The priorities
[1:26:36] this past year know that our
[1:26:36] mission is to champion arts
[1:26:40] and culture. Our vision is a
[1:26:43] creative life are also we lead
[1:26:44] with that without pillars
[1:26:46] being invest, advocate and
[1:26:48] connect. And we do this with
[1:26:50] care and the community in mind
[1:26:53] and creativity. And so we
[1:26:53] collaborate with the arts and
[1:26:56] culture community to serve and
[1:26:57] celebrate and value every
[1:26:58] resident in the in in
[1:27:00] Indianapolis to the arts. We
[1:27:02] envision a city where social
[1:27:05] economic status, race,
[1:27:06] ethnicity, gender,
[1:27:08] orientation, disability don't
[1:27:09] prohibit anyone from
[1:27:11] participating in the art. So
[1:27:12] we believe a robust exception,
[1:27:14] successful arts and culture
[1:27:15] community sustains a creative
[1:27:18] life for all our top 5
[1:27:19] priorities with our strategic
[1:27:23] plan. Is sustainable funding.
[1:27:26] Every day. Art access
[1:27:27] increased awareness,
[1:27:29] professional development and
[1:27:30] shared resources and arts and
[1:27:33] culture as today's
[1:27:34] destination. Our team
[1:27:35] finalized a detailed action
[1:27:36] plan with the staff and the
[1:27:38] board. We work very closely
[1:27:40] together assigned to different
[1:27:41] strategies to make sure that
[1:27:44] we execute in every way. So to
[1:27:46] give you an idea of the year,
[1:27:47] one progress, I mean, I could
[1:27:48] talk for hours about what
[1:27:49] we've done really over the
[1:27:52] last few years. But the last
[1:27:53] year focused on our strategic
[1:27:54] plan. Just going to pull a
[1:27:57] couple things out with
[1:27:57] sustainable funding. You just
[1:27:58] discussed the parks and
[1:28:01] programming in the parks. We
[1:28:02] are excited about something
[1:28:03] I'll talk about here later on
[1:28:03] in the in the presentation.
[1:28:05] But project grants project
[1:28:09] grants are for free spaces
[1:28:10] like the parks and libraries
[1:28:13] and other spaces. We'll get
[1:28:14] into detail. We work with the
[1:28:15] Parks Alliance on that as well
[1:28:17] as the parks department. We
[1:28:18] come together to see how can
[1:28:20] get even more funding and more
[1:28:22] robust programming. That's one
[1:28:22] area some of the collaboration
[1:28:26] that we're doing everyday arts
[1:28:26] access. We've invested in
[1:28:27] sector white marketing. That
[1:28:29] tells the story of arts and
[1:28:32] culture in our city through
[1:28:36] our little marketing, but also
[1:28:36] specifically through our
[1:28:37] website, a shared calendar
[1:28:38] with visit Indy residents and
[1:28:40] visitors as well as our social
[1:28:41] We've seen those numbers go
[1:28:45] up. Our increased awareness
[1:28:47] sector leadership and
[1:28:48] visibility were were really
[1:28:49] out there telling the story of
[1:28:52] the arts community as well as
[1:28:53] professional development. To
[1:28:55] give you a good idea some of
[1:28:56] our convening Ys. We meet with
[1:28:57] our arts leaders every other
[1:28:59] month, arts marketers every
[1:29:02] other month. We also provide
[1:29:03] other programs. For instance,
[1:29:05] we had the iu School of
[1:29:06] Philanthropy provide. One of
[1:29:09] their courses. It's $1500
[1:29:11] course. We provided to arts
[1:29:13] organizations for $150 so they
[1:29:14] could understand fundraising
[1:29:14] one-on-one. Those are the
[1:29:16] types of programming that
[1:29:18] we're really focused on and
[1:29:20] then arts and culture as a
[1:29:22] destination. As you know, we
[1:29:23] partner with organizations
[1:29:24] like Indiana, Sports Corp and
[1:29:27] visit Indy to really show off
[1:29:27] all the things that we're
[1:29:29] doing in the city of
[1:29:30] Indianapolis and arts
[1:29:31] organizations. But let's get
[1:29:33] to the meat of where this the
[1:29:35] city supports a great deal
[1:29:39] programming. So since 87,
[1:29:41] we've the ones that have
[1:29:43] worked very closely with the
[1:29:43] city in administering the
[1:29:45] annual grants program in 2025.
[1:29:51] Record. 103 organizations
[1:29:51] receive funding to this to
[1:29:54] support the programs that
[1:29:56] happened and reach at least
[1:29:56] 8 million residents and
[1:29:58] visitors each year. So that
[1:30:01] number has doubled. So in
[1:30:02] 2016, we have 49 arts
[1:30:04] organizations. So we've been
[1:30:05] working miracles with with the
[1:30:10] funding. And so our annual
[1:30:11] grants programming
[1:30:11] applications for the next
[1:30:12] multi-year cycle will open in
[1:30:17] JANUARY of 27. It's a 3 round
[1:30:18] 3 year round open OCTOBER
[1:30:21] through FEBRUARY. As nurse or
[1:30:22] sector grows, we we must
[1:30:26] really look at how we can
[1:30:26] support folks and make sure
[1:30:28] that we have those folks doing
[1:30:29] the work, the arts
[1:30:30] organizations involved in this
[1:30:33] particular program. They have
[1:30:34] annual reports. We have a
[1:30:35] rigorous review. We very
[1:30:36] thorough with this and we've
[1:30:38] been doing it for 40 years. So
[1:30:39] looking forward to the next
[1:30:39] couple years. But let's look
[1:30:43] at this graph which shows you
[1:30:44] the chart and the funding over
[1:30:46] the last 20 years with
[1:30:47] inflation adjusted number
[1:30:49] adjusted numbers as well. But
[1:30:51] the the column show the level
[1:30:52] of funding. You can see that
[1:30:53] during Arp. Of course, it was
[1:30:55] a great deal of funding and
[1:30:56] then we had some increase as
[1:30:58] well. As I mentioned, the
[1:30:59] number of organization
[1:31:00] supported by the annual grants
[1:31:01] program has more than doubled
[1:31:07] since 2015. In 2025. The
[1:31:09] program supported a record 20
[1:31:10] bipoc led organizations up
[1:31:13] from 4 in 2019. That's 20 lead
[1:31:16] people of color organizations.
[1:31:19] From 4 in 2019. Funding has
[1:31:20] not necessarily kept pace with
[1:31:23] the growth of our community,
[1:31:24] nor is it kept place with
[1:31:25] actual inflation. So with that
[1:31:28] chart, you can see the funding
[1:31:31] since 2005 and that pink line
[1:31:32] are the arts organizations
[1:31:36] that are growing. So we're
[1:31:37] certainly grateful for some of
[1:31:38] the things that we have been
[1:31:41] able to do, especially with
[1:31:41] that partnership with the Cip
[1:31:44] in Bonn Bank as well on top of
[1:31:46] that. But we're also focused
[1:31:48] on the fact that there was a
[1:31:49] 33% decrease from the state of
[1:31:53] Indiana arts programming.
[1:31:53] Therefore, they're leading
[1:31:55] leaning more on us for some of
[1:31:55] the Marion County arts
[1:31:58] organizations as well. And one
[1:31:59] of the project grants we
[1:32:04] talked about really support
[1:32:05] the presentation of arts and
[1:32:07] culture in activities that are
[1:32:07] free and accessible to the
[1:32:09] public. We talked a lot about
[1:32:13] at least director grounded
[1:32:14] about the programming in the
[1:32:15] parks and your concern of what
[1:32:17] is taking place and these
[1:32:20] project grants that we have
[1:32:23] have really at some robust
[1:32:23] opportunities in parks,
[1:32:24] libraries, community centers
[1:32:28] and green spaces ensure that
[1:32:29] all the residents can
[1:32:31] experience and participate. So
[1:32:34] you will see on this page.
[1:32:35] Very, very popular program and
[1:32:36] looking forward to what we can
[1:32:38] do with this in the coming
[1:32:41] years, we had 144 projects
[1:32:42] proposed. 22 projects were
[1:32:44] approved in of those 144, very
[1:32:47] good programming. There was
[1:32:50] 1.5 million does requested.
[1:32:50] These were from arts
[1:32:53] organizations and artists. And
[1:32:56] we have $200,000 award. So
[1:32:58] this program was created based
[1:33:00] on the data from our strategic
[1:33:01] plan saying that residents,
[1:33:02] the number one place where
[1:33:03] they experience arts and
[1:33:05] culture in public spaces,
[1:33:07] community centers. And so
[1:33:08] these arts organizations
[1:33:09] really stepped up and put
[1:33:11] together some great concepts.
[1:33:13] And last year, nearly 80% of
[1:33:16] our local arts councils and
[1:33:16] other cities and the U.S.
[1:33:18] Offered this type of
[1:33:19] programming. You can see the
[1:33:21] impact that was left him. What
[1:33:22] we want to be able to show you
[1:33:25] 2 are the maps was considering
[1:33:29] city and the county. These
[1:33:30] were the green are the
[1:33:31] programs that were funded, you
[1:33:32] can see across the different
[1:33:34] council districts. Those are
[1:33:35] the ones actually funded with
[1:33:40] this next map. The red shows
[1:33:42] those that we're proposed but
[1:33:44] not funded. You can see the
[1:33:45] reach across. So imagine with
[1:33:51] this next map. All filled. And
[1:33:53] more coming, right? So on our
[1:33:55] 3rd round for the fall through
[1:33:59] through NOVEMBER on very, very
[1:34:01] much of an impact and how we
[1:34:04] can help and collaborate and
[1:34:05] partner with civic
[1:34:07] organizations and the
[1:34:07] programming that always
[1:34:08] already takes place. Give you
[1:34:09] an idea of a couple of
[1:34:12] programs building community
[1:34:15] through art art making and
[1:34:15] community-building experience
[1:34:16] focused on immigrant families.
[1:34:17] This took place Michigan Road
[1:34:22] Eagle Branch. For the library,
[1:34:24] 16 families. 51 participants
[1:34:25] 100% of the families at the
[1:34:26] workshop. Help them feel more
[1:34:29] connected to each other and to
[1:34:30] their committee. You can see
[1:34:31] the artist, Tricia o'Connor,
[1:34:32] that let that that
[1:34:36] interaction, another program.
[1:34:36] Again could talk for hours.
[1:34:38] There are some incredible
[1:34:38] programs with this creative
[1:34:39] routes. Multidisciplinary arts
[1:34:43] instruction at Krannert Park
[1:34:45] exploring ways to understand
[1:34:46] and express the emotions for
[1:34:47] youth. We got to look out for
[1:34:47] young people. We talked about
[1:34:51] the young programming, the
[1:34:51] youth programming that's
[1:34:52] important in the parks that
[1:34:53] was Krannert was up to
[1:34:54] Wednesday's spring through
[1:34:56] summer and lead. But experts
[1:35:00] arts for learning. So this is
[1:35:01] the type of program that we
[1:35:01] are so proud of and looking
[1:35:02] forward to how we can can
[1:35:06] really do this in another way.
[1:35:09] It's all about every day. Art
[1:35:10] Imagine these activities again
[1:35:13] taking place in all parts in
[1:35:15] the county, every library,
[1:35:17] every every neighborhood,
[1:35:18] every district. We have a
[1:35:18] visual. But it doesn't look
[1:35:20] like it's working just
[1:35:22] working. I connected out if
[1:35:22] you'd like, no, I'm kidding.
[1:35:25] But it was a compilation of a
[1:35:26] lot. There we go. You can see
[1:35:29] up the programming that took
[1:35:31] place and it was in or active.
[1:35:31] It just won't play and you can
[1:35:34] go to our website. I think we
[1:35:34] have such a good website. You
[1:35:35] can find anything you want to
[1:35:38] on their talks about art but
[1:35:39] that that gives you an idea of
[1:35:42] what what we're doing. So
[1:35:43] sector-wide marketing again to
[1:35:44] be able to we've got all these
[1:35:45] great things going on. We've
[1:35:46] got to tell people where to go
[1:35:49] when the go and how to go. And
[1:35:50] so our efforts are really
[1:35:52] designed to promote the entire
[1:35:53] Indianapolis Arts and culture
[1:35:54] ecosystem, not just one
[1:35:56] organization, not just one
[1:35:58] event. And so when one
[1:35:59] organization does succeed, we
[1:36:00] all succeed for the entire
[1:36:04] ecosystem. And so with that,
[1:36:05] you can see that we've had
[1:36:06] such an impact with providing
[1:36:07] this awareness through our
[1:36:11] social media website, events,
[1:36:12] calendar and some of our cap
[1:36:14] collapse with other folks with
[1:36:18] 9.3 million earned media reach
[1:36:18] 5 million plus combined videos
[1:36:20] and social media platforms.
[1:36:23] And one point 1 million visits
[1:36:26] to our website. So it increase
[1:36:27] the awareness of local arts
[1:36:29] and culture crew attendance
[1:36:31] and participation reach new
[1:36:33] diverse audiences and created
[1:36:36] a shared visibility for us and
[1:36:41] the arts sector. With the
[1:36:42] funding overview, we're always
[1:36:43] grateful for the partnership
[1:36:44] with the city of Indianapolis
[1:36:47] and this this annual grants
[1:36:49] program is is just a wonderful
[1:36:49] program that supports so many
[1:36:51] arts organizations and Lisa
[1:36:53] 103 last year, we open up this
[1:36:54] next round. We know we're
[1:36:56] going to have more. So we're
[1:36:57] really paying attention to
[1:36:59] also how other arts
[1:37:00] organization support other.
[1:37:01] I'm sorry, other cities
[1:37:02] support their arts
[1:37:04] organizations. And so this is
[1:37:06] how in the really stacked up.
[1:37:07] And you guys have seen this
[1:37:08] before. I know you have.
[1:37:10] You've seen that we you know,
[1:37:12] I have a budget of about
[1:37:14] 5 million with that per capita
[1:37:16] expenditure of 5.5 thousand
[1:37:19] $0.68 comparable to cities
[1:37:21] like Columbus and Cincinnati.
[1:37:23] Columbus having $25 per capita
[1:37:27] and Cincinnati about $56 per
[1:37:29] capita. And so several tough
[1:37:30] times higher. But you have to
[1:37:31] consider there are a lot of of
[1:37:32] things in effect with this.
[1:37:34] The state they're in the
[1:37:35] investments that are made. And
[1:37:39] what have you with the next
[1:37:40] slide, the strategic
[1:37:40] benchmarking. You can really
[1:37:44] see that graph there. The
[1:37:45] cities listed here really use
[1:37:45] a variety of of funding
[1:37:50] mechanism such as that tax is
[1:37:52] like Columbus, Des Moines, St.
[1:37:53] Louis used that cigarette tax
[1:37:55] with Cleveland in their county
[1:37:56] as well. Food and beverage
[1:37:58] taxes with Columbus, Ohio.
[1:38:01] County sales tax, Pittsburgh
[1:38:02] and entertainment and sports
[1:38:05] and ticket fees. Columbus,
[1:38:06] Cleveland and Seattle. Every
[1:38:10] city is unique and a lot of
[1:38:11] possibilities. There. Many
[1:38:14] creative ways that we can look
[1:38:15] at increasing funding for the
[1:38:16] arts in the city of
[1:38:19] Indianapolis in the future. We
[1:38:20] work very closely with arts
[1:38:21] fund or so. You see our budget
[1:38:23] were also fundraising. We're
[1:38:25] talking a private funders were
[1:38:26] talking to donors are talking
[1:38:27] of corporations and we're also
[1:38:28] talking with philanthropy. But
[1:38:30] we're also exploring other
[1:38:31] options and we're looking for
[1:38:32] ways how we can work together
[1:38:34] in our city with the city with
[1:38:37] the city Council, with Civic
[1:38:38] partners to create more
[1:38:41] resources in the coming years.
[1:38:42] We know that the city is going
[1:38:45] to be facing some some
[1:38:46] challenges it from an economic
[1:38:47] and finance standpoint. But
[1:38:48] we're looking to 3, 4, 5 year
[1:38:50] plan. What does this look
[1:38:52] like? We're so grateful to
[1:38:54] have, you know, steady and
[1:38:55] consistent funding over the
[1:38:56] years. But what does the
[1:39:00] future look like? So the 2025
[1:39:01] investment, the Arts Council
[1:39:02] invested in the creative
[1:39:04] community, grant awards and
[1:39:05] artists, fees was 2.2 million
[1:39:09] dollars. And that much that
[1:39:12] was awarded to about 135
[1:39:14] nonprofits. We also had
[1:39:18] 441,000 dollars paid to 665
[1:39:21] professional artists in 2025.
[1:39:22] So it's that's not just from
[1:39:24] city funds. It's also, as I
[1:39:26] mentioned, philanthropy and
[1:39:27] corporate and other fun. So
[1:39:29] demonstrates overall effort
[1:39:31] and investment and we're very
[1:39:32] focused on on making sure that
[1:39:34] we continue to work hard and
[1:39:35] get great partners to help us
[1:39:39] with that. So our request for
[1:39:40] 2027 funding with the city of
[1:39:42] Indianapolis is 1.3 million
[1:39:46] dollars for the annual grants
[1:39:47] program that supported that
[1:39:50] record 103 last year. And also
[1:39:51] we had some funds go to the
[1:39:55] project grants as well. So
[1:39:58] we're really looking forward
[1:39:59] to what the possibilities are
[1:40:01] in the coming years. We know
[1:40:04] where we stand right now. And
[1:40:05] we're also very fortunate to
[1:40:06] have the continued support of
[1:40:07] the capital Improvement board
[1:40:11] and the Bond bank. So that's
[1:40:13] our funding request. And so
[1:40:17] really, as we look ahead, we
[1:40:18] have video. That's what we
[1:40:19] have another video. I'm sorry.
[1:40:20] Let's we got to show you the
[1:40:20] video because it leaves an
[1:40:22] impact. That's one of the
[1:40:26] javelina actually. Yeah. So is
[1:40:26] that talking through. And as
[1:40:27] we're looking ahead, this is a
[1:40:29] visual of what our passion is
[1:40:31] all about. And we believe the
[1:40:32] question before us is bigger
[1:40:34] than this year's budget. It's
[1:40:35] about what we want for the
[1:40:36] future of the arts and culture
[1:40:38] to look like in the city of
[1:40:40] Indianapolis. We all know that
[1:40:43] if we want a city that is
[1:40:44] vibrant, welcoming
[1:40:44] economically strong and a
[1:40:46] place where people want to
[1:40:47] live work visit and stay. We
[1:40:50] need to invest in the arts.
[1:40:51] Also want to thank the Council
[1:40:51] for the hard work that has
[1:40:53] gone into the public art
[1:40:54] ordinance. That work is an
[1:40:57] important step forward and we
[1:40:58] look forward to seeing where
[1:40:59] it truly can lead us and how
[1:41:01] it can help us think even more
[1:41:03] boldly about the world and the
[1:41:06] role public art in our city as
[1:41:08] we approach the in the Arts
[1:41:10] Council's 40th year. It is
[1:41:10] important moment to celebrate
[1:41:13] what we have built together
[1:41:14] and to be equally ambitious
[1:41:18] about what comes next. So I'm
[1:41:18] asking this council in the
[1:41:19] city to work alongside Arts
[1:41:22] Council over the coming years
[1:41:24] and beyond to develop a
[1:41:25] sustainable long-term model
[1:41:26] for supporting arts and
[1:41:29] culture in our city. It's not
[1:41:29] simply to maintain what we
[1:41:32] have, but to imagine what is
[1:41:32] possible. So we should be
[1:41:33] having this conversation
[1:41:35] together. And I know we will
[1:41:36] about the role the arts play
[1:41:39] in economy, in our
[1:41:40] neighborhoods. We all of our
[1:41:41] neighborhoods and the
[1:41:42] uniqueness of the mall, a
[1:41:43] quality of life and the
[1:41:47] identity of Indianapolis. And
[1:41:48] we have the opportunity right
[1:41:49] now to celebrate our past.
[1:41:50] Learn from what has been
[1:41:54] worked before and build on the
[1:41:55] next chapter. So the Indy Arts
[1:41:56] Council's ready to be a
[1:41:57] partner. We invite City County
[1:41:58] Council and administration and
[1:42:00] our Civic Partners and arts
[1:42:01] community to sit at the table
[1:42:03] with us. Let's not just from
[1:42:04] the arts for the next year.
[1:42:07] Let's plan for the next for 5
[1:42:09] years and beyond. And for the
[1:42:11] next 40 and let's build a
[1:42:11] future where creative life
[1:42:17] truly is possible for all.
[1:42:29] Thank you, Yes, very nice. As
[1:42:32] we I you know, arts goes right
[1:42:37] along with parts. A quality of
[1:42:38] life issues we face here
[1:42:42] Indianapolis and the fact that
[1:42:44] our level of funding of the
[1:42:47] arts has not even met. Its
[1:42:52] level from 2000, 5, I believe
[1:42:55] if my memory serves me
[1:42:56] correctly isn't a very it's an
[1:42:57] embarrassing statistic that we
[1:43:02] hope to improve. So again,
[1:43:04] take this moment to say this
[1:43:08] is why we fought 4 the ability
[1:43:11] to have more funding and not
[1:43:14] squeeze every dollar to roads
[1:43:17] because the rest of the city
[1:43:19] suffers and the park suffer
[1:43:21] arts suffer. And that, again,
[1:43:22] is just to terminal to the
[1:43:24] progress of our cities. So
[1:43:26] we're going to be working on
[1:43:27] this amendment. I would love
[1:43:28] to be a part of the discussion
[1:43:32] of finding sustainable model
[1:43:34] economic model of how funnel
[1:43:36] more money on a regular basis
[1:43:40] toward yards. I look forward
[1:43:43] to scope Brown. Was CHAIRMAN
[1:43:46] And yes, that thank you as
[1:43:47] Thomas excellent presentation.
[1:43:49] Thank you. And I want to echo
[1:43:51] everything. CHAIRMAN Just
[1:43:51] mentioned just a couple quick
[1:43:57] questions. Do you have a
[1:43:58] funding about in mind from
[1:44:00] this? The idea for the bond
[1:44:01] bank this year? Yes, okay.
[1:44:03] Yep. Same as last year.
[1:44:04] Appreciate that. You know, I
[1:44:07] hate that. You know, flat. I
[1:44:08] feel like as a decrease given
[1:44:10] how much I what is going right
[1:44:11] full to have what we have
[1:44:13] right now. I understand. Yes,
[1:44:14] because I know well aware.
[1:44:19] Year with the were under to
[1:44:21] me, especially looking at
[1:44:22] those peer cities and some of
[1:44:23] money because as you
[1:44:23] mentioned, Cip, that makes
[1:44:26] perfect sense because that's
[1:44:26] where are a lot of the same
[1:44:28] tax dollars are going right
[1:44:29] and see it as opposed the city
[1:44:32] of Indianapolis directly you
[1:44:33] talk a little bit more about
[1:44:34] like the thought process. I
[1:44:36] mean, money is money. I want
[1:44:37] to get as much as you can from
[1:44:40] wherever it makes sense. But
[1:44:40] what's I guess the theory
[1:44:41] behind getting bought a bank
[1:44:43] money as opposed to city of
[1:44:45] Indianapolis money? Well, I
[1:44:45] mean that that was something
[1:44:47] that was done a couple years
[1:44:48] ago. I mean, when I was
[1:44:49] previously in the mayor's
[1:44:51] office, so I know that they
[1:44:54] have suspects supported
[1:44:55] various events throughout
[1:44:57] their time, cultural events
[1:44:58] and what have you. So they saw
[1:44:59] this already. They're already
[1:44:59] doing that work and saw some
[1:45:00] of the program that we were
[1:45:03] doing and really helped us
[1:45:03] with a sector-wide marketing.
[1:45:04] Some of the other programming
[1:45:05] that we have. And so they saw
[1:45:07] it as a bit. We talked see
[1:45:08] what could work in. And
[1:45:09] luckily, we've been able to do
[1:45:10] that for the last couple years
[1:45:12] and to do it in the future,
[1:45:13] too, it's made a major
[1:45:14] difference for us. Sure. Yeah,
[1:45:16] I'm again. I'm very glad to
[1:45:18] be. And the arts organizations
[1:45:19] and artists, not just because
[1:45:21] it just goes right back out.
[1:45:23] Very little stays in as I get
[1:45:25] it. I'm and to that point,
[1:45:26] just wanted to maybe argue
[1:45:27] against the point no one's
[1:45:28] making. But I have heard
[1:45:30] people expressing confusion
[1:45:31] around the one percent for the
[1:45:34] arts public art program versus
[1:45:34] Arts Council. And as much as I
[1:45:37] love public art, my comments
[1:45:41] that are the Parks committee
[1:45:43] during the Parks Department
[1:45:44] budget presentation of culture
[1:45:45] here as well where I'd much
[1:45:48] rather see money flowing
[1:45:49] through artist. And so are
[1:45:50] able to newly created all the
[1:45:51] time. You know, an awesome
[1:45:53] mural and awesome. Yes,
[1:45:54] sculpture. That doesn't change
[1:45:58] by ear. Great for that. And
[1:45:59] it's the first for the public
[1:46:01] moving forward. But I think
[1:46:03] it's the people that really
[1:46:04] make art. And I would argue
[1:46:04] vociferously against anybody
[1:46:07] thought that those 2 should be
[1:46:08] in competition. You know,
[1:46:09] really pretty what you're just
[1:46:12] that. Thank MISTER Chair.
[1:46:15] Sure. Yes, definitely coming.
[1:46:15] Thank you, CHAIRMAN. Thank you
[1:46:19] for your presentation. As I
[1:46:20] will echo what my colleague
[1:46:21] said, like there's not enough
[1:46:22] funding that we could give
[1:46:25] you. I some of those cities
[1:46:28] give some crazy numbers to
[1:46:29] arts. I think aspiration. I
[1:46:30] mean, if we could get halfway
[1:46:31] to what Denver does, $100 per
[1:46:36] person, right? That's insane.
[1:46:37] But one of the things that I
[1:46:38] want to point out and 2 said
[1:46:43] is right without growing the
[1:46:45] pie, we would have to squeeze
[1:46:47] things groups to suffer and
[1:46:50] the non necessity. Dollars
[1:46:52] that we spend in the city is
[1:46:56] not nowhere near what our full
[1:46:57] budget is. And Kroger Parks
[1:46:57] and Arts would be the first
[1:46:59] thing to be squeezed because
[1:47:00] there are some that think
[1:47:04] they're not necessities and I
[1:47:05] would challenge anybody who
[1:47:07] says that to think about their
[1:47:08] childhood when they were in
[1:47:09] school, what some of their
[1:47:10] favorite classes were because
[1:47:11] they probably wouldn't say it
[1:47:12] was the reading in the math,
[1:47:13] even though Mike Educator love
[1:47:16] it all, you know, the arts
[1:47:18] class what they did in and
[1:47:19] that investment not only is
[1:47:22] good for people in our
[1:47:24] community, but for industry
[1:47:25] that wants to expand that they
[1:47:29] become to Indianapolis. So we
[1:47:30] see year-over-year this
[1:47:33] committee, the world class.
[1:47:38] Quality level. Our talent that
[1:47:38] is in this city that has
[1:47:39] brought to the city that comes
[1:47:40] to the city annually for
[1:47:42] competitions and other things
[1:47:43] and think about how much more
[1:47:47] we could do if able to invest
[1:47:48] more money. So as with my
[1:47:49] colleagues, I will continue to
[1:47:51] advocate for more funds in
[1:47:52] this. And I CHAIRMAN Said at
[1:47:57] that. We made the hard
[1:47:58] decision about the tax
[1:47:59] increase because we knew these
[1:48:02] are important too. In a
[1:48:03] community without our is not
[1:48:04] what I want to live in. So and
[1:48:05] I think a lot of folks feel
[1:48:07] that Thank you. Great
[1:48:14] comments. Any final thoughts?
[1:48:19] Hearing? Thank you. MISTER
[1:48:20] Munson, Great presentation.
[1:48:22] And again, as I said earlier,
[1:48:22] we're going to fight for the
[1:48:25] arts as Thank you. We'll work
[1:48:26] together different ways. We
[1:48:27] can do it. Take care. Thank
[1:48:28] hearing. No, no further