More than a month after the long, tedious, and tiring primaries ended, it is time for Hancock County to turn her attention to another pressing matter, which would be the encroaching urban growth.
I asked many in the county the following question. What do you think is the biggest problem that Hancock County faces? The answer ran the gamut, from too much technology, infrastructure, and of course the opioid crisis. The overwhelming concern was the growth. “Wally” put it best. He states it this way, “the (growth) encroaching from the west.” Along with that growth comes the refuse, derelict buildings, and misuse of buildings.
For whatever reason, the city of Indianapolis, Marion County, the bureaucrats, futurists, and the “movers” and “shakers” have all but abandoned the far east side of Indianapolis. Like many folks in Hancock County this is definitely an affront to us. To the Montgomery household it is exponentially offensive. It is offensive for several reasons. My wife formerly lived near the intersection of Post Road and Washington Street. Secondly we still own property in Irvington. Lastly we have lived in Hancock County for nearly five decades.
So why should I, or anyone else, be concerned with urban expansion from Indianapolis? The short answer is because Marion County does affect Hancock County, economically, educationally and politically. For that matter so does Hamilton, Shelby, and Henry County.
It affects us in the overcrowding of our public services. Their problems exasperate our courts, educational system, and strain our various county first-responders.
Lest anyone call me an elitist, or an isolationist, allow me to enumerate the problems. On the west side of the county, i.e. U.S. 40, the city of Indianapolis has seemingly given up on not only economic development, but also public safety. Their redevelopment projects seem to terminate somewhere west of I-465.
According to my friend Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Indy’s murder rate is up 27 percent over last year, and we’re only halfway through 2018. This definitely affects our law enforcement and judicial system. The east side of Indy is fast becoming another Dodge City. Is it our job to clean this up? I say no. Does it affect our growth? Yes it does on both counts. Their expansion continues to affect us.
I applaud my friends in Cumberland for their effort to “partner” with us in “fixing” some of their longstanding problems. To the northwest we have Hamilton County. If one drives north on Mt. Comfort Road to 96th Street it is awesome. Thanks to planning we eventually will be on the right track. But, I don’t understand why all the stakeholders are dragging their feet on the “proposed” interchange at State Road 67.
I applaud Hancock County Regional Hospital CEO Steve Long for his and HCRH’s foresight for investing in quality health care on that corridor. If you continue north to 96th Street, it appears that someone flipped a switch. With proper planning and funding we in Hancock County could be enjoying the same amenities. Many of my friends have said that they do not want Hancock County to look like Fishers. I say why not? I maintain that with proper planning, controlled growth and funding we also could be driving on improved roads. We could also be enjoying the amenities that our neighbors to the north enjoy.
I applaud Gary Pool. He is our current Hancock County engineer and one of Hancock County’s brightest stars. He knows how to apply for and get federal and state grant money.
So please allow me to wrap this issue of “Coffee House Ramblings” up.
I would like to point out some of the ways we are fighting urban growth. Allow me to point out a few positives in Hancock County. Please look at Fortville, McCordsville, New Palestine and Greenfield. They are trying to eradicate the growth. But, it is a slow process. For example in New Palestine we are making fantastic strides. For example, Main Street Inc., along with the New Palestine Chamber of Commerce is beautifying Main Street. We are opening boutiques, and new shops. We recently had a coffee shop open. Justice recently built a senior citizens complex. The Hancock County Public Library recently broke ground for a beautiful new library. We have just made improvements to the sewer plant. We have repurposed some of our older buildings. We have torn down dilapidated buildings and built new ones. Hancock County is also working diligently on walking trails.
So how do you eradicate the urban growth? We cannot control the zoning and ordinances from other counties. But, our elected officials can and must push for the contiguous counties to explore ways for them to clean up their backyard. If we all work together it can happen.
C.O. Montgomery of New Palestine is a former teacher, Sugar Creek Township trustee and co-director of the Hancock County Character Council. Send comments to dr-editorial@ greenfield reporter.com.
