GREENFIELD — Near the end of a forum between Greenfield’s two mayoral candidates, the Democrat who’s running against Mayor Chuck Fewell, acknowledged that his opponent will most likely win the election.
That candidate, 22-year-old Zachary LaFavers, and Fewell answered questions about various city issues during a 90-minute candidate forum on Tuesday night, Oct. 15, at the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield. The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters Hancock County.
LaFavers, whose answers tended to agree with Fewell’s stances on many issues, said when he first filed to run in February, he knew it would be tough to defeat Fewell.
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“It’s a long shot,” LaFavers said about winning. “I knew that coming into this campaign. But the hope is that we can raise some issues. Whoever is in here, Republicans, Democrats, we can come together and raise issues that we have … and put aside political beliefs that are becoming barriers between us.”
The Greenfield mayoral race is the only contested race on the city ballot with eligible candidates. Voters have been able to vote early since last week. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Here is how the candidates responded to the questions, which were put to the them by moderator Betty Tonsing:
Roads, beautification
The Indiana Department of Transportation a few months ago redesigned a portion of U.S. 40 that took away two lanes of traffic from the four-lane road and added a center turn lane. Some drivers complained about the change. Fewell said since that went into effect, there haven’t been any crashes along the road.
INDOT officials reached out to Fewell to see if he supported the redesign in the high-accident area.
“If you save people’s lives, I’m in favor of it,” Fewell said he told them.
LaFavers agreed with the reasoning for the road diet. He also said that Greenfield needs more bike lanes, more trails and recreational activities for residents. Also, in conjunction with INDOT’s plan to resurface State Road 9 and add medians, LaFavers said he would want to see sidewalks along the main thoroughfare to extend walkability on the north side of Greenfield.
Beautification efforts are also being planned at the Interstate 70 interchange in Greenfield. Last year, the city paid for six metal pillars at the entrance. Now, the city is looking to add six additional pillars as well as signage and landscaping as money is available, Fewell said.
LaFavers said he would like to see gardens at the overpass and add some sort of fixture and signage that welcomes people to Greenfield. He said the city should work with local designers to come up with ideas.
There have been talks in the past about adding another I-70 interchange in Greenfield to alleviate truck traffic around town. Fewell said he’s in favor of a new interchange, while LaFavers is opposed. LaFavers said building a new overpass would potentially take away land from property owners in the area.
Fewell said the city has also been working to widen Franklin Street, the only city-owned street that stretches north to south all the way through Greenfield. He would like to see that road as another detour for drivers to take the pressure off State Road 9.
New businesses, retention
Progress Park on the north side of Greenfield has been getting developed over the past few years, and Elanco and BeijingWest Industries are its only two tenants thus far.
LaFavers said he would be interested in attracting any business that’s willing to invest in the city, but he’s more focused on business retention. It’s important to support existing manufacturing businesses that have brought in hundreds of jobs to Greenfield — such as Keihin, Stanley Black & Decker and Indiana Automotive Fasteners — and provide them with resources to expand their operations and hire more employees.
Fewell said Progress Park gives the city an opportunity to bring in larger businesses that need space.
“We are very fortunate. We have a commodity that they can’t find on other areas — it’s called land,” Fewell said. “We’re not boxed in.”
Most of the land along New Road between State Road 9 and Franklin Street is full, Fewell said. He also said it’s important to retain the businesses Greenfield has, while also working to bring in new companies. Yamaha Marine Precision Propellers Inc. is building a new headquarters on New Road near Lark Ranch.
While the city looks to bring in new businesses, there are some vacant buildings in the city. The most notable is the former Marsh Supermarket, which shuttered a few years ago when the company filed for bankruptcy and closed or sold off dozens of grocery stores across Indiana and parts of the Midwest.
LaFavers said he doesn’t see the need for Greenfield to have another grocery store. He would rather look to repurpose the building into a space for the local farmer’s market and possibly Amish retailers.
Fewell said Greenfield needs another grocery store to fill the void of Marsh. The building is owned by a New York broker, whose CEO told the Daily Reporter in May that it’s been difficult to market the space to other grocers because of Greenfield’s demographics, population and socioeconomic factors.
In discussions Fewell has had with the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council — a group of local high schoolers — they’ve told him they want an entertainment zone in the building, such as a Skyzone with trampolines.
Keeping young people here
College isn’t for everyone, Fewell said. For high school graduates who are college-bound, he would like them to come back to Greenfield to live and work. For those who don’t want to pursue a four-year degree, Fewell said the city needs a centralized place for young people to learn a trade.
Fewell said he’s been working to create a Greenfield trade center in cooperation local businesses and Ivy Tech Community College, connecting willing workers with those who can teach them needed skills.
“You’re going to be the ones running the city,” Fewell said. “You’re going to be the ones that are going to be the next generation that we need to lead.”
LaFavers, a Greenfield-Central High School graduate who has chosen to stay in the city, said he, too, would let recent high school graduates know about trade jobs and unions. He’s an apprentice with Heat & Frost Insulators Local 18, a trade union based out of Indianapolis. LaFavers, who attended two semesters at Anderson University before changing career paths, has received on-the-job training in his apprenticeship.
“I hope I can spread that knowledge of trade unions early on to graduated seniors who are coming out fresh and that don’t really know where to turn and where to go starting out their adulthood,” he said.
