GREENFIELD — Government, school, economic and health leaders from throughout Hancock County will gather next week to look back on 2019 and discuss what’s in store for 2020.
Speakers at the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the Community luncheon include Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell; Harold Olin, superintendent of Greenfield-Central schools; Jack Parker, superintendent of Mt. Vernon schools; Nick Ludlow, chairman of the chamber board of directors; Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Health and Hancock Regional Hospital; Randy Sorrell, executive director of the Hancock Economic Development Council; and Bill Bolander, Hancock County councilman.
“I find this very, very interesting and very informative for the public,” Fewell said. “…It’s to outline what we’ve done and where we’ve been.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
In 2020, Greenfield will continue with its endeavors through Indiana’s Stellar Communities Program, Fewell said. The state accepted the city, Hancock County and Fortville into the program in 2018, making the communities eligible for millions of dollars for community projects.
One of the visions for one of those projects consists of an entertainment hub along Greenfield’s historic brick Depot Street.
There’s also plenty of residences going up in the city, Fewell continued.
“Having housing available is very, very important to attracting people to our community,” he said.
Avery Dennison expanded its plant, Yamaha Marine Precision Propellers is building one and BeijingWest Industries opened its new factory.
“We have jobs available for people that would like to come around to our city,” Fewell said.
He’s looking forward to what he described as continued responsible growth.
“We want to grow but we want to grow at a moderate pace that we can keep up with,” he said.
In his state of the city address, Fewell will also tout the extensive updates to planning and zoning rules and his continued work with the mayor’s youth council, which educates and involves children in government while allowing him to learn what’s important to young people.
“I think all in all we’ve had a very successful 2019,” he said.
Plans for a new jail dominated Hancock County government’s activities in 2019. In 2020, those plans will start to come to fruition.
Bolander said his state of the county address will impart his excitement over plans for the new jail to treat inmates with addictions.
He said he’s also looking forward to economic development projects on the county’s horizon.
“We’ve got some positive things going on,” he said.
Construction will be a big part of 2020 for Greenfield’s public schools, Olin said. About $13 million will stretch across the corporation’s eight sites, including for new roofs, boilers and parking lots. Other projects include the high school’s new greenhouse, music rooms, weight rooms and locker rooms along with a new auxiliary gym at the junior high school.
“They’re all good things,” Olin said. “Some of those are very fun things; some of those are very necessary things.”
Olin said the school corporation also plans to spend 2020 drawing more students through concerted marketing efforts and attracting and retaining effective staff members. Continuing partnerships with the city, NineStar Connect and Hancock Health is also important to the corporation, he said.
Parker is coming up on his one-year anniversary with the quickly growing Mt. Vernon school district. A demographic study the corporation commissioned in early 2019 predicts the district will grow by about 2,000 resident students in the next 10 years.
“We’re growing,” Parker said. “We are making very long-term plans with our community to better manage that growth.”
The corporation created an initiative made up of parents, business representatives, community leaders and residents called Community Champions to help develop those long-term plans. It’s slated to discuss a draft future growth plan at a meeting later this month.
Parker added the corporation is on track with its sustainable budget plan. It’s also increasing collaborative efforts after surveying parents, students and staff last spring, he continued.
“Really our main focus is just establishing processes and procedures that are really solid so that we can have a firm foundation on which to thrive,” he said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT: Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Luncheon – State of the Community
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7
WHERE: NineStar Connect, 2243 E. Main St., Greenfield
Registration is $15. Register online at greenfieldcc.org/events/Membership-LuncheonState-of-the-Community-460/details. The deadline to register is Friday, Jan. 3.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
