Town Council Supports Street Deprivatization
By: Jessica Kiefer
November 4, 2009
Following divided debate Monday night, Zionsville Town Council members are in favor of making the streets in the Ravinia subdivision public, which would allow street maintenance provided by the town.
Ravinia Homeowners Association President Ivan Johns presented the request, stating that the association was responding to an increase in traffic and had not waited until the streets were completely deteriorated to request deprivatization. Johns said that such action will be the unraveling of what the board did not have control over before acquiring ownership of the Ravinia subdivision in 2005.
Town Council Vice President Michelle Barrett said she supported the request as a matter of principle.
“Their roads are in the town of Zionsville, and we should service their roads just like we service any other roads in the town of Zionsville,” she said. “They pay their taxes just like anybody else.”
Councilor Art Harris disagreed.
“I have a problem along the lines of (precedent),” he said. “We’ve had other subdivisions ask us the same thing and be turned down. I can sympathize with you, but I think a deal’s a deal and the town should live up to it and so should (Ravinia).”
Town Council President Matt Price said a question of precedent is legitimate, but that being “fair” isn’t always fair.
"My experience is that anytime a street is labeled as private, at some point in time it no longer is private,” he said. “I think it is unreasonable to hold a neighborhood hostage to a covenant that was made for purposes that have nothing to do with the future maintenance and upkeep of those streets.”
Zionsville Street Department Superintendent Lance Lantz estimated Zionsville’s cost of maintenance in Ravinia at around $5,000 per year over the next five years, an estimate in line with the request Johns presented to the board and will bring to the RHA. This takes into account the costs of resurfacing and snow and ice removal.
Concerning equitable treatment, Price said he recommends that additional similar proposals to the council be welcomed, provided that all subdivisions are held to the same terms and conditions.
Further details will be considered in the coming weeks by the Ravinia Homeowners Association before official approval.
In additional road issues, the council approved an amendment to the Traffic Code that will change the speed limit on West 96th Street from 30 mph to 35 mph.
Boone County Commissioner Marc Applegate said the change is requested in response to complaints of speed limit inconsistency. In the Zionsville portion of West 96th Street, the speed limit is 30 mph; going west, it increases to 40 mph, then down to 35 mph.
Applegate said that it will be beneficial to establish a consistent speed limit between the Hamilton County line and Ford Road based on the results of a mid-2009 engineering study conducted by Barker Engineering. That study determined that 85 percent of drivers were driving an average speed of 38 mph in the area as a whole.
In other action, the council approved the 2010 budget for the Zionsville Wastewater Department. Superintendent Dennis Mackey said an increase of 4 percent ($6,300) from the 2009 projected expense is estimated due to a rise in chemical cost.
“This cost has risen steadily 63 percent since 2005,” he said. “Much of the increase has occurred in the last two years with the recession.”
Mackey said he is concerned the annual budget allowance of $90,000 will not be enough, based on the $86,700 already spent at the start of the fourth quarter.
“I’m projecting that we will go over by $25,000 by the end of the year in that fund, but that amount can be covered by reappropriation in certain areas,” he said.
Based on actual repair costs over the last three years, Mackey said he is also projecting an increase of $4,000 for the wastewater treatment plant maintenance. The plant is more than 25 years old.
Regarding repair costs, it is expected that Ravinia’s street deprivatization terms will be voted on at the next meeting of the Zionsville Town Council, which will be Monday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
