Speedway Hires Town Manager

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(l to r) Sharon Zishka, Gary Raikes, Lu Hilmer, Barbara Lawrence, Jeff Hartman, Eileen Fisher and Bill Suffel.

Photo by Jay Thompson
(posted May 12)

May 13 will be Barbara Lawrence's first day on the job as Speedway's new town manager. The council approved her employment contract and salary ordinance with a 5-0 vote at its May 12 meeting.

One of Lawrence's key assets for the hiring was her experience serving on the Indianapolis Bond Bank. The Speedway Redevelopment Authority and Redevelopment Commission will need to borrow millions of dollars to carry out the redevelopment plan. Lawrence's starting salary is $97,500.

American Legion District 11's request to waive fees to host a June 15 Marion County Veteran's gathering at American Legion Post 500 raised the council's unresolved issue of waiving fees for community events. The Legion will also go before the Marion County Alcohol Beverage Commission June 2 to obtain a temporary permit to serve alcohol outdoors.

Under the current ordinance, the minimum event fee is $1,000. The event fee is to handle the extra financial stresses for the town during race events; however, the council has never created an ordinance to deal with local events that promote community spirit that are not designed to bring in large crowds or to make money comparable to IMS events. The council has waived fees in the past, but now President Gary Raikes expressed concerns that with the tight flow of money, the option to waive fees might not be a good financial decision.

The council said they would give an answer to the request at the May 28 council meeting. The council does not intend to revise the ordinance by May 28. They can develop a policy or some type of guideline so the clerk treasurer has some type of documentation as to why a particular fee was charged.

Beverly Alexander requested the council to pass a resolution at the next meeting so the B & O Trail may have a chance to be awarded $50 million over the next six years as part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy mission to develop active multi-modal trails throughout the country. Marion and Hendricks County are among the 40 communities with a chance of receiving the money.

Alexander said that B & O Trail has a good chance of being part of the pilot program due its proximity of Allison Transmission with its 4,000 employees and the IMS drawing millions of tourists. The B & O Corridor starts at 10th and Tibbs Avenue and extends west through Speedway into Hendricks County to Montezuma, IN.

Resident Joyce Bishop requested the town institute an ordinance to stop gaming because she heard that a casino may becoming to Speedway. Raikes asked where she heard this information but Bishop would not divulge her source. Councilor Lu Hillmer asked Bishop to identify a location in town, but again Bishop would not give any information. Speedway Redevelopment Commission Scott Harris brushed the comment off as rumor.

Town Attorney Kim Blanchet said it would be a state legislative issue because the law requires the casinos to be on water.

At the request of HNTB Tom Hutka, the council plans to adopt a sewage pretreatment ordinance at its next meeting that will regulate the amounts of fats, oils and grease that restaurants dispose down the drains.
The large amounts of grease create problems in the collection systems and at the waste water treatment plant.

Fire Chief Curtis Dean said the Speedway will not switch to a digital system until May 29. He said there are complications with the digital system picking up background noises that make communication difficult to hear. He said there is proposal to retain the analog system during fires. This could be an additional three or four million dollar cost. Speedway would not be responsible for the cost.

City County Councilor Marilyn Pfisterer honored the Speedway Public Library's 40th Anniversary with a proclamation. The library was founded by the late Betty Thompson and the doors opened November 24, 1968.

Judy Perfetto thanked the fire department for rescuing her 14-year-old grandson. She said a big wind came up May 3 and knocked branch down that fell on her grandson.