Now Is The Time
As many of you already know, I appeared before the Greenwood City Council Monday night (6/15). My purpose for appearing before the council was to ask them to draft and adopt an ordinance stating that should the citizens of WRT choose to incorporate our area into the town of Center Grove, that they (the Greenwood council) would not enforce their 3 mile “buffer zone” as defined in the Indiana Code 36-5-1 and allow us to incorporate right up to their current corporate boundaries.
While not expecting an open arms greeting, I was expecting to engage in an open dialog with lots of questions. That did not happen. Instead, the council informed me that it would be inappropriate for them to grant such a request at this time since they have already committed to the reorganization effort. While disappointing, I understand and respect their decision. If we were in their shoes, we may have the same viewpoint. My personal opinion is that adopting such an ordinance would be a “win-win” for all parties. But we all know what opinions are like.
I could have left the meeting defeated and made this post a “throw in the towel” rant. Instead, surprisingly, I left the meeting feeling invigorated. Perhaps it was the three emails I received on the way to the meeting from fellow citizens stating they wanted to sign the petition, or the two gentlemen that approached me as I was leaving the meeting who also expressed their support and willingness to get involved. Call me crazy, but I am more motivated today than I was yesterday.
Every effort worth fighting for is bound to experience set backs. It is how we react to these set backs that will ultimately determine the outcome. While we were dealt a set back last night, I am more determined now to press forward.
I have heard many say that we should have incorporated years ago. I have heard this so many times in the last few months that if I got a nickel each time I heard it, I could fund the entire incorporation effort myself. Unfortunately, no one can do this alone. This is the reason we didn’t incorporate years ago. It takes the efforts of many.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at what it will take to form our own committees and begin studying incorporation on our own. Stay tuned to the website. We will post what the committees will be and how we plan to organize. If you have suggestions, please send them to cgtown@gmail.com. We will listen to all ideas and thoughts on how to proceed.
We move forward with the knowledge that Greenwood can still in the end deny our request. However, I do not want to say to myself a year from now “What if?” or five years from now “We should have incorporated five years ago”. Now is the time. If self incorporation is going to happen, we have one shot at it. We will not have another opportunity like this again. For those who still think that the status quo is an option, you need to look around. We will become incorporated one way or another. The decision we have to make is do we want to control our own destiny or do we want it dictated to us? The choice is ours. It is time for the White River citizens to unite.
Well said, Ryan. I think the citizens of White River Township deserve a choice. Monday night the Council seemed to make an effort to avoid (or at least delay) giving them options. I am glad to hear that you are continuing to push forward with this effort; in the end more information can only benefit the residents.
Dann
I too agree with your effort Ryan. I’m tired of being lied to at meetings with them saying their keeping an open mind about all this, when you have council members saying their already “committed to reorganization”. Keep up the fight and let me know if I might be able to help in any way.
Good effort! It is time WRT and the CG School System focus inward towards our goals. If we do not take control of our destiny someone surely will. Please let me know how I can help.
Something to keep in mind, Ryan, is that you may have an interesting legal argument to make if your efforts reach the phase where Greenwood would need to accept your status. This would be only be true if a few things fall a certain way. For instance, obviously the merger would need to fail. The merger vote is a very important aspect of this, however, as not just the total vote, but what will the vote be from both political entities — if the merger fails on both sides, the following argument may be available & valid.
The argument would go something like this: Greenwood & WRT tried an alternative to annexation, and both parties rejected it. For Greenwood to object to self-incorporation flies in the face of the will of the majority of the electorate of two independent political units. You would need to challenge, in court, the validity of a rejection of self-incorporation on a public policy, public interest basis. These challenges are difficult to make and rarely survive, but here you would have hard evidence of the public will and its contradiction to what elected officials would support/oppose.
Its just food for thought.