Fall Creek Place resident profiled on No Mean City

Check out the profile of Fall Creek Place residents Kristen and Doran Moreland on http://nomeancity.com/st-richards

April Update

Get involved in the neighborhood

Along with the Home Owners Association Board of Directors, volunteers from the neighborhood play a key role by serving on HOA committees.  These committees serve a wide variety of functions.  If you are interested in volunteering your time and efforts, please contact fallcreekplace@gmail.com or each committee individually.

Fall Creek Place Committees

• Land Use Committee – The Land Use Committee acts as a representative of the neighborhood when new land uses are proposed.  Our primary goal is to help shape new developments so that they benefit existing residents and conform to long-term planning goals for the neighborhood.  A secondary goal of the Land Use Committee is to help advertise land use opportunities within the neighborhood. Committee Chairperson: Chris Corr.  Committee Contact: landuse.fcp@gmail.com
• Crime Watch Committee – The Fall Creek Place Crimewatch Committee strives to maintain a safe neighborhood for all residents. The committee is made up of individual block clubs as well as other interested neighbors, and participants need not be members of the Fall Creek Place HOA to participate. The committee tracks crime statistics, works with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and other city agencies to address problems, provides information to members and to the neighborhood about crime activities and prevention and seeks to build relationships between neighbors. Crimewatch members share information through a secure list-serv email group restricted to members. Co-Chairs: Sarah Childers-Strawbridge and Kara Hieser.  Committee Contact: safety.fcp@gmail.com
• Maintenance Committee – Fall Creek Place has one of the most complete investments of public garden infrastructure in the city.  This "garden district" includes obvious large-scale elements like our gateway monuments and public parks, but also includes our unique planted "bump-outs" along our major streets as well as the decorative paving at many pedestrian intersections.  It is up to neighborhood residents to maintain these unique elements that help define our neighborhood's character. Committee Chairperson: Heather Roemer Committee Contact: maintenance.fcp@gmail.com
• Design Review Committee - The Fall Creek Place Design Review Committee strives to protect our investment and neighborhood character by ensuring compliance with the Fall Creek Place Design Guidelines.  The Committee is established by the Fall Creek Place Covenants and is charged with reviewing all exterior changes to HOA-member homes and yards. Committee Chairperson: Kyle Miller. Committee Contact: fallcreekplace@gmail.com
• Fall Creek Foundation - The Fall Creek Place Foundation serves to enhance the quality of life of all neighbors.  Our mission is to create a better sense of community among Fall Creek Place residents by developing and improving public spaces.  The vision of the Foundation is to be a force of inclusion, bringing together neighbors from all walks of life, by creating unique spaces and experiences.  The FCP Foundation is a 501(C)3 non-profit and is the official fundraising arm of the HOA. Your donation will help improve our neighborhood!  We are always looking for volunteers interested in helping us create a better sense of community. Please feel free to contact us here: fallcreekplacefoundation@gmail.com
• Newsletter Committee – We are always looking for content suggestions, feature stories, news or notes, and photographs to include in the Urban Times newsletter.  If you have and ideas, please contact fallcreekplace@gmail.com or post a message to the Fall Creek Place Facebook page - www.facebook.com/FallCreekPlace.

Fall Creek Place Parents Group

Interested in meeting other families with kids in Fall Creek Place? Like the Fall Creek Place Parents Group Facebook page to share information relevant to families with children and to get to know one another. Find the group at www.facebook.com/groups/FCP.parents.

Upcoming Calendar

• April 2nd – Annual Fall Creek Place Spring Clean-Up
• April 8th – Recycling Pickup Day
• April 9th – HOA Board of Directors Meeting
• April 21st – Heavy Trash Pickup Day
• April 22nd– Recycling Pickup Day

Easter Egg Hunt

The second annual Fall Creek Place Easter Egg Hunt was held on March 26th at the Arboretum Park on Broadway Street.  Nearly 50 kids searched for eggs among the rocks and trees in our unique pocket park.  A special thanks to all neighbors who donated candy, helped fill the eggs, and who brought refreshments. 

March Update

Diana Robertson Leads Award Winning Lilly Day of Service Project

Neighbor Diana Robertson lives on the 2400 block of New Jersey and works for Lilly Diabetes.  Last October she led a service project that benefited Indianapolis Animal CARE and Control.  A video from that project was entered into the 2015 Super Service Challenge and won $3,000 courtesy of the Drew Brees Foundation.  We caught up with Diana to ask her about the project and how Fall Creek Place Residents can get involved.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: Tell us about the Lilly Day of Service Project

Diana: The Lilly Day of Service (DOS) is an annual event that took place October 1.  I assembled 150 of my colleagues at Eli Lilly and Elanco Animal Health to give the under-funded/under-staffed Indianapolis Animal CARE and Control (IACC) a much needed makeover. 

Fall Creek Place Newsletter:  Who else was involved and what kind of work did you do?

Diana:  With the help of a generous donation from the Friends of Indianapolis Animal Care and Control Foundation (FIACCFI) (a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Indy’s shelter animals) along with Sherwin Williams Paints, Sign Craft Industries, Artist Susan Kline, and the Eli Lilly DOS volunteers, together we: 

• painted two fun colorful murals on the exterior,
• painted LOTS of chain link fencing,
• added several outdoor play areas with benches and play equipment for dogs,
• painted several interior rooms including 3 cat rooms and the employee/volunteer break room,
• added an outdoor shelter for employees/volunteers in the back of the property,
• socialized cats and gave them TLC,
• and general clean-up giving the facility and grounds a facelift. 

The “Homeward Bound” mural image was transferred onto t-shirts.  We also incorporated the IACC Chief’s vision of branding CARE in the IACC name (Caring for Animals Responsibly and Ethically) and it’s painted prominently on the visitors parking lot side of the building.  We compiled a video of volunteers stating “Why You Served” and submitted it to the Super Service Challenge contest.  It won $3,000 for the FIACCFI and they will use it to purchase an X-ray machine to diagnose trauma in shelter animals. 

Fall Creek Newsletter:  How can Fall Creek Place residents get involved?

Diana:  IACC always needs volunteers.  Anyone can volunteer individually and it’s a great place for a team-building activity for groups.  Even children can volunteer with their parents.  Who doesn’t love to play with dogs or love on cats?  And there are many other things that can be done at IACC that is always appreciated by this under-staffed organization.  Contact Diana Robertson at catladydi@ymail.com or 317.923.4598 for guidance on how to get involved and make life better for shelter animals.  It’s a wonderful way to give back to animals and the community.  If you can’t volunteer, consider donating to FIACCFI (friendsofindyacc.org).

Crime Watch Block Captains

With spring upon us, Fall Creek Place will once again come to life with active neighbors and visitors. Residents are reminded to keep their eyes open for suspicious behavior or anything that looks out of the ordinary and to report these things to the police.  We also encourage neighbors to volunteer to organize Crimewatch Blocks.  For more information, please contact safety.fcp@gmail.com.  All neighbors can help keep Fall Creek Place a safer place by following these 2 tips and action steps for crime prevention.

1. Use Outdoor Lights Regularly – Your exterior lights reduce crime.  Keep your exterior lights on at night and make sure they are working properly.  Motion-activated lights are especially helpful as they draw attention to any movement.  If your front pole light is out, often times it needs the GFI outlet reset or the bulb replaced.  If the problem is the dusk until dawn sensor is broken and you need help replacing it, please contact maintenance.fcp@gmail.com.  Also, it is important to call IPL at 317.261.8111 to report street light that are out.
2. Bring Garbage and Recycling Cans Inside – Garbage cans left in alleys provide leverage to criminals.  Bringing them inside your garage or fence weekly after trash pickup can prevent criminals from using them as a step stool to climb a fence or as a storage place for stolen items.  It also helps keep the alley looking clean and free of trash by preventing people from rummaging through you garbage.

Fall Creek Place Foundation Selling NAP Credits

The Fall Creek Place Foundation received a Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. We still have $1,760.00 in Indiana tax credits for sale to raise money to improve the park at 23rd/Alabama. For every $200 donated to Fall Creek Place Foundation, the donor receives a $100 tax credit toward 2016 Indiana tax liability. 

Example: 
John Doe owes Indiana Department of Revenue $1000 for 2016. Mr. Doe donates $400 to Fall Creek Place Foundation through the NAP grant. Mr. Doe will get a $200 tax credit and now only has to pay Indiana $1000 - $200 = $800 for 2016. 

If you are interested in purchasing a NAP tax credit contact me at kathleenfield@gmail.com.  Donations will be processed on a first come, first served basis

Upcoming Calendar

• March 11th – Recycling Pickup Day
• March 12th – HOA Board Meeting - 10AM at Monon Coffee
• March 17th – Saint Patrick’s Day
• March 24th – Heavy Trash Pickup Day
• March 25th – Recycling Pickup Day

February Update

Meet Members of the Board

The Fall Creek Place Home Owners Association Board positions are now set for 2016. The HOA is governed by seven elected representatives that serve staggered three-year terms.  Board positions are filled at the annual meeting in November and are all voluntary and receive no compensation.

New Board Roster:

• Chris Corr – President
• Brian Carter – Vice President
• Leslie Kell – Secretary
• Matt Guay – Treasurer
• Marc Beaudry – At-Large
• David Bullington– At-Large
• Kara Hieser– At-Large

Here is some information on your current board members:

• Chris Corr is serving his first year as President after serving as Vice President and Treasurer. He moved to FCP with his wife, Claire Willard, and daughter, Alanna, in 2011.  He has been a Land Use Committee co-chair for 4 years and has been active in steering a number of land use proposals and initiates within the neighborhood.  Chris is a biomedical engineer and works for the Indiana University School of Medicine as a lab manager in the Krannert Institute of Cardiology.
• Brian Carter is a second year board member and is beginning his first year as Vice President. He organized a greenway clean-up in 2014 and has removed graffiti at many sites in and around the neighborhood.  Brian, his wife Kelly, and their daughters moved to FCP in 2013. He works downtown at Anthem, Inc.
• Leslie Kell is beginning her first year on the board and is serving as Secretary. Along with husband Nick and sons Owen and Evan, Leslie moved into a new home on Broadway in 2015. They moved into the neighborhood in 2004 and have spent time on Central and Delaware. Leslie is an RN at Community Hospital.
• Matt Guay and his wife Emily and daughter Audrey moved to Fall Creek Place in 2005 and currently live on Broadway St. after spending 9 1/2 years on Delaware. This is Matt’s second year as Treasurer and third year on the board. He also writes the neighborhood newsletter for the Urban Times. Matt is the Director of Tickets and Operations for the Indianapolis Indians.
• Marc Beaudry is a second year at-large board member.  Marc and his wife Jenny moved to Fall Creek Place in 2010 because they wanted to live close to downtown and live in a diverse urban environment.  Marc has been working at Eli Lilly for twelve years and currently works in the Alzheimers division as a marketer.
• Dave Bullington is a first term at-large board member. Dave and his wife Susan have been residents of Talbott Street in Fall Creek Place since 2009.  They spend most of their free time chasing after their two young sons, Winston and Oliver, and love the neighborhood's close proximity to the city's many amenities that allows them to raise their boys in such an urban setting. Dave is a creditors' rights attorney for Blackwell, Burke & Ramsey PC.

The Board also has a handful of committees that rely on volunteers to chair and lead.  They are as follows:

• Design Review - Kyle Miller
• Safety - Sarah Strawbridge and Kara Hieser
• Maintenance - Heather Roemer
• Land Use - Chris Corr
• Urban Times - Matt Guay
• Foundation – Matt Guay

Fall Creek Place Foundation

The Fall Creek Place Foundation was formed in 2015 to create a better sense of community among Fall Creek Place residents by developing and improving public spaces.  As a 501 C(3) non-profit our vision is to be a force of inclusion, bringing together neighbors from all walks of life, by creating unique spaces and experiences.  Some things we will be working on in 2016:

• Ideas to develop & beautify public spaces in the neighborhood and act as a bridge between the HOA and those who live in the area but are not HOA members
• Playground/Community space at 23rd/Alabama Park
• “All-In Block Party” tentatively scheduled for April to gather and unveil plans for playground/community space.

We are always looking for volunteers interested in helping us create a better sense of community. Please feel free to contact us at fallcreekplacefoundation@gmail.com

Foundation Board Members:

• Chris Corr
• Jeremy Brilliant
• Matt Guay
• Adam Mueller
• Renate Myler

Upcoming Calendar

• February 12th – Recycling Pickup Day
• February 13th – HOA Board Meeting - 10AM at Monon Coffee
• February 25th – Heavy Trash Pickup Day
• February 26th – Recycling Pickup Day

2016 Monthly FCP HOA Board Meetings

The Fall Creek Place Homeowners' Association Board of Directors meets on a monthly basis. In 2016 those meetings will take place at 10am on the 2nd Saturday of each month at Monon Coffee Company (2442 Central Ave). The first meeting of the year will be Saturday, January 9th.

Fall Creek Place residents (both HOA and non-HOA) are welcome to attend these meetings to hear topics being discussed and to provide feedback. If you have a topic you'd like to add to the agenda for a particular meeting, please contact our HOA management company at least a week in advance at fallcreekplace@gmail.com.

The 2016 HOA Board of Directors is:

Chris Corr - President
Brian Carter - Vice-President
Matt Guay - Treasurer
Leslie Kell - Secretary
Marc Beaudry
Kara Hieser
Dave Bullington

Resident Spotlight: Heather Roemer

Resident Spotlight – A series highlighting residents of Fall Creek Place and their contributions to the neighborhood.

Heather Roemer finishes her term as the Fall Creek Place HOA President this month.  We caught up with her to discuss her experience serving on the board and her thoughts on the state of the neighborhood.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: Can you tell everyone about yourself and your history with the neighborhood?

Heather: My husband, Jon, and I built our first home in FCP in July 2007 on Broadway thinking it would be an investment and we would move on in 5 years. In July 2014 we built a second home on Broadway because we decided we love FCP and we can't imagine living anywhere else. We welcomed our son, Winston, in May 2014 and are happy to live in such a diverse, family-friendly neighborhood. We also have 3 cats, Lola, Luigi and Link that neighbors can generally find sleeping in one of our windows. For the past decade I have worked as a sales rep selling companion animal pharmaceutical to Central Indiana vets. That company was purchased by Elanco, Lilly's animal health division, in April 2014, so I now work in Elanco's marketing department supporting a lot of the products I have sold for the past 10 years.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: What do you like about living in an urban neighborhood? And more specifically about Fall Creek Place?

Heather: I love living in the city and having access to so many amazing restaurants, museums, music venues, cultural areas, parks, etc. Indianapolis has amazing sports teams, great outdoor venues for events and concerts, nationally known museums and is an easy to navigate, condensed city. I love the cultural trail, the advancements to being a bike friendly city and the move to connect the city to surrounding areas. Downtown Indianapolis is truly a great place to live, work and play. Fall Creek Place allows me to take advantage of all the amazing things that the City has to offer, but still gives me a decent size home and yard to raise a family and to enjoy that close knit community life.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: Can you recap your involvement on the board or board committees?

Heather: The first full year that Jon and I lived in FCP I became involved in the Garden Committee (Maintenance Committee) and tried to take it to the next level with more specific clean-up days and projects to focus on problem spots around the neighborhood like trimming the trees along Talbott, cleaning up along Fall Creek Walkway, cleaning up alleys and replanting the monuments. I tried to foster a good relationship with our landscape company, True North, to maximize what they can offer to us, KIB to help with plantings and tree trims, DPW to help get permits, trim trees, help with the Ash trees and have someone in the City to aid in projects we are interested in pursuing. I served on multiple committees through King Park Area Development group trying to represent Fall Creek Place when someone was looking to provide funds or help for projects. I joined the Board in 2012 as the Secretary and then assumed the President role in 2013.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: What are you most proud of during your tenure as board President?  What was the most challenging?

Heather: I am most proud of is the ability to connect with wonderful residents that have a passion to better our neighborhood and recruit them to the Board. I feel like we have had such an amazing group of people the past 3 years that have given a lot of time and commitment to help better our neighborhood. Being able to remove the tax assessment from our Parks, obtaining a 4th park so we have green space in all phases of FCP, build a new website and help rebrand our neighborhood and help create a better level of communication with our residents to our Board and management company. The most challenging has been managing expectations of the residents with being a volunteer position. With a wide range of opinions and desires, it can be difficult to make everyone happy and focus on everyone's wants.  Having a mix of HOA, non HOA, condos, apartments, rentals, etc. has also been difficult to manage. It's hard to talk about paying the HOA when everyone has access to a lot of the things the HOA pays for. Also managing the time I devote to my role as president with my actual paying job and family life. I have always said that I would love to make my position on the Board as my paying job so I can devote all of my time to making our neighborhood the best neighborhood it can me, but unfortunately that is not an option. I know that we have so many great residents that with the collective effort we will be able to make our neighborhood the best to live in in Indy. 

Fall Creek Place Newsletter:  How do you see FCP developing over the next 5-10 years (or how do you hope is will develop)?

Heather: I would love to see the continued efforts to connect the residents with events in our Parks making our small downtown neighborhood a very family friendly, welcoming neighborhood to all. I would love to see more businesses making FCP their home. The kinds of businesses that bring money into our area in order to help outsiders support our Foundation and continue to help improve the amenities we have or would like to have. It would be great to have a play area for the kids, more appealing landscaping to accentuate the great areas in our parks and monuments, better lighting on all streets, a bike path to connect the Fall Creek Walkway with the Cultural Trail/Monon, etc. I truly believe that with the great schools developing all around us, the improvements to transportation in and out of the City and the movement to embrace living and working in the same area, that our neighborhood will have very few homes available in 5 years because all the lots will be built on and people will desire to live in our neighborhood, raise families and enjoy the culture and connectivity they get with living in FCP.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: What were you most surprised by during your tenure on the board?  In other words, what is the biggest thing you learned?

Heather: I have been surprised that new residents that move into FCP are not aware that we have an HOA, what an HOA is and have not read our guidelines/bylaws. Some people embrace the fact that we have an HOA in place and are happy to pay for the amenities we offer, that other neighborhoods don't have, but others seems to not want to be a part of it and have no desire to pay for things that will benefit everyone including themselves.

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: Is there anything you would tell neighbors who are considering volunteering for the board?  Anything that you want neighbors to about the board they need to/should know?

Heather: I would suggest that everyone get involved in the neighborhood in someway, whether it is being a part of a committee, just helping plan an event, participating in an event, getting out and meeting new people and being a part of the Board is just one thing. The Board does offer an opportunity to really focus on the things that help maintain our neighborhood. Every bad winter people complain about the alleys not being plowed by the City, but the HOA provides plowing for our neighborhood and I believe we are the only neighborhood that does that. It is a fun opportunity to help your fellow residents and focus on creating an inviting environment for new people to move to. The watch out is that you can't take things personally because there is a lot of judgment from residents to Board members forgetting that it is a voluntary position and you have joined to do your best to help. No one joins the Board to do harm, but sometimes that is overlooked

Fall Creek Place Newsletter: Anything else you would like to mention?

Heather: Although I did not do a lot of the leg work to create our Foundation, I did work with our other Board members to facilitate this happening over the past 3 years. This is a huge accomplishment for this Board and can truly help to build the funds to make improvements for our neighborhood, not just maintain as the HOA is put in place to do. Please consider volunteering with the Foundation and finding ways to raise money to help our neighborhood improve.

November 2015 Update

Annual Meeting on November 18th

The Fall Creek Place Home Owner’s Association’s annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 18th from 6-9pm in The Oaks Academy gymnasium.  All residents are encouraged to attend this meeting as it is a great way to keep up to date on what is happening in the neighborhood and to meet other residents and share ideas.  Among the topics of discussion will be a review of the 2015 and 2016 HOA budgets, reports from the various board committees, and the election of new board members.  If you would like to nominate someone for a Board or Committee position, please email management@fallcreekplace.com.  Notices of the meeting were mailed to all HOA homes in October.  We hope to see you there.

Fall Hang Out 

Neighbors, families, and friends gathered at the 23rd and Alabama Park on September 11th for the second annual Fall Neighborhood Hang Out.  Special thanks to Adam Mueller for organizing, Scratch Truck and Twisted Sicilian Food Truck for providing food options, and to Kathleen Field for representing the Fall Creek Place Foundation.  Despite the rainy weather during the day, we had a great turnout and fun was had by all.  We look forward to making this a yearly event.

New Logo

The FCP HOA Board has been working to create a new website and logo for Fall Creek Place to reflect the current neighborhood. “There have been a lot of changes in the last 10 years since the neighborhood was revitalized and the Board felt like we needed to reflect those changes and define who we are now to prospective home buyers, businesses and the groups we may work with in the future” says HOA Board President Heather Roemer.   Please visit the new website at fallcreekplace.com

Activate Your Block Club

The Crime Prevention Committee is encouraging neighbors to activate a crime watch block club for your block.  Block clubs are vital for preventing crime in Fall Creek Place on a block-by-block basis. It’s well known that creating strong block clubs that communicate within and with law enforcement, is the most efficient and effective way to prevent crime. We have several neighbors who have volunteered to captain their blocks. Check out the map on the Fall Creek Place Web site to see if your block is protected, and let us know if you are interested in participating by contacting Kara Hieser at kara@park-elm.com.  Block Club programs work because neighbors intimately know the people and happenings on their block, and can quickly decide what is suspicious.

Fall Creek Parkway Median

Last year the Fall Creek Place HOA adopted the Fall Creek Parkway median in front of the Carson Center (between Delaware and New Jersey). Positioned just before the left turns to the Delaware bridge, this is very visible gateway into Fall Creek Place. For this first year of adoption, we only provided for mowing maintenance of the median, though the HOA may pursue landscape beautification in the future. As a first step for that beautification, Bur Oak trees were secured through Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's Adopt-A-Block program.  The trees will be evenly spaced along the median so they have plenty of room to grow in the future.   If you are interested in helping to maintain or beautify the median, please contact management@fallcreekplace.com.