Police Chief Todd Bailey to Participate in Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey is celebrating many milestones this year. A few days ago, he turned 50 years old. This year is also his 20th anniversary serving with the New Albany Police Department.

“There are a lot of great milestones happening for me this year, and so I decided to knock another thing off my bucket list – running my first ever marathon,” stated Chief Bailey.

Chief Bailey, in the past year, has taken up running as a great way to get in shape and improve his health. This past year, he has been focused on improving his health and losing weight. Since April of 2017, he has lost over 60 pounds.

“Ever since I have taken up running, I feel better and healthier each day,” he said.

This Saturday, Chief Bailey will be participating in the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, a full 26.2 mile run through the heart of Indianapolis. As part of his preparation for the marathon, he has been raising money from the event in order to support the New Albany Police Department’s holiday celebration. So far, he has raised over $2,000 to give back to the NAPD.

From all of us at city hall, we wish Chief Bailey well on his first ever marathon!

Mayor Gahan Joins Lawsuit Against Wholesale Opioid Distributors

Mayor Gahan joins others in a lawsuit against wholesale opioid distributors, which have helped spread the opioid addiction crisis.

“The opioid crisis is spreading to communities across the nation, and we all need to be more active in learning about what we can do to prevent opioid addiction,” stated Mayor Gahan.

Earlier this week, Mayor Gahan attended the 8th Annual Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Symposium in Indianapolis, where keynote speaker Governor Chris Christie, head of the National Commission on the Opioid Crisis, shared specifics on the epidemic which kills over 175 people per day. The conference featured workshops and speakers from a cross section of professions that intersect with the opioid crisis, including doctors, medical professionals, law enforcement officers, rehabilitation clinic professionals, municipal and state leaders, and more.

Here are a few startling facts that were presented at the conference:

• 4 out of 5 heroin addicts began their addiction on legal, prescription pain medications.
• Americans consume 85% of the world’s drugs, while holding only 4% of the world’s population.
• The opioid epidemic kills over 175 people every day.

Additionally, the City of New Albany applied and is under consideration for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge Grant. The grant is focused on the need for early education, the adverse effects of a highly addictive group of drugs called opioids, and what we can do as a community to assist in fighting this epidemic.

Downtown 2-way Conversion Update - Market Fully 2-way on Oct 31

The Downtown Grid Modernization Project is nearing completion as crews are putting the finishing touches on the project.

Crews have been busy connecting detection loops into controller cabinets over the past week. This will allow the stoplights to detect cars waiting at a light, which should decrease wait times at stoplights in the downtown grid. For the past few months, these signals have been on a timer system. Crews will continue to monitor the detection loops over the next few weeks to help smooth downtown traffic. Work is also being finalized at the 15th and Spring Street intersection, as well as the Main and Pearl intersection, where crews are installing new controllers and signal heads as well as pedestrian crossing buttons.

The final stretch of Market Street set to be converted to 2-way traffic (from State Street to West 5th Street) will convert on October 31st. The intersection at Scribner and Market Street will temporarily be a 4-way stop while crews work to convert the signal. After this conversion is complete, all of Market Street will hold 2-way traffic.

Help our Tree Canopy thrive!

Do you know of a rare tree, or one with a unique feature near you? The New Albany Tree Board wants your help expanding their list of significant trees in New Albany. We are looking for trees that are noteworthy for their size, rare in New Albany, or have unique features. The trees must be either in the city’s right-of-way, a park, or can be plainly seen from a city street or alley – we cannot list trees on private property that the public cannot see.

The City of New Albany continues working to improve our tree canopy. By bringing awareness to unique trees that we have in the community, we can continue to improve on this together.

If you know of a specimen that deserves to be on the Tree Board’s list of Noteworthy Trees, please email Krisjans Streips, Tree Board Administrator, at kstreips@cityofnewalbany.com

M Fine Building on Main Street to Receive New Life

The City of New Albany, the IEDC, and the Lieutenant Governor’s office joined property developer Denton Floyd Real Estate Group and building operator Vitality Senior Services to celebrate the redevelopment of the historic M. Fine building along Main Street in New Albany.

The historic structure will be rehabilitated into an assisted living facility, hosting over 108 units that are a mix of affordable housing and private pay.

“This historic building has been out of service for nearly 20 years, and unless a certain group of local and State people, both public and private, come together at the right time, chances are that this building would have sat vacant for another 20 years or been lost,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “This is truly a huge victory for the people of New Albany, and it would not have happened without the work and cooperation between the city, the State of Indiana, and the developers.”

Mayor Jeff Gahan

Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch spoke at the event, and was encouraged to see the former factory being redeveloped for new use.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the revitalization of the former M. Fine & Sons building in New Albany,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. “The building that has sat vacant for decades will be transformed into a place that provides affordable housing for senior citizens and enhances New Albany’s downtown quality of place, creating a destination where people want to live, work and play.”

Denton Floyd Real Estate Group is a full service real estate investment, development, construction, and property management firm.  Its portfolio and services span across Southern Indiana, Louisville, and Lexington.  Denton Floyd specializes in adaptive reuse projects.  It takes pride in revitalizing aging and distressed/abandoned properties by renovating them back to their original historic character and creating a suitable use that fits the current economic needs of the area.

The $15 million project came together through a tax credit from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the City of New Albany.

The city’s investment comes in the form of a $1.15 million Urban Enterprise Zone tax credit, parking lots for the property, and the Main Street Improvement Project.

“I would like to thank both the State of Indiana and the City of New Albany for helping make this project a reality, both the IEDC staff and Mayor Gahan were integral in getting this project underway.  The pro-business mentality of the state and local governments solidified our final decision to proceed with this investment opportunity," stated Brandon Denton, Co-Founder of Denton Floyd Real Estate Group.

The building will be operated by Vitality Senior Services, a locally owned, premiere provider of senior services management, possesses over twenty-four years of successful senior housing, health care services and site development experience.  Vitality specializes in assisted living, skilled nursing and rehabilitative services.

“On behalf of Vitality Senior Services, I want to thank our partners at Denton Floyd and State and local officials for bringing this project to fruition.  The Mansion on Main is unique, the blending of historical features with state of the art amenities, will garner national attention for its innovation in adaptive reuse projects,” stated Todd Marsh, CEO of Vitality Senior Services.

For more information about the project itself, or to inquire about living at the property in the future, contact Todd Marsh with Vitality Senior Services at 812-914-1161.