The city will most likely follow Governor Holcomb's final stage of reopening this weekend if the state stays on its plan. The downtown conference center and Fair Oaks Mall redevelopment are on hold. And a public education campaign is a part of social justice issues.
On this week’s installment of Ask The Mayor, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop addresses these issues and more. Listen to the full conversation with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren by clicking on the play button above, or read some of the questions and answers below. A portion of this segment airs 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. Wednesday on WFIU.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Hren: Bartholomew and Jackson counties, two of the higher COVID cases in southern Indiana, does that concern you as the state looks to reopening to the next stage?
Lienhoop: No, not really. You know, it's really hard to make sense. I don't know that we have a representative sample or a statistically valid sample in terms of the people we've selected to take these tests. I mean, the selection criteria usually involves people who are symptomatic or been exposed to folks who are and so you know, you're going to get a little higher incidence of positive side of that, and I really don't know how that would compare to other counties.
But the statistic that we follow most closely is the inpatient census at Columbus Regional. What we're trying to measure there is the extent to which sick people exist and use the healthcare system. And what we've seen is that most recently the number of inpatients at CRH is two, I mean, that was the last number I got. It's been as low as zero as high as 20. And what that indicates to us is that while the virus is present in our community, we've not had an extreme incidence of significant infection and infection greater than what we can treat. And so, so we feel pretty good about those numbers.
Hren: So is that the measuring stick for reopening there?
Lienhoop: Yeah, there are several metrics we look at and some of those are ones that you've mentioned, but the primary one is inpatient census at Columbus Regional.
Hren: I know Bloomington and Indianapolis have been closing streets for outside dining, is Columbus doing the same?
Lienhoop: We have the ability on Fourth Street to close sections of the street, one of the improvements that was made in the downtown area several years ago, it was what we called up our entertainment district, and there are some gates down there that allow us to close a block of Fourth Street at a time between Washington Street and Jackson in between Washington Street and in Franklin. And that, in turn, allows some of the restaurants to place tables and umbrellas and chairs out there so that they can serve more patrons.
So far, the reaction has been pretty positive, both from the restaurant tours who appreciate the extra volume but among people in the community who appreciate the opportunity to get out and just enjoy a burger and a beer.
Hren: How's the overpass railway project for State Road 46 coming along?
Lienhoop: It's going great. What we were able to open last week at the end of last week, the eastbound lanes. So the inbound today is open and they did that so that they could begin to work on the tie in for the westbound lanes. So we're driving on it. I mean, if you come into town, you're able to fly right over the railroad tracks and State Route 11 which is which is really kind of neat.
I think we've talked previously about being able to drive on this by Christmas. I think we're going to beat that.
Hren: Can you catch us up on all the rallies and protests surrounding racial justice and fighting racism and the response from city leaders?
Lienhoop: Well, I think we're all a little more than a little chagrined at what we see on television or what we see on some of the recorded videos, whether it's on social media or TV or whatever the sources. We want to be confident that a similar kind of incident won't happen here. And so we've had a variety of conversations with people in the community as to what we plan to do, in terms of just reviewing what goes on in our police department and making sure that they receive all the training that is appropriate to understand how to de escalate and know when to use force and when not to and what kind of force to use.
I think we've been kind of heartened to realize that a lot of these points or stipulations have already been in place. You know, we've seen lists of eight, and we've seen a list of 21. And that portion of them have already been addressed by our police department. So I think that it's as much education campaign to the public as anything.
We're not perfect by any stretch, but we don't seem to have the the adversarial relationship that exists in many of the larger cities. And so that that's a good thing. It's one more reason why in a small town like Columbus is that it is a desirable place to live.
Hren: Before we go I wanted to ask about community meetings about public golf courses here, what's is the city looking to do?
Lienhoop: Back in January, the management out of Otter Creek changed and what had been a board of directors that was appointed primarily by Cummins became a board of directors primarily appointed by the mayor by me. And part of what that does is that there's a ripple effect kind of thing and one is that the city of Columbus now has 54 holes of public golf. You know, we've got nine holes at a place called Greenbelt, got 18 holes of par three golf, and then 27 holes at it Otter Creek. And along with the responsibility to manage all those is also the responsibility to provide funding to the extent that is necessary.
And what we find ourselves in is a situation where we're spending a lot of money on public golf, we find our administrative activities are spread a little thin. And so the question becomes, well, which of the 54 holes are too many? And so, we have come up with several different proposals for a group to consider, and we will discuss those on July 8. There'll be a public information session at The Commons. We will livestream this so if you can't make it you can follow along at home.
Then the mayor doesn't decide, I get to recommend, but the decision rests with those groups.
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