The first program of the year comes with Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop who reacts to the lag in COVID vaccinations, new READI grant money, demolition work at Fair Oaks Mall, and an update on the 1821 Trail.
On this week’s installment of Ask The Mayor, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop addresses these issues and more on a Zoom conference call. 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: Governor Holcomb in his latest press briefing said he was told, we’re past the convincing stage, we need to get close friends and relatives to talk to unvaccinated people to get the shot and help keep from spreading this virus. Do you agree?
Lienhoop: Yeah, and and I think that Governor Holcomb and his crew have done a remarkable job throughout this pandemic in terms of trying to push Hoosiers to a good place. In Bartholomew county were about 57% vaccinated and the number ticks up weekly, but it's pretty slow. And it's just disappointing that we haven't been able to move a little more quickly than that.
So I offer the fact that we've got well over 3 million Hoosiers who have been vaccinated and no noticeable side effects. So I understand some of the reservations that people have, we're past the point of convincing and we just need to do it and move on.
READ MORE: Monroe County confirms 157 COVID-19 cases
Hren: Any more testing or vaccination sites popping up there?
Lienhoop: We have. We will be one of four communities throughout the state that were selected to host a site for some testing. And I think that's going to start here within a week. But testing has become a bit of an issue. Trying to procure the rapid tests is almost impossible here in Bartholomew County, you can still go to one of the healthcare providers and take the the protein based test. But, it's a little bit more involved.
READ MORE: IDOH announces new limitations for rapid COVID-19 tests at state sites
Hren: The General Assembly is beginning the 2022 session today, anything at the top of your list that you're keeping an eye on?
Lienhoop: We pay a lot of attention to the tax issues, because they have a lot to do with our budgeting and our planning. And I understand that there is a move underway to adjust the property tax on business personal property. But I will share with you that a couple of the articles that I've read in the media are just flat wrong in terms of suggesting that there's a 30% tax on new personal property, that's just not true.
What they're talking about is the formula that values personal property has a 30% floor, so 30% of cost. And that number, the answer to cost times 30% is then multiplied by the local tax rate. So, the tax is nowhere close to 30% of the cost.
I understand why the news media might get it wrong, because it's a complicated topic. So I would just caution everybody to realize, at least from our perspective, that we're not trying to impose an onerous tax on anybody. I mean, nobody from California or Germany or Japan, or any place that's looking at Columbus, Indiana, has ever said, well, your business personal property taxes are too high.
But particularly with respect to local government, we can't do without the revenue.
Hren: I saw in The Republic, a transfer delayed for the mixed-use development there downtown. Can we get a quick update on that?
Lienhoop: What we're talking about is the apartment complex and the urban grocery that's to be built on the grassy area east of the jail. And our partner is Flaherty and Collins Indianapolis based developers, and sort of what happened was we talked about a timeline, where we would sell some bonds and create some funding that would be put into the project.
And at the same time that we were preparing for that they were supposed to go out and get bids from their contractors and subcontractors to sort of build what they had designed. And the bids came in higher than what they would have hoped. They've assured us that everything still going forward, but we really don't want to go borrow $11.8 million until we've got everything buttoned up. And so they asked for another month.
Hren: We've had people who have emailed in about the Fair Oaks Mall project and I did see some interior demolition is starting to begin?
Lienhoop: Yeah, we're hopeful that we can get our bids for the mall and for the fieldhouse at this first quarter, and then break ground, start construction second quarter. But there are a few things that the hospital gets started on, as you may recall, they are partners in that project. And, so we we begin to work on some of those.
For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page here.
