Being residents of Marion County we are currently experiencing cooler than normal temperatures and ample rainfall. Just a year ago we experienced just the opposite, severe drought and the enforcement of a Marion County water ordinance,
water ban that had not been issued since the summer of 1988. Being gardeners, we will not forget how devastating the drought was to our landscapes. The water ban also had devastating results on area businesses, with some eventually folding due to restrictions of water use and services. In the early stages, the ban did nothing to limit and conserve water resources. It also did not address the need to allow limited use of water for responsible gardening and planting.
As a result gardens suffered, as well as the green industry. We were all forced to cope with an extremely antiquated and inequitable water use ordinance. I found myself in a very unique position as a leader in our industry. For the past thirteen years I have been involved with the board of directors for the Indianapolis Landscape Association, having served as President from 2010 – 2011. The July board meeting of this organization was dominated by conversations relating to the devastating effects of both the drought and the resulting water ban. The decision was made to unify as an industry and work together to end the water ban. Discussions began to construct and adopt a more responsible ordinance.
With some very timely rainfalls, cooperation from the Mayor’s office and Citizens Energy Group, the water ban was lifted just after Labor Day. The re-structuring of the existing water ordinance commenced. The objectives included:
- Establish a holistic plan that minimizes the potential environmental and economic impact of required staged restrictions
- Clarify violations, enforcement and affirmative defenses
- Clarify steps to declare progress and rescind stages
- Establish measureable goals for reductions within each stage
- Clarify criteria for stages
- Improve stages as management framework
- Promote conservation and education at all times
As the months and weeks progressed, many meetings with Citizens Energy Group and the Mayor’s office took place to gain consensus on a new ordinance that would be responsible, afford staged conservation of water, and provide criteria for ongoing business activity. By May of 2013, we established a unified language and took this to the City County Council. Council President Maggie Lewis felt we had established a good plan. She brought our language before a special Public Works Committee which approved passage to the full council. Finally, Monday June 10, 2013, our new language was heard and unanimously approved by the full City County Council. I am sharing this wonderful news with you because these changes have replaced a very antiquated ordinance with a new, three-staged approach that includes greater, more responsible conservation of our water resource. This new ordinance meets all of our prescribed objectives and will help to educate the public when the Mayor must reach out to use the ordinance again.
As a business owner, a leader in our industry, and in our community, I felt a duty to do what I could to provide a better situation for us all and a more responsible approach to handle another drought situation. I am proud of the success we are enjoying, just a year after a horrible weather phenomenon. I hope all of you who read this feel some sense of relief and confidence. We now have a much better tool to work with and I hope you feel a partnership with us at Mark M. Holeman, Inc. as we strive to be something more than just another landscape contractor.
Rich Blankenship
Partner, Mark M. Holeman, Inc.