131st St. to be named Main throughout
For Current in Carmel


The City of Carmel announced last week that 131st Street will be renamed Main Street for all residents and businesses with Carmel mailing addresses. Currently, sections of this roadway are referred to as Main Street while, in other areas, it is called 131st Street. According to the city’s release on the renaming, the change is occurring to help alleviate confusion for travelers and new residents as well as create a central reference point for cross-city navigation. 


This name change will officially take effect March 15. Beginning that date, all 131st Street signs will begin to be replaced by Main Street signs. The only area of 131st/Main Street where the change will not occur at this time is on the far west side where mailing addresses carry the Westfield designation because there is already a Main Street in Westfield. If the city name is changed in the addresses of this area, the street would be renamed there as well.


In addition to the street name change, a limited number of residences will undergo house numbering changes simultaneously. As Carmel grew west of Meridian, where the 131st Street name was used, the house numbering began again with Meridian as the zero hundred block, where previously, Range Line Road was used. Therefore, changing the street name to Main Street in this area would create duplicate addresses.

City Attorney explains secrecy in CHS investigation
For Current in Carmel


City Attorney Douglas Haney released the following information in order to help the community and media understand why the City of Carmel is sharing only general information about the alleged incidents involving Carmel High School students at this time. Haney has given an overview of what can happen if too much information is shared about the specifics of the alleged incidents during the investigation.


The City of Carmel Police Department is in the midst of a criminal investigation into serious allegations of abuse involving Carmel High School students. This investigation is being conducted by five veteran police investigators and involves the interview of more than 60 potential witnesses. The City is doing all it can to ensure that this investigation is carried out in a careful, thorough, and professional manner. The City is very concerned however, that its investigation could be unintentionally compromised, and future criminal convictions imperiled, by undue witness influence caused by rumors, blogs, and news reports.

Studies have shown that the memories of witnesses, and especially those of children, can be influenced and tainted by post-event information. This can occur in several ways. If witnesses observe an incident and then read or view additional information about the incident, they often integrate this latter information into their memory of the event. Once this integration occurs, it is often impossible to disengage the after-acquired information from the initial memory. In fact, studies show that up to 25% of witnesses “remember” post-event information as if they had actually observed it as part of the event.

 
Moreover, if a witness is unsure about a fact, after-acquired information can artificially increase the witness’s “confidence factor” about that questionable fact, causing the witness to give it more weight than is warranted. After-acquired information can also create an inference in a witness’ mind that the inferred fact “probably was the case,” even when the actual observations of the witness would not lead to that conclusion.

 
Finally, after-acquired erroneous information can often weaken a witness’s resolve about actually observed facts. Studies have shown that even erroneous post-incident information with a low level of credibility can later be “remembered” and considered as equally valid as highly credible facts. (See, e.g., Fruzzetti, A.E., Toland, K., Teller, S.A. and Loftus, E.F. (1992). Post event information and retention of details. In Aspects of Memory: The Practical Aspects (2d ed.). Gruneberg, M. & Morris, P. (Eds.), pp. 26-34. New York, NY: Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Inc.; Loftus, E.F. (1989). Distortions in eyewitness memory from post event information: Part 3: Eyewitness testimony. In Criminal Behavior and the Justice System: Psychological Perspectives. Wegener, H., et al. (Eds.). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag; Manning, C.G. & Loftus, E.F. (2009). Expert testimony and memory distortion. Japanese Psychological Research, 38(1), pp. 5-13, and the studies, reports and articles cited therein).

 
In addition to the risk of tainting witness memories, explicit post-incident information about the alleged assaults now under investigation can severely hamper our investigation. This can occur in two ways. First, in order to test the veracity of witness statements, a police investigator often withholds key incident information during a witness interview. If the witness can remember this withheld information on his or her own, this greatly increases the reliability of the testimony. Of course, this time-tested method of getting to the truth is thwarted if a witness already knows explicit incident facts through secondary sources. Second, although the City is taking great pains to respect the privacy of the victims of, and the witnesses to, this incident, the mere possibility of detailed media coverage of police interviews will-- and already has -- caused witnesses to reconsider stepping forward with information that is vital to this investigation and to a later successful prosecution.

 
Moreover, it is important to follow a process for determining guilt that does not pre-judge a suspect. Our judicial system is one of the traditions that make the United States different than most other countries. We do not try cases in the media. We do not convict on the basis of rumor, unsubstantiated statements and innuendo. We convict only upon proof of guilt as the result of a trial process that protects the rights of the accused. That is our history and our tradition. We should not disregard it, particularly in a case that involves our most important asset: our children.

 
The City understands the desire of the media to learn the facts surrounding these incidents as quickly as possible. However, it asks the media to also consider the need of the Carmel Police Department to conduct its investigation without witness influence, intimidation or interference. Rumors, sensationalism and misinformation only hamper this process, and provide a good defense attorney with arguments that credible witness testimony has been unduly influenced by post-incident information. As serious as these allegations are, it would be absolutely tragic if any perpetrators proved to have committed these crimes were to escape justice due to the inadmissibility or unavailability of vital eyewitness evidence.

 
The Carmel Police Department is well-trained and professional. Our officers will carefully and thoroughly investigate the allegations in this matter and, when their investigation is complete, turn over their findings to the Hamilton County prosecutor. The prosecutor will then determine whether criminal charges will be filed. We ask for the cooperation of the community and the media in allowing this process to proceed in an orderly and proper fashion so that the truth can be revealed and justice served.

City Council members still seeking more data on CRC's finances
Some members say financial consultant’s presentation doesn’t provide all the answers
By Kevin Kane
Current in Carmel

March 1, 2010


For weeks, the City Council has been questioning the Carmel Redevelopment Commission’s management of finances. Some answers were provided on Monday night but questions still remain.


Mayor Jim Brainard and the CRC have repeatedly stated that no residential taxes will be used to fund the $150 million Center for the Performing Arts. During the council’s March 1 meeting, Loren Matthes, a partner with the city’s financial consultant H.J. Umbaugh and Associates, again presented information on the city’s tax increment financing (TIF) revenue. Matthes presented the same information during the Feb. 17 meeting of the CRC, but on Monday night more questions arose.


During both meetings, Matthes stated it was expected that TIF money would be used to pay for the CRC’s long-term expenses, including those for the Center for the Performing Arts. Her presentation indicated that very conservative assumptions had been made when estimating TIF dollars collected in the coming years, including a span during which the firm assumed no new developments would occur. Even with the conservative accounting, Matthes’ presentation indicated there would be enough TIF revenue to fund the CRC’s current outstanding obligations through 2023, but some council members were concerned some information was missing from the report.


“We’re looking for the whole picture,” council member John Accetturo said during the meeting. “I’ve never seen this sort of piecemeal report. We need to see a report with everything in it.”


Accetturo and other members of the council expressed their concerns over the lack of data regarding operating costs and other expenses. Matthes’ report, Accetturo said, showed that the TIF revenue should be able to cover the “mortgage payments” but didn’t address the secondary costs associated with the Center for the Performing Arts and other projects.


Brainard challenged that most operating costs are “minimal” compared to the larger expenses. However, council president Rich Sharp said that while many are in fact smaller, they are still large enough that they shouldn’t be disregarded. Sharp also questioned the consultant’s financial estimates, stating that assumptions were made based on information provided by the firm’s employer. This, he said, included the assumption that no current developments would be scaled back in any manner due to the economy. Brainard said that he thought the firm’s assumption that no new development would occur for an extended period of time was cautious enough.


“Even during this recession we’ve seen new buildings built but we’re assuming here that there won’t be one shovel in the ground,” he said during the meeting.


In addition to Sharp and Accetturo, council members Luci Snyder and Eric Seidensticker expressed concerns over data lacking in Matthes’ presentation. Most posing questions acknowledged that the information that was provided was helpful, but all mentioned that more was needed before the council could feel confident in the CRC’s future finances.


“We’re just trying to get to the bottom line,” Accetturo said.

Sharp to propose hiring of consultant on redistricting
Council president says proposed consultant would keep Council "at arm's length" from the process
By Kevin Kane
Current in Carmel


City Council president Rick Sharp said last Friday that he anticipated the Council to hire a consultant early this week to aid with the redistricting process, pending the Council's approval at its March 1 meeting.


Sharp said he initiated contact with Carmel-based firm Wabash Scientific, which has experience dealing with redistricting. Sharp said the services of this consultant are necessary to help make the redistricting process more transparent to the public and to keep the Council “at arm's length,” preventing any chances of politics interfering. With races for council seats on the horizon, Sharp said bringing in a third party would be good for both sides.


“I expect both the Council and the citizens of Carmel to benefit from this,” he said.


Sharp said redistricting is usually done following a census but added that the addition of Southwest Clay makes the process more urgent. Because of the agreements made during annexation and gross imbalances in district sizes that would arise if Southwest Clay's residents were lumped into adjacent districts, Sharp said “full-blown redistricting” is essentially the only option.

Though the redistricting process may be extensive, Sharp said it is important for it to be completed quickly. He said the more time that can be given to voters, especially those in Southwest Clay, and people interested in running for City Council to get to know each other, the better. With the addition of the consultant, Sharp said he's confident the process can be completed within the next few months.


“I would like to think that we can have this process wrapped up by mid-summer,” he said. “And I really think we can do it faster than that.”

CPD releases statement regarding school bus investigation
For Current in Carmel


The Carmel Police Department released the following statement regarding the ongoing investigation of assault allegations involving Carmel High School basketball players:


The City of Carmel and Carmel Police Department wish to assure the community that they are working diligently to properly investigate the allegations involving Carmel High School students. This investigation is being taken very seriously and the Police Department is doing everything possible to protect the rights of the child victims involved.  


Michael Fogarty, Carmel’s Chief of Police, today announced that five investigators have been assigned to investigate the matter. These investigators are in the process of interviewing more than 60 potential witnesses. Fogarty emphasized that the allegations are serious and cautioned that the department’s investigation will be thorough and careful.

“This situation is being handled with the utmost care and attention. It is more complicated than a typical investigation because it involves minors. The Carmel Police Department is working to ensure that no mistakes are made, caused by haste or pressure from the media for premature disclosure of facts, that could jeopardize a conviction,” said Mayor Jim Brainard.


Fogarty added that we have all read of cases being dismissed or overturned by courts because of procedural mistakes made during the investigation. 


Brainard said that the Carmel police are well trained and that they are taking great care to ensure not only that the children who are the victims are protected but that no mistakes are made that could jeopardize a later conviction.
It is important to note that the Carmel Police investigation is a criminal investigation and is separate and distinct from the investigation being conducted by Carmel High School officials.