Speedway officials celebrated successes in bolstering Main Street, improving services and roads during the State of the Town Address.
But they also warned of potential financial challenges in the years ahead.
The Speedway Town Council held the address Feb. 25 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory, at 1201 N. Main St., where council members addressed a packed room with dozens of Speedway residents.
“Speedway is thriving because we work strategically and think ahead,” Town Council President Nick Sturgeon said. “The good happening here is a result of careful planning, collaboration and a shared vision to continue our growth.”
According to Sturgeon, the town’s successes include:
- Establishing the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area on Main Street that allows customers to purchase alcoholic drinks at businesses and carry them outside
- Adopting an ordinance setting registration and rules for golf cart operations, including requiring drivers to have a license and insurance
- Securing a $100,000 grant from the Indiana Finance Authority to investigate lead water service lines
- Guiding the Founder Square Senior Housing Development, a 20-acre project east of Interstate 465, through zoning changes
- Selecting companies to handle the planning and design of a wastewater treatment expansion and a project to turn the plant’s methane into energy
- Beginning the design process for the repaving of 25th Street from Lynhurst Drive to Parkwood Drive
Sturgeon also pointed to several goals he hopes the town can accomplish in 2025:
- Complete development of the Wilshaw Hotel project, an unfinished hotel across the street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gates delayed by the developer’s financial difficulties and legal issues
- Complete the Crawfordsville Road Pedestrian Improvement Project, which will include new sidewalks, upgraded pedestrian crossings and additional traffic signals
- Finish updating the town’s zoning rules
- Establish a Code Enforcement Advisory Committee to assist with code enforcement review, policy changes and creating an enforcement plan
- Finish repaving 25th Street
- Launch Town University to provide training for staff and department leadership
Speedway concerned about property taxes
Speedway Clerk-Treasurer Philip Foust said state-level property tax reform could force the town to attempt to tackle future goals with less revenue or increase other local taxes to make up the difference.
The Indiana General Assembly is considering Senate Bill 1, which contains provisions that would slow property tax growth and provide tax relief to seniors, disabled military veterans and first-time homeowners. Gov. Mike Braun has threatened to veto the bill unless it provides even more robust tax cuts, such as installing property tax bill caps and expanding the homestead deduction.
That could mean the town receives less money from property taxes but would still have to pay for increasing prices on services such as trash and recycling. The town also has to pay for at least $15 million in combined sewer overflow upgrades at the town’s wastewater treatment plant to separate storm and sanitary sewers.
Foust said he supports property tax reform and that every town expenditure must be scrutinized.
“Property taxes are a huge part of our general fund, which we use to fund police and fire services,” Foust said. “Depending upon the scale of the reforms that are finally adopted at the Statehouse, we may need to consider raising other taxes, but we don’t have good options in that regard.”
To learn more
The Speedway Town Council meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the Speedway Municipal Center, 5300 Crawfordsville Road. The next meeting is March 10.
The full Speedway State of the Town Address is available on the Speedway Community TV’s YouTube channel.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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