The Sunday Post - Feb 1, 2026: YMCA Update, Crime Data, Data Centers, and Panda Express
- Michael-Paul Hart
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
A weekly report from Councilor Michael-Paul Hart — Building the Smartest City in America.
Volume 2, Issue 5
YMCA Update: Turning an Announced Closure Into a Health Breakthrough Opportunity
The YMCA situation is bigger than one building.
The Ransburg closure is a real hit to the Eastside. It also exposed a deeper problem Indy has to confront: we do not have enough convenient, affordable, prevention-focused health access in many parts of the county.
What happened this week
On Friday, I hosted a follow-up meeting with:
YMCA leadership
Leadership from Hancock County Health
The purpose was simple: bring the right people into the same room and move from frustration to a real plan.
Why Hancock County matters
Hancock County Health has built an impressive model where health care and fitness work
together:
Primary care and support services in one place
Exercise and nutrition prescribed as part of treatment
Facilities designed around prevention, not just illness
Their results speak loudly: they have improved their county health ranking dramatically, moving from near the bottom of the state to near the top.
That is the kind of measurable progress a “smart city” should chase.
My take
If Indy wants to become the Smartest City in America, we should treat health outcomes like a core performance metric. A smarter city is a city where people live longer, healthier lives.
What I am working on now
I have been consistent on one point: Ransburg cannot be saved by wishful thinking or one-time funding. We need a long-term, sustainable operating model.
That is why the most promising path forward is a partnership model that:
Creates a reliable revenue stream
Brings health services closer to where people already are
Uses existing YMCA infrastructure instead of starting from scratch
What’s next
The YMCA agreed to continue the conversation, which is a real step.
My goal now is to bring together:
City leadership
YMCA leadership (They Bring the Assets)
Hancock County Health (They Bring the Playbook)
Additional health partners and community stakeholders
Target: next meeting the week of February 9.
If you care about this, keep paying attention. This could evolve into a bigger model for Indy that improves access for:
residents on Medicaid and Medicare
working families
city employees
potentially private employers who want healthier workforces
2025 Crime Statistics: The Trend Is Better, But the Data Must Match the Story
This week I reviewed the City’s year-end public safety numbers. The good news is real: many categories are down.
Based on the IMPD report summary ending December 31, 2025:
Total crime: 30,622 (down from 36,085)
Violent crime total: 6,001 (down from 7,193)
Property crime total: 24,621 (down from 28,892)
Aggravated assault: 3,962 (down from 4,804)
The issue I raised with the City
I pulled the same category (aggravated assault) from the FBI’s public dashboards and the numbers did not match what I was presented locally.
I raised this directly because here is the reality:
Residents and City Hall can use internal reporting
But the rest of the country uses FBI data
Site rankings, relocation research, and “is this city safe?” tools almost always pull from FBI reporting
So if Indy reports “we are safer” locally, but the outside world sees something different, we have a credibility problem.
My take
If Indy wants to become the Smartest City in America, we have to get serious about data integrity:
one set of definitions
one consistent methodology
transparent explanation when data is revised, duplicated, or reclassified
Progress is not just reducing crime. Progress is also building trust in the numbers.
Try the tool out yourself for more information:
Data Center Discussions: We Need Standards, But We Also Need a Smarter Framework
Data centers are now one of the fastest-growing land use issues in Indy.
This week, the conversation moved forward in two settings:
A policy discussion being facilitated by economic development stakeholders
A council meeting hosted by Environmental Sustainability Committee Chair John Barth, with presentations from:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Hoosier Environmental Council
My main point
Not all data centers are the same.
Right now, too many projects are being treated as if they are identical. That creates distrust, especially when neighbors see large footprints, heavy infrastructure loads, and unanswered questions.
What I want built into policy
If we want a smart, credible policy framework, we need a comparative approach that includes:
impacts on power and water
infrastructure strain (roads, substations, utilities)
noise, setback, buffering, lighting, and design expectations
local economic value (jobs, tax base, community benefit agreements)
environmental performance standards
Here is the practical step I think would help fast:
Create a scorecard or matrix comparing:
the approximately 30 existing data centers in Indy
proposed new projects
clear differences in footprint, consumption, and impacts
That would turn a heated debate into an informed decision.
My take
I appreciated the more technical, research-oriented approach from the national lab perspective.
I also heard the concern-heavy framing from the advocacy side. Some concerns are valid, but we cannot write policy like a protest sign.
If Indy wants to become the Smartest City in America, we have to do what smart cities do:
build standards based on evidence
apply them consistently
protect neighborhoods while still being clear and predictable for investment
The bottom line
We need design standards and zoning guidelines for data centers, just like any serious city would require for a major use category. Until those exist, distrust will remain high.
Zoning Watch: Panda Express Could Be Coming to East Washington Street
Let me be the first to flag it:
There is an active zoning petition to bring a Panda Express to East Washington Street.
That might sound simple, but corridor development decisions always come with questions:
traffic and ingress/egress
pedestrian safety and transit access
design quality
compatibility with neighboring uses
long-term impact on the area’s growth
Location: 10435 E Washington St
What I’m doing
I am already in conversations with:
attorneys involved in the petition
stakeholders tracking corridor impacts
IndyGo, who has been open and constructive as we work through transit-related considerations
If you have concerns or strong support, the earlier you engage, the more influence you have.
✅ Follow council updates and share your feedback
✅ Send me topics you would like to see featured in The Sunday Post
✅ Invite a friend to subscribe at michaelpaulhart.com/blog
Thank you for reading Indianapolis City Council Updates and for supporting common‑sense leadership. Together, and with the community driving accountability, we are turning bold ideas into real‑world results.
Accountability, Transparency and Local Leadership
See you next week with more updates from the Neighborhood.
A possible reason why the FBI violent crime numbers are different from those of the IMPD is when the police departments of the excluded cities/towns of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Speedway, etc. report their crime statistics independently. This could be true when the FBI numbers are higher than the numbers for IMPD alone.
Thank you for your advocacy for YMCA members. If I "get" where you're going with this, it's a model based on Hancock but partnering with MCPHD? Two excellent points on "data centers" (a term so fraught with confusion I shudder to use it): 1. Not all data centers are the same. 2. We cannot write policy like a protest sign. Now, if we could only get local snooze media to move past their reptilian instincts and report the topic intelligently, perhaps a big part of the population would stop thinking there's a conspiracy to give them cancer or something, and meetings like Thursday's would be more rational. Unfortunately, HEC's Rebecca TeKolste is pushing "all data centers are the same", and that comes out in…
Hi Michael. I just read this week's update (part of my Sunday morning ritual!). I am supportive of the proposed Panda Express development. These are generally well run restaurants and the east side can always use another good food option. I assume that area is already zoned for business/retail use. We go to Planet Fitness and it seems like the proposed location would work ok since there is already a stop light at that intersection into the existing parking lot.
Stay warm!