Fort Wayne City Council checked off a number of boxes organizing for the rest of 2021, while approving an addition to a comprehensive plan that's been in the works since last year.
1st District Republican Paul Ensley kept his first meeting as Council president right around an hour, and the body approved annual funding for fuel for the city’s vehicle fleet, re-established computer and printing services across city departments and requested a CIB appointment from state legislators.
Council also threw its support behind the city’s new Southeast Strategy being added as part of a revision of 2007’s comprehensive “Plan-It Allen” document, now named “All-In Allen.” The larger plan is a joint effort between Fort Wayne and Allen County, serving as a blueprint to guide land use, housing, transportation, parks and more.
The Southeast Strategy was developed as a partnership between the City of Fort Wayne’s Planning & Policy Department, Sixth District City Councilwoman Sharon Tucker, and the Southeast Area Partnership. Its primary mission is to beautify the southeast quadrant of Fort Wayne in an effort to attract greater opportunities for the area.
At-large Democrat Glynn Hines was on the Fort Wayne Council when the original comprehensive plan was approved, and is thrilled the southeast plan has been added to its revision.
“I just want to thank the community folks who’ve spent endless hours at the meetings in order to discuss where we want to go from here. So we look forward to implementing the plan and working with the community and their plan to expand the southeast.”
Council approved it nearly unanimously, with an 8-0 vote; 4th District Republican Jason Arp abstained, but initially voted against the amendment during a preliminary round.
Work began on the revision when a request-for-proposal was submitted in the summer of 2019; last month, leaders of the project announced the research phase had finished, and attention for the next year will center on how to best address concerns before implementing anything.
