IF you come visit me, you will be entered to win a $50 gift card to Scotty’s Brewhouse! Just stop by and say hello, and tell me that you heard about this on my blog!!

The GFC Carpenter Golf Classic is on Friday, June 17 at Pebblebrook Golf Course in Noblesville. Festivities begin at 11am with lunch, check-in, and a putting contest. Your $125 registration fee includes golf, electric cart, lunch, open driving range, refreshments on the course, dinner, awards and prizes.

If you would like to attend, please let me know!

There are also sponsorship opportunities if your company is interested in helping!

Here’s the issue–

An Operating Fund Referendum was created by the Indiana Legislature to allow local school districts to request permission through a direct vote to assess property taxes above the property tax cap (1% for residential property) for the purpose of allowing a community to support its schools through additional revenue or to help replenish monies lost from recent state funding cuts.

The school district will add a referendum question to the May 3 ballot asking the community to support a property tax. The question will read: “For the seven (7) calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall the Avon Community School Corporation impose a property tax rate that does not exceed 17.05 cents ($0.1705) on each One Hundred Dollars ($100) of assessed valuation and that is in addition to all other property tax levies imposed by the School Corporation?”

Why are they asking for this referendum? With recent property tax caps, reduced state funding, and loss of investment income, the school budget has already been cut drastically. We are fortunate that our community is growing, and we are adding schools to fit the population, but it takes money to do that. This referendum is asking the community to pay additional property taxes that would go directly to help the schools operate. Voting will take place on May 3.

There has been a lot of discussion among the residents of Avon about this referendum, obviously, some support it and some do not.

MY OPINION? Avon has a reputation for great schools in the Indianapolis area, which is certainly an important factor when people are considering moving to the community. Having great schools benefits us all, whether you have kids that attend those schools (like me) or not. I want this to pass both for my own children, and for the benefit of the entire community. I think it is important to help support the schools in the community, and I am willing to pay for that through my property taxes.

I would love to hear your thoughts, I am sure that some readers will not agree with my opinion, and I”m ok with that as long as the discussion is polite. 

For a lot more info, you can go to www.SupportAvonChildren.org or www.NoMoreAvonTaxes.org

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Even though the weather outside is truly frightful, I’m still here and ready to work! I can still help you, answer your real estate questions, and take care of business!! So, don’t be afraid to call, email, text or send me a tweet or facebook message as we wait out the ice storm.

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We at Carpenter have a very strong bond, and treat each other like family. So, the 39-ish agents and staff who worked in that building are staying with us at the Avon East office for a little while. We’ve added more desks, more phone lines, and bought extra office supplies to make sure they feel welcome and the transition does not effect their business. We are still here to serve you and your real estate needs, and we always will be.

We do not know when (or if) that office will be rebuilt or where these agents will end up, but in the meantime the Avon East office is a little bit busier and more crowded and there’s a buzz in the air that I like! It is exciting to meet new people, hear the phones ringing more often and help out your family.

Second Helpings is running dangerously low on their suplies of pasta and rice, and they use up to 100 POUNDS per day to help fight hunger right here in Indy.

“At Second Helpings, we fight hunger and empower people. We rescue prepared and perishable food, re-prepare it into nutritious meals, and distribute those meals to over 50 social services organizations that feed hungry people. We also use rescued food to train disadvantaged adults for careers in the culinary field, helping to eliminate hunger at its source.”

To do our part, we are using our office as a collection point and spreading the news that WE WANT TO HELP! Please drop off donations of pasta and rice at the Carpenter Office right behind Best Buy in Avon before September 14. On the 15th, my car (Cleo) will become the Pasta Mobile and I will load her up and drop off all the pasta we collect at Second Helpings.

Pasta and rice are inexpensive and go a long way, so please help do your part!

The form will be only 10 questions, and should take only about 5-10 minutes to complete. It is very important that an accurate count is given, because the numbers provided will help determine how much money Indiana will receive from the government for education, transportation, healthcare, agriculture and other vital services. The Census is also used to assess future housing needs.

Please go visit the Komen Indy Race site, and consider joining my team, “Carpenter Cares” or making a donation. Any amount will help, and be greatly appreciated.

Currently, Indy Connect is in the “listening” phase, they are holding about 30 public hearings around central Indiana to gather the public’s comments and ideas. The next meeting in Hendricks County is 7pm on March 16th at Avon Town Hall. If you want your voice to be heard, you should go!

Some ideas being considered are toll lanes in the city’s most congested areas, significantly expanded bus service, light rail and commuter rail and of course more bike lanes and walking trails.

If you’d like more info about Indy Connect, I suggest visiting their website, and watching their video! http://www.indyconnect.org/

What would you like to see happen with Central Indiana transportation? What are your biggest concerns and biggest wishes? I want to hear them!

Carpenter has partnered with Microsoft to be the ONLY Real Estate company East of the Mississippi to use this new technology company-wide. We are only the SECOND in the United States to use this. You will soon be seeing our TAG IT! program on our flyers, yard signs, business cards, brochures, TV show and pretty much everything Carpenter does.

So what the heck is that thing?? What you see to the left is a tag. We can use tags to direct people to a website, a virtual tour, a video, or to give them our vCard info, or tell their phone to call us! This particular tag will bring you to this blog.

HOW?? All you need to do is go to http://gettag.mobi on your smartphone (this will work on MOST phones, but not all…yet. My friend Michael is still waiting for it to work on his Palm Prē). The site will direct you to download the app. Once you have it loaded and set up on your phone, open the app and point your phone at the tag. Click “Snap” and the phone will take a picture of the tag. Microsoft’s Tag Reader will decode the tag and open up my blog right on your phone, automagically!

Read about our new TAG IT! program on the Indiana Business Journal website: http://www.ibj.com/newstalk/2010/03/02/tag-readers-come-to-real-estate/PARAMS/post/18426

When I list your house, I will create a tag for your home’s virtual tour or website and put it on the Take-One flyers we use, and probably on the yard sign too. The Mircosoft site will allow me to view reports that track how many people click the tag and when. Go ahead and try it out!

Comments? Questions? I want them!! I would also love to hear your crazy, creative ideas on how I can use this!