city of fort wayne

The City of Fort Wayne is one of four pilot communities chosen to try out a new tool that may help connect homeless individuals with the services they need.

The announcement was made Tuesday. 

The initiative will support “coordinated assessments,” which is the idea of examining all aspects of someone’s history and needs. The tool will also help identify the most vulnerable individuals and families and prioritize them for care.   

An action plan two years in the making to improve the Maumee River watershed is complete. Now one group in Fort Wayne is working to make sure it’s implemented. Save Maumee held an implementation conference Saturday.

The Maumee River is the largest stream that flows into the Great Lakes. But it’s suffering from pollution, erosion, and runoff from farms.

Fort Wayne City Leaders updated the community on 2014’s public safety stats Thursday.

Mayor Tom Henry joined law enforcement officials to announce an overall reduction in crime of more than 14 percent last year. That includes a more than 60 percent drop in homicides. Robberies and burglaries were also down.

But the numbers weren’t down across the board – Fort Wayne saw an increase in rapes and arsons in 2014.

The mixed-use Ash Brokerage project in downtown Fort Wayne is getting a little more expensive.

A new $170,000 dollar wall has to be built in the city-funded parking garage. The city says that’s because a change in residential developers will alter construction plans.

The project’s previous housing partner planned on building an additional parking garage for residents, directly adjacent to the Ash garage.

Justin Brugger is Director of the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission. He says the city is currently reviewing proposals from three new potential developers.

Another residential development is slated to begin construction in downtown Fort Wayne this year. The announcement was made Thursday. 

$20 million in private investment will be met with up to $7 million from the City of Fort Wayne to develop Cityscape Flats. The project includes apartments, row houses, and a parking garage across from Parkview Field downtown.

The City signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the plan with Indianapolis-based Domo Development, that’s scheduled to be formally approved next week.

Two ideas to improve life in Fort Wayne are among the finalists eligible for grants from the Knight Cities Challenge. The announcement was made Monday.

The Knight Foundation received more than 7,000 ideas to increase talent, opportunity, and engagement in cities across the country. Among the 126 finalists chosen was Kate Riordan, who works on bike and pedestrian projects for the City of Fort Wayne.

She’s only lived in Fort Wayne for about six months.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry Tuesday officially announced his candidacy for a third term. 

Henry says Fort Wayne has never had a Democratic mayor serve three terms in a row – but he’d like to be the first. He’s seeking re-election for another four-year stint in office.

Henry touts accomplishments the City has seen since he took office seven years ago, including a reduction in overall crime, particularly homicide, an improving unemployment rate, and a significant investment in infrastructure.

Allen County’s Republican Party leader has a new proposal to protect workers he says will “smooth the edges” of Fort Wayne’s recent ban on collective bargaining for most city employees.

Chairman Steve Shine sent a letter to Republican members of the Fort Wayne City Council Friday urging them to create an appeals process for city workers that would ensure fairness in firing and disciplinary decisions.

Shine says he was initially approached on the matter by Jeremy Bush with the Fort Wayne Professional Firefighers union, who asked him to intercede with a proposal.

The Fort Wayne City Council meets again Tuesday to discuss and possibly vote on a series of proposals aimed at limiting collective bargaining for city employees.

Councilmen John Crawford and Russ Jehl introduced the measures earlier this month, citing the high cost of both the collective bargaining process and union employee benefits.

The debate has been heated, and before the council convenes, both sides were given a chance to share their views with WBOI News.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry delivered his annual State of the City address to a packed room of mostly municipal employees at the Grand Wayne Center Wednesday.

Henry used the forum to highlight some of his administration's victories in 2013 and announce new plans for this year.

His speech touched on everything from business growth to infrastructure improvements to the $71 million Ash Brokerage project coming to Downtown Fort Wayne.

Henry also acknowledged there's work to be done, especially in containing the violent crime Fort Wayne experienced in 2013.