Jim Lienhoop announces his plan to run for mayor on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 at Yes! Cinema in Columbus, Ind.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop has just a couple days left in the job after leading the city for the past eight years.
As the two-term mayor prepares to leave office at the end of the year, he highlighted the importance of the partnerships and “tone” that defined Columbus during his tenure — and expressed optimism for the city’s future.
Lienhoop, 70, a long-time accountant, was elected mayor in the 2015 municipal election, taking on a prominent public role that he said in some ways pushed him outside his comfort zone.
In the 2015 Republican primary, he defeated incumbent Mayor Kristen Brown before running unopposed in the general election. He was re-elected in the 2019 municipal election.
When looking back on his time in office, Lienhoop emphasized several partnerships in which his administration played a direct or indirect role, leading to several projects and efforts that have altered the landscape of Columbus over the past eight years, including the railroad overpass, NexusPark and the launch of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress.
In an interview with The Republic, the two-term mayor was often quick to caution that “these are certainly not my accomplishments” but rather “our accomplishments,” referring to city employees, community partners, as well as the people who served on the numerous city boards, commissions and the city council.
Overall, Lienhoop said his administration sought to “set the right tone” and exhibit what he described as “quiet competence.”
“When I think back, the first thought that comes to mind is (that) we’ve tried to set the right tone,” Lienhoop said. “I’ve always believed that, in any organization, the tone starts at the top. …It was important to me, given the contention that had occurred prior to taking office, that in my time we have a little bit more quiet, a little bit more contemplative approach.”
“I think we’ve had some success with setting the correct tone, and part of where that comes through … is in the variety of partnerships that we have had the last eight years,” he said.
Railroad overpass
One partnership that Lienhoop highlighted was the west-side railroad overpass and interchange project on the city’s west side that has allowed motorists to avoid being stopped by railroad traffic at the intersection of State Road 46 and State Road 11.
That project involved collaboration between the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County government, Indiana Department of Transportation, Cummins Inc. and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX railroads.
“I think we can all be kind of pleased that it came forward when it did (and) satisfied or solved a public safety issue related to the grade crossing,” Lienhoop said.
Columbus Regional Health
Lienhoop also said his administration “had really great partners” at Columbus Regional Health, which collaborated with the city on two public health initiatives during his time in office, as well as the NexusPark project, a joint venture between the city and hospital system to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center.
In 2017, the Columbus city and Bartholomew County governments and CRH launched the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, or ASAP, a community-wide response to address substance use disorder in Bartholomew County, including the opioid crisis.
Earlier this year, the city and CRH launched Mental Health Matters, an initiative that officials say is aimed at addressing what they described as a deepening mental health crisis in Bartholomew County and the surrounding area.
In 2018, the city and CRH, along with the help of the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation, finalized the purchase of the former FairOaks Mall site, which is now being transformed into NexusPark.
The NexusPark campus includes, among other things, a fieldhouse, Columbus Parks administrative space and a CRH facility.
“Without a couple of different community partners — Columbus Regional (Health) and the Heritage Fund — we would not have been able to do that project,” Lienhoop said.
“In any partnership, you’re sort of looking for things that we can do together that neither of us could do alone,” he added.
Regional partnerships
Lienhoop also highlighted several regional partnerships over the past eight years, including an effort to secure millions of dollars in grant funding for the South Central Indiana Talent Region and collaborations with the city of Bloomington and other nearby communities.
In 2021, the South Central Indiana Talent Region — Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties, along with the town of Edinburgh — received a $30 million grant as part of a state initiative called the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI.
The grant helped provide some funding for several projects in the region, including NexusPark, Columbus Riverfront Project, as well as housing subdivision in Jennings County and educational programming in Jackson County, among others.
“There were a few items there that I don’t think any of the three counties could have done by themselves,” Lienhoop said. “But together, we were able to bring that money and make that investment in our region. And the more I’m around, the more I realize that the economies of our three counties are inextricably linked.”
Education
Lienhoop mentioned the city’s partnership with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. to help fund STEM and other programming at local public schools, as well as working Indiana University to bring an architectural program to downtown Columbus.
In 2018, J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program, offered through the Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, opened its doors at the former home of The Republic at 333 Second St.
“We had an opportunity here to create something that just didn’t exist,” Lienhoop said. “…A school of architecture here in a place that many people consider to be an architectural capital.”
Turbulent 2020
Lienhoop also may be remembered as being mayor during a turbulent 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and nationwide social upheaval erupted over the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and other police-involved killings of unarmed Black people in other communities.
In June 2020, about 700 to 1,000 people gathered at a racial justice rally at Columbus City Hall in what organizers believed to be among the largest crowds ever for a social justice gathering in the city.
“These were in other communities, but folks often look to City Hall and wonder what we might have to say or what our attitude’s going to be with respect to what we’ve seen happen elsewhere. And so we responded by trying to offer a voice for those who were obviously bothered by what they had seen happen elsewhere,” Lienhoop said. “…We had never employed some of the policing tactics that became notorious in some of these other communities, but I think it was important for us to state that clearly. And so we changed a few of our general orders, a few of our standard operating procedures to incorporate or to respond to some of the concerns that people have raised.”
What comes next?
Lienhoop, for his part, said he plans to retire but stay in Columbus after leaving office — and get to know his grandchildren in Texas.
“Pam (Lienhoop) and I have got a couple of grandchildren that we did not have eight years ago, and so we want to spend a fair amount of time getting to know them, and we want them to get to know us,” Lienhoop said. “…I only knew one of my grandparents. The other three had passed well before I came along, and so I want to do it a little bit differently this time around and get to know my grandchildren, and Pam does, too.”
Overall, Lienhoop said he has enjoyed leading the city and thanked Columbus residents for giving him the chance to be mayor.
“I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve found this to be very worthwhile,” Lienhoop said. “I’m very appreciative that the citizens of Columbus have given me the opportunity to have this role, and I hope they feel like it has been worthwhile, as I feel it has been. …I feel good about what comes next for the city of Columbus.”
“It has really been a team effort, and I was glad to have played a role,” Lienhoop added.
