The City of Westfield won two separate awards at this year’s Aim Ideas Summit. (Photo provided by City of Westfield)
Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) held its annual Ideas Summit and Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, last week in French Link, Inc. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the City of Westfield was presented with two awards: one for the Fire Department Integrated Community Response Model, and one for the Simon Moon Park Expansion.
Fire Department Response Model
The city won a 2025 Aim Program Innovation Award for its Fire Department Integrated Community Response Model.
The Fire Department has launched an innovative emergency response model that integrates mental health and social services into traditional fire and EMS operations. In 2022, the department hired a full-time social worker, a rare resource among Indiana fire departments, to help address growing mental and behavioral health needs. In 2025, the program expanded with a full-time paramedic to assist residents with chronic conditions and mobility challenges. Together, the team has reduced unnecessary emergency calls by focusing on root causes like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and social barriers.
The Fire Department also expanded the Community Connect platform, allowing residents to share vital information, such as medical conditions, mobility issues, pet locations, and emergency contacts before an emergency occurs. The combination of proactive outreach and smarter response has reduced repeat calls, improved efficiency, and delivered more compassionate care.
Aim CEO Matt Greller praised the program.
“First responders encounter citizens during what is typically among the individuals’ worst days,” Greller said. “Therefore, when cities like Westfield invest innovative solutions, such as their innovative response model, their work should be recognized, allowing all Hoosier municipal leaders to review the program to determine if something similar could work in their own communities.”
The Program Innovation Award honors municipalities that have successfully developed and implemented creative new approaches to delivering services or conducting municipal operations. Awards are presented in multiple population categories based on nominations received.
Simon Moon Park Expansion
The city won the 2025 Aim Green Project of the Year Award for its Simon Moon Park Expansion.
Westfield’s Simon Moon Park expansion reclaimed two decommissioned wastewater lagoons, transforming a former industrial site into thriving ecological and recreational space. The $8.3 million investment balanced environmental and financial stewardship, modeling how ecology and recreation can coexist.
Through careful planning, the largest lagoon became a 15-foot-deep fishing pond surrounded by wetlands, native plants, and wildlife habitat. Redesigned trails connect with the city’s growing trail system, providing safe routes for walkers and bikers. The sledding hill was reshaped for safety and fun, with distinct areas for different ages and new berms and switchbacks to improve access. Boardwalks and birdwatching stations were added, with outdoor classrooms and educational signage planned for the next phase.
“It’s rare to see a community honored with two awards in any given year,” Greller said. “When it does happen, you know the municipality is firing on all cylinders. Westfield is certainly proving why they continue to rank among one of Indiana’s fastest-growing communities. The Simon Moon Park project not only provides another recreational space for residents, but it also takes what was once functional public works space and reclaims it for community activities. While the project took home Green Project of the Year, impressively, it could have easily been fit in our placemaking and program innovation award categories.”
Learn more about the completed project here.
Aim launched the Green Communities Initiative in 2008 in partnership with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC, to help municipalities identify cost-saving sustainability practices, strengthen quality-of-life initiatives, and serve as role models for environmental stewardship. The Green Project of the Year Award recognizes a program or project implemented within the past year that demonstrates exceptional commitment to sustainability, energy efficiency, and environmentally responsible community development.
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In its 49th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
About Aim
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy. Learn more at AimIndiana.org.
