JEFFERSONVILLE — Members of a new health and wellness council hope to encourage active lifestyles in Jeffersonville.

The group, formed by the city of Jeffersonville, met for the first time last week. The council is comprised of community leaders and fitness enthusiasts who will work with the Jeffersonville Parks and Recreation Department and other community groups to initiate and promote health and fitness programs.

Mayor Mike Moore, his wife Vicki Moore, Angie Maxwell, Maggie Tully, Gary Steedly, Nikki Dillon and News and Tribune publisher Bill Hanson are on the council. Mike Moore said he hopes that their initiatives will encourage residents to work toward making physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices a priority.

“My goal is to build a healthier community by working to create programs and opportunities for Jeffersonville citizens of all ages to become more physically active,” Mike Moore said in a press release.

The Moores began training last week for the upcoming spring mini-marathons with the Jeffersonville Parks running club. Excitement about the club has spread through City Hall where the mayor has recruited several other employees to participate, as well.

“Statistics prove our residents, in alarming numbers, are sick and getting more sick,” Hanson said. “I think leaders like Mike and others of influence have an obligation to their citizens to make bold steps to turn the numbers on heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and obesity around. They can do that by investing time and money into education about proper nutrition as well as programs that get people moving.”

Hanson is on the Wellness Council of Indiana, as well.

“If a person isn’t well, it affects their personal health, their relationships, their job and ultimately their community. If a community doesn’t promote wellness, its residents lack many opportunities to be more healthy and productive citizens,” he said.

Mike Moore said he believes that projects such as the Big Four pedestrian bridge, the Vissing Park expansion and future growth of the Ohio River Greenway will also help to create an environment that is more conducive to developing a healthy and active lifestyle, according to the release.

The mayor also intends to foster an attitude of regionalism in regard to his parks and wellness agenda by working with Louisville to encourage fitness enthusiasts to take advantage of the Big Four walking bridge once it’s complete in 2013.

Moore met with Mayor Greg Fischer earlier this month and believes that the two of them share a similar vision in terms of their commitment to parks and fitness programs.

“It’s an exciting time for our community,” Moore said. “These projects will provide a great opportunity for the people of Jeffersonville to get outdoors and become more active.”

Dillon, director of programs and aquatics for the parks department, hopes that the council will be a means to engage more people in the city’s various fitness programs.

Right now we have a running group, a mini-marathon training group,” she said.

There are programs for kids, weight loss competitions and more.

Some of them are new. The walking group and the running group started last fall,” she said.

The weight loss competitions have been around a few years but this year a new category for couples seeking to drop pounds together is being added.

More information on those programs can be found at jeffparks.org.

Further announcements regarding upcoming health and fitness initiatives are expected in the next few months, according to the release. Dillon noted that focus will shift toward heart disease awareness in February.

“There is not any one group who can make people healthier. People have to take that responsibility on themselves,” Hanson said. “You see it every year at gyms. Folks make a New Year’s resolution to get healthier. You can’t find an open treadmill in January. By mid-February, your spot is open again. That’s a sad reality.

“The only thing wellness proponents can do is educate and encourage one another and then provide opportunities for those who are interested.”