The proposed Saxony Sports Complex parking plan was approved Wednesday night by the Fishers City Council.  The amendment to the Planned Unit Development (PUD) calls for 1,923 parking spaces for the facility on day one of its opening.  This includes on-site parking of 1,525 spaces, street parking (adjacent to site) totaling 98 spaces and 340 off-site shared parking spaces available.

Larry Amick, a resident of Britton Falls, told the council he finds “disturbing” the fact that six VIP parking spaces and 6 suite admissions are part of the proposed lease with the sports complex owners.  Amick made a number of other comments about the proposed lease as it applies to public access of the facility, but council members and Mayor Scott Fadness said there is no final agreement on public access, and when that agreement is reached, it will be before the council in a separate measure.

Council Member David George expressed concerns about enough parking spaces when one set of games are ending and another group of players and families are entering the complex at the same time.  George was the only no vote on the parking plan.

The Saxony Sports Pavilion is awaiting the completion of certified appraisals which will allow the financing for the project to receive final approval, including the language of the lease with the City of Fishers.

In other council action:

–Approved measures paving the way for  the annexation of about 22.5 acres on the north side of 126th Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road, known as The Reserve at Lantern property.

— Approved resolutions aimed at the annexation of 66.66 acres located on the southwest side of Southeastern Parkway between Florida Road and Cyntheanne Road, known as the Whelchel Springs (Part I) property.

–Sent to the Plan Commission a proposal to rezone for the Prairie Guest House,  2.0 acres at 13805 Allisonville Road after 1st reading approval.

–Approved utility easements for the planned community center at Saxony Beach.

–Approved several resolutions tied to ongoing economic development areas.

–Approved spending $40,000 as Fishers share of plans to construct a Hamilton County Public Safety Training Facility.

–Approved the 10-year financing of the city’s purchase of the former DECA Building through a loan at 2.26% interest, with no pre-payment penalties.  Former Town Council member Mike Colby told the council he has some concerns about the city getting into the business of buying office buildings, which he says should be a private sector activity.  The building will be utilized as the new home for Launch Fishers.

–The Council approved changes in the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) areas along the State Road 37 automotive corridor.  Mayor Fadness says this is part of the process to get some of those properties fully back on the property tax rolls.

Cloud One, a tech firm recently touted by the Indianapolis Business Journal as Number 4 among local growing private companies, will be moving its headquarters from the far north side of Indianapolis, near 92nd and Meridian, to the new Switch complex in downtown Fishers, which is currently under construction.

CloudOne will receive up to $1.7 million in conditional state tax credits based on its job creation plans from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.  According to the joint news release from Fishers and Cloud One, these tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Indiana residents are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.

The company projects to add 64 new full-time positions by 2019.  All current Cloud One workers now at the Meridian Street location in Indy will be moving to Fishers.  The firm expects to make the move this fall.

The business will be occupying the entire third floor of the Switch building on the Fishers municipal grounds near City Hall, covering 11,518 square feet of space.

There will be no school funding referendum for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools in 2015.  The school board chose not to act on July 21st to meet a looming deadline for placing the plebiscite on the November, 2015 ballot.

By choosing not to act this year, the board is leaving open the option of placing the funding referendum on the May 3rd, 2016 primary election balloting.  The deadline for the board to act on the May referendum is January 26, 2016.

HSE has one year remaining on its current general fund operating referendum increasing the local property tax rate by 10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.  The board appeared to reach a consensus last week to hold a referendum requesting a 20 cent general fund referendum rate in November of this year.  That would increase the current referendum rate by 10 cents.

The HSE School Board chose not to act July 21st to allow more time to engage people in the community about the needs of the local school system.

In another matter mentioned at the July 21st session, School Superintendent Allen Bourff told the board he has been in contact with the private contractor about beginning the process of redistricting the high school boundary lines.  The board completed a redistricting plan for the lower grades in December of 2014.  The high school redistricting process is expected to begin late this year or early in 2016.

The downtown Fishers Depot project is now at the point where developer Flaherty and Collins is set to have a grand opening.  The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, July 23.  The Open House is 4-7pm.

The Depot is located on city property along 116th Street, next door to the post office.  The $42 million project has 242 apartments.

The property has already attracted a number of retail tenants, including Dottie Couture Boutique, Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza, Yogurtz, Flamme Burger and Salon Seven.  6,249 square feet of retail space remains

The residential rent ranges of $950 to $3,850 per month, depending on the number of bedrooms and square footage.

The complex includes a 430-space structured parking garage, with controlled access for residential tenants .  The rest of the parking spaces are for retail customers and those attending events at the City Hall complex.

The Depot and Switch projects in downtown Fishers became a political issue in the 2014 when some Republican primary mayoral candidates, including former Town Council President Walt Kelly, argued that public land such as the municipal complex should not be used for commercial development.  Scott Fadness, a supporter of both projects, won the primary and was unopposed in the general election.  Fadness is unopposed in this year’s mayoral election for a four-year term in office.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board held a two-hour discussion on a November funding referendum Friday morning (7.17), and appeared to be moving toward a consensus of asking voters for a 20 cent extra tax rate (per $100 of assessed valuation) which would be 10 cents more than the current referendum rate due to expire next year.

After a lengthy discussion, the board began moving toward supporting a referendum rate closest to Option 3 provided by Superintendent Allen Bourff in a recommendation provided to the board on July 13th.  You can view all three options, including option 3, at this link.

Bourff’s Option 3 calls for a referendum tax rate of 21.33 cents, 11.33 cents above the current additional rate of the previous operating referendum.  Board members began expressing a desire to adopt most of the recommendations of Option 3 at a slightly lower 20 cent rate.  HSE’s Chief Financial Officer Mike Reuter said the difference between the 21.3 cent rate and 20 cents is about $600,000 to $700,000 a year.

The board is scheduled to make a final decision on the requested referendum rate at a meeting July 21st at 7:30am.  Superintendent Bourff says he will have a recommendation to the board on how the school system would plan to spend the additional money provided by a 20 cent referendum rate at the July 21st session.

The board also will need to submit precise language to appear on the ballot on election day November 3rd.  Attorney David Day cautioned the board there is little time to negotiate over the language, since the deadline for submitting the referendum wording is fast approaching, so he recommended the board approve language likely to pass through the process quickly.

The board’s move toward a 20 cent referendum rate was partly due to a community survey conducted by a local firm, Practical Insights, which showed a great deal of voter support in additional money for local schools aimed at spending on teacher compensation and class size.  You can read the results of the survey at this link.

The Fishers Plan Commission continued a request Wednesday night to approve plans for the Whelchel Springs subdivision, proposed to be built on the south side of Southeastern Parkway between Florida Road and Cyntheanne Road.  Members of the commission were hesitant to approve the plat when parts of the housing development did not meet the city’s ordinances.  Boomerang Development assured the commission that paperwork had just been filed to put the development in compliance with local ordinances.  However, commission members did not have those changes in writing.  As a result, the developer will return to the August Plan Commission session and submit the revised specifications. Whelchel Springs is proposed to be a 261 lot subdivision built on 147 acres.

The commission approved a proposed change in the I-69 Overlay, adding the tech park located behind the Target Shopping Center near I-69 & 116th Street.  The overlay area does not allow development exempt from Indiana’s property tax.  This proposal now moves on for final approval from the city council.

In other plan commission business…

—Approved the primary plat for The Reserve at Lantern proposed subdivision with 37 lots on 22 acres, north of 126th Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road.   This now goes to the city council for approval.

–Approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance allowing additional outside building materials..  This goes to the city council for final approval.

–Approved a resolution on economic development areas along State Road 37.

When it became clear there would be only one Democrat candidate in the local general election this year, I heard some grumbling among the Republican faithful in Fishers.  Why spend all the money on an election with only one candidate of the opposite party?

Greg Purvis is running as an at-large city council candidate.  Since at-large hopefuls run in the entire city, all Fishers city precincts will be open on election day.

Now we are learning the the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Corporation is moving toward holding a referendum in November of this year, asking voters to approve funding for operating expenses. Most of the money would go toward teacher salaries and benefits, as well as class sizes. The funds could also be used to reduce or eliminate the recent fees being charged students involved in extra curricular activities, including sports.

HSE asked for an operating fund referendum tax hike of 10-cents on the property tax rate years ago and it was approved.  However, operating money referendums only last 7 years and the current 10 cent additional rate will expire next year.

The HSE School Board is nearing a decision on whether to ask local taxpayers to keep the additional 10 cent rate now in place for another 7 years, or to ask for additional money to allow better compensation for teachers and lower class sizes.  That final decision is scheduled to be made by the board on July 21st.

Once we know what the school board will be requesting from voters in the expected school referendum November 3rd, it will be clear what is at stake.

The school funding referendum means the coming general election will likely see a better voter turnout now that there will be more at stake than one at-large city council seat. School board members said in their July 13th work session that they expect organized opposition to any school referendum this time around, which is something we have rarely seen in recent HSE school funding referendums.

This will make for a much more interesting general election than we normally experience in Fishers.  LarryInFishers will be here to cover it for you.