Summer may be a distant memory at this time of year, but there are still a few road projects ongoing in the City of Fishers.  Below is a listing from the city, for the work week beginning Monday, November 2nd

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LANTERN AND COMMERCIAL INTERSECTION

Lantern Road north of North Street will be closed until Tuesday, Nov. 3rd in order to complete crosswalks.

104^TH STREET

Shoulder work continues the week of Nov. 2nd along 104^th Street west of Cyntheanne Road. While lane restrictions will be lifted, motorists are encouraged to drive with caution while shoulder work continues.

116^TH STREET

• Lane restrictions will continue the week of Nov. 2nd along westbound 116^thStreet from Holland to Cameron for fence replacement. Motorists are encouraged to use caution while approaching lane restrictions and construction crews.

• 116^th Street will have lane restrictions at Lantern Road as sidewalks are being poured.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board received a sobering presentation on how changes in the ISTEP testing regime could impact how many students pass and fail the state mandated tests.  Assistant Superintendent Jan Combs told board members If the HSE schools see a drop in test scores as projected for the entire state, it could have a major impact on the local school system.

Dr. Combs described the revised state tests as much different than previous tests, and more rigorous.  She also told the board these standards are not yet final.

Combs emphasized that HSE may not see the same drop as expected state-wide.  For example, 8th Grade Math tests could result in 29% fewer students passing the test, based on equivalent state projections.  You can view Dr. Combs presentation to the school board at this link.

Also at the Monday night session,  board members gave final approval to the calendar year 2016 budget totaling more than $210 million.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness says the closure of 116th Street at the downtown railroad tracks for over four days appears to have gone smoothly.  The mayor did not receive one e-mail from the public complaining about the closure.  He credits his engineering and public relations staffs for establishing the detours and keeping the citizens informed.  Fadness made the remarks at the regular Fishers City Board and Public Works and Safety meeting.

In other news at today’s Board of Works session:

–The board approved an engineering contract to start the process of installing pedestrian improvements along 116th Street from I-69 to Allisonville Road.  The $81,000 to pay for this contract is being funded 90% with federal money, with the city responsible for $8,100.  The actual work is scheduled to be bid in the summer of 2018.

–The fire department will receive two new fire engines, with the cost totaling $855,600.  They will replace two aging pieces of firefighting equipment, one 22 years old, the other 24 years.  The new equipment should arrive in 6-9 months.

On the front page of the Indianapolis Star print edition Monday, October 26th, Chris Sikich has a lengthy piece about how the largest cities in Hamilton County have little or no political opposition.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is part of the piece.  He argues that Fishers cannot just stand still and expect our neighborhoods and quality of life to remain as it is.

Here’s one of the key quotes from Fadness contained in the Star piece, answering critics that he is moving too fast on development:

“I believe if we don’t do anything it is the surest way that their ideal environment they are living in goes away,” Fadness said. “I can guarantee you if we do nothing, 10 years from now the neighborhood you love so much won’t be the same neighborhood.”

Sikich discusses the mayors in Fishers, Carmel, Westfield or Noblesville.  They are all Republicans.  Democrats have never won a political race in any of those cities.  Fadness has no opposition in the November election.  Sikich also points out that no Hamilton County incumbent mayor has lost a race in over a decade.

Sikich also points out that incumbent mayors have plenty of campaign cash, while recent challengers in the Republican primaries have had much less money to spend on their campaigns.

If you are not a Star subscriber, you might want to buy a copy of the October 26th edition just to read this story.

It’s another week, and another work week for road construction crews around Fishers. Now that the downtown 116th Streek railroad crossing construction project is due to be complete for the Monday morning rush hour 10/26, below is a listing of projects scheduled for the week, per the City of Fishers.

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CYNTHEANNE ROAD

Lane restrictions remain in place on Cyntheanne Road south of 104^th Street for asphalt milling and resurfacing work.

LANTERN AND COMMERCIAL INTERSECTION

Lantern Road has opened from Commercial Drive to North Street. Drivers are cautioned that lane restrictions may be in place intermittently as this project finishes.

104^TH STREET

Shoulder work continues the week of Oct. 26th along 104^th Street west of Cyntheanne Road. While lane restrictions will be lifted, motorists are encouraged to drive with caution while shoulder work continues.

116^TH STREET
Lane restrictions will continue the week of Oct. 26 along westbound 116^thStreet from Holland to Cameron for fence replacement.

Fishers Director of Economic Development Brandon Dickinson was the tour guide.  Megan Baumgartner, Assistant Director of Economic Development, was the van driver.  Together they navigated a tour of the many development projects that have been considered by the Fishers Redevelopment Commission.

Commission members were able to view downtown from the top of the Depot building. Then it was on to the new Launch Fishers location.  Launch founder John Wechsler gave a tour of the new facility,  Wechsler told commission members he is hoping to have the operation moved from the current library basement location to the new building by the end of 2015.

Mayor Scott Fadness called this just the beginning of a new relationship with the Indianapolis Airport Authority.  The Fishers City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indianapolis Airport Authority Monday night.  It paves the way for possible development by the city of unused land on the Metropolitan Airport grounds.

Fadness told council members the next step involves engaging members of the community on what kind of development would work best at the airport.  That is the path to a master plan that will eventually lead to commercial development and jobs for Fishers, according to the mayor.

Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger, Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez and City Council President Pete Peterson were all praised by the mayor for working together to make this MOU happen.

In other council matters…

–Council members approved the 2016 city budget.

–Fire Chief Steve Orusa announced 2 awards recently received by his department.  The first is the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Award for implementing quality measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks.  The second is The Leadership in Fitness Excellence (L.I.F.E.) award, co-presented by the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association and Public Safety Medical, recognizes the exemplary efforts of Public Safety Departments to improve the wellness and fitness of their personnel.

–Young Fishers resident Ethan McKinney was honored by a city proclamation for being 1 of 8 Riley Hospital Champions named state-wide by the Kroger Company.

–Chief George Kehl presided over the swearing-in ceremony for 2 new Fishers Police Officers.

Kroger expects to start construction on its new, expanded store on Olio Road in November. Company Spokesman John Elliott tells LarryInFishers that Kroger is awaiting final approvals from the city and internal Kroger officials before construction can begin.

With work beginning at the start of the winter season, Elliott says weather-related construction delays are always possible, but the grocer hopes to have the new store ready for customers within a year, meaning late in 2016.

This will be one of the new Kroger Marketplace concepts the corporation has used in other areas.  It is an effort to give their customers more than just grocery shopping, hoping for a “one-stop” shopping experience.

At some point, the current grocery will need to be demolished to make way for the larger facility.  Elliott says updates will be posted in the current store on when that will happen. The new store will be set back further from Olio Road than the current one, with a larger parking lot planned.

There was initial opposition to the Kroger expansion plans from the neighbors.  The company had a series of meetings with neighbors and made some changes to the design. In the end, there was still opposition, but Fishers municipal government officials approved the plans.

This is the week 116th Street will be closed at the railroad track downtown for five days, beginning Wednesday, October 21st.  That’s not the only Fishers road project for the work week beginning Monday, October 19th, but it’s the most important one.

Below is the listing of all the week’s road projects from the City of Fishers:

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ATLANTIC ROAD CLOSURE

Continuing the week of Oct. 19th, Atlantic Road will be closed between 136^th Street to just north of 126^th Street in order to stabilize and repave the roadway. Through traffic will not be permitted, but local traffic to driveways will be maintained. This project will be ongoing over the next few weeks, and updates will be post on the @DriveFishers Twitter account.

CYNTHEANNE ROAD

The week of Oct. 19th there will be continued lane restrictions on Cyntheanne Road south of 104^thStreet for asphalt milling and resurfacing work.

LANTERN AND COMMERCIAL INTERSECTION

Lantern Road will open on Wednesday, Oct. 21st from Commercial Drive to North Street.

104^TH STREET

Shoulder work is scheduled for the week of Oct. 19th along 104^th Street west of Cyntheanne Road. While lane restrictions will be lifted, motorists are encouraged to drive with caution while should work continues.

106^TH STREET & ELLER ROAD

Construction on the 106^th Street and Eller Road turn lane will continue the week of Oct. 19th. During construction periodic lane restrictions will be implemented between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Lane restrictions will continue through mid-October.

116^TH STREET

• 116^th Street at the railroad crossing will close on the evening of Oct. 21st and will remain closed through the weekend. The project, coordinated with Hamilton Southeastern Schools to minimize the impact on bus routes, includes rehabilitation of the railroad crossing and crosswalk improvements. A general detour map is available on the website, and residents attending Boo Bash are encouraged to visit the website for detour maps that illustrate the commute from different sides of the city. Commuters are encouraged to follow the posted detour routes during the closure. Fishers Police Department will have additional traffic patrols available during A.M. and P.M. peak traffic periods and traffic engineers will manually operate signals to maintain the flow of traffic.

• Lane restrictions will continue the week of Oct. 19th along westbound 116^th Street from Holland to Cameron for fence replacement.