The roundabout at 106th Street and Lantern Road will remains closed, and Fishers City officials still have no timeline on when traffic can once again use that roadway, only saying you should watch the updates and follow the signs in the area.
Below is the listing from the city on road projects this week…..
Fall Creek Trail reconstruction work continues; the pedestrian bridges and section of sidewalk along the trail have been removed. Pedestrians should not use the trail within the sections that have been removed. In addition, there will be periodic lane closures along the project throughout the week of Feb. 15.
LANTERN ROAD
Lantern Road between 116th Street and Commercial Drive will be restricted the week of Feb. 15. Please use caution and pay close attention to signage displayed in the area.
106TH STREET
The roundabout located at Lantern Road and 106thStreet will remain closed for repairs. Please follow @DriveFishers on Twitter for ongoing updates about this project.
116th STREET
The eastbound lane of 116th Street from Hague Road to Charleston Parkway will be restricted between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for fence replacement. Motorists are encouraged to use caution when traveling along the corridor and pay close attention to signage displayed.
Artist rendering of new STANLEY Building proposed for Fishers
When I interviewed Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness on my podcast February 3rd, he said his State of the City address the following week would highlight economic development and be action packed. He wasn’t kidding.
During the February 10th speech, the mayor made two announcements of corporate headquarters coming to the city, and another announcement the following day about 469 jobs on the way. Let’s look at all three.
Stanley Security will be moving its corporate headquarters to a new 3-story building, to be owned by Ambrose Property Group, in the Fishers Point Business Park, near Kincaid and Sunlight Drives. It should be noted this will be located near the soon-to-be-constructed 106th Street I-69 Interchange. The company says it will move 165 full-time employees to the Fishers location, with 155 more positions to be created over the following 8-year period. The Fishers City Council will be considering a 10-year tax abatement and a waiver of local fees as part of the economic development package at the February 15th session. This area will need to be declared an Economic Revitalization Area and, as part of that process, the City Council will be required to conduct a public hearing at the March 21st session. The structure will be located in a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) area.
The Braden Business System announcement by the mayor is a bit different. This is a case where state incentives are being utilized to uproot a business currently located in Indianapolis and move its operations to Fishers. (In the case of Stanley, there is an operation in Indianapolis that will continue.) Braden will move from near 96th and Keystone to downtown Fishers. A new 4-story, 45,000 square foot building will be constructed between the Switch development and the Fishers City Court building (formerly the auto license branch) which is now mostly a parking lot. 70 jobs are involved. Braden will occupy 20,000 square feet in the new building, with the city subleasing the remaining 15,000 square feet. A tax abatement is being requested. The land is currently city owned property. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation is offering $1.4 million in incentives and $100,000 in grants for training, but are conditional on Braden meeting its commitments on the number of jobs to be created. The city is also offering incentives to be considered by the City Council February 15th, including a tax abatement, fee waivers and, of course, the land currently owned by the city. Again, an Economic Revitalization Area must be declared. A public hearing will be held for that, again at the March 21st council session.
Republic Services, the waste disposal firm, is consolidating its operations around the nation and plans to utilize space currently vacant at 10194 Crosspoint Boulevard, once again near the new 106th Street interchange at I-69. Construction is set to start this year. A lot of jobs come with the plan, 469 in all for a new customer service center. Republic is expected to be up and running at the Fishers location by September 1st of this year, and all 469 jobs are to be in place at the Fishers building by 2025. The state is chipping-in with $4.5 million in tax credits, with the condition that Republic hits the employment targets in the plan. Republic says its investment in the Fishers plan will be $13.6 million.
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has been saying for some time that the city must incease its jobs base to continue growth. Fishers is getting out to a good start on that goal in 2016.
However, the Braden plan may not be a harbinger of things to come. The State of Indiana is offering substantial incentives for a growing business to move from Indianapolis to Fishers. We will see whether the state is inclined to offer incentives in the future for businesses leaving Marion County and relocating in Hamilton County.
(Left to Right) St. V Cardiologist Chris Hollon, MD, St. V. Chief Nursing Officer Kim Nealon, St. V Administrator Gary Fammartino, Fishers Fire Chief Steven Orusa, Fishers Director of Parks and Recreation Tony Elliot
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are proven life savers. It can make the difference keeping a heart attack patient alive while paramedics are on the way.
St. Vincent Hospital in Fishers announces it is contributing $15,000, allowing the City of Fishers to buy 11 AED units. They will be placed in city parks and recreational areas.
“If we save just one life from having these devices available in our community spaces, our investment will pay dividends,” said Gary Fammartino, administrator, St. Vincent Fishers, in a news release. “We believe that all members of our community must have access to live-saving devices when they need it most, and we are proud to partner with the City and the Fire and Parks Departments on this important effort.”
Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in America.
The Indiana General Assembly is considering two pieces of legislation, one in the House, the other in the Senate, which could bring between $7 million and $9 million into the coffers of Fishers city government this year.
Mayor Scott Fadness told the City Council Finance Committe on February 10th that the funds would come from County Option Income Tax (COIT) money the state has been holding. Local governments throughout Indiana would have COIT funds released to them under both pieces of legislation.
The House bill is sponsored by local State Representative Todd Huston, and would provide Fishers $7.1 million in 2016 with no restrictions on how the money is spent. Under Huston’s measure, Fishers would garner $7.2 million in 2017 and $8.1 million in 2018.
In the Senate, the COIT legislation is sponsored by Brandt Hershman, Chairman of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee. It provides $9.3 million in 2016, but $6.9 million of that amount (roughly 75%) is earmarked for transportation projects only. Hershman’s bill provides fewer Fishers dollars in later years – $3.3 million in 2017 and $6.2 million in 2018.
When the House and Senate pass legislation containing different language, a joint House-Senate conference committee is appointed to negotiate a final version of the bill, usually involving a compromise containing some components of each measure. That’s what is likely to happen in this case.
In other news items from the Finance Committee meeting:
–The census Fishers plans to conduct is moving forward. The site supervisor from the U.S. Census Bureau will arrive around April 1st. The actual counting should begin within 30 days of that date. City Controller Oscar Gutierrez says the census operation will most likely be headquartered at the Delaware Township Center.
–Council members on the committee indicated they want to consider the compensation package being provided city elected officials, including pay and retirement benefits. Finance Committee Chairman John Weingardt says Fishers City Council members are the lowest paid in this region and he wants the panel to look at compensation for council members.
There is another jobs announcement today, as Mayor Scott Fadness promised in his State of the City Address. You can read more details from the Indianapolis Business Journal at this link.
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness talks to the school board about Mental Health
The City of Fishers continues its campaign to improve mental health and Mayor Scott Fadness took his message to the Hamilton Southeastern School Board. The mayor, along with Fire Chief Steve Orusa and city Public Relations Director Autumn Gasior, reviewed the 8 action items being implemented, with Chief Orusa leading the way. The school corporation is a major player in the mayor’s efforts to improve mental health.
Board members asked Fadness about drug abuse and the connection with mental Health. The mayor said his task force tried to remain focused on the mental health component, but admitted the two are often intertwined. “In a suburban community, we have to stay vigilant on this issue,” Fadness told the board. “There are kids that are living in quiet despair and we need to concern ourselves with the fact that someday they could very well act out in a very violent and random way to demonstrate to the world just how badly they feel.”
School Superintendent Allen Bourff said the mayor is making a difference. A poll taken months ago by the schools indicated taxpayers would likely not favor a referendum tax increase to fund mental health programs. But as Dr. Bourff began engaging groups of people in his listening tour, he began to note more and more support for mental health programs among the people he encountered. “Many times, when we had the conversation, the supportive comments were tied back to the efforts at the city level to address the issue of mental health,” Bourff said. “When you rolled out your initiative back in November, it really helped our conversation.”
In other school board items from the February 10th session..
–The board gave preliminary approval to changes in school policy on home-schooled and non-public school students participation in HSE School programs. The board asked the staff to make some small changes to the proposed policy before final approval is given. You can read the proposed policy changes using this link. (The passages in red type are proposed changes)
–The Geist Half-Marathon organization was honored by the board. The group has become the largest percentage donor to the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation, giving back over $366,000 to education.
Mayor Fadness presents the State of the City address to a sold-out Chamber luncheon
“We are a great community and we are getting better.”
That’s the bottom line statement on the State of the City from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. The mayor also made some news in his speech, announcing two new economic development projects.
STANLEY Security plans on building a new headquarters in Fishers Point Business Park on the corner of Kincaid and Sunlight drives. Braden Business Systems plans to construct a 4-story structure at Municipal Drive and North Street in the downtown Nickel Plate District. The city says the combined projects are expected to bring more than $22 million in investment and jobs to Fishers.
Mayor Fadness said by close of business Thursday, Fishers will surpass all the economic development of 2015, and we are not even done with the month of February.
STANLEY plans an 80,000 square foot building with 300 jobs. Construction is expected to begin shortly after approval.
Braden plans to bring 70 jobs to its downtown location with 90 more workers possible by the year 2020. Braden plans to occupy 20,000 square feet of the new building, and the City of Fishers will master lease the remaining 15,000 square feet.
Here’s what the Fishers news release revealed about incentives being offered:
Both projects include an abatement and fee waiver agreement and will be considered at the City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 15. The Braden Business Systems agreement also includes the dedication of land for the new building. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has partnered with Braden Business Systems on the project as well.
Fadness talked about Cloud One, a high-tech company moving to Fishers, which has been described as the fourth-largest tech company in the state.
The mayor discussed a number of other issues during his State of the City address.
–He talked about TopGolf and IKEA coming to Fishers. He touted Launch Fishers as a job creator by hatching small business startups. All 13 business suites to be included in the new Launch building set for occupancy in March are already full.
–The Mayor praised city council members, calling it a “positive working relationship.”
–The State Road 37 project was highlighted during the speech. He called it “the largest infrastructure project in the history of Fishers.” The mayor pointed to the unique relationship among the State of Indiana, Noblesville and Hamilton County that resulted in the plan to upgrade this section of highway. “We will fix this corridor once and for all, while at the same time mitigating the costs to our individual residents here in Fishers, ensuring we have the upmost sensitivity to business owners along this corridor,” Fadness said. The mayor also touted the $217 million 5-year transportation improvement plan aimed to relieving traffic congestion in the city, with 72% of the money coming from state and federal funds.
–The Mental Health initiative was discussed as a way to help Fishers residents suffering with such illnesses. In 2014, there were 157 Fishers citizens detained because their mental illness posed a threat to themselves and/or others. In 2015, there were 211 such detentions. The mayor’s task force is implementing 8 specific recommendations to work toward dealing with mental health issues in Fishers.
–Fishers was recently named one of the safest communities in the nation, but the mayor says we cannot take safety for granted. Innovations are becoming the norm in Fishers public safety, he says. The city police department has developed an app to better communicate with the public. The fire department paramedic program, being proactive with area residents just released from the hospital, has been a success.
–The mayor praised the strong relationship between the local school corporation and the city, saying that alliance continues to form. A new Public Safety Academy will be created by the Fishers Parks Department, allowing high school students to have exposure to what local police officers and firefighters do. According to Fadness, “The line between city and school is continuing to blur.”
–The mayor plans to redevelop the 116th Street & Allisonville corridor, 96th Street and the downtown area to attack what he calls “urban decay.” He says this is largely due to demographic shifts and aging infrastructure.
–Finally, the mayor gave a shout-out to long-time Police Chief George Kehl, who plans to retire in September. The audience gave the chief a standing ovation.
Artist rendering of new STANLEY Building proposed for Fishers
