Fishers Projekt: Opera put together a creative version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” last year, by cutting it down to about 90 minutes and performing part opera in English.
Now, the production company is taking on another challenge, with two performances of Puccini’s “La Boheme.” Performances are set for March 19th, 7pm and March 20th at 4:00pm. Both productions will be at the Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, near 126th Street and Cumberland Road.
You can buy tickets at this link.
The biggest news from the City of Fishers on construction projects deals with upcoming work, not the projects of the coming week.
96th Street and Cumberland Road will be closed for 100 days, beginning March 21st. This will allow for the construction of a roundabout at that location. Those of you using that intersection regularly, particularly during rush hour traffic, should begin planning alternate routes.
Also, Duke Energy will be doing maintenance work throughout the city dealing with vegetation growing around its equipment. The Drive Fishers Web page will be updated regularly about these projects.
Look out for restrictions in the coming week around 116th Street and Commercial Drive, around Lantern Road, near downtown.
Below is the listing provided by the city for the week of March 7th.
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DUKE ENERGY VEGETATION MAINTENANCE
Duke Energy will be preforming vegetation management as part of its power line maintenance program in the coming weeks. Additional details about this project and specific maintenance locations are available on the Drive Fishers website under current projects.
FALL CREEK TRAIL
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 March 7.
LANTERN ROAD
Lantern Road between 116th Street and Commercial Drive will be restricted the week of March 7. Please use caution and pay close attention to signage displayed in the area.
96TH STREET AND CUMBERLAND ROAD
Beginning on or after March 21, the Hamilton County Highway Department will close 96th Street and Cumberland Road for 100 calendar days in order to construct a roundabout at this intersection. If anyone has concerns on this project they can call 773-7770. Click here to view a detour map.
IRS – Hacked Again!
After entering the Hamilton County Government Building in Noblesville, I had been told to expect little from the Hamilton County Council on March 2nd. Funding for the State Road 37 project was on the agenda, but most Fishers officials I had talked with expected the council to deadlock on a 3-3 vote, table the issue and vote in April or vote the funding measure down.
The session started with a public hearing.
On one side was the political and economic establishment of Fishers and Hamilton County arguing for the county’s $12 million share of the project to be approved. Among the speakers were Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear, members of the Fishers City Council, the Hamilton County Commissioners and the One Zone Chamber of Commerce (the merged chamber including Fishers & Carmel).
On the other side were business owners and managers from the State Road 37 Alliance, asking council members to delay consideration of the funding measure. They argued that the construction period would result in jobs lost and businesses badly hurt or closed by the project.
Once the public hearing ended, the council called for a 5 minute break (which was actually longer than 5 minutes). Then the big surprise came.
Councilman Fred Glynn offered a resolution, calling for a $250,000 marketing plan to help out the business interests impacted by the State Road 37 construction period, which would be matched by the City of Fishers.
Mayor Fadness quickly rose to support the idea and gave his backing to Fishers’ matching money. In talking to a couple of Fishers City Council members after the vote, it appears there is support on the council to approve the matching funds.
The Hamilton County Council proceeded to approve the resolution. That was my first signal that council members were warming to the idea of approving the State Road 37 funding.
What happened during that council meeting break that changed the dynamic? After all, people in the know were telling me just before the session that there was little chance the county’s share of the cost would be approved in March.
One can only speculate that a deal was reached during that meeting break. Once Fred Glynn proposed the marketing plan funding, it was over.
A few minutes later, the county council unanimously approved the county’s share of the State Road 37 money. That was the final piece of the funding puzzle.
The engineering work will soon begin, and we have been told that will take about 2 years. That means construction is not likely to start until 2018, at the earliest.
One wonders whether politics was a factor in this decision. Two at-large county council members are facing competition in their re-election campaigns. County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt is seeking re-election and is being opposed by Bill Smythe, a local Fishers businessman and one of the founders of the State Road 37 Alliance.
Heirbrandt has been a strong supporter of the State Road 37 upgrades as proposed in the agreement involving the state, the City of Fishers and Hamilton County. You can access his campaign Facebook page at this link.
Smythe issued a news release March 3rd that reads, in part:
When I started the SR 37 Business Alliance it was to unite the business community as a strong collective voice to ensure our interests and concerns would be addressed. The vote (Wednesday) night came as no surprise nor did anything to change my commitment to that cause. It is just one of many issues my campaign will focus on.
However, the entire process and the speed with which it has been advanced is just another reminder of the strong influence of those who profit from such projects and their relationships with some elected officials. I am running to change that equation and give voice to those who historically have not had one. I will work to ensure openness and transparency and put voters over vendors.
You can access Smythe’s campaign Web site at this link.
Getting human contact at the IRS is becoming more difficult every year
All six members of the Hamilton County Council voted to approve the county’s share of funding for the State Road 37 project Wednesday night. That vote puts into motion the start of engineering work for the massive upgrade from 126th Street to 146th Street.
The plan is to replace the current traffic signals along that stretch of roadway with exit & entrance ramps, and roundabouts for east-west access, much the same as Keystone Avenue in Carmel.
The vote was a blow to the State Road 37 Alliance, a group of businesses along the busy highway, who argued for slowing down the plans.
Councilman Fred Glynn offered a resolution calling for a fund to provide a marketing plan for the businesses impacted by the road construction. The county is offering up to $250,000 to the marketing fund, which the City of Fishers has offered to match.
This puts the final piece of the funding puzzle together, allowing the $124 million project to move forward. The engineering work alone will take about 2 years, meaning construction is not likely to begin until 2018 at the earliest.
As the official meeting began, council members and county commissioners honored Jim Belden, a long time council member who died February 14th.
You have likely been reading about a number of cases in the Indianapolis area where thieves install credit card “skimmers” on gas pumps with the goal of stealing your credit card information. The Fishers Police Department is providing local residents with some reminders on what to watch out for…..
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1. The safest way to pay is by going inside the gas station.
2. Look at the exterior of the pump before inserting your card. Contact the cashier immediately if anything looks out of the ordinary.
3. Pay attention to your surroundings. Immediately report suspicious activity by calling 911. It appears the criminals may be sitting in a car nearby using a Bluetooth device to receive the information. If you see a person that appears to be just parked in the area please report it.
4. Monitor your credit/debit card accounts to ensure there are no unauthorized purchases.
5. As always SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!
Bob Kravitz has been writing about sports in Indiana for the past 15 years, first at the Indianapolis Star and now for WTHR.com. Bob gave me some of his time on March 2nd to talk about Fishers, sports, the Olympics and 9/11. You can listen to the conversation at the podcast above.
Fishers Police are describing the man in the picture above as a “person of interest.” Authorities want to question him in connection with theft reports at the local Target store.
Please contact Officer Saxhaug at 317-595-3300 if you know this person.