The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board will soon receive an administration recommendation on how to handle building and debt issues, based on views board members expressed at a Monday morning work session.

Board members appeared to favor the construction of a new elementary school to reduce or eliminate the need for portable classrooms, which are being used this school year to reduce class sizes.  There are currently 30 portable classrooms in use throughout the school district in grades kindergarten through 4th grade (K-4)

The demographic study just competed by Dr. Jerome McKibben shows an overall 1% decrease in the K-4 enrollment throughout the school district from 2016 through 2021. However, some elementary schools would gain students during that time, based on the current number of buildings and district lines.  For example, for 2016-2021, Thorpe Creek would gain 140 students, an 18% increase, while Sand Creek Elementary would lose 93 pupils, a 14.5% decrease.

Board members said they want a new elementary school constructed, keeping an eye on funds needed for maintenance and looking at expansion of the HSE Administration Building, which cannot handle all administrators in one building at this time.  The board wants all this done while keeping the school system’s debt tax rate steady.

HSE Chief Financial Officer Mike Reuter reviewed details on the school corporations’s debt structure, indicating some debt will be expiring in coming years, allowing new debt to be issued without major impact to the debt tax rate.

Some construction could be phased-in over several years.  Expanding one or more current elementary buildings may also be an option on the table.

Voters approved a tax referendum to construct a new elementary building years ago, but that school has never been built.  The school board could choose to utilize that authority to build the new elementary.

School administrators plan to present a recommendation to the board on how to move forward in the coming weeks.

People in Hamilton County love to early vote, and they especially like to early vote close to home.  I wanted to be there when early voting began in Fishers for the very first time.

Would there be a long line, or would the early voting idea in Fishers turn out to be a dud?  I got my answer very quickly.

On the first day of early voting in Fishers on Wednesday, October 19th, the entire first floor lobby of City Hall was packed.  The people working regularly on the first floor of City Hall said people had been coming in for days thinking the Fishers early voting hours had already started.

I heard people waited for 1-2 hours to cast their vote on that first day.  My wife and daughter wanted to early vote so we planned to visit City Hall the following Friday, thinking the novelty would have worn-off and the wait time would be less.

Let’s just say I was very wrong. On that Friday, the wait appeared to be more than 2 hours. Therefore, we journeyed north to downtown Noblesville, where the wait to vote was closer to 30-45 minutes.  There were plenty of voters in Noblesville, there were just more workers and machines to administer the voting process.

I saw Hamilton County Election Administrator Kathy Richardson on that first day of early voting in Fishers.  She told me there was only so many voting machines she could provide in both Fishers and Carmel, and that led to some of the wait times.

On that first day of early voting in Fishers, Richardson made an announcement to all in line at City Hall that there was no wait if any wanted to early vote in Noblesville.  No one left. Maybe they all wanted to be a part of history, or maybe they just wanted to vote closer to home.  Whatever the reason, people were willing to wait.

What this tells me is this…..people in Hamilton County love to early vote.  I hope county officials, who run our local elections, will expand early voting in the future.  It has been a big hit so far.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness touted the recent groundbreaking for the new IKEA store on Gerry Dick’s Inside Indiana Business TV program this week.  The mayor hinted at the type of development he wants to see around IKEA.

Fadness says he envisions  “a smaller form of retail focused on culinary….people want to see more restaurants in Fishers…they want to see unique restaurants in Fishers.”

The Fishers City Council approved new zoning rules for the real estate in the area around the IKEA store, allowing the city to have more control over the development of that land.

Gerry Dick asked Fadness if a big announcement is expected soon on economic development related to IKEA .  “In the next 30 days I think you’re going to see a large real estate announcement from the City of Fishers that is affirming to this vision of a 21st Century retail component here in this heart of downtown Fishers.” the mayor said.

A new development is planned for the Downtown Fishers Nickel Plate District.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal broke the story…you can access the story at this link.

It’s another week and another update on road projects around Fishers.

Below is the road construction schedule for the work week beginning Monday, October 24th, provided by the City of Fishers…

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ALLISONVILLE ROAD

Weather permitting, short term lane restrictions will be in place on Allisonville Road between 106^th Street and Eller Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please use caution when traveling in the area.

BROOKS SCHOOL ROAD

Periodic LANE RESTRUCTIONS ARE IN AFFECT ON Brooks School Road between Club Point Drive and Anchorage Way while work is being done on the guardrail.

EXIT FIVE PARKWAY

Exit Five Parkway closed on Tuesday, September 6 to reconstruct the road as part of the 116th Street widening project. The road remains closed to all traffic. Trucks needing to deliver to businesses will need to go up to Cumberland Road to Exit Five Parkway and come in from the north. The road will be closed for approximately two months, and a detour map is available online.

I-69 AND CAMPUS PARKWAY

Milestone Contractors has begun mobilizing cranes and other equipment and setting a temporary concrete barrier wall along I-69 at Campus Parkway Exit 210. Work will require alternating lane closures on northbound and southbound I-69 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Lane closures may recur each night through the end of the week depending on weather and progress. Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT at eastcentralin@indot.in.gov or 1-855-463-6848.

I-69 TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS

INDOT is overseeing an overnight closure on multiple traffic lanes on I-69 overnight this week. Weather permitting, lane closures, traffic changes and rolling slowdowns of traffic will begin after 9 p.m. and are expected to end before 6 a.m. the next day. Construction schedules and traffic restrictions are subject to change, and questions should be directed to INDOT at indot.carsprogram.org, 1-800-261-ROAD (7623) or 511 from a mobile phone. Please drive with caution as a new traffic pattern is in place.

OAK DRIVE

Oak Drive south of 116th Street has closed for 50 days while the new road is being constructed. Through traffic will need to use USA Parkway.

106th STREET & CUMBERLAND ROAD ROUNDABOUT

The north section of the intersection from 106th Street to Walnut Creek is closed to all traffic as we enter phase II of roundabout construction. 106th Street will remain open through this phase. The detour route for northbound Cumberland Road is to use USA Parkway.

106th STREET INTERCHANGE

INDOT has begun work on the 106th Street interchange. A lane shift is currently in place on I-69 and 106th Street is closed as construction continues. Additional details about this project will be released through INDOT and shared on the weekly construction update. Please be advised the speed limit from 82nd Street to 116th Street has been reduced to 55 mph and there are lane shifts on I-69. Please travel with caution and pay close attention to signage in the area.

116th STREET

There will be lane restrictions between 9 am and 3 pm on eastbound 116th Street between I-69 and Exit Five Parkway as road work is being completed.

Fishers Police Chief Mitch Thompson has announced Halloween Trick or Treat hours this year.  They will be on Halloween evening, October 31, 6:00pm-8:00pm.

The Chief also has a number of Halloween safety tips for local residents.  They are contained in the Police Department news release, reproduced below:

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Chief Thompson offers the following safety tips for Halloween.
           

• Give and accept wrapped or packaged candy only.
• Only go to houses that you know the owner. 
• Have children bring treats home for adult inspection before they are eaten.
• A parent or adult should accompany children when they are trick-or-treating.
• Carry a flashlight.
• Stay within your neighborhood; only visit homes you know.

• Use make-up or face paint instead of masks.  If masks are used, make sure the child has good visibility.
• Choose costumes that are flame retardant.
• Wear light-colored clothing, short enough to prevent tripping.  Add reflective tape to dark colored costumes.
• Watch for vehicle traffic and use caution when crossing the street.

 
Police cars will be patrolling the neighborhoods to ensure everyone’s safety.  If you see or find anything suspicious, please immediately call 911.

The Fishers Community Chorus started last year and gave some very impressive performances during their first season, such as John Rutter’s Requiem.   The group is now starting its second season, and the first performance will center on tunes from Broadway, from the 1930s to the 1970s.

This concert is free of charge, and is set for Sunday, November 6th, 3:00pm, at the Geist Christian Church location at 82nd Street and Mud Creek (yes, it is just a few blocks from Fishers).

Mark your calendars now to enjoy the singing of this local group.

State Road 37 will be upgraded, with major construction likely to start in 2018 or 2019. The highway traffic north and south will become underpasses and east-west vehicles will use roundabout overpasses to move back and forth across the highway.  That much we do know, but much is still not known about the upcoming project.

For example, engineers have said construction will happen at 2 intersections at the same time.  Which two intersections will be first?  No one knows at this point.

The intersections to get roundabout overpasses over State Road 37 are 126th, 131st, 141st and 146th Streets.  With 2 being constructed at one time, we still do not know which 2 of those 4 intersections will be under construction in the first phase.

Residents heard about extensive traffic studies underway to develop ways to navigate the construction zones once they are underway.

Most questions from the audience dealt with drainage issues in specific areas of certain neighborhoods, and the contractors assured them that all options will be studied.

We should all know more about the 2017 Fishers Freedom Festival by mid-November at the latest, according to Executive Director Jennifer Kehl.  The city is insisting that the festival move from its long-time location at Holland Park to the Nickel Plate District in downtown Fishers, in the area around City Hall.

Kehl says this will be a big adjustment for the festival, since Holland Park provided 33 acres of space, compared to the 3 acres available in downtown Fishers.  With construction going on around the City Hall area, Kehl is concerned about parking for the vendors, who need parking spaces near their concession areas.

There are also concerns about the number of vendors the smaller space will allow. According to Kehl, there will be less space for vendors, meaning there will be fewer of them, resulting in less vendor revenue for the festival.

Electricity will be an issue with a new venue, with generators needed and electricians may be required to setup the new configuration for vendors and other power needs downtown. The Festival Committee will also need to be careful in erecting tents in the Nickel Plate area, so fiber optic lines are not damaged with stakes in the ground.

The popular Disc Dog competition will not have enough room for the 2017 festival downtown, according to Kehl.  Keeping some events at Holland Park will be difficult because the support system from volunteers would not be available there.

“Unfortunately, some of the decision-makers don’t understand the obstacles that we have to go through, and how demanding our vendors are,” said Kehl.

Kehl is also concerned that lower revenue for the Festival Committee could spell the end of support for the school backpack program and the scholarships offered by the committee in the past.

The Festival Committee and city officials have been working on arrangements for the 2017 event.

“I hope we can come to some kind of agreement and move forward positively,” said Kehl. She added that some agreement between the city and the Fishers Freedom Festival Committee (which is a nonprofit organization with its own board of directors) needs to be in place by mid-November at the latest for the 2017 event.

Early voting has never happened in Fishers, so you might say noon on October 19th was an historic day at City Hall.

As the doors opened to welcome early voters, they began to file into the auditorium. Even though the line was long, there were no complaints, with voters happy to be able to early-vote much closer to home.

I talked to Susan Luce as she waited for the polls to open.  She is very happy about voting in Fishers.  “As a mother of 3 children, voting early, having that option, is very convenient because  on polling day, I’m working, so I don’t have a chance to stand in line for a long period of time,” Ms. Luce said.

Barbara Blakley was also happy to have the opportunity to vote in Fishers.  “I wanted to get it over with early and miss the lines,” she told me.

Hamilton County Elections Administrator Kathy Richardson was there to oversee the first day of Fishers voting.  She was not surprised at the large turnout.  Ms. Richardson told LarryInFishers her office sent all the equipment possible to set-up the early voting site at Fishers City Hall.

When the line of voters began to wrap around the first floor staircase, Richardson announced to the crowd the Noblesville early voting site had no line if people wanted to journey northward.  No one left.  They didn’t mind waiting a little longer in order to vote in their own city.

Here is the schedule for early voting at Fishers City Hall:

• October 19 from noon – 5pm
• October 20 from 2pm – 7pm
• October 21 from 10am – 3pm
• October 22 from 10am – 3 pm
• October 26 from noon – 4pm
• October 27 from noon – 5pm
• October 28 from 10am – 3pm
• October 29 from 10am – 3pm
• November 2 from 2pm – 7pm
• November 3 from 2pm – 7pm
• November 4 from 10am – 3pm
• November 5 from 10am – 3pm