The approach to Interstate 69 from I-465 is about to undergo some major repairs due to bridge damage.  The details from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is below:

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On Thursday, April 28, 2016, a truck hauling an excavator collided with the underside of the I-465 bridge over northbound I-69/Binford Boulevard, damaging a steel beam.

Bridge inspectors and engineers took immediate action to ensure that the structure is safe, and INDOT has contracted Rieth-Riley Construction to repair the damage for $348,792. For information about how INDOT seeks reimbursement for repairing and replacing damaged infrastructure, go to http://www.in.gov/indot/3130.htm.

INDOT reminds all drivers to follow safety requirements by securing and measuring all loads, obtaining permits for loads higher than 13 feet 6 inches and following designated routes for oversize vehicles.

Bridge repairs and traffic impacts

Crews will heat damaged steel to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit to straighten deflections and drill holes through the beam to bolt on reinforcing splice plates.

Work will require temporary, recurring closures of the eastbound I-465 Exit 37 loop ramp to northbound I-69 starting on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Ramp closures are scheduled to repeat on the following schedule through early November:

• Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Friday from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday
• Saturday from 9 p.m. to 12 p.m. (noon) on Sunday

At the same times, northbound Binford Boulevard may be reduced to one lane with a 45 mph work zone speed limit when workers are present. The right shoulder of eastbound I-465 will be closed at the bridge, and the I-465 speed limit will remain 55 mph.

During ramp closures, overhead and portable message signs will alert motorists and direct interstate traffic to continue southbound on I-465 and use the 56th Street (Exit 40) interchange to return northbound on I-465 to access northbound I-69 (Exit 37). Drivers with local destinations should seek their best alternate route.

INDOT’s interstate messages can be viewed in real time at http://pws.trafficwise.org.

Plan for the future

INDOT is developing plans to reconfigure the busy I-465 and I-69 interchange on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The project will aim to ease congestion, increase safety and reduce travel time in the heavily-traveled corridor used by more than 165,000 drivers each day. INDOT is currently in the preliminary design stages of the project

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board reviewed the 2017 spending plan and held a public hearing on the budget Wednesday night.  It calls for a total of $237.3 million to fund school operations next year.

Matt Stolle, a former school board candidate, and Bradley Jones, a current board hopeful, both spoke at the public hearing.  Stolle voiced concerns about the school corporations’s ability to handle growth.  Jones also talked about growth and the utilization of buildings.

The board will vote on final approval of the 2017 budget at the next regular meeting.

The board voted to file an appeal with the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance over approval of the transportation tax rate.

For more details on the 2017 budget, use this link.  For more on the transportation appeal, use this link.

In other school board news from the Wednesday session:

–The board honored the National Merit Semifinalists for the Class of 2017.  They are:

–Board members recognized Launching Inquiry Grant Winners.   Instructional Technology Coaches Susan Drumm and Kelly Moore organized a learning opportunity for more than 300 educators and presenters that integrated inquiry, STEM, and technology-heavy instruction.  The grant recipients are:

The recipients are:

• Using Text to Inquire and Create

Leslie Carter – Harrison Parkway Elementary – Music

• Purposeful Play

Erin Duros – Fall Creek Elementary – Kindergarten

• Breakout EDU

Barbara Glenesk – Riverside Intermediate School – Grade 6 STEM

• Getting Back to Making

JoyAnn Boudreau – Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High – Media Specialist

• German Children’s Relief Project

Nichole Mathews – Hamilton Southeastern High School – German

It was a celebration 200 years in the making, and it happened Thursday night at Fishers City Hall on a picture-perfect fall evening.  The Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay made a stop in downtown Fishers.  A large crowd was on hand.

In February of 2014,  Fishers Police Officer Troy Fettig was credited with saving the live of a 12-year-old boy collapsed at a basketball game.  Fettig and a physician at the game revived the youngster.  Fettig was handed the Bicentennial Torch in front of City Hall.

New Britton’s Sloan Ferguson & Katie Comstock plus  Grace Wechsler from Riverside Intermediate, were all part of the city hall ceremony.

Below are some pictures from the event.

Jerome McKibben has provided enrollment projections for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Corporation for many years, and has been very accurate in his past projections.  His latest look forward at local school enrollment will be a big surprise for many in the Fishers area.

Total student enrollment in the 2016-2017 school year has increased by 282 over the previous school year.  McKibben projects the following total enrollment changes over the coming years:

2017-2018              173    0.8%

2018-2019                  16    0.1%

2019-2020                  70   0.3%

2020-2021                   4    0.0%

2021-2022                -48  -0.3%

McKibben’s report shows decreases in HSE total school enrollment in years 2022-2027.

Even if the population of Fishers and the surrounding area making up the HSE School District grows in general, that doesn’t mean growth in the school population, according to McKibben.

McKibben said one factor is what he described as “the curse of the successful school district.”  Data show graduates from successful school districts do not tend to return to their home town after college graduation.  He said if 20% come back, that is a very high number.

McKibben’s study shows an inflow and outflow of residents in various stages of life, creating a situation where local school enrollment is set to stabilize and actually slightly fall in the coming years.

McKibben said there are some grade level bulges in the HSE school population, and some variance among the various elementary school boundaries.  But overall, the era of large student population growth at HSE Schools appears to be over.

The school board plans to use this data and look for a way forward on school building plans, at a board work session scheduled for 7:30am. October 24th.

You can view the entire demographic study from Dr. McKibben at this link.

The Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the local teachers’ union, has announced recommendations of school board candidates in each of the three townships.

In Fall Creek Township,  Howard Stevenson is the HSEA choice.  Frank Whelan is the teachers’ union choice in Delaware Township.  In Wayne Township, Charron Wright gets the HSEA nod.

In the upcoming local school board election, all voters in the school district vote in all three township races, but the candidates must all live within their respective townships.  Three Hamilton Southeastern School Board seats are up for election in November.

About 35 citizens of Fishers gathered for the Fishers Mayor’s Night Out at Fall Creek Junior High School Tuesday night.  Scott Fadness reviewed the proposed city budget for 2017 and talked about various projects, both ongoing and in the pipeline.

The mayor provided updates on timelines for a couple of major road projects.  The 106th Street interchange at Interstate 69 should be complete around the end of November or early December.  The major upgrade to State Road 37 has all survey work done, design work is underway and construction should begin in fall of 2018.

The mayor assured the residents that traffic issues are on the front burner for himself and his staff.  “We talk about traffic every single day,” Fadness said.

Fadness expects a property tax increase next year of 1.5-2 cents per $100 of property valuation.  He expects most Fishers homeowners to pay $10-$25 more next year based on that increase.  The exact amount of the hike won’t be known until assessed valuations on property are verified.  City officials point to Fishers having the lowest property tax rate in Hamilton County and the lowest rate among the largest 15 cities in Indiana.

The mayor fielded questions from the audience about trails, the $25 per vehicle Wheel Tax set to start in 2018 and his mental health initiative.

If you have driven by the construction site at the interchange at 106th Street and Interstate-69, you can see that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) contractors are making good progress.  At the Monday meeting of the Fishers Board of Works and Safety, the city approved spending just over $98,000 on that area.

The money will be targeted on clearing brush and regrading ditches.  The goal is to to establish drainage improvements and enhance the aestethics of the corridor, which the city sees as a key gateway into the community.

The work will be done by the INDOT contractor working on the interchange, Walsh Construction.

In other actions taken by the board:

–Approved a resolution dedicating right-of-way on Florida Road as part of the Whelchel Springs development.

–Approved a concurrence to relocate an underground drainage pipe system as part of the planned downtown North of North project.

— Approved a professional services agreement for 113th Street rehabilitation, which is scheduled for completion in 2017

–Gave the okay to spend $74,477.72   for the Fire Department’s purchase for 38 sets of turnout gear. This was a planned purchase for replacement gear as part of the department’s 5 year primary gear replacement plan, and it is included in the 2016 budget.

The Fishers City Council last month enacted a Wheel Tax, which will impose a $25 annual levy on vehicles, charged every year when you buy or renew your auto registration.  Even though it is called a Wheel Tax, it doesn’t tax each wheel.  The $25 annual tax is per vehicle for most residents, but can be as much as $40 a year for larger vehicles, like semis and RVs.

The Wheel Tax will not be imposed in Fishers until 2018 due to deadlines written into the law.

Mayor Scott Fadness first publicly proposed this tax during a city council retreat August 22nd at Conner Prairie.  Fadness gave strong support to enacting the tax, saying there is no way to fund road construction and maintenance without it, under the current funding regimen provided by state lawmakers.

Council members were not anxious to enact a new tax, but also know that without the $2 million per year this tax will generate, keeping up with road infrastructure needs would be difficult, maybe impossible, without the Wheel Tax funds.  The vote to approve the tax was unanimous.

Mayor Fadness, who was heavily involved with legislative lobbying on behalf of local Indiana governments through his work with the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT), believes many more localities will follow Fishers in enacting the Wheel Tax.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) has an excellent story in the October 10-16 edition of the paper, on Page 3A.  She provides some fascinating information about the Wheel Tax.  Mayor Andy Cook of Westfield opposes the tax because it is only imposed on residents, while not paid by the many others using local streets and roads.

The IBJ story says 10 of 76 cities eligible to do so have enacted the Wheel Tax so far.

I asked Mayor Fadness at a recent media budget briefing what the General Assembly would need to do for him to recommend that the city council rescind the Wheel Tax.  He said he can foresee no action state lawmakers are likely to take that would fund his local infrastructure sufficiently, allowing the city to remove the Wheel Tax.

So the bottom line is this.  Members of the Indiana State Legislature know roads are falling apart around the state, but appear unwilling to take the heat of enacting a tax increase at the state level to deal with it.  So the answer is – allowing local governments to raise taxes by choosing to pass the Wheel Tax if they want to fund local street and road work.

You can read Lindsey Erdody’s story at this link, but you may have trouble accessing it if you do not have an online subscription to the IBJ.

Bradley Jones is vying for a seat on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board from Delaware Township…here is Larry’s podcast interview

Frank Whelan is a candidate for Hamilton Southeastn School Board from Delaware Township…here is Larry’s podcast interview…