The 2017 Fishers State of the City was unlike the previous two speeches. Mayor Scott Fadness had no big announcements to make, so he reflected on the past year and looked forward. He gave brief opening remarks, then had a conversation with Indianapolis Star Opinion Editor Tim Swarens.
The mayor expressed his views on many issues those of us covering him as mayor from the start have heard many times. He opined on mass transit, regionalism and economic development. He described Launch Fishers as the most transformational project in Fishers, impacting the entrepreneurial culture of the city.
The mayor spent a lot of time talking about how the Indianapolis metropolitan area has an important story to tell, and his point is that, as a region, we are not doing a good job telling that story. The metro area can gain much more collectively than individually, Fadness says.
The mayor likes to talk about the 2016 numbers, and Fishers has a lot of positive statistics – over 1,500 new jobs and $200 million in private investment. The Police Department responded to over 53,000 calls, the Fire Department more than 5,000. Fishers maintains the lowest tax rate of any city in the state. Fadness says the city has a AAA bond rating, the only city in Indiana to have that and one of only 1.5% communities in the nation with such a solid bond rating.
The biggest challenge Fishers faces, according to the mayor, is maintaining sustainability once the city is no longer the new and shiny place it has become lately. The key is continuing to invest in every area of the city and prevent urban decay from setting-in to any part of the city.
It was no surprise to anyone that traffic came up, and Fadness says widening of 116th Street near I-69 and the 106th Street interchange have been key projects. $200 million is in the pipeline for road infrastructure in the next five years, including the Sate Road 37 project.
As technology transforms our national and state economy, Mayor Fadness sees the Internet of Things as being a key to keeping Fishers on the cutting edge of job creation and the latest technology, citing the new Internet of Things Laboratory recently announced, to be located near Launch Fishers.
He once again expressed his view that the Nickel Plate Line is not viable in the foreseeable future for mass transit and he continues to support the proposed biking and walking trail along that rail line.
When asked about possible obstacles for Fishers’ future, the mayor cited the importance of not fearing failure, saying complacency is the biggest obstacle to progress.
The mayor cited a number of people at the beginning of his address, including members of the city council, his staff, county commissioners, his wife Aunna and students from HSE Schools on hand for his address.