For the 29th consecutive year, the Fishers Freedom Festival will get underway June 24th & 25th.  I talked to Jennifer Kehl about this year’s event…

The City of Fishers is still in talks with the owners of 70 acres of land on Geist Lake to purchase the property and establish a city park, the first public space on Geist Lake.  The Fishers Redevelopment Commission approved an amendment to the economic development plan of that area and okayed a bond issue as steps toward acquiring the land and establishing the park.

City Controller Oscar Gutierrez told the commission the city is asking for $12 million of authority for property tax backed bonds.  The controller also said he does not expect to actually utilize the entire bond authority, saying the actual purchase price is more likely to end up at between $9 million and $9.5 million.

The city has made a clear declaration that if an agreement to purchase the property from the current owners is unsuccessful, the mayor is prepared to condemn the property and acquire it under the laws of imminent domain.  State law provides a specific procedure to determine the fair market value of the property, which, if condemned, would be the city’s purchase price.

In another matter before the commission, Tax Increment Finance (TIF) bonds and changes to the development plan were approved for The Yard culinary project, to be constructed near the new IKEA location.  The Yard items will now go the the Fishers Plan Commission, then the Fishers City Council, before returning to the Redevelopment Commission for final approval.  Construction could begin this fall or the spring of 2018, depending on how the approval process moves along.

(The following three stories are posted here as part of a partnership agreement between the Hamilton County Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)

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The Hamilton County Reporter

Wednesday’s Hamilton County Council meeting gave county leaders an opportunity to speak publicly on their position in regards to Jeff Hern.

Although none of the county council members directly supported Hern, each had a different opinion.

Councilman Paul Ayers wasn’t concerned about the seriousness of Hern’s act. “The seriousness of the act isn’t my concern. My concern with councilor Hern is, after he pled guilty, and after it was public knowledge, there has not been a word of apology. As I understand it there has not been a fulfillment as ordered by the court. You should have been apologizing to the people who sponsored you and to the public in general, you have kept silent to this council,” stated Ayers.

Council President Fred Glynn said, “This directly affected a member of this body and the public sees this. It was during an election and that to me is unacceptable. We have to conduct ourselves differently during an election. I think we have to make a statement to the public that we don’t accept that type of behavior when it comes to our election process and other members of this body.”

“I am going to give you a little bit different perspective,” said Steve Schwartz. “If we are going to start casting stones at Mr. Hern and asking him to resign for a supposed crime he committed there is probably other felonies and people who have had issues on this council and if you want go back and look you might eliminate three to four other members.”

Councilwoman Amy Massillamany stated, “I personally would not plead guilty to something that I was innocent of, right wrong or indifferent based on the amount of money or what it would put your family through. This is the first time I’ve seen this document. I don’t agree, I am abstaining and I don’t feel I’ve had enough time to process this.”

Following a statement by Jeff Hern, council member Rick McKinney said, “I don’t know Jeff, if you are living in a fantasy land, because the agreement to withhold prosecution is contingent upon you admitting the offense of Criminal Mischief. If you deny it you are committing perjury. It is plain as day. You had the best defense team in Indiana money can buy and they didn’t get the charges dismissed. It is a plea agreement and I think honestly it is almost delusional.”

Also speaking at Wednesday council meeting were two Hamilton County precinct committeemen, Jim DeCamp representing the Carmel’s Southwest Clay Precinct #1 and David Giffel representing Delaware Township Precinct #19. Decamp stated, “This is the stuff of corruption. People in my precinct remember the events of thirteen months ago and they don’t like it. I call upon you (Hern) to resign.”

Giffel stated, “What he (Hern) is not doing, is making restitution to the public. We have a petition going around right now asking for your resignation.”

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The Hamilton County Reporter

“This is surprising to me that there has been an admission of guilt of criminal mischief, as of now those charges still stand. I have not been arrested and processed, there is no mug shot, no fingerprints.”

“My attorney gave me the best advice and it was going to be another $20,000 to fight a misdemeanor. I took my attorney’s advice because $20,000 is a lot to come out of my family. They said if you are willing to write a check for the signs, write an apology letter which states that your attitude, your behavior during the campaign trail, being nicer and things like that which is something I can always work on is to be a better person. In less than a year the charges will be dismissed, there will be no prosecution, there will be nothing. There is no crime.”

“So this is all surprising to me. I lost my checkbook and my passport and a number of things out of my car that evening. Gates were open, we had an electrical storm and couldn’t shut the gates. A lot of people there leave their cars unlocked, my bad.”

“I understand, I appreciate you guys coming tonight and speaking your voice. A lot of people wanting to push Trump out office to put Hillary Clinton in. Other people have pushed to get Barack Obama out of office. Other pushed George W. Bush out of office, other people are fighting to get Bill Clinton out of office. That is what we do, we fight for all the people we want in office and those we don’t.”

“Approximately 73,000 people voted for me to do what I was elected to do at the Fall Creek Township Trustee position, lower taxes, keep taxes low and increase services and they elected me to do that here and that is what I plan to continue to do.”

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The Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Council on Wednesday evening approved a Resolution of Censure admonishing Jeff Hern for his involvement in a missing campaign sign case in which councilman Rick McKinney was the victim.

The resolution introduced by McKinney stated:

“Whereas Indiana Code 36-2-3-9 (3) states the fiscal body of a county may adopt its own rules to govern proceedings of expelling a member under this section but a two thirds (2/3) vote is required to expel a member or vacate his seat, this resolution is meant to convey the Hamilton County Council’s displeasure with the recent admission of guilt of Criminal Mischief by Councilor Hern.

While his criminal mischief actions, which were directly related to his candidacy for Hamilton County Councilor, took place prior to his taking office on January 1, 2017, the guilty plea he admitted to the court on May 24, 2017, casts a shadow on the integrity of the entire Hamilton County Council specifically and all political officials in general.

Therefore, let it be known to all, that the Hamilton County Council issues this letter of CENSURE to Jeff Hern and condemns his criminal actions to which he pleaded guilty.”

Councilmen Brad Beaver, Paul Ayers, Fred Glynn and Rick McKinney voted in favor of the resolution.

Councilman Steve Schwartz voted against the action and Amy Massillamany abstained.

Both Schwartz and Massillamany were campaign contributors of Hern.

The iTown Church is one step closer to a new church building after the Fishers Plan Commission unanimously approved a recommendation to the city council for approval of plans for a new facility at 126th Street and Brook School Road.  The Fishers City Council will have the final say on the proposal.

There were 15 speakers at the public hearing, with a nearly even split between those favoring the new church building and those in opposition.  Most of the opponents live in the Gray Eagle subdivision next door to the planned building.  Many in the neighborhood objected to the removal of green space from the area to make way for the church and the adjacent parking lot.  The iTown Church has approximately 4,000 members.

Members of the church packed the council chambers and were in a clear majority, although a number of those opposing the church building were also in attendance.

Church members speaking at the public hearing talked about the good work of the church, including its outreach to young people.  Two WTHR news anchors, Scott Swan and Anne Marie Tiernon, both Fishers residents, are members of iTown church and spoke at the public hearing in favor of the new building.

Fishers City Council member Pete Peterson, also a member of the Plan Commission, repeated what he expressed at a recent city council meeting, that he is concerned about the viability of the Gray Eagle Golf Course if the driving range is demolished.   The owner of the golf course has committed to building a new club house replacing the current one that will be torn down to make way for the church.

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Jeff Jellison

(NOTE:  Jeff Jellison, publisher of the Hamilton County Reporter, posted this commentary on the front page of the newspaper in the June 7th edition.  This commentary is posted here as part of a partnership between LarryInFishers.com and the Reporter.  The views expressed in this commentary are not necessarily of the views of LarryInFishers.com or Larry Lannan.)

Hamilton County Councilman Jeff Hern recently admitted his involvement in a missing campaign sign case investigated by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. The victim was fellow Republican councilman Rick McKinney.

The investigation, which led to misdemeanor charges filed against Hern, began in October 2016 just prior to the election when McKinney discovered four of his campaign signs missing. McKinney also found a cellphone belonging to Hern at the site of a missing sign. McKinney and Hern were both running for at-large county council seats.

Eventually, during an active criminal investigation, Hamilton County voters elected Hern, along with McKinney and Brad Beaver to fill the three at-large spots.

Some hoped Hern would bring more of a balance between the council and county commissioners, who at that time were in disagreement about a few county projects. Hern appeared to be friendly with commissioners who financially supported his campaign. One commissioner was a major campaign donor for Hern. Hern’s campaign was also funded by a couple of sitting council members.

Following Hern’s admission, McKinney issued a statement calling for Hern’s resignation.

McKinney’s statement was then echoed by Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Joe Weingarten.

Now that the smoke has cleared and Hern has admitted his involvement, avoiding a criminal trial, should Hern resign his seat from the council?

Throughout the investigation Hern denied his involvement. Hern has not spoken publicly about the case.

Have Hern’s actions affected the credibility of the county’s fiscal branch, the county council? Should fellow council members collectively call for Hern’s resignation?

Should the county’s executive branch, the county commissioners, call for Hern’s resignation?

Should Hamilton County residents, who hold their elected officials to a high standard, call for Hern’s resignation?

County leaders, I often hear you speak about how great this county is.

I agree with you. It is great because we have county employees that demonstrate a great deal of professionalism, along with solid elected officials with good judgement and forward thinking.

To those county leaders, I say, “Make a statement that you will not tolerate criminal behavior related to a county election.”

Jeff Hern, you admitted to a crime that was directly related to the election that earned you a council seat. Your inappropriate actions and poor judgement are not the qualities Hamilton County residents expect from an elected official.

Do the right thing.

Resign your council seat.

The Hamilton County Council’s next meeting is this evening, June 7 at 7 p.m

Fishers has landed another high-tech company headquarters to the city, with the Tuesday afternoon announcement that Knowledge Services plans to construct a $17 million, 80,000 square foot headquarters building between Avient and Interstate 69, along USA Parkway. The firm plans to add 400 jobs by 2021.  1,200 Hoosiers already work for Knowledge Services and nationwide the company has over 1,500 employees.

Julie Bielawski is the company CEO and her husband,Joe, serves as president.

“As a woman myself, I always enjoy celebrating women-owned businesses,” said Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch.  Looking over at Joe, she added,  “Behind every great woman, there stands a man.”

“We are also extremely fortunate to live and work in a growing and vibrant Central Indiana, and particularly the City of Fishers'” Joe Bielawski said. ” With Mayor Fadness’ proven leadership and vision, including Launch Fishers, the Internet of Things Lab, Eleven-Fifty (a school teaching computer code) and on and on.  Knowledge Services and that staff is happy to be a part of this wonderful community.”

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said he found kindred spirits in the wife-husband team at Knowledge Services.  “Julie and Joe are humble individuals,” Fadness said.  “They are excited about change, innovation, entrepreneurship.”

Knowledge Services describes itself as a cloud software provider, offering services to complex organizations.   The corporation says it is hiring experienced web and mobile developers, program and compliance specialists, business development and marketing professionals, as well as client service workers. Interested applicants may apply online through the company web site at this link.

The new headquarters building is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2019.

Saturday was a big day for seniors at HSE and Fishers High Schools….it was graduation day.  Roughly 1,400 received their diplomas during two separate ceremonies held at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.

For Fishers High School, the Valedictorian was Ashton Murray, Salutatorian Phoebus Yang and Senior Speaker Zane Judd.

At the HSE commencement, student speakers included Valedictorian Tyler Zhang, Salutatorian Elijah Kipp and Senior Speaker Stephen McLeish.

The pictures below are provided courtesy of Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

Tony Elliot talks about a busy summer for his Fishers department