With bond debt coming on board the city debt load, Mayor Scott Fadness attended the Fishers City Council Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night and commented on that, as well as progress on The Yard culinary project.

Bond issuance procedures are beginning for new plans, such as the proposed new city park on Geist Lake and major improvements to the Nickel Plate Amphitheater behind City Hall.  The mayor told the Finance Committee this new debt will require only “minor adjustments” to the 2018 tax rate.  The mayor’s staff is currently working on a fiscal plan for 2018 which will provide a clearer projection of the 2018 city tax rate and city budget.

“It’s hard to take one bond issue and say, this is what it means to your tax rate,” Fadness said.  “In reality, you’ve got to look at the whole thing, plus your net assessed value.”

The mayor also talked about the status of The Yard culinary development planned near IKEA.  Fadness expects news soon on eating establishments planning to locate there.

“There should be a series of announcements here in the next 60 or 90 days that will make a lot of Fishers people very happy,” Fadness said about The Yard.

The mayor said a ground-breaking for the yard may not come until spring of 2018.  Fadness added that as residents of the 22 homes in Spring Dale Estates continue to leave their homes, there is a possibility that empty neighborhood could be used for police and fire training before the structures are torn down.