The history of the Indiana Pacers is a colorful one, especially the early years of the pro team.  Here’s the second part of my conversation with Mark Montieth, author of the book Reborn, which concentrates on the early years of the Pacers.

Fishers plans a major upgrade to what is described as the Central Green area of the municipal complex.  The picture above, provided by the city, highlights to improvements scheduled to be completed by June 1st of this year.

You can check the city Web site for regular updates at this link.

On September 11th, 2017, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness joined Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett for a news conference, announcing a regional central Indiana bid to lure the Amazon second headquarters to this area.   Now that the Indy metro area has made the list of the final 20 regions under consideration, the speculation is running rampant.

There is a lot of talk on the chances of the Indy metro area landing this big economic development prize.  I think we should just take it all at face value.  In my opinion, central Indiana has a 1 in 20 chance, just like all the other finalists.

Although Fishers Mayor Fadness was heavily involved in preparing the local bid, the mayor told me in a podcast interview recorded January 3rd (well before the Amazon announcement of the 20 finalists) that no site within the City of Fishers was part of that bid.

“Something of that magnitude, I wasn’t really certain it belonged in a suburb like Fishers,” Mayor Fadness told me. “I was really doing it because I wanted Indianapolis, as a metropolitan area, to put our best foot forward.”

The two mayors, Hogsett and Fadness, have established more than a working relationship.  “He and I are friends,” said Fadness.

Hogsett knew how the Fishers mayor “geeks out” on economic development projects and how they are structured.

“Part of what I brought to the table for that, I think, I hope, is a suburban face to it, to say, this is a regional effort,” the Fishers mayor said.

All suburban mayors were allowed to submit a site for Amazon, and a group of officials from the metro area and business leaders ranked all those submitted sites.

This entire exercise of submitting the Amazon bid was not just an effort to lure Amazon here, it was a way to bring all the government and commercial entities closer together in order to look at economic development from a regional point of view.

Fadness hopes this lays the groundwork for regional collaboration in the future.  He has a goal for 2018.  “You’ll see me very, very active on more regional thinking in 2018.”

Even though Fishers would not host the new Amazon complex if it comes to central Indiana, Fadness is well aware that Fishers will get its share of new residents coming here to work for Amazon .

Amazon has not given a specific date on when a decision will be made, all we know is it will likely be announced before the end of the year.

You can listen to my entire podcast interview with Mayor Fadness at this link.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter 

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

For better or worse, it just could be Hamilton County that attracts the much publicized Amazon’s second national headquarters. We stress could be, but still far from a certainty.

The retail giant last week narrowed its search for a location to 20 sites
including central Indiana. Folks in the Indianapolis media say that if the area is
selected there are five most promising places for the billion dollar complex, two
of which are in this county.

One possible site is east of Noblesville between State Road 38 and Interstate
69 where an as yet unidentified buyer is in the process of securing options
on several thousand acres of farmland. With offers to pay as much as $40,000 per
acre, you can assume the mysterious person or group is not planning to
grow soybeans.

The other county site is Metropolitan Airport property
north of 96th Street, south and east of the airport. It is ground that is
not needed for airport operations and has long been seen as a prime location
for business or commercial development.

Both these locations are close to I-69. Amazon is known to want easy access
to interstate highways and an airport.

Last fall in this column we speculated on the possibility that someone
saw at least the possibility of landing a giant distribution center, hence the
optioning of big acreage in Wayne and Fall Creek Townships. The purchase
of large tracts of land by anonymous buyers for a big development is not unheard
of. In the 1950s the Indianapolis Water Company quietly bought 3,000 acres north of Noblesville.

We know the site today as Morse Reservoir and the subdivisions surrounding
it. The Noblesville Ledger eventually figured out what the land was to be used for.

It’s hard to visualize what an Amazon headquarters would look like with 50,000 employees, hundreds of thousands of square feet under roof and constant truck traffic coming and going at such a gigantic complex.

Many political leaders would see it as the greatest thing that could be
imagined. Jobs, jobs, jobs and presumably reasonably high paying jobs. Of
course, Hamilton County has very low unemployment so the employees
would likely come mostly from surrounding counties. Nearby Madison County has been hurting for years since the closing of major manufacturing plants there. Jobs within a few miles would no doubt be welcome.

Then, we must think of what would be needed to service Amazon. Major
road improvements, sewer and water utilities, public safety personnel
and schools. Most major industries expect a community to provide incentives
such as property tax abatement.

We’d be getting ahead of ourselves to consider all this, but local government
might have to do some calculations to see that some of the costs would not fall
on current residents. It may well not happen, but it’s never a bad idea to think
about all the ramifications, good and not so good of any possibility.

Eddie Moore officially filed his candidacy for Hamilton County Sheriff
today, Friday, Jan. 19. Eddie has been a Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy since 1987.

He received his B.A. from Anderson University and began his profession and
passion of serving the community immediately upon graduation.

A resume in the Hamilton County Reporter cites Moore’s experience in the local sheriff’s office in his candidacy for Hamilton County Sheriff in the May Republican primary election.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers won its Senior Day game on Saturday, using a big fourth quarter to beat
Avon 59-52 at the Tiger Den.

Fishers trailed 27-26 at halftime and 39-35 after three periods, but the Tigers
outscored the Orioles 24-13 in the fourth to clinch the Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory. Toni Grace led Fishers with 21 points.

Tamia Perryman earned a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Skylar
Fulton made three 3-pointers on her way to 14 points. Briana McGee helped out on
defense with four steals.

The Tigers finished HCC play at 2-4, and are 11-10 overall. Fishers plays at
Lawrence North on Tuesday.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern won an overtime road game Saturday, holding off Mount Vernon 59-55.

The Class 4A No. 8 Royals trailed 12-10 after the first quarter, then came back to lead 26-24 at halftime. The Marauders tied the game up at 42-all by the end of the third period, and regulation ended in a 53-53 tie. Southeastern allowed Mount Vernon just two points in the extra period.

Chaz Birchfield led HSE with 14 points; he was one of four scorers in double figures.
Nick Bowman and Noah Smith both added 13 points, while Mabor Majak scored 12.
Birchfield grabbed eight rebounds, with Majak collecting seven. Aaron Etherington
dished out six assists for the Royals, while Smith had five assists and five steals.
Bowman handed out four assists.

Southeastern is now 14-2 for the season. The Royals travel to Noblesville on Friday
for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game

This week, Adam & I review the latest Steven Spielberg film, The Post.  It’s all about the Post’s involvement in the 1971 Pentagon Papers leak.  Our guest this week is the Film Commissioner for the City of Indianapolis, Teresa Sabatine.

Hamilton County Reporter

Christine Steinbock Pauley, the Clerk-Treasurer for the City of Carmel, announced last week that she will run for Hamilton County Council. She’s seeking to replace Paul Ayers, a Carmel resident who decided to not seek a third term.

Pauley said she decided to run because she believes her experience as Clerk-Treasurer and executive director of Carmel bond bank can now be best served at the county council level.

“I am a fiscal conservative who understands the need for strategic planning of investments while achieving the best possible financing options for the taxpayer,” she said.

Hamilton County Council District 4 covers Westfield, Sheridan and western Carmel.

Hamilton County Reporter

In a Hoosier Crossroads Conference battle of top 10-ranked Class 4A teams, No. 8 Hamilton Southeastern blasted No. 4 Zionsville 78-50 at the Royals’ gym.

It was the first loss of the year for the Eagles, and also knocked them back in the HCC race. The Royals are now tied atop the conference standings with Brownsburg; both teams have 3-0 records.

Aaron Etherington scored 21 points for Southeastern, including four 3-pointers. He was one of five Royals in double figures. Noah Smith added 15 points, handed out nine assists and made five steals. Chaz Birchfield reached double-double status with 12 points and 12 rebounds, also handing out four assists.

Mabor Majak added 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots, while Nick Bowman scored 10 points and dished out five assists.

Southeastern is 13-2 overall and plays at Mount Vernon tonight.