Mayor Scott Fadness used his annual State Of The City address to announce two major initiatives, what the mayor describes as quality of life enhancements –  one dealing with agriculture, the other a joint educational program called Fishers First.

The city will partner with Conner Prairie and the Hamilton Southeastern School District to create the Fishers First program.  This effort is explained as bringing about a world-class educational experience for Fishers students that would combine  innovation, collaboration, and new experiences.

What is described as “experiential learning” will be at the center of Fishers First.  Among the programs envisioned include the geology behind patching potholes to experiencing ecology through already-established programs such as Fishers Parks and Recreation’s “Nature First,” where students of all ages will have the opportunity to work alongside the Conner Prairie, the City of Fishers, and local businesses to deepen their knowledge of standards taught inside the classroom.

The mayor also announced the creation of Fishers Agri Park, a 32-acre park, to be located in the southeastern quadrant of 113th Street and Florida Road.  This program will be a partnership between the city and Brandywine Creek Farms, a local nonprofit organization whose mission it is to help educate and inspire individuals of all ages and help meet the needs of those who are food insecure.

Fishers Agri Park is projected to open in late spring, 2018.

Mayor Fadness singled-out the following city employees during his speech:

–Cici Conover, HR Director, as she celebrates retirement after 18 years with the City of Fishers;

–Fishers Police Department Intelligence Unit for their service and dedication to working cross-agency in collaboration to significantly contribute intelligence to 21 cases which resulted in crucial information to the outcome of the case;

–The Economic Development team for a record breaking 2017 with over 2100 jobs and $64.5 M in capital investment announced by companies growing in Fishers;

–Jeff Hill for his traffic mitigation plan during the Portillo’s-TopGolf-IKEA grand openings in fall 2017.

The mayor talked about progress and more to come on the Geist Waterfront Park and the Spark!Fishers summer festival.