On this Sunday night, I have a few brief items of news around Fishers.

First, I posted a podcast interview this past week with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Rick Farnham, Director of Water Quality for the city.  The subject was the storm water fee increase to be included in the mayor’s 2019 city budget proposal.  The proposed fee hike would cost homeowners in Fishers $20.52 extra per year beginning next year, if enacted.

But the increase will be much larger for many commercial users of the storm water system.  One of the operations most impacted will be the Hamilton Southeastern School District, which could face a $63,000 increase in their annual storm water bill.  IKEA would also see a large increase.

One question raised at the City Council Finance Committee meeting was whether the city should carve out waivers for some entities, such as the school corporation.  I asked Mayor Fadness whether he would be in favor of such waivers, even though the council has the final say.

Fadness responded that the commercial fees are based on usage of the system and he believes this is more of a user fee.

“So, at this time, I would not be in favor of making any kind of accommodation for any of the entities that are out there,” the mayor said during the podcast. “I can’t speak for the city council in that regard, but, in my opinion, I think the rate should be what it is.”

I also asked the mayor about the proposed low-income housing project planned for Lantern Road, near Fishers Elementary School.  The developer behind the 70 unit project is RealAmerica, a local firm that has built such housing around Indiana and other states, but this would be its first apartment complex in Fishers.

Fadness is solidly behind this effort, saying even municipal employees are having a difficult time  finding affordable housing in the city where they work.  The mayor said he believes the city is being “thoughtful” about the location and type of housing planned for the site.  He said some homes would be demolished to make way for the apartments, but no homeowners would be displaced because the developer has had contracts for those houses.

The city council approved up to $100,000 in fee waivers for the project.  The developer is now waiting on state and federal authorities to approve tax credits before the plans can move forward.

On another issue, Fadness says the roundabout at 131st Street and Cumberland Road currently under construction is scheduled to open July 25th, barring any last-minute construction issues.  The mayor could have ordered the roundabout open a few days earlier, but some traffic restrictions would still have been required to finish up the work and Fadness wanted the roundabout to be open later to get it done in final form.

The city is also looking to install flashing lights to alert drivers when school is in session and lower speed limits are in place.  Fishers is waiting on federal funding to install these flashers, and the mayor expects them to be in place and working by the end of the year.

You can listen to the podcast with Mayor Fadness and Rick Farnham at this link.

Also, the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) featured two stories about Fishers in this week’s print edition.  One deals with input the city is seeking in developing the new park on Geist Reservoir, and another about the state’s IOT Lab located in Fishers.

You can read the IBJ story about Geist Park at this link .  

the IBJ story about the IOT Lab can be found at this link.  (NOTE:  If you are not an IBJ subscriber, you may be limited in the number of stories you may access each month)