The Hamilton Southeastern School District is faced with redistricting all school boundaries for grades kindergarten through 8th grade, and the process is underway.  Dr. William Carnes, interim Assistant Superintendent for HSE Schools, told school board members Wednesday that Monday and Tuesday of this week, at 4 separate locations, 115 parents from all K-8 schools put together their own revised boundary map, 18 plans in total.

Carnes says none of the 18 will likely become the final product, but the parents used a software program that gave them immediate feedback on every plan and tweak, including what impact any change would have on the overall redistricting process.

The next step in the process, according to Dr. Carnes, is putting all the 18 ideas together with the board’s priorities for consideration in the redistricting process.  Those priorities, the extent possible, are listed below in no particular order:

–Assign students to attend school closest to their home

–Attempt to design a “feeder” pattern

–Maintain neighborhoods and subdivisions

–Consider a stability of programs for exceptional learners instructional learning spaces

–Provide capacity at schools with the greatest potential for growth

–Reduce the number of portable classrooms

–Examine the continuation of choice as an option at the high school level

HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff will present a proposed redistricting plan to the board on November 28th.  The board is expected to vote on the redistricting plan in December.

The redistricting is needed because the new Southeastern Elementary, on Cyntheanne Road, will open in August of 2019.

The school district produced a video about the redistricting process, which you can view at this link.

Superintendent Bourff has a video message about redistricting at this link.

In other board news from Wednesday:

–Administrator Matt Kegley reviewed the Graduation Pathways program.  You can review his presentation to the board at this link.   To review the executive summary of the program use this ink.

–The board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fishers Police Department, dealing with officers working in the HSE Schools as School Resource Officers (SROs).  The document has been updated to reflect recent court decisions.

–Board members reviewed a draft agreement with Conner Prairie to conduct a program for HSE fourth grade students.  The Conner Prairie board is also reviewing the same document.  A final agreement should be ready for board consideration at the next meeting.

Mayor Scott Fadness briefed the media Wednesday afternoon on the the 2019 city budget and was quite proud of several numbers inside the spending plan.  Next year’s city budget proposal, to be presented to the Fishers City Council Monday night, will total $108.69 million.

Fadness will emphasize to the council that even with an increase in the city tax rate next year, among the ten largest cities in the State of Indiana, Fishers will continue to have the lowest property tax rate, projected to be 69 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The mayor told the City Council Finance Committee last month he projected a property tax rate increase of 5.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2019, but Fadness said Wednesday that his staff has lowered the projected rate increase down to 4.2 cents.  He estimates about 1.5 cents of that 4.2 cent rate increase will be used to pay-off a $12 million bond, $7-$9 million of that bond is projected to fund the Nickel Plate Trail.  The bond will also fund some road projects.

The mayor says that $12 million bond will fund the first phase of the trail from 126th Street to 106th Street.  A “separated grade crossing” at 116th Street will be funded in this first phase.  The mayor says this grade crossing will be built either above 116th Street or below, but that has not yet been determined.

The mayor will also tout a 5.3% increase in assessed valuations of property in the city.  He also said those increased valuations do not include property in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, such as the new construction in the downtown Fishers Nickel Plate District.

He said the city’s cash reserves of more than $17 million, $4 million more than the required amount, has helped the city maintain its AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor.

The city’s General Fund is mostly used for human capital costs, at 72% of the total.

Both the Fire Department headquarters building and one other fire station may need to be demolished and rebuilt, or renovated, based on a study being conducted now.  Also, City Hall may be in line for major upgrades, also based on an evaluation that should conclude later in September.  Money has been set aside in the budget for that work.

2019 will also bring more road construction projects.  They include completion of the four-lanes on Allisonville Road, 126th & Reynolds Drive and 96th Street will be improved to four lanes from Lantern Road to Cumberland Road.

Providing money for 911 service will cost Fishers $1.3 million in 2019, which Fadness said would fund all the new staff positions he is proposing to add in 2019.  He says there are disparities in Hamilton County as to how much each government unit pays into the 911 service fund, but that would need a county-wide solution.  The mayor has had informal conversations on this issue and does not believe it will be solved in this budget cycle.

Fadness once again bemoaned that fact that Carmel gets several million dollars more as its share of the county income tax money, even though Fishers and Carmel have very similar population numbers.

The Monday night City Council meeting will feature a public hearing on the 2019 budget proposal.

The group calling themselves “Save The Nickel Plate” is expected to announce legal action Thursday at a Statehouse rally.  According to my news-gathering partners at the Hamilton County Reporter, the group will also urge state lawmakers to investigate actions by Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County to convert part of the Nickel Plate Line into a trail.

The group will also announce details of planned legal action at the Statehouse event.

The Statehouse announcement and rally are set to begin at 10am Thursday.

Save The Nickel Plate is a group that has advocates for keeping the Nickel Plate a rail line.

by

Jeff Jellison

Hamilton County Reporter

Day one of the Hamilton County Council budget hearings began not much differently than most.

Department heads presented their budgets, not many deviated from instructions provided to them by Auditor Robin Mills, and council members asked relatively few questions.

“Pretty smooth,” is how Council President Steve Schwartz described the day; however, if you watched today’s hearing on Hamilton County Television you might have agreed with Schwartz, until the end.

Following presentations made by department heads, Councilman Fred Glynn addressed the other members stating, “We should discuss the camera situation, I do not think it is necessary to have that during deliberations tomorrow.”

Hamilton County Television was contracted by the county commissioners to live broadcast the budget hearings.

Councilman Brad Beaver said, “I’m fine with all the departments that are going to present their budgets, but at that point we’re done with the camera.”

Councilman Jeff Hern asked if budget deliberations were public meetings. Beaver interrupted Hern, saying, “If you want to walk into the room, it is not an executive session.”

Beaver continued: “We are talking about people, salaries. It is not executive session, but I don’t think it should be on the internet.”

“If somebody wants to see that stuff they are free to walk through the front door and sit here in the audience,” said Glynn.

That is when Councilwoman Amy Massillamany made a motion that once department heads have completed their presentations at 10 a.m., the live broadcast and television recording should not continue. Beaver seconded the motion.

Schwartz cautioned council members about the legality of removing cameras from a public meeting.

Massillamany withdrew her motion and Beaver withdrew his second after Councilmen Rick McKinney and Paul Ayers gave their opinions.

“I’m in this situation of not wanting to be accused of not being transparent. We’ve already said close the barn door, the cows are out. I think the issue is, who controls it, us or the commissioners. I honestly can’t vote to shut it off,” said McKinney.

Ayers said, “It would be a mistake. I don’t care if they are here or not. It would be a mistake at this point to shut them off.”

“I just don’t like it,” said Beaver. “I don’t like it at all.”

The council resumes budget hearings at 8 a.m. today. Hamilton County Television will be present. The live broadcast can be viewed at HamiltonCountyTV.com.

When the Hamilton Southeastern School Board considered a new Talent Development System the first time, board members suggested several changes.  School officials went back to the drawing board to  look at the board’s suggested changes.

Wednesday, the board voted 5-2, approving the revised document.  Board members Amanda Shera and Mike Bottorff voted no.  Both said the changes did not go far enough, in their view.

The plan is aimed at talent development for teachers and other school corporation staff members.

To review the Talent Development System document approved by the board, use this link.

To see changes made at the suggestion of board members, use this link.

The City of Fishers will be initiating a program to outfit all police officers with body cams, budgeting the body-cam program as part of the 2019 city budget.

Mayor Scott Fadness, during a Wednesday media briefing on the 2019 city budget proposal, told reporters the city had run a body-cam pilot program this year.

“These body-cams, in our opinion, will do nothing other than ensure that our police officers are adhering to the core values of the department,” said Fadness.

The pilot program allowed the police department to test several different systems and providers.  The video data will be stored on the cloud, not stored on a city system.

In other matters raised at the budget briefing:

–The Allisonville Road lane expansion project will not be completed this year, according to the mayor.  Two lanes will remain open throughout the winter months, with the four-lane construction projected to be completed in the spring of 2019.  Fadness says he expects the Allisonville Road project to be complete before the major work begins next year on State Road 37.  Weather and utility-related issues caused the delays in completing the work this year, according to the mayor.

–As the police department completes its move to the new headquarters building, some city departments will begin their move out of city hall to what has now been named the City Services Building (old police HQ).  The Clerk’s Office, the Controller staff, along with Permitting and Inspections, will eventually all be housed on the first floor of the City Services Building.  The second floor will house the Business Solutions Group (modernization) and the city’s Information Technology staff.  Additional space at City Hall will allow more conference rooms and loosen the tight quarters many city workers have endured.  The new City Services Building will allow citizens and contractors to handle financial transactions with the city on the first floor of the structure, according to Deputy Mayor Elliot Hultgren.

The City of Fishers is moving full speed ahead with plans for the Nickel Plate Trail.  The trail is to be on the Nickel Plate Rail Line running through downtown Noblesville south through Fishers to 96th Street.

The Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety approved two contracts Monday with private firms tasked with planning for the trail, with very little discussion.

NBBJ will be paid $163,000 to handle architecture and design.  EX2 will perform branding and communications for a price tag of $112,000.

The city is expected to begin scheduling public input sessions on the trail in the coming weeks.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the City Council Finance Committee August 10th that he and his staff are projecting a 5.5 cent property tax rate increase (per $100 of assessed valuation) as part of the 2019 budget.  He expects most of that money to go toward renovation of city fire houses, but a portion of that money, the mayor said, will go toward funding the Nickel Plate Trail.

The Nickel Plate has been the center of controversy for many years and advocates of keeping the line for trains continue to oppose the trail.  However, the city continues to plan for the line as a trail.

by

Jeff Jellison

Hamilton County Reporter

This week, construction crews from Hagerman Construction Group began setting new prefabricated steel cells into place as part of the 256-bed, $13 million Hamilton County Jail expansion project.

Hamilton County Jail Commander Josh Carey stated each cell is constructed individually, weighs approximately 17,000 pounds and is stacked on top of another by a crane. Carey also said that the size of the cells could allow jail staff to lock down inmates for as much as 23 hours if needed.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the jail expansion held in April, Hamilton County Sheriff Mark Bowen said, “We’re bursting at the seams. The jail was built 25 years ago to hold 296 inmates. We’re currently pushing 400 inmates.”

Sheriff’s Department Captain Dennis Quakenbush attributed the increase in number of inmates to a recent change in law that requires counties, instead of state prisons, to house low-level felony offenders. Quakenbush also said the jail has seen a significant increase in number of prisoners involved in drug related offenses.

According to Carey, the project is expected to be completed in early March 2019.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County has just completed construction on a new morgue at Riverview Health in Noblesville. The $1.5 million project will more than triple the current morgue’s capacity. Coroner John Chalfin says Hamilton County’s booming population made the project necessary.

“The county is five times what it used to be and it continues to grow,” Chalfin explains. “It has also become an increasingly popular place to retire, so we’re seeing more people of advanced age. Add to that the 36 opioid deaths we had last year and I only expect that number to go up. We’re over capacity.”

The county has long shared morgue space with Riverview Health, a non-profit, county-owned hospital, but it contained only one cooler with the capacity for two bodies. Chalfin expects his office to handle more than 475 deaths this year alone. That doesn’t account for the space Riverview will need to handle its own deceased.

“Riverview has done some extensive remodeling, which opened up space for a larger morgue,” Chalfin explains. “The county could have built its own stand-alone morgue, but in combining efforts we saved over a million dollars and cut down on construction time.”

Chalfin and his team investigate nearly a quarter of the county’s deaths. They are responsible for tending to suspicious and unattended deaths – primarily homicides, suicides and accidental deaths. They will also investigate deaths in which a person’s doctor cannot determine a cause. The new morgue features a large cooler room and a comfortable viewing area for loved ones.

“We owe it to the people of the county to treat their loved ones with dignity,” Chalfin says. “Anything we can do to provide them with more comfort and decorum, we want to do. This new facility will allow for that.”

Four seats on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board are up for grabs in the November 6th general election.  In District 1, I extended an invitation to all three candidates to appear on a podcast.  The first to accept was Josh Richardson.  Here is my conversation with him