At Large City Council candidate Gurinder Singh has announced a pledge – he is making a commitment to donate his city  council salary, if elected, to charities benefiting police and fire department workers. In a news release issued by his campaign, Singh says his council salary  would go half to the Indiana Fishers Fire Foundation and half to the Central Indiana Police Foundation, which provides gunshot trauma kits and other resources.

Based on the 2019 city salary ordinance, Fishers City Council members are paid just over $20,000 per year.

Singh is running in the Republican primary against the three incumbents currently holding at-large city council seats – Cecilia Coble, Rich Block and Todd Zimmerman.

The primary election is set for Tuesday, May 7th.

As the City of Fishers has grown to a municipality containing an estimated 91,000-plus residents, the city staff has grown, and that has caused a space crunch at City Hall.   With the police department exiting its longtime home in a building just north of City Hall and moving across the street to the new George Kehl Station, a number of city departments have been in the process of moving into the the previous police station.

The City Services Building (CSB) is the name given to the former police headquarters, and the public will have access to the CSB as of Friday, March 1st.

The Fishers City Court, which has been holding sessions in the City Council Chambers, will now be located inside the City Services Building, providing a secure and permanent location for court officials. Those visiting the CSB will be able to deal with permit and inspection processing, sewer and storm water bill payment, court payments, and traffic tickets.  Parks & Recreation payments will be accessible at the City Services Building. This includes payments and registration for building and pavilion rentals, activities and programs, and Special Event Permit Applications (SEPA). This new location can service residents in addition to Parks & Recreation’s office at 11565 Brooks School Road.

Plenty of parking is available in the area of the CSB, with surface lots and a number of parking garages nearby.

City officials say planning your trip to City Hall or the CSB is a good idea by accessing city services at the Web site using this link.

If you choose to pay the city with a credit card, be aware that a 3% credit processing charge will be in effect for all credit card transactions. Exact cash or check is preferred.

DeVeau’s School of Gymnastics is normally a very busy place with lots of young people learning their skills.  That same facility will not be busy today as a fire was reported in the building overnight.

The gymnastics center. located at 9032 Technology Drive, had a sprinkler system activated  from the heat of the fire.  The sprinkler contained the fire to a pit of foam until firefighters were able to respond and extinguish the fire.

Early indications are the fire began from work being done on equipment, according to fire officials.  Smoke and water damage will have the facility closed until owners are able to make repairs and clean up the damage.

There were no athletes in the building when the fire happened, and there were no injuries.

The Fishers Fire Department says there is no dollar estimate available on damage.   Investigators are on the scene working on establishing a cause for the blaze.

38 firefighters were on the scene, assisted by the Carmel Fire Dept, Fishers Police Department and the Fishers Fire Corps.

A look at what fire personnel faced in the building

Sunrise Bakery in Fortville has had a solid reputation for a long time as a great stop for donuts and other bakery treats.  After action taken by the Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals Wednesday night, Geist-area residents will have a Sunrise Bakery of their very own, in addition to the Fortville location.

The board unanimously approved the variance in the city’s development standards dealing with setback requirements. The city planning staff, in a written statement to the board, recommended approving the variance because the site at 10404 Olio Road “is a tough site for any development due to site constraints.”

There were no opposing speakers to this variance.

                      My wife Jane & I, at the Fishers City of Service Awards Tuesday night

The City of Fishers, for the past three years, has set-aside one evening to provide dinner and an awards ceremony, recognizing the many volunteers throughout the local community.

I hesitate to write this story myself, since I had a small part to play in it.  I was one of ten individuals nominated for Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year, for volunteering my time to produce the news blog www.LarryInFishers.com and local podcasts.  I didn’t win, but just being nominated for an award like this is quite an honor and appreciated.

Master of Ceremonies John DeLucia did an outstanding job.  I say that because he really did a great job, and I was able to enjoy dinner Tuesday night without worrying about what I was about to say (I emceed the first two City of Service Award ceremonies).

My compliments to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Sandquist, Park & Recreation Department employee Dan Domsic and all the others involved for making Tuesday a night to remember.

Now, here is the list of winners for the 2019 City of Service Awards:

• Fishers Parks & Recreation Adult Volunteer of the Year – Vicki Guenther
• Fishers Parks & Recreation Youth Volunteer of the Year – Anudeep Annangi
• Fishers Department of Public Works Volunteer of the Year – Kerrie Wincek
• Fishers Fire & EMS Volunteer of the Year – Christopher Allen
• Fishers Police Department Volunteer of the Year – Russell Lopez
• HSE Schools Foundation Volunteer of the Year – Shelley Jackson
• HSE Schools 2018 Teacher of the Year – John Hochstetler
• Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year –  LeeAnn Barclay, Youth Mentoring Initiative (community nominated award)

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers advanced to the semi-finals of Sectional 8 with a 65-51 victory over Anderson Tuesday at Carmel’s Eric Clark Activity Center.

The Tigers got off to a solid start, leading 20-11 after the first quarter. Willie Jackson scored seven points, while Jeffrey Simmons added six. Things slowed down for both teams in the second period, but Fishers was able to extend its lead to 27-17 at halftime.

“For our guys, playing sometimes versus getting the bye is important,” said Tigers coach Matt Moore. “And I thought for his group, based on the match-ups that we got, playing was important for us. We got to get the nerves out, we got to settle in.”

The coach credited Anderson with playing “extremely hard,” and said his team “did enough in the first quarter to get a good lead. As they made their runs, we settled in and responded.”

Alex Szilagyi began to heat up in the third quarter for the Tigers, nailing his first 3-pointer of the game. Fishers led 40-28 after three. The Indians got to within 46-40 with around five minutes left in the fourth, but Szilagyi took over afterwards, pouring in 11 of his 13 fourth-quarter points in the final 4:45.

“Alex had a huge third and fourth quarter for us,” said Moore.

Szilagyi led the way with 20 points, while Simmons scored 12. Justin Long also had a good game, scoring 12 points.

Fishers is 17-7 and will play the sectional host and No. 1-ranked Carmel in Friday’s second semi-final.

Hamilton County Reporter

Sectional 8 at Carmel got off to an exciting start, as Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield played a double overtime game in the first of Tuesday’s two first-round games at the Eric Clark Activity Center.

The Royals eventually beat the Shamrocks 62-57. Southeastern will play Noblesville in Friday’s first semi-final. But first, HSE had to get past a determined and hot-shooting Shamrocks team.

“They went out there and they competed,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield of his team. “Was it our best game? No. But we found a way.”

Westfield led 15-8 after the first quarter, with senior Caleb Welch scoring six of those
points. The Royals came back to take a 26-20 halftime lead; junior Mabor Majak
had seven points in the second period, with Landon Morris adding six points.

“Didn’t get off to a good start, but our bench came in and gave us a spark and we got things turned around,” said Satterfield.

Southeastern held a 30-22 lead early in the third, but back-to-back 3s from senior Zach Banks suddenly cut the lead to 30-28.

The Royals worked their way back to a 35-30 lead, but Welch and Eli Patchett threw
in consecutive 3s to put the ‘Rocks up 36-35.

A late three-point play by Chris Grubbs got HSE ahead 40-36 at the end of the third period. Westfield opened the fourth with a 7-0 run, all by Banks (two free throws, a 3 and a floater.) The ‘Rocks still led 46-44 with 30 seconds left, but Grubbs tied the game with a layin, and regulation ended at 46-46.

“We knew that they were going to be ready to come out and we knew we were in a dogfight from there,” said Satterfield.

Banks and Welch both hit 3s in the first overtime, with Welch’s triple putting Westfield ahead 52-50. Noah Smith hit two free throws with 1:45 left, and those would be the final points of the first extra period. A last HSE shot didn’t go, so there would be more free basketball.

The Royals took care of business quickly in the second OT. Morris and Grubbs hit back-to-back layins, then Vinny Buccilla hit 3 of 4 foul shots to give Southeastern a 59-52 lead.

Welch hit another 3, but the Royals again made free throws to seal the game.

“They kept coming together, they kept talking,” said Satterfield. “Was it a perfect game or a good game for us? Not in the least.

You got to give them a lot of credit for that. But at the same time, we kept getting some stops, we kept making plays when we had to. We found a way to win.”

Grubbs scored 15 points, pulled eight rebounds and dished out six assists Morris went 7 of 7 from the lead to add 14 points.

Majak had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Noah Smith had five assists.

Banks scored 16 points, with Welch and Braden Smith both adding 15 points; Banks
and Smith led the rebounding with five each.

Patchett scored 11. Smith dished out five assists, and Welch handed out four. The
Shamrocks were 11 of 22 from 3-point range; Welch hit four, Patchett three, and
Banks and Smith each had two 3s.

Southeastern is 15-8 for the season, while the Shamrocks finished at 12-11.

The Fishers City Council leadership just announced a series of monthly Council Connect meetings to allow a discussion with the public.  The first session Tuesday night may have drawn a small crowd, but a lot of big issues were discussed.

The first question from the audience asked the council members what they hope to accomplish with Council Connect.  Council Vice President replied he hopes to talk about “topical events,” such as the construction on State Road 37 scheduled to begin in the coming months.  He also wants to have these meetings in different areas of the city to allow residents in that area to ask questions of the council members.

Mayor Scott Fadness says his communications staff is “constantly trying to figure out, how do you reach people, how do you connect with people?”

In his experience, most contacts with residents hone in on their neighborhood concerns, such as traffic control, crime or someone in the neighborhood not mowing his grass.  The turnout for broader policy discussions normally fail to stir interest.

The discussion then turned to social media.  The mayor said his most popular social media posts deal with pictures of his family or food and restaurants.  The mayor is concerned about public officials using social media contacts and adding them up as votes in the community.  He tries to filter that through what is best for the city and is willing to let the chips fall where they may on social media.

“The things that are most popular (on social media) hands down are the things that people are entertained by – Porrtillo’s, Ikea, Top Golf, parks,” Fadness said.  “The things that are most hotly debated in the small circle of political life are not the things that get the most consumption or energy or enthusiasm.”

The conversation then turned to mass transportation.  The mayor said the Green Line, which would have been done on the Nickel Plate Rail Line, was last in line among the other transit lines in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, meaning local residents would be paying taxes for transit ten years before seeing any benefit with mass transit services.

The state law would also require certain referendums be passed, and the polling in Hamilton County indicated little voter interest in approving a mass transit plebiscite, according to Fadness.

The mayor made his case that disruptive technologies are on the way that will dramatically change how we move around, and sinking large amounts of public money into traditional mass transit operations may not be the best policy at this time.

“I’m not supportive of raising people’s taxes to go buy into a technology that I don’t believe is going to be the future of how people move around,.” said the mayor.  That is one reason he chose to go with a trail along the Nickel Plate, the mayor said.

The mass transit discussion then turned to housing and how workers in businesses such as restaurants will find a place to live reasonably close to where they work.  Many options were discussed.

I had a to leave a few minutes before the session ended, but it was a lively and healthy exchange of views among residents and elected officials.  As these monthly meetings continue through the remainder of 2019, let’s hope more people choose to participate.

(from the left) Council Vice President Eric Moeller, City Councilman David George, Mayor Scott Fadness, Councilwoman at-large Cecilia Coble and Council President Rich Block

The City of Fishers spent many months remodeling the Amphitheater at the downtown Municipal Complex. located just north of City Hall, during 2018.  We were well into the summer season before the shiny, new facility was ready to handle concerts.

2019 will be the first Amphitheater season where the new & improved facility will host a full season of events.  The City of Fishers released the act lineups set to grace the stage of the Amphitheater this year.

The season kicks-off with My Yellow Rickshaw on Tuesday, June 4th.  The season ends with the popular Fishers Blues Fest August 30 & 31.

There will be Tuesday night concerts starting at 7pm, Friday night music beginning at 8pm, and a series of lunch time concerts along the Central Green, just south of City Hall.

There are a number of familiar names in this year’s list of acts, along with some new ones.

Here is the full listing of the 2019 Fishers Summer Concert Series:

Tuesday Nights
June 4 – July 30 | 7 – 9 p.m.
Nickel Plate District Amphitheater

• June 4: My Yellow Rickshaw sponsored by Heritage Christian School & Primrose School
• June 11: Endless Summer Band sponsored by Boomerang Development
• June 18: The Doo sponsored by Citizens State Bank
• June 25: Karma with special guests Fishers Music Works’ Mudsock Jazz Combo
• July 2: The Bishops
• July 9: Parrots of the Caribbean with special guests The Islanders sponsored by Bose McKinney & Evans
• July 16: Dave & Rae sponsored by Cathedral High School & The Goddard School
• *July 23 & 30: Rain makeup dates

Fridays Nights
June 7 – August 23 | 8 p.m.
Nickel Plate District Amphitheater

• June 7: B105.7 presents 80’s at the AMP with E5c3p4: The Music of Journey
• June 14: The PettyBreakers
• June 21: Mike & Joe
• June 28: Spark!Fishers National Concert (to be announced)
• July 5: Sounds of Summer: The Music of the Beach Boys
• July 12: Jennie DeVoe
• July 19: Dark Desert Eagles
• July 26: Such a Night: Recreating the Music of The Band’s Last Waltz
• August 2: The Woomblies Rock Orchestra
• August 16: Signs of Life: The American Pink Floyd
• August 23: The Travelin’ McCourys with special guest Fishers Music Works’ Fishers Switch Vibe
• August 30 & 31: Fishers Blues Fest

Wednesday Lunchtime Concerts
June 5 – August 28 | Noon – 1 p.m.
Central Green (1 Municipal Drive)

• June 5: Kelly Isenhower
• June 12: Mr. Daniel*
• June 19: Phil Pierle
• June 26: Mr. Mystic the Magician*
• July 3: Tim and Jay
• July 10: Mark and Max*
• July 17: Kyle Bledsoe
• July 24: Paul’s Father Goose & Music Show*
• July 31: Kelly Isenhower
• August 7: Stephens Puppets presents Goldilocks & the Three Bears*
• August 14: Phil Pierle
• August 21: Mr. Daniel*
• August 28: Tim and Jay

* Indicates children’s shows

There are a number of people in Fishers working to raise the awareness of issues facing those in our community with disabilities.  March is Disability Awareness Month, so I have three people involved locally to talk about what Fishers is doing in March.