Fishers Police Officer Binh Dennis was off-duty, traveling on a motorcycle with his wife Mary, in October of 2018, when tragedy struck.  Officer Dennis was badly injured in an accident.  He continues to go through extensive rehabilitation and medical treatment recovering from that accident.

The local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #199 is asking for your  help, by hosting a “Dine & Donate” fund-raising event, set for Monday, March 25th, at the Verde Mexican Restaurant, 11680 Commercial Drive.  Verde will take 20% of all sales on March 25th and contribute the funds to financially assist Officer Binh Dennis and his wife Mary.

Just print the flyer above and present it to your server, and 20% of what you spend will go to the Binh Dennis family.

The Fishers City Council spent the first part of Monday’s meeting approving proclamations and presenting certificates to schools achieving state championships.

The HSE High School state champion Girls Basketball Squad was honored by the council.  Also, the Math Bowl State Champions from Riverside Intermediate School were recognized.

City Proclamations were issued to the JANUS Organization for 40 years of service to the local community and for Indiana Parkinson Foundation Day, coming April 13th.

The council viewed a video on March as Disability Awareness Month.

The Stations development received Fishers City Council approval Monday for a rezoning request, allowing Thompson Thrift to continue with plans for 8.6 acres between The Yard and Kroger along 116th Street East of I-69.  The project calls for construction of a mixed-use building with officec and retail, a commercial building, a hotel, and approximately 50 town homes on the site.  In answering questions from the council, Attorney Steve Hardin said the city may need to deal with a nearby creek as the development moves forward.  Councilman John Weingardt pointed out that the Thompson Thrift investment has grown substantially since the original plans for The Yard, by tens of millions of dollars.

Knowledge Services announced it would locate its headquarters between the Navient building and I-69 in June of 2017.  The firm was to begin construction on the complex by the end of this month.  The council voted to extend the deadline to the end of  September.

A resolution approving the project agreement for development of the north side of 116th Street by Browning Investments and CRG Residential was passed by council members.  The mixed-use building will have 235 residential units with retail space on the 1st floor. The garage, which will be owned by the Fishers Town Hall Building Corporation, will include 329 spaces. Four older retail offices that front 116th Street will receive exterior aesthetic and structural improvements.

A rezone for Shamrock Development at 12244 East 116th Street was tabled after Councilman Todd Zimmerman said he was concerned plans for this commercial development did not appear to be up to the standards of a nearby commercial area development by the same developer.  Shamrock agreed to work with Zimmerman and city staff to address his concerns.

Council members unanimously approved an amendment to rules governing hand-offs of neighborhoods from developers to Homeowners Associations.  Mayor Scott Fadness said this amendment was about addressing neglect by developers, not the result of routine maintenance.

The prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced Monday that Fishers is a finalist in the foundation’s Culture of Health Prize.  For more details, see the news release below issued by the City of Fishers.

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Today, Fishers announced it was chosen as a finalist for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize. As a 2019 finalist, Fishers is one step closer to the national Prize which honors communities that are bringing partners together around a shared commitment to health, opportunity, and equity.

Selected from nearly 200 applicant communities, Fishers joins 11 other finalist communities from across the country. Winners will be announced this fall.

“Advancing as a RWJF Culture of Health Prize finalist is a testament to the hard work and dedication of dozens of city leaders and residents committed to making Fishers a vibrant and healthy community,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Through partnerships with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the City, and other leaders, our community has been on a journey for the last six years to not only address the mental health crisis in our community, but to bring more economic opportunity, more equitable conversations to the forefront, and develop wraparound services for our residents in need. Being recognized as a finalist means we’re on the right track to providing all residents a quality of life that goes beyond the traditional definition of a great place to live to include health, safety, and opportunity.”

As part of the application process, Fishers showcased its dedication to a sustainable culture of health through: the Fishers Fire and Emergency Services department’s WeCare program; the Fishers Mental Health Initiative; the Fishers Council on Disability; the City of Fishers’ and Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ Chief Equity Officer and associated programming; economic development efforts through Launch Fishers, Indiana IoT Lab, and elsewhere; affordable housing efforts; Township government support; non-profits such as Fishers Youth Assistance Program and Youth Mentoring Initiative; Fishers Parks & Recreation’s nature programs; and a partnership with AARP and senior programming.

The Prize is guided by the principle that every community has the potential to leverage its unique strengths and assets to expand opportunities for residents to thrive. To become a finalist, Fishers had to demonstrate how its efforts reflect the six Prize criteria:

• Defining health in the broadest possible terms.
• Committing to sustainable systems changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions.
• Creating conditions that give everyone a fair and just opportunity to reach their best possible health.
• Harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners, and community members.
• Securing and making the most of available resources.
• Measuring and sharing progress and results.

“These communities have set themselves apart by recognizing that health is about opportunity. It is connected to every element of our lives – good schools, safe and affordable housing, high-quality jobs that pay a fair wage and so much more,” said Richard Besser, MD, RWJF president and CEO. “In the coming months, we look forward to visiting each community to learn more about how it is working with local leaders and residents to shape solutions in all these areas that impact health.”

If selected as a Prize winner, Fishers will be given a $25,000 cash prize and a national platform to share their story and lessons learned with the country. The community will join with other national and community change leaders, including past Prize winners, through the national Prize Alumni Network.

To learn about the work of the 39 previous Prize winners, visit www.rwjf.org/prize

The RWJF Culture of Health Prize is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The Fishers GOP Club hosted a joint appearance by both candidates for Fishers mayor, incumbent Scott Fadness and challenger Logan Day, on March 14th.  I posted a story on that meeting at this link.

I was very pressed for time when writing that story, so I did not include details of the question and answer session.  I have had many requests to expand on the previous story.

Here is an attempt to report on the questions and answers from that joint appearance.  I did my best to reflect the answers given by the candidates.

Q. Will free enterprise and free markets provide a solution to those who believe we have an affordable housing problem in Fishers?

Fadness:  Work force and the ability to deliver to the employers here in Fishers are important issues .  This is a balance we have to strike, a continued conversation with the stakeholders, involving the residential builders and the residents.  Start talking about work force housing and you will see people engaged and coming to City Council meetings.  Affordable housing needs to be thoughtfully integrated into the local community.  I want to build affordable housing but I want to be proud of it 10-20-30 years from now.  1995-2006, Fishers allowed housing to come in that is not sustainable for the long-term.

Day: Cannot discredit anything the mayor said.  It is important to understand the stigma that is often-times associated with affordable housing, how that plays into the holistic community we want to try to build.  In talking with business owners being displaced, cannot afford the rent going elsewhere, and need workers, there is a gap.  Let’s draw the community in quickly, start having the conversation about how affordable housing can work for us.  Business owners have this need for workers.  Conversations that need be happening are not going on now.  We have an active base of citizens ready to have that conversation.

Q:  What can be done to help with transportation for disabled citizens?  Hamilton County Express is not very convenient , you need to call them days in advance.

Day:  I have worked in the medical transport industry, transporting non-ambulatory people.  Had a conversation with JANUS, which runs he Hamilton County Express, and the big problem is an influx in times, for example, everyone has an appointment at 10am.  Could contractors be used during those peak times?

Fadness:  Fishers has demonstrated time and time again we can be a leader and we can innovate.  John Wechsler (founder of Launch Fishers) and I have talked about challenges of mobility.  We wrote a letter to Uber, saying the city wants to be part of a pilot program, to deal with mobility, which is being disrupted with new technologies.

Q:  Are you willing to debate each other?

Fadness:  If there is a forum provided we’ll evaluate that.

Day:  Absolutely

Q:  Fishers receives less from the County Option Income Tax (COIT) then, let’s say, Carmel.  What will the mayoral candidates do to make that a little more fair?

Fadness: I’ve lost some Carmel friends along the way on this.  This conversation has been going on for a few years.  State Representative Todd Huston came close to helping pass a bill last year to rectify the situation.  In 2019, Carmel will receive about $19 million more in COIT than the City of Fishers even though we are very close in population.  That $19 million would fund all of our Fire Department and all the Police Department.  A measure has just passed the Indiana House, prospects are good for Senate passage, to deal with this issue.

Day:  Just today was reading about Representative Huston’s legislation, so I don’t have much to add on that.  This is a systemic problem, not just Carmel, which comparing Fishers to other nearby communities.  As mayor I will continue to go down to the Statehouse a couple of times a month, talking with various representatives and senators, and will continue to do that as this bill moves forward.  If Representative Huston’s efforts are not successful in this session, I would continue to put pressure on solving this issues, which puts a financial drain on our community.

Q:  We are meeting in an area developed using Tax Increment Financing (TIF), please explain TIFs…as an aside, we have a AAA bond rating and a low tax rate.

Fadness:  TIF is a tool and you should be judicious about using it.  If Lawrence was the Fishers of the 1990s, everybody wanted to live in Lawrence, then Lawrence filled-up quickly with residential homes and a large commercial tax base….then the next interstate upgrade made Fishers the place to be, with good schools and lots of cheap, available land.  Fishers now has 7% of its land left to develop with residential development.  Fishers will not grow year-in and year-out like in the past.  Pendleton, McCordsville, and Fortville should buckle-up, those communities are next.  Fishers needs to be a sustainable community for the long-term.  At times, tools are used to ensure something occurs that would not naturally occur.  It’s my opinion this urban area of Fishers would not exist unless the city was willing to invest in infrastructure and parking garages.  Also, TIFs do not rob local schools of most funding.

Day:  I’ve tried to unpack this concept of TIF by reading-up on in recently.  The concern I have is the rate at which we are using it.  Most of the TIF projects here have used bond financing.  There are pay-as-you-go TIFs, which invlolve less leveraging against your bond rating and credit worthiness.  I wonder whether the city should explore options like that.  To developers, that may not sound like the best thing, because they would assume some of that risk up front.  There is some uncertainty as to how this will play in the future.  I get concerned when I look at the rate of which we implement and utilize TIF and compare  our residents misunderstanding of it, knowing how their government is utilizing that tool.  Having a AAA bond rating is like someone with a very high credit score saying, lets start using this credit card.  Are we misusing or mishandling it, is that the most sustainable option for the future?

Q:  Tell us something not now on the drawing board, not being talked about much,  that you would you like to see come to fruition?

Day:  I live on the east side of the city and there are some connectivity issues out there, and road infrastructure problems I would like to see handled within the next four years.  Trying not to be the “train guy”…I have a different vision based on the local residents I speak with, about the value this corridor could have.  I know we are moving forward with the trail, and there may be some portions we try to keep in place – this ties back into transportation.  As our population increases, so will traffic.  Many look to this corridor saying that will be the answer.  Car pooling, buses (if we ever see that come into town) can be utilized better.

Fadness: I will be a bit unconventional in answering this question.    My number one goal if re-elected would be to create regional framework for the Indy metro area.  We can no longer live in our silos.  There is a big city just to the south of us that we have very limited interaction with.  We need to create a regional approach to trans-formative capital projects, including law enforcement & public safety.  That will require tearing down a lot of those silos and will challenge a lot of people’s thinking about how we operate.  This doesn’t mean we lose our identity as a community, but we can’t be as good as we possibly can be if the people around us are not doing well.  Regionalism will be a big priority for me.

Q:  If Fishers is successful in gaining more money through action by the Indiana General Assembly through the COIT, how would you use the extra funds?

Fadness: We have some  fairly immediate public safety needs in the next 5-7 years.  As we geographically fill-out, we need to cover our response times and call volumes are going to go up.  We need to build another fire station and staff it.  Indiana finance laws make it easy to build a fire station, but more difficult to provide money for the firefighters.  Call volumes are increasing 3%-5% each year.  That would allow handling those needs without additional revenue streams or taking money out of the pockets of Fishers residents.

Day:   When I speak to city residents I hear that we need more investment  with our public safety departments.  Areas of the city less accessible are not seeing adequate response times.  I interact with the deaf community…there are challenges they face in accessing the most basic services we take for granted.

Q:  I moved back here after graduating from Purdue, the only reason I started my business here, at Launch Fishers, is because of what I see happening here.  Some say the city is growing too fast.  What do you say to someone like me..I’m concerned we might be taking our foot off the gas?

Day:  Love the question.  I am a Millennial.  I can’t say I’m disappointed with the things that I see, it’s the underlying methods of getting there – I want to make sure we are building a solid foundation.  If you feel like we’re pulling our foot off the gas right now, I think that’s an okay place to be.  You don’t put the pedal to the metal on the highway all the way to your destination.  The next four years will be a good opportunity to maintain the momentum we have and understand how this growth we have derived is going to be sustainable in the future.  We don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we put the pedal to the metal and find ourselves out of gas.  It’s a matter of balance.

Fadness: I’m not much of a coaster.  The world is changing at a rate that we all need to become accustomed to.  The art of this is not that we will not change…..the art is changing in a strategic fashion while adhering to the things that make us uniquely Fishers.  What makes us unique is not a particular building, not a particular place in Fishers, it’s our people.  I’m impressed by how innovative our people are, how forward-thinking they are and how optimistic and hard-working they are.  I don’t believe we need to slow down, I think we need to be strategic in our growth and decision making.  As for debt, Standard & Poor’s is not a credit score.  S&P evaluates you on a myriad of things,  not just how much debt you’ve issued, but what policies do you have, what management practices do you have from a financial perspective.  Less than 2% of all the communities in the country are AAA bond rated.

When I learned about the death of Birch Bayh at the age of 91, my mind went back to the late 1970s, to the one time I had the chance to meet the senator.

I was working as a news anchor and reporter at radio station WCSI in Columbus, Indiana at that time.  I was working a Saturday morning shift and was scheduled to leave work at 12:30pm.  However, Senator Bayh was in Columbus that Saturday and I was to stay late and record an interview with him for the weekend newscasts.

So, I dutifully began preparing for my talk with the Birch Bayh when the phone rang in the newsroom.  It was the White House.  Now, just so you know, it is not normal for a radio newsroom in a city of 35,000 people to get a phone call from the White House.  That was the first and only time in my journalistic career that ever happened.

The call came from an official with the National Security staff….he told me his name but I was way to shaken up by the situation to remember that name.  He just said, tell Senator Bayh to call us the moment he arrives.

Then it dawned on me that Senator Bayh was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee at that time.  He was about to be briefed on something very important.

It was also about that same time that the wire service WCSI subscribed to at the time, the Associated Press, began reporting that Chinese troops had entered the northern area of Vietnam, but AP had very few details.

It was about that time that Senator Bayh and his staff arrived at the station.  I told him to contact the White House, and he immediately made that call.  It was unusual because I know he was being briefed with classified information on an open phone line (technology was clearly not as sophisticated in those days) and the senator had a lot of questions about this Chinese incursion into Vietnam, and I could hear his part of the conversation because Mr. Bayh was standing right next to me.

So I began to think……even the AP had little information on this story and I was about to interview a senator on the Senate Intelligence Committee that had just been briefed by U.S. intelligence on what was happening.  How much could Birch Bayh tell me once I got him in front of a microphone?

After his phone conversation with White House officials, I recorded the interview, and guess what, Senator Birch Bayh laid out that entire situation going on at the border between China and Vietnam.  This small radio station in Columbus, Indiana had more information on this international situation than the Associated Press, the largest international news service at that time.

So, I remember Birch Bayh because he had no trouble telling a news reporter in his home state all about an international story, at least as much as he could say without disclosing national security secrets. Birch Bayh did me a big favor that day.

Birch Bayh is remembered for a number of accomplishments…constitutional amendments and opening up women’s sport with his push to enact Title IX being the major ones.

But I will remember Birch Bayh because of the one time we met and had a chance to talk on that Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Indiana.

The Fishers City Council will vote on a resolution Monday night to re-establish the Cumulative Capital Development Fund and city officials are trying to get the word out that this action will not impact the current city tax rate.

City Controller Lisa Bradford told the City Council Finance Committee Wednesday night that this fund was established by the town council in 1984 and was effective in 1985.  The Indiana legal code requires local units of government to re-establish this fund each year.

The resolution refers to a maximum property tax rate of 5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.  If that resolution is not re-established each year, by law the 5 cent figure goes down.

“As long as you re-establish, you have the opportunity to be at the max rate,” Bradford said to the committee.  “You don’t necessarily have to be at the max rate, but you have the opportunity to be at the max rate.”

Bradford described this resolution as a “budgeting mechanism” to put the Cumulative Capital Development Fund at the max rate if the city chooses to do so in the future.

This money is designed to fund large capital projects, such as HVAC systems for fire stations, electrical repairs, building roofs and fleet lease payments. Bradford cited a recent example of a new roof at the Holland Park shelter house paid for by utilizing this fund.

“It’s not a new tax, it’s always been around, it’s just (that) Indiana, a couple of years ago, changed the law, so that you have to re-establish it every year, and it is more of an opportunity, under the budgeting process, to go to the max rate.”

Bottom line, Bradford says this resolution is required by Indiana law and does not increase the city’s tax rate.

The United States Senate Youth Program takes only a few students into its fold.  In Indiana, just two high schoolers make the cut.  Ishaan Modi of HSE High School was recognized Wednesday night by the Hamilton Southeastern School Board for his selection to the elite program.

Ishaan told board members what a thrill it was to meet national leaders in Washington DC.  He was very impressed with his opportunity to meet and talk with the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts.

His honor brings with it a $10,000 scholarship from the Hearst Foundation.  Ishaan has a scholarship offer from Michigan State University but is still looking at all college opportunities.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board dealt with a number of issues at Wednesday night’s meeting, but most of the time was spent on building and facility issues throughout the district.

The board took action on several of those building proposals:

–First, $500,000 was approved to demolish the bleachers at HSE High School and replace them.  Seating capacity will be reduced from 3,355 to 2,852 to accommodate current code requirements.  Handicap seating positions and center rails will be added as part of the improvements.

–Next, $375,000 was authorized to replace a skylight at New Britton Elementary.

–More than $500,000 was approved to buy new furniture for New Britton Elementary.

–The school corporation will spend $922,000 to replace part of the roof at Riverside Intermediate School.

The board received information on projects set to come before the board in the future.  They include:

— Fishers Junior High School renovations are planned for the Media Center and Academic Corridor.  The projected price tag of this project is $1.7 million.

— Auditorium renovations at both high school were explained.  At Fishers High School, the upgrades are expected to cost $1.16 million.  At HSE, the projected price tag is just over $1 million.  Most of the funds would be used to replace outdated sound and lighting systems.

–LED lighting upgrades are planned for Sand Creek Elementary, Sand Creek Intermediate, HSE Intermediate/Jr. High and HSE High School.  The anticipated cost for this project is $1.8 million

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff was cautious, but hopeful that a Chinese language program would be established at one of the high schools, but available to students at both schools.

In the past, the biggest barrier to establishing a Chinese program was the difficulty in finding a committed Chinese instructor.

“We’ve been able to find them from year-to-year, but its been difficult to get them for more than a year at a time,” said Bourff at the Wednesday night board meeting.

According to Bourff, the school district “may” have a Chinese instructor willing to commit to multiple years of teaching the subject and build a curriculum.

“We’re hopeful we can do that,” Bourff told the board.  “I don’t know that we’ll be able to, we’re still in the negotiations stage.”

The program, if implemented, would be housed at Fishers High School but would be available to HSE students as well.  The program could go down to the Junior High School level.

Bourff told the board he is “hopeful” he will be able to present a Chinese program proposal at the next board meeting.