You have probably seen the long-vacant office building in Fishers along I-69.  It was originally a bank call center then was occupied by Roche Diagnostics , which moved out in 2017.  The building has been vacant since then, but will now have a new tenant, Round Room, moving its headquarters from Carmel to Fishers.

Below is the news release issued by Round Room announcing the move:

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 Round Room Holdings, Inc., the privately held company owning several businesses in the wireless retail space and ancillary markets, announces today it is relocating its Carmel corporate headquarters to Fishers. The company acquired the former Roche campus building at the corner of Interstate 69 and 106th Street, and will renovate the two-story, 190,000-square-foot property before moving in by Q1 2021. Round Room will occupy 120,000 square feet of the owner-occupied property with plans to lease the remainder of the development to tenants. Advisors to the transaction included KSM Location Advisors, Cushman & Wakefield, Weybright Management, Inc. and more.

Round Room’s flagship company TCC, the nation’s largest Verizon Authorized Retailer operates nearly 900 Verizon locations in 39 states, including 79 in Indiana. The move enables Round Room to consolidate more than 200 employees from its portfolio of companies, including TCC, TCC Gives, Round Room Gives, Redux and Culture of Good, under one roof. The company’s Connecticut-based office, and home of Wireless Zone, the nation’s only Verizon Authorized Retailer operating as a franchise, will remain open.

“Moving our headquarters to Fishers enables us to attract and retain top talent from across the Hoosier state, accommodate future growth plans for Round Room and its subsidiaries, and enhance our corporate culture,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room. “As a family-owned business that has grown up in Indiana, we’re excited to continue to invest in local resources to support our home state. The City of Fishers has been a great partner in our decision to relocate, and we’re excited to be a part of such a vibrant and entrepreneurial-minded business environment.”

Round Room’s new headquarters will include a state-of-the-art training center for up to 450 employees in its 40,000 square-foot common area as well as a full cafe, fitness center, social amenities and more to enhance the way companies are using office space now. Round Room will make continued investments to advance the property, working with local contractors and developers whenever possible.

“Scott and his team at Round Room have grown this company from the ground up in a true display of entrepreneurial spirit,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Fishers is happy to be part of the next chapter for Round Room’s future growth and we welcome them to the Fishers community as part of the vibrant I-69 business corridor.”

Round Room is a Culture of Good Inc. company that makes ongoing investments in the local communities where it operates. TCC Gives, a private foundation of TCC operated under Round Room Gives, provides grants to 501(c)(3) organizations across the nation and recently surpassed $2 million in donations to nonprofits.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, TCC Gives donated $160,000 to 80 nonprofits serving those most affected by the pandemic. TCC Gives is continuing to focus on emergent situations, dedicating $150,000 to nonprofits focusing on social justice across the nation this quarter.

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About Round Room LLC

Based in Carmel, Indiana, Round Room leads and invests in companies serving the wireless industry. With 1,241 TCC and Wireless Zone stores across 43 states, Round Room is the largest Verizon Authorized Retailer in the U.S. Its portfolio of companies also share a deep commitment to improving the communities they serve nationwide. To learn more about Round Room, visit www.RoundRoom.com.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools plan to start the school year on-time, in person, with an option for e-learning.   HSE Spokesperson Emily Abbotts points to a Skylert issued June 19th by Superintendent Allen Bourff.

“Our underlying goal is for students to report to their respective schools on August 5 as scheduled,” Bourff wrote in the Skylert message. “Provisions will be made for students who are unable to attend under current circumstances.”

Any school reopening plan will be reviewed by the health department and will be the subject of talks with the local teachers association before it is final.

A committee has been working on the details of plans to reopen HSE Schools in August.

Dr. Bourff is expected to provide an update on the status of the committee’s work at Wednesday night’s regular school board meeting.

The high school graduation ceremonies are still scheduled at the respective high school football fields.  Fishers High School is scheduled to stage graduation July 10, HSE High School July 11.  This assumes Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb will go to Stage 5 in the reopening plans by then….if the governor does not implement Stage 5 by the time of the graduations dates, the ceremonies will be cancelled.

As families in the Hamilton Southeastern School District await a decision on how classes will be held in the coming semester, our neighbors to the west, Carmel-Clay Schools, have announced plans to offer traditional in-person classes, with an option for families to use online learning.

Here is the letter issues to parents in the Carmel-Clay District from Superintendent Michael Beresford:

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Dear CCS Families,

We wanted to share some preliminary information about our planning for opening school in the fall. We have been working on various scenarios with guidance from our medical community, Indiana Department of Education, Center for Disease Control, and Hamilton County Health Department.

Our current plan is to open school on August 11, 2020 and follow our published school calendar for the 2020-2021 school year.  School will be held in-person, 5 days a week, following the re-opening recommendations to the highest degree possible.

We know we have students and staff with underlying health issues that will prohibit them from attending in-person and some families who are concerned about their children returning to an in-person school environment.  We are planning a virtual learning option for these students.

We have a COVID-19 Planning Group working on the detailed procedures that will be required for in-person school attendance. In addition, our curriculum and instruction team has been evaluating data from the spring to make improvements for this fall’s version of virtual learning.

We plan to send the detailed plan to families in early July and gather data from parents to finalize staffing and complete preparations for the start of school.

Please keep in mind that directives and guidance from state and local authorities can change quickly in this environment. We will continue to share information on any adjustments needed as we move forward.

As always, we thank you for your support and partnership as we work through this pandemic.

All for now,

Michael J. Beresford, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Carmel Clay Schools

The city will have the legal authority to enforce parking rules downtown allowing Ginovus certain parking spaces in the Switch parking garage near City Hall.  Signs are placed on those parking spaces, but Monday’s Board of Works action empowers the city to ticket violators.

Also, the board expanded the parking areas in the downtown Nickel Plate District where overnight parking is banned. Those streets are:

–The parking lot north and adjacent to 12 Municipal Drive

–The parking lot north and adjacent to 11 Municipal Drive

— New parking spots along the northern portion of Municipal Drive behind the library within the  Nickel Plate District will have restrictions to overnight parking, consistent with other parking restrictions in the NIckel Plate District

11 & 12 Municipal Drive are associated with new office buildings recently constructed in the municipal complex.

County party chairs are allowed to appoint candidates that did not run in the primary election, and there is an opening with no candidate for that party, to be placed on the November general election ballot.  The Hamilton County Democratic Party announced Monday Chairman Joe Weingarten will be appointing five candidates for county offices.

Dan Montgomery will be opposing Republican incumbent Mark Heirbrandt in County Commissioner District 3 (which includes Fishers).

In the Hamilton County Council at-large election, add Democrat Victor Schleich to be on the ballot in November.

Other Democrats running in November include:

County Treasurer – Jake Madore

County Auditor – Michael Roberts

County Surveyor – Brad Beer

Indiana law requires many locally appointed bodies to have a political balance, and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Weingarten says Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has not been following that law.  City Attorney Chris Greisl has sent a response.

Specifically, Weingarten says the Fishers Police Merit and Fire Commissions cannot have 3 members of the same political party serving on those panels, yet he claims election records show  four of the five Police Commission members are Republicans and all five on the Fire Commission are Republicans.

The police and fire commissions are responsible for handling issues of discipline for those serving in those city departments.

According to Weingarten, Bryan Babb is listed on both Commissions’ websites as a Democrat, though his voting records indicate that, while he voted Democrat in the 2016 primary, he voted Republican in the 2011 and 2014 primaries.

Weingarten also points to Mr. Gary Bolenbaugh,  listed with no political affiliation on the Commission’s website, while voting records indicate he voted Republican in the 2016, 2018 and 2019 primary elections. The Democratic Party Chair says based on their voting records, both Babb and Bolenbaugh should be listed as Republicans, resulting in a politically imbalanced Commission.

On the Fire Merit Commission, Mike Peterson does not show party affiliation but voting records indicate he voted Republican, based on Weingarten’s letter to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.  William Stuart, per the same letter, has a primary election voting record showing he voted Republican. This results in all five members not meeting the intent of the Indiana Code, according to Democrats.

Although how one votes is a secret ballot, under Indiana law, in a primary election, a voter generally asks for a Republican or Democratic ballot.  Which ballot you choose is a matter of public record.

City Attorney Chris Greisl, in responding to Weingarten’s letter, cites Indiana’s code as saying Gary Bolenbaugh serving on the police and Mike Peterson with the fire commission are appointees by the city council and, per the statute, are not subject to the political affiliation rules.

As to Babb and Stuart, Greisl says “claimed status within the Democratic
party. We are happy to further review any information you provide that would otherwise disqualify members of your party from serving on our local boards and commissions.”

When asked to comment on Greisl’s response to his letter, the Democratic County Chair  told LarryInFishers he is not satiffied.  “Instead of an excuse and side stepping the questions it would be nice if they followed the law,” Weingarten said in an e-mail message.

“Fairness when it comes to our police and fire departments and the administration of justice to its members is critical to the safety of Fishers residents,” Joe Weingarten said in a Democratic Party news release.  “Now more than ever, we must ensure that decisions pertaining to department member discipline, including suspension, demotion and termination, are balanced and made in the best interest of the community.”

Below is the text of the letter sent by Weingarten to Mayor Scott Fadness, followed by attorney Greisl’s response.

Continue reading HAMCO Dems say Fishers police & fire commissions lack political balance required by law →

It was in the 1980s, 1987 perhaps, when I was at a Catholic mass and the priest made fatherhood the entire subject of his sermon.  After all, it was Fathers Day. At the end of the sermon, he asked all the fathers in the church to stand.  Nearly all the adult males in the nearly-full church were standing.  I did not.

It was at that moment that a sense of reality gripped me.  I was in my mid-30s, never been married, and at that stage of my life unlikely to ever become a father.  I had no prospect of marriage at that time.

It was a few years later that I would meet Jane.  We were married in 1991, and at our age, realized we had one opportunity to become parents and we did.  We were surprised when the nurses told us to expect twins, but also very excited.

I feel so fortunate that God gave me the opportunity to become a father in the latter stages of life.  I could not be more blessed to have two wonderful daughters, Allison and Mary.  They are now both adults and married.

I am preparing myself for the next stage in all this, becoming a grandfather in August, as Allison and her husband Jacob prepare to become parents for the first time.

Anything I know about fatherhood came from my own dad, who sadly left us 26 years ago.  His impact on me and my five siblings continue to this day.  Bernie Lannan was a great man.

So, Allison and Mary, it is each of you that makes this day special for me.  Thank you for being daughters any father would be proud of…..and thanks to Jane for being the best mom ever to both of them.

Daddy’s little girls have grown to be outstanding young women.

Fishers residents ages 12-17 may now request an appointment for a novel coronavirus test as of today (Saturday), plus we have the latest COVID-19 numbers for Fishers.

The City of Fishers wanted to begin testing its residents and provide testing to local businesses and their employees early in the crisis.  Mayor Scott Fadness and the city council quickly established a city health department, which began testing local residents April 7, long before these tests were widely available elsewhere in Hamilton County.  Fadness also moved to make testing available to all Fishers businesses and their employees at at time when testing was hard to find.

Residents of Fishers could request a test for free, even without symptoms.  Businesses located in the city could have their employees tested for a fee.

Now, as of today, Fishers residents ages 12-17 may now make appointments for a COVID-19 test, even without symptoms.  Arranging a test begins with an assessment, which you can find at this link.

The latest number provided by the State of Indiana shows 97 novel coronavirus deaths in Hamilton County.  Fishers has not yet released how many of those fatalities are from Fishers.

The city health department, as of late Friday, shows 3,110 tests administered, reflecting 3.33% of the total Fishers population.  From those test results,  49 came back positive.  Of the 49 positive tests, 8 of those patients were without symptoms

Fishers-Firefighters were called to 8253 North by Northeast Blvd, Studio 6 Motel near 96th Street & I-69, for a report of a fire.  At about 5pm Friday, firefighters found an exterior fire that had burnt up the side of the structure and extended into the first floor.  It took firefighters an hour to extinguish the flames, displacing dozens of tenants.

There will be no fireworks display at Geist this 4th of July.  The City of Fishers announced the cancellation Friday.  Coronavirus and public health concerns were cited by city officials as the reason for the cancellation.