The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will announce the new superintendent of schools on April 22nd.  That was the word from HSE School Board President Janet Pritchett following the Wednesday night board meeting.

Originally, the announcement was scheduled for Wednesday, but was pushed back until after spring break.

Current Superintendent Allen Bourff plans to retire at the end of June this year.

April is Sustainability Month and the City is gearing up for Keep Fishers Beautiful, also during April.  The pandemic may limit some of the group activities seen in past years, but there will be plenty of opportunities to be a part of it.

The monthlong celebration includes in-person volunteer opportunities at City parks and local schools; a City Recycling Day; discounts and special programming at local garden centers; a trash pickup run with Fishers Running Club; a sustainability-themed reading list curated by the Hamilton East Public Library; and guest blogs on ThisIsFishers.com focused on sustainability, gardening, volunteerism, and more.

The celebration will also feature the 2021 City of Service Awards during National Volunteer Week from April 18 through 23. The annual service award celebration will recognize the dedicated volunteers and individuals who have donated their time and talent to our community in 2020. This year, three new community nominated awards will debut, including Essential Worker of the Year, Community Servant of the Year, and Non-Profit Staffer of the Year.

Here is the schedule of events for the month of April, as provided by the City of Fishers”

Continue reading April is Sustainability Month and Keep Fishers Beautiful →

The weekly numbers from the Fishers Health Department are relatively unchanged from the previous update one week ago.  The department does say that almost 30% of city residents have received at lease their first COVID vaccine dose.

The COVID community risk rating remains at Level 3, or orange.

Health Department epidemiologist Josh Robinson has a video rundown on all this, find it

at this link.

Anyone using 146th Street needs to be aware of a major closure set for 7 days, beginning April 5th.  The closure will allow crews to transition traffic patterns at the intersection with State Road 37.  Officials have released suggested detour routes using Allisonville Road and Cumberland Road.

The detour map is below.

A consulting firm, Favorite Part of My Day, has been selected as the Diversity and Inclusion consultant for the  City of Fishers.  The city has previously hired the firm for the Fishers Police Department.

Favorite Part of My Day will be paid $115,000 for the duration of the one-year contract.

According to an attachment to the Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety agenda, the contractor will be responsible for:

– Establishing and publicizing a city committee.

– Business engagement – ensuring equitable opportunities for all residents of the City of Fishers & inclusive work environments

– Religious institution engagement – implementing skills as equity partners

– Programming for resident graduates of Interrupting Racism, giving them implementation skills of the information learned

– Equitable opportunities for residents to hold leadership positions in City of Fishers (committees, etc.)

The consulting firm will report directly to Mayor Scott Fadness.  This program is the next step after the city provided Interrupting Racism training to any Fishers resident wishing to take it, free of charge.

The city had paid half the salary for the diversity and inclusion officer for HSE Schools, but Fishers decided to take those funds and provide the programs to be delivered by the consultant, when the amount of work required was too much for the HSE Schools employee.

(Editor’s Note:  Previous versions of this story cite $155,000 as the amount of the contract.  The story has been changed to the correct amount of the contract, $115,000)

The City of Fishers will pay local neighborhoods $66,659 in Vibrant Neighborhoods Matching Grant money recommended by a committee to spruce up areas at least ten years old.  City officials told the Board of Works and Public Safety a requirement that a neighborhood may only apply for a grant one-out-of-three years resulted in some applications being denied.  As part of the action taken Tuesday, the board approved language removing the one-out-of-three year requirement.  You can find the full list of the applications approved and denied at this link.  Neighborhoods receiving the money will be responsible for compliance with all laws that apply.

In another action, the board voted to provide several fireworks displays this summer with a contract not to exceed $135,000 for Madbomber Fireworks.  Fireworks events include:

–A June 15 city celebration for high school graduating seniors

–Spark Fishers

–Geist Blast on the Bridge

For the first time, I recorded a Zoom podcast on video.  This one was with the new leaders of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.  The video version of that podcast is below.

When previous Hamilton County Party Chair Joe Weingarten chose not to run for another term, there was a contested election for officers.  A slate of candidates led by Dayna Colbert won over the votes of precinct official and were all elected.

Here is my podcast with Chair Dayna Colbert and Vice Chair Ronnie Saunders.

The school situation in the area is going to be a bit more complicated in the future, based on a presentation by Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen before the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board Tuesday Morning.  If the mayor’s projections are correct, both the City of Noblesville and HSE Schools will see dramatic growth in Wayne Township during the next 5-10 years.

For as far back as I can remember, the local school district situation was fairly clear.  For the most part, the Noblesville School District handled students in the City of Noblesville and HSE Schools took in all of Fishers, unincorporated parts of Fall Creek and Delaware Township, as well as all of the mostly-rural Wayne Township.

Jensen made it clear his city plans to expand east into Wayne Township with both residential and commercial development.  The mayor told HSE School officials he expects Noblesville to double in size in the coming 5-10 years and most of that growth will be into Wayne Township.  That projection would mean HSE Schools would see dramatic growth in the student population.

Keep in mind that the HSE School Corporation is already the 4th-largest school system in the state, based on student population, with a count of roughly 21,500.  The largest district in Indiana is Fort Wayne (29,404), followed by Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) (26,410) and Evansville Vanderburgh Schools (22,601).  If Noblesville  expands as projected into Wayne Township, HSE Schools would rise on that list.

This would create a much larger school system than HSE is now and would bring burdens as well as opportunities.  More buildings would be required for more students but the tax base would also increase with all the projected growth.

After posting my original story on Mayor Jensen’s appearance before the board Tuesday, plenty of comments followed about HSE giving up any territory annexed by Noblesville into Wayne Township.  I have covered the HSE School Board for more than nine years and school officials have said consistently that there is no intention of giving up Wayne Township as part of HSE Schools.

So, with growth comes change. At HSE Schools, that change will likely come with more growth in the next decade, this time in Wayne Township & Noblesville rather than Fishers.  The new superintendent of schools yet to be hired by the HSE Board will be facing all that change.

Some people think this change is not a good idea, others say it will be good for all of us.  Only time will tell.  But I will be watching and reporting on whatever happens.

Fishers fire officials say an aroma of fuel was reported in the 9100 block of E. 146th Street Saturday afternoon, in the Weaver Woods neighborhood near Allisonville Road, and a fuel spill was found in a nearby construction company.

According to the Fishers Fire Department, there is no immediate danger to the public in the area of the four ponds affected but there is a noticeable odor.  It is undetermined how many gallons of diesel are involved.

Residents may see and hear equipment in the area from the spill clean up company.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is on the scene and assisting with mitigating the incident.