Hamilton Southeastern School Superintendent Allen Bourff covered a number of topics in a video message released Friday, including his recommendation on junior high school students moving to in-person classes.

“I will be making a recommendation to the school board…to shift Junior Highs to an in-person, 4-day week, beginning Monday, April 12,” said Bourff in the video message.  The final decision rests with the seven-member board of trustees, which is set to meet at 7pm Wednesday night.

Bourff points to a survey conducted with families of junior high school students, showing 86% support for in-person instruction, even if school officials are not always able to adhere to CDC guidelines.  With the new guidance of 3-foot social distancing, Bourff says “even that will be difficult in some circumstances.”

73% of the respondents favor 4-days-a-week in class over the hybrid system.

Of those families with in-person students, 38% did not respond to the survey.  64% of families with virtual students failed to respond.

“I want you to be aware that without a response, we will assign in-person students to an in-person schedule and virtual students will remain virtual until the end of the semester,” the superintendent said.

Hundreds of HSE Schools staff members are in the process of receiving COVID vaccinations, with the help of the Fishers Health Department.  Bourff says this “will bring a level of safety to our staff that they haven’t had since the pandemic began.”

The number of student COVID positive cases has declined over the last couple of months.  As of Friday morning, HSE Schools had 17 possible cases for the week. Bourff says the weekly positive student count in January was consistently in the 70s.  The Fishers Health Department community COVID  rating has recently been lowered from the highest, Level 4, down to Level 3, with numbers continuing to move downward.

In another matter covered in the video message, there will be a change in notifying families of individual school building closures.  Administrators will now use the telephone messaging system, along with other communication modes, to notify parents and students of a single building closure, as happened in recent days at Fishers Junior High School.  Bourff encourages families to keep information up-to-date on the Skyward system.

Finally, Dr. Bourff expressed the “shock and sorrow of the HSE family” at the death of Fishers High School Junior Raymond Jumper.  He collapsed while playing basketball at the Fishers YMCA and later died.

You can view the entire video at this link.

The summer festival of Fishers has a long history.  The Fishers Freedom Festival began in 1989 as first a one-day, then in the second year a two-day weekend event before the 4th of July.  Once the city stopped funding the nonprofit group that ran the Freedom Festival, it was replaced by the city-run Spark Fishers Festival (the marketing of the event shows it as Spark!Fishers).

Just a few weeks ago, the city said the Spark Festival would move to the week before Labor Day, likely to ensure COVID would be under better control.  Now, with vaccinations ramping up, Fishers has announced plans to have the Spark Fishers Festival at its normal time on the calendar and expand the celebration to a week-long event.

Last year’s Spark Fishers Festival went the way of most such events in 2020, cancelled due to the pandemic.  So the announcement that the city is planning the festival in 2021 is good news.

For more details, see the information below, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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The annual Spark!Fishers festival, ignited by First Internet Bank, will return to Fishers’ Nickel Plate Cultural District this summer. Kicking off on Tuesday, June 22 and running through Saturday, June 26, the weeklong festival will offer different ways for the community to celebrate each day. This year’s theme, Hometown Heroes, will honor the Fishers residents who have served our country and our community, from the U.S. Armed Forces to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re excited to host these popular summer traditions to bring our community back together after a difficult year,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Our team is coming together to make sure we’re providing a COVID-safe environment while giving our residents a little bit of normalcy. Spark!Fishers is truly a celebration of our community and there’s nothing else I’d rather see than everyone back together again.”

Last year’s festival was cancelled due to COVID-19, and as vaccination adoption increases and cases decline in Fishers, Fishers Parks plans a full slate of summer events such as the Fishers Farmers’ Market, Summer Concert Series, and Spark!Fishers with safety as top of mind.

The patriotic celebration will be packed full of family-favorites and Independence Day traditions, while showcasing what it means to be uniquely Fishers.

“First Internet Bank was happy to learn the Spark!Fishers celebration was returning this year,” said David Becker, President and CEO of First Internet Bank. “As we move closer to the completion of our new headquarters in the Nickel Plate District of Fishers, this is a special opportunity that allows us to celebrate with our neighbors and support the community.”

The 2021 lineup includes:

Tuesday, June 22 / 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday Night Concert at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater (band yet to be announced)

Wednesday, June 23 / 7 p.m.
5K Walk/Run around downtown Fishers, hosted by the Geist Half Marathon & Fishers YMCA
Registration opens April 1.

Thursday, June 24 / 6-9 p.m.
Spark!Fishers Car & Art Show around the Municipal Complex

Friday, June 25 / 8-10 p.m.
Friday Night Concert at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater (band yet to be announced)

Saturday, June 26 / 3-10 p.m.
Spark!Fishers Street Fair around the Municipal Complex, with a community parade at 6 p.m. and fireworks at dusk

Applications are now open for festival vendors, entertainers, and parade participants at sparkfishers.com. Applications are due May 1.

Visit sparkfishers.com and follow @SparkFishers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for festival news and updates.

The City of Fishers plans a special event honoring veterans of the Vietnam War March 29th.  The crowd is limited to 200 if held at the outdoor Amphitheater and will be reduced further if foreced indoors by the weather.

Below are the details, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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It is time to look at all the Oscar nominees this year in all the major categories, including acting, directing and the big prize, Best Picture.  Coronavirus has had its impact on the film business, just as it has for most of American life.

Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs and Larry Lannan look at the nominees in all the major categories.  We talk about who is in, and who was left out, in this episode of the Grade A Movies Podcast.

There have been some proposals for indoor sports facilities in Fishers that never left the planning stages with the private sector.  There have been fund-raising efforts to provide an indoor arts venue but nothing ever materialized.

Mayor Scott Fadness has tasked City Councilman Todd Zimmerman with forming a group to study a Fishers community center.  A committee has been formed.

Now, that panel is asking for your input.  There is a short 12-question survey you can take.  It is online at this link.

The city indicates it is open to providing sports and recreation facilities at the center, but could also be a center for arts and culture as well.  Tom Rich of the Fishers  Arts Council is a member of this committee.

Hamilton County Reporter

Reporter Editor’s note: Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen released the following statement Wednesday afternoon regarding the unveiling of city officials’ choice for a new Noblesville logo.

Jensen

“I appreciate the opportunity to provide more information to our constituents about our ongoing efforts to be a forward-thinking city that respects and values it unique heritage. We would have provided any of this information to the Reporter or other media outlets had requests been made. Just as we did with [Tuesday] night’s Public Information Meetings for the Pleasant Street project, one of my priorities as Mayor is open communication with the community on matters of local significance.

“Discussions about a new logo began because the one at the time, which was 10 years old, from our perspective lacked scalability and notion that Noblesville is looking to the future and open for economic vitality. Hamilton County also began using a very similar design, which made it difficult to distinguish between the county and City of Noblesville.

“In October, the city held a survey on the City of Noblesville Facebook Page open to the public with four logo options to get a sense of which direction the public would like to go. Based on the feedback we received from that survey, 50% of the public vote preferred a simpler logo. With that knowledge and input from community members and community partners, such as the Chamber, Nickel Plate Arts, Main Street, and the Preservation Alliance, we took into account all of the feedback, reviewed several versions and alternatives, and landed on the new logo.

“The City seal will of course remain the same and be the true marker of our rich history. The decision of the new logo was certainly not made in a silo. The new logo had already been shown to many community organizations and members in Noblesville before it was included near the end of a presentation Tuesday morning to Hamilton Southeastern Schools – which includes Wayne Township residents of Noblesville.

“A municipal logo must be scalable, as it is used in all different sizes and mediums throughout the city. The new logo design pays homage to our historic downtown with our uniquely Noblesville star brick featured at the top, the incorporation date of our fair city and a box encompassing the wording as a nod to our Downtown Square. Blue variant colors were selected as a signal to the two water amenities of our city, the White River and Morse Reservoir.

“This streamlined logo features an “N” for Noblesville surrounded by the celebrated square brick star, unlike any other community. The delineation between the historic features in the logo and the fresh colors and clean design are intended to bring beauty, vibrancy and value. We are excited to launch the new logo to show people around the state, nation and world that we are a modern growing city of more than 63,000 residents that is open for business and respects its heritage. As always, if you have any questions you can call my personal cell at 317-509-3134.”

Click here to read comments posted on social media about the new city logo.

by

Jeff Jellison

Publisher

Hamilton County Reporter

On Tuesday, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, along with other city officials, presented the city’s plan for a proposed bypass around downtown Noblesville. The project is titled by city officials as Reimagine Pleasant Street.

Reimagine Pleasant Street is a multi-year initiative expected to improve east-west connectivity and accessibility through Noblesville with an expected cost exceeding $113.5 million.

The price tag includes two county funded bridges – one over White River at a cost of $15.5 million, and the other crossing Cicero Creek at a price yet to be determined.

The project will create a new east-west corridor through Noblesville.

Information published on the project’s website describes the location of the bypass as follows:

Beginning from the west, the project begins at the intersection of State Road 32 and Hague Road and continues south and east across the White River, where it will follow the former Midland Trace railroad bed. The project will then jog south to 8th Street and continue south to the existing alignment of Pleasant Street. Unlike previous designs, this corridor will minimize impact to the National Register-listed Plum Prairie Residential Historic District.

The corridor will continue on the existing alignment of Pleasant Street to 19th Street.

Noblesville officials estimate the bypass is expected to result in a 24 percent reduction in traffic on SR 32 through the downtown area.

Information obtained from the city indicates Noblesville is pursuing state funding in coordination with the Indiana Department of Transportation and regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), including an application for $10 million for Phase 1.

Additional funding for the project could include a vehicle excise tax of $25 per registered vehicle within the City of Noblesville and city officials are considering an increase in the current $1.10 per $1,000 assessed valuation property tax rate.

According to project documents, the city will tap numerous other funding sources to minimize the costs to taxpayers, including revenue generated through new private investments, that are already underway that will result in additional tax increment revenue of $500,000 per year.

Construction is expected to begin in late 2022 with utility relocation. Roadwork is estimated to start in the spring of 2023.

Construction will be conducted in three phases:

1. The first phase will create the connection over the White River from River Road to 10th Street.
2. The second phase will improve existing Pleasant Street from 10th Street to SR 37.
3. The third phase will connect Pleasant Street from River Road to SR 32 at the Hague Road intersection.

City officials estimate the entire project should be completed in the fall of 2025.

The Fishers Arts and Culture Commission President David Decker described the March 5th meeting as “rough.”  It is not clear why.  No video of that session is available at this time.

It is clear that the commission met with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness Wednesday evening to find a way forward after that “rough” commission meeting.  The mayor plans to reduce the involvement of his staff at each commission session and allow the members of that body to create the right balance of city support for local artists and allow the Arts & Culture Commission room, finding ways to help the artists.

The mayor described a way to build a bridge between the arts community in Fishers and the city through the work of the commission.

Members of the commission expressed support for the mayor’s offer to allow the panel room to grow without as much city staff involvement.

Fadness also pointed out that Tom Rich, President of the Fishers Arts Council, is part of City Councilman Todd Zimmerman’s group asking for community comments on what is needed in a new city community center and how the arts will fit into that concept.

This is how the city Web site describes the role of the commission:

The City of Fishers Common Council established The Commission with the purpose to “assist the City in becoming a community in which arts and cultural activities are recognized as vital components of community life, valued and promoted for their economic benefits, and represent and integral part of establishing a vibrant community and lifelong learning”. The Arts & Culture Commission is the nexus between the local government and the residents of the city, bridging the public and private partnership.        

The commission was established in 2018 and has been meeting every other month.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is working with other government leaders in the Indianapolis region to establish the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force, and was to testify before the Indiana Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee Tuesday in support of the measure.  The good news is the bill passed by a unanimous vote in the committee.

The bad news is that Mayor Fadness was never given the chance to testify.  The bill was the third to be considered in the meeting and Chairman Michael Young (R-Indianapolis) ran out of time.

Nonetheless, Mayor Fadness was pleased with the committee vote.

“Violent crime in Central Indiana is costing far too many lives and hurting too many families,” the mayor said in a news release. “This legislation builds off the innovative partnership between IMPD and the Fishers Police Department that is helping trace illegal crime guns and link them to violent criminals across the region so they can be brought to justice. Expanding this partnership to eight Central Indiana counties will have a tremendous impact on reducing violent crime in the area. I want to thank Rep. Greg Steuerwald for authoring this legislation and leading this important initiative for our region.”

The bill has already passed the House overwhelmingly.  It has one more committee vote in the Senate before it goes to the floor for final passage.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton County government will share ‘big time’ in the federal stimulus grants to local governments, getting $65,555,000. The money will arrive in two disbursements, the first half on May 10 this year, and the other half on May 10 next year.

The money is designed to recover lost revenue from the national pandemic, and allows it to be spent on any number of services that suffered such pandemic losses, says county grants administrator Todd Clevenger.

Actually, the county did not suffer the extreme losses that some localities experienced. County revenues through property taxes and local income taxes held up fairly well through the past year.

Cities and towns within the county will each receive their own grants based on criteria set by the federal legislation. In total, these amounts will likely exceed the $65 million the county receives.

The money is in addition to the $10 million the county is getting for rent assistance to individuals, a grant being administered by the Washington Township Trustee’s office.

And, all individuals in the county are also due to receive $1,400, with lesser amounts to those whose annual earnings exceed $75,000.

Spending of the county’s grant will be determined by county commissioners and subject to appropriation by the county council.