Rita Moreno sparked controversy with some comments she made and later offered a Twitter apology about the film In The Heights.  That’s our lead story this time in the Grade A Movies podcast.  Adam Aasen reviews the latest Pixar animated offering that is not available in theaters.  Alec reviews the comedy sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.  I look at t reboot of the HBO series In Treatment.

As I have reported here previously, Fishers will not receive the roughly $19 million initially expected from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).  The city is now projected to receive $6.9 million.  How did this happen?

City Controller Lisa Bradford told the Fishers City Council Finance Committee Wednesday that the answer lies in the details of  regulations issued May 10th by the United States Department of Treasury.  It boils down to whether Fishers is an entitlement city or a non-entitlement city.

The difference between the two can be very technical, but Bradford told the Finance Committee that Fishers, Carmel and Noblesville saw a big reduction in the ARP money allocation.  That’s why the amount of ARP cash coming to Fishers is $6.9 million, not the roughly $19 million that was expected earlier.

Bradford said 142 cities nation-wide were reclassified from entitlement to non-entitlement cities, based on Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines, which factor-in income and poverty levels to the determination.  That’s why Fishers, Carmel and Noblesville were reclassified and will receive millions less than originally projected last March.

As to what Fishers can do about this, the city controller says not much.

“We beat down a lot of doors, explored a lot of avenues,” said Bradford.  “Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do within the authority contained in the guidance.”  The city does plan on submitting comments to federal authorities about this decision.

According to Bradford, the city is disappointed that the number was unexpectedly reduced, but reminded the Finance Committee members that, on the bright side, Fishers will receive nearly $7 million that was not anticipated before ARP was signed into law.

A city that continues to grow, like Fishers, normally has a very busy Planning & Zoning Department.  Based on my reporting, the Fishers operation has been busy for a number of years.

Megan Schafer was named Director of Fishers City Planning and Zoning just a few weeks ago.  Ross Hilleary is her assistant director.

Here is a podcast with Megan and Ross where we talk about many aspects of the local planning and zoning operation.

The Stevanato Group, an Italian firm, has decided to setup operations in the United States and has decided it is coming to Fishers.  According to a Thursday morning news release from The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the company plans on hiring 230 people by the end of 2025.

“Central Indiana is well positioned to support exponential growth in the life science and advanced manufacturing industries,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “As we continue to see an emerging life science cluster here in Fishers, we believe that Stevanato Group’s decision to invest in Fishers underscores the opportunity for growth. We are looking forward to welcoming Stevanato Group to our community.”

Stevanto started in 1949 and provides drug containment products, analytical services and tests to support the drug development process, plastic components for diagnostics and medical devices, as well as contract manufacturing services for drug delivery systems, according to the news release.

This package will include both state and city economic incentives.  The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Stevanato Group up to $2.9 million in conditional tax credits and up to $500,000 in conditional training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired and trained. The city of Fishers will consider additional incentives up to $1.2 million.

“We are excited to locate our new U.S. hub in Fishers, Indiana, which will enable us to better serve our North America pharmaceutical customers,” said Howard Drake, Stevanato Group vice president, U.S. business development. “We are looking forward to joining the Fishers community, which shares our commitment to the pharma and health care industries, and to being a part of the new pharmaceutical and life sciences park the city is developing.”

Stevanato Group employs more than 4,300 around the globe. The new Fishers location will offer a variety of employment opportunities in production, engineering, maintenance and other corporate support positions. Information on open positions will be made available online.

“Indiana continues to secure extraordinary growth in life sciences throughout the state, and we’re thrilled to add Stevanato Group to our list of innovative life sciences companies,” said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. “The life sciences industry contributes roughly $80 billion to the state’s economy, and we are committed to ensuring a thriving business climate that allows these firms to continue to grow and provide quality Hoosier careers.”

Stevanato expects to invest up to $145 million to build and equip a manufacturing facility of up to 370,000-square-foot to support the expansion and production of its EZ-Fill® products.  Plant construction is expected to begin later in 2021 with production commencing in 2023.

The state news release does not specify where in Fishers this facility is to be located.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board approved the property transfer, the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety has approved their part of the property transfer and the city has contracted for design and construction management services to construct a new fire station at 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road.  Fire Chief Steve Orusa says the new station should be in service by late 2022.

Mayor Scott Fadness says the original plan was to take possession of land belonging to IU Health, but legal complications scuttled that idea.  The city will fund teachers for “experiential learning” for two years as part of the land acquisition deal with the local school district.

In other actions from the Board of Works meeting Tuesday afternoon:

–The board voted to opt-out of any opioid litigation settlements, at the recommendation of City Attorney Chris Greisl.  The state legislature has enacted a law encouraging Indiana local governments to opt-out of their local lawsuits and join the state litigation.  Greisl added that the state statute penalizes political subdivisions that choose not to choose this option of joining the state.  “This is an unusual set of circumstances but there really aren’t too many choices in front of us,” said Mayor Scott Fadness.

–The board formally awarded a contract for Meyer Najem to handle Phase 1B construction and operation for the new Geist Waterfront Park.

–A supplemental agreement was approved with with Butler, Fariman and Seufert
(BF&S) for Geist Greenway professional services aimed at realigning a sharp S-curve on Florida Road.

— The board said yes to a request for 16 Fishers Police Department Ford Explorer SUVs.  The Explorers will replace currently owned vehicles that are past their life expectancy.  Pearson Ford’s bid was the lowest, most responsive bid, according to city officials.

Stretching from Indianapolis north to Anderson, cities and counties along the White River are joining forces to apply for Governor Eric Holcomb’s Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) planning grant and funding.

A joint news release for all the governmental entities, including Fishers, says they “have begun identifying key programs, initiatives, and projects that will accelerate local, neighborhood economies, quality of place experiences, innovation, and develop, attract, and retain talent.”

The White River Vision Plan was a collaboration, starting in 2019, of communities along the waterway.  The regional group will focus on many areas, possibly including trails, transportation, infrastructure, environmental and green economy jobs, workforce and employment centers and water availability & quality.

This regional effort intends to formalize its partnership and submit a proposal for the planning grant by the July 1 deadline.

More information about the White River Vision plan and the communities in the White River region can be found at mywhiteriver.com.

Victims of domestic violence and other violent acts have an advocate in Hamilton County.  Prevail, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Noblesville, provides a wide variety of services to these victims.

I spoke with Prevail’s Executive Director, Susan Ferguson, and Primary Prevention Specialist Sara Roorbach, during the afternoon of Monday, June 14th.

The Spark Fishers Festival was one of many casualties to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.  In 2021, the summer event is back and city officials say it is even bigger than the celebration of 2 years ago.

I spoke with Mayor Scott Fadness and Stephanie Perry of the city communications department in a podcast recorded last Thursday about Spark and other summer events.  The podcast can be heard at this link.

For more details on the plans for the 2021 Spark Fishers Festival, see the listing below provided by the City of Fishers.

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I knew last Thursday morning was going to be a bit difficult for an old (generally) retired guy like me.  The local school board had a meeting Wednesday night that would likely go a little later than normal (it did) and Mayor Scott Fadness agreed to record a podcast early the following morning with Stephanie Perry of his communications staff.  The idea was to talk about the rebirth of activities with human beings together this summer in our fair city.

Then I received a message late Wednesday asking if I could report to City Hall even earlier so the mayor could provide a tour for me of the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel construction underneath 116th Street.  As most of you know by now, 116th at the trail is closed until at least the end of July to construct the tunnel.

Rising even earlier Thursday morning did not seem very appealing to me at first, but who can so no to the mayor when he makes an offer like that?  So, I said yes.

We did record the podcast Thursday (listen at this link).  Before the recording session, I donned my hard hat and descended into the construction area that is the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel.

The construction crew told me the entire area is immersed in gravel, so rain and water does not create mud that would get in the way of the project.  Heading downward, I saw an area that will feature steps on the east side of the tunnel.

What struck me the most was the size of this tunnel.  Most tunnels I have experienced are quite narrow in scope.  Based on the proportions I could see, this will be a fairly large tunnel.

Construction crews are working 6am to 6pm six days a week (Sundays off) in order to complete the construction on time.  I saw the construction crew working well in tandem to continue the work.

I did take some photos, but will not include them here for reasons I will not get into.  Suffice it to say the workers were busy.  It is still hard to visualize how the tunnel will look once it is complete.

The closure of 116th Street is difficult for any of us traversing that area regularly.  But all the businesses in the area are still open and can be accessed without much trouble through the construction.

Will all this inconvenience pay off once the tunnel construction is done?  We will know once the tunnel is open for all to see.

It has been a busy week for yours truly.  Because I am a volunteer news blogger I am sometimes a bit behind, so this is one example.  Fishers hit a very important point this past week – the city has a Community Risk level for COVID-19 down to a moderate level and it is on a good trajectory downward.

What that means is the vaccination rates we have seen locally have contributed to a safer COVID environment for all of us living in the city of Fishers.

I know Mayor Scott Fadness was attacked politically for creating a city health department more than one year ago, a move that is rare in the state of Indiana.  But the mayor saw a serious health risk to his population and acted in creating his own health operation.

The lowering of the risk would appear to be data indicating the creation of the Fishers Health Department was a good idea.  Health departments do a lot more than provide COVID vaccinations and testing and the local department has been working to get all that up and running the past year or so.

It should be noted that the COVID pandemic is at lower risk of spreading locally as things stand now, but the pandemic is not over, based on what I am reading from health experts.  My recommendation is to get a vaccination, not just for your sake, but for those close to you.