The pandemic has been brutal for many groups that depend on live performances, but nonetheless the Fishers Community Chorus is gearing-up for its 6th season.

A meet & greet event is set for September 14, 7-9pm, at the new Hub & Spoke Design Center.  You will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with chorus members, with a 30-minute “master class in basic vocal techniques” as part of the evening.

For more information on the Fishers Community Chorus, just e-mail – FCC@fishersmusicworks.org

Here’s how the group describes potential members:

   Fishers Community Chorus is open to all who live, work, or play in Fishers, Indiana. We are a non-auditioned, mixed chorus open to all people over the age of 18. We only require 3 things:

1. You can carry a tune (virtuosic talent not necessary)

2. You are committed to making your community a better place through a shared love of music!

3. You are willing and prepared to put forth a little effort as necessary to make this experience fun and rewarding for all involved.

Harvest Fest is back for a second year with the celebration to be held on the beautiful setting of the Ambassador House and Heritage Park.

The Fishers Arts has issued a news release with all the details.  Here is the text of that release:

Fishers Arts Council will have 29 artists and artisans participating in the Fishers Parks and Recreation Foundation’s Harvest Fest at the Ambassador House and Heritage Park, 10595 Eller Road, Fishers, from noon to 7 pm on Sunday, September 12th.

This is a free, family friendly event with proceeds benefitting the Ambassador House and Gardens, the Fishers Arts Council (FAC), Fishers Police Corps, Fishers Historical Society, Knights of Columbus, and Fishers Youth Assistance Program. Each group will offer something different to raise money. The Parks Foundation will offer raffle baskets and face painting while the Fishers Police Corps will be selling hot dogs, chips, and water. The Ambassador House will be selling adult beverages and offering house tours. Fishers Youth Assistance Program will be offering bake sale and dessert items. Knights of Columbus will offer fried veggies, and there will be three food vendors, Rose and Lois, Snow Cone, and Indy Fresh. FAC artists Laura Villanyi, Olivia Holt, and Pat Grabill will lead a make and take craft. Music, provided by the City of Fishers, includes the bands J. Elliott 12-2pm; Jump for Joy, 2-4pm; Retro on the Rocks 4-7pm.

The artists and artisans are Brad Baker, acrylic, gouache on canvas; Ingrid Blount, alcohol ink paintings, jewelry, décor; Tracy & Amy Brauchla, leather work; Aimee Bruno, alcohol Ink paintings; Madison Clayborn, handmade soy candles; Susan Davis, gel plate cards, centered on Fishers; Shelley Feeney, acrylic, oils, textured paintings; Brad Fields, watercolors; Pat Garcia, watercolors, prints; Doug Hamilton, acrylic pour paintings and jewelry; Tyler Hamilton, handmade stone cut artisan jewelry and woodcraft; Paige Harper, a variety of pottery items for the home; Beverly Jerabek, handmade jewelry; Nyla Kerstiens, originals and prints in acrylic, watercolor, gouache, marker and pencil; Patty Klunzinger, glass blowing, fused glass jewelry, home décor; Matthew Macklin, mixed media,

expressionistic works; Sana Mulla-Malik, multi-cultural peg dolls; Vicki Nelson-Spicklemire, soaps; Leigh Petersen, watercolor, pen & ink; Angela Rosenau, soaps and lotions; Mark Rouse, acrylic washes, digital imagery and acrylic over-painting; Doug Sauter, stained glass, acrylic on canvas; Bryant Shields, acrylic dream paintings; Michael Vansickle, woodworking, clocks; Anna Villanyi, laser cut wood designs; Caroline Vogt, hand drawn art transferred onto clothing and other items; Taylor Walker, portraits, acrylic, encaustic and watercolors; Hannah Weaver, prints & originals in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pencil and more; Teresa Wesley, crochet Amigurumi animals and other figures. Walt Thacker will be demonstrating oil painting at the FAC booth from noon to 3 pm.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and his staff are revealing the 2022 budget proposal to be considered by the City Council.  I watched and listened to the City Council Finance Committee meeting held late last week and reported on that in a story posted August 28 and can be found at this link.

The mayor, his staff and Finance Committee Chair John Weingardt met with the media to discuss the budget during the afternoon of August 31st and more was revealed about next year’s proposed spending plan.

The mayor repeated that city number crunchers had initially projected a 4.1% increase in the city’s share of the Local Income Tax (LIT) but the official numbers from the state now show a 3.6% decrease compared to the previous year.  That is costing Fishers $5 million in revenue for 2022, according to city officials.

Fadness has asked House Speaker Todd Huston, who represents most of Fishers, to look into why this happened.

“How does Hamilton County, when our unemployment rate never really achieved anything near where others did, see that kind of decline in income tax revenue?” Fadness said.  “It’s just a head-scratcher.”

The city is making no accusations that there are errors in the LIT distribution, the mayor just wants this checked out and the city only wants an explanation as to why this happened.

In another LIT-related issue, Carmel will be sending $224,000 in LIT money to Fishers based on an agreement reached to alleviate what Fishers argued was an imbalance in LIT distributions under the state formula.

The mayor is finalizing a new 5-year contract with a provider for employee health insurance.  All workers will be in the Community Health Network under this plan.  60% of city workers are already a part of the Community Network.  The city has not raised employee health premiums for nearly a decade, but the city’s costs have risen.  Fadness says the 5-year horizon will stabilize the city’s funding for the new plan.

The city is budgeting $250,000 for nonprofit organizations as part of the 2022 budget, but the mayor says there may be a change on how that money will be divided up.  In the past few years, a city council committee has decided which organizations will receive city funds and how much will be provided to each group.

“We’re evaluating the best way to do that, the most efficient way to decide where those dollars go,” the mayor said.

A former primary candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner is advocating for Fishers to be within one commissioner district, but Mayor Scott Fadness says he sees no immediate need to push for such a proposal.

Fishers resident Bill Smythe has been involved in Republican politics for many years and was a candidate in the 2016 GOP primary for a Commissioner seat.  Incumbent Mark Heirbrandt won that election.

“According to the new census data, Fishers is the sixth largest city in the state and ranks second in Hamilton County, just behind Carmel,” wrote Smythe in a statement released Tuesday. “However, the city of Fishers has never had its own representation in the executive branch of our county government.”

Smythe also points out that none of the three Hamilton County Commissioners reside in Fishers.  The entire county votes in county commissioner elections, but each commissioner must live within their respective districts.  New district lines will be drawn based on 2020 census data.

According to Smythe, this has nothing to do with any future political plans of his own.  “I have no intention of ever running for office again and most assuredly I will never appear on a GOP ballot in the future,” writes Smythe.

Fadness says he has worked well with all three commissioners on projects such as State Road 37 and the local airport. “Obviously, anytime there’s representation for Fishers that’s a good thing, but I don’t know that I have a sense of urgency about it,” Fadness said.

Both City Councilman John Weingardt and Mayor Fadness added that it takes two of the three commissioners to decide anything, so having a relationship with only one commissioner may not be in the best interests of Fishers.  How lines are drawn for state legislative districts are of much more interest to Mayor Fadness.

Fishers has denied two Verizon 5G cell tower requests in two different neighborhoods at Monday morning’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.  The board, consisting of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, Jeff Lantz and Jason Meyer, voted unanimously to deny the requests.

In each case, the neighborhood homeowners’ associations (HOAs) were unable to reach agreement with Verizon on the placement of the towers. The neighborhoods where the board denied Verizon’s proposed tower placement are Harrison Woods and Lantern Overlook.  Both were tabled at the previous board meeting to allow time for Verizon and the HOAs to reach a consensus, but in these two neighborhoods, no consensus was reached.

Fishers City Attorney Chris Greisl told LarryInFishers Verizon may come back to the board with another proposal or just choose not to provide 5G service to that specific area.

A proposed Verizon 5G tower plan for Northfield Estates was tabled to allow Verizon to discuss a tower placement issue in that neighborhood.

The board approved a Verizon 5G tower on South Street in the downtown area when no objections were raised by nearby residents.

In one other matter before the board, look for nighttime hour lane restrictions on 96th Street near the Meijer store during the week of September 6.  This is to allow work on underground utilities.

After residing in Fishers since 1991, and as far back as I can remember, there has been a citizens academy of some sort, going back to the days of being a town.  Everyone leaving that program told me it was a very worthwhile experience.

The HSE School District has just started its own version, with HSEngaged.  29 people have been chosen to participate in the initial program.

The City of Fishers recently announced a long list of opportunities for local citizens to become involved and learn more about the city.  The list includes the City Government Academy, Mayor’s Youth Academy, Citizens Fire Academy, Citizens Police Academy, Fishers Police Department Cadet Academy and also information on how you can be a volunteer.

Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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City Government Academy
The City of Fishers’ award-winning City Government Academy offers residents an exclusive, behind-the-scenes exploration of local government. At the end of the nine-week course, participants will have a greater understanding of how Fishers government works for its residents. Classes will typically be held on Wednesday evenings this fall from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration for the fall sessions closes on Friday, September 3. To learn more and register, visit ThisIsFishers.com/CGA.

Mayor’s Youth Academy
In partnership with Hamilton Southeastern Schools and the Eman Schools, the Mayor’s Youth Academy offers the opportunity to work with Mayor Scott Fadness to build community awareness, provide hands-on learning opportunities, and inspire future careers in the public sector. Applications for the 2021-2022 school year are due Friday, September 3. High school juniors and seniors that attend school in Fishers with a GPA of at least 3.0 are eligible for the program. To learn more and register, visit ThisIsFishers.com/Citizen.

Citizen’s Fire Academy
The Fishers Fire Department Citizen’s Academy is an eight-week program designed to increase understanding of fire and emergency medical operations and to promote citizen interaction with the Fishers Fire Department personnel. The program is designed to enhance awareness of the department’s capabilities, develop realistic expectations of response times from the point of dispatch, and develop a cooperative relationship between firefighters and the citizens of Fishers. Learn more and register at ThisIsFishers.com/Citizen.

Citizen’s Police Academy 
The Citizen’s Police Academy is an opportunity for the community to participate in police-style training through a 12-week course. Topics include criminal law, crime prevention, the K-9 program, defensive tactics, and narcotics training through demonstrations and classroom instruction. Learn more at ThisIsFishers.com/Citizen. 

Fishers Police Department Cadet Academy 
Open to young adults 14 to 19 years old, the Cadet Academy exposes participants to the Fishers Police Department and helps those interested in law enforcement careers to make an informed decision. Programs offered include crime scene investigation, traffic stops, use of police dogs, SWAT, computer crimes, and more. Registration is due September 13 and is available online at fishers.in.us/CadetProgram. Interested participants can learn more at the Cadet Program Open House on Monday, August 30 at 7 p.m. at the Fishers Police Department.

Volunteer Opportunities
Get involved and make a difference in your community this fall with volunteer opportunities with the City of Fishers and Fishers Parks. Upcoming opportunities include the Run to Remember 5K and Safety Day on September 11, Glow in the Park on September 19, AgriPark Fall Festival on October 16, and Boo Bash on October 30. From October 2-9, the City will host the fall celebration of Keep Fishers Beautiful, with special volunteer opportunities throughout the week. Learn more at VolunteerFishers.com.

Mayor Scott Fadness, Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren and City Controller Lisa Bradford provided the City Council Finance Committee a first look at the 2022 budget.  It calls for a $121.64 million spending plan, plus cash reserves (including all funds) of $41 million.

The mayor is calling for a 4% across-the-board pay increase for the city staff, including elected officials.  The budget also calls for 3 new sworn police officers (bringing the total to 123), 8 new firefighters that will allow the new Station 97 to be fully staffed on the northeast section of the city and bring more community outreach through the Parks Department and Public Relations staff.

The city also plans to continue funding teachers-in-residence for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools at the Maker Space and AgriPark.

One troubling projection shows a 3.6% decrease in the amount of Local Income Tax revenue from the state for 2022.  Mayor Fadness is asking House Speaker Todd Huston to look into why this happened.  Bradford told the committee 61% of Indiana counties saw a projected decrease in the income tax funds from the state, with 39% seeing an income tax allocation increase from the state.  “There is no rhyme of reason as to why,” Bradford said.  State-wide, local income tax revenue has fallen $60 million compared to the previous year.

Finance Committee Chairman John Weingardt said the decrease in the local income tax revenue does not compare with what he is seeing from his clients.  “It doesn’t add up to me,” said Weingardt.  The councilman is a tax accountant with a practice in Fishers.

The property tax revenue for Fishers is expected to grow in 2022, with a 6.4% increase in assessed valuation projected.

Fadness is projecting the Fishers share of the property tax rate to decline one-half of one cent in 2022, at .7165.  Bradford says that Fishers has the lowest property tax rate for municipalities in Hamilton County, except for Cicero.

Fadness emphasized that the 2022 budget plan does not reflect plans for a new City Hall and Community Center.  But he said adding to the city’s cash reserves “provide opportunities for us to be creative about how we financially structure those projects”

It was nearly 20 years ago that I went to work on a beautiful, sunny September day in central Indiana.  I was conferring with a colleague about an internal federal government class I was scheduled to teach, when one of the managers peaked her head into the room and told us a large passenger jet had flown directly into the World Trade Center in New York City.  That same manager opened the door a few minutes later to tell us a second plan had hit the second tower and a third plane flew into the Pentagon in Washington.

We both looked at each other and knew life would not be the same going forward in America.  20 years later, that day is still on the minds of all of us old enough to remember.

September 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the fateful day.  The City of Fishers has announced several ways those of us living in Fishers may remember those that died in the terrorist attack.

Farmer’s Market

September 11th falls on a Saturday this year, so the Farmer’s Market will hold moments of silence  in remembrance of the attacks on the World Trade Center (8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m.), the Pentagon (9:37 a.m.), and Flight 93 (10:03 a.m.).

Kids are welcome to create thank you cards for first responders as they learn about how first responders, neighbors, and friends demonstrated acts of kindness in the days following the attacks.

Safety Day

Fishers Fire and Emergency Services’ annual family-friendly Safety Day will be held at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater from 3 – 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 11.

Safety Day will give attendees a hands-on experience with every aspect of safety – from first responders to service providers to being prepared for disasters.

The event will open with a remembrance ceremony featuring the Fishers Honor Guard and public safety officials. Throughout the event, there will be demonstrations from Fishers police Department’s K9 team, tire changing demonstrations, Fishers Fire and Emergency Services, and more.

Run to Remember 5K

Fishers Run to Remember 5K Run/Walk, held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, will be an event aimed at uniting the community by honoring and remembering the 2,977 people who died in the attack on September 11, 2001. The run is an event to honor the memories of those we lost, cherish those within our circles, and work together for unity and a peaceful tomorrow.

Front line personnel are encouraged to complete the run/walk in uniform and gear.

Registration for the 5K can be found here: https://runsignup.com/runtoremember5k.

Multi-Faith Prayer Service and Vigil

The commemoration will conclude at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater with a multi-faith prayer service and vigil to remember those who perished, were injured, or continue to face sustained injuries and mental illness from the events associated with the attacks.

The vigil will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 11.

Volunteers still needed 

Volunteer opportunities are available for the events listed. Serve the community on this important day of remembrance by visiting volunteerFishers.com.

You have likely seen the office building clearly visible on I-69 in Fishers.  It has been a bank call center and office for Roche Pharmaceuticals in the past.  For a year and a half, a major construction project has been underway to essentially reconstruct the inside of the structure and become Round Room, described as the nation’s largest Verizon authorized retailer.

Most CEOs of a firm that large would dress in a coat and tie for the big ribbon cutting ceremony, but not Round Room CEO Scott Moorehead.  He donned a T-shirt and jeans.  You could feel the casual atmosphere in the work place.

“I made a promise to everybody, as my career goal, I said, I’m going to make this company the biggest damn small company on the planet,” Moorehead told the ribbon-cutting crowd.  “I’m still on that journey and we are one step closer today.

“This building sat empty for far too long,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness Thursday ceremony.  “It was one of these buildings that is right at the gateway of our community.”  The mayor described the process that brought Round Room to Fishers.

As part of the ribbon-cutting event, Round Room handed out checks to several local charities, including Fishers YMCA, St. Joseph Institute of the Deaf, Sharonsweb Autism Foundation, Youth Mentoring Initiative, Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County and Racial Equity Community Network, all receiving $5,000 each.  Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County and Conner Prairie each received a $10,000 donation.  The biggest check was for the Hamilton County Humane Society for $500,000.

Join Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs nd Larry Lannan for this edition of the Grade A Movies Podcast.  We review Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, No Man of God & Small Town News.