As the Fishers community has grown, so has the annual ceremony honoring our nation’s war dead, Memorial Day.  The City of Fishers will once again conduct this special ceremony on Monday, May 30, 10am, in front of City Hall.  It will be held in the area between City Hall and the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on the Central Green in front of Fishers City Hall  (1 Municipal Drive).

Registration is not required to attend but filling out the form at this link ensures you will be notified if weather forces the event indoors.

The recently-established Fishers Armed Services Commission planned this year’s Memorial Day ceremony.

The Fishers City Council voted unanimously to approve an accounting change that will continue the funding mechanism for the new City Hall and Arts Center.  This allows $6.3 million of American Rescue Plan funds to be utilized in constructing the new building.  Just over $17 million will be borrowed through the issuance of a bond to cover the rest of the construction money for the new center.  Mayor Scott Fadness says this project will not increase the city property tax rate.

“We’re excited to kick this project off,” Fadness told council members.  “We think it’s an incredible opportunity for our community.”

According to Fadness, the arrangement with the Indianapolis Arts Center will generate a regular revenue stream to fund local arts organizations and their projects, calling this “a unique opportunity.”

In response to a council question, Fadness says that naming rights could be another income source for the arts center.

In other news from Monday night’s council session:

–Second reading approval was provided allowing Fishers to join other cities in the area on the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority.  Mayor Fadness says this body would have no taxing authority but will allow eligibility for the city to receive initial funding for the planned park along the White River north of 96th Street.

–Councilors voted unanimously to use bond funds left over from the purchase of HSE Utilities to fund infrastructure projects.

–The council provided first reading approval for using economic revenue bonds left over from the Spark project on North Street downtown, funding part of the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel underneath 116th Street.  The measure will return to the council at a future session for second reading.

–Councilors voted unanimously to use money in an excess levy account to fund Neighborhood Matching grants.

–The council approved a long list of voluntary annexations.

Saturday, May 14 was a very  busy day in Fishers.  It was the first day the downtown Nickel Plate Trail tunnel was open to the public.  It was a beautiful spring morning for the Fishers Farmers Market.  But there was another noteworthy event that day – Hope for Happiness.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and two student-led groups, the Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools’ Bring Change to Mind student clubs, worked together, bringing Hope for Happiness to the municipal complex.

There were booths staffed by a number of local organizations that have mental health as part of their work in the Fishers community.

In the past, the Hope for Happiness was a separate event at a separate time, but in 2022 it was held as part of the Farmers Market and the booths were busy when I visited the area.  Hopefully, more people were able to check out the organizations this year.

Below are a few photos from Saturday’s Hope for Happiness.

When I walked underneath 116th Street on the newly-opened Nickel Plate Trail tunnel, what went through my mind was history.  The rail line that was so much a part of the history of our city is now a trail that was the center of activity on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday morning, the first day the downtown section of the trail was officially open to the public.

A ribbon -cutting ceremony was held Friday evening to kickoff the trail opening for a list of VIP attendees.  This reporter had a very important event that night (a wedding anniversary dinner) so I missed that ceremony.

But it was good to get my first look at the trail on the first day everyone could enjoy it.

I recorded a video of just over seven minutes walking underneath the trail tunnel from north to south.  It was pure coincidence that Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness was with his wife and three sons enjoying the trail as the video was rolling.  You can see the video at this link or use the link below.

There was much controversy over the decision to remove the rails and build the Nickel Plate Trail, and there are still some hard feelings among the train enthusiasts.  But the trail is an amenity all can enjoy, especially on a warm and sunny Saturday.

When I discovered that America is set to have one million COVID deaths, a number of thoughts crossed my mind. To put that into perspective, there are about 2.1 million people living in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.  Just imagine losing about half our area’s population.  That explains how many COVID deaths our nation has experienced.

But my thoughts go back to March of 2020.  I had been writing this local Fishers news blog for abut nine years.  It is a labor of love, but a totally volunteer activity.  It is a lot of work to write news for a local area as a one-man-band.  I decided it was time to retire for real and end the news blog, so that announcement was made at the end of March, 2020.

Then COVID hit.  The local media was scrambling to cover a big local story with less resources due to the economics of the news business.

So, no one was paying much attention to Fishers at that time.  So, I thought, I will continue the news blog a little longer because the local area needed coverage other news outlets were just unable to do.

In late October of 2020, I tested positive for COVID.  Let’s just say I was sick, very sick.  Energy levels were near zero.  I was very congested in my chest but could breath without much laboring.

I was in touch with my doctor nearly every day via e-mail, updating her on my condition.  It took nearly two weeks, but I did recover from my bout with COVID.  However, several months later, my doctor disclosed to me she was very close to sending me into the hospital due to my deteriorating condition at one point.

In early November of 2020 there were no effective treatments for COVID and it was months before COVID vaccinations were available.  Let’s just say very few COVID patients entering a hospital left that hospital alive.

My COVID bout included such a loss of energy I literally could not move easily.  I sat in a chair most of the day.  I am not one to sit for hours at a time, I am generally busy doing something.

So, during my time with COVID, I had time to do nothing but think.  I did a lot of thinking during those days.

That thought process ended with a decision to continue this news blog after all.  God had granted me extra time on this earth so I decided continuing this blog would be the right thing to do.

So, here I am, fortunate not to have been one of the one million American COVID casualties, feeling very fortunate to be alive and in reasonably good health.

That’s what goes through my mind as we honor the victims of COVID and their families.  There are many survivors such as myself and it is up to us to do what we can to make our local communities better places.

Thanks for reading.

With plenty of talk and news stories all about Wall Street investors gobbling-up single family homes as rentals and home buyers, particularly those searching for their first home, shut out of the market, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness conducted an online video town hall centered on that issue Thursday night.

The bottom line of the discussion is that the action on handling this issue is squarely in the hands of local Homeowners Associations (HOAs).

Attorney Kim Sutter says HOAs generally have the authority to enact rental restrictions or bans.  Bans are more difficult to enforce and restricting the number of rentals in a given neighborhood can be an administrative burden, but Sutter says that can be done with the proper legal advice.  Other possible restrictions HOAs could enact include capping the number of rental homes as a percentage of the total homes in the neighborhood.  Some HOAs have combined restrictions, such as capping the number of rentals and requiring a waiting period, meaning the buyer would be barred from renting the property for a specified period of time after acquiring the home.

Fishers city officials say out-of-state homeowners have double the number of city code violations compared to homes owned by the residents.

Mayor Fadness says the city is working on possible city-wide solutions, but the legal hurdles to accomplishing this now are very complex.  According to the mayor, no municipality has figured out a city solution to this problem that has passed legal muster.

One major concern of the mayor is that families often accumulate wealth through home ownership and when families are locked-out of the home-buying market by investors offering cash payments and no inspections, that impacts those families long-term financially.

Attorney Sutter offered suggestions on how HOAs can enforce their covenants and change language to address this issue.

Mayor Fadness ended the town hall saying he wants a city solution and attorneys are brainstorming possible solutions, but at this juncture, the HOAs are the center of the current solution.

Fishers Economic Development Specialist Jordin Alexander and the Director of the Fishers Planning and Zoning Department, Megan Vukusich, also participated in the online video event.

The Fishers City Council Finance Committee voted 2-1 to recommend City Council passage of a resolution allowing an accounting measure recommended by the city’s legal counsel which will end up using up to $7.1 million of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) federal money to fund part of the plan to construct a new City Hall and Arts Center.  City Controller Lisa Bradford says it is expected that $6.3 million of federal COVID ARPA money but the higher $7.1 million is cited in this resolution because the law says that is the ceiling and cannot exceed that amount.

Committee Chair John Weingardt described this resolution as an accounting “maneuver.”

The council action form provided for this Finance Committee resolution says the following:

“To avoid having the City Hall project potentially go to referendum if requested
by taxpayers, the resolution provides for the designation of funds in the general
fund to be applied to the project. The expenses that would be otherwise paid
from the general fund will be paid with ARPA funds, so the City’s budget is not
impacted.”

Committee member Jocelyn Vare asked for an explanation of this statement, and Ms. Bradford and Weingardt said the $6.3 million of ARPA funds to be used toward the City Hall & Arts project will lower the amount coming from bond proceeds.  Without the ARPA funds, Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren says that would mean $24 million would be borrowed through bonds and if taxpayers request, the City Hall & Arts Center plans would require voters to approve the project through a referendum.   Utilizing the ARPA cash prevents the need for a referendum for this project, according to the explanation provided at the committee meeting.

Vare voted no on recommending passage of this resolution by the full City Council, saying “I feel like the (council action) document is not clear.”

The item will go before the full council Monday night with a 2-1 vote recommending passage.

In another item, the committee recommended, in a 3-0 vote, to use $20,000, from a total of $34,000,  in an excess levy fund that has not been used but will be transferred to the general fund under this resolution, funding community vibrancy grants upgrading local neighborhoods.  There was not enough money to fund all the neighborhoods requesting the city grants, so Mayor Scott Fadness asked his staff to find money in the budget to fund all the requests.  The remaining $14,000 in the account will be used by the Planning & Zoning Department.

It would be an understatement to say it was a big year for the Fishers High School Band program.  Here are just a few reasons why.

After winning their division in the 2022 WGI Color Guard World Championship Open, the Fishers Guard went on to perform in the World Class Finals, and finished in fifth place nationally.  They also took home the bronze medal at the 2022 Indiana High School State Championship. Fishers Guard was also the 2019 Open Class National Champion and were promoted to World Class before the pandemic.

The Fishers Drumline won a silver medal in the Indiana Percussion Association State Championship.

The Fishers Concert World Percussion Ensemble won its ninth Indiana Percussion Association State Championship and then went on to win its third consecutive National Championship title at the WGI Percussion World Championships.

Chad Kohler, one of the Fishers High School band directors, spoke before the school board Wednesday night about the fund-raising coming for the band’s trip to New York City planned for Thanksgiving, 2023.  Fishers will be one of only ten bands selected to perform at the famed Macy’s Parade.  Kohler said Macy’s started their fund-raising activities with a $10,000 initial grant, but many fund-raising events are being planned starting this summer.

The board honored the Fishers Band program as part of its Snapshots of Success series.

A discussion on revised student handbooks sparked a discussion on consistency in all the handbooks and talk of how certain terms should be defined.  For example, what is the difference between parents and families when referenced in the handbooks?  Also, how are certain terms defined, such as microaggression?

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board member Brad Boyer asked why the word punishment is not used in discipline, instead using the work “consequences.”  Superintendent Yvonne Stokes says the work punishment, as defined, does not express how students are disciplined, where saying there are consequences for certain behavior more accurately reflects school discipline policy.

The board decided to table the decision on adopting these changes when it was pointed out that there is not consistency in school policies.

The board discussed several policies on first reading, including homework and public participation in school board meetings.  Some of the revisions were made to be consistent with changes in state law.  The policies will be presented for approval at a future board meeting.

In other items before the HSE Board Wednesday night:

–There was a lengthy board discussion on the review of literacy resource materials in grades kindergarten through 6th grade.  The board plans to vote on the materials at a board meeting set for 7:30am May 17.  For the presentation made to the board by Executive Director of Elementary Education Stephanie Loane  use this link.

–The board provided administrators emergency hiring authority.  There will be no regular board meeting for the remainder of May and Kim Lippe, Director of Human Resources, says this is the busiest time of year for school district hiring.  This emergency authority will allow administrators to hire staff for the coming school year.

–The board received a presentation on the world language program.  For more on this, access this link.

–The board discussed the options of awarding a contract to replace the tennis courts at Fishers High School and delayed a decision until the meeting May 17th.  An asphalt court costs less at the outset, but only has a 2-year warranty and tends to need more frequent maintenance.  A concrete court costs more initially, but tends to require less maintenance and comes with a 10-year warranty.  Because it is unclear whether the current budget has the amount of money to fund a concrete court, the board delayed the decision.

–The board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Indiana Online to provide virtual learning to families choosing that option.

–Approval was given for a boiler replacement for the Fishers High School swimming pool.

The City of Fishers is preparing to hand out $120,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations.  Fishers-based groups that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code may apply.

A Fishers City Council committee will evaluate the applications and decide which groups will receive the grants and how much is provided to each organization.  According to a city news release, “The committee will award grants based on proven success, organizational strength, cooperation and collaboration, and reliability.”

Once approved, money to the nonprofits will be provided this summer.

To access the online application, use this link.