The City of Fishers is embarking on two major construction projects and the increased cost of doing business appears to be having an impact on those plans.
Council President and Finance Committee Member Todd Zimmerman asked for an update on how inflation is impacting plans for the Arts & Municipal Complex, replacing City Hall.
Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren responded that about one-third of the construction bidding, the steel for the structure, is completed and within budget. The next roughly one-third of the construction bids should be due by the end of July. The remaining bids are due August 15th.
“Delv and Meyer Najem (project contractors) have been joined at the hip as far as every single design detail,” Hultgren told the committee. “They are budgeting as best they can. They feel pretty confident.”
Some decisions may need to be made about the details of the building’s design as the project moves forward, according to the deputy mayor.
Zimmerman expressed concerns he is seeing in the private sector, situations where contractors are needing change orders once construction starts as high as 30% due to their suppliers increasing prices.
When Finance Committee Member, Councilor Jocelyn Vare, asked Zimmerman about plans for a new city recreation center, costs are becoming an issue. Jake Reardon McSoley’s addition to the city staff has helped due to his experience running the local YMCA, according to both Zimmerman & Hultgren. .
“We want to make sure the design is right before we present (the recreation center) to the council,” said Zimmerman.
Hultgren said there has been an issue with aligning what the public wants with the recreation center budget even before inflation took off in recent months.
Committee Chair John Weingardt asked how the city is handling fuel costs, and Hultgren reviewed the new software and hardware programs to city is utilizing to monitor energy use by all departments with an eye on cutting costs where it makes sense.
On the 2023 budget, City Controller Lisa Bradford detailed the process for next year’s spending plan. The state will provide numbers on how much Fishers should expect from the local income tax (LIT). She will ask the Finance Committee to begin meeting sometime between August 22-26 to begin discussing the 2023 budget. A session with city department heads is to be scheduled between September 7-9, with another on capital spending September 14. The full City Council will be receiving the budget proposal September 19 with a public hearing, and final Council vote is projected to be October 10th.
Vare expressed concern at the media reports that 141st Street interchange at State Road 37 had bids so high they are expected to be rejected, because it appears the media had the information before council members and the Finance Committee. Chairman Weingardt responded that this will be a delay in constructing that interchange, but the project will be done. He cited the large number of highway projects in the general area as one reason the bids came in much higher than projected.
Weingardt expressed his concern about how dangerous the intersection is now at 141st Street and SR 37. He wants improvements at that intersection, but there are financial and safety concerns.
Hultgren said Fishers Engineering Director Jason Taylor will attend the next Finance Committee meeting to further update members on the state of State Road 37 construction.
Vare recommended that Mayor Scott Fadness begin attending Finance Committee meetings, citing the State Road 37 & 141st Street situation. Wiengardt responded with his view of having the mayor come to each Finance Committee session as “ridiculous.” He says having the deputy mayor and controller at the Finance meetings should be enough for most meetings outside of the budget season.