Imagine it is March of this year, it is a beautiful sunny 60 degree day, Geist Waterfront Park has just opened and you want to take your family for a park visit.  Fishers is setting up a system where city residents can register online with one set of credentials and one password, allowing you to drive to the park and gain the free access for those living in the city.

Fishers Information Technology Director Tracy Gaynor told the Board of Public Works and Safety that you could have your phone or other digital device anywhere in your vehicle, even in the back seat, and gain access to the park.  This is part of a technical upgrade the city is purchasing from Okta, a private firm.  Fishers is acquiring this technology through a  State of Indiana Quantity Purchase Award, providing a discount of roughly $23,000 to the city.  The cost of the system to the city is about $100,000.

Gaynor compares this system to a hotel keying system, with a toll road meeting Disney’s Magic Pass.  Citizens may register voluntarily and will not be charged to sign up.

Local citizens will eventually, using this system, be able to access other permitted city facilities, register and enroll in a variety of programs, rent facilities and equipment, and eventually access the city’s online permitting and inspections system, report events and observations that request city service, and even pay utility bills, Gaynor told the board.

The Board of Works approved the purchase, so work continues to build this new system.