When the City of Fishers had an opening for Parks & Recreation Director, local officials told  me there would be a wide search to select the person right for the job.  Turns out, the candidate selected was already right here, Marissa Deckert.  Ms Deckert has been serving as assistant director for the department.

“Marissa has been a key contributor to elevating Fishers Parks over the past few years, transitioning the department from a focus on smaller programming to large-scale community events,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in a city news release. “Her expertise in event management and experience in the entertainment industry has allowed us to secure major national acts for the NPD AMP stage and take popular community events such as Spark!Fishers and Glow in the Park to the next level.”

The department has been very busy, with new initiatives, including the opening of Geist Waterfront Park this spring, the Geist Half Marathon in September, and the Summer Concert Series at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater (NPD AMP).

“I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to lead the Parks department and continue to work with the amazing City team that makes Fishers so vibrant,” said Deckert. “Our team has an incredibly busy and exciting year ahead of us, and I can’t wait to make a greater impact through community connectedness, our spectacular spaces, and the richness and diversity of events.”

Deckert is a Fishers resident, mom of two, and grandmother. She is PTO Board president at HSE Schools and active in the community. In her free time, she enjoys riding bikes with her family along the Nickel Plate Trail, yoga, reading, concerts at the NPD AMP, and spending Saturday mornings at the Fishers Farmers Market.

March is Disability Awareness Month, and the Fishers Arts Council is partnering with Conner Prairie, along with the City of Fishers, providing a gallery of work from artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  There will be a reception Friday, March 3rd, 6-9pm at Conner Prairie.

Learn more from the following news release from the Fishers Arts Council:

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The Fishers Arts Council, in partnership with Conner Prairie and the City of Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, will offer a month-long gallery of art by individual artists and artists who are part of organizations providing services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The theme for the dual-location exhibit is “Building Our Future Together.” The exhibit at Conner Prairie can be found on the second floor of the Welcome Center, curated by the Exhibition Department of the Conner Prairie Museum under the direction of Director Jesse Kramer. Fishers Arts Council’s gallery is located at the Collaboration Hub at the Hamilton County Community Foundation in Fishers, curated by the board vice president, Ross Hilleary, and executive director, Les Reinhardt.

To celebrate the over 120 pieces of art shared between the gallery spaces, there will be a reception at each location, both of which are free and open to the public. Friday, March 3 from 6-9pm Conner Prairie will hold its reception with a special welcome at 7pm followed by live performances. The following Friday, March 10 from 6-8pm Fishers Arts Council will hold their Second Friday reception with a special presentation by HSE student and comic book creator, Jason Funk at 7pm. Both receptions offer refreshments and a chance to meet the artists and organizations. Artwork will be available for sale at the Fishers Arts Council gallery.

The following organizations will be participating: Janus Developmental Services, Studio Outside the Box, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Noble. This year marks our highest participation from Individual artists in our community and beyond. Those artists on display are: apdavs, Cassidy Atkins, Christopher Baird-Roberson, James Beisel, Lina Carter, Krista Darrow, Blake Dauby, Min Durham, Mark Fornefeld, Jason Funk, Anna Inger, Hikaru Kikuchi, Hiro Lerman, Nick Mangos, Warren Miller, Zander Phillips, Mark Rouse, Johnson Simon, Adelaide Thompson, and Collin Young.

We look forward to seeing you in our galleries and at the FAC Second Friday reception on March 10 from 6-8pm at the Collaboration Hub at 11810 Technology Drive in Fishers. Come meet the artists, take in their incredible art, and enjoy live music, refreshments, and a cash bar. Everyone of all ages are welcome and wanted. If you need assistance to enjoy our events, please reach out and let us know how we can help by emailing us at info@fishersartscouncil.org.

We may be in the closing days of February, but the Nickel Plate Amphitheater has already announced one ticketed concert coming up in July.  The funk band Ripe, from Boston, is coming to Fishers July 15.  Tickets go on sale March 3rd.

Below is the news release issued by the City of Fishers:

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The role of township government in Indiana has been a hot topic ever since Governor Mitch Daniels had two political heavyweights, Former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepherd and former Governor Joe Kernan, co-chair a 2007 commission that essentially found township governments should be abolished in Indiana.  The General Assembly didn’t go along with those findings, except to do away with most township assessors.

I do know many legislators began their political careers as township trustees or board members, so they have a soft spot in their hearts for townships.  But townships in the state continue to argue for their very existence.

There is an important local connection to this issue.  Delaware Township Trustee Debbie Driskell is also Executive Director of the Indiana Township Association (ITA).  The organization recently released  a task force study on township government.

The task force, using data gathered by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, reached 27 findings.  Here are some of those points from the ITA:

• Encourage townships to consider interlocal arrangements to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of local services
• Provide support to townships that wish to pursue voluntary mergers
• Allow nonvoluntary mergers of townships if certain criteria is met
• Make townships eligible for state grants and low-interest loan funding
• Strengthen board oversight of township finances
• Expand the circumstances that allow a public safety levy appeal
• Require townships with fire and EMS services to be included in public safety local income tax allocations
• Mandate annual continuing education for elected officials and critical staff
• Expand education of the public, K-12 students, and policy makers about the duties and values of township government

The two townships that serve the city of Fishers, Delaware and Fall Creek, have the duty to provide fire emergency medical services to the parts of the township not within the city limits.

I started covering Indiana local government in the early 1970s and have always believed that, if you look at the entire State of Indiana, some township governments work well and are efficient ways to deliver some services, others are not doing so well.  One mistake the Shepherd-Kernan Commission may have made was proposing that all township government functions be moved to the counties.  That made the idea easy to oppose.

I do not know the future of township government in the Hoosier State, but if a blue-ribbon commission appointed by Mitch Daniels during his time as governor could not bring about legislative action, I do not know what would.  I would hope that state lawmakers continue to keep an eye on all levels of state government and evaluate the job being done, including the townships.

As the weather slowly begins to improve, we see more utility relocations and lane restrictions.  Be aware of those and other issues from the road construction report for the work week of February 27, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Summer of 2023. View detour routes here.

Beginning on or after Monday, February 27, there will be temporary lane closures on 116th Street between Hazel Dell Parkway and Eller Road for bridge joint repairs performed by Hamilton County. One lane will be closed at a time and are expected to occur between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Recovery is something many of us have experienced at some point in our lives.  The Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County, located at the Eller House in Fishers, provides a safe place for people to begin their journey to recovery.

The location, just west of Allisonville Road on 116th Street, has been in the slow process of opening its doors.  The Recovery Cafe plans an Open House at 3pm, Thursday, March 2nd.

Among those scheduled to be on hand for the Open House are Mayor Scott Fadness, County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and a representative of Governor Holcomb’s office.

You can learn more about the Cafe at this link.  I recorded a podcast about the Recovery Cafe in December, which can be heard at this link. 

Here are a few photos from my Wednesday visit to the Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County

Continue reading Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County set for March 2nd Open House →

Room Service on Wheels is a Fishers eatery located at Fishers Pointe Boulevard and Lantern Road that plans an indoor dining area and adding outdoor dining.  The outdoor dining will require some government approvals and the first step was Wednesday evening, where the Nickel Plate Review Committee provided a unanimous vote to allow the expansion to move forward.

The owner told the committee he plans on a name change for the business in the near future.

The Nickel Plate Review Committee looks at each project to ensure it fits into the concept of the Fishers Nickel Plate District.

The outdoor seating plan must still pass muster with city staff, then go before the Board of Zoning Appeals for a Development Standards Variance allowing outdoor dining at that location.

When the expansion of the Fishers District, near I-69 & 116th Street, was announced, word came that the city would be constructing a new $170 million events center, holding as many as 8,500 people, as a major component of that development.  City officials interviewed and considered a number of firms to manage the facility and announced recently that ASM Global has been chosen for that task.

With the ground breaking ceremony expected in March, ASM is already busy what the firm describes as “pre-opening” services.  The complex is expected to be completed in December of 2024.

ASM Global touts its track record, working with and anchoring major cultural and
entertainment districts, venues and projects including L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Darling Harbour in Sydney, OVO Arena Wembley in London, AO Arena in Manchester and the Westgate Entertainment District—a regional, mixed-use development destination for shopping, dining, entertainment and commercial office space in Glendale, Arizona.

“This selection was the perfect choice that recognizes ASM Global’s expertise in world-class venues like the Fishers Event Center,” says Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in an ASM news release. “Their experience integrating that expertise with world-class, mixed-use projects is unparalleled. We have no doubt that their prowess in booking, fan experience, artist comfort and technological innovations will elevate our new venue and place it in the upper echelon of guest experiences beyond expectations.”

The new Events Center will be the new home of the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team, and Fuel owner Jim Hallet praised ASM’s extensive experience running major events, including Super Bowls, NCAA athletics, the Olympics.

“ASM Global believes in the Fishers market and its tremendous potential,” according to ASM President and CEO Ron Bension. “We plan to bring our global scale and best-in-class local operational execution to create value and drive profitability. That’s what we do. We don’t doubt that in short order this will be recognized as one of the top sports and entertainment districts in the U.S.”

The expansion of Fishers District, of which this Events Center is a part, is one element of a total $1.1 billion in economic and entertainment investment announced in September—the largest single-day announcement in Fishers history.

Verizon retailers that are part of Fishers-based Round Room and TCC are participating in their 10th annual Teachers Rock initiative.

Each Verizon retail store selected a group of teachers to give back to, with appreciation efforts including providing catered meals, gift cards, an assortment of sweets, school supply kits and more.

“The Teachers Rock initiative has become one of the more special events we hold each year, and we’re proud to support teachers nationwide for 10 consecutive years,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room and TCC. “We’ve all been positively impacted by teachers at some point in our lives, which was one of the main reasons we created Teachers Rock, to give back to these hardworking people who give so much to their students. It’s amazing to see how much the program has grown in 10 years.”

TCC is also giving away 10 $1,000 Amazon gift cards for teachers to enhance their classrooms and student experiences. Teachers nationwide are eligible to enter the Big Impact sweepstakes.

For more information, use this link.

The Fishers Police Department is adding 14 new officers to its force.  At Monday’s Fishers City Council meeting, they swore an oath and officially became members of the department.

Fishers has been fortunate to recruit a number of officers with experience in other police forces before entering the Fishers force.