You may recall that Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness recommended a $50 nonresident parking fee last summer at Geist Waterfront Park.  The City Council voted in favor of the fee and it was enforced during the summer of 2023.

In a podcast recorded Monday, March 11, Mayor Fadness tells me the fee will be reduced in 2024.  He is working with his Parks Department staff and “a new scenario” will be put before the City Council in April.  The mayor did not provide any additional details on that scenario.

“We’re excited about that fact that we have some additional capacity,” Fadness said during the podcast recording session. “Some of the concerns we had last year about – is this thing going to be swamped by people – (have) been alleviated.”

On another issue raised during the podcast, Fadness says he is aware of cities providing incentives to move into the community, with the popularity of working from home.  According to a story in the Indianapolis Star, Noblesville is offering an incentive package valued at $15,000 for those qualified, including relocation fee reimbursements, golf club memberships and co-working space.

According to Fadness, “We’re all racing for talent.”  But the mayor was clear, he doesn’t excpect any such program coming to Fishers.

“I don’t see us doing this anytime in the foreseeable future,” says Fadness. “Our focus is really trying to build a quality of life, an amenity package that would be attractive for people to want to be part of our community and our focus is really trying to build a quality of life and amenity package that would be attractive.”

Although the mayor admitted he hasn’t spent much time thinking about this concept, “I continue to wonder – do people make life decisions like where they’re going to move based on those types of (incentives)?”

The podcast, also featuring Police Chief Ed Gebhart and Fire Chief Steve Orusa, will be available Wednesday afternoon.