In a growing city, with more residential areas & commercial activity  in close proximity  to each other, Fishers is taking a look at the noise ordinance.  The City Council held first reading on changes to the city’s noise ordinance Monday.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the Council the city will be engaging “stakeholders,” mostly the impacted residents and businesses, for reaction and input to the proposed ordinance.  Noise is measured by decibels, which can be monitored with the proper equipment.  In other cases, the ordinance simply defines too much noise in other ways.

In most cases, the acceptable decibel level is 70 or below, in in some instances, particularly defined times during the year, the threshold is increased to 80 decibels.

You can review the proposed new noise ordinance at this link and this link.

In other news from the Monday Council session:

–Council members suspended the rules and gave final approval to a new fee schedule for other law enforcement agencies using the FPD rapid DNA testing system.

–The rules were suspended to give a final vote approving a new ordinance on enforcing parallel parking.

—A non-reverting fund was approved by Council members for the under-construction Events Center.  Mayor Fadness says this will provide more transparency with the finances of the Center, apart from other city finances and funds.

Two items that had been expected to be on the agenda for the Monday night Fishers City Council meeting will not be considered after all.

First, the city-wide proposed trash collection contract was to be on the agenda to set the rates, as listed on several timelines released by city officials.  Monday, Fishers spokesperson Ashley Elron tells LarryInFishers the timelines earlier released were incorrect.  Ms. Elrod says both the final version of the proposed trash collection contract with Republic and the rates will be voted-on at the September Council session.

Also, the Fishers Plan Commission unanimously voted a favorable recommendation for a new Meijer grocery store and pharmacy at Southeastern Parkway and Cyntheanne Road earlier this month, with the expectation of a final vote by the council Monday.  According to Ashley Elrod, the item was removed from Monday’s Council agenda at the request of Meijer to continue work on a traffic study.  It is anticipated that Meijer will ask the City Council for final approval on the proposed location in September.

The Geist Half Marathon is coming up Saturday, September 14th.  It takes a number of volunteers to run an event like this.

If you have any interest in volunteering for the Geist Half Marathon, use the links and information below.

• Water Station Helpers: Reserved for groups of individuals from companies, clubs, or organizations to help at our water stations along the race route. It’s a great way to be a part of the action without having to run!
• Start Line/Runner Services: Volunteers will assist runners with finding their corrals and answer questions before the race, and then distribute medals, water, and snacks when the participants return to the finish line. Great for families and organizations.

Those of you that are long-time readers of the blog, or know me well, are aware of my history with radio broadcasting.  I started out in 1968 as a teenage kid changing records and tapes, as well as keeping an eye on the transmitter, for a local radio station.

It was 1969 when I had the chance to work on the air at a small-10-watt public radio station (you could pick it up on your radio with a stiff wind that day).  My commercial radio career began in 1970 and stretched all the way to 1983, when I left the business to pursue a civil service career.

I did about everything one could do at a radio station at some point in my radio time, but focused on hosting talk shows and being a news reporter during most of my 15 years in radio.  Radio news was very important then, because it was often the first time you would learn of a news story, before the evening television news or the newspaper was printed.

One development in radio that began in the 1960s was the emergence of the “news-radio” concept, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week constant supply of news.  One such station once promoted this – “Give us 20 minutes, we will give you the world.”

One of the first, and also one of the most respected all-news radio stations has been WCBS in New York City, 880 on the AM dial.  WCBS started the all-news format in 1967.  That concept is ending in 2024.

A changing radio business, with news at your fingertips on the Internet and your cell phone, has led to the demise of WCBS.  it was a sad day when the all-news format ended and long-time anchors and reporters signed-off for the last time.

WCBS will change its call letters and become an all-sports station.

This will once again put some very good journalists out on the street looking for work.  I wish them all well in their next pursuits.

It is not easy to adjust as technology and the business of broadcasting changes rapidly.  I am pleased that WBBM Radio, 780 AM, remains an all-news station in the City of Chicago.  But one wonders how long that will last.

The Andretti Racing Team has its involvement in plenty of auto racing series, perhaps even Formula One in the not-too-distant future.  But, what does this new Andretti Racing headquarters, currently under construction, mean for Fishers?

Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) reporter Daniel Bradley put together a piece with a deep dive into Andretti coming to Fishers, and has quotes from Mayor Scott Fadness and others on what this means for Fishers, the airport on the south side of Fishers and how a number of decisions by local officials brought us to this point in developing the airport.

You can read Daniel Bradley’s story at this link, but be aware you will likely need to be an IBJ subscriber to access this story online.  As I have written many times before, if you do not subscribe to your local media, your local media will eventually go away.

Continue reading Road construction update for the work week starting Monday, August 19 →

Scott Fadness has had many titles during his career in Fishers municipal government, including town manager and mayor.  Now, we can add another title, that of Professor Fadness.

Mayor Fadness will be joining the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Indianapolis as an associate faculty member for the fall 2024 semester, per a news release from the university.

He will be leading a course designed to help future leaders better understand what it means to be a public servant.

Fadness earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration in 2017 from the O’Neill School.

“We are thrilled and honored to add Mayor Fadness to our elite faculty roster at the O’Neill School,” says O’Neill Associate Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management Suzann Lupton. “Mayor Fadness will provide critical real-world insight and experience to O’Neill students, helping to guide up-and-coming leaders on the importance of public service and how they can go on to make a difference in their communities.”

The course Fadness will be leading focuses on the history, philosophy, values, and outcomes for careers in public service. He will examine what drives people to those careers and the impact it has on communities.

“I am excited and honored to engage with the next generation of public servants,” says Fadness. “The problems and opportunities facing our world today are as complex as they have ever been, and we need to equip the next generation with the tools to tackle them. I am grateful to do my small part.”

Drive Planning has offices in Atlanta, St. Petersburg and Fishers.  The Fishers office is preparing to move from its 106th Street location to a new building on 116th Street near Olio Road.

The Indianapolis Business Journal is reporting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is alleging the company was involved in a $300 million Ponzi scheme.

IBJ reporter Susan Orr details the allegations contained in the SEC action.  You can read her story at this link, but you may need an IBJ subscription to access this story.

The new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, Tim Brown, presented a timeline for putting together the 2025 school district budget Wednesday.  However, there were several comments by the public before his presentation.

During the public comment period, which is held at the beginning of the meeting, several speakers criticized the budget timeline’s last entry – “Pass resolution establishing the monthly transfer amounts from Education Fund to Operations Fund.”  They argued this could be a method for the district to claim poverty when contract negotiations with the local teachers union, the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association,  begin in mid-September.  Teachers compensation can only be paid from the Education Fund.

Brown told the board transfers from the Education Fund to the Operations Fund has happened before and is “standard practice.”

Brown’s timeline calls for the first high-level overview of the budget to be presented to the school board Finance Committee September 10.  On September 25, Brown will provide preliminary budget recommendations to the board in a work session.  A public hearing will be held on the spending plan October 9, with a final board vote on the 2025 district budget set for October 23.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools is looking to work with a nonprofit organization, Opportunity Education, exploring the possibility of creating the first charter school in the HSE District, with up to 500 student by 2028.  The goal, according to HSE’s Director of K-12 Initiatives Steve Loser, is to create such a high school and also offer courses to students spending most of their time at HSE and Fishers High Schools.

Loser told the board this could provide career and technical education (CTE) to more students in the district.  Currently only 7% of HSE students are in technical education programs.

The board unanimously approved the MOU to move forward with Opportunity Education talks.

Becky Slayton of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) wrote a post on Facebook critical of the HSE move to create a charter school.  She writes that such a charter school “often cuts out teacher voices” and the district brought this proposal to the union “the day before going to the board for approval.”

Slayton wrote the charter/innovation school model is “about deconstructing public education hidden behind a screen of CTE.”

Wealthy businessman Joe Ricketts, also the owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, is behind the creation of Operation Education.

You can see Steve Loser’s full presentation to the board at this link.