On March 4th, I recorded and posted a podcast with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and his Chief of Staff, Jordin Alexander.  They both made the case supporting a proposed ordinance limiting the number of rental homes available in any individual Fishers subdivision at 10% of the homes located in that neighborhood.  Listen to the podcast at this link.

IndyStar opinion editor and columnist James Briggs has weighed-in on this issue, and let’s just say he is not supportive of the city’s proposed ordinance.    You can read the Briggs piece at this link. (The Star does have a paywall but sometimes makes exceptions for opinion pieces, so you are welcome to try the link if you are not a Star subscriber)

Mayor Fadness argues that residents of these neighborhoods did not buy their homes expecting 30-40% of the residences to be rental properties.  He views the proposed ordinance as a way of addressing that.

Briggs brings a completely different perspective to the issue.  He says all this ordinance will do is cutoff families that cannot obtain mortgages, due to tighter lending standards, from living in a single-family home.  As to the argument that out-of-town investors and Wall Street hedge funds are buying up homes, Briggs asserts the solution is holding landlords accountable for the condition of their properties.  He also cites NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) thinking as one reason Fishers is proposing this idea.

If you want to know more about the city’s plans for this ordinance, Jordin Alexander will be hosting a Webinar at noon, Monday, March 10.  You can register and submit questions at this link.

Also, a group describing themselves as Fishers citizens plan to conduct a Town Hall later that same day, Monday, March 10, 6pm, at the Hamilton East Library Center Stage/Meeting Room.  This group appears to oppose the city’s rental cap ordinance.

Based on comments made during the May 4th podcast by the mayor and Ms. Alexander, it is not likely the City Council will take up the rental cap ordinance in March, and is more likely to vote on this proposal in April.

Community Health Network is expected to receive another 5-year contract with Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the School Board’s Budget and Finance Committee Wednesday morning 3 hospital groups submitted bids but Community had the best bid on price.  “Community came back the overwhelming winner,” Brown told committee members.

This contract covers school nurses, sports medicine support, behavioral health and clinic services.  Brown described a staff survey conducted about the clinic services, and the results were positive about the clinic run by Community.

HSE and Community are in the process of hammering out a new 5-year pact, and, according to Brown, “We don’t see it changing substantially.”  The agreement will include a process to review the contract provisions at the end of 4 years, but Brown emphasized this would not be an “auto-renewal.”

A completed contract is expected to be before the HSE School Board in April.

HSE Facilities Director Matt Rapp reviewed 12 projects exceeding $350,000 in cost that will be up for board consideration, except the item number 9 below, which will be deferred for reconsideration in one year.

Here is a list of the construction plans presented to the committee:

1. Fall Creek Intermediate Renovation –   Funding from bond proceeds.  Start date in May, completion projected to be July 26. Total: $34,000,000

2. Hamilton Southeastern High School Baseball Drive – We will remove and replace the existing drive and parking lot and install a storm drain. Total: $1,500,000

3. Drive between the Administration Building and Transportation – We are removing and replacing this access drive shared by HSE and the city. We are also adding a pressure loop (opening of the transportation main gate)  Total: $500,000

4. Hoosier Road Elementary Parking Lot – We plan to repair and replace the original asphalt and correct subsurface issues. Total: $350,000

5. Hoosier Road Elementary Playground- We will replace and move some equipment. Total: $421,000

6. Brooks School Elementary Parking Lot – We plan to repair and replace the original asphalt and correct any subsurface issues as needed. Total: $350,000

7. Fishers High School Roof – We will replace approximately 87,000 sq ft of roofing. – Total: $4,000,000

8. Fishers High School Pool Air Handlers- We will solicit bids for labor to install the two units on order. Total: $1,500,000 ($750,000 already spent on equipment, $750,000 for this bid))

9. Fishers High School New Auxiliary Gym- Releveling the wood court to meet the other courts. Total: $171,000 (Deferred at this time, will re-evaluate in one year) )

10. Lantern Road Elementary School Renovation –  We are moving the north playground to the south of the building, further away from the roundabout. This will include prep work of the new area and new equipment. Total: $1,200,000

11. Hamilton Southeastern High School- We will be advertising a Request For Proposals  for a Construction Management Services Contract as part of this extensive renovation project. Total: Budget TBD

12. Custodial- A Request For Proposals will be going out to bid. Total: Budget TBD

Fishers will likely wait until April to present a second and third reading of a proposed cap on single-family rental homes until April.  That’s the word from Mayor Scott Fadness and his Chief of Staff, Jordin Alexander, during a podcast recording session with Larry Tuesday afternoon.

The main issue covered in this podcast is the proposed ordinance on rental home caps, but also discussed were the city-wide trash collection contract, proposed changes to the property tax system at the Statehouse and the decision to delay construction of the 116th Street & Allisonville Road roundabout to 2026.

You can listen to the podcast at the link below.

Mayor Scott Fadness recently hinted that he and his staff were considering delaying the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of 116th Street and Allisonville Road.  During a podcast interview with LarryInFishers Tuesday afternoon, the mayor says that construction project has been moved to 2026.

It is expected that the intersection will be closed completely during the construction when it happens in 2026, allowing for a quicker completion of the work.

Fadness says bids were taken for 2025 & 2026, so no new bidding will be required to push the project back one year.  The roundabout construction at 116th & Allisonville was originally scheduled for the summer of 2025.

The continued construction of a new interchange at I-69 and I-465 is the main reason given by the mayor for this delay.  Any closing of 116th Street and Allisonville Road would only add more traffic to the new roundabout at 96th Street and Allisonville Road, which is  feeling the impact of additional vehicles as a result of the I-69 & I-465 construction.

Mayor Scott Fadness made one thing clear in his remarks at the Disability Awareness kickoff event Monday morning – he was there mostly to listen.  Listen, he did, and moderated a panel discussion among deaf Fishers residents.

Jason Wagner, Irina Burke and Greg Gantt served as panelists and told stories of how something like a simple police traffic stop for speeding can become complicated and even dangerous for a deaf person.

The theme for the 2025 Disability Awareness Month is “Connected Through Language.”  One language highlighted is American Sign Language (ASL).

Three awards were presented Monday morning:

Life Without Limits Award -Carter Schmidt

Cornerstone Employee Award – Spokenote

Accessibility Award – Mari Kennedy

For more on Fishers March events for Disability Awareness Month, use this link.

I pulled into the parking lot next to HSE High School’s Reynolds Royals Stadium 35 minutes before the scheduled balloon release in honor of Mason Alexander.  I took one of the last parking spots left.

Walking to the field, all I could see were students and some adults waiting to enter the stadium with their balloons.  The number of people crowding the field numbered into the thousands.

It was a well behaved and quiet crowd.  They were there to remember a former fellow student that had touched so many lives during his time at HSE.

Mason Alexander had committed to play football at the University of Pittsburgh (known also as just Pitt).  He had graduated from HSE in December but wanted to walk with his classmates in the graduation ceremony this coming June.

He was killed in a tragic car crash at 113th Street and Florida Road Saturday night.

Once the balloons were released at 5:15pm Monday, the crowd stood quiet and staid.  There were some public address comments.  Even then, students didn’t seem to want to leave.  They quietly spoke to each other.

Below is a news conference held by Hamilton Southeastern High School Head Football Coach Michael Kelly, talking about Mason Alexander.

I was asked to speak before the Fishers Newcomers Club, consisting of ladies considered senior citizens.  The one point they made to me during that visit was their concern that the City of Fishers wasn’t doing much for the senior citizen community.  That may be changing soon.

Fishers has announced the launch of an Aging & Wellness Task Force to assess and improve services available for seniors in the community. The task force will evaluate existing offerings, identify gaps, and recommend new programs and initiatives, including the possibility of a dedicated senior services facility.

Co-chaired by Fishers City Councilman Bill Stuart and Dr. Juanita Albright, a local physician and President of the Hamilton Southeastern School District Board of Trustees, the task force includes residents and care providers. As part of its evaluation, the group will distribute a community survey and host focus groups to gather input from seniors and stakeholders.

“This initiative demonstrates the City’s commitment to supporting its senior population and ensuring that this demographic has the necessary services, programs, and resources to attain the highest quality of life within Fishers,” Stuart and Dr. Albright said in a joint statement. “This is an exciting opportunity for seniors to share what matters to them and make a direct impact on future programming and infrastructure. We can’t wait to get started.”

The formation of this task force aligns with Fishers’ Culture of Health initiative, which promotes wellness and healthy living for all residents. Discussions about a senior-focused facility initially arose during the planning of the new Fishers Community Center, scheduled to open this fall.

“Over the past few years, we’ve debuted exciting new quality-of-life amenities for our community, including a world-class event center and art center, new parks, trails, and more,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “As more seniors are selecting Fishers as the place to spend their retirement, it’s important that we understand which amenities and resources can best serve this growing population.”

The task force will officially begin its work this spring, with plans to present recommendations to city staff by mid-summer.

It is always a tragedy when a young life is lost in any community.  The Saturday night traffic crash at 113th Street and Florida Road in Fishers, that claimed the life of Mason Alexander, 18, has resulted in an outpouring of grief and sadness in the Fishers community.

As a standout football player for Hamilton Southeastern High School, Mason had committed to playing football at an ACC school, Pitt.  He was rated as one of the top college prospects by ESPN and other experts rating such things.

The comments from leaders in the Fishers community poured in all day Sunday.

The HSE Football X (formerly Twitter) account announces that there will be a balloon release at Reynolds Royals Stadium at 5:15pm Monday, March 3, in honor of Mason Alexander.

HSE Schools will have special counseling services available to students dealing with the sad news.

Allow me to join the rest of the Fishers community in expressing my sincere sympathies for  the Alexander family.

An open net goal, after the Indy Fuel pulled goaltender Ben Gaudreau with 42 seconds left in the game, cemented an Iowa Heartlander 4-2 win Sunday afternoon, before a Fishers Event Center crowd of 6,003.

The first period did not start well for the home team, with Iowa’s Jack O’Brien and Kelti Jeri-Leon finding the back of the net.  That created a 2-0 lead for the Heartlanders.

The second stanza saw the Fuel roar back with goals from Kyle Maksimovich and Nathan Burke, tying the scoreboard at 2-2.

The deciding score came only seconds into the third period with a power play goal from Iowa’s Kyle Masters, due to a Fuel penalty that carried over from the second period.

There was plenty of contact and effort from both teams, even though this was the third game in three days for each team.  Iowa has been battling with Fort Wayne for second place in the Central Division.  The Fuel have been working to stay in the fourth place slot in the Central Division, the final playoff spot.

There are plenty of games left on the schedule so it is early but the Fuel are in the mix for that final divisional playoff position.

The Fuel return home Friday to face our intrastate rival, the Fort Wayne Komets. The puck drops at 7pm.

A traffic crash on Florida Road in Fishers Saturday night claimed the life of an 18-year-old victim.  The accident was investigated by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department.

WTHR has the details on the story at this link.