Thompspn Thrift has signed the first lease at The Union at Fishers District with Piedra, a Mexican restaurant owned and operated by Fishers-based Arechiga Restaurant Group.

Thompson thrift originally developed the Fishers District development near Ikea and is now developing the Union, near Interstate 69 and 116th Street.

“We are thrilled to welcome Piedra to The Union at Fishers District,” said Ryan Menard, vice president of development at Thompson Thrift, in a company news release. “Their commitment to culinary excellence and community engagement aligns perfectly with our vision for this vibrant mixed-use destination. This partnership represents a significant step in creating a unique and inviting gathering place for both residents and visitors.”

Piedra will offer what Thompson Thrift describes as upscale Mexican cuisine in an approximately 5,000-square-foot space with an outdoor patio area. The location is expected to open to the public in 2026. The Union location will be the second site for the latest concept, following the scheduled opening later this year of the first Piedra in Indianapolis’ Bottleworks District.

Piedra is the first signed lease at the project, with three other concepts currently at-lease, and several additional spaces being actively negotiated. The Union is expected to break-ground in the first quarter of 2025, with the first tenants expected to open in late 2026.

The City of Fishers had set a deadline for companies bidding on the city-wide trash collection contract to have their bids submitted by 10am Monday, June 3rd.  However, on Friday, May 31, city officials discovered an “administrative error” in the request for proposals.

With the discovery of the glitch, Fishers has extended that deadline for submitting bids to Monday, June 10, at 4pm.

City spokesperson Ashley Elrod tells LarryInFishers this delay will not impact the time line, which calls for a public hearing in July.  All this will do is shorten the time span for the city to review the bids and negotiate with bidders for a final bid offer.

The Town of Fishers went through the process of taking trash collection contract bids more than 10 years ago, but backed-off after public opposition.  With mostly 2 companies offering trash collection service in Fishers, Waste Management and Republic, costs have increased and the public mood appears to have changed.

City of Fishers employees have been scattered throughout the community during the construction of the new City Hall.  During the month of May, departments were slowly but surely moving into their new quarters at the new City Hall.

I recorded a podcast with Mark Williams & Michelle O’Hollaren of the Indy Arts Center.  The Center will be providing art classes on the first floor of the complex.  The first floor also contains an auditorium that will seat about 300 people.  Mark & Michelle gave me a tour of the auditorium and arts center.  I fully expect a great deal of activity in those spaces once all is in full gear, with arts classes and performances in the auditorium.  The auditorium will also be utilized for Fishers government meetings, including the City Council.

Mark Willams is particularly excited about the space set aside for the arts and a number of classes are planned.  I am no art expert, but it is clear seasoned artists and beginners will all enjoy this space.

When I moved to Fishers in 1991, the Town Hall was just finishing construction.  It became City hall in 2015.  However, there were structural issues with that building that had it sinking into the underlying water table.  It was costing the city a lot of money just to keep old City Hall upright, to the point of making it more costs effective to demolish the old building and construct the new City Hall, with an Arts Center included.

The mayor and his staff invited me to walk with them one last time around the old City Hall just before demolition began.  There were a few tears shed among the mayor’s staff on that day with so many memories attached to that building.  The mayor admitted he had many memories of old City Hall going back to the days he was an intern for the Town of Fishers.  As one would expect, the may chose to look forward to moving on to new City Hall.

I have watched plenty of comments on new City Hall’ architecture, some complimentary, some not so complimentary, at least as to the look of the building from the outside.  I am no architectural expert and will stay out of that discussion.

Allow me to say the office part of the structure is impressive because of the immense amount of natural light one experiences when inside City Hall.  Natural light is a precious commodity in any work place, and Fishers new City Hall/Arts complex has plenty of that.

The city will be holding an open house soon for our new Municipal Center.  I would recommend you come and see what your tax dollars have built.

I watched the HSE and Fishers High Schools graduation ceremonies on the live YouTube stream Saturday.  Memories were made for so many families in and around Fishers June 1st.  It is notable that this will be the final local graduation ceremony to be held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.  Beginning in 2025, graduations will be at the now-under-construction Fishers Events Center.  Also, the first graduations at the new Fishers Events Center will be a few days later on the calendar of 2025, June 7th.

I must admit, I did not watch every single graduate have their diplomas handed to them.  I wonder how the respective principals and Superintendent Mapes were able to shake all those hands in one day?

I remember my twin daughters graduation day from Fishers High School about 12 years ago.  It is a special and somewhat emotional experience to watch your child move from one part of life into another.

I believe it was the valedictorian for HSE High School that put it this way….up to now, you can talk about HSE is where you go…after today, HSE is a place you went.

I graduated from Arlington High School in 1969.  It is now a middle school, but many alumni of that school have fond memories of our days there, and I am one of those people.

What I recall of my graduation day was a memory of my World History teacher, Mr. Ben Fort.  He assured us he would be at our graduation ceremony and would shake our hands.  I wondered whether he meant that.  He did.

Ben Fort had a big smile on his face as he shook the hand of each graduate.

Congratulations to each graduate at HSE and Fishers High Schools.  You should be proud and your families should be proud as well.  Time to move on to the next phase of life.

Fishers HS grads take their turn

If you live in the area of 141st Street and Promise Road, you have likely seen the signs that this intersection, which has been a 4-way stop, will be closed to construct a roundabout.  This is a City of Noblesville project, because it is on their southern border with Fishers.  Fishers neighborhoods in that area will be impacted.  This is expected to take several weeks to complete.

Also, June 5th is the date to begin construction of the roundabout at 141st Street at State Road 37.  More details below.

This is a very long list of road construction projects this week.  Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Latest on Fishers area road construction for the week of Monday, June 3 →

I had a political science professor in college, and this was the mid-1970s, that had very specific views.  Sometimes I agreed with him, sometimes I did not.  What he always succeeded in doing was forcing one to challenge long-held views.

One assertion he often made was comparing how the United States elects a president to how the United Kingdom elects a prime minister through their parliamentary system.  It is well understood that our systems of democracy are quite different, but he always argued the Brits do it better than us.

The length of a presidential campaign in America is long, very long.  Sometimes the positioning of candidates for president of the United States begins when the last election ends.  There are straw polls, all kinds of gatherings, the endless primary elections, then the political parties have their conventions, nominating their respective presidential candidates.  Labor Day normally denotes the start of the presidential campaign.

How is it done in Britain?  There is a deadline for an election to be held, but normally the prime minister calls the election before that date.  The UK parliamentary election campaign has  begun in 2024.  It will last for 5 weeks, with the election to be held July 4.  I find it interesting that the balloting will happen on a day not necessarily a date to remember in Britain, July 4th, the day commemorating the American Declaration of Independence from King George.

My professor always thought a brief, lively election campaign of 5 weeks in Britain is much better than the long, drawn-out campaigns for American president.

My former professor may have a point.

Hamilton County’s four mayors are set to converge at the Hamilton County Leadership Academy’s (HCLA) 11th annual Leadership Summit, where they will engage in a panel discussion on regionalism. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Noblesville.

The panel will feature Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, and Westfield Mayor Scott Willis, with Terry Anker, dean of the HCLA Class of 2014, serving as the moderator. This gathering aims to provide insights into how regional collaboration is influencing their municipalities and shaping the future of Hamilton County.

“We are thrilled to be one of the first community organizations in Hamilton County to bring our mayors together and learn how regionalism is shaping their work and the future of where we live, work, and play,” said Diana Coyle, executive director of HCLA. “Community partnerships play a vital role in achieving our mission of amplifying the impact of leaders in the community. We believe informed and connected citizens understand the policy, process, and people who shape the lived experiences of residents and can cultivate change and support for growth in rewarding ways.”

The Leadership Summit is open to the public, with individual tickets and table sponsorships available for purchase at HCLA.net. Registration closes on Wednesday, June 5.

In addition to the panel discussion, the event will feature the presentation of HCLA’s Distinguished Alumni & Honorary Alumni Awards. Andrea Davis, executive director of HAND, Inc. and a graduate of HCLA’s Class of 2014, will receive the 2024 HCLA Distinguished Alumni Award. This award honors alumni who have made significant contributions to the HCLA network and Hamilton County through their community service and leadership efforts. Davis, a Fishers resident and former newspaper reporter and editor, joined HAND in 2016 and has been actively involved in local government and community initiatives.

Brenda Myers, president and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism, Inc., will be recognized as the 2024 HCLA Honorary Alumni. This award acknowledges a Hamilton County leader who, while not an alumnus of the HCLA program, has demonstrated a strong belief in its mission and vision. Myers, with over 35 years of experience in tourism development, has significantly contributed to the county’s tourism sector, including leading efforts on the White River Vision Plan and establishing the Business of Entertainment, Sport & Tourism Fund.

For more information about HCLA and its impact on the community, visit www.hcla.net.

Good news for motorists in the area of Allisonville Road & 146th Street.  Allisonville Road will be open at 146th Street June 9th.  Hamilton County Highway officials say there will be a temporary traffic signal at that intersection.  On Allisonville Road, no left turns will be allowed onto 146th Street.

With bridge work ongoing, drivers are asked to be careful as construction vehicles will be in and out of that area frequently.

Below is the information provided by Hamilton County Highway:

I recall having many conversations with Scott Fadness after he won the Republican primary for Fishers mayor in 2014.  There was no opposition for him in the November general election, so he often talked about his priorities once taking office in 2015.

A top priority for him, as expressed to me at the time, was mental health.  Fadness had done ride-a-longs with Fishers Police Officers during his time as Town Manager and witnessed first-hand many situations officers were trying to handle which clearly related to some mental health issue.

Once in the mayor’s office, Fadness brought people together and started studying the issue and taking action.  The new mayor wasted no time in moving forward.

Having covered a number of mayors in my reporting past, I had seen many mayors start to work on an issue, put something together, declare victory and move on to the next issue in span of a few months.

I wondered, what would this new Mayor of Fishers do about mental health?  Will he act quickly then move onto something else, or will he stay with it?

My answer came during an event the mayor sponsored Wednesday morning, gathering members of his staff, leaders in the community and mental health experts to talk about where Fishers is on mental health and where the community goes from here.

The mayor began his talk with a history of his efforts, not always initially successful, at bringing major local institutions into the mental health efforts.

COVID had a big impact on all this.  Mayor Fadness wanted a COVID testing program early in the pandemic, so he created a city health department which continues to this day.  The Fishers Health Department has taken-on much of the mental health work.

However, Fadness explained many other city departments are involved in promoting better mental health, including police, fire, emergency services, parks & recreation and planning, just to name a few.  Several department heads were called-on by the mayor to talk about their involvement in the city’s mental health program.

The mayor then took questions and comments from the audience, there were many, and he listened.

He wrapped-up the hour-long session saying he has been inspired by this journey in promoting better mental health.  The mayor should be proud of what he accomplished.  It started with his first day in office, January 2015, up to the present day, with a consistent mental health program.  My early question was answered.  This mayor has kept his mental health program going for his entire time as Mayor of Fishers.

Suzanne Thomas is serving her first 4-year term on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board, and on Wednesday officially filed for re-election for the Fall Creek Township seat.

Ms. Thomas describes herself as “conservative with traditional values and (a) progressive vision in education.”  She has resided in Fishers since 2001.

In the news release announcing her candidacy for a 2nd term, she refers to her efforts in supporting renovations at several schools, her involvement in the approval of a new literacy initiative Science of Reading, revising the student handbook to “promote accountability and responsibility,” and “proudly supports the hiring of the new Superintendent of Hamilton Southeastern Schools.”  Patrick Mapes recently replaced the previous superintendent, Dr. Yvonne Stokes.

“I am proud of the progress we have made together over the past four years,” said Thomas in her news release. “I am excited to continue serving the wonderful community of Hamilton Southeastern and remain committed to excellence in education for all students.”

In this round of school board voting, 3 of the 7 seats are up for grabs.  All voters in the district vote for one candidate residing in each township (Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne).