For many years, Fishers has contended that Carmel unfairly received Local Option Income Tax distributions. Carmel took Fishers to court, saying a state law limiting the amount of local income tax money flowing to Carmel violated the Indiana Constitution. A Marion County Judge ruled in favor of Carmel, saying the limit is unconstitutional.
Current Publishing reporter Ann Marie Shambaugh posted a story Tuesday about the judge ruling. You can read the story at this link.
State Representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn is serving her first term in the Indiana General Assembly, and the OneZone Business Action Committee (BAC) is endorsing her as Representative Wilburn seeks another term in the Indiana House.
“In Representative Garcia Wilburn, we have found a staunch advocate for our mission to
cultivate prosperous businesses and communities,” said Séamus Boyce, Chair of the ZoneBAC in a news release. “Her visionary approach and unwavering dedication make her an excellent candidate for the statehouse.”
The ZoneBAC is made up of OneZone Chamber members. All candidates who had filed for office were invited to participate in a questionnaire. From those that responded the committee conducted interviews as part of the endorsement process. ZoneBAC endorsement decisions are made by the ZoneBAC committee. The committee members review candidate information, conduct interviews, and decide which candidates to support based on nonpartisan criteria.
OneZone is the Chamber of Commerce for the business community in Fishers and Carmel. House District 32 takes-in parts of Carmel and Fishers, along with a small part of northern Marion County.
The Fishers City Council wasted no time in enacting a new ordinance imposing a $250 fine for those ticketed for loitering. It normally takes more than one reading to pass such a measure, but the Council can suspend the rules and pass such an ordinance the same night with a unanimous vote. That is what happened at the Monday night Council session.
The vote was 9-0 to suspend the rules and 9-0 in favor of the ordinance. Mayor Scott Fadness described this ordinance as a “measured approach” to the problem of car meet-ups in Fishers that fill city parking lots and parking garages.
Police Chief Ed Gebhart said a recent meetup Sunday, March 3rd, brought an estimated 300 cars to the city, but additional information puts that number closer to 500 cars. Major Ryan Jones, head of FPD’s patrol Division, describes this as a “growing problem” in Fishers.
Gebhart told Council members his department will keep a close eye on the situation and if more action is needed on city ordinances, he will come back to the Council
You can read the ordinance passed Monday night at this link.
In other news from Monday night’s Council session:
–Many may recall an announcement in August of 2018 that the Gray Eagle golf course in Fishers would close. Residents in the neighborhood fought to keep the golf course open. In August of 2020, there was an announcement that a development planned for that area would keep the golf course open after all. The pandemic and other market conditions have delayed the project, but the City Council enacted a project agreement Monday night authorizing the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), with the bonds backed by the developer, JC Hart. Changes in this arrangement will not impact the city. A Hart representative told the Council there is an October 2025 deadline to close the deal and an October 2027 deadline to complete the project, but Hart says it expects the work will be completed well ahead of those legal deadlines.
–The Council was nearly 20 minutes late in beginning the public Council session. Before that, Councilors were in an executive session. The agenda said the private meeting was “To conduct interviews and negotiations with industrial or commercial prospect or agents of industrial or commercial prospects in accordance with” the Indiana code. Is there yet another economic development deal in the works for Fishers? Time will tell.
Fishers Junior High School will be off soon the the national We The People competition. The Indiana state champions were honored Monday night by the Fishers City Council. Two members of the group explained how We The People works, as a competition based on civic knowledge.
“No question to me that if you guys were doing a mock Congressional hearing, you are exemplifying the type of maturity and composure that does not exist in Congress today,” said Mayor Scott Fadness.
The mayor handed out certificates from the city to all the FJHS We The People team members at the council session.
Being in the “path of totality” for a solar eclipse is a rare thing. Fishers will experience such an event April 8. I had the opportunity to talk about that with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Police Chief Ed Gebhart and Fire Chief Steve Orusa several days ago (listen at this link).
Monday afternoon, the City of Fishers issued a detailed news release on what to expect April 8.
Here is part of the news release:
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Hamilton County announced Monday morning that bids are being accepted to participate in a Public-Private Partnership, with the aim of constructing a new public safety training facility. Proposals will be accepted through 10am, April 3.
Qualifications to potential bidders are available at this link.
A new public safety training facility has been considered for some time, but the county is moving forward on this project, which is good news for public safety operations throughout Hamilton County.
Fishers Police issued a news release early Sunday morning on a homicide investigation linked to a shooting late Saturday night (use this link). Fishers Police Department Public Information Officer Angela Ellison sent a message to local media outlets late Monday morning saying “detectives are working around the clock” in an ongoing investigation into this shooting death.
Ellison also thanked area police agencies for assisting FPD Saturday night. She also emphasized this appears to be an isolated incident.
Bottom line, as of late morning Monday, there is nothing new to report and no arrests have been made. FPD will release updates once there is something to say.
One person is dead following a shooting late Saturday night in 10000 block of Apple Blossom Circle, just north of 141st Street between Cumberland and Howe Roads. Police say there does not appear to be any active threat to the community at this time.
At 11:40pm, Fishers Police responded to reports of shots fired in the area and found one person with gunshot wounds. That individual was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Fishers Police say several people have been detained in connection with this shooting.
Authorities have identified the victim as Cameron Doaks,24.
Police describe this as an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident (including camera footage), please contact Detective LaShawn Tyler at 317-595-3300.
Look for sidewalk work to wind down in the Windermere neighborhood and commence in Brooks Chase in the coming week. Also, be aware of drainage improvements impacting Master Road from 91st to 96th Street. That and much more is included in the latest Fishers-area road construction report. Here is the rundown for the work week beginning Monday, March 18, as provided by the City of Fishers:
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To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREETA 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 Spring 2024. View detour routes here. View how to merge safely onto Northbound SR 37 from 141st Street here and onto Southbound SR 37 from 141st Street here. To navigate the merge, remember:
To learn more about the Clear Path Improvement Project and sign up to receive text and email updates, visit clearpath465.com I-465 & I-69Drivers will see an increase in construction along the I-69 corridor in the coming months. This work will focus on reconfiguring the interchange at I-465 and I-69. New ramps will provide direct movements from eastbound I-465 and northbound I-465 to northbound I-69. Binford Blvd. will also be reconstructed to separate local traffic from traffic entering and exiting I-69 and I-465. Access to I-69 from Binford Blvd. will remain open. Crews closed the two ramps at 82nd Street on Monday, January 29. These ramps will remain closed throughout most of 2024.
Howard Companies is finishing up sidewalk improvements in the Windermere neighborhood. This work will only consist of removal and replacement of sidewalk panels which pose a toe kick trip hazard. Sidewalk within driveways is not included in the scope of this project. Crews anticipate beginning work in the Brooks Chase neighborhood on or around March 20.
Phase 1 of this plan will require closure of Master Road, the anticipated closure dates will be March to April 17. These restrictions will affect through traffic of Master Road between 91st and 96th Street.Phase 2 is anticipated to take place from April 17 to June 6, during this phase there will be a one lane closure between 91st street and 96th Street. For more information visit Indianapolis Major Transportation and Infrastructure Projects Page.
Thursday was a night of talking about all the joint projects the City of Fishers has offered to support the local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools. The list is a long one.
Every department head in Fishers City Government spoke before the school board, explaining the many joint endeavors each has with the school district. Mayor Scott Fadness talked about a program started by the Town of Fishers in 2014 when Fadness was Town Manager, taking over the responsibilities of groundskeeping and snow removal for the HSE Schools at a time of serious budget difficulties for HSE. Fadness says that program saved enough money to fund 5 teachers. That program continues to this day.
Fadness’ Chief of Staff Jordin Alexander explained the new fund created by the City Council in the 2024 budget, establishing a $500,000 fund for new and innovative programs submitted by HSE Schools’ teachers. A board has been formed of mostly retired teachers to decide which proposals are funded. Alexander & Mayor Fadness emphasized this program is not in any way replacing the work of the HSE Schools Foundation, but plans to supplement the foundation’s work.
The city’s PowerPoint presentation before the school board is available at this link.
