Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools announced late Thursday afternoon that they plan to name Patrick Mapes as the new superintendent of schools. At a 7:30am school board meeting Friday, the board voted unanimously to approve a short-term consulting contract with Mapes, effective through February 28.

The board held a public hearing on Mapes’ employment contract February 21, and, by state law, the board must wait 7 days after the public hearing to approve the new superintendent’s employment contract.  That pact is scheduled to be voted on by the board February 28.

Patrick Mapes was at the board meeting Friday morning.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board has been searching for a new superintendent since September of 2023.  We now know the name of the person hired – Patrick Mapes.

The formal approval will come for a board vote Wednesday, February 28, at 6pm.

Mr. Mapes said he “retired” as Perry Township Schools superintendent in December of 2022.  It appears he has “unretired” to join HSE Schools.

Prior to leading Perry Township Schools, Mr. Mapes was chairman of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board and spent nearly 15 years serving in various capacities, including superintendent, within Delaware Community Schools in Muncie, Indiana. He was also the assistant superintendent of public instruction at the Indiana Department of Education for three years and was selected to join the U.S. Department of Education as the regional advisory chairperson on education issues. While he leads HSE, Mr. Mapes will also continue to serve the state as an appointee to the Indiana State Board of Education, which oversees K-12 education policymaking in Indiana.

The Mapes family plans to move from their current home on the south side of Indianapolis to the Fishers area.

“The HSE school board is confident Mr. Mapes will be a great addition to the district’s administration and will help spearhead continued efforts to enhance our schools and communities,” per the HSE Schools news release.

On Friday morning, a short-term contract with Mr. Mapes will be approved by the board in a 7:30am meeting.  Below is the language of the interim contract.

The former Marsh Supermarkets are getting new uses, and the latest is the Fishers location on 96th Street.  A story posted by Current Publishing tells the story of how that former Marsh location will become H&H Fieldhouse.

The link to the full story is below.

H&H Fieldhouse in Fishers slated to open late spring

Jane & I both had mothers that lived to the age of 92 and passed away in recent years.  Jane’s father is 91 and lives in Fishers.  Dealing with accidental falls i comes with age.

Our parents did experience falls that required us to call on our local emergency services and the Fishers crews did a wonderful job.  Jane & I did everything we could to prevent such falls, but they sometimes happened despite our best efforts.

The City of Fishers has announced a $30,000 Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security for their new Fishers Fall Prevention Program.  If you have elderly relatives, or you yourself are up in age, this is a program that can be of major assistance to you and your family.

Accident falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury in adults 65 and older. One in four older adults report falling each year.  Fishers residents 65 and older are eligible to apply for Fishers’ new program to receive free support which includes home visits, fall prevention education, assistance with necessary in-home modifications, and referrals to community partners as needed.

“Falls in the home are the leading cause of injury in Fishers,” said Division Chief Joe Harding from the Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ EMS Division in a city news release. “For several years, our first responders have recognized that these are often preventable events, but we lacked resources to assist the individual. Last year our Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) team collaborated with the Fishers Health Department to provide in-home assessment and intervention, which launched the new Fishers Fall Prevention Program. We quickly identified that there was a lack of funding for low- or fixed-income residents to purchase or install mobility devices on their own. These grant dollars will help us close the gap and help to keep our residents safe in their own homes.”

Local departments will work together alongside organizations such as the Shepherd Center of Hamilton County and Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County to identify residents in need of financial support.  

Residents interested in learning more about the Fall Prevention Program can contact the Fishers Health Department Social Work program at 317-463-4361 or email socialwork@fishers.in.us for more information.

Indiana state law requires a local school board to conduct a public hearing 7 days prior to voting on a new superintendent’s contract.  Only 4 people chose to speak at the Wednesday evening Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board meeting at that public hearing.

The hearing is, by law, about the superintendent’s contract and nothing else.  The first 3 speakers were interrupted by Board President Juanita Albright for discussing issues other than the contract.  The fourth speaker, former HSE Board member Michelle Fullhart, was not interrupted during her speech to the board as her comments were all related to the contract.

The board is scheduled to vote on the superintendent’s contract Wednesday, February 28.  According to the posted agenda, the new superintendent will be introduced to the public at that session.

There are rumors floating around the Fishers area about one particular name as the new superintendent of schools.  I have no way to confirm that rumor, and I do not report rumors on this blog.

Also, the board is scheduled to vote on an item Friday morning at 7:30am, described on the agenda only as a “short-term consulting contract.”

Going back to the days when Fishers was a town, there were renderings and visions of what South Street might look like in the downtown Fishers’ Nickel Plate District.  A major step in developing the south side of downtown Fishers happened Wednesday afternoon with the groundbreaking ceremony for the District South Project.

District South is a development with the City of Fishers, Rebar Development and the Annex Group all involved in the construction plans for the $33 million project.

The Annex Group plans to relocate up to 40 full-time employees to a four-story, 15,060 square foot class-A office space in the center of the village. There are 42 residential loft apartments on the upper floors of the building with a shared rooftop outdoor patio, cafe, and work from home lounge.

The four surrounding buildings in the village include a mix of apartment homes and commercial suites designed for small businesses. Residents, entrepreneurs, and employees located in District South will share luxury amenities, including a state-of-the-art fitness center, an engaging civic plaza, a courtyard with a grilling station, fire pit, and water feature, as well as the rooftop amenity in The Annex Group building.

During the ceremony, Rebar CEO Shelby Bowen announced that Tom Dickey, formerly the head of Planning for the City of Fishers, is joining the Rebar staff.

Did you know there are more than 250 Homeowners Associations (HOAs) in Fishers?  Let’s just say all of them did not show up for a Wednesday morning gathering sponsored by the City of Fishers, but HOA presidents and board members filled the Launch Fishers Theatre as they peppered Mayor Scott Fadness and his department heads with questions.

The mayor addressed a number of issues in his presentation and the HOA officials had many questions, but the issue of trash collection costs was raised by the mayor.  He told the story of how he, as the Fishers Town Manager in 2013, held a public meeting about the low bidder to provide trash collection service for a city-wide contract of less than $10 a month.  Fadness expected residents to be happy about this.

The public meeting on the subject in 2013 was nothing of the sort.  “I got ripped apart,” Fadness said.  “Someone accused me of being a part of the mafia.”

Once the Town of Fishers ditched the idea of a city-wide trash collection contract, it never came up until City Councilor David Giffel raised the issue last year.  That began a process.

The mayor’s staff, after public pressure lately due to increases in fees by the only 2 trash companies (mostly) operating in Fishers, is working on a Request for Proposals (RFP) providing what the city expects when it is ready to accept bids for a city-wide trash collection contract.  Fadness told the HOA officials that is what the city can do, just to see what the market will provide in bids.

The mayor says once the bids are in, then a public discussion can be held on whether or not the city should move forward on a city trash collection contract.

The HOA confab started at 8:30am and was scheduled to wrap-up around noon.

Officials from several city departments provided presentations, including police, fire, emergency services, building inspection, planning & zoning, engineering, health and community outreach.

If you have seen the construction site that is the new Fishers City Hall, which will be officially named the Fishers Municipal Center, containing the Fishers Arts Center on one part of the structure and the Theatre/Administrative side, the building is coming along nicely.  It appears city staff will be moving into the new facility soon.

Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren tells LarryInFishers city staff members will begin moving into the new City Hall in late April, but most of the staff will begin taking up residence in the new building during the month of May.

Fishers City Council meetings have been conducted at Launch Fishers during the construction period.  Hultgren expects only 2 more monthly Council sessions (March & April) at Launch before the Council moves into the City Hall Theatre in May for its regular meetings.

Anyone requesting copies of videos recorded by the Fishers Police Department will be paying a higher fee following a unanimous vote Monday night by the City Council.

Pollce Chief Ed Gebhart told Councilors the increased fees reflect pay increases provided his staff in 2024

The Council was scheduled for a first reading, but Councilor Pete Peterson called for a suspension of the rules for a final vote, requiring a unanimous vote, which was approved, allowing the new fee schedule to be implemented immediately.  Below is the new fee schedule:

In other items before the Council Monday night:

–Traders Point Church will be allowed to expand, following approval of rezoning property adjacent to the church.

–Councilors approved updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan.  Planning & Zoning Director Ross Hilleary told the Council 440 building permits were issued by the city in 2023, and as of last year there were 820 acres of park space in Fishers.

–Fishers’ Assistant Police Chief Luke Gannon was honored at the Council meeting for 25 years of service in the department.  Chief Gebhart pointed to the many duties Gannon has had working for Fishers Police, including work in the DNA program and his efforts in getting illegal firearms off the streets of Fishers.