In most Fishers Homeowners Associations (HOAs) it takes a vote of at least 75% of the homeowners to make a change in the covenants or other rules.  The Fishers City Council, at the regular monthly meeting Monday, took the first step toward changing that for new neighborhoods in the city.

“We are requesting that for any new HOA that this just be a simple majority vote in order to make (a) change, to make it a little bit easier for neighborhoods to amend their covenants and restrictions through the years,” Director Planning & Zoning Megan Vukusich told council members.

Mayor Scott Fadness emphasized the city would not implement such a rule retroactively, this proposed ordinance would only apply to new development.  Councilor Pete Peterson emphasized any new city ordinance would require a 50% vote of homeowners, not 50% of the homeowners present for a meeting of the HOA.  There were many comments about how HOA meetings in many neighborhoods are sparsely attended and a quorum is often not present in order to conduct business.

Vukusich added this rule would not apply to the new developments along Florida Road, but the city could ask the developers to include the 50% rule in their covenants.

The Council only needed one vote to pass the ordinance on first reading.  The proposed measure now goes to the March 1st Plan Commission meeting for a public hearing.  The ordinance will be up for a final vote at the March 20th council session.

The Fishers Health Department (FHD) said it planned to begin restaurant inspections in 2023, and that program has begun.

According to a report submitted to the Fishers City Council, FHD has issued grades to 84 facilities, with 81 meriting an “A” Grade.  279 more facilities are in the process of being inspected and graded. Grades are to be posted publicly September 30 of this year.  The department is making final changes to a GIS dashboard system for any member of the public to view and access all facilities and associated inspection reports and letter grades.

The Fishers COVID-19 case level has been flat over the past two weeks with the CDC-defined community COVID level at “low.”  FHD says Influenza-like illness remains low in Fishers after a December 2022 peak.

The department will soon be welcoming two new staff members.  Offers from FHD have been accepted for Health Educator and Social Worker positions. The Health Educator is set to start full-time at end of May. The Social Worker starts April 10 in a grant funded position through June 30, 2025.

The Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation has a major fund-raising event this time of year, Game Day.  Tickets for Game Day have been sold out for some time, but there is another way to support the foundation and find something you would like to buy.

Get your bids in before the silent auction closes at 9:15 pm on February 24th. This year’s auction includes:

• Amazing baskets from all 22 school PTOs
• Trips to Jackson Hole, Italy, California, Alaska, Curacao, Key West, South Africa, and France
• Colts and Pacers tickets
• Kenny Chesney autographed guitar
• In-home private chef experience
• Goalrilla basketball hoop
• Commercial grade double bay swing
• Heating and security system
• A private helicopter ride
• Youth sports experiences from Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Register to bid on an auction item at this link.

The foundation provides grants to support classrooms and teachers throughout the Hamilton Southeastern School District.

As we enter the week of February 20th, look for some lane restrictions along 116th Street, with utility relocations in the area of 106th & Hoosier Road.  Also, lane restrictions will be on Fall Creek Road.  Remember, 141st Street at State Road 37 remains a right-in right-out situation, at least for a while.

For more details, here is the Fishers road construction report, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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When the Future Black Leaders Club from Fishers High School made a presentation to the Hamilton Southeastern School Board, those young people were so impressive I knew I wanted to know more.  Thanks to Emily Abbotts and Renee Isom for facilitating this podcast, featuring club members Katrell Readus, Bailey Liner and Myla Cantrell.  Listen to the podcast at the link below.

The Fishers Events Center, planned as part of the new phase of Fishers District, is not close to being constructed yet, but the city has entered into a 5-year contract with ASM Global to manage events there.

ASM Global already manages 350 facilities on 5 continents around the world.  Deputy Mayer Elliott Hultgren told the Board of Works and Public Safety that the city interviewed a number of candidates for this contract before selecting ASM Global.

The firm’s fee will be based on a percentage of revenues from the Events Center.

In other matters before the board Tuesday morning:

–Approval was given for an $81,400 contract to clear trees along Cumberland Road, allowing relocation of utility lines along the stretch that will be reconstructed.  During the tree clearing operation, Cumberland Road will be open to traffic with the use of flaggers.  Bids will be let for the reconstruction of Cumberland Road later this year.

–Browning Day has been contracted to conduct landscaping work on Geist Waterfront Park.  The $66,800 for the project comes from funds remaining from the bond financing the park.

–Look for diamond grinding on the westbound lanes of 116th Street between Olio road and Cumberland Road after school is out this year.  The board approved a $154,017 contract with Diamond Coring Company.

When Fishers City Attorney Chris Greisl decided to leave the city for the private sector, Mayor Scott Fadness tapped former Noblesville City Attorney Lindsey Bennett to fill that role.  Bennett has worked in the past as an attorney for the City of Fishers.

“Lindsey Bennett has been appointed as Fishers City Attorney,” said Mayor Fadness in a statement to LarryInFishers. “In Bennett’s role, she will provide the day-to-day legal support for our City agencies. Chris Greisl has been retained to assist in the legal matters for items related to the City Council and City Council meetings.”

Greisl is now with the law form of Barnes and Thornburg.

“Stranger At The Gate” is a short documentary film that has been nominated for an Academy Award this year.  It is set in Indiana, about refugees in Afghanistan and a Marine veteran of that war suffering from PTSD.

The Fishers Multi-Faith Community for Compassion is sponsoring a screening of “Stranger At The Gate” Tuesday, February 28, 6pm, at the Delaware Township Community Center.  Tickets are $5 and are available at this link.

HSE Schools Chief Financial Officer Katy Dowling was careful not to alarm staff members and the local community, but a budget task force will be convened after the March 8 regular school board meeting.  This allows the district to prepare “just in case” voters choose not to approve a school referendum tax rate.

School board members had plenty of questions for administrators during a Tuesday morning work session.  Administration staff had some answers, others will require more research.

Board members did not provide any specific views on how to move forward on the referendum question.  The current referendum property tax rate is 0.2275 and expires at the end of 2023.  Dowling provided operating referendum rates for neighboring school districts:

Noblesville  0.3700

Carmel         0.2400

Zionsville   0.2400

Westfield   0.1700

Dowling also reviewed some expenses that cannot be reduced, such as utilities and insurance, while going over other expenses that could be evaluated.

The last time the school district had a budget task force in place was in 2020 when there was a loss of 800 students (largely related to the COVID pandemic) that reduced state support and led to a $5 million reduction in spending.

One unknown in the budget mix is how the Indiana General Assembly will handle school funding in the 2-year budget that will likely not be known until late April, according to Dowling.

School officials say in terms of per-student funding from the state, HSE Schools is third lowest.  The only districts lower are Zionsville and Carmel.

The preliminary draft agenda for the March 8 board meeting includes an action item on the planning for the referendum that, if approved, would most likely appear on the November general election ballot.

We have had a lot of local school news in recent days involving Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, the district that encompasses all of Fishers and other areas outside the city limits.

First, after a lively meeting where no board action was taken on the $5.7 million mental health grant from the federal government, the school board announced an agreement to allow the grant to go into effect.  The board did not need to approve the grant, but apparently could have refused the federal money of it chose to do so.

So, the mental health grant will be implemented in the HSE Schools.  However, there is another issue looming that the school board must address, and is expected to discuss at a 7:30am work session Tuesday.

The current operating referendum is expiring at the end of 2023.  The board must decide a number of issues.  First, should the district request the same tax rate as currently in place, ask for a lower rate or a higher rate of the taxpaying public?  The current property tax referendum rate generates approximately $26 million per year.

It would also appear that it is too late to place this referendum before the voters in the May primary, so any referendum request would be before the voters in the November general election this year.

The work session may provide an idea what the majority of the board members are thinking about the referendum, but work sessions are not for taking action.  The next regular board meeting where a decision could be made is March 8.