I am wrapping-up my 12th year of writing a local Fishers news blog.  When starting this volunteer endeavor in 2012, I never imagined over 95,000 unique visitors in one year, but that is the number for 2023.  I appreciate all my readers and will work at providing something of value as we head into 2024.

That said, I have worked at finding my 15 most important news stores in Fishers from 2023.  As I have written before, in most newsrooms, it takes many days of arguing, screaming and throwing things at each other to come up with a list like this.  Since this blog is a one-man-band, I spend time going back and forth on this list myself.

So, this is the best I can do, as one guy trying to cover Fishers news in 2023.  Some of you may agree with the listing, others may not.  That is fine.  There are no right or wrong answers.

So, here we go, the top 15 Fishers news stories in 2023 as reported on LarryInFishers.com.

15  Fishers faces trash crisis

Okay, crisis may be too strong a term, but individual homeowners and Homeowners Associations (HOAs) have seen large increases in the cost just to collect trash.  Only 2 trash collection firms are operating in Fishers at this time.  A big story as we enter 2024 will be whether the City of Fishers will take bids on a city-wide trash collection contract with a private company.

14  Restaurant letter grades from Health Department

Health departments routinely inspect restaurants within their jurisdiction and issue reports.  if there are major problems, the restaurant might be closed down until the problems are corrected.  The Fishers Health Department issued letter grades to local establishments, which can be easily seen when you enter the eatery.  The grades are A, B & C.  Below C means the department needs to work with the restaurant to correct problems  So far, the system seems to be working well.  I have not received many complaints.

13  Bastian plans large operation on Fishers border

Why would Fishers have any concern about a new industrial development in Noblesville?  Because the Bastian Company, a supplier for a major auto manufacturer, plans to locate just north of 141st Street, east of Promise Road.  Many Fishers residents on the south side of that planned development have had questions about how this will impact their quality of life on issues such as noise and traffic.  So far, Noblesville and the company have attempted to address those concerns.  Time will tell how this works out overall.

12  Kroger to locate in new store north of 116th on Allisonville Road

The saga of the Kroger store in this area of town has been interesting.  Originally, there was a plan to move the Kroger grocery north of 116th Street on Allisonville Road across the street to a newly-constructed location. Market conditions changed and Kroger decided to stay in the current location instead.  A large study on the future of the Allisonville Road corridor in Fishers revealed Kroger has decided to build a new store in the east side of Allisonville Road after all.  It now appears Kroger is committed to the new grocery in that area, but we will watch developments.

11.  Cumberland Cottages development breaks ground

A new housing development on Cumberland Road, just south of 141st Street, broke ground in 2023 with completion expected in 2024.  There will be 11 units, half or less will be for affordable housing, the rest at market rate rents.  The development is being built by HAND, a Noblesville-based nonprofit organization that has constructed a number of affordable housing projects in the area.

10.  Geist Waterfront Park opens

After much planning and construction the Geist Waterfront Park opened with the only public space on the Geist Lake.  But two issues arose quickly.  First, the city, wanting to ensure local residents had access to the park, instituted a $50 parking fee for nonresidents, which resulted in a rash of bad publicity for Fishers, with some basically arguing Fishers was trying to keep outside people out of a public park.  Secondly, there were some water quality issues on the beach, but the Parks Department was testing the water and after a short closing, the beach reopened when water quality tested at an acceptable level.

9  City Council looks at HOA governance issues

When hedge funds started buying-up homes in neighborhoods throughout the nation, including Fishers, there were discussions about what could be done about it.  It appeared that Homeowners Association (HOA) rules could be used.  But when a proposal went before the Fishers Plan Commission lowering the common language requiring 75% of homeowners to change such HOA rules, several industry representatives argued against lowering the normal 75% threshold for changes in HOA covenants, citing unintended consequences that would follow.   In the end, the city decided to allow lower HOA voting thresholds only in newly-formed HOAs, which would impact only a handful of HOAs.

8.  New Fishers Events Center on the way

Construction began on a new Fishers Events Center, to become the new home of Indy Fuel minor league hockey team.  It was also announced that a new indoor football league team will be coming, named the Fishers Freight, in 2025.  The center is scheduled to be completed in November of 2024.  Fishers has hired a well-connected firm to handle bookings of other dates for the events center.  It is also expected that local graduation ceremonies and the Mudsock basketball games between Fishers & HSE High Schools (girls & boys) would be played at the new center.  HSE Schools indicated they would apply with the IHSAA to host state tournament basketball games at the new center.

7.  141st Street & State Road 37

This intersection was bid, but the bids received were way, way over the engineering estimates.  The bids were taken at a time when the construction industry was recovering from the COVID.  Those bids were way over budgeted amounts.  The decision was made to wait and bid in the spring of 2024.  Meanwhile, that intersection is right-in right-out east-west on 141st Street for the time being.  City officials have assured residents this is just a temporary solution and a roundabout will be constructed for east-west motorists along 141st Street by early 2025.

6.  146th Street & Allisonville Road

The Hamilton County Highway Department has taken on the issue of major traffic backups in this area by reconstructing the intersection.  Construction continues into 2024, building a roundabout on Allisonville Road on ground level, with ramps to enter and leave 146th Street, leaving 146th with no interruption in traffic flow.  The construction phase has been painful for many, particularly those living in the area.  But the end result will allow for much better traffic flow in that area.

5.  New Community Center plans revealed

The City of Fishers conducted a survey of citizens, asking what they would want from a city community center.  There were thousands of responses.  The demand for arts classes was a surprise to many, and will be part of the new City Hall complex currently under construction.  But the plans for the new Community Center, to be located a 121st Street and Hoosier Road, were announced in 2023.  Preparations continue and ground-breaking for the new facility is expected in early 2024.

4.  City Council election

Every 4 years, cities in Indiana elect the mayor and city council.  For 2023 in Fishers, there were no opponents for incumbent Mayor Scott Fadness in the primary or general election, so he will have 4 more years in the mayor’s office.  However, all but one City Council race had one opponent.  In the end, incumbent Democrats Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann and incumbent Republican David Giffel lost in their bids for a 4-year term.  New members of the Council taking office in 2024 include Republicans John DeLucia and Tiffanie Ditlevson, along with Democrat Bill Stuart.  City Clerk Jennifer Kehl won another term and City Judge Den Henke was unopposed.

3  New HSE School Board

Four new members of the Hamilton Southeastern School Board took office in 2023, and there were controversies galore.  After considering the refusal of a $5.7 million mental health grant, the board decided not to stand in the way of accepting the gift.  The Panorama Survey was cancelled, even though the district had paid $152,000 in advance for surveys that will not be done, with no legal way to recover those funds.  The board fired long-time law firm Church, Church, Hittle and Antrim and hired Barnes & Thornburg to handle the board’s legal matters.  The board voted to remove language on microaggressions from the student handbook. Top administrators did not have their contracts renewed, normally a routine matter.  And, the biggest controversy the board had in 2023 was the resignation of Superintendent Yvonne Stokes with a large separation agreement.  The board expects to hire a new superintendent in early 2024.  Whether you agree or disagree with the board’s actions and inactions, controversies were plentiful.

2  Hamilton East Library Board

Many will question why this is not number 1, but that will be addressed later.  A majority of the Hamilton East Library Board voted to institute a policy of reviewing every book in the young adult section based on its content, judged by criteria written by the board.  When author John Green objected to one of his books being moved from the young adult to the adult collection, his social media comments made national and international news.  Even when the board said his book would be returned to the young adult section, Green pressed for the board to end this policy.  Green granted interviews to the Indianapolis Star and New York Times to make his case.  The board later voted to “pause” the book reviews, then when a new majority emerged on the board following resignations and a new appointment, the board voted late in 2023 to end the young adult review of books.

1.  HSE School referendum passes

This is my number 1 story of the year because this vote will impact the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools for 8 years, beginning in 2024.  The 2016 funding referendum expires at the end of 2023, so the local school board voted to put a referendum question on the November ballot, continuing the funding referendum with a slightly lower property tax rate.  Voters overwhelmingly cast yes ballots, ensuring HSE Schools will have adequate funding to keep class sizes at a reasonable level in the lower grades, provide competitive compensation to the teachers & other staff members and continue important programs.  The board’s decision to place the referendum question on the ballot was an important one.  No organized opposition to the referendum emerged during the election campaign.  The Advance HSE Political Action Committee (PAC) drew plenty of volunteers and they worked throughout the HSE community advocating passage of the referendum.  Because this referendum vote has a long-term impact on our local schools, I judged this the number 1 Fishers story of 2023.

 

Well, there you have it.  You may wonder why I didn’t mention the new City Hall/Arts Center.  That was under construction all of 2023 so the lack of any news is a good thing.  There were plenty of personal items you, my readers, allowed me a point of personal privilege to write about on this blog.  I lost my mom and youngest brother in 2023, but celebrated the birth of my granddaughter Callie.  My grandson Dakota turned 3 years of age.  And, I humbly accepted a Jefferson Award, about the highest honor a volunteer in America can receive.

So, agree or disagree with my decisions, this is the best list I could put together as one guy doing his best to cover news in my local community, Fishers.  Once again, I thank my readers of this blog and listeners of my podcasts.  You continue to be there, in record numbers during 2023.  I will try to honor your trust in me by providing the best coverage possible.

Thanks and happy new year to everyone!