Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has a plan to pay for a new City Hall complex that will include an arts center, as well as a large community center, without an increase in the city tax rate.  The mayor shared that plan with members of the City Council Finance Committee December 15^th.

Fadness told the committee he had two major goals in financing these projects – incur the lowest finance costs possible and not increase the city tax rate to pay for them.

For the City Hall/Arts Center complex, the mayor proposes to issue bonds in the amount of $17 million.  This complex is projected to cost about $22 million.  Fadness proposes to utilize $5 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds which the city has not yet spent to make up the difference.

So far, the city has spent just under $1 million of the ARP money to finance COVID contact tracing.  The remaining roughly $1 million of ARP cash would remain, with its use not yet determined.

The other part of the plans call for a community center with an estimated price tag of $45 million.  That includes sports court space, an aquatic center, classroom space, land purchase and site work.

The mayor’s plan is to have the city purchase the community center in 2025.  That would allow finishing the capital projects the city has now, which would bring the debt on in 2025 with no tax rate implications.  The city would essentially pay off debt on projects still being financed, allowing room in the debt picture to allow the community center to be financed beginning in 2025, without a large interest rate expense.

With short-term interest rates, and municipal debt backed by property tax revenue, Fadness argues the debt costs will be lower with this plan.

Fadness also says that assessed property valuations have been higher than expected, and if that happens in the future, the debt could be paid-off earlier.

This plan also preserves the city’s favorable debt rating from Standard & Poor, because the cash reserves will remain at a higher level than required.

When asked about financing the operating costs of the community center, the mayor expects the facility to generate more than enough revenue to finance operations.

When asked when these facilities will open, the mayor told the committee his expectation is the design phase will be done in the spring of 2022, breaking ground on both construction projects by the end of 2022.  The mayor emphasized that is his hope at this point.  “I think the community is ready and eager for both the projects,” the mayor said.

A new directory has been created, allowing alumni of Hamilton Southeaster and Fishers High Schools to connect with one another and current activities at the schools.

The Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation (HSEF) announced Thursday the creation of the Tigers Royals Alumni Network.  The program will provide alumni and community members access to regular updates about district news through blog posts and regular email updates, as well as mentorship and volunteer opportunities and events. The site features a useful alumni directory for connections with classmates, former teachers, and other community members.

“We are thrilled to announce this new digital community for Tigers and Royals alumni, friends, and supporters to get more plugged into what’s happening in our schools,” said Justin Hirnisey, Executive Director of the Foundation, in a foundation news release. “Through this brand-new alumni web site and directory, we look forward to highlighting the achievements of former students and staff and welcoming alumni of all ages back to the district, whether it’s as a supporter, volunteer, employee, or mentor.”

The alumni network is available to all alumni and what the foundation describes as “friends of the district.”

Alumni of HSE or Fishers High School can submit their own information and connect with other alumni through the online directory. Members of the network can also find information about class reunions, and will be a resource for alumni, supporters, and friends to receive news about district events, opportunities, and initiatives.

The network is a program of HSEF, which supports grants, scholarships, and district initiatives within all 22 schools across the Hamilton Southeastern school district.

Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High, commonly known as the HIJH, will have a new principal to start the second semester and the new calendar year.  Jagga Rent officially will assume the job January 3, 2022.

The HIJH principal position opened due to the retirement of long-time principal Tim Mankin.

Mr. Rent has served as assistant principal at Hamilton Southeastern High School for the past three years.

“I am so humbled and excited to begin this journey with the students, teachers, staff members and families of Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High,” Mr. Rent said in a school district news release. “My goal is to continue the tradition of academic excellence for the students we serve. My hat goes off to Tim Mankin on a tremendous career and time of service to this school community. I am also appreciative to superintendent Dr. Stokes and her team for this opportunity; my family and I are excited to be Panthers!”

Jagga Rent has been serving as assistant principal at HSE High School, and from 2014-2018 served as a dean at HSE High School.  He has spent 15 years working in public education.

“Mr. Rent’s passion and desire to lead the next generation of youth is an asset, and I believe HIJH is getting someone who will continue to do great things for this school,” said Superintendent Yvonne Stokes.

I interviewed Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness on a podcast recorded December 1st, and the mayor was quite proud of the fact that 88% of Fishers adults had received at least the first inoculation of the COVID vaccine.  This is in a state where it is a struggle to get that number above 50% in all of Indiana.

If you want numbers on why COVID vaccine might be a good idea, just review the data shared by Fishers Health Department Epidemiologist Josh Robinson in a video update posted December 14th.

If you are age 12 or older, and unvaccinated, the 7-day rolling average case incidence rate per 100,00 is 190.4.  Among those vaccinated, that same rate is 31.6.

For the time period December 2nd through December 8th, unvaccinated residents had a 6.1 times higher risk of testing positive for COVID 19.

“The COVID 19 vaccines remain effective at preventing severe outcomes,” Robinson said.  “94% of statewide hospitalizations recently were in the unvaccinated individuals.”

As to the latest COVID variant, Omicron, it appears to spread faster than the Delta variant.  Omicron also presents a higher risk of reinfection among those unvaccinated.

What about natural immunity?  “… natural immunity wanes over time and it wanes faster than vaccine-induced immunity,” Robinson said in the video. “Emerging evidence is pointing to, for example, individuals that have received their Pfizer booster dose have a high level of protection from infection and it’s anticipated that all the vaccines will continue to provide a high level of protection from hospitalization.“

For more details on this week’s update, watch the video at the link below.

After a 90-minute work session Tuesday morning, the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board discussed a number of options on the future of Fishers Elementary School, but no consensus has yet emerged.  The board is expected to meet in executive session to hash out any possible property acquisitions that may or may not be part of the final decision.

HSE Facilities Director Harry Delks presented 7 options, with choices within some options, for the board’s consideration.  Superintendent Yvonne Stokes said options could be combined if the board so chooses.

Here are the options presented:

Renovate Fishers Elementary – Replacing major systems with “cosmetic renovations” would cost $14 million.  Another choice would include the previous upgrades with significant changes to the structure’s interior for a better learning environment, costing a total of $18.5 million.  The final renovation choice would have a $27.75 million price tag involving building an addition to the current school, removing part of the current school and reconfiguring parking.

Renovate and expand building capacity to 700 students – This is described a “significant reinvestment to keep the current Fishers Elementary building on its current site.  The estimated cost would be $38 million.

Convert to an all-day pre-school center – The first choice here would be a $16.5 million renovation, but the second floor of the current building may not be suitable for this age group.  Another choice would involve demolishing the current structure and constructing a  new classroom building for $15.25 million.

Convert to a home for the Academy and Transition programs – The first choice here is to renovate the elementary school, although the building is larger than needed to house these programs, at a cost of $15.5 million.  A second choice would call for a  smaller building to be constructed on the eastern part of the land, selling off part of the property, at a cost of $11.5 million.

Convert the building to all-day pre-school center, Academy and Transition – This would combine other options and would cost $16.5 million.

Create a professional learning academy for teacher training – The first choice would be a building renovation with a need for more parking with a price tag of $16.25 million.  A second choice would call for the construction of a new building on the east side of the property, selling off much of the remaining land, costing $11.5 million.

Construct a new Fishers Elementary School on a new site – This is estimated to cost $43 million.

The ensuing board discussion looked at a range of options.

The board viewed a video produced by the staff at Fishers Elementary School.  The video, and comments from the current FES Principal Brian Behrman, said the desire of the staff is to keep the current staff together.

Board attorney David Day explained a number of options and urged the board not to be locked into the past, but to look at how things might be in the future.

When the board discussion moved into possible locations for a new elementary school, board President Janet Pritchett suggested further discussions should be limited to an executive session to be scheduled before the next regular board meeting.

Dr. Stokes told the board the decision on the future of Fishers Elementary is key to a number of other decisions the district must make, describing the process as putting together a puzzle.  Chief Financial Officer Katy Dowling reminded board members that finances will be another component for any decision on the future of Fishers Elementary Schools and the decisions that must follow.

There remain a number of neighborhood 5G towers planned by Verizon pending with the City of Fishers.  The Board of Public Works & Safety handles these requests and has delayed consideration of many to January.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said at the outset of the Monday morning board meeting that 5G towers would not be considered on December 13, because City Attorney Chris Greisl could not appear at the meeting in person, although Attorney Greisl did participate telephonically.

There is another Board of Works session scheduled for December 29, but it appears no 5G towers will be considered then.  The city’s Web page devoted to 5G issues lists the following neighborhoods as having towers to be considered at the January 11, 2022, Board of Works meeting:

• Berkley Grove
• Cottingham Estates
• Conner Knoll
• Fawnsbrook
• Glenn Abbey Village
• Oxford Park
• Reserve at Lantern
• Weaver Woods North

In one other item on the board’s Monday morning agenda, approval was given to utilize a state law allowing electronic participation for board members.  If there is no state or local emergency order, one of the three board members may participate in official meetings electronically, with some limits on how often this option may be used.

The Board of Pubic Works and Safety consists of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, Jason Meyer and Jeff Lantz

The first large tornado outbreak I remember in Indiana was April 11, 1965.  I was 13 years old and recall prime-time television being interrupted – that signaled whatever this was, it was very important.

The twisters, in what was coined the Palm Sunday tornados, killed 271 people in six states, including Indiana.  Tornado Watches and Warnings happened all the time, so there was no indication from any news source or weather forecasters in advance that this system was particularly dangerous.

Weather forecasting has come a long way since 1965.  Forecasters were sounding the alarm bell that this December storm system had danger written all over it.

The most recent tornado event is so very heartbreaking.  Watching video of Mayfield, Kentucky, a town with not a lot of buildings left standing after the tornado ripped through, was tough.  There was a candle factory in Kentucky that claimed too many lives.  There was an Amazon facility in Illinois, not far from St. Louis, that trapped employees, with many confirmed dead and a number of others missing as of this writing.

All I can say is that those of us living in and around Fishers were lucky, very lucky.  Those storm systems were too close for comfort.

I began to ask myself, has the weather of recent years become more violent?  If so, is there a reason for this, such as climate change?  According to an Associate Press story citing many scientists expert in this field, there is no clear answer.  That story does say one thing for certain – the atmospheric conditions were perfect for some horrible December weather.

All we can do now is help our midwestern neighbors badly in need of assistance.  Indiana quickly sent a rescue unit to look for any possible survivors buried in the rubble.

Another thing different between 1965 and now – we have much more advanced weather warning systems.  Many lives may have been saved, but when a monster storm like this hits in the middle of the night, not everyone gets the word on time.

Also, be on the lookout for scam artists setting up fake charities to help the tornado victims.  If you want to help, ABC News has put together a list of legitimate places where you can contribute at this link.

There is big money in major college sports, and many have wondered what would happen if the players, getting scholarships but little else for playing the game, decided to boycott until the players get a share of the amazing amounts of money generated by the sports.

That is what the film National Champions is all about.  The Heisman Trophy winning quarterback is organizing a boycott.  Who will win in this face-off?

Here is my review of National Champions.

It is no secret that employers everywhere are scrambling to find employees, and school corporations are no different.  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools put on a job fair last Thursday, December 9th, at Fishers High School.

How was the turnout? – “good but small,” said HSE Spokesperson Emily Abbotts.  Because the event was being held during the Christmas holiday season, the school district did not have high expectations for the fair.

Overall, Abbotts says the job fair “went pretty well.” There was hiring on the spot for Food Services, as well as applications  taken for substitute teaching and Instructional Assistants.  There were a few people on hand asking about bus driver positions.

“We’re definitely going to do another one in the spring,” Ms. Abbots said.

Josh Robinson, epidemiologist for the Fishers Health Department, posts video updates on COVID regularly.  The video posted late Thursday did not have much good news.

Robinson is clear that there is an increase in local COVID cases.

“There is an extremely high level of COVID-19 transmission within the community, the county and the state,” Robinson said.  “The new cases are actually increasing quite quickly and dramatically.”

He describes the 7-day average of new cases “as high as we’ve seen since early January this year.“

The numbers Robinson provides tell the story.

–The unique positivity rate for Hamilton County stands at 20.6%, up from the previous number of 13.2%.  This is the highest number our county has seen since January 22nd of this year.

–The Fishers COVID testing site is showing an increase in the positivity rate at 14.55%.

–The case incidence rate, a rolling 14-day average, is at its highest level since January 26 …from 44.76 to 59.75.

–Healthcare system capacity numbers are “getting worse.” Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed availability is at 16% in our local area, the lowest availability rate seen in a while, according to Robinson.

“We’re definitely seeing a very high level of transmission,” according to Robinson.  “There is an increase in ER visits and an increase in hospitalizations and a commensurate increase in ICU bed admissions.”

There is some good news.  COVID testing availability in Fishers is doing well, with same day or next day tests available with results available within 3 days.  Contact tracing is being done within 24 hours.

Fishers has very good vaccination rate numbers.  The vaccination rate for Fishers residents of all ages (vaccinations remain unavailable to those under 5 years) stands as follows –   first dose 68%…full vaccination 64%.  For adults 18 & older, the first dose rate is 88%, full dose is 84%.  For 5-17 year olds, the rate is 32% for first dose, 29% full vaccination.

“If you are fully vaccinated, given the high level of transmission in our community, large indoor activities should be avoided,” Robinson said.  “Those are things with gatherings of 50 or more people where it is very difficult to tell the vaccination status of others socializing indoors or in your household.”

The Health Department says be careful at indoor events, even if vaccinated, and mask wearing is recommended.

“Indoor activities present an extremely high risk to unvaccinated individuals,” per the epidemiologist.  “That’s whether it’s a social event like a large gathering or even going out and doing day to day activities.  Unvaccinated individuals are an extremely high risk for contracting COVID.”

You can view the full video at the link below.