There has been much anticipation in advance  of Black Panther, a superhero film with a nearly all-black cast.  Does the film live up to all the hype?  Listen to my review…

The Fishers City Council will be asked to approve an analysis of the fiscal impact of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in the City of Fishers and the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  Mayor Scott Fadness presented a preliminary version of the report, done by the independent firm of Policy Analytics, before a council panel.

Fadness said at the January 15th City Council Finance Committee meeting that he sought an independent analysis to come up with accurate numbers on the fiscal impact of TIF locally.  The mayor said he understands the political debate over whether economic development would have happened without the TIF incentive will not be impacted by this study, but he believes it is good to have reliable, accurate numbers when having that debate.  You can read more about the mayor’s January 15th presentation to the Finance Committee at this link.

The mayor is asking the city council to only endorse the numbers and analysis contained in the Policy Analytics report, not make a statement on TIF more generally.

You can read a copy of the Policy Analytics report up for council vote Monday night at this link.

I must commend the City of Fishers for carving out one evening per year to honor volunteers throughout the local community.  However, I might question their decision on the master of ceremonies for the event (me).

Nonetheless, I was honored to be asked for a second consecutive year to be a part of the awards program.  My thanks to Mayor Scott Fadness, Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot and Dan Domisc, Parks Department Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator, for making me feel welcome in my role Thursday night.

Volunteers from all parts of Fishers were honored, and the HSE Schools Teacher of the Year Heidi Stan was recognized.

I want to express special recognition to the winner of the Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year award, Mike Riekhof.  When his daughter tragically died, it was Mike Reikhof that started a foundation in his daughter Peyton’s name to help students struggling with mental illness.  Mayor Fadness used the word “courage” to describe Mike Riekhof’s work with his foundation.  What Mike Riekhof has done has been courageous and effective.

The City of Service Awards ceremony is a special night in Fishers.  It was an honor for me to be a part of it.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was presented with two school district taglines, one proposed by HSE High School students, the other proposed by a group of students form Fishers High School.  Rather than choosing one, the board sent the two student groups to a conference room to agree on a tagline combining both proposals.

The student groups emerged a few minutes later with a new tagline agreed to by both groups of students.  The new tagline will be:

“Innovative students empowering action and compassion”

The board approved the new tagline.

The new tagline will be incorporated into HSE Schools Web page and other material.

A group of 6th graders in teacher Amy Reiter’s class decided to do something about clean water in the African nation of Sudan.  The Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate class has been raising money to install a water well in a Sudanese Village.

You can learn more about their project at this link.

When the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools contracted with Community Health to expand mental health services for students, there was much speculation on what would happen next.  The HSE School Board received a report from Mental Health Coordinator Brooke Lawson and representatives from Community Health Wednesday night.

Before the Community contract, Aspire worked with 50 students in 4 schools.  As of now, 21 schools have 13  licensed therapists and a crisis liaison, with 415 students now receiving mental health care.

Of those being treated, 70% of those in high school have been diagnosed with depression, nearly 50% of middle school students under treatment have been diagnosed with anxiety and about 39% of elementary school students receiving mental health services have been diagnosed with anxiety.

Of those being treated under the HSE contract with Community Health, 31% are receiving insurance coverage under Medicaid and 69% are covered by private insurance.   When asked by board member Terry Tolle how students with little or no insurance, or high deductibles, are handled, Community Health says they have always found ways to provide services to students needing treatment.

You can read the entire report presented to the board at this link.

The intersection of 131st Street and State Road 37 was shut down for a time Thursday as Fishers Police stopped a vehicle and apprehended two suspects in a Westfield bank robbery.  Police say they apprehended both suspects without incident.

WISH-TV/Hamilton County Reporter

Mount Vernon Community Schools (MVCS) recently announced how parents can download a free app and use it anytime to locate their child’s school bus within their fleet of more than 60 buses, thanks to a new app developed by a Fishers-based company, Mobil Trackr, an Internet of Things wireless provider.

Derek Shelton, Director of Operations at Mount Vernon Community Schools said, “The app tracks the bus, whether it’s parked or driving, and the parent or child can pull the app up and see where their bus is. In after-school activities, when our buses have to travel significant distances, parents can still track the bus and know that the kids are on their way home.”

Parents can adjust the settings in the “Don’t Miss the Bus!” app to send them a push notification when the bus nears their child’s stop. The app also alerts parents when a bus number changes or if the schools have a delay or cancelation. Shelton, a father of two children attending Mount Vernon schools, says he feels incorporating the app into their system shows parents the schools prioritize student safety.

“You just have the peace of mind as a parent that the kids are safe, and where they’re at, and if they’re there when they’re supposed to be there,” Shelton said.

Other school districts in central Indiana have similar programs, but Mount Vernon’s system includes WiFi on all buses and several layers of security to ensure only those authorized to enter the app can see the bus locations.

Logan

“I think tech that is going to help you keep kids safe is completely needed,” said Bob Logan, vice president of sales for Mobil Trackr.

“When you can protect them when they go on the internet, and looking at them when they go places, as a parent, you feel very secure,” Logan said.

Logan says he’s a graduate of Indianapolis Public Schools and has been in the wireless industry for almost three decades. He hopes to share this technology with other school corporations around the state and help more parents and guardians make informed decisions about their children.

“That’s why Mount Vernon is so cutting edge — because they’re wanting to deliver something to their parents to show they care enough to put these systems in place to do things for their young people,” said Logan. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”

By

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Congratulations are in order for our local street and road departments. This winter has been hard on roads, but Hamilton County streets and roads are in good shape compared to neighboring Marion County.

Chuckholes (or potholes if you prefer) have made a shambles of many streets in Indianapolis. We have some broken pavement, no doubt about it, but nothing like our neighbors where a near state of emergency exists. Damage to a car is a distinct possibility when driving south of 96th Street.

What has made the difference? It could be that a better job of rebuilding and resurfacing was done in this county, or it could be that more heavy trucks in Marion County have ruined the roads, or it could be that our better maintenance and quicker repairs have kept ahead of widespread problems.

We could still have a lot of extreme winter weather in the next several weeks, and anything could happen, but so far it looks like our streets are holding up well and street crews are on top of the situation.

But, probably the most important thing about all this is the fact that areas like Indianapolis with big road problems will be spending much of their time and money this year simply filling chuckholes to get by for another year.

Whereas, in Hamilton County our street and highway departments can put their efforts into actual resurfacing and building new roads after repairing the relatively small amount of damage done by winter weather.

Good management and effective work crews have helped bring about this situation. That’s why we say congratulations and thank goodness we are not in the situation that some neighboring areas find themselves.

Now that the City of Fishers will be paying more than originally proposed for the new Geist Park property, the Fishers City Council will be asked to approve a $5 million general obligation bond to fund the remainder of that land purchase.  The council has already voted for a $12 million bond issue for the project, which remains in place.

The eminent domain process is valuing the land, now owned mostly by IMI Incorporated, at $15.7 million, $6 million more than originally budgeted for the land purchase.

The Fishers City Council Finance Committee voted 2-1 to favorably recommend moving forward with the $5 million bonds issuance.  Committee President Selina Stoller voted no, while John Weingardt and Cecilia Coble voted yes.  Eric Moeller was not able to attend the Wednesday meeting.

Coble expressed concerns about the condition of Geist Lake.  Weingardt said a conservancy district needs to be created so property owners around Geist Reservoir would pay for the upkeep of the waterway.  However, several government jurisdictions other than Fishers have land on that lake, making the creation of such a conservancy difficult.

Coble expressed concerns about the city spending money to buy the land for the park if the lake is not being kept in good shape.  She did, however, vote in favor of recommending a “yes” vote by the council on the bond.

“I think we need to get that conservancy district,” Stoller said in explaining her “no” vote.   “We need to go into a partnership with (Geist Lake property owners) to clean up that lake and to get it done.  This project is already over budget from the beginning, and to know there’s residents out there and the way I look at it, they’re just sitting back (and saying) ‘well, there’s a mess out there, yes it’s at my back door, why don’t you clean it up for me?’  I don’t feel, until they’re on board with cleaning this up, that we need to be putting this type of money into (the park).”

The city council is being asked to suspend the rules and approve the bond on first, second & third reading Monday night.  Since it takes a unanimous vote to suspend the rules, I asked Selina Stoller whether she plans to vote yes or no on suspending the rules and allowing a final vote on the bond Monday.  Stoller declined to comment.