Mayor Scott Fadness sat down with Larry December 1st and discussed a number of issues, including:

–The new autonomous vehicle program for the Nickel Plate Arts District

–Status of the new City Hall, Arts Center and Recreation Center

–What is happening locally and state-wide with COVID

–The city’s recent success in luring foreign life science companies

–Downtown development and impact on the local schools

–The controversies and legal issues in the placement of 5G towers

–The legacy of long-time public servant David George, who recently resigned his seat on the City Council

–The mayor’s greatest accomplishments in his nearly 7 years serving in the office.

Here is the podcast link:

In February of this year, there was an announcement of pilot programs for autonomous vehicle shuttle services, including one in Fishers.  An announcement Wednesday morning says that shuttle service will begin in Fishers starting December 20, serving the Nickel Plate Arts District.

Below is the text of the news release making this announcement:

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“Indiana continues to be a place for advancing autonomous transportation solutions and partnering with the City of Fishers as our next city to deploy the May Mobility autonomous shuttle service is a perfect fit,” said Paul Mitchell, president and CEO, Energy Systems Network. “Public-private partnerships like this one only strengthen the goal of providing mobility options for all residents.”

It is time to get to work on a new Fishers City Hall, Arts Center & Recreation Center.  The Board of Public Works & Safety approved two important contracts that will move the process forward.

Both agreements are with local contractors – Meyer-Najem for the new City Hall & Arts Center, and Hagerman for the recreation center.

The city expects to demolish the Old City Hall and construct the new Hall, along with an Arts Center in the same complex.  The location for the Recreation Center has not been determined.

City Attorney Chris Greisl told board members the contractors will provide the city with “a plan refinement process,” including design, construction documents, construction budget, and all the necessary design documents.  Meyer-Najem has until May 1, 2022 to produce all this, and Hagerman’s deadline is May 15, 2022.

Both projects will be handled as Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) agreements under the rules governing public-private partnerships.  In each case, scoping agreement costs will be rolled into the final price for BOT agreement.

Mayor Scott Fadness said board members had a lengthy process reviewing RFP (request for proposals) responses with what the mayor described as  many very good applications.

“We have a long ways to go before we go into any formal agreement,” Fadness said.  “This is a good first step.”

When the Glenn Abbey area of Windermere objected to any 5G towers in its neighborhood, and an attorney representing those residents presented arguments before the Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety arguing their case, Mayor Scott Fadness directed City Attorney Chris Greisl to hold talks with attorneys for those residents and Verizon.  It appears the result of those discussions came to no change in policy.

At Tuesday morning’s Board of Works Meeting, a resident of Reserve at Lantern asked that the board table the 5G towers for his subdivision so the Glenn Abbey situation could be decided.  Mayor Fadness responded that the talks among attorneys resulted in no change to the policies the city used before and that Glenn Abbey will be decided at the December 13 board session.  The only reason Glenn Abbey was not on Tuesday’s agenda related to an attorney for the residents dealing with a personal issue.

However, the Reserve at Lantern tower was tabled to settle different issues over moving the tower to a nearby lift station.

In other 5G tower issues before the board Tuesday morning

–2 towers were approved for Conner Creek, despite some concerns expressed by residents.  The board says these towers meet the criteria set by the city.

–3 tower locations at Harvard Park were approved

–The Berkley Grove neighborhood had all 5G towers approved, except one that was tabled.  Mayor Fadness insisted on tabling one tower because it was near a home with other possible locations nearby.

–A tower in Harrison Lakes that had been tabled was denied by the board.  Mayor Fadness said the location was right in front of one resident’s home.

–A previously tabled tower location in Weaver Creek neighborhood was denied by the board.  The mayor said this denial was for the same reasons the Harrison Lakes tower was voted down.

Verizon Attorney Russell Brown explained how the tech firm worked with the residents of the neighborhoods where towers were denied by the board.  Mayor Fadness said he “is not casting aspersions on Verizon,” because he believes the company made every attempt to find a solution, but no viable alternative was available for those tower locations.

When it comes to COVID, many have questions, lots of questions.  The Fishers Health Department is planning a Webinar to answer as many questions as possible.

The online event is set for Wednesday, December 1, at 8:00pm.

Described as a “Twilight Town Hall,” residents can register at this link.  If you have a question you would like to have addressed, submit your question at this link.

Health professionals will be on hand to handle questions on children, Pregnancy & Boosters, the COVID vaccine, the vaccine and pregnancy, the pediatric vaccine, boosters and other frequently asked questions.

Those scheduled to be part of the Webinar include Fishers Health Department’s Chief Medical Director and Community Health OBGYN Dr. Indy Lane; Public Health Director Monica Heltz, DNP, MPH; Riley Pediatrician Dr. Michele Saysana; and Mayor Scott Fadness

Fishers is poised to name key players in the development of a new City Hall & Arts Center, as well as a Recreation Center.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety is scheduled to vote Tuesday morning on proposals to enter into a “scoping agreement” with local contractor Meyer Najem for design and preconstruction services.  This facility is envisioned as a combined City Hall and Arts Center, which is proposed to be constructed as a public-private partnership.

Engineers have determined the current City Hall is sinking and is costing the city a great deal of money just to keep the building maintained, leading to the proposal of demolishing the current structure and replacing it with a combined City Hall and Arts Center.

Hagerman, another local Fishers contractor, has a similar agreement for the proposed Recreation Center, with no location yet determined.

The Meyer Najem contract is budgeted for just over $1.5 million, the Hagerman pact costing more than $1.6 million.

Both contracts are scheduled for a board vote at 9:00am Tuesday, November 30.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety consists of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, Jeff Lantz & Jason Meyer.

Giving Tuesday has an interesting history. Justin Hirnisey of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation told me in a recent podcast that the idea started at a New York City YMCA years ago and spread from there.

It all started with the days following Thanksgiving.  Black Friday is retail, Saturday is focused on small business, Cyber Monday is centered on Internet sales, so the following Tuesday emerged as a day highlighting giving to nonprofit organizations.

If you decide to use Giving Tuesday to contribute, there are plenty of choices, enough to boggle the mind.  There is no foolproof formula, but if you want to focus on local charities, there is one useful tool on the Web.

The Fishers Non-Profit Coalition has a Web site listing all their members.  If you want to contribute locally, there is a comprehensive list of options for you.  Find the listing at this link.

Many of you know I am a fan of nonprofit news operations.   One Indiana group worthy of your donation consideration is The Indiana Citizen.  There is a donation button at the top of the site.

Also, Fishers has announced some businesses in the Shop Fishers promotion will be supporting nonprofit groups as part of Giving Tuesday.  Use this link for the listing.

I know everyone that makes nonprofit donations has only so much money to contribute.  Carefully consider your choices.  Let Giving Tuesday be a special holiday moment for you.

Thompson Thrift, which developed the Fishers District commercial and residential development near I-69 & 116th Street before selling the project, is set to start construction Monday on a new 242-unit single family “build-for-rent community” in the same general area of Fishers.  The apartments should be ready for tenants in the first quarter of 2023.

“We continue to see demand from renters that want the maintenance-free benefits and amenities of traditional apartments with the space and comforts of single-family homes,” said Eric Wojak, Thompson Thrift vice president, in a company news release. “With its location in the highly rated Hamilton Southeastern School District and its proximity to excellent employment, and the retail and dining options at Fishers District, we expect leasing interest at the Slate development to be robust.”

The development will be situated on  25 acres in the southeast quadrant of I-69 and 116^th Street.  “Slate at Fishers District” will consist of one, two and three-bedroom villas, along with three- and four-bedroom townhomes. The residences will average 1,215 square feet and will feature amenities such as gourmet bar-kitchens with quartz countertops; stainless steel appliances; 10-foot ceilings with designer light fixtures; walk-in closets with custom wood shelving; full-size washers and dryers, smart home technology, and much more. “Slate at Fishers District” will also feature a clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center, resort style swimming pool with cabanas and bark parks and doggie spas.

For more than four years, I had  partnership with the Hamilton County Reporter.  Once of the great benefits of that relationship was the opportunity for me to regularly read the work of the newspaper’s Sports Editor, Richie Hall.

I spent over 14 years working in the media, many of those years covering high school and small college sports.  I have first hand knowledge of how much work goes into producing a good local sports product.

Richie is one of the hardest working sports reporters/editors I have ever known.  He virtually handles the entire local sports section of the Reporter single-handedly, with some able support of good photographers.

I always knew that if Richie was at the game, I would get a high quality report.  Even if not there in person, he found a way to obtain a good account of the game and wrote a good story.

I recall a podcast recorded with Richie when the pandemic virtually stopped athletic contests.  He struggled, but always found compelling stories to write about local athletes.

Although Reporter Publisher Jeff Jellison and I mutually agreed to end our news-gathering  partnership, I continue to read Richie’s sports section.  How he manages to do it is beyond me.  He just works hard.

I mention all this because Richie has received a well deserved honor – an induction into the Hamilton County Basketball Hall of Fame.  If any sports journalist is entitled to such recognition, it is Richie Hall.

The work done by Richie Hall exemplifies the importance of keeping local news alive.  I would recommend you subscribe to the Hamilton County Reporter and all other local news sources.  Only with these subscriptions and advertiser support will local news & sports coverage remain viable.

Congratulations, Richie!  You have earned this honor.

Thanksgiving is one of the special holidays on the annual calendar.  In 2021, I have a special set of thoughts about being thankful.

At age 70, it’s been mostly luck that my health has been generally good most of my life.  However, the last year or so has created some close calls.

Just over one year ago, I announced my intention to end the LarryInFishers.com local news blog.  It has always been a labor of love for me, but the labor part was not getting any easier.

I posted a story last year of my intention to end the blog after about 9 years, at least in its news format.  I had planned to shift to more entertainment, focusing my writing and podcasts more on the creative community, reviewing and publicizing music, plays and film.

Then COVID hit.  There was a shutdown of most arts activities in-person.  The movie theaters were shut down.  There was nothing to cover in the arts.

So, I decided to report news a little longer, since the larger news outlets couldn’t cover Fishers, they had enough on their hands with a major pandemic.

It was late October last year when I tested positive for COVID.  I was sick, very sick, and was e-mailing my primary care physician regularly on my condition.  It wasn’t until many months later that my doctor told me she was very close to admitting me to the hospital.

You may recall that just over a year ago, there was no vaccine available and people entering the hospital for COVID treatment often did not come out alive.  Only then did I understand how serious my condition was in 2020.

COVID sucked all the energy out of my body.  I sat in a chair all day with nothing to do but think….and think I did, a lot.

I realized during that time how my news blog needed to continue.  Yes, the work load was hard and the temptation to retire for real was hard to resist.

It was during those long days fighting COVID that I realized I had to continue with the news blog.  Even with COVID bringing me down, I vowed to myself that if I survived this bout with the pandemic, I would return to the blog and my podcasts.  That’s what I did.

So, I survived a tough COVID bout, barely staying out of a hospital stay in November of 2020.

Fast forward to recent weeks.  I had a nasty bout with E. coli, a very rare type that posed a serious danger to my health.  It wasn’t until my second day in the hospital that I fully understood how much danger I was in, but God was looking out for me – I fully recovered.

Being thankful doesn’t express it strongly enough – at this point of my life, I am so very thankful just to be here, writing this piece.

What I also found was the importance of family and friends.  I have the greatest collection of family & friends any human being could have.  When I was in the middle of these health challenges, family and friends were there for me.  Thanks to all of you for your support and good wishes.

I can honestly say Thanksgiving 2021 is special because I feel well and my health is good.  Many medical professionals made that happen.  Everyone treating me deserves a special thanks on this Thanksgiving.

Finally, allow me to express my annual Thanksgiving appreciation to you, the readers of this blog and listeners to my podcasts.  I take no advertising and charge nothing for this blog.  It is my thanks to the Fishers community for providing a first-class K-12 education to my twin daughters, who are now married adults making their mom & I very proud.  Jane & I also appreciate Fishers, an outstanding community in which to live, so this blog is a way to give back to my local community.

When starting this blog in January of 2012, I thought I would be lucky to have a few hundred readers.  In 2021, my unique visitor count is already measured by the tens of thousands and the year is not over yet.  I must be doing something right to gain the trust and loyalty of so many readers.

So, thanks for reading the blog and listening to my podcasts.  As long a my health holds out, I am here to write about Fishers.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!