The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety approved all Verizon 5G tower requests at a Tuesday morning meeting, but an attorney representing Verizon reminded the city of the legal limits based on state and federal statutes.

Towers were approved for the following neighborhoods: Charleston Crossing, Fishersdale, Wildwood Estates, Heritage Meadows, The Pines and Northfield Estates.

During a discussion about a possible tower location adjustment in Heritage Meadows, Mayor Scott Fadness invited Verizon to comment.

Russell L. Brown, from the Indianapolis law firm of Clark, Quinn, Moses, Scott & Grahn, representing Verizon, reminded the board of the federal and state statutes limiting a city’s jurisdiction over 5G tower locations.  Verizon has worked in good faith with the city and neighborhoods, according to Brown.  He explained why, for technical reasons, the particular tower in question at Heritage Meadows would not feasible to move in this case.

Fadness responded by saying the city is walking a fine line, with Verizon essentially saying there is potential for litigation against the city in some of these tower location issues.  This is a tightrope the board must walk when weighing these tower location decisions. according to Fadness.

“I would say to the legal representation of Verizon and representatives from Verizon, although this might be costly and time-consuming for you, it shows and demonstrates that if we sit down with the HOAs (home owners associations) and actually work collectively we can actually come to a consensus and get these implemented,” Fadness said as the meeting came to a close.  “I’m sympathetic for the financial burden that is caused by interacting with our residents, but I do think you have a better outcome when you do it.”

A local organization is critical of Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School and HSE Schools following changes in the homecoming festivities this year, but the school district says all changes were led by students.

Fishers One issued a statement Monday night, citing the fact that no women were represented as homecoming royalty, a change from the king and queen, consisting of one man and one woman, in past years.  “The student council quietly passed a proposal to make the election gender neutral, with the approval of Principal Janie Ulmer,” according to Fishers One.

In a statement to LarryInFishers, the school district says the HSE High School student council presented a proposal in late August.  “Our Student Council requested that ‘Homecoming Royalty’ would be awarded to the two individuals that received the most votes,” according to school officials.

This year’s HSE High School “Homecoming Royalty” consisted of 2 males.

Nominations for Homecoming Court were $1, with the funds going to the student council. There were several nominations.  Students were not charged to vote, with the two individuals, regardless of sex, became “Homecoming Royalty” for this year’s HSE homecoming celebration.

Fishers One argues “there was minimal debate and no communication or transparency to the student body at large.”   School officials say the entire process was initiated by students.

“Homecoming has always been a student-led event, and this year was no different,” says the statement from the school district. “HSE values traditions and the voices of our students, and we believe that ‘Homecoming Royalty’ is an example of honoring both.”

Fishers City Hall will once again be adorned with art work in October, courtesy of the Fishers Arts Council.  The exhibit includes collections from Calligraphy Guild of Indiana and a three-month long exhibit by Margot Bogue.

There will be a free public reception on October 15th, 6-8 pm, at The Art Gallery at City Hall.  Take the opportunity to meet the artists of the Calligraphy Guild. Adult beverages, along with pre-packaged snacks, will be available. The Calligraphy Guild of Indiana exhibit will run through October 28th while Margot Bogue’s exhibit in The Alcove will run through December 29th. A reception will be held for Margot on December 10th.

The calligraphy exhibit looks at the art of calligraphy and features work by calligraphers of The Calligraphy Guild of Indiana. Calligraphy is artistic writing perfected during the medieval years in the illuminated manuscripts of that era. Alphabet styles, ornaments, design, illustration, tools and materials, methods and practices make up the history of early books.

Today, calligraphy letters and words are being used for design elements as well as traditional certification recognitions, announcements, promotional materials, and the hand-made book.

Activities of the guild include learning programs, demonstrations, and “fair” presentations. Membership is open to anyone interested and includes a subscription to the quarterly publication produced by the members in calligraphy.

Margot Bogue’s exhibit is entitled, “Ephemeral Indiana.” She focuses on scenes of Indiana that reflect a moment in time such as Cheeney Creek in winter, a fall day, clouds over the Capital and reflections of nature.

Margot, most recently won “Best of Show” at the 2nd Annual Juried Art Show of Hamilton County Artists sponsored by Jiffy Lube of Indiana. The Alcove exhibit features 26 of her oil paintings.

The Art Gallery at City Hall, One Municipal Drive, Fishers, is open weekdays from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The gallery is closed on holidays.

If you were a fan of the HBO series The Sopranos, you are aware of the main character in that series, Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini.  The final episode of that series ended in a very strange and uncertain way, leaving the possibility of more.  But actor Gandolfini died far too young so that was not an options.

Now, we have a prequel featuring the young Tony Soprano surrounded by his mobster family.  So, is the prequel worth seeing?  Here is my review:

Frequent users of the Hamilton East Library in downtown Fishers (I know there are many) should be aware that building will close Monday, October 4, through Friday, October 8.  As you may already by aware, the building and the area surrounding it are undergoing some major construction.  Library officials say the closing is necessary due to HVAC and utility upgrades.

The Noblesville Library is also part of the Hamilton East Library system and will be open October 4-8.

The leaders of the City of Fishers Engineering Department, Jason Taylor & Hatem Mekky, sat down for a podcast interview with me.  They updated road and trail projected and discussed a lot more.

Listen to the podcast at the link below.

(Note:  Jason refers to a video on etiquette for the Nickel Plate Trail produced by the city staff.  You can find that video at this link)

With the City of Fishers planning a new arts center as part of a new city hall complex, the Arts & Culture Commission is signaling it wants to be part of the process.

The city’s Director of Public Relations, Ashley Elrod, provided a brief summary of the city’s process to construct a new city hall with an arts center as part of that complex.  Arts & Culture Commission President David Decker asked Ms. Elrod how involved the commission can be in the new arts center.

That will be driven by which group is selected to handle construction and programming for the new arts center.  Elrod said the commission can be involved in the work of the consultants for the project once that team is selected.

“Let’s keep an open door for us on that,” Decker said.  “I think we would probably want to be involved in making sure that some of the…feedback we get from the Creative Council and the other surveys gets put into action.”

The city had an RFP (request for proposals) recently close for a team to plan for the construction and potential programming for an arts center.  The team to handle the project is expected to be named soon.

The commission welcomed a new member at the Wednesday evening meeting.  Ben Yoder, orchestra teacher at HSE Intermediate/Junior High, replaces HSE High School Social Studies teacher Jamie Follis as a commission member.

The announcement Sunday evening that the longest-serving council member in Fishers, David George, was resigning from his city council seat, was a surprise to many.  Here are some of my thoughts on covering Mr. George as a reporter, and on one candidate that plans to put his hat in the ring to succeed him.

During my 14 years working in the broadcasting business, I worked around a number of engineers.  One thing I discovered quickly is that engineers often look at problems and solutions differently than others.  I found that to be a good thing.

On both the town council, and later the city council, David George, an engineer, was often the one with a different analysis and take on any vote.  He always explained why he was voting, particularly if his vote was no.

One example of David’s dedication to council responsibilities came on the vote over a rezone of the proposed Cumberland Cottages housing development, planned for an area just south of 141st on Cumberland Road.  The local housing nonprofit HAND is handling that project.

As council members explained their positions, the vote count was 4 in favor & 4 against.  David George was the ninth and deciding vote remaining.  Councilor George had taken the time to drive around the day before the vote and look at several HAND housing developments in the area, some as much as 10 years old.

David George found all the HAND projects he checked to be in excellent condition and a credit to their neighborhoods.  He voted yes and the vote was 5-4, allowing the housing development to move forward.

There are many more examples, too many for listing here.

I found David George to be a council member that communicated regularly with his constituents in the Southwest council district.  Anytime I had a question or requested a comment, he always responded.

For those reasons, and many more, I will miss David George on the Fishers City Council.  The council itself is losing the member with the longest institutional memory, having served on the council (town & city) for the past 19 years.

I wish David George all the best in life after the council.  19 years is a long time to serve in any elected office.

So, the next question is this – who will be the next city council member for the Southwest District?  One name has been floated.

Mark Bowen, a former Hamilton County Sheriff and now a Captain in the Sheriff’s Department, confirmed to LarryInFishers that he intends to be a candidate when the Republican caucus meets to select the person to fill-out the remainder of Mr. George’s term, which runs through December 31, 2023.

The Hamilton County Republican Chair, Laura Campbell, has 30 days to call a caucus of precinct officials in the Southwest District.  That vote will determine the person that will serve on the Southwest District council seat.

The next city election will take place in 2023.

It is possible that other candidates may come forward for the caucus vote, but Mark Bowen appears to be the first to confirm he plans to run.

Terre-Haute based Thompson Thrift came up with the plan to create what was originally labeled The Yard, later changed to Fishers District, as a retail area with an emphasis on restaurants, along with a hotel.  Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness bought into the concept.  Later, the plan became mixed-use when residential property was added.

Fishers District has survived the pandemic, which hit shortly after the retail part opened.  Now that the complex is thriving, Thompson-Thrift announced Monday that it is selling Fishers District to JVM Realty, a Chicago firm.

“Fisher’s District is a unique and exciting destination that reflects the ingenuity of each of Thompson Thrift’s three business units and a project that we believe will be a lasting asset to the Fishers community,” said Ashlee Boyd, managing partner, Thompson Thrift Retail Group, in a company news release. “The thriving project is a premiere regional destination offering innovative dining, living, and entertainment options that matches the city’s vision for a development that accurately represents Fishers as one of the best places to live in America.”

Location has been a key to the success of Fishers District, nestled near I-69 and 116^th Street, just a short walk to Ikea and Top Golf. The central green space is still known as The Yard. The 105,000 square feet of retail space is 100% leased and features a number of local and national retail services, as well as many restaurants, such as the St. Elmo 1933 Lounge, Sun King Brewery, and Fishers Test Kitchen, a city-supported, culinary-incubator that allows up-and-coming chefs to develop new concepts in a shared location that seats 350 people and features a rooftop deck.

The longest-serving member of the Fishers Council, David George, announced he is resigning his seat after 19 years of service as an elected official, first on the Fishers Town Council and later on the City Council.

“This is due to an increased workload with my day job and an increased number of hours needed for constituent services for the residents in my district,” Councilor George wrote in a Sunday evening Facebook post. “I have been contemplating this decision for most of this year, but waited until now so that as a member of the finance committee I could assist with the 2022 budget.”

Mr. George cites several accomplishments during his tenure as a local elected council member, including the city’s AAA bond rating, the Nickel Plate Amphitheater and road improvements.  His background as a civil engineer was valuable in his approach to many decisions made during Mr. George’s time on the council.

“Last, I wanted to thank the professionalism of all City staff particularly the police, fire and public works who are now nationally accredited,” George wrote.

It will now be up to Republican precinct committeemen and committeewomen in the council Southwest District to meet and vote on a person to serve the remainder of Councilor George’s term, which ends December 31, 2023.  The next city election will be held in 2023.