After a little more than 2 years in the job, the Deputy Mayor for the City of Fishers, Elliott Hultgren, is moving on. He is set to begin working at KSM consulting.
Deputy Mayor Hultgren has had a number of responsibilities with the City of Fishers, including management of the city’s large fleet of vehicles, along with the financial controller’s office and the creation of the Fishers Health Department.
I spoke with Elliott Hultgren about that and more in this podcast, recorded on August 3rd.
Tomorrow (Monday, August 3rd) Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District teachers will report for the new school year. Students will start classes Thursday, August 6th.
It will be a start of school like no other in memory. Students will not be reporting to their buildings and classrooms, but will start the school year, for at least roughly the first four weeks, virtually. HSE Superintendent Allen Bourff told me in a recent podcast interview that this virtual learning will look nothing like the virtual learning experienced at the end of last school year. He promises more academic rigor this time.
School officials will consult with the Fishers Health Department, as well as state health experts and the CDC, on when a return to the traditional classroom model can safely resume. But for now, the local COVID-19 infection rate has led HSE administrators to begin the school year virtually.
It should be noted that teachers will be able to do their virtual instruction from their classrooms, which will be a big step forward, compared to the last few weeks of the previous school year when teachers and students were both at home.
The HSE administration has made it clear bringing students and teachers back into the buildings is the best method to educate students, but made a very tough call when confronted with a number of “what if” scenarios on how the school district would handle a number of specific situations. Remember, HSE is the 4th-largest school district in the state and must be prepared for any eventuality.
I have been saddened by a number of comments posted on social media about our teaching staff at HSE. Let’s remember that one of the biggest factors fueling the growth of Fishers is the HSE School Corporation. Just ask any real estate agent and each will tell you that the quality of local schools attracts families to our city and our area.
The reputation of the HSE school system is based largely on the quality of our classroom teachers. Our administrators, food service staff, bus drivers and many others all contribute to this, but without a high-quality teaching staff, HSE would not have earned and maintained its stellar reputation.
There is a teacher shortage, based on all my conversations with school administrators. HSE is not the highest-paying school district in the area, but is competitive because Fishers is a strong community and that attracts teachers.
But I would caution those complaining about benefits teachers are receiving locally – think about how HSE is trying to be a good employer to attract and retain the best teachers. There are plenty of private-sector operations enhancing benefits during this time of stress for their employees.
So, allow me to be clear. I support HSE teachers and any provisions to help their families during this difficult time.
For full disclosure, I have many teachers in my family. But even if I did not, I would feel the same.
Let’s support our teaching staff at HSE and this school district will retain its top-notch standing.
(Editor’s Note: The original story said the first day of school is Wednesday, August 5th….used the original calendar which was changed to deal with COVID-19….the dates have been corrected)
It was two years ago that RN Thompson informed residents of the Gray Eagle neighborhood, near 126th Street and Brooks School Road, that the development’s golf course would be closing by December 31 of 2019, but according to a story published in the August 1st edition of the Indianapolis Star, the course may be saved after all.
IndyStar reporter John Tuohy writes that a proposal is on the table to bring residential development and a restaurant to the neighborhood. The Gray Eagle HOA President says this plan will save the golf course, which is what the residents of the neighborhood have been advocating.
There are still hurdles to clear, but based on Mr. Tuohy’s reporting, this plan appears to have the support of the HOA, developer and Fishers city officials.
The iTown Church had proposed building their new complex in the area of the golf course, but Gray Eagle homeowners actively opposed that idea. iTown agreed to switch sites and now has the new church up and running at 136th Street and Brooks School Road.
The Hamilton County Election Office in Noblesville received two HSE School Board candidate filings Friday. Incumbent Amanda Shera has filed seeking another term on the board. Tony Bagato, Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Fishers, also filed for the Delaware Township board seat.
Incumbent Clint Wilson has filed to serve another term in Fall Creek Township. Chauna Leigh Holder has also filed her candidacy for Fall Creek Township. Sarah E. Parks-Reese in Wayne Township has also previously filed as a school board candidate.
Shera is finishing up her first 4-year term on the board. Bagato posted on social media that he took a day off work to file his candidate paperwork.
The At-Large HSE School Board election consists of three seats, with all voters residing in Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships eligible to vote for all three seats. Those running must reside within the township where they are running.
The deadline to file as a candidate for the HSE School Board at-large election is August 21st at noon.
This is a trying time for Fishers motorists, but progress is being made on a number of fronts.
First, the 126th Street construction at State Road 37 saw a big change this past week – the right-in-right-out access moved from the east side of SR37 to the west side. The roundabout intersection at 126th and underpass on SR37 is scheduled to be completed by November.
131st Street at the Nickel Plate Trail is closed to traffic through August 5th. Once that is complete, 126th Street will close at Ford Drive, with reopening expected in September.
There are a number of other projects on main thoroughfares and in neighborhoods throughout the city. The full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, is below.
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STATE ROAD 37 126th Street east of SR 37 is currently closed and is anticipated to reopen in November. During this time, cross access will be restricted, with only right in and right out. Northbound SR 37 traffic will not have access to 126th Street and will shift to the southbound lanes. Two lanes will remain in each direction. Local access to businesses will remain open. Detour route markers and advance warning signs will be in place prior to the closure. View the detour map here. Please drive with caution through this area. To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. |
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| 131ST STREET AT NICKEL PLATE TRAIL CROSSING 131st Street at the Nickel Plate Trail crossing is currently closed and is anticipated to reopen by Wednesday, August 5. The work will include regrading of the crossing, removing the stop sign, and the construction of speed tables. Local access to businesses will remain open. View the detour map here. 126TH STREET AND FORD DRIVE / NICKEL PLATE TRAIL CROSSING 96TH STREET Currently, the center lanes on eastbound and westbound 96th Street between the future Nickel Plate Trail and Lantern Road is closed to begin resurfacing and reconstruction of a median island. Check out the project fact sheet to learn more. 106TH STREET 116TH STREET SOUTH STREET LANTERN ROAD SOUTH OF 116TH STREET SPYGLASS HILL SUBDIVISION SANDSTONE SUBDIVISION |
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There is another candidate for Hamilton Southeastern School Board from Fall Creek Township. Chauna Leigh Holder filed the legal paperwork Wednesday at the Hamilton County Election Office to run for a school board seat.
Fall Creek Township Incumbent Clint Wilson has already filed his candidacy. Sarah E. Parks-Reese in Wayne Township has previously filed as a school board candidate.
The filing deadline is noon, August 21st.
The Fishers Health Department is about 3 months old and has been conducting a COVID-19 testing program for several weeks. For an update on the department, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and other health-related issues, I spoke with Chief Medical Director Dr. Indy Lane and Public Health Director Monica Heltz.
You may recall that a tradition was started many years ago to follow Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, normally a big day for the brick-and-mortar retail trade. Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday, and Fishers has normally been a part of that event with a Shop Fishers promotion.
This summer, the City of Fishers has announced that August will feature Shop Fishers: Summer Series. This Summer Series plans to offer special discounts and promotions from local businesses and restaurants every Wednesday this August, with the finale scheduled on the 26th.
“During these challenging times, it is more important than ever to support our city’s small businesses,” said Mayor Scott Fadness in a city news release. “We have seen the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our neighbors’, friends’, and family’s businesses, and we must help our local economy recover by supporting our small business owners.”
The final Wednesday in August, the 26th, will feature local and regional artwork and performances as the participating businesses partner with Fishers Arts Council.
Here is the list of participating businesses, totaling 50:
Download the Play Fishers app at this link.
Remember the face mask mandate in Fishers, so plan to adhere to this requirement. Several participating businesses are offering carryout and online shopping for low-contact transactions.
For more details, use this link.
When we think of important elections, we think about the presidential race, governor, congress, the state legislature and a number of other elections. However, one of the most important decisions local voters will be making in November is the school board election.
Our local Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District is the 4th-largest in the state, based on number of students enrolled. The people serving on that school board make important decisions impacting our K-12 students, the staff serving those students and impacts the quality of life for all of us. Ask any real estate agent and that person will tell you the quality of local schools has a major impact on everyone’s property values.
We have three school board seats up for election this year. First, a brief explanation of how local school board elections work.
We have HSE School Board elections every two years. in 2018, 4 seats were on the ballot, but you could only vote for the school board member representing your district. In other words, you voted for the one school board member representing your geographic boundary.
In 2020, there will be an “at-large” election for three seats. All voters in Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships are allowed to vote in all three races. The only proviso is that the candidate for each township must reside in that township. So, of the current board members, Amanda Shera lives in Delaware Township, Clint Wilson in Fall Creek Township and Sylvia Shepler in Wayne Township.
Wilson was appointed by the board to fill-out the term of Fall Creek Township at-large school board member Mike Bottorff, who resigned during his term of office. In order to receive that appointment, Wilson was required to live in Fall Creek Township.
The period for school board candidates to file their paperwork began Wednesday, July 22nd. The deadline for school board candidate filings is noon, August 21st.
As of close of business Friday, July 24th, the Hamilton County Election Office in Noblesville had received two HSE School Board filings – incumbent Clint Wilson in Fall Creek Township and Sarah E. Parks-Reese in Wayne Township.
Incumbents Amanda Shera in Delaware Township and Sylvia Shepler in Wayne Township are expected to seek re-election, but I have seen no official announcements as of this writing.
Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Fishers Tony Bagato has been on social media in the past few days announcing he plans to run for HSE School Board in Delaware Township.
I will have a lot more to say about the school board election once we know all the candidates, which will be noon, August 21st. In the meantime, I will try to keep you posted as candidates file their official documents as candidates.
The HSE School Board vote will be one of the most important you will cast in November.
The Fishers city public health order mandating the wearing of masks went into effect Friday. A mandatory Indiana state order from the governor is set to be implemented Monday. But are these orders really mandatory?
It has generally been my understanding that when a legal mandate is ordered, there is some kind of penalty attached. It could be a fine or some jail sentence, but if one willfully and consistently violates the legal mandate, you could, at some point, face some consequences.
Nobody wants a face mask police force or arbitrary enforcement of such a legal order. However, with no specific penalty one would face for willfully violating these orders, it would be more accurate to describe the city and state actions as strong suggestions rather than mandates.
Now, understand, I am no expert in communicable diseases and have no scientific background other than a few high school courses and one science class in college. So, I read and listen to those with all the credentials to advise us on issues like wearing a mask.
Those experts are nearly unanimous in their advice – in most situations where you are around other people, wear a mask. Do that for the sake of the people around you to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
There may be no legal penalty for failure to wear a mask, but it is my view, based on these experts who have spent their lives studying viruses and have the credentials to write and speak authoritatively about the novel coronavirus, we should heed the strong suggestion to wear a mask when around others outside family members living in our households.
I commend Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Governor Eric Holcomb for making strong statements that citizens must be “educated” on the need to wear masks. I still worry about the people in our state not interested in being educated.
Allow me to take up a related issue. Last Monday, the Fishers City Council was set to hear a presentation from the Fishers Health Department about the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I verified with city staff this work session would be live-streamed on video. I am in a high-risk health category and have limited the events I attend in person.
I was assured the work session would be available on live stream. However, there was a major technical malfunction. You could see the video but there was no audio, you could not listen to any of the presentation.
I was very disappointed, but later learned I was not alone. There were other journalists planning to use that live stream. I even received two phone calls later from former local officials asking me if I attended the work session so I could brief them on what was said.
I must be honest, I was very sad to see the city let people down. In more than 8 years of covering Fishers municipal government , I have always found it very competent. Perhaps I just expect too much from our city government. Having worked in the broadcasting industry for over 14 years, I do understand technical glitches will happen, this one just came at a particularly inopportune time.
The city has tried to make up for it by posting the PowerPoint presentation and uploading videos, but anyone in communications will tell you that does not make up for the letdown on Monday night.
I also wrote about the delay in COVID-19 test results. Fishers has been way ahead of the curve on this one. It is my view that one major reason Mayor Scott Fadness chose to establish a city health department, a rare move for a city in the state of Indiana, was to provide free and timely testing for city residents and tests available to business owners for a fee.
Fishers has a contract with a lab to process the testing and provide results. The city health department issued a statement a few days ago saying the normal turnaround time of 2-3 days for COVID-19 test results were now 10 days due to the uptick in cases resulting in more demand for tests.
I wrote that a novel coronavirus test with results 10 days later is not of much use to the individual being tested and does not allow for contact tracing. I realize that was not the city’s fault, just a reality.
I rarely attend any meetings in person anymore, but I did about 10 days ago because I was invited and felt the session was of great importance to my local community. Everyone did their best to adhere to CDC standards, wearing masks and distancing as possible.
I received several messages following that meeting that one member of the group was COVID-19 positive, although some follow-up messages indicated the diagnosis might not have been correct.
To be on the safe side, as a resident of Fishers, I scheduled a test, which took about 3 business days. I received my test results roughly 72 hours later, which is a good sign that the testing results are coming in more quickly than expected.
In case you are curious, my results were negative.