The dispute between Carmel and Fishers over the state formula distributing County Option Income Tax (COIT) funds appears to be settled.  House Speaker Todd Huston tells LarryInFishers.com that a conference committee report with the language agreed-to by officials of both cities  has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb.  The governor is expected to sign the measure.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has said that despite the fact that Fishers and Carmel have roughly the same population numbers, Carmel has been receiving significantly more COIT funds the past several years, and the gap has been widening.

Mayor Fadness recently told LarryInFishers.com the deal reached with Carmel calls for a revised COIT distribution formula that will add $15 million-$18 million in additional COIT funds to Fishers over three years, but that increase is tied to a rise in COIT tax collections of 2.5% each year.  In other words, presuming a strong economy continues locally, Fishers will receive the extra funds.  According to Fadness, after that initial three-year period, Fishers would receive $4 million-$6 million in additional money per year from COIT, but that would once again rely on continued COIT tax collection growth in the coming years.

According to Speaker Huston, all the provisions described to me by the mayor are included in the final version of the legislation.

HSE High School varsity football coach Adam Morris is leaving after 2 seasons heading up the Royals program.  School Superintendent Allen Bourff told school board members Wednesday night that Morris’ resignation was submitted late Wednesday, shortly before the board voted on the coach’s departure.

Bourrf said Morris will be headed to join the football coaching staff at DePauw University.  The opening will be posted and the earliest a new Royals coach could be hired is late April.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board members voted unanimously to allow Superintendent Allen Bourff the authority to handle compensation issues for district employees if school would need to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.  At this time, there are no plans to cancel classes in HSE Schools

The resolution enacted Wednesday night allows administrators to “review the impact of any school closing and/or if the Superintendent deems any other measures necessary to assist employees as a result of other circumstances related to COVID-19.”

Many school employees are hourly workers, such as bus drivers, food service staff and instructional assistants.  The resolution empowers the superintendent to act quickly in the event of a school closure to take care of those workers.

Ryan Taylor, Director of Staff and Student Support Services for HSE Schools, told the board students who provide written documentation from their healthcare provider advising them to refrain from attending school due to COVID-19 will receive an excused absence.   For all other students, the normal attendance policy remains the same.

Here is what Taylor presented to board members about school-sponsored events & travel:

–Any school-sponsored or district-sponsored travel to locations with travel advisories for the Coronavirus, as identified by the CDC or the US Department of State, will be cancelled.

–Currently, planned school-sponsored or district-sponsored in-county, instate and out-of-state events are continuing as planned. However, each trip will be reviewed as concerns arise.

–Currently, school officials are carefully considering events that may involve 1000 or more participants. Stay tuned…for now, events will continue as planned.

–Students who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms will not be permitted to participate in field trips.

–Parents and guardians should verify that their phone numbers and email addresses are correct in Skyward and ensure that notification permissions are set to receive messages.

What about students returning from spring break?  Here’s what Taylor presented to the board:

“Any person traveling for any reason from a Level 2 or Level 3 country for COVID-19 must self-quarantine for 14 days upon return to the U.S.  As this situation is rapidly evolving,
health authorities may also impose domestic and/or regional US travel restrictions prior to spring break. We encourage you to reconsider any unnecessary travel and to rigorously follow CDC guidance. Persons who return from ANY spring break travel with COVID-19 symptoms may be required to self-quarantine.”

If HSE Schools would need to close, e-learning would be implemented.  The YMCA programs before and after school wwould be cancelled.  School facilities that are rented, including to religious organizations, would be closed to all events.  Plans are being developed by school officials to provide breakfast and lunch for students during any closure.

On the compensation issue, Superintendent Bourff told the board the school corporation would have no authority to force contractors to take care of their employees working in HSE Schools, because contract workers are not employees of the school corporation.  However, the school system can encourage contractors to take care of their workers during any school closure situation.

The coronavirus has impacted some Fishers Park & Recreations events, but not others.

City officials say the Freebirds St. Patrick Day Lucheon has been cancelled.  It was aimed at an audience over 50 years of age.  Health experts say older populations are more at risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19.

The National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for March 29th has been rescheduled for June 14.

The Breakfast with the Leprechaun event scheduled for this Saturday is scheduled to continue as planned. If participants have concerns about attending, a full refund can be issued by contacting 317-595-3150.

You may have noticed that the stop signs along the Nickel Plate Trail have been removed in Fishers, with one exception.  The stop sign at 131st Street west of State Road 37 will remain due to the steep grade at that location, but the city says “the removal of this sign will come at a later date.”

The removal of the stop signs will end the requirement for school buses to stop at these locations.  Railroad “out of service” signs have also been placed at these crossings.

The City of Fishers will provide nearly $68,000 in funding for matching grants to Fishers neighborhoods this year.  The grants were once separated into the Neighborhood Matching Grant and the Tree Matching Grant, but have now been combined and renamed the Vibrant Neighborhoods Matching Grant (VNMG).

According to the city, the intent of the VNMG program is to provide money for older neighborhoods, typically 10 years or older.  Projects funded include beautification of a subdivision entrance or property along city roadways.

Over $78,000 total was requested by 22 neighborhoods throughout Fishers.  A committee reviewed all requests and submitted its recommendations to the Board of Public Works and Safety, which voted to approve the committee’s work at its Monday meeting.  The funds had been approved by the City Council as part of the 2020 budget.

To review the entire list of neighborhoods receiving the VNMG grant, use this link.

When moving to Fishers in 1991, I tried to learn as much as possible about the town and its elections.  The first discovery was how few Democrats were candidates for local office.  At least one election I recall was cancelled because the Republicans on the ballot had no opponents.

Fishers in particular, and Hamilton County in general, have been a solidly Republican area for as long as most people remember.  But that is beginning to change.  Two Democrats, Sam DeLong and Jocelyn Vare, were elected to the Fishers City Council in last year’s local election.  This is the first time any Democrats have been elected to Fishers city offices and no one can remember any Democrat winning a Fishers election, going back to the days of Fishers as a town.

The Fishers GOP Club has been around for many years.  I have attended a couple of their meetings when hosting Republican candidate forums during primary campaigns.  The meetings have been mostly well attended.

Democrats began forming their own Fishers club in the aftermath of the November election last year.  According to the club’s President Julie Chambers and Vice President Jocelyn Vare, the first few months have been centered on doing the administrative requirements such as electing officers and finalizing by-laws, in tandem with the Hamilton County and state Democratic organizations.

I attended the March 9th meeting of the Fishers Democratic Club, and found an overflow crowd of 38 people filling the meeting room at Aurelio’s Pizza.  Club members tell me the group has already outgrown its first two meeting venues.

The club invited two candidates for office to the March 9th session.  Dee Thornton made her case to those gathered as to why she should be the nominee for the 5th District Congressional seat.  Thornton was the Democrat on the 5th District ballot two years ago and is facing four challengers in this year’s Democratic primary.

Also there to speak about her candidacy was Pam Dechert. She has no primary opponent but will seek the Indiana House seat currently held by Brian Bosma.  Bosma says he will be resigning from his House seat so this will be a seat with no incumbent candidate.

Chambers says the main focus on club activities will be to support Democrats in their campaigns once the primary election is over.

When I first moved to Fishers, people openly wondered how many Democrats would be able to gather for any kind of meeting.  The Fishers Democratic Club is proving that their political party can draw a local crowd and have a regular monthly meeting.  Whether this club will have an impact on future local elections will be something to watch.

The City of Fishers will move forward with permit requests for 5G towers in residential neighborhoods using all the legal levers at its disposal, but the mayor and city attorney caution local residents that the state and federal governments have usurped most of the  authority to regulate 5G technology.

Mayor Scott Fadness was at the forefront of lobbying the Indiana General Assembly to allow local governments more legal authority over 5G tower regulations, but state lawmakers chose to limit cities and towns ability to evaluate requests from wireless providers for tower permits.

City Attorney Chris Greisl told the Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that Fishers can look at where towers are located within a neighborhood, but cannot ban or deny all requests for 5G small cell towers based on state and federal law.

Fadness also said the federal government does not allow local municipalities to take any possible health risks into account when evaluating small cell tower permits.

Fadness did say the city will notify homeowners associations (HOAs) when tower permits are under consideration, and will also notify all residents within 200 feet of the proposed pole.  This will be city policy beyond state or federal requirements, Fadness said.  Those living in the area of any proposed tower will be given the opportunity to provide their views before any tower permit is decided by the Board of Works.

Verizon Wireless has 40 5G tower permits pending with the city, with 500 total expected in the coming year-and-a-half.   There are now 115 towers deployed locally, mostly along Fishers thoroughfares.

Based on Greisl’s presentation to the board, the city’s jurisdiction is limited to where small cell towers are specifically located within in a given neighborhood.  Verizon has been cooperating with city staff in efforts to locate such towers in common areas of neighborhoods, away from homes as much as possible, according to Greisl.  The city may also consider the aesthetics within a neighborhood when evaluating permit requests.

City Attorney Greisl talked about the health and safety issues connected with 5G technology.  “The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has spoken pretty clearly about our prohibition in regulating this (5G techology) use,” Greisl said.  He referred to a resolution passed by the Carmel City Council asking the state to slow down 5G implementation, but Greisl added that Carmel also has 40 small cell tower permit requests filed and Carmel is processing those requests under the same laws as Fishers.

The first permit requests are being proposed in the north central area of Fishers.

5G towers have a shorter range than the current 4G wireless system, with towers needed every 500-1,000 feet.

Greisl told the board there are time deadlines for the board to act.  Failure to act within the prescribed time periods in the law will lead to an automatic approval of the tower permit.  The city staff has 10 days to review a permit once submitted, then the Board of Works has 45 days to consider approval or denial of that submission.

The Board of Works is expected to consider the first small tower permit request in April.

The city has a new section of its Web site dedicated to 5G…you can access it at this link.

When you flip the power switch at home, you expect the lights to work.  Unless, of course, you insist on not paying the electric bill.

When you go to the sink, you expect to have water.  Unless, of course, you continue not to pay the water utility.

Most Americans know the consequences when we do not pay for what we need.  We lose it.

America is seeing the loss of local news sources at an alarming rate.   According to a story published late last year in the New York Times, the United States has seen 1 in 5 newspapers cease publication over the past 15 years.  The number of local journalists has been cut in half during that same period.

There is no indication this is improving.  Even at large newspapers the number of journalists continues to dwindle.

So, what can be done about this?  We need to realize that good journalism, be it from a newspaper, online outlet or another platform, needs subscribers.  By that, I mean paid subscriptions.

Just as your power and water can be turned off if you don’t pay for it, journalism will go away if you are not willing to pay for a subscription.  The lack of local, independent journalism can drag down any community.

I had a local Fishers elected official admit something to me privately a couple of years ago.  While prefacing the remark that nothing nefarious should be implied, this person admitted elected bodies behave much differently when there is no independent journalist in the meeting room.

Think carefully about that for a moment.

The best way to support journalism is to subscribe to your local news organizations.  The Indianapolis Star, the Indianapolis Business Journal and the Hamilton County Reporter are three examples that come to mind, but there are many more.

My message to you is to subscribe to any and all news sources in your local area.  That is the only means to guarantee there will be a journalist in that meeting room as elected officials deliberate.

I have not been paid as a journalist for a very long time, so there is no dog in this hunt for me.  But our communities need this, and I love my community of Fishers.

Don’t let the lights go out in the local journalistic enterprises left in our central Indiana area.  Subscribe!

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Highway Department, along with city engineering departments in Noblesville, Carmel and Fishers, are consulting with one another to determine the best location for another White River bridge. County Commissioner Christine Altman says there is increasing need for improving the county’s east/west traffic flow. No specific site has yet been established.

* * *

Steve Key, director of the Hoosier State Press Association and former Noblesville resident and writer for the Noblesville Ledger, says it appears there will not be state legislation this year that would end schools’ requirement to publish an annual performance report. A bill in the legislature had earlier included elimination of that requirement. State Sen. Victoria Spartz (R-Noblesville) had opposed elimination of the requirement while State Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero), favored it.

* * *

Probably the fastest growing revenue source for Hamilton County government is the Innkeepers Tax. The treasurer’s office reports nearly $5.5 million in collections last year. That figure is expected to grow significantly this year with its 5 percent tax on each hotel and motel room rented. The revenue can only be used for advancing the county tourism, convention and visitor industry.

* * *

There is preliminary work in progress planning for Hamilton County’s bicentennial in 2023. County Historian David Heighway says a group will be formally organized to make certain anniversary is properly marked. The county, named for Alexander Hamilton, was established by state legislation in 1823 when the population was around 1,000. Dave would probably like to hear from folks interested in assisting the efforts.

* * *

The widely-respected Carmel Dads’ Club will celebrate its 60th anniversary later this year. The organization has provided an organized sports experience for thousands of young people, many of whom has gone on to excel in high school and college sports. The club was organized in 1960 by a group of Carmel fathers to further athletic activity and provide a feeder system for the high school which has proved highly successful.

* * *

Big Woods, the growing chain of informal restaurants and brew pubs, announced this week it will soon open at 146th Street and Hazel Dell Road, Noblesville. Based in Nashville, Ind., the restaurant and brewing firm is headed by Jeff and September (Hinshaw) McCabe, who are both former county residents and alumni of Carmel High School.