The Fishers City Council plans to vote Monday night on incentives for Sitel Corporation to occupy 42,000 square feet of space within the Jarden building at 121st Street and Cumberland Road.  The city incentive package includes a 5-year property tax abatement and city support to construct, rehabilitate, and/or repair the space.

Indiana state economic development officials announced Wednesday a package of incentives, totaling up to $2.25 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. The state says these incentives are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.

The city incentives are in addition to the state package.

Information provided as part of the Fishers City Council agenda for Monday night’s session says Sitel plans an “advanced technology call and customer service center” at the Fishers location.  The city says Sitel plans to hire approximately 300 full time employees.  The state said Wednesday the employee count would be “up to 350.”

In the state news release, Sitel said it plans to establish its “Midwest hub” here in Fishers.

by

Jeff Jellison

Publisher

Hamilton County Reporter

At Tuesday evening’s city council meeting, Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt outlined a proposed new downtown parking plan.

Jowitt said the new plan would change and simplify the parking ordinance.

Jowitt

“When it comes to parking in our historic downtown, there is no magic solution that addresses everyone’s needs because each driver and business has different requirements,” Jowitt said in a statement released by the city. “We tried to create a scenario that works for the largest number of people and I believe this plan achieves that goal by incorporating feedback from the downtown merchants.”

Noblesville’s current parking ordinance has been in place since 1989 when there was no Hamilton County Judicial Center downtown and the city’s population was one-third of today’s size.

Downtown parking will be separated into three locations: Paid parking lots, free on-street spaces and the new tic-tac-toe board or hashtag area (yellow zone on the map) that includes the Downtown Square and one block away in each direction for two consecutive hours of free parking per day. By capping it at two consecutive hours, the hashtag area encourages turnover of parking as supported by data collected in the Downtown Parking Study. It also prevents drivers from moving their cars from space to space every two hours in this zone. This zone would be enforced from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays – a change from the previous start time of 8 a.m.

When you pull into a space, the clock starts. The time expires in two hours whether you are in that area or not. If you exceed two hours in the hashtag area, that will be a violation.

Jowitt told city leaders at Tuesday’s meeting that, under the new plan, first-time offenders would not be ticketed. “First-time offenders will be provided information on what they can do next time to be in compliance with the ordinance.”

The city also is creating new 20-minute spaces on Logan, Conner and Ninth streets for quick stops, which will not count toward a driver’s two consecutive hours. The purpose of these spaces is for those who make short, quick stops to run in, grab something and leave the two-hour zone.

Drivers who intend to stay longer than two hours in a single day should park in the lots or on the streets that have no time restrictions (blue zone on the map). By shrinking the current two-hour restricted parking area, it has added 250 to 300 free on-street parking spaces.

Ditslear

Taylor

“I think this is a pretty good compromise – there’s something for everybody. I don’t think we can present a better plan at this time than what is being proposed to us,” said Common Council Member Rick Taylor, who also serves on the parking task force.

“While we realize change can be scary, the city will use 2020 as a one-year ‘pilot’ to study the impact of these changes in order to set a permanent strategy after the Levinson parking garage opens,” Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear said in a statement released Thursday.

Jowitt described parking kiosks that would be installed in two pay lots.

With the new kiosk, visitors to the downtown area will be able to pay for parking with a mobile app, credit card or coins.  Parking in these lots will remain 25 cents per hour; however, a 35-cent transaction fee will be charged with each parking purchase for those using the parking app or credit card.

The new plan does come with a cost.

Noblesville recently purchased a parking enforcement vehicle with license plate reader technology used track the number of hours a vehicle has been parked.  The cost of the vehicle and license plate reader totaled $55,572.

Other expenses include $84,000 for the parking kiosks, $11,000 for parking signage and $55,000 for resealing and restriping all downtown parking lots.

“Noblesville doesn’t make money from our parking and fine system, but does provide enough revenue to pay for enforcement,” said Jowitt.

In 2018 Noblesville collected $124,721.20 in parking revenue.  This includes annual parking permit fees, parking meters and ticket fines.

DuBois

Noblesville Chamber of Commerce President Bob DuBois said, “For folks that want free parking, less than 500 feet from any downtown business there is free parking.

“This isn’t a government solution. This is a solution that was generated from listening to the public.  I appreciate the willingness of the city to listen to what the public has said during this process,” concluded DuBois.

The city will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at City Hall to discuss the proposal and answer questions. The ordinance will not be back before the Noblesville Common Council until its Oct. 15 meeting. If approved, the new parking changes would begin Jan. 1, 2020.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District has a number of important programs in progress.  Freedom Kolb is overseeing the CurioCity project, with involves student-generated work partnering with the City of Fishers.    Brooke Lawson is in charge of coordinating the extensive Mental Health program in the school buildings and also coordinates the counseling program.

I spoke with both ladies about those and other subjects during a recent podcast recording session.

Hamilton County Reporter

Noblesville Schools announced Wednesday that Superintendent Dr. Beth Niedermeyer has been named the Superintendent of the Year for Central Indiana by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS).

She was selected for the honor by her peers, approximately 40 central Indiana superintendents who based their decision on accomplishments, qualifications and leadership.

Photo provided

Niedermeyer joined Noblesville Schools, one of the top performing districts in the state, in 2014 after serving in previous leadership roles with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township and Fort Wayne Community Schools.

“Dr. Niedermeyer is a role model among her peers and is frequently sought out by other area superintendents for her counsel and advice,” shared Noblesville Schools Board of Trustees President Carl Johnson. “She is well known for her steady guidance, humble yet insightful perspective and empathetic approach to working with others. As a servant leader, Beth works hard to be accessible, well-informed and actively listen to others. Relationship building, valuing different perspectives, reflecting on data, and making courageous decisions are all hallmarks of her leadership style. She is quick to step up whenever and wherever she is needed, and most importantly her focus is always on what’s best for kids. We’re proud of this honor she’s received and are so thankful for her consistent leadership and passionate commitment to Noblesville Schools.”

During her tenure, Niedermeyer has led several significant achievements for the district including:

• The expansion of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for students and staff, including founding of the Noblesville Diversity Coalition in partnership with the City of Noblesville and faith, business and community leaders.
• The passage of two successful referendum campaigns that preserved/provided funding for enhanced safety and mental health services, increased teacher compensation and retention, performing and fine arts, physical education programming, STEM curriculum, media services, transportation routes, behavioral services and more.
• District grade “A” academic ratings from the Indiana Department of Education and national recognition for STEM, Advanced Placement, special education, educational technology and music programming.
• The creation/expansion of community outreach and engagement initiatives including the Miller Ambassadors community leadership program, the Noblesville High School internship program, Superintendent Table Talk, Back to School BASH and a strong partnership with the Noblesville Police Department.
• An adjusted school day schedule to provide enhanced health, well-being and learning for students.
• Steady organizational, community and safety leadership following the district’s school shooting in May 2018.
• The expansion of social, emotional and mental health training and services.
• Increased academic technology resources to support real-world, real-time learning.
• Expanded STEM and workforce development initiatives for all students K-12.
• Introduction of district preschool and before/after school care programming.
• Opening of an expanded transportation center to accommodate the district’s growing bus fleet and maintenance needs.
• Lean staffing, district cost cutting, revenue generation and tight fiscal management to drive dollars to classrooms.
• Launch of a solar power initiative expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.

Photo provided

In addition to her daily leadership responsibilities with the district, Niedermeyer also serves on the executive board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Noblesville, Noblesville Chamber of Commerce, Noblesville Youth Assistance, Noblesville Diversity Coalition, Noblesville Midday Rotary and the Hamilton County Workforce Innovation Network.

“The collaborative culture Dr. Niedermeyer has built with teachers and staff has been a game changer at Noblesville Schools,” added Amanda Giordano, Noblesville High School math teacher and president of the Noblesville Teachers Forum. “The hard work she has done to advocate on behalf of teachers and students speaks volumes about the quality of her leadership, and her dedication to educators and public education. On behalf of our teachers, I want to congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition.”

The IAPSS central Indiana region covers Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion and Shelby counties, and represents 40 public school districts with approximately 28 percent of students in the state.

Imagine taking a Rubik’s cube and solving it in about 13 seconds.  I could never come close to that, but Fall Creek Junior High 8th grade student Luke Garrett does just that, and better.  He has been competing in Rubik’s cube tournaments since he was 9 years old.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board honored Luke at the Wednesday night meeting.  He demonstrated his technique for quickly solving the Rubik’s cube.  He has participated in 44 competitions and has earned 73 podiums (1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd place finish).  His personal  best was solving the cube in 5.5 seconds, putting Luke 27th in the world and 10th in the United States.

When not in Rubik’s cube competition, Luke is  member of his school’s academic team.

Mayor Scott Fadness plans to present his $119 million spending plan before the Fishers City Council at Monday night’s council session.  The budget calls for a 3% city employee pay increase, including elected officials.

The city expects a tax rate increase of 2 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, allowing the city to currently pay for construction projects, so the city will not need to issue debt for those projects.  This is a one-year-only rate increase for just these projects, according to the mayor.

The mayor presented the information at a budget briefing for the media Wednesday afternoon.

His budget presumes that the increase in the County Option Income Tax is enacted for 2020.  The state law is written so the Fishers and Carmel city councils can pass the 911 tax and it would become effective for the entire county.  The Fishers City Council is expected to vote on the 911 income tax increase at Monday night’s session, according to Fadness.

After Mayor Fadness presents his budget proposal, a public hearing will be held on the 2020 spending plan.

Included in the 2020 budget are the following items:

–Add one uniformed police officer and one civilian Police Department employee to coordinate the body cameras being installed

–Since the contract with Brandywine Farms did not work out, the city plans to employ a full time Agri Park manger and two laborers for the Parks Department

–An increase in matching contributions to the retirement savings plan is proposed, increasing the match amount of employee contributions by $500, to a total of $1,500 per year

Fadness once again pointed out that he will lobby the Indiana General Assembly next year to fix what he views as an inequitable distribution of local option income tax money, favoring Carmel.

The mayor also says there are plans to work on two areas of concrete streets in the city in need of reconstruction – in Burberry Estates and along Technology Drive.

Last month, city officials said the construction on Allisonville Road should be complete by the end of August.  That didn’t happen.

I asked Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness about the delays, and he did express frustration about that road project.  He referred to many challenges from the beginning, including difficulties with the design.

“That project should’ve been a 12 month project, we’re now entering 2 years,” Fadness told reporters at a budget briefing Wednesday afternoon.  “We’ve had some challenges with the contractor.  Everyone’s busy right now.  We’re not certain they’ve put the number of people out there that we would like to see to get it accomplished.”

The mayor added he hopes that road construction is at the home stretch, but called it a “disappointing process.”

Thompson Thrift announced the artists and art work chosen as part of the Fishers District development, currently under construction, near I-69 & 116th Street.  Here are the artists chosen:  (Note the art work shown is an example, not the final version)

Koda Witsken

Her wall mural will appear on a wall near the Verizon store in Fishers District

Dan Toro

His mural will be located along the Sunk King Brewery operation.

Megan Jefferson

This mural will appear on the wall to the parking garage on the north end of the development

Travis Neal

Travis’ mural will appear on the wall of the south end parking garage.

The artists were announced at the Fishers Arts & Culture Commission meeting.  A committee of city staff, artists and commission members made the selection from 22 artist  submissions.

Sitel Group is planning to locate an office in Fishers, bringing up to 350 jobs to our city by the end of next year.  Sitel is a tech company focused on customer experience.

The Miami-based firm plans to locate near 121st Street and Cumberland Road, investing more than $4 million to lease and equip a 42,000-square-foot facility.  Sitel is describing the Fishers location as its new Midwest hub. the company plans to be fully operational in the new Midwest location later this fall.

“Sitel choosing Indiana to establish a Midwest hub is a reflection on our state’s strong economic climate, thriving business community and talented workforce pipeline,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger, in an agency news release. “This company operates all over the world and had a number of options for growth even here in the Midwest. We’re extremely grateful to welcome them to Indiana, where hundreds of Hoosiers will benefit from the quality career opportunities this expansion will create.”

Sitel describes itself as a global firm, employing 75,000 people across 27 countries and is hiring and training for claims adjusters in Fishers. Interested applicants may apply online. Information on upcoming career fairs will also be posted online.

“Fishers is a great city, and the caliber of talent within the community is what excites us the most about opening our newest flagship customer experience center here,” said Mike Small, CEO – Americas, Sitel Group. “When I took on the role of CEO – Americas, I knew we needed to revamp our contact center strategy to ensure we were servicing our clients in the best possible way. This meant identifying key markets that not only complements our business plan but communities in which we can plant roots and create a positive economic impact. For one of the largest financial services and insurance companies with whom we work, central Indiana is the prime location.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Sitel up to $2.25 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Fishers will consider additional incentives.

“Sitel’s global presence and commitment to community will be a welcome addition to Fishers business community,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Our shared core values in entrepreneurship and innovation make today’s announcement more than establishing their Midwest flagship operations, but also a new partnership in our efforts to make Fishers a smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial city.”

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Crash Team is investigating a single-vehicle crash that left one person dead.

Deputies were sent to the area of Southeastern Parkway and Connecticut Avenue in the far southeastern part of the county shortly before 9:20 p.m. on Sunday on the report of a motorcycle crash just south of the intersection.

According to an initial crash report, deputies believe Charles H. Theobald IV, 45, Fortville, was southbound on Southeastern Parkway on a 2010 Harley-Davidson XL 1200 and failed to follow a curve in the road. The motorcycle left the pavement down an embankment where it struck a tree, causing Theobald to be ejected from the bike. Medics applied first aid treatment, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Toxicology test results are pending. Theobald was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. There were no witnesses to the incident. Anyone with information pertaining to the crash should contact the Crash Team at (317) 773-1872.