Leah McGrath, a Fishers Deputy Mayor, has ruled out a run for the 5th District Congressional seat being vacated by Susan Brooks. McGrath has been mentioned publicly as a potential candidate in next year’s Republican primary for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am grateful and humbled by the encouragement I received and for the people who shared their time and advice with us,” said McGrath in a statement released Monday morning . “After much discernment, however, we concluded it is not the right time for our family. There is more I can do to serve my community here at home.”
As recently as July 19th, in a podcast interview with me, she did not rule out a possible congressional candidacy, but Monday’s statement means she has decided against a run.
Fishers Police announced an arrest Monday morning of an Indianapolice man charged with a number of residential burglaries around the Indy metro area, including apartment complexes in Fishers. Sattore Cooper, 36, is in the Hamilton County Jail, facing felony burglary and theft charges. He also has outstanding warrants for burglary and being habitual offender charges.
Police describe “intensive months of long investigation”leading to this arrest. He was apprehended on August 7th without incident, according to the news release from Fishers Police.
Authorities in Fishers expressed their appreciation to Carmel and Indianapolis police for their assistance in the probe leading to this arrest.
I always enjoy attending the gathering of all the employees in the Hamilton Southeastern(HSE) School District the day before school begins each year. It is a joyful atmosphere, more a pep rally than a meeting. That atmosphere fills the Fishers High School Gymnasium.
When Superintendent Allen Bourff spoke before the crowd this year, he made a stunning statement. The student population may well exceed 22,000 this school year. That would be the first time the number of students in the school district numbered 22,000 or more.
I thought back to July of last year, when the demographer used by HSE Schools for many years, Dr. Jerry McKibben, unveiled his student number projections. I went back and reviewed that report. His prediction for the K-12 student number during the 2019-2020 school year was 21,593.
That means there are at least 400 more students in the current school year than projected, if HSE Schools has more than 22,000 youngsters in classrooms this school year. So, the obvious question is – how did this happen?
I posed that question to Dr. Bourff in a podcast interview conducted on the first day of school. He says administrators are studying that issue, and are still looking at how many students do not end up returning to HSE Schools for a variety of reasons.
“We know that on the west side of the district, as those older neighborhoods turnover, that they could very well be turning over to younger families who are….making the enrollment climb again,” Bourff told me in the podcast. “But we also know that on the east side, housing has really developed to the point that, we have a brand new building, Southeastern Elementary, that was supposed to be at 80% capacity, that is now at capacity, perhaps even over.”
The school transportation system contains technology to chart the number of students in each school and compare the projections to the actual student count. That data will help break down schools where the additional students are located.
The question many families are asking is this – will HSE Schools need to once again use portable classrooms to handle the extra students?
“I hope not,” was the immediate response from Dr. Bourff when I posed that question. HSE Schools have not disposed of the portable classrooms, so they are available if needed.
The solution to this may center on what happens to Durbin Elementary School in Wayne Township. The school district has been considering an expansion of Durbin at the current location, but there is a big complication in going down that road.
It would cost a minimum of $5 million to extend water and utility lines to the Durbin school location, which is not currently served by such utilities. In order to expand that school, utilities would need to be extended.
Dr. Bourff admitted that developers like an elementary school in or near their neighborhoods and he has had conversations with such firms recently, without providing any additional details. Water and utility access would not be a problem in that case.
The school board was told in late July that a decision on Durbin needs to be done no later than January of 2020. If the school board acted then, assuming all goes as planned, it would be two years before a new or renovated Durbin would be ready for students.
So, HSE Schools are facing more students than expected, the future of Durbin will determine how to handle the additional students, and revised projections are needed to know where to go from here.
Let’s watch what happens over the next few months.
You can listen to the entire podcast interview with Dr. Bourff at this link.
(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton CountyReporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com. This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)
County Republicans are planning a Fall Dinner on September 19, which will serve as something of a kickoff to the November election campaign. Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch
will speak at the rally to be held at the 502 East Event Center in Carmel.
Generally, our purely local elections fail to stir much interest in Hamilton County where a Republican win, often unopposed by Democrats, can be anticipated. This year, however, Democrats claim to be planning a new effort in selected city council races in Fishers, Noblesville and Carmel. They have yet to announce specific plans or events.
Republicans, aware of the intentions, are not taking these races for granted, and will mount a campaign of their own. County C h a i r w o m a n Laura Campbell said volunteers
will be sought in coming days to organize a campaign including door-to-door contact with voters.
Behind this action by both parties is the unknown effect of the ‘Trump Factor.’ While Trump carried the county easily in 2016, there were areas of the county where he did not do as well as Republicans are generally expected to do.
Whether his performance since that election will help or hurt the party is an unknown. Democrats feel it will help them; Republicans hope it won’t, and say it should have
nothing to do with local election issues.
The upcoming November election involves only municipal offices of mayor, city clerk, city judge and city council. Since GOP candidates for the top job of mayor in Noblesville, Fishers, Carmel and Westfield have no Democratic opponents, a very light vote is possible. Residents living inside city limits get to vote while voters in unincorporated areas will have no election this year.
The Hamilton County Council finished the annual exercise of budget hearings during the past week. According to my news-gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, the 2020 county spending plan calls for a budget of just under $100 million.
The proposed budget includes six new full-time positions, one each in the Surveyor’s Office, Parks and Recreation Department, Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Management, and Soil and Water Conservation District. A new full-time and part-time employee have also been budgeted for the Youth Assistance Program as well as a part-time employee for the Purdue Extension Office. The proposed budget includes raises averaging 7 percent for county employees and 3 percent for elected officials. A total of $1.2 million was also budgeted to support 13 Hamilton County not-for-profit agencies, including Janus, Aspire and the Humane Society.
“All in all, budget deliberations went extremely well,” said Council Vice President Rick McKinney. McKinney will become Council President in January. “Hamilton County government is in a solidly strong financial position today, which will continue through the end of 2020.”
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the council’s next monthly meeting. The council is scheduled to formally adopt the proposed budget at a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 in Conference Room 1A. Once approved, the budget will be sent to the State of Indiana for approval before going into effect Jan. 1, 2020.
Natural gas lines were ruptured in the Windermere and Fox Run subdivisions by Metronet crews this week, according to a statement issued by the City of Fishers Friday. This led to a meeting Friday afternoon involving Fishers city officials and representatives of Metronet.
Fishers has invoked a city ordinance and has issued a temporary “stop work order on all digging until appropriate safety practices are ensured.” The city is permitting Metronet to continue aerial work (overhead lines), restoration activities, and completion work that doesn’t require digging.
The city statement says Metronet is regulated by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) and any resident complaints can be directed to their Consumer Affairs Division at iurc.in.gov.
“The City of Fishers takes these incidents very seriously and has the utmost concern for the safety of our residents,” the city statement says.
Fishers listed the following actions the city is taking as a result of the. gas line ruptures:
• Fishers Fire Department was dispatched to secure the scene, conduct voluntary evacuations, and mitigate the hazard.
• Fishers Departments of Engineering and Permitting were dispatched to the scene. All utility permits issued to Metronet have been placed on hold until further notice.
• A stop work order for digging was issued to Metronet until a remedial plan can be agreed upon to resume work
• The City of Fishers initiated the process to review all established procedures outlined in City Ordinance and Permitting.
This continues to be a tough road construction season for local motorists. Progress is being made on 126th Street just east and State Road 37, and the roundabout at 136th St. and Cyntheanne Road is now open.
Also, check with INDOT if you are traveling in Marion County….lots of interstates with closures and lane restrictions.
Here is the the latest road construction update, as issued by the City of Fishers, for the work week beginning Monday, August 12th:
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KEEP FISHERS DPW SAFE
With all the road construction happening right now, remember to slow down and drive carefully around road workers. Watch here to see our DPW crew talk about worker safety.
I-69
The Indiana Department of Transportation continues work on multiple projects to improve pavement conditions and repair winter damage on Indianapolis area interstates.
Beginning Friday, August 9 at 6 p.m. until Monday, August 12 at 6 a.m., only one lane will be open of I-69 NB from 82nd Street to S.R. 37. Entrance ramps from Allisonville Road to I-465 EB will also be closed starting tonight at 9 p.m. until Monday, August 12 at 6 a.m.
For more information and closures outside of Fishers, click here. Please direct any questions to INDOT at indot@indot.IN.gov.
136TH STREET & CYNTHEANNE ROAD
The new roundabout is open to traffic. This area is still a construction zone with a 30 mph speed limit. Please drive with caution as the final items are being addressed throughout the project.
126TH STREET
All lanes of 126th Street at Parkside Drive are open to traffic along with the new access to Reynolds Drive. This area is still a construction zone with 30 mph speed limit. Please drive with caution as the final items are being addressed throughout the project.
ALLISONVILLE ROAD
The contractor has moved all traffic to the west side of the roadway north of 126th Street as the path and asphalt surface is being placed on the east side. Please drive with caution as the final items are being addressed throughout the project.
146TH STREET & ALLISONVILLE ROAD
Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., the northernmost lane of 146th Street both east and west of Allisonville Road will be closed to all traffic for road work by Hamilton County Highway Department. Access to northbound Allisonville Road will be maintained. Advance warning signs and cones will be place before motorists reach the impacted area.
106TH & MOLLENKOPF ROAD
Watch for delays and lane restrictions near 106th and Mollenkopf Road for work related to intersection improvements.
PARKSIDE DRIVE
Parkside Drive in Fishers Marketplace has lane restrictions in place while work is being done for a new drive entrance. The lanes will be narrow so please drive with caution. Flaggers will be in place when necessary to help direct traffic.
96TH STREET
Utility relocation is beginning on 96th Street as part of the road widening project, resulting in periodic lane restrictions over the coming months. For more information about the 96th Street road widening project, view the Fact Sheet.
STATE ROAD 37
In June, Mayor Fadness announced the kick-off of the new marketing campaign to support the State Road 37 Improvement Project. 37 Thrives with its tagline Support the Drive, will keep the community informed, updated and connected to local businesses along the corridor. Watch the announcement on facebook.com/37thrives. Learn more about the campaign here.
Lindsey Erdody started her career as a reporter for the Indianapolis Business Journal covering Indy’s northern suburbs, so I got to know her when Fishers was a part of her beat. Lindsey now covers the Indiana Statehouse and politics for IBJ. This year’s legislative session was her first full session to cover as a reporter.
When Lindsey had the North of 96th beat, we recorded several podcasts about what was happening locally. I thought it was time for me to reconnect with Lindsey and talk about the General Assembly and some current political issues.
When finishing up a podcast recording session with Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart August 7th, I asked the Chief if there was anything he wanted to add before wrapping up. He immediately went to gun safety.
Chief Gebhart comes from a family with guns, but says his father taught him strict lessons growing up on the importance of gun safety and security.
“I would just ask my community to please keep their weapons out of their vehicles and lock them up,” Gebhart said. “Let’s keep our community safe.”
A recent Facebook page post by Fishers Police says seven guns have been stolen from vehicles in the city during a one month.
“If you own a gun, please be a responsible gun owner and secure it in your residence in a proper gun safe,” the Facebook posting says. “Your firearm could end up in the hands of criminals, which is extremely dangerous to our city, our children, and our police officers. If you have any information regarding these thefts, please call 317-595-3300.”
During the podcast, the Chief also talked about how Fishers Police are now working with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in running down guns suspected of being used in criminal activity. Gebhart says both Fishers and Indianapolis have seen success in that program.
You can listen to my entire podcast interview with Chief Gebhart at this link.
39 class members are preparing to enter the 29th year of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy.
Sam Mishelow will serve as Curriculum Dean. Mishelow, the Chief Strategy Officer for Meyer Najem, is an HCLA graduate and former board member. The dean plays an important role in providing meaningful insight and expertise throughout class days. The dean is an ambassador for the program in the community and will collaborate with the HCLA Executive Director and Board of Directors throughout the year.
“It’s such an exciting time in Hamilton County’s history. The success we have seen and the growth we have experienced has been driven by strong leaders and community champions who have developed a clear vision and worked collaboratively to achieve it,” said John Robbins, Executive Director of HCLA, in a news release. “We’re not here to create leaders, but rather to amplify the impact of our existing leaders by helping them develop their knowledge of the county, connect with other leaders in the community and inspire them to lead and make an impact in their own backyard. HCLA helps to strengthen Hamilton County now and in the future.”
Each year, HCLA selects participants through a highly competitive application process. Class members are selected based on their community involvement, professional achievement, and their passion and desire to make an impact through leading and serving in Hamilton County.
The Leadership Academy holds a class once a month, beginning in August and continuing to the following June – 10 months total.
