Mayor Scott Fadness says he has made no final commitment yet, but as of now, it his his intention to close the intersection of 116th Street and Allisonville Road during construction of the roundabout at that intersection during 2025.

Speaking before the Fishers City Council Finance Committee Thursday morning. the mayor says he wants the work at that location done in roughly 65 days.  If traffic is allowed to traverse the intersection during construction, the project could take months.  He intends to use what are now private roads, make them public under the current program to improve private roads around the city, and use them as detours for motorists during the work.

The mayor also promised not to begin the 116th Street & Allisonville Road roundabout construction until the roundabout at 96th and Allisonville Road is open, and the county project at 146th & Allisonville is open to traffic.

The goal is to complete the roundabout at 116th Street & Allisonville Road “as quickly as possible.”

Other infrastructure projects funded under the mayor’s proposed 2025 spending plan includes the Nickel Plate Trail bridge over 96th Street and widening on 136th.  The plan also includes $4.3 million in resurfacing, roughly the same as 2024.

Ongoing projects scheduled for completion in 2024 include 96th Street & Allisonville Road, the roundabout at 126th Street & Southeastern Parkway, as well as work at 141st & Prairie Baptist.

The construction of the roundabout and underpass at State Road 37 and 141st Street will continue into 2025, with completion projected in 2025.  Fadness reminded the committee that the agreement with former Governor Mike Pence is that once that work is complete, State Road 37 will be turned over to the Indiana Department of Transportation as a state highway.  That means all maintenance, including bridge repairs and snow removal, will then go to the State of Indiana and no longer be the financial responsibility of Fishers.

Mayor Scott Fadness laid out his 2025 Fishers city spending plan before the City Council Finance Committee Thursday morning, totaling $182.5 million.  Of that total, just under $144 million will go to operations and capital projects, which $38.5 million going to debt service.  The 2024 Fishers city budget totaled $164 million.

The mayor says his budget calls for no change in the city’s part of the local property tax rate, which will remain at $0.707, which Fadness says keeps the rate at or below this level for the fourth straight year.

Also on the income side of the ledger, Fadness once again voiced his frustration over the imbalance of local income tax distributions.  Hamilton County is set to receive $262 million in local income tax revenue.  Of that total, Fishers will receive $36.2 million and Carmel is set to have $64.9 million.

City employees would receive a 6% pay increase in 2025, including elected officials. Fishers also plans to increase the match to workers’ “457” retirement plans an extra $1,000 each, with a total match for each worker up to $2,500.  The 457 plan is a way municipal workers can save through a retirement account, roughly similar to a private sector 401(k) plan.

Here are a few items to be part of next year’s city budget:

–The Fire Department plans to add a new ladder truck, a new engine, a medic and the department will take over the Project Lifesaver (tracking Alzeimer’s patients electronically) from Hamilton County.

–The addition of 2 School Resource Officers (SROs) for local school buildings.  Officers near retirement may be targeted for this assignment.

–The Health Department will add a vaccine program and move its staff into the new Community Center late next year.

–Department of Public Works will enhance its landscaping contract.

–The city controller’s office will add an employee to assist with trash billing & payments.

–The Parks Department plans to add another Agri Park, this one on Airport Authority land at 106th Street and Allisonville Road.  Restrooms will be added to the current Agri Park on the east side of the city.  The Community Center, set to open during the last three months of 2025, will have 13 full-time positions.

There was a lengthy discussion of the Sewer rates, which will increase $3 per month to cover increased costs.  Fadness says an outside study concluded the rate should go up $8 per month, but the city staff pushed back and decided to request the $3 per month increase.

The mayor is proposing $250,000 to fund local nonprofit groups, but recommends the Council abolish the City Council Nonprofit Committee that decided which organizations received grants from the city and how much each would receive.  Under the city staff proposal, grants would go to Conner Prairie, Youth Mentoring Initiative. Youth Assistance Program, Cherish Center and programming for the new Community Center.

The city will add $50,000 to the teacher innovation grant program under this proposed budget in 2025.  Fishers will also continue to support HSE Schools experiential learning programs through the Agri Park and the Maker Space at Hub & Spoke.

Fadness says city funds will continue to support neighborhood vibrancy grants, along with continued money similar to 2024 for infrastructure through road improvements, trails and road resurfacing.

The mayor touted the fiscal discipline the city has achieved, saying the increased match for employees’ 457 retirement plans did not come from additional revenue, but watching the budget carefully.

A public hearing on the 2025 budget will be held by the City Council September 9 and the final vote on the spending plan scheduled for the October 7 Council session.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the City Council Finance Committee Thursday morning he is aware of the “noise” around town about his proposal to charge a $2 per month administrative fee as part of a proposed city-wide trash collection contract with Republic, but does not plan to make any changes.

“I’m a little bit unapologetic, I guess, about the $2 admin fee, because I want to make sure when a resident calls (City Hall), there is a staff person that picks up the phone and is able to deal with that issue.”

The mayor wants the city to “own” the customer service piece of the trash collection  contract, which will start in January of next year, if City Council puts its stamp of approval on the new pact with Republic.  A public hearing on the final version of the contract is set for Monday, September 9, 7pm.

Fadness recounted the complexities of acquiring HSE Utilities and what many residents were sorting out as a result.  The mayor envisions a number of complications to occur when roughly half of the 32,000 trash customers in Fishers will be switching to another provider.  Also, Homeowners Associations (HOAs) will no longer be handling the billing for their members, each individual customer will be billed beginning in 2025.

Although the city has been encouraging residents to pay their sewer and stormwater bills online, only about 30% pay online, the rest insist on being billed on paper.  Radford says it costs 70 cents to one dollar for each paper bill mailed.  Fadness says that makes up half the $2 monthly trash collection fee.

If any of the bidders for trash service were handling billing and customer service, it would not be free.  The bids would have reflected a higher monthly charge to cover that cost, according to Fadness.

“The last thing I want to do is save people money on trash, and then they’re still frustrated because we are providing poor customer service,” the mayor told the Council Committee.

Indoor football is a game that certainly is American football, but with a different twist.  Fishers will have its own Indoor Football League (IFL) team that will begin its inaugural season in March of 2025 at the now under-construction Fishers Events Center.

The team is named the Fishers Freight, and the club announced its first head coach and general manager Thursday morning, Dixie Wooten.

Coach Wooten has extensive experience at the high school and junior college level before entering the coaching ranks of indoor football.  From 2017-2019, Wooten was the Head Coach of the Iowa Barnstormers, winning back-to-back Coach of the Year Awards in 2017 and 2018. He also led the Barnstormers to a championship win in 2018, their first in league history.

“I’m thrilled to be the first head coach and general manager of this great, young organization,” said Wooten in a Freight news release. “Thanks to Jim Hallett, our owner, and Larry McQueary, our president and CEO, for believing in my plan to build a strong foundation for the Freight. With our front office experience and my winning background in the Indoor Football League, we’ll create something special that the Fishers community will be proud of, both on and off the field. Fishers is the best place to live voted by America, why not make Fishers the best place to be when it comes to professional Indoor Football?”

“Dixie made an immediate impression on us,” Larry McQueary, President of the Fishers Freight said. “He’s a man of impeccable character and his coaching record speaks for itself. He’ll represent the city well and we’re elated to have him as our franchise’s first Head Coach.”

You can reserve a season ticket for the Fishers Freight with just a $50 deposit.  Find more ticket information at this link.

I was born in 1951, which means I was born into the first generation of television.  My grandparents lived across the street from us in my preschool years and they were the first family on the block to buy a television set.  Let’s just say they were popular with the neighbors, with lots of visitors wanting to experience this new technology of TV.

We had a television set in our living room as far back as I can remember.  That meant I have been watching TV about as long as I have been able to talk.

The early days of the video era was a time of experimentation for those in the business, trying to figure out what the audience wanted using the technology available at that time.

Talk shows in some form have been a part of television and radio for as long as the technologies have existed.  I cannot speak much to television, but I got my feet wet doing talk shows as early as 1970 on radio.

My radio station manager was willing to give me a shot at hosting talk programs, which was a risk since I was fresh out of high school and a broadcasting trade school at the time.  Let’s just say I am thankful no recordings are around from those talk show days.  I made plenty of mistakes, but I learned from those mistakes.

After later entering college, I worked part-time in radio later in the decade.  In 1975, I was working at a radio station with an overnight talk show.  The manager met with me and offered me the job of hosting the “Night Action” 11pm-4am program.

It was a big challenge.  I could invite guests, but most of the show was taking phone calls and talking to the callers on the air.  I would say that was one of the must interesting jobs I ever had in radio and the gig lasted about 2 years.

Television, on the other hand, had talk shows but were very careful about taking questions and comments from the public.  It took many years for the audience to directly participate in a television talk show.

The man that invented getting the audience involved, both in the studio and on the telephone, was Phil Donahue.  Going back and watching those old Donahue shows, he made it look easy.  Let me tell you, it took experience and savvy to do that job and do it well.

The Donahue TV talk show lasted for many years.  He clearly had a liberal political bent, but featured conservatives on his program and allowed them to make their arguments, even when Donahue may have challenged some of those views.

Lots of talk shows were spawned by the Donahue format, the most successful being Oprah Winfrey.  Even Jerry Springer used that format, with a very different focus.

Phil Donahue died recently at the age of 88.  Anyone in the talk show business, radio or TV, owes a lot to Donahue.  He found a new format, made it work, and was successful for a very long time in a business where success can be fleeting and often lasts months,  not years.

My hats off to the memory of Phil Donahue.  He deserves to be remembered and respected for his work.

The Humane Society for Hamilton County (HSHC) will participate in the 10th annual Clear the Shelters adoption event on Saturday, Aug. 24, from noon to 5 p.m. The event comes at a crucial time for the shelter, which is currently caring for over 600 animals in need of homes.

“There is a lot at stake on August 24th. In addition to our shelter operating over capacity for nearly two years, our length of stay has skyrocketed, and every day these animals wait is a day too long,” said Lily Darling, Community Engagement Manager for HSHC. “Just because we don’t give up on these animals, doesn’t mean they don’t give up on themselves. We urgently need the community to step up and give these deserving pets loving homes. Time is running out and they can’t afford to wait any longer.”

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Clear the Shelters, adoptions will be available for $10, with some exclusions. Each adoption includes a range of services, including a free one-month supply of preventatives, spay/neuter services, a microchip, age-appropriate vaccinations and deworming, a wellness exam at a participating veterinarian, and a starter bag of food. The first 50 attendees will also receive a free goodie bag.

Prospective adopters are encouraged to prepare in advance by filling out an application at  this link. Those adopting or fostering a dog are advised to bring their current dogs to meet the adoptable pet, and all household members must be present. Renters should bring a copy of their pet policy, and a government-issued ID is required.

The HSHC hopes the community will step up to provide loving homes for these animals, many of whom have been waiting far too long.

Ever since the August 13th public hearing on the City of Fishers’ proposed trash collection contract, there have been comments, then and since, about the $2 per month, per resident, administrative fee.  When this was raised at the August 13th hearing, Mayor Scott Fadness said this fee is needed to provide support and customer service required for the city to do its work in establishing and running the city’s side of the proposed pact with Republic.

“The City of Fishers will manage and administer the billing of residential units, as a part of the city-wide trash contract.” Fishers says in its Web posting..  “In effectively providing billing services and related customer support, a $2 administration fee is included in the proposed monthly trash rates. The $2 administration fee is NOT an additional fee to the proposed rates, but is already included in the proposed rates.”

There have been a number of comments online and in public hearings about where the $2 per month fee would go.  The city provided a listing of how the revenue from this administrative fee would be utilized by the city.  The breakdown, provided by the city, is available above.  Below are the proposed monthly rates for each year in the 10-year contract proposal with Republic.

In a growing city, with more residential areas & commercial activity  in close proximity  to each other, Fishers is taking a look at the noise ordinance.  The City Council held first reading on changes to the city’s noise ordinance Monday.

Mayor Scott Fadness told the Council the city will be engaging “stakeholders,” mostly the impacted residents and businesses, for reaction and input to the proposed ordinance.  Noise is measured by decibels, which can be monitored with the proper equipment.  In other cases, the ordinance simply defines too much noise in other ways.

In most cases, the acceptable decibel level is 70 or below, in in some instances, particularly defined times during the year, the threshold is increased to 80 decibels.

You can review the proposed new noise ordinance at this link and this link.

In other news from the Monday Council session:

–Council members suspended the rules and gave final approval to a new fee schedule for other law enforcement agencies using the FPD rapid DNA testing system.

–The rules were suspended to give a final vote approving a new ordinance on enforcing parallel parking.

—A non-reverting fund was approved by Council members for the under-construction Events Center.  Mayor Fadness says this will provide more transparency with the finances of the Center, apart from other city finances and funds.

Two items that had been expected to be on the agenda for the Monday night Fishers City Council meeting will not be considered after all.

First, the city-wide proposed trash collection contract was to be on the agenda to set the rates, as listed on several timelines released by city officials.  Monday, Fishers spokesperson Ashley Elron tells LarryInFishers the timelines earlier released were incorrect.  Ms. Elrod says both the final version of the proposed trash collection contract with Republic and the rates will be voted-on at the September Council session.

Also, the Fishers Plan Commission unanimously voted a favorable recommendation for a new Meijer grocery store and pharmacy at Southeastern Parkway and Cyntheanne Road earlier this month, with the expectation of a final vote by the council Monday.  According to Ashley Elrod, the item was removed from Monday’s Council agenda at the request of Meijer to continue work on a traffic study.  It is anticipated that Meijer will ask the City Council for final approval on the proposed location in September.

The Geist Half Marathon is coming up Saturday, September 14th.  It takes a number of volunteers to run an event like this.

If you have any interest in volunteering for the Geist Half Marathon, use the links and information below.

• Water Station Helpers: Reserved for groups of individuals from companies, clubs, or organizations to help at our water stations along the race route. It’s a great way to be a part of the action without having to run!
• Start Line/Runner Services: Volunteers will assist runners with finding their corrals and answer questions before the race, and then distribute medals, water, and snacks when the participants return to the finish line. Great for families and organizations.