Road construction is once again busy in and around the Fishers Area during the work week beginning Monday, July 24th.  Take particular note of lane restrictions on 126th Street near Brooks School Road and closures on Cumberland Road south of 116th Street.

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113TH STREET

113th Street will be closed at Olio Road beginning the week of July 24th for the installation of a storm sewer across the roadway. All traffic will detour to 116th Street and down Ringer Road. This closure will last approximately one week.

Lane restrictions will occur on 113th Street from Olio Road to Florida Road throughout the summer in order for the contractor to resurface and make improvements to the roadway.

126TH STREET

Starting on or after July 24th, one lane of eastbound 126th Street just east of Brooks School Road will be closed while a storm sewer is repaired. The closure is expected to last a few days. Please drive with caution.

Expect periodic lane restrictions between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 126th Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road while the contractor installs passing blisters near Reserve at Lantern. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic during the restrictions.

CUMBERLAND ROAD

The Hamilton County Highway Department will close Cumberland Road at the Sand Creek bridge just south of Kroger on or after July 24th to replace the damaged timber guardrail. The closure will be in place 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will last for approximately three days. Questions can be directed to The Hamilton County Highway Department at 317773-7770.

96TH STREET

Construction has begun on the new roundabout at 96th Street and Lantern Road. 96th Street traffic between Kincaid Drive and Fitness Lane/Pinecreek Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction throughout the summer.

136TH AND PRAIRIE BAPTIST ROAD

The Hamilton County Highway Department has closed the intersection of 136th Street and Prairie Baptist Road to allow the contractor to reconstruct the intersection. The closure is scheduled to last approximately 60 days. Please follow signs for detour routes. Questions regarding this project may be directed to the Hamilton County Highway Department at 317-773-7770.

116TH STREET

Periodic lane restrictions will occur starting the week of July 24th on 116th Street west of Allisonville Road as the contractor repairs concrete curbs and ramps in preparation for resurfacing the roadway. Restrictions will be in place between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Please drive with caution.

There will also be lane restrictions on 116th Street between I-69 and Cumberland Road throughout the summer in order for the contractor to make improvements to 116th Street.

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: Commentaries by Fred Swift are posted here as a result of a partnership between the Hamilton County Reporter newspaper and LarryInFishers.com)

The Nickel Plate saga seems to get more complex by the day. With owners of the railroad
considering proposals for the tracks’ future use, and a tort claim by the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM) for damages pending in court, a new wrinkle has developed.

The City of Logansport wants the museum to have a location in that city. Whether this means the museum completely pulling out of Noblesville is unclear. But, opening in Logansport while unable to operate its trains on the Nickel Plate would seem to mean the focus of the museum’s efforts would be headed north.

The ITM has been in Noblesville’s Forest Park for many years and has operated excursion trains on the Nickel Plate rails for 20 years or more. But, since March 2016 the organization has been unable to run their trains due to safety concerns expressed by the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, owners of the tracks.

Local officials at the city and county level have indicated they would like to convert the railroad to a walking and jogging trail. This idea has become controversial as
supporters of retaining the railroad have organized to make the issue a political “hot potato.”

Last year it appeared the ITM might not be able to afford to make safety corrections, the Port Authority issued a request for proposals (RFP) to any group interested and able
to take over use of the tracks, and either operate trains, build a trail or a combination of the two.

A proposal from the Hamilton County Tourism Bureau seemed to meet the combination idea by offering a trail south from Noblesville and railroad north to Tipton. The
port authority is considering proposals from five entities. And, surprisingly a group known as Iowa Pacific, not Tourism, scored highest in meeting criteria set by the port authority.

So, the issue will be handed off to the Noblesville, Fishers and Hamilton County administrations for a final determination. No date has been set for making that decision.
In the meantime, ITM filed a tort claim for damages in federal court which could delay any action.

If it sounds confusing and potentially more controversial, it is. If a successful outcome is not reached, those who made the decision will hear about it. And, this alone could
delay resolution.

Meanwhile, Logansport, an old railroading town which holds an Ironhorse Festival each year, is hoping that some, if not all, of ITM’s old rail cars, engines and treasured
interurbans will be joining their collection.

Laura Turner and her family live in Fishers and her real estate office is in Fishers.  She is very familiar with the residential real estate market in and around Fishers.  I talked with Laura in this podcast about the state of the local real estate…..

by

Hamilton County Reporter

Scott Willis, a Westfield business owner and Colonel in the United States Marine
Corps Reserves, announced Tuesday he will not seek the Senate District 20 seat in the
upcoming caucus to replace retiring Senator Luke Kenley.

“I want to thank everyone who has encouraged me over the past few weeks to
once again seek District 20’s State Senate seat,” said Willis. “The widespread outpouring
of support throughout the senate district has been humbling. After careful consideration
and much conversation with leaders in our community and my wife Stacey, I have
decided not to pursue this opportunity in the upcoming caucus.”

“Since my campaign in 2016, I have realized my passion lies closer to home in
Westfield,” stated Willis. “I will remain engaged in Westfield and look forward to future
opportunities to serve my community.”

In addition to being a small business owner, Willis is a board member of the Westfield
Public Library and a member of the Westfield Advisory Plan Commission.

Willis challenged Senator Kenley last year in the primary and it was speculated he
would make another run after Kenley served only six months of his four-year term before
announcing his retirement earlier this month.

“I want to congratulate Senator Kenley for his long and successful career in the
Senate and I wish him much happiness in his retirement years,” said Willis. “His commitment and sacrifice on behalf of Hamilton County and the State of Indiana is much appreciated.”

Noblesville Common Council President Megan G. Wiles, Carmel City Council President Sue Finkam and Victoria Spartz of Noblesville have all announced their intention to be a candidate when the Republican caucus meets to name the person to serve the remainder of Senator Kenley’s term.

What happens next with the Nickel Plate rail line, a 37 mile stretch of railroad running from Tipton south, is up to the owners of the line.  The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, a body made up of appointees of those owners, voted to accept the scoring for 5 proposals received to operate the line.

Scoring number 1 was the Iowa Pacific Railroad, with a proposal to operate the entire rail line.  Coming in number 2 was the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad of Arcadia, which proposes to operate the rail line only from Noblesville north.  The Indiana Transportation Museum of Noblesville was ranked third in the scoring.

The Authority voted 6-0 to send the top two finishers in the scoring to the three owners of the line – Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County.  The owners will, if they so choose, interview the people behind the proposals to operate the rail line.

The Authority gave no time line on how long this might take.  Board President Mike Obergfell did tell the crowd no questions and answers would be allowed due to a lawsuit filed by the Indiana Transportation Museum.

You can see the full scoring information at this link.

Todd Melloh is on a mission – he wants 100 new mentors and $100,000 in new donations. He is the Executive Director of the Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI), which provides adult mentors to students in need at many schools within the Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation.

In order to accomplish that, Todd is living in a tent atop the Edge office building in downtown Fishers.

“Over 37% of students feel sad, hopeless or depressed,” Melloh said.  “That’s about 5,000 people (in HSE Schools).”

YMI now mentors about 250 students in the HSE School District.  Three new schools will be serviced by YMI in the upcoming school year – Hamilton Southeastern Junior High, Fall Creek Intermediate and the alternative high school.

Todd Melloh is hoping to get to his goal of 100 new adult mentors and $100,000 in new donations by sometime Wednesday.

To volunteer as a mentor and/or donate to YMI, use this link.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff and Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness have held discussions on the possibility of creating a local certification process for preschools.  During a school board work session Tuesday morning, Dr. Bourff described the talks with the mayor.

“(Assistant HSE Superintendent) Jan (Combs) and I met with Scott Fadness months ago  and flew the idea of, if Fishers, as a community, is really wanting to produce the best or provide the very best experience for any kid who grows up here, then there ought to be an emphasis on certifying all the preschools,” Bourff said.  “So that we understand, when we have the children who come to us in kindergarten, that they’ve had the particular level of quality experience in preschool.”

Dr. Bourff said the HSE School District would like to be partners with the preschools. Administrators estimate that there are about 150 preschools within the school corporation boundaries, if all of them, even the small preschool operations held in homes, are counted.

HSE schools would be unable to provide preschool services to all children in the school corporation boundaries and Dr. Bourff said the local school district has no interest in putting private preschools out of business.

Although there is no indication any certification process will be implemented anytime soon, Dr, Bourff told the board Mayor Fadness “has not said no” to the idea.

The iTown Church began the process of finding a new home at the intersection of 126th Street and Brooks School Road, but a rezoning now approved by the Fishers City Council means they will pursue that new house of worship further north, at 136th Street and Brooks School Road.  Council members suspended the rules with a unanimous vote, then approved the rezoning with all voting yes except Councilman Rich Block, who abstained from voting because he is a member of the church.

iTown started by eyeing a property in the area of the Gray Eagle neighborhood.   Once the residents in that neighborhood began organizing against the church moving there, church leaders decided to change their plans and propose the new church complex be constructed on what is now farm land at 136th & Brooks School.

But there was an obstacle in the way.  In 2012, the Town of Fishers established an I-69 overlay zone that would prevent churches and other nonprofit groups from locating in that area, preserving valuable property near the Interstate to continue on the property tax roles.  Churches do not pay property taxes.

The area at 136th & Brooks School has not drawn any serious commercial or industrial interest since 2012.  The city planning staff recommended rezoning the proposed church location for that reason.

Residents near 136th Street and Brooks School Road spoke against the church’s plans, saying it would bring weekend activity into what has, up to now, been a quiet neighborhood.

This process is not over for iTown.  The rezone allows the church to move forward on planning the new structure.  The building plans will also go through the planning and approval process. Neighbors will be given the opportunity to be a part of that process as it moves along.

In one other item at Monday night’s council session, a proclamation was approved congratulating Meyer Najem for 30 years in business.

Here’s my review of the latest Planet of the Apes film

A favorite pastime of boating on Geist Lake is tubing, where a motorboat pulls someone behind on a an inflated tube.  An accident Saturday afternoon illustrates how important safety precautions can be while boating.

Alec Harris, 18, from Fishers, suffered serious injuries to both feet. He was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he underwent surgery to repair deep lacerations,
broken bones and torn tendons and ligaments.

State conservation officers determined that Harris’ injuries had been caused by a propeller strike. Harris had been tubing when the accident occurred.  He had been thrown off the tube in a turn and the boat which was towing him came back around and ran over him. Neither of the 15-year-old girls on-board the boat who were observing saw Harris fall off the tube and the operator was unaware until it was too late.  A 17-year-old was operating the boat.

So, the bottom line is this:  We are in the middle of the boating season.  Be careful.