The debate has just begun on the future of the Nickel Plate Line.

Here’s my commentary posted on Indiana Forefront, at this link. 

It doesn’t seem that long ago when my wife Jane and I went to Deer Creek Music Center (before the days of big money naming deals…it’s called Klipsch now).  Chuck Berry wowed the crowd playing all his greatest music.  Chuck Berry never had his own band.  He would just tell the venue to find a group of musicians that knew his music.  It always worked.  Many big names would work for little money just to play with Chuck  Berry.

Elvis Presley is often called the King of Rock & Roll, and Elvis was one of the greatest, no doubt.  But if you ask people in the know about the history of music, they will tell you the real King of Rock & Roll was, and always will be, Chuck Berry.

Why is Chuck Berry not commonly known as the King of Rock & Roll?  To understand the answer to that question, you need to remember the time in American history when Berry became popular.

It was the 1950s and race relations in America were not good.  Rock and Roll was, at that time, considered a controversial form of music, a challenge to the establishment.  For an African-American man doing Rock & Roll, and gaining a young fan base, Chuck Berry never got credit for what he accomplished in changing the landscape of American music.

Elvis always got the credit for being the King, but Berry is the man who earned the title.  American racism at the time prevented him for getting the credit he deserved.

Chuck Berry himself always called Elvis the greatest ever.

Chuck Berry died on March 18th at the age of 90.  He will be remembered for giving us his music, and that music will entertain people for a long time to come.  That will be his legacy.  His songs will live on for people like me, and for those not even born yet.

You will be missed, Chuck Berry.

Larry sits down with Fishers City Attorney Chris Greisl and talks about a number of subjects, including how the city uses outside counsel, legal issues on the Nickel Plate Rail Line and Indiana’s Public Access Laws.

More work on I-69, new traffic signal near 116th Street & Olio Road and Maple Street closing near Four Day Ray’s downtown for St. Patrick’s Day….those are just some of the items on the latest list of road work in and around Fishers.

Below is the listing, provided by the City of Fishers:

The annual storm water fee will be in the mail to Fishers residents in the next 30 days. That’s the word from City Controller Oscar Gutierrez as he spoke before the Fishers City Council Finance Committee.

This fee comes from either the City of Fishers or HSE Utilities, depending on which provides sewer service to your home.  However, this bill is not funding your sewers.  The Fishers city Web site says the annual storm water fee covers the following:

• Storm sewer maintenance and upgrades
• Drainage and flood control projects
• Street sweeping
• Water quality improvement projects
• Waterway clean-up efforts
• Community recycling days
• National Flood Insurance Program management

Bottom line, this fee is charged once a year to residential homeowners.  Commercial customers also pay the fee, but on a different schedule

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(The following commentary is published here as part of a partnership between LarryInFishers and the Hamilton County Reporter.  This appeared in the March 15th edition of the Reporter)  

The Indiana Transportation
Museum, longtime operator of the
excursion trains on the Nickel Plate
Railroad, has a petition drive in progress
designed to encourage local officials
to keep the railroad intact.

The online petition, found on the
transportation museum’s website,
claims nearly 2,800 citizens have now
signed. The petition will go to Mayor
John Ditslear of Noblesville, Mayor Scott Fadness of Fishers, and Hamilton County Commissioners.

The local officials have announced intentions of pursuing a conversion of the rail line to the walking and bike trail between Noblesville and 96th Street at an estimated cost of $9.3 million.

The museum (ITM), headquartered at Forest Park, has operated for the past 30 years and has run their trains on the Nickel Plate since 1990 including the Fairtrain, Polar Bear Express, dinner trains and other seasonal runs.

But, last year the operations ceased when the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, owner of the tracks, suspended operations due to safety concerns. The port authority is made up of members appointed by Noblesville, Fishers and county elected officials.

The transportation museum, on its website, says the railroad is unique “not only in
Indiana, but throughout the nation” because most rail lines have been abandoned. And riding the railroad provides “an experience in railroad history.” Until the suspension, ITM claims to have carried 40,000 passengers per year. The revenue gained from passenger spending improved the local economy, ITM says.

Repairs and correcting safety concerns are estimated to cost $5 million which would not come from tax money, ITM maintains. The port authority has said it will release an RFP (request for proposals) soon to which spokesmen say they expect several reply proposals.

What is now an old tool and dye machine shop will soon be transformed into the new Internet of Things (ioT) Lab, and the Fishers Redevelopment Commission unanimously passed a resolution setting the lease terms.

The lease terms will be $7.00 per square foot a year, with lease renewals costing $7.15 a square foot annually.  The building will be undergoing extensive renovation, and tenants will be charged $21.27 a square foot to fund the remodeling.  Leases will be 5 years in length.   You can read the lease provisions at this link.

Fishers Economic Development Director Brandon Dickinson told commission members the ioT lab will be the first of its kind in the Midwest.  Launch Fishers Founder John Wechsler is fielding inquiries from a number of companies throughout the nation asking to be a part of the ioT Lab.

The Lab will be located across from the Launch Fishers Complex and the former Charles Schwab building (now called the Visionary Building).

The Fishers Plan Commission voted unanimously Wednesday night to pass along a favorable recommendation to the Fishers City Council for the Hamilton County Humane Society’s move from its current Noblesville location to a building near 106th Street and Haugue Road in Fishers.

Supporters of the move filled the City Hall auditorium.  Several people spoke in favor of the move.  Two people, residents in the area of 106th & Hague Road, spoke in opposition to the proposal.  One cited noise, the other property values.

But in the end, members of the Plan Commission voted a favorable recommendation.  The rezoning request now goes back to the Fishers City Council for next steps in the final approval process.

In other Plan Commission actions:

–Approved a favorable recommendation fo a rezoning request from Portillo’s to locate a new restaurant in Fishers near 116th Street & I-69.  You can review the packet provided by Portillo’s, including some artist renderings of the planned building, at this link.

–Citimark plans to transform the old Charles Schwab building at Northeast Commerce Park into a technology center, and the Plan Commission members voted a favorable recommendation to amend their plans for the site.

The 2017 Fishers State of the City was unlike the previous two speeches.  Mayor Scott Fadness had no big announcements to make, so he reflected on the past year and looked forward.  He gave brief opening remarks, then had a conversation with Indianapolis Star Opinion Editor Tim Swarens.

The mayor expressed his views on many issues those of us covering him as mayor from the start have heard many times.   He opined on mass transit, regionalism and economic development.  He described Launch Fishers as the most transformational project in Fishers, impacting the entrepreneurial culture of the city.

The mayor spent a lot of time talking about how the Indianapolis metropolitan area has an important story to tell, and his point is that, as a region, we are not doing a good job telling that story.  The metro area can gain much more collectively than individually, Fadness says.

The mayor likes to talk about the 2016 numbers, and Fishers has a lot of positive statistics – over 1,500 new jobs and $200 million in private investment.  The Police Department responded to over 53,000 calls, the Fire Department more than 5,000.  Fishers maintains the lowest tax rate of any city in the state.  Fadness says the city has a AAA bond rating, the only city in Indiana to have that and one of only 1.5% communities in the nation with such a solid bond rating.

The biggest challenge Fishers faces, according to the mayor, is maintaining sustainability once the city is no longer the new and shiny place it has become lately.  The key is continuing to invest in every area of the city and prevent urban decay from setting-in to any part of the city.

It was no surprise to anyone that traffic came up, and Fadness says widening of 116th Street near I-69 and the 106th Street interchange have been key projects.  $200 million is in the pipeline for road infrastructure in the next five years, including the Sate Road 37 project.

As technology transforms our national and state economy, Mayor Fadness sees the Internet of Things as being a key to keeping Fishers on the cutting edge of job creation and the latest technology, citing the new Internet of Things Laboratory recently announced, to be located near Launch Fishers.

He once again expressed his view that the Nickel Plate Line is not viable in the foreseeable future for mass transit and he continues to support the proposed biking and walking trail along that rail line.

When asked about possible obstacles for Fishers’ future, the mayor cited the importance of not fearing failure, saying complacency is the biggest obstacle to progress.

The mayor cited a number of people at the beginning of his address, including members of the city council, his staff, county commissioners, his wife Aunna and students from HSE Schools on hand for his address.

Scott Fadness is mayor of an affluent suburban city, but he told a large crowd at Fishers High School Tuesday night that 11 people committed suicide in the City of Fishers during 2016 and 47 others seriously attempted to take their own lives.  Fadness created a Mental Health Task Force once assuming the office of mayor in 2015 in an effort to battle mental health issues.

The event was “A Night of Hope,” sponsored by HSE Parents in Partnership and the Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope.  The foundation was founded by Peyton Riekhof’s father, Mike Riekhof.  Peyton Riekhof committed suicide while being treated for depression.

Nationally known advocate for mental health, Jordan Burnham, told the audience about struggles with depression during his teenage years.  As he was entering his senior year of high school, Jordan was a promising golfer.  Yet his depression led to a suicide attempt that nearly claimed his life.  He now travels the nation telling his story.  He has been featured by news organizations such as the Washington Post, USA Today and CNN.  Sports media has also told his story, such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

A panel discussion ensued, with plenty of tough, but anonymous, questions posed from those in attendance.

You can contact the Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope at this link.      If you need immediate help, you are encouraged to call 800-284-8439.