I’ve been out of pocket for a few days, and there has been a lot of news while I’ve been away.

The biggest story was broken by Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal December 2nd with news that the upgrade to State Road 37 in Fishers will be announced December 10th.  No one from the city or the governor’s office commented, but some Hamilton County elected officials did talk publicly after being briefed on the plans.  Later that day, Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star posted a story online about the planned project and it made the print edition the next day.  Lindsey followed up later on December 2nd with an update on Claude & Annie’s owner Bill Smythe’s plan to organize businesses along the State Road 37 corridor to deal with the State Road 37 construction.

One big surprise was the decision not to include the section of State Road 37 along Noblesville in the upgrades.  One wonders what happened there.  Nick Natario of WISH-TV News did post a story this week on the Noblesville angle of State Road 37.

Another big event was the opening of Flat Fork Creek Park, on 101st Street in the Geist area.  Last winter, city officials had to plead with local residents not to use the 60-foot, ADA compliant sledding hill because the park was still under construction.  There are no such problems now.  The park includes:

• Trails for walking and hiking
• A 1.25 progressive mountain bike course
• A fishing pond
• Three tree houses, one completely ADA accessible
• 59 acres of green space

Finally, Fishers Police sent out a message warning residents to beware of a fake police car roaming I-69 in the city.  Police later rescinded that message, saying there was confusion over a help vehicle for stranded motorists.  I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Long time Indiana Senator Luke Kenley will have at least one opponent in the GOP primary election set for May of 2016.  Scott Willis, a Westfield businessman and colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves, announced late yesterday (November 30th) his intention to become a candidate for the District 20 Indiana Senate Seat.

District 20 includes most of Noblesville and parts of Westfield, Carmel & Fishers.  The district contains a portion of northwest Fishers.  You can access a map at this link.

Willis says his campaign will focus on three main areas – funding of schools, strategic economic development, and supporting local leaders in Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Westfield to address the challenges of their cities.

He also plans to emphasize how the state funds local school districts.

“Hamilton County has seen tremendous growth in the last two decades in large part due to our great schools” Willis said in a news release.  “Our schools have consistently been asked to do more with less as our tax dollars are redistributed throughout the state.  The current school funding formula has made it extremely difficult for our schools and puts education in Hamilton County at risk.”

Today, Tuesday, December 1st, 2015, is officially Giving Tuesday (known on Twitter as #GivingTuesday) and there are several local Fishers charities urging you to support them.

One is the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation, which provides support to local schools and teachers.  They are running an “un-selfie” campaign again this year.  You can find out more, and donate if you so desire, at this link.

Another local charity looking for your support this Giving Tuesday is the Youth Mentoring Initiative, a program providing adult mentors to youth in our area.  You can find out more about their Giving Tuesday campaign, and also donate, at this link.

There are other local organizations working in our community every day to make Fishers a better place to live.  If you know of such an organization, today is the day you should made a contribution to that group.

When property tax caps officially became a part of the Indiana Constitution in 2010, the biggest concern raised by local governments centered on how basic services, like public safety and public works, would be funded.  After all, the property tax is the financial lifeblood of local Indiana government entities.

Lindsey Erdody has a front page story in the November 30-December 6 edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal with a thoughtful exploration of how these tax caps have impacted the availability of moderately-priced housing in Hamilton County.  Corby Thompson is President of Boomerang Development, a business involved in the development of subdivisions throughout Hamilton County, including Fishers.  Thompson told IBJ the need for local governments to have higher-priced housing in order to generate enough property tax revenue is “…a little frustrating.”

“We’re at the point now where we can’t develop new housing for people of modest or below-modest incomes,” Thompson told reporter Erdody.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness is quoted in several parts of the story.  He bemoans the impact to local governments of the homestead deduction because his city needs “as much assessed value as possible.”

Fadness says the Fishers City Council doesn’t evaluate housing developments by comparing the tax revenue expected with the city’s cost of services, but he and council members are generally aware of the balance required to keep the books balanced.

Some Hamilton County officials told IBJ the area could be saturated with homes costing $200,000 to $400,000.  Fadness seems less concerned about that in Fishers, because the city contains older housing inventory along with the latest developments.

You can read Lindsey Erdody’s story at this link.  (Note:  IBJ limits the number of free accesses to its stories if you are not a subscriber)

This is the time of year I look back at what I am thankful for.  Once again, the list is long.

Number one is the fact that I have a wonderful wife and two great daughters (picture above).  How my wife puts up with me, I will never know.  I’m just glad she does.  My twin daughters have grown into outstanding young women.  I am so proud of them.

My mom is 85 years old and is in amazing health.  I thank my lucky stars every day that I am able to talk with my mom anytime.  She is a treasure.

As the oldest of six children, I am blessed to have 3 brothers and 2 sisters, all first class people.  Then we go to the nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Every one of my relatives is special in their own way.  I am so fortunate to have them all.

I learned a long time ago one can never take good friends for granted.  I cherish every friend I have.  If I haven’t been in touch lately, don’t be afraid to make the first move, you know where to find me. Retirement has been busier for me that I had expected (and that is not a bad thing).

Since I’m posting this piece on my Fishers news blog, I must mention the number of wonderful people I have come to know in covering news in and around Fishers.  There are people in and out of government and those involved in the many non-governmental organizations around town, and I have had the pleasure of knowing every one of you.  I love spending time with you all.

Finally, I must thank all of you for reading.  When I started writing this news blog in 2012, I had no idea whether anyone would have an interest in reading a Web site devoted only to news items in Fishers.  After just a few months, I began to sense an audience is out there.  I placed a counter on this site and discovered the pages viewed were in the hundreds many days, and in the thousands monthly.  That’s what keeps me motivated to continue this endeavor as a volunteer operation.  It’s all of you taking the time to read this news blog.  As long as people are reading, and I am able to continue, LarryInFishers will enter its 5th year in 2016.

I have a few ideas on expanding what I do.  Nothing to announce yet, but if it works out, look for that in early 2016.

In the meantime, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.  We are entering a very special time of year.

With the holiday season here, safety is one thing we should all have on our minds.  Often, we don’t think about it enough.

The Fishers Police Department has offered a list of safety tips to consider during the holidays.  They are worth your time to review…

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Continue reading Fishers Police Offer Holiday Safety Tips →

The Fishers Board of Works and Safety approved a curb cut at 12890 E. 96th Street, east of Geist Reservoir.  The board allowed the action despite a staff report saying the sight lines for 96th Street at that location could be dangerous for drivers.

The landowning couple had purchased the parcel in the 1990s with the plan of eventually building a house at the location.  Without approval for this curb cut for a driveway, their parcel would be landlocked, preventing their house from being built on that tract.  The couple would be out about $200,000 without the curb cut, since the land has no other use, per the couple’s attorney.  The land is just south of 96th Street, in Hancock County, but since 96th Street is on the southern border of Hamilton County, Fishers has jurisdiction on the street.

“This is clearly a difficult situation, given the nature of the topography here.” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.  The mayor says he understands the safety issues, but is also sympathetic to the land owners.

Fadness and Jeff Lantz voted to approve the curb cut.  Board member Jason Meyer was not present at this meeting.

In other actions at the November 23rd board session…..

–A curb cut and storm water connection were approved by the board.  The proposed cut is located approximately 1,865 feet west of Atlantic Road and 560 feet east of the existing Britton Falls entrance.   The storm water connection will be near the same location.

–Approved a utility agreement with INDOT to relocate wastewater treatment facilities to allow the 106th Street I-69 interchange, and awarded a bid for construction.

–Approved a construction contract for the Fall Creek Trail in the Geist area.  The bids received earlier were rejected as too high and way over budget, while the bid awarded falls within the dollar figures appropriated for the project.  Mayor Fadness says this will be a “popular amenity” once completed.

–The board approved 5 purchase orders to complete the city’s part of the renovation project at the new Launch Fishers building.

Fishers has had another busy week.  Let’s recap the major developments.

Mayor Scott Fadness was joined by Hamilton Southeastern School Superintendent Allen Bourff and Representatives of the Community Health Network to announce the Fishers Mental Health Initiative.  You can read more about this ambitious program at this link. Getting this program off the ground has been a priority for Mayor Fadness since he first assumed office on January 1st.

Mayor Fadness plans another in his series of Mayor’s Night Out events.  This one will be held at Lantern Road Elementary School cafeteria, 6:30pm, on December 1st.  The mayor normally makes a presentation and answers questions from the public.

Fishers City Controller Oscar Gutierrez is smiling this week, as the city went from a credit rating of “AA” to “AA+” from the bond rating company, Standard and Poor.  The better the city’s credit rating, the less interest the city must pay when incurring debt.

Launch Fishers has always been known to provide one of the fastest wireless Internet connections around.  Once Launch moves into new digs late this year or early in 2016, the first-class Internet connection should be even better.  The new Launch Fishers building has been certified as being AT&T Fiber Ready. It is just the second site in Indiana to receive this certification, and the first coworking space.  Launch Fishers provides space for start-up small businesses.

The IKEA store coming to Fishers in 2017 continues to draw media interest.  The latest is a front page story by Chris Sikich in Saturday’s Indianapolis Star.  Sikich focuses on the city’s gamble that the road infrastructure to help support IKEA’s added vehicular traffic will be completed on time.  If not, Fishers would be required to hand IKEA a $1.5 million tax abatement.  This story can be accessed at this link.

Lindsey Erdody has a story in the latest edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal about the city’s planned efforts to jump-start commercial and residential activity along Allisonville Road in Fishers, between 96th Street and 126th.  You can access her story at this link.

What is next for Fishers?  There are rumors of more announcements pending in the coming weeks.  We will see.

Note:  Links to stories in the Indy Star and IBJ may be limited if you are not a subscriber.

The latest print edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) features a front page story from North of 96th reporter Lindsey Erdody on the future of Allisonville Road in Fishers, particularly the stretch from 96th Street on the south end to 126th Street on the north part.

Part of her article centers on the failed plans for Riverplace, an ambitious residential and commercial plan that never got off the ground.  The same developer still owns the property at 96th and Allisonville.  The story explores what may yet develop on that piece of land.

Mayor Scott Fadness and City Councilman Rich Block are quoted in the story on how the city’s move toward a comprehensive plan may include ways the city can encourage development along what had been a busy corridor.  That area of Fishers has seen a commercial and residential slump in recent years.

The mayor doesn’t plan to have the city become directly involved in development, such as buying land.  But Block says the plans to develop part of the Metropolitan Airport property can pave the way for more jobs in that area of the city and could provide commercial and residential development in that area.

Lindsey Erdody did a nice job on this story.  If you don’t already subscribe to the IBJ, look for this issue on a newstand and buy this week’s edition, if you have any interest in the future of the Allisonville Road corridor in Fishers.

UPDATE:  You can read the story at this link, but be aware that you are limited on the number of stories you can access per month if you are not an IBJ online subscriber.

Even as winter weather settles into the Fishers area, Thanksgiving week will remain a busy one for city road crews.  Below is the list of road construction projects for the work week beginning Monday, November 23rd…..

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ALLISONVILLE ROAD LANE RESTRICTIONS

Periodic lane restrictions will be in effect on Allisonville Road between 116^th Street and East Street beginning Saturday, Nov. 21^st. Restrictions will be in place for two weeks while a median is being removed. During this time one northbound lane and one southbound lane of Allisonville Road will be affected.

LANTERN AND COMMERCIAL INTERSECTION

Our crews are working hard, but Lantern Road between 116^th Street and Commercial Drive will have lane restrictions for the remainder of November. Please pay attention to signs displayed in the area and use caution while traveling.

LANTERN ROAD & 116^TH STREET

On Tuesday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 25, lane restrictions will be in place along 116^th Street and Lantern Road between the house of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

MINDEN & PENNINGTON ROAD LANE RESTRICTIONS

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 24th, periodic lane restrictions will be in effect for Minden and Pennington Road just south of 131^st Street. Restrictions will allows crews to install a new storm sewer.

MUNICIPAL DRIVE

Municipal Drive between 116^th Street and Commercial Drive will have lane restrictions for the remainder of November. Please pay attention to signs displayed in the area and use caution while traveling.

104^TH STREET

Restrictions have been lifted along 104^th Street west of Cyntheanne Road, but motorists are encouraged to travel with caution while shoulder work continues.

116^TH STREET

Lane restrictions will continue between Cameron Drive and Wainwright Drive. Motorists are encouraged to use caution while approaching lane restrictions and construction crews.

126^TH STREET

A new subdivision is coming to 126^th Street, and while restrictions have been lifted, motorists are encouraged to travel with caution while shoulder work continues. Shoulder work is ongoing along 126^th Street east of Cyntheanne Road.