Be prepared for a closure of 106th Street between Cumberland Road and Hamilton Pass beginning Tuesday, March 19, through October 18 of this year. This will require a closure of all thru traffic for a bridge replacement.
Local traffic will continue to have access to their homes, while thru traffic is asked to utilize the posted detour route of Cumberland Road, 96th Street, and Mollenkopf Road.
The announcement came from Hamilton County. Counties in Indiana generally are responsible to maintain bridges.
Mayor Scott Fadness, Police Chief Ed Gebhart and Fire Chief Steve Orusa gathered at the Hamilton East Library to discuss how the city plans to handle the solar eclipse coming April 8. Note that I give the wrong date for the recording session during the podcast, it was March 11, not March 12.
Also, Chief Gebhart and Mayor Fadness talk about how the city is handling large car “meet-ups” after such an event happened in Fishers March 3rd. That part is later in the podcast.
What was once Johnson Farm is now the site of the Fishers Community Center (Photos provided)
As Fishers has grown, if you are looking for the geographic center of the city, you would find it right around 121st Street and Hoosier Road. That is the site of the new Fishers Community Center, next to Hoosier Road Elementary School.
A community center for Fishers has been discussed for years, but through the efforts of Mayor Scott Fadness, City Councilor Todd Zimmerman and a number of others, this idea was brought to a reality when the ground-breaking ceremony was held Tuesday morning.
The facility will be a 105,000 square-foot structure, and is designed based on comments from over 3.500 residents in an online survey. Included in the center will be a dog park, indoor playground, indoor walking/running track, and aquatics facility.
The Center will offer both memberships and day passes with discounts for Fishers residents, while featuring free amenities accessible to both residents and non-residents, including a large indoor playground, indoor track for walking and running, and a café operated by Sahm’s Hospitality Group. The Center will also be the new home of the Fishers Health Department, as well as Outside the Box’s adult day program to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. More details on membership fees will be released at a later time.
The site was once the Johnson Farm. and members of the family have been supportive of using this tract of land for the Community Center. The ground-breaking ceremony also featured students from Hoosier Road Elementary School.
For more on the Fishers Community Center, use this link.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Fishers Community Ce
The proposal to contract with one private firm for city-wide trash collection service will take an important step in April. At the Tuesday morning meeting of the Fishers Board of Public Works & Safety, Mayor Scott Fadness said that body will be voting on the request for proposals (RFP) which will contain the specifics of what the city expects private sector bidders to include in any bid.
The mayor’s Chief of Staff, Jordin Alexander, presented the first draft of an RFP at a recent board meeting and the mayor indicated several changes would be made before the final version is approved.
Once the bids are submitted, the board will consider each bid. That may require a much larger meeting room than the board’s normal location at the City Court. It is possible the new City Hall/Arts Center will be ready in time to host such a meeting.
The City Council will have the final say on any trash collection contract. The earliest any contract with a private firm would be effective is 2025. Residents have been voicing concerns recently about the spike in costs for trash collection service.
In other board action:
–The board approved buying 3 flatbed trucks for the city fleet at a cost of $176,056.80. Tabatha Miller from Fleet Management told the board the cost of this equipment is gone up 30 per cent in just 2 years. Delivery is hoped to arrive by the end of 2024.
–Beginning July 1, city customers of the stormwater and sanitary sewer system will be placed on a paperless billing system. This is projected to save the city money by streamlining the billing system. Customers will be provided an “opt-out” choice if deciding not utilize the paperless system.
You may recall that Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness recommended a $50 nonresident parking fee last summer at Geist Waterfront Park. The City Council voted in favor of the fee and it was enforced during the summer of 2023.
In a podcast recorded Monday, March 11, Mayor Fadness tells me the fee will be reduced in 2024. He is working with his Parks Department staff and “a new scenario” will be put before the City Council in April. The mayor did not provide any additional details on that scenario.
“We’re excited about that fact that we have some additional capacity,” Fadness said during the podcast recording session. “Some of the concerns we had last year about – is this thing going to be swamped by people – (have) been alleviated.”
On another issue raised during the podcast, Fadness says he is aware of cities providing incentives to move into the community, with the popularity of working from home. According to a story in the Indianapolis Star, Noblesville is offering an incentive package valued at $15,000 for those qualified, including relocation fee reimbursements, golf club memberships and co-working space.
According to Fadness, “We’re all racing for talent.” But the mayor was clear, he doesn’t excpect any such program coming to Fishers.
“I don’t see us doing this anytime in the foreseeable future,” says Fadness. “Our focus is really trying to build a quality of life, an amenity package that would be attractive for people to want to be part of our community and our focus is really trying to build a quality of life and amenity package that would be attractive.”
Although the mayor admitted he hasn’t spent much time thinking about this concept, “I continue to wonder – do people make life decisions like where they’re going to move based on those types of (incentives)?”
The podcast, also featuring Police Chief Ed Gebhart and Fire Chief Steve Orusa, will be available Wednesday afternoon.
It has been 12 years since Fishers has hired a Chief of Fire & Emergency Services. Fishers was still a town when Steve Orusa was hired for that job. He has been Chief more then 12 years and is now working with the city on a smooth transition to a new Chief as Orusa plans on retiring later this year.
“While I couldn’t be happier for this next chapter in his life or more grateful for his service to our city, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that Chief Orusa’s leadership and vision for building the industry-leading Department we have today will be missed,” said Mayor Scott Fadness in a statement posted to social media Monday.
Chief Orusa is wrapping up a 40 year career in public safety work.
“In the months to come, there will be a change in our Fire and Emergency Services Department,” according to Fadness. “But we’ve always leaned into opportunities to change to make us better, more efficient, & serve the community. I look forward to supporting Chief Orusa’s transition to retirement.”
Fadness says his administration will work “diligently and methodically” in the search for a new Chief. Orusa told the mayor he plans on retiring “sometime before late fall.”
When I began writing about the House Bill (HB) 1338, containing provisions basically gutting the Indiana Public Access Counselor, I had no idea whether there were others sharing my view. Based on the number of people reading my stories, and comments from other media outlets, there are others with the same opinion.
The latest came in the March 8 print edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ). The IBJ Editorial on Page 14A was written before the General Assembly gave final approval for HB 1338.
Based on the assumption lawmakers would pass the measure and send it to Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk, the IBJ editorial staff wrote the following – “…we call on Gov. Eric Holcomb to veto (HB 1338) – not for journalists but for the public who deserves access to government.”
The IBJ editorial points out that, yes, journalists have used the Public Access Counselor’s office for advisory opinions, but others in the public realm have also used the office for advisory guidance. The Public Access Counselor, Luke Britt, and his small staff are considered the experts on Indiana public access law.
Once again, if you agree with IBJ, Indiana Capital Chronicle’s Nike Kelly and myself, I would urge you to e-mail or call Governor Holcomb’s office and ask him to veto HB 1338. As to how, use this link.
You can read the entire IBJ editorial at this link. (You may not need an IBJ subscription to access this editorial)
The Chief of Police for the City of Fishers, Ed Gebhart, issued a letter to the community Saturday about a gathering of motorists last Sunday involving about 300 vehicles and a number of reported law violations.
The Chief says reports of business parking lots filling-up with cars led to calls into his department about speeding, noise, trash, loitering and businesses being blocked along 116th Street Sunday.
When a group that size gathers, cities such as Fishers require a permit for such a situation. It appears this group sought no such permit.
Fishers Police are working with businesses along 116th Street impacted by this, and will post “no trespassing or loitering” signs for any Fishers business requesting the sign. “We will aggressively enforce any violated ordinances or state laws, including these signs,” wrote Gebhart in his letter.
In his letter’s conclusion, Chief Gebhart says “people who do not obey the law by driving erratically, speeding, racing, creating loud noise, littering, loitering, vandalizing, bothering businesses, and breaking other laws are not welcome in our city.”
The Chief encourages working together to “discourage such behavior.”
The Fishers Police Department (FPD) is doing something I do not recall the department every doing before – trying to stop false rumors that begin spreading around the community.
FPD posted a statement on its social media accounts regarding rumors going around Fishers about a reported attempted child abduction at the Fishers Target last weekend. After investigating these reports, no evidence of an attempted abduction was found.
“On Sunday, March 3rd, (FPD) received a report from a citizen who said a woman pulled on her passenger side door handle after she loaded her child in the car,” per the FPD social media post. Detectives reviewed surveillance video and found no evidence anyone was being followed in the store “and it didn’t seem they were there to harm children.”
Police say they located and spoke with the people involved, and “it appears the two women mistook this vehicle for their own. However, evidence suggests the subjects belong to a group traveling the U.S., begging and committing thefts/frauds.”
Authorities say there is no indication this group has ever attempted to abduct anyone.
The FPD post ends with the following statement:
“As always, stay diligent; if you see something, say something. Be cautious of anyone asking or begging for money.”
It is essential to be vigilant and not give money to anyone you don’t know. If you feel threatened or see suspicious activity, it’s always better to report it to the authorities. The Fishers Police Department has resources to assist those legitimately in need.”
The Fishers Police Department is just beginning its “Rumor Control.” It is always good to stomp out rumors and present the facts.
I have been writing lately about my concerns concerning HB 1338, a measure that would essentially gut the Indiana Public Access Counselor. I have urged readers agreeing with me to call or e-mail Governor Holcomb and urge a veto of this bill (for more information use this link.
Now, Niki Kelly of the Indiana Capitol Chronicle has added her voice to the criticism of this legislation. You can read her commentary at this link
