The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety took the first action toward a possible city-wide trash collection service Tuesday morning by adopting a proposed Request for Proposals (RFP) to be used in taking bids from trash collection firms interested in contracting with Fishers.  Residents and Homeowners Associations (HOAs) have seen increased fees in recent years and many have been lobbying the City of Fishers to explore such a pact..

Nearby cities such as Westfield, Carmel, Noblesville and Lawrence all have city-wide trash collection arrangements.  Fishers has never had such an arrangement.  When one was proposed by the Town of Fishers more than 10 years ago, the idea was scuttled due to widespread public opposition at that time.

As things stand now, Waste Management and Republic are the main two companies providing trash collection services in Fishers, with individuals and HOAs negotiating their own contracts.

Jordin Alexander, Chief of Staff for Mayor Scott Fadness, tells LarryInFishers she has received interest in submitting a bid from both Republic and Waste Management, but she has also received interest from other firms, such as Priority, which holds contracts with Zionsville and Lawrence.

To view the preliminary 72-page Request for Proposals and Qualifications, use this link.

Here is the expected timeline for the process of accepting and evaluating bids for a city-wide Fishers trash collection services, provided to the Board of Works:

Board of Works (“BPW”) Adopts Proposed RFP—-Feb 27, 2024

City Publishes Notice of Intent to Issue RFP——— March 4, 2024

Deadline to Submit Comments on Proposed RFP—-April 3, 2024

BPW Adopts Final RFP——————————— April 9, 2024

City Publishes Notice of RFP————————— April 15, 2024

Deadline to Submit Proposals————————– June 1, 2024 (Due by 10:00 AM)

Negotiations With Offerors (if any) ——————- June-July 2024

BPW Public Hearing on Contract & Resolution—– July 9 or 23, 2024

Common Council Rate Ordinance & Public Hearing —–Aug-Oct 2024

Services to Begin—————————————– January 1, 2025

There has been a long line of editors for the weekly publication Current in Fishers.  The current editor has been there about 1 year.  I invited Leila Kheiry to sit down with me and talk about her time covering Fishers.

March is Disability Awareness Month and Fishers is once again planning a busy month of activities.  The Fishers Advisory Committee on Disabilities is a big part of the March events.

I spoke with 2 key members of that committee, Stacey Oldham and Cecilia Coble, on this podcast to talk about plans for the 2024 Disability Awareness Month plans in Fishers.

For more details, use this link.

Listen to the podcast at the link below.

Many call Elvis the king of rock and roll, but those that study music history carefully will tell you  Chuck Berry was the real king of rock and roll.  One of my favorite Chuck Berry songs is “You Never Can Tell.”

One lyric often repeated in that song is – “C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.”

What I have discovered in the off-and-on times I have worked in media is how often something I have done years ago will be remembered.  That happened in the past few weeks.

From late 1975 through about 1977, I hosted a late-night radio talk show called “Night Action.”  I did not come up with that name, it was coined by the first host of that show, a man named Gary Lee.  Mr. Lee fell out of favor with the general manager of the radio station at that time, so he was shown the door and the station hired a man from Massachusetts, Art Murphy.  Art had a successful run with the show and went on to another job.  The next host once again fell out of favor with another general manager and the station was pondering  whether to even continue the program.

I was going to college and working part-time at the radio station when the general manager came to me and basically said he wanted me to take over the show, and I was the only one he trusted.  If I turned the gig down, the Night Action late night talk show would end.

i agreed to try it and the next two years were quite a roller coaster.  It was an experience.  I learned a lot.

Why do I bring this up?  It’s been about 47 years since I hosted Night Action but a couple of times a year, someone reaches out to me remembering my time hosting that program.

The latest was a comment on this blog when I linked to the very nice cover story Leila Kheiry wrote about me for the weekly publication Current In Fishers.  The comment was written by a person named Kathy who wrote that her mom was a big fan of Night Action, including the time I had the show.

My point is this.  For most of us on the public stage, once we are gone 10-15 years, people forget about us, for the most part.  But my time as Night Action host will be remembered, and I am not really sure why.

I had another instance in recent days that surprised me.  The new Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent attended his first board meeting Friday morning.  Once the session was over, I walked over to Patrick Mapes and introduced myself.  To my surprise, he has been reading my blog for the past 10 years on the recommendation of someone once working for him living in Fishers.

While you are hosting and producing a radio talk show or writing a local news blog, you don’t have time to think about what long-term impact, if any, your work will have. One is focused on what is happening at the moment.

Surprises keep coming on that front.  But as Chuck Berry once sang & wrote, “C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.”

When Gerald Ford was vice president at the time Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal in 1974, he assumed the presidency and ran for the White House in 1976.  He had a regular message in his stump speeches during that campaign – what the government gives can always be taken away.  Former President Ford was not wrong, even though he lost that election to Jimmy Carter.

I do not profess to know a lot of information about the sale of the IndyStar to the Gannett chain in 2000, but some people working for the Pulliam family at the time let it be known around town that Gannett, at least at first, wasn’t interested in buying the Star, the firm wanted the Phoenix newspaper owned by the Pulliams at that time.  The Pulliam family’s response was this –  Gannett, if you want the Phoenix newspaper, the Star comes with it or no deal.

As you know by now, Gannett ended up buying both the Indianapolis and Phoenix newspapers in 2000.  There are some media watchers in the Indy area who feel Gannett has done nothing but cut journalists at the Star.  Many say that when Gannett took over the Star, there were about 300 journalists on the Star’s payroll…now, it is believed that number is under 60.

That is why an announcement Wednesday from the IndyStar raised a number of eyebrows in Central Indiana.  Gannett announced a $2 million investment in the Star, $1 million for news coverage and $1 million going to sales and marketing.  It makes sense to invest in both the product and the sales staff at that same time.

There is no question the Star has been bleeding journalists to other news outlets.  There are the commercial operations that have popped up lately, such as State Affairs and Axios Indy.  Then there are the nonprofit business models, such as Mirror Indy, Capital Chronicle and public broadcasting’s WFYI.  That is not an exhaustive listing, there are others.

The Star has lost a number of reporters to these operations.  For example, an excellent education reporter, Rachel Fradette, has just moved from the Star and joined the news team at WFYI, where former Star reporter Eric Weddle is a managing editor.

Don’t get me wrong, there are excellent journalists at the Star.  John Tuohy has been covering Fishers for a few years now.  Kaitlin Lange is leaving State Affairs and joining the Star as an editor.  Both are very good at what they do.

(Note:  I incorrectly wrote that Chris Sikich is an editor at the Star in a previous version of this story.  He left the Star and is now with Indy Mirror.  Hard to keep up with all this without a scorecard.)

It is very encouraging news that the Star is beefing-up its staff of journalists.  Anything other than layoff announcements will be welcome.  The added sales staff, if successful, would support the added reporters over the long haul.

This is very good news for consumers of journalism in Central Indiana.  When I started this local Fishers news blog in 2012, I said I would do the blog until another news organization proved it can cover news in Fishers effectively, or I just was unable to do it anymore.  That hasn’t happened yet.  Will the Star get serious about covering Fishers with added reporting staff?  Time will tell.

Just remember, Gannett is providing the staffing boost at the Star.  Gannett, if it so chooses in the future, can take the extra journalists away.  Let’s hope that does not happen.

Sidewalk work continues in Sunblest and watch for lane restrictions on Florida Road between Southeastern & 113tth  Monday &  Tuesday.  Those are just a couple of the updates on Fishers area road construction.

Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Fishers area road construction update →

Hamilton County Highway has provided an update on what is scheduled to happen at the intersection of Allisonville Road and 146th Street.  Allisonville Road is to be closed for 90 days as part of the construction project.

Below is the full text of the latest update from the Hamilton County Highway Department:

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Remember, eastbound and westbound 146^th Street will not be closed nor will the intersection. We currently utilize lane restrictions, which will still be needed from time-to-time along 146^th Street. Allisonville Road between 146^th Street and Kensington Drive (north of 146^th Street), and between 146^th Street and Helmsley Court (south of 146^th Street) are the closure limits. The posted detour route will be 131^st Street, SR-37, and Greenfield Avenue.

Thursday, February 29 into Friday, March 1: Our contractor will be completing work in preparation of the upcoming Allisonville Road closure throughout the project limits and along the detour route. At or after midnight, barricades will be put in place along Allisonville Road to close the road for 90 days. Be prepared for lane restrictions or short-duration lane closures along 146^th Street after the closure of Allisonville Road is in place, so that the removal of the overhead signal equipment and other work associated with the traffic switch may be completed.

Friday, March 1 into Saturday, March 2: Between the hours of 9:00pm and 6:00am, 146^th Street traffic should be prepared for lane restrictions or short-duration closures to complete any remaining signal equipment removal and other work associated with this traffic switch.

Please use extreme caution and reduced speeds while driving through this construction zone.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools announced late Thursday afternoon that they plan to name Patrick Mapes as the new superintendent of schools. At a 7:30am school board meeting Friday, the board voted unanimously to approve a short-term consulting contract with Mapes, effective through February 28.

The board held a public hearing on Mapes’ employment contract February 21, and, by state law, the board must wait 7 days after the public hearing to approve the new superintendent’s employment contract.  That pact is scheduled to be voted on by the board February 28.

Patrick Mapes was at the board meeting Friday morning.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board has been searching for a new superintendent since September of 2023.  We now know the name of the person hired – Patrick Mapes.

The formal approval will come for a board vote Wednesday, February 28, at 6pm.

Mr. Mapes said he “retired” as Perry Township Schools superintendent in December of 2022.  It appears he has “unretired” to join HSE Schools.

Prior to leading Perry Township Schools, Mr. Mapes was chairman of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board and spent nearly 15 years serving in various capacities, including superintendent, within Delaware Community Schools in Muncie, Indiana. He was also the assistant superintendent of public instruction at the Indiana Department of Education for three years and was selected to join the U.S. Department of Education as the regional advisory chairperson on education issues. While he leads HSE, Mr. Mapes will also continue to serve the state as an appointee to the Indiana State Board of Education, which oversees K-12 education policymaking in Indiana.

The Mapes family plans to move from their current home on the south side of Indianapolis to the Fishers area.

“The HSE school board is confident Mr. Mapes will be a great addition to the district’s administration and will help spearhead continued efforts to enhance our schools and communities,” per the HSE Schools news release.

On Friday morning, a short-term contract with Mr. Mapes will be approved by the board in a 7:30am meeting.  Below is the language of the interim contract.

The former Marsh Supermarkets are getting new uses, and the latest is the Fishers location on 96th Street.  A story posted by Current Publishing tells the story of how that former Marsh location will become H&H Fieldhouse.

The link to the full story is below.

H&H Fieldhouse in Fishers slated to open late spring