The Fishers City Council Finance Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to send the mayor’s $182.5 million 22025 spending plan before the full council September 9, for a first reading and public hearing.  City Controller Lisa Bradford told the committee there will be two minor changes to the proposed spending plan when it before the council for first reading.

Mayor Scott Fadness is asking council members to double the appropriation for Neighborhood Vibrancy grants from $200,000 to $400,000.  The rules governing such grants will be the same in 2025 as they were in 2024.

Neighborhoods may apply for the grants.  If approved, the city pays 80% of the cost and the neighborhood pays 20%, with a ceiling of $25,000 on each grant.

The mayor is also including an extra $25,000 for the Council desks used for Council meetings to be reconfigured.

I have often asked myself about the meaning of a particular number.  In this case, the number is one’s age.

September 3, 2024 is the day I celebrated my birthday number 73.  Some say a birthday is just a number.  It is that, but much more.

My 73rd birthday allows me to think about the many things for which I am thankful.  I have relatively good health.  In the past 4 years, I have had 2 occasions where my health went south and could have been fatal.  In both cases, I recovered, and I am thankful to have reasonably good health at the age of 73.

I also appreciate my wife, 2 daughters, sons-in-law and 3 grandkids.  I was married late in life and was never sure I’d live to be around my grandkids.  For that, I am quite thankful.

My family, including my 2 brothers, 2 sisters, nephews, nieces, cousins and so on are very special.  They are all outstanding people.

My friends are quite special as well.  Having lived in Fishers 33 years, I have formed some special relationships and value each and every one.

Facebook can be a double-edged sword, but one part I like are all the happy birthday messages received on September 3.  Each one was great.

I have now made it to age 73.   Will I make it to 74?  Only time will tell.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Lindsey Stirling, the viral electronic violinist, dancer, and aerialist, is set to bring her unique blend of music and performance art to the new Fishers Event Center on Friday, November 29, 2024. This appearance is part of her highly anticipated North American Snow Waltz Tour, a 21-date tour that kicks off this holiday season.

Tickets for the event go on sale this Friday, September 6, at 10 a.m. local time on FishersEventCenter.com. Fans can also purchase VIP packages, which include front-row seating, a meet-and-greet with Stirling, exclusive merchandise, and access to a pre-show experience called Ice Storm. The Ice Storm event will feature a Christmas gallery curated by Stirling, complete with costumes, memorabilia, and a special “Sleigh Ride” photo opportunity.

The tour is named after Stirling’s 2022 album Snow Waltz, which topped the charts and brought a unique twist to holiday music. Known for her theatrical performances that mix dance, acrobatics, and music, Stirling is expected to deliver an eclectic and high-energy show featuring her interpretations of holiday classics such as “Sleigh Ride,” “Joy to the World,” and “Deck the Halls,” along with original compositions.

In a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Stirling described the album as having a touch of “spookiness,” inspired by her love for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Harry Potter, both of which blend magic with a hint of the eerie.

Stirling’s distinctive style, which combines elements of pop, classical, hip-hop, and electronica, has made her a genre-defying artist. Her albums frequently top various Billboard charts, including Classical Albums, Top Dance/Electronic Albums, and the all-genre Billboard 200. Her Christmas albums have produced instrumental hits like “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Carol of the Bells,” the latter becoming the first instrumental track to reach the top 5 at radio.

My wife Jane and I have seen some of the Cirque du Soleil shows on the Las Vegas strip over the years.  They are always impressive.  Fishers will be hosting an ice version of the circus acrobatics at the new Events Center January 23-26.

The ice show CRYSTAL has been performed before 2 million people in over 145 cities worldwide.

Tickets for CRYSTAL are now available exclusively to Club Cirque members. Club Cirque membership is free and includes access to advance tickets and special offers. To join, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com. General tickets will be on-sale on Monday, September 9 at 10 a.m. at www.cirquedusoleil.com/crystal.

Here is the schedule of performances in Fishers;

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 7 p.m.
• Friday, January 24, 2025 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Using larger than life visual projections on ice (a Cirque du Soleil first) and a soundtrack that seamlessly blends popular music with the signature sound of Cirque du Soleil, CRYSTAL transports audiences on an unforgettable visual and auditory experience full of magic and wonder.

The Fishers Arts Council has launched the Fifth Annual Juried Exhibit of Hamilton County Artists, now on display at the Art Gallery at City Hall in the Fishers Municipal Center. The exhibit features the work of 35 artists from across Hamilton County, including Fishers, Noblesville, Carmel, Westfield, and Cicero, as well as artists from nearby Indianapolis and McCordsville.

The exhibit showcases a variety of painted mediums and highlights the diverse talent within the county. The event will also recognize artists with awards in several categories, including Best Landscape, Portrait or Figurative, Abstract, and Floral or Other. The prestigious Best in Show award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize and a solo exhibit at the gallery in January 2025, is one of the event’s highlights.

The winners were selected by Dan Annarino, a West Lafayette resident and accomplished artist with a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MA from Purdue University. Annarino, who has an extensive background in teaching, graphic design, and full-time artistry, also serves as a board member and past president of the Indiana Artists’ Club. He continues to exhibit his work throughout the Midwest.

You get to be the judge for the People’s Choice Award, also sponsored by Noblesville Creates! Go to Facebook.com/FishersArt to see the full 2024 Juried Exhibit photo album and click the “like” button on your favorite artwork. You can also vote in-person in the Art Gallery at City Hall from September 3-13 during gallery hours listed below and the Second Friday reception and awards ceremony on Friday, September 13. Voting will be open from 6pm-7pm and awards will be announced at 7:15pm.

The exhibit is open to the public and aims to celebrate the vibrant artistic community in Hamilton County. Visitors are encouraged to explore the gallery and experience the breadth of talent on display.

I understand that annual government budgets can be geeky to understand, but I have found they are important because it says a lot about the priorities of your local elected officials.  Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness presented his 2025 budget proposal to the City Council Finance Committee August 22.  The mayor proposes the spending plan, the City Council provides final approval.

The mayor is asking Council members to approve $182.5 million in spending next calendar year.  The budget approved for 2024 totaled $164 million.

The mayor is requesting a 6% pay raise for city employees.  For comparison, federal government workers are expected to receive a 2% raise in 2025.  The mayor proposed, and the Council approved, a pay hike in the middle of 2024, providing a flat $2,500 annually for public safety workers and a flat $1,000 wage increase for civilian employees.  The mayor argued pay for city workers was falling behind competitively.

Fishers decided previously to go with one network for health insurance, which has allowed Fishers employees to not see an increase in health insurance premiums next year.  The city contracts with Community Health.

Fadness told the Finance Committee he is proposing increasing the employee contribution match to the “457” employee retirement plan by $1,000 per year, upping the total match to a maximum of $2,500 per year.  A “457” plan is roughly similar to a private sector 401(k) retirement savings plan.

It is impressive that Fishers will fund additional police officers in local schools, buy a new fire truck, add a second Agri Park and add other items without increasing the city’s part of the local property tax rate.  That rate is $0.707.

Mayor Fadness has been able to keep the property tax rate stable, even in the midst of building a new City Hall/Arts Center, constructing an Events Center on schedule to open in November and a new Community Center also under construction near Hoosier Road Elementary School, set to open next year.  For full disclosure, the mayor did convince the City Council to enact a food & beverage tax to partially fund the Events Center.  Also, the city sewer rate go up $3 per month, with Fadness saying this will cover increased costs.

The City Council is holding a public hearing at the session scheduled for September 9.  This is your chance to comment on the budget planned for your city next year.

After posting the story Saturday that Current Publishing and Public Radio Station WFYI were jointly sponsoring a forum for Hamilton Southeastern School Board candidates in the upcoming election October 1, I started getting messages immediately about the date of the event.

Turns out, the initial date for the forum, October 1, is the same night as the Hamilton County Republican Party Fall Dinner.  Since there are several HSE School Board candidates with ties to the local Republican Party, it was unlikely those candidates would attend the forum.

I understand the organizers were not aware of this conflict and efforts are underway to find a new date for the forum.  Once that is announced, I will post it here.

Two journalistic enterprises, Current Publishing and public radio station WFY I, are planning a candidate forum for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board election.  The event is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1, at 7pm.

The forum will be held at the Fishers City Hall Theatre.  This is free to the public, but tickets will be issued to handle the size of the crowd.  Tickets will be available at a later date.

This is an at-large election, meaning all voters within the HSE District can vote in the three township races – Delaware, Fall Creek and Wayne Townships.

I commend Current & WFYI for sponsoring this candidate forum, both have excellent journalists working there.  The bigger questions is – which candidates will choose to appear and which will not?

The weekly road construction listing for the work week starting Monday, September 2 (which also happens to be Labor Day) mostly provides the latest information for ongoing projects in and near Fishers.  But, as you almost certainly know, there are plenty of ongoing projects to update.

Here is the update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

Continue reading Road construction update for the week starting Monday, September 2 →

The Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI), providing adult mentors to students in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools, had its biggest annual fund-raising event at City Hall Thursday morning, the Mayor’s Breakfast.  The main part of this year’s event was a conversation between Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Marissa Andretti, Vice President of Andretti Motorsports and daughter of Michael Andretti.

The Andretti auto racing operation, which competes in seven different racing series, has a new headquarters building under construction in Fishers near the airport, just north of 96th Street.  Fadness praised the relationship between the city and the Andretti family.

The new Andretti building is scheduled to have the first phase of the construction project complete by spring of 2025.  Marissa Andretti says she and her father Michael both already live in Fishers.

She says all the plans for the new headquarters are tied to four “pillars” – sustainability, technology, employee wellness and community.

Another panel featured 3 adults and one third-grade student, which discussed the value of his mentor to him.  The young man did a nice job before a room full of adults.

YMI Executive Director Brittany Rayburn told the crowd there is a current waiting list of 70 students needing a mentor, with a particular need for men mentors.

If you would like to explore the possibility of becoming a mentor for a student in the HSE Schools, use this link.

You can also donate to YMI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, at this link.