Local Fishers residents worried about the escalating cost of trash collection should know the City of Fishers is moving along with reviewing the three responses received following the Request for Proposals (RFP) on a city-wide contract. Republic, WM (formerly known as Waste Management) and Priority all submitted proposals
City of Fishers spokesperson Ashley Elrod says staff is reviewing all three bids, which all “are in line with our expectations.” The city is currently in a negotiation period with all 3 firms bidding on the contract.
The public hearing on the bids was originally expected to be held in July, but that may slip into August, with no firm date set. Elrod says the timeline, other than the public hearing, is “still on track.”
The earliest any new city-wide trash contract would be in place would be January of 2025.
I write this on July 1, generally accepted as the half-way point in a calendar year. I took a look at what has happened in Fishers during the first 6 months of 2024 and came up with a few major stories. I list them below, in no particular order.
–Patrick Mapes was selected by the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board as the new Superintendent of Schools. He replaces Yvonne Stokes, who resigned last fall. Dr. Stokes was recently names superintendent of Gary Indiana Schools.
–Mayor Scott Fadness reacted to a court ruling impacting the tax distribution formula in Indiana which Fadness argues short-changes Fishers. He cites the fact that Carmel receives $60 million more annually in this distribution system compared to Fishers.
–3 new city councilors assumed their seats on the Fishers City Council.
–Fishers City Hall & Art Center opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
–The roundabout construction begins at 96th Street and Allisonville Road. The roundabout is expected to be essentially completed in October.
–Fishers began the process to take bids on providing city-wide trash collection service. This is in response to local residents complaints about rising trash collection fees.
–Construction began on a new city community center at 121st Street and Hoosier Road.
–Melissa Loiselle has been named Hamilton East Library Director.
What will the second half of 2024 bring us? I am not into speculation, but there are a couple of items we can anticipate.
There will be an election in November with 3 HSE School Board seats on the ballot. Some county offices will also be up for election.
The first half of 2024 has generated plenty of news. I expect the coming 6 months to do the same.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, a dramatic series of events unfolded as Fishers Police officers arrested an Indianapolis man, Fredrick Nance, 24, following a robbery and carjacking at a local restaurant.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 30, police were alerted to a robbery in progress at the Taco Bell on Allisonville Road. According to preliminary reports from dispatch, multiple armed suspects had entered the drive-through window and demanded money. One suspect, identified as Nance, fled the scene in a blue Dodge Challenger stolen from one of the victims.
Officers quickly responded to the Taco Bell, verifying the safety of the employees who were found unharmed, and commenced an investigation. At the same time, police say they spotted the stolen Dodge Challenger heading south on Allisonville Road and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Nance, the vehicle’s sole occupant, led officers on a pursuit into Marion County before abandoning the car and fleeing on foot.
Several officers, including a K-9 unit, pursued Nance. During the chase, a gunshot was heard. Fortunately, neither the K-9 nor the officers were injured. The K-9 unit successfully apprehended Nance, who was taken into custody and later medically evaluated before being transported to the Hamilton County Jail.
Police recovered multiple pieces of evidence belonging to the victims from Nance. Additionally, a Glock handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device was found near the arrest site. Authorities say the victims positively identified Nance as one of the perpetrators.
Police say that during an interview, Nance confessed to the robbery, auto theft, and discharging his firearm. He now faces 12 preliminary charges. The Fishers Police Department is seeking information regarding the other suspects involved in the robbery. Anyone with information is urged to call 317-595-3300.
The Fishers Police Department expressed gratitude to several agencies for their assistance during the investigation, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana State Police helicopter unit, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, Carmel Police Department, and Noblesville Police Department.
I am writing this during the morning of Saturday, June 29th. Something I had planned, and looked forward to doing today, will not happen for me.
I have been a big fan of the Fishers summer festival, held just before the 4th of July. It started in 1989 as the Fishers Freedom Festival, run by a local nonprofit group. In recent years, the celebration has been taken over by the City of Fishers and rebranded as the Spark Fishers Festival.
Spark has expanded to a nearly week-long event, but the best is saved for last, with a big street fair at the Fishers Municipal Complex and a parade in the evening. Most years since starting this local news blog, I have covered the event and parade. But not this year.
Being the clumsy old guy I am, I injured my knee Thursday evening. I had it checked-out the next day and it was nothing more than a very bad bruise, but the pain will linger for about a week. This 72-year-old guy is in no shape to cover a big event and parade with a badly bruised knee.
So, I will not be there with you, but if you are reading this prior or during Spark, please enjoy. It is one of the major Fishers events each year bringing the community together. If you are reading this after attending Spark, I hope you enjoyed it.
The major reconstruction at the intersection of Allisonville Road and 146th Street is continuing, with material deliveries requiring some night & overnight lane restrictions.
Below are the details, as provided by the Hamilton County Highway Department:
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Please be advised, beginningon or afterthe dates listed below, between the hours of7PMand5AM, our contractor will utilizea lane restriction for the delivery of materials in the work area and to set bridge beams.
Upcoming Nighttime Lane Restriction Dates:
Monday, July 1st: Westbound left lane of 146th Street will be closed.
Tuesday, July 2nd: One Westbound and Eastbound lane will be closed. A temporary crossover will be utilized on both sides of the intersection to shift traffic into the appropriate lanes.
Drivers should expect short-duration intermittent stoppages along 146th street and Allisonville Road, so the contractor can move materials and equipment within the work area. Please watch for flaggers within the construction zone and use extreme caution while driving through this construction zone.
The conservative political group Fishers One has endorsed a candidate in each township of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board at-large election in November.
In Delaware Township, Greg Lannan is the group’s endorsed candidate. He faces Latrica Schooley.
In Fall Creek Township, former HSE Board member Terry Tolle is the endorsed candidate. He faces incumbent Suzanne Thomas.
In Wayne Township, John Stewart has the group’s endorsement. He is opposed by incumbent Sarah Parks-Reese.
In this at-large election, each candidate must reside within the township but all voters in the HSE District vote in each township race.
Fishers One endorsed the winning candidates in the 2022 HSE School Board district election.
(NOTE: Greg Lannan & I share the same last name and are distant cousins. We did not know each other until a few years ago)
The Hamilton Southeastern Superintendent of Schools Patrick Mapes has been on the job about 4 months, and provided an update Wednesday with plenty of numbers on academics and financial matters.
On the academic front, here are some major take-aways from Mr. Mapes’ presentation, centering on testing data:
–In English Language Arts, HSE performs at 59.1%, compared to the state average of 40.7%. Mapes noted the state changed the test a few years ago is now more in line with national standards.
–In math, for 2023, HSE scored 63.2%, with the state number at 40.9%.
–The 3rd grade IREAD score was for 88.6% for HSE, state 81.9%. Mapes explained there are students taking summer school now that will retake the test. The 2nd grade IREAD score for HSE was 58%, a very high number.
–Mapes told the board SAT scores may not be a fair assessment, since it is a college-bound test, yet all HSE students take it, but the HSE score of 56% is much higher than the state average of 28.4%.
–Mapes turned to enrollment numbers, which have been declining in recent years and is tied to support from the state. The 2024 HSE total enrollment number is 21,299. Demographer Jerry McKibben, in a report to the board in May of 2022, projected the 2024 student count for all HSE at 21.146, a bit lower than the actual count.
The discussion then turned to financial matters. I will summarize some of Mr. Mapes’ comments, but sifting through all the financial data is quite complicated. I have a link below to Mapes’ entire presentation to the board, including his numbers about new money received from the state and how it has been spent.
Mapes went into what he described as continuing “deficit financing trends” for teachers salaries. The superintendent asserts the District has been “moving money around,” transferring funds, which HSE Schools had been doing for years. He says this is “not fiscally responsible.”
He also voiced criticism that financial books were not closed by end of January, or the first part of February this year.
HSE Schools administrators and HSEA officials will be entering into negotiations over teachers’ compensation in the coming weeks.
To access the presentation by Superintendent Mapes, use this link.
Supt. Patrick Mapes speaks before the school board…the red shirts denote support for the HSE teachers union
When the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), the local teachers’ union, filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) against the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, it was clear there was a chasm separating the two institutions. Following a meeting with HSEA members before Wednesday’s school board meeting, and comments made by Superintendent Patrick Mapes speaking before the HSE Board, the gulf between HSEA and HSE Schools appears to have widened significantly.
Teachers met next door to the school administration building prior to the 6pm board meeting. Referring to comments from a local organization, HSEA President Abby Taylor said, “There are not sides when it comes to treating people kindly. We, as teachers, have never chosen a side. We have chosen to support students, every, every step of the way.”
Becky Slayton, the ISTA Uniserve Director for HSEA, provided a timeline of what led to the ULP filing. Administration was contacted up the chain of command about allegations of a “toxic workplace” from HSEA President Taylor. With no resolution when attorneys for HSEA and HSE Schools spoke, HSEA authorized ISTA attorneys to file the ULP action.
“Right now, what (HSE Schools are) doing is merely trying to bust up the union, so that you do not have a voice,” Slayton told the teacher group. She adds the union will see to it there is a hearing on the ULP.
While Mapes was providing the board with the District’s update on “Vision, Goals, Organization, and Budget,” he had some direct comments about teachers and those representing them. He began by talking about people believing everything they read on social media.
“As a school corporation, we will not drag legal issues through social media,” Mapes told the board. “It’s unprofessional and provides no value. Education is a service providing profession that is striving to build student skills so they may be good citizens. That’s the goal no matter what community you’re in. ”
Mapes went on to say the following: “If we’ve employed people who do not want to serve students and put their own agenda in front of a mission to educate students, then those people should leave our district because we’re here to serve students. That’s why people got into this business. They want to help kids. And if they don’t want to help kids, then I really don’t have any place for them.”
Mapes then quoted a comment from Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, “…schools help promote our community.”
Slayton says if there is no settlement of the ULP, and as of Wednesday that does not seem likely, the state will hold a hearing, with a decision coming by October of this year.
Teachers gather for a meeting before the school board session
