In a statement issued December 2nd, Northeast District City Councilman Brad DeReamer said he would not seek election to a third term on the Fishers City Council.  DeReamer has apparently changed his mind and is filing for re-election after all.

The election will feature two former mayors in the Republican primary.  DeReamer is a former mayor of Greenfield.  Dan Canan has already filed for the Northeast Council seat as a Republican and previously served as mayor of Muncie.  And the filing period is not over yet.

DeReamer has served two consecutive 4-year terms on the council.  In a campaign statement announcing his candidacy, he cites what has already been accomplished in Fishers as a place “to live, work, play and raise your family.”  DeReamer looks forward to working with Mayor Scott Fadness and keep the city headed in the right direction.

Brad DeReamer Brad is a graduate of Purdue University, with a degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Land Surveying.  He served in the US Army reserves and the Indiana National Guard.

You may want to take a close eye at your travel plans for late Tuesday into Wednesday.  The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for a large part of Indiana, Including Fishers, starting late Tuesday into Wednesday afternoon.  5-9 inches of snow is the prediction from the weather forecasters.

Look below for the details from NWS:

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...

* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations 5 to 9
  inches possible.

* WHERE...Portions of central Indiana.

* WHEN...From late Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon.

* IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous
  conditions could impact the morning commute.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is already putting people in our part of Indiana on notice – a major snow storm may be headed our way Tuesday night into Wednesday.  If there is any good news, it looks like temperatures will not be going into the deep freeze once the snow event is over.

The track of the storm is not clear so no indications from the weather service on how many inches of now may be coming our way, but some TV weather people are already saying we could see 5-7 inches of the white stuff.

Below is the statement issued by NWS just after 5pm Sunday:

A winter storm is expected to cross central Indiana late Tuesday
night and Wednesday...with the potential for significant snowfall
accumulation. The storm may impact travel. Consider making
alternate plans if expecting to travel through the middle of this
week.

Bill Stuart has lived in Fishers for 29 years, serves on the Fishers Plan Commission and Fire Merit Commission, and now wants to serve on the Fishers City Council.  Mr. Stuart has filed to be a Democratic candidate for  the Council’s Southwest District.

“As a planning commission member, I’ve supported and promoted some great projects in our community,” Stuart said in a campaign news release. “However, I believe there is much more we can do to make certain that Fishers becomes an even better place to work, play and raise a family.”

The Southwest District is currently represented by Republican David Giffel, who has filed as a candidate for the council seat.  Giffel was elected to the council by a Republican caucus after the resignation of David George.

Stuart cites his work on the Plan Commission, seeing the economic growth of Fishers.  He points to the Fishers District expansion and the new arena as examples of his involvement in the city’s growth.  As a city councilor, he looks to support more projects such as Andretti Motorsports, Geist Waterfront Park and the Nickel Plate Trail.  He also favors continued partnerships with the Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

“We need to grow in a smart way to develop quality housing, improve the City’s walkability, encourage small business startups, and improve our quality of life so that the people who work in Fishers, like teachers, public safety officers, and firefighters can also LIVE in Fishers,” Stuart said.

Stuart is the first Democrat to file for city office in the upcoming election.

Thursday morning was anything but a routine commute to the office for Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.

City Spokesperson Ashley Elrod says the mayor was in a traffic accident just before 8am at Southeastern Parkway and Atlantic, described by Fadness as a “head-on collision.”  The mayor was taken to the hospital, along with his son Jackson, for a routine check. Both suffered only “a few bumps and bruises.”

The mayor’s long-time, and often repaired, city vehicle did not survive the crash and Elrod says that car “is totaled and (the mayor) is grieving its departure.”  Mayor Fadness is known to have driven that particular vehicle for many years.

Mayor Fadness was back at work Thursday morning.

Here is a statement from Mayor Fadness:

“(Thursday) morning while driving my youngest son to daycare, our vehicle was hit in a head-on collision.  Air bags deployed and we were were shaken up for sure, but I am beyond grateful that no one sustained any serious injuries and the only major damage that occurred was to the vehicles.  I’m also thankful for the witnesses and first responders who helped us at the scene.”

A serious vehicle accident claimed the life of an Anderson man Tuesday night at 116th Street & Olio Road.  Adam Ellison, 38, died at the scene, according to Fishers Police.

Two Toyota vehicles involved in the incident were found at the scene when officers arrived.

“Based on evidence collected at the scene and witness statements it appears the 2011 Toyota was traveling northbound on Olio Road and the 2009 Toyota was southbound on Olio at the time of the crash,” say authorities in a news release.

Ellison was a passenger in the 2009 Toyota.  The drivers of each car, Jarah Kendrick, 34, from Anderson…and Roger Pullman, 30, from Indianapolis, were both transported to local hospitals.

Police say the crash remains under investigation.

If the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board chooses to renew or place another tax amount on a funding referendum, it would be in November.  The current operating referendum expires at the end of 2023.  That referendum generates just under $26 million in annual revenue for HSE Schools.

The board had a number of questions for HSE Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Katy Dowling in a Tuesday morning work session.  Most centered on where the money generated by the referendum is spent, such as how much goes to pay administrators.

Dowling did a deep dive into the history of school referenda in Indiana and the HSE 2016 operating referendum.  In 2016, the school district said the referendum money would go toward reducing classroom sizes, deal with the pay scale for the teaching staff and improve academic programs.  That referendum was also utilized to add assistant principals in elementary buildings.

Dowling encouraged board members to ask her questions and she would provide any data requested by the board.

There is not enough time to place the referendum question on the May primary ballot.  The previous board did not act on the referendum, presumably so the new board can make that decision.

Board members made no commitments but indicated a decision would be needed in the coming weeks and months.

In 2016, HSE School District voters approved a referendum adding 22.75 cents to the tax rate, per $100 of assessed property tax valuation.  Although voters vote up or down on a referendum, the board decides what amount to request of taxpayers in a referendum.

I do recall the Town of Fishers, early in my time writing this blog, where Conner Prairie regularly came to the town and asked for financial help.  The amount each year was around $100,000 and the town regularly approved the request with little opposition.

When Fishers became a city, there was discussion about financially supporting local nonprofit groups beyond Conner Prairie.  That led to the creation of the City Council Nonprofit Committee.  The council would determine how much money was available in the city budget, look at the requests from local nonprofit groups, then decide which organizations would receive city funding and how much each would receive.

There is now a proposal on the table to dissolve the City Council Nonprofit Committee and mold nonprofit organization funding recommendations into the mayor’s annual budget request to the City Council.  Council members would still have final say over funding for the nonprofits as part of the budget process.

Some councilors say the Nonprofit Committee system has become too political.  Others want the current system to remain in place.

Councilors only need one vote to pass first reading, which happened at Tuesday night’s meeting.  The dissolution proposal for the Council’s standing Nonprofit Committee will likely be debated again before a final vote is taken.

Imagine it is March of this year, it is a beautiful sunny 60 degree day, Geist Waterfront Park has just opened and you want to take your family for a park visit.  Fishers is setting up a system where city residents can register online with one set of credentials and one password, allowing you to drive to the park and gain the free access for those living in the city.

Fishers Information Technology Director Tracy Gaynor told the Board of Public Works and Safety that you could have your phone or other digital device anywhere in your vehicle, even in the back seat, and gain access to the park.  This is part of a technical upgrade the city is purchasing from Okta, a private firm.  Fishers is acquiring this technology through a  State of Indiana Quantity Purchase Award, providing a discount of roughly $23,000 to the city.  The cost of the system to the city is about $100,000.

Gaynor compares this system to a hotel keying system, with a toll road meeting Disney’s Magic Pass.  Citizens may register voluntarily and will not be charged to sign up.

Local citizens will eventually, using this system, be able to access other permitted city facilities, register and enroll in a variety of programs, rent facilities and equipment, and eventually access the city’s online permitting and inspections system, report events and observations that request city service, and even pay utility bills, Gaynor told the board.

The Board of Works approved the purchase, so work continues to build this new system.

It is a regular issue anytime traffic builds at 116th Street and Allisonville Road – the left turn lanes stack up and vehicles are backed up.  Fishers city engineers have been studying this issue, with an early recommendation to expand the turn lanes, but that was set aside long ago.

Fishers is now planning a roundabout at that intersection as the solution to the long-standing traffic tie-ups.  The bidding and start of construction are planned for 2024.

The Fishers Board of Works and Safety voted January 10th to approve a supplemental agreement to provide $413,825.43 in additional money for the roundabout project.  City Engineer Jason Taylor told board members this will fund additional work required for the project due to “changes in the surrounding area as well as the land that is owned by the city, and working around some of the details of development that may occur.”