The Fishers City Council is preparing to take final action on the 2023 budget and a decision on whether to approve a food and beverage tax (a 1% levy on restaurant meals).  The Finance Committee will recommend approval of those items and others at the next regular Council session October 10.  The regular council session is being conducted earlier than normal in the month due to HSE Schools being on Fall Break the following week.

Mayor Scott Fadness told committee members the budget presented at last month’s council session will be the same spending plan he will ask the council members to give final approval October 10.

Committee member Jocelyn Vare asked for more details on plans for the cash reserves.  The mayor responded this is a timing issue, based on needs for a new community center that will be revealed in coming weeks.  Also, the agreement with Carmel to share income tax proceeds will expire after 2023.

Committee Chairman John Weingardt sounded a note of caution in handling cash reserves.

“I’m going to be very, very careful with those reserves,” said Weingardt.  “With our economy going the way it’s going, where we’re heading as a country.”

Weingardt voiced concern about what a downturn in the economy would do for the city’s AAA bond rating.

Councilor David Giffel is not a member of the Finance Committee, but attended Wednesday’s meeting and asked the mayor about city funding for the arena planned as part of the Fishers District expansion.

Fadness responded the city is going into this process with “eyes wide open,” with the financing of this center not burdening the property tax rate for the city.  The city plans to dip into the Cumulative Capital Development Fund (CCD) first so that remaining money can be used for other capital projects.

The mayor is proposing a 1% Food & Beverage Tax as part of the funding package for the arena.  The latest data on how much that tax would generate in Fishers is $3.2 million per year.  The City Council is holding a public hearing on the Food & Beverage Tax proposal October 6, 5pm, at the Police Department Training Room.  The council is to vote on the tax October 10.

When asked about road projects to be funded next year, Fadness said the biggest one in 2023  would be on Cumberland Road, between 106th & 116th Streets

The Fishers City Council will be conducting a public hearing on a food & beverage tax at a special meeting Thursday, October 6, 5:00pm.  Both the start time and the location are a bit unusual.

First, the 5:00pm start time is not a common start time for any council session.  However, this public hearing on this tax is the only item on the agenda.

The location is also not a common one.  This hearing will be held at the Fishers Police Department Training Room.  If you wish to attend this meeting, enter at the main entrance to the Police Department, check out the elevator to your right.  There should be a sign directing you to the proper floor.

With City Hall set for the wrecking ball, city meetings are being conducted at various locations, such as the City Services Building and Launch Fishers.

Fishers last considered a food & beverage tax in 2013 when state lawmakers provided a one-year window to enact the levy.  There were limitations on how the money generated by the tax could be used, mostly for economic development.  There was no pending project at that time, so the town council decided to table the tax issue and never brought it back as the deadline expired.

The 1% levy on restaurant meals is being proposed by Mayor Scott Fadness as part of a package to finance a new events center as part of the Fishers District expansion.  The proposed arena could hold as many as 8,500 people, about 6,500 for hockey and basketball games.

Fadness has said he could finance this project, plus a new community center, without an increase in the city’s property tax rate.  He has, however, resurrected the food & beverage tax as part of the events center financing.

The purpose of the hearing is to allow the public time to comment on the tax proposal.  The council will then schedule a vote on the tax.

So far, council members have supported the tax proposal.  Councilor Jocelyn Vare said at the last council session she is not prepared to take a position on the tax until she has more time to study the proposal.

Six of the Ten Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board candidates accepted the invitation to attend a candidate Town Hall Tuesday night, Sponsored by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association.  The Event, held at the Launch Fishers Huston Theatre, was moderated by Fall Creek Junior High Science Teacher John Cappello.

The moderator wrote the first and last questions for the candidates, the rest were gleaned from questions submitted by the large audience on hand.  Some of the questions from those at the Town Hall included targeting and bullying messages victimizing students, teachers & staff….whether school board elections should remain nonpartisan in Indiana…how to lessen the divisions in the community….and what does academic excellence mean.

I have about 15 pages of notes on all the candidate responses, so there is no way to summarize it all.  So, here is a snapshot of what the candidates had to say.

DISTRICT 1

Jackie Howell  She is a mental health counselor with 15 years in the local community. Her family, she says, moved to the Fishers area because of the highly-rated school system.  Teachers should be treated as professionals.  She is a big believer in utilizing data before making major decisions.

Brad Boyer He is completing his first 4-year term as a board member and seeking re-election.  He believes educators should concentrate more on the core subjects and not so much on other activities during the school day.  He does not think it is a good idea for school board members to be interacting on social media, admitting some may disagree.  The COVID pandemic caused some setbacks for the board, for obvious reasons.

DISTRICT 2

Janet Pritchett She is also finishing up her first 4-year term and is running for re-election. She moved to Fishers 18 years ago.  She has been active in PTO leadership positions.  She also believes many board initiatives were derailed by the COVID pandemic.  Being supportive of teachers is something she has always emphasized and strongly believes in getting staff input on decisions.

DISTRICT 3

Carla Cork Dr. Cork is a trained physician and best-selling author.  She believes the school district should be focused on the future of its students, saying she wants children to be successful.  She has seen the best-laid teacher lesson plans go sideways when things do not go as planned.  She emphasized the level of respect the staff deserves.

DISTRICT 4

Julie Chambers The current board president is seeking a second 4-year term.  She is a former deputy prosecuting attorney and now runs her own law practice.  She says she has loved being on the board during this first term and is running for re-election.  She is working toward spreading the good news about the HSE schools.  Visiting classrooms and speaking with building principals is something she believes in doing regularly.

Harry Delks After 21 years as head of facilities for the HSE School District, he is running for the board.  He says he can offer a perspective of a school administrator when making decisions, as someone that has experience working on the inside.  When designing the new school buildings constructed by HSE Schools during his tenure, he has always had teachers in mind on what they want in the building.

Four candidates were not in attendance Tuesday night – Tiffany Pascoe, Dawn Lang, Juanita Albright and Ben Orr.  Edward Gedeon’s name will be on the ballot, but is no longer campaigning in District 1 and supports Jackie Howell.

Once again, I have only scratched the surface on what was discussed at the Town Hall.  The event was live streamed on video.  HSEA says a video recording of the event will be available soon.

In January of 2023, I will have completed 11 years of writing this local Fishers news blog.  It started out fairly simple and straight-forward:  I would show up at local meetings and write about what happened.

It has morphed into much more than that.  I started producing podcasts over 6 years ago.  Most focus on Fishers, some on entertainment.  It has been quite a journey.

I tried to quit the blog twice and circumstances have brought me back.  I wish I had a nickel for every instance when a local person comes up to me and thanks me for doing what I do.  That’s the reason I couldn’t quit and why the blog continues.

But I have a confession to make.  I am not getting any younger.  I turned 71 years of age about a month ago and see signs of slowing down a bit.  I experienced 2 health scares in the last 2 years, but can honestly say my health is not bad right now for a guy my age.

I started thinking a day or so ago that I am not covering everything I once made a point of covering.  Here are just a few examples.

When Governor Eric Holcomb chooses to attend an event in Fishers, that is always worth covering.  I had even signed-up to be part of the media scrum covering the governor for the ribbon cutting at Genezen, a tech firm expanding in Fishers.  I was busy with other things and could not make it.

The Fishers Police Department sponsors a Night Out each year and invites the community to be part of it.  I had another meeting to cover and knew I could not do both, so I missed an event I almost always find a way to attend.

Then there was the Keep Fishers Beautiful day October 1st.  Normally, I take some photos and publicize the event.  This year, I had too many other things to do and could not cover it.

You get the picture.  An aging guy trying to cover a growing city and a large school district as one person on a volunteer news blog.

I am not complaining, just explaining that one person cannot cover what’s happening in a place like Fishers these days, particularly someone like me, about 11 years older from the time the blog started.

But let’s look at this another way.  Living in a city that is moving forward all the time is a good thing, even if it keeps the senior citizen blogger busier than ever.

The local school district also provides plenty to cover, including a school board election that will elect 4 of the 7 members of the board.  Fishers city elections will be on the ballot in 2023.

My point is this – I may not be able to cover everything.  There are other local news sources you can turn to if there are stories I don’t get to, but this blog will keep going.  Saying the blog will end has not turned out to be correct in the past, so why do it now.

The only reason this blog continues is because of the many comments I receive from you, the readers and the listeners of my podcasts.  The number of people reading and listening is amazing to me.  Thank you.  Let’s see what comes next in Fishers.  As long as my health holds out, I expect to cover it right here.

It is once again school board election time for HSE Schools.  This time around, I invited all three candidates in District 1 to appear on a podcast.  So far, two have accepted.

I asked two students, Kate Lantzer, a senior from HSE High School…and Casey Alexander, a junior from Fishers High School, to do most of the questioning of the candidates.  Both were recommended by their respective principals.

Below you will find links to candidate podcasts with Jackie Howell and Brad Boyer.  There will be more candidate podcasts coming, from the candidates choosing to accept the invitation.

The weather may be cooling but road construction continues in and around the Fishers area.

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

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Cole Starnes is a senior at HSE High School and has a golfing story to tell.  He recently competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship conducted by the USGA. Starnes was one of a few high school-age players competing in that tournament.

He was honored by the Hamilton Southeastern School Board Thursday night as a Snapshot of Success.

Below is the link to a video shown at the board session.

The number of students attending Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools is just under the demographic study projection for this school year.  HSE Schools Chief Financial Officer, Katy Dowling, told school board members Thursday night that the official count is 21,149, 78 fewer than Dr. Jerry McKibben’s forecast.  Most such projections are expected to be within a 2% margin, and McKibben’s number was less then 1% off.  Dowling said the student number is about flat compared to one year ago.

In other items from the school board meeting Thursday:

–The Lantern Road Elementary School renovation will move forward as planned.  In a previous board session, school officials told the board increased costs could impact he extent of the work.  CFO Dowling says the district’s bond attorneys have found a way to manage the debt, based on a 17% increase in assessed property valuations in the district, which will not impact the school district’s share of the property tax rate.

–The board voted 4-3 tabling a proposal to join other area school districts by joining the  Hamilton County Pursuit Institute.  Board member Suzanne Thomas said she did not have time to review the proposal because material was provided shortly before the meeting.  A majority of board members voted to delay action to the next board meeting October 12.

–The board unanimously voted to advertise the proposed 2023 budget.  A public hearing is set for October 12.

–School administrators and the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) complimented each other for the work that went into the new contract for district teachers.  The board unanimously approved the agreement, the last action required for the pact to be put into effect.

–The board voted to seek bids for an expansion of the district’s Transportation Center.  The number of buses has grown to the point that all vehicles cannot fit into the current building.

–Brad Boyer talked about a recent meeting of the Fishers Redevelopment Commission.  Although most development in the city is in TIF Districts that do not generate property tax revenue for local government for several years, HSE Schools will receive property tax funds generated by the district’s referendum rate of as much as $500,000 per year once all the development is completed.

–Sarah Parks-Reese attended a similar session in Noblesville, and she says that city has plans to expand economic development into Wayne Township, which is part of the HSE School District.

When Brian Meyers resigned his seat on the Hamilton East Public Library Board, the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board needed to appoint someone to fill the remainder of Mr. Meyers’ term.

Thursday night, HSE Board President Julie Chambers announced Andre Miksha will fill the current term on the board, through August, 2025.  Mr. Miksha is Chief Deputy Prosecutor for Hamilton County.

“I think we are at a point where boards like this, whether it’s school board or a public library board, are having challenges from a variety of different angles,” Miksha told the school board after his appointment was announced.  “We need people who have experience dealing with difficult situations.”

Mr. Miksha’s wife is a teacher in the HSE School District and he is the father of two students in the HSE Schools.

“In selecting the appointee, my main goal was to find someone that would support the mission of both Hamilton Southeastern Schools (HSE) and the Hamilton East Public Library. Andre Miksha’s dedication to public service, his experience within our school district and his commitment to ensuring that our public library system is supported, all contributed to his selection,” said Board President Julie Chambers in an HSE School District news release.

The statutes call for the HSE School Board President to make the appointment, and board members voiced their support for Mr. Miksha’s selection.  There were more than 50 applicants for this library board seat.

The Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals failed to approve or deny a request from a local church, essentially keeping the church from adding temporary classrooms.

The Legacy Bible Church, located on Howe Road, between 141st & 131st Streets, asked the board to allow two temporary classrooms, essentially the same type of trailers used by overcrowded public schools, providing more space for adult and student Sunday school classes.  The church indicated the temporary classrooms would also be needed one week per year for vacation bible school.

Church officials told the board this would be a temporary arrangement and asked for permission to utilize the trailers for no more than five years, providing time for the church to decide how to deal with a growing congregation.

Four neighbors of the church spoke during the public hearing, all against the zoning variance, citing lighting, landscaping issues and an open issue with the city on the church’s landscaping.  One neighbor said she would see those trailers from her porch.

Board President Steve Ferrucci recused himself from the vote because he works for a law firm that has represented the church.  That left four board members eligible to vote, with three votes required to pass a motion.

The first vote was to deny the variance, which resulted in a 2-2 tie, meaning no action was taken.  Another motion was made to approve the variance with a four-year span, instead of five years, and that motion failed on a 2-2 vote.

The result is no approval of the variance.  Church officials were informed that the board would consider a different proposal, but essentially the same measure would likely have the same result.

In one other item, the board unanimously approved a drive-through at the Starbucks coming to 96th Street, east of Lantern Road.  A pizza restaurant previously at that location had a drive-through operation, but board approval was required for the new Starbucks at that location.