The role of township government in Indiana has been a hot topic ever since Governor Mitch Daniels had two political heavyweights, Former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepherd and former Governor Joe Kernan, co-chair a 2007 commission that essentially found township governments should be abolished in Indiana.  The General Assembly didn’t go along with those findings, except to do away with most township assessors.

I do know many legislators began their political careers as township trustees or board members, so they have a soft spot in their hearts for townships.  But townships in the state continue to argue for their very existence.

There is an important local connection to this issue.  Delaware Township Trustee Debbie Driskell is also Executive Director of the Indiana Township Association (ITA).  The organization recently released  a task force study on township government.

The task force, using data gathered by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, reached 27 findings.  Here are some of those points from the ITA:

• Encourage townships to consider interlocal arrangements to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of local services
• Provide support to townships that wish to pursue voluntary mergers
• Allow nonvoluntary mergers of townships if certain criteria is met
• Make townships eligible for state grants and low-interest loan funding
• Strengthen board oversight of township finances
• Expand the circumstances that allow a public safety levy appeal
• Require townships with fire and EMS services to be included in public safety local income tax allocations
• Mandate annual continuing education for elected officials and critical staff
• Expand education of the public, K-12 students, and policy makers about the duties and values of township government

The two townships that serve the city of Fishers, Delaware and Fall Creek, have the duty to provide fire emergency medical services to the parts of the township not within the city limits.

I started covering Indiana local government in the early 1970s and have always believed that, if you look at the entire State of Indiana, some township governments work well and are efficient ways to deliver some services, others are not doing so well.  One mistake the Shepherd-Kernan Commission may have made was proposing that all township government functions be moved to the counties.  That made the idea easy to oppose.

I do not know the future of township government in the Hoosier State, but if a blue-ribbon commission appointed by Mitch Daniels during his time as governor could not bring about legislative action, I do not know what would.  I would hope that state lawmakers continue to keep an eye on all levels of state government and evaluate the job being done, including the townships.

As the weather slowly begins to improve, we see more utility relocations and lane restrictions.  Be aware of those and other issues from the road construction report for the work week of February 27, as provided by the City of Fishers:

==========

STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Summer of 2023. View detour routes here.

Beginning on or after Monday, February 27, there will be temporary lane closures on 116th Street between Hazel Dell Parkway and Eller Road for bridge joint repairs performed by Hamilton County. One lane will be closed at a time and are expected to occur between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Recovery is something many of us have experienced at some point in our lives.  The Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County, located at the Eller House in Fishers, provides a safe place for people to begin their journey to recovery.

The location, just west of Allisonville Road on 116th Street, has been in the slow process of opening its doors.  The Recovery Cafe plans an Open House at 3pm, Thursday, March 2nd.

Among those scheduled to be on hand for the Open House are Mayor Scott Fadness, County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and a representative of Governor Holcomb’s office.

You can learn more about the Cafe at this link.  I recorded a podcast about the Recovery Cafe in December, which can be heard at this link. 

Here are a few photos from my Wednesday visit to the Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County

Continue reading Recovery Cafe of Hamilton County set for March 2nd Open House →

Room Service on Wheels is a Fishers eatery located at Fishers Pointe Boulevard and Lantern Road that plans an indoor dining area and adding outdoor dining.  The outdoor dining will require some government approvals and the first step was Wednesday evening, where the Nickel Plate Review Committee provided a unanimous vote to allow the expansion to move forward.

The owner told the committee he plans on a name change for the business in the near future.

The Nickel Plate Review Committee looks at each project to ensure it fits into the concept of the Fishers Nickel Plate District.

The outdoor seating plan must still pass muster with city staff, then go before the Board of Zoning Appeals for a Development Standards Variance allowing outdoor dining at that location.

When the expansion of the Fishers District, near I-69 & 116th Street, was announced, word came that the city would be constructing a new $170 million events center, holding as many as 8,500 people, as a major component of that development.  City officials interviewed and considered a number of firms to manage the facility and announced recently that ASM Global has been chosen for that task.

With the ground breaking ceremony expected in March, ASM is already busy what the firm describes as “pre-opening” services.  The complex is expected to be completed in December of 2024.

ASM Global touts its track record, working with and anchoring major cultural and
entertainment districts, venues and projects including L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Darling Harbour in Sydney, OVO Arena Wembley in London, AO Arena in Manchester and the Westgate Entertainment District—a regional, mixed-use development destination for shopping, dining, entertainment and commercial office space in Glendale, Arizona.

“This selection was the perfect choice that recognizes ASM Global’s expertise in world-class venues like the Fishers Event Center,” says Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in an ASM news release. “Their experience integrating that expertise with world-class, mixed-use projects is unparalleled. We have no doubt that their prowess in booking, fan experience, artist comfort and technological innovations will elevate our new venue and place it in the upper echelon of guest experiences beyond expectations.”

The new Events Center will be the new home of the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team, and Fuel owner Jim Hallet praised ASM’s extensive experience running major events, including Super Bowls, NCAA athletics, the Olympics.

“ASM Global believes in the Fishers market and its tremendous potential,” according to ASM President and CEO Ron Bension. “We plan to bring our global scale and best-in-class local operational execution to create value and drive profitability. That’s what we do. We don’t doubt that in short order this will be recognized as one of the top sports and entertainment districts in the U.S.”

The expansion of Fishers District, of which this Events Center is a part, is one element of a total $1.1 billion in economic and entertainment investment announced in September—the largest single-day announcement in Fishers history.

Verizon retailers that are part of Fishers-based Round Room and TCC are participating in their 10th annual Teachers Rock initiative.

Each Verizon retail store selected a group of teachers to give back to, with appreciation efforts including providing catered meals, gift cards, an assortment of sweets, school supply kits and more.

“The Teachers Rock initiative has become one of the more special events we hold each year, and we’re proud to support teachers nationwide for 10 consecutive years,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room and TCC. “We’ve all been positively impacted by teachers at some point in our lives, which was one of the main reasons we created Teachers Rock, to give back to these hardworking people who give so much to their students. It’s amazing to see how much the program has grown in 10 years.”

TCC is also giving away 10 $1,000 Amazon gift cards for teachers to enhance their classrooms and student experiences. Teachers nationwide are eligible to enter the Big Impact sweepstakes.

For more information, use this link.

The Fishers Police Department is adding 14 new officers to its force.  At Monday’s Fishers City Council meeting, they swore an oath and officially became members of the department.

Fishers has been fortunate to recruit a number of officers with experience in other police forces before entering the Fishers force.

In most Fishers Homeowners Associations (HOAs) it takes a vote of at least 75% of the homeowners to make a change in the covenants or other rules.  The Fishers City Council, at the regular monthly meeting Monday, took the first step toward changing that for new neighborhoods in the city.

“We are requesting that for any new HOA that this just be a simple majority vote in order to make (a) change, to make it a little bit easier for neighborhoods to amend their covenants and restrictions through the years,” Director Planning & Zoning Megan Vukusich told council members.

Mayor Scott Fadness emphasized the city would not implement such a rule retroactively, this proposed ordinance would only apply to new development.  Councilor Pete Peterson emphasized any new city ordinance would require a 50% vote of homeowners, not 50% of the homeowners present for a meeting of the HOA.  There were many comments about how HOA meetings in many neighborhoods are sparsely attended and a quorum is often not present in order to conduct business.

Vukusich added this rule would not apply to the new developments along Florida Road, but the city could ask the developers to include the 50% rule in their covenants.

The Council only needed one vote to pass the ordinance on first reading.  The proposed measure now goes to the March 1st Plan Commission meeting for a public hearing.  The ordinance will be up for a final vote at the March 20th council session.

The Fishers Health Department (FHD) said it planned to begin restaurant inspections in 2023, and that program has begun.

According to a report submitted to the Fishers City Council, FHD has issued grades to 84 facilities, with 81 meriting an “A” Grade.  279 more facilities are in the process of being inspected and graded. Grades are to be posted publicly September 30 of this year.  The department is making final changes to a GIS dashboard system for any member of the public to view and access all facilities and associated inspection reports and letter grades.

The Fishers COVID-19 case level has been flat over the past two weeks with the CDC-defined community COVID level at “low.”  FHD says Influenza-like illness remains low in Fishers after a December 2022 peak.

The department will soon be welcoming two new staff members.  Offers from FHD have been accepted for Health Educator and Social Worker positions. The Health Educator is set to start full-time at end of May. The Social Worker starts April 10 in a grant funded position through June 30, 2025.

The Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation has a major fund-raising event this time of year, Game Day.  Tickets for Game Day have been sold out for some time, but there is another way to support the foundation and find something you would like to buy.

Get your bids in before the silent auction closes at 9:15 pm on February 24th. This year’s auction includes:

• Amazing baskets from all 22 school PTOs
• Trips to Jackson Hole, Italy, California, Alaska, Curacao, Key West, South Africa, and France
• Colts and Pacers tickets
• Kenny Chesney autographed guitar
• In-home private chef experience
• Goalrilla basketball hoop
• Commercial grade double bay swing
• Heating and security system
• A private helicopter ride
• Youth sports experiences from Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Register to bid on an auction item at this link.

The foundation provides grants to support classrooms and teachers throughout the Hamilton Southeastern School District.