Fishers’ Technology Drive, located in Northeast Commerce Park, is normally a very busy place.  It contains the Fishers Health Department, Launch Fishers, The Indiana IoT (Internet of Things) Lab, DeVeau’s Gymnastics, The Fieldhouse….well, you get the picture.  And there are many more I could add to that list,

Motorists faced with the challenge of a one-way street on Technology Drive will soon be getting some relief.  The city’s Director of Engineering, Jason Taylor, tells LarryInFishers the contractor is in the final phase of reconstructing that street and two-way traffic should be restored by the end of August.

Technology Drive has had an upgrade constructed on the road surface during the construction this summer.

It is fitting that I begin a podcast series all about the history of Fishers with someone familiar with the American Indian Tribe that roamed this land long before 1872.  As part of the Fishers Sesquicentennial, I have partnered with the City of Fishers to provide historical perspective on our 150th birthday.

Diane Hunter is an expert on the Miami Tribe that inhabited this region even before the Delaware and Lenape tribes lived in what we now know as the Fishers area.

Learn about the first inhabitants of the area we now know as Fishers by listening to my podcast discussion with Diane Hunter.

As Fishers celebrates its 150th birthday (Sesquicentennial) local publisher Tom Britt decided to take one of his favorite items, a time capsule, and place it into the new Arts Center/Municipal Complex set to begin construction later this year.

Tom is putting his Towne Post Network behind the idea of fashioning the time capsule.  But if we Fishers residents want a time capsule, how do we decide what to include in the capsule for people in the future Fishers to see many years from now?

You can be a part of all that.  Just use this link, fill out the form and tell Fishers what you would like to place in the time capsule.

Watch for overnight lane restrictions along State Road 37 in Fishers July 25 through July 28.

For more on that, and other road construction projects in and around Fishers, here is the weekly road construction update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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STATE ROAD 37 AND 146TH STREET
All left-turn lanes are currently restricted on SR 37 and on 146th Street with traffic moved to the interior lanes. Thru traffic and right turns on SR 37 and 146th Street will remain open. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes for all left turn access. View an alternate route map here.  

STATE ROAD 37 AND 131ST/135TH STREET
135th Street, east of SR 37, is currently closed as work progresses on the project. This closure will be in place until early July. SR 37 will remain open both northbound and southbound and allow right in/right out access at 131st Street. View the detour map here.

Beginning on Monday, July 25 through Thursday, July 28, there will be single lane closures on SR 37 between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. to set barrier wall, place pavement markings and signage for Phase 6. Northbound will be moved first onto the newly constructed pavement and will be able to utilize 135th Street via right in/right out. Southbound will be last and will no longer have access to 135th Street, west of SR 37. View the detour map here.  

Please drive with caution through this area. To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com.

The inside lane of the Technology Drive is currently closed to traffic to allow for construction of new pavement in the inside lane.  One-way traffic will be in place in the outside lane as shown here.  Access to all businesses will be maintained during the construction.

The intersection at Southeastern Pky. & Cyntheanne Road is currently closed for roundabout construction and is anticipated to reopen by the end of July. View the detour map here.  Schoolhouse 7 Café will remain open for business during construction. View how to access their business here.  

Beginning on Monday, July 25 through Thursday, July 28, milling and road resurfacing will be taking place on Cumberland Road. The southbound lane on Cumberland Road between 131st Street and 126th Street will be restricted daily between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The roundabout at 131st Street will be reduced to one internal lane to prevent traffic exiting southbound onto Cumberland Road. Flaggers will be in place at 131st Street and 126th Street to help direct traffic. 

Olio Road between Geist Reservoir and Haven Cove Lane, the first road south of the Geist Reservoir Bridge, may have daily lane restrictions for the reconfiguration and installation of access to Geist Waterfront Park and the Marina. These lane restrictions will occur between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday thru Friday. The estimated completion date is August 1, 2022.  

Beginning on Tuesday, July 26 through Thursday, July 28, road resurfacing will be taking place on 104th Street, east of Olio Road to Cyntheanne Road. Flaggers will be in place to help direct traffic. 
 

Comcast will have daily lane restrictions in place on westbound 116th Street between Cameron Drive and Allisonville Road and northbound Allisonville Road between 116th Street to the Kroger signal for overhead work. Restrictions will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

ADA ramp and curb reconstruction has started taking place in Delaware Point, Hickory Woods, Overlook at Beaver Ridge and Waterford Gardens as part of the 2022 Resurfacing Project. Homeowners will be notified via door hangers prior to any curb reconstruction near their home. After ADA ramp and curb reconstruction is completed, those areas will be restored with topsoil and seed. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to water the seed for the seed to germinate. Prior to road resurfacing, residents will be notified via street signage for street parking restrictions.

When the City of Fishers asked citizens for comment on what should be included in an Allisonville Road Corridor study, they chose to come and comment at City Hall.  Thursday evening, city officials and the consultant, HWC Engineering, were on hand to answer questions and solicit comments on how Allisonville Road, between 106th and 126th Streets, should be developed.

City Planning and Zoning Director Megan Vukusich says a wide net is being used to get as much comment as possible from people in the area.  The Thursday night event is one method, but there have been outreaches at the Farmers Market, a community survey and a steering committee consisting of area residents and property owners.

“We’ll take all these results and put together some recommendations based on these results,” Vukusich tells LarryInFishers.

The overall study should be complete by fall of this year.

In the first half hour of the 2-hour Thursday event, Vukusich says she counted more than 100 people at the City Hall auditorium.

Vukusich emphasized that the feedback from all the outreach activities will determine whether the city will pursue significant redevelopment along that corridor or seek reinvestment in what is there now.

“I have never, ever opened up a new building, and boy, is it an experience”

Those were the words to Linda Ededuwa, Principal of the new Deer Creek Elementary School.  This is the first Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school building with a Noblesville address, at 156th Street and Boden Road, located in Wayne Township.

The Thursday morning ribbon-cutting and reception found plenty of HSE school officials, past and present, on hand for the ceremony.  Current HSE Superintendent Yvonne Stokes handled the MC duties, but previous Superintendent Allen Bourff was also there for his efforts to have the school constructed.

Past and present school board members made an appearance.  Current Board Vice President Sarah Donsbach subbed for President Julie Chambers, who was under the weather and unable to attend.

Tons of staff members and contractors were recognized for their work to make the ribbon-cutting happen.  The teaching staff at Deer Creek received two hearty rounds of applause.

The staff and students from Durbin Elementary are moving to the new Deer Creek Building in August, along with students from several other elementary buildings in the area. This will ease overcrowding at nearby elementary schools, including Southeastern Elementary.

Here are photos from ribbon-cutting day at Deer Creek Elementary:

Continue reading HSE Schools introduce the new Deer Creek Elementary →

I know it is hard to believe, but students in the Hamilton Southeastern School District have their first day of classes Wednesday, August 3rd, two weeks from the time this story is posted.

That’s why it is not too soon to be thinking back packs.  If you drive I-69 in Fishers, you have likely seen the office building, once occupied by Roche, now housing Verizon TCC and Wireless Zone, part of Round Room.  That operation is spearheading a program to give away back packs for returning students this fall.

The referendum tax rate for Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will expire at the end of 2023, so the school board has decisions to make.  Should the board ask taxpayers to keep the rate where it is?  When should the referendum appear on the ballot, in the May or November elections of 2023?

Those and many other questions were before the board in a 90-minute work session held Tuesday morning.

The current referendum rate adds 22.75 cents (per $100 of assed valuation) to the local property tax rate.  There were many questions asked by board members and a number of comments made, but no member indicated publicly they plan to oppose the referendum vote.

HSE Chief Financial Officer Katy Dowling pointed out that HSE, the fourth-largest school corporation in the state, is in the bottom three in state financial support per student, along with Zionsville and Carmel.  Without the referendum funding, Dowling told the board that 15% would need to be cut from the HSE Schools budget, which would amount to $25 million per year.

Assistant Superintendent Matt Kegley reminded the board that 90% of that budget goes to the people employed by the school district.

Dowling also reminded board members that state law requires the language on the referendum ballot to use the word “increase” four times, even if the board asks taxpayers for a renewal of the current referendum rate.

The board must also decide whether to hire an outside firm to help with the referendum campaign.

Board President Julie Chambers said a referendum recommendation for the board should be ready for consideration by the end of August or early September.  There could also be another work session scheduled to further discuss plans for the referendum.

Tom Britt likes to tell the story of how his publishing business started in Geist with a feature magazine.  That operation has grown to include franchising his approach to publishing.  A new franchise for his magazine concept is starting-up in Muncie.

In this podcast, Tom Britt talks about Fishers, Geist, Spark Fishers, his time capsule project for the Fishers Sesquicentennial and much more.

The Fishers City Council honored six Fishers Police Officers for 20 years of service at Monday night’s meeting.  Here are the officers with 20 years in police work:

Major Mike Pedersen

Sergeant Eric Patton

Sergeant Wayne Druelinger

Officer Robert Gaines

Officer Cory Robinson

Officer Robert Thompson

Sergeant Patton was also recognized for his retirement that is scheduled for August 1st.