The move to Fishers happened once I was married in 1991. It was a town of less than 10,000 people, based on the census numbers available at that time. It was a very different place then, a small farm town with a subdivision or two.
That began to change quickly. As a resident of Fishers for 31 years, there is one statement of fact I can write here. The only thing in Fishers that has remained the same is the fact that everything is always subject to change.
I have seen massive change in Fishers during my time here. The local school district began taking on over 1,000 new students every year for many years. Building a new elementary school every year did not always keep up with the growth. The amazing part of that story is the way the school corporation was able to handle that massive growth and keep academic achievement generally very high.
When I arrived in Fishers, that small building across from the Depot building on 116th Street was the Town Hall. A few months later, the town moved into the new Town Hall, our current City Hall.
We are about to lose our current City Hall mainly because it is sinking into the water table beneath the structure and keeping that building going is costing taxpayers so much money it is more financially prudent to build a new one.
We have gone from a time that you only knew you were in downtown Fishers when driving over the railroad tracks, to a developed downtown where the tracks have been transformed into a trail with a tunnel underneath 116th Street..
City Hall will see the wrecking ball in a few months, causing city staff to find other places to work until the new building is complete. But I have a question about the new building.
An artist rendering of the new facility (see above) has a sign that does not mention the words City Hall. It is the “Arts and Municipal Complex.”
My question is – why drop the phrase “City Hall” in favor of “Municipal Complex?”
I have no problem giving “Arts” top billing. Mayor Scott Fadness told me in a recent podcast that he considers this to be a few floors of office space above an arts center. He believes the arts center is the key part of the building.
In speaking with some city officials, I get the idea that the phrase “Municipal Complex” could be changed, but no one is sure to what.
We still have some parts of Fishers that have historically been here. We have Conner Prairie. Sahm’s still has restaurants here. Reynolds Farm Equipment is still in business here. Please don’t attack me for leaving something or someone out, this is not intended to be a comprehensive listing, just a few examples that come to my mind while writing this.
There are still some people in Fishers unhappy with the growth and changes in our area. They say Fishers has lost its small town feel. I understand where they are coming from but Mayor Fadness has an answer for that.
Some time ago, in another podcast interview, he made clear that, in his view, a city is either moving forward or backward. In this day and age, it is not possible to just stand pat, according to the mayor..
So, our mayor has clearly chosen the path of moving forward. Fishers has had massive commercial and residential growth, and Fadness has had a hand in getting that done.
When I married Jane in 1991, we moved into the house she had recently built in Sunblest. Our twin daughters attended HSE Schools grades K-12 and received a first-class education. Both are college grads and have grown into outstanding young women.
Jane & I are in our third Fishers home and have no desire to move again. As retirees, Fishers suits us just fine.
That one fact will continue for the foreseeable future – Fishers will have what remains the same – everything is always subject to change. That is not always a bad thing.
