The Fishers City Council allowed the police department to use funds from a forfeiture account to pay for new gun racks in officers’ police vehicles, but not without a sharp discussion over use of this account.  $25,000 will be tapped from the forfeiture account to help pay for the gun racks.  The vote was 8-1, with Jocelyn Vare the only “no” vote.

City Controller Lisa Bradford told the council there was $65,000 in the forfeiture account before the action Monday night.  The city has no control over how much forfeiture money is allocated to local law enforcement.  County Prosecutor Lee Buckingham, along with state and federal authorities, control how much forfeiture money is allocated to Fishers.

Vare and former Democrat council candidate Lane Skeeters had concerns about how the forfeiture program is administered overall.

Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart said a recent incident where a firearm was stolen from a police vehicle was largely due to the outdated gun racks.

In other news from Monday’s City Council meeting:

–Council failed to get a unanimous vote for a drainage easement along the former railroad tracks at the airport when Councilor Vare voted no.  The matter was approved for first reading.  Vare says she has heard concerns from neighbors about proposed development at the airport and wants more time to go through the easement process.

–Council approved establishment of a fund to receive federal money under the American Rescue Plan (ARP).  Controller Bradford said the first installment of the funds should be coming to the city soon.  The separate fund allows better tracking for this money, because the ARP has restrictions on how the money can be spent and an accounting will be required to state and federal authorities.

–Fishers Public Health Director Monica Heltz praised the council for funding a new city health department in the middle of a pandemic, which she described as a “bold” move when the agency was established about one year ago.  She reviewed a long list of statistics and reiterated the goal of having 85% of all Fishers COVID vaccinated by July.

–Fishers Police Lieutenant Norm Tate was honored for 25 years of service to the city.

–Council members said Goodbye to Planning and Zoning Director Tony Bagato and council member Samantha DeLong.  Bagato is leaving the city after 5 years to take a private sector position.  Ms. DeLong’s family is moving to Las Vegas.  Megan Schaefer will take over the directorship of the Planning and Zoning Department.  Local Democrats will hold a caucus soon to select Ms. DeLong’s successor in the North Central District city council seat.

Thompson-Thrift developed Fishers District and is seeking approval of a rezoning to allow a new residential development to move forward in that same area.  The Fishers City Council gave its approval, but only after complaints from some neighbors in the area were not heard before the vote.

Villas of Fishers District will consist  of 250 residential units located on 25.5 acres of land directly south and adjacent to Fishers District.

The vote to approve the rezoning tallied at 6 “yes” votes, “no” votes from Samantha DeLong and Jocelyn Vare, along with an abstention from councilor David George.

The Fishers Plan Commission had approved the rezone unanimously but nearby residents complained that a fence had been added since the Plan Commission public hearing. Councilor Vare asked Council President Selina Stoller to allow comments from the residents, but Stoller moved on with the council vote.

Residents were able to comment at the end of the meeting following the vote to approve the rezoning, and Mayor Scott Fadness told the residents to contact him and he will work for a solution with the developer.

The Hamilton County Democratic Party issued a statement criticizing State Senator Scott Baldwin for a message sent Friday about firearms freedoms, as news was breaking about the mass shooting at the Indianapolis FedEx distribution center.  Baldwin apologized for the timing of the already scheduled message.

“We firmly believe that Senator Scott Baldwin’s emailed statement calling for firearm freedoms on Friday – the same day that the news of the tragedy broke – was not only tone deaf, but alarmingly dangerous,” HAMCO Democrats said in a statement issued Monday. “It signifies an actively defiant will to ignore the voices of the citizens they are meant to represent, Republican and Democrats alike.”

Baldwin responded saying the post was pre-planned and apologized.

“The email was drafted earlier in the week, regarding pending 2nd Amendment legislation, and its release was pre-scheduled and regrettably timed,” Baldwin’s statement says.  “I apologize for that. Please know my family and I are praying for the victims and loved ones impacted by the incomprehensible violence that occurred in our capital city.”

8 people died in the Indianapolis FedEx mass shooting and, in addition, the alleged shooter also died of an apparent self-inflicted wound.

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, the City of Fishers has announced the City of Service Awards. Three new community-nominated awards will be featured this year: Essential Worker of the Year, Non-Profit Staffer of the Year, and Community Servant of the Year. Winners were selected by the Fishers City Council through a blind process and will be celebrated throughout the week online at ThisIsFishers.com/CityofService and on social media.
This year’s award winners include:

• Essential Worker of the Year: Jesse and Debra McDaniel, American Red Cross
• Non-Profit Staffer of the Year: Jennifer Miller, Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County
• Community Servant of the Year: Anitha and Vani Sharma
• Fishers Non-Profit Volunteer of the Year: Jamison Vance, Mudsock Youth Athletics
• Fishers Parks Adult Volunteer of the Year: Wishes to Remain Anonymous
• Fishers Parks Youth Volunteer of the Year: Johna Coffey
• Fishers Parks Group Volunteer of the Year: Boy Scout Troop 199
• Fishers Police Department Volunteer of the Year: Art Hennig
• Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation Volunteer of the Year: Michael Zahm

The city says that In the year 2020, over 350 individual and group volunteers dedicated over 17,000 hours of their time and talent to our local community.

It is my opinion that the live-action short film category at the Academy Awards fails to get the attention it deserves.  This podcast is being posted one week before the Oscars are handed out in Hollywood.

I decided to screen all five films nominated in this category, and select the film I would select as the winner if I had a ballot (and I do not).  Three of these films are shot in the United States, two in the Middle East.

Here is my look at the nominated films in the live action short film category.

Thursday, April 22nd, will be a very important day for the Fishers area.

No, I am not writing about the opening of Shake Shack in Fishers District, even though lots of locals are very excited about that.

Thursday is the day the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District will announce the selection of a new superintendent, replacing the retiring Allen Bourff.  There are plenty of rumors about the new superintendent, but about all we know now is the person is likely to be a woman.

There are two things I will be watching at the Thursday evening event.

First, will the school board vote unanimously to approve the new leader for our local school staff?  I have talked to former board members who have assured me past decisions on hiring a superintendent were hotly debated behind closed doors (state law allows this to be hashed-out in private).  But even if the person some board members favored was not hired, all board members have a tradition of unanimously approving a new superintendent as a signal to the community of a vote of confidence while assuming the new job.

I have been hearing rumblings that this vote Thursday night may not be 7-0.  We will soon find out.

Secondly, the first public comments by the new superintendent will be a very important message to the school community in Fall Creek, Delaware and Wayne Townships (taking-in the entire city of Fishers).  With all the challenges our local schools face, her initial comments will be watched very closely.

It is expected the superintendent will be part of the transition until Dr. Bourff officially retires at the end of June.

Diane Eaton served many years on the HSE board and surprised many local observers by addressing the board Wednesday night, urging a delay in hiring a permanent replacement for Dr. Bourff and advocated selecting an interim leader in order to provide more time for the board in its search.  Ms. Eaton has since been on social media urging others to contact board members, arguing for a delay in the hiring process.

I would surmise there are already at least 4 votes on the board for the new superintendent to be announced Thursday or the event would not have been scheduled.

The most important responsibility for any public school board in the State of Indiana is to hire the school superintendent and then supervise the performance of that superintendent.  That is why the eyes of the local community will be on the HSE Schools administration building Thursday night for this all-important announcement.

It is very hard to get one’s head around the mass shooting at the southwest side Indianapolis FedEx distribution center that claimed the lives of 8 people, 9 if you include the apparent self-inflicted wounds of the alleged shooter.  Every family touched by this should be at the top of our concerns.  Imagine seeing your loved one leave for work on what appeared to be a routine day and not returning.

Many have centered on how to prevent these sorts of tragedies from ever happening again.  There is plenty to say on that topic, but  I will not dwell on that.  I will explore another aspect of this.

I understand that many police officers and other first responders at the scene of this shooting are having a difficult time handling this.  The descriptions of just how gruesome this scene appeared are awful.  We sometimes forget that people first on the scene see the worst of it and I hope they all receive the help needed.

I watched a CNN reporter recount on Sunday morning that he had been covering the protests in Minnesota over police shootings when he was sent to Indianapolis and covered the mass shooting here.  He has since returned to Minnesota and was asked how he is handling these stories.  He hesitated for a moment and honestly said it has been hard on him and other journalists.  Police have been throwing journalists to the ground and manhandling them in Minnesota as they try their best to cover a situation where the police and protestors look on reporters with suspicion.

I have been following the social media accounts of some local journalists and the enormity of this loss  of life at FedEx is beginning to weigh heavily on them.  I sincerely hope each of them gets the help needed to continue on.

The Indianapolis mass shooting has the obvious victims of these dead and their loved ones.  But there are many stories of collateral damage done to others.  I feel for every single person impacted by this horrible event.  There is not much more I can express at this time.

I have attended past town hall meetings hosted by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, but this one was a bit different.  He was at home, put two of his three young sons to bed, but warned that one son was still on the loose and could show up at any time on the Zoom meeting. (It never happened)

Such was the start of the mayor’s first foray into a virtual town meeting.  One thing is for certain, he packed a lot into the time he had and answered a long list of submitted questions.

During the first part of the meeting, Fadness shared the virtual stage with Public Health Director Monica Heltz.  They reviewed some numbers.  For example, the Fishers Health Department has conducted more than 60,000 COVID tests and completed over 20,000 COVD vaccinations.  The city concentrated on vaccinating local teachers and 800-900 local educators took advantage of that program.  It is possible the city may work with Hamilton Southeastern Schools to vaccinate students as the eligibility age of the vaccine is reduced.

The mayor responded to comments asking whether the city is providing another layer of government with the creation of a city health department.  Fadness says the county health department had a tax rate of 1.3 cents per $100 of property valuation, but city residents no longer pay that tax to the county, but instead pay a tax rate of 1 cent to support the Fishers Health Department.

The mayor said a tunnel underneath 116th Street in downtown Fishers will begin construction once school is out and will require a rerouting of traffic during construction in that downtown location. Fadness says the work should be completed in 60 days.

The Fishers Parks Department, which has been headquartered in the building at 116th Street and Brooks School Road for many years, will be moving to the new Hub & Spoke building on 106th Street near the Nickel Plate Trail.

On rumors that Chick-fil-A may be coming to Fishers, the mayor said talks with the company are ongoing but no plans are done nor has a location been determined.

Fadness says to look for announcements on economic development projects that will add a number of jobs to the city in the next 60-90 days.

Finally, the mayor is looking forward for Fishers to “come back to life” after more than a year of COVID lockdowns and restrictions.

This is just a summary of the many issues covered by the mayor in his first Virtual Town Hall.

Shake Shack is ready to open its first Indiana location in Fishers District Thursday, April 22nd.  The restaurant hours will be 11 AM – 9 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11 AM – 11 PM Friday and Saturday.

The Fishers location will feature the restaurant chain’s first Shack Track app-thru lane, allowing customers service via app or web and pick up by way of drive-up window, walk up window, curbside pick-up or in-Shack pick-up shelves.

“We are so excited to finally open our doors in Fishers District, our first location in Indiana,” said Andrew McCaughan, Chief Development Officer at Shake Shack in a company news release.

For its Fishers District opening, Shake Shack will be donating a meal to the Fisher’s Youth Assistance Program for every order placed on opening day. Fishers Youth Assistance Program (FYAP) was formed in 2014 to help strengthen youth and families through community involvement.

The Hamilton County Democratic Party issued a statement about the mass shooting at the Indianapolis FedEx facility, criticizing Republicans for passing a repeal of the state licensing requirement to carry a handgun.

Local Democrats point to a vote earlier this year in the Indiana House of Representatives,  passing House Bill 1369, which calls for repealing the law requiring a license to carry a handgun in Indiana.

“The Hamilton County Democratic Party vehemently rejects this legislation and urges the Senate Committee currently reviewing the bill to work in a bipartisan manner to identify common sense gun laws that could help prevent future tragedies,” according to the statement issued Friday morning .

The party says the thoughts and prayers of Hoosiers in Hamilton County are with the families of the victims this morning, but words cannot undo the permanent loss of life.