Mayor Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone, visited Fishers Thursday morning for a ceremonial tree-planting ceremony.  She was in town for a Rotary Club event, The WaterIsLife Ball, as the guest of honor.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness joined the ceremony, along with representatives of the local Rotary Club, at Fishers Rotary Park, on the southwest corner of 116^th Street and Lantern Road, for the ceremonial planting of the tree.

Mayor Aki Sawyerr is a member of the 2021 class of TIME100 Next, which highlights 100 emerging world leaders who are shaping the future.

After sifting through a public meeting and over 70 responses from the residents, the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board is attempting to narrow down the options for adjusting elementary school boundaries in the area of the under-construction Deer Creek Elementary School.  At a Wednesday evening work session, board members discussed the two options before them and how they could be tweaked before a final vote on December 8.

The Option D was formulated in response to the many suggestions submitted by the public and people connected to HSE Schools.  It does move more students in more school buildings.  It also puts Deer Creek Elementary at 88% of capacity, higher than school officials wanted.

Scenario C is simpler, taking some students from Southeastern Elementary, already overcrowded, and sending those students to Deer Creek.  This plan also gets Deer Creek to 80% capacity, where school officials wanted the student population to be, allowing for expected future growth.

During the nearly 90-minute work session, there were many suggestions to fine-tune the final boundary adjustment formula and how changes would impact certain neighborhoods.

So, the scenarios (provided on this blog post) could be adjusted before the final vote by the board December 8.

Administrators recommended to the board an exemption from moving from one school to another for incoming 4th-graders, but there would be no transportation provided.  Also, another recommendation would allow any family that opted to attend a different
school to assist with overcrowding can stay at their current school, but no transportation would be provided in this case.

Mayor Scott Fadness sat down with Larry December 1st and discussed a number of issues, including:

–The new autonomous vehicle program for the Nickel Plate Arts District

–Status of the new City Hall, Arts Center and Recreation Center

–What is happening locally and state-wide with COVID

–The city’s recent success in luring foreign life science companies

–Downtown development and impact on the local schools

–The controversies and legal issues in the placement of 5G towers

–The legacy of long-time public servant David George, who recently resigned his seat on the City Council

–The mayor’s greatest accomplishments in his nearly 7 years serving in the office.

Here is the podcast link:

In February of this year, there was an announcement of pilot programs for autonomous vehicle shuttle services, including one in Fishers.  An announcement Wednesday morning says that shuttle service will begin in Fishers starting December 20, serving the Nickel Plate Arts District.

Below is the text of the news release making this announcement:

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“Indiana continues to be a place for advancing autonomous transportation solutions and partnering with the City of Fishers as our next city to deploy the May Mobility autonomous shuttle service is a perfect fit,” said Paul Mitchell, president and CEO, Energy Systems Network. “Public-private partnerships like this one only strengthen the goal of providing mobility options for all residents.”

It is time to get to work on a new Fishers City Hall, Arts Center & Recreation Center.  The Board of Public Works & Safety approved two important contracts that will move the process forward.

Both agreements are with local contractors – Meyer-Najem for the new City Hall & Arts Center, and Hagerman for the recreation center.

The city expects to demolish the Old City Hall and construct the new Hall, along with an Arts Center in the same complex.  The location for the Recreation Center has not been determined.

City Attorney Chris Greisl told board members the contractors will provide the city with “a plan refinement process,” including design, construction documents, construction budget, and all the necessary design documents.  Meyer-Najem has until May 1, 2022 to produce all this, and Hagerman’s deadline is May 15, 2022.

Both projects will be handled as Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) agreements under the rules governing public-private partnerships.  In each case, scoping agreement costs will be rolled into the final price for BOT agreement.

Mayor Scott Fadness said board members had a lengthy process reviewing RFP (request for proposals) responses with what the mayor described as  many very good applications.

“We have a long ways to go before we go into any formal agreement,” Fadness said.  “This is a good first step.”

When the Glenn Abbey area of Windermere objected to any 5G towers in its neighborhood, and an attorney representing those residents presented arguments before the Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety arguing their case, Mayor Scott Fadness directed City Attorney Chris Greisl to hold talks with attorneys for those residents and Verizon.  It appears the result of those discussions came to no change in policy.

At Tuesday morning’s Board of Works Meeting, a resident of Reserve at Lantern asked that the board table the 5G towers for his subdivision so the Glenn Abbey situation could be decided.  Mayor Fadness responded that the talks among attorneys resulted in no change to the policies the city used before and that Glenn Abbey will be decided at the December 13 board session.  The only reason Glenn Abbey was not on Tuesday’s agenda related to an attorney for the residents dealing with a personal issue.

However, the Reserve at Lantern tower was tabled to settle different issues over moving the tower to a nearby lift station.

In other 5G tower issues before the board Tuesday morning

–2 towers were approved for Conner Creek, despite some concerns expressed by residents.  The board says these towers meet the criteria set by the city.

–3 tower locations at Harvard Park were approved

–The Berkley Grove neighborhood had all 5G towers approved, except one that was tabled.  Mayor Fadness insisted on tabling one tower because it was near a home with other possible locations nearby.

–A tower in Harrison Lakes that had been tabled was denied by the board.  Mayor Fadness said the location was right in front of one resident’s home.

–A previously tabled tower location in Weaver Creek neighborhood was denied by the board.  The mayor said this denial was for the same reasons the Harrison Lakes tower was voted down.

Verizon Attorney Russell Brown explained how the tech firm worked with the residents of the neighborhoods where towers were denied by the board.  Mayor Fadness said he “is not casting aspersions on Verizon,” because he believes the company made every attempt to find a solution, but no viable alternative was available for those tower locations.

When it comes to COVID, many have questions, lots of questions.  The Fishers Health Department is planning a Webinar to answer as many questions as possible.

The online event is set for Wednesday, December 1, at 8:00pm.

Described as a “Twilight Town Hall,” residents can register at this link.  If you have a question you would like to have addressed, submit your question at this link.

Health professionals will be on hand to handle questions on children, Pregnancy & Boosters, the COVID vaccine, the vaccine and pregnancy, the pediatric vaccine, boosters and other frequently asked questions.

Those scheduled to be part of the Webinar include Fishers Health Department’s Chief Medical Director and Community Health OBGYN Dr. Indy Lane; Public Health Director Monica Heltz, DNP, MPH; Riley Pediatrician Dr. Michele Saysana; and Mayor Scott Fadness

Fishers is poised to name key players in the development of a new City Hall & Arts Center, as well as a Recreation Center.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety is scheduled to vote Tuesday morning on proposals to enter into a “scoping agreement” with local contractor Meyer Najem for design and preconstruction services.  This facility is envisioned as a combined City Hall and Arts Center, which is proposed to be constructed as a public-private partnership.

Engineers have determined the current City Hall is sinking and is costing the city a great deal of money just to keep the building maintained, leading to the proposal of demolishing the current structure and replacing it with a combined City Hall and Arts Center.

Hagerman, another local Fishers contractor, has a similar agreement for the proposed Recreation Center, with no location yet determined.

The Meyer Najem contract is budgeted for just over $1.5 million, the Hagerman pact costing more than $1.6 million.

Both contracts are scheduled for a board vote at 9:00am Tuesday, November 30.

The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety consists of Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, Jeff Lantz & Jason Meyer.

Giving Tuesday has an interesting history. Justin Hirnisey of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation told me in a recent podcast that the idea started at a New York City YMCA years ago and spread from there.

It all started with the days following Thanksgiving.  Black Friday is retail, Saturday is focused on small business, Cyber Monday is centered on Internet sales, so the following Tuesday emerged as a day highlighting giving to nonprofit organizations.

If you decide to use Giving Tuesday to contribute, there are plenty of choices, enough to boggle the mind.  There is no foolproof formula, but if you want to focus on local charities, there is one useful tool on the Web.

The Fishers Non-Profit Coalition has a Web site listing all their members.  If you want to contribute locally, there is a comprehensive list of options for you.  Find the listing at this link.

Many of you know I am a fan of nonprofit news operations.   One Indiana group worthy of your donation consideration is The Indiana Citizen.  There is a donation button at the top of the site.

Also, Fishers has announced some businesses in the Shop Fishers promotion will be supporting nonprofit groups as part of Giving Tuesday.  Use this link for the listing.

I know everyone that makes nonprofit donations has only so much money to contribute.  Carefully consider your choices.  Let Giving Tuesday be a special holiday moment for you.

Thompson Thrift, which developed the Fishers District commercial and residential development near I-69 & 116th Street before selling the project, is set to start construction Monday on a new 242-unit single family “build-for-rent community” in the same general area of Fishers.  The apartments should be ready for tenants in the first quarter of 2023.

“We continue to see demand from renters that want the maintenance-free benefits and amenities of traditional apartments with the space and comforts of single-family homes,” said Eric Wojak, Thompson Thrift vice president, in a company news release. “With its location in the highly rated Hamilton Southeastern School District and its proximity to excellent employment, and the retail and dining options at Fishers District, we expect leasing interest at the Slate development to be robust.”

The development will be situated on  25 acres in the southeast quadrant of I-69 and 116^th Street.  “Slate at Fishers District” will consist of one, two and three-bedroom villas, along with three- and four-bedroom townhomes. The residences will average 1,215 square feet and will feature amenities such as gourmet bar-kitchens with quartz countertops; stainless steel appliances; 10-foot ceilings with designer light fixtures; walk-in closets with custom wood shelving; full-size washers and dryers, smart home technology, and much more. “Slate at Fishers District” will also feature a clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center, resort style swimming pool with cabanas and bark parks and doggie spas.