A local conservative Political Action Committee is saying the State Road 37 upgrade now underway in Fishers is running over budget, while city officials claim all intersections will be completed as planned.

Bill Smythe, President of the PAC Fiscal Conservatives of Hamilton County, posted on the group’s blog Monday that a recent meeting of Hamilton County elected officials, county commissioners presented a revised budget requiring $42 million over the original  $124 million spending plan.

The State of Indiana is providing $100 million for the project, with Hamilton County and the City of Fishers paying $12 million each.  The city is handling the construction.

Fishers acknowledged that an update on the construction was recently provided to a joint meeting the the Hamilton County Council and county commissioners, outlining current costs and projected costs for phases of the project yet to be bid.

“All original intersections will be completed as proposed,” says Fishers city spokesperson Ashley Elrod, in an e-mail message to LarryInFishers. “This includes NOT changing the interchange at 141st to a right-in, right-out. Roughly half of the project still remains to be bid, in addition, we are currently enacting cost savings measures that we anticipate will reduce the overall project cost. The city is proceeding as planned and will wait to make any additional cost estimates until the next bid package is released.”

Minutes from a Hamilton County meeting early this year indicated that city and county officials were at least contemplating the possibility of changing the design for 141st Street and State Road 37 from a roundabout to a right-in, right-out design, where motorists could not cross 141st Street at State Road 37, if there is a budget shortfall.  Based on today’s statement from the City of Fishers, the city, which is in charge of construction, plans to construct the roundabout, over 37 at 141st Street, are still in place.

The intersection of 126th Street and State Road 37 is currently under construction.  Three other intersections are scheduled to be rebuilt as part of the project, including 131st and 141st street.  All three will feature a roundabout and underpass for State Road 37 traffic.  Another intersection, 146th Street, will have traffic signals along 146th Street and an underpass for State Road 37 traffic.

For more information on this project, as provided by the City of Fishers, use this link.

COVID-19 has complicated our lives for months now.  It appears local high school graduations may be impacted as the city & school officials talk this week about how to handle the details of the ceremony.  I cover that, among other things, in tonight’s Larry’s Log commentary

With movie theaters dark and shuttered, it has been over 2 months since we posted this film podcast.  With at least the promise of theaters reopening in some form during July, I welcome my partner Adam Aasen and his blogging partner, Alec Toombs, to Hamilton County Goes To The Movies.  In one update since we recorded this podcast, the Motion Picture Academy announced the Oscar awards ceremony has been moved from February 28th to April 25th, 2021.  Any changes in eligibility for an Oscar will be announced later.

We are juggling many crises in America right now.  The issues of race relations and the novel coronavirus are front and center, and should be.  But coronavirus has caused another issue impacting millions of Americans – job losses.

Last Thursday, the federal Labor Department reported 1.5 million new unemployment claims have been filed.  The federal reserve just issued a statement to Congress about the outlook for the economy Friday, saying, “The path ahead is extraordinarily uncertain.”

Some  may remember the 2009 film “Up In The Air” starring George Clooney.  It’s all about a company that makes its money sending specially trained people to companies laying off employees, so the local management doesn’t have to break the bad news.

New York Times opinion columnist Jennifer Senior cites research done by economists in England and Australia, concluding it takes longer to adapt to the pain of losing a job than it does to adapt to losing a loved one.

Senior writes that we must not only think about the economic loss when one loses a position, but the emotional and spiritual considerations as well.  It does not help that most employers, including major corporations, are not very good at informing people being laid-off.

One example provided by Senior is WW International, once named Weight Watchers, informed laid-off workers with a series of Zoom calls lasting three minutes each.  She also cites a scooter rental company in California for laying-off workers by luring them to a Zoom “webinar” which featured a slide with a disembodied voice announcing the job losses.

Here is the final paragraph in Jennifer Senior’s Times opinion piece:

“A number of cautionary tales are going to emerge during this annus horribilis. But if we want to survive this recession with our dignity and our sanity intact, it’s clear we should keep two things in mind: How people are laid off matters. And layoffs should be a last resort. They’re often the lazy way out.”

As we all try to cope with people close to us coping with a layoff, keep in mind the stress they are under, which is much more than economic.  In America, our work is a lot of who we are and related to our self-worth.  Let’s keep this in mind as we cope with an economic challenge that is sure to get much worse before anything starts getting better.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools are planning graduation ceremonies at the two high schools respective football stadiums – July 10 for HSE High School and July 11 for Fishers – but it appears the Fishers Health Department has requested the school corporation “reconsider” its current plans for the ceremonies.

In a Facebook post overnight by Hamilton Southeastern School Board President Michelle Fullhart, she says the department of health “has requested HSE Schools reconsider plans for graduation at both high schools due to social distancing concerns. Conversations are ongoing at this time and more information will be released as it becomes available.”

The post by Fullhart is not specific about what issues the health department has listed as concerns over graduation.  She did state HSE High School seniors have received a survey with “potential alternatives” to the current graduation plans, but also says other options outside the survey are being considered.

“Please be patient as the district partners with the local health department to finalize an option that will work best for the needs of our community and our seniors,” Fullhart wrote in her Facebook post.

LarryInFishers began receiving questions on this Friday evening, and I reached out to both the City of Fishers and HSE School administration for comment and further details.  Once those responses are received, this story will be updated.

Major League Baseball may be at the crossroads….if the game does not come back with as many games as possible this season, fans will not forget…..and will they ever come back?

Here is my Larry’s Log commentary.

Many of the usual suspects remain on the Fishers road construction list for the coming week.  Auburn Springs will also see some resurfacing.

Here is the complete listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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It is always good to keep the latest COVID-19 numbers in mind when looking at our local situation.  Indiana may be doing better than other states, but the latest update shows more than 2,200 people have died in Indiana due to this virus.

In Hamilton County, 96 COVID-19 deaths have been reported to the state.  We still do not know how many of those fatalities are from Fishers.  The new city health department has been promising to provide those numbers, but none have been released as of this writing.

The Fishers Health Department reports that as of early Friday afternoon, just over 2,8000 local residents have been COVID-19 tested by the city, representing 3% of the total population.

46 of those tests have come back positive.  Of those positive cases, 8 were determined to have no symptoms.

Reminder…always wear your mask in public.  It helps protect those around you.  Wash you hands regularly.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has terminated two executive orders issued in March aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus.  Those orders declared a travel warning and no-solicitation provision.  Both have been lifted as of Friday.

Those March actions by the mayor were designed to coincide with orders from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

Although the no-solicitation order has been lifted, the city reminds residents they may request a No Solicitation sticker through the Fishers Police Department. Through the Solicitor Permit process, solicitors agree not to approach properties that display this sticker.

For the latest on the city’s efforts related to COVID-19, use this city Web site link.

Scott Fadness is mainly Mayor of Fishers, but he does hold important positions regionally and state-wide.  Plus, the local OneZone Chamber of Commerce has named a new president.  I discuss these issues in this Larry’s Log commentary.