Dan Canan will serve as president of the Fishers Redevelopment Commission in 2020, following a vote taken during the Thursday meeting.  Tony Bonacuse was voted vice president of the commission and Damon Grothe will be secretary.

The commission approved an amendment to the project agreement approved by the commission last year to the Flexware Innovations AMP West building, under construction near the Nickel Plate Amphitheater. Economic Development Director Megan Baumgartner  says the original plan was for an 8,000 square foot facility, but the project is facing some construction “challenges,” and as a result, will increase the building space to about 12,000 square feet to maximize the plans. As part of the amendment approved by commission members, AMP West will be allowed access to some additional parking.  The closing date has been pushed back to June first of this year, due to these changes.

An agreement was approved for the developers of the new Nickel Plate Hotel, part of the large project underway along 116th Street near City Hall.  The 116 room facility will be part of the Hilton Tapestry brand.  After a lengthy series of negotiation sessions with the city, Baumgartner told commission members the city will reimburse $2.1 million of the construction costs, which are estimated to total $21 million.  The reimbursement will come from the city’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) reserves.  Included in this agreement is a $100,000 contingency fund, should there be additional costs in constructing this building next to the Nickel Plate Trail, Baumgartner says.  The hotel will have access to the parking garage, and hotel guests will not pay for the parking privilege.   The hotel is projected to be finished at about the same time as the First Internet Bank headquarters.

In one more action, the commission approved an amendment to the development project to the north of 116th Street downtown, east of the municipal complex.  This will postpone the closing date by 2 months due to delays in the design process.  Construction on this part of the plan should begin in about 2 months, Baumgartner says.  The agreement also deals with the project’s interface with the Nickel Plate Trail construction, which will be adjacent to the development.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers girls basketball team completed an undefeated Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship Friday at Franklin Central, beating the Flashes 52-34.

The Class 4A No. 4 Tigers got off to a strong start, leading 14-7 after the first quarter, then led 24-14 at halftime. Fishers made another run in the third period, outscoring Franklin Central 17-9 to take a 41-23 lead.

Kaitlynn Feagan led the Tigers with 15 points, making three 3-pointers. Lydia Stullken collected 12 rebounds to go with eight points, and Katie Burton also scored eight points and pulled five rebounds. Tamia Perryman had six rebounds.

Fishers finished HCC play a perfect 7-0 and the regular season 21-1, tying the school record for wins. The Tigers also reached 21 wins in the 2013-14 and 2008-09 seasons.

Fishers will play at the Westfield sectional next week. The Tigers got the bye and will take on the winner of Tuesday’s Westfield-Zionsville game in the first semi-final next Friday.

by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern extended its win streak to six games on Friday by beating Noblesville in an all-county and Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest at The Mill.

The Millers got off to a blistering start in the first quarter, but the Royals soon took over, using a solid defensive second period to get control of the game. Southeastern then took care of business in the second half to earn its 10th win of the season.

“The thing I like about this week is, we had some sickness going around, didn’t have everybody at practice at times,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “But we still had our guys together and focused on what we needed to do and get accomplished. It’s a big win. Coming in here, they’ve been playing a lot better here late and for us to come in here and
get a win is a big win for us.”

Noblesville blitzed out to an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter. Alex Hunt made
two 3-pointers, then E.J. Smith added a pair of free throws at the 5:51 mark.
The Royals soon regrouped, and went on a 13-2 run. Kole Hornbuckle took
over the game at that point, scoring seven points in a row to get HSE within 8-7.
Hunt ended the run with a putback, but the Royals scored the next six points, finishing with a dunk by Hornbuckle to put the Royals up 13-10.

The Millers ended the quarter up 16-15, thanks to 3-pointers from Brendon Fisher and Evan Wilson. The second quarter was all Southeastern, as it outscored Noblesville 16-3. With the score tied at 19-19, the Royals ran off 12 unanswered points; Hornbuckle added four
more, Vinny Buccilla drained a 3, and Mabor Majak made back-to-back dunks.

“You know it’s going to be a tough game with those guys,” said Millers coach John Peckinpaugh. “They’re pretty good, pretty talented.”

When the dust settled, HSE led 31-19. Satterfield his team “did a better job of
getting to where we needed to be, finishing plays, and especially in the first half,
we took care of the basketball.” He also credited the Royals’ defense with creating some of the early offense.

“That got us back into the game and then we extended it from there,” said Satterfield.

Southeastern kept its lead in double digits for most of the second half, although the Millers never allowed the Royals to get too far ahead. Noblesville did get within eight on two occasions; first in the third quarter when a 3 by Noah Harris and a Hunt dunk cut the HSE lead to 35-27.

Later, Harris made a putback to keep Noblesville within 38-29. But Southeastern went on a 7-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, which included another Majak dunk and a 3 by DeAndre Rhodes. Majak totaled four dunks for the game.

“We want to take what the defense gives us,” said Satterfield. “And if we can get the ball inside to him and let him play and do some things, we want to do that at the same time. If they’re taking him away, we want other guys to step up and knock down shots.”

A Hornbuckle jumper opened the fourth quarter, and put HSE up 45-29. Noblesville answered with its own 7-0 run; Harris made another 3, then Fisher and Jordan Gadis added baskets. The Millers were now within 45-36, but the Royals finished the game from the free
throw line, making eight of 10 in the final two and a half minutes.

Hornbuckle finished the game with 19 points, and was 6-of-6 from the line. He also had five rebounds and four steals. Majak added 11 points and collected eight rebounds, while Buccilla scored 10 points.

Harris led Noblesville with 11 points, including three 3s, and collected four rebounds. Hunt added 10 points, while Gadis had four rebounds.

“It’s a good group of kids,” said Peckinpaugh. “They all work hard. They all want to be bought in and do what we’re asking them to do. If we can keep that approach, take it one practice at a time, I think by sectional time we can be a different team.”

Southeastern is 3-2 in conference play and 10-5 overall, and returns home tonight to play Mishawaka Marian. The Millers are 1-4 in the HCC and 9-9 overall, and are off until next Saturday, Feb. 8, when they play an afternoon game at Mount Vernon.

Motorists traveling on 116th Street near Holland Drive should be alert for a lane restriction February 5th.

Below is the latest full listing of Fishers road construction, as provided by the city:

==================

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)

Both of Indiana’s United States senators will speak at this year’s Republican Lincoln Day Dinner on March 19. This is unusual and gives an indication of the importance state GOP leaders place on Hamilton County.

Sen. Todd Young and Sen. Mike Braun are scheduled for the gala where hundreds of county Republicans will gather for the annual traditional fundraiser designed to honor Abraham Lincoln, the party’s first president.

Young has a history in the county where he grew up and graduated from Carmel High School in 1990. He now calls Bloomington home. Braun is from Jasper, Ind.

Hamilton County regularly produces one of the state’s largest election pluralities for Republicans. Democrats have grown more aggressive in the past two years, and the GOP is anxious to preserve and expand its traditional hold on the county in this year’s election.

A host of state and county offices are at stake, including the office of Gov. Eric Holcomb as well as the Trump presidency.

The Lincoln Day event will be held at the 502 East Event Center with most officeholders, candidates, party workers and many financial supporters in attendance. The evening dinner is open to the public at $50 a plate.

For the 38th time, the Fishers Police Department is offering local citizens an insight into the local law enforcement operation with the Citizens Academy.

The academy is scheduled for 13 weeks and offers “police style” training to our citizens. Some of the training will include: Crime Prevention/Neighborhood Watch, Bicycle Patrol, Police Intelligence, Criminal Law, Police Canine, Traffic Stops, Weapons Familiarization, Criminal Investigations, Evidence Collection. The instructors will be police officers from the Fishers Police Department. Participants in the Citizen’s Academy are eligible complete a ride along with an on- duty Fishers Police Officer.

 The spring 2020 Citizen’s Police Academy will be held at the Fishers Police Department every Wednesday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. starting February 26, 2020. The academy will be open to individuals who reside or are employed in the Hamilton Southeastern School District.  You must be sixteen years old or older to participate in the Citizen’s Academy.

It is the police department’s goal to build on the relationships established in the community. The Citizen’s Academy consists of classroom and hands on training that will allow citizens to interact and become more familiar with the tasks that are assigned to a police officer. The Citizen’s Academy will give community members the opportunity to ask questions about law enforcement and other related activities.

Apply online at this link or apply in person at the Fishers Police Department.  Applications will be accepted until February 17, 2020.  If you have any questions, contact Officer Chris Owens at owensc@fishers.in.us or (317) 595-3300 ext. 8011.

When the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools planned the last round of redistricting, estimates of how many students would be attending the new Southeastern Elementary building were off, meaning more students entered the school than had been expected.  At Wednesday night’s HSE School Board meeting, leases for four portable classrooms were approved for Southeastern Elementary.  The portables will be located on the north end of the building, near the staff cafeteria.  It is expected the portables will be needed beginning in the 2020-2021 school year and will be in use for two full school years, until the planned new Wayne Township elementary school is completed and in operation.

In other news from the school board session:

–Cecilie Nunn, Chief Financial Officer for the school corporation, told the board the current operating referendum, approved in a 2016 vote, will be expiring in a few years.  If the school board decides to keep the referendum rate as is, or proposes a change, the referendum would need to be on the ballot as part of the May primary election in 2023 and become effective in 2024.  The 2016 approval of the referendum allowed HSE Schools to increase the number of teachers, generally decreased class sizes and provided funds to increase compensation for the teaching staff.

–The board was told continued construction along Lantern Road will impact access to Fishers Elementary School, but the city hopes to complete much of that work over two weekends in February, including one 3-day weekend.  Those accessing the elementary will be using a gravel road for at least a few months.  All work will be weather dependent, but the long term forecast appears promising.

–Executive Director of Secondary Education Matt Kegley told the board talks continue with the new Hub & Spoke operation to involve HSE students in programs related to the building trades.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hub & Spoke is set for April 1st, Kegley said.  There is also a committee looking into partnering with Purdue Polytech.  There were no announcements of any agreements at this time.

–Superintendent Allen Bourff asked for a moment of silence to honor Kora Abbott, a Fishers Junior High School 8th-grade student who recently died.

Every year, the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation goes before the school board and announces the winners of grants handed out by the nonprofit organization.  In 2020, the foundation handed out 31 grants for projects throughout the local school district.

Foundation Executive Director Justin Hirnisey told the board there were four themes in making grant decisions this time around – the four themes were:

–Virtual Reality

–Mindfulness

–Connecting cultures

–Innovation in STEM

Of all applications submitted by teachers and students, 86% were approved.  Grant decisions were made by a selection committee consisting of  staff, educators, student board members and community members.

A full list of the grant recipients is show below

Continue reading HSE Schools Foundation passes out grants →

School Superintendent Allen Bourff says he will have a recommendation on school start times for the next Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board regular meeting scheduled February 12th.  Administrators will have options for board consideration, including implementing a version of the 3-tier bus transportation system in the 2020-2021 school year.

“We will be presenting (the board) with….an option to flip our start times as early as next fall,” Bourff told board members. ” But if you chose not to do that we would present you with another alternative to introduce you to a new transportation system that could be a 3-tier system.”

Answering a question from board member Sylvia Shepler, Bourff said there is no “drop-dead date” on making a start time decision for the 2020-2021 school year.  “Once you get beyond February and March, it’s hard to make those decisions.  So, we would like to try to make that decision in February,” the superintendent said.  One complicating factor is this – there is only one regular board meeting scheduled in the month of February, and that is on the 12th.

Board President Michelle Fullhart clarified that, at minimum, there would most likely be a school start time change as a result of moving from a 2-tier to a 3-tier bus transportation system.  She described the possibility of flipping start times between elementary and high school students as “another possibility.”

In 2018, there were just over 9,500 residents of Fishers over the age of 65.  In 2040, that number is projected to exceed 23,000.  That has spurred the city to formulate an age-friendly action plan.

“The Age-Friendly Fishers Action Plan is the next step in creating a vibrant community where all ages and abilities can thrive,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness in a city news release. “This project showcases how our community can come together to share ideas and work collectively to improve our city.”

The plan focuses mainly on a 2-year period, 2020-2022. The Age-Friendly Committee, comprised of community stakeholders and City staff, was established to guide the creation of this Action Plan. To create the plan, the committee gathered feedback from the community through public input sessions, community events, and a digital feedback form on the City of Fishers website.

“One of the great strategies about this plan is that we did not create it in a vacuum,” said Tish Biggs, a member of the Age-Friendly Fishers Committee and a volunteer with AARP. “It was created with the input of lots of folks around the City. We went to the Fishers Farmers’ Market and solicited input, we went over to Del Webb to meet with folks over there, we had a meeting at City Hall where we invited people to come in, and we just used those as listening sessions to hear what the community wanted.”

The plan focuses on five key strategies, including:

• Create innovative facilities, amenities, and resources that enhance the use of the park system for all ages and abilities.
• Promote aging in place efforts in housing development that allow residents to remain in their home and community as they age.
• Develop age-friendly strategies for transportation improvement and maintenance.
• Simplify access to healthcare and services.
• Increase access to information regarding community programs, services, and social events by providing a centralized location for resources.

You can read the entire action plan at this link.