by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The Hamilton County Commissioners have approved an overall updating of the county’s Comprehensive Plan beginning in January. The last update was undertaken in the 1990s.

Innovative Planning of Carmel will do the work, which includes the countywide thoroughfare plan. The remainder of the update is confined to the areas of county planning jurisdiction outside the territory covered by municipalities.

The study and recommended changes will be underway for most of the year 2020 with public hearings to be scheduled in the county’s various communities. Cost of the project is $139,000 with a “not to exceed” limit of $150,000 should officials want additional information, according to planning director Chuck Kiphart.

In other matters at Monday’s commissioners’ meeting, Steve Dillinger reported work is continuing on studies aimed at resolving traffic congestion at three intersections along 146th Street. He said experts are looking at the possibility of roundabouts or other modifications to allow smoother traffic flow at U.S. 31, Gray Road and Carey Road intersections with 146th.

Commissioners also passed on second reading of an ordinance governing non-authorized signs in highway right-of-ways. The ordinance is an attempt to get consistent rules throughout the county. Cities and towns are being consulted in the effort to get that consistency.

And, commissioners approved a supplemental agreement with USI Engineers for their continuing work on plans for a Pleasant Street bridge over White River. Commissioners have been told the City of Noblesville wants to proceed as soon as possible with widening of Pleasant Street which, with the bridge, will create a bypass of the city business district. Noblesville is applying for federal highway funds. Dillinger estimates construction is about two years away.

Finally, commissioners approved renewal of a contract with the Town of Atlanta for police protection. The county sheriff’s department has provided the service in recent years after Atlanta, with a population of only about 800, found it too expensive to operate its own police department.

Anytime a fire is reported at a day care center, it creates a scare within any community.  Such a blaze was reported Tuesday, but the day care staff implemented their emergency plan and no one was injured.

The blaze was reported at the Dolce Daycare and Preschool, 7255 E 116th St, just west of Allisonville Road.  Fire officials say 75 children and 20 care givers were evacuated from the building to a nearby business.  Other businesses in the area helped care for the youngsters until parents arrived.

According to the Fishers Fire Department, the cause of the fire has not been determined at this time and fire damage is minimal.

When Browning Investments first announced the construction of a large complex along 116th Street in the heart of downtown Fishers’ Nickel Plate District, there was an expectation that a hotel would be included in that development, along with the headquarters of First Internet Bank.  Browning, Dora Hotels and Fishers city officials announced Wednesday a 5-story, 116-room high-end, boutique hotel to be located in the city’s downtown Nickel Plate District. The Hotel Nickel Plate, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel, will feature a full-service restaurant on the first floor and Nickel Plate Trail access.

The city news release describes a design centered on the history of the Nickel Plate Railroad in Fishers.

“Downtown Fishers is quickly becoming the heart of our community, showcasing the vibrancy of the community alongside growing and entrepreneurial companies,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Hotel Nickel Plate will create another iconic destination downtown where residents, visitors, businesses, and more come together to enjoy all that downtown and the Nickel Plate Trail has to offer. We’re grateful to Browning and Dora Hotel Company for bringing our vision to light.”

The development of the hotel is the result of a project agreement that included the transfer of land for development and construction of the luxury hotel. The agreement was approved in December 2018.

The Fishers City Council will consider incentives to the developer for the construction of the hotel during its December 2019 meeting. The City of Fishers is proposing a waiver of impact and permitting fees and $2.1 million from the existing downtown Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund as its incentives to the project. Browning and Dora Hotel Company will commit to an 85% minimum taxpayer agreement for 25 years.

The Nickel Plate District is part of the Fishers 2040 comprehensive plan,

When a group of local students came up with the idea for an art wall, the city and local business owners got on board and the wall is now under construction.

The students are part of the Fishers Mayor’s Youth Academy.  Mayor Scott Fadness provided a challenge to the high schoolers in the group – “What are creative places doing to create creative spaces?”

The group looked at the Venice Public Art Walls in Venice, California, which has become a tourist destination and local landmark that generates public art through creative place-making.

A group of local businesses started to get on board.  Those business owners include:

• Sagamore Concrete (Concrete)
• Hagerman Construction Corporation (Form and Finish)
• Kimley-Horn (Design, DNR and Hamilton Co. Permitting)
• Gilliatte General Contractors, Inc. (Excavating and Site Prep)
• Geotill Engineering, Inc. (Soil Borings)
• Stoeppelwerth & Associates, Inc. (Land Survey)
• Faegre Baker Daniels LLP (Coordination)

“The students’ presentation to the City Council in May passionately showed how public art matters, and they inspired us to find a way to build a piece of our public art ecosystem,” said Steve Hardin, partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, in a city news release. “Our Fishers youth have great ideas, and I’m so thankful for these local businesses who stepped up immediately to celebrate the students by turning their idea into a reality. That’s the Fishers way.”

The City of Fishers created an Arts & Culture Commission to promote art projects throughout the community, including the new wall.

“The work of The Mayor’s Youth Academy and local business leaders collaborating to bring an engaging and authentic art experience to the city represents the very core of what make Fishers a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial city,” said David Decker, chairman of the Fishers Arts & Culture Commission. “Community-led art and culture initiatives are vital to ensure an exceptional quality of life for the residents of the community.”

Construction of the art wall is underway at Fishers’ Brooks School Park (11780 Brooks School Road) and should be completed by spring of 2020.  Local artists will be showcasing their work on the wall, with a rotation calling for a new piece of art each new season.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers rolled to another victory on Saturday, winning at Bishop Chatard 59-47 to stay unbeaten for the season.

The Class 4A No. 5 Tigers led 15-9 after the first quarter and 31-23 at halftime. Fishers extended its lead further in the third period, going up 46-33.

“The game was a great team effort on both ends of the floor and the Tigers were extremely balanced in scoring,” said Fishers coach Lauren Votaw.

Katie Burton scored 12 points for the Tigers, with Olivia Smith adding 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. Lydia Stullken added nine points, led the rebounds with seven, blocked six shots and made four steals.

Fishers is 11-0 and plays Friday at Noblesville.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers made a comeback in the third quarter, and that helped the Tigers to a 60-58 victory over Mount Vernon Saturday night at the Tiger Den.

The win kept Fishers’ undefeated record intact; Fishers is now 4-0. The Tigers led 11-10 after the first quarter, with Jeffrey Simmons scoring seven of those points.

The Marauders held the Tigers to eight points in the second period and went into half leading 25-19. Fishers answered back with a 20-point third quarter, including 11 points from Alex Szilagyi. The game was tied at 39-39 after three periods, and the Tigers used balanced scoring to get the win, as six different players scored in the fourth.

Szilagyi finished the game with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Simmons scored 17 points and Charlie Smith added 10.

Fishers next plays Friday when it hosts Shenandoah.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Noblesville Fire Department (NFD) responded to a large commercial fire at 16100 Allisonville Road Thursday evening. Crews encountered large amounts of smoke and flames coming from the building, where vehicles ere stored. It was unoccupied at the time of the fire. Crews were able to quickly bring the fire under control. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. NFD crews were assisted by Fishers Fire Department, Hamilton County EMA, Noblesville Street Department and Noblesville Police Department.

Hamilton County Reporter 

The first weekend of Hoosier Crossroads Conference games saw some hard-fought contests, including one at the Tiger Den.

Fishers hosted Noblesville on Friday, and it was a fun battle between the two county rivals. The Millers stayed with the Tigers for the entire game before Fishers hung on for a 59-51 victory.

“The fun thing about this league is, you get all kinds of different and teams and great coaches,” said Tigers coach Matt Moore. “And tonight was the first step up for us to be where we need to be. You just got to take care of business. You got to win your home games and you got to steal some on the road.”

Fishers led 15-10 after the first quarter, with five different players scoring at least two points in that period. Alex Szilagyi had five points. Noblesville’s Alex Hunt also had five points in that quarter.

The Millers jumped ahead 18-17 early in the second period, but the Tigers reclaimed a 28-25 lead by halftime. Jordan Gadis had a great quarter for Noblesville with eight points, while Preston Roberts added seven. Meanwhile, Fishers’ Jeffrey Simmons was playing well under the basket, with six points.

Late in the third quarter, Roberts tied the game up at 39-39 with his third 3-pointer of the game. Bryce Williams answered back with a layin, and that allowed the Tigers to lead 41-39 at the end of the period.

Williams’ basket actually started an 8-0 run for Fishers. The Tigers opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play from Simmons, then Isaac Farah nailed a 3. Fishers was able to keep the lead around eight points for the remainder of the game; the Tigers went 11 of 13 from the free throw line in that period.

“I think all three games now, going into the end of the third quarter with a minute to go, it was a one-possession game,” said Moore. “And being in that position, our guys understood that if we get stops, we can get some runouts, we’re a pretty good free-throw shooting team. And once we extended that a little bit, we were able to space the floor and at that point, we’re making shots. I thought our guys did a good job of, when we took some shots that didn’t fall, we got back to who we are, of getting the ball back inside to Jeff.”

Simmons finished the game with 18 points, while Szilagyi had 17. Moore also gave credit to his players’ defensive efforts.

“Defensively, I thought Dominic Castellani was outstanding,” said Moore. “I thought Charlie Smith and Drew Turner were two guys that did a great job in their roles tonight and stepped in when they needed to. For us, we got the flexibility of having a lot of guys that can defend and handle the ball. Justin Long is a guy that does a lot of good things for us. Doesn’t maybe show up in the stat sheet all the time. He impacts the game.”

Gadis led the Millers with 14 points, while Hunt scored 13 and collected four rebounds. Roberts, who was 3-for-3 from 3-point range, finished with 10 points.

“I think we did a decent job,” said Noblesville coach John Peckinpaugh. “We still got a lot of work to do. We’re going to be a completely different team in January. We’re just going to stick with our process of how we’re going to try to get better, get good at what we want to be good at. And it’s going to take some time, but I think we took a step forward tonight. We’ll just keep getting after it.”

Fishers is unbeaten at 3-0 and will host Mount Vernon tonight. The Millers are 1-2 and return to their home floor tonight to take on Class 3A No. 8 Beech Grove.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern was dealt a tough loss in its Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener on Friday, falling to host Avon 73-70.

It was a close game throughout, with the Orioles leading 19-17 after the first quarter and 38-37 at halftime.

Avon led 54-50 at the end of three periods and were able to hold on despite a 20-point fourth quarter from the Royals.

Three Southeastern players finished in double figures, led by Vinny Bucilla’s 24 points, including four 3-pointers.

Mabor Majak scored 14 points and collected nine rebounds, while Kole Hornbuckle had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. John McCall pulled five rebounds, while DeAndre Rhodes collected four rebounds.

The Royals are 1-2 and host Pike on Tuesday.

When you work in one place for 25 years, doing essentially the same work, you learn a great deal.  Mike Reuter is retiring at the end of 2019 after 25 years of service as HSE Schools Chief Financial Officer.  I sat down with Mike and talked about both the past and the present, and what he has learned, during this podcast discussion.