by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Early voting at the Hamilton County Judicial Center brought out only 586 people voting in person, and 485 mail-in ballots were received as of Monday. This would indicate a very light vote in the upcoming Nov. 5 municipal elections. The pace may pick up as satellite voting stations in Carmel, Fishers and Westfield opened Tuesday. Early voter ballots will be part of a pilot project in which a paper trail will be kept as a further effort to ensure accurate election results. State law provides voting machines in all counties will provide a paper trail by the year 2030.

* * *

Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement has eliminated its popular Follow the North Star interactive program for this season. The program, which started several years ago, tells the story of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad, a branch of which ran through Hamilton County. Suspension of the program has been disappointing to some. An organization known as the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience has made suggestions on changes to the presentation. Conner Prairie says it is working with the coalition, and will resume Follow the North Star next year.

* * *

A public open house is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Carmel Fire Buffs Museum, 210 Veterans Way (formerly First Ave., S.W.). It will allow folks to tour the building which was the original Carmel Fire Station, for a last time before it is torn down to make way for a new fire administration and museum building. The open house runs from noon through 3 p.m.

* * *

Property taxpayers will have until Nov. 12 this year to pay their 2019 fall taxes. Statements were mailed out in April. If a property owner did not receive a statement, it is his or her responsibility to contact the treasurer’s office to learn an amount due. Usually the semi-annual taxes are due on May 10 and Nov. 10, but due to Veterans Day, the deadline is the 12th this year.

Hamilton County Reporter

HAND, Inc. (HAND) has named its interim leadership team.

Andrea Muirragui Davis will serve as the Interim Executive Director, and Rebekah Metzger as the Interim Deputy Director. Keith Broadnax, current Vice President for HAND, will take a more active role in the day-to-day activities of the organization. Davis and Metzger are already transitioning into their new roles and will take over for outgoing Executive Director Jennifer Miller on Nov. 4.

Davis has been with HAND since October 2017 and currently serves as the Outreach and Fundraising Manager handling communications and philanthropic fundraising. Prior to joining HAND, Ms. Davis worked for Web Guys in Carmel, the Indianapolis Business Journal and The Florida Times-Union. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Hamilton County Leadership Academy and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Metzger joined HAND in 2017 as the Program Manager overseeing construction projects and development grants. Prior to joining HAND, she worked for the John Boner Neighborhood Center, AYS, Inc. and Wonderlab in Bloomington. She is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional.

Broadnax has been a volunteer with HAND since 2017. He has worked in the community economic development industry for over 20 years and has considerable experience working with Community Development Corporations. Mr. Broadnax has an undergraduate degree in Business and Sociology from Northern Kentucky University and a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Ball State University.

The new leadership team looks forward to working with the board and the community to strengthen HAND’s mission and to continue to provide high-quality housing for the 120 people currently living in HAND developments.

HAND’s annual fundraiser, Stay Home for HAND, is Nov. 9. Proceeds from Stay Home for HAND support the organization’s housing development, home repair and community building programs. HAND works to ensure that the suburbs remain livable, with homes that are affordable for all residents. Click here for ticket pricing and event information.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff has a new contract extension, through June 30, 2021.  The HSE School Board approved the new pact, calling for a 2% increase to an annual salary of $189,702, effective July 1, 2019.  The contract calls for Dr. Bourff’s incentive compensation for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 to be $14,872 (.08% X $185,982.

Dr. Bourff’s contract was approved by the board Wednesday night by a vote of 6-1, with Amanda Shera the only no vote.  The vote was for the approval of the Consent Agenda, which included four items – meeting minutes, a staffing report, a donations report and Dr. Bourff’s compensation.  Shera did not specify during the meeting why she voted no on the Consent Agenda.

The board also gave final approval to the 2020 budget and the new contract with the district’s teachers, a two year agreement that begins retroactively to the start of this school year.

The Hamilton County Humane Society continues to raise money for its planned move to Fishers and has already raised 80% of their goal.  According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, the nonprofit organization needs to raise a total of $12 million in order to build the new facility planned at 106th Street and Hague Road.

The Hamilton County Council has funded the program to the tune of $3.5 million.

The Humane Society has been housed at its current Noblesville facility since 2006 and expects its new home in Fishers to be complete during 2021.

In March of 2017, the Fishers City Council voted unanimously to approve zoning changes, paving the way for the Humane Society’s eventual move to Fishers.

At-large Fishers City Councilwoman Cecilia Coble is seeking another four -year term on the council.  Here is my conversation with her.

You can do your early voting on Fishers prior to election day, November 5th.  Fishers City Hall will be the location for early voting.  Here is the schedule of early voting hours in Fishers for the municipal election:

Wednesday, October 23 – Thursday, October 24          2 pm to 7 pm

Friday, October 25 – Saturday, October 26                    10 am to 3 pm

Wednesday, October 30                                                          2 pm to 7 pm

Friday, November 1 – Saturday, November 2               10 am to 3 pm

Early voting is also available at the Hamilton County Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville.  Here are the hours:

Monday, October 21 – Friday October 25                   8 am to 4:30 pm

Saturday October 26                                                           9 am to 4 pm

Monday, October 28 – Friday, November 1              8 am to 4:30 pm

Saturday, November 2                                                      9 am to 4 pm

Monday, November 4                                                        8 am to noon

Monday night was an evening of honoring longevity at the Fishers City Council meeting.

Officer Darrin Emmons was recognized by the council for 20 years of service to the Fishers Police Department.

Anthony Novak and Jerry Edwards were honored for 20 years working in the city fleet operation.

Mayor Scott Fadness recognized  Office Works for being a thriving business in Fishers for 35 years.

There was no opposition among the nine members of the Fishers City Council as the body voted Monday night to approve a $119 million 2020 spending plan.  The vote was 9-0.

Councilman David George was unable to attend last month’s budget session where Mayor Scott Fadness laid out the numbers for the council.  A public hearing was held on the budget in September but no one chose to speak.

George explained Monday why he planned to vote for the budget, pointing to long-term plans to repair and resurface streets and roads in the city as they age.

During the community comment period at the end of the council session, Democratic candidate for Fishers City Council At-Large, Jocelyn Vare, criticized the process used by the city administration and council in explaining the 2020 budget to the public.  She suggested the 2021 budget process be done differently, calling for a public explanation of the budget in plain language 30 days before the public hearing.

The 2020 budget calls for a 3% employee pay hike and includes a 2-cents-per-$100 of assessed property value tax rate increase.

Logan Day, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in this years Republican primary election, chose to turn to another subject during the community comment time.  He asked that the council vote on releasing the report done by an outside law firm concerning allegations that City Clerk Jennifer Kehl had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in dealing with employees in her office.

The firm found no violations of the law in its probe, but a brief statement from the city said the report found management issues in the City Clerk’s office and reduced Clerk Kehl’s responsibilities and staff.  The full report has never been made public, with the city arguing that one or more of the employees still has the right to file an action with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC).

Day said the city could release the report and redact private information, such as the employee names.

The City of Fishers plans to spend $255,000 of the 2020 municipal budget supporting local nonprofit organizations.  The three-member Fishers City Council Nonprofit Committee, consisting of council members Pete Peterson, Cecilia Coble and the Chairman Todd Zimmerman, held a discussion Monday evening on how to support specific local organizations next year, based on funding requests submitted by local nonprofits.

Here are the committee’s recommendations for 2020 funding:

$65,250   Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program

$64,707    Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI)

$15, 043   JANUS

$100,000  Conner Prairie

$10,000     HSE Schools Foundation

The committee had a lengthy discussion about the proposal from the HSE Schools Foundation, concerned the money requested was for alumni outreach and not programs impacting current students.  The committee provided less than the foundation requested as a result.

The spending proposal goes next to the City Council Finance Committee, and if approved there, goes to the full council for a final vote.

Fishers Police officers are already being equipped with body cams, with the expectation that all officers will have the cameras by early 2020.  Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart told the Police Merit Commission Friday that this was the goal of his department in rolling out the video technology.

The city’s 2020 budget calls for a full time civilian position in the police department to primarily maintain the body camera program.  This is the only additional staff member for the department in 2020, according to Chief Gebhart.  The civilian employee will be involved in responding to public records requests.

The body cam deployment is being partially funded by a $120,000 federal grant.

School Resource Officers (SROs) will have body cameras installed, Gebhart said.

The policy for retaining the videos will be in line with state law.  State statute requires the videos be retained for 180 days, but the city plans to keep them a bit longer than that requirement, possibly 200 days.

The city is utilizing a cloud-based system for storage, which will provide access for officers, authorized users and personnel at the prosecutor’s office without the need to record and playback on video disks.

For a member of the public to access a police body camera video, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request must be submitted.  City Attorney Chris Greisl told the Merit Commission there are state laws requiring that some images on these videos be obscured.

When requesting a police body cam video, Greisl says the person making the request must provide some basic information, such as naming the person at the scene (other than the officer), and knowing the time and date of the incident.

Chief Gebhart also updated the commission on hiring officers, hoping to be at full strength in 2020 with 119 sworn positions filled.  The chief expects at least one retirement in 2020, and there could be others.