With heavy rains in the morning, but sunny skies at the ground-breaking ceremony, the location had to be adjusted a bit Thursday so it wouldn’t be a mud-breaking ceremony.  Flexware Innovations is set to start construction on its new headquarters.  The building will be a part of the Municipal Complex, near the Nickel Plate Amphitheater.

Flexware is planning the $3.5 million project , featuring a 35,000-square foot office building with 12,000 square feet of office space for Flexware and a build-to-suit area in the remaining space. The City of Fishers will construct a 100-space public parking lot which will be free and open to the public after 6 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.

The IT firm says it will be creating 68 new jobs that the city describes as “high-wage.”

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Flexware President Scott Whitlock made remarks at the ground-breaking.  The mayor said the Internet of Things (IoT) is something he learned recently, but he found Flexware has been working on IoT projects for 20 years.

Whitlock presented the city with a donation for the Nickel Plate Trail.

Scott Whitlock, President of Flexware Innovations, along with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and other officials break ground for the new Flexware building

Mayor Scott Fadness gave his annual State of the City address Wednesday and sat down with me for a podcast discussion Thursday.  We talked about a number of issues, including his concept of regionalism, and how that would be paid for.  The mayor also talked about challenges in building a 5G wireless network in Fishers neighborhoods and the summer road construction season.

Mike Reuter, long-time Chief Financial Officer for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Corporation, was awarded a Key to the City by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness during the OneZone Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday.  Reuter has announced he will be retiring at the end of calendar year 2019.

Mayor Fadness recounted what a resource Reuter was to him 13 years ago when Fadness was an intern at the Town of Fishers trying to figure out municipal budgets.  Reuter has been a trusted financial resource for a number of municipalities in the area, including Fishers.

Reuter told the assembled crowd of over 700 that there were about 4,000 students in HSE Schools when he started there, and now the student count is at nearly 22,000.  He called HSE schools “a great place to be.”

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness sent out a Twitter message the day before delivering his State of the City address.  As he was putting the finishing touches on the speech, he wrote, “It looks to be a bit unconventional.”

Unconventional it was.  The mayor gave up a good deal of his allotted time to local school officials and his senior staff, to talk about what they are doing.  I don’t know many mayors that would give up most of his speaking time to others, but that’s what Scott Fadness did at the OneZone luncheon Wednesday.

The mayor was brief but to the point on what needs to be done in his second term – Indianapolis, as a metropolitan area, has problems, and those problems can be solved only if all local officials in the region are willing to be part of the solution.  Then the mayor reeled off a litany of data showing Indianapolis metro as behind a number of other regions.

For example, the Indy area ranks very low in public health, quality of life, higher education, health and environment, smoking and mental health.

Fadness called on local officials in the Indianapolis metropolitan area to “come together and work as a region to tackle these…issues, not because it’s simply the right thing to do, but because every other region out there that we are competing against is already doing it.”

When companies look to relocate, Fadness says they do not look at a state, they look to a metropolitan area, such as Indianapolis.  The mayor compared the Indy area to other regions and our area does not fare well in data such as poverty levels and level of wages.  Based on that data, other areas, such as Nashville and Austin (Texas), have made progress on those areas, while during that same period, the Indianapolis region has been falling behind.

Fadness argues that a state measure, championed by local State Representative Todd Huston, would have allowed regions to “marshal revenue streams” for improving an entire metro area.  That bill did not pass during this year’s legislative session, but the mayor vows there will be an effort to enact the proposal in next year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly.

The mayor gave an example of how a cooperative effort between Fishers Police and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department IMPD) in processing evidence resulted in a number of matches for IMPD to follow, just in 90 days.

The mayor envisions a region speaking with “one collective voice” beyond what one city in central Indiana could accomplish.

“I’m committed to seeing this happen in my next term in office,” said Fadness, “not only because I think it’s the right thing to do, but it’s because I believe it is directly tied to the long-term success of of the city that I live in, the city I love, Fishers.”

The event was held in Noblesville at the Embassy Suites in the Hamilton Town Center area, near Fishers, because there is no facility in Fishers that could meet the space requirements in order to handle the size of the crowd.  OneZone Chamber President Mo Merhoff said there were 710 people at the luncheon.

Noblesville Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke poked some fun in remarks made at the event, because Fishers State of the City address was being held in Noblesville.

When summer is once again upon us, there is something everyone in the Fishers Community needs to understand – although we are a generally affluent city, there are many among us struggling to make ends meet.  Many students attending our local Hamilton Southeaster (HSE) School District will miss meals once school is out for the summer.

Families enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program will not be able to properly feed their youngsters during the summer months without help.  That’s where the Fishers Youth Assistance Program (FYAP) comes-in.

FYAP is looking to feed 700 kids a record 63,000 meals for the upcoming nine-week program.  In 2018, FYAP served more than 600 students, which was a 229 percent increase over the prior year.  As you can see, even more students need help this summer.

Lynda Carlino, the long-time Executive Director of the HSE SPORTS program, retired from the job a few years ago, but remains a busy lady in our community, directing the summer meal program for the second consecutive year.

“We are so grateful for the past support our entire community has provided to this worthy cause,” FYAP Board President Leah McGrath said. “This year is no different as we have quickly exceeded the number of families who need assistance in the summer months. It is an opportunity for businesses, families, and others to come together to help their fellow neighbors.”

FYAP is asking individual citizens and local businesses for help in this important project.  Here are the ways you can make a difference:

The Fishers City Council put the spotlight on a number of local groups Monday night.

There was a graduation ceremony for those completing the Fishers Government Academy, with the presentation of certificates to the graduates.  The ten-week class gives local residents an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how their city government works.

Council members also brought the spotlight to two organizations at Fishers High School – the Color Guard & the Percussion Ensemble.  Both won state and world championships.

The council also issued proclamations for:

Mental Health Month

National Public Service Week

National Gun Violence Awareness Day

It may not feel like it with the cooler-than-normal temperatures Fishers has experienced in recent days, but summer is just about here.  The City of Fishers released a summary of major road road projects on tap in the coming months.

Here is the information, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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Allisonville Road
Construction has begun for the second phase of the Allisonville Road project. The second phase involves widening the existing two-lane roadway to four lanes—two northbound and two southbound lanes—from the bridge at Smock Creek to the River Highlands intersection. In addition, new lighting will be installed along the roadway, along with pedestrian trails on each side for enhanced connectivity to existing trail networks. The estimated cost for this phase is $1.6 million, which is locally funded.

The first phase, which includes roadway resurfacing and striping along with intersection improvements at both 131^st Street and 126^thStreet, is still under construction. Both intersections are changing from single lane signalized intersections to signalized intersections with multiple lane approaches. An additional left turn lane will be added to Westbound 126^th Street for motorists turning south on Allisonville Road. In addition to the intersection improvements, pedestrian walkways, new storm drains, and additional lighting are being installed. Phase 1 is primarily federally funded (80 percent for 131^st Street and 90 percent for 126^th Street, with an estimated total cost of $9.3 million.

Both phases are expected to conclude this summer.

126^th Street & Parkside Drive 
A roundabout is under construction at the intersection of 126^th Street and Parkside Drive. As part of the project, the median will be transitioned to a raised concrete curb at the intersection of 126^th Street and Enterprise Drive/Reynolds Drive to allow for right-turn-only movements. Left turns in this area will use the roundabout to improve safety and traffic flow. 126^th Street remains open but has been reduced to one lane in each direction during construction.

The estimated construction cost of this project is $1.7 million. The project is 90 percent federally funded, and 10 percent locally funded. The roundabout is estimated to be completed in September 2019.

96^th Street
Periodic lane restrictions are in effect as utility work is underway on 96^th Street as part of the road widening project, which includes the installation of additional lanes on 96^th Street between Lantern Road and Cumberland Road. During this project, the bridge over Mud Creek will be replaced with a widened structure. A roundabout will be added to the intersection of 96^th Street and Sargent Road. Pedestrian pathways will be installed on both sides of 96^th Street, in partnership with Indianapolis DPW. This project is 80 percent federally funded, and 20 percent locally funded, with a total projected cost of $8.5 million.

136^th Street & Cyntheanne Road 
Utility work is underway at 136^th Street and Cyntheanne Road to prepare for roundabout construction. The City will convert the current, four-way stop intersection into a one lane roundabout intersection. Temporary lane restrictions are in effect while utility work is completed, and the intersection will close for approximately 45 days this summer while the roundabout is being built.

Road Resurfacing
Several roadways around Fishers are being resurfaced. Neighborhoods including Timber Springs, Hamilton Proper, and Hawthorne Ridge will have their roadways resurfaced as part of Phase 1 of this project. Resurfacing will also occur on 121^st Street between Cumberland Road and Hoosier Road, and on Cumberland Road north of 121^st Street to I-69 during Phase 1.

In addition, the City will work with Hamilton County to resurface roadways outside of both jurisdictions. Resurfaced routes include 113^thStreet from Florida Road to Southeastern Parkway, and Connecticut Avenue between Cyntheanne Road and east of Atlantic Road/Southeastern Parkway.

Phase 2 will occur later this summer and will include New Britton Woods; Geist Woods; Allisonville Road from approximately 146^th Street to 131^st Street; Hague Road from 116^th Street to the railroad tracks south of 106^th Street;

Brooks School Road from approximately Club Pointe Drive to Fall Creek Road; and Kincaid Drive from 106^th Street to 96^th Street.

State Road 37
Drainage work for SR37 is in progress. Construction vehicles will be using the construction entrance on Lantern Road, between 126th Street and 131st Street, and may cause short delays. Construction is slated to begin this summer, beginning with the intersection of 126^thStreet and State Road 37. Visit www.drive37.com for updates.

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“These projects will improve the safety of our motorists and pedestrians—the top priority of the City of Fishers’ engineering team,” said City of Fishers’ Director of Engineering, Jason Taylor.   Taylor took over the job of engineering director after Jeff Hill left the city in late 2018 to accept a private sector job.

Roachael Coverdale is the owner of the local consulting firm.  Andrew Greider is the firm’s Vice President.  They both work on local election campaigns.  We talked about that in my podcast discussion with both of them.

After deadlocking on a 4-4 vote April 15th, the Fishers City Council voted 8-1, approving a rezoning for Jeffrey Cummings  of Remax Real Estate, allowing his firm to use what was once a residential for his office.  The lone “no” vote Monday was cast by Councilman Pete Peterson.

On April 15th, the council had a lively debate on the pluses and minuses of rezoning the property from residential to commercial.

Peterson said he wouldn’t stand in the way of this project, but still voted no.

The measure approved by the council contains the following conditions, recommended by city staff:

• Uses be limited to general office (no medical office)
• Signage and lighting shall be residential in character
• Property owner will voluntarily annex into City Limits
• If property to the west rezones to commercial, shared access to both sites
will be through one (1) driveway off of 126th Street.

The Fishers City Council had a lengthy agenda Monday with a total of 27 items.  Most were handled quickly and routinely, including economic development projects and a revised ordinance on weeds and vegetation standards within city limits.

However, the item that fueled the most discussion was about allowing one goat at Riverside Intermediate School.  That’s right, our Fishers City Council spent 15-20 minutes debating goat policy.

The city Planning Department explained that the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) was previously amended to allow the Fishers Director of Planning approval authority for fowl animals located in and around  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools.  Other farm animals were not included.

The staff was asking council members to allow an exemption from the current UDO to allow the one goat on the school corporation’s property adjacent to Riverside Intermediate, and to allow the city Planning Director approval authority for not just chicken coops (fowl) but also farm animals.

Councilman Pete Peterson was the first to speak and voiced concerns about how the goat will be handled, and staff explained that the Riverside principal asked for the exemption and is confident the school can handle this goat.

Councilman Todd Zimmerman asked how many animals could be approved as a result of the UDO exemption authority, saying he is not against what Riverside is trying to do, he’s concerned about what may come later.

City Planning and Zoning Director Tony Bagato said his staff was just trying to keep the council from approving every request for farm animals by schools.

Peterson responded that he trusts city staff to handle the approvals, however, “…if something happens to those animals, it falls back on the city’s lap and (City Attorney Chris Greisl’s) lap, if they have a horse, if they have a bull, you have four cows, and they create chaos running down the middle of 116th Street, and some stampede, because they’re animals,” Peterson said.  He wants to be sure any approval takes all this into consideration.

Mayor Scott Fadness chimed in to say that there is precedent for city planning staff to allow for animals in Fishers under the current rules in place.  He recommends the City Council enact rules and let the staff handle specific animal requests.

Bagato recommended that the council approve the one goat requested by Riverside Intermediate, because council action is needed for a grant application by the school.

The mayor recommended a 30-day delay, allowing the staff to have more UDO language prepared for the council.  A motion was made and seconded to allow Riverside their one goat.  Then Councilman David George said he planned to vote against that motion because goats are much different animals than chickens.

At that point the motion was suspended and a new motion was passed to table the entire matter, which passed unanimously.

After the longest discussion about any agenda item considered that night, the Fishers City Council made no decision on the one goat requested by Riverside Intermediate.  We will wait until next month to determine what will be decided in the great goat debate.