by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

The city of Noblesville has annexed a major tract of land at State Road 32 and Promise Road in anticipation of a huge mixed use development next year. Corby Thompson, Fishers area developer and realtor, has plans pending for building a commercial, industrial and residential development on more than 300 acres on both sides of Promise Road, immediately north of 32.

Thompson does not yet have final approval of plans, according to the Planning Department, but the city council adopted an annexation ordinance on Nov. 13 which becomes effective on Dec. 13, apparently expecting approval of the extensive project. It will be one of the largest real estate developments approved in Noblesville to date.

With annexation, the new area will get public safety services, city utilities and street maintenance. In exchange, the development will provide several million dollars worth of taxable property. This will add not only to the city tax base, but the county and school system as well.

Further details on the project have not been released. The only announcement came in the form of a legal publication of annexation in the Hamilton County Reporter.

When CMG moved from its Fishers building along I-69 to downtown Indy, the question was, what till move into that structure?  The Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) reports that insurance firm DMC.  The move is expected to happen this spring, with DMC planning to add 50 staff members to the new location.

For more details, read the IBJ story at this link 

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers dropped its first game of the season on Tuesday, losing a Hoosier
Crossroads Conference game at Zionsville 69-53.

The Eagles zoomed through the first quarter, outscoring the Class 4A No. 9 Tigers 15-4. Fishers came right back, scoring 25 points in the second period to cut Zionsville’s lead to
32-29. But the Eagles outscored the Tigers in each of the next two quarters.

Skylar Fulton scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Katie Burton
added 15 points. Tamia Perryman collected six rebounds and blocked two shots, and
Fulton cleared five rebounds.

Fishers is now 6-1, and 1-1 in HCC play.

The Tigers will travel to New Castle on Saturday to play Elkhart Central in a 4:15
p.m. game.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s girls got a big test from Brownsburg
on Tuesday night, and the Royals passed with honors in the
second half.

The Class 4A No. 4 Royals kept their unbeaten season going by coming from
behind and defeating the 4A No. 8 Bulldogs 55-41. Southeastern is
now 8-0 for the season, and 2-0 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings.

The Royals led 16-12 after the first quarter, but Brownsburg dominated the
second period, using its pressure defense to outscore HSE 15-4 to take a 27-20 halftime
lead. Southeastern pushed back in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 35-14.

The Royals got quick scores off defensive deflections in the third quarter, then continued
the pressure in the fourth.

Sydney Parrish led Southeastern’s scoring with 21 points, followed by Malea
Jackson with 13 and Amaya Hamilton with 12. Parrish went 9-of-9 from the free throw
line, while Jackson was 6-of-6.

Hamilton led the rebounding with seven, followed by Lydia Self with six. Jackie
Maulucci and Molly Walton both cleared five rebounds. The Royals had 13 steals as
a team, with Parrish making five and Hamilton four.

Southeastern travels to Carmel on Friday for an afternoon game. The contest has been
moved up one hour: Junior varsity tips off at noon, followed by varsity at 1:30 p.m.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers had a tough opener on Tuesday evening, falling to Lawrence Central 73-58
at the Tiger Den.

The Bears had a high-scoring first quarter, leading Fishers 23-13 at the end of
the period. The Tigers cut that lead to 33-29 by halftime, but LC took off again in the
third, pouring in another 24 points while allowing Fishers just 15.

Willie Jackson led the way for the Tigers, scoring 21 points. Alex Szilagyi
drained three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points.

Fishers will play another home game Saturday afternoon, welcoming Ben Davis.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern got a big win in its first game of the season, sailing past
Muncie Central 95-50 Tuesday at the Bearcats’ gym.

The Royals were never troubled in this game, leading 45-18 at halftime and
finishing with 30 points in the fourth quarter. Five HSE players scored in
double figures: Landon Morris had 16 points, Noah Smith 14, Mabor Majak 14,
Chris Grubbs 13 and Aaron Etherington 12.

Grubbs and Morris both reached double-double status, as both pulled 10
rebounds. Southeastern had 53 team rebounds; Smith and Majak each collected
eight and Etherington corralled five.

Smith made seven steals and Majak blocked three shots.

Southeastern plays its next game at Pike next Tuesday.

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been seized upon by charitable organizations throughout America as Giving Tuesday.  Many nonprofit groups locally will be asking for your help again this year on November 27th.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation has made #GivingTuesday one of their major fund-raising projects.

On Giving Tuesday, the foundation asks you to first make a donation at this link.

Secondly, take a picture or video of yourself holding your own “unselfie” sign.  Use the hashtags #HSSFunselfie and use @hsefoundation on social media on Giving Tuesday.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board spent more than two hours listening to a proposal on grades K-8 redistricting, but will see the administration’s “preferred” redistricting map when it is released to the public online Monday, November 26.

Interim Assistant Superintendent William Carnes told the board that after a number of community meetings, and roughly 10,000 comments from the public, he and the firm contracted to assist in the process, Cooperative Strategies, submitted a redistricting map it identified as “Revised Scenario 1A.”  This absorbed the many comments received, and incorporated parts of Scenarios 1 & 2 that were produced as part of the public comment process.

Board members reviewed “Revised Scenario 1A” and had a number of comments and suggestions for change.

Based on board member comments, and more data yet to be reviewed by Dr. Carnes and his redistricting group, “Revised Scenario 1A” is a step toward the final map recommendation for the board, but will likely not be the final boundaries.

Once Superintendent Allen Bourff reveals his recommended, or “preferred,” redistricting plan November 26th, he will present that map to the school board at the regular meeting of the board November 28th.

Once the board reviews the “preferred” redistricting plan, the final vote on redistricting is set for the board meeting December 12th.

You can view the entire Power Point presented to the school board at the Tuesday morning work session at this link.

Let’s say your teenage son is out running around Fishers after curfew, you call the police, they find your son, return him home and write a ticket to your son.  Your son goes to court, pays a fine that will likely be paid by the parent.

Fisher Assistant City Attorney Lindsey Bennett told that story to the Fishers City Council Monday night in explaining why the city is updating its ordinances that lay out penalties for minor offenses.

Now, the parent in the story above would not need to pay the fine if the son is sentenced to community service instead of a fine that would likely be paid by the parent.

Bennett explained the overhaul of the penalty system is needed. She described the current ordinance as “convoluted” after many years of updates and changes.

You can read the entire new ordinance at this link.

The new Hub & Spoke $14 million, 85,000 square development planned on a plot of land southeast of the planned Nickel Plate Trail along 106th Street, has Fishers City Council approval of an incentive package that includes a 10-year real estate tax abatement, fee waivers and a deal for the city to lease space in the building.

The two men behind the Hub & Spoke design center project, Travis Tucker and David Decker, were both at the council session but did not speak before the council.

Megan Baumgartner told council members the plans are to have co-working and maker space in the building.  She said there will be training for people seeking work in the building trades.

The vote to approve the incentive package was unanimous.

In other city council news from Monday night’s session:

Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart administered the oath of office to four new police officers in his department.  The new officers are – John Settergren, Kevin Starkey, Nick Smiley and Keith Benbow.

Chief Gebhart saw officer Binh Denis Monday, and told the council officer Denis was “the most active and communicative that I’ve seen him since the accident.”  Binh has been fighting an infection in his leg and the chief says the infection appears gone but must be watched so the infection does not reappear.  The officer is in the fight to get healthy, Gebhart said, and Monday was a good day for him.  Officer Binh was badly injured in an early October off- duty motorcycle accident that happened in Brown County

During the City Council Finance Committee meeting held before the regular council session, Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren told committee members that the fire equipment and crew in the headquarters building near City Hall will be moved to the apartments at the Fuel Tank, off 126th Street near the YMCA.  The move will be needed when the entire fire headquarters building is demolished and rebuilt next year.