After Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness wound down from his State of the City address Wednesday, he sat down for a podcast interview with me the same afternoon to expound on some of the issues raised in his speech.  He also commented on some other items, particularly economic development.

“Over the next 60-90 days, we will be announcing  nearly $150 million of new economic development projects coming to the city of Fishers….that will include hundreds of new jobs,” Mayor Fadness said.   “Although we did not talk about those projects (Wednesday) at the State of the City,  I think the next 2-3 months could be a very exciting  time in our community.”

Here are some other comments from the mayor that made some news:

–Long-time Fishers HR Director Cici Conover will be retiring.  The mayor described Cici as “the moral compass of this organization.”  He said she will be missed.

–The mayor hopes the city is 2-3 weeks away from closing the deal on purchasing land for the Geist waterfront park.  Once the land deal is done, Fadness says he will take his time and engage the neighborhood in order to craft a park design good for the city and those living near the park.   He says the 70-acres of land and how the city plans to use it will require looking ahead 50 years.   The opportunity to acquire that land for the park would have been lost if the city had not acted immediately, according to the mayor.  As to the condition of Geist Lake, a study was done a few years ago and found the reservoir will not get significantly worse in water quality, but it’s also not going to get significantly better.  “It’s hit a bit of a plateau,” the mayor said.   He argues centralized management is needed for the lake.

–On plans for Kroger to expand and move its store at 116th Street and Allisonville Road, Fadness says the city continues to be in conversation with representatives from Kroger.  “We still do not have a firm timeline for when (Kroger) would start building that new Kroger building” the mayor told me. “We continue to check- up with them on it.  I think they still have an intent to build there.”

You can listen to my entire podcast interview with Mayor Fadness at this link.

Fishers has been known as a place for young families, but with a growing population of Senior Citizens (full disclosure, I am one), the city is also working on enhancing amenities for seniors.

AARP presented the city with a designation as a new member of the oranization’s Network of Age-Friendly Communities.  This certification was earned through the city’s efforts in the areas of land use, housing, transportation, and parks.

Some of the specific city projects cited include:

–The Pickeball courts at Cyntheanne Park

–The WeCare program from Fishers Fire & Emergency Services. WeCare uses firehouse staff to ensure patients recently discharged from hospitals safely transition back home

–A morning call network and vacation watch program, both overseen by Fishers Police Department

–Fishers’ work to shed light on ADA-compliant policy through its Advisory Council on Disability.

“As part of the municipality’s first-ever comprehensive plan, Fishers 2040, we have identified four areas that are critical to the health and well-being of our community of residents that are 50 and older,” Mayor Scott Fadness said in a city news release. “The City of Fishers is excited to build on this opportunity and will continue to make our community a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial place that is friendly to people of all ages, particularly for those 50 and older.”

“AARP Indiana is working to make our communities throughout the state more livable for older Hoosiers and their families,” said Sarah Waddle, AARP Indiana State Director. “We are excited about Fishers becoming the first city in our state to join AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly Communities and we’re looking forward to other communities following Fishers’ lead.”

The Geist half-marathon will now be a part of the Spark!Fishers Festival and will be held during the morning of Saturday, June 30th.  The City of Fishers and the local YMCA will be collaborating to make this race possible.

“We have been working with the Fishers YMCA for years to further our mission of promoting health and wellness in Geist area schools,” said Geist Half Marathon President Mike Napariu in a city news realease. “This collaborative event gives us an opportunity to further our partnership with the Fishers YMCA and work more closely year-round.”

Detailed logistics are still in the works, but the start/finish line will be located in the Nickel Plate District.  The race will mark a full Saturday of activities tied to the Spark!Fishers festival.

“Collaboration between the Geist Half Marathon and Fishers YMCA truly exemplifies the essence of Spark!Fishers,” according to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, event co-chair. “The 5K will offer opportunities for friends and families to run alongside each other while making meaningful memories in our community.”

For the past eleven years, the Geist Half Marathon has hosted a 13.1 mile, 10K and 5K race on the third Saturday of May. Likewise, the Fishers YMCA has hosted a Wishbone 5K race on Thanksgiving morning for the past nine years. Both organizations will benefit from the proceeds of the Spark!Fishers 5K race to fund their annual children’s health and wellness programming in Fishers.

“It’s a perfect partnership for us,” said Fishers YMCA Executive Director Jake Reardon-McSoley. “This event lands right in the middle of summer when we are hosting hundreds of children from Fishers at our various camps. Summer is also our biggest time of financial need, so hosting this 5K event will really give us a shot in the arm to help us serve the community all year.”

Registration is now open for the inaugural Spark!Fishers 5K. Cost is $35 for adults and $25 for youth 12 and under. Registration includes a short-sleeved tech shirt, post-race food and drinks, and a finishers medal. To register, use this link.

March is Disability Awareness Month….here is mini-podcast Episode 14

With some of the bad weather experienced this school year, there were concerns the Hamilton Southeastern Schools would need to add a day of school on Tuesday, May 29th.  But students will experience an e-learning day to eliminate the need for this make-up day May 29th, meaning students will be out of school as of the Memorial Day weekend.

The e-learning will happen in the April/May timeline.

You can read the e-learning guidelines approved by the school board at this link.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board President Matt Burke defended the school corporation’s position on student walk-outs to honor the  high school mass shooting one month ago in Parkland, Florida that claimed 17 lives.  Burke argued the board faced concerns from “both sides” when a letter from the HSE School District was issued threatening disciplinary action for students participating as part of the national walk-out.

“We had a number of people who were not happy that we went far enough, in our policy and what we allowed to have happen, but we also had people on the other side saying that we had gone way too far,” said Burke. “In fact, I think the most extreme comment was, ‘bastion of liberalism.’  We felt like we made the right decision by kind of taking the middle of the road.  It’s never fun to make people mad.  But the fact that we have people mad at us on both sides , we felt like we had probably taken about the right approach.”

Burke began the Wednesday school board meeting by publicly thanking students, administrators and teachers for “a great day” (presumably referring to the national student walkout).  He said they “did well.”

Mayor Scott Fadness presented his annual State of the City address….and later in the day he talked with me for this podcast…

Wednesday, March 14th, is the one-month anniversary of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that took the lives of 17 people, and students throughout the nation walked out of their classrooms for 17 minutes at 10am, in honor of those victims.  The 17 minutes is recognizing one minute for each person that died in the mass shooting.

High School students in Fishers participated in the walk-out, under threat of disciplinary action by Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation officials

At HSE High School, students attending the walkout ceremony said about 400 of their fellow students chose to walk-out of their classes.

I understand there was a walkout at Fishers High School, but I have no further information on that at this time.

Mayor Scott Fadness used his annual State Of The City address to announce two major initiatives, what the mayor describes as quality of life enhancements –  one dealing with agriculture, the other a joint educational program called Fishers First.

The city will partner with Conner Prairie and the Hamilton Southeastern School District to create the Fishers First program.  This effort is explained as bringing about a world-class educational experience for Fishers students that would combine  innovation, collaboration, and new experiences.

What is described as “experiential learning” will be at the center of Fishers First.  Among the programs envisioned include the geology behind patching potholes to experiencing ecology through already-established programs such as Fishers Parks and Recreation’s “Nature First,” where students of all ages will have the opportunity to work alongside the Conner Prairie, the City of Fishers, and local businesses to deepen their knowledge of standards taught inside the classroom.

The mayor also announced the creation of Fishers Agri Park, a 32-acre park, to be located in the southeastern quadrant of 113th Street and Florida Road.  This program will be a partnership between the city and Brandywine Creek Farms, a local nonprofit organization whose mission it is to help educate and inspire individuals of all ages and help meet the needs of those who are food insecure.

Fishers Agri Park is projected to open in late spring, 2018.

Mayor Fadness singled-out the following city employees during his speech:

–Cici Conover, HR Director, as she celebrates retirement after 18 years with the City of Fishers;

–Fishers Police Department Intelligence Unit for their service and dedication to working cross-agency in collaboration to significantly contribute intelligence to 21 cases which resulted in crucial information to the outcome of the case;

–The Economic Development team for a record breaking 2017 with over 2100 jobs and $64.5 M in capital investment announced by companies growing in Fishers;

–Jeff Hill for his traffic mitigation plan during the Portillo’s-TopGolf-IKEA grand openings in fall 2017.

The mayor talked about progress and more to come on the Geist Waterfront Park and the Spark!Fishers summer festival.