Looking Ahead: 2016 to bring changes in roads, government, development

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By James Feichtner

A year of action

Right around this time last year, one would refer to Fishers, Ind. as the largest town in the state. Now as the year 2015 comes to a close Fishers finishes its first year as a city. So much has been accomplished since Fishers has become a city, but what lies ahead for the municipality?

Mental Health

In November, the city announced its bold mental health initiative, a plan that was the result of nearly a year’s worth of development involving monthly meetings with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, Community Health Network and the Fishers fire and police departments. The mental health plan is the city’s goal to help improve the state of mental health in the community through various actionable items. 2016 will mark the implementation of the plan which could prove to be one of the city’s biggest challenges next year.

“The mental health plan is a whole new venture. We don’t really do a lot of the social stuff, so when we went into that it’s been a whole different experience,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said. “I don’t know how successful we’re going to be at it but we’re going to do our best and we’re going to be open and honest and work hard to try and affect some sort of change. I know I can build you a road, but I don’t know if I can reduce the number of people who are suffering, but we’re going to try.”

Upcoming economic developments

An aerial view of Indy Metro Airport. The areas outlined in red are planned development areas. (Submitted map)
An aerial view of Indy Metro Airport. The areas outlined in red are planned development areas. (Submitted map)

Indianapolis Metro Airport

For nearly 20 years, the town of Fishers wanted the Indianapolis Airport Authority owned Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, located off 96th Street near Interstate 69, to be removed from its city. After a stagnant state of disagreement, the city announced its plans to collaborate with the Indianapolis Airport Authority in October to foster a community development project on unused space at the airport. Fadness said he is hoping to have a request out for a proposal to the development community by the end of the 2016 first quarter giving “plenty of time to engage our residents and have a conversation about what they want to see and what they don’t.”

A rendering of the Ikea facility. The facility is expected to break ground in fall 2016 (Submitted renderings)
A rendering of the Ikea facility. The facility is expected to break ground in fall 2016 (Submitted renderings)

Ikea

Swedish-owned furniture store Ikea announced its plans to build its first Indiana store in November. The building is expected to be approximately 296,000 square feet with 1000 parking spaces on 35 acres of land located off of the eastern side of Interstate 69 and South of E. 116th Street. Construction is expected to be in fall of 2016 with a grand opening scheduled for fall 2017. The economic development is expected to bring approximately 500 jobs during initial construction and add 250 new IKEA employees for the store. In addition to retail, the store will feature a 350-seat restaurant and children’s play area.

In-progress economic developments

A rendering of The Switch building at 116th Street and Municipal Drive. The Switch is scheduled to house companies CloudOne, Ginovus and a Purdue medical research department. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of The Switch building at 116th Street and Municipal Drive. The Switch is scheduled to house companies CloudOne, Ginovus and a Purdue medical research department. (Submitted rendering)

The Switch

Construction is already well underway on The Switch building located off 116th Street and Municipal Drive in the Nickel Plate District. The Purdue University College of Pharmacy’s Center for Medication Safety Advancement and Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership has signed a lease to occupy the second floor of The Switch. Also joining Purdue will be cloud based service and software company CloudOne as well as national site selector company Ginovus. Expect The Switch to be completed in summer of 2016

A rendering of the new Launch Fishers facility at 12175 visionary Way. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of the new Launch Fishers facility at 12175 visionary Way. (Submitted rendering)

Launch Fishers

While local co-working space Launch Fishers has held its headquarters in the basement of Hamilton East Public Library for almost four years, the more than 500-member company will soon be moving into its own building the first quarter of 2016. Formerly the location of DECA Financial, the 52,000 square-foot building located is at 12175 Visionary Way and was purchased for approximately $3.1 million with renovations at about $400,000. The facility will be the first AT&T fiber ready co-working space in the state.

A rendering of the Lantern Road mixed-used facility. Upon completion, the facility will house Fishers brewery Four Day Ray and offer an upstairs office space. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of the Lantern Road mixed-used facility. Upon completion, the facility will house Fishers brewery Four Day Ray and offer an upstairs office space. (Submitted rendering)

Lantern Road mixed-use

A two-story, 16,000 square foot mixed-use building with 8,000 square foot dedicated to commercial office space is expected to be completed by spring 2016. Four Day Ray plans to be the first-floor tenant in the new urban storefront development located at 11671 Lantern Rd., and has proposed a production brewery, taproom and restaurant. No confirmed second tenant has been approved as of press time.

Road developments

An overhead rendering of the Interstate 69 and 106th Street overlay. (Submitted rendering)
An overhead rendering of the Interstate 69 and 106th Street overlay. (Submitted rendering)

106th Street and I-69 Overlay

The biggest of road projects in store for Fishers in 2016 will be the 106th Street and I-69 overlay. The project is intended to reduce congestion at existing I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th streets, increase traffic safety in the area and provide direct interstate access at 106th Street. Direct access will serve existing residential and commercial destinations and accommodate development and population growth in the area. Expect the project to go out for bid in March of 2016 with beginning construction to follow later in the year.

A proposed rendering of part of the renovation for Fall Creek Trail. (Submitted rendering)
A proposed rendering of part of the renovation for Fall Creek Trail. (Submitted rendering)

Fall Creek Trail

The nearly 20-year-old trail located along Fall Creek Road will be seeing its construction completed by the end of 2016. The nearly one-and-a-half long trail will be widened to 10 feet to allow for increased pedestrian traffic. In addition to widening the trail, the city plans to redo some of the bridges and boardwalks, making it more efficient and aesthetically pleasing to residents. The city has awarded the project bid to Indiana based construction company Olco, who the city has worked with in other sidewalk projects.

“We anticipate some tree clearing over the winter and then really the trail construction will really ramp up from April to October timeframe.” Fishers director of engineering Jeff Hill said.

New Goals for New Mayor of Lawrence

Collier
Collier

Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier discussed attracting new businesses to Lawrence. Collier said he hopes to put together a task force responsible for coordinating with potential businesses in helping aid in their decision to establish a presence in the city.

“We’re putting together a team; working together with chamber of commerce, local business leasers; I will be a part of it. We’ll have some people representing the local arts and culture aspect. Someone from redevelopment, someone from reuse authority community development committee who will be the team who, when we have people who want to come to the city, their job will be to present a presentation to convince them to come to the city of Lawrence,” he said. I’ve already been contacted by two people who want to come to the city of Lawrence. One who has an employee base of about 140 and the other one has got about 45 employees.

In addition, Collier said he is aiming to increase tax increment financing in some areas south of Pendleton Pike and establish working contracts with public safety personnel in the city.

New Personnel in Lawrence

Several new personnel will be joining the city of Lawrence staff. Lawrence will welcome Steve Collier as the new mayor for the city. Collier comes to the position from serving on the city council and other governmental committees, as well as spending 33 years in the Metro School District of Lawrence Township. Other new staff members will include Jason Fenwick as the new City Controller, David Hoffman as the new Lawrence Police Dept. Chief, Dino Batalis as the new Lawrence Fire Dept. Chief, James Gutting as the mayor’s corporate attorney, Maura Hoff as the new city attorney and Julie Kukolla as the new Executive Assistant.

Lawrence Animal Shelter

The next steps toward Lawrence receiving a no-kill animal shelter in the city will be underway quickly after the new year begins. Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier said that there are a couple options in establishing a location.

“It’s not that big of a deal but it may be in our best interest to select another facility. We have the existing pound that the city of Lawrence has as an asset,” Collier said. “Maybe it makes sense to take the funds from the sale of that asset over here and build a brand new one over here. We’re going to try and keep our options open over what can be done, but try to get it moving relatively soon.”

Fishers Police Chief Retires

Fishers Police Chief George Kehl announced last September that he will be retiring from the police department in Sept. 2016. Kehl joined the department in 1975 as a part-time deputy marshal. By 1978 he became police chief. During his tenure, the police department has grown from one sworn officer to a department of 103 while leading the department to become a nationally accredited institution. Kehl has led the department during explosive population growth, and instituted policies that ensured Fishers remained one of the safest cities in the United States. Despite his retirement Kehl’s service to his community will not be finished as he plans to eventually run for the seat on the Hamilton County Council.

Comprehensive Plan

Since August, Fishers has been putting together its comprehensive plan as part of its Fishers 2040 initiative by forming a steering committee with several task forces made up of city employees, citizens and outside consultants. The task forces shared their findings on Dec. 14. After its approval at the Dec. 21 council meeting, Fadness said that the plan will begin to be shared with the public beginning the first half of 2016.

“To be smart we need to have a well planned community. We started the comp plan because we all agreed we needed to do something and we’re not done yet. We’ve got to take this collection of thoughts and ideas, put a plan together and execute on it, so that will be a big project this upcoming year. In the first quarter of next year you’re going to see us taking it out to the whole public to get their input and we’re going to start implementing those things.

Financial Transparency

Another goal Fadness said he hopes to achieve is more transparency in the financials of city government.

“My hope is in the second or third quarter of next year that you’ll see a complete transparency to our financials so anyone can go on a website and see everything,” Fadness said. “Let’s eliminate the conspiracy theorists and say, “here you go, here’s real time financial information, the same that we see.” That has never been a purposeful thing that we’ve kept from people, it’s just we haven’t had the professional management to be able to organize ourselves and get that stuff pushed out to the public.”

Hamilton Southeastern

Hamilton Southeastern Schools have spent the past several months preparing for a recommendation of a referendum. With the previous referendum having expired, a new referendum will go before the HSE school board at the second HSE School Board meeting in January. If approved by the board, the referendum will go on the ballot during the 2016 May primary election.


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Looking ahead: 2016 to bring changes in roads, government, development

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The new city council gathers after the inauguration ceremony Dec. 17. From left, H. Bruce Kimball, Ron Carter, Susan Finkham, Laura Campbell, Mayor James Brainard, Kevin Rider, clerk-treasurer Christine S. Pauley, Jeff Worrell and Judge Brian Poindexter. Not pictured: Carol Schleif. (Photo by Amy Pauszek)
The new city council gathers after the inauguration ceremony Dec. 17. From left, H. Bruce Kimball, Ron Carter, Susan Finkham, Laura Campbell, Mayor James Brainard, Kevin Rider, clerk-treasurer Christine S. Pauley, Jeff Worrell and Judge Brian Poindexter. Not pictured: Carol Schleif. (Photo by Amy Pauszek)

NEW CITY COUNCIL

The biggest change expected at the beginning of 2016 will be new elected officials joining the Carmel City Council.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard endorsed a slate of seven candidates for council and a candidate for clerk-treasurer. All but one of his endorsed candidates won office, with incumbent councilor Carol Schleif defeating Brainard-endorsed Keith Griffin.

Often in 2015, Brainard saw legislation he supported die at the council level by a 4-3 vote. Three of those four votes – Eric Seidensticker, Luci Snyder and Rick Sharp – will no longer be in office. New councilors taking their place are Laura Campbell, Jeff Worrell and Bruce Kimball.

Brainard also saw his preferred candidate, Christine Pauley, defeat longtime incumbent Diana Cordray for the office of clerk-treasurer. Cordray and Brainard often disagreed on issues of municipal finance.

NEW ORDINANCES ON THE WAY

With a majority of Brainard-endorsed councilors taking office, it’s likely many ordinances will be introduced and passed right away in 2016.

Brainard has many items he’d like to check off his list, but he expected resistance from the previous council in 2015. He’s said that he expects to see a lot of action in January, including removing the stop sign at 126th Street and Auman Drive and turning Carmel into a second-class city, which would eliminate the elected clerk-treasurer position and replace it with a mayor appointee in four years.

There’s also talk of changing the rules when it comes to the city council’s oversight of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission. Some have also suggested there might be a bond issue proposed to help Carmel catch up on road projects.

ROUNDABOUTS

The new year will be big for roundabouts in Carmel with the 100th one expected to be open early in the year at 116th Street and Gray Road. Other roundabouts include 116th and Hazel Dell Parkway, 126th and Gray Road, Main Street and Gray Road, 136th Street and Gray Road and 136th Street and Carey Road.

There’s also talk of obtaining City Council approval for several roundabouts along Range Line Road, including Carmel Drive and City Center Drive. The council in 2015 fought against the proposed roundabout at Range Line Road and Carmel Drive, but some of those councilors in opposition won’t be serving in 2016.

Gov. Mike Pence, left, shakes hands with Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard at a ceremony celebrating the opening of US 31. (Photo by Theresa Skutt)
Gov. Mike Pence, left, shakes hands with Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard at a ceremony celebrating the opening of US 31. (Photo by Theresa Skutt)

U.S. 31

While many portions of U.S. 31 were completed in 2015, the majority of the rest of the project will be complete in 2016.

Construction on the I-465 interchange is underway and will continue through 2016. Traffic flow to and from I-465 will be free flowing with the new flyover ramp complete by the end of 2016. Construction on the 106th and 116th roundabouts will be ongoing with a 2016 completion date.

The Midtown Project will include mixed-use buildings for office and retail. (Submitted rendering)
The Midtown Project will include mixed-use buildings for office and retail. (Submitted rendering)

CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

Several developments are underway in Carmel, with construction possibly complete in 2016.

Old Town Design Group has two projects that could be finished by late 2016: Green House Cottages, a retirement community at 1132 S. Range Line Rd., and Sunrise on the Monon, a selection of homes for purchase and rental at 9876 E. Westfield Blvd.

Olivia on Main, an apartment-and-retail building at Old Meridian and Main Street, should be finished in 2016. The first to be open will be The Seasons, which features more than 250 luxury rental units just north of the 96th Street roundabout on Westfield Boulevard. The Seasons is advertising that some units are already available for move-in.

CONSTRUCTION WAITING TO BEGIN

While many construction projects are already underway, some projects are looking to break ground in 2016, the biggest among them being the Midtown Project. Several mixed-use buildings for primarily office and retail are being developed by Old Town Properties between the Carmel City Center and the Carmel Arts & Design District.

To begin, the developer will likely present a proposal to the Carmel City Council to capture tax increment financing funds in order to repay a bond to build a parking garage. Once that’s out of the way, work will be underway to build a new home for Miller Auto Care and many existing buildings along Range Line will be demolished.

Construction could also begin soon for a public plaza for Sophia Square.

At the Carmel City Center, construction should begin in 2016 for a four-story parking structure with no less than 620 parking spaces, which will include up to approximately 28,000 square feet of commercial retail and office space.

Groundbreaking is also anticipated to happen in 2016 for the Chambers and Baldwin buildings of the phase two of the City Center.

TAXES

The 2016 budget includes a property tax rate at 71.43 cents per $100 of assessed value, an increase from the 2015 rate of 70.07 cents. It was passed 5-2 by the council in 2015. Some outgoing councilors called the proposal a broken campaign promise by Brainard, but the mayor defended the adjustment, saying it was a minor amount, bringing the rates back to their previous level.

MASS TRANSIT

The first phase of Central Indiana’s mass transit expansion will include bus stations and some road expansions and is scheduled to begin construction in the spring of 2017.

For 2016, there will be public discussions, legislative decisions and lots of planning. In 2015, the Carmel City Council voted down $196,000 in money IndyGo’s Red Line mass transit system, but Mayor Jim Brainard says he expects the proposal to be reintroduced and passed in 2016.

The Carmel Dads’ Club has proposed a 74-foot structure. (Submitted photo)
The Carmel Dads’ Club has proposed a 74-foot structure. (Submitted photo)

ZONING

On Jan. 25, the Carmel Dads Club will go before the Board of Zoning Appeals to argue for a proposed 74-foot structure for outdoor fields at the Carmel Dads Club on Main Street. This would exceed the current height limit of 35 feet.

In 2016, Carmel could also see some rezoning of property along Main Street in the Carmel Arts & Design District. One property owner tried in 2015 to have her residential property rezoned to commercial, but city officials said it would be better to rezone the entire block at once instead of just one property.

Construction is ongoing at Fire Station 44. (Submitted photo)
Construction is ongoing at Fire Station 44. (Submitted photo)

FIRE AND POLICE STATIONS

In July 2016, construction should be complete on a brand new building for Fire Station 44 5032 E. Main St., across from the Carmel Clay Schools Administration Building. The original building, constructed in 1980, was demolished in 2015 and construction on the $3.5 million project is underway.

In addition, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard has suggested that Carmel’s police headquarters needs a makeover, with a proposed expansion that would include utilizing a nearby building to expand office space and also possibly move the city’s courtroom to a more secure space. It’s possible that a proposal could come forward in 2016 since Brainard mentioned the police headquarters expansion in his annual State of the City address.

PARK AND REC

Parks Director Mark Westermeier said probably the biggest addition for 2016 will be the opening of the Central Park West Commons playground area, which is expected to be open around Memorial Day. Located off of College Avenue, the area will feature playground equipment with a capacity of a couple hundred children, a spray ground for young ones and a community green with a shelter and pavilion for picnicking.

In addition, Carmel Clay Parks is going to hold community forums in 2016 to gather input about uses for 45 acres of undeveloped land at West Park.

COUNTYWIDE ISSUES

In addition to mass transit, there are several other countywide issues that could come up in 2016. The Humane Society for Hamilton Co. is continuing to raise money to build a new larger shelter to support the entire county. There’s also some recent efforts among local agencies to try to create a domestic violence shelter in Hamilton Co., because under the current system, victims must stay in Marion or Madison County facilities. It’s also possible that the push for a countywide fire safety training will start up again in 2016, having been voted down this year.

ARTS & EVENTS

The Palladium has several big names booked for 2016, including Roseanne Cash on Jan. 8, Christian McBride on March 4, Michael Feinstein on March 5, Joshua Bell on March 13, Boyz II Men on March 24, the Oak Ridge Boys on April 23 and Paul Anka on May 20.

In addition, Carmel residents can look forward to the return of several annual events such as PorchFest, CarmelFest, Art of Wine, the International Arts Festival, Artomobilia and the Carmel Marathon.

GOLF

Good news for Carmel as the BMW Championship will return to Crooked Stick in 2016. The 2012 BMW Championship, which was played at Crooked Stick, was named that year’s “Tournament of the Year” by the PGA TOUR, with Rory McIlroy as that year’s winner. The entire leaderboard was filled with stars such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott all finishing inside the top 10. The event will be held from Sept. 6 to 11.


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Looking Ahead: 2016 to bring changes in roads, government, development

0

By James Feichtner

A year of action

Right around this time last year, one would refer to Fishers, Ind. as the largest town in the state. Now as the year 2015 comes to a close Fishers finishes its first year as a city. So much has been accomplished since Fishers has become a city, but what lies ahead for the municipality?

Mental Health

In November, the city announced its bold mental health initiative, a plan that was the result of nearly a year’s worth of development involving monthly meetings with Hamilton Southeastern Schools, Community Health Network and the Fishers fire and police departments. The mental health plan is the city’s goal to help improve the state of mental health in the community through various actionable items. 2016 will mark the implementation of the plan which could prove to be one of the city’s biggest challenges next year.

“The mental health plan is a whole new venture. We don’t really do a lot of the social stuff, so when we went into that it’s been a whole different experience,” Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said. “I don’t know how successful we’re going to be at it but we’re going to do our best and we’re going to be open and honest and work hard to try and affect some sort of change. I know I can build you a road, but I don’t know if I can reduce the number of people who are suffering, but we’re going to try.”

Upcoming economic developments

An aerial view of Indy Metro Airport. The areas outlined in red are planned development areas. (Submitted map)
An aerial view of Indy Metro Airport. The areas outlined in red are planned development areas. (Submitted map)

Indianapolis Metro Airport

For nearly 20 years, the town of Fishers wanted the Indianapolis Airport Authority owned Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, located off 96th Street near Interstate 69, to be removed from its city. After a stagnant state of disagreement, the city announced its plans to collaborate with the Indianapolis Airport Authority in October to foster a community development project on unused space at the airport. Fadness said he is hoping to have a request out for a proposal to the development community by the end of the 2016 first quarter giving “plenty of time to engage our residents and have a conversation about what they want to see and what they don’t.”

 rendering of the Ikea facility. The facility is expected to break ground in fall 2016. (Submitted renderings)
rendering of the Ikea facility. The facility is expected to break ground in fall 2016. (Submitted renderings)

Ikea

Swedish-owned furniture store Ikea announced its plans to build its first Indiana store in November. The building is expected to be approximately 296,000 square feet with 1000 parking spaces on 35 acres of land located off of the eastern side of Interstate 69 and South of E. 116th Street. Construction is expected to be in fall of 2016 with a grand opening scheduled for fall 2017. The economic development is expected to bring approximately 500 jobs during initial construction and add 250 new IKEA employees for the store. In addition to retail, the store will feature a 350-seat restaurant and children’s play area.

Lantern Road mixed-use

A two-story, 16,000 square foot mixed-use building with 8,000 square foot dedicated to commercial office space is expected to be completed by spring 2016. Four Day Ray plans to be the first-floor tenant in the new urban storefront development located at 11671 Lantern Rd., and has proposed a production brewery, taproom and restaurant. No confirmed second tenant has been approved as of press time.

In-progress economic developments

A rendering of The Switch building at 116th Street and Municipal Drive. The Switch is scheduled to house companies CloudOne, Ginovus and a Purdue medical research department. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of The Switch building at 116th Street and Municipal Drive. The Switch is scheduled to house companies CloudOne, Ginovus and a Purdue medical research department. (Submitted rendering)

The Switch

Construction is already well underway on The Switch building located off 116th Street and Municipal Drive in the Nickel Plate District. The Purdue University College of Pharmacy’s Center for Medication Safety Advancement and Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership has signed a lease to occupy the second floor of The Switch. Also joining Purdue will be cloud based service and software company CloudOne as well as national site selector company Ginovus. Expect The Switch to be completed in summer of 2016

A rendering of the new Launch Fishers facility at 12175 visionary Way. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of the new Launch Fishers facility at 12175 visionary Way. (Submitted rendering)

Launch Fishers

While local co-working space Launch Fishers has held its headquarters in the basement of Hamilton East Public Library for almost four years, the more than 500-member company will soon be moving into its own building the first quarter of 2016. Formerly the location of DECA Financial, the 52,000 square-foot building located is at 12175 Visionary Way and was purchased for approximately $3.1 million with renovations at about $400,000. The facility will be the first AT&T fiber ready co-working space in the state.

A rendering of the Lantern Road mixed-used facility. upon completion, the facility will house Fishers brewery Four Day Ray and offer an upstairs office space. (Submitted rendering)
A rendering of the Lantern Road mixed-used facility. upon completion, the facility will house Fishers brewery Four Day Ray and offer an upstairs office space. (Submitted rendering)

Lantern Road mixed-use

A two-story, 16,000 square foot mixed-use building with 8,000 square foot dedicated to commercial office space is expected to be completed by spring 2016. Four Day Ray plans to be the first-floor tenant in the new urban storefront development located at 11671 Lantern Rd., and has proposed a production brewery, taproom and restaurant. No confirmed second tenant has been approved as of press time.

Road developments

An overhead rendering of the Interstate 69 and 106th Street overlay. (Submitted rendering)
An overhead rendering of the Interstate 69 and 106th Street overlay. (Submitted rendering)

106th Street and I-69 Overlay

The biggest of road projects in store for Fishers in 2016 will be the 106th Street and I-69 overlay. The project is intended to reduce congestion at existing I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th streets, increase traffic safety in the area and provide direct interstate access at 106th Street. Direct access will serve existing residential and commercial destinations and accommodate development and population growth in the area. Expect the project to go out for bid in March of 2016 with beginning construction to follow later in the year.

Widening of Eastbound 116th Street

Eastbound 116th Street will see a portion of its construction completed in 2016. Bidding for the project is expected to take place in late June. Land acquisition and utility relocation for the improvements is still being sorted through. Construction would be taking place from July through November, but will resume in 2017. Land acquisition and utility relocation for the improvements is still being sorted through.

“We think we will see improvements along 116th very close to I-69 in 2016 and then a lot of the Oak Drive improvements on some of the side streets going down into the business park,” Director of Engineering Jeff Hill said.

96th Street and Cumberland Roundabout

A roundabout conversion will take place at 96th Street and Cumberland road during 2016. Construction is expected to begin in 2016 “as soon as the winter weather breaks,” Hill said. The project is headed by the Hamilton County Highway Dept., but the city will be heavily involved in the process. Expect ground breaking to take place in March.

Fishers Police Chief George kehl. Kehl has been a member of the Fishers Police Dept. for nearly four decades. (Photo by James Feichtner)
Fishers Police Chief George kehl. Kehl has been a member of the Fishers Police Dept. for nearly four decades. (Photo by James Feichtner)

Fishers Police Chief Retires

Fishers Police Chief George Kehl announced last September that he will be retiring from the police department in Sept. 2016. Kehl joined the department in 1975 as a part-time deputy marshal. By 1978 he became police chief. During his tenure, the police department has grown from one sworn officer to a department of 103 while leading the department to become a nationally accredited institution. Kehl has led the department during explosive population growth, and instituted policies that ensured Fishers remained one of the safest cities in the United States. Despite his retirement Kehl’s service to his community will not be finished as he plans to eventually run for the seat on the Hamilton County Council.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness swears in for his second term. ( Photo by James Feichtner)
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness swears in for his second term. ( Photo by James Feichtner)

Employment opportunities

Fadness highlighted bringing in new employment opportunities for Fishers residents during the 2016 year. Fadness said that through the projects put in motion during 2015, Fishers will in-turn attract new companies that will provide quality jobs for residents.

“One of the most important things that I can do from a quality of life standpoint for the residents of Fishers is to provide them job opportunities, to provide them an opportunity to make a living in their own community,” Fadness said. “To date, what we’ve been doing is we’ve been building Launch Fishers, building a downtown, putting in world-class infrastructure. It all sets a stage to start bringing in good paying jobs for our residents to be able to access. My hope and goal is this upcoming year is that we have well in excess of one thousand well-paying jobs. I hope we hit significantly more than that.”

Comprehensive Plan

Since August, Fishers has been putting together its comprehensive plan as part of its Fishers 2040 initiative by forming a steering committee with several task forces made up of city employees, citizens and outside consultants. The task forces shared their findings on Dec. 14. After its approval at the Dec. 21 council meeting, Fadness said that the plan will begin to be shared with the public beginning the first half of 2016.

“To be smart we need to have a well planned community. We started the comp plan because we all agreed we needed to do something and we’re not done yet. We’ve got to take this collection of thoughts and ideas, put a plan together and execute on it, so that will be a big project this upcoming year. In the first quarter of next year you’re going to see us taking it out to the whole public to get their input and we’re going to start implementing those things.

Financial Transparency

Another goal Fadness said he hopes to achieve is more transparency in the financials of city government.

“My hope is in the second or third quarter of next year that you’ll see a complete transparency to our financials so anyone can go on a website and see everything,” Fadness said. “Let’s eliminate the conspiracy theorists and say, “here you go, here’s real time financial information, the same that we see.” That has never been a purposeful thing that we’ve kept from people, it’s just we haven’t had the professional management to be able to organize ourselves and get that stuff pushed out to the public.”

Hamilton Southeastern

Hamilton Southeastern Schools have spent the past several months preparing for a recommendation of a referendum. With the previous referendum having expired, a new referendum will go before the HSE school board at the second HSE School Board meeting in January. If approved by the board, the referendum will go on the ballot during the 2016 May primary election.


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