The Latest News in Fishers With LarryInFishers.com
End of the Year Wrap
Writer / Larry Lannan
Photography Provided
I moved to Fishers in 1991, a town with a population of about 10,000 people. More than 30 years later, Fishers is a city of roughly 100,000 people. That has provided me with a front-row seat to the massive growth of our local community.
I am excited to be writing for the Towne Post Network and Fishers Magazine all about what is happening in this busy place we call Fishers.
Four new Hamilton Southeastern School Board members will take office in January of 2023. The board has a number of decisions to make, including how to deal with the tax funding referendum that expires at the end of 2023. The board will also be facing a redistricting process in the near future.
Of course, that means we are coming into another election cycle. The City of Fishers will elect a number of officials in 2023, including mayor, all nine city council seats, the city clerk and city judge. The primary election is in May and general election balloting happens in November.
Groundbreaking ceremonies have been popular in recent weeks. Fishers broke ground on the new Arts Center and City Hall complex on a cold, windy day in late November. The Andretti Family broke ground for their new headquarters near Hague Road, between 96th and 106th Streets, in early December.
The Arts/City Hall project is projected for completion in the spring of 2024. The Andretti complex is likely to be complete in 2025.
The Andretti headquarters will include not only the shop for the many racing series where the Andretti team competes, but there will also be a museum and restaurant. The Andretti building is likely to be a regional destination and very busy in the month of May.
One thing you will see sometime in 2023 is a grading system for local restaurants. The Fishers Health Department already inspects local eateries, but will convert that score to a letter grade and you will see the grade displayed as you eat out while the program rolls out during 2023.
Sarah Sandquist has left her post as Director of the Fishers Parks and Recreation Department. She has accepted a similar position in Champaign, Illinois in order to be closer to family.
Speaking of parks, Geist Waterfront Park had an event to show the community the completed facility on November 20th. Despite a cold and windy day, more than 500 local residents walked around the new park. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony has been tentatively planned for March of 2023.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools will offer a course in sports officiating for juniors and seniors. There is a well-documented shortage of sports officials in all levels of competition.
When Fishers officials asked for bids for the project on 141st Street and State Road 37 in 2022, the cost numbers were too high. This has forced the city to transform the intersection into a right-in right-out configuration in what the city describes as an “interim” situation. Fishers plans to ask for bids again in the spring of 2023, hopefully with numbers that will allow the project to continue.
The plan is to construct a roundabout on 141st Street at State Road 37, with an underpass allowing traffic to move freely on State Road 37.
