The September Fishers City Council Meeting will be held on Monday, September 19, 2022. I warmly encourage you to participate.
IMPORTANT LOCATION CHANGE: All City Council meetings will now be held at Launch Fishers, 12175 Visionary Way. Launch Fishers is located in the tech park, north of Super Target. IMPORTANT TIME CHANGE: This City Council meeting will begin at 5:30pm, instead of 7pm.
How to Observe and Participate in the City Council Meeting at City Hall
-The meeting will be held in-person and will be open to in-person attendees.
-A video of the meeting will be broadcast live at http://tinyurl.com/CityOfFishers starting at 5:30pm on Monday so you can watch from home. This is a way to observe the meeting only.
- In-person attendees are welcomed to address the City Council during any Public Hearings during the meeting – and during Community Comment, which is held at the end of every meeting.
- Fishers residents are also welcomed to submit public comments electronically prior to the meeting. In order to submit a comment, you need to designate the date of the meeting that you want to comment on. Look at the public meeting calendar. Then, complete the online Public Comment Form. Select “City Council” and that will open a comment box for you to type in. Submit your comments by NOON on Monday, the day of the meeting. All comments submitted before the meeting will be presented to City Council members. These comments are not read aloud but become part of the official meeting minutes.
- Community Comment at the end of each City Council meeting is always open for your comment on any Fishers topic. This is an “open mic” opportunity for 10 Fishers residents to address the City Council for up to three minutes each. The council members are not required to resolve or respond to your comments at that moment. Usually, pathways are identified for follow-up and additional dialogue.
- Meeting agendas and past meeting minutes can be found here, under City Council tab.
- Past meeting videos are supposed to be posted within 48 hours of the meeting. You can find the videos in the City of Fishers YouTube channel.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
The City Council Meeting agendas are available here, under the City Council header. Each agenda has items on it that appear in blue. These are links to open the supporting documents.
Here’s a rundown of this meeting’s agenda items and my interpretation of them.
5. Council Committee Reports.
Finance Committee Report. The Finance Committee is charged with advising the City Council on matters concerning the general financial operations of the City. The City Council is responsible for fiscal oversight and final approval of the municipal budget. Typically, the Finance Committee meeting is reflected in action items for the City Council that are reflected in the “Budget/Financial” part of the meeting agenda.
6. Department Reports. The monthly Fishers Health Department report is usually made available to residents every month about our city’s vaccine status, COVID community risk status, and other important public health info. This report has not yet been posted to the city website. The FHD 2021 annual report is now available.
7. Consent Agenda.
There are two items on the Consent Agenda.
Item a. is approval of last month’s City Council meeting minutes.
Item b. transfers funds. These actions transfer funds within the city budget, which is needed periodically. The transfers do not adjust the bottom line at all. This is a transfer of dollars from one budget category to another to avoid a negative balance in a category.
The Consent Agenda is a grouping of routine reports that should be approved in one swift action, instead of approving each one separately. I believe that all items included on the Consent Agenda should be approved as presented and approved unanimously. If not, the item that requires a revision, abstention, or other action needs to be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate voting item.
REGULAR AGENDA
Planning and Zoning
8. and 9. Home Court Estates. 5.7 acres at 11186 E 131st St. Voluntary Annexation.
A voluntary annexation is when a property owner wants to incorporate into the City of Fishers and receive city benefits, i.e., access to city utilities and city services like road maintenance and snow plowing. The annexed property will start paying city property tax to cover these benefits. Sometimes, annexations are a first step for a property being sold for development. Annexation Procedures can be found here.
10 and 11. Magnolia Grove Salon. 1.76 acres at 13484 E 116th St. Voluntary annexation and change from Residential to Commercial zoning. This agenda item will welcome public comments in a Public Hearing format.
A PUBLIC HEARING means that any resident is invited to comment on this topic. This is the only opportunity to make a comment and address the City Council on this specific matter. Fishers residents are welcomed to submit comments for the public hearing on this matter electronically prior to the meeting. All comments received by noon on Monday on the day of the meeting should be presented during this part of the meeting and will be part of the meeting’s official minutes. The Public Comment Form is live on the website right now.
If you do attend the City Council meeting in-person, you may comment on this matter during this part of the meeting. The City Council President will open the public hearing by asking if anyone would like to speak. If no one indicates that they want to speak, the public hearing can be closed quickly. So, please indicate immediately that you have something to say when the public hearing is opened. Otherwise, you may miss your chance.
12. Proposed Revision to Sign Standards to allow temporary freestanding signs to be displayed longer – up to 6 months. Commercial and Residential For Lease or For Sale signs. First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
Economic Development
13. and 14. Andretti Autosports announced in late August its intent to build and establish its $200 million global headquarters at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport’s undeveloped business park property. The headquarters will bring Andretti’s operations for all racing entities, research and development, and history museum to one campus location. Pending City Council approval, the facility will break ground in late 2022 and open early 2025.
First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
15. Stevanato Group announced in June 2021 their intent to build a 200,000 square foot facility in the Fishers Life Science and Innovation Park with a $140 million investment to build their facility and hire 250 employees for their high-wage, innovation positions. In early 2022, Stevanato executives approached the City of Fishers to share their plans to further invest in their planned facility. Stevanato will present a proposal to the Fishers City Council to update its total investment to $512 million with a plan to hire a total of 515 employees by 2031. The Stevanato facility will open in early 2024.
16. and 17. and 18.Fishers District Phase II and New Event Center.
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se8KUW79Gvo&t=6s
The $550 million in additional developments will include new retail, restaurant, entertainment, and residential options within a walkable and vibrant community setting. The development will be located east of I-69 between 106th and 116th Streets southeast of IKEA. The expanded Fishers District will be anchored by an event center that will host sporting, theatrical, and entertainment events for up to 8,500 spectators. Indy Fuel owner Jim Hallett announced the Indy Fuel would call the event center its home beginning with the 2024-2025 season. Fans and patrons alike will experience entertainment in a new way with family suites, enhanced areas for hosting, and modern fan experiences.
The overall expansion of Fishers District includes Slate, a previously announced multi-family and garden home community with direct access to Fishers District; The Union, an expansion of the lifestyle, multi-family, and entertainment options at the District which, upon completion, is visioned to include approximately 250 luxury apartments, 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 150 hotel rooms, and up to 80,000 square feet of Class A office space in a vertically stacked environment; and The Commons, home to the new Fishers event center and additional new-to-market restaurant, retail, and entertainment destinations, as well as additional residential options.
Once complete, the Indy Fuel, the professional hockey minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, and Hallett Sports & Entertainment will officially move its headquarters from the Indiana State Fairgrounds to Fishers with the event center serving as the team’s primary facility. Hallett Sports & Entertainment will manage the event center and provide day-to-day operational and booking management. The Indy Fuel currently utilizes the Fuel Tank, located in Fishers, for its practice and residential facilities
First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
19. Adopting a Food & Beverage Tax.
The new Fishers Food & Beverage Tax will be in addition to the 1% Food & Beverage Tax that is already collected for Hamilton County. Consumers purchasing prepared food and beverages will be taxed at the combined rate – a 2% total rate – similar to many nearby communities. Revenue generated will go directly toward paying debt on the Fishers event center as part of the Fishers District expansion. The Fishers City Council must vote to approve an ordinance adopting the food and beverage tax. A public hearing at a special city council meeting must be held in conjunction with the first reading of the ordinance. This is scheduled for October 6. The City Council will vote on the ordinance at the October City Council meeting on October 10 at 7 p.m. If the ordinance passes on October 10, it will take effect on December 1, 2022. The City of Fishers will inform the retail food and bar business community about the tax and how it will impact them during a webinar and Q&A session hosted this fall. First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
Budget & Financial
20. Financing for the Arts & City Hall Complex.
“The action Tuesday provides $20.5 million for this final phase. Total cost for the project is set at $23.2 million. The Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the contractor guarantees the costs listed, with the city and Meyer Najem sharing in any cost savings.” – Larry In Fishers, 9/13/22
http://www.larryinfishers.com/city-of-fishers-moves-forward-with-arts-city-hall-complex-plans/
This agenda item will welcome public comments in a Public Hearing format.
A PUBLIC HEARING means that any resident is invited to comment on this topic. This is the only opportunity to make a comment and address the City Council on this specific matter. Fishers residents are welcomed to submit comments for the public hearing on this matter electronically prior to the meeting. All comments received by noon on Monday on the day of the meeting should be presented during this part of the meeting and will be part of the meeting’s official minutes. The Public Comment Form is live on the website right now.
If you do attend the City Council meeting in-person, you may comment on this matter during this part of the meeting. The City Council President will open the public hearing by asking if anyone would like to speak. If no one indicates that they want to speak, the public hearing can be closed quickly. So, please indicate immediately that you have something to say when the public hearing is opened. Otherwise, you may miss your chance.
21. and 22. Financing for 96th and Allisonville
First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
23. and 24. and 25. Sewer Appropriations. Public Hearing will be held.
26. and 27. Municipal Budget for 2023. The municipal budget not only sets the city’s priorities for the upcoming year it also sets the city’s property tax rate for citizens. The proposed 2023 budget lowers the municipal property tax rate slightly but probably does not actually lower your tax bill because property assessed value is increasing.
2023 City Budget Details
https://www.fishers.in.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08242022-2000
https://www.fishers.in.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09082022-2008
You can find information about past year’s budgets on this city webpage.
First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
This agenda item will welcome public comments in a Public Hearing format. A PUBLIC HEARING means that any resident is invited to comment on this topic. This is the only opportunity to make a comment and address the City Council on this specific matter. Fishers residents are welcomed to submit comments for the public hearing on this matter electronically prior to the meeting. All comments received by noon on Monday on the day of the meeting should be presented during this part of the meeting and will be part of the meeting’s official minutes. The Public Comment Form is live on the website right now.
If you do attend the City Council meeting in-person, you may comment on this matter during this part of the meeting. The City Council President will open the public hearing by asking if anyone would like to speak. If no one indicates that they want to speak, the public hearing can be closed quickly. So, please indicate immediately that you have something to say when the public hearing is opened. Otherwise, you may miss your chance.
Government/Miscellaneous
28. City Council Redistricting. The city is divided into 6 districts. Every four years, Fishers citizens vote for three at-large (citywide) City Council members and one City Council member in the district that they live in. The city district map had to be redrawn because a census was taken, Fishers population changed, and each new district must be close to the same population size. The new district maps have been prepared. First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
29. Permit Re-Inspection Fees. First Reading, this is the first consideration of the matter but not final vote.
Unfinished/New Business.
Community Comment. All comments submitted through the online are supposed to be provided to the city council members before the meeting and become a part of the meeting’s official record. The Public Comment Form is live on the website right now. Select “City Council Meeting” and that will open a comment box for you to type in. Submit your comments by noon on Monday, the day of the meeting, so they can be distributed before the meeting.
Meeting adjourned!
If you have any comments or questions, please send them my way. Email is a good way to get a hold of me.
Thank you for reading all of this.