The January Fishers City Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. I warmly encourage you to participate.
WORK SESSION
A Work Session will be held at 6:15pm, prior to the 7pm City Council Meeting. No action is taken at a Work Session. It is a gathering of the city council members to gather information about a specific topic. Work Sessions are always open to the public to observe. It will be held in City Hall.
There is one agenda item for the Work Session: The Housing Taskforce and Study will be presented.
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 7pm on Tuesday 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 or in the Agenda Center. Click on the TV icon under the “Media” column.
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. Finance Committee Report. The Finance Committee is charged with advising the City Council on matters concerning the general financial operations of the City. Therefore, I look forward to the Finance Committee’s presentation at each month’s City Council meeting. Since City Council is responsible for fiscal oversight, this monthly report is very important – but usually is brief and informal.
6. Health Department update. This agenda item will include a Fishers Health Department report about our city’s vaccine status, COVID community risk status, and other important public health info. Primary metrics of transmission has been increasing in Fishers – dramatically among persons who are not vaccinated. Please get vaccinated and boosted!
7. Officer Elections. This is the election of the 2022 President and Vice-President of the Fishers City Council.
8. Consent Agenda.
There are three 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.
Item c. Council appointments to City Boards & Commissions. Although the procedure for this year’s appointments had not been improved, I am enthusiastic about Agenda Item 10, which starts the development of a new procedure for 2023.
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
Government/Miscellaneous
9. Creating an Armed Forces Commission. I’m a strong supporter of this new commission because it formalizes the city’s dedication to recognizing, honoring and celebrating military service. It has been my privilege to be asked to provide input into the creation of the new Armed Forces Commission. I am a member of the Fishers Arts + Culture Commission, which was created four years ago for a similar reason: to serve residents and enhance our vibrant community meaningfully.
10. City Council Committees. This ordinance formalizes the city council committee process. I am supportive of this action which specifies the council’s standing committees, procedures and membership. It also begins the process to develop a procedure for council appointments to city board and commissions.
11. Non-Profit Funding. This action allocates a total of $180,000 American Rescue Plan funds to three local non-profit organizations and a total of $120,000 to be awarded to non-profits in a grant program administered by the council’s Non-Profit Committee.
Planning & Zoning
12. Rezoning Lehman PUD. 15 acres for 35 single-family homes by Pulte. Property is located on the south side of 126th St, between Allisonville Rd and Lantern Rd. FINAL READING is the final vote to approve or disapprove the matter.
13. Text Amendment to Unified Development Ordinance. FIRST READING is the first, but not final, consideration of a matter.
14. Voluntary Annexation “The Courtyards of Fishers PUD” and is located on the 23 +/- acres at the northwest corner of 113th Street and Southeastern Parkway. It is planned to serve empty nesters with 50 new homes. The home sizes are between 1,500-4,000 square feet with average price point of $575,000, up to as much as $875,000. FIRST READING is the first, but not final, consideration of a matter. PUBLIC HEARING.
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.
15. Voluntary Annexation of Yin Property. 14985 Southeastern Parkway. FIRST READING is the first, but not final, consideration of a matter. A PUBLIC HEARING means that any resident is invited to comment on this topic. This is the only opportunity to make a comment about this specific matter.
16. Voluntary Annexation of Wiler Property. 8490 E 131st St. FIRST READING is the first, but not final, consideration of a matter. A PUBLIC HEARING means that any resident is invited to comment on this topic. This is the only opportunity to make a comment about this specific matter.
Regular Items
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.