Mayor Scott Fadness addressed Fishers about his vision for the city on Feb. 5, 2025, at the Fishers Event Center. To hear Fadness speak, business leaders, community members, and local officials all attended. Attendees included Indy Fuel, City of Fishers and Capitol Construction Services. Indiana University Health was the present sponsor of the Fishers State of the City Luncheon.
Previous addresses have emphasized crucial aspects like public safety, advancements in technology and initiatives for community development. This year, Fadness spoke on economics, projects and job statistics.
About 200 people were in attendance, with the floor seating completely sold out. The general public all sat in section 102, while members who RSVP’d sat at tables on the floor. Those on the floor had access to a buffet of various foods, along with drinks. A premier table cost 1,000 dollars including premium seating, a corporate table cost 650 dollars including a table for 8 guests and a single ticket cost 50 dollars. Premier tables included First Internet Bank, City of Fishers and Indianapolis Airport Authority. The general public could attend for free but did not have access to the buffet or drinks.
The mayor observed the audience as they trickled into the stadium and began socializing with others. The audience included the Board of Trustees: Suzanne Thomas, Ben Orr, Tiffany Pascoe and Dr. Juanita Albright. AW Constructions invited Ben Orr to this event. Tiffanie Ditlevson, City Council District at large, and Hamilton Southeastern’s Superintendent, Patrick Mapes, were also in attendance.
Several Fishers Mayor’s Youth Academy students attended the address. Junior Grace Gutwein and her father, Anthony Gutwein, who was a part of the premier table, “Edward Jones Anthony Gutwein”, attended.
“I think it’s really exciting,” Grace Gutwein said. “I see a lot of people here who are very successful in life and being able to look at what they are doing in their life and trying to build off of what they are doing in order to be successful … is really motivating.”
Jack Russel, President and CEO of One Zone Chamber of Commerce, started the morning by giving an overview of Fishers’ history and present advancements. Russel acknowledged the City of Fishers as a place of growth and opportunities.
“Today, we continue to build on that foundation,” Russel said. “Driving progress and business, technology and community development. Fishers is not just a place on the map. It’s a destination of doers and difference-makers. We are a city that embraces bold ideas, fosters entrepreneurial spirit, and invests and transformative projects that shape the future. Whether it’s launching cutting-edge businesses or creating vibrant public spaces for enhancing quality of life of residents, Fishers leads with vision and action.”
The Chief Operating Officer of IU Health North Hospital, Soula Banich, followed Russel to speak on IU Health. With affirmations of Fishers and active partnership, Banich is excited about the growth and changes happening in the community. The hospital expansion of IU Health Saxony Campus is one of the main projects she mentioned, called IU Health Fishers’ Community Project. The project includes the expansion of the hospital by nearly 50%, the renaming of IU Health Saxony to IU Health Fishers and 50 new inpatient beds.
“I committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the communities that reserve, supporting events like this one that brings together business leaders, community members, and local officials, all united by sharing the goal of improving our community,” Banich said. “Fishers is one of the greatest, fastest growing communities in the state, and as we continue to grow on side fishers, we’re excited to be an active partner in shaping the future of this great city.
Following Banich, Fadness discussed the future affairs of Fishers and the changes to come. Fadness began by recognizing his team member, Eric Pethtel. When the topic of teacher cuts arose due to costs, he made it his mission to find ways to keep the teachers at work. By taking over snow removal and grounds maintenance, Pethtel changed the cost. Pethtel was the Director of Public Works and retired after 34 years of employment at the City of Fishers. He was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Fadness, in honor of Pethtel, renamed the Public Sports Complex to Eric B. Pethtel Sports Complex.
“Recently … we were talking about his concerns about retirement,” Fadness said. “And one of his main concerns … is that he was afraid people would forget all the work that he did over the last 34 years ago. So, Eric … I wanted to let you know that I’m going to rename the Fishers Public Works Complex the Eric B. Pethtel Public Works.”
Fadness discussed his pride in his city as a father and seeing the world-class school systems. He spoke of the physical transformation of Fishers just over the past 10 years. Specifically, he wanted to peel back the layers and speak on the performance of Fishers. First, Fadness addressed the state of the economy over the past ten years. The gross assessed value has seen an 84% increase from 2015 to 2024.
The tax rate of Fishers is the lowest out of Indiana. The tax rate is low and Fadness said this is due to the efficient government. The population growth has seen a 35.56% increase since 2010. Starting at 76,794 citizens to 104,094. Median Household income has increased 38%. The total job growth since 2015 included 10,576 new jobs.
Operational Excellence was the second topic Fadness addressed. Since 2015, the City of Fishers has maintained employing five full-time employees per 1,000 residents. Healthcare plans have reduced the cost each year since 2022. Fishers’ health care costs have decreased, compared to a national cost that has increased.
Several road projects were discussed including the 19 new roundabouts, 106th St. Interchange and State Road 37. From these road infrastructure projects, the cost was 2.2 million dollars.
Several parks have been opened and have affected Fishers greatly like Flat Fort Creek and Makers Playground. The total investment in our parks system was 135 million dollars, while still keeping the tax rate relatively flat. Fishers was recognized as Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live in 2017, showing that all these things make Fishers a safe and cost-effective place to live.
Cory Lewis, founder of INCOG Biopharma Services was invited on stage to speak on life sciences. Lewis started his company by taking a year-long break to figure out what was next. He decided to start his own organization. Lewis looked at several states like Colorado and Tennessee, then met Fadness and saw potential in Fishers. Life Sciences in Fishers is an industry that essentially serves one’s unique drug production requirements, fosters innovation and strives to do things differently by taking a flexible approach to every project they take on.
“We do have folks in lab coats,” Lewis said. “We have individuals doing inspections of the syringes just to make sure that every product that goes out the door meets the quality … that [is] required.”
INCOG is doing amazing things, but this is not the only incredible thing happening in Fishers. Projects in progress right now include the City View, the Union, and Formula 1. The Union is a hotel, office space, and several restaurants to add more dynamic space to the district. Formula 1 is a project in progress relating to a racing shop where they build cars and everything racing-related. This will change the trajectory for 96th Street. Fadness hopes to open it in the Summer of 2025.
Fadness answered the question, “Where do we go from here?” by pursuing a smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial community. Fadness worked on several cases to lower call volume to Public Safety. Also, the trend of corporate landlords was a serious topic. Investors outside of the state are beating investors who want to live in Fishers to buy houses. Fadness wants to try to cap no more than 10% of homes in any given neighborhood that could be for rent.
“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who are desperately trying to live in Fishers,” Fadness said. “Young and educated people who want to be a part of this community, who want to own a home, and they’re getting beat out left to the right, cash offers, by outside investors … I don’t think that’s good for the long term. … And so, we’re going to endeavor to try to implement a smart approach that will allow us to ensure that no neighborhood tips scales into 40, 50% rental.”
Another project near and dear to Fadness’ heart is the Agriculture Park where they will build a country store for farmers to sell their food year around and a place for classrooms for visiting schools. Another Agriculture Park will be built near the west side of Fishers.
Continuing in the trend of new developments, a 148,000-square-foot Target store is coming to 136th Street, south of Southeastern Parkway at Exit 210. The new Target will help spread the crowd, especially near the holidays or “really any Saturday” as Fadness said.
“As I reflect on ten years, I think about all the good times, the exciting projects, the big capital projects, the ribbon cuttings, the groundbreakings and all the big press releases,” Fadness said. “But I also think about all the hard times, the COVID, … culture wars, the tragedies that befell individuals in our community, even people of my own team, and I can’t tell you there’s ever been a minute that I haven’t been anything other than completely grateful, for having had the opportunity to share, in this Fishers story… I do believe to my core that collectively, we can seize any opportunity before us, and we could tackle any challenge that confronts us as long as we do it collectively together.”
