Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard traveled out of state using public money nearly every month this year. His trips aren’t lavish, but he was gone on city business a total of 79 days, raising questions about both the hard and soft costs.
We revisited the year’s top news stories in the suburbs on Wednesday, so now let’s look at what you should expect to see in 2016.
It was another busy year in the North of 96th region—the population growth hasn’t stopped, new housing developments continue to take root and each community is trying to identify exactly what kinds of new businesses it wants to attract.
Indiana Members Credit Union is hoping to open a branch in the 18,000-square-foot, two-story brick building on Old Meridian Street in Carmel.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard defeated Republican challenger Rick Sharp with 62 percent of the vote, even though the race had been expected to be much closer. Also in the primary, Westfield Mayor Andy Cook held off GOP challenger Jeff Harpe with 61 percent of the vote, despite fielding criticism for the city’s spending on the Grand Park Sports Campus.
The Swedish home furnishings store—which won’t open for nearly two years—will be built on 35 acres along USA Parkway in the Exit Five Corporate Park, near the East 116th Street and Interstate 69 interchange.
As the year comes to an end, here’s one last retail roundup to get you looking forward to 2016.
The list of projects slated over three years includes about 30 more roundabouts, other street improvements, and land acquisition. It would lead to property tax increases for most residents.
The organization started in 2012 in Indianapolis and launched in Louisville this year. To date, Brackets for Good has raised more than $1.3 million for charities through its March Madness-themed event.
The $350 million project included upgrading 13 miles to interstate standards from Interstate 465 to State Road 38 with 49 new bridges and 12 new interchanges through Carmel and Westfield.
The nearly 3,000-square-foot tasting room will be located at 98 S. Main St. and is expected to open in late January or early February.
Carmel City Council President Rick Sharp said he was under the impression that the city only needed to borrow $2.9 million to fix a budget shortfall, and wasn’t told the actual amount until after the council voted to approve the deal.
The entrepreneur behind the $8.1 million basketball and volleyball facility recently gave North of 96th a sneak peek inside.
Officials say the first phase of a rapid transit line that should eventually connect Westfield to Greenwood won’t be delayed even though the Indianapolis region missed out on a share of $84 million in state funding from the Regional Cities Initiative.
The funds will go toward a three-year project at the Women’s Philanthropy Institute that will focus on the factors that influence men and women to make charitable donations.
Ginovus, a site selection consulting firm, will lease space in the Nickel Plate District for the next 10 years.
The agreement between the council and the Carmel Redevelopment Commission gives the CRC the authority to use $2.9 million in its supplemental reserve fund to make a bond payment for the city.
Carmel is short of revenue this year, prompting the city to look for other ways to pay claims, debt service and payroll for the next couple of weeks.
The 20,000-square-foot Gene Haas Training and Education Center will offer 600-hour training programs for computer numerical control, industrial maintenance and metrology.
Credit and debit cards are accepted nearly everywhere these days, but houses of worship are still trying to modernize the way donations are collected.
