'Burb Bites: Carmel Christkindlmarkt case closed
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A big update on the ongoing Carmel Christkindlmarkt controversy. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
This week's news from around the region includes the end of a lengthy investigation in Carmel, an update on the next big addition to Noblesville's Innovation Mile and cancer research gains made in the memory of a Fishers man.
🎄 Carmel City Council has ended its more than yearlong investigation into the city's handling of the Christkindlmarkt board shake-up, unanimously accepting a report that largely cleared city officials of wrongdoing.
- The $125,000 investigation found Mayor Sue Finkam had the legal authority to remove two board members in late 2024 after the city and market failed to reach an agreement on issues like control of the nonprofit and its insurance obligations.
- But investigators concluded that some statements Finkam made about the market's financial transparency were inaccurate, including her assertion that the market had failed to provide requested financial records.
- Finkam has called the report "flawed," arguing investigators failed to interview city staff about additional financial requests she says were made. Former Christkindlmarkt chair Sue McDermott disputed that account and said the report confirmed the market's finances had been handled properly.
🤸 Noblesville is now expecting a March 2027 groundbreaking for the planned $100 million-plus USA Gymnastics Training & Wellness Center at Innovation Mile, a year after the city landed the organization's new national headquarters and training facility.
- The city is seeking a development team, with proposals due Tuesday and a selection expected by the end of October.
- The roughly 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to play a role in Olympic athletes' preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
👷 Also in Noblesville, INDOT plans to build a $2.35 million roundabout at Indiana 38 and Prairie Baptist Road, with construction expected to begin in spring 2028.
- The project is driven by crash history at the intersection, where 20 crashes were reported from 2019-21, including injuries or fatalities in 35% of them. Right-of-way acquisition should start next summer.
🕯️ The family of late Fishers resident Jeff Schwarz made a $10 million gift to Indiana University to establish the Jeff Schwarz Center for Neuro-Oncology Research at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis.
- IU's School of Medicine is adding $5 million, bringing the total investment to $15 million to study brain cancers and develop new treatments while recruiting two endowed neuro-oncology researchers.
- Schwarz, a Zionsville High School grad with a love for IU, was diagnosed in 2022 with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. He died in November 2023.
🏎️ Westfield resident Roger Harvey of Bose Public Affairs Group has been named the new chair of the 500 Festival Board of Directors as the organization begins its 70th year.
- Harvey will lead the 33-member board, which oversees the nonprofit's events and programs celebrating the Indianapolis 500, with four new directors also joining for the 2026-27 term.
💰 Hamilton County is weighing a 2027 budget that would add staff for two new Superior Courts and the county's new public safety center, an $85 million facility set to open next year.
- The county has about $115 million in cash reserves and expects $15.4 million in interest income, but officials say declining assessed values make careful budgeting more important.
- The County Council plans to adopt the budget Oct. 19, with the new spending taking effect Jan. 1 if approved.