First Courtroom Showdown Ends in Delay

Lawyers for the Town of Fishers and the Towns of Geist squared off in Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Nation’s chambers for an hour before emerging with an agreement to delay the Judge’s ruling, postponing the Hamilton County Commissioner’s hearing initially scheduled for next Thursday.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/WXo3lLt2ul8" width="300" height="250" wmode="transparent" /]All parties agreed to a phone conference call tomorrow to update the Judge on the timing of the rescheduled hearing, which both sides agreed would be the week prior to the December 19th public hearing on the forced annexation ordinances by the Town of Fishers.

At stake, the claim of who made the first move in the incorporation of the unincorporated areas around Geist. Fishers claims to have introduced their three ordinances to forcibly annex Geist at their September 17th town council meeting. Geist residents, led by members of the Geist United Opposition, filed petitions to form the Town of East and West Geist on September 21st. It’s up to Judge Nation to decide if in fact Fishers has trumped Geist, forcing them to fight the annexation next spring or if Geist can move forward in their incorporation efforts.

Members of the Geist United Opposition continue to solicit Towns of East and West Geist petitions from property owners. These petitions will give Judge Nation a sense of the “will of the people” while also giving those homeowners unsure of incorporation a chance to ask questions of block captains gathering signatures.