On Tuesday the County Commissioners met. Perhaps the most interesting items was early on the agenda, in the buried cable permits. A company called AMP Americas wants to use County right-of-ways for a seven-mile long methane pipeline that would connect two dairies in Barkley Township with a natural gas pipeline. One of the dairies has a digester and the other will get one. The pipe will be plastic four to six inches in diameter. The gas will go through a scrubber to get it to the quality needed to insert it into the natural gas line. To build that scrubber building, the project will need to have some land rezoned, so the project may be on the County Plan Commission meeting agenda later this month.
The permit was approved with several stipulations. In the afternoon the company appeared before the Drainage Board to learn what it needed to do to get Drainage Board approval. The pipeline will cross seven regulated drains.
Four departments requested permission to fill vacancies. They included the Sheriff, the Prosecutor, Community Corrections, and the County Clerk.
The Sheriff reported that the jail has had fewer major incidents such as fights this year than it has in the past several years. He attributed the decline to more programming and activities for the prisoners. He also reported that a piece of the heating/cooling equipment had failed and was disappointed with the slow response that the Jail got from the Havel company. The Commissioners approved the two rezoning requests that had been recommended for approval by the County Plan Commission. The approved Animal Control's request to use $1000 from its donation fund to seal a storage building used for food storage; insects are a problem. There was a discussion of the multiple leaks that Animal Control has had with its water lines and the director will get quotes for replacing the current copper pipes.
Trane gave a brief update on the proposed energy savings program for the County Jail. The project is projected to cost a bit more than $2 million, with much of that for a small solar farm. Wells Fargo has offered interest rates slightly higher than 2% and would like a commitment. The Commissioners decided to go with a 15-year loan and made the motion needed for Trane to proceed with Wells Fargo.
The remainder of the meeting dealt with a number of items that are not of much public interest. One exception was the approval of a bid from Clark's of Remington to plant grass on the old Johnny Rusk site. The County will probably sell that lot in the future and wants it more presentable than it is currently.
In the evening the Rensselaer Park Board met. They approved construction of a shelter in the Monnett/Staddon park. It will cost about $18,000 and will be very similar to the shelter at Bicentennial Park south of Weston Cemetery. The Board also approved purchasing four scoreboards for the new ball fields and Roth Field. When the new ball fields are finished, the park leagues will move from Staddon and Columbia fields to the new fields. Columbia and Staddon will then be available for the travel leagues that currently do not play home games because they lack a decent field.
The Board decided to not charge the fees for the dog park that had been slated to start next year. They will accept any donations that people might make to help defray the costs of running the dog park. There was a long discussion about possible buildings that ended inconclusively. The Parks have a url <rensselaerparks.com> that currently takes one to their Facebook page but which soon may have its own content.
Dirt will start moving for the ball fields next week. The basketball courts at Staddon/Monnett have been painted and exercise equipment is being installed along the walking trail.
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