A couple of meetings to start the new year

The first of the 2020 Commissioners meetings took place on Monday morning. It began with the election of officers for the new year. There were no changes from the past year. Kendall Culp is chair and Jim Walstra vice-chair.

Tim Flinn, the Veteran's Service Officer for the County, had sent the Commissioners a letter asking for support for legislation that may be proposed in the next State legislature. The idea he was trying to get support for would allow gaming machines in the local VFW and American Legion posts with revenue split between the posts, four State-wide veterans organizations, and the county service offices. He said that Ohio and Illinois have something similar. The Commissioners were willing to support a request for additional funding but were hesitant to promote more gambling. They will seek additional information, such as what bills are likely to be introduced at the next legislative session, before they act.

Next was a continuation from the December 27th meeting of discussion of support for the three township EMS services. In the past the funding for the township EMS services had been based on the bid for the central EMS services, currently provided by Phoenix. That link will be cut going forward. Using a formula that takes into account a variety of factors, the Keener ambulance service will get an 8% increase, Wheatfield a 12% increase, and Southern a 1% increase. These amounts exceed what was budgeted, so the issue now goes to the County Council, which will need to approve an additional appropriation before the increases can take effect.

Next on the agenda was a request for additional stop signs at the intersection of 1225 N and 900 W. Nothing was done on this item because a public hearing is required before any action of the Commissioners. The public hearing will be held at the February meeting (which is on the 10th, a week later than normal.)

Stephen Eastridge, head of the Jasper County Economic Development Organization, gave the Commissioners an update. The JCEDO office was one of those destroyed in the Town Mall fire. They are temporally working from an office at the REMC building north of town. They should be closing on a new property across the street from the Court House by the end of the month. They will renovate it before moving in. JCEDO has hired an economic development coordinator who will be starting at the end of the month. They continue to push a development strategy based on adding value to the agriculture of the County and are cooperating with the neighboring rural counties in that endeavor. Mr Eastridge also reported on the recommendations coming from the task force formed in response to the NIPSCO closing news. The two focus items for this year are revisions the the County's Comprehensive Plan and creating TIF districts on three of the County's I-65 interchanges.

A variety of bids were opened at the meeting and the Commissioners, as they usually do, accepted all of them. Many of the bids are for materials for road repair and the cheapest price will differ depending on where in the County the materials are needed. Transportation of the materials can be as expensive as the materials themselves.

Work continues on preparing a Community Crossings grant proposal, and the final action of the meeting was approving and signing a letter needed for that proposal. The meeting adjourned at 10:00, an usually early end for a Commissioners meeting.

I skipped the Drainage Board meeting in the afternoon because the only thing that looked mildly interesting was a discussion of financing for the Kankakee River project. In the evening the Rensselaer Park Board met for another very short meeting. Because Scott Barton will not be on the 2020 City Council, he cannot be the Council's representative on the Board and he is replaced by Earnest Watson. Michael Manis was reelected as President and Sue Wing was selected as Vice President. There was brief discussion of Park updates. The exterior of the concession stand for the ball fields is almost complete and the utilities have been hooked up.

The metal work for the entryways for the Jasper Foundation Park may be installed before the end of the month. The question of who will work the new concession stand for tournaments has not yet been answered. The meeting lasted only half an hour. The next meeting will be on February 3.

Express Employment, whose office was destroyed in the Town Mall fire, is now working from a office on the southeast side of Washington Street.

The old bakery space has been gutted. Here is a picture though the window of the front door.

Fundraising is underway for the next round of murals for #RENARTWLK. See here for more information.

Last week I went for an open swim at West Central High School. There are a number of Rensselaerians who visit for water aerobics. The pool is heated and the water is very warm, which is a feature that the Rensselaerians who use it enjoy.

If you are interested in the topic of invasive plant species, there will be a meeting on the topic on Thursday evening at 6:00 at the Carnegie Center. The presenter is with Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management.

Days are getting longer. Tomorrow we will have about one more minute of daylight than we have today.