Rensselaer Adventures: An historic meeting

For the first time ever the monthly Commissioners meeting was held using the Internet. All of the Commissioners were at home and the public was invited to view via Zoom Software.

After the usual preliminaries, the Commissioners re-approved a pipeline that will carry methane from manure digesters at two dairies to a natural gas pipeline. The pipeline had been approved back in September but the company building it (Ozinga Energy LLC) has changed so it needed to be re-approved.

Next on the agenda was the golf-cart ordinance that has been discussed a couple times at previous meetings. It was originally requested for one subdivision but the ordinance was written to apply to all subdivisions. There are a number of restrictions, such as no passengers under the age of 2, and there is a $25 yearly permit fee. The ordinance passed.

Above is a picture of what the meeting looked like from someone attending via a home computer. At the time there were 22 people signed in. At one point in the meeting there were 33.

At a recent meeting there were requests for the commissioners to declare Jasper County a 2nd amendment sanctuary County. The Commissioners sought advice from others, including the state organization for county commissioners, and arrived at a resolution that affirms the County's support for the 2nd Amendment.

At its last meeting the Plan Commission supported a rezoning change from A1 to I1 for a lot next to Advance Auto east of Remington. The Commissioners approved the rezone. They also approved the change in fees for the Planning Office that had been passed at the same Plan Commission meeting.

The Commissioners decided to keep the current limited public access to county government and the limited hours of some offices in effect until their May 4th meeting. Most County offices have cut back hours and some of the employees are working from home to reduce person-to-person contact.

The Commissioners' attorney updated the Commissioners on extending a line of credit with First Merchants Bank. The line had been negotiated with Lafayette Bank and Trust before it was absorbed by First Merchants and so the people involved in the negotiations have changed. He also explained the documents that needed to be approved so the Recorders Office can distribute rec electronically (mostly for companies doing title searches). The Commissioners approved the three documents.

The County Highway engineer reported that construction of Bridge 263 in the far north of the County is on schedule and may be opened in the second week of May. The last of the CCG projects from last year, paving in Oak Heritage subdivision, is almost completed. It was noted that revenues coming to the County from the gas tax will be down because gasoline sales are down and this will affect road funding. Also, some of the revenues from the sales tax on gasoline are also earmarked for counties and both the decline in gas sales and the lower price will reduce these revenues.

The Commissioners appointed Curtis Craig to the educator slot on the Community Corrections Board. That slot had been filled by someone from the Kankakee School Corporation, but KV no longer wanted to fill it. The Commissioners also approved an agreement with a company that prints, mails, and provides a lockbox for property taxes. Tax bills were mailed out on Friday. They can be paid at several banks, by mail, or by the drop box inside the first set of doors at the Court House.

Commissioner Culp noted that because of reduced incomes resulting from the pandemic shutdowns, the County is anticipating tough fiscal times ahead. Hiring replacements except for public safety will be harder in the upcoming months.
The meeting was unusually short for a Commissioners meeting, lasting only about two hours.

The nice spring weather has had lots of people out walking. Work continues on the ballfields at Brookside Park. Last week crushed stone was being put down for future walkways and in dugouts.