Early July meetings and more

The commissioners met for their July meeting Monday morning. One of the first things on the agenda was opening bids for roadwork funded by the Cross Roads matching grants. There were three projects up for bid, with two of the projects consisting mostly of roads in subdivisions. Four bids were received, one of which was for only one project. The bids were taken under advisement and near the end of the meeting the Commissioners awarded two of the projects to Walsh and Kelly and a third to Reith and Riley. The total for all four projects was a bit more than $1,400,000. The county had received a grant for $1 million from the State so they will have to provide about $400,000. The city of Rensselaer did not submit a bid in the first grant round and it is unclear how much money will be available for the second round because of the reduction in tax revenues from gasoline sales.

The Governor has delayed going to phase 5 of the COVID reopening. As a result, the commissioners voted to keep county offices closed until their next meeting on August 3. There will be a joint commissioner-council meeting this month and it originally was planned for the fairgrounds but that facility is not available. So it will probably be held at the former Youth Center on Sparling Avenue.

Speaking of the former Youth Center, the commissioners approved remodeling plans so that the health department will be able to move to the former Youth Center.

In other business, the Commissioners heard a report from Trane on the jail. The HVAC and lighting part of the project are substantially complete. They are now getting ready to install the solar panel field and poles and panels should begin to be installed this month. If weather cooperates, the project should be completed before the end of October. Next month Trane representatives will be back for another update.

Last month the Commissioners delayed approval of a six-mile fiber-optic project in the Bailey's Corner area. This month the project was back on the agenda. There will be no plowing or trenching of cable. The Commissioners wanted to have hard-copy plans delivered to several offices, and wanted the project to be bonded. With those conditions they approved the project's use of County right-of-ways.

Last month the Commissioners approved replacing the exterior the Parr Post Office building that the Historical Society has at the Fair Grounds. There was an outcry when people heard the word "replica", so this month the Commissioners rescinded their approval from last month and approved a restoration of the building.

Steven Eastridge of the Jasper County Economic Development Organization announced that Smith Transport was building an $11 million dollar facility east of Remington. Smith Transport had sold its previous facility to a plastics company but had decided to stay in the Remington area.

The Commissioners also approved and dealt with a variety of routine contracts and other County business.

In the evening the Park Board met at Iroquois Park. The Board heard plans for a disk golf course for Brookside Park that will be built if the Parks for People board approves the estimated $8000 in costs. The course will have nine holes and each hole will have three sets of tees, so 27 holes are possible. Some of the tees will be appropriate for novice players and others for more experienced players. The course will use most of the areas in the park that currently are not used for other things and will go from Bunkum Road to the highway and back again. Currently the closest disc golf courses are in Lowell and Lafayette. The Board recommended approval to the Parks for People Board.

After searching for a possible concessionaire for ball tournaments, Stace Pickering has concluded that the concessions will have to be done locally. This presents a fundraising opportunity for local groups and organizations.

Work continues at the Blacker ball fields, with installation of fencing for backstops and grading for the parking lot. The north parking lots should be able to hold 300 cars. They should be ready for some use by the car show this Saturday.

I noticed that the water in the quarry was a beautiful turquoise blue.

Paving of SR 114 seems to be mostly finished, and I think the rail crossing gates on Cullen and Jefferson Streets are now operational.

The Bridge Church put on a fireworks display on the 4th. So did a lot of Rensselaer residents—the noise that evening was impressive.

I have noticed that mosquitoes have become a nuisance.

Finally, last week the airport manager sent out a press release about the land that the airport recently purchased. Federal and state grants will finance 95% of the cost of land acquired for airport purposes. The airport has received $485,000 in grants for the Phegley land acquired a few years ago and should get about $1,224,000 for both parcels by the end of 2024. In addition, it may get another $357,000 if a revised airport plan uses some of the land that is not used in the current plan. Most of the improvements at the airport are dictated by the availability of federal and state grants. For more from the press release, see the Rensselaer Republican.