Odds and ends, late January 2021

The big winter storm last night mostly missed use. We got some freezing rain and are still getting light snow, but not inches of snow. However it was enough to put area schools on e-learning.

 The Rensselaer City Council met Monday night with a short agenda. Before the agenda items, Brienne Hooker from the Jasper Foundation thanked the Council for money and several City Departments for work in putting up new and old Christmas decorations. She said that many people had enjoyed them. There is an effort underway with some fundraising to buy more lights for next year. Some are on sale through March. The goal is to extend the decorations south on College Avenue.

In its previous meeting the Council had approved the purchase of a pontoon for the sewage treatment plant and a new service truck. Mr Lockridge, the City Project Manager, said that the company supplying the pontoon wanted to be paid on delivery. The Council agreed to that request. The new service truck that Mr Lockridge thought was available was not, but a similar one at the same price was located. The Council granted permission to purchase it.

There was discussion of some items that will be appearing at future meetings. There are several items about citizen-owned solar panels and the IMPA contract that may appear at the next meeting. Mr Cover expressed concern about people stacking firewood in their yards. No action was taken.

The Gas Department received the first shipment of steel pipe that will be used for a new line to tap into the trunk line east of town. The Park Department requested permission to purchase pallet forks for their tractor. Whatever forks they are now using keep bending. The request was approved.

Finally, Mr Lockridge said that a clarified baffle wall or curtain at the sewage plant needs to be repaired. A proposal will be presented at future meeting. The wall was inspected by divers. I do not know if Mike Rowe ever joined sewage-plant divers when he had his Dirty Jobs show, but that would have been what I consider to be the ultimate dirty job.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30, half an hour after it started.

I noticed last week lines, sometimes long, at the car washes. I did not immediately connect them to all the salting of roads that the City has been doing. 

The Iroquois River froze over in places of low current last week. I had not seen it freeze over previously this winter, which has been fairly mild.

In its previous meeting the City Council had approved the start of a process to remove and replace a warehouse used by the Electric Department. Below is a picture of the building.

I mentioned the Jasper County Airport's master plan in the previous post. Here is more information about what it is.

I have not seen anything written by Cheri Shelhart in recent issues of the Rensselaer Republican. I checked the website of the Kankakee Valley Post News and her name is missing. I wonder if the newspaper chain did staff reductions when it cut the Rensselaer Republican back to a weekly. I admired Ms Shelhart's ability to clearly explain what happened at public meetings. 

Mid January

I have not gotten out much lately—days are still short and the weather is cold.  I have seen a lot of sold signs on houses that have been on the market so I get the impression that the real estate market is tight. I see from a post on the Internet that the Brook Locker Plant will be closing in April. Years ago we picked up meat there, sold to us by a local farmer. Also on the Internet I saw a Strack ad for "paczki", which annoyed me. The "a" should have an ogonek: pączki. (It is a Polish pastry served before Lent starts, which will be in less than four weeks. Those of us who speak English are lucky that we do not have to worry about the ogoneks, cedillas, acutes, graves, dieresises or umlauts, circumflexes, carons, rings, tildas, breves, bars, macrons, dot accents, hungarian umlauts, and comma accents that are used in various European languages.)

The Jasper County County Council met on Tuesday evening in a Zoom-only meeting. Since it was the first meeting of the new year, they elected a president and vice president. Rein Bontreger was retained as president and Gary Fritts was selected as VP. Next they passed a CARES Act funding resolution. Spending for things allowed by the CARES Act is done from the various budget lines and this resolution allows the reimbursements to be transferred to the budgets that did the spending. 

The head of Soil and Water is paid partly by the County and partly by either the State or the Federal Government. The Council passed a memorandum of understanding that determines the amount paid by the County for the next two years. They also approved the Sheriff's salary. Because the other County employees did not get a raise for 2021, Sheriff Williamson did not request an increase in pay though he is entitled to one by the formula that sets the amount that a sheriff should be paid. 

Several meetings ago the Sheriff floated the idea of paying the KV School Resource Officers overtime to patrol the roads around the KV schools before and after school hours in order to discourage speeding and reckless driving. He was invited to make a formal request at the next meeting.

The Council then considered 23 additional appropriations. Most of them were for something in the LIT Certified Shares budget lines. There were questions of whether or not these items had been approved in the August budget meetings, so with the exception of one item that was approved, the other 13 items were tabled until the February meeting.

A transfer of funds was approved and appointments made to the ERA Board (I do not know what that is). Mr Bontreger will be leaving the Valley Oaks board and next month and Valley Oaks has been invited to give a presentation to the Council.

With the published agenda finished, comments were invited. Kendall Culp reported for the Health Department, which had given 260 vaccinations in four days. Next week the Department will be moving the vaccine clinic to the Fairgrounds.

Steven Eastridge reported on several developments in economic development. His office and the similar offices in some surrounding counties had a grant funded for about $35,000. The purpose is to plan for economic development based on the strong agricultural foundation of Jasper and the other counties. A second phase of the Dunn's Bridge Solar Farm was accepted by NIPSCO. This is potentially a billion dollar project, almost all in Jasper County. Construction of Phase One is expected to start in August and both phases are supposed to be finished by the end of 2022.

The County has been negotiating tax issues with NIPSCO and an agreement may be finalized soon. Construction on the DeMotte water and sewer-line extensions may start this spring.

Earlier in the day there was a meeting of the County Board of Finance but I never found a Zoom link. I think the Commissioners met in a continued meeting after the Finance meeting.

I did attend part of an on-line Airport Authority meeting last Thursday. The main item was approval of contract for preparing a master plan. I only vaguely understand what this is about, but it is supposed to be a guide for the next twenty years and if it is accepted by the FAA, it will make the airport eligible for many funding opportunities. The Board hopes that most of the cost of preparing the plan (done by an engineering firm) will be covered by federal and state grants.

I missed the last part of the meeting because my Internet connection stopped working for the next half hour. Earlier in the day I listened in on a meeting of a group concerned about invasive species. They were considering a logo and had lots of comments and suggestions about several possible designs. They would like to organize a local event, but were not sure where the best location would be. 

The Airport has been trying for more than a year to get an aviation class started in the local high schools and has succeeded in getting one organized for this fall:

High school aviation courses taught at Jasper County Airport are enrolling now for Fall of 2021. These courses are available to students at KVHS, RCHS, and surrounding counties as long as they are willing and able to make the daily drive to Jasper County Airport. Home schoolers are also able to enroll, but would have to register through RCSC for the courses. These courses qualify for high school credit. Dual credit approval with Ivy Tech is in the works. 

On-line meetings

 After several dark and gloomy days, the sun came out on Tuesday. Days are getting longer by more than a minute per day. Most of the lengthening is in the afternoon. There is still snow left from the inch or two that we got more than a week ago.

The Jasper County Tourism Commission had a very short meeting Friday morning. There were no funding requests and there should be fewer this year than in previous years because some of the events that were funded for 2020 did not take place. The funding provided by Tourism was not reclaimed but was left with the event on the understanding it would be used this year.

The tourism webpage has been updated but the nature preserves tab is not there yet. In November it had 3386 page views. The feasibility study for athletic tourism will be presenting in February. The number one request that the consultants heard in doing their research was for a dome. Cameron Moberg will be in DeMotte at the beginning of June to do a mural. DeMotte will also be getting a sculpture. 

On Monday afternoon the Rensselaer Bureau of Public Works met and approved a payment to Commonwealth Engineers for planning work on sewer extension and a new lift station. Half an hour later the City Council met. It approved a gas tracker reduction of 4¢ per hundred cubic feet for January. There was a lively discussion on an offer by the Brook Fire Department to purchase the Rensselaer aerial truck. To be compliant with State law, the sale needs to be advertised and open for bids. Rensselaer does not expect to take delivery of a new truck until late October or November. The issue discussed was whether Rensselaer should advertise and sell when it gets a bid, which almost certainly would be well before late October. That would leave the City without the services of an aerial truck for several months. A motion to advertise and sell immediately was defeated by a 2 to 3 vote. A motion was then made to advertise and deliver the truck when a new truck arrived. That was withdrawn for a motion to advertise with the provision that the truck might not be delivered for 90 days after the purchase agreement. It passed 4 to 1. 

The Council approved $37,019 for a new Water Department truck. The current 2001 truck can no longer be used. It also approved $4940 for a pontoon replacement for the sewage plant. The current one has several leaks.

Mr Cover relayed a suggestion from a citizen that there should be a senior citizen rate for garbage pickup. The Mayor commented that he had heard from snowbirds saying they should not have to pay the fee when they gone south. The issue will be addressed, but perhaps not until new trucks and containers are ordered. Then some people may be allowed to opt for a smaller container.

One of the members reminded the rest of the Council that they needed to elect a president for 2021. They agreed to retain Mr. Cover as president.

In the superintendents reports Mr. Larson requested permission to seek bids to rebuild the storage building that the Line Department has at Melville and Vine. He would like an 80' by 100' building. His request was approved.

I normally do not attend Animal Control Board meetings because they (and the Library Board) meet at the same time the Rensselaer City Council does. However, because the Council met via Zoom, it moved the time of its meeting to 4:00 and because I found the Zoom link to the Animal Control Board, I logged in. In 2020 the shelter had 121 adoptions, 82 reclaims, and 102 rescues. It answered 465 calls, 38 of which were after hours. It had 110 bite cases and issued 158 citations or warnings. Their next meeting will be February 8 at the Sparling Annex.

Wintery weather

 January began with freezing rain that coated branches with a layer of ice. The ice was pretty if one did not have to drive or walk to some destination.

Then on Sunday we woke up to a couple inches of snow. There was no wind when it fell, so the snow coated branches. It was very pretty and not as dangerous as the ice a couple days earlier.

There was enough snow to bring out the snow plows.

The snow should gradually disappear as the forecast has highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s for the next week.

On Monday the Commissioners met for the first meeting of the new year. They began by reorganizing, electing Mr Culp as president and Mr Walstra as VP. They then approved several items: an addendum to a Nexis contract for work with the Auditor (or was it the Assessor?), a quote to repair a damaged garage door at Community Corrections that will be covered by insurance, and masonry work for a new digital sign for the NW Court House corner. They also approved the Awareness and Educational grant for $108K that will fund the sign and many other things. It is part of a larger Covid grant.

The cupola on the Court House gazebo is damaged but there are questions if repairs should include a new metal roof, so the Commissioners did not act. They approved two of the three rezones that were recommended by the Plan Commission. The third has some ownership issues that have not been resolved. A discussion of the Comprehensive Plan was added to the February meeting. The Commissioners hire employees and make appointments to over twenty positions and boards at their January meeting. There were no vacancies so all the current occupants were rehired or reappointed.

The County Highway Department will be comparing its fees to those charged in counties similar to Jasper County and may have some proposed changes for the February meeting. There have been 31 Covid-related deaths in Jasper County, including 10 in nursing homes. Most of the residents of the Rensselaer Care Center have had the virus. The County Health Department will be receiving a shipment of vaccine (the Moderna vaccine that requires less refrigeration) on January 11. Fire and police departments will be the first to get the shots, which are done in two stages 28 days apart. (The hospital and some other medical facilities seem to have gotten their own supplies judging from people who are reporting that they have been vaccinated.) Vaccine for the general public may not be available until April.

The Health Department left behind some furniture in their move to the Sparling annex and the Commissioners invited other County Departments to use it if it fit their needs. What is not claimed will be added to a County auction that may be held in late February or March. The Commissioners approved a motion to list the Court House Annex (the former REMC building) for sale.

There were bid openings for items used by the Highway Department. As it does every year, the Commissioners accepted all bids (which means the Highway Department can pick the one that best serves its needs for whatever project it is working on.)

There were two items on the agenda that were never addressed because the people who were supposed to present them did not show up on Zoom: a Trane update for the jail and a request from Tri-Global Energy.

The meeting was continued until January 19 after the Board of Finance meeting.

At 1:00 the Drainage Board met. The Commissioners were informed that INDOT plans to rebuilt the James Krucek Ditch Bridge. I am not sure exactly where this is but it seems to be on US 231 north of DeMotte. The work will not be started until the Spring of 2024 and will result in a closure of the highway for about four months. The other item on the agenda was a REMC fiber-optic cable that will run along Bunkum Road from 1000W into Newton County. The Board approved the plan to bore the cable under Curtis Creek.

The person presenting the REMC cable request was made a host of the Zoom meeting so he could show a map of what REMC is planning.  Most of their network will run overhead lines. When he was finished presenting, he left the meeting but because he had been made a cohost, when he left, the Zoom meeting shut done. After a few minutes people reconnected and the meeting came to a quick end because there was no more business.

A third meeting on Monday was of the Rensselaer Park Board. It did not get enough members attending to reach a quorum so no votes could be taken. This was the first meeting I had attended since October; I was observing quarantine for the November meeting and the Board does not meet in December, so I was interested in hearing progress reports. The schedule for providing concessions for the new ballfields has been mostly worked out. On Mondays the fields will be used by RBI ball and they will be responsible for their own concessions. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the Park leagues will play and the Lions Club will provide concessions. There are 13 tournaments scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday weekends. The Park will hire a field director for the weekend games and he will be paid based on the number of tournaments. The concessions will be handled by local groups who want to use them as a fund raiser. The organizations providing the volunteer workers will be paid a flat fee of $1000 for the weekend. Two of the 13 weekends have been filled and there are a number of groups interested in signing up for the others.

The next meeting will be held on Feb 1.

The posts for the basketball hoops have been installed at Brookside Park.

The disc golf course has a name.

There will be maps of the course posted on-line and on the board near Bunkum Road, but they are not yet ready. The course is playable but not completely finished.

The last issue of the Rensselaer Republican announced that it was going to a once-a-week print edition, available on Thursdays.

Some highlights of 2020

 2020 will be remembered for Covid-19 and the lockdowns that state governments imposed in an futile attempt to stop it. The various stages of lockdowns resulted in the cancelation of many events including the Little Cousin Jasper Festival, Oktoberfest, and most of the Jasper County Fair. There were no theater productions for the Fendig Children's Theater or the Carnegie Players. The Airport's aviation career day was canceled. In March fear of the virus resulted in a run on toilet paper that left local shelves empty. Most of us had never heard of Zoom at the start of the year but many of us have spent many hours using the program during the year as both public and private meetings went from in-person to on-line.

There were several notable closings. Early in the year R&M shut its doors, as did Prairie's Edge. Later in the year the Charlie Roberts dealership, a ghost of its former self, also closed. The City announced that it would no longer use its power plant to produce electricity. There are probably closings that I did not notice and there may be businesses in 2021 that are pushed over the edge by the various Covid restrictions.

However, there were also openings. P&P Hobbies and Collectables opened in the former Dodge dealership building on North McKinley. D-1 Towing and Recovery opened a branch on Vine Street just west of the Amtrak station. The Covid virus helped Jasper County in one way. It prompted the opening of Indiana Face Masks in the former Greene Furniture property on SR 114. ASG Staffing opened late last year, but had its ribbon cutting ceremony early this year. And Genova quietly reopened with new ownership.

There were also some expansions. Smith Transport is building a very large facility east of Remington. The jail added a solar field, though it is not clear if it is operating yet. YNG expanded into what was once the Sears store in the College Mall. It introduced a 3-D printing machine that prints from the top down, which allows more printing with less human intervention. Fenwick Farms Brewing built a new brew house across the alley from its restaurant. The storage units on North Melville added a new building. Work continued on park improvements. The concession stand/announcers booth at the Blacker fields was finished, as were the field, a new path between fields, and a disc golf course. The fire department continued expanding its new training facility. 

Both portions of SR 114 and US 231 were repaved this past summer. The high school repaved the north parking lot. The Airport purchased another lot to its west, which may someday lead to runway capable of handling larger planes than the current north-south runway.

City and County buildings were closed for weeks or months as a result of the virus. The County began using the former youth center on Sparling, which I call the Sparling Annex, for meetings and that may become the permanent home for most public meetings. The prosecutor and the probation office left the annex that was once the REMC building and moved to the former PNC Bank building. In December the Health Department moved from the annex to the Sparling Annex. A major bit of business for the County was allowing DeMotte to extend sewer and water to the I65/SR 10 interchange. The November election will give the County Council two new faces for next year. A major change that the Rensselaer City Council made was to abandon the garbage sticker program and replace it with a monthly change on the utility bill. 

A few events managed to go on despite the virus. The annual car show and cruise night were bigger than usual. The Cemetery Walk may have been the only theatrical performance in Rensselaer this year. The Farmers Market did not have Tuesday afternoon entertainment, but otherwise was pretty much as in past years. Several dinners successfully transitioned to a drive-thru format, including the annual Firemen fish fry and the St. Augustine Bazaar. Mural week in late June into July had to do some substituting of artists, but it more than doubled the number of murals in downtown Rensselaer (though I think the 2019 murals are more impressive than the 2020 crop.)

There was a plane crash north of the Dollar General Store. Fendig Summer Theater moved into the former Episcopal Church. The Fairground canceled its July fireworks but the Bridge Church stepped in to give Rensselaer a fireworks display. The half city lot that burned in 2019 was cleared and there is now grass growing there. In 2021 it will become Filson Park.

I need a picture for this post. How about one of my accomplishments in 2020?

Yup, I tessellated toilets. There are people, though I am not one of them, that think this might be an appropriate picture for 2020.

As for 2021, it is beginning with freezing rain, the worst kind of winter weather. Happy New Year.