226 tons

 On Monday morning I saw frost on a roof and some grass. It may not be the last of the season.

Rensselaer received a bit more than two inches of rain Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The baseball tournament games at Blacker Fields were canceled for Sunday. The river has risen but is three feet below flood stage. For the first time this spring there is water in the field east of Weston Cemetery (an area that I sometimes call Weston Lake). 

The Fire Department had a busy weekend. On Friday their fish dinner served almost 1100 meals and ran out of food. It was drive-through and was very efficiently run. On Saturday the Department celebrated its 125th anniversary with an open house. The event began with some speeches that you can view on Facebook. (Skip to the 34 minute mark to hear Kenny Hahn review the history of the Department.)

The open house had a free lunch with sugary cupcakes.

The Department has a room that displays old equipment once used by the Department, including a wagon that was horse drawn. (Notice the spelling of Rensselaer.) Members of the Department had to take care of those horses.

In 1920 the Deparment purchased a motorized vehicle that is in the musuem.

The Deparment also owns a firetruck that it purchased in 1940.

I was fascinated by the fire insurance maps that were on display as part of the Open House. (Some of these maps can be found on-line.)

Francesville is getting a mural. It will be painted by Jenna Morello, the artist that painted the large mural of purple cone flowers in Rensselaer.

The new gas-line feed is not yet live. The Gas Department is waiting for some final parts.

The City Council met Monday evening. There were two items from the public. An organization called Rensselaer Bomber Youth Basketball wants to host a 3-on-3 tournament on July 17th at Foundation Park and needs more than the two courts there. So they requested that Francis Street between Monnett and Kannal be closed for the day so they can set up temporary courts. The request was granted.

Fendig Summer Theater gave an update of its summer plans and requested use of Foundation Park for its performances July 8-11. Their request was also granted. It plans to hold all rehearsals, which will start June 1, outdoors. They will need electricity for the public performances and are working with City officials to arrange that.

Moving on to the main agenda, the Council passed an ordinance setting up an account for funds that it will get from the American Rescue Plan, the name of the latest Federal spending plan intended to provide Covid relief. The City will get about a million dollars but does not know yet what restrictions will be put on the spending of that money.

The Council approved a couple of transfers of funds and then approved the May gas tracker of a 7.5¢ decrease per hundred cubic feet. The gas department needs a new truck because one of its trucks was involved in an accident. The truck t-boned another vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign and is considered totaled. There may be difficulties in replacing the truck. Right now there is a shortage of some computer chip that the trucks need, so the manufacturers are sitting on large inventories of almost-completed trucks. 

The Council approved hiring a electrical consultant. The person being hired worked for the City electric utility from 1985 to 1991 and will be needed for some projects that are planned. The Council also approved its appointment to the Rensselaer School Board. Only one person, Emily Lyons, applied. She will join the Board in July.

In adminstrative comments the Police Chief noted that the Department would be going live with Spillman software on Tuesday. (Sheriff Williamson pushed for this software that  does a variety of things for police departments and other first responders.) On Wednesday the Brook Fire Department will take delivery of the Rensselaer aerial truck.

City crews picked up 226 tons of garbage during clean-up week. They also hauled away 24 truckloads of yard waste, 19 truckloads of scrap metal, 129 car and truck tires, and 26 gaylord boxes of electronics.

Pouring sidewalks as part of the Community Crossings grant is finished. Milling of streets will start this week. South McKinley (the part that is not also U.S. 231) will have more than a resurfacing. The street will be dug out and a new base installed. It will be closed for three or four weeks.

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There will be another big baseball tournament at Blacker Fields on May 21-23. I finally found a list of softball tournaments scheduled for the Blacker Fields.

Finally, Father Ralph Verdi, who taught for several years at SJC, died on Monday.