Car Show and Cruise

Last weekend was Rensselaer's biggest summer festival, the Car Show and Cruise Night. I stopped by the park twice, once in the morning and then later in the afternoon. By the afternoon the cars were approaching the swimming pool. I do not recall the car show ever being that big.

Two vehicles that I thought interesting were two that looked like ambulances.

The door of one of them suggested that it was a special ambulance.

The tee-shirts for the show were yellow and when the volunteers wearing them were in groups, they looked like minions.

The bit of the Cruise that I saw seemed to be better organized this year than in the past.

Odds and ends

Also taking place Saturday (and two days previously) was the annual performance of the Fendig Children's Theater. This year they performed Beauty and the Beast. In 2020 Covid canceled the performance and in 2021 Covid disrupted it, so several grades of children did not get the full Children's Theater experience. The Children's Summer Theater is one of the special things in Rensselaer and I hope it can be rebuilt to former glory.

Mural week is approaching  (July 18-23) and RenArtWlk has been announcing some of the muralists for this summer. Three of those announced are scheduled for Remington and one will decorate Ayda's.

Last week the City was working on a gas main just north of the College Avenue Bridge and had to displace the base for a plaque giving the history of the bridge, which was once known as the Creamery Bridge. I hope there are plans to restore the plaque. The old building  to the west may be getting a new tenant, perhaps a used furniture store.

The site for new tennis courts in Brookside Park was asphalted last week.

A few years ago there was one guard at the LaRue Pool who could do front and back flips from the diving board. This year all the guards will probably be able to do flips by the end of the summer and there are little kids who can hardly swim who can do flips. 

BPW meeting

The Rensselaer Board of Public Works met before the City Council meeting and approved paying three invoices. One was for planning for the water main and elevated tower project. This project will probably be approved for outside funding, though how much of that funding will be in the form of a grant and how much as a loan is uncertain. The other two invoices were for the main lift station and sewer project. The work there is extending and connecting sewer lines that will be underground. One storm sewer line that previously emptied into the field was extended to the river. 

City Council meeting

The Rensselaer City Council began with two residents of Kelly Green asking about what the City could do about a residential property that they say is being used as a business with an ever-changing collection of old cars on the property. The reason for coming to the City Council is that the property is in the two-mile buffer zone around Rensselaer in which Rensselaer controls zoning and building permits. They did not get answers, but the City attorney will investigate what the City's options are.

The Council approved correcting the electric trackers for the second and third quarters. I did not understand what this was about. It also approved the gas tracker for July that will reflect slightly more than a one cent increase per hundred cubic feet. The Council also approved a waiver of permit fees for improvements that RBI is making to the restroom next to Staddon Field. (The waiver makes a lot of sense because the City owns the building. On Tuesday work began on the reconstruction.)

A committee to review salaries reported with several recommendations. First, it looked at salaries for the police and found that Rensselaer's pay was low relative to neighboring police departments. The committee recommended a $5.00 increase to take effect on August 1. It was approved but will also need to be incorporated into the salary ordinance at the next meeting. Next, the committee said that the wages of one position, a laborer's position at Weston Cemetery, was out of line with other wages and suggested increasing it by $2.00, which the Council approved. Next, it proposed raising wages of full-time employees by $1.00 for 2023 and this was also approved. The final recommendation was that elected officials receive a 2% increase for 2023 and the Council agreed to this.

At this point the Clerk-Treasurer left the meeting and there was a question of whether the meeting could continue without someone taking minutes. However, the meeting was being recorded so it continued.

There was a suggestion that the City investigate a plan to use an apprenticeship to get an employee certified for the water utility and it was approved. The City needs to have certified operators for its water and sewer utilities and nationally there will be a massive number of certified operators retiring in the next five years. This issue will resurface at the next meeting. Finally, the Fair Board was given permission to use a City garbage truck at the upcoming County Fair.

Airport Authority meeting

The Airport Authority had a short meeting Tuesday evening. Fuels sales remain strong though prices have risen a lot. The airport ran out of fuel in late May for a few days. Seal coating and striping are complete. In outreach, 18 young people ages 8 to 17 got flight experience as part of the Young Eagles Rally and 16 are signed up for summer camp, which is starting next week. There will be helicopter rides offered the first weekend of the County Fair and biplane rides will again be available on the last weekend of the fair.