City meetings August 2022

 BPW meeting

The Board of Public Works began its August 8 meeting by ratifying a telephone poll of July 14 that approved a permit for the Fairgrounds fireworks. It then approved a firefighter application for a returning fireman who has come back in a support role. Commonwealth Engineering had two invoices that were approved, one for work on planning the elevated storage and water main replacement project and the other work, the lift station and sewer project. The final invoice approved was for pay request #3 from Thieneman Construction for work on the main lift station. 

It is very hard to see what Thieneman is doing without violating their no-trespassing sign. I have heard them jackhammering bedrock for the past few weeks and large trucks carrying equipment sometimes arrive. At the meeting the City's project manager said that they had poured the base for the diversion structure, whatever that is.

City Council meeting

The City Council began its meeting by passing an ordinance authorizing electronic transfers and I do not know what that changes. The gas tracker for August was a 34¢ decrease per hundred cubic feet. The Council ratified a poll to pay for drinks and food for those working the storm damage cleanup immediately after the storm. Work went through the night that evening and the amount reimbursed was $144.23.

The Council authorized the Major to sign two contracts. One was with First Group Engineering to help plan for a Community Crossings Grant (road funding), and the other was a professional services contract with KIRPC to help administer the EDA grant for the Brick Street Project.

The Council approved a certificate of burial rights, the new name for what in the past was a cemetery deed request. Some State advisory or regulation caused the name change.

The Fire Department had 36 calls in July, 14 related to the July storm. The Electric Department has begun work on lines on Elza and if I heard correctly, that will allow it to not use the Schoolhouse substation. A contractor has been working in the Cemetery to remove more than 30 trees destroyed or damaged in the storm. The Council approved paying them $28,000.

Rensselaer Redevelopment

On Tuesday afternoon the Rensselaer Redevelopment Board met to consider using TIF money for the Brick Street Project. The meeting was hard to follow because it was not clear until after a lot of discussion what it was that they had to approve. The City recently received a grant for $1,855,700 from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). Originally the grant was supposed to be an 80-20 match, with the City providing 20% and the grant providing 80% of the funding, but that apparently was revised to a 70-30 match. The City will get its match with $530,00 from the American Rescue Plan Act and $265,000 from TIF funding for construction, but more was needed to pay engineering costs. After all of the numbers were sorted out, the Board approved using $581,300 of TIF funds for construction and engineering costs.

The planning and design will be done by the firm of Kimley-Horn. They will also help get the various documents needed to satisfy the EDA. Their goal is to get everything ready so the project can be bid by July, 2023. Construction should start in August or September of 2023.  As part of the project, some of the utility lines that are under the brick streets will be redone. The water service lines that come off the water main are made of lead and they will be replaced. At least 50% of the existing bricks need to be reused to satisfy the State's historical preservation people.

Other things

There is a new bench near the Talbert Bridge in Weston Cemetery. It is dedicated to the memory of Jocelyn Brooke McDaniel.

There has been some progress on the renovation and expansion of the restrooms near Staddon Field.

INDOT has a document with plans that include an electric charging station at the I-65/SR-114 exit.

Brookside Park was the site of a Back-to-School fair on Friday, with various businesses and organizations handing out school supplies. When I stopped by a couple of hours after it started, there were no parents or students there and some of the booths had been deserted. I was told almost all the people who attended came at 4:00 (the start) or shortly after.

I stopped in the restroom on the way there and was saddened to see that it had been trashed. The entire floor was wet and all the toilet paper had been removed and some of it wadded up and stuck on the walls. Vandalism in the parks continues to be a big problem.