A busy Tuesday

 Commissioners meeting

Because of the Labor Day holiday, the September Commissioners meeting was held on Tuesday morning. They had four buried cable requests. One was from Century Link for a simple bore near Owen Street and very close to Rensselaer. The other three were for manure pipelines for De Young Farms and were on the agenda as a separate item. The three pipelines have a total length of 38,000 feet on County right-of-way. They will be bored under asphalt roads. The applicants also needed Drainage Board approval in the afternoon. All requests were approved.

The Commissioners opened bids for two projects. The first was for the Courthouse drainage project, which is trying to keep moisture out of the Courthouse basement. Three bids were received for $143,577.02, $316,328.05, and $189,095. The other project was for County bridges #191 and #195. The four bids were for $1,146,674, 1,305,553, 1,083,308.88, and $1,184.009.38. All bids were examined by an engineer and the County attorney and near the end of the meeting the low bids were accepted, from DeYoung Dirt Works and Ellis Construction of Gary.

The Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding between JC Community Services and Appleseed Childhood Education that will allow Appleseed to use the playground equipment on the County property of Community Services. The Commissioners ratified the appointment of the Community Corrections director. The prosecutor had quotes for painting, landscaping, and flower pots that serve as security barriers for the annex building. The painting quote was approved and the other items will be approved through the claims process.

The Sheriff received approval to replace three corrections officers and a dispatcher. Two of the corrections officers were let go and one left for another job. The Sheriff reported that jail cells are now hooked up to the Willoughby system that is designed to reduce water usage. The Health Department asked and received approval to repair the fire alarm system, to put deadbolt locks on office doors, and to apply a security film to windows and doors. These expenditures will be paid by Covid funding. 

There was brief discussion of an amendment to the golf cart ordinance that adds off-road vehicles such as ATVs. Some modifications will be made and it will be on the agenda of a future meeting. A body-modification ordinance that deals with tattoos and piercings was passed. It was prompted by the Health Department and there was no explanation of what it does.

Community Corrections received permission to fill three full time vacancies of corrections officers. The Commissioners approved a service agreement that the Planning Director had made with a consultant to update the County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). It is capped at $15,000. The County Highway department is short three people for snow plowing. They cannot find applicants who have the needed qualifications, which include a CDL. They are investigating the possibility of contracting out snow plowing of some subdivisions to private companies. The Commissioners told the Department to proceed to see if vendors are interested.

The Jasper County EMS is still waiting for certification from the State. The Remington ambulance is fully staffed and responded to 41 calls last month. Some were assists outside its territory. The Commissioners agreed to have Titan Construction move forward with planning for a possible ambulance barn. 

The Commissioners approved hiring a person as a part-time custodian for two annexes if the references work out. They also approved a contract with a consultant for the Auditor to assess capital assets. They approved the vote centers for the November election. The locations will be the same as for the primary election. They discussed the need for a procedure for people to make public records requests. The meeting lasted three hours, adjourning a bit after 11:00.

Drainage Board

The Drainage Board had a lengthy agenda but processed items fairly quickly. One member tried to attend via Zoom, but those in charge never got Zoom working correctly. 

The City of Rensselaer is extending a two-inch gas main to service Sayler Farms on Marion School Road. They need to cross two tiles and one open drain. The request was approved.

NIPSCO is extending a gas main that will go under the Hobbs Ditch.  on the Keener/Wheatfield Townships line. The Board wanted them to get the County highway right-of-way first, so this item will be back in October.

Two of the three DeYoung farm's pipelines that were approved for right-of-ways in the morning will cross County regulated drains. The County approved their plans with the provision that they go ten feet below the Ryan Ditch.

Loves Travel Stop wanted to alter its drainage plan that had previously been approved. Instead of putting two feet of fill over the storm sewers in their RV Park, they wanted to fill only a foot and a half. The manufacture of the pipe recommends at least one foot. Their request was approved.

The Board received an update on the Dunn's Bridge Solar Project and finally received the detailed plans that the County wanted. They approved the drainage plan for Stage Two. One of the landowners commented that the developers dug an open ditch through sandy soil and the recent heavy rain showed why that was a bad idea.

The rest of the meeting was concerned with discussion of problems of various ditches and I left before the meeting was over.

Rensselaer Park Board

The Rensselaer Park Board met on Monday evening. The Park Board part of the meeting had a quorum but the Park Corporation part did not. There was a lengthy discussion of how to best fence around the Hyper Center to separate children from passing cars. Other expenditures expected include a new roof on one of the shelters and playground mulch. A suggestion was made to establish a line of credit with a bank to allow the needed expenditures be made. However, this was a matter for the Park Corporation, and further discussion and a vote may be taken via email.

There was another lengthy discussion of how to celebrate park improvements and recognize donors.  Blacker Fields has never been officially dedicated, and there are other new facilities such as the renovated basketball court, new tennis courts, and a disc golf course. 

Several of the scheduled baseball tournaments did not happen this past summer because of weather or cancellation because not enough teams signed up. None of the scheduled girls softball tournaments happened. The next meeting will be on October 3.

Other things

The Little Cousin Jasper Festival is a highlight for the coming weekend. There will be a parade at noon on Saturday. One of the featured performances is by a Beatles tribute band on Saturday at 2:00. I checked its schedule and according to it, the band will play in Rensselaer at 2:00 pm and then at a private party in Westbury NY. 

The recent rain has caused mushrooms to sprout up all over Rensselaer.

A fairy ring.

I finally got around to updating my unoffical art walk pages.

I wanted to take a picture of the dirt pile that the workers of the lift station have created and went to the vault at Weston Cemetery.

Next to the vault was a very large oak tree. From what is left one can see it was rotten inside. At one time a racoon lived in this tree.

Weston Cemetery has an underground water leak so it has shut off the water to the spigots in the Cemetery.

There is a large sign on the old Forsythe house that says it is for lease and will be remodeled to suit whatever business wants to lease it. Some comments on Facebook were sad that it was not being restored as a house. I suspect that there would be little demand for it as a single family residence and the rents from a business would be much greater than the rents from a residence. I hope that someone will be willing to lease it because otherwise it may never be restored.

In a bit more than a week the Fifth Annual Memories Alive Weston Cemetery Walk will take place. I am involved with organizing it but play no role in the actual performances. The sponsors of this event make it possible.