First post for 2023

Commisioners meeting

Tuesday morning was very warm and foggy and I could not resist taking a picture as I set out to attend the first 2023 meeting of the Jasper County Commissioners. 

It was the first meeting for Rein Bontreger as a commissioner and he was elected president, with Jim Walstra elected VP. Below are the 2023 commissioners as they prepared to start the meeting.

There were no buried cable permits and the first item discussed was from the Health Department. It wants to pay four employees extra for working on Covid matters. The Commissioners approved the request and it now goes back to the County Council. The Health Department said it had received notification from the State that it had to monitor a person in the northern part of the County to see if he takes his meds. They will try to do this remotely and may need an extra line, which the Commissioners approved.

The City of Rensselaer was back to ask if the County would allow the City to annex the land on which the Health Department is located if and when it annexes SJC. The Commissioners agreed and their attorney will draw up the papers. The IRS mileage rate is now 64.5¢ per mile and for several years the County rate has been 44¢ per mile. The Commissioners decided to raise the County rate to 50¢ as of 1-1-2023. They approved the holiday schedule and the Commissioners meeting schedule as presented. (Meetings, first Monday of the month except July, Nov 21 [both joint sessions] Sept 5, and the 2nd December meeting on the 28th.) They also approved the annual contracts the County has with Lake and Porter Counties to house juvenile offenders. There was no change in rates.

There were two bid openings on the agenda, both for the Highway Department but at two different times. They accepted all bids for hauling stone, tires, and bituminous emulsified asphalt. They accept all bids so if the low bidder cannot deliver during road construction, they can use another supplier to get the work done. The prosecutor was given permission to replace a vehicle used by his investigator. The car was obtained from the Sheriff's Department a year or two ago and at times it stalls out while driving. The Council must also act on this matter.

The Commissioners then spent 25 minutes making appointments to three dozen boards, committees, and various County positions.They reviewed a conflict of interest form for Courthouse work by Jeff DeYoung, who bid on the work before he was selected to replace Kendell Culp, and then approved the contract for the work. At a December meeting the Commissioners had accepted a bid for leasing County farm ground and at this meeting they approved the lease contract.

The frost law was in effect for a couple of days but lapsed on Tuesday night. The Commissioners approved filling another vacancy in the Clerk's office. The Clerk also told them that she did not want the Courthouse open for the municipal elections this year (primary May 2, general November 7). She suggested that these days be made County holidays as they have been in the past. The meeting was continued until January 17, if needed.

Drainage Board

The Drainage Board meeting on Tuesday began with a reorganization. Jeff DeYoung was elected as Chair and James Walstra as Vice Chair. Jacob Ahler was approved as attorney and Rhonda Elridge as secretary. The Commissioners decided which of them would serve on several joint drainage boards: Jasper-Newton, Jasper-White, Jasper-Benton, Jasper-Starke-Pulaski, Pulaski-Jasper-Starke-White, as well as the Kankakee-Yellow River Commission. As part of the reorganization, they also approved the compensation for the attorney.

The first item on the agenda was the drainage plan for Project Ribeye, a meat processing plant planned south of DeMotte. Their original drainage plan had been approved several months ago, but it had been revised and they approved the revision. Next there was a discussion of flooding on the north side of SR 114 east of the Fairgrounds. Putting a bigger culvert under SR 114 was deemed unlikely because that would require cooperation from INDOT. A retention pond was suggested. Those involved will continue to work on a solution.

 
A farmer wanted to put 3 irrigation pivots within the 75-foot right-of-way easement of a County ditch. The Board decided that it would stick with precedent and not allow permanent structures to be placed in the right-of-ways.

Finally the Board reviewed points of concern from its engineering consultant about the Dunns Bridge solar project. These are items for which the County would like to have agreements in writing with NextEra. The Board approved moving forward and submitting these points to NextEra.

Other Things

Someone noted in a comment on the last post the Frida's Restaurant has closed.

Someone or someones have started a digital paper on the substack platform that will cover Jasper County news. They call it the Jasper County Chronicle. For now the subscription is free. You can find it here.

I stopped by S-blended Nutrition on Wednesday to see their new space. It looks great.

Rensselaer has a few more vacant storefronts as the new year starts. 

Gutwein-Risner's Insurance has moved but there was someone inside painting on Wednesday.

Some of the Christmas windows have been removed, including these gingerbread men on Fenwick Farms.

But I noticed one on Rule's building that I had not seen before.

The former GRG garage now has a new window display as work continues getting it ready for a new occupant.

Several days ago a person blinded by the low afternoon sun hit and took out the mailboxes by the post office on Rutsen Street. No one was hurt.

As of Thursday, days are a bit more than 6 minutes longer than they were at the winter solstice. Are you enjoying all that additional daylight?