Unwanted wildlife

 Jasper County BZA meeting

As I was getting ready to go to the Jasper County BZA meeting Monday evening, I looked out my back window and saw this:

A closer view:

I am not happy to see a deer in my garden because I know why it is there: to eat my plants. From past experience I know deer like sweet potato leaves. And something has been nibbling on the tomato plants and I suspect it is this deer. Because of the deer, my resident rabbits, and the ever present squirrels, this is turning out to be a dismal garden year.

Back to the Jasper County BZA meeting. There was only one item on the agenda, a request for sand mining in Walker Township. The sand being mined is the result of a person digging a pond that is less than one acre. He would like to sell the sand that he excavates as a way of getting rid of it. It turns out that a pond of more than an acre requires a lot more permitting, including an erosion control plan. The BZA approved his request provided he keep the size of his pond less than an acre and that construction be confined to daylight hours.

Continued Commissioners' meeting

On Monday morning the Commissioners met in a continuation of their meeting two weeks earlier. The main reason for the meeting was to open bids for the remodeling of the Health Department. Tecton Construction Management had solicited the bids for eight different parts of the project. Some of the parts received only one bid, but five bids were received for the electrical contract, ranging from $34,800 to $112,000. All bids were taken under consideration by Tecton, which will give a recommendation at the September Commissioners' meeting. Construction may begin in October.

The remodel will remove the post in the middle of the Conference Room in what I call the Sparling Annex.

After approving several  conference requests, the Commissioners heard a report from the Jasper County Trails Club. The Club had received a grant from the Jasper Newton Foundation to hire Kimley Horn to prepare a master plan for trails and that plan was presented to the Commissioners. The last time the County had a trails plan was 12 years ago when one was done by the Jasper County Economic Development Organization, but that plan had little effect. The State has been funding trails but none of that money has come to Jasper County. The hope is that with a plan and with the support of local government the County will be able to get some of the State funding. The master plan has trails connecting the four towns of Jasper County.

There was mention of a possible access to the Kankakee River on land that the County owns. Perhaps there will be follow up and this may be a concrete result of this part of the meeting. 

The Trails Club holds monthly meetings and there is one scheduled for 7:00 pm on September 17 at the Carnegie Center. They have a youtube channel here and a website here.

The Commissioners approved a request from Andrew Boersma to replace the employee that the Coroner and Sheriff share. Human resources received approval to do a mailing to County employees. Some requests from Animal Control were tabled until the September meeting. The Commissioners then took up a Solar Ordinance that the Plan Commission had submitted to them in May with suggestions for changes. A committee had worked to incorporate those changes and the revised ordinance was passed. There may be further changes to the ordinance as some people are still not happy with it. The overall impact is to increase restrictions on solar farms. (Background can be found here.)

EDP Renewables was on the agenda but that item will be discussed in September. At the earlier August meeting there was a discussion of improving a storage barn at the Highway Department. A new quote was presented at this meeting to put a concrete floor in the whole building with a dividing wall. The total quote was about $38,000 and it was approved. The Commissioners approved not more than $3000 to BF&S to work on grants for two Safety initiatives, one from the State and the other Federal. They also gave approval to the Sheriff to replace a jailer and to the Health Department to join the Indiana Network for Patient Care. Purdue Extension wanted a storage shed but the out-going audio was faulty so the matter will be taken up at the September meeting. A billboard company with a billboard next to the Fairgrounds wanted permission to trim a tree that was obstructing the billboard and that was granted. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 3. (The Monday is Labor Day.)

Odds & ends

On Monday workers began laying bricks on Harrison Street.

The forms for the last concrete pour were ready on Monday.

I noticed that the Jasper County Economic Development Organization Building has a new sign.

On Monday the goal posts on the SJC football field were being removed.