Big plans

Chamber lunch and plans for a new Show Arena


The Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce held its monthly luncheon at Filson Park. The main speaker was from Express Employment Professionals, who talked about how the labor market has changed.  Employers looking for new locations are very concerned about supply of labor and water. The days in which employers and employees had loyalty to each other are mostly gone. Employees jump from job to job to take advantage of better wages and conditions. A lot of people use Indeed.com to upload resumes and search for applicants, but often a personal touch, such as that Express provides, produces better results.


For me, totally out of the labor market, the more interesting presentation was from the Fair Board about their plans for a new show arena. The plan is to demolish the old arena and build a much bigger building where it sits. The proposed arena will be about double the size. It will have retractable bleachers that can seat up to 1200 and if chairs are put on the arena floor, seating could be 3000.

The arena will be open all year for rental. Potential renters would include livestock shows, trade shows, and machinery shows. Currently there are potential exhibitors who do not use the Fairgrounds because there is no building big enough for their needs. The estimated cost is currently $3 million to $3.5 million. The rentals are not expected to be enough to pay for the arena but should be enough to pay the operating expenses (mostly utilities and labor).

The Fair Board is looking for grants and donations. The first step will be to hire design services to get engineering designs. The expectation is this will be a five-year project because it will take that long to raise enough money. The first regulatory step will probably be an appearance before the Drainage Board in October. Donations to the project can be made to a Show Arena fund at Alliance Bank.

Above is the view from the east and the front of the building. Below is the view from the west and the back of the building.

While the lunch was finishing up, a worker was tilling the grounds of Filson Park getting it ready for a new seeding of grass. Workers have also been working on the bases of the future light fixtures.


More pictures

The permeable pavers have been installed along both sides of Harrison Street and one side of Van Rensselaer. It takes only about a day to do one side of a street. The big task still ahead is to finish the intersection of Harrison and Van Rensselaer.

On Tuesday workers were pressure washing the outside of the Drexel water tower. There will be work done inside the tank in the upcoming days.

Below is a picture of the foundation for the first house to be constructed by the Building Trades program at SJC.

I mentioned the Winter SJC newsletter in the previous post. The newsletter tells about the new SJC logo, gives an update on the CDL program,  reports on the groundbreaking ceremony for the Building Trades program, gives the schedule for the 2024 homecoming, highlights a recent graduate of their certificate program who now works for WorkOne, discusses the partnership with the Indiana Agriculture and Technology charter School, and announces the hiring of a senior administrative assistant. 

SJC is seeking partnerships that will allow it to continue to develop and expand as a trade school. The number of high school graduates has been dropping year by year and will continue to drop because the Country's fertility rate has dropped below replacement level. Those who do go to college increasingly go to on-line schools or large public universities, so the brunt of the decline in students is felt in smaller schools, especially private schools. These demographics alone are a reason that SJC can never be what it once was.

A positive note for SJC: it has cleared its debt. 

Tourism Commission meeting

The Jasper County Tourism Board met Monday. They approved their July minutes; the August meeting did not have a quorum so there were no minutes to approve. First on the agenda was a request from the Rensselaer Chamber for $3500 to help pay for a mailing to advertise the Holiday Shop and Stroll on November 14-16. This is the first year that the Chamber is running the event. It is continuing with the past practice of mailing out about 17,000 postcards to area communities. Those who attend the event and visit all the participating shops are entered into a drawing for a grand prize. The cost of the mailing is about $300 per retailer and Chamber argues that the event brings in people from outside the County who then spend money not only at the participating shops but at other stores as well.


A big concern from Board members was the lack of data to show how many people respond and thus to show the effectiveness of the mailing. Last year 146 people entered the drawing, showing that they had visited all the shops, but there is no way to know how many other people visited only some of the shops. There were various suggestions on how to get more data on turnout. There were also questions of whether there were most cost effective ways to publicize the event, such as using social media. After discussion, the Board approved a grant of $1500.

Next was a request from Remington MainStreet for $30,000 for seven new signs highlighting points of interest in town. The Board wanted additions to the signs mentioning Discover Jasper County and the Tourism logo. The request was approved with the contingency that a brand mark agreement be reached. Remington has plans for an inclusive playground and will make a formal presentation for that project next year.


 The Board adopted a strategic plan that the Tourism office and Ball State have developed. Revenues from the inn-keeper tax were down in July and August and are expected to below 2023 levels for the rest of the year.

Jasper County Airport Authority Board meeting


I attended the Jasper County Airport Authority Board meeting on Tuesday evening via Zoom. Work continues on their master plan. A property owner to the west of the Airport has agreed to a land swap. The Airport wants the land for an east-west runway expansion and does not need some land it owns along SR 114. Nothing will be done on this until after harvest. There was a long discussion of the rental plane, which will be getting a new engine this fall. The Board adopted a policy for renters of the plane to acknowledge that they may be liable for a deductible if the plane is damaged while they use it. The Airport is finalizing grant papers that will result in $151,899 that will be used to finance the preparation of the master plan. The Airport tentatively plans to do another Scareport event on October 19. The Board accepted a new salary ordinance.

Odds and ends


This week's Rensselaer Republican has the complete list and description of the people who will be featured in this year's Weston Cemetery Walk. It is the front page article. 

Another walk starts Friday. The first of a series of Wellness Walks sponsored by Franciscan Health and Purdue Extension will take place on Friday, September 13 at 10:30 in the Hall Shelter of Brookside Park. After a short talk, the walk will take place in Weston Cemetery. The series will continue on Fridays until October 18. There is no admission charge and is open to all.