SJC Open House
On Saturday Saint Joseph's College had an open house intended to show prospective students the educational programs available on campus.
The picture below shows the tables of the various programs. Closest is the CDL program. I asked if they did training for school bus drivers and was told that was a separate CDL certificate that they did not offer.
Next to them was the Indiana Ag and Tech School, a charter school that meets at SJC on Wednesdays. They were unsure of how many students that they have this semester because their meeting on Wednesday was canceled due to weather, but it may be as many as 42. They had 32 enrolled last semester. Most of the almost 500 students enrolled in IATS are in the Indianapolis area and Rensselaer is a branch campus. It is a public charter school.
I talked a bit to the founder of IATS and Chairman of its Board. He is a writer who does not publish under his name. Rather he writes speeches for others and things like fundraising appeals. He said that the key to a good speech is to tell a story. (I am not sure how I can incorporate a more storied approach into this blog.)
Further down the row and hard to see are tables for the veterinary certificate programs and the health-science programs. One of the draws for the health programs is that with a certificate one can work in the field while one pursues more education, such as becoming a registered nurse.
Not in the picture and separated from the other tables was a table for WorkOne. WorkOne provides financial aid to some of the people enrolled in the certificate programs, though I do not know what the criteria are for getting that aid.
I asked if the co-working program was still ongoing and was told it was. I also asked who was in charge overall and did not get an answer.
Rensselaer Plan Commission meeting
The Rensselaer Plan Commission met Monday evening before the City Council meeting. The Mayor swore in a new member, Scott Barton. The first two items of new business were about a 3.5 acre lot that was just inside the City's exclusion zone. The County had already approved the split of this lot from a larger lot, but the City needed to approve it because it was in the City's exclusion zone. They approved the split and also recommended to the Council that the zoning be changed from A1 to A2. The reason for the meeting was to consider a subdivision control amendment. The goal was to create a simpler process for small (1, 2, or 3 lot) subdivisions rather than have them go through the process for large subdivisions. The Commission created a committee to review the process consisting of Barton, Davis, and Sammons. The Commission then sent the matter to the Council with a favorable recommendation.
Before the meeting adjourned, member Stan Haines announced that he was resigning, saying he did not feel welcome. Perhaps this was due to something that happened at the previous meeting before I arrived.
The next meeting is scheduled for February 20 at 5:30. (Video of the meeting here.)
Rensselaer City Council meeting
The first item on the agenda of the City Council meeting was a public hearing for vacating a public right-of-way. At the west end of Vine Street there is a row of houses on the north side. North of those houses is an undeveloped alley. The owners of the lots immediately to the west of the Maxwell Ditch own both sides of that alley and there will likely never be a way to access that part of the alley from the east. By vacating the right-of-way the Council allowed them to connect the parcels they own.
Art in the Alley will take place on June 22 from 10:00 to 4:00 in Filson Park. The Council agreed to close Kellner Street for the event. The Council then heard a presentation from Reach Alert Systems about the emergency-alert system that they offer. The system can send messages via phone, text, and e-mail and can be customized in various ways to limit who gets which messages. It can be used for more than just emergency messages and the control will be with the City. The Council approved adopting the system.
The Council approved a proposal to have Peerless Midwest do maintenance on another water well. The cost is $26,368. Mayor Phillips then swore in Todd Wilson as Gas Department superintendent. An ordinance of fees for zoning and other building department matters was introduced. There was concern about how much some of the fees had risen. Mrs Weishaar commented that it is important to avoid doing things that will inhibit growth and development.
The next two items on the agenda came from the Plan Commission meeting earlier in the evening. The Council approved the rezone from A1 to A2 and also the amendments that simplified the granting of small subdivisions. The Council approved a transfer of funds for the Park Department, needed for a later item on the agenda. Three conflict of interest forms from Council members were approved. A revised Ward Map was presented and Council members Armold and Weishaar were selected as a committee to review it.
The Park Department had sought quotes for replacing the roof on the pool house and recommended a proposal from Style Craft. The company wants a downpayment of 20%, which was approved. The amount of $23,700 was mentioned and I do not know if that was the total amount or just the down payment. Work will not begin for three months. Appleseed requested a donation of $100,000. There were concerns about the size of the ask and hopes that this would not become permanent. The donation was approved with Mr Armold voting against.
In comments at the end, the Mayor said that the State may require a wheel tax in order for local governments to continue receiving CCMG funding. The Fire Department had some electrical problems that fried equipment on the trucks. The meeting adjourned a few minutes after 7:00. (Video of the meeting here.)
Jasper County BZA and Plan Commission meetings
After the City Council meeting I hurried over to the Court house, arriving as the BZA meeting was finishing. I missed the election of officers but there was only one cause on the agenda, a special exception in Walker Township to allow adding onto a Post Frame Structure for living quarters for when their family is in town. It passed.
There was a surprisingly large crowd for the Plan Commission meeting that followed. There were two new members, Jacob Misch from the County Council replacing Steve Jordan, and Commissioner Ryan Hilton replacing James Walstra. The Commission elected Kent Korniak as President, Vince Urbano as Vice President (though he was not present), and Justin Rodibaugh as Secretary.
The first cause was for approval of a 6-lot subdivision in Walker Township on the east side of CR 200W north of CR 700N. The owners of a strip of land along the road live immediately to the south and would like to sell the north three lots and build on the south three lots, either for use by family or for rentals. The property was rezoned to R1 last year. Several neighbors spoke out with questions or objections. There was concern about drainage, some worrying it would lower the water table and others concerned because the land was swampy. The owners will need Drainage Board approval, so these objections were not the concern of the Plan Commission. The other major concern was renters and the possibility that having renters would lower property values. A couple of people liked the area because of its rural setting and did not want more neighbors. Despite the objections, the Commission approved the subdivision.
The other cause was a request for a rezone in Union Township from A1 to A2 to create a future building site. It was sent to the Commissioners with a favorable recommendation.
The next meeting will be on the fourth Monday of February because the third Monday is a holiday. The State Board of Accounts wants all attorneys working for Boards and Commissions to have a contract, so the Commission approved a contract for Mr Sammons.
Odds & ends
The legals in the January 23 edition of the Rensselaer Republican had an interesting notice titled "Legal Notice of Planned Improvement." The planned improvement is the demolition of the Wolcott Rest Areas on I-65. These rest areas were built in 1975 and the notice says that their parking areas are "undersized for current and predicted capacity demands." The five existing buildings and parking lots will be removed. Demolition will last from February until December. The estimated cost is $615,000.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Department is getting more than local news attention.
Jasper County will be getting a new historical marker, one for Charles Halleck. I believe it will be in DeMotte, where he was born.
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