The brick streets are open

 Brick Streets

The barricades have been removed and the brick streets (parts of Van Rensselaer and Harrison) are now open to traffic.

On Saturday the still-barricaded Van Rensselaer Street hosted the annual Oktoberfest. I arrived early and enjoyed the German band.

The lead male singer even danced with one of the members of the audience.

I took a couple pictures of the finished bricks. On the left are new bricks that allow water to drain between the bricks and on the right are the old bricks that probably do not drain water well.

The Harrison/Van Rensselaer intersection has new bricks with a herringbone pattern in them. Driving on them is much smoother than driving on the old bricks.

As I said, I came early and there were not a lot of people. Around 5:30 some light rain started, probably an outer band from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The band decided that the rain was not compatible with their electric equipment and stopped playing. I hung around for a while and then decided to leave before most people usually arrive.

The Truth Bible Church, the new owners of what was the Ritz Theater building, was one of several food vendors.

The Brick Street Ice Cream shop was open for the night. I heard that they had a very busy weekend.

The rain stopped after 6:00 but it restarted again later in the evening.

The remnants of Helene gave us a windy day on Friday but almost no rain. The rain bands stopped just to the south of Jasper County, though Remington may have gotten some showers.

Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council meeting

On Monday the Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council held a special meeting to meet with two representatives from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the administration of a grant of $157,945.77 that the Forestry Council had recently received.

The funding of the grant ultimately came from the Federal government. The Inflation Recovery Act allocated $1.5 billion to be used for trees, and Indiana's share of that  was $4 million. The Indiana DNR awarded 16 grants. The Rensselaer grant was awarded to the Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council and it will be administered by the Jasper-Newton Foundation over the next three years. The grant will fund a database of trees on City property and right-of-ways, community outreach to encourage people to appreciate trees and plant them in their yards, and the planting of 50 trees on City right-of-ways. The grant proposal that was submitted requested support for 100 trees, but the DNR cut that to 50 so the other activities could be supported. Much of the hour-long discussion was about the details of grant administration.

Below the people attending the meeting pose in front of the tulip tree behind the Carnegie Center.

Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission meeting

The Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission met on Monday evening to discuss a proposed residential housing development program. The plan includes a new TIF district that will have a small area from which taxes will be collected and a fairly large area on the east side of Rensselaer in which the revenues can be spent. The areas that will collect taxes from new development are two blocks north of Van Rensselaer School and a strip of land north of Elm Street and south of the Melt Blown company. Spending can be done for road improvements and sidewalks, utility improvements, parks, public safety, and education. No vote was taken. I believe the vote will be during the October 7 meeting. Then the matter will pass on to the City Council.

Odd & ends

From the legals in the September 26 issue of the Rensselaer Republican:

"Notice it is hereby given that the Remington Board of Zoning Appeals will conduct a public hearing  at the Remington Townhall,,,on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Timeon Carpenter wind Farm LLC's application for a Special Exception permit to build 12 wind turbines within the town of Remington's extraterritorial jurisdiction."

The notice goes on to note that this is part of a wind farm of 45 turbines, with the other 33 located in areas under the jurisdiction of the Jasper County Board of Zoning Appeal. The Remington Plan Commission had recommended establishing a wind-farm overlay and the Remington Council had passed it.

Meanwhile White County is considering battery storage to complement their wind turbines.

In downtown Rensselaer the building that houses Short Cuts is getting a facelift.

A&B Auto Care has been closed for several weeks and the building remains for sale.

Concrete for the final bit of sidewalk next to the old light plant was poured on Monday.

Scarecrow Trail

Scarecrows are beginning to appear in Milroy Park. The first put up was the Chief Buildings' scarecrow.

The Rensselaer Gas Utility has a scarecrow with a gas meter as its head.

The tin man is from Valley Oaks Health. The sign on the right says. "I shall take the heart. For Brains do not make 1 Happy and happiness is the Best Thing in the World. 

The Carnegie Players sort of advertise their winter play production.

It will be a musical called "Saving Christmas" written by local writer Peter Schulenburg. Auditions are on October 21 and 22 from 6:00 to 8:00 at Saint Augustine;s Church and performances will be December 12, 13, & 14. The Carnegie Players continue to do some very creative and unusual stuff.

I do not know if one can call the cheery Tri Kappa exhibit a scarecrow.

The Little-Cousin-Jasper display is very small and unusual.

Finally

My asters are now blooming, which is a bit depressing because they are among the very last flowers to bloom in the summer or early fall. The bees love them.

Still blooming is the plant shown below, which is a garden vegetable. I have appreciated it this year because it is one of the few plants that my resident bunnies and squirrels as well as the wandering deer have left alone. Do you recognize what it is?

It is abelmoschus esculentus. (Google that name to learn its common name.)

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.

Start of September, 2024

Some pictures

As of the weekend, the bricks on Harrison had reached the halfway point.

The stage at Filson Park is finished.

The final touch was stringing lights near the roof.

The park has a memorial bench.

There is a little area that looks like decorative bricks on the north side of the park. They are not real bricks but concrete colored and textured to look like bricks.

On Tuesday more sidewalk was being poured on the north side of the park.

There is still a little area near the alley that needs concrete. The forms were being set on Tuesday afternoon.

The SJC Building Trades program has begun work on the foundation of a first house.

Here is an article in the publication Inside Higher Ed about the shift in direction at SJC.

Remington has plans for an inclusive playground. See here and here. I think this is part of a goal of making the park a destination stop. Their big park on the north side of town is a impressive park for a small town. It would make a good lunch stop for travelers with kids. The kids could play on the playground equipment, run on the trails, or enjoy the splash pad. An inclusive playground, with equipment for handicapped children, might put them on the map. The nearest existing inclusive playground is two hours away according to Remington. I expect to hear more about these plans next year at Tourism Commisson meetings.

Rensselaer Redevelopment Authority

I was confused when I noticed that there were meetings scheduled for both the Rensselaer Redevelopment Authority and the Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission. I asked and found that the Redevelopment Authority was the body that had to authorize any bonds that were issued. That group met Wednesday at 9:00 at City Hall and I arrived after the three members had elected officers. The meeting was apparently held because the State Board of Accounts had told the City that this body should be meeting at least twice a year. 

The Authority has approved one bond that is outstanding, a bond to finance the Rensselaer Fire Station. It is a 25 year bond and was issued in 2015. Twice a year payments must be made for this bond, for interest and the slow payment of principle. The Authority is supposed to approve those payments, and it did at this meeting. The next meeting will be in November and then one probably in January.

The bulk of the meeting was taken up by a discussion of what the City's next big project might be, though it is unlikely the Redevelopment Authority will be involved. The project that Mayor Phillips is most concerned about is meeting a State mandate to deal with the combined sewers. In many parts of Rensselaer the storm sewers and sanitary sewers are combined and when there are heavy rains, those sewers overflow into the Iroquois River. The City has been working on this problem with the high-rate treatment plant on Lincoln Street and the Melville Street Project, but more needs to be done and it will be expensive, potentially in the $13 to $20 million range. There does not seem to be grants available, but the City might get zero-percent loans from the State Revolving Fund. The cost will affect sewage bills in the future.

Trails plan

I received a link to the Jasper County Trails Master Plan that Kimley Horn prepared for the Jasper County Trails Club. There was a big section that gave the results of a survey that was done (and that I probably answered). More interesting were the plans for specific trails. In Rensselaer there was a proposed trail along Melville Street from the Primary School to SR 114. South of the railroad tracks, that route has a good sidewalk on the east side of Melville, but there is a bottleneck at the ditch just south of the primary school. The proposed trail starts at the CourtHouse, goes through the alley next to Filson Park, over the pedestrian bridge and through Iroquois Park. The trail crosses where there is no bridge from the west end of Iroquois to the east end of Weston Cemetery, then through the Cemetery and Brookside Park to SR 114, From there it continues to the Fairgrounds, then to the Interstate, and from there the trail will be extended to reach Fair Oaks Farms.

I think both of these trails would be worthwhile, especially one from Rensselaer to the Fairgrounds and Interstate. The latter would be expensive and would need a big grant to accomplish.

The plan wants to enhance the water trail of the Iroquois River with an additional boat launch site either in Potawatomi Park or on the other side of the River. The Iroquois already has three launch sites serving Rensselaer, at Laird's Landing, at Bicentennial Park, and on Mount Calvary Road. Years ago I rafted the River a couple of times, starting at Laird's Landing and ending at the Maxwell Ditch in Weston Cemetery. The Iroquois only occasionally has good rafting. Usually the water level is too low or too high.

If you want to know more, the Trails Club will be meeting in Rensselaer on September 17 at 7:00 in the basement of the Carnegie Center. (I do not think I can attend because the Jasper County Council meets the same evening and that meeting will be a long one.)

Commissioners' meeting

The Commissioners had a routine meeting on Tuesday morning rather than Monday morning because of the Labor Day holiday. There were no buried cable requests. Farm Bureau is upgrading its sign and will incorporate signs for the Surveyor and Extension in the new sign. The Coroner's new fee schedule was postponed for two weeks. The Forensics building he would like has expanding uses. Councilman Moore suggested that the County have a committee to do preliminary planning for any proposed building and that committee may happen. (It could also consider the proposed new show arena that the Fair Board wants.)

Animal Control gave statistics for 2023 and 2024 that show they are much busier this year than last. Their requests for a new shed and better signage were delayed to the continued meeting. At the last meeting Extension requested a storage shed. The Surveyor said that new shelving and use of the community-garden shed may be able to solve the storage problem. The Commissioners approved Mr Bontreger to sign off on warranties for the EMS building. 

A woman from WorkOne explained that WorkOne pays salaries for people learning the soft skills of holding a job. She has a person who would like to work at the Animal Shelter and WorkOne would pay her salary while she learns the job, which usually takes one to three months. WorkOne provides this service for private businesses and it is a way of getting people employed who lack experience and skills. The Commissioners approved her proposal pending legal review. 

Community Services had a leaky roof repaired and the Commissioners approved the claim. They received a grant to install a new digital sign but the grant does not cover the installation of electrical service. The Commissioners approved that installation. The Fase Center will need someone to remove snow and the Commissioners will look into it.

A road agreement with EDP renewables was postponed for two weeks to allow some changes in the proposed agreement. Growing Patch Learning Center in Remington gave a presentation. They opened after the Jasper County Youth Center closed in a building that formerly housed Treasure Keepers. They have five classrooms and 64 seats. They are accredited, which increases their costs and they lose about $4,000 per child. They have 19 on their wait list, including some unborn babies. They have 18 paid staff. No action was requested; their report was to update the Commissioners on their current status.

A spokesman from Tecton recommended the low bidders for the remodeling of the Sparling Annex/Health Department. Tecton would like construction to start in mid to late October. The Council approved the signing of the recommendation letter. There was a brief discussion of what to do with the old kitchen material from the building. No other County Department has an interest in using it and it probably has more value as scrap metal than what an auction would bring. Pending legal review the Commissioners approved scrapping it.

There were two bids for foam insulation of the storage barn at the Highway Department. They will be further considered at the continuation of the meeting on Monday, September 16 at 8:30.

Drainage Board

The Jasper County Drainage Board met after the conclusion of the Commissioners' meeting. Tri-County Schools is considering a small expansion of the Tri-County Elementary School. The roof will drain into the woods near the property and then into Carpenter Creek. The plan was approved. Also approved was a proposal to place buried cable under tiles and drains in Carpenter Township. BF&S will prepare bid packets for the next phase of the KV River Project. This phase is for two miles of bank stabilization and has had delays in the State and Federal permitting process. Finally there was a short discussion of what appears to be a dispute between two neighbors concerning a dam on a drainage ditch. The Board did not want to get involved.

Pictures and meetings

 Some pictures

I was at the big Remington Park over the weekend and took a picture of the splash pad.

 I am impressed with the Remington Park. It has a sledding hill, nice shelter houses that can be closed with overhead doors, and a long hiking/biking path. Remington has prioritized parks and is seeking public feedback for a five-year master plan.

I wanted to get pictures of Remington's new murals but they were not on the building that had originally been selected for murals. 

A second building is being constructed on the lot in northeastern Rensselaer that once was used by INDOT.

CSX has finished repairing the damage to the Amtrak platform that a train derailment caused in 2017, Concrete had been repaired and new lights installed.

Below you can see the concrete before repair.

City meetings

The Rensselaer Board of Public Works met Monday evening and approved six payments. Four were for Commonwealth Engineering for work on the WasteWater Treatment Project, The Asset Management Project and the Water Tank Project. Two were for Maguire Iron work on the Water Tank Project. The Board also approved a transfer of funds for Commonwealth for additional work on the Asset Management Plan.

When the new water tank goes on-line, the water in Drexel Park tank will be drained and the interior repaired.

Also on Monday evening the Rensselaer City Council met. The person listed to give the invocation did not show up but two other Rensselaer pastors did. They worked out who would give the invocation. 

The Council voted to approve an ordinance that changes the after-hour fees for discontinuation of utility services. With new software and upgraded metering, electrical service can be turned on and off remotely, so there is less need for after-hours servicing. The gas tracker for August reflects about a half cent increase per hundred cubic feet of usage. The Council approved using a new provider for gas-pressure sensors. These record gas pressure at the regulator stations and can send an alarm if there is too much pressure recorded. 

The Council approved $40,000 for gutters on the gas department building. It has seepage after heavy rains on the northwest side. 

The Council approved the submission of a Community-Crossings grant application that will request about $978,164 for road improvements. If the State approved the application, the State funds 74% of the cost and the City 25%. The Council approved the purchase of two new squad cars for the Police Department. The Department will trade in two 2016 squads as part of the deal. Also approved was the hiring of a crossing guard. 

The Eagles requested the closure of part of Harrison and the alley next to their building on September 7 and their request was granted. Noele Weishaar wanted the Planning Commission to change the zoning ordinance so that non-complying residences in business zones do not have to seek a variance every time they are sold. That change will take about three months to get through the various meetings and public hearings, so she also wanted a suspension of enforcement of non-complying uses for 90 days. The Council approved both. Finally, she noted that some of the property owned or formerly owned did not have a zoning classification, so she suggested and the Council approved directing the Plan Commission to zone it.

Special Drainage Board meeting

The Jasper County Drainage Board held a special meeting on Tuesday morning to approve a drainage plan for a proposed solar farm in Walker Township. The applicant has changed its name, but not its ownership, from Solarpack to Zalestra.

It received approval for the proposed farm from the Jasper County BZA in August, 2021 and needed to get its drainage plan approved by the end of the month to keep that approval from lapsing. Because this was a special meeting requested by Zelestra, all the expenses of the meeting will be paid by Zelestra.

The Board heard from the compliance manager hired by the County and from representatives from Zelestra. The compliance manager had spoken at the regular drainage board meeting, but apparently there were some changes since then as Zelastra tries to comply with the various regulations at the State and Federal level. There were no public comments when they were allowed. The Board members then consulted among themselves. At this point a lady in the audience decided she wanted to comment and expressed her disapproval of the project and the Board. The drainage plan was approved with the contingency that the company get all other permits needed.

Start of August pictures 2024

Downtown changes

On Monday workers were paving the end of Van Rensselaer Street adjacent to the highway.

After the asphalt was deposited, it was smoothed. I am not sure why, but a section of bricks was taken up from those that had been laid last week.

The area and the corresponding area of Harrisson and SR 114 need a finishing layer.

On Thursday workers were sweeping sand into the cracks of the bricks.

 

The workers had finished the bricks up to the alley.

Meanwhile on Thursday the remaining sidewalk by Filson Park had been removed and City workers seemed to be working on a water line.

Work on the exterior of Earth Magic, which was partially funded by a façade grant, is finished.

Here is a close-up of the sign.

The door to the future Brick Street Ice Cream store was open on Thursday, so I took a picture of the inside. I heard from a source who should know that it will be opening very soon.

US 231 bridge work

South of Rensselaer work has begun on the bridge over the Wasson Ditch just south of Houston's subdivision. As a result US 231 is closed at Mount Calvary Road. Below you can see the surface of the bridge.

The asphalt on the approaches to the bridge have been milled.

Kids' Night at the Farmers' Market

The Tuesday Night Farmers' Market hosted Kids Night and there were a lot of kids who enjoyed the various booths. I think the firemen had at least as much fun as the kids with their water-balloon-launching stations.

Kid got to practice putting out an electric fire with a real firehose.

The ladies at the Alliance Bank table said that they wanted their pictures on this blog so here they are.

Just some of the crowd.

The Airport had a drone but it could not fly. One of the propellers had a damaged tip.

A lot of booths were giving away things, but none as much as Franciscan Health. Look at the boxes behind their two tents. 

Some of the booths had games for kids, such as the ring toss of the Rensselaer Care Center.

Coming soon

The next art exhibit at the Fendig Gallery at the Carnegie Center will be a tribute to the late Doris Myers, who led a long and prolific career as an artist. Included in the exhibit will be many pictures that will be for sale. The opening public reception will be Sunday, August 11 from 1:00 to 4:00 CST.

When I stopped by many of the pictures were still waiting to be hung.

Odds & ends

The Homestead is planning to close their Remington restaurant to focus on their West Lafayette restaurant as well as on-line sales, catering, wholesale accounts, and fundraising accounts. See here for more info.

Also from Remington, Cameron Moberg has finished his Remington murals. 

On Friday Teen Mission Jasper County had its annual Community Day at Brookside Park. There were a lot of give aways and games for kids.

In late-July post I had pictures from a SJC groundbreaking, the Plevna ribbon cutting, and the water-tower mural ribboncutting. This week's Rensselaer Republican has more details about these events than I had.