Four meetings to end the month

 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.

Merry Christmas

Pictures

Before the Rensselaer Plan Commission meeting on Thursday night, I paused in front of the Court House to watch some of the light show being displayed and snapped a few pictures. The display seems to be a loop that is five or ten minutes long.

Tuesday night will be the last night for an Advent wreath. Tempus fugit.

The entire staff here at Rensselaer Adventures wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  ;-)

Thursday evening meetings


The Rensselaer Advisory Plan Commission met on Thursday evening. Under old business was the preliminary plat for the SJC Building Trades Subdivision. The item was continued to the next meeting because there are still details to be ironed out. SJC has switched engineers to help design a lift station and that may be finished in time for the February meeting. 

The Park Department needs a master plan in order to be eligible for grants and Mr Davis recommended the firm HWC Engineering, which has helped Remington in its park planning, to develop the plan. The City also needs changes in its master plan to encourage housing and again HWC Engineering was recommended. The Commission endorsed these recommendations that will be sent to the City Council for approval.

There was some discussion of proposed changes in and additions to fees charged by the Building Department. I left the meeting before this discussion concluded because I wanted to get home to Zoom the Airport Authority Board meeting that overlapped the Plan Commission meeting.

The Jasper County Airport Authority Board meeting usually has a meeting the second Tuesday of the month and a late December meeting to deal with whatever has to be cleaned up by the end of the year. These two meetings were replaced  with a meeting on Thursday evening. The meeting began with an update on a land swap that the Airport would like to make to provide space for an east-west runway. There is slow progress and that is to be expected because of government regulations. The Airport may be ready to present something at the January or February Rensselaer Plan Commission meeting.

There was a short discussion of what to do with Airport funds when the current short-term investments mature. There will be a Finance Board meeting in January that may decide. The Airport has had a problem with a toilet overflowing. The manager had received quotes to replace toilets, but some Board members suggested the problem might not be the toilets but the sewer lines. A committee was established to investigate.

There were a variety of transfers and encumbrances to clean up the books for the end of the year. The Board approved two new hangar leases. The rental plane needs a new engine and it should be arriving in January. There were various expenses and maintenance issues discussed. Some Windracer drones will be stored at the Airport and the Board approved a storage fee. The website is being revised and may be hosted by IN.gov. This was the last meeting for the President of the Board, David Pettet, and he was given something to express the Board's appreciation for his service.

(The picture was provided by a Board member. From left to right, Emily Hackler, Andrew Andree, and David Pettet. The framed item appears to be a windsock.)



A last meeting

The County Commissioners met for their end-of-the-year meeting on Monday morning. It was the last meeting of the year and the last meeting for three of the main actors in these meetings, Auditor Donya Jordan, Commissioner Jeff DeYoung, and Commissioner James Walstra. I turned in on Zoom a few minutes after the start of the meeting, missing the Pledge of Allegiance, but in time to see former Commissioner Kendell Culp present Donya Jordan with a certificate. He recounted her 44 years of service to the County in the offices of Auditor, Treasurer, and Recorder. President Bontreger then presented these three with a canvas and something I could not identify. Below is what the presentation by Mr Culp looked like for viewers on Zoom. On the left is Attorney Beaver, standing in the back are Commissioners DeYoung, Bontreger, and Walstra, and seated at the right is Auditor-elect Dianne Boersma. (Update: Better pictures here and here. Before I started Zoom, Jim Walstra also received the Governor's Distinguished Service Award.)

After some claims and conference requests were approved, the Health Department had a request to close on January 9 and 10 in order to move within the building. Phase 1 of the remodeling of the building will be finished and the Department will move into the finished space so work can begin on Phase 2. As part of Phase 2, the conference room will be remodeled and the post in the middle of the room will be removed. The January 7 Commissioners meeting will be held in this room, the last public meeting to be held there until the remodeling is finished.

The Commissioners approved, after a brief review by their attorney, a contractual services agreement with the Extension Office. This is done annually. It approved a request by Community Corrections to replace two employees, one part-time and one full-time. A request from the Clerk's Office to replace an employee was tabled to the January meeting. 

There is a new law that requires that the Sheriff's Office get approval from the Commissioners for any contract involving money and the Sheriff had three for them to approve. The Commissioners also approved the signing of the Sheriff's contract that had been previously approved.

The State Board of Accounts told the County that the duties of the Commissioners' attorney need to be spelled out in a contract, and the Commissioners approved that new contract. The Commissioners got a brief report on three safety grants that the County had obtained, two from the State and one from the Federal Government. The County is also working with the City on a grant application for a trail along SR 114.

The Commissioners approved two changes to the work schedule of EDP Renewables for the Carpenter Wind Farm. Residents wanted to have wind-farm use of CR 1800 South finished by the start of the school year and the County wants $1.8 million for new culverts before the work begins. 

The Highway Department wants to allow observance of three County holidays that fall on Fridays to be moved to Thursday for its employees and this was granted. There was a brief discussion of vandalism and theft of stop signs. The Commissioners approved the replacement of a part-time employee in the Recorder's office.

Paul Norwine, speaking as a citizen, praised the work and accomplishments of the three officials who were at their last Commissioners meeting. He lauded Mr Walsta's work on the Kankakee River Commission. Then the Commissioners appointed Vince Urbano to take the spot that Mr Walstra had on that Commission and appointed Jeff DeYoung to the technical advisory board of the Commission. Mr DeYoung urged the incoming Commissioners to make sure the sidewalk on the east side of the Court House is repaired. He also noted that the Commissioner's job takes a lot more time than the job of a Councilman.

Odds and ends

Appletree Rensselaer announced that it has achieved a Level 3 Paths to QUALITY™ rating. Paths to QUALITY is Indiana’s quality rating and improvement system for child care programs. There are four levels, and level 4 does not appear to have anything that improves what the children get.

The old carriage house now has a roof.

Warmer weather

 Spring

We had the first hot days of the year over the weekend, with temperatures into the 80s. The longer days, the trees getting leaves, and the many flowers tell us that spring really is here.

The trees below are on the SJC campus.

Some beautiful tulips, but not mine.

I was surprised last week to see that the geese already have goslings.

On Friday I attended the first of the wellness walks, which are being held on Fridays from 10:40 until noon from April 12 to May 17 at Brookside Park. They replace the old Walk-with-a-Doc Walks and are sponsored by the Extension office. As the very small group of walkers assembled, we watched the City and the Urban Forest Ministry unload trees that will be planted in Rensselaer this spring.

Spring is a good time to flush hydrants. 

It is also a good time to patch streets where utility work has been done. 

(I noticed that there is a new dumpster by the old R&M Store.)

There are frogs croaking in Weston Pond. I saw a turtle on the road on Sunday and helped it over the curb. And not necessarily a sign of spring, but something I had never seen before during 50 years of living in Rensselaer: I saw a motorboat speeding downstream on the Iroquois River. I did not have time to snap a picture.

Not a lot of planting has begun because the fields are still too wet from the recent rains.

AppleTree is one

Appletree celebrated is first birthday on Saturday with an open house.

There were tiny cupcakes available for those who came. Kids could get their faces decorataed or get balloon sculptures.

Below is a bubble machine and if you look carefully you might see some of the bubbles on the right side of the pictures. Some of the kids had fun chasing them.

Inside the building was a cake that was served at the celebration at 1:00, which I did not attend.

Everyone who was there when I stopped by seemed to having a good time.

Brick Streets

Work continues with installing utility lines and pipes beneath where the brick streets were. New water lines crossed the sidewalk last week, so access to the businesses on Van Rensselaer has been difficult. 

There are still lots of pipes and materials left to install.

Continued Commissioners meeting

On Monday morning the Commissioners met in a continuation of their April 1 meeting. I decided to attend via Zoom, which I immediately regretted because the audio did not work at the start of the meeting. About five minutes in the people attending live realized there was a problem and discovered that a wire was not connected properly. Fortunately Mr Bontreger gave a summary of what had happened while there was no audio.

Mr Phillips, presumably acting as head of the Jasper County Republicans, had thanked Mr Walstra and Mrs. Jordan for their years of service to the County. Neither are seeking reelection. The Commissioners had approved contracts for 100 day of housing juvenile offenders in other county jails. Community Corrections will provide people to mow grass at the new EMS building.

With the audio problem fixed, the Commissioners continued with what was probably the most important item. They had met on Thursday in executive session to interview five firms to serve as construction compliance monitor for the proposed wind-farm project in Carpenter Township if the project becomes a reality. They had decided to use BF&S, a company that has done a lot of work for the County in the past. They also said that they appreciated learning about the other companies and may use them in the future if there are projects that fit their expertise. EDS, the company that is proposing the wind farm, has agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that it will pay for the services of construction monitoring. They will provide an initial  deposit of $200,000, from which the County will make payments, and there is a soft cap of $400.000 in the agreement. This MOU should satisfy the concerns that the Advisory Plan Commission had in their February meeting.

The Commissioners formally approved the agreement with BF&S. They also said that they are close to finishing an agreement with the City of Rensselaer to extend water and sewage lines west of I-65.

Jasper County BZA meeting

The Jasper County Board of Zoning Appeals met Monday evening with one cause on their agenda, a request for a lot-width variance for a property in Walker Township. The owner wants to split a 4.8 acre lot into two 2.4 acre lots that would be long and thin and not have the road frontage that the zoning code requires. However, it is in the area that is full of lots that are of similar size. The hearing took longer than I expected because the petitioners had not provided enough detail on their application. The variance was granted with the condition that the new lot lines preserved required setbacks for the existing buildings. The purpose of the split was to provide a lot for a new house. This is not the final step the owners must take. They will need to have the Plan Commission approve a two-lot subdivision.

The last bit of the meeting had a discussion of how to get applicants to file better organized and complete forms to streamline the meetings.

Joint Council/Commissioners meeting

There are two joint Council/Commissioners meetings scheduled each year, in July and December. However, the Council and Commissioners decided that two issues were important enough to hold an extra one in April,

The first issue concerned public defenders. Judge Potter had made a case to both Commissioners and Council that the current system needed to be changed. At Tuesday's meeting Todd Sammons and a person from Indianapolis who is part of the State Public Defender Commission explained the case for change and what it might look like. In the years since public defenders were introduced, the County has gone from having an abundance of applicants for the positions to a shortage. Public-defender expenses are reimbursed 40% by the State but it is not clear that the County is getting all the reimbursement that it could get. Many counties have already moved to establishing a chief public defender position and that is what Jasper County is now considering. Some of them have full-time positions and others part-time, and it is unclear which would be better for Jasper County. Many of the details of how the change would happen and what the final result would be were discussed and the discussion took about 50 minutes. The next step is for the local public defender board to set up a plan and to figure out a budget. They can base their plan on existing plans from other counties and the State Commission is available to help them.

The second issue was the request from the Coroner to provide him with more space. The County morgue is located next to the Fase Center east of DeMotte and it shares space with the Sheriff's Department. The Coroner had taken some public officials to Fulton County to view their recently-built morgue and he had a handout showing what he would like in a new building. There is an upcoming meeting with Baker Tilly and perhaps at that meeting questions of how a new building might be financed can be answered.

County Council meeting

The County Council meeting started about a half hour late because the joint meeting had lasted so long. Kristen Louck, head of the Health Department, had had a new nurse position approved by the Commissioners and now needed the salary approved by the Council. The Council approved it but it needs to be advertised so they will need to approve it again at the next meeting. She also requested a pay of $40 per hour for the part-time director of EMS services.

The meeting then moved on to a list of additional appropriations. The Sheriff had a request for a jailer and overtime. The overtime budget had been approved for $2,000 rather than the $20,000 intended, so the $18,000 was added back. The Court needed more for translators. That is an expense that is increasing in most counties and a recent decision by the Supreme Court raised the qualifications for translators, so they have become more expensive. The Animal Shelter needed $3,000 for a new tranquilizer gun. $100,000 was needed for a second payment for new voting machines. They were purchased with the payments spread over three years. Some expenses for the Health Department did not get paid in 2023 so there was an additional appropriation to pay them. Community Corrections is installing new security cameras and there was an additional appropriation of $30,000 to pay for them.

The last item on the agenda was a report about the Connection Center. I believe this was purely an informational report and I left shortly after it started because I could see lightning through the windows and I did not want to get caught in a thunderstorm.

Notes

I got my property tax bill last week and went to the Courthouse to pay it. While there I voted. Voting is on the second floor where the buffalo usually is. Hours are 8:00 till noon and 1:00 till 4:00 with extended hours on Mondays and Wednesdays until 8:00. If you wait until election day, the two places in Rensselaer to vote will be the Fairgrounds and the Armory. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving

The entire staff of Rensselaer Adventures hopes you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

More Christmas decorations

See here for the first batch.

Samantha Joslyn's Law Office.

One of the empty spaces across from the Court House.

Earth Magic Body Potions.

Balvich Dental building.

The Rensselaer Republican office.

Sorrel and Rye Mercantile.

Gutwein-Risner Insurance.

The Police Department.

The newer State Farm Insurance office.

There are still more windows being decorated.

 The Court House has some lights in its trees.

Notes

A Mexican bakery, La Trinidad Bakery, is planning to open in the Ayda's Restaurant building. It will be a separate business.

A few days ago someone posted a link to a long (almost 2 hours) video that the Jasper County Historical Society produced in the 1990s. The video contains a collection of older videos and pictures. It is a digitization of what was a VCR tape and the quality is often quite poor. Included are a short film produced in 1940 that includes scenes from several Rensselaer businesses, video of the fire that destroyed the Wright's furniture store in 1948, and President Eisenhower's visit to Rensselaer in 1962 for Charlie Halleck Day.

I remember seeing a different video of Rensselaer many years ago. I think it might have been done in the 1930s and it featured many of the businesses operating at the time. Does anyone know if that film still exists?

Congratulations to the RCHS girl's basketball team that won the IU Health Hoops Classic title. The field included the big schools from Lafayette and West Lafayette. The Republican story here.

The Jasper County Board of Zoning Appeals met for about five minutes Monday evening and approved a variance for road frontage. The owners of the property want to put in a 50-foot driveway to provide access to the back of the property where a new home will be built. 

Joint Council Commissioners meeting

The County Council and Commissioners met in a joint session on Monday evening at 6:00. There was a full house, with many of the people there because they were interested in the abatement vote in the Council meeting that was to follow. The joint session began with the announcement that Brett Risner had resigned from the Council, with no reason given. His replacement will be appointed by the County Republican caucus.

First on the agenda was a presentation by Kenny Haun, fire chief of the Rensselaer Fire Department. He gave an update on the planned fire tower for the training center. It has been upgraded to a five-story tower and plans are still evolving. In his update on financing, he said that several governmental units have told him to wait until 2024 when they will be in a new budget year. His goal is to raise $250,000 and he is tentatively scheduling training classes to start in May. The new tower will allow live fire training. He would like to receive $75,000 from the County.

Karen Wilson said her office wanted to donate $5,000 to the fire tower and that money was appropriated in the Council meeting that followed. The Sheriff said he was looking for a new correctional officer to replace one that was let go. He was told to get started and approval will be given at the December Commissioners meeting. Rein Bontreger, who was attending via Zoom, said that a committee to write on a new solar ordinance would begin working in January. It will probably also include regulations for battery storage facilities. 

In public comments one person had suggestions for safety regulations for any carbon sequestration project. Another person had a rant on tax abatement that suggested he did not understand how abatements worked. The most interesting comment was by a woman who said that the rail line used to carry coal to the NIPSCO plant was having ties replaced. She asked why there was work on this line if NIPSCO was going to cease using coal in a couple of years and no one had an answer. The meeting lasted until 7:00 and there was a ten-minute break before the County Council meeting started.

County Council meeting

The County Council began with a public hearing on a proposed tax abatement for Solarpack, the company planning a 60 megawatt solar park in Walker township. The hearing began with a lengthy explanation of the proposed tax-abatement agreement. The company was requesting a ten-year 100% abatement, not the usual abatement that declines over time. In return it would give the County four economic development payments in four years totaling $2,267,000, which captures 71% of the abated value. The attraction of these payments to the Council is that these payments give the Council and County more flexibility in using the fund than they have with funds that come through normal tax collection. The increase in the value of land cannot be abated and the land will rise in value according to State rules from its current value of about $2000 per acre to about $13,000. The abatement agreement sets that value higher than the State value, at about $16,000 and the company would make a payment that captures that higher value. If the State value continues at $13,000, the County would gain revenues but if the State value rises in future years above $16,000, the County would lose because it would then have to make a refund to the company. The abatement agreement would also provide a floor value for the project past the ten years of the abatement of about $27 million.

There were a number of public comments, most of which said that they did not want another solar farm. One threatened those who supported the abatement with election defeat. After about two hours of discussion, the matter was put to a vote, the results of which were predictable given the vote at the last meeting for the preliminary resolution, which resulted in a tie, with the tie broken by the president of the Council. Without Brett Risner, who had voted for the preliminary resolution, the vote was three against and two in favor. So the abatement was not granted.

I will be surprised if the denial of the abatement causes the project to be abandoned. The company had made a lot of concessions which greatly reduced the value of the abatement. However, the denial may affect future development if the message received is that the County is not a friendly place to invest.

The Council passed its 2024 calendar and I could not hear some of what was discussed because of the noise from the audience. The Council then passed several additional appropriations and approved a long series of transfers. The Sheriff and the Surveyor each had changes that they wanted in the salary ordinance that will be approved in the December meeting. The meeting finally ended a bit before 10:00.

Barbeque and lots more

BBQ

Rensselaer has a new place to eat, Boneheadz BBQ. It shares space with Mt Hood Pizza. I stopped by to ask a few questions and had a delightful conversation with the new owners. I asked if they were part of Mt Hood and they said that they were not. They were a separate business sharing the space. Apparently having two businesses operating from the same space is not uncommon in Chicago.

The owners live in West Lafayette. I commented that meant a long communte and they said it did not bother them. They also run a food truck that goes to festivals and events, so they said they are used to travel. I expect that means that they may not be open in Rensselaer during some of the weekends in summer.

They will do all their barbequing outside, even in winter. 

In addition to selling their newly cooked food, they also sell their own barbeque sauce.

If you like BBQ, stop by and check them out.

Redevelopment Commission meeting




The Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission met on Thursday afternoon. It reviewed the TIF management report that had been submitted to Gateway. (You should be able to find it from this link.)




The report was put together by Baker Tilly from data provided by the Clerk-Treasurer. At one time the Clerk-Treasurer wrote the report, but as requirements kept increasing, the City decided to hand it off to its financial advisors. Members of the Commission were unclear about where some of the numbers were coming from.




The other item on the agenda was about EDA reimbursable grant funds. The City has a grant from EDA (Economic Development Administration) of about $1.7 million for the $2.5 million dollar brick street project. Under the terms of the grant, the City pays bills and then submits them to the EDA for reimbursement. The City wants to make those payments from TIF funds. The project will probably be bid in May, with work starting at the end of July or early August, and finishing in the spring. The Commission approved the request.




There was a brief discussion of possible grants for charging stations for electric vehicles. The City is negotiating with the County and Good Oil to get City water and sewer extended to the west side of the Interstate.




A long city council meeting




The Rensselaer City Council's second April meeting took place Monday evening. In the Citizens' Comments section, a spokesman for the Eagles requested closing of a half block of Harrison Street on June 12 for Eagle Fest and on September 9 for a fish fry, and also use of the City Hall parking lot on May 6 for corn hole. The May 6 and June 16 events are to raise money for individuals with cancer. The request was granted.




The Council then had a public hearing for the Wastewater Treatment Upgrades Preliminary Engineering Report that was prepared by Commonwealth Engineering. The City is under a court order from 2007 to upgrade its sewer handling and as part of that order thinks that this may be a good time to make substantial improvements to its sewage plant. There are grant funds available, and to apply for those grants the City needed to have the preliminary engineering report that was the subject of hearing. The current plant is nearing the end of its useful life and has shortcomings. 




The consultant from Commonwealth outlined some alternatives considered and said that the one chosen "includes a sequencing batch reactor type secondary process, aerobic digester expansion, expansion of the existing UV system, intermediate lift station, biological phosphorus removal with chemical backup, and a replacement effluent sewer." (I do not know what that means.) The estimated cost of the project is almost $14.5 million. No one other than the Commonwealth representative spoke.




The Council then moved to its agenda items. It approved an ordinance annexing the Saint Joseph's College property. It approved both a resolution and an ordinance for an economic development rider that gives a discount on electric rates for new development that meet certain conditions of size of investment and electrical usage. If I understood the discussion, the State ultimately funds this. It also approved both a resolution and an ordinance for a green power rider. This seems to allow customers to pay extra for the electricity if they choose renewable power, though electricity from all sources is mixed on the grid and cannot be separated. It seems geared to companies that want to tout their greenness. It will increase their cost by about $6 per 1000 kilowatt hours.




After a transfer of funds for Weston Cemetery for road improvements, the Council took up tax abatements. White Castle is planning a $35 million expansion. They have purchased the property to their west that contains a large, run-down metal building and will either renovate or replace it with a new building. (The old building once housed the Earl Soesbe Company.) White Castle expects to add 20 jobs paying an average of $21 per hour. Included in the cost is new equipment, both for the new facility and their present building. The requested seven-year abatement was approved.

Below is a picture of the property that White Castle recently purchased.

The Council then took up existing abatements. All abatements gradually decline, so by the end of their life they are quite small. The City has 11 active, and all were approved to continue. From the agenda, some companies had more than one abatement (common when they have an abatement both for real estate and equipment). Abatements were approved for Proform Finishing Products LLC (Genova), Conagra, Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), Richard Reese Family LLC (Genova), White Castle, Melt Blown Filtration, and Indiana Facemasks.




As part of its capital asset management, the City's electric and water utilities had sought bids for field inventory collection. The bid for the water and wastewater study was $28,623 not to exceed $32,000 and for the electric study $46,840 not to exceed $46940. Both were approved.




Three bids were opened for advanced metering infrastructure. The City wants to replace existing meters with more advanced meters that collect additional information. The three bids were taken under advisement and a recommendation will be made at the next council meeting.




The Park Department would like its master plan updated. It was last updated in 2009 and it needs to be updated if the Park is to apply for grants. The Mayor will see if KIRPC, which did the last plan, can do an update.




Several months ago the Police Department sought quotes for a new car and Gutwein Motors was selected. Recently Gutwein informed the City that the model it had promised is no longer being manufactured but offered the Police Department a similar car with more features for an extra $6500. That price was still below the competing bids, so the Mayor conducted a telephone vote on whether the car should be purchased and the vote was four ayes and one nay. The Council ratified that vote, which puts it in the minutes.




Councilman Cover said that the utility office has had its workload increase and asked for an increase of $40 per week in pay for the office manager. It was approved. The Gas Department open house (which features a free lunch) is this Friday from 11 to 1. The Police Department announced it had picked up its new vehicle. The Electric Department will be rebuilding an electric line on Melville. The new lift station will be partially on-line this week. Sewer construction is complete north of town and is finishing on West Washington. The only remaining area unfinished is on Clark Street.  The meeting lasted almost an hour and a half, very long for a City Council meeting.

Below is a picture of some final sewer-line construction on West Washington Street.

Miscellany

Harrison Street was closed on Monday.

I wanted to see what the City workers were doing because the brick street project has not begun yet. They were planning to remove the old tunnel that connected the Courthouse with the what was once the jail. It was not meant for transfering prisoners becuase it is only a few feet tall and has utility pipes in it.

The workers found what looked like asbestos and so have for now stopped the work until they have the safety of removing the tunnel evaluated. Harrison Street is back open for traffic.

Speaking of the Courthouse, the sidewalks that were removed for the installation of drainage tiles have been repaired.

Four raised bed gardens have been constructed in Brookside Park. Kids in camps will learn about growing vegetables this summer.

I saw a soccer game underway in Foundation Park over the weekend. There were quite a few parents watching and they looked cold.

I noticed a logjam at the College Avenue Bridge.

I found one more window painting.