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.)

Back to meetings (updated)

 On the way to the Commissioners' meeting on Monday morning I noticed activity at the SJC football field. I could not see that any of the bleachers had been removed, but suspected that this was the day that the start of the take-down would happen. It rained while the meeting was in progress, and I could not see any progress made that morning.

However, on Tuesday morning part of the bleachers had been removed and by the end of the day I understand pretty much all of it was gone. Here are some pictures from Tuesday.

From another angle.

The sections being removed were laid out east of the field. They will be reassembled at Faith Christian School in Lafayette.

The pictures are not very good because the no-trespassing signs kept me from getting closeer.

Commissioners' meeting

The meeting was fairly routine. There were six buried cable requests, most from Remington or Carpenter Township and all bores for internet cable. All were approved. The voting centers for the general election in November will be at the same locations as they were for the primary election. For that election the center at the Fairgrounds Fire Station was replaced with one at the armory. Community Corrections received permission to replace two employees. Community Corrections currently has 25 males and two females at the facility and about 25 on home detention.

The Auditor received approval to spend $4000 for software that will reduce paperwork for the submission of claims. The Commissioners approved a rezone from A1 to A2 in Barkley Township that had been recommended by the Plan Commission. There was a discussion of a proposed Forensic Center that the Coroner wants. The County Attorney suggested that a way to move forward would be to make a request for proposals and the Commissioners directed him to prepare that for their August 19 meeting.

BP has informed the County that there will be no test well in 2024. There was a discussion on a suggestion to renew the striping on a road near a KV school and the Commissioners approved a contractor to do the work. The Highway Department has finished chip and sealing 50 miles of road. There was a discussion of improving a storage barn at the Highway Department with a concrete floor so it could be used for more purposes. Commissioner DeYoung will work on getting quotes.  

INDOT is beginning a grant program to fund small safety projects and the Highway Department and others will brainstorm what projects would meet the requirements of this program. The Commissioners need to take action on a solar ordinance in their August 18 meeting and will do so.. The Commissioners received a quick update from the Jasper County Trails Club, which has finished a master plan with the aid of Kimley-Horn. It will be presented at the second August meeting. 

The meeting was continued to August 19 at 8:30.

Drainage Board meeting

The Jasper County Drainage Board meeting followed the Commissioners' meeting. The Board approved a drainage plan prepared for the SJC Building & Trades subdivision. It will drain into the private ditch behind the subdivision that flows to Lake Banet. The proposed streets will not cause a significant change in runoff.

One of the cable requests that was approved in the Commissioners' meeting will cross some ditches. The crossings were approved. The George A Hart tile is largely in White County but includes about 200 acres in Jasper County. The White County Surveyor requested that Jasper County waive its rights so that he can plan a complete reconstruction. The Drainage Board declined because they want to know what the numbers will be before the Jasper County property owners are billed.  

The compliance manager that the County hired to look over the proposed SolarPak solar farm said that the plan appears to be in compliance with County regulations and recommended that the company be allowed to proceed pending State permits. The matter will be on the September agenda.

Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission meeting

At the start of its meeting on Monday evening, the Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission approved claims and heard an update on the miniature train proposal. Zager Architecture will be developing the plans for the exhibit. In new business the Commission discussed a proposal to rewrite the Drexel/Fairground Economic Development Plan. It has had multiple amendments and the State Board of Accounts had questions whether the money being spent was allowed by the current EDP. The matter was tabled.

The Commission acknowledged receipt of a phase 1 environmental report on the property on the corner of Clark and Cullen. The Commission would like the City to purchase what remains of the building and tear it down in hopes that a clean property would be more attractive to a developer. The property in the past has had gas pumps and has been used for a laundry.

They ratified a poll that approved hiring Baker Tilley to develop a residential TIF district that could be used to finance the paving an unfinished section of 7th Street north of the Van Rensselaer School. There will be many steps taken before that TIF district can be finalized.

The Gas Department wants to put a gas line under I-65 when the water and sewer utilities cross the Interstate and would like to finance it through the Redevelopment Commission. The Commission approved the Gas Department getting an engagement letter with an engineering firm, a first step in the process.

Rensselaer Park Board meeting

The Rensselaer Park Board met Monday evening. They began with a discussion of the proposal to bring a miniature train back to Rensselaer. The original plan by Mr Whaley has been altered because it obstructed the view of the playground in Foundation Park, so the façade of the old depot will be replaced with a smaller sign. The Board approved a design contract with Zager Architects. The cost of the design will be paid by the Parks which will then be reimbursed by the Redevelopment Commission.

There is a softball tournament scheduled for Blacker Fields on Oct 5-6. The Board approved spending $7000 for mulch for the playgrounds in Iroquois and Columbia Parks. There was a discussion about problems with the air conditioner at the Blacker Fields. It is poorly placed with a fence too close to the unit. There was another discussion of pickle ball, which has become so popular that there are wait times for the courts. One idea to alleviate the congestion is to convert the old tennis courts into four pickle ball courts. The Board passed a motion to get quotes for the asphalt and fencing needed to  make the conversion. There are no funds currently available for the project, but perhaps a grant might be obtained or it may represent a sponsorship opportunity.

Odds & ends

Replacing the bricks on Van Rensselaer Street continues. The date for substantial completion is September 30.

Local Schools start Thursday. The last weekday for LaRue Pool is Wednesday but it will be open the 10th and 11th. 

The length of day for August 7 in Rensselaer is 14 hours and 8 minutes. We will lose a hour of daylight by the end of the month.

August has many species of plants blooming with flowers that look like yellow daisies. The one below is Silphium perfoliatum, commonly known as Cup Plant.

Pictures to end the month of June

 The Rensselaer Advisory Planning Commission meeting

The Rensselaer Advisory Planning Commission met Thursday evening. It appointed a new secretary, the administrative assistant in the Building Department and then had a discussion of various fees and other budget items. They approved the per diem allowance for members of the Plan Commission and the BZA from $35 to $50. 

A local realtor had questions about what could be done with a 20-acre parcel north of Bunkum Road. It is landlocked but has access through two easements. It has always been used for agriculture but is zoned residential suburban as are other parcels in that area. She had two interested buyers, one who wanted to farm it and another who wanted to build a house on part of the parcel and farm the rest. She was told that as long as the land was kept in farming, no changes were needed. However, building on it would cause it to be treated as residential and farming would no longer be allowed unless variances were obtained. Further, putting a house on the land would need a variance because the parcel has no road frontage. 

There were a few comments about Saint Joe's. They have a surveyor working on a development plan for a subdivision on the land that was recently rezoned as residential from residential suburban. The plan is to start building a house along Daugherty Road in August. The plan for the development may come before the Plan Commission for its July 18 meeting. There was also mention of the demolition of the press box at the football field, something that several of the members did not know was happening. Apparently the bleachers have been sold to a school in Lafayette and they will be disassembled and moved.  (If the people in charge of SJC would tell the public what they are doing, there would still be complaints, but maybe they would not be as strident.)

Below is a picture of the press box being removed taken from Sparling Ave.

The picture below, showing the removal of the last bit of the PUMAS sign, was taken from near the bowling alley. Both pictures were taken last Wednesday.

Ribbon cutting at Brookside

On Friday the Rensselaer Parks had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the HYPER Center at Brookside Park. The HYPER Center is a building that was delivered in August of 2021 and meant to help with programming in the Park, especially during the summer. It has taken several years to get the interior into final shape. Below is a picture looking to the north of the building.

On the opposite wall is a deer head.

Below is what the south end of the building looks like. There is a refrigerator but no stove, microwave, or sink.

At a bit after 11:00 the dedication speeches began with a sizeable crowd of onlookers.

Finally the actual ribbon cutting took place. Because most of the people behind the ribbon were in the shade, I knew that the picture would not turn out well.

A bit of playing with the picture on my computer made it look better, but there are still a few people next to the building that are almost invisible.

The ribbon cutting was supposed to be accompanied by people setting off confetti guns but most of the people had problems getting them to work. So instead of one big display of confetti there were about a dozen small displays, one after another.

A lot of pictures

The Carnegie Players presented "An Evening with George Ade" on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Below is the curtain call.

The Carnegie Players now own what was formerly the Apostolic Bible Church at 220 N Franklin. However, the building needs repairs and deferred maintenance. Hopefully it will be ready for the next performance of the Players.

The doors were open last week at the light plant so I peeked in and took pictures of the new floors. Below is the view from the north door.

And this second picture shows the view from the south door.

Last week was sidewalk week for the Brick Street Project. Most of the sidewalk along the east side of Harrison is finished.

The southwest corner of Harrison and Van Rensselaer was mostly finished.

Early in the week the workers were preparing part of the sidewalk between the highway and alley on Van Rensselaer.

Below cement is being poured at the corner of Van Rensselaer and Harrison. Notice that some of the east Harrison sidewalk was still not finished.

By the end of the week almost all of the sidewalk along the south side of Van Rensselaer was finished. There was a sort bit near the alley that still needs concrete.

More concrete work was underway at Filson Park, beginning with sidewalks nearest the shelter.

I stopped by when concrete was being poured for the sidewalk around the fountain.

Most of the interiour sidewalks were finished by the weekend. The sidewalks along the streets still must be removed and replaced.

The new Mexican grocery looks like it is ready to open but when I stopped by on Monday afternoon the door was locked.

This sign is along US 231 opposite Walgreens. I have not heard of any plans to put housing in this part of the campus, but in the long run this area may be converted to housing.

The new concession stand/restrooms for the baseball field and the other fields in the part of the campus is almost finished.

Most of this spring's goslings are almost fully grown and many were enjoying a swim in the Donaldson's retention pond last week.

Purple coneflowers are blooming.

As are milkweeds.

Jasper County BZA & Plan Commission meetings

The Jasper County BZA met on Monday evening with one cause on their agenda, a request for a lot width variance. The owners of 80 acres in Barley Township want to separate out 20 acres that are wooded and want a frontage of 100 feet rather than the 400 feet the ordinance requires. They do not have immediate plans to build on the 20 acres but want the variance to make the lot a buildable lot. The reduced frontage will preserve farmland. The variance was approved.

The Jasper County Advisory Plan Commission met after the BZA meeting. The first item on its agenda was a request from Patel Hospitality Group for a rezone from A2 to HC for land in Keener Township near the I-65/SR 10 interchange. The plan is to build a 75 room hotel that will be similar to the Remington Holiday Inn Express. Currently there are no hotels at the Demotte exit of I-65. The new hotel will provide about 25 jobs, provide approximately $100,000 in annual inns-keeper tax, about $50,000 in property tax, and about $25,000 in revenue for sewer and water. (DeMotte extended water and sewer to the Interstate in hopes of attracting more development.) Mr Patel said that the County is losing room rentals to Lake and Porter County by not having a hotel near DeMotte. There was one citizen who expressed concerns about the traffic at the intersection. The Commissioners are aware of that problem and have been urging INDOT to address the problem and they may be slowly working on it. The Commission sent the requested zoning change to the Commissioners with a favorable recommendation.

The second item was an amendment to the ordinance that the Commissioners had approved in June about special purpose wells. Few other counties have anything about test wells because the issue is new, so the County cannot use their experience to help set Jasper County's rules. The Commission recommended to the Commissioners to extend the set back for these wells to 1320 feet (a quarter mile). 

Rensselaer City Council meeting

The Rensselaer City Council had a very short meeting with a short agenda on Monday evening. One citizen wanted an alley off Angelica Street between 9th and 10th streets extended for the whole block. The City will examine the alley and get back to him.

Greg Whaley requested that the City reconsider an ordnance that sets the minimum size of a new house at 1120 square feet. He argued that this results in expensive housing that is unnecessarily large for some people. Instead of a minimum size, he suggested an architectural committee to approve designs of new housing to prevent new buildings that degrade the quality of a neighborhood. The Mayor said the City will consider his suggestion.

The Council approved a gas tracker for the quarter that represents a small decrease in rates. (I did not catch the exact number.) It also honored an employee for 40 years of service.

The light plant has a new floor but diesel fuel remains in tanks and that results in a fuel odor inside the building. As of July 1 of 2025 the Council will have to live-stream its meetings (new State law) and the City is beginning to investigate how best to do that. (Audio is the hard part.) Cruise night is less than two weeks away and several City Departments are getting ready for it. The Street Department has begun a 22-day project of fixing potholes.