City Council meeting 11-28-2016

The City Council had a short agenda and a short meeting on Monday evening. First up were engineering reports on two potential sewer projects, one for Owen Street and the other for West Washington. The consultant from United Engineering said that there were three options he examined to serve 19 existing residences but potentially 60 residences if the vacant lots were built. A gravity system would cost an estimated $1.7 million, a low pressure system in which residences had individual grinder pumps was estimated at $.9 million, and combination of the two at $1.2 million. There were a number of questions about technical details. Apparently the estimates included the City providing and installing the grinder pumps, but their maintenance and electrical costs would be borne by the residence. The prices mentioned were a magnitude higher than the prices I see on-line for grinder sewer pumps. The discussion of the West Washington was brief, and in this one there is no option for a gravity system. These projects are several years off if they happen at all, but this was advanced planning.

The next item was a decision on which engineering company to hire for the Watts substation that will be several miles out on Bunkum Road and will provide a second line to the Interstate area. The Council accepted ISC, which had a low bid of $126,000. The entire project is estimated at $1,680,000.

Supply bids, which had been read at the previous Council meeting, were awarded: unleaded gas and diesel to Ceres Solution and tire repairs to CTS. The date for the December meeting was changed from Monday, Dec 26 to Tuesday, Dec 27. (The 26th is a City Holiday.) The Redevelopment Commission met on November 21 and awarded paving of Gaspar Drive and part of Melville to Town and Country Paving. The work will be done next spring.

There was a brief discussion about the sorry state of the Weston Cemetery building. The sentiment seemed to be that it would be better to replace it than try to fix it but that project is also not imminent. The Christmas parade will take place this Saturday. The roof on the Power Plant has been finished. Work continues on the high rate treatment plant. (This morning--Tuesday--trucks were delivering more 66-inch culverts.) With no further business or announcements, the meeting adjourned.

Last week I spent a few days in Illinois and I do not have any really appropriate pictures, but I did take the one below over the weekend. The doors are now on the new C&C Warehousing building on Melville.

While I was in Illinois I took part in the largest 5K race I have ever been in--there were, I guess, well over a thousand people running. It was free and untimed, though there was a clock at the finish line so that people could time themselves. I wondered if the huge turnout--they ran out of bibs before I registered and by the time I finished they had run out of goodie bags--was because it was a free race. I wonder how many people would run in a free race here. Or is the thought that you are helping some cause part of the draw for our 5ks?

The other odd thing from Illinois was the price of eggs. I thought they were ridiculously cheap when Strack and Van Til recently had them for 69 cents a dozen. However, Aldi had them for 28 cents a dozen.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We got our first snow Saturday morning. It melted on the streets but it stuck on most roofs and cars.

The City has put up the downtown Christmas decorations.

The price of gasoline has fallen well below $2.00, an early Christmas present. (Or maybe it is an early Black Friday sale.) I filled up my tank when it hit $1.95--I guessed wrong.

The Wikipedia entry for Rensselaer lists some notable people who came from our town. One is Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson. She has one of the three small markers in Milroy Park that was mentioned in a blog post in 2009. (The website listed there does not work for me but I found it on the wayback machine at https://web.archive.org/web/20130601212643/http://eleanoratkinson.org/.) Looking at the article about her on Wikipedia, I noticed that she was the grandmother of a well-known movie and TV actor, Wally Cox, who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1973, not yet 50 years old.

Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson is buried in Weston Cemetery. The Lane-Wood directory has this entry: Atkinson Eleanor (Ashes) Burial Jan 12 1943 Sec D Bl 32 Lot 2 foot of 5 (Isaac M Stackhouse). She died in Manhasset, Long Island on November 4, 1942, so her ashes were buried two months later. There is no marker for her, but there is for three others, her father Isaac, her mother Margaret Smith Stackhouse, and a brother, Walter. The 1870 census lists her as Nellie, age 7. The other children in the family are Harry (age 9), Fredrick (age 5), Minnie (age 3), and Walter (age 1). The family is in Southport, Indiana for the 1880 census and Walter is no longer listed, so he died as a child.

I thought it was interesting that Wally Cox had a Rensselaer connection even if it is a very weak connection. I know he means nothing to younger people, but older people almost certainly recognize the name.

Meetings and more

Our unseasonably warm weather will end this weekend as some late fall or early winter weather moves in. I have been busy trying to do some outside chores to get ready for winter but I will not get as many done as I would like.

Stores are getting ready for Christmas. Strack and Van Til has its Christmas trees stocked and the city has installed the street decorations.

Last Tuesday had more meetings than the usual third Tuesday. In addition to meetings of the Jasper County Historical Society, the Rensselaer Central School Board, and the Jasper County Council, the Rensselaer Park Board met. Its meeting was very short. Someone noted that the gazebo in Hal Gray Park was being painted. There has not yet been a meeting between Park representatives and leaders of the Saint Joseph College soccer program to iron out plans for next season. Heather Hall will become a part-time program director beginning January 1. There will be no December meeting and the January meeting will be on January 2.

The County Council had a short agenda but the meeting still lasted more than an hour. After approving minutes for October,  the Council heard Judge Ahler's request for an additional appropriation to pay for new court recorders. His request for an additional court recorder had been granted by the Commissioners (his long-time recorder had taken another job and training people for the job takes time, which is why he wanted a second person) but the funds were not in the budget. He could have asked to transfer money from another part of his budget but wanted to be clear to the Council about what was happening. The request was granted.

The sheriff requested additional money for part-time court house security and for jail utilities and both were granted. He noted that the recent work on the heating and cooling system at the jail had reduced its utility bill by $30K to $35K per year but that the jail population was in the 80s and that resulted in more water usage. There was a short discussion about the drug problem in the county. He said that heroin is now a bigger problem than meth. He mentioned Vivitrol as a possible help but noted that the treatment was quite expensive. He ended with a little rant about how government programs to fight the problem seem to quickly get bogged down in collecting statistics and paperwork.

The Council approved a salary adjustment for the assessor and approved an additional appropriation of $140 for the Drainage Board. It passed a series of mostly small transfers for a variety of departments (one was for $16) and reappointed a person to the Remington Carpenter Township Library Board. It approved a meeting schedule for 2017. The Council will meet on the third Tuesday of the month except in July (the 11th) and October (the 24th). The auditor noted that the State had completed its audit of the County for 2014. Mr. Bontreger reported on a conference call from Standard and Poor about the refinancing of the jail. The County has a very good bond rating, either AA or AA+. Gary Fritts had found a document at the state website detailing how property taxes would be changing and said that people who own homes in Jasper County may see a slight increase.

Jasper is now on the second floor of the Court House.

I have a few pictures from last weekend that I have not posted. The Prairie Arts League had their annual Christmas sale. I avoided the rush on Friday night and stopped by on Saturday morning.

Next door the First Christian Church had a rummage sale. The price was reasonable, $3 per bag, but the word must not have gotten out because there were few people there.

Speaking of sales, this one looks like it might be fun if you if you want something to do the day after Black Friday.

City Council meeting 11-14-2016

There was a big crowd at the City Council meeting on Monday night. People came for the public hearing on the planning grant for downtown revitalization. Emily from KIRPC (Kankakee Iroquois Regional Planning Commission) summarized what it was about and no one in the audience had anything to ask or say. Then almost the entire audience left. 

The gas tracker for November is a 1.5 cent decrease. The Council then authorized a match for the planning grant and authorized the mayor to submit the grant proposal. Work will begin almost immediately with a meeting to select consultants.

Supply bids were opened for unleaded gas, diesel fuel, and tire repairs. There was a request from the American Legion for a donation for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, which is open to anyone and which serves about 400 people each year. It is intended for those who do not want to celebrate Thanksgiving alone but it also provides meals for those who cannot easily get out. The Council approved $250. 

The Redevelopment Commission had opened bids earlier in the day for paving the rest of Drexel Parkway and a bit of Melville south of Kohley Drive. There were two bids, one a bit above $200K and the other a bit below. They are being evaluated. The work will be done next spring.

In committee reports the mayor announced that on Thursday there would be a meeting reviewing engineering proposals for a new substation to serve the Interstate area. In superintendents reports, the city attorney reported that an offer of $45K had been accepted for a property on Clark Street that borders Brookside Park. He said he thought he knew of a source of funding. The utility office reported that their switchover to new software will be delayed until January. The building commissioner reported that the developer of the Ike Donnelly property north of Pizza Hut was willing to donate the access road into the College Mall to the City if the City wanted it. The Council decided to accept pending legal review. 

The fire chief said that new air pack have been ordered and that two townships were funding the purchase of eight thermal imaging cameras, The ladder truck is having intermittent problems. The gas department has four hookups to do, two to residences, one for the hangar under construction at the airport, and one for the wet water treatment plant on Lincoln Street. The Street Department reported that a bit of the paving will not be completed this fall but will be done in the spring. Water samples sent to the state reported unacceptable levels of lead and copper in five samples. This is caused by leaching in the feed lines when water sits in the line overnight. The solution is to replace the lines. Finally, the new "Welcome to Rensselaer" sign by the Interstate is finished and will have a ribbon cutting on Friday at 3:00.

Veterans Day

It is Veterans Day so there will be no mail delivery today. The annual ceremony at Weston Cemetery featured the choir from Rensselaer Central High School. There seemed to be fewer people than usual but that may be because it was cold and very windy. Mayor Wood gave the main address and Marsha Smith-Wood did the invocation.

On Thursday I drove over to Monon for a meeting and stopped to take a picture of the completed Hanging Grove School memorial. The granite block on the left reads, "Hanging Grove School 1922-1966 Honored 2015"

When I drove this route two weeks ago, about half the crop was harvested. On Thursday almost all was harvested.

The weather forecast says we will get our first real frost tonight.

The voting results for Jasper County can be found on the county website, or here. There were no contested county races. Before the election there was concern in the media about how Donald Trump would handle the results. He seems to be doing quite well, unlike a few people in big cities who, in the denial and anger stages of grieving, are protesting and rioting. Many pundits and most polls were certain Clinton would win, but not an artificial intelligence system. CNBC reported on its predictions on October 28. It makes you wonder if the people at Google, Facebook, and Twitter had deep-mined their data and were aware that Trump would win or that the election would be very close.

The Chamber of Commerce has moved from Drexel Drive to the Chamberlin Building on Kellner and Weston. I wanted to take a picture of the inside but was discouraged from doing so because it was somewhat in disarray from a board meeting earlier in the day. The inside looks much better than the exterior of the the rather drab building.

A friend of mine sent me a picture of this 22-pound carp he caught in the Iroquois River. I am not sure what he does with them.

Laying the giant pipes that were unloaded just to the east of Weston Cemetery has begun.

Finally, the annual report of the Jasper Foundation gave some information about how to avoid taxes if you donate to non-profit organizations and also are required to take mandatory distributions from a retirement account. A little background information may be helpful. Many people have avoided taxes by contributing to IRAs, 401(k) and 403(b) plans. When funds are withdrawn from these accounts, they are taxed, and when a person reaches the age of 70½, the government requires that a certain percentage be withdrawn each year, the mandatory distribution. These distributions count as income and are taxed (which means that the high-tax years of a person's life may be after retirement). However, the PATH Act of 2015 made permanent the provision of some previous years that allowed people to have some or all of the mandatory distribution from an IRA (but not a 401(k) or 403(b) account) be given to a qualified charity and not count as taxable income. And if you have funds in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, you probably can roll them over to an IRA so you can make contributions from it and avoid taxes.

This is of interest to both older people and non-profit organizations and both should investigate to see if they can benefit from this change in tax rules. See here and here for a start.