Ferdinand Town Council: Sisters hope to convert Benet Hall to senior housing

Besides being called upon to pray for good weather for the upcoming Ferdinand Folk Fest, the Sisters of St. Benedict have some plans of their own worthy of prayer.

Alan Hoffman, who serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the monastery, along with Prioress Sr. Barbara Lynn Schmitz and Carla Naum, a principal with Milestone Ventures, Inc., approached the Ferdinand Town Council Tuesday night seeking their assistance.

Naum did most of the talking. She explained her company assists non-profits to develop affordable, multifamily housing for low income senior citizens. The sisters propose to redevelop Benet Hall, which is primarily vacant, into 15 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments (plus a manager’s unit) equipped with energy efficient heat and central air and Energy Star appliances. A recreation room and exercise room would also be included.

When completed the property will meet LEED and other green design standards.

This falls on the heels of the announcement that the former St. Benedict College/ Marian Heights Academy Art building will be leased to two entrepreneurs as a craft beer tasting room.

No doubt about it — the Sisters of St. Benedict are serious about using existing structures on monastery grounds to the best possible advantage.

To be able to move forward with this housing project, Naum explained, assistance is needed from the town.

A third party firm was hired to complete a preliminary market study to determine if the apartments are needed.

Currently, Ferdinand boasts two complexes featuring 20 units each, but only four of the 40 units have two bedrooms.

The proposed configuration would allow for roommates to share an apartment or even allow for a live-in caregiver.

And the 40 existing units are usually 100% occupied so competing would not be a problem.

The toughest part is the time line. Naum said she generally spends a year working on these projects but commented, “No one can say no to the Sisters of St. Benedict.”

The application is due November 3.

And the sisters won’t be the only applicants. Generally, according to Naum, 45-50 projects are presented annually with 11-15 funded. The winning projects are chosen by a points system with 200 being the top, almost unattainable score.

The funding to renovate would come from IRS tax credits. The sisters are seeking $4.1 million.

Because the sisters are not-for-profit, hence no tax, to acquire the tax credits they will need to set up a for-profit LLC as the funding mechanism, but will retain control.

“One thing the state looks for is municipal support,” Naum added, noting this discussion was preliminary — a sneak preview of what’s to come.

Most of the requests are for simple items, like a certified copy of the language in the Town’s 2007 Comprehensive Plan articulating the need for this type of housing and some form letters.

However, what would up the ante for the sisters’ cause would be some sort of off-site infrastructure project within a quarter mile of the project.

Utility superintendent Roger Schaefer suggested just the thing: The town will need to replace a sewer main that bisects the monastery property and is filled with roots.

What would that cost?

According to Schaefer, between $25,000 and $30,000.

Does one suppose the sisters have been praying for a main clog?

Naum said the for-profit arm would also approach the council for a real estate tax abatement. According to Town Attorney Bill Shaneyfelt, this would not be on the same scope as, say, the MasterBrand project as housing will not result in a large pool of new employees or manufacturing equipment, but would follow the existing abatement schedule.

After reassurances the application can be ready by November 3, council members agreed to lend their support.

Two special meetings were set to prepare. The first will be held Tuesday, October 7 and the second on Monday, October 27. Both will begin at 5 p.m.

Grant awards will be announced on February 28.

The council also:
–Held a hearing on the 2015 budget. Clerk-Treasurer Bev Schulthise advertised the budget at $94,791,660 with a tax rate of .7640 per $100 of assessed valuation. This number will likely be lowered by the Department of Local Government Finance (the rule is advertise high). The 2014 rate was .6071 per $100 AV. Budget adoption is set for October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
–Heard reports from all department heads and learned many projects have been completed in the interval since last month’s meeting, including installation of new toddler playground equipment at 18th Street Park and sidewalks, although both will require some tweaking.
–Approved leave requests to attend seminars and training for key individuals from different departments.
–Learned a specialty transformer on the south end of town went out, taking street lights with it and is being repaired.
–Heard police have been patrolling heavily at both parks as a result of vandalism.
–Learned two of the Wastewater Department’s three trucks are out for service.
–Received information about plans from Active Environmental Services concerning plans for treatment of a problem at Circle A.
–Heard from Park Board Vice President Delores Boeglin the adult exercise equipment for 18th Street Park will not be installed until after Folk Fest. Also two new mowers are needed, the board plans to install water fountains at both parks and the restrooms at 5th Street will be renovated.
–Learned Santa Claus is rescinding its request to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to extend its service territory by four miles for Wastewater and presumably (the Santa Claus Waterworks Board was meeting simultaneous to the Town Council) to redact the request for water service extension by five miles.
–Learned plans are moving forward for the September 20 Folk Fest and a $4,000 grant for the one day event from the Dubois County Community Foundation was gratefully accepted.
–Held a hearing on Flood Plain Regulations and adopted ordinance 2014-14, which mirrors wording the federal government says the town should use and must be in place by mid-October.
–Held a hearing and amended Ordinance 2014-13 on Permit, Inspection and Collection fees for wastewater service to include a $15 per connection fee for nursing homes as well as apartments.
–Adopted Ordinance 2014-16 amending an already amended ordinance to define semi-impervious surfaces.
–Talked about storm water drainage at Holiday Foods and Dollar General and noted that most of the latter flows into Main Street, not neighboring properties.
–Heard from Councilwoman Debbie Johnson, the insurance committee comprised of a representative from each department is working to determine whether to extend the existing policy by one year or find a new policy for employee health insurance.
–Learned Town Manager Chris James has posted a permit on the Town’s website (also available at Town Hall) with guidelines for residents who have drainage and water issues on their properties that the town cannot address.
–Paid regular claims and a special $183 claim from Strand Engineering, which oversaw the trails project. “It would be nice to know when they will be done billing us,” opined Johnson.
–Learned from Council President Ken Sicard time to acquire a radio system via a grant had passed but the Town will spend $2,700 and move forward with the project.
–Heard the Fire Department was called out four times in August, three for First Responder runs and the fourth for a fire.

Besides the special meetings, the council will meet in regular session on October 14 at 7:30 p.m. The Board of Zoning appeals will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, followed by the Plan Commission at 7 p.m.