Ferdinand Town Council: Woohoo! Get ready to Fondo

First the bad news — the Ferdinand Chainsaw Carving Fest has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Now for the news flash — a fondo is not the same as a fondue. Nor is it a shortened way of saying “fond of” in a text message.

Ferdinand Town Council members and all present at their Tuesday night meeting learned a fondo is a recreational bike ride (not a race) and is a common term to cycling enthusiasts.

Dubois County Tourism Executive Director Kevin Manley was on hand to seek permission for Ferdinand to be the starting and ending point for a Ferdinand Folk Fest Fondo that will take cyclists from the monastery to St. Henry, Huntingburg and Jasper for either a 24, 32 or 50 mile ride (rider’s choice). His goal is 1,000 cyclists this year.

Manley, who organized D.C. Multisports last year, decided early on to hold at least one event in each county community. The Heartland Marathon served as the inaugural event last September.

Being savvy to the ways of marketing, Manley wanted to pair the Fondo with an established signature activity, in this case the Ferdinand Folk Fest. He envisions riders spending the morning and early afternoon biking, followed by late afternoon and early evening at the Ferdinand Folk Fest, this year slated for September 21. A second, 50 mile ride will be held the following day through Dubois, Spencer and Perry counties so bikers can spend the night and enjoy all the area has to offer.

“I think this is a perfect fit with Folk Fest,” Manley enthused. DC Multisports will handle all the mundane tasks like filling out paperwork for the Indiana Department of Transportation, and will also secure sag drivers and other volunteers.

Manley shared a power point of the various routes and explained how co-marketing will benefit both events. He plans both a TV and internet campaign and will place flyers in bike shops from St Louis to Louisville, Cincinnati to Indianapolis.

The council agreed. After making the motion to approve the route as it pertains to Ferdinand, Councilwoman Debbie Johnson commented, “I think it’s exciting. I can’t wait to see how many [bicyclists] show up.”

The council had a busy night, covering all sorts of topics during their better-than-two-hour meeting. They adopted two ordinances, the first retroactive to March 22 pertaining to the salary structure for the new part-time journeyman and the second changing the application form for utility connection.

They awarded the bid to repaint the water tower to low bidder Leary Construction of Greenfield, a company that also offered the best warranty (three years).

They reviewed four bids for the former police station. The American Legion bid $20,000, Roger Quante bid $42,500, Curtis Quante bid $52,000 and then submitted a second bid of $57,400, or 90% of the appraised value.

Johnson asked if it would be possible to keep the property and lease it to the VFW but was told by attorney Bill Shaneyfelt that leasing the building would also be an open process that would require additional paperwork.

The council set a special meeting for next Tuesday, April 16 at 7 p.m. to accept any final bids and determine whether the building will be sold.

Council members agreed to participate in the Ferdinand Historical Society’s playing card program, opting for the Ace of Hearts on which to place their message. The Society will produce 1,000 decks of cards featuring historical sites and notable individuals on the numbered sides.

Per the suggestion of Shaneyfelt council members agreed to work with H.J. Umbaugh accountants on a rate study of all utilities, starting with the sewer department. This will include analysis of a potential bond refinancing for the wastewater utility as it appears this could save the town between $650,000 and $950,000. The excess could be used to repay the bond at a faster rate or lessen annual costs with the same terms. In addition, if another project was on the horizon it could be rolled into this for financing.

The council may defer the electric department study as they begin analyzing the most feasible way to move forward when the contract with Vectren expires in 2014. AEP, Duke and IMPA have all expressed interest in providing wholesale electricity to the town.

Finally, besides departmental reports, approval of various continuing education programs and other routine business, the council heard from Shaneyfelt that New Alliance Broadband, the current cable provider, has provided all the documentation to lease 391 of the town’s utility poles at $9 per pole ($10 apiece in 2014) for infrastructure needs. The only thing New Alliance has not done is cut a check. The council approved the contract conditional on receipt of this year’s pole rent.

Shaneyfelt said he also had Utility Superintendent Henry Haake complete an inventory of the town’s poles and how they are being used by other entities. He learned Ferdinand has infrastructure on 71 Frontier poles. Conversely, Frontier is using 258 of the town’s poles. He asked for permission to contact Frontier officials seeking a similar pole rental agreement for the additional 187 poles.

Permission granted.

Council President Ken Sicard remarked, tongue only partially in cheek,”If they pull all their poles off Main Street we will defer a pole rental agreement.”

The council will meet next week on Tuesday to finalize sale of the former police station. Their next regular meeting is May 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall. The Zoning Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. and the Plan Commission at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24.