Jasper Council: $4 million goes to Parklands project; council debates finance committee merits

The Jasper Common Council allocated $4 million to The Parkland project Wednesday evening.

Park board president Roger Seger gave an update on the project to develop The Parklands into a multi-use park that includes trails, playgrounds, shelter houses and ponds. A schematic design for the park was provided in January including a $4 million price tag to complete the majority of the plan. The park board has spent about $60,000 of the $300,000 appropriated in the 2016 budget on that design for the park. Those plans can be viewed here.

Seger informed the council that the proposed plans for the new park had already generated interest from donors. “To date, we have got $250,000 in cash and another $75,000 in an endowment,” Seger said.

The cash donations were made for naming opportunities on different components of the park and these were in addition to the initial donations amounting to over $1.2 million. “There are only two or three naming opportunities left,” Seger added. The overall cost of the project is expected to be up to $4 million. An update on the process can be read here.

Seger asked the council to consider $1 million to be allocated to the project for 2016 but City Attorney Renee Kabrick informed the council that with the schedule the park board wants to maintain on the project, they would need to allocate up to the estimated amount for the park. Seger explained the timeline the park board has in place would see construction contracts going to bid in the fall of this year. According to Kabrick, the city has to have the money allocated for the full cost of those contracts prior to them being sought.

The council unanimously approved $4 million in Economic Development Income Tax Funds for the project.

The council also approved $240,000 — the remaining balance Park and Recreation Department budgeted for planning and design — to the project.

Seger told the board he felt he could raise $1.5 million in private funding to go with the city’s additional appropriation.

Councilman Earl Schmitt asked about open mine shafts on the Gramelspacher portion recently added to The Parklands. According to City Attorney Renee Kabrick, if there is an open shaft on the property, the city will be obligated to ensure it is rendered safe. Also, there can be no new buildings constructed on those additional properties under the tenants of the Indiana Bicentennial Land Trust. However, a two-mile trail is planned for the property.

This subject fueled the discussion on the creation of the advisory finance committee being championed by the newly elected council members, Vonderheide, Eckerle and Bell, as well as the Mayor Terry Seitz.

The council members had asked about the creation of the finance committee in January at the organizational meeting, the goal being to research and compile information regarding the finances to make recommendations for the future decisions regarding projects for the city.

“The discussions we had this evening warrant this committee,” Councilwoman Nancy Eckerle said refering to The Parklands decision. “It’s difficult to understand all this.”

Questions regarding the $4 million in funding and where the money came from were fielded during the discussion. Some of the new council members were unaware of how the money would impact the park and rec department’s budget.

According to Kabrick, she research three or four other communities with similar finance committees and based on those committees, could create an ordinance to form one for Jasper.

Councilman Greg Schnarr didn’t think the committee was necessary.

“I feel that by creating a finance committee we are establishing a middleman that we don’t really need,” Greg Schnarr said. “We can have clear lines of communication on money, budget, revenue and all of that with the Clerk-Treasurer’s office.”

Schnarr didn’t see the need for a three-person committee to be a conduit for that information when it is easily accessible directly from the Clerk-Treasure Juanite Boehm.

“We can just do it on our own,” Schnarr said referring to the councilmembers.

Dean Vonderheide said he felt that it was necessary to teach incoming councilmembers the way the budget works. “It is a matter of information that we are looking for,” he said. “I think it’s the information that we are lacking that kinda created this energy around it [creation of finance committee].”

Councilman Kevin Manley disagreed.

“I assure you that if there is any information you feel we are lacking, you can ask and get the information,” Manley said.

Councilman John Bell pointed out that the Park Board’s ask for the money that evening was a prime example of what else would be coming before the council in the future. He added that he didn’t want to encumber the clerk-treasurer’s office with several requests for the same information but Manley disagreed saying that in the past, when he asked for information, it was sent to all seven council members.

“We are fumbling around because we don’t understand,” Bell said. “We don’t have a formal training for the newbies or the veterans to understand that. We are creating a middleman but I think it is needed because I think we all need to be educated and transparent with what we have.”

Mayor Seitz explained that past council members had stated they didn’t have the information on the budget in a timely manner to make a decision at the hearing.

Boehm agreed that the budget process is completed in a short amount of time. She explained the departments can’t begin the budget process for next year’s budget until six months into the current fiscal year. That is in June, then it is presented to the council in a daylong session in July so it can be sent to the county in August.

“I can’t get off the fact that it is our responsibility to, if we are not educated, to become educated,” Manley said. “I would suggest that you go sit down with Juanita and let her answer the questions. She has answered every question I have had in the past nine and a half years.”

Manley added that he saw the council as having two responsibilities; passing the laws and ordinances for the city and monitoring the financial concerns for the city.

Boehm acknowledged the new council members were always at a disadvantage because they were working with a budget established by the previous council.  She told them the clerk treasurer’s office could provide the budget and financial information to them in a more understandable format. Then they could decide if the finance committee would be necessary. “Then you can go to the budget workshop IACT [Indiana Association of Cities and Towns] puts on before we do ours and it will make a little more sense,” she added.

Councilman Dave Hurst said he has learned a lot about the city’s budget since taking office and recommended they table the decision on the committee until the March meeting.

The council approved the recommendation 6 to 1 with Bell being the sole nay vote.

The council also took the following actions:

-Approved Jasper Police Chief Mike Bennett’s request to use $20,000 from the Local Police Continuing Education fund to purchase a new police vehicle. The funds come from court fees and fines and can be used for equipment or training but not salaries. The police department will trade in an older Ford Crown Victoria from the civil city and 2004 Ford Explorer. A 2011 Chevrolet Equinox will be transferred from the department to the civil city.

-Approved the resolution creating a non-reverting capital fund from the alcohol sales at the golf course so a portion of the profit will go to the creation of a new golf clubhouse. Councilwoman Nancy Eckerle opposed the creation of the fund and felt the golf courses should be examined in regards to profitability before expanding or adding a new clubhouse. She felt the money from the alcohol sales should revert into the maintenance for the current clubhouse.

-Approved ordinances that allowed collected fees and dues from the usage and property leases at Beaver Lake to go into a Beaver Lake Dam Fund. The fund is being established to cover future maintenance costs of the lake.

-Heard an update on the Cultural Center progress in regards to the Jasper Community Arts Commission reforming the fundraising committee to procure donations for the combined cultural center with the Jasper Library. Commission President Mike Jones informed the council the next important step is the November referendum passage that has to be completed by the library to actually move the project forward. He added that the fundraising committee would reconvene but he was concerned about fundraising without confirmation the library will be able to move forward. “There are three parts to the project [the library, the arts and the private developer] that have to be there for us to get $3.4 million from the state,” he said referring to the tax credits recently awarded the project. Councilman Vonderheide, who is also president of the library board, told Jones that it would be important that the arts be making preparations to support the project.

-Heard the Jasper Action Team would be reviewing a potential food truck ordinance to make recommendations to the council. Currently, the city does not have a food truck ordinance. Although not food trucks, the recent addition of a taco trailer near Krempp Lumber and Smalley Coffee on the north side of town has created a conversation around ordinances to manage the entities. The two businesses are operating on transient business licenses from the Jasper Police Department as well temporary use permits from the city planning department. They are also obligated to obtain the required permits from the Dubois County Health Department. The council would like to clarify how they want those businesses to operate in the city. Kabrick pointed out that since those two businesses were on private property, there were added complications to consider.

Jim O’Neal News Director at WITZ AM/FM contributed to this report