Jasper Council: Building code problems

Monster Recycling and Jasper Cabinet building discussed

A discussion on the condition of two former factory buildings ended the Jasper Common Council meeting Wednesday night.

Councilman Randy Buchta inquired about the work being done on the Jasper Cabinet building after all the agenda items had been checked off.

City Attorney Renee Kabrick, who has maintained contact with the building’s owner, Jerry Fuhs, gave a list of items that will be completed by Strassenfest. Those include finishing the cleaning up the debris around the building; covering the rest of the broken windows; repairing the fence and gate on the northeast side of the building; securing a garage door on the west side of the building; and cleaning the vegetation on the back side of the block kiln building.

After Strassenfest, the owner will continue to maintain the grounds of the building.

According to Kabrick, the property owner has spent about $18,000 so far in the cleanup.

Councilman Tom Schmidt stated that he felt the owner would be better off demolishing the former factory. “I don’t think that building can be used for anything,” Schmidt said. “That’s my opinion.”

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Next, Councilman Kevin Manley asked about Monster Recycling, 1326 Vine Street. The former Jasper Wood Products building was converted into a recycling center by Paul Voegerl Jr.

His father, Paul Voegerl Sr. purchased the building from Dubois County for $30,000 in 2012 with plans to convert it into a business incubator. The county had taken possession of the building on a tax lien in 2010.

After the building had been renovated, Voegerl Jr. opened Monster Recycling in 2013. It has operated as a drop-off recycling center. Voegerl Jr. also has a contract with the Town of Ferdinand to provide curbside recyclable pickup. According to town manager Chris James, the contract with Monster Recycling is up in December but the town had planned on renewing.

After an inspection in June, the state attorney general’s office filed an emergency injunction to shut the doors of the business due to a myriad of violations found by the fire marshal’s office.

Kabrick told the council a hearing had been scheduled for July 6 in the Dubois County Circuit Court, but it had been continued to August 13. “I had a discussion with the attorney from the state fire marshal,” Kabrick said. “He said the hearing was continued based on the additional improvement that was made to the building in respect to the violations that were noted in the state fire marshal’s report.”

According to Kabrick, the state fire marshal’s office has a police to work with the business owner. “When they see improvement, they will give them additional time,” she said.

The contract with Ferdinand was also taken into consideration in allowing the business to continue to operate.

Kabrick said the city had had to contact Voegerl Sr. about the debris accumulating around the building as work was being done to bring the building into compliance. “I think what they are really trying to do is kinda sort things out so they can figure out what is recyclable and what is trash,” she explained. “I told him we can’t have that trash outside and he is making every effort to keep it inside as he works through that.”

Manley asked about fire hazards with the building, and Kabrick stated that one of the reasons the emergency injunction had been filed was due to inadequate fire suppression systems in the building. But the extra time was given after the state received a certificate of a proper operational fire suppression system being installed in the building.

According to Kabrick, a report on the conditions of the building from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will likely be issued in August. IDEM representatives inspected the building at the same time the fire marshal’s office conducted their inspection.

“At this point in time, we [city] have not made any determination that it is an unsafe building per se,” Kabrick said. “Only what the state fire marshal has said.”

Kabrick told the council that she was under the understanding that Paul Voegerl Sr. had taken over management of the business and property from his son.

“Who is going to have to take the trash out of there if they close them down,” Schmidt asked.

“That remains to be seen,” Kabrick answered.

According Paul Voegerl Sr., Monster Recycling is still operating to take care of its corporate customers and the Town of Ferdinand, but they are not open to the general public as they complete the mitigation and reorganize the business.

“We just closed it to give us a chance to get it straightened out. We are going to eliminate a lot of the stuff we have been taking,” Voegerl Sr. said.

He explained that Monster Recycling was able to find markets for some of the stuff they were taking but then those markets dried up.  “One day people buy it and then the next they don’t,” he said. “So, we are going to stop taking glass, TVs and computer monitors. We will continue to take computers towers and laptops.”

He says the changing recyclable market and the large quantities of stuff people were bringing to the building overwhelmed the company.

“We are cleaning up, hopefully in the next week or two we will get it looking a lot better on the outside as well as the inside,” Voegerl Sr., who also owns Jasper Embroidery, said. “I am running myself ragged right now, but I am trying to do what is right.”

Voegerl Sr. was unsure when the business would open back up to the public.

The council also took the following actions:

-Approved a petition to vacate a 20-foot portion of a public utility and drainage easement in the Brentwood Subdivision on Meridian Road.

-Approved a petition by Donald and Marilyn Hopster to vacate a public alley along 205 W. 4th St. and 302 Clay St.

-Heard the utility service board meeting update from Utility General Manager Bud Hauersperger.

-Ed Cole, president of Dubois Strong, made a brief presentation on the housing study commissioned by Dubois Strong. He explained the economic development group was still working through the study to determine a course of action to recommend. He also informed the council that Dubois Strong was working with Vincennes University Jasper Campus to form a logistics council. Through the council, a new commercial driver’s license class will be offered through the university. The first class is scheduled for October and has four students enrolled. The training will be conducted at the Dubois County Fairgrounds parking lot.

-Heard from a Dubois County Leadership Academy team planning on rejuvenating the academy after waning participation for the 2015 class. The team comprised of Amanda Smith, Tim Dorsam, and Arlet Jackle plans on creating brochures for local employers to hand out to their employees as well as starting a social media campaign. The leadership academy has created many beneficial capstone projects for Dubois County including a dog park in Jasper, special emergency call boxes along the Riverwalk with plans for the other trails in the county, the bicycle share program in Huntingburg and a box garden brochure to teach people how to garden in an apartment.