Council approves contribution to JCEDO, funding for LED street lights | News | newsbug.info

Mar 14, 2025

RENSSELAER — The Rensselaer City Council recognized the works of the Jasper County Economic Development Office Monday night, presenting the organization with a $10,000 contribution for 2025.

JCEDO executive director Sara DeYoung was at the meeting to offer a slideshow presentation for council members at the City Hall Chambers. She explained the organization’s role in the community, offering business retention and expansion, workforce development, small business development, community engagement and tourism.

The organization works to build relationships inside and outside the county, DeYoung added. It “utilizes these relationships to make focused decisions, create jobs and generate investments that will move Jasper County forward.”

In Rensselaer, JCEDO has funded projects that help renovate the city’s parks and put public art in the downtown district. It has also assisted the city with tax abatement requests from businesses such as White Castle, which continues to expand its facility.

Other tax abatements outside the city include FBI in Remington, which is in the process of expanding and site development, and Wheatfield Grain, which also continues to expand its facility.

Many council members were in favor of providing JCEDO with a contribution prior to Monday’s meeting, but asked DeYoung to make a presentation to get a sense of what the organization is doing currently.

The council also approved a request from the electric department’s Garrett Welker to purchase LED streetlights for the city at a cost of $134,000.

The current bulbs, which provide weaker lighting, will be changed out over a five-phase process, saving the city in energy costs over the lifespan of the new lighting. The LEDs come with a 10-year warranty, saving the city on maintenance costs.

The department has money in the budget for the project, Welker added.

Gas department superintendent Todd Wilson, meanwhile, asked permission to paint the department’s building near the Amtrak station. Wilson said he received three bids to perform the work and asked the council to accept one bid for $24,550, which it approved.

The company that offered the bid will power wash the building and fix any holes prior to painting. The work will take 3-5 days and the company said it can start in May.

Wilson said the department does have the money budgeted for the work. Applying new paint to the structure should keep it looking nice for 20-25 years, he said.

Currently, the building shows three different colors with fading in some areas. The building once served as a beer plant as well as a bird seed plant.

Department workers plan to do landscaping around the building grounds to spruce up the area, Wilson added.

To kick off Monday’s meeting, Mayor Jeff Phillips read a proclamation to recognize the Rensselaer Central Lady Bombers’ recent trip to the state finals. RCHS coach Wes Radtke brought a number of his players to the meeting and posed for a picture after the proclamation was read.

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