Wednesday night the Jasper City Council kicked off what would be the final council meeting presided by Mayor Terry Seitz with each council member providing a salute to the outging city leader.
Seitz was thanked by the council for his seven years served and council members praised him for pushing the city forward and his passionate leadership style.
After comments from the council concluded, Terry was presented with a Key to the City of Jasper by the council in a presentation conducted in front of friends and family of the soon to be former Mayor.
Seitz will be taking a post serving under newly elected US Senator Mike Braun starting in 2019. His final day as Mayor of Jasper is December 31st.
The Dubois County Republican party will hold a caucus at noon next Wednesday, December 26th in the Pfaffenweiler Room at Jasper City Hall to select Seitz’s successor.
So far, three people have filed their candidacy. They include current city council members Nancy Eckerle and Dean Vonderheide as well as resident Levi Hulsman.
Anyone who may be interested in the mayor position still has time to file with the county republican party.
Candidates must live in the city of Jasper and are required to have voted in a Republican primary the last time they voted in a primary election.
You must complete a candidacy form, CEB-5, and send it to Dubois County Republican Chairman Mark Messmer 72 hours prior to the caucus meeting; Messmer’s home address is 795 E. Scherle Lane in Jasper.
Forms are available at the Dubois County Clerk’s office in the Dubois County Courthouse or at Messmer’s office at 402 Third Avenue Jasper.
COUNCIL BUSINESS
In council business Wednesday night, the Jasper City Council took some additional steps forward in the process to finance the Thyen Clark Cultural Center project.
The passage of two new ordinances saw the authorization of a line of credit, and the creation of three 2019 EDIT Revenue Funds to be used for the cultural center.
Those steps were essentially for the city to move forward in the Bonds process. Before Bonds can be sold, the city must show they have the funds on hand, which is where the line of credit comes from.
The credit will not be accessed until the end of construction of the facility at which time the sold bonds will be used to pay off the balance.
5% up front usage will be required in order to create the credit line, which is required by state law. The Bonds are set to be issued at the end of January, with a sales rate of 83 cents on the dollar.
Construction of the new facility is expected to last 18 months.
