This and that: Another first Monday edition

Plus, checking in on the last day to register to vote before early voting starts Tuesday.

• Thanks to today’s sponsor, Stuart & Branigin, for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.

---

ABOUT THAT FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH

The first Monday of the month, a typically crowded day of public meetings, brings budget time  for city councils in Lafayette and West Lafayette, as well as the West Lafayette school board. Here are a few other things to watch on thick agendas Monday.

At Lafayette City Council …

A new plan for The Pub site: A rezoning request that would clear the way to build 36, owner-occupied townhouses near the corner of Union and Fourth streets – on the former site of The Pub – goes to the city council for its consideration Monday. The plan received a unanimous recommendation two weeks ago from the Area Plan Commission. The planned development, laid out as Centennial’s Edge in APC documents, includes two-story, connected townhouses featuring two bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms and a two-car garage on 1.4 acres along Union, Fifth, Wall and Fourth streets. Developer John Teibel told Based in Lafayette last week that the townhomes would be in the 1,300-square-foot range and likely would be listed near the $300,000 range. The Lafayette City Council will consider final approval of the planned development rezoning request on Oct. 7. For more on the plans, this is from a conversation with developer John Teibel:

Anvil 26 project: The city council approved a forgivable loan in 2023 to help development of Anvil 26, an apartment project at 26^th and South streets, on one of the remnants of the former Home Hospital project. The initial proposal did not get done, because arrangements to use spaces an IU Health parking garage didn’t materialize. Lafayette-based Iron Men Properties have returned with an updated plan that includes more parking built into the one-block site. As presented to the Lafayette Redevelopment Commission on Sept. 26, the redesigned project that will be taller, at four stories, and include some of the parking built into a ground floor garage. Joe Blake, owner of Iron Men Properties, told the redevelopment commission that the project would move from $13.3 million to $18.8 million. The 91,272-square-foot, market-rate complex will include 78 apartments with 94 beds. The city still plans to offer Iron Men Properties a forgivable loan targeted $2.08 million, up from a similar offer of $1.785 million, that would be recouped by revenues from a specially designated tax increment financing district for the property. In a presentation by the city’s bond counsel, the redevelopment commission was told that Anvil 26 would produce an estimated $6.2 million in tax revenue over the 25-year life of the TIF district. The loan arrangement was presented in 2023 as a first for the city. Dennis Carson, Lafayette’s economic development director, said the forgivable loan this time remains the city’s first. The Lafayette City Council has final say Monday. Here’s more from an account after the Lafayette Redevelopment Commission recommended approval:

The Lafayette City Council meets at 6 p.m. Monday at city hall, 20 N. Sixth St.

---

At West Lafayette City Council …

Metered parking: An estimated 1,000 parking spaces on West Lafayette streets would be eligible for metered parking under a plan that received initial approval from the city council in September. A final vote is expected Monday night. The proposed ordinance covers mainly city streets in what’s known as “The Island” – including Russell and Waldron Streets, between Mitch Daniels Boulevard and Stadium Avenue – near Purdue’s Discovery Park District and Wabash Landing. It comes in part as a response to pressure on parking as student enrollment continues to grow at Purdue, city officials said. For more on the streets covered, the potential parking fees and more, check here.

Impact fees for parks: The city council will get its first look at a proposal to assess impact fees on new construction to help pay for park maintenance. Here’s the ordinance, as proposed.

The West Lafayette City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at city hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.

---

At West Lafayette school board

A question about bonding: A proposed $6.2 million general obligation bond, along with the district’s next annual budget, will be among the items up for votes Monday evening. The West Side school administration spent a meeting in September going over the general obligation bond that could be used on what it considers high maintenance priorities. Among them: roofing at the high school, HVAC work at the high school and West Lafayette Elementary, bus replacement and tennis court replacement on the elementary school campus. (Since then, the school district and West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission have worked on a plan to share the costs for the tennis court work.) During a school board work session in August, Lindsay Simonetto, with financial consultants Baker Tilly, told members that the district had room to bond up to $8.4 million. Including using $2.8 million remaining in money from a 2017 bond issue – the first of four the district is paying off for construction projects – the proposed $6.2 million general obligation bond issue would be paid off over six years, she said. According to a report from Simonetto, the bond issue would return the district’s debt service property tax rate from 0.4909 to 0.5375, where it had been for several years before 2024. That’s 4.66 cents more per $100 in net assessed value. For a house with a market value of $308,100 – the median in West Lafayette Community School Corp., according to U.S. Census Bureau figures – and a net assessed value of $169,065, that would mean an increase of $78.78 a year, according to Simonetto’s report. For more on the proposal, the projects and several key questions raised in recent meetings, check the link below. The West Lafayette school board meets at 6 p.m. Monday at Happy Hollow Elementary, 1200 Salisbury St..

---

Also …

Tippecanoe County commissioners meet at 10 a.m. Monday, too, at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. For the agenda, here’s a link.

---

DEADLINE TO CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION IS MONDAY

The voter registration deadline ahead of the Nov. 5 election is Monday, Oct. 7. To check your voter registration or to get registered, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.

For more about election:

THE CANDIDATES AND THE RACES: Here are candidates and questions on Tippecanoe County ballots for the Nov. 5 general election. (Incumbents are marked with an asterisk*.) To see your specific ballot, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.

Tippecanoe County

• Commissioner, District 2: David Byers*, R; Steven Mayoras, Libertarian

• Commissioner, District 3: Tom Murtaugh*, R; Jaime Ortiz, Libertarian

• County Council, at-large (choose 3): Republicans: John Basham*, Barry Richard* and Kevin Underwood*. Democrats: Katy Bunder, Ben Carson and Amanda Eldridge. Libertarians: Dean Bertelli, Holly Mayoras and Randy Young

• Coroner: Carrie Costello*, R; Benjamin Milanowski, Libertarian

• Treasurer: Yadira Salazar*, R

• Surveyor: Zach Beasley*, R

• Judge, Circuit Court: Sean Persin*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 6: Michael Morrissey*, R

Statehouse races

• House District 13: Matthew Commons, R; Ed Moyer Jr., D

• House District 26: Chris Campbell*, D; Jim Schenke, R

• House District 27: Sheila Klinker*, D; Oscar Alvarez, R

• House District 38: Heath VanNatter*, R; Carl Seese, D

• House District 41: Mark Genda*, R; Dan Sikes, D

Statewide

• Governor:  Mike Braun, R; Jennifer McCormick, D; Donald Rainwater, Libertarian

• Attorney General: Todd Rokita, R; Destiny Wells, D

Federal

• President: Kamala Harris, D; Donald Trump, R; Chase Oliver, Libertarian; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., We the People

• U.S. House, District 4: Jim Baird*, R; Ashley Groff, Libertarian; Derrick Holder, D;

• U.S. Senate: Jim Banks, R; Valerie McCray, D; Andrew Horning, Libertarian

Townships

• Shadeland Township Board: Michael Kuipers, Pamela Luenz, Robert Morrison Jr. and Josh Shives, R.

• Shadeland Clerk-Treasurer: Charlene Brown, R

School boards

Lafayette School Corp., at-large (choose 3): Ebony Barrett*, Josiah Eller, Margaret Hass, James Hass, Ronald “Rocky” Hession, Gary Mueller and Julie Peretin*.

Tippecanoe School Corp.

• District 4: Jake Burton*

• District 5: Julia Cummings*

• District 6: Connie Harper

• District 7: Brad Anderson*

West Lafayette Community School Corp., at-large (choose 4): Amy Austin*, Maria Koliantz, George Lyle, David Purpura, Beau Scott and Yue Yin*.

Public questions

• Shall the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended to remove the state superintendent of public instruction from the list of officeholders who shall discharge the powers and duties of the governor if the office of the governor and lieutenant governor are both vacant?

• Shall Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark S. Massa be retained in office?

• Shall Indiana Supreme Court Justice Derek Read Molter be retained in office?

• Shall Indiana Supreme Court Justice Loretta Rush be retained in office?

• Shall Indiana Appeals Court Judge Rudolph Reginald Pyle III be retained in office?

WHERE TO VOTE: Early voting starts Tuesday, Oct. 8. Tippecanoe County voters may cast a ballot at any vote center, whether on Election Day or during four weeks of early voting. Here’s where they’ll be

Early voting

• Oct. 8-Oct. 11, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

• Oct. 15-Oct. 18, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

• Oct. 19, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., McAllister Center, 2351 N. 20th St., Lafayette

• Oct. 21-Oct. 25, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

• Oct. 22, noon-5 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1700 Mitch Daniels Boulevard, West Lafayette

• Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Purdue Co-Rec, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette.

• Oct. 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., West Point Fire Station, 4949 Indiana 25 S., West Point; Otterbein United Methodist Church, 405 Oxford St., Otterbein; Clarks Hill Christian Church, 9510 Pearl St., Clarks Hill; 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette;

• Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

• Oct. 29-Nov. 1, noon-6 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.

• Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.

• Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

• Nov. 4, 8 a.m.-noon, Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

On Election Day

Lafayette

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road

• Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St.

• Evangelical Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.

• Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South

• Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.

West Lafayette

• Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.

• Margerum City Hall/West Lafayette City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.

• Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road

Others

• Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton

• Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland

• Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground

• Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette

Thanks, again, to Stuart & Branigin for sponsorship help with today’s edition.

Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.