Weather Rodent
Weekly Update #210 1/28/2024 to 2/3/2024
Did you catch the groundhog’s prediction last week? If not, no worries; I will get back to it later after I share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
The Redevelopment Commission voted last week on the seven quality-of-life requests for the first of two rounds in 2024. Five of the seven applications received at least part of what they requested. Parks and Recreation will be able to extend Zumba with the help of RDC through 2024 and beyond with the help of some other organizations. If you want a good workout, get ready for Monday nights at the Community Center. Check social media for exact details. In 2023, Seymour was recognized as a Tree City from the Arbor Day Foundation. One of the requirements that stopped us from applying in 2022 was the funding we needed to commit to tree maintenance and replacement. With the help of RDC and the Jackson County Solid Waste District, we were able to meet that requirement in 2023 and now again in 2024. The last of three requests that I will share is a new foam suppression system for the Seymour Fire Department. The new system will be equipped to respond to possible needs at Freeman Municipal Airport and also come in handy for electric vehicle fires. With RDC’s help, we are one step closer to purchasing that equipment.
This week, we had a progress meeting on our Environmental Protection Agency Grant from a few years ago. We learned of how the Phase I and Phase II work is going on the current properties that have participated. We also reviewed and expanded the list for future properties. This work is to help prepare properties for future redevelopment and encourage growth in Jackson County. I say Jackson County because when we drafted the grant almost three years ago, I chose to set the parameters county-wide instead of just within city limits. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this work over the life of the grant.
This past week, I spent a few hours with the Seymour Fire Department and learned a little about hazmat incidents while on a run. Thanks to the training and access to resources SFD was able to respond and keep everyone safe as the clean up crew was called in to perform their work. As always thank you to our first responders for all you do, much of which is never noticed by the general public. We live in a safer community because of your dedication and commitment.
Each year, we see if groundhogs are any good at predicting the coming of spring. One in particular, Punxsutawney Phil, has been tracked since 1887 and only managed to be correct 36% of the time. If he is correct this year, we will get to those early spring activities a little earlier, but if he isn’t we will just have to endure the last weeks of winter like we do most years. Either way, we have to roll with what we get. Does that mean more time with the snow plows out clearing the roads? Could it be that we all need to do our preventative maintenance on the lawnmowers sooner than later? Only time will tell, but we still need to be prepared the best we can. Have a plan and be ready to adjust. One recent example that comes to mind for me is when the state upped the Crossroads Community Matching Grant from $1 to $1.5 million for 2024. Since they did, we had to evaluate the list to see if a bigger project would be added or if a few smaller projects would be the answer. Now we have adjusted the application and patiently wait to hear the results of our work and hope to move forward. In honor of Groundhog’s Day, I will leave you with a Bill Murray quote, "Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you're donating blood."