Public Hearing Held on Bremen Downtown Renovation Project

The Bremen Town Council members held a public hearing Monday night concerning the town’s plan to apply for a grant for the downtown renovation project.

The town is going to apply for a $40,000 planning grant which will be matched by the town in the amount of $4,500. A $1.5 million grant through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs is also in the works. The town’s match for that project is $500,000. Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said a lot is planned for this project that will begin in a couple of years.

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Bremen Town Council Receives Updates on Projects

The Troyer Group has submitted a contract for the Bremen downtown project, but town council members will wait to approve that when they get more information from the grant writer.

The downtown revitalization project includes new streets, sidewalks, curbs and lighting. INDOT has delayed the project a bit so they can fund more aspects of the project. INDOT has already earmarked $1.2 million for this project. The project is expected to begin in 2020.

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Three Bremen Businesses Plan Expansion Projects

Three businesses in Bremen are anticipating expansion projects. That’s according to Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy.

“I’ve been talking to them about some tax abatements and different things that we can do with the town of Bremen,” said Weldy. “One of the major expansion projects is Southwire. They purchased a 30 acre parcel just north of the Town of Bremen that’s going to connect to their existing building they have out there. We’ll have to annex that into the city. We’ll have to get it rezoned. They want to start breaking ground early this summer. Bremtown Kitchens also wants to expand and Omega Wire plans to expand this year in the town of Bremen. That’s a good thing.”

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Habitat for Humanity House to be Built in Bremen

The Bremen Town Council members learned last week that volunteers with the Habitat for Humanity organization will be building a house with the occupant beginning in the spring of 2018.

According to Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy, officials with the organization bought land at 340 W. Water Street by the street department. They will be working with a family to help build the home.

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Bremen Moves Forward with Downtown Street Revitalization Project

The Bremen Town Council members approved action this week to move forward with work on an engineering survey and other work in the downtown area for the upcoming street revitalization project.

Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said previously that INDOT has approved $1.2 million in grant funding to renovate the downtown area. Work is expected to be done to a few blocks in that section of town where curbs and sidewalks will be replaced, streets repaved and lighting updated.

Bremen Town Council Approves Insurance Policy

The Bremen Town Council members approved health insurance at their meeting Monday night.

According to Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy, the provider was able to lower deductibles for employee health insurance, but the monthly cost will increase “slightly”. He said it was a lengthy discussion, but gave the opinion that the town council made the best decision for coverage for the town employees.

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Town of Bremen Continues Work on Old Gas Station Property

Bremen town officials are continuing efforts to clean up the old Clark gas station at the corner of State Road 106 and State Road 331.

Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said he signed a contract last week to have the old gas tanks extracted the first week of December. The canopy and the building at that location have been demolished. The area was deemed an eyesore for many years. Continue reading

Bremen Downtown Revitalization for Streets and Sidewalks Gets Green Light

The Bremen Town Council members learned this week that the Indiana Department of Transportation has green-lighted funding for a downtown revitalization effort in 2019.

Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy explained that INDOT originally pushed back the project until 2023 but found funding for the request for 2019 following a meeting between the entities. He said $1.2 million will be used to renovate the downtown area. He said the streets will be lowered with updates to sidewalks and lighting.

Bremen Town Council to Consider Property Annexation

The Bremen Town Council is considering annexing property into the city limits for an upcoming industrial expansion project.

Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said the property is north of town between the U.S. 6 bypass and the town.

“There are about five parcels of property we’re talking about annexing and that’s coming up in the very near future,” said Weldy. “One of our big industrial companies has purchased some land there and we just want to incorporate all of that into the Town of Bremen.”

The town council is likely to have a proposed annexation agreement at a meeting in November.

Bremen Town Council Discussing Updating Codes and Ordinances

The Bremen Town Council is contemplating codifying ordinances to bring them to current standards.

Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said they are overdue for updating.

“Our ordinance books and our code books are so far behind it’s not funny – we’re talking like 1980s and 1970s stuff that we’re trying to update and do some things with.”

No decisions were made during the council meeting Tuesday night. More discussions will be held at the next meeting on Monday, Oct. 23.