Antwerp Council Holds Final 2025 Meeting; Mayor Reeb Announces Retirement, Council Approves REDD Grant Filings
The Antwerp Village Council met Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. under the direction of Mayor Jan Reeb. All council members were present: Jason Franks, Bill Boylan, Dean Rister, Bryan Smith, Bryce Steiner, and John DeVore III. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, approval of minutes, and approval of the November financial reports including the RITA statement.
The village had listed one visitor, Carl Kortokrax, regarding a water main break and driveway repair, though he was not present when called. Written reports were submitted for the police department and EMS.
Several major legislative items were addressed under the Fiscal Officer’s report. Council adopted the third reading of Resolution 2025-19, approving the Personnel Manual for 2026, which incorporated amendments regarding the HRA benefit for Medicare-eligible police officers. Council then considered Ordinance 2025-18, establishing compensation for village employees in 2026. The ordinance passed with one dissenting vote. Ordinance 2025-19, setting council’s meeting time and place for 2026, was also approved on its third reading. Council next adopted Ordinance 2025-20, approving temporary appropriations for the beginning of fiscal year 2026, which will remain in effect until permanent appropriations are finalized.
Council then turned to several emergency items. Ordinance 2025-23, suspending the village’s compost fee for calendar year 2026, was passed as an emergency measure following suspension of the rules. Discussion clarified that the suspension applies only to 2026 and would not automatically renew beyond that year.
A series of actions followed related to the proposed Antwerp Square workforce housing development south of the school and the state’s Residential Economic Development District (REDD) grant program. Council passed Ordinance 2025-24, establishing the Antwerp Square Housing District and adopting pro-housing policies needed for REDD eligibility. Council then approved Resolution 2025-21, accepting a $25,000 donation from the Community Improvement Corporation as part of the required local match. Finally, Resolution 2025-22 was adopted, authorizing the village administrator to apply for the REDD grant and committing the village’s share of matching funds. All three items were declared emergencies in order to meet the state’s January submission deadline.
Committee updates included a report from the Planning and Zoning Committee, which met December 4. The committee noted that the Antwerp Square project is still in its exploratory and grant-application phase, with no zoning changes yet requested. It was also reported that Zoning Inspector Daniel Dunlap has formally resigned, and discussions are underway regarding restructuring zoning enforcement responsibilities. Council and administration will review whether future enforcement should fall under a dedicated zoning inspector or a code enforcement officer potentially aligned with the police department.
Under new business, council discussed concerns about snow removal timing following recent winter storms, noting that a major water break during the snowfall affected the street crew’s response time. The village continues to conduct its own plowing but will evaluate equipment and service options moving forward. A resident also requested pedestrian crossing signage in areas where new crosswalk striping has been installed; the village will review placement and requirements with ODOT and county partners. Additional discussion involved the possibility of adding electrical outlets near the tennis and pickleball courts for community events; options will be explored after confirmation of utility ownership.
Council also reviewed renewal levels for its annual support of the Paulding County Economic Development office. On a motion, the village elected to remain at the Platinum sponsorship level for 2026.
Fiscal Officer Kevin Hornish reported that removing Medicare-eligible employees from the village’s group health plan resulted in a $40,627 reduction in premiums. After accounting for the increased HRA contributions, the village still achieved a net savings of more than $20,000.
Mayor’s Court for November reported $1,172 to the village, $450 to the state, and $18 to the indigent driver fund, for a total of $1,640.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Jan Reeb announced her retirement effective December 31, 2025, marking the close of more than three decades of service—30 years as a council member and eight years as mayor. Reeb expressed gratitude to council, staff, and the community, noting that health considerations and the desire for rest guided her decision. By operation of law, Council President Pro Tem Bryan Smith will assume the role of mayor on January 1.
Council members offered remarks of appreciation for Mayor Reeb’s leadership and longtime dedication to the village. Reeb thanked council for their teamwork and support, expressing confidence in the future direction of Antwerp.
Council adjourned after a motion and vote.
Gov. Braun, INDOT present Community Crossings awards in Delphi
Gov. Mike Braun, Secretary of Transportation and Infrastructure Matt Ubelhor and INDOT Commissioner Lyndsay Quist today joined local officials from across northwest Indiana in Delphi to present awards for INDOT’s Community Crossings Matching Grant program. $100 million in state matching funds were announced for 191 Indiana cities, towns, and counties.
“When we invest in roads and bridges through these Community Crossings grants, we’re helping communities attract new jobs, support Main Street businesses, and enhance quality of life for Hoosier families.,” said Gov. Braun. “I’m grateful for the strong partnerships with our local leaders who are putting these dollars to work building a better Indiana.”
Communities submitted applications during a call for projects in October. Funding for Community Crossings comes from the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund. The program has provided more than $2 billion for local road improvement projects since its inception in 2016.
“Community Crossings has benefitted nearly every city, town and county in the state of Indiana at least once,” said Secretary Ubelhor. “Projects range from chip and crack sealing to paving to bridge rehabilitation and replacement on local roads.”
The Indiana General Assembly identified long-term funding for Community Crossings as part of House Enrolled Act 1002, passed in 2017. Following changes outlined during the 2025 legislative session, the program cap is now set at $100 million per year, and the annual cap is reduced to $1 million per local unit of government per state fiscal year. An additional change is a reduced local match for smaller communities. Starting in FY 2027, a single call for projects will occur each July.
Innovations in Agriculture
On December 3rd, several Ohio speakers discussed weather, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in agriculture, and precision soil sampling at the Ohio No-Till conference, Der Dutchman, Plain City Ohio. Here are their comments.
First, Dr Vinayak Shedekar, OSU Ohio Drainage Management specialist spoke about weather, mainly drought and excess water. Nationally based on insurance claims; drought/dry weather cost farmers about $90 billion/year (43% of total) followed by excess water $52 billion (25%) with other insurance claims around $22 billion/yr (32%). Water is one of the most limiting factors to obtaining high crop yields. In Ohio, typically 70% of water related crop losses are due to excess water with 30% due to drought. Recently though, drought has been a bigger concern. Drought may cut corn yields 40 bushel/acre or more while typically too much water historically reduces corn yields 20 bushel or more.
Corn needs about 28 inches of rain during the growing season (Late April to Late September). Typically, during the winter and early spring, farmers get too much water followed by too little in late spring, summer, and fall. July and August typically have a water deficit of 3.6-4.0 inches. The best way to make up that deficit is with good soil structure and high soil organic matter (SOM) levels. A farmer shared that he planted through a long-term undisturbed soil that was part of a waterway and at harvest, due to the good soil structure and high SOM levels, his yield monitor jumped to 359 corn bushels/acre.
Dr. Scot Schearer, OSU Department Chair for FABE talked about how AI. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how farmers apply herbicides, especially post emergence, reducing herbicide usage 60-70% by spot spraying. AI is identifying nutrient deficiencies, crop diseases through visual images and helping farmers make better decisions to lower fuel costs. Two companies, Bosch & BASF (a herbicide company) have teamed up to use less herbicides which is safer for the environment. BASF is pushing services to make up the difference and also raising prices. John Deere is investing heavily in corn-soybean-wheat- and cotton AI research. Today with image collection, 6 to 7 terra bytes of information can be collected daily. A typical phone collects 1 terra byte of data (one trillion data points).
Dr Schearer says the era of large machines is starting to peak and go the other way. Small autonomous equipment have much lower labor costs and can operate 24 hours per day. Autonomous (self-driving) sprayers are 300# of efficiency and simplicity according to Dr. Schearer. About 30% of all fungicides on wheat this year was applied with drones. Dr. Schearer’s son lost his AI job to another farm company. He was reluctant to working on a farm in California until he discovered that this farm is a $7 billion dollar business producing nearly all the lettuce in California. Jobs will change but people can adapt to doing different work,;especially work that computers, robots and drones can do better that is repetitive and back breaking.
Dr. Schearer says all farmers can use AI to change agriculture. On CHAT ID, farmers can take a picture of a yellow soybean plant and CHAT ID will describe the symptoms, tell you the problem, and offer a solution. Example: Your soybeans have yellowing between the veins and it occurs on the younger leaves. This indicates manganese, iron, and sulfur deficiencies and early signs of SDS (Sudden Death Symptoms). The program then recommends varies sprays and solutions, the cost, along with timing for best results.
The third speaker was Dave Scheiderer with Integrated Ag Services (IAS) who talked about using precision soil sampling to reduce input costs and increase crop yields. IAS has a machine that can take 1 sample about every 15 seconds or every 100 to 150 feet in the field. They are grid soil sampling on 1/8 up to 2.5-acre grids. They find 1-acre grids or smaller give the best results, depending upon the nutrient. They take samples at precise depths because nutrient variability decreases greatly with depth. This reduces variability in their results. Mostly they take 4-inch samples and they often sample 2X a year. The biggest returns come from adjusting pH (lime applications) and potassium (K) soil nutrient levels.
Sampling one acre costs $11/A per year and takes 40# of K or 500# of lime savings to pay for itself. K varies the most ranging from 0-12% variability. K soil levels are highly influenced by soil texture (sand/silt/clay levels), soil compaction, soil health & biology, weather (how dry or wet) , existing soil nutrient levels, and other factors. By sampling frequently and over small grids, they increase the accuracy of their data and recommendations.
—James J. Hoorman
Hoorman Soil Health
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