Members of the
Woodville Foundation and other residents from Liberty Township gave the
Porter County Redevelopment Commission a number of reasons they want to work
together in starting a tax increment finance area.
Tim Cole returned
to the RDC meeting bringing with him nearly a dozen other residents, a
slideshow and a list of desired infrastructure projects that may be possible
through the TIF.
“You asked for
projects. Here they are,” he said.
The first project
request is to extend sewer and water from the hospital node, under Ind. 49
and North Calumet Ave. and then south to the intersection with U.S. 6,
creating nearly 50 miles of access to areas zoned for commercial development
or institutional. There are already three or four businesses that are
waiting for those utilities in the area, Cole said.
The second proposal
is to put in about a mile and a half of sidewalk connecting the Liberty
Township Elementary and Intermediate Schools, going east and west, to seven
nearby subdivisions. It would service approximately 500 different
households, providing safety to children from road traffic, he said.
Local engineer Matt
Keiser said he estimates the cost for extending utilities from the hospital
will be roughly $1.4 million and the sidewalk project would be about
$170,000.
Another project
Cole asked the RDC to consider is extending sewer and water from Meridian
Rd. to CR 700 to provide service to properties with failing septic systems
such as the Pines Ski area, extending sewer and water utilities east of
Meridian Rd. along the south side of U.S. 6 to the Ind. 49 bypass to
accommodate residential and future development, and improve recreational
areas.
Cole has pushed for
the RDC to revisit discussions on the Liberty Twp. TIF since it was shelved
nearly three years ago.
The TIF’s
boundaries as originally proposed, start at the Ind. 149 and U.S. 6
intersection, extending east down the U.S. 6 right-of-way. It then widens
starting at Meridian Rd., to CR 900N to the north and CR 700N to the south,
until it reaches N. Calumet Ave., and then follows the U.S. 6 right-of-way
to the Jackson Twp. line at CR 200E.
RDC member Dave
Burrus said the inertia to start a TIF in Liberty Twp. was due to “a lack of
support” from the community and the Commissioners decided not to pursue it.
Woodville
Foundation President Ed Seykowski said there was resistance to the idea of a
TIF because it was believed that the schools would lose tax dollars, but
attitudes changed after the RDC worked with heads of the East Porter County
Schools to protect the schools from being harmed by a TIF.
Seykowski and Cole
said they now see TIF as a way to develop the area in a way they think will
maintain the character of the Township. Seykowski likened the vision to that
of Aberdeen development outside of Valparaiso on Ind. 2, “a perfect balance
of commercial and residential.”
“I understand (the
TIF plan) is out there. We’d like to bring it back to the table,” Seykowski
said. “We think it’s an opportunity to move on and make it a high-end
professional area.”
RDC member and
County Planner Robert Thompson said he liked the ideas the Woodville
Foundation representatives presented but advised them they would need to
have the support of the Commissioners before the RDC can put any time, money
and effort into planning.
Burrus agreed, “We
need to have some assurance before we can proceed.”
The Board of
Commissioners is the entity which has the authority to establish the TIF
area through a declaratory and a confirmatory resolution. The County Plan
Commission is another body which would vote on it.
Thompson said one
reason some officials may not be ready to support TIFs in the unincorporated
areas is because utilities aren’t owned by the County but by conservancy
districts. Unlike towns and cities, the County “won’t see any of that
revenue at all” if utilities are extended.
RDC member Don
Ensign asked if it would be possible to have a workable agreement with
conservancy districts. Jack Barkow, president of the Damon Run Conservancy
District in Liberty Twp., responded it may be possible but the conservancy
district still has to pay its debt obligations.
Cole said that
Liberty Twp. Trustee Beth Underwood is in support of the projects but was
not able to attend the meeting Thursday morning. Two of the three Liberty
Twp. Board members are also behind the plan, he said.
RDC President Ric
Frattacia said he favors the Foundation’s ideas and said that the Liberty
Twp. TIF will remain a regular agenda item.
The RDC meets on a
quarterly basis with the next meeting tentatively scheduled for June.
Aukiki Park request
Before hearing the
Liberty Twp. residents, the RDC heard a partnering request from County Parks
Superintendent Walter Lenckos for Aukiki Park which is in development one
mile north of Kouts on Ind. 49.
Lenckos asked the
Commission if it would be willing to contribute funds to add acceleration
and deceleration lanes as a safety enhancement to the entrance of the park.
The price tag would be $110,000 according to an engineering estimate,
Lenckos said.
Burrus said that
the RDC will consider the request and added that this is the first time
someone has come before the Commission requesting funding assistance.
“There is going to
have to be some discussion. This is a new role for us,” Burrus said.
Lenckos thanked the
Commission and shared that East Porter County School Corporation and the
Town of Kouts have agreed to be partners in the parks’ development. Kouts
will be moving water and sewer out to the site at a new well.
Aukiki will have
sports fields used by Kouts and Morgan Twp. Schools as well as other local
kids in Porter County, Lenckos said. He is eyeing the use of inflatable
domes to keep sports going year-round.
Waste affecting
Valpo Lakes
In another comment
from the audience, Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed President Walt
Breitinger expressed concern about nearly a dozen older homes in North
Valparaiso and southern Liberty Twp. that have never had proper septic
systems.
These home sites
have cesspools with raw sewage that is flowing into lakes in the north part
of Valparaiso, Breitinger said, raising the possibility of pathogens in the
water that children swim in.
He asked to the RDC
to help in finding solutions to the problem.