By KEVIN NEVERS

Should the City of Valparaiso be heavily represented on the Porter County Museum Advisory Board because the museum itself will be located in Valparaiso?

Or should stakeholders from throughout Porter County be represented because, after all, it is the Porter County Museum?

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Porter County Commissioners, Porter County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger presented to the commissioners a Valpocentric ordinance authorizing the creation of a museum advisory board. Two of the commissioners, John Evans, R-North, and Robert Harper, D-Center, promptly rejected the ordinance as written, on the grounds that it would seat too many representatives from Valparaiso organizations or institutions while under-representing the rest of the county.

Rinkenberger’s ordinance would create an 11-member body with the following designated slots: the executive director of the Porter County Museum; the president of the Porter County Historical Society; the executive director of the Memorial Opera House; a representative of the Porter County Convention, Recreation, and Visitors Commission; a rep from the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce; a rep from the Valparaiso Community Festivals and Events Inc.; a rep from Design Organization or an architectural firm; a rep from Valparaiso University; a rep from the Porter County Parks Department; a rep from the Porter County Council; and a progressive historian or professional museum consultant.

Evans observed that, if the Valparaiso Chamber is represented on the board, so too should be the Portage, Chesterton, Hebron, and Kouts chambers.

That would mean we’d have a 30-member board, Rinkenberger replied.

Then delete some of the other slots, Evans said in response.

You decide who you want off and who you want to replace them, Rinkenberger answered.

“I agree with John,” Harper said. “We’ve got Valpo, Valpo, Valpo.”

“You’ve got Valpo, Valpo, Valpo because it’s in Valpo,” Rinkenberger responded.

In the end the commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the ordinance on first reading with the understanding that they would make unspecified adjustments to the membership of the board to better represent all of Porter County.

Re: Delinquent Taxes

In other business, the commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an ordinance which allows Porter County Auditor Jim Kopp to apply the homestead credit rebate against the delinquent taxes and associated penalties owed by any property taxpayer.

At Kopp’s recommendation, the commissioners agreed to amend the original ordinance specifically to cite penalties assessed on delinquent taxes.

The Expo Sign

The commissioners also voted 3-0 to approve a contract with Landmark Signs, at a price of $78,000, for the construction and installation of a two-sided digital sign at the Porter County Expo Center.

The sign will announce upcoming events and advertising space will be sold on it.

A New Filing System

The commissioners voted 3-0 as well to approve an expenditure of $16,640 for a new mobile filing system at the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center.

Porter County Clerk Pam Fish told the commissioners that space is rapidly being depleted at JDC, that one room is completely full of boxes of files, and that in fact all records prior to 1999 are stored at the courthouse for want of space at JDC.

“This is cheaper than building a new building,” Harper noted.

North County Garage

The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve a contract with Chester Inc., at a price of $1,205,254, to build a new garage for the Highway Department, on a 4.4-acres site across the street from the current one in North County.

The commissioners approved that contract pending Rinkenberger’s receipt from Chester of a final version which includes previously agreed-upon revisions.

Soil Borings

The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an expenditure of $6,502 for another round of soil borings at the Sheriff’s garage on Ind. 2 in Center Township, to determine the extent of contamination left by a leaking underground storage tank removed from the site in 1990. Russ Shirley of the Porter County Environmental Department said that those borings must be conducted by March 23 and the results forwarded to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

A second underground storage tank remains on that site—although as far as anyone knows it isn’t leaking—and three other underground storage tanks remain at other county facilities elsewhere, and Evans suggested that it might be a good idea to get an estimate of the cost of removing all four tanks before they begin to leak.

“Russ has been dodging bullets from the state for a long time with these tanks,” Evans remarked.

Appointed

The commissioners voted 3-0 to appoint Nannette Ames to the last vacant seat on the Porter County Animal Welfare Board.

Meeting Change

By consensus the commissioners agreed to change the date of their first regularly scheduled meeting next month to 6 p.m. April 8.

Their second regularly scheduled meeting will be at the normal time and day, at 6 p.m. April 15.

Posted 3/5/2008