By VICKI URBANIK

New telecommunications towers are now barred from having white strobe lights during the night-time hours in unincorporated Porter County.

The Porter County Commissioners finalized a new ordinance Tuesday that was prompted by complaints from Liberty Township residents who live near the communications tower off Ind. 49 near C.R. 600N. The residents said that since November, they have had to put up with a high-intensity, malfunctioning strobe light that pulsates into their homes every night.

The county’s new ordinance requires towers at least 200 feet tall to have a dual lighting system, unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission or Federal Aviation Authority. The towers are to have a white strobe during the day hours and a red blinking light from dusk to dawn.

The ordinance applies to new towers as well as existing towers if they make modifications. But the ordinance also applies to the Ind. 49 tower that prompted complaints, since the existing FCC permit requires the dual system instead of the high- intensity strobe.

Two residents who spoke at last week’s Porter County Plan Commission meeting on the new ordinance also addressed the commissioners Tuesday. One was Liberty Township resident Philip Doolittle, who said that people on C.R. 700N whom he didn’t know were affected by the Ind. 49 tower also came to last week’s meeting. He said to him, that suggests that the impact of the tower is much larger than he thought.

Another resident, Rosemary Green, said some towers have white strobe lights at night but because of the low intensity of the light, they are not negatively affecting neighboring residents. She said while she wants to see the problem in her neighbhood resolved, she also doesn’t want to cause undue hardship on tower owners who are good neighbors.

County Plan Commission Executive Director Robert Thompson said the tower in question doesn’t have shields that direct the strobe light. Another tower that also prompted some complaints -- at a NIPSCO substation on C.R. 700N -- does have the shields. Thompson said NIPSCO remedied the lighting problem right after being contacted.

The commissioners suspended their rules that normally require two readings of a new ordinance and put the ordinance into effect immediately.

North Porter County Commissioner John Evans directed Thompson to get the county’s zoning inspector out to the tower site today. Thompson said he would also alert the plan commission’s attorney to take action if the lighting isn’t fixed immediately.

Green thanked the commissioners for their quick action.

Cameras Purchased

Also Tuesday, the commissioners approved the purchase of five additional security cameras at the Porter County Courthouse at a total cost of $10,275.

Information Technology Services Director Sharon Lippens said the cameras will be placed in several areas where officials believe a need for added security is in order. One location will be outside of courtrooms, where it’s not uncommon for people upset with a judge’s decision to become unruly. Another area will be outside the clerk’s office, she said.

Lippens also presented a request to install a new heating/ventilation/air conditioning system in the county’s print shop, but was advised by County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger to seek additional quotes. The base costs for the HVAC, according to the one quote obtained, is $32,500.

Lippens said the print shop has a humidity problem, and that officials have installed both humidifiers and de-humidifiers, neither of which have been effective.

Jail Food Change

Porter County Sheriff David Lain presented a change in the contract with the Compass Group, which is the food service contractor at the County Jail.

Lain said that in addition to higher food prices, the company is absorbing higher costs now that the jail no longer takes in state prisoners. With fewer inmates, the economies of scale in food preparation have been impacted, he said.

The revised contract now includes a sliding scale for meal expenses based on the inmate population. Currently, the county pays 72 cents per meal. At the current population of about 350 to 360 prisoners, the per-meal price under the new contract would be 85 cents.

The matter was postponed for two weeks at the request of Rinkenberger, who said she wanted to compare the new contract with the original one. She also questioned the impact on the sheriff department’s budget.

Lain said that although the per-meal price will be higher, the overall cost to the jail will be lower, due to the reduced number of prisoners. However, he said the loss of the state prisoner fees is having an impact on the overall budget. “We are going to face budgetary difficulties already,” he said.

Posted 4/16/2008