Chesterton Tribune

 

 

BH Town Council splits over changes to Sanitary Board

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By JEFF SCHULTZ

The Burns Harbor Town Council is trying to give residents a bigger role on the Town’s Sanitation Board starting this month, but Council member Marcus Rogala urged to put on the brakes until a policy can be adopted that would limit how much the board can spend with non-elected members.

An amendment to the ordinance was passed on first reading with a 4-1 vote that would create three citizen appointments.

Currently all five town council members sit on the board with one representative chosen by the steel mill. The new configuration would retain one member of the Town Council and the steel representative along with the three citizens.

The changes have been supported by Council President Ray Poparad who hoped to have the new board ready in time for its April 20 meeting. Council member Toni Biancardi motioned to suspend the rules and proceed with a second reading which ultimately failed because suspending the rules would require a unanimous vote.

Rogala, who pointed out that the Sanitary Board has a nearly $1 million budget, said he would not change his dissenting vote until measures are enacted that would put a cap on how much the board could spend.

“I’m not okay until we put the policies in place,” Rogala told his colleagues.

Poparad and Biancardi said the sanitation board can adopt the policy at its meeting next week. But the Town Council members will have to attend.

A second reading on the ordinance will be on the agenda at the May meeting.

Sewer bills to town hall

The Town’s Sewer and Sanitation Department is also changing the location where residents must pay their bills, and the Town Council hopes they will take notice.

The department’s new secretary will no longer be in the street department but at the town hall building which is where residents should now be mailing or dropping off their payments, Poparad said. The address for Town Hall is 1240 N. Boo Rd.

The Town has hired Corinne Peffers as the secretary, who started her new role this week.

Road paving

Poparad gave an update on the costs for the Babcock Rd. paving project which will be done this year with Chesterton and Porter. Burns Harbor will split the bill with the towns on their portion which will add up to a total of $42,747, paid out of money for paving projects.

Walsh and Kelly will pave the north side of the road while Rieth-Reilly Asphalt will pave the south side.

Rogala said he attended the Indiana Associations of Cities and Towns conference this month and heard of potential ways that municipalities can receive more money for roads.

Parks clean up

Following up on last month’s authorization to do a weed kill out at Harbor Lake in Lakeland Park, Parks Director Kim Burton said Aquatic Weed Control inspected the lake and recommends treating half the lake due to the large number of milfoil weeds as well as treatment of the beach area.

The cost will be reduced to about $1,400 with the Council and the Parks splitting the bill. The lake will still be safe for swimmers, Burton said.

Opening Day for the beach will be May 28, Burton said. The parks will be holding a clean-up day on Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lakeland Park to get ready for the summer.

Burton also reported that the Parks Department is one of the community sites that will be aided by Rebuilding Together Duneland’s Volunteer Day on April 30. The organization will help add sand at the beach and the volleyball area, and roof shingling.

Volunteers can sign up at www.rtduneland.org.

In other business:

-- The Council approved the 4A phase of the Village of Burns Harbor Subdivision to continue now that developers have filled the borrow pit. Development will now proceed with infrastructure and the Town will be responsible for putting in lights. The Council agreed to sign a two-year maintenance bond.

-- Town Marshall Mike Heckman asked the Council to consider adding a street light at the intersection of U.S. 20 and Burns Blvd. “We need something to brighten it up. You can’t see nothing at nighttime,” he said.

-- A resolution was approved by the Council unanimously to proclaim April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

 

Posted 4/14/2016

 
 
 
 

 

 

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