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.
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.
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.