The cleanup of Coffee Creek—clogged by debris from the Aug. 19 tornado—is complete.

So Chesterton Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg anounced at Monday’s meeting of the Stormwater Management Board.

“The creek is open and all work has been done there,” Schnadenberg said.

In September the board voted 3-0 to award the contract for the cleanup to G.E. Marshall Inc. of Valparaiso, which submitted by far the lowest of the three quotes for the job: $12,750.

The board reimbursed G.E. Marshall with a combination of proceeds remaining from a 2000 bond issue and Rainy Day Fund moneys.

With the cleanup from the tornado mostly done, Schnadenberg now has time for work connected with Chesterton’s previous natural disaster: the floods of September 2008.

Those floods, Schnadenberg told the board on Monday, so saturated the inlets of many storm drains around town that mortar around the inlets has been breaking loose.

So far crews have repaired 15 to 20 this year and are looking at another half dozen or so.

In response to a query from President Thomas Kopko, Schnadenberg informed the board that the town has been street-swept once, with the new sweeper purchased by the Stormwater Utility in June for $129,500.

That sweeper will soon be winterized and stored until the spring, Schnadenberg said.

In other business, MS4 Operator Jennifer Gadzala announced two new projects, one being pursued in conjunction with the Biology Department of Purdue North Central in which students there may use Coffee Creek Park or Dogwood Park as an “outdoor lab” for the study of invasive species.

Then, in conjunction with the Town of Porter, a letter has been sent to all Duneland schools informing them of a supply of water quality educational materials and offering to assist them in their water quality curricula.

Meanwhile, Gadzala said, the installation of dog-waste signs has been completed at Dogwood Park and continues at others. “They look really good.”

Gadzala also has hopes of completing the final design of the watershed signage in time for that signage to be installed at select locations in town before the end of the year. Chesterton High School senior Jannon Jeffries’ design was selected for the signage, which—reading “Watershed Area: Yours to Protect”—will alert residents to the nearby flow of a watershed or water body.

Webelos of Pack 929 stenciled storm drains along Shannon Drive on Oct. 5.

In September the Stormwater Utility ran a deficit of $6,477 and in the year-to-date is running a surplus of $13,086.

Posted 10/21/2009