By KEVIN NEVERS
The Chesterton Town Council has taken a first, very preliminary and
tentative, step in the direction of developing a full-size 60-acre park on
the east side of Ind. 49.
At their meeting Monday night, members voted 4-0 to authorize Lehman &
Lehman, its contracted recreation impact fee consultant, to provide a site
analysis and a master plan for a park which Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann said
would be comparable in size and facilities to Dogwood Park. President Dave
Cincoski, R-3rd, was not in attendance.
The cost of the work is not to exceed $12,700, it would be paid with CEDIT
funds, and should an impact fee ever be enacted the expense could be
reimbursed through the proceeds of that fee.
Among the deliverables which Lehman & Lehman is obligated to provide: an
aerial site plan to be used in the planning phases; a development program for
park facilities; an illustrated master plan of the potential park
development; a statement of projected construction costs; and a proposed
phasing of construction.
The site of such a park is yet to be determined. But as part of its
annexation agreement with the Town of Chesterton, Olson Farms LLC has donated
20 acres, located in the area of C.R. 1050N and C.R. 250E, to the Parks and
Recreation Department to “jump-start” the development of a park east of Ind.
49. That donation exceeds by 13 acres the minimum required under Town Code.
Olson Farms LLC is developing a 360-unit single-family subdivision on 133
acres located at the terminus of East Porter Ave., east of Friday Road, which
the Town of Chesterton annexed earlier this summer.
Parking Lot
to be Appraised
In other business, members voted 4-0 to hire two appraisers, Vale Appraisal
Group and Professional Appraisal Services, to appraise the four 25’ x 125’
lots in the graveled parcel immediately across the street from the town hall
at 726 Broadway.
Those lots are currently owned by the Tonner family, which is reportedly in
the process of selling the site of the old WiseWay Foods store at 801
Broadway to an undisclosed buyer. That buyer has the right of first refusal
in the acquisition of the graveled parcel but has not expressed an interest
in purchasing it. Clerk-Treasurer Gayle Polakowski, without actually urging
the council to buy the parcel, has said that the development of the property
would eliminate a great deal of convenient public parking. The Tonner family
has priced the four lots at $25,000 a piece.
Under state statute, the town may not pay more for the property than the
average of the two appraisals.
No Parking
on Gateway Blvd.
Meanwhile, at the request of the Police Commission, members voted 4-0 to
approve on its first reading an ordinance which bans parking on Gateway Blvd.
between Ind. 49 and Village Pointe, 4-0 to suspend the rules, then 4-0 to
approve the ordinance on its final reading.
Police Chief George Nelson told the council that the ban is chiefly aimed at
the truckers who have unaccountably been parking their rigs on that stretch
of Gateway Blvd., obscuring visibility and causing congestion.
“Logic would dictate that there’s no parking there,” Nelson said. “But not
everyone’s logical.”
Vacation Granted
Members also approved the petition of Tom Lee for the vacation of the portion
of unimproved Jefferson Ave. immediately south of his residence in the 500
block of South 21st Street. Lee had requested the vacation because he wants
to build an addition to his home and needs the extra property to meet setback
regulations.
There had been one concern on the part of Town Engineer Mark O’Dell, namely,
that Lee’s addition could encroach on an easement needed for a drainage
project slated for the right-of-way. As it happens, however, that easement is
nowhere near wide enough to impact Lee’s plans. The project began on Monday.
No one spoke against the petition at a public hearing on Monday. One person,
Jerry Huddleston, spoke in favor of the vacation, calling it a “good idea.”
Members then voted 4-0 to approve the vacation ordinance on its first
reading, 4-0 to suspend the rules, and 4-0 to approve the ordinance on its
final reading.
Lee made a point of thanking O’Dell and Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg
for their work in reviewing his petition. They’re “great people,” he said.
“The town should be very proud of them.”
Waiver of Town Standards
Members voted 4-0 as well to approve a petition for a waiver of the Town
Standard which requires the primary entrance of a principal structure to
front the street upon which the structure is addressed. That waiver was
requested by attorney Cliff Fleming, representing the group building the
Village Pointe Medical Office Building at Coffee Creek Center.
The medical office building, Fleming explained to members, fronts Seymour
Street, which was originally intended to be a major thoroughfare in Coffee
Creek Center, running the width of it. But the design of Seymour Street has
changed, only the medical office building will ever be built on it, and for
the purposes of promotion and user-friendliness the group wants it to be
addressed 3100 Village Pointe.
Building Commissioner Mike Orlich told members that a secondary entrance to
the medical office building does front Village Pointe, and the council
accordingly granted the waiver.
Â
Posted 8/18/2007
Â