By KEVIN NEVERS

Usually in the spring of the year Chesterton Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg seeks the Town Council’s approval of a smorgasbord menu of paving projects for the year: one big-ticket item and then a bunch of smaller ones.

This time around—to mix a metaphor—Schnadenberg is putting virtually all of his eggs into just two baskets: Indian Boundary Road and Broadway.

At its meeting Monday night, the council voted 5-0 to approve Schnadenberg’s 2008 paving schedule, at an estimated cost of $450,000 in a combination of TIF and CEDIT funds.

The projects:

•Indian Boundary Road from the intersection of Ind. 49 to a point just east of North Calumet Road. Included in the project will be approximately 900 feet of Woodlawn Ave. approaching Indian Boundary Road. Projected cost: $250,000. In February the Redevelopment Commission authorized, at Schnadenberg’s request, the expenditure of tax increment financing moneys to fund this project. TIF funds may be used to finance any public works project so long as it’s within the TIF district, and Indian Boundary Road is.

•The milling and replacing of Broadway from Eighth Street to 19th Street. Projected cost: $155,000, the bulk of the $200,000 earmark of county economic development income tax moneys which the council authorized for paving and sidewalks in March.

•Patch work on 200E. Projected cost: $5,000 in CEDIT moneys.

•Repair and patch work on assorted roads, including 1050N between 100E and 11th Street. Project cost: $15,000 in CEDIT moneys.

•General crack sealing. Project cost: $10,000 in CEDIT moneys.

•Sidewalk replacement at unspecified locations. Projected cost: $15,000 in CEDIT moneys.

Dump Truck Bids

In other business, members voted 5-0 to take under advisement the two bids received for a new dump truck for the Street Department.

The bids:

•From Monroe Truck Company of Joliet, Ill.: $123,346.

•From Truck City of Gary: $128,466.63.

Great Lakes International Trucks of South Bend did not actually bid but indicated in a communication that, in its opinion, no firm would be able to meet the bid specifications.

The new dump truck would replace the oldest of the six in the Street Department’s current fleet, a 1991 model. Schnadenberg has said that it’s his policy, whenever possible, to replace dump trucks at 12 years.

Schnadenberg had estimated the cost of a new dump truck at $115,000 and has told the council that he would likely dip into Motor Vehicle Highway or Local Road and Streets to make annual lease-purchase payments on it of around $22,000.

Out-of-Town Dumpers Beware

Meanwhile, Schnadenberg informed members that he has found a part-time person to monitor the Chesterton Yard Waste Site at 609 Grant Ave.: Paul Tharp, presently a member of the Tax Abatement Advisory Committee. Tharp will be on the job on the weekends—although Schnadenberg declined to say exactly when—to ask users to prove their Chesterton residency with driver’s licenses.

Only residents may use the site. When Tharp is not on duty, video surveillance cameras are. A first illegal dumping offense will get you a $100 fine. A second, a $250 fine.

Facility Expansion

In response to a query from Member Jeff Trout, R-2nd, Schnadenberg said that he has been making preliminary plans for a proposed expansion of the Street Department facilities but that he’s reached a point where he will need to consult with the council about such matters as the size of any new building and the thickness of concrete.

Posted 4/15/2008