By PAULENE POPARAD

Not only is the Porter Town Council looking into formation of a separate Utility Service Board. A committee was authorized Tuesday to investigate whether Porter’s sanitary sewer collection system could be privatized.

Councilman David Babcock said with the amount of costly upgrading and repairs needed to the sewers and lift stations, it’s very unlikely someone else would want to take them over. But council member Michele Bollinger defended her suggestion.

“I think some entity might be interested in talking to us,” she said. “I just think it’s something worth exploring. You never know. I’m not saying I’m for or against it.” Bollinger said if the town sells or leases its collection system, that entity could be responsible for the needed upgrades.

Council president Bill Sexton said regardless of ownership, the town still would have to foot some of the bill.

Last year the town was cited by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for deficiencies in its sewer collection system. Porter and IDEM entered into an agreed order to bring the system into compliance. Some estimates have ranged from $2 million to $10 million to do so.

Several Porter boards and departments will meet Tuesday with town engineer Warren Thiede at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the implications of the agreed order and how Porter might pay for the work. Babcock said Porter is under the gun to comply within a timely manner and to begin monitoring and metering the system soon. Thiede concurred IDEM is anxious for the town to demonstrate progress.

Since 2006 Porter already has relined the Porter Avenue sewer, is finalizing the Oak Hill lift station upgrade and will complete a Beam Street sewer reline when the weather breaks. The Town Council also recently approved The Trails of Porter 190-home residential project that will tie into the Porter Avenue lift station and pay approximately $920,000 in developer donations and sewer connection fees.

Public Works director Brenda Brueckheimer said with recent heavy rains, six lift station pumps malfunctioned, especially at the Porter Avenue lift station. Some repairs were done and more are needed. She credited use of a Chesterton Utilities vacuum truck for preventing a sewer overflow.

Porter’s sewage is processed at the Chesterton treatment plant, which is located in Porter.

Porter town attorney Patrick Lyp said last night that generally when something is privatized, the entity acquiring it is looking for a profit while a town looks at providing a service. “More often than not they don’t mesh.” A town would have to be careful if relinquishing control, advised Lyp. Babcock asked what privatization would do to sewer rates.

While the Town Council generally was lukewarm to privatization, member Micheal Genger said the council should at least explore that option. Babcock and Bollinger were asked to do so with Lyp’s input. The pair also will do more research about forming a Utility Service Board. Sexton said a Sanitary Board like that used in Burns Harbor requires one member to be a professional engineer.

Babcock said he’s all in favor of forming a utility board but urged waiting until after Tuesday’s sewer meeting. Sexton said the town needs someone to oversee compliance with the IDEM agreed order. “It can be handled much more effectively by a focused group.”

In other business Tuesday:

•Brueckheimer asked town residents to be patient during snowfalls and to drive carefully. She said the Street Department has only 100 tons of road salt left yet trying to get more is difficult. For that reason only intersections and hills will be salted/cindered. She also reminded residents that plows can’t clear streets if vehicles are parked in them. “This has been a horrendous year for snow and we’re doing everything we can to treat everyone the same.”

•At Bollinger’s suggestion the council agreed to have NIPSCO add a street light at Oak Hill Road and Quail Ridge Drive, the west entrance to Hunter’s Glen subdivison. Police Chief James Spanier said motorists sometimes exit U.S. 20 onto Oak Hill at high speed and Quail Ridge is very near that intersection. Police will step up patrols to discourage speeders.

•Bollinger had requested putting a street light at the east Hunter’s Glen entrance, too, but Councilman Jon Granat said there are a lot of dark intersections in town to be considered. Spanier was asked to develop a list. The town pays NIPSCO for municipal street lights.

•Brueckheimer said some street lights in town are not working but NIPSCO is aware of the problem and is working on it.

•Spanier said the partial switch to new Comcast telephone lines in the police, public works, fire and town hall departments has been made but there have been problems with the respective voice mail systems.

•Granat inquired how to get the fire-damaged house on 23rd Street torn down. He was advised to work with Lyp.

•Fire Chief Lewis Craig Sr. thanked the Street Department for plowing the way to an ambulance call. Brueckheimer said every department helps each other. “We have a great team here.”

Posted 2/27/2008