Comments from the
public took up almost half of Tuesday’s Porter County Board of Commissioners
meeting: an unusual event.
First, a Hebron
resident spoke out against the rezoning of a parcel at 625 W and 1000 S in
Boone Township. The Commissioners approved the rezone from P2, parks and
recreation district, to RR, rural residential, on second reading Tuesday
after they held a public hearing at their Aug. 11 meeting. Theresa DeLeon,
however, said she had planned to speak that day, but she was given the wrong
information about the meeting from an employee in the Commissioner’s office.
DeLeon said she
showed up about a half hour in advance of the meeting on Aug. 11 only to be
told that the meeting was actually Aug. 13. For the record, the employee
DeLeon referred to is present at almost every Commissioners meeting as part
of her job. DeLeon also said the signs on the property that were legally
required to advertise the public hearing were placed on a less traveled side
of the property and obstructed by weed growth.
“This has not been
handled right,” DeLeon said. “I find this very hard to believe that you
cannot give us the proper information and notification. I shouldn’t even be
out here today because of this pandemic, and it’s just annoying that you
will not give us the proper information.”
DeLeon said the
Board shouldn’t vote on the rezone without doing better outreach. “People
out there don’t want this, but they won’t come out, and you can’t go door to
door because of the pandemic,” she said. “You have some work to do to give
us this information.”
Next was Fred
Martin, a Kouts resident who’s also the Republican candidate challenging
incumbent South Commissioner Laura Blaney on the November ballot. Martin
said the Health Department should be more cooperative with people planning
events.
Martin said he
canceled a Kouts Park Department fundraiser following threats that it would
be shut down by police. The same event was held last year and attracted
about 100 people who came and went to watch outdoor music and eat, Martin
said.
Martin said he was
prepared to comply with requirements and provide hand sanitizer and put out
signs about social distancing. He filled out the paperwork to the best of
his ability, but wasn’t able to answer all the questions. “I was honest and
said there were certain things I did not know,” such as the exact number of
people who’d show up and where the 4-H Club food trailer would be located,”
he said.
Commissioner
President Jeff Good (R-Center), said Martin’s concerns were best brought
before the Health Board itself. “The Health Department has its own governing
body. I would think you would know that, running for office, but that would
be where you would go for a public forum,” Good said.
Good also noted
that the Health Department has been stretched thin in its efforts to fight
COVID-19, and said the Board of Commissioners prefers to give them their
autonomy since they’re the experts.
Two pilots who
frequently use the Porter County Airport also spoke up about the Board’s
appointment of a new Airport Authority Board member. The Board appointed
County Councilmember Bob Poparad (D-1st) to the Board earlier in the
meeting.
One of the pilots,
a Hobart resident, asked about the appointing process and suggested there
should be more input from people who use the airport. The other, Andy
Dessuit, spoke on behalf of the Region Flyers Flight School, and suggested
the same. Dessuit asked how the public and those who use the airport could
have more of a voice in board appointments, considering that the airport is
taxpayer-funded. “We understand that you want the airport to operate the
best for the public, which is what we all want. Our business is based on
helping the public, and we want that as well,” he said.
Commissioner Jim
Biggs (R-North) said the airport isn’t just a clubhouse for pilots, and he
wanted to see somebody on the board who knows about municipal finance as
well as about running an airport. “We appoint people to represent the
general public, who pays for all of that. Bob has a long history of sitting
on the fiscal body of the county,” he said.
Blaney added that
Poparad is also a pilot, and that she spoke to people at the airport who
supported his appointment. County Attorney Scott McClure suggested people
who want to get involved start with the Airport Board itself. The Board or
the Airport’s executive director can then bring issues to the Commissioners,
he said.