PORTER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2005
6:00 P.M.

The regular meeting of the Porter County Board of Commissioners convened at 6:00 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Chambers of the Administration Center.

Those present were: Commissioners Robert Harper and John Evans, County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger, Melissa Hartig and Vi Wagner.

President Harper called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF PAYROLL

Com. Evans moved to approve the payroll of November 14, 2005, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

NORTHWEST TERRITORY RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL APPOINTMENT

Com. Evans moved to appoint Harvey Nix to the Northwest Territory Resource Conservation and Development Council, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

APPROVAL OF ABERDEEN ROADWAY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

Com. Evans moved to approve the Aberdeen Roadway Settlement Agreement,

Atty. Rinkenberger, “Just for clarification, all the parties have come up with a solution that we think is a win-win, as Dave Hollenbeck likes to say, I have never had one before so its new to me. But instead of repairing the roads out in Aberdeen, we decided that they are about ten years old and the Highway Department would be repaving them real soon in their inventory of Highway anyway so the parties have agreed to split the cost to repave Tower Drive and Aberdeen Road and crack seal all the other roads under dispute. So the cost is estimated to be $126,000.00. They are going to give us $63,000.00, we are going to put in $63,000.00 and we are going to accept the roads.”

Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

PARK BOARD FOUNDATION PUTTING UP BUILDING
Ruth Jarnecke

Com. Harper, “It is my understanding from reading your letter that you are asking us for clarification on the discussion that the Commissioners had a couple years ago on new buildings, is that correct? Well let me just say this and Commissioner Evans can comment on it as he feels. Over two years ago as the new EDIT plan was being put together, there were several new buildings discussed and it was agreed at that time, it was just months after we were coming out of the Bethlehem Steel bankruptcy and the Commissioners had said at a public meeting that did not feel that the county should vote on an aggressive building program. At that point, they had amended their EDIT plan and I think the Parks actually got more money off the EDIT plan at that point and one of the buildings that was discussed was the new proposed building for the Parks because there had been some discussion that the building was going to have substantial costs to maintain and run and require additional personnel. But we recognize as Commissioners, and we don’t control the decisions made by the Park Department so whatever we say about buildings does not apply to the Park Department and we understand the discussion about the barn out there that the Park Foundation is willing to pay for. We have no objection to that. That’s the decision left up to the Park Board and we surely have no objections to that and truthfully have no control over that. So I think that is what you wanted to find out, is our position.”

Com. Evans, “That’s exactly right. I think (inaudible)…. And the Foundation has assisted for that purpose and that is the way it should be done and certainly we are not going to obstruct anything you want to do out there. The Park should be very grateful to the Foundation and I think you should proceed in all due haste.”

Ms. Jarnecke, “Thank you. The Foundation did propose a simple barn design with no maintenance costs so we will work with the Park Board.”

Com. Harper, “We just wanted to make it clear, we are not trying to micromanage them but that is our decision.”

Ms. Jarnecke, “Again, I would like to publicly thank you for the dedication of the County Garage in memory of my husband.”

PORTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMNET ALLIANCE PRESENTATION
Mike Bucko
Jim
Chris Ton
Charlie McGill

Jim, “November marks the first anniversary of the Porter County Economic Development Alliance and thanks to your help we have really gotten off to a great start. I think we could be good stewards of a small portion of the county’s EDIT monies and used it in a very traditional economic development. We would like to give you a real quick summary of what we have done in 2004. With respect to the gateway signage, Lois is going to talk about that, it is a continuation of the 2005 funding request. We have set up the Ivy Tech Mittal Steel Scholarship. It is a scholarship available to Porter County residents to be retrained for either a steel worker job or any comparable type of job involving defense manufacturing. We have two scholarship recipients so far. The standards are very tight to get into the scholarship program. They have to have a real seriousness and committed to the program and staying in Porter County. We expect there to be more and more scholarships that are going to be offered. Then finally, we became a member of the SBDC to help fund its entrepreneur training for small business development operations. So that is what we did in 2004. We are here tonight for 2005, we are kind of ready to catch up on the funding. But we’ve taken a different approach to some extent by expanding in our priorities the concept of economic development and are trying to target other areas where we think we can make a difference. I would like to call on some members of the alliance to make that presentation. The first priority we are asking for $30,000.00 is to develop the county website and link it to the websites of the different economic development entities. I think we said at one time it used to be when you are attracting business, the first time they saw the community is when you threw them in the back seat of a car and took them on a tour. Now they already know more about us than we know about ourselves because they have access to the internet and websites. So it is critical we develop that type of technology website infrastructure. Chris?”

Chris Ton, “My name is Chris Ton and I with Portage Economic Development Corporation and I am heading up the website on public committee. In Portage’s experience, we have what is in line for several years now, we get about 75% of our inquiries from the internet so we can see the value of how sites like yours and Valparaiso’s are using the internet to getting information out about the locations. So it makes sense for the county to have a unified economic development website that all the communities feed into and link off of. What would happen is we would have a unified website that will then feature individual sites for the individual communities so Chesterton, Porter, Portage and Valpo will all have individual sites so they can retain their individuality and present information that is unique to that community. We will also have a __________ that will present information that pertains to the county as well. We hope to have that up and running right after the first of the year so we will be able to present the Commissioners with a finalized version and you can check it out.”

Jim, “A second priority which is new to 2005 is to do a technology infrastructure study. It is very obvious to us that in order for our existing businesses to compete, especially in a more information based global economy, and in order to attract new businesses, we must upgrade our technology infrastructure. But before we can do that, we need to know what we have and what we need to have. So we would propose $65,000.00 to do a study and Mike can explain that probably.”

Mike Bucko, “This being the largest single portion of the study, all the indicators in technology world all say that the return on the investment and a return on the efforts support the emerging technologies when brought to a community when competition is present. So in order to have that, we have to know what is out there and we have never been able, as a community, be able to determine exactly what is available to Porter County. We’ve got buzz words out there like the IT ____ and triple plane training on demand, ___ message just to name a few. These are in demand and they are in demand across the whole state and to be honest with you, this last week I was at a seminar down in Indianapolis which included several communities and I am talking rural communities and when I talk rural communities, I am talking about twelve and fifteen thousand population counties that are implementing these types of technologies in their community today and Porter County is still looking for access to competitor ____. We consider ourselves to be in the shadows of Chicago yet we are behind. Our purpose would be then to perform a needs assessment of this technology within the county develop a strategy for maximizing access to the competitive filer, defining how to gain access to this filer and the companies that can make it available to the communities. Now, by defining the above, the county can better position itself for the knowledge economy. We don’t want to just discover the information and have it sit on a shelf for an additional expected outcome of these findings is to present them to the RDA for consideration of a regional strategy as well as a funding access to technology on a regional basis as we take advantage of the findings ______. That is the purpose of that.”

Jim, “Another benefit to that is that (inaudible)…. Important to the north part of the county as it is to the family farm in the south part of the county. Every business has to have the highest degree of access to new technology. Also, I know you told us that we should listen carefully and we shouldn’t be duplicating what someone else can do better than we can. So what we want to do is have a study that is transferable to the RDA, if they were to view technology infrastructure as a regional priority. So we can use it and they can use it at the same time. Third priority is another $2,500.00 commitment to the SBDC same as we did last year of 2004. Again the SBDC does counsel start up businesses and they perform a very valuable function to Porter County entrepreneurs and start up companies. A new project for us, a new priority, is incubator developments and it focuses on that part of economic development that says that we can create and grow our own jobs. We have to integrate them, we have to merge them, and they will continue to grow and prosper. Charlie McGill and Chris again are in a position to talk about that.”

Mr. Ton, “Portage started up a very small business last summer and I just finished the ___ phases and some are now opened and ready for business. The starting incubator is just kind of giving you an idea of what they do. If someone is interested in starting a business, there’s a lot to finding a space, secretary, find equipment, all these different types of things that is a lot of strain to start a business because they need to focus on their product and growing and developing it. So when you bring in a small business, they are able to focus on their core product because we are taking care of the other ongoing stuff. We’ve got them a space where we provide it, it has internet and phone and there is office equipment and access provided. There is no reason (inaudible)…. No reason to not just focus on growing their business. Once their business is grown they can move out into the community on their own and we can create a new business. The other aspect to that is when there is someone with a new idea or a new innovative way of doing something, they may be a thinker but they may not be the best on the business end so if we can bring them into a small business incubator, help them develop that idea and kind of give them their business skills, meanwhile they can market their product and move it into the market. So Portage has a small business incubator and we are going forward with that.”

Mr. McGill, “I am Charlie McGill, I am the economic development director for the city of Valparaiso and as a former business owner I can tell you that business incubation is a phenomenal way to reduce the risk and to accelerate business development. Valparaiso is in the early stages. The city is beginning an incubation program in all six and we hope to have our business incubation in place probably about a year from now. We are currently doing a needs assessment within the community to really find out who the entrepreneurs are, where we can get support within the community. I have been talking with the academia business leaders, entrepreneur themselves. The $5,000.00 that Valparaiso would receive would be used specifically to help with the communication process.”

Jim, “We are asking for $20,000.00, $5,000.00 for each of the three start up incubators, Chesterton, Portage and Valparaiso. Then a general $5,000.00 that can be used to train the managers of all three of the sites, so it is a total of $20,000.00. All three of the Porter County incubators are unique and will not be competing with one another. So each of us is going to find a niche and then that incubator will be available to everyone in the county not just to residents of that particular city. So we feel that way we could attack this job creation issue in three different directions in a cooperative and not a competitive way. The final priority for 2005 is a continuation of the gateway signage program that we discussed with you last year and Lois is here and I think we had some renderings of …. So we are actually going to be able to have this in place.”

Lois, “This one is Porter County and this one is Route 2. When we set up our first meeting for this we determined that there were fourteen different gateways coming into the county. Several of them required billboards because they are part of the interstate’s _______. So those have not yet designed because we would have to arrange for the leasing and separate kind of designs for the advertisement on there. But we started with these four particularly in the southern part or the lower part of the county because the northern part we had several communities that actually border to either Lake or LaPorte County. They want to be able to design a little bit different in order to relate to their own communities. So, we took the basic and tried to at lease initialize and get something started so that we can give you something that you can see. It is going to take probably another six months before we get them actually up but as you can see, we already have designs decided upon, we have the locations decided upon, we have to ___ land and permit at this point that we are at, contacting the land owners, making sure where we can get the ______. I know that some people would say this is kind of a large monumental kind of structure, some have initially thought of using more simple generic kinds of media, sand, glass, wood. We wanted something that was more stable, solid, something that was not going to have to be repaired every couple years and repainted and so forth. It represents a solid, hard, strong, unit. And being between the two counties that we are, I think we really need to represent that.”

Jim, “So we are asking for $32,500.00 to continue this program and we hope that probably in one more year we will be able to have all fourteen sites funded with the signs. So the total we are asking for from the economic development monies for 2005 totals $150,000.00. It covers everything from website development to technology infrastructure studies, the creation of jobs to the SBDC and the creation of jobs for the incubators. And also the continuation of the signage which is really an internal and external market. We need to say good things about ourselves, strong things that we can attract and keep good quality jobs. We need to carry that same message to the outside world. Really, that is the purpose of the signage and also we thought it was a way to help you fulfill the gateway plan that the Commissioners have drawn up because the signage was also part of that. So, really it serves two purposes at the same time. So that is our proposal for 2005 and we would entertain any questions or comments.”

Com. Harper, “Now our 2005 monies have already been approved by the County Council, right. So do we need formal action here?”

Atty. Rinkenberger, “I don’t think so. I think its nice they are telling you how they are spending the money.”

Com. Harper, “I just want to say to those that don’t understand when the Commissioners were first presented with the task of putting this EDIT plan together it was decided that since the tax was passed for economic development, so it should be for pure economic development so this should be for pure economic development that the chambers put this committee together and to try and use this money to promote Porter County and hopefully create an atmosphere that will attract business to give our young people jobs and I think the committee has done a good job of that. I am excited about the signs, and the website and I just want to congratulate you on that.”

Com. Evans, “I would like to add my congratulations as well. This committee has really formed a cohesive nature and really works hard to get the job done. The diversity of the different projects speaks highly of the different areas and everybody and the attendance and the work ethic that you have shown really should be commended. You deserve our thanks and the public’s thanks as well.”

Com. Harper, “I think that Portage recently added what I consider an entry in the economic area with past ___. But that just didn’t happen, you know, they just didn’t decide that driving through Portage one day, it was a lot of work on a lot of people’s part and people need to realize to attract good quality jobs, it takes work and it takes effort. Thank you.”

ORDINANCE AMENDING THE BOARD OF HEALTH MUNICIPAL CODE-2ND READING
Attorney David Hollenbeck

Atty. Hollenbeck, “This is the second reading of an ordinance that was originally presented to you at your last meeting on behalf of the Porter County Board of Health. It would establish a restaurant site review fee as I explained to you last time. With new restaurants coming to Porter County in record number, it takes an appreciable amount of time and effort by the staff to review the initial plans and specifications and make sure they are in compliance with state law. Then do at least one site visit during construction. In talking to other counties and lamenting the time and effort we discovered that many counties are going to a site review fee, very similar to the one that is being proposed here. On a sliding scale, $50 to $200 depending on the square footage of the restaurant. I will answer any questions you may have and would encourage you to consider passage of this on second reading this evening.”

Com. Harper, “I think we have discussed it last time.”

Com. Evans, “Yes, we did and it is a very good idea.”

Com. Evans moved to approve Ordinance No. 05-19 on second reading, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

ORDINANCE NO. 05-19
AN ORDINANCE OF THE PORTER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ESTABLISHING A FEE FOR HEALTH DEPARTMENT REVIEW OF
FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT SITE PLAN
WHEREAS, the Porter County Board of Commissioners adopted the Porter County Municipal Code on Tuesday, December 2, 1997 pursuant to Ordinance No. 97-38; and
WHEREAS, the Porter County Board of Commissioners has deemed it necessary to pass a new ordinance thereby amending the previously approved provisions of the Porter County Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS, IC 36-1-3-2 grants the Board of County Commissioners all the powers that they need for the effective operation of government as to local affairs; and
WHEREAS, IC 36-1-3-6 states that if there is no constitutional or statutory provision requiring a specific manner for exercising a power, the Board of County Commissioners may adopt an ordinance prescribing a specific manner for exercising a power; and
WHEREAS, IC 16-42-5 authorizes and empowers a local health department to enforce the provisions of 410 IAC 7-24 relating to retail food establishments and the review of retain food establishment site plans by the staff of the Porter County Health Department; and
WHEREAS, the Porter County Board of Commissioners are desirous of implementing a fee to be charged by the Porter County Board of Commissioners for review of food service establishment site plans and in so doing authorize and empower the Porter County Health Department to collect such fee.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT AND IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED THAT:
1. Section 8.04.042 is hereby added to the Porter County Municipal Code to read as follows:
(a) the Porter County Health Office, by and through the Porter County Health Department, is hereby authorized to and shall collect a fee for the review of food service establishment site plans as follows:
under 3,000 square feet $ 50.00
3,000 to 10,000 square feet $100.00
More than 10,000 square feet $200.00
This ordinance passed and adopted this 22 day of November, 2005.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PORTER COUNTY INDIANA
s/Robert P. Harper
s/John A. Evans
s/Carole M. Knoblock
attest:s/Sandra K. Vuko, Auditor


RENEWAL OF SOLID WASTE FEE AGREEMENT
Therese Davis, Director of RWRD

Ms. Davis, “I am here with Attorney Clay Patton to request that the Commissioners amend the agreement between the District and the County Commissioners regarding the collection of the following …(inaudible)…adopted the same as it has been in the past. I believe Attorney Rinkenberger has been able to review it. You have copies that have been signed by our board last meeting and it is before you now.”

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ADDENDUM
Mike Anton, Anton Insurance

Mr. Anton, “This will take about two minutes of your time. I am just here to present an addendum to the agreement between Porter County Government and Stewart C. Miller for the administrative charges for the Flexible Spending Account. This change represents a 3% change translated to actual of eight cents a month. The respective employees that participate in the FSA program, so it costs the employees an additional dollar and ninety six cents a year. So I ask that you approve that change. I think it is certainly a fair request on the part of the administrators that $2.88 and with all the transactions per month that may be involved in with terms of reimbursement pre tax ____.”

Mr. Thompson, “I have a question because I am a member of this plan and am considering signing up for 2006. I understood there was problems at the beginning initiating that plan because there was a management fee. I just wanted to know, I heard eight cents then I heard $1.96, I just wish somebody would tell me what the actual management fee is per month for this plan. It’s a great plan, I just want to know up front what it is.”

Mr. Anton, “I’m sorry that wasn’t clear, Bob. Originally, just for the sake of a historical background, when AFLAC was administrating the Flexible Spending Account, it was $5.00 a month. We switched it for a couple of reasons because Stewart Miller recommended the switch and it was approved by the Board of Commissioners to Stewart C. Miller because of the cost of the administration fee went from $5.00 to $2.80 and it also facilitated the handling of ____ from the FSA account when anybody submitted expenses that were not reimbursed by the plan. So if you had a deductible it was automatically put into the FSA. So it went from $2.80 to the requested $2.88.”
Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

REQUEST FOR PURCHASE OF MOWER FOR PARKS DEPARTMENT
Ed Melendez, Parks Dept. Director

Mr. Melendez, “Thank you for squeezing me in. We has some funds that you folks had set aside for vehicles for earlier this year for us. There was some funds that were left over and in evaluating the need of our equipment and at this time we are able to pick up a reasonable mower to carry over for next season. Of the three quotes that we have, we have our local vendor for $10,799.00. One of these units, these two top units were the ones we have now, their deck has been approved so we have gotten the life expectancy well passed the six years of one of the units. We are staying with those units with the local vendor so we are asking for one to be purchased for $10,799.00.”

Com. Harper, “Where did that lawn mower from maintenance come out of, where is that being paid out of?”

Ms. Hartig, “It was paid out of CCD.”

Com. Harper, “So this money is still there?”

Ms. Hartig, “I actually had to transfer (inaudible)…”

Com. Evans, “Are you going to use this mower on the Calumet Trail?”

Mr. Melendez, “Yes.”

Com. Evans, “I was thinking of taking the money out of Fund 172.”

Atty. Rinkenberger, “Can you do that?”

Ms. Hartig, “I will have to check and see.”

Mr. Melendez, “Thank you.”

Com. Evans moved to approve the purchase from Riggs Mower for $10,799.00, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

OFFICE HOLDERS/DEPARTMENT HEADS

Porter County Code on internet

Atty. Rinkenberger, “I asked Lee to come but he couldn’t make it. But what he has done is taken our Porter County Code that is codified and put it on the internet so anybody who wants to see it or research it, print it, can, which I thought was pretty good. I thought he could come here and get an accolade from us. It is a nice thing.”

Com. Harper, “Maybe let him know we appreciate it, Sharon is here.”

Com. Evans, “Sure, he really did a very nice job on it.”

Snow removal proposal-
Charlotte Miller, Maintenance Dept.

Ms. Miller, “We have here MJB, we’ve a few problems here and there along the way.”

Com. Harper, “Which one do you recommend?”

Ms. Miller, “Well, between the Landscape Group and Snow Pros, I am not real familiar with them, they are out of Chesterton. They did not forward any recommendations of places they had done. The Landscape Group did, they do Town and Country Market and they also do Wal-Mart; they are very satisfied with them.”

Com. Harper, “How do they compare price wise with what you paid last year? Are they in the same ball park?”

Ms. Miller, “Well, I think MJB is the cheapest, the Landscape Group is in the middle and I think the Snow Pros were the highest. If the money is there then fine, if not we’ll get by the best way we can.”

Ms Hartig, “We should be able to cover that. We just had a lot of calls last year from people saying our steps were slippery or the snow wasn’t cleared at all. Even after the building was opened, the snow still hadn’t been removed.”

Ms. Miller, “You know we had to tell them before that they have to be early because the people start coming in here at 8:00 in the morning and the only thing I did not have bid is Don does the Animal Shelter and the county Highway Garage and where the judges park. The plow was burned up in the fire so right now we are working without anything but two little snow blowers.”

Com. Harper, “Have you been in contact with insurance about the plow?”

Ms. Miller, “I just received a memo, I believe it was from the Commissioners and we are supposed to write all this down, the year, and everything about it, and turn it in quickly.”

Com. Evans, “I would go with her recommendation, she is the one who has to work with them.”

Com. Evans moved to approve Landscape Group, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Ms. Miller, “Before we get a new plow or blade for that truck, but we may have to have someone because we did not put in for the Animal Shelter nor did we put in for the Sheriff’s Garage, none of that out there because Don does all that but now we are without a blade. So I don’t know if they would do it until we get a blade and find out what the cost of that would be.”

Com. Evans, “He still has the lift portion on the truck doesn’t he?”

Ms. Miller, “Yes, we have the bucket on the truck. I mean on the tractor. We still have a bucket on the tractor.”

Com. Evans, “Well, he still has the mechanism on the front of the truck, he just needs a blade, right?”

Ms. Miller, “That is correct.”

Com. Evans, “I think he could probably take a look and see if he can’t find a blade to match it.”

Ms. Miller, “Okay. I will have him start looking around.”

2006 Budget for E-911, 1st reading
David Sheibels, E911 Director

Mr. Sheibels, “Do you have copies of the budget? No? I didn’t bring enough copies because I thought Melissa had that covered because it has been advertised.”

Ms. Hartig, “I advertise the bottom line figure but I don’t have the actual budget form.”

Mr. Sheibels, “Did you distribute the worksheet?”

Ms. Hartig, “I have that but I don’t have the actual budget form.”
Mr. Sheibels, “We always start our first reading with the budget summary worksheet that I additionally prepare. This is in the exact same format.”

Com. Harper, “When does this have to be done by?”

Mr. Sheibels, “By the end of the year.”

Com. Harper, “How many meetings do we have before then?”

Com. Evans, “Two more. The sixth and the twentieth.”

Com. Harper, “Well, did you prepare one of these last year?”

Mr. Sheibels, “Yes, I prepared that exact same form for the last eight years.”

Com. Evans, “Doesn’t it have to be advertised in its entirety?”

Mr. Sheibels, “It was already advertised.”

Ms. Hartig, “All they require is the bottom line figure be advertised in the paper. The total dollar amount.”

Com. Harper, “Why don’t we, because I haven’t seen this yet, put this over until the next meeting, get these distributed, and could you get us one from last year to compare it with?”

Ms. Hartig, “I should have one.”

Com. Harper, “Is that all right with you, John, continue it?”

Com. Evans, “Yes, that’s fine.”

Com. Harper, “Thank you.”

Copier Lease Agreement
Candy Crone, Westchester Twp. Assessor

Ms. Crone, “I have made arrangements to get a new copier. The Council has approved the funds for it for next year.”

Com. Evans, “The bid is from McShane’s and it is a model DI-181. It has a fax with it. You recommended the one without the fax for $61.29 a month.?”

Ms. Crone, “Yes.”

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Lease agreement for office space
Nancy Kolasa, Pine Twp. Trustee/assessor

Ms. Kolasa, “There is no change from last year, no increases, no changes.”

Com. Evans moved to approve the lease for office space, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

APPROVAL OF PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW REGARDING GREAT LAKES TRANSFER STATION

Com. Harper, “We have our attorney on the agenda. This is for approval of the Petition for Administrative Review regarding Great Lakes Transfer Station. She is prepared to file an appeal of the transfer station.”

Atty. Rinkenberger, “I have prepared it and you have read it. It is simply asking them to set aside in an administrative hearing the permit issued for the transfer station based upon the concerns we have and cost concerns we have because this permit was approved without road access. Porter County has made it pretty clear they are not going to give road access. I need board approval to file a Petition for Administrative Relief.”

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

AMENDMENT TO THE CEDIT PLAN

Atty. Rinkenberger, “This is just a third amendment to the capital improvement plan which we have in writing and it for unallocated funds for 2004. We are going to request that $100,000.00 of unallocated 2004 money be spent to purchase equipment for the new Ivy Tech facility and $250,000.00 of unallocated 2004 be spent to proceed with our GIS. If you look on the second page of the written amendment, we have allocated 2005, 2006, and 2007 $100,000.00 each for GIS so if you add the $250,000.00 now we’ve got $650,000.00 allocated for GIS.”

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Com. Harper, “We need to get on the Council agenda for the next meeting.”

Com. Evans, “I think we are already on.”

Ms. Hartig, “Just for the Docuware request. And I believe because they treat these as additionals, they have to be advertised. I will check and see.”

Com. Evans, “We’ve got until the 29th.”

REQUEST TO ADVERTISE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR:
VIDEO CONFERENCING AND VIDEO COURT SECURITY
Sharon Lippens, ITS Director

Com. Evans, “How many people do you anticipate?”

Ms. Lippens, “(inaudible).”

Com. Evans, “A local firm?”

Ms. Lippens, “Somewhat.”

Com. Evans moved to approve the RFP for Video Conferencing Software equipment for use in Porter County Government subject to review of the County Attorney, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Ms. Lippens, “The other one we have tabled and I just got some information today that we are going to go with the dollar amount for the project. So that is going to have to be re-worked based on the information from today.”

Com. Harper, “Is it good information or bad information?”

Ms. Lippens, “It’s bad information. We originally thought that when the courthouse was remodeled there was wiring and it was pre-run in anticipation of adding the equipment and it was not. So that is going to have to be added to.”

Com. Harper, “But we are at least with the project one, will be able to have everybody do what they are hired to do? Are we working on that second courtroom or what is happening on that?”
Ms. Lippens, “As far as I know, (inaudible)… I think there were still some items in there but they know it is going to be used. A monitor was taken over there and in addition to the original _____ and the two in jail, we’ve also added the Juvenile Center Court as well. And still remained way under the original price.”

Com. Harper, “Thank you for your work on this, Sharon, with everything else you’ve got going on.”

COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS

All Districts:

1. 2006 – 2008 Bridge Inspection Consultant recommendation. The proposal review is not complete at the time of this agenda, but I anticipate submitting a memo prior to the meeting.

Mr. Schelling, “There are some consultants here tonight, I don’t know if you want to recognized them or not. This is for a bridge inspection that is mandated by federal law. They have to inspect all our bridges every two years. Even the bridges that are not on the state or US or railroads.”

Com. Evans, “I think you just cut to the chase. There are many firms and they are all very reputable. As you have indicated, you have to do interviews. You recommended that Beam Longest and Neff was very high on the list for 2002 and is your recommendation at this time.”

Com. Evans moved to accept the recommendation of Beam Longest and Neff, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

North District:

1. IDEM has reviewed the Porter County Bridge 1014 (Calumet Road over CSX near 900 N) rehabilitation project and issued an environmental review letter that needs to be signed by the President of the Porter County Board of Commissioners. This step is necessary to complete the Categorical Exclusion for this project. This is routine and I recommend approval of this document.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

2. Troon Subdivision, Phase 1, Performance Letter of Credit #107500016 from First National Bank of Illinois in the amount of $214,530.00. Expiration date is April 27, 2007. Owners and subdividers are Patrick & Belinda Kleihege. Recommend approval.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

3. Papillon Estates Maintenance Letter of Credit #734, from Centier Bank, in the amount of $30,000.00. Expiration date is October 31, 2006. Owner and subdivider is Alicia Larkin. Recommend approval.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

4. Timberland Subdivision Road Agreement, located on the southeast corner of Meridian Road and CR 900 North. Offer to contribute $400.00/lot for a total of $61,200.00. Owners and subdividers are Bernard Madej and Strathmore, LLC. Recommend approval

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Center District:

1. Hampton Manor Subdivision, Performance Letter of Credit # 2134 from Mercantile Bank, in the amount of $495,000.00. Owners and subdividers are Hampton Downs, LLC. Recommend approval.

Com. Harper moved to approve, Com. Evans seconded, motion carried.

2. Brooks Industrial Park, Performance Letter of Credit #32000645, from Porter Bank, in the amount of $49,739.00. Expiration date is January 7, 2006. Owner and subdivider is Craig Brooks. Recommend approval.

Com. Harper moved to approve, Com. Evans seconded, motion carried.

3. Beauty Creek Villa Homes Subdivision, Performance Letter of Credit #ML7279 LC, from Peoples Bank, in the amount of $2,212,000.00. Expiration date is November 1, 2006. Owners and subdividers are Naples VPZ Development, LLC. Recommend approval.

Com. Harper moved to approve, Com. Evans seconded, motion carried.

South District:

1. Yellowstone Subdivision, Phase A-3/C, Performance Letter of Credit #518, from DeMotte State Bank, in the amount of $140,000.00. Expiration date is November 7, 2006. Owners and subdividers are Thomas and Sue Harrison. Recommend approval.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

2. Riley Ridge Subdivision, Phase B, Performance Letter of Credit from Chase Bank in the amount of $9,000.00. Expiration date is November 10, 2007. Owner & subdivider is David A. Riley. Recommend approval.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

3. Morgan Estates Subdivision, Performance Letter of Credit/Maintenance Guarantee #630, from Centier Bank, in the amount of $15,000.00. Expiration date is December 15, 2006. Owner and subdivider is Worstell-Seward Limited Partnership. Recommend approval.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Mr. Schelling, “Since we are entering into an agreement with Aberdeen, I have the acceptance form for the roads in Aberdeen that I would like to submit for your approval, that way I can get it submitted to INDOT and get it on our inventory for when we get the money.”

Atty. Rinkenberger, “We approved this conditional upon them signing their agreement. They had finally got it today so you can sign it, you hold it until we get their signature on our settlement agreement.”

Com. Evans moved to approve conditionally upon the acceptance by the other party, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE

Treasurer’s monthly report for October 2005 is on file.
Court Security Activity Report for October 2005 is on file.

Request for Approval of Official Bond for Delphine Eck

Com. Evans moved to approve the bond for Delphine Eck, Boone Township Assessor in the amount of $8,500.00, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Request for Approval of Official Bond for Catherine Hall

Com. Evans moved to approve the bond for Catherine Hall, Porter Township Assessor in the amount of $8,500.00, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Approval of Animal Shelter services contract with city of Valparaiso

Com. Evans moved to approve the contract with City of Valparaiso for 2006 in the amount of $20,150.00, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Approval of ACH Origination Agreement with First National Bank for payroll disbursements

Com. Evans moved to approve the agreement with First National Bank for payroll disbursements, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Approval of catering agreement with Martini’s Restaurant and Expo Center

Com Evans moved to approve the catering agreement with Martini’s Restaurant and the Expo Center, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Approval for Daybreak Community Church to hold fund raiser at Opera House

Unidentified man, “I spoke with the Opera House and got a date that works for them and we agreed upon January 28 pending your approval.”

Com. Evans moved to approve the use of the Opera House for a fund raiser for Hurricane Katrina victims for January 28, 2006, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Request for Transfer of Funds—Commissioners

Fund 01.30 $ 1,840.98 from 1110 salaries
1,000.00 from 2430 law books
1,000.00 from 3160 vet services
469.60 from 3750 other rentals
575.40 from 3970 Memorial Day expenses
648.54 from 3210 travel
4,000.00 from 3320 legal notices
To 3230 Postage

To cover postage through the end of 2005.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Request for Transfer of Funds—Commissioners

Fund 01.30 $432.00 from 3973 change of venue
Into 2330 household and bedding

To cover purchase of cleaning supplies through end of 2005.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Request for transfer of funds—Commissioners

Fund 01.30 $1,189.00 from 3973 change of venue
Into 4440 furniture/fixtures over $100

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Request for transfer of funds—Commissioners
Fund 132.30 $22,475.00 from 3620 building and structures
Into 3120 consultants

To cover consulting fees from DLZ regarding demolition of County Home and Daadda Services for technology assessments.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Request for transfer of funds

Fund 132.30 $4,000.00 from 4420 motor vehicles
Into 4540 other equipment

To purchase snow plow blade for maintenance truck (lost in fire at County Home, estimate—may be lower.)

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Request for Additional Appropriation—Commissioners

Fund 293.30 $135,800.00 acct 0001 CEDIT Project 9 (2005)

To cover start up costs for document imaging project and back up scanning.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

Request for transfer of funds—Highway Dept.

Fund 02.91 $3,000.00 from 1120 part time hourly
Into 1111 full time hourly

Fund 02.91 $30,000.00 from 1110 salaries
Into 1111 full time hourly

To cover full time hourly payroll for December and additional hours necessary for snow removal.

Com. Evans moved to approve, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried

APPROVAL OF 2006 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Com. Evans moved to make January 2, 2006 a holiday since it falls on the first Monday after the first, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

RESOLUTION ENDORSING ST. JOSEPH COUNTY’S SHIFT TO CENTRAL TIME ZONE

RESOLUTION NO. 05-08
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF PORTER COUNTY ENDORSING ST. JOSEPH COUNTY’S SHIFT TO THE CENTRAL TIME ZONE

WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of the County of Porter is the governing authority of Porter County, Indiana, which County borders Lake County, which County borders the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago, and further, which County is the third largest populated County in the state of Indiana; and

WHEREAS, the County of Porter has long recognized the importance of the operation of commuter railroad passenger service between points in Northwest Indiana and the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to law, a member of the Board of Porter County and St. Joseph County sit as members of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which District operate the aforesaid commuter railroad service; and

WHEREAS, the counties of Porter and St. Joseph, as well as LaPorte and Lake, have worked cooperatively over many years to provide such commuter railroad passenger service to the City of Chicago, serving the vital economic interests of the Northwest Indiana area; and

WHEREAS, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is the only commuter railroad in the County that has stations in two (2) separate time zones; and

WHEREAS, with Indiana’s adoption of Daylight Savings Time South Bend will always be one (1) hour different than the other South Shore stations, confusing the public and creating a potential barrier to utilization of this service; and

WHEREAS, sharing a common time zone with Chicago; Lake County; Porter County and LaPorte County will serve to enhance the economic strength of the greater South Bend/Mishawaka area; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportation plans to hold a series of public hearings to determine if Indiana’s counties should remain in the Eastern or shift to the Central Time Zone; and

WHEREAS, it has been the stated policy of the administration of the State of Indiana that each County should decide that time zone most appropriate to its needs; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of St. Joseph County have chosen to be included in the Central Time Zone.

NOW THEREFORE BE RESOLVED THAT:
The Board of Commissioners of the County of Porter endorses the inclusion of St. Joseph County and the Central Time Zone and directs its staff to send this Resolution to the U.S. Department of Transportation; St. Joseph County Council and the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners to be entered into the public record as support thereof.

RESOLVED this 22nd day of November, 2005.


BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA
s/Robert P. Harper
s/John A. Evans

Attest:s/Sandra K. Vuko

Com. Evans moved to approve Resolution No. 05-08, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

NEW SCALES FOR COUNTY ROADS DISCUSSION

Atty. Rinkenberger, “We can probably cut to the chase on this. We need new scales so we can enforce our weight limits. We don’t have scales, the scales that the Porter County Sheriff’s Police Department have are not adequate. You have a memo in front of you from Sgt. Kuehl who has priced scales that are used by the state police and he believes that is what we need. They are $21,570.00. The Sheriff’s Department are the ones in charge of using the scales but they benefit the Highway Department so we need to buy scales to the tune of $21,570.00.”

Com. Harper, “If we take it out of one of our funds, where can we take it from?”

Ms. Hartig, “Cable Franchise, fund 143.”
Com. Evans moved to approve the purchase of scales for $21,570.00 from fund 143,

Com. Evans, “Are the scales digital?”

Sgt. Kuehl, “No. They work on a pressure system that’s on a regular scale. They are not digital. Everyone I talked to recommended staying away from them because of problems with electronics.”

Com Evans, “Are they going to have to go in and be calibrated every, what?”

Sgt. Kuehl, “They have to be tested. The gentleman I talked to in Indianapolis he said probably once a year would be fine. The state police does theirs every six months.”

Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Atty. Rinkenberger, “Who orders these, you?”

Sgt. Kuehl, “I can.”

Atty. Rinkenberger, “Why don’t you.”

Com. Evans, “Do you have the fund number? It is 143.”

PORTER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL TIME LINE DISCUSSION

Com. Harper, “Before we do the bids, let me say that I have said before I was going to set a time line for the Commissioners to implement some of the recommendations that were made by the committee from Porter Memorial Hospital as far as setting up a meeting schedule and so forth. We have a meeting May 16, which is about six months from now. Hopefully we will have a report much earlier than that on how we have these meetings set up. At the very latest, we will have that set up by that time. And I think Commissioner Evans has a statement from us he wants to make.”

Com. Evans, “I agree with what you said and I will work diligently with you and the hospital and whoever is necessary to make sure that is completed in a timely fashion. And I would also like to offer my thanks and appreciation to the committee that studied the hospital issues in depth. The conclusions and recommendations they have given are evidenced of some long hours of work and consideration of the topics involved. It should be noted that many of the issues are not new and some are not even germaine, but simply show past performances. I believe the hospital is attempting to show good faith. It is working to correct many of the inefficiencies. Financial difficulties are another matter and must be addressed with due haste in order to keep the hospital profitable. Lets not forget the reasons for the committee. It was asked to look at the operation of Porter due to two incidents. One was the individual alleged a cover up of an audit and then would not talk to the committee regardless of the assurances made about no retaliation or legal action. Secondly, the hospital CFO was secretly recorded by an individual who he thought was trustworthy. He answered his questions, gave his own personal opinions and it cost him his job and it cost the hospital its credibility. Lets give the hospital what it needs, our confidence, support and encouragement to work through this challenge. Lets also promise to assist them in every juncture possible to maintain their quality of service of the people in the county. In regards to the discussion of a merger or a sale, lets review the issues thoroughly and support the decisions based on facts and based on the best interest of the people of Porter County. Health care faces many challenges, one of which is staying current in changing conditions and advanced care. An aging facility certainly increases that challenge and must also be addressed. I sincerely commit to further exploration and action that will accomplish everyone’s goals to keep the hospital strong and accountable.”




RECEIVE 2006 HIGHWAY BIDS

Com. Harper, “The way we are going to do this is we will announce who placed the bids and for what and under what category, and then the bids will be spread on the table in the back for everyone’s inspection. Am I correct in my understanding?”

Al Hoagland, “Yes, we will do an evaluation later.”

The following bids were opened and read by Com. Harper:

Limestone: Harry Brown Trucking
Vulcan Trucking
Ralston Paving
Material Services

Slag: Whictomb Trucking
Levy Company
Beemsterboer

Bituminous Plant Mix: Reith Riley
Central Paving
Walsh Kelly
Aggregate Industries

Ice Abrasive Materials: no bidders

Fill Sand: GE Marshall
Ralston Paving

Pavement Stripings
and markings: Line Markers
Air Marking Company

Equipment Rental: Walsh Kelly
GE Marshall
Rieth Riley

Pulverizing machine: Mt. Carmel Sand and Gravel

Signs and Sign Posts: Hall Signs

Calcium Chloride: Great Lakes Chloride

Gasoline: Baird Marine
Petroleum Traders
Triple J Mar

Diesel Fuel: Baird Marine
Petroleum Traders
Triple J Mar

Motor Oil: Baird Marine
Superior Petroleum

Culverts: Debco Metal Culverts
Metal Culverts, Inc.
St. Regis Culvert

Guardrail: Debco Metal
James H. Drew

Precast bridge beams: no bidders

Ready Mix Concrete: Zimco Materials

Com. Harper, “These will be laid out at the table in the back for the rest of the meeting and will be available for inspection.”

Al Hoagland, “We can have them ready by the 6th if everything clears legal.”

Com. Harper, “So you will come back the 6th. So anyone who wants to hang around and see these, they are going to spread them out now.”

PLAN COMMISSION SESSION

Rezone—R1 to C2, Todd and Colleen Guyer, 2nd reading

Mr. Thompson, “Plan Commission resolution 05-15, Porter County Plan Commission. Petitioner Todd and Colleen Guyer requesting an amendment to zoning from R1 to C2, this is second reading. This ordinance is also contingent upon the filing of written commitments.”

Com. Harper, “We had the public meeting last time where we said we would comment again this time. Is Dave Schelling here? Dave, do you mind making an oral report back on this rezone and what you found. I know you gave us a written report.”

Mr. Schelling, “I don’t have the photographs that I had taken from ____ but we have photographs taken both of the drain pipe across 30 and it is clean, although it is a little high, but that said. It crosses the highway and we took photographs from both the north and the south side.”

Atty. Leeth, “But the weir is understand is on the south side.”

Mr. Schelling, “Yes, but (inaudible)…. Is higher than the ground. One of the ___ on the north side is more ______ there is a wetland and basically to lower that structure probably would entail draining the wetlands and that is a no no. Also, putting in a structure lower than that would be extremely expensive since there is four lanes of traffic and a median.”

Com. Harper, “Whose property is the wetlands on?”

Mr. Schelling, “It appears to be on Susan Handschey’s property.”

Atty. Leeth, “For your orientation, this is the property in question. The McGuyver property. The Handschey property is off in this direction, here is the drain and the restriction here, we think the restriction is on the south side that backs up the water and pond that you saw the photographs at your last meeting , are in this area. The photographs I provided you are taken from Highway 30 looking north out the drain. The first one in this area and the next one is further down and you can see the Handschey property. One of the purposes for that is to show you not only that this is a pretty well defined swale, you can see that in the photographs, and you can certainly see it runs by the northern end of the property along Highway 30 and then heads south. The Handschey property sits significantly up, in fact, the _____ suggested it might be as much as ten to twelve feet up from this area so there is certainly no danger of any flooding of improvement. We certainly don’t want the land to flood either but I think what is happening is that in significant rain events, it is backing up here and as the restriction moves and the water can flow, Mr. Schelling is indicating that he found it is clear and clean.”

Mr. Schelling, “This area looks like it would be the wetland.”

Atty. Leeth, “As a matter of fact, we think the wetland is all the way back to the northern portion of the McGuyver property so we (inaudible)….. the northern parcels between the McGuyver property and the Handschey property. Which is one of the reasons why we would only develop the southern half of the property. Essentially the southern half of the property. The northern half would be the buffer for the subdivision. We have been in touch with Rich Hudson of the Bonar Group regarding storm water management issues. He has been the one that has provided me with these topographic aerials from the city of Valparaiso’s resources. We preliminarily discussed the site plan and the storm water management areas and he thinks that we can certainly (inaudible)…. In a manner that is important with the rules. As I indicated to you at the public meeting and Ms. Handschey, no matter what happens with regard to your use issues, which is the subject of our petition, the development is two for one. It is a commercial development and number two, its within the US 30 overlay and requires we have site plan approval and all the storm water issues will have to be discussed and approved by the Technical Advisory Committee before any building takes place.”

Com. Harper, “Is there anyone in the audience that wants to speak on this? Any further discussion?”

Ms. Handschey, “I just wanted to say I like what they want to do as long as I don’t have to deal with the water. I think the water should go under the highway like its intended to be. The wetlands is the Blachly strip.”

Com. Evans, “I think they are trying to be a good neighbor by keeping their ___ to the south side of the property as well and it doesn’t look like it is going to cause any more additional run off. As Mr. Leeth said, they do have to go through TAC and get their instructions there.”

Ms. Handschey, “As time goes on the property will again have water. The water somehow has to drain.,…(inaudible).

Com. Evans, “I agree, and I think maybe the state of Indiana probably shares the responsibility with this.”

Atty. Leeth, “The second thing that has changed since our last appearance before you is Mr. Thompson, at that time was concerned with regard to as life pollution. The outdoor elimination spilling over. The property owner immediately to the west has signed off it as you will, our site plan. We have added additional covenant in the agreement with written commitments that talks about out___ in the nation being shielded as to the directive to the ______ to the ground and that there will be no reflective surfaces and so forth. Basically to address those concerns and I just shared that with Mr. Thompson.”

Mr. Thompson, “I have looked at them and Attorney Leeth just showed me the written commitments.”

Com. Evans, “I think we extended an effort to make sure this works out for everybody involved and I think Mr. Leeth and Mr. Thompson did and the neighbors did.”

Com. Evans moved to approve the rezone on second reading, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

STORM WATER DRAINAGE ORDINANCE –2ND READING

Mr. Thompson, “This is Plan Commission Resolution No. 05-16. This is an amendment to our zoning codes adding a chapter in there for storm water control ordinance. It will be Chapter 17.116.”

Com. Evans, “What is our number?”

Ms. Hartig, “05-21.”

Com. Evans moved to approve Ordinance No. 05-21 on second reading, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

Com. Harper, “I would like to thank Kevin Breitzke and Karen Tallion and Bob Thompson for the work they have put into this ordinance. We have a lot going on in planning right now. We are working on county wide ordinance, there are just a lot of things going on. I appreciate their efforts and hope it solves some future problems. Mr. Evans, is there anything else?”

Com. Evans, “Not that I am aware of.”

Com. Evans moved to recess, Com. Harper seconded, motion carried.

With no further business, the meeting was recessed.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PORTER COUNTY INDIANA


Robert P. Harper
John A. Evans
Carole M. Knoblock

Attest: Sandra K. Vuko, Auditor