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PORTER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS The special meeting of the Porter County Board of Commissioners convened at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, April 9, 2007 in the Commissioners’ Chambers of the Administration Center. Those present were: Commissioners Robert Harper, John Evans and Carole Knoblock; County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger; Administrative Assistant Melissa Hartig; and Recording Secretary Vi Wagner.
President Harper called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance.
CHANGE POLLING PLACES Ms. Koszusek, “It’s getting increasingly difficult to find polling places. As I said, I can go downstairs right now and have a phone call saying that a polling place can no longer be used. Jane and Helen, before Helen left, had personally gone out and reviewed these places. Due to the handicapped accessibility or a church not wanting us there, and I don’t know if you are familiar that the cities and towns election. The cities and towns pay a cost of approximately 30% towards the selection. So, in a cost saving effort to them and to the county we’re saving on inspectors at $125.00 each and lunches. But for Boone 1 through 5, they have decided that that’s for the whole town to go there and of course, Boone 1 is not voting in this upcoming election, so it’s 2 through 5 that will be using the Gathering Place. Center 10, they no longer want politics in the church and it had to be moved. Portage 5, the old polling place was under construction so we were able to secure Willowcreek Middle School. In Westchester, we used to have four precincts there at the Community Center there, Hawthorne Park, no longer met the ADA and we couldn’t bring it out to their requirements so we were using the town hall, the fire department and the library. Now the library and the town hall are kitty corner from each other, so it’s a cost savings to the town and again, it is getting very hard to find workers for these elections. Jane and Helen have gone out and they came to the conclusion that the town hall would nicely fit all four polling places.” Com. Harper, “Okay, any questions or discussion?” Com. Evans, “Had the Voter’s Registration Board approved these changes?” Ms. Koszusek, “Yes.” Com. Evans, “Okay. Are any of these changes going to affect or give the appearance of affecting any district boundaries or line?” Ms. Koszusek, “No.” Com. Evans, “Okay. Not within towns or within state representative or senate or judicial districts?” Ms. Koszusek, “Well, Commissioner Evans, up until now I haven’t been a part of that but with these Jane and I sat down and looked at the maps to and gone over them twice to make sure that we weren’t crossing. There is also a page 2 which I didn’t at the time send up to you that we had made and this is just for the cities and towns. The first page reads to be that we are considering it to be a more permanent, and I am going to give this to you, is just for this upcoming election. So there are other precincts involved but, it will just be for the cities and towns election.” Com. Harper, “We’re not changing precinct values here.” Ms. Koszusek, “No, no values are being changed, just polling places.” Com. Evans, “Well, that’s what we were told last time.” Com. Harper, “Anything further? Carole? John?” Com. Evans, “Are these changes also going to also be requested for the general election, the Center ones and the….. the second page?” Ms. Koszusek, “Yes, Mr. Evans. The second page now, as I said, is just for the cities and towns for 2007.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “We’re not doing anything on the second page, right? There’s no action being taken on the second page? Just the first page?” Ms. Koszusek, “Just the first page.” Com. Evans, “And there may be other ones to follow for the general election as well?” Ms. Koszusek, “Well, I can go downstairs and have a phone call from another polling place saying we can’t use it. And that is why this came and I apologize for the urgency of calling this meeting.” Com. Evans moved to approve the request for changes in polling places, Com. Knoblock seconded, motion carried. Com. Harper, “Do we have any further business?” Com. Evans, “I have one thing.” Ms. Koszusek, “Thank you very much, have a good day.” PORTER HOSPITAL PUBLIC MEETING AND WEBSITE QUESTIONAIRE DISCUSSION Com. Evans, “Hopefully by Wednesday of this week we’ve been in this discussion about the hospital sale and proceeds, etcetera, etcetera, and I voiced an opinion at our last meeting that I thought that this ought to be something that everybody could have a say on. I have had conversation with Sharon Lippens in IT, hopefully by Wednesday of this week we will have a page on our website, on porterco.org that people can go to and voice their opinion. I think we will leave that open for a period of seven to ten days prior to the meeting and have it close before the hospital’s meeting. People will be able to go on to our website and voice their opinion as to whether the hospital should be sold, what should happen to the proceeds, who should administer them, and we’ve got a series of questions that will be posted on that website, on our website. We’ll take the responses under advisement for those people that are not able to get to a public meeting and we’ll evaluate them when we come to that point. The thing is that people that go on that website need to be Porter County residents, they will be required to give their name and address. No other information about them, but we need to know that the information we are gathering is valid and if somebody doesn’t want to leave their name, then it’s not a valid comment as far as I am concerned. We need to make sure that we give everybody a way to get there so I think this will do it.” Com. Harper, “Can we have a Quickly session?” Com. Evans, “No Quicklys.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Do we have a public hearing date?” Com. Harper, “I wanted to ask you guys this. Apparently, the Council wants to do it. In the first place, the next Council meeting is in April because we have our CEDIT plan with the Highway Garage in it so we need to make that, it’s an important Council meeting because that is going to come up. And they wanted apparently they are asking to hold the open meeting that night, so I was going to ask the two of you if you were available that night, I have the Council meeting. When it is?” Ms. Hartig, “I think it’s the 24th.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Are we talking about having that public meeting on the 24th at the Expo Center?” Com. Harper, “Well, I though they were having it here but I don’t know.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Who’s they, us or them?” Com. Harper, “Well, the Council. They are having all their trouble coordinating with the Council because like two members are out of town for part of the month, and this and that and the other, okay, so the two of them are trying to coordinate. We had first suggested that Thursday, the 26th, which like one Council member couldn’t do, so they’ve been talking about the 24th.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “What time does their meeting start?” Com. Harper, “Well, they are talking about starting their Council meeting at 5:00 and then going into that meeting after they have that.” Com. Knoblock, “When is this again?” Com. Harper, “Carole, it would be the, well, when is the Council meeting?” Ms. Hartig, “I think it’s the 24th.” Com. Harper, “Is that a Tuesday? Yes.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Why don’t we just discuss the availability instead of location because the Council meeting might be over and you know, trying to squeeze three boards in here and the pubic for public hearing is kind of tight.” Com. Harper, “Do you want to take it upon yourself to make some calls today? That’s fine with me. I mean if you want to do it, that’s great. I mean somebody’s got to call around and get everybody, to make sure everybody can do it. I am just saying we have some important stuff on the Council agenda, other than that.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Do you think everybody will fit in here?” Com. Harper, “I don’t know, Gwenn.” Com. Evans, “I think we should try and get the Expo Center?” Atty. Rinkenberger, “How about the Opera House? That’s close, I mean the Council members can simply walk up the street and the Opera House is close and bigger, too, I mean that’s just an idea.” Com. Evans, “Either one would be acceptable, I think.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “Okay, I’ll call the Opera House.” Com. Harper, “Why don’t you start calling all these different boards? The Council and the Hospital.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “I already know the Hospital Board, because I’m on it, and this Board can make it to either the Expo or the Opera House.” Com. Knoblock, “So that’s the night we vote?” Com. Evans, “We’ll make ourselves available.” Com. Harper, “We can decide that. I think the Council is going to, from what I hear, is going to vote for another meeting a few nights later. That’s what I hear.” Com. Evans, “For my thing with the website, if we get this up and running by Wednesday, which is my hope then I would like to, if we are going to meet and vote on the 24th, I’d like to have it closed on the close of business on Friday the 20th so that we could have at least one business day to evaluate the returns.” Atty. Rinkenberger, “The Council meeting, would it be at 5:00?” Ms. Hartig, “Their meeting times change.” Com. Harper, “They usually start their meeting at 6 or 6:30, the Council usually does, what they’re talking about, I think Gwenn, is starting their meeting earlier which they did last week because of something else, so…” Atty. Rinkenberger, “So we would have a public meeting starting at like 6:30 at either the Opera House or the Expo Center?” Com. Harper, “Yes. Anything else? John? Do I hear a motion?” Com. Evans moved to recess, Com. Knoblock seconded, motion carried.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Robert P. Harper Attest: James K. Kopp, Auditor |
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April 9, 2007