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PORTER COUNTY PLAN COMMISSION Regular Meeting May 23, 2007 M I N U T E S The regular meeting of the Porter County Plan Commission was held on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. in the Porter County Administrative Center, 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 205, Valparaiso, Indiana. Those members present were Rick Burns, Tim Cole, Commissioner Bob Harper, Todd Hutson, Herb Read, Rita Stevenson and Kevin Breitzke, President. Those members absent were Robert Detert and Elizabeth Marshall. Staff members present were Robert W. Thompson Jr., Attorney Scott McClure, Patricia S. Gibson and Fred Siminski. Mr. Cole moved to continue the reading of the April 25, 2007 minutes. Mr. Hudson seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote. Mr. Cole moved to waive the reading of the May 9, 2007 minutes and approve them as received in the mail. Mr. Hudson seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote. Old Business: Discussion on Falling Waters Subdivision. Attorney Scott McClure passed out to the members the most recent draft of the marketing brochure for Falling Waters. He asked the members to look it over and give him any input on it. He will then pass it on to the Falling Waters group. In the meeting in two weeks, hopefully there will be a final draft of that language before the Board. Commissioner Harper stated we asked for documents from Falling Waters on the sworn builders statements as to cost and we still don’t have them. The only thing that I have from them is this three page document. We have three appraisals that were done on the infrastructure. One of them is for only $4.5 million. Mr. Breitzke stated I would have to look at what items that was specific to. Commissioner Harper stated I asked for the documentation and we are not getting that. I think that we need to put that down that we want to see these documents. Attorney McClure stated I think that they agreed to it also. Falling Waters to be put on the June 13, 2007 agenda. Case 07-FP-4. Petition of John and Margie Judy, 73 E. 950 N., Chesterton, Indiana seeking secondary plat approval for Judy Acres Subdivision to be located at 503 E. 900 N. in Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana. (To contain 2 lots on 4.97 acres. Property is zoned RR.) Attorney McClure stated I just want to point out before this presentation and for all the other petitioners that we have six members tonight at this meeting and we are going to need five votes to move forward. Eric Banschbach, representing John and Margie Judy. Primary plat was approved on March 14, 2007. There have been no changes in the plat. They are requesting secondary plat approval. They have met or exceeded the requirements by the ordinance for the subdivision approval and have added some additional steps that was recommended by the DAC and this Board. Mainly the addition of the swale on the west line of Lot 1, which would take care of any problems that may be created down the road at the intersection of CR 500 E. and CR 900 N. They are taking the water onto them and taking it all the way to the north to Sand Creek. Mr. Burns stated I have no problems with this. Mr. Hutson stated no questions. Mrs. Stevenson stated no questions. Mr. Cole stated I have no questions. Mr. Read asked did we settle the matter of the drainage to the East on the property? Mr. Banschbach stated we obtained the additional information that you requested and showed the information on the primary plat and added the swale on the east side. Mr. Burns stated the elevations were missing and they show it now. Commissioner Harper stated I have no questions. Mr. Burns moved to approve Case 07-FP-4 for secondary plat. Mr. Hutson seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous roll call vote. Case 07-P-10. Petition of Barbara Sigle, 410 W. Coolspring Ave., Michigan City, Indiana seeking primary plat approval for Sigle’s Quest Subdivision to be located on the North side of CR 1325 N. between CR 300 E. and CR 375 E. in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana. (To contain 2 lots on 10 acres. Property is zoned RR. Con’t from 4-25-07. Public hearing is closed.) Mr. Breitzke stated they did not get the plats sent out to the members in time so they are asking for a continuance to the June 13, 2007 meeting. Commissioner Harper moved to continue Case 07-P-10 to the June 13, 2007 meeting. Mr. Cole seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous roll call vote. New Business: At this time, Mr. Breitzke read the rules of conduct for a public hearing. Case 07-Z-7. Petition of Gulabinka Trpeska, 1025 S. 575 W., Hebron, Indiana for a proposed amendment to the Master Plan to rezone a parcel of land from AG, Agriculture & Open Space to RR, Rural Residential to be located at 1025 S. 575 W. in Boone Township, Porter County, Indiana. (con’t from 4-25-07 mtg.) Kerry Trpeska, 32 Sunset Dr., Hebron. They want to rezone their property from AG to RR to be able to split their property to build another house on the property. Mr. Burns stated the way I see it is they want to divide one parcel of land into three parcels. One with an existing house. Is this correct? Mrs. Trpeska stated yes. Mr. Breitzke asked how big is your land. Mrs. Trpeska stated almost five acres. Gulabinka Trpeska, 1025 S. 575 W. No one spoke in favor of this petition. Gene Simms, 1017 S. 575 W. Not against improving the land. If you are going to take the parcel of land and make it into three parcels, you have to have an access road. We established a 90-foot road easement on the south side of the property when we divided our land in 2001. A farm road cannot be an access road. There is a high water table there. Where would the drainage for the septic system go? You have to have a place to run that subsurface drains otherwise you will have to use mounds. We have a 20-foot road easement that attaches from our 90-foot farm access road that adjoins a piece of property between where I live and they live. We have an issue with this and are working on it to resolve it. Pat Simms, 1017 S. 575 W. Trpeska land is landlocked three sides around by farmland. To put those homes back there they would have to have an access. There is an existing easement along their east boundary of their property, which I don’t know if they are aware of this. Kerry Trpeska stated I don’t know the answers to their questions. Mr. Burns asked should we table this so they can get the answers and be better prepared and to get representation. Attorney McClure stated if we table it to a date uncertain then they need to renotify. Mr. Burns moved to table Case 07-Z-7 with the public hearing open. Mr. Cole seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous roll call vote. Case 07-Z-8. Petition of Joanne K. Baron, 812 S. 350 W., Hebron, Indiana for a proposed amendment to the Master Plan to rezone a parcel of land from AG, Agriculture & Open Space to RR, Rural Residential to be located at 812 S. 350 W. in Boone Township, Porter County, Indiana. Joanne Baron, 812 S. 350 W. Petition is to rezone her property from AG to RR. She is proposing to cut out a couple of acres from the existing 7 acres so a family member can build one house. No one spoke in favor of this petition. Pam Kregel, 360 Reif Dr. Her property is located directly to the west of this. Where is the proposed house going to be located, in the north part of the property or the southern part of the property? She is concerned whether the south part of the property could support a septic system. When will a soil test be done? What type of septic system will be installed? Concerned about the drainage. What type of home will be built there? What will the square footage of the house be and the value? What will the time line be? Will there be other buildings put on this property? Mrs. Baron stated the intention is to hold off two acres to the south of the property. I was told to wait until the rezoning was done to have a survey done ahead of time. This will be a stick built home and no outbuildings. Once the survey is done and the soil is tested then we will know where the septic will go and whether the soil can support a septic system. I see no problem with drainage. There is a retention pond on the property. The house would sit more towards CR 350 W. Mrs. Kregel stated I know there is a retention pond on the north part of the property but I was not aware that there was a retention pond in the south half. Mrs. Baron stated there is no retention pond in the south end. The property is sloped and at the south end it is sloped up high where we would build and it slopes towards CR 350 W. I have not had any problems with drainage. The soil tests will tell the difference. If we have a problem with the soil test or if there is a drainage issue, I am not going to want to put a house there anyway. Mrs. Kregel main concern is her house and her property and her family. The public hearing was then closed. Mr. Burns stated we need more information. I would like to see if the septic can be installed on the property. Get in contact with the Health Department and they will come out and test if for you. I would also like to see a topo so I can see the runoff and the elevations. Mr. Hutson stated it would also be great if we could see on a map where you are going to place the home. Mrs. Baron stated I do have pictures of where the existing house is. Mr. Hutson asked what structures do you have on the property currently. Mrs. Baron stated there is one house and a pole barn. Mr. Hutson stated we need more detail on where you are going to place the other home on the property and how are you going to give access to the other home. Mrs. Baron stated to the direct south there is the abandoned railroad which I own. That currently is graveled and is a good access. Mr. Cole stated this would have to go before the Plan Commission after it is rezoned. It is difficult to get past spot zoning atmosphere out here except that you do have a subdivision to the west of you. In my mind you only have 7.5 acres. Whether you divide it or not is an issue that has come before us again. I would think that you would be entitled at this point to Rural Residential zoning because of the nature of the use of the land in that area. We do need to see a lot of detail on this. Mr. Read stated we need much more information on this. We need a concept plan and it should be sent to all the members ten days prior to the meeting. Mrs. Baron stated I am a widow and I really need help with the property. I really don’t want to sell this property. My sister and brother-in-law help me right now but they can’t maintain two property’s so far apart. That is why the intent was for them to build here so they can help me maintain this. I really wouldn’t want this property bought by someone else because it is a beautiful piece of property and have them come and rezone and put four or five homes in this area. It would destroy the natural habitat that is here. Commissioner Harper stated I agree with Herb. Mr. Burns asked should we table this or continue it? Mr. Breitzke stated I recommend that we table this. Mr. Burns moved to table Case 07-Z-8 until a date uncertain. Mr. Cole seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous roll call vote. Discussion on drainage in Pheasant Hills Subdivision. Mr. Breitzke stated we have received a letter asking for a continuance on this. At this time, Mr. Thompson read a letter from Don Bengel asking for the continuance. Mr. Burns moved to continue the discussion on Pheasant Hills Subdivision until the June 13, 2007 meeting. Mr. Cole seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote. Discussion on drainage in Autumn Oaks Subdivision. Chris Gilleo stated I live in Autumn Oaks Subdivision and some of my neighbors are also here with the same concerns that I have. We have several drainage issues. I have a video of the subdivision and our problems. Where I live in the subdivision, it goes straight and off of Division and it goes around in a big circle and goes back out that same road. I live on the north side of that circle. At this time, Mr. Gilleo presented a video of the drainage problems to the Plan Commission members. Mr. Gilleo stated in addition I have also provided Mr. Thompson with some pictures on a CD from one of my neighbors in the back. Mr. Thompson stated I do have them and I called them up this morning and for some reason I brought them up to print them out this afternoon and I couldn’t call them up. I don’t know what happened. Commissioner Harper asked aren’t we supposed to have someone here from the Building Department. Mr. Breitzke stated Mr. Haller son had an accident today and he is in the hospital. Mr. Burns asked were some house elevations kicked up or did the developer change the elevations at the curb and street? Mr. Breitzke stated the developer did not change the elevations. That is not true. Mr. Read asked did the home owners kick them up? Mr. Breitzke stated the individual builders. Mr. Burns stated one of the things that we should look at is when they developed the subdivision they should have elevations of the homes stated on the plat. Mr. Breitzke stated now we do. Mr. Burns asked what is the fix? Dave Imhof, 29 Woodruft. He stated the CD that you will see it drains from this mans yard through mine through the neighbors’ yard and ultimately into her yard. Mr. Burns stated what a fix might be is to put a manhole where it is collecting in the back of his property and hopefully the drain in the street is deep enough where they can go underground and tie into it. Mr. Burns asked if there is a fix who is going to pay for it? Mr. Breitzke stated I have been in discussion with Mr. Carlson and we might have some money in Drainage Board. At this time, the Plan Commission had a discussion concerning the drainage. Dave Imhof, 29 Woodruff. He stated I did provide some photographs of one of the rain storms where it started in this yard and across the street and came down in between my house and the house next door, went down through my backyard and ended up in his yard. If you would look at that, pictures are worth a thousand words. Commissioner Harper asked Dave who have you contacted in our departments. Mr. Imhof stated nobody. I tried to solve the problem myself. Commissioner Harper asked how did you try to solve it yourself? Mr. Imhof stated buried the downspouts. Commissioner Harper asked how long have you lived there? Mr. Imhof stated I moved in October 1, 2005. Commissioner Harper asked are most of the yards finished and construction done around that site? Mr. Imhof stated yes sir. Spiro Olympidus 12 N. Woodruff. He stated I have spoken to Kevin many times and he has been out to the property several times. Kevin has been trying to fix the problem. The subdivision has a lot of problems. I had to replace my yard twice because it washed away. I don’t know if it is necessarily the developers fault. I think that many of the builders have failed in their duties to provide high quality property and homes for the people that are moving into them. At this time the Plan Commission members and a number of the remonstrators had a discussion concerning the drainage. Carl Sinkiewicz, 26 Woodruff Dr. At this time, Mr. Sinkiewicz submitted pictures to the Plan Commission members. He explained to the members how he is taking water from the property behind him and the water from the two side houses. His back yard has water on it where he can’t even walk back there. He would like to have his back yard back. His sump pump runs constantly. Steve Dudak, 6 N. Woodruff. He is located across from the neighbor with the pond. There is a low point there and there is no drainage to the front. The sump runs pretty much five minutes, every five minutes twenty-four seven. He has a pretty nice swamp pretty much all summer and spring in there. The neighbor to the left when it rains it is like a river. He hasn’t spoken to anyone about this just dealing with the builder. Bob Pullins, 10 N. Woodruff. My house is high and dry. Water runs from Spiro and Joe’s into my back yard and sits and eventually goes west. It doesn’t go very fast. Jim Turk, 16 N. Woodruff. We have had similar issues. I had six inches of standing water for three weeks. I brought in a dump load of black dirt that I moved by hand in my back yard to grade where that water was standing leaving the swale so that we would still move water to the north. We have some grass growing again. The drainage issue has been a problem. I have lost two 200-foot Oak trees at my expense. Mike Corbett, 4 Woodruff Dr. His concern is the drainage tiles that are going to be running behind our houses back to the south to Division Road. He has 26 Arborvitae trees that were planted there last spring. He wanted to know if those are going to be dug up to put these drainage tiles in. He doesn’t have any drainage problems on his property. Mr. Breitzke stated the trees are quite a problem in the back yards. It looks like we have fairly decent line with doing minimal damage if we can trench 13-feet east of the fence. That is just a tentative. My draftsman still hasn’t finished up those portions of the drawings. Ideally, it would be nice to go on the other side and I offered to remove a couple of dead trees that the Gray’s have to remove but it is their land. One of the things we need to discuss too is the easements so we can go back and if the tiles need to be maintained or if they get plugged up we can get some pressure washers down them through a couple of manhole structures. Here again inlets that would allow the water in also at those points. Mr. Corbett asked is there actually easements behind the properties? Mr. Breitzke stated not on Gray’s property. Mr. Corbett asked are we 100% positive that the fence behind our homes belongs to her? Mr. Breitzke stated you and I have discussed that, however, it is a woven wired fence and she is making claim to it but the fence is real close to the property line from what I can recall. Mr. Corbett stated she has one of the largest problems. Commissioner Harper asked why does she have one of the largest problems? Mr. Corbett stated I see that she has a lot of drainage of her own on her own property, her own problem. That water eventually builds up in this area and is seeping down between our property lines, between Autumn Oaks and her lot and is going towards the island. Commissioner Harper asked does she get some water from your properties on her property? Mr. Corbett stated yes. Mr. Breitzke stated she always has. The topography has the drain kind of going west of the line. Paul Landsbury, 2 Woodruff. I have five Oak trees that along the south side, which run along Division. That is black dirt underneath those Oak trees so that is the original grade. Everything moved off to the west and to the north of that line. We are high and the water is coming from either our sump pump or from our downspouts and it is running into her yard. So she is getting water from our yards. Where my sumps and my spouts run out is far to the south side of her home and it is just a short shot maybe twenty yards and then it is in the ditch along Division. I have a question about the 13-feet from the fence for the drainage tile that you are proposing to put in. I have is going to put that almost on top of one of my Oak trees. Mr. Breitzke stated we are not going to come that far south. We are probably going to terminate right at the common line of one and two. The lot to the north of you is what I was looking at to terminate the main line there. That way you could run your sump line up to the mainhole. Mr. Landsbury stated my sump is not an issue. Where it runs onto her property there is so much slope there anyway it runs right off to the ditch. Where is the water going to go from there? Mr. Breitzke stated it goes northerly. Judy Garza, lot 4. What was the drainage plan supposed to be? Commissioner Harper asked do you live next to Rose Gray? Mrs. Garza stated yes. Commissioner Harper asked is she getting flooded? Mrs. Garza stated yes she is. Commissioner Harper stated what is amazing to me is I have had people come back and tell me a dozen times she is and I am convinced that she is. Mrs. Knoblock has been out there and seen it. We know she is getting flooded. Right? Mrs. Garza stated she is getting flooded and it is like a lake outside the pond. Mr. Read stated I was out there on Monday and spoke with this lady and she showed us where the water flowed. Some of it comes from the new subdivision and it was quite clear that some of you people who are lucky enough to have the high houses were draining into her yard. What should be done here is try to find a solution that would solve the subdivision problems without creating more problems or additional problems for the lady that lives to the west. Mr. Burns stated it appears that there is a fix for most of the issues, not all of it though. The question is who is going to pay for it. I feel that it should be the developers responsibility. I would like to hear from the developer. Mr. Breitzke asked Mr. Carlson when are you going to get the top coat in? Rick Carlson stated this summer. We are bonded in the county for it. Mr. Burns asked how much is the bond? Mr. Thompson stated I don’t know. Mr. Carlson stated we are bonded for $42,000. Mr. Burns asked can the developer take care of the problem? Can he help pay for it? Mr. Ferngren stated Mr. Carlson is still waiting to find out what is the proposed fix for Rose Gray so we can address that. He has been to these meetings to find out what the answer is and we don’t know what that is yet. Mr. Gilleo’s video was very telling and I really couldn’t agree with Kevin more. If you look at that video tape and watch it from beginning to end I think you will see exactly what Kevin described. After the grass was put in and it was stabilized, he has a great looking lawn. If you look at the water that is coming between the two yards, that is where it is supposed to go. Kevin said that is a swale. Every time that video progressed it got smaller and smaller and smaller. It is only in heavy rain events that this happens. Mr. Breitzke stated Mr. Ferngren is talking about Mr. Gilleo’s area and the island. Rick Carlson stated there is rear yard drainage issues in the front drive coming in and those first series of houses on the left. The issue on Mr. Gilleo’s property is a separate area of the neighborhood and that water in the video during storms runs through to the side yards and when the storm is done the water runs through and he has a dry yard and to the best of my knowledge a dry basement. During rain events is there a lot of water? Absolutely, but the water leaves that property. The issue in the front and the homes on the left that we talked about, that is the solution that we are waiting to hear from you. Mr. Hutson asked is there any building going on out there? Mr. Carlson stated there are two homes that are completing the yards and there are two vacant lots to be built on. Mr. Burns stated there are covenants and there is a committee, which is yourself. Do you approve the building sites? Mr. Carlson stated I approve the home plans. The site plan and the elevations go through the Building Department. Mr. Read asked do you know how that flowed before the subdivision was platted? Mr. Carlson stated it flowed north and west. Mr. Read asked do you know how that flowed prior to you doing any work? Mr. Carlson stated I have actually shared with Kevin a preconstruction topo of the land showing that the property drained north and west along that fence line. The fence line is almost the crossing point… Mr. Read stated I saw the fence. Mr. Carlson stated Mrs. Gray is also taking water from the five acre lot to the west of her. The five acre property comes across her five acres and joins Autumn Oaks land and then goes down to the back corner of her five acre parcel where Autumn Oaks wraps on the east and north side of her property. Mr. Breitzke stated Mrs. Gray closed on her house the same day that they either recorded it or the final plat was accepted. Mr. Read stated a ditch, swale or perforated tile of some kind would have to go along that woven wire fence. Mr. Carlson stated this is a conversation Kevin and I have had about what could go in along there, whether it is piping and inlets to bring it to the north in that storm system. Mr. Breitzke stated on Mrs. Gray side it is actually the low point. You go back up hill on most of the lots on the east side but she has declined to let us work on her side. Mr. Burns asked Mr. Carlson are you willing to pay for this? Mr. Carlson stated I told Kevin if you could show me a plan what you think could work I would be willing to participate. I don’t know what the plan is and I don’t know what the cost would be. Mr. Breitzke stated Mr. Sinkiwicz and his neighbor are willing to work with us with an easement. We are going to do that first phase the storm sewer at the very north end, which would be a receptor. Attorney McClure stated I would like to point out at a legal stand point, obviously paying for it is one major issue but also the cooperation of the current home owners to allow potential fixes to be routed through their property is necessary. Otherwise, it just becomes impossible to fix because what we have heard so far is potentially some drains and things like that, ditches and additional swales etc. We have to have permission and an agreement with the current property owners to do those things. Mrs. Stevenson asked why should the County be held responsible when the elevation and everything was done after they came to us. Why should we be held responsible? I don’t feel that we should. Attorney McClure stated your question doesn’t have one easy answer yes or no. Second, I believe that we have heard that the developer wasn’t the one that necessarily raised the lots. We are dealing with third party purchasers. We start off with the developer, then we sell it to a builder who then sells to the people that are sitting out in the crowd. Mrs. Stevenson stated then what about the builder and the developer. Attorney McClure stated what we have done I would say at this point in time is that we have addressed some of the issues in our code currently and where it sits now as far as who would be responsible for the problems with the elevation changes, frankly, is a lot by lot issue. I can’t give a blanket answer to the whole subdivision. Mrs. Stevenson stated then we will have to take it one by one. Attorney McClure stated I think that what we have talked about tonight so far is that we have some potential fixes that are working and that are unique to each part of the subdivision. Mrs. Stevenson stated but who is willing to pay for it. Attorney McClure stated what I heard was an answer that was when he sees what the plan is and how much it costs he would be more committal as to what he is willing to do and pay for. That is what I heard. Mr. Ferngren stated yes, that is true. Attorney McClure stated so at this point in time until we actually, first of all, know what the plan is, know what the plan costs, have the permission from the current land owners to do it then at that point in time it is the question for the developer. Mr. Burns asked Kevin, in two weeks will we have a plan and a price? Mr. Breitzke stated for the first Phase, which covers Mr. Sinkiwicz because I know I have easements there that covers for them. The other issue was the one with Mrs. Gray and we were working on the premise that she would be working with us but she adamantly decided against it. Mr. McClure stated just one further comment of question that I was asked further, this Plan Commission in making inquiries in these individual subdivisions and coming up with outlining some issues and potentially going back and realizing some of the deficiency’s and maybe in our code at the time does not necessarily put this county or this Commission in the position that we are responsible to fix it. We, at this point, are trying to facilitate between the developer and the current home owners along with our department heads to fix the problem. I think that we are using these meetings as a way of bringing these issues to light and also as a means to be able to have some communication and get the wheels moving as far as fixes. Mr. Burns asked you are not going to install the final pavement until this is repaired. Mr. Carlson stated no. Mr. Burns asked will you have to dig up any streets to fix this. Mr. Breitzke stated no. We have a storm sewer system in the streets currently. Mr. Carlson stated we will take it right to the streets. Commissioner Harper stated that these folks have said that there is no problem now that the grass is in with the folks in the island. I want to give them a chance to tell us if that is true or not. Mr. Gilleo stated water from the front of the subdivision does travel all the way to the back and jumps the curb at Mr. Imhof property and travels through his side yard and through the back yard and eventually through my side yards. There is a substantial amount of water coming from not only the island but also the front of that subdivision. Mr. Breitzke stated I think that Mr. Imhof’s testimony kind of clarified that. Mr. Gilleo stated the front yard and the side yard where the water runs through there is a deep trench in there now. I think the water washed away the dirt. So it takes days to dry. It is a problem. The sidewalk is washed out. It dropped once. We had it fixed and it has dropped again. Commissioner Harper asked when did it drop again? Mr. Gilleo stated it dropped again this spring. Commissioner Harper asked when were these pictures taken? Mr. Gilleo stated during those big storms last summer. Commissioner Harper asked do you feel that your problem was solved? Mr. Gilleo stated no. Commissioner Harper stated I think during the next heavy rain we need to have Mike go out there and take some pictures. Mr. Ferngren stated either Mr. Carlson could do that or I could do that myself. Commissioner Harper stated let’s put this back on the agenda in four weeks. That would make it the June 27, 2007 meeting. Discussion on Falling Waters Mr. Burns stated we are going to have to look at the bond. I am not sure if all the members realize we could collect $345,000 from Falling Waters. If something happens and he doesn’t finish the subdivision there is only $345,000 and there is no way with all of those issues out there that $345,000 would even come close to taking care of the problem. I think that of the $345,000, $110,000 is for the sanitary treatment plant. The balance of that would be for the repairs that occurs the roadways. Commissioner Harper stated the infrastructure according to them cost $7.5 million. Mr. Burns stated I think we are going to have to look at increasing the bonds. Attorney McClure stated I would suggest releasing them slower. Mr. Breitzke stated the engineer for the project proposes and itemize. At this time, the Commission had a discussion on the bonds. Commissioner Harper stated we need to get a system in place. We need to sit down and talk to the Highway Engineer and we need to have a system in place so we are sure that it is a fail safe system. That it is coming in with enough money. Attorney McClure stated let’s clear it. When you say secondary plat goes through it is not coming up at Plan Commission at the open meeting on the bond amount. Mr. Thompson stated when we make the motion it is stated in the motion. Commissioner Harper stated we don’t talk about amounts though and we need to start talking about amounts. Mr. Burns asked can we release the money at a slower rate but can we hold the majority to the end? Commissioner Harper asked should we change our ordinance to say that we hold 50% to the end? Attorney McClure stated we could revisit it and we could potentially…in my opinion at this point in time I will change it the next meeting if I find something different. I think that we could make that ordinance say whatever we want it to say as far as the bonding is concerned. I think it is going to have to be an ordinance change. At this time, the Commission had a discussion concerning bonding. Mr. Burns stated the engineering firm is going out to Falling Waters on Friday. They are going to tell us how much repairs they will have to have. Mr. Thompson stated Scott and I will get together to discuss this. Mr. Burns stated I need to talk about one of our engineering firms, Armstrong. It seems that they are not responding. It has been about six or seven weeks and they have not been out to do the core samples in Falling Waters. Just for the heck of it I called DLZ to see how fast they could get out there and they said one or two days. Mr. Thompson stated right now we do have a contract with DLZ but the Plan Commission agreed that maybe it wouldn’t be the best thing with DLZ on this. I did speak with Phil Gralik and I expressed your concerns and he said he will be in touch with you, Commissioner Harper, to talk to you about that. Commissioner Harper asked are they coring on Friday? Mr. Thompson stated they are coring on Friday. Commissioner Harper asked what pipeline goes through Yellowstone Subdivision. Mr. Thompson stated Buckeye Pipeline and they do a number of different…it could be liquid gas, diesel or regular gas. Commissioner Harper stated the subdivision was approved and the Plan Commission didn’t even know that the pipeline went through the property. Then people start building homes and putting in driveways across the pipeline where they can’t have driveways. The pipeline is between their house and the access to the home. I get this call from Dave Schelling from the Highway Department that they are out there with the lawyer and the developer and they are yelling at him because Dave won’t give them a driveway permit. They have this meeting out at the subdivision where some of these driveways are in and some aren’t in. Dave was told that it was all worked out with Buckeye and they are going to send us a letter back saying that people can drive their cars over Buckeyes gas line. Then Schelling finds out that Buckeye wrote them a letter back and said that they can’t work this out with you because these are individual home owners and if we are going to work it out we have to work it out with each one. It is not worked out. I just want to let the members know about this. --- Mr. Thompson stated the interviewing committee did some interviews last week with perspective candidates for the Planner I position and they have narrowed it down to three. There are two strong candidates and they asked me which one I wanted. One of them happens to be the intern that worked for us last summer from Ball State University, now a graduate, Ray Joseph. The other one was A.J. Boynton and he is a resident from Miller. I would like to be able to hire Ray Joseph. Commissioner Harper moved to hire Ray Joseph for the Planner I position. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. PORTER COUNTY PLAN COMMISSION S/ Kevin Breitzke, President Attest: Robert W. Thompson Jr. AICP, Executive Director/County Planner |
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May 23, 2007