Porter County Plan Commission Executive Director Robert Thompson told two county commissioners at Tuesday's commissioner meeting the U.S. 6 corridor has been looked at extensively for overlay mapping.

The stretch of highway will be “one of the hottest redevelopment areas” in the county, Thompson said, citing the future hospital as one of the catalysts for the redevelopment spur.

The hospital, which has recently broken ground on the northwest corner of U.S. 6 and Ind. 49, is scheduled to open in 2012.

Thompson originally proposed at the previous commissioners meeting on July 20 that the overlay mapping could span from the eastern city limit of Portage to North Calumet Ave. through the unincorporated areas. The commissioners decided to hold off their vote to approve the study at their previous meeting on July 20 until more of their questions could be answered.

Porter County Commissioner John Evans, R-North, suggested on Tuesday the overlay district along U.S. 6 could even reach to CR 400N or all the way to County Line Rd. which bounds neighboring LaPorte County. Thompson said part of the stretch of road has already been designated as a scenic overlay district.

Thompson said he has discussed the matter with the county redevelopment commission which is planning to hold a public workshop for the overlay study sometime in the near future.

The overlay study would also include areas that may see forms of redevelopment such as the South Haven area and the nearby Damon Run stream which has been a high concern for drainage and would need further engineering.

Thompson said originally a study was in the works for U.S. 6 that would stretch across the county. The study, which was to widen the highway, was to be done by the state in phases but only made it to the second phase of the plan that did not go past Ind. 149.

Thompson approximates the mapping could be done for $67,000. He already cut down the cost by $6,300 by excluding study for an eastern section but county attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger suggested the county should include the section the first time so it would not end up having to pay for it later.

Evans asked that Thompson return to the next meeting to further discuss the scope and the costs associated. He also wanted to make sure fellow county commissioner Robert Harper, D-Center, who was absent Tuesday, would be present to have questions answered he posed at theat July 20 meeting.

County Commissioner Carole Knoblock, D-South, agreed to a motion to withhold the discussion until the next meeting on Aug. 17.

A second discussion involving the plan commission was continued a second time on Tuesday night. Evans withheld further discussing the amendment to the county’s Unified Development Ordinance regarding the number of adults included in assisted living facilities in Harper’s absence.

The plan commission under advisement from the county board of zoning appeals wishes to indicate in the ordinance that the number of adults receiving care in the facilities reaches at least five. The reason being the state will agree to perform regular inspections of the facilities, taking the responsibility out of the county’s hands.

Discussion was tabled at the July 20 commissioners meeting after the commissioners questioned how it would enforce the ordinance once it is approved. Thompson said he did not receive a list of questions the commissioners had regarding the amendment and would be willing to answer the questions at the next meeting. Evans and Knoblock did vote to implement a scenic overlay on Meridian Rd. between Valparaiso and Chesterton on a second reading.

In other business:

Memorial Opera House Operations Director Brian Schafer presented the commissioners with a $29,985 bid from The Ross Group to replace the opera house‘s fire escape attached to the balcony. The bid was approved by the commissioners. Schafer said the opera house will feature up-and-coming country musician Josh Thompson. Evans also complimented Schafer for his work at the Porter County Fair. Schafer is also the manager of the county Expo Center. “It gets better every year,” said Evans.

DLZ Indiana will be placing a bid package for firms interested in replacing floor tile at the county’s north complex in Portage. The tiles will be replaced with a both a darker and lighter colored set of tiles. Stephen Kromkowski of DLZ estimated the cost for the tile and the labor could be up to $75,000.

The commissioners agreed to a three-year agreement with IBM for $36,000. The county’s information technology services director Sharon Lippens said the agreement is not to upgrade the hardware since the systems that are used in the court circuit system may be replaced soon by the state with a Windows-based system, but instead to maintain the software. The ITS department also added a new look to the county’s Web site which was launched this week. The changes can be seen at www.porterco.org

Posted 8/5/2010