Porter County Planning Director Robert Thompson told the county commissioners during a short meeting Tuesday that more county money will need to be set aside for its share of the $500,000 to begin construction of the Dunes-Kankakee Trail portion in the town of Porter.

Thompson said he presented a memorandum of the agreed funding for the project to the Indiana Department of Transportation, but the agency ended up not accepting it.

Thompson said INDOT has stated money for the construction must first come through the county before any monies can be reimbursed.

The commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the town of Porter in early April that stated Porter will be given $125,000 by the county giving the town responsibility to oversee the project and any problems that may arise. That agreement will now be revised.

Thompson suggested the money be allocated into a new County Economic Development Income Tax fund which would have to be approved by the Porter County Council. A figure of $200,000 was suggested to cover the county’s local share of funding the engineering/construction that INDOT will reimburse.

County Commissioners Robert Harper, D-Center, and John Evans, R-North, voted to approve the modifications in the payment agreements and agreed to ask the council at their meeting in June if they would allow the action. County Commissioner Carole Knoblock was absent Tuesday and did not vote on the matter.

Porter director of engineering Matt Keiser, who was present at the meeting along with Porter Town Council President Michelle Bollinger, said the county received $500,000 in federal grant money to construct the crossings and approaches of the Ind. 49 and U.S. 20 intersection. With the local match, the total line item comes to $625,000 for the development, said Keiser.

The money will go to the first phase of development. The project has been slated to begin construction later in July.

Keiser said the plans for the enhancement also include the bridgeways over U.S. 12 and the South Shore line. The hike/bike trail will ultimately connect the north and south points of the county along the Ind. 49 highway, including jaunts through downtown Porter, Chesterton and Valparaiso.

“People will be able to ride their bikes from the Kankakee all the way up to the Dunes,” said Keiser.

Total cost for the multi-year construction of the U.S. 20 bridge is estimated at $5 million. Porter received an additional $1.8 million from the Regional Development Authority last year for the Gateway to the Dunes reconstruction project whose goal is to attract more visitors to the area.

The Town of Porter has selected SEH Inc. to be its consultant for the gateway projects, working closely with INDOT in the planning and construction.

Posted 5/19/2010