The Town of
Chesterton’s contemplated annexation of not quite five acres on 1100N in
Liberty Township continues to proceed smoothly, in advance of a public
hearing on the annexation on May 26.
At its meeting
Monday night, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve an annexation
development agreement with the landowner, Richard Blount, as well as a
fiscal plan projecting the impact of the annexation on municipal services.
The property in
question totals 4.7 acres on the south side of 1100N just west of Dogwood
Park. The acreage is comprised of four buildable lots--valued at around
$200,000 each--in addition to an existing home.
Under the
annexation development agreement, Blount undertakes to pay for the
installation of all required infrastructure, including sanitary and
stormwater sewer lines and roadway; to create a shared driveway for each of
the two pairs of new homes; to pay the park impact fee, as required, for
each of the four new homes; to donate $1,000--$250 per parcel--to the town
to defray any equipment needs incurred or exacerbated by the annexation; and
to reimburse the town for all reasonable professional fees incurred during
the annexation process.
The fiscal plan, on
the other hand--prepared by Cender & Company at Blount’s expense but
reviewed and okayed by the town’s contracted financial consultant, London
Witte Group--projects no adverse impact, and virtually no impact at all, on
municipal services because the annexation area is so small.
Fox Chase Farms
Financing
In other business,
members voted unanimously to approve an ordinance authorizing the Utility to
enter an arrangement with the State Revolving Fund (SRF) for financing to
extend sanitary sewer service into Liberty Township. The scope of that
project: replacing the failing wastewater treatment systems currently
serving the Fox Chase Farms subdivision and Whispering Sands Mobile Home
Park with a brand-new collection system connected to the Utility’s
trans-Toll Road lift station. The project’s estimated cost: $2.1 million.
The SRF has already
committed, for all practical purposes, to finance the project with a
20-year, 0-percent loan and a $750,000 grant. The cost will be borne
entirely by the Fox Chase Farms and Whispering Sands residents and any other
Liberty Township users who may wish to be connected to the infrastructure.
Revised Personnel
Policy
Members also voted
unanimously to approve an ordinance which formally adopts a new--that is to
say, slightly revised--Personnel Policy Handbook.
The revisions are
mostly minor ones, some corrections and a bit of clean-up.
More substantive
issues include language on cell-phone use and texting; and the definition of
“regular work hours,” which are not the same from department to department.
Police officers, for instance, work 12-hour shifts; firefighters, 24-hour
shifts.