Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Proposed Liberty annexation continues to move ahead; public hearing next

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By KEVIN NEVERS

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 5/13/2015

 
 

 

 

 

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