The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, has awarded the Town of Chesterton a grant in the amount of $3,750 to fund a partial re-inventory of public street trees.

So Street Department Foreman Keith Parker told the Town Council at its meeting Monday night.

In September members committed a match of $2,500 toward that grant. At the time Tree Committee President Jeff Cernick said that it’s a good idea to update a municipal tree inventory every five years or so and now is an especially good time to do so in Chesterton, to add to its inventory the large number of street trees planted in the various subdivisions which have gone on line since the last update.

Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg calls the inventory an invaluable tool to which he refers often.

An inventoried tree is first species-identified, then aged and sized, and finally its health and condition determined and recorded. It typically costs between $2 to $3.50 to inventory a tree.

In other business, Fire Chief Mike Orlich introduced the council to his department’s newest members: Chad Compton, Kevin LaDuke, Eric Camel, Heather Pawlik, and David Kaminski. They began work on Dec. 1, are currently working days, but will be assigned to shift duty on Jan. 1.

“Welcome to Chesterton,” Member Jim Ton, R-1st, hailed them.

All of them are trained firefighters who have worked as volunteers with other departments.

The hires were made possible by the excess levy which the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance granted with the understanding that more firefighters would be needed to service several recently annexed areas east of Ind. 49 and south of the Indiana Toll Road.

The excess levy has also made possible the hiring of at least two new police officers. The Police Commission is currently interviewing candidates.

Meanwhile, members voted 5-0 to approve, at Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg’s request, the seasonal snow ban, to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Under that ban, on-street parking is prohibited from 12 to 8 a.m. on the following roadways during or after a snowfall of two inches or more:

•South Calumet Road from Porter Ave. to the Norfolk Southern at-grade crossing.

•Broadway from South Calumet Road to Sixth Street.

•Second and Third streets from Broadway to West Indiana Ave.

For his part Town Manager Bernie Doyle had two updates for the council. First, the new municipal website, being designed by SH/Mindbend of Valparaiso, is on track for startup on Feb. 1.

Second, Doyle said that he is currently gathering data from department heads for inclusion in his 2009 annual report, to be submitted to the council early in the New Year.

Posted 12/15/2009