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By PAULENE POPARAD With local development in a holding pattern until the economy improves, Town Council president Emerson DeLaney said now’s the time to fill key staff vacancies and get the best people in place. “People are looking at the Town of Chesterton for the future. Chesterton is being watched,” he told fellow members of the Chesterton Advisory Plan Commission on Thursday. Attending the meeting was recently appointed town manager Bernie Doyle, whose new position assumed responsibilities for planning and economic development formerly held by town Utilities Superintendent Steve Yagelski. Yagelski resigned and his utility supervision temporarily has fallen to town engineer Mark O’Dell. Also, building commissioner Mike Orlich was named interim fire chief upon the retirement, and subsequent death, of long-time chief Skip Highwood. Plan Commission member George Stone asked what the timetable is to fill the two vacant posts because O’Dell and Orlich are pulling double duty. Yagelski’s former seat on the Plan Commission as a municipal employee also is vacant; DeLaney said letters of interest have been received and are being considered by the council, which makes the appointment. He also said the town is working with the local Utility Service Board and the Indiana Small Business Development Corp., the same organization that helped in the town manager search. DeLaney anticipated the superintendent hiring process will take about two months. Stone also asked that the Town Council consider what to do about an existing ordinance that requires the planning director, now a consolidated position, to sign secondary subdivision plats. Update process unresolved Since late last year the Plan Commission has discussed updating the town’s comprehensive plan. Doyle said he’s looking at options for how to fund the project. Commission members reached no agreement how to proceed other than to have O’Dell prepare a map of existing town boundaries for the March 19 meeting. Commission member Mike Bannon said Chesterton should responsibly plan for growth within its town limits and also for what reasonably may be within town limits in the future through voluntary annexation. Large housing developments Sand Creek Farms east of County Road 250E and Abercrombie Woods south of County Road 1050N were cited as new additions to town after the last comprehensive plan was adopted. The current planning boundaries are County Road 300E and County Road 900N on the south. Chesterton holds little room for expansion to the north and west. Bannon said he believes it’s the Plan Commission’s duty to oversee the comprehensive plan update; members should paint it in broad strokes and bring in staff and stakeholders to add input and suggestions. Doyle said the current plan is good and just needs to be updated. “I don’t have a problem with one person facilitating the process but no one person should be responsible for doing it.” According to Stone, it’s absolutely essential someone be the point person who keeps the project on track so it gets completed as proposed by Dec. 31. He recommended convening an advisory group including area business, economic development and Duneland School Corp. representatives to meet separately with a few Plan Commission members rather than try to tackle the plan update at the end of monthly meetings. Tourism grab panned Commission member Sig Niepokoj asked DeLaney if the Town Council plans to show its support for the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission in light of rumored attempts by some Lake County tourism officials to merge the commissions. The PCCRVC recently hired a lobbying firm to monitor bills in the Indiana General Assembly to make sure enabling legislation isn’t passed in this session. DeLaney said the Town Council drafted an anti-merger letter last year and is working to obtain information about the current effort. “I’ll just flat out say it: I’m not in favor of this.” In other business, it was agreed the commission will review information from other cities and towns regarding the length of time developers are given to complete bonded infrastructure and sidewalk work. Bannon said too much staff time and too much of the commission’s recent meetings have been devoted to reviewing the status of such bonds and granting extensions; 13 bonds were on last night’s agenda. Said Stone, “My experience is the longer you give a developer, the longer he’ll drag it out.” Bannon said the town should at least investigate if there’s a better way to do things. Orlich said there’s an advantage to the town having developers keep a bond in place as long as possible in case problems occur. DeLaney said the pros and cons of both approaches need to be considered. By unanimous vote with member Jeff Trout absent Fred Owens was re-elected commission president, Niepokoj vice-president, Gayle Murawski secretary, and Charles Parkinson attorney. The Plat Committee is Trout, Niepokoj and O’Dell.
Posted 2/20/2009
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