The Porter Police Department has a police dog, and now the town Fire Department wants to add a four-legged firefighter that would specialize in tracking and search/recovery.

Assistant Porter fire chief Jay Craig made the request of the Town Council. Its members voted 5-0 Tuesday to have the town attorney research the matter and, if feasible, present a draft memorandum of understanding at the Feb. 14 meeting.

Craig said he’s undergone special training on his own time with his personal German Shepherd that’s been tested on scores of trackings and searches.

If the council approves, Craig would like to donate his dog’s services and attend additional training sessions through the Department of Homeland Security, especially for search/recovery following natural disasters and building collapse. The dog also would prove valuable for water searches.

“With our town growing, the (hike/bike) trails we’re adding, our town is being more visited,” Craig told the council.

He said he’s spent about $1,000 on his own equipment so additional costs likely would be for fuel to attend training; the town’s insurance would cover the fire-dog service if Craig and the town have a MOU, he advised.

While a police dog is trained to apprehend a suspect, explained Craig, search dogs alert when a person is found."The last thing you want is for a dog to go into apprehension mode looking for a four-year-old.”

Council members Bill Cantrell and Jeannine Virtue supported the request. Cantrell said he favors providing public safety for Porter citizens. Barring any problems, “I’d love to see this happen,” added Virtue.

In a related matter, Craig said the Fire Department is hoping to buy a bullet/stab-proof safety vest for the Porter Police Department’s dog. About $750 is needed and money can be donated to the Fire Department or directly to the non-profit agency arranging the discounted purchase.

Fire chief Lewis Craig reminded landlords that forms certifying operable smoke detectors are in place must be submitted directly to his office by Jan. 31.

The council voted unanimously to accept the lone bid to reline downtown sanitary sewers and added $1 to extend the warranty period to five years.

Performance Pipelining Inc. of Ottawa, Ill., submitted a base bid of $2,307,234 and divided the work into sections in case some would need to be deleted later. However, town director of engineering Matt Keiser said the project estimate was for $2.8 million as part of a $5.1 million bond issue for a major upgrade of sewer infrastrucutre.

Included in the bond issue is a new Porter Avenue lift station west of the current one.

The council voted 5-0 Tuesday to initiate steps to obtain an easement for a smaller parcel on which to locate the lift station rather than outright purchase of 4 acres the previous Town Council approved Dec. 13. At that time starting a town yard-waste recycling site there and creating public access to the Little Calumet River were proposed for the larger site as well as the lift station.

Now, engineers Haas & Associates will develop a revised legal description for town attorney Gregg Sobkowski to obtain a new appraisal for the smaller parcel and negotiate easement rights.

Council president Greg Stinson said the town will save money by choosing an easement and will avoid potential problems with the larger site that might require environmental studies.

Sobkowski was asked to determine whether meetings of a new working group appointed Tuesday must be open to the public.

Stinson said longstanding Waverly Road drainage issues have stalled plans for the Orchard Pedestrian Way hike-bike trail along that route. A portion of the trail and infrastructure for the drainage upgrades would go through Hawthorne Park.

Member Rob Pomeroy will represent the Town Council on the working group; members Rondi Wightman and Patty Raffin the Park Board; and members Al Raffin and Jeanine Virtue the Redevelopment Commission, which is paying for the trail. Virtue is also a Town Council member. No quorum of any board is represented.

Resident Jennifer Klug asked if the new group’s meetings would be open to the public. Stinson said no, but if the law requires it they will comply. Any decisions will be discussed and made at a public meeting, he noted.

The new Town Council took office Jan. 1. Meetings of two previously appointed Porter study groups --- for the Porter Beach Overlay and the Sewer Needs Assessment --- were open to the public.

Posted 1/25/2012