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Chicago Tribune
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Valparaiso councilman files complaint over access to housing study
Valparaiso Councilman Peter Anderson has filed a formal complaint with the Indiana Public Access Counselor's office over access to a city housing study. 'That study basically prescribes 2,000 affordable housing units in the next five years in Valparaiso,' said Anderson, R-5th. He wants to know why all council members didn't receive copies at the same time. Anderson didn't see it until three council members met in private with stakeholders, he said. When Anderson's council committee gets information from groups seeking grants from the opioid lawsuit settlement proceeds, that information is immediately shared with all council members so they can review the raw information before receiving the committee's recommendations, he said. 'While the three-member group may not constitute a quorum under the technical definition of a meeting, the spirit and intent of the Open Door Law appear to have been violated,' he said in his complaint. 'I just felt I was unable to do my job on this particular issue,' and not by his own doing, he said. Councilman Robert Cotton, D-2nd, who convened a May 29 housing symposium at City Hall to discuss that report and its implications, said Anderson was mistaken in believing the three council members were acting on official business. It wasn't a secret council committee; council President Ellen Kapitan, D-At-large, didn't establish the committee and appoint the members, he said. Rather, it's an ad-hoc group of people interested in addressing the housing situation in Valparaiso. The likely outcome will be the establishment of a nonprofit to effect change, not a city effort to own and transfer land, Cotton said. Resident Chris Pupillo put in an Access to Public Records Act request for information about the group led by Cotton. City Attorney Patrick Lyp responded that the request was denied because there weren't any documents to show; it wasn't official city business. The study wasn't done in secret, Cotton said. Mayor Jon Costas and the Board of Works contracted with Zimmerman Volk & Associates, a nationally recognized firm specializing in housing market analysis, to conduct the study and participate in further consulting services, including public outreach. Cotton said the results were initially reviewed by an informal steering committee with about 19 members representing housing advocates, nonprofits, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, three council members, Costas and Paradise Homes, an affiliated nonprofit organization. 'It is important to clarify that Valparaiso does not have a formal housing policy, nor is the city in the business of building homes,' Cotton said. 'Rather, our objective is to stimulate the market – to spark private and nonprofit activity in segments where housing production has stalled.' The May 29 symposium, which Anderson attended, examined not only the study's highlights but also ways to address them. 'By identifying where potential exists and forging partnerships with mission-driven organizations, we believe we can lay the groundwork for a sustainable, community-based housing delivery system,' Cotton said. The missing segment in the housing industry is new housing 'in the income range that has been largely abandoned by the private market, 60% to 120% of area median income,' he said.
Chicago Tribune
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Highland council may have skirted open meeting law
The Highland Town Council on Tuesday night revealed that it may have violated the state's Open-Door law by conducting town business outside a formal setting. During a discussion about a Board of Works order that would allow the Highland Police Department to purchase a new Ford F150 Responder at its Tuesday night meeting, the conversation turned toward a second Board of Works order that would allow the department to purchase five new Ford police vehicles because five of the current vehicles have been problematic. Council President George Georgeff, R-1, had removed the second works board order off the agenda late Tuesday morning. Councilman Doug Turich, R-2, asked the council if the special order for the five new vehicles didn't get passed, how could the council pass the appropriation. There was no special meeting called to discuss it, he said, but there was 'kind of an approval given amongst the five of us' with which he said he didn't agree. The Police Department typically makes its vehicle purchases in September or October because it times their delivery — and therefore payment upon receipt — into the following year, Highland Police Commander John Banasiak told the council. The department got word, however, that Ford would be closing its books for law enforcement vehicles earlier than usual, so to lock in the price before it jumps, the department asked if it could trade in the five problematic vehicles; it would then purchase the new vehicles now and then get back on the fall schedule in 2026. To do that, the council would have to approve an appropriation from the town's Municipal Capital Development fund (MCCD), Clerk-Treasurer Mark Herak said, of which the council approved a $65,000 appropriation ordinance earlier in the meeting. 'I think we should've called a special executive session or meeting to discuss this and then give the OK, but it didn't happen that way, so I'm just saying publicly that I don't agree with it, and we can go from there,' Turich said. Georgeff then explained — and Town Attorney John Reed agreed — that there was no need for a special meeting or vote because the department would be placing the order only. If the department ends up not receiving the order for whatever reason, the dealership would be able to sell the vehicles to another department without issue, though it's unclear whether Highland would have to pay a penalty fee for not completing the purchase. 'We don't have all the information, and that's still why I'm saying there could've been a better conversation about this,' Turich said. Georgeff said he'd 'gotten consensus' from the council that that was how it wanted to proceed, to which Turich said he didn't. 'I could show you the text messages where three of the five members said they wanted to have a special meeting,' Turich said. 'If we want, I can bring up my text messages and give the date and time.' According to the most recent edition of the Indiana Public Access Law Handbook issued in 2022, 'If the governing body is trying to communicate simultaneously and expecting an immediate call-and-response type dialogue for the purpose of taking official action on business, the exchange constitutes a meeting.' While Indiana addresses only email, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press indicates the same argument would apply to text groups. ( Georgeff reiterated that he'd gotten consensus to order the cars and that he was also 'sitting with another council member' and singled out a text from Councilman Tom Black, R-4, that indicated he was fine with no special meeting if the town wasn't on the hook for the purchase. Black corrected him. 'My text message indicated that I would've preferred a special meeting,' Black said. 'After we got the consensus,' Georgeff said. 'In order to speak on this, I think that there was a will to have a special meeting, but it was complicated in that two of the other councilors were out of town at that time,' Councilman Alex Robertson, D-3, said. 'I do appreciate that you put that agenda item for future discussion — next meeting or whenever it would be — but I think with the amount of time that we are discussing, the main motion is kind of getting off-track, so I will ask that you call a motion.' The council voted 5-0 to approve the works board order for the responder. The Post-Tribune filed on Wednesday an Access to Public Records Act request for all text messages among the council members, Clerk-Treasurer Mark Herak, Highland Police Chief Ralph Potesta and Banasiak regarding the new cars and their funding.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bid date set to expand Anderson water treatment plant
ANDERSON — A bid date of March 18 has been set for the expansion of the Lafayette water treatment plant. The Anderson Board of Works on Tuesday approved the request of Neal McKee, superintendent of the water department, to set the date to accept bids. McKee said the planned work would expand the capacity of the plant from 10 million gallons per day to 14 million. He said the work is expected to start in May or June. The city is issuing $130 million in bonds over the next three years to upgrade the water system. The council has already approved $9 million in American Rescue Plan funds, and the Anderson Redevelopment Commission is providing $19 million toward the project. All the work is scheduled to be completed by September 2029, with work on the initial phase starting later this year. Included in the first bond is the beginning of a process to replace lead service lines in several neighborhoods and at scattered sites. It also includes the development of two new wells north of the city that will include a new line to the Lafayette treatment plant and a new transmission line from Cross Street to the water tank on Eighth Street. OTHER BUSINESS The Board of Works approved a contract with DC Construction in the amount of $252,838 for the resurfacing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Madison Avenue. City Engineer Matt House said the estimate was $247,970 for the paving work. The board approved a contract with EP Collaboration in the amount of $32,800 that was requested by the Anderson Community Development Department. The contract runs through 2030 and includes work on the consolidated strategic plan and fair housing.
