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Chicago Tribune
30-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Building ‘a greater Gary' highlights Melton's State of the City address
When Gary Mayor Eddie Melton came into office, he created a mission, vision and values for his team. More than one year later, he credits that strategy to successes the city has seen. 'It was extremely important for us, on a day-to-day basis, that we had a guiding star that helps us figure out how we improve the services that we provide to citizens,' Melton said. '…Integrity, service, excellence, responsive, vision and empathy — these are the values, every single day, are encouraged in our administration.' On Tuesday, Melton gave Gary's annual State of the City address, which highlighted how he plans to build a 'greater Gary' through stabilization, growth, quality of life and planning for the future. Melton highlighted efforts his administration has taken to pay off the city's long-term debt, specifically through interfund loans. In Melton's first year, the city paid off a debt to the Gary Sanitary District from 2005 and 2006, when the agency loaned the city $16 million. His administration also paid off a $2 million loan from 2021 that supplied 20 police cars. Melton plans to pay off $2.25 million in debt by 2028, he said Tuesday. Melton's administration is preparing for how recently passed state legislation is going to affect Gary. 'We know that (Senate Enrolled Act 1) is going to have a dramatic effect on local governments across the state of Indiana,' Melton said. 'We don't know what that's going to look like for the city, but we're preparing. We're going to work with the council to make sure we adequately prepare a budget to address those issues.' Melton also highlighted concerns with House Enrolled Act 1448, which has yet to be signed by Gov. Mike Braun, but will require Gary to pay $12 million to East Chicago and Michigan City after a state comptroller mistake that was supposed to address the financial burden following the move of Majestic Star casinos to Hard Rock Northern Indiana casino along Interstate 80/94. Money will be dedicated from state comptroller funds and money appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, according to bill documents, and money will be withheld for 10 years. Melton said the House Enrolled Act 1448 is 'obviously not ideal,' but his administration is taking the necessary steps to prepare for the fiscal impact. 'Guess what? We're going to be OK,' Melton said. Melton also talked about House Bill 1142, which has an amendment that requires the Gary Common Council to terminate a compact for the Gary/Chicago International Airport. Legislation has also targeted the number of appointees Melton or any other Gary mayor can pick for the airport's executive board. Melton believes Gary is being unfairly targeted through the legislation. 'We're proving that we're being fiscally responsible,' he added. 'We're proving that we're bringing in business to grow in that region and that area.' The Gary airport had 649 total arrivals in 2024, Melton highlighted Tuesday. The airport averaged about 15 international arrivals per month last year. The Gary airport has also received about $39.3 million for capital upgrades, including a passenger terminal renovation, jet fuel pipeline and hangar upgrade. On Tuesday, Melton announced that FedEx is coming to Gary after buying 78 acres of land at 6200 Industrial Blvd. The purchase will help create about 600 jobs in the city, Melton said. He also talked about the potential acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel, which President Donald Trump ordered a new review of by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Nippon Steel would invest $1 billion into the Gary Works facility if the deal is approved, which Melton said would benefit steelworkers and the city as a whole. 'We're talking about a global project that will have significant impact,' Melton said, adding that plant closures might follow if the deal falls through. 'As mayor, I didn't want to sit on the sidelines and just watch. … We've been very engaged in this, you see the commitment that's been put forward, and we're watching this deal closely.' Melton also highlighted a 2024 Alliance Steel expansion, which has added 60 new jobs to the 500,000 square-foot campus and hires Gary residents. The potential Lake County Convention Center was another talking point for Melton, of which Gary is one of two applicants. The city of Hobart also submitted a proposal. As a state senator, Melton crafted Senate Bill 434, creating the Lake County Convention and Economic Development Fund. The fund was designated for convention center creation, the Blighted Property Demolition Fund, and revitalization of the Gary Metro Station to complement the South Shore Double Tracking project. Melton intended for the convention center to go to Gary and has been outspoken that Gary should receive the Lake County commissioners' bid. Commissioners have until May 31 to decide which bid — if any — is accepted. Gary's proposal, created with Hard Rock Northern Indiana, envisions a 145,000-square-foot convention center and Hard Rock Hotel near the casino, according to Post-Tribune archives. The property would also have space for two additional hotels, including one REVERB by Hard Rock Hotel, and two restaurants and retail spaces. 'The state funding that's going toward this project is generated by the tax dollars that Hard Rock pays the state of Indiana — think about that,' Melton said. 'If we don't get the convention center, if it goes to another community, it's going to be funded by tax dollars generated by Gary.' Other key points Melton highlighted included blight elimination, which the city has started the first phase of in downtown Gary. Targeted areas include Gary City Methodist Church, Lovell's barbership, Gordon department store and the Mecca building. Demolition should be complete by the end of 2025. Melton also highlighted the city's partnership with the University of Notre Dame, which is helping with blight elimination and the redesign of the city's Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center. Permits issued increased in 2024, Melton said, which helped generate more than $1.27 million in city revenue. He believes that — coupled with other economic development effects, such as home prices rising — is a good sign for Gary's future. 'It took Gary 50 to 60 years to get to this point,' Melton said. 'It's not going to happen overnight, but you have a mayor that believes in God … and we're not going to let others dictate our destiny.'
Chicago Tribune
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Sewage seeps into politics as lawmaker's Gary agency sues cities she represents
A dispute over wastewater treatment user rates is pitting a Gary state lawmaker against communities she represents in the Indiana General Assembly. State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, whose District 3 seat includes Gary, Hobart, Lake Station and New Chicago, is also the executive director of the Gary Sanitary District. On Jan. 15, the GSD and the city of Gary filed a federal lawsuit against Hobart, Lake Station and the Merrillville Conservancy District seeking a declaratory judgment to pave the way to raise user rate fees for treating their wastewater. A declaratory judgment typically spells out the legal relationship between the parties and their legal obligations. Gary contends the user rates for the three communities are decades old and too low to meet the requirements of a federal consent decree. In the 1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency cited the GSD for the pumping of toxic sludge laced with PCBs into a small lagoon in violation of the Clean Water Act. A judge later ordered a cleanup. The lawsuit has further soured relations between Hatcher and Lake Station and Hobart officials. In last year's primary, leaders in the two cities supported Hatcher's opponent Heather McCarthy who's also Hobart city attorney. Hatcher went on to win the primary and the general election to earn a fourth term in the General Assembly. In January, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton named Hatcher, an attorney who also holds an MBA, as executive director of the Gary Sanitary District, and she left her post as the city's community development director. Meanwhile, Hatcher represents Gary, Hobart and Lake Station during the week in Indianapolis in Statehouse matters. The session ends April 29. Few officials opted to talk about the rate dispute. Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun declined comment and a representative from the MCD didn't return a call for comment. Hatcher also declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit, and attorneys for both sides didn't return calls for comment. Earlier, she said in an interview at a city event March 10 that an independent study was ongoing on the rates. 'What we know right now about Merrillville, Hobart and Lake Station is they are paying less than what it costs to treat their wastewater.' The complaint alleged the shortfall impacts Gary residents. 'Specifically, MCD and Hobart's user charge rates have placed a disproportionate burden on the citizens of Gary, who are paying substantially higher rates than those directly supported by MCD and Hobart,' the complaint said. Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll, however, disagreed. He said he doesn't feel Hatcher serves the interests of the communities she represents. 'If I can't be paid as a fireman… but yet Ragen Hatcher can be a representative for the communities she's trying to increase the user rate on, I think it's a huge conflict of interest,' said Carroll, a Democrat like Hatcher and Huddlestun. After he became mayor, Carroll joined the Lake Station Volunteer Fire Department, but he doesn't accept pay from the city as a fireman because the city pays his salary as mayor. 'It's not fair to the communities she represents to try to put these huge rates on her constituents. There's no way the IURC (Indiana Utility Rate Commission) or anyone in their right minds think it's fair.' It couldn't be determined if Hatcher's dual roles represented a conflict. It could be a question for the state's public access counselor, but the office is vacant. A spokesman for Gov. Mike Braun said the job would be filled by the end of March. A public access counselor's ruling, however, is non-binding. After talks broke down, Indianapolis-based Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP filed the lawsuit for the GSD and Gary in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana in Hammond. The case was assigned to Judge Philip P. Simon and Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi was also added. The Merrillville Conservancy District along with Hobart and Lake Station hired Dentons Bingham Greenbaum LLP, of Jasper, to represent them. The same law firm also filed a petition for a review of rates and charges on Nov. 26, 2024, with the IURC. The GSD first entered a wastewater treatment agreement with Lake Station in 1982. The complaint said the agreement expired in 2002, and GSD continued to provide treatment services under an implied fact contract at the 1982 rate. Hobart entered a contract with GSD in 1984 and GSD signed a pact with the MCD in 1995. Hobart city officials weighed building their own sewage treatment plant in 2001 because of rising GSD rates, but ultimately didn't do it. The communities have been haggling over user fees for several years. In 2016, they contended GSD sludge disposal costs increased 69% over 2015 levels. The federal case is ongoing with the last filing submitted March 17. 'At the end of the day, we want the communities to come together and work together,' said Carroll. Technically, we're all fighting for money and that hurts our districts.'
