Chesterton’s Town Council Monday got its first look at architectural renderings that show what the remodeling will look like for the Town Hall and adjoining Fire Station.
The town will be opening bids for the project at its April 14 meeting. The remodeling of the building at Broadway at 8th Street is projected to cost $2.8 million.
Gregory Kil and Sam Lima of Kil Architecture & Planning of South Bend made a brief presentation.
The main feature of the fire station remodeling is a two-story, 1,730-foot addition toward the back of the building.
That will allow for the fire department to have improved sleeping quarters and office space, a new training room, bathrooms, female bunkrooms and exercise space.
Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek noted that when the fire department moved into its present facility in 1977, there were only three career firefighters and a volunteer force. The department now has 18 full-time firefighters and five volunteers, two of whom are women.
“Modern firefighting has more equipment, apparatus and more training,” Gavelek said. “Simply put, they have outgrown their facility.”
Chesterton Fire Chief Sean O’Donnell, who became the town’s fire chief in October 2023 after a long career with the Gary Fire Department, said he was speaking on behalf of his department in thanking the council for moving forward with the project.
“This came a long way really soon. I wasn’t expecting this,” O’Donnell said. “We very much appreciate this opportunity.”
The Town Hall portion of the remodeling will upgrade the aesthetics and reconfigure the interior, moving the council dais from the east to the north side. A new community room will be created near the entrance of the building and the bathrooms will be renovated, Lima said.
There will also be technological updates and acoustical improvements that will curb the sound of passing trains, which at times can make it difficult to hear people speak.
“We’re anxious to lose the ambiance of the 77 bus station here,” said Councilman James Ton, R-1st.
In other business, the council approved the formation of a Sustainability Commission.
The commission will examine and suggest strategies for the community to engage in better environmental practices. The neighboring town of Porter formed its environmental sustainability commission last year.
The seven members of the commission will include a middle or high school student from the Duneland School District and a person who is 18 to 25 years old.
Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd, who sponsored the creation of the commission, said that two of the five members could come from outside of Chesterton, as long as they live in the Duneland School District.
There are 20 applicants for the commission who will be interviewed in the upcoming weeks.
Council also heard from Gavelek that the town met with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials to discuss pedestrian safety issues at the town’s railroad crossings.
In particular, the initial focus will be on the South Calumet Road crossing in the downtown, where a man on a bicycle was recently killed when he was struck by a train.
Council unanimously voted to have a survey performed at the crossing to facilitate a pedestrian crossing.
Town officials are concerned because they are building a new parking lot at the corner of South Calumet Road and Grant Avenue, just north of the tracks. Fencing will be installed around the lot to keep people from going on the tracks.
That lot, which is expected to be ready by July, will be used by people who attend the European Market that meets every Saturday from May through October.
Gavelek also mentioned that Chesterton, along with Porter, is working with U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, to apply for a federal grant that could fund pedestrian walks at nine track crossings for the two communities. The cost could be anywhere from $4 million to 6 million.
Council also:
*Voted to suspend eminent domain procedures for purchasing the property of Duneland Collision at the corner of 15th Street and Broadway. Collins said that the council never tried to seize a business. Councilwoman Jennifer Fisher, R-5th, said that the owner approached the town because he is thinking of retiring. The town is still interested in purchasing the property, which could be used as a vehicle storage facility.
*Honored Councilwoman Sharon Darnell, D-4th, as part of Women’s History Month. Fisher noted that Darnell was a pioneer as a woman officeholder in Chesterton and has shown courage, strength and perseverance. Darnell is in her 22nd year on the Town Council.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
