Sidewalk repair in Munster has been put on hold, at least until the Town Council can further discuss how it wants to handle it.
The council at its Monday night meeting attempted to take up a resolution concerning its current 50/50 program — by which the town requires an affected resident to pay 50% of the repair — but the motion died for lack of a second. The issue, Council President Dave Nellans said, is complicated because “there are two sides to it.”
On one hand, the town covering the entire cost is clearly less of a burden to the homeowners, but the town won’t be able to get as many repairs done, Town Attorney Dave Westland told the council during the May 29 study session. But with the 50/50 program, residents are sometimes startled when they see the work get done, then receive a bill for it.
“Historically, with the 50/50, we’ve had situations where the homeowner wasn’t notified (that they would be billed),” Councilman Jonathan Petersen, R-5, said, referencing the study session discussion. During it, the council acknowledged it was unclear that the town had a reliable system that shows residents were notified at least 30 days before the sidewalk work started, but Comptroller/Interim Town Manager Patricia Abbott then pointed out that those notices can be tracked by accounts receivable.
Councilman Chuck Gardiner, R-3, reiterated that with the 50/50 program, the town was able to do twice as many sidewalks and asked that the council make its decision when there are more people at a meeting. Councilman George Shinkan, R-1, meanwhile, said the town “needs to have a better program” for notifying residents that they’ll be billed so “they don’t get spooked.”
The council also reappointed Munster Realtor Matt Maloney as its representative to the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. A new provision in state law prohibits SSCVA Board members from any other municipal board positions; Maloney also served on the town’s Safety Board but resigned before the council meeting.
Petersen said a second candidate, Dionne Hulsey, would’ve been the better choice for the CVA spot because of her more than 30 years in the tourism industry, and that would free up Maloney for the Safety Board. But Shinkan said he’d spoken to Hulsey, and she indicated she was no longer interested in the position.
“I spoke to her last week, and she said she was,” Petersen said.
“I see her all the time – I’ll see her tomorrow – and she said, ‘No,’” Shinkan said.
Additionally, Westland said during the May 29 study session that Maloney might want to stay on the CVA Board because he’s currently named in the wrongful termination lawsuit former SSCVA President and CEO Speros Bastistatos filed against the organization; the SSCVA board, however, voted in March to cover everyone named in the suit even if they were no longer on the board.
In other business, the council voted 4-1, with Petersen casting the lone dissenting vote, to approve a resolution establishing the chain of command and workflow toward third-party vendors and department heads. Work authorizations to vendors and contractors, according to the resolution, will be allowed only through the Town Council President, Vice President, the town manager at the president’s direction or the entire council by a “Yes” vote; individual council members will not be allowed to contact vendors or contractors on their own behalf.
Petersen, who initially tried to prevent Gardiner from adding the resolution to the agenda via Robert’s Rules of Order, said the resolution “squelches the ability” of council members to interact with the vendors and contractors and asked to table the resolution. Gardiner disagreed.
“This started at the first meeting of the year – we’re here as five members working together,” he said. “This shouldn’t have to be an issue, but it’s important that we establish policy and procedures that we’ve unofficially recognized for 50 years.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
