Porter County officials broke ground on the new central highway garage Wednesday morning touting $1 million in savings over original cost projections.
“I want to give a big thanks to the council because without the council we wouldn’t be able to move forward,” said Board of Commissioners Vice President Barb Regnitz, R-Center.
Only one member of the council, Vice President Red Stone, R-1st, was present. There were also no Democratic county officials present.
Regnitz said the original estimate for the garage was $18 million. “It’s looking like we’re going to come in under budget at $17 million,” she said.
She recounted the board’s three goals for the building: to have all equipment under cover; to provide a wash bay; and to have all maintenance staff and equipment under one roof. The facility, at 1955 Indiana 2 in Valparaiso, when complete in the middle or end of next summer, will include a garage, maintenance space, and administrative offices under one roof, as well as a salt barn and small cold storage building.
Parts of the old garage date as far back as the 1930s and had a multitude of degradations including rusting support beams, crumbling block walls, and ceilings too low to accommodate modern equipment.
“It’s a big deal,” said Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North. “We haven’t touched this property in 50 years and it has to last another 50 years.”
“I sent you a picture of a Peterbilt dump truck with the frame rusted because we weren’t able to wash it,” Highway Department Superintendent Jim Polarek said to Biggs.
Biggs said he was told by the auditor that the county owns $32 million worth of equipment in the Highway Department. “It was a smart decision and I’m glad we did it,” he added. “I think what’s first and foremost on our taxpayers’ minds is our roads.”
There has been criticism over the price of the garage, particularly from Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, who preferred to build a more modest structure and funnel more resources into buildings such as the Porter County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center, which he says should be given more weight as they house human capital versus equipment
Rivas had the sole dissenting vote Tuesday evening when the council voted to start the process of taking out a second bond to complete renovations at the jail and make improvements to four other county buildings, including the JDC.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
