The Porter County Council by a 6-to1 vote set the process in motion for the county to take out a second $25 million bond to complete renovations to the Porter County Jail as well as make millions in repairs to four other county buildings.
By the same vote, the council also approved the first public hearing on preliminary determination on the matter for its next meeting on Sept. 24.
The sole dissenting vote came from Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd. “I’m not going to support it,” he said.
“They didn’t properly lay it out. They didn’t explain it,” he said of the Porter County Board of Commissioners, which gave a breakdown of the intended uses for the bond money at its meeting Tuesday morning and then returned Tuesday evening to do so before the council.
The plan is to spend $18 million of the new bond on the top 20 needs at the jail. This will include work to the jail pod’s toilet and shower areas, reconfiguring the kitchen, fixing problems with the sanitary sewer, upgrading electrical and HVAC systems, fixing exterior joint sealants and replacing security glass, among other things.
“What do you think about it?” asked Councilman Andy Bozak, R-At-Large, of Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon. “Are all the major things being taken care of?”
“Clearly it doesn’t fix everything,” Balon replied, but “for where we are, and where we want to be responsibly on the spending, I think we’re there.”
Board of Commissioners Vice President Barb Regnitz, R-Center, was joined by Facilities Director Joe Wiszowaty and Scott Cherry of The Skillman Corporation in explaining proposed work at the courthouse, the Administration Building, 157 Franklin St. and the Juvenile Detention Center. “This is at the prompting of Councilman Rivas and I’m just so happy to say that we have some numbers for you tonight,” she said.
Those numbers are planned spending of $625,000 on the Courthouse; $720,000 on the Administration Building; $854,700 on 157 Franklin; and $3.5 million on the JDC. Much of the work will be on all building envelopes and improving safety and security.
“It’s quite extensive, the list of things that needs to be done there,” Wiszowaty said of the JDC.
Then things got a little confusing as Rivas suggested the board move presentations from municipal advisor Baker Tilly and bond counsel Taft Law up on the agenda. “They’re prepared?” asked Council President Mike Brickner, R-At-Large.
“I don’t know. They’re on the agenda. You shouldn’t be asking me,” Rivas replied.
Bozak said it was his understanding that Tuesday’s focus was just to get the basic information out to the council regarding the 2nd Bond, as it’s being called, and hear a presentation from Baker Tilly next month. “So what we’re doing tonight is just informational?” asked Councilwoman Sylvia Graham, D-At-Large.
County council attorney Harold Harper said he had spoken with County Attorney Scott McClure, who advises the commissioners. “If the council is going to proceed with the bond there are some deadlines we need to be cognizant of,” Harper explained. “I would like to know some of these deadlines from the horse’s mouth.”
After dealing with a variety of other business matters, the council circled back to the bond. “I really thought the majority should have gone to the jail,” Rivas said. Then he touched on the plans for the county to turn over the running of the Memorial Opera House to the city of Valparaiso. pending due diligence on the city’s part.
“Never in a million years did I think we were going to hand over to another body” the opera house “without any input from this body,” he said.
Graham lamented the plan as well. “I wish there was more transparency between us and the commissioners. We could have put that money toward healthcare,” she said of the $5 million the council appropriated for the MOH renovation that is nearly complete.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
