Dave Lohse

The Westchester Women's Horseshoe League presented trophies to their 2025 champions, The Village Tavern. The board members for the 2026 season were reelected, and the league voted to make donations to several local organizations, including the Indiana Veterans Home and The Caring Place. Separately, the Westchester Coed Horseshoe League honored its 2025 champion, American Legion Post 170, and reelected its board members. The Coed League also decided on donations to local organizations. A joint annual picnic concluded the season, featuring a meal and a two-division blind draw tournament.

The discussion centered on the successful trimming of evergreen trees that were obstructing the sightline at the intersection of Rail Road and 100E. The Assistant Street Commissioner expressed gratitude to a resident, Ms. Kim Goldak, for granting permission to the Street Department to access her property and perform the necessary trimming, which significantly improved visibility for motorists. Future work includes moving the stop bar slightly closer to 100E to further enhance sightlines in both directions.

The Town Council meeting addressed several significant items. The primary topic involved awarding a contract for a new Chesterton Fire Department engine, where the council unanimously chose Sutphen as the lowest responsible and responsive bidder after determining the lower bid from KME Fire did not meet essential specifications, such as frame warranty and suspension requirements. Additionally, members unanimously approved an expenditure of approximately $18,000 in Cumulative Capital Development (CCD) funds towards replacing a police squad car totaled in an accident. The council also renewed the tax abatement for the Addison Pointe Health & Rehabilitation Center for its final year. Furthermore, the former Chesterton Police Chief, David Cincoski, was honored with a plaque for his years of dedicated service. Updates were provided regarding building permits for the new ALDI grocery store and plans for a new fiber optic line installation.

The meeting commenced with the election of 2024 officers: President, Vice-President, and Secretary. The primary discussion involved awarding the Coffee Creek Park pond enhancement project. The Board unanimously voted to award the base bid and Alternate A1 for composite decking to Berglund Construction for a total of $363,217.50, after determining the lowest bid from HP Construction Services was non-responsive due to a missing financial statement. The scope includes constructing three overlooks/piers, an aggregate trail connecting them, and a limestone outcropping. Separately, the Board approved the 2024 pond maintenance agreement with Lake & Pond Biologists for algae and weed control, including phosphorus remediation. A future project suggestion for using the composite material to rehabilitate the Coffee Creek Park boardwalk system was discussed, and the Superintendent was asked to investigate its feasibility.

The primary topic of the meeting was the unanimous approval for the Town Council to enter into a contract with American StructurePoint of Merrillville for the design of a new police station, with a total fee not to exceed $521,650. The design targets the southeast corner of Broadway and South Eighth Street, and construction documents are planned to be ready for bid in February 2023. The Council also unanimously authorized a conditional Request for Proposals (RFP) for design services in the unlikely event the primary contractor does not execute the contract. Additionally, the Council unanimously approved amendments to Chapter 9 of the Town Code, known as the floodplain ordinance, adopting new regulations based on updated FEMA flood maps and a model ordinance from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.