NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION FULL COMMISSION BOARD MEETING

Thursday, December 12, 2019, 9:00 A.M.

NIRPC Lake Michigan Room, 6100 Southport Road, Portage Annotated Agenda

6100 Southport Road

Portage, Indiana 46368

(219) 763-6060

www.nirpc.org

1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance - Diane Noll

2.0 Roll Call - Candice Eklund

3.0 Public Comment on Current Agenda Items

Members of the audience who have signed up to comment on agenda items will be recognized by the Chair. Time is limited to 3 minutes per commenter. Commenters must indicate on the sign-in sheet prior to the start of the meeting.

4.0 New Appointments to the Commission - Attorney Dave Hollenbeck

5.0 Approval of the Minutes of the November 21, 2019 Full Commission Board Meeting (pp. 1-3)

ACTION REQUESTED: Approval

6.0 Report of the Chair - Diane Noll

7.0 Report of the Executive Director - Ty Warner

8.0 Finance and Personnel Committee - Justin Kiel

9.1 NIRPC Resolution #19-29: Calendar Year 2020 Budget (pp. (4-13)

ACTION REQUESTED: Approval

9.0 INDOT, Matt Deitchley, La Porte District Deputy Commissioner

10.0 Other Business

11.0 Announcements

12.0 Adjournment

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, parental status, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

6100 Southport Road

Portage, Indiana 46368

(219) 763-6060

www.nirpc.org

2020

NIRPC COMMISSION MEETING DATES

NIRPC Executive Board Meeting

6100 Southport Road, Portage, IN November 21, 2019

Minutes

Call to Order

Acting Chairperson, George Topoll, called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. with the Pledge of

Allegiance. Mr. Topoll informed the commissioners there was a quorum of the Executive Board but not of the Full Commission. All business can be conducted with the exception of approving NIRPC’s budget for 2020. The meeting was streamed live on YouTube.

Ty Warner noted NIRPC had received enough advance RSVP responses to constitute a quorum at today’s meeting, but whether because of the rain or other circumstances that have reduced the actual number in attendance, a special meeting will now have to be held in order to adopt the Commission’s budget for the 2020 calendar year. (Approval of the Commission’s budget is one of the items that require approval by the Full Commission and cannot be accomplished by the Executive Board.) This special meeting of the Full Commission is being scheduled for December 12, 2019.

Roll call was taken by Candice Eklund. Present

The Commissioners present included Kyle Allen (Lake County Commissioner), Jeannette Bapst (Dune Acres), Geof Benson (Beverly Shores), Kevin Breitzke (Porter County Surveyor), John Cannon (Portage),

Robert Carnahan (Cedar Lake), Don Ensign (Hebron), Will Farrellbegg (Lowell), Michael Griffin (Highland), Richard Hardaway (Merrillville), Jack Jeralds (Schneider), Jane Jordan (Burns Harbor), Justin Kiel (La Crosse), Steve Kramer (Dyer), Mark Krentz (La Porte), Tom McDermott (Hammond), Lori Mercer (Westville), Dave Shafer (Munster), Brian Snedecor (Hobart), Ed Soliday (Governor Appointee), Joe Stahura (Whiting), Greg Stinson (Porter), Gerald Swets (St. John), Sharon Szwedo (New Chicago), and George Topoll (Union Township).

Bernie Doyle, Town Manager for Chesterton, was present for Jim Ton in a non-voting capacity. Absent

The 25 Commissioners absent included Christopher Anderson (Lake Station), David Anderson (Winfield),

Jim Biggs (Porter County Commissioner), Charlie Brown (Lake County Council), Anthony Copeland (East Chicago), Joshleen Denham (Trail Creek), Bill Emerson (Lake County Surveyor), Karen Freeman-Wilson (Gary), Tony Hendricks (LaPorte County Surveyor), Tim Jones (Kouts), Andrew Kyres (Crown Point), Jeff Larson (Porter County Council), Robert Lemay (Long Beach), Sheila Matias (LaPorte County Commissioner), Edward Morales (Porter Township Trust), Matt Murphy (Valparaiso), Diane Noll (Wanatah), Jean Poulard (Michiana Shores), Mark Ritter (Kingsbury), Michael Rosenbaum (LaPorte County Council), Rick Ryfa (Griffith), Carolyn Saxton (Ogden Dunes), Tom Schmitt (Schererville), Gene Simmons (Michigan City), and James Ton (Chesterton).

No NIRPC representative has been appointed: Kingsford Heights, The Pines Pottawattomie Park. Guests in Attendance

Guests present included Matt Deitchley, Jim Jordan, Lauri Keagle, Jeff Huet, Sue Pelfrey, Tim Zorn, Lauren

Varga, and Tim Werner.

Staff in Attendance

Staff present included Ty Warner, Kathy Luther, Charles Bradsky, Eman Ibrahim, Peter Kimball, Kevin Polette, Scott Weber, Lisa Todd, Talaya Jones, Candice Eklund, and attorney Dave Hollenbeck.

Public Comment

Norman Hellmers, a 31 year veteran of the National Park Services and a member of the Dune Action group, discussed his concerns with the preservation of the historic pavilion of Indiana Dunes. Dune Action feels that the DNR is violating historic preservation standards and the preservation would negatively impact the pavilion because it would only be 200 feet from the shoreline instead of the proposed 1,000 feet.

New appointments

Dave Hollenbeck announced the appointment to the Commission of Robert Lemay (Town of Long Beach).

Minutes

The minutes of the September 19, 2019 Full Commission meeting were approved on a motion by Justin Kiel and second by Mark Krentz.

Report of the Chair – George Topoll

Mr. Topoll encouraged the commissioners to contact their fellow commissioners to inform them of the special meeting scheduled in December and to urge their attendance.

Report of the Executive Director – Ty Warner

Ty Warner announced upcoming events of NIRPC’s partners at South Shore Clean Cities (SSCC). The details of the events can be found on SSCC’s website at https://southshorecleancities.org/.

Ty Warner attended the Final Downtown Hammond Master Plan event presented by Jeff Speck on November 19 and congratulated Mayor McDermott on the process in creating a vibrant downtown for Hammond. Mr. Warner served on the Steering Committee for the plan, which can be viewed at gohammond.com/downtown.

Ty also congratulated Justin Kiel on receiving the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the Indiana Small Business Development Center Northwest’s E-Day Celebration for his weekly newspaper.

2020 Meeting Calendar

The proposed NIRPC Full Commission/Executive Board meeting calendar for 2020 was presented. The Full Commission is required to meet four times, highlighted on the calendar. On motion by Ed Soliday and second by Greg Stinson, the Executive Board approved the confirmation of the meeting schedule for 2020.

Finance & Personnel Committee – Justin Kiel

Justin Kiel stated there were three action items for approval, but due to the absence of a quorum of the Full Commission, Resolution #19-29, NIRPC’s 2020 budget, will be presented at the special meeting in December. The procurement recommendations 18-09 and 19-24 were approved by the Executive Board on motion by George Topoll and second by Mark Krentz.

Mr. Kiel stated Resolution #19-28 “Extending Policies for Meetings of the Commission” comes with a favorable recommendation from the Finance & Personnel committee. Ty Warner explained these policies have been previously adopted for civic participation at meetings of NIRPC, but NIRPC unfortunately experienced some recent disruptive events in the field at its workshops and this resolution clarifies that the guidelines for public behavior extends to every NIRPC meeting wherever it may be held. Ed Soliday stated he does not tolerate personal attacks in his committee meetings and recommends the verbiage ‘personal attacks’ be added after ‘name calling’ found in the 5th paragraph of the resolution. Attorney Dave

Hollenbeck agreed with Mr. Soliday stating that there is no legal impediment to adding this verbiage. On motion by Ed Soliday and second by Tom McDermott, the Executive Board approved Resolution #19-28 as amended with the above verbiage.

Technical Planning Committee – Kevin Breitzke

Kevin Breitzke reported the Technical Planning Committee (TPC) has one action for consideration. NIRPC received one public comment on the FY 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendment #2, requesting to extend bus services to additional communities. The comment was responded to but not found significant, and did not propose any change to the TIP amendment. On motion by Greg Stinson and second by Justin Kiel, the Executive Board recommended the adoption of Resolution

#19-26.

INDOT – Matt Deitchley

Matt Deitchley said this is the time of year when INDOT construction projects are winding down. He noted the interchange at S.R. 2 and U.S. 20 is open in LaPorte County and the ramp on Kennedy Avenue is targeted to be completed the second week of December.

Other Business

Ty Warner noted that Diane Noll had an emergency this morning and Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson had a conflict with today’s meeting, and he thanked George Topoll for stepping in as Acting Chair.

Mr. Warner referenced some of the conversations he has had with several Commissioners on the issue of obtaining a quorum and how the value of NIRPC can be communicated. Warner encouraged any thoughts or feedback on how NIRPC can be of more assistance in making the Commission meeting a more valuable and beneficial forum to member communities.

Tom McDermott suggested refreshments at the Full Commission meeting on December 12 to celebrate the holidays, and his suggestion was widely received.

George Topoll thanked everyone for making the effort to come today and again encouraged their attendance at the December meeting so that NIRPC’s 2020 budget may be approved.

Announcements

Brian Snedecor congratulated Andrean, Hobart, Merrillville and Valparaiso High Schools for making it to the semi-state football tournament.

Robert Carnahan encouraged the members to pick up the census materials that are available on the table in the foyer. The 2020 census begins in March.

Don Ensign announced the Town of Hebron dedicated the site for the Middle East Veteran's Memorial. Over the next two years they will be designing the Memorial's monument. The flag pole is in place and it encompasses seven counties. Don asked all veterans who served in the Middle East conflicts to help design the memorial and to contact either himself or Mitch Barloga with NIRPC for their input.

Adjournment

Hearing no other business, George Topoll adjourned the meeting at 9:46 a.m. The Full Commission will meet on December 12, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at NIRPC.

A digital MP3 of this meeting is filed. Contact nirpc@nirpc.org should you wish to receive a copy of

it. Barring technical issues, the livestream video recording of this meeting is available on NIRPC’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/NIRPCPlanning.

2020 BUDGET ‌

10/18/2019

NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

2020 GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET

CAPITAL OUTLAYS - Equipment & Furniture 100,000

ATTACHMENT B

NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

2020 TRANSIT CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET

CAPITAL OUTLAYS - TRANSIT EQUIPMENT 2,440,988

ATTACHMENT C

NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

2020 TRANSIT OPERATING PROJECTS FUND APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET

OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES 3,124,750

ATTACHMENT D

NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

2020 LAPORTE COUNTY REVOLVING LOAN FUND APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET

OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES 85,000

2%

Attachment A page 2

NIRPC FY 2019 Revenue Detail

NIRPC FY 2019 Revenue Detail

Attachment B

NIRPC FY 2020 Budget

Grant Federal Req. Match Total

Architectual Services

Ticket Kiosks and On-Board fare boxes Security Cameras

Vehicles (2)

Security Camera & Lighting TOD Ground Improvements Support Vehicle Computers/Sound System Replacement Vehicles/Bus (2) Support Vehicle

Rehab/Renovate - Admin Facility Replace 3 Revenue Vehicles Replace 2 Revenue Vehicles Replace 1 Communter Vehicle Replace 2 Revenue Vehicles Replace 1 Revenue Vehicle Replace 2 Revenue Vehicles Replace 2 Communter Vehicle

TOTAL 3,202,483 750,187 3,952,671

Contingency -

TOTAL BUDGET

Attachment B

TOTAL BUDGET

$ 2,440,988

$ 1,952,790

Federal Req. Match Total

238,190 503,190

185,000 949,584

26,486 138,031

Attachment D

CY 2020 LAPORTE COUNTY REVOLVING LOAN FUND

TOTAL EXPENSES 6,862

FUND BALANCE - ENDING (0)

RESOLUTION 19-29‌

6100 Southport Road

Portage, Indiana 46368

(219) 763-6060

www.nirpc.org

A RESOLUTION OF THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION ADOPTING THE YEAR 2020 APPROPRIATION BUDGETS FOR THE COMMISSION’S GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS

WHEREAS, a budget is required for governmental funds; and

WHEREAS, it is anticipated that sufficient revenues and other financing sources will be available to support the budgets herein proposed; and

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the Commission, as a whole, to approve the appropriations budget of the Commission;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission adopt as its Year 2020 budget for the General Fund for the budget identified in Attachment A to this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission adopt as its Year 2020 budget for the Transit Capital Projects Fund the budget identified in Attachment B to this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission adopt as its Year 2020 budget for the Transit Operating Projects Fund the budget identified in Attachment C to this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission adopt as its Year 2020 budget for the LaPorte County Revolving Loan Fund the budget identified in Attachment D to this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Finance and Personnel Committee of the Commission be designated to oversee the administration of these budgets within the framework of more detailed budget guidelines it might establish.

Duly adopted by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission this 12th day of December 2019.

ATTEST:

Diane Noll Chairperson

George H Topoll Secretary