[0:02] You are watching Access

[0:04] LaPorte County Channel 97. Next up is the

[0:09] LaPorte County Board of Commissioners meeting on October 7th. You

[0:10] can find more

[0:12] information about this

[0:14] meeting at

[0:16] www.accesslaportecounty.org.

[0:22] Good morning.

[0:23] Welcome to the

[0:24] Commissioners' meeting on

[0:26] October 7th. Please

[0:27] stand, please,

[0:28] for the Pledge of

[0:29] Allegiance.

[0:32] I pledge allegiance to the

[0:33] flag of the

[0:34] United States of

[0:35] America. To

[0:36] the Republic I

[0:37] represent, one

[0:39] nation under God,

[0:40] indivisible, with

[0:41] liberty and

[0:42] justice for

[0:43] all.

[0:48] Roll call, Mr.

[0:50] Auditor.

[0:50] Connie Gramarossa.

[0:52] Present.

[0:53] Joe Haney.

[0:53] Present.

[0:54] Steve Hollowfield.

[0:55] Present.

[0:56] You have a

[0:57] quorum. We will accept

[0:58] the motion to

[0:59] consider the

[1:00] agenda, please.

[1:02] Um, a proposal to add

[1:03] , uh, one item to

[1:04] Section 10A. Old

[1:05] business, open

[1:06] bidding for, uh,

[1:07] communications

[1:08] devices JSC, uh,

[1:08] director Andrew Davis. Do

[1:10] you have a second?

[1:12] Everyone who is "in favor", say

[1:13] "yes".

[1:14] Yes.

[1:16] Uh, next, consideration,

[1:18] approval of the

[1:19] minutes of our

[1:20] meeting of

[1:21] September 16, 2026,

[1:23] please.

[1:24] Proposal to

[1:25] approve

[1:26] the minutes of

[1:27] September 16, 2026 as

[1:28] presented

[1:29] .

[1:29] Second.

[1:30] All in favor, say

[1:31] yes.

[1:32] We also have a review of the

[1:34] minutes of the joint

[1:36] seminar from 08/24/2026.

[1:38] Proposal to

[1:40] approve

[1:41] the minutes of the seminar

[1:42] dated 08/24/2026.

[1:43] Second.

[1:44] All in favor, say

[1:45] yes. Yes. Yes.

[1:48] Okay, let's move on to the

[1:49] claims,

[1:50] please.

[1:53] We have a

[1:54] payroll for the

[1:57] period from 918 to 2026, $

[2:00] 1,547,455.85. We have a

[2:03] payroll for the

[2:06] period from 10:22, uh, 10,

[2:08] sorry, from 10:20, uh, 26:00,

[2:11] $1,510,771.61. This

[2:13] totals $3,058,227.46.

[2:16] We also have

[2:17] operating expenses. Oh

[2:18] , let's stop there.

[2:20] Proposal to

[2:21] approve, uh,

[2:22] both

[2:22] payrolls as

[2:23] presented

[2:24] .

[2:25] Second.

[2:26] All in favor, say

[2:27] yes.

[2:28] Now let's move on to

[2:29] operating expenses, $

[2:31] 2,737,715.62. And again

[2:36] , uh, that included

[2:37] some insurance, uh,

[2:39] payments, and also, uh,

[2:40] some other work

[2:41] done on the road.

[2:42] So, this is the time of year

[2:44] when expenses

[2:45] skyrocket because of this.

[2:47] I propose

[2:47] to approve the

[2:48] expense claims as

[2:49] presented.

[2:50] Second.

[2:51] Everyone who is "in favor" says

[2:52] I am. Y. Okay,

[2:54] public

[2:54] discussion. The

[2:55] public

[2:55] discussion is now

[2:56] open. Again

[2:57] , 3 minutes.

[2:58] No disparaging

[2:59] comments about

[3:00] anyone in office, out of

[3:01] office, or anyone

[3:02] else. Does anyone want a

[3:03] public

[3:04] discussion?

[3:09] Nicholas Morelli,

[3:11] Laporte County. I would like to

[3:14] know how the three

[3:15] ordinances recently

[3:16] posted on the

[3:18] LaPorte County government website do not

[3:19] violate

[3:20] LaPorte's rights.

[3:22] Please speak into the microphone for the

[3:23] record.

[3:27] I would like to know how the

[3:28] bylaw

[3:29] affects

[3:30] citizens' rights to

[3:31] public hearings.

[3:34] Simply. Regarding the three

[3:39] resolutions, the

[3:40] reconstruction commission...

[3:42] This... This is in the resolution.

[3:45] You refuse...

[3:46] No, this... this is a public

[3:47] discussion. I'm not

[3:49] going to answer

[3:50] .

[3:50] If

[3:51] so.

[3:51] Mr. Morelli, it is

[3:52] my understanding that

[3:53] you have

[3:54] communicated with

[3:54] District Attorney

[3:55] Guy DiMartino on multiple occasions via

[3:56] email and have

[3:57] been advised that

[3:58] your restitution is

[3:59] being processed through the

[4:00] courts. Do you understand this?

[4:02] No, I don't understand.

[4:03] Okay, then you

[4:04] need to continue

[4:05] communicating with Guy

[4:06] DiMartino, as

[4:08] he has informed me

[4:09] that there is communication going on between the two of you

[4:10] regarding what

[4:11] your

[4:12] proper

[4:13] compensation is. And your

[4:15] compensation, sir.

[4:16] I am

[4:18] asking for clarification regarding the

[4:19] law. Could

[4:21] you please cite the

[4:22] law that says I

[4:23] cannot...

[4:24] This information has already

[4:25] been provided to you, sir.

[4:28] I don't understand the

[4:29] information. I ask

[4:30] you to explain it.

[4:32] And this information has been

[4:34] explained to you, and your

[4:35] due

[4:36] compensation, sir.

[4:38] I ask you

[4:39] to refer to the law

[4:40] according to which I

[4:41] cannot speak.

[4:43] There is no indication that

[4:44] you cannot

[4:45] speak, sir.

[4:48] The evidence is that

[4:50] you have previously

[4:51] approached this

[4:52] board and its attorney and were

[4:53] provided with the

[4:54] requested

[4:55] information. Is this

[4:57] correct?

[4:59] I can't confirm

[5:00] or deny this at

[5:01] this time.

[5:03] Good.

[5:04] So, I am asking for

[5:05] clarification according to the

[5:06] law. My

[5:07] specific public

[5:08] comment, and I

[5:09] hope this is not

[5:10] part of my time,

[5:11] because we're

[5:12] trying to get

[5:13] clarification here and

[5:14] explain what my

[5:16] public comment is. I

[5:17] would say that

[5:18] public comment

[5:19] is not a question-and-

[5:20] answer. This is your

[5:20] public comment.

[5:22] That's good. I would like to

[5:23] make a comment, and I

[5:24] will ask a question, and

[5:26] whether you want to

[5:26] answer or not, it is

[5:28] all up to you.

[5:32] So, with respect to

[5:33] the imposition of

[5:35] TIFs in Fort County, does

[5:36] the wording

[5:37] in the ordinances violate the rights of

[5:45] Fort County citizens

[5:46] to a public hearing?

[5:52] That's what

[5:53] the planner, Mitch

[5:55] Bishop, told me. I have a record

[5:58] where he says all

[5:59] TIF districts in

[6:00] Port County are located in

[6:02] this state. I

[6:03] believe this is a

[6:04] violation of the

[6:05] open door law. People were

[6:07] not informed. If

[6:11] you look at

[6:12] yesterday's LaPorte

[6:13] County City Council meeting

[6:14] , you'll see

[6:15] that it was a real

[6:16] failure, and people were not

[6:17] informed

[6:18] of these ordinances in a timely manner.

[6:22] And, Mr. Morelli, you

[6:24] were previously advised

[6:25] that your question,

[6:26] which you are asking

[6:27] during a public

[6:28] discussion, which is not a

[6:29] question-and-

[6:30] answer session, is

[6:32] properly addressed to the

[6:33] appropriate forum,

[6:34] which is the court. Do you

[6:37] understand?

[6:38] Clarification,

[6:39] please.

[6:40] Well, this is the clarification,

[6:41] as I understand it,

[6:42] that was given to you by

[6:43] District Attorney

[6:44] Guido Martino.

[6:46] I am asking about my

[6:47] right to speak

[6:48] publicly on this

[6:49] issue.

[6:50] You have spoken. Now

[6:52] , if you would like to

[6:53] make any additional

[6:54] comments, please feel free to do so

[6:55] . Did

[6:55] I use it?

[6:56] You used almost

[6:58] 3 minutes.

[6:58] I asked for

[6:59] clarification. This is not a

[7:00] public discussion

[7:01] .

[7:01] Sir, your time is up.

[7:03] Please sit down.

[7:04] If I ask,

[7:05] sir, your time is up. It was

[7:07] me,

[7:07] sir, and

[7:09] our lawyer answered your questions.

[7:10] He told you to go and

[7:11] speak in court. That's

[7:13] all, sir. Please sit down

[7:14] .

[7:15] This is illegal.

[7:16] No, that's not true.

[7:17] Yes, it is illegal.

[7:18] And then go see a

[7:19] lawyer.

[7:19] Clarification is not a

[7:20] public

[7:21] discussion.

[7:22] Mr. Rymer,

[7:23] could you help

[7:24] him find a place,

[7:25] please? Mr.

[7:26] Hollifield,

[7:27] please

[7:28] refer to the law.

[7:29] The issue was

[7:30] considered. The person

[7:31] expressed his right

[7:33] to public

[7:33] discussion. This is not a

[7:35] question and

[7:36] answer session. So,

[7:38] his public

[7:38] comment has been

[7:39] made, and no

[7:40] further action

[7:41] needs to be taken.

[7:42] Then he needs to

[7:43] stop talking.

[7:44] The law should be

[7:45] reviewed. Do

[7:47] you have any other

[7:48] comments?

[7:49] Yes.

[7:49] What is your comment?

[7:51] I will not comment

[7:52] further until

[7:53] clarification is provided.

[7:54] Come on, just

[7:55] sit down. Just

[7:56] sit down. We all

[7:57] have to

[7:58] abide by the terms of

[7:59] detention, my friend.

[8:00] Sir, you have been provided with

[8:01] sufficient information

[8:02] and clarification.

[8:03] I was given full

[8:04] time to comment.

[8:05] I asked for

[8:06] clarification. This is not a

[8:08] public

[8:08] discussion.

[8:09] I have a legal right

[8:11] to an explanation,

[8:14] and your legal right

[8:15] to an explanation has been properly

[8:17] addressed in the

[8:18] appropriate forum to which

[8:19] you were referred by the

[8:20] District Attorney. You

[8:23] admit that, don't you

[8:24] ?

[8:24] No.

[8:24] Okay, there's

[8:25] nothing more we can

[8:26] do for you.

[8:27] And I...Sir, I ask for

[8:28] clarification.

[8:30] Please allow me

[8:31] .

[8:31] No, I won't let them

[8:32] tell me how to

[8:33] take a break. Sir,

[8:34] your time is up.

[8:36] for clarification on

[8:36] which I cannot

[8:37] continue my

[8:38] public comment.

[8:39] Your time is up. You

[8:40] have 3 minutes.

[8:41] Tell me the law that

[8:42] ...

[8:43] What is your name, sir?

[8:44] Yes, you are fired.

[8:46] Please, sir.

[8:47] you

[8:47] are disrupting our

[8:48] meeting now.

[8:49] I'm not trying. Yes,

[8:50] you are fired. You

[8:51] were told how to

[8:52] do it.

[8:53] I don't understand.

[8:54] You were told how to

[8:55] do it. Then I

[8:56] suggest you

[8:57] go back to school.

[8:58] Learn how

[8:59] the government works.

[8:59] Please feel

[9:00] free to

[9:00] continue emailing

[9:02] Mr. Holyfield,

[9:02] sorry, we are

[9:03] going to disagree on

[9:04] this

[9:05] .

[9:05] Why can't I

[9:06] continue my

[9:07] public hearing?

[9:08] How much time did I

[9:09] spend? What law am

[9:11] I breaking, sir?

[9:12] Well, it's been almost 10 minutes

[9:14] .

[9:14] Please sit down.

[9:15] Name the law that prevents me from

[9:18] speaking in public,

[9:19] sir.

[9:20] Mr. Morelli, you were

[9:21] previously provided this

[9:22] information by the

[9:23] district attorney. Sir, I am speaking.

[9:28] You previously...It was previously

[9:30] pointed out to you by the

[9:31] district attorney, sir. No.

[9:35] Then your due

[9:37] compensation is in court.

[9:38] This is not for this forum.

[9:41] and clarification before the

[9:44] public

[9:44] comment period begins.

[9:46] Please don't touch

[9:47] me.

[9:48] Oh, God.

[9:49] Sir, please

[9:50] tell me

[9:51] which law I am

[9:52] violating. Please

[9:53] name the law

[9:54] I am violating, or

[9:55] I will file a lawsuit and be

[9:56] sued. Good.

[9:58] The lawyer explained this.

[10:00] public discussion

[10:01] . I need

[10:02] clarification. I'm asking...

[10:04] This is not for

[10:04] public discussion

[10:05] .

[10:06] Holyfield, how

[10:07] long...

[10:07] You've taken over 3

[10:08] minutes.

[10:09] It was a click...We're

[10:10] talking about

[10:11] clarification...

[10:12] We're done. We are

[10:13] moving on. Are

[10:14] we talking about

[10:15] any other

[10:15] public discussions

[10:16] ? Anyone else for

[10:16] public

[10:17] discussion?

[10:17] This is illegal.

[10:18] So, then

[10:19] arrest us,

[10:20] please. Does anyone else want a

[10:20] public

[10:21] discussion?

[10:22] Speak up. The

[10:22] public discussion is

[10:23] now closed.

[10:24] Let's move on.

[10:25] Comments from the head of the

[10:26] department. Do we have any

[10:27] comments from the

[10:27] department head? Please

[10:28] come to

[10:29] the microphone and

[10:29] speak. Mr.

[10:30] Savage, do you have anything?

[10:31] I'm not doing anything.

[10:32] Mr. Hollifield, we

[10:33] continue the meeting.

[10:34] There's another person who

[10:36] expressed their...

[10:37] Is there...Okay, I did

[10:38] n't see that.

[10:38] request for public

[10:39] discussion.

[10:40] Okay, I didn't see

[10:41] anyone raise their hand.

[10:42] Mr. Callis,

[10:42] please speak.

[10:43] Sorry about that.

[10:44] George.

[10:47] This time, no

[10:47] problem. Just a

[10:48] quick comment.

[10:50] Of course.

[10:50] I know that you have referred

[10:51] the issue of unification to the

[10:52] council for consideration so that

[10:53] it can decide something. I

[10:54] just want to draw

[10:56] attention to one thing. If I

[10:57] work for someone and

[10:57] they send

[10:58] me to

[10:58] Indianapolis and

[10:59] I don't have a

[11:00] car to

[11:00] team up with and I have to

[11:01] use my

[11:02] personal

[11:02] car, that's

[11:03] right, right?

[11:04] You are declaring the

[11:04] mileage.

[11:05] Okay, but what

[11:06] happens if I

[11:07] get into an accident,

[11:08] my car is

[11:08] completely wrecked, my

[11:10] insurance company

[11:11] gives me $5,000

[11:12] , and I have to

[11:13] spend another

[11:14] $25,000 to replace it?

[11:15] It's just complicated, will

[11:16] the county give me

[11:17] the difference in the amount it

[11:18] will

[11:19] cost to

[11:20] replace it? It's just something to

[11:21] think about. I don't...no

[11:22] ...I'm never

[11:23] going to

[11:23] use my

[11:24] car because it's

[11:25] happened to me

[11:26] before and I

[11:26] refuse

[11:27] to do that job.

[11:28] Okay, I'm just

[11:29] saying this, and I'm

[11:30] sure you've

[11:31] thought about it, but my

[11:32] comments don't

[11:32] change.

[11:33] Okay, thank you, George.

[11:34] Thank you, sir.

[11:38] Any other

[11:38] public comments?

[11:41] But that's all. The

[11:42] public discussion is

[11:44] now closed. We

[11:45] move on to

[11:46] the comments of the

[11:47] department head.

[11:53] Rob Saby of the

[11:56] LaPorte County Emergency Management Agency. Uh, I just

[11:57] want to give an update

[11:58] on, uh,

[12:00] a few things that are

[12:01] going on. Uh, first of all

[12:02] , uh, I

[12:02] spoke to the SDR

[12:03] this morning to

[12:04] get an update

[12:05] on

[12:06] where they

[12:07] are with the

[12:08] debris removal.

[12:11] Um, they said they

[12:12] probably, um, plan to be

[12:13] fully completed

[12:14] sometime around the

[12:15] first week of

[12:16] November, somewhere around

[12:17] that area. Um, they

[12:21] seem to be

[12:22] about 90%

[12:23] done with the

[12:25] trees with

[12:26] branches hanging down and

[12:27] broken things. They

[12:29] cut off the bad things

[12:31] that are still standing. Um, once

[12:32] I finish that,

[12:34] then they'll finish,

[12:35] and then, um, he said

[12:37] they were about

[12:38] 40-50% done with the

[12:39] trash removal.

[12:40] So, it involves,

[12:41] you know, shredding

[12:43] what we had and

[12:44] taking it out. So that's what

[12:45] they're on

[12:46] now. Um, I know there have been

[12:48] some complaints.

[12:49] People, um, I know there was

[12:51] a

[12:52] case going around recently, you know, they were

[12:54] just cutting down

[12:55] trees to make

[12:56] money. Um, and that's not true.

[12:58] Haha. Um, so there's, um, a

[13:01] group that actually

[13:02] monitors what

[13:04] they can cut down.

[13:05] If it doesn't meet

[13:07] the requirements, they don't

[13:08] get paid for it. So, you know, there

[13:10] must be some kind of

[13:11] damage. I

[13:12] went out and looked at

[13:14] one. There was a complaint about the

[13:15] tree, they say, someone

[13:17] called and said

[13:18] that, um, everything was fine with it

[13:19] . They just

[13:21] cut him down. Hmm, they

[13:22] take pictures of everything. So

[13:24] he showed me

[13:25] the pictures and it

[13:25] was actually

[13:26] split. So you

[13:27] couldn't...so the tree

[13:28] looked whole, but

[13:29] there was probably a gap

[13:30] about an inch that

[13:31] went down about

[13:32] 6-8 feet. So,

[13:33] you know, the next

[13:34] good wind would probably

[13:35] cut it down. So,

[13:37] um, just wanted

[13:38] to clarify. So, you know,

[13:40] people...they just don't

[13:41] go out, um, cut down

[13:42] trees just because

[13:44] they're going to get paid to do it, because

[13:45] that's not how it works.

[13:47] Anyway, the

[13:48] second thing I have is

[13:50] ...this Saturday or

[13:51] Friday and Saturday

[13:52] we have a general

[13:53] store. Hmm, he'll be

[13:55] at the fairgrounds

[13:56] . So,

[13:58] we have, um, a bunch of different

[13:59] agencies that will be

[14:01] there to help

[14:02] people. Um, they

[14:03] can answer

[14:04] questions and

[14:05] maybe help them

[14:06] fill out forms and such.

[14:07] Um, I'll just quickly

[14:09] go through the list. Um

[14:10] , so on Friday they

[14:12] will be there from 9:00 to 18:00

[14:14] and on Saturday from 9:00 to 16:00.

[14:16] And they will be in the

[14:16] community building. Um,

[14:19] so if you have

[14:20] any questions about

[14:21] this, I highly

[14:22] recommend you go out

[14:24] there and get

[14:25] your

[14:26] questions answered. Um, I know

[14:28] we're still

[14:29] getting a lot of

[14:30] calls, people,

[14:31] you know, wanting to

[14:31] know about

[14:32] garbage collection,

[14:33] insurance, etc. So

[14:34] I'll just go through the

[14:36] list here. Um, I

[14:37] know there are people in the county

[14:38] who are, um,

[14:39] being helped with

[14:40] temporary housing right now and

[14:42] they are looking for

[14:42] long-term housing.

[14:44] So, they put

[14:45] them in hotels and

[14:46] things like that,

[14:47] you know, because they've

[14:47] suffered damage that they

[14:49] can't really stay

[14:50] at home. Um, there will be

[14:51] housing support.

[14:53] Um,

[14:54] insurance information, meaning

[14:55] people from the insurance

[14:56] industry will be there,

[14:57] they'll help with

[14:58] interpreting your

[14:59] policies or, uh,

[15:00] maybe help

[15:01] if you lost or,

[15:02] you know, maybe your

[15:03] house was

[15:04] damaged or

[15:05] flooded or

[15:06] something and you lost

[15:07] your policies, you know,

[15:08] they got wet, and they

[15:09] can help you

[15:10] with that. Um, maybe

[15:12] get copies of your

[15:14] insurance policies,

[15:15] um, and maybe

[15:16] just general

[15:17] information on how to

[15:18] go through this process.

[15:21] Um, public

[15:22] health will be there. Um

[15:24] , um, I mean, through the

[15:25] state, and I think the

[15:27] county will be there too.

[15:30] I don't have

[15:31] confirmation of this yet,

[15:32] but as far as

[15:33] getting your, uh,

[15:35] vaccination records,

[15:36] tetanus shots,

[15:37] civil life records,

[15:39] you know,

[15:40] birth and death certificates.

[15:41] Um, and they'll have

[15:42] some, you know,

[15:44] cleaning tips,

[15:45] you know, like how to,

[15:46] you know, clean up

[15:47] mold and stuff. Um,

[15:50] disaster unemployment, is there

[15:52] any assistance,

[15:53] maybe for

[15:53] lost

[15:55] wages due to the storm.

[15:56] You know, if your

[15:57] business was closed

[15:58] and you couldn't, you know,

[16:00] get

[16:01] paid. Um, the

[16:02] BMV transportation department

[16:04] will be there to

[16:05] help, you know,

[16:06] maybe replace

[16:07] lost documents.

[16:08] Maybe you lost

[16:09] your, uh, driver's

[16:10] license or

[16:11] ID card,

[16:12] or maybe

[16:12] your vehicle registration

[16:14] or something.

[16:15] Social services,

[16:16] you know, for

[16:17] referrals to

[16:18] crisis psychiatric

[16:19] care. Um, SDRF, the

[16:21] State

[16:23] Disaster Relief Fund, they

[16:25] will be there to

[16:26] help with the

[16:27] applications. General

[16:29] questions, advice for

[16:31] small businesses regarding

[16:32] resources to

[16:33] replenish

[16:33] unmet needs

[16:35] for clothing, food, and

[16:36] cleaning assistance through

[16:37] local volunteer

[16:38] organizations.

[16:40] Guides on

[16:41] potential

[16:41] fraudulent

[16:42] contractors. Um,

[16:43] tips for

[16:44] contacting the

[16:45] USDA

[16:47] regarding

[16:47] agricultural

[16:48] losses. Um, FEMA

[16:50] will also be there for

[16:50] individual

[16:51] assistance and

[16:52] support. I know

[16:54] some people have already

[16:55] applied but maybe

[16:56] didn't get as many

[16:57] as they expected

[16:58] or got rejected or

[17:00] something. They'll be

[17:00] there to

[17:01] answer those

[17:02] questions or

[17:03] help maybe,

[17:04] well, you know, find

[17:05] your way around. The

[17:06] Small

[17:07] Business Administration will provide you with

[17:09] disaster loans.

[17:10] They have

[17:11] low interest loans and

[17:12] so on. So they

[17:13] will help businesses

[17:14] and individuals

[17:15] apply if

[17:17] they need to. The

[17:19] La Porte County Assessor's Office will

[17:21] help you file the

[17:22] form. This is Form 137 for

[17:24] revaluation. So if

[17:26] your property has been

[17:27] damaged or

[17:28] something, you can

[17:29] apply for a

[17:30] reassessment to

[17:30] help, you know,

[17:31] lower the cost of

[17:32] your taxes. These are just

[17:33] some of the services that

[17:35] will be provided. So,

[17:36] as I said, it will be

[17:37] on Friday and

[17:38] Saturday. So, Friday

[17:39] is open from 9:00 to 18:00, and

[17:41] Saturday is from 9:00 to 16:00.

[17:43] So are there any more

[17:44] questions?

[17:44] While you're here, I have

[17:45] two things I

[17:46] just want to say.

[17:48] I was recently in a

[17:49] Zoom meeting with the

[17:50] Department of

[17:50] Homeland Security.

[17:53] If you live in a

[17:55] floodplain, it is Category

[17:57] I. There is an 800 number or

[17:58] 833-495-9888 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

[18:01] Eastern Standard

[18:03] Time. Or you can

[18:05] reach out to

[18:06] insdprogram@tetratech.com and they

[18:07] can help you

[18:08] if you have

[18:09] property damage and

[18:10] they can tell

[18:11] you if

[18:12] you are in a floodplain.

[18:13] Yes, I just

[18:14] talked...I didn't

[18:15] talk to her. We

[18:16] played a little bit of

[18:17] phone catch-up

[18:18] this morning, but,

[18:19] uh, the girl in

[18:20] charge of it

[18:21] called me

[18:22] this morning, and I

[18:23] tried to

[18:24] call her back

[18:25] before the meeting, but,

[18:26] uh, I know we're

[18:26] working on it

[18:27] because of the flood. So

[18:28] she said she would

[18:29] leave a

[18:30] message and

[18:30] said we would

[18:31] need to file

[18:32] some paperwork throughout the

[18:33] county. So,

[18:35] she hasn't

[18:36] called me back yet, but

[18:37] I guess we'll get to that today

[18:38] . So, we

[18:43] are also working on

[18:44] collaborating with VOAD from

[18:45] another state and United Way

[18:47] on long-term

[18:48] recovery. So

[18:50] next week we're going to have a

[18:52] meeting with

[18:53] a lot of different, um,

[18:54] agencies from around the county. An

[18:59] email will be sent out today to

[19:00] develop a plan to

[19:01] help people. There are

[19:04] a lot of gaps that

[19:05] we are trying

[19:06] to fill, ahem, for

[19:08] recovery. I know

[19:11] that the United Way has some

[19:12] grants from the state, and where

[19:13] they can, there's some

[19:15] money, maybe to

[19:16] help with rent

[19:17] or, you know,

[19:18] things like that, or maybe

[19:19] I'm looking at...I know there

[19:20] are still people

[19:21] who have trees and

[19:22] things in their yards that

[19:23] are trying to get

[19:24] help with that.

[19:25] You know, insurance doesn't

[19:27] pay, you know,

[19:28] maybe $500, and

[19:29] removing one

[19:30] tree, you know,

[19:31] costs about five or

[19:32] six thousand. So it's not a

[19:33] lot of money,

[19:34] you know, if you have

[19:35] five or six trees

[19:37] in your yard, it's a lot of

[19:38] money, you know, so

[19:39] we're working to

[19:40] take care of that as well.

[19:41] That is, we were lucky.

[19:43] We didn't have flooding,

[19:44] I mean, we had

[19:45] basements that flooded

[19:47] because of, you know,

[19:47] septic tanks because there was no

[19:49] electricity,

[19:49] sump pumps

[19:51] and stuff weren't working,

[19:52] but we do have some

[19:54] mold damage and other things,

[19:55] but not too much. We were

[19:56] lucky. In our

[19:58] district, I've said this

[19:59] before, we still

[20:01] had a lot of

[20:01] damage, but,

[20:02] you know, we were lucky

[20:04] . We didn't have a lot of

[20:05] structural

[20:06] damage. You know,

[20:07] right now, as far as we

[20:08] know, only

[20:10] five of our houses have been

[20:11] destroyed. We

[20:13] had about 60

[20:14] serious cases, and

[20:15] then, you know, it

[20:16] just keeps going

[20:17] . So, you know, we had

[20:19] some, you know, not

[20:20] gutters off houses and stuff

[20:21] , maybe some

[20:22] damage to roofs,

[20:23] but I mean there's a lot more

[20:25] , but it's not as

[20:26] bad as,

[20:27] you know, what

[20:28] happened in the other two

[20:29] counties to the west of

[20:31] us. So we

[20:31] got lucky there, but

[20:33] okay. So are there any more

[20:34] questions?

[20:35] Yes, we have one more.

[20:37] Mr. Ferraro,

[20:38] could you come over and

[20:39] join Mr.

[20:40] Sibi? I'm sorry, I almost

[20:43] lured you here this

[20:44] morning under

[20:45] false pretenses.

[20:46] Nice to

[20:47] see you.

[20:47] Ministers, good

[20:49] morning. My name is

[20:50] Anthony Ferraro. I am a

[20:51] senior policy

[20:52] advisor to Governor

[20:53] Brown. I had the honor of

[20:55] being the co-

[20:56] incident commander during the

[20:57] storms in District 1. I

[20:59] know I spoke to, I

[21:00] think, almost all of

[21:02] you, if not here and

[21:03] there, and I had the

[21:04] opportunity to work

[21:05] directly with

[21:06] Rob and other EMAs throughout the

[21:08] district. Um, I

[21:10] can tell you, know,

[21:11] confirming all this

[21:13] information and participating

[21:14] in the recovery phase, that

[21:16] the level of

[21:16] professionalism

[21:17] that you have here and

[21:19] your EMA director is

[21:20] still outstanding. So I'm

[21:22] grateful to Commissioner

[21:23] Haney, who reached out

[21:24] to me and asked if

[21:25] we could recognize

[21:26] his efforts and the

[21:27] efforts of his team.

[21:29] And the governor

[21:29] agreed. So

[21:31] today, to everyone who

[21:33] enjoys these

[21:34] gifts, congratulations:

[21:35] as some people

[21:36] are recognized for their

[21:37] significant contributions to

[21:38] their communities;

[21:39] because the qualities and

[21:40] characteristics of such

[21:41] people reflect the

[21:42] best in the great

[21:43] state of Indiana;

[21:44] whereas these actions of the people

[21:46] inspire confidence in the

[21:47] hearts and minds of all

[21:48] the people of Indiana; and

[21:49] whereas

[21:50] the undermentioned person is

[21:51] such a man as

[21:52] has earned the respect and

[21:53] admiration of the people of

[21:55] Indiana throughout the

[21:56] state and is worthy

[21:57] to join the ranks of

[21:58] those who have been so

[21:58] honored. Now, I,

[22:01] Mike Brown,

[22:02] Governor of the State of

[22:03] Indiana, do hereby proclaim the

[22:04] Honorable Robert

[22:06] Savi an Honorable

[22:07] Resident of Indiana.

[22:08] Congratulations

[22:09] . Thank you. I just

[22:17] want to add that this is a

[22:18] team effort. I

[22:19] mean

[22:21] Cody?

[22:21] Yes, Cody too. I

[22:23] mean our

[22:24] employees, but

[22:25] as for the entire district,

[22:26] I mean we're

[22:27] all united. Um,

[22:28] you know, there's a

[22:30] whole bunch of people sitting in the back row who,

[22:32] you know, all of them, all of the

[22:33] agencies in the county, we've

[22:34] all come together. We

[22:36] all worked. We are

[22:37] still working. Um,

[22:38] I appreciate that and thank you.

[22:40] Um,

[22:40] I anticipated these

[22:41] comments, so we

[22:43] have an additional letter

[22:44] for the team, because we

[22:45] understand that, you know,

[22:47] we are one people, but it's

[22:48] always, you know, the people

[22:49] below us who do

[22:51] this every day. So, there is an

[22:51] additional letter of

[22:52] congratulations and

[22:53] endorsement for the

[22:54] governor for the

[22:55] team. Well

[22:55] , thank you.

[22:56] Of course.

[22:57] Thanks, Rob. I accept

[22:59] this on behalf of the entire

[23:00] district.

[23:00] Good. Thanks, Rob.

[23:02] Thank you. Are

[23:03] there any other

[23:04] department heads,

[23:05] please?

[23:12] I want to give way to

[23:13] others, I think I'm

[23:14] next. Mike

[23:15] Rosenbaum, auditor.

[23:17] Um, there are a few

[23:17] announcements, I just

[23:18] want to make sure it's

[23:20] all

[23:20] posted. The county is holding a tax sale for over 300 properties on

[23:21] Tuesday, October 13th at

[23:22] 10:00 a.m. at the

[23:23] fairgrounds.

[23:28] Detailed information

[23:29] can be found on the

[23:30] district's website. It

[23:31] has also been

[23:32] published

[23:33] elsewhere. On Wednesday,

[23:34] October 14th, at 5:30 PM, the

[23:35] County Council

[23:36] will hold a special

[23:37] meeting, public

[23:38] hearing, in this room on the following

[23:39] issues:

[23:40] Local

[23:41] Income Tax Modification for EMS.

[23:45] La Porte County Government Budget for 2027. And the

[23:48] La Porte County Solid Waste Management Budget

[23:50] for 2027. A

[23:50] proper notice

[23:51] was placed in both

[23:53] newspapers. For

[23:54] state purposes, Form Three,

[23:55] a Notice to

[23:56] Taxpayers,

[23:57] on the state's website,

[23:58] known as Gateway, is a

[23:59] summary of the

[24:00] 2027 budget.

[24:01] It was also

[24:02] posted on the

[24:02] district's website. I

[24:04] believe this is the first time we are doing this

[24:05] .

[24:06] Public

[24:06] announcements also

[24:07] inform

[24:08] the public

[24:09] that budget

[24:10] information,

[24:10] additional budget

[24:11] information is available

[24:13] on the Solid Waste website for

[24:14] their budget and at the

[24:15] Auditor's Office for the

[24:16] County Government budget.

[24:18] I have a few

[24:19] brief comments

[24:20] regarding the

[24:22] local

[24:23] income tax modification outlined

[24:24] in white.

[24:25] The implementation,

[24:26] the introduction of a

[24:27] supplemental

[24:27] local

[24:29] income tax for EMS, is

[24:29] one of the

[24:31] remaining tools to

[24:32] make up for lost

[24:33] revenue from

[24:34] real estate and

[24:35] personal property taxes.

[24:37] Implementation

[24:37] will free up funds in the

[24:38] general fund to

[24:39] pay for future

[24:40] major renovations to

[24:41] several structures, such

[24:43] as the

[24:43] LaPorte Courthouse and

[24:44] Michigan City City Hall,

[24:45] to name two of the

[24:46] largest.

[24:48] The county is currently unable to come out

[24:49] and provide guarantees for

[24:50] these projects because

[24:51] the county has not restored

[24:52] its credit

[24:53] rating. The State

[24:54] Board of Accounts

[24:55] is in the

[24:56] process of completing its

[24:57] 2025 audit

[24:57] under

[24:58] generally accepted

[25:01] accounting principles, also

[25:02] known as GAAP. After

[25:03] the report is published, it

[25:05] may take

[25:06] several months for the credit agencies to

[25:06] review before

[25:07] our credit

[25:08] rating is

[25:09] restored. On

[25:10] another issue, I

[25:14] would like to make

[25:15] a few comments

[25:16] regarding my office,

[25:17] as there were some

[25:18] inaccuracies and I

[25:19] just want to

[25:20] make sure we have

[25:21] corrected everything. Our

[25:23] real estate office, or

[25:24] now Beacon, the

[25:25] auditor's office, has direct

[25:26] access to Beacon. So,

[25:28] we can

[25:29] only enter information about

[25:30] address changes or

[25:30] changes in information that

[25:32] we enter into the

[25:33] Laos software.

[25:34] Telling someone that

[25:35] we have access to

[25:36] Beacon is not true.

[25:37] I'm sorry if this

[25:39] spread and anyone

[25:40] got

[25:40] misinformed, but it's

[25:42] not true. The only people

[25:43] who have access to

[25:45] Beacon are the

[25:46] assessor's office, which

[25:47] uploads

[25:47] the information at least

[25:49] annually, unless there are

[25:50] other things that

[25:51] need to happen. Hmm, there

[25:53] is a

[25:54] possibility in this. We

[25:55] also have a

[25:57] GIS employee and he also has

[25:58] access, but not my

[25:59] department. Another thing

[26:02] I want to let

[26:03] people know is that when the

[26:05] property tax number, when the property numbers

[26:07] are taxed,

[26:08] sometimes it's there for the

[26:10] property tax and sometimes it's there

[26:11] for the

[26:12] personal property tax. Therefore, it is

[26:15] not easy to determine what it is

[26:16] . So when

[26:18] someone comes up and

[26:19] asks a question to

[26:20] another department, we

[26:21] have asked, and I'm

[26:22] going to repeat

[26:23] this publicly, if

[26:24] you have anything that you

[26:26] think should be sent

[26:27] to our office,

[26:28] please send it to

[26:29] me and Joey. Um,

[26:30] sometimes you don't even

[26:31] realize it.

[26:32] Joey will do a quick

[26:33] research faster

[26:34] than anyone else, and

[26:36] that way we

[26:36] will get

[26:37] an answer to them faster. And

[26:38] so far today it is

[26:40] starting to work just like that

[26:41] . So, with that in

[26:42] mind, it's good

[26:43] . Um, and I also

[26:44] suggest that when you

[26:45] get a request for

[26:46] information that's not your

[26:48] department, just

[26:49] forward it to

[26:50] the head of that

[26:50] department. We would be

[26:52] very grateful for such a

[26:53] professional approach, and

[26:54] then we will be able to

[26:55] help our

[26:56] constituents in the best

[26:57] way possible. Uh, and then the

[26:59] last comment

[27:00] here earlier this

[27:01] morning, I didn't

[27:02] expect that. I heard from the

[27:03] person who

[27:04] audited

[27:05] our workers' compensation. Uh

[27:07] , this is

[27:07] being finalized now.

[27:09] It is being forwarded to

[27:10] management, and so

[27:12] we will probably

[27:14] receive an assessment within the next week. Uh, it

[27:15] definitely will be, it will be an

[27:16] additional amount,

[27:17] because looking at

[27:18] the estimate, there was a

[27:19] general increase in the

[27:20] payroll

[27:22] compared to what

[27:23] was forecasted,

[27:24] because when it was

[27:24] forecasted, it

[27:25] was without a raise.

[27:27] And last year there was a

[27:28] 3% increase, and that's

[27:30] about an additional

[27:31] amount. The good news

[27:33] is that

[27:34] this time there are

[27:35] different classifications of

[27:36] workers. So, there is a

[27:38] difference between a

[27:39] truck driver, an office

[27:40] worker, and

[27:41] a mechanic. And we're

[27:42] working very hard

[27:43] to get that data

[27:44] ...we've provided this

[27:45] auditor with a tremendous

[27:46] amount of information

[27:47] , and we believe we've

[27:48] now got

[27:49] the classifications so that we

[27:50] can get a better

[27:51] assessment. So sometimes

[27:52] the numbers are lower,

[27:53] some are higher, and

[27:54] obviously the more precise

[27:56] we do it, the

[27:57] better estimate we

[27:58] get. And so, it

[27:59] was just a few

[28:00] hours ago before the

[28:01] meeting. So

[28:02] moving on, thank

[28:04] you for your time. Just

[28:05] wanted to give

[28:06] you a quick update on

[28:06] a lot of things that are

[28:07] happening.

[28:08] Okay, thank you. Are

[28:09] there any more

[28:10] department heads?

[28:18] Good morning, Maureen

[28:20] Thomas, Director of Human

[28:21] Resources. I just

[28:23] want to let everyone know

[28:24] that open enrollment

[28:26] starts from

[28:27] October 26th to November 6th.

[28:29] This will be a personal

[28:31] set with our

[28:32] American

[28:33] Fidelity representatives. They will be

[28:35] present here, in

[28:36] the district, in different

[28:37] areas. So,

[28:38] keep an eye on this

[28:39] email. And

[28:41] also, uh, from November 9th to 13th,

[28:42] they

[28:43] will be conducting

[28:44] telephone

[28:45] consultations. So those

[28:46] employees who cannot

[28:48] attend in person

[28:50] will be able to

[28:50] call and

[28:51] register there.

[28:54] So those who are on

[28:54] vacation outside the

[28:56] country will have

[28:57] the opportunity

[28:57] to register

[28:58] openly by phone.

[29:01] So I just want

[29:02] to let everyone know that

[29:03] this will happen

[29:04] within the next

[29:05] few weeks. I also

[29:06] want to thank everyone

[29:07] who attended our

[29:09] food truck event. Thank you,

[29:10] commissioners, for

[29:12] allowing us to

[29:13] do this and giving

[29:14] the staff something to look forward to

[29:16] every year, and

[29:17] maybe we can

[29:18] do it annually, and maybe

[29:19] we can do it

[29:20] just once a year. Uh,

[29:23] maybe we can talk

[29:24] about that sometime. So I

[29:26] just want to

[29:27] let you know what we

[29:28] do in HR, and if

[29:29] you have any questions

[29:31] , you know where I am.

[29:32] So,

[29:33] Ms. Thompson, I want to

[29:34] ask you

[29:35] a question because

[29:36] we face this every year

[29:37] . There are always one

[29:39] or two employees

[29:40] who don't use

[29:41] it, and they don't

[29:42] do open

[29:43] enrollment. And I want

[29:47] you to be specific about

[29:48] what other

[29:49] ways you're

[29:49] using,

[29:50] other than going to the

[29:51] commissioner's meeting and making

[29:53] a statement about it, so that everyone

[29:54] understands that there are other

[29:55] ways that you're

[29:56] calling for

[29:57] to ensure that all

[29:58] employees

[29:59] do this so that we don't

[30:00] continue to have this

[30:02] problem.

[30:04] Yes, of course. Every year,

[30:06] American Fidelity sends

[30:07] text

[30:08] messages,

[30:09] emails, and

[30:10] postcards to the

[30:12] addresses on file for

[30:13] each

[30:13] employee. And for

[30:17] those who say they

[30:19] don't get them, we

[30:20] have records that, uh,

[30:21] communications are

[30:22] coming to these

[30:23] people; and also, uh, you'll

[30:24] get a

[30:25] notification and they

[30:26] do it the day before

[30:28] their meetings. You

[30:31] can schedule

[30:32] your own meetings

[30:33] in these

[30:34] emails, and as I

[30:35] said, with the leaflets

[30:36] and flyers that are

[30:37] sent out,

[30:38] employees can also

[30:40] call the

[30:41] 1-800 number. So, there are

[30:42] various ways for

[30:43] employees

[30:44] to contact American

[30:45] Fidelity to schedule

[30:47] their appointments.

[30:48] Thank you.

[30:49] Hmm.

[30:50] Thank you.

[30:50] Are there any more questions?

[30:53] Thank you. Are

[30:55] there other

[30:56] department heads?

[30:58] Uh, briefly, uh, Mr.

[30:59] President, if

[31:00] you allow me. Uh, I just

[31:02] want to make sure that

[31:03] , uh, the public

[31:04] knows that, uh, you know,

[31:05] if they have any

[31:07] questions, they can

[31:08] , of course, reach out

[31:09] to any of us. Uh

[31:10] , go to

[31:11] our district

[31:12] attorney, anyone

[31:13] else, but when

[31:14] it comes to, uh

[31:15] , imposing a

[31:16] technology park

[31:17] , a TIF district, those are two

[31:18] very different things. Uh,

[31:19] when it comes to,

[31:20] uh, you know, for example

[31:22] , a BZA hearing, if

[31:23] there's a deviation, everything has to

[31:24] be considered before the

[31:25] BZA hearing regardless

[31:26] . When

[31:27] it comes to the fact

[31:29] that there is no

[31:29] need for a waiver,

[31:31] then, obviously, there is no

[31:32] need to contact the

[31:33] BZA. As far as

[31:35] publicity, you know,

[31:36] public hearings,

[31:37] public meetings, uh

[31:38] , anything that's

[31:39] voted on and

[31:39] decided,

[31:41] whether it's through the RDC or the

[31:42] planning commission or the

[31:43] county council or

[31:44] our board here, the

[31:45] board of commissioners,

[31:46] anytime there's

[31:48] any public

[31:48] vote, for

[31:49] those things there's a period

[31:50] for my protest or

[31:51] public

[31:52] discussion or

[31:53] both. Uh,

[31:54] none of this

[31:55] changes, none of

[31:56] this has changed, and

[31:57] I would encourage anyone

[31:58] who is interested, all of our

[31:59] joint zoning ordinances

[32:01] are online on the

[32:02] county website, you

[32:03] can look at

[32:04] them. The

[32:05] data center ordinance

[32:06] that we passed, uh, is

[32:08] on the county website,

[32:09] you can

[32:09] look at it. The map of the

[32:12] KIP Technology Park is also

[32:13] online, you can

[32:14] look at it

[32:15] anytime, anyone

[32:16] wants to, look at

[32:17] it and see all the

[32:18] different things outlined

[32:20] , and, you know, they all

[32:21] stack up on top of each

[32:22] other. When it comes

[32:24] to a TIF district, a

[32:25] TIF district map is significantly

[32:26] different from a

[32:27] technology

[32:29] park map. For example, in KIP,

[32:31] this technology

[32:32] park only covers

[32:35] part of the industrial

[32:36] park and only heavy

[32:37] industry M2,

[32:39] right? The TIF map itself

[32:40] for the TIF district around

[32:42] this area is larger

[32:43] than that, and they are two very

[32:44] different things. TIF is a

[32:47] tax increment financing district

[32:48] . In any case, that's

[32:49] a lot of topics to

[32:50] discuss here at the

[32:51] meeting, for the sake of

[32:51] brevity. I...I...I'm

[32:52] going to end

[32:53] it there, but if

[32:53] you have any

[32:54] questions, you can

[32:54] reach out to

[32:55] any of us,

[32:55] reach out to our

[32:56] district attorney,

[32:57] reach out to our

[32:58] planning commission,

[32:58] planning department, and

[32:59] we'd be happy

[33:00] to answer any

[33:00] questions you have.

[33:01] Again, all of these

[33:02] documents are online, and

[33:03] they have been

[33:03] online for quite some

[33:04] time. So feel

[33:05] free to

[33:06] browse them at

[33:07] any time. Thank you.

[33:08] Let's move on to

[33:09] the queries. Consider

[33:11] permission to apply to the

[33:12] council for

[33:13] additional

[33:14] spending appropriations. Eric

[33:15] Finstromaker from EMS,

[33:16] please come

[33:17] forward.

[33:20] Good morning,

[33:21] commissioners. I request

[33:22] permission to address the

[33:24] council regarding the 75,000

[33:25] budget deficit

[33:26] related to fuel

[33:28] .

[33:29] Entrance.

[33:30] Yes. With the increase in

[33:31] gasoline prices, our

[33:33] call load has also increased,

[33:34] so we are obviously

[33:35] running out of gasoline and

[33:36] oil for our

[33:37] own

[33:38] ambulances. The

[33:39] other two operations are other

[33:40] operations that are mainly

[33:42] used to

[33:43] supply oxygen. The

[33:44] delivery surcharge has

[33:45] increased to

[33:46] offset their

[33:47] fuel costs. And

[33:48] then, corporate

[33:49] compliance, which is for

[33:50] all of

[33:51] our other

[33:52] consumables

[33:53] that we

[33:53] use in the

[33:55] ambulances, and that fee has

[33:56] gone up along with the

[33:57] cost of those

[33:58] items. So that's

[33:59] 25,000 for each of them, a

[34:01] total of 75,000. Is the

[34:03] board satisfied?

[34:05] Motion

[34:05] to apply to council

[34:06] for permission

[34:07] to apply to council

[34:08] for these additional

[34:09] appropriations.

[34:10] Second.

[34:10] All those in favor, say

[34:12] yes. Yes. Good luck.

[34:13] Thank you.

[34:17] Consider temporarily

[34:18] closing roads for

[34:19] film production.

[34:31] Good morning, Mr.

[34:33] President, and, um,

[34:34] the nurses of the

[34:35] LaPorte County Commission. My

[34:40] name is Michelangelo

[34:41] Bernacchi, I am a resident of

[34:42] Laporte, and I am also the

[34:43] screenwriter and producer of a

[34:44] feature film

[34:45] called "Belle." We

[34:51] film exclusively in

[34:53] LaPorte County and

[34:54] also, um,

[34:55] downtown. We

[34:57] will film a small

[34:58] area there. We are requesting a

[35:03] temporary closure

[35:04] solely for the safety of

[35:05] filming some scenes of

[35:06] the film. They are

[35:11] located in

[35:12] several areas, which

[35:13] we will explain in detail.

[35:16] But I'll backtrack a bit

[35:17] . I'll tell you

[35:20] if you're

[35:21] curious about the

[35:22] movie. "Belle" is...

[35:25] Well, let's start from the

[35:27] beginning. When I was a

[35:28] little boy,

[35:29] I would sit and listen to

[35:30] my grandfather, Angelo

[35:32] Bernacchi, talk about how

[35:33] he rode his

[35:34] bicycles to

[35:35] sell groceries. And

[35:37] when did he ride his

[35:38] bikes for

[35:38] groceries? It was

[35:41] 1908. And he rode his

[35:42] bikes to the

[35:43] Gunness farm. Yes, Belle

[35:45] Gunness was his

[35:46] client. And he was the

[35:49] inspiration I

[35:50] wrote the script about. But

[35:53] I also took

[35:54] some creative

[35:55] liberties by creating a

[35:56] romantic relationship

[35:57] between my grandfather and his

[35:58] adopted daughter

[36:00] Belle Gunness. So

[36:03] not only do we have a

[36:04] historical story

[36:05] based on

[36:08] America's most prolific serial killer, but we also have a

[36:08] romantic subplot

[36:10] that really

[36:11] sets this film apart.

[36:13] We have an extraordinary

[36:15] interest in this

[36:16] industry across the country

[36:17] . People know we're

[36:18] doing it, and the shots

[36:19] will take place here in

[36:21] LaPorte, right here in

[36:22] LaPorte. Our first

[36:24] day of principal photography

[36:25] is around the 27th of

[36:26] this month. And

[36:29] we're talking about

[36:30] completion around

[36:32] November 20th. But regarding

[36:34] the details of these

[36:35] road closures and

[36:36] detours, we

[36:37] need to make it

[36:38] safe, and we

[36:39] understand that this is

[36:40] extremely important. I

[36:42] mean,

[36:43] the commission's goal is the safety of

[36:44] the residents of these

[36:45] areas, and we

[36:46] understand that. That's one of the

[36:49] reasons why we

[36:50] think that if we

[36:51] close these roads,

[36:52] filming will be

[36:53] much

[36:54] safer. So,

[36:57] in terms of details, I

[36:58] brought our

[36:59] production assistant here, her name is

[37:01] Mickey Taylor, and she

[37:02] would like to talk to you

[37:03] about some

[37:04] details. I think I'll

[37:06] keep a few of

[37:08] these signs here to

[37:09] help you. I

[37:10] understand that each of

[37:11] you has some

[37:12] information, but here's

[37:13] Mickey...

[37:15] Yes, I'm too

[37:16] brief. That's it. As

[37:21] I spoke to Diane

[37:22] and Steve earlier, there are

[37:23] specific areas

[37:24] that we need to

[37:25] close for filming.

[37:29] First...Okay, this is the

[37:30] Orlake Mansion. We

[37:32] will be filming in the

[37:34] mansion itself. So we will

[37:36] need to

[37:37] close this section of the

[37:38] road. It will be, um,

[37:42] the details are: West

[37:44] Small Road, just

[37:45] west of, um,

[37:46] Timber Ridge, North

[37:48] Timber Ridge Road and

[37:49] just above 400th. That

[37:52] little area over there.

[37:54] shouldn't be

[37:55] any houses or

[37:55] anything that would cause

[37:56] problems.

[37:57] Traffic can

[37:58] bypass Timber Ridge

[37:59] and get to the other

[38:00] side of Small Road, as well as

[38:02] this section

[38:03] right here.

[38:03] And will they still be able to

[38:04] use 400

[38:06] North?

[38:06] Excuse me, what?

[38:07] They will still be able to

[38:08] use 400

[38:09] North. Good.

[38:10] To be earlier, it would be

[38:11] east of 400 North

[38:12] , west of Timber Ridge.

[38:16] Um, the dates for this, um, the

[38:17] requested dates are November 2nd to

[38:19] November 11th. This is our

[38:22] most filming in the

[38:23] county. Um, we're well

[38:26] aware that we'll

[38:27] remove the locks

[38:29] when we're not shooting and

[38:30] put them

[38:31] back, um, every time we

[38:33] shoot. We don't

[38:34] want to close down

[38:36] filming 24/7. Um, however,

[38:37] it will be at different times of

[38:39] the day because some of

[38:40] the shoots will be

[38:41] at night and some will be

[38:42] during the day. Um, so

[38:43] every day I don't know exactly

[38:45] what the time frame is for

[38:46] each day. Um, so

[38:47] if you want me to

[38:49] update that as we

[38:50] get closer to that

[38:51] schedule, I can

[38:51] let you know so

[38:52] you can also let the

[38:53] , um,

[38:54] agencies know.

[38:55] Yes, please. Yes,

[38:56] because I have 911 and the

[38:57] Sheriff and we would like to

[38:58] know that and also regarding

[38:59] the residents and you

[39:00] say you are doing

[39:01] night shootings and so on.

[39:02] Will you

[39:03] use

[39:04] a lot of light that will keep

[39:05] people awake

[39:05] at night?

[39:06] shoots

[39:06] will

[39:07] mostly be with our

[39:08] microphone,

[39:09] please sir. Please

[39:11] . Microphone.

[39:12] Yes, most will be

[39:13] inside the house, There are a

[39:15] few, probably a

[39:16] few hours. We

[39:18] only talk about

[39:19] when we're shooting

[39:20] in the evening, probably

[39:21] 3-4 hours max. And,

[39:23] um, it would be, um,

[39:24] quite far from

[39:25] any residents,

[39:27] actually. We'll be

[39:28] at, um, the Orr mansion,

[39:30] actually. So he's

[39:31] actually in the woods. So it's

[39:33] pretty safe there.

[39:34] Good.

[39:36] Okay, this is an inquiry about

[39:38] the mansion on Lake Orr

[39:39] . Um, on Orr Lake Road

[39:42] , we'll just have a

[39:43] car, uh, an

[39:44] antique car on a

[39:45] trailer, and we

[39:46] need to film them

[39:48] just

[39:49] driving down the county road,

[39:50] and we'll just drive

[39:51] north of the

[39:52] last house

[39:53] on Orr Lake Road. Uh,

[39:57] we'll block it there,

[39:59] towards

[39:59] the intersection with Orr Lake

[40:01] Drive, but we won't

[40:01] close it.

[40:04] Just like that. And there are

[40:06] no

[40:06] residential buildings in that area. And

[40:09] it will only be for

[40:10] about 30 minutes

[40:11] . So just

[40:12] going through it is

[40:13] probably an hour and

[40:14] a half.

[40:15] Good.

[40:16] Probably so.

[40:21] This area used to

[40:22] be called, uh,

[40:23] Hookman Street,

[40:26] They filmed a horror movie there

[40:27] , yes. A

[40:27] scene of a large

[40:28] number of school

[40:29] parking spaces.

[40:30] Yes, of course. I

[40:31] told the director that

[40:32] I was having nightmares

[40:34] about horror movies and

[40:35] he would cure me of it

[40:36] .

[40:36] And this is during

[40:37] Halloween.

[40:38] Oh, even better, yes.

[40:40] Okay, last

[40:42] section: we're shooting

[40:43] on 18th Street, in front of a

[40:45] house, well, in the area of

[40:47] 2532 West 18th, which is a really

[40:49] nice, um,

[40:50] old house

[40:52] in the area. Hmm,

[40:54] just for 1 day.

[40:56] November 12th is the preferred

[40:57] date, but if the

[40:59] weather is bad, we

[41:00] would like to use

[41:01] November 11th as well for

[41:03] this date or instead

[41:04] . Hmm, we would close

[41:07] it on 18th west of

[41:09] Westwood Drive. And

[41:12] then, um, heading

[41:14] east towards

[41:15] Redbud Drive, but between

[41:16] these two

[41:17] intersections. Hmm, and

[41:20] then we'll

[41:21] need a block,

[41:22] um, on Nursery Road,

[41:23] but they also have

[41:24] another exit area

[41:26] if they need it.

[41:29] So, this is the last

[41:30] place. The

[41:31] central building is where

[41:33] Nursery Road

[41:34] ends at 18th

[41:35] Street. That

[41:36] central building,

[41:38] they have no other

[41:39] access except the 18th.

[41:40] This is the house where you

[41:41] are filming, right? Is

[41:42] this the house where you

[41:43] are filming?

[41:43] The one who is dead where

[41:44] Redbud is dead in

[41:45] or kindergarten,

[41:46] sorry, dead in.

[41:47] That's right.

[41:48] Okay, okay, so is the

[41:49] location.

[41:50] Okay, so this

[41:51] won't affect anyone, okay.

[41:53] No. Absolutely not. So, that's

[41:54] all for

[41:56] our closing request

[41:57] . And as I

[41:58] said, if you

[41:59] need any

[42:00] other information from

[42:01] me as the

[42:02] dates approach, I'd be happy to

[42:03] provide it. Yes,

[42:04] please do

[42:05] it. So what does the council

[42:06] want?

[42:07] Proposal to approve.

[42:09] Second.

[42:09] All "yes", say "I do".

[42:11] I.

[42:11] Thank you very much.

[42:13] When you need to

[42:13] get closer to

[42:14] this and you get the

[42:15] exact time, let

[42:16] us know. And then, when you

[42:17] need signs,

[42:18] barricades, whatever

[42:19] , talk to Charity

[42:19] Glaser from the highway

[42:20] department.

[42:20] Okay, sounds good.

[42:22] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[42:25] Can I

[42:26] say something else?

[42:27] Of course.

[42:28] Uh, we just got approved by

[42:29] the state of Indiana for the

[42:31] Indiana film tax credit. We are the

[42:32] first

[42:33] feature film

[42:34] , if we are one of the

[42:35] first, if not the first, to be

[42:36] eligible for

[42:37] these

[42:38] specific funds.

[42:39] So we are very

[42:40] proud of that. We just

[42:41] received information,

[42:42] I thought we would

[42:42] share it with you

[42:43] .

[42:43] Bill Gunther was

[42:44] interesting when I

[42:45] was in school,

[42:45] just to see what it was like

[42:46] , but she

[42:47] lured a bunch of

[42:48] men there under

[42:48] false pretenses

[42:49] , and then they just

[42:50] disappeared.

[42:51] This will be quite

[42:51] special. We're

[42:52] attracting a lot of, um,

[42:54] this will have an

[42:54] economic impact. We're

[42:56] bringing in a lot,

[42:57] about 75 different

[42:58] people from all over the country,

[42:59] from the East

[43:00] Coast, the West

[43:01] Coast, uh,

[43:02] Florida, and, um, it's going to be a

[43:03] fun production, and

[43:04] it's going to be right here in

[43:06] town.

[43:06] Okay, thank you, sir.

[43:08] Thank you.

[43:11] 10A

[43:12] 10, old business, 10A.

[43:14] Mrs. Davis.

[43:21] Good morning.

[43:22] A.m.

[43:23] Angela Davis,

[43:25] County Facilities Director Support.

[43:27] In front of me...

[43:28] Okay, my first one. I have

[43:29] one application in front of me

[43:30] . This

[43:32] was officially

[43:33] received on September 16th at

[43:34] 8:45 am. Mr. Foltz,

[43:36] could you

[43:37] open this,

[43:37] make sure it's

[43:38] correct?

[43:39] We would like to

[43:39] do this.

[43:40] I would be happy to.

[44:07] Mr. President,

[44:08] the proposal is

[44:09] duly sealed and

[44:10] duly

[44:11] submitted.

[44:11] Thank you. A request

[44:13] confirming

[44:13] timely receipt of

[44:15] the offer.

[44:16] Second.

[44:17] Everyone who is "in favor", say

[44:18] "I do." I. I.

[44:22] And since we

[44:23] only got one, and

[44:24] this needs to be done,

[44:26] I think we'll accept

[44:27] this one.

[44:34] The name was "

[44:35] DA got LLC" doing

[44:38] business as OJS Building Services

[44:40] Reliable Control (in parentheses).

[44:42] Okay, would

[44:43] you like to take a look at this and

[44:44] then come back at

[44:45] the end of the meeting after

[44:46] you've

[44:46] looked at it and

[44:47] made sure everything is

[44:48] okay with yours and

[44:49] then after

[44:50] our attorney has had a

[44:51] chance

[44:51] to look at it.

[44:54] Because this should have been

[44:56] done a long time ago

[44:56] .

[44:57] Yes.

[44:58] And just for the

[44:59] public record, these are the

[44:59] controls

[45:00] that open and

[45:01] close the

[45:02] heating and

[45:03] air conditioning valves, correct?

[45:04] Right.

[45:05] Yes.

[45:05] And last winter we

[45:06] froze two

[45:06] coils because they were

[45:07] working.

[45:08] Mr. President,

[45:09] can I also add?

[45:10] Yes.

[45:10] Um, we also

[45:11] found out earlier

[45:12] this week that the

[45:14] Juvenile Center

[45:14] received a grant from

[45:16] Lilly, which I don't

[45:17] have a copy of the grant yet, but

[45:18] we'll see if we

[45:19] can use

[45:20] some of the funds for

[45:21] things like that.

[45:21] Good.

[45:22] So, it was a million

[45:24] dollars for the

[45:24] premises.

[45:26] Um, if it's

[45:27] acceptable, can

[45:28] she come back at

[45:29] the end...

[45:29] Yeah, come on, yeah.

[45:31] Mr. President.

[45:32] Yes, sir.

[45:33] I apologize that

[45:34] this item was not

[45:35] on the agenda

[45:36] before I

[45:37] read it. I wasn't

[45:38] prepared for this.

[45:40] However, as I

[45:41] understand it, the previous

[45:42] applications that were

[45:43] filed, at least the

[45:45] summary of

[45:46] the application regarding the basic

[45:47] application and the amount of the

[45:48] basic application,

[45:49] should be

[45:50] read into the record.

[45:53] Is this accurate, or does it

[45:54] happen after the

[45:55] fact?

[45:56] Um, it's my fault that this

[45:57] item wasn't on the

[45:57] agenda

[45:59] . Ms. Davis

[45:59] called me

[46:00] after the

[46:01] agenda was

[46:02] posted and we

[46:03] decided to add it.

[46:04] So what do you

[46:04] need from us then

[46:05] ?

[46:06] Well, as far as I

[46:07] remember, and again

[46:08] , I could be

[46:09] wrong, but

[46:10] again, for the sake of

[46:11] transparency,

[46:12] let's just

[46:13] read this. The

[46:14] basic proposal received

[46:16] concerns all

[46:17] work required for the

[46:19] complete modernization of the

[46:20] BAS, with the exception of separately

[46:21] identified

[46:22] alternatives. The

[46:25] base bid amount

[46:26] was

[46:27] $106,000. Sorry,

[46:30] $106,625. This is the

[46:33] only

[46:35] offer received, and

[46:37] the response from the

[46:39] bidder-D.A. Dodd OJS,

[46:41] address: 2516 North Home Street,

[46:43] Mishawaka, Indiana 46545. The

[46:45] authorized

[46:46] contact person is

[46:48] Andrew Miller, and the

[46:50] primary

[46:52] BAS manufacturer platform is Reliable

[46:54] Controls.

[46:57] Thank you.

[47:03] So,

[47:04] as an attorney, could you

[47:05] approve this? Do you

[47:06] think you

[47:07] or we have the

[47:08] approval of an attorney

[47:10] ? Well,

[47:13] since this is the only

[47:15] proposal submitted, I

[47:16] would say it is

[47:17] submitted in proper

[47:18] form. If the department head

[47:24] has correctly determined that, um, this

[47:25] application is eligible, that

[47:27] it is in the

[47:28] proper form, then it will

[47:29] certainly be

[47:29] able to be

[47:30] voted on at this

[47:31] meeting. Good.

[47:33] Come back and

[47:34] let us know what you

[47:35] think. Thank you. New

[47:38] orders. 11A,

[47:40] consider

[47:40] the proposal for

[47:41] renewing

[47:42] vision and dental insurance,

[47:43] Eric Gibson of High Street

[47:44] Insurance. Good morning.

[47:46] Eric Gibson of High Street

[47:48] Insurance. Uh, I'm looking for

[47:48] approval for

[47:49] dental and

[47:50] vision

[47:50] insurance plans. So, we

[47:51] set out to

[47:52] promote both

[47:52] dental and

[47:53] vision

[47:54] insurance. We

[47:54] contacted 14

[47:55] different insurance

[47:56] companies. Sorry. The

[47:57] fair

[47:58] renewal of

[47:58] dental

[47:59] insurance came

[48:00] with a 30% increase.

[48:02] Uh, it was related

[48:03] to claims,

[48:04] unfortunately. Uh, the rate for

[48:05] ophthalmology

[48:05] insurance was

[48:06] fixed. Uh, the

[48:07] good news is

[48:08] that Pacific Life

[48:09] has been very aggressive on this

[48:10] issue, and they

[48:11] actually have a little

[48:11] lower rate on

[48:12] dental

[48:13] insurance, but the

[48:13] annual savings

[48:14] is $1,500.

[48:15] Uh, and the rate for

[48:16] ophthalmology

[48:17] insurance is also

[48:17] slightly lower than the

[48:18] current rate. Uh, that's

[48:19] about $4,000 in

[48:20] annual savings.

[48:22] The only changes to the plan

[48:23] will apply to

[48:24] dental

[48:24] services; teeth whitening

[48:26] will not be covered. And

[48:27] panoramic

[48:28] X-rays

[48:29] will also become basic. So

[48:30] they are still

[48:30] covered by

[48:31] insurance, they just won't

[48:32] be considered

[48:33] preventive.

[48:33] Regarding vision, the only

[48:34] change in the plan is a

[48:36] slightly lower premium

[48:37] for the frame, or,

[48:38] sorry, for the lenses and

[48:39] frames. We conducted an

[48:41] in-depth study of

[48:42] the network. So we took the

[48:44] district's statements and

[48:45] combined them with the network

[48:47] . There is one service provider in the entire county that is

[48:50] affected, and that is this one.

[48:52] So we recommend

[48:54] taking, uh, almost

[48:55] $60,000 instead of

[48:56] renewing and

[48:57] going to Pacific Life.

[49:00] I will make a petition regarding

[49:01] this. And

[49:03] thank you for your

[49:04] diligence and

[49:05] in-depth research into

[49:07] service providers. I think, uh,

[49:09] you know, the transition

[49:10] will definitely save

[49:11] us a lot of money, as well

[49:12] as

[49:13] employee costs. And,

[49:14] of course, you know, changing

[49:15] one

[49:16] provider is a bummer

[49:17] for the person who

[49:18] uses that

[49:19] one provider

[49:20] , but, uh, for the other 50

[49:21] providers

[49:22] that

[49:24] Port County employees use, we'll be able to

[49:25] continue

[49:26] using the

[49:26] same

[49:27] dentist. So that

[49:28] will be good.

[49:30] What will the actual

[49:31] increase be for

[49:32] employees?

[49:33] In fact, it will be a

[49:34] small decrease.

[49:36] For employees?

[49:37] Yes. Do

[49:37] you know what

[49:38] percentage that is?

[49:40] Er, that means

[49:42] it will be a

[49:43] savings of 17 cents on dental care.

[49:45] So it's not very big. Eh

[49:47] , on family–this is a

[49:48] saving of 60 cents. And

[49:50] on vision aid,

[49:52] this will be a savings of

[49:53] approximately 50-56

[49:54] cents, on

[49:55] individual, and

[49:57] $1.66 on family.

[49:59] So, of course, if

[50:00] you spend that on the entire

[50:01] population, the number becomes

[50:02] quite large.

[50:04] Hmm. Well, any

[50:05] savings on

[50:06] insurance now

[50:07] is a plus.

[50:08] Of course. Do

[50:09] we have a second?

[50:11] I will support.

[50:12] Everyone who is "in favor", say

[50:13] "yes". Yes.

[50:14] Thank you.

[50:15] Mr. Gibson. Well

[50:19] , it's nice to see

[50:20] something with insurance.

[50:22] Hmm, consider

[50:23] the ordinance to change the

[50:24] speed limit

[50:26] on West 400 North in

[50:28] Cool Spring Township

[50:29] between North 900 West and North 875

[50:31] West, Mr. Coolaw.

[50:32] Uh, yes, I believe that,

[50:34] um, Commissioner Haney

[50:35] has filed a request to

[50:36] review, um, the

[50:37] current

[50:38] speed limits on 400 North, um

[50:40] , in this area,

[50:41] actually between

[50:42] Cleveland and, um, 875

[50:44] West. So, this will extend

[50:45] it, um, a little bit further

[50:47] west, um, from 900 to

[50:48] Cleveland, which is 950 West.

[50:50] And, uh, we did a

[50:52] speed study there with the

[50:53] highway department

[50:55] and looked at, uh, uh

[50:56] , the geometry of the road, and

[50:57] then in both cases it

[50:59] turned out that, uh, it was

[51:00] appropriate to slightly

[51:01] increase the

[51:02] speed limit from 35 to 40

[51:03] to match the

[51:05] speed limit

[51:06] further east on the 400th. Uh

[51:07] , of course, once

[51:09] you get west

[51:10] of Cleveland with all

[51:11] the traffic there with all the

[51:12] businesses, uh, it

[51:14] makes sense to leave it

[51:15] at 35. So

[51:16] the recommendation

[51:17] was to

[51:18] increase it from 35 to

[51:19] 40 mph, uh, from, uh

[51:20] , Cleveland Avenue, uh,

[51:21] to 875th West.

[51:24] Good. So, we

[51:25] start with

[51:26] the suggestion of

[51:27] reading just

[51:28] the title, right?

[51:29] That's right.

[51:30] Good. I will accept

[51:31] a proposal on

[51:31] this if we have one

[51:32] . Suggestion to

[51:33] read only

[51:34] the title.

[51:34] Second reading.

[51:35] All in favor, say

[51:36] yes. Yes.

[51:40] The title of this ordinance is an ordinance

[51:42] establishing a new

[51:43] speed limit

[51:45] on County Road 400

[51:46] North between Cleveland

[51:48] Avenue and County

[51:49] Road 875 West.

[51:52] Introduce the motion

[51:53] for approval as, uh

[51:55] ,

[51:55] second reading.

[51:56] Approve in first

[51:57] reading.

[51:58] Everyone who is "in favor" says

[51:59] Ya. Ya.

[52:02] Very, um. Should we

[52:04] postpone this until

[52:05] second reading? Do

[52:06] we need to

[52:07] postpone this until

[52:08] second reading?

[52:09] I don't think you

[52:09] need to postpone

[52:10] this until second reading

[52:11] , given that it

[52:12] was a unanimous

[52:13] vote for its

[52:14] adoption and

[52:14] approval on first

[52:15] reading.

[52:16] Good.

[52:16] So, did you get

[52:18] your new role?

[52:19] Thank you.

[52:19] Do

[52:21] we need this second serving

[52:22] or not?

[52:23] Sorry. Then the

[52:26] resolution number will be 2026-8.

[52:30] Thank you.

[52:34] Good. Do we have a

[52:36] transfer proposal?

[52:39] Second.

[52:39] Everyone who is "in favor" says

[52:41] Ya. Ya.

LaPorte County Board of Commissioners October 7, 2026

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