The Lake Station City Council Meeting - (8/04/2014) Rough Minutes: Mayor Keith Soderquist was Absent due him Not Feeling Well this evening - so the Meeting was Chaired by President Pro-Tem Todd Rogers. Also Absent due to Illness or being Out of Town were: 4TH DISTRICT COUNCILMAN - Harry Pedroza, 5TH DISTRICT COUNCILMAN - Rick Long, and 1ST DISTRICT COUNCILMAN - John McDaniel. Also NO Dept. Heads were there. ~ Present were: 7 Citizens + 4 Councilman (COUNCIL-AT-LARGE - Garry Szostek, COUNCIL-AT-LARGE - Todd Lara, 2ND DISTRICT COUNCILMAN - Donald Huddleston, 3RD DISTRICT COUNCILMAN - Todd Rogers, ) and the City Attorney and CLERK TREASURER - Brenda Samuels. ~ It was a fairly Short Meeting, with Nothing on the Agenda - and a Budget Meeting Scheduled afterwards which was Voted against having and was Canceled. During the Public Comments, several people spoke - including myself. ~ I (Kim Robison) brought up the Mosquito Problem in the City and the Recent West Nile Case In Porter County and asked when they were Going to Spray and Why they Have Not Sprayed much All Summer. Their response was that Earlier in the Season, the Mosquitos were Not that Bad due to the Cooler Weather we had. But that just within the Last Week or Two with all the Rain and now Heat - they had gotten Worse. And on Tuesday, Mr. Steve Shaw was supposed to Go Out and Spray in the Truck but he became ill and is in the hospital. He is the Only One Certified to Do it - so they had to Find a Replacement and have them work under the Guidance of Mr. Shaw. They also said it takes at least 8 hours to Spray the Entire City and is most often done during at least 3 nights. Also, it was said that there are Areas with Standing Water such as Pools that are Breeding Grounds for Mosquitoes which make it Worse - and that if we know of things that Hold Water Rain Water on properties such as Stacks of Old Tires that we should Call Code Enforcement and Report them. ~ Another Citizen, Jennifer Hill Abramson spoke saying that she was Upset that she and others Cant get ahold of Anyone by Phone at City Hall nor that any Council members have Answered her E-mails or get back to her in a Timely Manner. A discussion ensued about this. ~ Another resident spoke, Grant Holder, saying that he was speaking in Place of someone who could Not Attend (Christie Jones), about the Request for Signs near Johnson Park and Liverpool Road for Children at Play and Watch your Speed and Speed Limit, etc. due to a Recent Hit an Run of a Child and Speeding in that Area. ~ Mr. Vargas Commented saying he was Appalled that the Old # 2 Fire Station looks the way it does and that the City Needs to Do what it Needs to do to Take Care of it and 2 Abandoned Dilapidated Homes on Arizona Street. And that it was Terrible that the City has Been without a Fire Station on the West Side for 22 months. And that the Old Trailer Park by the River is a Jungle and that it Looks Worse Now than it did Before it was Shut Down. And that the City Needs to Get Busy Taking Care of these Problems. ~ An Older Woman (I didnt catch her name) spoke also Asking Who is supposed to be Doing the Mowing and Weed Cutting ? and that City Hall Looked Bad even During SeptemberFest and that City Hall, which Represents the Entire City, is the First Place which Should be Maintained. After the First Round of Public Statements were Done, I asked to Speak again and it was Voted to Allow it. ~ I Stated that some of the things Others Brought up I also had Noticed and that With The City Hall Not Answering Phone Calls and Not Returning Calls and Getting Back to Messages Left on Dept. Answering Machines I had Personally Experienced myself as well and that the Only Place that one can get through to is the Water Dept. And that if a person has Questions about the City Dump, Recycling or anything of that sort you Cant Reach Anyone in that Actual Dept. And that this is Frustrating - especially if you Need to get an Immediate Response to a Problem such as if you have a Code Violation with a time Limit and Facing Fines or something. . And that also I had just yesterday Driven past the Old Fire Station on 35th Ave. while taking my Daughter to Evans School and Noticed the Front of the Building was Falling off and that a Street sign (Speed Limit or Caution School Zone ?) was completely Pulled Up Out of the Ground and Lying Sideways on the Ground Propped up against the Garage Doors of the Fire Dept. building and that it Looked Terrible. That it was bad enough with all the other Residential Properties that were Abandoned and / or Run down but that I Couldnt Believe it was like that Especially considering it was Owned by the City. The Response was that the Fire Dept. was going to be Torn Down soon after an Insurance Issue was Settled. And Brenda Samuels suggested that I call the Clerks Office and get Direct Phone Numbers to Certain Dept. Heads Desks, if Needed. ~ 2 Other People Present did Not Comment Publicly. ~~ After Public Comments were Done - Councilman Todd Lara Commented on September Fest saying that although the Weather was Bad, that the Fest Overall was Good. ~ Councilman Todd Rogers said that Sunday the City was Helping Sponsor a Juvenile Cancer Walk at 2 p.m. at the Lake County Fair Grounds and that the City gave $ 500.00 Towards it and that People should Come Out and Participate in it (Event is Posted elsewhere in this Group Page). He also said that the City was sending 3 City Officials (The Mayor and 2 Council Members) to the City and Towns Conference in Fort Wayne next week. That it was a Great Learning and Information Exchange, and in the past, as many as 5 -7 people were sent. ~ Councilman Garry Szostek also Commented saying that he would like to see the Communication Problem with the City Hall and Depts. looked into because he had Heard that Issue Raised before from Others as well. Also It was said (by ?) that they Didnt Know if it was a Problem with the Phone System itself or What.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 06:39:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015