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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board Meeting – December 17, 2025

County Boards & Commissions — Wednesday, December 17, 2025

BodyLake County, Indiana

SessionCounty Boards & Commissions

DateWednesday, December 17, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 16:56

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

And was complaining about that and the thing about the razors that everybody was trying to get both.

0:07

Well, he knew what was going to call me in order, please stand for the Pledge Allegiance.

0:15

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and this ball with Liberty and Justice.

0:28

Emergency exit announcement in case of emergency exit the commissioner's courtroom and proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building.

0:36

Do not enter an elevator in an emergency.

0:38

If you require assistance, an employee will escort andor assist you.

0:42

Please silence any cellular telephones during this meeting.

0:46

If you receive a call or text during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible.

0:53

Thank you, attorney Kiddick.

0:55

Apologize for the mild distraction from people who thought it was ugly sweater data there.

1:07

Is there additions or uh deletions to the agenda?

1:10

No, Mr.

1:11

Chair.

1:11

Oh, a motion to there's bids to be opened.

1:18

Yes, yes, sir.

1:19

Motion to uh allow bids to be opened.

1:23

So second.

1:25

Sorry, I can show the motion carries through.

1:27

And uh picture is there a motion on the minutes from January or from November 19th, 2025.

1:36

Move to approve the minutes.

1:38

Second.

1:39

Not the record show the motion carries through.

1:44

Um 5d1, Little Cadiment River Basin Development Commission meeting is this evening.

1:59

Again, it's open to the public.

2:01

Uh Dan and them have been really wonderful to us.

2:05

Uh they have uh approved some of the our project for funding.

2:09

So really want to thank uh Dan and his staff for that.

2:14

Um item 7B2, the monthly report from Chris Brown regarding the crew activity.

2:21

Uh again, if you hear of anything, uh please let us know.

2:25

The guys are uh really love getting out there and doing the work.

2:30

Item 5C1 on Kinkey River Basin, Yellow River Basin Development Commission.

2:35

This is a uh report from November.

2:40

Uh there are some links on the bottom of this, some inspections that uh Scott was able to drone, and uh we really uh appreciate the work that he's done out there also.

2:50

Item 5C2, uh the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Waterlines Express.

2:57

This is the uh Indiana drought assessment that you can become a part of the monitoring and reporting for that.

3:06

And item five C3 uh report from Chris Brown to Surveyor Emerson regarding the FOSS ditch and FOSS ditch lateral one.

3:15

Uh this is the umdivision or proposed subdivision for the city of Crown Point, Greensworth, 133rd.

3:26

Uh Chris should go out there and do some more inspections.

3:29

They do have uh stockpiles within the 75 foot easement, so we've reached out to the developer again to uh get the uh application into the grain sport so we can review uh you know allegedly, not allegedly, but they're not planning on developing near the ditch is their hesitation.

3:52

However, uh since they are in the 75 foot easement, now they must uh comply.

3:59

The issue then there's uh their complaint, I think is a lot of it's with Fosage and silted up.

4:04

Um we have plans uh that have been designed and permitted uh with IDEM for that stretch.

4:12

Now items push back saying well, why do you need to do this?

4:16

And we don't think it's necessary because there are a lot of wetlands gonna go through what those areas and and it's gonna be expensive.

4:23

But it needs to be done.

4:24

It's all silted in.

4:25

So uh I'll forward this to our item contacts below them.

4:29

That's the need to be done.

4:32

Uh item five D, current projects Little Cow.

4:36

Uh 5D4 again.

4:38

The uh contractor is hopeful to uh uh start that project in the next couple of weeks.

4:44

Yeah.

4:44

Uh item 5d5.

4:47

Uh again, the uh spoke to the contractor yesterday, and they're hopeful to get that one started in the next couple of weeks also.

4:54

And nothing on uh the current projects for the Kinkey River watershed, although oh yes, uh thank you, Thomas.

5:03

Uh the schoon ditch.

5:04

Uh unfortunately I omitted.

5:06

I gotta add that to that.

5:08

Uh we did have a pre-construction meeting with Gary up construction on the schoon ditch in Munster.

5:14

Again, this is the one that we had to coordinate with the school town of Highland, the I'm sorry, the school town of Munster, the town of Munster, Munster Parks Department, NIPSCO, uh, and community hospital.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████67%

Procedural████████████████24%

Public Safety██████9%

Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Drainage Board Meeting – December 17, 2025

The Lake County Drainage Board met on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, in the Commissioners' Courtroom at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point, Indiana, with WebEx virtual access for the public. The agenda scheduled the Advisory Committee for 8:00 a.m. and the Drainage Board for 9:00 a.m.; actions below reflect the Drainage Board's votes. The board approved routine reports and payments, acted on three drainage applications, opened bids for the 2025 Dyer Ditch Maintenance Phase I, and adopted the 2026 meeting schedule.

Consent Calendar

The following routine items were approved without dissent:

Approved the November 19, 2025, meeting minutes.
Approved the agenda request to open bids/proposals.
Accepted reports and correspondence under agenda item 5, including the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission meeting notice, the monthly Clearing & Snagging crew activity report, the Kankakee River Basin Development Commission November report (with drone inspection links), and the IDNR weekly drought assessment.
Approved one-year engineering consultant contract renewals: Christopher B. Burke Engineering (Little Calumet River Watershed) and American Structurepoint Inc. (Kankakee River Watershed).
Approved MS4 contract renewals with DLZ Indiana, LLC (Assistant Deputy Surveyor) and Christopher B. Burke Engineering (MS4 coordination/inspections).
Approved a $1,200 payment to Tom Larson for wildlife relocation and dam removal at Sprout Ditch (Silverstone Crossing, Merrillville).
Approved a $600 payment to Tom Larson for wildlife relocation and dam removal at Ernie Niemeyer Creek & Levee (241st Ave, Lowell).
Approved the proposed 2026 Drainage Board meeting schedule, noting the March 2026 meeting is not the third Wednesday.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comment was offered.

Discussion Items

Foss Ditch & Foss Ditch Lateral #1 (south of 133rd Ave, Crown Point): Staff reported that a proposed subdivision's developer has stockpiled material within the 75-foot drainage easement and must submit an application to the Drainage Board. The developer pushed back, arguing the planned maintenance is unnecessary because the area contains wetlands and would be expensive; the board disagreed, stating the ditch is silted in and that plans have been designed and permitted with IDEM. The board will forward the matter to the item contacts.
Schoon Ditch (Munster) – Update: A pre-construction meeting was held with Gary Up Construction. Work begins Monday, December 22, 2025, coordinated with the School Town of Munster, the Town of Munster, Munster Parks Department, NIPSCO, and Community Hospital. Temporary daily lane closures on Fisher Avenue (between the hospital and high school) are planned from December 22 through January 5, 2026; students return January 6. The remainder of the project extends east from Columbia to the Hart Ditch over the following months.
Hanover Ditch (121st and State Line) – Update: The board is seeking IDEM approval to restore the regulated drain's original function in a flooded wet area north of 121st. Staff has contacted IDEM's Justin Turner and is also reaching out to state legislators.
MS4 Capital Project – Juvenile Detention Center Restoration: A mandatory pre-bid meeting was held December 16, 2025, with all three contractors attending. The site will use geo-grid to maximize pervious area, with secured driving areas and regrading to restore intended drainage. Bids are due in January.

Applications & Petitions

485-09-25 Main Beaver Dam Ditch (St. John, between 93rd and 101st Ave) – The Gates of St. John, Units 32-40 (LBL Development; agent McAlpine Consulting; 601 residential units on ~100 acres): Approved with conditions, including the IDNR construction floodway permit and compliance with the 'foil' (fill) layer requirements as outlined in the engineer's review.
493-11-25 Turkey Creek Lateral #5 (141 71st Ave, New Elliott; applicant David Kubik): The property owner installed a temporary path to remove junk and debris; the debris has been removed. No action is needed at this time; staff is working with the owner to remove the path material and restore the area to grass.
496-11-25 McConnell Ditch Lateral B (Cedar Lake / West Creek Twp.; applicant Town of Cedar Lake; agent Nies Engineering): Approved the 36-inch PVC sanitary main with no conditions, per the engineer's reviews. The board noted the project is in an unincorporated area but is a Town of Cedar Lake project. Vote: 3-0.

Bids & Awards

2025 Dyer Ditch Maintenance Phase I (Dyer/Schererville, St. John Twp.): Four bids were opened and found in proper legal order:
- Ostrich Equipment: $549,982.00
- Delta 3: $613,787.00
- Dyer Construction: $444,716.24
- Gary F Construction: $537,500.00
The board voted 3-0 to approve the bid opening and award to the lowest and/or most responsive bidder, pending engineer review.

Key Outcomes

Approved 485-09-25 with conditions (IDNR floodway permit and fill-layer compliance).
Approved 496-11-25 with no conditions (3-0).
Took no action on 493-11-25; temporary path removal and grass restoration remain pending.
Awarded the 2025 Dyer Ditch Maintenance Phase I bid to Dyer Construction ($444,716.24, the lowest bid), pending engineer review.
Approved $1,800 in combined payments to Tom Larson for beaver relocation/dam removal.
Approved the 2026 meeting schedule; the next meeting is Wednesday, January 21, 2026, with the Advisory Committee at 8:00 a.m. and the Drainage Board at 9:00 a.m. in the Lake County Commissioners' Courtroom.

Meeting Transcript

And was complaining about that and the thing about the razors that everybody was trying to get both. Well, he knew what was going to call me in order, please stand for the Pledge Allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and this ball with Liberty and Justice. Emergency exit announcement in case of emergency exit the commissioner's courtroom and proceed to the stairs and go to the second floor and exit the building. Do not enter an elevator in an emergency. If you require assistance, an employee will escort andor assist you. Please silence any cellular telephones during this meeting. If you receive a call or text during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible. Thank you, attorney Kiddick. Apologize for the mild distraction from people who thought it was ugly sweater data there. Is there additions or uh deletions to the agenda? No, Mr. Chair. Oh, a motion to there's bids to be opened. Yes, yes, sir. Motion to uh allow bids to be opened. So second. Sorry, I can show the motion carries through. And uh picture is there a motion on the minutes from January or from November 19th, 2025. Move to approve the minutes. Second. Not the record show the motion carries through. Um 5d1, Little Cadiment River Basin Development Commission meeting is this evening. Again, it's open to the public. Uh Dan and them have been really wonderful to us. Uh they have uh approved some of the our project for funding. So really want to thank uh Dan and his staff for that. Um item 7B2, the monthly report from Chris Brown regarding the crew activity. Uh again, if you hear of anything, uh please let us know. The guys are uh really love getting out there and doing the work. Item 5C1 on Kinkey River Basin, Yellow River Basin Development Commission. This is a uh report from November. Uh there are some links on the bottom of this, some inspections that uh Scott was able to drone, and uh we really uh appreciate the work that he's done out there also. Item 5C2, uh the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Waterlines Express. This is the uh Indiana drought assessment that you can become a part of the monitoring and reporting for that. And item five C3 uh report from Chris Brown to Surveyor Emerson regarding the FOSS ditch and FOSS ditch lateral one. Uh this is the umdivision or proposed subdivision for the city of Crown Point, Greensworth, 133rd. Uh Chris should go out there and do some more inspections. They do have uh stockpiles within the 75 foot easement, so we've reached out to the developer again to uh get the uh application into the grain sport so we can review uh you know allegedly, not allegedly, but they're not planning on developing near the ditch is their hesitation. However, uh since they are in the 75 foot easement, now they must uh comply. The issue then there's uh their complaint, I think is a lot of it's with Fosage and silted up. Um we have plans uh that have been designed and permitted uh with IDEM for that stretch. Now items push back saying well, why do you need to do this? And we don't think it's necessary because there are a lot of wetlands gonna go through what those areas and and it's gonna be expensive. But it needs to be done. It's all silted in. So uh I'll forward this to our item contacts below them. That's the need to be done. Uh item five D, current projects Little Cow. Uh 5D4 again.

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