Lake County Council Regular Meeting - January 13, 2026
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Lake County Council Regular Meeting - January 13, 2026
The Lake County Council held its regular meeting on January 13, 2026, beginning at 10:00 AM. The meeting included presentations, discussions on a bond ordinance, approval of a collective bargaining agreement, adoption of a mileage rate, deferral of economic incentive ordinances, and numerous citizen appointments to various boards and committees.
Health Department Presentation (Health First Indiana Update)
- The Lake County Health Department presented updates on its Health First Indiana programs, highlighting maternal and child health initiatives, 114 prenatal referrals affecting over 2,000 families, and community outreach. Council members praised the department's work and the effective use of funds.
Discussion Items
Bond Ordinance for Judgments and Settlements
- Discussion centered on a general ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $7 million in bonds to fund certain judgments and settlements. Costs of issuance were detailed: county attorney ($28,000), council attorney ($8,000), municipal advisor (Center Dalton, $45,000), bond counsel (Greenberg Traurig, $60,000), paying agent (Regions Bank, $3,000), and underwriter counsel ($10,000). The expected final par amount is between $6.1 million and $6.2 million, with a preliminary rate of 5%. Council members questioned the need for multiple outside professionals given existing in-house legal and financial staff. The ordinance passed on first reading by a vote of 5-1 (Councilman Niemeyer voting no).
Collective Bargaining Agreement
- The 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement between Lake County Government and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 21 was approved on first reading by a vote of 6-1 (one absent).
Mileage Rate Ordinance
- The 2026 Lake County Mileage Rate was set at $0.725 per mile. The ordinance passed on first reading (6-1), rules were suspended (6-1), and it passed on second reading (6-1).
Deferral of Economic Incentive Ordinances (2A and 2B)
- Ordinances concerning Project Labor Agreements and responsible business practices for projects receiving economic incentives were deferred to a special meeting on January 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM. Councilman Cid noted the original public hearing advertisement was missed, taking responsibility for the oversight.
Citizen Appointments
Numerous appointments were made to boards and committees:
- Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team: Shanda Hanft (survivor) and Michelle Arnold (health department) for 2-year terms.
- Lake Ridge Fire Protection District: Tim Kuiper and Tanya Tribble for 4-year terms.
- Lowell Library Board: Dana Foland for a 4-year term.
- Parks and Recreation Board: Michael Toth for a 4-year term.
- County Economic Development Commission: Nicholas Triana (reappointed) for a 2-year term; also appointed member nominations for Crown Point (John Jordan), Gary (Jordan Wilson), Griffith (Michael Ball), Hobart (Deborah Rockymore), Lowell (Manny Fausto), Munster (George Shinkan), and Schererville (James Katona).
- County Plan Commission: Randy Niemeyer and Charlie Brown (proxy) for 1-year terms.
- Data Processing Board: Charlie Brown, Randy Niemeyer, and Scott Schmal (administrator) for 1-year terms.
- Grant Oversight Committee: Christine Cid, Pete Lindemulder, and Ronald G. Brewer, Sr. for 1-year terms.
- Lake County Child Abuse Prevention Council: David Hamm for a 1-year term.
- Insurance Review Board: David Hamm and Scott Schmal for 1-year terms.
- Northwestern Indiana Regional Plan Commission (NIRPC): Randy Niemeyer for a 1-year term.
- Real Estate Disposal Committee: Christine Cid and Pete Lindemulder for 1-year terms.
- Solid Waste District Board: Christine Cid, Pete Lindemulder, and Ronald G. Brewer, Sr. (proxy) for 1-year terms.
- Data Board Nominees (for other county offices): Linda Midkiff (Auditor), David J. Pastrick (Coroner), Jerri Floyd (Assessor), Michael A. Brown (Clerk), John M. Sedia (Judge, Superior Court), Priscilla Kirrin (Treasurer), Commander Brad Bosse (Sheriff), Regina M. Pimentel (Recorder), Bill Emerson (Surveyor), and Hogir Saeed (Prosecutor). No nomination for County Commissioner at this time.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Collective Bargaining Agreement (6-1), Mileage Rate Ordinance (6-1 on all readings).
- Passed on First Reading: Bond Ordinance for up to $7 million (5-1).
- Deferred: Economic incentive ordinances (2A and 2B) to January 29, 2026 special meeting.
- Appointed: All citizen nominations and councilmanic posts as listed.
- No Public Comments: The public comment period was opened with no speakers.
The meeting adjourned following public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Um providers weekly to do a presentation to the participants and go on a walk with them. So really kind of bringing the community together for that path of wellness, and we have a testimonial from one of the parts of the wonderful event. And then this is just to show a heat map of where our presence has been over the last year and a half. One big focus of ours is maternal child health, and that is to work on the infant mortality rates that we face here in Lake County. So through our partners, we have been able to do 114 prenatal referrals, affecting over 2,000 families with 25 services. Hi, I'm Melka. I just want to thank you to everyone behind Hope Alliance. They have a lot of referrals for food and diapers and a lot of other help. So thank you. Hey there, I'm Kate. Thank you to everyone who have support and get resources. I just want to really thank you guys. It's always great to see that you nice. One of them we had a post-stroke patient who was having repeated calls to 911 because they were having falls, and their caregiver could not move them. So our partners went in and put in lift stations and assists and supports for them, and since that time we have not had any more calls to that home for falls. Another time we had an urgent call for a post nail mother who needed response pretty quickly, and within 24 hours, we were able to provide her with housing and food assistance. And of course, we have to build our infrastructure internally in order to make all of this possible. So we found some key areas to focus on for process improvement, and that is creating new online scheduling systems for our nursing department, accepting credit cards and online payments, digitizing our records for better service speed, and also freeing up space within our department, and utilizing a new lab to process our water samples. Those efforts have reduced wait times, improved customer satisfaction, and significant savings annually. We're seeing a lot more five-star reviews on our Google rating, which we're so proud, and we're hearing things like this comment here. I receives excellent customer service. That's so hard to find these days. We're building up teamwork within our department in collaboration. We've also received several awards and recognitions and grants in the last year. One of those is the outstanding partner organization from the Tobacco Coalition, the Clubhouse Hero through the Boys and Girls Club. And we received three grants the Autism Allotment Prevention Grant, Overdose Lifeline, and STI grants. And we do hope to work on getting more grants. Looking ahead, we're going to focus on enhancing our data systems, more outreach, increasing our school partnerships and educations, and just continuing to strengthen what we have built. And Lake County Health Department is built on access, innovation, and collaboration. Thank you guys so much for your time. Any questions? No. Nice presentation. Very nice. Some of these programs you've established through HFI as funding changes, obviously. Looks like some of those are capital investments in kind of the infrastructure of what you do, but some of it might not be able to be sustained. You and I had a great meeting on Zoom about you know kind of the sustainability looking out. But I just want to kind of edify you and the work that you've done and your team. Fantastic people, good work. Thank you so much. Yes, very good. Spending those dollars wisely for sure. And making a difference. That's what it's about. Thank you so much. There you go. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Shu. Okay, next on the agenda, uh, Lake County Commissioners.
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