On July 11, Mayor Jon Costas, Neighborhood Liaison Christine Hisick, Chief of Police Mike Brickner, City Engineer Tim Burkman, City Administrator Bill Oeding and Building Commissioner Vicki Thrasher came out to Jesse Pifer Park to address the needs and issues of the "Memorial Community."
Mayor Costas said of the informal meeting, "I believe that strong neighborhoods make for a strong community." At the meeting, issues such as drainage problems from storm sewer run off, curb repair, paving of streets and the tasks required to replace sidewalks in the area were discussed.
Christine Hisick said of the meeting, "Everything involving the city starts with the residents, so anything that would improve the community starts with the residents at the grass roots, so it is important to get residents engaged in grass root meetings such as this."
Informing the "Memorial Community" about upcoming plans to improve the drainage problems in the area was the job of Tim Burkman. He told of two plans that are currently underway. They have spent about 1 1/2 years analyzing and designing ways to improve the drainage problems in the area.
The first plan is the Chautauqua Park Drainage Project, a project that will run about 6-7 million dollars, in which a new location would be needed, consisting of about four acres for a location for storm sewer run off to go. The city is currently looking to land owners near Yellowstone to purchase property to get this project underway. Project is planned to start in summer 2012 and be finished by 2013.
The second plan is a USDA Forestry Grant Project, a pilot program, in which home owners can do things on their own and help themselves out. Things like rain barrels can be used to catch run off as well as planting a rain garden. A rain garden consists of special absorbent soil and plants that have long root systems and are able to absorb water as well as work to filter the rain water
Another important matter with special concern that was discussed at the meeting was the issue of school consolidation or closures verses remaking or renovating our schools.
Two fathers, new to the "Memorial Community", addressed their concerns stating, that one of the major reasons for moving to the "Memorial Community" was because they could raise their children in an area, in which, their children were in walking distance to Memorial Elementary School as well as Ben Franklin Middle School.
Another resident stated that the renovation of Memorial School, should it deem necessary, would make more sense, including in his statement, that Memorial School had enough land to add on or make renovations.
Mayor Jon Costas agreed that the school systems are the heart of the community stating "I believe that neighborhood schools make for strong neighborhoods."
The meeting was very informal, yet very informative to those living in the community. Approximately 30 residents came out to have their questions answered. There were many questions and all were addressed in a timely manner with willingness to look into matters to get resolution for the needs of the residents. Mayor Costas said "The idea is to be aggressive and stay in front of the issues."
This is the second time that a meeting of this nature has been held. Just a few weeks ago a similar meeting was held in the Central School neighborhood. More meetings are planned, with the Banta neighborhood and another for the Hilltop neighborhood coming in the near future. Residents should look for your newsletter to come in the mail telling you when the next meeting will be held in the community you reside in.
If you have any questions, feel free to notify City Hall online at www.ci.valparaiso.in.us. Another great way to inform City Hall is through an upcoming program called Visual Valpo This is a plan in which residents are asked to get involved by taking pictures of things in the community that they think need to be addressed and emailing them to City Hall. Look for more information to come out in your quarterly newsletter.