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Beach access usage fee discussed by Grand Beach Village Council

Members of the Grand Beach Village Council picked up on a discussion with regards to a fee for use of the village’s beach access points but tabled deciding on it until next month at their Wednesday, Feb. 15, meeting.

Last month, Grand Beach Village Council President Harry Walder had proposed a fee of $10,000. At the Feb. 15 meeting, he said it looks like someone else wants to use one of the lake access points to do some revetment repair work in the next month or so.

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He had discussed a sliding scale at the last meeting, which would be $3,000 a day to use the access for the first three days and then nothing for the remainder of the week and $3,000 a day for the first three days and nothing for the remainder of that week for the second week and then after that, $4,000 a day. This would be $18,000, although Walder said the amount is negotiable.

He said the reason for the sliding scale is that if work is done faster, it would “cost them less in terms of what they have to pay us and it allowed us to keep their feet to the fire to get it done and get out of there.”

Councilmember and parks and beaches commissioner Peter Doerr said that they should have at least this much of an amount for revetment work that requires heavy equipment and not with regards to people using the access points for deck construction on the side of their house.

Councilmember Ed Brandes said that they needed to look at each project’s “variabilities,” such as location, time of year and complexity.

He suggested possibly getting a small work group together to come up with a recommendation for a “formula.”

Councilmember Blake O’Halloran said that all work that’s now being done is maintenance and that “pretty much almost all homes have the revetment” and it’s not an “emergency situation.”

He added that the “main reason we’re doing it is for homeowners, our residents, so

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

they can enjoy the beach.”

“We don’t have a lot of time to enjoy the beach when you look at the weather, and so we’re trying to maximize that for all that love Grand Beach,” he said.

Doerr said that he could put the topic on Parks and Beaches Committee’s upcoming meeting agenda.

Councilmembers approved awarding the bid for roof replacement on the village hall and maintenance building to Martarano’s Roofing for an amount of $42,990 and a twoyear labor warranty as well as an allowance of $5,000 for unknowns that will only be spent if necessary and needed, with the money coming out of Capital Projects Fund.

Walder said they received three bids for the two roof replacements. He added that the bid doesn’t include costs for replacing any rotted materials that won’t be viewable until the roof starts to be torn off, so there may potentially be some additional costs.

The work, which should take about four days for both buildings, will not be done until after the tuckpointing is done on the chimney and that can’t be done until the spring, which will probably be in May.

Councilmembers approved awarding the bid for chimney tuckpointing work to Moore Construction for $10,800, which will come out of Capital Projects.

Councilmembers approved 2023 golf cart parking sticker fees and golf fees.

Pro shop commissioner O’Halloran said that, due to inflation and the rising cost of materials, as well as ensuring that the village can “get wages in line with other businesses” in terms of labor, he’s raising the sticker fees by $10.

The following fees for residents for 2023 were approved: paid before May 1, $260; paid before June 1, $285 and paid June 1 or after, $310. The following fees for nonresidents were approved: paid before May 1, $300 and paid May 1 or after, $330.

The fine for a golf cart without a sticker or an expired sticker is $300.

Fees for an adult card for residents and a senior (over 62 years old) pass are also being increased by $10, with the adult card increasing from $150 to $160 and senior passes from $100 to $110. Calling them “really good deals,” O’Halloran said the price for an adult card allows 11 punches plus one free round and the price for senior passes allows 10 punches plus one free round.

Councilmembers approved purchasing five chairs for the council table at a cost of $359.99 per chair based on Office Depot honoring the sale price at a price not to exceed $1,800, with money coming out of the Capital Projects, as well as three chairs for the staff table at approximately $90 per chair at a cost not to exceed $400, which will come out of the Capital Fund chairs budget.

Councilmembers approved paying $25,291 to renew the Property, Liability and Auto Insurance policy.

An additional $200 for the cellular service iPad to be paid for from the Building Inspection Fund was approved.

Increasing the minimum building permit fee from $50 to $200 was approved.

The creation of a police advisory board with the Village of Michiana was approved as well as the appointment of councilmember and police commissioner Brandes and former councilmember and police commissioner Deborah Lindley as the village’s representatives.

Brandes said having the advisory board is part of the five-year “Agreement for Extraterritorial Police Shared Services Between the Villages of Grand Beach and Michiana” from 2019. The four-member board, he said, will “provide leadership and guidance” to the chief of police and will also include two representatives from Michiana.

The appointment of Ross Kerr and Nancy Wendling to the Master Plan Task Force was approved.

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