testing

New Buffalo Times

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE — SINCE 1942 —

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Three Oaks Village Council approves second round of wastewater testing

The Village of Three Oaks is continuing to look at ways to improve its wastewater system.

During their March 9 meeting, the village council heard the results of a high strength wastewater investigation conducted by Wightman and Associates.

Wightman engineer Mary Nykamp said the test conducted Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 revealed that only one of the nine sample locations has excessive biochemical oxygen demand levels. The elevated samples came from near the lagoons, she said, while samples taken from locations throughout the village were within acceptable range. This indicates the possibility of infiltration.

Nkyamp explained the state wants the village to decide if it will treat the high concentration, or identify and address the source. Finding and correcting the source, she said, could save considerable money over increasing water treatment.

The council approved a second round of testing for $13,985, focusing on the north side of the village.

At the request of the water/sewer department, the council also approved the purchase of a new sewer/water line locator. Village Manager Dan Faulkner told the council a bid from Capital Surveying Supplies for $6,500 was the preferred purchase.

The search for a new administrative assistant and billing clerk is progressing. Faulkner told the council a qualified candidate has been interviewed, but has requested full-time hours, a payrate of $19 per hour and benefits (the job was initially described as 32 hours per week).

Faulkner said whoever is hired will take some of the workload off interim treasurer Lois Smith, village clerk Cindy Moynihan and Faulkner. The administrative office is currently open to the public Monday through Thursday. Darlene Heemstra, a former councilmember who has helped with the interview process, told the council that many residents have expressed a desire for extended office hours. When there is no clerk, Faulkner has to postpone manager duties to handle the administrative tasks.

Jim Kramer cast the sole dissenting vote on the motion to extend the employment hours, expressing concerns about making the position full-time before seeing how the future hire handles the workload.

Plans for the Hickory Street bridge repairs are slowly progressing. At a previous meeting, Wightman engineer Suzannah Deneau explained the bridge is deteriorating and a superstructure replacement is recommended. She told the council that forming a cooperative with other nearby municipalities could improve everyone’s odds of receiving grant funds. During the March meeting, she told the council that construction costs are expected to go up by the time work begins, as material costs increase. If approved for the shared grant, the village will make a local match of $88,300.

The council approved a $1,000 grant application fee, agreeing that there were safety concerns if the bridge is not updated.

River Valley Area Schools Superintendent Steven Disney updated the council on plans for the elementary school building on Oak Street. He said the district planned to meet with an architect March 10 to finalize most of the plans to extend the high school building on Three Oaks Road, then go out for bids.

When asked, Disney said there are still no concrete plans for the Oak Street building once it is not used for classes.

The future of the village’s current administrative building is still being considered, as the council voted to table a decision on an offer for the building at 21 N. Elm Street from Berrien County.

Continuing another item of business from January, the Council revisited a proposed vacating of an alley at * in order to combine adjacent lots into one property. Faulkner said the Planning Commission had determined the village has no future use for the area. Village attorney Charles Hilmer explained that in order to formally dissolve the alley, the landowner will have to get a court ruling. He said the village will need to develop an ordinance in order to vacate. The council agreed there was no reason to oppose the request.

Art Attack is April 29 through May 1 in Harbor Country. Tom Pauley told the council this year’s event will include several new locations in Three Oaks, including an opening night Launch Party and Benefit at Acorn Theater, featuring a showing of the documentary “Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous.”

Councilmember Tyler Ream informed the council the Village Parks and Recreation Board is considering creating a joint committee with Three Oaks Township. Ream explained this could help both groups qualify for grants. If the committee is formed, both departments would keep separate budgets until a successful millage passes.

Neighbor by Neighbor Executive Director Peg Kohring addressed the council to give a brief overview of what the nonprofit offers for the community, including assistance with utility bills and minor home repair, transportation, emergency food and assistance connecting with other programs. She said Three Oaks is the organization’s second-highest served area.

The number one need, she told the council, is affordable housing. She said grants are available to obtain rental housing in rural areas, but Neighbor to Neighbor would need to partner with a municipality to qualify.

“We’d love to work with you on housing, if you’re interested,” she told the council.

BY THERESE DONNELLY

Local Government Meetings

New Buffalo Times

Democracy Requires Transparency

CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL LOU O’DONNELL, IV. MARK ROBERTSON, JOHN HUMPHREY, ROGER LIJESKI, BRIAN FLANAGAN City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM

NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD CHUCK HEIT, PRESIDENT HEATHER BLACK, VICE PRESIDENT JOHN HASKINS, TREASURER LISA WERNER, SECRETARY JOYCE LANTZ, TRUSTEE FRANK MARGRO, TRUSTEE PATRICIA NEWSTON, TRUSTEE CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM GRAND BEACH Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MARY ROBERTSON, CLERK DEBORAH LINDLEY, BLAKE O’HALLORAN, JAMES BRACEWELL, PETER DOERR, PAUL LEONARD, JR. MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM

DDA board discusses NBBA events, downtown farmers’ market effects on existing businesses

Discussion on events on North Whittaker Street, particularly the Thursday night farmers’ market, dominated the New Buffalo Downtown Development Authority’s Thursday, March 10, meeting.

Marc Danesi, who owns Stray Dog Bar and Grill, distributed a list of his current Whittaker Street holdings and operating tenants/history (which includes Starbucks, which opened on North Whittaker Street last summer).

Danesi said that while he appreciates the farmers’ market, he felt that the location was detrimental to owners doing business in the downtown.

“You guys shut the main thoroughfare to the beach downtown to let them come in on the main drag - all these people pay taxes and everything year-round, the brick-and-mortar people – visitors buy it out on the street because you can’t get to my building now,” he said.

He added that he “feels I’m pretty accurate when I say a day in the summer to have that road closed is worth a week or a month in the winter.”

“It’s that much of a fluctuation in business…If you want these businesses to come here and survive, you can’t shut that road for events, you need to find an alternative location,” he said.

Danesi said that one of his “favorite locations” would be Ron’s part parking lot, adding that he was also receptive to the beach area because “at least we aren’t closing the road.”

He added that the situation used to be people could walk down the sidewalks; now, because of the fire lane, when “you look out of the store, you look in back of somebody’s tent, and people walk in the middle of the road.”

DDA Board Chair Robert Kemper said that the DDA “definitely wants to be the voice of business and one of our missions is economic development and historic preservation.”

“We’re very much motivated by how we improve economic results for businesses and the ability to keep their businesses open - the employees and staff,” he said.

Recently, Kemper and board members Dee Dee Duhn and Joe Lindsay had met with members of the NBBA Board of Directors with regards to upcoming summer events.

The Farmer’s Market is tentatively scheduled for Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. May 26 through Sept. 8. A tentative date for Ship and Shore is Friday and Saturday, June 24 and 25, with alternative dates being July 15 and 16 (DDA board members said they weren’t too keen on the July dates).

Kemper said that the NBBA is its “own organization” and that the DDA supports its “general mission trying to improve economic conditions in the city and events and different promotions over the years.”

Lindsay, who co-owns David’s Delicatessen on North Whittaker, said that the best way to drive events in the city is to volunteer for the NBBA, noting it often experiences turnover.

“I think the NBBA board now isn’t the board it was two years ago, so a lot of times you have the same conversations over and over as a new board comes in and gets up to speed,” Lindsay said.

Board members decided not to make motion with regards to the NBBA information booth located at the corner of Whittaker and Merchant streets.

Kemper said that the NBBA had asked them to give their input on its possible relocation. He said that he felt – along with other board members – that “that ship has sailed” with regards to the use of printed materials and that “digital is the way.”

Gary Wood, a member of the NBBA board, said that he’s noticed visitors picking up materials from the booth, particularly the Harbor Country Guide.

City Manager Darwin Watson said the AT&T repeaters have been installed on 303 N. Whittaker Street, 428 N. Drive, and 100 Marquette Drive and are functioning; however, the challenge remains in getting more broadband across the county and trying to find a way to get “more liability,” since the repeaters are based on electricity and issues may arise if there’s an electrical outage.

He said the city has been talking with AT&T and the county with regards to how they can improve overall access to broadband, adding that the county has $8 million they’re allocating of the $30 million they received from the federal government through an application process, which the city is going to participate in. He added they’ll also partnering with New Buffalo Township “in some other efforts to do that as well.”

He said the city has applied for a grant to the Economic Development Association (EDA) for a grant to do the seawall construction and heard back early this year regarding the $1.3 million ask of the federal government. The city has been asked to give more information to the EDA and is still “running through that process,” waiting to see if they’ll receive the funding.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

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New Buffalo Times

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE — SINCE 1942 —

DEAR CHIKAMING RESIDENTS...

We are writing to inform you that beginning July 1, 2022, your home library will be Bridgman Public Library. This is the result of a decision made by the Chikaming Township Board.

New Buffalo and Three Oaks Libraries are primarily supported by the taxpayers of those areas who pay a millage on their taxes to maintain the libraries, and the libraries also receive penal fines distributed by the county. Unfortunately, we have no endowments or large corporations supporting us. For over fifty years, the New Buffalo and Three Oaks Libraries have served the residents of Chikaming Township in exchange for the penal fines distributed by Berrien County. When Bridgman became part of the contract to distribute penal fines, the New Buffalo and Three Oaks Libraries lost a third of those fines, just at a time when the fines were decreasing for various reasons. In 2017, we attended the Chikaming township meeting, and the board agreed to give each library $10K per year, with the understanding that the amount would increase each year. Ultimately, a sustainable rate of increase did not materialize, while the costs of running the libraries, as with all business, have risen dramatically. Recently, we were unable to reach an understanding with the Chikaming Board for an increase in funding, and on December 9, 2021, that board voted to make a contract only with Bridgman for library services, directing all funds solely to that entity. Therefore, the reciprocal agreement with the three libraries has been terminated.

This was a sad and difficult situation for us, not only financially, but because so many of our Chikaming residents have become supporters of our libraries and good friends. Sadly, we will have to request that Chikaming residents who choose to continue using our libraries purchase an annual card for $50.00. With this paid library card, you will receive all the services you previously enjoyed. No matter what your decision, we will always be grateful for all the support and friendship you have shared with us.

We are obviously distressed by this situation, but the Chikaming Township board has made the choice for all of us. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Chikaming Township directly by calling 269-469-1676.

— BEST WISHES,

JULIE GRYNWICH,

DIRECTOR, NEW BUFFALO

TOWNSHIP LIBRARY

AND

CHERYL KERSEY,

DIRECTOR, THREE OAKS

TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY

Police officer’s nose leads to marijuana bust

BY STAN MADDUX

AMichigan City man was the subject of a major drug bust after a police officer smelled marijuana from his vehicle at a traffic light.

Julian Mojica, 31, is charged with Level 5 felony Dealing in Marijuana.

According to La Porte County Police, an officer with his passenger side window cracked on March 11 was at U.S 20 and U.S 35 near Michigan City when he smelled what he recognized to be marijuana from a Chevy Camaro stopped behind him at a red light.

Police said the officer became even more suspicious of the vehicle once the odor became stronger when the 2014 Camaro with the driver’s side window cracked pass him from behind after the light turned green.

A traffic stop was made when the driver on multiple occasions switched lanes without properly using his turn signal.

Police said two bags of marijuana weighing nearly a pound apiece were recovered from the center console of the vehicle and inside a cooler in the trunk.

Sandwich baggies typically used in selling marijuana along with more than $2,400 in cash were also seized, police said.

According to court records, Mojica has a prior criminal history related to cocaine, marijuana and firearms.

OPINIONS

GLOBAL OPINIONS DISINFORMATION

OPINION BY DINO N. FATOUROS

Russia is not the only country continuously engaged in disinformation, politicians and intelligence agencies at the highest levels in Ukraine and of course in the United States show they are long haul practitioners. Disinformation deceit is practiced at all power levels and of course here at the local level.

Why? Interests, Power, Impunity, +

Now what you ask? As usual, consider making yourself aware of what you “know” to be true that’s not true? Good Judgment requires the analysis. And of course, know your fellow man’s interests?

Information war, propaganda, disinformation, deceit this is cyberwarfare.

New Buffalo Times

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE — SINCE 1942 —