Hobart wants piece of Little Cal levee maintenance fees

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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:25AM

HOBART — City officials Wednesday railed against proposed state legislation that they say would require Hobart residents to pay $45 a year to maintain Little Calumet River Basin levees without their own flooding needs being addressed.

The council took no action on the matter, saying there is nothing it can do but make residents aware of the issue and urge them to call their state representatives with their opinions.

City Council President David Vinzant, D-4th, said nearly everyone in Lake County from Crown Point north would have to pay the fee, according to the legislation proposed by state Rep. Edward Soliday, R-Valparaiso, along with Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, and Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster. Porter County is excluded.

But Vinzant said as it now stands, the legislation restricts how money collected by the measure can be spent, and it doesn’t include Deep River or Lake George.

“That is not acceptable in our eyes,” said Mayor Brian Snedecor, who added that there are questions that need to be answered.

Vinzant said this legislation, which currently is in committee, is an attempt to lower the flood insurance cost for those living close to the river, primarily those in the western portion of the county.

Snedecor said another problem he has with the proposed legislation is that part of the fee would be used to reimburse the Regional Development Authority for money it provided to the Little Calumet project.

“This is part of what the RDA was commissioned to do,” he said.

“There needs to be some way to pay for maintenance of the Little Cal, but it should not be paid by the people on the other side of the county,” the mayor said.

“A user fee is based on use. We’re not users,” added Councilman Matthew Claussen, D, at-large. “Either they have to include us in the maintenance or exclude us from the fee.”

Councilman Pete Mendez, D-2nd, said his biggest problem with the proposal is that it doesn’t provide any benefits for the people in Hobart or Lake Station, who also have flooding issues.

Councilman John Brezik, D-5th, said the proposal is a compromise to several other proposals made to fund maintenance of the Little Calumet River Basin, which has been the source of flooding.

He said he is troubled by the wording of $45 per parcel instead of per property for residents.

Vinzant said agricultural parcels would pay a $90 fee, commercial properties $180 and utilities and industries $360.