Hobart councilman has doubts about Little Cal fee benefits

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Michael McArdle/Post-Tribune Homes along the Deep River in Lake Station are flooded Saturday August 25, 2007 after the heavy rains.

Updated: February 26, 2012 8:08AM

HOBART — The executive director of the Little Calumet River Basin Commission said Hobart will benefit from a proposed new $45 annual fee to operate and maintain levees along the river both through the $4.5 million Hobart Wetland Mitigation project and lower flood insurance rates for some of its residents.

But City Council President Dave Vinzant, D-4th, said he hasn’t seen any indication in House Bill 1264, which proposes the $45 annual fee for Lake County residents living in the watershed area, that the city or its residents will benefit directly in any way.

Vinzant said he sees nothing in the bill sponsored by state Reps. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso; Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville; and Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, that indicates it will provide flood insurance relief in the Deep River area, where residents have suffered from flooding as have those living close to the Little Calumet.

He said those residing within 1 mile of each side of the Little Calumet River will reap the benefit.

“We’ve done a lot of talking in Hobart about this issue. I spoke with Soliday and did more research. I can’t see how this is good for Hobart,” Vinzant said.

“The core problem is they charge this fee to people in one great big area and spend the fee in one very small area. Our people are expected to pay for something they get no benefit from,” Vinzant said.

Dan Repay, executive director of the Little Calumet River Basin Commission, said there is nothing in the bill about lowering insurance rates. However, he said, once the work on the levees is finished and the money is raised to ensure operation and maintenance of the levees, the area will be better protected, resulting in lower rates or no need for flood insurance.

He said the proposed legislation allows the commission to expand the area in which the commission may pursue flood control and flood insurance relief from within a mile of the Little Calumet to the entire watershed area in Lake County.

He also pointed out that Hobart is receiving money to have a large natural area as part of the mitigation project and that part of the proposed statute allows for partnerships with local entities concerning other waterways, including Deep River and Hart Ditch.

“Our No. 1 goal is to stop flooding in Lake County,” Repay said. “The money won’t just go to Little Calumet River proper. The money will be spread throughout Lake County.”

Vinzant said while some people are happy to see the mitigation area become a natural area, he said it was formerly taxable farmland.

Repay had written a letter to Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor in response to concerns expressed by the mayor on the issue. Snedecor was unavailable for comment on Monday.

In the letter, Repay also pointed to a financial analysis of the levee project done by Indianapolis-based PolicyAnalytics LLC.

The analysis found that operation and maintenance costs for the levee system would be about $3.7 million a year. It recommended a $45 a year for residents up to $360 a year for industries that, it said, would allow for the creation of a levee system along the Little Calumet River that would meet Federal Emergency Management Agency certification to allow development in the flood zone without flood insurance.

The study said those living within the watershed area west of Interstate 65 would benefit by not having to pay flood insurance costs that average $870 a year. Those residing in the watershed area east of I-65 should pay the same amount, according to the study, because there is a provision for the levee system to be extended into that area, too.