Porter County Council approves bond for renovations at jail, other facilities

The Porter County Council by a 4-0 vote approved the adoption and appropriation of a second $25 million general obligation bond in the final step of the bonding process Tuesday evening. The money will primarily be used for further renovations to the Porter County Jail as well as other county buildings such as the Juvenile Detention Center.

Council President Mike Brickner, R-At-Large, Vice President Red Stone, R-1st, Councilwoman Sylvia Graham, D-At-Large, and Councilman Greg Simms, D-3rd, approved the appropriation. Absent for the vote were Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, Councilman Andy Bozak, R-At-Large, and Councilman Andy Vasquez, R-4th.

Bonds will be sold on Thursday. “We’ll have money by the end of the year for your projects,” said bond counsel James Shanahan of Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

An initial $25 million bond was sold a year ago upon retirement of the original jail bond to pay for a new $18 million county highway garage, now under construction, and some of the necessary work at the 22-year-old jail. Money from the two bonds will pay for new plumbing and HVAC systems at the 126,000-square-foot facility, as well as new metal and flat roofs, exterior seals, and security doors and windows.

In other business, Simms unveiled the county’s Opioid Committee Funding Application. The four-page application was a year in the making and will aid the committee in selecting recipients for the county’s opioid settlement funds. “A lot of time went into this,” said Councilman Andy Vasquez, R-4th, who had arrived late.

“We got a lot of money to give out and let’s get some people who have some cool ideas,” Simms said.

Disbursement of Opioid Settlement funds began in 2022 and will continue yearly for 15 years. In 2024 Porter County received $52,860.48 in unrestricted funds and $189,140.19 as its abatement share.

At the end of the meeting, Brickner was the last of many to acknowledge Graham’s final council meeting and thank her for her service. She lost a reelection bid last month for a fifth term. “Sixteen years you have thrown your name into the hat, and until someone has experienced that, they don’t know how stressful that is,” he told her.

“Any one of us can say it is an honor and a privilege to serve,” she replied. “We’ve accomplished so much in Porter County. I have felt that I have made a difference. I love you guys and it’s been an honor.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.