Chesterton sent email invitation for council meeting, but commissioner says he didn’t get it

Chesterton Town Council President Sharon Darnell, D-4th, produced an email she sent July 3 that invited Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs to attend the July 14 council meeting to discuss concerns he raised about the performance of the Chesterton/Porter police dispatch.

The Town of Chesterton on its Facebook page posted Darnell’s invitation email, sent on behalf of all five council members, as a rebuttal to a statement from Biggs made to the Post-Tribune on Monday that he “was never formally invited through email, phone call or written letter to attend this meeting.”

But Biggs, R-North, said that he never received the email from Darnell. He said he had the county’s IT Department review the email account for July 3 and posted screenshots on his Facebook page, which did not show an email from Darnell.

Among the things the council wanted to discuss with Biggs was his call for the Chesterton/Porter dispatch center to join the Porter County E911 system on June 18, about 75 minutes after Chesterton’s police-involved shooting. An officer was wounded and Joseph Gerber, 45, died from a self-inflicted gunshot after being hit several times during a gunfire exchange in front of the Hilton Garden Inn on Gateway Boulevard. The Indiana State Police are investigating.

In addition, the Chesterton Town Council, with the support of Porter’s town council, has called for the resignation of Debby Gunn, the director of the county E911 system, for her remarks about the performance of the Chesterton/Porter dispatch center. The county has contended that it took nearly five minutes to call an ambulance to the shooting scene at the Hilton Inn, which Chesterton and Porter denied.

A possible explanation for why Biggs didn’t receive the email is Darnell sent it to Biggs at a porterco.org address, which was listed as the contact information on the county website, said Kevin Nevers, Chesterton’s spokesman. The county changed its email domain name during the past year. The website now lists the email for Biggs with the correct portercountyin.gov address.

However, Biggs said that even if an email was sent to the old address, he should have received it. Biggs said after he learned that the old email address was on his commissioner page website, he called and had it changed this week.

Darnell’s email invitation called upon Biggs to come to the meeting “to openly discuss the concerns and topics you raised during your July 1 press conference.”

“As you rightly stated, this is not about any one individual or group – it is about our residents and the broader community. With that in mind, we believe that any meaningful discussion regarding public safety, inter-agency communication, and improving collaboration between the town and the county should be held in a transparent and public forum.”

“Your presence would provide an opportunity for both the Council and our community members to engage directly with you, ask questions, and work together toward shared solutions. Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you are available to attend. We hope that you will take the opportunity to join us in fostering open, constructive dialogue on issues that affect us all,” the invitation email states.

When asked if he would have attended the July 14 meeting if he had received and read the email, Biggs replied: “Had I received it, I would have taken that as an olive branch of sorts.”

Biggs, who lives in Chesterton, said he would have followed up with a phone call to Darnell, whom he has known for years. He said he would want to know exactly what was going to be discussed to determine if he would have come to the July 14 meeting.

At this point, Biggs said he didn’t want to get into an “argument” or an “inquisition.” He said he would be open to meeting with Darnell.

The Post-Tribune contacted Darnell via email, and she didn’t reply. Darnell during the meeting Monday stated her disappointment that Biggs wasn’t there.

“I am not a person who likes to meet anywhere but in a public forum,” Darnell said. “Maybe we’ll figure something else out, but that’s the only way we’re going to figure this whole thing out. We’re not going to do it in a closed room.”

Porter County has reached out to Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson, along with new Porter Police Chief Dan Dickey, to discuss ways that the E911 system could improve the working relationship with the Chesterton/Porter Police dispatch, Biggs said.

Biggs said that Chesterton and Porter certainly can keep their dispatch center, and he doesn’t fault the performance of the Porter Police dispatcher the morning of June 18. He said that the local dispatch, though, doesn’t have the capabilities of the E911 system. He said the problem is when Chesterton or Porter police need an ambulance, they have to call the E911 dispatch and there can be a delay. On the morning of June 18, an E911 dispatcher happened to hear the radio transmission of the officer being shot and immediately dispatched an ambulance.

The financial realities posed by Senate Bill 1, in which town governments are projected to lose revenue, could cause a reconsideration by Chesterton and Porter in the coming years, Biggs said. The E911 system already handles 911 calls, fire and ambulance dispatch for the two communities.

Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd, who with Darnell briefly met with Biggs after his July 1 news conference, said that the intent of inviting Biggs to the Town Council meeting “was not an ambush.”

“He has concerns, we want to hear them in a public setting,” Collins said.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.