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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...64940381218.txt

Mayor Ron Meer's first 100 days as mayor
by Ilene Haluska

Published: Sunday, June 3, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — If one would try to describe the first 100 days of Mayor Ron Meer’s time in office as the chief officer in Michigan City, Meer himself may suggest to look at his State of the City address, which he said “focused on priorities.”

While reading the address, which is posted online at emichigancity.com, a citizen would conclude that the first-term mayor hired six new people to top city jobs; including new heads at the Sanitary District, Central Services, Controller’s Office and the Fire, Streets and Human Rights departments. The address would also show the mayor implementing his focus on “public safety, economic development, excellent city services, a clean environment and being fiscally responsible.”

The mayor is cleaning up the town by going out on “clean sweep runs” and helping residents be more aware of the street parking ordinance.

He is a member of the Board of Works and is meeting with leaders in economic development, the police department and the Michigan City Area Schools as well as various other city departments.

A couple of weeks ago, he went fishing with the Shriners during their tournament here, gave his State of the City address at the Senior Center for the Rotary Club and welcomed military motorcycle veterans to town for the National Vietnam Awareness Ride.

Next on the mayoral agenda is demolishing Goerg’s Marina, the old, mildew-filled, tattered building that’s falling apart and situated between the U.S. Department of Natural Resources building and the Franklin Street bridge, across the channel from Millennium Park.

The mayor talked as he walked around Goerg’s Marina last week selecting a window, cupping his hands around his eyes to provide shade from the sunshine, and peering inside.

“There’s stuff in there,” he said.

Down by the riverside from the building, he inspects a rusted out and out-of-date boat launch crane.

“We’ll rip this old crane out of here,” he says.

Meer said he wants public access of the area available by summer 2013.

If that occurs, the building will be torn down this fall and developed in spring 2013 by the Michigan City Port Authority.

Meanwhile, the mayor is encouraging the Elston Grove roadwork and streetscape project to upgrade and comply the sewer systems to state law, separating sanitary and wastewater sewers. He is helping to snuff out a potential problem with health and safety issues at Beachwalk as the community encountered foreclosures on assumed commonly held property of its public access roads and a sanitary lift station.

The city created a temporary subcommittee for Beachwalk and held several special meetings to resolve it.

The meetings drew dozens of people speaking about problems that are occurring there.

Although property transfers of the lift station and road access is not completed, it is being monitored.

“My biggest issue was public safety with the two entrance ways (in Beachwalk) for fire and police, in discussions with Planning (Department),” Meer said.

Ultimately, the underlying motives of anything Meer does is to encourage economic development and bring jobs, people and businesses to Michigan City.

Curtailing crime, developing the Michigan Boulevard corridor and keeping the city environment clean will show new investors and economic development officials that the city is working to bring them here, he said.

“As we continue to negotiate with businesses, corporations and entrepreneurs, rest assured that all reasonable counter offers will be considered,” he said in his address to the Rotary Club. “And I will do whatever it takes to bring jobs to Michigan City.”

He wants to develop the Michigan Boulevard corridor, starting with encouraging the city to purchase the former Eastport School building and surrounding property to give the Police Department a new facility and open up development on the lakefront.

It would help out the schools and the neighborhood, he said.

The mayor sympathized with Michigan City Area Schools Superintendent Barbara Eason-Watkins, who is faced with cutting more than 100 jobs.

He called the city purchasing the old school building a “good deal” to take the building off the school’s hands, to avoid boarding it up, to decrease the school’s insurance costs, while the city can redevelop the property and give them another school police resource officer.

“We’re going to find creative ways to assist the school system,” he said. “It’s all the taxpayer’s money.”

“The biggest thing is with Chief (Mark) Swistek (and assistant commanders) is not to let criminal activity get out of hand,” the mayor said.

He said he recently met with department staff to discuss crime. He commended them in his address for helping to decrease crime 10 percent from 2010 to 2011 and another four percent in the first quarter of 2012.

The mayor said the Common Council will give Swistek and his officers what is needed in overtime to help control crime.

Currently, the “police are flooding the neighborhoods with officers at peak times.”

The mayor said that appointing Ronnie Martin to fire chief will increase the city’s Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating from three to two.

This, the mayor says, will have a positive impact on how businesses and incoming homeowners evaluate the city’s insurance rating.

They would want to move here because of low home owners and business insurance rates.

When asked about the recent announcement of WorkOne closing or addressing the city’s current 11.4 percent unemployment rate compared with the state of Indiana’s 7.7 percent, the Mayor flinched a bit.

He then began explaining that is why economic development is important.

Meer said that he has had recent discussions on economic development that he cannot discuss openly for proprietary reasons, which includes bringing in new businesses and jobs to Michigan City.

A Kohl’s Department Store will be here in 2013, bringing with it hundreds of jobs, he said.

He added that he understands why WorkOne needs to close its office, because the state is cutting back.

“It is an inconvenience, there’s no doubt about it,” Meer said of its impact on the unemployed as WorkOne combines with the La Porte office.

He said that other employment agencies in Michigan City could pick up business when local businesses need to hire.

The mayor also is implementing the “Lake Michigan Gateway Strategy.” He wants Indiana to place information signs on the interstates naming the city’s public parks and recreational areas like the lakefront, Mt. Baldy and Washington Park. This would let vacationers know that these things are here to visit, he said.

“A lot of people that come into our community know that they can go to the Lighthouse Place or the (Blue Chip) Casino, but they don’t know they can come to our lake and beach,” he said.