Valpo to take over Opera House

Starting Jan. 1, city to handle management duties for 3 years

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The Valparaiso American Legion Color Guard assembles at the Memorial Opera House on Sept. 13. Kyle Telechan/for Post-Tribune

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By Shelley Jones For Post-Tribune

Approval by the city of Valparaiso’s Board of Works on Friday is the last formality to the city taking over the management of the Memorial Opera House for a period of three years beginning Jan. 1.

The Porter County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the move on the county’s end at its meeting Tuesday morning.

Valparaiso Attorney Patrick Lyp told the commissioners the Board of Works vote is expected to be a formality. “We hope it would be successful,” Lyp said of the arrangement, but should it not work out during the three-year contract, “no harm, no foul.”

The commissioners are optimistic about the arrangement. “When I was initially approached by Mayor (Jon) Costas about it I was immediately aware of the benefit of it,” said Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North. “I just thought it was best for the institution of county government. We all see what you do downtown.”

Biggs rattled off a list of city-run venues he’s impressed with. Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, was also pleased. “To talk to people in city government and have every single one of them excited,” she said. “It’s been a win.”

Lyp said the MOH’s three employees will have their employment transferred to the city of Valparaiso. The MOH recently celebrated its rededication following a nearly $5 million renovation that came in over $100,000 under budget.

United Consulting presented its semiannual bridge inspection report. The county is under contract with United for the period of 2022 to 2025. The Federal Highway Administration and the Indiana Department of Transportation require bridge inventories every two years.

Porter County’s current inventory was completed in May on 135 bridges. Porter County has a higher percentage of bridges over the age of 50 years than the rest of the state with 52.6%. All other counties average 35.8% of bridges over 50 years old.

The typical lifespan of a bridge is 75 to 100 years. Seventeen of Porter County’s bridges are recommended for replacement with 10 of them currently under project.

“Porter County does have a higher number of older bridges compared to other counties, but they do a great job of taking care of them,” said John SanGiorgio, project team leader for United. Porter County’s bridges also see about 8% less daily traffic than the state average.

Porter County’s top five bridges on the replacement list are: Bridge 150 on Mineral Spring over the Little Calumet River; Bridge 12 on County Road 300 South over Crooked Creek; Bridge 61 on County Road 625 West over Breyfogel Ditch; Bridge 80 on County Road 300 West over Cornell Ditch; and Bridge 110 on County Road 600 East over Crooked Creek.

Porter County’s top three bridges on the rehabilitation list are: Bridge 1016 on Midwest Steel Highway over U.S. 12 eastbound/westbound railroad; Bridge 1005 on Mulberry Avenue over Willow Creek; and Bridge 79 on County Road 750 South over Cornell Ditch.

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