Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor is being challenged by 1st District Councilman and former Council President Jerry Herzog in the May 7 Democratic primary as he seeks his fourth term in office.

Herzog has been a councilman for three terms.

Snedecor, 60, pointed to a number of new and existing projects his administration has been able to either accomplish or expand upon during his almost 12 years in the mayor’s seat, including improvements to the city’s aging infrastructure, efforts to control flooding, the creation of the Maria Reiner Senior Center, improvements to the Brickie Bowl that will allow the city to hold large events there, a revived downtown and economic development throughout the city.

“We spent massive amounts of money on infrastructure improvements, from sanitary and storm to streets,” Snedecor said.

“I knew we needed to play catch-up with our infrastructure. We’re a very old community. We needed to make tough decisions to upgrade our community for future growth,” he said.

He said work will be starting soon to rebuild the 3rd Street Bridge, a $6.4 million flood control project. Work is underway on the railroad bridge and the Wisconsin Street bridge will probably start in 2021, all in an effort to reduce flooding.

He said the city and School City of Hobart were successful in their joint effort to get 90% of households to participate in recycling. Snedecor cited the city’s move toward alternate fuel for city vehicles, the construction of a garage to handle CNG vehicles and its CNG fuel station, as well as its paint recycling center.

To revive the downtown, the council expanded the Indiana 130 tax increment financing district to include the downtown area, offered facade grants to building owners and did a streetscape program that included new lighting and sidewalks among other amenities.

If re-elected, Snedecor said he would take an aggressive approach to bringing more high-end housing to Hobart, developing Hillman Park into a large sportsplex with youth and adult sports, embarking on a drainage program for the north central portion of the city and improving Lake George.

“I want one large sports complex where we can do tournaments. I see it as an economic boon for the west side of the city,” he said.

He said he’s working on improving pedestrian traffic on U.S. 30, including possibly installing a pedestrian crossing on the busy retail corridor, and the city is working on a new process to improve Lake George that is expected to increase the lake’s depth by 1.5 feet by removing sediment.

Snedecor was in law enforcement for 27 years, including 4.5 years as Hobart police chief. He and his wife Janet have three children and two grandchildren.

Herzog, 59, is completing his third term on the city council, representing the 1st District. He has served as a precinct committeeman for about 12 years.

Herzog has sat on the Lake County Solid Waste Management Board and was named chair or vice chair for two terms.

He has sat on various council committees including insurance, working conditions and the master plan. He was chair of the council’s ordinance committee and has been council president.

“It takes everyone on the council, voting as a whole,” to make decisions regarding the city, Herzog said.

He said his personal achievements included having a sled hill built at Veteran’s Park, working with Ross Township Trustee Joseph Shudick to obtain new playground equipment in the Green Acres subdivision and getting iPads for city council members, which he said has resulted in better communication between council members and the various city departments.

If elected mayor, Herzog said he would take a more aggressive approach toward residential and economic development.

“We need to advertise more, rather than just having people come to us. We need to actively go after people and ask them to check out Hobart, see what it’s about,” Herzog said.

He also would be more aggressive in tackling blighted areas of the city and houses in poor condition. He said grant money is available to help solve these problems.

Herzog also would like to see more high-end development come to the city.

“Between 2010 and 2017 Hobart lost 1,103 people. I believe it was because of a lack of higher end development and that some rundown houses are keeping people away,” he said.

While he wants more economic development, Herzog said he wants to make sure it’s the right development for the city.

“We’ve had developers looking at Indiana 51 and U.S. 30. It just wasn’t right for what the city is looking for there,” Herzog said.

Herzog is retired after 31 years as a union laborer. He has lived in the former Ross Township area annexed by Hobart since 1964.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.