The Porter County Board of Commissioners postponed the administrative meeting originally planned for Thursday to a date to be determined in January and the NIPSCO rate hike proposal has been removed from the agenda.

Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, said any protest about the rate hike on the county’s part is an exercise in futility.

“How I feel about it or how the Board of Commissioners feels about it carries no more weight” with NIPSCO and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission than average homeowners, Biggs said.

“There’s no chance that they don’t already understand what our rates are, why we don’t want to be paying more money.”

The main purpose of the meeting — to prioritize road projects for 2025 — will remain on the agenda.

He said the county already has a list of needed road work, but it makes more sense to wait until the Indiana Department of Transportation announces the awards for Community Crossing Matching Grants next month before making plans.

Porter County may apply for and receive up to $1.5 million in CCMG money which it must match dollar for dollar. Biggs said once CCMG grants are announced and a priority list created, that list will be given to the Porter County Council as it is the fiscal body of government.

Complicating the prioritization is the $1.3 million Safe Roads Grant the county was recently awarded.

That money will be a boon to the effort to upgrade the county’s signage, but Porter County must come up with a $140,000 match.

Biggs says that may require bumping something off the paving plan for next year.

Mike Jabo, Porter County’s director of planning and stormwater management, said the county uses all its CCMG money for paving though this is only one application in a spectrum of responsible road maintenance.

Other treatments include crack sealing, chip and seal, and micro surfacing, which all have a place in maximizing the lifespan of roads.

“The theory behind a good pavement management system is it’s a good balance,” he said of the various methods employed. “Take good care of the roads that are in good shape and they’ll last longer.”

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