Officials mark groundbreaking of new complex
Building to house food pantry, offices and other services
With a backdrop of heavy equipment waiting, Porter County and Portage Township officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for a combined township/county facility outside the North County Government Complex, touting the collaboration that’s making the project possible.
About 50 officials from the county and the township gathered in Portage for the event, one in a series commemorating improvements at county facilities being done through a $30 million bond issue.
“This project is a great story,” said Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, whose district includes the township, adding Portage and Portage Township would be the biggest benefactors of the work.
Commissioners announced in February that they would join forces with Portage Township officials for the secondary building, which will house the township’s food pantry, offices and other services, as well as satellite offices for the county health department and assessor’s office. The structure also will include a community room that can be used for early voting.
Commissioners had planned a $10 million expansion and renovation of the North County Complex, at 3560 Willowcreek Road, including courtroom space, a sally port for delivering inmates for court hearings, and other improvements.
That building will still be renovated and expanded, though officials have said the project will be cheaper overall because Portage Township is sharing the cost of the second building.
“It’s had to function as a business or a government or an entity if you can’t work together,” said Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy, adding the township, the county and the food pantry worked together for the better.
Energy assistance and other programs in the trustee’s office have been working out of closet space, he said, adding the food pantry will have a permanent home.
The facility, now temporarily housed in a church, started 36 years ago in a room at Willowcreek Middle School, said Joe Kasper, president of the pantry’s board. Two years later, it moved to a former school building, staying there for much of its existence until school officials decided they wanted do other things with the building.
“Now we’ve finally got a place we can actually call home,” he said.
Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode, whose courtroom is in the complex, said there was judicial input on the building’s design for the renovation.
“This is a building that’s been in need of attention for quite some time,” he said, adding it would be better not only for employees but more important, for the people they serve.
Officials said the redesigned complex also would offer better safety and security for both the public and county employees.
Construction of the auxiliary building should be complete by the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020, said Board of Commissioners President Jeff Good, RNorth, with renovation of the complex taking longer.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.