Department heads named employees of month

2 lauded at City Council meeting for work on local COVID-19 task force

Two Crown Point department heads were recognized as employees of the month for their work in assisting the city with COVID-19 issues at a city council meeting Monday night.

Fire Chief Dave Crane and Director of Media and IT Adam Graper were surprised by the nomination, which Mayor David Uran said normally doesn’t go to department heads. Both Crane and Graper were recognized for their work on C r o wn Po i n t ’ s COVID-19 task force.

“Adam and Dave have been great resources not only to my office but to our employees and for the support of their families as well, to navigate through this unprecedented time,” Uran said.

Uran said both Graper and Crane did important work for testing to assist in tracking the spread of the virus through the city’s work force and have been going “well beyond” their normal duties for the city.

“They were very instrumental in making sure that we pre-purchased and had testing kits early on, as testing became a lot more difficult as the cases were going up,” Uran said. “We had first position based on pre-purchasing a lot of our testing through the labs we were partnering with, to make sure that we could get employees in that day and get results back later that evening or first thing in the morning.”

Uran, who had coronavirus, said he followed Crane a n d G r a p e r ’s COVID-19 program, which he said assisted in his quick recovery.

Graper and Crane showed “initiative and dedication” to the task force, Uran said at the meeting, noting that they worked together to develop policies and procedures to navigate the pandemic and its effect on the city’s workforce.

“What they were able to do to get me back to where I am at, in full capacity, I followed their program to the T and came out of it as well as possible,” Uran said. “They checked in on me — and I know they do this for every employee out there, they’re very engaged and we couldn’t do it without their dedication.”

Crane and Graper both expressed appreciation for the award, both noting the work they do is to keep the city safe.

“When we get gratitude back from the employees, I see them more than I probably see my family, so when they’re appreciative, it kind of makes it all a little bit worthwhile,” Graper said. “There’s nobody else I’d rather work by than next to Dave Crane. We work well together. It’s an honor.”

Many sitting in on the

meeting went on to praise both Crane and Graper for their efforts, such as Director of Human Resources Karen Marben.

“These people — Dave and Adam — the tireless, endless work that we have put into this is amazing,” Marben said. “There’s no playbook, but they made the best playbook in the world for the city of Crown Point and their employees.”

Also at the meeting Monday, the council approved a road transfer agreement between Lake County and the city in relation to Iowa Street south of 109th Avenue to 113th Avenue.

The agreement transfers the right of the road to the city, which City Attorney Alex Kutanovski said would make future work on the road, which the city already maintains, easier.

“With the future possible expansion east of Iowa street we thought it was a good idea to put in this road t ra nsf e r a gre e ment in place,” Kutanovski said. “It would allow us to move forward without any issues that roundabout on Iowa Street as well.”

Special Events Director Diana Bosse al s o announced at the meeting that the city’s tour of lights would be self-guided this year, rather than riding a trolley through the city to look at Christmas displays.