Crown Point residents, officials address parking, computer safety
In the midst of Crown Point residents asking questions about things such as parking, robocalls and malware, John Rogers had a different thing to ask at this month’s Tuesday Talks with the Mayor.
As he stood near the back of the room and introduced himself, the new pastor from Grace Crown Point church asked those standing in a small room in the Crown Point Community Library what he could do to help them.
“Being involved in the city, understanding the city’s needs, understanding how to serve it — you don’t know those things unless you come to these things, unless you meet people, talk to people and hear what their needs are,” Rogers, who moved to the area in October, said.
About 50 people gathered in the library Tuesday morning to talk with Clerk-Treasurer Dave Benson, who was filling in for Mayor David Uran because he was out sick.
Benson introduced himself to the crowd, noting that he had always wanted to come to a Tuesday Talks with the Mayor. When he asked the crowd what they wanted to talk about that morning, the residents had several things to say.
One resident noted that they had seen several communities come across problems with ransomware attacks, and wanted to know how the City of Crown Point was working to prevent it happening in the area.
“We try to take the most stringent approach that we find and adopt it across the city,” said Adam Graper, the director of information and technology for Crown Point. “We have, in place, every computer is required to have authentication logins with the best practice for passwords, we have encryption, we have firewall after firewall. We take that very seriously.”
Graper went on to say the best way to prevent a ransomware attack is through education, as well as security resources, which he said the city maintains.
“We’re only as good, now, as how we educate our employees on what they can do and what they should do,” Graper said.
After the question about ransomware, Graper answered another about robocalls residents had been receiving.
“We’ve got a pretty good outline in the secretary of state’s office, they combat that issue,” Graper said. “Unfortunately, it’s coming from all over, it can come from overseas, and the way that technology is on the computers, there’s very little that we can do on that.”
Graper did note that residents can be put on Indiana’s Do Not Call list, and if they are called after they, they are able to report the calls through the Attorney General’s Office.
Several residents voiced concerns about the lack of parking in Crown Point, and asked if there was any plan to increase it.
While they said there are no immediate plans to add more parking in the city, Benson noted that his staff opts to park near the Post Office so the parking lot near the library is open for residents.
“We’re trying to do steps in-house,” Benson told the crowd.
One resident asked when the new city hall and public safety building would be put into use.
“At this time, the city council has a building committee, which they are going through to determine the best route for financing for a facility like that,” said Greg Falkowski, the City of Crown Point’s chief of staff.
Falkowski said while there is no projected date for the building completion, there are hopes for 2021.
As the meeting came to a close, Rogers raised his hand to make one of the final statements of the morning.
“A lot of the questions we have is because this place is attractive, and sometimes I think we forget to tell leaders thank you,” Rogers said. “I’m here, I’m from Texas, I’m supposed to be proud of Texas — I can already feel a pride for living here growing within me, within my wife and within our congregation, so I think you should just hear that you’re doing a good job and thank you.”
Hannah Reed is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.