Post-Tribune

No clear path for SSCVA leadership

New convention center study looms after bureau head Uran’s resignatio­n

- By Carrie Napoleon

One day after the head of Lake County’s tourism bureau resigned, there was no comment on how the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority board would find a replacemen­t.

Andy Qunell, SSCVA board chairman, declined to comment Tuesday on how the entity may proceed finding a replacemen­t for President and CEO David Uran.

Uran announced his resignatio­n Monday, effective Dec. 31, ending his 19-month tenure at the head of the agency. His resignatio­n comes in the wake of a Friday executive session where informatio­n about alleged misconduct was listed as the reason.

Uran on Monday said the resignatio­n and the executive session were unrelated.

Qunell declined to comment on whether the board would conduct another nationwide search for a replacemen­t. He also declined to comment on whether the resignatio­n may have any impact on the bureau’s efforts to submit a proposal to run a future Lake County Convention Center.

Neither had experience running a tourism bureau.

“I know Dave’s been working real hard. I obviously reached out to him. He was a police officer for a couple decades, then mayor … I think he’s just cooked,” McDermott said, adding he thought Uran did a great job. “I’ll miss him in that role.”

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott on Monday said he was surprised by the announceme­nt. He said he was at three SSCVA events over the weekend and everything appeared normal.

“I know Dave’s been working real hard,” McDermott said, adding he thought Uran did a great job.

“I obviously reached out to him. He was a police office for a couple decades, then mayor … I think he’s just cooked. I’ll miss him in that role.”

McDermott said he is concerned the tourism bureau

will be without a leader as efforts to locate a convention center in Lake County heat up.

“We don’t even know who’s going to be running the convention and visitors bureau,” he said, adding it could take a couple months for a replacemen­t to be found. In the meantime, the position will be unfilled heading into the coming legislativ­e session.

Uran said Monday that when he first took the job after being mayor of Crown Point, he thought it might not be as daunting. Instead, working with 16 municipali­ties and the state legislatur­e turned out to be more so. He said he was missing too much time with his family and wanted to be able to be more present in the next phase of his children’s lives.

Former bureau chief Batistatos said based on his work with Uran while he was mayor, he thought he would have a grasp of what the job really was.

State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Scherervil­le, who sponsored the legislatio­n enabling the possibilit­y for a convention center, said he has “absolutely no concerns whatsoever” the lack of a leader at the helm of the visitors’ bureau as the proposal process moves forward and doubts it will have any impact on a future convention center because the organizati­on was written out of the legislatio­n.

“The job is about a vision, about creating a place people want to visit.”

Batistatos said he is hopeful the board hires a profession­al who understand how to run a convention and visitors bureau.

“Hopefully their search will yield somebody with convention and visitors bureau experience that is up to the task and can amass a team this building, this organizati­on and the destinatio­n require,” Batistatos said.

State Rep. Hal Slager, who sponsored the legislatio­n enabling the possibilit­y for a convention center, said he has “absolutely no concerns whatsoever” the lack of a leader at the helm of the visitors’ bureau as the proposal process moves forward will have any impact on a future convention center because the organizati­on was written out of the legislatio­n.

Slager said the Northwest Indiana Regional Developmen­t Authority has just commission­ed the update for its feasibilit­y study identifyin­g potential sites for a convention center. He expects the study will take approximat­ely six months to complete.

The results of that study will form the basis for any proposals to locate a convention center. Slager said he is aware the SSCVA is planning to submit a proposal. The entity is in the process of its own study to determine what role the organizati­on could fill if a convention center is built.

Slager said in his opinion a proposal by the convention bureau to build or operate a convention center is not a good idea.

“Their job is to market Lake County and to bring people to that convention center and to the hotels,” Slager said. “I would hate for them to be caught up trying to manage that. He said there would be no purpose to accepting a proposal by the tourism bureau to run the convention center if they would just have to go out and hire somebody to do it.

“It just creates another layer of government,”

Slager added the legislatio­n clearly allows for the tourism bureau to submit a proposal. He is hopeful there will be multiple proposals submitted.

Michael Repay, president of the Lake County Board of Commission­ers, said that while the SSCVA was written out of the legislatio­n, the entity will have a large role to play in its success, whether it submits a winning proposal or not. Commission­ers have been chosen by the legislatur­e to select the winning proposals.

“It’s important they select a qualified individual to lead the organizati­on to help with this important project,” Repay said.

 ?? JOHN SMIERCIAK/POST-TRIBUNE ?? David Uran, seen in 2022 while still mayor of Crown Point, has resigned as president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, effective Dec. 31.
JOHN SMIERCIAK/POST-TRIBUNE David Uran, seen in 2022 while still mayor of Crown Point, has resigned as president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, effective Dec. 31.
 ?? KYLE TELECHAN/POST-TRIBUNE ?? Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. speaks before the annual Victory for Veterans Memorial Ride at Wicker Park in Highland on Sept. 25, 2022.
KYLE TELECHAN/POST-TRIBUNE Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. speaks before the annual Victory for Veterans Memorial Ride at Wicker Park in Highland on Sept. 25, 2022.

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