Board approves police vehicle buyout, employee benefits contract, event and construction closures and routine dockets

The Michigan City Board of Public Works and Safety approved multiple routine administrative measures on Oct. 6, including a special-purchase/lease agreement for two police vehicles, the city’s American Fidelity benefits contract for 2026, several temporary road and lane closures tied to an upcoming fire department open house and a sewer connection for the Barker Depot train museum, and the board’s payroll and claims dockets.

The items were presented by staff and voted on individually. Assistant Chief Shaparski described the police request as a lease-with-option buyout: the department sought approval to acquire a 2026 Chrysler Pacifica and a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a combined $90,624.06, with funding coming from the La Porte County Drug Task Force/HIDA stipend and reimbursement arrangements. The board moved and approved the purchase unanimously.

Human Resources staff asked the board to approve the city’s 2026 contract with American Fidelity. Staff said the city is shifting benefits enrollment to an online portal that will make active open enrollment possible and will reduce some voluntary-product offerings; the change is voluntary for employees and does not cost the city. The board approved the contract.

The board also granted a one-day road closure on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the Michigan City Fire Department’s station open house (Station 1, West 10th Street between Ohio and Elston and Elston south of West 10th), and approved a four-day lane closure on Wabash Street (between Sixth and Seventh streets) to install an underground sanitary sewer service for the Barker Depot train museum. Contractors said one southbound lane would be kept open and that the work will require a sizeable excavation.

In addition, the board approved an alley closure between Franklin and Washington streets (between Ann and Homer) to provide space for work at 1605 Franklin Street and approved the payroll and claims dockets submitted for Oct. 6.

Votes at the meeting on these items were recorded as unanimous: board members present — Miss Smith, Miss Moore and the chair — voted aye on each approval.

The board did not change funding sources as part of these approvals; staff said separate funding arrangements or reimbursements (for example, the Drug Task Force/HIDA stipend for the police vehicles) remain in place. For the Wabash sewer connection, staff said the construction contract had been coordinated with Indiana Department of Transportation traffic-control requirements.

The approvals complete routine procurement, temporary public-right-of-way uses for events and construction, and the board’s standard dockets.

Details on next steps: the vehicle buyout and American Fidelity contract will be implemented by the respective departments; the Wabash work will proceed under the contractor’s lane-closure plan; the alley and event closures will be coordinated by public works and the clerk’s office.

Evidence in the meeting transcript includes the initial staff presentations and the recorded motions and roll-call votes.