Gary towing committee schedules follow-up after backlog of RVs, boats at Eleventh and Madison

Gary City’s Towing Committee met Jan. 21 to discuss a backlog of large, low‑value recreational vehicles, boats and trailers stored on city property at Eleventh and Madison and to plan next steps for disposal and contracting.

The committee chair opened the meeting saying, “These items that we have put at Eleventh Avenue cannot continue to stay there. They can't. They have to remove,” and asked towing companies and city staff to propose solutions to remove and dispose of the stalled vehicles.

Why it matters: the pileup has raised complaints from residents about blight, prompted oversight from environmental authorities, and left the city responsible for disposal costs when contracted towing firms will not accept low‑value, fiberglass‑heavy items.

Committee discussion and statements from providers and staff focused on three topics: who is contractually responsible for heavy tows, whether existing tow companies can dispose of boats and RVs, and whether the city should add a second heavy‑tow contractor or task an in‑house department with disposal.

Tom Breeze of Republic Towing, who identified his family business as third‑generation in Gary, told the committee that towing companies lack the equipment for disposal and recommended city general services handle removal. “There’s no way a towing company can do what you’re asking as far as dispose of these vehicles. It… just can't happen,” he said.

Chief Derek Cannon, Gary Police Department, summarized enforcement activity and response issues and corrected an earlier tally, saying, “the numbers is actually 3,000,” when asked about vehicles towed last year. An earlier speaker said 2,608 vehicles were towed under code enforcement; the committee heard both figures during the meeting.

Attorney Williams disclosed past representation of S and S Towing and said he would not participate in any vote related to the issue: “In the past, I have represented SNS Towing on other matters… I don't want to take the lead in having that conversation given, at least the appearance of an impropriety.”

Representatives from S and S Towing confirmed they currently take heavy tows to the city storage site at 900 Madison but said they are not set up to dispose of fiberglass boats and RVs. A representative for Benny’s Towing, Kaye Williams, said she previously agreed to assist with disposal but had not received a call and asked for one month to develop a plan.

Committee members and towing representatives identified practical obstacles: many boats and RVs have little scrap value because they are largely fiberglass, disposal can require heavy equipment, and some items appear to have been dumped into Gary by people from other towns. Republic Towing urged restoring dedicated district towing or code enforcement capacity to reduce chronic accumulation; several speakers said the city’s rotation list for towing had helped ensure fair distribution of calls but did not solve disposal.

What the committee decided and next steps: members agreed to hold a second committee meeting to develop a disposal plan, to explore adding a second contractor able to handle heavy‑tow disposal, and to review towing rates and the rotation process. The Department of Environmental Management (IDM) has asked the city for a plan and given the city time to respond but did not set a firm deadline.

The meeting ended with the chair saying the committee would reconvene to pursue a contract or in‑house solution and to set a timeline for removing the vehicles from Eleventh and Madison. No formal vote was recorded at the Jan. 21 meeting.