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Commissioners approve petition to annex parcel for utilities to serve National Guard armory
Summary
The LaPorte County Board accepted a voluntary annexation petition to allow the city of La Porte to extend water and sewer to a nearby Indiana National Guard armory, enabling a multi‑million‑dollar modernization. The state will fund utility extensions; county commissioners voted to advance the process to city council.
LaPorte County commissioners voted Sept. 3 to accept a voluntary annexation petition that would allow the city of La Porte to extend water and sewer service to the Indiana National Guard armory.
Nicholas Otis, city attorney for La Porte, told commissioners the petition would annex a narrow sliver of county-owned land adjacent to Ziegler Road to meet statutory contiguity requirements and allow the city to provide utilities. He said the city expects to file the petitions with city council Sept. 16, hold a public hearing Oct. 20 (when a fiscal plan is likely to be presented), and—if all goes according to schedule—make the annexation official Dec. 5.
Jim Mayhern, director of state facilities for the Indiana National Guard, described the larger armory project that depends on the utility work. "This project is to modernize the La Porte Armory," Mayhern said, listing upgrades such as female latrines, modern training technologies and improved weapon storage. He said the combined utilities-plus-modernization project is about $11,000,000; roughly $9,000,000 covers the armory work while sewer extension exceeds $2,000,000 and will be funded by the state.
Mayhern also told the board that federal rules and the funding mix generally bind the Guard to a community for up to 25 years unless state and local governments buy out the investment.
Commissioners discussed that the annexation parcel is a small diagonal sliver intended only to create a contiguous utility corridor and not to change ownership of fairground property. After a brief public comment period with multiple veterans urging the county to retain the armory, a motion to accept the annexation petition was made and approved by voice vote.
Next steps include the city filing the petition with its council and publishing the required notice for the public hearing; Otis said a fiscal plan required by statute would be prepared for the Oct. 20 hearing. If approved by the city council and following the public process, the annexation would facilitate the state-funded utility work needed for the armory modernization project.
