Hammond Board approves contract extensions, personnel moves and school gate closure

Hammond’s Board of Public Works and Safety on Jan. 15 approved a slate of routine contracts, personnel actions and project updates, including an extension of the city’s 2025 resurfacing contract with Milestone Contractors North Inc. through 2026 at the contractor’s current pricing.

Board members also approved change orders 5–8 for the Kennedy Avenue road-diet project, which staff said would not increase the project budget. “The project's gonna be about $50,000 under budget,” Speaker 3 told the board when asking for approval of the change orders. The board approved the change orders by voice vote.

Why it matters: the resurfacing contract and Kennedy Avenue changes affect the city’s street maintenance schedule and budget planning for 2026, while the approvals clear the way for crews and consultants to continue work without rebidding under the same price structure.

Other approvals at the meeting included an annual lawn-care agreement for City Hall with TruGreen Commercial, IT contracts for website maintenance with Greenleaf Web Studios and technical support with Yactech Incorporated, and disposal authorizations submitted by the Hammond Police Department. The board also approved an application involving All Phase Electric Supply and two right-of-way permits for NIPSCO gas work.

Personnel and code-enforcement actions: the board approved resignations of three probationary police officers—Vicinia Martinez, Darvette Ham and Alberto Bautista—effective Jan. 11, 2026, from correspondence submitted by Chief Jeffrey Long. Fire Chief Bernard Gazoliage asked the board to appoint Timothy Jenkins, Trey Cook and Noah Angel as firefighters effective Jan. 20, 2026; the board approved those appointments.

Code and property items included a hearing and approval to record a demolition lien for the unsafe building at 1305 171st Street after staff presented bids and proof of work. The board also approved an agreement to rehabilitate property on Stanton Avenue (transcript references both 728 Stanton and 1728 Stanton Avenue); staff set a status review for May 7, 2026.

School traffic measure extended: staff recommended continuing a 90‑day trial closure of a boundary gate at Burns Hicks Elementary School to control arrival and dismissal traffic for the remainder of the current school year. School safety staff and school principals told board members the closure is working; Speaker 3 said it has been “a success.” The board approved the extension, with staff noting the closure would be requested annually going forward.

Event parking request: Purdue University Northwest’s director of public safety informed the board of a homecoming event scheduled Feb. 5 at the Cube Sports Complex and requested permission to allow event parking in some resident-only areas from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. A board member raised neighborhood-safety and notification concerns, saying, “it's an inconvenience to the residents, over there.” Speaker 1 said he would contact Chief Miller and that staff would notify residents; the board approved the request.

Procedure improvement: engineering staff reported a permit 'snafu' from October in which work occurred outside of the intended window; the department will tighten permit-date controls so work must be performed on specified dates rather than open-ended ranges, and will bring revised dates/procedures back to the board.

What’s next: staff set a Feb. 26 status date for remaining inspections and contractor progress on the 6826–28 Kennedy Avenue job. Several items that were on old-business status lists (including 7339 California and 7415 Montana) were reported as resolved or set for future paperwork rather than immediate board action.

Votes at a glance: the board recorded voice approvals for the Jan. 8 minutes; resignations of probationary officers; extension of the Milestone resurfacing contract; approval of Kennedy Avenue change orders 5–8; TruGreen and IT agreements; firefighter appointments; the demolition lien at 1305 171st Street; right-of-way permits and multiple other listed items. Most votes were taken by voice with “Aye” recorded; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.