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City updates: lift station finished under budget, development interest grows along Rt. 30; traffic and Festival Park work planned
Summary
City Engineer and department heads reported multiple infrastructure and development items: a lift station renovation completed under budget, traffic-study grant to support ADA planning, Festival Park renovations coordinated with Little Cal dam work, and reported commercial interest including a Daifuku expansion potentially adding about 300 jobs.
City staff used the Feb. 4 Common Council meeting to report on a slate of public-works, utilities and development projects affecting Hobart.
City Engineer Alex Metz reviewed capital projects: a short closure of Wisconsin Street to relocate NIPSCO poles and a March bid for that work; Linda Street sanitary-sewer-overflow elimination and repaving planned for early 2026; Festival Park design advancing in coordination with Little Cal dam work aimed to start in fall 2026; a stormwater-inventory assessment moving into the southern city; 5th & Center design complete with ongoing utility coordination; County Line culvert replacement to be bid in March for summer construction; 38th Street stormwater in design; and Hickey Street reconstruction undergoing right-of-way acquisition. Metz also said the City received a grant for a traffic study expected to include intersections, sidewalks and an ADA transition plan.
Lift Station Supt. Phil Schoon reported that the 1988 lift station has been converted to a new system with an additional force main to the GSD; the project came in under budget and ahead of schedule, will improve safety and maintenance access, and is expected to serve for 40+ years. Schoon noted NIPSCO provided a check tied to energy-efficiency savings.
Director of Development Marcos Rodriquez described ongoing system-implementation work and business-retention efforts, citing residential activity (Steiner Homes and Luke Development at the Sapper's property) and commercial interest along the Rt. 30 corridor. Rodriquez said Daifuku is considering an expansion that could add about 300 employees. The department plans to implement a CRM to improve responsiveness and to monitor abatements and development sites.
The minutes record these items as reports to the council; no formal votes were taken on these projects at this meeting. Some projects (County Line culvert, Wisconsin St. pole relocation) were noted as going to bid in March or starting construction in summer 2026.
