Mayor Austin Bonta is hoping 5,000 residents will answer the survey on the city’s website to offer their input on the future of Portage.
As of Wednesday, 147 residents had done so. The survey will remain live through the end of July.
“You are the people that are driving how the city of Portage looks to be developed in the future,” Wightman regional director Scott Falk, a Portage resident, said at the first in-person public input session on Wednesday. “Don’t hold back. Speak up freely. Trust me, I’ve got thick skin.”
“For you guys being here, this is a really big deal,” Bonta said.
Taghi Arshami, of The Arsh Group, is partnering with Wightman for the comprehensive plan.
“I would really like to see 500” survey responses given the number of households, he said. “We have seen in other communities 5,000.”
Bonta favors the higher number.
“As cool as it is to have 68 people participating, I think I have 1,000 people responding with emojis on a kind of poll online,” he said. More information about the comprehensive plan and the survey are available at klissell.wixsite.com/community-engagement.
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He urged attendees at Wednesday’s public input session to each commit to having five people take the survey before it closes at the end of July and to bring at least one person to the August meeting, where the results will be discussed and the plan begins to become more tangible.
“This is a huge opportunity for our city,” Bonta said. The city has been unable to get some grants because the current plan is so old.
Emphasizing the need for public comment, Bonta told of when a splash pad was proposed years ago. Several people spoke against it at a public meeting, and no member of the public spoke in favor.
“Remember, no one is coming here usually because they’re happy,” Bonta said. “It’s the people who are upset who come and say they are against it.”
After Portage canceled the splash pad plan, Valparaiso put one in. Portage residents then wanted one, so Portage put one in. Any resident who complained about Portage following Valparaiso’s lead should know Portage proposed one first, he said.
Project manager Brandon Hebard, of Wightman, showed the audience what the first 68 responses to the survey showed.
“We’re starting to highlight or see what responses you’re providing that can be improved or there’s areas of need,” Hebard said.
In regard to land use and future development, most people want the city to focus on creating the downtown, as well as preserving open spaces or creating better access to them.
They also want transit improvements, including nonmotorized transportation and ADA accessibility, he said.
The survey also asks, “How likely are you to move out of Portage within the next five years?” Hebard said the responses were a good sign for the city. “They’re not likely to leave and not likely to leave at all.”
The city has a median household income of $76,000 and a median home value of $224,000. “That is almost unheard of for Northwest Indiana,” Arshami said.
“Only 28% of the population has affordability issues, and that is a very good number,” he said.
The 91% high school graduation rate “is very important to families, to attract population,” Arshami said.
The city has 38,000 residents now and is expected to have 43,934 by 2050.
Nearly 35% of Portage households earn more than $100,000, which means quality of life issues are important. “When there is an income, there is demand for leisure activities,” Arshami said.
The city has 16 city parks, a total of 578 acres, which is good. However, there are issues with how the parks are distributed, he said. Further south in Portage, there is an opportunity for several larger community parks.
The city’s two trails total about nine miles. “You’re meeting the national requirements for trails, but you have an opportunity for connectivity of those trails and expansion of those trails,” Arshami said.
Going further south, he identified Willowcreek Road as a future development area. To address stormwater management, Arshami said creating a chain of lakes could create a different type of neighborhood.
“Salt Creek already is a major draw for a lot of people who go fishing and boating,” he said. “You could link the whole city and eventually go to the lake” with greenways.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.