Tributes to city workers and community volunteers dominated Thursday’s Lake Station City Council meeting as members shared personal experiences and applauded residents for helping neighbors.
“It’s been a journey since the storm hit,” said street department director Duane Polarek.
Chief of staff Adrian Vera outlined what the city faced after the Aug. 11 derecho walloped the city.
“We had five major gas leaks; one tree pulled a gas line out of the ground. Homes were evacuated. We were on the phone with NIPSCO for emergency help.
“Our response crews tried to get major roads open and clear storm drains. The whole city and lift stations were without electric.”
He said some lift stations had backup generators, while others didn’t as workers scrambled to get mobile generators to the lift stations to avoid sewage backups.
“All of it was happening so fast. We had people on oxygen tanks without electricity and the fire department took oxygen to them.
“I can’t say enough how awesome everything was handled… Everyone did a great job.”
He said many workers labored in 16-hour, then 12-hour shifts to keep the city going during the lengthy outage that lasted for nearly two weeks for some residents.
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Vera said the city hired a private company to assist in picking up debris along neighborhood blocks.
He estimated about 66,000 cubic yards of debris have been deposited at Four Winds Park.
Residents are asked to bring their debris from alleys to the street for pickup.
The Lake Station Library, next to City Hall, is setting up computers to assist residents in reporting storm damage. Residents should bring identification.
The library also has free cleaning supplies, provided by the American Red Cross.
Residents can also drop off debris in dumpsters at the City Garage, 3699 Fairview Ave.
Polarek said Riverview Park suffered significant damage with downed trees and branches hanging perilously from remaining trees.
“We rented a lift truck to get to the tops of trees,” he said.
A branch fell and caused a small fire at the cabin and damaged a few of the five pavilion shelters.
Crews cleaned up the playground and cleared the road around the pickleball courts.
Council members criticized landlords who are neglecting storm damage at their renters’ homes.
“If landlords aren’t doing anything — one isn’t fixing the weatherhead — can we fine or lien them?” asked Kelli Williams, D-3rd.
“A lot of people don’t know what to do,” said Erika Castillo, D-4th. “It’s the homeowner’s reasonability. Our residents are very stressed out, tired and upset. You can’t be a slumlord. You can’t do that to these people,” she said.
Castillo said landlords are also supposed to be registering their rental properties with the city.
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“We need to look into this and take care of our residents.”
New Lake Station Community Schools Superintendent Christine Pepa said she’s worked in big, small and disadvantaged communities her whole life and “I’ve never seen a community come together like this one did. The mayor and I are in constant communication and schools opened to do anything we could.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.