Town of Cedar Lake
Utility Board
Regular Meeting Minutes

Pledge of Allegiance & Moment of Silence

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence.

Roll Call

Consent Agenda

1. Minutes: January 20, 2026

Motion to approve the consent agenda made by Mr. Parker; seconded by Mr. Recupito.

Motion carries, 6–0.

New Business

1. West Side Sanitary Sewer Interceptor (WSSSI) Project 2 — Pay Request No. 4 — $529,192.40

Mr. Simstad reported this is the monthly pay request for Gatlin for items installed and material stored on site. The total amount is $529,192.40.

Motion to approve WSSSI Project 2 Pay Request No. 4 in the amount of $529,192.40 made by Mrs. Dickson; seconded by Mr. Recupito.

Motion carries, 6–0.

Reports

1. Written Report

a. Fund Report

Clerk-Treasurer Sandberg reported the cash and expenditure reports were previously sent out.

2. Consultants & Staff Reports

a. Engineer

i. Sanitary Update — NIES

Mr. Simstad reported Project 2 of the West Side Sanitary Sewer Interceptor will have a short delay due to a NIPSCO utility relocation on Parrish Avenue between 155th and 133rd. They met the prior week with the Lake County Highway Department and NIPSCO regarding the MOT plan. They expect Gatlin to be back to work within the next two to three weeks. They are working with the highway department on the MOT plan and the utility county access agreement submitted in early 2025. The contractor’s completion time is September 2026 and they are currently ahead of schedule.

Project 3 of the West Side Sanitary Sewer Interceptor is moving forward on completion of design work and will proceed with IDEM permitting. Mr. Thiel asked about calling it 3C versus simply Project 3, as it currently stands.

ii. Water Update — CBBEL

Mr. Baldwin reported the SCADA control systems have been up and running for a handful of months. The next steps are to look at the data recorded and analyze the trends to see how the system has been performing over the last few months. They are also looking into all of the potential production well locations and are moving forward with the appropriate steps for more production wells and facilities on the west side. Mr. Thiel asked if Mr. Baldwin had a meeting set with the water department yet. Mr. Baldwin stated yes, he is meeting with them on Thursday. Mr. Recupito asked if they would still have to proceed with the irrigation schedule for 2026. Mr. Baldwin stated based on the information they have, that is the intention.

b. Director of Operations

Mr. Kubiak reported they are getting quotes to service all the generators in Town. They were needed during the power outage earlier in the week and are coming up on the time to service them. He also reported that on the Shades project by Fairbanks and to the west, there was some milling and a sewer blockage was found. The pipes to the east were re-lined last year. They will be looking for quotes to re-line the pipes in the affected area, with quotes expected to be ready by the next meeting.

c. Town Manager

No report.

d. Town Attorney

No report.

3. Update / Discussion

a. Sewer Rate Increase

Mrs. Haase reported there will be one item to present at the May 19th meeting regarding the system development charge update. She will circulate the draft proposal for Council questions after the meeting. They will publicly present and discuss it at that meeting. She noted the system development charge is not charged to existing customers but to new customers coming on the line, which puts the cost of new capacity on the system.

4. JMOB Report

No update.

Public Comment

No public comment was received.

Adjournment

President Thiel adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:54 P.M.