The majority-female Valparaiso City Council will remain under female leadership for 2026.
President Ellen Kapitan, D-At-Large, nominated a slate of officers, with herself again as president, that was approved by a 6-1 vote. Council Member Robert Cotton, D-2nd, was the lone dissenting vote. “There were other arrangements that I would have favored and I wasn’t given the consideration that I thought was warranted,” Cotton said after the meeting.
Council Member Emilie Hunt, D-At-Large, will serve as vice president.
The council started off the meeting with a workshop led by Houseal Lavigne, the planning, design and geospatial services firm advising the city on its Valpo Vision 2050. Houseal Lavigne Planner Jack Carso said the plan was last updated in 2013, “so it’s definitely time for an update.”
He said the plan is the foundation for decision-making and should be updated and revisited regularly. He went over the criteria for a comprehensive plan and a unified development ordinance, explained the timelines for each, and then asked the council to identify five issues or concerns confronting the city. The same exercise was to be offered to the public Tuesday at 5:30 in an open-house format in the council chamber.
“Quite frankly, I’m a little bit uncomfortable with this process,” Cotton said, adding that the question warranted more thought. Mayor Jon Costas passed on offering any issues when given a turn. Cotton pressed him, “What are your concerns?”
“I don’t recall,” Costas replied.
Councilman Peter Anderson, R-5th, said he was concerned with public safety, particularly at the schools.
“There’s been discussion about things that should or should not be done as far as protective measures at the schools that would keep the children safe,” he said. Councilman Jack Pupillo, R-4th, who serves as public safety liaison, gestured to Anderson that he, too, had school safety top of mind, and then listed controlled growth as another concern.
Despite his objections to the process, Cotton said he was concerned with the long-term viability of the city’s primary water source and regulations hindering residential development. Council Member Diana Reed, D-1st, said she was concerned with the preservation of older neighborhoods in line with new development being inserted into them.
Hunt was concerned with property taxes and local income taxes as a result of Senate Enrolled Act 1. Other issues cited included: school capacity, parking needs in dense areas, and the city offering affordable housing for those who work in Valparaiso.
In other business, it was stated that the city’s Rainy Day Fund holds $4.9 million during a resolution vote for a routine housekeeping matter involving that fund.
Maureen Turman, chair of the Environment Advisory Board, gave the council its first annual report. The body was formed in October 2024 and consists of five voting and two non-voting members.
Turman said the environmental impacts of proposed data centers, integrating environmental and sustainability practices into city ordinances, stormwater runoff, invasive species, recycling, and prioritizing green spaces are significant and recurring issues concerning Valparaiso residents.
She said the board will seek external grants before asking the city for funding. To develop an understanding of what environmental impact mitigation is already practiced in the city, the board took input from the heads of the city’s engineering, parks, planning, city services, and building departments.
One example of the Environmental Advisory Board’s role in the city is the environmental impact report it recently gave to the plan commission regarding a proposed Luke Oil gas station. During liaison reports, Reed told the council the plan commission voted not to change its favorable recommendation to the city council to approve the station after hearing the report.
Finally, outgoing Parks Director Kevin Nuppnau, who has accepted a job from the Porter County Community Foundation, gave an update on Valpo REC. He said five surveys will launch in weekly succession by the end of this week to poll the public on what it hopes to see out of the center. Meetings will be held every other week to devise a master plan for all 16 acres inside and out.
“The point of these meetings will be to get our team to a schematic design phase,” he said, adding that once schematic designs are complete, public open houses will be held.
Reed and Council Member Barbara Domer, D-3rd, praised Nuppnau for his work for the city. Domer stressed Nuppnau’s efforts to improve the handicap accessibility of the city’s parks.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
