Valparaiso

The city of Valparaiso is trying to balance future downtown growth with the character of surrounding neighborhoods. The city council Monday formally accepted the Elevate Valpo plan as its vision for the downtown area.

The Valparaiso Fire Department is looking to raise taxes. The city council Monday agreed to let the city's fire territory ask the state to raise its operating fund tax rate by almost one percent.

Road closures are coming to central Valparaiso this week.

Starting September 1, the single-ride ChicaGO Dash ticket will go from eight to nine dollars, a 10-ride ticket from $70 to $80 and a monthly pass from $230 to $250 dollars. The fare for the South Shore Connect bus will double to two dollars.

Valparaiso may give COVID-19 premium pay to retired employees who no longer work for the city.

Members of the public are no longer allowed to wander Valparaiso City Hall unaccompanied. City Attorney Patrick Lyp says a few months ago, various groups calling themselves auditors began showing up to government buildings to take videos.

Valparaiso city government buildings will soon be getting solar panels. The city's board of works and utilities board have selected Solar Energy Solutions to install solar arrays at a cost of more than $780,000 dollars.

A proposal to add a Hobart stop to Valparaiso's ChicaGO Dash bus is drawing backlash from existing riders. Currently, the service consists of three round trips from Valparaiso to Chicago each weekday. Now, the city is proposing a new stop at the Jubilee Worship Center in Hobart.

Valparaiso's former mayor will soon be joining the city's school board. Jon Costas was unanimously appointed to the school board by the city council Tuesday.

The city of Valparaiso has ordered the owners of Zao Island to tear down an event space that officials say violates the city's ordinances and puts residents' flood insurance at risk. Back in 2017, the Wright Group apparently got permission to build an open-air pavilion on the property, raised a few feet off the ground to avoid the Salt Creek floodplain. But city officials say what's currently there is a fully-enclosed, ground-level "Greenhouse" — complete with plumbing, heating and cooling.