BY MARC CHASE, Times of Northwest Indiana
St. John Township assessors can barely keep up with the flood of construction permits spilling onto their desks -- a direct result of nearly 5,000 more people who have taken up residence there since 2000.
And the once sleepy town of Winfield, which still only has a few full-time employees, scrambles to find ways to provide services for a population that has grown by more than 64 percent in five years.
Meanwhile, the population gains of some region municipalities mean that other region cities, including Gary and Hammond, have lost thousands of residents in the same time period. In 2004, Gary's population is estimated to have fallen below 100,000 people.
Several local Illinois cities have experienced similar population losses, with 13 of 16 cities and villages losing between 1 percent and 4 percent of their populations in that time period.
The Times' computer analysis of U.S. census population estimates released Thursday clearly shows that the gains of cities and towns farther south in Lake County and throughout Porter County translate into population losses for the larger cities in northern Lake County.
Swelling communities
Beyond the census estimates, St. John Township Assessor Hank Adams measures his township's population gains with added leg work and paperwork. Census estimates show that St. John Township swelled by more people -- 4,858 -- than any other single city, town, village or township in the region between 2000 and 2004.
But Adams calls those estimates for his township, with an overall population of 58,559 people in 2004, conservative.
Between 2003 and 2004, Adams' office processed 3,390 forms that residential and commercial property owners must file for any type of new construction -- far more than any other township in the region.
"We can barely keep our heads above water," Adams said of his nine full-time employees who had to inspect each of those 3,390 projects.
In Winfield, Town Planner Holly Hubbell said she continued to see new residents flooding into town in 2004 -- many of them leaving larger cities in northern Lake County.
While fewer people -- 1,302 -- moved into Winfield between 2000 and 2004 than into St. John Township, Winfield's population grew by more than 64 percent during that time period -- a greater percentage gain than any other region municipality.
"What I'm finding is that people are running away from other areas to here," Hubbell said.
Portage grew by nearly 1,800 people, to 35,269 in 2004, while Portage Township grew by 2,000, to nearly 46,000 residents.
Mayor Doug Olson said he thinks people continue to be attracted to Portage for its low taxes and its quality of life. But the growth is having an impact; with more houses there's more garbage to collect, more streets to plow and patrol.
"Our services are starting to become stretched," he said.
Already the city is working to expand its sewage plant, with plans to build it big enough to accommodate growth until 2025.
"We're trying to keep growth controlled so it doesn't get out of hand," Olson said.
Hobart Mayor Linda Buzinec said she is not at all surprised by the extra 2,147 people the census bureau gave it in 2004, adding the new residents are good for the businesses, schools and Hobart's assessed value.
"We're prepared for it."
Need for services
The swell of people is ultimately a good thing for Winfield, Hubbell said, but also creates short-term financial challenges.
"It takes time to get the money that all of that growth brings in," she said. "As you catch up to the growth, you have more growth. And if you are a small town -- at least in terms of town employees -- and don't own your own utilities, the revenue you can get can be quite limited."
Hubbell said Winfield is in the process of trying to obtain its own sewage treatment facility, something that could provide better services to a town that is largely serviced by septic tanks or privately owned facilities.
The town hopes that such a facility also would begin to generate revenues that would both keep up with the current rate of population growth and stimulate more growth.
Ken Dallmeyer, head of transportation planning for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, said region cities, towns and townships that are swelling all face similar challenges.
Roads must be developed to provide service to subdivisions. Not all households in previously undeveloped areas can operate on septic systems. And the municipalities must struggle to find new revenue sources for servicing all of the additional residents.
"The largest issue is how we're going to fund or finance this," Dallmeyer said. "We first have to look at how we're going to fund and preserve the infrastructure we have in place."
NIRPC itself, which in part oversees the planning and disbursement of funds for region highway projects, is dealing with a number of highway capacity projects -- including road widenings -- as a result of population growth, Dallmeyer said.
"On a more regional level, we're trying to deal with those issues -- not just where the transportation needs are, but also where is the water and where is the sewer capacity that we have," he said.
County growth
When looking at counties as a whole, Porter County's overall growth has outpaced Lake in the past five years.
Census estimates show Porter County grew by 8,163 people between 2000 and 2004, a growth of 5.6 percent. Lake County grew by 6,280 people, or 1.3 percent.
When asked in jest if his county has noticed the growth, Bob Thompson, executive director of the Porter County Plan Commission, laughed.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the county consistently averaged 450 new single-family housing permits per year, he said. But by the end of 2003, the county saw more than 500 new permits and last year the number neared 600, he added.
To date this year, more than 300 permits have been issued, and the county is reviewing 14 new subdivision plats, Thompson said.
"There's a lot happening," he said.
Every county department, facing the increased demands on service, is struggling to keep up. And there are no signs the growth will be slowing any time soon.
The 2004 census estimates place Porter County's population at 154,961, a number that is projected by the county to grow to as much as 200,000 by 2020.
Population flight
While some region cities and counties continue expanding, others struggle with thousands who are leaving their borders.
Between 2000 and 2004, census estimates show Hammond shrunk by 3,063 people, or 3.7 percent. East Chicago lost about 3.6 percent of its population, or 1,177 people, in that same time period.
Gary lost the most of any city, declining by 3,230 people in 2004 and dropping below 100,000 people for the first time.
Gary Mayor Scott King did not return phone calls placed by The Times seeking comment.
But NIRPC officials know that just as population growth leads to costs for more roads and services, population loss also leads to more expenses as fewer people are responsible for funding existing services and facilities.
"Something that is of a lot of concern to us is the continuing decline in north Lake County," Dallmeyer said. "Basically, we have the infrastructure in there -- highways, schools and sewers -- but have fewer people to support it. So the cost, per capita, is increasing."
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