Munster

[orkdork]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

DeGuilio's contract not renewed

Munster's Town Manager for about 30 years will no longer continue to serve in that position. I wonder who the replacement will be and what it will mean for the town?

I saw this tonight, too, and immediately became concerned. I religiously read the town council minutes and didn't really see this coming. So many good things have happened in Munster the last few years and I'd hate to see things stall because of this transition.

[orkdork]

Perhaps the assistant town manager will move up. That may provide some consistency and stability. I wonder what the differences in vision were between the manager and the council...

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by orkdork

Perhaps the assistant town manager will move up. That may provide some consistency and stability. I wonder what the differences in vision were between the manager and the council...

I'm not going to lie, I became a little concerned as well. I mean, has there been mistakes? Sure! But even with the many things that have gone wrong in town (such as the whole issue with Centennial Park clubhouse), this town has matured so much and in a great way! The redevelopment currently happening in this town is mirroring a bit what happens in mature Chicago suburbs especially west and north of the city. I told people a few years ago that residential and commercial tear downs will boom here and people thought "why would that happen when it is cheaper to just move to a town south of Munster that is just as nice and less crowded and newer?" The answer is because Munster has maintained top spots in education, high-wage white collar employment, top medical facilities, and great amenities! And when this happens, people want to live here.

Look at the majority of homes being built in Munster. They are mostly over 600k and they are selling well! And now, some of the former relatively new subdivisions on the south side of town (such as White Oak, Twin Creek, Cobblestones, Briar Creek) have either filled in completely (Briar Creek just developed the last lot and twin creek has one lot left) or are on the way to being filled. Subdivisions such as Park West are constructing $1,000,000+ homes at a great pace and West Lakes and Estates of White Oak are growing their final phases in nicely. All of this without compromising the quality of construction (aka, allowing Vinyl Villages as some outlying areas do). Even Community Estates, the largely unknown new subdivision adjacent to the Hartsfield Village campus is getting more attention. It is truly great to see!

And then you have subdivisions like Hill & Vale that have been mostly developed since the 1970s and now is seeing more homes being built in the Bakker Ct/Ada Ln section. I know that Wicker Park Estates has had some tear downs here and there but I suspect that there will be more happening soon.

On the northwest side of town, easily the part of town where people feared the most blight would occur, is being redeveloped as well. Most of the duplexes on Manor Avenue (north of Ridge and south of Broadmoor) have been knocked down to make way for more greenspace. And I know that more homes will come down in other parts of that area as the cost of properties there appear low enough to somewhat justify knocking down and building new (when compared to the price of lots in other parts of town.

Commercially, we are getting retailers and businesses making their first entrance into Indiana and to have Munster as a first stop is truly wonderful! I do wish that the concept for a "Munster Town Center" that was developed in 2006 would have been realized; however, the current redevelopment of the Lake Business Center complex is amazing as well. The east sir of Calumet (north of Ridge) saw the development of Munster Shops and while there have been some parking issues, the place is always busy. The developer is now going to redevelop the west side of calumet and this will be very nice to see!

I just hope the momentum that the town has going will continue or even speed up (again, while not compromising quality). This area truly has a lot to offer that other towns in the area cannot match.

[richb]

Actually getting rid of Tom DeGuilio is something that should have happened a long time ago. It's about time to be perfectly honest. DeGuilio had very little to do with the success of Munster. He is a crook of the worst kind.

I think the town council has finally seen the writing on the wall. After he is gone, you will see more about the reasons for the change.

I hope they find someone not connected with him at all. Someone new will be a huge improvement, and the cloud of corruption that DeGuilio was causing will clear.

[DougxFresh]

What's wrong with Tom? I work at the Concession as a Summer job in Munster and I know when it comes to selling food at the Concession Stand some food is overpriced. His daughter Jessica is in charge of that I didn't know he was a bad guy though.