Porter County Government - Board of Health - October 6th, 2026

The Porter County Board of Health meeting, identified in the title as October 6, 2026 (metadata lists October 7), approved the prior meeting’s minutes and discussed a fee adjustment for geothermal wells at the Portage school district’s middle-school project. Members considered a $25-per-well fee and the need to revisit the fee schedule, but approved a one-time $3,000 fee exception for the project so work would not be delayed. The board also discussed how new statewide mobile-food-establishment permits may affect local fee revenue and inspections; no action on that issue was recorded. Claims and receipts were approved, with no amounts or vendors specified, and no contract award or other purchasing decision was identified.

The board reviewed an after-action report on a storm-related power outage that caused the health department to close for three days and disrupted generator backup, key-card access, communications, and vaccine storage. Staff reported that vaccines were moved safely and outlined improvements to continuity-of-operations and emergency-preparedness plans, including stronger coordination with county emergency management. Members discussed the need for follow-up reporting and adequate preparedness funding, but no funding allocation was approved. The November meeting was moved to December 1.