HAMMOND | Construction of a charter school in the city's downtown district can begin when the weather allows, after Hammond City Council members approved a pair of ordinances making both land and money available to the school's board of directors.

Council members approved ordinances vacating portions of Muenich Court and Ann Avenue and both their respective alleys late Monday night, while also agreeing to create a fund holding a $7.5 million loan from the Horseshoe Casino for use in constructing the Hammond Academy for Science and Technology.

City Council members twice tabled vacating streets, after neighbors complained they were given little information about the $15 million project and how it would affect their properties. Council President Anthony Higgs said 2nd District Councilman Al Salinas and 4th District Councilwoman Kim Poland, who sits on the school's board, met with residents last week and everyone agreed the project should press ahead.

"All is well and they'll be getting a certified copy of the plan," Poland said.

Bids on the project are set to be opened at a 4 p.m. Friday meeting at the Hammond Public Library, Poland said. The money from the Horseshoe loan will be "used as a nest egg for the school construction," Poland said.

That loan, arranged in 2006 by Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and City Council members, calls for $7.5 million to be used for educational purposes in Hammond, while an additional $7.5 million went toward the city's financially self-insurance fund, which at the time had racked up about $3.5 million in unpaid medical claims.

City Attorney Kris Kantar said approval of the ordinances means contractors can get to work whenever weather permits.

"We have 320 families waiting for this thing to get going, plus the guys who will be working on it," Kantar said.

While the school is under construction, classes will be held at the St. Catherine of Siena school building for at least the first semester of classes.