HEBRON | Downtown visitors apparently will have another place to grab lunch in the spring.
Rhonda Block, owner of Tiffany's Tea Room in Crown Point, asked the council Tuesday to let her operate a hot dog cart near the clock tower on Main and Sigler Streets. Block said she was operating her cart in Crown Point but had competition from three others, so she decided to come to Hebron, where she lives.
She told the council she hopes to be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or a little later, depending on business. Before the council would act, they asked for copies of her insurance and clearance from the Porter County Health Department.
Block said she hopes to put her cart in the nearby parking lot. Town Attorney Ted Fitzgerald said the town's Traffic Committee should look into the best location for the cart because traffic is one-way in the lot. He also joked nearby property owners should get a discount. Fitzgerald's office is in the adjoining building.
If Block can get all the information together and get council approval, she plans to open when the weather warms in April.
The council also approved a two-year budget for its share of the county economic development income tax. The town expects to receive about $220,000 a year with the largest share ($180,000) going to pay off a $1 million bond issue used for street paving and sewer line construction.
Of the rest, $90,000 will be for buying or repairing town equipment, $85,000 will be used for infrastructure improvements and beautification, $75,000 for redevelopment programs and incentives to attract or retain businesses and $10,000 will fund programs and events designed to attract visitors to the town.
Clerk-Treasurer Terri Waywood said the town still has about $420,000 left in its CEDIT budget from past years, and the council is discussing several projects that money could be used for, including road improvements, a new community center/town hall and a sewer line extension to the north end of town to facilitate development there.
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