Sandra Starling sat patiently with her hand raised, hoping to question Mayor Eddie Melton directly about issues in her neighborhood. Although she wasn’t called, she accomplished part of her mission simply by attending.
“Belief in Gary brought me out tonight,” Starling said. Starling, a retired 30-year veteran of the Gary Community School Corporation, has continued to stay active in the city. “I work at the Urban League, so I hear a lot of the concerns. I’ve called a few numbers but haven’t gotten real answers, so I showed up today to get some real answers,” she told Capital B Gary.
Starling was one of hundreds of residents who packed the seats at Temple of Deliverance in Christ in the city’s 3rd District, eager to learn how to engage and report their issues to the proper city departments.
The community forum hosted by the Melton administration brought residents face-to-face with the heads of various city departments, including the Fire Department, Code Enforcement, General Services, Health Department, and Parks, where they also learned how to file complaints directly through Gary’s 311 system. During a brief Q&A session, residents voiced their concerns to city leaders, with most taking the opportunity to speak about specific streets and properties.
“Normally, we have these community meetings, and we get a lot of questions that we are not prepared to answer,” Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, said to residents. “But tonight, I do not have to say that. It’s a pleasure to have a lot of people who come to our community and district meetings here tonight.”
Many residents raised concerns about issues around their homes and in their neighborhoods.
“I’ve got a pair of trees hanging over my gazebo, and if they fall, we’re going to have a real problem,” said Dale Pugh, a 64-year-old Gary resident.
Robert Wallace, another resident, spoke directly with Mayor Eddie Melton about the old Ivanhoe Elementary School property at 15th Avenue and Gerry Street.
“The grass is up to here. You got kids going in there getting high, having sexual relations, and the building has been on fire three times. If that building collapses on those kids, it will be a sad situation. If you get me a tractor and some gas, I’ll do it myself,” Wallace told Melton.
To address broader concerns about crime and safety, Gary’s deputy police chief, Brian Evans, introduced a new tool for reporting illegal activities. Text-A-Tip allows residents to send anonymous tips to the GPD’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) via text message from any cellular device.
Gary residents looking to report issues, pay bills, or create service requests can use the city’s 311 service. Whether dealing with potholes, missed garbage, or general municipal services, the Gary 311 system is designed to streamline communication and improve the efficiency of city responses. To access these services, visit Gary’s Constituent Services. Here, residents can create requests for city services and access bill pay options for American Water, Gary Sanitary District, NIPSCO, and Republic Services.
