There are over 1000 Townships in Indiana, and Portage Township is the largest in Porter County. Portage Township comprises the City of Portage and parts of unincorporated Porter County, which includes the South Haven community, Duck Creek, and the Town of Ogden Dunes.
In his 12th year, Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy has proudly served the community of Portage Township through township assistance, township cemeteries, senior services, parks and recreation, and fire and emergency medical services (EMS).
“We’re a fully functioning government with many different facets. Township government is important because it’s the government that is closest to the people and the easiest to access,” Clancy said.
Clancy focuses on the things that matter within the community, which include but are not limited to the expansion of the food pantry, providing emergency assistance, developing recreational parks, , cleaning up township cemeteries & preserving Portage Township history, serving seniors and children, and partnering with local unions, civic, and nonprofit organizations to build a stronger community.
Portage Township Food Pantry
The township food pantry was in the process of losing its home, but Clancy knew something could be done to help. The Portage Township Trustee’s office already had a working partnership with the Portage Township Food Pantry, (an independent 501©3 organization); processing the qualifying paperwork for pantry clients. It was a natural fit for Trustee Clancy to get involved to help the food pantry find a new home.
“When we expanded our office, we partnered with the county to accommodate the food pantry as well,” Clancy said.
Clancy wanted to create a large usable space to house the non-perishable food items, but also wanted to find a way to house frozen food and perishables as well.
“We were able to build a state-of-the-art facility where they now have a large capacity for frozen food products, perishables, and nonperishables,” Clancy said.
Because of this great effort, the Portage Township food pantry can service a lot more people much quicker and more efficiently.
Portage Township Energy Assistance
Portage Township offers emergency assistance to those in need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Portage Township also helped distribute over $1.5 million in state benefits out their office.
“Not only did we help the residents of Portage Township, but we were one of the five townships in the state of Indiana that helped disperse emergency funding to Indiana residents,” Clancy said.
Portage Township Parks and Recreation
Portage Township has partnered with several organizations, local unions, and community volunteers to rebuild the parks in the community. The township created a park department and the new park board began renovating the parks because of the bad shape Clancy had found them in. People in the community weren’t using them and they were severely dilapidated.
“We created the Friends of Portage Township Foundation, Inc which is able to help raise funds to improve our parks,” Clancy said.
Several parks, softball fields, and much more are in the process of additions and upgrades, and many are already completed. There are now more playgrounds and fields for children to play in. Evergreen Park (the old Portage little league fields on Evergreen Ave) is next on the list and is scheduled to begin renovations this spring.
Trustee Clancy constructed the new Portage Township Department of Parks and Recreation facility for park administration, maintenance, and community programs and services in 2015. Parks are extremely important to Clancy and the residents of Portage Township because they are the “front room” of the community and important for our children.
Clancy has implemented phase one of a very important project.
Seeing a need in the community, Clancy formed the Portage Township Autism Action Coalition approximately two years ago.
Partnering with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, Portage Police Department, Ogden Dunes Police Department, South Haven Fire Department, Portage Fire Department, Ogden Dunes Fire Department, Portage Township Schools and Porter County 911 Central Communications, PTAAC looked at ways to improve relationships between first responders and those diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
The initial effort raised $10,000 from individuals, service organizations and businesses throughout Portage Township to purchase autism sensory kits. The kits contain items used to help calm individuals on the autism spectrum, improve communication abilities and improve relationships between those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and first responders and the schools.
“We created the Portage Township Autism Action Coalition last year. Sensory kits were given to each police car and ambulance. Inside these kits are important sensory supplies and tools to aid in calming and communicating with any child on the spectrum they may come across,” Clancy said.
Clancy distributed more than 175 sensory kits in February of 2021 so that each police vehicle, each fire apparatus and each public school building in Portage Township would have the tools they need.
In addition, PTAAC put together a uniform training curriculum package for each of the six first responder departments. Each department was able to utilize the training tools to educate first responders on recognizing those who are autistic and how to better interact with those on the spectrum.
In April, PTAAC will launch the second phase of the project – an emergency identification bracelet program.
The program, partially funded through a grant from Autism Speaks, will allow Portage Township parents and caregivers of autistic children to register their child by providing basic information. That information will go into a data system which can be accessed by first responders, not only in Portage Township, but all of Porter County. Youngsters registered for the program will be given a silicone bracelet with a unique identification number, which will allow first responders to match that child with information in the data system.
Part of the April launch will also include a sensory-friendly “touch a truck”-like event where youngsters with ASD will be able to see and touch fire and police vehicles, as well as meet first responders, in a lights-down, sounds-down atmosphere to better improve relationships between the youngsters and first responders.
Portage Township and Union Partnering
Clancy appreciates a strong and lasting relationships with local unions. Many unions and union members donate their time, money, and equipment to help enrich the community.
“We’re lucky to partner with a lot of the local unions. From installing new playgrounds, to gathering a lot of the toys, building ADA ramps, and generously donating financially, they care and volunteer their time for their community,” Clancy said.
A big improvement is on its way and Clancy couldn’t be more excited.
“We’re in the process of applying for Indiana DNR’s Next Level Trails grant program. Our project is an approximately $5 million project that would connect our South Haven parks (Haven Hollow, Jim Lynch, and Field of Dreams Parks) to the City of Portage’s Prairie Duneland Trail,” Clancy said.
Project development within Township parks is set to take place, however gaining approval of the grant will enable us to connect our parks to the City of Portage.
Portage Township Cemeteries
Several cemeteries have been renovated. Portage Township had abandoned and vandalized cemeteries and Clancy wanted to protect their history. Portage Township partnered with the Portage Historical Society and the Indiana Historic Preservation to preserve our past.
“We were able to probe the James-Schrock Cemetery, one of Portage Township’s early pioneer graveyards, and found deteriorated and broken pieces of some very old headstones. We gathered the pieces and relocated them to McCool Cemetery where we created a memorial and erected a beautiful monument with the settlers name etched in black granite,” Clancy said.
Fences were renovated, capitals were replaced, brickwork was redone and a new cemetery office and maintenance building was built. Clancy is trending toward the future and preparing for what’s to come.
“Next year we will be building a columbarium and expand the cemetery. In all, the project will create approximately 1500 new burial sites. The township should be set for roughly 40 to 50 years,” Clancy said.
Portage Township Bonner Center
Portage Township has recently renovated the Bonner Center and expanded it. The Bonner Center now has a beautiful four-seasons room looking out to a gazebo and landscaped courtyard, computer lab, and exercise room with new fitness equipment. In addition, construction was just completed last fall on an outdoor fitness trail with equipment.
“The senior population is going to exponentially grow, so we’re prepared for the future,” Clancy said.
Portage Township Fire Department
The Portage Township Fire Department is a hybrid department and has an ISO rating of three which is one of the highest in the state. This rating is based on response time, training time, equipment, and many other factors.
Clancy couldn’t be more proud of the fire department and paramedics and how hard they train.
“The community loves them! They do a great job for our community,” Clancy said.
The fire department was recently upgraded and expanded. Improvements were made to sleeping quarters, training facilities, the weight room, equipment upgrades. Through the last several years upgrades to vehicles, ambulances, and emergency apparatuses have also taken place.
Portage Township is preparing its community for the future. To learn more about Portage Township, who they are, what they offer, and how you can help, please visit https://www.portagetrustee.org/.