After years of planning, Portage could finally get a CNG fueling station. The Redevelopment Commission voted Feb. 26 to issue a request for proposals to build one. Portage’s garbage trucks fueled by compressed natural gas now have to travel to Gary to fill up, Mayor Austin Bonta said. The new stat ion would have an address on U.S. 12 but would be accessed by Ind. 249. Redevelopment Director Dan Botich asked if there are any other CNG stations in Portage. “I don’t believe so, because quite frankly, our garbage trucks would be filling up at them,” Bonta said. Whether it would be available for public use hasn’t been decided, but Bonta said he wouldn’t be opposed to it. “I know there are other cities that make that work.” The request for proposals includes designing, building, owning and operating the station, Planning and Community Development director Tom Cherry said. The city has been working for years to get a CNG fueling station built. In other business, the RDC granted $100,000 to Portage Economic Development Corp. to assist with marketing property on the city’s north side to developers and other interested parties. That includes the big pitch the agency made to attempt to lure the Chicago Bears to choose Portage for a new stadium. That Halas Harbor pitch increased interest in the property exponentially, Botich said. Once the bonding is completed for the bridge over Burns Waterway to be extended, the interest will increase even more, he said. The north side property includes more than 100 acres. The RDC also voted to prune six parcels from the Kayak Point tax increment financing district, a move that will need to be ratified by the City Council. “This project has been discussed for about the last 12 to 14 months,” Botich said. 764 Holdings is building a new Glass Solutions Inc. factory for making glass façades for commercial buildings at the site. The parcels being carved off are intended for use as a future kayak launch on Salt Creek. Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. ...read more read less