Hobart company owner hoping to get on Police Department towing list
NWI Times
Jul 7, 2012
nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hobart/hobart-company-owner-hoping-to-get-on-police-department-towing/article_4a59e7b8-e7cf-56e7-944f-b07ca83bc8ce.html
HOBART | A Hobart towing company owner is asking to be put on the Police Department's tow list now that it has been reduced to one.
Ambassador Towing owner Dave Bartholomew said Hobart officials are not giving him or anyone else the opportunity to get on the city's towing list.
"I feel like I'm not getting a fair shot at any of it," Bartholomew said.
The city currently uses only one towing company, Samson Relocation & Towing, which is owned by Scott Jurgensen, Police Chief Jeff White said.
There are no plans to add a second towing company to the city's list until sometime after a July 25 Board of Works hearing for Tony Cuba, the owner of T & K Towing, both White and Mayor Brian Snedecor said.
"At that time we'll make a decision whether to stay with the one company or bring another one on," White said.
White terminated the agreement with T & K Towing and disciplined four police officers following an internal investigation earlier this year into what he termed an "inappropriate relationship" between the officers and T & K Towing.
White, as part of his investigation, also determined that T & K Towing was receiving a "disproportionate" amount of the Police Department's tows.
Cuba has requested the hearing to present his side of the issue and find out what he did wrong and why he was fired.
Bartholomew said city officials, in not picking a replacement for T & K Towing, are being hypocritical because one company is now handling all the city's tows.
"Now Scott (Jurgensen) is making all the money by himself," Bartholomew said.
Jurgensen said he had no comment.
Bartholomew, whose company tows for Portage and Indiana State Police, said he has worked for other companies that towed for Hobart and has the expertise and necessary equipment to handle the job.
"I want to be put on the job," Bartholomew said.
Batholomew also believes Jurgensen's company was picked as the sole tow company because Jurgensen, a former Merrillville police officer, has ties to Snedecor, a former Hobart police officer.
"He (Jurgensen) is using it to his advantage," Bartholomew said.
White said the reason Jurgensen's company has been retained is all about getting the job done and nothing about personal connections.
"I have not had a single complaint about his company," White said.
White also denies any personal ties with the administration and Jurgensen.
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