Lisa Strombeck, outgoing president of North Webster Town Council, chats on the phone and with fellow council member Dave Waliczek after the council’s Tuesday, Dec. 28, year-end meeting. Photo by Ray Balogh.

By Ray Balogh
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — Lisa Strombeck, president of the North Webster Town Council, looked back over an extremely challenging year and noted it was a rather gratifying one as well.

The biggest challenge: “We just had to get through COVID,” she said. “We were trying to regroup and reconnect.”

While they were reconnecting, the town council made some significant strides in serving the community of North Webster and Tippecanoe County, all while staying within their 2021 budget.

“We had some road pavement,” Strombeck said in classic understatement. “It was a big project for us.” About one quarter of the streets inside the town limits were paved in 2021 and work will continue into 2022 and beyond.

The council also donated money to the local chamber of commerce to purchase and install new Christmas lights in the downtown area.

The most significant venture of the council’s year was the formation of a fire territory under the joint jurisdiction of Tippecanoe Township and the town of North Webster.

Beginning in January, the fire board will meet every other month.

All in all,” she said, “it was a good year, considering.”

Strombeck, who took the council’s helm after the death of the previous president, Jon Sroufe, in September 2018, will pass the torch to fellow board member Dan Thystrup beginning Jan. 1.

She’ll only be stepping down, not stepping away. “We live in a wonderful community,” she said. “I’ve lived here all my life and I love it.”

Strombeck’s love for North Webster isn’t merely professional or administrative. She helped orchestrated and participated in a local food drive for the North Webster Food Pantry and a Toys for Tots drive for North Webster Elementary.

” We had an amazing turnout for both events and I can’t thank everyone enough who participated and helped out,” she said. “This is how we do North Webster, Small Town U.S.A. — a wonderful town to live in and raise children.”

The town council meets at 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month.