Ron Meer has served as the Mayor of Michigan City since January 2012 with a clear goal of setting and achieving high expectations.
In 2013, Mayor Meer introduced the Lake Michigan Gateway Implementation Strategy which identified a set of priority projects, including capital improvements, infrastructure upgrades, and substantial aesthetic enhancements to the downtown and lakefront areas designed to make Michigan City a “must see” community again. Michigan City is indeed being noticed and it is reaping the rewards of this three to five year action agenda. To date, the city has received three awards for the Lake Michigan Gateway Implementation Strategy. Indiana Association of Cities and Towns presented Michigan City the “Community Achievement Award”, the Indiana Chapter of the American Planning Association presented the “Outstanding Plan” award, and the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognized Michigan City with a “Merit Award.”
Ron has lived in Michigan City all his life and has been married to his wife Agnes for 22 years.
They have five children and they all attended Michigan City public schools. Mayor Meer also went through the entire Michigan City Area School system: grade school, middle school, and he graduated from Rogers High School in 1982. In fact, many of his family members went to Elston High School, which was the first high school in Michigan City. Ron's uncle, Newt Meer, was the Athletic Director at Elston for many years. Ron affirms, "There is a lot of Elston Red Devil blood that is still today running strong in Michigan City."
Mayor Meer has a unique and integral knowledge of each city department and every city entity.
He knows how the city works because he has been active in Michigan City government for many years. He has 28 years of combined experience in city government: 8 years on the Michigan City Common Council, three times serving as President of the City Council, 6 years on the Human Rights Commission, and he served as a Michigan City municipal employee for 20 years. In addition to his city experience, one of Ron's first jobs was with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources working offshore on Lake Michigan. It was there that he grew to be a defender and advocate for nature. One of his first priorities after taking office was the complete overhaul of the Michigan City Sanitary District, which is now a model for environmental protection, especially our most important natural resources, Trail Creek and Lake Michigan.
Since taking office in 2012, there has been just over 1 billion dollars in investments by both the public and private sector in Michigan City.
Numerous private investments are currently under construction around town, including a new $240 million dollar, state of the art hospital, a $20 million dollar assisted living facility and the Marquette Ameriplex Business Park. Building projects such as these are providing construction jobs and the businesses that occupy those buildings are providing long-term career opportunities. Mayor Meer also works across party lines and this past summer hosted Governor Holcomb here in Michigan City who signed state legislation funding the South Shore Double Track Project.
Delivering the residents and visitors to Michigan City with superior city services while capitalizing on its’ unique location and natural resources has been at the forefront of the Mayor Meer administration.
Mayor Meer says, “Providing exceptional public health and safety, picking up the trash, cutting overgrown grass and plowing the streets are just some of the basic yet essential needs of this community. Our various departments do an amazing job of taking care of things such as this and many times our residents and visitors don’t think too much about that because they are being done, and that is a good thing.” In 2016, the City of Michigan City unveiled a new, 13 million dollar, state of the art police department complex.