County Council voices concerns about Mid-States Corridor in light of resolution
The Dubois County Council received a resolution opposing the Mid-States Corridor Project during its meeting, as members of the Property Rights Alliance presented their case against the proposed new terrain highway through the county.
The resolution is similar to the resolutions the group has presented to the county commissioners and the Huntingburg Common Council recently. It states the council opposes the Mid-States Corridor Project, will not support eminent domain or additional tax funding requests for the project, and will prioritize protecting county residents, farmlands, homesteads and the environment from the proposed highway.
Here is the copy presented to the commissioners earlier this month.
WHEREAS, since the 1980s, five different studies prior to the current Lochmueller Study have determined building a new-terrain highway and/or bypass through Dubois County, including the Donohue Study, Rust Study, Earth Tech Study, Cambridge Study and I-67 Study were not economically and/or environmentally feasible.
WHEREAS, in June 2021, Governor Holcomb announced $475M in infrastructure projects that included $75M to make major improvements to existing US 231 through Dubois and Martin counties.
WHEREAS, in April 2022, after the release of the Tier 1 DEIS, INDOT held public comment meetings with hundreds of residents in attendance opposed, over 95% of the verbal comments opposed, and received more than 1,000 written comments opposed to the Mid-States Corridor project. Some of the reasons provided included the displacement of over 100 homeowners, over 1,800 acres of farmland taken, 870 acres of forest cut down, over 60+acres of wetlands, the negative impact on the environment and natural habitat, significant losses to the tax base, a loss of agriculture income over $1million annually, and the lack of true proven benefits at a cost of well over $1 billion at 2020 costs.
WHEREAS, due to the process of establishing an appointed Regional Development Authority (RDA) and not giving the residents, environmental, and other groups a voice in the initial start of this project or allowed to vote, over 10,000 signatures were gathered and submitted petitioning their opposition to the Mid-States Corridor project.
WHEREAS, opposition to this proposed project continues to grow publicly as noted by the Facebook group “STOP THE MID-STATES CORRIDOR PROJECT” with over 5,400 followers, a reach of almost 50,000 and an engagement of over 28,000. Residents have displayed over 500 “STOP THE MID-STATES CORRIDOR” yard signs, hundreds have attended several town hall and other meetings in opposition, numerous letters to the editor, and media interviews both locally and regionally.
WHEREAS, proponents of the proposed Mid-States Corridor continue to falsely promote the economic development opportunity and growth without out any factual data to back-up their projections and assumptions.
WHEREAS, in our opinion the existing road network along with improvements on the existing US 231 will adequately connect the region and avoid massive destruction of our rural landscape and communities; that the State funds can be better spent maintaining and repairing existing roads; and that taxpayers, county, and societal costs of the proposed far outweigh any potential local benefits. These reasons, and others, in our judgement indicate a lack of need for this project.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Commissioners of Dubois County, Indiana hereby opposes and will no longer support the continuation of the Mid-States Corridor new-terrain highway project and any other alternative other than the previously identified improvements for the existing US 231. Furthermore, the Board of Commissioners will not grant powers of eminent domain, or otherwise land acquisition to the unconstitutional Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority. Nor will we authorize any additional tax dollars to this project.
Council President Mike Kluesner expressed appreciation for the respectful tone of letters he has received from citizens, but indicated the council needs more time to study the issue before taking action.
“I don’t feel as a council president that I want to bring this letter to a vote tonight. I think we need to study it. I think there’s a lot of information I’d still like to gather,” Kluesner said.
Councilman Doug Uebelhor reiterated he was not in support of the Mid-States Corridor and that he would like to see U.S. 231 improved.
Councilman Alex Hohl stated he has overwhelmingly heard opposition to the project and that as a representative democracy, regardless of his opinion, he had to listen to the voice of those he represents.
Councilwoman Meredith Voegerl, who lives in Celestine, stated she had concerns about how the highway might affect rescue services reaching rural areas.
Kluesner told the attendees that the future of the project is not really up to the council. He explained he didn’t feel the county had the capacity to take over U.S. 231 as discussed in previous meetings nor assist the process with county funding.
Bob Pfister, whose property would be disrupted by the proposed road, challenged claims about connectivity–a main talking point supporting the construction of the corridor–noting Dubois County has access to Interstate 64 and Interstate 69 within 15 miles of the western border.
“Totally inaccurate,” Pfister said, referring to statements made by project supporters. “We’re not going to dry up and die without this road… (but) chances are we will dry up and die if this road happens.”
Councilman Hohl asked if the Property Rights Alliance supported improvements to U.S. 231–which would likely impact landowners adjacent to it. Property Rights Alliance member Mark Nowotarski stated they did support widening the road, adding passing lanes and making intersection improvements.
“We’ve always said that we were in favor of the improvements that Governor Holcomb announced,” he said. “We’ve always said we feel that is the perfect solution.”
The Property Rights Alliance referenced the successful opposition to the Link 101 project in southeast Indiana, where constituent pressure led to the project’s cancellation after State Senator Jean Leising intervened with the governor.
The Alliance members invited council members to visit affected properties to see firsthand the potential impact of the proposed highway. They also extended invitations to their biweekly meetings held on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper.
The next meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, June 26, at 7 p.m. Kristi Risk, Constituent Relations Director for Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, will be in attendance to learn more about the project.
The council took no formal action on the resolution, with the council president indicating members need additional time to research the issue and gather more information before making a decision.
