Highway 245 status up for grabs as Holiday World files to intervene in case stopping construction

A 45-minute status hearing was held this morning in Spencer County Circuit Court in Rockport in front of Judge Jon Dartt about SR 245 just east of Santa Claus. That stretch of roadway has been at the center of a lawsuit against INDOT due to the fact that officials decided the road had to be closed for 18 months while construction was completed to make the road safer and install a new bridge.

Two businesses filed for a preliminary injunction against INDOT saying that the year and a half closure would kill their business and prevent fire/rescue crews from reaching them and a school in the area. The two businesses that filed for an injunction were Christmas Lake Golf Course represented by owner Russel Winkler and Santa’s Candy Castle owner Kevin Klosowski.

Judge Jon Dartt issued an injunction in the case agreeing that the safety of school students needed to be protected from what would be a lengthy drive to get to the school in case of an emergency. In today’s hearing, the plaintiffs stated that access to the school is improved with the opening of U.S. 231 to the west of Santa Claus, but Dartt would not make that opinion as an official part of court proceedings since he had no facts or testimony to back up the assertion.

Dartt stated that the purpose for the hearing today was to get “off center” and moving in one of three directions. Either to proceed with the court-ordered mediation, or have both plaintiffs drop their request for a preliminary injunction and mediation in the case and clear the way for INDOT to move forward with the construction, or set a hearing for a permanent injunction in the case.

Christmas Lake owner Russel Winkler told the court that he wanted to drop his part of the injunction stating that he was better off with the opening of 231 to the west and that he could weather the storm better from a business standpoint, the drop off of business due to the closing of 245.

Dartt asked him more than once if he was ready to drop out of the complaint and Winkler answered “yes.” However, Santa’s Candy Castle owner Klosowski would not relent and asked the judge for the hearing to move forward in mediation, stating that his business and family income from it would not survive if SR 245 which runs in front of his business were to shut down for 18 months for construction.

Deputy Attorney General Jack Watson with the State of Indiana was there to represent the Indiana Department of Transportation and the State’s interest in the matter and was adamant that INDOT has stopped the project due to the injunction saying “the State’s position is that we have cancelled the project and whether or not there is an injunction which limits the way we can do the project is currently not a bother to us…We have no intention of building this project because of the difficulty and expense that we incurred brought about by this lawsuit.”

Watson says that the State has hundreds of other projects that are less expensive and doable and for which the people in the area are happy to have roads build and they don’t fight in getting them done. To which Dartt said, “so, you’re telling the court that the State’s canceling the project out of spite.”

Watson answered “no” and says that the State is canceling the project because they cannot do the project any other way than closing the road.

In the end, Watson softened his stance on the issue and said that the State would be agreeable to enter into mediation with Klosowski about the issue.

The judge set 45 days for Klosowski to obtain a lawyer to represent his interests and to agree upon a mediator with the State of Indiana.

In another move in this case, Koch Development (owners of Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari) entered a motion to intervene in the case, which was filed today by their attorney Kevin Patmore. Holiday World Officials want the lawsuit resolved so that construction on SR 245 can move forward.