Letter: Funding, planning point to long-term goals leading to Mid-States Corridor
Recently, Democratic candidates began asking all the wrong questions to make it appear that the Republican candidates running for office had everything to do with the Mid-States Corridor. Here are some facts you might consider when voting for a candidate for office in Indiana.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2004 began planning to upgrade U.S. 231 through Huntingburg and Jasper. In 2010 FHWA published in the Federal Register a notice of intent, “U.S. 231 Due to the importance of the route, U.S. 231 is included in the National Highway System (NHS). The NHS includes all Interstate routes, a large percentage of roads classified as principal arterial highways and roads important for national defense. The NHS includes 5 percent of the national roadway network but serves approximately 40 percent of the nation’s highway travel. U.S. 231 is also a part of the National Truck Network, a national network of highways that allows the passage of trucks of specified minimum dimensions and weight. Designated as a Regional Mobility Corridor and Commerce Corridor, U.S. 231 serves as a connection to smaller cities and regions, feeds traffic to the major mobility corridors and provides for regional accessibility. As a Commerce Corridor, U.S. 231 directly facilitates intrastate, interstate or international commerce or travel. Approximately 12 mi of existing U.S. 231 through Dubois County is rural 2- lane roadway. The roadway becomes 3- or 4-lane through Huntingburg and Jasper and is a north-south arterial that divides both communities. Traffic flow in Huntingburg is affected by delays at an at-grade railroad crossing. In Jasper, U.S. 231 makes two right-angle turns, both of which have substandard corner radii and are difficult for larger vehicles to negotiate. In March 2004, FHWA released the U.S. 231 Draft EIS. FHWA and INDOT have continued to evaluate the project and have developed additional alternatives for consideration and a Final EIS has not been released within three years of the publication of the Draft EIS. The SDEIS will re-evaluate the Preferred Alternative identified in the 2004 U.S. 231 DEIS and compare those impacts to the additional build alternatives.” You can read the full report here https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2010-06-02/pdf/2010-13103.pdf note that the report is not on the State of Indiana website or a Dubois County Website but a Federal Government website the U.S. Federal Register.
Indiana funds its roads through primarily three sources.
Federal Government Money – A third of INDOT’s budget comes from the Federal Government each year. The Federal Government pays INDOT to maintain the Federal Highways and Interstates in each state. On August 10, 2021, the Senate voted and approved the INVEST In America Act, a House Bill H.R. 3684 that allocates $1 trillion dollars in infrastructure spending. The President signed it into law. No Indiana Congressional Republicans voted in favor of the bill. Indiana is being allocated $8.8 billion of that $1 trillion dollar package. Gov. Eric Holcomb and former INDOT Commission Joe McGuinness were excited about the funding.
Gas and Diesel Tax per Gallon – Most of the state funding for INDOT comes from the 24 cents per gallon for diesel fuel and 18 cents for gasoline.
Local Tax Dollars – INDOT has a program, Local Public Agency Program, LPA, to aid local municipalities by matching local tax dollars with INDOT funding to help maintain up update local roads in each county.
So, who determines what roads get built? Since a third of INDOT’s annual budget comes from the Federal Government, INDOT, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) review all of Indiana’s State Fiscal Year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and the Federal Planning Finding as required under 23 CFR 450.220(b).
How does INDOT and FHWA determine what roads need to be built? A comprehensive review based upon safety and traffic numbers. Dubois County has grown in population by almost 40% since 1970. So, the real decision-makers on which highways get built is the traffic numbers posted by local and pass-through drivers. Dubois County has grown to the point where the Federal Highway Standards require wider roads with more lanes and more road shoulders. To comply with Federal Highway Standards, a decision needed to be made what was the best way possible to get into compliance. The below document details the U.S. 231 Corridor in 2010, long before Mark Messmer and Shane Lindauer took office. Even if they were in office, they still couldn’t have voted to approve the corridor. INDOT and FHWA decides what roads get built.
“Corridor 212: US 231 – Huntingburg/Jasper Bypass This project was originally scheduled for 2018 completion date and is still on track as scheduled. The environmental document is being updated by Butler, Fairmen & Seufert Inc. Indiana 15 Regional Commission raised some concerns on drainage issues and on the possibilities of more traffic on US 231 with the completion of the Natcher Bridge project. The planning section will convey concerns to the project manager.”
It seems that some candidates are concerned about Regional Development Authorities (RDA’s). Currently, 42 states have RDA’s including such liberal states like California and New York. Indiana’s RDA bill passed with strong bipartisan support. Indiana’s Regional Development Authorities are counties that group together to reduce costs to attract new companies and encourage entrepreneurs to develop great new companies. Don’t be fooled by partisan politics, RDA’s are about states competing against each other to land businesses of the future.
Running a state requires tax revenue. Things aren’t getting any cheaper. Remember come election time, it was the Democrats who got us into this mess, not the Republicans. So don’t be mad at Indiana Republicans, they voted “no” on Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill. The Democrats are the ones who passed the funding to complete the U.S. 231 Mid-States Corridor in 2021.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684
Daryl Hensley, Jasper
It was Trump!
If you’re going to try and impersonate me at least put some effort into it.
Mr Hensley,
The long list of highway funding you describe does not give an accurate picture of how the Mid States Corridor came to life. Plain and simple, it was started with Senate Bill 128 authored by State Senator Mark Messmer and Sponsored by State Representative Mike Braun in the 2017 session of the Indiana General Assembly. You are correct that money from federal funds can be used for the Road, but that would apply no matter which party controlled Congress or the Executive Branch of Government. The ACTUAL FACT is Senate Bill 128 of 2017 was authored by Messmer, sponsored by Braun and created the law that allowed the RDA to exist, solicit funds from private sources and basically skip over the democratic process to slam this road through without any public discussion.
When did our State Legislators talk to the public about this? Have they ever held a meeting to explain what they were up to? Have they answered questions at any public forum about the Road? The answer to all of this is never, no and no. But now that it is clear their constituents have been treated with disrespect, the Legislators will have a meeting to settle us down.
Sen. Messmer, Rep. Lindauer and Sen. Bassler will have a meeting in Loogootee on May 25th. Ask them if they support the road or not; you will not get an answer.
Go to their meeting and demand they dissolve the RDA immediately and fix the roads we have.
The corridor concept was started in 2000. A firm similar to the Lochmueller Group was hired to plan the route with input from all local concerns. You can read it in the following link.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/U_S_Highway_231_Dubois_County/3Js1AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=proposed+u.s.+231+bypass+project&pg=PA4-IA7&printsec=frontcover
page 32 will show you a map of 5 alternative routes under consideration. Does that sound familiar?
A final route was chosen and the Great Recession of 2009 delayed the program. You can see the proposed route through the city of Jasper in their Comprehensive plan of 2010. You can see the map on page 89. The proposed U.S. 231 route mirrors the current Route “P”.
https://www.jasperindiana.gov/egov/documents/1374853344_0575.pdf
U.S. 231 was/is going to happen. It was important for the RDA to get INDOT to choose an established route so that economic development in the county could move forward. Just like the people who have waited to build/buy a house in the county have waited to see what the route would be before making that investment. This road has been in the making for 20 plus years. If I’m a company looking to relocate to Dubois County, I want to know if the investment I make is going to be uprooted by a highway going through my business. If I’m a current business in Dubois County, I’m not going to invest in expansion if my investment is going to be disturbed by a highway going through my expansion.
The RDA spent a little over $2 million dollars to help get the route chosen. To say they are “slamming this road through” is a gross overstatement. This road will cost more than $150 million. The money was well spent in allowing the citizens and business of Dubois County to get on with their plans for the future.
Thanks to the INVEST in America Act passed by the Democrats in 2021, Indiana will get $8.8 billion. Dubois County only needs 1.8% of that sum to get the U.S. 231 Corridor “Fast Tracked”. Looking at INDOT upcoming project list, the Mid-States Corridor is #3
U.S. 31
U.S. 30
Mid-States Corridor
I-69 Ohio River Crossing
S.R. 101 Corridor
https://www.in.gov/indot/projects/
Daryl Hensley. Jasper
So is it still the Dems fault if this was drafted already in 2000?
You are missing the point. This was decided by people that were not elected, only appointed by the Governor and other board members. Not once before the routes or the plans or anything that required a decision to be made was any of this announced to the public so comments or alternative ideas could be discussed. Yes this is getting crammed down our throats so that we can’t speak.
By the way this road idea goes all the way back to at least 1968. If it was such a great thing to do, it would have been done by now.
My guess is Mr. Hensley, that your property is not in the path of the road. Call me silly, but I believe citizens should have a say in whether the government takes their property.
I’m sorry, I should have mentioned that the control of the National Highway System was given to the Federal Highway Administration by Congress when it passed the U.S. House with a vote of 419-7 and then passed the U.S. Senate with a vote of 80-16. It was signed into law by the President Bill Clinton on 28 Nov. 1995. So the bill was debated in the House and Senate by elected officials and passed into law.
https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/spring-1996/national-highway-system-designation-act-1995
We live in a representative democracy so we don’t get to vote on every issue but we do elect officials who do. So yes a vote was taken.
I do not know if Mike Braun, Shane Lindauer or Mark Messmer were present during the process.
Daryl Hensley
True as that may be, we somehow held a vote for the Cultural Center.
So don’t blame the Dems or Republicans… But make sure you blame the Dems?
Is that what I just read….?
Q: Why does Trump have to pay 10k a day in fines?
A: Cause he doesn’t want anyone to see his taxes.
But yeah…. Hunter Biden
Let’s just point the blame at “politicians” and be done with it…..
“Defund Politicians”
JR
Agree
Mr. Hensley is mostly on point. The route of 231 was determined years ago by FHWA and INDOT. In fact the RDA was a waste of time and money as the route was predetermined from Owensboro to where it is going today. This route has been discussed for over 40 years.
The author says “Running a state requires tax revenue.” Using “tax revenue” usually requires decisions by elected officials because that’s the public’s money.
For the Mid-States Corridor Environmental Impact Study (EIS), Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority (RDA) made up of unelected officials solicited $3.5 million through private donors and businesses of which the public only knows approximately 10% of those donors because the majority of them want to remain anonymous and remain hidden through a redacted financial document. Public tax revenue contributed the other approximately $3.5 million for the study. The RDA is a public-private partnership that Messmer and Braun got in motion through Senate Act 128 and it got overwhelming support ONLY when they REMOVED language in the act that discussed referendums. Yeah, our politicians couldn’t be bothered with the messiness of public opinion even though they’re supposed to be there to represent our voices.
Yes while it’s true INDOT is involved, the Governor will have the final say. This is political. It is not just about safety and relieving traffic. They will not stop with a road. They will take more and more land to build new businesses and there’s not a darn thing we can do because it’s all for “public purpose” under the guise of “economic development”. RDA calls the shots and we can’t vote them out of office. It’s specifically what Braun and Messmer envisioned when they introduced Senate Act 128.
The truth is currently we have an appointed board running the show on the Mid-States Corridor project and is unaccountable to the public. They won’t even document our questions into their minutes at the RDA meetings open to the public.
Meanwhile the money for the RDA sits in the same bank that the Chairman of the RDA is the CEO of. Research who is on the RDA and you can see this goes way beyond “Dubois County” needing a road.
You can pretend this isn’t political and try and convince others. But it absolutely is.
Can you tell me who funded the DEIS for US 231 or the feasibility study for I-67? I bet it wasn’t a public-private RDA because the Senate Act 128 for RDA hadn’t been passed yet.
Can you also tell me why a Final EIS was never done if the safety and congestion of US 231 is such a critical issue to our state?
https://midstatescorridor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/US-231-Dubois-County-DEIS-2004.pdf
No one is debating the need to upgrade US 231. Everyone knows that needs to happen. What doesn’t need to happen is to build a brand new terrain right next to US 231 that already has millions allocated to it for future upgrades.
Yes you’re right, they’ve tried to get a road before, but it’s never happened because the public still had a say. The RDA is a new approach to insulate them from the public. Notice how one of the “stakeholders” on page 2-1 at link below is now in high office and helped pass a new law that so conveniently helped move this project along. Another “stakeholder” from the defunct I-67 is now on the RDA.
https://midstatescorridor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/US-231-Dubois-County-DEIS-2004.pdf
I told you this isn’t about a road. It goes way beyond that. The area around the road will be TIF’d to bring in future development. If you don’t know what TIF is, research BOTH sides, pros and cons. If you want to see what happens in a TIF district in the name of “economic development” go to any real estate website and see how much you have to pay for a 1400 sq ft home with no basement on 1/4 acre lot in Charlestown Indiana thanks to the River Ridge Global Business Park built in that area.
The River Ridge Development Authority, another appointed (not elected) body fast at work in Indiana.
https://www.wdrb.com/news/river-ridge-negotiating-record-number-of-potential-land-sales-to-businesses-this-month/article_900aef7a-7939-11ec-bb95-33bf48e4ba5a.html
https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/river-ridge-negotiating-largest-land-deal-in-its-history/article_1077b7ac-5ec2-11ec-bb7c-3b188479dbd1.html
The RDAs have the authority to hire and pay a salary for an Executive Director and do all kinds of things. The Indiana statute for RDAs give these appointed boards the authority to acquire land and property. Yes, they are a key piece specifically put in place to push forward this and other “economic development” projects the public doesn’t want!
https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/2016/title-36/article-7.6
Marissa is correct on every point, mostly “The RDA is a new approach to insulate them from the public.” There have been plans for decades to build another 4-lane road through Southwest Indiana, but has never been completed because it is a terrible, costly plan to build a road that no one wants.
Thank you for such a well written letter. Facts based on research you performed.
If I-64 was not opened years ago, what type of situation do you think southern Indiana would be today.
If construction of Mid-States Corridor would have begun 20 years or more ago (yes it already needed then), there would have far less impact.
If local politicians would have rallied and insisted INDOT not cancel funding last time, the highway would already be completed.
As a friend recently pointed out to me and I just researched on Holiday World’s website, “In 1962, Koch was was also instrumental in persuading the federal government to reroute Interstate 64 so that when it was built in the 1970s it would run through extreme southern Indiana. One of his most recent projects was the upcoming rerouting and expansion of U.S. 231 through Spencer County.”
Large business owners can have lots of sway in where roads go. It’s not always based on “studies” and “research”. It’s about what the powerful wealthy people want and the “experts” like Lochmueller just design the studies in such a way that the “results” match what those people want. After all they are the ones partially paying their salaries now through the RDAs. Even better when you’re a large business owner that transitions to a politician. Then you can really control how things go!
WOW! Ms. Kendall and Ms. Durcholz threw in so much speculation mixed with fact, worthy of an MSNBC program.
-Let’s review the facts and not the speculation.
-U.S. 231 is a National Highway and a Federal Defense Highway. In 1995 Congress voted overwhelming to give the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) authority over the National Highway System and National Defense Highways, among other things.
-in 2000, The FHWA in partnership with INDOT hired Earth Tech, an engineering firm from Waterloo, Iowa to come up with some routes for a possible upgrades to U.S. 231.
-Fast forwarding to 2017, With bipartisan support, the Indiana House and Senate vote and the Governor of Indiana signs into law a bill regulating Regional Development Authorities (RDA’s). Indiana had a few RDA’s before they became regulated by the 2017 Law. 42 States currently have RDA’s some founded in the 1940’s. Since the passing the law several RDA’s have been formed across the State of Indiana.
-Dubois County ELECTED government officials form an RDA to represent them with INDOT. By law, The RDA Board of Directors has the responsibility to govern the affairs of the Authority. Each Board member serves a four year term, and can be appointed to subsequent terms. Board members may not be elected officials or employees of member counties or municipalities and must meet the following standard for professional experience:
“…have knowledge of and at least five years professional work experience in at least one of the following: rail transportation or air transportation, regional economic development, business or finance, private, nonprofit sector, or academia.”
-The RDA in partnership with INDOT hires the Lochmeuller Group to conduct a Tier 1 Study. Local government entities, INDOT and private citizens or businesses contribute money to pay for the study. The goal is to Draft and Environment Impact Statement (DEIS) of the various possible routes for a selection.
-INDOT selects Route “P” after reviewing the DEIS. A second study will be needed to determine the “final” route within Route “P” to submit for INDOT’s approval.
-The Regional RDA formed by ELECTED officials in the county, after a simple deed search has purchased or sold no land in Dubois County.
-Since the regulation of RDA’s in 2017, the county has had 2 elections, with the voters having the ability to change elected officials if they didn’t like the performance of said officials.
Daryl Hensley, Jasper
Yeah and you tossed blame on the Dems for no reason…. Fox news much?
“Gas and Diesel Tax per Gallon – Most of the state funding for INDOT comes from the 24 cents per gallon for diesel fuel and 18 cents for gasoline.”
Mr. Hensley, you are incorrect on the gasoline tax. Purchasers of gasoline in Indiana must pay a usage (sales) tax as well as an excise tax. Prior to 2017, the excise tax was indeed 18 cents per gallon. In 2017, your friend Eric Holcomb pushed the Indiana Legislature to increase the excise tax by 10 cents a gallon, a tax which goes up an additional cent every year. The excise tax currently stands at 32 cents per gallon while the use tax rate is an additional 24.1 cents per gallon.
When the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents is included, that adds up to 74.5 cents in taxes we are paying.[1]
The gas tax increase was, of course, approved by the Indiana GOP membership of the legislature and became law. Mike Braun, then a state representative, is one of the people who voted for this confiscatory tax increase.
The current US 231 on the south end of Jasper is in bad shape. Other state-maintained roads are also suffering. How has this gas tax increase helped to maintain state roads? And if INDOT is unable/unwilling to properly maintain our current roadways, how are they going to maintain this Mid-States Corridor?
Wake up, people. Stop going into the voting booth and pushing the “Straight Republican” button. You are the reason we have this terrible gas tax which is not doing anything to fix our roadways.
[1] https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-gas-tax-response-st-0512-20220511-tymm7jmaj5dbbj6lxw3rhc2cyi-story.html
Perhaps their should be regulation that as part of property sales disclosure that their is possibility that lane is in or within so many feet of future infrastructure improvements?
Of course this would not make it through legislature. Realtors would have a fit. Local ones never even posted home price in their ads. They wanted you to have to call them?. The Herald still doesn’t provide actual address. Don’t think they provide price either. The Herald always withholds information. And they wonder why no one reads it anymore.
For those whom want to know this information is available through state web page along with full sales disclosure information. Will provide links when locate.
Realtors don’t want you to know this information is readily available!
If we build this road Trump will use it to break into our homes and eat all of our ham salad! Then he will steal our telephones so we can call the police! We must stop this road now!
Mr. Hensley,
Please see this article: https://indianaeconomicdigest.net/MobileContent/Most-Recent/Education/Article/New-law-could-open-way-for-additional-southern-Indiana-interstate/31/77/87955
That article explains all you need to know on the history of Senate Act 128 and it’s connection to the RDA and specifically the Mid-States Corridor.
You claim INDOT helped pay for this study. Can you show me where you found that INDOT funds helped pay for this study? According to Dubois County Free Press and other sources, RDA is the one paying INDOT who in turn pays Lochmueller, but that doesn’t mean INDOT is funding this study. They are redistributing the money from the RDA. https://duboiscountyfreepresscom.wpcomstaging.com/questions-frustrations-apparent-at-mid-states-corridor-meeting/
RDA paid for the Tier 1 study through Dubois County taxpayers funds and business/private donors. Interestingly, Spencer county didn’t contribute any taxpayer funding even though they are part of the RDA.
Have you read the DEIS? I haven’t finished reading all of it, but I’ve read more than half.
I would think if one of the reasons that this new road must be built is because US 231 is not up to federal standard that this would have been a major driving factor.
However, here’s what I found in the DEIS.
The CORE goals in the DEIS are:
1) increase accessibility to major business markets.
– reduced travel time from Jasper to Indianapolis, Chicago, and Louisville
– reduced travel time from NSA Crane to Jasper, Rockport, and Louisville.
– reduced travel time from Bedford to Rockport and Louisville.
– reduced travel time from French Lick to Indianapolis, Louisville, and Rockport
2) Provide more efficient truck/freight travel in Southern Indiana
– Reduced truck vehicle hours of travel (VHT) in 12 county study area for trips to, from, or within the study area.
3) Increase access to major intermodal centers from Southern Indiana
– reduced travel time from Jasper to CSX Avon Yard, Senate Ave Yard, Tell City Riverport, Port of Indiana, Louisville airport and Indianapolis airport
– reduced travel time from Crane to CSX Avon Yard, Senate Ave Yard, Tell City Riverport, Port of Indiana, Louisville airport and Indianapolis airport
SECONDARY goals of the DEIS include:
1) Reduction in localized congestion in Dubois County. Wonder if traffic management changes could alleviate congestion in Dubois County rather than building an entirely new road?
2) Reduce crashes at key locations in Southern Indiana
– Reduction in annual crash costs at key locations in Southern Indiana.
The DEIS says that secondary goals only represent additional benefits as other “desirable” outcomes but are NOT required to be addressed.
Even though the purpose and needs identified during the public presentation meetings in 2019/2020 include safety, for some reason they eliminated safety as a core goal in the DEIS. https://midstatescorri.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Project-Presentation.pdf
This new road is not being built to resolve traffic and safety issues. If that was the purpose it would have been identified as a core goal for this project. The core goals only focus on reducing travel time. Reducing travel time was not mentioned in the purpose and needs during the early public presentations. It mentioned connectivity. We already have a major road connecting Spencer, Dubois, and Martin Counties.
Is reducing travel time by a few minutes worth destroying our rural landscape that makes people want to come here, people’s homes and farms, in addition to harming an Amish community, wildlife, the increase in crime and pollution we’ll endure, etc?
You looked into land purchases and sales for people on the RDA but did you look at business sales? Does the sale of a huge business owned by an RDA member (formerly a stakeholder on the previous studies) a couple months before Senate Act 128 was passed seem important to you? And don’t forget in that first article above in early May 2017, Braun is quoted as saying “we can now get this going. We have already had a meeting to begin forming the RDA. This law is like a green light to work on the Mid-State Corridor.” Not sure it seems right that Braun is involved in a meeting to form the RDA and that took place before the law was passed.
And you have no problem with the fact that the money for the RDA is being housed in the bank that the Chairman of the RDA is currently still the CEO of?
I was not trying to say that the RDA has bought land at this point in the process. I was merely pointing out the level of authority that our state legislators gave RDAs. They handed over eminent domain powers to unelected officials. The RDA statute doesn’t use the words eminent domain but they have the authority to acquire land and property. It’s in the Indiana Statute. Here’s a link: https://midstatescorridorrda.com/media/documents/RDA_Statute.pdf
At some point along this process if the road happens, the RDA will be involved in the acquiring of property and lande. I have asked the Mid-States Corridor project office what law or regulation brings together the Federal Highway Administration and a local RDA regarding eminent domain. I sent the question on May 3rd, and I have not received a response yet.
True, citizens can vote out elected officials, but the public has no say over the RDA now. Did those members running for office mention in their campaigns that they would sign off on an agreement with an RDA and use taxpayer funds to help pay for a study on this road that the majority of the public opposed?
I went to a Dubois County council meeting in 2018 when they were voting to use taxpayer funds. Only 4 members of the public were there including myself. Most people didn’t even know the councils were voting on funding this study. Guess you can blame that on the public for not paying attention but I also think it could have been better communicated from our elected officials that this is what was taking place. Instead now we’re being asked our opinion but it’s just smoke and mirrors. I’ve heard through Environmental groups that I-69 project had over 20,000 negative comments but they built the road anyway. Lochmueller did that study too.
This is about economic development. See the previous article about the Dubois Strong study done. https://duboiscountyfreepresscom.wpcomstaging.com/dubois-strong-study-espouses-mid-state-corridor-economic-impact/
That article and the study claimed “a driving factor in creating the corridor is the safety and accessibility of a safe and fast route north to south through the county. The study reported the new road is expected to reduce crashes in Dubois County by 50 percent leading to $9.3 million in annual savings.” Interesting that wasn’t a main point or core goal of the DEIS, and I couldn’t find that 50% statistic in the Lochmueller study. There are lots of speculations going on right now, even in studies.
Many business owners interviewed as stakeholders claimed the road wouldn’t have an impact on their operations. They looked forward to the economic development that the road would possibly bring, although they acknowledged that a road alone does not bring in business and people.
Thank you for the debate, it’s helped me do more research and add to my written comments that I will submit to the project office. This is my last rebuttal on this article mostly because people are probably getting bored of the back and forth. We can just agree to disagree. Have a great weekend!
Ms. Durcholz, I understand what you are trying to convey but your error is in saying that the members of the RDA are not elected officials and thus not held accountable to the voters. The fact is every two years we elected officials to run our cities, counties, states and country. Those elected officials are held accountable by the voters every 2 years or 4 depending on the office.
The cities of Jasper and Huntingburg have an election for a Mayor, Clerk-Treasurer and a Common Council. Those elected officials appoint dozen’s of people to positions of oversight in their perspective cities. For instance Jasper has the following boards with appointed officials who over see parts of the city government. Those boards make recommendations to the elected officials and those elected officials are held accountable to the voters. If a decision by one of the these boards turns out to be what the voters didn’t want, those elected officials can be voted out in two years. Their replacements can stop funding, change the direction of the city, etc., etc.
Board of Public Works & Safety,
Board of Zoning Appeals,
Economic Development Commission,
Jasper Community Arts Commission,
Jasper Partnership Commission,
Park & Recreation Board,
Plan Commission,
Redevelopment Commission,
Stormwater Management Board,
Utility Service Board,
The State passed a law allowing for Regional Development Authority’s. Jasper and Huntingburg have appointed someone to the RDA board to represent them just like the boards in each of the cities have in their jurisdiction.
To say that those appointed to the board are not elected officials who can be held accountable to the voter is not true. The voters can change the elected officials in their cities and their replacements can pull funding or even vote to leave the RDA.
Ms. Durcholz, I appreciate your comments on the letter and the debate that ensued. My hope in writing the letter was to bring different perspectives to the debate and let the voters decide on the issue. The Federal Highway Administration has the authority to build this road under a Federal law passed by the United State Congress and the President in 1995. What happens to the land surrounding the Mid-States Corridor will be decided on by the voters every 2-4 years.
Daryl Hensley, Jasper