Letter: When did we vote for the Mid-States Corridor?
In the General Assembly session of 2017, two legislators from Jasper, Senator Mark Messmer and State Representative Mike Braun authored and passed legislation creating the Regional Development Authority (RDA) that would become the Midstate Corridor Project; a project that neither brought up in their campaigns.
The Governor then appointed a board who added local government bodies (Dubois County only) to their organization. The unelected board then raises money from private businesses and individuals to hire a private company to create a plan to build a road.
The Private Company then creates a plan that the public has no knowledge of, and then asks the RDA to raise money from private individuals and companies and use some tax dollars to pay for studies that will “justify” building a road that not one voter has had the opportunity to vote for or against.
The keyword here is Private.
Because the RDA is made up of mostly private companies and individuals, we cannot find out anything about who donated money for the studies other than the few companies and individuals that chose to make the information publicly available. We don’t know how the plan for the road was created, and how the routes were chosen because the Lochmueller Group that was hired to make the plan is a private company.
This public-private partnership was intended to get around the “messiness” of allowing the public to choose whether this is what they wanted. I am not against improvements of roads in Martin, Dubois, and Spencer Counties. I know that businesses in Jasper and Huntingburg have been hemmed in by the cities that have grown around their locations, and Martin County would be better served by a 231 that was a little wider, but there could have many better solutions to solving the problem these companies and cities face.
I am dumbfounded that no one looked to cities like Carmel in Hamilton County that solved a very serious congestion problem in one of the most densely populated cities in the country by dropping US 31 slightly below ground level and maintaining the cross streets that allowed traffic to flow and the town to maintain neighborhoods and homes. The town of Kokomo in Howard County created a “flyover” ramp that takes US 31 on a road that is elevated high enough that it serves only as a ramp around the city with no disruption of homes, or farmland.
I offered these examples in an email to the Mid-States Corridor, but there was no acknowledgment or response.
The public is upset about this road being forced on them with absolutely no input. That problem lays on the shoulders of the legislators that started this whole thing in 2017.
The standard response is, “this road idea has been known for decades.” Yes, it has, but a 40- to 50-year-old road idea is problematic because it is outdated, and obviously has never been wanted, or it would have been built 40 years ago.
No one was allowed to vote on this road project, but in November we can let our opinion be known.
Teresa Kendall, Jasper
I don’t remember voting for the stop light at 14th Street in Huntingburg either. We should protest that too.
Braun is Trump. Farmers love Trump. Now farmers are SAD because Braun is cutting up their land to maximize profits, by reducing gasoline costs and time, for a dying industry- office furniture made by OFS and Kimball.
I’d think farmers would learn by now that Republicans aren’t their friends. But that border in Arizona must be walled to protect Indiana farms?
What happened to the common sense of farmers? I think common sense went out the window when their granddaddy’s passed away. This generation of farmers are lost.
Typical Lib… EVERYTHING is Trump’s fault. Yeah Farmers should love Dems… fertilizer costs skyrocketing under Biden causing farmers to plant 20% less crops this year , leading to high prices and coming food shortages . Yeah, Dems are great , the country has been doing GREAT since Lunchbucket Joe took over .
Your 20% figure is completely made up. I can’t even find a source for that on the most right wing websites. Meanwhile:
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/with-fertilizer-costs-high-seeds-scarce-us-farmers-turn-soy-2022-02-23/
“Analysts polled by Reuters estimated corn acreage to fall by 1.6 million acres, or 1.7%, from last year and soy plantings to increase by 2 million acres, or 2.3%. “ so an increase overall but different crops.
Typical Republican who thinks that instead of global supply chains being under constant strain and now a war of a major fertilizer producing nation going on, the president has a series of knobs to set the price of gas, milk and everything else.
Jay,
Let me know when that food shortage is coming ok? Holiday Foods seems to have plenty of food for now. Maybe I can make a “victory garden”:-)
Russia is the world’s No. 1 exporter of nitrogen fertilizer and No. 2 in phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Its ally Belarus, also contending with Western sanctions, is another major fertilizer producer.
I was told by a Harrison County farmer in February that fertilizer would skyrocket because of the Ukrainian Russian conflict, not Joe Biden.
The stoplight at 14th street didn’t cost billions of dollars and has not taken anyone’s home, farm or business.
So I take it that you are in favor of the most hated traffic signal in all of Dubois County? That will go over well on election day.
Come on, we don’t vote for health care laws. We don’t vote for criminal laws. We don’t vote for tax laws. We vote for individials. And hopefully those individuals honor the platforms and policies that they run on. So yes, we kinda did vote on it. I certainly hope you did not educate my kids. Not a fan of your Holier-than-thou tone.
Good point.
I can’t escape Trump. I got some Trump on my burger at the drive through the other day. Yuck! Turned on The Price Is Right, more Trump. Now Sasquatch claims to have spotted Trump. He is everywhere. I just hope one of my family members doesn’t become Trump!
Exactly the problem with Public/Private partnerships. If you are for the project and donated money to it that should be a matter of public record. Surely we can all agree with that? The public records request should not be allowed to be redacted. Stand up and be ready to defend your position.