Mid-State Corridor progresses; new legislation could support local funding
If legislators turn their eyes on Indiana’s infrastructure funding problem during their next session, the MidState Corridor could get a needed boost.
Hank Menke, president and CEO of OFS Brands and president of the I-67 Development Corporation, hosted an update on the MidState Corridor at OFS Brands headquarters Monday afternoon.
Menke was joined by State Representative Mike Braun, Indiana Senator Mark Messmer and Dubois Strong Executive Director Ed Cole in providing update on the group’s efforts to create an interstate grade road connecting the end of the upgraded U.S. 231 near the Dale Interchange with I-69.
The group has been working on the project since 2011 when funding was cut to the improvement of U.S. 231. Menke and several civic and business leaders created the I-67 Development Corporation to support the infrastructure improvements. The MidState Corridor would provide a more direct connection from Tennessee to Michigan through Kentucky and Dubois County utilizing the improved portions of U.S. 231.
The group released an executive summary of a funding study completed by London Witte Group. The study identifies several ways for local municipal and county entities to provide an incentive for Indiana Department of Transportation to approve a project. Those included tapping into local property taxes and local option income taxes as well as wheel and vehicle excise taxes.
The types of funding that are available to local government entities is limited but according to Senator Messmer, the next legislative session will include bills that will allow for more funding options for those local entities. He mentioned that there could be a bill allowing local government entities to hold a referendum to finance a project beyond local property and local option income tax caps. He said that legislation could also free up larger cities to incorporate a motor vehicle and commercial vehicle excise tax to support roadway efforts.
It also gives private industry a way to dedicated funds to pay for the infrastructure improvements.
“You want to give counties and regions all the flexibility to determine what works best for them,” he said.
The goal being to increase local funding to entice INDOT to approve the project, provide their portion of funding and create the infrastructure.
“Everything I have heard since being up there (state legislation) has been ‘quit telling us how you need a road. Tell us how you have skin in the game,” Representative Braun, who sits on the state’s Ways and Means Committee as well as the Transportation Committee, said at the meeting. “This bill will allow skin in the game. With everything in the kitchen sink thrown at it, industry hopefully leading the way, and it enabling us to take a project to INDOT with all these components to change the dynamic. It is still their decision but we at least have a tool to go from waiting in the lurch to bringing it to them.”
In 2015, the results of a Blue Ribbon Transportation panel identified the MidState Corridor project as one that should be completed in the next eight years. Before it can be considered, local authorities will have to garner local funding support hence the new legislation coming next year.
As part of the presentation, Menke handed out a list of entities, public and private, that have invested in the group’s efforts. According to the list, $230,000 has been invested by public entities like the Cities of Jasper, Huntingburg, Rockport, Dubois County, Daviess County and Owensboro, Ky. Private investments in the corporation amount to $225,250.00 and come from a long list of local businesses.
The $455,250 collected has been used to fund two studies, the first was completed by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. and was released in 2013. That study determined the economic, traffic and safety impact of a direct connection to the improved I-69 over the continued use of U.S. 231 as route to north. Details on it can be found here.
According to Menke, the immediate concern is the election. He acknowledged that both gubernatorial candidates, Eric Holcomb and John Gregg, have shown support for the corporation’s efforts.
In the meantime, the group is working with the state to develop more data to estimate the impact of potentially increasing surtaxes and wheel taxes and preparing estimates for debt service for the project.
To what benefit would this project provide? Have you seen what happens to communities, not to mention the tax rates, when corporations push an interstate highway? Also, just to point out, the very companies wanting this to happen, will pay very little into the cost via property tax. Thanks to TIF, they will dodge the tax hit, while the working families foot the bulk of the bill. Even renters, your rent will increase to cover it. Your dinner and everything else you buy, will increase in price, doubly if they also push a local sales tax. At what costs do we “need” a new highway, when the ones we already have are in disrepair from lack of proper management of taxpayer money?