To the Editor,
My apologizes to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Listen my friends and you shall hear of the 2017 misdirection which is now so clear”.
In 2005, the Indiana Legislature passed the Regional Development Authority law. This legislation was originally only for Northwest Indiana; and, was intended as a way that private and public interests could work together to improve communities. The concept proved to be very successful.
In 2007, the RDA Law was amended, opening the law to the entire state. Again, in the northern counties, the law proved to be a boon for the revitalization of towns. The cooperation between civic minded local businesses and local government was amazing. It showed what could be done to bring back faltering towns.
Let’s fast-forward to 2017 and SB128. SB128 was an amendment to the original 2005 RDA law and was co-sponsored by Sen. Messmer and Rep. Braun. This amendment radically changed the intent and nature of the original law. The most significant changes were: Loan Fund Oversight, Bond Issuance Authority, Eligible Borrowers/Entities, Eligible Projects and Federal Funding Access. These were significant changes because without them the Mid-States Corridor was not possible, by Indiana law.
Most significant are the changes in eligible projects and access to federal funding. SB128 added “bridges and other public ways” and explicitly authorized RDAs to apply for federal grants (e.g., FASTLANE) which were not allowed in the original law. Without these changes it would be impossible to build the Mid-States Corridor under the RDA law.
Magic is misdirection in the form of deception in which the Magician draws audience attention to one thing to distract it from another. This is what the Lochmueller Group, INDOT and the Mid-States Corridor RDA are doing for the Mid-States Corridor. The misdirection is claiming there is no North-South connectivity in the Dubois, Martin and Daviess county area, drawing our attention from US 231. They continue the misdirection by trying to prove that only a $3 billion new terrain, 4-lane highway will provide the needed connectivity.
Why was it so imperative for Sen. Messmer and Rep. Braun to push SB 128? Why all the subterfuge, sleight-of-hand and misdirection to convince the people of the area to accept something that is not there? Is this something the public, their constituents, asked them to do? Was this what they campaigned on way back when? Neither Mr. Messmer nor Mr. Braun ever campaigned for the Mid-States Corridor or the even the I-67 project. More misdirection.
So why did the Mid-States Corridor become such a burning issue to Mr. Braun and Mr. Messmer that they had to co-sponsor SB 128 to radically change the RDA law? It doesn’t appear that their constituents were clamoring for it, except, maybe, for some folks involved in construction and trucking. More misdirection.
We know who the public donors are, Jasper, Huntingburg, Dubois and Spencer County; but, who are the private donors to the Mid-States RDA? This is supposed to be public information, i.e.. transparency. Yet, when asked for a list what was received was a 99% redacted list. Since then legal counsel for the RDA has refused to provide an unredacted list. More misdirection.
We must all be aware that “they” are trying to force the Mid-States Corridor onto us. They are trying to speed up the process. They want to start acquiring ROW, right-of-way, property in less than year. When that starts so will the law suits regarding eminent domain. Yes, the Mid-States Corridor and INDOT will attempt to force us to sell. We must continue to resist. We must continue to say “NO!” We must stand firm. We can beat the misdirection. We are the patriots; and we can win..
Jim Arvin
Rutherford Township