Monday's flood relief request from two of the
Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority's most powerful backers had board members choosing their words cautiously on Tuesday.
"Because this is an unusual request it will take some careful thought," said RDA member Howard Cohen, when contacted Tuesday morning.
On Monday, RDA chairman John Clark received a letter from Gov. Mitch Daniels and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind. asking for $6 million to complete the
Little Calumet River Flood Control and Recreation Project.
The letter also stated the two leaders will work to get the RDA repaid out of state budget appropriations made every two years.
Cohen, appointed to the RDA by Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., said the request does raise some "complicating issues" but deferred further comment, saying he had first seen the request Monday night.
RDA board member Carmen Fernandez, an appointee of East Chicago Mayor George Pabey, noted the request is "outside the four corners" of the legislatively mandated projects the RDA is focused on.
Those are South Shore commuter rail expansion, regional bus service,
Gary/Chicago International Airport and the
Marquette Plan for lakefront development. It might fall under a broader mandate for economic development, she added.
The RDA also is considering proposals for a study of high-speed rail and a pilot program for computer-controlled traffic management. It also has heard from groups and individuals proposing Hovercraft ferries to Chicago, a monorail from Indianapolis, a water park and a Broadway-style music venue.
Fernandez wants to know more about how the Indiana General Assembly has been funding the flood control project up until now and why it needs emergency funding from the RDA.
"What did people do before the RDA?" Fernandez said.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott said he supports the request, because it will end flood insurance payments for homeowners and spur development.
"The important thing is to get the project completed," McDermott said. "And if this is how we do it, then that's fine."
In their letter, the governor and congressman point out that since 1990, $119.2 million in federal funds have been secured for the project. It has resulted in the construction of levees and other flood control measures, from Gary to Highland. Every two years, the Indiana General Assembly has appropriated $2 million as a local match for the federal funds.
In their letter, Clark and Visclosky point out approximately 3,500 acres of land along the Borman Expressway corridor will become available for development and 9,500 homes removed from the flood plain as a result of the project.
"The congressman is committed to doing whatever is necessary to get people out of the flood plain," said Visclosky spokesman Justin Kitsch, on Tuesday. "That's what is driving everything."
Daniels and Visclosky have been among the RDA's biggest boosters, with both playing key roles in its creation. The governor also played a key role in its funding, securing $100 million from the
Indiana Toll Road lease for the RDA over 10 years.
In addition, Daniels is RDA Chairman John Clark's boss. Clark is director of the
Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development and a key adviser to the governor.
RDA executive director Tim Sanders said he already has been fielding questions from board members on the request. The RDA's next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 16.