BY PATRICK GUINANE, Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com
Gov. Mitch Daniels sat down with The Times to discuss the strides the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has made in its first three years of existence and the challenges ahead. The following is a transcript of the interview, edited for space and clarity.
Q: The RDA was seen as conduit for cooperation in Northwest Indiana, a region known for factionalism. Has it done a good job on the unity front so far?
A: Too soon to tell. But I didn't expect it to be easy, given the history and how many jurisdictions Northwest Indiana, especially Lake County, is broken up into. It's the source of so many problems.
But I had two things in mind. One was a major statement that the rest of the state supports Northwest Indiana and sees its success as important -- with big dollars behind it. Two, to try to create a forum (to advance) these four decisions in the common interest (Gary/Chicago International Airport expansion, commuter rail improvements, regional bus service, lakefront redevelopment).
My position from the beginning is that the priorities have to be worked out locally. However difficult, it's much better to me that the people, the leaders of Northwest Indiana, bang heads and try to come to decisions about these investments themselves than come separately to Indianapolis in the old way.
Q: The RDA legislation you signed three years ago also paved the way for the new Indianapolis Colts stadium, which just had its grand opening. Is it important to get something concrete finished up here to show folks the RDA is working?
A: Well, it would certainly seem so to me. Success can breed success.
I have expressed my own hope -- and I think that they have, by the way -- that they will look for equation changers -- major projects, not a little of this and a little of that. One worry I had at the beginning was that the Balkanization would lead to everybody gets a little-bitty thing. Sort of make all the children happy.
The idea ought to be common purpose: big steps forward, mass transit, lakeshore, the airport, possibly. Those are big things.
Q: Do you get the sense the RDA has bitten off more than it can chew? That was the implication this spring, when a South Shore expansion funding bill led to a region tug-of-war in front of a state Senate committee.
A: Northwest Indiana is a big place. Now, $120 million (from the state) for the RDA. Depending on how many counties you count -- two, three or four -- times $40 million from Major Moves. We have put a huge multiple -- more money -- up there than has ever been the case before. But it still won't get the whole job done. No one ever thought you could.
But I think that's a very large amount of money, and properly spent, it can be the catalyst. It can be the money that triggers local contributions, possibly some matching federal grants -- get things done that couldn't happen without it.
Q: Are you worried that municipal budget cuts forced by new state property tax caps might push East Chicago, Gary and Hammond to end their $3.5 million annual contributions to the RDA?
A: I sure hope they won't. That's gaming money they're using. Frankly, I can't think of any better uses.
The kind of investments you're talking about here are really a great bargain for the communities involved if you look at their amount of money compared to the total. They're getting a lot of leverage or impact.
There's an awful lot of (local government) reforms I would look at before I'd have any thought of pulling out of what's a really good deal.
Q: Are you satisfied with the current leadership at Gary/Chicago International Airport?
A: Well, let me just say it this way: To me the airport has big upside potential. But the current arrangement has never come close to unlocking it. So I think it's a really good idea to consider new approaches to management of the place.
I think it's a good idea -- as far as I know (Gary) Mayor (Rudy) Clay agrees with this, others do -- lets consider some other ways to get the job done.
And I'll say this too. The RDA has marked this off as one of its four big targets. If I were a board member, I'd be very reluctant to put much more money in the place until I saw a forward plan that looked more promising than the past.