Bettina Puckett, Shelbyville News Staff Writer
While dozens of Shelby County residents passionately voiced their opinions about the proposed Indiana Commerce Connector at a hearing Thursday night, perhaps nothing spoke louder than the sheer volume of people who showed up.
The seemingly constant stream of people filing into Indiana Downs was finally cut off, thanks to a city fire code that states the second-floor capacity can be no more than 1,500. Hundreds more people wanted to come inside but were turned away.
Before the hearing began, an aide to state Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, looked around the huge room and said the overflowing mass was at least twice as large as at previous hearings. Austin chairs the Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee, which hosted the event.
The vast majority of those present wore red stop-sign stickers that said, "Stop the ICC Tollway." But there was also a sizable contingent of those who are in favor of a 75-mile "outer loop" that would connect four interstates and six counties in central Indiana.
Legislative approval will be needed to proceed with the project. Before Thursday night's gathering, two House committee hearings were held in Pendleton and Martinsville. Two more are scheduled for Franklin and Greenfield.
After Austin introduced members of the committee, a presentation was conducted by Joe Gustin, deputy commissioner for public-private partnerships for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
"When we talk about a means of relieving congestion, we're not only talking about congestion today, but what we think there may be in 10 to 20 years," Gustin said. "The fact is, we want to start the investigation process, not the building process."
If INDOT determines there is no need for the tollway, the process would be stopped. "We all have a lot better things to do than build a highway that won't serve a purpose," he said.
"Obviously, there is a lot of emotion and charged feelings about this," Gustin said.
"Some people don't want us to ever build a highway. Some people are hoping that by stopping the Commerce Connector, we'll stop work on I-69. We have $700 million in the bank for I-69 and construction on that highway is going to begin in June of '08, regardless of what happens with the Commerce Connector."
Gustin said that handouts at other hearings have erroneously claimed the ICC will cause serious environmental damage. "It's time to separate fact from fiction," he said.
Last year, Indiana welcomed 327 new companies that represented $11 billion worth of brand-new investment. "Four out of five of those chose counties that had interstate access," Gustin said.
But speaker Linda Emerick, of Hendricks Township, who is against the ICC, drew a distinction between interstates and toll roads. "I beg you to please stop selling this toll road as if it were an interstate," she said.
Emerick, and others who spoke out, fear the ICC will cut their farms in half. "I hold the land we live on very dearly," she said of the farm that has been in her family since the 1820s.
Tim Barrick, a member of the Shelbyville Board of Public Works and Safety, said the ICC is about more than just traffic relief; it's about economic opportunity. Despite recent successes, Indiana is losing its position as a leader in manufacturing, he said.
"The fact is industry locates near infrastructure," Barrick said. "Good transport routes are among the most significant factors in attracting new business."
Everyone can agree on the need for lower property taxes, he said. "And reality is, the best way to do that is through economic development and an expanding tax base," Barrick said. "Whether you want to believe it or not, taxes from business and industry provide significant revenue for the city and county coffers. Imagine how much your property taxes would increase if it weren't for the businesses in Northridge Industrial Park alone."
But for farmers and others who oppose the toll road, the issue is not about relieving traffic on I-465 or about dollars and cents. The fight is personal.
"Our nation was established through blood, sweat and tears," said Richard Stead of Edinburgh, with emotion in his voice. "We defend our homes, as we defend our nation. Do not pave over us. When you sit down to eat supper, remember that for the grace of God and a farmer, you have that food to eat."
Stead's comments received thunderous applause, despite an earlier warning by Austin, who said reaction to the speakers would eat up valuable time in the two-hour hearing. "I'm an old school teacher," Austin said. "I know I can't take recess away, but I ask your cooperation in making this a productive meeting."
"I feel an excellent highway creates excellent opportunities," said Devon Springman of Rushville, who represented the Indiana-Kentucky Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, which is in favor of the ICC. "With the state of Indiana having an excellent highway system, Indiana will continue to attract industry, and industry means jobs."
Wally Loper of Shelbyville was one of several speakers who said they were neutral. "Having been on 465 a few times this week, I think we need some improvement," he said. "I'm not sure that this is the answer, but we do need improvement."
Loper said he wondered why it's now necessary for private companies - not the government - to operate toll roads. "I think there must be something wrong with the management of our government," he said. "Maybe we need to have another election."
Also of concern to Loper is the issue of eminent domain. "Having had family who has lost some of their ground to eminent domain - and to see developers come in and get rich off of it - it makes me sick. ... If there's any profit to be made, let the landowners have the opportunity to make that profit."
Zonda Stead of Edinburgh said she and her husband have been remodeling a farm house for years. "This house was here before most of us were even born," she said. "I realize now that my home may become a victim of the ICC. I could be told I have no choice but to sell my home, my property, my life."
She worries her house and 40 acres could be taken through eminent domain. "All the plans, all the dreams, all the money we've invested - gone," she said. "If they force me to sell, I could end up paying for a piece of property and a mortgage that I don't even have. Where's the fairness in that?"
The counties on the south side of Indianapolis should not have to bear the traffic burden, Stead said. "If they need (the road) on the north side of Indy and they want to give up their land and their homes, let them do it. ... I've wondered how many supporters of the ICC, government officials and INDOT employees have their homes and their property on the chopping block."
Brian Fischer of Shelbyville, a member of the Shelby County Community Preservation Group, presented petitions with 4,024 signatures to Austin. Fischer said he had been to the Statehouse more in the last three weeks than in his entire life.
"Gov. Daniels has forgotten about the most important part to this - people," said Fischer, who said Senate Bill 1 is not merely a feasibility study, but would give Daniels the final decision to proceed with the ICC, if passed. "When do public rights stop and private rights begin?"
Many of the ICC supporters quoted statistics to back up their arguments. "From 1980 to 2000, highway travel has increased 80 percent," said Dan Theobald, executive director of the Shelby County Development Corp. "The number of drivers has grown more than 30 percent, but the capacity of highways has only grown by 2 percent. That shows you that there is a problem with transportation in Indiana, especially in central Indiana."
Traffic on State Road 9 has increased tremendously in the last five years, Theobald said. "And we know that it's going to increase much more in the next five years. To build a highway that can take care of some of that traffic will take at least 10 years."
Theobald said the traffic issue is nothing new. "What we're asking is to continue the study," he said.