Derek Smith, LaPorte Herald-Argus
dsmith@heraldargus.com
LA PORTE -- As 21 people took their seats in the La Porte County Complex Wednesday evening, they were asked to leave their personal feelings at the door.
They are members of the Intermodal Task Force, a diverse group of La Porte County residents appointed by the county commission to review future proposals for a possible rail intermodal facility, a controversial and emotionally charged issue throughout the area.
"We are here to do a task for the community," task force co-chairman David Christian said at the gathering. "Whatever our personal feelings are at this point in time it's unimportant."
The task force's first meeting was moderated by Don Anderson, director of the Office of Professional Development at Purdue University in West Lafayette, and served to establish the purpose of the task force and how it will operate. La Porte County Attorney Shaw Friedman, La Porte County Economic Development Consultant Matt Reardon, La Porte County Building Commissioner Ray Hamilton, and La Porte County Planner Mitch Bishop were all present, on recommendation from the county commission, to provide support to the task force.
Truth and accuracy were high priorities for the group. Having attended the logistics summit in Indianapolis earlier in the day, Christian reported one estimate for the amount of trucks passing through the county to and from an intermodal at 100,000 a year, or roughly 275 per day, a "far cry" from earlier estimates of possible 10,000 a day.
While not discounting any of the approximations, he said he wants the task force to function as a means of dispensing accurate information to dispel rumors.
"It's a learning curve for all of us," he said. "All we're doing now is speculative. I would hate to have us chasing our tails on rumors and numbers."
To tackle the issue from a number of angles, the task force established six "effective units that will look at all aspects of any proposals that come our way," Anderson said.
- A group of task force members will work to conceptualize and define the term intermodal and how such an enterprise would apply to La Porte County. Members of this subcommittee would take a trip to the facility in Elwood, Ill., to get a better understanding of what they're dealing with. Such a trip needs to be a priority, Christian said, since only one task force member has visited the facility.
"I think before we make any decision, we have to go through a discovery process," task force member Hugh Glasgow said. "What are we dealing with? We have to define it."
- A second group will explore potential environmental and social impacts. Task force member Sharron Jenkins, a biophysical chemist, said she is particularly concerned with the amount and type of pollution created by increased truck traffic and the health problems it can create.
"How is that going to impact the community and what can we do to mitigate that impact," Jenkins said.
- Another subcommittee will gather research and information as it relates to the development of criteria for the evaluation of specific proposals.
"The task force needs to look at the whole logistics behind proposals that need to be considered," Anderson said.
- A fourth group will be involved in a cost-benefit analysis that will compile concrete information about the potential benefits, in terms of jobs and economic impact, that an intermodal could provide.
"(The task force) needs to make decisions based on facts and not emotions," task force member Gerry Jones said.
- Another group will deal with input from the community and public outreach. Although there was no public comment at the meeting, it was stated that public hearings would be held down the road. All proposals and other information that comes before the task force will be made available to the public at www.laportecounty.biz. The Web site also provides an outlet for public comment.
- A final subcommittee is charged with the financial and administrative aspects of the task force; it will try to come up with funding for the cost-benefit analysis, environmental and other studies, and the trip to Illinois.
At the conclusion of the meeting, some residents remained uncertain about the effectiveness of the task force, which some believe was created to appease the public and won't wield any real authority.
"I think they definitely need to take the public comment to heart," Angela Wildfang of Union Mills told The Herald-Argus. "Of course I have my doubts, but hopefully it will move in the right direction."
"I believe the task force is what it is," task force co-chairman Don Babcock told The Herald-Argus in response. "It's a group put together to review the proposals and make our recommendation to the county for the benefit of the people."