Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE - Advocates of an intermodal facility are trying to ease the fears of southern La Porte County residents over the changes such a huge truck-train terminal would bring.
At the same time, they are emphasizing what they say will be good-paying jobs and more property taxes for the county.
La Porte County is considered a prime location for an intermodal facility because of the convergence of several rail lines and its proximity to major interstate highways, and a real estate investment trust has bought options on farmland around Union Mills.
Christopher Davey, a representative of Cressy & Everett Commercial Co. of Mishawaka, told county officials in June that the company has acquired enough options to buy land in the Union Mills area to proceed with an Intermodal project.
Because of a confidentiality agreement between the company and some county officials, the information didn't become public until last week when the confidentiality agreement was lifted.
Many of those who live nearby, however, are upset because the intermodal would change the quiet, rural landscape. Several hundred voiced their concerns at a meeting in Union Mills last week, and some officials are trying to allay those fears.
The intermodal would be similar to the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Elwood, Ill. Ray Hamilton, La Porte County building commissioner and a member of the La Porte County Plan Commission, has toured the park and surrounding area twice. He said the nearby community of Elwood has benefited from CenterPoint.
"Elwood is a nice town and you can see the impact in paved streets, new firehouses and ball fields," Hamilton said. "The industrial park is in the mayor's backyard."
Rosalee Jacobs, clerk-treasurer of the town of Kingsford Heights, near the proposed site, said she had no opinion about intermodals before touring CenterPoint, but came away impressed by the cleanliness of the facility and the money it contributes to the town of Elwood.
"I can understand the property owners' point of view," Jacobs said. "But if there's not development in the county, our children and grandchildren will move away because they will not have job opportunities."
La Porte Mayor Leigh Morris has visited CenterPoint, too, and said the intermodal and manufacturing and processing facilities that follow represent a prime opportunity for similar benefits to La Porte County.
"The intermodal operation probably offers the greatest opportunity for new jobs that we've seen in the county ever," Morris said.
And John Regetz, head of the Michigan City Economic Development Corp., said such a facility is considered a boon to economic development for its ability to attract industrial users to accompanying industrial parks.
Based on the transformation of the Joliet Arsenal into the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Elwood, a similar facility in La Porte County could create 8,700 permanent jobs paying average wages of $41,000 a year, Regetz said. The CenterPoint project is still under development on a 2,400-acre parcel, but eventually will contribute about $25 million in annual property taxes to Will County, he said.
Another intermodal facility is the AllPoints projects in Plainfield in central Indiana, a joint development of Browning-Duke begun last year. It will create an estimated 10,200 jobs and $746 million of new development and infrastructure improvements, he said.
"Many of our manufacturers tell us that it's very important to have good transportation and shipping systems for goods and components coming in to their manufacturing plants as well as for the final products they produce," Regetz said.
Matt Reardon, La Porte County economic development consultant, said it's never easy to consider changing property from one use to another, adding, "It's a difficult decision for elected officials to make."
Some residents believe a deal has already been struck.
Nothing could be further from the truth, said county Commissioner Bill Hager, D-Michigan City. He's been calling 21 people recommended to serve on a task force. Their charge is to fact-find and advise county officials about the pros and cons of an intermodal freight terminal. Hager said he expects the task force to be in place next week, and said it will not include public officials or government employees.
"We'll have factory owners, business people, farmers, a banker, a sheriff's detective, environmentalists, a couple of residents, an attorney and a tourism board member," Hager said.
Hager and commissioners Barbara Huston, D-LaPorte, and Mike Bohacek, D-Michiana Shores, said they are committed to using an open, public process to evaluate the impact of an intermodal facility on the county.
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