Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana
keith.benman@nwi.com
What is the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority?
The RDA is a seven-member board charged with funding and developing the Lake Michigan shoreline, commuter rail service, the Gary/Chicago International Airport and regional bus service in Northwest Indiana. It also has authority to fund a broader, fifth category under the heading of economic development. And it has authority to fund infrastructure to develop an intermodal transport yard.
How was it created?
It was created under legislation passed on the last day of the Indiana General Assembly's 2005 session and signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels. At the time, Northwest Indiana lawmakers hailed it as the most important economic stimulus for the region since U.S. Steel landed here a century ago.
How are its members appointed?
The mayors of Hammond, East Chicago and Gary each appoint one member to the RDA board of directors. The county commissions and councils in Lake and Porter counties each appoint one member. In addition, the mayors of Valparaiso and Portage rotate the right every four years to nominate three people, one of whom is appointed by the governor, to serve on the RDA board. And the governor appoints the RDA's chairman until 2013, when the board will select its own chairman.
How long is an RDA member's term?
Four years.
Does it have taxing authority?
No.
How is it funded?
Hammond, East Chicago, and Gary are required to hand over $3.5 million per year in casino funds to the RDA. Lake County gives it another $3.5 million in casino money. Porter County hands over $3.5 million per year derived from a County Economic Development Income Tax. The state funds the RDA with $10 million per year in Indiana Toll Road lease money.
Why do they want to form a Regional Transportation District if we already have an RDA?
The Regional Transportation District would oversee the South Shore commuter railroad and bus service in Lake and Porter counties. It also would oversee the South Shore but no buses in LaPorte and St. Joseph counties. For all that to happen, voters have to approve its creation in a referendum on Nov. 3.
The RDA is not designed to manage transportation systems; it is a funder of transportation projects. Also, proponents say an organization like the RTD is needed to do long-range planning for mass transit, which is also something the RDA does not do.
Whatever happened to the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority? Wasn't that authority supposed to be in charge of merging bus systems?
If voters approve the RTD -- the regional transportation district -- at the Nov. 3 referendum, the Regional Bus Authority (RBA) will cease to exist as of January. If voters shoot down the RTD, it looks like the RBA will continue with its plans to regionalize bus service, if the RDA will support it.
If the RDA funds transportation projects, why would the RTD have the ability to impose a 0.25 percent income tax to fund transportation projects?
Two reasons. First, the RDA is not empowered to fund operations of transportation systems, except on a pilot basis. Second, the South Shore needs hundreds of millions of dollars for projects beyond what the RDA can provide.
How does the RDA decide which projects to fund?
Any group, public or private, can apply to the RDA for funds. The seven-member board either sends the application to an RDA "working group" of RDA members, or it can reject the application if it doesn't fall within its legislative mandate. The working group often asks applicants to make changes in proposals. The working group then votes on sending it to the full board for consideration.
How many RDA members must vote in favor for money to be granted for a specific project?
Five members must vote in favor. On any matter of importance, such as grants, loans, entering into contracts or hiring consultants, the chairman must be among those voting in favor.
What sort of projects have received funding commitments so far?
The RDA has made grant commitments for 15 projects so far. They include $85,200 to fund a travel study conducted by a local planning group; $1.9 million for Valparaiso's ChicaGo Dash commuter bus service to Chicago; $9 million for Portage's lakefront park; and a $31.48 million commitment to fund Hammond's ambitious program to improve the area around Wolf and George lakes.
How much total has the RDA disbursed so far?
$40.9 million.
How much has been committed?
$132.1 million.
Has anyone else contributed funding for these projects?
Federal and state grants totaling $200.6 million have been secured for RDA-funded projects. Localities sponsoring the projects have already invested $31.9 million in the projects. Private parties have put in $1.1 million.
That's a lot of money. How much has the RDA really accomplished?
Two signature projects have been completed. Those are the Portage Lakefront Park at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the purchase of 14 new double-decker rail cars for the South Shore commuter railroad. Other projects completed involve infrastructure installations at locations such as the Gary/Chicago International Airport and Whiting lakefront that are just the first steps in much larger projects.
Wasn't the South Shore extension to Valparaiso and Lowell supposed to be under way by now?
Many people thought that would be the case when the RDA was formed. But efforts to qualify the project for the next round of federal funding so far have not succeeded, although officials still hope to make that happen.
How about other projects?
Lakeshore projects so far seem to be the most likely to move along quickly. The Hammond Lakes Marquette Plan project is already under way. Gary's project at Marquette Park is in the planning stage. Both could be completed in a few years.
Other projects, such as the Gary airport runway extension, require further negotiations with outside parties, including railroads and environmental agencies. One lakefront project, starting east of East Chicago's Jeorse Park and running to Gary, has similar impediments. A lack of consensus and political inertia appear to be holding up creation of a regional bus system.