BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission wants state legislators to put the brakes on Indiana Toll Road privatization.
Mayors, county officials and others that make up the commission voted in near unanimity Thursday that state legislators should take no action on House Bill 1008, which would authorize privatization of the 157-mile roadway.
Commissioners cited reasons ranging from too many unknowns to a steep increase in tolls in supporting the motion made by LaPorte County Mayor Leigh Morris.
"It's a tax on the north counties," said Porter County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke. "And the alternative is having those 18-wheelers coming through ... doing damage to our streets and communities."
On Monday, Daniels unveiled a $3.85 billion bid from an Australian-Spanish consortium to operate and collect tolls on the Toll Road for the next 75 years.
He also released a concession agreement and attached schedules, running hundreds of pages, that spell out the details. It's those details that NIRPC members want to know more about.
Some members seemed surprised as NIRPC deputy director Ken Dallmeyer confirmed that the state is giving up all toll collection revenue under the 75-year agreement.
"I'm just trying to get a handle on how we're advantaged by this," Highland Clerk/Treasurer Michael Griffin said.
The 51-member NIRPC board has no direct say in the legislation or the concession agreement. But its nine mayors, nine county officials, and more than two dozen town and city council members could exert influence on key legislators who will vote on the bill.
More than two dozen commissioners present voted in favor of Morris' motion with only one official, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, voting against.
"This is a very significant initiative that has a lot of potential to fund projects that couldn't otherwise be done," Costas said.
Daniels has proposed funding nearly $1 billion in road projects in northern Indiana with the 34 percent share of the lease payment dedicated to the region. More than $2.5 billion would go to fund road projects in the rest of the state.
The consortium formed by Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. and Macquarie Infrastructure Group has said it hopes to have an agreement signed by March and all financing in place by June.
The provision that two-thirds of the lease payment be sent elsewhere in the state, when Toll Road revenues previously have stayed in northern Indiana, rankled many commissioners.
Lake County Surveyor George Van Til suggested that if Interstate 69 ever gets built in southwest Indiana as a toll road, two-thirds of those revenues should be sent to northern Indiana.
Costas said local officials might want to ask for changes, such as keeping tolls at current levels for commuters who choose to use electronic tolling.
Morris said the issue should be studied over the summer and brought back for consideration in the next session of the Indiana General Assembly. He urged fellow commissioners to lobby legislators on the issue.
Morris said after the meeting he's not against the concept, it's just that too many questions remain.
In particular, the LaPorte mayor is concerned a non-compete clause in the concession agreement could bar construction of the proposed Illiana Expressway. The road has long been talked about as a link between Chicago's South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana.
Several board members asked for a meeting as soon as possible with top officials in the Daniels administration.
NIRPC executive director John Swanson said he had asked Indiana Commissioner of Transportation Tom Sharp to attend Thursday's meeting. Sharp declined because he has to be on hand in Indianapolis for the hearings and discussions on House Bill 1008, Swanson said.