Gary mayor makes pitch for South Shore rail extension funding

The mayor used a Common Council finance committee session to tell council members how support for the project to build a South Shore extension through Munster and Dyer and south to Lowell would build up good will among area officials.

That good will, in turn, would urge those officials to support Gary's desires for improvements to its own three stations on the South Shore rail line that runs from downtown Chicago to South Bend, and also for improvements desired by the Gary Public Transit Corp.

"We'll be able to make requests for other projects that are of use to us," Freeman-Wilson said. "From our view, this is about the buses. That would take precedence over the train talk."

Although the mayor also said that improvements to the train stations could make their surrounding communities more attractive to businesses looking to locate within Gary. That is ultimately the key to whether Gary can ever revitalize itself as a municipality.

"We can't cut our way out of (the city's financial problems)," Freeman-Wilson said. "We have to develop our way out."

What is at stake is an agreement created by the Indiana Legislature this spring to raise money for the South Shore extension. Communities across Lake County are being asked to contribute varying amounts of money into a special fund for the next 30 years.

In the case of Gary, it would be 7.5 percent of its annual share of county economic development tax funds beginning next year. Freeman-Wilson said city officials do not intend to provide a $100,000 payment that was supposed to be made this year because so many other area communities – including Hammond and East Chicago – have not yet given their approval to the agreement.

"There doesn't seem to be any reason for us to pay money this year when other communities aren't," the mayor said.

Finance committee chairwoman Mary Brown said the council likely will give its approval at its next meeting scheduled for June 2.

Carolyn McCready, a retired teacher and long-time Gary resident, said she remains skeptical that the city will receive significant financial benefits for a project whose purpose is to extend commuter train service to the southern portion of Lake County, although she conceded that some additional jobs created by expanded train service could wind up going to Gary residents.

"I guess (the council) is going to go through with this," she said. "At the very least, I hope we can get some training money out of this so as to create more jobs in the future."

Council members expressed support for the idea, with Councilman Roy Pratt, D-At-large, saying his initial skepticism to the project had been overcome, saying the mayor had made him realize "the big picture" in giving Gary some say in future development projects for Northwest Indiana.

"It's an excellent opportunity. It gives us some skin in the game," Pratt said.

Council President Kyle Allen said he views the issue as being more a matter of what negative actions would state and county officials take against Gary if the city does not give its approval to the agreement.

"My concern is that if we don't participate, then we remove ourselves from all future conversations down the line," he said. "This is a Republican state, this is a conservative state that isn't inclined to help us."

In terms of the problems that confront Gary in terms of future development, Allen said the city needs state help. "We can't do this ourselves," he said.