Over 50 people
attended the recent Dunes Action public meeting, held June 14 at the Library
Service Center.
Attendees were
informed of an upcoming fundraiser, a Community Fellowship Dinner, set for
Wednesday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., in St. Patrick¹s Chapel Hall (basement
room), 638 N. Calumet Ave., Chesterton. Tickets will be $7 per person. The
event will include food, friends, information, silent auctions, music and
more. For more information, visit Dunes Action¹s Facebook page.
LWCF
Jim
Sweeney, President of the Izaak Walton League Porter County Chapter,
facilitated a question and answer session on the Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) restrictions on development within the Indiana Dunes State Park.
Since the DNR previously accepted LWCF grant money for projects, further
development within the park is governed by LWCF rules, he said. Prior
approvals are needed for conversion into uses other than those that support
public outdoor recreation. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules
must also be
followed.
If a
conversion were to be allowed, a parcel of land of equal or higher value,
similar natural value and environmental quality, use and acreage must be
agreed on as a replacement. Reasonable replacement for choice Lake Michigan
beach front property, which exists nowhere else in the entire state, seems
unlikely, attendees agreed.
The
National Park Service will decide whether the project fits within LWCF
rules. A public comment period of at least 30 days will be required. Public
comments and questions must be answered in depth.
Sweeney told the group that PEER, (Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility), which monitors government to hold it accountable, is
interested in the proposed privatization and commercialization at IDSP. PEER
is the group which helped expose the lead tainted water in Flint, Michigan.
Since work on the building was begun, and the comfort center was constructed
before the conversion was evaluated or approved, a violation of the LWCF
rules has already been committed, Sweeney said.
Comments
The
proposed development, within 200 feet of the lakefront, seems to be in
violation of the stated goals of the Marquette Plan, one attendee said.
DNR
facilitated the project with no transparency and has said it won't cost
taxpayers a dime, which is not technically true, since the NEPA review must
be paid for by the DNR with taxpayer funds, another audience member said.
This
most recent battle to protect the dunes reflects what is going on all over
the U.S., said one DA supporter. Many State and National Parks are facing
struggles against privatization and commercialization.
One
long-time Izaak Walton League member lamented that it may be easier to push
privatization through at the state level.
Members who saw garbage piles at the beach, early in the morning after a
recent weekend, expressed frustration about the ample evidence that rules
against drinking on the beach are not currently being enforced. They
questioned how much worse it will be when alcohol is actually allowed and
served there. With HB 1386 going into effect on July 1, citizens expressed
fears about safety on the beach and in the parking lot.
Comfort Station Concerns
Concerns about the comfort station were shared, with regular beach users
saying water is frequently on the floor and multiple toilet stalls are often
non-functioning. The open air design, which faces north toward the wind and
sand, might not have been built if public comment had been sought, one
audience member said. People who regularly use the beach and are
knowledgeable have been left out of the process.
One
attendee pointed out that the pavilion will need a fire suppression system,
likely requiring a reservoir for gravity flow, which would be difficult to
keep working when the lake is frozen. A water tower may need to be placed on
the roof, further impacting the view.
Volunteers recruited
Volunteers were sought for the July 20 fundraiser and more than 20
volunteers signed up to help. Another fundraiser is planned in September,
which will be a ticketed event with a silent auction of larger items,
including art. More information will be available on that event after July.
Handouts were made available to help attendees send letters to the editor to
multiple news outlets. NO Banquet Center on the Beach buttons were
available, along with yard signs. T-shirts are in the planning stage.
Smaller NO Banquet Center on the beach flyers will be made available for car
windows. Dunes Action supporters are urged to continue display of their yard
signs.
As the meeting adjourned, attendees were urged to talk to their friends,
family and neighbors, and spread the word that the proposed construction at
the IDSP beachfront is not a done deal, and that the battle to protect the
beach is not over.
The
rules of the LWCF can be found at
https://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/lwcf/manual/lwcf.pdf.
Dunes Action! is a grassroots, all-volunteer, non-partisan coalition opposed
to the DNR plan to allow a private development company to build and operate
a conference/banquet center on the lakefront at the Indiana Dunes State
Park.
Donations by check may be sent to: PCC Izaak Walton League of America, 791
N. Calumet Ave., Valparaiso, IN, 46383. (Write Dunes Action in the memo
line).
Donations and correspondence may also be sent to Dunes Action!, P.O. Box
2031, Chesterton, IN, 46304.
Find
Dunes Action on Facebook and at
http://www.dunesaction.org to learn more. Donations may be made online
at that address.
The
above was submitted by Dunes Action.
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