The following is a
reader opinion
The public comments
expressed in this space have demonstrated beyond doubt the committed
stewardship and affection the Duneland community has for the Indiana Dunes
State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. And therein is the
problem. The “Dunes” belong to everyone who lives in Indiana. This point has
seemingly not sunk in.
So even if local
elected politicos and the friendly DNR bureaucrats were against the Pavilion
Partner’s deal, their colleagues in Indianapolis are looking at this from a
completely different perspective. Some have taken this mess in a purely
political direction. I guess this is natural. I moved from Hammond over ten
years ago, so this kind of ham handed abuse of power coming from the ruling
clique in Lake County is nothing new.
Except in Lake
County, people generally just didn’t care. However, the recent breakdown of
those that spoke for and against HB 1247 demonstrates that when it comes to
money, this is a very bipartisan issue with both unions and management in
support of the bill and the project, in the name of “jobs”.
It was very
refreshing to read Ms. Ennis’ comments that the goal is to keep people in
the area as long as possible so we can strip them of as much cash as
possible. I’m fairly certain her comments do not reflect Duneland’s values.
On a practical note
one detail that has not been addressed is parking. Can anyone envision a
scenario where patrons of the proposed restaurants and banquet facility do
not get priority parking next to the pavilion? Sure we are told these folks
will have to pay the parking fee (wink, wink) but can anyone see the Bride
to be schlepping it in from the picnic area after waiting in traffic for 30
minutes? And what if they come by party bus? I figure they will get a bypass
route. And while drunks on the ice shelf in winter is a concern, drunks on a
hot beach in July with large waves is another matter.
The bottom line is
that the DNR should halt the deal and come up with project guidelines that
are well thought out and that take into consideration the long term
environmental and community impact and then open the process up to public
bidding just like any other public project. Maybe another group, who is
better funded and more sensitive to the nature of the Dunes has a more
acceptable plan.
John Swibes