Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Letter to the Editor: Oppose the banquet center and keep Lake County-style politics out of Porter County

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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

 

 

Posted 2/2/2016

 
 
 
 

 

 

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