Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Guest Commentary: County Council member State Park pavilion project makes no sense

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Guest Commentary

By Jim Biggs,

Porter County Council,

1st District Representative

Typically great ideas brought before government bodies are immediately recognizable and less than great ideas are usually marketed with a lot of promises and speculation. Porter County’s foremost tourist destination has always been the Dunes State Park. Nowhere in our county can we make that same declaration.

Due to its distinct natural environment as well as location, The Dunes are arguably one of the most environmentally sensitive and valuable pieces of property in our state park inventory. Allowing private investors to build and operate their own for profit restaurant and banquet hall on Dunes Park property would seem to be as logical as growing potted poison ivy plants in the middle of a dermatologist’s office.

If this is simply an attempt by the State to generate more revenue for the park, then it is just about the poorest decision they could have made given the circumstances. Preservation of this unique property should be considered primary and revenue generation judged as important, but less important than the property itself.

If the DNR believes that increasing the parks attendance is challenging, just imagine how difficult and expensive it will be to repair this delicate ecosystem if this plan adversely affects what took thousands of years to create. Like most people, I too understand that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources must find smarter ways to bring more people into the park each year. However, it should be noted that this type of venture is so unique it has not been allowed to take place anywhere else in Northwest Indiana. Not at the National Park, or any county, city, town, or township owned park in Northwest Indiana. That’s right, not a single one of them has allowed private investors to come on to the public’s Park land and construct buildings to operate their own for profit businesses.

To say that this project helps create a better park is totally ignoring the most basic understanding of why this particular piece of land was initially designated as “protected” in the first place.

Opening its environmentally sensitive shoreline to private developers makes no sense to me as a taxpaying resident or county elected official.

 

 

Posted 7/28/2015

 
 
 
 

 

 

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