23 February 2005 US 50 Collaborative Meeting Notes

Notes 23 February 2005 US 50 Collaborative Meeting

Present: Daryl Paddock and Inez Taylor (Grand Victoria), Bill Marksberry, Mayor Rising Sun, Jim Helms, IVY Tech, Travis Miller, Planning Director Dearborn County, Mark McCormack, Dearborn County Enforcement Officer, Doug Hedrick, Mayor G-dale, Bill Cunningham, Mayor L-bg, Donnie Hastings, Mayor Aurora, Bill Black, EMS, Mike Rozow, Chamber of Commerce, Mike Davis, County Hwy Director, Bryan Messmore, County Administrator, Jerry Jacobson, citizen, Chris Mueller, Citizen

Travis Miller gave a PowerPoint presentation overview of the Problems, the Process, and the Keys to Solving the Problems.
The FHWA definition of a “corridor” is the entire “travel shed” thus the US 50 corridor study has to take into account all the feeders into US 50. Solving one problem might make another problem worse.

The study is to produce feasible methods and coordinated solutions.
The agencies involved are:
FHWA (Federal Hwy Adm)
INDOT
FTA (Federal Transit Adm)
COE (Corps of Engineers)
EPA
FWS (Fish and Wildlife)
DNR
IDEM
OKI

Key Coordinating points:
1. Develop a purpose and needs statement and prepare preliminary alternatives
2. Preliminary alternatives and Analysis and Screening
3 Preferred alternatives and mitigation

They have to consider:
Areas of interest to local citizens and elected officials
Local economic initiatives
Traffic counts- existing and projected
Existing land use maps and adopted future land use maps.

The local collaborative is attempting to speed up the 18-month process by articulating a purpose and needs statement and by identifying stakeholders involved in the preliminary alternative creation process.

General consensus from the group was that there was frustration with the length of the process, and that they needed to do everything they could to speed it up and to locate funding for the project once the solutions were identified.

Sen. Nugent is getting a meeting lined up with the governor sometime in April.
Lugar talked to local officials for about 90 minutes; Sodrel gave them less than 5 minutes.
Lobbyists for Rising Sun and the county and local cities will be used, including the ones for the riverboats.
Switzerland County Council will be contacted to make them aware of the process.
Joe Hall’s replacement will be contacted [NOTE: his name is Bob Williams- he will start Feb 28th. He’s the former mayor, councilman, and chief of police of Shelbyville. He worked for INDOT since 1996 and was Director of the Greenfield District – info courtesy of a press release from Register Publications
The new INDOT Commissioner is Thomas Sharp- INDOT site has a picture but no biography on him.]

There was some discussion about FEMA issues and resurrecting the Levee project with the conservancy district from Mayor Cunningham.

Travis Miller will try to set March 19 Sat at LHS to have a meeting with the stakeholders and business people in the county.
He will also check with INDOT to see if the “signature phase” is over yet – so we can get to work.

Adjourned 4 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township