Replies(80 - 99)

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54065.42

Co. Committee To Look At Intermodal
Officials to start advisory task force to ensure ‘transparent’ process in development.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - An advisory task force is being created to help county officials evaluate prospective developers and sites for an intermodal freight terminal in La Porte County.

County Commission President Barbara Huston said in a press release Friday the commissioners are developing an "orderly and fair process" that would involve public input. The task force will have 15 to 20 members.

The convergence of rail lines, coupled with closeness to major interstate highways, has positioned La Porte County as a prime location for a facility that could create jobs and boost economic development. It would serve as a place where cargo is transferred between trucks and trains.

Two railroad companies are said to be eying locations here, but are saying little publicly about their plans. Some property owners have said they have been approached by a real estate company that has been buying options on farmland in southern La Porte County.

"We will put a very public, transparent process in place to evaluate developers and sites before we ever give approvals to anyone," Huston said.

Huston said the county has received multiple inquiries from real estate firms, venture capital groups, railroads and real estate investment trusts interested in prospective county locations. She said county attorney Shaw Friedman and county economic development coordinator Matt Reardon will coordinate contacts and issue a request of interest to identify serious proposals.

Her own preference is to use the Kingsbury Industrial Park as the site of the intermodal facility, but she and the other commissioners are open to all possibilities, she said.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I did not think that the Intermodal would actually attract manufacturing, etc.; I thought it was a giant hub.

[Southsider2k12]

I did not think that the Intermodal would actually attract manufacturing, etc.; I thought it was a giant hub.

Second stage of growth would invovled manufacturing, I believe. It would give cheap transportation to haul supplies to and from all over the world. The workforce is already here, and there is a ready labor pool. Manufacturing and industry are practically brothers.

[lovethiscity]

[quote name='southsider2k7' date='Oct 22 2007, 11:43 AM' post='4456']
Second stage of growth would invovled manufacturing, I believe. It would give cheap transportation to haul supplies to and from all over the world. The workforce is already here, and there is a ready labor pool. Manufacturing and industry are practically brothers.[/q

Only now they are being done by others in a different part of the world. Industry and manufacturing has very little to do with finding a cheaper faster way to distribute the goods from overseas where the industry and manufacturing jobs have relocated.

Submitted by Kevin Lynch, managing director with Arlington Heights, Ill., office of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors. Posted 06/27/07.

What area is your expertise?
• The Chicago area industrial market.

What trends do you see presently in industrial development in your area?
• The two hottest industrial trends that continue to achieve the highest growth rate and occupancy rate are big box warehouses and intermodal facilities around the Chicago area. The big box warehouses are being developed along the Interstate 55 corridor (southwestern suburbs) and the Interstate 39 corridor. While these speculative buildings are built to accommodate multi-tenant occupancy, the demand and final occupancy has been primarily for single tenancy. This new construction includes modern technological features including ultra-hard, ultra-flat floors, air rotation heating units and 400 watt HID metal halide lighting. The new properties also offer wider bays, higher ceilings and larger truck docks.

What type of industrial product is doing well in your area?
• Warehouse and distribution space with ceiling heights greater than a 21-foot clear continue to do well in most submarkets. Modern properties that can be purchased by end users also generate demand as the investor market has absorbed much of the supply. Manufacturing slowed approximately 7 years ago and has not picked up. That said, quality manufacturing properties remain leased as companies have moved to increase efficiencies.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I do not see manufacturing taking off in LP county. The spec buildings mentioned above won't get filled, and in Union Mills it is too far from population centers to develop any service sector companies. UNLESS it goes all high-tech, and I have not heard anything about that.

[Southsider2k12]

We don't have the labor force to go high-tech. It would literally take a generation to get to that point.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Transportation hub seems like all we will get out of it. Is that enough?

[Southsider2k12]

Its a start. And I really do think other industry and manufacturing will follow. There are too many natural advantages to the area for it not to happen. Then again there are too many bad politicians for it to work perfectly either...

[Southsider2k12]

An interesting overview that sort of fits with some of our discussions.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=57025.09

Area Economics Slowly Improving

Howard Cohen

In 2004, the Quality of Life Council judged our region's economic condition to be poor but promising. Unemployment, consolidations and downsizing in the steel industry and the lack of coordinated planning were major concerns. Are we making progress?

The economic health of a region depends on three big, interconnected ideas. First, the region needs a balanced employer base. Each business sector has its own cycle, and the best protection against decline in any one industry is to have a healthy variety of industries in our region. Northwest Indiana is becoming less dependent on large manufacturing by encouraging growth in healthcare, leisure and hospitality, technology, transportation and logistics, construction and financial services. However, the progress is incremental and slow. Since 2002, manufacturing jobs as a percentage of total employment decreased to 15.2 percent in the three county region. Unfortunately, overall job growth was an anemic 1.9 percent across the region over the same four year period.

Second, the region's workforce must have the skills that both meet current needs and anticipate future needs of growing industry sectors. In a balanced, growing economy, a skilled workforce is an educated workforce. Businesses will locate in regions where they can meet their workforce needs, and they will leave regions that cannot supply the necessary personnel. The best strategy for individual workers is to acquire new skills and be prepared for new opportunities as indicated by the percent of the population with a bachelor's degree or higher. As a region, this indicator has been flat at 19.2 percent for the last two years and has increased 1 percent since 2000.

Third, where possible, within a balanced array of leading industries, a region should seek to replace industries offering lower wage jobs with industries offering higher wage jobs. Indiana has identified health sciences, advanced manufacturing, 21st Century logistics and information technology as growth areas that will bring high wage employment. The region's wage growth since 2003 significantly outpaced inflation indicating progress toward this goal. However, wage growth lagged state and national averages.

In addition to these indicators, it is possible to point to many positive qualitative markers: a stabilized steel industry, BP's projected expansion, a proliferation of new businesses in several recently established incubators, growing cooperation at the regional level. There are also many yet-to-be addressed challenges: unacceptable unemployment rates in minority communities, insufficient capital investment in emerging businesses, uncertainty in state and regional policies on taxation, and an underdeveloped transportation infrastructure. These are not issues for the faint of heart, but addressing them will fulfill the promise of a thriving community for the next generation.

The Quality of Life Council is a membership organization of engaged citizens from business, education, not-for-profit, and government sectors in Lake, Porter and La Porte counties. It is chaired by the chancellors and presidents of the region's six institutions of higher education. Council members share a common commitment to building a more sustainable region for the next generation and generations to come.

QLC periodically publishes "Quality of Life Indicators," an assembly of data that paint a picture of how we are progressing toward our vision of a stronger region. Each month the council will examine one of the 11 indicators in this column. This month we examined indicators of a "thriving community of leading industries and quality employment opportunities."

For more information about the Quality of Life Council and for a full report on all 11 indicators visit www.nwiqlc.org

Howard Cohen is chancellor of Purdue University Calumet.

[Southsider2k12]

http://heraldargus.com/archives/ha/display.php?id=387648

Task force receives offer from unlikely source
10/24/2007, 10:58 am
Comment on this story

Donovan Estridge, 1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13865, destridge@heraldargus.com

Intermodal opposition group proposes fuding trip to Elwood, Ill.

LA PORTE COUNTY -- Taxpayers in La Porte County could be off the hook for as much as $5,000 if the county’s intermodal task force decides to accept an invitation from an unlikely source

Ty Murray, co-chairman of the intermodal opposition group Stop Intermodals/Save Our County (SISOC), offered Tuesday to have his group pick up the tab to transport the task force’s 21-members to Elwood, Ill., to tour the CenterPoint intermodal facility. The task force last week requested from the county a budget of $97,000, including $5,000 to fund the trip, an amount that came under scrutiny Monday by at least one county councilman.

Asked why SISOC was willing to pitch in financially, Murray told The La Porte County Herald-Argus Tuesday that he believed the trip was “viable for the community.”

“If the county is not willing to fund them, then we should help do whatever is needed to help them do what they were originally set to do,” Murray said.

Murray fears the trip, which he believes will be eye-opening for task force members, could be delayed or cancelled if the county doesn’t agree to fund it.

“The task force at the very least has to see what might go in here in the county,” Murray said. “At this point in time there are no funds for a trip to Elwood.”

David Christian, co-chairman of the task force, told The Herald-Argus Tuesday that he had not formally received SISOC’s offer, but that the task force would certainly be willing to consider it.

“It’s definitely worth taking a look at,” Christian said. “You have to remember, it is hard to comment because I haven’t received anything, but we have always said this would be an open and public process.”

If the task force accepts funding from SISOC, Murray said he would like SISOC members to be included in the trip. A formal budget request is not expected to be voted on by the county council until sometime in November.

In the meantime, said Christian, “I plan on having discussions with council and commissioners on this issue.”

[Southsider2k12]

http://heraldargus.com/archives/ha/display.php?id=387527

VOP: Friedman expounds on discussions regarding intermodal
10/22/2007, 11:53 am
Comment on this story

In trying to respond candidly to an H-A reporter for Friday’s story, I indicated my belief that a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) would likely make public an intermodal proposal in January. I have tried to be open with what little we know since contacts from this developer have been preliminary and tentative at best.

I have also had “discussions” with the attorneys for various landowners in Union Mills to try to inform them of what we know as well. Those attorneys have been complimentary to date of what they see as a very open and public county process. I also have had “discussions” with others in the logistics industry to gauge what they know of the marketplace and any interest they may be hearing from particular railroads or shippers regarding an intermodal for our county.

The county commissioners directed that a process be put together that would provide for openness and transparency. My office has made clear to this developer -- like we would any inquiring developer -- that the commissioners intend any proposal to first go to the Intermodal Task Force for review and evaluation.

I do believe it is important to be square with the public with what we know. There is presently no developer or railroad interested in the area west of La Porte near Pinola. The only interest seems to focus on the Union Mills and Kingsbury areas. I have also been candid in speaking with this REIT that my perception is that opposition may be intense to their preferred greenfield site in Union Mills and that the company should at least consider an alternative site proposal for Kingsbury Industrial Park.

The last I knew, REIT was commissioning traffic, environmental and market studies to determine how their customers might respond to an intermodal facility here and that a public proposal might well come in January.

Prospective developers need to be able to communicate with my office, Economic Development Director Matt Reardon and the chair and vice chair of the task force regarding their intentions. No commitments have been made nor assurances given other than to assure that any proposal submitted will be fully and fairly evaluated by the Intermodal Task Force.

SHAW FRIEDMAN

La Porte County attorney

[mcstumper]

So the sentiment at this board generally is that unemployment is somehow better than "low" paying intermodal jobs? Even if those jobs diversify our employment base? That and having close proximity to a transportation hub won't be an incentive to businesses considering locating here? I must be thick skulled because I am not getting it. Even though manufacturing is in decline, lets just keep holding our breath...

For me, the worst part is that so much of this resistance is coming from the heavily GOP south county. Ours the party that is supposed to be more heavily focused on economic growth... First Bush dispells all illusions of championing smaller government, now this.

[JHeath]

That may be the sentiment of others on this board, but not all of us.

Honestly, I'd love to see new jobs brought into the area--something other than retail or hospitality. Some might argue that the jobs there don't require any skill and that there are health hazards to this type of development. Let's face it, folks, we're not in any position to be so choosy about the jobs we bring in...I thought that having A job was better than having NO job...or am I wrong in thinking that way?

Sorry, but I'd like to see something spur on some growth in our area. We can't just become a land of signs containing red circles and diagonal lines.

This post has been edited by JHeath: Oct 24 2007, 08:31 PM

[lovethiscity]

Its a start. And I really do think other industry and manufacturing will follow. There are too many natural advantages to the area for it not to happen. Then again there are too many bad politicians for it to work perfectly either...

These manufacturing jobs have just left the area. They will not be coming back here until a labor movement happens in the nations that are aquiring these jobs. In the United States of America, way back in 1874 the labor movement here, took 12 year old and under kids out of the factories. The country's that now do the manufacturing of OUR products have not done this yet. Until Mexico and China start requiring a living wage and take the kids out of the work place we can not compete. While we would never dream of putting our kids in a factory for 12 - 16 hours a day for little pay, we have no problem wearing shoes and clothing made by kids from another country. Next time it rains and you turn on your windshield wipers, say thanks to some 11 year old in Mexico for assembling them. Again Low skill, low paying frieght yard and wharhouse jobs that do not pay a living wage will only set us back. We can not afford to keep selling ourselves short and accept what ever comes our way. Create a great place to live and good jobs will show up. History will show you that cities that put the people that live there and their quality of life first, will end up with the better employers and jobs.

[Mr. Mark S. Lindborg]

Something of magnitute needs to be addressed by more than a small committee. Perhaps the status quo could put this on the ballot in the next election as a referendum. I will not support the use of eminent domain on this one since it is not a public works project and would belittle the constitution which I find is totally unamerican!

[Southsider2k12]

So the sentiment at this board generally is that unemployment is somehow better than "low" paying intermodal jobs? Even if those jobs diversify our employment base? That and having close proximity to a transportation hub won't be an incentive to businesses considering locating here? I must be thick skulled because I am not getting it. Even though manufacturing is in decline, lets just keep holding our breath...

For me, the worst part is that so much of this resistance is coming from the heavily GOP south county. Ours the party that is supposed to be more heavily focused on economic growth... First Bush dispells all illusions of championing smaller government, now this.

That's sure not my sentiment at all. Economic growth and recovery is my #1 target right now. I think the Intermodal is a good first step in the right direction.

Microsoft isn't going to show up here and start handing out 6 figure jobs in LaPorte County, so I am not sure what we are supposed to be waiting for. We sure don't need to wait for our well recycled public officials to do something, because the extent of their talents seems to be retail oriented jobs. I saw the words "quality of life" mentioned, and it makes me wonder, what is exactly is the "quality" of life in a county that is one of the 200 poorest in the entire country? We need to push up the wage scale, and this is a way to do it for a lot of people.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I would like to know more about the intermodal and the accompanying plans, but off the bat, it does not seem so bad.

[mcstumper]

Something of magnitute needs to be addressed by more than a small committee. Perhaps the status quo could put this on the ballot in the next election as a referendum. I will not support the use of eminent domain on this one since it is not a public works project and would belittle the constitution which I find is totally unamerican!

You contradict yourself. You say that eminent domain belittles the Constitution, then say that you don't trust our representative democracy to handle this type of decision. Faith in a representative democracy is the backbone of the Constitution, referendums are for populists who know the masses are easier to deceive...

[Roger Kaputnik]

Sez you.

In a statement yesterday, the mayor of LP (what's his name?) said that it was hard to be for or against the intermodal because there is no plan for it, just a model or suggestion.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=50531.91

Intermodal On Voter's Minds In Kingsbury
Five candidates are running for four at-large seats on town council.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

KINGSBURY - Five candidates - four Democrats and one Republication - are running for four at-large positions on the Kingsbury town council.

Democrat Laura Matchette is unopposed for clerk-treasurer.

The possible location of an intermodal facility in or near Kingsbury is one of the biggest concerns of local residents. The town is about a mile from the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant - mentioned as a potential intermodal site.

Three council candidates are incumbents. Democrat Ed Ritter and Republican Jeffery Matchette are seeking re-election, along with Democrat Carol McMahon, who was appointed to the council eight months ago to fill a vacancy.

McMahon is interested in council financial decisions and tax issues, but hasn't decided whether she's for or against an intermodal because she lacks enough information. Otherwise, she said, Kingsbury doesn't have many issues.

"This is a nice little town to live in," McMahon said. "I'd like to keep it small."

Democrat Betty Durham is running for a position on the town council after previously serving four terms. A 38-year Kingsbury resident, Durham said she enjoys working with the people - who all know each other - and finding out what's on their minds. She hopes to return to the council but said all of the candidates are "good people."

Like McMahon, she feels she doesn't have enough information about the issues surround the intermodal to make a decision.

"It's going to affect us a lot," Durham said. "I believe we ought to talk about it."

Democrat Sherry Banic is also vying for one of the four council positions that will be decided Nov. 6.

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...&TM=49641.5

Task Force Controversy
Intermodal study group shouldn’t have $97,000 budget, County Councilman says.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - The Intermodal Task Force has created a controversy among County Council members over a proposed budget of $97,000.

Appointed by County Commissioners to study pros and cons of an intermodal transportation hub in the county, task force members voted for a $97,000 budget request at an Oct. 16 meeting. The funding needs approval from Commissioners and the County Council. The earliest a request could be made to Commissioners is Nov. 13.

At Monday's council meeting, Rich Mrozinski, D-La Porte, came out against what he calls "an insane amount of money" to study something that only developers know will actually happen. He attacked a proposed $5,000 request for a Nov. 28 bus trip to Elwood, Ill., to see the intermodal operating at the former Joliet Arsenal.

"I can't see asking the taxpayers of the county to pay for that," Mrozinski said. "The hard-working people of this county carpool and bring a lunch."

Based on comments of residents in his district, Mrozinski expects several to attend the Commissioners meeting when the task force presents its budget. "In my mind, they'll (task force) leave very disappointed."

Councilman Earl Cunningham, D-La Porte, on the other hand, said he wasn't offended by the request, but said he thinks a budget of $15,000 to $20,000 is more palatable.

"My position is, their executive committee members are top-notch businesspeople who are working for nothing," Cunningham said. "They're volunteering their time and we certainly can't expect them to pack a sandwich and drive over to Elwood."

The four-member Intermodal Task Force executive committee includes co-chairmen David Christian, owner of AMPCOR, and Don Babcock, NIPSCO's director of economic development; Joe Coar, vice president of operations at Tonn & Blank; and Jodi Warner, a resident of KOP Circle.

Christian said the task force doesn't advocate spending the entire amount. He anticipates some funds will be needed if and when task force members have exhausted their ability to understand certain aspects of intermodal operations and need to use outside experts for technical advice on groundwater or air quality, for example.

"I'm a businessman, and I want to get the biggest bang for the buck," Christian said, adding he would be concerned if he thought the task force was wasting money.

Christian said the $5,000 line item mentioned for buses was to cover multiple bus trips, not a single trip to Elwood.

"Our thought in the budgeting process was to visit more than one intermodal of different sizes," he said. "We need to find out what they are, what they do and how they affect the community."

At the first task force meeting, Christian asked for a show of hands to see how many members had seen an intermodal. Only one hand was raised.

"I was surprised," said Christian, who hasn't seen one either.

Task force member Sharon Jenkins, professor of chemistry at Purdue University-North Central, is among those who don't know much about intermodals. She says the strength of the task force is the members' diversity.

The first meeting was led by Don Anderson, a Purdue University faculty member who helped launch the task force and organized members into six subcommittees. Jenkins is on one dealing with social and environmental impacts of intermodals and sees her training as a biophysical chemist as helpful in looking at potential health implications.

Jenkins said the subcommittees will share their findings Dec. 2. She thinks the process of gathering information to evaluate any proposals from developers will take more time.

"I can't see us being that ready in January to judge a proposal," Jenkins said.

Earlier in the week, La Porte County attorney Shaw Friedman said an intermodal proposal could come as soon as January. He has had preliminary discussions with a real estate company as well as with logistics companies and with attorneys representing Union Mills landowners.

"There is presently no developer or railroad interested in the area west of La Porte near Pinola," Friedman said Monday in a letter. "The only interest seems to focus on the Union Mills and Kingsbury areas." Friedman said any proposals filed with the county will be sent to the Intermodal Task Force for evaluation.

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.