Intermodal facility being explored |
Intermodal facility being explored |
Aug 20 2007, 01:01 PM
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Spends WAY too much time at CBTL Group: Admin Posts: 16,425 Joined: 8-December 06 From: Michigan City, IN Member No.: 2 |
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54065.42
QUOTE 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. |
Sep 25 2007, 11:54 AM
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Really Comfortable Group: Moderator Posts: 2,315 Joined: 10-February 07 From: Michigan City Member No.: 43 |
http://www.heraldargus.com/archives/ha/display.php?id=385882
QUOTE County economic developers create intermodal Web site 09/25/2007, 11:47 am Donovan Estridge, 1-866-362-2167 Ext. 13865, destridge@heraldargus.com Officials say site is only informational LA PORTE COUNTY -- An informational Web site about the status of rail intermodal facility negotiations was launched Monday by economic developers from Michigan City, La Porte and La Porte County. The Web site, www.lcintermodal.info, was launched in hopes of distributing more information to the public. While the Web site outlines the potential benefits of an intermodal facility in the county, John Regetz, executive director of the Michigan City Economic Development Corp., said it is intended only as a source of information, and not as an endorsement of an intermodal. “Right now it isn’t pro or con,” Regetz told The La Porte County Herald-Argus this morning. “I don’t think it says pro or con anywhere on the site.” Some of the information on the site trumpets the injection of high-paying jobs and the “halo effect” of spin-off businesses in the county that could result from an intermodal. Additionally, it cites La Porte County as a premier site for logistical development due to the number of rail lines crisscrossing the area. “This is a way to get basic information to the public,” Tim Gropp, executive director of the Greater La Porte Economic Development Corp., told The Herald-Argus this morning. As for the site supporting an intemodal, Gropp quickly discounted such a notion. “It is fairly neutral,” he said. “You have to look at the benefits. We happen to be pro-business here, but this Web site is strictly informational.” In addition to basic intermodal information, the site will also offer updates on the status of intermodal talks, in hopes of debunking the many myths and rumors that Regetz said have been circulating in regard to a possible intermodal facility in the county. “This (Web site) gets the concepts about the progress out there,” Regetz said. “Hopefully this will help people better understand the process.” |
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