County officials talk transit, rail line at Chamber of Commerce event

Hamilton County Commissioners and Council members came together Friday morning at Conner Prairie during joint event hosted by Hamilton County Chambers of Commerce. Pictured, left to right) Commissioner Christine Altman, Commissioner Steve Dillinger, Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt, Councilman Paul Ayers, Councilman Brad Beaver and Councilman Fred Glynn (Reporter photo by Perry Williams)

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A joint event by the Hamilton County Chambers of Commerce, at Conner Prairie Friday morning, featured Hamilton County officials, who took questions from the audience.

On hand for the event were all three Hamilton County Commissioners – Christine Altman, Steve Dillinger and Mark Heirbrandt. Three of the seven-member Hamilton County Council were in attendance – Paul Ayres, Brad Beaver and Fred Glynn.

Former Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter started the program with an overview of how the State of Indiana organizes county government.

Then, the commissioners and county council members talked about their respective duties.

The commissioners provided a rundown on several capital projects in the works, including upgrades to county buildings in Noblesville, 146th Street, Pleasant Street in Noblesville and State Road 37.

Council members explained their fiscal priorities and their efforts to keep the tax rates stable.

When it came time for questions from the audience – transit, the Nickel Plate Rail Line and parking in downtown Noblesville were all submitted.

Commissioner Christine Altman described herself as a “transit advocate,” but doesn’t see much movement on that front.

“To bring transit to Hamilton County, it will take other revenue,” said Altman. “There is no way we can provide transit services, in addition to our other responsibilities, without additional revenue. The mechanisms are in place in the statute but, quite honestly, I don’t foresee that happening in the county right now with the current disposition.”

County Councilman Fred Glynn said local transit doesn’t make sense to him, since Hamilton County residents would be paying for it, and it would mainly be transporting Marion County workers to Hamilton County jobs. He pointed to a plan in Silicon Valley paid for by local employers to fund transit for their employees.

Altman also reminded the Chamber audience that the Nickel Plate Line is owned jointly by Hamilton County, Fishers and Noblesville.

“If the two communities (Fishers & Noblesville) want to do that (create a trail), I think legally they can partition that track,” Altman said. “We don’t think that’s a good idea. We will bank that (Nickel Plate) Rail Line, which means that if the winds change politically, it can be re-established as a transit line.”

The Indianapolis Transit Red Line, which does not include Fishers, could run through Hamilton County, but Altman points to funding as the barrier.

The group also talked about parking issues in downtown Noblesville. Commissioner Steve Dillinger says he never has any problem finding a parking space near the county government buildings.

One question was asked about the organization of county government in Indiana. The consensus among all the county officials at the event was to keep everything as is. They want to continue having three county commissioners, as opposed to one county executive. They also agreed the township trustee system works well in Hamilton County and should not be changed.