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Dear Mayor Jensen,
On Thursday, Nov. 12, representatives of Industrial Dielectrics, Inc. (IDI) attended an open meeting of the Community Advisory Committee regarding the proposed East-West Corridor Project on Pleasant Street.
Merrell
Not one of the 20 or so people in attendance, other than the hired presenters of the Mayor, endorsed the City’s currently preferred route (Plan B-1), and many concerned questions were asked. At the conclusion of the meeting, the moderator said that the City would move forward at the next meeting to recommend Plan B-1, ignoring the entire discussion raised by the audience.
It became clear that the City and its contractors had already made up their minds and had no genuine intent to consider legitimate issues raised or alternatives.
This roadway will be used, hopefully, for the next 100 years, and the “best” plan needs to be developed. Apparently, no consideration will be given to concerns raised in this regard. With all due respect, it is more important to do this right than to do this fast. We need to pick the right route.
IDI endorses an improvement to Pleasant Street, generally along the lines of the route presented, with the following exceptions:
- Mayor Jensen and the City must take the time to study alternatives to the suggested B-1 route to find the best solution. We do not believe the impact of the recently adopted Historic District designation has been evaluated in any detail in the existing plan.
- Several alternative routes have been suggested, including one by a current City Council member, which are better for the driving public, can be achieved with only one roundabout instead of two, and with minimal displacement in the Historic District and to the IDI site.
- Further study should be made of the new road’s alignment to avoid IDI from having to move its worldwide headquarters. IDI currently employs almost 100 workers at this location at an average salary of $73,000. IDI has plants at two other locations in the United States (Iowa and Montana) as well as in Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, France, China and Mexico City. Since 2012, IDI has invested over $15 million dollars to improve its Noblesville location to make it a suitable headquarters for visitation by the Fortune 500 companies with whom IDI does business, and to make it a more inviting facility to the neighborhood. Plan B-1 makes IDI’s Noblesville operation unworkable.
IDI is proud of its Noblesville heritage, and to that end, has donated over $1 million to community and civic projects in Noblesville over the last several years. But IDI expects the City to promote the best solutions to problems like this. Rather than rushing through a plan that is flawed, why not take the time to consider other alternatives in light of the issues created by the new Historic District.
Let’s work together to pick the right route.
Tom Merrell
IDI President and CEO
Cc: Noblesville City Council
Hamilton County Commissioners
Former Mayor Ditslear
State Representative Goodrich
State Senator Baldwin
Congresswoman-elect Spartz
Senator Mike Braun
Senator Todd Young
Commissioner Joe McGuinness, Indiana Department of Transportation
Daniel W. Bortner, Director, Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Jim Schellinger, President, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
Brian Burton, President, Indiana Manufacturer’s Association