Boondoggle Road Lacks County Council Support
Posted by Scott Spaulding - 6/18/08 @ 11:46 am - Filed Under Local Politics
Council skeptical about Maplecrest
4 of 7 members lean against voting for $50 million project (News-Sentinel)
“With less than a week to go before the anticipated vote, it appears a sales job will be needed to persuade Allen County Council to support one of the largest and most-debated road projects in local history.
Although three Council members are solidly in favor of extending Maplecrest Road from Lake Avenue 1.5 miles south to Adams Center Road, the four remaining members said Tuesday they are leaning against the $50 million project, and will need to be persuaded with realistic financial data if they are to support it.”
“According to a recent $30,000 study by an Indianapolis consultant, the Maplecrest extension could create more than 7,000 non-construction jobs.
County Commissioner Nelson Peters, one of the project’s leading advocates, knows he has a lot of work to do, and little time in which to do it. But he remains convinced the numbers are on his side.
An earlier study by the county Highway Department estimated as little as $827,400 would be needed for major bridge repairs during the next 15 years if the Maplecrest improvements generate just 25 percent of the anticipated investment and the level of state and federal matching funds remains the same.
But the construction bond would take 25 years to repay. What about those remaining 10 years? Miller and Vogt ask.
Peters said a subsequent Highway Department review estimates $1.5 million will be needed for the bridges through 2032 if federal and state officials continue to provide 80 percent of the repair costs. And the bridge fund would have $16 million left even after providing $33 million to the Maplecrest project.
Peters hopes to share that and other information with Miller and other hesitant Council members before Tuesday, and is recruiting a variety of officials and others to lobby on behalf of the project.”
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