THIS NEEDS TO BE TOLD. Small government politics "Taking" of property for sole purpose of large entities Ethics of the small government Redevelopment in these economic times "The good "ole" boys club. History: Since the late 1990's Speedway has been talking about a much needed Redevelopment. In 2005 the town council appointed a commission to do a Master Plan for the Redevelopment The Development areas are divided into 2 areas: Redevelopment 1 which is the Industrial Area and Redevelopment Area 2 which is Retail. Total amount estimated in 2005 for this Redevelopment was $550 million dollars. I have asked that the town council and the Speedway Redevelopment Commission re-evaluate the Redevelopment at this time due to the economic times. I have also quoted Gov Daniels that when people are trying to make their mortgage payments and businesses are trying to make payroll that the money should go back to the people and not into the government. Property values have declined and the people are going to lose a lot of money if this Redevelopment continues at this time. Eminent Domain is a VERY good possibility. All of my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Since the beginning 8 million dollars have been borrowed with 6 million dollars spent and nothing to show for it but a few empty buildings on Main Street. One of the plans is the re-alignment of 16th Street which will take out numerous businesses and which already has increased in cost {per Jeff Kingsbury of Mansur Group}f from 63 million to 125 million dollars. This re-alignment will have 2 round-a-bouts which will make it very hard for school buses, city buses, Marathon Oil Tankers, and racing semi-trailers to get around. The plan is also to close Georgetown Rd completely which will take out 3 trailer parks which house over 80 elderly low income citizens who will not have anywhere to go. It also will displace American Legion Post 500. Another plan is to close Grande Ave 1400 sq feet which will send all of the racing businesses on Gasoline Alley down Rockville Rd to Lynhurst and then to 25th Street back to Georgetown Rd and to the Credential gate of the track, This will take semis, trailers and increased traffic past 5 school zones in a town with no busses. The children walk to school. It is hard to be heard in this town because of the nepotism involved. The president of the Town Council is married to a member of the Speedway Redevelopment Commission (SRC). The Executive Director of the SRC is married to the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce. The newest member of the SRC is married to the President of the Speedway Park Board. The twin brother of a SRC member has a business which was hired to do the Brownsfield Study along Main Street. This same brother allegedly bought 2 buildings along Main Street after the talks of the Redevelopment started and before the SRC was appointed and the buildings are now on the acquisition list. A member of the Town Council also allegedly bought property on Main Street after he sat in on meetings prior to the SRC appointment. His property is also on the acquisition list. I am concerned when government appointees and officials are able to make money on plans they are approving and knew about in advance. At a Town Council meeting last month I was stopped from speaking before my 3 minutes was up. At that time I was trying to inform citizens of the increased cost of the 16th Street, Main Street and Georgetown Rd construction from $63 million dollars to $125 million dollars and that the governing body had not attempted to let the citizens know. This recently happened in Carmel with the Keystone Ave project which is being developed by American Structurepoint which is also the company the SRC is using. The point was not made since I was cut off by the then President of the Town Council who kept talking over me. I was given an apology but this did little since he managed to stop the citizens from hearing me... I have been involved in this for 4 years now. I do have a stake in all of this because my husband's family business is one of the properties being "taken" for the re-alignment of 16th. It also happens to be one of the 4 largest stakeholders in Speedway and has been in the area for over 50 years. The company leases buildings to over 12 businesses which employ 250-300 people who will be displaced or put out of jobs. This business pays over $100,000 year in taxes, is debt free and stays 100% occupied. As a taxpayer and a voter I get upset when I hear the politicians promising they are for the people. If Indianapolis can get $45 million dollars behind with their sports venues how does a town of 12,000 with a medium income of $43,000 believe they can make it with a sporting venue that only holds 2-3 races a year and which has recently laid off employees and have made the decision to shorten practice days for the Indianapolis 500? Most of the IMS commerce goes to the city of Indianapolis anyway and not to Speedway. The city of Indianapolis is partially to blame for rubber stamping every ordinance and proposal for the Town of Speedway without seeing the whole picture. The MDC has even approved a proposal that Speedway has its own Zoning hearing examiner to listen to zoning changes and road vacations... How can there be any impartiality in voting for something you have already voted for in the past? What is Mayor Ballard going to say to the 80 elderly low income constituents who are going to be put out into the streets? How is the mayor going to tell the businesses that their property is being taken because "somebody" decided it was more important to make sure Tony George and the IMS has more land and makes more money? When it comes down to the bottom dollar, do you really think the IMS is going to think about the town of Speedway or their own empire? I believe that Speedway needs to be redeveloped. I also believe the roads need paved, curbs need fixed, sidewalks need repaired, the sewer system needs completely redone, the parks need updated and the town could be spruced up. What I don't think is the answer is a $500 million redevelopment when there are homeless, hungry, and jobless citizens who SHOULD COME FIRST! This is happening in a town of only 12,000 people. While $550 million dollars may not seem like a lot to cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, to a small town whose average income is $43,000 it is unthinkable. For those citizens in Speedway who constantly back up the SRC and all they do, what are you going to say when you find your taxes increasing; your property values declining and the only people making money are elected and appointed government officials? How much more needs to be said when you read daily that large corporations are laying off, closing, or selling out? The racing industry is in a decline. Developers have no money to develop. Banks aren't giving out loans. 266,000 people lost jobs in January. Speedway needs to take off their rose colored glasses and see the real world as it is now. Jo Ellen Dotlich