Former councilman/commissioner addresses Plymouth Council regarding Veterans Parkway Phase II
During the public comments section of the latest Plymouth Common Council meeting, former Plymouth Council Member and Marshall County Commissioner Mike Delp spoke out against the council’s decision to vote down the proposed extension to Veterans Parkway.
“Your decision has been on my mind quite a bit,” he said. “It was the hot topic of morning coffee the rest of that week.”
Delp went on to say that the coffee group he’s in consists of two former construction business owners, one veterinarian, an upper management person at NIPSCO, and other people in sales. He declined to
provide names.
“To a person, we, they couldn’t understand the no vote,” he said.
Later, the subject was still on Delp’s mind. He decided to make some phone calls and speak with other people outside his coffee group. He told the council that he contacted two owners of realtor businesses located in Plymouth, one executive in the industry sector, a “civic minded person” who has spent time in remodeling the downtown, a doctor that owns a complex on the west side of Plymouth, a long-term family-owned automotive repair business, a former sheriff that currently sits on the County Council, and a City of Plymouth department head. Delp also spoke with Mayor Mark Senter and City attorney Sean Surrisi.
Once again, Delp decided not to namedrop. “But hopefully you can understand that the people that have been invested for many, many years here in the City of Plymouth, to a person, they cannot understand turning the project down.”
according to Delp, he and the people he spoke with could not under
stand why the project was turned down especially when the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) potentially would fund 80 percent of the project. “Especially when TIF 3 would have fully funded, for the city, and still do its other commitments. Especially when the wetland mitigation was already done in phase one, so we didn’t even have to think about that.” Delp listed another reason that the project had been favorably spoken about by former mayors and council members. He also listed the unknown plans that INDOT has for U.S. 30. He told the council that he travels to Fort Wayne to visit his daughter and he sees the changes happening to U.S. 30 there. “Two J-turns have just been completed on the eastside of Columbia City,” Delp said. When Delp served as a County Commissioner, he was on a committee concerning U.S. 30 and stated that changes are coming. “It’s gonna happen. Is it gonna happen tomorrow? No. But is it going to happen through Plymouth? I believe it will just like the 31 project has and will continue to happen.” He also cited the fact that the current council looked on the project favorably prior to the deciding vote. “Finally, tough decisions have to be made sometimes. I’ve been there and I’ve made those types of decisions. I do respect the job each of you do for the citizens of Plymouth. I do. But I and many others in this community need to hear from you, and to try to understand your thought process and decision-making rationale,” Delp said. He thanked the council for letting him speak his mind. There were no responses that night from council members.