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REGULAR MEETING September 11, 2017
<br /> house. There's a lot of things we can do, people—a lot of things we can do with that
<br /> $26,000,000.
<br /> Kari Kazmierzak, 23364 Lawrence Street, South Bend, IN, stated that she found irony in the fact
<br /> that Mayor Buttigieg addressed the train noise issue on the east side of South Bend, while the
<br /> current South Shore plan will put a train through Ardmore. Ms. Kazmierzak stated, And now
<br /> we're going to get to hear the horns. She also pointed out that as she does not live within City
<br /> limits, she does not elect the members of the Council and therefore has no say in what will
<br /> happen to her neighborhood. These statements notwithstanding, Ms. Kazmierzak stated that she
<br /> supports the resolution. She stated, I support this because I think that, yes, alternative solutions
<br /> can be found. She stated that an alternate solution to relocating the station to Washington Street
<br /> is to relocate to Sheridan Street.
<br /> Jenny Garner-Thompson, 55212 Sundown Road, South Bend, IN, stated that people in her
<br /> neighborhood would be boxed in by the proposed tracks, and that that would affect response
<br /> times for emergency services. Ms. Garner-Thompson proposed relocating the South Shore
<br /> Station to Ardmore Trail. She stated, Please look at the impact to the whole community. Saving
<br /> ten(10) minutes for a fraction of our populace compared to the ten (10) minutes that we might
<br /> actually use in saving a life? $25,000,000—it doesn't equate.
<br /> Michael Harradan, 23289 Grove Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I would like to make a note:
<br /> when this resolution was drafted up, we had three-hundred(300) signatures; currently, we have
<br /> over five-hundred (500) signatures on the online petition and we have over six-hundred (600)
<br /> signatures on the paper version. Mr. Harradan stated that most of those who would be affected by
<br /> the current South Shore plans would be the elderly. He stated that they do not have the income to
<br /> fight to keep their homes, and that this plan may be an early death sentence for them. He also
<br /> stated that this plan does not just take away people's homes, but it takes away the memories they
<br /> built in that neighborhood.
<br /> Tim Weaver, 55303 Butternut Road, South Bend, IN, asked, Why destroy people's lives just to
<br /> save ten(10)minutes? Well, if you change this, you're going to destroy my life—my family's
<br /> life, because we'll have nowhere to go.
<br /> Dan Zanka, 55104 Melrose Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated that the City would only succeed in
<br /> spending $26,000,000 in destroying a neighborhood only to have the South Shore shut down due
<br /> to an influx of crime from Chicago to South Bend via the train.
<br /> Matthew Pizana, 23270 Ardmore Trail, South Bend, IN, stated that he is in favor of finding a
<br /> way out of taking away people's homes other than even his own. Mr. Pizana asked, If this were
<br /> to come through Glen, or near my home, and it's to be acquired, how will I know I'm going to be
<br /> compensated fairly like it says in that plan? Because, I owe $61,000 on my house and, all of a
<br /> sudden, if there's a plan to have a train come through Ardmore,then all of a sudden my property
<br /> value drops, and now it's not worth$61,000--$75,000, like I paid for it. If I get compensated for
<br /> $50,000—which I heard it could be $50,000 more than what it's worth—well, it was worth
<br /> nothing. Now, I'm only getting $50,000 and I'm still in the hole.
<br /> Marty Wolfson, 809 Park Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated, I think it's important for the Council
<br /> to make its views known to the Redevelopment Commission, which has a deciding voice in this
<br /> matter. Mr. Wolfson stated that there have been no economic studies to document the economic
<br /> benefits of reducing the commute time from South Bend to Chicago by nine (9) minutes. He
<br /> concluded, I think we need to be conscious of the idea that we want development—we want
<br /> development without displacement.
<br /> Michael Kramer, 24296 Edison Road, South Bend, IN, stated that he thinks it would be a better
<br /> idea to stick with the current tracks.
<br /> Jesse Davis, P.O. Box 10205, South Bend, IN, stated, It's not about bringing business here to
<br /> South Bend. So,that whole fairy tale can just be wiped away. It's not sending people and making
<br /> the trip quicker so they can live in these expensive homes. You want to build the expensive
<br /> homes? Bring some businesses here that will support those expensive homes. That's the way to
<br /> fix the problem and our economy here.
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