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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK always true if it is an historic building. We believe renovation may unlock a quicker development and it is a lot harder to envision new construction,to be honest. Councilmember Broden followed up, What about other communities that are eighty-two (82) to eighty-four(84)minutes outside of Downtown Chicago?What are those other communities doing? Mr. Brewer replied, That would be looking at parallel station locations that are on the edge of the metro system.They tend to be,fundamentally, a lot smaller. When you think about South Bend, it is a major city and is parallel to a Rockford, IL, which doesn't have metro access. It is a very interesting alternative for South Bend to have this. Councilmember Broden then asked, What about cargo development within your various alternatives? Mr. Brewer replied, The working assumption with all of these station locations is that we are talking about the movement of passengers. It was not unrealistic to have a conversation about cargo. I think the cargo conversation is tough because it would be a unique set of activities. It was not a driver of our conversation but it would start a different set of conversations that impact these sites. Councilmember Broden followed up, Obviously you were focused on City benefits. I guess I would like to know the broader picture in terms of County benefits. Mr. Brewer replied, It is clear today that a significant number of people take the train from this region and go to Chicago all the time.Enhanced travel time will only grow that market opportunity and I would not describe that opportunity as vast but it is a significant change from what you have today. Council President Scott stated, I don't have a ton of questions because the information is new. I think each one (1) of these sites will have some type of different economic impact. I'm glad this was unbiased and fact-based. I look forward to the environmental assessments and those will change the identity of development around those areas. I'm glad there are the economic impact numbers within this. I have a few questions for Eric Horvath. One (1) concern I have is the horn silencing of the train. If we bring South Shore into this mix that needs to be part of the study you have started. We need to continue looking at silent crossings and would like to know where we are at with that study as well. Councilmember Jo M. Broden left the meeting at 6:10 p.m. Council President Scott continued,I would also like to know the next steps in this process in regard to our City's Administration. We will probably have more meetings with more input but we need to digest this data. Mr. Horvath replied, We are moving forward with the continued study for the silencing of the horns on the West Side of town. We have established a meeting with both Norfolk Southern and CSX coming into town to look at the existing equipment that is in place now. That is one (1) of the first things we need to do to make sure we understand what has already been updated. As part of that, we will keep in mind the potential for a South Shore line going Downtown and the subsequent impact. We will move forward as the current conditions exist. In terms of next steps, EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227W.Jefferson BvldI South Bend,Indiana 46601 p574.235.92211f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.55671www•southbendin.gov 13