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()CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, I want to thank Mr. Kain for sharing the MOU. I believe it
<br /> is referenced in one(1) of these documents. Between St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners,
<br /> South Bend Redevelopment Commission, and NICTE, so thank you very much. Has that
<br /> agreement been signed yet?
<br /> Mr. Nolan replied, Yes.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden followed up, By all parties?
<br /> Mr. Nolan replied, Yes.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden followed up, In terms of that broader discussion with regard to
<br /> station location,could you define the public input process and the transparency going forward with
<br /> regard to that decision in very specific terms? What will that look like and at what touch points
<br /> will the public be involved in that?
<br /> Mr. Kain replied, Sure. We are still waiting on the study to be completed. Our consultant, ACON
<br /> is working on two (2) components of the study. One (1) looks at the preliminary engineering
<br /> analysis for a station in the downtown and what that means is it looks at the route to downtown,
<br /> looks at the structures in downtown, and then helps us confirm the capital costs. So that process is
<br /> wrapping up. The second (2nd) part of that study is to look at the economic impact of the cargo
<br /> master plan that the County and airport are currently working on. That portion is also wrapping
<br /> up. We expect to have a presentation to Council, perhaps by mid to late November. As that
<br /> information comes to us,we will bring it to the Council immediately.That will be really the launch
<br /> of at least some public participation and what that result is and following that,the Mayor will have
<br /> to be a part of the conversation on what the next steps are on the station.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden then asked, And as a follow up in terms of final approval, will that
<br /> be a Council decision or whose authority will that fall under and will it be a public process?
<br /> Mr. Kain replied,We certainly expect to be very transparent about that decision,the decision really
<br /> would be between the City of South Bend,the County,Airport and NICTD,these are all the parties
<br /> that have been part of the conversation. And as the MOU states, we expect the process to be a
<br /> collaborative process. So, when we pick the location, we want all the parties that have been
<br /> engaged in the process for a few years now to also be part of the decision making.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Okay, so public meetings then going just as far as a
<br /> takeaway, public meetings going forward relative to this question, will be collaborative in terms
<br /> of the, presentation. And so, the work itself and the decision making will be public and
<br /> collaborative. And then the decision itself will be public and collaborative.
<br /> Mr. Kain replied, The decision will be public, we expect to, like I said earlier, come to Council
<br /> with some results of the study by mid to late November, at that point, I can't tell you exactly what
<br /> meetings will occur post that point, but we will do our best to be as transparent as possible.
<br /> Councilmember John Voorde stated, I'd just like to thank all the parties involved. The City of
<br /> South Bend. I know, Jitin, you've done a lot of work on this, thank the County Council. I mean,
<br /> the Commissioners, President Kostielney is here, this takes a lot of coordination and a lot of work
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