County council votes to oppose Mounds Lake

MUNCIE – Delaware County Council made it official on Tuesday, voting unanimously in opposition to the proposed Mounds Lake reservoir project.

“We don’t take this action lightly and without consideration,” council member Mike Jones said. “If we thought this was a good deal for Delaware County, we would buy into it.”

The resolution passed Tuesday by the county’s seven-member fiscal body also objected to the approach taken lately by Anderson’s Corporation for Economic Development, which has spearheaded the multi-year, $400-million-plus project to dam White River in Anderson, causing a lake to form that stretches to Yorktown. A recent, revised proposal from CED de-emphasized the role Delaware County officials would play in forming a Mounds Lake Commission, giving more control to Madison County officials and those in towns close to the project, including Daleville, Yorktown and Chesterfield.

Council’s resolution calls on the Delaware County commissioners to join in opposition. The commissioners next meet on June 1.

The reservoir, proposed about two years ago, would provide a future water supply and recreational and economic development opportunities, proponents say. Opponents say there’s been no need declared for the water and that the project will destroy cultural elements of the area, including portions of Mounds State Park, as well as homes and businesses.

Council’s vote of opposition wasn’t a surprise, following by a little more than a week a public hearing at the fairgrounds that resulting in more than two hours of opposing opinions by nearly 50 people and no comments from proponents.

What was unknown going into Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting of Delaware County Council was if the matter would be taken up in the meeting.

Council member Jones has, for months, advocated an early vote opposing the project. Early theories that a “no” vote by any of the governing bodies that would be involved in the project would kill it were followed by the recently revised resolution from Rob Sparks of CED saying that Madison County governments and the towns should take the lead in going into a third phase of the project. County officials could join later, CED said.

The resolution approved Tuesday “confirms (council’s) opposition to the creation of a multi-county infrastructure authority that does not include all affected units of government and does not take into account alternate designs and proposals.”

Tuesday’s resolution cited Indiana Code that council members said backed up council’s objection.

Noting the public hearing and chances for the public to comment, council members indicated they believed most of their constituents opposed the project.

“I haven’t heard from anybody in our community that’s for it,” council member Scott Alexander said.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.