The October 8th Pilot newspaper legals published a notice of a Public Hearing for voluntary annexation into the City of Plymouth. This is 20 parcels totaling approximately 900 acres. The property is owned by Indiana Tool and MFG Company Inc. Why Annex so much ground all at once? This is unusual for a community the size of Plymouth.
Plymouth’s Mayor Listenberger and City Attorney Houin think you’re not paying attention.
At the October 20th meeting of Plymouth Redevelopment, Plymouth City Attorney Jeff Houin stated that this was for Technology Business Development. Attorney Houin stated the Utilities (water and sewer) would likely be paid for through TIF funding. In other words, Plymouth would need a big loan. There's no TIF money to pay for a loan without development. In addition, Attorney Houin stated this will be Zoned Industrial.
Utilities will cost many Millions. I suggest that, regardless of the type of industry that will be built in the near future, an agreement for developers to pay for the Utilities needs to be put in place BEFORE the annexation. At this time, it appears we, the taxpayers, will be stuck with paying for a large corporation(s) to set up shop.
I speculate that 900 Acres is prime for a Data Center. The county rejected Data Centers, so the way around that would be to put one in City Limits.
Plymouth is equivalent to 7.6 square miles (census.gov). 900 acres is 1.41 square miles. This will increase Plymouth City Limits by almost 20%.
Why are we not being told exactly what the land would be used for? To say the least, there is deception happening. Maybe Mayor Listenberger and Attorney Houin will share what they learned and pictures from when they had a field trip regarding the data center earlier in the year.
I’m not saying I’m for or against expansion, just that I DEMAND TRANSPARENCY.
What cost analysis does the city have? Not just utilities, but all costs.
Is the city prepared for a new taxing district? This expands Plymouth into another township.
How does this affect voting districts?
How does this impact the North Township Fire Territory?
What additional resources will Plymouth need? Police, Fire? (at what costs?)
Does this expand the two-mile zoning? If so, how does a single Building Commissioner cover the area? (more costs)
How would extending Plymouth's 2-mile zoning impact farmers and homeowners?
Where does the Plymouth Plan Commission stand on this?
If this is zoned Industrial, how can there be housing? All the current homes in the proposed area were excluded from the annexation. It appears housing is not a part of this.
So many unplanned, unanswered questions. This is a process that takes many months, not weeks.
Mayor Listenberger and City Council members, please be transparent and Slow Down, make sure the details are covered and there is no leaving out any facts.
Next meeting of the Plymouth Common Council is Monday, November 9th at 6:30 pm. This is the time to express your thoughts.
Steve Gorski
