By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

WANATAH, Ind. — Indiana’s rural landscape is dotted with small towns, each with its unique flavor. In LaPorte County, there are 14 distinct rural towns, each with its own identity and needs.

Many were represented March 15 at the fourth LaPorte County Rural Summit, where community representatives had an opportunity to assess their needs and how best to achieve their goals.

Sponsored by Purdue University county extension, Leadership LaPorte County, the LaPorte County Economic Development Alliance, the Unity Foundation, Purdue University North Central and the USDA, the theme was “Think Regionally, but Act Locally.”

Mark Maassel, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, talked about the importance of regionalism in economic development. The Forum is a privately funded economic development organization that represents businesses in seven counties in northwestern Indiana. A civil engineer and an attorney with the law firm of Kreig DeVault, Maassel previously was president of Northern Indiana Public Service Co.

While each community has its own specific needs and desires, he said those don’t differ much in each town, ultimately coming down to a desire for its residents to prosper, and continue to be a community where people want to live.

“We have to ask if LaPorte County has what a business wants. Are we stronger if we’re all at the table at that discussion? The answer is yes,” said Maassel.
Numbers from the 2010 census show while the county’s largest community, Michigan City, saw its population decline by 4.3 percent from 2000, to 31,479, smaller rural communities saw significant increases. Westville grew by 176.6 percent to 5,853; Kingsbury grew 5.7 percent to 242; and Wanatah grew 3.5 percent to 1,048.

In rural LaPorte County, Maassel said small towns find themselves walking a tightrope of trying to increase their economic base and create jobs, but trying to avoid the kind of development that might damage its small-town atmosphere and a vibrant agricultural sector.

“What I hope people take away from this meeting today is that each of these communities need to think about what they want, and then figure out the kind of work they need to do to make that happen,” said Maassel. “I don’t know if you can engage everyone on everything they need to do, but we hope to get the process started.”

One of the key concerns was not taking rich agricultural land out of service by building factories on it. “The reason small towns are in this discussion,” said Maassel, “is that as long as there are roads moving people and things into and out of the county, outside companies will be looking for opportunities.”

Small towns, he said, can’t afford to take on major projects like that by themselves: “If Chicago can’t do it without the help of consultants, I suggest that small towns like Wanatah can’t do it either. That’s why you all need to work together as partners.”

But in creating the amenities businesses want – municipal water and sewer, access to rail and interstate transportation, executive housing, good schools and high-speed broadband service – Maassel said it’s important existing agricultural land be maintained.

That was the question Bernie Baltes, a farmer from Rolling Prairie, had. Baltes has farmed for more than 40 years and raises crops and livestock on 2,500 acres in the northern part of LaPorte County.

“I understand all that,” he said, “but I want to know how we can maintain our land. When we talk about the best value for the land, is it raising crops or is it selling it for development? We have some of the best agricultural land in the Midwest and I don’t want us to lose it.

“I came here today for a variety of reasons, but I really am looking at it from an agricultural perspective and how we can balance our different needs. I’m all for cleaning up what we have and if there is a way to use land in the city for a project, we should do it rather than take agricultural land out of production.”
Maassel agreed. “We need to ask ourselves that as a region, do we need the jobs? We also need to ask, how do we address this issue? I’m all for preserving ag land and our natural areas. That’s why we need to look at creating a plan for development.”

Steve Zolvinski, a resident of Coolspring Township just south of Michigan City, watched the past couple of years as agricultural land across his road was transformed into a Super Walmart.

“The traffic and trash that has created has been a mess,” said Zolvinski. “I’m looking for answers here on how to address questions of development, while preserving our rural lifestyle.”

He wanted to learn what was going on in other communities: “We all want to grow, but we want to do it in a responsible way.”

This discussion is coming at a time when federal lawmakers are debating the definition of “rural.” The debate goes far beyond semantics; the final definition will determine which small towns will be eligible to share in a $10 billion pie controlled by the USDA. Creating a new definition of what is and isn’t rural was a provision in the 2008 farm bill.

A final definition hasn’t been agreed upon, but a consensus is building that it must include more of the regional rural population and not just farm and agricultural residents. Ultimately, the decision will affect how USDA grants are awarded for rural projects to upgrade municipal water and sewer needs, improve access to utilities such as broadband and develop industry in small communities.

Hubert Morgan, a planner with the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), said it is an issue his agency is grappling with, as well. NIRPC is a not-for-profit government-sponsored planning agency that includes representatives from every community in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties. Primarily concerned with transportation improvement, the NIRPC divides as much as $45 million a year for local transportation projects, including rail and highway access for industrial development in small towns.

“We don’t want to take land out of production if there is another way to achieve our goal,” said Morgan. “That’s why we need to maximize strategic thinking among the various communities.”