Corridor forum gains public input

Little ground changed hands in the twin public forums Sept. 23 and 25 regarding acres of the former DeArmond millsite planned for the Education Corridor. Fierce skirmishes broke out on both sides amounting to many direct hits. No clear victor emerged, leaving each side expressing its readiness to continue the disagreement.

Of the many shots directed at the proposed expansion of the NIC campus, the finality of the land purchase expressed by Trustee Mic Armon was hotly contested and defended even after the smoke cleared.

“I’m a little shocked that the people were upset by that,” said Armon, regarding his statement that it was a ‘done deal.’ “I really thought that the last forums were not about whether the property should be purchased, but the infrastructure to be planned.”

”I think that the fact that the board made this decision without public input is egregious,” said Richard Phenneger, business analyst and candidate for NIC trustee. “With the problems arising (in the master plan), I’m surprised that they’re moving on without public support.”

“We have had other forums, and there has been more in favor than not,” Armon rebutted. “It has been a process the whole way. I don’t know how we could have been clearer (about the plan).”

Lines were drawn over the relation of the wastewater treatment plant adjacent to the millsite. Dan Gookin, local author, expressed to the committee that the presence of the plant affects the value of the adjacent property and how the appraisal commissioned by the board cited it only in reference to its geographical position, not to the undesirability of its presence.

“I’m not by any means against the Educational Corridor or higher education,” Gookin said, “but if you’re going to spend $10 million, your better get