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I can NOT believe that the FIELDS won the contest. Just shaking my head. Oh well, good luck on what they do!!!
To Mr. or Mrs. “Willing”:
This bridge is being paid for with State and federal monies as part of the U.S. interstate system. What is being paid for with City funds is the “decoration of the bridge.” ONE AND ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS WORTH! (For murals, lights, poles, etc.) Lebanon CITY FUNDS are not being used to build the bridge. Lebanon isn’t getting something from State and federal funds that Frankfurt, Brownsburg or Timbuktu wouldn’t get if their interstate section was being reconstructed. The decoration and add-ons to the bridge are being paid for with TIF funds generated by the Lebanon Business Park. It doesn’t ‘have to be spent’ on this, or any other project. This same body (Redevelopment Commission) recently spent $2.5 million on a fire station and $500,000 for an add-on at Lebanon High School. The Lebanon City Council has no control over how these funds are spent. (That’s bad, because there might be more control on how it is spent. Currently, the mayor’s self-appointed, unelected Redevelopment Commission decides how this money is spent. It’s also just as bad because you know that the Council would spend it if it was there.) I’m pretty confident, though, that a more worthy project(s) could be found for these funds. Some City Council members read about the details of the new fire station in The Lebanon Reporter.
If the TIF District was retired, your property taxes would go down by an average of 5.5% (Watchdog Indiana).
If the recently passed Lebanon School Corp. Referendum was defeated, your property taxes would have gone down.
So many of these "intelligent" comments are coming from people so biased politically that they could find justification for an attack against the city administration even knowing it was based on lies, fabrications, and total ignorance. This bridge will not cost Lebanon taxpayers anything, and any project generated by state or federal government and funded by TIF funds doesn't call for much input locally. We just have to be pleased that $$$$ is being spent on our community rather than Frankfort or Crawfordsville or Brownsburg or anywhere else Big Government (not Lebanon government) could have spent it. I'm sure the Mayor and Councilmen could have/would have chosen the exact same uses for extra funds that have been mentioned....but they CAN'T. So get over it, and try to enjoy a rather spectacular bridge that will draw a great deal of attention to Lebanon.
I believe the bridge designs do not represent the future of Lebanon but the past. Please represent Lebanon for future generations. We want to encourage growth in the community with people, not necessarily silos. Let's beautify the city. Remember we have the Indianapolis Ave. gateway entrance that will be constructed. Will these two entrances to Lebanon compliment one another? Will they be of the same vision? Or will they be a hodge podge of ideas? We have a beautiful courthouse with limestone pillars and ornate porticos, expand on that and bring a classy look to Lebanon.
Forget the bridge spend the money on something for the teens in this town to do besides getting in trouble, there is nothing to do here the shopping is terrible still have to go to Brownsburg to buy decent clothes Walmart just don't have anything....GET CREATIVE WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS !!! USE IT ON SOMETHING WORTHWHILE !!!!
The bridge design looks like a boat! A boat sitting in the middle of corn/soy bean fields, I can't think of anything more that describes Lebanon!
everything is fields and corn let's see something brighter
I have lived here 68 years and I do NOT like any of the designs. I as well think that Mr. Douglas comments were head on!! I love this town, but just imo do not think any of these designs will do a thing for the town.
I can't knock John's comments. While I can certainly understand the Mayor's vision and appreciate his efforts to get input from the citizens of Lebanon, I feel that there are bigger issues at hand, ones that John so fervently outlines for us. That doesn't mean I don't love this town, I do. It is a safe place to raise kids, a socio-economic melting pot, and despite the grades our schools received, I feel my kid is getting a good education from teachers who genuinely care about his education. That being said, if I was driving along I-65, the image of that hideous trailer park would remain etched in my brain far longer than a "Fields" mural on the side of the bridge.
In response to citizen, John Douglas sounds like he has done his homework, it has nothing to do with "liking" lebanon. He is trying to hold our elected officials accountable. I agree with his comments.
Gosh, John (Douglass)....Is there anything you LIKE about Lebanon?
This “bridge project” is emblematic of a recurring problem not only in Lebanon, but in Boone County. First, we ‘WASTE’ $196,000 on a ‘Gateways’ study…months after Ball State worked on the same project. Then, $1.5 MILLION is allocated to ‘decorate’ the new bridge that is being paid for by the State of Indiana. “Tax and Spend” Republicans are no different than ”Tax and Spend’ Democrats.
Mayor Huck Lewis stated, “If that bridge is that nice, I wonder what the rest of the city is like?”
What will this bridge entice people to come in to Lebanon and witness…first-hand? A multitude of closed down businesses, trailer parks, unpainted/unkempt houses, for sale signs on every street, truck stops, shady local watering holes, deteriorating sidewalks and unpainted curbs, worn out traffic signs, trees growing over sidewalks, crumbling street infrastructure, LMS rated a ‘D’ by the Indiana Dept. of Education, LHS rated a ‘C,’ (Lebanon Reporter 8-31-2011), commercial vehicles and trailers parked on residential neighborhood streets and over City sidewalks (including the Mayor’s next-door-neighbor), several mostly empty strip centers, a nice county courthouse (owned by Boone County) and state-of-the-art cop cars…to name a few.
“Nobody will be paying any taxes for this,” Lewis said. What he did not say is that if the TIF district was retired, those funds could go back in to a general property tax pool, thus reducing everyone’s property taxes. (This is eerily similar to the School referendum supporters not telling you that if the recent $40 MILLION referendum was defeated, your property taxes would have been reduced.) But then, the Mayor’s self-appointed Redevelopment Commission could not do things like build a new $2.5 MILLION fire station. (How many people realize that there are no longer any firemen, or fire trucks, at the former East/Main Street location?)
How many people were asked a couple years ago if they thought this was a worthwhile project? How many people questioned Mayor John Lasley before the election for details on this ‘boondoggle?’ How many who live in Lebanon, or Boone County, are at all concerned about the millions of dollars wasted here on a regular basis on studies, abatements, foolish purchases, and major projects the majority of residents have little or no interest in?
WOW! There are only 8 comments on here and it is SO sad to see that most of them are so negative! I have to agree with Chad who said, "it is great that we have a Mayor who is interested in our opinion and involves us in the decision making. I think the bridge is a very nice upgrade to our town and will definitely get noticed. It is also great that we have a forward-thinking approach."
As for the 1.5 million, it is not "our" money....as in "tax dollars" ....according to the Lebanon Reporter, the entire 1.5 million is being funded by TIF dollars from businesses in the Lebanon Business Park. The mayor also stated, "Nobody will be paying any taxes for this, and it does not increase the tax rate."
As far as the agricultural theme.....we are what we are....and we (Lebanon) is an agricultural community. We should embrace that and go with the FIELDS design.
It appears that some people are short-sighted when it comes to worrying about spending the money on what they think is an "ugly" bridge. It is much more than that. The mayor understands the need for safer, WIDER, newer bridges and ramps at all of the exits into Lebanon and also the need to attract people into Lebanon at those exits. Since IND 39 is the main gateway into Lebanon, it only makes sense to have some design for that bridge that makes a statement, something that stands out, so that people will want to stop and visit. IT IS THOSE SAME PEOPLE WHO WILL SPEND MONEY IN LEBANON.....
MORE PEOPLE.... SPENDING MORE MONEY..... EQUALS MORE JOBS!!!
AND THAT'S GOOD FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF LEBANON, RIGHT?
I didn't vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I think the designs are ugly. I agree with some others, just put a plain bridge back up and stop wasting our 1.5 Million on stupid crap like this. Do a plain bridge but wider obviously with the state symbol on it and a red star that points to Lebanon. Wow I bet that's half the cost of these ugly designs. Demo that stupid hotel, the trailer park, the old bar and clean that area up first. Get companies in the empty strip mall first, then worry about making the bridge look ugly.
America....The Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
I think 1.5 million dollars would be better spent on our sidewalks and streets. What's with the agricultural theme, I thought we were trying to attract businesses not farmers? I hate to think we paid someone to come up with ugly concept!
I think there are far better ways to spend governments funds than on a bridge. This design looks like a boat. Please look at cleaning up what's around the area if you want people to stop here and spend money. The economy is to poor right now to be worrying about a bridge design when a chuck of people are without work. Priorities...
I think it is great that we have a Mayor who is interested in our opinion and involves us in the decision making. I think the bridge is a very nice upgrade to our town and will definitely get noticed. It is also great that we have a forward-thinking approach. There is so much potential for our already great town!
Wouldn't the ultimate decision come from the state since it is a state road?
There is 'eye-catching' and then there is 'eye-sore'. The pole and cable design supporting the bridge deck is downright ugly. Decorative panels of any design will not improve the 'jury-rigged' look of the bridge supports!
Let's update the look for Lebanon and give it the Modern Design.