Farmers and conservationists criticize Midwest Divide planning as county officials defend timeline and spending

Community Redevelopment Partners gave an update to the St. Joseph County Redevelopment Commission on the Midwest County Divide initiative, and members of the public used the commission’s comment period to press for more outreach and invoice transparency.

Sean, a Community Redevelopment Partners representative, told commissioners that the initiative began after local and state stakeholders sought a way to connect natural assets across the county. He said the county contracted CRP for $300,000 to lead planning, MKSK was selected to prepare a land‑use plan (about $250,000 of that contract), and the state approved an appropriation intended to seed the effort — $2,000,000 annually for 20 years — contingent on forming the commission and completing statutory corrections. “We started the process to coalesce stakeholders, protect natural assets and create a strategy that can drive quality of life in St. Joseph County,” he said.

The presentation emphasized that the land‑use plan remains incomplete because of a required technical correction to the enabling statute and that the commission cannot take formal action until city and county bodies adopt the plan and appointments are made. Sean said the commission’s statutory corrections are expected to be effective July 1, after which the commission would be formed and the county could access appropriated funds. He described multiple public meetings and charrettes held as part of engagement and invited additional meetings with landowners and stakeholders.

Public commenters sharply disputed that outreach had been adequate. Brent Burkes, who identified himself as a South Bend area farmer, said landowners in the proposed corridor learned of the project through local television and social media, not direct outreach. “This is a land grab takeover,” Burkes said, urging the commission to ensure farmer representation on any advisory group and to consult landowners directly.

Conservation voices raised separate questions. Steve Sass, who described long involvement in local environmental work, said conservation organizations and other stakeholders felt excluded from the process and questioned whether the public participation results and charrettes produced tangible deliverables. “We have nothing to show from the charrettes that were done last year,” Sass said, adding that some promotional materials depicted fauna and landscapes not native to the county.

Derek Dieter, the St. Joseph County surveyor, pressed the commission to review invoices and asked how work under the county’s contract had been accounted for. Dieter said he and others had requested documentation and said meetings to review invoices had not produced satisfactory answers. “If I make a mistake on a customer’s job, I can’t go back and ask for more money to fix it,” Dieter told the commission.

Sean and county staff responded directly to those concerns. Sean said the trail route has not been designated, that illustrative maps were for discussion only, and that CRP had attempted to meet with farmers and conservationists prior to the public meetings. He offered to review invoices and hold follow‑up meetings with any landowners or stakeholders who feel they were missed. Bill Schelio, the county economic development director, reiterated that the county would host public meetings and would provide project information through the county website and upcoming open‑house events.

The presentation and public comments left the commission with several next steps: public meetings remain scheduled (CRP and the county announced open‑house style sessions), staff will make further documentation available on the county web pages, and county and city bodies must adopt the land‑use plan before the commission is fully constituted and state appropriations are accessible.

The commission did not take formal action on the Midwest initiative at the meeting. The county and CRP said they would continue outreach and would make additional invoice records and meeting notices available to concerned stakeholders.