By KEVIN NEVERS

Officials of the Chesterton/ Duneland Chamber of Commerce are taking a dim view of the proposed closure of the Chesterton license branch.

Chamber Executive Director Bonnie Trout told the Chesterton Tribune today that the loss of the branch—one of 24 which the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is currently reviewing for possible closure this year, in addition to nine others slated for definite closure—would force Dunelanders to travel to the county’s two other branches, in Valparaiso and Portage, to conduct their licensing business, at a cost of time and resources. “I would be sad to see it close,” she said. “It’s a real convenience for the people in Duneland. They’re using the branch, they can get in and out of it quickly and easily, and it serves a lot of residents.”

Chesterton Town Attorney and Chamber President Chuck Lukmann is on vacation and was not available for comment this morning, but Associate Town Attorney Chuck Parkinson, who chairs the Chamber’s Public Policy Committee, agreed with Trout and said that the committee would likely discuss the issue at its next meeting, July 8. “It’s something we would discuss, whether there’s anything we could do to keep it open. It’s a convenience for the people in the Duneland area.”

For his part Chesterton Utility Superintendent and Town Planning Director Steve Yagelski, who sits on the Duneland Economic Development Corporation, the Chamber’s not-for-profit arm, said that the proposed closure simply doesn’t make demographic sense. The population not only of Chesterton but of Duneland in general—Westchester, Liberty, and Jackson townships—is growing explosively, he noted. “North County is just absolutely booming right now. You’re bringing a lot of new people into the area and closing the branch would only add to the confusion. The convenience factor and the service factor would be gone.”

Not only, Yagelski added, would “valuable people and jobs be lost with a closure like that,” and not only would Dunelanders be effectively “disenfranchised,” but Dunelanders would also be forced to drive much greater distances to conduct their licensing business, in a county officially designated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management as a non-attainment area for sulphur dioxide and ozone.

“I would hope (the BMV) would re-consider and keep it open,” Yagelski said.

Perhaps the BMV will. It would certainly seem that the Chesterton license branch—as well as the Gary license branch, which is also under review for closure—slipped onto the list by mistake. Consider the population of Chesterton, according to the 2000 census: 10,488 (and of Gary: 102,746).

Now consider the average population of the 22 other municipalities with license branches under review for closure: 2,775.

Consider as well the average population of the nine municipalities with license branches slated for closure: 3,563.

Consider, finally, the average population of the three municipalities with license branches originally slated for closure but given a reprieve by the BMV: 2,944.

The population of a municipality where a license branch is located, of course, is probably not the only factor which the BMV considers when reviewing it for closure, since any given license branch—like the Chesterton one—obviously serves residents of other municipalities and unincorporated area as well.

By that standard the Chesterton license branch serves an area with a population of at least 21,445: that of the 46304 zip code, according to the 2000 census.

BMV branches closing or under review

The location of nine Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branches that are now closed under a plan announced May 3, and 24 branches the agency said Monday are under review for possible closure. The BMV also wants to keep closed a branch in Lowell that lost its lease and one in Union City damaged by fire.

BRANCHES CLOSED

Butler

Cayuga

Elwood

Garrett

Knightstown

Montpelier

North Manchester

Summitville

Warren

BRANCHES UNDER REVIEW

FOR CLOSURE

Albany

Bicknell

Brownstown

Cambridge City

Chesterton

Churubusco

Clay City

Dunkirk

Fairmount

Gary

Hagerstown

Middletown

Mooresville

Morristown

Mount Vernon

Newburgh

North Judson

Odon

Ossian

Parker City

Rockport

Syracuse

Versailles

Walkerton

Posted 6/14/2005