By ALEXANDRA NEWMAN

While the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission was prepared Tuesday to vote on a reaffirmation of its resolution about a hotel within the Indiana Dunes State Park, it provided time for citizens to voice their opinions about the DNR’s proposal to locate a hotel on the beach.

Herb Read, president of the local Izaak Walton League was the first to speak, and several audience members gave up their three-minute allotment time to allow him more time to provide objections to the location.

Read said the State Izaak Walton League in 1964 and 1987 was in opposition to a large inn or hotel in the Indiana Dunes and the size of the park was immaterial to the scope of the building.

“The question now is where should it go and what is its scope,” Read said.

Read argued that the lakefront property is prime real estate and the size proposed is the same as the Inn on the north side of the Toll Road on SR 49. “It is seven-times more in floor area than the original Dunes Arcade Hotel that was located in the State Park. Also, back then most people came by train and walked to the hotel.”

Read suggested alternative sites, the ideal spot being east of the new Visitor Center and a second by the Dunes Park Station. A third suggestion was where the old Duneside Inn was located at the end of Tremont Rd. inside the Park. He said even where the campgrounds are located would be preferable to the beach location.

“But down on the beach would dominate the Lakeshore for 100 years,” he said, adding that after 100 years a bigger one could be proposed.

His description of selling State Park Property to a Private Owner to fence off the area from the general public painted a vivid picture.

Kathy Haburjak, a former employee of the State Park, who had studied Recreation Resource management at Purdue University in the Department of Forestry, said one of her concerns is the impact that this hotel will have on the hiking visitors’ experiences.

“Trail Three, formerly known as Trail One, but known to hikers and naturalists as the Dunes Succession Trail, is located directly behind this proposed hotel,” she said.

“Thousands of children, college students and research biologists walk this trail to see the Lake’s impact on the beach, how a few grasses build foredunes which provide enough shelter for pine cone seeds to start jack pine, allowing the buildup of soil to support an oak forest. This is the birthplace of ecology.”

She argued that the hotel would block the view of the beach and sand dunes, enjoyed by millions for over 100 years.

She also objected to the light pollution which would permanently interfere with the study of the night sky and meteor showers. Astronomy clubs from various universities use the area for that purpose and invite the public.

“The current parking lot (one to be used for hotel) destroyed a huge sand dune blowout formation, with the excuse that the parking was desperately needed for day use,” Haberjack said. “If this parking is no longer needed, then the first question should be what is the best use of this land. Clearly is should be to restore a lost dune complex.”

The hotel would also be a barrier for the senior citizens who now use the area for easy access to the beach to watch the sunset, she said, which could be a cruel misuse of the resource, she said.

“Isn’t it interesting that the State Park is not interested in a partnership for the new Tourism Visitor Center, yet are claiming they need more visitors to the park,” she said.

“What is left of the dunes should remain undisturbed, and should be protected for future generations as a living textbook of ecology,” she concluded.

Laura DeSousa, said she favored a hotel off the grounds of the park, adding that the hotel would be as ugly as the mills along the Lakeshore.

William Cantrell, asked that people look to Hammond and Gary to seek the non-usable shores because of oil slicks on the water.

“We need to economically develop the whole area, not destroy the dunes,” he said, adding that he is on record as having proposed a trolley system to link the attractions in Chesterton and Porter.

Charlotte Read, who spoke for herself, said she has not been provided evidence of any benefit to the public by putting a hotel inside the State Park.

“The Park attracts visitors by running a state resource,” she said. She added that when lake levels rise, the hotel would need to be protected. “I don’t want a steel wall in front of our beach,” she said.

Marjory Crawford asked that the DNR listen to Herb and Charlotte Read, both of whom have received highest honors from the State for their dedication to the Dunes.

The Save the Dunes Council prepared a document expressing its opposition. Constance Clay, resource specialist, said Save the Dunes Council had withdrawn its participation in the public rally at the State Park scheduled for Wednesday morning.

“Save the Dunes Council does not feel it is the right venue to display opposition to the DNR’s proposed hotel at the State Park. That does not mean a demonstration will be ruled out in the future, and Save the Dunes will not stop individuals from demonstrating on their own.

Save the Dunes Council remains firmly opposed to the proposed hotel with the Indiana Dunes State Park. The consistent message Save the Dunes Council continues to reiterate in opposition to the hotel has centered around four central points:

1. No demonstrated need for a hotel.

2. Incompatibility with the Lakefront location.

3. No privatization in the State Park.

4. No loss of habitat.

Audience members were informed their objections should be forwarded to the Director, Department of Natural Resources, 402 W. Washington St., Room W256, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Posted 4/12/2006