(NOTE: The Hamilton County Reporter newspaper has obtained e-mails from a person described as “a concerned citizen.” This “concerned citizen” received copies of these e-mails through Indiana’s public access laws. The release of these e-mails has resulted in Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear releasing a statement saying Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke will “turn his attention to other city projects and let the discussion about the Nickel Plate Trail continue under the leadership of other city officials.” I want to clearly point out that LarryInFishers.com has taken no position on the future of the Nickel Plate Rail Line, as to whether the line should be a trail or continue as a rail rail from Noblesville south to 96th Street, which takes-in a part of Fishers. I post this story through a partnership LarryInFishers.com has with the Hamilton County Reporter)
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Hamilton County Reporter
A concerned citizen recently filed a request for information for “copies of public records (electronic or print) that relate to the City of Noblesville and its interactions regarding the Indiana Transportation Museum as well as the Nickel Plate Trail proposal” under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. This information was then given to The Reporter. Some emails point to both Noblesville Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke attempting to fill a public forum with front-row supporters of his own view and a pattern of disrespect toward citizens who do not agree with his perspectives on city projects.
The Reporter contacted Deputy Mayor Cooke, Mayor John Ditslear and the Noblesville Common Council to ask for their views on some specific emails which were provided as part of the public records request.
The following are specific email excerpts, The Reporter’s questions and Cooke’s replies.
Email: “We are getting beat up pretty badly, although I’m hoping that our public meeting on 3/23 can start to turn more people to our side.”
Reporter: I thought this was a listening session? Wasn’t it an opportunity for government, both county and city, to listen and not an opportunity to “turn” people to “our” side. Did the city listen? If so what did they hear?
Cooke: I used a poor choice of words in this e-mail from March 8 with another trail supporter, and for that, I’m sorry. As with any project, it’s important for all the facts to be presented, and our efforts to “turn more people to our side” were to present the facts that we had collected about the benefits of a trail as well as the facts about the Nickel Plate Railroad. I’m proud of the fact that Mayor Ditslear made the decision to change the format of our March 23 public meeting to include comments from citizens. For me personally it was surprising to see the level of passion for the Nickel Plate Railroad displayed at the meeting, so it was a good learning experience. And listening to the public strengthened our resolve to keep the Nickel Plate Railroad as part of the city’s vision for the northern section of the corridor running from our downtown – which we have not wavered from. But I apologize that my poor choice of words written in March did not reflect the leadership of this office.
Email: “Because this trail is far from a done deal.” . . . “We need to show our City Council how much of Noblesville supports the idea of the trail so that they are not just hearing from the vocal minority who want to preserve the train. Seriously! If Council only sees the opponents, Noblesville will miss out on our only chance to get this Monon Trail like amenity in our own city. I’ve seen this play out already in Noblesville where good ideas die because only the old timers against everything speak up.”
Reporter: Isn’t it just the opposite, the vocal minority being the trail supporters? “Old Timers against everything . . .”
Cooke: This content was written as an e-mail only to myself as a draft of a potential communication to members of my HCLA team that I revised. A full search of all my e-mails has verified this fact. I did, however, write an e-mail with different content that I sent to two HCLA team members who are trail supporters. Typically, people who are against projects are the most vocal. However, my intent was for those in favor of the trail to also have a voice.
Email: “See the attached – this is just a rough draft, written late. The section on ITM would need a serious look. I’ve never actually been to the ITM And I’d want to be somewhat careful. But on the other hand, I’ve heard it’s an eyesore. It’s funny reading comments from people who love it.”
Reporter: Forest Park is one of Noblesville’s most treasured assets. The ITM occupies a good portion of real estate in the park and the Deputy Mayor has never been there? I don’t understand how a project (Trail/Rail) spearheaded by the Deputy Mayor could be presented without firsthand knowledge of a key component. ITM isn’t hard to miss by just taking a drive through the park. If you have never been to ITM how could you find any humor in comments from people who love it?
Cooke: This email to another city employee is regarding a potential communication with a reference to the ITM that the city never used. I have driven by the ITM during my visits to Forest Park, and I’ve been briefed on the museum’s conditions. However, the city’s plan for the trail allows for the Nickel Plate Railroad to remain within the park because it is proposed outside the project scope. Like many citizens, I look forward to seeing improvements to this area when the trains begin running again.
Email: “This citizen still doesn’t get it – but at least Jill Doyle from HCLA tried. And I’ve offered to meet with her as well.”
Reporter: Can you be specific about who the citizen is, and what it is that she doesn’t “get.”
Cooke: I won’t share the citizen’s name, but I can tell you the context behind the e-mail. A woman who was angry about the trail proposal posted Facebook messages tagging other community leaders that portrayed HCLA as the group behind the trail proposal. HCLA Executive Director Jill Doyle met with her to explain the difference and about the role of my HCLA team’s project work – a study of rail and trail – as compared to my role with the city working to achieve the Mayor’s vision for this corridor.
Email: “As for Anita – I’d rather not waste time on her. She’s probably a typical anti-City person.”
Reporter: Who is Anita? Please define “anti-City person.”
Cooke: This e-mail with another employee within the city was not part of any communication regarding the Nickel Plate, but was in response to a complaint that the mayor was not personally sponsoring a Noblesville Preservation Alliance event, which led to a criticism of our city government.
Email: Attached is the updated Project Tracker spreadsheet. You’ll see that I’ve broken this into two worksheets: one for the priority projects and one for other. Let me know if you prefer it this way or on one sheet. This way, though, I can still track “other” project information that we may not want “out there” if you know what I mean. I could even create those as a separate spreadsheet altogether. I’m not quite sure how you plan to disseminate this with Council. It could be as simple as me printing out and putting hard copies in their mailbox. Just let me know.
Reporter: Please comment on your statement “information we may not want out there if you know what I mean.”
Cooke: Every city project goes through the appropriate public process for consideration and possible approval. While poorly worded, the point of this e-mail was to create a document to update our Common Council on various projects, with the distinction being made here to “other projects” that are tentative and not yet fully developed for public communication.
Email: Basically – We needed to revise where we say the Nickel Plate ends in Noblesville. The estimate before was up to SR32. But since we’re turning the Nickel Plate onto the Midland Trace Trail at Pleasant Street – that’s what we need to say where the NP ends. You’ll see what I mean when you review my edits. However, we’re not revising the budget estimate yet to account for this change. But geographically speaking, it’s less confusing to say it stops at Pleasant (for now hopefully!).
We’ll certainly be excited to pull up the tracks from 8th Street and over SR32/38 – but no need to confuse the public with this specificity.
In the FAQ, I also added paragraphs about Rail Tourism and Mass Transit. Feel free to revise accordingly or take out that question altogether. We could certainly put in talking points that could sway people away from both – but I think it’s best to remain somewhat neutral to give some cover to our partners.
Reporter: You make the comment about adding talking points that could sway people away from Mass Transit and Rail Tourism. Why would you want to “sway” people? You also state “to give some cover to our partners.” Please explain “cover” and identify “partners.” Shouldn’t city government present facts about a project without consideration of swaying people in one direction or another?
Cooke: I’m sorry that my language in this e-mail comes across as cavalier, but facts are what we’ve been presenting to the public as part of the education process on the benefits of trails as compared to rail tourism and mass transit given the city’s vision for this corridor and its objectives of the Noblesville comprehensive master plan. Regarding the mention of “remain somewhat neutral to give cover to our partners,” I was referring to not directly criticizing ITM during our trail announcement. Despite the troubled history of the ITM, which has been the city’s partner for three decades, we didn’t feel it was a good idea to criticize the organization in our announcement – hence, why we removed that section from the trail FAQ.
Reporter: Please comment on your statement “We’ll certainly be excited to pull up the tracks from 8thStreet and over SR32/38 – but no need to confuse the public with this specificity.” Isn’t being specific the best way to eliminate confusion?
Cooke: The changes I proposed for the February 28 news release were to simplify the description of where the tracks would be pulled up compared to where the trail would end at Pleasant Street, which was reflected in our final news release. The initial drafts made it sound like the trail would run all the way north to SR32/38, which is not the case.
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Statement from Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear:
Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke and I have decided to turn his attention to other city projects and let the discussion about the Nickel Plate Trail continue under the leadership of other city officials. I believe Steve did not mean to come across in the light that he is being portrayed and will use this experience as a learning opportunity going forward.
The topic of the railway has passionate members of our community on each side. However, some of the social media comments I have seen directed at him have been unfair, defamatory and harassing. We are a team and Steve works diligently on my vision for the City of Noblesville and what we think is best for its future.
As I have previously stated, we want to keep the train rolling in Noblesville from Forest Park north to Tipton. I am hopeful this move allows the railway conversation to progress forward without being personal.
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Noblesville Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke sent the following statement to The Reporter about emails surrounding the Nickel Plate Rail/Trail project:
As the debate on the Nickel Plate Railroad continues, several of my e-mails that are in the public domain have been called into question. I can see where reading some of them without any context could create concerns about the city’s plans for the Nickel Plate Railroad. These e-mails reflected early research and idea generation about the Nickel Plate, and do not necessarily reflect the city’s current proposal for the railway.
While our actions speak louder than words, my communication needs to better reflect the leadership of this office. I’m sorry if the tone of my e-mails offended anyone in our community. The last thing that I want is to tarnish the reputation of this city that I am so passionately serving.
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Statements on this issue from members of the Noblesville Common Council:
Noblesville Common Council President Megan Wiles: “I don’t appreciate the tone of Steve’s messages, whether they are internal or meant to be shared with our residents. Anytime we are embracing a project that impacts our community we need to gather the input of our community and gauge their level of interest.”
Noblesville Common Council Vice President Chris Jensen: “I am always supportive of a professional, respectful debate about the future of my hometown. However, in regards to the recent emails that have surfaced, I am disappointed in their tone and would have, personally, handled the situation differently.”
Noblesville Common Council Member Mary Sue Rowland: “Good government and honest government are one of the same and citizens should expect nothing less.”