John Whikehart, one of three Democrats running for the party nomination to Monroe County Board of Commissioners District 3, on Monday called for a review of the proposed update to the master plan for Lake Monroe.
“I served for 9 years on the City of Bloomington Utilities Service Board, and it is critical for the county commissioners to be actively involved with the City of Bloomington, the Corps of Engineers, DNR, and IDEM to protect our valuable natural resource,” Whikehart said in a press release. .
Whikehart emphasized the necessity to review the proposed master plan to guarantee the priority of Lake Monroe as a source of water for Monroe County residents.
He said while the city is working to address issues affecting water quality, “water quality is not just a city utility issue, and county government must be involved in the planning,” Whikehart said.
“I am concerned that the draft plan had a very short period for public comment, was prepared before the water quality update report was completed, and references a reserved right for Indianapolis to withdraw water from Lake Monroe in the future,” Whikehart said in his statement.
Whikehart said if elected, he would ask the other two members of the board of commissioners to join him in a formal request to city, state and Corps of Engineer representatives to evaluate the proposed master plan with complete information and additional public input.