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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowI was excited to read of Noblesville’s commendable bypass project that was covered in IBJ (Planned Noblesville bypass can’t seem to avoid controversy, Dec. 18). We should expect local officials to pursue projects that propagate the well-being of residents and it appears that Noblesville is poised to do just that with the proposed bypass project.
That said, the statements from Noblesville city officials in the article are disappointing. The comments write-off and all but disrespect the valid concerns raised by a local company named IDI, which risks losing over 20% of its corporate headquarters due to the bypass. IDI has a 50-plus year history in the city and nearly 100 employees at an average salary of $73,000 per year. IDI is the exact type of employer that a city must consider when assessing the cost and benefit of a project.
I caution Noblesville officials from pursuing a project at the expense of ousting an employer like IDI. If ousting is the best option, then I further caution you from disrespecting IDI in the process. The message you sent to employers everywhere with your recent statements is that you do not value or respect a company that has been in your city for 50 years with high-paying jobs. If you do not respect an employer like this, then what employer will you ever respect?
–Matt Whiteside
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I was astounded at the action by the mayor regarding the IDI property and the city’s plans to take an important part of their property. For some perspective regarding IDI. I was the first person to actually mix the compound in 1972 with a small concrete mixer. I was with them when they bought the current location (Eisen Bros Furniture manufacturing). To see what the Merrell family did to grow their business is remarkable The confidence they had in the city as they grew. Today they are the largest manufacture of the “Glass Polyester” compound in the world, not to mention the number of employees they have had over these many years. I know the neighborhood and to consider it a historic entity is a stretch. I’ve known Tom and Jay Merrell since 1966 when they lived in NY on Thunder Mountain Road. It is a travesty to pursue this agenda with no consideration for this company’s world headquarters in Noblesville. All this agitation for another road, and the necessary bridge across to cross the White River, which won’t be built for another 5/10 years.