U.S. Rep. Mike Pence will not reconsider his refusal to ask for federal spending targeted for Muncie and a project at Ball State University, a spokesman for the congressman said.
"He's comfortable with the decision he's made," spokesman Daniel Son said Wednesday night.
The tussle over federal spending targeted for Muncie is a matter of principle for Pence - and a matter of Ball State safety in the view of one campus official.
Pence, a Republican from Columbus, Ind., whose district includes Muncie, has said that "earmarks" - federal spending targeted for projects in his district - are a waste of money and encourage corruption.
"Hoosiers deserve better from their representative than someone who goes along to get along," Pence said in an opinion piece written for newspapers last month.
"I am not willing to participate in a deeply flawed system that facilitates and encourages corruption, all the while betraying the public's trust and wasting the public's money."
Muncie's City Council, however, has asked Pence to reconsider, saying federal transportation money is needed to address sewer overflow problems and improve traffic safety on the Ball State campus.
The work on McKinley and Riverside avenues is aimed at increasing safety for pedestrians on campus, Philip 'Satch' Sachtleben, the school's vice president of governmental affairs, said.
This work would continue the McKinley Avenue Safety Improvement Project that began four years ago and was funded by earmarks.
The project includes a median that narrows traffic lanes, forcing vehicles to slow down, Sachtleben said.
"It used to be just one flat sheet of asphalt," he said of McKinley before its renovation. "Before, people could cross anywhere, and they did, and there were accidents."
The proposed new work would do the same for Riverside Avenue on campus. Sachtleben said the project would also renovate nearby storm-water drainage, which now diverts raw sewage into the White River during heavy rains. Such combined-sewer overflows, a relic of older sewage systems, are blamed for water pollution throughout the country.
The project would put in a sewer system that separates sewage and storm water, thus reducing pollution.
The Muncie City Council passed a resolution on July 6 asking Pence to reconsider his opposition to the funding.
The measure passed 6-3. Those voting against it included Mark Conatser of the 2nd District and Brad Polk of the 4th District.
Polk said he opposed the funding because it was directed to Ball State instead of other Muncie streets in worse shape.
"Couldn't there be a better way to spend this money?" he said at the council meeting.
"It's not in the best interest of the city of Muncie to beautify three blocks that are already in good enough shape."
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