INDIANAPOLIS — Northwest Indiana residents will have a final opportunity to tell state officials their thoughts on a plan to allow alcohol sales at a renovated Indiana Dunes State Park pavilion.
However, during legislative debate on the new statute, DNR officials promised lawmakers the agency would present its alcohol in the parks plan to the 12-member Indiana Natural Resources Commission, the regulatory board that oversees the DNR, before requesting the permits.
That presentation is set for 9 a.m. Region time July 19 in the ballroom at Fort Harrison State Park, 6002 N. Post Road, Indianapolis.
“There will be an opportunity for public comment to commission members at that time. That’s not a requirement of the new law, but it’s something we said would be done,” said Phil Bloom, DNR communications director.
The commission does not appear to have the authority to permanently block Dunes alcohol sales, since the law mandates DNR receive an alcohol permit if it requests one, but the commission’s response and public reaction to the plan could influence the agency’s decision to seek a permit.
“We’ll take any guidance we get from the commission, and take into account the public comment, in consideration of when we then apply to the ATC for the state park alcohol permit,” Bloom said.
Earlier this year, nearly 10,000 Region residents signed petitions urging the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Mike Pence, also a Republican, to reject the plan for alcohol at the Dunes pavilion, citing the potential for drunks on the beach, increased drownings and new competition for nearby businesses.
After Pence signed the measure into law, Dunes Action!, a coalition of Northwest Indiana residents opposed to alcohol in the park and the possibility that a banquet center will be constructed next to the pavilion, condemned Pence for “selling out family-friendly state parks for booze.”
Pavilion Partners, which has a 35-year lease with the DNR to renovate the historic Dunes pavilion and operate various dining and event spaces there, twice was denied an alcohol sales permit last year by the Porter County Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, whose district includes the park, said Pence is wrong to send the message that if you can’t win with local officials who know what their communities need, come to the state and you’ll get it, anyway.
Supporters of the project include local building trades unions, Region tourism organizations and the state’s commerce agency, among others.
Bloom emphasized the new law is not specific to the Dunes pavilion.
He said its purpose is to streamline the process for visitors hosting events at the seven state parks with inns, and outdoor spaces at those parks, to serve alcohol to their guests.
“This is a response to our constituents and customers that visit all of our parks that have asked for this convenience,” Bloom said. “This was never intended to be an Indiana Dunes-only alcohol bill.”
He said even if the DNR ultimately obtains an alcohol sales permit for Indiana Dunes State Park, which contains 2,182 acres on Lake Michigan in Porter County, alcohol availability will be severely limited.
“Dunes will still have the most restrictive conditions of any park in the state. Alcohol will still be prohibited on the beach, prohibited in the campground, prohibited throughout the park,” Bloom said. “The only places would be the pavilion and the leased banquet center.”
Bloom said no alcohol changes will take effect at the Dunes during the 2016 park season.