Ind. church in highway’s path rejects offer

DELPHI, Ind. — The leaders of a north-central Indiana church in the path of a highway project are suing the state, saying its offer for their property falls far short of what’s needed for them to rebuild at a new site.

Delphi Pentecostal Church officials said they don’t have any problems with the state’s plans to raze their three church buildings for construction work on a 36-mile section of the Hoosier Heartland Highway.

But court documents in the church’s lawsuit seeking fair compensation from the state Department of Transportation contends the $535,000 the state agency has offered for the buildings and 13.3 acres of land just north of Delphi is well short of what church leaders will need to rebuild elsewhere.

Pastor Tim Stewart tells the Journal & Courier of Lafayette that appraisers estimate it will cost between $2.1 million and $2.5 million to replace the church. And he said that estimate doesn’t include land acquisition.

“We don’t want a Taj Mahal. We can’t replace it for anything close to what they offered. It’s not apples to apples. We’re not being greedy,” Stewart said.

The church is suing INDOT in Carroll Circuit Court, where court-appointed appraisers will report their findings Friday to Judge Donald Currie.

Tonny Storey, an eminent domain attorney with a Carmel law firm who’s representing the Delphi church, said the state will have 20 days after Friday’s hearing to file exceptions, if they think the amount is too low or too high. He said 95 percent of such cases are settled outside court.

“People think they have to accept what the state offers. There is no reason to take the state’s number. This is a business transaction,” Storey said.

INDOT spokesman Jim Pinkerton said Thursday that the agency does not comment on pending litigation. But he said the department hires independent appraisers to evaluate property it hopes to acquire and that those estimates are then reviewed by other appraisers.

“It’s always INDOT’s desire to pay fair market value for property but we also want to respect the interests of taxpayers,” Pinkerton said.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, the Hoosier Heartland will roll through, replacing Indiana 25, a two-lane rural highway built in the 1930s, with a new four-lane highway running from Lafayette to Fort Wayne. The Hoosier Heartland will link in Fort Wayne with U.S. 24, which runs to the Port of Toledo in Ohio.

Stewart said the highway construction has impacted the church beyond the uncertainty of a move. He said average Sunday attendance is down to 35 of its 65 members, compared with the 80 to 100 members who attended services before the highway project began.

He said the church would like to be located on a main road as it is now on Indiana 25.

“We want to be on a main road and not in a place hard to find,” Stewart said.

Church member George Marshall said most of the congregation has been part of the church since it was founded in 1973.

“It is like a family. We love each other, worship together and have good times,” he said.