I-69 vote faces conflict of interest challenge

Following a narrow vote to include Interstate 69 in the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Improvement Program, one member of the MPO cited a conflict of interest, nullifying the vote.

But the cited conflict of interest does not meet several requirements under Indiana’s conflict of interest statute.

Still aiming to reverse the MPO’s decision, Monroe County Commissioner Mark Stoops, who challenged the decision because of the potential conflict of interest, is continuing his challenge under federal conflict of interest laws.

“The MPO is set up under federal legislation, and that is what we are researching right now to see if there are additional or different constraints on a conflict of interest process,” Stoops said. “I haven’t dropped my contesting the vote, and I won’t until I get an opinion on federal law that applies to the MPO.”

Stoops said he is currently working with an unidentified lawyer who, he said, is educated on federal procedure.

“The most important part of all of this stuff is to research the law before bringing up a complaint,” Mayor Mark Kruzan said. “The state statute he cited does not apply, and my preference is to find that out before we bring it up.”

Although Kruzan voted against including I-69 in the MPO’s TIP, he said he does not believe a conflict of interest exists.

The conflict of interest Stoops referred to involved MPO Citizens Advisory Committee member and Monroe County Highway Department Director Bill Williams. Williams’ son, Stoops said, works as a subcontractor for the Indiana Department of Transportation, specifically working on the construction of I-69.

Williams, Kruzan said, has supported the I-69 project before his son was hired as a
subcontractor.

But according to Indiana’s conflict of interest statute, conflict of interest only applies to immediate family members, including dependents and spouses.

Williams, who voted in favor of I-69, could not be reached for comment.

Kruzan added that the state statute also only applies to employees of the city government, not local employees such as Williams.

If Stoops determines that Williams’ vote did violate federal conflict of interest laws, he said he hopes to either nullify the vote entirely or force a re-vote.

The determination as to whether a federal conflict of interest violation exists should be made by next week, Stoops said.

“I don’t think Bill Williams had a real conflict of interest in the vote. I don’t think he would have changed his vote because of where his son worked,” Stoops said. “I think Bill Williams has a lot of integrity, but I’m contesting the process the MPO used to allow Bill or not.”