The city of South Bend will join St. Joseph County in pausing work on the controversial Midwest Continental Divide Trail project.
At their prior meeting July 27, the city’s common council had voted 7-1 for Council Member Oliver Davis Jr.’s resolution to pause the project. That came after the county council recently decided to tap the brakes under pressure from farmers and rural homeowners who are worried about their property and privacy rights.
Mayor James Mueller vetoed the council bill, saying it’s unnecessary and riddled with falsehoods.
But on Monday night the council voted 6-0 to override Mueller’s veto, meeting the two-thirds majority requirement for a veto. Council members Sheila Niezgodski and Rachel Tomas-Morgan did not attend the meeting.
Tomas-Morgan cast the only vote against the bill at the last meeting. She issued a statement saying she agrees with Mueller that the measure was not needed, and she said she would have voted against the veto override if she had attended the meeting.
Mueller issued a statement saying, "I vetoed this resolution because it misstates what state law actually does, and tonight's vote doesn't change that. This project is still years from a shovel, and I look forward to the work ahead with our state and local partners."
