Foray into politics

This column came following my first trip to Des Moines with a whole bunch of movers-and-shakers from Clinton and the remainder of the county. My publisher told be it was really good, which was the first time in my professional career someone outside of an editor actually had something to say at all about my work. That was a good day.

What a pity it was Tuesday afternoon to see people from Clinton admonished for being selfless.

Iowa Department of Transportation Director Mark Wandro stated time and time again he did not mean to be offensive (something he had to say because in some minds, he was offensive). He insisted that people from Clinton choose which project they want to prioritize — U.S. 30 or the Liberty Square redevelopment.

Two problems. First, by prioritizing Liberty Square, the city is prioritizing U.S. 30, something stated perfectly by Mayor LaMetta Wynn and totally missed by Wandro. Camanche Avenue is not just the gateway to Clinton, she said, it’s the gateway to Iowa.

Look at the new Hy-Vee, and how much better it is than the housing it replaced. Imagine that beauty extended for blocks. Throw in the environmental cleanup of the leaking underground storage tanks and this is a win-win situation.

The second problem with Wandro’s edict is that no one Tuesday asked him to do anything to any other part of U.S. 30 in the Clinton city limits. In fact, Edith Pfeffer suggested that the biggest problem to be addressed is in the Tama-Toledo area, some 160 miles away. She also suggested that the Mount Vernon and Lisbon segments of U.S. 30 need more work before undertaking a four-lane project from Lisbon to DeWitt.

To top it off, Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce President Dennis Lauver told Wandro about his efforts in Washington, D.C., to upgrade a section of U.S. 30 in Illinois.

So here were movers and shakers spending what Wandro called their “political capital” on other communities and states.

This is unheard of in modern politics. The Iowa Department of Economic Development praised local officials for being on the cutting edge of regional projects, something that will be pushed heavily by the governor’s office in coming months. But the DOT scolded them for it.

It’s not as if Lauver and Pfeffer asked for Liberty Square Dollars, money for the new Lyons Business and Technology Park and complete funding on 19th Avenue North connector studies. Fix our broken section of 30, they said, and please pay attention to other communities.

Wandro, however, chastised Clinton folks for wishing to spread the wealth, leading some to second guess that Liberty Square should even be pursued at all. Meanwhile, the city is ready to pounce, already enacting a year-long building moratorium and eagerly anticipating the funds to begin property acquisition. Wandro, someone who professed firsthand knowledge of the U.S. 30/67 issues, should understand this.

This is a city trying to do three very different things that are all so intertwined that they must happen concurrently:

1. Revitalize the urban core of the old city.
2. Develop and expand commercially and residentially to the northwest.
3. Clean itself up, both in Liberty Square and at the Allied Steel property, after years of environmental abuse.

For now the concern is the federal government and appropriations allowable through the TEA-21 bill. The Iowa DOT has proven to be less than helpful for the most part. Although we understand financial constraints quite well, Clinton officials have realized that thinking outside the box is the only way to get things done. The Iowa DOT seems to lag behind this progressive stance, choosing instead to admonish those that fight for their own future.

Here’s hoping Wandro won’t criticize other cities if they choose to offer their money to Clinton. For the big dreamers, here’s hoping Wandro even gets the opportunity.