When the Vision Iowa board first began meeting after the program was approved by the Legislature in 2000, there weren’t great expectations that the money would go very far, said its chairman, Michael Gartner.

“When this whole thing was started, it was thought it would fund maybe one or two projects,” said Gartner, who is also chairman and principal owner of the Iowa Cubs. “When the board got together we said, ‘Let’s leverage this and try to get six or seven projects.’”

As it turned out, that leveraging of private and local government contributions has allowed the program to provide more than $220 million in funding to 12 major projects totaling more than $2 billion.

“I think it’s spurred the communties’ spirit, and sparked a lot of investment by local governments,” Gartner said. “We had the policy that there must be partnerships; the whole idea was that there was leverage.”

When the board meets on Nov. 10, it’s likely to award the remaining Vision Iowa funds, about $5 million. The board also oversees the Community Attraction and Tourism program, designed for smaller projects, which in the past four years has awarded more than $45 million to 134 projects statewide.



BUDGET REALITIES

Earlier this year, the Legislature appropriated an additional $12 million for each of the next six years for the CAT program, but a measure that would have continued funding for Vision Iowa was killed in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson Jr. said the rejection of additional funding for Vision Iowa was a reflection of the state’s budget realities. The CAT program, however, will be available for larger projects, he said.

“With the renewed funding for the CAT program, what we said was, if there’s a huge project, it could be funded over multiple years,” Iverson said. “That’s the way it was designed so it could take care of some projects large or small. It comes down to a matter of money; that’s what we could work with and be comfortable in the funding stream. We looked at the money and said, ‘We can do it this way and make it work.’”

One of the major projects that will likely be requesting funding in the future is the Iowa Environmental Project, which would construct an indoor rain forest in Coralville. Gartner said given the parameters of the CAT program, that project would probably get no more than $4 million per year, or possibly less, depending on when it gets in line for funding.

Though there are no efforts under way to approve further money forVision Iowa, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald said that program’s success is an argument for continued funding.

“Everywhere I go in Iowa, people say, ‘This is really a successful program,’” he said. “The significant thing is, we’ve had the ability to match any project up to 50 percent, and we haven’t done that for the most part. The average state match is 23 percent. We’ve said, ‘We want a combined vision from your community, and we’ll partner with you, but only to a certain extent.’ That’s been great for all the cities, including Des Moines.”

The $193 million in bonds issued by the state to provide the upfront money to Vision Iowa projects are backed by state gambling tax revenues. Vision Iowa is second in line, behind the general fund’s annual allotment of $60 million, to receive $15 million per year to pay off the bonds.

With gambling tax proceeds now at $200 million per year and increasing, Fitzgerald said, it’s very unlikely the state would ever have to dip into Iowa Lottery revenues, which are the reserve for paying off the Vision Iowa funds.

“These bonds are well secured, and the future of gambling revenues appears to be strong for the state of Iowa,” he said. “The discussion is for the state to expand gambling, not contract it. The biggest concern I would see is if Nebraska decides to cut loose and allow gambling. It would be a hit if Omaha really started being a gambling mecca; a good portion of our revenues come from there.”

Iowa’s high bond ratings means the state would have no trouble borrowing more if it needed to for an additional infusion of money into Vision Iowa, Fitzgerald said.

RECORD TOURISM NUMBERS

Iowa tourism officials say the state is just beginning to see the benefits of projects that were funded with assistance from Vision Iowa.

The state’s tourism industry grew to a record $4.6 billion in 2003, a 3.7 percent increase from 2002 and ahead of the national average growth rate of 2.7 percent.

“I think that we’re starting to see the benefits that (Vision Iowa) is having on the state, as some of the attractions begin to open,” said Shawna Lode, the Iowa Tourism Division’s communications manager. With attractions such as America’s River at the Port of Dubuque now open, combined with the post-9/11 trend of vacationers staying closer to home, the state saw an 8 percent increase in auto transportation tourism expenditures last year over 2002.

“Taking a week or a month off just isn’t realistic anymore; people are looking for those shorter trips, and Iowa is well positioned for that,” she said.

Polk County, which broke the $1 billion mark in tourism spending for the first time last year, has yet to realize the impact that more than $1 billion in additional infrastructure, including the Iowa Events Center, the new Downtown Des Moines Public Library, Science Center of Iowa, the John and Mary Pappajohn Higher Education Center, the World Food Prize Foundation headquarters and the Principal Riverwalk, will have on tourism expenditures.

Polk County has been the single largest beneficiary of Vision Iowa investments, with a total of $74 million awarded to those projects. Through an initial $70 million award in June 2001, the Vision Iowa board designated $50 million for the Events Center project, $15 million for the Science Center and $5 million for the Iowa Hall of Pride. The board made a portion of the award, a forgivable loan of $15 million, contingent upon the library, the Pappajohn Center and the World Food Prize project each being completed.

A year ago, the board subsequently approved $4 million toward the $26 million Riverwalk project.

“I think they’re off to great starts,” Gartner said of each of the major attractions funded across the state. “I don’t’ think there will be a project that won’t succeed and won’t make life better for people in Iowa.”

GRAY’S LAKE CONNECTOR TO DOWNTOWN NEARLY DONE

Portions of the unfinished Meredith Trail, the connector between the future Principal Riverwalk and Gray’s Lake Park, have already become popular with the lunchtime running crowd.

City workers have finished paving the basic trail, and are now finishing up work on the Jackson Street Bridge southwest of Principal Park/Sec Taylor Field to connect the two halves of the project, said Art Slusark, a Meredith Corp. spokesman.

“You can run all the way from Gray’s Lake to the Jackson Street Bridge,” Slusark said. “It’s not officially open to run on; but I ‘toured’ it,” Slusark said with a wink.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation Director Don Tripp said the railing for the bridge, which is due to arrive by the third week of November, is the last element to be installed before the bridge can be opened. Tripp said he expects the city will meet its Dec. 1 contract deadline for completing the bridge and officially opening the trail to the public.

In August, the Meredith Corporation Foundation announced it would donate $2 million to the project, which will upgrade the trail with lighting, security telephones and other amenities such as landscaped scenic turnouts and improvements to the Jackson and First Street bridges over the Raccoon River.

The funds will also pay for an additional half-mile trail that will connect the two bridges, creating a one-mile loop with views of downtown, as well as a half-mile connection along the east side of Fleur Drive that will link Gray’s Lake Park with Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to make it more accessible to Gateway West and the Sherman Hill district.

The trail will connect to the Principal Riverwalk, a planned 1.2-mile loop on both sides of the Des Moines River to be linked by two pedestrian bridges.

The Principal Financial Group Foundation Inc. has donated $10 million toward that project and has pledged to raise an additional $5 million in private funds. Additionally, contributions from Polk County, the city of Des Moines and the federal government account for nearly $4 million, on top of a $4 million Vision Iowa grant, said Libby Jacobs, director of community relations for Principal Financial Group Inc.

“We said originally it would be in the range of $26 to $28 million, so we are very close to closing that gap,” she said. “We’ve had people come forward who wanted to donate some things that weren’t part of the original project.”

Work on the Riverwalk’s planned fountain and ice skating rink will begin next year, which Jacobs said they hope to have completed by late 2005. “We also hope to start work on the civic gardens next year as well,” she said.

“We’re pleased that we’re actually on the schedule that we had envisioned, and that one of the first pieces that will be opened will be the Meredith Trail as the connection between the project and Gray’s Lake.”