1000 FRIENDS OF IOWA:  PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
VOLUME 6, #5

Action needed on federal transportation bill:

CALL SENATOR HARKIN (515-284-4574), SENATOR GRASSLEY (515-284-4890),
AND CONGRESSMAN BOSWELL (515-282-1909) AND ASK THEM TO REMOVE
THE EARMARK FOR THE NORTHEAST POLK COUNTY BELTWAY FROM THE TRANSPORTATION
BUDGET BILL.

Your immediate action is needed regarding an earmark for a beltway that
would cut through prime farmland in northern Polk County.  The U.S. House of
Representatives recently passed a $275 billion transportation bill, HR 3550
(aka "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users"). This bill authorizes
funds for federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, transit programs,
trails and other purposes. HR 3550 contains several earmarks of funding for
Iowa. A similar bill was passed out of the U.S. Senate, yet with no
particular items earmarked. The House and Senate will soon be negotiating
about which projects will remain in the bill. Some items of interest to 1000
Friends of Iowa members are:

        * Polk County: Northeastern Polk County Beltway
        * Polk County: The SW connector from the interchange of relocated IA
5 to IA 28 in West Des Moines
        * NW Iowa:  Construction of a four-lane expressway on U.S. Highway
60 through Plymouth,
           Sioux, O'Brien and Osceola Counties
        * Statewide: Several earmarks funding trails and public
transportation

For a full list of projects - some encouraging, others troubling - visit
http://taxpayer.net/budget/HR3550/index.htm and click on the link titled
"Full list."

The earmark of immediate concern is the proposed northeast Polk County
beltway, which is currently being studied and would have a tremendous impact
on county taxpayers, area residents, businesses and prime farmland. Although
the money earmarked right now is only $500,000, a lot more public dollars
would be put into this over time. This beltway would a catalyst for more
urban sprawl in northern Polk County, along with further draining the east s
ide of Des Moines and many small towns in the region.  A map of the proposed
beltway can be found on our website, www.kfoi.org.

1000 Friends is organizing meetings with Senator Grassley, Senator Harkin
and Congressman Boswell. The first meeting will be with Senator Grassley
via. speaker phone at the 1000 Friends office at 3524 Sixth Ave at 3:30 on
Wednesday, April 7th.  If you would like to be a part of this meeting,
please contact Stephanie at (515) 288-5364 so we can plan on the number of
people who will be participating. You can also call to receive an update
about future meetings or for more information

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