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Clinton group to return $1.6M

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By Steven Martens | Saturday, March 29, 2008 |

CLINTON, Iowa — The Clinton Regional Development Group will return about $1.6 million in state funding for a rail port in an industrial park west of Clinton in the next two to four years.

CRDG President and CEO Steve Ames said negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad over plans for the project took longer than expected, and the group would be unable to meet deadlines for the project connected to the state funds. The money came from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Rail Revolving Loan Grant Program, mostly in the form of zero-interest loans.

Ames said his group has agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Union Pacific that changed some of the original plans for the project. He said DOT officials have encouraged his group to reapply for the funds in the future.

“They do see the credibility of the project,” Ames said.

The fund was created by the Iowa Legislature in 2005 and has awarded about $7 million to rail projects throughout the state, said Rose Wazny, rail development manager for the DOT.

In that time, there have been about eight or nine projects where money has been returned due to delays, Wazny said.

Combined with Clinton’s access to major highways and shipping along the Mississippi River, the rail port project will play an important role in the economic future of the Clinton area, Ames said.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.