Lobbying intensified for D.M's plant vote; Dozens tried to influence the City Council's choice on an ethanol facility.
By JASON CLAYWORTH
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Copyright 2006, Des moines register and tribune company
****Correction - Sunday, November 5, 2006, page 2A: An article Friday incorrectly reported the source of a campaign contribution to Des Moines City Councilwoman Christine Hensley. Richard Hurd has lobbied for an ethanol plant. David Hurd donated to Hensley's campaign.****
Former Gov. Terry Branstad, former Lt. Gov. Jo Ann Zimmerman, and the president of a trade union were among the dozens of people who have sent e-mails or made telephone calls to Des Moines City Council members in the past two months to try to influence their decisions on a pair of competing ethanol plants.
Now the council is in a gridlock that some fear could jeopardize millions of dollars in business development and hundreds of new jobs.
Correspondence obtained Thursday by The Des Moines Register through the state's open records law shows that some of the people who pushed for one of two ethanol proposals also have made past campaign contributions to council members. Observers say the calls and messages illustrate what's at stake: a $200 million plant and an estimated $1.6 million in new property tax revenue.
- "You may remember me from various political campaigns with your mother," Zimmerman's Oct. 30 e-mail to Councilman Michael Kiernan began. Zimmerman and her husband are investors in Lincolnway Energy of Nevada, one of the two companies that want to build an ethanol plant on the city's southeast side. Zimmerman signed the e-mail using her former elected title.
- Businessman David Hurd gave at least $500 to Christine Hensley for her run for mayor in 2003. He urged her support for Vision Fuels of Urbandale, the company she supported in a 3-3 council vote Wednesday. Hensley pointed out, however, that she also has accepted campaign money from proponents of the Lincolnway plan, including attorney Jim Wine, who represents the project.
- Scott Saylor, president of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 234, wrote an e-mail to Councilman Chris Coleman on Oct. 19 that urged him to support Vision Fuels and the "undeniable economic benefits" of a project financed by local investors.
Coleman said Wednesday that he knows people involved in both proposals and that it would be nice if he could select the one "with the most friends" behind it.
On Thursday, he clarified that, saying he voted against his friends and that the comment "was a challenge to my colleagues" to vote for the best deal.
None of the e-mails obtained by the Register included ultimatums or anything that could be interpreted as political arm-twisting. But the stepped-up lobbying effort might offer insight into the council's collective indecision on what is possibly the largest economic development opportunity in Des Moines' history, said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University.
"It underscores the lack of confidence people have in government," Schmidt said. "Their decisions shouldn't be made by greased skids. It should be done on more objective criteria."
Kiernan acknowledged that he has been lobbied by both sides, but he said the input from influential community leaders has not altered his decision. He voted Wednesday to support Vision Fuels of Urbandale over Zimmerman's request.
"Who is going to come back with the best deal for taxpayers, to me, is the bottom line," Kiernan said.
City leaders want the project to anchor an industrial park that could eventually employ 6,500 people.
Des Moines has spent more than $10 million since 2001 for about 230 acres known as the Des Moines Agrimergent Technology Park. The goal is to increase the city's tax base by more than $420 million. The ethanol plant would be the first major development, on a 166-acre area near Vandalia Road and Southeast 43rd Street.
Neither company has asked for subsidies. Officials from both firms said Thursday that they will stay in the running.
"I don't think we're planning to pull out, but certainly we need to attend to getting a better understanding of what we need to do to stay in the competition," said Rick Brehm, Lincolnway's president.
Brian Green, a project coordinator for Vision Fuels, said his group is content with the way the council has handled the process.
"We're actually not frustrated by the decision" Wednesday to delay a final vote, Green said. "It makes it a two-horse race."
Reporter Jason Clayworth can be reached at (515) 699-7058 or jclayworth@dmreg.com
Lincolnway, Vision Fuels
Here is a look at the two companies, Lincolnway and Vision Fuels, that are vying for a proposed ethanol plant in Des Moines.
PLANT OPERATION
PLANT DATA
LINCOLNWAY VISION FUELS
Capacity in gallons 100 million 110 million
Full-time jobs 56 45
Annual payroll $2.8 million $2.2 million
PROPOSED INVESTMENT
INVESTMENT DATA
LINCOLNWAY VISION FUELS
Investment money $197 million $175 million
Financing status Under way Preliminary
Acres purchased 112.2 156
Addition tax revenue None offered but $500,000/year
open for discussion for three years
The story so far
VOTE: Wednesday marked the second consecutive meeting to approve a developer for the ethanol plant. Council members last week said they needed more time to review the proposals. Wednesday's meeting ended with a split vote.
WHO: Michael Kiernan, Christine Hensley and Tom Vlassis voted for Vision Fuels, which plans to use natural gas to power the plant. Council members Chris Coleman and Bob Mahaffey and Mayor Frank Cownie voted for Lincolnway Energy.
SUPPORT: City employees and a neighborhood group of five surrounding associations recommended Lincolnway.
NEXT: The council instructed City Manager Rick Clark to negotiate with both businesses. That decision eliminated a competitive bid process that would have allowed national companies to bid on the deal. City leaders say the new process will not delay the plant, expected to open in 2008.
DECISION: A third vote is expected in December.