State officials asking questions about Vedic City grant proposal
By Erik Gable, Ledger assistant news editor June 29, 2005
Officials from the Iowa Department of Economic Development will
visit Maharishi Vedic City soon in order to answer some lingering
questions about the city's request for money from the Community
Attractions and Tourism fund, part of the state's Vision Iowa program.
"We just want to make sure everything is procedurally sound,"
said Gregg Connell, chairman of the C.A.T. review committee.
Vedic City has submitted a C.A.T. grant proposal asking for
$270,000 to improve its astronomical observatory and build a visitors'
center.
Two major sticking points have emerged. The first is Vedic
City's request to have the observatory's estimated $744,310 value
count as a local matching donation. The second is the C.A.T. board's
requirement that the project receive some financial support from the
Jefferson County Board of Supervisors.
While successful Vision Iowa applications typically involve a
substantial cash commitment from local sources, Vedic City's
application asks Vision Iowa officials to consider the value of the
existing structure as the bulk of the city's matching contribution.
Tim Fitz-Randolph, a city council member who built the observatory and
later donated it to the city, said he believes the request is
legitimate, based on previous Vision Iowa grants. But Connell said if
the observatory has already been built, it doesn't count as a matching
contribution.
Connell also said the project must receive financial support
from Jefferson County.
"That is a criteria that we just don't move away from," he said.
Fitz-Randolph said Vedic City has not yet asked supervisors for
a donation, but told the C.A.T. committee he's "confident" the city
can get a contribution from the county.
Dick Reed, chairman of the board of supervisors, isn't so sure.
"I don't see that happening at all," he said.
For the complete story, read the June 29 Fairfield Ledger.
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