When Belle Plaine city officials make their formal presentation requesting Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) funding for the proposed downtown revitalization project, they will be vying with possibly as many as seven other projects under consideration.
The CAT Review Committee will meet Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines. Belle Plaine is seeking approximately $500,000 toward the cost of its downtown renovation.
Two other communities are seeking funds for major streetscape projects. Kalona is requesting $550,000 after having raised more than $100,000 locally. West Union has an even more ambitious project, pegged at approximately $8.6 million. Officials from that city would be requesting only a portion of the project cost from CAT funds. But the project would include many green aspects, including geothermal heating and cooling for downtown buildings and a special paving project to improve drainage.
West Union is also requesting a grant for improvements to its outdoor recreation facilities.
The cities of Elma, Buffalo Center and Orange City are requesting funds to help pay for community buildings. The eighth request is from the city of Hubbard for its public library.
The State of Iowa budgets $12 million per year for CAT projects, which are reviewed and scored by personnel from the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The committee requires proof of broad-based local funding for projects it approves.
Following Wednesday’s formal presentations, the committee either send the requests back to the submitting agencies for more information or will refer them to CAT staff for scoring and recommendations.
Wednesday’s meeting is open to the public. Local officials are hoping for a good representation from interested members of the community as a show of support for the project.