Senator questions I-JOBS fund uses

A Des Moines senator is taking exception to Gov. Chet Culver's insistence on using I-JOBS funds for transportation projects and is suggesting those funds be redirected, perhaps to flood recovery efforts.

The state would get more bang for its I-JOBS bucks by investing in vertical infrastructure rather than roads, Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, suggested at a meeting of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee.

Unlike road and bridge projects, vertical infrastructure projects, such as buildings, are coming in about 30 percent below cost projections, McCoy said. He wondered whether the infusion of I-JOBS and federal stimulus money into road construction was making those contracts less competitive.

“Are we just keeping the fat fat?” he asked Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson.

That hasn't been the case, she said. Bids for both I-JOBS and federal stimulus transportation projects have come in at or below the DOT's projected costs. Referring to the $50 million in I-JOBS funds allocated for bridge repair and replacement – the funds McCoy wants to scoop, Richardson said those bids have been so good the department anticipates doing more work than anticipated. The department has identified $50 million in bridge work, but has let less than $5 million in projects.

“Enough is enough,” McCoy said. “This might not be the year to spend another

$50 million on bridges.

Although Culver appreciated McCoy's attempt to help the state meet its economic challenges, he has serious concerns with de-appropriating I-JOBS funds, spokesman Troy Price said. The state and local government are relying on the funds to meet transportation needs, he said. .

Taxpayers would get more value for their money by using those funds to meet vertical infrastructure needs “especially when there is a 30 percent off sale going on.”

“Are we better off holding some of this money back, pulling it off the table, redirecting it to vertical infrastructure for Cedar Rapids and other communities that had flood devastation?” McCoy said.

McCoy's proposal seemed to catch colleagues off guard.

“It's interesting,” Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa, said. “I'd like to talk to Sen. McCoy about that.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said the idea may have merit if Congress approves a second stimulus project or a jobs bill

“If they are focusing in one area we may want to focus on another,” he said. “It will be for the Legislature to consider whether it's a rational economic decision.”