Senate Democrats question delays in building upgrades at Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown

DES MOINES – Senate Democrats expressed concern Monday that irregularities and delays in building upgrades at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown may be jeopardizing federal money for the projects and point to deeper problems that need more legislative oversight.

However, Republican members of the Senate Government Oversight Committee said they believe changes made by Branstad administration officials have saved taxpayers' money by eliminating costly inefficiencies and project labor agreements that were causing cost overruns.

Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Jodi Tymeson told the committee one phase of the four-part, $100 million-plus improvement plan is completed and remodeling work is under way on two existing buildings. However, she said a third project phase has been scrapped and IVH officials notified the federal government last week that they are delaying, revamping and resubmitting plans for a fourth phase.

Committee member Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who also co-leads a House-Senate budget panel on infrastructure, said that was done without consultation with lawmakers and the scrubbing of phase 3 raises questions about what happened to the $6 million that was appropriated in state matching money.

At times during Monday's meetings McCoy described the Veterans Home project as 'a real mess,” a 'rats' nest” and a 'hide the marble” carnival game in which Branstad administration managers have bypassed or short-circuited state bidding and oversight procedures with 'cooked” or 'sweetheart” deals.

However, Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, pointed to figures supplied by the state Department of Administrative Services indicating that $80 million in work has been done or is under way at the Marshalltown home with savings achieved due to changes initiated once Gov. Terry Branstad took office in 2001 and DAS officials brought in new project managers.

'A big point has been made we're losing all this federal money and it's really not true,” Garrett told committee members. 'It looks to me like the taxpayers got a heck of a deal. To me, that's the big story we've uncovered here.”

Tymeson, who took over as commandant about eight months ago, said some difficult decisions have had to be made since she arrived at the Marshalltown facility to ensure the improvements are quality projects.

However, Committee member Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, said the project has taken on new directions since the master plan was first submitted, approved and financed, raising concerns whether the best interests of the nearly 600 veterans residing at the facility are being served.

'We may have left federal money on the table,” he said. ''At the end of the day, I think our veterans got short changed.”

During nearly seven hours of testimony Monday, past and present DAS officials acknowledged they accelerated a bidding process using a one-page request for proposals (RFP) in their search for new IVH project oversight. The five-day process netted seven to nine proposals before a company was selected that had very recently incorporated to do business in Iowa.