Jasper County joins Newton in providing funds for DMACC’s grant pursuits

Jasper County joins the City of Newton in providing DMACC with matching funds towards a Community Attraction & Tourism Grant for a project at Legacy Plaza.

Back in July, the Newton City Council voted to provide DMACC with $50,000 in order to better the college’s changes of acquiring the CAT Grant, which would benefit the greenspace project. Council members were initially hesitant to commit any money due to limited funds in the associated TIF district balance.

The CAT Grant was established by the State of Iowa as a way to assist projects that provide recreational, cultural, entertainment and educational attractions. The funds are used to help communities create transformational projects that can enhance the vitality of a region and the state overall.

Jeff Davidson, executive director of Jasper County Economic Development Corporation, told the board of supervisors that DMACC’s application will be for a grant of $580,000 to complete the $2.9 million greenspace project. Fundraising and large donations from The Vernon Company greatly supported the project.

“This would complete it,” Davidson said of the grant. “DMACC’s done a great job of both investing themselves and raising money for specific elements of the park. They have made a lot of progress on it … What we started with there was basically a capped brown field after the (Maytag) plant was taken out.”

The CAT Grant Program emphasizes matching funds. Jasper County was requested to provide $5,000 toward the project.

The program also requires applicants to have funding from both the city and the county in which the project resides, unless the applicant is a city or county.

Kim Didier, executive director of DMACC Business Resources, said the first phase of the Legacy Plaza greenspace project included the walkways, the trees, some utility wrk and the sculpture centerpiece, which was funded by The Vernon Company after a $600,000 donation.

The second phase covers other amenities at the greenspace, such as a pavilion that doubles as an Iowa Wild-sponsored iceskating rink in the winter. Didier said DMACC has been incrementally working on these particular improvements for the past eight years when it sought community input for Legacy Plaza.

“We’ve always wanted to go after a CAT Grant because we feel this really fits what the CAT Grant is about,” Didier said. “It is about bringing people to the community, whether to visit or to live or to shop. This will allow us to maybe attract larger events that might happen within the greenspace.”

The board of supervisors approved the $5,000 donation to DMACC in a 3-0 vote.