Taking some action on the part of the City of Toledo on the Iowa Juvenile Home / State Training School for Girls campus here is a commendable step in the right direction.

On a 3-2 vote the council endorsed sending a letter to Des Moines seeking some action on the matter.

However, the action proposed during the Monday, Jan. 14, council meeting is in the wrong direction: some council members want the State of Iowa to demolish the buildings and turn over the bare land to the City of Toledo for possible housing development.

Mayor John Lloyd said he feels the state is willing to do so to get rid of the campus. He cited the reported $500 million in state-wide facilities upkeep which has been delayed as incentive for the campus to be turned over to a responsible party.

Once again, not so fast.

Former council member Travis Mullen told the council this action would end any chance of getting the property on the tax roles with the existing buildings as part of the deal.

Well, here we goagain.

There’s got to be many a community which would savor the chance to have this 27-acre campus with more than $20 million in recent improvements made to redevelop for employment opportunities.

The case was recently made here the Iowa Juvenile Home / State Training School for Girls campus in Toledo would make an ideal spot for the proposed relocation of a portion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture now in Washington D.C.

While State Rep. Dean Fisher says he likes the idea he denies there is enough building space or housing available for new workers here.

In reply, who said the entire segment being moved out of DC has to go to one location?

Once again, how about just the Department’s portion most suited to a location here?

The attractiveness of the Toledo campus should stand out because it meets the criteria set by the USDA:

There are significant ways the IJH campus is ideal for consideration and implementation of this move.

The news release says, in part, “New locations have yet to be determined, and it is possible that ERS and NIFA may be co-located when their new homes are found. USDA is undertaking the relocations for three main reasons:

Reason 1. “To attract and retain highly qualified staff with training and interests in agriculture, many of whom come from land-grant universities”

Response: – Iowa State University, a land grant university, is right down the road not much more than an hour away on the U.S. 30 Expressway.

Reason 2. “To place these important USDA resources closer to many of stakeholders, most of whom live and work far from the Washington, DC area”

Response: Toledo, Iowa, is a great central location to serve farmers, growers and livestock producers across the country. Toledo certainly boasts “an agriculture – stakeholder setting:” Dupont-Pioneer Hi-Bred Plant located in Toledo often is called the world’s largest seed corn production plant – Iowa’s largest beef plant is here in Tama, two big pork processing plants are nearby in Marshalltown and Waterloo, Tama County and Iowa are the heart of America and the world’s agricultural production area.

Reason 3. “To benefit the American taxpayers. There will be significant savings on employment costs and rent, which will allow more employees to be retained in the long run, even in the face of tightening budgets.”

Response: Isn’t it very possible State of Iowa would hand over the keys to the IJH campus without hesitation at NO COST and this welcomed service would be where it belongs? There is sufficient room to build housing and convert buildings to apartments on the campus, saving taxpayer money. Existing buildings can be used for office space. More than $20 million in infrastructure improvements were completed on the campus less than 10 years ago including an $8 million geo-thermal heating system.

If all of this is not enough incentive for the USDA, surely some other legitimate use for the campus begs to be explored until all avenues are exhausted.

-J.Speer