CICIL July, 2000 Newsletter

In early January of this year an article appeared on the front page of the Des Moines Register concerning a proposed urban renewal project in the western portion of downtown Des Moines. The article described a major building project for the Allied Group, a large insurance company located in downtown Des Moines.

The urban renewal proposal is part of the Gateway West project and is intended to revitalize downtown Des Moines. Unfortunately, we have now learned that the Allied Project will also include the demolition of the building where CICIL is located.

One of the events which led to this situation was a "public" meeting held on March 20, 2000. At this meeting, the city council voted to purchase the building at 1024 Walnut (CICIL’s location) and demolish the building. However, neither CICIL employees nor CICIL supporters were notified of this important decision-making meeting. As a result, no one appeared at the city council meeting to argue CICIL’s case.

And what is CICIL’s case? CICIL is in an affordable, accessible location which meets the needs of providing quality disability training and advocacy services to people with disabilities. The present location is also close to city bus lines and is near the homes of many people with disabilities. In addition, CICIL’s present location is often open during the evenings and weekdays. This brings PEOPLE to downtown Des Moines during times other than business hours.

To address this issue CICIL staff, supporters, and board members have been meeting with city officials and other business owners who are being affected by this project. To date, CICIL has learned the following:

CICIL’s building site will become a parking ramp with no businesses on the ground or street level.

11th Street between Walnut and Mulberry will be closed and turned into part of the parking ramp. Goodbye 11th Street!

The utilities serving downtown Des Moines will be moved. This move will cost utility users 25 million dollars.

At this writing CICIL’s future is uncertain. CICIL’s limited budget prevents a relocation to similar office space in downtown Des Moines. CICIL has tremendous visibility in the community and is the location of many statewide disability group meetings. CICIL wants to remain a leader in this area.

This edition of "News and Views" includes some correspondence between CICIL and the Allied Insurance Group. We hope you find the letters informational and interesting. As far as the relocation is concerned, we will keep you posted. Thank you for your support.

May 5, 2000

Mr. Doug Andersen, President
Allied Insurance Group
701 5^th Street
Des Moines, IA 50391

Re: Request for Meeting

Dear Mr. Andersen:

Our center for independent living has been a statewide leader in helping people with disabilities. We have had office space at our present location for over five years. We provide training, peer support, advocacy, and information and referral for the population in our community who regularly experience discrimination, poverty, and exclusion. We are making a substantial difference in the lives of people with disabilities every day.

Our present location serves us well. We have a ground floor location and the training areas we need to provide our vital services. We also provide cultural, social, and community programs during business hours, during evenings, and on weekends.

Unfortunately, our future now looks grim. As a result of your proposed building project, we must move. Our present location will be razed and a brand new parking ramp will be built at our present location.

Because of low levels of funding, we cannot afford any other property which would meet our needs. Therefore, we are potentially facing the death of our program.

As this project of yours is the cause of our real estate problem, we seek your assistance. We propose to meet with you and your staff before the end of this month. We would propose to meet with you at our center at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 19, 2000.

Please RSVP and/or propose an alternative meeting location and time.

Yours in advocacy,

Robert E. Jeppesen
Executive Director

cc: John TenPas, Chair, CICIL Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Frank Strong

Mr. Robert E. Jeppesen
Executive Director,
Central Iowa Center for Independent Living
1024 Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-3424

Dear Mr. Jeppesen:

Thank you for your letter of May 5, 2000 regarding the location of the Central Iowa Center for Independent Living. I very much appreciate and respect the work you do for people with disabilities in our community. You may not be aware of this but the precise location for the new Allied campus in downtown Des Moines was identified for us by officials at the City of Des Moines, who saw this as an opportunity to redevelop the eastern end of the proposed Gateway project. Allied agreed to this location in cooperation with the City.

The City has a relocation assistance program for all those businesses, organizations, and individuals that are affected by this project. I would encourage you contact Rick Clark at (515) 283-4106 to request the necessary relocation assistance to insure that you can continue to provide high quality, accessible service to your clients.

We know that the City Council is very sensitive to the interests and the concerns of those that are impacted by this proposed location and have encouraged the City staff to work sensitively and carefully with those who are impacted. I would encourage you to avail yourself of that assistance.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Douglas L. Andersen
President and Chief Executive Officer

cc: Rick Clark