“We are exceedingly short on funding at the moment, “ Fichtner said. “Construction costs have gone up about 30 percent in the last year and our revenues have not gone up.”

If road construction costs have gone up 30% in the last year alone then the estimated cost of the project would more likely be in the range of at least 7 to 8 million dollars.  It has been nearly two years since the estimates were made and it will be several more years before the overpass could be built.  In addition the NE 18th Street feasibility study, which was used to determine the cost of the 18th Street overpass, does not address the issue of costs associated with purchase of homes and property that are either damaged or do will not comply with Polk County ordinances if the road and overpass are built.  The study only sites costs associated with purchase of right of way and temporary easements. Please refer to the rebuttal of Ankeny's response to questions asked at a recent MPO meeting for additional information. 

The City of Ankeny recently applied for ICAAP funding.  ICAAP stands for Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program. They were applying for funding for the 36th Street intersection and the 18th Street overpass. If the City of Ankeny receives ICAAP funding for the 18th Street overpass, and this is highly questionable, then the costs to the Citizens of Ankeny would be reduced by 1 million dollars.  Of course the ICAAP funding comes from the federal government and as U.S. citizens we as taxpayers are still footing the bill for the 1 million dollars.  According to the ICAAP funding application submitted to the MPO the balance would be funded with general obligation bonds.  That means the taxpayers of Ankeny get stuck with the bill.

Recently the city mysteriously withdrew its request for ICAAP funding for the 36th street interchange.  It could be argued that the 36th Street interchange would substantially relieve traffic and be a possible candidate for ICAAP money.  Currently large amounts of traffic exit off 1st Street and go north up Delaware Avenue.  There is no denying that these streets do carry a lot of traffic.  ICAAP funding is intended to relieve this type of traffic congestion which in turn will reduce vehicle emissions by reducing vehicle idling times.   An argument could also be made that the 36th Street interchange is not needed and that money should be spent on 1st Street or Oralabor Road. Given a choice between the two ICAAP funding applications originally submitted, the 18th Street overpass and the 36th Street interchange, there is little doubt which one is more beneficial in terms of traffic relief.  The NE 18th Street overpass will do little to relieve traffic, it is not an exit.  It is unbelievable that of all the roads in Ankeny and the traffic problems the city has in some areas that they chose the NE 18th Street overpass as the most pressing need for traffic relief.  The overpass leads into a rural area outside of the city limits with a low population density.  Take a tour of the area where the proposed NE 18th Street overpass, Four Mile Creek bridge and road widening will be built by clicking here.

 Why did the City of Ankeny remove the ICAAP funding request for the superior candidate that would help reduce traffic congestion, the 36th Street interchange and retain the 18th Street overpass a very poor candidate for ICAAP funding?  My guess is that they knew they could not obtain funding for both since other cities bid for limited resources.  So why didn't they drop the 18th Street overpass instead of the 36th Street interchange from the ICAAP funding request?

 You might ask yourself why is the City of Ankeny proposing building the NE 18th overpass? The City of Ankeny has conveyed to numerous persons that the NE 18th Street overpass will primarily be used to relieve traffic during 1st Street construction.  Traffic would presumably be detoured through Frisk Drive during construction.  Frisk Drive is a local road with blind curves, no shoulders and steep embankments. This is clearly dangerous. It seems as if the city thinks spending millions of dollars  to temporarily route traffic down a local road with limited traffic handling capabilities is a good idea.  Once the 1st Street project is done the overpass will provide little traffic relief.  This would of course be an expensive solution to an alleged problem. 

Using the overpass as a temporary reliever during 1st Street construction is what the city of Ankeny is telling some citizens is the stated purpose of the overpass.  They deny the overpass is for Deer Creek Estates LLC a company that was started by and is owned by out of town land developers.  The city denies the NE 18th Street overpass project is associated with annexations to the east of the city.  The name of the annexations just east of Ankeny are the Deer Creek North and South annexations.  The following is a quote from the August 29th issue of the Des Moines Register:

City staff said both annexation packages are not related in any way to the proposed Northeast 18th Street bridge over I-35, or plans for an interstate interchange at Northeast 36th Street.

Both road proposals, Planning and Building Director John Peterson said, are due to current traffic issues and are not based on whether these areas east of the interstate are or are not annexed.

The following was taken from the ICAAP application requesting funding for the NE 18th Street overpass that was recently submitted to the Des Moines Area MPO.  The traffic expected through the overpass is generated by the Deer Creek Estates Development that Ankeny claims the overpass is not for:

Certain officials of the City of Ankeny are being inconsistent, perhaps even purposely deceptive. They say the overpass is not associated with Deer Creek Estates and the proposed annexations, however in the ICAAP funding request application the overpass is for the purpose of serving the Deer Creek developments.  There is no mention of using the NE 18th Street overpass as a reliever during 1st Street construction in the ICAAP application.

So why is the city of Ankeny so intent on building the NE 18th Street overpass?  It is my personal opinion that is is the political influence of Ed Skinner, who has a substantial stake in the success of Deer Creek Estates LLC, that is the real motivating force behind the proposed N.E. 18th overpass.   Ed Skinner is an Altoona attorney with ties to Prairie Meadows.  He is a member of the Prairie Meadows Grant Advisory Committee.  Large sums of money are handed out to all sorts of organizations.  For instance the grant committee has given tens of thousands of dollars to Eastern Polk Regional Development, Inc an organization that promotes economic development near many of the land development projects Ed Skinner is involved in such as F&S Rosenberger LLC.  By the way Ed Skinner's son Brad Skinner is Chair of Eastern Polk Regional Development, Inc and F&S Rosenberger has received TIF money from the City of Altoona.  I will go into much greater detail on these and other issues in the future when I create detailed flow charts of land developers and political influence in Polk County.  Ed Skinner, members of his family and his law firm also make substantial contributions to many local politicians. They are the number one contributors to many local politicians.  Many of these politicians have been involved in the CIETC scandal. Refer to the conflict of interest documentation for evidence tying Ed Skinner and Geri Huser to Deer Creek Estates LLC. 

Another likely explanation for why the city is so interested in the NE 18th Street overpass is that it actually wants to promote sprawl to the east.  The city is very much interested in the NE Beltway project. Geri Huser, Ed Skinners daughter, is the chair of the MPO and is intimately involved in studies and recommendations associated with the NE Beltway. The NE 18th Street overpass and 36th Street interchange are feeder roads that would support sprawl to the east. This growth could be used as a justification for the NE Beltway in studies done by the MPO.  Deer Creek Estates touches the NE Beltway corridor.  Right now the area is primarily in agricultural use and the federal government is finding it hard to justify such a road. The City of Ankeny has signed a 28E agreement along with numerous other Polk County cities with the express purpose of promoting the NE Beltway project and has spent Ankeny taxpayer dollars to help fund studies required before the beltway can be built. 

The City of Ankeny needs to make its planning decisions based on the needs and desires of its citizens, not out of town  land developers.  This is at the very core of the concept of public service by elected officials. In a recent survey over 60% of Ankeny citizens thought the town was growing too fast.  The city is also spending much needed resources and requesting clean air funding on an overpass to relieve some unspecified traffic condition east of the city while ignoring other obvious currently existing traffic congestion problems. Ask the City of Ankeny what the intended purpose of the NE 18th overpass is?  They seem to have different answers depending on who asks the question and are not specific about the traffic issues the overpass is supposed to address.

It is up to the citizens of Ankeny to confront their political leaders and demand accountability.  City officials have been notified of the problems with the 18th Street overpass and the conflict of interest associated with the construction of the overpass.  Write letters to the editor of local newspapers. Let them know that Ankeny's growth is out of control and that there are already places available for building in the City limits of Ankeny. 


THE CITIZENS OF ANKENY SHOULD NOT BE BUILDING ROADS AND BRIDGES FOR OUT OF TOWN LAND DEVELOPERS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS.  THIS IS COMING OUT OF THE TAXPAYERS POCKET!  DON'T YOU THINK YOUR PROPERTY TAXES ARE HIGH ENOUGH.  ANKENY'S OWN PROBLEMS SUCH AS TRAFFIC RELIEF SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.  IT'S TIME TO TAKE A STAND IN POLK COUNTY.  MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  LET THE CITY OF ANKENY KNOW YOUR FEELINGS.  CONTACT CITY OFFICIALS HERE.  ATTEND A CITY COUNCIL OR P&Z MEETING.

* If you find any inaccuracies please notify me through the contacts menu under Ankeny Watch