By, Aaron Adelson
Aadelson@kcautv.com
Twitter: @aadelsonkcau
Many people are frustrated with the idea of getting rid of the Port Neal interchange to build a new one for a different industrial park in Woodbury County.
One town went to far as to pull it's support from the project completely.
Consultants for the county began a piblic meeting for landowners, in Sergeant Bluff's City Hall, emphasizing no decision has been made yet about removing the Port Neal bridge.
But, that's not good enough for the Mayor of Salix.
She withdrew the town's support for the Liberty Industrial Park.
The mayor says she did it, because she wants to save the Port Neal bridge.
Many other surrounding land and business owners aren't happy either.
"I have no desire to have any Liberty Park, or interchange up my doorstep. I don't want it. If they want something let them put it where industrial is, that's not industrial, that's farm area," said Linda Kaufman, from Sergeant Bluff, IA.
The park is planned for land privately owned between Sergeant Bluff and Salix.
Almost everyone at the meeting opposed the park, and many in the crowd also spoke out against Sioux City.
The Iowa DOT has $8 million available to fix the Port Neal bridge now, but they're holding that money, because the county and city hope to add a second interchange two miles north of Port Neal near the proposed Liberty and Southbridge parks.
"Sioux City, 2 years ago, said they were gonna annex all the land to the south to Salix, and they wanted the Port Neal Bridge. Well, that started the ball rolling, that Sioux City was gonna come in, and start robbing from the smaller towns. That got a bad taste in everybody's mouth, and it hasn't left," said Dan Lee, a Salix business owner.
New businesses would want direct access to I-29, but the county wants to keep in mind the existing ones.
"Based on requirements by businesses to have direct access, it's going to be very important, but it's also important to maintain existing businesses' access," said Rob Marqusee, the Woodbury County Director of Rural Economic Development.
But Marqusee also says any time there is local opposition, it makes it more difficult to attract business.
The county and city have six months to prepare a master plan for the DOT.
Landowners, business owners, and big Port Neal businesses will all have a say in the planning process.
"We are going to hold, have, establish a committee of 15-16 people, or more, of stakeholders to really determine where we're going to go now between now and 6 months," said George Boykin, a Woodbury County Supervisor.
More meetings will take place, but right now many landowners say they're fed up with the county government.
People told me they feel the park is being forced on them, when they are the ones in control, because they own the land.
