By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
Enormous dredge machines, several mile long pipes, massive containment areas: they're all a part of what makes Storm Lake, IA a little more beautiful.
For the past 10 years, Storm Lake has used about $1 million a year in Lake Restoration Funds from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, to dredge mud from the lake and pump it into containment areas. This leaves behind, a clean crisp lake ready for recreation.
Storm Lake Mayor Jon Kruse said, "There's no doubt that the dredging in Storm Lake and the use of restoration funds has had a significant impact on quality life on people here in town and an economic impact on businesses."
But due to budget crunching in infrastructure funds, Governor Terry Branstad has proposed cutting the Lake Restoration Fund to just $1 million, that's for 1 year, for the whole state.
This would drop Storm Lake's funds to around $250,000, but the next year, the funds would be returned to normal.
Gov. Terry Branstad said, "We have a 2-year budget and some people are only looking at one year. And that's how the state got into financial trouble, by short-term thinking instead of looking long term."
But Mayor Jon Kruse says, that one year has some dire consequences, including halting the dredge project altogether.
"A year off is a year missed. The investment that's been made by the people of Iowa through the DNR and by our local community in this lake would, in essence, be wasted," said Kruse.
The Governor's budget proposal is just that, a proposal, until it's passed in the state legislature.
