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. . .: Coralville City Manager
Kelly Hayworth was justifiably ticked off when he learned that leaders
of The Environmental Project have been having conversations with Dubuque
officials about moving the project there. ‘‘When there are ongoing negotiations,
ongoing work and expenses here, we don’t believe it was appropriate,’’
he said. The irony is that’s exactly how the project wound up associated
with Coralville in the fall of 2000. Cedar Rapids officials had proposed
a financing plan and were working on potential state law changes that could
have extended the ability of hotel-motel tax revenues to back the project.
Other community leaders were doing preliminary study on an alternative
site from what project leaders preferred. Unbeknownst to anyone in Cedar
Rapids, backers of what was then known as Iowa Child were secretly working
with Coralville to move the project site to that community.