This is the second article in an ongoing series about Cleverley Farms.
On May 28, 2013, Mingo-based organic fruit and vegetable grower Larry Cleverley was notified he could lose his home and land to Iowa Department of Transportation plans aimed at making two intersections near his farm safer. Since that time, Cleverley mounted a social media campaign that spanned Facebook, Twitter, and Change.org. On June 10, 2013, Cleverley delivered nearly 6,000 signatures in support of exploring alternatives to the DOT plans and saving Cleverley Farms.
At that meeting, the Department gave Cleverley a timeline for the project: a possible start in twelve months’ time, pending the results of an environmental impact assessment (EIA). In this case, Cleverley explains, federal dollars are helping the Iowa DOT with the $15 million price tag, and with that assistance comes a mandatory EIA. He says federal involvement also required an examination of placing a stoplight at the intersection, the result of which Cleverley found ironic.
The one guideline, ironically enough, it does not meet, is it does not carry the traffic volume to warrant a stoplight according to the federal guidelines. It’s apparently enough traffic at this intersection to justify a $15 million project, but not enough to install a traffic light.
Cleverley says a public meeting will follow the EIA’s release in one year. To prepare, he says he may look into performing his own EIA parallel to the DOT’s.
