WATERLOO-Projects to restore the heart of Waterloo are the top priorities of a 30-member delegation of community leaders headed for Washington, D.C., this week.

The Cedar Valley Coalition, a group of local government and business leaders, is making its annual trip to the nation's capital to lobby for a number of projects Monday and Tuesday. They will meet with members of Iowa's congressional delegation and related staff, committees and government agency representatives.

The top two projects directly affect the heart of Waterloo. The first is the Cedar Valley TechWorks, a project to create an agricultural-oriented, bio-based new product research, development and exhibition center on a former portion of John Deere's Westfield Avenue site, donated by Deere last year. The University of Northern Iowa's National Ag-based Industrial Lubricants program, or NABL, recently committed to relocating there from Waverly this year, as the project's first tenant.

"It's nice to go to talk to them about TechWorks and have some great progress that has been made," coalition administrator Steve Firman said. "The (Deere) donation's done; the first least is signed. Those things are great."

The second major project is the reconstruction of U.S. Highway 63 through Waterloo, which will include substantial renovation of the route's path through east Waterloo, correcting the negative impacts that project, done in the 1960s, had on adjacent low income, high minority neighborhoods.

"This is the 11th year in a row" for the coalition trip, Firman said. "I think we've learned over time that building these relationships (in Washington), as well as explaining what it is that the groups that are part of the coalition need and want for their constituencies, have yielded much success for us, rather than just once in a while being in contact with these folks. Consistency has been a big part of developing these relationships."

"The Cedar Valley coalition trips to Washington, D.C. have been very fruitful for our community," Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley said. "Millions of dollars in federal commitments to the Cedar Valley have resulted from the collective efforts of the participants over the years. I think the coalition is well received by our congressional delegation and their staffs because we were well prepared, consistent in our message, concise in our presentations and respectful of their time."

The coalition trips have resulted in funding for TechWorks, in a federal grant application through the Waterloo-based Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments; as well as preparations for Highway 63 work, funding for a planned multi-modal transportation facility at the University of Northern Iowa; and funding for the Grout Museum's Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum addition and Waterloo Center for the Arts Phelps Youth Pavilion projects.

"Based on the success we've had in the past, we realize it's important to continue to go to present our case in person," Firman said.

Consistent trips also help when Washington officials turn over. "That gives us the opportunity to develop relationships with new people," Firman said. "The change in our congressmen from Mr. (Jim) Nussle to Mr. (Bruce) Braley is a case in point. And on the other hand, we've been pretty fortunate the folks we've met from Senators (Tom) Harkin's and (Charles) Grassley's offices have been fairly consistent. These people know our projects and are looking for ways to try to let us meet our goals."

"I think there's a qualitative benefit to our annual D.C. visits also, and that is making the personal, face-to face connections that are important to build relationships down the line," Hurley said. "I know our (congressional) delegation is interested in what the Cedar Valley is doing and trying to accomplish, and I know as well that they are very proud to be a part of our continuing growth and success."

The TechWorks project involves using two reconditioned former Deere Westfield buildings to house NABL and other TechWorks-oriented projects. In addition, the coalition is seeking funds for an Agriculture Heritage Exhibit Center on the TechWorks campus.

"Less visible, but no less important, is the U.S. 63 corridor improvement project," Hurley said. "Planning and designing work continues behind the scenes due in large part to federal funding already granted." A connection between Westfield and the Highways 63-218-University Avenue interchange is anticipated as soon as weather permits. "I think citizens could expect to see visible changes in other parts of the 63 corridor beginning in 2010."

Other projects listed include:

-- $13. 1 million for U.S. Highway 218 corridor safety improvements.

--$3.1 million to extend Greenhill Road in Cedar Falls from Hudson Road to University Avenue and West 27th Street to better serve UNI and develop western Cedar Falls.

--$2 million to repair and replace river crossing bridges on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail

--$3 million for a downtown Waterloo "river walk" trail loop on the Cedar, envisioned as part of the downtown Riverfront Renaissance project.

--Nearly $2 million for development of a children's book illustration gallery at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls.

--$500,000 for demolition of dilapidated, unusable portions of the former Chamberlain Manufacturing site.

--Nearly $1.9 million for infrastructure improvements for the redevelopment of State Street in downtown Cedar Falls to ready it for new private development.

--$300,000 annually for five years for down payment and rehabilitation programs in Unity and We Care neighborhood areas, applied to the Rath Packing Co. neighborhood housing initiative.

--$1.6 million for reconstructing Cedar River flood walls downtown and near Rath, and $4 million toward reconstruction of a 48-inch in diameter interceptor sanitary sewer on the east side of the Cedar, relocating it from underneath a flood control levee.

--$1.6 million for a health education and services center at Hawkeye Community College.

--$750,000 for a training, education and job placement program for low-income individuals, to be implemented through UNI in cooperation with other local entities.

Coalition members also will lobby for reauthorization of federal farm bill and discuss transportation, education and Main Street policy issues, reauthorization of Community Development Block Grant and Economic Development Administration funds and reauthorization of the federal Workforce Investment Act.

Coalition members include representatives from the cities and school districts of Waterloo and Cedar Falls; Black Hawk County government; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Black Hawk County; UNI; Cedar Falls Utilities; HCC; Area Education Agency 267; the Greater Cedar Valley Chamber of Commerce; TechWorks; Main Street programs in Waterloo and Cedar Falls; and Silos and Smokestack National Heritage Area.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com