This Makes Me So Mad...

(See article below)
Maybe they have some sort of excuse for why they want to steal some poor family's farm that has been in their family for more than ONE HUNDRED YEARS! Maybe it's not organic or something, or they already have their development all planned out and putting a park on that part of it isn't Vedic or whatnot. But surely they could have thought about the fact that using their power as a city to force over the land would make them look like total a**holes. Brains people! Reputation! So the family doesn't want to sell, get creative and have everyone who hasn't built yet donate a scrap of their land or buy from someone who wants to sell, or wait for them to move or something... I think the town and gown relationship HAS gotten better over the years, but it's crap like this that makes it much, much worse. My friend at work is worried that a bunch of angry farmers are going to get out their guns. She's only
partly joking, her Dad is a local farmer, so she knows what they're saying...

Palms fighting for family's century farm
By: Lacey Jacobs, Ledger staff writer
06/20/2007

Although they don't know whether anything said during the upcoming public hearing Sunday in Maharishi Vedic City will make a difference, the Palm brothers are rallying support for their century farm.

The Palms were notified late last month that all or part of their farm at the corner of Hemlock Avenue and 170th Street may be subject to condemnation by Maharishi Vedic City for use as a park.

Before receiving the notification, the Palms had turned downed an offer to purchase their farm at $2,675 per acre. The Palms felt the offer was far less than the property's value for development. Recently, the land, house and outbuildings at the corner of Highway 1 and Airport Road were purchased at roughly $5,000 per acre for the proposed Cypress Villages subdivision, according to records in the Jefferson County Assessor's Office.

A public hearing and Vedic City city council meeting are set for noon Sunday at 1973 Grand Drive. The public will be able to give input during the hearing, and the council could make a decision on whether or not to move forward with acquiring the land during the following council meeting.

"We're trying to get the city and county and Iowa basically together just to stand up and be heard," said Robert Palm, who operates the 148.95-acre farm. "I think this directly affects every property owner in the state of Iowa."

"They're going to see that when times are important, the people here won't stand for injustice," his brother Ron said.

Besides talking to concerned individuals, Robert brought the issue to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors. While the supervisors have no authority over the proceedings, they did pass a non-binding resolution Monday morning opposing the use of eminent domain outside city limits to develop a city park.

The resolution opposes the land acquisition on the grounds that Vedic City has at least 1,500 acres of undeveloped land within its city limits and has continued to expand through annexation since its incorporation. It also states "city parks are exempt from property taxes and the county property taxpayers will have to make up for the lost revenues."

Following a meeting of the Vedic City city council Saturday afternoon, city attorney Maureen Wynne explained the public hearing is just the first step in the process. If after listening to public comments, the council does decide go forward with acquiring the land, the next step is to negotiate with the property owners, she said.

"If that doesn't work, then the next step is to move forward with condemnation, and there's a decision that would be made by the city to do that," Wynne said. The process also gives the owners the ability to appeal to a sheriff's jury and district court, she said.

"I think that from the beginning of Maharishi Vedic City ... there was very clearly a plan for a significant park area that would be themed in a conservation manner," councilman Chris Johnson said. He believes the park would enhance the city, as well as the surrounding area.

"Most of the land in the city right now is privately held and is slated for development," Mayor Bob Wynne said. Still, the Palms find their situation hard to understand when there is so much land currently undeveloped within the city limits.

For the complete article, see the Tuesday, June 19, 2007, Fairfield Ledger.

Family's letter to the Ottumwa paper

Published June 19, 2007 12:29 am -

Maharishi Vedic City trying to take family farm

Maharishi Vedic City recently announced that it intends to condemn a 149-acre century farm outside their currently city limits. This farm has been in our family for 115 years. We proudly honored our family history by receiving the official century farm designation at last year’s Iowa State Fair. The Vedic City Council noticed us that it wants to develop our land for a city park.

Vedic City became a city in 2001. It has grown to approximately 190 registered voters and has 2,000 acres of land within its limits, at least 1,500 of which is undeveloped. The city is projected to collect $38,624 in property tax revenues this year, but has not budgeted or assessed taxes for such a park.

Vedic City has yet to provide adequate city services such as a sewer, police and fire protection to its residents. While they have plans to borrow money from the state to upgrade their sewer system to meet DNR requirements, they still rely on surrounding communities to provide basic city services.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the man who inspired this city, was quoted as saying, “I want to create a global government. I have created a Global County of World Peace, where no one would harm anyone, where no one would do wrong to anyone.” We encourage the city to live up to this mantra in every situation.

Representatives of the city have tried to buy our farm for two decades, but we have consistently told them it is not for sale. It is our family farm. Because we have not agreed to sell the farm, they are now trying to force its sale through eminent domain.

The public hearing on the city’s plans to take our family farm is at 1973 Grand Drive, Maharishi Vedic City on Sunday, June 24th at noon. We welcome the opportunity to visit with anyone about our family farm. We take great pride in being members of this community. If you have any questions, please call Ron at (641) 777-2856.

Ron, Bob and Lewis Palm

Jefferson County