SERVING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN BENTON, IOWA ......find the case study HERE. For more information on...
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November-December 2013 SERVING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN BENTON, IOWA, JONES, JOHNSON, LINN AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES FOR 40 YEARS NADO ECICOG Case Study The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) has recently posted a case study about ECICOG’s disaster recovery efforts. You can find the case study HERE. For more information on this study please contact Doug Elliott at [email protected] or 319-365-9941 ext. 122. Advancement Services of Jones County Through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program awarded $600,000 to assist with construction of a new community facility for Advancement Services of Jones County. Advancement Services of Jones County provides functional skill development to individuals who are disadvantaged by mental illness, brain injury, intellectual disability and/or physical disability. As part of the project’s “Green Streets” initiative, numerous sustainable features were developed, including a rain garden to capture rain water from the roof of the new building. Developed as a small depressional area with native plantings, the rain garden will temporarily pond water for 6-12 hours as it soaks/filters into the ground; water that otherwise would have run-off untreated into local water bodies. Amy Bouska with the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s Land Stewardship Urban Conservation Program partnered with project architect Mike Tucker of Martin Gardner Associates to design the rain garden. The Natural Resources Conservation Service also provided detailed soils information about the site. McDermott Concrete of Eastern Iowa was retained by general contractor Sheets Design Build, Inc. to excavate the rain garden depression. Also, to get hands-on experience, thirteen volunteer students from Kirkwood Community College’s Rain Garden Class planted native prairie forbs and grasses purchased from Ion Exchange in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. For more information on rain gardens please view the following links Rainscaping Iowa and Iowa Department of Agriculture - Urban Conservation. For more information on the CDBG program, please contact Gary Hughes at [email protected] or 319-365- 9941 ext. 129. Thank you to everyone that attended the 2013 Legislative Open House on Tuesday, November 12, 2013. We had eight legislators attend the event, including: Senator Bolkcom, Senator Mathis, Senator Horn, Senator Dvorsky, Representative Mascher, Representative Stutsman, Representative Staed, and Representative Jacoby. Over 60 additional attendees were at the event, including city and county officials and the general public. We would also like to thank everyone for joining us to celebrate our 40th Anniversary!
Transcript of SERVING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN BENTON, IOWA ......find the case study HERE. For more information on...
November-December 2013
SERVING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN BENTON, IOWA, JONES, JOHNSON, LINN AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES FOR 40 YEARS
NADO ECICOG Case Study
The National Association of
Development Organizations
(NADO) has recently posted a
case study about ECICOG’s
disaster recovery efforts. You can
find the case study HERE.
For more information on this
study please contact Doug Elliott at [email protected] or
319-365-9941 ext. 122.
Advancement Services
of Jones County
Through the Iowa Economic Development Authority
(IEDA), the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) Program awarded $600,000 to assist with
construction of a new community facility for
Advancement Services
of Jones County.
Advancement Services
of Jones County
provides functional
skill development to
individuals who are
disadvantaged by
mental illness, brain injury, intellectual disability and/or
physical disability.
As part of the project’s “Green Streets” initiative,
numerous sustainable features were developed,
including a rain garden to capture rain water from the
roof of the new building. Developed as a small
depressional area with native plantings, the rain garden
will temporarily pond
water for 6-12 hours
as it soaks/filters into
the ground; water that
otherwise would have
run-off untreated into
local water bodies.
Amy Bouska with the
Iowa Department of
Agriculture’s Land Stewardship Urban Conservation
Program partnered with project architect Mike Tucker
of Martin Gardner Associates to design the rain garden.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service also
provided detailed soils information about the site.
McDermott Concrete of Eastern Iowa was retained by
general contractor Sheets Design Build, Inc. to excavate
the rain garden depression.
Also, to get hands-on experience, thirteen volunteer
students from Kirkwood Community College’s Rain
Garden Class planted native prairie forbs and grasses
purchased from Ion Exchange in Harpers Ferry, Iowa.
For more information on rain gardens please view
the following links Rainscaping Iowa and Iowa
Department of Agriculture - Urban Conservation. For
more information on the CDBG program, please contact
Gary Hughes at [email protected] or 319-365-
9941 ext. 129.
Thank you to everyone that attended the 2013 Legislative Open
House on Tuesday, November 12, 2013.
We had eight legislators attend the event, including: Senator
Bolkcom, Senator Mathis, Senator Horn, Senator Dvorsky,
Representative Mascher, Representative Stutsman,
Representative Staed, and Representative Jacoby.
Over 60 additional attendees were at the event, including city
and county officials and the general public.
We would also like to thank everyone for joining us to
celebrate our 40th Anniversary!
Grantee/Project Award Funding
Agency
Housing Fund for Linn County $489,646 IFA
Housing Fund for Linn County $50,000 Wells Fargo
Foundation
East Central Iowa Housing
Trust Fund $4,000
Washington
Riverboat
Foundation
Guaranty Bank & Trust Co. /
Linn County Rehabilitation
Program
$165,000 FHLB of Des
Moines
Keystone Savings Bank / East
Central Iowa Rehabilitation
Program
$273,600 FHLB of Des
Moines
Hills Bank & Trust Co. /
Johnson County Rehabilitation
Program
$165,000 FHLB of Des
Moines
Total $1,147,246
Recent ECICOG Funding Awards
The Housing Fund for Linn County, the East Central Iowa Housing
Trust Fund, and three different county rehabilitation programs
received recent funding awards totaling $1,147,246.
The Housing Fund for Linn County received a $489,646 award
from the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) to use towards the
development and preservation of affordable housing in Linn
County. Along with this award he IFA also awarded the Housing
Trust Fund of Johnson County, not part of ECICOG, $349,044.
The Housing Fund for Linn County received another grant for
$50,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation, while the East Central
Iowa Housing Trust Fund received a $4,000 grant from the
Washington Riverboat Foundation.
Three Affordable Housing Program grants, through the Federal
Home Bank Loan (FHLB) program of Des Moines, were awarded
to three different rehabilitation programs, totaling $603,600. These
grants will be part of the rehabilitation programs for of Linn
County, Johnson County, and East Central Iowa, and will help to
assist low-income home owners with housing repairs.
For more information on housing funds, please contact Tracey
Achenbach at [email protected] or 319-365-9941 ext. 139.
For more information on affordable housing grants, please contact
Jacob Spratt at [email protected] or 319-365-9941 ext. 124.
ECO2 - Iowa City
ECO2 - Iowa City is a series of
community, adult education programs
covering sustainability issues such as
food systems, water, energy and
consumption. Residents within the Iowa
City Landfill & Recycling Center service area,
including Johnson County and the cities of Riverside
and Kalona, are invited to participate in a variety of
programs hosted at East Side Recycling Center and
the Iowa City Public Library.
Program formats include book discussion groups,
documentary screenings, field trips/tours, guest
speakers and panel discussions. Also, a two-night
mini-series of topics will be available to residents
through a partnership with Johnson County public
libraries. Participating libraries will host book club
discussions and a documentary screenings facilitated
by ECO2 staff.
The first unit, food systems, took place in Iowa City
last April & May. The Kalona Library hosted
extension programs in October. The water unit was
presented in September and October. The next unit
on energy will begin in January. Extension programs
for one or all units will continue to be scheduled at
Johnson County public libraries over the next
eighteen months.
ECICOG, on behalf of the Iowa City Landfill and
Recycling Center, applied for a Solid Waste
Alternative Program Grant to partially fund this
program.
Various book sets for discussion groups will be
available after the grant period, state-wide through an
interlibrary loan program for multiple books. Please
contact Kristin Simon at [email protected] or
319-365-9941 ext. 126.
Public Comment Period Open
for Johnson County
Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard
Mitigation Plan
The public comment period for the Johnson
County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation
Plan is open from December 2, 2013 until December
31, 2013. The plan and comment instructions
are available at Hazard Mitigation. For more
information on the plan, contact Alicia Presto at
[email protected] or 319-365-9941 ext. 121.
Transportation Interview With Iowa Public Radio
Brock Grenis, ECICOG’s Transit Administrator and Planner, recently sat down with Iowa Public Radio and talked about
transportation on their “River to River” program. To hear the full show broadcast go HERE. For more information on
transportation please contact Brock Grenis at [email protected] or 319-365-9941 ext. 137.
Express is a bimonthly electronic publication of the
East Central Iowa Council of Governments.
For Calendar updates, please look on our website HERE.
December 19 Policy Committee Meeting, ECICOG Offices, 700
16th Street NE, Cedar Rapids, 10:00 a.m.
December 25 ECICOG offices closed in observance of the Christmas
Holiday
December 31 Public Comment Period for Johnson County Multi-
Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Closes (started
December 2)
January Look for our Annual Report to come out sometime in
January
January 1 ECICOG offices closed in observance of the New
Years Holiday
January 8 Multi-Disciplinary Safety Team (MDST) Meeting,
Johnson County Secondary Roads Office, 4810
Melrose Ave, Iowa City, 1:00 p.m.
Transportation Technical Advisory Committee
(TTAC) Meeting, Johnson County Secondary Roads
Office, 4810 Melrose Ave, Iowa City, 2:00 p.m.
Crash Scene Management Training
On November 13, 2013 the Multi-Disciplinary Safety Team (MDST)
hosted and participated in a Crash Scene Management training that was
developed by representatives of the Iowa State
Patrol, the Fire Service Training Bureau, and
representatives of fire and emergency medical
services.
There were about 50 attendees for the training
and they were taught various concepts of crash
scene management including safety,
communication, scene evaluation and clearance,
and management of traffic and other aspects of the
scene.
The MDST was established by the Transportation
Policy Committee in 2013 to address traffic
safety. The
committee is
comprised of transportation, safety,
and enforcement officials. They meet
regularly to discuss and address local
safety concerns, review data for
decision making, develop useful
responses, and plan or react to events
of mutual interest .
For more information on the Crash Scene Management training or joining
the MDST, please contact Mary Rump at [email protected] or
319-365-9941 ext. 128.
Calendar
East Central Iowa
Council of Governments
700 16th Street NE, Suite 301
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402
(319) 365-9941
Fax: (319) 365-9981
e-mail: [email protected]
www.ecicog.org
Members of the ECICOG Board of Directors:
Lu Barron
Sandra Cronbaugh
Bill Daily
Dusty Embree
Don Frese
Darrin Gage
Don Gray
Pat Harney
Kevin Heitshusen
Brent Hinson
Alan Johnson
Linda Langston (Chair)
Wayne Manternach
Rick Ogren
Vicki Pope
Ed Raber
Cami Rasmussen
Ben Rogers
Ed Yankowski
Kathleen VanSteenhuyse
Bob Yoder
ECICOG Staff EXT
Doug Elliott, Executive Director 122
Gina Peters, Administrative Assistant 120
Tracey Achenbach, Housing Trust Funds 139
Mary Rump, Transportation & Regional 128
Development Director
Brock Grenis, Transit Administrator & 137
Planner
Nicole Van Nelson, Public Information 125
Specialist
Chad Sands, AICP, Housing & Community 127
Development Director
Gary Hughes, Community Development 129
Melanie Riley, Community Development 138
Jacob Spratt, Housing Services 124
Jennifer Ryan Fencl, Solid Waste & 131
Environmental Services Director
Kristin Simon, Solid Waste Planning 126
Alicia Presto, Iowa Waste Exchange 121
Robyn Jacobson, Contracts Administrator 134
ECICOG was established in 1973 to promote regional
cooperation and provide professional planning services
to local governments in Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones,
Linn and Washington Counties. ECICOG also provides
solid waste planning services to Tama County and
transportation planning services to Cedar County.
