Community Foundation

When temperatures are below zero and strong winds are blowing, it is tempting to protect your home from the weather by blocking fresh air intakes—but please don’t! Fresh air is imperative to your home’s heating ventilation system; not only to make your system run efficiently, but also to limit moisture in the home. Fresh air intake also keeps your home filled with fresh, clean air—always good during cold and flu season.

A few other winterizing topics for your home:

• All vents should regularly be cleared of snow, including furnace and dryer vents. Just like a fresh air intake, blocked vents could create an unsafe situation with carbon monoxide. A blocked vent may also cause the furnace to not function. • Keep your utilities meters and path to reach them clear. Snow and ice can present a safety hazard for your meters and the gas pressure regulator attached to the gas meter. Heavy or hard-packed snow and ice on meters may prevent them from working safely and correctly. It may also prevent CFU staff from accurately reading and servicing your home’s meters; meter readers need access each month. Quick access in an emergency can be critical for your safety. Do not shovel snow up against a meter. Never let a meter get completely covered. Use a broom to gently sweep the snow away. Never kick or hit meters or piping to clear snow or ice. • AC Condensing Units—It is not recommended to cover a condensing unit. Covering the condensing unit with airflowrestrictive covering could promote rust and internal moisture damage. It also creates a cozy, water-tight environment which encourages critters to make a home in the condensing unit. If you want to cover the unit use a breathable material. The unit is designed to drain so any moisture that does enter can leave when using breathable material.

Growing the Cedar Valley’s talent pool is a top priority of our business community. Grow Cedar Valley has collaborated with Livability Magazine to offer a new tool for businesses to use to promote life in Cedar Falls and the Cedar Valley to attract potential workforce. The 48-page full color print publication will be available FREE for HR Departments of businesses to be incorporated with their recruitment efforts. We will also roll out the “Live the Valley” campaign to drive Cedar Falls and surrounding communities to the digitally version of this new collaboration with the National publication. Project also in collaboration with Cedar Valley Regional Partnership. The Cedar Falls residents and businesses can access the NEW 2023 Cedar Valley—Livability Magazine visit www.livethevalley.com.

2023 Priority—Children and Families Fund

The CFCF is excited to announce that our 2023 priority fund will be the Children and Families Fund again to continue supporting childcare facilities in Cedar Falls. In 2021 we raised over $50,000 thanks to the generosity of our donors! We have since given out $17,300 in grants to local childcare providers to buy new cots and mats, expand playground space and equipment, repair a water main break, and much more! We will be doing another grant round in 2023, but we’d like to continue supporting childcare even more!

Our community and our state is in a childcare crisis, that not only affects families and children but also our workforce and businesses. Iowa has lost 33% of it’s childcare business over the past five years. It is up to all of us to come together to solve this crisis. One way we can do that is provide financial support for equipment, furniture facilities replacement, repairs, or upgrades through the CFCF Children and Families Fund! Donate today at www.cf-communityfoundation.org or mail a check to PO Box 546, Cedar Falls, IA 50613.

2022 Priority—Health and Wellness Update

In 2022, thanks to the generosity of many, the Cedar Falls Community Foundation met our goal and raised over $40,000 for Health and Wellness Fund! These funds will be used with the focus on providing support to enhance accessibility in our city parks. We look forward to granting from this fund to support upcoming improvements to parks in Cedar Falls. Be on the lookout for announcements on the impact your gift to this fund made on our community!

Eller Spring 2023 Study Abroad Scholarships Announced

The Cedar Falls Community Foundation recently awarded nine University of Northern Iowa students scholarships from the Robert Eller Study Abroad Scholarship Fund. Spring 2023 scholarships have been awarded to Kate Murphy, Alex Wilmer, Macey Overturf, Abbey Case, Alex Perrin, Olivia Brunsting, Sydney Lee, Jasmine Zeleke, and Hannah Horn each in the amount of $5,000. These students will be studying in the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Costa Rica, Australia, South Korea, Italy, and Austria. Robert Eller Study Abroad Scholarship Fund was established by Robert Eller, a UNI professor, to foster the educational, professional, and personal growth of undergraduate students at UNI, by providing funds for a semester or a year of study outside the United States to a student whose previous travel and study experiences abroad have been limited.

515 Main Street (Farmers State Bank bldg.—By appointment) PO Box 546, Cedar Falls, IA • 319-243-9170 cf-communityfoundation.org Email: director@cf-communityfoundation.org Facebook: CedarFallsCommunityFoundation

Find additional information and updates about the projects below at www.cedarfalls.com. For ongoing, active projects sign up for e-mail notifications through “Notify Me” at www.cedarfalls.com/NotifyMe.

Olive Street Box Culvert

The City of Cedar Falls, and its contractor, Peterson Contractors Inc. of Reinbeck, Iowa, will begin the Olive Street Box Culvert project this winter and work into the summer of 2023. They will remove and replace the existing two-span slab bridge at Olive Street with a twin box culvert. The existing bridge will be replaced with a box culvert extending from the existing College Street Culvert to the east side of Olive Street. The project includes downstream channel improvements, sidewalk improvements for walkability to the College Hill corridor, and placement of a new road section above the culvert, along with improvements to the water main, storm sewer, and sanitary sewer along Olive Street adjacent to the proposed culvert. Crews this winter will prepare the site by clearing and grubbing the existing Dry Run Creek channel between the College Street culvert and the Olive Street bridge. A house at 2016 Olive Street will be demolished as part of the improvements during this time as well. Crews will prepare the site for arrival of the new box culvert to be installed in summer of 2023 during low flow. After placement of the new box culvert is installed, crews will shift to rebuilding and extending Pettersen Plaza with tie-ins and amenities for the College Hill Corridor.

Conceptual Site Plan

Petersen Plaza Extension

Cedar Heights Neighborhood Reconstruction Phase I and Slope Repair

Last winter, there was an article on the North Cedar Heights subdivision and the planned reconstruction efforts for the area. This neighborhood is a small community of houses located atop the Cedar River’s bluffs, next to the Hartman Bluff State Preserve, north of Grand Boulevard. The deteriorated and narrow roadways make it challenging for snow removal, trash pickup, sanitary service, stormwater control, and even passing oncoming vehicles. In 2021, the City developed and began implementation on a 5-year program to reconstruct these roadways. Originally slated to begin in late summer of 2022, design challenges and the right-of-way acquisition process set the updated start date to begin in the spring of 2023. Two streets are slated for 2023: West Ridgewood Drive (from Greenwood Avenue to Cherry Lane) and Timber Drive (from Grand Boulevard to Greenwood Avenue). In addition, the clearing and grubbing on the north side of the river bluff (adjacent to West Ridgewood Avenue) will take place over the coming winter months. This will allow the correction of the slope and a sanitary sewer re-alignment during the roadway reconstruction. The map shows the current 5-year program, planned for completion in the 2027 calendar year. Working from the lowest points at the stormwater culverts and from the back of the neighborhood to the front, this plan should limit construction activity on the newly constructed roadways. The existing roadways will be reconstructed with a full depth asphalt mix, concrete curb, or edge-band on either side, and full depth concrete intersections. As the City continues forward through the 5-year reconstruction effort, the neighborhood will receive much needed updates, without impacting the pleasant aesthetics and functionality.

W. 27th Street Reconstruction

The City of Cedar Falls, and its contractor, Peterson Contractors Inc. of Reinbeck, Iowa, will continue with the W. 27th Street project. The last phase begins in the spring of 2023, for the reconstruction of W. 27th Street west of Hudson Road, to the west end of the new Cedar Falls High School. The project includes improvements to the water main, storm sewer, sidewalks, trails, and other miscellaneous roadway items. Also included, is the construction of three new roundabouts at the intersections of Greenhill Road and the two drive entrances to the school. Below are construction limits for each phase:

Phase I: W. 27th Street at Panther Parkway (2022)

Phase II: Hudson Road Improvements and Greenhill Road

Roundabout (2022–2023)

Phase III: W. 27th Street School Connections with

Roundabouts (2023–2024) The focus of the 2023 construction season will start with paving operations at W. 27th and Greenhill roundabout as crews complete all the underground utility work associated with Phase II. Upon completion of the Greenhill & 27th roundabout, crews will start Phase III and continue westerly to tie into the two entrances at the new Cedar Falls High School. Crews will work to have all of W. 27th Street—including the three new roundabouts—open to traffic by the end of fall in 2023. Landscaping, grading, and final seeding operations will continue into the spring of 2024.

City Hall Remodel Update

On November 7, 2022, the first City Council meeting was held in the remodeled Council Chambers. This was a very exciting step in the remodel project; it represented a completion of all public areas. As part of the remodel the City focused on technology upgrades and accessibility in the Council Chambers. There are more monitors for the audience to easily view presentations during council meetings. Citizens will be able to view meetings in the Council Chamber Foyer when there is an overflow into this space. Accessibility has been improved by the addition of two accessible bathrooms and a ramp to the raised platform. The remodel in half of the lower level is also complete. A main service window is now open in the lower level. In January, the remainder of the City Hall remodel work is scheduled to be complete. After that, the north side of the building will house Finance & Business Operations staff (most are currently relocated to 606 Union Road), and Planning & Community Services Division of Community Development. To celebrate the completion of the City Hall Remodel, an Open House will be held this spring. The community will be invited for guided tours of the building. Watch social media and the City website for more details.

Council Chambers

Lower Level Council Foyer

Rec Center Remodel Update

An exciting change recently happened at the Cedar Falls Recreation & Fitness Center! With limited space and growing enrollment, it was becoming difficult to meet the needs of patrons interested in cycling classes, so we moved some rooms around to create a new and improved Cycling Studio. With all the generated excitement, more bikes were added to the room to accommodate more participants. We are happy to announce more classes have been added as well!

The Activity Room has been shifted to a new space. It now occupies a former racquetball court that was seeing less and less use over the years. In the new Activity Court, you can play ping pong or pool, relax and watch a little TV, and ride a stationary bike alone or compete against friends. A brand new game— Carpet Ball—was added, too! Carpet Ball is similar to table shuffleboard but features pool balls rolled on a carpet table. The Activity Court also has books and board games to enjoy.

Come check it out! NEW Cycling Studio