ECIA
East Central Intergovernmental Association
Empowering communities and enhancing the quality of life throughout the region of Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque and Jackson Counties. Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Report
Executive Director’s Message During this past fiscal year we saw the RTA install solar at their Dubuque facility; ECIA was able to secure funding to move forward with installing solar at our facility in the upcoming year; over $350,000 was secured to implement an eight county two state freight study in FY17; staff worked closely with the Jackson County Economic Alliance staff on raising funds for the Parks to People initiative; employment and training implemented the WIOA regulations and successfully secured the management of the program for another five years; ECIA secured a Brownfields grant for the region totalling $550,000 to begin in FY17; the Housing Trust Fund awarded $326,554 in funding for housing improvements in the region; twelve new loans were funded through ECIA Business Growth, Inc. totaling more than $4.4 million; and ECIA staff worked closely with the City of Dubuque to secure and implement a $31 million HUD Resiliency grant. ECIA’s funding sources are depicted on the opposite page with the largest funding source from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Through the Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Authority, over $4 million a year in rental assistance is provided in their seven county region helping more than 1,000 households annually. ECIA has seen an increase in our special contracts and service billings with special projects such as the IBM Smarter Travel project; grant writing for Maquoketa Betterment; and working with the City of Dubuque on the HUD Resiliency program. This fiscal year ended with both excitement and extreme sadness for me and my family with the premature birth of our twin granddaughters, Lydia and Leah, and then two days later the very tragic and sudden death of our daughter Robin. I am blessed to have the support of my ECIA family and friends. They came together and helped us through this very difficult time. I cannot express enough my deep gratitude for the many special thoughts and prayers. I have learned first-hand that we need to make sure we cherish every moment because it can change in the blink of an eye.
As we look at the upcoming year, it is important we continue to seek input from our member governments and we continue to adapt and change to the needs of our communities. I always enjoy hearing from our member governments, so please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions or ideas! If that means more “new beginnings� in the next year, we are ready for the challenge! Thank you for your continued support of ECIA! ~ Kelley Deutmeyer
FY 16 Funding Sources
US Department of Commerce US Department of State Funds 1.4% Agriculture 0.3% 0.5% Service Fees & Long Term Borrowing Assessments 0.2% 5.5% Membership Fees 1.1% Agency Service Billings 22.3%
US Department of Transportation 5.6% US Department of Labor 4.8%
US Department of Housing & Urban Development 58.4%
Community Development In FY16, the ECIA Community Development Department assisted eight communities with grant or loan applications in the areas of water, wastewater/storm sewer, housing rehabilitation and community facilities. ECIA submitted a region-wide homeownership assistance grant application. Staff assisted nearly 60 communities with technical assistance in the areas of city codes/ordinances, personnel policies, comprehensive and land use plans, annexation/disincorporation petitions, hazard mitigation programs/plans, utility billing/accounting, census information, building inspections and grant opportunities and administration. Leisure Lake Wastewater Treatment System is under contract to install four more grinder stations by utilizing remaining funding in budget, bring the system to 314 properties. Additional remaining properties to be served have been identified and will be addressed with future funding. Staff assisted in the submission of applications for Round #6 of the MultiFamily New Production Program. The program funded with the 2008 CDBG flood funding provided assistance with the adaptive reuse of the former Roosevelt School (pictured opposite page) in Clinton. The $4.8 million project rehabilitated the school into sixteen affordable rental units. ECIA contracted with the city of Maquoketa to provide inspection services for the City’s newly adopted Rental Inspection Ordinance that requires the licensing and inspection of all rental units in the City. Staff assisted the city of Dubuque in the submission of an application to the HUD National Disaster Resiliency Competition. The City was successful in receiving a $31.5 million award to assist in the rehabilitation of housing and storm sewer improvements in the Bee Branch Watershed.
Economic Development Rockfarm Holdings, Inc. is a holding company for several transportation service related companies, including: Rockfarm Logistics, LLC, a supply chain management company which implements and delivers 3PL services to their clients via Cloud based technology. The company utilizes a transportation management system (Mercury Gate) that enables the client to use their own personnel and existing carriers while simultaneously providing access to Rockfarm's expertise in technology, business processes, and carrier relationships. Other related companies provide over the road trucking services, truck repair services, material handling, storage solutions, and international shipping. Rockfarm supports the growth of Midwest manufacturers; providing customer-centric supply chain solutions that mitigate risk and have predictable, repeatable results. The SBA 504 project provided financing for a new Corporate Office in the Dubuque Technology Park. The $2,815,872.95 project included the purchase 4.27 acres land, fixtures and furniture and construction of a 14,443 sq. ft. office building. E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc. provided a loan of $1,153,000 for 40% of the project costs. The interest rate is 4.32% fixed for 20 years. Galena State Bank provided $1,172,523.00 of first mortgage financing for 41.6% of project costs. The business provided at 18.4% down payment. The project will create 19 new technology related jobs. The E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc. Board of Directors and the Dubuque and Jackson County Boards of Supervisors also approved 12 new loans or $4,409,843 in new lending in FY16. RLF lending was $1,253,843, down $205,157 from last year; SBA 504 lending was $3,156,000, an increase of $1,068,000.
Employment and Training
ECIA’s Employment and Training Department assists low income adults, dislocated workers, and disadvantaged youth in providing job search assistance, training opportunities, and securing employment as part of the IowaWORKS of Northeast Iowa partnership. This collaboration served 4,767 people in FY16 under Title I and Title III of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The WIOA Core Partners in Region 1 of Northeast Iowa include: • Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Programs – ECIA and Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) • Title II Adult Education and Literacy – Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) • Title III Wagner-Peyser – Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) • Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation – Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS) and Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) ECIA continued partnering with NICC and Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission on a Youth Career Connect Grant through the Department of Labor (DOL) to develop new and expand existing concurrent enrollments to regional high schools in high demand industries. Participating juniors select a 2-year career pathway, take concurrent college credit courses, and participate in an array of career awareness and work-based learning opportunities, all while on course to receive their high school diploma. The education and experiential opportunities will enable participants to graduate high school and enter the workforce with industry credentials or college credits. As of FY16 - 579 students enrolled; Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathway = 18; Business & Finance Career Pathway = 52; Health Career Pathway = 215; Information Technology Career Pathway = 4; and Science/ Technology/Engineering/Math (STEM) Career Pathway = 44. Also during FY16, ECIA operated a Career Link grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority to provide assistance for low and moderate income residents of Delaware and Dubuque Counties interested in short-term certificate programs. As of FY 16 - 38 eligible and enrolled; 28 completed training; and 31 employed. Additionally, WIOA legislation places an emphasis on work-based learning activities for participants enrolled in the Youth Program under Title I. This past summer, ECIA partnered with the Dubuque County Conservation Swiss Valley Nature Center and the Dubuque Community School District (DCSD) to provide paid work experiences for 12 Special Education students from Hempstead and Senior High Schools. These youth workers maintained hiking trails, installed benches and fire rings, banded geese (see photo), and assisted with flood cleanup along with other activities. ECIA was the employer of record providing wages, workers compensation, and site monitoring with Dubuque County Conservation supplying work, supervision, and tools along with DCSD providing job coaches and transportation.
Housing Established in 1978, the Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Authority (EIRHA) operates as a division of ECIA, which provides staff and administrative support to EIRHA. EIRHA currently owns and manages 164 public housing units scattered throughout the region. Overall, a 98.48% occupancy level is maintained. There are 85 units of elderly/disabled and 79 units of family housing. The family housing is scattered-site single family homes and duplexes. The senior/ disabled developments range in size from 4-plexes to a 23 unit two-story building. Most of the developments have a waiting list. For FY16, EIRHA’s public housing operating budget was $513,308 and operating subsidy was $333,529. EIRHA uses rental receipts to manage and maintain the units. $86,799 was paid for utility costs, $381,605 for maintenance and operations, and $283,982 was paid for administrative and other expenses. Two of EIRHA’s many programs involve helping people become or remain self-sufficient - the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) and Elderly Self-Sufficiency (ESS) programs. In the FSS program, the Coordinators work with a network of service providers and task force groups in the region to obtain the needed services to assist program participants reach economic self-sufficiency. Through the ESS program, the Service Coordinator ensures that these program participants are linked to the supportive services they need to achieve self-sufficiency or remain independent. At fiscal yearend, EIRHA was serving the following number of families in the FSS program: Section 8 HCV, 126 households with an average escrow account of $2,017 and 116 successful completions; Public Housing, 52 households with an average escrow account of $2,504 and 50 successful completions. There are currently 64 participants on the ESS program with 37 successful completions. EIRHA provided over $4 million in Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HVC) in this past year assisting 1,127 households in the region. The Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Corporation (EIRHC), a subsidiary of EIRHA, was established in 1990, and serves seven counties: Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones, and Scott Counties in Eastern Iowa. The purpose of EIRHC is to promote the general social welfare of eligible occupants of rental housing and to acquire, construct, improve, and operate affordable housing. EIRHC owns and manages 10 elderly and/or disabled USDA rental units: six (1BR) in Grand Mound, Iowa, and four (1 BR) in Worthington, Iowa. Rental assistance is financed by USDA for these units. Staff also administers the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Home Investment Based Rent Assistance grant which provides rental and security deposit assistance for affordable, decent, safe and sanitary housing to qualifying families over a two-year period; staffs the Eastern Iowa Development Corporation that serves as the general partner in all low income housing tax credits projects; and is a Housing Trust Fund designee which provides funds for development and preservation of affordable housing for households with low income in the five county region of Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson counties.
Transit In FY16, the ECIA’s rural transit division, the Region 8 Regional Transit Authority (RTA), received an $84,000 Public Transit Infrastructure Grant (PTIG) and a Dubuque Community Foundation Grants to Green grant for $18,676 for the installation of a solar array at the Dubuque RTA garage. Solar energy is not only sustainable, it is renewable and a natural source of power and requires little maintenance. Now that the solar panels have been installed and are working at maximum efficiency there is only a small amount of maintenance required each year. The RTA was one of the first in the state to receive a grant to help with funding of solar. The RTA can expect a drastic reduction in electric bills and to further enhance our efficiency, the Grants to Green grant assisted with changing our lighting fixtures to LED’s. The RTA anticipates saving approximately $7,000 in electricity bills annually because of installing solar. This project was definitely a group effort and would not have been possible without the help of many ECIA staff and the RTA wants to express our thanks to everyone that helped make this possible! Also in FY16, one of RTA’s long time drivers, Jean Dalsing won the State Roadeo competition in June in Coralville. She competed against 21 other drivers. Coincidentally, Jean has been with the RTA for 30 years and this year marked the 30th anniversary of the State Roadeo competition. Jean placed first in the small bus competition. Finally, the RTA had a very busy year with providing more than 149,000 rides to clients in the three county region, travelling more than 388,000 miles.
Transportation and Planning ECIA staff managed the second year of the Smarter Travel Study during FY16 for the city of Dubuque. In partnership with the City, IBM Research, and ECIA, staff recruited and monitored volunteers who travel within the city to participate in important travel research. The travel pattern information was combined with travel patterns from hundreds of other participants to paint a detailed picture of transportation in the Dubuque area. Local officials will use this information to guide future transportation decisions and projects in the region. Volunteers were asked to complete an initial demographic survey, download and install the Insights in Motion app for seven days, and keep a diary for three of the seven days. Successful volunteers were compensated with a $50 Hy-Vee gift card. In the second round of recruitment, 614 people took the initial demographic survey, 392 people downloaded the app, and 225 diaries were completed and submitted. ECIA staff, in collaboration with the Dubuque Metropolitan Transportation Study (DMATS) board and the Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA) 8, Iowa Department of Transportation (IADOT) Dubuque County, Jackson County, the City of Dubuque, the City of Bellevue, and other cities within these counties secured funding for the development of an 18-mile trail connection between the City of Dubuque and the City of Bellevue. The trail will be located along side the road system on either side of existing US Highway 52. Total cost of the trail is $3,380,000. The trail was constructed this past summer. Also during FY16: DMATS received $1.0 million (obligation limitation $906,139) in earmark funds for Mississippi River Trail improvements; continued work on the DMATS Long Range Transportation Plan; began preliminary work on the Eight County Freight Study to prepare a multimodal, intermodal freight plan for the eight county region that enhances the mobility of both people and goods while mitigating the negative impacts on mobility, safety, environment and quality of life and enhances economic development in the region; and also coordinated with the Grant Wood Mississippi Region to develop an interactive trail website and trail counting program.
Special Projects and Contracts In FY16, ECIA was selected as an Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) partner for the 2016-17 academic year. ECIA is one of two communities selected from a pool of community applicants from western, central, and eastern Iowa. The IISC works with faculty, students, and staff across multiple colleges and departments at the University of Iowa to facilitate community engagement projects, addressing issues and challenges identified by the community. In total, IISC faculty and students will complete 10 to 15 sustainability projects in collaboration with ECIA and community partners. Some of the projects proposed in ECIA’s proposal include the creation of a site plan for the development of a pocket neighborhood in the City of Maquoketa; assistance with an exhibit plan for the Old Edgewood Feed Mill Museum (pictured); downtown revitalization analysis for Lost Nation, and exploring strategies for “Heart & Soul” planning in Delmar. ECIA was also awarded $550,000 in U.S. EPA Brownfields Assessment funding in May 2016. This is a regional grant focusing on providing Phase I assessments on sites in our rural communities. This funding will also assist ECIA with community outreach and establishing a brownfields inventory for rural communities in the ECIA region. ECIA secured a $400,000 grant and designation as an Iowa Great Place for Maquoketa by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, secured and implemented a $10,000 Iowa Department of Public Health grant for Maquoketa to complete physical fitness and nutrition projects in the community, and secured a total of over $700,000 in grants for the Grant Wood Mississippi River Region Parks to People projects.
Government Training Institute In its second year, the USDA funded Government Training Institute (GTI) offered 31 trainings on the following topics: Capital Improvement Planning, Economic Development, Fundraising, Nuisance Abatement, Personnel Policy, Social Media, Solar Energy, and Workplace Culture. This grant is the result of the expressed interest of low-income rural government leaders and economic development organizations in the ECIA region (Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson Counties) who are actively working to make effective decisions; improve their capacity and ability to undertake projects; and deliver quality services to residents and business leaders in the areas of housing, community facilities, and community and economic development. The GTI is comprised of four modules: group trainings, one-on-one training, idea sharing meetings, and a data dashboard. Each entails a different form of technical assistance, but all focus on improving the capacity of low income rural government leaders and economic development organizations so that they can adequately use available resources to improve the quality of life for residents and business leaders. In FY 16, 238 people from the ECIA region participated in the GTI training opportunities. The GTI grant is a three year $150,000 total grant. Planning is underway for additional training programs for 2017.
Executive Committee East Central Intergovernmental Association is a membership supported organization comprised of local governmental bodies in Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson Counties. The ECIA Executive Committee is made up of representatives from the region. Larry “Buck” Koos, Supervisor, Jackson County Board of Supervisors and ECIA Chair Roy Buol, Mayor, City of Dubuque Milt Kramer, Mayor, City of Manchester Bill Rediger, EIRHA Board Chair Beth Bonz, City Manager, City of Asbury Donald Thiltgen, Mayor, City of DeWitt Jim Vermazen, RWIB Member, Vermazen Accounting Ray Stephan, Council Member, City of Peosta
ECIA East Central Intergovernmental Association - 7600 Commerce Park - Dubuque, IA 52002 800-942-4648 (Iowa Only) - 563-556-4166