Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission FY2011 Annual Report

Dear Citizens of the Southeast Iowa Region,

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission recently completed its 38th year of service to the southeast Iowa region. Since its inception, SEIRPC has focused on providing excellent service to the region through technical assistance, planning, and regional collaboration. SEIRPC continues to produce results for the region. In FY2011, $5.8 million was secured by SEIRPC from outside sources for use in southeast Iowa. This is a 78:1 return on investment from member dues. Housing services again produced positive yields for the region. SEIRPC began administering the regional housing trust fund, Great River Housing, Inc. Over $1 million will be used to rehabilitate 100 owner-occupied homes in southeast Iowa, including a portion for down payment assistance. Currently, 32 homeowners have been assisted. Funding critical infrastructure is an annual focus for SEIRPC. In FY2011, staff secured funding for sewer separation, water treatment and source improvements, disabled workshop construction and safe room construction totaling nearly $4 million. The annual utility survey also provides regional officials and residents information on services provided, cost and other items to identify needs and opportunities. Planning for community development and transportation successfully completed multiple projects. In addition to administering the regional Surface Transportation Funds, staff secured $1.8 million for regional projects, like Safe Routes to School and urban bridges. Traffic data collection, trail development, Safe Routes to School, project development and administration and planning continue to be strengths for the region. In its seventh year, SEIBUS weathered funding reductions from federal sources to provide outstanding service to its regional clients. Both office staff and drivers have made large strides in finding efficiencies to provide services that are valuable and cost effective to the region. After one year in the new facility, SEIRPC is pleased to see the entire building has been leased. Three private tenants have helped to provide a professional environment and to make the building self-sustaining. Staff continues to reap the benefits of a more efficient and more professional environment. Through the next year SEIRPC will continue to strive for excellence in the service it provides the region. Thank you for your continued partnership with SEIRPC and efforts to strengthen southeast Iowa.

Sincerely,

Mike Norris SEIRPC Executive Director

Brent Schleisman 2011 SEIRPC Board Chairman

SEIRPC FY2011 Annual Report 2

SEIRPC FY2011 Annual Report 3

2011 SEIRPC Board of Directors

Executive Committee Brent Schleisman, Chair

Sue Frice, Vice Chair Hans Trousil, Treasurer Jim Howell, Secretary

Gary Folluo, Member at Large Des Moines County

Jim Davidson, City of Burlington Hans Trousil, City of West Burlington

Robert Beck, Des Moines County Bob Hesler, Private Sector

Louisa County Mark Huston, City of Columbus Junction

Ron Durbin, City of Wapello Chris Ball, Louisa County

Jim Howell, Private Sector

Lee County Byron Smith, City of Fort Madison Michael O’Connor, City of Keokuk

Gary Folluo, Lee County Steve Bisenius, Private Sector

Henry County Brent Schleisman, City of Mount Pleasant

Mark Hempen, City of New London Kent White, Henry County

Klay Edwards, Private Sector

Education & Workforce David File, Iowa Wesleyan College

Phil Thomas, Southeastern Community College Sue Frice, Workforce Representative

SEIRPC Management Staff Mike Norris, Executive Director Jeff Hanan, Assistant Director Zach James, Planning Director

Bob Kuskowski, Transit Director Kim Schisel, Finance Director

SEIRPC FY2011 Annual Report 4

2011 SEIRPC Committees

Transportation Advisory Committee

Jim Davidson Gary Folluo

Mike Holtkamp Rich Mullin

Chuck Reighard Bill Richards Larry Roehl

Bill Small Eric Tysland

Ex Officio: Sam Shea

Mark Bechtel Tracy Troutner

Transit Advisory Committee

Karen Bates-Chabel Paula Buckman

Pat Colthurst Pam Erhardt Jeff Heland

John Herring Bob Hoxie

Ken Hyndman Steve Ireland Zach James

Sarah Kaufman Bob Kuskowski

Mary Maine Mike O’Connor

Doug Roelfs Brenda Sayre

Gary See Terri Smith

Connie Storms Ryan Wood

Dennis Zegarac

Comprehensive Economic

Development Strategy Committee

David File Randy Foor Gary Folluo

Sue Frice Melissa Garth David George Elias Gutierrez

Terry Knoke Matt Morris

Al Muhlenbruck Randy Richards

Brent Schleisman Don Schmidgall

Phil Thomas Dan Wiedemeier

Finance Committee

Sue Frice Gary Folluo Jim Howell

Brent Schleisman Hans Trousil

Great River Housing, Inc. Board of Directors

Pam Broomhall Sue Frice

April Girard Jim Howell

Deb Massner Brent Schleisman

Dan Spray Hans Trousil Eric Tysland Kathy Vance Kent White

SEIRPC FY2011 Annual Report 5

2011 Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Committees

About SEIRPC Revolving Loan Funds SEIRPC’s revolving loan pools makes funds available to assist businesses expanding or in start-up situations where jobs will be retained or created. The funds are loaned to fill in a gap in financing to expand or start a business. Loans can be used for machinery and equipment, working capital, land real estate and other activities directly related to job creation and retention. SEIRPC has over $2 million available through its revolving loan pools. Approximately $1 million is available at interest rates below three percent, and another approximately $1 million is available at four percent. SEIRPC has an existing $1.1 million loan portfolio, which includes funding from six different loan pools.

Keokuk RLF Loan Review Committee

Archie Logan Carole Betts Les Fowler

Ivan Hasselbusch Mike Pribyl

Ex Officio: Chuck Betts

Joyce Glasscock

SEIRPC RLF Loan Review Committee

Steve Brimhall Robert Buckman

Klay Edwards Chris Grimm Chad Hudson Mark Huston Josh Kirchner Jerry Krause Larry Kruse Jim Olson

Rob Ritson Mike Spieler

Fort Madison RLF Loan Review Committee

Larry Kelch Moudy Nabulsi Mary Ottoson Mike Spieler

Ex Officio: Mayor Steve Ireland

Henry County RLF Loan Review Committee

Scott Bayor Klay Edwards

David File Robert Meyer

Stan Young

Ex Officio: Gary See

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Planning

Department 2011 Highlights

Des Moines County Land Use – Since 2004, SEIRPC has provided direct contract services to Des Moines County for land use administration. Staff coordinates and administers the county’s zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, and floodplain development ordinance.

Fort Madison Annexation Study – SEIRPC staff worked with the City of Fort Madison to evaluate the possibility of extending the city’s corporate limits to the US Highway 61 Bypass. The study identified a potential area to be annexed and evaluated how this would affect city services such as water, sewer, fire protection, police protection, etc. Fort Madison Extraterritorial Zoning Study– In addition to the annexation study, SEIRPC staff also completed this study to evaluate the possibilities of utilizing extraterritorial zoning in the 2 mile boundaries of Fort Madison. Fort Madison Housing Enterprise Zone – SEIRPC staff worked with the City of Fort Madison to create a housing enterprise zone in and around downtown Fort Madison. The enterprise zone will be utilized to promote upper story redevelopment in the core of downtown and rehabilitation of homes in the downtown periphery area.

Website Update and Facebook – In FY2011, SEIRPC joined the world of Facebook to inform and educate regional residents about projects SEIRPC is involved with in the Southeast Iowa region. In addition, SEIRPC updated and streamlined the SEIRPC website to make it more user- friendly. You can see the new sites at www.seirpc.com and www.facebook.com/seirpc.

Resource, Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Grants – SEIRPC assisted in writing 5 REAP grants for Southeast Iowa communities, of which two were funded for the maximum amount in their category of $75,000. Columbus Junction was awarded funding to make improvements to Chautauqua Park (picture to the right), while Wapello will be building a multi use trail along the Iowa River.

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Project Source Funding Amount

Columbus Junction Chautauqua Park Iowa DNR – REAP $75,000

Wapello Fishing Pier and Trail Iowa DNR – REAP $75,000

Des Moines County Aldo Leopold Interpretive Center Iowa DOT – Scenic Byways $365,000

Columbus Junction Comprehensive Plan Update Iowa Department of Economic Development $3,750

Burlington Blackhawk Elementary Sidewalk Extension Iowa DOT – Safe Routes to Schools $87,295

Keokuk Sidewalk Improvements Iowa DOT – Safe Routes to Schools $116,485

Mediapolis SRTS Plan Iowa DOT – Safe Routes to Schools $15,000

Des Moines County/Burlington - Flint River Trail Iowa DOT – Enhancements $225,000

SEIBUS Hope Haven Expansion FTA – New Freedoms $88,857

Fort Madison Avenue D Bridge Replacement Iowa DOT – City Bridge Fund $800,000

Total Funding Secured $1,851,387

Flint River Trail Progress - Bids have been let and construction has begun on the 2 northern most phases of the 20 mile trail system. This includes the area from Big Hollow Recreation Area south to the intersection of Highway 61 and Flint Bottom Road. Construction is expected to be completed on this roughly 8 mile stretch of trail by the spring of 2012. Final easement negotiations are expected to be completed for the third and final phase by the end of 2012 with final design work immediately following that. All phases of the trail are expected to be completed by 2015.

Louisa County Highway 99 Bridge at Oakville (Iowa River) –SEIRPC staff secured over $12 million in grant funds for the project from state and federal sources. The project funded by EDA disaster recovery funds and county highway funds is underway with environmental studies and preliminary engineering.

Safe Routes to School Plans – SEIRPC staff worked with the City of Wapello and City of Keokuk in creating Safe Routes to School Plans. The plans include a sidewalk inventory and other proposed engineering improvements that will make the communities safer for children walking and biking to school.

Fort Madison Avenue D Bridge – SEIRPC staff assisted the City of Fort Madison in securing $800,000 to replace a bridge along Avenue D that had been damaged by flooding in 2008.

Fort Madison Depot Progress – Work commenced on elevating the Santa Fe Depot in Fort Madison, part of a larger project funded in part by SEIRPC grant writing. The overall $2 million project will elevate the depot out of the flood plain, construct a new rail passenger platform, reconstruct parking lots and renovate the interior for historic museum space and Amtrak.

Planning Department Funded Grants in FY2011

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Development Department 2011 Highlights

Great River Housing Trust Fund – The Great River Housing was established in FY 2011. The initial two-year grant is funded by the Iowa Finance Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank and local contributions from cities, counties and business. The funds will be used in the region to assist low to moderate income home owners with rehabilitation and/or down payment assistance. The housing trust fund plans to assist 100 homeowners over the course of the two-year grant. To date there are 29 awarded homeowners for rehabilitation, while 3 homeowners have received funds for down payment assistance.

Housing Programs – SEIRPC funded 28 housing units in FY 2011, split among downtown upper story, new single family construction and owner-occupied rehabilitation.

• Mount Pleasant Downtown Upper Story: Two downtown units were created and one rehabilitated; • Burlington Downtown Upper Story: 11 units are under construction; • Fort Madison Downtown Upper Story: three units are under construction; • Des Moines and Louisa counties Single Family New Construction, closed on eight homes ( four under construction); • West Burlington Owner Occupied Rehabilitation: Three homes completed, three under construction.

In addition, grants were awarded in FY 2011 for:

• Burlington Neighborhood Stabilization Program; • Burlington Owner Occupied Rehabilitation; • Oakville Project Based Grant; • Fort Madison Project Based Grant; and • Keokuk Project Based Grant.

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Project Source Funding Amount

Great River Housing Trust Fund Federal Home Loan Bank $753,750

Great River Housing Trust Fund Iowa Finance Authority $282,975

Great River Housing Trust Fund Local Matching Contributions $73,500

Burlington Neighborhood Housing Stabilization Iowa Department of Economic Development $452,120

Oakville Project Based Housing Iowa Finance Authority $15,000

Burlington Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Iowa Department of Economic Development $369,999

Fort Madison Project Based Housing Iowa Finance Authority $50,000

Keokuk Project Based Housing Iowa Finance Authority $50,000

Keokuk Combined Sewer Overflow Project Iowa Department of Economic Development $600,000

Wayland Water Treatment and Source Improvements Iowa Department of Economic Development $255,000

West Burlington/Bridgeway Property Improvements Iowa Department of Economic Development $152,350

Danville Schools Saferoom Project Iowa Homeland Security $942,262

Total Funding Secured $3,996,956

Community Development Block Grants – Several CDBG applications were written by SEIRPC and received funding in FY 2011, including:

• City of Keokuk for a combined sewer overflow project • City of Wayland for upgrading to water treatment plant

and making emergency secondary source connection to Rathbun Regional Water Association a permanent secondary source; and

• City of West Burlington/Bridgeway Inc. for renovating the 1105 Derek Lincoln Drive property to house Bridgeway Inc. programs and administrative offices.

Development Department Funded Grants in FY2011

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SEIBUS

2011 Highlights SEIBUS ended the year with a total of 134,262 rides. This was a 3.3% reduction over FY2010, mainly due to elimination of the route from Burlington to Tyson Foods in Columbus Junction. While a 3.3% reduction in rides was not ideal, this did show that there was an increase in other services as the Tyson route accounted for such high ridership in the past. This is good news moving into FY2012 and 2013. In FY2011, SEIBUS put forth a proposal to Lee County to handle all of their CPC transportation needs, which was accepted. This would entail approximately 25,000 additional rides per year. Unfortunately due to a legal issue with their current transportation provider, SEIBUS was not allowed to proceed in FY2011, but hopes to have these issues should be cleared up in time for FY2012. Another exciting project in FY2011 was the approval from Iowa DOT for expanding our Medical Shuttle Routes. SEIBUS was able to purchase a new bus and receive 50% of operating expense for FY2012 to help get the service off the ground. The new service to Iowa City on Wednesday’s has slowly gained traction with a successful year on the horizon for this route in FY2012.

Fare Structure

Regional Partnerships in

FY2011 ♦ Area Agency on Aging ♦ Des Moines County ♦ Louisa County ♦ City of Fort Madison ♦ City of Keokuk ♦ Old Threshers Reunion ♦ Tri-State Rodeo ♦ Inpropco ♦ Great River Medical Center ♦ Hope Haven

FY2011 Statistics Rides – 134,262

Hours – 22,518

Miles Traveled – 459,576

One Way

Round Trip

In Town $2.50 $5.00

Between Cities $5.00 $10.00

Monthly Pass* $25.00

Medical Shuttle $15.00 $30.00

* Monthly Pass can be used only in county

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FY2011 Financial Highlights $78 : $1 RETURN ON INVESTMENT FROM MEMBER DUES

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In November 2010, SEIRPC moved its offices from the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Burlington to the former IPC/Raider office building at 211 N. Gear Avenue in West Burlington.

The new location has fulfilled the objectives outlined by the board of directors for a new facility and offers unprecedented stability for the organization.

After one year in the new facility, SEIRPC is pleased to see the entire building has been leased. Three private tenants have helped to provide a professional environment and to make the building self-sustaining. SEIRPC looks forward to utilizing the location as a future tool for regional collaboration and development for southeast Iowa.

New SEIRPC Office Facility Facility Tenants

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SEIRPC Administration

Mike Norris Executive Director

Debbie Laughlin Executive Assistant

Beth Hartman Planning Assistant

Susan Coffey Grant Administrator

Development Department

Jeff Hanan Assistant Director

Dan Eberhardt Regional Planner II

Tracey Lamm Regional Planner

Sara Hecox Grant Administrator

Chris Ralph Housing Inspector

Sherri Jones Planning Assistant

Planning Department

Zach James Planning Director

Justin Bushong Regional Planner

Madeline Emmerson Regional Planner

Finance Department

Kim Schisel Finance Director

SEIRPC Staff

SEIBUS Administration

Bob Kuskowski SEIBUS Director

Gerald Huebner Operations Manager

Carolyn Lees Scheduler

SEIBUS Drivers

Sherry Andrews Nancy Aquino

John Arp Ruth Boyd

Jack Callas Don Eland

Dave Ewinger David Ford

Art Heckenberg Terry Heckenberg

Marilyn Hunter Kathy McLemore

Tom Smith Randy Spiker

Sherry Vaughn Joe Yocum

SEIBUS Staff

Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission 211 N. Gear Avenue, Suite 100

West Burlington, IA 52655 Phone: 319-753-5107

Fax: 319-754-4763 www.seirpc.com

www.facebook.com/seirpc

This Annual Report was prepared in part through funding provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, State Transit Assistance,

and from local membership dues and contract for services.