Homes for Iowa is a program that helps communities with affordable housing by providing quality built houses that have been assembled by Iowa Prison Industries. Vinton recently had the first of several Homes For Iowa homes delivered and built in their Anderson Creek subdivision. There are different home designs to choose from, with 3 bedroom ($95,000) and 2 bedroom ($80,000) models available. Homes are built by Iowa Prison Industries at a facility in Newton, and then delivered to a pre-built foundation. The East Central Iowa Housing Trust provided $35,000 downpayment assistance for three houses to make the houses affordable for low to moderate income buyers.

To learn more about these programs and how ECICOG can assist your community with local housing needs, contact ECICOG Housing Specialist Mark Culver or visit the Homes for Iowa website.

ECICOG was recently engaged by Linn County to coordinate the Linn County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan update. The purpose of the plan is to identify how a community can minimize the negative impacts of hazards, and it must be updated every five years. Having a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan maintains eligibility to apply for FEMA hazard mitigation assistance programs. 

So far ECICOG has conducted 18 meetings with cities and school districts with a goal to complete the remaining hazard mitigation plan update meetings by September. Linn County residents are encouraged to participate in this process and can take the survey here. Linn County businesses and organizations are also encouraged to participate and can take a survey here.

For more information, contact ECICOG Environmental Specialist Meagan Prestegard.

Do you know of any ‘problem’ properties in your area? These could include abandoned downtown buildings, former industrial or commercial sites, warehouses, or closed gas stations.

ECICOG will be seeking potential Brownfields properties in our region to apply for a US EPA Brownfields Assessment grant. Brownfields are properties that may be challenging to redevelop due to the potential presence of hazardous materials (such as asbestos and lead-based paint) or other environmental contamination (such as abandoned tanks or spills). In the coming weeks be on the lookout for a survey from ECICOG to help identify and inventory potential properties that could be included in a Brownfields Assessment grant.

For more information contact ECICOG Environmental Specialist Meagan Prestegard.

On July 9, the City of Oxford held a public hearing for the adoption of their updated comprehensive plan. The City and ECICOG worked together for the past year to conduct a planning process which included a significant public input effort. The plan provides the City with approximately 60 objectives to support 22 community goals. The future land use map was also updated to align with future development needs and the fringe area agreement between the City and Johnson County. The plan will help the community to move in the direction described by residents through public input. The City will consider a resolution of adoption at its next Council meeting. Best wishes to the City in its implementation!

For more information about the plan or Comprehensive Planning for your community, contact ECICOG Planner Tom Gruis.

How aligned is your City Council? Reaching an agreement on common goals helps city government run smoothly and provides clear direction to staff regarding council priorities. This spring, ECICOG facilitated council goal-setting sessions for the City of North Liberty. While ECICOG was a new facilitation partner, North Liberty has a long history of making sure everyone is on the same page with biennial goals.  

The goal setting process involved workshops with the city council as well as staff leadership. During the sessions, potential priorities were reviewed through the lens of the city’s recently completed comprehensive plan. The final report summarized recent accomplishments, opportunities and challenges in the external environment, council goals, major capital improvement projects and highlighted how these projects align with the city’s long-term vision. 

To learn more about how ECICOG can help your community with strategic goal setting, contact ECICOG Executive Director Karen Kurt.

ECICOG recently completed a Housing Needs Assessment for the 14 cities within Linn County outside of the metro area. The data revealed that despite relatively low housing costs, affordability is still an issue for many households in the assessment area, driven by various factors unique to each community. The assessment includes a windshield study in each city which revealed a critical need for targeted housing rehabilitation programs to preserve affordable housing and encourage new housing developments.  

ECICOG also completed a Housing Equity Analysis for Linn County focusing on communities in the metro area, including Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, and Marion.  Concentrating on equity as a housing outcome, the report identifies targeted support programs and opportunities for the Alliance for Housing Equity, a multi-jurisdictional collaboration led by Linn County, to strengthen community resiliency and transition from pandemic-related short-term housing assistance programs to the development of long-term solutions.

For more information on the Assessment please contact ECICOG Housing Specialist Deanna Robinson.

In 2022, five communities in the ECICOG region joined the Hometown Pride Program, a statewide initiative through Keep Iowa Beautiful in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The program is administered in our region by Jessica Walker, the "Community Coach”, to support communities in creating physical, cultural and economic improvements in their towns to increase community pride.

Walker works with communities through a five-year comprehensive commitment with the goal of creating a more vibrant, stable future. The program adapts to individual and unique circumstances of each community, which rely on volunteers to build capacity and work together to accomplish many impactful projects and community improvements, including the following:

Shellsburg - Revitalization of the historic Gold Medal Flour Mural

Walker – Annual “Music in the Park” concert series

Hills - “Food Truck Fridays” and landscape painting in new Songbird Sanctuary Park

Springville - Hometown pride community garden

Center Point - Downtown lighting project 

For more information on the Hometown Pride program, contact ECICOG Community Development Specialist Jessica Walker or visit the Hometown Pride section of the Keep Iowa Beautiful website.

Through funding made available by ECICOG, the six county transit providers have recently implemented new scheduling and dispatching software to improve their efficiency and operations. The new software replaces decades old software, and will enable the transit providers to free-up staff time, improve bus routes, and make drivers jobs easier by implementing tablets on each bus. In addition, riders will now be able to make electronic payment and receive advanced notice on exact bus arrival times. The six county transit providers totaled over 295,000 miles in 2023, with over 2.9 million miles on a fleet of 72 buses.

The majority of rides provided are for elderly and disabled persons, including sheltered workshops, dialysis appointments, group homes, as well as preschool and daycare. To learn more about the CorridorRides public transit services visit the program website or contact ECICOG Transit Administrator/Planner Brock Grenis.

ECICOG is pleased to welcome J'nae Peterman to the team in the newly created position of Homeless Systems Manager. J’nae previously served as the Director of Housing Services for Waypoint Services. This position is funded by the City of Cedar Rapids and Linn County, and hosted by ECICOG as a creative means to coordinate efforts across multiple jurisdictions in Linn County. J’nae has experience working with ECICOG in her previous role coordinating referrals for the PATCH program and operating a rental assistance program through Housing Trust Fund dollars. She lives in Cedar Rapids with her partner and 3 small children, where they spend most of their free time bike riding, swimming, and playing sports. 

J'nae can be reached at 319.428.8322 or by email.

Join city officials from across the state to learn about the latest trends, acquire practical information and ideas, and learn strategies that are relevant to rural, mid-sized and urban downtown districts. Conference sessions will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Center, conveniently located near downtown amenities

This premier statewide annual conference for both professionals and volunteers involved in downtown placemaking and preservation-based revitalization efforts. To register click here or visit the conference website for further information.