January 2014 - Southwest Iowa Planning Council

January 2014
Welcome jason
Jason Ehrig joined the
SWIPCO staff January 6 as a
Community Development Specialist.
Jason is a graduate of Iowa
State University with a BS in Community and Regional Planning and
a GIS certification as well.
Jason’s parents continue
to live in Cedar Falls, and he has a
younger sister who recently relocated to Texas. His fiancée, Kate,
is from England and is currently
there awaiting visa approval to
immigrate to the US.
Jason worked with the
United States Peace Corps for two
years in Mongolia as a Community
Youth Development Volunteer.
Prior to the Peace Corps, he
worded as an instructor and teaching assistant at the Hearst Center
for the Arts in Cedar Falls.
Welcome nicole
Nicole Steffens of Atlantic
joined SWIPCO as a housing specialist January 2.
Nicole attended Southwestern Community College for General
Education studies, and is currently
pursuing her Bachelors Degree in
Business Administration through
Buena Vista University.
She came to SWIPCO from
the Nishna Valley Credit Union, and
is also a previous employee of West
Central Community Action in
Harlan.
Nicole is the mother of two
children, the light of her life, Makynzie, 11, and Ethan, 9. They keep her
incredibly busy with dance, football,
softball, baseball, etc.
Aside from her job at
SWIPCO, Nicole also enjoys teaching
dance lessons once a week, as she was
a dancer all of her adolescent years.
She is very excited to be a
part of the SWIPCO team, and is
excited to develop her skills.
Nicole may be reached at
Nicole.steffens@swipco.org or 712243-4196.
Jason’s hobbies include
photography, playing sports/
games, and getting together with
friends, when he is not skyping or
visiting with his fiancée.
Jason can be reached at
Jason.ehrig@swipco.org or 712243-4196.
T HE U PDATE
P AGE 2
SWIHTF RECEIVES LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND AWARD FROM IFA
Southwest Iowa Housing
Trust Fund was recently awarded its
2014 allocation from the State Housing Trust Fund. The $387,014 allocation provides funding for a variety
of SWIHTF programs. These include: Owner-occupied repair,
$141,104; homeownership assistance,
$150,000; lead based paint stabilization, $25,000; and purchase, rehab,
resell, $32,209.
SWIHTF also provides a
local match of $96,754 through the
following programs: purchase, rehab,
resell, $48,754; and demolition,
$48,000.
For more information on any of
the housing programs listed please contact
Jeremy Middents at
jeremy.middents@swipco.org or
712-243-4196.
SWIHTF Receives fhlb funding for repair programs
Federal Home Loan Bank
(FHLB) recently announced 13
awards in Iowa for their 2014 Affordable Housing Program. SWIHTF was
awarded two of those programs.
tion to repair 20 low-income, owneroccupied housing units in the city of
Atlantic. The project received
$112,000 and was sponsored by First
Whitney Bank and Trust.
SWIHTF partnered with
Cass/Atlantic Development Corpora-
SWIHTF also partnered with
the City of Shenandoah to repair 20
low-income, owner-occupied housing
units in Shenandoah. The project received
$112,000 and was sponsored by City National Bank of Shenandoah.
Both of the projects will be accepting applications from interested
homeowners this winter, with repair
work to start in the spring.
Business rlf provides funds for new SW Iowa business
SWIPCO’S Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) awarded a loan
for a new start-up business at its December meeting.
ing capital. Global Storm Shelters
commits to creating five full-time
positions in the first year, and eight
more in the next five years.
Global Storm Shelters of
Sidney is a new business that sells and
installs storm shelters and safe rooms
throughout the region. Owner Jack
Price will spearhead the operation as a
subsidiary of his construction company Global Eco Systems. The loan
was made possible through a partnership with an SBA loan from Security
National Bank of Omaha. SWIPCO
funds were used to purchase furniture, fixtures, equipment, and work-
SWIPCO has loaned out
$628,955 in RLF funds to southwest
Iowa businesses. This program is
assists new and existing businesses
with start-ups or expansion. The goal
of this program is to create jobs in
Southwest Iowa and further business
development. For more information,
please contact Courtney Harter at
courtney.harter@swipco.org or at
1-866-279-4720.
Intro to planning & zoning workshops
The spring training dates and
All workshops begin with
To register online, go to http://
locations for Iowa State Planning and
registration and supper at 5:30 p.m.
blogs.extension.iastate.edu/
Zoning seminars have been set. The
Program
starts
at
6
p.m.
and
conplanningBLUZ.
closes two meetings to our area are
cludes
by
8:45
p.m..
Registration
is
April 1 in Carroll, at the Carrollton
For questions contact registra$65 per person, or $50 per person if a
Inn and April 22 in Creston at the
tion services at 515-294-6222 or
city registers 5 or more to attend.
Supertel Inn.
registrations@iastate.edu.
T HE U PDATE
P AGE 3
S TAFF S POTLIGHTS
Dave Riedemann ~ Housing Program Administrator 7 years
Dave Riedemann has been with SWIPCO for seven years on January 9. As Housing Programs
Administrator he works with the city councils and housing committees. He also helps guide the
homeowners and contractors through the process, inspects the homes, determines the scope of
work, procures the contractors, supervises the bidding and construction, and performs all necessary inspections. Dave also provides service as a building inspector for many of our communities.
Dave lives on an acreage by Griswold. In his spare time he enjoys deer and turkey hunting,
fishing, playing golf badly, hiking, reading too much, and riding his motorcycle.
Jeremy Middents ~ Housing Director 14 years
Jeremy Middents is celebrating 14 years with SWIPCO this January. He started as a Community Development Specialist, and has since worked his way up to the position of Housing Director in 2010. His duties include oversight of the housing departments programs and staff.
Jeremy lives in Atlantic with his wife, Teresa, and two daughters, Nicole and Allison. Jeremy
and Teresa are the owners of Salute Gymnastics, a gymnastics facility based in Atlantic. A lot of
Jeremy’s free time away from SWIPCO is spent at Salute or gymnastic meets. Jeremy is also an
avid follower of Cyclone Athletics.
Daurine Petersen ~ Transit Assistant 3 years
Daurine Petersen has been with SWIPCO for three years on February 22. Daurine is kept
busy in her position of Transit Assistant answering phones, scheduling trips/rides, helping
clients and drivers, scheduling driver reviews, and other assignments from the transit
director.
Daurine lives in Atlantic with her husband, Shawn, and their son, Nile (12). In her spare
time she enjoys reading and attending her son’s tennis, baseball, football, and basketball
games. She is also one of the few Hawkeye fans in the office.
Crystal Cappel ~ Finance Director 6 years
February 25 is Crystal Cappel’s sixth anniversary with SWIPCO. Crystal is the Finance
Director and responsible for the day to day financial operations of the organization as well as
the budget and annual audit.
Crystal lives outside of Atlantic with her husband, Trent, and their daughter Tenley. Outside
of work, Crystal spends her time training her dogs and traveling the country with them. She is
also a volunteer for a non-profit dog club and assists in teaching dog-related classes.
T HE U PDATE
P AGE 4
RPA ACCEPTING TAP APPLICATIONS
Regional Planning Affiliation
13 (RPA-13) is taking applications for
its Regional Transportation Alternatives Program.
Projects must be in Cass,
Fremont, Montgomery, and Page
counties. Eligible applicants include
local governments, regional transportation authorities, transit agencies,
natural resource or public land agencies, school districts and local education agencies, tribal governments, and
any other local or regional government
entity responsible for oversight of
transportation or recreational trails.
Eligible Activities include:
construction, planning, and design of
on and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorized forms of transportation,
including sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle signals,
traffic calming techniques, lighting and
other safety-related infrastructure, and
transportation projects to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;Construction,
planning, and design of infrastructurerelated projects and systems that will
provide safe routes for non drivers,
including children, older adults, and
individuals with disabilities to access
daily needs; conversion and use of
abandoned railroad corridors for trails
for pedestrians, bicyclists or other nonmotorized transportation users; construction of turnouts, overlooks, and
viewing areas; community improvement activities, including but not limited to, inventory, control or removal
of outdoor advertising, preservation
and rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities, vegetation management practices in transportation rightsof-way to improve roadway safety,
prevent against invasive species and
provide erosion control, archeological
activities relating to impacts from implementation of a transportation project eligible under this title, and streetscape and corridor landscaping; any
environmental mitigation activity, including pollution prevention and pollution abatement activities and mitigation to address storm water management, control and water pollution
prevention or abatement related to
highway construction or due to highway runoff, or reduce vehicle caused
wildlife mortality or to restore and
maintain connectivity among terrestrial or aquatic habitats; a construction
or non-construction project eligible
C ITY ORDINANCE ASSISTANCE
The State Code of Iowa requires the re-codification of city codes
every five years. Southwest Iowa Planning Council planning department is
available to assist with the re-codification process.
SWIPCO staff will review the current code, convert the code to
model code format, consolidate new and existing ordinances into one
document, review and revise new ordinances with staff and the council,
and assist in the adoption of the new code including public notification.
For more information, or to set up a meeting, please contact Barb
Barrick at 1-866-279-4720 or barb.barrick@swipco.org.
under the Safe Routes to School program; finally, a project eligible under
the Recreational Trail Program.
Additionally, projects must
also provide a commitment of at least
20 percent of eligible costs; project
sponsors may be a city, county, public
agency, private non-profit or an individual, however, public agencies, private non-profits, and individuals must
have a city or county as a co-sponsor;
sponsors must be willing to maintain
the project for 20 years; and projects
must demonstrate a relationship to
transportation.
Southwest IV Transportation
Planning Agency is expecting approximately $115,000 for this program in
FY 2014.
Interested applicants may
request a hard copy of the application
by contacting Courtney Harter at 1866-279-4720 or
courtney.harter@swipco.org.
Completed applications must
be in the SWIPCO office by 4:30 p.m.
Feb. 27, 2014. Notice of local approval is scheduled for April 15. Local
projects are submitted to the IDOT for
state approval.
J ANUARY 2014
P AGE 5
B USING IN WINTER WEATHER
Winter weather has arrived
again, and the safety of SWITA riders
and drivers is a top priority.
Situations do occasionally
arise where services are temporarily
limited due to inclement weather.
Usually, winter schedule changes are
due to blizzard or icy conditions.
However, for the first time SWITA
limited service on January 6 due to
dangerously cold temperatures. Many
schools and group workshops also
closed for the day. Despite the cold,
SWITA did continue critical medical
services, and in-town taxis operated in
Atlantic, Red Oak, Shenandoah,
Harlan, and Missouri Valley through
out the day.
In addition, drivers are always
encouraged to drive at a speed safe for
the conditions they are driving in,
which may lead to delays. At no point
is a driver to hurry through a route to
make up time.
Notification regarding cancellations or delays due to weather are
called into radio stations in Atlantic,
Council Bluffs, Harlan, Red Oak, and
Shenandoah.
Grant Opportunities
Grant
Due Date
Grant
Due Date
REAP– conservation Education
Program
Nov. 2014
CDBG Water/Sewer
Nov. 2014
CDBG Housing
Dec. 2014
Economic Development Set
Aside
Ongoing
Iowa West Foundation
(Quarterly)
April 1, 2014
Solid Waste Alternatives
Program (Quarterly)
April, 2014
CDBG Community Facilities
Jan. 15, 2014
Peter Kiewit Foundation
(Quarterly)
April 2014
CDBG Downtown Revitalization
Jan. 22, 2014
Revitalize Iowa’s Sound
Economy
Feb. 1, 2014
RPA-13 Transportation
ternative s Program (TAP)
Feb. 27, 2014
DNR Derelict Building Program Feb. 28, 2014
Land and Water Conservation
Fund
March 2014
Keep Iowa Beautiful
March 15, 2014
REAP– Historical Resource
Development Program
May 15, 2014
REAP—Roadside Vegetation
June 1, 2014
State Recreational Trails
July 1, 2014
Vision Iowa (CAT)
July 15, 2014
REAP—City Parks & Open Space
Aug. 15, 2014 REAP—County Conservation
Aug. 15, 2014
REAP– Private/Public Open
Space Acquisition
Aug. 15, 2014 Federal Recreational Trails
Oct. 1, 2014
Statewide Transportation
Alternatives
Oct. 1, 2014
IFA Project Based Housing
On-going
Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program
Contact
SWIPCO
Land and Water Conservation
Fund
Contact SWIPCO
Al-
J ANUARY 2014
P AGE 6
Maintenance Facility
expansion
D ATES
TO
R EMEMBER
SWIPCO Policy Council Meeting Thurs.
Jan. 23 at 1:30 p.m. in Atlantic.
The SWITA maintenance facility is
expanding, thanks to a Public Transit Infrastructure Grant awarded by the Iowa DOT.
Friday February 14—Valentine’s Day!
SWIPCO
Policy Council
Cass County
Frank Waters
Dave Jones
The current shop has three bays for
fleet maintenance, one of which has a fullsize lift. All three bays are regularly occupied, and the expansion will allow for additional vehicles to be serviced in-house.
SWIPCO office is closed Mon. Feb. 17
for President’s Day.
Fremont County
SWIHTF Board Meeting Tues. Feb. 18 at
10 a.m. in Atlantic.
Cara Morgan
The expansion will add 24’ by 60’
on the west side of the current building.
The new bay will include bus washing equipment, plus additional shop storage for bulk
fluids and maintenance equipment.
SWIPCO Policy Council Meeting Thurs.
Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m. in Atlantic.
Monday March 17—St. Patrick’s Day
SWIPCO Policy Council Meeting Thurs.
March 27 at 1:30 p.m. in Atlantic.
The estimated cost of the project is
$202,800. A bid will be approved at the
February SWIPCO Policy Council Meeting.
Project managers plan completion in July
2014.
S TAFF B IRTHDAYS
Mark Hansen, Fleet Maintenance
Jan. 6
Harrison County
Gaylord Pitt
Sherman Struble
Mills County
Richard Crouch
Montgomery County
RPA Technical Committee Meeting
Wed. April 2 at 1:30 p.m. in Red Oak.
Donna Robinson
RPA Joint Policy Board and Technical
Committee Meeting Wed. April 9 at 1:30
p.m. in Red Oak.
Page County
RLF Policy Board meets the Fourth Friday of
the Month only when a meeting is called by
Community Development Team Leader
Courtney Harter.
Fred Berge, Maintenance Assistant
Jan. 1
Brian Kingsolver
Brad Wright
James Richardson
Byron Harris
Shelby County
Charles Parkhurst
Terry Arentson
Pottawattamie County
Nicole Steffens, Housing Specialist,
Jan. 26
Lynn Grobe
At-Large
Barb Barrick, Community Development Specialist, March 7
Dorothy Duran
Clint Fichter
Mike Kolbe
Steve Andersen
Transit Director
Jason Ehrig
Community Development
John McCurdy
Executive Director
Barb Barrick
Community Development
Mark Hansen
Fleet Mechanic
Jeremy Middents
Housing Director
Christy Bates
Transit Assistant
Sandy Hansen
Housing Coordinator
Daurine Petersen
Transit Assistant
Crystal Cappel
Finance Director
Courtney Harter
Community Development
Dave Riedemann
Housing Administrator
Kelly Davis
Transit Coordinator
Karen Mauer
Finance Manager
Nicole Steffens
Housing Specialist
Tammy DeBord
Executive Assistant
Teresa Wright
Transit Assistant
SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.