MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:

APRIL 19, 2004

Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 10:41 a.m.  Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

GENERAL ROBERT SENTMAN, deputy adjutant Brigadier general Mark Zirkelbach, and Lieutenant Colonel scott ayres: NATIONAL GUARD READINESS CENTER

General Robert Sentman said that it is not very often that the community has the opportunity to build a new armory.  He said that the current armory was built in 1937 and is the only armory in the State of Iowa that still has original horse stalls.  He welcomed Congressman Leach and introduced those in attendance.  Deputy Adjutant Brigadier General Mark Zirkelbach said that this is a very exciting project for the Army National Guard.  He said that the National Guard has worked with the City and County regarding issues that arose since it was built in 1937.  When the Iowa City Armory was built there were 128 soldiers housed, while there are now 450 assigned to the facility.  He said that constructing an armory for the 450 soldiers would require a facility of 80,000 square feet, which is 4 times the size of the current armory.  Zirkelbach said that the National Guard has looked at their 50 facilities across the State and since the 1980s Iowa’s demographics have changed significantly.  He said that the population in western Iowa has been declining and the Guard has responded by moving facilities from western to eastern Iowa, which is responsible for the growth in the Johnson County area.  Zirkelbach said that the Guard decided that they must build a keystone armory in Johnson County that includes the Medical Battalion, a colonel troop command, and would allow them to move a company from western Iowa to Johnson County.  He said that the Medical Battalion was deployed and recently returned from Iraq to a tremendous welcome home.  He said that the purpose of today’s meeting is to bring everyone to the same working level regarding the agreement the County has entered into with the Iowa National Guard to exchange the current property for land located on Melrose Avenue.  Zirkelbach said that in addition to the land exchange, the Guard has initial drawings completed and has the design monies needed through working with Congressman Leach to obtain design funds, which the State Legislature then matched.  He said that currently the Armory has not been added to the future year funding document, which is needed to obtain Federal funds to build the armory down the road.  He said that the armory must be added to this list through Leach and the House of Representatives because the Senate will not approve a project not on this list.  He said that once the House approves the project, it then moves to the Senate for approval.  Zirkelbach explained that Leach’s staff has been working diligently to introduce the project into legislation this year.

Zirkelbach explained that the project will be over $14 million and that the State Legislature has secured $2.1 million in Fiscal Year 05 appropriations, once the Governor has signed off on the project in order to match the Federal funding.  He said that the County shares the sense of urgency with the Iowa Guard due to the congestion.  Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ayres explained that the location on Melrose Avenue is at the northwest corner of the Highway 218, overlooking western Iowa City.  He said that the land is currently farmland, with some streams and wetlands.  He presented the initial drawings to the Board, which showed the new readiness center, maintenance shop, and storage facilities.  He explained that the parking area will be paved and is approximately the size of the replacement wetlands.  Ayres said that the total project will cost approximately $14 million, with the design process costing an estimated $1 million and lasting 9 to 12 months.  Neuzil said that it is good to see the project is moving forward and he knows that the Guard will be a good neighbor to Johnson County.  Ayres said that the Guard recently selected the architect and engineer for the project.

Leach said that Iowa City is the liberal arts cultural center of Iowa, but on the other hand it is also a medical center for the country.  He said that one of the best medical groupings is in Iowa City, but the one downside is that when the Army calls up a group, they want to call their best so recently Iowa City residents have been called up for being the best at the military arts.  Leach said that the Iowa National Guard deserves to have the best facilities.  He said that the engineering firm working on this project is one of the best in the country and is also leading military construction in Iraq.  Leach said that no matter if someone approves or disapproves of the war in Iraq, everyone is indebted to the soldiers.  He said that building this armory is a major event, which they should be supportive of both in terms of engineering and for the people.  Leach said that he hopes the battalion is not called up again, but there are no guarantees, so they should consider this a high priority.  He said that within the American system of government there are separate powers under the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches and through the discussion today, one can see how these powers join together with the military.  He said that it can be a real challenge, which is why they’ve had 2 farmers speak who are also Generals, which is a wonderful aspect of the American citizen soldier system.  Leach said that the project is first class.

Ayres mentioned that the building will be to contemporary design standards and moving towards a digital army as well, examples of which were used in Iraq.  He said that the Iowa National Guard has been a leader in accelerating towards that goal where soldiers would be on the leading edge of technology.  Sentman said that he believes Leach’s comments regarding the unit are very timely and apt because he’s spoken with many active Army members in the past year and he has only heard raves about the proficiency and professionalism of the soldiers from this unit and the State of Iowa.  He said that this unit was also deployed in Desert Storm, which was the first they had been deployed since World War II.  He said that the 109th has served in a remarkable fashion and the active Army is very proud, which is noteworthy.

Stutsman asked if the design process will be open to the public.  Ayres replied that people from the community will be able to attend the preliminary meetings, but once they get feedback the design is internal within the organization.  Stutsman asked if the Board should refer those with questions to the Guard.  Ayres replied that they should.  Thompson said that the Guard has had a good level of community partnership over the years.

Zirkelbach presented a pamphlet to the Board that breaks out the economic impact the National Guard has in Iowa by congressional district, which totals approximately $300 million.  He said that 3% comes from State dollars and 97% from Federal dollars, which is approximately a 30 to 1 ratio.  He said that those dollars turn around in a community 2.5 to 3 times, so those Federal dollars really impact the area.  He said that much of those dollars are for pay and benefits, which are then spent in the area.  Zirkelbach said that of the 10,000 Iowa National Guardsmen, 450 are from the Iowa City location.  He said that currently the Guard is considering an additional medical section that could become part of the 4th Medical Battalion.

Harney said that there is an area wide commitment for this project.  He said that it is very important for the County to acquire the Armory property once the new resource center is built because the Board has committed itself to a County Campus Plan, for which they already have a Human Services building planned to the north and the area south is important for the expansion of the Administration Building.  He said that this is a good team effort and they hope to combine efforts with the Guard and the City as well in using facilities for training for law enforcement or other entities that may work together.  Thompson explained that the County, in its strategic plans, has made a commitment to a campus around the Administration Building for future County buildings.  She explained that this building has already added on in the expansion space, so any additional staff will need to be housed in makeshift space.  Thompson said that the plan is to expand the building to the south, by taking down the Armory building.  She said that the Armory space has always been the prime goal in acquiring land, so this land exchange gives the County the chance to acquire that land.

Iowa City City Council Member Dee Vanderhoef said that this is a great collaborative project.  She said that transportation and safety have always been important issues for the City, so getting the Guard’s equipment closer to a highway and away from the downtown area is very positive.  She thanked Leach for his support and mentioned that building a $16 million project will also have an economic impact through the construction jobs that it will create.  Vanderhoef said that she does wish they could somehow connect the Iowa Reserves into the project as well.  She said that although they are different funding streams, they would be able to realize more expansion and a better use of the funds and spaces.  Zirkelbach replied that the Army encourages the Army National Guard to work with Reserve units, so whenever they develop parklands they work with the Reserves to coordinate the efforts.  When the Guard started this project 2 years ago, Zirkelbach explained, they approached the Reserves at that time, but they were not interested.  He said that there is another project planned for Cedar Rapids further down the road, because the airport has asked them to vacate their position.  Zirkelbach explained that the airport provided land across the street and asked the Guard to develop a plan to move their facilities to that area.  He said that they spoke with the Reserves at that time to indicate the opportunity to join the 2 entities together for that project.  He said that combining projects would earn more points in funds scoring and becomes a totally Federal funded project.  Sentman said that these facilities should really be called joint use facilities, because they are not strictly for Army use.

Lehman said that the County committed $190,000 to bring wastewater services to the Armory land and extend it to Secondary Roads as well.  Neuzil said that the infrastructure is moving forward and it helps plan for additional projects in the area as well.  He said that Johnson County is extremely happy the Guard has decided to upgrade their facilities and are moving forward with the project.

Adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

Attest:  Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Krissy Dallmann, Recording Secretary