MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
NOVEMBER 13, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Iowa City Planning and Community Development Director Jeff Davidson: Bonnie Prybil Estate Annexation 1
Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston: Resolution Supporting Regional Long-Term Economic Redevelopment Planning....................................................................................................................................... 4
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: Letter of Support for a Grant to the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to fund a System of Care for Children and Youth with Serious Mental Health Challenges and their Families.................................................................................................................... 4
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: Subcontract with Linn County Community Services for $12,500 to Support a Wraparound Fund to Provide Financial Assistance to help Cover Activities, Transportation, and Counseling for Children and Youth with a Serious Mental Health Challenge, Funded by a Federal Mental Health Block Grant 4
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: Approval of the Draft Request for Proposals Developed by a Subcommittee of the Juvenile Justice Youth Development Policy Board to Announce a Competitive Process to Award up to $200,000 for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.............................................................................. 4
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 6:29 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Iowa City Planning and Community Development Director Jeff Davidson stated that he was at the meeting to discuss an area for annexation and to answer any questions the Board has. He said the plan the City of Iowa City is proposing to do is purchase and annex the property known as the Bonnie Prybil Estate. The City wants to annex it into Iowa City as an expansion of the industrial area in southeast Iowa City. Davidson said that the City has been moving eastward since the Proctor and Gamble plant was built. Since that time the City has had various public and private partnerships that have allowed the industrial area to expand to the east and the City feels this is the next logical extension of this area. The most recent addition to this area was the Scott Six Industrial Park. The more industrial portion of this is built out but there are still some commercial lots along Scott Boulevard. Davidson said the City has been in a frustrating situation in that there have been prospects come to ICAD expressing interest in seeing property but the City has nothing to show them. In the last six months two businesses associated with the wind power industry contacted the City. The City sent the businesses to private individuals who have expressed interest in annexing but the prospects were told by the individual that they weren’t ready to move forward.
Davidson said the City Council then made a decision that they were interested in purchasing some property. They currently have a project to extend utilities, sanitary sewer, and water to the site. The City also has a plan to reconstruct 420th Street and eventually Taft Avenue. This has previously been expressed as a concern of the County. The City intends to resolve the issue with those two roads as they did recently with Lower West Branch Road. Iowa City Public Works Director Rick Fosse, City Engineer Ron Knoche, and County Engineer Greg Parker have been working on resolving this issue. Davidson said that once 420th Street is reconstructed the City expects it to be their responsibility. He thinks the plan they are attempting to work out with Taft Avenue is that the City would have some responsibility once there is development in the area that would generate truck traffic causing a higher lever of maintenance than what the County provides. That will be put in the road maintenance agreement for all the roads that surround Iowa City. There are currently between 20 and 30 of those roads where there is an agreement.
Davidson also mentioned that the area proposed for annexation is in the City’s adopted growth area. That is the area the City has committed to providing municipal services. The City is also continuing to work with private entities to get additional annexations in this area including the corner of 420th Street and Taft Avenue. There have been discussions with those individuals and the property owners to the north up to American Legion Road. There have been no formal applications for annexation but the City would entertain those. Davidson said this is the next district the City is going to be looking. The issue between the industrial area and the Windsor Ridge to the north is how to transition from industrial to residential. That will be part of the district planning process. The City has some ideas about how to do that. The area they are proposing for annexation is in the industrial area.
Davidson said the City wants to take advantage of both sides of the railroad tracks. Davidson believes the City made a mistake in the area to west where only one side of the railroad tracks was taken advantage of. He said there needs to be a better buffer between the residential and industrial areas. The railroad is a prized asset the City has in marketing this property. The City has been in contact with the railroad and they are excited about working with the City.
Harney said he is concerned with Taft Avenue. The section from 420th Street to Highway 6 is a level B road and placing an industrial area there would increase traffic. Harney said he doesn’t want the County to be responsible for upgrading that road. Davidson said another ongoing issue with the Iowa DOT is the intersection of 420th Street and Highway 6. The DOT doesn’t like the intersection’s adjacency to Sioux Avenue and Scott Boulevard. The curve radius is too severe on the existing alignment for semi trucks and is going to have to be realigned. The City is evaluating reconstructing the intersection of 420th Street and Highway 6. Davidson said the City is planning a spine road running north and south and bringing that down to Highway 6 to close the 420th Street intersection. Davidson said that if this ends up being the solution then it would allay the concerns about Taft Avenue to the south down to Highway 6 because people would be using the paved roads. He thinks this will be the solution.
Harney said they wouldn’t be vacating the level B portion of Taft because it is a straight shot to Herbert Hoover Highway. Davidson said it wouldn’t be vacated but it would be used for agriculture access until it came into the city. A long-range strategy includes a new paved road running north and south through this area that will eventually extend up to American Legion Road. The railroads told the City that there will be one crossing point between Scott Boulevard and Taft Avenue. The City can decide where that cross point should be located.
Stutsman asked what the current city limits are on the west. Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said it’s all up on the slide. Davidson said the gray area is the city limits. Moore said the yellow area is 1960 residential zoning. He said this (pointing to another area on the slide) is heavy industrial zoning and that is the property the City recommends to people that they annex. Moore also identified the fringe area agreement which is in the growth area. The purple line is the identified growth area. Davidson said that the City intends to square that off and the engineers have said that is not a problem. Gravity flow sanitary sewer determines the growth area line. There are some areas that the City can extend the growth area beyond the watershed boundary. R. Sullivan asked Moore if it was correct that the County has had conversations with the property owners at the corner of 420th Street and Taft Avenue. Moore responded that they have spoken to all the property owners. R. Sullivan said that the County’s preference would be that they work with the City since the property will someday be in the City of Iowa City. Moore responded that Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak had recently talked with someone that has property in this area. Right now they can’t do anything with this property because of the chip seal road. He said they have recommended that they request annexation from the City and develop within the City. Davidson said the City would prefer that as well.
Neuzil commented that this would have some impact on the County’s economic development plan and believed that this area had been looked at. Moore said that wasn’t this area. Neuzil replied that a couple of people had talked to him about this particular corner and believed that the County wanted to see some additional economic development. Moore said he couldn’t say for sure if this area has been discussed. Meyers asked if Neuzil was referring to Taft Avenue and Highway 6. Neuzil responded that this is an area that he has been encouraging people to communicate with the City about. It’s difficult to tell individuals that they can purchase the property but they can’t make any changes to the property. He agrees that it would be great to see some of the roads updated.
Davidson said that he and Economic Development Coordinator Wendy Ford went to a ICAD luncheon about shovel ready sites. The term means that the site is ready for ground breaking. The City Council has directed the City to get this area shovel ready and on the market. Davidson said estates were identified at the meeting as the worst because there are a number of people to get approvals from. The City has sent people to the Bonnie Prybil Estate representatives a couple of times. He said that it will be easier with a single property owner and a price on the property.
R. Sullivan said he didn’t believe that there was any formal action for the Board. Stutsman asked if there was a time line. Davidson said the annexation is moving through the City Planning and Zoning Commission now and will include the rezoning. Once that is done the City plans to hire someone to plat it, like a private developer would do. The infrastructure projects will begin the next construction season and the City hopes to acquire a RISE Grant Application for the road. The sewer and water improvements are already in the City’s adopted budgets. This should happen in the next year and the City will market it immediately.
Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston thanked the Board for time on the agenda. She said that as a region, between Linn and Johnson County, there isn’t an opportunity to work much with the Department of Commerce because the wage rates are too high in Johnson and Linn County. So generally they are not able to apply for Federal grants through the Economic Development Agency. However, the counties have been put in a different position because of the flooding this year. In late summer and early fall the Assistant Secretary of Commerce visited Linn and Johnson Counties. They have taken an active interest in this region and they are interested in supporting the counties. Langston said East Central Iowa Council of Governments Executive Director Doug Elliott applied for two planning positions through the Economic Development Agency at the Federal government. He was funded for both of those positions and they have both already started. They are involved in distribution in the Jump Start Funds and will be involved in the distribution CDBG Funds.
Langston said the potential of EDA funding is one of the things that would be prudent to send a message to the broader community, that there would be resolution from all the governing jurisdictions in the area commonly referred to as the technology corridor: Johnson County, Linn County, Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids and including the smaller communities of Coralville, North Liberty, and Ely. Langston said she is asking the Board to support this concept. Langston said she along with Elliott, Gazette Communications CEO Chuck Peters, and the two men from the Department of Commerce have spent a lot of time on this project. She said they would like to pursue some projects that have yet to be funded. Light rail may be one of those things or at least the planning that would get the project further along. There are also some other tourism-based projects. There is potential for solid waste and other projects that have been talked about in the Public Leadership Group.
Langston said she is hoping for a resolution that says the Board supports this. She stated the grants would be written and submitted by ECICOG. There has also been some conversation between the City of Iowa City and the City of Cedar Rapids who may do something through the services of the International City County Managers Association. Stutsman said she supports this and doesn’t have a problem with a resolution. She wants the County to be at the table too. Langston said that she wants to make clear that has been her goal too. She said that she thinks the grant provides the ability for everyone to come back to the table.
Langston said they have commitments from Cedar Rapids, Linn County and hopefully Johnson County. She welcomes anything the Board might do to assist her, Elliott, and anyone else in encouraging Iowa City to come on board. She said Cedar Rapids City Council Member Monica Vernon has had the responsibility of making that connection and bringing them along. Langston said that hasn’t been as forthcoming and she isn’t sure if that is to be attributed to Vernon or to a problem in Iowa City. She said she is just fulfilling her job duties to engage with the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. She went on to say that this is part of the Public Leadership Group and some of the activities they all have tried to pursue in doing things more cooperatively. She thinks some of the challenge of this will be in the administration changes. The people who are heading EDA are very committed now and will hopefully keep that with the next administration. Since the groundwork has already been laid she is hoping to be able to get something in the December to January timeframe. They have met with EDA Regional Director Bob Olson and EDA Economic Development Representative Bob Cecil. She said in the first Disaster Assistance Bill there was a large sum of money that was committed to the Economic Development Agency in the Department of Commerce as part of Disaster Stimulus. Of those dollars a very significant portion went to the region in which they reside which is administered out of the Denver office. For comparison the western states’ region got one million dollars through Seattle and this region received $59 million. Langston believes that the bulk of that money will come to Iowa and of what comes to Iowa, a significant portion could potentially come to the region. She said that if the region is thoughtful about the planning process, they can get as much a $10 million. She thinks they are looking for a regional project. Going back to Stutsman’s question they are looking for the counties to play a part in this. They are interested in the COGs being the applicant because they know the COGs are in place to do that. Langston said she invested in the County being at the table on this and invites the Board to be in on that process making sure the County is there. Harney said that the state recognizes the COGs and they have made that clear on their grants. He stated that it does not mention Linn County in the prefaces. Langston replied that Linn County should be added because when they did it they signed the particular resolution as Linn County.
Recessed 6:54 p.m.; reconvened at 7:09 p.m.
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia introduced Patricia Gilbaugh, a member of the planning group who has written previous grants and may be asked to write this grant. Correia said there is a multi-county committee that began meeting last spring and she was invited as Decat Coordinator. She said she has been attending the monthly planing meetings with Johnson, Linn, Iowa, Benton, and Jones Counties. The State Department of Human Services asked Linn County to convene a multi-county planning group to consider the possibility of this multi-county area putting together an application to the Federal Government for a system of care for children’s mental health. Correia said these grants have been available for many years and Iowa is one of the last states to apply. There is a current system of care application in the Dubuque region which is also a multi-county application. She said the state is very interested in having this area apply. They would be the applicant but there is a requirement for letters of support from all of the County Boards of Supervisors as well as other parties in the County.
Correia said the multi-county planning group did get behind this summer because of the flood. In addition, the RFP deadline of January 15, 2009 is earlier than expected and so all County representatives are in the process of asking their Boards of Supervisors if there is willingness to sign a letter of support. Correia said by early December, they are hoping to know which counties are willing to go in on an application. That State has agreed to pay for a grant writer. She said she has been collecting information for Johnson County to put into a grant. Community Mental Health Center Director Stephen Trefz has also been attending those meetings along with Candace Bennett from Juvenile Court Services, Mike Mitchell from Four Oaks, Jill Fleming from DHS, and Theresa See who serves a multi county region including DHS with children in transition from foster care. She feels like they are in a good position to participate and would bring important investments into the area for children’s mental health. Correia said Gilbaugh has prepared a three-page summary and a sample letter of support from a previous grant application.
Harney asked if there was a match to this grant if it is awarded. Correia responded that there are match requirements. She said the State has indicated they are willing to match and the money has been put into the State DHS budget. The match could come from various sources and doesn’t need to be from the County. Correia said when she looked at local funds supporting children’s mental health in Johnson County there are funds from Decat, Empowerment, and funding from the County through block grants, and Juvenile Justice. Those can count as match so it isn’t new money but the current money that is already being spent.
Gilbaugh said the intent of the match is not to generate new income for the project but to connect the pieces together so that the Federal money is supporting the connection so there is a sustainable system over time. She said the actual application supports very little services and it mostly supports the connections as well as a significant amount of evaluation to support the fidelity of the wrap around model. Gilbaugh said that there is a strong emphasis on evaluation and in most applications $600,000 a year goes to evaluation alone. The whole first year of the grant is almost 100% Federally funded and the entire first year is planning. R. Sullivan asked if there were any further questions or if there was interest in writing a letter for next week. Correia said there won’t be a letter for next week. She said that at this point they are getting a sense from all of the Counties' if there is Board members' willingness to sign letters. After the application is finished the Board will receive specific letters of support. R. Sullivan said it looks like the Board is interested. Correia said once they have those things they will put it on the formal meeting agenda.
Correia said this is related to the previous item. She said Linn County Community Service has been receiving a $75,000 a year mental health block grant through the State Department of Human Services for a number of years. She said this year the State directed Linn County to collaborate with a multi-county jurisdiction to share the mental health block grant in those counties and convene this planning group. The multi-county group made recommendations to move forward with how to share those dollars. They recommended setting aside funds for the program planning with the systems of care and the remaining $50,000 to be divided amongst counties based on a population formula in terms of a dollar amount. She said those dollars would be used in that county for children’s mental health needs. In that model, Johnson County would be awarded $12,500. Correia said that the money from the State goes to Linn County and then Johnson County contracts with Linn County.
Correia said the proposal is to replicate the model of a wrap around fund which Linn County has successfully implemented for a number of years. This includes providing finically assistance to families in the areas of recreational activities for children, and child care costs not covered by other sources, for example providing care at Four Oaks Pal Program for kids who need the extra supervision but aren’t eligible for other sources of funding. She said it could also go to provide respite care for parents. She met with a parent group at Four Oaks and they said there was a real need for respite care. Correia said that it would be a flexible source of funding and would replicate the Linn County model. R. Sullivan asked if she would present the Board with a contract to sign at a later date. Correia said yes and that she sent the Board a draft which is currently being reviewed by the State and by Linn County. She said since Monday the State completed a cursory review to see if it meets their requirements and it did. Correia said that she wants to wait for the final review from Linn County Board of Supervisors and Johnson County Attorney’s Office before bringing it to the Board for signing. She said essentially that is the scope of services the grant would provide.
Stutsman said that is a different way to do it because it sounds like they are contracting with Linn County to provide services and wondered who was providing them. Correia responded that venders in Johnson County would be providing the services and the contract would be with Johnson County. She said it would be similar to how things work with the Children’s initiative, they will replicate Linn County’s model, the infrastructure is already in place and it would be tweaked for Johnson County. Correia said that she would receive application and review them to be sure requirements were met. Then Johnson County would initiate a payment to the vendor and then be reimbursed from Linn County.
Correia said the draft Request for Proposals for the competitive process to award up to $200,000 for juvenile delinquency prevention was developed with a committee from the Policy Board. She said they incorporated the information from the priority needs assessment process that took place over the last nine months through the work group and the Policy Board into this RFP. Correia said she laid out the time lines and she will release the RFP next Tuesday afternoon, November 18, 2008, following the Board's approval. The RFP deadline will be January 16, 2009. She said the same committee that developed the RFP would review the applications and come up with recommendations that would go to the Policy Board in February. The Policy Board would review those recommendations and make final recommendations to the Board in March. She said by mid March they would be approved for fiscal year 2010 and then Correia would work with the approved applicants on subcontracts.
Adjourned at 7:24 p.m.
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary