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Serving Local Governments In Benton, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn And Washington Counties For Over 40 Years
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Calendar
August 27th
ECICOG Board of
Directors Meeting*
ECICOG Office
700 16th St NE, Ste 301
Cedar Rapids
1:30 p.m.
September 7th
ECICOG Office Closed in Observance of the Labor Day Holiday
September 23rd-25th IARC/ECICOG Booth Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference and Exhibit Cedar Rapids Convention Center
September 24th
ECICOG Board of
Directors Meeting*
ECICOG Office
700 16th St NE, Ste 301
Cedar Rapids
1:30 p.m.
*
The Policy Committee will meet as an item on the Board's agenda to discuss transportation items
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Upcoming Events ECICOG is Attending
September 23rd-25th ECICOG staff will have a booth with IARC at the
Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference and Exhibit at the Cedar Rapids Convention Center. Visit our booth and learn about the various services ECICOG provides.
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Job Opening
Housing Specialist
The ECICOG Housing Specialist provides assistance to elected and appointed officials in a six-county region in the areas of housing rehabilitation and repair, new construction, and adaptive reuse of existing structures for housing.
Activities will include conducting inspections, creating project specifications, monitoring construction progress, and conducting lead based paint risk assessments and clearance inspection.
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ECICOG RLF Still Has Funding Available
ECICOG's Business Assistance Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) still
has over $2 million available for loans to foster new and existing business growth and development in ECICOG's region.
The RLF has provided over $4.6 million in loans to 31 businesses in ECICOG's six county region, including Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington.
For more information visit
www.ecicog.org/ecicog-rlf
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ECICOG was established in 1973 to promote regional cooperation and provide professional planning services to local governments in Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington Counties. ECICOG also provides solid waste planning services to Tama County and transportation planning services to Cedar County.
2015 Members of the ECICOG Board of Directors:
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Aaron
Granquist
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Jasmine
Almoayed
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Alan
Johnson
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John
Harris
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Amy
Nielsen
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Bob
Yoder
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Brent
Hinson
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Christopher
Taylor
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Darrin Gage (Chair)
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Dave
Fish
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Don
Gray
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Dusty
Embree
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Vicki Pope
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Ed
Raber
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ECICOG Staff
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Ext
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Doug Elliott
Executive Director
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122
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Gina Peters
Administrative Assistant
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120
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Tracey Achenbach
Housing Trust Funds
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139
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Mary Rump
Transportation & Regional
Development Director
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128
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Brock Grenis, AICP
Transit Administrator/Planner
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137
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Nicole Van Nelson
Public Information Specialist
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125
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Chad Sands, AICP
Housing & Community
Development Director
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127
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Gary Hughes
Grant Writer/Administrator
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129
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Melanie Riley
Community Development
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138
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Jennifer Ryan Fencl
Solid Waste & Environmental
Services Director
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131 |
Alicia Presto
Iowa Waste Exchange
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121
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Robyn Jacobson
Contracts Administrator
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134 |
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East Central Iowa
Council of Governments
700 Sixteenth Street NE, Suite 301
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-365-9941
Fax: 319-365-9981
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At the June 25th ECICOG Board of Directors Meeting, special recognition was given to the ECITransit system for 40 years of service. Each transit provider was given a plaque to commemorate their partnership with ECITransit.
In just the past decade, ECITransit has provided over 2 million rides and nearly 9.5 million miles of service. During that time period, ECICOG has passed through approximately $7.7 million in operating assistance to the county transit providers and has seen the fleet of buses and vans grow to 71 fully ADA accessible vehicles.
The future of ECITransit should continue to see growth in service, and possibly include new ventures such as ridematching and vanpool services to complement existing bus services. For more information on ECITransit please visit www.ecicog.org/eci-transit.
 To view more photos from the event, visit ECICOG's Facebook page here.
History of ECITransit
The ECITransit system is governed by the ECICOG board and is operated by six different providers in Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington Counties.
In 1973, Heritage Area Agency on Aging (HAAA) received a Federal Highway Administration demonstration grant to provide rural transportation services for elderly persons in a seven county area (Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Washington counties). The service was named Senior Elderly Area Transportation Services (SEATS).
Following the expiration of the grant in 1975, individual counties chose to make their own arrangements for providing transit services, and ultimately decided to coordinate a regional service know as East Central Iowa Transit.
Since that time, ECICOG has served as the administrative agency and contracted with a provider in each county to operate service.
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One-Time Opportunity for
Rural Iowa Communities Concerned with Abandoned Buildings
Small Iowa communities (populations of 5,000 or less) can now apply for funding to perform asbestos inspections on neglected buildings in a special round of funding from the DNR's Derelict Building Grant Program.
One area of focus for the Derelict Building Grant Program is asbestos inspection and removal. If a building collapses and the presence of asbestos is unknown, it can increase the economic burden on the community. This round of funding may be used by eligible communities to investigate the amount of asbestos present in a building.
The Derelict Building Grant Program provides small communities and rural counties financial assistance for abandoned commercial and public structures to improve the appearance of their streets, revitalize local economies and alleviate the environmental concerns these buildings can pose. This is a one-time opportunity; projects selected may apply for funding in 2016 for additional program-related tasks
For more information and application details, go to
tinyurl.com/opw9j6u or contact Scott Flagg at 515-725-8318 or
[email protected].
No applications will be accepted after 4:00 p.m. on August 21st.
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IEDA's CDBG Project Info
If you are one of the communities that received an Iowa Economic Development Authority's (IEDA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) FY15 award, funding agreements should be arriving in your mail soon, if you haven't already received them.
IEDA's Deadline Schedule for
FY16 CDBG Project Applications
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Water & Sewer Fund
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Housing Fund
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Community Facilities &
Services Fund
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Downtown Revitalization
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Application Workshop
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Sept. 28, 2015
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Sept. 28, 2015
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Sept. 28, 2015
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Sept. 28, 2015
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Applications Due
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Jan. 8, 2016
4:00 p.m. CST
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Jan. 15, 2016
4:00 p.m. CST
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Jan. 22, 2016
4:00 p.m. CST
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Feb. 5, 2016
4:00 p.m. CST
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Awards Announced
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Week of
May 16, 2016
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Week of
May 16, 2016
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Week of
May 16, 2016
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Week of
May 16, 2016
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Recipient Workshop
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Week of
June 13, 2016
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Week of
June 13, 2016
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Week of
June 13, 2016
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Week of
June 13, 2016 |
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ECICOG Administering NEW MICRO Loan Program in September
In September ECICOG will be administering a new loan program for
businesses in the Cedar Rapids city limits. The loan program will assist businesses that are looking for a small loan to further business
goals.
The loan program will provide small, short-term loans that will be under $10,000, have terms for up to three years, and interest rates of four percent.
If you are interested please check our website in September for more information on the program.
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Iowa County Hazard
Mitigation Plan Approved
On July 14, 2015 the Iowa County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The p
lan was written by Alicia Presto, ECICOG's Planner.
FEMA said, "This plan is very solid, well-written, well researched, and full of best practices. The use of maps and other visuals was exemplary." They went on to say that the plan "...will truly be a living document" for Iowa County.
Plan development involved participation of cities, organizations, and the county's citizens through meetings, a public comment period, and an open house.
The plan helps to identify how the community can minimize the negative impacts of natural, human caused, and combination hazards. It attempts to minimize death, injury, property damage, and community disruption. It also helps to maintain a local government's eligibility to apply for hazard mitigation assistance.
If you would like any additional information on the plan, visit our website at
www.ecicog.org/iowa-county. If you would like to contact Alicia regarding the plan or any hazard mitigation assistance, please email
[email protected]
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