Government Notes: Cedar Rapids ‘Ride the Districts’ bike ride will be Saturday

People are invited to familiarize themselves with the trail system by joining Cedar Rapids’ annual “Ride the Districts!” bike ride at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 8.

The 15-mile ride starts and ends at Prairie Park Fishery, 2125 Otis Rd. SE. The ride will encompass Indian Creek Nature Center, Bever Park, Van Vechten Park and two of the Sac & Fox Trailheads.

City Traffic Engineer Ron Griffith will lead the educational ride.

“Bicycle facilities benefit not only cyclists, but the entire community,” Griffith said in a city news release. “Cedar Rapids residents benefit from the public health, economic, safety and environmental advantages of a connected bicycle network.

“As our network grows, more people are able to complete point A to point B trips on a bike. This ride will be a great opportunity for people who love to ride bikes to explore great facilities” they might not know about.

The ride includes both paved and unpaved segments. To register and find more information, including a route map, visit CityofCR.com/BikeCR.

Coralville starts single-stream recycling

The city of Coralville begins single-stream recycling today.

That means residents no longer have to sort recyclable items and can simply place them into the new, larger recycling containers delivered to households in May. The smaller bins, formerly used in recycling, can no longer be used.

A grant from The Recycling Partnership assisted in the purchase of 4,700 new recycling bins, according to the city. For information on what can and can’t be recycled, go to coralville.org/recycle.

More C.R. projects seek housing tax credits

Sun Line Inc. is among the Cedar Rapids developers seeking workforce housing tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, with Sun Line pursuing a mixed-use redevelopment project at 3145 16th Ave. SW.

The $8.5 million project near Theisen’s Home Farm Auto and Cassill Motors would add a four-story, mixed-use building. The first floor would include 14,000 square feet of commercial space, while the upper floors would add 40 market-rate apartments, according to City Council documents.

The council approved tax incentives and a resolution supporting this project and others last week.

The city’s local match incentives provide a 10-year, 100 percent rebate of the increased taxes generated by the housing portion of a project. City staff expect the project to generate $937,000 in taxes over a 10-year period, of which $770,000 would be rebated to the company.

Another project, by Rosewood Townhomes, proposes a $1.5 million renovation of 44 residential units considered a “nuisance” by the city at 250 Northview Place NE. The renovated units will be three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath units.

City staff estimate the project will generate $200,000 in new taxes over 10 years, of which $124,000 would be exempted.

City signs on for homelessness diversion training

The Cedar Rapids City Council last week signed off on a $19,275 agreement with the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance to End Homelessness to provide training on diversion and problem-solving strategies to the community.

The city last June brought in the alliance to review local data, systems, programs and policies guiding recommendations to reduce homelessness in the community, which has reached record-high levels following the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the initial recommendations was to increase homelessness diversion — by decreasing the number of people coming into the homelessness system. This will allow local agencies to prioritize serving those who have no other housing options, according to the city.

The training is tentatively scheduled in July, followed by a debrief in August. It will be used in conjunction with the hiring of a homeless systems manager — a role jointly funded for up to three years by Linn County and the city of Cedar Rapids — and a local oversight board. Funding comes from the Homeless Services portion of the city’s budget.

Iowa City closing housing voucher list

The Iowa City Housing Authority will stop accepting applications for the housing voucher program at 5 p.m. July 1.

The current wait time for a voucher to become available is over four years, the city said in a news release. Due to that, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends closing the waitlist.

The office will continue to partner with Johnson County Coordinated Entry and other partners that provide specialty vouchers to people with disabilities or experiencing homelessness.

Learn how to monitor a Marion stream

Marion invites residents to be a scientist during a hands-on experience in water quality monitoring on June 15 at Wanatee Park, 1600 Banner Dr.

People will learn how to assess stream habitat, take water samples and identify aquatic macroinvertebrates (stream bugs). The number and variety of creatures found helps indicate how clean the water is and will be reported through the Save our Streams program.

Representatives from the city’s Engineering Department will assist with the free event. All participants under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. No experience is required. Attendees must register at mycountyparks.com and search for Linn County under the events tab.

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Hoover food pantry receives $5K donation

The Hoover Community School food pantry in Cedar Rapids on Friday received a $5,000 donation from Molina Healthcare of Iowa.

The donation will help support the school district’s efforts to provide nutritious meals to families with children attending the school or living in the neighborhood.

Hoover Community School, 4141 Johnson Ave. NW, is an elementary school with around 420 pre-K through fifth-graders, many from refugee and immigrant families. The community school model was adopted by the school in 2018.

More than 90 percent of Hoover’s students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, and 50 percent are English Language Learners. More than 20 languages are spoken by the school’s students and their families.

The food pantry supports 178 families by distributing 750 meals every two weeks. Molina’s contribution will enable the pantry to offer culturally specific foods such as cassava leaves, palm oil, plantains and cassava flour.

Hoover leaders believe addressing food insecurity ensures students can concentrate on their education.

School districts receive drug prevention funding

Three Iowa organizations, including two local school districts, will each receive $50,000 in federal grant money to help fight substance abuse.

Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley last week announced the Clinton Substance Abuse Council Inc., Mount Vernon Community School District and Vinton Shellsburg Community School District were awarded the federal funding through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), a bipartisan law Grassley led through Congress in 2016 as then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Each Iowa recipient will receive a $50,000 grant, available as soon as July 1.

The newly-announced grants are authorized through CARA’s Local Drug Crises Program, which empowers local partners to work together to reduce youth substance use.

State seeking feedback on new behavioral health districts

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is seeking Iowans’ feedback as it works to establish new Behavioral Health districts in Iowa.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last month signed into law a plan to overhaul and combine Iowa’s delivery system for mental and behavioral health services. It combines Iowa’s 32 mental health and substance use regions into seven unified behavioral health districts, while placing disability services under the jurisdiction of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The proposal aims to improve a system that both state officials and advocates agree is badly fractured.

“Our goal is to collaboratively shape districts that will enhance access to behavioral health services and improve outcomes for all Iowans,” according to a statement. “These sessions are an opportunity to share insights, suggestions and concerns as we work to meet the diverse needs of our communities.”

Virtual public comment sessions are scheduled for the following dates and times:

For more information or questions, contact Emily Eppens at eeppens@dhs.state.ia.us.

Government Notes is published Mondays and contains updates from area governmental bodies. Gazette reporters Marissa Payne, Grace King and Tom Barton contribute.