Government Notes: Linn County, Marion, local lawmakers back Cedar Rapids casino

Linn County lawmakers, the Linn County Board of Supervisors and the Marion City Council have joined Cedar Rapids in supporting the effort to build a casino in Cedar Rapids, with all writing letters to state regulators backing the Cedar Crossing Casino proposal.

The Linn County Gaming Association and the city’s preferred potential casino operator, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, have said they will jointly apply for a gaming license in the coming weeks for the casino.

The local casino backers need to obtain a gaming license from the five-member Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which is scheduled to decide the fate of a Cedar Rapids casino license Feb. 6, 2025.

The casino development team last year secured a deal with the Cedar Rapids City Council to earmark city-owned property between F and I Avenue NW and First and Fifth Streets NW for Cedar Crossing Casino, a gaming and entertainment complex estimated to cost more than $250 million.

The land was formerly the home of Cooper’s Mill, a motel and restaurant destroyed in the 2008 flood and later demolished.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell conveyed the city’s support in a letter sent last week touting the prospect of additional entertainment, job creation and tax revenue. The letter did not come before the full council, but the city has had a long-standing deal to support local investors with the Cedar Rapids Development Group through the gaming license application process.

“Anchoring redevelopment on the west side of the Cedar River, the casino will further aid our recovery from the 2008 flood, including flood control measures, and generating significant property tax revenue in a location which has been off the tax roll since the flood,” O’Donnell wrote.

Todd Bergen, a Linn County Gaming Association board member, told the Marion City Council last month that the casino is expected to employ 350 people once it’s in operation, should state regulators sign off.

The Marion City Council gave the OK for city staff to draft a letter of support.

“We do want to show a base of support for the effort so that when we make our application we can demonstrate significant support,” Bergen told the council.

Several area state lawmakers sent a letter July 31 to the gaming commission supporting a Linn County gaming license. The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Liz Bennett, Molly Donahue, Todd Taylor and Republican Sen. Charlie McClintock, as well as Democratic Reps. Jeff Cooling, Tracy Ehlert, Eric Gjerde, Sami Scheetz and Art Staed. Republican Rep. Cindy Golding did not sign on.

The letter touted the December 2021 study from the Innovation Group forecasting a Cedar Rapids casino could bring a $51 million boost to Iowa gaming revenues as the threat of gaming expansion in neighboring states looms.

“Cedar Rapids should not be excluded from the benefits that casino gaming offers,” the lawmakers wrote. “... It is our hope that state government recognizes the will of the people and grants Cedar Rapids the opportunity to develop a world-class gaming and entertainment destination facility.”

In a letter the county supervisors unanimously approved last week, the supervisors wrote that the casino would contribute an anticipated $5 million to $7 million each year to nonprofits, sharing 8 percent of its adjusted gross revenue — the highest revenue share of all 19 state-licensed casinos. The state requires casinos share 3 percent of revenues with nonprofits.

The letter cited support among voters and other local groups, with Linn County voters passing two gaming referendums in 2013 and in 2021, allowing Linn County to seek a gaming license in perpetuity.

“Now is the ideal time to approve a casino in Cedar Rapids that will strengthen and enhance economic activity and tourism and provide numerous and diverse benefits for Linn County residents and visitors,” the supervisors wrote.

Linn County OKs new utility-scale wind rules

The Linn County Board of Supervisors last week passed new rules governing utility-scale wind installations, tweaking its ordinance before any potential large wind energy projects come before the board.

The revised policy increased noise levels allowed for utility-scale wind installations, strengthened debris cleanup requirements and clarified setback requirements — both for property owners enrolled to get energy from the project and those not enrolled.

It passed 2-0 on its final reading. Supervisor Ben Rogers was absent, but had advanced the ordinance on its earlier considerations.

“It actually does respect private property rights — those that are participating and those that are not participating,” Supervisor Louie Zumbach, the lone Republican on the three-member board, said of the policy.

He said his support for the ordinance doesn’t change his view that renewable energy sources, including wind farms and carbon capture pipelines, “are the result of taxpayer money being given out to private companies in the form of tax credits.”

“I have a hard time with that,” Zumbach said. “I don’t know that that’s good for Iowans.”

Zumbach said he does not support using eminent domain for these projects.

Linn County launches online budget dashboard

Linn County is now using OpenGov, an online budget tool, to provide more transparency to the county’s annual budget and budget process.

The OpenGov dashboard allows people to click through financial information and see how taxpayer dollars are used to fund public programs and services. It provides an overview of the budget process, expenditure and revenue summary by department, the capital projects budget and more.

“The launch of the OpenGov dashboard represents a significant step forward in our commitment to transparency and community engagement,” Linn County Supervisor Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt said in a statement. “This innovative tool not only provides our residents with accessible information about their tax dollars, but it does so in a way that’s easy to understand.”

The information available through the dashboard has been available in the county’s annual budget documents, which exceed 100 pages. The dashboard is intended to help residents find budget information quickly or reduce their time scrolling through the pages.

Linn County’s fiscal 2025 — which began July 1 and ends June 30, 2025 — is Linn County’s first budget year using OpenGov.

The county received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association in recognition of the county’s fiscal 2025 budget presentation. It was Linn County’s 29th consecutive year receiving this award.

The county’s budget is developed each year through a series of public meetings, presented to the public during a public hearing. It is then adopted by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

Visit LinnCountyIowa.gov to view the county’s OpenGov budget dashboard.

Clear Creek Amana seeks new board member

The Clear Creek Amana Community School District is accepting applications to fill a vacancy by appointment on its school board.

Former school board member Jennifer Bollers resigned from her position as a District 3 board member effective July 18. The board will fill the vacancy by appointment within 30 days.

Interested candidates can submit an application by 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. The application includes three questions about their experience, interests, goals for the position and community involvement.

Each applicant will be given additional questions to prepare and verbally answer at a school board meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Clear Creek Amana administration office, 1486 Highway 6 NW, Oxford.

For questions, email the Clear Creek Amana school board secretary Lori Robertson at boardsecretary@ccaschools.org.

Iowa City Transit returns to normal service

Iowa City Transit will resume its full service starting Aug. 19 after cutting service in April due to a shortage of staff.

The following routes will return to full service levels:

Additionally, several routes will have all-day detours during University of Iowa home football games (Aug. 31, Sept. 7, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 29).

The three routes impacted will be 8-Oakcrest, 10-West Iowa City, and 12-Highway 1.

Johnson treasurer, finance offices moving

The Johnson County Treasurer’s Office and Finance Department will move back into the renovated county administration building, at 913 S. Dubuque St. in Iowa City, on Aug. 26.

The Treasurer’s Office will be open in its current location — on the third floor of the Health and Human Services building, 855 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City — until noon Aug. 23. The office will move to its new location on the first floor of the administration building and resume normal hours Aug. 26.

The Finance Department will open at its permanent location, also on the first floor of the administration building, on Aug. 26.

Government Notes is published Mondays and contains updates from area governmental bodies. Gazette reporters Marissa Payne, Grace King and Megan Woolard contributed.