Government Notes: Cedar Rapids City Council OKs plans for NewBo hotel

Conlon Construction will move forward with plans to build a hotel in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia district after it submitted the only proposal during the city’s open call for development of a city-owned parking area known as Lot 44.

The Cedar Rapids City Council voted Tuesday to approve the proposal, giving permission for city staff to work with the local company to draft a development agreement.

The proposal from Conlon is a 136-room hotel on the property at 1001 Second St. SE, at the intersection with 12th Avenue. The hotel would offer a public bar, fitness center, indoor pool, lounge area and flexible meeting space. It also would include an outdoor patio area and 141 parking spaces.

City staff, in presenting the proposal to the council, said it aligns with the Czech Village New Bohemia Area Action plan from 2019 that called for adding a hotel to the area.

Currently, Cedar Rapids only has the city-owned DoubleTree by Hilton hotel with 267 rooms on First Avenue NE in downtown in the city center.

Kinseth Hospital Companies and Kingston Hotel Associates announced last month they are planning to build a hotel at Kingston Yard, the mixed-use development west of the Cedar River, next year. It will be under the AC Hotels by Marriott flag. It will be located along Second Avenue SW in the Kingston Yard development that includes Big Grove Brewery and Pickle Palace.

The City Council on Tuesday spent time discussing parking in the New Bohemia district, and how development of Lot 44 will impact the number of spaces available for visitors and the increasing number of residents in the area.

Lot 44, which is around three acres, currently has about 555 parking spaces that are used for larger events that draw more people to NewBo. City staff said they worked with Conlon to make sure the city will retain ownership of a portion of Lot 44 to provide public parking. During construction of the hotel, at minimum there would be 145 parking spots available at Lot 44.

Other construction in the area — including permanent flood control, which is happening now, and replacement of the Eighth Avenue Bridge, which will happen between 2027 and 2031 — also will disrupt parking. Once that construction is complete, city staff said they expect Lot 44 will have 477 parking spaces available.

City staff expect negotiations for the development agreement to happen this fall and into the winter.

Schools, organizations invited to ‘Paint a Plow’ in Cedar Rapids

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The City of Cedar Rapids Public Works Department invites Cedar Rapids schools and organizations to participate in “Paint a Plow” and decorate a city plow blade.

The decorated blades will be used this winter for snow removal.

Paint a Plow will run weekly from Sept. 30 to Nov. 1. Anyone interested in taking part should sign up at CityofCR.com/PaintaPlow. Once signed up, Public Works will deliver a plow blade, paint, a tarp, and brushes to the school or organization for a week. Participants are encouraged to use their imaginations and get creative.

Once the painting is completed, photos of the blade creations can be submitted to R.Merritt@cedar-rapids.org. They will be shared on the City’s website and Facebook page. Those who submit photos are asked to include the name of the school or organization, and a brief description of the creation.

To view examples of some of the plows painted in 2023, visit CityofCR.com/PaintaPlow.

Mental health teleservices available to Cedar Rapids students

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Hazel Health mental health teleservices will be available to K-12 students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District beginning Monday.

Services are confidential and free for students and families. Students must be referred to the program by a school staff member or their parent or legal guardian online at my.hazel.co/crschools.

Once referred, students will meet with a licensed therapist virtually to help address their concerns. Appointments are available at school or home, Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The partnership with Hazel Health was announced by the Cedar Rapids district last month. It’s a result of a $1.5 million investment from health benefits company UnitedHealthcare to expand access to mental health care for K-12 students across Iowa.

Other Iowa school districts that have received the grant include Des Moines and Council Bluffs.

The investment will impact approximately 100,000 students in Iowa in historically underserved and rural communities, which represents nearly 21 percent of all K-12 students in Iowa, UnitedHealthcare said.

New crisis communication tool soon to be available for CR district families

The Cedar Rapids Community School District is working to roll out a new crisis communication tool called CrisisGo to all of its schools.

Families soon can expect to receive an email from the school district with a link to register to receive CrisisGo notifications, ensuring they stay informed about their child’s school.

The full rollout and use of the system will take place in the coming months, according to a news release from the district.

CrisisGo will allow the Cedar Rapids district to monitor safety threats in its schools, send timely alerts to the buildings and district safety teams and notify local law enforcement officials if necessary.

The platform also will help district leaders communicate with staff, students and families quickly and efficiently in case of an emergency situation.

The Cedar Rapids district currently is implementing staff training on the platform.

Johnson County announces satellite voting locations

Early voting will be offered at the Johnson County Administration Building, located at 913 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, and drive-thru voting in the Health and Human Services Building parking ramp, located at 855 S Dubuque St., Iowa City.

Early voting also will be offered at select satellite voting locations. All Johnson County voters are eligible to vote at any early voting site.

Satellite voting locations and times:

Public invited to comment on Cedar Rapids’ Eighth Avenue Bridge project

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The Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is inviting the public to comment on a proposed amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the City of Cedar Rapids.

The proposed amendment will include federal funding that was awarded to the Eighth Avenue Bridge project into the TIP. The project will replace the bridge. The total cost is estimated to be $76 million, with the federal government providing $56.4 million.

The TIP is the annual capital budget for the Corridor MPO. The TIP is a four-year planning document that identifies planned transportation projects within the Corridor MPO's planning boundary that are expected to use federal aid (instead of local or private funds).

Comments are being solicited on the Corridor MPO’s website. The site can be reached by going to corridormpo.com and scrolling down to “Public Comment Opportunity.” A link to a document containing information about the proposed TIP amendments is available on the website (click on the “8th Avenue Bridge TIP Amendment”).

The public may comment on the proposed amendments by filling out the public comment form on the website before Oct. 23. Public comment forms submitted through the website will be sent to MPO staff. The public is also welcome to send an official comment via email to MPO staff: corridormpo@corridormpo.com. Comments will be shared with our Policy Board at their next meeting, where they also will take action to consider approval of these amendments.

ICPD winter clothing drive

The Iowa City Police Department is hosting a winter clothing drive in preparation for cold weather.

The police department is asking for donations of coats, gloves, hats, scarves, socks, snow pants and snow boots in all sizes. Donations will be accepted until Oct. 11 at the following locations:

Community members in need of winter clothing will be able to select winter apparel at River Community Church, 3001 Muscatine Ave., Oct. 16-18 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Government Notes is published Mondays and contains updates from area governmental bodies. The Gazette’s Grace King, Megan Woolard and Sara Konrad Baranowski contributed.