Government Notes: City bus rides will soon be free in Iowa City

Riding city buses in Iowa City will be free once a two-year pilot program launches in the coming months.

The Iowa City Council unanimously approved the pilot program last week and expressed its excitement and support for the program.

City staff say removing fares will improve the experience for both passengers and drivers, remove barriers to using public transportation and increase ridership. A fare free model is anticipated to increase ridership by 20 to 60 percent, according to the city.

The goal is to launch the program before the next school year. It could start as soon as this summer or early fall.

This model “will benefit every single person on every single ride,” Transportation Director Darian Nagle-Gamm told the council during a work session last month. The council heard a presentation from city staff in May about the details of this program.

This recommendation stems from an Iowa City area transit study that was approved by council in 2021 and intended to make transit faster, more frequent and more reliable.

Rides on the University of Iowa’s transit system, Cambus, are already free to the public. Coralville Transit, though, is likely to continue charging.

Federal funds will be used to offset the loss of fare revenue, which is estimated at $1 million per year.

City staff will collect operational data and explore permanent funding sources during the pilot program’s first year. This information will be presented to the council in summer 2024 so a decision can be made on whether to continue beyond the second year.

Iowa City approves increasing wages for child care workers

The wage enhancement program for child care workers in Johnson County is one step closer to launching.

The Iowa City Council last week unanimously approved the grant agreement to administer the program. The program will be funded by $1.5 million in pandemic relief dollars from Iowa City and Johnson County, along with additional investment from area businesses.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve its grant agreement soon.

The program will increase wages for eligible child care workers by $2 per hour.

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Wage boost coming soon for Johnson County child care workers

Those involved with getting the program off the ground have said the goal of the program is to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care while also increasing wages.

The average child care worker in Johnson County is paid $11.16 per hour — just over $23,000 annually — which is the lowest for any tracked profession. The $2 wage increase will amount to about a 17 percent raise, close to $4,000 a year.

Johnson County has the highest costs for child care in Iowa. A family with two children pays an average of $2,008 every month — or $24,096 per year — for child care.

Industry experts previously told The Gazette that businesses need to get involved to help solve the child care crisis, an issue that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Once businesses invest in child care, they stick with it because they see the benefits, such as bringing people back into the workforce.

Partners involved in the program have been “really intentional” about developing a program for the long run that can be sustainable after pandemic relief dollars are spent. Pandemic dollars need to be spent by 2026.

Linn County allocates some opioid settlement funds

The Linn County Board of Supervisors last week approved payments of a slice of opioid settlement funds to four organizations to be used for opioid remediation programs.

The supervisors signed off on recommendations of the Linn County Opioid Settlement Committee to the following organizations:

A bipartisan group of attorneys general in 2021 reached agreements with Johnson & Johnson, a manufacturer of prescription opioids, and three major pharmaceutical distributors — Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

The settlement resolved legal claims against those companies for fueling the opioid addiction epidemic. In turn, those companies agreed to pay $26 billion to more than 3,000 state and local governments and committed to change their ways of doing business to improve the distribution of prescription opioids.

Iowa will receive $173 million over 18 years, with 50 percent each going to the state and to counties based mostly on population. Linn County has received $1.2 million so far of the $5.6 million it will receive over 18 years, said Darrin Gage, director of policy and administration.

The Linn County Opioid Settlement Committee, which was formed to ensure compliance with the settlement, considered organizations that applied in April for this round of funding.

Gage said other applications, including requests for employee positions, will be brought to the supervisors at a later date. More applications will be taken through approximately September. The committee has been working with eligible organizations to ensure they know to apply.

Former Colonial Building gets new name

The former Colonial Center building that the city of Cedar Rapids is rehabilitating into affordable housing is getting a new name.

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The building at 1500 Second Ave. SE in Wellington Heights will be renamed “The Heights.” The name change was backed by the Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association.

Cedar Rapids is looking to turn the dilapidated structure, located at a key corner in the historic neighborhood, into 25 affordable housing units. Five units will be fully ADA-accessible.

The approximately $4.7 million renovation of the building is supported with $2.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and other grants.

Linn-Mar breaking ground on new administration building

The Linn-Mar Community School District is breaking ground on its new administration building at 4 p.m. Monday at 3557 Winslow Road in Marion, near the intersection of Tower Terrace and Winslow Roads, across from Linn-Mar Stadium.

Guests are asked to park in the east lot at Excelsior Middle School, 3555 10th St.

The building will create extra space for Linn-Mar High School when the administration vacates its current location called the Learning Resource Center at 2999 N. 10th St.

It will be 27,800 square feet and include space for Information Technology, nutrition services, conference space and storage. The total project cost is estimated to be $13 million and be completed by spring 2024.

The Learning Resource Center was built in 1948 when 17 one-room rural schools joined together to become the Marion Rural Independent School. It was renamed Linn-Mar in 1959. It currently houses the administrative offices for the district as well as the COMPASS Alternative High School and Venture Academics Program, a project-based learning program.

New principal at Grant Elementary School

Stephanie Van Hemert has been named the next principal of Grant Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, pending board approval. She will replace Ernie Cox July 1.

Van Hemert has served as principal at Prairie Edge, an alternative school in the College Community School District, for the last five years and was previously a building facilitator, special education teacher, coach and activity sponsor.

“I am excited to join the Grant Elementary team,” Van Hemert said in a news release. “The past couple of weeks have been filled with hearing great things about the Grant students, staff and community. It is my honor to support them and their continued progress."

New principals also were announced last month for Harding Middle School and Washington and Jefferson high schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

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