ECIA. A Regional Response to Local Needs. Table of Contents Winter 2013

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1 ECIA Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque & Jackson Counties East Central Intergovernmental Association A Regional Response to Local Needs Community & Economic Development, Employment & Training, Housing, Transit & Transportation Table of Contents EIRHA Celebrates 35 Years of Service New Tool for Researching Grants Premier Tooling & Manufacturing is the First Petal Certifi ed Manufacturing Company Clinton County Day in Des Moines Opportunity Dubuque Honored ECIA Business Growth, Inc Marks its 30th Anniversary

2 Clinton Sewer Project Awarded $868K In 2013, the Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Authority (EIRHA) will celebrate 35 years of operation. The EIRHA was established in 1978 and operates as a division of ECIA, which provides staff and administrative support to EIRHA. EIRHA was organized pursuant to Chapter 28E, Code of Iowa, and was originally formed and created as a regional Housing Authority for Dubuque, Delaware, Jackson, Cedar and Clinton Counties. EIRHA Celebrates 35 Years of Service Upon inception, the EIRHA had a Director, Housing Manager and Housing Technician to assist in running the program. A timeline of EIRHA s history is indicated below. April 10, 1978 EIRHA received 126 Section 8 Certifi cates to assist families in the region with rental assistance EIRHA received additional Section 8 Certifi cates to assist the following number of families in the region: families families families families families families families families EIRHA received Section 8 Vouchers to assist the following number of families in the region: families families families families families families 1999 The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998 merged the Section 8 Certifi cate and Voucher Programs into the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. The EIRHA had an Annual Contributions Contract to assist the following families in the region: families (401 Section Vouchers) families (Section 8 Opt Out) families (City of Maquoketa ACC)

3 EIRHA began construction of 168 Public Housing units located at scattered sites in Dyersville, Bellevue, Manchester, Colesburg, Miles, Sabula, DeWitt, Holy Cross, Hopkinton, Worthington, Delmar, Preston, Peosta and Wheatland The Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Corporation (EIRHC) was established and organized as a not for profi t under the provisions of 504A of the Iowa Code The EIRHC constructed ten (1) bedroom elderly units in Grand Mound, Iowa 1992 The EIRHC constructed six (1) bedroom elderly units in Worthington, Iowa 1992 Jones County became a member of EIRHA EIRHA was awarded a fi ve year grant to fund a Family Investment Center (FIC) to provide assistance to families with better access to training and employment opportunities present EIRHA was awarded funding to support a Family Self-Suffi ciency (FSS) Coordinator to assist participating HCV families with reaching economic self-suffi ciency present EIRHA began receiving Capital Fund Program dollars to assist with improvements to ensure long term viability to the Public Housing units EIRHA implements a Public Housing Homeownership Program. First time home buying low income households are given the opportunity to purchase their public housing unit present EIRHA began receiving Operating Subsidy Funds for the Public Housing Program to assist in funding the operating and maintenance expenses of the properties EIRHA implements a Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program EIRHC was awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to construct a 24-unit 2,3, and 4 bedroom housing development for low to moderate income households in Peosta Evergreen Meadows The Eastern Iowa Development Corporation (EIDC), a for-profi t entity, was formed and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the EIRHC EIRHA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Maquoketa to assume the responsibilities under their Annual Contributions Contract, thereby, including Maquoketa under its scope of services. EIRHA received 156 Maquoketa Vouchers and now has an ACC to serve 883 families on the Section 8 HCV Program EIRHA built and sold three single family homes on Marion Street in Manchester, Iowa to income qualifying households EIRHC was awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to construct a 32-unit 2, 3, and 4 bedroom housing development for low to moderate income households in Asbury Asbury Meadows EIRHA built and sold fi ve single family homes on Trenton Street in Asbury, Iowa to income qualifying households present EIRHA was awarded funding to support a Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Family Self-Suffi ciency (FSS) Coordinator to assist participating Public Housing families with reaching economic self-suffi ciency EIRHA was awarded a three year grant to support a Resident Opportunities and Self-Suffi ciency (ROSS) Family and Homeownership Program Coordinator to assist residents to achieve economic and/or housing self-suffi ciency EIRHA bought and rehabbed two single family homes in Dyersville and Lost Nation, Iowa to income qualifying households.

4 EIRHA staff conducted tax credit compliance reviews for the Iowa Finance Authority 2010 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved the EIRHA as a Housing Counseling Agency EIRHA staff provided monitoring for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing (HPRP) program 2011 EIRHC entered into a contract for services with the Developers of the ECIA Workforce Housing Program New Production 3 (NP3) to provide homebuyers with housing counseling services present EIRHA was awarded funding to support a second Family Self-Suffi ciency (FSS) Coordinator to assist participating HCV families with reaching economic selfsuffi ciency EIRHA was awarded a three year grant to support a Resident Opportunities Self-Suffi ciency (ROSS) Elderly Self-Suffi ciency (ESS) Coordinator to assist the Public Housing elderly and/or disabled residents to age-in-place EIRHA was awarded a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Counseling Grant to conduct a housing counseling program on behalf of HUD EIRHA is building a single family home on S. Niagara Street in Maquoketa, Iowa for an income qualifying household EIRHC entered into a contract for services with the Developers of the ECIA Workforce Housing Program New Production 4 (NP4) to provide homebuyers with housing counseling services. By diversifying and expanding its scope of services over the years, the EIRHA has been able to weather the storm of the turbulent times. The Housing Authority currently has twelve ECIA staff members that manage the program. Staff consist of a Director of Housing and Support Services that oversees the following housing staff: Housing Development Specialist, Housing Coordinator, (3) Housing Specialists, (1) Housing Manager, (2) FSS/Site Coordinators and (3) Maintenance staff. New Tool for Researching Grants Recently, ECIA purchased a web-based grants management system for researching grants. The ecivis Grants Network: Research provides access to more than 10,000 State, Federal and Foundation grants representing more than $300 billion in potential funding. Staff can create search engines based on area of interest, eligibility, keyword, and more. The result of a search engine is a summary that includes information like deadline, match requirement, eligibility, links to guidelines and required forms, etc. Grants Network: Research invests more than 40,000 hours of research each year on federal, state, and foundation grants to ensure that users will fi nd the best funding opportunities for their projects. ECIA is going to begin sending monthly grant e blasts. If you are working on a project and there is not a grant in the notifi cation that fi ts, contact Marla Quinn at and make an appointment to come in to research the grants database.

5 Premier Tooling & Manufacturing is the First Petal Certified Manufacturing Company Premier Tooling & Manufacturing has completed all of the certifi cation criteria and is now a fully certifi ed green business. This announcement positions Premier Tooling & Manufacturing as the fi rst manufacturing facility to achieve all requirements and become fully Petal Certified. Premier Tooling & Manufacturing joins six other businesses that have achieved the green business certifi cation: Finley Hospital (2010), Loras College (2011), Dubuque Bank & Trust (2012), Premier Bank (2012), River Lights Bookstore (2012), and Dubuque Data Services (2012). As part of the Petal Project, Premier Tooling & Manufacturing incorporated a number of green practices into their operations and facility management. Many of these green practices are saving the business money. For example, water from the fl oor scrubbers and part washers is cleaned through a water recycling system and reused to clean the fl oors and wash parts. On average, 375 gallons of water per week is recycled. Premier Tooling & Manufacturing has also demonstrated that a business can turn waste into profi t; the company has found purchasers for almost all of its bi-products. Since 2009, Premier has recycled over 70,000 pounds of baled cardboard, over 10,000 pounds of paper and 20,000 pounds of plastic. Recycling these materials has made the company $5,100 in the past fi ve years. Premier Tooling & Manufacturing was one of the initial ten pilot businesses who helped develop the Petal Project into what it is today. Nancy Mensen, Green Committee Spokesperson / Product & Service Contact for Premier Tooling & Manufacturing said becoming Petal Certifi ed is a great accomplishment and honor for Premier Tooling. It has been a long process, but on this journey our manufacturing team has developed a Green mindset. Premier Tooling s leaders and employees are committed to sustaining these positive environmental practices within our facility and promoting them within our community. Our hope is that the Green practices learned in the workplace are practiced in our employees homes thereby, teaching their children and grandchildren good environmental habits. Additional information on the Petal Project certifi cation program and Premier Tooling & Manufacturing s accomplishments can be found at The Petal Project is a regional green business certifi cation program designed to encourage organizations in eastern Iowa to adopt environmentally friendly business practices. The program provides businesses with a simple framework for saving money and resources while establishing a community-wide defi nition of a green business for consumers wishing to shop based on their values. The Petal Project is a program of Prosperity Eastern Iowa and ECIA.

6 Clinton County Day in Des Moines Tuesday, February 5, 2013 was Clinton County Day in Des Moines. Approximately forty people traveled to Des Moines to discuss issues with the Governor and Representatives. The attendees included elected offi cials from Clinton County, Camanche, Clinton, and DeWitt. Other organizations represented were the Clinton Regional Development Corporation (CRDC), the Union Pacifi c Railroad, Highway 30 Coalition, IIHP, YWCA, Clinton Community College, Camanche Community Schools, Mercy Medical Center, Clinton Engineering, DeWitt Development/Chamber, Clinton Chamber of Commerce, HR Green Engineering, Shive-Hattery Engineering, St. Paul s United Church of Christ, the Farm Bureau, and ECIA. They met with a representative of the Governor, majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House, and offi cials from the Department of Transportation, Attorney General s Offi ce, Department of Human Services, and Iowa Economic Development Authority. Issues discussed related to Local Government, Economic Development, Transportation, Regionalized Social Services, Education, and Health Care. Those in attendance believed it was a very productive effort. Opportunity Dubuque Honored The Mid-America Economic Development Council presented Dubuque with an award at their annual conference on December 2-4, 2012, in Chicago. The council recognized the certificate training and scholarship program Opportunity Dubuque in the category of workforce development. This initiative aims to meet local employer demand in high-wage advanced manufacturing careers through completion of short-term certifi cates for entry-level welders and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) operators. Interested individuals attend a three hour orientation at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Peosta where they learn more about these potential careers and tour a local employer. Next, they complete a two hour assessment at the IowaWORKS offi ce in Dubuque to determine their reading level, math level, and aptitude. Partnership members then conduct interviews with prospective students. Using the test scores, interview results, and other information, a committee selects the twenty best candidates to receive scholarships for participation. The course curriculum is facilitated over a three to four month period of time. Of the nineteen graduates in the Pilot Project last spring, fi fteen were employed shortly after completion and four continued their education at NICC. Due to the success of the initial group, the process is currently on its third round of candidates. In addition, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals has selected Opportunity Dubuque to present at the NAWDP 24 th Annual Conference on May 19-22, 2013, in Minneapolis. Opportunity Dubuque is a collaborative effort of Dubuque Community Schools, Dubuque Works, East Central Intergovernmental Association, Iowa Works, Northeast Iowa Community College, Project Hope, and the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.

7 ECIA Clinton Business Sewer Project Growth, Awarded Inc. Marks $868K its 30th Anniversary This year marks the 30 th Anniversary of the fi rst loan approved by the Board of Directors of E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc.: a $58,200 SBA 503 loan to Welu, Inc. of Dubuque. This loan represented 40% of the purchase price of a new printing press. E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc. is a non-profi t corporation operating as a SBA Certifi ed Development Company (CDC). Since 1983 the Board of Directors has approved 282 loans. This includes 162 SBA 503/504 loans totaling $66,458,200 and 121 RLF loans totaling $17,580,499 for a grand total of $84,038,699. 3,694 jobs have been created and 1,223 have been retained. These loan projects have also produced a signifi cant amount of new property tax revenue for our local governments and school districts. Loans have ranged in size from $8,000 to $4,000,000, with $250,000 being the average size loan for the SBA 503/504 loan program. Interest rates for the SBA 503/504 loan program have declined from 13% in 1983 to 3.77% for the December 2012 funding cycle. The main focus of the Board has broaden from lending to manufacturers to include loans to restaurants, hotels, C-Stores, cleaners, hardware stores, grocery stores, retail and professional practices. Over the years, the Board has added two Regional Revolving Loan Funds, a micro-loan program and the administration of the Dubuque County and Jackson County Revolving Loan Funds. E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc. is part of the overall regional economic development effort at ECIA. Staff assists member communities in accessing Federal and State funds to assist in their economic development projects including grants and loans for direct business assistance and developing the infrastructure for industrial parks.