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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.27.21 RPB Meeting MinutesMINUTES APPROVED MPOJC RURAL POLICY BOARD JANUARY 27, 2021 – 6:00 PM ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM MEMBERS PRESENT: Hills: Tim Kemp Johnson County: Rod Sullivan, Royceann Porter Schueyvillle: Micky Coonfare Swisher: Christopher Taylor OTHERS PRESENT: Karen Kurt (ECICOG) STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Brad Neumann, Frank Waisath 1. CALL TO ORDER Kemp called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM. The meeting was held online through the Zoom meeting platform in accordance with Iowa Code Section 21.8 due to complications preventing in-person meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. a. Introduce Board members and recognize alternates Ralston recognized Rod Sullivan and Royceann Porter in replacing Pat Heiden and Lisa Green-Douglass for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. b. Consider approval of meeting minutes Taylor moved to approve, Coonfare seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None 3. ADMINISTRATION a. Consider approval of the Rural Policy Board section of the FY22 MPOJC Budget and Two-Year Financial Forecast Ralston explained that MPOJC remains committed to providing federal funding to the urban communities and transportation studies for all of Johnson County. The majority of services provided include traffic counts, speed studies, map-making and grant writing. There is a 3.6% increase in the budget, approximately 80% of which is for staff salaries and wages. Sullivan moved to approve, Coonfare seconded. The motion passed unanimously. b. Consider approval of the FY22 Johnson County assessment schedule for the East Central Iowa Council of Governments Ralston explained that the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) is the primary planning and grant writing organization for east central Iowa. MPOJC collects the dues from Johnson County communities for ECICOG. There is a proposed 2% increase in the ECICOG budget, which is consistent with previous years. Karen Kurt from ECICOG was also available to answer questions. MPOJC Rural Policy Board Minutes _________________ Page 2 Kemp asked if the budget was just for a one-year assessment and the numbers would change with the new 2020 Census data. Kurt confirmed. Ralston added that the assessments would change for the MPOJC budget as well with the new Census data. Taylor moved to approve, Sullivan seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 4. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ADOPTED MPOJC BYLAWS Ralston explained that the bylaws need to be reviewed every 5 years and Taylor had represented the Rural Policy Board on the committee last year. Any recommended changes need to be approved by the Urbanized Area Policy Board by a 2/3 majority and by the Rural Policy Board by a simple majority. Currently, both Boards have considered a set of recommendations and can see detailed recommendations in the agenda packet. As both Boards need at least 30 days to review material, the bylaws were sent to Board members on December 17, 2020. In agreement with the RPB meeting last October, the RPB will continue to exist and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors will select the citizen representative to serve on the East Central Iowa Council of Governments Board. Proposed changes also reflect the urban boards desire to have a permanent representative for Johnson County on the ECICOG Board. Ralston noted the UAPB approved the bylaws earlier today at their meeting. Taylor thanked Ralston and the rest of staff for being patient and coming to an agreement that everyone can support. Kemp agreed and said that this project shows that even today, finding compromise is still possible and is grateful for the work from MPOJC staff. Ralston thanked everyone and indicated that even though the bylaws have been in place for many years it does not mean they should not change and appreciated the compromise the group was able to reach. Taylor asked if University Heights was rotating onto ECICOG this year. Ralston confirmed and explained that North Liberty had been next on the rotation and declined to send anyone, so Solon accepted the appointment instead as they were next in the rotation. Ralston noted that regardless of the changes made tonight, those appointments would still stand for this calendar year. As it happens, Johnson County would have had their turn under both the old and new bylaws, so it had worked out well. Sullivan moved to approve, Taylor seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 5. AVAILABILITY OF EAST CENTRAL IOWA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS ASSISTANCE Kurt thanked the group for the consideration of the bylaws and believes it will help ECICOG run more smoothly. Kurt explained that the services ECICOG provides fill the gaps of the MPOJC, as they provide planning and land use assistance to rural communities, help find state and federal grants for various types of projects (housing, sewer, etc), and have a large revolving loan fund to aid businesses with gap financing to sustain themselves or grow and have recently doubled that budget through the CARES Act. 6. DISCUSS MPOJC ORIENTATION OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS Ralston invited members to attend an hour-long orientation explaining the MPOJC functions and Board responsibilities. Typically, mostly newer Board members participate, but the offer is open to anyone. Kemp asked if city council members would be allowed to attend or if it was just for Board members. Ralston explained that anyone could attend. MPOJC Rural Policy Board Minutes _________________ Page 3 7. DISCUSS POTENTIAL MPOJC WORK PROGRAM PROJECTS FOR FY2022 Ralston offered up space for any potential work items that communities might have and would want MPOJC help, such as traffic studies or grant writing. An email would be sent following the meeting to formally solicit for projects. Projects would be put into the Work Program to follow Iowa DOT requirements and help coordinate work flow. Taylor stated Swisher would be looking for another traffic study once some more details were finalized on a local road project in order to compare with previous data. They would also be looking for a way to add sidewalks, even though it was not originally in the budget. Taylor was not sure how feasible it would be, although they would like to prioritize the sidewalks if possible with the current political momentum. Ralston said the MPOJC could help with the planning aspects and ECICOG should be able to help with funding and they would be willing to coordinate. Ralston added that MPOJC had recently done an audit of every sidewalk and curb-ramp in the urbanized area, so they would certainly have the tools needed to aid in the sidewalk project for Swisher. 8. CONSIDER ELECTION OF CALENDAR YEAR 2021 RURAL POLICY BOARD OFFICERS Ralston stated that there was no memo for this item, but Kemp and Taylor had been chair and vice-chair for several years and staff was looking for discussion on who should take on those roles for CY2021. Sullivan nominated Kemp as chair and Taylor as vice-chair, Porter seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 9. OTHER BUSINESS Taylor stated a hope for the other members of the RPB to take to heart what was said in the meeting last year and commit to participating more and taking advantage of the resources available to them and thanked everyone again for their work. Ralston appreciated the remarks and added that historically the committee only meets once per year because there is not much administrative business to be handled by the RPB, but staff would be more than willing to meet more often if desired by the Board. Sullivan stated a commitment to support and represent the rural communities while serving on the ECICOG Board this year. 10. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Sullivan, seconded by Taylor. Meeting adjourned by Kemp at 6:28 PM.