Located right on the Mississippi River and home to the Bellevue State Park, the Bellevue downtown scene during the summer months has become a hub for tourists wanting to attend the city’s farmer’s market, visit the local shops and restaurants, and stop at the new local brewery. With an influx of people visiting the town, finding available parking can be difficult at times.

In collaboration with the City of Bellevue and Jackson County Economic Alliance, Zach studied current parking and traffic patterns and presented to the Bellevue City Council a list of recommendations the city could implement to optimize and expand parking availability in the downtown area.

Jackson CED exists to strengthen Jackson County communities in Jackson County by leading the transition away from fossil fuels toward local and inclusive clean energy. Jackson CED has a three-pronged community building mission:

To positively affect the local economy by retaining energy dollars in Jackson County.
To slow climate change by promoting wise energy use.
To facilitate fair access to clean and local energy.
A Clean Energy Action Plan will provide the blueprint to accomplish specific renewable energy objectives. The action plan will help local leaders, legislators, and the public understand the economic and social benefits of transitioning to clean energy. Data, cost-benefit analyses, stakeholder input, and best practices will serve as the basis for developing action and implementation steps.

The planning team will gather stakeholder input in order to both provide education on the topic of clean energy and to understand real or perceived or real barriers and constraints. Additionally, the planning team will develop materials that facilitation implementation of the action plan.

Jackson CED has identified specific projects to include in the action plan:

A GIS map of existing renewable energy installations (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal) in Jackson County
Marketing materials for the public that emphasize successful local, clean energy installations (including scope of ownership and diversity of applications) and financial and environmental impacts of locally owned renewable energy
An information packet for legislators to influence legislation that supports clean, locally owned energy.
A study to assess financial and environmental implications of implementing renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind) for generation of power at Jackson County facilities.
Models to show alternatives for the small towns in Jackson County (and, by extension, small towns across Iowa) to own and operate a micro-grid utility consisting entirely of renewable energy production (e.g., solar, wind) and battery storage devices. Target communities are those with populations below 500.
The Clean Energy Action Plan will include key elements needed for decision-making and implementation of specific projects, such as: policy requirements, equity implications, financing and ownership alternatives, cost-benefit analyses, budget impacts (i.e. return on investment, or ROI), and resource/operations requirements. The final document will make specific recommendations to help Jackson County communities take meaningful steps toward a clean energy future.

Through Jackson Countyâ€s proposal to the IISC, three key components of this work were identified:

Helping community organizations bring the community together in meaningful ways through programming, festivals, and events.
Increasing the sustainability and organizational capacity of local arts organizations and venues
Identify opportunities to expand public art
Through IISC, the University of Iowa course Non-Profit Organizational Effectiveness, taught by Nick Benson, will work collaboratively with Maquoketa to advance these goals. Two groups of 5 graduate/advanced-undergraduate students will work on this project, with two areas of focus. The two project descriptions are as follows:

Interagency Collaboration among Maquoketa Arts Organizations – One group of students will explore ways that the Maquoketa Art Experience, Onhward Fine Art Center, and other organizations can collaborate to advance shared goals and objectives and continue to elevate the overall arts scene in Maquoketa. The students will examine opportunities for productive partnerships related to administrative efficiencies, public communication and marketing (e.g. calendar coordination), cost-sharing opportunities, shared decision-making and collaborative meeting structures. Additionally, the group will explore models that engage a broader group of stakeholders, including established artists. Potential structures for collaboration include an Arts Council or arts working groups. Students will produce a final report and presentation that includes an assessment of partnership opportunities available to Maquoketa arts organizations and a series of prioritized recommendations for how these organizations can take next steps toward realizing a more collaborative community arts model.
Framework for Future Strategic Planning – A second group of students will help establish a framework for Maquoketa arts organizations to develop a strategic path forward to advance arts in the community. The purpose of this framework will be to identify and assemble informational resources that can serve as a blueprint for a future strategic planning process for a Maquoketa Arts collaborative group. As part of this framework, students will conduct an environmental scan of current conditions, identify existing and potential external partners, research funding opportunities (grants, foundations, donors, funding partnerships) and consider strategic programmatic and marketing opportunities for the arts in Maquoketa. Additionally, they will identify important elements for the formal strategic planning process, including facilitation alternatives, costs, logistics and key stakeholders. Students will produce a final report and presentation that contains a comprehensive analysis of the framework elements and a guide for the strategic planning process.