Camp Courageous officials are actively looking for stormwater management facilities that best showcase functionality and value to the public. The upper reach of the watershed is primarily farmland, which produces nutrient and suspended solid contaminants. The mid and lower watershed is forested land and experiences high stormwater velocities. The objectives are to reduce both contaminant volume and stormwater velocity throughout the watershed by designing innovative stormwater management structures.

An effective path toward cleaner water and flood management in Iowa includes a strong emphasis on a watershed approach, which considers the entire area of land that drains into a body of water, such as river or lake. A watershed approach incorporates both technical data and robust stakeholder participation, so that policies and actions are realistic and data-driven.

Watersheds are not confined to traditional jurisdictional boundaries, and to accomplish local watershed-based planning, many cities, counties, and soil & water conservation districts have formed Watershed Management Authorities (WMAs) through voluntary, intergovernmental agreements. The first WMA in Iowa formed in 2012, and today, there are more than 20 WMAs recognized by the state of Iowa (Iowa Water Center).

The Maquoketa River in Eastern Iowa has a watershed that spans seven counties, including large portions of Delaware, Dubuque, Jones, and Jackson Counties, and smaller portions of Fayette, Clayton, and Buchanan Counties. While efforts to improve water quality and promote best management practices in this watershed have been happening for quite some time, the Maquoketa River WMA is a relatively new regional and intergovernmental organization. With 35 jurisdictions having joined the agreement, the Maquoketa River WMA exists to reduce flood risks and improve water quality. One way that theyâ€ve had success in educating the public about the importance of the watershed is through recreational water uses, such as the new whitewater park in Manchester.

The WMA has a strong foundation in place, including an active technical committee, support from state organizations (such as the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship), broad stakeholder support, outreach to residents and local governments, and an active volunteer base for completing monitoring water quality and other activities.

The graduate planning team sought to create a regional community-driven plan with the goal to identify, prioritize, and address water-related issues such as water quality and flood mitigation. The plan serves as a guidebook and vision for the future for the member cities, counties, and Soil & Water Conservation Districts, offering a long-range perspective and ways to improve water quality and mitigate flooding throughout the watershed. The topics that the plan addresses include but are not limited to agricultural practices, water quality, present & future flooding, improved recreation, protection of the river ecosystem, and conservation practices. A significant portion of their planning process focused on public outreach to learn about existing attitudes, behaviors, and practices related to watershed issues in order to develop goals, objectives, and strategies.

In recent years, city officials and other local groups in Manchester, Iowa have been proactive about growing and improving their community. In particular, aggressive strategies to stimulate housing development and investments in tourism have started to pay off, as new housing subdivisions pop up and the recently-developed whitewater park in the middle of town attract visitors from throughout the region.

One of the challenges facing the City of Manchester is the development of subdivisions outside of the city boundaries, which means that the City provides some services to county residents without receiving the full benefits of counting them in their population. Additionally, development that occurs just outside the city boundaries can inhibit the ability of the city to grow and, because Delaware County does not having zoning ordinances, could potentially be done in a disorganized manner with substandard results that is inefficient for extending city services (i.e. sewer and utilities) and can detract from first impressions of the community.

For these reasons and more, the law allows for cities to regulate development a certain distance outside of their official boundaries. State of Iowa code states that zoning powers “may be extended by ordinance by any city to the unincorporated area up to two miles beyond the limits of such city, except for those areas within a county where a county zoning ordinance exists.”

The Manchester Strategic Growth Plan developed by a graduate planning team recommends strategies and actions that prevent disorganized and sprawling growth within the two-mile buffer area (i.e., outside the
city’s corporate limits) of Manchester, all while accommodating the needs of the projected population changes within the city. The efforts of this plan focus on important opportunities to advance growth
through the year 2030.

This plan contains information essential for planning the two-mile area surrounding Manchester as well as within the city boundary. Overall, the plan promotes growth in appropriate areas to protect against sprawling development and the loss of prime farmland and natural areas. It identifies two groups of land as undesirable for development. First, the land with a high Corn Suitability Rating (CSR), that should be preserved for agricultural uses, and second, the land that falls within the 100-year floodplains that put properties and their residents at risk.

Following that, the Planning Team investigated the existing opportunities for infill development & redevelopment within the city to accommodate its growth, where the city services and infrastructure already exist, and when land in the city is not available, the plan then provides suggestions for future beneficial annexations that address the cityâ€s needs.

This plan also provides policy recommendations to prevent disorganized development in the two-mile buffer area beyond the city limits through establishing extraterritorial zoning power. The Manchester Strategic Growth Plan will serve as a guide for future planning and development to manage growth and make the most efficient use of the areaâ€s resources.

The City of Waterloo (pop. 67,798) sought assistance with the development of a Neighborhood Plan for Church Row, a core neighborhood located near downtown in order to foster a more safe, attractive, and welcoming area that provides opportunities for economic development, healthy and affordable living, and a high quality of life for residents.

The story of Waterlooâ€s Church Row neighborhood, in many ways, reflects the past, present, and future of the entire Waterloo community. The historic and grand homes of Church Row convey a sense of the prosperity at the turn of that 20th century that made Waterloo known as the “Factory City of Iowa”. The neighborhoodâ€s early inhabitants were prominent bankers, real estate developers, business executives, and other wealthy residents attracted to the area because of its panoramic vista and close proximity to the economic heart of the city. Today, those historic properties are home to an increasingly diverse population who, as part of the backbone for the local labor force, are no less vital to the economic well-being of the entire community. Church Row continues to contribute substantially to the cultural and economic capital of the city.

Like Waterloo, Church Row is both a place of boundless opportunity and complex challenges. Community and neighborhood assets provide a strong foundation for improving prosperity and quality of life, while areas of neglect, disinvestment, and inequity require bold interventions and innovate ways of thinking. More than a collection of houses and buildings, neighborhoods form around the people who live there- neighbors with a shared desire to feel safe and content in the place they call home.

This Church Row Neighborhood Plan is meant to spur improvements in the neighborhood and serve as a model for how community-building and a neighborhood approach can drive positive change throughout Waterloo. In neighborhood planning, existing assets serve as the foundation for imagining and creating a better future. Careful planning and investment built around inclusion and collaboration can help Church Row achieve a stable and vibrant future that provides a high quality of life for its residents.

The plan sets forth neighborhood goals and objectives, as well as specific, actionable strategies designed for both short-term and long-term change. Of course, the success of any plan relies on local champions and engaged stakeholders working toward shared goals. Fortunately, many individuals and organizations both inside and outside the neighborhood care deeply about making Church Row a safe and welcoming home for current and future families.

In addition to creating the neighborhood plan, the Church Row Planning team studied and ranked the visible exterior condition of all homes in the neighborhood. The results of the study can be used to think about targeted programming to help maintain the quality of homes and stabilize the neighborhood.

Camp Courageous is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides year-round recreational and respite care opportunities for individuals with special needs.
Camp Courageous offers a variety of services including week long camp sessions, respite care weekends, winter camper care, family camp sessions, outdoor education sessions, and Courageous Travels. The camp operates primarily on donations without government assistance, formal sponsorship, or paid fundraisers. On an annual basis, Camp Courageous serves thousands of individuals with special needs ranging in age from 1 to 105.

Camp Courageous officials are actively looking at alternative methods for protecting their drinking water wells. They are seeking to identify contaminant sources and to reduce future risk to the drinking water source (both water quality and quantity) through pro-active technical assessments, planning, and suggested project implementation. Some objectives will be to evaluate the potential of reducing contaminants in stormwater, acknowledging and addressing contaminants in groundwater, investigating alternative drinking water treatment processes, and developing a wellhead protection management plan for the camp.

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.

Background

An effective path toward cleaner water and flood management in Iowa includes a strong emphasis on a watershed approach, which considers the entire area of land that drains into a body of water, such as river or lake. A watershed approach incorporates both technical data and robust stakeholder participation, so that policies and actions are realistic and data-driven.

Watersheds are not confined to traditional jurisdictional boundaries, and to accomplish local watershed-based planning, many cities, counties, and soil & water conservation districts have formed Watershed Management Authorities (WMAs) through voluntary, intergovernmental agreements. The first WMA in Iowa formed in 2012, and today, there are more than 20 WMAs recognized by the state of Iowa (Iowa Water Center).

The Maquoketa River in Eastern Iowa has a watershed that spans seven counties, including large portions of Delaware, Dubuque, Jones, and Jackson Counties, and smaller portions of Fayette, Clayton, and Buchanan Counties. While efforts to improve water quality and promote best management practices in this watershed have been happening for quite some time, the Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority (MRWMA) is a relatively new regional and intergovernmental organization. With 35 jurisdictions having joined the agreement, the Maquoketa River WMA exists to reduce flood risks and improve water quality. One way that theyâ€ve had success in educating the public about the importance of the watershed is through recreational water uses, such as the new whitewater park in Manchester.

The WMA contracted the services of Limestone Bluffs Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), a non-profit organization, to carry out the functions of the coalition.

Limestone Bluffs and representatives of the MRWMA seek assistance to complete the plan. The WMA has a strong foundation in place, including an active technical committee, support from state organizations (such as the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship), broad stakeholder support, outreach to residents and local governments, and an active volunteer base for completing monitoring water quality and other activities.

Planning – Phase 2

Following the development of other WMAs over the past ten years, the next phase of activity after forming a board and completing the first plan is filled with marketing, outreach, events, training, certification, technical analyses for decision support, site-specific scoping and pilot project implementation. The planning team will assist MRWMA as they operationalize the plan, particularly through watershed-wide site-specific cost-benefit analyses to scope out the locations and acres of green infrastructure needed to reach the intermediate and long-term outcomes of interest for water quality and flooding in each sub-watershed.

In conjunction with the technical analyses, the planning team will continue to engage stakeholders, with a focus on understanding how needs and opportunities differ among the three subwatersheds as well as separate jurisdictions. The first planning team conducted a survey to understand perceptions and interest in watershed activities. More in-depth analysis of the data can help inform actions and strategies moving forward.

As part of the continued and ongoing education and outreach efforts, MRWMA seeks assistance with creating an accessible online resource for stakeholders.

The planning team will consider opportunities to expand and promote best management practices, particularly for agricultural land uses.

The full scope of work for the second phase of the MRWMA plan will be developed in conjunction with the MRWMA board members and committees.

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.

Camp Courageous’ grounds offer many opportunities for viewing natural forest habitats that are currently inaccessible to campers. The objective of this project is to identify points of interest within the grounds, connecting chosen locations with ADA-compliant nature trails. Students will work within provided design parameters including budget constraints, general maintenance requirements, as well as aiming to preserve the area’s natural habitat and aesthetics.