Our Agency

 

Committee Members in Attendance	Other Board Members in Attendance
Mike Broshar	John Burns
Kyle Carter	Rita Frahm
Doug Boone	Emily Ginneberge
Pat Deignan	Lisa Hein
Valerie Van Kooten	Mary Wells
Staff Members in Attendance
Alaina Santizo
Jessica O’Riley
Lisa Connell

CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Broshar called the meeting to order at 9:41 a.m. Five Committee members were present. The agenda was approved. The minutes from the August 20, 2020 meeting were approved.

REPORTS
Ms. Santizo gave the Program Manager’s Report dated September 21, 2020:

COMMUNITY ATTRACTION & TOURISM (CAT)
Applications Received: 100    Next Application Deadline: TBD
Funded Projects: 80
CAT Amount Awarded:     $25,036,725.00
Total CAT Project Costs: $325,449,779

CAT Funds Currently Available
$1,303,062.11

Small Population Area Applications
Legislation requires that one-third of each annual CAT allocation be reserved for small population area applications each year.  The chart below summarizes the status of this requirement: 
 

Year	1/3 CAT Allocation	Awards to Small   Population Areas	Amount Above or (Below)   Requirement
FY2017	$1,666,666	$3,122,498	$1,455,832
FY2018	$1,666,666	$3,452,505	$1,785,839
FY2019	$1,666,666	$2,701,200	$1,034,534
FY2020	$1,666,666	$1,864,804	$198,138
FY2021	$1,666,666	$1,586,877.00	($79,789)

Pending CAT Applications
There are currently 3 pending application requesting approximately $2,000,000:
 

Project	CAT Request	Total Project Cost	Project Status
Vikings Activity Center (Northwood)	$500,000	$5,357,730	Committee Review
Jackson County Fair & Extension / 4H Outreach Center	$500,000	$1,893,432	Committee Review
Sub-total (Small Pop. Area Projects)	1,000,000	$7,251,162
ConnectCR (Cedar Rapids)	$1,000,000	$12,438,140	Committee Review
Sub-total (Large Pop. Area Projects)	$1,000,000	$12,438,140
TOTALS	$2,500,000	$19,689,302

APPLICATIONS

City of Cedar Rapids // ConnectCR
Project representatives provided an update to the Board. Discussion included an update from the community damage caused by the derecho storm, the fundraising gap and timeline needed to secure project funds. Construction for the project is slated to begin in the spring of 2021.

City of Northwood & Northwood-Kensett Community School District // Vikings Activity Center Project representatives provided an update to the Board. Discussion included the reduced project cost and additional fundraising completed since the last meeting. 

Jackson County Fair Association // Jackson County Fair & Extension / 4-H Outreach Center
Project representatives provided an update to the Board and further refined the project budget between the Fair Association use and the Extension office use. The applicant also reduced the CAT grant request to $350,000.

Committee Action on Applications/Recommendations to Board
Next Steps & Direction to Staff

Mr. Broshar developed and shared a spreadsheet listing each project currently under review with the total project cost, CAT request and fundraising gap. This spreadsheet offered a suggested award amount for each project as a starting point for discussion purposes. Committee discussion included the requirement for awards to small population areas.

On a motion by Mr. Boone and seconded by Mr. Deignan, the CAT Committee forwarded the City of Cedar Rapids // ConnectCR project to the Enhance Iowa Board with a recommendation that a CAT grant be awarded in the amount of $500,000, contingent on completed fundraising by January 31, 2021.

On a motion by Mr. Deignan and seconded by Mr. Carter, the CAT Committee forwarded the City of Northwood & Northwood-Kensett Community School District // Vikings Activity Center project to the Enhance Iowa Board with a recommendation that a CAT grant be awarded in the amount of $453,000, contingent on completed fundraising within 90 days.

On a motion by Ms. Van Kooten and seconded by Mr. Carter, the CAT Committee forwarded the Jackson County Fair Association // Jackson County Fair & Extension / 4-H Outreach Center project to the Enhance Iowa Board with a recommendation that a CAT grant be awarded in the amount of $350,000, contingent on completed fundraising within 90 days.

OTHER BUSINESS
No other business.

CLOSING BUSINESS
The next CAT Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 5, 2020 and will be held virtually (if committee review or action is needed).

ADJOURNMENT
On motion by Mr. Boone seconded by Ms. Van Kooten, with no objection, the meeting adjourned at 10:36 a.m.