SIREPA to find firm to plan for childcare center

LEE COUNTY – The Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority is a step closer to helping potentially bring a much-needed childcare center to Lee County.
The group voted unanimously Monday to get requests for qualifications for architectural and engineering design services for a stand-alone childcare center on the property near Montrose.
The group is working with a $1 million Community Facilities grant as part of a Congressional appropriation from U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA 1), and may apply for up to a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant. Other funding sources could include local charitable foundations and financing depending upon the final cost estimates for the project.
Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission Administrator Mike Norris, who serves as the SIREPA administrator, put forth a 2.5-year plan for the project.
The group owns the building where Lee County Economic Development Group has offices, as well as other micro businesses such as PV Pallet Company and Fox Valley Credit Union.
Plans originally were for the childcare center to be incorporated into the current building. However, SIREPA pivoted to a free standing building on the grounds when the CFP grant was funded at $1 million rather than the $2 million that the group had applied for.
“(The Department of Housing and Urban Development) has started communicating with recipients through a letter dated May 8 and a webinar June 4,” Norris said.
“We should receive contracts for that funding by the end of July, although a precise date is not known.”
He said the group needed to take a bigger look at the federal process that’s involved in building with federal funding. Norris created four documents for the board that reviewed what’s in store for the project in the near future.
Norris proposed getting the RFQ for the engineer/architect which will be required by the grant and Iowa Code. He said that firm would prepare plans and specs, estimate a construction budget, bid the projects, conduct construction audits, and prepare payment claims.
SEIRPC would handle the grant administration for SIREPA.
He said an environmental review of the plans and property would need to be completed prior to HUD releasing any funds on the project. That would cover wetlands, floodplains, historical archaeological, endangered species, wastewater and other items. Norris said SEIRPC would prepare that review and send it to HUD offices in Omaha.
Another requirement would be Build America, Buy America, which ensures products are made in the U.S.A. There are also federal procurement guidelines under federal code 2 CFR 200 that address lowest responsible bidders and other thresholds based on how much is being spent.
Because federal funds are used, prevailing wages must be paid for labor as well as income guidelines for workers under the Community Development Block Grant program.

Norris said SIREPA would likely need a line of credit to start paying for the work, as most of the grant funding is reimbursement funding.
The exact location on site is yet to be determined, but Norris said plans should include minimal concrete extensions to reduce costs for cement, and minimal interruptions of current and future truck traffic. He said SEIRPC would bring options to the board for those issues.
Norris said SIREPA would work with LCEDG to find operation managers at the center. SIREPA would also want to monitor performance periodically and have interaction with the owner.
The next three months will include executing the HUD contract with the timeline for finishing the project being the summer of 2029.
Norris said Lee County could apply for the CDBG on SIREPA’s behalf and SIREPA would be a subrecipient. Iowa code prevents SIREPA, which is a municipality, from applying for a community development block grant from the state.
“What we need to do in the next eight weeks is establish income eligibility, and procure an engineering/design specialist. So, there would be a fair amount to do if the board gives us direction to push everything to applying - until we hit a spot where we can’t go,” he said.
Director Mike Dunn asked if it was possible to ask the state's  City Development Board to have Fort Madison or Montrose annex the property to meet income requirement of the CDBG.
Norris said that would require one of the communities to want to do that. Chairman Mike Hickey said the property is now considered a neutral site in the county and he wouldn’t want to see that change.
The board also agreed to put off work on an update to the group’s strategic plans while the childcare center planning is underway.
The group also decided to let SEIRPC handle the engineer/architect procurement and update the board with progress.
Later plans in the 2.5 year calendar include the environmental review, bidding, construction and finding an operator for the center.