SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 29, 2015
Sullivan’s
Salvos 9/29/15
In this edition:
*RIP Joe Johnston
*Happy 25th Housing Fellowship!
*1105 Project Kitchen
*Empty Nesting
*Iowa City Book Festival
*Swisher Visioning
*Did You Know?
*RIP Joe Johnston
Former
State Representative, former Congressional candidate, and local attorney Joe
Johnston passed away earlier this week.
Joe
was a colorful guy with a colorful history, and I very much enjoyed the
conversations we had. RIP, Joe!
*Happy 25th
Housing Fellowship!
I
recently attended a reception honoring the 25th anniversary of the
Housing Fellowship. It was created in 1990 by area religious congregations in
response to the shortage of affordable homes in the area. (Sound familiar?)
Fast
forward 25 years, and the Housing Fellowship now owns or manages 171 affordable
rental homes in Johnson County. The vacancy rate is only 2%. The average length
of tenancy is 53 months. 75% of the tenants are employed at least full time;
the other 25% have other sources of income. In 2015, the Housing Fellowship
provided housing for 681 people, including 397 children.
Congratulations
to Executive Director Maryann Dennis and the Housing Fellowship on 25 years of
good work in our community!
*1105 Project Kitchen
Several years ago, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors sold the
old Public Health Building to the Crisis Center for $1. The Crisis Center then
teamed with DVIP, NAMI, and Free Lunch to create the 1105 Project, a wonderful
collaboration of social services agencies.
The Board did put a few restrictions on the sale, however, and one
of them has just come to fruition. On Thursday the 24th, I joined
several other people at a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the 1105
Commercial Kitchen.
A bit of history: The Board had a contract with Jason Grimm of the
Iowa Valley RC&D, who consulted with us on local foods issues. Jason had
identified the lack of commercial kitchen space as a real detriment to the
local foods movement.
The Board knew the 1105 Project would have to have a large kitchen
in order to host the Free Lunch Program, so we set Jason up with Becci Reedus
at the Crisis Center. We figured the 1105 Project could earn extra money
renting to local entrepreneurs; a classic win-win situation.
Jason and partners Jesse Singerman and Jessica Burtt Fogarty took
the opportunity to form IC Kitchen Connect. They then helped Becci to determine
what items were necessary to create a kitchen that could be rented out after
Free Lunch was finished for the day. Becci pulled it together, and IC Kitchen
Connect created a checklist and contract producers could use. Now we are ready
to get it rented. Meanwhile, IC Kitchen Connect is ready to take things even
further.
IC Kitchen Connect links entrepreneurs with commercial kitchens in
Iowa, allowing food entrepreneurs to start their businesses at a fraction of
the cost and helping them to maximize profits when they need it most.
For
more info, visit: http://ickitchenconnect.com.
*Empty Nesting
It
took a while to sink in, but Melissa and I are finally getting used to the feel
of being empty nesters.
I
am a big softy, so I tend to get a bit melancholy when I step into empty
bedrooms. Raising kids is and has been our primary charge for a long time, and
transitioning can be tough.
Meanwhile,
I look forward to our new location on the circle of life!
*Iowa City Book Festival
The
Iowa City Book Festival is a four-day celebration of books, reading, and
writing. The festival includes readings, discussions, and demonstrations.
Presented by the UNESCO City of Literature, it all happens October 1-4 at a
variety of locations throughout downtown Iowa City.
I
absolutely LOVE this event! Count me in! Meanwhile, you can decide which of the
dozens of events you wish to attend by visiting: http://www.iowacitybookfestival.org
*Swisher Visioning
The
City of Swisher recently held a community visioning exercise, and I was
privileged to participate.
Swisher
is a city of about 930 people in the far north and west portion of Johnson
County. Just off of Highway 965, Swisher is actually much closer to Cedar
Rapids than Iowa City. Kids in Swisher attend College Community Schools
(including Cedar Rapids Prairie).
I
am particularly fond of Swisher, because I made a lot of good friends there as
a young adult. I went to college with a few guys from Swisher, I met their
friends and families, I played softball with a bunch of them… it really does
hold a special place in my heart.
Some
of the positives folks came up with regarding Swisher: It is in a GREAT
location, really close to both CR and IC. Probably because of this, the median
income in Swisher is quite high, far above the State and County averages.
Swisher has room to grow in every direction. The train tracks that cut through
town may be an asset some day. The city is in excellent financial health. There
are several civic groups (American Legion, Men’s Club, etc.) that are active.
Swisher is home to a bank, grocery store, coffee house, and a few other
businesses. They have a wonderful town library.
Of
course, Swisher is like everywhere else – there are some negatives, too. Those
mentioned included: The schools are not in town. There is no senior housing.
Swisher lacks municipal water, sidewalks, storm sewers, and trails. There is a
question as to whether or not residents are willing to make the necessary
investments in their city. There is also a question as to just how welcoming
the town is to new people.
This
was an interesting exercise. While some of the discussion was very specific to
Swisher, I think the same discussion could be had in pretty much any of Johnson
County’s smaller cities.
I
applaud the people of Swisher for taking an honest look at themselves. As
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” (I know there are
lots of Socrates fans in Swisher!) I give a great deal of credit for this
exercise and this attitude to volunteer extraordinaire Laura Hoover, who has
been and remains the driving force behind the Swisher Library; and Mayor Chris
Taylor, who has proven himself to be an excellent young leader. I hope others
in Swisher will follow the lead of these two outstanding individuals!
Meanwhile,
I think it would serve every level of government well to do a bit of
self-examination.
*DID YOU KNOW?
The Swisher City Hall still has a single jail cell in the basement, a
relic of the days when municipalities did their own jailing. Now used for
storage, the key hangs to the side where Otis Campbell could reach it!
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 2:08 PM
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