The money, part of the $830 million program designed to help the state rebuild after last year’s tornado and flooding disaster, includes $20 million for projects in Cedar Rapids, one of the cities that was hit hardest by the 2008 floods.

“This is only the beginning, and I look forward to working with all Iowans as we rebuild this state, create good-paying jobs, and build a brighter future for all Iowans,” Culver said in a statement.

The I-JOBS Board, which will oversee $165 million of the infrastructure and flood relief money, will begin accepting applications for the remainder of the money later this week. The program is being paid for with bonding, with the state paying it back over the next 20 years with gambling revenues.

The projects approved today were:

City of Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids Public Library ($5 million)
The Cedar Rapids Public Library was more than 50 percent damaged during last year’s floods. I-JOBS funds will help the library rebuild its main facility and expand the library’s Westdale Mall branch.

City of Cedar Rapids, Paramount Theater ($5 million)
I-JOBS funds will help repair the historic Paramount Theater, returning it to its original condition. Additional renovations include enhancing the sound system, expanding the backstage area and adding a pre-function bar/café.

City of Cedar Rapids, Public Works Building ($5 million)
The city of Cedar Rapids will use I-JOBS funding to rebuild the Public Works Building, including its mechanical and electrical systems.

City of Cedar Rapids, Steam System Customer Relief ($5 million)
The floods of 2008 rendered Cedar Rapids’ steam system inoperable and extensively damaged the steam distribution system. Temporary boilers and rudimentary repairs meant customers were able to take advantage of steam service through the winter but at a drastically increased cost. I-JOBS funds will help steam system customers convert to more affordable individual heating or steam supply systems.

City of Elkader ($500,000)
The city of Elkader will use these funds to build a new fire station. Their existing fire station has flooded several times – including in 2008 – and has fallen into disrepair. A new fire station will be built on donated land outside the flood plain and will include adequate space for equipment and training, a helo-pad, a tornado shelter, a post-disaster shelter and room for possible expansion.

Linn County, Human Services Campus ($10 million)
The floods of 2008 displaced several nonprofit service organizations in Cedar Rapids. I-JOBS funds will be used to build a new Human Services Campus in downtown Cedar Rapids that will provide space for seven to 10 nonprofit organizations that provide services to more than 13,000 people annually.

Linn County, Options Building ($5 million)
Last year’s floods meant Linn County lost 80 percent of its county infrastructure, including the Options and Witwer Buildings that housed several public services. I-JOBS funds will be used to construct a new building to replace the two that were damaged. The new building will house Linn County Community Services, General Assistance, Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services, Veterans Affairs, Home Health and Youth Services.

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library ($10 million)
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids will use I-JOBS funds to build the museum’s operations. The project includes four components: restoration of an historic building in the Czech Village that will serve as administrative offices, restoration of two historic homes, construction of an exhibition center and research library and construction of a permanent exhibit that focuses on the Czech and Slovak American immigrant experience.

Phil Roeder, Culver’s deputy chief of staff, said making sure people across the state understand how the money can be used, how it is being used and what sort of impact it’s having is something the governor and his staff are taking very seriously.

“Transparency is at the top of the list of priorities with this program,” Roeder said. “The purpose of I-JOBS is to strengthen the economy and improve the state’s infrastructure, but at the same time, a key priority has got to be openness. We have to be an open book so the public can see how the funds are being spent.”

The first step to that will be ensuring the I-JOBS board, scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon for the first time, will adhere to open records and open meetings laws. The board will decide how Iowa spends $118.5 million of the money, and Roeder said it would move quickly to establish rules for distributing the funds and keeping the public informed.

“Everyone in the administration understands that with I-JOBS, time is of the essence,” Roeder said. “In order to have impact on the economy, we have to move quickly.”

The next step, Roeder said, will be establishing a Web site to allow citizens to track the money from start to finish.

“The ultimate goal is to set up a site that lets people follow the money from application for funds to how decisions are being made to distribution all the way down to how many jobs it is creating,” Roeder said.

The program’s Web presence is currently under construction, but Roeder said it will be modeled after the federal economic recovery program, which has set up Web sites in all 50 states in order to track funds.

Bill Allison, a senior fellow with the non-profit government transparency watchdog the Sunlight Foundation, said the key for Iowa is to ensure there is one spot where citizens can go to follow the money.

“One of the things that make it difficult to follow on the federal level is that there are all kinds of places that are reporting information,” he said. “There are multiple sites reporting different things.”

Despite years of experience working with open records and government spending, Allison said it’s still difficult for him to find information he’s looking for.

“If it’s hard for me, someone who makes a living doing this and has done it for years, then for the average citizen it will be hard to find information they need,” he said.

The ideal Web site would allow citizens to search spending by ZIP code or legislative district, Allison said. Doing so would attract “more eyeballs to the process, which would help catch any potential fraud or abuse.”

Another key, Allison said, is that when the prerequisites for receiving funds are formally established they must be easily understandable to the general public.

“Making them easier for people to understand and more transparent will lead to more participation in this,” he said.

Kathleen Richardson, director of Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said a Web presence is key, but ensuring the I-JOBS board follows state open meetings laws is just as important to ensure the program is transparent and accountable.

“Certainly, in this day and age, any type of government transparency should have an online component that allows citizens to track spending,” she said. “Making sure the government is accountable also involves making sure decisions take place in public, too.”

Iowa boards have not always had the best record when it comes to openness.

Nearly a decade ago, former Gov. Tom Vilsack appointed a 13-member board to negotiate with cities vying for Vision Iowa grants from the state. In 2001, the board was the center of controversy when it was discovered that it held closed-door negotiations with officials from Des Moines and Davenport using a loophole in Iowa’s open meetings law unofficially known as a “walking quorum.” The loophole occurs when elected officials rotate fewer than half of their board or council members in and out of meetings to avoid reaching a quorum and open meetings laws.

Roeder said that with the historic size and scope of the I-JOBS program, a greater emphasis on being as open as possible is necessary for its success and to gain the public’s approval.

“The more people know about I-JOBS, the more supportive they become,” he said. “The more people understand how it works, the more access they have to information, then the more appreciation people will have of how much this means to the state. So there really is an obligation and a commitment to make sure that everything is available to the public and easily accessible.”

In ceremonies in Marshalltown and Iowa City, Culver signed Senate Files 376, 477, and 474, all aimed at upgrading state infrastructure, creating jobs and flood recovery.

“Passing the legislation was the easy part,” Culver said. “Now, we must get to work creating good jobs and revitalizing our communities.”

The plan, which Culver discussed during his Condition of the State address, establishes an 11-member board within the Iowa Finance Authority to oversee payment of the bonds and ensure the projects fit into the program’s criteria, which include the number of jobs created, the project’s readiness to proceed immediately, and the project’s energy efficiency, among other things. Culver is expected to appoint six of the 11 members, although the time frame of the appointments is not clear. The other members of the board are the directors of several state departments.

The state is expected to sell bonds to pay for grants this summer, with the first grants being awarded soon after the bonds are sold. All money is required to be spent within three years.

Before the measure passed, Culver called on county, city and school officials to submit projects they believed could benefit from I-JOBS money. More than 4,000 projects were submitted, however governments will have to officially resubmit applications to be considered.

Below is a complete breakdown of the I-JOBS spending targets, according to the governor’s office:

Veterans home, community colleges and other public improvements: $285 million

·         $185 million to improve public facilities across Iowa, such as the Iowa Veterans Home, correction facilities, and our community colleges.

·         $100 million for further investments in state public infrastructure, including state parks.

Flood recovery and rebuilding: $165 million

·         $118.5 million in competitive grants available for reconstruction of local public buildings and flood control prevention in communities hit by last year’s disasters.

·         $46.5 million in grants targeted for help to Linn County, Cedar Rapids, and to rebuild fire stations in Palo, Elkader, and Charles City.

Transportation infrastructure: $115 million

·         $50 million to improve the safety of Iowa’s bridges.

·         $55 million to cities and counties to improve local roads, including many roads still damaged by last year’s natural disasters.

·         $10 million invested in airports, rail and trails.

Iowa’s universities: $115 million

·         $100 Million to rebuild 10 buildings destroyed by flooding at the University of Iowa, which will allow the use of nearly $500 Million in federal funds

·         $15 Million to build a veterinary hospital lab at Iowa State University

Environment and water quality: $80 million

·         $35 million to help construct sewers in communities under 10,000.

·         $20 million in competitive grants for communities of any size for water improvement projects.

·         $25 million to water-quality projects, including flood prevention, as well as soil conservation practices.

Housing needs: $35 million

·         $20 million invested in affordable housing for elderly, disabled, and low-income Iowans.

·         $10 million to construct or improve shelters for domestic abuse, emergencies, and the homeless.

·         $5 million to repair homes damaged by last year’s floods.

Telecommunications and renewable energy: $35 million

·         $25 million invested in improving access to technology throughout Iowa.

·         $10 million to create a revolving loan program to support alternative energy projects to support both new jobs and energy independence.

The plan, which he first laid out during his Condition of the State address, is a 3-year investment to “create jobs, strengthen the state’s economy, and rebuild several critical areas of the state’s infrastructure,” the governor said.

“There are currently hundreds of millions of dollars in unmet infrastructure needs in every part of the state. Addressing this issue is critical to rebuilding Iowa and our economy,” Culver said, adding: “There is no time to waste in rebuilding Iowa and, most importantly, creating jobs.”

It includes:

·        $250 million for transportation projects, especially road and bridge safety, including $200 million for roads and bridges and $50 million to other modes of transportation

·        $175 million to complete important projects already scheduled, such as improvements to the Iowa Veterans Home and our Community Colleges (This portion was approved by the Senate Wednesday night)

·        $150 million for public buildings, disaster relief, mitigation projects, housing and other flood-related infrastructure not covered by FEMA, CDBG or other sources

·        $100 million for water quality and waste water improvement projects

·        $75 million for local infrastructure, broadband technology, and alternative energy infrastructure

The bonds would be paid back with up to $56 million a year in gambling revenue.

An 11-member Iowa Jobs Board will be appointed to develop rules, review applications and make grant decisions.  Five members of the public will serve on the board in addition to the directors of the Iowa Finance Authority, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Transportation, Iowa Workforce Development, the Rebuild Iowa Office and the Office of Energy Independence. The Iowa Finance Authority will provide staff and administrative support for I-JOBS.

Carlos Tzirin-Rodriguez, who was not originally detained in the May 12 immigration raid at the plant, was convicted of possessing a resident alien card that was not issued to him and knowingly possessing the identification of another person. The documents, according to court records, were used to gain employment at Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville and the site of the nation’s largest single-site immigration raid.

Tim Counts, midwest spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that Tzirin-Rodriguez was detained on April 15. Because Tzirin-Rodriquez remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing, Counts declined further comment in relation to the case.

In a plea agreement, Tzirin-Rodriguez admitted that he possessed a falsified resident alien card and used the identification of another person without consent. He also admitted to entering the United States on about April 1, 2006, at or near San Ysidro, Calif., with the aid of a smuggler.

Sentencing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Tzirin-Rodriguez faces up to 10 years in prison and a mandatory consecutive penalty of two years in prison for the charge of using the identification of another person. He also faces $200 in special assessments, and up to three years of supervised release following any prison term.

Roughly one month after Tzirin-Rodriguez was detained, federal agents stormed the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. A total of 389 workers were detained as a part of the immigration raid on May 12. Of those detained, 300 have made plea agreements on criminal charges and most are serving prison time before their ultimate deportation.

Two members of Agriprocessors middle management have been charged with aiding and abetting illegal workers, and have entered a “not guilty” plea. A third indictment for another plant supervisor remains sealed, pending that person’s arrest.