Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments

Last updated

The Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments (CIRALG) was the metropolitan planning organization and council of governments for the Des Moines metropolitan area in Iowa, . It was formed in 1965 as the Central Iowa Regional Planning Commission (CIRPC) and was reconstituted in 1973 with a new governance structure. The organization was folded in 1983 as a result of a federal investigation into financial mismanagement of grants received by the agency's employment programs. A component of CIRALG, the Des Moines Area Transportation Planning Committee, survived and received official designation as the MPO for the Des Moines region, changing its name in 1993 to the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Contents

History

Central Iowa Regional Planning Commission

The Central Iowa Regional Planning Commission was first proposed in 1964, and municipalities and counties began to join, paying into the new body at a rate of two cents per resident. [1] The Iowa General Assembly had authorized the creation of such commissions in its 1963 session. [2] While the agency was initially concerned with metropolitan planning, it expanded its scope in 1967 to include the review of federal grant applications by cities in the metro area after being designated as the regional body for such activity by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). [3] [4] CIRPC studies focused on topics such as power line corridors, [5] transportation, solid waste, and recreation; [6] the agency also helped to establish bodies tackling crime, drug abuse, and the airport. [7] Despite nominally covering a nine-county area, by January 1971 Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Marion counties and 35 municipalities had become members, with Polk County accounting for nearly half of the agency's membership. [7] One of the member counties, Warren, pulled out in April, citing its dissatisfaction with having to go through CIRPC for access to federal funds. [8]

The CIRPC entered into a funding crisis in late-1971, when it voted to close down unless federal funding could be obtained to make payroll and settle unpaid bills. [9] Though the commission was able to continue to function, a January 1972 ruling over the contentious Des Moines north-south freeway battle found that the CIRPC did not have the authority to review members' federal funding applications. [10]

Reorganization into CIRALG

1972 also brought the CIRPC's first change in director, as Robert Mickle made way for Joel Gunnells in an organizational restructuring. [11] Bigger changes were on the way. In July, the commission proposed a restructuring that would increase the voting strength of Des Moines, Polk County and Ames; under the CIRPC, Des Moines, with 200,000 residents, had five votes, while the five smallest towns with one vote each had a combined 2,000 residents. [12] This had prompted a threat by the mayor of Des Moines to withdraw. [3] The planned shift in power would also expand the board's powers, allowing it to collect garbage, administer bus service and build a sewer system; in addition, most of the members would be elected officials. [13] Two other critical reasons were cited for the reorganization into what became the Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments: HUD had decertified the CIRPC for having an unrepresentative organizational structure, [14] while the Clean Water Act gave CIRPC the mandate to develop an area-wide wastewater treatment plan but its structure made it ineligible to do so. [15]

On January 1, 1973, [16] CIRALG succeeded the CIRPC. The new agency's expanded powers allowed it to launch a number of new programs in the subsequent years. CIRALG started a vocational training program, [17] and disbursed federal funds to develop an area agency on aging; [18] it would be heavily involved in both areas for the rest of its existence. Additionally, CIRALG continued with the planning portfolio of its predecessor, offering planning and zoning services to subscribing municipalities, particularly its smallest members. [19]

However, central Iowans came to associate CIRALG with its most contentious subject matter: sewage. The development of a regional sewer system, and the power wielded by Des Moines in CIRALG, frustrated suburbs, [20] who felt that the sewer plan adopted by CIRALG would limit regional development. [19] The first in a five-part series of articles about the organization by the Des Moines Tribune in 1979 declared that the initials CIRALG "spell power in central Iowa". [3] The employment program in particular had led to CIRALG's staff growing from 15 to 80 by the end of the decade. [3]

The sewer controversy pitted Des Moines against Polk County, which harbored its own ambitions of leading the development of the system. [21] Additionally, Polk County sought to take over the aging programs that were housed at CIRALG. [22] Questioning high administrative costs and complications over the move of its offices, [23] as well as CIRALG's expansion beyond planning, the county board of supervisors voted 3–2 in July 1981 to withdraw from the association. [24] Additional problems had cropped up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well, related to its racial makeup: the Iowa chapter of the United States Commission on Civil Rights noted that the mayor of Des Moines had contributed to CIRALG's "all-white complexion" and lack of women and minorities. [15]

Audit and dismantling

In 1980, CIRALG was audited by the state government in the wake of a struggle with one of its employment subcontractors, Iowa Comprehensive Manpower Services. [15] The state audit criticized the agency's accounting of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) funds for 1976, 1977, and 1978, raising the possibility that the agency could be forced to return a portion of its grant. [25] However, it would be a second audit, by the federal government, that sounded the regional association's death knell. On April 1, 1982, the United States Department of Labor ordered CIRALG and the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium to return up to $1.1 million in CETA funds that were used to start other programs, an act prohibited by federal law. [26] In June, Labor Department officials would additionally reveal the steering of grant monies to "administrative niceties". [27]

The federal order prompted Polk County's supervisors to ask for a larger audit into CIRALG's activities. [28] It also placed the association in immediate financial peril as it struggled to find monies to repay the Labor Department, troubles that were compounded when the state pulled funding for aging programs from the agency, leaving it with its planning functions. [29] Local officials began to look at the creation of new agencies to salvage what a Des Moines Tribune editorial called CIRALG's "vital organs". [30] As the year continued, local organizations and member towns and cities cut ties with the group, [31] though some closer-in suburbs maintained their memberships. [32] As the final tally showed the agency owed the federal government $731,000, the Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments shuttered in September 1983. [33]

The Des Moines Area Transportation Planning Committee, which had been a part of CIRALG, survived the dissolution of its parent organization and became the new federally designated metropolitan planning organization for central Iowa, contracting with the city of Des Moines for staff assistance. It changed names to the Des Moines Area MPO in 1993. [34] However, the region has lacked sufficient intergovernmental coordination in the metropolitan area since the demise of CIRALG. [15]

Related Research Articles

Des Moines, Iowa Capital and largest city of Iowa, United States

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,133 as of the 2020 census. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 83rd in terms of population in the United States with 699,292 residents according to the 2019 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa.

Ankeny, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Ankeny is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and a suburb of the state capital of Des Moines, as part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Ankeny was 67,887, making it the seventh largest city in the state. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa. Currently, the city's incorporated area totals 29.14 square miles.

Iowa Events Center Public events complex

The Iowa Events Center is a public events complex located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States.

Jordan Creek Town Center Shopping mall in Iowa, United States

Jordan Creek Town Center is a shopping mall in the city of West Des Moines, Iowa. It is the largest shopping complex in the state of Iowa with a total gross leasable area of 1,340,000 square feet (124,000 m2). It is also the fourth largest shopping complex in the Midwest, and the 24th largest shopping complex in the United States. The center is named after Jordan Creek, a tributary of the Raccoon River that was named after James Cunningham Jordan, the first person to settle in what is now West Des Moines. The mall's anchor stores are Century Theatres, Dillard's, and Scheels All Sports. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Younkers.

WOI-DT ABC affiliate in Ames, Iowa

WOI-DT, virtual and VHF digital channel 5, is an ABC-affiliated television station serving Des Moines, Iowa, United States, that is licensed to Ames. Owned by McLean, Virginia–based Tegna Inc., it is part of a duopoly with CW affiliate KCWI-TV, also licensed to Ames. Both stations share studios on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, while WOI-DT's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.

Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the Missouri River. The district includes Sioux City, Ames, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Boone and Carroll; it is currently represented by Republican Randy Feenstra, who has been in office since 2021. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+16, it is the most Republican district in Iowa.

Des Moines metropolitan area Metropolitan statistical area in Iowa, United States

The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), consists of six counties in central Iowa, United States: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, Guthrie, and Jasper. The 2010 census population of these counties was 606,475, and the 2020 estimated population was 707,915. The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area.

CIETC is an acronym for the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium. CIETC is a public agency formed in an agreement among the City of Des Moines, and the surrounding counties of Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story and Warren.

Geri Huser American politician

Geri D. Huser is a Democratic party politician. She served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1996 to 2011.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wildlife, land resources, and water resources of Iowa.

Des Moines Area Regional Transit

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) operates mass transit service in Greater Des Moines. It is the largest public transit agency operating in the state of Iowa.

Warren County Courthouse (Iowa)

The Warren County Courthouse is located in Indianola, Iowa, United States. The courthouse that was built in 1939 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. The building was demolished in the summer of 2019 and removed from the NRHP in September of the same year. A new courthouse and justice center is expected to be completed in 2021.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Des Moines, Iowa, USA.

David Young (Iowa politician) Former U.S. Representative from Iowa

David Edmund Young is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he is a native and resident of Van Meter, a western suburb of Des Moines. He was first elected in 2014 and reelected in 2016; he lost reelection in 2018 to Democrat Cindy Axne. Young unsuccessfully challenged Axne in 2020 to regain his old seat, losing by 1.3%.

Des Moines Water Works

The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a publicly owned, municipal water utility founded 1871 in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides water to half a million residents of the greater Des Moines metropolitan area. As of 2017, it has three treatment facilities. In March 2015, the DMWW board sued three Iowa counties for violating the Clean Water Act with high nitrate discharges, which contribute to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cindy Axne U.S. Representative from Iowa

Cynthia Lynne Axne is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated incumbent Republican David Young in the 2018 election. The district is anchored in the state capital, Des Moines; it includes much of the state's southwest quadrant, including Council Bluffs. Following the defeat of Abby Finkenauer and the retirement of Dave Loebsack from Congress, Axne became the sole Democrat in Iowa's delegation in 2021. She currently is the dean of Iowa's delegation to the House of Representatives.

KUCB-FM was a radio station broadcasting on 89.3 FM in Des Moines, Iowa. The station aired programming aimed at the African American community in central Iowa. The station was on air from 1981 until 1998; its license renewal was successfully challenged in a seven-year legal battle that dragged on for most of the 1990s over an unauthorized two-year silence period and the illegal presence of a convicted felon as an officer of the station's licensee. A new minority station, KJMC, went on the air in 1999 as a result of a competing application to the license renewal.

COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Iowa, United States

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Iowa in March 2020. The first known cases were three individuals who had traveled on a cruise in Egypt before returning home to Johnson County on March 3. Initially, case clusters were focused at meatpacking plants and congregate care facilities. By late October, community spread had become a concern, and some areas of the state had reported over 20% test positivity. A headline stated that "Iowa hospitals fear overwhelming patient surge if coronavirus cases continue to climb."

Robert W. "Bob" Mickle (1925-2009) was a city planner, community leader, and activist renowned for his contributions to the development and revitalization of communities in Des Moines, Iowa. He was active in his planning career for nearly 40 years, followed by a lifelong commitment to voluntary work which is recognized to have impacted today's city of Des Moines. Among his accomplishments are Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the skywalks in the downtown area, and the Mickle Center.

Des Moines Womens Club Historic Womens Association in Des Moines, Iowa

The Des Moines Women's Club, founded in 1885 as the women's club movement swept through the United States, today serves the Des Moines community by providing scholarships, support for the local arts community, and other civic projects.

References

  1. ↑ "Regional Plan Unit Advanced". Des Moines Register. September 23, 1964. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ Doak, Richard (April 10, 1965). "Tells Of Area Health Plans". Des Moines Register. p. 18. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Roth, Evan (February 26, 1979). "CIRALG: Initials spell power in central Iowa". Des Moines Tribune. pp. 1, 4 . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ Coffman, Jack (December 26, 1967). "Broader Role For Plan Unit". Des Moines Tribune. p. 15. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ Beaumont, James (March 13, 1968). "Planning Group to Study 'Corridors' for Power Lines". Des Moines Register. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ Zelenka, Julie (June 27, 1968). "Plan Group Votes Budget Of $169,500". Des Moines Register. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Brewer, Norman (January 16, 1971). "Planners 'Short' of Members". Des Moines Tribune. pp. 1, 14 . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ Brewer, Norman (April 12, 1971). "Warren Quits Plan Commission". Des Moines Register. pp. 1, 9 . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Regional Planning Unit 'Broke'". Des Moines Tribune. October 28, 1971. pp. 1, 10 . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Ruling Hits Funding". Quad City Times-Democrat. Associated Press. January 13, 1972. p. 36. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Heth, Jerald (February 15, 1972). "'Be Regionable'". Des Moines Tribune. p. 11.
  12. ↑ Christensen, Kathryn (July 9, 1973). "Propose Reorganization of Central Iowa Planning Unit". Des Moines Sunday Register. p. 2-C. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  13. ↑ Eastman, David (July 21, 1972). "Broad New Powers for Plans Unit?". Des Moines Tribune. pp. 1, 12 . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  14. ↑ Heinlein, Gary (October 5, 1973). "Favor D.M.'s Regional Proposal". Des Moines Tribune. p. 13. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Basmajian, Carlton (June 2014). "An Absent Space: The Story of the Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments (CIRLAG)". Iowa State University. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Council mulls annexation, airport plans". Ames Daily Tribune. November 22, 1972. pp. 1, 29. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  17. ↑ Piazza, John (August 29, 1974). "Program for Vocational Training Set". Des Moines Register. p. 7. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Counties get $75,000 to plan aging programs". Ames Daily Tribune. June 7, 1975. p. 11. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  19. 1 2 Roth, Evan (February 27, 1979). "CIRALG means sewers and much, much more". Des Moines Tribune. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  20. ↑ Sievers, Lloyd D. (December 14, 1978). "A suburban view of the sewers". Des Moines Tribune. p. 20. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  21. ↑ Roth, Evan (March 2, 1979). "D.M. flexes voting muscle over area sewer system". Des Moines Tribune. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  22. ↑ Racher, Peter M. (April 29, 1981). "Polk, CIRALG fight over funds". Des Moines Register. p. 2C. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  23. ↑ Heinlein, Gary (June 29, 1981). "Sparring going on in gas-line break". Des Moines Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  24. ↑ Fryar, John (July 21, 1981). "Polk supervisors vote to withdraw from CIRALG". Des Moines Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  25. ↑ Laird, Rox (September 10, 1980). "Audit may force return of grants". Des Moines Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  26. ↑ Fuson, Ken (April 2, 1982). "U.S. says 2 Iowa agencies misused funds". Des Moines Register. pp. 1A, 7A . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  27. ↑ Fuson, Ken (June 15, 1982). "Plush offices and fancy cars cited in misuse of U.S. funds". Des Moines Register. pp. 1A, 3A . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  28. ↑ Fryar, John (April 27, 1982). "Board to request probe of CIRALG". Des Moines Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  29. ↑ Fryar, John (May 12, 1982). "More CIRALG takeovers are eyed". Des Moines Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Saving CIRALG's vital organs". Des Moines Tribune. May 17, 1982. p. 12. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  31. ↑ Roos, Jonathan (October 14, 1982). "Two governing units sever CIRALG ties". Des Moines Register. p. 1M. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  32. ↑ Carothers-Kay, Anne (November 25, 1982). "Mayor: Stay with CIRALG". Des Moines Register. pp. 1N-WS, 4N-WS . Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  33. ↑ Brown, Dick (December 29, 1983). "U.S. audit says CIRALG improperly spent $731,000". Des Moines Register. p. 5M. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Unified Planning Work Program & Budget, Fiscal Year 2018" (PDF). Des Moines MPO. April 27, 2017. pp. 5, 6. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.