Iowa Code
Chapter 15 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Section 15.231 - Community catalyst building remediation program — fund.

15.231 Community catalyst building remediation program — fund.
1. a. The economic development authority shall, pursuant to section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o”, establish a community catalyst building remediation fund for the purpose of providing grants to cities for the remediation of underutilized buildings. The authority shall administer the fund in a manner to make grant moneys annually available to cities for the purposes of this section.
b. The fund may consist of any moneys appropriated by the general assembly for purposes of this section and any other moneys that are lawfully available to the authority, including moneys transferred or deposited from other funds created pursuant to section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o”.
c. The authority shall use any moneys specifically appropriated for purposes of this section only for the purposes of this section. The authority may use all other moneys in the fund, including interest, earnings, and recaptures for purposes of this section, or the authority may transfer the other moneys to other funds created pursuant to section 15.106A, subsection 1, paragraph “o”.
d. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the community catalyst building remediation fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund but shall remain in the fund for expenditure for subsequent fiscal years.
e. The authority may use not more than five percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year for purposes of administrative costs, marketing, and technical assistance and other program support.
2. a. The authority shall use moneys in the fund to provide grants to cities for the remediation of underutilized buildings. The authority may provide grants under this section using a competitive scoring process. Notwithstanding subsection 3, an emergency project shall be eligible for a grant under this section.
b. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Emergency project” means remediation of an underutilized building that may present a unique and immediate opportunity, or a unique and immediate threat.
(2) “Unique and immediate opportunity” means remediation of an underutilized building is time-sensitive and remediation is reasonably expected to result in economic growth for the city in which the underutilized building is located.
(3) “Unique and immediate threat” means remediation of an underutilized building may involve an unforeseen challenge or problem that has the potential to result in a catastrophic failure of the building’s integrity and structural system. An unforeseen challenge or problem may include an act of nature such as a fire, flood, or storm, or an unexpected structural deficiency such as a compromised load-bearing wall. A challenge or problem caused by deferred maintenance on the underutilized building does not qualify as a unique and immediate threat.
3. In providing grants under this section, the authority shall dedicate forty percent of the moneys available at the beginning of each fiscal year to cities with populations of less than one thousand five hundred as shown by the most recent federal decennial census. If at the end of each application period the amount of grants awarded to cities with a population of less than one thousand five hundred is less than the amount to be dedicated to such cities under this subsection, the balance may be awarded to any approved applicant city regardless of city population.
4. The authority shall enter into an agreement with each city for the receipt of grants under this section. For a city to receive grant moneys under this section, the agreement must require the city to provide resources, including financial or in-kind resources, to the remediation project. The authority may negotiate the terms of the agreement.
5. In providing grants under this section, the authority shall coordinate with a city to develop a plan for the use of grant moneys that is consistent with the community development, housing, and economic development goals of the city. The terms of the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection 4 and the use of grants provided under this section shall reflect the plan developed.
6. If a city receives a grant under this section, the amount of any lien created for costs related to the remediation of the building shall not include any moneys that the city received pursuant to this section.
7. The authority shall submit a report to the general assembly and the governor’s office on or before January 31, 2020, describing the results of the program implemented pursuant to this section and making recommendations for program changes.
2016 Acts, ch 1135, §14; 2019 Acts, ch 120, §1
Referred to in §15.335B

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