Charla Schafer, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, talks about some goals for Muscatine during the Community Summit on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Muscatine. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
MUSCATINE, Iowa – This city has made great progress in many economic development projects in the past few years, but it needs to move forward. The community needs to build a lot more new homes and get more students in its schools. Those were some of the top messages delivered Wednesday morning, Dec. 4, during […]
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MUSCATINE, Iowa – This city has made great progress in many economic development projects in the past few years, but it needs to move forward. The community needs to build a lot more new homes and get more students in its schools.Those were some of the top messages delivered Wednesday morning, Dec. 4, during a Community Summit meeting at The Merrill Hotel in downtown Muscatine.
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Clint Christopher, superintendent of the Muscatine Community School District, and Naomi DeWinter, president of Muscatine Community College, take part Wednesday, Dec. 4, in a panel discussion during the Community Summit in Muscatine. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Naomi DeWinter, left, president of Muscatine Community College, and Rich Dwyer, senior vice president at the KENT Corp., talk during a break during the Muscatine’s Community Summit on Wednesday, Dec. 4. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Audience members, including Liang Chee Wee, at left, the interim chancellor for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, listen to discussions during the Community Summit on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Muscatine. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Audience members listen to discussions during the Community Summit on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Muscatine. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Audience members listen to discussions during the Community Summit on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Muscatine. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The meeting, which attracted more than 100 business and community leaders, was hosted by the Collaborate Muscatine organization. (That group of community leaders went from first meeting for coffee to thinking of ways to keep moving Muscatine forward.)The public summit was a “celebration of Muscatine’s momentum” and an opportunity to get community leaders in the same room to talk about what improvements need to be made in the city, said Gage Huston, general manager of Muscatine Power and Water, and the summit’s opening speaker.“We have positive momentum in this community. … Muscatine comes together to make things happen,” he added. For much of Wednesday’s summit, the two main goals discussed centered on housing and education. Specifically, the goals are:
Housing: Build 2,000 new units by 2033. This goal includes improving the median age of the housing stock. That median age of a home in Muscatine is currently about 66 years. During the summit, Rich Dwyer, senior vice president at the KENT Corp., said 50% of the housing stock in Muscatine is 80 years old or older. “You have a lot of fixer-uppers, you have housing issues,” he added. Other goals in the housing area include increasing the availability of housing to support building individual, business and community wealth.
Education: Increase kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment by 5% by 2033. This goal includes increasing the number of Muscatine High School graduates who pursue higher education within one year of graduation; improving student success at all levels to prepare them for and propel them into successful careers; and improving the perception of Muscatine’s education system inside and outside the community.
Challenges interconnected
In addition to outlining the goals, the event focused on the challenges and possible solutions to those top goals. The challenges come down to how many issues – such as economic and population growth, quality of life, health and more – are all connected with housing and education in the community. For instance, housing impacts education and graduation rates in Muscatine. Information presented at the summit shows that students from families that do not have stable housing graduate from high school at a lower rate compared to students from families with stable housing.Also, housing issues are linked to health issues.Rachel Pohl, executive director of UnityPoint Health-Trinity Muscatine, told the audience that “housing is health care.” She added that there is a link between inadequate housing and health outcomes in children. Some of the information Ms. Pohl shared included:
Housing with insufficient ventilation or heating has been connected to increased asthma rates in children.
Poor housing quality has been associated with an increase in developmental delays and decreased academic success.
Studies link poor housing to increased need for medical utilization as well as hospitalizations.
The lack of housing also is impacting Muscatine’s ability to grow its economy and population, several speakers said. For example, almost 10,000 people from outside the city commute daily to jobs in Muscatine; and 24% of the teachers in the community live outside of Muscatine County. Many of those people commute because they can’t find housing in the community. Also, companies in Muscatine want to grow, but are often hampered because they can’t find the employees, who can’t find housing.“We are inhibiting our growth right now,” said Charla Schafer, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine.
Solutions to grow population
In addition to the challenges, some of the community leaders offered potential solutions. Mr. Dwyer presented the audience with what he called a “what if” suggestion to help attract people to the community. He suggested starting a fund that would provide new residents with $25,000 to help with a down payment on a home. That money would become a forgivable loan if the new residents stay in Muscatine for at least five years, according to Mr. Dwyer’s suggestion.Another idea to entice more people to live in Muscatine centers on adding new attractions, such as entertainment, shopping and dining, said Dr. Brad Bark, the mayor of Muscatine and president of the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.“In order to get people to move to Muscatine, we need to create an experience for them,” he said, adding that currently, too often people travel to the Quad Cities and Iowa City for those “experiences.”Dr. Bark, along with other community leaders, used the summit to point out the progress Muscatine has made in recent years. Some of that progress includes the expansion of the Mulberry Health Clinic, the ongoing construction of the Musco Sports Center, riverfront developments, apartments projects and much more.
Student population declining
Adding those projects, shopping and dining experiences may also help Muscatine achieve its second main goal – increase kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment by 5% by 2033.Clint Christopher, superintendent of the Muscatine Community School District, told the summit crowd that the local school district's student population is on the decline. In fact, that population falls by about 2% each year. Currently, the school district graduates about 375 students from high school each year, and has an incoming kindergarten class of about 300.Mr. Christopher said the main reason for this decline is the falling birthrate. The local birth rate is falling by about 2.5% every year.One of the keys to stop the student decline – and actually increase enrollment by 5% – is to find ways to attract more people to the community. And that can be done with more and better housing in Muscatine, several of the community leaders said on Wednesday.One way that area residents can help the plans for housing and education improvements is by taking part in the city’s updated comprehensive plan update. (Go here for more information.) They can give their views on planning for the future by taking a survey here.Many attendees Wednesday said they liked the ideas presented during the summit, even though they know much work needs to be done.“So, this is just the first step, but it’s good getting the right people together. … This is what’s so great about Muscatine. We can come together and get things done,” said Mandy Parchert, manager of campus and community relations at HNI Corp., who was in the audience. HNI is one of Muscatine’s largest employers.
