Community Services

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Project Administration Services

MAPA prepares grant applications regularly on behalf of cities and counties for projects such as infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitation, historic preservation, economic development enhancements, hazard mitigation, and many others. We also provide general administration services for grantees post-award. Standard administration services include: file set-up, environmental reviews, fiscal management, data compilation, income surveys, labor standards monitoring, program compliance, and coordination with program staff at state and federal levels.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the process of a community assessing betterment and development priorities.  Plans generally focus on the direction of the entity for the next five years while identifying priority areas or projects.  The finished product provides a guide to implementation including project cost estimate and possible funding sources.  These can be community-wide or for a specific area such as the downtown.

Community Surveys/Needs Assessments

Surveys include statistical and narrative data that identifies the profile and demand analysis for a community. The analysis describes the past, present and projected demographic, economic and conditions of the plan’s focus.  Plan focus can include housing, sidewalks, parks and recreation, etc.  This is often used as a supporting document for strategic planning or funding applications.

Professional Facilitation and Strategic Planning Services

MAPA has trained facilitators on staff available to assist with convening and conducting meetings to help achieve desired outcomes.  For those engaged in strategic planning activities, MAPA staff can provide support and facilitation in the areas of engagement, plan development and execution.

Comprehensive Planning and Zoning

Planning and zoning are important tools for communities in that they provide the opportunity to establish sound and efficient land use patterns. MAPA works with local governments to develop or update comprehensive plans. We have goal-setting sessions with citizens where future development plans are discussed and data are collected to analyze current and projected conditions of a given community. MAPA also aids communities and their planning commissions to establish zoning ordinances, which regulate present-day land uses.

Disaster Mitigation

MAPA assists Mills County and Pottawattamie County with pre-disaster and hazard mitigation planning under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Such planning requires the active participation of local planning committees, in-depth reviews of past disasters and/or near-disasters and a series of goals and objectives to make regional jurisdictions as disaster-ready as possible. MAPA has prepared plans for each community in Mills and Pottawattamie Counties and for the counties themselves.