The college welcomes government, business and rescued pets in response to record-breaking emergency
–By Cindy Cullen Chapman, freelance writer
While flooding devastated much of Cedar Rapids and surrounding communities, Kirkwood Community College’s vital main campus remained untouched by rising waters.
Nonetheless, the flood, which began in earnest June 11 and crested at record-breaking levels, impacted the college in immediate and far-reaching ways that that never were anticipated.
Faced with the coming flood, the city asked the college to close at midday June 11 in order to ensure the safety of faculty, staff and students, as well as to conserve the city’s threatened clean water supply.
While the decision to shut down a college campus is by no means trivial, in hindsight it can be viewed as one of Kirkwood’s smaller responses to the emergency situation.
The flood’s impact continues to stagger the state of Iowa. At its height more than 80 counties were designated as state or Federal disaster areas. Damage to homes, businesses and farmland are mounting in the billions of dollars. The deepest devastation could arguably be in Cedar Rapids, as officials count up more than 4,000 homes damaged or destroyed and 1,300 blocks of the city inundated at the flood’s peak.
Community partnership is one of the building blocks of Kirkwood’s philosophy, and the flooding brought home just how strong that partnership is.
The college stepped forward to satisfy needs and fill voids left when the flood disrupted an extensive list of services provided by city and county government, area utilities and non-profit organizations, and a myriad of businesses and major corporations.
Since 2003, Kirkwood and Linn County Emergency Management have shared a lease agreement for the Community Training and Response Center, located at Kirkwood’s main campus. The center houses the Environmental Technology Center, the National Mass Fatalities Institute, the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute and the Midwest OSHA Education Center (all managed by Kirkwood’s Environmental Health, Safety and Security Department), as well as the county’s emergency management agency.
The lease agreement calls for the large, well-equipped space to convert to a county emergency operations center in the face of any type of disaster, according to Dee Baird, Kirkwood’s executive vice president of Continuing Education and Training Services. That conversion began around 3 a.m. June 11, says Baird.
“The biggest surprise, to both Kirkwood and Linn County Emergency Management, was that we never dreamed we would have as many local, state and federal organizations headquartered there as we did,” says Baird.
“When we planned for this, we thought it would hold as many as necessary – we quickly learned otherwise.”
The center operated 24 hours a day at full bore for at least 10 straight days, providing space for federal marshals, staff members from U.S. Immigrations and Customs, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Homeland Security and state and county agencies, in addition to Cedar Rapids entities including police, fire, housing, the mayor and city council, representatives of local hospitals, large business organizations, United Way of East Central Iowa and the Chamber of Commerce.
It was unbelievable how well everyone worked together when you consider how many people were here,” Baird notes. “And Kirkwood staff stepped up to accommodate them.”
The use of Kirkwood space didn’t stop with the center. The Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services Center, located on the west edge of Marion, is leased by the college from AEGON and run in partnership with the worldwide organization headquartered in Cedar Rapids. On Thursday, June 12, AEGON exercised its option to take over “hot” space, which is always operational in the event of an emergency, as well as “warm” space, which is used by Kirkwood but available to AEGON.
At the same time, Alliant Energy lost facilities to rising flood waters, Baird says. “Alliant called to ask if it could use space. So, we’ve got AEGON on the left side of the building and Alliant on the right side. You can imagine the chaos.”
On Kirkwood’s main campus, the Center for Continuing Education – just opened in late spring — became home to many Linn County services, the state and federal court systems and city and county administrative offices like human resources, purchasing and technical services.
Representatives of the Duane Arnold Energy Center, located in nearby flooded town of Palo, set up office space in order to file an emergency back-up plan with the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“They needed technical services and space,” says Baird. “If they didn’t file the plan and get federal approval, they would have had to shut down the power plant, so of course, we accommodated that request.”
At one point, Baird still was looking for space to place the Corridor Recovery Team, which is coordinating volunteer and recovery efforts.
Mid American Energy was provided with office space, as well as a parking lot for trucks and equipment. The University of Iowa relocated classroom space for its MBA program from downtown Cedar Rapids to the Kirkwood campus. The Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation moved in with the Kirkwood Foundation. Local industries like Diamond V Mills and Souvenir used space to reorganize. Downtown Cedar Rapids’ Penguins Comedy Club even moved a scheduled event to the Kirkwood campus.
In the first week of the emergency, the Kirkwood Center for Continuing Education was also the site of daily press conferences that provide updates on the response to the flood. One such conference included the director of FEMA, Gov. Culver, Senators Harkin and Grassley, plus Rep. David Loebsack.
Kirkwood’s agricultural and equestrian facilities also were used to house animals from the flooded Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter, pets that couldn’t accompany owners to shelters, and others who were rescued from flood waters and evacuated homes.
The Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter began moving animals to Kirkwood on June 11, when it was determined the shelter would flood. As days wore on, more and more animals were dropped off.
“People have been trying to stay in a shelter while keeping their pets in their cars, and people were living in their cars with their pets,” notes Anne Duffy, professor and coordinator of animal health technology and veterinary technology at Kirkwood. “When they realized this was not a short-term them, then they would come here.”
Ultimately, Kirkwood became a safe haven for nearly 1,200 animals.
“We had mostly dogs and cats, but quite a few birds and lizards, a turtle and bunny, and one mare and her foal,” Duffy says.
“People were thrilled that we were here (to care for their animals),” Duffy says.
All in all, Baird estimates Kirkwood has made more than 134,000 square feet of its space available to outside entities.
“Also, we’ve moved 375 events and classes to make these spaces available,” she notes. “And, if we have tenants into 2009, this number could go over 700.”
In addition to space, the college provided technical services like additional wiring for electrical service. As of June 19, more than 700 new computer connections and 400 new phone lines were implemented. Baird couldn’t estimate how many employee hours were devoted to the effort.
“Kirkwood was nothing short of outstanding,” Linda Langston, a member of the Linn County Board of Supervisors, says of the college’s contributions. Most county government offices were displaced or affected to a great extent by flood waters.
“Once we realized the extent of the flooding, it was ‘Oh, my gosh, where are we gonna go?’ [This emergency] required Kirkwood staff to do so much work they never anticipated, like running the court system out of it.
Langston takes another moment to consider the blur of events in the past weeks.
“Kirkwood has been so generous. We are paying (rent) to a certain extent, but with new electrical requirements and new capacity for computers…I’m sure that was never a part of the plans. Their Facilities people came in to help at a moment’s notice. Kirkwood responded in so many different ways. Kirkwood is an outstanding community partner. I just can’t say enough about them. They have been really stellar,” Langston added.