# Economic Development Committee Meeting of September 30, 2026

The City of Iowa City Economic Development Committee met September 30, 2026. Kirkwood Community College presented updates on regional workforce and education programs, including high-school dual-credit pathways, English-language and career training, and employer-specific apprenticeships. Staff described Kirkwood’s current training partnership with the City for heavy-equipment operators and possible future leadership and wastewater-related training; no contract award or associated spending amount was presented. The committee also discussed Kirkwood’s AI training work and community-based instruction, including programming at Dream City.

For FY2028, staff outlined a proposed $750,000 arts-support request, with $500,000 from local-option sales tax and $250,000 from the general fund. The plan includes a $385,000 endowment contribution, keeping the schedule on track for drawdowns to begin in FY2033, and $315,000 in recommended arts-anchor awards—about 15% above FY2027 funding—for UNESCO City of Literature ($66,000), Summer of the Arts ($74,000), the Englert ($77,000), FilmScene ($45,000), Riverside Theatre ($33,000), and Public Space One ($20,000), newly included in the program. The committee approved the minutes of July 1 and approved a motion on the endowment contribution recommendation. The transcript does not show a final vote on the anchor-award recommendations or the separate Arts Alliance sponsorship item.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Education
**Topics:** Grants & Funding
**Published:** September 30, 2026

### Sources
- [Economic Development Committee Meeting of September 30, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgY8XpYVhwA) - City of Iowa City