The commission that examined the natural disasters that hit Iowa last year and crafted recommendations for recovery for the Iowa Legislature and governor will stay intact — but in a less active role.
Ron Dardis, the director of the Rebuild Iowa Office told members of the Rebuild Iowa Commission Monday that he feels the commission should not be dissolved just yet.
Dardis says the commission is the only oversight the Rebuild Iowa Office has had, as he says the coordinating council for the office is not an oversight or advisory council, so he recommends that the Rebuild Iowa Commission stay intact in some capacity. General Dardis was the chair of the commission while he was the leader of the Iowa National Guard, then Dardis retired and took over as the leader of the Rebuild Iowa Office.
Dardis says the commission does not have to have weekly meetings, but can still be kept informed of the rebuilding effort. He says they can continue giving periodic updates to the commission and determine in the future how often the group needs to be updated. The commission submitted its report to the legislature in November, and Dardis noted lawmakers adopted the 12 recommendations in the report.
He says the Rebuild Iowa Office might need to get more input in the future, and he wants to keep that option open. Dardis says if they ask the governor to terminate the commission, then it would not be available for oversight or advice later on. Dardis asked commission members how they felt about the idea, and all supported it, including Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley.
Hurley says the commission will come to an end sometime, but he says the thought process and rationale for keeping the commission are good and he supports the idea. Dardis says the Rebuild Iowa Office is slated to stay open through June of 2011 and that is when the commission would also be shut down.