Officials with SWIPCO & SWITA (Southwest Iowa Planning Council & Southwest Iowa Transit Agency) – based in Atlantic, has updated their policies, with regard to the current COVID-19 Health Emergency:

The SWIPCO/SWITA office are open, but outside visitors are limited and many staff are working remotely. Please call ahead and be prepared to conduct as much business as possible either over the phone or via email. SWIPCO/SWITA staff are not traveling to meetings except as requested by public health or emergency management.

SWITA SERVICES:

• We are continuing to provide trips, including medical trips, throughout the region if scheduled through our office 24 hours in advance and subject to driver availability. These can be scheduled by calling our office at 712-243-2518 or 800-842-8065. Medical trips scheduled via Medicaid/MCOs are also continuing to run.
• We have suspended SWITA taxi service, which normally operates in Missouri Valley, Harlan, Atlantic, Red Oak, Shenandoah, and Glenwood, because of the close proximity between riders and our drivers. However, we have instituted a temporary service that if scheduled 24 hours in advance and subject to driver availability, we will provide medical trips in those communities at the taxi rate and will honor taxi tickets as payment. Faith in Action and Clarinda Area Volunteers continue to run.
• We continue to operate the Council Bluffs STS paratransit service. It is anticipated to run as long as the Metro fixed route service is operating.
• Our workforce commuter transportation routes to Oakland Foods, Menards, 3HO, and Monogram Foods continue until further notice.
• We continue to provide transportation for the Glenwood Resource Center.

SWIPCO/SWIHTF SERVICES:

• We continue to move housing projects forward if both the contractor and homeowner agree. Our homeownership program continues as normal.
• Mills County and Fremont County flood buyout projects continue.
• Mills County flood disaster mortgage relief payments continue and new applications will be accepted.
• Code enforcement inspections continue, but our inspectors are instructed that if any party self describes as sick or declines to participate, those individual inspections will be deferred until a later date with no penalty.
• New building code inspections continue.
• Business RLF payments may be deferred up to 90 days if requested. You do not need to contact the office at this time, letters will be going out to all loan recipients shortly.