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Drug Free Communities coordinator Julie Fern to leave ASAC; county awaits federal NOA
Summary
Julie Fern, Drug Free Communities project coordinator, told the board she has resigned at ASAC effective July 28 and that the county is awaiting a Notice of Award expected in September before hiring decisions; she also flagged uncertainty around opioid settlement funding and local vaping policy work.
Julie Fern, the Drug Free Communities (DFC) project coordinator, told the Jackson County board she will resign from ASAC effective July 28 and described contingency plans tied to federal grant funding.
Fern said the county is waiting for a federal Notice of Award (NOA) for the DFC grant, likely in September, and ASAC will not proceed with hiring until funding is confirmed. "If it [the NOA] does not come, we were gonna be done anyway," Fern said, adding that annual report work will be completed and county staff (Shelley and Karen) will submit necessary documentation. She also said the DFC coalition is a freestanding entity preparing continuity plans and that local partners (ASAC, Robert Young, Christine Graeter, Bridget Prince) are preparing for potential service provision. Fern noted opioid settlement dollars remain unclear and that the Board of Health is considering ordinances to add vaping to the Iowa Smoke Free Air Act; she urged county involvement because state-level adoption often follows county action.
