HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-19 Transcripton Page 1
Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas
Staff Present: From,Jones, Goers, Grace,Knoche,Havel, Sovers, Tharp, Seydell
Johnson, Schwickerath,Hightshoe,Davies, Ogden.
Airport Commission: Orozco,Lawrence, Story, Pfohl
Others Present: LeFevre,USG Liasion, Monsivais,Alternate
1. Joint Meeting with the Airport Commission to discuss new Airport Strategic Plan
Teague: All right. Is 4:00 PM. And we're going to get started with our work session on
September 19, 2023. And this is the City of Iowa City. Our fust item is the joint meeting
with the Airport Commission to discuss new airport strategic plan. And welcome to you
and welcome to our Commissioners.
Tharp: Good afternoon. If you haven't met me before, I'd be surprised. But I'm Michael Tharp.
I'm the Airport Manager. We've got a few of our members of the Airport Commission
with us. A couple more are still in transit,but we've got our Chair,Hellecktra Orozco,
Secretary Chris Lawrence, and Ryan Story is our newest member to the Airport
Commission. We just wanted to walk through the strategic plan that we put together,
kind of highlight some of the things, especially some of the things that also correspond to
some of the Council's strategic plan goals. And I'm going to turn it over to the
Commission members. And I'm just going to stand here and run the slide show.
Teague: Great.
Lawrence: Well, thanks for having us.
Teague: Well,welcome to all of you.
Lawrence: Uh, if you've looked through the strategic plan at all,you'll note,um,that we have a
goal which is sustain strong communication and collaboration with the City Council, City
Administration, and other City Departments. This was on our last strategic plan. We kind
of fell short. So we presented basically the high level view of the strategic plan,the last
version in a comment,uh,the-the public comment section of the agenda at a City
Council Meeting. And then after that,we didn't really do much with it, so we put it back
on the strategic plan and this is part of that. So we're glad to be able to do this and kind of
walk through this in a little bit more detail and answer any questions you have. Um, so
we'll just look at the vision mission statements. Um,the vision statement was pretty
unaltered. We were pretty satisfied with it. The Iowa City Municipal Airport is an
integral community asset that supports the strategic goals of the city of Iowa City and
benefits the region's commerce,vitality, and community pride. We felt pretty strongly
that this was pretty much in line with what we wanted the airport to be five years ago.
And it still holds true today with the Department of Transportation,the Iowa Department
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of Transportation,um,publication every so often, showing how much,uh, airports
contribute to the local economic activity. We felt that was a very strong,um,
characteristic of the airport, so we put commerce on there. Um,we like to think that there
is vitality that comes from- from the airport. We certainly have events in community
gatherings at the airport, and we're looking to expand those. And then community pride,
we want people to acknowledge that we have a really- a really,uh,unique thing,which is
a small community airport that can be leveraged by everybody close to the heart of
downtown. Um,that allows people to access the great things about this city that-that all
of us love. Um,the mission statement is that the Iowa City Municipal Airport, directed by
the Airport Commission,provides a safe, cost effective general aviation facility. The
airport creates and enriches economic, educational,healthcare, cultural, and recreational
opportunities for the Greater Iowa City community. And then we had four goals this-this
round. The fust was increase the community's use and understanding of the airport. The
second is develop airport infrastructure to support growing airport uses. The third one is
continue to develop funding mechanisms for airport operations improvements and
maintenance. And then the last goal is sustain strong communication and collaboration
with the City Council, City Administration, and other City Departments as I mentioned
before. So we had a number of engagements,um,with Regina Bailey to create this
strategic plan. And I want to quickly highlight some of the- some of the details associated
with each of those goals and dive into them a little bit and then offer my fellow
commission members any opportunity they want to interject here. So with respect to
increasing the community use and understanding of the airport,um,we really wanted to
make the airport a community place. We wanted to bring people to the airport. The- the
goal behind that is- is that if we bring people to the airport,they'll have an understanding
of what it does for the community. They'll see what value there is in having a small
airport or having accessibility to a small airport. And then it also just encourages the use
of public property and it's an opportunity for people to gather and come together as a
community. So some of the things that we're looking to do are hosting more aviation
organization events,which we already do today. So one of the good examples that I can
think of off the top of my head is EAA Young Eagles. So generally speaking, every year,
COVID notwithstanding. Um,there's-there's an organization,the Experimental Aircraft
Association. They will offer opportunities for children to go flying in airplanes with a
pilot obviously, and kind of experience aviation. It's done at no charge to the kids or their
parents. It's an opportunity for a- a big aviation organization in the country to share
aviation with children, sort of foster,um,uh, that-that spark in kids,because frankly,
kids love airplanes. Um, so doing more sorts of things like that,right?We want to
continue giving tours to people who are interested in aviation careers. Mike and- and
others at the airport have given tours to a number of aviation related groups. It could be
students,uh, local community colleges, it could be high school students,whatever,who
have an interest in aviation careers. And then finally, airport tours to just interested
community groups. And I think that there have been a number of tours for,uh,various
groups that aren't necessarily affiliated with aviation at the airport over- over the years.
So continuing to do that. Um, I would really like to highlight here the some of the
continued partnerships that we have. So you may have seen,um,banners around town for
the pancake breakfast that's hosted each year. Um,that's done by the Optimist Club?
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"Tharp: Correct.
Lawrence: Okay. Um, and so that's-that's something that we-we do every year. We-we try to
make happen for them every year they run it,but we-we-we collaborate with others and
make space available. And I think Mike said that he wouldn't have been surprised if there
were 5,000 attendees over the course of the morning. Is that.
Tharp: Yeah,this was one of the-the better populated years we've had in recent memory.
Lawrence: Yeah, so it brings a lot of people out to the airport and it gives- it gives the airport
operators a chance,people who operate at the airport, a chance to showcase what they do
and what they bring to the community. And the other one is the summer of the arts movie
night. That was something I believe started with COVID and we've continued that
partnership. So we-they project a movie on the side of the hanger people. It's basically a
drive in movie theater and it gets people out to the airport,but it also makes use of the
space in- in a non aviation way. Develop airport in infrastructure to support growing
airport uses. I think this one's fairly self explanatory, airport is it is infrastructure, so we
need to continue to maintain that infrastructure. If it crumbles,then you know everyone
kind of suffers. Um, so we're-we're looking at,uh,the,um, we have an airport space
needs study,which I think in- in the notes you probably,Mike,you're really talking about
the terminal study in that case. So we're undergoing a terminal study that's going to look
at the building and the land side airport property to determine what are our next steps
here. Because it's been pretty static for decades at this point. So,um,how can we
revitalize that area?Um,we have a solar power project that we're really really happy to
get going you its- sustainability is really hard with an airport. You can't get away from
the fact that in aviation,um, carbon based fuels have an energy density that it-you just-
you just can't compete with fuel. Fuel will always,well, at least in my lifetime probably,
have more energy in-per-per mass than a battery will,right?Electric aviation is coming,
but aviation moves slowly. It's governed by federal regulations that are slow to change
and adapt. Um, and so we have to look at the ways that we can become more sustainable.
One of the ways that we've looked at that is any of our,uh,runway projects where they
have to redo the lighting, change it to LED, right?Massive reduction in en- in energy
usage. It's compared to very,very bright incandescent lights. Um, so we've done that on
our main runway. Uh, one of the projects coming up is,um, our- our effectively north
south runway. It's going to have new lighting. It's going to be LED. The taxiways are
already LED. The only thing that will not be LED as far as airport lighting on the- on the
air side is concerned, is the rotating beacon,which we're talking about,but that one's-that
one's a little more tricky. So that reduces our energy usage. Solar power certainly helps
with that. And then,you know,yes,we are still bound by hydrocarbons,but the entire
aviation industry is, and they're working on solutions,but we can't-we, as an airport,
can't solve that problem,right? So we're trying to do what we can. Uh,hangar
development. We've invested,uh, a lot in,uh,receiving state grants for,uh, concrete pads
on the south end of the airport to allow people to build hangars and tie into the existing
taxiway infrastructure. So,uh,we're-we're looking to meet the demand that we have
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there. We've had a running list- a waiting list for hangars for as long as I've been at the
airport and I don't think that'll change anytime soon. So we're trying to meet the dem-the
demand,uh,but grants for hangars themselves are very hard to come by,um, so that's-
that's not really an option for us. And then one thing that's really near and dear to my
heart is we'd like to pursue trying to get pedestrian access along Riverside Drive to the
airport. I've been on the Airport Commission now for 5, 6 years. In the summer and
spring and fall, I would love to ride my bike from southeast Iowa City to the airport to go
to a commission meeting,but it would be taking my life into my- in- in somebody else's
hands to drive my bi- or ride my bike on Riverside. So,um,while I'm here, I would love
to pitch the idea that we'd love to do it, and a- and as part of our terminal study,we're
looking at more bike access. We're looking at,uh,you know,how could we tie into the
existing infrastructure,but unfortunately,we don't have a lot of good ways to get to the
airport that don't involve a car. Um, and so we would love to try to,uh,work on that with
the City Council,with other departments, and see where-where we can meet in the
middle and try to get a bike path or, at the very least, a pedestrian path on the side of
Riverside. Uh, and then I forget Warren isn't here,but I believe he mentioned that,um,
even more dangerous is the Highway 1 Riverside intersection. I think it's Highway 1 still
at that point,maybe it's Highway 6. Wherever the-the- it's where the old,um,bus
service- transportation service building.
Tharp: Highway 1,Highway 6 interchange,yeah.
Lawrence: Yeah. That intersection as a pedestrian is a death trap. So,you know, if you're coming
from that direction,we have no good way to get to the airport as a pedestrian or- or
bicyclist, so-uh,we want to continue to develop funding mechanisms for airport
operations; improvements and maintenance. Uh, one thing that we're really-really proud
of,uh, over- over years of hard work is that we finally got the operational budget,um,
effectively off of the city's books. Um,there was a period where it was really had to-
there- it was really hard to run the airport without City help. And we've-we've worked,
uh, at that over many years. Um, obviously,you still do grant matching. That's great.
That really helps us because a lot of our grants are 90%match. I think the state,maybe
85.
Tharp: The sta-the state, depending on the program, is anywhere from 75-85%.
Lawrence: Yeah. So we-we-those-those sorts of capital improvements,we really appreciate the
grant matching. Um, it brings a lot of- of money into the-the city for- for some of these
projects,um,but the operational budget largely comes from fuel sales and,uh,hangar
rents and,um, other sorts of agreements,uh, like- like,uh, like, agriculture leasing
agreements. Um, our use of the Community Foundat-Foundation fund for donations,uh,
one of the things you might have seen if you've been near the airport in the past couple
weeks,um, is that we-we managed to secure funding for a Public Art mural on the
hangar that faces Riverside. Um, and it- it sort of tells the story of the airport through,uh,
depictions of aircraft through the years,whether that's post mail or,um, I think- I think
Nile Kinnick's F4 from World War II is on there. Um, it's- it's just been a fantastic
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partnership with an artist from the Des Moines area,uh, and we were able to collect
donations,use the community fund to do that, and,uh,you know, communi-contribute to
the Public Art, uh,mission that I think a lot of people really like to see around here. Um,
I certainly like to see it. It makes a boring hangar look really neat. So if you- if you
haven't had a chance to check it out, I don't know if she's done yet.
Tharp:Not quite. She's got a little bit more to wo-uh,work on. And that also had a contribution
from the Pu-uh,Public Art Advisory Committee.
Lawrence: Yes, it did. Yes. So, it's been a-that-that was a really nice, uh- I was really happy to
see that project through. And- and Judy sitting across the way, she was heavily involved
in that as well, um,working with,uh, the Public Art group and- and helping us navigate
that. And then finally, increase fuel flowage fees. Um,we-we have had- our fuel flowage
fees have been static for a very long time, and we recently,uh, looked to increase the cost
of- of fuel per gallon that brings some additional revenue into the airport. Our budget has
been pretty,um, flat,uh,we dont-with not a lot of room to-uh,not a lot of room to-to
start to look at some of the things that we would like to do. It's always been the things we
have to do. Um, so this-this should hopefully gives us a little bit more breathing room,
build up the savings, and kind of work from there. And then lastly, sustained strong
communication and collaboration with City Council, City administration and city
departments. We're obviously doing that today. We're trying to walk you through our
strategic plan, show you what we're-what we're about,um, give you the chance to ask
questions,but we really want to continue working with,um, other city departments.
That's been quite beneficial, I think. We've been working with the Parks and Rec
department. Uh,they helped us with,um, some of the landscaping in the front, I believe.
Um,there's been a lot-there's been a lot that they've helped us with.
Tharp: Yeah. Parks and Rec has been a great help,uh, landscaping out front,helping with tree-
tree control,things like that. Um, uh,we work with streets on occasion for assisting in
some pavement repairs. Um,Public Works helped us with the parking lot additions.
Yeah.
Lawrence: Yeah. There's been a lot of collaboration with other city departments that I don't think
in the past we necessarily knew were available to us,um,to-to partner with. I think we
always kind of thought that we were off on this little island, and the truth is we're not.
Um,but it's been- it's been a good partnership. Uh, so we want to continue doing that,we
want to continue exploring collaborative efforts with others,um, and- and play nicely
with everyone, so,um-Aside from that, I don't think we had anything really prepared
aside from going through the plan. Are there any questions that you have for us or
anything-uh, any feedback you have?
Teague: Well, I appreciate you kind of walking us through this. Um, lots of good things I think
happening over at the airport, some of the things they were mentioned already. Uh,what I
do appreciate is the commission taking some time to step back and look at their strategic
plan while also looking at the city's five-year strategic plan. I was happy to come and
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speak to you all,uh, about our strategic plan. One of the questions that,um-well, one of
the things I was happy to hear about is more access for community events or maybe being
more intentional, I think is where you are going with that. Um, I love the idea of having
the, is it EEA bringing children to learn about aviation?We- I've heard that,um, aviation
as far as like pilots, we're needing more. And so I think more exposure is great. The one
thing I would recommend,just as a side note, for educational opportunities, I know that
there are,um, cars that will be flying pretty soon,um, so it would be great to maybe have
an educational,uh,piece about that. What that looks like,uh, surprisingly, I was-there
was one that was about $300,000 which I thought that's,you know, and when you think
about a plane,how expensive that is, $300,000 for a flying car is a good deal. Uh, but I
also learned that you had to be-you have to have a pilot license of some sort,which
count me out. I don't think I can do that. But uh-yeah, I think having it more open to the
community,having some fun opportunities for people to come out,uh,to hear about
these-uh, about the airport and aviation is gonna be great.
Lawrence: Yeah. And one of the things that was- I'm- I'm the most veteran member of the
commission at this point,but,uh, one of the initiatives that, uh,we undertook was
building the viewing area that we have at the airport. So a lot of- a lot of airports have
viewing areas so you can go watch the airplanes and- and they'll have like a sign that kind
of shows what you're looking at. And we-we went through the process of building that.
We have a,uh- a little paved concrete runways in the ground that,you know,kids can
play around in and see how the airports laid out. But,um, that really speaks to like how
we really want to bring people to the airport. Because it is an airport, there's actually
things to see,related aviation at the airport. It's not,u-, it's not off limits. You don't have
to go through TSA checks to come to our airport. You don't have to-you can go and see
aviation,you know,pretty raw and unfiltered if you'd like. Uh, and so that-that kind of
highlights the priority that we have about getting people to the airport because it's- it can
be a cool place to go to. Um, so yeah, exactly to your point.
Teague: You bring a flying car and you have 20,000 people on one day, I'm sure.
Lawrence: Yeah.
Thomas: Well, thank you for your presentation. I think it's an excellent strategic plan and I- I- I
do find the pancake breakfast. As you were saying,the airport is so accessible,uh, and
it's in a relatively small town. Uh, you're not gonna be able to have a pancake breakfast at
a larger airport. I just love the-the fact that-that that's possible here. And I actually spoke
with someone who was from a larger city and said she brought her kids to the airport for
the pancake breakfast. In no way could they do that in Washington,DC. And,you know,
without 45 minutes driving through traffic to get there. Uh, so yeah, I think it's- it's kind
of exciting how you're taking advantage of what you are,uh, and using-using it to its
maximum.
Harmsen: I actually had a couple of just kind of clarifications or would love a little bit deeper
dive. Uh,you talked about the upcoming- some infrastructure improvements and looking
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at the-uh,the upcoming for blanking on the word sorry,word finding issues. Um, I mean
not the hanger but.
Lawrence: Terminal-the terminal.
Harmsen: Thank you,terminal. Anyway so yes, if you talk a little bit more about that,why
you're looking into it,how far along that process is. If you have some idea of where that's
going to head, I'd love to learn more about that.
Lawrence: Yeah, so uh,the terminal uh, study is- is really just looking at,uh, looking at the
terminal building, seeing if it will meet the needs or is meeting the needs of the airport
right now. Uh,that-that study is being done with a grant. Is that an FAA grant,Mike? So
we had an FAA grant to do that. Uh, and- so we're working with our engineering firm and
looking at how much square footage do we need to meet airport needs,what do we have
today And kind of looking at what are the building,uh-what are the building parameters
that we can-we can use,uh, and- and- and adjust,uh,to meet the future needs of the
airport?Because the building itself is dates from the 1950s, if I remember correctly.
Tharp: 1953.
Lawrence: Yeah. And we love that building,but it has-we-we have-we are absolutely at
capacity and so as- as we need to-we adjust and try to meet the needs of the aviation
community and also the public,um, at our airport,um, I think we're finding that-that
we're quite cramped and how could we expand it and make use of the space? So,um,
we're in pretty nascent stages there. We just finished getting basically what the options
were from our engineering firm. We've gone through some public comment and survey
work. Um, and so that's pretty much where we're at now,right?
Tharp: Yeah. I- I would expect the council is gonna see some more information in the CIP
presentations coming up,uh,this fall as part of the budget process. Um, as Chris said,
we're kind of wrapping up our space needs study. Uh,we-we know we have a space
deficit. One of the examples I- I use is we have,uh, six flight instructors sharing a single
office. Uh,you know,uh,we-we need space for those lessons to be taking place. That
classroom learning,uh,which is basically a one-on-one process between instructor and
student. Uh, and when you have six groups of people trying to use the same office, it does
make scheduling and getting people through training,uh, a bit difficult. So there's- some
things there,uh, growth with the FBO in terms of their staffing,uh,you know, over the
last 10 years. They've gone from,uh,roughly 30 people to about 50 people uh,just
within the facility. And that's-that's pilots, that's mechanics,that's office staff,uh, line
staff that-the folks dealing with the airplane. So when an airplane comes in,they're-
they're moving airplanes around, fueling them up,uh,things like that. So we have-we
definitely have space needs,uh,we're trying to figure out how best to resolve those
issues. And- and like I said, I expect to have more information with the CIP process.
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Harmsen: What about demand for hanger space? Is that at capacity?Do we have capacity left? Is
that something else?
Tharp: As far as what we have now,we are at capacity. We have a waiting list on paper that's
roughly about 40 entries deep. Uh, I went through a two-year period,uh,because I keep
all of my notes of when hangers turnover,when I offer them. Uh, I went through a two-
year period where I had zero hanger turnover to go back into- into a rental cycle. So,uh,
yes,we definitely need hanger space. Uh,making the money work is- is something that
is- is the issue right now because building prices are so outrageous, especially when it
comes to steel material. Uh, and what we've done in kind of lieu of trying to build
ourselves is we're extending that infrastructure out into areas where other people can
build,uh, and then lease ground from the airport,uh, and spur construction that way.
Harmsen: Thank you. Good.
Taylor: I appreciate,uh,your attention to the appearance of- of the airport,the entrance, and all
along Riverside Drive and- and the detail. And I think together, it sounds like with parks
and rec and I would encourage you if you haven't, I know Willow Creek Park,the master
gardeners,uh,they have take a big part of that. I don't know if you've worked with them
or not. And- and as far as foliage and flowers and those kinds of things to make it really
appealing. Because the only thing I remember from 50 years,um, on up coming into
town here is- is that the old jet at- at the front entrance. And that was kind of the main
appeal to-to the airport. And it's still there obviously, of course. So I assume you-your
plans are to continue to have that there and maintain that as best you can and then
continue with parks and rec and master gardeners or whoever to really make it a pin.
We'll do what we can. Hopefully, I don't wanna promise anything about sidewalks,but
that would help too so for.
Tharp: Yeah,we're certainly taking a look at the whole entrance drive,uh, leading into the
terminal as- as part of this study. Um, I think we're-we're gonna come up with a- a plan
of how things change and how that pedestrian access,you know, should it come down
Riverside Drive where it comes into the airport and feeds- feeds closer to the terminal
building. So uh, looking forward to a lot- a lot of things coming out.
Teague: Thank you all so much for joining us.
Lawrence: Thanks for having us.
Teague: Yes. And wish you the rest- awesome and amazing rest of the day.
Lawrence: Thanks.
Tharp: Thank you very much.
Story: You can come visit us.
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Lawrence: Come visit.
Harmsen: Alright. Will do.
2. 2023 Capital Improvement Project Updates
Teague: All right. We're gonna go to our next agenda item,number 2,which is 2023 Capital
Improvement Project Updates. And welcome.
Seydell Johnson: Hi Juli Seydell Johnson. I get to start tonight by updating you on the progress
of our projects that have been happening throughout the park system this summer. This is
the most exciting time of year,well maybe the second most exciting,most being when
we kick off the projects,but we're getting close on finishing several of them. So I'll run
through those very quickly for you. Hickory Hill Park is the first one up. That's the north
entrance,the Conklin Street entrance. And you can see the picture on the right. It is under
construction as we speak. The rom check shelter materials are all on site. So they say it'll
be only a two or three week process now that they're actually building and some of the
cement is in the ground. I didn't see the shelter yet, so that may be a little further delayed,
but it looks like they are well underway there.Next we have Happy Hollow. And this
one, let's see,the picture didn't change. Okay. Well,the picture will come up hopefully
soon. Happy Hollow,the baseball field has been renovated and the pathways are in place.
The playground equipment is here. We're having to do a little re-engineering on site to
make it fit on the site, so it should be in yet this fall, but probably not in the next couple
weeks. It's one that our staff is putting in. We then go to Hunters Run on the far west
side. This playground was one of the fust ones done this summer. It has been played on
for most of the summer. There's still just a little bit of seeding work to be done there,but
in general,that project is complete. Willow Creek Trail replacement, same thing. It's
almost done a little bit of seeding work, a little bit of finish work throughout. That's been
a very smooth project and that provides a whole new paved replacement paved trail
throughout Willow Creek and into Kiwanis Park. Tennis court renovations along with
pickleball renovation. You approved that contract at your last council meeting, so that
will be underway soon. This fall,we gave them an extended date through July 15 to
finish the work next summer. So hopefully they will remove the current courts yet this
fall at the end of the season, and be back fust thing in the spring with putting the new
courts in and be ready to play by 4th of July. Mercer Park Baseball Diamonds Project has
changed a little bit since we fust talked about it. The school district is a partner in that
project. They have decided they will likely move their varsity softball,um,team to this
facility, as well as the varsity baseball,which is already there. So that is backed us up a
little bit on design work. We're taking a step back,working more with the school district
to determine what that means for the overall project site. There will be a lot of ADA and
improvements throughout the public areas of that. And we've gone ahead with the
purchase of the new lights, so we'll get new LED lights on Field 1. Those have been
ordered and should be here about the fust weekend November. Kiwanis Playground,the
site is ready. The playground is manufactured in Germany, so it cleared customs
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yesterday and is on a truck from South Carolina as we speak. We got pictures this
morning. I was so excited. I sent them to Geoff. It turns out the ones they sent us are
actually going to Clive,not on our playground. Similar, but they sent us pictures later in
the day that ours are also on a truck on the way here. So that one is being installed by the
contractor and should be installed and finished yet this fall. City Park Pool replacement,
how exciting. Glad that we made a decision,that you made the decision at the last
meeting to move on with the replacement. So the next staff met with the consulting team
on Monday of this week to talk about dates for the next steps. We are headed towards
Friday, October 27th, as the date for the fust big open house meetings. It'll probably be a
two part meeting with a meeting in the afternoon at Mercer Scanlon Rec Center and then
moving to Robert A. Lee at 05:30 So it coincides with the big Halloween event. We'll
have about 1,000 people coming through for the Halloween event, families and kids. So
we wanna capture their information and their ideas on the pool. And just so you can start
letting the public know that fust open house meeting is just a project introduction
meeting. There'll be chances for people to come in and give their preferences on a
number of different ideas for the pool. There isn't however, any kind of presentation
because there isn't anything yet to present about this is simply information gathering for
people's preferences and things they'd like to see. So people can think of it as a stop in
meet the consultants go around the room, do different activities to give their input into
what that will look like. The other thing that will be happening is around October 1st,
we'll have a page on the website go live for the project with all the information on it. And
that's where people who are interested can sign up to be a part of one of the focus groups.
And we'll have up to 14 focus groups which will be 45 minute sessions. They're going to
happen November 13th, 14th, and 15th. So what that means is during the month of
October,we'd like as many people as possible to go on the website page. They'll fill in an
online form with all kinds of information, so we get a sense of which groups they might
be eligible for. The names will be removed from that list as we talked about before. Then
they will be randomly chosen based on the criteria for each one of those different
specialty groups and invited in for those 45 minutes. We're looking for all kinds of ways
to lower the barriers for those groups we're likely hosting it at Mercer Scanlon and then
having childcare available if needed. They'll be in the evenings, interpreters,if needed.
We're working through all of those details right now. But the main thing is around
October 1st,the project page should be available on the website so people can start
tracking everything that's happening. That's also where they'll be a special email for
comments and input onto the project- into the project that can come from that. October
27th, again,Friday, October 27 will be the fust big open house and you have until the end
of October to sign up for one of those focus groups. And then we'll move forward with all
that information going into those three schematic designs that you probably won't see till
mid to late January when they would go back out for the statistically valid survey. So lots
of happening behind the scenes. Moving that forward,we're bringing all that information
out to the public. We have a full scale marketing plan happening with all of that too. All
right. So those are just the park projects and there are updates. Any questions on any of
those?
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Harmsen: Real quick, I might be confused by this. The pickleball and tennis courts, is that- is
there also one going on at City Park or is it so in addition to the one that's going to
happen at Mercer?
Seydell Johnson: At Mercer's, is the- there's pickleball tennis courts there that's being completely
torn up and rebuilt. And then at City Park it's tennis courts and then a base basketball
field or sorry-tennis courts and a basketball court right next to it. Those will both be
rebuilt as part of the process. The City Park ones will remain. Tennis courts primarily
will have pickleball lines there,but primarily tennis.
Harmsen: Will those to the Mercer and the City Park tennis courts,will those overlap those
replacement projects?
Seydell Johnson: Happen at the same time?
Harmsen: Yeah.
Seydell Johnson: Yeah. Same- same company. Probably doing them both. Same time. Same
time.
Harmsen: Thank you.
Seydell Johnson: Okay. I'll turn over engineering from.
Teague: All right. Thank you. Welcome.
Havel: Good afternoon,Jason Havel, City Engineer. So I'm going to talk about some of the
projects that are impacting the right away at this time. Full disclaimer that this is not all
the projects we're working on,but it's really those that are more significant or have more
significant impacts in the right away or to the traveling public. So I want to start things
off with the 2023 annual payment rehabilitation project. Just a reminder,this includes
both our asphalt overlay program and our PCC patching program. On the asphalt side of
things,we have a few sites this year,the first one being Court Street east of Scott
Boulevard. It'd be roughly between Elmira and Kenneth. We'll be doing an asphalt
overlay for that section. We'll also be doing the railroad crossing on Gilbert Street. The
south crossing just north of Napoleon Park. Um,that one is certainly in need of repair as
well, so we're doing that this year and then finally we'll be chip sealing Taft, which is
something we do more or less every year to maintain that surface. On the PCC side of
things we just recently talked about,First Avenue. So that'll be the main project there.
They're looking at starting that actually next Monday with completion plan for mid to late
November for that PCC patching,the asphalt overlay, and that stuff will be completed by
the end of the year as well. Rohret South Sewer, so this is the new trunk sewer that's
going in along Abbey Lane as well as extending under Highway 218. The sewer work is
well underway. They've installed all the sewer essentially from the east end of the project
near Kiwanis Park under Mormon Trek Boulevard. So we've made it through our closure
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of Mormon Trek Boulevard and that is back open to traffic. They are now working on
finishing kind of the west end of the project which will include installing that sewer
under Highway 218. They anticipate that contractor starting that work here, and then
probably the next few weeks looking at getting that sewer work done. Yet this year is the
plan as they are working on extending that sewer,we're also going back and installing
the- and connecting the services to the new pipe. And then they'll work on paving after
that. So they've already started some of the paving operations and,uh,plan on having that
done this year as well. Highway 6 Trail, so this is a new ten foot trail on the south side of
Highway 6 from Fair Meadows to Heinz Road. The trail is more or less complete in use.
Really all that's left, there is some restoration and some minor grading and seeding work
to occur yet this year. Riverside Drive pedestrian path, so this is in that section between
Benton Street and Myrtle Avenue. So this will be providing a pedestrian connection
under the Iowa Interstate Rail Road along the west side of Riverside Drive. It includes
not only the pedestrian connection,but also will include some utility work in Riverside
Drive as well as some lighting along the west side there for pedestrian use. Uh,the utility
work has been completed. We anticipate the barrier-the barrier is completed as well.
Anticipate the sidewalk connection underneath the rail road to get wrapped up here
probably by the end of October. The lighting will be delayed until next year. Uh,the
main reason there is just the lead time on getting those materials, and then all that will be
left then would be the temporary sidewalk connection, essentially from the railroad or the
end of our project to Myrtle Avenue that's being done with the development that's
occurring in that area. That temporary connection,we're working with them to get that
scheduled hopeful that'll be done yet this year as well.
Teague: And how long-how wide does that sidewalk again?
Havel: I think the sidewalk five feet for, I know that the part that goes under the railroad is as
narrow as four feet. And really that's-we had to narrow up the road to get there and that's
really all we could get. Uh,but I believe it's at least five feet for the rest of it.
Teague;Yeah.
Thomas: So there's a retaining wall there at that retaining wall we're seeing in the image is the- a
barrier protecting.
Havel: Pedestrians. Correct. Yeah-yeah. Sorry. It's six feet sidewalk along Riverside Drive
there,but it will narrow down to four feet right at the-the abutment because we just
couldn't change that.
Teague: Yeah, I understood. Thank you.
Havel: Rochester Avenue Reconstruction. Obviously this is a big one. This is completely
reconstructing Rochester Avenue, essentially from Ralston Creek through First Avenue.
This is one that began last year. There are continuing construction there. We're just about
done with Phase 2 and be moving into Phase 3 with the plan to have Phase 3 done this
year. So that'll get us up to just short of the First Avenue intersection. That'll be new
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pavements,new public utilities, all that kind of stuff. Um, so the plan is then to have
Rochester Avenue open for the winter to- so open to traffic for the winter. They'll come
back in the spring and they'll work on the First Avenue and Rochester intersection. The
plan is to do that half at a time, so we'll maintain traffic through the intersection
throughout the-the remainder of construction next year. As far as final completion date,
we're probably looking at the fall of 2024 for final completion. Fairchild Street
Reconstruction. So this is the reconstruction of two blocks of Fairchild Street,which is a
brick street. This is essentially from Clinton to Lynn. This is nearing completion. I think
we're looking at,uh,having that wrapped up,probably end of October. So it includes not
only the brick street,but some utility work there as well. American Legion Road
Reconstruction. So you may remember this was taking American Legion Road,
reconstructing it, converting it from a rural cross section, so a roadway with ditches to an
urban cross section to include not only storm sewer,but also,uh,bike lanes and a curb
and gutter and all of those things. That project is more or less complete,they're working
on finishing up punch list items and some restoration work, looking at having that
complete,uh,yet this year. And then finally in this section,Benton Street. So this is a
crack and seat and overlay project that will go from Mormon Trek Boulevard to just short
of Greenwood Drive. Um,the west part of the project is- is more or less complete, so
that'd be the section essentially from Mormon Trek to just short of Sunset. They're
working on the Sunset intersection now, looking at having that completed probably by
the end of October,um, as part of that,then they'll also do the crack and set and overlay
for the east section as well. So I would say that it'd be substantially complete,uh, if not
by the end of October, certainly by the end of the year. The next section I was just going
to mention,these are projects that are- are really not under construction yet,but there's
either been some recent interest or we anticipate here in the very near future. You'll see
some- some items for these projects. Sorry,the fust one here is Dubuque Street
Reconstruction. So this is the block from Washington Street to Iowa Avenue. Be a
complete reconstruction, similar to what we had done with Washington Street a few years
ago. It will also include the reconstruction of the alley between Washington and Iowa,
and then between Dubuque Street and Linn Street. This one I would say you will see here
probably, if not your next meeting,probably the meeting after. We're looking at
hopefully getting this project bid by the end of the year. Court Street reconstruction. This
is again,will be a pretty significant one. This is a reconstruction of Court Street from
Muscatine Avenue to First Avenue. Again, it'll be a complete reconstruction of not only
pavement,but utilities and all of that stuff. Currently,there's been some gas relocation
work out there. Um, obviously, if you've driven through there,you've probably seen it
recently. We anticipate that next year we will do the relocation of the remainder of the
utilities. So a lot of the communications, electrical,that kind of stuff will be relocated
next year. And then construction of the actual project would begin in 2025.North Gilbert
Street Reconstruction. This is I think a couple of meetings ago we had talked about
approving property acquisition for this project. Just wanted to update you and let you
know that we actually have our second public meeting tomorrow night at Mann School.
The plan is then for finishing up design probably this winter time-time or spring of 2024.
Utility relocations in 2024, and then actual reconstruction in 2025. And then finally,the
Gilbert Street Bridge Replacement Project. This is one that we had previously bid, didn't
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get any bids,we rebid it, and bids were actually due today. So we did receive apparently
three bids. So we are working through the evaluation of that and hope to have a- a
recommendation for you at your next meeting. So again,that will be the replacement of
the Gilbert Street bridge over Ralston Creek as well as some utility work and the stream
bank stabilization kind of work too. So that is what I had. Any questions for me?
Teague: Sounds good. Thank you.
Harmsen: Thank you so much. That's really helpful with all of those projects going on and
whether in the street or by email, sometimes we'll get contacted and so this is really
helpful to get this update. So thank you. Good for that.
Havel: Good. Yeah.
Teague: Awesome. And that is it.No one else.
3. Clarification of Agenda Items
Teague: All right. We're going to move on to Item number 3. Clarification of agenda items and
Councilor Dunn, I want to make sure that we can hear you. I- I understood that you were
connected.
Dunn: Can you hear me?
Teague: Yes-Yes.
Dunn: All right.
Teague: All right. So number 3, clarification of agenda items.
4. Information Packet Discussion (September 7, September 14)
Teague: We'll move on to item Number 4, Information packet discussions September 7th. We
will move on to September 14th, information packet. We do have IP 5 memo from our
City Clerk related to listening posts updates. It appears we've done three so far this year.
Grace: Yeah,um,just typically we do another one in November, so just looking for a couple
Councilors to do a listening post.
Teague: Yeah. I will be more than happy to do one. I don't know if anyone well,really, I guess
we're kind of at a recycling at this point. I might propose the center-the senior center. It
seemed like we haven't been there in about probably before COVID.
Harmsen:Not since I've been on the council.
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Teague: Yeah. Anyone else? If not,we can check in with Mayor pro Tem, although, I mean,we
both did it in May,but that'll be fine.
Harmsen: What was the date in November or do we have one?
Grace: Um, I would just work with the two Councilors that.
Harmsen: I haven't done one since early this spring, so I would be willing to do it again.
Teague: Awesome.
Teague: We'll connect. Great. I do have a question. Um, are there any youth spaces that we can
go to?Just think about that for a future where youth are.
Harmsen: Like Dream City or something like that?
Teague: Yeah,Dream City or some space where we can engage with youth,but we'll be with our
seniors fust.
Dunn: We could-we could-we could talk with UAY as well. I know they have a reasonable
amount of space.
Teague: Yeah. So yeah.
"Thomas: Are we on the 14th or are we not?
Harmsen:Not yet.
Thomas:Not yet. Okay.
Teague:No,we are.
Harmsen: Oh,we are.
Teague: Yes,we are in September 14th information packet.
Thomas: I just had a question on,um,the,uh,work session topics. At the bottom of the page
there is the discussion of traffic safety in Iowa City. Is that -is that in response to my
request?
Fruin: That was in response to your request,yes.
Thomas: Okay. Because I'd like to get together with you and maybe Kent Ralston and- and just
talk about that.
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Fruin: Okay.
Thomas: Um, and anyone else on Council, if they'd like to attend.
Fruin: Yeah,the,um, sorry. As I look at that note,reminded what I put on there,um,
coincidentally,the MPO issued,um, a finished a publication, a 10 year review of
pedestrian collisions in Iowa City. So we were just going to have them present on that
and then,um, allow the council discussion to-to go from there,um, and we're going to
include that report in the information packet immediately preceding this work session
item. But what I'll do is I'll send that to you in advance, Councilor Thomas,um, and
schedule a meeting to talk about it in- in advance. Sure.
Bergus: Um, IP 6 is a good,really helpful,very dense document that I think we will inform our
conversation on the formal agenda as well. But appreciated seeing that National
Association of Counties Housing Solutions report. I probably need to read it four more
times before.
Harmsen: I also had that on my notes to mention. Thank you to,you know, having the extensive
amount of information in the IP and those that are interested in that topic. There's just a
lot there. So, um, I spent some quality time with that over the weekend.
5. University of Iowa Student Government(USG) Updates
Teague: Great. Hearing nothing else. We'll go on to item Number 5,which is our University of
Iowa student government updates USG. Welcome.
LeFevre: Hi, Council.
Teague: Hello.
LeFevre: All right. Matthew,you'll start out?
Monsivais: Yeah,Hey guys. Um, so fust on our announcements list is USG has, sorry, 27 new
senators from fall nominations and we're super excited to,uh, introduce ourselves to all
of them and welcome them into the world of governmental relations and local politics. So
that's super exciting. Um,we're also sending out the GR platform,uh, as per
recommendation by Councilor Alter,um, so that you guys can stay up to date on what,
uh,the governmental relations committee,uh,has in store for what we want to try and get
done at the state level and federal level as well. Um,but yeah. And then I'll let Noah take
it from there.
LeFevre: Yeah, and just to add on to the last point, I kind of realized at least I don't remember
doing this last year though I came in in October,but,um, I think it would just be
awesome for you guys to kind of know what RG, our team, and we also get large input on
it and what we want to do in the city. So I guess that's like a really big way of letting you
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know kind of,here's like three wins for the university recently. Oh we had Brittany
Broski, a popular Tiktok influencer and podcaster, come to campus. She's large online
and very big with our generation. So that was really cool. She's very down to earth. Um,
and also to shout out Madison Ross who is a GR member,uh, and senator in USG. So she
helped with that a lot. With a new US news and world report,the UI College of Nursing,
ranked Number 4 in the,uh, in the United States. Uh, it went up, I believe,by two points.
Um, and of course, sports news,uh,Hawkeyes won against Michigan-Western
Michigan. Um,but it's still also really important to note that our women's soccer team is
remaining undefeated. So that's all we have. So thank you guys so much and have a good
night.
Teague: Awesome. Thank you.
6. Council updates on assigned boards,commissions,and committees
Teague: We are on to item Number 6,which is council updates on assigned boards,
commissions, and committees.
Taylor: Our disability committee met by Zoom. I don't see Rachel here. Is Rachel here?No.
From: She's not here.
Taylor: Uh, she led that meeting. So thank her for doing that. Uh,the group usually will have an
event in October for disability awareness month,but,uh,there's some sort of conflicts
with Senator Harkin,who of course,has been very important in the ADA field. And they
want to, can coordinate his calendar with-with our calendar. So,um, look for that in the
future, a memo from,uh,Rachel about an event in- in the city on that.
Teague: Hearing no other updates. So we are going to adjourn our work session and we'll be
back at 6:00 PM for our formal regulated,uh,meeting.
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