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Home My WebLink About2007-07-24 Correspondence ,~ 1 -~= -~ ~~ai~'t ~~~au.~ -.. - CITY OF IOWA CITY~ MEMORANDUM Date: July 24, 2007 To: City Clerk From: John Yapp; Acting Traffic Engineering Planner 7.-A-Y,-- Re: Item for July 24,2007 City Council Meeting; Installation of a NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE sign on Kimball Avenue As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3 (13), Install NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE sign near the southeast corner of Kimball Road / Kimball Avenue. Comment: This action is being taken to ensure vehicles have adequate space for making turns at this intersection. Mgr/agditms/kr-kimballrd.doc r-..:l 0 = C;.;.:.l -> -.J C) L.... :i> -~ c 11 -<. i- n c' N i > . .' - " I""T--l iT1 I. ;::::.. ,'-' 0 :::::: ~ :......J <::~.- /'. 0 )3: N '.D 1 ~ i -~= -14 !~W~'t ,,~...~.~ ..... ... C I T Y 0 F lOW A C I T Y~ M E MORA N D U ML2!aJ Date: July 18, 2007 City Clerk Kent Ralston, Acting Traffic Engineering Planner ~ Item for July 24th, 2007 City Council Meeting; Installation of (1) NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign on George Street To: From: Re: As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action: Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A (10), install (1) NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign approximately 20' south of the Oaknoll driveway on the east side of George Street. Comment: This action is being taken to ensure adequate sight distance for the Oaknoll driveway. jccogtp/mem/kr-actcomm7 -18.doc r-':l 0 =, c.;:,.;l ;2 -..J r-'", '... .- ....;.:':..'" _m'_ Il co -0 :-n ----; \~....J ..:::. / r- ,::>> .. ~'- > ..,.- '..;C) IJ!:: Marian Karr From: Norm Cate Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 2:22 PM To: *City Council Subject: FW: Cornell Ave. trouble FYI: as of 7-16-07 @ 2PM. 3011 Cornell: All the trash in the city right of way has been removed. All the rotting garbage in the front yard has been removed. The evicted tenant's belongings remain in the front yard. For the city to remove from private property, we would need to issue a citation, wait for the court to hold a preliminary hearing, then, if found guilty, we would ask for a court order to remove. The property manager is returning from vacation this evening, 7-16-07. He has stated he will move all the tenant's belongings onto the city right of way tomorrow, at which point the city will then remove. Norm Cate Senior Housing Inspector From: Norm Cate Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 10:58 AM To: Kathryn Johansen Subject: FW: Cornell Ave. trouble Hi Kathy and Ross, Here's what we're currently active with on Cornell Ave. Both public works and housing inspection are today investigating the trash, junk, etc. on the 3011 Cornell property. If it is in the city ROW, it will be given a 24 hour notice to abate or be removed by PW. If it's stored on private property, we'll give the manager the weekend to remove. 3011 Cornell tenants, who had just been approved for section 8 voucher, were charged by police on 6-5-07 for possession of controlled substance, and they, along with the landlord, were issued a criminal complaint violation notice from our department. They have been evicted and the tenant's voucher has been terminated for drug related activity. The owner of the vacant duplex at 2923 Cornell has been issued 2 municipal infraction citations in the past 2 months for failure to obtain valid rental permit. He's been found guilty on the 1 st offense and has a court date set for early August on the 2nd infraction. He has also been issued a notice of violation for tall grass/weeds that he did not respond to, so we had quality care abate the violation in the beginning of June. Our department also issued a housing code criminal complaint notice on 5-16-07(drug possession) to landlord and the tenants residing at the duplex at 3010-12 Cornell Ave. The 3011-13 Cornell duplex and the 3010-12 Cornell duplex are across the street from each other and are owned by the same person. Under the nuisance property ordinance, 2 violations within a 12 month period at the same address requires that the landlord and tenants meet with Capt. Matt Johnson and me at a hearing in City Hall to discuss terms and conditions for continued tenancy. Ross, hope this fills you in on what we're involved with out on Cornell. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks Norm Cate Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: claire black-hanson [cbhanson@ictelco.com] Sent: Thursday, July 12, 20076:52 PM To: Council Subject: Cornell Ave. trouble Dear Ross, I am sorry to bother you directly with this problem. My father always told me to go right to the top - so this is what I am doing. My family lives on Cornell Ave.. This street is predominately single family homes, but we do have 4 duplexes on this street. One is continually vacant (the city has to come to mow the very tall grass). One seems fairly nice. Two others, both owned by the same absent landlord and managed by Dean Finney, have had a string of evicted renters. We've had two drug arrests (4 blocks from Lemme Schoo!!), and we've had the police called to our next door neighbors 6 times in the last year. As of today, one of the tenants seems to have been evicted because all their belongings have been dumped on the front lawn. This is a ridiculous situation. What I am hoping you can tell me is where to start to find out just what our rights are as property owners. I intend to lobby all my neighbors and will work to garner a petition as well if that will help. I do not feel my children are safe if they go outside (the next door neighbor does have a weapon - this is documented on the police records). I don't even know what to ask next. Honestly, I am dumbfounded. My husband has been threatened by one of these neighbors and our property vandalized. I am at wits ends. If you can help us, or send my in the right direction, I will certainly appreciate it. thanks so much- Claire Black-Hanson 7/1812007 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Dave Kane [codavkane@mchsLcom] Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 200711:17 AM To: Council Cc: David Kane Subject: Eviction of Rental porperty possessions We as homeowners of 40 years at our same address are faced with the following situation: Please, we need action soon as we are facing a yard full of junk as the renter's were evicted as we can't get any response from any officials. We homeowner's feel our property is depreciating reaidly as we are surrounded with situations like this!! Would you or your family "enjoy" facing this mess every day??? Please respond before we have to get more and more frustrated and ANGRY!!! In an effort to get this problem resolved homeowner's on Cornell Ave are contacting various city officials. Please take appropriate action as soon as possible and keep us informed...... David & Colleen Kane 3016 Cornell Ave Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Phone 351-1192 E-Mail -codavkane@mchsi.com 7/17/2007 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Sent: To: AI Stroh [bigaI46a@yahoo.com] Monday, July 16, 2007 10:48 AM Council Cc: Steve Atkins Subject: Cornell Street problems Hi Ross, and the rest of the Council Those of you who know me (I hope) know that I am not the type of person to file unwarrented complaints, and also know that I am sensitive to the difficulties inherent in trying to run a city like IC and keep everyone happy at the same time. That being said, I have lived on Cornell for 34 years, and over the last 2 or 3 years, have noticed a marked decline in the appearance of the duplex rental properties on Cornell. I am aware that you have heard from some of my neighbors, so I am adding my voice to theirs, and assume that you are familiar with our problems. The latest problem is the apparent eviction of a duplex unit 2 doors down from me, and the stacking of all of someone's wordly possesions on their (former) front lawn. The items were placed there Thursday, and the stuff is still there. This is not acceptable to me. Please let me know what I can do to combat the deterioration of what has been, until recently, a well maintained, friendly, neighborhood. Thanks for you time. Allen Stroh 3023 Cornell Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. 7/16/2007 [Fwd: Our View on "Yes to Destiny" Sales Tax Increase] I ~;t;) Marian Karr From: Ross Wilburn Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 11 :57 AM To: Peter Hansen Cc: Marian Karr Subject: RE: [Fwd: Our View on "Yes to Destiny" Sales Tax Increase] Thank you for the information Peter. I will pass it on for the council to see. In regards to the tasers, the Police department is continuing to review and develop policies, training, and proceedures as they pursue funding for our department to aquire tasers. In addition, they have a year or two worth of experiences of all the other Johnson County law enforcement jursidictions, which have had tasers, to draw upon as they look to implement their use. I do know the direct answer that yes any time a taser would be discharged, it is identifiable when the taser is turned in after a shift (an officer could not "hide" the fact that a taser was used if they wanted to" and information will be required in the report as to the situation that led to the tasers use. Otherwise, yes, the incidents you and the ACLU cited are regretable and unfortunate. Anytime law enforcement has to use force (regardless of the means--manual techniques, chemical, or other types of force), there will be an element of risk. That is why our local police department will monitor usage and provide ongoing training and evaluation in order to reduce the likelyhood of those situations and to keep usage only for appropriate situations. Your information does not however show examples of cases where the taser has been effective at getting a situation under control, while reducing the Iikelyhood of serious injury to a violent individual, innocent bystanders, and the officers at the scene. Again, I will pass this on to the council. Ross From: Peter Hansen [mailto:pjhansen@ia.net] Sent: Tue 7/10/2007 8:36 AM To: Ross Wilburn; Amy Correia; Regenia Bailey Subject: [Fwd: Our View on "Yes to Destiny" Sales Tax Increase] Amy, Regenia, and Ross, Below is a letter from Ed Fallon regarding the "Yes to Destiny" proposal in Des Moines. Much of the content, however, is relevant to local taxation in general and you should find it informative. I must also express my disappointment in the 7-0 vote on the taser issue. The use of tasers is fraught with all sorts of potential problems. I have attached a document that includes quotes from several sources found on the ACLU's website. Regards, Peter ___u___ Original Message -------- Subject: Our View on "Yes to Destiny" Sales Tax Increase Date: Mon, 9 Jul2007 11:28:13 -0500 From: Ed Fallon <imforiowa@gmail.com> To: pjhansen@ia.net 7/1312007 [Fwd: Our View on "Yes to Destiny" Sales Tax Increase] Page 2 of2 Dear Friends, Regarding tomorrow's vote on the proposed local option sales tax for Polk, Dallas and Warren counties. . . we've been asked to share our opinion on the matter. (For those outside the Des Moines metro, this may be relevant in your community some day, so please bear with us.) After lots of study and dialogue, we're recommending a "no" vote, but not without significant excitement about the plan itself. Yes, we need to do a lot more for culture, the arts and trails. Investing in these amenities will help make Iowa and the Des Moines metro even more dynamic and sustainable places to live and work. However, the trails discussion has been almost exclusively about recreation. The focus should be on trails as part of our biking transportation infrastructure. Like other places that take biking seriously (the Netherlands and Portland, Oregon), there's absolutely no reason the Des Moines metro couldn't see 25% of its commuters getting to and from work by bike most of the year. Sure, trails are a part of that conversation; but the focus should be on biking-as-transportation, addressing issues of road safety, bike lanes, bike racks, trail and lane maintenance, etc. Driving one's car to ride one's bike on a trail does nothing to reduce auto dependence or carbon emissions. Biking as recreation is important, but if we truly are committed to becoming more environmentally-friendly communities, developing an infrastructure that supports biking as transportation is essential. Our main problem with Destiny is the funding stream. It is simply flat-out wrong to pay for these improvements by increasing the sales tax, which is the most regressive of all taxes. With a sales tax increase, the biggest businesses and wealthiest individuals will see reductions in their property taxes while the poor and middle-class will pay more. So, what should happen? First and foremost, Destiny proponents should join with those of us who have been working for years to support a slate of legislative reforms that would provide more than enough money to pay for Destiny-type projects, not just in central Iowa but across the state. Build a statewide coalition to: Allow local governments to enact an income surtax to pay for Destiny-type improvements; Require most tax-exempt property owners to pay for police and fire protection; Limit the use (and abuse) of tax increment financing (TIF) and tax abatement; Restructure the road-use-tax-fund to shift money away from new highway projects (the proposed northeast Polk County beltway and the Dallas County beltway) toward bike, pedestrian, bus, light rail and rapid train transit options; and Provide more funding for arts and culture. Second, there's plenty that can be done even without legislative changes: As stated above, amend the Destiny proposal to focus improvements for biking on transportation, not specifically recreation; Build a broader pro-Destiny coalition by addressing the concerns that Destiny opponents have raised; Use the current vehicle tax ("wheel tax") provision of the Iowa code to pay for Destiny; Agree to limit campaign spending in support of Destiny to $25,000. For those who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the pro-Destiny campaign, pledge that amount to the Destiny plan itself instead of spending it on pricey consultants, brochures and advertising. F or those who are interested, that's our take in a nutshell. It's a tough position to take, because a lot of our friends have worked hard on both sides of this issue. If it fails tomorrow, we'd be willing to be part of the discussion on where to go from here. Thanks, Ed Fallon and Lynn Heuss F or no more emails from us: http://www.orchidforchange.com!ia/imforiowa.com!ht/ d/ERlid/ 1 042444/ email/pjhansen@ia.net/code/7 aa20f494b 7/13/2007 r=: Marian Karr ~_w.___,.._______...<<",_""m~m~.~~__~_.__~_,,___~__'___'..._~--'~-'---- From: Dickey, David [DDICKEY@manpoweria.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 3:03 PM To: Council Subject: Storm water concerns in the Briar Drive and Sandusky neighborhood This correspondence will become a public record. July 11, 2007 Iowa City City Council: Thank you for listening to the concerns of my neighbors on Briar Drive. My name is David Dickey, my wife Jen and I live at 1156 Briar Drive in Iowa City. We too experience flooding when we receive a steady hard rain. Our backyard backs up and floods almost to the back of our house. When the water resides we are left with enough debris to fill several garbage bags. This garbage poses a serious health risk as it is not safe to use our back yard until we have spent often several hours cleaning and bagging. We have even had to remove dead and bloated raccoons that have come up from the storm pipes. Imagine all that ends up in the storm water pipes and then imagine it spread throughout your backyard every time we receive a hard rain. This very timely and unhealthy event greatly affects our quality of life as a homeowner in Iowa City. The city has offered a free sticker to put on a garbage can so we do not have to pay for the removal of the debris but as you can imagine this still does not change the fact that we are forced to spend hours cleaning up after every flood before we can use our back yard. I have had conversations about this issue with a past city engineer (Ross) who stated that when the city developed the neighborhood they installed storm pi pes that go from 3' in diameter to 18" in diameter, therefore a hard rain will result in considerable flooding. He also stated that there was a push years ago to fix the problem but there was not enough support in the neighborhood to make it happen. When we recently received the hard rain (late June) our garage and yard flooded considerably. We have pictures to this effect. Our efforts to leave town to visit family in Nebraska were cancelled so we could clean up our yard and garage because of an engineering flaw by a developer. It was mentioned at the council meeting that realtors did not disclose this information to them when buying. Our realtor DID disclose this to us when we purchased our home in July, 2003 but until you experience the magnitude of the mess this creates you could not possibly imagine how disruptive this is to us and our neighbors. Representatives from the city have shared that this type ofproject is exactly why the "storm water improvement" add on to our monthly bill exists. I hope this need is addressed swiftly as we now have the support of the neighborhood. It was correctly stated that the turnover rate of this community seems to be a direct result of the flooding issues and it greatly affects our property values and ability to sell if we choose to do so. Please make this project a priority this summer for the health and safety of our entire neighborhood. 7/11/2007 Page 2 of2 Respectfully Submitted, David Dickey 1156 Briar Drive Iowa City, IA 52240 3193418102 3193304623 7/11/2007 Marian Karr From: Sent: To: Subject: tjacobs61 @mchsLcom Tuesday, July 10, 2007 5:23 AM Council Stormwater storage area causing property damage on Sandusky City Council, Our backyards were designed as a stormwater storage on the streets of Sandusky Drive and Briar Drive in 1981. This system sort of work for most light rains. On Friday, June 22 we received 6 or 7 inches of rain in a short time and our backyards became a 4 or 5 feet deep lake, running into many basements. My own home has two damaged rooms where carpet, backing and two feet of sheetrock with mold, has be taken out. This problem can happen with any rain over 1.5 to 2 inches. The city was set to replace our undersized stormwater pipe in 1997 and for various reasons dropped the project. There was another petition and newspaper articles written a few years ago, but action was not taken to reroute or ease the accumulation of storm water in our back yards then. It is time to take care of this problem that haunts this area to stop future potential property damage, health hazards, disclosure ambiguities on resale of property and not let this flooding problem be stonewalled or lost in beauracracy again. There are past plans on the books to fix this problem. Thank you for your time. Some of the 35 to 40 neighbors who have signed our current petition will be at July 10 City Council meeting. Tom and Francine Jacobs 1132 Briar Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52240 351-3238 1 Marian Karr r;r From: Sent: To: Subject: david smith [davod01 @uni.edu] Sunday, July 08, 2007 4:57 PM Council curbside recycling Hi, My name is David A. Smith, I am the leader of a student group at UNI that has made it our mission to make Cedar Falls a progressive city like Iowa City. Our main concern is bringing curbside recycling to Cedar Falls. I have been in contact with Tom Hagarty who was in charge of public works and a senior city council member. He has stated that he would like to get Cedar Falls to implement a curbside recycling program; the only thing keeping them is they don't have evidence that it is economically feasible. Here is a quote I have from an email from Tom Hagarty, "Bottom line, if you can counter what we are doing, cost effectively, with the costs of curbside recycling, then please do so since there is council interest in this, but the cost side doesn't convince us to implement it. I need your help in convincing the city council that it is economically feasible and that it is inevitable in maintaining a progressive city. Please send me all the information you can and if you would please send it to Mr. Hagarty, his email is thagarty@cfu.net. Thank you for taking the time to read this email and helping to make a difference in the health of our green earth, -David A. Smith 1 Page 1 of3 Marian Karr From: Jennifer Jordan Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 20071:33 PM To: 'davod01 @unLedu' Cc: 'thagarty@cfu.net'; *City Council; Kathryn Johansen Subject: response to UNI student re: curbside recycing Hello Mr. Smith, Thanks for your email regarding curbside recycling in Iowa City. I think it's great that you are interested in helping Cedar Falls consider the possibility of implementing a curbside recycling program. Though I know little about your current waste disposal and recycling programs, I can offer a few things that may be helpful. First, let me make you aware of a potential source of help for you on this project. Cedar Falls is in the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG). Your solid waste planner is Sarah Kraft and she should be able to help answer any questions you have regarding solid waste and recycling. INRCOG 501 Sycamore Street Suite 333 Waterloo IA 50703 (319) 235-0311 (319) 235-2891 skraft@inrcog.org Second, negotiating a favorable contract for recycling goes a long way to help set up a positive (or at least less negative) financial situation for recycling. The City of Iowa City uses City Carton, Inc. (CCI) and we have negotiated a contract in which we get paid for some of the materials we recycle, including cardboard, newspaper and magazines. These materials make up a majority of what we recycle, both curbside and at our five drop-site recycling locations. The return is based on the market value (per ton) minus a set handling fee that CCI takes out for processing. We take everything to them so there are no transportation fees. The regional sales rep in your area is Anthony Pizer based out of Cedar Rapids (319- 362 -8714, 9n_t~~ize_~@.~:iJ::y_s:_~_!"toJ~:. com) . Third, the City might consider charging a recycling fee in addition to a refuse fee if you have one. Iowa City charges $9.40 per month for refuse and about $3.10 per month for recycling on utility bills. This is for single-family residences and multi-family dwellings up to four-plexes. Any dwelling with over four units is considered commercial and must hire private haulers for trash; recycling is optional and frankly, seldom offered. As an alternative, the City provides the drop-site recycling with bins for all major materials; these are serviced by IC landfill staff. Something to consider with both of these potential incomes is a single-stream versus a multi-stream system. We currently use a multi-stream system; that is, we ask residents to sort materials in their curbside recycling bin and our curbside recycling staff uses compartmentalized trucks to collect the materials. It is mandated by our current contract with CCI that they must receive the materials already sorted. Some benefits of this system are that it takes less time for staff to sort it out. We also get a better rate from CCI since the materials are more "pure" and they end up with less non-desirable material. In a multi-stream system, residents throw their recycling into one bin (except glass) and the mixed materials go to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) such as the one at CCI in Cedar Rapids or 7/18/2007 Page 2 of3 are hand-sorted. This is something I am researching for Iowa City as the recycling rates seem to be much higher because it's an easier system for citizens to use, i.e., no sorting. This may be more expensive but it should save the City on labor costs. I would be happy to share this research with you if you're interested. A few other thoughts: . the DNR offers quarterly Solid Waste Alternative Program (SWAP) grants and low-interest that you might be able to use to procure recycling bins, trucks, e t c . ( Q!::~L..-www.igwac:l~x_:c:;om/~9:~t:~jtinaIl.s:_~~Ut:j.na~~ a :!J:;~_~~l:1_t:.!!l_~) . You might consider talking to the University of Northern Iowa to see if Facilities Management can assist you or if you can partner somehow. (This would probably increase the chance of getting SWAP funds, too.) . The local landfill may be able to pay less of a DNR waste surcharge if you recycle more; I believe you have to reach 25% and 50% waste reduction goals. If Cedar Falls doesn't dispose of it's trash in Black Hawk County (or in the INRCOG planning area), I'm not sure this applies. Talk to your Ms. Kraft about this. . Financially, it may be cheaper to throw stuff in the landfill than recycle, but the environmental and public relations aspects are often ignored. There is a relatively new conversation associating recycling and global climate change and can help put recycling in a larger context. Recycling Today's (August 2006) newest statistics look at the percentage of savings and the equivalent barrels of oil saved by using one ton of recycled material versus one ton of virgin material. (This is also a great argument for buying recycling materials over virgin materials.) Material Aluminum Plastic (PET) Steel Paper (newsprint) % energy reduction 95% 57% 61% 45% equivalent barrels of oil 37.2 11.0 2.7 4.0 I hope this information helps. Ms. Kraft should also be happy to assist on this project. Please let me know if you have further questions or give me a call if you'd like to discuss any of this. If you like, I can also put you in contact with Iowa City's Assistant Solid Waste Superintendent who directly oversees our curbside recycling program. Thanks again for your interest in recycling and please do not hesitate to call or email me. Jen Cc: Thomas Hagarty, Cedar Falls City Councilor Iowa City City Council Kathi Johansen, Iowa City Administrative Assistant to the City Manager Jennifer L. Jordan Recycling Coordinator City of Iowa City Landfill & Recycling Center 3900 Hebl Ave. SW Iowa City, IA 52246 Lermifer -jQrda n@iowa-citi,Qrg Office: 319-887-6160 Cell: 319-321-6539 Iowa Recycling Association - Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations joint conference: http://www.iraisoswoconference.org/ 7/18/2007 [][: Marian Karr From: Melissa Miller Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 20074:56 PM To: 'bjanedavis@aol.com' Cc: *City Council Subject: FW: concern from a former city resident Ms. Davis, I am responding to your e:mail to City Council regarding your July 4th utility bill. The utility clerk you spoke to was correct in that the increase in Refuse and Recycling fees went into effect with bills generated after July 1st. Your account was updated in early June when the new owner called to establish service effective June 26th. This prevented your June 6th bill from being produced until the final bill was generated on July 4th. You are correct that the increase in refuse rates would not have been applied to that June 6th bill. I have adjusted off $2.00 so that total due is now $109.29. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Please let me know if you have any questions or I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Melissa Miller Melissa Miller Revenue & Risk Manager City of Iowa City ph: (319) 356-5065 fax: (319) 356-5006 melissa-miller@iowa-city.org From: bjanedavis@aol.com [mailto:bjanedavis@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 11:16 AM To: Council Subject: concern from a former city resident Dear Council Members: Below is a copy of my email to Mayor Wellborn, who suggested that i might wish to sesnd my email to the entire council, which I am now doing. Sincerely, B. Jane Davis. Dear Mayor Wellborn: I have been a resident of Iowa City since 1948, paid taxes and utilities as credit rating. But this morning when I called the utilities clerk, she said there was nothing she could do about my concern just because my billing began on July 1st. After these happy 59 years in Iowa City I have moved to Sioux 7/10/2007 Page 2 of2 City to be near my family in Sioux City and Carroll. So in due time I called, asking my meters to be read and billed the day after our home on 3105 Friendship Street closed the sale. So for some reason the City chose to bill me for 2 months and the bill arrived yesterday. My question: why am I billed for the increase in refuse and recycling collections which are to begin on July 1st when I left in June, and furthermore why should this increase also include the increase for May? As you may have guessed, I am not happy with my beloved Iowa City? I would like your permission to deduct $.50 each month for each increase, for a total of $2.00, from my bill. Therefore, I will send in my check immediately after I hear from you. Sincerely, Betty Jane Davis 33079 Hedge AVE Sioux City, IA 51108 712-239-4346 (Home) 712-389-7633 (mobile) bjanedavis@ao1.com AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free fromAOL at AOL.com. 7/10/2007 [;[ Marian Karr ,_ ~~m<u~_~~'mU<___" ,~~"~<_~".".w".,.,.."_....,,...,, mu___~~"<<~"""_"~n,_,"_"_w.,,,~~_<_-.-.,,.,.,.,.,.,m,,_____~~~-<< -^,.--~-~<-"'~~._"~ From: WalkerCL04@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:22 PM To: Council; Steve Atkins Cc: Stephen Long Subject: Thank you for the opportunity to serve To the City Council: I want to thank all who voted for my appointment to the partial term on the Housing Commission. I greatly appreciate that you gave me the opportunity to see the operation of that Commission from the inside. It was an honor that some of you had confidence in me. I have decided not apply for another appointment, partly because I want to spend more time working on senior citizen matters. Thank you again. Charlotte Walker Get a sneak peak of the all-new AQL,.c;QQ1. 7/12/2007 I I ' L._ .----- LL c..n C) 0:S 0- o r- {~::;-:, ::::::::1 , " <( < ,_. -..~ -... ".'y [5 P'PM ~ ) r j~ .,u /__ -yrw. ~'~ 'i ~ ~.' E~ ,,1 ~i_._./~ . . tl . /'1 <J ~;-/d <t ~ /7"l ;~/;-/~R ~Ci,Z"a..1 ) ~ Af~~) ~ r '1 ")C,,,,,J1r ~ ~ J~_ ;d /P1? ~ ~ ~~ d~~. ~ ~~~~ ~ k. ~/,t.-. ffi- ~ / k-e 4 h.0d~~ ;;Jf~#~1' ~y ~ Ck ?1~o1.-t:::~ ~~ Judy Pfohl T' C Y n ae Neighborhood P . res~dent 1-6 -t) 7 ~ Marian Karr From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Janice.Lampron@lsaf.com on behalf of Geoff.OConnor@lsaf.com Wednesday, July 18, 20079:59 AM Council mseckman@cedarrapids.org; jpalmer@cedarrapids.org Re: Red Star Yeast Company LLC -- Cedar Rapids Yeast Plant Expansion: Press Release Attachments: RSYC PRESS RELEASE 7-17-07 .pdf ~ ~ RSYC PRESS EASE 7-17-07.p I have just been advised to send this message to the Iowa City Council email address. Please see the attached. Best Regards I Geoff O'Connor Press Release Red Star Yeast Company LLC, a joint venture of Lesaffre Yeast Corporation and Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), announces an expansion of its Cedar Rapids yeast plant. Red Star will initiate the multiple-phase project pending construction and environmental permits. Completion of the expansion is projected for early 2009. The project is subject to formal approval for financial assistance and support from the City of Cedar Rapids and the State of Iowa. John Riesch, president of Red Star, said, "Red Star thanks Priority One, the City of Cedar Rapids, and the State of Iowa for their help in the preparation of the financial packages. Their support has been critical to bringing this project to Cedar Rapids." "I am thrilled that Red Star chose to expand its operations in Iowa," said Governor Chet Culver. "The state of Iowa has tremendous momentum going in economic development and this announcement of new high-quality jobs will continue to move our economy forward." The additional capacity will support the operation of a yeast extract plant to be constructed by Lesaffre's Bio Springer North America subsidiary, as well as other market-related opportunities. "The new capacity will provide additional resources to support the growth of Red Star's yeast business," said Mr. Riesch. Dennis Riddle, president of ADM corn processing added, "We are pleased with the financial and market progress of Red Star, and we support the additional investment in production capacity for key yeast markets." Red Star Yeast opened the Cedar Rapids facility in late 2005. The plant uses a number of unique processing technologies based on yeast grown on corn sugar syrup. The Lesaffre Group is the world leader in yeast and yeast extracts, with an industrial presence in more than 30 countries and 6,000 employees throughout the world. The Lesaffre Group is fully family-owned since 1853, and headquartered in France. Additional information can be found on Lesaffre's Web site at http://www.lesaffre.com. Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is the world leader in BioEnergy and has a premier position in the agricultural processing value chain. ADM is one of the world's largest processors of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa. ADM is a leading manufacturer of biodiesel, ethanol, soybean oil and meal, corn sweeteners, flour and other value-added food and feed ingredients. Headquartered in Decatur, Illinois, ADM has over 26,000 employees, more than 240 processing plants and net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006 of $37 billion. Additional information can be found on ADM's Web site at http://www.admworld.com/. July 17,2007 RED STAR YEAST COMPANY LLC 7475 West Main Street Milwaukee, WI 53214 www.redstaryeast.net (877) 677-7000 ~ Marian Karr From: Katie DeVries [caetyld@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 2:31 PM To: Council Subject: Quicker Access to Assault Alerts This Concerns Everyone: I am writing this as a concerned member of the community in response to the recent assaults that occurred in the early morning hours of July 14. The nature of how information was handled regarding these assaults and assaults in general needs a review. We have systems in place to alert us if a tornado is on its way. In seconds we can be alerted of the heightening terror threats in America. I can find out that some imbecile got his third public intoxication ticket the same morning that it happened. However, I can't, or at least, wasn't alerted to the fact that there were two assaults this last weekend in the campus area until two days after the fact. Two days after two women were reported as being pushed, forced, to the ground at night and then assaulted. Two days after one of those incidents occurred right on my doorstep. Currently I preside on the 600 block of E. Jefferson Street right where it intersects with Dodge Street; right where a woman was assaulted early Saturday morning. On Saturday morning I got a ride home. I got off work on the morning of July 14th at around 2:30, approximately at the time the second assault was happening. I would normally have walked home, however that night a friend just so happened to offer me a ride. So instead of walking up the same block that the first victim walked up, I instead was safe in a car. I got dropped off on my porch which was mere yards away from where a girl had just been thrown to the ground and assaulted, and I had no idea. Instead, I left town the next day. All my friends and my little sister were still in Iowa City. They had no idea what had happened. Thank God they are smart enough women to be perpetually aware of the dangers of being a woman alone. Thank God they are always aware. I returned home the next day, Sunday the 15th around 8:30 p.m. All my friends were safe. I went to check my schedule downtown and as I was doing so one of my friends came in to check her schedule too. However, she had a story to tell. My friend dressed in a relatively conservative sundress, had just been approached by a cop who requested that she allow him to give her a rider wherever she was going. She had been in route to down town via Bowery and Johnson, a veritable student enclave teeming with women dressed, I'm sure, a lot less conservative than my friend. The officer informed my friend of the assaults that had happened the night prior however, the details were vague. The officer did mention however, that many past incidents had been over reported. Obviously though, with the proactive nature of the cops initiatives this situation was serious. The first thing I felt was rage. I could see it in my friend's eyes too behind the fear. The first thing I thought was, "How come I didn't know." I had planned to walk home after checking my schedule. I was going to stop and get groceries at the store on the way and then proceed to my apartment. And I did. Even after my friends and I discussed our frustrations with the lack of information on the subject, I walked home. I stopped at the grocery, and walked home. Down the same block that a woman had been assaulted on the night before. I refuse to let the inherent dangers of being a woman render me disabled. refuse to let it bring me down. However, I can't refuse how angry I feel still today. The details of the assault weren't reported until Monday morning. When I picked up the paper I saw it. I saw the map, I saw the intersection, and I saw myself there. I cried. I am well aware that there is no system efficient enough to keep the Iowa City population immediately informed about matters such as assault. I am also aware that there are bureaucratic complications that arise regarding the very nature of the information obtained by the police department, city, and then subsequently the press, regarding what can and should be released. However, I am also well aware of the fact that change can start with one letter. I propose that the city playa more active role in ensuring that the information released to the public is accurate and unsensationalized. The city should want to play an active role in ensuring that concise details are 7/18/2007 Page 2 of2 released in regards to assaults, particularly those against women on campus. We have the right to this information. Last semester there was a slew of assaults on campus. After there were enough assaults the University began to pay more attention. After there were enough women who had their fears justified, after there were enough women who now had problems sleeping, the University sent out an email. The email was disguised of course between all the spam that is the University's Web mail system, but it was there. The reporting was sensationalized and many women felt unsafe after reading the emails, with some justification. The city with the help of organizations in town could ensure that women on campus could stay informed and well informed. There are also systems in place now in many elementary and middle schools that resemble a little league calling tree that instead inform parents and student of suspicious behavior in particular neighborhoods via the text message system. Following the University's approach and the text message ideas, I propose that the City of Iowa City with the help of other organizations, start-up a woman's awareness information system. I will be contacting the Rape Victim Advocacy Program as well with the same proposal. I would be more than willing to volunteer time or suggestions to starting the ball rolling on a system like this; I merely need to know where to turn and that I have support. As a woman living in small town Iowa I feel privileged for all the rights that I am granted. I am thankful that I normally feel safe or I should say I did feel safe. I know that the City cannot be held responsible for the safety of each individual; this task is philosophically impossible and unpragmatic. However, I do feel that the City is responsible for the safety of what is close to the majority of its population. Inherently my girlfriends and I will always have to watch our backs. No matter how liberal the city, no matter how progressive the state, no matter how democratic the country, women are prey. Regardless of how feminist we are, no matter if our mothers raised us militant as hell, we can't change the bigger picture, at least not without help. Please help me and my little sister, my friends, and even all the girls I don't get along feel safe here again. To feel safe we need to feel well informed. We need to know what is going on as soon as it happens. If we know this, if the city can ensure that news details are reported accurately and fair, we as women of the community can feel as safe as possible. Sincerely, Katie DeVries 623 E. Jefferson Apt#4 Iowa City, IA 52245 ~aetyl..Q.@.9rn9il.com 7/1812007