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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-22 Council minutes JOINT MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 22, 2007 EMMA J. HARV A T HALL, CITY HALL, IOWA CITY CITY COUNCILS OF IOWA CITY, NORTH LIBERTY AND CORALVILLE, JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, IOWA CITY SCHOOL BOARD CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Wilburn called the meeting to order at 4:30 P.M. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: IC City Council: Wilburn, Elliott, Vanderhoef, Correia, O'Donnell, Champion, Bailey North Liberty City Council: Wilkerson, Wozniak, Kuhl, Bahl Coralville City Council: Fausett, Herwig, Lundell, Weihe JC Board of Supervisors: Harney, Neuzil, Meyers, Sullivan, Stutsman Iowa City School District: Klouda, Leff, Cilek, Fields Others Present: IC City Atty. Dilkes; IC City Clerk Karr; Interim City Mgr. Helling; JCCOG Asst. Transportation Planner Neumann; JCCOG Ex. Director Yapp; IC PCD Director Davidson; Coralville City Adm. Hayworth; NL Asst. City Admin./City Clerk Mulcahey; ICCSC Superintendent Plugge; JC Facilities Director Kempf, JC Sheriff Pulkrabek, CAFE rep. Fisher; JC Attorney Lyness; CVB President Schaumberger; Sierra Club Rep. Baker (A complete transcription is available in the City Clerk's office) PRESENTATION ON NEW HHS BUILDING (JOHNSON COUNTY & IOWA CITY): Dave Kempf, Johnson County Facilities Director, gave a brief overview of the proposed Health and Human Services Building, stating that it will be a 90,000 square foot building, with 30,000 square feet per floor. The current plan is to finish 60,000 square feet of the building, and keep the remaining space for future expansion. He pointed out the various departments that will be housed in this new building, including Department of Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Juvenile Probation, and Mental Health and Developmental Disability, to name a few. Kempf also noted that there would be larger meeting rooms in the new building, which will allow them to hold larger on-site meetings in the future. The County is also working with Mid American to keep the building as energy efficient as possible. J oint Meeting Minutes August 22, 2007 Page 2 NEW BUSSING (lCCSD): School Board President Cilek stated that the new bus company, Durham, appears to be doing well in the first week of school. She noted that there have been the usual bus problems, but that as a whole, they have seen a lot of improvement. Supt. Plugge added that they have enough bus drivers this year, which had been a problem in the past. PROPOSED JOINT FIRING RANGE (IOWA CITY): Sheriff Pulkrabek stated that there is a need for a firing range in the Iowa City area, as the current arrangement with Cedar Rapids will most likely be ending next year. He stated that IC Police Chief Hargadine is working on this issue as well. LOCAL CONTROL OF SMOKE FREE ORDINANCES (CORALVILLE): Coralville Council Member Lundell asked if others were in support of a resolution encouraging the State Legislators to allow local control of smoking in their communities. Eileen Fisher with CAFE spoke briefly about the language that was adopted by the Statewide Coalition for this resolution. SEATS/SECONDARY ROADS FACILITY (JOHNSON COUNTY): Johnson County Supr. Neuzil spoke briefly about the new facility for SEATS and Secondary Roads. The location will be on Melrose Avenue across from Chatham Oaks. He stated that this project would be going out for bid in mid-September. TREATMENT COURT (JANET LYNESS) PRESENTATION (IOWA CITY): JC Atty. Lyness addressed the gathering regarding the proposed Treatment Court. She stated that due to the overcrowding of jails with inmates who have substance abuse problems and mental health problems, this idea is being presented to help deal with these issues. She explained the intensive program that would be part of this treatment court. Lyness stated that with intense lobbying at the State, they were able to get funds from the Department of Correctional Services to start programs in both Linn County and Johnson County. Linn County's program starts in the next few weeks, and Johnson County's program is due to begin in January. IC Council Member Vanderhoef voiced her concern that there be support services in place to help these people comply with the treatment court requirements. Joint Meeting Minutes August 22, 2007 Page 3 ADD'L ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SITE NEEDED - V AN ALLEN ENROLLMENT (lCCSD): School Board President Cilek stated that the schools are overcrowded in the north corridor, and that the District is still looking for land to build another new school. JOINT COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (JOHNSON COUNTY): JC Supr. Harney began by complimenting Jeff Davidson and Regenia Bailey on their continued work on this project. He noted that they first went through a site selection process, and have chosen a site next to the Water Plan on Dubuque Street. Currently they are working with architects Neumann Monson on building design. He asked that the communities commit to this much-needed Communications Center. UPDATE ON LIGHT RAIL SERVICE (CORALVILLE): CVB President Schaumberger spoke about the possibility of resurrecting a light-rail service in the Corridor between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. He explained that the Crandic Line is still in existence, but would need some updates before regular service would be offered. He noted that there would be a free train ride from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City this coming Saturday (August 25), and he encouraged those in attendance to come out and join the ride. JCCOG Ex. Dir. Yapp spoke about a light-rail service, stating that Amtrak is doing some studies to see if they can get a stop in Iowa City. He also spoke about the need for cities to advocate with Iowa DOT for funding on projects such as this. ANIMAL CONTROL (JOHNSON COUNTY): JC Supr. Stutsman addressed some ofthe recent changes in policies regarding animal control. She stated that the individual cities are going to have to assume responsibility and cost for animals, as the County will no longer do this. JC Supr. Harney added that small, incorporated communities would need to contract with the Iowa City Animal Control or with a veterinary clinic. NL Council Member Kuhl noted that North Liberty is currently working on a "vicious animal ordinance," and JC Supr. Stutsman stated the County would be interested in seeing a copy. TRAILS (JOHNSON COUNTY): JC Supr. Stutsman noted that the County now has a Trails Advisory Committee, and that Janelle Rettig is the Chair. She stated that a grant has been applied for that would complete the trail along Dubuque Street, from West Overlook to North Liberty. Joint Meeting Minutes August 22, 2007 Page 4 JUSTICE CENTER (JOHNSON COUNTY): JC Supr. Neuzil spoke about the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, which is made up of Board of Supervisors members, Sheriff Pulkrabek, County Attorney Lyness, the court system, and an Iowa City representative, and their work on identifying issues with the overcrowded jail. He noted that the Durant Corporation has been hired as a consultant, and they will be providing the Committee with areas of concern, such as space needs assessment, justice center facility site evaluations, and master plan recommendations. He hopes to have a final evaluation by December. JC Supr. Neuzil also spoke about the projected populations for this area and how this will also affect the overcrowding issue. JC Supr. Harney noted that the Johnson County Courthouse is having a weight problem on the second floor due to the large volume of records. Eventually they hope to have electronic records, but for now, they need to address this Issue. COOL CITIES INITIATIVE (JOHNSON COUNTY): Sierra Club rep. Jim Baker addressed the attendees regarding the Cool Cities Initiative. He noted that last April, IC Mayor Wilburn signed the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and he encouraged the other entities present to also do so. Rep. Baker continued, stating that the Johnson County Board of Supervisors had tasked the Sierra Club to answer two questions at today's meeting. One had to do with the various jurisdictions combining their efforts on an energy audit, or the global warming audit. He stated that each entity needs to do this separately. The other question involved having a citizens' task force to "shepherd the process toward reducing greenhouse gases," to which Baker stated that this could be done. IC Mayor Wilburn encouraged others to join in on this. SCHEDULE NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be December 19,2007, in Coralville. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 5:45 P.M.