The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2007-09-27 Info Packet I;: I !:~~''t ~~..ga'm__ ... .. ~ CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET September 27, 2007 OCTOBER 1 WORK SESSION ITEMS I . IP1 Council Meetings and Work Session Agenda IP2 Memorandum from the Director of Planning and Community Development and the City Engineer: Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds available through JCCOG IP3 Memorandum from the Fire Chief: Fire Station 4 - Staffing IP4 Memorandum from the Parks and Recreation Director, the Director of Public Works, and the City Engineer: College Street Streetscape IPS Memorandum from Director of Planning and Community Development and the JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner: Street Lighting Policy IP6 Summary of Pending Work Session Issues MISCELLANEOUS IP7 Memorandum from the City Clerk: Council Upcoming Work Session Schedule IPS Memorandum from the Associate Planner: Central District Plan Ipg Staff response to Andrea Rauer: Trash concerns downtown IP10 Invitation: Ceremony for Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, October 5,2007 DRAFT MINUTES IP11 Parks and Recreation Commission: September 12, 2007 IP12 Youth Advisory Commission: September 24, 2007 IP13 Planning and Zoning Commission: September 20,2007 I;; I --= -~ !~~~Ilt ~ ..~!-~ CITY OF IOWA CITY City Council Meeting Schedule and Work Session Agendas I o~;t I September 27,2007 www.icgov.org . MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 6:30p Council Work Session . Planning and Zoning Items "d, f, g" . Federal STP and Enhancements Applications . Fire Organization Options/Staff Station #4 . College Street Streetscape Project . Safety Issues - Near Downtown · Agenda Items · Council Time . Schedule of Pending Discussion Items Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall TENTATIVE FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS I . MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Council Work Session . TUESDAY,OCTOBER16 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5 TBA Council Work Session 7:00p Special Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Veterans' Day - Offices closed . THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22 Thanksgiving Day - Offices closed . FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 Thanksgiving Day Holiday - Offices closed . MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26 6:30p Special Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 7:00p Special Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 6:30p Special Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 7:00p Special Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall 1 ~ 1 -,..= -~ ~~ai~'t ~ ~gal~ -.: CITY OF IOWA CITY~ MEMORANDUM Date: September 26, 2007 To: City Council ~ Jeff Davidson, Director of Planning and Community Development Ron Knoche, City Engineer ~ Re: October 1, 2007 work session discussion: Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds available through JCCOG From: We have been notified by JCCOG that they have $2 million available in STP funds and $191,000 in TE funds available for distribution. Applications for these funds are due October 11, 2007. The funds will go through the standard evaluation process of being reviewed initially by JCCOG staff; then forwarded to the JCCOG Transportation Technical Advisory Committee; and finally to the JCCOG Urbanized Area Policy Board for the final decision on the distribution of these funds to specific projects. The five municipalities who belong to JCCOG - Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, Tiffin, and University Heights - are eligible to receive these funds. In the past staff has developed project applications for STP and Transportation Enhancement funds based on the approved Capital Improvements Program in the current version of the adopted municipal budget. However, in the 'past couple of years this resulted in funds being allocated to projects which were then later disapproved by the City Council for implementation. This recently led to funds being redistributed from the U.S. Highway 6/Gilbert Street intersection project and the Dubuque Street/Church Street intersection project. To keep this from occurring in the future we felt it would be better to have some buy-in from the City Council on the projects you wish to see considered for funding. STP and Transportation Enhancement funds can only be used on approved federal-aid routes. These are generally the major traffic thoroughfares. We have two existing STP projects, the Lower Muscatine Road reconstruction between Kirkwood Avenue and First Avenue, and the Iowa River Corridor Trail Bridge on North Dubuque Street. The Lower Muscatine Road project could have STP funds added to it, as there are currently $420,000 in STP funds out of a total estimated project cost of $2.6 million. The Dubuque Street Pedestrian Bridge project may not have STP or Transportation Enhancement funds added to it as it is currently programmed for funding at the maximum allowed 80% STP. There are a couple of other logical project candidates in your existing Capital Improvements Program. One would be the Mormon Trek Boulevard left turn lane project currently scheduled for FY09-FY10. This is an estimated $3 million project to construct left turn lanes at major intersections or a continuous left turn lane through the Mormon Trek Boulevard corridor between Melrose Avenue and Abbey Lane. This is currently the highest traffic collision corridor in Iowa City. September 26, 2007 Page 2 Another good project candidate is to reconstruct Sycamore Street from Burns Avenue to the city limits. This estimated $2.5 million project was proposed to be funded with STP funds several years ago, but at the request of the Iowa City City Council, the JCCOG Board moved the STP funding to the recently completed Mormon Trek Boulevard project between Iowa Highway 1 and Old Highway 218. Two other possible projects for STP funding are the Burlington Street median and the First Avenue railroad overpass. Although these are good projects, we believe these are less appealing projects to fund through JCCOG than those listed above. The Burlington Street median is fairly conceptual and needs to be more fully developed. It might be possible to reconstruct the Burlington/Clinton intersection as a separate subproject. This is tentatively scheduled for FY10. The First Avenue railroad overpass is a $6.2 million project, and a better candidate for CDF funding. In terms of pedestrian facilities, we could use STP funding for sidewalks along US Highway 6 South, Iowa Highway 1 West, or Old Highway 218 South. A more specific project would need to be developed for one of these options. We recommend that STP funds be pursued, as the $191,000 in available TE funds would not make much of a dent in what would likely be a $1-$2 million project. Please be prepared to discuss this matter at your October 1 work session. cc: Dale Helling Rick Fosse John Yapp ppddir/mem/1 00 1 worksessSTP- TE.doc DATE: September 26, 2007 Iowa City Fire Department "Senino nUh Prid, and Pmf,,,ionnl~m S'nre 1872" V I . Ch /[;G j \ J lV ~" DrY-' ./ ~ FROM: Dale Helling, Interim City Manager Andrew J. Rocca, Fire Chief ~ TO: RE: Fire Station 4 - Staffing At a February 2007 City Council Work Session, the topic of staffing for proposed Fire Station 4 was discussed. The City has been struggling with this issue for a number of years attempting to develop a plan to fund, construct, and staff the proposed fire station. As a result of past discussions, the concept of using para-professional or volunteer firefighters has been raised and the City Council has requested my professional opinion on this matter. The following information was collected from fire service books, periodicals, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), research papers from the National Fire Academy's Learning Resource Center, an internal feasibility study, and my professional knowledge and experience. The Iowa City Fire Department's (ICFD) emergency response goal, which mirrors national fire and emergency response goals, is to have the first responding fire unit arrive at the emergency scene within six minutes 90-percent of the time. The rationale for this goal is two-fold: first, during a cardiac arrest, successful intervention must take place within six minutes, or irreversible brain damage or death will occur, and second, during a structure fire, a simple room and contents fire will turn into a flashover (total fire involvement) within six to ten minutes, thus rendering the structure untenable by the occupants and lessening the likelihood of a successful fire rescue or rapid fire extinguishment. The basis of the goal is to provide consistent, timely emergency service delivery utilizing career personnel for emergency response. Presently, the department achieves its emergency response goal only 67.9 percent of the time. According to the NFPA, when a community can financially support on-duty career firefighters, response to emergencies is faster and more efficient, thus saving approximately three minutes in response time. In order to establish a common understanding of the staffing options, it is necessary to define the following terms: career, paid on call (POC), and volunteer firefighters. Career Firefighter - Individuals who are employed by a governmental agency or an organization to function in the role of firefighter and maintain a work schedule averaging 40-56 hours per week. They are readily available for emergency response and compensated for their efforts at a rate that is typically higher than that of a POC firefighter and are provided job-related benefits. Career firefighters' salaries, wages, and benefits are typically covered by a collective bargaining agreement. FIRE DEPARTMENT * 4!0 E. Washington Street * !owa City,!A 52240 Phone: (3!9) 356-5260 FAX: (3!9) 356-5263 wIVw.icjd.org Office of the Fire Chief Fire Administration (319) 356-5256 Office of the Fire Marshal Fire Prevention Bureau (319) 356-5257 Battalion Chiefs Station! (319) 356-5262 Fire Training Station! (319) 356-5258 HazMat Station 2 (319) 356-5266 Public Education Station 3 (319) 356-5265 Paid On Call - Individuals who are employed by a governmental agency or an organization to function in the role of a firefighter and maintain a part-time firefighter work schedule that, on average is less than 40 hours per week. They mayor may not be readily available for emergency response and are compensated for their efforts at a rate typically lower than that of a career firefighter, with fewer, if any benefits. Volunteer - Individuals who volunteer their time and talent for the fire department in order to function in the role of firefighter. In most cases, volunteer firefighters must travel to the fire station in personal vehicles when paged for an emergency and then prepare to respond with fire apparatus. There is generally no set schedule and they are not compensated for their efforts; however, they are covered by Worker's Compensation for on-the-job injuries. Generally, the progression of fire protection services might begin with the use of volunteer firefighters, expand to the use of POC firefighters, and ultimately transition to the use of career firefighters. The progression of fire protection service delivery systems is driven by the demand for services, acceptable response times for the delivery of these services, and the desired outcomes of service delivery. As growth and development occur in the community and call complexities increase, the use of career firefighters should be considered the preferred option in order to more completely meet the needs and expectations of the community. The ICFD provides fire prevention, fire suppression, emergency medical, technical rescue, hazardous materials, and homeland security services. While these services are considered to be essential services, they are often unfunded mandates from the state and federal governments, or other regulatory agencies such as the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These services are highly technical and require significant hours of training, hands-on application, and certifications. In some cases, POC firefighters are used to deliver fire protection services until funding is available for full-time career staffing. As growth, development, and call volumes continue to increase, full-time firefighters are employed to consistently meet the demands for emergency and routine fire protection services. The City of Iowa City recognized the need for consistent and timely emergency response and has benefited from the services of a fully paid fire department since 1929. Issues to consider when evaluating the feasibility of POC or volunteer firefighters are numerous and include: establishing a command structure, determining necessary qualifications, firefighter training, scheduling and compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, day-to-day staffing adjustments, POC and volunteer recruitment/retention, and the reliability of staffing options for emergency response. The ICFD is a member department of the Johnson County Mutual Aid Association (JCMAA) and a signatory agency of the 28E Agreement for fire protection services. In recent years, the JCMAA has experienced some difficulty with volunteer availability for daytime emergency response. In fact, a number of JCMAA departments have entered into automatic mutual aid agreements in order to adequately staff for a response to a structure fire. By definition, automatic mutual aid agreements require two or more fire departments to respond simultaneously, to the same structure fire emergency, in order to have enough firefighters and equipment on the scene to conduct safe and effective fire suppression operations. On occasion, the fire department's request for mutual aid has been refused due to an inability of a department to protect their jurisdiction and simultaneously respond to the mutual aid request. I believe this is partly due to the unavailability of volunteer firefighters during the daytime that work outside of the communities where they reside or volunteer. 2 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is the fastest growing segment of fire department responses nationwide. The ICFD has likewise experienced an increase in medical responses from 1,100 in 1991 to 1,868 in 2006, an increase of nearly 70 percent. Locally, the county provides ambulance transportation to the hospital, with area fire departments supplying first responder service. An option that could positively impact staffing levels, and possibly allow for the proposed Fire Station 4 project to move forward, is consolidating the Johnson County Ambulance Service with the Iowa City Fire Department. Fire-based EMS departments are quite common around the state. In recent years, the cities of Muscatine, Mason City, and Council Bluffs have implemented fire- based EMS for their respective communities. Other cities such as Des Moines, Dubuque, Waterloo, Burlington, and Clinton have successfully operated fire-based EMS for a number of years. In this service delivery method, Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedics (EMT-P) would be cross-trained as firefighters and become firefighter medics. The potential consolidation affords the City and the County the opportunity to take advantage of a larger number of personnel and deploy them for fire and/or EMS responses. A 28E agreement would be necessary in order to continue to provide the County with Emergency Medical Technician- Paramedic EMS. I recommend the City initiate discussion with Johnson County to explore consolidation of fire and EMS in order to determine the feasibility of such a program. Integrating career EMS staff into the fire department would entail some logistical challenges; however, these challenges are not insurmountable. Additional items to be considered include: medical/legal, training/certification, staffing/service delivery, equipment, and funding options. Other Iowa communities that have fire-based EMS could prove to be valuable resources as well, in further exploring this option. The ability to immediately deploy firefighters for emergency response to all types of emergencies has been a long-standing practice and goal of the City of Iowa City. The services provided by the ICFD have become more complex and dramatically increased over the last 25 years. The department responds to fires, medical emergencies, technical rescues, hazardous material releases, and threats on homeland security. Citizens of the community deserve and expect a consistent and timely response to their emergencies. Unless a sustainable funding source is identified and secured, it will be virtually impossible to provide the consistent and timely fire protection response services that are based on successful intervention strategies for the community - now and in the future. The use of PO~ or volunteer firefighters is not a viable staffing option for achieving emergency response time goals, based on the aforementioned information. I do not recommend this option for the City of Iowa City. The ICFD's emergency response goal is to have the first responding fire unit arrive at the emergency scene within six minutes 90-percent of the time. The basis of the goal is to provide consistent, timely emergency service delivery for emergency response. The use of volunteer or POC firefighters is counter-productive to the established deployment practices and emergency response goals that have been established and successfully utilized. Just as citizens, business, and industry receive timely and consistent refuse and utilities services, they expect consistent and timely responses to their emergencies regardless of the type of emergency, time of day, or day of the week. The use ofPOC and volunteer firefighters would be a significant shift from that long-standing deployment practice. 3 The City needs to identify a sustainable plan for meeting our public safety needs. A joint study between the City of Iowa City and Johnson County should be conducted to investigate the feasibility of consolidation with the Johnson County Ambulance Service in order to mutually maximize service delivery for efficiency and effectiveness. Another option the City Council may like to consider, either independently or in conjunction with this recommendation, is the use of a local option sales tax focusing on public safety initiatives. It is my respectful recommendation the City of Iowa City initiate a plan for funding, constructing, equipping, and staffing Fire Station 4 within a specified time period. Such a plan must be implemented according to a predetermined and approved schedule. A failure to do so will have negative affects on the future growth and development of the City and the delivery of fire protection and emergency services for many years to come. AJR/bdm 4 IP4 city of iowa city PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT 220 S. Gilbert Street TO: City Council FROM: Terry Trueblood, Rick Fosse, Ron Knoche DATE: September 12, 2007 RE: College Street Streets cape Project This year's capital improvement budget includes $100,000 for a streetscape project on both sides of College Street between Gilbert and Linn. The purpose of this project is to improve the appearance of this block immediately adjacent to the ped mall. It is almost impossible to maintain any type of turf between the curb and sidewalk, and the trees are in a deteriorating state. The project calls for removing what little grass there is and replacing it with concrete pavers. Because of the nature of the project and the condition of the existing trees, we believe all the trees should be removed and replaced. Attached you will find a memo from the Superintendent of Parks and Forestry explaining his reasons as to why the trees should be removed. It is our collective recommendation that all nine trees be removed after the leaves have fallen this year, then replaced next spring or fall when all other facets of the project have been completed. This will allow us to plant an appropriate species, in good soil, without interference from construction activities. DEpARTMENT of PARks & RECREATioN DivisioN of PARks, FORESTRY ANd CBD MEMORANduM To: From: Ref: Date: Terry Trueblood r-:-- ~ Terry Robinson V ~ r;c.. Trees 300 Block College St.C/ September 10, 2007 Engineering requested that I evaluate the effect on the trees of the proposed streetscape improvements in the 300 block of College Street. My recommendations are noted below. There are a total of nine trees to be considered, three on the south and six on the north side of the street. The three trees on the south side are Green Ash. The six on the north side are split between two varieties, three Hackberrys in front of the church, and three Ash in front of the Masonic Temple an9.1awotJi ",'space and heavy soil .the tree grate close to 'front of the church. "the~oilis not being . , is slightly efront yard of '-:-', - " .>/,'~'i: ,< ", ',._'::_.,u,.,'.'" _d',' c,'. ~_;.---::. :--:' . ',,>. .,,'-'.' This proJe@C4/ ./nocatise the immed' . se of the tteeSl>~ijt.~ill hasten that process. I would be very surprised if th sh and Hackberry tree~\would last five years. The two small Ash in front oft . Temple will succumb faster because a greater percentage of the root sys affected. Considering all these circumstances it is my recommendation that all the trees be removed and replanted including the Ash in the tree grate. Due to insect and disease problems I do not recommend replanting Ash, therefore the Ash tree in the grate should be replaced in order to match the new species selected for the project. 1 ~ 1 -~= -~... ~~ai~~ ~~~gal~ ....,.. ---- CITY OF IOWA CITY ~ MEMORANDUM Date: September 27, 2007 From: City Council Jeff Davidson, Director of Planning and Community Development John Yapp, JCCOG Transportation Planner Street Lighting Policy To: Re: Our street lighting policy is oriented to traffic safety. MidAmerican Energy owns and installs the street lights. The city pays electricity costs. We provide street lights at all street intersections since intersections are where most crashes occur. We will also install midblock streetlights on blocks at least 600 feet long. The average block is around 325 feet long. On arterial streets we will frequently augment street lighting to provide more consistent light in a high traffic corridor. North Dubuque Street and Melrose Avenue would be examples of augmented lighting. The City's policy is not intended to illuminate sidewalks or private property. We find there is a lot of sensitivity to light spillage onto private property, so we assume property owners will provide their own house or building lights if they desire to have their property illuminated. Throughout the city you will find locations where there are streetlights installed inconsistent with the above policy. Many of these have been situations where the City Council has decided to augment street lighting because of a specific request. Some are where private property owners have had streetlights installed by the utility company and metered to their property. We hope to have information to report back to the City Council later this fall on the sidewalk lighting proposal that was requested by the Goosetown Neighborhood Association. SUMMARY OF PENDING WORK SESSION ISSUES Old Bus Depot Cash Balance Policies ( 10/15 ) Parks & Recreation/Senior Center - Shared Services Multi-Family/Commercial Refuse Pickup Hours North Side Residential Parking Permits Local Option Sales Tax Sidewalk Advertising - Sandwich Board Menus Council Orientation Building Code - Housing Usability Policy Fourth Ave. & Court S1. - Safety Measures Meeting with Area Legislators IN-PROGRESS -- UPDATES PENDING Downtown Market Niche Ayalysis Cool Cities Initiative - Urban Environmental Accord Housing Study Community Foundation of Johnson County Water Plant Update C!fLJ 1 ~ 1 -~= -~.... ~~ai~~ ~ ~gal~ -.: CITY OF IOWA CITyr~;;7 MEMORANDUM DATE: TO: FROM: RE: September 26, 2007 Mayor and City Council '\~ Marian K. Karr, City Clerk ~~ Council Upcoming Work Session Schedule Typically this time of year we discuss scheduling of special work sessions for November on two issues: Orientation/Priority Setting 200712008 City Councils Meeting with area Legislators Interim City Manager Helling will be providing you with a list of pending items that may also affect your schedule. In an effort to notify outside individuals who will be in attendance (legislators and incoming Council Members) I would like to contact them soon. Your present schedule for November is listed below, along with possible open meetings dates. There are a number of you out of town the middle two weeks and therefore those dates are not included. Please review and bring your calendars to the work session on October 1 so other individuals involved may be contacted. November 5 - Special combined work session and formal 6 - Election Day, no meeting 7 - OPEN 8 - OPEN 26 - Work session 27 - Formal 28 - OPEN 29 - OPEN U:orientationmemo.doc City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM ~ Date: September 17, 2007 To: City Council From: Karen Howard - Associate Planner RE: Central District Plan On October 9 the Urban Planning Division will host a final public planning workshop to get feedback on goals and objectives for the Central District Plan. Over the last year, residents, business owners, property owners, and interested community organizations have had an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas at a series of public workshops and forums. More than 200 people have participated in these meetings where topics ranged from housing and quality of life issues to streets and transportation, parks and open space, and the Northside Marketplace and South Gilbert Street commercial areas. Detailed summaries of the public input from these workshops and forums are posted on the Central Planning District webpage: www.icqov.orq/centralplan. The workshop on October 9 will be a wrap-up session focused on fine tuning the goals and objectives formulated based on the input from the various meetings held over the last year. Since bicycle and pedestrian issues were brought up at almost every meeting as a matter of importance to residents in the Central District, we will be asking participants to weigh possible options for improving the facilities and safety for these modes of transportation. In addition, participants will be asked to consider the possibilities for redevelopment over the long term in the area between the Iowa River and South Gilbert Street, south of the Iowa Interstate Railway, including how development of a commuter rail line might spur new economic development opportunities in this area. Following the October 9 workshop, the urban planning staff will draft the plan based on all the public input from the various workshops and forums held over the last year. To ensure that people have ample opportunity to attend presentations and comment on the plan we will release it for public review sometime after the busy holiday season followed by public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Please contact me if you have any questions about the Central District planning process. Cc: Dale Helling Jeff Davidson Bob Miklo ~ (Correspondence received 9/18 Council meeting) Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 3:00 PM To: 'arauer@mchsi.com' Cc: *City Council Subject: RE: Trash downtown on Sunday a.m. Dear Andrea: I would like to follow-up with you regarding trash concerns in the downtown area. Your email was forwarded to our Housing and Building Inspection Department and Public Works Division for investigation. The owners of the outdoor dining facilities have been contacted and every effort will be made to prevent this type of trash accumulation in the future. Liberty Bank is exploring two avenues to keep trash to a minimum. One way would be to affix a trash can to the wall of the building; they are negotiating with the property owner to see if this would be acceptable. What they would like to try first, however, is to reprogram the ATM machine so it only prints a receipt upon request (the theory being is that if someone actually requests a receipt, they will take it). Right now the ATM prints a receipt for every transaction so if the person doesn't take it or wait for it to print, the receipt just blows around on the sidewalk. Liberty Bank will know soon if reprogramming is an option and, if it is, they could probably have the reprogramming done in a few weeks. Thank you for expressing your concerns to City Council. Sincerely, Kathi Johansen Administrative Assistant to the City Manager 319 356-5010 From: Andrea Rauer [mailto:arauer@mchsi.com] Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 7:02 PM To: Council Subject: Trash downtown on Sunday a.m. Dear Council Members, As I was downtown for church this Sunday a.m. around 9:00, I was appalled by the conditions left behind from last night's game. I am especially concerned about two businesses that have outdoor dining facilities--Pita Pit and The Summit. The Pita Pit had left food, paper, cups, etc. within their enclosed open outdoor dining space. It was disgusting to see, but also an unhealthy thing to have left overnight by the owners. The Summit had food, papers, broken beer bottles, etc. in their open dining space as well as some that spilled out on to the sidewalk. Again, what about the safety aspect of this situation. When permissions are granted to have open dining space, I would think responsibilities should follow. No business should close for the evening without cleaning up the mess that night. There should be a citation issued to any business that allows this mess to stay after one hour after closing. . If the business could pay for help to keep the late hours open for patrons, the business should be paying for clean up time also. In addition to these two businesses, there were several other restaurants whose exterior left lots of paper and food but at least they weren't being given special outdoor dining privileges. 9/26/2007 Page 2 of2 Another area that needs to be addressed is the Liberty Bank ATM site on S. Dubuque. I have written their company about the piles of papers that are left on the sidewalk and into the street from their ATM customers. No waste receptable is provided for the trash their machine has produced. Look at Iowa State Bank ATM and they have trash, but at least it is within their own company facility and not on the public street. There were visitors to Iowa City walking around this a.m. It wasn't a pretty sight. I hope something can be addressed with the above businesses and I am asking you as members of the City Council to start the conversation. I would like some feedback to my concerns when you have had some resolution on these matters. Thank you for listening to my concerns. Andrea Rauer 100 Cardiff Circle Iowa City, IA This correspondence will become a public record. 9/2612007 C[J Marian Karr From: Joan Huntley Ooan.huntley@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 25,20075:15 PM To: Council Cc: Mark Patton; Kazi Alward; Theresa Burns Subject: Invitation to participate in check receipt for Iowa City home build - Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity & State Farm This correspondence will become a public record. The staff of Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity would be honored if one or more of the members of the Iowa City City Council would participate in a special ceremony next Friday, October 5 at 10:30 am at 828 St. Annes in Iowa City. This is the location of the Habitat for Humanity home sponsored by our "Y outh United" program. Youth United is a new Habitat program that brings young people in our community together to work towards fulfilling the mission of Habitat as they develop significant leadership skills. Young people from our local high schools as well as the University of Iowa Habitat Chapter have been working hard to raise the funds necessary for construction. Our Youth United program is being awarded a $10,000 matching grant from State Farm. Representatives from the regional State Farm offices will be here next Friday for a formal check passing ceremony. This home could not be built without the invaluable support from CDBG funds through the City oflowa City which paid for the cost of the lot. As such, we hope that a representative from City Council would participate in this formal photo event. If you have questions, please contact me at 337-8949 Thank you for your consideration Joan Huntley. Summary info: date: Friday October 5, 2007 time: 10:30 am place: 828 St. Anne's in Iowa City - 1 block south of Prairie Du Chein non-profit: Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity event: photo opportunity $10,000 check receipt from State Farm for Youth United build Iowa City support: CDBG grant paid for the building lot, which was critical to supporting construction contact: Joan Huntley, Habitat for Humanity 337-8949 rsvp: Iesour~j.Ybfl1~!ug 9/26/2007 Joan Huntley resQ!l~jvhfh,QIg Director, Resource Development Habitat for Humanity, Iowa Valley 2401 Scott Blvd. SE Iowa City, IA 52240 319.337.8949 www.ivhfh.org Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity is a proud member of Iowa Shares :ww_\yjow:ashat~.s.o:rg 9/26/2007 Page 2 of2 J ~9~;~7 I MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 12,2007 DRAFT MEMBERS PRESENT: David Bourgeois, Craig Gustaveson, Margie Loomer, Ryan O'Leary, Matt Pacha, Jerry Raaz, John Watson, John Westefeld MEMBERS ABSENT: Phil Reisetter STAFF PRESENT: Mike Moran, Terry Robinson, Terry Trueblood GUESTS PRESENT: Dee Vanderhoef RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None OTHER FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved bv Raaz, seconded bv Watson, to approve the AU2:ust 8, 2007 meetin2: minutes as written, Unanimous. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Dee Vanderhoef was present to participate in the parks tour. She stated her appreciation of the Parks and Recreation Commission and all that they have accomplished. COMMISSION TIME David Bourgeois asked about golf pass sales. Four to date have been sold at the Recreation Center. He is confident it will be better next year with more promotion, and the fact that it will be offered at the beginning of the golf season. CHAIR'S REPORT None DIRECTOR'S REPORT Trueblood briefly discussed the naming of a park that involves property previously owned by the Miller Family of Iowa City that is located along Lower West Branch Road. Hemietta Miller submitted her suggestion of Frauenholtz-Miller Park for the naming of this park. This proposal was discussed at a Joint Staff meeting and it was recommendation of this group to take part of Parks and Recreation Commission September 12, 2007 Page 2 of 3 her suggestion and name it "Miller Square." It was staffs feeling that this is a simpler name for the park and the property does meet the definition of a "square." The Miller family has indicated they are okay with this, and they have been invited to attend the October meeting when this item will be on the agenda. Trueblood announced that DogP AC members will be present at the October meeting to discuss naming of the small dog section of the Thornberry Off Leash Dog Park. This is the last section of the park to be named. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 4: 1 0 p.m. and members left for the annual park tour. Moved bv Raaz, seconded bv Westefeld, to adiourn the meetine: at 4:10 p.m. Unanimous. Parks and Recreation Commission September 12, 2007 Page 3 of 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2007 TERM NAME EXPIRES 1/10 2/7 3/14 4/10 5/9 6/13 7/11 8/8 9/12 10/10 11/14 12/12 David Boureeois 1/1/11 X DIE OlE X X DIE X DIE X Craig Gustaveson 1/1/11 X OlE DIE OlE X X X X X Margaret Loomer 1/1/08 X X DIE OlE X X X X X Ryan O'Leary 1/1/1 0 X X X X X X X X X Matt Pacha 1/1/09 X X X X X X X X X Jerry Raaz 1/1/08 X X X X OlE X X X X Phil Reisetter 1/1/09 OlE X X X X X X OlE OlE John Watson 1/1/11 X DIE OlE X X DIE X X X John Westefeld 1/1/10 X X X OlE X X X X X KEY: X= 0= O/E= NM= LQ= Present Absent Absent/Excused No meeting No meeting due to lack of quorum Not a Member MINUTES DRAFT 11~~.2 I Youth Advisory Commission September 24, 2007 Lobby Conference Room, City Hall Members Present: Members Absent: Others Present: Keranen, Nelson, Segar, Weeks, Green Bleam City Clerk Marian Karr, City Council Liaison Amy Correia Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 7:06 P.M. Approve Minutes: Motioned by Weeks, seconded by Segar. Approved 5-0. Introduction of new member: Hannah Green introduced herself as the new commissioner from Regina High School. She fills a 15-17 year old position and will serve a term that expires on December 31, 2009. All present introduced themselves to Hannah. Report from the Website Subcommittee: Nelson reported that he had posted a trial advertisement for the Youth Empowerment Grant on Facebook in the University of Iowa network. The ad was posted for three days with 5,000 views. The Commission agreed to continue advertising through Facebook. Nelson agreed to post advertisements to the University of Iowa network, and to prepare instructions for how to post advertisements for other commissioners to use. Keranen agreed to post advertisements in the Iowa City West High and Iowa City High networks. Green agreed to post advertisements in the Regina High School network. Karr stated that commissioners need to provide her with receipts in order to be reimbursed for the advertising costs. Karr asked that all commissioners update their biographies for the webpage. Youth Advisory Commission September 24, 2007 Page 2 DRAFT Report from Grant Proaramminq Subcommittee: Keranen asked the commissioners to take printed advertisements with them to post around Iowa City. The commission agreed that high school newspapers would be good media for advertising the program. Keranen will handle the advertising in West and City High newspapers, and Green will handle Regina High. No applications have been received for the Youth Empowerment Grant. Keranen noted that meeting with student groups to explain the program and provide applications would be productive. Nelson noted that the program had been receiving publicity in a story in the "Daily Iowan" newspaper. Correia noted that there was a short article about the program printed in the "Iowa City Press- Citizen", and Keranen noted that there was a longer story printed earlier. Keranen also recapped the KXIC radio show about the program. Public Discussion: None. Council Liaison Information: Correia noted that Iowa school districts were going to be holding an off-year Iowa Youth Survey in October. It will be an abbreviated version delivered via computer. It asks questions about youth issues, including alcohol, drug use, and family issues. The commission agreed to examine the results when they become available. Announcements/Invitations: Karr noted that it has been officially announced that a 15-17 year old position currently held by Keranen and an 18-21 position held by Bleam will be open at the end of the calendar year. Applications will be taken until October 31,2007. The 18-21 position formerly held by Stubbers is open immediately and applications will be received until October 10. Future MeetinQ: Monday, October 22, 7pm in the Lobby Conference Room at City Hall. Youth Advisory Commission September 24, 2007 Page 3 ' DRAFT Parks. Recreation. and Trails Master Plannina Process Update: The focus group held on Wednesday, September 19 was discussed. Approximately 10 youth participated in the event, counting the Y AC participants. It was noted that it was difficult to reach the contacts by telephone. Some of the ideas discussed included: . Indoor driving range . Water park . Transportation to regional ski resorts . Teen night club . Smoke-free bowling alley Karr noted that the University used to provide a bowling alley for students that was popular. Additionally, the one hour length of the youth focus group was shorter than those held targeted at adults. However, the consultants noted that this is typical and a product of the differences in how youth discuss their ideas. Citizenship Awards Representation: Members chose the following dates to assist in presenting the awards. The award is the first item on the agenda at city council meetings, which start at 7 P.M. . Roosevelt Elementary - October 2 - Nelson . Weber Elementary - October 16 - Keranen . Mark Twain Elementary - November 5 - Keranen . Lincoln Elementary - December 11 - Segar . Regina Elementary - February 19 - Green . Additional dates will be chosen at future meetings. Weeks would like to present for Horn Elementary if there is a date. MeetinQ Adiournment: Moved by Weeks, seconded by Segar. Approved 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM. Minutes prepared by Nelson. DRAFT Youth Advisory Commission September 24, 2007 Page 4 YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2007 (Meeting Date) 9/24 8/22 7/25 7/18 5/30 4/25 3/21 2/21 1/17 TERM EXP. 12/31/07 NAME x o x x x x x x x Audrey Keranen Sarah x x x x OlE x x 12/31/07 Ziegenhorn Lin Weeks x x x OlE x OlE x x x 12/31/08 x x x x x x OlE x x 12/31/08 David Segar o x o x OlE OlE x OlE x 12/31/07 Maison Bleam Jacqueline Stubbers OlE OlE x OlE OlE x x 12/31/07 x x x x x OlE x x x x 12/31/08 12/31/09 Michael Nelson Hannah Green x = Present o = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting = Not a Member KEY ~ Preliminary MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 20, 2007 - 7:30 PM EMMA J. HARVAT HALL - CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Brooks, Beth Koppes, Ann Freerks, Charlie Eastham, Wally Plahutnik, Dean Shannon, Terry Smith STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, Adam Ralston, Sara Greenwood OTHERS PRESENT: Bob Porter, Kristine Wingate, AI Streb RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended denial, by a vote of 7-0, CZ07-0002, the rezoning of approximately 4.99 acres of property located along the north side of Rohret Road approximately % mile southwest of the intersection of Rohret Road and Landon Avenue from Agricultural (A) to Residential (R3). Call to Order: Freerks called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. REZONING ITEM: CZ07-0002, discussion of an application submitted by Streb Investment Partnership for a rezoning from County Agriculture (A) to Residential (R3) zone for approximately 4.99 acres of property located on the north side of Rohret Road approximately % mile southwest of the intersection of Rohret Road with Landon Avenue. Ralston said the purpose of the Fringe Area Agreement was to provide for orderly and efficient development patterns appropriate to a non-urbanized area, protect and preserve the fringe area's natural resources, accommodate development and economically provide services for future growth and development. The Fringe Area Agreement contained a land use map which identified appropriate land uses; the applicant's property was identified as appropriate for agricultural purposes. The Fringe Area Agreement sought to discourage development in areas which conflicted with the Johnson County Land Use Plan. The County's Land Use Plan discouraged development in the City's growth area unless it was contiguous to previous outward growth of the City. The application before the Commission would not be in compliance with either the Fringe Area Agreement or with the Johnson County Land Use Plan. The applicant had indicated that a well and septic system would be installed. A purpose of the Fringe Area Agreement was to "...effectively and economically provide services for future growth and development." A well system was not economical; over time as the City expanded outward existing rural residences would be switcher over to City services. Ralston said Staff recommended that CZ07-0002, a rezoning from Agriculture (A) to Residential (R3) be denied because it was inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Fringe Area Agreement. Miklo said because this item was a county rezoning item, the Planning and Zoning Commission would make a recommendation to the City Council who would make a recommendation to the County. The recommend- ations would be reviewed by and a final decision made by the County Board of Supervisors. Planning and Zoning Commission September 20, 2007 Page 2 Plahutnik asked if there was just one house on the property. Ralston said there was not a house on the property. It is currently farmed along as part of the along with an adjacent property owned by the applicant. The surrounding use was agriculture with one house near by. Miklo said in an area zoned agriculture (A), there could be one house on a 40-acre tract of land, Residential (R3) could have one house on three acres of land, Residential (R5) could have one house on 5 acres. Eastham asked what type of surface was the road? Miklo said it was a chip-seal road. Eastham asked where the closest water service was located. Miklo said probably in Country Club Estates. Koppes asked Miklo for Staff's estimate as to when the growth area might reach this parcel of land. Miklo said it was unknown. Highway 965 had been identified as the boundary on the west, it would connect at Highway 1 to Highway 6. It was doubtful if development would occur before 10-years. Plahutnik asked what happened when homes that had existing water and sewer services were annexed into the city. Were those properties forced to begin utilizing City services? Miklo said that was negotiated at the time of the annex; it was one of the main reasons why the Fringe Area Agreement discouraged development on septic systems and private wells. In other situations where such development was in place there was difficulty incorporating them into the city. Eastham asked if Staff had received similar applications prior to this one? Miklo said he could not immediately recall any in Fringe Area C. Some had been requested in Fringe Area B; the City had recommended not approving those applications and the County had complied. In Fringe Area A, an area identified for growth by the County, some applications had been approved because they complied with the Fringe Area Agreement. Public discussion was opened. Bob Porter, 3136 Windy Meadow Lane, said he supported Staff's recommendation to deny this application. He'd also spoken with County Staff to urge them not to approve this application for rezoning. Porter said the history of a property being designated as a Farmstead was that the property had to be at least 10-acres in size to be classified as a Farmstead. Country Club estates already had a lot of infill capacity. This proposed rezoning was not in compliance with the Johnson County Land Use Plan. Kristine Winqate, 3136 Window Meadow Lane, said she and Porter worked for the school system. Development affected the school system; bussing was already an issue. AI Streb, said he owned 220 acres which had been platted for over 100 years. His daughter wanted to build a home and he wanted to give her 4-acres upon which to build it. It would be a good looking home. If he moved just a few yards to the west there would be no permits required. Streb said he owned the 220 contiguous acres of land which abutted this property. There was a dilapidated school house on the property and a rental house which the owner had not kept in repair. The County allowed a house to be built on land zoned agricultural [40-acre parcel size], although he might have to get building permit. Miklo clarified by explaining that one farmstead designation per property was allowed. If a subdivision were requested then the City would review that particular application. Koppes asked how long the Johnson County Land Use Plan and Fringe Area Agreement had been in effect. Miklo thought approximately 6 years. Porter said there had already been one farmstead split of this property. It has been zoned agricultural for a very long time. The Corn Suitability Rating for this area was higher than 65, which was a very high rating. Public discussion was closed. Planning and Zoning Commission September 20, 2007 Page 3 Motion: Brooks made a motion to deny CZ07-0002, the rezoning of approximately 4.99 acres of property located along the north side of Rohret Road from Agricultural (A) to Residential (R3). Eastham seconded. Smith asked if it was unusual to have small parcels of land zoned Agricultural (A). Miklo said it was not unusual, he said they had received applications for rezoning requests for smaller tracts of land an when they did not comply with the fringe area agreement they were not approved. He said that in this case the applicant owns a much larger tract that surrounds this property so that it is still viable for agricultural uses. He said that in Fringe Area C the only recently approved rezoning request was on Kansas Avenue, where one area was zoned to residential but near by area of equal size was rezoned to agricultural. Koppes said that she recalled in that case they were simply moving the residential zoning. Koppes said she felt that the Fringe Area Agreement policy was clear. Plahutnik said he felt that Streb was going to get his house built one way or the other. It was unfortunate that that it had to be done this way and that the same issue would probably come before the Commission again. Smith said he agreed with Plahutnik. Did or would the Commission have any possibility of approving just one house given that this parcel has existed for a long time. Miklo said that there was an issue of consistency. If this one property was rezoned contradictory to the Land Use Plan and the Fringe Area Agreement, then would it be ok to also rezone the property across the street or down the road as well? He said that this area is clearly in the growth area and it is intended to be annexed into the city at some point in the future. He said that there have been difficulties when properties that were developed in the county have been annexed into the city. For example when Lindemann Heights was annexed the properties around Hummingbird Lane were strongly opposed to being annexed. He said that an additional concern for this property was that it is adjacent to the potential location of Highway 965 and that raised the question of the appropriateness of residential zoning. Greenwood said that the State Code and Fringe area were clear as to the rights of the City to regulate development in the Fringe Area. She said the intent was to give closer scrutiny for properties in the growth area to assure that development according to County standards did not interfere with future growth of the city. Freerks said the County Land Use Plan discouraged development in the City's growth area unless it was contiguous to previous outward growth of this city. This parcel did not comply with those criteria. The motion to deny was approved on vote of 7-0. OTHER ITEMS: Estham said he had attended the City Council's meeting on Tuesday evening. There had been a great deal of discussion regarding Camp Cardinal Road and St. Patrick's Church. Two council members had seemed in favor of universal design standards. Eastham said he did not believe that there were currently any provisions in the Comprehensive Plan or City Code that would require universal design. Eastham said he'd spoken with Wilburn after the City Council meeting; Wilburn had indicated an interest in meeting in January to see if they were on the same page. Eastham asked the Commission if they would be interested in convening a joint meeting with the City Council after the new councilors were elected to discern their level of interest in either setting new policies or if the Commission should be interpreting the current policies differently. Koppes said the Commission received their direction from the City Council. If the Commission wanted to re- direct their focus, they should review the Commission's work list. Freerks said that in the future it would be good if members could confer with the rest of the Commission to obtain the input from the entire Commission before initiating meetings with the City Council. Planning and Zoning Commission September 20, 2007 Page 4 Smith said he would be in favor of a joint meeting, especially since the revised City Code had been in effect for a period of time now. Miklo said there were really two issues at hand. Aesthetics of a parking lot, and Universal Design which applied to accessible housing for persons with disabilities. Brooks said he would like an opportunity in the future to discuss large parking lots. He felt there might be a need to hold unique situations such as this one to higher standards because the parking lot had the potential to sit un-used a majority of the week. If not designed carefully such a large parking lot could become a heat island, perhaps there could be alternative community uses which could be incorporated into the parking lot. Miklo said City Staff had seen a concept plan of the proposed church/campus and were pleased with it. Rather than having one large parking lot, the parking had been broken into three more manageable areas. Staff felt it had the potential to fit into the neighborhood setting; the final plan would be reviewed by the Board of Adjustment. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: Motion: Eastham made a motion to approve the August 16, 2007 meeting minutes as typed and corrected. Brooks seconded the motion. The motion was approved on a vote of 7-0. ADJOURNMENT: Motion: Plahutnik make a motion to adjourn the Commission meeting 8:23 pm. Brooks seconded. The motion was approved on a vote of 7-0. Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill. s/pcd/mins/p&zJ2007/9-20-07. doc Iowa City Planning & Zoning Commission Attendance Record 2007 FORMAL MEETING Term Name Expires 1/18 2/01 2/15 3/01 3/15 4/05 4/19 5/03 5/17 6/07 6/21 7/12 7/19 8/2 8/16 9/20 B.Brooks 05/10 X X X X X OlE X X X X OlE OlE X X X X C. Eastham 05/11 X X X X X X X X X X X X X OlE X X A. Freerks 05/08 X X X X X X X X X X OlE X X X X X E. Koppes 05/12 X X OlE X X X X X X X X X X X X X W. Plahutnik 05/10 X X OlE X X X X X X OlE X OlE OlE X X X D.Shannon 05/08 X X 0 X X X X X X X X X X X X X T. Smith 05/11 X X X X OlE X X X X X OlE X X X OlE X Term Name Expires 1/29 2/26 4/16 4/30 6/18 7/9 7/16 7/31 B. Brooks 05/10 X X X X X X X X C. Eastham 05/11 X X OlE X X X X X A. Freerks 05/08 X X X X OlE X X X E. Koppes 05/12 X OlE X X X OlE X X W Plahutnik 05/10 X X X X X OlE OlE OlE D.Shannon 05/08 OlE X X X X X OlE X T. Smith 05/11 X X X X X OlE X OlE NFORMAL MEETING Key: X = Present o = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused