HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-07-31 Bd Comm minutesCITY COUNCIL RULES COMMITTEE
July 17, 1984
RULES COMMITTEE: Meeting of July 17, 1984, 7:00 P.M., in the City
Manager's Conference Room.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Baker, Erdahl
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFFMEMBERS PRESENT: Karr
TAPE RECORDED: 84-056, Side 1, 423-559.
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION BY-LAWS
Copy of the proposed changes to the Senior Center Commission by-laws were
discussed. The Rules Committee questioned Article V, Section 4, regarding
the Johnson County Board of Supervisors receiving unapproved copies of the
minutes at least three days prior to the next scheduled meeting, and the
Council receiving approved copies within one week following the Commission
meeting. Members suggested adding the phase "at which they are approved"
to the end of the last sentence. The Rules Committee recommended approval
of the by-laws as amended in Article II, Section 1 and 2; Article V, Section
4 (with suggested change); and Article VI.
COhM1ITTEE ON COMMUNITY NEEDS BY-LAWS
The Rules Committee recommended approval of the amendments to the by-laws
as presented for Article 1, Section 1 and Section 3.
Meeting adjourned 7:20 P.M.
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OF
PRECEDING
DOCUMENT
CITY COUNCIL RULES COMMITTEE
July 17, 1984
RULES COMMITTEE: Meeting of July 17, 1984, 7:00 P.M., in the City
Manager's Conference Room.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Baker, Erdahl
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAHMEMBERS PRESENT: Karr
TAPE RECORDED: 84-056, Side 1, 423-559.
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION BY-LAWS
Copy of the proposed changes to the Senior Center Commission by-laws were
discussed. The Rules Committee questioned Article V, Section 4, regarding
the Johnson County Board of Supervisors receiving unapproved copies of the
minutes at least three days prior to the next scheduled meeting, and the
Council receiving approved copies within one week following the Commission
meeting. Members suggested adding the phase "at which they are approved"
to the end of the last sentence. The Rules Committee recommended approval
of the by-laws as amended in Article II, Section 1 and 2; Article V, Section
4 (with suggested change); and Article VI.
COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY NEEDS BY-LAWS
The Rules Committee recommended approval of the amendments to the by-laws
as presented for Article 1, Section 1 and Section 3.
Meeting adjourned 7:20 P.M.
13 9p
Joint City/County Meeting
June 27, 1984
Joint City Council Meeting: June 27, 1984, 4:00 p.m. in the Public Library,
Room A, in Iowa City, Iowa.
County Present: Ockenfels, Sehr, Myers, Langenberg, Donnelly.
City Present: Ambrisco, Baker, Dickson, Erdahl, McDonald, Strait, Zuber.
Others Present: Berlin, Helling, Jansen, Karr, Peters, Grimes, White, Te
Pas e, Mint e.
Moderator: Clayton Ringgenberg.
Tape Recorded: 84-051, Side 1, 45 -End and Side 2, 1 -End.
Ringgenberg stated the purpose of the joint meeting is for the City and
County officials to discuss matters of common concerns and update each other
on current activities.
Environmental and Conservation Issues:
McDonald explained that the City has recently formed a committee to identify
and preserve fragile environmental areas within the city. The City would
like to involve the County in identifying the fragile areas on the fringes of
Iowa City, especially at the entrances to Iowa City. Baker reviewed the
membership to the committee and suggested it would be a good idea to have a
county representative on the committee.
Joint Human Services Facility:
Mintle stated that the City and County need to proceed with their commitment
for a facility. Mintle and Te Paske reviewed the OPP grant process and
application deadlines. The City Council and Board of Supervisors discussed
building alternatives, including privatization, purchasing a facility,
building a new building and using the Paul -Helen Building. Mintle stated
that 11 agencies are definitely committed to a joint facility with two other
agencies interested if space is adequate. White suggested contacting the
state block grant officials for an.analysis of the probability of obtaining
the grant. Te Paske will get in contact with OPP officials. The City and
County agreed to continue pursuing the joint human services facility concept.
County Building:
The City Council and Board of Supervisors discussed the proposed purchase of
the Elm Grove Park parcel by the County. Berlin noted the possibility of the
Citp ssibleefuturegthe parkingmforertheaCounty.arcels WhitetreviewedElm
theGrove
Park
draft of the
purchase agreement and stated that the County would like the City to consider
sale of the Elm Grove Park parcel promptl a ansensta ed that he Council
could discuss the proposal July 3, p resolution
e Mayor
and City Clerk to execute the deed, and set public hearing for July 17.
Berlin said that the County could do test borings and preliminary site
/3 99
In response to Strait, White said a clause could be
nt requiring the County to provide the City with a copy
specifications and a form of the contract in advance of
White also stated that the offer is subject to compli-
all applicable statutes and ordinances.
Areas of City -County Jurisdiction:
•t overlay zone, fringe area agreement, and specific current
were discussed. members agreed that unless there was
to development applications the City Council would not go on
or denying the application but instead would send a
iinq receipt and review of the proposal.
Other Business:
zoning
strong
record
letter
Ockenfels inquired about the status of the congregate housing plans.
Strait stated that service providers will be making presentations to the
Housing Commission at upcoming meetings. Berlin stated that the next
step is to decide who will provide planning assistance for congregate
housing and that a staff coordinating committee will be organized. The
County will be contacted about future congregate housing meetings.
Ockenfels asked about City architect selection. Berlin stated that the
City has a new process for consultant services selection and is currently
using several different architects on various projects.
stated that the next meeting will be held midway through the
year. Both City and County officials agreed that today's
valuable.
5:30 p.m.
13 9y
MINUTES
Special Meeting of Iowa City Housing Commission
Tuesday, June 12, 1984 at 9:30 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Krause, Haendel, Trevor, Logan, Moore
MEMBERS ABSENT: Schlechte
STAFF PRESENT: Seydel, Flinn, Hencin, Barnes
1. Meeting to Order at 9:30 a.m.
2. Housing Rehabilitation
Barnes distributed pictures of work to be completed at 632 Reno
and indicated homeowner meets income guidelines. Moved Haendel,
second Logan, that Forgivable Loan be approved in the amount of
$15,000. Approved 5/0.
Hencin reviewed the Rental Rehabilitation Program indicating that
city would receive $71,500 to be leveraged with and equal amount
of private money. He indicated this would include 14 Section 8
Housing Certificates to be used by lower income tenants, persons
being replaced, and persons moving into the property. Key ele-
ments include rehabilitating 14 or 15 rental units, some finan-
cial assistance (proposing a deferred loan), and no more than
50% of grant monies can go for rehabilitation (must be 50/50
match. Haendel questioned if this would be low income property
and was advised it would not.
3. Attendance at Meetin s and Meeting Time - Krause advised that
ss nc�y two members were present on June 6th, no official
meeting could be held, but since a number of guests had been
scheduled, Krause and Logan met informally with them at the
scheduled time. The difficulty with obtaining a quorum was dis-
cussed, and it was decided to try morning meetings immediately
following the Housing Appeals Board. The next meeting was set
for Thursday morning, July 19, 1984.
4. Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.
Approved by:
Fred C. Krause, Chairperson
/1400
,Il
MINYIP.S
Civil Service Comission
June 9, June 11-12, June 14 and June 16, 1984
Members Present:
Maxwell, Walker
Members Absent:
Staff Present:
Murphy
Carroll, Cook, Harney, Goldberg, Methe, Ockenfels
Sumiary of Relevant Discussion:
The Civil Service Commission conducted half-hour oral interviews for 45
Police Officer candidates on June' 9, June. 11L.12, June 14 and June 16, 1984.
Several representatives from the Iowa City Police Department attended to
provide input.
MINUTES
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
JUNE 7, 1984 - 7:30 PM
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MEMBERS PRESENT: Blank, Jordan, Perry, Scott, Jakobsen, Horowitz, Courtney
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Knight, Franklin, Boyle, McCormick, Moen
RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL:
1. S-8418. Recommend approval of the application submitted by Pat Moore
Construction Company for a preliminary and final subdivision plat, Amhurst
Subdivision, Part I, located in the northeast quadrant of the intersection
of Amhurst and Washington streets subject to approval of the legal papers.
2. S-8419. Recommend approval of the application submitted by Clear Creek
Investment Company for a preliminary and final plat for the subdivision of
three parcels of a 330 acre tract in west Iowa City subject to approval of
all legal papers.
3. V-8411. Recommend to City Council that they recommend approval of the
application submitted by Steve Gerrard (agent) for the rezoning of two one
acre parcels from Al to RS, located north of I-80 and Highway 1, south of
Rapid Creek Road to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.
4. Z-8412. Recommend to City Council that they recommend approval of the
application submitted by Dean Oakes for the rezoning of 22.1 acres from
RS/R1A to CP1/CP2, located one mile southwest of Iowa City on Highway 1
West contingent on the adoption of the Airport Overlay Zone for the City of
Iowa City.
5. Recommend to City Council that the designation of the North Side Historic
Overlay Zone be denied.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA:
There was no public discussion of any item not on the agenda.
MINUTES OF APRIL 19, 1984:
Page 3, paragraph 5 revised to read "This Committee" be changed to read "This
Commission".
Jakobsen moved to approve the April 19, 1984 minutes as amended. Perry
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
MINUTES OF MAY 3, 1984:
Page 6, paragraph 2 third sentence be revised from "She stated that she had
had" to read "In addition, she commented that when she had a conversation with
a property owner who lived in an old home not in the North Side....". Para-
/ SL0-z
Planning & Zoning Commit in
June 7, 1984
Page 2
graph 4, sentence 4 revised to indicate that Scott "noted" the ordinance as
revised allows
for a
rebuilt on family smetructure,foundatif it is destroyed by fire, or
act of Go
Courtney moved to approve the May 3, 1984 minutes as amended. The motion was
seconded by Horowitz. The motion carried 6-0 with Jakobsen abstaining.
SUBDIVISION MS:
1. S-8418. Public discussion of an application submitted by Pat Moore
Construction Company for approval of a preliminary and final subdivision
plat, Amhurst Subdivision, Part I, located in the northeast quadrant of the
intersection of Amhurst and Washington streets; 45 -day limitation period:
7/2/84; 60 -day limitation period: 7/17/84.
Franklin stated that this is a subdivision to convert four multiple family
units into four zero lot line dwellings. The units were built prior to
adoption of the new zoning ordinance in December and they were built at
zero lot line specifications; that is they have separate utilities, and the
requisite fire wall from the basement to the roof line. The request is to
subdivide the lot into four separate lots to enable each of is on hits to be
sold separately as single family dwellings. This property
st
side of Iowa City in the moratorium area, however, since the development
already exists and approval of this subdivision will not increase the
sewage that would flow into the system, staff finds that the subdivision is
appropriate, even under the moratorium, and recommends app
The legal papers, the consent to plat, and a provision for a maintenance
easement between the buildings on Lots 2 and 3 have been submitted, but
thehave not received
to finallapprovallof theflegalcommendpaperss approval of this
Jakobsen moved to approve S-8418 subject to approval of the legal papers.
The motion was seconded by Blank. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
2. Public discussion .of an application submitted by Clear Creek Investment
Company for approval of*a preliminary and final plat for the subdivision of
three period:parcels7/9/84;f60 day limitation period: west
ty; 45 -day limitation
a 2130 acre tract in 7/24/84,Ci
Franklin stated that this subdivision is required because the larger tract
of Clear Creek Investment Company is being split for the second and third
time. There will be four lots created out of the original tract. In,
particular subdivision, there are three lots that are included. The one
lot that is on the easterly boundary of the original Clear Creek tract is
owned by another party, who now wishes to purchase two adjacent parcels
from Clear Creek Investment Company. For that reason, there is a subdivi-
sion
beingu split tandthis
willtime
beaacquired by theState
otherstatute.
party will notpbetdevelt
is b at this time. There are nonconforming residential uses in the area.
The property is being acquired to buffer a residential use from expected
development of the Clear Creek property. There is no sewer, no water, and
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Planning 8 Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984.
Page 3
no roads being constructed at this time. The legal papers have been
submitted, and are awaiting final approval. Staff recommends approval
subject to the final approval of the legal papers.
Scott questioned whether the subdivision had been given a name. Franklin
replied that it had been named "Clear Creek Subdivision".
Blank moved to approve S-8419 subject to the final approval of the legal
papers. Jordan seconded the motion, the motion carried unanimously (7-0).
Jakobsen questioned the 33 foot right-of-way in regard to this subdivision.
Franklin replied that a dedication had been requested for a 33 foot
right-of-way which would be one-half of the right-of-way of Camp Cardinal
Road if it is ever extended as a collector from Coralville down to Melrose
Avenue. Dedication of the 33 foot right-of-way and a waiver of assessment
for future construction are contained in the legal papers.
ZONING ITEMS:
Z-8410. Public discussion of an application submitted by Inn Ho Shinn for
the rezoning of 624 S. Gilbert Street from CI -1 to CC -2; 45 -day limitation
period: 1/2/84.
Franklin stated that this is a request for rezoning of approximately 20,000
square feet or (about one-half acre) from an intensive commercial zoning to
a community commercial zoning, which would permit the construction of a
grocery store. The developers intend at some point, to place multi -family
dwellings over the grocery store. With the CC -2 zoning requested, a
dwelling unit use would require a special exception request before the
Board of Adjustment. It would not be a use permitted by right. However,
the retail grocery store would be a use permitted by right.
Staff recommends approval because this is a less intense commercial use
than it is currently zoned for. There are residential developments that
surround this piece of property.
Franklin stated that two years ago, there was an environmental problem on
this site due to an oil spill. At that time, there was a request for
rezoning to multi -family. That rezoning request was rejected because of
concerns on the part of the Council that there could be health and fire
hazard problems there in the future. Since the time of that rejection, the
oil storage tanks that were on the site have been removed, and there has
also been removal of some of the oil which spilled. The Department of
Water, Air and Waste Management has been contacted about this current
request for rezoning. They caution against digging a basement here for
residential purposes. They do not feel there is a problem with the
commercial development on this site. They would prefer to see it placed on
a slab rather than on an excavated basement. They also wish that if there
were any excavation that the site be monitored. She stated that the
essence of that is although there appeared to be some problem there in the
past, it does not appear that there is a problem now. The development that
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Planning & Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 4
is being proposed is a commercial use on a ground floor and not residen-
tial. Therefore, the concern that fumes would accumulate in a basement
under dwelling units does not seem to be a problem in this particular case.
Franklin submitted a proposed sketch of what the developers plan to build
on this site.
Franklin stated that concerns were expressed at the informal meeting
regarding the.traffic travelling south on Gilbert Street, crossing into the
development, conflicting with the difficult intersection of Bowery, Gilbert
and Prentiss Streets. Concerns were also raised related to the additional
traffic generated from this particular site, given the configuration of
the road, the track abutment, and the difficulty of the intersection near
the site.
Mr. Poula stated that he did not feel this -Commission could condemn the
tract to never being used. He felt the grocery store was a lesser use than
what was available under the CI -1 zone.
Jakobsen questioned Mr. Poula if they had given any consideration to the
design of the outside of the building at this time. She stated that the
apartments across the street were coordinated with the Close Mansion and
had made a very nice addition to that area. Mr. Poula stated that he was
not the architect but would pass this information on.
Horowitz reiterated her concern for traffic due to increased shoppers and
increased residential population. Franklin stated that it was within this
Commission's powers to express their concerns to the Traffic Engineer and
offer solutions if they had any and pointed out that use of the property
under the current CI -1 zoning would generate more traffic than that at
present.
Scott stated that it was the general practice of the Commission to allow
two public discussions prior to voting for a rezoning. He suggested that
this request be deferred until the June 21, 1984 Planning and Zoning
Commission meeting.'
Courtney questioned whether any report had been received from the Depart-
ment of Water, Air and Waste Management (WAWM) that the Commission could
look at. Franklin replied that she had a letter from the DEQ from the
prior rezoning request, however, she could ask WAWM to submit a letter
regarding the status of this property.
Perry questioned whether the DEQ's prior report discussed any problems with
the slab versus a basement. Franklin replied that the report at that time
involved a residential use, and the concerns were with venting the base-
ment. She stated that she would contact WAWM and have them send a letter
with tion could dbeoplaced slab consthe cbuilding permit en to only permituestioned construction restric-
tion
a slab foundation. Franklin replied that no discretion was left to the
Cthe
ty
in the issuance of a building permit; if the rezoning was approved
construction would be left up to the developer. Jakobsen stated concerns
with food contamination if a basement were built and food was stored there.
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Planning & Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 5
Franklin replied that the environmental concern was from a A2 type heating
Oil which may not produce a hazard to food. Boyle stated that they would
be under regulation of the Department of Health with regard to food. He
suggested the Urban Environment Ad Hoc Commission might be interested in
looking into this issue.
Perry moved to defer Z-8412 to the June 21, 1984 Planning and Zoning
Commission meeting. The motion was seconded by Courtney. The motion
carried unanimously (7-0).
2. Z-8411. Public discussion of an application submitted by Steve Gerrard
(agent) for the rezoning of two one acre parcels from Al to RS, located
north of I-80 and Highway 1, south of Rapid Creek Rnad_
ht
at
rezoningtofetwohone this
tracts locatedtion received approximately onetmiilethe Countfor
north and
one mile east of the intersection of I-80 and Highway 1 from Al to RS. The
property is located within the area of the Johnson County/Iowa City Fringe
Area Policy development hAgreement.
uldbe discouraged
aostates
th
nden ouragedtotakeplacein Area "residential3
and other parts of the county zoned for residential development." Knight
emphasized that agriculture use is the preferred use in Area 4, but the
Policy provides for residential uses for farm family purposes depending on
soil and site conditions. The site in question is currently used for
pasture land, and the proposed residential use is not for farm putherposes.
forKniht Areata4eandhat the staff therefore rrecomnendsethatdos not thefCityconormw�r commendolthe
denial of this application.
Steve Gerrard, attorney for the applicant, stated that this request was for
the rezoning of two one -acre parcels to allow construction of one single
family dwelling. He explained that the purpose of this was to allow three
sisters to live on the land which had been owned by their parents. Two
houses already existed on the site, and the rezoning of the first one -acre
tract would allow construction of a third. He stated that if any addi-
tional development were desired they would once again need to appear before
the Planning and Zoning Commission. The second one -acre tract currently
has a house on the site and would cause no further development. He stated
that he had spoken with Dan Cramer of the Health Department who approved
the sewer system
agricultural area. foHe a atedhe tthat e. Tfinancingsis critical ed use ldatnthisot ipoint and
they would like to have the Commission's decision when the applicants
appear before the Johnson County Zoning Commission on Monday.
Blank moved to recommend to City Council that they recommend approval of
Z-8411 to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. The motion was seconded
by Horowitz.
Jakobsen stated that the reason she would vote for approval of this request
was that as the site was described, the developer was not taking any land
out of agricultural use; the land being developed was not usable for crops
and therefore might fit under the conditions stated in the staff report.
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Planning & Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 6
Scott stated that he felt there were times when policies and guidelines
needed elasticity. He felt this request was one of those times.
The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
3. Z-8412. Discussion of an application initiated by Johnson County for the
rezoning of 22.18 acres from RS/R1A to CPI/CP2, located one mile southwest
of Iowa City on Highway I West.
Knight stated that this was an application filed by Johnson County for the
rezoning a 22.1 acre tract from RS and R1A to CP1 and CP2, Planned Commer-
cial zoning. The property is located within the boundary of Area 8 of the
Johnson County/Iowa City Fringe Area Policy Agreement. The Area 8 policy
provides that "development...will consist primarily of commercial and light
industrial uses subject to certain standards. Any development which may
occur will be consistent with the airport overlay zone."
Knight stated that upon the adoption of the Johnson County/Iowa City
Airport Zoning Ordinance, the requested area will be located within the
boundaries of the transitional overlay zone and would be subject to the
height limitations of that zone. The Airport Zoning Commission has
forwarded the Airport Zoning Ordinance to the City Council and Board of
Supervisors for action, and adoption of the ordinance is expected in the
near future.
Staff finds that the proposed rezoning to Planned Commercial (CPI and CP2)
is consistent with the Area 8 policy statement and, therefore, recommends
that the City endorse the approval of this proposed rezoning.
Jakobsen questioned whether it was necessary for the Commission to act on
this item before the next meeting. Knight recommended that action be taken
on this request to enable Johnson County to review the Commission's action
at the time of their hearing on Monday.
Scott stated that he felt this request should be subject to the adoption of
the airport overlay zone. Knight replied that on the 22 acre tract a small
area could be in violation of the airport overlay zone by one foot in
height.
Perry moved to recommend to City Council that they recommend approval of
Z-8412 contingent on the adoption of the Airport Overlay Zone Ordinance by
Johnson County and Iowa City.
The motion was seconded by Courtney. The motion carried unanimously
(7-0).
Discussion of the Designation of the North Side Residential Historic
istrict Overlay and the North Side Commercial Historic District Overlay.
Moen stated that questions had been raised as to why an area should be
designated an historic district as opposed to designating individual sites.
The designation of areas as historic districts enhances property desirabil-
ity and price. In some instances, the simple presence of a plaque on a
/elo.Z
Planning S Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 7
structure has influenced the selling price of a particular historic
structure. Two items that affect price in an historic area are prestige
and protection. In terms of protection, alterations to properties are
reviewed by a Commission which reviews the compatibility of the alterations
to the structure. She stated that historic districts have been shown in
studies to foster institutional financing, to encourage property rehabili-
tation, and to strengthen an area's retail health. Designation of an
entire area has a positive influence in that a critical spatial mass is
developed. She stated the property owners feel protected because every
property owner in the vicinity is affected by the provisions in the
ordinance. If individual properties only were designated as historic
sites, there would be no assurance that the surrounding property owners
would prevent adverse things occurring to surrounding properties. The
entire area in a district is protected and therefore a property owner need
not be concerned about investing money and time in rehabilitating struc-
tures while a neighboring property may be developed or restored in a
fashion not compatible with the neighborhood.
She stated that figures from the National Trust indicate that real estate
values in an historic area are significantly increased. In addition, since
1977 there have been almost $5 billion approved for rehabilitation pur-
poses. Every dollar spent for rehabilitation purposes generates $11 in
reinvestment in property. Scott questioned whether the rehabilitation
funds had to be used for public improvements only. Moen responded affirma-
tively. She also pointed out that historic districts protect aesthetic,
architectural, and historic features of a neighborhood, and they protect
particular properties in that there is an amount of control over develop-
ment in the area. Districts provide a certain development incentive to an
area and recognition is gained in the area which promotes investment.
Perry questioned if funds typically go to residential or commercial
districts. Moen replied that each type of district is eligible to receive
the funds.
Only income producing properties, however, are eligible for investment tax
credits. Scott questioned if tax incentives would exclude single family
residential property owners. Moen reiterated that currently most tax
incentives are for income producing properties and thus would not be
available for owner -occupied single family residences. Courtney questioned
if the tax incentive would also exclude tax exempt organizations. Horowitz
stated that tax incentives for tax exempt organizations would be worth
looking into. Mercy, for example, may wish to purchase some older homes
for demolition in order to increase the main facility at Mercy. If,
however, they wished to purchase them for physicians' offices, then it
would be reasonable for them to apply for assistance in renovating those
homes for doctors' offices.
Moen stated that is one of the incentives for retaining structures in this
area, and that it does make those structures eligible for tax benefits and
escalated depreciation. In particular, properties in the proposed North
Side Commercial District, are zoned for commercial purposes and can be
adaptively reused for commercial uses.
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Planning & Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 8
Public Discussion
John Kamnermeyer, 404 E. Bloomington, stated that in this type of ordi-
nance, there was a big difference between residential and commercial areas.
He stated that he had looked over the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning
Ordinance, and the Historic Preservation Ordinance. He felt that the
property owners in this area were not well notified. He had only become
aware of this proposal in the past week, and all of the property owners he
had spoke with over the last week were totally surprised and unaware of
this proposal. The mailing sent out last fall or winter was looked
erroneously upon as pertaining to either the residential area or that it
was a mailing of general interest concerning historic preservation. He
stated his total opposition to this proposal. He was opposed to including
any of the North Side Commercial Area in an Historic Preservation Overlay
Zone, and specifically the one half block where his office is located which
is presently zoned for commercial office use. He stated that he is opposed
to including any of the commercial offices zoned around Mercy Hospital in
an historic preservation overlay zone. He stated that when the Comprehen-
sive Plan was established, it was decided to establish a Commercial Office
Zone around the Mercy Hospital core to encourage the development of
professional offices in close proximity to Mercy Hospital, instead of
promoting further office development in outlying areas. Under the present
zoning code and map, there are approximately 7 one-half blocks zoned
commercial office around Mercy Hospital including Mercy Hospital's prop-
erty. Only two of those one-half blocks are proposed to be placed in the
Historic Preservation Overlay; the one-half blocks that he and Dr. Brown
have their offices in, and the one-half block between Mercy and Gilbert
Street. The specific reason for his objection to this designation is that
placing any of this area in an historic preservation overlay will not
encourage office development in that area, but will discourage office
development, thus going against the intent of the Comprehensive Plan and
the Zoning Code. He stated that some of the properties in the proposed
commercial historic district are residential properties and residential
homes. If development into offices is to occur, the owners need to be able
to replace existing structures readily. Restricting easy and ready access
to adding additions or removing the building would distinctly hinder
redevelopment into commercial or professional offices. Secondly, the
designation of the one-half block his office is in as an historic district,
will significantly reduce the value of his office site as a commercial
property. He felt that if he were interested in selling his property few
people would be interested in buying the property as an office building
site if there were potential restrictions on altering or removing the
existing structure and building a new office building. He opposes
government or legal action, that might allow individuals, however well
intended, to impose or try to impress their own personal subjective
aesthetic values on buildings or districts.
Roger Garrett, Associate Administrator for Mercy Hospital, stated that the
long term goal of Mercy Hospital is to develop the west side of Block 47.
In the short run, this area was proposed for parking use. Mercy currently
owns one property in that area. He stated that the hospital is opposed to
this area becoming an historic preservation overlay zone because the only
commercial historic buildings in that area are located on Market Street.
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Planning & Zoning Comnission
June 7, 1984
Page 9
He noted that the residential uses in the area are currently zoned for
commercial use and are non -conforming. They should not, therefore, be
preserved by an historic preservation overlay zone.
Horowitz questioned whether the new lot for parking was able to be expanded
to meet future parking needs. Mr. Garrett responded that the lot was
primarily for visitor parking and would not eliminate the need for acquisi-
tion of additional property for parking.
Perry questioned if Mercy received notification of the zoning. Mr. Garrett
replied that he had learned about it last week.
Dr. Nolan Brown stated that he has an office near Mercy Hospital in the
proposed historic district. He adamantly objected to his property being
designated as historic. He stated he may want to make alterations to his
property and there is a danger he will not be able to because of this
designation. He felt that his rights as a private citizen were being
infringed upon.
Pat Eckhardt stated that she had been a resident of the North Side for 13
years. She felt that there should be a balance between individual and
community values and stressed that an historic district accomplishes this.
She felt that this was a well designed district and should be left intact.
She did not think it inhibited anyone's freedom.
Bob Alderman of 319 E. Bloomington stated that he was a newcomer to that
part of Iowa City and that he has tried to restore his building to its
original design. He stated that he did not want to have an historic
overlay zone in this area. He felt that the normal delays were restrictive
enough. Although he did not want to destroy the effect of his building, he
was opposed to an historic overlay zone on this site.
Harry Wolfe, 321 E. Market Street, questioned the schedule of the Historic
Preservation Commission to review proposals for these projects. He
questioned how quickly proposals would be reviewed. Moen replied that
only those alterations which require a regulated permit, such as building
or demolition permits, would be required to obtain a Certificate of
Appropriateness or Certificate of No Material Effect from the Historic
Preservation Commission. She stated that the Historic Preservation
Commission meets once per month but indicated a desire to meet on an
on-call basis for reviewing of applications so as not to hinder improve-
ments made to properties. The Commission did not want to impede improve-
ments made to historic structures but rather intends to work with the
property owner. Wolfe, commented that decision making often requires quick
action, and a mechanism must be provided for a quick response. He also
noted that since demolishing a building without a permit would result in a
relatively small fine, there may be an incentive to demolish the building
rather than go through the review required in an historic district.
Sandra Eskin stated that the Friends of Old Brick have prepared a booklet
entitled the Who To Book of Preservation which includes 54 local builders
and craftsmen interested in the reconstruction and repair of historic
sites. Eskin pointed out that the use of a structure is unaffected by an
/qoZ
Planning 8 Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 10
historic overlay zone. She felt that the Historic Preservation Commis-
sion's purpose was to define and educate people, not to hinder persons
interested in maintaining an historical site. She felt if they were not
protected or acknowledged, historic sites would be demolished for another
parking lot. Very little of local history is left. Therefore, she
maintained, we must stand ground and emphasize the important aspects of
local history.
Mr. Bill Bywater of 521 Potomac Drive stated that notice of this meeting
had come to his address under the name of a relative who died 19 years ago.
He stated that in January of 1982 he received a letter from the State
Office of Historic Preservation stating "we are pleased to inform you that
the property you own is in a North Side Historic District." Upon calling
the City, he was informed that he was not yet in a district. He felt
that poor communication and confusion were a major problem in the adoption
of the proposed district. He felt that it would financially hinder him to
be asked to maintain his building as an historic structure. He stated that
he had appraisals of the property that said the land would be more valuable
if it were cleared. Further, he pointed out that in his opinion, the
building had no historic significance ... it was just an old building.
Moen pointed out that the significance of an historic structure was
evaluated not only on the architectural features of the structure but on
its historic features as well.
Pat Pearson stated that he had lived on the north end for 53 years. He did
not learn about the proposed district and today's public discussion until
yesterday. He felt that it was too late for historic preservation dis-
tricts and that there was not much left in the way of historic structures
that was worth saving.
Moen explained that all structures classified as key structures are
structures eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places. Contributing structures are structures compatible with an area but
don't meet the criteria.
Bill Eckhardt stated that he had lived in Iowa City for 15 years and the
rate of change during that time had been incredible. He felt that historic
sites should be preserved and was in favor of the North Side Commercial
Overlay Zone.He indicated that tearing structures down and replacing them
with incompatible structures affects the continuity of a neighborhood. He
stated that the Economy Advertising building was interesting to more people
than Mr. Bywater realized. Eckhardt emphasized that once something is torn
down it is lost forever.
Jane Murphy stated that she was a co-owner at 219 N. Gilbert. She had
purchased the property one year ago. She felt that it was not necessarily
appropriate for the Planning and Zoning Commission to take specific
opinions into -consideration when drawing boundaries for the proposed North
Side Commercial Historic District. Rather, the Commission should look at
the overall good to the community.
Planning 5 Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 11
Mr. Dean Shannon of 122 Washington stated that he owned property in the
proposed North Side Residential Historic District. He didn't know until
one week ago of the overlay zone proposal. He did not feel there were any
structures in his area that were beneficial to preservation t He felt that
this was just one more layer of government and was opposed
preservation overlay. Scott stated that the Residential district would be
discussed specifically at a later meeting.
Linda Robinson of 318 E. Jefferson stated that she has lived in Iowa City
for the past 10 years and has felt a growing sense of alarm and helpless-
ness with the development of this city. She felt that the North Side was a
relatively untouched area and it was important to preserve old Iowa City.
She felt that there was a conflict between historic interests on one hand
and private interests on the other. She was in favor of the historic
preservation overlay and indicated that the Commission must recognize the
larger cost to the community of changing a neighborhood beyond recognition.
Margaret Nowysz, Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission,
stated that the Commission had given a lot of consideration to the brochure
that was sent outownersto etoemake a choicle in an e as to provide
or information
were
allowed property
interested in historic districts. She felt that they had provided enough
information to initiate interest. In addition, they had held two public
gonei to the She s
tate
that
ewished the spoken to theyublic had staffperson taken i
shme and
and looked at the
records submitted with regard to this issue and its importance to the
community.
Larry Baker of 2120 Tanglewood stated that he was interested in historic
preservation in general. He supported the concept of the North Side
Historic District and pointed out that the proposed ordinance would affect
and
Zoningtcvalues ommissionoth wouldsneede to considand erbothsides. and Hethe
feltlthatnthere
Zoning
were two major arguments with regard to the proposal. One was that greater
effort was made to notify property owners of this proposed ordinance than
was made for the zoning ordinance and that
hlack
ofthatnotification
s no of
reason to deny this proposal. Secondly,
an historic preservation overlay zone was the absolute minimum that could
be done to protect historic structures in Iowa City. He reminded the
Commission
netpublic that
other �unihies do have
erdistricts and that districts
further
commission Discussion
Horowitz moved to approve the North Side Commercial Historic Overlay. The
motion was seconded by Blank.
Horowitz stated that she made the motion approve
ubased
es,civic on h discus-
sions
iscu -
sions this evening about supporting property
history, and those areas in the United States where she has watched
districts effectively take place. She was making her decision based on the
aaeshetics to ndtresidentialt buildings he City fthat areIowa , in districts y and the value asopposed to spot to both the cositesial
/LFO Z
Planning & Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 12
Blank stated that she felt there had been a ridiculous exaggeration of
Police powers. She was in favor of the North Side Commercial Historic
Overlay Zone due to the flavor and special features of the North Side that
need protecting.
statedJordan that he had concerns with t
f the ropert
owners, thelack of notification, the inclusionoofepprivate ctions oresidences, and
the inability to make improvements without having to go to the City for
approval.
Perry reiterated concerns about insufficient notification to the public,
the opposition from the neighborhood, and his feeling that this could dis-
courage development in a commercial atmosphere.
Courtney stated that he felt the conditions of the properties may well have
deteriorated too far and that rehabilitation would not be successful. He
felt that it was significant that 7 of 14 blocks were represented by
property owners opposing the district.
Jakobsen stated that she had voted for formation of the Historic Preserva-
tion Commission. Her concern, however, is that this proposed district is
too large of an area and that too many buildings with a contributing
structure designation are included. Therefore, she will vote against this
request.
Scott stated that when the Historic Preservation Ordinance, which estab-
lished the Historic Preservation Commission was adopted, he was opposed to
the formation of both the ordinance and the Commission. He opposed the
ordinance commission
feared
would happen has happened. He stated on the othat this Commisunds that sionahast hebrought
forth a proposal for two districts, that as far as he could see, have had
very little public input and little public support. He stated that his
non district-wide
designation too
-historic stru turesiHe statedhatPlanninghand Zoning lhas s60 daystoy
make a recommendati'dn to City Council. In the past 60 days Planning and
Zoning members have discussed many times their concerns with members of the
Historic Preservation Commission and some public; public input has been
disappointing. His objection to the inclusion of non -historic buildings in
historic districts has been consistent. He had previously questioned
whether they could not declare an historic district and apply the rules
only to key historic structures. He stated that the Comprehensive Plan'
and Zoning Ordinance was adopted last December, and in that a decision was
made to zone portions of the area proposed as a historic district as CO -1.
Residential structures in the CO -1 Zone may be converted for office use,
but if we adopt this district they in all probability must remain struc-
turally as is.
He stated that the City Council recently passed a modification to the RM12
zone which allows the Board of Adjustment, via a special exception, to ease
zoning requirements for buildings in the RM12 zone which are on the
National Register. The new zoning ordinance passed in December gave
specific care and attention to the older part of Iowa City to allow for the
/540Z
Planning 8 Zoning Commission
June 7, 1984
Page 13
conversion of uses in older structures. This Commission has also given
attention to redefining and redrawing the boundary lines of the proposed
North Side Commercial Historic District. To date that has been unsuccess-
ful, mainly because of many of the same objections raised tonight by both
the public and the Commission. He stated that he was happy to see the
number of businesses, property owners, and affected residents present at
tonight's meeting.
He stated that this particular district includes too much area, too many
structures, and affects too many people and, therefore, he could not
support it.
Scott stated that he hoped the City Council would pay attention to the
discussion of the Commission members and the public discussion prior to
making its decision.
Horowitz stated that she hoped not only the minutes of the Planning and
Zoning Commission meeting, but also any information from the National Trust
regarding economic impact both for commercial and residential historic
areas, that may be of value to the City Council in deciding on this issue
would be forwarded to them by staff.
The motion was defeated (2-5).
Jordan moved to recommend to City Council to deny passage of the North Side
Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. The motion was seconded by Courtney.
The motion carried (5-2).
OTHER BUSINESS:
Scott requested that staff notify Mr. Jones of the informal Planning and Zoning
meeting June 18, concerning his letter.
The following letters were received in opposition to the North Side Historic
Overlay: Mary Varnetta, RSM, Mercy Hospital. The following letters were
received in support of the North Side Historic Overlay: Jean and William C.
Hubbard of 328 Brown Street and Gale Nothnagle, President, Board of Trustees
Willowwind School.
Jakobsen stated that she had attended the City Council meeting on Tuesday and
that they had voted in the affirmative on all the Planning and Zoning actions
that they had before them.
The meeting adjourned at 10:10 PM.
The minutes were 1rtlken b Col ee�D McCormick.
Approved:
/ V -0-L
MINUTES $uii;CC: Q] „rr;p'Jul
PLANNING b ZONING C0MMISSION
JULY 5, 1984 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jordan, Jakobsen, Courtney, Scott, Blank, Horowitz, Perry
STAFF PRESENT: Franklin, Boyle, Knight, McCormick
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Scott called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA:
There was no public discussion of any item not on the agenda.
RECOM14ENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
1. 5-8420. Recommend approval of the application submitted by Myles
Development Company for approval of a preliminary and final Large Scale
Non -Residential Development plan for Sturgis Corner, located east of
Sturgis Corner Drive and north of Highway 6 Bypass just west of the Iowa
River.
2. 5-8421. Recommend approval of the application submitted by Harry R. Wolf
for approval of a preliminary and final Large Scale Non -Residential
Development plan for the Marsh and McLennan Building on Lot 19 and 20 on
the Highlander Development Subdivision, located in the southeast quadrant
of the intersection of Highland Drive and Highway 1.
Pursuant to 5-8421, recommend that the City take appropriate measures to
obtain a turning lane at the intersection of Highlander Drive and Iowa
Highway 1 and lower the speed limit on Iowa Highway 1 in that area.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION:
Jordan moved to set a public hearing for July 19, 1984, on a proposed
amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to bring the Iowa City Code of Ordinances
into compliance with state legislation regarding manufactured housing. The
motion was seconded by Perry. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
Subdivision Items:
1. 5-8420. Public discussion of an application submitted by Myles Develop-
ment Company for approval of a preliminary and final Large Scale
Non -Residential Development Plan for Sturgis Corner, located east of
Sturgis Corner Drive and north of Highway 6 Bypass just west of the Iowa
River; 45 -day limitation period: 7-27-84.
/I/OZ
Planning d Zoning Lummission
July 5, 1984
Page 2
Franklin stated that the deficiency regarding storm water drainage had
been met and that the plan is in order and meets all the regulations.
Staff recommends approval of the development plan. She stated that the
gift of the riverfront area, originally suggested with platting of the
area in 1977, is being brought before to the Parks and Recreation
Commission at their meeting on July 11 and the Riverfront Commission at
their meeting on July 18, to see if those two Commissions still wish to
accept a gift of this area if it is offered to the City. Approval of this
plan will have no effect an the gift. There is sufficient land left,
with the building proposed, to still have the gift as it was originally
suggested. She stated that after this is brought before the Parks and
Recreation and Riverfront Commissions, the recommendations will be
brought before the City Council as a recommendation. The gift is not
being offered at this particular time and the reason for doing this is to
update what the City's position is on this particular piece of property.
Jakobsen questioned what an unoffered gift meant. Franklin replied that
it could be offered in the future. When the subdivision was originally
platted, it was at the request of the developer that the riverfront area
not be a requirement of the platting, and the City concurred at that
time. It cannot be a gift and a requirement. The City has no power at
this time to require that such an area be given.
Perry questioned if there were any maintenance requirements on the part
of the property owner if the gift were not accepted. Franklin replied
that if the gift was not accepted, the maintenance requirements for the
owner of the property would pertain mostly to weed control. Any kind of
erosion control would be in the interest of the property owner to
maintain.
Scott questioned Ralph Stoffer with regard to a letter to the City
Council which mentions that Myles Development Inc. is going to offer the
modules either for sale or lease, but ownership of the land would remain
with the developer. Stoffer replied that ownership of the land would
remain with the developer. Scott questioned if the City did not accept
the riverfront gift, who the owner of the land would be. Stoffer replied
that the land would remain a part of a Shop Owners' Association.
Blank moved to approve the preliminary and final Large Scale Non -Residen-
tial Development Plan for Sturgis Corner. The motion was seconded by
Courtney. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
2. S-8421. Public discussion of an application submitted by Harry R. Wolf'
for approval of a preliminary and final Large Scale Non -Residential
Development Plan for the Marsh and McLennan building on Lot 19 and 20 of
the Highlander Development Subdivision, located in the southeast quadrant
of the intersection of Highland Drive and Highway 1; 45 -day limitation
period: 8-2-84.
Knight stated that there were no deficiencies which exist on this land.
The plan can be approved at this time without any contingencies.
14�4az
Planning b Zoning Commission
July 5, 1984
Page 3
Scott reminded the Commission of two things they wanted to do under
separate motions; to recommend turning lanes and lowering the speed limit
in that particular area.
Horowitz moved to approve the preliminary and final Large Scale Non -
Residential Development Plan for the Marsh and McLennan building on Lot
19 and 20 of the Highlander Development Subdivision. The motion was
seconded by Perry. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
Horowitz moved to recommend to the City that appropriate measures be
taken to obtain a turning lane at the intersection of Highlander Drive
and Iowa Highway i and lower the speed limit on Iowa Highway 1 in that
area. The motion was seconded by Jakobsen. The motion carried unani-
mously (7-0).
3. S-8422. Public discussion of an application submitted by Ken Ranshaw for
approval of a preliminary and final Large Scale Non -Residential Develop-
ment Plan for R Plaza, Phase II, located at 463 Highway 1 West; 45 -day
limitation period: 8-4-84.
Knight stated that a question had been raised with regard to notification
of the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the proposed construc-
tion. Knight stated that Fred Zehr had contacted the FAA, and they
apparently had not received the notification yet. Knight stated he had
spoken with Larry Schnittjer and the documents had been mailed one and
one-half weeks ago. Mr. Schnittjer intended to contact the FAA. Since
Schnittjer was not present, Knight recommended deferring action at this
time.
Jakobsen moved to table S-8422 until the next regular Planning and Zoning
meeting. The motion was seconded by Blank.
Perry stated that a public hearing was set for July 24 by the Airport
Zoning Commission on the proposed City/County Airport Overlay Zone. He
would suggest to Fred Zehr that a provision requiring a certified letter
be ent to the FAA issue could be bincluded
handled administrativelyI and evengif itht pwas dh
to
at
thisbe
included in the ordinance, would only be a minor change and could be
suggested during the public hearing.
The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
Zoning Items:
1. Public discussion of revisions to the provisional use language of the
CB -2 zone.
Franklin distributed two versions of the ordinance to change the provi-
sional use language of the CB -2 -zone permitting dwelling units above com-
mercial development. One version required 50% of the ground floor to be
occupied by a permitted use and the other states "...the ground floor is
occupied exclusively by another principal use or uses..." Only one
version needed to be voted on.
/qo,Z
Planning b Zoning Commission
July 5, 1984
Page 4
Scott stated that both alternatives should be discussed. He stated that
Blank had mentioned concerns that the "...50X" version might be more
advantageous to the smaller developer.
Blank stated that she felt there was an abundance of office space in this
town. She stated that what is generally asked for in relation to office
space is something inexpensive, oh the ground floor, and with parking;
what is provided here doesn't answer those needs. If the ordinance
stated that the ground floor be exclusively for business then it creates
an economic disincentive for the person who can only provide cheaper
office space if he can dilute his costs by having residential space
above. Blank stated that for the smaller developer with a small piece of
land, commercial development would be more feasible if there was more
flexibility in the ordinance and only 50% of the ground floor was
required to be used for commercial use and the rest could be used for
parking. Jakobsen stated that problems could arise with developers who
had large tracts of land and used the maximum allowable portion of the
ground floor for parking. Blank replied that she didn't think a devel-
oper would chose that alternative unless they were forced to.
Scott questioned if the ordinance could specifically list parking as the
only other accessory use. Franklin replied that it could, but more
flexibility would be provided if the ordinance stated that an accessory
use could occupy up to 50% of the ground floor. Scott responded that he
would want the accessory use to be restricted to parking.
Jordan stated he was concerned that a number of persons were coming in to
ask for changes to the ordinance. He did not wish to incrementally amend
the ordinance.
Jakobsen stated that she felt uncomfortable amending the ordinance to
permit 50% of the ground floor to be used for commercial and the rest for
nj accessory use. Jakobsen requested staff assistance in wording the
amendment to allow parking as the only accessory use.
Jakobsen moved to defer discussion of the amendment of the Zoning
Ordinance to the 7-19-84 meeting to allow rewording of the amendment. The
motion was seconded by Horowitz. The motion carried unanimously (7-0).
2. Public discussion of an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to bring the
Iowa City Municipal Code into compliance with state legislation regarding,
manufactured housing.
Knight stated that the City Council set a public hearing for July 31,
1984, on an ordinance amendment and that a 60 -day moratorium was trig-
gered which will expire August 31.
Horowitz questioned what information was going out to the public with
regard to manufactured housing. Knight stated that there had been an
article in the newspaper.
/hoz
Planning 8 Zoning-.mmission
July 5, 1984
Page 5
Courtney stated that Des Moines is requiring a peaked roof rather than a
minimum width. Courtney questioned what other larger cities were doing
in response to the new legislation. Knight replied that Cedar Rapids and
Marion went to a six-month moratorium. Courtney questioned why 20 feet
instead of 24 feet was chosen as the width. Knight replied that 20 foot
would be wider than the single 16 foot wide mobile home but would permit
double wide manufactured homes.
Perry questioned the legality of arbitrarily using 20 feet and whether
that was discriminatory. Boyle replied that the City cannot adopt
regulations which place restrictions solely upon manufactured homes; the
proposal places a minimum width on any residence - site built or manufac-
tured.
OTHER BUSINESS:
1. Franklin stated that the Council had received a letter from Project GREEN
with regard to the tree ordinance and a staff reply had been requested.
The letter was distributed to the Commission. Scott recommended that
copies of the reply be given to the Commission members. Jakobsen ques-
tioned whether Project GREEN had been given the tree ordinance prior to
Planning and Zoning Commission passing it. Franklin replied that they
had not. Jakobsen stated she would have liked to have gone through their
objections prior to passing the ordinance. Scott suggested that the sign
ordinance be distributed to all interested parties.
2. Courtney stated that he had attended the last City Council meeting and
that all the Planning and Zoning recommendations were approved.
3. Jordan stated he had received comments with regard to excessive speeding
on Dubuque Street near the Mayflower. Knight stated that Jim Brachtel
was the person to contact regarding speed limits on streets.
4. Scott distributed to the Commission members a book of "The Who to Book of
Preservation" which he had purchased for the members.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
The minutes were taken by Colleen McCormick.
Horst Jordan, Secretary
144 d.,
MINUTES
HOUSING APPEALS BOARD'
JUNE 12, 1984
MEMBERS PRESENT: Goldene Haendel, Al Logan, Fred Krause, Dane] Trevor
MEMBERS ABSENT: Janet Schlechte
STAFF PRESENT: Kelley Vezina, David Malone, Judy Hoard, David Brown
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND ACTION TAKEN:
Krause called the meeting to order. Haendel made a motion to approve the
minutes of May 8, 1984, meeting. Logan seconded the motion. The motion
carried.
APPEAL OF KENNETH KALLAUS - 712 FAIRCHILD:
Present: Mrs. Kallaus.
Inspector Malone reported to the Board that this appeal had not been filed
within the ten day filing period. Logan made a motion to hear the appeal
at the July meeting. Haendel seconded the motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF BERNICE KRIZ -_L17 EAST MARKET:
Present: None.
Inspector Vezina reported to the Board that this was a late appeal which
had not been filed within the proper ten day filing period. Haendel made
a motion to grant appeal rights and to hear it at the July Appeals Board
meeting. Logan seconded the motion, the motion carried.
APPEAL OF MABEL MORRISSEY - 403 EAST JEFFERSON:
Present: None.
Inspector Vezina reported to the Board that this was a late appeal which
had not been filed within the proper ten day filing period. Haendel made
a motion to grant appeal rights and to hear the appeal at the July Housing
Appeals Board meeting. Trevor seconded the motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF LEE BURRIS - 837 MAGGARD:
Present: Charlie Pratt.
Inspector Malone reported that this appeal had been filed late but at the
May Appeals Board meeting, the Appeals Board had voted to grant appeal
Chapter 17H5.N stated
(4), lackof required hviolation that the b
ed7' minimumceilingheight, theine second
floor ceiling height is 6'7". Mr. Pratt stated to the Board that the
property had existed in its present condition for over 100 years and that
there had been no difficulties with the ceiling height to date. Haendel
made a motion to grant a variance to Chapter 17-5.N.(4), lack of required
7' minimum ceiling height. Trevor seconded the motion. The motion
carried.
/ 1103
MINUTES
HOUSING APPEALS BOARD
JUNE 12, 1984
PAGE 2
APPEAL OF MAE DRISCOLL - 1310-10 1/2 YEWELL:
Present: Dave Lietsch.
Inspector Hoard stated that she had conducted a licensing inspection at
1310-10 1/2 Yewell on April 2, 1984. The first violation being appealed
should be amended to 17-6.L, kitchen lacks stove and refrigerator, north
dwelling unit lacks a stove and sink. Inspector Hoard told the Board that
this property was owner -occupied and that the owner because of her
advanced age and ill health was unable to attend the meeting and that Dave
Lietsch, who was a social worker, had come to the meeting to speak not
necessarily on the violations cited but on the service Mrs. Driscoll had
provided for his client. Dave Lietsch told the Board that Mrs. Driscoll
over the years has provided housing for people who had a mental or
physical limitation and had provided them not only with housing but also
with needed emotional support. He stated that her housing had saved much
money and that people like Mrs. Driscoll were sorely needed in the
community. He did not feel prepared to speak to each of the appealed
violations but did say that the person who lived in the north dwelling
unit did not have need of a kitchen as she ate her meals at the hospital
where she was employed.
Rather than vote on each violation, the Board desired the appealed
violations presented all at one time.
The next violation appealed was Chapter 17-S.K.2.(b), lack of required
natural ventilation; south dwelling unit, south middle room has no
openable window. Inspector Hoard stated that this violation existed in
the owner -occupied unit and that it was presently being used as a passage-
way from the livingroom to the kitchen and contained a number of flowers.
The next violation appealed was Chapter 17-5.M.(1), lack of required
electrical outlet, south dwelling unit first floor, south middle room
lacks second double convenience outlet. Inspector Hoard again stated that
this violation was in 'the owner -occupied unit and that she had only been
able to locate one outlet. She did state that in the past violations of
this nature had been granted a variance as long as the property remained
owner -occupied.
The next violation appealed was Chapter 17-5.N.(4), lack of required
minimum 7' ceiling height, south dwelling unit room between first and
second floor has ceiling height of 6'11-1/2".
The next violation appealed was Chapter 17-5.J.(1), lack of required
natural light, north dwelling unit, bedroom window does not open directly
to the outdoors and Chapter 17-5.K.(2)(b), lack of required natural
ventilation, north dwelling unit bedroom window does not open directly to
the outdoors. Inspector Hoard stated that there was a greenhouse sur-
rounding the bedroom and that the window did open onto the greenhouse
which did have areas which opened directly to the outdoors.
/V03
MINUTES
HOUSING APPEALS BOARD
JUNE 12, 1984
PAGE 3
Al Logan made a motion to grant a variance to all of the appealed viola-
tions as long as Mae Driscoll owned the property. Haendel seconded the
motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF EMIL TROTT - 326 NORTH OUBUOUE STREET:
Present: Norm Thomas.
Inspector Hoard stated that she had conducted a licensing inspection at
326 North Dubuque Street on May 17, 1984. The violation being appealed
was Chapter 17-5.N.(4), lack of required 7' minimum ceiling height, second
floor east bedroom has a 67' ceiling height. Norm Thomas stated to the
Board that this room had been rented as a bedroom for a number of years
and had been found to be acceptable to the tenants. Haendel made a motion
to grant a variance to Chapter 17-5.N.(4), lack of required 7' minimum
ceiling height. Trevor seconded the motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF ROBERT HERON - 1004 CHURCH:
Present: Richard Trimble.
Inspector Hoard stated that she had conducted a licensing inspection on
March 26, 1984. The violation being appealed was Chapter 17-6.A, lack of
required access, second floor access to northwest bedroom is through
southwest bedroom. Inspector Hoard stated that in order to get to either
of the two rooms on the second floor it was necessary to pass through the
bedroom at the head of the stairway. She was asked how this could be
corrected. She stated that a hallway could be constructed through each of
the bedrooms, but it would significantly decrease the size of the room and
would go right through the center of the southwest and northwest bedrooms.
Richard Trimble, property manager, stated to the Board that the tenants
who live there now have occupied the building for a number of years and
have not had any problem with the room arrangement. Krause made a motion
to grant a variance to Chapter 17-6.A, lack of required access. Haendel
seconded the motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF INN HO SHINN - 619 IOWA AVENUE:
Present: Mrs. Shinn
Inspector Vezina told the Board that this appeal had been filed late but
had been granted appeal rights at the May 1984 Appeals Board meeting. He
told the Board that he had conducted the licensing inspection at 619 Iowa
Avenue on October 6, 1983. The violation being appealed is Chapter
17-6.A, lack of required access, access to north room second floor can be
gained only by traveling through south room. Inspector Vezina told the
Board that these rooms on the second floor were used as bedrooms and that
there were no bedrooms on the first floor. Mrs. Shinn stated that the
rooms had been rented as such for a number of years. Haendel made a
motion to grant a variance to Chapter 17-6.A, lack of required access.
Logan seconded the motion. The motion carried.
/e{03
MINUTES
HOUSING APPEALS BOARD
JUNE 12, 1984
PAGE 4
APPEAL OF DAVID SHAWVER - 1604-1/2 YEWELL:
Present: David Shawver.
Inspector Vezina reported to the Board that he had conducted a licensing
inspection at 1604-1/2 Yewell on May 14, 1984. The violation being
appealed was Chapter 17-5.N.(4), lack of required 7' minimum ceiling
height, kitchen-livingroom-bedroom combination has a 6'6-1/2" ceiling.
Mr. Shawver told the Board that it would be extremely expensive to raise
the roof of the structure to meet the Housing Code. Logan made a motion
to grant a variance to Chapter 17-S.N.(4), lack of required 7' minimum
ceiling height. Trevor seconded the motion. The motion carried.
APPEAL OF GOLOENE HAENOEL - 960 MORMON TREK:
Present: Goldene Haendel.
Inspector Vezina reported that he conducted a licensing inspection at 916
Mormon Trek on May 7, 1984. The violations being appealed are Chapter
17-5.I.(2)(g), lack of required minimum door/doorway, west bedroom second
floor has 6'2-1/2" door height and southwest bedroom second floor has
5'11" door height. Inspector Vezina stated to the Board that the minimum
doorway height is 6'4". Goldene Haendel told the Board that the property
had been rented as such for a number of years and that it would be
extremely expensive to raise the doorway height the small distance that
was required by the Housing Code. Krause made a motion to grant a
variance to Chapter 17-5.I.(2)(g), lack of required minimum door/doorway.
Trevor seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Logan made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Haendel seconded the motion.
The motion carried. tt
Minutes prepare or rause, Chairperson
by Judy Hoard
/te03
QG"
MINUTES
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MAY 30, 1984
SENIOR CENTER CLASSROOM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Futrell, Gill, Felton, Hawkins, Reed, Barcelo
MEMBERS ABSENT: Burnside, Jordison
STAFF PRESENT: Klein, Williams
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
None.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY MANAGER OR STAFF:
None.
SUMMARY OF RELEVANT DISCUSSION:
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. by Chairperson Futrell.
2. Hawkins moved to approve the minutes of April 30, 1984. The motion
was seconded by Barcelo. The motion carried unanimously.
3. There was no public discussion.
4. Complaints pending:
A. E/R, 8-28-8013. The Respondent's attorney has not yet responded
to the letter from the Chair of the Conciliation Team.
B. E/0, 9-8-8302. The case was closed, no probable cause.
C. E/S E 0, 9-01-8303. The case was closed, no probable cause.
S. There are six cases in Legal.
6. Cases assigned: One case was assigned to a conciliation team, E/S b
R, 12-12-8301 - Reed, Hawkins, and Jordison.
7. Cases closed: Two cases were closed as noted above in item f4.
8. Community Education - Klein reported: Ho new outreach projects,
maintenance of posters, ads, and PSA's continuing.
9. Old Business:
A. Commission Image - Felton wondered if the outreach material could
now address the .responsibilities of employers, landlords, etc.
Consider it phase two, phase one addressed the rights of employ-
ees, tenants, etc. Much discussion ensued. In general, the
Commissioners were complimentary about the material when all of
the brochures and other printed materials were reviewed at one
time. For the most part, the material they felt was good. Futrell
/IAD
MINUTES ^
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MAY 30, 1984
PAGE 2
did have some reservations about the blue housing poster which
stated "You Don't Have To Prove It, That's Our Job' and felt that
message might provoke someone to question the Commission's
objectivity. Futrell suggested phase two of the Commission's
outreachprogram disperse the message - "discrimination hurts
everyone'. We should try and help those people that think dis-
crimination does not concern them to realize that it touches and
concerns everyone. Hawkins stated he would like to make it clear
to landlords that staff is available and willing to answer their
questions concerning compliance with the City's non-discrimination
ordinance. Several other outreach suggestions were made:
Barcelo - Distribute the newsletter not only to advocacy
groups but also to employers, etc. and in the newsletter
advertise staff's availability to answer questions, to
assist employers with, for instance, the do's and don'ts
of employment interviewing (in the context of civil rights
laws); perhaps a breakfast meeting; invite them to our
meetings so they could share with the Commissioners the
problems from their perspectives; recognize employers in
some way for some significant human rights achievement;
have a workshop at the public library on sexual harass-
ment, invite employers, show a film, initiate discussion;
have a tear -out section in the newsletter inviting readers
to respond to "How can we help you"?
Gill - Send a letter to employers asking them what
positive human rights steps the employer has taken in the
last year as a method of generating information on who to
award; in the next newsletter give examples of positive
steps an employer may have taken and ask readers to share
with us what steps they have taken.
Futrell - Maintain the phase one approach; contact the
Chamber of Commerce and ask them to help us identify
businesses that have made steps; ask a Chamber of Commerce
member to attend a Commission meeting to further discuss
their perspective of the Commission's image, the other
Commissioners agreed with that suggestion and to help the
Chamber of Commerce member focus on exactly what we wanted
in terms of information from him, Futrell will give this
particular individual the Commission's outreach material
for his review and then ask him to attend a meeting to
respond.
Felton - Employees should be asked to nominate their
employer as the recipient of the human rights award.
Klein - Asked the Commissioners to continue generating
outreach suggestions and asked for one outreach suggestion
per meeting.
111d T
MINUTES
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MAY 30, 1984
PAGE 3
B. Handicapped Accessibility - Felton: The checklist has been reviewed
by those in the know and is now ready for printing and money is needed
for the printing of approximately 150 surveys (four pages each). The
Johnson County group is basically obligated to use the checklist that
they had developed so a coordination of activities between them and
the Human Rights Commission is limited. The two groups will not
survey the same businesses and the Human Rights Commission will share
with the Johnson County group their findings. The Human Rights'
Commission will survey the downtown businesses and the Sycamore Hall
businesses and the survey covers mobility, speech, hearing, and sight
impaired. To generate volunteers to assist the Human Rights Commis-
sion an ad in the local newspaper was suggested and approaching
students in certain classes was suggested.
Williams shared with the Commissioners the other side of the story
regarding Eckerman being disadvantaged in the Senior Center when the
fire alarm went off several months ago. Meisel said that after the
fire alarm went off it was determined an emergency did not exist and
that everything was under control. Mr. Eckerman was on the second
floor and SEATS is responsible for the second floor. The SEATS
personnel were apprised of the no emergency situation so they did not
go room to room for the purpose of escorting participants to safety
which is what they would have done had there been an emergency.
10. New Business: Honoring Human Rights Achievements, first the Commis-
sion will identify who should receive an award. The award will be
given some time in the fall. A letter will be sent out soliciting
nominations, a request for nominations will be printed in the newslet-
ter, someone from the Press -Citizen will be asked if they are aware of
any notable advances in human rights.
Testing ardauditing program - Klein explained the testing and auditing
program that she has developed. Additional information will be shared
at the June Commission meeting.
/0r
MINUTES
IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
JUNE 25, 1984
SENIOR CENTER CLASSROOM - 7:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Futrell, Gill, Felton, Hawkins, Reed, Barcelo, Burnside,
Jordison
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Klein, Williams
GUEST PRESENT: Matt Eckermann
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:
None.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY MANAGER OR STAFF:
None.
SUMMARY OF RELEVANT DISCUSSION:
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairperson Futrell.
2. Felton moved to approve the minutes of May 23, 1984. The motion was
seconded by Burnside. The motion carried unanimously.
3. There was no public discussion.
4. Complaints pending.
a. E/R, 8-28-8103. Williams and Burnside went to Des Moines regarding
this case. Conciliation continues.
b. E/SBR, 12-12-8301. Jordison has met with the complainant and will
speak to the respondent next.
c. E/R, 11-4-8307. Futrell stated that she would be meeting after the
meeting tonight to discuss this case.
d. PA/R, 3-7-8402 and PA/R, 3-7-8403. Gill stated that she would be
meeting after tonight's meeting to discuss this case.
e. E/S, 1-4-8401. Burnside stated that she would be meeting after
tonight's meeting to discuss this case.
5. There are three cases in legal.
6. Complaints closed: E/S&0, 9-1-8301. Case closed. No probable cause.
7. Complaints filed: There were four complaints filed.
/410 y
Human Rights Commisbion
June 25, 1984
Page--2-
Community
age--2
Community education. Klein reported that public announcements were
distributed in June. Information on the Commission's human rights award
was given in the last Civil Writes newsletter. Nominations were
solicited. Klein called the Rape Crisis Line to begin work on a sexual
harassment workshop for the business community - the University Labor
Center has a film we can use .... Klein suggested we develop a poster on
discrimination geared towards landlords and business people.
Futrell was unable to call the Chamber of Commerce to invite a particular
individual to the Commission meeting but will invite him to the next
meeting.
I. Old business:
A. Klein reported that the paperwork had been completed for the auditing
project. She stated that she had received some dissension with
regards to the program. She did not want to continue the program
without the support of the Commission. It was the consensus of the
Commission that the Commission concentrate on the educational aspects
of the Commission at this time, and this project be tabled. Hawkins
moved to postpone discussion of the auditing project until the
September meeting. The motion was seconded by Felton. The motion
carried unanimously.
B. Handicap accessibility.
Felton passed out the survey forms to the Commission members. The
downtown areas and the malls were divided between the Commission
members who had obtained the survey information. The goal is to have
the survey completed by the next meeting.
10. New business: Williams reported that the Assistant City Attorney advised
against distribution of the investigative report, or even a summary of
the report per his interpretation of the ordinance. It was suggested
that the conciliation team compose an outline excluding names which would
provide guidance to the team and put the case in perspective for the
parties. This could be done on a case-by-case basis. Williams stated
that she would discuss this with legal.
11. Barcelo moved to adjourn at 8:55 p.m.
The minutes were taken by Colleen McCormick.
MINUTES
URBAN ENVIRONMENT AD HOC COMMITTEE
JULY 10, 1984 4:00 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER CITY MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Baker, VanderWoude, Brinton,
Jakobsen, Strait
MEMBERS ABSENT: Jordan, Amert
STAFF PRESENT: Milkman, Franklin, McCormick
GUESTS PRESENT: Seiberling
McGuire, Koch, Lorenzen,
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Strait called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES JUNE 19, 1984:
Koch moved to approve the minutes of 6-14-84 as submitted. Baker seconded
the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
DEFINITION OF FRAGILE AREAS OR ENVIRONMENTALLYSENSITIVE AREAS:
Brinton suggested that the definition suggested in the memo to George Strait
incorporate some of the language included in the 1978 Comprehensive Plan. He
suggested specifically that the following items be mentioned: stream
channels; greenbelts; storm water detention facilities; and steep slopes.
Franklin stated that storm water detention facilities are the responsibility
of the developer/property owner to maintain. If they are not maintained, the
City usually has the right to enter the property and clean the basin. She
suggested looking at areas that may be appropriate as natural storm water
detention areas to serve a large area and consider an ordinance to set those
areas aside.
Milkman expressed concern that if specific areas were listed, something might
get left out. Bakersuggested the phrasing examples of such areas are, but
are not limited to..." The term "fragile area" was discussed as opposed to
the term "environmentally sensitive area." The Committee decided to use the
term environmentally sensitive areas rather than fragile areas.
McGuire stated that Strait's memo and the staff draft definition of environ-
mentally sensitive areas should be combined. Strait questioned whether the
staff had sufficient information to proceed. Franklin stated that she felt
the staff had enough input to begin an inventory of specific sites.
DISCUSSION OF STATEMENTS DEFINING SCOPE OF COMMITTEE CONCERN:
Baker questioned whether an inventory of neighborhoods should include
specific structures or entire neighborhoods. Milkman replied that it should
include some of both. Baker suggested that the "Neighborhood" section
include structures.
1405
Urban Environment Hoc Committee
July 10, 1984
Page 2
Strait requested that the term "man made" be changed to read "created."
Members questioned what was referred to in the "Aesthetic Values" section as
areas which should be accessible to public view. Franklin explained the
scenic easement for public view of 01d Capitol and stated that similar
easements might be possible if there was anything which the Committee wishes
to preserve for public view. The Committee discussed the County Courthouse
as a possible site, particularly as viewed from the south. Strait suggested
including height limitations to protect certain views.
Jakobsen suggested changing "would" to "might" in regard to the reduction of
property values referred to in the "Environmentally Sensitive Areas" section.
She expressed concern about terms such as "property value." McGuire sug-
gested borrowing the wording from Strait's memo for this section.
McGuire expressed a desire to keep the scope of the concerns under "Neighbor-
hoods" wide enough to include more than historic sites or the downtown area,
and include such things as the interface between uses such as the Rocky Shore
bike trail, the river and the adjacent residential area.
Brinton suggested a new category entitled "scenic views" be included to
ensure that this item was not overlooked. Baker suggested that aesthetic
values be a part of the introduction and that entranceways and scenic views
be included as separate categories.
The next meeting was set for July 24 at 4:00 p.m.
Strait suggested that the Committee be more specific in defining their scope
of concerns. Franklin requested that for each of the areas of concern,
specific items and exact locations should be submitted by the Committee
members at the next meeting.
Koch questioned whether the end result of this Committee was to create a
report for the City Council, or an ordinance. Strait stated that he felt an
ordinance was the Committee's goal. Discussion followed of the extent of the
Comitteacceptedeby theoCityent in Council. impTheenting majorityeofpolicies
the Committee finally
the Committee should be involved in developing or assisting in the develop-
ment of ordinances to carry out the policies adopted.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
The minutes were taken by Colleen McCormick.
1045
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PRESENT: Terry, Ehninger, Madsen
EXCUSED: Sigrin
ABSENT: Sigrin, Johnson
OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Kalergis, Calderon of Hawkeye; Connie Tiffany of
Iowa City Public Library; Elliott Full, Rick Hindman,
Cinda Stewart (temporary recording secretary for BTC),
Joan Jehle and Doug Allaire of Access Iowa City; Sandy
Eskin
STAFF PRESENT: Melling
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
None.
MATTERS PENDING COUNCIL -COMMISSION DISPOSITION:
Alternative cable ownership options, proposed approval conditions for
sale, and possible modifications of the cable franchise ordinance.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN:
Following approval with corrections of the minutes of April 11, it was
announced that presentation of a report by Rick Hindman for Kirkwood and
the ECC would be delayed until the June meeting due to the illness and
absence of Shaffer. The BTC has received a directive from City Council to
discuss alternative cable ownership options and to make a recommendation
concerning simultaneously working on conditions of sale of the franchise.
Maly 22nd is the date, of the special meeting for this discussion. The
Commission will also consider at Council's request any changes or modifi-
cations of the ordinance which may be required.
Elliott Full spoke against municipal ownership. Joan Jehle brought thanks
from Access Iowa City for BTC support and report on the recent spaghetti
dinner. Doug Allaire reported on the work of AIC's committee on non-
profit access management. The next meeting of this committee is May 29,
1984. The next regular meeting of AIC is June 5. The BTC recommendation
to Council regarding management of channel 26 has not yet been forwarded
to Council. A special meeting may be set to discuss non-profit management
of the community programming center. Terry said a regular agenda item
could be set for a report on Access Iowa City's work. The ECC and
Kirkwood will work out their own agreement and report to the BTC for final
approval.
Terry was elected chair and Madsen vice -chair for the coming year. A
proposed change in the bylaws was postponed until at least four Commis-
sioners could be present in order to comply with the bylaws themselves in
111e4
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
PAGE 2
regard to making changes in the bylaws. The change will be submitted in
writing before the next meeting. Terry distributed copies of Shaffer's
report to Council on HR4103. Edye Calderon has been named the new
Community Progranming Director for Hawkeye. She will assume her new
duties May 21. The sale to Heritage by ATC of the cable systems in Fort
Madison, Mt. Pleasant and Muscatine has closed. Hawkeye wants to know
when Iowa City will decide on the question of municipal ownership or
approval of the sale to Heritage. Following Blough's statement of his
concerns, Terry said Blough may, as an interested party, address Council
himself. The equipment for the pilot project for the I -NET is installed
and running at the CPC.
Hawkeye has ceased construction in the Iowa City area pending transfer of
the system. The BTC thanked Kalergis for her work for Access, wished her
luck in her new position in Austin, Texas, and welcomed Edye Calderon as
the new CPO.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER:
Meeting called to order at 4:07 p.m.
MINUTES:
Motion to approve the minutes of April 17, 1984. Ehninger/Madsen.
Kalergis asked for a correction on page five in reference to media staff
of the Iowa City school system having been replaced by microcomputers, the
minutes should read that the focus of the staff is now in implementing the
use of microcomputers, and on page six, the minutes should read, "Blough
noted that the possibility of putting Kirkwood on with the Learning
Channel is now out of the question since the learning channel expressed
plans to go to 24 hour programming." Ehninger also asked for two correc-
tions, deleting the words "or cooperative" from the Commission's recommen-
dation to Council on page two, and deleting the same words from page four,
second paragraph. Minutes as amended were approved. Motion passed.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The minutes of the last meeting called for a report to be prepared and
presented to the Commission on behalf of the ECC and Kirkwood by Rick
Hindman. Hindman's report is available, but due to the illness of
Shaffer, an abbreviated agenda has been prepared for today, and Hindman's
report will be delivered at the June meeting. Terry and Melling have
agreed to excuse Shaffer from attendance at today's meeting on account of
his health. Council has given the BTC, through Terry and Shaffer, a
directive to begin working on conditions of sale. Terry called for a
special meeting on May 22, 1984, to attend to this item. Melling noted
that this directive from Council also included a request that the BTC
consider what changes or modifications in the ordinance may be required if
such a sale is approved, and recommend same to Council. The May 22nd
meeting will be held at 8:00 a.m.
/tt40 4
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
PAGE 3
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Elliott Full stated that he would be against the City acquiring the cable
system. According to Full, cities have a bad history of running cable
systems. Full also sees First Amendment problems developing, especially
if local programming develops and becomes even more important than it now
is. Ehninger asked whether it was Full's sense that a purchase of the
system by the City would pass a referendum. Full replied he did not
believe it would. Joan Jehle announced that Doug Allaire would present
some information from Access Iowa City in regard to AIC's non-profit
committee, and dates of upcoming meetings. Jehle noted thanks on behalf
of AIC to all those who bought tickets and attended the recent spaghetti
dinner. Jehle said the dinner was not particularly successful finan-
cially, but in terms of getting people together who have an interest in
cable and access to share their ideas, the event was very successful.
Jehle also offered thanks from the organization to the BTC subcommittee on
non-profit management for channel 26, Mike Sigrin and Flo Beth Ehninger,
for their interest and help to the AIC non-profit committee. Terry
suggested it might be a good idea for a regular agenda item to be set for
a report from Access Iowa City.
Doug Allaire reported that Access Iowa City's committee on non-profit
management of access has investigated what other NPO's do in relationship
to the City and what those relationships are. AIC is drafting a report on
NPO operation of access which will include goals and functions of the NPO,
its equipment which may need to be replaced or added at the CPC, an
operating budget, staff, job descriptions, funding sources and relation-
ships, progress evaluation measures, franchise questions, board of
directors and bylaws questions and a philosophical statement. The next
meeting of the AIC/NPO committee is May 29 at 5:30 at the Mill Restaurant,
prior to the next producers' feedback session at 7:00 at the library. The
next regular meeting of Access Iowa City is June 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the
Iowa City Public Library.
Kalergis asked about the status of the Commission's recommendation to
Council on the alternatives to managing channel 26. Terry stated that he
expects feedback from Council on that recommendation once Council receives
and reviews it, but as yet, again due to Shaffer's current health situa-
tion and the fact he is on sick leave, the report has not been sent to
Council. Terry said he would entertain the possibility of another special
meeting to discuss the non-profit alternatives to management and operation
of access. Hindman asked whether the ECC should work out its own agree-
ment with Kirkwood for management of channel 27 for BTC approval or should
it be negotiated with the BTC first. Terry said the ECC should go ahead,
but that the BTC is still waiting for an opinion from Legal as to the
BTC's right to involve itself in the affairs of channel 27. Terry said
Shaffer may want Hindman to come to one of Terry/Shaffer's regular
Wednesday morning meetings to discuss this matter. Sandy Eskin noted that
the ECC has been eager to expand its services and that the BTC should be
fully informed of those ideas and activities.
/4106
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
PAGE 4
ELECTION OF BTC OFFICERS:
Although two Commissioners were absent, a quorum was present and it was
decided this item should not be postponed any longer. Ehninger nominated
Terry for chairperson and Madsen for vice -chair. Madsen moved nominations
cease. Ehninger seconded. Terry noted that under different circumstances
he would decline, but for the sake of continuity during the pending
transfer of the system, he would accept the nomination; however, he
expects to relinquish the chair. to the vice -chair before the end of the
year. Madsen noted she expects to leave the BTC herself in March. Voting
was unanimous in favor of Terry and Madsen as chair and vice -chair
respectively.
CONSIDERATION OF CHANGED IN BTC BYLAWS:
The proposed change refers to election of BTC officers in April. It was
proposed the bylaws be changed to say officers will be elected "as soon as
possible following appointment by Council." Ehninger moved and Madsen
seconded that the change be adopted. Melling stated it is his belief any
City board or commission bylaws changes must be approved by Council and
the City's rules committee. Melling will check to see if that is true in
the case of the BTC. After further discussion it was determined that any
change in BTC bylaws must be submitted in writing and approved by four-
fifths of Commissioners. There being only three Commissioners present
today, this item will be taken up at a meeting where at least four
Commissioners are present, after such a proposed change has been submitted
in writing.
ITS REPORT:
Terry distributed copies of Shaffer's report on HR4103.
HAWKEYE'S REPORT:
Blough announced EdyA Calderon will take Kalergis' place as Community
Programming Director. Kalergis will continue with Hawkeye until June 4,
although Calderon will assume the office on May 21. Calderon has been
with Hawkeye since the beginning. Blough said that no one is better
qualified for the job and he is very pleased to announce her appointment.
As of Council Bluffs.
The sale of ththe e lsystemsATC oinrated Muscati e,, Fort Madisonand except Mt. Pleasant to Heritage was closed yesterday (May 14). Blough asked when
the Citor
the type of lownership d decide yoption ea or nit wants.ay on the isB�ough noted e of municipal ownership
that Augustand
September are a critical time of year for Hawkeye and a transfer or
ownership during that period would be extremely difficult. Melling noted
a period of 60 or 90 days was allowed after a "fair market value" had been
agreed upon by the City and company. If no agreement is reached, the
matter would proceed to arbitration. Terry said he thought it would not
take long once Council receives the report on 4103 and the Comnission's
recommendations. Terry also noted some of the problem stems from the fact
that ATC had failed to offer the system to the City for refusal before it
entered into its agreement with Heritage. Kalergis noted that according
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
PAGE 5
to the letter from the City Attorney, the 90 day timeframe is not trig-
gered until the City Council decides it wants to purchase the system. The
next step after that is to determine the fair market value. Thus,
Kalergis said, the next step is up to the City. Helling said at this
point, that is correct. The Council would first like to have the opportu-
nity to consider the impact of HR4103, Helling said, because of their
concern over the possibility of losing what Iowa City already has in terms
of access (as an example) through deregulation. In order to avoid losing
the ability to regulate the franchise, the Council may want to consider
taking over the franchise under local ownership, Helling said.
Elliott Full asked why there should be any discussion of fair market value
since that value has already been determined by a willing buyer and a
willing seller, in Heritage and Hawkeye. Madsen said if the City were to
be a willing buyer, then the City should be the one to determine with the
seller what the value is. Further discussion ensued on this question.
Terry noted if Slough has concerns regarding this question of the City's
expected timeframes, as an interested party he could address Council
himself.
Kalergis announced that the equipment for the I -NET pilot project has been
installed and has been running since May 8 at the Community Programning
Center. It is now possible to access the library's computer catalog from
Sabin School. Next month it is hoped to bring the Senior Center on-line
as well. ATC hopes to officially launch the project in June. In the
meantime, anyone interested may stop by the CPC control room for a
demonstration.
Terry asked about the status of the air-conditioning at the CPC. Kalergis
said it is "off and on." Terry asked Slough for clarification of a rumor
that people in some new areas who want service have been told they will
not be able to receive it because Hawkeye doesn't want to do any expansion
until the sale question is resolved. Slough said it depended on which new
areas, but primarily those decisions are made on an individual case-by-
case basis. New construction for 1984 is on a dead standstill, Slough
said. Terry noted with approval that Coralville Excavating, a subcon-
tractor of Hawkeye, had been doing clean-up work at various sites around
the city. Terry asked if Hawkeye had been spot-checking whether drops are
being laid 12 inches below ground. Slough said this is done from time to
time, and Hawkeye's contracts call for the drops to be a minimum depth of
12 inches except where extraordinary circumstances prohibit that.
In response to a question from Madsen as to 1984 construction being at a
dead standstill, Slough said $200,000 worth of construction budget monies
had been allocated but would not be appropriated to Iowa City because of
the proposed transfer of the system. Terry asked whether Full would be
retaining his 10 percent interest in the ownership of the system. Full
said he would be bought out along with the other current owners. Terry
said he believed the Iowa City ordinance calls for a certain percentage to
be locally owned. Terry will follow-up to determine whether a percentage
of local ownership is required by the franchise.
///a6
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 15, 1984
PAGE 6
NEW BUSINESS:
The Commission expressed appreciation to Karen Kalergis for all her fine
efforts on behalf of access in Iowa City. Madsen said Kalergis would not
be forgotten. Iowa City will continue to reap the benefit of Kalergis'
work for a long time to come. While Kalergis will be missed, Madsen said,
Edye Calderon is welcomed by the BTC. Kalergis thanked the BTC for their
support and said she hoped to return for the awards festival Calderon is
planning for early fall. Kalergis said she hopes to find in Austin people
who are as interested, professional and responsible as the Iowa City BTC.
Madsen and Ehninger both noted upcoming travel plans which may interfere
with Commission meeting dates. When exact departure and return dates are
firm, both Commissioners said they will inform the chairman.
ADJOURNMENT:
Ehninger moved and Madsen seconded the meeting adjourn. Terry adjourned
the meeting at 5:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wm. Ores offer
Broadband Telecommunica ions Specialist
/1/106
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 22, 1984
CIVIC'CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PRESENT: Terry, Madsen, Ehninger, Johnson
ABSENT: Sigrin
EXCUSED: Sigrin
OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Kalergis, Calderon, Koester, Cosnett of Hawkeye
CableVision, Connie Tiffany of Iowa City Public Library,
Doug Allaire and Susan McGuire of Access Iowa City, Nile
McDonald and Tom Graves of Heritage CableVision, Elliott
Full, Janet Parrish, Cinda Stewart and former Commissioner
Sandy Eskin
STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer, Melling
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
None.
MATTERS PENDING COUNCIL -COMMISSION DISPOSITION:
Alternative options of cable ownership and consideration of conditions of
pending sale of the cable franchise.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER:
Terry called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m.
The next special meeting of the BTC will be Tuesday, May 29 at 8:00 a.m. in
Council Chambers. The regular June meeting of the BTC will be June 26 at
8:00 a.m. in Council Chambers. The regular July meeting will be Tuesday,
July 24 and the August meeting will take place August 21. The meeting for
September will be on the 18th. All of the these meetings are scheduled for
8:00 a.m. in Council Chambers. Notice of time changes will be given in
advance.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN:
The Commission set time, date and place for its regular meetings for June
through September, and a special meeting Tuesday, May 29 at 8:00 a.m. to
further discuss, finalize and recommend to Council approval conditions of the
the sale of the cable franchise. Terry stated the charge to the BTC from the
City Council for a recommendation on these issues, and the Commissioners
responded with their individual insights and opinions. The BTC decided the
collection of these insights and opinions would be the make-up of their
recommendation to Council. Please see the following text for this dialogue.
IeI0o
Broadband Telecommunications Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 2
Representatives of the Iowa City Public Library, Access Iowa City, Heritage
CableVision and other interested parties shared their comments and questions
about the issues with the BTC. No formal recommendation was made. Terry
assured Commissioners they would receive a verbatim record of today's
proceedings within a couple of days.
CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVE CABLE OWNERSHIP OPTIONS:
Terry noted per his memo to Commissioners that City Council has asked the BTC
for a recommendation on municipal ownership and/or possible conditions for
approval of sale of the franchise. Madsen stated her prime consideration is
concern for private enterprise. Secondly, Madsen noted concern on the part
of the BTC with possible passage of federal cable legislation and that
present stipulations in Iowa City's cable franchise may not be 'grandfathered
in" under such legislation. Madsen said she sees no strong value in the
City's acquiring the system and thus is in favor of a sale to an appropriate
private party with definite conditions set by the City. Johnson remarked
that he sees some free private enterprise advantages to co-op ownership.
Johnson said there are some communities similar in make-up and size to Iowa
City which have cooperative cable systems such as Palo Alto, California. One
advantage to a co-op would be that it would not put the city "in the cable
business." Johnson said further that co-op ownership would put the economic
burden on the beneficiaries (users/subscribers) of the system, and would also
place control in the hands of those who have gotten the benefit and who have
borne the burden. Johnson said he thinks a co-op would be politically
advantageous to City Council because it *gets the City out of the BTC kind of
business in terms of programatic control," in that problems are resolved and
procedures determined by the members of the co-op. Other advantages accord-
ing to Johnson, would be in gaining broader knowledge of where and how the
money is spentConnie Tiffany asked whether cooperative ownership is really
i
an option if, n fact, the City has only the right of refusal in any possible
saleTerry noted that sale to Heritage, an Iowa corporation, could be
considered local ownership when compared to ATC, which is a subsidiary of
Time, Inc. Johnson stated that Heritage is still a major MSO, and a conglom-
erate, and as such is .more like ATC than a home owned business. Ehninger
sttted that the BTC she served on ten years ago waited for someone to come
forward with a cooperative proposal but, apparently for lack of funds, no one
did. The recommendation of that commission to council was for municipal
ownership. Stating it's advantages to citizens of Iowa City, Ehninger's
recommendation to Council would be in favor of private ownership with serious
thought given to municipal ownership at the end of the current franchise.
Terry said a cooperative has some appeal but we would be starting our own'
system from scratch without where withal. Former Commissioner Sandy Eskin
noted philosophical favor for a co-op or municipal ownership, but pointed out
that Iowa City has to date received good service from the present vendor, the
community is not geared up to start its own system and sale to a good cable
operator such as Heritage is a better solution at this time. Eskin advised,
however, that the BTC and community investigate the options of cooperatives
and municipal ownership further now, in order to be prepared to implement
such a change at the end of the franchise. Eskin said the BTC and the City
should take the initiative and move forward quickly, so as not to lose the
enthusiasm of Heritage.
Broadband Telecommuniu ms Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 3
Terry agreed with Eskin's suggestion. that a prompt resolution of the question
now before the BTC is imperative. Bill Blough said that in 17 years with
cable companies he had some experience in dealing with cooperatively owned
utilities, including' the REC in Coralville, and cooperatively owned telcos.
Organizationally, Blough said, co-ops are very good and seem to function
mostly in the manner of publicly held utilities. The primary drawback to
these types of organizations, Blough said, is that they don't have the
capital to pump back into the system in order to keep plant maintenance at a
high level. Johnson remarked that some may view that lowered overhead factor
as an advantage. Johnson also said that it was his understanding that one of
the complaints against co-ops by their competitors is that capital is easily
available to them; they can make use of lower interest rates and special
benefits going into the capital market. Ehninger noted that originally many
cable co-ops arose in response to a lack of over -the -air television signals.
Eskin agreed that cable co-ops arose out of need and pointed out that a
cooperative cable system could have been built for $400 per subscriber in
1973. Elliott Full said that $400 figure is about what it costs to bring
cable service to the small communities with which he's involved. Full stated
that profit follows customer satisfaction, and when service drops off, so do
subscribers. With a city -owned service, Full stated, profit is not as great
an incentive, and thus service may fall off. Plus, Full said, you would also
have the problem of a "camel designed by a committee." Full expressed his
support for professional management in charge of the cable system. Johnson
said Full may be correct in his statement that profit follows service, when
there is competition; but when there is only one company providing the
service without competition that is the time when quality of service drops
off. Johnson suggested this may be the time to put in an alternative,
competing system, in view of the fact that Iowa City's is a non-exclusive
franchise. Full said there is plenty of off -the -air television as well as
newspapers to offer competition to cable, in addition to individual receiving
dishes, if one thinks cable rates are too high. Johnson said off -air
television and newspapers do not offer HBO, C -Span or ESPN. Full said
obtaining bank financing to start up.a new system would be very difficult.
Susan McGuire asked whether general obligation bonds would be available to a
cooperative. Melling said it may be possible that general obligation or
revenue bonds might be sold if the City were a co-owner, but that this could
be a problem. Terry said it would be unlikely because then the City would be
the primary owner. Johnson said that there are those who are professionally
trained in funding co-ops such as the National Cooperative Consumer Bank
which has recently come into existence and helped fund the co-op cable system
in Davis, California. Terry called at this time for a motion for a recommen-
dation to Council on this agenda item. Terry said each Commissioner's
remarks on this item would be forwarded to Council along with any recommenda-
tion so that no Commissioner would feel compelled to prepare a minority
report in order to have her or his views brought to Council's attention.
Ehninger stated that she did not believe a motion joining all Commissioners'
views is possible at this time. Johnson said he thinks the recommendation
should be that the Council consider what the BTC has discussed; that there
are pros and cons for each of the alternatives, that three of the four
Commissioners present and one former Commissioner think a co-op is philosoph-
ically a good idea although there may be some practical problems with it.
Johnson suggested the opinions of the Commissioners be passed along to
Council in the form of a summary of the discussion and Shaffer's memo.
Broadband Telecomm .ations Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 4
Madsen said she would go on record that 'to keep the show on the road,' and
to preserve and build on what we already have, the Commission support private
enterprise. Terry said he would have a synopsis drawn up in the form of
minutes for Commissioners' approval before the next special meeting.
Terry noted that Commissioners had all received a copy of the chair's May 16
memorandum listing the items for consideration of approval. Terry said he
had asked the Commissioners to go over the list themselves, noting their own
priorities, as Terry and Shaffer had also done. According to the list as
written Terry said items one and two deal with the same area of concern which
is community access programming. Ehninger asked whether Council had yet
reacted to the OTCs subcommittee recommendation on alternatives to the
management/operation of channel 26. Helling stated that Council has just
received the report and has not met since. Ehninger said she would want to
hear Council's reaction to the subcommittee report. In answer to a question
from Kalergis, Terry said the local origination studio as described in item 2
of this list would replace the second access studio as per the original fran-
chise proposal. Terry said these items were included as priority conditions
to be considered because access appears to be one of this community's main
concern and these two items addressed that concern.
Terry continued reading the list, with the third item in reference to seeking
approval of a five percent franchise fee. Eskin asked who approved this.
Shaffer said the conditions of sale would be approved by City Council but the
five percent franchise fee would have to be approved by the FCC. Johnson
noted that the company would have to agree to join the City in application
for the five percent franchise fee. Madsen asked for a clarification as to
whether this was in line with the legal opinion from the City Attorney and
would not put the City in the position of rewriting the franchise. Terry
said Attorney Jansen had assured the BTC this would be a reasonable request.
Terry reminded the BTC that any recommendation to Council must be justifi-
able, logical, reasonable and feasible. Terry stated that any additional
franchise fee monies would be dedicated to cable -related operations. Johnson
commented on the cable industry's determination to get legislation which
would allow them to render contracts null and void where they see fit to do
so, and questioned whether the BTC's current efforts would in the long run
have significant effect should such legislation be enacted. Madsen stated
her belief that the BTC should assume a sense of responsibility on the part,
of the company. Johnson reiterated that the pending federal cable legisla-
tion is a factor to be weighed in considering municipal or cooperative
ownership, and noted that HR4103 if passed in its current form would guaran-
tee automatic renewal of the franchise, which would in turn preclude the
city's adoption of an alternative form of ownership at the end of the current
franchise period as Eskin had suggested.
Terry stated that the issue of 4103 has been discussed at length with Council
but agreed with Johnson that the point could be raised again in a report to
Council an conditions for sale. Elliott Full said the position of the
industry is that the cable companyies would like to be treated like a
newspaper in a sales situation, where the assets of the company would simply
be sold to the highest bidder with no meetings such as this to approve
1!106
Broadband Telecommunications Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 5
conditions of such a sale. Johnson stated again that the Commission's
deliberations deal with contract provisions which may well not be legally
enforceable. Terry said he could not draw the same analogy as Full did to
newspapers since the BTC is dealing with, in essence, a monopoly in the form
of the cable company. Kalergis said she thought Full was referring to what
the basis of the regulation was, and that basis needed to be what the impact
is on the City.
Terry continued reading the list of items with the item concerning a freeze
on basic rates for eighteen months. Madsen cautioned against getting caught
up in long, drawn-out conditions which might destroy the enthusiasm of
Heritage, and rather concentrate on the access item and the franchise fee.
Terry said any of the listed items could be thrown out or reprioritized as
the Commissioners see fit. Johnson asked whether Terry anticipated a vote on
any of these conditions during this meeting. Terry said he expected to
review all of the items at this meeting and vote on them at the next meeting.
Kalergis asked whether Council has seen the new language referring to the
Community Programming Center in place of the words "public access channel
26." Ehninger said to the best of her knowledge, all that had been mentioned
to Council so far was channel 26. Kalergis said her point was that this
reference to the CPC would be a new element and would necessitate some
education of the Council to the idea. Madsen said the 8TC should be sure
that if they are going to introduce a new element, that they define it well.
Item five on Terry's prioritized list of conditions was a mechanism or
procedure by which the city/BTC could have input with the company on what
programming or channels would be included in the Iowa City system. In answer
to Johnson's query as to the source of this item Terry replied the original
source had been a statement made by Johnson himself in a previous meeting.
Johnson said while he believes there is value in citizen/viewers having input
on programming, he does not believe the City itself should be involved in
programming. Item six calls for seed money for research and development of
the institutional network and interactive uses of access channels, while
number seven requires franchise fee money due from the grantee on July 1 and
quarterly thereafter. • A performance test of the technical status of the
system by a third party of the City's choice at company expense was item
eight, and nine asks the grantee to retain present key personnel, including
those presently in programming, in order to maintain a smooth transfer of
ownership.
Ehninger called for the addition of a tenth item, an addressable system,.
stating that Iowa City is way behind the state-of-the-art promised in the
franchise proposal. Johnson agreed with Ehninger on this point and went on
to say that he thinks the BTC should also address the "big ticket" items such
as expanding the institutional network, expanding the number of channels, and
putting in two-way capability. If such things are to be done, Johnson said,
now is the time. When the original Commission convened they contemplated a
state-of-the-art system but did not set out how that might be exacted from
the company. Over the remaining ten years of the franchise, Johnson said,
the company will have even less incentive to expand and upgrade the system,
since they have no competition in the market place. Johnson said this is the
major, big bucks issue. Terry stated that while he agrees with Johnson's
point regarding the institutional network, he does not believe expanding
channel capacity would be a reasonable request, since at this time the
/44o4
Broadband Telecommunications Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 6
present channel capacity is not being fully used. In response to Johnson,
Blough commented that although the franchise uses the phrase, 'state-of-
the-art," it also extends that phrase to say, "if and when it is economically
feasible.' Blough said he sees difficulty in bringing a system into state-
of-the-art if the Commission is at the same time calling for a rate freeze.
Johnson concurred with Blough but said that if the Commission wants major
changes in the system, now is the time to discuss those changes. Johnson said
his point is that there is little incentive to improve a monopolistic cable
system once it is in place; the people won't ask for something if they don't
know anything about it. If the system is to be upgraded it will be brought
about by pressure from those who do know the options and make those recommen-
dations. Blough said he wants to make it clear that if Iowa City were an
ideal cable market, it would have 80 to 90% penetration. The reason Iowa
City took so long to get cable is the competition from off -air TV stations.
Iowa City's 52% penetration is close to the national average for cable
systems. one of Blough's concerns as manager has been to maintain services
in an affordable fashion while at the same time doing the best he can to
enhance those services, in view of fact that subscribers may chose at any
time to drop cable and hook back up to their antenna.
Johnson noted that the City and company could mutually agree to pursue 100%
penetration by means of actually wiring all the homes in Iowa City; that once
a home is wired it becomes much easier for the company to sell services such
as water meter reading, banking, pay cable services, pay-per-view, shopping
and other revenue producing services. Another major item Johnson thinks
should be discussed is the entire rate structure: does Iowa City want a
tiered structure; should Iowa City provide a free or very low cost basic
service, with add ons and additional tiers being priced higher. Again,
Johnson said, this is a major option open to Iowa City now, which won't be
available after the new agreement is entered into. Madsen said she still
believes that the City Attorney's position is that a more restrictive reading
is required; that opening things up to consider universal service, tiered
rate structures, etc., is not realistic and not within the scope of the
present charge to the Commission. Madsen said she does not believe cable is
that vital to the well-being of people in the community.
Terry said he had taken note of the Commissioner's remarks and priorities
and would send out his amended list in the mail to Commissioners in the next
couple of days. Terry asked the Commissioners to bring their own lists in
writing to next weeks meeting. Johnson reiterated his beliefs that the BTC
has an obligation to Council to point out the full range of options open to
them. There was some confusion over who would need to approve major changes
in the ordinance, but Terry stated that the City's legal department had
informed him major changes in the ordinance would require a voter referendum.
Susan McGuire asked about matching funds from the company for community
productions. Terry said he and Shaffer had discussed that and determined it
would not be considered a fair and reasonable request. In addition, Terry
said, Hawkeye had already extended its grant allocation because the original
money was not really in demand. Kalergis clarified that although the money
had not been spent at the anticipated rate of $5,000 per year, it is being
spent and said McGuire's point is a good one. Terry accepted the correction
but pointed out that this was a voluntary action on Hawkeye's part and not a
Broadband Telecommunications Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 7
Commission directive. Kalergis said it was in the franchise proposal. Connie
Tiffany said in consideration of support for community programming and the
access center she would like to see the BTC consider a suggestion that the
franchisee would agree to pay to Iowa City a fee based on the subscribers in
the extended service areas of the county (served by the same franchise) which
don't have their own access centers. Terry said this was a fair request and
addresses a problem from a year ago of high demand causing severe wear -
and -tear on equipment. Susan McGuire asked for a clarification on the
question whether it is wise to push for more channels if, in fact, the
University is planning to use several existing channels for data transmis-
sion. Blough said some channels could be consolidated such as the wire
service channels of sports and financial news. Blough said that the Univer-
sity had expressed some interest in using four channels but talks had not
proceeded to dollars and costs as yet. Doug Allaire had asked about the
possibility of replacing some access equipment following an inventory of what
is currently not in good working order. Terry said he did not believe this
should be a condition of sale because Hawkeye had demonstrated a commitment
to meeting and going beyond terms of the franchise in what equipment it has
available. Terry said he hopes Heritage would do the same. Allaire explained
that one thing in particular which needs to be upgraded is the studio
character generator which is and always has been inadequate.
Kalergis asked for an explanation of how the Compuvid unit is used for
interactive distribution of information. Shaffer said essentially a Compuvid
with a CPA -1 configuration enables two-way services to and from the home with
a one-way cable system by use of the telephone system. This would cost
approximately $10,000. In response to Eskin's question regarding the cost of
actually making the cable system itself two-way, Blough said a ballpark
figure would be approximately ;1,000 per trunk mile, or for Iowa City,
$200,000. Shaffer said to further clarify the Compuvid system, it doesn't
simulate a two-way system but gives users access to a central computer bank
via phone lines from the home with information fed back to the home via the
cable system. Kalergis pointed out that this would also require staff to
program the system which would involve a hidden cost in acquiring the unit..
Terry asked if the Commissioners had any other considerations they would like
to add. Johnson said it might be helpful to break this down and have two
lists, identifying and separating items into major and minor considerations.
It was agreed the chair would send out an unprioritized list of everyone's
suggestions and the Commissioner's would then determine their own priori-
tizations and vote on them at the next meeting.
Kalergis asked what role is to be played by the report she prepared at the
Commission's request documenting how and where Hawkeye had gone beyond
franchise requirements in the services it provides the community. The
consensus of the Commissioners was that this list should be a model by which
Iowa City can identify to Heritage (as per item 1) the current 'level of
support' and have those things guaranteed, before going after new proposals
such as the Compuvid or Phasecom units. This list will be incorporated into
item 1.
Terry introduced Nile McDonald and Tom Graves of Heritage Cablevision.
McDonald delivered regards to Johnson from Jim Hoak, President of Heritage.
Johnson stated for the record that although he and Hoak do know each other
10a
Broadband Telecommunications Commission
May 22, 1984
Page 8
they deliberately have not talked during this entire period. McDonald
oversees cable operations for Heritage in Iowa and two contiguous states.
McDonald said he wanted to share Heritage's perspective on the issue, to seek
some advice, and one bit of information. Basically, he said, ATC wants to
sell the system and Heritage wants to buy it. McDonald said Heritage bought
the system with the intention of living with the ordinance, with the under-
standing of what ATC is currently providing in the way of personnel, and the
programs Kalergis has put together with representatives of the community.
Heritage is fully prepared to live with the status quo. Heritage is less
enthusiastic about two way interactive but is willing to talk about it. They
are willing to negotiate reasonable requests 'that don't adversely impact the
analysis upon which we purchased the system.' Heritage has a commitment to
Iowa, specifically, and to medium sized cities in general. McDonald said
Heritage would run a good system and has good credentials. Heritage is eager
to become a part of the local business community. If the City chooses not to
follow a course of municipal or cooperative ownership, and if it agrees that
Heritage is a reasonable substitute for ATC, McDonald asked that the matter
be considered expeditiously. McDonald expressed concern over employee morale
and noted underground construction is unable to be completed until a decision
is made, which he said is depriving people of service. McDonald said in
order to meet the deadlines for fail scheduling of programning additions such
as Financial News Network, Nashville Network and Disney channel, action must
take place soon.
An important concern to Heritage 1s the financial and legal situation between
Heritage and ATC. McDonald asked for a speculation of the time table by
which the City expects to proceed. Terry declined to speculate, but said the
Commission would meet next week to finalize the items it had discussed at
this meeting. The BTC will forward a recommendations to Council by June 1.
Dale Melling said the Council would discuss the BTC recommendation on June 4.
Helling said that the Council shares the concern of the BTC in settling this
matter in a timely fashion. Helling said as a conjecture, it may take about
60 days. It would depend, Helling said, on what ownership option the City
decides to pursue, but it would be more clear after the discussion on June 4.
Johnson asked if McDonald could outline some of Heritage's financial and
legal difficulties, uncertainties and consequences. McDonald said it had
been Heritage's intention to put the Iowa City system, as it has Muscatine,
Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant, in a limited partnership. Timing, he said,
affects a limited partnership in such areas as write-offs and other financial
benefits to the partner/investors. The equity from the partners is leveraged
with additional bank loans and a failure to close the transaction with ATC
for Iowa City by a certain time would necessitate some restructuring at the
bank of Heritage's financial arrangements with its partners. McDonald said
the time limit in ATC's agreement with Heritage runs out soon, but said they
anticipate one extension. McDonald cautioned that delays in the process
could lead to a cancellation of the proposal. Negotiations with Coralville
and University Heights are contingent on those with Iowa City. McDonald said
if Heritage could be reasonably assured of final agreement with the City for
acquisition of the system by Heritage, some of the administrative and
programming decisions necessary could be made with ATC.
Terry called for a vote on the motion to adjourn. Motion carried.
Ehninger/Madsen.
/4�aG
Broadband Telecommuni..cions Commission
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29; 1984
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PRESENT: Terry, Madsen; Ehninger, Johnson
ABSENT: Sigrin
EXCUSED: Sigrin
OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Kalergis, Calderon, Cosnett of Hawkeye CableVision;
McDonald, Graves of Heritage Cablevision; McGuire, Allaire,
Stech of Access Iowa City; Tiffany of Iowa City Public
Library; Ron Wills of St. Paul, Minnesota; Elliott Full
STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer; Helling, Brown
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
The BTC approved a prioritized list of conditions for approval of sale. That
list -is attached to these minutes and made a part thereof.
MATTERS PENDING COUNCIL -COMMISSION DISPOSITION:
Alternative options of cable ownership and consideration of conditions of
pending sale of the cable franchise.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN:
The BTC discussed and set final prioritization of approval conditions of the
sale and passed a resolution to recommend this list to Council. This list is
briefly recounted in Terry's memo of May 31, 1984, to Council.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER:
Terry called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Terry noted Commissioners had received Assistant City Attorney Brown's legal
opinion regarding local ownership of the cable company, which is self-explana-
tory. Terry also took note of a memo dated May 24, 1984, by Doug Allaire in
regard to equipment at the Community Programming Center (CPC) which is also
self-explanatory.
MINUTES:
Terry explained that minutes from the last special meeting May 22, 1984, are
not proof read and will not be considered for approval at this meeting,
although Commissioners had received copies for their information.
/, e146
BROADBAND TELECOMh. aCATIONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29, 1984
PAGE 2
DISCUSSION AND DETERMINATION OF APPROVAL CONDITIONS OF PENDING TRANSFER AND/OR
CHANGES IN THE ORDINANCE:
Terry said he would like the Commissioners to give their comments on the
priorities as they were drawn up last week. The BTC will then vote on each
item to determine a final prioritization to be sent on to Council. A unanimous
vote would be desirable, Terry said, but the majority will rule. Finally, a
motion will be called for to send these recommendations on to Council. Johnson
asked if Terry contemplated forwarding to Council the views of all Commission-
ers, or if effort would be made to reach consensus. Terry said he would like to
reach consensus if possible and that the minutes will show comments by every-
one. Madsen commented that the Commission had agreed to consensus in recom-
mending whether the City will accept the sale or refuse it, but the business of
today's meeting is to prioritize conditions if and when the City should decide
to approve the sale. Madsen feels the BTC can best serve the City Council by
reaching general agreement on the priorities rather than Commissioners writing
separate opinions. Ehninger stated her understanding was that the Commission-
ers were to prepare in writing their own prioritizations and bring them to this
meeting to be voted on in a final order for Council. Johnson said that while he
agrees a list of conditions of sale for Council to approve is called for, he
sees a distinction between those items and certain major questions such as
bringing the Iowa City system into state-of-the-art, addressable, two-way
systems, multiple tiers of service and rates, and pending federal cable
legislation. Johnson would like the BTC to prepare two lists, one with the
prioritized conditions, and the other with these major questions which he
believes the City Council should address.
Johnson moved the BTC send the Council two lists, one a prioritized set of
conditions if the sale were to be approved and the second a list of what the
BTC believes to be the major policy issues and major undertakings that the
Council should address. The motion died for lack of a second. Ehninger
suggested Terry begin with his own list of priorities and each Commissioner
could then state her or his own ranking of the items as they come up. The
other Commissioners agreed and Terry began going through his list with the
first item, the community programming facilitiles and services to be funded by
the grantee and managed and operated by a non-profit organization. (see Terry's
memo to Council fore more complete language of the items to be prioritized).
Ehninger stated this item was also number one on her list. Madsen lists this
item as number two. Johnson commented there are in fact three parts of this
item, the first being the Community Programming Center (CPC) itself; a 501C-3
organization (a non-profit corporation) operating the CPC and finally the
equipment in the CPC. Terry said he would prefer to treat it as one package,
and asked Johnson for his number one priority. Johnson stated he would also
select this item as number one. Madsen noted she has questions as to the value
to the community of the Compuvid unit and how it would be used. Shaffer
explained the unit could be utilized as a method by which people could access
information either of a governmental nature or a public nature from a computer
bank, thus possibly saving staff time, and could be used jointly by channels 26
and 29. A home viewer can access the computer bank by use of a touch-tone
telephone. The information sought is then sent to the viewer via the cable
system and the home television receives it.
Sil9
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNIL,..IONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29, 1984
PAGE 3
Madsen said she would reprioritize this item to number one. Madsen said it
should be made clear the BTC is really pushing for the non-profit organization
to run the CPC. In terms of services and equipment, the Council should be
aware of the documents provided by Kalergis of March 27 and April 10 setting
out the "current level of support" for access by Hawkeye in order to assure an
ongoingness. Johnson noted some difficulty with the reference in item number
one to access staff and equipment being added as demand rises and "the company
continues to profit." Madsen agreed the wording was a bit cumbersome.
Ehninger asked for inclusion of the words "at least the current level of
support." Terry agreed this could be done. Johnson noted that requiring of
Heritage what it has already agreed to (i.e., 'the current level of support for
access"), should be considered a procedure rather than a condition.
Doug Allaire asked for reaction to his memo, or to the one from Anita Stech.
Terry said Stech's memo is covered in the ordinance and might be considered of
a "housekeeping" nature. Johnson said such housekeeping details should perhaps
be clarified at this point. Madsen said this matter had been addressed by the
BTC adequately at other times. Terry said the third point of Stech's memo
referring to depreciation of vehicles would be interfering in Heritage's
corporate business. McDonald stated Heritage generally leases vehicles for
three years. Johnson suggested the BTC state to Council it is the intention of
the Commission to draw together in a separate document all of the information
describing what the current standards are in order to clear up any ambiguity or
confusion.
Dan Daly expressed concern on the part of Access Iowa City and other interested
parties that this be done so as not to lose any ground from what has so
conscientiously been hammered out by the BTC, and so that it can be clear to
the company what has been and what is expected of them. Shaffer said this
information could be prepared and sent to Council in the form of an RFP if this
condition is approved. Allaire asked about the replacement and additional
equipment referred to in his memo. Kalergis said this comes back again to the
two-part statement that 1) there be no ground lost; that the clarifications of
the ordinance proposal worked out over the last four and one-half years remain,
and 2) the compilation df Allaire's list, the Phasecoms and Compuvid are
additions to be negotiated. Johnsom and Ehninger expressed agreement that
Kalergis' comments be embodied in the recommendation to Council.
Susan McGuire expressed a concern that if a non-profit group were to manage the
CPC, that it be given autonomy to set the dictates of equipment needs. If the
group feels something is needed, it should have the ability to obtain it at
that time, and not bump up against some corporate policy saying it can't be
done for X number of years. Ehninger said such a proposal should be set out in
the group's response to an RFP.
Next on Terry's list was completion of the local origination studio at
Southgate. Ehninger said this was low on her list and she would rate the five
percent franchise fee as number two. Madsen said she ranked the franchise fee
number one, and L.O. Studio as number four. Consensus of the Commission was to
rank the franchise fee item as number two. Madsen said her third priority
would be a single tier system. Ehninger said her third would be retention of
key personnel and fourth the single tier system. Discussion ensued regarding
the single tier system as Johnson, who holds an opposing viewpoint on this,
tried to determine whether he understood Madsen's position clearly. Madsen
/4164
BROADBAND TELECOMMUN h -IONS COMMISSION ^
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29, 1984
PAGE 4
said basically she wants to see safeguarded in a single tier what we have now;
and let the company decide what it wants to do about other services later.
McDonald said Heritage had used tiers in other cities "not that aggressively"
but that if it is done carefully it is a benefit, and gives people a choice to
either accept it or reject it. McDonald also said it is not the intention of
Heritage to do that in Iowa City at this point. Johnson described the diffi-
culty in legally binding the company to a single tier system in that the FCC
would allow the company to tier if it wants to. Secondly, Johnson said, rates
for basic service will eventually go up and we could be locked into higher and
higher rates for basic service which could be avoided to some degree by going
to a multi -tiered system. Madsen stated there is nothing the BTL is or has
done that is so legally binding it can't be changed. Dan Daly expressed some
support for a tiered service including off -air and access channels in a free or
low cost basic tier. Johnson inquired of Blough whether offering what is
currently available in the Iowa City system for $3.95 instead of $8.95 would
significantly affect the level of penetration of the cable service. Blough
said it would, although not enough to offset the cost. The vote was 3-1 to
rank a single tier service as number three with Johnson dissenting.
Ehninger said her number four ranked item would be retaining key personnel.
Madsen said she believes this to be a housekeeping item. Johnson asked for
input from Blough and McDonald on this point. Noting previous remarks from
Blough as to morale problems, Johnson said if the BTC can help in this manner,
they should. McDonald said it is important to Heritage to start out on the
right foot with employees and in that pursuit had met early on with Hawkeye
personnel to ensure them of 1) Heritage being a viable, knowledgeable, capable
operator in the cable television business, and 2) that their jobs are secure.
McDonald said further that what does trouble the employees is the uncertainty
of the process the City is now engaged in. Blough said the morale problem is
two -fold: 1) the system is in the process of being sold which prevents some
things from beigg done that should be, and 2) who the new owner will be,
Heritage or some other ownership option. Discussion concluded with unanimous
agreement an the ranking of this item as number four (which is to encourage the
company to make a commitment to retain key personnel).
Unanimous agreement also developed at this time to rank as number five the
second studio to be used for commercial purposes by the company. Madsen said
after this, except for items 7 and 8 (scheduling of franchise payments to the
City and performance test of the cable system) from Terry's list which she
considers important housekeeping items, the remaining items are either unac-
ceptable, already in place or not realistic and she would stop after those two.
Unanimous agreement was that number 6 should be performance test and number 7
franchise fee scheduling. (Again, please refer to attached memo for more
complete language of the items.) Terry said he would like to include one more
item, ranking seed money for research and development of institutional network
and interactive uses. Johnson said he would like to include Terry's item number
6 which is creating a mechanism for public impact that would be used to help
select the programming to be added to the Iowa City cable system. Discussion
ensued on what kinds of mechanisms might be employed which are not now, which
would allow for more public or Commission input on programming. The vote was
3-1 (Madsen dissenting) to rank number 8 public input on programming. Terry
called for item number 9 to be $10,000 seed money for I -net and interactive
research and development. Johnson asked how the dollar figure had been
/y64
BROADBAND TELECOM`ICATIONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29, 1984
PAGE 5
determined. It was agreed following discussion to drop the dollar amount
reference from the language of the item and rank it number 9 with no dissenting
votes.
A short recess was taken. The meeting reconvened at 9:30 a.m. Terry asked
that the remaining items on the list be considered as conditions and rankings
set for them. The next item for discussion then was a freeze on basic rates
for 18 months. Madsen stated that the company ,is already prohibited from
asking for a rate hike more than once a calendar year and disagreed that this
item should be considered a condition. Terry said the last request for a rate
hike was in June 1983 and the company could ask for another next month.
Ehninger said she had given this a low priority and didn't feel it was neces-
sary to negotiation. Johnson said he would not vote against it, but thought it
primarily a public relations gesture to the people of Iowa City. After
discussion this item was approved as number 10, 3-1 with Madsen dissenting.
The item will read 'a freeze on requests for basic service rate increases for
18 months.'
Johnson had a question relating to the $10,000 figure in the seed money for
I -Net and interactive research and development. Kalergis said it might be fun
and constructive to ask for funds for more pilot projects to do specific
things, such as some of the things the City wants to do. This would make it
easier for Heritage to respond to the item. Shaffer said one specific project
would be to connect the City's equipment building south of town to the I -flet.
Terry asked for consideration of the item referring to an addressable system.
Winger said she thinks state-of-the-art is what the Commission should be
discussing. Blough said the industry currently is using addressable systems as
a security measure against theft of paid services. A centrally located computer
can be used to tell another piece of equipment in the subscriber's home what to
do and what not to do. This is different from a two-way system. Madsen said
this should not be a condition and is extremely unrealistic.
Johnson said he would like to see a short list, highlighted for the Council
that says this question of a state-of-the-art system is a major issue. Johnson
asked whether, by approving the sale,with these kinds of conditions, the City
would be telling the purchaser they are free to take a $5 million system, put
it on the books at a $12 million value and make the citizens of Iowa City pay
depreciation on it, and give Iowa City a 1979 system depreciated over the 15
years of the franchise, and not change what it was in the first place. In
other words, should Iowa City require the state-of-the-art system called for by
the franchise, or be satisfied with an obsolete one? Now, with a transfer
pending, is the time to address that question, Johnson said. Madsen stated she
never had said we would remain where we were in 1979, but that the Commission
is doing the best it can for the citizens of Iowa City, and that she does not
believe those citizens find cable TV so absolutely dramatic that they can't
live without it. Cable TV does a lot of things, but it is not something that
everyone has to have. Madsen stated further she does not believe requirement of
a multi-million dollar investment of a system only one-third into the franchise
period would go through. Johnson said this question can be incorporated in
this document or he will raise it in a separate opinion. Two Commissioners
being in favor of this item and two opposed, the item died for lack of a
majority.
BROADBAND TELECOMMU`ATIONS COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 29, 1984
PAGE 6
Terry said the remaining items are those that were discussed but that he had
not prioritized them because he felt they were unreasonable, or a heavy cost
burden or would require an ordinance change. Johnson said his recollection was
that the grant money item (requiring the company to continue funding for
community productions) was to be incorporated in item number one, and the
record should reflect this. The Chair recognized Connie Tiffany who asked that
the BTC consider an item calling for the company to pay a per subscriber fee
for use of the access facilities by those from franchise areas adjacent to
Iowa City which do not have access centers. This fee would be applied to access
and might be determined on a percentage basis. Terry said the point is well
taken and he would agree to incorporate it into Stech's list for the RFP.
Tiffany said this is meant as an item for negotiation with Heritage, not an
item for the RFP. Madsen said she is sympathetic to the problem this item
addresses, but she does not think it should be a condition of sale. Johnson
said he would agree to incorporating this into item number one as Tiffany
suggested. Ehninger said. she would also agree. Terry said he was also in
agreement, so the vote was 3-1 (Madsen dissenting) to incorporate this item
into number one.
Johnson said that although he supports the list of conditions as prioritized,
the issues that he feels are really significant haven't been addressed at all,
and he will write a separate memo on these (see minutes of the May 22nd meeting
for discussion of these items). Johnson moved that the list be approved and
recommended to Council with the notation that there are other, more significant
items which have been omitted from it, but that what it purports to do, it
does. Ehninger seconded the motion. Terry called for discussion. The Secre-
tary asked if Ehninger was seconding Johnson's proviso, as part of the motion.
Ehninger stated she was not, only the motion to approve the list. Some
discussion ensued. Terry called the question. Johnson voted aye. Terry,
Madsen, Ehninger voted no. Ehninger moved, Madsen seconded, the list be
approved and recommended to Council as the prioritization of the Commission's
concerns. Terry, Madsen and Ehninger voted aye, Johnson dissented.
ADJOURNMENT:
Motion to adjourn moved by Ehninger, seconded by Johnson. Meeting adjourned at
9:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
1/V
Hm. Dee fer
Broadband Telecommunications Specialist
11N
City of Iowa Cis,
MEMORANDUM
Date: June 1, 1984
To: City Council
From: H.O. "Bill" Terry, BTC Chairperson
Re: Approval Conditions of Sale and Alternative Ownership Options
Recommended by the BTC
At the special BTC meeting which occurred on May 22 we discussed the cable
ownership options available to the City and the approval conditions of sale.
While I requested a motion from the Commission for a recommendation to
Council on the matter of cable ownership, the BTC indicated that they would
prefer that their collective insights and opinions as expressed in the
verbatim minutes of the May 22 meeting serve as their recommendation. It was
suggested by some Commissioners that the matter of alternative cable owner-
ship should be further explored for possible application at the end of this
franchise. However, the indication from the minutes is that the majority of
the Commission sees no immediate viability to an alternatively owned cable
system in Iowa City, with the strongest dissention of this viewpoint ex-
pressed by Mr. Johnson.
The BTC tailed a second special meeting on May 29 to discuss only the matter
of approval conditions of the sale. The BTC reached unanimous agreement on
eight conditions, while three more were passed by a majority vote of 3-1.
Following is an abbreviated list of those conditions, with the names of those
voting for each priority. I would recommend that the details of any condi-
tion approved by Council be worked out by City staff and a BTC subcommittee.
1. All access or community programming -related facilities, services and
programming should continue to be funded by the cable company, but should
be managed and operated by a non-profit organization for optimum benefits
to be realized by and for the community. The level of funding will be at
least that which is now allocated to access by Hawkeye. In addition,
certain equipment items now need to be replaced, and additional equipment
Items should be added to -the existing inventory. Grant funds for
community programming should continue to be supplied by the company. A
Request For Proposals (RFP) should be drawn up to solicit for non-profit
organizations' responses. In the event there is no non-profit group that
can adequately respond to the RFP, the associated access responsibilities
as stated and performed by Hawkeye will become the responsibility of
Heritage. Unanimously approved. *See condition 011.
2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should be petitioned for a 5%
franchise fee waiver, with the company cooperatively joining the City in
this effort. In the event the FCC petition fails, Heritage should agree
to pay the equivalent amount (currently approximately $40,000) in grant
funds to the City to be placed in a special fund account to be used for
cable access -related purposes. These funds are needed to supplement the
ongoing efforts of City and library staff in programming, access and
regulation related efforts and could be used to supplement the needs of a
non-profit organization, if one is selected to be responsible for access
services. Unanimously approved.
3. The present cable system should remain a single tier system in order to
protect the City's ability to regulate basic service rates. Any change
in the tiering structure of cable should be approved by the BTC and City
Council. The current FCC policy would allow the City to regulate the
Iowa City cable system as it is tiered. Passed by a vote of 3-1, Johnson
dissenting.
4. To facilitate the new transfer of ownership of the company, the BTC wants
to encourage the grantee to make a commitment to maintain present key
personnel. Heritage has expressed a willingness to cooperate on this
matter. While the STC does not suggest making this an approval condition
of sale, I do recommend having such an agreement put in writing. Unani-
mously approved.
S. The new grantee should be required to complete a second basic studio for
all commercial or local origination purposes. This would ensure the
complete separation of the community programming efforts and commercial
programming that is carried on by the company. The second studio was
initially stipulated in the grantee's proposal. Rather than being a
back-up access studio, as stated in that proposal, the BTC suggests this
studio be used for any commercial efforts of the grantee. I feel that
this commercial studio could enable the company to increase its own
revenues and the City's franchise fee as well. Unanimously approved.
6. A performance test of the technical status of the cable system should be
conducted by a third party to be named by the City and paid for by the
cable company. This is recommended to ensure the cable system's quality
and stability. Unanimously approved.
A mechanism or procedure should be initiated by which the City, via input
from the public, can help select programming or channels that the Iowa
City cable system is to receive. This is not meant to stifle private
enterprise. Instead this is a method by which the public can have input
into what programming is received in Iowa City. This issue has been
frequently raised by citizens and the Commissioners at previous Annual
Cable Input Forums. Unanimously approved.'
8. Franchise fee money should be paid by the grantee on July 1, 1984 and
quarterly thereafter. This is for City accounting purposes and to enable
the City to accumulate the interest on this money. Passed 3-1, Madsen
dissenting.
Seed money should be obtained from the cable company for research and
development as well as pilot projects on the institutional cable network
in Iowa City. This money will be used to develop the City's and possibly
other institutions' use of cable for data transmission purposes. Unani-
mously approved.,
10. A freeze on requests for basic service rate increases for 18 months.
Passed 3-1, Madsen dissenting.
11. The Iowa City grantee should pay for the use of the Iowa City access
facilities by subscribers from adjacent communities with cable systems
that are owned by the same cable company but whose communities are not
supplied with access facilities. This recommendation is made in order to
attempt to address concerns that have been brought up at previous
Commission meetings regarding the use of the access facilities and
equipment by citizens from other communities that do not have such
facilities and services. Unanimously approved. *This item was brought
up twice by library staff. The Commission decided this condition should
be made part of condition number one because it is related to community
access.
A motion to approve these priorities and send them to City Council was made.
During discussion of the motion, Mr. Johnson expressed an interest to
dissent. While Mr. Johnson agreed with these conditions he strongly believed
other conditions should take priority over these, including the requirements
of a two-way system, additional channel capacity and an addressable system.
These conditions brought up by Mr. Johnson were not agreed upon by a majority
of the Commission because each condition would be very expensive and there-
fore possibly be a financial burden on the company and/or such conditions may
require an ordinance amendment and voter approval. The motion to accept
these 11 priority approval conditions of sale passed 3-1, with Johnson
dissenting. The conditions that Johnson expressed interest in were discussed
at the May 22 BTC meeting. Minutes of both meetings are attached for your
reference.
If Council decides private enterprise is at present the best alternative and
also decides these and any other conditions are appropriate, I would like to
suggest such conditions can be presented to Heritage by the BTC subcommittee
and City staff, with full knowledge that the results of such a meeting would
be contingent on Council approval.
In conclusion, while there were some differences of opinion during this
process I felt that the BTC handled the charge by Council in a timely,
professional and well thought out manner. I would also like to thank the
Iowa City Public Library, Access Iowa City and other concerned citizens for
their input during our meetings. Please feel free to call me or Mr. Drew
Shaffer if you have any questions or need further information.
ds/sp
/yob.
MINUTES
BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
JUNE 26, 1984
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PRESENT: Terry, Johnson, Madsen, Ehninger, Sigrin
ABSENT: None
EXCUSED: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Calderon of Hawkeye, Connie Tiffany of ICPL, Joan Jehle
and Anita Stech of AIC, Rick Hindman of Kirkwood Community
College, Diana Beeson of Channel 28, and Dom Caristi, and Cinda
Stewart, Recording Secretary.
STAFF PRESENT: Helling
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL:
The BTC approved a change in its bylaws calling for election of officers on
March 13 or at the first regular meeting following appointment by Council.
MATTERS PENDING COUNCIL -COMMISSION DISPOSITION:
Negotiation of approval conditions for sale of franchise.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN:
The 1984 national conference of the National Federation of Local Cable
Programmers is July 19-21 at the Sheraton Tech Center in Denver, Colorado. City
staff members have been drafting the language of the eleven approval conditions
for the sale of the cable system. Final draft is expected in a week to ten
days. Dom Caristi of Hawkeye Court asked when residents of University married
student housing might expect to receive cable service. Hawkeye and the Univer-
sity's office of Married Student Housing are negotiating the matter. A legal
opinion on jurisdiction in this question will be sought from the City.
The BTC amended its bylaws regarding election of officers to resolve the
problems of a month long lag between appointment of commissioners by Council
and the previous election date of BTC officers. Following discussion of a
report by Rick Hindman, Director of Telecommunications at Kirkwood Community.
College, the BTC gave its approval to a proposal that the management and
operation of the Educational Cable Consortium's Channel 27 be turned over to
Kirkwood. Kirkwood expects to offer 75 hours of programming per week on the
channel.
The official launch of the Institutional Network pilot project linking the
Senior Center with the library's computer catalog is June 28, at 3:30 PH at the
Senior Center. The panel of judges who will nominate entries for Hawkeye's
annual awards festival begins meeting weekly July 9. The awards will be
presented at a ceremony to be cablecast live from Old Brick September 21.
Sigrin will represent the BTC on the nominating panel.
/e166
Broadband TeleCommL .ations Commission
June 26, 1984
Page 2
Access Iowa City will continue to assist the City in its efforts to develop a
non-profit corporation to manage access, even though the group will lose one of
its most dedicated members when Anita Stech moves to Virginia next month. A
reception in honor of Stech• and her family will be held July 1 at 156 N.
Friendship. AIC sent a memo to Council May 30, including the group's research
papers on non-profit access management of Channel 26 and the Community Program-
ming Center. This information is available at the Iowa City Public Library
under City Council information as well as subject heading and Community
Organizations. The next regular meeting of AIC is July 10 at the Library. The
BTC will issue a formal resolution of commendation to Stech for her work on
behalf of public access in Iowa City.
Diana Beeson reported for the University on improvement in programming Channel
28. Ideas for developing a program guide for the local access channels were
discussed.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER:
Terry called the meeting to order at 8:06 AM.
MINUTES:
Minutes of May 15, 22, and 29 approved. Madsen/Ehninger.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Terry announced the national conference of the National Federation of Local
Cable Programmers (NFLCP) is July 19-21 in Denver at the Sheraton Tech Center.
City staff members have been drafting the language of the eleven conditions.
The final draft should be completed in a week to ten days, at which time it
will be sent to Heritage.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Dom Caristi of Hawkeye Court expressed his desire to receive cable TV at his
home but stated that he.could not since Hawkeye Court has not been wired by the
cable company. Caristi is concerned that Heritage may not want to spend the
money for cable plant after spending 112.5 million to buy the franchise.
Terry stated the BTC does not have control over the University. This particu-
lar question has arisen before, Terry said, and the University has been
resistant. Blough explained that in 1980-81 Hawkeye negotiated a blanket
contract to wire the entire University, including married student housing. That
contract was ratified by the Board of Regents then vetoed by former UI Presi-
dent Willard Boyd and finally sent to several committees to be studied for
future evaluation. Blough said essentially the only part of the University
which did become wired is the University hospitals, having done so on its own
initiative.
Subsequently, Hawkeye and the Office of Married Student Housing have been
meeting to come up with methods of wiring Hawkeye Court and Hawkeye Drive. The
company did build plant in the Hawkeye Drive area, but there is still no
agreement for actually wiring the buildings. Company plans for 1984 called for
the wiring of Hawkeye Court and Drive as well as Park Lawn married housing, but
the suspension of construction monies by ATC pending the sate has put this pian
in jeopardy. Blough noted, however, that the UI is no longer resisting the
��G
Broadband Telecommuni .ions Commission
June 26,• 1984
Page 3
wiring of married student housing. Johnson asked whether the citizens of Iowa
City were paying twice for this project if the money was allocated by ATC but
the project would be completed by Heritage. Blough said the funds were
budgeted but not allocated. Caristi asked whether or not, since the UI is no
longer resisting the wiring of married student housing, Hawkeye is in violation
of its contract in not proceeding to complete wiring. Terry suggested Caristi
might approach Student Senate for help. Johnson moved it is the sense of the
Commission that Hawkeye should proceed immediately to the fulfillment of its
obligation to wire married student housing. Motion failed for lack of a
second. Terry reiterated the BTC has no jurisdiction over married student
housing which is state property. Melling concurred with Terry's statement but
did allow that an opinion from the City's legal staff could be sought on the
question. Further discussion demonstrated some concern on the part of at least
two commissioners as to jurisdictional responsibility in this dispute. Terry
asked Helling to refer the matter to legal.
CONSIDERATION OF BTC BYLAWS CHANGE:
Terry noted commissioners had received the draft of the by-laws change to allow
for election of officers on March 13 or at the first regular meeting after
appointment by Council. Johnson asked how this differs from current require-
ments. Terry explained the purpose of this change is to resolve the problem of
the one month lagbetweenappointment of commissioners in February and election
of the
s in
all officers
MarchAl3 date wasgwhich stipulatedgbecauseCallaregularappointments effect
officers
become
effective on that date.
Mike Sigrin asked Terry for a clarification regarding the eleven conditions for
approval of sale; Sigrin wondered whether Terry implied that Heritage had
approved the conditions or if negotiations were about to begin. Johnson asked
why Terry felt encouraged to believe Heritage would accept the City's propos-
als. Terry reiterated no private negotiations or conversations with Heritage
had taken place, but Terry's "gut feeling" based on Heritage's response during
BTC meetings was that they had no problems with it.
Moved and seconded the proposed change in the bylaws be approved. Sigrin asked
whether there was concern among commissioners that the current standard of a
simple majority of the commission be present in order to elect officers was
dard is
e question.The vote was 4-1 with
Consensus eSigrinndissenting sufficient. Madsen called
the
CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF ECC CHANNEL 27:
Terry noted that as soon as commissioners had read and considered the proposal
submitted by Kirkwood College's Rick Hindman a motion would be in order to
approve it and send it on to Council for final approval. Terry noted Shaffer
had read the proposal by Hindman and had no problems approving it. Hindman
noted that the Channel's board of directors has given 90 days notice to the
Iowa City school system that a new manager would take over the operation of the
channel
bhad prothe duced sof thisthe ECC. proposal which Hindman
hassaid
beeneapprovednover
as by all
the member institutions of the ECC, including the Iowa City public schools,
Willow Wind School, the Iowa City catholic schools, Kirkwood Community College
and the Grant Wood Area Education Agency.
llft64
Broadband Telecomr, ^cations Commission
June 26, 1984
Page 4
Hindman further stated that the management fee would be waived for a ten hour
block of programming, the contract is renewable annually, and the rate struc-
ture beyond the first ten hours is lower under this contract than as the case
with the Iowa City School System's management agreement with ECC. The change-
over will provide 75 hours of programming per week as opposed to an average of
one hour per six months, as is currently the situation with Channel 27. Hindman
pointed out that he is an employee of Kirkwood, as well as its representative
to the ECC, and he currently programs two channels for Kirkwood in Cedar
Rapids. Kirkwood currently has a "working agreement" with Hawkeye for the use
of the tower which is subject to approval by the new franchise holder. In
response to a question from Johnson, Hindman added that a viewer of telecourses
provided on Channel 27 who wishes to obtain credit for the course will pay a
fee to Kirkwood for the credit. Otherwise Hindman said, there is no charge to
those who view the material on a no credit basis. Hindman stated that his
position at Kirkwood is an ongoing one providing for management of the Kirkwood
Telecommunications System. Kirkwood is very interested in the proposal and the
terms of the contract are binding even if Hindman no longer holds the position.
The ECC, Hindman said, retains control through the annual renewal clause and
should a member institution be dissatisfied with Kirkwood's performance, a 90
day cancellation clause could ultimately be invoked. Kirkwood plans include
building a new educational facility near Freeway 518, and it is expected that
upon completion of that facility, approximately half the telecommunications
system will be transferred to the Iowa City location. Hindman also presented,
for the edification of the BTC a mock up logo for use by the ECC on its
channel. Moved and seconded the BTC endorse the proposed contract between
Kirkwood Community College and the Educational Cable Consortium for the
management and operation of Channel 27. Johnson/Madsen. Hindman also noted
plans are underway with Hawkeye to facilitate production of programming by the
other members of the ECC. Sigrin stated for the record that he is employed by
Kirkwood as a part time instructor. Hindman said Kirkwood expects to "have the
bugs out" and the service operating by the beginning of the fall semester.
Other plans include live simulcasts from Kirkwood to Cedar Rapids and Iowa
City. Motion approved unanimously.
HAWKEYE'S REPORT:
Calderon noted the upcoming official launch of the Institutional Network pilot
project at the Senior Center June 28 at 3:30 PM. A representative from CLSI
will demonstrate how the system operates so that residents of the Center may
access the Library's computer card catalog from the Center. Calderon also
announced that the nomination procedure begins this month to choose candidates
for this fall's Hawkeye Awards Festival. Nominating judges will meet at
Hawkeye once each week through July to view tapes. The entries will be scored
and tapes with the best scores will then passed to the final judging committee.
The festival will take place September 21 and will be cablecast live from Old
Brick. Mike Sigrin volunteered to represent the BTC on the nominating panel.
ACCESS IOWA CITY REPORT:
Terry reminded those present of the impending departure of AIC co-director
Anita Stech, who with her family will be moving to Virginia in July A
reception in Stech's honor will be held July 1 from 2 PM to 5 PM at 156 N.
Friendship. Stech stated AIC had sent a memo to City Council on May 30
supporting the concept of a non-profit corporation to manage and operate the
Community Programming Center and to represent the access channels. Stech
Broadband Telecom ^ications Commission
June 26, 1984
Page 5
outlined briefly some of the information offered to Council including proposed
staff and budget requirements, relationships between such a non-profit group
and other local cable related entities, measurement standards and a philosophy
statement. Johnson asked where an interested party may obtain information such
as the AIC memo to Council. Tiffany stated the library receives the Council
packet each week and it is available at the Information Desk. Items of
specific interest are cross-indexed under subject heading as well, or may be
filed under Community Organizations.
Stech reported the work AIC has been doing in support of non-profit access
management includes holding a special meeting for community producers to input
their ideas and feelings on the matter, since the success of such an endeavor
will depend heavily on the help and cooperation of volunteers. The next
regular AIC meeting will be July 10, Meeting Room B, ICPL at 7:00 PM.
Stech asked whether the final language of the approval conditions of the
franchise sale would be available to interested parties such as AIC and also
what the time table might be for the completion of the transfer process. Terry
said the final language should be agreed upon by City representatives in
approximately ten days. There is no firm time table on completion of the
transfer. Helling said the finalization of the agreement must be completed and
the next step would be to begin preparation of the RFP.
Joan Jehle commented on the regret felt by Access Iowa City at the loss of
Stech, who has been an important organizer and driving force in public access
during her two year stay in Iowa City. Mike Sigrin noted that during his
tenure on the BTC he has come to realize that there is a very hard working,
dedicated corps of individuals who are very concerned with the development of
cable and local programming. Sigrin said he believes we have reached a
crucial and potentially exciting stage of public cablecasting in Iowa City with
the development of a non-profit corporation for access. Terry agreed and
stated further that although Access Iowa City had existed in support of access
for some time, Stech has infused the group with her strong leadership ability,
necessary to help bring the public access effort to where it stands today. At
Johnson's suggestion, the Commission agreed to issue a formal resolution of
commendation to Stech for her work in public access cable casting in Iowa City.
NEW BUSINESS:
Terry introduced Diana Beeson, representing the University's Channel 28. Beeson
reported that Channel 28 has gone from ten hours of programming a week to a
high, from February through May 5, of approximately 35 hours per week. When
Beeson joined Channel 28 in October 1983, local programming represented about
20 percent of the ten hours. From October through December, that percentage
jumped to about 45 percent. Since December, local programming has averaged
between 25% and 33% and is currently 25% of total programming on Channel 28.
During summer hiatus the channel is programmed 12 1/2 hours per week and in the
fall will go up to approximately 35 hours per week. Work continues to expand
the total amount of programming on Channel 28, as well as the percentage of
local programming. University Hospital provided two hours of programming each
week and the College of Education produces one half hour program each week. Dr.
McCann of the Communications Department has produced a two hour 14 part series
for the channel and will have another program on the channel in the fall. In
addition, some programming produced by students in Electronic Field Production
under Franklin Miller in the Broadcasting and Film Department has been shown on
Broadband Telecomou. .ations Commission
June 26, 1984
Page 6
Channel'28. The new communications facility is scheduled for completion July
3, but Channel 28 will continue to operate from the Engineering Building. In
answer to questions from Commissioners regarding foreign language programming,
Beeson said a series of French films had been run and two Spanish language
programs are scheduled for fall. Calderon noted that since Beeson had joined
Channel 28, not only the number of hours of programming had increased, but also
the quality and diversity of programs offered had improved considerably.
Discussion ensued on methods to make the public more aware of programming
available on all the local channels. Although the Press Citizen publishes a
television guide in its Saturday edition with brief listings of the access
channels, apparently for economic reasons. One problem with getting local
listings published regularly is the irregularity of the local programming
itself. Stewart stated that Access Iowa City has discussed the possibility of
developing a program guide for all the local channels using local advertisers
as a funding source. Such a guide would include listings of programs already
scheduled, acknowledgement that some programming blocks have not been scheduled
prior to press time and brief descriptions of the program offerings. Johnson
agreed that he would bring up the matter of better provision of local cable
listings with the Press Citizen, which carries Johnson's column. Johnson also
suggested that someone from Access Iowa City write a weekly TV critic's column
for the Press Citizen's Saturday edition, highlighting some of the local
programs. Calderon noted that the Press Citizen would probably direct Johnson
to Robin Goldman, and that to date Ms. Goldman has not shown any positive
response to including local cable listings. It was suggested that Hawkeye and
Access Iowa City might take some affirmative action to lobby Ms. Goldman to
come to Access Iowa City meetings or perhaps serve on the judging committee for
the awards festival. Johnson also suggested giving an award for best coverage
of local cable programs and activities. Stewart suggested a candidate for
such an award might by KRUI radio, which recently interviewed Doug Allaire, Dan
Daly and Stewart for its half hour Iowa Lecture Series regarding the current
move to set up a non-profit corporation to manage access in Iowa City.
ADJOURNMENT:
Meeting adjourned at 9:50 AM. Johnson/Sigrin.
Respectfully submitted,
w(
Vhn Shaf er
Broadband Tet unications Specialist
/ 4106