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Home My WebLink About2008-02-19 Correspondence~ ~.~ CITY OF IOWA CITY STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Mayor Regenia Bailey February 19, 2008 "Endings and Beginnings" Good evening, members of this audience and all citizens of Iowa City. I am honored to deliver this, my first State of the City message. Before I begin, I would like to recognize my colleagues on the Council. I'm proud to be a member of this hard working and committed group that you, the citizens of our community, have assembled. • Mayor Pro-Tem Mike O'Donnell, who is serving his third term on Council • District B Council member Connie Champion, serving her third term on Council • District A, Council member Ross Wilburn, serving his third term on Council • At-large Council member Amy Correia, serving her first term on Council • And our newest members of Council-At large council members, Matt Hayek and Mike Wright. Please join me in expressing appreciation for their service. Rankings/Awards Iowa City is consistently recognized as one of the country's best places to live. And while we, who call Iowa City our home, may become complacent in light of these accolades, it is important that we acknowledge what those who are outside of our community see-together we have created an amazing and special place to live-and I, along with members of this Council, know that it is our charge to not only value Iowa City for what it is today, but to dream and plan for the what it can be-not only for us, but for its future citizens. We realize that this is a significant moment in time-a time of endings and beginnings. Our vision is that Iowa City maintains its reputation as a world-class community. To do that, though, we must balance many things. We need to be both "green" and pro-business; to be high-tech but people oriented; to appeal to both singles and families of all types; to appeal to the young and the more "experienced;" to provide opportunities for those with higher incomes, but also make sure our community is one in which those at all income levels can thrive. We need to value and learn from our scholars and leaders but also protect our vulnerable and disadvantaged residents. I believe that with inspired vision, careful planning, input from citizens, deliberate action, and a continuing commitment to our shared values, we can achieve all these things because these balanced concerns reflect the Iowa City way of life. We know that our future is built on the foundation of the past, so before looking ahead, I'd like to highlight the progress made in 2007. A City on the Move #1 A strong transportation network is vital to a community, its growth, and its quality of life. In 2007, we strengthened our transportation network with the completion of the North Dodge Street reconstruction between Governor Street and Interstate 80; the construction of Lower West Branch Road between Scott Boulevard and Taft Avenue; and the reconstruction of the South Gilbert/Bowery/Prentiss intersection with dedicated left-turn lanes. These investments have reduced traffic accidents in the heart of the city; they also provide for new arterial transportation routes in areas yet to be developed. A City on the Move #2 In Iowa City, we are committed to moving people, not just vehicles. We reflect this value in our "Complete Streets" policy, and we are committed to building transportation infrastructure that accommodates users of all forms of transportation, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and patrons of mass transportation. Iowa City is justifiably proud of the thoughtfully planned and interconnected regional trail system. The system will be expanded by construction of the Court Hill Trail in the eastern part of Iowa City, which will connect Creekside Park and Scott Park. A City on the Move #3 New public transit routes are being extended in the northern parts of our community that will service employment centers such as Pearson. With support from a Federal grant, we are also developing a "reverse commute" program to provide a taxi fare subsidy for riders to whom transit service is not available for their trip either to or from work. Iowa City Transit broke new ground last summer by offering extended service during several community events including Arts Fest, Jazz Fest, and the Hancher Auditorium Joffrey Ballet performance. Such special events services will be repeated this year. Our transportation network is not only about streets, sidewalks, and trails. At the Iowa City Airport, the extension of Runway 7-25 will soon be completed, providing a nearly one-mile long runway surface for greater accessibility to the Airport by high performance aircraft. A Natural City Parks make up a major component of any community's quality of life. Iowa City currently has over 1,600 acres of parkland and over 30 miles of trails. A highlight of this past year's investment in parks was the redevelopment of Brookland Park. This project brought City staff and members of the Melrose Avenue Neighborhood Association together in the planning process for the new design. Other notable park projects include the construction of the Lower City Park restrooms, shelter, and lighted walkway near the Riverside Festival Stage. And the more mundane, but no less important, project of adding new restrooms to Napoleon Park, which will make an enormous difference to the girls and young women who use those softball diamonds. 2007 also saw further development of the Waterworks Prairie Park, the largest urban prairie in the state. We are strongly committed to our plan to develop the Sand Lake Recreation Area, which is Iowa City's first resource that provides a significant body of water for people to enjoy. There is also a commitment to enhance access to Peninsula Park via a pedestrian bridge over the Iowa River from Rocky Shore Drive, which will provide an important connection to the Iowa River Corridor Trail. A Literate City Although Iowa City is the sixth largest city in state, the Iowa City Public Library proudly carries the title of "Iowa's Busiest Library." 2007 was a record year for the Iowa City Public Library-over 680,000 people entered the building, 1.4 million items were checked out and meeting rooms were used for over 1,500 meetings and events. In 2007, the Poetry in Public program which is sponsored through the Iowa City Public Art program, celebrated its 5~h anniversary. This year, over 400 submissions from both adults and school aged children were read and pared down to 69 selections that will be featured in City buses, on downtown kiosks, and in various City facilities throughout Iowa City starting in April, National Poetry Month. Submissions by junior high students surged through the support of language art teachers in our area junior high schools. I know from talking to transit users that the poetry on the buses, especially the submissions by school-aged poets, is a welcome part of their commute. A Green City The City has expanded its use of renewable fuels. Our Transit fleet has increased its biodiesel blend and all other diesel vehicles are now using a bio diesel blend. We are the regional fuel supplier to many Johnson County and School District vehicles, so the benefits of renewable fuels extend well beyond our own operations. Last year, we hired the City's first Recycling Coordinator. This has provided opportunities for educational events and outreach, coupled with improved opportunities to divert, recycle, and reuse many elements of our solid waste stream. As we develop the East Side Recycling Center, we anticipate that the opportunities for environmental education, as well as the development of innovative approaches for waste reuse and diversion, will continue to expand. To continue our environmental protection efforts, we have purchased an additional 120 acres contiguous to the west edge of the City Landfill. This will enable us to construct a much larger cell and will add 15 to 20 years of additional life to the Landfill. Another exciting development at the Landfill is the potential sale of landfill gas for energy production, creating a revenue stream from a waste byproduct that was once considered a liability. We are evaluating proposals from three interested parties and anticipate entering into an agreement in the near future. Iowa City has affiliated with the "Cool Cities" Initiative and signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. We are in the process of joining the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and will assess the feasibility of conducting a carbon audit of the City as a first step in assessing and addressing greenhouse gas emissions locally. A Safe City Public safety is an area of special attention and concern to this City Council. Our commitment to the safety of our citizens is reflected in our approval of the addition of two police officers and three firefighters in the upcoming fiscal year 2009 budget. In response to the rash of sexual assaults in and near the Downtown and University campus areas, the Council created a "Task Force on Violence Against Women" in the fall of 2007. Recommendations from that Task Force, which is made up of representatives from a variety of community and University interests, will be forthcoming this spring. We anticipate that in 2008, the Iowa City Fire Department will become the first career Fire Department in the State of Iowa to be accredited by the Commission of Fire Accreditation International. This program is a comprehensive system of fire and emergency service evaluation that has helped the City determine risks and fire safety needs, evaluate the performance of the Department, and provide a method for continuous improvement. Likewise, we anticipate that the Iowa City Police Department will receive renewal of its National Accreditation, first achieved by that Department in 2002. Furthermore, Iowa City is committed to a County-wide effort to establish a Joint Emergency Communication Center to serve all of Johnson County emergency services with more effective and reliable emergency communications. Agreements are in place and a target date of July 1, 2009, has been set for beginning operations. This effort provides a wonderful model of cooperation between area governments to improve services to all our citizens. We look forward to future opportunities for cooperative strategies with our neighboring communities in Johnson County. A Growing City In 2007, Iowa City had $100 million in construction value for the seventh consecutive year. Further indication of that growth is the fact that in 2007 alone, we added approximately six miles of streets, water mains, and sewers within the City. We consider this smart, sustainable growth, with much of it infill development. Working with Iowa City Area Development group and potential developers, we continue to reach out to prospective businesses and industries, as well as to facilitate retention and expansion of those currently existing in Iowa City. Recent successes include an expansion by ALPLA, Inc. which included an additional $5 million capital investment in its facilities, allowing it to add a new product line and 25 new quality jobs. Understanding that small businesses are significant drivers in our economy, we have worked hard to reach out to area banks and the Small Business Development Center and work with them and their clients to invest in area small businesses. Recent investments in small businesses include La Reyna Grocery and Restaurant, Nile Valley Restaurant, and Home Ec Workshop. Upcoming Issues As we look to 2008, one of the City Council's priorities is to address the issue of affordable housing in Iowa City. Iowa City is not alone in focusing on this issue. Cities across the country are wrestling with this challenge, recognizing that a real city must include a mixture of all types of housing, so people like police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, and mechanics are able to live in the communities in which they work. We will also address the recommendations of the recent Downtown Market Niche Analysis, a study that was undertaken jointly by the City, the Downtown Association, and the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce. It is in City's best interests to keep the downtown as a strong focal point for the community, and to pursue a proactive strategy to ensure its continued vitality and diversity, especially as we anticipate its expansion south of Burlington Street. Endings and Beginnings I began this message talking about "endings and beginnings." 2007 was also noteworthy as it marked the end of the career of Steve Atkins, who expertly guided the city for twenty-one years. The length of his tenure says a lot about how well he did his job, and also about how he felt about Iowa City. It was a great match between his talent and what Iowa City offered him and his family. It says a lot that for one who spent his early career in many locations around the United States, once he came to Iowa City he stayed for the rest of his career. The city will always be in his debt for what he gave to this community. I would also like to thank Dale Helling, who also has served the City well in his capacity as Assistant City Manager. Upon Steve Atkins retirement, Dale has guided the city with a steady hand over the past several months, particularly during the recent challenging budget process. On behalf of the entire community, we thank him for his service not only during the past several months but during his entire career. Looking Ahead 2008 will usher in a new era as we select a new City Manager. The City Council takes seriously the magnitude of this decision. With input from citizens, we must carefully select a candidate who is a good fit for this community-someone who can challenge the community to not only maintain its current excellence, but to achieve even greater things in the future. I speak for the entire City Council when I say that we look forward to 2008 with great hope and optimism, knowing that we are particularly fortunate to be able to live in this spot on the earth called Iowa City. We realize that the challenges of tight budgets and disagreements certainly lie ahead, but the goal of every one of us, both in front of and behind this dais, is to make Iowa City an even greater world-class city-somewhere that we continue to be proud of calling home. Thank you. 3f 1 To: ;Iowa City Council Members, Knowing that you, as council members, are concerned for the citizens of Iowa City and their safety, I would like to address the current state of the city's snow removal system. I am sure that all of you are aware of the weather that has struck us this winter and how it has negatively affected the residents of Iowa City. The states of our roads in our neighborhoods are unacceptable. It concerns me not enough planning and budgeting went on in making snow removal quick and efficient. I have lived in Iowa City about a year and I have seen no improvement from last year. I would just like to know why each winter Iowa City lacks in snow removal, when I should think that this should be a main priority. Sincerely, Elizabeth J. Huber ~ N ["3 ~ Ci7 _ ~_ ~ "~ "t ~ '~''~''J C37 I 1 ~~ f~ _.._~ a. ~.. J : ~ ~} ~ ~ ~ l ~~ Pagelofl Marian Karr From: Janz, Kathleen F [kathleen-Janz@uiowa.edu] Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 9:51 AM To: Council Subject: Snow removal is as important as expired parking meters Dear Council: I write to ask that you take seriously your responsibility to ensure that sidewalks are cleared after snow falls (or that you clear the walks and charge the property owners). Safe sidewalks are critical for children walking to school, adults walking to work, and mail carriers. Numerous walks in my neighborhood have not been shoveled once this winter. Ask any pedestrian, the City is not enforcing its own policies. You employ people to give parking tickets, while these employees are patrolling neighborhoods, why not require them to issue snow removal tickets? Respectfully, Kathy Janz 328 Reno St Iowa City Kathleen F. Janz Department Health and Sport Studies Department Epidemiology 130 FH University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 319 335-9345 kathleen-janz~a uiowa_edu www.uiowa.edu/'hss 2/3/2008 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Jann Ream Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 5:08 PM To: 'kathleen-janz@uiowa.edu' Cc: "City Council Subject: snow on sidewalks Dear Ms. Janz - Iowa City does have an ordinance that requires snow and ice be removed from sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowfall of 1 inch or more or when any amount of ice accumulates on the walk. The sidewalk is required to be cleaned its entire width down to concrete. At the beginning of the snow season, we post this information on our city web site and do several press releases in an effort to get this information out to the citizens of Iowa City. We also require all rental property owners to have their tenants sign an Informational Acknowledgement and disclosure form which also makes tenants aware of the requirement for snow removal. Enforcement of this ordinance is charged to the inspectors of the Housing and Inspection Services Department. Because there simply is not enough City staff to do a complete canvas of the sidewalks in Iowa City after every snow fall, we do investigate on a complaint basis. If a complaint is received, an inspector goes out to verify the complaint. The inspector will not only do that property but will check the other properties on that block from intersecting street to intersecting street. If the violation is confirmed, a tag is left at the property giving the occupants another 24 hours to clear the walk. A written notice is also sent to the property owner. After 24-48 hours, the inspector goes back to the property. If the walk has been cleared, the case is closed. If it has not, we hire a private contractor to clear it and charge the property owner the contractor's fee plus a 50.00 administrative charge. A property only receives one notice per snow season. If we receive a 2"d complaint about a property and verify the violation, no tag or notice is sent. We simply hire a contractor to do the work and charge the property owner again. Please understand that his has been an exceptional snow season. As of this date, this office has investigated 962 properties for snow violations. At least 100 of these properties are on their 2"d or 3~d violation. Considering that an inspector goes to a property at least twice (more for 2~d and 3~d violations), we have done approximately 2,000 inspections concerning snow violations. This is in addition to all of the normal duties that city staff in Housing and Inspection Services has to perform. There can be unusual circumstances that create the perception that the City's enforcement is lax. We have to wait 24 hours after a snowfall has stopped before we can do inspections. Using the past few weeks as an example, if we get a snowfall every 36 to 48 hours, it can be several days before we can actually get out to do inspections. We can only require the removal of natural accumulations of snow (Iowa State Code). Some walks are right next to the street and get buried with snow from plows. Some property owners work very hard and remove this snow but we cannot require them to do so. This also applies to the large piles that accumulate at crosswalks from the plows. Again we cannot require the removal of this snow. However, our Streets Department has been very responsive to any request to clean these crosswalk areas -especially those by schools. If a citizen brings a particular intersection to my attention, I have contacted Streets and they have sent a crew out to take care of it. So in response to your email, we do take very seriously our responsibility to enforce the City's requirement for the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks. We address each complaint as quickly as we can and hopefully get the situation abated in a timely manner. If you have further questions, please contact me at 356- 5120. And, of course, Council will listen to any suggestions you might have concerning this issue. Jann Ream Code Enforcement Assistant 2/13/2008 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Jim & Shirley Knapp [jsknapp@mchsi.com] Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 7:54 PM To: Council Subject: Poor City Services Dear Council Members, Maybe before your meeting on Tuesday you would like to take a tour of Iowa City and see where your street department is working. Certainly not on Rundell or at least not on the east side. Get the storm sewers open before the ice causes accidents. Check out Summit. Jim Knapp 324 2443 This correspondence will become a public record. 2/4/2008 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Rick Fosse Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 3:29 PM To: Jason-white@uiowa.edu Cc: Kathryn Johansen; '`City Council; robert-j-brooks@uiowa.edu Subject: Snow Removal Dear Mr. White: Thank you for your e-mail expressing concern about snow removal in Iowa City and within the University of Iowa. Our Streets Division plows public streets and depending on the size of the storm, they usually have all streets plowed within 8 to 24 hours. There are a number of private and institutional (University owned) streets on and near campus. Our experience has been that the University staff is prompt at clearing their streets and sidewalks, but I will forward a copy of your a-mail to them. With regard to sidewalks, property owners have an obligation to shovel their walks within 24 hours of a snow storm that exceeds 1 ". If there are properties that do not shovel their sidewalks, you may call our Housing and Inspections Services Department at 356-5120 to report them. I do know that the constant pedestrian traffic near the University packs the snow onto the sidewalks as it falls and makes it difficult for property owners to shovel. I hope you find this information helpful. If there are specific locations you continue to have concerns about, please let me know and I will do my best to address them. Thank you, Rick Fosse Director of Public Works -----Original Message----- From: White, Jason P [mailto ~ ason-white@uiowa. Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 11:29 AM To: Council Subject: Snow Removal Dear City Council, I am writing to you today in my concern for the snow removal in Iowa City and more specifically, the University of Iowa. Whenever it snows, it takes days, sometimes close to a week for snow to be removed from the local roads and sidewalks. Sometimes they aren't touched at all. With so many people using these roads and sidewalks to get to class and other University events, the lack of snow removal in a timely manner is a safety hazzard and i believe it should be looked into. Please take this into consideration and I will look forward to your response. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this! Sincerely, Jason White 2/4'2008 3f 2 Marian Karr From: Joe J [jmj2400@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 9:58 PM To: Council Subject: Mental Health Care Issues In Iowa Regarding My Son-Daniel-Johnson County Jail To:The Council of Iowa City: I am a member of a NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) group in Barrington, Illinois. I am sending this a-mail to tell every NAMI group in Iowa, every Autism Society of America Chapter in Iowa and Illinois, and everybody in the Iowa legislature in the General Assembly, how the courts in Iowa in December of 2007 convicted my son Daniel with Asperger Syndrome (high functioning autism) and a brain disorder to a potentia17.5 year sentence for stalking and tampering with a witness. In addition they may try to give him 2.5 more years for contempt of court and another 3 years for violating orders of protection. He never should have been tried. We tried to get a forensic psychiatrist to evaluate Daniel, but a continuance was denied in the case by the Judge. We have pleaded with the court to treat his mental illness. He has been in jail for 10 months. As early as June of 2007, we wrote a letter to the Court. The 2003 Jail Space and Task Force proposed developing and implementing mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment at appropriate points in the process. In my son's case, they failed to do this. The Court at all times acted as if they were not aware that Daniel had a brain disorder. Another recommendation by the Task force was that the Board of Supervisors should, in collaboration with relevant agencies, develop and expand ways to divert persons with mental illness and substance abusers from the jail population and to provide needed services for those who cannot be diverted. This was also a dismal failure in the Iowa jails. In fact Daniel was punished to solitary confinement in the jails. He was in at least 3 jails while awaiting a trial. Daniel at an early age had a form of epilepsy called absence seizures. His crime is one of mostly sending a-mails through the Internet. He was never violent, but yet not given any bail. Daniel graduated the University of Iowa in 2005 with an A- average. Daniel has been in jail since the end of March 2007. I want to tell everybody in Iowa this story so that it does not happen to your children and to also advocate for change in how the courts handle people with mental illness. We at NAMI believe in treatment for mental illness instead of incarceration. Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Please share this with every member of your group. Furthermore this is also an area that involves advocating for autism. The Autistic Society of America (ASA) is calling for is fair treatment by the criminal justice system for people who have autism. Specifically, ASA is calling for the following: All individuals with autism must have the right to have the condition of autism be considered first, and the implications of having autism be considered primary to any action taken by the criminal justice system prior to prosecution. Individuals with autism must have the right to free and appropriate individualized resources (FAIR) to enable them to receive appropriate education and training in order that they not develop nor continue behavior that may be viewed as illegal. Proper training in the issues associated with the syndrome of autism must be provided to all individuals associated with the criminal justice system, including judges, juries, prosecutors, 2/5/2008 Page 2 of 2 defense lawyers, law enforcement personnel, and any other forensic science investigators associated with a criminal justice action. • Individuals with autism must have the right to have expert witnesses, who understand the disability of autism, available to them in a court of law. • If prosecuted, an individual with autism must have his disability considered primary when sentencing is handed.out, e.g., consideration of a secure residential autism treatment agency if incarceration is indicated. . The criminal justice system must ensure the protection of the civil rights of the individual with autism should the individual be incarcerated in a correctional institution or other human service agency. • Individuals with autism must be protected under the American's with Disabilities Act ensuring that their autism is not the reason for the conviction in a criminal justice action. I encourage everybody to advocate for change in Iowa and Illinois for our loved ones. Daniel will be sentenced in March of 2008 or earlier. I will keep everybody apprised as to whether any enlightenment is shown at this date. Joseph M. Jason (847)-537-3009 583 Cobblestone Lane Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089 Barrington NAMI Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. 2/5/2008 3f 3 Marian Karr From: Jeanne Bock (jeanneb50@msn.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:05 AM To: Council Subject: cultural diversity- downside City Council members: have been an Iowa City resident since 1974, are regular city bus rider since 1998. The Old Capital Mall area is the location for bus riders. Have you noticed the extreme and undesirable change in the large groups of people gathering near the mall area?? In the past several years, a growing African American population of school kids with very undesirable behavior can be found. I think every council member should see this for themselves. Go there during the after school hours of 3:30 to 4:30 and you'll see what I mean. Was this not Karen Kubby's idea of cultural diversity to entice AA, low income resdents to come to IC?? Within the past year or so, a mall security guard has been posted there because of disruptiive behavior. Foul language, shouting, chasing each other, snow ball fights with little regard for innocent passers-by. I was nearly hit by an ice ball recently. To simply walk past the crowds is often a challenge. Seems a potential problem for the one elderly security guard. I don't like what I'm seeing and neither will you. Jeanne B. 2/5/2008 Regenia, Thanks for the info. The definition of "false alarm" is very helpful in greatly reducing, if not eliminating, my concerns. Thanks! Marc --- Regenia Bailey <regeniaC~baileyforiowacity.com> wrote: > Marc, > Thank you for your note. To answer your fundamental concern, a false > fire alarm is defined as "the activation of a fire alarm system not by > fire or hazard, but through careless use, technical failure, equipment > malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the owner or > lessee of an alarm system or of his or her employees or agents. False > fire alarm does not include alarm failures caused by water, gas, > electrical, telephone or other utilities not under the control of the > alarm user, or the willful act of a person other than the alarm owner > or his or her employees or agents." > Our goal with this ordinance is to ensure that fire alarms are in good > working order. The fines start at the third false alarm-so an owner > could have two false alarms before between charged. > As you know, when you e-mail more than three council > members, it becomes > part of the public record due to the state open > meetings/open records law. > Accordingly, it is unlikely you will receive any > more e-mail conversations > about this topic from other council members, because > it might constitute a > meeting as advised by our City Attorney's office. > I'd be more than happy to > talk with you in more detail about this ordinance > when you return. > Safe travels, > Regenia ------------------------------------------------------- 1 From: Marc Moen [marc@moengroup.com] Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 10:32 PM To: regenia@baileyforiowacity.com; 'Marc Moen' Cc: Marian Karr; Amy Correia; Matt Hayek; Ross Wilburn; Mike Wright Subject: RE: fees for false alarms > Regenia D. Bailey > Mayor > 430 Church Street > Iowa City, IA 52245 > 319.351.2068 (h) > 319.321.1385 (c) > 866.802.2854 (f) > www.baileyforiowacity.com > <http://www.baileyforiowacity.com/> > Please note: any e-mails that I respond to may be > subject to State open > records laws and considered information available to > the public. > From: Marc Moen (mailto:marc@moengroup.com] > Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 9:07 PM > To: regenia-bailey@iowa-city.org; > amy-Correia@iowa-city.org; > matt-hayek@iowa-city.org; > ross-Wilburn@iowa-city.org; > mike-Wright@iowa-city.org > Subject: fees for false alarms > Regina, Amy, Matt, Ross & Mike W. (I didn't have > email addresses for Mike > O'Donnel and Connie Champion). > I am in Asia until February 27th and I didn't > realize until I just read the > paper on-line that a fee was being established (or > considered) for false > alarms. > I have knowledge only of what was reported in the > Press Citizen so perhaps I > am over reacting. However, from what I read it > appears the fees apply > whether the building has 2 apartments or 100 > apartments. This seems very > unfair to me. I suppose part of this depends on > what are deemed "false > alarms" and I don't know how that is being defined. 2 > We monitor our buildings very closely and work very > hard to educate our > tenants that they are reponsible for not only their > conduct, but the conduct > of their guests. However, in larger buildings, I'm > sure you can appreciate > that with the increased traffic there is an increase > of potential false > alarms. Additionally, we are fortuante to have a > downtown that has heavy > traffic and sometimes we cannot control who may be > entering a building. We > do have electronic entry systems on all of our > buildings but this is not > fail safe and uninvited guests do enter at times. > Moreover, when an alarm > sounds, even if we notify the fire department that > it is a false alarm > before the fire truck is dispatched, they will not > call off the truck. I > understand the reasoning for this, but it is > important to understand that we > have very little control no matter how diligent we > are to circumvent a truck > going out on a false alarm. > One (among many reasons) that I am a proponent of > dense development in the > CBD is that it provides extensive sq footage of > commercial and residential > space with very little cost to the taxpayers. For > example, Whiteway, Vogel > House and Plaza Towers required no new streets, no > new sewers lines, no new > water lines, etc. > Whiteway pays about $100,000 per year in property > taxes. Plaza Towers over > $800,000 per year. To be charged for false alarms > in buildings housing > significant numbers of commercial and residential > tenants is, in my mind, > difficult to justify. One of the main services we > get for our tax dollars > is fire protection. I have never complained about > property taxes but I can > tell you that they are becoming a very real obstacle > to commercial > development and our lenders have expressed serious > concern about the > percentage of our gross rents that are going to pay > property taxes. To > assess fees on top of the taxes for the basic > serviies seems unfair to me. > The City just commissioned a study addressing > concerns about downtown. One > of the key conclusions was that Iowa City needs to > be, in reality and 3 > perception, friendly to businesses. This new fee > seems to fly in the face > of that strong recommendation. We are also billed > seperately (on top of > property taxes) for City required building > inspections. For example I just > recieved a bill for $1,692 for the City to do its > inspection of Plaza > Towers. Because it is new construction, the > inspector does not even have to > enter the units but only needs to look at the common > areas. The balance of > the inspection is based on paper work that I fill > out and file. I am not > complaining about the fees but I think few people > realize the amount that > commercial property owners contribute to taxes and > how much they are charged > on top of those taxes. > I hope that the City and the Fire Department will be > fair when determining > what constitutes a "false alarm". > Thanks for listening. > Marc 4 naL- ~ 9-~~ 3f 5 Marian Karr From: Ross Wilburn Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 10:45 AM To: Scott, Joseph H; Mike Wright; Matt Hayek; Amy Correia; Regenia Bailey Cc: Marian Karr Subject: RE: Joe, thanks for bringing your concern to our attention. All of us, including cycling advocates, have plenty of work to do in trying to change some community attitudes. As you are aware, changing attitudes is a difficult thing to do, but with cycling advocates and supporters, we can continue to chip away at it. FYI, when you email more than 3 council members, it becomes part of the public record due to the state open meetings/open records law. Accordingly, it is unlikely you will receive any more email conversations about this topic from other council members, because it might consititute a meeting (even though it is email) as advised by our City Attorney's office. Respecfully, Ross Wilburn __ ...._.....__.... From: Scott, Joseph H [mailto:joseph-h-scoff@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wed 2/6/2008 5:47 PM To: Mike Wright; Ross Wilburn; Matt Hayek; Amy Correia; Regenia Bailey Subject: Iowa City City Council, The following is a representative sampling of comments I hear on a regular basis cycling in Iowa City: "Get on the fucking sidewalk!" "Get the fuck out of the road!" "Get a fucking car!" Earlier today, as I was cycling up Dodge st. (while passing a share the road sign, no less) I heard a faint, regular honking behind me. "Honk, honk, honk..." As it grew louder and the car passed me, a passenger leaned out of the window and shouted, "Look at the fucking weather! Get out of the way!" I admit I'm at a loss as to his reasoning. But aside from their fondness for the F-word, this small fraction of the verbal abuse I have taken in Iowa City over the years demonstrates the complete lack of respect for bicycles among the city's drivers. "It is the policy of the City of Iowa City to encourage bicycling as a legitimate means of transportation to and from school or work, and as a recreational activity. To do this, the City has attempted to create and maintain a safe environment for bicycling in Iowa City." - http://www.iowacity_com/c~/bicycle.htm When I ride a bike in Iowa City, despite following all traffic regulations, I can expect to be yelled at. I can think of no other legal activity for which this is the case. I can walk in Iowa City without being yelled at. I can drive in Iowa City without being yelled at. I can do jumping-jacks or paint a picture or drink a glass of water without being yelled at. The activity of bicycling seems to be uniquely reviled. Please improve cycling conditions in Iowa City. Joe Scott 2/7/2008 3f 6 Marian Karr From: Rev. Donald Spitz [GIory2Jesus@ArmyofGod.com] Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 1:41 PM To: Council I think what is happening to Donna Holman is tragic. She is not guilty of any crime and it appears Judge Karen Egerton, in Iowa City and police officers Becky Sammons and R.A. Medus used their color of law to punish Donna Holman for her religious beliefs and her belief that unborn babies deserve to be protected from abortion. I'm glad there is a God and that this judge will one day have to give an account of their mistreatment to one of God's elderly saints. SAY THIS PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am a sinner and am headed to eternal hell because of my sins. I believe you died on the cross to take away my sins and to take me to heaven. Jesus, I ask you now to come into my heart and take away my sins and give me eternal life. http;_/./www. armyofgod__.co..m 2/11/2008 3f 7 Marian Karr From: DON EDWARDS [de@theflamingtorch.org] Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 12:23 AM To: Council Attachments: Abortion.doc 2/11 /2008 IS ABORTION MORALLY WRONG? What Does God Say About It? Abortion is morally wrong because it is morally wrong to murder a person made in the image and likeness of God. "And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." (Genesis 9:5-6) "Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13) "He that smiteth a man, so shall he die, shall be surely put to death." (Exodus 20:13) "But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die." (Exodus 21:14) "And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death." (Leviticus 24:17) "Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death." (Numbers 35:31) "Thou shalt not kill." (Deuteronomy 5:17) "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen." (Deuteronomy 27:25) From the moment of conception, an unborn baby is a distinct person made in the image and likeness of God. God forms a person in the womb, not anon-person. "Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and will thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me like and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit." (Job 10:8-12) "Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?" (Job 31:13) "How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? For they all are the work of his hands." (Job 34:19) "Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, 0 God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men." (Psalms 139:12-19) "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name." (Isaiah 49:1) "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou Gamest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) David was a person from the moment of his conception. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalm 51:5) Job was a person from the moment of his conception. "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived." (Job 3:3) John the Baptist was a person while in his mother's womb. "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:13-17) "And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." (Luke 1:39-44) The Lord Jesus Christ was a person while in Mary's womb. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." (Matthew 1:18-25) God calls some people to His future service while they are yet in the womb. "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name." (Isaiah 49:1) "And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength." (Isaiah 49:5) "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou tamest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. "And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:13-17) "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:" (Galatians 1:15-16) In the New Testament, the same Greek word (brephos) is used to describe an unborn baby inside the womb as is used to describe a person outside the womb. "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:" (Luke 1:41) "For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." (Luke 1:44) "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger:" (Luke 2:12) "And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." (Luke 2:16) "And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them." (Luke 18:15) "The same dealt subtly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live." (Acts 7:19) "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." (Acts 17:28-19) "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" (1 Peter 2:2) Abortion may be legal according to man's law, but it is cold-blooded murder according to God's law. God hates: "HANDS THAT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD." (Proverbs 6:17). So must we. 2 3f(8) Marian Karr From: Steve Bernhardt [stevebernhardt@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 8:38 AM To: Council; Council Subject: TIF Attachments: TIFF.doc TIFF.doc (28 KB) Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/; _ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ 2/9/2008 It is my understanding that the Hodge project on Burlington St. has received 15 million dollars in TIF financing from the city. I have a concern about how this could be used by the developer. The purpose of TIF financing is to bring new business to the area. My concern is that it will be used to simply move an existing business to a different building. Specifically, I own the fourth floor of the Plaza Center One building. McGladrey Pullen is my tenant. I know they are talking to Hodge about moving there when their lease is up. It doesn't make sense to subsidize a new building with taxpayer dollars simply to move an existing business one block. This happened with Neumann Monson, who moved one block east into the Plaza Towers. I believe there needs to be a stipulation in the TIF deal that would proportionally lower the amount given to the builder if existing businesses occupy part of the space. The University of Iowa owns two of the five floors of Plaza Center One. They would like to buy my floor and the fifth floor. Selling to them maybe my best option and would take over $42,000 off the tax rolls. Steve Bernhardt 1635 Ridge Rd 321-9597 3f(9) j ~~~ ~`- ~~-~- ~~ ~: _. 2~C~ F~.B --~i Pty 5~ 02 1 ~~v , `" ~~1A Iowa Ci Aerohawks ~0`~~t'~ Gt~`~, ~~ ty Radio Control Flying Club PO Box 25, Iowa City IA 52244 February 6, 2008 Mike O'Donnell Mayor Pro Tem City of Ior~~a City City Hall 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, la 52240 February 6, 2008 Dear Mayor O'Donnell: It seems from time to time there has been a lot of controversy regarding whether or not Iowa City really needs an airport and does it serve the needs of the citizens of the community. I am the president of a local club, the Iowa City Aerohawks. The Iowa City Aerohawks is made up of nearly 80 radio controlled aircraft enthusiasts ranging in ages from 10 -82. Most members are residents of Iowa City and many own local businesses in the greater Iowa City area. Recently our organization held our 5~' Annual Radio Control Swap Meet & Auction in the large Jet Air hangar at the Iowa City Airport. As I was writing my thank you letters to the owner and key management personnel at Jet Air Inc, it occurred to me that the City of Iowa City should be made aware of the yearly contribution that Jet Air Inc. makes to the success of our event. This year we had a record number in attendance with nearly 500 people traveling to Iowa City from all around the state of Iowa plus 6 other surrounding states. Numerous people who traveled from long distances came in the night before and spent money locally for food, gas and lodging. Others drove in the same day and spent money at local restaurants and gas stations before they left town. We even had three aircraft fly in to attend the event, a first for us. While other events such as this seem to be falling off in attendance, ours has grown every year, largely due to the location. What better place to attend an aviation theme swap meet than at an airport. While we see this event as an excellent .opportunity to promote our hobby to the RC enthusiasts and the general public we also see this as an opportunity to promote Iowa City and the Iowa City Airport. Airports can be more then. a slab of concrete to land airplanes. They can serve the community in many ways. Thanks to Jet Air, the Iowa City Airport has become a yearly destination point for many out of town guests. I think we need to embrace any and all opportunities that help support the local economy. Every little bit helps. Jet Air Inc. certainly doesn't have to open their doors to our organization and host our yearly event, but we are thrilled that they do. They are a great asset to the local community as is the local airport. I just thought you might like to know. Sincerely, ~~~ ~~~ Rich VeDepo President VG~ 1 ~~UO 3f 10 Marian Karr From: Charlie terzano borovic [melanopyro@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 1:54 PM To: vborovic@iastate.edu; sierra; sharon; pat; NEWS COMMENTS; ndhermsen@msn.com; nathan.askwith@gmail.com; nasus94@earthlink.net; melanopyro@hotmail.com; marymc@iol.ie; HKoons@dbq.edu; diane; dave; django@theexcuse.com; Council; bridge.bridge@msa.hinet.net; big in rich; antguk2006@tiscali.co.uk; amy_180@hotmail.com; Alex Wells Subject: FW: Household Hints It will pay to copy these, great ideas. their pretty good Attachments: ATT00001 > II hope these can solve some of those LITTLE PROBLEMS that consume our time > and energy. > DID YOU KNOW? > Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy > things" off of it. That's how the primates do it. > Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them > connected at the stem, they ripen faster. > Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much > longer and not mold! > Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. > Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. > Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the > grease away from the meat while cooking. > To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of > sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. > For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in > double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty > frosting. > Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and > at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic. > Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple chop > them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place > them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. > Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. > 1. Reheat Pizza 2/12/2008 Page 2 of 4 > Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat > to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro > pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really > works. > 2. Easy Deviled Eggs > Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken > up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing > thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. > Just throw bag away when done easy clean up. > 3. Expanding Frosting > When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your > mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more > cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar > and calories per serving. > 4. Reheating refrigerated bread > To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in > a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food > moist and help it reheat faster. > 5. Newspaper weeds away > Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet > newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with > mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening > plastic they will not get through wet newspapers. > 6. Broken Glass > Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you > can't see easily. > 7. No More Mosquitoes > Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. > 8. Squirrel Away! > To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne > pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't > come near it. > 9. Flexible vacuum > To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty > paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or > flattened to get in narrow openings. > 10. Reducing Static Cling > Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a > clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing > panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- to da! -- static > is gone. > 11. Measuring Cups > Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. > Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such > as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right > out. 2/12/2008 Page 3 of 4 > 12. Foggy Windshield? > Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box > of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a > cloth! > 13. Reopening envelope > If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something > inside ,just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. > Viola! It unseals easily. > 14. Conditioner > Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than > shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to > use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it > in your hair... > 15. Goodbye Fruit Flies > To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple > Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find > those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever! > 16. Get Rid of Ants > Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," > can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it > rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about > pets or small children being harmed! > 17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS > The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things > around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he > went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. > (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told > us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, > ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh > material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. > Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it > at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what > burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's > what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- >that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them > out of the box, well t his stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint > screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially > burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer > working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take > that filter out & wash it with hot > soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. > He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about > that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know > dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share! Note: I went to my > dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a > little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed > it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then > when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any > pudding at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about! 2/ 12/2008 Page 4 of 4 > PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT > SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE. Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser! Learn. more... 2/12/2008 3f 11 Marian Karr From: Eve casserly [casserly@mchsi.com] Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 4:17 PM To: tbrase@co.johnson.ia.us; dholderness@ci.coralville.ia.us; driftwoodoa@juno.com; Ron Logsden; vrobrock@ci.coralville.ia.us; Susan Rogusky; spazianic@msn.com; deevanderhoef@gmail.com; Council; John Yapp; casserly@mchsi.com; jcook@elderservicesiowa.com; Linda Severson; kelliot@kirkwood.edu; Kristopher Ackerson; Nick VanderZwan; slizboyd@msn.com; regenia@baileyforiowacity.com; Linda Kopping; Michelle Buhman; cscheetz@unitedwayjc.org.; julie.seal.icpl@gmail.com; Ibuzynski@co.johnson.ia.us Subject: Cancelling meeting tomorrow Joan and I discussed weather and current business and decided that, to be on safe side, we would cancel the Transportation meeting tomorrow morning at the Iowa City Public library. We do not yet have word back on the grant we applied for. We will plan on meeting at 8:30 am on March 11th at the library....and also may need to do some e-mail consulting in between now and then. Eve and Joan. 1 3f 12 Marian Karr From: WalkerCL04@aol.com Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:37 AM To: Council Cc: Dale Helling Subject: The vacancy on the Senior Center Commission To the entire City Council and to Mr. Dale Helling, acting City Manager: I want to call your attention to something you may not know yet about the vacancy on the Senior Center Commission. The application period was reopened for that vacancy and the cut off date for applications this time is 5 pm on March 5th. But even though the city council has not taken action on this vacancy yet, the Chairman of the Senior Center Commission, Mr. Jay Honohan, told me tonight in an email that Mike Lensing will be appointed. How can that be true? I have seen a copy of a Feb. 4 th email written by Senior Center staff person Susan Rogusky in which she told that the Senior Center Commission vacancy had been filled and that Mike Lensing had been chosen. On Feb. 5 th. I contacted Linda Kopping and Jay Honahan to check to see if that was true. Linda wrote in an email dated Feb. 5th that it was not true. Jay's answer came tonight and he told that Mike Lensing will be appointed. This is very troubling news. The city public record shows that there is a vacancy and that the application process is still open. The public should be able to trust that all who would apply would be given consideration for that vacancy. Its important to remember that there are already 4 men on that commission and only 2 women. That commission also has a long history of exclusion of lower income people and minorities. I would like a reply giving me an explanation for the pre-selection. Mr. Lensing is a very nice man. I hate to see him drawn into an unfair situation. I doubt that he would agree to bypassing the established rules. Charlotte Walker In a message dated 2/13/2008 10:32:12 P.M. Central Standard Time, Nroamer writes: Charlotte: It is my understanding that Michael Lensing has applied and will be appointed to the commission. Jay In a message dated 2/9/2008 11:34:17 A.M. Central Standard Time, WalkerCL04 writes: I Jay, Thanks for checking. I hope you have not had any sickness or family sickness. 2/14/2008 Page 2 of 2 charlotte In a message dated 2/9/2008 11:14:32 A.M. Central Standard Time, Nroamer writes: Charlotte: Sorry I am slow, I have been away from my computer. I don't know the answer will check on Monday the 11th. Jay In a message dated 2/4/2008 11:13:48 P.M. Central Standard Time, WalkerCL04 writes: Jay, is it true that the vacancy on the Senior Center Commission has been filled? Charlotte Walker The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. AOL_Music._ta.. kes yo_u th_ere..._ 2/14/2008 City Manager Search correspondence Hand delivered Sunday, February 17 And accepted at the formal meeting February 19 3 ~ ~~ ~ ? CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ^~ ~~~;~~., PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~ ~ ~+-~~~ cif r o IOWA CITY Please print your name here /~/~~ r'~~. ( Nb I/ ~aC' Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is imporfant to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. "All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. w. A. --Hn-- c;n /1 ; .~' .*!/~'~ if ~ ,~-.lr:. .. i~ ~~f r .,' >`-®- .!(•1 a.r4 ~,{ ~ y., ~ £.'r~' .. . { 4 ~ a ,, j .X . F~1+-vW ~ L-~.C~~' 1 Vl r f/ i-G/Ly.- f I awranra M f)Pln ~ ~ ~ ~~~~ l v~"~ f~~~-C'`~1v ~f~P/i'/ G%'.~ ~"~-(,{'. //rti ~~ flI~~i ~'~~~~..Z-sty(`-C;.~ ~L ~~ , ~1~; ~L " zay~~.~ve. ~ o~~-~ T 1 ~, /F c.ll;..R.= ~~tL L~-4t .~-~^~~~°5~° ~ ..~ kli7.~'L-L)' T Lti%t2fi~r+_ ~ ~ (J( .~i'l iL` ~ , nnicnael t. :`~i+.'W '~'~i /Lv v "7"sc f^~ G~. ~i~W'' '.,'"u` "!.'~i ~, L//V ~/ u t~v'1~ ~i. ii'YC._,!/"~t'~i z{,~i~.-k 3 ~ t ~.~d~,~L4,~~'"-Yt.~,.+N..t~f~+~+-^` /~~~-`''~~''i 4% y /~ CR.-~` ~z~Gt >~~~~ ,~.- y//~~G'2'~:.s ~r.,:-,~-~t~d~ y~ ~GLcC~~Cti'+.t ~ ~3ot<-c L~.- ~ ~~~r'rL, f~-~ G~/''x.F~,cr;.~c% ~~Ifv W~'~i.. j~ /LC WIPnc*v L'v Ku. t s~" ~L{~ /~.Q 'L~. ~.~i%~ r f ~ !' * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. ! CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ^~ ~,C~r ~~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~m~•~ ...a..._ CITY Of IOWA CITY . Please print your name here ~1kOl~t,( Nc~VI ~,/C _ Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on -any or all of the candidates for the City Manager iri the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed .below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. ina~ raa.au v D~ , -- ~~ ~!/r!J /~i~F~.~. ~"x~c~ ,b~~~ iGt~f~/' ~(~'73'~2 {~-b~ ,6r ' ...'.~.Q~'~. ~.3~:... ~j7~~~ /nsY~ ~.. ~ilT:;cr4,. (l-~a~cn r~' ~ v`t``~,~.~~~ ~~ /l''^ ~ ,2 1~-y~.d `J-„t. %r d;;~.,x..~t', 1 .. n oa...,~,.., JMVYI ~,,,Q ~ r Q ' ~j ~y ~ , ~7 ~ f / , +_, ,~ ~ ~/3r CFd:-r r.. /~~,G"' ~,-~'t~"r` ~i lr~-dam- ~( GI.G; % V , .g///,/~ .~iL~^~- .~Q'~!. /1'-f .~-f,,,~,t ,~~''~i€.~~d~.~';~• ~7-L 2 L' 4~ ~~?~,_~Qr~C~~iiQG'~j. /~'~ZD/ ~Gi.~v•'~°L,,-Edy-~,:.~'~ . ~ ~- ~ ~'"~~`,. ~~G(~'+'t-~y~~~~'~~,~1i ~~V,IJ/~''~J°.CG~'-~`~ .r"ijc-~ .~'tl..:- ,//( l1 ~ti G~'7'f.L'L'"~^~i~ G ~ ~~-L.. Gt''~ V V ~ , L• * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. .C~le~rWmgrp;+ublic comment.doc /.- _ - f' -/ f.~c.~-a.e •GC ~~.. .~~c~~'a:-, ~ot°~ ~ i7~`~"~ ~z. ~I ~ /l~.l~"~GL,f~.~~f y~ ~~/+~~ '~, ~~~'~"~u j ~. `s~ ` ' rt ~ t~~cu~'~~-''~- fit, (/ Q I ~ •- i -~a ~,,.,.wr®~.~ CITY OF IOWA CITY CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS PI IRI 1(: [:nMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~..., ,- t ~~ ~, ,~ F,;: Please print your name here ~-' ~ ~ '~ ^ ~~ s ~" " Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. VI. A. --Ari I ~~~iranca M f)aln * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ~~ ~., PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~m~~: ~~~ L ~~ CITY OF IOWA CITY ~^ (~ ~~ % ~ (~ Please print your name here C~ 6 1 f ~ ~ '" ~ Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/.. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed -below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. ~ ~....1~'.~.. !~ rllivnr 0........ A C4r~n4nn ~~~ ~,,,,,.' x ~0 ~,. y ~°,a ~~ ~-~-e ~ v * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ~~ ClerWmgr public comment.doc ~ ? ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ~ III *~ ~~~~~~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~' ~®"~ CITY or sown GTV Please print your name here Joan H. Jeiile Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. '` All written and electronic. correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. IVI. H. Hri ~.riauu L did not speak to or hear his comments to other's questions, but I am not sure his bio reflects the background we need and have aright to require, as City Manager of Iowa City. I do not think he should be considered as a finalist. I awranra M f)aln I did speak to and listen to Mr. Delo's comments to other's questions. His personal & language skills are evident. He spoke at length about bringing positive development to his community for economic development and as~a tourist destination. I believe he should be considered as a finalist for the City Manager of Iowa City. I did not speak to or hear his comments to other's questions. He seems to have some of the skills we have a right to require for the position of City Manager in Iowa City. I believe he should be considered as a finalist for the City Manager of Iowa City. * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about fhe law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ~~ ~? ~ ,~_m~~~t',~ ~„ ~®~•~ ,.~ CITY OF IOWA CITY Thank you for the opportunity to express CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS my observations in this process . PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY Please print your name here Joan H. Jehle Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. `All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. ~A~rlrn4a r', (llivar I did not speak to or hear her responses to other's questions. She seems to have some of the skills we have a right to require for the City Manager of Iowa City. I do not think she has enough of those skills to be considered as a finalist for the position of City Manager of Iowa City. G ~c~n D Cfan4nn I approached Susan first of all. As a former City employee and a~former 6 year member of the Iowa City Human Rights Commission, I had high hopes that this candidate would posses many of the qualities we need in the City Manager of Iowa City. Unfortunately, I was VERY disappointed! She seemed to lack language skills as I stood listening to her speak to others. Her command of words and choice of words was sadly lacking. Not what one should expect from. an administrative level employee. I do not think she should be considered as a finalist for the position of City Manager of Iowa City. * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that. harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. NOTES: I believe that Lawrence Delo & Michael Matthes should be considered as finalists for the position of City Manager ClerWmgrpubliccomment.doc of Iowa City. However, I am surprised that none of the candidates posses ALL of the skills that I feel we have a right to expect in Iowa City. I would even suggest that you continue the search for the absolutely RIGHT candidate. -~: ~ ~ _~, -i i ? ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS =~~~~~ ~.~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY !-~ an OF IOWA CITY Please print your name here ~~i y ~ ~ ~ /~"U ~~~ ~`'' ~5 Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. "All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. ~, f' ~{-G~ Crr-P ~~~a~r~ i v-~ ~'/~ ~~"~'-`S~'''.~ ~~ l ~c ~Z~--r ~ U,,z-P C cis, ' eta ~5 ' VI. A. "Art" Chaudry G~`,.c.~ rn~' S~-~?d~r5 f Gv /~.,~ .1- ~w~, C:; Gz~,s , f /o~, r-eSSi ~~ ~~ji x.tc-I' ~f t ~/l ~ ~ L ~C[.~c ~~ ~ ~Y,t S ~ ~ ~ vrf~r. ~~ u s-~; ~ ` "- d ~ ~ as ~~` ~I ! v~ r~ rr~ ~r.~5~~-f ~ nn noi., ~...~ . ~U w~~~ ~~~ t ~ ~~ ~~ ~r ~.~ ~~u slL~%~ ; f ~ s i (N r!, Z&t I ~,~ ~ir `i'' j-~°h S C.t7 u n `f ~~~~ •x:.1......1 C ~A..~~hr.n l~ U~2~c k.atv~s-C~,t~ ~~ i ~''c~~~Zrr+c-E' * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the !aw of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS -^yNc,~~~~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY CIT OF IOWA CITY // Please print your name here 6 Lt Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. "All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed .below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. /(I{~ ,C7. ~j ~~ /~( 6~^i ~?^~-S'4cw"f t~iQY~ ~`1 ~~.Ge Sfl L:~ Y 1-7 c- ~ ~~' ~~ ~ '~` ~cJ ~'.P3 ~ft'1/-F n..__.., n c+a,,s,.r. lYiS- ~h~ ,~e~ye~'k~ (~'~f'-(.~ ~-nt~ 1~.~~ r~ C~l~rcina-.~ g~~``5 ~ ~ ~~~~r * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ClerWmgr public comment.doc Y~+ ~l~ u yP ~v~i T~ti-~ ~i n ,, ,~,c:_2vw<n, f ~'r~+'~'t /A-c `~'1.wrX'~, GY~(~-PAS ~- ..C~~ ~~ ~v s a~ vas dt~ v.~ 1, eK 1-c.oC~-r '~~g ~6 ~~, ~ ~f Q yt:, rh~S , ~- ~~ r ~ ~ a S{YVY'-~ V ~ n ~t- ~ ~ ~l'~ m . ~.,~N i ~ ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS , _~ ~~ ~.~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ®~ ~ C. CITY OF IOWA CITY please print your name here Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. '' All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. M. H. Hr[ ~.nauu I ~wrcnra M flaln ~A:..L.....I C ~A.~++hoc * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. i ? ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ~~~; ~~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~.®~~; CIT O IOWA CITY Please print your name here ~~~ ~ ~ ~~` `~~~~2 c~~s~~,. Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record,, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. ~A.,.L..+.. (~ Oliver c ........ A C+., r.+.,., ~~ * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. Clerk/mgr public comment.doc r CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS 1 ^~~~! *°''~ PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY _ C~r~` .~ ~,(~; an OF IOWA CITY Please print your name here _ ~~ ~~'~'~//~~~ n q C...-NKi(-1dt.1A ~'~~ ~/'t4 l1~ u~ SeC~r'4 l u.b Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is requ ed. Comments ceived without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. ~'° or'ly GAS ~°'~ ~w3~"''"s 4.~.»~- S~s~~~~jr~/ Your input is important to us, ~ Cnvfron/rwr,s l ~~.~.~ ~. y,r^~..S ~ u,~'l/ ratik cro~s/ Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided belowr.A ^ d~ ~ ~J ~' jr Ss rr1,/ ?' [''+t n ra, q a 1r~ ~a clc.~t f ~ ; G~. ~ • N ~- ~.~t~h c~i r~ ~ e~' . Comments may also be made d ectl`y on the City ebsite at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. '' All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. VI. A. "Art ~~ I ~~aironro AA flaln ~3 _1 r \I~LIL..... VIIVIIQGI L.. Ivlu aa~~v.+ 11 * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ? ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ~~c~k~~ti PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ~.~ /} CITY Of IOWA CITY Li /,a ~ Please print your name here ~/f~(, V"~ Cl~a~ i ~o.-kl'i~ i9-~'t,~. .tvtrr.~ C'lK to Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name'will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. "All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. IvIQ11~G au v. vu.v. ~Z ~~ * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person fo contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ClerWmgr public comment.doc i? ~~. -~. _~®~•~ CI YT OF IOWA CITY CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY ...~~ ~^ ~ Please print your name here ("_II~~~ ~~~~~ .~/~~ ALE Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. VI. A. "Art"' chau ~ . tel. ~~ Lti~''~)'i'~G -~G G~wr~ c2-+S~e~' 'ti` I ~uironra AA rlaln cz~..-zc_.9e' G~- Z.Ue{ ,~`yl.~'-~t,at.~ ~ Lt- ~~~.t~cc~' ~l u- /~ ~~;~i2"~-~~-~c~ ~U ~ ~ ~' ~.~ ~~'~~~- `~-- t ~- -~ ~ j G~ ~~-t~-u`X-~U~ ~~ ~,1.t~x..c..~2'~'-Pilidfi/'~C°.~L ~ ~ f a .~, ~yl ~1i22(.ri..:r ~t~ - t G`X ~~ ~'~-~/ U~j ~~, ~~~ ~;z' zf ° ~~ dKC "-~"" r Michael E. Matthes ~.~t~ Ci'u-P~ ~'K~U-~~"~ - ~7~-~--Z~ l,°-~- ~`-c~-~''~o~ ~l, Gt-~ ~y1Ce~t. i,-u~L ~^-c t~~j .tx~~ti~-t-'2~ A~} -~L'-~-~G'a-~~ ~2 N~~LL~ 1~-~~ ~L~ ~~ ~? ~~ti ~~ ~- ~~ ~~~ ~ fi-~.~`.e~e v;c.-~~Q~~ ~~7~.~~~~c ~~~ ~~~~.-~.LC~e ~~tz~~rn~ R' ~ik~a~~l-~~-y * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBB OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ~ CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS ~~~; ~., PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY w.®~,: -~.,~_ CITY OF IOWA CITY ~ Please print your name here ~1 ~/~.(>L-//i/~ ~~~7~~L~ Per Council policy anonymous correspondence will not be accepted; your name is required. Comments received without a name will not be forwarded to City Council Members. Your input is important to us. Please provide your comments on any or all of the candidates for the City Manager in the space provided below. Comments may also be made directly on the City website at www.icgov.org/managersearch/. * All written and electronic correspondence is a public record, will be distributed to the City Council prior to their February 18 meeting, and permanently archived as a public record. Candidates are listed .below in alphabetical order; please turn form over for other candidates. nay nvw v ~ 1<Xr ~ l/ ~v ~^^, .. - - - - - / ~j ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~.~.~[e~ )~ ~~GL-mod ;,, 'J„ "~~~ to .,/ ./~~!(~C,FJ ~ << ~0 /~-~'l~~l~ GZ{~~fX/cx~-~` C1 _ - ~ ~~ ~~~~ ~. Susan A. Stanton , ~ ~~, G'?~.~uJ ~--~? ~~ ~to-Q-1~~ -- e~~-a" _ 7 ~ , ,E~.~ `.° ~ /X~es~f_. ~~ ~.e~.~e-~~,8~,~~,d-uiLe.~ /~>/ud~, ate: ~ ~L~.c~.e,e 2-~-~0 7~~~-94e- ~e~.e ~ Pa, a-a-~ ~u~a ox ~ ~.o a-~x.o a--19Q !~ ~-~~ w` vC~+~-e-Q~-Q-cC ~- ~i.F L~. * DEADLINE FOR ALL COMMENTS IS 12 NOON ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, IN BOX PROVIDED IN LOBBY OF CITY HALL, 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET. PLEASE NOTE: The City Council encourages candid input in a civil way. In making your comments, please keep in mind that defamation is forbidden by law. Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation by, for example, attacking a person's integrity or moral character, subjecting a person to contempt or ridicule or adversely affecting a person's business. If you have questions about the law of defamation you should contact your personal attorney. ClerWmgr public comment.doc ~~D ~ n ~ ~%G`~"` J" G~~,.~ G~ , GL ~~ , Gq ~ ~ ~ .a~ ~~ ~ ,~.a-ate/ .~-- ~ ~° i~'~'~'~"`~" ~ ~~ ~ ~~~ 3 -~ ~r„~ , WEBSITE COMMENTS Page 1 of 6 3 ~, ~ ,. ~~.. Judy Nelson Commented on 2/12/2008 7:22:22 AM Regarding Stanton: I am from Largo FL where Ms. Stanton was city manager for many years. She did an excellent job here. I think she would fit in the intellectual, eclectic Iowa City community (where I lived several years ago). Janelle Rettig Commented on 2/15/2008 9:58:40 PM Regarding Chaudry: He is a interesting applicant with a diverse background, however I found him to be unceratin when someone asked him about economic development. He said he had little experience in economic development. I'm uncomfortable with a City manager that has never managed a City. At one point, I saw him sitting down and I thought perhaps this man doesn't have the energy for a town like Iowa City and citzens so engaged and challenging. Regarding Delo: He seemed to be driven, but he came off in a small group as a little too all knowing. His experience is filled with a few years here and there. I guess I'm more interested in someone that will be committeed to Iowa City, not just using this job to move on to the next. I heard that he questioned the need for an Airport in a town like Iowa City while on his tour. I would like someone to do a little more research and investigation before making recommendations that would be detrimental to Iowa City and the UI. Regarding Matthes: He seems nice enough and engaging on a variety of topics. I did have trouble with his conversation with me where I asked him about the budget crises in Des Moines. He started out stating the situation was overblown by the media, but when I reminded him that they cut services and even street lights, he backed down a little on the defensiveness. I asked what he had learned from the situation and if there was anything they could have done to avoid the budget crisis. He stated that he couldn't think of anything. I have concerns with someone that doesn't see a crisis in cutting services and can't find a single thing to learn from the experience. Do we want to put the strong, balanced Iowa City budget and bond rating into these hands? Regarding Oliver: She's nice, funny, engaging, but I don't think she is quite ready for a City as large and complex as Iowa City with the dynamics of the University thrown in. Regarding Stanton: I found her to be nice, thoughtful, and confident on different topics and people being thrown at her. I fine her resume, reputation as a manager, experience in work and life to be a good fit for Iowa City. She seemed to handle all the people and cameras in stride. Her new voice is a little quiet and unassuming, but she seems to have vast knowledge behind that voice. Garry Klein Commented on 2/15/2008 10:53:25 PM Regarding Chaudry: http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scriptsimanagerComments.asp 2/17/2008 Page 2 of 6 Excellent experience working with economic development, but did not convey a sense of understanding of how to apply it on a smaller scale. Does not have relevant experience with affordable housing issues. Good experience with working with persons of diverse backgrounds. Regarding Delo: Good presentation abilities. When asked about affordable housing, presented a less progressive view of addressing how to use resources to affect policy. Overall understanding of our community needs was not as clear as other candidates. Regarding Matthes: Excellent experience with public housing issues and meeting HUD requirements, the strongest of the five. Good experience with working with persons of diverse backgrounds. Most open to public input on addressing the needs of our community. Of the five, he seemed to have a more complete understanding of our community's needs and while not having overall city management experience, had good experience of educating himself and troubleshooting in previous opportunities. Regarding Oliver: Excellent experience with economic development for a significantly smaller community. Limited experience in working with persons of diverse backgrounds on conflict resolution matters. Did not come across as confident as other candidates in describing her credentials. Regarding Stanton: Excellent overall credentials, but lacked specificity in solutions for affordable housing. Her presentation style came across as unfocused. Of the five, she had the least understanding of the needs of this community. Calvin Satterlee Commented on 2/16/2008 8:51:11 PM Regarding Stanton: As a transman, I do not support Susan Stanton. She has in the past made reference to other trans people as being merely, "men in dresses" and I have never personally heard her say ANYTHING about transmen. If she is going to use the "transgender card" then she needs to not be so narrow-minded herself. This narrow-mindedness is NOT what Iowa as a state stands for, nor is it what Iowa City stands for. I oppose her appointment, and I would appreciate it if you did as well. Carol Spaziani Commented on 2/16/2008 11:33:29 PM Regarding Chaudry: General comments: None of these candidates seemed just perfect for our job. I thought maybe two of them might fit but maybe the Council will want to search further at a slightly later date? Mr. Chaudry does not have any experience as a city manager. Lots of business experience might be helpful, and he seems very intelligent. His call for "change" sounds like a presidential campaign theme! And like those, needs more elaboration! http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scripts/managerComments.asp 2/17/2008 Page 3 of 6 Regarding Delo: Mr.Delo was the only one of the five to mention in his introduction any background or interest in intergovernmental issues, a subject likely to be of increasing importance as our county grows in population. He has experience as a city manager, but in smaller cities, one with a college. His education and career path show his authentic interest in being a city manager. I liked his presentation the best, and 1 can see him fitting in the best with existing City staff. I think he could do the job here. Regarding Matthes: The fact that Mr. Matthes has lived in Iowa for 20 years shows that he really likes it here. Although his experience has been only as an Asst. City Manager, it has all been in Des Moines, a much larger city than Iowa City and one from which we may have a lot to learn. But lack of experience outside Iowa may mean he will not bring us new ideas from a wider arena. I like his experience with the Finance Dept. and the Housing Agency. In conversation he exhibited a lot of knowedge and good ideas for the affordable housing area. His education shows an authentic interest in municipal government. His presentation was only average, but I think he could do the job here. Regarding Oliver: An authentic Iowa native with good experience in a city outside Iowa in our size category. A good educational background directly related to municipal administration and experience with a regional planning agency is a plus. Though Windsor Heights is very small, it does give her experience in a metro area with lots of incorporated cities. Though she did not mention this as a plus in her presentation, in conversation she exhibited valuable knowledge in this area. However, I wonder about being so dedicated to Iowa that she would take a job in a tiny town instead of looking for something larger than Yakima. She seems very pleasant but somehow still seems a bit immature--can't put my finger on it. She could likely do our job but not sure of interaction with long term city employees. Maybe not a problem and I am sure you are getting feedback from the dept. heads on this point. Regarding Stanton: Ms. Stanton's experience and career history are the best of all five candidates! With administrative experience in New York state, Alaska, Champaign Ill, Berea Ky, and Largo Florida, she would bring wide knowledge of what other areas are doing. She cannot help but be very knowledgeable and capable, but in her presentation and conversation, I got only sort of a "laid back" attitude. Maybe that's what comes of living in Florida for 7 years! No doubt she could do our job. How would the staff and public receive her? THANKS FOR GIVING THE PUBLIC THIS OPPORTUNITY AND GOOD LUCK! Wanda Evans Commented on 2/17/2008 9:25:32 AM Regarding Stanton: A sex change operation is a major item to be considered when looking for someone to manage our city. There would have to be residual identity and psychological problems. If the city of Largo voted to terminate her, we need to seriously look at whether this is who we would want representing our city. I would hope you have contacted the Largo city council to see why they dismissed her, but I would think there would be a better choice for manager in one of the other candidates. Wendy Robertson http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scripts/managerComments.asp 2/17/2008 Page 4 of 6 Commented on 2/17/2008 10:13:39 AM Regarding Chaudry: Art has a very unusual resume and could bring some very different perspectives to the city. However, I don't think he is the best match for what we need right now. For example, he thought a local sales tax was a good way to raise money for the stadiums in KC. I am concerned that he would support using regressive taxes for things that may only benefit a select group of people. Regarding Delo: Lawrence has some interesting ideas. I really like some of his approaches to issues, such as drinking downtown, that involve private businesses. I regret that I did not get a chance to ask him about how he would gather input from the public. I am concerned that he will be too tied into the business community and not listen to other elements of the city. If I could be sure he would take input from people I would be more comfortable with him. I am also not sure if he is the best match for what Iowa City needs now. Regarding Matthes: Michael would make a good city manager. I found all his answers quite good. I appreciate what he has done to get input from citizens of Des Moines and to communicate with people. I think he has some very good approaches to various issues. I am comfortable with him becoming the city manager. Regarding Oliver: I like Marketa. I think she most closely represents the direction I would like the city to move in. I thought all the answers she gave to questions were very good. She expressed a clear desire to hear from all the people in the city about what they want. I am comfortable with her becoming the city manager of Iowa City. Regarding Stanton: I did not feel that Susan had much depth. She did not have strong answers to any questions and I did not feel she had really done her homework on Iowa City before coming. She also seemed much more comfortable with one-on-one interactions than in talking with groups of people which makes me nervous about how well she would be able to fulfill the role of city manager. Jim L. Maynard Commented on 2/17/2008 11:14:00 AM Regarding Chaudry: I find Mr. Chaudry's Civil Engineering Degree a strong plus in his credentials. I have concern's about his limited direct municipal experience and his recent frequent job changes. Based on my brief conversation with him regarding his interest and experience in working with volunteer citizen oraganizations I would still rank him a close second to my first choice. Regarding Delo: Mr. Delo's credentials indicate steps of increasing responsibility in municipal management and his experience with the City of Janesville should provide knowledge of the needs of a city of comparable size to Iowa City. I think he has the potential to grow with Iowa City, have a reasonalbly long tenure and maintain a strong positive working relationship with the staff and citizen boards and commissions. Based on my conversation with him regarding his interest and experience in working with volunteer citizen groups, I rank him as my first choice. http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scripts/managerComments.asp 2/17/2008 Page 5 of 6 Regarding Matthes: Mr. Matthes has had progressively responsible experience with one city, the City of Des Moines. As Assistant City Manager he should have good familiarity with all aspects of managing a large city. More diverse experience in different communities would be desireable. Based on my conversation with him regarding his interest and experience in working with volunteer citizen groups, I would rank him a strong third choice. Tim Weitzel Commented on 2/17/2008 11:40:29 AM Regarding Chaudry: Mr. Chaudry is a striking and well-spoken individual who clearly exhibits confidence. I find him to be the most charismatic individual of all the candidates. While his list of accomplishments is admirable, I personally think that Art would be better suited to leading an large organization with capital interests, a public venue-again with capital interests, or private enterprise. In particular I was concerned that he spoke of sales taxes as a way to fund projects. I feel Iowa City is already at a maximum for taxes. Our school bonds are topped-out, real estate is regionally expensive, and we have recently added a sales tax to our county. Iowa City needs to reprioritize its goals. There are some things we just won't be able to do in the near or middle terms. I do appreciate his sense of ethics regarding environmental concerns. Regarding Delo: I would like to see Mr. Delo return for the next round of interviews. While I am uncertain if De Pere is very much or at all like Iowa City, Mr. Delo offered what I thought were wonderful ideas regarding student-town relations, especially with regard to over-consumption of alcohol. He made it clear he is not a Tea-Totaller, yet he stated that bar owners could should much more of the responsibility for what I will call the side-effects and safety concerns surrounding binge drinking. It is not hard to see how this could be done. Dram shop laws would seem to offer the most ready solution. I feel that a business who is at risk of stiff financial penalties or loss of license renewal will act more responsibly toward the community out of self-interest. This is classic economics. Iowa City could also follow Mr. Delo's advice regarding strict limitation of all drink specials and advertisement of these specials. Advertising would not be used if it didn't work, so careful limitation of its use likely would decrease abinge-drinking mindset or at least remove some of our social approval of this behavior. However, I do feel the UI and City can coordinate on a campaign to encourage youth to be more self-aware and accept personal responsibility. Mr. Delo had an interesting perspective regarding festivals-that support services should be provided by the City, but organizational expenses should be privately provided. Mr. Delo had aggressive solutions to provide financial incentives to new construction-The City of De Pere owns a lot of land and in return for a reduced fee to purchase this land, strict environmental regulations are put into place. I also like Mr. Delo's attitude regarding round-about intersections. I think there are ways to make these work safely for pedestrians and bicyclists. Regarding Matthes: I would like to see Mr. Matthes return for the next round of interviews. Mr. Matthes shows less experience on paper than any of the other candidates. However, I think is easy-going attitude may work well for him in dealing with awell-established city staff. All the department heads have been here for a http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scripts/managerComments.asp 2/17/2008 Page 6 of 6 fair length of time which means they will clearly remember how the previous manager structured the civil-service side of our City government. This has upsides and downsides. Being able to go-with-the- flow should help. Mr. Matthes has a good attitude regarding his relationship to City Government and the Manger's relation to Council-City staff should feel free to speak their minds (at all levels) while City Council remains the boss. I think these are both very important concepts and possible both have been under-utilized in the past. Mr. Matthes provided an interesting perspective on privatizing their affordable housing program, but using the resulting vouchers to pay for scattered sites housing. I remain uncertain how this or other experiences from Des Moines will translate to Iowa City. Regarding Oliver: I would like to see Ms. Oliver return for the next round of interviews. Ms. Oliver is clearly the most enthusiastic of the candidates. She also had the clearest indication of someone who seeks out public input as well as input from her staff and others in similar positions in the region. I appreciate this willingness to network and conference for opinions before making decisions. I very much appreciate here open attitude to gain public input as well as encouraging walkable communities. I remain a little uncertain as to how Ms. Oliver will relate to and interact with department heads and I did not gain a sense of exactly how past experiences will translate to Iowa City, but this maybe discovered in another round of interviews. Regarding Stanton: Ms. Stanton has the best resume for a city manager with 17 years in as city manager and another four as city administrator. I generally feel our community would welcome her here. While I feel any of the candidates are capable of competently managing our city, and while Ms. Stanton is likely able to teach us about providing services for tourist visitors, I felt a lack of connection to other issues that face Iowa City, and her City's web site would seem to bear this out-Largo has but four citizen boards and Commissions, though affordable housing is clearly an issue in Largo as well as Iowa City. Ms. Stanton admirably regrets having seen a good deal of urban sprawl in Florida that occurred at a time few administrators knew how to stem it. While sensitive environmental areas have been at issue regarding urban growth here, I also feel expansion into farmland is an economic issue as well as environmental. But I would have liked to hear more about how to control urban expansion by all the candidates. I also would have like to learn more about Ms. Stanton's knowledge gained as administrative assistant in Champaign, which may be a closer match (demographically and geographically) to Iowa City than Largc or Berea. I sensed that Ms. Stanton may prefer one-on-one conversation to large groups. I think a City Manger for Iowa City is going to need to be readily able to interact with crowds as well as individuals. http://www.icgov.org/CMSv2/depts/CNCL/scripts/managerComments.asp 2/17/2008 City Manager Search correspondence Hand delivered Monday, February 18 And accepted at the formal meeting February 19 C~ } -~, Marian Karr From: Wright/Knock [mwmk@mchsi.com] Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:17 AM To: Marian Karr Subject: Re: (no subject) Sorry. It was from Rick Dobyns. Marian Karr wrote: > Was it signed? I can't distribute unless I have a name. > Marian K. Karr > City Clerk > City of Iowa City > Population 62,380 > (phone) 319-356-5041 > (fax) 319-356-5497 > -----Original Message----- > From: Wright/Knock [mailto:mwmk@mchsi.com] > Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 3:33 PM > To: Marian Karr > Subject: (no subject) > I got this on my personal email acct: > In order of quality: > Mike Matthes-a guy "on his way up" in his profession. He has not yet > reached his peak-so wouldn't it be nice to have him reach his peak here? > Affable with apparent quality and experience for someone his age. His > strength and weakness is his comfort with TIF. Is he too comfortable > with the style of municipal funding or is his experience with it make > him adept at using it appropriately and with discretion? > Susan Stanton-the most experienced and time tested in areas relevant > to the job. We probably wouldn't have seen her apply as a candidate > had she > not had her unfortunate life event last year. Her experience in > Champaign (Big 10 town next door to another city with different > philosophy, Urbana) and Beria (small college town in Ky), etc. Her > presence is initially off-putting (voice, features, etc) with some > nervousness but I was impressed with her ability to engage those Iowa > Citians talking with her, including myself. > Larry Delo-very vanilla, but like Matthes is destined for much greater > places based on his skills. He was confident but in a good way. > Experience is limited but I sense he is very capable. I really like > him but I didn't put him first because this is Iowa City-not some city > in the Fox River valley. > Art Chaudry-cool resume...very outside the box...good candidate to > spice up the mix of candidates...thanks for bringing him in...don't > pick him. I found him a tad arrogant like he was talking down to us. > My opinion is based on his self-indulgent use of time for his opening > statement (which Delo called him on) and the way he interacted with us > citizens in the time afterward. > Marketa Oliver-uh, no. 1 .? ~' ... ~ Marian Karr From: Karen Kubby [kubby@pobox.com] Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:31 AM To: Council Cc: R Bailey; A Correia; Ross Wilburn; rwilburn@jccrisiscenter.org; Mike Wright; matthew hayek Subject: city manager candidate feedback City Council, Thank you all for allowing residents to meet and greet the five finalists for the position of City Manager I appreciate the opportunity to have my feedback be part of your decision making formula. My apologies for not getting this to you by the deadline, which I mistakenly thought was Monday, Feb. 18. As today is a holiday and you are meeting tonight, I am sending this to your group address, as well as to your individual addresses, with the exception of Mike and Connie as there is no email address listed on the city's web .site for them. Below are brief impressions about each of the five finalists. -Karen Kubby Art Chaudry: His varied experience might be a valuable asset to Iowa City. I especially appreciate that he was involved in the Urban League, as I believe we must make more concerted efforts on becoming a more inclusive community. My concerns are that he is too rooted in the private sector and that his ideas and approach may be better suited to a larger metro area. I observed that he spent more time talking then listening to residents. Lawrence Delo: I would have liked to have heard in more detail about his ideas for sharing tax bases and how this concept could be accommodated even if state law does not allow direct sharing of tax bases. I got the sense that he was very competent and very safe in his approach to local government. I believe this candidate would be too much like the leadership of our recent past and that we are at a time in our history where we need more innovation and calculated risk taking. Michael Matthes: In his two minutes at the podium, this candidate said two things I appreciated immensely. First, he said he wanted to hear why we love Iowa City. Second, he talked about communicating with the public and listed "listening" as the first way of communicating. This candidate seems like an excellent fit for Iowa City. He knows the structure of local government in Iowa, has experience in a larger community that has struggled with similar issues (growth, affordable housing, inclusiveness, etc.), seemed passionate about public service, and has experience directly with housing issues and communicating with the public. He seems like a great balance of the familiar with the ability to stretch himself and our community to new ideas and accomplishments. Hire him! Marketa Oliver: I really liked her. A quiet presence based in competence and confidence. I think she would be a great fit for Iowa City with 5-8 years more experience. Susan Stanton: She seems to have a lot of experience with intergovernmental cooperation and this is an area in which it seems we will be engaging in more frequently. She seemed supportive of sales taxes, although this may come from her familiarity with a vacation based economy. I liked her experience, yet didn't feel a sense of genuine connection. ==Privacy Statement===== ATTENTION: This electronic document may contain confidential information and is intended for use by the addressee and/or their intended representatives only. Review by unintended individuals is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not read, transmit, copy, disclose, store or utilize this communication in any manner. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your computer. Thank you. Page 1 of 1 ^~ ~` +,+t.~ , _... Marian Karr From: Ross Wilburn Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:35 AM To: Marian Karr Subject: FW: Thank you Marian, I am forwarding this message (and my reply) that came from one of the candidates. I presume this was also sent to the others, in which case I am forwarding it to you, so that you can use yourjudgement as to whether this should be placed in with other correspondence from candidates. Ross From: Ross Wilburn Sent: Mon 2/18/2008 10:32 AM To: Marketa Oliver Subject: RE: Thank you Thank you Marketa for your interest in Iowa City. From: Marketa Oliver [mailto:olivermarketa@yahoo.com] Sent: Mon 2/18/2008 10:25 AM To: Ross Wilburn Subject: Thank you February 18, 2008 Dear Council Member Wilburn: Thank you for recent opportunity to talk with you, Mayor, other Council Members, department heads and some citizens of Iowa City. I enjoyed the chance to learn more about the community and meet the many and talented staff members on Friday. I have always thought Iowa City is an interesting, eclectic area and was very impressed with what I saw and learned on the tour. Thank you again for the opportunity. I would welcome the occasion to talk with you further. Sincerely, Marketa Oliver Never miss a thing. 1Vlake Yahoo~our_homepa~e. 2/18/2008