HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-04-18 TranscriptionPage 1
Iowa City City Council Work Session
Council Present: Botchway, Cole, Dickens, Mims, Taylor, Thomas, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Fruin, Monroe, Andrew, Dilkes, Voparil, Boothroy, Havel, Bockenstedt,
Bowers, Dulek, Knoche, Yapp
Others Present: Simpson, Nelson (UISG)
Discuss disproportionate minority contact strategy [1P #3, IP #4 of 4/13 Info Packet]:
Throgmorton/ All right, despite the fact that it's a beautiful day, we need to start on time. So,
uh... uh, we're gonna start our City Council work session for Tuesday, April the 18d.
First topic on the agenda is to discuss disproportionate minority contact strategy. And we
had two, uh, items in our Information Packet, including a memo from Chief Matherly,
and another from Kingsley Botchway. So what I thought we'd do if it's all right with
Geoff and you, Chief, is begin with you summarizing, uh, what's in your memo, Chief,
and then Kingsley can be maybe the first person to respond, connect what he wrote to
what you advocate, and then .... then we'll go from there!
Matherly/ Well good evening! My first time presenting to the work session, so it's exciting!
(laughter) I see you got candy up there, so I'm lookin' forward to that! (laughter)
Dickens/ We share! (laughter)
Matherly/ Um, well hopefully you've all had a ... a chance to, uh, review my memorandum on the,
uh, DMC, uh, study and ... and the disparity issue in general, um, that we've been, uh,
working on for so many years. Um, when I first came here what I .... what I found was
there was a lot of excitement for solutions, but really not.....tangible items that we could
look at to .... to decide how we were gonna take care of this matter and so I spent a lot of
time talking to, um .... community members, uh, organized groups, uh, the officers
themselves and supervisors, as well as .... as some of the Council folks and, um, I .... I
think the general consensus was is ... is that there ... there are reachable goals that we can do
to .... to, urn .... uh.....reduce the disparity in policing that we have and simultaneously
reduce crime, but also, uh, increase the trust and ... and foster the relationships in the
community, and I think that's what's key here. Uh, ironically, uh, the ICP came out with
a, uh, publication just this week on bridging the gaps between minority communities
and ... and the police, and some of the items that they had in there that our supervisors
should be doing and the community can be doing, and then our officers should be doing
were some of the things that I already had in the memo, so we're not far off track as far
as what's, you know, considered acceptable methods to do this and .... and acceptable
standards, urn .... and also things that have worked in other communities, so we're not
recreating the wheel here. Uh, we .... you know, we hope to get innovative in some of
these items but if you don't mind I just want to pick out a few things. I don't want to beat
this memo up because you have read it, but there are full ... four areas that we are focusing
on here, be it the goals and objectives, you know, what's.... what's some of the things that
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we can control, um, you know, we can't control some things. If you call and say you
were robbed and I can identify the person doin' it, that person's goin' to jail! But if we
have some discretion in some of these things that are non -traffic related even, um, out...
out dealing with the public in general, um, you know, we can and should take a better
look at how we can use some diversion and some better tactics for the minor crimes, um,
that really aren't makin' a dent in crime in general, but by being creative and usin' some
good discretion can help build trust in the community and build those relationships. We
can do both. It does happen, and we need to .... to look at that. So when we look at
crimes like disorderly conduct, possession of drugs, interfering with police, curfew, you
know, let's think how we can be more creative, and one of the things you'll see, um,
under the deployment area is that I want to make sure that our community oriented
policing, our programs and our outreach, is working hand-in-hand with the enforcement
arm so there is a connection there, and that we are talking and that we're not just
operating in a vacuum. Well let's try to do crime prevention! If that doesn't work, we'll
go into enforcement mode and I think we can do better than that. Um, even at 3:00 in the
morning, I think we can do better than that. And then goal number two, besides those
crimes non -traffic related are obviously connected right to the study and I met with Dr.
Barnum, um, and he's convinced that we can do better. He thinks we're doing well, but
he thinks we can do better and the folks in the community think we can do better too. My
officers think we can do better. They're just sayin' `Teach us how! Show us how to do
this!' So takes me to my next step, I think the next thing is education and training. There
is .... um .... there's a lack of education on the officers' part exactly what the study means
and what it stands for, how is it being defined, and what can they do to ... to make sure to
make things better. They have to be educated, and I'll be quite frank, I think we failed in
that area. Um, so we're gonna take care of that. We're gonna make sure that every
officer hears it right from the horse's mouth, from Dr. Barnum himself, but I've also
recruited a gal from the, um, U of I Public Policy Center. She's a sociology professor
named, I'm gonna mess up her last name, Bruch? (several talking) B -r -u -c -h. Uh, she is
right on the same page as I am as far as explaining to the officers how can
we ... disassociate the crime and race association, and how can we make sure that they
understand when you are using your discretion on the lower level crimes, how it can
enhance that trust, and if you fail in that area, or we fail to deal with things properly, how
it can ruin that trust and ... and it's a ... it's a prolonged bad relationship (laughs) with the
police, and it impacts that person sometimes for a lifetime, especially when we're dealin'
with juveniles. So she's got... materials and studies and research in that area, and she can
convey that to us, make sure the officers are well educated and confident that when they
make those decisions, they're making them properly so it has a positive effect on the
community when they're doing their policing, and she's gonna help me bridge that gap.
So I happened to run into her at a talk the other day and it just kinda worked. I was like,
you're exactly what I'm looking for (laughs) She's local. She knows the climate here,
and I think it's going to be a good relationship. Uh.... the other piece we're looking at is
the community outreach, and we do pretty good. We've got some good formal programs
and ... and have had well before I got here. So I'm very impressed with that. Um ... you
know, I've already directed patrol to start getting out of their cars more often. Don't just
drive through the neighborhoods. I had a resident say the other day .... you know, when
you drive in my neighborhood, it's a tough neighborhood, but we live there cause we
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want to live there, but we live there cause we want our kids to ... to experience, you know,
what life is, um, but we feel like instead of patrolling for us, you're looking for stuff
and .... and you're more of a .... of a enforcement presence than you are a protective
presence, and we have to break that, and one of the ways to do that is to get out of the
cars. Do a pick-up game of basketball. Talk to the kids that are playin'. Approach the
folks on the porch, `Hey, how are things goin'? How's the neighborhood?' It's not hard
to do that. So surprisingly, as I mentioned to the command, evening shift already started
doin' that as of a couple days ago and ... and are getting out of the cars more. It's not hard
to do. We've got time. Let's do it. Um, and not just in one neighborhood, but all the
neighborhoods. Um ... as .... as you move down the list there on the community outreach,
the second to last one, you know, I attend these meetings. I'm going to make sure that
my officers are attending with me. Uh, we're going to one tomorrow night over in
Pheasant Ridge. But I ... I don't want to be the messenger. I don't wanna meet with these
folks — find out what's going on in the neighborhoods, find out what the problems are
with the police — and then go back and try to report it. My officers need to experience
that. They need to know what the community's telling them. They need to know that
with these real problems are real people. Um ... and .... and get a feel for that. So I think
it's important to bring those officers with me, including the command staff, but even...
even the line officers and make sure that they're, you know, getting the message first
hand and not hearing it from me. So one of the things I want to do is start an informal
Chief s committee. Every month, every other month, meet with a handful of folks, cross-
section of the community, and talk about .... you know, what's going on in the
neighborhoods. If there's a policy that .... that they can ... we can have input on, beyond
our formal programs like the, uh, Community Police Review Board or the ... the, um, Eq..
Equity Director's office, folks that we work with all the time, and they're kind of, um,
you know, that's in their description, job description, to help us with that, but what about
the rest of the folks in the community, and there's a lot of folks out there that are beggin'
to help. And beggin' to have input. Let's tap into that resource. So, um, and beyond that
also be able to explain when a critical incident happens, what information can we release
right away? What can't we release right away, and if we can't here's why, and make sure
we have an advocate out there. God forbid somethin' happens bad, but if and when it
does, we want to make sure that everybody fully understands what we're doin', why we
do it, and ... and when we do it, um, you know, we're doin' it because it's the rules of the
road and we have to, and they'll understand it if they know why. If they don't know
why, it's a difficult pill to swallow. Um (clears throat) and the very last point there is the
creative programs. There's so much out there that we can do to help these folks that are
strugglin' to have their cars be legal, get their license back, take care of warrants. I've
already met with the County Attorney and ... and, um, and some other folks, and there's...
there's some.... there's some good things we can do to ... to help bridge that and get these
folks legal, get `em back on the road, the ones that are strugglin', uh, the ones that we
tend to stop for a taillight out and... and then the next thing you know they have a
suspended license and then the next thing ya know it's .... it's goin' bad from there. Good
folks that are just not able to ... to quite get their equipment taken care of and get their
license back. We can help `em do that. Um, I'm convinced of that and I think there's
some resources and .... and the drive locally here to help do that. So let's be part of the
problem.... excuse me! (laughs) Let's be part of the solution! (laughter) Not be part of
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the problem! (laughs) Um .... I think that's absolutely reachable, and there's some good
programs to do that and we're going to do that. I'll close out with this — the .... the
departmental resources, um .... you know, we want to make sure that .... that, and Jim
Baker's workin' on this as we speak, and I think we're getting close, uh, some checks and
balances as far as, you know, how our officers are doing and... and not just wait for a
yearly report from Dr. Barnum, but make sure that we're keepin' our thumb on the poles
and we spot problems as they arise. Uh... I'm convinced we've got a solid staff here. I'm
convinced that we've got officers that are really tryin' to reduce crime. I'm convinced
that they're, um, they're professional. They want to do a good job. We have to make
sure that they're trained. We have to make sure to guide them and supervise them, and
that ... that's what these .... this deployment section can help us do. And .... let me just hit
the last page. I think that was about it. The southside precinct, that's the very last bullet
point. Um ... depends on who you talk to of what that building stands for. Depends on
who you talk to, depends on (laughs) why we opened it and what it means and I think
that .... that building is a good thing. I think it needs to be rebranded. I think it's a golden
opportunity for us to have a very good resource, um, and a physical location to continue
our .... our journey, um, but we have to get creative with that. Uh, you know, we have to
make it a .... a place where folks feel good about. Not everybody does, and I think that's
easily attainable. So we're working on that as we speak. But that southside precinct, if..
if we can keep that building and, um, and utilize it the way it should be, I think it's a
golden opportunity and you'll probably see the opportunity for maybe more of those to
pop up throughout the city and be good ambassadors for the City, and for the Police
Department, and not a questionable geographic location. So .... that's it. I'm open for
questions.
Throgmorton/ Well I .... I wanna quote, uh, from the last part of your memo, Jody, cause I really
liked the language, I liked the sentiment expressed. Then I want to give Kingsley a
chance to, you know, connect his memo with yours. So the quote, uh, near the end is "I
believe," this is you writing, "I believe the Iowa City Police Department can significantly
reduce disproportionate minority contact and become a national leader in community-
based policing that is rooted in trust with residents." Uh, I personally like that a lot,
urn ... I'm guessin' the Council does as well, though everybody can speak for themselves.
So, thanks for the memo and let's .... let's hear, uh, some thoughts from Kingsley and
we'll (mumbled)
Botchway/ Yeah, so first and foremost, um, Chief Matherly, I want to say thank you, um,
taken... for taking this issue head-on, you know, I mean there's obviously a .... a myriad
of issues that you could of focused on, but I appreciate your focusing on this particular
issue, and we've had prior conversations about this and so that's why I .... I can speak
with a bit of honesty to say that you've....were already thinking about it and already kind
of working, um, along those lines as soon as you started the job. Um, I ... I just .... kind of
a brief statement to Councilors. As we're going into this work, as well, um, just for, um,
you know, support not only for Chief Matherly, this is difficult work. Obviously it's
happening from a national standpoint. Also a state standpoint, but also support of the
officers as well. Um, you know, I know at times, and I'll .... I'll put my hand up first, um,
I've been negative, um, and you know, I've had some concerns, for sure, um, but I also
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think that by holding somebody's feet to the fire, but also expressing that we're ... we're
here to support you when you do that difficult work is also very important and um, I'm
apprec.... very appreciative of you using Dr. Sarah Bruch from UI Public Policy Project.
Um, she's great. She's very direct. (laughs) I just want to give you a heads up from that
standpoint. Um, and she's been helping us kind of do the training at the School District,
uh, as well, and so she'll provide a piece that I was actually a little concerned about when
you talked about Dr. Barnum. I think he's done a tremendous job, but there's a sociolo...
sociology of race that is missing from his kind of criminal justice perspective, and I just
want to make sure that ... but obviously you've had that conversation. Uh, the other thing I
would mention is, and this is just another kudos, is that the community has definitely
spoke very highly of you. Um, you know, that's... community across the board. Um, any
time that somebody's brought up to me, not only this memo but just in general, um,
some of the concerns that I've expressed previously, um, in relation to what they think
the new Chief is gonna do, it's always been positive. It's always been `he's a down-to-
earth type of person.' I ... I feel like you're at every meeting I'm at, if not obviously more
than the ones that I'm attending as well, and so I just want to kind of briefly, um, state
that. I do have a couple of questions, because I thought all these things were good. I
have check marks, um, on this page and also on my notes. Um, but I wanted to know,
and this may be a question for, um ... Miss Bowers as well, but will this be incorporated
into the DIP, and so the Diversity Implementation Plan, because for me while it's
important to see all these, um, different things that we're doing, it's also important to
make sure that we're kind of measuring how these things are going along the way, and I
think that I've really appreciated that as we've kind of received quarterly updates in that
regard. So will that be transferred then to the DIP?
Matherly/ Yes, that answer's yes, and I understand this is strategic in nature, so here's what I told
my command staff last night at a .... at our staff meeting. In the near future, plan on
your ... one of your names being a supervisor, being pinned to one of these ideas, and then
you come back to me with it a little more developed and ... and have the rubber meet the
road. So that's (mumbled) is something that's.... that's detailed. It's tactical in nature.
When I say that we're actually maneuvering on this thing and moving it with the
program, but also measurable, you know? What have we done and, you know, how's
that program going? So you will see that a little bit at a time. I'll work with Stefanie on
that and when she gets it, it's gonna.... it's gonna mean, be more meaningful than this
broader outlook.
Botchway/ Okay!
Matherly/ Good question!
Botchway/ The other question is, and ... I believe this is what you said, um, Jim, around the goals
on disproportionality, and so I didn't see that for this presentation, but I guess what I was
looking for, um, was once we, and maybe... there's some time, obviously, to talk with Dr.
Barnum and work through this, but .... I really wanted to see a .... a particular goal of
reduction as it pertains to disproportionate minority contact, in relation to traffic stops. In
relation to searches. I know that we're just starting that conversation and so I'm not
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tryin' to harp on you for it, but .... that's ultimately what I want to see also from a
measurement standpoint to know if we're at ... whatever disproportionality measurement
we're going to be at this in year three, or this in year six, and so forth.
Matherly/ I think ... the easy answer to that is ... is, you know, for 1.7, which we are on average for
traffic stops, and ... and 1 is parody. That is it's no disparity at all. We want to be to a 1.
The question is how soon can we get there and as I talked to Dr. Barnum about this exact
thing, you know, I said what numbers are we I .... what's realistic for me? He said, you
know, you .... sure you want to be at 1, but understand these benchmarks have margins of
error, and he calls it `noise,' and I think you've heard in his presentation. So I think he's
reluctant to say you get to a 1 you're good. That means everything's exact. Cause it
could be a 1.1 and we could be fine. So .... we want to see improvements every year, if
not sooner, and .... and I think that's a reasonable goal. Um .... but just to say that it's 1
may not be the most accurate, but certainly, uh, at the end of the day, I think... for me, for
the finish line, for a win would be...be at a 1 and the community standing beside us in
every neighborhood, um, persons of every color and having the trust back, um, that ... that
we need and require to do this job. So ... that would be the success mark. If I'm at a 1.1
and we still (laughs) have that full community support, full community trust, they're
callin' us sayin' `Hey, got a neighbor here that's (laughs) you know out of line.' That's a
win-win for us and we're not there.
Botchway/ So I think that for me, and maybe for me from a Council standpoint, at least that's
what I'm looking for and so I would want to say that, you know, if we're at a 1.7 now in
that disproportionality formula, then in, um, three years, and I know that things take time
to kind of, you know, get into the culture and understanding of that we would be at like a
1.4, and then from that year six a 1. 1, I mean, I understand that standard deviation and,
um, you know, standard of error and things along those lines, but I feel like, um, in that
since we can at least go back to the community that they can see a number in relation to,
um, the things that we're doing from a goal standpoint.
Matherly/ Right.
Botchway/ Not necessarily just strategies, and I think that it's important to have this, don't get
me wrong.
Matherly/ Sure!
Botchway/ But having that other kind of measurement piece that people can see kind of decrease.
It's the same conversation that we've had when we're talking about climate change, and I
think that folks really rallied around having that percentage portion that we look to, um,
decrease to that extent, and so wanting to have the same thing, I think, is going to be
important moving forward.
Matherly/ Yeah, and I ... I certainly agree with you. Uh, I think it needs to be a reachable goal
and ... and something that we can measure, and something we can show to the community,
`we're getting success here,' other than just saying `things area lot better.' That really
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doesn't hold water. So, I'm just not sure what those numbers were. I've .... this, I'm in
month four and so I'm .... I'm reluctant to .... but we're .... we're going to ... to have a little
more material things for you as this develops.
Botchway/ The last thing I'll say, and I guess ... two last things I'll say. One, you know .... I .... I
talked to Chief Matherly I even put this memo out. I would think it'd be about a month
and a half ago, if not more. Maybe two months, and so, um, I do feel comfortable from
that sense that a lot of the strategies he's really incorporated....
Throgmorton/ Sure.
Botchway/ ...um, are tied in, and I'm not sayin' that I had the idea. I think he was working on it
prior to (both talking)
Matherly/ Yeah, when we were talking we were ... I'm on the same page. It was (both talking and
laughing)
Botchway/ ...and so from that standpoint, I don't necessarily have any issue. Um, I will say there
is particular Council .... or, there's ways of getting about it that, um, kind of then along
that first page when I talk about restructuring the CPRB, and so when you talk about your
internal committee, and this is more .... so this is more of a conversation than maybe
(mumbled) ...and when you talk about internal committee, it would be good if we could
use the CPRB in that particular way. Again, I .... that's kind of a Council/you and Geoff
discussion around that. I just want them to be more engaged. Um, I'm not saying they're
not engaged in heavy work, but more engaged from that sort of policies and procedures
standpoint, but also since they've been doing the work for so long, it won't necessarily
take them as long to get up to speed, and that's been a .... a concern from the onset, about
five years ago, when we did the, um, Ad Hoc Diversity Committee, about the
construction of the CPRB, and it's kinda still continued outside of the name change, um,
but I do want to take another look at that and think about how that can be incorporated in.
The last part is, again, going to, uh, Council, and also to you, Chief Matherly, is around,
um, kind of that Council, um, resolution banning racial profiling. Um, I know that, um, I
can't remember if I've talked to you about it or maybe talked to Eleanor about it, that,
you know, within the policies and procedures, or within the code, um, we already have
that piece. Um, but as I've, you know, looked at some of the things that have happened,
um, in other cities, in other states, they still do some type of resolution to make sure it's
clear, um, both for the community but obviously for the department as well that racial
profiling is ... is not okay, and I'm sure that it's already, like I said, already in the policies
and procedures of the Police Department, but it's just another.... redundant albeit,
statement that it's not okay, and also kind of, urn ... highlighting for the community that
that's an important, um, issue, not only for Council, but also for the Police Department as
well. So, in the memo I talked about it being a Council resolution, but also ensuring that
it's, you know, clearly, um, stated within the, uh, policies and procedures as well. I'll tell
ya, I didn't go through all the policies and procedures, and so, um, it may be already in
there, but if it isn't, you know, make sure that that's clearly stated to make sure that we
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have, um, that type of cotinu.... continuity between a .... a possible Council resolution and
the policies and procedures within your department as well.
Matherly/ Sure.
Throgmorton/ Okay! Let's give other Council Members a chance to ask Jody, or Kingsley,
questions or comment on what, uh, what you've heard.
Cole/ I guess I'll go then since no one wants to! Um .... one of the things that really jumped out
in the data was the request for consent searches and the hit rates, and as I understand it a
person of color is twice as likely to be asked for a consent to search, but I think it's half
as often that they actually find what they're looking for. Is .... is my under.... something
along those lines.
Matherly/ Even worse than that. We're finding the same amount on .... on both, so, yes,
we're... we're....
Cole/ Okay.
Matherly/ ....minorities more, but we're not finding anything more.
Cole/ Yeah. Yes.
Throgmorton/ To be clear though, you're talking about traffic stops, etc.
Cole/ Traffic stops, yes. (several talking) Consent searches in that context, and that seemed to
be the thing that sort of jumped off the page, and that's one of those things that maybe,
you know, it's sort of easy to spot the problem....
Matherly/ Uh huh.
Cole/ ....but do you think that a plan to address that precise issue, one, what do you think causes
that, and two, what sort of do you see on the horizon to be able to address that specific
issue, because that strikes me as correctable. Or a training issue.
Matherly/ I call that low hanging fruit.
Cole/ Yes!
Matherly/ To be quite frank, and here .... here's why. You know, it .... it's easy to say, well, okay
I've got my hot spot map going here and there's more crime happening on this street in
this neighborhood than this other one, so I'm going to focus my attention there and
supervisor assigned me down here to lower crime. So then I ... I call it a shotgun effect.
I'm stoppin' all these cars for taillight out. I'm getting consent search. I'm searchin' the
car. I'm not finding anything, more than what I would in ... in another neighborhood. But
I'm .... I'm trying to. So I stop one, two, three, four, five, six .... oop! Seventh stop I
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found a gun. I just .... I just lowered crime. Here's the downside of that. I've got six
other people that are gonna go to work, go to the jewelery store (laughs) go to the
schools, and they're gonna tell their family, their peers, their .... their friends, their co-
workers. I got stopped, cop asked me to .... to consent to search. They searched my car.
Didn't find anything naturally. I was on my way to work. Um, the .... this is where Sarah
comes in. The domino effect and the negative effect that has on .... on that person,
everybody they know, everybody that drove by and saw `em being searched is
catastrophic. So, we need to make sure that ... that these officers are not just on a fishing
expedition, uh, because they're not finding anything. That's the low hanging fruit. I
think that's .... not think. I know that's... that's very solvable, um, to correct. And that
was one of the first things I said to Barnum, I said this is .... this is stickin' out at me. He
said (laughs) you're absolutely right! So .... good observation and I ... and I think... that'll
be corrected.
Cole/ And related to that, urn .... is, have you been able to review the training in Des Moines for
new officers and see whether, you know, that training fully aligns with what you're trying
to do or ... or is it already in alignment or maybe do we need to make sure that once they
get that training, you know, we need to sort of communicate the expectations here. So
for example, it's my understanding that the standard training for officers is sort of more
of a command and control model, you know, in certain situations. Um, and that's been a
critique in some situations. So, are you .... do you feel that the training that they're getting
right now out of Des Moines, I mean obviously it's to cover the basic issues, is that ... is
that sufficient, and is that something that, you know, if it's not, you're sort of giving your
own expectations when they actually hit the streets?
Matherly/ You know, we .... I call that procedural justice and .... and we need to make sure that the
officers have the command and control, and ... and taking care of business, and I don't
want anybody hurt. We don't want anybody we're dealing with hurt. So we don't ... we
don't want things to escalate. We've worked hard at de-escalation and .... and verbal
judo, as they call it. It's verbal influence and defense. Uh, and to make sure that the
officers, when I .... when I used the term procedural justice that they're.... they're listening
to the person, that they're treating with the utmost respect, even under heated conditions,
cause let's face it, you know, dealing with the police has a negative connotation. I still
get nervous when I talk to `em, I'm their boss. (laughter) So I ... I understand that, and we
need to understand that, and the officers need to. Uh, we are doing advanced training in
that area to make sure that they're effective, um, but they're giving every chance they can
to .... to lower things down, be patient, be patient, be patient! Don't make, uh, decisions
based on emotion and remain professional. So ... I .... I think we're doing fine in that area.
But it doesn't stop there. We're going to continue to do that, and I want, Mayor, you
used the term the other day, we need to change the culture, you know, and make sure
that ... that everybody's on the same page and that .... and if this is a national, you know,
um, model that's eventually used then so be it. But I think we can be successful.
Thomas/ I wanted to follow up on the, um, the traffic stops (clears throat) which I .... which I find
to be, and I'm sure everyone would probably agree, uh.... really stressful experience for
all concerned. I .... my understanding is traffic stops, along with responding to domestic
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violence calls are probably the two most dangerous ways in which police officers
interface with the community. So it's not only dangerous to the community, it's
dangerous to the police officer itself. So I ... I'm very interested in how we can reduce the
number of traffic stops, and.....you know, when you mentioned well we .... we stopped,
we stopped someone for a defective taillight.
Matherly/ Uh huh.
Thomas/ Uh (laughs) you know, given.... given what could happen from that response to a
defective taillight, and the stress, and as you mentioned the cascade of trust issues that
can flow from that, is there any way in those instances there's another way of citing the
vehicle, without actually stopping the vehicle and initiating that contact with the driver.
Matherly/ Well, you know, one of the things, if we're talkin' about traffic stops. You know, we
want to be most effective to save lives, reduce crime. Let's .... let's look at hazardous
stops versus defective equipment stops. You know there's plenty of speeding complaints.
There's plenty of reckless complaints. Um, you know, there's a lot goin' on. Runnin'
red lights, we get those all day long from the neighborhoods, and they filter in through
City Hall. I mean I'm getting referrals from everywhere (laughs) um .... and we ... we
target those areas anyway to make sure to reduce, you know, the chance of a .... of a
pedestrian or child being hit or a .... or a broadside collision. Those .... those are the things
we need to focus on, to really make an impact on reducing, um, the chance of somebody
being hurt and property being damaged. You know, there's some really cool programs
when you talk about a traffic, uh, or a, um, defective equipment, light out. I just read one
out of Minneapolis. Matter of fact Ja... this is a friend of Jason Soley's, the Maplewood,
Minnesota Police Chief. He's doin' a voucher program, so when he stops you, you don't
get a ticket. You get a voucher to go get your taillight fixed.
(audience member)/ All right! (several talking)
Matherly/ They've.... they've got (unable to hear audience member speaking) (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Ma'am .... ma'am (unable to hear audience member speaking)
Matherly/ Yeah. These are kinda....
Throgmorton/ Excuse me! I need to be clear.....thanks for speakin' up but (both talking) it's not
really appropriate in our work session, okay?
(audience member)/ I ... I know. I'm sorry!
Matherly/ I'm a cop! I wasn't supposed to get scared like that! (laughter) Rewind that! Um,
but ... but yeah! A voucher, you know, and sayin', `Hey, go get it fixed. Don't pay a fine.
Go get this thing fixed,' and it's free! There's some really cool programs. So that's the
kind of stuff we can be effective and still make an impact, and um, and not .... not be goin'
through the trust issues we're doing. We want folks to say .... you don't have to do a
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shotgun effect. You don't have to .... we'll tell ya where the crime is. Let's build that
trust. We'll .... we'll tell you what's going on in our neighborhoods and we'll help you
reduce crimes. They want to be safe. Our neighbors.... all the neighborhoods want to be
safe. All the citizens do. So every community member out here, um, is more willing to
work with us, but we .... we've gotta .... we've gotta break that .... that ice, and we will.
Thomas/ And then the other thing I'll just follow up on is the speeding issues, the moving
violations and ... and I know I've mentioned this to you that, um, and I mentioned it to
staff, that we have road conditions where the .... you know, the condition, the
environmental cues that that road is giving to the driver, that .... width of the traffic lanes,
the presence or lack of presence of on -street parking, a whole range of factors can
encourage driving at speeds over the speed limit. So you ... you end up in a situation
where you could.....you could be sitting there all day long, um, issuing tickets for, you
know, many, many drivers, and .... and so there's a disconnect there.
Matherly/ Yes (both talking)
Thomas/ .... and .... and it seems to me we .... we as a city, and I think that trust issue is really at
the core of it all, that, um, we need to be sure that our streets are safe....
Matherly/ Uh huh.
Thomas/ ....uh, that they do not encourage higher speeds, uh, and ... and that, you know, if they
do, we redesign the roadway, uh, and again, that I would hope would reduce the traffic
stops. That, I think .... as well as (laughs) all the potential, uh, negative impacts of..of the
higher speeds.
Matherly/ You know, you're right and I .... I talked to our traffic engineers the other day about
exactly that, the traffic calming procedures and they gave me the manual that they use.
So I wanted to get up to speed on that to figure out what else can we use, and our traffic
engineering folks are on top of that. They've put some things in place, and then the
complaint is, `well you put speed bumps,' but now it's loud mufflers because they're
accelerating from one bump to the other (laughter) You know (laughs) so there's almost
not a win-win. But .... um, so those things do happen, but I think the City is in good
position to work. Uh, this isn't a police matter. You're right. It' s ... there's several
divisions that can help (both talking)
Thomas/ It's a design problem.
Matherly/ Yes, and it can be environmental, and they use the 85h percentile, you know, what's
most of the traffic doin' just based on environment. People don't read the signs. It's
what .... what's goin' on around them that's going to really control the speeds. That's
how they set the speed limits. .... sol ...I think we're in good shape to ... to rely on
those engineers to help us resolve those problems and not just sit out there and... and have
easy pickins' and try to get people's, you know, license suspended over a speeding matter
that could have been reduced to environmental conditions. That's a good point.
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Simpson/ I have one question. Um, so we have a number of police departments in the area and,
um, this ishu... this issue doesn't stopped based on the border of Iowa City, so I'm curious
how you plan to work with, um, the Coralville Police Department, possibly U ... UIPD,
um, to work on these issues?
Botchway/ University Heights Police Department .... as well.
Matherly/ Yes! (laughs) Um, University Heights is ... is hiring a Chief, so I'm not sure who's
going to be in there in ... in long-term, but that's gonna be, you know, in progress, but we
have chiefs' meetings, uh, at least once a month if not more often and ironically at the
last chiefs' meeting I brought up the issue of definitely when it came to like clearing up
bench warrants and how, you know, how can we do an amnesty program and... and Janet
Lyness was there as well, and uh, she was intrigued by that and said, you know, yes, I
like the word amnesty. Let's .... let's have folks come in and see if we can't help `em out
versus, you know, just let those things sit there. So we do have those discussions. Um,
you know, my problems here aren't Chief Kron's problems there and his aren't mine
necessarily, but I do think that, you know, the .... the University Police, you know, the
students and the Coralville residents, just because you cross (mumbled) line into a city
limit things shouldn't be drastically different. We need to have some continuity, and we
do talk often. Sometimes our programs mirror each other, uh, but that's.... that's a very
good point, es .... especially University Heights and University, cause we're all right here,
you know, it's not like it's a little bit further north. So we're ... we're one. Sometimes you
can't tell you're leaving one neighborhood to the next, so, urn ... those conversations
continue. It's a good point.
Throgmorton/ Others?
Mims/ I would just say, urn .... you've really hit the ground running, which is not surprising at all
given the interview process and the selection process. Um, I think you came in very
cognizant of the issues that we've been working on, like so many communities in this
country. I think we're certainly in a lot better position than an awful lot of places.
Having said that, that doesn't mean that we don't still have a lot of work and
improvement to do in a lot of aspects, and this isn't just the police force. It's all kinds of
things. So I just want to say thank you for the work you've done so far, and I know the
work that you'll continue to do. Uh, I think having, you know, just a ... a fresh set of eyes
often times is .... is a really positive thing. I mean you've.... you've got experiences from,
you know, Flint and Grinnell and Altoona and other organizations you've worked with
and stuff that I think can be a real asset to what we're trying to do here and, um, you
know, given the short time you've been here, um, like I said, you've really hit the ground
running and .... be lookin' forward to more! Thank you! (both talking)
Matherly/ Thank you.
Taylor/ One thing I remembered from the interview process when we had several of you together
was you stating in the small groups about your community involvement, of all the places
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Page 13 Iowa City City Council Work Session
that you've been, and that was important to you, and hearing you say that now, I ... I truly
believe that you .... you meant that and I think that's important. I'm.....I'm the strong
believer in getting the community involved and your ideas about the southside precinct,
that happens to be in my district, uh, I would love to help you with that, if you need any
help with that, cause I do think, uh, previously when it first, uh, opened, it was sort of a
gathering place. Uh, from what I'd heard the neighbors did like to go there, but, uh, now I
know I've stopped by there a couple times and there wasn't anyone there and .... and I
would like to see that change. So, kudos on that!
Throgmorton/ I saw it a little bit differently, Pauline. Uh, my sense was when it first opened that
people, neighbors, um, black neighbors, uh, did not want to go there because the police
were there. (laughter) So I hope that situation has changed, and I ... I want to agree with
what, pretty much what everybody else has said — you done a gre.... you've done a great
job here in this memo, Chief, and ... and a .... a really terrific job of presenting it orally to
us. You're spot-on. I think you're.... you're.... you're going the direction we want you to
go and you got the background and experience to make it happen. So you're off, like
Susan said, you are off to a great start. I do wonder if there are ways, uh...uh, to blend in
a couple of Kingsley's suggestion, um, maybe there's, uh, like for ... uh, a good way to
incorporated the CRPB...
Botchway/ CPRB.
Throgmorton/ ....(laughs) CPRB into, uh... the ideas that you have. Take advantage of their
experience and their insight from the reviews they've done over the years.
Botchway/ So LA (both talking)
Throgmorton/ ....couple clarifying (both talking)
Botchway/ ...three clarifications, cause I want to be clear. Um, one, you already spoke to this but
just incorporation of those strategies you discussed within that dip and so the diversity
implementation plan. Um, the second being, um, the go ... the goals toward
disproportionality. I appreciate Rockne bringin' up that, um, the fact, I would even say
that we've seen a decline from a data perspective across different age groups, except like
the 21 to like 28 age group, and while I'm like just out of that, I just want to make sure
we're focused on that from, um, some other pieces as well. So, from a goals toward
disproportionality around traffic stops and searches, and we talked about kind of what
that formula, the 1.7 compare to the 1.1, but I think that's very important moving
forward. I know that since Melva's in the house I do want to also mention in relation to
that training piece that I think you've talked about, um, around traffic stops and traffic
searches, I mean I just .... I mean just to be honest with you, there's a healthy fear. Um,
there's a healthy fear within, um, communities of color, um, when it comes to traffic
stops, when it comes to these searches, and so the training, and I .... I don't know what
that training is, so I'm just speaking kind of, um .... without that knowledge, but the
training has to speak to that, and so if the training doesn't speak to that and you're just
treating, um, everyone the same, um, that doesn't work, and that's the same conversation
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Iowa City City Council Work Session
we have with our teachers as far as the students. You know, treating everyone the same,
that's really not equitable and that's not what we're trying to, um, do in our schools and
so from the stam... same standpoint, I ... I think our officers as well should have a different
approach, especially when it comes to those things that, you know, as you know from the
media perspective and some other things, have a heightened nature to them and ... and I
would say develop a .... a different anxiety and fear that .... won't be, or can't be seen or,
um, doesn't happen in some of the other, um, demographic groups, and then the last thing
I think is also for Council discussion or .... I would say for us to do is having that Council
resolution on racial profiling. I think it's important. Um, you can say symbolic, but I
think it's.... it's necessary, and I think that, you know, I don't know of anybody who
wouldn't be supportive of that because I think it's already a prior practice of our
department as well. Those are the three things .... I just wanted to focus on.
Throgmorton/ What do you folks think about having a resolution on racial profiling?
Cole/ I'm supportive.
Mims/ Yeah.
Tbrogmorton/ Sure (several talking) I thought you would be! Okay, so we'll have to draft one;
need your help!
Fruin/ Like staff to draft that?
Throgmorton/ I think that'd be helpful.
Fruin/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ I want to add one thing, Jody. Um, I ... over the past, I don't know, many, many
months I've become increasingly conscious that we have a large and perhaps growing
population of Sudanese refugees, Congolese refugees. In .... in many cases they speak
either Swahili or Arabic or French, um, but they're present in our community and, uh,
you and I have had really good meetings with, uh, a substantial number of them, but
uh.... we have a significant communication difficulty, because of the language, uh, aspect
that I just mentioned, but also because of cultural differences. So I .... I think it fits the
disproportionality, uh.... um, topic that we're onto right now, but I'd like to see the
Department thinking through better ways of communicating with people who ... for whom
English is not their native language and they have trouble speaking English, uh, but also
who have cultural differences and hence find themselves in a pretty alien en.....
environment. So, if you could be doin' some thinking about that, that would be great.
Matherly/ You got it!
Throgmorton/ All right. Brilliant job! Thank you.
Matherly/ Thank you very much.
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Page 15 Iowa City City Council Work Session
Mims/ Thank you.
Discuss support of the ICCSD Bond Referendum IIP #5 of 4/13 Info Packetl:
Throgmorton/ All right. We're gonna move on to our next topic.....I... I apologize for kind of
interrupting, but you know, we have a sort of a rule that (person responding from
audience) (laughter) (several talking) Okay, so we'll move on to our next topic, which
is to discuss, uh, the Council's support, City government support, of the, um, Community
School District's bond referendum. Uh, I think, Susan, you were going to take the lead
on this, am I right?
Mims/ Yeah ... that's fine. Um ... I mean we were all .... we all were, I think we all were there, at a
joint meeting with the School Board, uh, a week or so ago to listen to kind of an update,
um, on the facilities master plan, particularly some stuff about Horace Mann School, um,
and they did more yesterday at the joint meeting, as well, with all the joint entities in
terms of, um, giving more of an update, and one of the things we've talked about and was
part of the strategic plan was when it got to the point of really knowing what they were
looking at, um, and how that was going to be rolled out to have some discussion of that
and take a position, um, on that bond referendum. Um, I would very much like to see us
strongly support the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors and the
bond referendum. Um, I think the work that they've done over the last .... I think with the
information they had out there, I think the facilities master plan started in about 2013, so
they're about four years into, uh, probably about three years into implementation, but
about four years plus since the ... since the beginning of all the planning, and as they've
talked about, literally hundreds of people spending thousands if not tens of thousands of
hours looking at things, um, looking at all the various facilities and needs across the
district. Uh, I thought it was one of the things that ... that President Lynch has said a
couple of times in his presentations is as people have prioritized things for the School
District, it has been air conditioning, air conditioning, air conditioning, and then they
moved on to everything else. Um, and the number of hours and days that our students
miss, uh, in terms of instructional time because if they close one school they've gotta
close down the whole district, and so, uh, that goal, number one, to get, um, all of the
dis.... all of the schools air condion.... air conditioned, but to have a much more fair and
equitable learning environments for all of the students. Um, I think the presentation on
Mann was particularly interesting in the amount of money that's going to go into that
building, um, and the .... kind of the approval of that whole process on the 100 -year
anniversary of that building being built. And, you know, to really put the money into that
for the next hundred years, to make sure that we maintain a good core neighborhood
school, which, um, is just one of so many elements of the facility master plan and the
ability for them to complete that master plan is to pass the bond. Um, they've talked
about Save, which is the penny sales tax. Um .... we don't know if and when the
legislature will ever continue that. Um, it will run out before we get the facilities master
plan done. They've always known that they were going to need more money. Um, I
think with the way they've structured it with various bonds kinds of coming off the table
at certain times over the next few years, uh, the initial increase in property taxes for the
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Page 16 Iowa City City Council Work Session
District would be 98 -cents per 1,000 of property valuation. Um, but that will go down
over time, as I say, because other bonds Will get paid off. That's going to be the high,
and keep in mind for Iowa City residents, ours is gonna go down another 25 -cents.
We've decreased it now .... how many years in a row, Geoff?
Frain/ Six.
Mims/ Six years in a row, and so this next one is going to be 25 -cents. Ours is going down
because of the great debt management of Dennis and other, you know, or all of our staff,
but Dennis does a fantastic job of managing our bonds and... and refunding bonds, etc. So
I would very much, and I .... I grew up With a mother who spent 22 years, God bless her
soul, on the school board (laughs) Um, and while she never went to college and my dad
never finished high school, education was a really, really important thing in our
household, and I spent three years on the School Board here in Iowa City and I can't
think of almost anything more important for us to do than get absolutely 100% behind
this bond referendum for the School District. It's incredibly important for our students.
It's incredibly important for our neighborhoods. And it's incredibly important for the
economic development of the fixture of this city as well.
Throgmorton/ Eleanor, are there any legal constraints that, uh, affect what we can as a City
Council or as City government, that we can do?
Dilkes/ Um, the law that says you can't use public resources for political purposes including
ballot issues expressly allows for the passage of a resolution as ... such as you're talking
about.
Throgmorton/ Okay. Good deal. Well I completely agree with Susan, uh, about our need to
strongly support the School District's proposed bond referendum. Uh, and along those
lines I've been thinking it'd be really good to ask Channel 4 and other ... our social media
folks, uh, to help us prepare stories indicating the, uh, facilities master plan
improvements that have already taken place in Iowa City. The ones that are currently
scheduled to take place, and why, uh, both have been and will be important for the health
of our neighborhoods and the city. And I would be eager to participate in whatever video
is necessary for the Channel 4 stuff, uh, I can imagine going to Twain and showing, uh,
you know, standing in front of the improvements that have taken place there, or standing
in front of Mann or .... Longfellow and talking about the improvements that
are... scheduled to take place in the very near future and how the, uh, the proposed
referendum... or bond passage is, uh, crucial for those to actually take place.
Mims/ If we structure that as educational....
Dilkes/ Yeah, I was just going to remind you that as long as it's information that you're
providing and that's accurate information, um, that's not a problem. You cannot
use .... (both talking)
Mims/ You can't say go vote for it (both talking)
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Iowa City City Council Work Session
Dilkes/ ....expressly advocate to pass it, right. To say vote yes (both talking)
Throgmorton/ So I wasn't clear in my question to you then. I would .... I wanted to find out if
there were legal constraints that would influence, or shape, constrain what we can
actually say or do or advocate. So (both talking)
Dilkes/ Well I took that as a question about the resolution and so there's two pieces to that. Yes
you can pass a resolution, and yes you have ... have to be careful to not expressly advocate
for the passage of the, um, of the bond issue .... using public resources or funds, which
would include, of course, the City, you know....
Tbrogmorton/ So we can still prepare, uh, the kinds of material that I just described, but not do it
in such a way as to expressly be advocating for passage of the bond issue.
Dilkes/ Right. Providing information... is fine.
Fruin/ We can work with that.
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Fruin/ Yeah.
Mims/ I think it's a great idea.
Thomas/ Seems like there are a lot of stories, you know, I know you're a lover of storytelling,
uh, Jim, that... could be tied into this ... this effort. Related to the schools.
Throgmorton/ Well the best people to tell those stories would be people like parents at ... our kids
at, uh, Twain....
Thomas/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ ....or at Longfellow or at Mann or .... fill in the blank.
Dickens/ I'm an old Mark Twain graduate. (laughter) Many thousands of years ago! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Well, my kids are graduates of Longfellow and Mann, so .... what's that, 2/7ths of
the total, I don't remember what the total number is. Anyhow....
Botchway/ So I would agree and disagree, Jim. Um, one, I just want to make a quick statement
that, you know, I'm not speaking in my capacity as an employee of the School District. I
think it's pretty obvious by being up here, but for those that may not think it's obvious, I
wanted to state that, um, but I actually was pretty impacted by what Susan just said. I
mean personally before you said what you said, Eleanor, I was thinking we'd just roll that
video, um, that Susan just talked about and talked about kind of your experience and I ... I
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Page 18 Iowa City City Council Work Session
think that kind of going back to where I disagree with you is that I think that this is a
community issue, and I think that at times it's only looked at as far as, well, am I
associating with the District in a particular way, but um, you know, I think I have the
conversation, um, where the comment, um, that school elections matter, um, at, uh, Mr.
Simpson's, um, kind of kick-off party that, you know, even students should be involved,
um, in this conversation because it matters to, you know, urn, your University and the
fact that you have good schools and some of those other things and so, um, you know,
I'm ... I obviously know what you were meaning by that, but I also want to highlight the
fact that ... it's just as important to get that community piece around it.
Throgmorton/ Sure. Any other comments from anybody? So, what do you think about timing in
terms of a resolution? I ... I assume after the Board .... uh, you know, comes up with this
precise language.
Frain/ I think we wait for the ballot language to be prepared. Um, we'll make sure that you have
a .... a copy of that and then shortly after we present you with a copy we'll follow that up
with the resolution, unless you want to draft that resolution, um, but we're .... we're happy
to prepare that for you.
Cole/ I guess maybe I just wanted to make a brief comment, Jim. I am going to be supportive of
this particular bond. Um, I don't like every aspect of the bond. I think this effectively
means that Hoover School, uh, likely will be closed. Um, and I think that's really
unfortunate because that has really created, I think, some divisions between kindred
spirits, um, and so that's really unfortunate, and I'm .... I have concerns about the size.
It's ... it's an extraordinarily big bond, but I think that as Susan has articulated, um, we
have a very complicated district, and we have North Liberty, Coralville, Iowa City, and in
contrast to a lot of other areas in the state of Iowa, we also have a lot of planned
population growth. So I think this is one of those situations while we do have some
concerns about this, um, we really need to set that foundation for the future growth of the
district, and I think this is effectively what that does. Um, so ... but I ... but that said, I ... I
hope that the community out there that as we engage in this process there are going to be
some people that have some concerns about the direction of this and that we engage in an
open and honest debate about this, and I think .... and recognize that these defen...
dissenting voices are an important part of the community, and that we really be
respec.... respectful of them as we engage in this, but I am going to be supportive of it.
Um, but I would say that it's just unfortunate that the Hoover School closure is likely a
part of it, although I understand there's a countervailing reason, you know, for that, um...
so that's sort of what my position is on that, but I am going to support it.
Dickens/ And I think we do need to ... to put in the part that if we kick this down the road again
that every year we put it down it's .... (both talking)
Mims/ More expensive!
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Page 19 Iowa City City Council Work Session
Dickens/ ....be $20 million in three years, so .... I think we need to put that as part of the
education is that every time we delay it, it's going to cost us more money. And if you
piecemeal it, it's even more. So....
Throgmorton/ Okay, any further discussion about that? I ... Eleanor, I was thinking of ma ... right
now making a few comments concerning the, um ... the meeting we had with the School
Board, the work session discussion we had with the School Board, concerning Mann
Elementary. Do you ... do you think that's okay to discuss in this context? Okay, so ... and
I want to say it's mainly for the public, but, uh, one of the items in our in£..in our April
13th Information Packet concerns the minutes of the joint work session we held with the
School Board on April the 4th. Um, it was a tremendously fruitful meeting in which we
agreed about a couple key elements concerning Horace Mann and its renovation. One is
that Fairchild.... the eastern bit of Fairchild Street would remain where it is, uh, and the
historic land, uh, the historic landmark, the Red House at 630 Fairchild, would also
remain, uh, pre .... as it is. It's not going to be demolished. We also had considerable
discussion about other items, including a shared agreement about how the ... the park
would be used, be .... between the School District and, uh, and the City, the people of the
city. But I also want to say that, uh, late last week I learned that the District's, uh,
process for identifying an architect who can help them do the design for the school, for
the renovations, uh, has been completed and they're currently reviewing 13 proposals for
Horace Mann's renovation, with the intention of recommending a firm at their April 25th
Board meeting and the Administration is workin� with Mann's Principal, Julie Robinson,
to hold a public forum on the May .... May the 2" at Horace Mann Elementary. At that
meeting the District staff is going to share the Power Point presentation that they
presented to us on the ..... on, uh, April the 4th and yesterday for that matter, the joint
entities meeting, along with what the District staff is calling plans HI and H2, which, uh,
in their views, synthesize what they heard in that joint, uh, meeting with us. So I think
you've all seen a copy of Hl and H2. Did it get to all of you? No, it hasn't. All right.
Um .... well there's no reason why we can't share `em, is there? I mean I'm not aware of
a reason.
Fruin/ I .... I think they're still in draft form (both talking) They're going to present those on May
2nd
City Clerk Recruitment:
Throgmorton/ Right. Okay, so, um, it's in process anyhow. So ... uh, that's.... that's a good thing.
And I just wanted to make sure you were aware of, uh, that work that they're doin' and
the fact that they've come up with a couple alternatives that they're gonna .... probe more
deeply. All right. I guess we don't need to discuss that topic any more, right? So let's
turn to city clerk recruitment. This is a task we don't really want to undertake, but ... and
we're happy that Julie, um, Voparil is agreeing enthusiastically (laughter) to help us, uh,
in the interim (laughter) So, Susan, uh, you're Chair of our, uh, three-person committee.
Would you give us an overview?
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Mims/ Yeah. Well we're actually a six -person committee. We got three (both talking) Council
Members and three staff members. Um ... I .... I took the opportunity just because a little
craziness with schedules and met with, um, Geoff and Eleanor and Karen .... at a
convenient time. I guess early last week I think it was, and then I've had conversations
with John and Pauline since then. Um, the consensus of the committee is that we would
move forward, um, posting the position of city clerk internally only. Um .... and the other
thing that we would do in that posting is indicate that residency is preferred, but not
required. Um, this .... this was a difficult discussion I would say, uh, from the standpoint
that we do require residency within the city for all of our department heads, including our
three, um, Council appointees. And.... diverting from this, um, could in fact, you know,
I'm sure other.....I'm sure other department heads would look at this and say, wait a
minute. If you're doing it for this position, what about my position? So there's .... I
would say certainly some, uh, some reluctance and some concern, but that's why what
we ... what we ended up on was indicating that it is not required, but preferred. That gives
us some.... some wiggle room. Um, why we came to the conclusion of posting only
internally to begin with, it was the feeling that, uh, we may very well have some staff
members internally that are, um, very capable and qualified to do this work, but who
having been here and watched Marian for some part of her 37 years, um, may not have
anticipated that in any way, shape, or form they were qualified for that job. Um, I think
for a lot of people, urn ..... I don't think intimidating is the right word, yet at the same time
when you have somebody who is so incredibly professional and competent in that role
and has been there for so long, I think it's really easy for people ... if they don't have city
clerk experience to think they could not do that job. There is some feeling that there...
there may very well be some staff members, um, who given what has happened and
realizing that there is not, um, a .... an overwhelming number of highly qualified city clerk
types who evidently want to come here .... um, that maybe they can be, uh, encouraged to
think about this position. So, that is, uh, the thought of where we are going to start. So,
entertain any questions (both talking) comments.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, you need some feedback from the Council (both talking)
Mims/ ...assuming that's, yeah.... acceptable.
Throgmorton/ Okay. So what do y'all think of this particular suggestion?
Dickens/ Well, having served on the first (laughs) search committee, uh, I .... I think it's a great
idea to look internally, because most of the people that we hire in our city here that are
already working for us are very qualified for a number of positions. In fact some of `em
are probably overqualified. So I think by looking internally instead of going out again
and .... and searching all over, I think, uh, let's try it first, and if we don't get anything,
then .... then go from there, but .... I ...... I do think that we have people within our City
system that would be very, I think very qualified to .... to run in that position.
Botchway/ So ... I have some concerns. Um, I'll start with the preferred piece. I mean I guess I
don't mind that, cause that makes sense as far as going from required to preferred,
because I...I was, my initial thought was how that relates to, um, the City Attorney and,
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um, City Manager, obviously Eleanor and Geoff, not to be weird ... not saying your names.
Um, kind of to Terry's comment, that going out again, I ... I guess I'm not necessarily
understanding how it would be any different to post externally, um, because those
internal applicants that we seem to have some type of feeling about could still apply.
They would also have that upper hand with... and that is incumbent upon any internal
applicant of knowing the system and some of the other things, um, more so than an
external applicant. And so I guess I'm not .... that's.....1 guess that's my question.
Mims/ I think we probably can move a little bit faster if it's just internal, would you say, Geoff?
Fruin/ Yeah, we have a .... a 10 -day posting requirement for internal, so we're able to turn
around, um, from an application standpoint to interviews within a matter of a couple of
weeks. If you go external, it's pretty standard that you're gonna post, um, at least 30
days and you're.... you're kind of at the, um, you have to .... you have to base the posting
period based on the publication dates for the International Clerks Association and
whatnot, so you could be, you know, maybe 45 days before that closing period ends and
so you're really gettin..... um, you know, maybe a month, plus or minus, head start by
just doing the internal only. The risk that you take, of course, is that you go through the
internal process and you don't find the right fit, and then you have to start the external
process again, um .... but, again, as Susan mentioned, we talked through that at the
committee level and we felt that, uh.... uh, it was .... it was worth going through the, uh,
internal, uh, process first to see what, uh, interest might come out the second time around.
Throgmorton/ So there was another constraint we operated under with regard to the residency
requirement. It had to do with time within which the new city clerk had to become a
resident of Iowa City.
Mims/ Right. And ... and part of that discussion, Jim, was ... we did. We talked about the idea of
either keeping the residence requirement, and if we did keep the residence requirement,
saying, you know, they had to be a resident within six months or some timeframe,
because the way it was done the first time around was they had to be a resident at the
time they took the job and started work, which does not make a whole lot of sense for
somebody who might currently be living out of the city, but would be a great applicant
and wants to come and we want to hire, all of a sudden, you know, they've got two weeks
to move into the city, I mean that just doesn't make sense. So we did talk about that.
Um, and even after those discussions we decided that the way we wanted to move
forward at least for now was preferred but not required.
Throgmorton/ So I .... I think arguably, uh, some people, perhaps good candidates, I don't know,
would not of applied because of the residency requirements, as they existed before, about
having to live in Iowa City within whatever that time period was, so they may have
thought, `Naw, I don't want to do that,' you know, so, you know, having a longer period
of time ... uh, would, um .... make the, um, the job more attractive to such people. So what
do we gain and what do we lose, uh, by .... during, doing a quicker, um .... um, process that
involves initially only, uh, asking City employees to apply. Well we can do things more
quickly. There are some good candidates who may well apply, especially given the
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change in residency that you recommend. But they'd still be able to apply if we opened it
up to other people. So .... so, but I think that's the real question. Do we .... I think we
should change the residency requirement, but should we also, uh, open it up to, you
know, a broader search rather than constrain it just to City employees initially? I think
that's the question.
Cole/ I think we should. I have really concerns about the diversity of the candidate pool. Now it
may be that we open it up externally and we don't get the diverse candidates that we
would like, but I think especially for our three positions that we hire, we do have to do
everything we can to .... to maximize that and it doesn't seem like using an internal
process that's gonna happen. So I think we should make essentially a .... a external search
and not just do it internally, although I have no doubt, as Kingsley mentioned, that we'd
get some very strongly, um, highly qualified candidates. So I would really like to see
that, and the second thing related to residency, um .... are we, does this open the door then
to call into question for our .... our chief personnel that we hire? I, I mean that ... that does
concern me. I think especially .... I think of like all the fantastic work that, um, Manan
did, for example, during the flood. You know, where it was essentially an emergency
type situation where we do need to have people close by, I mean even with all the modern
technology that we have. So, Susan, do you think that would open the door for other
positions, I mean cause it seems like to me that's a pretty big change and I would be
reluctant to want to change that (both talking)
Throgmorton/ It's a good question; it's of concern.
Cole/ Do you see that opening it up or .... urn....
Mims/ I don't think it does. I think one of the things that we discussed.... and tell me if I'm
wrong, Geoff, the department head residency requirement, is that at your discretion as
City Manager or is that codified?
Fruin/ No, I .... I think that's in code, yeah, along with, um, a whole number of public safety, uh,
positions.
Mims/ Yeah. Um, so one of the discussions that we had as part of this was the .... the difference
in the clerk's position from the City Manager and City Attorney, and the City Manager
and City Attorney are both much more involved in actual policy making for the City, um,
in terms of, you know, helping us with policy and guiding us on the legalities of policy,
you know, and those kinds of things. Um .... the clerk's position is very different than
that. Um, you know, it's not really policy. It's called `clerk' for a reason. It ... it's clerk,
it's very important, but it is clerk. It's organizational. It's detail. It's lots of record
keeping, etc. Um, so the nature of that.... position versus the other two Council -
appointed positions is significantly different, and so that was .... that was one way of
looking at it. Um, it .... certainly the minute you say for any one of these positions that
residency's not required you're.... you're gonna get other potential candidates or people
may be applying for positions, department head positions or whatever, questioning, you
know, theirs as well. So ... urn, all I can say is .... the pool that we had .... in that first round,
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um, and I realize there was a residency requirement, but ... but I also tend to think, Jim,
that if anybody was really good and really interested in that position, they would not have
let that residency requirement deter them. They would of applied and said, `Can you give
me six months?' Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe somebody wouldn't
have applied, um .... I think, I tend to think people would have. Um .... overall that pool
was not.... overwhelming in terms of the .... the experience and the qualifications and the
fit for this particular position.
Dickens/ My big concern too is by ... trying to take it outside again would be that ... what happened.
People internally know that Chris got another job. And .... people outside of Iowa City
are going to look ... we're advertising this all over the place again, what happened to the
last clerk? I ... I just see trying this first. And you know you're only talking 10 days. So
if it, something doesn't happen within that 10 days, then you can try to go out again, but
that gives you a little more time between, you know, the last day that our clerk was ... he
was here (several talking)
Botchway/ I ... I don't disagree, I'm just not convinced. I mean I feel pretty good about
(mumbled) deciding on that preferred piece because that makes sense. I mean I'm not
saying .... I'm not saying that all these things don't make sense. I just mean that I ... I agree
with the preferred piece. I just ... I have .... I have strong concerns about, um, the first one,
as far as, um, the process as far as internal versus external. I still feel like we come to the
same, um, the same situation. I agree at a longer period of time, um, but you know ... I'm
not necessarily, and granted that's because .... and that is also because I do a ton of these,
and so L..from that standpoint, I guess I don't necessarily have the same like this is ... we
want to do this maybe quickly, whatever, I mean I'm .... I'm gonna do maybe six or seven
of these in succession over the next seven weeks, and so for me it's about doing it right,
and I've always stated in those meetings, you know, for me if it's ... it goes external again,
I'd like it to go external again because I want to get the right person for the job, not
saying that this person isn't internal, but I guess that again makes me think that if we do
have an internal applicant that applies, um, again, you've already stated that, you know,
there may being some people that were caught off guard and not necessarily
understanding of the role that Marian had. They have that information not only based on
this Council meeting but having, you know, more time to think about the position, and
then additionally, um, from a diversity standpoint, we could get another diverse set that,
you know, speaks to some of the things that you felt like were concerns as far as the pool
that we had. Um, I'm always about opening up and seeing it differently. So I .... (several
talking)
Throgmorton/ So if we expand the residency requirement, we'd have to be clear about the
distance involved.
Dilkes/ Well can I just make one point that I don't think has been brought up, and that is that the
residency preferred statement is a very different thing, it seems to me, in the context of an
internal search than it is in an external search. Um, if you're gonna go external, what
you're gonna presumably hoping to pull in are persons outside of Iowa City who are
clerks or deputy clerks, and if that's what you're wanting to do, then you have to, it
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seems to me, make a decision at that point that the residency requirement is going to be
a .... an important requirement. I don't think that's the same thing when you do it
internally. Um....
Taylor/ I don't mean to disagree with you, Kingsley, but ... and had I not been on the original
committee I probably would be thinking more the way you are as far as opening up
externally versus doing internally, but the pool of applicants that we had that time ... we
did have people from all across the state, but all various kinds of backgrounds and
experiences that really didn't fit what we were looking for, and I don't know that we'd
get any different pool than what we had with that if we did it externally again.
Botchway/ Well I'll ... I'll just make a quick comment to that, I mean, for me it's ... it's also
seasonal and so we've ... we posted positions at the School District where we've had, um,
positions that may not, from a January standpoint, mean anything to anybody and they're
high-level paying administrative positions. However, you change the season, you do it
during the spring or you do it during the spring break or you do it during the summer, you
have a totally different applicant pool. I'm not saying that anything was wrong with this
particular (mumbled) cause we had to move forward in that particular way. I'm ....I
think that everything that y'all did, especially with Susan's guidance, was ... was great.
I'm just saying that .... that you could see a drastically different applicant pool because
we're coming into the summer, May, and people may be looking at it .... more closely.
Throgmorton/ John, do you have thoughts?
Thomas/ Well .... you know, I didn't participate in the search committee, first of all, and um, I
don't have any insight in terms of the qualifications of the internal applicants, so I'm kind
of relying on, you know, the reports from Susan and Pauline, and Terry, as well as
Geoff s assessment of the internal, um, capabilities, and all of that converges on the idea
of just doing an internal search it seems to me. Those people who have
participated .... uh, favor that approach. Uh, I see this as being, uh, really related only to
this particular search. I don't see why in the future we wouldn't go back to, you know,
let's hope in 15 years when we have to look for a new clerk again we make it a .... the,
you know, the residency requirement is part of the deal. But at this particular moment in
time, I think the idea of the internal search makes sense.
Throgmorton/ I'm hearin' at least four votes for doin' an internal search. Terry, Susan, Pauline,
and John. Tell me if I'm wrong. Let's do it! So do we need any, urn .... more clarity?
Dilkes/ No. I do want to .... clarify one thing because Ron's in the audience and .... but um, you
know, I could see there could be a misunderstanding that the requirement for your
appointees is codified in terms of residency. What I had told Susan was that if you all
would indicate a willingness to change that ordinance, if -it's necessary to waive the
residency requirement, then you can go ahead with the residency preferred. That's just.
Throgmorton/ Okay. I think we have a decision.
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Mims/ Thank you!
Clarification of Agenda Items:
ITEM 3. PROCLAMATIONS
Iowa City City Council Work Session
Throgmorton/ All right. Clarification of agenda items. I ... I'd like to say something about Item 3,
which is proclamations. (laughs) Why in the world would I say something about this?
(laughs) So there are five proclamations on tonight's agenda. I don't think people out in
the audience want to hear me read five proclamations. Uh, and it would be good to
introduce a little variety of voices. And I think it also might be fun, assuming it's not
illegal, to, uh, ask .... three of you to read a total of three of the proclamations, and I'd
read the last two. So, what I'm thinking is that, uh, the, uh.... what's the order? So the
first one's Arbor Day. I'm thinking it'd be great if one of you would volunteer to read
the Arbor Day proclamation.
Mims/ I think John (several talking and laughing)
Throgmorton/ Well I could have said, `John, you're going to read it,' but you know (laughter)
Okay. How bout minimum wage?
Taylor/ I'd like to do that.
Mims/ Pauline wants to do it!
Throgmorton/ Good deal! How bout CDBG week?
Dickens/ I can do that.
Throgmorton/ Okay!
Dickens/ You got three.
Throgmorton/ Well that's pretty clear! Now (several talking) I'll read the last two. Okay
so ... other clarifications?
Botchway/ Oh, consolidating the bond.....bond ones. (several talking) Nope! (laughter)
(several talking)
Dilkes/ That's not my fault! That's bond council. (laughter)
Mims/ Good try, Kingsley! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Oh! Nice try! (laughs)
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Voparil/ We do have a late addition, 5d(5), the addition of Burlington, Clinton Street acquisition
of property.... that was added yesterday.
Information Packet Discussion [April 6, April 131:
Throgmorton/ Okay, I'm not hearing any other .... items that need clarification. So let's move to
Info Packets, uh, the April 6 packet. Any comments or questions or whatever about any
of those?
Taylor/ I ... IP5, the Mid American energy report. I was very impressed with .... with their report
and the things that they're doing. Uh, and in particular their commitment to renewable
energy generation, and I think that just goes right along with all our plans for our climate
control, uh, etc., and it sounds like they're two steps ahead of us in doing these kinds of
things for the, uh, climate action plan. And I can speak to their, uh, conversion of the
LED lights, um, some of my neighbors have complained that we had such a dark street
and it was one of the old lights, and uh, called and they were out the the next day and
changed it and it's much brighter. In fact they changed the whole neighborhood, and uh,
they said they're committed to doing that and converting (both talking)
Throgmorton/ So do the neighbors like (both talking)
Taylor/ They love `em! Yeah, they say it's much brighter and much safer (both talking)
Throgmorton/ ...cause I've heard some complaints about a bright, white light that is ... has a
different, I don't know (both talking)
Taylor/ I've heard that, but not.....
Throgmorton/ ...tone or whatever to it.
Taylor/ ....my neighborhood, they like it! So I'm impressed.
Throgmorton/ I.Yd like to say a few things about Mid American's report as well. Uh, in the
spirit of, uh, needing some clarification about .... I think significant details. So maybe we
could ask Mid American to clarify, uh, on these points. Uh, first their report does not
clearly distinguish between generating capacity and electric energy generated. That's a
really important distinction. Cause, you know, there are base load pan ... plans, there are
peak load plans, etc., and you .... so I'd like to know what percent of. ... of, uh, their
generating capacity, uh, is, uh, contributed by wind, solar, and other clearly renewable
energy resources. And then what percent of the energy generated, electric energy
generated, uh, is contributed by those kinds of sources. I'd also like to know what
percent of generating capacity, not just the percent of energy generated, is and will be
provided by renewables. All right, so, uh, it's not clear what they mean by renewables.
I ... I'd like to know what they mean by that. In particular I'm wondering whether nuclear
power, their pay load plan, is incorporated in renewables when they say that.
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Iowa City City Council Work session
Mims/ That's not Mid American's is it? That's Alliant.
Throgmorton/ Is it? Well it used to be part of Iowa -Illinois Gas and Electric, which was bought
by Mid American.
Mims/ No. It's always been Alliant. As far as I know!
Throgmorton/ Well, all right, so if I'm wrong about that I'm wrong about it. So maybe you can
just clarify and tell me I'm wrong, if I am. Uh, let me think. Lastly, there's.... there's a
term they use, customer's annual energy. So when they say renewables will generate
85% of "customer's annual energy," do they mean 85% of all of Mid American's.... all of
the energy .... all of the energy provided by Mid American and used by its customers, or
just electric energy? I, cause there's natural gas, you know. Which .... which are they
referring to? And do, this is the last thing, do they mean "customers located in Iowa," or
"all customers, including ones located out of state?" My understanding is that they, some
of the wind energy they generate is ... put on the ... the grid and sold out of state to other
users, so.:.. I ... I think, you know, I mean I ... it's because I did a dissertation on this stuff,
so I feel I need to have some clarity about, uh, about what they mean with regard to these
particular points. All right. That's all I wanted to say about that. Does anybody el£.else
have annhing to say about that .... that topic or that IP number, or any other one on the...
April 6' ?
Cole/ I guess the only thing related to the Mid American issue is that I agree with Pauline.
They've done wonderful work. I'm really excited about the progress they've made, but
sometimes I feel like we're relying on them too much, um, in terns of what we're doing,
in terms of regenerative energy, and I think we need to also look and focus on what we
can control locally to be above and beyond what Mid American's doing. They are doing
great work, but I think as a community we should set higher expectations. So that would
be just one caveat to that very good report that we .... that we did receive.
Botchway/ So I would say IP11. Just want to say tough work.
Throgmorton/ Which one is that?
Botchway/ Um, that's the Housing and Development Commun... or Housing and Community
Development Commission, the recommendations to City Council. Um, they went
through and were going through kind of the requested amounts and things along those
lines. Just wanted to say ...good work!
Throgmorton/ This is allocating CDBG funds?
Botchway/ Correct.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. Where do we stand on CDBG? I know I just signed somethin' with the, I
think the Conference of Mayor's again with regard to supporting CDBG and Home
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Page 28 Iowa City City Council Work Session
funds, and I know that, uh, I don't know, Tracy and Simon filled in a form online, uh, on
my behalf.
Fruin/ Yeah, we've .... we've sent in, there's numerous outlets that are advocating for CDBG
dollars to, or for the program frankly to, um, remain in place. It was not included in
President Trump's proposed budget. Um, so we've been advocating through all the
channels we can. I will be in Washington D.C. next week in part to discuss CDBG and
Home funding. So we're doin' what we can to at least express how valuable those
programs are back here in Iowa City. Um, we don't know what our allocation will be, if
there will be an allocation next year, and so these recommendations are .... are somewhat
up in the air. Uh, we had to make an assumption on .... on what those allocations will be
and if it's cut, urn ... beyond that or certainly the program's eliminated, then we're going to
have to have some really tough decisions here, uh, with you all about how we're gonna
proceed absent a .... a CDBG program.
Botchway/ I think for me and when you're signing somethin' like that, Jim, I don't know if you
can write a note next to your signature. If you're not gonna fund that, where is it gonna
go? I mean I'm just interested in general like, you know, if this is supporting an increase.
I'm kind of moving off topic, but if this is an import ... like increase like military spending,
I'd like to know. I mean I'd like that to be like itemized out and kind of looked at from
a .... a triangle or some type of demarcation to exactly where that would be in the budget
line item.
Mims/ Good luck!
Throgmorton/ Yeah, good luck. (laughter) Exactly! It'll build a wall. Or whatever, we don't
know. Not .... it's not possible to make that precise kind of a statement. Any other topics
on the April 6th .... Info Packet? All right, how bout April 13. I guess I should note, with
regard to IP4, pending work session topics, uh, first ... please note that we pulled the
neighborhood sta... the neighborhood stabilization topic from the work session for May
2nd and we did that because staff doesn't feel like it's quite ready to present ideas to us.
Fruin/ Yeah, you know we're starting to formulate some ideas, um, but right now we're ... we're
communicating with a few other cities. We'd like to get together and share those ideas
with other cities and see if there's somethin' we're missin' that they may be keying in on.
I think that'll allow us to have a .... a better discussion at the Council table. So I'm ... in the
process of scheduling that right now. We hope to do that in May, um, but a .... a few
cities are interested in havin' that discussion. So .... if you all can .... can.....an wait, um, I
believe I'm kinda lookin' at Simon here, I believe the effective date of the bill is January
1. So we do have some time, um, to not only discuss but to .... to get through any
ordinance changes we want to consider.
Throgmorton/ I'd also like to suggest adding another topic to our work session agenda. Uh,
if..but I want to make sure I'm right about this. Am I correct in understanding that no
appeals have been filed to the Lusk Avenue house.... situation?
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Dilkes/ Correct.
Throgmorton/ So that's now done. Right? Okay, I think we need to discuss that particular topic
and consider.... whether there are changes in the code or anything like that that we would
want to consider. And in making that recommendation, I want to be very clear that I'm
not indicating or implying that any of our staff have done anything wrong. Clearly not
the case! I want us to think about the code and... and about, uh, whether anything needs to
be reconsidered. (several talking) And one last thing, this is again in a work session
area, but we may not want to do it by way of a work session. Uh, Eleanor, help me out. I
don't know if the State's legislation concerning Sanctuary Cities, I don't know if that's
progressed or whether it's kind of waiting in the wings.
Dilkes/ As far as I know the ... the Senate passed it, but it's not gone beyond that.
Throgmorton/ That's what I thought but, you know, I don't know everything that's goin' on.
Okay. So .... then, well I guess what I want to say focuses on the gun legislation. So we
need to...you know, consider what we need to do differently, if anything, within our
operations.
Fruin/ We'll have a number of post -session topics that we need to discuss, uh, the firework's bill
was passed today. We'll need to discuss, uh, there are some local control components to
that. We'll need to discuss. So, um, after the session wraps up we can .... we can get a
work session scheduled pretty quickly, um, and at least start that conversation. Some of
these bills are effective upon signing, um, including I believe the firework's bill. So if
we do want to do anything, there's... there's not a whole lot of time to react to it. While
you're on the topic of pending, you'll.... you'll notice for your next meeting, um, we just
have the bookmobile tour. The plan was for the Library staff to, uh, to come and park the
bookmobile out front and ... and to allow you to, uh, look through that and understand how
that will work. Um, I don't think we need, uh, a full hour and a half, uh, for that work
session. So there's a couple of different ways we can, um, we can handle that. Uh, we
could start the work session, um, later and include the ... the tour as part of the work
session, or we could still have the Library staff show up at 5:00 and ... and you could ... you
could come at 5:00 or 5:30, uh, whatever, uh, works for you, and we won't officially start
the work session until 6:00. Um, that might be easier just from a meeting documentation
standpoint. So, everything in the work session's contained in this room and there's ... um
...not technically a meeting being held outside of the chambers. So unless there's another
topic to add to May 2nd, I guess my recommendation would be that we start the work
session at 6:00 or 5:45, whatever you're comfortable with, and ... and you all can still
come at 5:00 or shortly thereafter to look at the bookmobile.
Throgmorton/ We have a lot of items on, uh, that we're adding, uh, by the ... by way of public
hearings, uh, some of which have to do with rezonings, so we wouldn't discuss them, but
it could well be we'll have questions about particular agenda items that kinda go beyond
the normal. Why don't we say 5:45?
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Botchway/ My question, Geoff, is from staff s standpoint. Is there any reason why we couldn't
do it earlier?
Fruin/ Do what earlier?
Botchway/ Um, the bookmobile tour. So have it at 4:00.
Fruin/ That's... it's .... it's.....I don't know what the Library (several talking)
Mims/ I mean the point Geoff was making is there's not a lot on that work session.
Botchway/ Yeah, I guess I was thinking about staff, I mean, if I was a staff member and I wanted
to get off at 5:00, instead of staying to show us a bookmobile tour. I'd like to get off at
5:00, so that was why (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah, um ..... I .... I don't know that that makes a huge difference. The ... the Library
Foundation also wants to, uh, present, uh, a check as well for their contribution and we'll
do that formally on the record in the work session.
Throgmorton/ Okay! Other items on April the 13a' Information Packet?
Mims/ There's a couple of the 136i, um .... IP 10, Police Department got their accreditation again.
So that's... that's, I can't remember how many years (mumbled) Congratulations to them.
I think Chief Matherly's left, but congratulations there. City has also received another
award for financial "reporting, thank you to Dennis and his staff for all of their hard work.
I'll tell ya, after seven and a half years on Council, these things ... and it's not just because
I've read `em this many times. They have gotten better every single year and kudos to
Dennis and his staff. They've really.... really stepped it up a notch. So .... thank you very
much!
Botchway/ I would say, um, IP 19, um .... just appreciate folks being there. Thought it was a good
event. Tried not to eat as much as possible.
Throgmorton/ Sony, which event was that?
Botchway/ It was the Mosque open house.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, it was terrific.
Botchway/ And also I didn't get a chance to talk to ... or say this to Chief Matherly, but I thought
it was awesome that a whole bunch of officers showed up as well. I mean it was maybe
four or five, I know it was four for sure, um, but I thought that was just a great show of
support.
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Throgmorton/ With regard to IP #8, which is .... has to do with, uh, exploring sustainability and
carbon reduction of projects. Ashley, were you thinking that ... you wanted, uh, clear
feedback from the Council tonight, uh....
Monroe/ We're open to .... receiving any feedback. Um, we outlined a variety of opportunities
that we may have to, um, provide as .... as a showcase or a demonstration or some type of
other special project, as you had indicated a couple of meetings ago. Um ... so if there's
anything that jumps out to you that, um, would be preferred to explore further, um, you
know, staff can go ahead and .... and start working up, um, real detail as far as, um,
actions that we could take if you'd like to pursue one of the sustainability projects. Um
(mumbled) alluded to one (mumbled) at some point, whether it's the, um, you know,
some type of renewable energy project. Um, we added some (mumbled) adding a
significant tree planting in a .... in a new corridor, um, to expanding the electric or solar
vehicle options for our .... our City fleet. So, um, just .... just a variety and I'd like to get
your thoughts on what you'd like to see!
Throgmorton/ So I was wondering if any of you have strong views about any of the particular,
uh, projects that Ashley went through?
Mims/ There are three that I, and obviously not that we can do all of these, but ... um, I was
interested in expanding the big belly solar recycling. Um, I think one ... one thing I hadn't
thought about till reading this is ... the time it takes and the, you know, the fuel and stuff
for the vehicles to have to go through and dump all the trash in the parks, and I remember
when my kids were... girls were playing softball, you know, Parks vehicles having to
come out late at night after the tournaments and this and that, and so I, you know, I
realize that those .... you said are going to our, uh, kind of a subscription method or rental
method, and so .... but getting an idea of what that might mean budget -wise, um, if that's a
reasonable one. Um, I think continuing our standard energy efficiency upgrades of
public buildings. I think those are where we are going to get the .... and it's kind of
indicated here. They may not be super visible. I think we need to make an effort to make
them more visible by talking about them more and promoting them more. But they give
us I think the highest return on our investment and I think that's, you know, really
important in terms of, uh, taxpayers. And then I'd be really interested in seeing what a
significant tree planting effort ... what staff might come up with there in terms of
what ... what corridor and what kind of cost and .... kind of thing. That....
Monroe/ I have a couple of notes to just respond to a couple of your questions. Um, as far as the
big belly subscription rates, um, those are, uh, I checked with Parks as well, they would
anticipate adding between six and eight to the most high, um, highly used parks;
potentially add one around the Farmers Market area or across from City Hall; and um, the
subscription rates would be approximately, if you added between six and eight units or
sets of..of the containers, um, it would be between $14,000 and $19,000. Um, that's
about $200 a month for the rental of the ... of the containers. Um, a nice fact though about,
um, the nine sets that we've had since they've been installed, uh, installed, I'm sorry, uh,
we've accepted an estimated 1.22 tons of trash and 1.87 tons of recycling, which have
about an 82% efficiency rate. Um, and .... and there, you know, the machines themselves
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Iowa City City Council Work Session
are really nice cause they indicate when they need to be picked up. There's less waste in
terms of picking up bags, um, labor -wise, and as well as,um, what's... what's contained
within those bags. They were always full when they're.... they're picked up. Um, so that
was just kind of interesting. Um, as far as the improvements of the buildings, we're just
starting a lighting inventory internally and externally, um, inside our facility buildings, so
they're.... they're doing a full scale in partnership With, uh (mumbled) and AmeriCorps to
do a .... an assessment of what kind of lights we have within all of our buildings, and so
that'll give us a really good indication as to what .... what we could do at our facilities
next. Um, and then the tree plantings, I ... I just, um, I think you set an example of what
we had done on ... Muscatine or Lower Muscatine and Sycamore, that corridor, where we
planted I think over 300 tree ... trees and other bushes. So, um....
Throgmorton/ Sorry, I (several talking) I didn't hear the (both talking)
Monroe/ I'm sorry! Um, Sycamore, Lower Muscatine, that .... that area is one, um, there's
another happening, uh, on McCollister. Will be another planting corridor.
Botchway/ So I guess as a ... so I guess as kind of a matter of process, what are you kind of
expecting us to do here, Jim? Kind of get a ... a three project push to staff or, I mean I
could say all these things sound great. I mean so I'd like to do all of them, but obviously
we can't do all of them, so .... what are you asking us....
Throgmorton/ Well Ashley, uh, put together this memo for us and... indicated six different, uh,
six different kinds of projects that we could pursue. I just wanted to give her some
feedback if...and thinking it would be helpful for staff, but .... (several talking)
Fruin/ The question ... I .... I guess the question is do you want to do .... do you want us to further
explore this. The original intent of the budgeted funds, the $150,000 for FY18 was to
implement whatever recommendations come out of the climate mitigation plan, and so
the discussion you had a couple meetings ago was, well maybe we need to do something
sooner to get, uh, get some momentum going, get some good energy, uh, behind the plan.
Um, so that's what we're tryin' to .... to gauge with you. Do any of these ideas, uh, strike
you ... are there other ideas that you have that we should be lookin' at or do we just sit on
those funds and wait for the right recommendation (both talking)
Cole/ What I'm wondering, this is a very interesting topic. Would people be willing to do a 20 -
minutes in a work session on this so we could flesh this out a little bit more? Um, or ... or
what do people think about that?
Throgmorton/ Well we could do it next work session.
Botchway/ Yeah, I would agree.
Throgmorton/ ...start (both talking)
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Cole/ I ... I would like to do that, as opposed to just IP packet review, um, because I think that
there are some potentially interesting issues. We got the committee going, but I do think
there's some issues that we can move on. Um, I know in particular one memo that I've
been working on that I wasn't ready to present at this particular meeting, uh, was this
question of our solar infrastructure and evaluating whether we can sort of get an estimate
as to what it would cost in various buildings but I think that would be the type of thing
we might need a little bit more time to flesh that out. So I ... I guess I'd like a work
session on these particular topics.
Dickens/ Since I'm not gonna be here at the next meeting, the work session, I would throw my
support behind the big bellies, just watching how they're used in the downtown area,
which is one of the first areas we've used `em. The amount of recycling that people do,
and the downtown is much cleaner because people see these and they know to separate
and ... and I've been very impressed with, you know, I know probably a lot of newspapers
that, you know, are delivered to businesses and stuff. I .... I know we put our newspapers
in there, to have `em recycled. So I ... I just see that as a very strong positive and ... and
getting them out into the other areas of the city so they become more and more, people
get more and more use to `em and .... and, uh, I just see when you're talkin' about how
much has already been done in a short period of time, that can only increase.
Throgmorton/ So I wanna agree with, uh, with Rockne. I think we should schedule time at our
next work session .... to have more focused discussion about this. So .... start at 5:00
instead of 5:45?
Fruin/ 5:00?
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Fruin/ And how would you like to handle the bookmobile tour?
Throgmorton/ We do it first. I mean ... I would think, just let them do what they need to do.
Fruin/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ All right ,and I'm going to toss in two particular ideas. I like the tree planting.
It's not what I originally proposed, but I like that in a ... in a specific corridor, and Susan
and I had the opportunity to tour a particular building yesterday. I don't want to name it
or its location, but I found myself wondering about a .... a PB array on the roof of that
particular building, which would be consistent, I would think, with item 2 on your list,
Ashley.
Monroe/ Uh huh!
Throgmorton/ So ... justs toss that out there!
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Thomas/ One thing I was looking at, uh, and I mentioned this to Rockne was insofar as we're
trying to anticipate our climate action plan, I'm .... I began looking at other cities climate
action plans (laughs) I don't think we're reinventing the wheel with the climate action
plan. It does have to be tailored to our specific conditions, but .... uh, I think there will be
some general ways in which cities approach this, and I was pleased to see that in
Portland's, uh, the, you know, the urban forest's canopy was highlighted as one of the
seven key elements. So I think ... it, I don't ... I want us to, with the demonstration, I do
want us to do things which we will.....you know, find indeed did, you know, would be
things that we would incorporate into our climate action plan when it's ready. So it's
kind of just trying to anticipate what those elements are, um, so, yeah, I think .... I think
the urban tree canopy also lends itself perhaps to social justice issues in a way that others
may not. Uh, I was kind of...one thing I was really impressed by with this was the
diversity of ways we could do this, and I .... I do think that's part of the climate action
plan, that it's a very complex, multi -faceted plan, and .... so, you know, the .... the electric
fleet kind of intrigued me. It reminded me of the bookmobile. It would be a very high
visibility thing. You .... you'd see a city .... City car going about Iowa City would...
emphasizing that it's electrically powered. Um .... and also I ... I was intrigued by the, um,
the small wind and solar installations. I think that's what I've seen, and that ... those two
could have a high visibility.
Throgmorton/ Okay, we can probe this more....
Thomas/ Yeah!
Throgmorton/ ...at our next meeting. For now, we need to terminate our work session, uh, and
give people a chance to do what they need to do. Thank you!
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