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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-03 TranscriptionJuly 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 1 July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session 7:55 A.M. Council Present: Bailey, Champion, Correia, Hayek, O'Donnell, Wilburn, Wright Staff: Karr, Helling, Dilkes, Lombardo, Rocca, Davidson, Fosse, O'Malley Lobbying Talking Points: Bailey/ The first item on our work session this morning is "lobbying talking points." I provided some information regarding the funding of what we know, and Eleanor reported the...the 90% that has been approved for our public assistance. Um, some of the discussion that I've heard from other entities have been considering asking the Governor to, um, talk to the...to the Federal government about increasing the percentage for the buyout program. As you know, it's typically a 75/25, with, uh, 15% expected by local and 10% expected by State. Additionally, people have talked about the possibility of having the State pick up, um, that 25%, or the difference between whatever the Federal government, um (noise on mic, unable to hear) that we could easily take and advocate for. Um, so that's what I've heard mostly in discussion this week. Michael, did you have any comments regarding this? Lombardo/ In addition, we may want to consider asking for multi-year funding if...if there're not adequate funds to...to do this all in one year, that there's a commitment up front, uh, to make the funds available. Bailey/ Okay. I think that makes a lot of sense. Champion/ Is there any idea, Regenia, because you've talked to a lot of people, that there will be a second dedication of dollars, for this disaster? Bailey/ I tried to get some clarification about the FEMA Hazard Mitigation, and perhaps Jeff knows this. If it's a regular grant program for which we could get a commitment for this particular disaster over a period of years, and yet if we had a mitigation program that would stretch longer, if we could simply apply for that grant program, year after year, and I'm not getting a clear answer. Do you know anything about that? Davidson/ The buyout program is a ongoing program, uh, it's been accessed in eastern Iowa on...for smaller scale projects most recently in 2000, I believe, Central City I think it was had a project. Um, but clearly the scope of the event that we've just been through leads to the need for the...for the special action by...by Congress, and, um, similar to the Mayor, I've received indications that there will be a second go-round, Connie, but you know until...until it happens, we don't know for sure. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 2 Champion/ It didn't seem like a lot of money to me, when you think about the scope of this disaster. Bailey/ Well, and that's something we can also simply do is advocate for more funding, which I think our, um, our Federal delegation would be interested in advocating for, whether that happens or not. Champion/ Maybe we could rename Iowa City "Iraq." (laughter) Wright/ Probably get a lot of money thrown at.. . Champion/ ...a lot of money! Correia/ I know we've been focused a lot on the FEMA buyout, which I think is absolutely appropriate. We have people coming to us, um, but I also wanted to talk about other long-term recovery strategies, and I see in this memo, or press release, about the Economic Development Administration...administering economic development disaster assistance grants, um, and so I wonder, (mumbled) been thinking about the needs of our small businesses and other business, a $5,000 loan is going to be great, but I know it's not going to even...there's going to be additional resources that our businesses are going to need, um, if it costs a home $25,000 to mitigate mold, it's probably on the scale, of some businesses...I'mthmking in the Stevens Drive area. I know there's a lot of small businesses impacted, so are we developing recovery strategies beyond, um, or in addition to the residential, um, residential hazard mitigation buyout to what's our recovery strategy for those areas of, um, business activity? Lombardo/ This whole process I see is, you know, running information through a funnel, and at the end of this we'll have a stream of...of, uh, qualitative data and information that we can use to structure a program, um, there are a lot of different ways to approach this, and so much hinges on how much funding will be available and for how long. Um, until we know how deep funding goes, you know, we are looking into all of the options that are available at this point. Correia/ So in terms of, I wonder if the...the Committee for the, sort of the multi-agency committee for the...our small business loan could be identifying or working on a businesses recovery strategy, so that we can get a sense of the impact, broad impact, on business activity in the City, and what it might take for businesses to remain, to thrive, to open, that sort of thing, and that we would have that one tool of our loan fund, but then have a sense of what are the unmet needs, to then be able to take those to Loebsack, or whomever, um, be in a good position to apply for these economic development disaster grants. Lombardo/ That's a great idea. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 3 Bailey/ That would be really helpful. Wilburn/ I think on the tail end of that, too, some of the strategies might not be, uh, even just, uh, fiscal matters, for example, um, you know, we've supported and the Chamber has promoted the "shop local" effort, and those type of efforts. Uh, once they get back on their feet, we'll continue to be important to them, assist them, uh, nothing better than channeling our local dollars through local businesses to assist with their recovery and...and sustainability. Hayek/ It seems to me that our...our bullet points as we develop them might want to be structured under the various category headings. Whether it's block grant funds that we can press for additional inputs on, or you know, the disaster assistance grants, or...or any of the number of other, uh, resources out there, but make them, um, budget-specific or category-specific. It'll help us coalesce, I think, around something we can all live with, and it'll clarify the message we're taking to, uh, the delegation. Um, and I would also, uh, throw out the idea that we...we advocate for, um, a more comprehensive federal examination of the river corridor and river management, um, I mean, I have to think that the Corps of Engineers and comparable entities are...are, uh, wondering when the shoe's going to drop and...and when there will be pressure on them to...to look at rivers more comprehensively. Um, and I would certainly think we'd want to add that. It doesn't mean dollars coming to Iowa City, but it means, uh, funding and analysis supplied to the source of the problem. Wright/ And I think dovetailing into that too, Matt, we need as a city, uh, government we need to take a comprehensive look at our management and use of flood plains, going into the future. Uh, this has been an issue on and off, uh, for some time, in various parts of the community, not just Normandy Drive, and there's been kind of a cavalier attitude toward our use of flood plains, and I think that's something we need to pay close attention to. Bailey/ Other considerations? The local delegation seems to believe that there will be a special session at the State in August, and one of the other questions that they are asking, and I'm sure you've all heard it as well, are there, um, are there laws in the way of recovery, and I think you saw that with the UI bidding procedures being changed at the State level, and so I'm assuming that the various departments are looking at that, but that's another way -it's not fiscal, but are there...are there barriers to quick recovery that we can ask them to remove, temporarily or permanently, and that's something that they would be interested in hearing from us. I think with the consideration that the fiscal approach is not going to be the only one and it's going to be very challenging for the State. Correia/ Michael, have you identified any barriers, legal barriers, for quick recovery? Lombardo/ Just...just our entire process for raising revenues and issuing bonds. There's a lot of different limits, and they're there for good reasons, but in times like this, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 4 uh, they also limit your ability to react quickly. Um, we were having discussion about just even for general City projects. You add to that the complexity of these issues and the funds, the magnitude of funds that are needed, and uh, just the ability to...to act, uh, to attain either grant funds or...or bond funds, or change our revenue structure is really a limiting factor. Bailey/ Any other thoughts at this point regarding lobbying or talking points? Correia/ So is that something to prepare for identifying areas of interest for the session, to have...staff come back to us, identify... Lombardo/ Yeah, we'll pull together a memo with...with some broad recommendations on some of these things we just talked briefly about. Bailey/ I think that would be helpful, and then use the categories that Matt suggested so we can sort of group them and speak to them. I think that would be good. Anything else on this topic? Okay. Um, the next topic is furniture project and donations of large amounts. Amy, this was something that you brought up, um, do you have any additional information? Furniture Project and Donations of Lame Amounts: Correia/ Well, um, I...basically, I wanted to talk about, we have the Furniture Project as a resource that the City provides, um, it has been on hiatus for a number of months, um, and I think that there had been a plan to kind of get it back up and running to, um, former processes in the very near future, um, and so I'm wondering, given, um, the situation of being in flood recovery, and the need moving forward potentially for folks as they're relocating, either temporarily or permanently, without, um, furniture and other household items, if we can utilize our resource of the Furniture Project in a...in a flood recovery way, suspending the old rules, um, and being able to utilize Habitat Restore, um, to help with large donations. Um, I know that they have been approached by outside...potential outside donors, um, but needing to have (noise on mic, unable to hear) needing to house furniture and distribute it in a different way from the Furniture Project process when it's working, um, pre-flood time. Bailey/ So, Rick, you have some information for us on the Furniture Project? Fosse/ Yes, I do. Bailey/ Great! Fosse/ We are back up and running, and that's something that was in the works prior to the flooding, and we are partnering with Restore on that, so ReStore's providing the component, the picking it up, getting it to the storage facility, and then the City staff is working to meet with people to get it out to people in need. Um, but This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 5 that...that doesn't get at the large donation aspect of it, and uh, to...to address that issue I need to review the...the two purposes that the Furniture Project exists. One is to provide that human service that we're all looking at, and the second is to divert waste from our landfill, and...and it's that component, uh, that we need to examine here because it's never been a part of our vision for this to...to be a regional collector for, um, stuff from other communities. If we divert stuff from the Des Moines landfill or the Chicago landfill, for instance, to our area, uh, not everything that we get will...will go out. There'll be some of it that ends up in our landfill, uh, some of what goes out into the community, there'll be for short- term use and then end up in our landfill. So the net benefit for landfill space would be a negative one, if we become a regional, uh, player in this. So that's something that we need to look at carefully, if we want to go that route. Bailey/ Questions for Rick, regarding operations? But it is up and working, and what are the hours, and those sorts of things, just that basic sort of availability. Is it up to full speed? Fosse/ Yes. We, uh, let me find the stuff here...uh, Restore is collecting...they take donations Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., and they take that right at their store there on Scott Boulevard, or they'll go out and pick it up at your place, but there's a $10 pick-up fee for that. And then, uh, we have two days a month where we'll be available where people can come in and pick up the furniture, and if...if because of the flood we have a bigger need than that, uh, we'll certainly work to accommodate that. That's something we can do, but absence of the flood, the two days a month works pretty well. Bailey/ Okay. All right, any...you had some concerns about receiving large items, it seems like we're not necessarily set up for that. Did you want further discussion, or...or are you in your capacity at the County going to look for other options? Correia/ Yeah, I mean, I understand the philosophy of the...of the Furniture Project, um...so I guess I just need to speak with folks...I mean, I think that we do have the potential to have some real usable furniture coming in, and at this point, there's a capacity issue. Bailey/ Uh-huh. Correia/ ...for folks, so was trying to figure out a way to increase capacity to be able to do that, and respond to what the needs are in the recovery phase. Wright/ Capacity, for storage capacity? Correia/ Yeah, storage and, um, just the staffing. I know Habitat staff are willing to do that, but are constrained in the current...current structure. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 6 Bailey/ So perhaps that's another route, it seems like. And there's a task force that, there's a flood response task force that perhaps could undertake this. Correia/ Potentially, yeah. Bailey/ Okay. Correia/ But the idea with that is that, to figure out where there is capacity, I mean, Habitat's part of that task force, and I mean, I think that...if...if there isn't the ability to do that, I mean, we potentially lose the ability to accept those types of donations that we will need. Bailey/ And perhaps what would be helpful is if the task force identifies some options, and if the City...if they want to appeal to the City, just bring that back to us. Maybe that's the best way to proceed, um, with some community brainstorming. Okay, any other comments on the Furniture Project or questions? Thank you, Rick. Wright/ This isn't a comment on the Furniture Project, but it's germane. Could you move your mic more to the center, because if you turn, you drop out. Flood Mitigation -FEMA Buyout Program: Bailey/ Um, okay, the next item is flood mitigation FEMA buyout program. Do we have additional information on that? Davidson/ Yes we do, Madame Mayor. Uh, at your meeting last Monday, uh, we began discussion about the buyout program, and basically what we know about it...what we knew about it at that time. There were several questions raised at the meeting. LJh, we have attempted over the last couple days to get as many answers as possible, um, up until, um, yesterday evening, in fact, we were receiving information. You didn't have anything in your packets because we were literally receiving information up to yesterday evening. I just have some handwritten notes to go through with you here. Um, just to refamiliarize everyone - we are attempting to decide if we wish to access a Federal program. This is not our program, but we would be accessing a Federal program, which is administered through the State. So, obviously there are some complications in terms of the mechanics of doing that, but I think we have some answers to specific questions. Um, I also wanted to point out, Doug Jones, uh, reminded me and I just have a vague recollection of it that the City has, uh, accessed this program before. Doug...Doug recalled, and I have a vague recollection of a single, uh, home along Ralston Creek that was acquired after the 93 flood. The one I'm more familiar with, and I think all of you are familiar with as well, is the...the Peninsula property. The lower portion of the Peninsula, where the dog park and the Frisbee golf course and the trail system is, uh, that was acquired through this program after the 93 flood, and I think is really a poster child for good flood plain This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 7 management in that area. We were able to do a density transfer and locate the housing up on top of the hill at a higher density than it might have otherwise had, and then keep the lower area open, uh, and that's really a good...a good flood plain strategy for that area. Um, the first question that came out of the meeting Monday was how extensive is the Notice of Interest process, and do we have to identify specific properties. The Notice of Interest, remember, is the document that we will file, and the deadline for that is September 12th. By September 12Th we have to file that document, and that is just what the name says - a notice of our interest to FEMA and State Homeland Security, that we are interested in accessing the program. We do need to identify specific properties at that time, and there has to be some type of damage estimation made of each property that is filed with a data sheet that goes in with that Notice of Interest. Um, we're trying to get our hands on that data sheet so we can...I can't imagine it's very extensive, but it's just a general indication of the status of the property, but we will try and get our hands on that form, and that would have to be filed for each property. So...so that's obviously key. We have to know basically the properties that we at least have some interest in acquiring at the time we express the Notice of Interest. Um, the State will then receive those Notices of Interest from everyone in the state by that deadline, and they will, uh, review all of those, and I think most importantly, determine what the demand, statewide, is for the program. They will at that time at least have a pretty clear notion, I think, of what the availability of funding is going to be, on a statewide basis, so they can compare that availability of funding that they have with the demand for the program, and in October then, they will send out basically "invitations" to communities that they feel have appropriate projects and "invite" us to apply formally to the program. That's...that's the process of how that works, and so I think what we're all assuming is that based on the demand for the program, they will probably set some ground rules at that time, um, have no idea exactly what those would be, but one might imagine that they could limit it to floodway, 100-year flood plain, 500- year flood plain, that that would be one mechanism that they would have of focusing, uh, the applications on where they feel they would do the most good, given the resources that they're going to have to work with. Um, second question was, let me make sure I...yeah, uh, can the City set a cap on individual reimbursement amounts? Uh, the indication that we've received from, uh, ECCOG, which is the regional council of governments that I mentioned has done a few of these smaller scale projects, is that the answer is "no." That reimbursement must be at the set percentages for either the appraised or the assessed, uh, value. Uh, the specific FEMA language that they quoted was purchase price for properties and buildings must be at their pre-flood fair market value. And I think you'll recall that the way that they do that is either if you've had an appraisal made within a year of the event, they will use that 110% of that appraised amount, or if you haven't, they will use 125% of the assessed amount, and assessments are updated every...every two years. Uh, the third question was is in-kind local match acceptable? Meaning the City's 15% is in-kind local match, and as far, uh, ECCOG was aware that is not acceptable, that it is a cash local match, that basically at the...the closing for the acquisition of the property, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 8 the uh, 75%, 10%, 15% is...is essentially a cash amount that's presented to the property owner. Uh, the fourth question was is foregoing local match allowed? In other words, is a property owner...can a property owner agree to take 85 cents on the dollar, thereby sparing the City the expense of that 15%. Um, it maybe possible to do that. Not specifically by waiving the 15%. Those percentages and the compensation to the property owner has to remain at that fair market value. However, the property...East Central Council of Governments feels that a property owner could basically agree to put up the 15%, which...which in effect has the same effect as waiving the City's 15%, but a property owner that...that as far as they're aware, the State and the Feds don't care where the 15% comes from. So hypothetically it could come from the property owner. Now, we're going to attempt to confirm that, uh, there is a public meeting Monday morning...can anybody remember when the time is? Is it...I think it's, well, at any rate, City staff is going to be there, and it's open to the public, that's why I'm announcing it. Anybody can attend. It's for asix-county area...pardon, Michael? Lombardo/ I think it's 9:00. Davidson/ 9:00 is what sticks in my mind, too, um, it's asix-county, um, meeting, information meeting. FEMA's going to be present, and...and that's a question we're going to attempt to get some confirmation of from the FEMA people, uh, at that meeting. Uh, next question -what other City related incidental costs are associated with the program? Uh, and there are I think a couple key things. Obviously one is the lost property tax revenue from any property that's acquired. IJh, second would be the cost to, uh, there maybe some expense that is not reimbursed through the Federal grant for demolition. Demolition is an eligible cost, but there maybe some additional, uh, demolition costs that the City would have to pick up. Uh, obviously constructing what your open space is going to be. If it's going to be a park, or if it's going to be ball fields or whatever it happens to be (noise on mic, unable to hear) perpetually maintain it, and perpetually is the key word, uh, they want to make sure that this remains open space in perpetuity. So those would be additional expenses, really, to the program. Um, next question was how is the risk assessment done for properties proposed for buyout? As I explained, that's a key, that's really a key evaluation thing. They want to reduce as much vulnerability to flood damage as possible with the program, so they do an assessment of the vulnerability of each property. Um, the Notice of Interest that we will file must indicate for the individual projects that they are cost-effective, environmentally sound, and provide a beneficial impact from the State, and that sounds like something straight from, uh, program guideline, and we'll have to figure out more specifically what is meant by that, but, it is clear that the program is aimed at properties that are destroyed, condemned, or substantially damaged, and the Notice of Interest requires us to provide information about the extent of that damage for each property. And then a key thing we were able to find out, properties are prioritized as follows: number one is owner-occupied homes that are substantially damaged or condemned; second is occupied rental property, substantially damaged or condemned; third is secondary residences. That is to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 9 say residences that aren't occupied all year long; and/or recreational property, third priority, and commercial property is the fourth priority. There was a question of whether or not commercial property is eligible. It is eligible, but it's a much lower priority than property which is inhabited by people, because that clearly would have a higher risk associated with it, in terms of loss of life. The next question was can we...can we use needs-based local criteria to target those who help...who need help the most? I.E., this would be targeting for example lower income people for the program. Um, it's not clear that we can do that, but the State apparently does it through the regulations that they use, and the explanation that I received was that the State mitigation plan basically takes cost- effectiveness into, uh, their evaluation, and obviously the cost per unit acquire a lower income property is less than for a higher income property. An example was given to me that for example buying out one $1 million house, a house that's worth $1 million, that has two people in it is not as cost-effective as buying out ten $100,000 houses with a total of 40 people in it, in them, that you can reduce a lot more risk from the State's perspective by buying the ten-house scenario than the one-house scenario. Um, so the lower income homes would rate higher under that scenario in the State's vulnerability analysis. Um, it was also pointed out that specific goal of the buyout program is to permanently reduce local government costs for emergency rescue, infrastructure repair, debris removal, and emergency shelters, and that lower income people require more of those services. So, again, the...the, apparently the State's administrative rules will take that into consideration. Now we will attempt to get clarification (noise on mic, unable to hear) as to whether or not we can impose any, any, uh, rules that way, but it's not clear. Champion/ Um, what about, since...I mean, I understand the scenario of the $100,000 house versus the million dollar house, but does the State take into consideration, um, local economies, like some of these smaller towns that were literally wiped out, um, they probably, their housing values are probably a whole lot less than Iowa City. Do they, do they consider that at all? Davidson/ I think.. . Champion/ I mean, our land is more expensive. Davidson/ I think they consider it, not in terms of necessarily the economy of the town, but for a specific property, you know, the...if it's less expensive to acquire than a house in another, uh, town that would be more expensive that the cost benefit is basically better, uh, and so I think from that perspective they take it into consideration, Connie. O'Donnell/ So the cost-effective approach would actually work within a city too. One area versus another. Davidson/ Right, and...and I'm hesitant to go any further... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 10 Champion/ Right! Davidson/ ...with the specifics of how they evaluate cost benefit, because obviously they're the ones doing it, and...and we're just speculating on how they might do it. Uh, just a couple of other things. Oh, there was a specific question about deadline for filing the Notice of Interest, and I explained that's September 12, 2008. Uh, there was a question about potential local match options, and I'm sure the City Manager's going to want to address that specifically with you, should you decide to pursue the buyout program. Um, ones that we have...have tossed around, I guess, are, uh, obviously bonding is one that's available, oh, and there was, Kevin O'Malley was able to, um, let's see...there was a question about, uh, whether or not bonds sold for local match for a buyout would be considered a general corporate purpose or an essential corporate purpose, and Kevin, correct me if I'm not saying this accurately, but the key thing there is whether or not it would require a referendum, um, essential corporate purpose does not. You can enact that by your own action; uh, a general corporate purpose would require a referendum of the community. Um, the Ahlers Law Firm let us know that, um, the buyout program, because it is considered a nuisance abatement, is considered a...an essential corporate purpose, so that basically something you could decide to enact yourselves. Did I say that accurately, Kevin? Okay. Um, back to the local match options then, we did discuss that apparently there's a, there maybe a provision for a homeowner, individual homeowner, to provide the 15% local match. Um, another one that we're investigating is the use of CDBG funds, Community Development Block Grant funds. It is likely that we're going to receive a special allocation of those, uh, we're not sure of the amount - could be as high maybe as one, two, three million, uh, a lot of times those special allocations come with a lot of the strings attached to them, uh, waived, and so that is a possibility, um, that we have. Another one that the City Manager and I discussed is...I think most of you are aware that the County is, uh, has got a special open space levy, uh, that they are attempting to get on the ballot for this fall, and that may be a possibility. Obviously what we would be doing with the buyout program is attempting to acquire property for open space, and so there maybe an angle there, as well. So, a number of possibilities out there. Michael, I assume, you intend to put all those together for discussion if Council decides to proceed. Correia/ So can I just confirm that you...did you confirm that we could use CDBG because I know in some cases you can't use Federal to match, and so... Davidson/ It is...at this point what we know, Amy, is that there are occasionally special provisions made that you can use it, as local match. Correia/ Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 11 Davidson/ We're not certain yet that we're going to be able to. (noise on mic, unable to hear) possibility. It would require a special ruling to do that. Correia! Right, got ya! Okay. Davidson/ And then there was a question, do buyouts apply to commercial property, and the answer is yes, but they are a lower priority than residential properties. Just a couple more, um, oh, can...in pursuing buyouts, can the City match be satisfied through bonds. The answer is yes. Um, let's see, I think we've been through most of this. Oh, what would be the estimated hit to our tax base in the event of a buyout? Um, you know, the simple answer to that is the number of residential dwelling units times the tax rate times the rollback, um, times the City's share, which is what, Kevin, 33%? Roughly, something like that. So we'd need to know the number of units before we could...and the (noise on mic, unable to hear). Uh, there was a question if buyout dollars could be reinvested in Iowa City. It does not appear that we can require that, that basically that compensation is paid to the property owner without strings attached to it. And then there was a question about, uh, this hazard mitigation plan, which by the way, we did receive a grant to prepare our plan, and it was approved. So we have basically commenced preparing our plan. Uh, that is a 24-month process, which means that we and all the other people in the state that are in the same boat as we are will need to get a waiver, uh, for that if we do attempt to get buyout funds, but it does not sound like there's going to be any issue with doing that. Um, you know, there was a question of sort of how the buyout program would fit into an overall strategy for managing the river corridor flood plain, and...and I think there's going to be some activity in the next several months that...that essentially if that's...if it's something that you decide you do want to pursue for the City that we will incorporate that into our planning and subsequent discussion that we have, including the University and Coralville, about management of the flood plain. So I don't think there's anything right now that we need to decide about that, but...but clearly if it's something that you end up wanting to pursue, we'll then roll that into our strategy for managing the river corridor, uh, flood plain. That was all the information I had. As I mentioned, there will be the meeting Monday in Shueyville, uh, at the church there, the Methodist Church, and uh, we'll attempt to get confirmation of...of a couple of the things that we were a little fuzzy on, but otherwise, are there any other questions? Bailey/ Are there questions for Jeff? O'Donnell/ Jeff, the soonest we can apply is September 12th, right? Davidson/ That's not really an application, Mike. That's an expression of interest. O'Donnell/ That's an expression of interest, and they will come back to us, and um, set the ground rules in October, if... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 12 Davidson/ Yeah, and basically indicate, Mike, if they're interested in receiving an application from us at that time. O'Donnell/ Okay. Davidson/ That'd be mid...they're indicating mid-October. Bailey/ So they have some priorities, but it also sounds like once we submit and they look at all the other, and, um, Notices of Intent, um, that they will also set some additional ground rules. Is that... Davidson/ It does appear that way, yes, based on the demand for the program. Bailey/ So these priorities could be further refined. Okay. Correia/ It seems like the immediate thing to me is we have a deadline of September 12t'' to just have our notice in, with the properties listed, which isn't a ton of time, given that you have to have information about each property, and that doesn't...that doesn't require that property to continue, but in order for that property to be considered, we need to know by September 12tH Davidson/ Right. Correia/ So, is...have, has there been talk about that process of, I mean, I know we've received letters and petitions, um, but I don't know what we've received from Taft Speedway. I know we have a couple of emails from folks that live along that, um, street. So, are we going to send letters to all residences in the 100-year flood plain that were impacted in this event, with, you know, a deadline for them to get back to us so that then we can get all that information - how...how do we propose... Davidson/ Yeah, hopefully, Amy, within the next couple of days we'll be able to get our hands on the data sheet, so we know exactly what it is that has to go with the Notice of Interest. At that point then if there's a majority of Council that's interested in submitting the Notice of Interest, I assume we'll have to have some official action, um, on...on your next formal meeting agenda, and then work up some strategy, as you're alluding to, to...to basically determining what properties we would want to submit with the Notice of Interest. Bailey/ Michael? Lombardo/ We're pulling together a matrix of all the data that...that we're going to need to make these decisions, and um, I should have a better handle on that in the next day or two. We're going to pull together a meeting specific to discuss an action plan, and who's going to collect what so that we know in-house, you know, what we need to get through this. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 13 Bailey/ Matt? Hayek/ Jeff, a couple questions on...first, with respect to the Notice of Interest and the September deadline, if you're a house that's not on that list, but.. . Davidson/ Which list, Michael, or, uh, Matt? Hayek/ As I understand it, the City's going to bundle a list, or create a list, of interested property owners and submit that along, if we choose to go that route to the State, right, and that's our deadline to start that process. Say, uh, I have a home in one of the affected areas but I've been out of the country for two years and I get back in October and learn about this and decide I'd be interested as well. Does that deadline foreclose the possibility of people to jump on board.. . Davidson/ I don't know. We'll have to find out, Matt. Hayek/ Okay. And then the second question is, trying to understand how...how the funding and ultimate decision making works. If we're...if we're putting together...if we go forward and we put together a list of affected properties, and we submit it to the State, it goes up to FEMA, and then along with a bunch of other municipal applications, and then comes back down to the State, uh, with a big bag of money attached, it...was is the State actually deciding if it approves Iowa City? Does it approve our suggested plan en masse, or does it look at individual properties from the perspective of an office in Des Moines, and decide which ones get funding? Bailey/ Does it just give us a funding amount and say, `Have at.' (several talking) Davidson/ Yeah, and I have to confess, you know, we don't know just exactly. What...what they have indicated to us is that they want to fund properties based on a risk assessment of loss of life and property damage, being able to avoid that in the future, that they want to do that on the most...in the most cost-effective way possible, and so my impression is that there will be basically a ranking, and that they will fund as many properties as they can, based on that ranking, and then if additional money becomes available, they'll continue to fund, based on that. Hayek/ Well, yeah, and the follow up would be, let's say they go through that analysis and they score it, and that results in a certain dollar amount. My question would be, and I guess you'll have to look into this, do we just get one lump sum based on their scoring and analysis that we can then use locally as we see fit, or are those, is that lump sum divided up on a per property basis so that we have to do with those funds as they tell us? Davidson/ We'll see what we can find out, Matt. Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 14 Lombardo/ You raise a good point, and I think this ties into talking points for future lobbying efforts. It doesn't make a lot of sense if we have a particular area and we're only to achieve half the goal that we would set towards, uh, a buyout program. If we're restoring open...if open space, but yet there are houses dotting, um, the landscape based on their elevation, you know, how effective truly is that, and so that's where I think this gets a little bit tricky and where we're going to need to make sure that we're working at a lot of different angles in terms of the dollars, but also the flexibility in how we approach the buyout program. Wilburn/ In that case, the talking point might be to not...to encourage them to not block grant this approach, because there, the typical response is if there's an issue out there, uh, well, we'll block grant it, and you know, here maybe the need, but here's how much you get, it's...block granting approach is a, uh, cost saving, um, lower financial risk for the larger government entities to do, so it would be to, you know, to push for here's our damage. Based on high risk, here's the funding needed to accomplish that buyout, in my opinion, in terms of a talking point. Dilkes/ Just based on the criteria that they've given us so far, it's hard to see that they could do on a city by city basis, because if you're, you know, each city is going to have some higher priorities and some lower priorities, so just based on the criteria I would be surprised if it works in that fashion. Wilburn/ I...I agree, but they don't have the total dollar estimate yet. I mean, if they...if it looks like this, they may try and reduce their financial burden. To be determined, I guess. Davidson/ Any other questions? Correia/ I guess the only other question I have, and I think this is just something to keep updated on is the, um, potential folks just walking away from their property and going through foreclosure, you know, if there's that September 12th deadline, who do we work with -the bank? How does that.. . Bailey/ I know that some people are calling their financial institutions about those kinds of things, and that could be something that the neighborhoods encouraged them to check into, if they can have some of that, um, interest only for a couple of months. I know some local institutions, I've heard, are doing that for some homeowners. Hayek/ I...I do though think it's...it's important for the City not to inject itself in the relationship between a homeowner and his or her lender, um, I defer to our Legal Department, but I, in my experience, that seems very risky and we're looking at a very long time period here, um, and that's really a separate matter. Dilkes/ I don't see that we have a role in...in that relationship. Where our role would ultimately come in if there was an abandonment of a property, that was...that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 15 became a nuisance property, then we would have authority to, um, condemn that, for instance. Correia/ So if we don't hear from property owners then we don't hear from them, even if... Davidson/ Yeah, and I think, you know, this is something we'll have to...to discuss, I guess, a little bit more, but I think it is possible for the City to indicate an expression of interest about acquisition of the property, without knowing clearly at this time whether or not the property owner will agree to voluntarily be acquired during the program. Ultimately it comes down to that. No property owner is forced to sell, but for example, hypothetically you could say, all properties in the floodway, whether or not we can find that property owner or not, at this time, you know, maybe they've walked away from it, and we don't even know where they're at, we could still put in an expression of interest about all properties in the floodway, and then do the follow-up with the property owner at some point subsequent, and if it came down to when we finally located the property owner they weren't willing to sell, well then that would be the end of that. Dilkes/ Yeah, I agree with that. I think that we probably would want to be over-inclusive rather than under-inclusive on the...on the Notice of Interest. Um, because the property owner always has the right to decline. Wilburn/ Jeff, I have a question, and maybe this is just a get back to me later, or any staff member, I guess, because I'm just trying to put this, uh, mull this over in my mind. Um, the question came up about possibly, uh, you know, mitigating or lowering essentially what the City's cost will be in terms of a buyout, should we decide to go...go that route -excuse me - and I understand the State in the example you gave figures out ways to, you know, um, differences in property values or low income and all that, but if the purpose of this is to, um, essentially get up all these properties so that, um, you're lowering risk, life, etc., etc., so that, uh, you're essentially pulling residential/commercial out of those flooded areas, uh, so that no future, in perpetuity, you know, it stays as open space, if you're...it just seems to me on some level if you...if you're looking to reduce or...or, um, lower the cost to the City by essentially saying, uh, homeowner, business owner, um, for 85, you know, 85% and 95% of the value of your property, you know, you can voluntarily buyout...that's, isn't that incentive, and if you lower the, if you lower that amount aren't you taking the incentive for them to move out of the flood plain? Does that make sense to anybody, or anybody have any gut reaction to that? Champion/ I don't think so. Dilkes/ I'm not sure I understand the question. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 16 Wilburn/ If...if we, if we...the question came up about, um, you know, the Feds can pay this, the State will pay this, the City will pay a lower percentage. Dilkes/ Uh-huh. Wilburn/ Am I less...are we potentially taking the incentive away for the voluntary...for voluntary participating in the program? It's... Dilkes/ I think what we've been told though is that that's not an option for us. That that would be solely within the control of the property owner. Wright/ So that the property owner could choose... Dilkes/ Property owner could choose to... Wright/ ...take that 15%. Dilkes/ Right. Wright/ But we could not require it. Dilkes/ That's my....my sense so far. Bailey/ There is another...I don't know if we've explored this yet, because it's not very formed, but the, uh, what's it called? The philanthropy effort - is it Embrace Iowa? Um, the Fred Hubbell and Mary Griswold and the Governor, um, this...they're raising money from throughout the country, and that would also be another funding source potentially. They haven't set priorities of how they're going to use that fund. Um, if it goes down the way of sort of typical community foundation sort of thing, I mean, perhaps using it for demolition and construction of green space would be the more appropriate, but there may be an option there, too, that we should probably explore as that's forming. Does anybody know additional details about that particular fund? Ross, are you familiar.... Wilburn/ No. Bailey/ ...okay. Correia/ Well, I know they've given money locally already. Bailey/ Right, they've given to the Community Foundation. Correia/ And the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and, yep. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 17 Bailey/ I think we should also keep that on our radar screen for this, um, I mean, I think the likelihood is something longer...longer term and down the road, but I think it might be an option as well. Wilburn/ Well, anything we can do to...if we participate in the program, to try and, um, generate some revenue, donations, etc., even just the fact that you said we received a grant to put together the mitigation plan. I mean, those things...looking for those types of revenue to help assist, I think, are important. Bailey/ Okay. Other questions, comments about this? Champion/ I guess I would feel like I need to get a grip on what we're talking about money-wise. When you get a copy of that form, could you give us one -one that you fill out? I'd like to know whether they ask property value or the person has insurance or not, what...what are actual....what we're talking about actual money here. It would be really, I mean... Dilkes/ Well, you're going to have to be involved before that form is even filled out, because we're going to have to get a decision from you all as to which properties we're going to apply.. . Champion/ Oh, okay! Davidson/ Yeah, I mean, once we understand the extent of that property information form, I mean, I think decision making on your part, sooner than later, we'll make sure we have enough time to get everything submitted then...by September 12th, if that's the direction you want to go. Bailey/ So, I'm generally hearing that we want to continue to get answers about this program, and continue to step into this. Any concerns, or information, that anybody needs at this juncture, as we move in this direction, um, it doesn't mean that it can't stop at any time, but as Amy pointed out, the deadline is coming up. I mean, it feels pretty close actually. We're into July (several talking) so... Champion/ Well, I think we ought to go for it. I mean, we're not obligated, if we find out in the end (noise on mic, unable to hear) can we also step out at any time? Davidson/ Eleanor, what do you think? Dilkes/ Well, as I understand the process, we submit the Notice of Interest, and then there is an invitation given to us to apply for certain properties. Then at that point we make a decision whether to submit that formal application. O'Donnell/ I think the one that can step out is the property owner, and they can step out at any time, up till the final moment. Is that right? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 18 Dilkes/ They can, but it's...I don't believe submitting -correct me if you think I'm wrong, Jeff - but I don't think submitting the Notice of Interest obligates you to anything. (several talking) Hayek/ So the point of commitment for the City is the submission of the application. Dilkes/ That's how I see it. Davidson/ Well, at the earliest, I would think. It may not be until the property closing, ultimately, you know.... Dilkes/ But in terms of our decision point. Bailey/ But if they come back, for example, we submit the Notice of Interest. We submit an application and they come back for funding for specific properties that doesn't broadly meet what we want to do in our community, it also seems because it's similar to a grant contract. It's got to be a meeting of the minds, that we could also not enter into that agreement at that point. Do you think? Dilkes/ No, no that's what I'm...well, I don't know exactly how the process works beyond that point. I don't know with the application is basically saying yes, if you approve it we want it, um, but my sense is that it's at that point where you really have to be pretty clear about what you're wanting to do. Davidson/ And the other piece of information we'll try and have for you is that once you all decide...let's say you were to decide you want to pursue the program. We got together then the information for the Notice of Interest about the individual properties. We will be able to take the assessed values, times 125% for each of those properties that we're going to submit with a Notice of Interest. We'll be able to calculate what the City's exposure is going to be in terms of that 15% local match, and that's ultimately when, as Connie put it, you decide whether or not you can afford to do this. Lombardo/ We're going to proceed with getting the information as if, uh, you intend to file the Notice of Interest, um, where...where the decision points will come in after that will depend largely on what's available, and then are we able to meet local match, and so there's going to be some additional kind of strategies that are going to have to be developed for how to approach this, based on...on what's available, and then how we might be able to meet the match, and that'll probably come at the point of application because I'm going to presume that once we apply we're committed to at least that piece of the program, and those are some of the details we'll work out and in subsequent workshops, or work sessions, we'll be able to walk it forward. Bailey/ Okay. Any other items to discuss regarding the buyout program, questions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 19 Hayek/ This probably goes without saying, but I assume all of these wonderful answers you've provided over like a 48-hour mad rush to research we'll get that in written form in the near future. Davidson/ Yeah. We'll probably try and wait until we really feel like we have good solid information after the meeting on Monday. Hayek/ Okay. Dilkes/ Yeah, I want to be able to make sure I've satisfied myself that the answers are correct, as opposed to just relying on what we get from other governmental entities. So... Wilburn/ I was going to say as opposed to relying on Jeff, but (laughter) I would rely on Jeff! Future Meeting Schedule Items: Bailey/ Okay, thank you, Jeff. Um, all right, the next item is future meeting schedule items. You can see on our list below for the Thursday, July 10th, we have the flood mitigation plan, river corridor update, update on lobbying strategy, animal shelter update, and um, are there other topics that should be included in this discussion? Hayek/ Just for... Dilkes/ Can I interrupt, I'm sorry, can I interrupt for a minute. I believe Kevin has a matter that he needs to address with you on the flood related issues. O'Malley/ Honorable Mayor, Esteemed Council, we've been talking amongst Public Works and Finance about possibility of waiving utility fees for these affected properties for two or three months, and if that is in your interest, we'd like to pursue a resolution to that affect. Correia/ Yeah, I was actually going to ask if we could talk about tax abatement and the utility bills too. So... Bailey/ Are others interested in talking about tax abatement? Karr/ So do we...if there's a majority, we could look at a formal on the 10th, as well. Bailey/ (several talking) for waiving utility fees? (several talking) Okay, let's start with that. Are we interested in...in looking at that, putting it on a formal on the 10th, or putting it on the formal on the, we have a formal on the 15th, if...if you feel like you need discussion to think about it. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 20 Champion/ I don't have any problems with utilities. Correia/ Yeah, and is that for residential, or residential and... O'Malley/ It's all affected parties. Correia/ All affected. O'Malley/ Would be, uh, water, refuse, and sewer. Correia/ Okay. So for business and.. . O'Malley/ Right. Correia/ ...residential. Okay. Bailey/ So, what would you prefer? To discuss it at a formal on the 10th, or to put it on a formal on the 15th Wilburn/ I would be interested in discussing it, um, and at this point feel I would support it. I will be at a training seminar on the 10th, and so I'm just curious if there's enough interested that I wouldn't have to worry about asking for it to be on the 15t". (several responding) Champion/ ...very interested in it. Hayek/ I'm open to it. I need to see specifics, I mean, I can't (several talking) Bailey/ So we want a formal... Dilkes/ There's no harm inputting it on, on the 10th, and if you want to defer it, you can defer it. Bailey/ Okay, so we'll have a formal on the 10th, next Thursday, a week from today. All right. Tax abatement, are others interested in talking about tax abatement? Correia/ I know they're talking about it at the County level. I don't know what...I imagine we'd have their minutes or be able to talk to, so see what they've been talking about. I don't know if other governmental bodies are talking about it. Hayek/ I didn't catch that, Amy. Who was talking about it? Correia/ The County, I know the County has had it on their agenda. I don't know what...what they're saying about it or what they're going to do, but I think it was brought before them. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 21 O'Donnell/ I'd be interested in talking about it. Champion/ But taxes are paid, I've never understood this. I'm really paying my taxes in September.. . Correia/ Should we talk.. . Dilkes/ Let's just clarify one thing first. This is...tax abatement can only be done by the County Board of Supervisors. (several talking) We would have to make a request to the County Board of Supervisors to do that, which is, of course is complicated because only a part of the tax bill is ours, etc. My understanding is that the County has talked about tax abatement, and is not pursuing it. Bailey/ That's my understanding, as well. Correia/ Okay. Karr/ I did talk to the Treasurer, Tom Kriz, after his presentation, and um, again, it is a percentage of the bill. It is a back-bill, the portion that you are taxed now is for a portion that you did live in a house, all but two weeks, uh, versus the next bill would reflect more of the flooding. Secondly, the impact on other entities who rely on it. I believe the recommendation he gave, and there was tentative approval, was to go ahead and do the tax, uh, billing, accept it, and then take a look within each jurisdiction of potentially the use of that tax money and maybe setting aside a percentage of it for relief in other ways. But at this point the recommendation was to proceed with the taxing. Lombardo/ I haven't made any formal recommendation. I've been information gathering and kind of waiting to see where the County was headed with this, but given the...the amount of unbudgeted expenditures that we're incurring just battling the flood and...and what's going to come byway of reduced property taxes, my recommendation would be that we do not pursue it, but I've been holding off on a formal memo to outline those things, and it seems like the Board is not pursuing it. I'm happy to give you something in writing, but...but it's a terribly slippery slope and, um, our funding is going to be very tight. Dilkes/ I think it's really important to remember too how we pay taxes in Iowa, which is what Marian was...the taxes that we pay in September, this coming September, are for the first half of Fiscal Year 07. So, that...the tax payment that'll be made in September is for a time when there was no flood impact. Hayek/ They're nine months in arrears, and really (several talking) Karr/ (several talking) One of the biggest, um, entities that use the property tax and rely on it are our schools. So the impact is also felt more than in the City's and in the County budgets, as well as the school's. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 22 Wilburn/ Maybe we can just wait on the memo from Mike to see if there's further interest and more information after that. Bailey/ Well, I was hearing that there's not necessarily interest in pursuing it at this time. I mean, do we want to see a memo from Michael regarding this? Champion/ Well, I think there certainly will be a downgrade of these properties with their, by the time the next tax bill comes around. Dilkes/ Next assessment is January, um, 09, so that assessment will reflect the condition of the property at that time. Wilburn/ I was just presuming that you were putting...you said you hadn't made a formal recommendation, so I was just presuming that you were, but if you're not, that's fine. Bailey/ Yeah... Lombardo/ I had intended to, but the Board of Supervisors were acting much more quickly than what we had.. . Bailey/ Okay, other topics that we would like to add to the work session list specifically, and to, I'm asking for that in case there's need for staff preparation. It's good to have a list. Otherwise we'll have just a, um, again, sort of general sort of things, but if there's information that you need, make sure that you're communicating that to Michael for sure. Okay? All right. Hearing any other items? Champion/ Um, I just, when we were talking about legislative things before, um, I don't know if the State has thought about increasing the sales tax to cover all this disaster stuff, since most communities have extra percent tax. I think we're one of very few who don't. Whether they've considered that, like now, everybody has to pay the 1 % school tax, right? That's...because I don't know where the State's going to come up with the money for this disaster either. It's a lot of money. Wright/ The State and there's also the Federal share. Obviously the Federal government is borrowing the cash to pay for all of this. Champion/ They're making it, they're manufacturing it. Correia/ I think I did hear from a legislator yesterday that the State had more receipts than they had (mumbled) Bailey/ And we can certainly ask if they're looking at other tax (mumbled). Any other items? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 23 Wright/ Just a question. Is the flood hotline still operating for homeowners who are looking for information and guidance in the cleanup and recovery process? Bailey/ I believe it is, during business hours, but Rick can confirm. Fosse/ Yes, that is still operational during business hours, and then also the United Way has their line that's matching volunteers with needs out there. Bailey/ And I, um, got an update about the United Way line and will have that in an info packet, um, or... Karr/ It's in today's handouts. Bailey/ Oh, okay, it's in today's handout about what they're doing, with the United Way volunteer line. Okay, any other items? Thank you very much. Hayek/ What we...meeting schedule? I think that's still... Bailey/ The 10tH Hayek/ I saw it on the agenda, I thought we might talk about future meetings. Bailey/ Future meeting schedule items, you want to add additional meetings? Hayek/ Ah, I guess I looked at it as future meeting schedule, and I didn't see that items where (several talking). We've got...we've got a meeting a week from today on flood issues, but that seems to be the last specifically scheduled meeting on floods. Do we want to add something... Bailey/ Marian can look at people's availability, um, in the last half of July, if people feel like we need another, um... Wright/ ...future meeting scheduled item could be talking about future meetings. Dilkes/ I think, Matt, you also have the your regularly scheduled meetings July 14th and 15th, which we can (several talking) Bailey/ ...the week of the 21St and the 28th Hayek/ Well, I'm not, I mean, I'm not proposing that we... Bailey/ Meet if we don't need to, but.. . Hayek/ Right, but, I do...I think it's important that we show the public that we are dedicating time throughout the summer on this issue, whether it's in a special This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008. July 3, 2008 Special City Council Work Session Page 24 meeting like this morning, or a specifically allocated portion of a regular meeting. I think that's critical. Karr/ I believe.. . Bailey/ I anticipate that if we are going ahead with this Notice of Intent we will probably need some kind of session in the last half of July. So Marian can look at our schedules. She...make sure that she has your updated summer schedule and your availability, and we can work out something for that...that time. We can always cancel if we don't need it. So we'll get something on the schedule for the last half of July. Hayek/ Okay. Bailey/ All right? O'Donnell/ Yeah, and if you look at who was here this morning, people are interested in if, when and how long it's going to take, and to have a meeting to, you know, we talk about furniture, but you know, that's great, but if you don't have a living room to put the couch in, you have a problem. So I think we need to have a meeting when we can have more information on if, when and how long it's going to take. Bailey/ I think we'll have more buyout information the last half of July. O'Donnell/ And we're doing a great job. Jeff, you're being a master getting this information for us, and I really appreciate it, but, you know, I understand there's a great deal of stress out in the community today, and uh, we're doing all we can to relieve it. Bailey/ So, um, there's a holiday tomorrow, so I encourage all of you to reduce your stress by attending the Jazz Festival and we have the fireworks, and that'll be a nice community celebration. So, thank you all for being here, and thank you, good morning, and... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work session meeting of July 3, 2008.