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Home My WebLink About2008-08-11 Correspondence~~_,__-'r,®~ C1TY CJF IOWA CITY 2 ~ ~ zui~-~~ E~~ M Date: August 6, 2008 To: City Clerk From: Darian Nagle-Gamm, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for August 11th City Council meeting; Installation of on-street metered parking spaces and establishment of parking meter terms on the 800 block of South Clinton Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A (17), a total of 11 new parking meters will be installed on the 800 block of South Clinton Street. Six new parking meters, CL8011, CL801 S, CL803S, CL805S, CL807S, CL809S, and CL811 S, will be installed on the west side and five new parking meters, CL800S, CL802S, CL804S, CL806S, and CL808S, will be installed on the east side. These meters will each have a 2-hour term at the rate of $0.60 per hour. Comment: This action is being taken to provide on-street metered parking for customers of the new Johnson County Administration building to be located on the 800 block of South Clinton Street. Cc: Mark Rummel Chris O'Brien Mgr/agd/d ng-itm-cli ntonst. doc ~ r~J ~a ~`, C"~ ~ ~ Ca °.: f ~.~ C; ~. y ~ 1 1 ~ E _ rn 3y ~ ~~ ~. ~ ~ d r 2 2 ~~.!~®~~ CITY OF IOWA CITY ~~~ N D~[M EMORA M Date: August 4, 2008 To: City Clerk From: Kent Ralston, Acting Traffic Engineering Planner l~- Re: Item for August 11, 2008 City Council meeting; Installation of (1) YIELD sign at the southwest corner of the Haywood Drive /Laura Drive intersection As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 36 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A (5), Install (1) YIELD sign at the southwest corner of the Haywood Drive /Laura Drive intersection. Comment: This action is being taken to properly assign right-of-way for motorists at said intersection. _ Ca ...~ c~ ,,., 'tl ;~-,..- ` ~ ~- -~ ~ _< r_. o. o~ s .. ~ ~ -.o 2 3 ~ r ~nl~r ~ ' "'~®~~~ -•t.at._ CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240- 1826 (319) 356-.5000 (319) 356-5009 fAX www.icgov.org Date: August 1, 2008 To: City Clerk and City Council From: Darian Nagle-Gamm, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for August 11th, 2008 City Council meeting; Installation of (1) NO PARKING BETWEEN DRIVEWAYS sign between the driveways of 1811 and 1813 Deforest Avenue As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action: Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), Install (1) NO PARKING BETWEEN DRIVEWAYS sign between the driveways of 1811 and 1813 Deforest Avenue. Comment: This action is being taken due to the short curb length between the driveways, the frequent use of on-street parking due to proximity to Kirkwood, and frequency with which parked vehicles block part of one or both of the driveways. Targeted enforcement has not been effective in preventing vehicles from blocking the driveways due to the high turnover in on-street parking. jccogtp/Itrs/deforest-Item8~Comment8-OS.doc O `~ c- n ~ ~ ~~ ~ ` O.~l ~ ~~~ ~ ~' /NE O /OF ~ ~ q ~~ - ,. C~2 V „~.. m~. ~,k f' \\. _ ~O ~~i. Utf-17 -UtS 2 4 P E G G Y L E W I S, C M C `~' S~ j 1300 Perdido Street • Room 1E09 CLERK OF COUNCIL New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 NEW ORLEANS CITY C O U N C I L July 16, 2008 !-J w~ Q u~ n ~~ ~ 9 i Iowa City Iowa 1 J f ~ - N ~- Council Members '""~ ~ ®1 1 410 E. Washington Street ~ ~~ ~ Iowa City, IA 52240 p ~.. .. Dear Council Members: D ~ N The New Orleans City Council adopted the attached Resolution (R-08-384) at its meeting of July10, 2008. The City Council of New Orleans is extending its most sincere best wishes to the families of flood impacted communities in the Midwest and extending an invitation to work together to not only restore our communities from the impacts of the most recent events, but to ensure our cities and towns are secure from similar future events. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Clerk of Council's Office at 504-658-1085. Sin er~el~y yours, ~~ u~.. cU Gam-- ~V , , r Lora W. Johnson Assistant Clerk of Council ~~ ~~t.,.~ ~,~~. ~1!~ 2 ~ ~~~ 1 ~ 22 RESOLUTION :~~~~~. C ~ ~"~_~ "•,~ 10~I`~ ~ NO. R-08- 384 CITY HALL: July10, 2008 BY: COUNCILMEMBERS FIELKOW, CLARKSON, MIDURA, HEAD, CARTER, HEDGE-MORRELL AND WILLARD-LEWIS WHEREAS, this year, cities and towns in the states of Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin have experienced severe flooding due to levee breaches and overtopping along the Mississippi River and its tributaries; and WHEREAS, -like New Orleans in -the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of the impacted communities in these states were inundated with standing water for long periods, causing damage to critical infrastructure, business and homes; and WHEREAS, disasters of these magnitudes not only destroy buildings, but threaten the economy and cultures of entire communities; and the very existence of many towns and cities are at risk, and, their citizens further traumatized by the psychological and mental impact of these disasters; and WHEREAS, New Orleans has experience with these types of disasters and more importantly, with the daunting prospects of long term recovery which will be necessary if communities are to return to normalcy; and WHEREAS, New Orleans is also well experienced in the painful and burdensome task of soliciting federal government acknowledgement of its responsibility for levee construction and maintenance as well as its corresponding obligation to make communities whole in the wake of flooding caused by levee failures; and WHEREAS, as the principal providers of the nation's energy and food, respectively, the New Orleans area and the Midwest are of vital importance to the national economy and homeland security; and WHEREAS, it may be mutually beneficial to form a coalition of disaster impacted Gulf Coast and Midwest communities to petition the federal government for the assistance required to rebuild our infrastructures and provide our families with resources needed to rebuild their homes end-their lives; mow therefore BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS that it hereby extends its most sincere best wishes to the families of flood impacted communities in the Midwest and extends an invitation to work together to not only restore our communities from the impacts of the most recent events, but to ensure our cities and towns are secure from similar future events. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council also extends an invitation to local governments in Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin to work together with our respective Congressional delegations in the Midwest and Gulf Coast to assure appropriate funding for disaster assistance through the passage of a second emergency supplemental appropriations bill and in seeking reforms in the Stafford Act. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be sent to The Executive Director of the National League of Cities, municipal associations and leagues in Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, and to the cities of Des Moines, Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa. THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION WAS READ IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Clarkson, Fielkow, Head, Hedge-Morrell, Midura, Willard-Lewis - 6 NAYS: p ABSENT: Carter - 1 TOTHE fOREOOIN6 IS CERTIFlEt7 AND Ct~RAECT COPY AND THE RESOLUTION WAS ADOPTED. ' OF UNCIL d ,~~., ~n r- ~ i~ _ rn O ~ -o ~` ,~ ~" .. ?> ~ w Pa e 1 of 1 2 5 Marian Karr From: Dale Helling Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 4:50 PM To: 'Dunshee, Jacob W' Cc: Council; Eric Goers Subject: RE: Greenwood Railroad Crossing Dear Mr. Dunshee, Thank you for your recent email to the City Council regarding the Greenwood Railroad Crossing. Council members do not receive their email messages directly and yours will be forwarded to them and received as official correspondence as part of the consent agenda for an upcoming Council meeting. The City address the issue of prolonged blockages of crossings with the Iowa Interstate Railroad as problems arise and are brought to our attention. We encourage citizens to report such blockages to the police at the time they are occurring. If we can follow up at the time a crossing is blocked, our police officers can verify each particular incidence and attempt contact the Railroad or the engineer to correct the situation. We have recently communicated with the Railroad regarding both the Greenwood and First Avenue crossings. In the event that there are reoccurrences, reporting them immediately or, if not possible, then after the fact, noting the specific date, time and duration, would be most helpful for us in following up. In any event, we will continue to address the issue with the Railroad with a goal of minimizing the time train crossings are blocked. Sincerely, Dale Helling Assistant City Manager cc. Eric Goers, Assistant City Attorney From: Dunshee, Jacob W [mailto:jacob-dunshee@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 11:41 AM To: Council Subject: Greenwood Railroad Crossing Trains operated on the railway that crosses Greenwood Drive between Benton and Melrose Court routinely stop, blocking all traffic, for longer than ten minutes and in violation of Iowa Code § 327G.32. Not only is this illegal, but it poses a dangerous risk to students walking to and from class, many of whom choose to climb over the stopped train instead of being late. Regardless of the appropriateness of their actions, there will always be students who take this risk due to the importance of being at their graduate or professional courses. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is no other timely route around the stopped trains. There are no practical or legal reasons for allowing the interests of the railway corporation to justify the demonstrated safety risks and general inconvenience to the public. This is a fairly common occurrence and I'm sure complaints have been raised before, but I would appreciate it if the council would look in to taking steps to fix this problem. Thanks, Jake Dunshee 7/16/2008 2 6 Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 11:17 AM To: 'Anthony, Jerry' Cc: "City Council Subject: RE: Walking tour this weekend Hello Jerry, Thank you for your email. Council members do not receive their emails directly. Please contact them individually to confirm availability this weekend. You will find Council member contact information on our website at wvvw.icgov.org under the link for City Council. Thanks, Jerry. Sincerely, Kathi Johansen Administrative Assistant to the City Manager 319 356-5010 From: Anthony, Jerry [mailto:jerry-anthony@uiowa.edu] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:39 AM To: Council Cc: steven-mcguire@uiowa.edu Subject: Walking tour this weekend Dear Regenia, Mike, Ross, Connie, Amy, Matt and Mike: Thank you very much for your thoughts and efforts in response to the flood of 2008. The way ahead seems full of uncertainities, tough questions and difficult choices, but I appreciate your efforts to explore all options and move forward expeditiously. I am writing to invite you for a walking tour this weekend (July 19 & 20) of the area that once was the Parkview Terrace neighborhood. Steve Mcguire, Maurine Braddock & I would like to walk around the subdivision with you and perhaps show you what some of the homes now look like inside. Would any of these four time slots work for you: Saturday -- 3:00 to 4:OOpm, or 4:30 to 5:30pm Sunday -- 3:00 to 4:OOpm, or 4:30 to 5:30pm I will inform you if more that 3 councillors choose the same time slot and trigger quorum related regulations. I hope to hear from you soon and walk with you this weekend. Best wishes and many thanks. Jerry Anthony 713 Eastmoor Drive Iowa City, IA - 52246. 7/ 17/2008 2 7 Marian Karr From: GERALD R BEARD [grbrkb610@msn.com] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 4:13 PM To: Council Subject: Unpaved sidewalk repairs Dear members of the City Council The sidewalk in front of 620 Brookside Drive has been unpaved for over 2 months now. This sidewalk and the driveway approach were torn up by the City workers. The approach was paved but the sidewalk was not. We believe that if the city took the responsibility in the first place to tear out the drive and sidewalk, same should be replaced by the city. We watched from our porch as the City workers did this much of the project, but the sidewalk was never paved and is a hazard to the neighborhood, etc. (We even fed the workers cookies one day)! Anyway, there are approximately 12 children on our block who all ride bikes, etc. They can no longer do so in this area because they have to go out into the street -which is a well driven and close to a blind spot coming around the bridge. Children would have nowhere to go if someone came upon them at the speed with which they travel this street and the number of cars and trucks parked on the west side of the street. Can something please be done about this situation. It is an eyesore, a hazard to walkers, bike riders and the general public. It is also an inconvenience to the homeowners. Is there anything that can be done to rectify this problem? We are just concerned citizens and writing this on our own accord. We miss the daily parade of walkers with their babies and dogs. Gerry has first stages of Alzheimer's and he sits on the front porch and watches for walkers at different times of the day. We have made friends with these walkers and their dogs and children and he misses that daily contact also. Otherwise we have no complaints and thank the city workers for their good job this last winter with our streets, etc. Please think about this and see what can be done to resolve this problem soon. Thanking you in advance -Gerry and Rosanne Beard, 610 Brookside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52245-5104 This correspondence will become a public record. 7/ 17/2008 2 8 Marian Karr From: Dale Helling Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:15 PM To: 'Jean Allgood' Cc: Council; Andy Rocca Subject: RE: Iowa City Needs to Ban Open Burning/Fire Pits Dear Ms. Allgood, Thank you for your email to the City Council regarding a ban on open burning and fire pits in Iowa City. Council members do not receive their emails directly. Your message will be forwarded to them and accepted as official correspondence as part of the consent agenda for an upcoming regular Council meeting. Please allow me to provide some clarification. Section 6-6-1 of the City Code prohibits generally any open burning in the City limits. However, section 6-6-2 provides for certain exceptions, including open burning in outdoor fireplaces. See 6-6-2(C). Council last addressed this issue approximately four years ago. At that time it was ultimately decided to include this exception and thus allow for the use of fire pits, chimineas, and similar devices. Thus there is currently an open burning ban in Iowa City, but with limited exceptions. In the event Council wishes to revisit this issue, they will schedule it for discussion at a future work session. Agendas for all work sessions and regular Council meetings, which usually occur on Monday and Tuesday evenings, are posted in advance on the preceding Thursday on the City website at www.icgov.org. I hope you find this information helpful. Sincerely, Dale Helling Assistant City Manager 356-5013 dale-hellin_g_@i_owa-city.or_g cc. Andy Rocca, Fire Chief From: Jean Allgood [mailto:allgood.jeanl0@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 7:56 PM To: Council Subject: Iowa City Needs to Ban Open Burning/Fire Pits Dear Iowa City Leaders, I am writing to strongly suggest that you ban open burning and fire pits in Iowa City. We are proud when Iowa City is listed as one of the top places to live in the nation yet we do not have clean air to breathe. We cannot open our windows or doors even a crack for fresh air when a heat 7/23/2008 Page 2 of 3 wave has passed through or in the fall season but that smoke comes in the house and we can't get rid of it. When I got home Saturday night from walking the dog, our house was filled with smoke odors. It was a nice cool evening to open up but we had to close up the house and turn the air conditioner down to 68 (because it was cool outside) all night (because it was smoking/smouldering at 11 pm) to try to get the odor out--which did not work by the way. The smoke is bad for the environment and us needlessly having to run the air conditioner is bad for the environment plus costly to us and definitely not as enjoyable. Iowa City is noted for having excellent health care and I'm sure people with health problems move here for that reason, but are subjected to endangering smoke pollution. The first sign of smoke irritates my sinuses, makes my eyes water, makes me cough and gives me a headache. The State of Iowa is progressive enough to ban smoking in public buildings and UI is progressive enough to ban smoking on UI property but Iowa City counters those health/environmentalbenefits by allowing burning all day and half the night every day of the week. I really can't believe it. We've lived in IC since 1965 and pay our city taxes, which keep increasing, but I feel like I'm living in a campground where you'd expect burning debris. We did not used to have this problem and rather than Iowa City being progressive, too, it seems it's regressing. Last year we made a major improvement to our house by adding a sunroom where we like to entertain. I feel we need to check with the neighbors first before inviting anyone over for dinner/cards so guests aren't subjected to the smell. If it's cool enough to have the windows open which makes it more pleasant, you can be sure the fires will start and we'll have to close up immediately. Most of our friends and family live outside the city limits which is looking pretty good when you have to put up with this. We have made a great effort to shade the house so that it is cooler and more energy efficient so we don't have to run the air conditioner (cost, environment) as often but we can't enjoy opening up on a nice day, like today, because there is a fire going right now, 1 pm on Monday. People to the north of us and to the south of us open burn so if there's a north or south breeze, we get the objectionable odors. I'm sure we're not the only Iowa City residents saddled with this problem. How safe is it to have an open fire on a wood deck with wood railings or in a yard full of leaves from a dead tree from which the wood is being burned instead of bundled and put on the curb? I respectfully request that you, as our city leaders, seriously consider a ban for this problem that is only going to increase (they're on sale everywhere). Thank you, Jean Allgood 7/23/2008 ~. ul~i3y 19 ~8 Marian Karr From: Patricia Ephgrave [pnephgrave@mchsi.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:36 PM To: Council Subject: Kansas city's efforts Dear Councilors, Thought you might like to see what is up to date in Kansas City: Kansas_C'~ty_> I~~e~~~s > Industries ~ Business Serrtces E»yironm,ental Seri ices Suvscribe_to Kan ~s City Business_Journal_ Tuesday, July 22, 20)08 - 1.:33 PM C'DT KC will introduce climate- protection plan A climate-protection plan is scheduled to be introduced to the Kansas City Council this week. The Kansas City Climate Protection Plan Steering Committee, which includes city staff and community leaders and volunteers, has been working on the plan for a year and a half, according to a Tuesday release from the city. The plan's goals include: • Making climate issues a consideration in all city decisions. • Lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the community and from city government operations 3o percent below 2000 levels by 2020. • Acting on 55 measures to meet the 202o goals. • Dropping communitywide greenhouse gas emissions 8o percent below 2000 levels by 2050. "Addressing climate change is a defining issue for our time," City Manager Wayne Cauthen said in the release. "Completing the Kansas City Climate Protection Plan is a significant milestone for the city as we strive to be a national leader among local governments dealing with climate protection, sustainability and environmental quality." The plan is available on the city's Web site. Good food for thought. Respectfully yours, Patricia N. Ephgrave //GO/GVVO Flood Marian Karr From: Monick, Martha [martha-monick@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 2:47 PM To: Council Subject: Flood To the city council and the entire staff of Iowa City from an Idyllwild resident, 2 10 I would like to thank everyone who has put time and effort into dealing with the aftermath of the June flood. I also would like to enter into the record my personal desire that as the year progresses, this can be a city that has worked together both for the common good and to help the individuals who's health and livelihood have been so negatively impacted. I commend everyone who is working in that direction. From my personal perspective, the hardest problem right now is the lack of decisions by the city, state and Fema on the appropriateness of hazard mitigation funds for my property and the remainder of the condominium association. Fema has dealt with condominium associations impacted by disasters previously and I'm hoping that they will work with the city to rapidly assess feasibility. What I heard last night was that Fema wanted to city to make some hard decisions. What I heard at a recent city council meeting was that the city was going to put all possible properties on a notice of interest and let the state or Fema make the hard decisions. It leaves flooded homeowners with noway to start moving beyond the flood. I know there aren't easy answers and am only emphasizing the added stress and financial loss that occur as time passes. Once again, I appreciate the hard work and am proud to be a member of this community. Martha Monick 35 Pentire Circle Iowa City, IA 52245 Notice: This UI Health care e-mail {including attachments) is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy pct, 18 u.s.C. 2510-2521, is confidential and 'nay be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any retention, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication ~s strictly peohibited. Please eeply to the sender that you have received the message in error, then delete it. Thank you. 7/31/2008 ~~. Margaret J. R. Koch 833 Normandy Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52246 July 17, 2008 To: Iowa City Council CC: Housing Inspection Office City Engineer City Manager {~ !U! 2 I PSI 2~ ~ 2 i ot~=ti~~, ~; ~ ~-~~, ~ ova 2 11 Communication's been difficult since our neighborhood was scattered by flood damage. We hear a lot of rumors, as well as a lot of information that is valid. Since I feel like I miss much of the information, I just wanted to state for the record that I very much would like to be included in the buyout application, and if I can provide any information, or need to fill out any forms, or provide any documentation, I'd like to help in any way I can. My cell phone number is 331-1020, and I am currently picking up mail at the Normandy address, although after August 1, my mailing address will be 201 N. First Avenue, #402, Iowa City 52245. I was recently in Julie Tallman's office, and had occasion to look at a map (not sure it's "the" map), and my property at 833 Normandy was entirely in the 100-year flood plain, except for the closely drawn outline of the house itself. It seemed to indicate that my house stuck up out of the floodplain like a toothpick in a chunk of cheese. It took me a while to figure out what had happened - Ms. Tallman said she didn't know why it was like that -she said "maybe it's on a little knoll or something that is exactly the shape of the house". I have since realized that whoever looked at the property took the Page 2 shape of the decorative retaining wall I had built after the flood of 1993 as increased elevation of the house. It's not -the house is at the same or lower elevation as the next house downstream...the same as it's always been, and it has never been raised or elevated in any way. The retaining wall was just to make it look better. If anyone would care to come and look at the retaining wall, it is obvious that the house and lot are not higher than the adjacent downstream properties - in fact, they may be lower. The above information may not make any difference at all, but I didn't want to slip through the cracks at a chance fora buy- out because of a decorative retaining wall. It never affected the elevation of the house at all, but that retaining wall is what is outlined on the map. It was just meant to be prettier (before the last flood). Thank you - ~%~%~ Marg ret Koch ~~" o ~ _ ~ ~ ~ -f C'? -- r' d ~ f"+ 1 O -o i'~ N Y ~ 2 12 ~~ ~ ~~~ e ~_ __ L~~~ ~~., ~~,~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ C~ ~. -; y m-i ~:~ -~ _.~ O ~`' ~~ Page 1 of 8 Marian Karr From: Ivan Hall, family [ivan@halljrfamily.com] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 1:57 PM To: Michael Lombardo; Regenia Bailey; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Marian Karr; rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us; tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us; Imeyers@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; pharney@co.johnson.ia.us; Council Subject: RE: Is it the intent of the Iowa City Council and Major to continue let the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens down? RE: Idyllwild Condos Recommendations and Questions for the record: Iowa City; Iowa City Council, Johnson County Supervisors Importance: High Michael, Thank you for the response. I appreciate the communications. #5 provides key insider FEMA web sites that should be of assist to your engineering and flood crisis staff. Comments for the record: 1. Although I appreciate a response mast of it does nat provide any useful substance to me. No disrespect but I am beyond process and how hard life is. I am looking for more! ! ! I give you details and specifics in my e-mails I send yau. I expect the same or better. In extraordinary tough times it takes extraordinary effort is required by leadership. Katrina brake all the rules f'or hurricanes. T'lze 2008 Flood has broken ail. the rules for floods. What happened far other floods should inhibit or constraint you. now. You continue not respond to any of my specific concerns, challenges, issues or suggestions. What are your action plans`? When in the press and open forums are you anal. the mayor going to speak to on-going efforts, accomplishments, completed actions to get correct flood. plain numbers ar admit to the uncertainty around just haw bad the flood plains levels have gotten for some areas along the river because of river changes. When. do yau change your press message and behavior? 2. I still think it imperative that you exhaust all efforts for all homeowners considered for Iowa City BUYUOUT to obtain the "real flood map category" for each respective area/home. It is clear, even admissions by your public works staff to Idyllwild homeowners, because of all the "un integrated" and "lack of system engineered changes" from a total river management perspective, implementations since the flood of 1993 has changed the behavior and dynamic of the Coralville and Iowa City River Corridor and associated Flood Map levels by River Area. My previous recommendation for the City to formally request a new determination by FEMA would be supportive to all considered for potential buyout. "A request for a formal review of the 1.00 year flood by FEMA will be taken as proactive action that you can take credit for in the press that will.validate your current positions and/or confirm_the actual_Flood Plain status for Idyllwild. and__other Buyout homes... Either way you ~~-lin. " 7/17/2008 Page 2 of 8 3. I read this e-mail and continue to read what you and the Mayor are saying in the press that tilts the field unfairly against Idyllwild. I continue to tire of you and the Mayor quoting old out of date flood numbers for Idyllwild that are out of date knowing what I knowing that your Public Works staff has admitted to Idyllwild Homeowners, "does not have a glue" about what real numbers should be given what happened in the 2008 flood. I believe the Idyllwild homeowner who asked this question and is going to ask more hard questions is a retired. civil/environmental engineer with back~,~round in rivers and flood. plai»s. I suggest you prepare for more hard questions. 4. I will not dwell on how we got here for now, that is another set of issues. Idyllwild and Iowa City are where you are at. I firmly believe it is imperative for Iowa City to full court press exhausting all efforts to produce the most up to date accurate information in the total Buyout Proposal based on what is needed not what is affordable. I am really trying to help point you in the right direction. I want Iowa City and the flooded impacted citizens to win not just Idyllwild. It is my intent to offer my help to Iowa City not just Idyllwild as your progress to State and Federal. I hope you have noticed my emails have been "private to date" with the Iowa City leadership. 5. Below are the key insider FEMA sites that, unless they already have them, can enable your staff to get to information, people ,answers and be able ask the right questions. Oh yea I passed them to them Idyllwild homeowner who is the retired civil./environmental engineer. key FEMA sites that have everything you need to know and see what FEMA knows and what smart questions to ask! You may have to download some software to view. I am still searching for the FEMA Chief Engineer who is assigned the Iowa River corridor for updating flood maps etc. Recommend keep pushing issue and get names at your location "Idyllwild Entirely in 100 year plain" because of changes to River since Flood of 1993 in Council forums, Mayor's office, State and FEMA on location rep. Subject: National Flood Hazard Layer links NFHL Google Earth Page: 7/17/2008 Page 3 of 8 htt~s_/[hazards.fema.gov/femaportal.[wps1portal~NFH.LWMSkmzdownload WMS Page: htt s: _[hazards.fema.gov/femaportal~w~?s[~ortal/NFHLWMS Statewide NFHL shapefile downloads, a fact sheet, and tool downloads are available from the NFHL section of http://msc.fema.gov A stand alone desktop DFIRM database viewer is available from: http_. msc._fema. ov/webapp/wcs1stores/mapstore docs/MapViewerDeskto~, A stand alone viewer for FIRM Scans (raster FIRMs), is available from http://msc.fema.,$ov/webapp[wcs stores ma store1_docs~fmt_.exe Respectively Ivan Hall From: Michael Lombardo [mailto:Michael-Lombardo@iowa-city.org] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 12:32 PM To: Ivan Hall, family; Regenia Bailey; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Marian Karr; rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us; tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us; lmeyers@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; pharney@co.johnson.ia.us; Council Subject: RE: Is it the intent of the Iowa City Council and Major to continue let the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens down? RE: Idyllwild Condos Recommendations and Questions for the record: Iowa City; Iowa City Council, Johnson County Supervisors Mr. Hall. What transpired at the recent work session was a candid assessment of the information and programs and an opportunity for Council to reaffirm their desire to proceed in the direction of pursuing funding through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program ("buyout"), which they did. City staff is in the process of preparing a Notice of Interest, the first formal step for requesting funds, which will include all properties in the 100-yr and 500-yr floodplains, including the entirety of the Idyllwild subdivision. Likewise, we are working with our State and Federal delegation to reinforce the need for additional funding for not 7/17/2008 Page 4 of 8 just the "buyout" program, but also for other projects that would provide long-term flood mitigation to the benefit and safety of Iowa City as a whole. A town hall type meeting has been set for July 29, 2008 at 6:30 pm and we have asked representatives from Iowa Homeland Security and FEMA to be present to hear from residents and answer questions directly. It would be perhaps easier to avoid conversations about the track record of the buyout program and perceived likelihood of sufficient funding to achieve what many would desire; that being a complete buyout of all properties in flood-affected areas of the city. But the fact that only 20,000 properties have been purchased through this program in the past 15 years, and that approximately $43 million is initially planned for the whole of Iowa (based on what has occurred in prior disasters and barring additional appropriations) is compelling information and should be discussed. This is not to say that efforts to secure additional funding should or will be abandoned, but rather in light of what we know begin to discuss additional mitigation measures in the event efforts to secure additional funding falls short. We do not believe that this shortchanges efforts to secure additional funding for FEMA buyouts or in any manner makes for an unlevel playing field. But rather is a practical approach to evaluating all possible solutions. Regards, Michael Lombardo City Manager From: Ivan Hall, family [mailto:ivan@halljrfamily.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 11:40 AM To: Michael Lombardo; Regenia Bailey; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Marian Karr; rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us; tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us; lmeyers@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; pharney@co.johnson.ia.us; Council Cc: 'Ivan Hall, family' Subject: Is it the intent of the Iowa City Council and Major to continue let the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens down? RE: Idyllwild Condos Recommendations and Questions for the record: Iowa City; Iowa City Council, Johnson County Supervisors Importance: High You guys can do much better! The issue is not whether Idyllwild gets a Buyout, but whether the Iowa City Council and Mayor are doing all they can to get Idyllwild fair and equal consideration. You public statements I read in the press this morning after your Council Working meeting are tilting the playing field of fairness. There were quite a few Idyllwild homeowners at your meeting and I am sure will take their own action. My wife is also at the meeting so I am getting my own first hand input. Yes one might said I am continuing to track, document and build my case file. Why am I so interested. My son is an Idyllwild Homeowner and stands with the other Idyllwild homeowners in their collective position and plans. I also have a history of helping groups of people in communities get their due. This situation just lies up with my son being part of the group that has me focused on Idyllwild in Iowa. In-addition I have been seriously looking to start a couple businesses in the Iowa City region. What I have been doing to this point, as I have provided some of you in previous e-mails, been offering encouragement and feedback to the Idyllwild homeowners and yourselves to do the right thing. But some of your actions and/or lack of actions are very very troubling. All your public crying and public positioning behind rhetoric about no money and trying to find a way to get Idyllwild off the Buyout List running commentary in the press instead of helping them get a fair hearing and review of what flood plain they are really in is unconscionable. President Bush visited one 7/ 17/2008 Page 5 of 8 flood state and that was Iowa. Iowa is a swing State in the coming election. Do you not think Iowa is going to be taken care of by the present administration if pushed in an expeditious fashion. In my view and many others, you are not giving the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens your full support. Are you aware FEMA is providing individual homeowner feedback that homes previously in the designated in the 500 plain are now being put on the 100 year flood plain. If not why not? Why don't you put this in the newspaper? Why has Iowa City Council and Mayor not requested a total Idyllwild FEMA review for the entire Idyllwild Development? Is it not obvious the current Flood Plain Model is wrong given the current flooding and all the comparisons with 1993 flooding at different locations in the Coralville and Iowa City corridor? A request for a formal review of the 100 year flood by FEMA will be taken as proactive action that you can take credit for in the press that will validate your current positions and/or confirm the actual Flood Plain status for Idyllwild. Either way you win. Is it the intent of the Iowa City Council and Mayor to let the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens down? Have you thought trough the unintended consequences to Iowa City, the regional economy, and Iowa City's National reputation? it the intent of Iowa City Council and Major to invite bad National publicity through their own inaction and public comments of non Idyllwild support? Is it the intent of the Iowa City Council and Major to force the Idyllwild Iowa Citizens to legal action to get equal and fair consideration? I hope you have enjoyed all the "top Ranking" you flash on your Iowa City web site. People will see the obvious, if you cannot take care of the people already there who would want to come to the Iowa City region? I hope you are prepared for the Idyllwild embarrassment that will play Nationally if Idyllwild becomes a ghost town or is flooded again. Related Serious Iowa City Idyllwild economic, and legal issues. (1) Why not have a town meeting with the residents of Idyllwild. The majority are elderly. You need to hear the financial stories they individual and collectively have. A number of the homeowners have already been turned down for SBA loans. More have indicated bankruptcy as the alternative to Buyout. Why are you offering opinions instead of searching for the truth. If you do not see the flood issue you should use the economic and political issue of Idyllwild. Were you aware that a single Iowa City bank owns half the mortgages for the Idyllwild homeowners. (2) I have previously stated in other a-mails I have serious doubts, about the approval of the Idyllwild development in the first place. It has serious flaws given that it bypassed full Flood review given all the river changes that obviously changes the flood model of the river. I am also concerned by the "chain of responsibility and liability" of not informing the current Idyllwild homeowners that they should have gotten Flood Insurance individually and/or as a condo. The City informed the Church next door of such weeks before the flood and did not see fit to inform Idyllwild. Defend that one given even under the old model you admit Idyllwild is more than half in the 100 year flood plain. It is my understanding from talking to members of the church, even with flood insurance, they intend to move the main church to another location because of their concern about flooding again. Why is now FEMA telling individuals they should have gotten flood insurance. What was/is Iowa City's responsibility and liability in the whole Idyllwild Flood Insurance disclosure issue? 7/17/2008 Page 6 of 8 Respective fully Ivan N Hall Jr father of Ivan N Hall III, Idyllwild homeowner From: Ivan Hall, family [mailto:ivan@halljrfamily.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:27 AM To: 'michael-lombardo@iowa-city.org'; 'regenia-bailey@iowa-city.org'; 'eleanor-dilkes@iowa-city.org'; 'marian-karr@iowa-city.org ; 'rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us'; 'tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us'; 'lmeyers@co.johnson.ia.us ; 'sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us'; 'pharney@co.johnson.ia.us'; 'council@iowa- city.org' Subject: Idyllwild Condos Recommendations and Questions for the record: Iowa City; Iowa City Council, Johnson County Supervisors Importance: High From Ivan N Hall Jr dad of Ivan N Hall III Idyllwild Homeowner Important considerations for Idyllwild Condo Buyout Decision: The council and County Supervisors hopefully will take the time to both understand and take the action to take responsibility to evaluate (getting state and federal help) the total impacts to the Cedar Rapids, Coralville and Iowa City River Corridor of all the changes to the whole river since the flood of 1993 as it effects Idyllwild impacting in a negative way: (1) the risk for continued flooding is extremely likely for Idyllwild which will be further affected causing even greater risk when new protections are added up and down the river (i.e. University of Iowa, Iowa City Businesses); and (2) have put the entire Idyllwild Community in the 100 year flood by default. Not to present the Idyllwild Condos as a "top priority for residential buyout" will continue to put Idyllwild at extremely risk for flooding given all the information available from the past, today and future predictions with corrected flood models, keeps the Idyllwild Condos as a high risk 100 year flood plain community that will only become higher risk when priorities such and Iowa City itself and the University of Iowa take priority for flood protection. The history lesson is simple; the decisions and documentation in Iowa City Council meetings and in Engineering Records, in newspapers and in pictures, and all the changes to the river that have adversely effected the Idyllwild Condos that have contributed to Idyllwild's flooding in 2008 clearly make the original approval decision for the Idyllwild development appear to be less than thought through. I Below are just few of the open hard questions that need to be answered and concerned to make a informed decision about Idyllwild risk of flooding and consideration for Buyout Priority. What was the elevation of the Iowa River at certain points along the river in 1993 compared to 2008? Unconfirmed reports that the Dairy Queen on Riverside Drive had 6' of water in 1993 and 8' of water this year. What are the official numbers? The water level at Idyllwild in 1993 was well below the level 7/17/2008 Page 7 of 8 of the buildings, yet this year many residents had upward of 4' of water in their homes. Again what are the official numbers? Projections had the water level north of the Park Road bridge rising another 6-7' before the levee at Columbus Junction gave out. How could we expect any less next time? What has been done to the "water way" (Iowa River) and to the "flood plain" surrounding it since 1993? What is the effect of each and every modification up and down the river form the Idyllwild Condos that has been made to land that is in the Iowa River flood plain from the Coralville Reservoir to the Mississippi River? Every modification to land surrounding the river will have an effect on what happens in the event of a flood. Everything from bringing in fill and elevating a piece of land to building levees will have an impact on what happens when it floods. This doesn't even begin to account for the effect of the cofferdam that was constructed by the University of Iowa. All of these projects have had the approval of a governmental body. The state of Iowa and the Corps of Engineers must have been involved in the process or were they bypassed? One of the criteria for consideration for a FEMA buyout is the potential for flooding in the future. It seems logical that the people of Columbus Junction will demand that the levees in their community be rebuilt...probablybfgger and stronger. Other communities affected may choose to do the same. I would also assume that the state of Iowa will not sit idly by and do nothing to protect the twenty buildings on the University of Iowa campus. The U of Iowa has suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, even with 40 million dollars in flood insurance. When the state of Iowa chooses to build levees or make other modifications to the flood plain to protect its huge investment in property on the Iowa campus, what effect will those changes have on the Idyllwild neighborhood in the event of another flood? If you redirect the river water, where does it go? Should that happen, does the water at Idyllwild reach the projected 38' mark, or worse yet, does it go even higher. And at what cost??? We were fortunate that there was no loss of life in our community as a result of this calamity. We know that there were significant miscalculations made during this event. We are fortunate that we had the time to get the people out...this time. There is a massive amount of water behind the Coralville Dam. What happens next time? How much has the reservoir silted in after two flooding events in fifteen years? How much rain would it take next time with the reduced capacity of the reservoir? At what point does the city of Iowa City determine that it is better to flood Dubuque Street and inconvenience a few to protect the many, rather than risking another calamity of this magnitude? At what point do we demand that the Corps of Engineers manages the Coralville Reservoir as a flood control device rather than a recreation facility? Why was there so much more water at Idyllwild (compared to 1993) than at so many other places along the river? And what are you going to do to protect the lives and property of the citizens of our neighborhoods? Respectively Ivan N Hall Jr dad of Ivan N Hall III Idyllwild Homeowner P.S. 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Dilkes; Marian Karr; rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us; tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us; Imeyers@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; pharney@co.johnson.ia.us; Council Cc: 'Ivan Hall, family' Subject: the facts keep rolling in! Importance: High Attachments: A Response to the corps report.doc Attached is study Dr. Charles Newsom of the Department of Physics at the University of Iowa co-authored on a Corps of Engineers Report from 1997. His study chronicled the omissions and inaccuracies of the Corps of Engineers report. Dr. Newsom is in Iowa City and I am sure would be available to answer questions and discuss the relevance of his report to the possible avoidance of some of the damage of the flood of 2008 and future floods as well as his past discussions with Iowa City leadership and staff. Paper offers serious questions about the analysis of the CORPS of Engineers regarding the Coralville and Iowa City River Corridor. Paper exposes major omissions in the formal review process. Paper questions the limited public review. 7/21 /2008 A Response to the "Section 216 Review of Completed Works Reconnaissance Report, Coralville Lake" (dated May 1997, released August 1997) By Larry Molnar and Charles Newsom; September 15, 1997 Summary: In August, a letter was sent by the Army Corps of Engineers notifying the residents of the Iowa River Valley of the findings of the Review of Completed Works Reconnaissance report concerning Coralville Lake: "The study concludes that there is no Federal interest in further study of flood damage reduction measures at the Coralville Lake project." Despite enormous physical and economic changes, the old management plan turns out to be the optimal plan for future operations. The letter also stated that the study was coordinated with the various government entities in the Iowa River valley. However, close inspection of the letter and of the report reveals a number of alarming inconsistencies that call into question the commitment and the competency of the Corps to honor the promises made following the flood of 1993 and to manage Coralville Lake. In the following response, we treat the following five key issues. 1. There was no public review and approval of the lake operation policy set forth in the report. 2. The report omits completely any consideration of the uncertainties of its quantitative results, a basic element of any scientific or engineering report, thereby making it impossible to deduce any well-founded conclusions from these results. 3. The recommended plan is not specified for lake elevations above the spillway, so operations at that level must be negotiated on an ad hoc basis with the Division Commander. 4. The technical approach used in the report is some 50 years out-of--date; we briefly describe 5 procedural flaws, each of which invalidate the premise that this study has determined an optimal operation plan. 5. Two important conclusions drawn in the text of the report were omitted without comment from the final conclusions and recommendations: the need for revising downstream thresholds and the need to develop a written contingency plan for flash floods. We therefore recommend that the Corps reconsider this report and their future plans for revising lake operations. We urge all affected people in the river basin, urban and rural, to express their concerns to the Corps about both the procedures and the content of this report. 1) Public Review and Coordination The standard policy of the Corps of Engineers before finalizing a policy is to solicit both public input at the outset of the development of a policy and public review of the conclusions the Corps recommends. This is a natural and desirable policy for aservice- oriented government entity. Even an ideal policy will meet with public resistance if there is no mechanism to obtain public approval. The most recent case in which this procedure was followed for Coralville Lake was the 1991 study that led to a change in the seasonal pool elevations. The present study was commissioned to study future operation of Coralville Lake under the greatly changed economic and climate conditions described in the Initial Appraisal and in the Damage Survey reports. In finding that the old operating plan is the optimal plan and by recommending no further study, the present study sets the policy for future management of the lake. The public input for this study was sought in the standard manner (as is documented in Appendix C). The promise of public review of the conclusions was set out in Col. Kraus's May 3, 19941etter (omitted from Appendix C) to the Iowa City mayor in response to her March 2, 19941etter (p. C-1) requesting a timetable for review of dam operations. The need for public review was also implied in the August 19961etter when it stated that public coordination had been done. However, the only coordination mentioned in the report was the letter sent March 7, 1997 (p. C-56) which dealt with environmental issues only, not operational ones. (The Iowa City city engineer, Rick Fosse, confirmed the intent of this letter in a phone call made in March.) With regard to the study of the operation of the lake, the first and only information made public before the report was finalized as to what options were being considered and what methods were being used was the cryptic description given in the December 1996 newsletter (p. C-48). The newsletter ends with the promising paragraph: "We encourage open communication throughout our study process. If you have questions or comments about the Coralville study, or wish to suggest an alternative to be considered in this study, please call our Coralville Lake study manager, ..." Acting on this message, Dr. Molnar called both the study manager and the planning division point of contact, Martin Hudson, to ask for clarification about the mention of flowage easements in the newsletter and about what recommendations the study would make. He was informed this information could not be released to the public until the study had been reviewed at all internal levels and a final version was published. While this contradicted the newsletter, we still assumed that there would be an opportunity for public review upon publication of the report. But no policy review process was mentioned in the report or the announcement letter. Dr. Molnar contacted Martin Hudson on 6 August to inquire about the public review procedure or any future study plans. He was unaware of any definite plans for public review or further study, but promised to get in touch when he found information on this. No further information has been received at this writing. A possible reason for the lack of public review at this time is that the Corps does not consider the report findings cited in the letter to be the current policy. In the "Recommendations" on p. 67, it states that although revision of the Water Control Plan is not in the Federal interest, it would nonetheless bean "aid" to future operations. Also, in his July 1995 letter (p. C-16), District Engineer McCully indicated that an interim regulation plan would be developed by the end of FY97. If in fact a thorough study of the water control plan is still being planned, as we hope it is, it would be helpful to public coordination to send a second letter correcting the statements of the first. A brief explanation of the relationship between the conflicting policy statements would also be informative. 2) The Need for Quantitative Uncertainties Unlike all scientific and engineering literature, the Reconnaissance Report lacks any estimation of the uncertainties of its quantitative results. As noted on page 2 of "Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency" (a manual the Corps is supposed to use to guide study methodology): "User decisions must be based on properly applied procedures and proper interpretation of results considering risk and uncertainty." No valid conclusions can be drawn without an estimate of the uncertainty. The central conclusion of the Reconnaissance Report is that no further investigation of operations alternatives is warranted. The criterion to warrant further investigation is that the benefit- to-cost ratio must exceed 1.0. The conclusion is based on the finding that the maximum benefit-to-cost ratio for alternative operation plans (i.e., the larger of the two values they computed) is 0.03, which is less than 1.0. However, if the uncertainty on 0.03 is a factor of 34, the benefit-to-cost ratio exceeds 1.0 and investigation is warranted after all. To be sure, even when not explicitly stated uncertainties are sometimes indicated implicitly by the number of nonzero digits used. Furthermore a factor of 34 may seem an implausibly large uncertainty. Leaving the specifics of the Reconnaissance Report to the next sections, we cite an example from the 1991 report to show the number of digits is not used at Rock Island to indicate implicit uncertainty, and that a factor of 34 is not an implausible uncertainty in principle. Urban damages between the dam and the English River in a 100 year flood were estimated in the 1991 report to be $32,700 (p. F-5 of that report). Estimates of the same quantity in the Reconnaissance Report (based on the actual damages that occurred just two years after the 1991 report) are $16,705,900 (p. B-4). By the number of significant digits, one would have expected accuracy to within a factor of 1.01, but the actual error was a factor of 510. 3) Ad hoc nature of recommended plan On p. A-5 the recommended plan is described as being summarized in Table A-4. This table calls for maximum possible outflow whenever the lake exceeds the height of the spillway. It is clear from the further calculations that what is being recommended is not this, but rather the procedures actually in use since 1993: the Rock Island engineers negotiate the outflows with the Division Commander (then in Chicago now Vicksburg) on an ad hoc basis (p. C-9). An operational difficulty with this approach found in 1993 is that it requires some days to get approval of the first variation. A methodological difficulty with including such an option in the report is that it is ambiguous what outflows to use in simulating high flow events. 4) Methodology of Flood Control Optimization According to the enabling legislation for the Coralville dam, "The reservoirs planned for the upper Mississippi River Basin have been designed primarily for local flood control" (House Report 2353-19, May 1938). Likewise, the reservoir operation should be "... designed to produce the maximum practicable total benefit to all interests concerned" (Public Law 761, June 1938). Determining the "maximum practicable benefit" requires an optimization of the many parameters that go into an operating plan. We consider below 5 key problems with methodology that make it impossible for the Reconnaissance Report to determine an optimal plan. The first is a general consideration, the next three consider estimation of benefits, and the last (and most decisive) point considers estimation of costs. 4.1) Searching parameter space Nearly 50 years ago, when the first operating plan for Coralville Lake was being designed, a full optimization was not possible due to computational constraints. So a relatively small number of alternatives were computed in detail. Personal computers can now fully evaluate a single plan in just a few minutes time, so computational constraints are no longer relevant. Modern optimization techniques would involve computing benefit-to-cost ratios of thousands of alternatives and automatically selecting the most promising for closer scrutiny. For this Reconnaissance Report, however, only two alternative operating plans were computed! No sample of just two alternatives can be considered a serious exploration of the possibilities, and certainly not a determination of maximum practicable benefit. 4.2) Including key parameters: downstream thresholds What is more, neither of the alternatives actually computed included any thresholds for protection of the lower reaches of the river. Neglect of this important parameter led to the trivial conclusion that neither of the plans were optimal. As we are aware of nobody who has suggested removing downstream constraints altogether, the choice of study alternatives is baffling. Dr. Molnar's written input at the outset of the Reconnaissance Study explicitly suggested determining optimal downstream thresholds (p. C-30). By including this parameter a large negative term in the computation of benefits of an optimized operation plan would be eliminated. 4.3) Trends in river flow A second characteristic of old ways of designing an operations plan is to assume the absence of climate cycles, and therefore to treat all experience in the period of record equally. It is now recognized that beyond the oscillation between wet and dry years, long term correlations exist and are helpful in making predictions for coming years. For their forecasts, the National Weather Service uses a 30 year period to establish a norm. In the specific case of the Iowa River, the Corps is well aware (p. C-27) that the USGS documented in 1990 that the Iowa River has had a 50% increase in its flow since the dam was built compared to the 55 years preceding. The computations used in the Report ignore this trend, and in so doing dilute the importance of the 1993 event by a factor of about 3. The benefits of a plan that does well in such an event are therefore also underestimated by the same factor. 4.4) Inclusion of extreme events Finally, since only the period of record is considered in the damage calculation, the performance of alternative models in a flood more severe than the flood of 1993 is not taken into consideration. One striking result in that event was the great degree to which FEMA regulations requiring new construction to be one foot above the 100 year flood line minimized damage. Actual river levels reached within a few inches of that line in Iowa City, damaging some homes, but leaving the great majority (those built to code) unharmed. However, a further increase of a few inches might have increased damages by almost tenfold. Post-1993 floodproofing efforts magnify the importance of this step still more. This distinction is evident in the table on page B-2 of the Report. Including such a flood in an estimation of benefit-to-cost ratios is just as important as including a flood like 1993 as the lower likelihood is offset by the greater impact. The benefits of a plan that does well in extreme events is therefore underestimated by a factor of about 2 because of this omission. 4.5) Costs of an optimized plan: flowage easements The major costs listed in the Report for an alternative operating plan were possible flowage easements. No details of the legal requirements for such easements were mentioned in the Report, so we asked the authors in charge of hydraulics, legal counsel, and real estate what were the actual criteria used to estimate these costs. We were told that there was no legal basis for the costs that were used. They felt easements were necessary for the alternatives considered precisely because they were demonstrably not optimal. No flowage easements would be required for an optimal plan. By including a nonsensical cost, one can get any ratio one wishes, as is this case. By removing the spurious costs, the total costs diminish by a factor of 147. a great enough factor to change the fundamental conclusion by itself. 5) Omission of important conclusions from recommendations 5.1) Revision of downstream thresholds On p. 30, the Report states that "the constraints have a noticeable effect on the regulation of the reservoir" and that such changes "could, with further study and coordination with local interests, justify raising the constraints." We noted in Section 3.2 above our agreement with these conclusions about the importance of additional study to determine optimal thresholds. The one downstream farmer represented at the input meeting on July 30, 1996, also voiced a desire to reconsider how these thresholds are managed. Curiously, however, this conclusion is omitted from the study conclusions and recommendations (p. 66-67) without comment. Adding to the urgency of this conclusion is the absence of any written record of how the current levels were established. (This absence was established by the Corps a few years ago in response to a request for information by Dr. Molnar.) On p. 29, the general rationale for the existing downstream thresholds is described: concern about crops in season and physical structures out of season. However, as Dr. Molnar noted in his input (p. C-30), despite the regulation policy the non-crop thresholds are exceeded in 1 of every 5 years, while the crop thresholds are exceeded in 2 of every 5 years (virtually every wet year!). Hence it is questionable what structures still survive at the current thresholds after so many dousings, and at what level crops are currently planted. 5.2) A written flash flood contingency plan As described in several places, automated gages were installed by the US Geological Survey in 1994 (with financial underwriting from Iowa City, Coralville, and the University of Iowa) to monitor the development of flash floods, and a standard operating procedure (SOP) was written by the Corps (in coordination with these entities) regarding dissemination of this information. The Corps has also installed a website which posts these numbers hourly (not every 15-30 minutes, as is erroneously stated on p. 65). On page A-12, it further recommends development of a written contingency plan that considers travel time of flood waters, etc., and can be used to guide operation of the dam in a flash flood. This recommendation repeats the promise made by District Engineer McCully in 1995 (p. C-15) and repeated by Planning Division Chief Hanson in 1996 (p. C-45). Curiously, however, this recommendation is also omitted from the study conclusions and recommendations (p. 66-67) without comment. It is also disturbing that on p. 27 and p. 61 it refers to the informational SOP as an "SOP for operating the Coralville Dam in the event of flash flooding". This is in direct contradiction to p. A-12, where it is clear the SOP has no operational aspect as yet. The importance of the distinction between information and operation was underscored in 1993 when the high water mark in Iowa City was reached on August 10 precisely because of the lack of a written contingency plan. The ability to control the water was not an issue on that day as the lake was more than 5 feet below the spillway. Real time information was also not an issue as the dam manager (John Castle) was well aware of the 4 inch rainstorm that began at 11 pm the previous evening. However, having no written guidelines as to how to act, the dam gates (which were wide open at the time) were not lowered until after 5 am, too late to diminish significantly the crest of the flood in Iowa City. 6) Conclusion A good faith effort using available methods to perform a serious study has not been made by the Corps. They have violated their own procedures for public review and for study methodology. Their incomplete and inconsistent conclusions are therefore inaccurate and should not be taken seriously, but rather as an indication of their abilities to carry out a serious study. DISTRIBUTION: The standard procedure for the Corps is to include public review as an Appendix in a report. We are therefore taking the initiative to distribute this response to the distribution list given in Appendix D (i.e., to those noted as having been sent a copy of the Report). In the December newsletter, it was announced that a summary of the report will also be posted on the Rock Island website, with the address being furnished with the announcement of report completion. We will also make this response available through our "Iowa River and Coralville Dam Information" (http://www.physics.uiowa.edu/~cnewsom/iowa river) site. Go to What the Corps Learned from the 1993 Flooding Page 1 of 4 Marian Karr From: Ivan Hall, family [ivan@halljrfamily.com] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 2:45 PM To: Michael Lombardo; Regenia Bailey; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Marian Karr; rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us; tneuzil@co.johnson.ia.us; Imeyers@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; pharney@co.johnson.ia.us; Council Cc: 'Ivan Hall, family' Subject: FW: Unintended Consequences on Idyllwild RE: IC Officials to lobby in Washington DC Importance: High Note: comment where Idyllwild may qualify for two sources of funding. Idyllwild may qualify as both a Buyout and infrastructure project. All Iowa City and University of Iowa proposed infrastructure projects increase the likelihood of Idyllwild flooding. The proposed infrastructure projects will clearly absolutely put Idyllwild in the 100 year flood plain. I still content Idyllwild is already in the 100 year flood plain because the Feb 2007 update did not consider all the infrastructure changes to the river since 1993 that clearly have put all of Idyllwild into the 100 year flood plain today. From: Ivan Hall, family [mailto:ivan@halljrfamily.com] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 3:34 PM To: 'McAllister, Jessica L'; 'slalbaghdadi@mmaclinton.com'; 'bhaggerty24@msn.com'; 'bojabenson@msn.com'; 'kurtkimmerling@msn.com ; 'lucyter@msn.com ; 'mvonbeh@msn.com ; 'simondaler@msn.com ; 'smbednarz@msn.com ; 'tmtoner@msn.com ; 'gelman@ptmlaw.com ; 'bjtobs@q.com ; 'reisetter@gwestoffice.net ; 'jas@sbt.net ; 'jas@sbtek.net ; 'Craig@transcontinentalcap.com ; 'j.chiles@tri-anim.com ; 'Becker, Amy J (Pharmacy)'; 'andrea-birt@uiowa.edu ; 'gayle- robertson@uiowa.edu'; 'john-monick@uiowa.edu'; 'Monick, Martha'; 'Albaghdadi, Mazen'; 'Millice, Nancy'; 'Fellows, Robert'; 'Patel, Sonali S ; 'sri-duvvuri@uiowa.edu ; 'bob.rittenmeyer@vangent.com'; 'ceilbouchet@yahoo.com ; 'jlekirk@yahoo.com'; 'margantz@yahoo.com'; 'mary_k_lyman@yahoo.com'; 'vitullo44@yahoo.com'; 'welcoon47@yahoo.com'; 'MECrawford@aol.com'; 'damkwall@yahoo.com'; 'ivan.hall@gmail.com'; 'jhershman2000@msn.com'; 'jhershman2000@yahoo.com'; 'margantz@yahoo.com'; 'Vogel, Timothy W'; 'mary_k_lyman@yahoo.com ; 'rusty@sbt.net' Subject: Unintended Consequences on Idyllwild RE: IC Officials to lobby in Washington DC Importance: High Of note: continuing the Iowa City Coralville River changes to protect specific areas along the river above and below Idyllwild will put areas not protected in a greater risk of flooding such as Idyllwild. Any changes to the river above and/or below Idyllwild will push water on Idyllwild as it moves down river and prevent water from flowing past, i.e. the Iowa University Damn. If the top priority is to protect Iowa City proper and the University then Idyllwild should be considered for both "Buyout Funds" as well as "Risk Mitigation Funds" to support proposed infrastructure projects. If Idyllwild was converted back to a natural state then the water would have a place to go given all these proposed River Flood risk mitigations to protect Iowa City and the University. Respectively 7/ 18/2008 Page 2 of 4 Ivan Hall IIIs dad From: McAllister, Jessica L [mailto:jessica-mcallister@uiowa.edu] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 12:56 PM To: slalbaghdadi@mmaclinton.com; bhaggerty24@msn.com; bojabenson@msn.com; kurtkimmerling@msn.com; lucyter@msn.com; mvonbeh@msn.com; simondaler@msn.com; smbednarz@msn.com; tmtoner@msn.com; gelman@ptmlaw.com; bjtobs@q.com; reisetter@gwestoffice.net; jas@sbt.net; jas@sbtek.net; Craig@transcontinentalcap.com; j.chiles@tri-anim.com; Becker, Amy J (Pharmacy); andrea-birt@uiowa.edu; gayle- robertson@uiowa.edu; john-monick@uiowa.edu; Monick, Martha; Albaghdadi, Mazen; Millice, Nancy; Fellows, Robert; Patel, Sonali S; sri-duvvuri@uiowa.edu; bob.rittenmeyer@vangent.com; ceilbouchet@yahoo.com; jlekirk@yahoo.com; margantz@yahoo.com; mary_k_lyman@yahoo.com; vitullo44@yahoo.com; welcoon47@yahoo.com; MECrawford@aol.com; Ivan Hall, family; damkwall@yahoo.com; ivan.hall@gmail.com; jhershman2000@msn.com; jhershman2000@yahoo.com; margantz@yahoo.com; Vogel, Timothy W; mary_k_lyman@yahoo.com; rusty@sbt.net Subject: IC Officials to lobby in Washington DC FYI htt~•//www~azetteonline com/apps/pbcs dll/article~AID=/20080718/NEWS/100865443/1001/NEWS Now is the time to let Mike Lombardo and the IC officials know that you need them to lobby on our behalf as well. Jm Article reprinted: Iowa City group to lobby feds for flood money By Gregg Hennigan The Gazette gre~~.h..enn~an cr gazettecommuncations.com IOWA CITY - A delegation of Iowa City officials will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to lobby for more federal money for flood-recovery efforts. The group will push especially hard for increased funding to purchase flooded homes and for flood- related infrastructure projects. They will take with them a package of projects that would cost tens of millions of dollars. The proposal includes the elevation of Dubuque Street and the nearby Park Road bridge, both of which were shut down for several week's by last month's flood. "We want to advocate for the needs that we have here in Iowa City to help folks understand really just how widespread and how pervasive the flooding was," City Manager Michael Lombardo said this morning. 7/18/2008 Page 3 of 4 The group will include Lombardo, Mayor Regenia Bailey, Public Works Director Rick Fosse, and Planning and Community Development Director Jeff Davidson. Coralville and the University of Iowa have been invited, Lombardo said, and they are still deciding whether to go. The group will arrive in Washington on Tuesday and will return the next day. Lombardo said they plan to meet with Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Dave Loebsack. They also hope to get appointments with someone from the president's budget office and chairs of congressional subcommittees. The Iowa City delegation is not alone in lobbying for more federal aid. A group of five Cedar Rapids- area officials was in Washington earlier this week. And Gov. Chet Culver plans to go to next week. On Thursday, David Miller, administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, said there is a gap of more than $1.25 billion in the amount of money the federal government can provide and what will be needed for Iowa communities to recover from record flooding and other severe storms this spring. In Iowa City, buyouts are of particular concern to homeowners hit by the flood. About 250 homes worth nearly $60 million total sustained flood damage, and the majority of those owners have expressed interest in participating in the government buyout program. But with funding limited and interest strong statewide, Lombardo has predicted only 40 or so Iowa City homes will be eligible for buyouts. Of the proposed infrastructure projects, the most expensive is an estimated $60 million to expand capacity at the city's south waste-water treatment plant and demolish the north plant, which was inundated with floodwater. The cost includes proposed improvements to the area, including trails, housing and commercial opportunities, and flood-mitigation efforts. The city also would like to replace the Park Road bridge and elevate Dubuque Street at an estimated cost of $11.5 million. Dubuque Street is a major thoroughfare between Interstate 80 and downtown Iowa City. It is prone to flooding, and this summer's record flood closed it and the bridge for more than a month. Traffic congestion a serious problem during the flood as road and bridge closures made travel between Iowa City, Coralville and the UI campus very difficult. Another proposal is to work with Coralville to improve the rail bed behind Highway 6 that also serves as a levee on a busy stretch of road that is home to many businesses. That levee was breached in last month's flood. Lombardo said that project, which may cost up to $12 million, also would provide light rail connections between the two cities. Jessica McAllister, MHA A~lrnir~tstrator C~epartjrECnt of`Nctnrosutgcr~y Llrtiversity oflai~~ca Hc~spitills anti Clinics 7/18/2008 Page 4 of 4 lotit~cz City, 1{ ?2Z42 t'ho»e: 319-356-~32G Fax: 319-353-6tOS Notice: This UI Health Care a-mail (including attachments) is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any retention, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Please reply to the sender that you have received the message in error, then delete it. Thank you. 7~18~20~8 2 16 Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 4:07 PM To: Marian Karr Cc: "City Council Subject: FW: Lower City Park __ From: Terry Trueblood Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 3:55 PM To: 'markwilliams@onmediaadsales.com' Cc: Kathryn Johansen Subject: FW: Lower City Park Mark, Thanks for your suggestions. They are certainly valid thoughts, but most of the sand just isn't clean enough; there is a lot of silt and other debris mixed in with it. I'm afraid it is mostly suitable for fill material, and not much else. Even though this one may not work out, feel free to contact me anytime you have suggestions or questions. Terry Trueblood Director of Parks & Recreation _ ___ From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Friday, August O1, 2008 10:32 AM To: Terry Trueblood Subject: FW: Lower City Park Hi Terry, An email for your review/response. Thank you. Kathi From: Mark Williams [mailto:markwilliams@onmediaadsales.com] Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 10:31 AM To: Council Subject: Lower City Park This correspondence will become a public record. With all of the sand in lower city park why not use the area between the bridge and the south parking lot for a sand volleyball area. You could even use a part of that area for a beach. It would have 8/4/2008 Page 2 of 2 to cost less than reseeding the area. It would also increase the parks usage. Just a thought. Thank you. Mark Williams 846 Sandusky dr Iowa City, IA 52240 mark__william~onmediaadsales.,com 8/4/2008 2 17 Marian Karr From: Eric Johnson [eric.d.johnson@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:54 PM To: Council Subject: Re: city council letter... Dear Council, We moved to a house just off of Wayne Street last August. Since then, we have noticed that Wayne seems to be a thoroughfare for traffic coming in and out of the Village Green development, South East Junior High, and Dover St. However, many sections of the Wayne thoroughfare are effectively reduced to one-lane traffic, as on-street parking is allowed along the north side of the street and Wayne is not wide enough for both lanes of traffic and parked cars. I can't even ride my scooter or bicycle by a parked car while there is oncoming traffic. Most of the length of Wayne is a bus route too, and the bus is frequently delayed or entangled in awkward traffic situations caused by the on-street parking. Many of the driveways on Wayne Street appear to sit empty while people park on the street simply for their own convenience. Additionally, there are several side-streets that are low-traffic and not currently used by residents for parking. To us, a safety/traffic hazard should take precedent over parking convenience. What can we do to further explore restricting parking on Wayne St? Eric Johnson Jenna Hammerich 8/4/2008 Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: John Yapp Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 4:28 PM To: Kathryn Johansen; 'eric.d.johnson@gmail.com' Cc: 'City Council; Darian Nagle-Gamm Subject: RE: city council letter... Hello Mr. Johnson and Ms. Hammerich, your email was forwarded to me for a response. The 'give-way' situation you describe is fairly common for a residential street, where a motorist has to `give-way' by slowing down and moving to the side to let another vehicle pass. Vehicles parked on-street can be an inconvenience, but allowing parking on one side of a residential street is not unusual, and on-street parking is one of the ways to ensure motorists drive at a reasonable rate of speed. Removing on-street parking typically results in motorists driving faster, and would likely make Wayne Street more attractive as scut-through route. Removing on-street parking on Wayne Street would also shift parking demand to intersecting side streets. That said, unless there is a significant safety issue, the City typically leaves on-street parking decisions up to residents of the street. If we receive a neighborhood request from a majority or significant minority of residents, our office would do a survey of households to see if a majority wishes to remove on-street parking. If a majority are in favor of removing on-street parking we would forward the proposal to the City Council. I checked our records, and we have implemented some 'No Parking Corner to Here' zones on Wayne Street to address some specific issues at intersections, but other than that have not had a petition from the neighborhood in the past. Please contact Darian Nagle-Gamm, Traffic Engineering Planner, with any follow-up questions - Darian can help you through the process if you are interested in pursuing a neighborhood request for changes to on-street parking. John Yapp, Transportation Planner Marian Karr ~Utpf-~71~-UgtS -~.. From: ferry warner [jwarner1 @mchsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:54 PM To: Council Subject: Thornberry complaint ! I have forwarded an email to your Mayor with specifics concerning Mr. Thornberry's Burger King walks not being shoveled for two years runniung. Please refer to that email for answers in this matter. Frankly, this is ridiculous. I am only speaking for myself but when I saw/heard Mr. Thornberry at your City Council meeting on TV, I about flipped! His walks were not shoveled for two years in a row at theBurger King except for a sporadic ocassional late season half-baked attempt. I have watched people sufering and complaining there for years unable to walk down the Burger King walks. Finally people complaned to the City this winter. There is no more to this than that! Mr. Thornberry's protestations, explanations, and allegations are total nonesense. Thank you. J Warner 351-3037 ps* and if that idiot calls me I will not talk to him! This correspondence will become a public record. 1 2 19 ~~ \ 1 ~ ~ ' ~ dbert P.O. Box 3396 The Greater Iowa City Area IOWA Clty, Iowa 52244 ., ,.R ~ ~; ~ _ ~ ~~~ ~~; ~ ~ Phone: (319) 351-5333 ;''-~ ~{° Fax: (319) 358-2443 E-mail: joan@hbaofic.org r;,~f"`.' `~:'_ ~~~i~ www.iowacityhomes.com HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION ~ ,,., t ~ ~ ~, ~, , >~ ~ .~ L.•1 n Advocates for ltomeowzzership by promoting standards for gzzality and affordabtility August 5, 2008 Mayor Regeina Bailey and Council Members City of Iowa City 410 E Washington Street Iowa City IA 52240 Dear Mayor and Council Members: I am writing to express the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association's concerns regarding the City's policy of appointment to commissions and boards. At a recent July Council meeting, the City Council voted to appoint a sitting member of the Board of Adjustment to the Planning and Zoning Commission, despite the fact that another applicant had applied for the same position, and the other applicant was not currently serving on any City board or commission. It is our understanding that the City has along-standing policy against such substitutions, as they merely create another opening which the City has to fill and repeat the public announcement process. We believe it is appropriate for the City to appoint a serving member only when there are no other qualified applicants. The City should favor new applicants for positions in order to avoid the substitution problem, and more importantly, to bring new people and ideas into the civic process. We believe the Council's decision was not in the best interest of the City or the community. It sets a bad precedent for the City to select individuals already committed to a civic board or commission in order to fill vacancies on other boards -particularly when there are new, interested and qualified members of the community willing to volunteer their time and service. Selecting individuals who are currently serving on aboard or commission over other individuals discourages Iowa City residents from aplSlyir~g for ti~cse positions. Like many other community and civic organizations, the Home Builders Association actively encourages its members to volunteer their time and service to participate in local government boards and commissions. We encourage you to make Council appointments to boards and commissions based upon a fair and open process by selecting individuals not already serving the City on another board or positions. We believe the City should carefully consider any departure from the policy of not appointing standing board and commission members to new positions or unexpected vacancies, and the effect such a departure from this policy may have on community interest and willingness to apply for board and commission positions. Si rely, ary e~ 2008 President Affiliated with Natiozzal Association of Home Builders & Home Builders Association of Iowa Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Piyush Patel [piyush_udct@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 9:18 AM To: Council Subject: Idyllwild Damage pictures and other issues. Attachments: Letter to City council_08-08-08.doc Dear City council members and all city staff, We really appreciate what you all have been doing for us. Please find attached letter regarding Idyllwild situation and some pictures for your review. The mail is bouncing back if attached with pictures. I am sending a separate link for pictures. Have a nice day. Best regards Piyush Patel 16 Idyllwild Ct. 8/11/2008 August 8, 2008 To, City Council Iowa City Iowa Subiect• Idyllwild Assessment and other issues Respected City Council Members, We are residents of 16 Idyllwild Ct., Iowa City. We are grateful to you and your team members, including all the city staff, for what they have done during flood of 2008 and also for what you all will be doing for us in future. Since last 2 months I have been attending all the city council meetings and have heard stories from neighborhood affected by flood, including Idyllwild. In several of the meetings various issues were raised by city staff and city council members regarding the financial implications to city due to flood including loss of property taxes, buy out program, assessment values of the properties affected by flood and so on so forth. I understand that these issues can not be looked emotionally by city but it will be not fair to citizens if it is not looked at rationally too. I will put forth my points step by step. 1. Property tax losses In almost all meetings city has raised and stressed on this issue of losing on property taxes if tax abatement is given or if the property is bought out by FEMA. As one of our home owners presented the fact that almost 95% of home owners will end up buying property in Iowa City, there will be hardly any loss in property taxes to city. By conservative estimate, city may end up losing approximately USD 300,000 per year in property taxes from Idyllwild while home owners in Idyllwild will end up paying more than USD 400,000 per year in interest payments if the property is rebuild. It will be hardly any loss for the city whether we rebuild or we are bought out, but for home owners it will be huge loss if we rebuild. 2. Buyout program In the town hall meeting as mentioned by officials from Iowa Department of Homeland Security, buy out program is of city and not of state or federal. Majority of it is definitely funded by FEMA and State but the initiative has to be taken by city. Due to lack of data or insufficient information, Idyllwild was first not considered for buy out and in subsequent meetings there was strong resistance from City to include Idyllwild in buy out program purely on the basis that city felt damage is not sufficient and City does not want to raise hopes of citizens. However, assessment of damage by City officials at our place has come up with figure of approximately USD 116,000 including mold mitigation. This is rough estimate. However, this does not include other common elements such as electricity meters, lawns, ponds, roads etc. Also the replacement of firewall between two homes is a complicated matter. This may cost us significantly more than the current estimation. Once we start rebuilding this cost may increase as there are other damages which are not apparent in initial assessment. I have attached few pictures for you to look at the damage after flood and mold mitigation. I appreciate efforts by City attorney to include us in Buyout program. However, in the notice of intent form that was sent to home owners clearly stated that Idyllwild home owners should not include costs of common elements. I would like to draw attention of City towards our bylaws where every home owner is paying for the common elements cost as every home owner owns equal share of common elements. Condominium association does not provide us common elements free of cost nor do any other agencies provide us for common elements. We are paying and we will be paying in future for all the common elements expenses. I would like City to take in to consideration this point for damage assessment. 3. Assessment of property for buy out In the notice of Intent, Idyllwild properties will be recommended for buy out at 100% of last assessed value. I understand that city has taken into consideration property sale values for past years. In past meetings, city has raised this issue that property owners are going to get more money for homes than they have paid for, if they are bought out as per FEMA guidelines. I would like for city to take in to consideration various expenses borne by home owners after flood including monthly rents. Even city wants us to contribute towards the city portion of buyout. Taking all this in to consideration, even if we are bought out at 125% price of last assessed value, homeowners may either break even or some may even end up losing money. If city recommends us at 100% of assessed value and expects us to contribute towards city portion of buy out we will surely end up losing much more money than we paid for buying our homes. It will be difficult for us as home owners to come up with city's 15% contribution towards buy out if city recommends us to be bought out at 100% of last assessed value. In the town hall meeting we were told that this is just for notice of intent and it has nothing to do with actual buyout price. My question is why city wants to go on records for this if it is not sure at what price we will be bought out, if at all we are bought out. Why is Idyllwild singled out every time? I understand city has many problems to work on in limited time frame and they are working hard towards it. I would appreciate if you can let us know what additional data we can provide as home owners for you to take in to consideration the actual losses incurred by Idyllwild home owners which will help you to look at our issues more rationally. We want to work with city so that our case is put forth in front of state and federal agencies with true and realistic data. This will also assist various officials to work fast on our issues and will also help home owners to decide on future course of action. 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F - .. •~ ~ _ _ ~ r ~ ~ €_ =~F~, as ~ - r ~ r sx: ~; d gli d y .. ~M~ 4~"` xJ ., ~ ° °. a e~~° a .~,• ~• 4 ~ 2iL - . ~. •L ~ I }.. en L i e r a .r .: . a d.>. ~. y • -_ v ° t u y • ~ '~R_: ~ .ems :~~a r° .,~ ~° .- ~ ~. ~ ~ u ~ '.~ ~~a~~.-~~ ~. m ° ~ •°_ ° r ° r~i ~ -T'> : ,r `~ § ~: 'm r. .~ d° ~ -. _,~ - ,~ ~- a a'w c ~. ~ - ,. - ~~Rmr • °. '~ s_~ ~'~ n ~~.~;.~ _~c a ._ a ..~ L- d..a ~ ,. ~~~~ ~~ ae ®' ~~~ F 1~ ~ ~F_ _ , ~ `~~ .~ ~°~7. ~~~ ~~~~~~ cL ~'~~ ~ _ _ ~ ''+~ ' I~t~ e~rv-~ r. ~. $. ~ ~~ ter, e. ® ~ ~ ~ e~ ~, a'J x~ gyp. s fhs~_ 3 {y ~, ye •e eL ~jp~°~iiP... •~ rt'~ ~_~ ~°s ,. ~r'=- ~- ._ ,, ~` r., ~<e ,.. . _,. t~;+`~T i~~° ~ ~ y~:a.~~~ Y~a~Y' ° ~fi~ ~ d,~:.e, ."°~,. IB ® m - , . ~ .. a~'!+~~• r a~ R - ~ ate, m r. '.>4*~•rks, ~~ I~p i~^ - a 9P r~... s _ ~~iY Y.~ .~i.. y!''pJ 54 ~Y ° ~ ~~ . .e. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~i': ~8 .~. ~SS 9 " -~t J S~ -_ - i ~- ~ l II T o y F I' _ ~i ~4 .xi; y ~-~ ~I ~ _ ~ ~. I ~i ~ ~~ ~~~ b r I Yi ~, ~~ r . __ ~ ~ + ~ - lV ;~ ~~ I ~j - . , ~~ t ~~ ~fi i L is ~, i ~~ rc' I~ it y~ y ~ 9 ~~ ,~ _ .. V a 1 ~ CI, 4 _ i w l: di I .~ ~ III ~ ~~ _ 41~ ~. r ~ k~ Ir IJ a 1 J ~~ h~,i, ~~ .. f ..~ u 4 R ~~ ~w i W 1j~~~ ~ - I~'.. 1 1 r ~.. f ~ ~ ~"' ~-_~• ~ i a '~~~ 1 4. .n t ~~J~ ail' ~~~ 4 ~' 1 r: v ~~ ~_ ui ~~ ~,i h ,, I ~~~ e ~mm Idyllwild Cost of common elements August 11, 2008 To: Council members City Attorney Idyllwild consists of 23 Buildings each containing 4 living units 87 families live in Idyllwild 35 Owners have no mortgage 18 owners are over 70 years of age and have limited income There are 15 different floor plans One owner has declared bankruptcy Cost of clean out and mold remediation is 2 million dollars The common elements include 1. Party walls (insulation, firewall, drywall, and electrical components) 2. Front doors, patio doors, windows, and garage doors 3. Building exteriors ' .... ~~ ;~ ,~ ~~ O °~ n ~ °.~ y .~ ~-, .~,. ~ -~: ~- ~~ ~ l~l ~°`~ p~ ~~ ~ Common elements do not include furnaces, air conditioning, water heaters, appliances, cabinets, flooring, interior drywall, texture and paint, and insulation. Building 1: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, insulation, firewall, electrical is a guess until the electrician actually can determine damage $40,000.00 Building 2: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $40,000.00 Building 3: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $40,000.00 Building 4: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $40,000.00 Building 5: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $40,000.00 Building 6: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $41,000.00 Building 7: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $50,000.00 Building 8: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $50,000.00 Building 9: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $50,000.00 Building 10: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $50,000.00 Building 11: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $50,000.00 Building 12: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $41,000.00 Building 13: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $41,000.00 Building 14: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $41,000.00 Building 15: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $35,000.00 Building 16: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $35,000.00 Building 17: doors, windows, patio doors, drywall, etc. $35,000.00 Building 18: doors, drywall, insulation $25,000.00 Building 19: doors, drywall, insulation $25,000.00 Building 20: doors, drywall, insulation $25,000.00 Building 21: drywall, insulation $25,000.00 Building 22: drywall, insulation $25,000.00 Building 24: drywall insulation $25,000.00 Total cost estimate for common building elements is approx. $760,000.00 This cost is very difficult to obtain, because we can only guess at the impact of the electrical in the buildings under 7 feet of water. This cost of common elements is the Association's cost; however this cost is passed on to every owner at Idyllwild. Each owner has already been assessed for tear out and mold remediation in the amount of $21,739.13. This is an incredible hardship on all owners. Many owners will not return to their homes, some have already moved to Oaknoll, and Walden place, others have bought in another city, most are living in rentals. ~`~ally Cline, President of Idyllwild Condominium Owners Association ~ u'~ ,~ c, ~- /'' p _ l ~1 ^'1 1 r {~ 'w'r. ©~ r _~ ,.~ t ~ ~~ ~ .~~ ., IDYLLWILD CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION August 8, 2008 To Iowa City Council Members Iowa City Police Department There have been several Police Reports filed recently with the Iowa City Police Department regarding thefts from homeowners in Idyllwild. Our entire complex of 23 buildings is vacant, many units are not secure, and this seems to be an open invitation to thefts. If the Idyllwild area is to remain a valuable part of the City and not a blighted area that becomes a black eye to the City, it is important the City provide increased patrols. Thank you for your consideration Sally Cline, President of Idyllwild Condominium Owners Association ~~~~ ~; _ P"~-~ ~~~ Q C+"J' ~~ Y ~ J7' .....~ (."~ `h ~.. ""~ \~ -'~. .+ ..