HomeMy WebLinkAbout1975-07-01 Info Packet12111
I057A CI0wA. •
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-Mr.CzarnecY.i. _ Thank you, Mr.. Chairman.
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Lir. Chairman and members of the committee, I'm
Edgar;
C:arn6cki,-Mayor of; Iowa City, Iowa, a community .of
47,000
15
16
population.
171
I
I,suppork liavor Paquutte's view that wo cannot
provide
18
-public mass transportation services for our citizens
if we
cannot afford to operate our new buses -- and we
are becoming
19�
increasingly unabletodo"so in our small cities.
40i
Senator Williams, -without your dilliaent efforts
over
21
these past years, we still would not have federal
assistance
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23`
for meeting transit operating deficits. But the ;50,000_PoPu-
lation cutoff for such assistance appears to us in
somewhat
24
-'erFederui Reporters, Inc.
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smaller cities -- especially those in the 25,000
to 50,000
25
- • 187.
1I -- t,3 be an arLitrary figure. It does not reflect the
range
2needs
-- cities which are currently devoting
of - cur cities
3 of very limited resources to maintain public
large portions
4II mass transporation services.
511
Transnortation Administrator Frank F.erringer
Urban Mass
611
Tuesday that the Administration support-
-.
told this Committeeon
S. .662 regarding operating Issitance for small
- =-7I
the language o`
8 !�
but prefers total flexihili.ty in the
urbn and rural areas,
a
9j1
million authorization. 1'}e are pleased that
use of the $590
1011
has taken this position and that it pro-
the Administration
the program on a partial allocation/partia
11 I``to
posesadminister
This will enaUle U 1TA to determine r: hcre.
12
basi
discretion:�ry s.
13 �;
and what
and the stype of funding
upport are,
the needs
employed. The reLult will hopefully be a
1'11
mechanism shculd be
effective mass
13
aderuately funded, commitment to providing
ne•.+,
to the'ci.tizens of our small cities
161
=transportation services
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and rural arca,.
a note. that is not in the prepared
is
I would like to add
sir. lierringer alsc inforred Jou that the
191
text. That is that
favored the use of demonstration programs
20-1
Administration
173 1lighway Act through fiscal year '75 and
211
authorized by the
I
said the Administration will soon try to tie thil
22
' 76. lie also
mill and provide some provision for spall
23 II
into the high%•Iay
241
ur}�an_and rural transit programs.
a. F�dc,o R.po, e,t, inc.
ro ram
it -clear that the demonstration p• g
251
I'd liY.c to mal:e
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• • 183 1
1 �� can be no help to sr^.ill urban areas with C;cisting sys cats that
2 are now -in financial trouble. I would also like to,imi dose the
3I
idea of turning the small urban and rural transit programs
— 4�
sl
-6�I
over to the Federal Highway Administration ar.d thus to the 1
state highway departments. I feel that the record demonstrate
onr concern over the ability of the Highway Administration to
7I�
administer transit programs.
8I�
The demonstration program authorized by the '73 Highway
9'�
101
11 ;i
1i
12IIon
Act was signed into law in i�ugust of '73. The 4uicielines on
the program were issued in ;March 1975 over 20 months later.
U1?TA was able to issue their regulations
On the Omer hand, _ --
the operating assistance program within tie short span o`
II
one month.
.� tell you '.chat we in
14 I would like to take: -a few minutes to `
transit with our limited
15 Iowa City are trying to do in mass '
16 local funds. I won't go through all the detail of the`pre-
17 pared statement, but I would like to give you some background.
18 Phe municipality of Iowa City instituted a conventional
19 transit system in Set Member 1971 that replaced a private
'-d ceased operation. 12 new 45 -passenger buses
20II`system that had
21+ purchased with the assistance of the urban Vass Transit
were p ' to
The fare was reduced from
22I Transportation Act of 1964. 25C
23 L- 15C and the level of service was in from -7 to 10 routes
24 II which provide a 2Q perc,.nt increase in coverage and a ? P er-
Inc. I' beginning we had a dramati
P•oonen. -: -. From the. 9
25� cent increase in mileage-
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• • 18 4
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i
increase ;in r.idcr�liip. In Sc-ptemner '71 through February '72
2
percent increase in our patronage. This has con -
we -had a'1G5 p_ L g
3,1
tinued, not as dramatically, but ore are. now almost up to a
411
million and a half riders per -year compared to the 500,000
51
:the
ahproziawt% passenger ridership before the city took, over
61
systema I detail some of the interim struggles to maintain the
-
71 'I
private operator in lnrsiness. It included considerable subsidy
s
by the city and also by the university. Iowa City is the home
911
of the University of Iowa.
10 jl
II
just -prior -to taking over of the private system by the
111{
idication by the city of over 500,000 to
cir_y there was -a eubs,
12
the private operator for the I,',monthsprior to September -'71.
13 I).
�-
Our downtown area of the city joins the university and all of.
14II
our buses go into the heart of the city and we have a central
15II
that -- we have a central location for all of the _buses
system
16
_
at the meeting point of the city, -arid the university.
17
Prior to the city taking over only 3 percent of all the
18 I
_,
trips downtown occurred through the bus system. Now that has_
. 19
increased to 16 percent. >16 percent of all the people coming.
20
into our downtown area are now coming via the bus.
21(
We have added two additional General motors passenger
22I"
buses. These came out of our general -revenue funds in 1974.
.. 23
the bad news. The cost of operation of our system has
Now
continually increased because of wage "salary increases, cost
Ndual ,,i Reporters.�4.
25rox.imately
of oil, fuel, etc. I7c are now not quite but app
I
• • 185
contributing to the system S"no,000 per year
2I
Lie have a shuttle system that has buses going around }doth
3
direct.ions-of-tile .campus cont;.nuously. Ore also have a suburb
4�
of Coralville which onerates its own independent transit system
5I
but also feeds-passengers into the downtown city.
b)
i
Ile are currently trying to secure capital assistance o£ a
71
grant for 20 buses that would providetheur.iveristy with; new ,
8�three-additional
buses, and Coralville
buses,-the city with th c _
911
with buses. we are almost completing the arrangements with
101
UMTA. The university Iva- "some problems and they might not be
illi
able to come in at this time. If in fact the City of Iowa
1211
City secures i}:is grant %•:c %.,oulO.. be the only city in the united
13
'states that would lease and work bus operations betoreen the
_14I
city and the university, a joint effort.
15I
SenatorWilliams. What's the population of the university?
16
Mr.-Czarnecki. -20,000 which is included in our 97-98 ti-lousi
nd
17
figure
18
I then-mention the problems, as I'm sure.have been pointed
19
times, of the 50,000 population figure. I should
out many
20
point out our county has 75,000, the city has 9x,000, Coralvill?
21i
has 96,000. So we are a very urbanized county, yet we"don't
22
qualify for any operating subsidies-.
.! 23
I would, of course, like to extend our appreciation for all
24
the capital subsidies that we received, but now we art! vc-f
--
-.
e._e-Fed:_ral Beporten, Inc.
25
tightly pressed to meet operating costs.
II
• • 186
1 I`
act oaltcrinrl the
As, l mr•nti.onerl, we havr, a r;r.cat i m r. ta
i
211
Toad of transportation of-PuoPle from the car to the bus.. Our
i
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3j
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parking levels. in the city have declined since we tool, over
he buses. The City Iowa City ane. 1 the cities in Iowa
5�
.have
6
7�
8I+
- r
�I
9u
1OIi �
4 -Ei�'ed Timitat.ion of the amount.,f property taxes that
they can raise. We have a 30 mill limit imposed upon us by
state. A mill in Iowa City would now equate to about
ththeI $90,000 in taxers. So the 3cficit Of the bus system Of 5300,00
�nlc� nt of our total operating budget. I will
pe .. is well over 10
explain, however, funds are not taken directly from the
11 ��
�I�
1211
jr
1311
14
I�15
operating hndrlet. .
-' 47e do have Lwo,-other options in addition to the method
-,perating deficit from the transit sY's '
we used to make up the m
One, of course, is the increased fares and I think our past
_-experience and those of other cities have cautioned us no t
16II
17I
-to increase fares unless it's the last resort.
The other, we do have the authority to issue a two mill
18
19
especial transit tax assess ment_again because property taxes
are so high we are not too interested in doing that -- increas
2OI the burden of taxes of our citizens.'
21 what we have done, ;and I have explained this in .he
22 written testimony; we originally used the,proper y taxes to
23 make up our deficits, but then it got too great and .:e -used
v 1•}e used al5out $200,000 0£ the 5300,60'0 that
24 s- _
revenue sharin7• --
.uFcrlerol Reporlen, Inc. < - _ that -
25 comes from revenue sharing, general -revenue ,haring
14
In the appendix I have listed some cities where the
15
subsidies are in the area of $1.50. Our annual rider per
16
capita is 27.8 and I have a chart which shows cities in the---,
17
four--state region. Weare far above all cities. St. Louis --
18
tdissouri being the closest.
19i
'I also have a figure that shows the amount of subsidy, -=
201
the seven cities in Iowa over 50,000 receive under the bill
-21
and the amount of subsidies in the seven smaller cities put
22
into the system is approximately one-third of that of the
23
larger citicr,. In other words, t•hu-cma11,cr c1t1.r„^. cis, rFu:nf-
2411
= dize the bus systems to a great extent.
<r Federd Reporters, Inc.
251
-' - .
I'd also like to point out that we had two systems in
• • ':.189
1 Iowa that had to discontinua se -vice in '67. Fort Dodge,_Io::a,
ii
2 city of over '30,000; and-ttuscatine, Iowa, a:city of 22,000.
a
I
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31. The city of fort Dodge recently has been studying -the possi-
` - 4
bility of initiating mass trensit operations; but t:co r-jlativel;
5 in the "state 'of Io%,a have discontinued transit
lar.;e cities
{
6if
service since 1967.
?
What we are basically asking is that the 5250,000,000 be
8;i
allocated for operating subsidies as proposed in Senate Bill
S!�
662. i+ new iris, as you }:no'a, costs aboat $60,000 today. ;:e
1011
are subsidizing operationwise each of thosebuses about $20,000
11I
In a ten-year period, obviously the operating tests ar
a year.
12I
far beyond lh.:t of the tai-ital. costs. 1•7e feel that the 50,000
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population figure i:: an extremely arbitrary cutoff point. It ..
141
really has no relationship whatsoever to the viability of any
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articular transit system.
16
in fact Iowa City -I think as.shown by the statistics
Iem'and
If
171has
viable sy�t a high acceptability by its
an extremely
18people,
why .should_we he denied federal subsidi11 es? We would
191
strongly that Congress pass the proposed amendment. alio
argue
201
for operating subsidies and these sums
cating'$250,00o,000
21
II not not on a blanket across the board formula such
be allocated
22
l
allocated, but rather with -the Congress oo'ring
as those already
23
and feasibility of a system and deter -mining
at the viability
24
by which to measure how these discretionary funds
some criteria
:r Frdeml Reporlers, Inc.
25
we have suggested severaI possible
may be allocated.
I
• 195
1
Cr.arncccl;i_ Yes, becau';c this ocrars _ir. all the dis-
;:r.
2
`over fedora]. subsidies to cities -- the loca l tax
cussions
3
The cities in Iowa do not havetheoption of any
effort.
4
to the people in a referendwm
We cannot even go
local taxes. = _
5don't
have any authority for any state sale
II
on any local -_ we
61rax._
1
or local income
7
, and we had to go to the
We didn t either,
Senator Garn.
8
In fact, one of the chief
'
- permission.
legislature .or this
9��
further. Ile wanted no fare. i:e's four,h
sponsors planted to ,o
10
member. of the legislature -- totally no
for it:fer year.• s, a
half a,cent. sales tax: and. tha*
iter^, enc' finance -it witl
ballot and the people turned that one
• . JI
tic-, on the
:was an optic-, -
down.
justify nq fare. You'd get a lot o
14
I-personail} couldn't
reasonable and an_rbody could
sightseers.- The 15C fare seemed
would invite all kinds of abuse
16
afford it and no fare I think,
subsidize to that extent
17
and I`couldn t see why we should
18
eo le' -y could afford to -
of P P mho certainl
_
--when-there are a lot -'
the people
19
both those oP lions were on the baliut and
pay, but
yet .this particular
20
picked the 15C rather than the no fare, and
21
is still fighting despite the -fact it was-on a
legislature
22
public ballot, for.a totally no fare system.
23
I have nothing else.
well. Thank you, �entL.n r•n. VII
24
Senator c:illiams. very
;.Federal Reporters, Inc.
and y our statements were
25
grateful for your appearance
9 -
s
are very
_
Monterey has Lwo, dr_ , i fin. ruvicw committees > --one for archi- `
Uctural review and one'fcir site plan review. The Archi-
tectural.Revi('w.(;nmmittCO was Created . primarily to review -'-
the'Physical design of bui-ldinas in -the -multiple family,
commercial and industrial zones and all -signs, in addition,
to help in thy_protection of historic buildings and areas.
fn Monterev- after -an anr.lication is given architectural
review, the plans 'are :then re.`.erred'-automatically to tile
Site Plan Review Committee. ' The Site Plan' Review Committee
was originally created to review proposed 'tree 'removals
a•as"tile site plans for major projects in the City.
The present function of the Site Plan Review Committee
is f:o study the siting of proposed construction, the impact
Uf•o» e}isting topogranhy and-natural'vegetation, and the
re].itionshi; of pr-orosec construction to existing public
and private improvements in the intmediate'area. In actual
practice this Committee has been primarily involved in street
improvements, -driveway locations, -parking -.lot design,
drainage problems, and other related` matters not reviewed
by the Architectural Review Committee.
The Architectural Review Committee has five members, con-
sisting of one mem),er of the Planning Commission appointed
by the Chairman with the approval of --the Planning -Commission
and four other members _,appointed.by-tile ftayor,-with the
approval of at least three members of the council.Two of
thesemembers must be_,architects or similar design pro-
fessionals:
The -Site' - Plan Review Committee consists of thr. City Planning
Director, Director. of Public-Vorks,'and one member fron the"
Planning Commission appointed by the Chairman.
The Architectural Review Committee has been in .existence
since the -1940's as a lay committee. The Site Plan Review
-'Committee was created in1964and is_primarily a=staff review
function which gives the Public Works Department and Planning
Department an opportunity to review projects for engineering
-and_planning_requirements.
The two design _review committees have had remarkable success
-`in-dealing with certain _types 'of projects. _Large national
franchir_e companies, for example, have had--to,:improve their
developments considerably to locate in Monterey. The appear-
ance and size of signs have beenupgradedby the Architec-
tural Review Committee. 'Many small projects have been
improved by'the_ Committee's suggestions, comments, and
modifications. -f1ost-minor projects have not been designed
f.•l a professional designer, and thene'projects frequently
benefit from the experience of the two review committees.
The design review, process has been well accepted in, Monterey
- Lecause there. is a widespread -concern about the,community's
appearance : T.lso',the 'review _process itself has been made
as -simple as possible. The required procedures have been
reduced to a minimum, and this has been extremely important
in keeping -the crmmunity,_s support. The staff and the -
committee show.cons dieration for. the applicant and try to
work with him in the review procedures. The amount of time
is critical and has been reduced so that architectural -re-
view can normally be obtained within a week's time.
very few rases are appealed (less than 1%) Inmost cases --
where there
aseswhere-there have been difficulties in obtaining architectural -
approval, the applicant occasionally, drops _the ;project, ' or
usually comes back and tries to work out the problems with
the Architectural Review Committee.
we have not had any problems in obtaining a quorum, even
though the Committee meets every week (4:00 p.m. on
Thursdays). -
Monterey's Committee hasnothad any ;difficulties _in reaching
a majority decision. 'There has been `only 'one tie vote in
the _last twoor three years of hearings. = - --
In PSonterey, the applications -have to be filed a week before
the next hearing date. on large -developments, the Committee
----will-hold--over -the -,application another week in order to
carefully study the projectbefore'taking action
There --are two basic points to consider in establishing the
`design ::review procedure. The -first ;problem is•getting ,the -
understanding and support of the City Administration and
city Council so that they will support the requirements of
design approval. If you are going to have.a review process,
then it should be fairly and -firmly -administered for •all
;types =of projects:
The second problem is enforcing the :design ;review decisions
and requirements. when you have design -review and approval,
some violations and enforcement problems will 'result. A
good part of the violations will be.of a minor nature,'
but it becomes a problem of enforcing the City's regulations
and of obtaining compliance with the Architectural Review
Committee' decisions. Simple and _effective ;procedures 'need
to be`organized to deal with these problems. Adequate
staff `is_the key -element in carrying out the design regu-
lations. Full cooperation and assistance.will be needed
from the City Building Department' -and the City Attorney's
0 t help in the enforcement of architectural review.
ity of Iowa .Cit
MEMORAN-M -,
DGE:cw
- -
L1
The People's
Republic woos
the nations of the have-not world
China's-Artful Courtship
SHIRLEY A. CHRISTIAN -
Few who saw it can ever forget the tumultuous scene in
the General Assembly hall the night in 1971
would behave. A Norwegian who had served: in China
-delegation
when the
- People'sRepublic of China was voted into the United
said the high quality of: the Peking was
sending meant-it was taking the United Nations seri-'
Nations. It seemed the entire have-not world was on its
ously. The delegation was led by Vice-Foreign Minister_
feet, cheering.
The young Tanzanian ambassador jumped up and
Chino Kuan-hua, who has since become foreign minis-
tcr. and Ambassador Huang Hua. Pakistanis said it did
don so wildly that some journalists, reported he had
danced a jig. Even delegates of many poor countries
not matter if Washington decreased its U.N. support;:`-
China would be generous. -
that had supported the American attempt to create
U.N. seats for both Peking and Taiwan could not resist
Not the least of the concern was whether China would _
a feeling of satisfaction. The Establishment had fallen.
Although Henry Kissinger was in Peking
try to carry out its notion that it was the head of the vast
collection of countries variously- described; as Third
World,
preparing
for President Nixon's visit in 1972, U.S. Ambassador
underdeveloped.: developing, less :developed,
small, or just plain poor. It was a justified concern. In
justified
or.cerIt as
George Bush left the chamber in dejection, consoled by
his 'Australian collcaguc,.Sir Laurence McIntyre. The
a
the years since being its concern.
'.
next day, Washington was so enraged by the glee of the
ful"place in the assembly hall,. China has artfully used
it as an arena to woo the Third World.
victors that Congress started on the road to reduction of
-the_U.S. commitment to the U.N. budget.
While ranting
g at the Soviet Union and engaging in
As for the?Soviet"Union.-:Ambassador Yakov Malik
name-calling with Yakov:Malik; Chinese diplomats
was quiet. He had once boycotted the Security Councilhave
pursued the Third_ World more quietly. demon-
as part of along-ago`attempt'to-get China into the
United Nations, but Sino-Soviet relations
strafing humility, good manners, hospitality,.- and a _
willingness to learn. New China's diplomats have not
were no
longer once were.
forgotten the continuing importance of "face'' in the
In the three wehey
between the vote and the
traditional societies which "make , up most of the Third
k of
New York T China's delegates, U.N. work a almost
World. With the same sense.of what's right that led
to a' halt. Too many things, it seemed, should not be
should t be
them to entertain New York policemen, they have taken
decided in the absenceof a major.power, An English-
tca with the delegates in the diplomats' lounge and
-:man said it was like waitingforGodot, except that the
paid me[iculousattcntion to the wording resolutions
Chinese were definitely coming. :Euphoria -gave way to -
on such subjects as colonialism, economic develop-
apprehension as diplomats wondered how the Chinese
ment, and small-nation rights. The Chinese treat even•-
one like a grownup in a manner the other big powers
Shirley Ar Christian was a U.N. correspondentforthe-
and former colonialists never mastered.
Assoc iatedPress atthe time the People's Republic of
Why.does China place such emphasis on the Third
China was voted into the United Nations. Last year she
studied Nieman
World? The answer seems to Ile in how China perceives
as a l-ellow al Harvard. specializing in _
China. sforeign relations. She has covered Latin
the entire world. It has decided the Soviet Unum i no%
Americanafjairsand livedjorayearinChile.
the foremost imperialist in the world and China's
principal enemy. sPeking's,nuclear arsenal _isdeveloped
34/ JULY 1975
Inc., of San Francisco, transit engineering specialists,
10 make -a six-week survey sof-the district's entire
- -operation.. In killing dial -a -bus the supervisors acted on
-
the Bechtel report. -which -said that the fleet of. 212
coaches was not sufficient to serve the arterial routes
and Ilial -a -bus- too. -The engineering firm also reported
-- --- _ --
that dial -a -bus -cost lot) much -in proportion to benefits.
'rhe system \vas -a --victim of: its own success. A( the
' n111�C1..•11 W. t•xpeetl'll-.that-that-a•t-isle \\'1111111 serve
-10.000 riders daily after- two years: Only months had
--.passed when daily use reached 7.000. riders. at a cost
`that greatly exceeded estimates. -
At the, May ,mceting,thc supervisors decided to
- continue-dial-a-ride`at'least- temporarily in several
---= wwne'inthe southern part of the county, where an
-
Mala Strikes Again
- estinlalcd 25,0110 persons live.
.Big..
At the same time, tile' supervisors voted to expand
We have all learned' by ,now that Americans are a
the district's bus fleet to 516 vehicles in the expectation
simple. childlike people who don't know what is best for
-politicians
that Federal funding will help pay for. the additional
themand therefore need bureaucrats and -_
coaches: -The: district is supported by state funds and _.
and various law enforcement agencies to tell them what
Federal grants r` plus bus' fares. It is likely that the
to do from the time they get out of bed in'tiie morning
supervisors will submit a half -cent sales tax proposal to
until they get back in at night -and occasionally even
- the voters in November in an effort to obtain additional
hcyond that.-,,
revenue for the transit district.
Ungrateful citizens sometimes refer to this as a Big
-- --Financial considerations arc believed to have been a
Brother syndrome, but in the American tradition. it
-large factor in the decision of the four supervisors, tomighP
mareaccura[dy be called Big Mama. The latest.
-- curtail dialer -bus: In addition, the Bechtel study. the
example .of_this _is -seen in the --California Highway `
-supervisors received a report by A. Alan Post, analyst -
patrol. Great numbers of people, on weekends, drive
Fur. the California legislature, which pointed but that
over to Las Vegas to take a tLtnblc at the dice tables
---Ilial-a-flus .'consumed 49 per cent of the combined
and with the cards and whecls. There are long. flat
sv+tom's nperating budget but carried only 18 per cent
stretches of boring highways and some are tempted to
nl the total passengers. On the other hand, dial -a -ride
drive faster thanfifty-five miles an hour. -:
generated jonly 518,000 of the system's 598,000 in
The police have found .that speeding tickets. arc :not _
monthly -revenues."
enough—that people simply cannot be forced to hold it
The Ione supl.rvisor supporting dial -a -ride was Dom-
down to fifty-fivc. So, a new. plan:.A police car. with
;.inic 1-.. Cortese. -whose district includes a section of San
lights flashing, drives along -at fifty-five. exactly.. Any
lose where he claims some 40 per cent of the county's
car passing it gets a ticket. They back up in long lines
.
population of more than 200.000-
behind the police cars, at fifty-fivc, dreaming of big
-Mexican-American
--- live-. Many- of them do not own cars and depend on
killings at the gambling tablcs and only. wishing they
`dial -a -bus to go'to`work. Cortese said.
could get there sooner and get their hands on the dice
One of the eighteen persons who spoke. for the
dial -a -bus continuation was Jack Ibarra, chairman of
.and the cards.
--_Of course, they're going to Vegas in the first place _
the transportation commission and a past president of
because the California Big Mama won't let them gam -
the Cori(eileracion de /u Nuza Unidad. which includes
ble at-home. So they take money earned in California
about ftfly-fivc Mexican -American organizations.
and haul it across the state linetolose it in Nevada. _-
- "'I -here were a -lot of poor people and low-income
Nevada, with all thisoutside money coming in, hardly --
- people .who used. dial-a•ridc," Ibarra said. "Nobody
has to pay any taxes at all, whereas in California they're _
reallybelieved that there were that many people who
rising all the time. One mightthink there was some-
supportcd dial -a -ride simply because they did not go
-thing a little screwyhere, bud, let It pass:
-It
-. down to the board chambers to scream and holler.-
The Big Mama rulein this easels this: is all right to
It remains to be seen whether -dial -a -ride supporters
drive over to Vegas and pour California money into
will continue their. protest. Supervisor Cortese said that
`Nevada; it is all right to go into_Nevadaand do legally
the Urban Mass Transportation Administration did not
-what is not legally allowed in California. But you must
suggest that the district drop dial -a -rids, whichwas"a
-obey the speed limit on your way thereto do it.
unilateral decision on the; part of the supervisors:' He
No doubt Big Mama means well, but she certainly
added that UMTA was willing to put more money Into
can be silly.
dial -a -ride.
F'R[sDI--RICK U. ROSS
DAVID BPI!,* r.LEI
(Frederick U. Ross is a•(rerlunce.,ariter in Pula Alto.
-_
(David Brinklci� reports front Washington for NBC
CnG(nrnL,.)
Ncws. )
THE PROGRESSIVE /33
End of the Line
_. latrly in May. -nurce.-than . 200 persons ovcrflowed -the
San .lose affecting_roni of the supervisors-olSanta
Clara Couniv. fifty miles suullt of Sao`. Francisco. to
learn the future of dial-a-bus, file county's public'-
- transportation. system which provided door-to-doorsery
ice in response to a telephone request.
The supervisors, acting as directors or the county's
transit district, voted 4 to I to discontinue' dial-a-bus"
- - -- - fourdays later except in the southern part of the county.
- - Begun last November. the system. also called dial-a
Landmark." (Much of the area is alreadv Federally ride, believed ,to be file only computerized dial-a-bus
owned.). This is (fie necessary first step-toward making -operation in the world, was certainly the most ambi.
it a national park. At Nelson's request life Nationaltious of all such experiments that have beenstartedin
1'ark Service is making :r feasibility study to determine the past three years in communities in twenty-two
<.whether the Kickapoo River VaRzy can become - a ..states. II was hoped that it would set a pattern in public
� national park. As for the plight of those in danger of -.=transportation throughout the United States.. Its virtual
floods the answer would seem to be relocation of abolition triggered a debate among the county's popu- -- --
residents from flood-prone areas of the valley., which lation of 1.2 million, 97 per cent of whom live in the 240
could be-undertaken-at-less than half the cost (if the --square miles that the system. operating in conjunction
.:dam, according -tn estimates by a Wisconsin Depart- withnineteennew arterial routes, was designed to-
.._metal of Revenue analyst. - serve.
A combination of these two measures could provide Dial-a-bus proponents turned )of in lull force for the
the most permanent kind of flood control, as well as a meeting. Before the supervisors acted. eighteen advo--
.solid base for economic redevelopment of this chroni- cafes of the system. representing the large Mexican-
. cally depressed arca. withoul destroying the river. One American population in San .lose. the elderly, the
might expect reasonable people to be persuadedby--handicapped, and the poor, pleaded for the cominua-
such argumcnts.but noonc has everaccused the Army tion of dial-a-bus. Nine persons spoke against the
Enginecrs of being reasonable. lThey -have resolutely operationat the meeting. "-here feeling ran-
_high.
refused to give serious consideration to alternatives. Why did dial-a-bus spark such emotional reaction? A
` preferring simply to tune out all life ball news. The prospective passenger simply telephoned a reservation
:.agency's top- brass insisted that since -Congress: has ist at the central control headquarters in San Jose, gave
provided the money to built) a dam• by_Gild. 'a dam will his address. destination• last name, telephone number•
be built. - and -the number of persons inlhq party. The rreserva-
The picture began to change only recently, when life - :finalist fell the information to a computer which
EPAissueda-stern warning that the La FargcAake -instantly indicated which bus would bestservethe
- would violate state and Federal water quality stand passenger.: The, _busi-equipped .with a two-way radio.
ards. At about the same time, Senator Nelson began was dispatched to the passenger's door. The fare was
an aggressive effort to sever the Congressional purse only twenty-five cents---icn cents for persons under
strings for 1976 spending on the -project, and early ' eighteen years of age or over sixty-four—with no extra
indications arc that he maybe successful.` The Corps. charge for a transfer to an arterial route.
reading the writing on the wall. has finally imposed a ..That was the theory of-dial•a-bus: the practice was "
moratorium on new construction until the water quality somcthing'else.- At the inception of the ,system the
-
-disputeis-resolved al-the-Fcdcnl level.: - control headquarters .was -swamped with calls. Fre-'
While the time now• seems ripe for a reassessment of locally a bus could not be dispatched for an hour or,
what Nelson' calls "an environmental nightmare." the more, and sometimes it never arrive(]. The district
battle of the Kickapoo is not over yet. The Corps of Increased the number of trunk lines to the central office _
Engineers remains unwilling to admit that the only way `and-thc.response time: of- the -rescrvationists-was cut
to settle the water quality dispute is to forego construe- down to seconds. In all respects the system began to
tion of the dam and lake And that mind-set `puts -[he operate more efficiently. but the county supervisors
,.:agency in the. position of destroying a river in order to continued to be deluged-with complaints. Some 2.000 '>
save it. Sound familiar? persons called for reinstatement of the original arterial l
WHITNEYGOUI.D
lines-in operation before the nineteen new arterial--
routes and dial-a-bus were started. flowing to the -
Mu'inryr Goalrl. it Nieman Pellaw ar Mirvard him year, dcnt:utd, the ;supervianrs 4r.ciAcA'' ur tial ire oven
carers enrlronnneniol neivs,%rir;The Capital 7'/11111v is original lines recently.
AludAmt. Wisronsin.)_r In March, life harassed supervisors hired Bechtel,
32/ JULY 1975
usually been caused by outside events -the escalation
of bombing. the renewal of bombing, the invasion of
-
Cambodia—rather than by conscious, planning within
the antiwar movement. - - - -
lf Americans were responsible for helping to achieve
peace. they apparently didso-haphazardly, with the
-sporadic: campus: uprisings. the marches and dcnum-
stralions IhaLso'unhingcd Richard M. Nixon. It was
satisfying to have taken part in the protests. but it had
all taken loo long, and there had been too much
%offering,in Indochina, for us to rejoice now that the
`war was over. It -was clear, too, that suffering in
Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the world had not
ended, and that at home the Government had begun to
)lapse over the old myths of, how we had become'
involved. with new myths about our leaving Indochina.
So when someone at the party said, "Well. we still.
-'have a lot todo.".w•e all nodded. not vcryjoyously, and
began to gather -up the wine glasses.
RACHELLE MARSHALL
(Kuchelle Marshall is a free-lance wrherin Stanford.)
Taming the Kickapoo-..
- Lo Purge. Wisconsin
The Kickapoo River engraved itself on the rolling
-landscape 'of southwestern Wisconsin about a. million"
years ago; during the Ice Age. This is the "driflless"
:arca. one of the few parts of the Midwest which
escaped .the advance of the glaciers.
Because of its unique geological features, a twelve -
mile stretch of the Kickapoo between thetinyVernon
-County communities of La Farge and Ontario provides-
breathtaking vistas for legions of canoeists. The water-
way snakes below sandstone and dolomite cliffs whose
russet faces are pockmarked by the wind and rain of
millennia and doltcd with rare wildflowers andlumi-
nous mosses. - But the Kickapoo; like many rivers, has a tendency to
--"flood on occasion. And to many of the residents of the
villages which have grown up along its banks since the
mid -Nineteenth Century. the river is less a natural
wonder than a`nuisance.
Enter the Army Corps of Engineers.
-
In a scenario often played out across the country, the
-Corps proposes to tame the sometimes rambunctious
Kickapoo with what is euphemistically known in the
lexicon of the boondogglers as a "flood control and
recreation project --a dam.
First authorized by Congress in 1962 at a cost of $12
million. Ilse project, finally got ander way a few years
ago after bitler.fighl will -environmentalists.- Today,
the cost It" shared to $51.5 million. More than $14
million has already been sunk into the project. mostly
for land acquisition androadrelocation. -
Even at $51.5 million. the dam will offer only incom-
plete _flood - protection.: by. the Army Engineers own
admission. "rhe: project's recreational value is also in
doubt. The dant will inundate the Kickapoo's twelve
most scenic miles with an _ 1;800 -acre_. reservoir which
will be foul-smelling and choked with weeds and algae,
according to astudy commissioned by the Corps itself
and conducted by the University of Wisconsin's prestig-
ious Institute for Environmental Studies. Nutrient -rich
farmland runoff was pegged as the principal culprit
-- "A cesspool." four times as sick as Lake Eric, was
the way -David Schindler, head :of Canada's environ-
mcnlal protection agency, described the proposed lake.
The experts agree that there is little that can be done.
in practical terms, to make it better.
The Army Engineers' feeble defense is that the lake
will be no worse than other man-made lakes which are
heavily -used -forrecreation. But -a report -from -the
General _Accounting Officer the investigative arm of
Congress, indicates that the Corps has greatly inflated
the alleged benefits of the project and underestimated
its defects.
Members of Congress rarely; oppose pork barrel
projects for their constituencies, and in this case even
that scourge. of Pentagon -waste. .:Wisconsin's -senior
Senator, William Proxmire. is no'exception. -.Proxmire.
who is up for -re-election nextyear, has taken, the
astonishing position that since the local people support-
ing the La Fargc dam and lake project arc the ones who
will have to live with it; he will do nothing to stop it.
' Wisconsin's other Senator, Gaylord Nelson. has
waged a tireless battle against the project. Nelson (a
specialist in environmental affairs): the Environmental
Protection' Agency (EPA). the President's' Council on
Environmental Quality,,- and Wisconsin's Governor
Patrick'Lucey, once a reluctant backer of the project,
have all issued calls for moratorium and a thorough
study of alternative methods of flood control.
Local pressure for an Engineer Corps dam. especially
among those who thought there were great money-
making possibilities for development of a sizable tourist
attraction, -was mollified it hit when Senator Nelson"
succeeding In getting the Interior Department to desig-
nate the Kickapoo River Valley as a National Nature
THE PROGRESSIVE /31
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T. Cir1 Scouts Spon or.t�o eilvi`11c.Reser
season ;at Camp,Da9break,.,_ --S cc is
for Gtrl Scouts.�n yrarlcs 1 G - -.[W
for-
for, second sesslon (last ,l" wad's in
Lhird=Session (lluyus_t 11 ],5) ror _dc
rtor.,_338-9794.
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Untv�rsity or -Iowa -(3113-
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�.
HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICE
Pur ose:` To create a new department providing personnel services to the
City and an equal opportunity commitment in all of the City's dealings as
well as throughout the 'Iowa City Community...
Anticipated.Scope: To- andVtransfer, separationancompensar
including recruitment,: hi.-ung,-,p
t to i
tion, and benefits
te WntFederalmandmState regulationsainVvarietynofrareasles
Provides,e p -for Human Relations
-including labor relations. Planning -and programming_;
Commission activities including community education=and research and-enforce-
ment of civil rights through the complaint process.
To-provide .to the City.,a strong affirmative action program which will include
completion of the current affirmative action program in hiring of
and
minorities discriminatory
of incoming`Federal monies for equal opportunity
allocation, review of the City's vendors and licensees for discriminatory
practices.
Need for This Plan: Personnel services for the City are currently -under
-
staffed.with an inordinate amount ofpersonne
partmentsl W7hksbsituationeing rleaded s other
administrative offices and by the
inefficiency-in the followingways:
1. overworked --;-the most
Other departments are serious situation
-_appears currently in the Finance Department,
2. There is room for=departments,to -ignore-the administrative
goals-
Commitment to affirmative -action and OSHA goals. _
3. Applicants=and employees experience-inefficient handling of their
.dealing with ,the personnel office. = - -
istakes in routine
4: There are too many mtransactions and paperwork.
of em
oyment
Because of the increase in Federal anatandePublic EmployeelRelationsan5-
actions including equal opportunity, OSHA,
Board', the-Personnel DepIntthetpastthardlyamoredthaniminimaliservices9have
administrative policy:
been provided because of insufficient staff. -
Staff Required:
view departmental
Human Resource Director to-lan,
department before thefmanager,f, and eCouncil, cortmmissi ncand�public.
Represents-:
Personnel Specialist to organize and carry, out personnel policies and
objectives.
Adequate clerical support staff.
Administrative intern for special.projects;as needed.ro rams in education,
Civil rights specialist to.carry out the Commission's p 9
research, and the complaint process.
rrent employee with released time.
OSHA technician who is a cu
Support Services Required:
Adequate legal support for the Ccmmission's__litigation
and: to advise on
State and Federal regulations in the areas
as well as in labor relations:
Adequate Community Relations support in
education,_inter-City
the areas of community research and
cornnunication and
education_
FY 76 Plan:
Human Resources Director
Director levei
Personnel Specialist
Administrative level
Secretary
Level 6
Administrative intern
Hourly
FY 77 Plan:
lluman Resources Director -
Director level
Personnel Specialist
_ Administrative level
Civil Rights Specialist
1/2 time Administrative level-
Risk Manager
Superintendent level
-
Secretary
Level 6
Administrative Intern
Hourly
bihat the Plan Will Offer:
- - Provides top level management responsibility.
__
-For personnel decisions with
arrirmative action thrust.
'
Provides authority and responsibility to
affir;native action officer to insure
that the affirmative action plan will be
implemented.
Provides for adequate implementation of Federal
safety laws.`
Provides systematic coordination for the
abovelisted activities.
Cuts down on the number of administrators
while providing for adequate
support staff. Promotes current employees. ---
Possible department for logical expansion
in the future into a coordinated
- and yell -managed -social service effort:
-2-