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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-05 Bd Comm minutes05-05-09 3b 1 MINUTES FINAL Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 7:00 PM Members Present: Greg Farris, Minnetta Gardinier, Howard Horan, Janelle Rettig, John Staley Staff Present: Sue Dulek, Michael Tharp Others Present: Harrel Timmons, David Hughes, Jay Honeck, Rex Brandstatter, Doug Moore, Larry Bell, John Cunningham RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: DETERMINE QUORUM: The meeting was called to order at 7:10 P.M. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Rettig made the motion to move this item to later in the agenda as Staley had not yet arrived at the meeting, but was expected later. Rettig moved to delay Election of Officers until Staley's arrival; seconded by Horan. Carried 4-0; Staley absent. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 12 AND FEBRUARY 23, 2009 MEETINGS: Farris asked if there were any comments to the above-named minutes. Horan moved to approve the February 12 and February 23, 2009 minutes as submitted; seconded by Rettig. Carried 3-0; Staley absent and Gardinier abstaining. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Iowa Concrete Paving Association -Paving Project Award Presentation - Rettig moved to delay Items a and b until Staley's arrival; seconded by Horan. Carried 4-0; Staley absent. Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 2 of 10 c. Private Hangar Construction -Doug Moore -Moore addressed the Commission, explaining that he wants to build a hangar. He is asking the Commission for a land lease. He explained that he would be financing 100% of the cost to build asix-unit hangar. Moore further explained how he intends to use some of the space and stated that he would like to rent out the unused portion. Moore continued, explaining what he would like to do in building this hangar. He noted that his project would not require the Airport to lay out any money or issue any bonds. He is looking fora 25-year land lease, and noted that the hangar can always be taken apart and moved. The conversation continued, with Members asking for some clarification of Moore's proposal. Farris noted that the Commission would be open to further discussion of such a project. Rettig stated that she would have no problem with a land lease, but she does question the location of this proposed hangar on the south end of the airport. Moore said that having the location closer to the T-hangers would be preferable to him anyway. She added that she believes a subcommittee could deal with such a proposal and then bring back a firm offer for the Commission's review. The conversation continued with Moore further explaining what his plan is and how he hopes to proceed with it. He added that he would put together a business plan of sorts prior to next month's meeting so the Commission has something further to review. Tharp will work with Moore on his proposal and there will be further info at next month's meeting. ELECTION OF OFFICERS With Staley's arrival, Farris stated that they would open the floor for election of officers. Horan nominated Rettig for the Chair position. Rettig noted that having meetings on the second Thursday of the month would be a problem for her, if she were to accept the Chair position. She asked if the Members are willing to move the meeting date to the third Thursday of each month. After a brief discussion, Members decided to change the meetings to the third Thursday of each month. Rettig noted that she would be happy to serve as Chair. Horan moved to nominate Rettig as Chair; seconded by Staley. Carried 5-0. The Members moved next to the Secretary position. Rettig noted that Gardinier would be in this position if they continue to rotate as they have, but given that she has just started on the Commission, she questioned this. Farris noted that having been Chair, he feels they could use this position more to help out the Chair position with meetings, etc. Dulek then noted that they should be looking at a Vice Chair position, not a Secretary position, under the bylaws. Rettig asked who would be interested in serving in this position, and Horan stated that he would be happy to serve as Vice Chair, but that he is not 2 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 3 of 10 interested in being in line for the Chair position later. Farris moved to nominate Horan as Vice Chair; seconded by Rettig. Carried 5-0. a. Iowa Concrete Paving Association -Paving Project Award Presentation - John Cunningham from the Iowa Concrete Paving Association addressed the Commission. He explained the award that the 7/25 runway's paving has received. The Iowa Concrete Paving Association's awards are considered the most prestigious in the country, according to Cunningham. He continued, thanking everyone for their great teamwork on this project. Cunningham then presented the award to Rettig as Chair of the Airport Commission. b. Aviation Commerce Park / U of I Aircare Facility -Tharp noted that Peggy Slaughter was unable to attend this evening's meeting, but that she did relay a message that there may be possible interest in lots 17 through 13. Dulek then noted that the land-swap deal that Slaughter had mentioned previously is still being discussed. Gardinier asked for some further information on this, and Rettig explained what is being proposed. (Staley recused himself as an Airport Commission Member and participated in this discussion as a UIHC employee.) Staley noted that they are in the process of determining whether or not they will make an offer or a commitment to purchase. He noted they have a few things to go through first -two independent appraisals being one. They have a past appraisal, but are not sure if this will stand. Then on the 26th of this month, Staley noted they would be meeting to address these issues and hopefully move ahead. d. Gilbert Street Land Parcel -Rex Brandstatter addressed the Commission, noting that Larry Bell, the landowner, is also present. Brandstatter explained to the Commission where this parcel is on Gilbert Street. He then explained what they would like to do on Gilbert Street, noting that they would follow the City's rules for paving and that it would be used strictly for parking. They would like to enter into a lease agreement based on the value of the property. The discussion continued, with Brandstatter explaining in detail how such a possible lease might work. He noted that he needs to go back to the Planning Commission once he knows how the Airport Commission feels about such a lease. David Hughes with AECOM responded to Members' questions regarding FAA rules and regulations. Rettig stated that she would like to know what the Parks and Recreation has planned for the pond area by Hills Bank, as well as the Highway 6/Gilbert Street intersection that the City has discussed upgrading, as these are in the area being discussed. Horan noted that he believes it is a good idea, as did Staley. Staley added that it is another avenue of revenue for the Airport, something they have been discussing. Rettig noted her concerns, noting that she would question the cost of having an official appraisal on this land. Brandstatter noted that he did take some Fair Market Values and worked up some numbers, which he shared with the 3 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 4 of 10 Members. The "Lease Value" that he came up with is around $309 per month. Rettig asked if Members would like to pursue this, and added that Tharp could begin to look into the questions raised this evening regarding the proposal. FAA/IDOT Projects -AECOM - i. Runways 7/25 & 12/30 -Hughes addressed the Members, noting that since the last time they met they had a "surprise" come up with the FAA. He continued, noting that the FAA has designated Iowa City as one of the three airports in the state of Iowa to receive economic recovery funds. After this construction season, Hughes noted they would have new pavements on 7/25 and 12/30. These funds help to move the AIP program along by about a year. This eliminates the closing of 12/30 next construction season. Hughes continued, stating that with the economic recovery funds, the FAA is requiring the project be based on bids, and that the FAA have a grant application by May 1, 2009. He further explained the FAA's rules and regulations regarding these monies. The project would be completed this construction season, but would not start until later in the season. Hughes gave the Members further information regarding these grants and how they will need to proceed with them. Farris noted that he and Tharp have worked with the City on moving funds around and that the City has been very responsive to this need. The Members continued discussing this issue, with Rettig questioning any possible cost over-runs and the possibility of being able to shift funds as needed. Tharp noted that they should be able to do this should the need arise. Hughes continued, explaining how they will need to proceed with the runway projects. Worst- case scenario, according to Hughes, would be a July 2nd start date. Members asked Hughes for further clarification on the closings, and he responded with details. Jay Honeck noted that the busiest time for air traffic is around July 25th through August 3rd. This prompted further discussion on the closing of the runways. It was noted that the Commission might need to hold some special meetings in order to address some of the issues that will come up with these projects. 1. Consider Resolution #A09-04 Approving Contract With AECOM for Design Services for Runway 12/30 Reconstruction -Horan moved to approve Resolution A09- 04 approving contract with AECOM for design services on runway 12/30; seconded by Farris. Carried 5-0. 2. Hangar Rent Reimbursement (Farris and Gardinier recused themselves due to a conflict of interest-they are both hangar tenants.) Tharp brought everyone up to date on this issue, 4 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 5 of 10 noting that due to the upcoming closures, some tenants may not be able to use their hangars/planes, and therefore may have to go elsewhere during the down time. He shared information with the Members, showing what the rental rates are for all of their tenants, and he broke this down into aper- day rate, as well as various weekly rates. Tharp stated that the discussion for the Commission would be whether they want to issue credits to some tenants, and also the need to think about the two major enterprises that use the Airport - namely Jet Air and the University -and how their operations on the airfield will also be affected. The discussion continued, with Hughes explaining how they would pursue damages should an unforeseen problem make the closure longer than anticipated. Gardinier (as a member of the public) asked if this would include all tenants, or just those who would actually be affected during this period. The Commission continued to discuss the situation, with Rettig noting that they do not have anything budgeted for this, that they would have to delay a project in order to reimburse tenants. Tharp noted that there are 13 hangars possibly affected, according to the letter they received. Horan suggested that they offer a half a month at no charge. Harrel Timmons shared with the Members how he would see this from an individual hangar lease standpoint versus Jet Air's business. He stated that he believes they will be able to keep some of their maintenance business going during this downtime, and if they can't, they will have to lay off some of their employees. He added that the fuel sales would be a big hit for the Airport. Timmons stated that Jet Air isn't necessarily looking for any payments, but they would certainly expect some time of relief for loss of income during the closure period. Discussion continued, with Gardinier stating that some individuals will incur a loss, and with Rettig stating that she agrees with Staley -they are not contractually obligated to do this. Rettig stated that she does not see any way possible for the Airport to afford to do these reimbursements. Staley asked Hughes if there is any feasible way to have the intersection portion completed within atwo- week time period. Hughes stated that there would be no possible way to do this, with four weeks being optimum. He explained that this has to do with not only curing the concrete appropriately, but also just how many workers can be working at one time. With too many parts of the project going on at one time, workers would end up tripping over each other trying to get their portion done. Staley noted that 5 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 6 of 10 the best thing they can probably say to the tenants requesting reimbursement is that they understand their concerns; however, the Airport just does not have the financial resources to meet this request. The best thing to do is to minimize the downtime as much as possible, without affecting the overall project. Discussion continued about other down time at the Airport including bad weather and if this proposal could lead to other reimbursement requests during other closures. After much discussion, Rettig stated that they would not be able to provide reimbursement of hangar rentals. Staley noted that the letter's writers have asked that the Airport Commission present this request to the City administrators. Horan suggested that this request be taken to the City Manager for his input. Staley agreed, stating that he believes they should at least get the City's input on this request. The majority of the Airport Commission agrees that they do not have the financial ability to do this, but they would at least like to get the City Manager's opinion on this matter. ii. South Aviation Development Study -Hughes stated that he would like to combine the remaining issues, and would also like to address runway 7/25 again in light of the discussions taking place. The paving and lighting contract -they have prepared the final change order for the contractor and it is being processed right now. Once this is returned they will get the final paperwork to the FAA. Hughes stated they anticipate closing this project at the April meeting. He noted that the Airport layout plan, that was part of this grant, has been submitted to the FAA for review. Hughes continued, stating that the Phase 1 reconstruction that was this past summer in the eastern portion of runway 7/25 is being finalized with the contractor, and he hopes for a May closure on this one. The South Aviation study has been sent to the FAA for their review. However, Hughes is not sure how long this will take for the FAA to get back with them. iii. 2008 Pavement Rehab (North Taxilanes) -Hughes stated that as soon as they get some good weather they plan to fix the spot on this taxiway. After that they will be able to close this project out. iv. Obstruction Mitigation -Hughes stated that they are still awaiting documentation from the contractor who did the United hangar demolition. He added that Mediacom still has to get some final documents in, as well. v. Building H -University of Iowa Hangar Expansion -There was a pre-construction meeting today, according to Hughes. He stated 6 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 7 of 10 that this project is moving forward. The completion date is set for October. vi. FY2010 State Aviation Program Grant Application -Hughes noted that the State application is due May 5th. He stated that he has met with Tharp and Farris to work on a priority list. Members continued to discuss the upcoming budget years and subsequent shortfalls. The conversation turned to the immediate needs -more space, upgrades, and maintenance -and how they can address these things with State money. Members then briefly talked about some of the issues with lighting and reflectors around the hangar areas. £ Airport "Operations;" Strategic Plan-Implementation; Budget; Management - Regarding the budget, Rettig asked who they are paying unemployment compensation to, and for how long. Tharp stated that this should be done now, and that it covered the temporary employee they had. Tharp stated that he would double-check on this issue. Tharp noted that he hopes to set up a meeting for the strategic planning sometime this next week. vii. Operations Specialist Evaluation -Farris noted that the evaluation for the Operations Specialist was turned in to the City. In going through the evaluation, Farris noted that all they had done on Tharp in the past was asix-month review. Therefore, he is eligible for one step up in his classification. Farris proposed that they approve this merit increase for Tharp. Farris moved that Tharp be given an increase to the step 5 position in his classification; seconded by Horan. Carried 5-0. g. FBO Staff Report -Harrel Timmons addressed the Airport Commission. He noted that the segmented circle is progressing, and that it certainly is colorful. He added that at night, the circle would be impossible to see. He stated that many airports put a lighted windsock in their circle, which can be very helpful for pilots. Timmons continued, stating that fuel sales are down and that for the past three or four weeks he has noticed very few contrails in the sky during the day. He noted that in Galesburg they went about five weeks without a single corporate airplane landing there. The maintenance area of Jet Air is doing well, however, in this economic slump. Charter flights are running about 20% still, according to Timmons. In regards to the hangar project discussed earlier by Doug Moore, Timmons stated that he suggests keeping this on the operating side of the field to keep congestion at a minimum. He also touched briefly on Moore's comment about other maintenance going on at the Airport, and that if this is occurring, they should pay the commercial fees like everyone else does. Rettig asked if Tharp had checked into this, and he stated that he did at the time it was initially brought up, and that he did not see a commercial operation at that time. However, he will look into this issue again. 7 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page8of10 h. Airport Commission Meeting Date/Time -Rettig asked if everyone was okay with meetings being on the third Thursday of each month. This was okay with everyone. Next they discussed the meeting time. Some history of the 5:45 meeting time was shared. It was proposed to change the time to 6:00 P.M„ to which everyone agreed. Subcommittees' Reports -Farris spoke about the viewing area briefly. He noted that he is getting cost estimates for the viewing "tower" and that once they have these they want to start on some fundraising. Farris also noted that they need to do some landscaping this season, and that perhaps they can get some volunteer work to complete this. Rettig asked if Gardinier would be interested in joining this subcommittee. She stated that she would be happy to work with Farris and Tharp on this.. Other subcommittees are: Airfare, Strategic Plan, and Viewing Area, and almost completed is the South Aviation Development. Commission Members' Reports -Farris welcomed Gardinier to the Commission. Gardinier noted that she was glad to be on the Commission, and she looks forward to learning a few things. Horan noted that at one time there was electricity to the windsock area, but he questions how they would get electrical service to the segmented circle area. Tharp noted that he thought of moving the airplane mockup to the area but that that won't work as he thought. Rettig then shared an article that she received from Randy Hartwig about a "green hangar" in Stevens Point. She also noted that she would like to work on outside communications this year regarding the Airport, and that she has been thinking about a PowerPoint educational presentation that they could share with service clubs in the area. Farris noted that the Kiwanis have been interested in such a presentation. Rettig then thanked Farris for his past year as Chair of the Airport Commission, and she too welcomed Gardinier to the Commission. Gardinier then asked about the lighting of the taxiways that she had brought up earlier this evening. She suggested solar lighting of some type, and Tharp stated that the FAA does not approve this type of lighting. k. Staff Report -Tharp stated that the segmented circle construction consumed quite a bit of his time. Tharp also noted that the packets the Members receive prior to each meeting are now available online at the City's web site. He hopes to eventually replace the paper packets with just the electronic version. Rettig noted that she believes it should be an individual decision, not mandatory, that they go electronic. She would still like to receive a paper copy of the packet prior to each meeting. Staley asked if they could bring their laptops to meetings and get wireless Internet access so they can read it online during the meeting. Members were told they can do this, as well. Tharp said he is open to both ways, that Members can let him know. Tharp noted that in addition to Facebook, he has set up an account at Twitter. Dulek then brought up the bylaws change for the Commission due to the change in Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 9 of 10 the Commissioner's terms, and that they need to put this on next month's agenda. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING: Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 6:00 P.M. There may be a special meeting called prior to this meeting, depending on AECOM's needs. ADJOURN: Farris moved to adjourn; seconded by Horan. The meeting adjourned at 9:58 P.M. CHAIRPERSON DATE 9 Iowa City Airport Commission March 12, 2009 Page 10 of 10 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 (Meetinu Datesl NAME TERM EXP. 1/8 2/5 2/12 3/12 4/16 Greg Farris 3/1/13 X X X X Minnetta Gardinier 3/1/15 --- --- --- X Howard Horan 3/1/14 X X X X Janelle Rettig 3/1/12 X O/E X X John Staley 3/1/10 X O/E X X KEY: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member 10 3b(2) MINUTES FINAL Iowa City Airport Commission April 14, 2009 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 6:00 PM Members Present: Greg Farris, Minnetta Gardinier, Janelle Rettig Staff Present: Sue Dulek, Michael Tharp Others Present: David Hughes (via speakerphone) RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None DETERMINE QUORUM: The meeting was called to order at 6:OSPM ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: Public Hearing for the plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the Reconstruct 7-25 (phase 2) and Reconstruct 12-30 - Chairperson Rettig opened the public hearing. Tharp briefed members on the project, noting that the project called for 150 calendar days to complete and the runway intersection work was given 28 days to complete. Tharp also noted the engineers estimate for the total project costs was just under $4.8 million dollars. Tharp stated that the Runway 7-25 and 12-30 portion of the project was funded with normal AIP grant money, and the remainder of 12-30 was funded by economic recovery money. Members asked Tharp questions and Tharp responded. Gardinier asked about the time period of construction for the intersection. Tharp noted that the contract called for a runway to be open during Oshkosh week and Sertoma Weekend. Rettig clarified the dates to be July 24-August 3, and August 29-30. Gardinier asked about when the intersection work would occur. Tharp responded that the contract didn't specify when the intersection had to be done, but the way it is written should necessitate the intersection work be one of the first things done. Gardinier asked how early construction could begin. Tharp responded that it could begin following acceptance of bids, but that once the bids are opened, the Airport is really on FAA timetables while it waits for the necessary grants to be written. Dulek addressed changes to the plans and specs with members. Rettig asked about the amounts reflected in the liquidated damages section. Dulek noted they included the fuel flowage fees, hangar rents, and costs associated with Iowa City Airport Commission April 14, 2009 Page 2 of 3 agreements with Jet Air and the University of Iowa which could be impacted. Rettig closed the public hearing. 2. Consider a resolution approving the plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the Reconstruct 7-25 (phase 2) and Reconstruct 12-30 Farris moved and Rettig seconded motion to consider resolution A09-06 to approve the plans ,specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the Reconstruct 7-25 (phase 2) and Reconstruct 12-30. Tharp noted that they currently planned the bid opening on April 29th' which is a day after the state let bids with several economic recovery funded projects. Tharp noted that there were a couple minor projects in the area, but after discussions with the engineers there was no directly tangible benefit to moving the opening in front of that letting. Members spoke with David Hughes via speaker phone regarding the Airport Commission acting on the bids planned for the regular meeting on May 21. Members asked Hughes if there was any benefit or gains in the timetable to meeting earlier to award the contract. Hughes commented that following the bid opening they needed to wait for FAA to issue the necessary grants, and because of the time requirements for the stimulus funds, FAA was working with the airport to plan for commission action near that regular meeting date. Chairperson Rettig called the question, motion approved 3-0. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 6:46 PM. CHAIRPERSON DATE Iowa City Airport Commission April 14, 2009 Page 3 of 3 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 (Meeting Dated NAME TERM EXP. 1/8 2/5 2/12 3/12 4/2 4/14 4/16 Greg Farris 3/1/13 X X X X X X Minnetta Gardinier 3/1/l5 --- --- --- X X X Howard Horan 3/1/14 X X X X X O/E Janelle Rettig 3/1/12 X O/E X X X X John Staley 3/1/10 X O/E X X O/E O/E KEY: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member 3b 3 MINUTES Iowa City Airport Commission Apri12, 2009 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 7:30 AM Members Present: Greg Farris, Minnetta Gardinier, Janelle Rettig Staff Present: Sue Dulek Others Present: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None DETERMINE QUORUM: The meeting was called to order at 7:33 A.M. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: FINAL 1. Consider a resolution setting a public hearing for the plans specifications, form of contract and estimate of cost for the Reconstruct 7-25 (phase 2) and Reconstruct 12-30 Runway 7-25 and 12-30 Reconstruction. Horan moved to consider Resolution No. A09- OS to set a public hearing for the plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the Reconstruct 7-25 (phase 2) and Reconstruct 12-30 Runway 7-25 and 12-30 Reconstruction. Members discussed whether to set it for 6:00 pm or 7:30 am on April 14 and decided on 6:00 pm. Rettig stated that due to the tight bidding schedule that the public hearing could not wait until the regular meeting on April 16. Resolution carried 4-0. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 7: 37 A.M. CHAIRPERSON DATE Iowa City Airport Commission Apri12, 2009 Page 2 of 2 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 NAME TERM EXP. 1/8 2/5 2/12 3/12yv 4/2 4/14 4/16 Greg Farris 3/1/13 X X X X X Minnetta Gardinier 3/1/15 --- --- --- X X Howard Horan 3/1/14 X X X X X Janelle Rettig 3/1/12 X O/E X X X John Staley 3/1/10 X O/E X X O/E KEY: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member 3b(4) MINUTES FINAL Iowa City Airport Commission February 23, 2009 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 7:30 AM Members Present: Greg Farris, Howard Horan, Randy Hartwig, Janelle Rettig Staff Present: Sue Dulek Others Present: 2 University of Iowa journalism students RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None DETERMINE QUORUM: The meeting was called to order at 7:32 A.M. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: 1. Runway 7-25 and 12-30 Reconstruction-Consider a resolution accepting FAA Grant 3- 19-0047-17. Horan moved to consider Resolution No. A09-03 Accepting Federal Aviation Administration Grant 3-19-0047-17 for the Rehabilitation of Runway 7/25 and 12/30 Intersection Part A; seconded by Hartwig. Farris explained that although the Commission applied for an approximate $2.4 million grant, the FAA intends to divide it into two grants, Part A and Part B. Farris said that the Commission will apply for Part B in a few months. Rettig stated that although there is always a chance that the FAA will not have the funds for Part B, she feels that the Commission has no choice but to accept part of the grant. Farris stated that Part A will cover the engineering services. Resolution carried 4-0. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 7: 37 A.M. Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 x~o NAME TERM EXP. 1/8 2/5 2/12 2/23 Greg Farris 3/1/13 X X X X Randy Hartwig 3/1/09 X X X X Howard Horan 3/1/14 X X X X Janelle Rettig 3/1/12 X O/E X X John Staley 3/1/10 X O/E X O/E KEY: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member 3b 5 MINUTES Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 5:45 PM FINAL Members Present: Greg Farris, Howard Horan, Randy Hartwig, Janelle Rettig, John Staley Staff Present: Sue Dulek, Michael Tharp Others Present: David Hughes, Harrel Timmons, Phillip Woolford, Carl Richey, Minnetta Gardinier, Peggy Slaughter, Rick Mascari, Ron Duffe, Justin Fishbaugh RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None DETERMINE QUORUM: The meeting was called to order at 5:46 P.M. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 8 AND FEBRUARY 5, 2009 MEETINGS: Farris asked if anyone had any comments on the submitted minutes for the January 8 meeting. Staley approved the January 8, 2009 minutes as submitted, seconded by Hartwig. Carried 5-0. Farris then asked about the February 5 minutes. Staley and Rettig both noted that they were not at this meeting and therefore recused themselves from discussion and vote. Hartwig moved to approve the minutes of the February 5, 2009 meeting as submitted, seconded by Farris. Carried 3-0; Staley and Rettig abstaining. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Rick Mascari spoke briefly to the Commission, thanking the Members for their service. He thanked Hartwig for his years as a Commissioner. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Aviation Commerce Park -University of Iowa Aircare Facility -Staley recused himself as a Commissioner and spoke as an employee of the Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Page 2 of 6 University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Peggy Slaughter addressed the Commission, stating that the designer has talked to her about additional information. Staley noted that they have had one estimate from Shive Hattery. This prompted some changes to be made, and they have resubmitted this to Shive Hattery for another estimate. Staley noted that they hope to have this new estimate within a week or so. Once they have this new estimate, Staley noted that they would be submitting this to the City to indicate their "intent to purchase and construct. Hartwig asked what the timeline is for this project. Staley responded that they hope to have it done by January of 2011. Slaughter continued, updating the Commission on the interested party that she has been working with. She also spoke about property currently listed adjacent to Lot ] 7, and she passed info around to the Members. Slaughter continued, discussing what types of businesses are currently in this area, and what types of possibilities they can now market for this area. The discussion continued, with Members and Slaughter discussing the possibilities for development. FAA/IDOT Projects -AECOM -Farris noted that David Hughes is currently in Alaska. Farris stated that he did not have any updates, and Tharp stated that he also had not received any updates on projects. i. Runway 7/25 -Tharp continued, noting that the biggest issue is the 7/25 and 12/30, and he asked if Farris wanted to talk about the discussion they had recently on this issue. Farris stated that Hughes was able to show them that this project will be three parts, which are the 12/30 rehab, the intersection, and then the 7/25. Tharp noted that Hughes' estimate for closure was three to four weeks for the "red area," three to four for the "blue area," and five to six weeks for the "yellow area." Tharp responded to questions about the funding of this project. He explained the various funding streams anticipated. Rick Mascari spoke to the Members about the closures, and asked if they had looked at other alternates to this. He suggested atwo-phase approach and asked if the Commission would consider something like this. Mascari also suggested using a shorter runway or the reopening of 18/36. Members continued to discuss the runway projects, debating safety issues and other alternatives to closing runways. Rettig asked if they could send a letter requesting other options, and Tharp noted that they could do this. He stated that they could also talk to the FAA about what they would be comfortable allowing. Mascari also spoke to the ASOS equipment and runway closures. Farris noted that the runways may be closed during this period, but the Airport will remain open for helicopter traffic. He agreed that they could look at other options, but that safety is a major concern. Mascari asked again that the Airport look at every possibility for keeping the runway open during the construction period. 2 Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Page 3 of 6 The discussion turned to the possibility of rental reimbursements for hangars during a shutdown period. Rettig stated that ifthe hangars are being used for something other than storage of aircraft being used currently, that this would be another matter. An audience member also spoke to the Commission Members regarding possible hangar rental reimbursements, stating that this would only apply to those who would have to leave the airfield and store their planes elsewhere in order to keep flying. Farris noted that they will discuss this issue further, and he reiterated the "red, blue, yellow" plan that has been discussed so far. Members then began talking about what might happen if another wet spring occurs. This led to a discussion of how flexible they can be in completing this project. ii. South Aviation Development Study -Tharp stated that he is not sure of the status of this. It is most likely still with the FAA, according to Tharp and Farris. The final report is to be back yet this month. iii. 2008 Pavement Rehab (North Taxilanes) -Tharp stated that there is one touch-up on this project - a soft spot in the pavement. Hartwig stated that they should look into the heaving of pavement in this area before it becomes too big of a problem. iv. Obstruction Mitigation -Farris noted that he does not have an update on this. Dulek stated that she has an update. She noted that Hughes wanted to close out the United hangar demolition, but the contractor has not provided the necessary paperwork. After several months of no response, Hughes asked Dulek to send a letter. v. Building H -University of Iowa Hangar Expansion -Farris noted that bids came back. Tharp stated they had nine overall. He briefed Members on this, and stated that he is proposing that the $10,000 fence budget be used toward the gap on the over-budget amount. Tharp responded to Members' questions regarding this project, explaining some of the work that will be done in-house instead. Rettig asked for further clarification from Tharp, to which he responded. 1. Consider Resolution #A09-2 Accepting Bids and Awarding Contract for the Building H -University of Iowa Hangar Expansion With Deduct Alternates -Rettig moved to Consider Resolution #A09-2, Accepting Bids and Awarding Contract for the Building H -University of Iowa Hangar Expansion With Deduct Alternates; seconded by Horan. Carried 5-0. vi. Corporate Hangar L -Rettig asked where this item was in relation to the CIP plan, Tharp responded that this was in the FY2011 budget year. Rettig asked about the money in the current plan and Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Page 4 of 6 if they could apply for the hangar under the upcoming program that Tharp has given copies ofthe email. Farris responded that they have $100,000 in the budget policy which they could use for FY 10. b. Airport "Operations;" Strategic Plan-Implementation; Budget; Management - Farris noted that he has been at several City Council meetings recently, and he shared with Members that the Council is looking to make cuts in several areas. He noted that the Airport budget was presented at $130,000 for operations. After a review, he stated that the Council opted to drop this to $120,000. Members briefly discussed this, noting that they can make the necessary adjustments. Rettig spoke to the local match amount for the hangar project, asking which fiscal year it is in. Farris and Tharp responded to questions and concerns from Members. The discussion continued, with Members talking about ways for the Airport to become more self-sufficient in coming years. Farris noted that he also presented the Airport's Annual Report to the Council recently. Rettig asked if the Commission could get copies of this final report. Tharp noted that he would do that. The conversation turned to upcoming grant opportunities and how the Airport should approach these. The budget was discussed next. Rettig asked how they plan to handle Jet Air now doing the Airport's maintenance. She noted that it is under "Snow and Ice Removal" currently. She suggested they talk with Finance downtown on the best way to handle this account in the future. Tharp stated that he would do that. Tharp added that the door on the University's hangar is having a problem, and that someone is coming out this week to give an estimate. Hartwig asked where the traffic-pattern change notification is currently. Tharp noted that mailings go out next week, and that he has several things in the works. Airport Commission Terms -Farris noted that Tuesday's Council meeting addressed the change in the Airport Commission terms. Rettig asked for some clarification on this, stating that four years is probably a better term. Dulek addressed how this would work, giving the Members the best scenario for making this change. Rettig stated that she believes they should hold off for a year before doing this. An audience member added that having shorter terms allows for added viewpoints on the Commission. Members briefly discussed this, agreeing that having the change to a 4-year term go into effect March 1, 2010 rather than March 1, 2009 would be better. Rettig noted that at the next meeting they would need to elect new officers. She asked if the Members are still interested in going back to the "old school" way of doing this, rotating through Members. Horan stated that he was thinking of nominating Rettig for Chair. Members continued to discuss this, with Staley noting that he would not have the time to serve as Chair. 4 Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Page 5 of 6 d. FBO Staff Report - Woolford addressed the Commission. He noted that they have created a spreadsheet to help them in tracking the maintenance and cleaning of the Airport. He reviewed some of the areas they have been working on and cleaning up. He noted several problem areas that will need some attention. Other than that, he stated that things were going fairly well overall e. Subcommittees' Reports -Tharp noted that he spoke to Jeff Davidson recently, and that he should have some time soon to help the Strategic Planning subcommittee. Farris noted that the viewing area subcommittee has not met recently. Commission Members' Reports -Hartwig noted this is his last meeting, and he commented on all that has occurred during his tenure. He added that it is very encouraging, all that has transpired, and that none of this would have happened without the City's support. Hartwig added that he is very appreciative of the current Commission's work the past few years, and that he looks forward to staying involved and helping out as he can. Those in attendance applauded Hartwig's comments. Rettig added that she is honored to have served on the Commission with Hartwig. She added that Farris set up a Facebook page for the Airport, and she suggested getting this out there more. She suggested they also use Twitter to get special alerts out to people. Horan added his thanks to Hartwig, stating that he has had a stabling effect on the Commission. Staley added his thanks as well. He noted that during Hartwig's three-year tenure as Chair a lot of change occurred. Farris agreed with Staley, noting that during Hartwig's Chair things were a bit tough at times. He thanked Hartwig for his work. g. Staff Report -Tharp noted that the Iowa Public Airports' Association 'Day on the Hill' is slated for Wednesday, February 25. He noted that two Members could also attend, if interested. Tharp thanked Hartwig, as well, noting that it was a pleasure to work with him. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR: March 12, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. Rettig moved to set the March 12, 2009 meeting for 7:00 P.M., seconded by Horan. Carried 5-0. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 7:44 P.M. Iowa City Airport Commission February 12, 2009 Page 6 of 6 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 Iwo.:..,. ~,.,...~, NAME fF.RM EXP. 1/8 2/5 2/12 ---- - --- Greg Farris 3/1/13 X X X Randy Hnrtwig 3/1/09 X X X - ---- Iloward Horan 3/1/14 X X X ~ JanelleRettig 3/1/12 X O/E X John Staley 3/1/10 X O/E X KEY: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member ua-ua-uy 3b 6 MINUTES APPROVED PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, MARCH 5 2009 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM -CITY HALL Members Present: Mark Seabold, DaLayne Williamson, Jan Finlayson, Ann Khan, Terry Robinson (sitting in for Terry Trueblood), Patrick Carney Members Absent: Rick Fosse Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Jeff Davidson, Nate Kabat Public Present: Dale Merrill, Liberty Iron Works of Mt. Vernon, IA; Daniel Kinney, Tate High School Art Teacher; Laura Paczatek and Megan Lisbon, University of Iowa Journalism Students RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL Recommend approval of contributing $1000 supporting the second phase of a mural to be painted on the Wetherby Park shelter by students of Tate High School, Grant Wood Elementary School and Mark Twain Elementary School. Moved by Finlayson. Seconded by Kahn. Motion passed 6:0 CALL TO ORDER Finlayson called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 5 2009 MEETING MOTION: Robinson moved to approve the minutes; Williamson seconded. The motion passed 6:0. SCULPTURE PROJECT AT WATER WORKS PRAIRIE PARK -PASSIVE SOLAR LIGHTING PROPOSALS -DALE MERRILL Merrill reported the formal quote he received for lighting from SEPCO. The quote included two packages for dusk +7 hours of lighting. Option 1: 7 hours of continuous lighting - $8,673 Option 2: Computer maximizes efficiency of lighting. Sunnier months provide more then 7 hours of lighting. Has the capacity to split the 7 hours of lighting between directly after dusk and before dawn to maximize visibility - $9,006 Both systems are 425 watts with 47" X 86" solar panels to be mounted on a pole. The panels can be located up to 100ft. from the sculpture, although the distance can be increased using higher gauge wire. Merrill noted often times installers want the panels to be close by to display to the public the use of "green" energy. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, March 5, 2009 Page 2 of 4 Flood style light bulbs would be places low to the ground and directed upward to light the sculpture. Robinson noted installation of the lights should consider the 3' - 4' height of mature prairie grass. Merrill noted the lights use LED bulbs and comes with batteries, control switches and a warranty. The battery lasts 5-7 years. Merrill noted the system used three lights which would provide ample lighting for the project. Bollinger asked if the estimate includes footings for the lighting. Merrill said he could provide that element. Merrill said he would like to place the lighting temporarily before making it permanent to ensure proper positioning. He said he would like to be part of that process. Fosse asked how the sculpture would be transported. Merrill said he would transport pieces of the sculpture using a truck and trailer. The pieces would than be assembled on site. Merrill asked if it would be possible to get the large trucks into the site for installation. Robinson said it would be possible in the summer when the ground has dried and hardened enough to support the weight. Bollinger said it would be good to work with organizations like MidAmerican to seek grants to support the artwork and the use of renewable energy for the lighting. Williamson said she has worked with MidAmerican before and would help with that discussion. Williamson asked what the timeline for the project is. Merrill said the beginning of August would be the latest he plans to begin installation. Bollinger informed the committee that the contract with Merrill would be presented to City Council at the next Council meeting. Davidson encouraged the committee to contact City Council to tell them about this project so they keep it in mind when setting the budget. Davidson said the council had not mentioned PAAC when discussing possible cuts. WETHERBY PARK SHELTER MURAL PT. 2 -DANIEL KINNEY TATE HIGH SCHOOL Dan Kinney showed the committee the results of the completed first phase of the Wetherby Park Shelter Mural. The community has been very excited about the results of the project and the dedication ceremony received a lot of positive press. Kinney explained that since the back of the building continues to be a target for gang related graffiti, he would like to extend the mural to wrap around to that portion of the shelter. For the first phase of the project, Kinney asked for $500 and ended up adding an additional $500 of his own funds. This time he asked for $1000 to cover the entire cost of the second phase. Kahn said she is very impressed with the results of the first project. Seabold agreed adding the dedication was very positive. Kinney said the neighborhood has taken pride in the project. He expected the second phase would be able to begin very soon since the weather has been getting warm again. Seabold asked if the money is available. Bollinger passed out a budget highlighting the current outlays. The committee agreed that the funds are available. Seabold noted the high level of success seen in the first phase shows the great need for extending the project. Robinson noted this would help deter further grafFti, adding that the lower backsplash board on the building should be considered a boarder to the mural since that piece needs to be replaced form time to time. Robinson also said an anti-graffiti sealant should be put on the mural. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, March 5, 2009 Page 3 of 4 MOTION: Finlayson moved to recommend approval of $1000 to support phase two of the Wetherby Park mural project to be painted in the shelter. Seconded by Kahn. Motion passed 6:0. ARTSFEST - KIDZTENT Bollinger asked the committee to think about scheduled for the June 7'h Artsfest Kids Day. Last time the committee split the workload into 2 hour shifts. Seabold asked if the artwork that will be sold in the tent should be collected on Saturday or Sunday. Finlayson said Saturday when the artists are setting up their tents would be the best time. Finlayson noted this was done for the last Kidztent and worked well. Williamson offered that artwork could be stored in her office after it is collected. COMMITTEE TIME/UPDATES Kabat informed the committee about progress on Poetry in Public. He noted a record number of poem submissions were received this year. He also explained that most of the schools in the school district participated in the program including higher participation from the high schools and junior highs. Bollinger told the committee the program is being expanded this year to solicit artwork inspired by winning poems from local artists. Selected artwork will than be displayed alongside poems and unveiled at Artsfest. ADJOURNMENT Finlayson motioned to adjourn; Williamson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 3:57 pm. Next meeting scheduled for April 2"d, 2009. Minutes submitted by Nate Kabat. Public Art Advisory Committee Thursday, March 5, 2009 Page 4 of 4 Public Art Advisory Committee Attendance Record 2009 Name Term Ex fires 1/8 2/5 3/5 Annadora Khan Ol/O1/I1 X O/E x Data ne Williamson 01/01/12 X X X Jan Finla son O1/O1/11 X X X Mark Seabold O1/O1/10 X X X Patrick Carne 01/01/12 O X X Rick Fosse X X O/E Terr Robinson X X X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused 3b 7 MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION APRIL 2, 2009 - 7:30 PM -FORMAL CITY HALL, EMMA J. HARVAT HALL APPROVED MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Freerks, Josh Busard, Charlie Eastham, Elizabeth Koppes, Tim Weitzel, Michelle Payne, Wally Plahutnik MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, Karen Howard, Sara Greenwood Hektoen OTHERS PRESENT: David Kieft, Judith Pascoe, Claire Sponsler, Dana Thomann, Ginalie Swaim, Mark Pries, Lindsay Bunting Eubanks, Bruce Brechtol, Julianna Tumoczko Poe, Walter Kopsa, Marshall Poe, Will Jennings, Christina Welu-Reynolds, Larry Jewell RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: 1. The Commission voted 6-0 (Plahutnik abstaining) to approve REZ09-00001, an application submitted by the Northside Neighborhood Association for a rezoning of approximately 23.25 acres of property located along the 300-500 blocks of Gilbert Street, the 300-700 blocks of Linn Street, the 200-300 blocks of Church Street, the 200-500 blocks of Fairchild Street, and 200-400 blocks of Davenport Street from Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone to Historic District Overlay Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (OHD/RNS-12) zone and from Medium Density Single Family (RS-8) zone to Historic District Overlay/Medium Density Single Family (OHD/RS-8) zone. 2. The Commission voted 4-2 (Busard abstaining; Plahutnik and Eastham opposed) to submit a letter of approval for an application submitted by Richard Wonick for a rezoning of 39.92 acres from County Agriculture (A) to County Residential (R) zone located east of Buchmayer Bend NE and west of Highway 1 NE with the following recommendations: 1) that the Commission defers to the County for compliance with their Land Use Plan, and 2) that Buchmayer Bend be improved to county road standards, 3) that Staffs design proposal be implemented, and 4) that the applicant address stormwater detention as well as ownership and management of the outlot. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. by Chairperson Ann Freerks. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. ZONING CODE ITEMS: Discussion of amendments to the Zoning Code to regulate Drinking Establishments and Alcohol Sales Oriented Retail Uses and to establish minimum spacing requirements between such uses. Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 2 Howard briefly summarized the matter before the Commission. She stated that the City Council had directed Staff to craft zoning code that had the goal of reducing the concentration of bars and liquor stores in the community, particularly in the downtown area. The draft regulations require a separation of 500 feet between bars and 1,000 feet between new liquor stores. The first order at hand for Staff was to define what a "drinking establishment" or bar is. Staff defined a drinking establishment as a business: 1) whose principal activity is eating and/or drinking, 2) is licensed by the State to sell alcohol for consumption on-site, and 3) is open on a regular basis anytime between the hours of midnight and 2:00 a.m. Howard said this definition precluded any restaurant that has a liquor license but closes prior to midnight from being affected by this regulation. Howard said that for establishments whose primary use is not eating and/or drinking but that do sell liquor and remain open past midnight, such as bowling alleys, theaters, and restaurants and bars associated with hotels and motels, the regulations would not apply. Howard said that any retail establishment that has been issued a Class E liquor control license or wine or beer permit that allows the sale of alcoholic beverages in closed containers for off-premise consumption would be considered a liquor store or "Alcohol Sales Oriented Retail Use." Howard said these establishments could apply for an exemption from the regulation if the alcohol sales constitute less than 25% of the gross yearly income (uses such as grocery/convenience stores). Howard said the separation requirements are 500 feet distance between any two drinking establishments and 1,000 feet between alcohol sales oriented retail uses. Howard said that Staff is suggesting that alcohol sales oriented retail uses only be regulated in the downtown zones, as there are not likely to be concentration problems in other parts of the community. This would also avoid placing undue administrative burdens on Staff and other retail businesses such as Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart and the like, to have to declare their income to the City each year when renewing their liquor licenses. Existing businesses that do not meet the separation requirement would be grandfathered in and would be considered legally non-conforming uses for as long as the establishment remained a bar or liquor store. The legally nonconforming status would be lost if the building changed to a different use; once it changes from a bar or liquor store it could not be changed back into one. As with all nonconforming uses, these establishments would not be allowed to expand or change the footprint of the current building, although an exception has been inserted into the regulation to allow for the addition of sidewalk cafes. Interior changes and remodeling are allowed so long as the footprint of the exterior does not change. Howard shared a map of the establishments that sell off-premise alcohol in the downtown area, which demonstrated overlap in the 1,000 foot separation requirement, meaning that no new liquor stores could likely be established in the downtown area if this regulation were passed. Howard noted that the Commission had requested data on the trends of new bars in the downtown area for the last ten years. Howard shared a graph with that data which indicated that there has been approximately a 50% increase in Class C liquor licenses issued for the area in the last ten years. She noted a seeming spike in 2006 was actually the result of an erroneous duplication in data. Howard shared a visual aid representing 500 feet separation of drinking establishments in the downtown area, demonstrating a marked concentration of bars in the CB-10 zone. Howard noted that Commissioners had asked for information on the possible implications of having a smaller separation between bars, and whether that might not be a more reasonable standard. Howard shared a graphic representing a 250 foot separation for the existing establishments downtown. She said 250 feet still seemed to provide coverage for the majority of the downtown, though it does provide some opportunity for future drinking establishments in the outlying areas. Howard noted that there has been a great deal of discussion on the implications for the current downtown businesses, but that there should be no affect on these businesses as they will all be grandfathered in. She said that they would only be affected if a current bar changed to a different use, as it would not then be able to be changed back into a bar. She said that in the near-term for sure, and possibly for the long- term there will still be a large concentration of bars in the downtown area. Howard said that the City has indicated that downtown should grow to the south of Burlington Street. Howard said that these would be Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 3 newly redeveloped areas and it would be wise to think about what kind of concentration of drinking establishments and liquor stores is acceptable as the downtown grows southward. She said that the question is: what is a reasonable standard for future growth? Howard pointed out the number of bars and liquor stores that have recently been established on south Gilbert Street with its recent redevelopment, and asked Commissioners to think about what direction they would like to see other areas south of Burlington Street take as it is redeveloped. Howard offered to answer any questions the Commission might have. Eastham asked for clarification on the number of drinking establishments and liquor stores along south Gilbert, which Howard said there were seven and pointed their locations out on the map. Miklo noted that Staff is comfortable with the possibility of reducing the separation limit to 250 feet if the Commission chooses to do so, as they believe it will still be a fairly effective way to ensure that there are not a number of new bars established downtown. Freerks asked if there were questions for Staff from the Commission. As there were none, she opened the public hearing. David Kieft, representing the University of Iowa, asked if the Commission had a desire to continue this matter once more. He said that without speaking to the merits of the case, the University had several research experts in the field of binge drinking in college towns and would like the experts to provide the Commission with additional information on the relationship of binge drinking and excessive alcohol use to the easy accessibility to alcohol. Kleft noted that both experts happened to be out of town for the present meeting, but that they have expressed a strong interest in providing the Commission with additional information. He said the information would be for background and statistical purposes, not to speak to the merits of these particular regulations. Freerks asked if the experts would be available for an upcoming meeting and Kieft said he believed they would be. There was no one else who wished to speak to the matter and the public hearing was closed. Freerks asked for a motion. She said that there was an option to continue for additional information Eastham moved to defer this item until the next Planning and Zoning meeting. Weitzel seconded. Eastham said that he would like to hear more information from the University experts about the effect of binge drinking on student health. Busard said he wished to disclose that in a separate conversation with Council member Matt Hayek this issue came up. He said that the matter was not the focus of the conversation, and that he remained impartial on the issue. He added that he was not really in favor of deferral as he saw the matter as more of a comprehensive planning issue for the downtown area. He said that he did not necessarily believe the regulations would curb binge drinking as there would still be plenty of bars to go around. Weitzel said that the input from the binge drinking experts might be more appropriate for the City Council to hear if things progress to that stage. Freerks said she was interested in more input on the matter. She said that so much time and effort has been put in over the years surrounding the issue of binge drinking that she felt that waiting for more freely available information was appropriate. She said this would also give anyone with concerns the opportunity to attend the next meeting. Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 4 A vote was taken and the motion to defer was passed on a vote of 4-2 (Plahutnik abstained from the issue; Busard and Weitzel voted no on deferral). REZONING ITEM REZ09-00001: Discussion of an application submitted by the Northside Neighborhood Association for a rezoning of approximately 23.25 acres of property located along the 300-500 blocks of Gilbert Street, the 300-700 blocks of Linn Street, the 200-300 blocks of Church Street, the 200-500 blocks of Fairchild Street, and 200-400 blocks of Davenport Street from Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone to Historic District Overlay Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (OHD/RNS-12) zone and from Medium Density Single Family (RS-8) zone to Historic District Overlay/Medium Density Single Family (OHD/RS-8) zone. Miklo pointed out the general boundaries of the district on an overhead map. He outlined an area of the district that was actually already included in the National Register of Historic Places as the Gilbert-Linn Street historic district. Miklo said the boundaries of the proposed local historic district would correspond with those boundaries with the addition of properties on Gilbert Street, Fairchild, Ronald Street, and up to the Brown Street historic district. Miklo said the proposal was to connect this district to the Brown Street historic district and to include more properties that are considered "contributing properties" to the areas historic character, as well as to include the historic brick streets of Fairchild Street. Miklo shared a few images of properties in the district demonstrating the general character of the area. Miklo said that city code clearly defines the role of the Planning and Zoning Commission in reviewing historic preservation overlay zones. Miklo stated that the Commission was to examine the proposed district in relation to the Comprehensive Plan, the zoning code itself and any proposed public improvements or plans for renewal in the area. Miklo said it was the role of the Historic Preservation Commission to determine the general boundaries based on the historic nature of the properties. The district before the Commission has been outlined by the Historic Preservation Commission. Miklo said that it is the role of the City Council to consider the recommendations of both Commissions as well as any relevant political considerations involved in the proposal. Miklo said the Comprehensive Plan notes the importance of Iowa City's older neighborhoods and references the use of historic preservation as a tool for maintaining the vitality of older neighborhoods. Miklo said that several policy statements in the Comprehensive Plan support this effort. He cited a passage in the "Arts and Culture" section of the plan (p. 39) which encourages the City to document and preserve the City's cultural heritage and to continue to implement the Historic Preservation Plan. Another section, "Housing Goals and Strategies" (p.45), encourages the City to preserve the integrity of existing neighborhoods and the historic nature of older neighborhoods, and endorses the Historic Preservation Commission's efforts to meet these goals. The "Land Use" section of the plan (p.47), which Miklo described as perhaps most pertinent to the Commission, encourages the City to protect historical and natural environmental features of the city, and to continue to implement the Historic Preservation Plan. Miklo said that the recently adopted Central District plan speaks broadly to the City's commitment to preserve older neighborhoods and to improve the quality of life for their residents. The Central District plan contains strategies to help accomplish this, including: enforcement of neighborhood nuisance ordinances, support for neighborhood associations, supporting of reinvestment in the housing stock in older neighborhoods, and encouraging a balance of home ownership and rental properties. The Central District Plan specifically supports the Historic Preservation Plan as a way of implementing these efforts and supports the designation of the Gilbert-Linn Street area as a local historic district. Miklo said that the Commission is given specific direction by the Historic Preservation Plan to broadly preserve historic neighborhoods by implementing similar strategies as outlined in the Central District Plan, and by designating the Gilbert-Linn Street area as a local historic district in the short term. Miklo said that the Commission is charged with considering the Comprehensive Plan in this matter, as well as the underlying zoning and whether or not the proposed historic overlay is compatible with that Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 5 zoning. Miklo offered the example that an area zoned as high-density residential or intense commercial may not be appropriate for a historic district designation as the zoning is geared toward redevelopment. Miklo said that in this case, the majority of the area in question is zoned RNS-12, a zone specifically designed to stabilize single family areas. The northern portion of the district, near Ronalds Street, is zoned RS-8, Medium Density Single Family, which is intended to provide small-lot single family homes and to create a livable residential environment. The proposed historic overlay zone is compatible with both of the underlying zones for this district, Miklo said. Miklo noted that some correspondence sent to the Commission raised the concern that the overlay zone would prevent someone from using their property. Miklo said that this was not the case; that it was the underlying zone that controlled the allowable number of units, density, height and setbacks. Miklo said the overlay zone would speak to the architectural character of the buildings built there. In regard to the consideration of public improvement or renewal plans for the area, Miklo said, the City's stated policies and plans are to encourage reinvestment in the current housing stock in this area. If some sort of urban renewal district or a major highway were planned for the area, a historic overlay zone might not be appropriate; however, that is not the case here. Miklo said there had been several studies that have been done across the nation that indicate that historic district status helps stabilize and improve neighborhoods and property values. Miklo said it was clear that this proposed district is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Miklo said that based on all three aspects which the Commission has been charged to consider -the Comprehensive Plan, the zoning code, and any renewal plans for the area -this proposed historic district fulfills all requirements. Therefore, Miklo said, Staff recommends approval of the Northside Neighborhood as a historic preservation overlay zone. Miklo offered to answer any questions Commissioners may have. Busard asked how many people came to the meeting held by the Northside Neighborhood Association as apart of its good-neighbor efforts in publicizing this application. He asked if there was a democratic process involved in the neighborhood association's decision to submit this application. Miklo responded that this would be something for the neighborhood association to address. Miklo said that it is his understanding that the neighborhood association did have a meeting where their members agreed to submit the application and had at least one follow-up meeting. Greenwood Hektoen asked that Commissioners disclose any ex parte communications that might have taken place with anyone outside of City staff regarding this matter. No one had anything to disclose. Eastham commented that he had asked the question of Staff what progress was being made to meet goal #2 in the Historic Preservation Plan regarding updating the historic preservation guidelines and stream lining the review process. Eastham noted that Staff had written a memo in response to that question and thanked them for taking the time to do so. He said that at some point the Commission should address that memo. Payne asked if the National Historic District designation had specific rules as the local designation did governing what can happen to a property. Miklo said the National Register of historic places comes into effect when there is federal money being invested into a neighborhood, for example a public works project receiving federal funds. Miklo said such a project would have to take into account how it might affect either negatively or positively a National Historic District. If someone received a federal funds, the Secretary of Interior standards would have to be followed. The National Historic District also provides for some tax credits and benefits. However, Miklo said, in terms of what an individual property owner does if there is no federal money involved there is no federal control; someone could demolish a National Register property without any stipulations unless it is also designated as a local landmark or historic district. Freerks opened the public hearing. Judith Pascoe, 317 Fairchild Street, introduced herself as the coordinator for the Northside Neighborhood Association. She noted that the meeting place for the Commission meeting was in Emma Harvat hall, Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 6 and that the Emma Harvat house stands in the Northside neighborhood. Pascoe stated that Emma Harvat was the first female mayor of Iowa City. Her house was designed by O.H. Carpenter, a renowned local architect who is responsible for some of the most beautiful older homes in Iowa City. Pascoe noted that eight of these houses are in the proposed Northside historic district, one reason that this application met with unanimous approval from the Historic Preservation Commission. Pascoe said that Emma Harvat's house, owner-occupied, stands across the street from Shelter House, a mecca for Iowa City's homeless population, and across from student rental property. Pascoe said that these kinds of juxtapositions are what make the north side stand out as a utopian neighborhood which from its earliest days was one of the most socio-economically and ethnically diverse places in Iowa City. Pascoe said the Northside neighborhood has long allowed for the most affluent businessman and bohemian laborers to live side by side. Pascoe said the Northside Neighborhood Association initiated this process as a stabilization effort, aimed at off-setting market forces that threatened the neighborhood's social and architectural history. Discussions about the historic district designation began last fall at a neighborhood association meeting to which everyone in the neighborhood was invited. That discussion was announced in the Northside Neighborhood Association newsletter that went out to residence. Pascoe said the discussions continued at the January meeting where participants started to apply for the local historic district designation. Pascoe said that the association supplemented the City's official notification process by sending out mailings to neighbors and property owners, distributed both door-to-door and through the mail. The same process, Pascoe said, was used to distribute invitations to a historic preservation forum held at Horace Mann School on March 26th. Pascoe quoted the Central District Plan's "Housing and Quality of Life" section as promoting the Central District as an attractive place to live by "encouraging neighborhood associations to advocate for specific improvements." Pascoe noted that another stated aim of the Central District Plan was to support the goals and objectives of the Historic Preservation Plan, which advocates designation of the near-northside as a local historic district. Pascoe said that the Northside is a model of the dense, transit-friendly neighborhood that many urban planners seek to emulate in newer neighborhoods. Pascoe said that it is currently cost-prohibitive to build houses to the level of craftsmanship and of the quality of materials that were routinely used when her neighborhood came into existence. Pascoe praised north side residents as being "green" before it was popular to do so, by hanging their clothes to dry on clotheslines and building their homes to last. The proposed near-northside local historic district accords perfectly with the Central District plan's goal of ensuring the stability and livability of Iowa City's older neighborhoods, so as to preserve the culture, history and identity of the city itself, Pascoe concluded. Claire Sponsler, 413 North Gilbert Street, stated that perhaps the most important thing she could say about the proposed historic district is that the rezoning is in accordance with the 1992 Historic Preservation Plan, the 1997 Comprehensive Plan, and the 2007 Central District Plan (two of which she was involved with as a neighborhood resident). Sponsler said that there is a long tradition in Iowa City of planning support for historic overlays. She said that it is likely that this zoning will have beneficial outcomes in terms of ensuring the neighborhood's continued socio-economic diversity while also ensuring that affordable housing is not lost in the neighborhood. Sponsler said the historic overlay will help stabilize the neighborhood for families that want to move there and will help preserve the historic character of houses in a way that will enhance the lives of owner-occupants, landlords and renters. Historic overlays encourage investment in older neighborhoods, Sponsler said, and have a ripple effect that will lessen traffic problems, keep neighborhood schools alive, and limit sprawl. Sponsler said that historic districts can actually have the effect of preserving affordability because they provide access to grants, loans and tax credits that would otherwise not be available. Sponsler said that it is reasonable to believe that the near-northside will prosper with this rezoning. Dana Thomann, 208 Fairchild Street, said that she owns her property jointly with her sister. The pair purchased the home in 2001 from a woman who had owned it since 1969. Prior to that, Thomann's great-great grandparents and great grandparents had owned the home. Thomann said that her house has quite a history to it, with five generations of her family having been in the home. On her daily walks Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 7 to work, Thomann said, she always notices something new, unique and interesting about the homes in her neighborhood. She said that her great-grandparents kept a lot of photographs of Iowa City and the Northside neighborhood, and that it is really fun to look at the photographs and see how the neighborhood has changed. She said it is sometimes sad to note the way some architectural details and other aspects that lent homes character have been removed. Thomann said that this rezoning was important to her and her sister because of their personal history; however, she said, as she speaks with young people her age she has noticed that they are invested in this idea of historic preservation and have an appreciation for old things and for history. She asked that the Commissioners keep that in mind as they consider this proposal. Ginalie Swaim, 1024 Woodlawn, said that she represents her historic district on the Historic Preservation Commission. Swaim noted that she was about Thomann's age when she lived in her first historic home as a renter in the Northside when she was in college. She said that she had chosen that home because of the character of the neighborhood and the older homes there. She said that many of residents who stayed near that neighborhood were pretty dismayed in the late 1970's when several of the houses were being demolished in favor of four-plexes and apartment buildings. Swaim said that Iowa City put a moratorium on demolishing old houses in the area, deeming the neighborhood worth saving. She said this was an acknowledgement that the neighborhood had something critical in its character that was essential to what Iowa City is. Because of the City's action, the neighborhood was saved. Swaim said that 30 years later, it is time to take the next step in recognizing the importance of this neighborhood. Swaim said that one can be a college renter in a historic neighborhood and absorb the ambience and appreciate and cherish that neighborhood. She said that her experience speaks to the ongoing love and respect that people have for this neighborhood and she hopes the Commission's actions reflect that. Mark Pries, 1128 Denbigh Drive, introduced himself as the senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church. He said that while he does not reside in the neighborhood, many of his parishioners do. He said that his congregation has made a commitment to be in that neighborhood, and that they are excited about what a historic district designation could mean for the neighborhood as a whole. He stated that he wished to encourage the adoption of this designation and that he believed it was a quality of life issue. Lindsay Bunting Eubanks, 1618 Aber Avenue, said that she was the Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission. She said she simply wished to reiterate what had already been said on behalf of adopting the local historic district designation for the Northside neighborhood. She said the application was approved because it was already a part of the Historic Preservation Plan. She noted that the Historic Preservation Commission did not pursue this application, but that it was the Northside Neighborhood Association that brought the matter up. She acknowledged that at the meeting she attended sentiments for the historic district were divided between those inowner-occupied properties and those in landlord/tenant properties. On the whole, Bunting Eubanks said, the neighborhood was worth preserving. She noted that the neighborhood was already on the National Register. She also noted that if enough homes are demolished or changed so that the historic character of the neighborhood is changed, the neighborhood can actually be de-listed from the National Register. She said that the local designation would help to protect that status, and to keep the neighborhood vibrant and encourage a certain amount of economic stability. Busard asked Bunting Eubanks how the matter was smoothed over with the landlord/tenant residents of the neighborhood, or if it even had been. Bunting Eubanks replied that the Historic Preservation Commission had been working hard on public relations as there are a lot of misunderstandings about historic preservation. She said that a common misunderstanding is that people are often unaware that there are alternative materials that can be used in restoring older homes that are not as expensive as wood siding would be. She said that the historic preservation standards and alternative materials information are contained in a document linked to the City's website. She said another misconception is that if you are in a historic district no changes can be made to your home. She said exterior changes can be made, but they must be consistent with the character of the structure. Freerks asked if there were requirements for upgrades if a neighborhood was designated historic. Bunting Eubanks said there were not requirements for upgrades, but that transformations would be made to the home gradually over time by the choices that were made when replacing such things as windows and siding. She said this Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 8 transformation was evident in the homes in other historic districts in Iowa City. Freerks asked if interiors were affected by this designation; Bunting Eubanks said they were not. Weitzel asked what the vote was on the submission of the application, and asked if there were any strong sentiments against the application. Bunting Eubanks said that she did not think anyone was against the vote as the designation is part of their Historic Preservation Plan, and was brought before the Commission by the neighborhood. Eastham asked Bunting Eubanks about goal #2 in the Historic Preservation plan which contains plans to streamline or improve the process for obtaining certificates to make improvements. Eastham said that Staff had written a brief memo that stated that the Historic Preservation Commission has a commitment to obtaining many of those objectives. Eastham asked Bunting Eubanks to comment on that. He said that some of the objections that he had noted in the minutes concerned not only the expense of materials, but also the process involved in obtaining approval to work on homes in a historic district. Bunting Eubanks said that there is a status known as "intermediate review," which Staff is working on rewriting so that smaller matters do not have to go before the full Commission and could be reviewed administratively by Staff and the Chair. Bunting Eubanks gave the recent example of a set of concrete steps that someone wanted to replace with wooden steps; this would not qualify for a certificate of no material effect because the materials used are different, however, the new steps would be more in keeping with an older home. With this process, the matter was resolved with a three day turnaround rather than having to wait for a meeting of the full Commission. Bunting Eubanks said that one of the frustrations with bigger projects is that people have a certain design in mind that may not be historically compatible. Bunting Eubanks said more public relations work needed to be done in this area to encourage people to consult Staff early in the process with their design ideas. Bunting Eubanks said that they are working on streamlining the guidelines as well to help make them clearer. Bruce Brechtol, 155 Jennifer Court, North Liberty, said that he owned property in the northside area. He said that he felt like he was out of the loop because he had not seen any communication on the matter. He said he might not be against the historic designation, but that he needed more information. He asked if this was the same process that had been initiated in 2004. Miklo said that a similar process with a slightly different area had come before the Commission in 2004. Brechtol said that he believed that at that time Staff had also supported the historic designation but that a majority of the landowners had not. Freerks said she believed that the City Council had chosen not to adopt the designation at that time. He said that at that time he had heard that it would cost more to maintain the home, and he did not see how it was possible that it would not. He said he is not a big, wealthy landlord; he lives in a 1,300 square foot house with his six children and he needs to know how this might affect him and his property. He asked if the City did not communicate with property owners until after such measures were passed. Miklo said that a letter had been sent to all property owners of record and that he would check to see if one had gone out to his property. He said he did not know if he was against the measure or not because so much was unknown to him. He said he could live with a small cost increase, but not something substantial. Freerks said that to be honest it was not for the Commission to speculate as to how his property would be affected as assumptions could be made in either direction depending on many variables. Freerks said that what the Commission looks at is not the same thing that the Historic Preservation Commission looks at or even necessarily what the City Council looks at. What the Commission looks at is how it fits in with the Comprehensive Plan, the zoning code, and whether urban renewal projects are affected. She said that it was unfortunate that Brechtol did not see his letter and acknowledged that in all instances he should have been contacted. Miklo said he would provide a copy of the letter and would be happy to sit down with Brechtol and go over the applicable guidelines. Brechtol said he had an old house with over 30 windows in it that are not at all energy efficient. He said he did not know if it would be possible to replace them with energy efficient windows in a historic preservation district. Weitzel said that it was absolutely possible. Miklo said that it is not unusual for the Historic Preservation Commission to approve replacement windows. Brechtol asked if it was the City Council to whom he should lodge his concerns. Freerks advised him to be in touch with the issue all along the process and to educate himself as much as possible so that he can make his best decision. Brechtol asked that the matter be deferred as it was impossible to say how Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 9 many other property owners may be in the dark about this matter as he is. He asked that the historic preservation designation not be rushed through. Julianna Tymoczko Poe, 416 North Linn Street, said that her family was lucky to be able to live in a home that had seen many generations of children grow up in it. She said that her family enjoyed living in a neighborhood with students, and that they appreciated the vibrancy that it brings. She said there are a lot of houses that are really beautiful and well-maintained by their landlords; she said that she can only assume that this was something many tenants looked for in a home. She said that as members of the neighborhood, she and her family value those landlords who are really contributing to the neighborhood. She said one small concern was that there are some landlords who do not contribute to the neighborhood in that way, and that tends to create a cycle of poor maintenance leading to poor tenants leading to poor maintenance, etc. She said that she strongly supported this measure and that she felt it was an important means to keeping the neighborhood blended. Walter Kopsa, 130 Ashwood, said he owned properties at 320 and 324 Davenport Street. He said he had the frequent pleasure of driving on the historic brick streets Staff had mentioned and that he believed they were responsible for some of his undercarriage problems. He asked how many people were at the Northside Neighborhood Association meeting when the idea came about. He said he believed there were approximately 120 properties in the area in question and he would be curious to know how many people actually started this whole process. Kopsa said he was at the follow-up meeting, and that there were 15- 20 people in attendance there, with three of them representing the Historic Preservation Commission. He said that this process had not been democratic and that those against the measure had just had to go through this process four years prior. Freerks said these were not questions the Commission could answer and would have to be addressed to the appropriate parties after the meeting. Kopsa said it seemed as though Busard was also curious as to how many people had started this process, as he had asked the question and had not received a response. Busard acknowledged he was curious, and that he would have an opportunity to ask again. Kopsa said this was a large area with a lot of different types of properties; he said that the designation is an inconvenience and makes it harder to maintain one's property. He said he could not imagine that the designation would make anything more affordable in that neighborhood. He said that those properties in poor condition would probably never get fixed if this went through as the investment required would make it impractical. Marshall Poe, 416 North Linn Street, said that he and his family had lived in a historic neighborhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan prior to coming here. He said that he had discovered his home online and found it so compelling he had threatened to buy the home sight unseen. He said that the rental properties across the street were part of what lent the area its character. He said he has renovated homes and done it in the right way, and that as both a landlord and an occupant of his home he believes it pays to be in a historic preservation district. He said the diversity of the area benefits his family. He said he came back to Iowa to live in a neighborhood like this, that it is a real gem, a great atmosphere, and a place worth preserving. Will Jennings, 311 Fairchild Street, said that his home is listed as a "contributing home" for the neighborhood and is sandwiched between two other contributing homes. He said that he also owns a rental home in the historic Longfellow neighborhood. He said that over time the rental property had been updated and renovated from a rough looking house to one that won an award for historic preservation efforts. He said that the home had improved from a house that would have collapsed or been bull-dozed into a functional, contributing home in the historic neighborhood. He noted that historic neighborhoods and historic homes do not have to be fancy. He said that the home that he and his wife restored has had a stabilizing influence on the whole block, making an impact that has a ripple effect to other properties. Jennings said that the house is rented for a fair price, and that they have been able to find stable tenants who wish to stay longer than a year because it is a house that people want to live in and take care of. Jennings said he relayed this because he wanted to be very clear that he spoke not only as a property owner and vested resident of the Northside, but also as a landlord who is in the business of renting a property in a historic district. Jennings said this historic overlay is in alignment with the Central District Plan, the Comprehensive Plan and the general plan for Iowa City as it moves forward. Jennings said this overlay supports the stability and identity of a gateway neighborhood, something that has a profound Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 10 long-term impact. The historic overlay protects and encourages long-term investment in the neighborhood, represented in the equity of the homes there. Jennings said the overlay will promote the diverse mix in the neighborhood of rental properties and those that are owner-occupied, something that is unique and inviting about this neighborhood. Jennings said that the protections that come with this overlay are inclusive. He said that there had been comments made this evening about the democratic process s by which such proposals go forward. Jennings said that it should be made clear that the Northside Neighborhood Association is not an elite cabal of people, but a group whose membership is open to any property owner and resident in the neighborhood, and which has been fostered and encouraged by the City of Iowa City as a way to promote neighborhood stabilization. He said the process has not excluded anyone, and that all have been invited to participate at various times. Jennings said that while he felt it was unfortunate that some people did not receive their notices, he could attest to the efforts that had been made to properly inform everyone involved. That aside, Jennings said that zoning and planning are not typically done in a vote by vote, house by house, block by block manner. Jennings said that the idea behind planning and overlays is to protect the best interests of the community as a whole. Christina Welu-Reynolds, 619 Brown Street, identified herself as a resident of the north side of Iowa City. She said she chose this part of town because of the diversity and historical significance of the neighborhood. Welu-Reynolds said if you look at any city in the United States you will find that historical neighborhoods lend a grounding and stabilizing factor. She said that Iowa City has a responsibility to accept all kinds of neighborhoods; however, it tends to be older neighborhoods that get changed the most. She said that it is a privilege to own some of these houses and live in these neighborhoods due to the craftsmanship and the materials. She said that these homes cannot be built today, and that owning an older home carries a responsibility to maintain it. She said the north side offers a diverse neighborhood for its residents and for the city as a whole. No one else wished to address the Commission for the first time and Freerks opened the floor for rebuttals. Judith Pascoe, 317 Fairchild Street, said she wished to answer the questions concerning how many people attended the initial neighborhood association meeting on this topic. She acknowledged that a majority of the neighborhood did not by any means attend any of these meetings. She said she could not give an exact number of attendees off the top of her head but that she could say the typical neighborhood association meeting has anywhere from 12-36 people in attendance. She said this is actually a good number of attendees for a Neighborhood Association. She offered her apologies to Brechtol for not receiving notices, and said that the association had tried hard to reach everyone and was not happy to know that he had not been contacted. She said she would like to talk to Brechtol and answer any questions he might have. Freerks asked Miklo if the City sent out mailings in addition to those sent out by the neighborhood association. Miklo said the City had sent out two mailings; in February roughly 300 mailings were sent out inviting people to the Historic Preservation Commission meeting; a second mailing was sent out in mid-March inviting people to this meeting. Miklo said he could not at this time confirm whether Brechtol had been on the list. Eastham asked to whom the mailings were addressed. Miklo said the mailings are addressed to the property owner of record with the City Assessor's Office. (After the meeting a review of the file confirmed that Brechtel was notified by letters sent to him in care of his property manager on February 27 and March 20.) Freerks asked if anyone else wished to speak to the issue. No one wished to speak and the public hearing was closed. Freerks said she would entertain a motion prior to discussion. Busard motioned to approve REZ09-00001, an application submitted by the Northside Neighborhood Association for a rezoning of approximately 23.25 acres of property located along the 300-500 blocks of Gilbert Street, the 300-700 blocks of Linn Street, the 200-300 blocks of Church Street, the 200-500 blocks of Fairchild Street, and 200-400 blocks of Davenport Street from Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 11 Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone to Historic District Overlay Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (OHD/RNS-12) zone and from Medium Density Single Family (RS-8) zone to Historic District Overlay/Medium Density Single Family (OHD/RS-8) zone. Weitzel seconded. Eastham said he had listened with great interest to Miklo's description of the purview of the Commission's scope for this recommendation. He said it was also his understanding of what the Comprehensive Plan and the Historic Preservation Plan asked the Commission to do. He said he did wish to digress from that a bit, however. He said there is considerable interest with the cost associated with complying with the requirements for improving a home in a historic district. He said this concern was reflected both in comments made this evening as well as in the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission. He said that while it is not clear that the Comprehensive Plan gives the Commission much leeway to address those issues, Eastham said he wished to take note of them and say that after listening to discussions of actual costs it seems to him that any additional costs may be off-set by the benefits of having a property in a historic district. Eastham said he was comfortable with this recommendation at this point. Busard said he thought the Northside district was an important part of Iowa City and that the neighborhood is definitely worth preserving and investing in. Busard said it was within the goals of the Central District plan to protect this neighborhood. He said it seemed to him that the neighborhood association had done a good job of encouraging participation, and that he too supports this recommendation. Payne said she agreed with Busard that this is a beautiful neighborhood worth preserving and said that she thought this was probably the best way to go about doing that. She said the overlay would give some oversight into how the neighborhood was preserved. Weitzel said that he was on the Historic Preservation Commission for six years so he was coming from that perspective, although he said he had not spoken with anyone involved with this proposal so any budding conspiracy theories so could be put to rest. Weitzel said that by making the area a locally protected district, it would be possible to keep the area from becoming an urban renewal zone. Weitzel said that nationwide historic preservation has been seen as an economic development tool, stabilizing or even increasing neighborhood property values. Weitzel said historic preservation is a very useful way to protect the appearance, livability and quality of life in a neighborhood. Weitzel said that one need not look further than the end of Iowa Avenue after the tornado to see how much a historic district allowed that area to retain its character. Without the historic district, that area might have seen demolition after demolition and apartment after apartment in that area. Weitzel said that in a lot of cities one sees many very small historic districts with the same type of housing. Weitzel said that in the case of Iowa City, the history of development is a diverse one filled with infill and the Northside reflects that context. Weitzel noted that the meeting being held tonight is itself a democratic process, and that the last two City Council elections, both with detailed discussions of historic preservation, were also democratic processes. Weitzel noted that he is a member of the Longfellow Neighborhood Association. He said that their newsletter is circulated to about 1,000 residents and the neighborhood association is lucky to get 12 people at its meetings; he noted that participation is not mandatory. Freerks said that this historic overlay is definitely in sync with the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning code, and that urban renewal does not come into play. Freerks said that many, many reasons have been offered as to why this overlay is the right thing to do in this instance. Freerks said that the Northside Neighborhood is a treasure and that it is long past time to do this. She thanked the neighborhood association for taking the time and great effort involved in doing this. Freerks said she lives in a conservation district and she can attest to the fact that it is not necessarily an expensive endeavor; she said she has seen a slow process of great renewal in her neighborhood. She said she has heard lots of positive comments both from landlords and owner-occupiers in these neighborhoods and she believes Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 12 that a very positive transformation will take place over time. She said the neighborhood already has great strengths. She said that there is a misconception that historic preservation is only for places like Summit Street and Brown Street, but that they can also be small, quiet places as well. She said she is definitely in favor of the rezoning and she hopes that the City Council will vote in favor of this as well. Eastham said he wished to state that he was very pleased to hear so many residents say publicly that they wish to maintain a mix of rental and owner-occupied properties in the neighborhood. He said that such sentiments were a delight to him. He said that he appreciated the idea that historic preservation was a way of making neighborhoods viable for both owner-occupiers and renters. Freerks called for a vote. The motion carried 6-0 (Plahutnik abstaining). COUNTY REZONING ITEMS: CZ09-00002: Discussion of an application submitted by Richard Wonick for a rezoning of 39.92 acres from County Agriculture (A) to County Residential (R) zone located east of Buchmayer Bend NE and west of Highway 1 NE. Busard recused himself from these discussions and left the room Miklo reminded Commissioners that the property in question was within two miles of the city limits but not within the city's growth area. Miklo said the rezoning is reviewed by the Commission because that is part of the Fringe Area Agreement, which states that rezoning from agricultural to residential will be considered on a case by case basis if there is clustered development and it complies with the County's Land Use Plan. Miklo pointed out that the County's Land Use Plan is in flux presently, and as a result, the staff recommended that the City defer to the County as to whether or not this complies. Miklo said the subdivision plan has added some open space to comply with the 50% requirement of the Fringe Area Agreement. Staff would recommend more cluster development than is shown on the applicant's plan. Staff suggests ashorter cul-de-sac to better cluster the lots. Additional clustering would provide more buffering between the housing and Highway 1. Staff recommends deferring to the County as to whether this complies with their Land Use Plan and that if it were to be approved, Staff recommends requiring the more clustered design and that Buchmayer Bend be improved to county road standards. Miklo offered to answer any questions Commissioners might have. Freerks asked if the lots in the design proposed by Staff were the same size as those proposed by the applicant; Miklo said they were and that all met the minimum requirements. Plahutnik asked if the zoning standards would be city regulations in the Fringe Area. Miklo said that if the area is within the growth area then the city's subdivision codes would apply; outside the growth area, the county regulations apply. Greenwood Hektoen reminded Commissioners that ex parte communications should be disclosed prior to the opening of the public hearing. There was none. The public hearing was opened. Glen Meisner with MMS Consultants addressed the Commission on the applicant's behalf. Meisner agreed the land was within jurisdiction for review by the Commission, and noted that he was in agreement with the two recommendations Miklo had set as a condition of approval. Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 13 Meisner said he wished to speak briefly to the concept plan developed by Staff as opposed to that submitted by the applicant. Meisner said that his plan attempted to avoid a ravine, steep slopes, timber and possible wetlands that Staffs plan did not take into account. Meisner shared an aerial photograph for illustration. Miklo said he believed that the Staff design did take the ravine into account Meisner said that it was his job to work on behalf of the developer, and that he felt his design allowed for walk-out lots on most of the lots which is desirable for most buyers. Meisner said he removed two lots along Buchmayer Bend to provide recreational areas such as ball fields or playground areas. Meisner said he and the applicant had met the requirements of the Fringe Area, and he encouraged the Commission to approve their application without the lot layout presented by Staff Eastham asked if it was appropriate for the Commission to be approving this application knowing that the County is working on changes to its Land Use Plan that would not allow this development. Meisner said the application was made prior to the county taking final action on the north corridor. Meisner said that in fact Johnson County Planning and Zoning has recommended leaving the plan as it is. Eastham asked if it would not be more logical to wait until the County Supervisors act upon the matter. Meisner said he did not think that would be more logical. He said that when an application is made, the Commission should operate under the rules in place at the time. Meisner said there was no guarantee the rules would actually change and it is only fair to operate under existing rules, not proposed ones. There was no one else who wished to speak to this issue, and Freerks said she would entertain a motion. She explained that what is needed is a letter to the County with the Commission's recommendation for the application. Payne motioned to submit a letter of approval for an application submitted by Richard Wonick for a rezoning of 39.92 acres from County Agriculture (A) to County Residential (R) zone located east of Buchmayer Bend NE and west of Highway 1 NE with the following recommendations: 1)that the Commission defers to the County for compliance with their Land Use Plan, and 2) that Buchmayer Bend be improved to county road standards. Koppes seconded. Eastham motioned to amend the motion to include stipulations that require the applicant address stormwater detention as well as ownership and management of the outlot. Weitzel seconded. Freerks invited discussion on the amendment. Weitzel said that the Staff proposal still allows adequate development potential and presents a better design. Freerks said the discussion should be on the amendment concerning stormwater management. A vote was taken on adding the amendment to the motion and the motion passed 6-0 (Busard abstaining). Weitzel moved to amend the motion to include Staff s design proposal as a stipulation. Eastham seconded. Freerks opened discussion on the amendment. Koppes asked if the applicant would be required to follow the design if the Commission approved that motion. Miklo said they would because the cluster concept is required in the Fringe Area Agreement. Koppes asked what would happen if the concept did not work in terms of engineering. Miklo said he was pretty confident that it would work. Weitzel said he did believe the Staff design does avoid the ravine quite well. Koppes said she did not know if she wanted to get into engineering. Miklo said it was not engineering, rather it was lot layout. Weitzel said that Staff design would meet the recently passed subdivision standards. Koppes stated that the property was outside of Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 14 the city's growth area. Payne noted that the County did not have to accept all of the Commission's recommendations. Plahutnik said that he felt MMS had done a very nice, sensitive job given the concerns of their client. Plahutnik said that the problem was that once again the Commission was finding itself in the position of zoning not planning. He said that if this were the last piece of development to be built in that area it would be a great project, and someone makes a lot of money. Plahutnik said this project has three cul-de-sacs, which the City is working hard to avoid. In the end, Plahutnik said, the area surrounding this area will be developed. This is not astand-alone project, Plahutnik said, and has to be thought of in context of that future development. Plahutnik said that for him to make an affirmative recommendation to the County on this project would be insane. That would not be forward looking, Plahutnik said. There is not even a general plan for that area yet, so it is impossible to know how this project will fit in. He said this is not a big picture plan, but a subdivision for an individual's profit. Miklo said comments should address the amendment on the floor. Eastham said he had interpreted it as such. A vote was taken and the amendment to stipulate Staff s plan as a requirement for approval was approved 4-2 (Busard abstaining; Koppes and Plahutnik opposed). Freerks invited discussion on the motion as a whole. Eastham said he found Plahutnik's perspective fascinating. Eastham said he did not have a full grasp of the technicalities of the Fringe Area Agreement, and asked if in Plahutnik's view the Commission should agree to consider zoning matters only in the context of an overall plan for development. Plahutnik said he was voting on conscience in this case. Miklo said the Fringe Area Agreement says the matters should be considered on a case by case basis. Payne said that case by case almost implies that there is no plan to consider. Greenwood Hektoen said that the Commission should apply any of the concepts and values used to consider any other application before them; it is not whether it complies with the County's Comprehensive Plan. The Commission is asked to review it because it has potential to be within the corporate limits of Iowa City and needs to fit in. Eastham said he was beginning to see Plahutnik's point because there is no provision in the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan for large lot rural subdivisions and no zoning designation that fits. Miklo pointed out that the city has RR-1 zone, large, one-acre lots. Miklo said there would have to be other compelling reasons why this was not appropriate, such as concerns about traffic, or changing the rural nature of an areas, etc. Freerks said that it sounds like a larger issue is begin considered which could be pulled forward for discussion in the future in conjunction with the county. Eastham said that the area between Iowa City and this property is basically open farmland. Eastham said there could be large lot rural subdivisions abutting Iowa City's limit, thereby limiting Iowa City's ability to develop small-lot areas. Koppes pointed out that once development reaches the growth area the subdivision regulations apply. Freerks said that it can be seen with Country Club Estates the friction created when something that was once very rural abuts the city limits. She said it is an issue but that she was not sure it was a reason for denial. Weitzel said that he does not like the growth out in that area, but that he does not see that the Commission really has a reason to say "no" to it. A vote was taken and the motion carried 4-2 (Busard abstaining; Plahutnik and Eastham voting against). Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 15 OTHER: Discussion of a request to consider an amendment to the zoning code to allow accessory apartments in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone. Miklo explained that up until 2005 the City only allowed accessory apartments if one of the residents was elderly or disabled. In 2005 the code was liberalized to allow accessory apartments in single family zones provided the property was owner-occupied. At that time, the RNS-12 zone was specifically excluded because of its proximity to the University of Iowa. Miklo explained that the zone was fairly dense already and that a lot of the properties were subdivided into apartments in that area. Miklo said the primary concern was that accessory apartments would be legitimate at the time they were established and then if the property was sold as a rental property, it would be very difficult to enforce that unit not being occupied if the owner did not live on site. Miklo said that the idea also ran somewhat counter to efforts to stabilize the area. Miklo said that accessory apartments are somewhat of an experiment, and that a few have been approved in the RS-5 zone. He said there have not been any problems with them to date; however there are only a few and it has not been a long time since they were created. Miklo said the question before the Commission is if it wants to expand the accessory apartments to the RNS-12 zone. He said that if the Commission did decide to do so, they would need to decide whether to pursue the amendment now or to put it on the work program to address when some of the other items are completed. Freerks opened the public hearing Judith Pascoe, 317 Fairchild Street, said that the reality of the RNS-12 is that it is still somewhat of a dream and a goal. She said that the reality of the area is that it is really densely populated. She said that she did not feel that allowing accessory apartments was going in the direction the RNS-12 designation aimed for. Claire Sponsler. 413 North Gilbert Street, said that normally she would be in favor of plans to increase density as it is often a very good urban planning value. However, she said this is inappropriate in the RNS-12 zone because the density is so high, and the parking so difficult. She agrees with the earlier decision that accessory apartments not be allowed in this zone. Will Jennings, 311 Fairchild Street, said that he understands that a younger or first time home-buyer may use this arrangement as a way of purchasing a home. He said that while he thinks this is an honorable thing, he does think that the realities of the area make it a poor choice for accessory apartments. Jennings said there were already issues of enforcement regarding parking and over-occupancy, and that this would compound those. Weitzel moved to deny the request to consider an amendment to the zoning code to allow accessory apartments in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone. Koppes seconded. Weitzel said that the accessory use apartment is still experimental and should be allowed to play out in areas with larger lots and less density issues until the Commission can see where it is going. Koppes said that it was not included in the RNS-12 zone for very good reasons which still stand today. Eastham said he felt there were sufficient zones that allow accessory apartments already. Eastham asked if the owner did not have to live in the primary residence and Miklo replied that it is not specified in the code which dwelling the owner must occupy. Payne said it should be left the way it is. She said it did not make sense to change the zoning so that one Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 16 letter-writer can buy a home. Busard said it was a bad idea. Freerks said she remembers the discussions about this when the code was changed. She said there were many good reasons this zone was left out. A vote was taken and the motion to deny the request was passed on a vote of 6-0 (Plahutnik abstaining). Discussion of retaining Interim Development (ID-RS) and Rural Residential (RR-1) for a portion of Country Club Estates (Outlot D). Miklo explained that this issue has already been seen by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Miklo said that the Council would like to leave Outlot D zoned ID-RS and RR-1 and the question is whether the Commission would like to meet with the Council to persuade them otherwise. Freerks opened the public hearing as there were no questions for Staff. Larry Jewell, 53 Tucson, said that he was concerned with this proposal as there were a number of issues that still need to be addressed. He said that what is getting lost is what is driving the developer to accept this proposal. The developer had raised concerns about the uncertainty of the use of the Outlot. Jewell said this arrangement allowed the opportunity to discuss the total development to be lost. Jewell said this gave the development a piecemeal approach and loses the continuity of the development. Jewell said there were still a number of issues to address and said he would suggest sitting down with the planners, the developers and the City Council to discuss other options for these lots. Jewell said Ross Wilburn, City Councilor, had attended a neighborhood meeting on the issue, sat down with the neighbor's to hear their concerns and previewed the area. Greenwood Hektoen advised Commissioners to reveal any ex parte communication at this time Eastham noted that after the City Council meeting a woman named Jayne Sandler who owns one of the lots with her husband spoke with Eastham about the general rezoning process. Greenwood Hektoen asked Eastham if he could still be impartial in his decision. Eastham said that he could. Freerks said that in general if the Commission was to meet with the City Council it would be to present an argument that supported the option the Commission had presented to Council. After some discussion, it was determined that in this case, the Commission and the Council were not actually in disagreement. Koppes motioned to not meet with the City Council. Weitzel seconded. A vote was taken and the motion not to meet with the City Council was passed 7-0. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: March 2 ~ March 5, 2009: Payne, Koppes and Busard offered corrections to the minutes. Koppes motioned to accept the minutes as amended. Payne seconded. The minutes were approved on a vote of 7-0. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Planning and Zoning Commission April 2, 2009 -Formal Page 17 Payne motioned to elect Freerks as Chairperson for another term, Koppes as Vice-Chair, and Plahutnik as Secretary. There was no discussion. A vote was taken and the motion carried 7-0. Greenwood Hektoen advised Commissioners that due process requires Commissioners to reveal any ex parte communications up-front, prior to Staff reports. ADJOURNMENT: Payne motioned to adjourn. Weitzel seconded. The meeting was adjourned on a 7-0 vote at 10:00 p.m. Iowa City Planning 8 Zoning Commission Attendance Record 2009 FARMAI MFFTINf: Name Term Ex ires 1/15 2/5 3/5 4/2 J. Busard 05/11 X X X X C. Eastham 05/11 X X X X A. Freerks 05/13 X X X X E. Ko es 05/12 O/E X X X M. Pa ne 05/10 X O/E X X W Plahutnik 05/10 X X O/E X T. Weitrel 05/13 X X X X INFORMAL MEETING Name Term Ex ires 1/12 2/2 3/2 3/30 J. Busard 05/11 O/E X X X C. Eastham 05/11 X X X X A. Freerks 05/13 X X X X E. Ko es 05/12 O/E X X X M. Pa ne 05/10 X X X X W. Plahutnik 05/10 X X X X T. Weitrel 05/13 O/E X X X Key: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused 3b 8 MINUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 - 6:30 PM MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Members Present: Stephen Crane, Marcy DeFrance, Andy Douglas, Charlie Drum, Holly Jane Hart, Michael McKay, Brian Richman, Michael Shaw Members Absent: Rebecca McMurray Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Others Present: Steve Noack, Ashlee Swinton (Successful Living), Steve Rackis (Housing Authority), Maryann Dennis, Charlie Eastham (The Housing Fellowship), Ron Berg (MECCA), Sandy Pickup (The Free Medical Clinic), Diane Funk (Home Ties), Heather Weber, Joshua Weber (Builders of Hope), Arvind Thakore (Dolphin), Bill Wittig (Private Owner), Terry Sobotta (Iowa Realty) RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action): Housing and Community Development Commission Funding Recommendations: FY10 CDBG/HOME Projects Public Services: Iowa City Free Medical Clinic (Operations): $5,000 Shelter House (Operations): $2,500 Successful Living (Operations): $2,500 Public Services Total: $10,000 Housing Activities: The Housing Fellowship - CHDO Operating: $30,687 Isis Investments LLC -Rental: $150,000 The Housing Fellowship -Rental: $220,000 Dolphin Lake Point -Homeownership: $90,000 Iowa City Housing Authority - TBRA: $110,000 William Wittig -Rental: $20,000 Housiug Total: $620,687 Public Facilities: Community Mental Health Center -Facility Rehabilitation: $23,504 The Arc of Southeast Iowa -Facility Rehabilitation: $4,500 Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County -Facility Rehab: $26,601 Shelter House -New Construction: $83,215 MECCA -Facility Rehabilitation: $32,399 United Action for Youth -Facility Rehabilitation: $18,000 DVIP -Facility Rehabilitation: $12,256 HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 2 of 16 Public Facilities Total: $200,475 Total FY10 CDBG/HOME Funds Available to Allocate: $831,162 Housing and Community Development Commission Funding Recommendations: 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. Stimulus Bill) FY09 Annual Action Plan Amendment First Mennonite Church -Home Ties Addition: $60,000 Shelter House -New Construction: $116,785 (Shelter House Total FY09 & 10 CDBG Award of $200,000) Total 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Funds: $176,785 On a vote of 8-0 (McMurray absent) the Commission agreed to make the above mentioned recommendations to City Council for FY10 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) And Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds and for the 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act funds. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: None. DISCUSSION REGARDING FY10 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (HOME) REQUESTS: • Discuss FY10 CDBG/HOME Applications • Develop FY10 CDBG/HOME Budget recommendations to Council • Consider an Amendment to the FY09 Annual Action Plan for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. Stimulus Bill) Richman said that all Commission members have had an opportunity over the last month to review the applications and projects, and that tonight's meeting was where the final allocation recommendations would be made. Richman proposed starting with Public Services as it is the only independent category. He noted that with Housing and Public Facilities, funds could be moved from one category to another. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 3 of 16 PUBLIC SERVICES: Richman noted that no Commissioners allocated funds to Extend the Dream on their allocation worksheets, so he proposed allocating $0 to that agency for the time being; the other Commissioners agreed. Hightshoe asked if each category would be voted on individually, or if a final vote would be taken at the end of all of the decision-making process. Richman said there would be one motion at the very end of the process. Richman noted that only one Commission member funded the Compeer Program. Douglas, the funding member, said that he could withdraw his proposed funding as it seemed the consensus was to not fund Compeer. Richman suggested allocating $0 to that project for the time being. He reminded Commissioners that changes to these numbers could be made at a later time. Richman suggested starting with the average allocation for the remaining four Public Service agencies: $4,056 for Iowa City Free Medical Clinic, $3,111 for Shelter House (Operations), $1,444 for Successful Living (Operations), $1,111 for Local Foods Connection (Operations). Richman said that HCDC policy is that the $10,000 available in this category must be allocated with a $2,500 minimum for each agency. Richman asked if anyone felt strongly about either increasing or decreasing funding for the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic. Hightshoe noted that the average allocations worksheet lists in order the average score after the ranking sheets were compiled. The application with the highest score is first and then second, third, etc. This is the same for housing and public facilities. McKay proposed raising the Free Medical Clinic's allocation to $5,000. Shaw inquired as to the rationale for this, noting that at least three people had spread the allocations evenly in $2,500 increments. Shaw pointed out that the prior meeting's consensus was that each Commissioner would allocate to the two agencies that had previously received the most votes for allocation and then spread the remainder as they saw fit. He said that it is a question of whether the Commission wants to "load up" the top two selections, or spread the money among more groups. Drum said these comments basically lead to a discussion of Local Foods Connection, because they were at the bottom of the remaining agencies in terms of allocations. He noted that there were five Commissioners who allocated nothing. Shaw said he could be swayed either way, as he is still wrestling with the choice of placing federal reporting burdens on small, understaffed organizations versus funding an organization that has in the past used CDBG money well and put itself in a position to grow into aself-sustaining organization. He said this was a discussion the Commission should have. Richman said that his feeling was that Local Foods is an organization that has really moved toward being self-sustaining and may no longer need CDBG money in such a critical way. He said this was his rationale for not funding Local Foods, but that he was open to discussion on the matter. Drum said that it is an organization that he personally supports, but that it did not rank well on his allocation sheet and so he chose not to fund it. Richman said that it seemed the choice was whether Local Foods would receive $2,500 or $0. Crane said the Free Medical Clinic was his first priority, and that he would be willing to move Local Foods to $0. DeFrance said that the Free Medical Clinic was also her highest priority because of the high number of Iowa City residents it serves; she said this rationale is also what led her to fund Shelter House and Local Foods. Shaw noted that McMurray had funded Local Foods. Richman pointed out that the vote would be taken at the end of the meeting so that McMurray could have the opportunity for input if she arrived at the meeting prior to its end. Shaw asked how many years Local Foods had been funded. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 4 of 16 Hightshoe said it had been funded in FY08 and FY09. Shaw analogized that the Local Foods seed had taken root and may now be able to grow on its own. He noted that in some ways not funding Local Foods was almost like punishing them for their success. Richman said that ultimately there are philosophical issues to consider when it comes to allocating the funds, but that that is the nature of the task. He proposed allocating $0 to Local Foods and bumping the free Medical Clinic up to $5,000. The Commission agreed to do so for the time being. Richman noted that Successful Living also had an average allocation that was below the $2,500 minimum, and asked if the Commission would like to move it up to the $2,500 level or down to $0. McKay said that with the burden of federal reporting in mind, he would consider moving Successful Living to $0 and then moving Shelter House up to $5,000. Richman said that his feeling on the federal reporting requirements is that each agency was aware of those requirements when they applied for the funds and so it will not be an unforeseen burden for these organizations. Long and Hightshoe pointed out that the three organizations still under consideration for Public Services funding have all received federal funding of some sort in the past and are therefore familiar with the requirements. Long said that if Staff had concerns about those agencies and reporting they would have informed the Commission of that. Hart said she would be willing to go either way, but was leaning toward $5,000 for the Free Medical Clinic, $2,500 for Shelter House, and $2,500 for Successful Living. Richman asked the representatives of Successful Living that were present if they would be comfortable with an award for less than the requested amount, and they indicated that they would be. Crane noted that all of these agencies have put a lot of time and effort into this process and that he would prefer to fund three or four of them rather than just two. A consensus was indicated for funding Successful Living at the $2,500 level. For the purposes of discussion, the Commission agreed to fund Free Medical Clinic at $5,000, Shelter House at $2,500, and Successful Living at $2,500. HOUSING ACTIVITIES: Richman suggested next discussing the Housing Activities applications. He suggested beginning by once again seeing if consensus could be reached on which projects would not be funded. Don Tonnesen Rental: Drum noted that Don Tonnesen's application (Anchor Housing) had received no votes for allocation. Richman agreed that this project could be dropped from discussions if no one had changed their opinion on it since submitting their worksheet. The Commission agreed to allocate $0 to this project. Builders of Hope -Rental: Richman noted that Builders of Hope had received only one vote for funding (McMurray). Richman suggested funding the project at $0 for now and then revisiting if necessary prior to a vote. The Housing Fellowship - CHDO Operating: Richman noted a high level of consensus on the CHDO Operating funds for The Housing Fellowship, with everyone funding at either $30,000 or the full request of $30, 6887. Shaw said that if the Commission was willing to fund at $30,000, then they might as well go ahead and give The Housing Fellowship the additional $687 they had requested. A consensus was indicated for funding The Housing Fellowship (CHDO Operating) at $30,687. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 5 of 16 Isis Investments LLC -Rental: The application from Isis Investments LLC was discussed next. Crane noted that the average allocation for this project had been $150,000 of the requested $250,000, with Richman allocating a little more and Hart allocating a little less. Shaw said his rationale had been that Isis did two units very successfully last year so he was willing to go ahead and fund three units this year. Crane said he had a similar rationale for his final allocation figure. Douglas noted that this was one of those "shovel ready" projects being encouraged by the Stimulus Package. Richman said he had previously funded Isis at three units ($150,000) but had decided to bump it up to four units ($200,000). He said there are two big traditional rental projects under consideration for funding: projects by Isis and The Housing Fellowship. Richman said the nice thing about Isis is that the units come on line fast because they are an acquisition rehabilitation project as opposed to new construction. He said he was comfortable moving down to $150,000 if others were more comfortable with that. Shaw said he would be comfortable going to $200,000 if it could be changed later in the discussions if the money was found to be needed elsewhere. Hart said she liked both projects, but had just been looking for more money for The Housing Fellowship. She said she would be fine with $150,000 for Isis if that was the consensus. The Commission agreed to set the allocation for Isis at $150,000 for the time being. The Housing Fellowship -Rental Crane noted that he had allocated high on this project because they have always done a good job. He said he would be willing to go down to the level of the average allocation ($202,552) to be more in line with what others have allocated. Richman said that it helped him to list the pros and cons for the Isis project and The Housing Fellowship project. A con for Isis is that the affordability covenant is only for fifteen years instead of the 30 years The Housing Fellowship has proposed. He said that is sort of the nature of the hybrid rental/option to buy project that Isis offers. Richman said his concern with The Housing Fellowship is the relatively high developer fee. Richman said that it is also true that much of the developer fee will ultimately go back in the community because The Housing Fellowship has a history of doing good projects. Shaw asked if the concern Richman had was bumping into the same situation the Commission ran into in the fall with having the terms of the loan change. Richman said that in a sense this was an issue for him in that the loan would not amortize and no money would come back into the City over time to be reallocated for other projects. He acknowledged that this just might be the nature of affordable housing in Iowa City at this time, and that perhaps the only way it can be feasible is to have no ongoing loan payment. Hightshoe pointed out that Staff concurred with the terms put forth by The Housing Fellowship because they will look more appealing to a syndicator trying to broker the tax credit deal. A consensus was reached to fund The Housing Fellowship (Rental) at $200,000 (ten units) for the time being. Shelter House -Rental: Richman asked for comments on the Shelter House rental project. Richman noted that five Commissioners had not funded the project and four had. Drum noted that six Commissioners had actually not funded the project as he had made a mistake in allocating to the project and had not intended to. Shaw said that while he had allocated some funding to the project, he was comfortable with the arguments previously made by others that it may be better to do more immediate, shovel-ready projects this year and save this for another time. McKay said he had had the same thought. Douglas said he thought that Staff still had some concerns about the ability to pull this project off at this time. Hightshoe said Staff had concerns about cash flow because the Shelter House will have to get a private loan to fund this project. She said that Staff had expressed that they could not give their recommendation to the project based on the current numbers and that they had not received a revised pro forma (as had been HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 6 of 16 requested at the last meeting from Shelter House). McKay said he would be willing to go to $0 on the project and Douglas said that he would too. Consensus was reached not to fund the Shelter House (Rental) project at this time. Dolphin Lake Point -Homeownership: Richman asked Staff what the assumed down payment on one of these units would be, and was told it was $9,000. Richman said that what he liked about this project is that it is the only home ownership project on the table this year. He said that last year he was much more skeptical about this project, but that he feels that a good job has been done there in terms of moving the construction along. Richman said he is still concerned about whether the proposed buyers will be able to get financing. Shaw said that given the fact that the project will be rolling out slowly; there is always a chance that in a year or two as more units come on line the financial conditions may be more conducive to the target population. Richman said that last year $68,000, or roughly seven units, had been funded. He said that part of the decision was based on the question of how many more units the Commission wanted to fund. Drum said he believed this may have been where the error was on his worksheet, and that even though his aim was to fund more rental units, he liked this project a lot. Shaw asked Hart why her funding allocation was $0. Hart replied that her reason was that the project was a low CITY STEPS priority. She said she thinks it is a good project and that it is doing well; she said she is not opposed to funding it as the only home ownership application. Douglas said he was more interested in funding rental properties this time around, but that in light of the additional funding he had allocated some to this project. The Commission reached consensus to fund the project at $100,000. Iowa City Housing Authority - TBRA: Richman recalled that TBRA funds about one family for each $4,800 in funding. Shaw said he had intended to fund about 20 families. He noted that with $60,000 in TBRA funding still available from last year there may be a capacity issue for the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA), with more TBRA funding than is needed, and that perhaps it would be best to give more money to another group. McKay said that he had funded TBRA highly because he knew that the money gets used in a very good way. He said he was flexible on the amount of funding. Shaw said that if $60,000 was left over from last year's allocation it may be that there is not a great enough demand for the units for which TBRA can be used. McKay said he was willing to consider that possibility. Hart said that the availability of this funding could make or break for the people who need it. Shaw noted that $60,000 was the entire FY09 allocation to TBRA and all of it is left. Drum noted that if the Commission funded TBRA at $120,000 and the $60,000 from last year was taken into account it would be almost as if the Commission had funded the full $180,000 request. Hightshoe said that that amount would fund 25 families over a two year period. Crane and Douglas said they were fine with raising their allocation amounts as their low allocations had been because they felt stronger about other projects. Richman said he too was willing to allocate at $120,000 for now. William Wittis -Rental: Richman noted that four Commissioners had proposed some level of funding for this project and five had allocated $0. Richman said whether or not to fund this project had been a tough decision for him. He said this project was different than any other that had been funded in the past in that the units already exist and are affordable. Shaw noted that there are a number of questions about the property. Richman asked Commissioners what some of their questions about the property were. Drum said he had questions about the affordability period. Richman noted that Wittig had expressed a willingness to extend the affordability period and Wittig confirmed that he had. Hightshoe pointed out that because the property HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 7 of 16 currently had no federal attachment or lien it could be sold tomorrow and that affordability could vanish; CDBG funds would actually provide an affordability period that does not currently exist. Shaw and Drum noted that this meant the current affordability or use as transient housing could disappear without the restrictions attached with our funds. Richman pointed out that first someone would have to be willing to step in and purchase the property. Shaw said that for him there was also a capacity and occupancy issue with the property. DeFrance asked if the property had a valid rental permit. Long said he believed there were some issues being worked out. Wittig said that there were two or three issues that needed to be finished by July. DeFrance asked if it was true Wittig had owned the property for twelve years, and he said that he had owned it since 1996. Drum said he had trouble coming to terms with funding this project and DeFrance said she did too. She said that she had done some research on the property and that she had learned that the property was purchased for $135,000 in 1997. She said that she did not understand why there was a mortgage for $211,000. Wittig said the first mortgage was for $161,000 and that he had refinanced to refurbish the units. Wittig explained that the occupants were generally transient and were often hard on the property. DeFrance said she just wondered if the $76,000 was actually put back into this property because all she could see for repairs was a new furnace and a roof. Wittig said all of the money went into the property; he said that some of the reinvestment was actually the property taxes because the property is taxed as a commercial property. DeFrance said that based on the rents stated by Wittig in the last meeting it seemed that there was a lot of income to be had from this property. Wittig said that if he had all 16 rooms fully occupied he would not even have applied for the funding. He said that the problem with transient housing like this is that the vacancy rate runs at 15-20%. He said it is also difficult to collect the rents that are due because of the population he serves. Wittig said that he has generally used his real estate income to keep the property afloat. Wittig said that with tax depreciation it is generally a wash. In the past couple of years, however, his real estate income has decreased making it more difficult to keep the property going. Richman noted that $135,000 had been paid for the property and that $211,000 was owed on it, a difference of $75,000. He said that a new furnace and a roof was probably about $20,000. Wittig said there was a second mortgage of $50,000 taken out that paid for all of the roof, the soffits, gutters and 2-3 years of back property taxes. DeFrance said the commercial property tax rate was $7,552 per year. DeFrance said that in all honesty she was concerned about the maintenance of the property and rental permit compliance. She said she noted several things on the exterior of the building that would not take a lot of money but were not well maintained. She said there are nine pages of complaints against the property beginning in 1992 and running through the present in regard to the property's inspections. Wittig said he believed these types of complaints were growing fewer all of the time and that a lot of progress has been made. Wittig said that a tremendous amount of cooperation exists between his property and Shelter House and the STAR program. DeFrance said she was comfortable leaving the funding at $0 for this project. Drum said he would like to leave it at $0 as well. He said that the combination of the money-pit aspect of the property, the fact that it is privately owned, the short affordability period, and the condition of the property all make him not inclined to fund it. Hart said she has waivered with this property, with part her concern being the continual need for money for upkeep for this property. She said the fact that it was privately owned did not concern her as much. She said that it was in the property's favor that so much work was being done with the STAR program and that while it is not the most attractive property, it does seem as though there has been some improvement over the years. Richman said he had funded the property but that the question in his mind is if the new Shelter House is funded does it in any way reduce the need for this HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 8 of 16 property. Hart said that it seems to her that there is a need for this type of housing in the community. Wittig said that a larger Shelter House would only increase the need for units like his, as his units provide transitional housing for those coming out of homelessness. Richman noted that there seemed to be strong opinions against funding the property and weaker feelings for funding it. Wittig asked Staff what the designation "High Priority for Stimulus" meant that was written on the overhead next to his property's entry. Hightshoe said it simply meant that the project was CDBG eligible as rental rehabilitation could start immediately and it was abricks/mortar type project. Hart said that it just seemed to her that there was still a pressing need for this kind of interim or halfway housing. She said they may not always be the most attractive kind of units, but that there is a real need for them. Douglas said he could champion the cause a little more. He said that there is a strong need for this housing type and he would like to see it funded at the $30,000 level at least. Shaw agreed that there was a need for this type of housing but said that his concern was that in funding this project the Commission may be striving to fill that need with housing that was substandard rather than a higher quality of housing. Douglas asked if it was actually the case that the property was substandard or if the concerns were largely cosmetic. DeFrance said the concerns were more than cosmetic. Drum said that the property had been inspected. Crane asked Wittig what concerns were being addressed with the property that had to be rectified by July. Wittig said the bathrooms had issues and that it was better to simply gut them and rebuild them than to try to do piecemeal repairs. He said there was chipping paint on the exterior and that it made more sense just to get new siding and windows than to repaint. Wittig pointed out that a number of the permit violations brought up by DeFrance had actually occurred prior to his ownership, and said that he had been working diligently to try to make the property an asset in the neighborhood. He said that new siding and windows would add a whole new look to the property and would help to take it to the next level. Wittig said that the windows and siding he is hoping to have funded are improvements that will last 20-30 years, and could not be done based on the cash-flow alone. McKay asked if Wittig would be able to bring the property into compliance if his request is not fully funded. Wittig said that one of the big items on the request was $24,000 for a separate electrical panel in each unit which has been discussed with Housing Inspection Services (HIS), but has not as yet been made a requirement. Wittig said deleting that project would take $24,000 off the total. Wittig noted that the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County had approached him with an offer of help for what funds come up short through HCDC. Wittig said a partial funding would help to leverage funding from the Housing Trust Fund. Hightshoe noted that this housing type is considered transitional housing and was meant as a stepping stone between Shelter House homelessness and, for those who qualify, a Section 8 voucher or other low- income housing. Hightshoe noted that the Builders of Hope and Shelter House rental projects were also for transitional housing. Richman asked what would happen to a project like this if it were sold prior to the expiration of the affordability period. Hightshoe said a lien would be placed on the property and the purchaser would have to be willing to comply with the affordability terms. Wittig said that when the second mortgage is paid off in eight years, the cash-flow will be greatly improved. DeFrance said that it was hard for her to swallow that after collecting rents for twelve years Wittig had to borrow an additional $76,000 to get the property in the black. She said every rental property takes maintenance and that she is still concerned about all of the complaints against the property. She said she is skeptical that a new roof and furnace ate up $76,000. Wittig said he was not trying to convey that putting in a new roof and furnace and air HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 9 of 16 conditioner ate up all of that money. He said that much of that money was utilized for property taxes and during times of poor cash-flow. Wittig said he had gone through three different property managers before taking over the day to day operations of the property himself four years ago. He said that prior to that he imagined that the vacancy rate was somewhere between 25 and 50%. The roof replacement project put him at 50% vacancy. Wittig said that he believes with the enhancements discussed in the application and the cooperation of Shelter House and STAR that vacancy rates will level off at about 15% vacancy. He said that as happy as it would make everyone involved, the reality of a 5% vacancy rate is not in the near future. The previous owner, Wittig said, had 100% occupancy but had terrible problems with drugs and other unsavory problems. Wittig said there are still issues of course and that every six months or so he has to evict someone for alegal-related problem (violence or substance abuse). Wittig said that people coming out of the STAR program or Shelter House are in need of this kind of transitional housing. He said that these people were not college graduates or even high school graduates often and that they were not stellar tenants or model citizens. He said his tenants have had problems with drugs and legal problems and are trying to clean up their lives. DeFrance asked if Wittig had leases for his tenants. He said that he did not unless they were 30-day month-to-month. DeFrance asked where the funding for the rents comes from. Wittig said it came from many sources: Johnson County Assistance, Veterans Affairs, cash, payment directly from employers. Shaw said that this was a function of being able to work with other services such as STAR and Shelter House to be able to support people in transition from homelessness. Shaw said these statements led him toward funding the project as he believes there may be good collaboration between Wittig's property and other agencies. DeFrance asked where the tenants came from. Wittig said there were referrals from Shelter House and STAR, and there was also word-of--mouth referral. Hart said she was still inclined to advocate for some funds for this project. She said she was glad that there was a landlord willing to improve a property like this. She said that neither the clientele nor the properties for transitional housing were necessarily pristine, but that it is extremely difficult for these people to find accommodations. She said there seemed a real intent on the part of the owner to improve this property, and that without it a lot of people might fall through the cracks. Richman said he would be willing to see the City invest in the property if the five year affordability period was increased. Drum and Shaw said that a longer affordability period would also be a requirement for them. Crane asked how many rooms were currently occupied. Wittig said that 12 of the available 15 rooms (one room is reserved for the site-manager) were full. Wittig said that it was always possible at the end of the month that a number of them could leave as there were no leases in place. McKay asked Staff how much of this type of housing was available in the city currently. Hightshoe said it was very difficult to find this kind of housing. McKay said that with that in mind he would be willing to fund it. He said that he thinks the city needs this type of housing and if Wittig can bring the property into compliance with less than the full allocation request he is willing to invest in it. He said that while he funds it reluctantly, he thinks it is something that should be done. Drum said that with aten-year affordability period he would be willing to partially find the project. DeFrance asked if Wittig had said that it would be $24,000 to remodel two bathrooms. Wittig said the $24,000 was for electrical subpanels in every room, but that he thought as a grandfathered-in legal non-conforming use the issue had not yet been pushed by HIS. Wittig said he was currently gathering estimates on windows and that he had run into an issue wherein CDBG and HIS had conflicting requirements. Richman said a number would have to be floated for funding level. McKay recommended $25,000. Shaw said it was relevant to him how much money it would take to get the property up to code, and HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 10 of 16 whether that amount would increase the safety of the residents. McKay said $25,000 would cover the bathrooms and some of the kitchens, which are expensive and are quality of life issues for the residents. DeFrance asked what items the July 1St re-inspection was for. Wittig said the re-inspection was for the two bathrooms and for chipping paint on the exterior. Hightshoe noted that there were no lead-based paint considerations for this property as it is a single room occupancy property and not subject to Lead Based Paint provisions. Shaw said that this was his concern with partially funding the project: that it would be funded and would remain in substandard condition. Crane said that his understanding was that $25,000 would cover essentially everything on the list except the electrical. Wittig said that $66,400 would do everything with the electrical and that it would take about $40,000 to do only siding, windows, bathrooms and kitchens. Shaw asked Wittig what he would spend the money on if he received $25,000 from HCDC. Wittig said it would first be spent on bathrooms, then kitchens, and then if help was received from the Housing Trust Fund the siding and windows would be attended to. Shaw said his greatest concern was safety and that whatever funding level was necessary to ensure that the house did not burn down next year due to faulty wiring was what he would like to see done; toilets, he said, are just toilets. Hightshoe said that an award from HCDC (albeit partial) may help Wittig to leverage funds from the Housing Trust Fund to cover other project costs. The Commission set the allocation level at $25,000, with aten-year affordability period required. Hightshoe asked for the Housing Activities section in general if the Commission was amenable to the staff recommended financing terms as the terms presented to City Council. The Commission briefly reviewed the financing terms and agreed to staff's recommendations. Hightshoe noted that The Housing Fellowship had a financing period of 30 years, which would mean that in the final ten years when some renovations may be due The Housing Fellowship will not be able to apply for more HOME funds for the project. In light of that, Hightshoe asked if the Commission was interested in lowering the period to 20 years. The Commission chose to leave the terms as requested by The Housing Fellowship for the 30 year period. Richman proposed that for the Wittig project a condition be placed on the funding that says all property taxes and tax liens are satisfied prior to release of funds. He said that as a matter of public policy it does not make sense to allocate funds if the property taxes are not being paid. The Commission agreed to this stipulation. Richman proposed moving on to Public Facilities projects and then looking back to see if funding needed to be moved around somewhat. PUBLIC FACILITIES: Shaw proposed funding all projects fully for visual purposes, except the Shelter House new construction projects since their allocation request was so high, and then work their way backwards. Drum suggested leaving The Arc of Southeast Iowa out of the initial mix as well since their request was so small. The Commission agreed to do this. Richman said this formulation left approximately $178,000 for Shelter House, if The Arc was left unfunded. Shaw pointed out that there was the ability to take money from the Housing Activities side of things and the Public Facilities side and switch dollar amounts around. Richman said that he believed full allocation for MECCA and Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) was a little too more than he was comfortable with. Hart said that CMHC could get their parking lot fixed for $23,504; she said she had HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 11 of 16 allocated for the driveway only, leaving the windows for another year. Crane said that he felt the alley/parking lot was a hazard the way it was currently and needed to be fixed. Shaw said it had to be thought of in the context of where the funding would be moved to, what the Commission would be valuing more than the windows. Hart said she would like to see more money allocated to Shelter House. Douglas said that he would too. Drum said he would be willing to fund the pavement only for CMHC as that was his greatest concern. A consensus was reached to fund CMHC at $23,504. Shaw noted the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC) has the difference between the full funding and the $18,600 for the back deck area. Crane noted that the additional money was for the asphalt in the front of the building. Shaw said that he had been there recently and did not see the asphalt as something that was necessarily a safety risk at this point, but that the agency had requested funding for it for the last three years. McKay said that an argument could be made that $4,500 for The Arc would have a more significant impact on them than it would on the Shelter House project. Shaw said that the argument could also be made that The Arc was using the $4,500 for rugs, whereas Shelter House was using it for housing and to provide a safe place to sleep. Richman said he did not find The Arc carpet to have been in that bad of shape, and that there were higher priorities to be funded. Shaw asked if The Arc was funded at all last year and Crane replied that safety lights had been funded for them. Shaw pointed out that The Arc asks for just little bits of money and that every little bit helps. Crane said that was how he felt too; that they just ask for a little bit and that while the carpet is not that bad, the perception change the new carpet could have for some of their kids could be important. Drum said that while he agreed that there may be more urgent projects, he does like the idea of spreading money to different groups of people needing different kinds of help. Shaw said that this year could be a year that affords the opportunity to deal with the little things (due to the Stimulus Package) whereas next year may not. DeFrance and Drum expressed agreement with that sentiment. Shaw pointed out that The Arc did receive the lowest ranking. DeFrance countered that the money would make a big difference for that agency. Drum asked if anyone was strongly opposed to fully finding The Arc, saying that he was not. Hart said she was not strongly opposed unless that money could help complete one of the more critical projects. Richman said he had not funded the project but was not strongly opposed to doing so. He said the question was which other project the money will be taken from. Drum said he was not sure that was the right way to look at it unless the whole allocation process was to be reexamined in that light. A consensus was reached to fully fund The Arc at $4,500. Shaw noted that there had been discussions about taking the NCJC to an allocation level of $18,600 to fund the back deck only. Richman said that it may be pertinent to keep in mind that due to a clerical error, "fully funding" the NCJC is actually 65% of what they had actually intended to request. McKay said that was his rationale for fully funding the agency the first time around. Crane said he would be fine with raising his allocation to $26,615 because he felt the deck was a safety issue. Hart said she was fine with fully funding NCJC. Crane asked what else Richman had mentioned as being over-funded in his opinion. Richman said he had felt that fully funding MECCA was a little too much. He said he funded the first priority of the three projects laid out by MECCA. Richman said that for him what it comes down to is that he would like to see enough money go into the Shelter House to make sure the project goes forward. Hightshoe said that Shelter House had indicated they still needed $1.5 million more to construct, and that every little bit helps. Richman said that he would like to see Shelter House funded at $200,000. Shaw suggested HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page l2 of l6 bumping Shelter House's allocation up to $200,000 and seeing what needs to be cut from there. Crane said he had agreed with Richman regarding MECCA, and had funded only the security entry system as that was their stated priority and he did not know that the other two projects were immediately necessary. Hart asked what that amount would be and Crane replied $32,399. Richman noted that the allocation process was within $5,000 of complete, a figure which could easily be worked out. Richman said the larger question was how Commissioners felt about the split between Housing Activities and Public Facilities, and whether they wished to move money from one category to another. Hightshoe said she wished to indicate CITY STEPS priorities as this is our final year. In the five year plan the goal is to dedicate 20% of allocations to Public Facilities, and the current average (after four years) is 14%. Richman said he feels fairly good about the current breakdown, but acknowledged that other Commissioners may feel otherwise. Hart said she was inclined to fund more Public Facilities in general, but that it seemed as though this year they were almost fully funded. Shaw asked what the amount of money was that had been added by the Stimulus Package. Hightshoe said it was $176,785. Shaw said the task at hand was to make sure that $176,785 was directed toward high priority stimulus projects. Richman said this would not be a problem since Shelter House alone, a qualifying project, was funded at $200,000. Shaw asked if they should take a look at Public Facilities projects that had not been fully funded, listing MECCA and CMHC, a difference of $25,000. Long pointed out that two projects that were more lowly ranked than MECCA and CMHC had been fully funded. Shaw asked if there were any projects in Housing Activities that it might make sense to pull money from to make sure Public Facilities was as fully funded as possible. Crane noted that as it stood the budget was still $5,000 off and asked what thoughts were on taking $5,000 from the Wittig project since five of the nine Commissioners had initially not funded the project at all. Crane noted that the Wittig project seemed to have at least one additional funding source to help make that money up. Shaw again asked if there was a way to fully fund the Public Facilities projects by pulling money down from Housing Activities. Hightshoe said she thought many of the Public Facilities projects would be very thrilled with the recommended allocations. Crane said that the Public Facilities numbers were pretty high compared with other years. Hart said she did not know what Housing Activities item she would want to cut. DeFrance said she would not want to cut any. Richman asked how people would feel about moving some money from either TBRA or the Wittig project up to either The Housing Fellowship or Isis. DeFrance said she had no problem with that. Richman said he supported the TBRA project but that he would also be comfortable with an allocation of less than $120,000. Drum said even though he felt hesitant about giving the Wittig project money; it is still a housing type that is not represented elsewhere in the allocations. Shaw asked if Richman was suggesting taking money from Public Facilities and shifting it to one of the higher Housing priorities. Richman said the question was what was of a higher priority and he was simply asking if the Commission wanted to take TBRA down to $100,000 and fund an additional unit for The Housing Fellowship. He said the money could be taken from anywhere including Dolphin or TBRA and would fund an additional rental unit. Shaw said he wanted to express a strong opinion about not touching the money for Shelter House new construction. Hart observed that one of the reasons TBRA never gets high rankings is that it does not have a lot of the aspects that are rated. Hart and Crane said that they would be comfortable with taking $10,000 from TBRA and $10,000 from Dolphin and funding The Housing Fellowship for an additional $20,000. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 13 of 16 Shaw asked again if there was not an interest in fully funding the Public Facilities projects. Crane said that this year Public Facilities had been funded quite a bit higher than in years past. Hart said that where Public Facilities projects had not been fully funded, the most critical needs at least had been provided for. DeFrance noted that she is not against transitional housing at all, but that she had specific concerns about the Wittig project. She said there is a tax lien on the, property and it bothers her to see the Commission allocate $20,000 that could help a group with a good track record rather than this house which has a bad one. Shaw said he had concerns about the track record as well, but that he believes there has been some progress. Hart said the bad track record was prior to Wittig's ownership. DeFrance said that it was not all prior to his ownership and that the property has been an ongoing concern since 2001 and Wittig purchased it in 1997. DeFrance said she is concerned about the fact that there is a tax lien on the property and she wants to make sure the money is being spent to benefit the most people. Richman said that if the Commission puts the conditions on the allocation that the affordability period is extended to 10 years and all tax liens and back taxes have to be satisfied then he is comfortable. Richman asked Staff if the Commission could specify what projects the money could be spent on, and asked the Commission if that would make them more comfortable. Hightshoe said that the Commission could stipulate what the money was spent on. Crane asked what the maximum allocation for the Housing Trust Fund might be. Maryann Dennis, The Housing Fellowship, said The Housing Trust Fund has $215,000 to allocate and that she believed they only received two applications. Hightshoe said that this would be a loan and would have to be repaid. Crane motioned to approve the allocations for FY10 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) And Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) and 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds (ARRA) as discussed. Shaw seconded. The motion carried 8-0 (McMurray absent). BUDGETARY CAHNGES: Richman noted that the allocation amounts from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are not yet finalized. Staff has proposed that if the allocations exceed the budgeted amounts by less than 5% they will distribute the money evenly among the applicants. Richman asked what would happen for those projects that had been fully funded. Hightshoe said the money would go pro rata to those projects that had not been fully funded. Drum asked if there would be a priority order to the additional funds. Hightshoe said that would be up to the Commission. Hightshoe said that it was possible to allocate all additional funding to just one project. Shaw started to move that if there is additional funding of less than 5% of the FY10 Iowa City allocation the first priority will be to fully fund Public Facilities and the remainder would be distributed evenly among other projects; however, Long pointed out that how additional money could be spent would depend on its source. Hightshoe said it could be that the CDBG budget was correct but more HOME funds were received; in that case, only additional HOME projects could be funded, not CDBG eligible projects. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 14 of 16 Shaw motioned that if there is additional funding of less than 5% of the FY10 allocation, the money will be distributed pro rata among the appropriate agencies for the funding source. Drum seconded. There was discussion among Staff and the Commission as to what projects exactly were CDBG and which were HOME eligible. Richman said he would like to see any additional funding go into Housing Activities rather than fully funding Public Facilities. Richman said he felt like the Commission had done a great job with Public Facilities this year. Hart said she would like to see additional funds go into Shelter House. After some discussion, Richman suggested any additional CDBG funding would go to Shelter House new construction, and any additional HOME funds would be split pro rata between TBRA and Dolphin. Shaw amended his motion to state that if there is additional funding of less than 5% of the FY 10 allocation (and 2009 ARRA funds) additional CDBG funds will be allocated to Shelter House -New Construction and additional HOME funds will be allocated pro rata between TBRA and Dolphin. If the City receives more than 5% of the FY10 allocation (and 2009 ARRA funds), the commission will meet again to discuss. McKay seconded the amended motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0 (McMurray absent). STIMULUS PACKAGE: Long said that Staff needed to separate out the Stimulus funds and amend the FY09 Action Plan to reflect the changes. Crane asked if it would be easiest to simply allocate the full $176,785 to Shelter House new construction. Long said that the Home Ties project was definitely "shovel ready." Richman asked Staff to offer a suggestion of where to allocate the stimulus funds. Long said that Home Ties and Shelter House would be logical places to allocate the funds. Hart motioned to amend the FY09 Action Plan to designate First Mennonite and a portion of the Shelter House allocation as funds from the stimulus package. Drum seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 8-0 (McMurray absent). Hightshoe noted that two or three Commission members were needed to serve on a committee to present their rationale for their funding decisions to the City Council in a document. Hightshoe said Staff would create the preliminary document and then the committee would make changes and recommendations to tweak it. Hart, Shaw and Drum volunteered to serve on the committee. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 26, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOV/A CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 15 of 16 ADJOURNMENT: McKay motioned to adjourn. Crane seconded. All were in favor and the motion carried 8-0 (McMurray absent). The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Housing 8 Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2009 Name Term Ex fires 2/17 2/18 2/19 3/12 3/26 Crane, Steve 09/01/09 X NM X X X De France, Marc 09/01/09 O/E NM X O/E X Dou las, And 09/01/11 X NM O/E X X Drum, Charlie 09/01/10 X NM X X X Hart, Holl Jane 09/01/10 O/E NM X X X McKa ,Michael 09!01/11 X NM X X X McMurra ,Rebecca 09/01/11 O/E NM X X O/E Richman, Brian 09/01/10 X NM X X X Shaw, Michael 09/01/09 X NM X X X Key: X = Present O = Absent O!E = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member 3b 9 MINUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 - 7:00 PM MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Members Present: Stephen Crane, Andy Douglas, Charlie Drum, Holly Jane Hart, Michael McKay, Rebecca McMurray, Brian Richman, Michael Shaw Members Absent: Marcy DeFrance Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Others Present: Ashlee Swinton (Successful Living), Steve Rackis (Housing Authority), Charlie Eastham (The Housing Fellowship), Brianne Wojak (Successful Living), Tom Walz (Extend the Dream Foundation), Maryann Dennis (The Housing Fellowship), Ann Berg (MECCA), Sandy Pickup (The Free Medical Clinic), Yolanda Spears (Isis), Steve Noack (Successful Living), Kate Moreland (United Action for Youth), Diane Funk (Home Ties), Joshua Weber (Builders of Hope), Andy Johnson (Housing Trust Fund) RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action): None. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 17 & 19, 2009 MINUTES: Hart motioned to approve the minutes. Shaw seconded. The motion carried 8-0 (DeFrance absent). PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: Douglas said that the subcommittee looking into an event on affordable housing was considering getting a speaker to look at how the economic downturn has affected low-to-middle income housing consumers. Douglas said the subcommittee would investigate resources to help arrange a speaker if the idea sounded agreeable to the Commission. Shaw asked if the speaker would be speaking to the issues and its impacts or if the speaker would have some sort of expertise that would allow them to HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 2 of 17 provide suggestions and context for the problem. Douglas said that his hope was that the speaker could address both the issues and impact and provide expertise and suggestions. Hart asked if the subcommittee had any speakers in mind. Drum said they were looking for suggestions. Douglas said that Andy Johnson of The Housing Trust Fund suggested someone at the state economic development office. Shaw suggested that discussion of Jumpstart might be a useful topic for the speaker to address. Richman asked if the subcommittee had a date in mind. Douglas said they were looking at late April. Drum added that a firm date would be set when the speaker was decided on. Shaw asked if there was some funding available to help arrange the speaker; Staff said there was not. Shaw suggested staying local if that was the case. Douglas said the subcommittee would continue looking into the idea. Richman suggested they make sure to leave enough time for the Commission to get the word out about the event. Richman noted that he had sent out an a-mail asking Commissioners to identify any real or perceived conflicts of interest with respect to the allocation process. Hightshoe reported that she had received and addressed all responses. Richman asked if anyone had thought of any potential conflicts since initially responding to his e-mail. Shaw noted that his response had been verbal. No other Commissioners had comments on the subject. Long gave a brief update on the status of flood recovery. Long said a new program was beginning on March 13`h for replacement single family housing for homes that were lost in the floods. Long said the City would be acquiring and demolishing 40 homes this summer through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. He said that up to $1 million dollars would be coming through this new program, called the Single Family New Construction Unit Production Program that would provide down-payment assistance; up to 30% of the purchase price or $54,000, whichever is less to income eligible homebuyers. The terms of the assistance would be a 10-year forgivable loan. Long said the City was developing partnerships with developers and builders to allow the City to construct up to 17 homes; the homes would be required to be constructed for less than $180,000. Long said these homes would have to be moved into or sold by December 31, 2009. Hightshoe said that the City was looking at a variety of housing options such as townhouses and duplexes, even manufactured homes that will be permanently affixed to the foundation. Long said there is excitement about the program. Hightshoe said that Staff is first identifying cooperating homebuilders and developers and then will look into partnerships with lenders; she said the program is proceeding pretty fast. Long said Staff was continuing to work on rehabilitation of damaged homes, and is currently working with 52 households and 62 businesses. He noted that there were a lot more homes and businesses to be helped. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION_-CITY BOARD AND COMMISSION SURVEY: Hightshoe explained that the Human Rights Commission was surveying board and commission members to determine if there were any barriers to service and to gather demographic information. Completion of the survey is voluntary; they can be turned in at the end of the meeting. UPDATE ON THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT (a.k.a. STIMULUS BILL): The stimulus bill was passed. Hightshoe gave a brief breakdown of the funding. She said there is additional CDBG funding of $1 billion, of which Iowa City will receive $176,785 (determined by formula). A neighborhood stabilization program received $2 billion nationally; however, Iowa City HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 3 of 17 does not have that program and will not receive those funds. Public Housing received $4 billion in capital funding, of which the Iowa City Housing Authority will be receiving $191,000. Hightshoe said that the guidance the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave for the $176,785 was brief and consisted of using the funds quickly with maximum job creation and economic benefit. Hightshoe said that while no guidance had been given on whether the funds were eligible for public services, she did not anticipate that they would be. Long said this meant HUD was looking for construction projects, "bricks and mortar" projects that can begin within 120 days of amending their fiscal plan. Hart asked if it was correct that the additional funds could not be used for the building of rental housing. Hightshoe clarified that CDBG funds cannot be used for building rental properties. Hart asked if the funds could be used for public facilities and Hightshoe said that they could. Richman said that the easiest way to deal with the funding is to take it and toss it in with the $831,000 that is currently available, with the qualification that it could, for the most part, only be used for public facilities projects. Richman explained that effectively this additional funding allows the Commission to take money that would otherwise be spent on public facilities projects and allocate it toward other projects. Hightshoe reminded Commissioners that the goal in the five-year plan is to spend 20% of funding for public facilities projects, but that in actuality, only 13% was spent toward them to date (4 years completed out of our 5 year plan). Richman said that when new allocation sheets are done they will show available funding of approximately $1 million with new maximums and minimums. Hart asked where the $191,000 discussed earlier came into the picture. Long explained that the $191,000 was strictly for public housing and would be allocated by HUD to the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA). He noted that Steve Rackis, Director of the ICHA, was present and could explain more about that. Rackis said that the guidance ICHA received was for "bricks and mortar" projects with job creation. He said the primary focus would be on renovating and reconstructing vacant public housing units with contracts issued within 120 days. CONSIDER AN EXCEPTION TO THE POLICY FOR ALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED CDBG & HOME FUNDS: Hightshoe explained that this agenda item is a result of the stimulus package. She said that there is a current HCDC policy on how to allocate additional funding provided by HUD. The policy states that the Commission will first look at existing projects, then will look at unfunded applications, and then will look at new proposals. Hightshoe said that Staff had consulted with the legal department and determined that the simplest way of combining the stimulus money with the FY10 funding is to make an exception to this policy. The exception would be that the extra funds will be allocated to FY10 applications that meet the purpose/intent of the Stimulus package; the source of the funds. Hightshoe explained this would differ from the existing policy as we would not be looking at FY09 projects or new projects that would require additional funding availability notices. Long explained that the changes would really just be administrative changes that Staff would implement. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH l2, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 4 of 17 Shaw made a motion for an exception to the existing policy for allocation of uncommitted CDBG and HOME funds and to allocate the additional funds received through the Stimulus bill to FY10 applications. Hart seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 8-0 (DeFrance absent). DISCUSSION REGARDING FY10 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (HOME) REQUESTS: • Review Proiect RankinEs • Discuss Average Allocation Worksheet Richman explained that there were two meetings left in the allocation process. This evening's meeting would be a discussion of each of the projects and the rankings/allocations that Commissioners submitted to Staff. On March 13~', Hightshoe will send Commissioners revised allocation sheets, giving them an opportunity to reallocate based on discussions held at tonight's meeting. In two weeks, March 26~', the Commission will reconvene and will finalize allocations and zero in on dollar amounts for each project, making its recommendations to City Council. McMurray asked to confirm for her own understanding that the Commission has more money to give out but that it cannot go to public services. Long clarified that the funds could be used for a Rehabilitation Project, but not toward new construction. Richman said that basically the Commission has another $176,000 that has to be spent on public facilities projects, which frees up some money that can then be spent on housing projects. Long noted that the projects would have to be of the "bricks and mortar" type. Douglas said that essentially the extra money can go toward anything; it is just a matter of how Staff accounts for it administratively. Richman said that as long as the Commission spends at least $176,000 on public facilities projects, then the rest of the money can go either to public facilities or housing; based on the number of applications, he added, that will likely not be an issue. Richman asked Staff if there were any projects under public facilities that might not be eligible for the stimulus money and was told that there were not. Long noted that there were some housing projects that were CDBG eligible but not stimulus recommended (land acquisition projects). Drum asked if the First Mennonite Church project would be eligible under the stimulus and Hightshoe said that it would be. Long noted that new construction of housing is not eligible for CDBG funds. Housinis Activities: Richman asked if anyone wanted to put forth the principles or thoughts that guided their approach to allocations. Hart responded that she tried to think of projects that met the greatest or most dire need. She said this led her to give priority to rental assistance and the creation of rental properties. She noted that she did not do this perfectly across the board. Hart said she was torn between funding the Builders of Hope project and the similar Shelter House project. She said she liked the idea of the Shelter House project being LEED certified, but noted that they had so much need elsewhere she chose not to fund their rental project. Hart said she was also guided by her assumptions of when projects might be able to find other resources or personal resources to call on, versus those who probably had nowhere else to go. She said some people might raise their eyebrows at her choices but she tried to go where the resources were most needed. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 5 of 17 Drum said he tried as best he could to stick to the scores he got from the ranking sheets. He said that he tried to put his personal preferences aside. He cited Local Foods as an example, saying that they were one of his personal favorites, but that they did not score high on his rating sheet and therefore he did not fund them. He said he also was guided by the most good for the money. He said he would like to hear more about Builders of Hope, but that his impression was that it was a lot of money for a very small number of units (four), which turned him off. McMurray noted that there was not as much on the order of homeownership in this funding cycle. She said that the only homeownership project was Dolphin Lake which had an impressive track record and received the most funding from her. Richman noted that this was a different dynamic than in previous years when there have been multiple homeownership projects. ISIS Investments: Richman noted that Crane had funded Isis on the low-end. Crane said that he just did not really have a good grasp of how much rehabilitation they had to do based on the dollar amount the Commission had to fund. He said his reasoning was to fund just one unit this time, because last year two had been funded. Hightshoe said that the per-unit cost was a good basis for analysis. Shaw noted that last year ISIS had asked for funding for four units, had received funding for two, and then proceeded on time and on budget. Richman said that he had analyzed the projects based on their dollars per bedroom costs because the unit sizes and types were so different. He said for this project he came out with a cost of $16,000 per bedroom. Douglas said he thought that sounded like a pretty efficient use of dollars. McKay said that he was impressed with Isis's ability to pull off the projects and get them done in a timely manner, as opposed to projects that are sometimes two years away. Shaw said that Isis had already pulled off so much with a limited staff, and done so very efficiently. He said that they had demonstrated that their projects were a good use of City money and provided a great amount of services and support to their families. He said he would be interested in funding at least two units this time around. Hart said she liked the idea of doing two units for Isis as well, and that she had been impressed with their efficiency. She noted that she had also been impressed with the innovative use of land and the program offered by The Housing Fellowship (THF). The Housing Fellowship -Rental Shaw noted that McMurray had funded this project on the low-side; McMurray could not immediately recall her reasoning for this. Crane noted that he had funded The Housing Fellowship on the high side because they always do a good job. Richman suggested that since McMurray had allocated more toward homeownership than other people there may simply have been less left over for THF's project. McMurray said she thought this was the case. Douglas said that he had funded the project high based on THF's proven track record and their ability to plug into the tax credit system. Richman said that there were obviously a lot of different funding approaches taken by the various Commissioners, just as there were a wide variety of projects asking for funding. He asked if there was any sense of how people felt about one project format versus another. McKay said that while he may not have been consistent in applying this, some of his thinking was in how fast the money can be injected into the community, how fast it can be spent and the housing can become available. Crane said that he would likely move some of the new funding to Isis, as he is comfortable with doing two units now that more money is available. Shaw said that the projects are strong for different reasons. He said that with Isis there is a sense that there will be good support for the HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 6 of 17 families and that such a net will likely help the projects to be sustainable for the families. With THF, Shaw said, there is a strong institutional structure to be able to maintain the properties as affordable housing. Either way, families will be receiving some sort of affordable housing support. Richman noted that with the Isis project the idea is for the families to eventually buy the rental properties, so it is difficult to compare the two. Shaw said that keeping families locked into the community for 10-15 years and getting them to a place where they can buy a home and be solidly invested in the community is difficult to compare with a project of 20 units that will provide affordable housing to a large number of families over the years. Hart asked if THF knew what the average length of stay was for their families. Maryann Dennis of THF said that she did not know that statistic off hand but offered the anecdote that the property manager for the organization had been a tenant since 1993. She offered to get the figure and provide it to the Commission. Hart said that her impression had always been that the stays of families in THF housing were fairly stable and long-term. Long asked Dennis to e-mail the information to Hightshoe or him and he would distribute it to the Commissioners. Shaw asked what the per-unit cost was for THF's project. Drum said it was $30,000. Richman said that to determine per unit cost, he used the dollars being allocated by HCDC. Hart said she used the per-unit cost as listed on the application. Richman said he calculated $8,000 per bedroom for this project. Drum asked if it was the same per bedroom figure for Isis. Richman said that Isis's project was $16,000 per bedroom. The Housing Fellowship CHDO Oneratin Hightshoe clarified that at the time THF applied they did not know what the HOME entitlement was and requested $50,000. Staff calculated the most the City can provide in CHDO operating expenses is $30,687, 5% of the FY09 HOME entitlement. This amount is subject to change if the actual FY10 HOME entitlement amount is considerably different, however the City anticipates about the same HOME entitlement as last year. HOME rules prohibit more than 5% of the entitlement for CHDO operating expenses. Douglas said it looked like there was some consensus on the funding amount for THF's CHDO application. Richman asked if McKay had concerns based on the fact that he did not fund THF's CHDO request. McKay said he thought it was more a question of having first put the money where he thought it should be and not having any left over. Shaw asked if anyone had concerns about the ratio of funding for this request versus the others. He noted that the Commission was talking about funding 82% of that request. Hart said that was not a consideration for her, that it was more a matter of how well the money would work in that context. Richman noted that in some respects it was a different request than all of the other applications because it was for administrative and operating costs. Long pointed out that the money would help to maintain over 100 units in Iowa City and produce more affordable housing. Drum said that seemed like a good investment. Shelter House -Rental Richman noted that five Commissioners had allocated no money to this project and three had partially funded, and one had nearly fully funded the project. Hart said she thought this sounded like a great project, but she saw no way Shelter House could pull it off at this time as there was so much additional fundraising to do. She said she personally liked the idea of LEED certification. She said HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 7 of 17 that she felt that allocating money elsewhere or to Shelter House's other projects might be the best bet this time around. She said she assumed they would be back with the same project the following year, perhaps with even more fundraising done. Douglas asked if the new Shelter House was also intended to be LEED certified. Staff said it was not. Hart said that she knew that Shelter House intended to look at costs that could be cut for this rental project, but in her opinion it may be better to leave costs such as LEED certification in and then wait on the project. Douglas said he had concerns about funding two big projects for Shelter House and because he really likes the new Shelter House project he decided to put his weight behind that one. McMurray asked if Shelter House had expressed any reservation about having simultaneous construction projects. Hightshoe said that Shelter House had replied that they did not think the projects would wind up being simultaneous. Richman asked if this project was one in which it could not proceed without full HCDC funding, an "all or nothing" type project. Crane said he had asked Shelter House that question and the response had been that whatever could be given would be of help. Richman asked for input from the Commissioners who allocated no dollars to the project on their reasoning. Shaw asked if there had been concerns about Shelter House foraying into the rental market for the first time. Hart said that was not a concern for her and that she thought it was a great project. She said she simply felt there were other pressing needs right now and this would not have immediate benefits. Richman said that for him the cost per bedroom was $33,000 and was way too high for him to back. He noted that in some respects it is an experimental format in affordable housing. He said that while he does not dispute the need, he does have concerns for the cost. He added that he is not a believer in funding only the lowest per bedroom cost across the board, but that there were a couple that stood out as too expensive given the limited funding. Hightshoe noted that given the high cost of construction it would be difficult to recoup those costs with single room occupancy units with capped rents. Douglas asked if it was fair to say that this project and the Builders of Hope project are quite similar. Richman said they seemed so to him. Douglas said his thinking had been that rather than fund two similar projects, fund one. Arvind Thakore -Homeownership: Richman noted that this was the Dolphin Lake Pointe Enclave project. Richman noted that McMurray had been on the high end for this project. She said that she had been really impressed with what he had done so far and supported the homeownership aspect of this project. Shaw said he was impressed with the fact that Thakore had worked with Grant Wood Elementary and come up with a street named Paul Davis Street (a longtime Grant Wood principal). Shaw said this had a big impact for him. He said that the previous year he had not funded as high because he had concerns about the continuing specter of absentee landlordism for that property. Shaw said that although the primary base of operations for the project is not Iowa City, the project has demonstrated a willingness to engage with the community and communicate with the neighborhood and HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 8 of 17 surrounding areas. He said that the effort to reach out and work with the school for a street name shows a commitment to the local community and the neighborhood as a whole. McMurray noted that the crime rate had decreased remarkably in the area. Shaw noted that there were not as many people because of all the empty units due to construction, which could also account for the drop in crime. Richman asked what Commissioners felt about the long-term viability of the project. Shaw said he believed that it depended on their ability to continue to beat the bushes for funding. He said there would have to be an ongoing evolution of the space and a cultural shift in the community. He said if the project could be successfully re-branded then there would be far-reaching effects for the whole area. Right now, Shaw said, it is still seen as "Lakeside." Douglas said that the project had sold out its first phase and that this was impressive. Long noted that the project has not actually sold any properties; rather, it has purchase offers for the whole first phase, which will begin to be sold April 1St. Richman said he actually went there and went through the files of purchase offers. He said that there are indeed purchase offers, but that the deposits are only $100. Crane said he was actually outspoken against the project last year. However, because of the progress that has been made and the money that has gone into it, he has somewhat changed his opinion. He said the big question now was whether the prospective homeowners can get their funding to purchase the units. He said that if they can, he believes the project will be viable. He said that he does question how much money can actually be made by the investors. Shaw said that it is probably the case that so much money has been put into it now that it has to work. Richman said that he too was not a proponent of this project last year. He said that credit has to be given for the fact that there has been a lot of investment in this project. He said the units are nice looking. He said his concern was the same as Crane's. His concern was whether the people wanting to buy these units would be able to get a loan for them. Shaw said two years ago they may have, but now it could be a different story. Crane said that he understood that Thakore may now be moving here. Richman said that this program is essentially adown-payment program, providing $10,000, less than 10% of the purchase price. Crane said that a minimum 10% down payment was currently being required for financing with the more realistic number being 15-20%. Crane said it might be possible that first-time home buyers could use their new tax credit (passed in the stimulus package) in conjunction with this. Richman noted that as that is a tax credit, a consumer would still have to have the cash available. Hart said she also thought that Thakore had done an excellent job with this project, but that she had felt there were more pressing needs. She said she felt like if the units were not sellable they could ultimately be rented. Crane said he did not know if rental income would support the project. Long noted that units funded by HOME funds cannot be rented. Richman asked if the terms being requested were the same as last year's. Hightshoe said they were. Drum said that at issue for him was that it was afor-profit project rather than anon-profit and that it was owner-occupied versus rental. He said he loved this project but that it did not target primarily low-income people and was low on the CITY STEPS priority list. Douglas said that the housing survey seemed to indicate a greater need for affordable rental housing than homeownership. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 9 of 17 Iowa City Housing Authority - TBRA: Shaw said that this was a very consistent project that reliably uses its dollars in the most efficient manner. He said for him it was a matter of determining the allocation amount. Richman pointed out that this project is not a "bricks and mortar" project, but does have immediate impact for the very low income population of the community. McKay said that he was influenced by seeing how quickly the dollars turn into housing for people who might otherwise have to go without. He said that the way ICHA is able to leverage these funds to provide housing to the elderly and the disabled is very much a factor for him. McMurray said her allocation was on the lower end because ICHA had not yet used their FY09 allocation. Douglas said he had wondered about that as well. Steven Rackis of ICHA said that it had not yet been used as they are hoping to add it to the FY10 allocation to be able to serve more families for a longer period of time. Richman noted that all Commissioners funded the project, but amounts varied. Builders ofHove: Richman noted that five Commissioners allocated nothing to this project, whereas four Commissioners partially funded it. McKay said that so much of the square footage was going to be used to house services unique to the organization. He said that there are so many services already available in this town that he could not see why money should be used to construct a building to house more instructors and therapists. He said this drove his thinking in allocating nothing to the project. Richman asked if he was correct in his belief that there were now four units and Hightshoe said that was correct, and that it was also correct that there was a commercial component to the project, though HOME funds would not be used for that portion. Crane said he was a proponent of this project last year but that the per-unit cost was of concern to him this year. Based on the limited funds available, he chose not to allocate toward the project this year. Drum said the for-profit aspect of the project was a factor in not allocating funding to it. Richman said that it probably was not very profitable, but that $65,000 per unit was too high. He said that it probably served a need in the community, but that the costs were too high at this time. Douglas said he liked the overall sound of the project, and since he was not funding the Shelter House model, he wanted to fund this one. He said that the financial arguments presented by Commissioners make sense, although he does feel it is a good project. Hart said that her thinking was similar to Douglas's, although she had mistakenly believed she was funding the less costly version of the model. She said the projects this group has done in the past have been quite worthy, but that another year may be a better time for this. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 10 of 17 Richman said that Builders of Hope had a project two years ago that he was not a big proponent of, but that it turned out very well. However, in terms of dollars, this project was a little problematic for him. Williar~z Wittig -Rental: Richman noted that this was another one where four people funded the project and four did not. Hightshoe noted that this would probably be a project where CDBG funding was used rather than HOME, as she did not think the comprehensive rehabilitation required by HOME could be done with success in this case. Richman said that although the cost of the project is low, it does not necessarily add new affordable units to the community. Hart said she had gone on the high-end for funding this project because she felt there was a safety issue at play. She said that having lived in similar housing types, she believed the units fill a need for those who cannot afford more. She also felt that there were probably not other resources from which the money could come. Douglas asked if the project seemed viable in the revised pro forma. Hightshoe said that if the predicted 5% vacancy rate was applied it could be viable; however, if the historical 15% vacancy rate applied, then it would not be. McKay said his problem was both the occupancy rate and the fact that the money being put into the house was not going toward making the rooms look better (thereby increasing the occupancy rate). Hightshoe noted that the kitchen and bath would be improved. Drum said that for him it was once again the for-profit issue. He said he had a hard time refurbishing someone's house. Richman pointed out that there probably was not much profit in the for-profit project. Long pointed out that as afor-profit property taxes were being paid by the owner. Hart said that Wittig had mentioned that he was working with the STAR program and to keep the place better kept up with higher occupancy rates. Drum said he did not see much effort being put into up-keep. Richman asked, in light of Hart's assertion that there probably was not another funding source for the project, if there was a mortgage out on the property. Long said there were at least two mortgages on the property. Crane noted that the combined mortgages were higher than the assessed value of the house. Drum said he had been under the impression that Wittig had purchased the house very recently, but that it appeared he had owned it for quite some time. Long said that he had owned it since the mid 1990's. Richman asked if Drum had toured the property. Drum said he had and it is rough looking. Crane asked how many people resided there, and was told that there were 16 units with 12 people living there currently. Shaw said this had been one of his concerns, that if the occupancy rate can be filled with 16 residents, then you have 16 residents living in a very small space. He asked what the impact of that amount of people would be on the landlord's ability to keep the property up. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 11 of 17 Drum said he really appreciates what Wittig is trying to do and does not mean to disparage that. He said if there was enough money to fund all of the projects, he would fund this. However, since the money is limited, he thinks other projects better fit the community's needs. Dan Tonnesen -Rental: Richman noted that no one funded this project. He said there were issues with the lack of completeness in the application, but wondered if anyone else wished to speak to the issue. McKay said he just had the feeling that the project was going to go whether HCDC gave them a dime or not. He said it is afor-profit project and if they can make it work, they should do so. PUBLIC FACILITIES: First Mennonite Church -Home Ties Addition: Crane said he was in strong support of the project, largely due to the amount of fundraising they had already done. He said he was very impressed with what they have achieved with their fundraising versus the amount of their request. Drum said he was impressed as well with the support they have from the church. He said that he was impressed that the church had basically given over their entire Sunday school area and their general meeting room to this daycare. He said he was impressed with the church's commitment to the daycare. He said that the addition would also solve the ongoing security problem with the daycare. McKay said that every Friday the church packs up the rooms used by the daycare so they can be used by the congregation and then every Monday unpacks them again. He said that the church has gone to considerable inconvenience, staff time, expense and trouble while getting no direct benefit from the daycare. He said he was very impressed with the church's commitment to the daycare. A member of the public, Brianne Wojak of Successful Living, spoke up to attest to what an amazing program Home Ties is and what a unique service it provides, saying she has worked closely with them in her professional capacity. United Action for Youth -Facility Rehabilitation: Hart said that this was not a bad project, but that she felt it was one that was less of dire need and more for aesthetics. Drum said that the windows issues and the resulting loss of heat were real issues that went beyond the cosmetic, as did the steps. Richman said his funding was based on the fact that the organization had gone out and gotten the labor for free. Shelter House -New Construction: Hart said that she had allocated higher because she was hoping to help push the project to completion as it had been in the works for four years. Richman asked if this project was eligible for the stimulus funding; Hightshoe said it was. Long noted that digging would have to commence prior to July 10, 2009 for it to be eligible. Richman noted that this was by far the biggest request on the Public Facilities list. He asked if anyone felt strongly that the 70-bed facility should receive greater than the average Commissioner allocation of $119,000. Shaw asked about the capital campaign the Shelter House was doing. Drum asked if it was worth discussing how people wanted to handle the extra money; if they wanted to HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 12 of 17 move it around as planned. Richman noted that if they wanted to, the Commission could use the extra money to fully fund Shelter House without changing much of anything else. He noted he was not advocating either way. McMurray said that Shelter House could be given 50% and the other projects could still be funded. Richman said it could also basically all be moved up to housing. Shaw said that the reality of the Shelter House is that every little bit helps and the more the Commission gives the less stress that is put on their capital campaign. Conversely, Shaw said, if the Commission does not give as much, the project will still move forward regardless. Richman said that past requests have usually been approached in one of two ways: 1) they are fully funded (such as Four Oaks) or 2) priming the pump (Splash Pad) and giving momentum for outside fundraising. Richman said that it seemed to him the Commission was going to have to decide which approach to take with Shelter House. Long said that as the Commission thinks about some of these projects and the stimulus money, they may want to think about what they have to report to HUD. He said things such as carpet replacement might not be what HUD has in mind because it is a one-shot stimulus, whereas "bricks and mortar" projects are "stimulating" in the way HUD is seeking. Shaw said the idea is to put more people to work. DVIP -Facility Rehabilitation: Crane asked if the air conditioning is not working. Shaw replied that they are 15 years old, original to the building and had some trouble operating last summer. Shaw said that shelters are pushing the state hard for a new formula for funding to help them stay open. He said this may be a situation where there is no other funding source. MECCA -Facility Rehabilitation: Shaw said that he has appreciated that the security upgrades are directly related to residents and services provided and will directly improve their lives. He said he liked that the systems were considered in the context of their impact on the outcomes of services provided, which was a somewhat rare thing in this funding category. Richman agreed. CMHC-Facility Rehabilitation: Crane said that he funded it as a safety issue for clients. Hart said that while the windows were an important project, the pavement takes precedence. Richman said this was one of two projects that he did not fund. He said it was simply a matter of prioritization for him. Hart asked if Richman took the tour of the property and he said he did not. Hart said the tour had made a difference for her. Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County -Facility Rehabilitation: Staff clarified that $26,615 is stated on the application. The applicant made an error in the budget, however $26,615 is the amount HCDC must consider. Shaw asked what the priority order was for the projects because even if the full request was granted, it would still not be what they had intended to request. Crane said that he allocated enough to fund the deck due to the safety issues. McMurray asked if the Commission could specify which project they intended to fund and Hightshoe said that they could. Hightshoe said that this is the second year an allocation request has been made for the deck and the HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 13 of 17 third year funding for the asphalt has been requested. Crane noted that given the allocation amount on the application both projects could not be funded even if they wanted to. Arc of Southeast Iowa -Facility Rehabilitation: Richman noted that this was another project that half of the Commission funded and half did not. Hart said she believes Arc does fantastic work and that they are very deserving of new carpet, but that it is one thing that people could live without and delay for another year. Douglas said he agreed, and he thought the amount was so small they could probably raise it themselves. Crane agreed. Richman said he just did not feel the carpet was in that bad of shape other than a few rough spots under the desk. Drum agreed that it was a project that could wait another year, noting that the carpet on the administrative side of the building was in worse shape. Crane reminded him that Arc had said they were only interested in replacing carpet in the area clients were served in at this time. There was no further discussion on Arc at this time. Richman said there were basically four projects in Housing and Public Facilities where half of the Commission funded it and half did not: Shelter House rental project, Builders of Hope project, William Wittig rooming house project and The Arc carpet project. Richman asked if everyone felt they had enough information on these projects to move one way or the other on these projects. He asked if there was anything else about these projects that needed to be discussed. Shaw said it made sense to figure out which of the similar rental projects offered by Builders of Hope or Shelter House is the project to fund since it seems as though people picked one or the other to fund. Richman said there were several people who came out with zeros for both projects. It was determined that Commissioners felt they had enough information to proceed. PUBLIC SERVICES Richman pointed out that there is a minimum allocation of $2,500 for Public Services this year, and that this meant that at a minimum half of the projects that applied will not receive funding. He asked Commissioners to realize that in two weeks they would be saying no to at least half of these projects. Douglas asked if there were any that everyone had agreed not to fund, and was told that there was not. Crane noted that there were also no projects that everyone had agreed on. Shaw asked Crane how he reached his decisions. Crane said that he had concerns about the financials of Extend the Dream and that with Compeer he was concerned with the director turnover. He said that he liked all of them but that he had to leave two out so these were the two that he chose. McKay said that he chose to fund only The Free Medical Clinic (Free Med) in the amount of $10,000 because he feels that they serve a very desperate social need and that their services will be even more in demand as the economy attempts to recover. Hart said that she gave nothing to Free Med because she thought that they were in the best position to find outside funding. Hart said she funded Shelter House high because she felt that they could make the dollar go a long way and do a lot of good. In funding Extend the Dream and Compeer, she felt that they were organizations that could not really count on funding from other resources. Hart said it was her understanding that Extend the Dream now had the services of Taxes Plus and was on firm financial footing; Long said that their financials were better than they had been. Hightshoe said that Staff did have concerns with all-volunteer agencies and the administrative and regulatory burdens placed on them when dealing with federal funding sources. She said this is part HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 14 of 17 of the reason the Commission had gone to the minimum Public Service allocation of $2,500. Hightshoe just said that it was something to think about when allocating funds to an organization run entirely by volunteers: are more regulations being imposed upon them than in which they might not have the capacity to comply with or could the funds be more easily obtained through fundraising with no built-in restrictions? Hart said that this new information about Extend the Dream could affect her funding decision. Hart said that it was her understanding that the turnover issue with Compeer could be alleviated by funding the director position. Hart said that she felt Local Foods could probably find a few more friends to use as its funding source, as might Successful Living (whose presentation she found very nice). Hart acknowledged that the additional funding sources could be simply her impression. Hightshoe noted that there had been discussions in the past about funding the same agencies year after year and whether to put a limit on it; an issue which she said had not been resolved. Crane said that this was a consideration in his decision not to fund Extend the Dream as they have had the same basic request funded for the past three years. McKay asked what the e-commerce that shows up in their budget refers to. Hart said they hold trainings to teach people how to sell things on E-bay. Hightshoe noted this was for supplemental income purposes. Hart said she felt like more and more people are utilizing their services. Richman noted that Extend the Dream has been very good at leveraging their dollars and they have shown consistency. He said that he respected that they never asked for a lot of money. Douglas said that he loves Local Foods but is not a strong supporter of financing them. He said that they are getting a lot of money from New Pioneer Co-op and seemed to have hooked themselves in to other funding sources. Shaw said that they are growing and it may be time to see if they can fly with their new wings. Richman said they seem like they would be able to fly if pushed out of the nest. Drum pointed out that in other situations the Commission rewarded those who went out and raised money on their own whereas in this case it seems to be seen as a reason not to fund them. Hart said that all of the services serve critical needs; it is just a question of what is going to go the farthest. McKay said that in looking at Extend the Dream's budget he noted that they are spending $5,000 on internet; he said he could find them internet for one-third that cost. He said $5,000 exceeds what the organization is even requesting. Shaw wondered if the best way to allocate for public services would be to reward the top four agencies for their administrative abilities and capacity, since it is accepted that all of the agencies provide good services. Hightshoe said that from Staff's perspective they are monitoring organizational structure and financial information more closely. All federal recipients must have a structure that separates financial duties and must have a system of record keeping and maintaining client information that is readily available. This is hard for some of the small agencies to do, especially for very small amounts of federal funding. Crane said that the income for the executive director for Local Foods is rather low without the HCDC funding although it is not something he would want to continue to fund. He said the goal would be for Local Foods to find other funding sources to sustain the position. Douglas said that he did not fund Shelter House under Public Services because he had funded their new construction project. Richman noted that Free Med and Shelter House had received the most votes for funding from Commissioners. Richman asked Commissioners to consider which two of the six projects they would choose not to fund if they had to drop two. Hart said she had given more to Shelter House thinking they would get more bang for their buck. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 15 of 17 Long noted that Commissioners can ask the applicants at the next meeting if the projects are still feasible with only $2,500. Crane said he found it rather confusing that the project that was ranked last (Compeer) seemed to have quite a bit of funding allocated to it. Hart said she had funded Compeer because she thought it might help the long-term stability of the project. Shaw said that there is a value judgment to be made by the Commission as to whether a program is effective and can grow in the community and should therefore receive more funding. McMurray said that there were other mental health resources in the community to serve the Compeer population. Hightshoe said the agency serves 22 people. Richman said he had funded the program but was persuadable. It was discussed that Compeer had not received funding last year, but had the year before. Shaw asked if significance is given to having to repeatedly fund programs. Crane asked how long Local Foods had been funded and Hightshoe said it was funded in FY08 and FY09. She noted that this information is found in the staff review under "Applicant History." Shaw noted that all of the agencies in question had received past funding. Richman noted that it is a question as to whether these organizations are even intended to be entrepreneurial and self-supporting. Shaw said he was not thinking ofself-sufficiency so much as whether the agencies were administratively self- supporting enough to comply with all of the necessary regulations. Long asked if anyone had questions for Successful Living. Long asked Successful Living if only $2,500 of the requested $8,000 was granted it would be enough to sustain the program. Steve Noack of Successful Living replied that it would be difficult, but that any help would be appreciated. He said that the hours of the position would likely be cut down. Wojak noted that Successful Living receives no Aid to Agencies funding at all and that it was their hope that the new position could direct the recreation activities and look for new funding and fundraising opportunities with the goal of becoming more sustainable. Wojak joked that she would love to not be at this meeting at 9:45 p.m. at this time next year and that funding this position would help to make that possible. Wojak stated that the pilot project has been going very well and has grown each week, and that they would certainly take any funding that could be given. Long asked Sandy Pickup of the Free Medical Clinic if their project would continue with or without full funding. Pickup said that it will continue with partial funding if necessary. McMurray asked if pharmacists volunteer in addition to the doctors that volunteer. Pickup explained that the skills of a pharmacist are not as necessary as the skills of a prolific paper-pusher that could fill out and document the intensive paperwork necessary for the project. Richman noted that the two most highly ranked Public Service projects were also the projects that received the fewest votes for zero funding. He proposed agreeing that those two projects and one or two others be funded for the next round of allocations. He said that would reduce the number of moving pieces to deal with in two weeks. Drum asked if there was any one project that could be dropped now. Shaw said he was comfortable with that suggestion. Richman suggested that when people fill out their next allocation worksheet they assume that Free Med and Shelter House get funded at some level, and then everyone can pick one to two others to fund. McMurray concurred. Crane asked if they should allot four at $2,500. Richman and Shaw said it was up to each Commissioner how to allocate and at what amounts. Douglas asked if Compeer and Successful living were somewhat similar. Drum said he did not think so. Wojak, who volunteers at Compeer and works at Successful Living, said that while they both serve the chronically mentally ill, the clients at Successful Living receive more life-skills training and HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MARCH 12, 2009 MEETING ROOM A, IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 16 of 17 the Compeer program is about one on one relationships. Hart asked how many clients Successful Living currently served. Wojak said they serve 84 clients. Hightshoe said she would send out revised allocation sheets on March 13'}' and asked Commissioners to return them to her by March 18`h Long said that since the final dollar amounts are not yet known and will not be until the President's budget is passed, he wondered if it was alright with the Commission if the numbers varied by 5% or less if the change was applied across the board. He said if it varied more than 5% it might be necessary to reconvene. The Commission gave their consent. ADJOURNMENT: Shaw motioned to adjourn. Crane seconded. The motion passed 8-0 (DeFrance absent). The meeting was adjourned at 9:53 p.m. Housing 8~ Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2009 Name Term Ex fires 2/17 2/18 2119 3/12 Crane, Steve 09/01/09 X NM X X De France, Marc 09/01/09 O/E NM X O/E Dou las, And 09/01/11 X NM O/E X Drum, Charlie 09/01/10 X NM X X Hart, Holl Jane 09/01/10 O/E NM X X McKa ,Michael 09/01/11 X NM X X McMurra ,Rebecca 09/01/11 O/E NM X X Richman, Brian 09/01/10 X NM X X Shaw, Michael 09/01/09 X NM X X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = AbsenUExcused NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member MINUTES FINAL ' Youth Advisory Commission 3b(1O March 1, 2009 - 5:00 P.M. Lobby Conference Room -City Hall Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:00 P.M. Members Present: Diamitani, Green (left 6:05), Han, Heywood (arrived 5:10), Wahls Members Absent: none Staff Present: Karr, Wilburn (arrived 5:10) Others Present: University Journalism student Election of Officers: Karr noted that there were three positions to be elected: chair, vice chair and secretary in accordance with YAC By-laws. Green nominated Han for the position of chair, which was seconded by Diamitani. There were no other nominations for chair, and Han was elected unanimously, 4/0. Diamitani nominated Green for the position of vice chair, which was seconded by Han. There were no other nominations for vice-chair, and Green was elected unanimously, 4/0. Green nominated Heywood for the position of secretary, which was seconded by Diamitani. There were no other nominations for secretary, and Heywood was elected, 4/0. Heywood and Wilburn arrived. Approval of Minutes: Wahls made a motion to approve the minutes of January 8, which was seconded by Diamitani. Minutes were approved unanimously, 5/0. Meeting Schedule: Karr recommended choosing a regular meeting schedule, in order to preclude quorum problems, along with the possibility of additional meetings when needed. Diamitani suggested meeting on the first Sunday of each month, other Commission members agreed. Next meeting scheduled for April 5. Cancellation/weather Policy: Regarding bad weather and emergency cancellation, Karr noted that some boards had adopted the policy of canceling meetings on days that the ICCSD has cancelled school, and others phone-tree cancellation notification procedures. Han noted that, in accordance to the Sunday meeting schedule, school cancellation type policy was mostly irrelevant. Green advocated aphone-tree policy in order to prevent quorum issues. Wilburn recommended that the commission adopt a school cancellation type policy in order to cover additional meetings outside of the monthly Sunday meetings. Green noted the time between school cancellation and evening meeting times is usually when the roads are cleared, and thus the Commission rejected Wilburn's recommendation in favor of conditional cancellation. Karr said she would draft assignments and include in the next meeting packet. She noted that her email would not work for absences after business hours. Youth Advisory Commission March 1, 2009 Page 2 FINAL Notification of Emergency Absence Policy: Regarding issues with obtaining quorum, the Commission decided that in the event that those members present did not meet quorum requirements, members would only wait fifteen minutes for quorum to be met, and no business discussed until a special meeting is called or the next regularly scheduled meeting on the first Sunday. FY10 Budget: Karr informed the Commission that Han had presented the FY10 budget to the City Council at the January meeting and it was awaiting approval. Wilburn said that he had not heard of any problems, and that most likely the budget was going to be approved. In response to Diamitani, Karr stated that the FY10 budget request was for $4,200 and effective on July 1S`, 2009. 2009-10 Subcommittee Appointments and Reports: Youth Empowerment Grant: Green reported that there had been an application for the Youth Empowerment Grant submitted by United Action for Youth in connection to the Valentine's Day event, but that it had been withdrawn. Green and Han had written an email to the other grant applicants informing them of the commission's approval of the single award for the location rental, and requesting application revision and resubmission of the other two applications, but that they had never heard back. Diamitani confirmed that the Valentine's Day event had not taken place, and that as far as he knew, the group had intended not to use the grant amount. Karr noted the awarded $500 had not been taken out of the FY09 budget included in the meeting packet. Karr suggested the application protocol should be reviewed and revised by the Youth Empowerment Grant committee in order to include clearer standards and deadlines in order to fit better with Commission meeting schedules. Recognition (scholarship) Committee: Diamitani noted that the Recognition Committee was itself in its infancy, and that the scholarship program needed to be further developed. Karr said that since the school year is almost done for the year, the Committee ought to start planning for the next school year. Website and Advertising/Recruitment: After a summary of subcommittee functions, the Commission decided to combine the Website and Advertising and the Recruitment committees into a committee roughly focused on publicity. Back to School Picnic/Social: Diamitani roughly described to the Commission the image of the event in its original conception, as aBack-to-School social in Iowa City Park, possibly with food and free or reduced swimming; aget-together type event for the Iowa City Community Schools. Wahls suggested food and games, possibly with a speaker from the schools. Diamitani advocated school and community representatives. Han suggested adistrict-wide orientation and games for incoming high school freshman. Wahls suggested incoming junior high students. Green suggested asking representatives from area student governments to come to the event. Heywood noted the disparate nature of the two conceptions of the event, as a carnival- type event or an orientations and extra-curricular fair. Han advocated picking one focus Youth Advisory Commission March 1, 2009 Page 3 FINAL for the event. Heywood expressed hesitancy towards the idea of having a speaker. Wahls noted the inherent orientation aspect of aget-together type event, without a speaker. Green suggested having area sports teams representing the schools at the event. Diamitani suggested athletics contests. Han suggested having an original focus on the overall scope of the event, rather than activity specificities, in order to avoid the hazards of the Valentine's Day event. Wahls advocated a central speaker. Wahls and Wilburn compared the event to a district-wide ice cream social, since there is no equivalent at the junior-high and high school level. Karr noted that presumably the event would be around the beginning of school. Heywood noted that the event would have to be scheduled as not to coincide with existing school orientations, but that she liked the ice-cream social conception, since different schools already have their own orientations, and that the Commission would lose event efficacy by trying to present the disparate interests of different area schools. Heywood advocated having a non- educational focus in order to avoid event duplicity and irrelevance. Wilburn stated that food and simplicity would be a good focus in order to avoid Commission liability and crushed hopes. Heywood noted her prior involvement with large-scale public event planning, and suggested that since food vending has worked well in her experience at the nonprofit level, it should work well here since funding is not largely an issue. Karr suggested calendar dates and head-count (from schools) planning for the next meeting. Wilburn noted the Commission's inherent municipal Iowa City focus, especially in contrast to the greater Iowa City area focus of the Iowa City Community School District. Wilburn noted that since the Commission's budget comes from Iowa City, the Commission must be directly accountable to the Iowa City taxpayers. Karr noted that the fact that it is city monies must be considered with the event mission and motivation. Diamitani noted that an ICCSD focus would not include Regina. Wahls advocated targeting specifically to the Iowa City residents. Heywood communicated her position towards an ICCSD and Regina focus including all students seventh grade and up; and as far as taxpayer accountability goes, as long as the Commission chooses to spend the budget money with as local of a focus as possible, there is no better alternative and thus no reason for taxpayer and Council objection. Diamitani suggested prior Council review for the event demographic issue. Wilburn noted his thoughts that since the Commission put thought towards the demographic issue, this should be sufficient since the Commission has found a stance itself to advocate. Summer of the Arts/Global Village: Karr said that she had received the invitation to participate in the Summer of the Arts Global Village (June 5-7), and advocated sooner country selection rather than later. Karr noted that there is no obligation for the Commission to participate, but that if there is interest, the Commission should choose a country soon. Wahls suggested choosing Sweden, for its food. Diamitani suggested Sudan, in order to educate the public about its culture, also since there is a large Sudanese community in Iowa City. Majority agreed to request Sudan. Goals and Planning for 2009: Diamitani brought up the idea of having a citywide Post-Secret program. Heywood agreed, and advocated it as a citywide art project, in concert with the Public Art Youth Advisory Commission March 1, 2009 Page 4 FINAL Commission. Diamitani stated that he had planned to introduce the concept separately at different schools. Heywood advocated that for alarger-scale collaboration between the schools in order to have a large art show, or perhaps in tandem with the United Action for Youth art staff (and gallery space) or as part of the annual Gallery Walk, similar to the old Iowa State Bank show. Heywood stated that the elementary art curriculum would probably not be as receptive to the idea, since they usually only meet once a week, along with the potentially graphic nature of Post-Secret submissions. Green expressed hesitancy, since after the elementary school level, art becomes an elective course. Heywood suggested not limiting the scope of submission to only area art departments, since the Post-Secret exercise has potential also in English, Social Studies and Personal Development classes, perhaps limited only by dimensions, format etc.; and suggested utilizing student government connections in order to publicize, along with direct communications to area schools and departments. Diamitani again stressed the multi-departmental, even non-curricular and interpersonal focuses of the event. Green expressed favor towards the idea, also in terms of Youth Commission publicity. Karr mentioned that Janie Jefferies, the representative of UAY who had applied for and withdrew the Youth Empowerment Grant, had spoken favorably for a future YAC/UAY collaboration. Diamitani said he had mentioned the project to Jeffries. Update on Website: Karr distributed printouts of Commission members' online bios as they are on the website, and suggested editing and updating them. Correction and updates should be submitted to Karr. Public Discussion: None. Staff updates: Karr noted that there were still two board vacancies, one At-large and the Tate vacancy. Wilburn reported that he had visited government classes at Tate High School and that there had been some interest expressed. Announcements/Invitations/Events/Opportunities: Diamitani suggested scheduling a halfway meeting, around March 14. The Commission rejected this. Karr noted the next meeting would be scheduled for April 5, starting at 4:30 and lasting no more than two hours. Diamitani asked whether or not the Commission should take steps to inform the City Council of the ICCSD focus of the Back-to-School event. Wilburn suggested writing a letter to be included in the City Council packet in order to inform the City Council of the issue. Moved by Han, seconded by Diamitani, to adjourn 6:25 P.M. Submitted by: Heywood Z O ~~ ~~ OWa~ °~' ca U~o~ ~ W N ~ ~ U ~ ~ v~iQa m W 0 Z } ~ aW ~a O M X X X X X N ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; i i N Z Z Z Z Z ' N ~ ~ ~ ~ ; i i r Z Z Z Z ' ' ' Z W ~ Z Z Z Z ' Z rn rn rn o 0 o rn rn 0 0 0 0 0 ~ ~ a r M ~ M r M r M ~ M r M r M r M W X N N N N N N N N H W ~ r- ~ r- ~ ~ .- `' -~ -~. W ~ ~ -` a~ ~ ~ ` -~ ~ Q ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Z C7 c~ -C ~ _ -~ ~ ~ ~ 92 2 `o -a (1 0 ~ z ~, ~ ~~ W w d ~ ~ +-' w ~ d N ~ N ~ +~ N ~ aaaZZ° ii ii u u u wg , XO~ ' Oz ' w Y o5-u5-uy 3b 11 IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TUESDAY, March 24, 2009 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Newman Abuissa, Dianne Day, Wangui Gathua, Dell Briggs, Yolanda Spears, Eric Kusiak, Martha Lubaroff. Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers. Call to Order Briggs called the meeting to order at 18:08 p.m. Recommendations to Council (Become effective only after separate Council action) Consideration of the Minutes of the February 24 2009 Meeting Motion: Kusiak, seconded Lubaroff. Minutes approved 6-0. Meeting Day and Time Commissioners decided to move the week in which they meet from the fourth Tuesday of each month to the third Tuesday of each month. Motion: Lubaroff, seconded Gathua. Passed: 6-0. Programming 2009 The Town Hall meeting has been temporarily.postponed until a member of the subcommittee hears from the presenter. Abuissa will serve as master of ceremonies for the Youth Awards and Spears will present recipients with their Certificates of Appreciation. Building Blocks will be held on April 28th. Commissioners are asked to attend. Commissioners will begin to compile a list of possible keynote speakers for the Breakfast. The Commission will offer to co-sponsor Creating Community being held later in April. Motion: Abuissa, seconded Kusiak. Passed: 7-0. Kusiak, Lubaroff, Day and Briggs will serve on a subcommittee to help plan Homelessness Awareness week. Reports of Commissioners Gathua reported that she will be recognized on April 1st at the Annual Tribute to Women sponsored by the University of Iowa. The recognition is for her work in Civil Rights both locally and abroad. Abuissa mentioned an article in the CR Gazette (3-24-09) that reported the Israel Defense Forces condemned T-shirts worn by soldiers that depict scenes of violence against Palestinians. Day reminded Commissioners of the Embracing Tolerance and Diversity Series being held in the afternoon and the. evening in March and April. Bowers informed Commissioner's that Kross resigned her Commission seat and will be replaced in Mid-May. AdL urnment There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 19:26. Motion: Kusiak, seconded by Gathua. Passed: 7-0. Human Rights Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 /Mec~i nrr Tla t-al NAME TERM EXP. 1/27 2/24 3/24 4/28 5/26 6123 7/28 8/25 9/22 10/27 11/24 12/22 Newman Abuissa 1/1/10 P P X Joy Kross 1/1/10 A A R Eric Kusiak 1/1/10 A P X Dell Briggs 1/1/11 P P X Yolanda Spears 1/1/11 P P X Corey Stoglin 1/1/11 A A A Dianne Day 1/1/12 P P X Wangui Gathua 1/1/12 P P X Martha Lubaroff 1/1/12 A P X KEY: P =Present A =Absent NM = No meeting NMNQ = No meeting, no quorum. R =Resigned 3b 12) MINUTES FINAL PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION March 11, 2009 MEMBERS PRESENT: David Bourgeois, Lorin Ditzler, Maggie Elliott, Craig Gustaveson, Aaron Krohmer, Margie Loomer, Jerry Raaz, John Westefeld MEMBERS ABSENT: Ryan O'Leary STAFF PRESENT: Mike Moran, Terry Robinson, Marcia Bollinger GUESTS PRESENT: Elizabeth Cannon, Madison Ganz, Del Holland, Carla Susral RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Moved by Raaz, seconded by Bourgeois, to approve the Iowa City Parks Recreation, and Trails Master Plan Final Report and Executive Summary as submitted. Unanimous. OTHER FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Bourgeois, seconded by Krohmer, to approve the February 11, 2009 minutes as written. Unanimous. Moved by Krohmer seconded by Elliott, that a letter be drafted from the Commission to the City Manager outlining the Commission's concerns about the process that was taken when deciding to move the Iowa City Farmers Market and the lack of their input. Unanimous. DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY: Boards and Commissions were asked by the Iowa City Human Rights Commission to distribute demographic surveys to their members for them to fill out (voluntarily). The purpose of this survey is to allow the City of Iowa City to track the demographics of residents who currently serve on City Boards and Commissions. The surveys will be kept in a confidential file in the Human Rights Department. The information gathered from these surveys will be used for statistical surveys only. P & R COMMISSION MEETINGS WITH NEIGHBORHOODS (GALLWAY HILLS & WALNUT RIDGE IN APRIL) Westefeld reviewed with the Commission the discussion that ensued at the February meeting regarding this topic. In summary, Jerry Raaz suggested that members of the Commission begin attending neighborhood association meetings to provide information about items being discussed at Commission Meetings and also to receive information/suggestions from members of the neighborhoods. Commission members agreed that this would be valuable and asked that Marcia Bollinger, Neighborhood Services Coordinator from the Planning Department be invited to tonight's meeting. Westefeld reiterated that the purpose of these meetings will be to provide and obtain information while using the master plan as a guide. Parks and Recreation Commission March 11, 2009 Page 2 of 5 Bollinger reviewed the various neighborhood associations and their activity levels with the Commission. She noted that only a few are quite active, while many are only slightly active. Several options were discussed. For those active associations, Commission could be scheduled to attend their already scheduled meetings. For those that are not so active, perhaps there could be a regional meeting scheduled where several neighborhoods grouped together for one meeting where Commission Members could then present to several people in one setting. Another suggestion was rather than wait for the individual neighborhoods to meet, she could go ahead and schedule a meeting for this specific purpose. Bollinger will provide Moran with dates of already scheduled meetings who will email to Commission Members to determine who is available to present at those meetings. Bollinger and Moran will follow-up regarding other future meetings. 2009 WATER TRAILS GRANT RESULTS Kris Ackerson sent an email to Mike Moran informing him that they did not receive the funding for the water trail, however, they did score 8`h of 18 applications. The group that reviewed these proposals noted to Kris that this project would be very competitive with the Low Head Dam Safety Program, which has more money to offer than this program. These applications are due in September. Kris Ackerson will be invited to the April Commission meeting to discuss the next application process. CONSIDER RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT WITH DOGPAC RELATIVE TO OPERATION OF THORNBERRY OFF-LEASH DOG PARK AND REVENUE SHARING: Moran reviewed the current agreement with Commission, which will expire June 13. 2009. This agreement as written states that 90% of the revenue generated from the dog park fees goes to DogPAC. These fees are collected and provided to the City and deposited with the City Finance Department. On a quarterly basis, the City issues a check to DogPAC in an amount equal to 90% of the fees collected. This money is used by DogPAC to benefit the Thornberry Off-Leash Dog Park or development of other dog parks in the City. It was requested in 2007 by Commission that DogPAC provide Commission with an annual audit to show that the money is being spent specifically for dog park purposes. Therefore, Moran will ask that DogPAC present this information to Commission in April before moving further on this item. In the meantime Terry Robinson will also research the cost of materials, mowing, and other maintenance done by the City to present in April as well. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE IOWA CITY PARKS, RECREATION AND TRAILS MASTER PLAN FINAL REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Moran noted that the Master Plan is now available for review on the City web site. The Commission needs to formally adopt the master plan tonight before it goes before Council for their adoption. Moved by Raaz, seconded by Bourgeois, to approve the Iowa City Parks Recreation, and Trails Master Plan Final Report and Executive Summary as submitted. Unanimous. Krohmer noted that he was excited to see the strong support of a trials system in the plan and fairly strong guidelines put in place for future planning of such. Westefeld commented on the importance of keeping the Master Plan on the radar and asked for suggestions on how the Commission can ensure that we keep this operational. There was also some discussion among members regarding the relationship between the City and the University of Iowa especially in reference to the new recreation center that is being built. Krohmer noted that it is his Parks and Recreation Commission March 11, 2009 Page 3 of 5 understanding that this University facility will be closed to the public. Bourgeois said that he would speak with Harry Ostrander to clarify this. SAND LAKE UPDATE: Moran announced that the City Manager has withdrawn the Vision Iowa grant application for the Sand Lake project as it no longer qualifies since it will not be complete within the two year guideline. Moran further noted that the project will continue to progress, just at a much slower pace. The City will reapply for the grant in 2011. A question that will be asked of the Vision Iowa Board is if the funds that have been collected to date will be credited to the City when it comes time to reapply in 2011. In other words, we were encouraged to do some fundraising before applying this year for the grant as that would help our chances of being approved. We have done that, but now have to pull the application. Staff wants to be assured that we will not have to re-do the fundraising process at that time. COMMISSION TIME/SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Craig Gustaveson reported that the Downtown Association is planning some special projects for cleaning up the downtown. Gustaveson has been investigating the possibility of purchasing ashtrays to install outside of businesses. He will be working with these businesses encouraging them to buy them while also investigating other avenues for purchasing them such as grants or with the City etc. Gustaveson said that the DTA is planning aclean-up day in April prior to Riverfeast. Krohmer asked that perhaps the Commission investigate how many fines are written for littering and what the amounts are for these fines. Moran reported that the City Manager is distressed about this as well. Krohmer also asked if the bocce ball courts will be reopening at City Park. Robinson reported that they would. Krohmer encouraged staff to look at adding more of these to other parks. Krohmer asked if Engineering will be making plans for use of stimulus money before it is actually upon us. Moran stated that they are being developed. Moran reported back to Krohmer regarding his idea to collect parking revenue by possibly placing parking meters around areas such as College Green Park. Chris O'Brien, Parking Director, stated that if he was going to have to provide staff to maintain these meters etc., that the revenue would have to go to Parking. Loomer stated that she was happy to see newspaper coverage on the Sand Lake project. CHAIRS REPORT Westefeld wanted to publically thank Mike Moran and Terry Robinson for all of their hard work during this challenging time for their department. DIRECTORS REPORT Moran discussed with challenges Parks and Recreation staff is facing regarding baseball and softball fields this spring. The City has lost the use of fields A, B & C at City Park due to settling after the flood damage as well as the use of the University Complex until mid-May. He stated that staff will have to send Parks and Recreation Commission March 11, 2009 Page 4 of 5 some reservation requests to Coralville so Commission may be hearing some complaints from the public about this. Moran distributed photographs of the completed fishing pier at Waterworks Park. Moran discussed the schedule of events for the IPRA conference scheduled for the week of April 6. Members are asked to inform Moran if they are interested in attending any of the events. Moran reviewed plans for the Trueblood Family Benefit Dinner with Commission. Anyone interested in volunteering to help at the dinner please contact Moran at 356-5100 or mike-moran(a,iowa-city.or~. Elliott discussed her concerns with other commission members about the fact that the Commission did not have a role in the decision making process regarding the move of the Farmers Market. Discussion ensued. The Commission agreed that a letter be written on their behalf to the City Manager listing their concerns. They also asked that they be a part of the process when making a decision at the end of the season regarding the status of the future of the market. Moved by Krohmer, seconded by Elliott, that a letter be drafted from the Commission to the City Manager outlining the Commission's concerns about the process that was taken when deciding to move the Iowa City Farmers Market and the lack of their input. Unanimous. Moved by Gustaveson, seconded by Krohmer to adjourn at 6:45 p.m. Unanimous. Parks and Recreation Commission March 11, 2009 Page 5 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2009 NAME TERM ~ ,~ ~ ,~ ~ ~ r~, ~ o ~ °~ ° N ~ ~ ~ c -" ~ a, N N M ~ ~o ~ 00 ,~ ...., EXPI RES David Bour eois 1/1/11 X O/E X Lorin Ditzler 1/1/13 X X X Maggie Elliott 1/1/13 X X X Craig Gustaveson 1/1/11 O/E X X Aaron Krohmer 1/1/13 O/E X X Margaret Loomer 1/l/12 X O/E X Ryan O'Lea 1/1/10 X X O/E Jerry Raaz 1/1/12 X X X John Westefeld 1/1/l0 X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum 3b ~3 IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FINAL MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2009--5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Saul Mekies, Hans Hoerschelman, Gary Hagen MEMBERS ABSENT: Robert Kemp, Brett Gordon STAFF PRESENT: Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Kara Logsden, Susan Rogusky, Michael McBride, Phil Phillips, Karl Hillie, Lauren Chase, Tim Hau, Nicole Hosette RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Logsden reported that the library will celebrate 20 years of Ellen Buchanan doing interviews of prominent Iowa City residents with a reception in May during Irving Webber Days. People Buchanan has interviewed over the years will be invited. Liz Mathis will interview Buchanan. A new podium in Meeting Room A should improve the look of programs cablecast from the meeting room. Hoerschelman asked if the schools had responded to the letter included in the meeting packet. Hardy said Perry Ross called him and said that the school district has a staffing issue. They would like to have a representative but there is no one available to send to the Commission meetings. Ross said he would like to be kept informed of Commission activities. Hardy said he met with representatives of the local access channels to discuss Mediacom's proposal to move the local access channels to digital transmission. Loss in the number of subscribers who could view the channels was discussed. Discussion also focused on which, if any, channels might be moved and the possibility of combining programming of channels moved to a single analog channel. Coverage of live community meetings, government meetings, and public access was seen as a priority. Benefits for the community offered by the Mediacom proposal was also discussed. The benefits of Mediacom providing video on demand and Internet streaming capabilities also were explored. Mekies asked how many potential viewers might be lost if the access channels went to only digital transmission. Brau said that depending on the assumptions used it would be about 36% at this time and decline over time. Hardy said the impact is for a limited period of time as all of Mediacom's transmission will be digital by 2012. Regarding the Triennial Review Hardy said he is waiting on a response for Mediacom on issues related to programming. Hardy said he distributed a set of questions to the service and programming committees and said that members should contact him with any additional questions. Brau said the technical and financial committees are essentially finished. Mediacom has not responded to several requests for information regarding technical questions and if they do respond at some point that information can be incorporated. Hoershhelman said there might be issues related to the age of the plant. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mekies moved and Hagen seconded a motion to approve the amended January 26, 2009 minutes. The minutes were unanimously approved. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Hagen complimented Hardy for filling in during Shaffer's absence. Hoerschelman said the online complaint form is a real benefit to the community. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. LIBRARAY REPORT Logsden reported that the library will celebrate 20 years of Ellen Buchanan doing interviews of prominent Iowa City residents with a reception May during Irving Webber Days. People Buchanan has interviewed will be invited. Liz Mathis will interview Buchanan for the library channel. Anew podium in Meeting Room A should improve the look of programs cablecast from the meeting room. CONSUMER ISSUES Hardy referred to the complaint report in the meeting packet and said that there were 2 service complaints and 4 technical complaints, all of which have been resolved. There were no calls received regarding the transition by the broadcasters to digital transmission. MEDIACOM REPORT Grassley was unable to attend the meeting. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT McBride reported that the University channel carried the dance Marathon live for the fu1124 hours. The first submission of programs from the Student Video Producers is now being cablecast. The students provided three hours of programming. More fine arts programming will be cablecast this semester. KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE O'Brien provided a written report. Kirkwood Student Productions continue to produce their monthly KSP newscasts and produced their first Kirkwood Men's and Women's basketball games of the season.. KSP's second live basketball double-header games will be broadcast on Saturday, February 14, 2009. KSP continues to produce several short news features about activities at Kirkwood. PATV REPORT Goding distributed PATV's 2008 annual report and highlighted that there were 1,275 camcorder checkouts over the past year. The annual report contains statistics on editing hours, membership, the number of workshops taught, and programs produced. PATV is cablecasting new game show series called "The Smartest Iowan". The program is also available on the Internet. PATV has been invited to tape some of the readings at Prairie Lights Bookstore. About 3 programs every 2 months will be taped. The next Live and Local program will feature the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, Johnson County. Development of the media literacy workshop is finished. It is in 5 parts. PATV is in the process of deciding to whom to offer the class to. The next guidelines workshop is Sunday, March 1 at 10 a.m. The next board meeting will be March 19 at 7 p.m. PATV is working with a University of Iowa honors class on a survey regarding PATV's operations. The class will be calling about 400 households. Goding distributed a list of questions that might be asked. Additional questions may be included. Questions from other access channels might be included. Hagen noted that PATV distributed a lot of information at the meeting rather in the meeting packet and asked if the contents could be addressed at the next meeting. Hoerschelman said the materials can be discussed at the next meeting and if there are any action items, they can be put on the agenda. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky distributed SCTV's the 3`d and 4th quarter 2008 reports. The intergenerational program is up and going. Jonathan Rattner, who is overseeing this project, will be making a presentation at the National Council on Aging conference in Las Vegas on the project. IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Lowe provided a written report. Hoerschelman asked if the schools had responded to the letter Hardy sent and was included in the meeting packet. Hardy said Perry Ross called him and said that the school district has a staffing issue. They would like to have a representative but there is no one available to send to the Commission meetings. Ross said he would like to be kept informed of Commission activities. Hardy said he talked to Lowe and Lowe said she would send quarterly reports. Lowe told Hardy that most programming was months old, not years old. Hardy said he suggested that Lowe indicated on the written reports when the program was first cablecast and who produced the program. Hagen asked if the letter would be viewed by any school official higher the Ross such as the Superintendent. Hardy said he did not know. The letter was addressed only to Ross. Mekies said that in the past the Commission discussed getting students involved through a student club and making funds available to a teacher to oversee the effort. Mekies asked if the schools made any mention of this. Hardy said he did not ask that question and the schools did not address it. Hardy said the Community Television Service has proposed using funds for creating programming by all access channels but that effort has stalled. Mekies said that the school district is a large institution and that the operation of the channel can not rely on one person. Hagen said he does not understand why the schools cannot get more people engaged in the channel. The Commission cannot dictate to the schools or make the channel a higher priority for them. Hoerschelman said it appears there is not a standard workflow. Hoerschelman said the Commission needs to continue to monitor the situation and if it appears that conditions are deteriorating to possibly inquire of the school board their perspective. CITY CHANNEL REPORT Hardy reported that the Community Voice program taped two new mayor's programs. The Media Unit recently taped programs for the Human Rights Commission, the Alliance of Retarded Citizens, and the League of Women Voters Legislative Forums. The Community Television Service has finished programs for the Foreign Relations Council, AARP, Historic Preservation Commission, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the annual Prairie Preview. Hardy said met with representatives of the local access channels to discuss Mediacom's proposal to move the access channels to digital transmission. Mediacom will be sending an updated letter of credit to the City. ACESS CHANNELS AND THE DIGITAL TRANSITION Hardy said he met with representatives of the local access channels to discuss Mediacom's proposal to move the local access channels to digital transmission. Loss in the number of subscribers who could view the channels was discussed. Discussion also focused on which, if any, channels might be moved and the possibility of combining programming of channels moved to a single analog channel. Coverage of live community meetings, government meetings, and public access was seen as a priority. Benefits for the community offered by the Mediacom proposal was also discussed. The benefits of Mediacom providing video on demand and Internet streaming capabilities also were explored. Mekies asked how many potential viewers might be lost if the access channels went to only digital transmission. Brau said that depending on the assumptions used it would be about 36% at this time and decline over time. Hardy said the impact is for a limited period of time as all of Mediacom's transmission will be digital by 2012. Hardy provided a demonstration of digital broadcasting. Mekies asked about the transition to digital transmission by broadcasters and the results in those states that have made the transition early. Brau said the FCC received fewer complaints than anticipated and most of the complaints were problems with viewer operating errors or lack of information on how to receive a signal rather than any systemic transmission or coverage problems. When the transition is made nationally in June there will likely be more viewers impacted as the broadcasting contours will change and some people, perhaps 3%, in rural or mountainous areas will experience some problems receiving some channels that had previously been receiving. PATV CONTRACT Hardy said that he met with PATV two weeks ago to discuss renewing their contract. Another meeting will be held in a couple weeks. Hoerschelman suggested forwarding any questions for PATV regarding contact items to Brau so he can distribute them. TRIENNIAL REVIEW Hardy said he is waiting on a response for Mediacom on issues related to programming. Hardy said he distributed a set of questions to the service and programming committees and said that members should contact him with any additional questions. Hoershcelman said there may be issues related to the age of the plant. ADJOURNMENT Mekies moved and Hagen seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjourmnent was at 6:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Michael Brau Cable TV Administrative Aide TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 12 MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD 01/01/03 to CURRENT Meeting Date Kimberly Thrower Saul Meikes Brett Castillo Terry Smith Jim Pusack 6/2/03 x x x x x 7/28/03 x x x x x 8/25/03 x x x x olc 9/22/03 x x x x o/c 10/27/03 x x x x o/c 11 /24/03 x x o/c x x 12/15/03 o/c o/c x x x 1 /2/04 x o/c x x x 1 /26/04 x x x x x 2/23/04 x o/c x o/c x 3/22/04 x x x x x 4/ 26/04 x x x x OIC 5/24/04 x x O/C x x 6/28/04 x x x o/c x 7/26/04 o/c x x x x 8/26/04 did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet 9/27/04 X X X X X 10/25/04 X X 11/04 Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet 12/20/04 X X X X X 1 /24/05 X X X X X 2/28/05 X X X X Ga Ha en 3/8/05 X X X X X 3/25/05 X O X X X 4/25/05 x o/c X X X 5/23/05 X o x vacanc X James Ehrmann X x Bebe Balant ne x 6/27/05 X x X X X X Michael Chritians 7/25/05 O X X X X 9/26/05 0 X X 0 X 10/31 /05 X X o/c X X 11 /28/05 X X X X X 1 /23/06 o/c X X O X 2.27/06 X X X 0 X 3/27/06 o/c X X John Weaterson X X 4/24/06 X X X X X 5/22/06 0 x x/o 0 X 6/26/06 0 X Vacant 0 X Nick Parker 7/24/06 x x x X 8/24/06 X x M. Wietin olc X 9125/06 x x x O/c X 10/23/06 x X x o/c X 10/30/06 x x x vacant X 11/27/09 x x x X 12.18/06 X X X X Brett Gordon 1 /22/07 X X X X X 2/26/07 X X X X X 3/26/07 Vacant x o/c x X 4/23/07 Vacant X X X X Hoerschelma n 521 /07 X X o/c X x 6/26/07 x x x x X 7/23/07 x x x x X 9/24/07 X X olc olc X 10/22/07 x x o/c o/c x 11 /26/07 x x x x X 12/18/07 X X olc X X 1 /28/08 X x o/c x X 3/3/08 X X X X X 3/24/08 Bob Kem x x o/c X X 4/28/08 X X X X X 6/3/08 X X X X X 6/23/08 X X X X 0/C 7/28/08 X X X X X 8/25/08 X X X o/c X 9/23/08 x x x x X 10.27/08 X X X o/c X 11/24/08 Did not meet 12/15/08 X X X X X 1 /26/09 X X X X o/c 2/243/09 X~ x o/c olc X Laura Ber us 4/27/09 X X X X X (X)=Present (O) =Absent (O/C) = Absent/Called (Excused)