HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-16 CorrespondenceMayor Bruce Teague
2021 State of the City Address
February 16, 2021
It is my duty, honor, and privilege to address the City Council and the community on the State of our
City. Normally, I would be surrounded by my fellow Council members, City staff, and members of the
public. Tonight, although the Council chambers are empty and we're meeting through a screen, I am
feeling more connected than ever to all of you.
I would like to start by thanking the members of our community. Your love for this City is amazing. You
keep our Democracy alive. And your stories inspire us in our work every day.
Thank you to my dedicated City Council colleagues. I can't wait until we are back together in person. In a
year that has been anything but ordinary, so too has your leadership been extraordinary. Your resolve,
energy, and optimism has helped me be a better Mayor and has strengthened our community. I look
forward to all our work that still lies ahead to make our City more inclusive, sustainable, and just.
I also thank you for putting your confidence in myself and the Mayor Pro Tem. And I want to especially
thank Mayor Pro Tem Salih. Just over one year ago, we celebrated our election results together on the
first day of Black History Month. I am proud to stand beside you as leaders of this community and a
reminder of what is possible. I am thankful our paths crossed to bring us to this journey together.
Finally -- last but not least — thank you to the more than 600 outstanding City employees who always go
above and beyond to keep this City running -- our bus drivers, police officers, firefighters, waste
collection crews and everyone else. From cleaning streets to maintaining our parks to keeping our
residents informed during times of such uncertainty — you are ALL truly essential workers and Iowa City
is lucky to have you.
COVID
When I delivered this address one year ago, I had no idea what my first year as Mayor had in store.
When we look back on 2020, we might recall the challenges of remote learning, the loneliness we felt at
times, or the closure of a favorite business. But I hope we also remember the way our community came
together.
I want to remind us of this good tonight. But please know that the friends and family members who are
not able to join us are certainly not forgotten. [pause]
When we learned just how dangerous this virus was, I took a bold step to mandate mask wearing and
protect public health in our community. We worked to educate the community on safety measures and
provide PPE to those in need.
We launched several relief programs to keep our community afloat. Through partnerships with local
service agencies, we offered nearly $2 million in:
• rent, utility, and security deposit assistance to low-income households
• aid for small business
• support for homeless prevention, mental health care, food security, and childcare services.
And we joined in Project Better Together to provide additional assistance to BIPOC businesses and
support for youth in their well-being and education through Neighborhood Nests.
Although we couldn't gather in the ways we're used to, we successfully launched the first annual
Climate Action Fest virtually, transitioned to a popular drive-through Farmer's Market, helped the
members of the Center stay connected through virtual programming, and even held a drive-in
Halloween movie for families.
Spending time outdoors was a welcome relief for many this year, so we increased our number of picnic
tables and outdoor dining options, added extra snow clearing on more parks and trails, and partnered
with ImOn to bring free WiFi to some of our parks. We're looking forward to expanding that WiFi to
more parks in the coming year.
Derecho
Just as we settled in to finding a new normal, we were surprised by an inland hurricane — the derecho.
Again, our staff gave their all. With over 5,000 hours of staff time, our Streets team helped collect
enough debris to fill Kinnick Stadium 31 feet deep! Parks staff helped remove dangerous trees on our
streets, parks, and trails and refuse added extra collection routes, opened an additional debris drop-off
location, and provided free yard waste bags to residents.
And while we worked closely with MidAmerican Energy to get power re-established in the community as
quickly as possible, the Library offered free charging stations, laptops, and Internet access across the
City via the Bookmobile.
Employees from our Fire Department assisted in our neighboring Linn County, as they continue to
strengthen their emergency preparedness. In 2020, the opening of a new training tower site and the
purchase of land for two future fire stations are two more ways our City is preparing to serve the health
and safety needs of our growing community.
BLM
In recent months we have begun the long overdue and tough conversations on an issue that is
extremely and personally important to me: eliminating racial injustice in our community.
I know my fellow Councilors join me from afar in taking this moment to honor the important lives of
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arberry, and all the Black lives lost too early to pervasive and
systemic racism.
Black lives matter and your leaders will continue to work to honor that truth.
We started by listening to the stories of individuals within our community. We held six Speak Up, Speak
Out events and listening posts and had many one-on-one, private conversations about injustice, our
hopes, and our fears.
To start, we have committed $1 million to social justice and racial equity initiatives, established a Truth
& Reconciliation Commission, and adopted Juneteenth as an official City holiday. A few weeks ago, our
City registered in support of a bill at the State level to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana —an
offense which contributes to the racial disparity in our criminal justice system.
We're re -structuring the way we respond to calls for service. Recently, we approved a jointly -funded
street outreach position with the Shelter House and a new law enforcement liaison position in
partnership with CommmUnity and Foundation 2 Crisis Services. These are the first steps in reducing our
need to have armed officers respond to calls that are better suited for trained mental health
professionals.
To our residents who have been so committed to this fight -- we hear you and we are not done listening.
The Preliminary Plan to restructure the police that was introduced by the City Manager focuses
extensively on a continuum of responses to crisis calls for service, a commitment to unbiased policing,
and public safety for the 21' century. We are committed to continuing to get feedback on this plan,
especially from those who traditionally have barriers, and refining the path forward.
I was pleased to join my fellow Council members in unanimously approving the appointment of our new
Police Chief Dustin Liston. We know he was the right choice to help us achieve a more community -
oriented public safety strategy. One of the upcoming projects he will focus on is our City's role in the
new Guidelink Access Center. The City made its final payment of our $2.5 million commitment to this
project and we are all looking forward to having this resource in our community.
Social Justice & Racial Equity
For many years, City Councilors in Iowa City have prioritized advancing social justice and racial equity.
The reality is that there is still a lot of work to do and there are still residents in our community who
don't have equitable access and opportunity.
But each year, we make incremental but meaningful progress. In 2020, the City's use of a racial equity
toolkit to analyze the water utility shutoff policy led to an overhaul of the policy to help families at a
time when they need a hand, not another penalty fee.
Equitable employment opportunity is important to us, which is why last year we converted several
hourly jobs to permanent positions with benefits. I am also proud that the City Council's commitment to
raise the minimum wage for hourly City employees to $15 will be accomplished in our upcoming budget.
We continue to sponsor a Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant Program with $75,000 each year. This
funded important projects in 2020 such as the creation of a multi-lingual newspaper to inform
community members of vital COVID-19 health information.
Expansion of translated documents has been a priority of the City in recent years. Language should
never be a barrier to full participation in the community. I am pleased to report our partnership with
Kirkwood Community College to offer free English language classes, of which has found success despite
the challenges caused by the pandemic.
These opportunities help create a community of inclusion. For the seventh year in a row, Iowa City has
earned a perfect score for LBGTQ inclusion on the national Municipal Equality Index. I am hopeful we
can safely gather again later this year to celebrate BOTH the 50th and 51" anniversary of Iowa City Pride.
Our Equity and Human Rights Department has been busy hosting trainings and programs for the
community, including partnering with the Business Partnership to sponsor a Humanize my Hoodie
workshop for local businesses and organizations. Our councilors and staff look forward to continuing to
support these offerings and participate in the Juneteenth Celebration, MLK Day celebration, and other
important cultural celebrations.
Neighborhoods & Community Development
In addition to virtual events, I have made it a priority to keep our residents connected with all the
awesome and amazing non -profits and agencies in our city. Each month, I spotlight a different guest on
our Community Connections program, which is broadcasted on City Channel 4, Facebook, and YouTube.
As City Councilors, we recognize just how vital these social service agencies are to our community.
We've committed to investing in their success and have approved considerable increases to our Annual
Aid to Agencies grant program in recent years. Our upcoming budget includes another three and a half
percent increase for this program.
We're also calling for another $1 million for Affordable Housing. I look forward to the outreach work of
the new steering committee tasked with recommending an updated Affordable Housing Action Plan. In
2020, we made progress in increasing affordable units in the downtown with 6 units at the Augusta
Place apartments and the acquisition of five units for public housing at The Chauncey. We are also
excited that as part of the South District Homeownership Program, we now have two more affordable
duplex units for sale for residents of the neighborhood and are working to put additional units for sale In
2021. Later this spring, City Council will consider adopting a form -based zoning code in the South
District, providing property owners more revitalization opportunities in this historic and vibrant
neighborhood.
Elsewhere in and around the City, City Council has focused on creating sustainable solutions to
development in our community. City staff are currently preparing a commercial tax abatement program
to help incentivize development along the Highway 1/6 corridor. We also expect to add millions to our
Affordable Housing Fund through fee -in -lieu payments negotiated in TIF development agreements. This
includes $1.8 million from the downtown Tailwind project, which will bring a much-needed boost to an
otherwise slow year for economic activity.
The Tailwind project also designates several of these downtown buildings as local, historic landmarks.
This joins our earlier landmark designation of the Civil War -era property at 410 -412 N. Clinton Street.
Climate Action
The Tailwind project will also pursue LEED Gold certification as a result of our City's commitment to
aggressive climate action.
Last year we adopted the Accelerating Iowa City's Climate Action's Report and have made considerable
progress. The design for the City's new Public Works Facility was guided by our Climate Action Plan and
received an award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency Design in October.
The Climate Action and Outreach office also launched new energy efficiency incentives for industrial
properties in TIF districts and provided $50,000 in climate action grants for projects like local food
production for immigrant, refugee, and low-income residents.
We continue to make progress towards our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. We've
seen over 60 acres of new prairie planted, launched a tree planting voucher program, and welcomed our
first class of community Climate Ambassadors.
Transit
The way our City moves is also important to reaching our emission reduction goals. As of this summer,
all city parking ramps are now equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. We received a $3 million
grant from the USDOT to purchase our first electric buses later this year.
This is the first of many exciting changes to our Transit system. With the transit study complete, we
hope to launch new routes this summer. City staff are coordinating with Coralville to improve
consistency to the fare structure and connectivity across the systems. Planning is also underway for pilot
programs to offer late-night and Sunday bus service.
For our two -wheeled commuters, we continue to make progress on our Bike Master Plan. You might see
the first green bike boxes now marked in several intersections throughout the City. These are part of a
continued effort to improve the safety of our streets for cyclists, vehicles, and pedestrians alike. Several
new bike lanes and bike boulevards were completed in 2020 and projects this coming year will include a
sidepath along HWY 6 and bike lanes on Benton Street and Gilbert Street. This summer, we will apply for
Gold Bicycle Friendly status — which would make Iowa City the first to achieve this designation in the
State of Iowa!
Arts, Culture, and Recreation
The pandemic has encouraged people to spend more time outside, enjoying Iowa City's beautiful and
well-maintained park and trail system. We're committed to improving our parks and natural areas each
year, adding amenities and making accessibility upgrades. Last year, we made progress on park and
playground improvements at Wetherby, Napoleon, Scott, Fairmeadows, and lower City Park. Staff will
tackle Court Hill, Glendale, and Chadek Green Parks in the coming year and I am excited to receive a
recommendation soon for renaming Creekside Park in honor of a personal inspiration of mine and the
first African-American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the late James Alan McPherson.
City staff is also kicking off a Recreation Master Plan process to explore how our recreational facilities,
programming, athletic fields, and aquatic centers can better serve our community. Although the
members of The Center haven't been able to gather in person, I am excited that they can look forward
to many improvements that will provide a more accessible and welcoming space for all.
Finally, I am proud to be part of a City Council who continues to prioritize support for arts and culture in
our community. With the City's assistance, Public Space 1 took ownership of their home on the
Northside in 2020. The recent development agreement for the Tailwind project creates a new,
permanent home for the Riverside Theater. Our City contributed $1 million to the local Strengthen,
Grow, and Evolve arts campaign, supporting the historic renovation of the Englert Theater. It was a
moment to celebrate when the rehabilitated, iconic Englert marquee was unveiled and lit up once again.
I am optimistic we will find more of these pockets of light in the coming year. But this is not a blind
optimism. I know we have many challenges ahead and our path forward may at times be lined with
sacrifice and struggle.
The words of our Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. tell us: "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then
walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
There may be times we have to walk, or even crawl, in the months ahead. But I know our City is in a
strong position to push towards an equitable recovery. I am honored to be your Mayor. I look forward to
working alongside Johnson County public health, the University, our neighboring cities, my fellow
Councilors, City staff, boards and commissions, and all of our awesome and amazing organizations and
members of this community -- all of us working together — doing whatever we can to keep moving
forward.
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CITY OE IOWA CITY
www.icgov.org
February 16, 2021
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Competitive Quotation Memo
Item Number: 8.a.
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CITY OF IOWA CITY
MEMORANDUM
Date: February 4, 2021
To: Geoff Fruin, City Manager
From: Jason Havel, City Engineer ..DT -1 -
Re:
-Re: Competitive Quotation Results
2019-2020 Sanitary Sewer Repairs
Competitive quotations for the 2019-2020 Sanitary Sewer
October 15, 2020 and the following quotes were received:
Lynch's Excavating
Dennis Spencer Construction
BG Brecke, Inc.
Carter & Associates
Maxwell Construction
Engineer's Estimate
West Branch, IA
Iowa City, IA
Cedar Rapids, IA
Coralville, IA
Repair Project were opened on
$ 135, 943.10
$ 136, 978.50
$ 165,645.90
$ 203,954.00
Non -Responsive Bid
$ 138,000.00
The project included the repair and replacement of sanitary sewer pipes and manholes as well
as reconnection of sanitary sewer services at various locations across Iowa City. Public Works
and Engineering recommended and the City Manager awarded the contract to Lynch's
Excavating of West Branch, Iowa. The project will be funded with Account f#V3101.
Item Number: 8.b.
46,, CITY OF IOWA CITY
� COUNCIL ACTION REPORT
February 16, 2021
Establish "No Parking Any Time" prohibition on the east side of Little Creek
Lane.
Prepared By: Frank Waisath, Associate Transportation Planner
Reviewed By: Kent Ralston, Transportation Planner
Tracy Hightshoe, Neighborhood and Development Services Director
Fiscal Impact: No impact.
Recommendations: Staff: Approval
Commission: N/A
Attachments:
Executive Summary:
As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of
the following action:
Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A (10); Install "No Parking Any Time" signs on the east side of Little
Creek Lane.
Background /Analysis:
This action is being taken at the request of the Streets Department and Transportation Services in
order to allow for better access by City service vehicles.
All households along Little Creek Lane have been notified of the proposed action.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Little Creek Lane parking on both sides
Little Creek Lane Seats Incident Report
Vehicle # 30
DATE OF REPORT: 1 2.
DATE OF INCIDENT: 1 , TIME OF INCIDENT:
PERSON INVOLVED: ,REPOR1 EA) BY:
INCIDENT LOCATION:
SEATS INCIDENT REPORT
Incident #
OTHER INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED (with address' & phone #):
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT
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