HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-16 TranscriptionPage 1
2. Special Presentations
2.a. COVID Update—Johnson County Public Health
Teague: All right, well welcome everyone and our second agenda item, 2.a., is COVID updates from
Johnson County Public Health, Sam Jarvis, who is the Community Health Division Manager.
Welcome, Sam.
Jarvis: Hey, good evening, everyone. Thank you for having us and always appreciate the time to be
able to share updates with everyone. Uh, in terms of our disease trends, certainly as everyone
can see on the State's dashboard, our COVID cases are trending lower, and we're very happy to
see that. We're happy to see it leveling out too. You know, we're looking at an average of less
than 25 cases per day, and so, you know, these are the levels that we saw, you know, early in the
summer and at a certain point in time in the fall, before we saw the two larger surges that we
had where, you know, November we had roughly 1,000 cases within a week, and that certainly
caused a lot of alarm. We were able to really (mumbled) discuss and describe that to our
community of all the different kinds of measures that ... that persons could take, and so we're
happy to see this. We're certainly still encouraging everyone to continue to implement these
mitigation measures. The pandemic is not over. These things will likely continue to be
extremely important now and for several months, until we know more with vaccine and
certainly until we see more persons being vaccinated. So that communication will continue to
come from us, but in terms of being able to keep up with contact tracing and everything else,
we're ... we're well suited. We've got a majority of our contact tracing positions filled, and
they're, you know, continuing to keep them busy and up to speed with the skills and their
capacity. So, in terms of investigation, we feel comfortable where we're sitting. Uh, again with
the changes at the State level with mitigation measures, um, the announcement of different
variants and things. You know, there's still some unknowns out there, some other items are yet
to be determined. So we're carefully watching those and certainly wanting everyone to also
continue to be vigilant. In terms of vaccination, on February 1 st Johnson County, like other
counties across the state, had entered into the next phase, phase 1B. We're now ...we knew
roughly a week before, uh, the State had moved from 6...75 and older to 65 and older, which
essentially doubled the demand while keeping the supply roughly the same of what we, uh,
thought we were ... or could anticipate receiving for ..for every week, uh, which certainly does
not cover everyone. And so we know that there's a lot of persons that are still very anxious and
wanting to ... to get vaccinated, and we're happy to hear that, and we hope that as time goes on,
we can continue to provide more options for persons to get vaccinated. Currently we are very
grateful for the support from our hospital partners, UIHC and and Mercy, for assisting us with
helping vaccinate those who are 65 and older. Certainly both hospitals have... stood up different
ways where persons can express interest that are not their patients, and they are helping us
vaccinate those who are age eligible. In terms of the tiered occupations, we are still within tier
one and we are making good progress through ...through those occupations, and we're utilizing
our pharmacy partners, as well as our hospital partners, who are able to do high throughput to
tackle those occupations and so we are hopeful that by the end of the month we'll be able to ... be
able to forecast a bit more and start to look at what tier two is, uh, which is other providers, and
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then certainly manufacturing industry. So we think that we're making pretty good progress,
certainly slower than what we'd like and what other persons (mumbled) would like, but again
it's largely dependent on our supply. We're very fortunate to be in this community where we've
got a plethora amount of volunteers who have expressed interest, and we've utilized several
volunteers for ...for other clinics or other operations for vaccinations, and we also had other
partners express interest in using their facilities, and so in terms of the logistics and things like
that, we're very fortunate. It really is, again, looking at the amount of supply that we have, but
those are probably the high level updates and happy to entertain or...or...is there any questions?
Weiner: Where... where do you stand with, um, the teachers and school staff?
Jarvis: Uh, right now we're looking at roughly across all school districts and schools around the...
somewhere between 40 to 60%, kind of depending on the school side. We've asked all of them
to put their staff in waves, and so for the most part we've addressed some of their most high risk
or high exposure persons. We are hoping to be done with our educators by the end of the
month, which is well ... well on schedule. I think initially we anticipated that we would not be
done until mid-March or the end of March.
Teague: Great. Any other questions for Sam? Well, thank you, we are really excited to hear that
potentially by the end of this month you'll be vaccinating those educators that want to be
vaccinated, so that's great. All right, thank you, Sam.
Jarvis: Thank you.
2.b. State of the City
Teague: All right, item 2.b. is the State of the City. I had prerecorded this, so we will have our
technical assistance... play that now. (prerecorded State of the City message plays)
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3. Proclamations
3.a. Iowa City Noon Kiwanis Day
Teague: (reads proclamation) There is no one here to accept this proclamation, but we do thank the
Iowa City Noon Kiwanis Club for all that they do within our community.
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9. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) (UNTIL 8 PM)
Teague: This is an opportunity for community members to address any topic that is not an agenda item.
So if you would like to address Council, please raise your hand at this time. We also ask that
people keep their comments three to five minutes. Welcome, Karen Kubby, followed by Emilia.
Karen Kubby: Good evening, my name is Karen Kubby. I live in the Mark Twain neighborhood and I
have two quick items. One is I just wanted to congratulate Eleanor Dilkes on her impending
retirement and thank her for the thousands of issues she has plowed through and helped the City
navigate, and I hope that she ha ... that you have, Eleanor, some time of `do nothingness' before
you begin whatever is next for you. So thank you very much for your years of service. And
secondly, I wanted to, uh, I ... I am here as a member of the Iowa City Downtown District
Legislative Committee. Because we've been looking at the CIP, the capital improvements
projects, and since 2013 we have been advocating and, uh, on the issue of Market and Jefferson
Streets being turned into two-way streets, and realize that this was not included in the City
Manager's proposal for the CIP, during your budget delib... deliberations and would love to
request that you all have some discussion about reinserting that project. We know that the City
has worked very hard over the last years to reduce the number of one -ways that we have,
knowing that the Dodge, uh, Governor couplet is difficult to navigate because it doubles as a
State highway, but this is a couplet that we can do something about. And it's great for
neighborhoods that those two streets go through, and it's really ...would be wonderful to have
two-way traffic for the Northside neighborhood. And I'm not really sure what the price
increases that were cited as one of the reasons why the project was taken off that list, and I
know it might be about some of the pedestrian bump -outs, but I really hope, and the Downtown
District thinks this is a high priority, that this project get reinserted back into the CIP. Thanks so
much.
Teague: Thank you, Karen. Welcome, Emilia, followed by Nicholas.
Roberts: Hi, can you hear me?
Teague: Yes, we can.
Roberts: Um, hello, Council. I was just ... I'm not very prepared today. I didn't think I would be
speaking, but I would just kind of like to reiterate everything, um, me and IFR have been saying
for the past few months here. I am completely not in favor of going forward with the suggested
police budget, Frain's police budget, at all. There are multiple problems with it, which we've
discussed over and over and over again, so I don't really feel the need to go in and repeat those
things, but there are a few things with the OIR report that we have also discussed that I would
like to bring up again. Um, just how... one, the report centers, um, ICPD and their worldview,
um, and not the victims of the violence that they perpetrated. Even when the report authors
seek to criticize the perspective ICPD presented to them, the mere fact that they are so over
represented means that they are, and by implication the City, value law enforcement far more
than those the cops harmed by their actions. That's one thing that none of us really understood
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about the OIR report and why. Um, another thing is that the nights following June 3rd show
quite clearly the ICPD's entire justification for their actions, um, to prevent a dangerous
situation by leading protesters to the highway was completely false. In fact, the same night
Iowa State Patrol had already redirected traffic, so there would have been no harm in simply
letting the march pass by. This is something that we brought up last meeting. Um, another
thing to add to that is like we got on the highway or the interstate literally the day after. Um, so
it was just so un ... completely unnecessary use of violence that they perpetrated because they
simply wanted to. I think, um, it really fed their egos a lot, fed the police's egos, and I think
honestly they probably thought it was funny, which we all know, people who were there at least
know, because we could hear them laughing and snickering and making crude comments about
it and those type of things, things like let them ... let them get the gas, or something like that. So
that! Um, also the City clearly has no interest in limiting the power of the police. In fact it's
prui... Fruin's plan shows the City's sole interest lies in expanding the power of the police,
increasing its footprint in the community, making events like those on June 3rd only more likely
to perhaps even ... and perhaps even more violent. Um, when we let the stuff happen with no
consequences, when we let the police tear gas our community members, kids, and old... elder
adults, um, that's just going to fuel them more and more, knowing as much as they already did
know that, um, nothing is going to happen to them. They're not going to face any
consequences, so making events like June 3rd only more likely and perhaps even more violent.
After over a year, the City has yet to say anything about the brutal mistreatment of Chris Kelly,
a black man in this community, at the hands of ICPD, yet soldiers on ahead, making them even
more powerful and less accountable. So, yeah, those are just some things, um, IFR and me
and... among other people have repeated themselves over and over again. Um, so it's ... it's really
getting old now, but we would really like to move forward in this. Um, another thing that I
would really like to point out is I work in a hotel downtown. More than I can count I've had
houseless people in our community, our neighbors, come in, say that ... I try as best I can to get
them help and everything but they say that they got denied at the Shelter House or they can't
find it or they don't know where they're at. People come at the Greyhound Bus station a lot.
This is just something I think that Iowa City really, really needs to dig deeper in. Among
everything else, like, Iowa City just needs to dig deeper in all the issues we're trying to solve
here, but this particularly really, really ...we really need to dig deeper and especially among the
horrendous cold weather that we're facing and seeing people all over the community, over the
country, all over the world probably even, freezing to death, which is completely, completely
ridiculous. Like I don't even know how ...I don't even know how that happens. There should be
always ... there needs to be a system where house -less people are able to get hotel rooms. Um, a
phone number to call, something of that and everything is rides to the Shelter House. People
oftentimes don't know where it's located, don't know how to get there, don't have a map, don't
have a cell phone that they can look stuff... information up about it, like it just needs to be way
more accessible. And we really need to do better at community outreach to these houseless
people. There's no reason why we can't go up to them on the street and offer them support or
have somebody, a mental health representative, kind of going around checking on people,
making sure people are okay. (both talking)
Teague: Thank you, Emilia.
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Roberts: Thanks!
Teague: Thank you. Nicholas, welcome.
Roberts: Ooh, my feet are cold!
Theisen: Um, Emi, you might want to mute yourself.
Roberts: Oh, sorry! (laughs)
Theisen: Um, good evening, Council. I'm glad to be speaking to you all tonight, because I always love
it when you misrepresent something that I've said. And it's fascinating to me because it always
astounds me when you try to get away with it, because you know I'm listening and you know
I'm going to say something about it if you try to do it. So, when Councilor Taylor tried to
suggest that what critics of the OIR report had said, she said something to the effect that, you
know, the OIR authors hadn't consulted anyone on the protest side of the equation. That is not
actually what anyone said, and in fact I remember very clearly and, you know, the thing is
there's video of it, so I have the receipts. What I said was that no one contacted the protest
organizers, and I know this because I personally contacted the people from IFR to ask them if
anyone from OIR had contacted them about giving their feedback for this report and to a
person, they said no. Not a single person contacted them. And in fact the only reason why the
two people that they did talk to, who by the way, because I read the report, I know were
complainants before the CPRB, was because the City Manager Geoff Fruin specifically directed
them to talk to them. And those were the only people he directed them to talk to. He could
have easily suggested to talk to Raneem or to David, or to any of the people that you all
personally know, and in fact if the City had actually been serious about getting feedback for this
report, you all could have blasted it out on social media. You ... I mean you have a
communications department. If you wanted that information to get out there, it easily could of.
The fact that it didn't is squarely on your shoulders and so the thing is, in addition to that, even
though those two people were finally contacted, the other point that we made, which you also
grossly misrepresented, was that nothing in the report actually reflects that communication.
They directly quote ICPD officers no less than seven times, seven different individuals in law
enforcement. Not a single item in the report is attributed to those two people that they
supposedly talked to. They mentioned that they talked to them, but no claims are made about
what they actually said. And it seems pretty clear that this was done specifically at the behest of
the City Manager. The other thing that I want to note is that you all keep going on about how
like, oh well, we have to do incremental change, we have to make slow steady progress. Right
now, the University of Iowa is considering a plan to drastically defend and reorient its own
public safety department. One of the three plans they have before them is precisely the sort of
thing that IFR had asked you all to do. And you all keep saying, like, oh well, it's too radical,
it's impossible, when you literally have somebody right on your doorstep who is doing the thing
that you all think that you can't do, and the reason why is because you're just cowards. Every
single one of you. I'm not going to accept any of you, because even those of you who actually
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disagree with what ICPD has been doing, you all like cower, you hide behind your positions.
So honestly, Councilor Salih, if you want to speak out, speak out, because if you don't then
you're just as useless as everyone else. I'm extremely mad about this because when you lie
about me, like (laughs) it's so infuriating. I know all of this better than every single one of you,
and the reason why is because I actually read these things. You all keep going on about how
you're not specialist in these matters. All you would literally have to do is actually read these
reports and perform like an ordinary analysis of it. The fact that you can't do that just shows
how completely incompetent you are and how you don't care about any of these things. Thank
you.
Teague: Welcome, Eric, followed by Royceann Porter.
Harris: Okay, there you go. So um ... I'm going to speak on this stuff because I do not agree with what
the last two speakers even said. Um, I felt a bit of anger when I listened to the last two
speakers, but I let them speak and I didn't say anything. I am a member of the TRC. If you
want to address things like that, we have a meeting on Thursday. Come sign up for that
meeting. Come show your voice. Come say what you want to say about those things, but to be
calling out like Mayors and ... and like Council Members, that's... this is totally unacceptable.
This is unacceptable. Um, many of the measures that, um, the IFR have brought through has,
you know, we agree with those things, but some of the extreme things, and one of the words
that one of the last speakers used was the radical things. Hey, I was just downtown today
(mumbled) was downtown today, and I still saw spray paint ... on the walls. That's not something
that's going to solve anything. If...we need to have a dialogue. Not jumping into a meeting,
and ... and this... and calling out Council Members by name, that's not going to solve anything.
And we can talk about things. I'm not shutting it down and saying, hey, I don't want to talk, I
don't want to hear anything anybody else has ... has to say. But we keep going back to June 3rd
and we go back to that over and over again, and ... it is something that we need to talk about,
definitely, but we can't just keep going back to ... things that are not going to happen. Um, there
are people... there are people who feel like they are disen... disenfranchised. There are people
who feel that they been, you know, socially and racially injustice, but we have to discuss those
things. Radical changes and saying things that you know is not going to happen tomorrow, is
not going to help you, and (mumbled) and I yield with it.
Teague: Thank you, Eric. Welcome Royceann Porter, Supervisor Royceann Porter.
Porter: Hello, everybody. Um, Mayor Bruce Teague, I would just like to say thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you to the Iowa City Council, thank you to Mayor Bruce Teague, thank you to
pro... Mayor Pro Tem, um, Mazahir Salih. Um, I just got a few things to say, um, as I'm saying
thank you, I'm saying thank you and it's coming from the bottom of my heart, because of where
I see Iowa City. I am so ... I'm at a place right now I'm so happy with Iowa City I don't know
what to do. I am very proud of Iowa City Council. The Council have come forward, they have
done so many things to help the people in our community. Um, be it that some people don't feel
like you've done enough, um, I'm appreciative for everything that each and every one of you
have done. We have an African American Mayor and we have an African American Mayor Pro
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Tem, who I am so very proud of, who have worked so hard throughout this past year with
everything that has gone on from the start of this pandemic to, uh, Black Lives Matter and
George Floyd happening, to Juneteenth, to the derecho, to just everything that has happened in
Iowa City. Everything that has happened, it has not been easy, and for anybody to come on here
and try to put these people down and call them cowards, no! You're a coward. You are the
coward, because you can't even face the people to stand up for what they have stood up for for
us. They have been there for us, they have done so much. He has read a whole thing of
everything... you just saw a presentation of everything that Iowa City is doing, and then you just
want to keep, like Eric said, you just want to keep going back to the June Yd. June 3rd is just
one day. June 3, 2020. We have issues that has happened, lots of things has happened in Iowa
City besides June 3rd and they put an ad hoc committee together, called the Truth and
Reconciliation, and instead of bringing this to them every time they have a Council meeting.
bring it to us! This is what this was put to ... put... put forth for. If you got a complaint, bring it
to us! Let's sit down, let's talk, let's have a conversation. Nicholas, you sat in on our
conversation, our meetings, uh, two weeks ago, and we asked you if you have something to say
and you ... when you sit and call the Councilors cowards, I think you're the coward. I think, you
know, I'm sick and tired of the people that's hiding behind their computers, and hiding and
jumping on Twitter. We know you have a Twitter feed. We know you go on there, you put
things on there that's not true, and you want to sit and say that they're lying on you. You're
doing some things yourself that's not true. So when ... I'm going to end my, um, what I have to
say, but before I end I'm going to say what I got to say, because I'm tired of coming on here and
listening to people talk about IFR. I'm tired of white people disrespecting our Mayor and
Mayor Pro Tem by saying they don't understand what's going on, when in reality they are black.
I feel like you're using your white privilege and I think it's time for you to stop it. Enough is
enough. I am so proud of Mayor Bruce Teague, Mayor Pro Tem Mazahir Salih who has went
above and beyond to help the people in our community who cannot afford rent, who are on the
verge of being thrown out. She has went above and beyond to help these people to not get put
out. Uh, they ...the City Council themselves along with Mayor Bruce and Mayor Pro Tem
Mazahir, Pauline, Janice, Laura, John, and everybody on here has went above and beyond to
even make it so that the water don't get shut off during this pandemic. It has not been easy for
nobody. They have made a way out of no way, just trying to, um, when there are issues, they're
seeing the need and they're trying to fulfill them. So I'm just so proud of what I'm seeing in
Iowa City. I would love to continue to work with you guys, um, I .... I'm ... I'm sorry, Susan, I
didn't mean to leave you out as well. You even come onboard and you have put yourself out
there and you're saying, hey, we need this, this is to help, this is what is it that we can do to help
people in need, and this is the need that I've seen all of City Council do. I am so very proud of
Iowa City City Council and IFR, if you've got some issues and you want to talk about it, bring
them to the Truth and Reconciliation, with the truth telling less talk. There is a place, a space
for you all to come, instead of coming to City Council, calling them cowards. There is a place
for you to come before us. I am the Chair and I would love to have these conversations with
y'all and stop the name calling of our City Council, of our elected officials. They were elected
for a reason, and it ... they have given us the power, the TRC, they have given us the power to be
able to talk about this, but you guys got to come to us instead of coming interrupting their
meeting. Every meeting you want to come on and talk about June Yd. Come to TRC and less
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talk, and, uh, last but not least, I don't want to leave out Geoff Frain. Geoff, I do want to tell
you thank you. Working with the Black Voices Project, yes, we know that there are some issues
in the police system, but we want to work it out. There are going to be some trainings that we
plan on working with Geoff, and the new Police Chief. It's all about building relationships. It's
not about trying to put people down. We haven't even met this Police Chief. We don't know
what he's going to bring, but he said he's here to help, so we have to give the people the
opportunity to help.
Teague: Thank you, Supervisor Porter.
Porter: Thank you.
Teague: Welcome, Sara.
Barron: Hi, Council. Sara Barron from the Affordable Housing Coalition. Really quickly, I did send an
email about this, but I want to make it public for everyone who's listening in. The State of Iowa
is going to be receiving and distributing $195 million in rent and utilities assistance that can be
used for back utility bills, as well as back and future rent payments. To put that into
perspective, when there was money available in 2020 for some rent and utility and mortgage
assistance, there was about $30 million dollars, and Johnson County received about 3.7 million
of those dollars. So if we look at $195 million with those same percentages, Johnson County
will be on track to receive about 20 to $25 million in assistance through this state -administered
program. So what I want to say to you first is thank you for being willing to listen to the
community, to leave people's water on through the pandemic, to wait and give people a chance
to get back on their feet. We now have an opportunity to apply for the State money and get
those bills paid, so you made the right decision, and I'm so glad that you did, to leave people's
water on and not send them to collections, because now we do have this federal money that we
can use to pay those back bills. Also, it is imperative that every single member of the Johnson
County community who is eligible for these programs is able to apply. And that's why the
Affordable Housing Coalition is going to be working with partners from United Way, the Center
for Worker Justice, Johnson County, CommUnity, Shelter House, and others to offer a wide-
scale comprehensive assistance program so that households can apply for these funds and
receive them. We want to make sure that every household who needs this help is able to get it.
We want to demonstrate the level of need and most importantly, we want for households to be
safe and be able to economically recover from the crisis that has been exacerbated by COVID.
So we'll be coming back to you for your input and suggestions and assistance in making sure
that we do reach every eligible household with this program, and thank you again for having the
foresight to provide this grace for households while they get back on their feet.
Teague: Thank you. We have just a few more minutes if anyone else would like to address. Seeing no
one, we're moving on to Item number 10, Planning and Zoning Matters.
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10. Planning and Zoning Matters
10.1. Rezoning — 2525 Highlander Place — Ordinance rezoning property located at 2525
Highlander Place to Highway Commercial (CH -1) to CH -1 with a Historic District
Overlay (OHD/CH-1). (REZ20-0014)
1. Public Hearing
Teague: And I'm going to open the public hearing, and welcome, staff.
Sitzman: Thank you, Mayor and Council. Danielle Sitzman, Neighborhood and Development Services.
This is a rezoning to a historic district overlay for the Highlander Supper Club and Convention
Center. Sorry, get my slides moving here. Located north of I-80, along north Dodge Street,
highlighted here in the white outline. Um, the owners have requested this voluntary landmark
rezoning partly to make ... to allow access to additional tax credits, uh, once it's landmarked.
The Highlander Supper Club was built in 1967, so it's more of a suburban landmark, uh, than
we've seen probably before in historic landmarking processes. It was added on to in the early
1970s and incorporates modem construction materials and typical 1960's architecture. The
design of the entry include some columns and a canopy, all features that embodied, like I said,
in that 1960's design aesthetic. The Supper Club and Convention Center are also examples of
1968 design tied to consumerism and middle-class culture of recreation and vehicular
traffic... travel. So suburbia, as we know it. Um, here's an image of it today. The HPC met on
January 14th and conducted the public hearing, at which they reviewed and evaluated (garbled)
significance of the property, and the Commission did determine that the property meets the
requirements for a landmark and voted to recommend approval of the designation. I would
encourage anyone who has not read the site inventory, uh, it was in your packet tonight, to go
back and look at that. It has some very interesting information about the project or the property
over the years. Because of the landmark rezoning designation is done as a zoning action, it
does go to our Planning and Zoning Commission for their determination of appropriateness.
They review the comprehensive plan and the goals contained in there. It does ... they did
determine that it meets the comprehensive plan, specifically for identifying historic resources,
but also in this particular area of town there's goals related to economic development. So the
ability to access tax credits would also coincide with that goal. As I said, this is a rezoning
action. It comes to you from the Planning and Zoning Commission with a recommendation.
Staff did recommend for this, the Planning and Zoning Commission did as well, based on, as I
said, the Historic Preservation Commission's review of the significance of the property. So it is
coming before you tonight with a recommendation of approval. I'm happy to answer questions.
Teague: Hearing no questions, thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this? Please raise
your hand and I will call upon you. Welcome, Kevin. And followed by Angela.
Boyd: Yes, Kevin Boyd, uh, the Chair of Historic Preservation Commission. Um, during my first
Historic Preservation meeting I was kind of nervous. Uh, after we voted to adjourn I breathed a
sigh of relief. Um, I hadn't made a motion when I shouldn't have and I didn't really screw
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anything up. And then former Commissioner Frank Wagner from kind of halfway across the
room asked if he could talk to me and that anxiety came rushing back. What was he going to
say? Maybe I had screwed up and didn't realize it. But I was relieved again when he said,
you're (mumbled) grandson, right? Bill and Sheila's oldest? My first job was at the Highlander.
How's your grandma doing? These types of conversations have been common to me for as long
as I can remember. If you've read the, um ... uh, site inventory form, you'll... you'll note Bob
McGurk, uh, was my grandfather. Leona McGurk was my grandmother. Um, they were among
the original owners. My parents and aunt and uncle managed the Highlander with my
grandmother, after my grandfather died in 1984. To be clear, I've got no financial ties to this
property, nor does anyone in my family anymore. But stories similar to Frank's have been
repeated to me for years. Kevin McGurk Boyd, the Highlander folks, and then the stories
would come. I waited tables there in college, we had such a fun crew, my parents got married
there, my spouse and I had our first date there and then we got engaged there. I met Hayden
Fry in the supper club. When my parents would come to visit me in college, they would always
take me to dinner there, but I could just bring one friend. I was the front desk clerk. You got to
check in this so-and-so famous person. Oh those cinnamon rolls, that epicurean salad. I heard
stories like these for years, and they let me know just how much this place means to the people
in our community. Just this winter I got a text from an acquaintance who was excited to take
his kids swimming there over the winter, just like he had as a kid. For my entire life people
would discover my familial relationship and tell me what the Highlander meant to them. For
me personally it's where I learned what it ... what it meant to own a business. I remember asking
my grandma when I was very young if she got to par ...a parking spot right up front. She owned
the place after all. She told me in a way that a grandma can do, no, I park in the back so our
customers can have the best spots. It meant that home football weekends were work weekends
for my parents, starting with those early Friday morning I -Club breakfasts. It meant that during
the Amana VIP week that my folks would leave before I ... would leave for work before I was up
and not come home until after I was asleep. But we always got some goodies at the end of that
week. My gym bag was an Amana VIP gym bag, well into my 30s. As dignitaries came
through I'd anxiously await my parents arriving home, worn out but happy to tell us what it was
like to meet President Ford. It also afforded me privileges, a special lunch with my grandma in
the otherwise empty Royal Scott, pizza making in the kitchen for my Cub Scouts, birthday
parties even in December poolside. The pool bar even had a grilled cheese named after me
when I was a kid, Kevin Special I think. My mom mentioned that she'd been working with Jim
the historian on this nomination form, so I wasn't exactly ...I wasn't entirely surprised
when ... when the application came to our Committee... our Commission. Um, you know, I
believe that it meets the minimum qualifications to be a local landmark, but it also preserves a
place that feels like part of our community's history, a history that's a little closer to home for
me. But also preserves that sense of place in history for people like Frank and those other first
jobs, those special dates, weddings, post -football meals, and poolside parties. I see that
entrepreneurial spirit in Angela and her family that I learned from my grandparents and my
parents. I'm excited to see preservation used as a tool to support economic development. I've
got a paperweight sitting next to me tonight. It's a glass dome with a bunch of pennies from
1973, the year the hotel and the conference rooms were complete. I don't remember much
about my grandfather's office when he was alive. It was the office with the signatures. But I do
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remember the paperweight with the pennies sitting on his desk. I remember that same
paperweight later in my grandma's office at the top of the steep stairs, which I think is now a
very cool bridal suite. And tonight it sits next to me as I encourage you all to support the local
landmark status for this building, the history it represents, and the owner's desire to use
preservation as part of the economic success of this property. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you. Welcome, Angela. We can't hear you, you're muted.
Harrington: Now can you hear me? So sorry.
Teague: Yes, welcome.
Harrington: Thank you, um, I own the Highlander Hotel. I bought it about 13 months ago. Little did I
know it would be the most challenging, um, harrowing year of my career, um, with the onset of
the pandemic. But I would tell you that ... um, that the property really had two futures. It was
either going to be torn down and go in the landfill ... in the landfill, or a crazy entrepreneur, like
me, was going to pick it up. And I did! Uh, I have to tell you, the property was in such distress.
Um, there was not a single dime put into it for 12 years, which is a really long time in a hotel.
So on top of all of the deferred maintenance, I mean the entire roof, everything else. So, um, I
would really appreciate your support. This hasn't been an easy year ,but if you have ... if you saw
the Highlander a year or two or three years ago, and you come and see it now, I think it will
surprise and delight you. We've come a long way. I look forward to using historic tax credits,
hopefully to complete all of the projects and all of that deferred maintenance. These historic
buildings aren't easy, and it is ... a lot of people don't think about the sustainability factor and
how green it is to preserve something rather than build new. So I would appreciate your support
and also I encourage you to come see the Highlander. She's really looking pretty special these
days. Um, it's been a crazy time, it's getting busier on the weekends, but it's like tumbleweeds
through the weekdays in the pandemic, as is my hotel in Grinnell. So we've got a long way to
go and it's, uh, nothing is certain. I've told the story several... several times that I've been 45
days away from running out of cash now four times, and somehow we've just pulled out ... pulled
it out and pulled it through, but this is a storm unlike any other that I've been through, um, but
anyway, she's something special. Uh, when I put it under contract, everyone thought it was
crazy, but I immediately felt that vibe that was here since 1967, the year I was bom. And it still
continues today. It is just a remarkable place and I look forward to making it ... and already, I
think, have made a lot of progress in making it a real source of Iowa City pride, instead of the
eyesore and embarrassment that it was, and also to preserve that legacy that those entrepreneurs
in 1967 with one of the first supper clubs in Iowa. I ... I really am looking forward to doing right
by their legacy too, cause that matters to me as well. So I'm happy to be here. We, my husband
and I moved to Iowa City, so we've been here now a little over a year and I tell you I'm really,
really glad to be here. So I would appreciate your support.
2. Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration)
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Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one, Councilors, before I close
the public hearing, I just wanted to see if you all ... if you would be inclined to support the
Commission's recommendation? Yes, all right. We're gonna close the public hearing. Could I
get a motion to give first consideration?
Mims: So moved, Mims.
Weiner: Second, Weiner.
Teague: Moved by Mims, seconded by Weiner. Council discussion?
Mims: I'll start if I might. If Kevin is still on here; Kevin, you brought back a lot of memories for me.
Been out there many times. With the years my husband spent in the Athletic Department, we
were out there for the Amana VIP and many other events related to the Athletic Department and
just going out there for dinners and, yes, the cinnamon rolls and everything else are all a fond
memory. So it is really exciting to see this application and as all of you know, and many
members of the public, when it comes to historic preservation I give great weight to the owner's
thoughts and wishes, and so the fact that the owner is obviously very much supportive in
wanting this for the ec... particularly for the economic development piece probably in tax credits
in such a difficult time. I'm more than happy to support this, not only for the economic
development, but it...it is a treasure for those of us who've been around Iowa City for a long
time, um, has a lot of very special memories. So very happy to support this.
Taylor: It was so wonderful to see so many of the photos that ... we don't often get that, but it was like a
piece of a history all along and... and seeing it grow over the years. It was kind of like a walk
down memory lane and... and I, like Susan and Kevin and all the others, do have some many
wonderful memories of that place over the years, those of us that have been been around here
for awhile. So I ... I was just really pleased to see this. Uh, it really is indeed a piece of...of the
history of our community and so I'm very much in favor of this rezoning.
Thomas: Uh, Kevin, I ... your wonderful storytelling around the Highlander was ... was great to hear and
it just struck me how, you know, we refer to this as historic preservation, and in a sense, what it
is is memory preservation. These buildings are touchstones for so many memories. It's just
extraordinary, and I really appreciated your presentation, and I wanted to thank Angela, as well.
This is really a story about resurrecting that building, that complex. I've been to the Hotel
Grinnell when I knew you were involved with this project. I felt very confident that the ... the
result was going to be as ... as wonderful as it has ... it has become, so thank you for that and
for... unfortunately with ... with COVID, I haven't had a chance to see the building. So I ... I want
to start creating my own memories there and I hope to be there soon.
Weiner: It's striking somehow when things that were built within our our own lifetimes become this...
end up taking on historic status, but that's ... that shows us that it's every stage of the City's
development that deserves to be preserved, and I will support this.
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Teague: Well, thank you, Angela Harrington, for moving to Iowa City, a place that I absolutely love and
really appreciate you taking on this project within our community and giving it a revitalization
that is well worthy, and I am happy to support this tonight. All right, it look like we are ready
for a vote. Motion passes 7-0.
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10.c. Cardinal Pointe West Part 3 — Preliminary Plat — Resolution approving a
preliminary plat of Cardinal Pointe West — Part 3 Subdivision, Iowa City, Iowa
Teague: Could I get a motion to approve please?
Salih: Move, Salih.
Mims: Second, Mims.
Teague: And staff presentation!
Sitzman: Thank you, Mayor. Just a brief presentation on this one. This does accompany that last
application, which was the rezoning submitted at the same time as the request for preliminary
plat. The boundaries of that area are shown on the screen outlined here in white. This is for 12
single-family lots, six duplex lots, and one multi -family lot with 32 proposed dwelling. The
plat also includes three outlots, two of which are for open space or...well, for preservation of
sensitive areas, and when it... which is for future development. This slide shows the outline of
the proposed plan (garbled) previous two, uh, parts of Cardinal Pointe, one of those zonings that
were just approved, which aligned with the outline of the plat shown here. It does include a
street system and, as I said, several different types of housing. As we evaluate plats, we look at
several items. We look at the comprehensive plan compliance, also any conditions that were
placed with that rezoning, and then the standards that govern design of subdivisions. This does
support ... is supported by the comprehensive plan. The zone ... the conditions that were just
placed at the zoning, uh, stage have to do with things that will be enforced as development
proceeds. So the triggers for them are at different stages, later stages in the development,
having to do with the concept that was expressed for the out..uh... the design of the townhouse
multi -family, regulations about the outdoor space, and some screening that's required. Looking
ahead to the street and impact the street network would have and anticipating that some traffic
calming will be necessary. Road network's a little bit ... is impacted by the terrain in this area. It
has a little bit longer block length than we like to see ideally, so the traffic calming was in
anticipation of that design. In- filling some sidewalks that are needed, in addition to all of the
required sidewalks that the new subdivision will provide, and then expressing a desire of the
Planning and Zoning Commission to look at woodland management, in addition to just simply
preservation. As I mentioned with traffic and transportation a little bit, uh, the black design
here is impacted by the terrain. There's very steep terrain to the east. In this slide to the right
hand side (mumbled) additional street connections, so some of those blocks are a little bit
longer. Also, just to point out on the west side of this plat (garbled) is within (garbled) there's a
portion of the site that would not be allowed to be developed for residential. It's a very small
segment and they've already identified that is not an area where they would... would not put
housing. As I mentioned, there are sensitive areas, steep wooded ravine on the right hand side
here, as well as on the left hand side. So they've had to prepare an exhibit showing
this... those... the boundaries of those sensitive areas and what amount of them would be
preserved and protected. Both because of this dangerousness of the steep slopes for
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construction and the desire to preserve woodlands. So there, um (mumbled) middle does
include those things. The area to be subdivided has met the requirements of the code for the
amount of preservation that is required. They've also previously installed stormwater
management, so this phase of the development will make use of the existing stormwater
facilities in the vicinity. Just to show again where this stage of the development is in the overall
process it's the preliminary plat and preliminary sensitive areas plan here. It will be followed
up on a separate agenda item when they go to development with a final plat, and then the
required permitting that happens after that. So based on a review of the relevant criteria, staff
recommended approval of and the Planning and Zoning Commission concurred at the January
7th meeting by a vote of 7-0 to also recommend this application. I'm happy to answer
questions.
Teague: Hearing no questions. Thank you, Danielle. Would anyone from the public like to address this
topic? If so, please raise your hand ... and we ask everyone to keep their comments three to five
minutes. Welcome, Josh.
Entler: Hello, Mayor T...or Mr. Mayor and Madam Pro Tem and Councilors et al, as well as thank you,
Danielle, for that presentation, and thank you, Council, for the expedited hearing on the
rezoning process. Uh, I will keep it short and just express my gratitude for working with staff
in a collaborative process to ... to get to this stage. It is a challenging piece of property. I think
we do have a, uh, a viable product that provides a variety of different housing opportunities for
our community and we're ... we're looking forward to the next stage in the process, so thank you.
Teague: Anyone else like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, Council
discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0.
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11. Appeal of Historic Preservation Commission Decision — Deciding the appeal to the City
Council of the decision of the Historic Preservation Commission denying a Certificate of
Appropriateness to replace the original siding at 1133 E. Court Street in the Longfellow
Historic District.
1. Public Hearing
Teague: I'm going to open the public hearing. And this is continued from ... our February 2nd meeting
and do we have staff that want to address this?
Dilkes: Mayor, I'm going to just start briefly by reminding you what the standard of review is here.
Just to start, since there's been a lot of discussion, just to remind you what the decision was that
you're considering on appeal, which was the denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness that was
proposing removal of the aluminum siding in its entirety in either the installation of new
aluminum siding or cement board siding over any existing historic siding, or the removal of any
existing siding in its entirety, regardless of the condition and replacement and cement board into
configuration to be determined by the applicant. So that's the decision that's on appeal. You at
the end of your consideration will want to make a motion to affirm, to deny, or to modify in full
or in part. Again, the (garbled) review is a very narrow one here. You must first determine
whether the Commission followed the guidelines that govern its decision making. If you
determine ... if you believe they did not, you need to articulate and identify what guidelines they
failed to follow, and then secondly you need to determine whether the Commission's decision
was arbitrary or capricious. Again, when the standard is arbitrary and capricious, if reasonable
minds can differ, you do not have arbitrariness and capriciousness. You cannot reverse the
Commission's decision simply because you don't agree with it. So that's the standard for review,
and I believe staff has some additional information for you.
Russett: Good evening, Mayor and Council. Anne Russett with Neighborhood and Development
Services. I'm just going to provide a brief overview of the memo that was included in your
packet and then I believe Kevin Boyd, the Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, also
would like to address the Council. So if you'll remember on February 2°a, you requested that
staff coordinate with the property owner to remove some of the aluminum siding in order to
evaluate the condition of the original wood siding underneath. Since that meeting, we were
able to develop a plan to identify targeted areas where the aluminum siding could be removed.
The homeowner and the homeowner's contractor helped us to finalize that plan. We met with
them on site to finalize that plan, and the contractor was able to remove some of the aluminum
siding and staff was able to assess the condition of the original wood siding underneath. Both
Planning staff and our Housing Rehab staff assessed the condition of the original wood siding,
and we all agreed that it was in very good condition. Signs of moisture damage were not
present. The paint was peeling, but it was not peeling due to moisture issues. Staff used a
moisture meter to determine the moisture content in the wood, and it was around 6 to 7%,
which is below a reading a 15%, which would indicate that the wood may not be able to be
salvaged. It is very dry out right now, uh, during the winter. Staff could also take another
reading in the spring; however, we don't anticipate a reading even in the spring to register at
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15% or above. Based on the condition of the siding, staff would recommend that the original
wood siding be retained, as was outlined in the Certificate of Appropriateness, which was
approved by the Historic Preservation Commission. Damaged siding could be removed and
replaced, and since there's no original siding on the rear of the home, that could also be
replaced. Replacement siding could consist of wood, smooth cement board or smooth LP
SmartSide siding. Staff believes that this recommendation is consistent with how other
properties have been treated in the City's historic districts, and we'd like to continue to work
with the property owner as needed to help move this project forward.
Teague: Councilors, any questions for Anne? I'm going to ask Kevin Boyd, who is the Chair ...of the
Commission.
Boyd: Yes, thank you. You know, as I said last week I ... I ... this decision that the Commission made
was ... was based on the guidelines. We didn't have some piece of critical information, so we
denied the, uh, Certificate of Appropriateness. You all continued the hearing to get that
information, kind of recognizing that that was an important piece in following those guidelines.
You know, I'd also like to say that I ... I really feel strongly the Commission has not acted
arbitrarily. You know, I know there was a few examples shared at the last meeting, but in each
one of those cases, you know, we followed the guidelines. They ...they had different conditions,
different scenarios, but all had followed those guidelines, and if we decide something different
tonight, this would be the arbitrary one in comparison. I also want to say that, you know, the
Commissioners I work with are prepared, thoughtful, and very balanced. We really try very
hard to find solutions for property owners, and most are satisfied with the results, but
sometimes the wishes of homeowners are in conflict with the guidelines, and we deny the
application and as you guys are experiencing last week and tonight, those meetings are the
toughest, and the Commissioners don't take those meetings lightly. But if you do decide to
overturn the work of the Commission in whole or in part, and act as the Preservation
Commission tonight, I wanted to share some advice that I give to new Commissioners. Our job
isn't all that different from kind of a homeowner's association. We try to balance the desires of
individual property owners with the guidelines that the entire neighborhood agreed to. So I,
again, this is advice that I give new Commissioners, you know, make the decisions based on the
guidelines. It's the only way to treat everyone fairly, and when things aren't clear or uncertain
and we have to weigh in, we have to fall back to the principles of the guidelines. Um, I
know ... that carving out kind of mental exceptions because you wish the guidelines were
different, or you feel that human desire just to say yes to someone, which is something we often
feel, um, but that doesn't treat the homeowners fairly who found a way to achieve their goals
within the guidelines, and have expectations that others will be treated the same. So appreciate
your consideration and thoughtfulness around this. Um, thank you very much.
Teague: Any questions from Councilors?
Thomas: Kevin, would... would you or staff be able to comment on the letter that we received recently
from ... from the property owner, providing comment in a expert witness... from an expert
witness?
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Teague: I...I...Councilor Thomas, I know that the ... the owners are going to present. Do you mind
holding that question (both talking) towards the end? Thank you. Any other questions for
Kevin? All right, we're going to ask that the homeowners come forward at this time. Are they
present?
Clore: Hello?
Teague: Hello, there you are.
Clore: Hi. So we do have a short presentation, just a few slides here. Um, is it okay if I go ahead and
share my screen?
Teague: (several talking) We're going to give you access to square your, uh, share your screen, and can
you speak a little more maybe direct into the mic please.
Clore: Sure, are you able to hear me better now?
Teague: A little bit.
Clore: Okay, I will try and speak up as much as I can here.
Teague: Your... that's perfect now.
Clore: Okay, great. Um, so thank you for giving us the opportunity to discuss this. (pause) All right,
are you able to see my screen now?
Teague: Yes.
Clore: Okay, great. Um, thanks for the opportunity to discuss this. I'm going to skip the recap. I think
Anne did a nice job of describing that, and just jump to the findings that we had. So as Anne
mentioned, we worked with our contractor and took the, uh, took the metal siding off and were
able to see what was under that. The findings that we saw were that the wood siding is partially
present and as we ... as we thought, Iacks a moisture barrier. We also found that there's holes in
the wooden siding from insulation and from nails that have been observed, um, and... and there's
insect damage and decay and I'll show some pictures here in just a minute. There's also a lack
of trim details on the windows and doors, and there is evidence of moisture damage. Um, just
to recap staff's response here, a response from staff is that the siding's in very good condition
and could reasonably be re ... uh, be retained. Uh, that the moisture content is low at 6 to 7%,
um, that the wood siding can be scraped and sanded and then repainted, and that retaining the
materials consistent with the previous decisions that have been made, and we believe all four of
these points are false. And I want to go through and explain why. To start out with, good
condition of the siding. The condition of the siding here is only part of the issue here. What
we're looking to do is to restore the house in a way that makes it a ... a permanent historical
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feature (garbled) So we need something that is going to be retained, not just for a year or two,
but for many years, and to do this, the problem of lack of a moisture barrier in there is primarily,
uh, the ... the thing that was holding us up. We spoke with Michael Nolan, who is a certified
architect here and has worked on many projects in the Iowa City area and specifically on
projects within the historical preservation areas, who ... who echoed the same concerns that we
have, that the issue here is much deeper thanjust the wood. There is a ... a more lengthy letter
that he wrote that ... that I believe you all have access to, so I won't go into it, but suffice it to say
his response and his understanding of this is that were we to follow staff's guidelines here, we
are creating at best a long- term maintenance issue for the house, and at worst, a mold and
health hazard for the house. So the good condition that we see here is not indicative of
something that would allow us to permanently maintain the house in the condition it's in, were
we to just retain the wooden siding. The second point is the moisture content. The moisture
content was measured on a day it was six degrees Fahrenheit, and it was measured using an
instrument that staff admitted was unreliable in freezing conditions. This is well below
freezing. We spent a lot of time looking at different moisture meters online and could not find
any of them that accurately measure temperatures below freezing. So the one piece of
information, the one piece of data that is in here is admittedly unreliable and something that
shouldn't even be included in this report. Beyond that, the moisture meters need to be
calibrated to specific wood species. Moisture measurers do not measure moisture, they actually
measure the electrical conductivity, and if you don't calibrate to the wood species, you don't
have accurate measurements, even when they are above freezing. Finally, there are
obsi ... obvious signs of moisture damage underlying the sheathing, that were ignored. And just
to give an example of what the sheathing looks like here, or rather what the siding looks like,
there's evidence of mold and holes and decay in here. There's also a lack of evidence of the
crown molding that ... that would be around the window trim. There is lead paint that is flaking
off of the house, and there is issues of moisture damage that are in the sheathing that are
underneath the siding. And this moisture damage in the corner of the house is precisely what
we were afraid of and precisely what we predicted the last time we met in the last presentation
that we gave. So this is expected, and this is ... this is the result of a lack of a moisture barrier
that is there and ... and the result of what has happened over the years of lacking a moisture
barrier. This is something we want to remedy so that we can put a solution on here that is both
historically accurate and maintains the house for the long-term. The next thing that was brought
up, Jessica mentioned that we can simply remove the lead paint and sand down the wood. This
is a violation of the rules that are set up by the EPA. This is a violation of the Toxic Substance
Control Act and a statutory civil penalty for doing what Jessica recommended is a $25,000 fine.
So ... so this violation, which in the prohibited methods, the first method is what is recommended
by Jessica - scraping and sanding of the wood to bring this back is something that would put us
in danger of a large fine, a fine that was just issued last month to Home Depot at the tune of $20
million for hiring third- party companies to do residential lead removal and doing it incorrectly
(garbled) this, but the reason for for this prohibition isn't just, um, isn't just over regulation. It's
because lead is one of the most toxic elements that lay people can come in contact with. It
affects the nervous system, particularly of young children, um, and as their brains develop, the
presence of lead can affect the ... the development of the brain that can cause behavioral
problems and slow growth. And this is something we have tried to discuss over and over with
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staff and with HPC. Um, this is our daughter Esme. She is a thumb sucker and her playground
is the outside of our house, particularly in this time of COVID, and so we are very concerned
about lead, and we don't want to have the problems associated with lead and the exposure of
lead to our children. Jessica has mentioned several times that we can use certified abatement,
uh, lead abatement firms to remove the lead safely and efficiently. We went online and looked
and there are no certified firms within 50 miles of Iowa City, so the only way to bring in a firm
to do this would be to take someone in from out of state to do this, and again, lead abatement
firms do not eliminate the risk of lead, they minimize the risk of. Finally, I want to address the
issue of...of whether this is ... this is consistent with the previous decisions that have been made
by the HPC, and I bring up the same examples I brought up last time. There was some
discussion about, uh, when the decision was made and what information was known (mumbled)
Seymur Avenue was allowed to remove the siding, and I just wanted to bring us back to minutes
of that meeting and the minutes state that no one knows what is underneath the existing siding.
Despite that, staff recommended that the homeowner be allowed to remove the historic siding.
So again, this was done without knowledge of what was under there. And so this is inconsistent
with what we're being required to do. Also I want to bring up that the ... the example of the
house at 427 Clark Street. Again, just to remind everyone, this is a house that ... that had a
similar feature to ours, in that the ... the walls were insulated, and when the homeowner tried to
repair and remedy the wood siding, the problem that we have predicted and a problem that has
been supported by the licensed architect that we brought in as a ... as an expert witness here, um,
is the same thing. The ... the wood siding failed, they had to remove the wood siding and put a
vapor barrier on here, and they put cement board on it. There was some discussion that perhaps
we were mistaken and it was the house next door, this green house here. This green house also
has the siding removed and has new siding added on to it. In this case it's not cement board
siding. It's LP siding, the other side that Anne had mentioned. So again, there's examples of
houses in nearly identical situations to ours, where it's failing and we have expert witnesses
coming in and saying that this is going to fail. Lastly, I want to say that we're not looking for an
exception. We're looking to follow the guidelines that are here. Iowa City's preservation
guidelines state that substituting wood siding is allowed, and they specifically call out cement
board siding as an approved substitute for this. The other guides that have been mentioned by
staff and HPC is the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, which state standards are
to be applied to specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration
economic and technical feasibility. The technical feasibility I think we've demonstrated here
and have expert opinion, showing that it is ... it is not reasonable to try and maintain the siding in
the condition of our house. When the house was built in 1924, it was a very different house
than it is now. The house now is insulated, um, the balloon framing has fire breaks in it. All of
these things change the characteristics and the way the wood siding functions, and it reduces the
feasibility of this from a technical perspective. And when we think about this from an
economic perspective, as the Secretary of Interior Standards require, if you look at the cost of
this, this is a project that's going to put 50 or $60,000 on the table to do. And to do all of these
things, we still would lack a proper moisture barrier, and that is required by modern building
codes. And we still will require frequent rescraping and repainting, and let's be clear, the
scra... rescraping and repainting also needs to have the same lead mitigation, so the lead
mitigation is not a one-time thing. It's something that has to happen over and over again, and
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each time this happens, this can expose our family to toxic metals. Lastly, I want to bring up
again probably the biggest example of latitude that has been given by HPC, and that is the
house on Summit Street. This is a house where the front of the porch was dramatically
changed, and not changed for historical reasons, not changed because there was degraded
materials here, but changed because the homeowner wanted more light. This was changed
because of the whim of the homeowner. We're not asking to change things because of our
whims. We want to restore things to the historical state they are, but the 50 or $60,000 is a lot
of money for us, and we want to do it in a way that is lasting and not in a way that causes
continual problems, the continual exposure to lead. So in summary, staff has made assumptions
about the feasibility and reliability of restoring the wood that are contradicted by licensed
professionals, both the architect and our ...our contractors. Um, staff has made a decision based
on evidence that they admit may be faulty and unreliable, and that is the moisture meter that
they used as the sole piece of data in its recommendation. Staff has recommended material...
has recommended material... methods of lead removal that violate EPA regulations and lead to
civil penalties, were we to follow them and are dangerous. There's a reason for these civil
penalties. Staff has also refused to address the underlying issues of a lack of a moisture barrier
under there and the evidence of moisture damage that is present on the sheathing, and finally,
staff has refused to consider the cost to health impact, feasibility, energy efficiency, and modem
building codes in making this decision. So again, we're not looking to change history, we're not
looking to make this house into something that it's not. We're looking to use a material that is
not only commonly used in historical houses, but it's used in houses that have won historical
awards in the ... in the Iowa City area. So we... we ... we do believe that the decisions that are
made here are not following the guidelines that are present, and we do believe that they are
arbitrary and capricious in nature, and we ask that you ... that you ... that you overturn this and
allow us to ... to make our house to look something like it did from a historical standpoint, but do
it in a way that is long lasting and safe. Thank you (garbled) my presentation.
Teague: Thank you. All right. Councilors, at this time we can ask any questions of the ... the owners,
and we can also go into our discu... discussion as Council. I know that, uh, Councilor Thomas,
if you wanted to go ahead with your question first.
Thomas: Well, what I'd asked was for (clears throat) either a response from Kevin Boyd and/or staff to
the letter we received and the presentation that we just saw regarding, you know, the ... the
application and whether... whether we should consider an exception in this instance.
Russett: Um, Council Member Thomas, this is Anne Russett. We ... we did receive the letter that Mr.
Nolan put together yesterday. Um, we have not had a chance to put together a formal response
to that letter. If that's something that Council wishes us to do, we would need some more time.
Salih: But what do you think about it, if you can talk to us little bit.
Russett: Well, I think that, um, I think that we have guidelines in place that recommend alternatives to
what was included in that letter, and these are guidelines that the City has been using
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successfully for many years. I think if...if you want us to spend more time reviewing that letter
and providing a formal response, that's something we can do.
Salih: And, Kevin, what your response to the ... I think there's a section that where the owner said, uh,
when they reviewing the minute for another houses, they... they... there is a sentence say they
don't know what it is underneath and they still give them permission to change. Uh, can you
respond to that?
Boyd: Yeah, I mean I don't ... I have not looked at the minutes. I ... I remember that meeting, and
remember knowing that there were ... that we were... either fairly confident or confident in what
the original material was. I don't, um, you know, obviously if that ... we ... we need to check those
minutes more carefully when we approve them, but I don't ... my recollection of that meeting is
that we knew or had a very good understanding of what was likely underneath.
Salih: But even though if you understand... if you really understand what is underneath and you did not
mention it in the minute and you say you don't know what underneath, that's like (garbled) big
questions.
Boyd: Yeah, I can't, I mean, I can tell you ... I'm here to tell you what the Committee, or the
Commission, you know, how we got to our decision on this, and kind of what we did decide and
what we didn't, and I'm giving you my best recollection of what that ... what that
meeting... what... what we knew at that meeting.
Salih: Thank you.
Bergus: I have a procedural question for Eleanor. Um, in terms of if the Commission had made
decisions in the past that maybe were not correct, but also were not appealed, should that
influence our decision on the merits of this case?
Dilkes: I think ... I think you need to stick to the decision that was made in this case. If..unless you
want to do a full-blown examination of those previous circumstances, and you certainly don't
have that before you now, but even if a wrong decision was made at a prior time or a correct
decision was made at a prior time, that does not mean that the decision in front of you is one on
which reasonable minds can't differ or that the guidelines weren't followed.
Bergus: Yeah, let me just ask it a little bit different way. Do ... is it ... if, um, you know, because I think
for the ... from the owner's perspective it's the idea of fairness that other people may have, you
know, been treated differently than ... than they were treated, whether or not that occurred, in
terms of our application, in terms of our standard of review for the Commission's decision,
those prior decisions aren't relevant. Is that correct?
Dilkes: I don't think they're relevant. You would have to find ... you would have to find a pattern of
arbitrariness in previous decisions and inconsistency, substantial inconsistency, and you don't
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have that evidence before you because those decisions were not appealed and ... and reviewed,
so ... so in terms of relevancy I think they're... they're not relevant.
Bergus: Okay. Thank you.
Salih: Eleanor, just help me understand. You mean right now we just have to say yes with the decision
that the Historic Preservation made, or no? That what we have or can we say is there is an
exception, can we say anything else, or just we have only either to agree with the Commission
or not to agree.
Dilkes: You can affirm the decision of the Commission, agree with the decision of the Commission, in
other words. You can reverse the decision of Commission and grant the homeowners the
Certificate of Appropriateness that they had requested. Or you can modify this decision in some
way, but in all those circumstances, you have to put yourself in the shoes of the Historic
Preservation Commission. You have to examine the guidelines, you have to determine whether
those guidelines were followed or they were not. And you have to determine whether they
made a decision on which reasonable minds can or cannot differ. If they made a decision on
which reasonable minds can differ, it is not arbitrary and capricious.
Taylor: Question for Anne or Kevin, on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the moisture meter in the cold
weather. Uh, how ...how accurate is that? I'm not familiar with moisture meters and... and
how ...what temperature it needs to be. Is ... was that an accurate explanation on their part?
Russett: Yeah ... yeah, I would agree and that's why in our staff memo we said that we would be willing
to come out and do another moisture reading when it warms up in the spring to see if that
percentage changes or not.
Taylor: And how would that (garbled) our decision tonight then, if you're going ... would we just keep
extending this then until we get more information?
Russett: Well, I think ... I think the decision before Council is the denial and the recommendation that
staff presented in the memo aligns with the approval that the Commission issued to the
homeowners.
Bergus: But just ... just to clarify that there was an approval of a different Certificate of Appropriateness
that ... that would only allow replacing the wood if it ... if it was deteriorated to the point that it
needed to be replaced. The certificate that was denied was the owner saying regardless of the
condition of the wood, we want to replace it with this other material. Is that right?
Russett: That's... that's correct, and if we go out in the spring and determine that there's much more
moisture in it and, urn ... that, you know, that the readings we had last week are no longer
accurate, um, our recommendation would change ... and they would be able to remove some of
those pieces of siding.
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Mims: Not being thoroughly familiar with all the rules and regulations, and I found them long and
complicated, I'll admit. This whole issue of the lack of a moisture barrier comes to my mind as
particularly problematic, but I'm trying to understand, you know, what is the typical response to
that with historic preservation. I mean I grew up in 100 -plus year old house in ... with a barn in
Vermont that, yeah, the repainting was ridiculous, and we probably were scraping lead paint
when I was a kid. Because of that, and within also just the information that, you know,
originally the house wasn't insulated. It's now been insulated, no moisture barrier. So again I'm
just trying to understand the reasonableness and ... and what's kind of been done with some of the
others. So either Kevin or Anne, can you, you know, address that issue?
Boyd: Yeah, I can maybe speak broadly and then... and you may have to, you know, help with some
more specifics, but you know, I think ... we ... these are not unco... what what has come before us,
as the Commission, to remove siding and repair or replace the ... the original historic siding is ... is
not an uncommon thing for us to deal with. I think what was uncommon about this was
obviously we have... (mumbled) we didn't know the condition of the siding, and I think, you
know, I can't speak to what the Commission would have decided on this case if we had the ... the
visual inspection that happened last week, or even the expert letter, right? We don't ... I
don't ... we didn't have that opportunity to have that information, so it's hard for me to imagine
what the eight or nine of us would have decided with that information. But I think that what
was ... what I can say is I think that, you know, there was not a lot of discussion about this, in
part because it's so ... common, and we kind of, you know, I think the Commissioners kind of
knew the ... knew the rules and I, and I don't know ...I don't know what the other homeowners or
how they're managing to do this, but this isn't a common request for us to add a moisture
meter ...or add a moisture barrier to do these things. You know, I think, you know, I live in a
house that was, you know, won a historic preservation award for paint in 1996 and it needs a
new coat now, but that's been a long time, you know, and so I think that ... I don't ... I see these
projects happening around my neighborhood and I don't... these aren't the type of work they're
asking about is fairly common. I don't know the specifics though of how other people are doing
it. We see the applications. We generally approve them. But I can tell you that our ...you know,
at the Commission there was not a lot of discussion because it seemed pretty straightforward to
us that they're asking to do something that others haven't asked, and we were it's pretty common
for us to ... to go down, you know, to go down the route of repair or replacement, depending on
the condition. So I don't know if that helps, Susan, or not, or if I ... if I muddied the water at all.
(laughs) I wasn't trying to, but I think Anne can maybe help answer if there's other things on
how we ... how we deal with this with other, um, other applications or other requests.
Clore: (garbled) second (garbled) uh, we didn't ask the staff multiple times what we remove prior to the
HPC meeting. We were told the ... that (garbled) pieces of siding will not give me enough
information, that we would have to take it all off, that removing the piece of siding was already
decided at the last (garbled) So for two and a half years we were told that it's all or nothing,
which would mean that if we take the metal siding off, we would not be allowed to reapply it,
and we have proof, we have emails with correspondence with Jessica, where it was said. So I
don't understand why there's such a change right now and what you're saying is simply
(garbled) So we tried to work with HPC, and we were not given the opportunity to do so.
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Boyd: (several talking, garbled) that's all, that's... that's it.
Teague: I do want to have our Councilors give some more response and then I'm going to ask everyone
else, unless Council ask a question directly to you, if you can just, um, wait for Council to ask.
Council, any more comments?
Taylor: I'd just like to say that it ... that this is kind of a difficult situation. I ... I believe, from what I've
seen in any of my Council meetings in the last five years, it ... I just, I feel like we're really
caught in the middle on this, and ... and personally I don't have a lot of expertise in the matter of
restoration of...of older homes. So that makes it even harder for me to ... and difficult to
make ... make a decision on this, but I'm appreciating the comments and would like to hear, uh,
from the rest of the Council, what they... what their feelings are.
Salih: I agree with you, Pauline. This is really difficult situation. I understand that the Commissions
follow the guideline that they have. To be honest with you, my problem with a guideline
(garbled) you know, I think this guideline need to be change. Even though maybe what I say is
going to be like helpless, because you know we already did that, but you know this guideline
due to the (garbled) and climate action and all this, you know, there was a completely change in
Iowa! You know, we start seeing a loss (unable to understand) being implemented, be ... because
we was laying certain like, uh, certain weather. We know every year when is the summer, when
is the winter, how the winter is hard, but now we have this derecho hitting. We have this ... lot of
kind of thing that will affect old houses, so and we have (mumbled) you know, we appreciate
that they already accept the ... to ... to designate their house to be historic. I always when it come,
as Susan Mims said it many times, when it come from the owner, I will be really supportive, but
also we have to support the owners during like weather change, if we really want to continue
being there and continue doing historic preservation. Now if somebody else over there would
like to do their building or their houses to be designated as historic, they will think ahead of
time if they hear all these different rules that we have, and if they cannot even make like some
change that will (mumbled) money, a lot of money right now, but if they do it the way it should
be, maybe this is will save them money for the future. I ... nothing against the Commission. You
are... you guys are following the rules and the guidelines, but to be honest, we need to change
that guidelines, and also another thing, when I see that there is some houses has been giving a
chance to use this material that allow in other houses and even I guess the owner mentioned that
those houses even get award, so why not? We can allow them to use the same thing. Just I
want the Commission to give the fact that there was an exchanging, everything that we have is,
uh, all this guideline that we have, we had it for long time and we never looked back to it to
modify it, so it can work for everyone and (mumbled) was there and every change that has been
happening in Iowa. It is hard really, but I will love to hear the other Council, so we can come
up with this decision. Thank you.
Teague: I...I have to agree with you, Mayor Pro Tem, that I think, you know, the ... the guidelines need to
be looked at, especially when we're talking about climate action and some of those goals. I ... I
totally believe in historic preservation, and I also believe that we have to look at, you know,
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the ... the guidelines and just see where we want to be as a community. I am, you know, I heard
the owners and I really appreciate you taking time to do a presentation. It brought up a lot of
things, um, that I needed to, you know, look at and to kind of review. As a Council, we need to
look at this very narrow (laughs) um, decision process, and that is did the Commission follow
the guidelines, and I think I've heard several of our Councilors say yes, they did, and I can go
into my rationales why, um, I believe they followed the guidelines, and then the other is it
arbitrary or capricious. And... and... and so I ... I, personally, you know, have looked into this and
I've sat and I listened, and I am not supportive of reversing the decision. What I do know is,
you know, you brought up some, you know, some concerns that I think that this Council really
should consider, uh, in the future, but what's before us today, I honestly believe, um, that I'm not
in the position to reverse it, but I really do appreciate the owners bringing this up before the
Council and, you know, one of the things is, I believe, even moving forward, that when you do
go to remove your siding, you do have some options to, you know, replace some boards if,
um ... and that type of stuff, and ... and I do understand the ... the economic impact. The challenges
that it do presents when you have to continuously paint a property. I do understand that,
and ... but at this point, I am not an ... I don't believe that I have the ability to reverse the decision.
Thomas: Well, I ... I would have to agree that I think I ... it's.... uh, agree with the Mayor's comments that
given... given the framework in which we're working, I would ... I would have to agree that they
followed the guidelines and are not acting arbitrarily in their decision making. At the same
time, I've heard from staff that there is certainly a willingness to reevaluate the information that
they base their decision on, which may be weather-related. And should... should the findings
change that their response may change. So I don't know that, you know, what ... what we're
faced with now in terms of the outcome is certain. It may change as ... as more information is
provided, should more information be sought, but for now I would have to say I support the
Commission's finding.
Bergus: I agree, and I ... I think it really is a matter of what we have the authority to do, and in this case
the guidelines that we're talking about are the Department of Interior, right, the Secretary of
Interior's guidelines relating to that requirement that the wood be preserved, if it can be
preserved. And I just, you know, I want to apologize to the homeowners who, you know,
clearly have felt that, you know, for a couple of years they were getting different information
than ... than they have said that they've heard tonight, and if that's the case, that's really
unfortunate. That's not how the process should work. Really appreciate you taking the time to
put the presentation together and to organize your case for us so coherently, but with the
standard of review that we have in front of us, I think we really do need to affirm.
Taylor: I ... I appreciate, uh, Councilor Bergus' comments because I think that does give a little bit
different perspective on it, in that ... that we're bound by the decision we're supposed to make,
and I also do appreciate the homeowner's input on this and do hope that perhaps in the spring
maybe it can be revisited and ... and hopefully come to a good compromise.
Mims: I think these are all challenging situations when we have this narrow review, because I think
oftentimes we may disagree with ... with the decision that was made, either from a common
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sense or not necessarily agreeing with the guidelines that they have to work with, but as
Councilor Bergus and our City Attorney have said, we have a very narrow review. Uh, so I
will ... I'll vote to affirm this, but I really, really hope that the property owners and staff and HPC
will sit down and really look at some options. I've... and I don't have all ... we've heard various
things that I have not had the time to go back and verify, but when I hear somebody making an
allegation that staff has recommended a paint removal method that is illegal, that concerns me.
I hope there was misinterpretation somewhere. Um, it concerns me when I hear people saying
that they were told the only option was to take off all the siding ... and then they wouldn't be able
to put it back on, but now we find that we could take off parts and inspect part. So to me
there's... there's either been mass com... miscommunication or we're not hearing all the accurate
information, and that I find always very troubling. So I hope that everybody involved can have
more discussion on this and find a way to move forward that is within the guidelines and is
feasible for the property owners. I find the idea of doing major renovation on a house this age,
without a moisture barrier, with all the other changes that have been made to the house to be
probably very problematic for the house and the financial wherewithal of the owners going
forward. So I hope some ... hope some good communication and some solutions can come out of
this.
Salih: I really want to say something. You know, I really don't feel good to say okay to this, and I'm
gonna feel guilty because I just feel a lot thing was not like done as it should be, or maybe the
fault is on the guideline itself. Nothing against the Commission, again, like nothing against the
staff. But can I just suggest something, and after that I will decide how I can vote. You know,
can we direct the Commission to look at the guideline and (mumbled) and think about all this
weather changing and everything, and I think like talk to Geoff before about this, and he agreed,
the answer is, you know, yeah, we have to ... due to this, all this change, we might need to look at
it. So I ... I really encourage you to maybe support this ideas to, you know, let the Commission
look again at the guideline with the staff and try to make a change accordingly, and maybe by
the spring, if they made the change, this family can come and apply again for anything else, or I
don't know, but if there is any way we can direct the Commission to do so.
Dilkes: Well ... you can ... you can al ... al ... always separate from the ... the decision on the appeal, ask that
the ... the staff and the, um, Commission examine the guidelines on this issue and ... so.
Teague: I...I personally would support the proposal by Mayor Pro Tem. I think it's important. We still
have to make a decision tonight.
Salih: Yeah.
Weiner: I thought I recalled that (several talking, garbled) Sorry!
Salih: (mumbled) sorry.
Weiner: I mean, I thought I recall that once the condition, the true condition is discovered, that whether
that's now or in the spring, that they have the capacity to go back to the Commission, um, in an
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expedited... expedited fashion, because I think Kevin and one other had ... had been appointed as
having... having the capacity to look at that and just move it forward, rather than having to start
an application all over again. Is that ... am I right about that or am I wrong?
Dilkes: Well that's what was done. If there's been some suggestion about waiting to do that again in the
spring, I think if you wanted that to happen you'd have to continue this ... this hearing... again.
Because once there's the decision on the appeal, I mean if there's ... if you affirm the decision of
the Commission, the application doesn't exist anymore. It'd have to be a new application.
Russett: Eleanor, can I comment on that?
Dilkes: Yeah.
Russett: Because we still have the approved Certificate of Appropriateness, that would remain in effect,
um, and if -and staff can continue to work with the property owners on that approval and
reevaluate the condition of the wood in the spring, and if there's any changes, um, revise our
recommendation and that would only have to be reviewed by staff and the Chair, and it would
not have to go back to the full Commission.
Dilkes: Yeah, that ... you can do that. But ... but the conditions of that approved Certificate of
Appropriateness stand, that it's subject to the decision ofthe ... the Chair and the staff.
Salih: You're muted, Mayor.
Teague: Yep! Any other comments by Councilors?
Salih: (both talking) hear Janice saying that ... they, Janice, you were saying that we need to continue to
this spring, or what you said exactly?
Weiner: I was trying to understand what ... I was trying to understand what the... what... what... what
happens, um, if we affirm the decision of the Commission as not being arbitrary and capricious,
since that's our narrow lane here, if I thought that... that... that when we first heard about this or
first heard the presentation two weeks ago, I thought we heard that ... if they go back even
on ... even under their current decision, if they go back, take off parts of the siding ... of the metal
siding, find out that it ... that it has deteriorated, then they can then once having that information
then they can proceed. I'm just trying to recall if that's ... that was... that's my confusion...
Boyd: Janice, what we ... what the Commission generally does when we deny an application, uh, is
approve something else that ... that we believe fits the guidelines, um, and that what we approved
was very kind of broad, because we didn't know the condition. So, you know, if you affirm the
denial, which is what's being ... or appealed, we still have that current Certificate of
Appropriateness that allows for staff and chair to determine the condition, all of those things.
Again, those are things we didn't have when we met, uh, that we have a little bit of information
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now. We may have more information in the spring. I hope that helped answer. I didn't mean to
jump in, I just...
Salih: Okay, I still have my question. Can we ask the Commission to revise the guideline, or look at it,
I mean.
Teague: Is there more support ... for that? I'm supportive of it. And this is a ... a question to our
Councilors.
Dilkes: It won't apply to this application without a new application.
Salih: I know that, Eleanor. They might have a chance to come back again later as a Commission.
Teague: I see a Councilor Taylor, are you ... okay, and I see Councilor Mims. So we're gonna ... we're
gonna task that to staff.
Fruin: Mayor, can I just summarize an understanding really quick. I don't want to belabor but, uh,
you're asking us to review the standards, to look to increase flexibility with siding improvement
or siding replacement projects, tied to maybe sometimes competing goals of energy efficiency
and affordability, and just providing... generally providing some more flexibility in the
guidelines, is that kind of the narrow scope, or are you looking at all guidelines? Are we getting
into roofs and windows, or can we keep it just to the siding framework for now?
Teague: I think we can certainly keep it to that. I do ... I would be personally interested if there was any
other concerns that staff or the Commissioners would like to address.
Fruin: Correct. (both talking)
Teague: That could come out.
Fruin: There... there's a ... there's a long, I mean you're going to get into the whole guidelines, you're
talking about a very long-term, sustained effort. If...if you're looking for more of a surgical
approach to address this situation that you didn't feel you could, you know, reverse the decision
of the Commission on, then we would try to prioritize that and move that discussion with the
Commission forward fairly soon.
Salih: I guess will be amazing ... if the Council doesn't have any objection to it.
Teague: Yep, I ... I see a majority. Bergus just agreed as well, so ... all right, we will ... I'm assuming that
was an agreement. (laughs) All right. All right, so we're good there. So I think we're ready for
a vote. And the vote would be to, well, actually I'm going to close the public hearing... and
then... could I get a motion to affirm ... to reverse... wait, the motion is to affirm.
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Dilkes: Motion to affirm the decision of the Commission, denying the Certificate of Appropriateness.
Yes.
2. Consider a Motion
Mims: So moved.
Bergus: Second.
Teague: Okay. And Council discussion? Roll call please.
Dilkes: Motion, um. .... Mayor.
Teague: Sorry, say that again?
Dilkes: You can do a voice vote. Would you like a roll call?
Teague: Oh, no. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? All right, motion passes 7-0. Could I get a
motion to accept correspondence?
Salih: So (both talking)
Bergus: (both talking) Berges.
Teague: Moved by Bergus, seconded by Salih. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0.
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12. Collector Well Nos. 3 and 4 Rehabilitation — Resolution approving project manual and
estimate of cost for the construction of the Collector Wells Nos. 3 and 4 Rehabilitation
Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk
to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids.
1. Public Hearing
Teague: I'm going to open the public hearing ... and staff presentation.
Durst: Good evening, Council. Have a presentation for you tonight. See if I can get this to work. And
is that coming up for you? Great! So the Collector Well 3 and 4 Rehabilitation Project is a
drinking water project. The scope, schedule, and costs — we're going to clean the collector wall
lateral screens to increase our production to meet or exceed the original design production.
Remove and repair two of our well pumps, and provide a new baseline of the wells capacity to
monitor the wells in the future. Schedule would be to award to the winning bidder on March
16a', start work on April 8", and complete on September 30a'. The engineering estimate of
620,000. consulting fee is 55,900. What is a collector well? It's simply a large shaft with a
pump house on top of it .with laterals along the bottom that are perforated to allow groundwater
to infiltrate. That groundwater then fills up the shaft, which we then pump. The benefit of
these collector wells is we use the natural river bed and bank as a filtration device, so we get a
very high quality groundwater. Why collector wells three and four? We currently have five
collector wells, the sandpit pumping station and collector wells one through four. Three and
four, as you can see, are our largest producers. So we're putting our money where we'll get our
most benefit. On the side here is a photo of what one of our collector wells look like. If you've
been down by the dog park or the water plant prairie park, you'll notice that they're just round
houses. Where are they located? So the collector wells three and four are down by the
Thornberry Dog Park, off of the Peninsula neighborhood. They look like this, so we've got a
round house and then the laterals themselves radiate outwards from those caissons underneath
the riverbed. The river water than pushes down to the river bank and into those laterals, which
then fill up the caisson for our water. Over time, those laterals become degraded and need to be
cleaned. So the collector well three screens currently look like this. As you can see there's
quite a bit of calcified debris in there that we will remove through a jetting process. There's
also some debris that's kind of just resting in the bottom. And you can see over time, from 2017
and 2018, we've lost production in these walls, and the low and high flow ... low and high flow is
just, you know, if the river is high, we get more water infiltration. If the river's low, we get less
infiltration. So seasonal variability does exist with these wells. So really collector well four has
fouling, this white stuff here is actually (mumbled) fouling. So that would also be removed. At
the end, the screens will look like they did originally, with the stainless steel being visible, as
you can see kind of on the top here. So that is the scope and the reason. Any questions?
Teague: Hearing no questions. All right, anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please
raise your hand and I'll call upon you. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the public hearing.
Could I get a motion to approve?
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Mims: So moved, Mims.
Taylor: Second, Taylor.
Teague: Moved by Mims, seconded by Taylor. Council discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-
0.
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13. Maximum Property Tax Levy — Resolution approving the maximum property tax levy for
certain levies for the proposed budget ending June 30, 2022.
1. Public Hearing
Teague: I'm going to op ... open the public hearing, and we do need five votes to pass this. I'm going to
open the public hearing.
Bockenstedt: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm Dennis Bockenstedt. I'm the Finance Director
for the City of Iowa City. I'm going to share my screen here with you. I got a ... brief
presentation. Hopefully you can all see that on your screen. So tonight is the public hearing for
the FY22 maximum property tax levy. Approval of a maximum property tax levy was a new
requirement that was passed by the State Legislature in 2019, and they just chose certain levies
to be impacted by this requirement. Those levies for the City would be its general levy, its
transit and tort levies, the emergency levy, and the employee benefit levies. Um, the levies that
were not impacted by this new legislation included the City's debt service levy, the Library levy,
and the SSMID levy. The proposed maximum property tax levy for those affected levies is just
over $55 million, and that is an increase of 2.12% over last year. And the primary reasons
impacting this increase are that there's the average employee salary increase year over year is
2.8%, and also there is a minimum wage increase step up this year to $15 per hour. This
increase of 2.12% does not reflect the decrease in debt service levy, and since it is (mumbled)
2%, it does require that two-thirds majority of the Council to approve it. For the FY22 budget
overall, the property tax rate is decreasing by 10 -cents, from $15.77 to $15.67. Um, the total
property tax revenues budgeted increases by 1.6%, and that is lower than the 2.12% because of
the debt service levy decrease. A separate public hearing is still required in order to adopt the
FY22 budget, and the approval of this maximum property tax levy is the next required step in
order to adopt your FY22 budget. And I will answer any questions if you have any.
Teague: Any questions for Dennis? Thank you, Dennis, hearing none. Would anyone from the public
like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the
public hearing. Could I get a motion to approve please?
Thomas: So moved.
Salih: (both talking) Salih.
Teague: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Salih. Council discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes
7-0.
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14. Abandoned Vehicle Towing Process — Ordinance amending Title 9, entitled "Motor
Vehicles," to provide that the process for towing, impounding, and reclaiming of
abandoned vehicles is consistent with the Iowa Code (First Consideration)
Teague: Could I get a motion please?
Weiner: So moved, Weiner.
Bergus: Second, Bergus.
Teague: And staff presentation.
Dilkes: Mayor, this is just a cleanup of our local ordinance that provides for towing, impounding, and
reclaiming of abandoned vehicles, to make it consistent with the State Law. The main changes
are to change the time to request a hearing from 21 days to 10 days, and also the ability to
challenge the ... the amount of the fees, as well as the towing, the reason for the towing itself. It
also ... we also have provisions in our code that aren't governed by the State Code that govern
towing of vehicles, um, that are not abandoned per se, and we've just made those provisions
consistent for ease of administration.
Teague: All right. Any questions for Eleanor? Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so,
please raise your hand. No one. Council discussion? Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0.
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15. Council Appointments
15.a. Parks and Recreation Commission's
Teague: Applicants must reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age, unless specific qualifications are
stated. 15.a. is Parks and Recreation Commission, um, one vacancy to fill an unexpired term
upon appointment through December 31, 2022. And we'll have Council discussion... on this
item. So we have (both talking)
Weiner: Only one applicant at this point.
Teague: Yeah, one applicant, no gender requirement.
Mims: It's fine with me.
Taylor: (garbled) Shea is fine with me.
Salih: Me too!
Teague: All right, can I get emotion to appoint Timothy Shea?
Salih: Move.
Taylor: Second, Taylor.
Teague: And all in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0.
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17. Community Comment
Teague: And we're gonna have Ryan Longenecker from ... with the UISG.
Longenecker: Good evening, Council. Just a few announcements tonight. First, I just want to let you
all know that the University of Iowa Environmental Coalition is hosting a lecture panel called
"Combating Racism in Agriculture," and this will be this coming Thursday, February 18, at 7:00
P.M., on Zoom. So please feel free to go online and find that out. Be a really interesting lecture
to ... to check out. Next is that the University of Iowa also hosted two "Reimagining Campus
Safety" town halls, where students, faculty, and staff were allowed to come and give feedback
on the three prototype models that have been proposed, and I attended one of them and
anecdotally I would say that the model that moves to a holistic approach, um, that very much
reduces the presence of traditional officers on campus and that moves to a much more, um, a
holistic approach of addressing certain issues with different people than traditional police
officers was much more well received than the other two. And so those... those feedback will go
to the Committee, and hopefully this spring is the planned time that the final recommendations
will be presented to President Harreld. So keep an eye out for updates on that. Next, the
COVID-19 vaccine will be free of charge through Student Health, when it becomes available,
so students will be able to get vaccinated. So hopefully that comes soon. I myself hope that
comes soon enough, uh, and other than that, we are looking forward to starting on new
initiatives and are excited to work with Council and our senators on some exciting new pieces
of legislation and so on. So that's all for me tonight. Thank you very much, Council.
Teague: Thank you, Ryan.
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18. City Council Information
Teague: And we are at City Council. Any updates on various meetings or upcoming meetings,
community events, items of interest?
Taylor: Well, this is an item of interest to me at least anyway, and to others perhaps too. I'm ... I'm happy
to say ... I never thought I'd hear myself say I was happy to be getting a vaccine, but I have been
scheduled for my first COVID vaccination coming up very soon, in the next few days. I'm
excited about that, and I would encourage all the folks that are in the I .B. category or those in
the I .A. that haven't done it yet to ... to be patient and to pursue all avenues that are available to
you, whatever comes open, uh, to try to get on the list and ... and be vaccinated, cause I ... I have
hopes for that to ... to help curb this and ... but also continue to mask up. Thank you, Mayor, for
continuing that order, and also social distance and just be safe and ... and be healthy.
Thomas: Well, I have the same news as Pauline just reported. I'm .... uh, through UIHC going to get my
first shot tomorrow. So certainly encourage, you know, those who are interested in ... in applying
for a shot. The UIHC, you know, I just put my name in not that long ago and got the call
yesterday. So pleasant surprise, hopefully this whole vaccination process will accelerate and
we'll all be in the same place soon.
Weiner: You should get your pictures taken so that people (laughs) so that everyone can see that it's,
um, that Members of Council are willing to do it. I ... I don't have any news like that. I did want
to really just thank all the... whether there are people who are picking up garbage and recycling,
or doing the snowplows, everybody who's been out in this frigid weather doing the work of the
City.
Salih: I really second that. It's very cold. I don't know how they do it, but they're doing amazing job
for us to continue moving on the street and yeah. Thank you.
Teague: All right, any other updates? I did just want to make mention that it is Black History Month
and there continues to be events happening, so looking at our City website, as well as the Afro
House. They have several events that they are hosting this week and throughout the rest of the
month, so, people, I encourage you to check them out. Also want to mention that the
GuideLink Center did open on Monday, they did a soft opening, and I know that there could be
a little confusion around that. Uh, not every avenue of the building is open. Right now they're
doing CSB, the crisis beds, is what I understood... stand, but hopefully in the future we'll get an
update on them having all of the services available, but I think for starters it happened on
Monday, they're doing a soft opening, so that they can really work through some of the nuances
of this great facility.
Weiner: And the winter shelter is open there and it has been for a while.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular
formal meeting of February 16, 2021.