Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-22 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Staff Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Davies, Fleagle, Ford, Fruehling, Fruin, Goers, Havel, Jones, Kilburg, Nagle-Gamm, Sovers Others Present: Miglin (USG) Teague: Welcome to the Iowa City, uh, formal meeting for March 22nd, 2022. It is now 6:00 PM, and I, we're gonna start with roll call please. [Roll call.] All right, well welcome back to the Councilors and staff and welcome to all of you. We've been here since three. Um, welcome to all of you that are here as well as to those that are listening in, um, on our social media outlets. 2. Proclamations 2.a. Meals on Wheels and the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act Nutrition program Teague: We are gonna start with proclamations on item number 2, and 2a is Meals on Wheels and the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program. And we're gonna ask that Councilor Pauline Taylor read this. Taylor: (reads proclamation) And accepting is Kerry Feuerbach. Feuerbach: Um, I've been a, uh, volunteer for about five years for Meals on Wheels, so I'm just doing the, uh, acceptance here. I wanna thank Mayor Teague for the March Meals on Wheels Proclamation. As you know, Meals on Wheels is a vital service for seniors everywhere in Johnson County, we currently have 183 clients and that number is climbing. In the past two months, January and February, we delivered almost 8,000 meals. We depend on volunteers to deliver all the meals, as we have few staff. Currently we have 86 volunteers and could use more. Uh, the last two months our volunteers have worked a total of 537 hours. We would have to pay that staff to make deliveries that, and the cost would be in excess of $12,000 for just two months. We would also like to invite any of you to join on a ride -along to meet two or three of our clients. They are so appreciative for this service and they would be delighted to meet any of you. So again, I want to thank, uh, staff and, uh, I appreciate it. So thank you. Teague: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 2 2.b. Transgender Day of Awareness Teague: Item 2b is Transgender Day of Awareness. (reads proclamation) And to accept this proclamation is our Human Rights Commissioner, Ashley Lindsey. Lindsey: I wanted to, uh, share just a few words if I could, um, as the Vice Chair of the Human Rights Commission, it's truly an honor to be able to accept this, but I have to also recognize that I am here accepting this proclamation as a cisgender woman. And with that privilege, I, I want to use it to be able to amplify trans voices, um, and honor them just for a moment this evening. I'm gonna be sharing a few statements from some of the trans Iowans that I am blessed to know. Um, the statements are raw and unfiltered, and I think it's important that we hear and honor these voices. My friend Jack says, "With all of the nonsensical legislation trying to erase transgender youth, I feel the need to out myself. Again, I am a transgender man. I was assigned female at birth. I have endured discrimination and abuse. I used to want to die, but I am hellbent on staying alive, a little bit out of spite. I will endure for myself for our youth and for all of us." Um, another friend, Al Wyatt, who is actually a candidate for Iowa House District 91, says, "The transgender day of visibility is not only for those who are visible in the community, but those who work behind the scenes to advocate for those who don't have a voice. As a parent of two teenage girls and also being transgender, I strive to protect and enable younger generations to live their lives authentically, without fear of criticism." Kyla Patterson is a local trans community member and also a former high school athlete, and she says, "Transgender people are tired of cis allies' silence. We will not be silent today, but we shouldn't be forced into silence any day. When it comes to the trans day of visibility, respect, education, and becoming an accomplice and trans liberation will go a long way. Respect means making sure trans people are accounted and supported in our community. Saying correct names, pronouns, and other terms are likely to go a long way. Education is important as well. Cisgender people should be educating themselves every day, not just today, about our existence, our healthcare rights and how they can become allies. This means more than just going to pride festivals every year, despite how much we all enjoy them." And last but not least, I want share a statement from my good friend Quinn. She says, "For trans people, visibility is a double-edged sword. It is both affirming and frightening, both necessary and perilous. The growing visibility of trans people in popular culture in our educational institutions and in our workplaces has contributed to increased acceptance and knowledge. The more we trans people see ourselves in the world around us, the more we know others can understand some of who we are and more of how we feel. We can be empowered to be ourselves, to come out, to connect with one another and to live fully and authentically. On the other hand, the visibility of trans people is a constant engine of violence against us," as Mayor This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 3 alluded to in his proclamation, "assault and murder of trans people, derived from hyper -visible and hyper -stigmatized queerness. Political discourse has made trans people hyper -visible focal points for the ongoing culture war against the most marginalized among us, galvanizing politicians and some lawmakers to among other things, target trans kids. The recent legislation is just awful. Horrible. And I feel the need to address that tonight, but it curtails their civil rights and schools and curbs their access to gender affirming care. So when we talk about visibility, we need to remember and reckon with the world as it is, celebrate trans people, uplift our voices and images. Let us know we are included and that we are valued, but fight for us too, protect our right to full inclusion in civil life, protect our access to care and support we need to survive. Don't just accept us, help us shape a more hospitable and caring world." Thank you. Teague: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 4 3. Special Presentations 3.a. COVID Update - Johnson County Public Health Teague: We are moving on to item number 3, which is special presentations, ah, 3a is a COVID update by Johnson County Public Health's Sam Jarvis, who is the Community Health Division Manager. Welcome. Jarvis: Good evening to the Council, as always appreciate the opportunity to provide updates and certainly happy to provide, uh, good news updates as of late. And so many are well aware that our, our COVID situation is looking far better than what it was at the beginning of the year, and certainly we'll point towards, uh, the CDC's new COVID community levels that, uh, the ask is to utilize for the general public to look at, uh, what mitigation measures and layered mitigation measures, uh, should take in place, and will happily note that 97 out of 90, Iowa's 99 counties are in low status at the moment. So overall very good news, and we can corroborate that with the fact that the past seven days, we've seen less than 50 -some cases reported to us. And even within the past several days have seen single digit cases. And so we have not seen this kind of lower transmission since I believe June and July of 2021. Um, before we saw the rise of a Delta variant and then certainly, the most recent Omicron variant. So overall very positive news. And as always, we'll continue to monitor our, our local situation and certainly our apprised of the, of state and nation and even global trends and know that there have been some headlines about, uh, transmission in other areas, and we'll continue to monitor that. Um, it is not without, or out of the realm of possibility that we'll once again ask for layered mitigation, uh, but certainly will hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Uh, in terms of vaccinations, they have certainly trickled, um, and have slowed down, uh, dramatically even with, uh, booster vaccinations, but happily we'll report that Johnson County remains one of the highest vaccinated, uh, counties in the state. So again, a huge thanks to all of our partners who continue to provide vaccinations across the board, whether they're community clinics, pharmacies, or hospital partners, uh, because that still is very important to ensure that one, folks are up to date on their vaccination, which means fully vaccinated, and then now if they're eligible for a booster, but also provide access for those who may not have, uh, gotten vaccinated right away for whatever their reasons, uh, we continue to do that crucial work to provide, uh, the correct information the most up to date, information, and dispel any disinformation on those fronts. So other than that, happy to answer any questions. Weiner: Have you heard anything, Sam, about, um, submission of data by either Moderna or Pfizer for the under -fives? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 5 Jarvis: Uh, not at the moment. I, I think the headline that is carrying right now is that Moderna has submitted, um, data for boost, a fourth booster for, um, the general public and then Pfizer, uh, as well for older adults. But, uh, that we are also anticipating, hoping to hear more for four and under, uh, at the moment. Teague: I know that, um, we're still navigating COVID and there'll be new guidance coming out. At one point, we heard that boosters may have to be annually or, you know, six to eight months, it was undetermined. Have you heard anything more on that front? Jarvis: We have not. Uh, I think that's where the, the speculation will be, uh, that possibly, uh, will be timed with, um, what folk many folks know is the annual flu shot as well. But, um, at this moment we've not heard more from our federal partners. I believe that the FDA has a scheduled meeting to talk about, uh, I believe, uh, a fourth booster, but again, we've seen most recently too, that both our, our federal agencies that are looking at these processes move pretty quickly, uh, and with little notice, but well, uh, continue to, to hear information then share it as ah, as, as we receive it. Teague: Great. Well, I think on behalf of this Council, we really appreciate the, all the work that you all have done and will continue to do. Uh, we're not out of it yet. And so to those out in the public, you know, let's still um, uh, be as cautious as we feel necessary during this process, but thank you so much for coming, um, routinely to give us the updates. Jarvis: Absolutely. Thank you. And, uh, appreciate the opportunity. Teague: Thanks. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 6 4-8. Consent Calendar Teague: We are onto items number 4 through 8, which is our consent agenda. Could I get a motion to consider it, please? Weiner: So moved. Taylor: Second. Teague: Moved Weiner, seconded by Taylor. Anyone from the public like to discuss any item that is on our consent agenda, please come forth. If you're in the room, to the podium here, there is a sign in sheet on the side, and then if you are online, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you, and you can come up and you can sign after. Yep. Welcome. Petersen: Hello. My name is Noah, live Iowa City, uh, and first I'm gonna talk about the CPRB minutes that you're receiving and what the complaint is. I'm just gonna read off that complaint here a little bit. A finding of fact, on October 22nd, 2021 patrol officers witnessed the complainant walking downtown with an open container of alcohol. Officers ran after and confronted the complainant. The complainant stops and conversed officers at one point, handing the open container of alcohol, seen the complainant. No, that, that the point previously said, they tried to hide from the officer, a complainant, then a, a companion then accompanied the complainant as they went with officers to patrol car and the ticket was issued. Um, and then of course the, the, the, the allegation of unproper, unlawful search was not sustained, which I mean, of course, [mumbled] saying since it's a useless board, but, uh, but what I really find the issue is, is the comments on this board are, while the board may find this complainant not to be, this complaint, not to be sustained, the board does have some serious concerns with what it witnessed in the body cam footage of this incident. The most problem, problematic of those is the last thing that was said by one of the officers before the recording ended at the conclusion of incident and it was the officer, this is what your officer said. I was kind of hoping that she was going, gonna run. So you, your officer wanted to fight somebody. They wanted to escalate the situation. And also the other, uh, complaint that they had was that the, the language used by the officer, which I've experienced many times by ICPD, is they will just start cursing at you. You, you videotape 'em, um, about 90% of the times I video, videotape ICPD officers on my phone, I get confronted by officers getting complained at like, why are you filming me, you, or along those lines, I've been threatened with arrest for, for filming officers. And even though they in, I was standing there, they initiated the interaction with me. I was standing there silently just filming as my right. And they started interact with me. And then, then they tried to tell me that I This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 7 was interfering with an investigation. I had to leave her be arrested after they initiated and started to cause conflict with me because I was filming as is my right, because I don't like cops. I, that, that should be pretty clear here. I think you should abolish ICPD. At the minimum, you should defund them, not increase their budget, but yeah. So is anything going to happen to the officer? Is that just, that's just more evidence of the terrible culture in ICPD when they gassed us that night, they gassed us on video. A whole bunch of 'em were laughing and saying, let them eat gas. ICPD has a terrible culture. They are not reformable. The only solution is to reallocate their funds to actually help the community and not continually put more and more money into this violent institution. Teague: Thank you. Would anyone else like to address any item that is on our consent agenda? Seeing no, one, Council discussion. Roll call please. [Roll call vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 8 9. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) [UNTIL 7 PM] Teague: Item number 9 is community comment. This is a time where anyone from the community can come up to discuss any item that is not on our agenda. We do, um, have three minutes allotted and there is a timer over here, uh, for anyone that, um, is present here in the room. And then online, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you and call you by name when it is your opportunity to speak And there's also a timer, um, electronically for you. Okay, inside the room, I will welcome you to the podium. Please state your name and the city you're from. Poudel: Thank you. I'm Asmita Poudel from Astig Planning, Iowa City. Um, sorry. I do have a presentation here to, Fruehling: It should be right on the desktop there. Poudel: Oh, sorry. Um, good evening, everyone. And, uh, Mayor Teague. So today I'm just gonna be talking about the Inclusive Economic Development Plan for Johnson County. that Astig Planning is developing in collaboration with Iowa City Area Development group, Iowa City Area Business Partnership, Greenstate Credit Union and Multicultural Development Center of Iowa. Um, so I'll just talk about the project and the outreach we're doing and the next steps and what our ask is today. So, um, this Inclusive Economic Development Plan is really, um, the title speaks for itself. And what we're trying to do is we're trying to reach out to people in the Johnson County and understand what are the business resources that are available that are accessible specially for the underestimated community members in Johnson County. And, um, so underestimated community members can include, um, people from, um, um, immigrant population, people of color, people from LGBTIQ community, women, youth or like formally in, incarcerated people and so on. So, um, this project is, um, really has like five phases. The first is research. We've identified over 25 economic development plans in, uh, over the country. And then we are conducting survey, um, we're conducting focus group, our circles with our business organizations and group of people. And we are also conducting interviews that is one-on-one, that is, uh, these three outreach are happening currently. And then we also have this strategy during sessions that we'll be conducting during May. Um, so, um, the outreach is really, we're trying to do a focused outreach where we're trying to reach out to, um, business owners and sorry, business owners or people who want to open a business in the Johnson County who are from the underestimate community. And we are also trying to reach out to support institutions who, who can, um, lend support and like financial assistance to small businesses in the county. So we're trying to get the final document out by June or July this year. And, um, the next steps is really to, uh, continue collaborations. And so This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 9 I'm here today to really ask for people to reach out to us. We're really trying to reach out to everybody over the county, the business owners and support institutions, but we're missing, of course. So please reach out to us if you want to be involved in like, uh, one-on-one interviews or strategic doing sessions and in focus groups, or if you just wanna stay anonymous, uh, and take the survey that we have and, um, or just share an, anonymous story, then you go to the website that you can see on this screen, or just to scan the QR code for the survey, or you can, um, reach out to the email address and the cell phone number that you can see on this screen. Thank you so much. Teague: Thank you. Teague: Welcome. Petersen: Hello. It is Noah again, and for transcript only use the name that I provide on for transcript, which is Noah. So that's what should be on the transcripts and that's not what it currently is. So Kellie fix that. Um, so last meeting that you had the appeals for the, um, at the end of the meeting. So the very, the last meeting, so that the woman who said she do English is her third language came here, and [mumbled] the City forced her to remove her stuff, but in the presentation, Stan, I honestly don't remember if it was Stan or Steve, whoever I forgot and whoever it was, he in that presentation, he admitted to y'all that it was clear that she had removed all the stuff, in this presentation. And maybe this is just me misinterpreting. why, like what turned it, but like once, like she got back the second and third time and mentioned that, yeah, this is all cleared out then y'all said, okay. And, and then to your credit, you did like not go with what the City was going to do. Why my, my issue is with what the City staff, just purposely, just admitted the fact that it was all like, she hadn't removed it all. And that's really sad that happened is we, that is the City forced loss of biodiversity to just have. Now, now there's nothing there. And you saw that, that there was a bunch of beautiful plants growing there that contributed to the biodiversity. Lots of stuff was edible and, and, and good to look at. It wasn't even that, like, that was just, and then now it's just all gone because the City just didn't, didn't really explain stuff to it, didn't work with her. I mean, obviously like she came here, there was lots of like stuff going on in that situation and this City did not help. Um, yeah. What else to talk about. Yeah, that's all. Teague: Thank you. Would anyone else like to address a topic that is not on our formal agenda? If you're online, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you and inside -- you can speak and then, uh, sign after. O'Hara: Okay. Sounds good. Um, just like before I start, like trigger warning for like anything, if anyone needs to leave. Um, but I'm just reiterating what I spoke This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 10 about on January 18th at the town hall meeting, um, just about how, like my sexual assault kit has not come back, and when I contacted the police, it, or it's only, almost been six months. Um, it was in October and, um, they said it would take up to six weeks and I haven't heard anything back. And then when I was like in the hospital, they like the, uh, sexual assault workers were telling me that they gave me, um, two pieces of papers to track my kit, because they said that most times it won't come back or you'll never find out the results. And I just think that's unacceptable. Um, and then I went in today to like, discu--, like, see if I could figure anything else out. And they basically like, oh, sorry, like our systems are down, our detective's on a phone call. Like, can you report a problem again? Like um, report it again? And I've already explained it over three times to them. And I know on, um, February 15th, we discussed like the mobile health crisis. And a lot of you discuss about how like, mental health is super important, so that coincides with it. Um, just like having to reiterate a story that's like very hard is like damaging for sure. Um, so I don't know, just like being on a college campus, I just like, the system that they're doing, or I don't know what is happening. It's just like, it's not fulfilling. I'm not getting like closure. Like my parents aren't getting closure. Like I'm sure other people are not getting closures. Um, so just like, I don't know, like, it's almost been six months. I just like, don't really know what to do anymore. Um, so I just wanted to bring it up again for you guys. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address a topic not on the formal agenda? Seeing no one. We're gonna move on to item number -- Harmsen: There's one more, Mr. Mayor. Teague: Oh, I'm sorry. Harmsen: Were you getting up to speak? Public: Oh, no. Sorry. Harmsen: My bad. I apologize for interrupting. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 11 10. $8,900,000 General Obligation Bonds 1. Public Hearing Teague: So moving on to item number 10....That's the newbie. No, moving on to item number 10. This is $8,900,000 general obligation bonds, resolution instituting proceedings to take additionally, additional action for the insuance of not to exceed $8,900,000 general obligation bonds of the City of Iowa City, state of Iowa. This is a, I'm gonna open up the public hearing and we're gonna start with the staff comments. Um, actually, um, I think you're probably gonna couple of, uh, cover a couple of items, so welcome. Davies: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm Nicole Davies, the Finance Director, uh, like the Mayor just stated I will actually be covering items 10 through 13 with this brief presentation. Um, we're gonna be talking about our GO bond issue tonight, which is, um, what we use to partially fund our Capital Improvement Plan. So first, just to give you kind of a brief timeline on how this works, we set the public hearing on March 1st. We're now holding the three public hearings for the bond issues along with the pre -levy authorization resolution, um, which is item number 13. On April 12th. We'll have a call with our rating agency to get a rating for the bond issue. Um, on April 19th, we'll be back with another resolution to direct the advertisement for the sale. Um, May 3rd we'll receive those, bid opening, and open those bids, and then we'll be back on May 17th for another resolution to authorize the issuance of the actual bonds. And then June 1st, um, will be the close of those. So just to go over the projects that are in the Capital Improvement Plan that these 2022 bonds will be funding, as you can see, by far the largest portion of this is for the Rochester Avenue reconstruction, and then also the Fairchild reconstruction. Then we've got a couple of the parks, the Chadek Green and Court Hill, um, playgrounds and shelters, and then some improvements here to the Senior Center, uh, a roof replacement at City Hall, upgrading some of the, our BAS controls and then some for, uh, fixing a slab in the fire station. Um, again, the, the cost for these bonds are included in the 2022 amended budget and the five-year Capital Improvement Program, um, and the, these are already incorporated into our current and future tax levy projections. And all of this will be sold in a competitive bidding process. Um, and then two, it's actually 10 through 13, not 10 through 14. So that's a typo on the last slide. And then any questions that you guys have. Teague: Don't hear any. Thank you. All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please step forward and to the podium, if you're online, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you. Welcome. Please state your name and city. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 12 Petersen: Hello, uh, Noah, Iowa City. Um, I'm not against this. I just think you should do a bunch more and invest in public housing. So like you actually like help solve the housing crisis instead of these like affordable housing, whatever that means, that doesn't like actually solve the root problem, which is the lack of like actual affordable public housing, like have public housing. And then, and you could have, the City could be, set prices or the hard, like better yet, not like even have prices or have extremely, extremely low prices that are like actually affordable for the working class and the poor. And so you help solve the, um, houses problem. You actually help solve the, uh, I'm sorry. I can't remember what is that number was for the, um, vouchers. Uh, wow. My brain is not working. I can't think of it. The last meeting for the, when you extended, why can't, you all know that, the federal housing, I can't think of the term right now, but yes, that like [mumbled] houses, that was a wait list, like to solve that problem, which like, if you had bonds of like significant amounts and then invested that in public housing, um, that would go a long ways to solving the housing crisis in this city. That's all. Thanks. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? If you're online, please raise your hand. Seeing no one I'm gonna close the close the public hearing. Could I get a motion to approve please? 2. Consider a Resolution Thomas: So moved, Thomas. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: Council discussion. Roll call please. [Roll call vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 13 14. FY2022 Budget Amendment Public Hearing 1. Public Hearing Teague: Item number 14 is fiscal year 2022 budget amendment public hearing. Fm gonna, uh, this is a resolution amending the current budget for fiscal year ending June 2022. I'm going to open up the public hearing and we're going to start with comments from staff and they're going to cover items 14 through 16, and I'm gonna welcome our Deputy City Manager. Jones: Thank you. Uh, Mayor, City Council, uh, good evening. Uh, we'll um, be covering um, items 14 through 16, uh, with a, um, summary of the, uh, FY2023 budget, um, but before I get to that, I will, uh, briefly, uh, talk about, uh, the, um, budget amendment for 2022. This would be the second, uh, budget amendment this fiscal year. Uh, the process ran congruent, congruently with the, uh, 2023, uh, budget process. The amendment includes a Capital Improvement Project, uh, budget adjustments to align the five year, uh, Capital Improvement Plan, uh, also, uh, includes, um, the, um, American Rescue Plan Act revenues and expenditures, and, um, other small, uh, amendment items. Uh, the overall, um, impact of the, um, fund balance is a decrease of, uh, $14.8 million. This is covered through the access of fund balances and bonds, and it's also important to note that it will not affect property taxes or, uh, tax levies. So, uh, next, um, so we're, we're gonna kind of go over what we've been done, uh, done up to this point. Uh, how do we get here? Um, um, obviously it's, uh, you are pretty well familiar with, uh, the process that has gone into this, but, uh, for our audience it's, it's, it's kind of good to know that, uh, this is a cultimation of, of strategic plan, uh, the, the various city master plans, the community in, uh, input and feedback, a number of 101 meetings and of of course, uh, the public meetings that we've had so far. So we started off in September '21, uh, with a, a Council workshop on priorities, uh, followed up with another public meeting, um, on the, uh, operating budget review, uh, January 8th. Uh, we also had a Capital Improvement Plan review, uh, with operating budget review, uh, on January 12th, uh, February 1, uh, I was setting, uh, the hearing for our max, uh, maximum property levy tax. Um, and that was followed up, uh, by February 15th with the public hearing on the, uh, max levy, uh, then, um, March, uh, 1st setting the public hearing., and, um, we're working up to now where we, uh, are going to be talking about the, uh, budget adoption and all this, so that we can get it for certification to, uh, the County Auditor by, uh, March 31st. So, uh, some of the, um, we would call stress factors on our budget. I think we're all pretty well familiar with these. Um, um, obviously the, um, commercial backfill, uh, being phased out by the, um, uh, uh, state legislature had, uh, has a, a big ongoing effect on our budget, um, that coupled with, uh, uh, multiresidential taxabil-, uh, taxability, uh, dropping, um, and also the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 14 residential rollback dropping, um, also combine that with, uh, our, our, uh, property back, uh, values starting to plateau and, and then just, uh, we're still dealing with impacts from the pandemic and, um, just the ongoing volatility of, uh, inflation and project costs going up. Um, but that hasn't stopped us from continuing to, um, invest in some key strategic initiatives, and that's also going to be highlighted in, uh, this, this coming budget. Uh, we're still able to honor a commitment to put a million dollars in General Fund for contributions toward affordable housing efforts. Um, also allocated, uh, $613,000 to, uh, support, uh, community nonprofit agencies. We've, uh, we're also able to make modest investments and, um, personnel, uh, investments needed to, uh, maintain key service levels, um, aggressively, uh, fund, uh, climate act, uh, climate action and adaption, uh, adopt, adaption efforts, um, and, uh, invest in a major road improvement projects. Continue, uh, continues to implementation of the, uh, bike and, and park and natural area plan, master plans, um, and, and continue to prepare for our future, uh, facility, uh, needs. So some of our, uh, high points, um, to the budget, uh, again, we, we, we have continued to, uh, reduce our tax levy rate, um, uh, although this is starting to, to plateau, uh, we still we're able to, um, uh, make some, uh, ground on, on reducing those rates. Uh, I guess the good news is we we've made strong investments in our, our reserves, and that has actually helped us lessen some of the blow to some of the statewide reforms, um, that has had a disportinate, disproportionate, uh, stress on, on, um, our budget and in a other communities that have been growing. Um, when we look at our fees, uh, we don't have any, uh, new fees with, um, transit, water, sewer, storm water. Uh, however, we, we have had, uh, increase in our, our parking fees, uh, excuse me, not, not our parking fees, but at our refuse fees, um, that, uh, will allow us to make key investment in, in, in those services. And I think our, our last slide is just the illustration showing, um, our, our, uh, ground that we've made in reducing our property tax. Uh, as you can see from 2000, uh, uh, fiscal year 12, uh, 2012, uh, till, um, fiscal year, 2023, we've made quite a bit of ground. Um, as you also can see in this illustration that it is starting to, um, be a little bit more challenging to continue to make those type of drops that we're starting to, to plateau out there, uh, kind of indicating, um, uh, that we're probably reaching the point where it's going to be harder to, to keep on making those type of, uh, uh, reductions. Uh, I think that's all I have. Uh, is there any questions? Weiner: I, I have one quick question, which is have, have you all started to look at, and I understand it's, it's not gonna take effect immediately, but the, the potential effects of, of a flat tax going into effect, uh, for the state and, and over the next few years, really lowering state revenues. Jones: Well, I, I know we've been keeping that on our radar. Uh, haven't had any real major, uh, discussions until actually, you know, those kind of things take This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 15 place, but we're kind of keeping abreast of those type of, uh, talks in the legislature. Fruin: If, if I could just add to that real quick, we, we don't get income tax, but the reality is as the state revenues decrease, they could find themselves in a situation where they need to replace that lost revenue and history tells us they frequently will look to local governments, potentially to do that, whether that's cutting, uh, or diverting funds that were previously coming to us and, and absorbing those. So, you know, you're seeing that with the backfill, uh, there's a new backfill bill that's been introduced, uh, for commercial properties, that, that seems like it's, it's got a good probability of passing. Uh, we've seen it in, you know, previous contributions to the 411 pension system that the state used to make that they don't, uh, which increases ours. So while the flat tax may seem like an independent decision, I can tell you cities are, are fairly nervous about long term implications for that reason. Weiner: Thanks. Teague: Any other questions? Thank you. Jones: Thank you. Teague: Anyone from the public, like to address this topic? If so, please step to the podium. If you're online, please raise your hand. Welcome state your name and city, please. Petersen: Hello. Well, Noah. Um, and so like, you were just mentioning how the City might be having problems because of what the state level's doing for funding. And then, and then in that same presentation saying, it's a good thing that how much money the valuations for the, for the tax levy, for property tax levy, which is gonna have a, which that for Iowa City, it has a disproportionate, like benefit for the wealthy, the people who own property, which it's half of the city doesn't own property is, are renters like the poor and the working class. So, I mean, that only really benefits the not -poor working class, the upper class, and the people who have more money who like can actually have the, I have no way of, I, I, they can, I'm currently I'd be able to rent out, rent out stuff, but like, if I want to try to get a loan, if I wanted to buy a house or buy anything, there's no way I could do that because they don't do that for working class people. Like, I, that's just not how it works, but I'm somehow, somehow could be paying hundreds and a hundred dollars. I would be paying that for a mortgage, but I have to pay it to landlord and get nothing back. Um, so yeah, so I mean, so like a problem, like a way to fix the problem, if you're gonna have revenue problems in the future This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 16 is to raise the tax rate on property taxes and get more money. But to just cutting, you can't, just the state's gonna be cutting, services and you cannot cutting services while the state's doing it, just going hurt the poor and the working class. And it's going to be and have the systemic racism is going to be affecting the BIPOC community the hardest, that's what's going to happen if the City does nothing to address that. And it doesn't really seem to be, be doing that, cause it's praising the taxes going down for the wealthy folks while there's a housing crisis. There's, there's a real disconnect there. Like you, you you'll talk about wanting to have this stuff, but you actually have to have the actions to do that. That's why people like me, the act, the leftists in the City. We don't like the City because y'all talk a good game, but the actions, no, doesn't happen. There's no public housing. You increase the police budget. You have cops that go chase people after for having an open container that doesn't hurt anybody. But yet we can't, it's just, it doesn't make any sense to me. And I don't think it makes sense to y'all, but you just, I don't know why you won't just stop, stop playing this stupid conservative game and actually like do progress. That's all. Thanks. Teague: Thank you. Would anyone else like to address this topic? If online, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, I'm gonna close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve please? 2. Consider a Resolution Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Alter: Second, Alter. Teague: Council discussion. Roll call please. [Roll call vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 17 15. FY2023 Budget Public Hearing 1. Public Hearing Teague: Item 15 is fiscal year 2023 budget public hearing. This is a resolution adopting the annual budget for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2023. I'm gonna open the public hearing, and this, um, presentation and has already been given. Um, anyone from the public like to address this topic, please state your name and city. Welcome. Petersen: Hello, my name is Noah. Uh, repeat what I just said, uh, and just gonna be more direct, uh, defund ICPD defund ICPD defund ICPD. ICPD can chase after people with open containers and have six to five squad cars pull up on a car to pull over because they're tired verse -- this is an incident I'm talking about, where I witnessed four or five cop cars because someone's tire went flat, so they got surrounded by cops and I was filming it. And that's all, that's one of the times I got threatened at arrest for filming. I've, I've talked about this like months, a few months ago, but like for four or five cop cars for a flat tire, I don't think that that department needs $16 million to keep the public safe from people with flat tires. You don't need the paramilitary force to deal with people with flat tires around out people. When, when you had someone here, come here, talk to you today about when like actual harm happens to people six months later and nothing. And they're forced to relive, revocalize their, like, just have like their trauma and just, they get no justice, but we do get cops that gas us and laughing about and saying, let 'em eat gas and chasing after people with some alcohol, like there's makes no sense to give them more money. Like, yeah. So [mumbled] say defund ICPD And that's a, that's a reform. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else? Uh, welcome Taylor online. I think you're -- Kohn: Hi, hi -- Can you hear me? Teague: Yes. Welcome. Kohn: Hi. Um, I'm not gonna say much. Um, I want to, um, echo that, um, you should defund ICPD um, and also Jesus Christ. I hope you listen to the people who show up and talk to you and are vulnerable in front of you and share, um, things that have happened to them. And, um, I want you to think about how many people have been through the same things and have the same, um, experiences and view, but either can't come here because it's inaccessible or simply don't have the ability to, to get up in front of you and share something like that. Um, and, uh, I just, I, I, I also, I just wanna say one more time. I wanna echo what Noah said, um, defund ICPD. Um, and I wanna particularly This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 18 highlight, um, as an abuse survivor myself, that they do not help survivors. Um, and, uh, in fact, the times that they do are more of an exception than a rule, um, so I, I just, I just, I wanna say for myself, um, they do not prevent violence. My, um, dog agrees [dog barking and child shouting in background] please defund ICPD. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one I`m gonna close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to con, uh, to approve please? 2. Consider a Resolution Alter: So moved, Alter. Thomas: Second, Thomas Teague: Council discussion. Roll call please. [Roll call vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 19 17. Enforcement of Bike Lane Parking Violations Teague: Item number 17 is enforcement of bike lane parking violations, ordinance amending Title 9, entitled "Motor Vehicles and Traffic" Chapter 4, entitled "Parking Regulations" Section 1 entitled "Parking prohibit, Prohibited in Specific Places" to prohibit parking in bike lanes; Chapter 9, entitled "Towing and Impoundment Procedures" Section 2, entitled "Towing and Impoundment of Certain Illegally Parked Vehicles" to allow towing of vehicles parked in bike lanes; and Chapter 3, entitled "Rules of the Road" Section 11, entitled "Prohibited Acts and Conditions" to delete the reference to parking and bike lanes. This is second consideration and staff has requested expedited action. Weiner: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for passage at two council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally passed be suspended, that that the second consideration and vote be waived and that the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time. Thomas: Second, Thomas. Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Thomas. Anyone from the public, like to address this topic, and please state your name and city. Welcome. Petersen: Hello. Noah, again, I'm just kinda like, what I said last time about how the City should look at how it's affecting people, the poor working class once again, which is what this, the, the tickets are only ever going to really impact the poor and the working class is their, the wealthy, they get the $15 ticket like that does not matter to them. They get that's nothing to the poor and working class that actually like matters to us because like that's when we like get negative bank, bank accounts, like to have negative amounts in their bank account, it's kind of hard to pay a $15 ticket, or then when they add up and then they take your car for used to have $15 from tickets, which could be, which could even just be three tickets if it's a long enough, because they do like $20 after a month or whatever, if you don't pay it. So if they each can't pay it in a month, so it could be three tickets and you have your car gone. And then, then the City gives it to a company who charges people, hundreds and hundred, it extorts people out of hundreds, hundred dollars to get their own car back. And then if they can't pay, 'em that hundred, this hundreds of dollars of fees, they will steal your car. They will sell it. And you, then it's no longer your car. So the City is stealing people, allowing the theft of people's cars. And it should not allow that, like, you should not be contracting with people who are going to just steal people's cars. That's not okay to take someone's car, just sell it without their consent, just because the company This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 20 wants to make their profit. If this was a progressive city, it would not allow, the [mumbled] working class to have their car stolen by private companies. And then the City can't just wash its hands of like, when that happened to me, they just tried to wash their hands and say, well, it's not our, it's not, not our, not our problem. Not our fault. Not, not, not in our hand anymore. Can't do anything though. Obviously like right then they couldn't do [mumbled] about it, but this, they can do something about that. It can not allow people to have their cars taken from this, by the City, the City orders, the cars to be taken. And then it just gets sold with without their consent. And that hurts the poor and working class who are disproportionately the BIPOC community. So once again, this city is being racist. So yeah, just think about like, is it really, how is this equitable. just when it only affects the poor and working class, because that's what take, like these tickets they, not, that doesn't matter to a wealthy person. It's, it's ridiculous to try to say it does if you, if you, if you're thinking that besides like just facially ridiculous. Thank you. Teague: Anyone else like to address this topic, Seeing no one, Council discussion Weiner: Just wanted to make clear that this, what we're voting on now is to make sure that people who are biking have a clear path and aren't blocked by cars who that, that aren't supposed to be there. So, um, it's aimed at, at improving bicycle traffic in the city. Teague: And safety. Alter: Particularly downtown, where it's already very crowded. And I like that here's also a note that there will be a great deal of signage posted in addition to what's already there about where there is and isn't parking allowed. Teague: Roll call please. [Roll call.] Motion passes 7-0. Could I get a motion to pass and adopt? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Thomas: [simultaneously] So moved, Thomas. Teague: Move by Weiner, seconded by Thomas. Roll call, please. [Roll call.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 21 18. Meeting Protocols Teague: Item number 18 is moot-, meeting protocols, resolution repealing resolutions 83-223, 99-385, 00-117, 06-54, 10-47, 15-300, and 18-143, and approving City Council procedural rules for the City of Iowa City. Can I get a motion to approve please? Taylor: So moved. Bergus: Second. Weiner: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Bergus. And we're gonna start with comments from our City Attorney, Eric Goers. Goers: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, here's the long-awaited resolution to approve the rules that the Council has been discussing for, uh, some period of time, um, starting with all the, uh, repeals, uh, obviously that probably caught your attention. As I mentioned early in this process, um, there were any number of resolutions, as you can see some very long standing, uh, that had been located in disparate locations within the Clerk's office, um, and would address kind of a, a single slice of the governance of your meetings. Uh, again, the whole point of this process is to, uh, you know, put those all in a single place for both, uh, the public to be able to see and you to be able to see, um, so you have a single place to view all the rules. Um, and, and so these are the ones that are going to be replaced by, um, uh, the meeting resolution, or the rules that you folks will be approving pursuant to the rules, uh, before you today. Um, the differences in this latest version of the rules from the last version are twofold. One, uh, we've removed the municipal infraction for violating Council rules, that was pursuant to, uh, discussion at our last meeting. And, and the other is a clarification as to questioning or, or I should say, answering questions from the public. Uh, there has been language inserted that says once the commenter has left a podium, so it's clear that the intent is not to have an argument back and forth with members of the public, but instead if Council directs staff to answer questions that we do, so, uh, after the fact, after the commenter has left the podium, otherwise all the rules that you see before you, or have been, uh, the same set of rules that you've, uh, seen and considered previously. Be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. Taylor: I just have a quick question, Eric, and I apologize if I missed it, but I was looking through it a couple times and I thought in the original one, we had an item in there about the need for translator. And that, that could add like a three minutes for the speaker, three minutes for the translator. Did I miss that in this revision? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 22 Goers: My memory is that the presiding officer has the ability to offer additional time, um, if, if it's needed and that would include the possibility of, uh, a need for translation. Taylor: Okay. So you don't feel we would need to have that specified in there then? Goers: Uh, I don't believe so, frankly, I'd have to review it to see if it is explicitly listed. If you have reviewed it and have not found it, then I'm sure that it you're correct, that, that it's not, but I think that there's generalized language that allows for, um, for the presiding officer to offer additional time if it's needed for a reason like that. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Goers: Sure. Alter: In, um, rule 20, it doesn't explicitly call it out, but it does say, um, that the presiding, additional or last time is determined by the presiding officer based on the number of persons wishing to speak and, or the length of, da da da, total public input, uh, can be fit, limited, uh, sorry. I'm processing out loud at the moment, but yeah, I think that's the, the portion that you were kind of looking at. Teague: And then I just wanted to make sure, um, that we had discussions about, um, ways that the presiding officer, um, can kind of guide the conversation when someone is at the podium and they have a question, um, how this Council can address it. Um, I, I think there's, uh, several ways that the Council can address it. And that would be, certainly when we do our deliberations as Council. Um, we hear things all the time, um, that we can certainly address during the only time we can address something, as during a public comment where it is not an agenda item. Um, but I think it's very important for this Council to, um, really consider the ways that we can still, um, answer, um, the public, but being at the podium during the time having exchanges, um, I don't think is the right appropriate space in, in our, um, business meetings. The other thing that I would, um, suggest that we consider is when someone is here, um, a public person is there. We could potentially have, um, either on the current cards when they sign in, if they mark, you know, follow up, please follow up with me. Um, they can list their email address and their phone number. And then, um, that'd be something that we routinely, um, collect, our City Clerk collect that, and then we can follow up with people, um, and have a, um, really a more engaged op-, uh, opportunity to have a discussion with the individual. So I wanted you all to consider, um, definitely us having, we can do it with the current, um, and certainly I, you know, the presiding officer This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 23 could say, if you haven't done already, please, um, if you would like us to get in touch with you, list some contact information for us. Alter: I like that. Yeah. Um, I mean this way, then it's, it's an invitation to continue a conversation or to be able to respond in a way that can allow both, uh, individual attention. And then also allow us to get through our agenda in the, in the moment. So I think that's a, Bergus: Yeah, I agree. That's a good idea. Teague: Okay. Weiner: And I think that your, that your first comment was addressed by the language that, that, uh, City Attorney added. Teague: Yeah. And I just wanted to at least, uh, expound upon that just a little bit. All right. Anyone from the public, like to address this topic? If so, please raise your hand if online, if present, please come to the podium. Welcome. Petersen: Hello, Noah. Um, yeah. Uh, So I guess, so what, what happens when I'm directed to leave the council meeting and I don't, or I'm suspended for a council meeting and I attend it, or is this gonna be something you'll ask and answer and, after I speak. Teague: We can certainly follow up with you on that. Petersen: See, this is why, like you, like, you could like respond, though, like, that'd be so much easier instead of just like having talk to talk to talk to when you could just like, have very quick exchange, like of information instead, like just having like, guess that's like how comp-, like my understanding, I don't understand conversations anyways, but like, there's like back and forth and like, so you have a question and you have another one, and then if it's on the public agenda item and like, then, so you usually like, are making the decisions on that. So then following up afterwards, doesn't, it's like after the fact to when, so you, instead of doing like, before it actually happens, cause most agenda items are one and done. Like they don't, it's not like it's gonna come back again necessarily. Obviously there's variance in that, but that doesn't, if you're not letting not, when you legally can, have that back and forth, which is what you should be having to have like responsive, and responding to the public and people have questions and actually like, let those questions be answered out in the public instead of on private one on one situation. Like doesn't, that's not allowing transparency. That's like responding to people's questions, increases transparency, and makes it more democratic instead of having, I'm, I'm not, I'm not against follow up. I'm just This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 24 saying that, that it should, it shouldn't be an either or it should be a both, especially when like you legally are able to have to respond, when people ask questions in this time, you can legally answer my questions. It's just, it is a choice and you should be doing as much as possible to be engaging with the public. And that would show good faith and showing you want to engage public [mumbled] as much as possible. And so, like not, we don't come here, ask questions just to argue, but have genuine questions that we want answered in clarity on. And it's in the public's interest that have clarity on that. And when you have, have the, the before, and then not in that questions asked after the speaker's already gone. And then like, if I have another question, like I that's, how's how my brain works. I could have another question I's after my questions answered and I'm, I'm sure I'm not alone in that. And that wouldn't, if that, if you do it the other way, then other in it's just allows more engagement and it's allowed in its good governance in my opinion. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? If online, please raise your hand. Seeing no one, Council discussion. Roll call, please. [Roll call.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 25 19. Fire Chief Appointment Teague: Item number 19 is fire chief appointment, resolution approving the appointment of Scott Lyon as Fire Chief in Iowa City. Iowa. Can I get a motion to approve please? Taylor: So moved. Alter: Second, Alter. Teague: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Alter. And then we'll welcome our City Manager, Geoff Fruin. Fruin: Yeah. Thank you, Mayor and Council, uh, excited to have this item before you tonight. So as you know, we've been, uh, recruiting, uh, for a new fire chief dating back to September of, of last year. Uh, previous Chief Greer retired in February and, uh, uh, unlike most department heads, which I have sole authority to, to hire over, the, both the fire chief and the police chief require, uh, your vote as well. Uh, and that's what we're here, uh, tonight. So, um, there's a memo in both your, uh, information packet on March 10th and as well in your meeting packet for, for this meeting, uh, that starts on 263, um, that outlines the recruitment process that, uh, we undertook for, um, uh, for the fire chief position. I'm, uh, happy to report that the Civil Service Commission last week, uh, certified Scott Lyon, um, for the fire chief position. So this is the final step in the process. I'm not gonna go through everything on the recruitment process, you can see that in the memo, but I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. Like to just tell you a little bit about, um, uh, Chief Lyon. Uh, he would be coming to us from, uh, Urbandale, Iowa, where he has been the assistant chief since 2014. He currently serves as their accreditation manager in addition to overseeing multiple facets of their departmental operations. Uh, prior to that, uh, he served the City of, uh, um, Clive, um, from 1998 to 2014. Um, most recently there as the deputy fire chief and training officer, uh, he has bachelor's and master's degree from Waldorf College. Uh, the masters is in, um, organizational, uh, leadership while the bachelor's degree is in fire services administration. Um, a couple of things that really stood out, uh, for, for, um, for me, as I got to know Scott through this process, one, he was, he was very clear, um, that, uh, he believes that the Fire Department is an extension of the community. He has a very external facing mindset. Um, he is a relationship, um, he prioritizes those community relationships, not only because it's a, it's a public service position, um, but also because he truly believes that it's those relationships that can have a profound impact on the success of the Fire Department, particularly when it comes to, uh, reducing, uh, community risk, uh, which is, uh, certainly, uh, a major focus of, of the Department. Uh, he is definitely, uh, someone, uh, that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 26 has great experience in regional settings, and uh, has demonstrated that he can effectively collaborate with other agencies. Uh, we know that that's critical here in Johnson County, we rely on our neighbors, uh, just as much as they rely on us when it comes to, uh, responding to, to critical incidents, he's shown that he can forge those, uh, relationships with neighboring organizations. And again, I think that's essential as we, uh, uh, look at the future of the, of the Iowa City Fire Department. Lastly, uh, it was very clear that, uh, um, he cares, uh, very deeply for his staff. Um, he wants to make sure that they have every opportunity they, they can to advance professionally, uh, to, to be lifelong learners in their position, but also wants to make sure that they, um, are, are cared for as people and that the they and their families are cared for, cares about, um, their physical and their mental health, uh, and wants to make sure that they're in the best position possible to, to serve this community. I think he's gonna be a fantastic addition to our team. Fm excited for him to, uh, move to Iowa City and, uh, get to know our staff and get to know you all and the community. And I'd ask for your approval tonight, uh, for, uh, Scott and, uh, uh, if, uh, if, uh, you are willing to do that, he will be here on April 4th as day number 1. Teague: Thank you. Anyone from the public like to dis, discuss this item...Welcome. Petersen: Hello. My name is Germane. I'm making a germane comment about being germane, and this is very much so a germane comment, and it's a petty germane comment, but is indeed a comment and it is germane and the germaneness of this is germane. This is germane, uh, germane, mane, I, I'm sorry. germane germane, uh, germane, germane, uh, germane, germane. [Clicking noise] Germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane germane. It's because you have the stupid thing and the rules about having germane comment. Um, germane this is just the petty protest, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane. Am I gonna get suspended for a meeting for [mumbled] my non -germane comment, Bruce. Oh, yes. I'll forgot. I'm supposed to direct you, to speak to you individually. Not supposed to, but I'm gonna do it. Germane Bruce germane, germane, germane, germane, germane germane, germane, germane, germane, Non germane. Nope. Nope. Not sorry. I apologize for non germane comment. I'm meant to say germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane. What, what time is it? It's germane time. [laughing] God, I'm sorry. I didn't need to do that. Germane germane germane got minute left of germaneness up here. I'm I'm sorry for stopping the orderly flow of this meeting with my non germane germane comment, germane germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane. You [mumbled] only exist because you had that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 27 stupid rule, just to make that clear. Germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane, germane. Germane, Geoff. Germane. Gerrrrrrrrrrmane. Teague: Thank you. Would anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one Council discussion. Alter: I just wanna say thanks to Geoff for doing such a thorough and thoughtful job on getting the best candidate. Um, and for really looking, holistically is kind of a favorite word here, but truly looking holistically at the needs of the department and the needs of the community, and, and who's gonna be the best, um, candidate for that. And I just really appreciate that work. Fruin: Thank you, Bergus: Uh, Council Weiner and I had the opportunity to, um, be in on some of the formal interviews of the finalists. And I'm very pleased that, uh, we've extended this offer or Geoff that you've extended the offer to Scott Lyon and that he's accepted. I think, um, he's definitely committed to the job. I think he has a good understanding of what the future of the Department could look like. And you highlighted some of those things in your memo about his community -facing focus, as well as identifying some of the challenges, uh, ahead. So. Very excited about this, Weiner: Agree with, uh, the Council and Bergus. I, I really appreciated in part being able to participate in those interviews and, um, and Scott Lyon's willingness to, it's probably not the right term, but to think outside of the box. To not necessarily, uh, do things in his current department or previous departments simply because they've always been done, but to look for different ways and more effective ways to work both with the City and with the community. Teague: All right. Roll call please. [Roll call.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 28 20. Resolution in Support of Ukraine Teague: Item number 20 is resolution in support of Ukraine, resolution in support of Ukraine, Ukrainian leaders, and people as they defend against Russia's immoral and illegal massive military attack on the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Could I get a motion to approve please? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Harmsen: Second, Harmsen. Teague: All right. And then we're gonna invite Council to maybe make a opening comment on this item. Is there a Councilor prepared to do that? Harmsen: Yes. Uh, absolutely. I think this is, uh, thank you to, uh, fellow members of the Council, uh, Councilor Weiner, uh, Weiner, um, and staff for helping us us put this together, um, uh, idea that we had, we discussed a lot. Um, uh, she and I discussed it, and, and actually, Councilor Weiner, uh, we, she gets a lot of the credit for coming up with a lot of the text of the resolution, uh, credit where credit is due. But I think it's important that we acknowledge, uh, both our places in the international community and also our solidarity with the, uh, the people of Ukraine and their democratically elected, uh, government. I think that's, uh, the intention of this and, uh, to, you know, just put something down set, in this case, symbolism, I think is very important and, and we can symbolically state our, our alignment with, with them and their goals of maintaining their democratically elected government. Teague: Would anyone from the public like to address this topic? Welcome. Petersen: Hello. Um, I'm just gonna preface this with, um, Vladimir Putin is an evil person and is a completely evil, horrible, and moral and devastating invasion and illegal devastation of Ukraine. And it's completely unjustified. Um, but I'm just gonna push back slightly a bit on the language in this resolution is, is Ukraine does have a serious, they're not led by Nazis. That is correct. They do have a serious Nazi problem. They have a serious nationalist problem. They, they, you, there are pro-, problems and that is not justified. I'm not, I'm not justifying an invasion at all. I'm just saying you can it's I don't think it's entirely right to completely just, like not say that there is the problem there when there is like serious problems with, I saw a battalion and others are embedded in the Ukrainian military, which is not, that's not gonna make it a Nazi government. It is, but there's not like just some purely innocent government either, and it should not be invaded. I just wanna make that clear. Um, So yeah. But it, I mean, I don't know if y'all seen this, but, uh, there have been hundreds of videos coming out recently of, in Ukraine of ethnic This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 29 minorities in Ukraine being rounded up and, by Ukrainians, because of the war, he, you know, collapse the society and just of Roma, uh, ethnic Russians being tied to poles, publicly mutilated, beaten, tortured. It's, it's really horrible what's happening there. I think it's warranted 'cause atrocities are not just on one side either, and it's mostly Russian, obviously Russians are committing the most atrocities. They're committing war. They are committing genocide against the people, yes. That it is horrible. And this, I think so I, I, I do support this resolution. Mostly. It just, just that little bit, just the lack of nuance to it is just my only, I guess, gripe. It's not that much of just want to get that out there on the record. And, and, and Zelensky like banning opposition parties and declaring martial law and having that, that's not so great either. That was that's after the war. Like, so that was like a couple days ago, but like that's not a really great response. Should yeah. Thanks. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? If you're online, please raise your hand. Seeing no one Council discussion. Weiner: I just like to add that, um, one of the things that, that I, that I think we all all have to be extremely careful of as we watch this war be prosecuted essentially through social media is, is checking our sources and making sure that, that we, that anything that we're looking at or anything that we're is, is a, is an actual reliable source because that's one of the, that's one of the greatest dangers that has, that has arisen. When you look at the, at how Putin has completely clamped down on, on media, on free media in Russia, making it extremely difficult for, for people for Russians, many of whom probably do not support this war, um, to, to find out what is actually happening. Um, and at the same time being great purveyors of propaganda. So that, um, it's a, it's a, it's a huge challenge to, to try and make sure that what, um, that what we are looking at is actually the truth. And it's sort of a parable for our own world as well. Alter: It's certainly a tool that is being used is weaponized. Currently it is another weapon in this war. Teague: And I want to say thanks to the Councilors that took some considerable, um, thought into creating this. Thank you so much. If nothing else, roll call please. [Roll call vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 30 22. City Council Information Teague: We're at item number 22, which is City Council information. Any updates? Hearing none -- Weiner: Yeah, I don't know it, I don't know if other people had a chance to attend the Night of 1000 dinners, which was done virtually again this year. Um, I think I saw you on it, Councilor. They, um, they have, uh, UNA USA has done a, a terrific job of putting this on for, for a number of years and, and donating the proceeds to really excellent nonprofits in the area. Um, they, they, they always select three. This, I, I'm not gonna remember all of them off the top of my head, but I know that Inside Out was one of them, um, and it's, it's really a, a worthwhile organization, a worthwhile cause. Um, and I also just wanted to let folks know that what we were just in, in DC for a week. Um, and while I was there, I did several meetings for the City, with the offices of our member of Congress and our senators, um, with the help of Rachel Kilburg who put together talking points. And one of the things that I made, that I made sure to tell them was, um, how useful the ARPA funds have been and, and how we as a City are putting them to work. And I say that respectfully, but also mindful that none of our current representatives voted for them. And I thought it was important that they know that, that these funds have, are being put to excellent use. And we just discussed tonight, one of the uses they're likely to be put toward. Teague: Great. All right. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022. Page 31 24. Adjourn Teague: All right. Uh, we're gonna, could I get a motion to adjourn this meeting? We will be going back into work session, but could I get a motion to adjourn item number 24. Alter: So moved. Bergus: Second. Teague: Moved by Alter, seconded by Bergus. [Voice vote.] We are adjourned. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of March 22, 2022.