Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-05 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Staff Present: Fruehling, Fruin, Goers, Havel, Jones, Kilburg, Sitzman, Sovers, Van Dyke Teague: It is now 6:00 PM, and I'm gonna call the meeting to order. Roll call, please. [Roll call.] Well, welcome to everyone that is here, present in the audience, and then to anyone that is online. 2. Proclamations 2.a. Fair Housing Month Teague: We're gonna start with the first agenda item, which is 2a, proc-, 2 is proclamations. And I'm gonna start with the Fair Housing Month, which is 2a. One second here. All right, here we go. (reads proclamation) And to receive this is Human Commissioner Chair, Jason Glass. Glass: On behalf of the Iowa City Human Rights commission, thank you, Mayor Teague and members of the City Council for recognizing our shared values around Fair Housing Month. Uh, working towards fairness and non- discrimination and housing is critical work. And there are many in our community who have dedicated a significant part of their lives to ensuring it. I hope recognizing this month helps to highlight the work that they are doing, and the fact that we have so much more to do. I encourage Iowa City residents to better understand the history of exclusionary housing practices, both across the country and right here. The Iowa City Office of Equity and Human Rights has resources and education on our past failings, the progress we've made and the work yet to accomplish. As a member of the Human Rights Commission, the last couple of years, I've had the privilege of accepting several proclamations on a variety of important topics. Like all the others, this one articulates some important points. Statements are important, uh, but only in so much as they inspire action. Words that are not accompanied by deeds ring hollow. Let us not allow this to happen in this case. Housing like food and clean water is a basic human need. Not much else's possible in a person's life if these needs are not met. A community in which residents are struggling with these basic needs cannot be successful. Let us challenge ourselves to do more to lift up our neighbors. It is right and just that we should recognize this month through a proclamation, but do not allow that to be the end of the effort. Let us also be inspired to put that recognition into action. All of us, individually and together. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 2 2.b. National Community Development Week Teague: Thank you. The next proclamation is 2b, National Community Development Week. (reads proclamation) And to receive this is going to be our Housing and Community Development chair, Matt. Drabek: Uh, thank you to, to Mayor Teague, to the City Council, to all the members of the City staff who, who do so much work to support what we do at the Housing and Community Development Commission. Um, so I just wanted to highlight a couple of things that CDBG HOME money has, has done recently. Mayor, Mayor Teague of course, pointed out that it provides millions of, of, uh, funding for marginalized members of the Iowa City community. And, uh, just in the last year alone, we've sent recommendations to the City Council for, um, funding Shelter House's efforts to end homelessness, to fund, uh, just in the last couple of months, DVIP's efforts to provide housing for domestic violence victims and, uh, Inside Out's re-entry efforts to provide and for people returning to society from, from prison. So not only does this, uh, provide millions to Iowa City, it provides funding in particular for members of the community who are very difficult to reach, uh, with City policy. So I think that's one very nice thing that CDBG HOME does. And, um, thank you again. And hopefully this will provide, um, 47 more years of, of funding for Iowa City. Teague: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 3 3-8. Consent Calendar Teague: We are moving on to our consent agenda, items 3 through 8. Could I get a motion to approve it, please? Taylor: So moved, Taylor. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: All right. And anyone from the public like to discuss any item that is on our consent agenda? If so, please step to the podium. If you are online, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you. Welcome. Petersen: Hello. Uh, my name is John Doe and that is the name that you should be putting in the minutes, 'cause that is the name I'm providing you, and I do not consent to you putting any other name on there. Teague: Anyone else like to address an 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 April 5, 2022. Page 4 9. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) [UNTIL 7 PM] Teague: We're onto item number 8, I'm sorry, 9, which is our community comment. This is an opportunity for members of the community to come and speak about things that are not on our agenda. And if you would like to speak, please come to the podium. Um, there is a sign in sheet on the side we ask that you limit your comments to three minutes, no more than three minutes. Please state your name and where you're from. Welcome. Bird: Thank you. I'm gonna pull my mask down here so you can hear me. Uh, my name's Nancy Bird, I with the Iowa City Downtown District. I'm the Executive Director there. And thank you for taking public comment tonight, Mayor and City Council members. Um, I'm here tonight because I want to, um, call to your attention a letter that we submitted on March 10th, uh, that went to City Council and we're looking for feedback on the letter. Um, several of you asked for ways that you could support, um, downtown businesses during our kind of, I don't wanna call it post-COVID, but the times where we're trying to get back to a normal, um, economic, you know, realm. And so we tried to, um, work with the Board of Directors of the Downtown District and our businesses to come up with two things we thought would be really helpful and we narrowed them down. One is the street and sidewalk cafe fee reductions. We have roughly 40 cafes downtown. They've become really, um, especially in the summer months, clearly, `cause that's when they're out the most. Um, but uh, very important to doing business. And it's an easy way, we think that, um, you know, we submitted a case study last summer to demonstrate what other, um, cities are doing around the country with their cafes and, uh, Iowa City's cafes, the fees for the cafes is actually on the high end. So we thought this would be a really good opportunity without changing regulations or ordinances or anything else to demonstrate some support for these businesses that are quite frankly still impacted. Um, as you might notice, fees, or the hours of operation have changed for restaurants, there's days where people are closed, labor shortages, um, inflation, food costs, all these things are, are challenging. So we thought this would be a really great opportunity for the City to recognize that and help support, um, some of our, um, hospitality industry downtown. The other one is financial support for SSMIDs for independent business assistance programs. And this is really a financial request, um, working in solidarity with the South District SSMID who is not quite formed yet, as you know, um, but this is an opportunity to recognize that these organizations are set up to specifically support clustered businesses in these, in specific areas. And we have very, um, great, you know, just one-on-one, um, opportunities to work with those on the margins, those that are underrepresented and those that need additional assistance that are left out of traditional systems, including lending, including sign-, you know, simple things that it takes more time to really address. So, um, having This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 5 additional capacity in these organizations, um, really with direct financial assistance from the City is a really good nod to demonstrating that, um, the City's here to help support. And we have, I feel like we've got a proven track record and how we can do this. And I know that the South District's gonna do great as well. And our conversation primarily with Angie Jordan is that once we get these things going and we can set kind of a, a tenor for how it could, how, um, these services could lay out, um, we don't, the Downtown District doesn't need to own that anymore and it, they can move on on their own, but it's a good way to move forward in 2023. So thank you for hearing our comments and we look forward to your response. Teague: Thank you. And then welcome. There's no one online. Petersen: Hello, John here. Um, so Fm just gonna read a little bit of this police blotter that y'all should have seen by now. Uh, 3/31 2020, 2022 at 10:23 PM of to public exist and [mumbled] disposition, information, location, Shelter House location address 429 Southgate Avenue details GKSO, JKSO, which I think stands for just, uh, Johnson County Sheriffs Office dropped off a male here earlier Shelter staff now saying that overflow is not a thing and the subject is not permitted to spend a night in the lobby since bed space is taken up, requesting picked up. Now, let me read you Geoff Fruin's words, so from a few months ago that were printed in Little Village. Uh, the City has public facilities such as the Library and recreation centers that often serve as warming locations during operating hours seven days per week and evening hours. We actively partner with Shelter House for overnight accommodations. And again, nobody has been turned away due to lack of capacity. Does the City still stand by that? If the City does still stand by that, like you're just, okay, openly lying, which I, we, we, everyone that like actually works at the houseless community knew that was a lie because like we know the houseless community like, like Shelter House. I don't know why, like you just believe their lies. You called Shelter House. I called her house before this meeting and I was told that I was childish because I keep asking them because I have the audacity to care about the houseless community, 'cause I asked them, so if I need shelter tonight, is there, can I get shelter, said, well, no, you have to be put on the list, which if there was not a capacity problem, there'd be no such thing as a list, but there's clearly capacity problem. And they clearly turn people away because of capacity. I know people who've been forced to live out in parks now because the winter shelter closed about a week or so, well over a week or so ago. And there's been snow on the ground since the winter shelter's closed. And there shouldn't, that should never close because even if we had wonderful summer weather, people still shouldn't be forced to live outside, especially not when we have the poor weather we have continuing today. So I will read my email that I sent to y'all that only two of you responded to thank you, Janice and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 6 Shawn, the rest of y'all, you ignored it, which I was expecting. So here it is, housing crisis. Hello. As y'all aware by now, I'm sure, on March 31st Shelter House called the police on an individual seeking shelter. The reason they were turned away is because lack of capacity, a direct contradiction and irref- , irrefutable proof that the City has been lying for Shelter House and allowing the housing crisis to continually force people to live outdoors while the City does essentially nothing. You don't get to keep washing your hands, the responsibility to protect Iowa City's people, your, your inaction, inaction, and action perpetuates homeless, houselessness while you refusal to have a robust public housing program in the city, which is like the upstream prob, problem that causes houselessness. You refuse to even provide emergency shelter to those currently forced on the streets. Do something about this immediately by opening a at 24-7 -- Teague: Thank you. Petersen: -- no -barrier shelter that's open 365 days a year. Teague: Thank you. We're gonna move on. Petersen: That is immediate, as in a matter of two weeks' action. You also need to have a serious plan -- Teague: Noah. Petersen: -- to provide public housing and actually solve -- Teague: We're done. Petersen: If you had responded to my email, Bruce, I wouldn't be doing this. I'm not taking up most of your time -- Teague: Well, we're done. Petersen: - but I am gonna take up a few seconds. Teague: Yes. Petersen: No, Not, fuck around with your million dollar afford -- Teague: -- please turn off the mic and -- Petersen: -- and actually do something -- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 7 10. Planning & Zoning Matters 10.a. Vacation and Conveyance of Right -of -Way. Ordinance vacating approximately 3,000 square feet of public right-of-way abutting 829 Kirkwood Avenue and authorizing conveyance to Ritu Jain and Bradley J. Pouleson. (VAC21-001) 1. Public Hearing Teague: -- move on to the next item on our agenda. We're on item number 10, which is Planning and Zoning. And, I'm just wondering if the majority of Council is inclined to vote with, um, oh, this one isn't it. So 10a is gonna be vacation and conveyance of right-of-way, ordinance vacating approximately 3000 square feet of public right-of-way abutting 829 Kirkwood Avenue and authorizing conveyance in, to Ritu Jain and Bradley J. Pouleson. And I'm gonna open up the public hearing and welcome. Sitzman: Good evening, Mayor 'n Council, Danielle Sitzman, Neighborhood and Development Services. Um, as you stated, this is a vacation request for property located at approximately, um, along the southern or rear boundary of 829 Kirkwood Avenue. This is a 20 foot wide, 150 foot long, uh, public alley, uh, right-of-way in which a, alley was never constructed, uh, shown here in the dotted outline, uh, overlaid on the aerial image, showing the house, uh, owned by the applicant, uh, just to the north of the vacated area. If granted the vacation would allow for a contiguous lot at, uh, 829 Kirkwood Avenue and the property owner's interested in building a garage behind their home, which is currently not possible due to the, uh, alley bisecting what they own, their ownership is shown in that hashed outline there. As with all vacations, staff does review criteria related to the City's interest on behalf of, uh, owning public, holding land in, in trust of the public, and we review the criteria to make sure that if we were to vacate something, it would not impact negatively the public's interest. So in this case, the right-of-way is not improved, there's no actual alley built there, so it's not currently be, being used by any pedestrians or vehicles, including emergency or utility vehicles. The proposed right-of-way vacation will not impact therefore access by neighboring properties. And actually there is an existing north -south alley, which will remain and continue to be, uh, used, and the right-of-way does not contain any City utilities, and any private utilities that are located there without an easement have been put on notice that they'll need to make accommodation for that if that is the case. As far as the development steps here, this shows the vacation that we're considering today in green, a previous vacation was considered in 2008, but, uh, deferred by the applicant at that time who were different property owners than the owners today. Um, so after the vacation and conveyance is considered by City Council, the only step would re-, uh, building permit review. So based on review, the relevant This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 8 criteria, staff did recommend vacation of the alley right-of-way at their March 2nd, 2022 meeting. Planning and Zoning Commission concurred with staffs recommendation and voted 4-0 to also recommend vacation of the vaca-, uh, the alley. That concludes staff report, I'm happy to answer questions. Teague: Great. Any questions? Thank you. And then anyone from the public like to address this topic, please come forth to the podium. You can sign in if you would like to address, uh, Council. Welcome. Petersen: Hello, my name is John and I do not want to be at this meeting. I fully planned on not being at this meeting today. And then I was checking the police blotter, and I saw that this house, that people are being forced to live on. And I know people being forced to live on the streets. Teague: Once again, this is item number -- Petersen: I don't give a fucking damn -- Teague: -- 10a., conveyance -- Petersen: Fuck your rules. Teague: -- of right-of-ways. Petersen: Fuck your rules. I don't care. [crosstalk] right-of-way is people need housing. I'm tired of having you forcing your stupid civility to listen to -- Teague: You know what -- Petersen: You're not gonna listen to me no matter what -- Teague: You're, you're done. Please cut the mic. Petersen: I'm not done. Teague: Would anyone else like to address this topic? Would anyone else like to address this topic? Teague: If not, I'm gonna close the public hearing. 2. Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration) Teague: Could I get a motion to give consideration, please. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 9 Taylor: So moved, Taylor. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Weiner. Teague: And Council discussion. Alter: This house has actually been something that I've seen change hands a number of times over the, probably the past decade. And so I think that this is a great step that the new owners want to actually create -- Alter: -- um, a livable way for them to access their home. And it also potentially if ever turns over in the market, it's another great selling point. So I'm completely in favor of this. It's a lovely addition. Taylor: I agree. It's, it's a, it's a lovely property. I drive by there quite a lot. And, and the current owner has done a lot to refurbish it and it, it looks really nice. And I think if this will help, uh, the livability of their home to have a garage, I'm totally in favor of it. Alter: Yes. Weiner: Other, other houses in that, along Kirkwood there have, have been able to build garages. It make sense that, that we grant this. Teague: Okay. Any other comments by Council? Are we ready? Yep. Motion, um, can I get 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 April 5, 2022. Page 10 11. Asphalt Resurfacing 2022 Teague: We are onto item number 11, which is, which is asphalt resurfacing 2022. This is a resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the asphalt resurfacing 2022 project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders and fixing time and place for, for receipts of bids. Fm gonna open the public hearing and welcome. 1. Public Hearing VanDyke: I'm Marri VanDyke, I'm with the Engineering Division. Uh, so this is an annual maintenance project. Uh, it focuses on pavement milling and asphalt overlay. So basically, uh, with an overlay, we remove the surface of the pavement and then, uh, replace it with new asphalt. Uh, so with this project, we'll also complete curb and gutter repairs, storm sewer intake repairs, and curb ramp replacements. So here is a map of the streets we'll be working on this year. Uh, for overlay, we will be doing Taylor Drive from Highway 6 to south of Tracy Lane, Bancroft Drive from Tracy Lane to south of Crosby Lane, Crosby Lane from Bancroft Drive to Sycamore Street, Rundell Street from Sheridan Avenue to Jackson Avenue, Lower Muscatine Road from Fairmeadows Boulevard to the fire station, Bloomington Street from Dodge Street to Governor Street, and Maier Avenue from Rohret Road to north of Kessler Road. And then we also chip -seal certain streets. Uh, so this year, those roads will be Slothower Road, Taft Speedway, North Dubuque Road, Taft Avenue, uh, a section of Sycamore Street that's east of Gilbert, and then Soccer Park Road. So the estimated construction cost is $1,470,000. And for schedule, we are planning on opening bids April 27th, awarding the contract May 3rd, and then construction would be from this May to this November. So that's kind of a summary of the project and I'm happy to answer any questions. Teague: Great. Any questions? Thank you. All right. Would anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please step to the podium. Seeing no one, I'm gonna close the public hearing. Can 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 April 5, 2022. Page 11 12. Convey - 702 Park Road -- Resolution authorizing conveyance of Auditor's Parcel 2022005 to Charles C. Wunder and Marcia L. Wunder Teague: Item number 12 is convey 702 Park Road. This is a resolution authorizing conveyance of Auditor's Parcel 2022005 to Charles C. Wunder and Marcia L. Wunder, and I'm gonna open up the public hearing. And any staff comments on this? 1. Public Hearing Goers: Not much to add here, uh, Mr. Mayor, this is just an opportunity for, um, to quiet title on, on some property that, uh, for which there is a, uh, a title objection raised. The City doesn't really feel like they're giving up anything, frankly, uh, in providing this, but we want to help out these property owners by quit -claiming as opposed to a warranty deed, quit -claiming what, what deeds we do or what, any interest we may have in this property, so they can go forth with their, uh, property rights. Teague: Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? See no one I'm gonna close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve please? 2. Consider a Resolution Alter: So moved. Weiner: [simultaneously] So --. Teague: Moved by Alter, seconded by Weiner. Council discussion. Weiner: Is this sort of, does this sort of thing ever come up? I don't remember seeing this sort of thing before. It's, it's like a...do, do people make objections to.... Goers: Yes. Oftentimes when there's a property that's to be sold, um, the property owners get a, a title opinion, uh, from a lawyer and they call out any number of things, the zoning and liens, or I'm sorry. Well, liens too, but, um, easements and that kind of thing. And, uh, if they find that, uh, in their opinion as a lawyer, there is, uh, uh, a cloud on the title, uh, on a portion of the, uh, lot to be purchased, then they call that out in their written title opinion. And so, uh, I haven't seen that title opinion here, uh, but it's my, uh, understanding that that's what took place. The attorney who offered that title opinion, raised this objection, um, you know, they of course came to the, uh, City and said, well, hold on, do you guys think you, you know, own this? And we said, no, uh, we don't have, we don't believe we have any interest. We don't certainly need any interest. And, uh, so we're just, uh, you know, quit - This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 12 claiming which again is not offering a warranty. We're just saying, you know, whatever rights we have in this property, we think it's nothing, it's yours, that cleans up their title. They can purchase it, you know, free and clear. Weiner: Okay. Thank you. Goers: Sure. Teague: Roll call please. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 13 14. Council Appointments Teague: Item number 14, Council appointments. Applicants must reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age, unless specific qualifications are stated. 14a is Community Police Review Board. Community Police Review Board has one vacancy for a current or formal peace officer to fill an unexpired term effective appoint, upon appointment through June 30th, 2025. Um, I think we'll take these all separate today. Um, and so the first one will be, well talk about the, um, the former, the current or former peace officer for the Community Police Review Board CPRB. Are there any, uh, suggestions on, uh, who, who that will be, and there's no gender requirement? Taylor: I would move that, uh, we appoint David Schwindt went to that position. Bergus: I, I think based on the ordinance that we just passed, he wouldn't quite be eligible yet for that. Is that correct? Geoff? Fruin: That that's correct. If you recall, the Council had, uh, inserted a two-year waiting period for -- Taylor: Two year. Oh, okay. Fruin: -- uh, anybody that's, uh, separated employment from the City and, and he has not quite made that threshold. Taylor: Okay. Fruin: Hasn't met that threshold. Yeah. Taylor: That's unfortunate. Alter: I have a question actually about, uh, another candidate who, um, I don't know if this qualifies as a peace officer or not. Um, it is, uh, Stewart Vandervegte, and he notes that he is, um, he works as a paralegal in the military. Um, and he worked with military police. How does that fit in a universe of a former peace officer? Weiner: And my sense is that, that the Council's been very -- Alter: -- broad in this -- Weiner: -- a broad interpretation of anyone who has... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 14 Fruin: Yeah. It's, it's not a hard requirement in the ordinance where you have to have been a, a law enforcement officer. It's, it's, it's more of a general recognition that somebody that has, um, either been in the profession or had exposure to the profession in some way can bring a valuable perspective to the, the discussions that they have. So if you felt that somebody, while not a law enforcement, um, has a glimpse in, into that, um, uh, profession that may be valuable, uh, for the overall discussion, then I think you can, you could include that. Alter: I mean, there's, there's part of me that at the same, I recognize, and we've had the discuss before about the value of having a peace officer or former peace officer who kind of understands the mechanisms and the structure who can help kind of guide or, um, at least provide some clarification for other, um, committee, commission members, um, that there's that correlation. But I, I feel like if we are thinking about this in sort of the spirit of, of guidance, um, this applicant might also suit, um, and, uh, provide some valuable insights, um. In his current capacity, um, through working at, um, Guidelink and as a pastor, but then also through this former experience that he has had, um, working in the military. So, um, that's kind of where I was coming from, hoping, and again, you all know my vote, uh, prev, previous, that this would be to, to something I would be comfortable with in so far as someone who sort of is aware of sort of the, the structures of, um, law enforcement, but without necessarily being of the Police Department. Teague: I, I do think a, a part of what was asked by the CPRB board when they brought that forth was someone that had, um, knowledge of police operations in a way, like, what are the protocols, the, um, um, the things that are expected of the police officers. And I don't believe that, um, outside of David Schwindt, um, who isn't eligible, meets that requirement, um, none of the applicants that were submitted. So I, I guess with that being said, I don't in this moment in time feel comfortable appointing, um, uh, I believe you said Stewart as the peace officer. But that's just me. Alter: Fair enough. Teague: It, it's also a newer position. Um, so, you know, there may need to be more advertisement potentially. Fruin: Yeah. Mayor, that's actually a, um, that, that Code language has been in there for, from maybe since the inception. I think it's maybe changed a, a little bit over time and Eric may be pulling it up now to, to get the exact language from the, from the Code. But we have tried, um, over the years to, to make sure that somebody that has law enforcement experience or related experience would be on the board. At times, there's been some success in finding those This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 15 applicants. And in other times we have, haven't had that applicant pool and the Council's had to find, uh, either somebody in a related field, um, uh, or, or, or just, we went without that perspective for a while. So I think you, I think you do have that flexibility and it is language that has been in there for, for quite some time. Teague: Thank you. Goers: I have looked up the language. Um, it says appointments, well, I'm sorry, lemme skip ahead. Uh, appointments to the board shall include one current or former peace officer, in quotes, as that term is defined by state law, except that a peace officer employed as such by the City of Iowa City within five years, recently amended to two, um, of, of the, uh, of the appointment date shall not be appointed to the Board and the City Council reserves the right to waive the residency requirement for good cause shown and so forth. The City Council also reserves the right for good cause shown to waive the requirement that the board include one current or former peace officer. So I'm quickly seeing if I can find the state definition of, um, of peace officer. I think I'm getting close, but I don't want to delay, uh, discussions. Uh, again, consistent with what, uh, City Manager has told you, um, you know, you can waive it. And, and so what's kind of most important is that you're looking for that, you know, experience and, and expertise from that, uh, member, whether the, you know, any one person strictly, uh, applies, or strictly qualifies as a peace officer under the state Code definition or not. Um, you know, isn't maybe the end-all be-all because of that ability for you folks to waive it. But I'll keep looking for that, uh, definition if you folks are interested. Teague: I think while he, I, I'm seeing some heads shake, while, while our Attorney is looking that up, why don't we go on to 14b and have the discussion about the Community Police Review Board, uh, two vacancies to fill an unexpired term plus a four-year term effective upon appointment through June 30th, 2026. And this one is for one male and one female. And I guess, I don't know if it's fair because we, we need to determine if, um, Stewart -- Taylor: Right. Teague: -- is, is an option. Um. Bergus: Well for the female I would put forth Yasmina Sahir, who's a younger community member, and she was very forthcoming in wanting a world in which police did not have to exist, but then explaining how, uh, she felt that she could contribute to the Board, um, in applying the applicable standards This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 16 and, um, you know, setting aside essentially that, because we are in a community where most people want police. Taylor: I had some reservations about her, uh, just because of her history. I mean, she, as you said, she was straightforward and honest that she's a member of the abolitionist group, but I, myself, I think, uh, when I have strong opinions of something or even belong to a group, it's hard to separate yourself from that. And I, I don't know how she would be able to do that. I don't wanna speak for her, but how she could separate herself from like an anti -police thing to, to serve on the CPRB, that's just my opinion. Weiner: So I, I thought it was interesting or perhaps informative that she's also studying criminology, um, in terms of sort of providing, providing background. I just found her, um, I, I hear what you're saying, Councilor Taylor, completely. And at the same time, I found it very enlightning that she was able to, um, essentially I thought strike a really good balance in her, in her application. Um, and has the, I think some background that, that could be really useful on the, on the board. We don't have very many young members at all at this point and with, with her experience and her background. Teague: Yeah. I, I have to agree with Councilor Taylor that, um, I think because of, um, potentially what we've seen as far as like the, um, strong abolitionists', uh, thoughts and feelings, um, that it would be very hard, in my opinion. Um, not knowing this person, of course, um, if they'll be able to separate, I think it would be a very difficult to, um, really look at the situation at hand and make decisions based on that without the abolish the police, you know, at the forefront of their mind. So I, I, I think that would be very hard to, um, appoint, um, um, this individual. I actually had issues with, um, all, but really one of the applicant, uh, female applicants. Um, and then that one that I would've supported is actually on our Civil Commission, Service Commission. And so typically we don't assign two people to the same commission, or we don't assign people to, uh, two commissions. And so for the female, I would suggest that we, uh, wait for more applicants. Now for the male, um, I again, did not consider Stewart to be our public, um, public officer representative. And I don't know if you have a.... Goers: I do. I mean, I'm not sure I would wanna swear to this definition, but based on my quick, uh, research, it appears that peace officer includes all the people we would normally think of as, uh, you know, police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, uh, but also game officers, DNR, uh, those kind of things. Uh, I could not see anything to indicate that someone who had served in the military, even in the military police capacity, would be considered a peace officer under state Code, um, provisions. And so I, I think that, um, I'm sorry, I've forgotten Stewart's last name. Um, I don't, I don't think he would This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 17 be considered a peace officer for purposes of the CPRB. Um, if I can opine further, um, Mr. Mayor given your comments about, uh, one of the female applicants who already serves on another board and commission, one possibility the Council could consider is to, uh, appoint that person contingent upon her resignation from the other board, uh, or commission, uh, and then set a, uh, a date and time certain, for example, the, uh, you know, Wednesday before your next meeting, so that if that person declines to resign, then you would be able to move forward with the next meeting and, and appoint someone else if, if you so chose. uh, of course you don't have to do that, but that's just one possibility for your consideration. Teague: Thank you. Bergus: And I think with that individual, we reappointed them not too long ago to the Civil Service Commission. Fruehling: About a year -- Bergus: A year ago. Okay. Fruehling: I, I think at the time she had also applied for CPRB, um, but got on the Civil Service. Bergus: Okay. Fruehling: It was a [inaudible] Bergus: I just know that we've had some trouble sometimes filling those seats on the Civil Service Commission. So I just wanna be cognizant of that. Teague: I, I do, no, I hear what you're saying and I would agree. I wonder, um, I guess I would oppose that we do the appointment as suggested, um, well, um, with the, with the, do the appointment with the option of, um, stating that, um, Melissa would have to resign from the Civil Service Commission, um, and just giving her that date for resignation, if she accepts it or not, but that would be my recommendation there. And then, um, now that Stewart, I don't know would Council walk away from that was, now that Stewart is not, um, considered a peace officer, I would also suggest Stewart. Weiner: I mean, I, I think that the, um, I like, I like Stewart. I liked his application a lot. Uh, I think that my personal view is I think we can go ahead and appoint three people if we think there are three people who are well-qualified and essentially for now, because there seems to be, there has been some regular turnover on there. Um, at least get them, um, sort of fully staffed with the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 18 notion that within a year or two, that we, there will probably be an opening and we would be able to, um, maybe at that point, it'll be two years since David Schwindt went to stop working for the City and he would consider reapplying because I personally think he would be an excellent, uh, former law enforcement, uh, per, representative to have on there given, given his background in the City. But, uh, so the, in, in, so the other person that in addition to Stewart, that I, that I liked was, uh, that I thought would be, could be really, um, helpful on there is Ricky Downing who served, worked, um, for several decades as a nurse, had and, uh, and could bring another very interesting perspective to it. Teague: The, the one positive about his application is that he didn't have a lot of knowledge, and I think, um, about the CPRB. And I think that that's, that can be a positive for fresh eyes coming in, uh, without a, a lot of, you know, history. So I could, I could support Ricky Downing. Taylor: I could support Stewart. I, I could support Stewart. I, he, I think he's excellent candidate and, and good background. Uh, I, I liked Gerald Wickham too. I, I thought he had some good experience and, and would be a good fit on, on -- Weiner: Who, I'm sorry? Taylor: Uh, Wickham, Gerald Wickham, although he applied for many things, but he, he said, uh, he would interested in serving in any capacity. Thomas: I would, I would be supportive of, uh, Stewart. I, I, um, I appreciated his experience as a part-time pastor. I do think these questions of, um, you know, police review, uh, you know, having that kind of, as a baseline, um, seems like it would be, uh, could be valuable on the Commission. Um, I, I'm fine with, uh, Melissa and, uh, Ricky Downing as well. Um, he, he noted that he had had many interactions with law enforcement in his, his work in healthcare, which I thought also gave him some background in terms of this, this world that the CPRB is living in. Teague: So I'm hearing, um, majority support for Stewart. I think I'm at three people for Ricky Downing. Alter: I like him too. Teague: Okay. So Ricky Downing. Yeah. Maybe and support it. Bergus: Yep. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 19 Teague: And then Melissa Jensen, um, I, I know that I've heard at least two, maybe three. What are thoughts? It would be contingent and it would come back to us. Weiner: But under, under this, as, as described, I would be all right with Melissa. The only issue is then we'd have to backfill if she, if she decides to resign. But it sounds like because, because her, her, uh, application (can't hear) is so recent and she also acknowledges on it that she, that she is a member of another board. She seems to be completely cognizant of that, of that fact. Alter: Do we have any, um, I don't know, awareness of which commission is harder to fill. Right. I mean, If she were to move over to CPRB, would, would be, would, would that be hurting the other commission by her absence? Weiner: I mean, it's just a three-person commission, right? The Civil Service Commission. Right. So they would be down to two people until they could find a third person. And didn't, I think one person on that commission, did their term just lapse, are we gonna have to reappoint someone? Fruin: I believe you, you, you recently reappointed that person. I think it was Ann, Ann Rhodes on the Civil Service Commission. So it's -- Weiner. Okay. Thanks. Fruin: You have two experienced members -- Weiner: -- so we have two experienced people. I expect we could probably eventually find a third, but maybe David Schwindt would want to be on the...he's certainly experienced with civil service. Teague: So it sound like there's at least three people for Melissa. Are you not quite okay? Right. I think we have a fourth. So look like we have majority for Melissa Jensen with the con, the contingency that has been set. Teague: Um, why don't we go ahead to the next one, which would be 4c, Public Art Advisory Committee. And there is one vacancy to fill, an unexpired term effective upon appointment through June 30th, 2023. And, any nominations there? Taylor: The requirement is a female and we had one male, one female applicant. So the only female was Anita Jung. If people feel that, um, she would qualify, I, I would say we should appoint her. Thomas: I, I would agree with that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 20 Weiner: She has a very strong art background. Thomas: Yeah. Alter: I liked her application and I have to confess, I didn't note that it was, that a female was needed and she was my choice anyway, so I think she, yeah. Bergus: Agreed. Teague: Yeah, she was a good, she was, her application was good. So, all right. So, um, I don't have, um. So could I get a motion to approve, for Community Police Review Board, Melissa Jensen, Stewart Vandervegte, And Ricky Downing. And for Public Art Advisory Committee, um, remind me the name of the female again? Thomas: Anita Jung. Taylor: Anita Jung with a J. Teague: Anita Jung, with a J. Um, could I get a motion please. Goers: If I may, Mr. Mayor, again, just if I can add the caveat that Melissa Jensen's, uh, application and, or I should say appointment would be contingent upon her resignation from the Civil Service Commission no later than April 13th, uh, of this year at 5:00 PM. Teague: Yes. Weiner: And, and with Police Community Review Board or community police report, do we need to appoint one of those, to designate one of those to one of those people to fill the, um, partial, the, the vacant position? Teague: The police officer, uh, the, um, or the peace officer. Weiner: Right. Just because that's the one that some, that someone just resigned from. So it's not a full term. Teague: Okay. I, I, I think we would have to waive that requirement. Weiner: No, I mean, waive the requirement, but do we have to decide which who gets, who gets the four-year term, who gets the -- Teague: Yes. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 21 Weiner: -- the remainder of that one term and who gets the other terms? Teague: Any, any thoughts? Alter: My thoughts would be that, um, Melissa would take the shortened term since she's coming from one commission already. So she's essentially serving currently. And then it'd just be, she's moving to another one. I don't know if that logic works for or anyone, but that's my, that's a suggestion. Teague: I can live with that. I, I did hear a lot of consensus for Stewart so maybe, you know, Ricky Downing and if someone is, you know, but I can, I can live with Melissa. Weiner: Well, I would propose then Stewart Vandervegte for the four year term. Um, that Melissa to fill the unexpired term and Ricky Downing to fill the, was it the other two? I'm completely confused. Sorry. Taylor: Yeah. Weiner: [crosstalk] the other, the other full term. Teague: All right. So are we in agreement with what Councilor Weiner just said? Did you get that? Fruehling: So that's plugging Melissa into the peace officer -- Teague: Correct. Fruehling: -- unexpired term. Teague: Yes. Thomas: And she could also reapply if she wanted to for a full term at the end. Teague: All right. So. Based on all of the, what's been said, all in favor, say, aye. [Voice vote.] Goers: I'm sorry. Do we have -- Weiner: I don't think we actually had a motion and a second. Teague: Oh, I didn't do a motion., This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 22 Weiner: So you asked for -- Teague: Oh, I was doing the motion and no one, okay. [crosstalk] Could I have the motion, please. Thomas: So moved, Thomas. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: All right. [Voice vote.] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 23 17. City Council Information Teague: We're onto item number 17, which is City Council information. I do know that we have our Johnson County, uh, well, we'll talk about that in our work session. Harmsen: Um, Mr. Mayor, if I could, um, couple of things, uh, would like to recognize, um, uh, that the University of Iowa, um, Student Government held a vigil for, uh, Ukraine this past weekend, uh, at the Old Capital, uh, in the rain. And they had about, uh, uh, 20 or so different, 20, 25 people I think showed up. So a nice little crowd, um, I'd also like to, uh, point out in the packet today, um, that there are, uh, it's a letter there, uh, uh, from me with, uh, information about the movie, A Decent Home, a documentary about the mobile home crisis, um, which will be filming at FilmScene on April 28th at 7:00 PM. Uh, tickets are on sale now. Um, this particular film, uh, looks at the mobile home crisis through the lens of two communities, uh, one here in North Liberty, Iowa, and one in Aurora, Colorado. Uh, and it, um, uh, you'll see a lot of familiar faces here from Johnson County in part of the film, um, and it's an important film. It really looks into the, the issue, uh, does some digging into the, uh, through the lens of people's lived experiences, um, as well as digging into some of the policy issues, uh, that are ongoing, uh, in our community and in our state and in our country. So I would highly recommend to members of the Council, uh, City staff and any members of the public who can, uh, can make it that evening. It would be worth your time, uh, to go and check out, uh, this particular, um, per, ah, film. Teague: Can you repeat at that date and time and place? Harmsen: Yes, uh, April 28th at 7:00 PM, uh, at FilmScene here in Iowa City. Um, and, uh, it's in the, um, special events and documentaries film on their webpage. Hopefully I get that correct. Oh, I should probably also notice that, uh, also note that the, uh, City of Iowa City's Human Rights, uh, Office of Human Rights, um, is also co -sponsoring the screening of this film. So. Alter: I actually have two quick announcements. One, um, that I think is really cool is that, um, MidwestOne sponsors an art contest citywide for, for, um, students and the, their winners are going to get, uh, a reception this Thursday at MidwestOne. I think it's just over here on Clinton, um, for the kids' art exhibit. And so that's gonna be exciting. Um, and that's at 5:00 and it's open to the, 5 to 7, open to the public. Um, and then also, um, here in the room, but then for anyone who's listening, um, the South District Neighborhood Association has their annual Team Up to Clean Up on the Broadway, um, Sycamore trails, Weatherby Park and it is open to help come sort of prep the beds, pick up garbage, plant some seeds, um, and there's a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 24 SignUp Genius and you can access it by going to the South District Neighborhood Association's Facebook page. So that's coming up in, its April 24th from nine to noon, it's a Sunday, but it goes quick and it's fun. So those are two announcements. Bergus: I just wanted to plug a couple climate action things that we have going on Monday at noon. It's another in the series of the, uh, it's called like the Speaking Of series, fantastic format with, uh, Sarah Gardner and Jane Welch, just talking to each other in a zoom meeting, very engaging. Uh, and this topic on Monday is reasons for hope relating to climate action. So I'm very excited to check that out. And then we have the Lucas Farm's Energy Blitz, which I was trying to look up the date and time and hoping City staff might have that handy, 'cause it's coming up here, but there's volunteer opportunities for that as well. I'm sure it's on ICgov.org if you look for the Energy Blitch, Blitz, I know they're seeking volunteers. That occurred in the South District, uh, last year, really cool program where they have a whole bunch of volunteers come into the neighborhood and distribute boxes with a whole, a lot of energy, um, efficiency information, LED light bulbs, uh, whistle for your furnace, so when the filter gets clogged, it starts, you know, whistling at you and tells you to change it. And then also later in the afternoon, they come back and, uh, pick up boxes into which you can put, um, batteries for recycling and I think a couple other items as well, but all that information is included, and very cool program. Goers: Looks like April 23rd. Bergus: Oh, thank you. I knew if I talked about it long enough, you, April 23rd. Thank you, Eric. Thanks. Weiner: I just wanna wish everyone who celebrates Ramadan Mubarak, for the month of Ramadan, holy month of Ramadan. Teague: Thank you. Great. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022. Page 25 18. Report on Items from City Staff Teague: All right. Item 18 is a report from City staff...Our City Attorney. Goers: Uh, I just wanna offer thanks to the Senior Center for hosting us for so long and uh, a reminder to everyone in the public that we will be back at Harvat Hall, uh, at our next meeting on the 19th. Weiner: For the first time since the end of March, 2020. Teague: Yes. Our City Clerk. Fruehling: Uh, yeah, I'll just do a plug for the, uh, Community Police Review Board, uh, community forum. That's coming up April 20th at 6:00 PM and it's via Zoom. Teague: Great. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 5, 2022.