Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-17 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Staff Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Fruin, Jones, Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling, Seydell-Johnson, Nagle-Gamm, Knoche, Sovers, Fleagle, Ford, Kubly Others Present: Miglin, Zeimet (USG) Presentation from the local childcare coalition Teague: We're swi- switching gears now to the City of Iowa City work session for May 17th, 2022. And we are going to start with our first item, which is a presentation from the Local Childhood Child care Coalition. So we're going to welcome Jennifer. Banta: And I've brought Missie along with me too. So she's gonna be, uh, tag teaming and help me- helping me out a little bit. So - Teague: Great. Banta: I wanted to start out by talking a little bit about why the business partnership has gotten involved with child care. Just to sort of frame why this is such an important issue for our community. Um, but I- I wanted to start with talking about how many women are, um, in the workforce. So the state of Iowa has, um, the highest, uh, women- percentage of women in the workforce than any other state, except for Minnesota. We're tied. Um, and of Iowa's women that are in the workforce, women of color, um, exceed all of those numbers. So really when we talk about, uh, child care and we talk about removing barriers to work, um, this is, uh, an equity issue as well as a business issue. So, uh, back in 2019 when I started working at the business partnership, um, I was doing some research on workforce. Uh, at the time I think we were at 3.6 percent unemployment, so really low and we're- we're back there again now. Um, and I was trying to figure out, um, how we could remove as many barriers to work as possible. And what I found out was that nobody at that time was really talking about child care. And so I reached out to the Iowa Women's Foundation, had them come in and do a session with us, um, a child care solutions summit, I think is what it's called. And I thought maybe 20 or 30 people would show up. Um, the room was standing room only. It was so hot in there. It was like 70 plus people. We can't even imagine that anymore, right? We don't go to those types of closed in rooms anymore, but, um, it was overwhelming the number of people, um, that wanted to work on solutions to our child care problems. So that was in October of 2019. We met once, uh, for this big summit. We started- we formed some teams that we're gonna work on, uh, a few projects. And of course, as you know, uh, when we got back together in January of 2020, that was the last time that we met, um, as a group in person. So we really switched gears. And, um, I- we- we started meeting e- every week or every other week with as many child care providers that wanted to join us on Zoom. And it was Monday's, Megan was there, Missy was there. Um, it was Monday's, I think at one o'clock during nap time for child care providers. And I was calling it the child care provider support group, you know, because, uh, child care providers during COVID and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 2 the onset of the pandemic, were really struggling with just finding basic necessities like whole milk. Um, our grocery stores- I- I know it seems like that's a million years ago, but that was just a few years ago that we were, you know, not able to find milk or, um, you know, struggling with finding PPE or finding, um, the appropriate, um, cleaning supplies. I mean, you can't just use any cleaning supply with an infant, you know. You have to have special stuff. So we would meet on Mondays. I would spend the rest of that week trying to, uh, figure out the- a solution to the problems that we were coming up with. Um, we met with elected officials like Senator Ernst, um, when they were, uh, allocating some money for child care and for small businesses. Um, and so we really built a lot of trust and camaraderie between our child care providers, which is something that hadn't happened before. Um, so if there's any good that came out of the pandemic, um, we really started to think as a group and build some trust between, um, different organizations. So, um, we're coming out of the pandemic, um, we've built some great relationships. Uh, the Governor started the Child Care Taskforce, which I was honored to be selected as part of that task force. And, um, during that state-wide task force, the thing that we kept hearing was workforce. Workforce- workforce- workforce. The child care industry, um, the workforce has been, um, under appreciated for far too long. And, um, there's a lot of reasons for that, but I'm going to keep my business partnership hat on and not my feminist hat on. But, you know, the women- mostly women that serve our child care industry are underpaid. And, um, the profession has not been built up to be the, um, noble profession that it really is. So, um, during the task force, we really hammered that hard. We wanted child care providers to be paid more. Um, we wanted them to be recognized as professionals. And in doing so being provided 401(k) and PTO, things that we all have in our- in our jobs, right? Um, things that they- that they don't have. So, um, some of the other things that we talked about in the task force, um, were shared services. You know, every child care center, whether it's in a home or in a large setting with a 100 children, it's a business, right? And so you have things like payroll and taxes and, um, you know, like I said, buying lunches and- and things like that. So how can we provide a shared services model, um, at the state level? So, um, but at the end of the day, we really, really, um, wanted to hammer in on wages. So, um, state of the- state of child care now. So I just wanna give you some, um, background on what we're seeing post -pandemic. It's not post - pandemic right now, is it, unfortunately? But at this point in the pandemic. As you know, there is a shortage of workforce, um, throughout our community and throughout the country, right. The great resignation you all have heard about that. What has happened is large corporations and companies such as Target or Trader Joe's or, um, Amana or whatever, they now are paying their workforce more, um, which is excellent, right? Um, child care providers, uh, prior to the pandemic, we're making 10, $11 an hour. They can now go and work at Target, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, wherever for 15,16,17, $18 an hour with benefits with PTO. So, um, what we're seeing is our child care centers are really having to raise, um, their- the salary of their workforce, which is excellent and we want, right. But unfortunately, child care is a market-based solution. And so when they raise the salary of their employees, they're raising how much it costs for their customer, the parents. So, um, a couple of weeks ago, I started calling child care centers, um, acting like I had a child that I needed to put, um, you know, to find child care for. And I was asking how much- how- how much are you charging? One child care center that I called This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 3 was $500 a week for a newborn. If you can find a newborn spot, it's $500 a week. So just think about that. And, um, kind of go back to some of those numbers that I was talking about before. We have a lot of women in the workforce. How are they going to make that- how are they going to make that work? So I know personally my children are raised now, but I had a three-year-old and a newborn in child care. I would not be working today even on my salary today. So just to put that into perspective. So, um, going back to, um, you know, being able to pay our workforce more, um, I think one of the frustrations that came out of this legislative session, which also is not over yet, but one of the things that we really wanted them to address was child care assistance reimbursement rates. The reimbursement rate, um, on that $500 a week child, um, spot at that center here in Johnson County would only be reimbursed a fraction. I think it's $175 a week for a newborn. Is that right? Okay. Somewhere around that number. So they're only getting a fraction of what a full rate child would be paying. Why would you take CCA if you can make $500 a week as opposed to a $175 a week? If you're running a business, again, I go back to every child care provider is in the business because they love children. But you also are running a business and you're trying to pay your employees. Um, so it's- it is really bleak out there for all parents. It's especially- especially ble- bleak for low wage earning parents. Um, so it's not all doom and gloom. Uh, the Governor did, um, put aside a very large chunk of money to provide retention bonuses for child care workers. Um, that is a $1,000 retention bonus. Um, Johnson County allocated, um, $750,000 over the next, I think three or four years for retention bonuses. So we're really, um, working - chipping away at trying to pay our child care workforce a little bit more. It's just a drop in the bucket. They- to me, they should all be making $100,000 a year. Um, but, uh, it's a drop in the bucket and it's getting us, um, to a point where hopefully, uh, folks, uh, can be compensated a little bit more fairly. Um, so during, um, the summer, July of 2021, we, um, all got back together, the coalition, er, again foolishly thinking that the pandemic was over, um, and we wanted to talk about the state of childcare as it is at that time and what things we could start working on, and, um, we really identified again workforce. Uh, we wanted to build a pipeline of childcare workers. Um, we- we, er, started a program with Iowa City, er, School Districts, um, and Kirkwood Community College to put together a high school academy, uh, CDA academy. So that, um, is in the works and, um, they'll have their first cohort, um, in the fall of next year- next school year. Um, we have been working with, uh, Kirkwood on some ELL programming for childcare providers and- and some other things that I think, um, Missie will go into more detail about. But, um, again, going back to, we're building this pipeline of- of employees or people that can work in the workforce, but what ends up happening is after they get all of their credentialing, the school districts takes them because they've got all the credentialing they need to be a paraeducator, and again, going back to why wouldn't you work in the school district where you're going to make more money and get, uh, you know, that 401(k) and the- the PTO and all of that. So we- we really need to- we're building that pipeline, but we really do need to, um, professionalize this profession and really a- you know, acknowledged that 85 percent of cognitive development happens before a child enters a school building at age five. So, um, trying to really crack that nut and- and, um, a- address that issue. So I guess I- I'm here to talk a little bit about some solutions. It's, er, like I said, we have some wage, uh, supplements in the form of retention bonuses, uh, but we do have a few other This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 4 things that are really exciting that are happening within the coalition that Missie's gonna talk about, um, that we'd like to talk with you about and see if you would be willing to support, uh, support us in those endeavors, so come forward Missie. Forbes: Thank you. Teague: Welcome, Missy. Forbes: Thank you for having me. Teague: Yes. Forbes: Um, er, one of the programs that 4Cs operates is, um, uh, a project called Starting Strong, and what that is, is we work very closely with low-income individuals who are interested in being in home childcare providers. Um, we provide them with, uh, we call them incentives, so it's- it's things to just enhance their early, um, their early learning environment to make sure that it's educationally appropriate. We, um, help them out with, um, early literacy, early STEM, um, and just the play as a form of learning and things like that. Um, in- within this- that program, the providers that we work with, we require them to take at least 50 percent of their, um, children, um, on childcare assistance. One of the things that we've found is that not only are these, uh, people of color, but also the refuge- refugee and immigrant population. Um, a lot of them work- live in rentals and their programs can be, uh, limited by, um, how much- how many children their landlord says they can take. So, um, we are evolving that program to have, um, like a pilot project, I guess you wanna call it, for those providers that have already done their pre -service training, um, that- that we've helped them through, and if their program isn't going to be viable in their home, um, we've partnered with- or we're in talks anyway of partnering with Lionheart, who is a child care center in, um, in Johnson County in Iowa City that - and they're struggling with workforce, so that is, um, kind of an offshoot of the Starting Strong program that we've- we've, um, started investigating what- what that partnership looks like with Lionheart and possibly with other centers, uh, because we want those, and people that are interested in- in working in the- in the childcare industry to and have a- a- a good knowledge and a good working knowledge of, um, what it is to work in a center and be- and be well-trained, so that we've got good workforce as well. Um, one of the, er, er, programs that Jennifer mentioned is, uh, called through Kirkwood an Earn & Learn program, um, and that is, uh, the Kirkwood, er, students that are enrolled in their ELL classes. If they're interested in, uh, becoming a childcare, um, working in the field of child care, they can go through this Earn & Learn program, um, where they will get all of their pre -service training that is required by DHS for them to work in a center, um, that will be, um, that there- there will be translation if there are language barriers, and then they will be, um, partnered with the center, where the- the centers will take them on as an employee and match them up with a mentor in the classroom so that they can be working alongside their learning. Um not only are they gonna be doing their pre -service training, but they'll also be learning some culturally appropriate, um, ways of caring for kids that we do in America that they may not do in their- in their home culture. We're really This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 5 excited about that project, uh, and it can also go both ways, so if you have a staff person working in your center that you think, um, you know, could do- have some benefit of an ELL class, um, you can- you can recommend them to go through that program as well, and then they'll also get that, um, other training that they need and things like that. Um, that's- there's an informational session with Kirkwood coming up this week, and I think that the timeline is to start that, um, sometime this summer with the first cohort graduating in August. So we're really excited about that. Um, so those two, I think, um, programs are really compliment to one another. Um, 4Cs also works very closely with, uh, the refugee and immigrant population, and we actually get funding through, um, CDBG to help with technical support with those- with those, uh, programs in the Starting Strong program. But, um, the one thing that I wanted to point out about that is that, um, and I've completely lost my train of thought. Um, one of the things that we feel is very important though is en- engaging that part of the community into our community and setting them up for success, and so one of the things that we would also like to do to make that- make our programming a bit more robust is to figure out a way that we can recruit more, um, more- more people within those neighborhoods that were- there are child care deserts, um, and also identifying individuals that are interested in doing this, um, so that families can take their kids to a neighborhood, um, program. Um, again, just making that more, um, making those individuals living in those neighborhoods and feel more connected to their neighborhood and into their community. Um, we also would like to help them market their programs and- and really feel comfortable not just taking kids within their culture, but that may be able to expand their programming if they felt more comfortable, um, opening that up to- to other- other families that are just within their neighborhood. Um, and I think that that would be beneficial for those, um, the- the people that grew up here or they were were born here as well as the people that are coming into our community. Um, is there anything else I needed to mention? And then Jennifer mentioned the CDA programs. So we do have some things coming up that are - they're rolling out. Um, I'm- I'm the kind of person that likes to see immediate growth and immediate, uh, change, but, um, I- I'm looking forward to what we've been able to accomplish in a pretty short amount of time. We'll also reap the benefits of that hopefully within the next few years, and see that. Banta: Yeah. So she's not gonna ask, so I'll ask you. [LAUGHTER] Um, so one of the things - one of the challenges that we're facing right now is there's all these great programs that we're bootstrapping, right, to get off the ground? What we really need is, er, some sort of navigator, uh, position that can go into the community, explain the process to folks, um, get to know people and their situation and, uh, direct them to the appropriate training program, whether it's Earn & Learn or, er, some other, uh, training mechanism for, um, them that would be appropriate. So that- that is one thing that I think we've been struggling with, is just getting the word out about some of these great programs that- that Missie and other coalition members have been putting together. Um, we're- we just- we're all doing this, kind of, as a part of our job, right? So, um, we could really use some funds to hire a navigator that could go out and spread the word and, um, really pull this thing, um, pull this thing off. Um, the- the next thing I wanted to just mention is, we- although we do have funding for the retention bonuses, it is still really important to provide some This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 6 funding to encourage people to go into this field and to stay into the- in this field. So, um, although there are a lot of dollars being allocated to that, those dollars will quickly run out and it would be nice to be able to continue and, um, just continue to support, uh, childcare providers, um, with a wage supplement. And then lastly, I will also mention, uh, and I- I'm not sure how far along it is. I- I reached out to the County on this, but the County is building a childcare center, um, over across the way, er, from the ad - administration building. Those white cinder block buildings that are over there, those will come down and there is an affordable housing project going in there with childcare on the first floor, so, uh, I know that the city is- is committed to helping with that, but I just wanted to re- you know, articulate that that project will be just a fantastic project close to Kirkwood Community College so students can be working in that facility. It's in an area that doesn't have a lot of childcare, and it could also provide, um, county and city employees with, uh, childcare that's really close by as well, so just wanted to mention those three options, um, to you. Questions? Weiner: I have a question about to what extent are you- have- I mean, I've sat in on some of the meetings but I haven't been able to come to all. But to what extent are you working also with the school district? Because I know the school district is looking at a variety of things, including, um, their piloting, uh, pre -K with wrap-around care at- at two schools this year trying to figure out how to- how to make that- how to eventually fund that and - and grow it. It worked with child care centers and providers to get. So it's sort of a- it's a big topic because providers get a lot more money for basically they sort of earn their money by with older kids. Because they don't have to have that because the ratios are much higher. Um, and a lot of those kids get sort of taken out. And another meaning in pre -K with sort of how are you looking at that piece? Banta: Yes. So that, again, this is an onion of a problem. We're going to have to come at it from a lot of different angles. And so Lisa Williams is on it, is part of the coalition. She was actually the one that, you know, really helped get the CDA Academy launched, um, within the school district. And she has invited me to a few conversations now, um, with the school district about what that would look like. Um, obviously, yes. Childcare providers really need those, um, those, uh, preschoolers to make back some of the money that they lose on younger kids. So we're trying to fmd a fit for everyone. And the school district really can't take on every three and four-year-old in the community anyway, they just don't have the physical infrastructure for that. So there will be some sort of combined effort for four -year-olds and potentially three -year-olds. Weiner: Is anyone looking at bringing sort of having this school district be the official, uh, hiring arm so that they can get into some of the school district pension systems or? Banta: Yeah, there are some conversations where they would send a school district teacher into a facility and that person would be paid for to travel to that. I don't- there are no finalized solutions yet, but like everything has been discussed, yeah. For sure. Weiner: Thanks This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 7 Harmsen: You had mentioned, um, one of the things that a navigator, a full-time position of a navigator, um, would that be- is that something you've been talking about with other entities? Um, do you have in your mind some sort of a model of what that would look like and how that would be funded and what their territory would be. Forbes: Um, so 4C's I think is a natural fit for that employee. And we have really good relationships not only with the, um, providers in Johnson County specifically, but we also have really great relationships with other organizations. Um, we partner with the Catherine McAuley Center in Cedar Rapids. We do their, um, refugee program in Johnson County, um, as well as tight connections with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County and UAY and all of those other organizations. Um, it seems to be, um, a natural fit also because while there are other organizations that contract with DHS, we're, we feel like we're the grassroots boots on the ground, um, can pivot really quickly. We were able to do that in the pandemic definitely and don't, aren't tied to some of the bureaucracy that other larger organizations- state organizations, um, have to do. So it's makes it sound like I go rogue, which I might but, anyways, so it just, it seems that 4C's would be a natural fit for that. Especially given the different things that we have our hands in. Not just Starting Strong, but we've got a lot of different irons in the fire, so to speak. So. Harmsen: Okay. Forbes: Then what I know you had another question in there. Harmsen: Maybe approached like because you had mentioned funding being a part of that. So, um, obviously we're one entity. I don't know, you know, if you have an idea clearly what that would look like and are we, would you be looking for a couple of entities to partner to underwrite. Forbes: Sure. So I have- I proposed a program to someone at the County, um, who is looking into What specifically they would do with their ARPA money that is tied to or allocated for childcare. Um, I have a request in for a grant request into the Iowa Women's Foundation also for this position. Um, then City of North Liberty has just released their RFP and then I would do an ask and Coralville as well so we can cover the whole county. Um, I think that when I look at, um, the allocation that the county has given towards childcare, I think it's around 25 percent. And my ask to the count- city council here would be could you match that percentage and not necessarily all for this program, but for childcare kind of mirroring what the County has- has given thought to and pointed as some initiatives that they feel are important. So. Harmsen: Thank you. Weiner: I would just sort of stress one of the things that you said, Jennifer, like which is this is 85 percent of cognitive development happens before kids get into school. This is really part of the education continuing. And if we want- if we want, um, equity, if we want to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 8 help everyone across the spectrum, sort of start school, public school on an even footing. This figuring out this childcare thing is essential. Banta: Yeah, I often say, you know, what we're talking about is access to affordable, high-quality childcare, which provides stability for both the child and the parent and the business employer. But it also is creating a healthy, strong neighborhood where children are, you know, really receiving what they need to, um, you know, succeed later in life and whatever that looks like so. Forbes: And I appreciate you pointing that out, Janice, because they in a board meeting not too long ago, we don't hear a lot about workforce and workforce shortage and things like that. And we forget that that is really we want to impact the child as well. And so when I talk about what 4C's does it is about leveling the playing field. So thank you for bringing that up again, because that's what we're looking for. Every child in Iowa City, in Johnson County, having that first foot into kindergarten ready to go. Thomas: Yeah. I think of the term, the child is father to the man. And there's a remarkable documentary called "Seven up". I don't know if you've ever seen that where this it's set in England. It's a documentary where they look at kids on a seven year basis. And the first couple of the first episode that is that seven. And then as you see that child over that person's 14, 21, 28, the personality is established at the age of seven. It really is astonishing to see how quickly a person's being is formed. And yet we do seem to have sort of an inverted the importance of early childhood as if it's just of very little significance. Yeah, that's a fascinating area and with great potential, but it's very concerning how it's, you know, gaining traction with it. But I really appreciate what you're doing. Weiner: I have one more quick question, which is, are there any businesses or larger businesses in the area that are contributing or giving their employee stipends or one way or the other helping out? Banta: There are a few, um, businesses that are contributing. This is an area that I have really struggled with trying to gain more business support obviously, that's the other half of my job with this, is going out and talking to businesses about it and getting their support. What I hear back is, um, you know, I make toothbrushes, I don't provide childcare, you know, this is not my core competency, not my area of expertise. Find me a solution and I will support it. But I don't want to try to figure out how to provide childcare within my business, um, because it's just not part of my core competency. And then also remember that over 80 percent of our employers are small businesses. So, you know, at the business partnership, the majority, a third of our members are non -profits. And so, you know, we're talking about really small employers. And we've just come off of two really tough years. And so this just seems like kind of like something that just keeps getting pushed to the back. And so that's why we've really tried to step up and provide some options for business owners to get engaged and find some ways that they can engage in this work. That seems doable for them, so. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 9 Teague: Well, thanks to both of you. I really appreciate it. All right. Clarification of Agenda Items Teague: We're going to move on to the next agenda item, which is clarification of agenda items. Hearing nothing we will go on to Information Packet of May 5th. Information Packet Discussion Taylor: I had a question about IN which was the, um, Historic Preservation Commission memo on Montgomery- Douglas or Montgomery Butler house. And it kinda goes along with IPA then that same packet which was the- their committee minutes from April 14th. Um, talking about forming some type of investigative can- working group, uh, to figure out what to do with this house. I mean, it's we've, the City's had control of it for some time and it's just kind of sitting there and it's kind of from what I- what sounds like and what looks like a gem of, uh, the history of Iowa City. So I- I don't know Geoff, if you can say, what do we need to do as a council, just say, yeah, go for it, you know it cause if they were going to open it up to the committee or the committee members, HPC, uh, and Parks and Rec, as well as community members. Do we need to do anything as a council on that? Fruin: Yeah. I think you- you'd have to direct that action. Staff has looked at it and we actually provided quite a bit of information to the Historic Preservation Commission and the Parks Commission, um, about the current condition of the house. I would say that it doesn't look like much of a gem right now. It was, uh, mothballed to a minimal degree back when it was, you know, acquired 15 plus years ago, um, really has not been invested in sense. Um, and it certainly shows that it's, uh, um, it's not a pretty sight right now. Um, I think, um, you know, in this case, uh, staff, uh, from multiple departments looked at it and we don't see an obvious use for this property. Um, we've- we've struggled with it over the years to think about what it could be. Could it be a trail amenity, is it just a historic marker asset? Um, we- frankly, we really don't see, um, a viable use going forward for it. And we think that we probably would need to make the tough decision to tear it down and memorialize it in some way on the site. Um, I know that's not going to be the popular opinion with Historic Preservation Commission. Um, but that's frankly where your staff is right now. We can form a committee. Um, we can invite members of the Parks and Rec Commission and Historic Preservation Commission to join that and kind of, uh, go through an exploration process. I think what council needs to understand it's a- that's a significant undertaking. Um, it's a significant undertaking in time, uh, for a staff, um, that- that already has a number of significant items to undertake, you know, on our to -do -list. So if this is- if this is one of those top priorities for you, we absolutely can do it and we can come back to you with a report on -on where we think this property could go. Um, it's also, um, you'd have to expect going to be pretty darn expensive project. Um, and I can't really give you a range, but, um, this isn't something that just needs a little minimal investment. Just to get it back to a secure state is going to be a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 10 hefty investment. Um, you know, coming off the, um, I think the closest example we can really give to this would be our recent efforts with the- with the upper city park cabins. And we had to put several hundred thousand dollars into those just to maintain them. Um, those frankly, at least at this point aren't getting programmed, um, the way that we thought they may after, um, we rehabbed them. Hopefully, that changes. Hopefully, we can still fmd some uses and the community can fmd some uses there. But if you want to move to preservation, um, without a particular end-use insight you're still going to be investing hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it's not very accessible. That's one of the challenges with the site. You know, many of you have probably been to Waterworks park and absent this memo, probably never knew this house even existed there. So it's not like it's- it's on the trail sections or in an easy -easy accessible site. That's a pretty long answer. Um, the answer, of course, is yes, we can do this, um, as -as requested. Um, I think you just have to understand what those trade-offs are cause this is a- this would be a significant undertaking. Taylor: Thank you. Teague: Any other May 5th info packet item? Bergus: I think with our strategic planning tomorrow, one of the things that was helpful to frame up future growth and opportunities was IP3, which relates to the analysis of residential development, um, particularly focusing on the year. But I found the historical, um, going back many years and just seeing that we're very, very low, um, in all kinds of residential dwelling developments. So just, I think important for us to kind of keep that framing in mind and, um, yeah hope that everybody is looked at that and if you haven't, maybe you do by tomorrow. Teague: May 12th and info packet. Taylor: IP5 I appreciate at the, uh, fire department annual report. Uh, it certainly shows that, uh, they're not sitting around just polishing their boots. They've been very busy, uh, each of the, uh, departments have been busy and even helping surrounding communities. Um, I was hoping the Chief would be here, but I think Geoff maybe remembers we had a presentation a while back about the average response time, and in this report it mentioned six minutes, 28 seconds. And if I recall, they were pretty- they were lower than or right at the national average for that response time. Um, so I commend them on that and think that's really great. Um, and I actually just had firsthand experience with them last night, uh, really late 11:30 last night, a friend fell in her driveway and I tried to help her to get up. And after about 20 minutes of trying no effort on her part or my part, um, decided to call 911 and not knowing what would happen and, uh, the dispatcher was very pleasant, um, and said it would just be a few minutes and I didn't time it, but it was pretty quick response. And the three, uh, that responded, uh, were familiar with this person cause she's fallen before and she lives very close to, uh, I believe, station number 3. So very quick response, uh, but they were- I'll just commend them publicly, they were just very professional. Uh, they stayed and then helped her get into a power chair and into her This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 11 house, made sure she was in her house safely, and then they left. But they were very polite, very kind, and very professional. And I was- I was impressed and it was a very quick response which was- which was good and it wasn't life-threatening response she - she, you know, had no injuries that I could tell but just, uh, needed some help getting up off the ground. So, uh, first-hand experience there that, uh, it's very, very true. Um, kind of along with that then was IP7 was the 150th -anniversary celebration. Uh, kind of along with some other things that are going on. But that's exciting,150 years is a long time. Uh, so now that one- no wonder they do the job so well, they've been doing it a long time. So, uh, that's it. Fruin: I appreciate that real- real quick. Chief Lion has a Johnson County Mutual Aid Association meeting tonight, which is why, um, he couldn't- he couldn't be here. Um, but I'll make sure and pass along those comments. Thank you. Um, along with the 150th, I think, uh, I'll follow up with you, uh, offline, but we'd like to offer an opportunity for the council to -to tour the stations, particularly as we get ready to, uh, invest into new stations, uh, down the road. Um, so look out for that. I think, um, we thought the 150th was good context to invite you into the firehouses and let you see, uh, and meet some of the folks and see the facilities. I'll just mention IP6, the -the letter which was from Linda McGuire and the Northside neighborhood, um, it to maybe something like the, um residential development memo, um, to keep in mind tomorrow when we have our, uh, strategic planning exercise. University of Iowa Student Government (USG) Updates Teague: Great. All right, we're going to move on to the University of Iowa student government, with their updates and we have the new leadership here with us today. So yes, please welcome and introduce yourselves. Miglin: Hi council. Yeah, it's a very exciting day. So as you mentioned, um, yeah, we are beginning our summer session and with that working with the new cabinet. Um, so we hope to continue to coordinate and bring some more cabinet members throughout the summer. Um, but first off, let me introduce you or let him introduce himself. Zeimet: Hi. I'm a second -year student at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I'm studying political science. And as the deputy city weighs on, I want to focus on sustainability initiatives and look forward to working with the council, uh, to make the city in campus a better environment. And then, uh, for an announcement, uh, the daily- on the Daily Iowan. So we had the Spring 2022 that class has graduated and it was the first spring graduation held, uh, on in Carver since 2019. So that's a big accomplishment. Miglin: That's our only announcements tonight. Thank you. Teague: Great. Thanks to both of you and welcome to Council Meeting for the first time. Well, I don't know if it's your first time, but welcome to Council Meetings. Yes. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022. Page 12 Council Updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees Teague: All right council updates on the signboards, commissions, and committees. Seem like it's been a quiet two weeks. All right. Anything else for now? Hearing nothing, we are adjourned until 06:00 PM. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of May 17, 2022.