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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-19 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Staff Present: Fruehling, Fruin, Goers, Jones, Kilburg, Knoche, Havel, Yoder, Clow, Clark, Davies, Fleagle. Others Present: Miglin (USG) Teague: It is 6pm and I'm going to call this meeting to order. Welcome to the City of Iowa City formal meeting for April 19, 2022 I'm going to start with roll call, please. [Roll call.] Alright, welcome to everyone that is present back in our City Hall, it has been since March of 2020 since we've been here so welcome back to your City Hall happy to see you here and for those that are online. let's see. Welcome. All right. 2. Proclamations 2.a Arbor Day Teague: The Item number two as proclamations. 2.a is arbor day. And I'm going to switch to 2.b. And I'm going to have our city clerk bring me arbor day. Please. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 2 2.b Housing Trust Fund Week Teague: 2.b is Housing Trust Fund week. (reads proclamation) and here to accept this proclamation is the Executive Director of the housing trust fund of Johnson county Ellen McCabe. McCabe: Alright, here we go. Good evening. On behalf of the housing Trust Fund of Johnson county, thank you for the proclamation for housing Trust Fund week 2022. Oops, why don't I have a full screen. That's interesting. Okay well the housing Trust Fund, as you mentioned, was founded 18 years ago and our mission is to promote and support housing, that is affordable in Johnson county. We apply for and secure funding from a variety of sources, we then go about recruiting applications to preserve and create affordable housing. We offer training programs on how to apply and how to comply with the income qualification requirements necessary to receive the funding from the Trust Fund. We have a dedicated group of volunteers who evaluate applications for funding and make recommendations to the board of directors, the Trust Fund is fortunate to have your assistant city manager and my assistant city manager as a resident of Iowa City Rachel Kilburg serving on the board. A trust fund then extends offers to applicants in the forms of grants and loans to create and preserve housing, that is affordable for people with low incomes. This past year, the Trust Fund awarded $2.15 million that investment is expected to leverage an additional an additional almost 17 million dollars for housing, that is affordable within Iowa City. $1 invested by the Trust Fund yields a return of $8 and we find that this is a typical return on investment year over year. This next slide illustrates the eight awards extended this past year, as it turned out all projects were within the city of Iowa City. Pandemic aside eight awards ties, for the most awards in a single year back in 2016. 72 households and 70 people per night in shelter will benefit from the funding awarded this past year. In the current fiscal year that we have awarded $1.47 million to date with three quarters the year behind us, which will assist 64 households plus 70 people in the DVIP shelter each night for the next 40 years. We anticipate awarding a total of $2 million again this year to create and preserve housing, that is affordable before June 30, which is the end of our fiscal year. Your support makes this possible and makes it possible for the housing Trust Fund to operate its revolving loan fund to support housing for people with low incomes. We hope that people interested in the critical need for affordable housing will go to the trust funds web page and Facebook page to learn more about our work. And we invite everyone to attend the affordable housing highlights program on Friday April 22 at noon hosted by the affordable housing coalition on zoom and Facebook live. Thank you for your dedication to affordable housing and for the proclamation for housing Trust Fund week 2022. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 3 2.a Arbor Day Proclamation Teague: Thank you so much. Item 2.a is arbor day. (reads proclamation) And to receive this is going to be our parks and recreation director Juli Seydell Johnson. Fruin: Mayor, Julie was not able to attend tonight after also if you want to hang on to that proclamation, I'll get it to her tomorrow Teague: Awesome Thank you let's give our REC department a hand. [clapping] This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 4 9. Community Comment (items not on the agenda) [UNTIL 7 PM] Teague: We are on to Item number nine, which is our Community comment. And this is an opportunity for anyone to talk about a item that is not on our agenda, if you like, to address an item that is not on our agenda. I'm going to have you come to the podium and I will call, and have you sign in at the podium if you're online I'll have you raise your hand. yeah so we'll start here in house and welcome. Riley: Good evening, my name is Joe Riley. I work for the Iowa City downtown district, as the nighttime mayor, thank you, Mayor Teague and counsel for taking public comment. I've come here on behalf of the Iowa City downtown district in our advocacy role for our businesses, I wanted to draw attention to two items for your consideration. First letter the Iowa City downtown district submitted to counsel on March 10 the creation of this letter came from a conversation that several Council members had with our executive director Nancy Bird, asking for ways that the City of Iowa City could support downtown businesses as they get back to operations in their businesses. The Iowa City Downtown District did their outreach for business input. As these operators continue to deal with supply overhead and Labor costs rising, we identified an area of relief that could be pressed on. This relief, would be a reduction of fees for sidewalk cafes and patios and the public right of way. Where we are definitely grateful for the use of the public right away, is absolute it absolutely enhances our streetscapes and vibrancy in downtown. I think in my rough count, we have over 30 plus permitted in the public right away, just in the Iowa City downtown district alone. We would also like to know that, while it contributes to the overall livability in downtown it does make for a competitive business climate. While we may see those patios and cafes active with patrons during the warmer months. It doesn't necessarily mean there's the same amount of activity inside the business. Patrons who are seeking patio or cafe space to dine on may skip over businesses that don't have these spaces. The second item I wanted to draw to your attention is the Newman Munson case study commissioned by the Iowa City downtown district, which was submitted to Council last summer. The study sampled CAFE and patio fees from comparable communities around the United States, it found our fees in Iowa City we're on the higher end. The Iowa City downtown district is asking Council to take up this matter as an agenda item and make the determination on the request that was made. Now, while it is convenient for me to be here and coalesce the voices of our business community, I thought it would be just as impactful to invite a few of them here to speak. And to hear from them yourself, please note that Wendy Zimmerman of Get Fresh cafe was not able to attend and her comments were submitted to the council's email, thank you. Teague: Thank you, we're going to go online Noah welcome. Petersen: Hello, can you hear me. Teague: Yes, we can. Welcome. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 5 Petersen: Perfect okay so um first I'm just gonna say Geoff stopping ignoring my emails, you have yet to respond to my email, yet you could send me threatening emails because I criticize your city staff. Yet you can't seem to find the time to answer my emails about what the city is doing about housing for houseless folks who currently do not have shelter. Shelter House is not accepting people. They're turning people away due to capacity and yet Geoff you told the newspaper reporters that Shelter House is not do that. And the city has yet to respond to me or anyone else about what they're going to be doing is providing emergency housing people. So it's pretty audacious of you Bruce to give a proclamation about claiming that y'all care about housing people and affordable housing, whatever that means. Yet you can't do the very basic things of providing emergency housing to people who need housing right now we're currently being denied and how many cops called at them if they show up at Shelter House and being turned away and by cops by shelter house, because they need housing and. The city has chosen to completely ignore people who point this out because we not may not be the nicest one we say it, because we have the audacity to see me humanity and emotionally respond to the fact that y'all good Liberals will say you care about housing yet. When people are being forced to live on the streets, when you refuse to give them housing and, instead, you will allow Shelter House to call the cops on them and remove them from the premises and not provide housing people and forced to live on the street. I mean y'all should really be ashamed of yourself that you can't manage the city, so I mean Geoff obviously can't manage the City either, so I think it's fine but y'all abolish Geoff and his position get rid of the city manager. Radically re change how you organize the city, so that y'all actually like do something instead of every meeting every two weeks and just doing whatever staff does which you have a fascist city manager, who would rather threatened citizens who criticize the city, because they refuse me people housing, instead of. Saying that oh no, we were wrong actually they do turn away people from shelter house, because the capacity which everyone that works at Shelter House knows that they do that, yet this city is still standing by their lie that that's what shelter House does and. Provide emergency shelter to people need it right now open the shelter. City of Iowa City open emergency shelter. City of Iowa City open emergency shelter.. Open emergency shelter. Open emergency shelter. Open a gosh fucking damn emergency shelter today, tomorrow, put this on your meeting agenda to give people shelter it's not that hard it's not about radical idea to give people housing who need it thanks. Teague: Thank you. And I just wanted to get a sense of how many people here want to speak during public comment. Okay, all right welcome and there is a sign in at the podium and so i'll ask everyone to sign in and give your name and the city you're with. And there are also stickers that you can fill out and drop in the basket, if you want to sign up beforehand. Ryan: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, of diversity City Council, thank you for hearing a few local business owners about our obligations for sidewalk patio permits and cafes and obligations. My name is Brandon Ryan I'm the owner of Tiki Tacos and burgers wings located on Washington street a new restaurant that just opened last spring. As a small operation with no large financial backing, it is imperative to me and my staff that we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 6 control as much as our costs, as we can. I am asking for the City Council to give thought and how it can do more to help local restaurants during an increasingly difficult time in such an imperative business to our vibrant community. Dealing with staff shortages increased labor wages widespread inflation, a pandemic, disruption in the supply chain and many more issues have made an already viable industry even more uncertain looking for looking towards the future. A forfeiture or decrease the sidewalk CAFE fees would go a long way to help our industry survive. I have one of the smallest patios in the downtown area, and I know that my $1400 annual fee, you could go towards ensuring I have capital to pay my staff. Capital improvements beautifying said patio area in many more areas in my restaurant. Operations to consider would be lower end of the padio, excuse me of the permit fees a monthly payment during the patio months instead of a large upfront some which is do after the slower winter months. Pardon me, or an every other year is waived type scenario, at the very least, I asked the City Council to consider these other options or more to help our local businesses survive during an already increasingly difficult time, thank you for your consideration. Teague: Thank you. Anyone online or like to speak, please raise your hand. Seeing no one welcome. Emmerhart: Good evening how are you? Teague: Awesome and Amazing, welcome. Emmerhart: Thank you. My name is Josh Emmerhart, the owner of Donnelly's pub 110 East college street in the ped mall downtown. I'm here to piggyback on what Joe and in Brandon have already commented on this evening, the current cost burden of what is what is termed as the right of way fee. For patio and outdoor dining space in our downtown area so. The way I see it currently downtown businesses are creating a desirable location for one our citizens two our visitors and three are potential citizens to visit part of the way that we're doing that is via outdoor dining. There is no doubt at this point that it is a key attribute to. A city and something that is desirable, by like I said current citizens potential citizens and visitors as well. Not only is it desirable to them, it is now become an absolute necessity as a business, something that we must have and it's something that we must provide. To remain viable in a time when business, quite frankly, as tough as it ever has been the feel allow a little bit of background on the math on a on a Tuesday evening. My current patio fee or right of way fee is it is termed is $3,000 for the year that gets me 12 seats and a beautiful Iowa year we might get 100 patio days. So we're putting that at about $30 a day for me to even exist, having a patio and about $2.50 a day per seat to for for that to even exist that's obviously before any rain any bug days you know hot humid days things like that. So, as you can see just through that quick math that become can become quite a burden to a small business owner. I don't think I need to say a whole lot more than that what my colleagues have already said, but we certainly appreciate your consideration on lowering those fees in the future, thank you, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 7 Teague: Thank you. and welcome. Wagner: Hello. Teague: And then I wanted to just make sure that you do sign your name. Wagner: Oops, I filled out. Teague: Oh, you already filled it out? Wagner: Yep I dropped it in there. Teague: Thank you great welcome Wagner: Awesome well hello, my name is Elizabeth Wagner, I am an Iowa city resident and senior at the University of Iowa. And I am here tonight to ask you to prioritize and pass a resolution committing to 24/7 carbon free electricity by 2030 for Iowa City. So today, when we turn on our lights or power up an appliance that power is supply from a mix of clean energy, but it continues to include power from coal plants. Achieving Community wide 24 seven carbon free electricity closes this gap and eliminates emissions producing power sources from the equation. Iowa City has been at the forefront and addressing the climate crisis in 2019 the city declared a new target to reduce carbon emissions by 45% from 2010 levels and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 however what's notably missing from this commitment and the climate action and adaptation plan is an established clean energy goal. And moment American or major energy provider has made significant investments in wind energy it's still operates a large coal fleet that supplies, energy to its customers, including Iowa City. Mid American energy will not provide 100% renewable energy, if they still plan on burning fossil fuels and delivering that energy to Iowa customers or selling it out of state. This current approach expects to say to rely on a mix of clean and dirty energy and does not aim to phase out fossil fuel usage enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. It's up to Iowa City to establish a real 100% clean energy goal and ensure that the city's electricity comes from carbon free sources. Over 180 cities nationwide have adopted clean energy goals in 2021 Des Moines City Council unanimously passed a resolution to reach Community wide 24/7 carbon free electricity and Iowa City can strengthen its role as a climate leader, by being the next city to make this forward looking and necessary commitment. The consequences of an action are severe, the most recent report from the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that international goals will be out of reach unless fossil fuels are significantly reduced by 2030. With action stalled at both the federal and the State level, the time is now for Iowa City to do its part to reduce power sector emissions. So 24/7 carbon free electricity goal is the most genuine decarbonization commitment that local governments can leverage to act on climate and I asked that you prioritize this resolution to guarantee a truly sustainable and equitable future for our city, thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 8 Schulerman: My cards in there ready, good evening, my name is Deb Schulerman and I'm an Iowa City resident and member of the 100 grannies for a livable future. I'm here tonight, as a representative of the 100% Iowa City coalition to announce Community wide support for the passage of 24 seven carbon free electricity resolution. 100% Iowa City is a growing coalition of local individuals organizations and businesses that recognize the benefits. And the necessity of committing to moving towards 100% clean electricity for Iowa City, we know that local action is the best way forward, right now, across the country communities are leading the charge on solutions. Iowa City leaders have listened to commute to citizen and put in collaborated with the Community, Iowa City is already established as a climate leader. However, it's time to do more to address the city's carbon emissions and the imminent threat of this climate crisis. Adopting the the 100% Iowa resolution is one way to do that today, along with individual supporters 25 organizations and businesses have signed on and supportive a 24/7 carbon free electricity resolution you had been presented with two letters of support, on behalf of these following groups: 100 grantees for a livable future, Astig Planning, A and W Sustainable Planning and Outreach, Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, Common good Iowa, C -Wise Design and Consulting LLC, Dottie's, Dream City, Geoffs bike and ski, Global food project of Iowa City, Great Plains Action Society, Green State Solutions, Integrated Power Corporation, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Iowa City bicycle library, Iowa City Environmental Advocates, Iowa City Green Drinks, Iowa Interfaith Power and Light, Newman Monson Architects, Pani Clean, Inc., Physicians for Social Responsibility, Public Space One, RAYGUN, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and the University of Iowa Environmental Coalition declaring a 24/7 carbon free electricity commitment is a necessary step toward climate resiliency cleaner air and water, environmental justice and economic prosperity we as a coalition ask that the city of Iowa City take this next step to ensure an equitable and sustainable future for Iowa City residents, thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone online like to address this time during public comment. Anyone else inside the Chambers here. Seeing no one we're going to move on to our next agenda item which is 10. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 9 10. Planning and 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- 0001)(Second Consideration) Teague: Planning and zoning matters 10.a vacation and conveyance of right away. This is an ordinance vacate vacating and approximately 3000 square feet of public right away, abutting 829 Kirkwood avenue an authorized and convenience to Ritu Jane and Bradley J. Pouleson the second consideration and staff has requested expedited action. Weiner: I moved to the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered in voted on for passage to Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be fmally passed be suspended. That the second consideration and vote be waived, and that the ordinance be voted on for final passage of this time. Taylor: second. Teague: Alright, moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? And welcome Noah online. Petersen: All right. You can hear me? Teague: Yes, welcome. Petersen: Okay. So I'm gonna talk about the right-of-way. So the right-of-way is the right thing to do is for the city to provide emergency shelter to people who need it now by opening up a shelter to the houseless. [OVERLAPPING] Teague: You must speak directly to the agenda topic at hand. Petersen: Okay, So directly is the city needs provide shelter to those who is currently refusing and forcing to live on the streets. Because right now what you're doing is not right, and it's not the right of way to force people lived on the streets. [OVERLAPPING] Teague: Uh, we're going to end this. Peterson: Okay. [OVERLAPPING] Teague: You must stay on topic. I've already warned you. Petersen: The topic is that you need to provide housing to people you're forcing to live on the streets right now. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 10 Teague: All right. We're gonna- [OVERLAPPING] gonna end. Petersen: Okay. I know you're gonna mute me. Teague: We're gonna mute. Anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one coucil discussion. Roll -call, please. [Roll call.] Teague: Motion passed 7-0. Can I get a motion to pass and adopt? Taylor: So I'll move Taylor. Weiner: Second. Teague: Seconded by Weiner. [Voice vote.] Teague: Actually we've to do roll -call for this. Goers: Yes, thank you. Teague: Roll -call, please. [LAUGHTER] [Roll call.] Thank you. Motion passes, 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 11 11. Benton Street Rehabilitation. — Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Benton Street Rehabilitation Project [STP -U- 3715(669)-70-52], establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. 1. Public Hearing Teague: Item number 11 is Benton Street rehabilitation. This is a resolution improvement project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Benton Street rehabilitation project, establishing amount of bid, security to accompany each bid. Direct the City Clerk to post notice to bidders and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. And I'm going to open the public hearing. [NOISE] And we're gonna start with our staff. Welcome, Melissa. Clow: Good evening. Um, I'm Melissa Clow with the City of Iowa's City Engineering Division. And I was here previously in December to present Benton Street. Um, we are facing a situation where we took bids through the DOT on January 19th. Um, we received one bid that exceeded the engineer's estimate of probable cost by more than 40 percent. So in turn, rejected that, and we're scheduled to rebid on June 21st, 2022. So as previously, the project corridor remains, um, from Greenwood Drive to Mormon Trek Boulevard. Um, it will- there was previous- I'm sorry, previous diamond grinding, um, completed on the project in 2007, but the pavements continue to deteriorate since then. So the MPOJC programmed $1.3 million in STBG funding in the '21-'24 TIP for rehabilitation. This project is partially funded by the Iowa DOT, and it includes the crack and seat of an existing pavement with a three-inch asphalt overlay. Um, we talked previously, this machine seen in the upper right corner will be used to crack the existing, ah, PCC pavement, and create a flexible base to put the three-inch asphalt overlay on top of. Side street intersections will be reconstructed with ADA sidewalk improvements. Pavement widening and signal improvements will occur at the Sunset intersection. We're moving forward with water main and storm sewer improvements, and there will be new five-foot bike lanes. The changes to the rebid plan set include, um, clarification of items that were added by addendum during the first bid period. We also added two critical closure periods for sewer work. There's some, ah, storm sewer manholes that will be installed in the middle of Benton Street. So to aid the contractor, we've looked at closing down just that section, um, to give them the ability to use the road and get that work completed. Um, a revised phasing also provides additional flexibility to the contractor. They will be able to start construction this fall or next spring. And that's in response to, um, material and schedule challenges that they've all been facing. We've also clarified the separation of water from a- an existing high-pressure gas line that exists. The estimated construction cost has been increased to $4.2 million. This was revised by McClure Engineering after the rejection of the first bid and is based on current awarded contract prices that are reported by the Iowa DOT. So the project timeline becomes the bid letting on June 21st, with an award date projected to be July 5th. Construction can start this fall or next spring and will be completed by the fall of 2023. And with that, are there any questions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 12 Teague: Thank you. All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, uh, step up to the podium. If you're online, please raise your hand. And I'm just going to again just remind anyone that wants to speak that they need to speak on topic. And I also wanted to just remind that I'll give a verbal warning. And then after such, um, I won't recog- I will not recognize the speaker, um, after that. Welcome, Noah. Petersen: Hello, Can you hear me? Teague: Yes, we can. Welcome. Petersen: Hello, and thank you for the reminder, but I'm getting ignore it. So provide emergency shelter, and see those you are currently doing - Teague: Thank you, Noah. Petersen: -at the street. Stop force - 2. Consider a Resolution Teague: Thank you. And Noah, you will not be recognized the rest of this meeting during comment. Anyone else like to address the topic? I'm going to close the public hearing. [NOISE] Can I get a motion to approve, please? Thomas: So moved, Thomas. Alter: Second, Alter. Teague: Council discussion? Taylor: I drive Benton Street quite often because that's just in my neighborhood. Uh, so I'm happy to see this, although I do have a lot of concerns about it. It is- some people might not be aware of that, it's a pretty major east -west, ah, ah, road- roadway, ah, for the city. And particularly, that Sunset, the intersection of the- the school, ah, Horn Elementary. There's a lot of, um, young children there and bicycles. And speaking of bicycles, I'm happy to see that because also driving on, ah, Benton, ah, I- I fear for some of the bicycle sort of that they're brave enough to ride on- on Benton Street, ah, because if there's some - urn, one day there was a UPS truck parked actually in the bike lane, and the bike had to swerve around it, and into traffic. And that's very dangerous, but I think if we have wider and more apparent bike lanes that- that'll be good. So I do like that. I do have concerns about the closing down part of it though. I guess I didn't ask about that, but it also- during football season is a very major, ah, roadway for, ah, people corning and going, ah, from Kinnick. They're not using Melrose, they're using Benton. So I do have concerns about that being, ah, part of that being closed down in the fall and would hope that maybe we could do one lane versus two lane kind of thing. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 13 Clow: We would be looking at restricting that when it's- um, when ifs not during a football weekend. And it's for five days maximum. Taylor: Just five days. Okay. Thank you very much. I was concerned that it would be the whole fall season and that would not be good. Thank you. That clarifies that. Alter: I just want to follow up on what Pauline was talking about and, um, that intersection with Sunset and Benton. I'm just- I'm very happy to see that that's going to be part of the overhaul because I do think it's going to be- especially with the hill. Its vision is difficult, and it is a busy intersection. So I'm just- that's good news that this is going to be, ah, taking shape and getting taken care of. Weiner: I just wanted to comment on something that we talked about earlier. This is- I think this is- we're probably going to see more of this going forward with not knowing what- what, um, the delivery pipeline will be like, not knowing what costs are going to be going forward. As well as with- with- constr- more constrained budgets. It's something we're going to- as council, we're going to have to pay very close attention to is the- is- is the fmancial part driven by, um, an uneven supply chain and raised commodity prices right now. Teague: Any other comments? 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 April 19, 2022. Page 14 12. North Westminster Storm Sewer Improvements — Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the North Westminster Storm Sewer Improvements Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. 1. Public Hearing Teague: Item number 12 is North Westminster storm sewer improvements. Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the North Westminster storm sewer improvements project, establishing amount of bids, security to acc- acc- accompany each bid. Directing the City Clerk to pose notice to bidders and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. I'm going to open the public hearing. [NOISE] And welcome. Clark: Hi, my name's Ben Clark. I'm from the engineering division. Here to- here to talk about just give you an overview of the project. So our project is located on the north-east side of town, um, over kind of Lemme Elementary School. We zoom in a little. Um, you can see the bulk of the project is at the intersection of North Westminster Street and Washington Street. Quick timeline, in about, ah, the year 2015 and even- even before we started receiving reports of flooding on the street, we had a drainage study conducted in 2017, got a project in the program in 2019. I've been going through the design phase, and, um, we're ready to put the project out to bid. A couple of pictures of what the problem is. Um, you can see the photo on the left. Um, we had some flooding on Washington Street, ah, stalled cars, um, in that area. You can see on the right, we've got the street full of water. That's North Westminster. Um, just an overview of the- our drainage study shows how big that drainage area is. It covers quite a bit of an area. Um, we've identified down at the bottom some, um, deficiency in- in the storm pipe. Um, pay attention to the red lines at the very bottom center. Um, the table, you'll notice those red lines are deficient. They don't even handle a one-year storm. So our design guidelines are about a five-year event. So we're going to focus on those lines. Um, just a general overview of the project. Um, up-sizing the pipe from like a 36 -inch to a 42, generally, in those areas. Um, timeline, um, take bids, May 10th. Award the contract, May. Hopefully, start this summer. And then we're giving them some flexibility to finish in the Spring of '23, um, just to try to get good bids. That's all I have. Are there any questions? Teague: I don't hear any. Thank you so much. Clark: Thank you. Teague: Anyone from the public like to address this topic? And welcome, John. Online. [BACKGROUND] Petersen: Hello. [BACKGROUD] I'm calling to tell you -all to, um, start. [OVERLAPPING] 2. Consider a Resolution This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 15 Teague: Okay, thank you -thank you. Anyone else likes to address this topic? Seeing no one, I'm gonna close the public hearing. [NOISE] Can I get a motion to approve, please? Taylor: So moved. Bergus: Seconded. Teague: Moved by Thomas, seconded by Bergus. Taylor: By Taylor. Taylor Bergus. Teague: By Taylor. Seconded by Bergus. And council discussion. Thomas: I appreciated the presentation. It was interesting. I- kinda when I looked at the plan, I kinda wondered why- why m this particular area are the sewers being replaced and- uh, and showing a watershed that's being served by those sewer lines? It became very clear, so thanks for the presentation. Weiner: And I'm wondering as we- as- as we deal with, as we've heard this evening as well about climate change. If they're gonna be more areas in the city where we're gonna find that to - looking forward 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years that we'll need to increase the size of those sewage lines as well? Thomas: Well, this is for a five-year event. She said now? Clark: Yes. So we've- we've identified some areas that don't meet our current standards, and that's just being able to convey a five-year storm events about 3.75 inches in- in a day, 24 hours. So we'll just bring those up to our current standards. Thomas: So we'll probably still see flooding, just not as often. Teague: 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 April 19, 2022. Page 16 13. Wetherby Park Sidewalk and Driveway — Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Weatherby Park Sidewalk and Driveway Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and afixing time and place for receipt of bids. 1. Public Hearing Teague: We're onto item number 13 which is Wetherby Park Sidewalk and Driveway. This is a resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Wetherby Park Sidewalk and Driveway project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing city clerk to know- post notice to bidders and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. I'm gonna open the public hearing. [NOISE] And welcome. Yoder: Hi. I'm Ethan Yoder with the engineering division. So Wetherby Park project, it's including putting in ADA curb ramps cross Taylor drive. And then extending the sidewalk from Taylor Drive to the park, so I- pedestrians don't have to cross the parking lot. We're including, uh, entrance reconstruction. It's not the best shape sort of planning on improving that while we're here. Um, improving the west trail connection which is on the left side of the screen there, and then we're also including sidewalk to the community gardens. The cost estimate for the project was $93,000. Uh, we plan on doing the bid letting on May 10th, accepting bids on May 17th with construction to start in June this year and should be completed by the fall of this year. Are there any questions? Alter: How will that impact actually- since that's gonna be taking place over the summer in terms of existing entrance, since that's really the only entrance into the park unless you're walking in, how will that affect, um, people trying to get in who need to drive? Yoder: Yep. That's something we can work with the contractor on trying to do it in pieces. So that way there's still a path to bail to get into the park because I notice that it actually gets quite a bit of use, especially the community gardens and the splash pad. So we plan on trying to make sure that we can still allow access. 2. Consider a Resolution Teague: Thank you. Anyone from the public likes to address this topic? I see no one, I'm gonna close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: All right. And council discussion. I will say that this is a very needed sidewalk in some of the spaces. Um, so thanks for the staff for working on this. Bergus: Agreed, yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 17 Teague: And the- and the community gardens are very popular at that location. I think they were all sowed up so yea- 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 April 19, 2022. Page 18 14. Utility Rate Public Hearing Resolution — Ordinance amending Title 3, entitled "Finance, Taxation and Fees," Chapter 4, entitled "Schedule of Fees, Rates, Charges, Bonds, Fines and Penalties," Article 5, entitled, "Solid Waste Disposal". 1. Public Hearing Teague: Item number 14 is utility rate public hearing resolution. This is the ordinance, um, Title 3, entitled finance, taxation and fees, Chapter 4 entitled schedule of fees, rates, charges, bonds, fines, and penalties, Article V entitled solid waste disposal. I'm gonna open the public hearing. And welcome. Davies: Good evening mayor and council. I'm here to go over the, uh, rate increases in the refuse fund that was approved with the FY13, uh, budget. There's actually three different, uh, rates. The first one is for the yard waste. Um, again, approved as part of FY23 budget. This is a rate increase of a $1.50 per dwelling unit per month, and this is also a mirrored with an increase in any additional carts. So that's the monthly rate going from $2-$3.50 per month, and that would be effective July lst. This will generate approximately 285,000 annually, and this is to cover the increased set out rates, the cost of fuel, equipment, and labor that are all increasing. Um, and this rate has not been increased since it was first adopted in FY18. And just- then just to give you a brief history of so the bars- the solid bars are the amount of collection that has happened through the last five years. The, uh, green line is the expenses. You can see an uptake between '19 and '20 that was almost all carts for some a couple- I think there's three shipments in there of carts that year, so that's why you see that uptake and then that's come back down a little bit. Uh, the next rate is the curbside solid waste. This is going, um, an increase of one dollar per dwelling unit per month, and again mirrored with any additional cards. So the monthly rate is going from 12-13, effective July 1st and will generate approximately 190,000 annually. And again, to cover increased costs, um, increase tonnage, fuel, equipment, labor. Um, and the last curbside waste fee increase was $0.20 per unit- per dwelling unit per month in FY2018 as well. So solid waste collections. Again, the solid green bars is the amount of tonnage collected. You can see the large increase in '21. That's thanks to the Derecho and COVID. Um, and then obviously the cost increase with that, um, and most of that is the cost at the landfill to dispose of all of the additional refuse. The third increase is in the recycling rate. Um, this is $0.50 per dwelling unit per month. Uh, so the monthly rate will be going from $6-$6.50, effective July lst. It'll generate approximately $95,000 annually. Again, same thing as fuel, equipment, and labor increased costs. Um, the last curbside recycling fee was increased $0.90 per dwelling unit, um, in FY21. So again, the green bars is the amount of recycling which has seen a little steady increase, same with the increasing costs, um, at about the same rate as increased tonnage. This is the overall fund. Um, so you can see even with these rate increases, we're still projecting a slight deficit in the- in those years. Um, but what I would say is we budget pretty conservatively. So hopefully we would actually come out ahead, but this gets us much closer to what the gap would be without these rate increases. So again, just overall, the rate changes. The curbside, um, yard waste, a $1.50 per dwelling unit per month, as well as the additional carts, the curbside solid waste, a dollar This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 19 per unit per month, um, and then the recycling, the $0.50 per unit per month. So an estimated 570,000 annual increase, um, in total revenue. Any questions? Taylor: Are there any like low-income rates incorporated that are plans for that for those with lower-income? Or do you currently have that or are there plans to do that? Davies: They're already current low-income rates? I couldn't tell you exactly what they are off the top of my head though. 2. Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration) Teague: Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to give first consideration? Harmsen: So moved. Bergus: Seconded. Teague: Moved by Harmsen and seconded by Bergus. Council discussion. Taylor: I asked the question about the low-income rates because I- I do have some concerns. And- and looking at the data you provided that at one time it was only increased by $0.20 another time, and one of the other items was only increased by $0.90. Are we- where do these amounts- I mean, I know you've shared some great fmancial data about what it's going to give us for revenue, but I do have concerns for our low-income folks, you know, they live from penny to penny literally a lot of them and $3 might not sound a lot to some folks, but for those that are- are living on limited incomes, I- I do have concerns on- on the bump up that- that we're proposing. Fruin: Yeah. I think we can respond to that. I think you saw with the projections, we're not even projecting a revenue increase to- to cover our projected expenses going forward. As Nicole mentioned, we hope that that works itself out over time due to mostly conservative budgeting principles that we have, but, um, this is an enterprise fund. So the- the rates that we're charging are what we need to pay the staff and fuel the vehicles and- and dispose of whatever it is that we're picking up. There's no- there's no extra built- in there. It's not like these fees are supporting public safety initiatives or parks initiatives or anything like that. We really just focus on what it costs to operate the service. And of course, we always try to find efficiencies when we can and where we can. I think we do a good job of that, but if you weren't comfortable with the full $3, I think what you'd have to expect is that you're going to force yourself into a probably a bigger rate increase down the road a little bit. So if you wanted to do $1, $2 this year instead of that $1 or $2 a couple of years down the road, which has been our trend, you're probably going to have a- a more painful increase, if you will, a few years down the road. And that's what we try to avoid with these budgets. We- we try to do smaller increases. We try to stagger them This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 20 so we're not increasing water at the same time we're increasing refuse or storm water and - and make that hit just a little bit more palatable, but we understand it's- it- it- it's a lot. Taylor: Thank you, Geoff. Bergus: Yeah. It- it is hard to approve these rate increases, but as Geoff mentioned, with it being an enterprise fund, we do need to be able to try and meet our expenses. And thank you, Nicole, for that explanation of this is still actually anticipating some- some gaps that we won't quite be making it, but it'll be close enough that we're comfortable. I think with the $2.50 of the $3 being rates that haven't moved for five fiscal years makes me a lot more comfortable to think about that as well. That's a- that's a pretty long period of time. Fruin: Yeah. And- and the discount is 75 percent of the fee. So, uh, if you sign up for our- our utility discount program, you get not only a discount on the refuse, but that's also the water and the sewer and storm water collections, but it's actually a 75 percent discount on the refuse components. Taylor: Thank you. That's good to know. Weiner: Thanks. That's helpful. Teague: Okay. Any other questions or comments? 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 April 19, 2022. Page 21 17. Forest View Relocation Plan — Resolution approving the Forest View Relocation Plan Teague: I did want to maybe have Item Number 17. Let's do Item Number 17 Since we're done with, um, our public hearings. Um, and well do Item Number 17, which is Forest View Relocate- Relocation Plan. This is a resolution approving the Forest View. Goers: If I may interrupt, Mayor. Because it's- constitutes a change in the agenda. If we could just have a motion to make that change, we can go - Teague: Sure. Bergus: So moved. Taylor: Second. Teague: All right. [Voice vote.] Teague: Any oppose? All right. Item Number 17 Forest Relocation Plan. This is a resolution approving the Forest View Relocation Plan. Could I get a motion to approve, please. Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Taylor: Second, Taylor. Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor. And I'm going to wait- welcome Rachel, our Assistant City Manager. Kilburg: Mayor and City Council. Rachel Kilburg, Assistant City Manager. Um, so as you've mentioned, this resolution will authorize us to carry out the Forest View Mobile Home Relocation Plan. All the way back in 2019, the city had approved a conditional zoning agreement for the redevelopment of the area that encompassed Forest View, that CZA required the owner to provide relocation assistance to all the households living there at the time. However, since then that development has lost its viability. This was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. And meanwhile, those housing conditions have continued to deteriorate and there has been a severe lack of investment in the neighborhood. The city has provided some stopgap kind of home repair efforts in the recent years, um, but many of those mobile homes are beyond repair and a proactive solution has been needed to help these residents, urn, mo- relocate to safer decent housing. So in September of 2021, after ARPA public input, City Council had prioritized using ARPA funds to address this challenge. And since then, city staff has worked with the tenants to develop this voluntary relocation plan. I walked you through that in detail at today's work session, but in short, it will provide relocation payments in the amount of 15,750 to all the residents, as well as to- to provide assistance through local sof- social service agencies to fmd new housing. This plan also includes using local funds to compensate those households who lived in Forest View at the time of the 2019 CZA, but This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 22 moved out, um, prior to the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020. Happy to take any questions. Harmsen: Just one point of clarification. Um, you'd said $15,750 for all residents. It's for each household, which I know you know when you gave us that presentation. [OVERLAPPING] Kilburg: I apologize. Yes, per household. Harmsen: For anybody in the- just- just for anybody listening just so we don't confuse. Kilburg: Thanks for the clarification. Harmsen: Sure. Weiner: The- and the other clarification which you had given us earlier was the- the ARPA funds. Anyone who receives the- the amount through the ARPA funds, they will not be taxable. Um, the- the funds that are from regular city funds will be. Kilburg: It's correct. Teague: All right. Any other questions for staff? I did want to just make sure that when- in May I know there will be the process of having people come and apply. Um, checks will be issued at a separate time; is that correct? After- Kilburg: Yeah. That's correct. So we expect that in early May well be able to get all of the kind of eligibility information collected in an order and then just a couple of weeks to process that and cut the checks by the end of May. Teague: Great. Kilburg: That would be the first check for those who are- households who are receiving two checks, and then the single full amount for those households who have already vacated. Teague: Thank you. Any other questions for staff? Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so, please sign in at the podium or [NOISE] place your sticker in the basket. [NOISE] Welcome. Please state your- please state your name and the city you're from. Baltazar: Okay. Thank you for your time. My name is Margarita [Baltazar]. Flores: I'm gonna translate for her. My name is Gustavo Flores Baltazar (via translator):We would like to thank you for this opportunity that you guys gave us and help you providing. Thank you for listening to us and help us very- very much. Do This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 23 you guys know that we've been working for these kind of help for the longest time, many- many years. I remember the first time we were here, my daughter was only four years old. Now, she's gonna be 11 years old. We would like to thank you for all the help you providing us, which is way- way, a lot of help. We consider that not only are we helping each other in Forest View but we would like to help other people in our community not to go for that bad times that we went through. But because we- even though we have had bad times, these help means a lot to us and we would like to help other people not to go through what we're going through. Taken the name of all the kids as a single minor in Forest View? All citizens living in Forest View, we would like to thank you a lot. On my behalf. Thank you very much. And we would like to be working together with you guys. Teague: Thank you. Salih: Hi, everyone. Teague: Welcome. Salih: My name is Mazahir Salih, I'm the Executive Director of the Center for Worker Justice. I'm just here to okay the same thing that Margarita said, this is where it's really a tough journey for- Forest View residents. Seven years, they are fighting with a big drea, and that they're going to have then they will get the housing- house in the same area where they'd been living there for 40 years. Unfortunately is not happening now. But the city was really in this side since like- this beginning of this project. This is his- the city was in there side by moving this forward, approving the planning and zoning, and approving the affordable housing and everything. But unfortunately it's not happening now. It's very sad for them. Suddenly, you know, all this dream has disappeared and you know- and also they have to go now and just rent somewhere else. Their rent suddenly from $310 will be for two bedroom, $900. It would be really tough for them. But the city has stepped up voluntarily, you didn't have to do that, but you take the initiative till yes, relocate- help those people relocate and approving this $15,000. This is really amazing. Thank you so much. A special thank to all of you. And especially special thanks to the City Manager and the assistant city manager, Tracy Hightshoe and all the staff that work on this. And, you know, I guess this is on behalf of the residents. Everybody like really just happy that you are thinking of them and try to help them relocate. Thank you so much. Teague: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Anyone else? Welcome. Rodriguez: Hello everybody. Teague: Hello. Rodriguez: Thank you for being here with me. I know you guys could have been anywhere in the world, but you're here and I appreciate it and my colleagues here from Forest View This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 24 Trailer Court appreciate it too. Um, I don't really have anything written down because everything comes from my heart. Teague: How about telling us your name and where you from. Rodriguez: Oh, yes, of course, [LAUGHTER] I as- sorry, my name is Margarita Rodriguez and I live in Forest View Trailer Court. And as of course, as you all know, I'm the president of the association there, and I try my best to do everything correctly for them and uh, go ahead and forward for others that we've been going through. Um, going back to say thank you for everybody for being there, supporting us and every single point of view that you all have. But I wanna make a statement here that we are four people or five people more likely that are making a little bit that- the minimum wage, I believe more than the people that are making low-income. And I would really- really appreciate it if you all have a heart in yourself and get us involved with the same thing and not go out there with less than other people because like they have said we are paying $310, right? And you gonna go out there and you gonna to look for an apartment, a house. And you gonna pay triple the amount $900 maybe $1000. All depends, you know, what you're looking for and was - what safety is out there? So uh, just have a little consideration and believe in yourself by saying, what if it was me? What if I go out there and I can't fmd what it should be out there for us? Safety, you know, like you all said uh, under construction on the sidewalk being deteriorated and stuff like that. You know, we all have kids, others- more than others. But I mean, I really- really appreciate you'll for being there for us and coming out with this amount. I know that I couldn't have done it myself, you know, but I really - really appreciate it to have a little bit more consideration and think about this for only five people more. That's all I'm asking for. Appreciate it. Thank you for listening to me. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? Eastham: Evening council. Teague: Welcome. Eastham: My name is Charlie Eastham and I live in Iowa city uh, [NOISE] I'm here. The expression of why we're doing this this evening, why you're doing this has already been given. And I want to honor that and respect it very much. I actually just wanted to congratulate you as a group. Because one, all of you, I know, including the City Manager, have at various times visited with, talked with in-groups, with people who live in Forest View and are here tonight uh, [NOISE] to talk with you about what the situation is there and you have listened to them. Uh, that makes a difference to me. Uh, that's what I try to do in my work too. Uh, [NOISE] we are successful at this point and addressing immediate needs. We need to do a little bit more perhaps, but we are- we've done a lot of work together at this point. That's not something you know, it's- that's always happened in the city, in this community. But you have individually and collectively made something to happen that we have not experienced before. Uh, and you should feel good about yourself for doing that. I hope you do. Uh, we may have had disagreements from This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 25 time to time. We may have more disagreements from time to time, but we're still working together in partnership with each other. And [NOISE] again, you should feel really proud of yourselves for doing that. Thanks. Teague: Thank you. [APPLAUSE]. Anyone else would like to address this topic? Seeing no one. Council discussion? Weiner: I'd like to say a couple of- very briefly in Spanish and English. [FOREIGN] Thank you very much- thank you all very much for your work. [FOREIGN] There are moments when we have a moral obligation, and that's all I wanted to say. [APPLAUSE] Taylor: I wanna say and then uh, I'll go on what Charlie had uh, said that I- I can hardly even say how very proud I'm of our city- city of Iowa. City for uh, how we've stepped up uh, even right from uh, the beginning and trying to make some plans that would be acceptable uh, so that these folks weren't just uprooted from their homes, uh, right down to the fact that uh, we've invested a lot of money, 15, I'll see. That's money to the uh, Iowa City Federation of Labor and to Habitat for Humanity. Uh, thousands of dollars to go in and try to help uh, fix these homes so they will be livable uh, for as long as- as they could possibly have to live in that that was 5,000 to city fed and 17,500 to habitat. And that's a major investment. And so I'm proud of that, I'm proud of what we as a council, have uh, decided upon for the amount of money for your assistance. And I'm proud of you all, I've said it before. Your courage and your strength is just amazed me. Uh, you are great role models to your children, your family members, and the entire community of Iowa city. That's all. [APPLAUSE] Teague: I was elected in October of 2018, and this was one of the first topics that was on the agenda. And I remember this room being filled to the brim with so many people, um, come in to express their hope and their desires, their dreams. And boy, where we excited when we get to that point of making an approval. And then today we're here where those hopes and those dreams are different. But they're still hope. And I want to thank my fellow councilors for really seeing the opportunity that we had. And I would agree with Councilor Weiner that there was a moral obligation that we saw. Um, I'm gonna give a special thanks to all of our city staff that's been working on this. Um, we know that our, um, directors often get, you know, the praise and I'm going to praise them in a second. But thanks to all the staff that is in the background that is also working on this. Tracy Hightshoe. She has to be thanked. Rachel, thank you so much and to our city manager Geoff, really appreciate working hand in hand as these individuals residents have came and shared not- not only here, publicly but on an individual basis, they've been, uh, very appreciative of the transparency, um, as well as the, um, opportunity to tell their story and for you listening. So I really appreciate that. This is, uh, kind of an exciting day because this is an opportunity for us to approve, uh, some money [LAUGHTER] for the transition. And I think it's awesome and amazing. Although I'm also reminded that this road won't be easy for a lot because of the rents in our community now, I think that is something for us to continue to work on. Um, I know this council was really dedicated to I'm looking at more opportunity to foster, um, affordable rent. We- we do what we can. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 26 We wish we could open up the floodgates of all the funds, but that's not, um, you know all that feasible, but there's still hope there I'm gonna be very proud to approve this today. Bergus: As a councilor who came kinnd of in at the end of this process, I remember watching the approval of the Forest Few development and being so impressed that the developer came forward with the tenants association for a joint application and saw all the effort that went into that and many difficult and sad circumstances that bring us to the point that that couldn't be realized. But I hope that this is showing meaningful commitment from the city to be able to- to move forward. And I also just want to echo what my colleagues have said about the effectiveness of our staff working with the- the tenants. Um, in particular, the fact that I- I don't know that this, um, level of support would have been possible without the American Rescue Plan Act funds that we received. And I know it's probably the- the money may be coming later than people would've wished given how long you've been waiting and how much you've been through that the effectiveness of our staff to create a program and to be able to execute so quickly. And to my colleagues to be able to- we didn't agree on every detail, um, in getting to this point, but I think we were able to come together and I'm just very proud of how we were able to do that work as a community. Thank you. Thomas: Right. I too I'm really pleased and proud of all of us I think, um, in where we've arrived here. It- it was a difficult process. Uh, and really that just the last- the last aspect of something that six years duration. I mean, a long- a long process with high hopes. And I think at least the sense of high hope has been expressed in- in this relocation plan that, uh, we did our work best, I think showed our best side in trying to make that a smooth transition of and it was deliberative in the sense of all of us staff included. You guys did a great job with the implementation of this. Um, so as Charlie said, I'm- I'm quite pleased and proud that we as a community, expressed that sense of obligation to one another. That's what community is. If- without obligation there is no community. So thank you again. Harmsen: I would just like to really echo I can't really say any better than the list of thank you's for the people that were involved in this. One thing I will add, um, and somebody at one of my colleagues had mentioned earlier about the inspiration that you all have provided to your- to your children. But I would also extend the two- provided an inspiration with community organizing, uh, far beyond forest view as we all sitting here, no, we're in the middle of multiple concerns about, uh, the future of mobile home courts and other affordable housing in our community. And I've seen firsthand the organization that has happened in other mobile home courts, uh, in- in during those efforts, those early efforts to organize some of those places, Forest View. Uh, the people that helped with Forest View or right, they're lifting up you- you all as an example of what can happen if people are willing to put in the work and come together and stick with it over time. And you - you don't really know where you're gonna end up, but you know, you're going to end up somewhere better than if you hadn't done anything at all. And I think tonight is another reminder of that. And it's not just for the people of Forest View, but I think there's a message that ripples out beyond that. So thank you all. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 27 Alter: And if I can just I wish I was as eloquent as everyone, but, um, I'm just going to follow up to say that what you have shown in your persistence in your continued efforts when there have been obstacles to say, how do we problem -solve? How do we get around it? How can we all do this together, knowing that we don't all agree as a council, sometimes with the association and council previous and now- and yet, you showed the way for how this work gets done. And I echo what Shawn said is that it ripples out in terms of truly what community effort, collaboration and persistence is, and so often [NOISE] that persistence can be worn down. And your strength, in addition to your inspiration, your hope. Just the sheer strength in the face of enormous challenge is truly inspiring. But it's a model for how we all should work as accounts as- as a community and [NOISE] I think that this you really helped show a way for how we all can work better together in the face of some enormous odds. I wish that this was not the outcome, but I'm so glad that we are able to get things to you now at a state where there is little choice, but as a council, we did not say or staff in particular said, it's not a matter of washing our hands. We have an obligation we have an obligation to the work that you have done and respect. And so I'm grateful that you all have hung in here with us and shown us the way to work better. And I also just want to add two additional names because I know, as we all say, sort of unsung heroes. I also want to shout out Erica and Cassie as well. I know that they were instrumental in all of this, so just thank you so- so very much to all of the work that you've done to show us how to work better. Teague: I think it would also be remissed for us to not recognize our old Mayor Pro Tem Salih, [APPLAUSE] Who has been very instrumental and supporting the residents along the way. So thanks to you. I think we're ready for roll -call. [Roll call.] And it passes with an awesome— awesome and amazing 7-0. [APPLAUSE] Now, could I get a motion to accept correspondence? Taylor: So moved,Taylor. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: All in favor say aye. [Voice vote.] Teague: Any oppose? Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 28 15. 2022 GO Bonds Bidding Procedure — Resolution Directing the Advertisement For Sale Of $10,255,000* (Dollar amount Subject To Change) General Obligation Bonds, Series 2022, And Approving Electronic Bidding Procedures And Distribution of Preliminary Official Statement. Teague: We're going to go back to item number 15, [NOISE] which is the 2022 GO Bonds Bidding Procedure. This is a resolution directing the advertisement for cell of 10,255,00 [NOISE] general obligation bonds series 2022, and approve an electronic bidding procedures and distribution of preliminary official statement. And can I get a motion to approve? Please. Thomas: So move Thomas. Alter: Second Alter. Teague: And a welcome again, Nicole. Davies: Yes, I'm back. Nicole Davies, Finance Director and 111 keep this brief. This is the next step and issuing the city's general obligation bonds, urn, to fund our CIP plan for the year. So this resolution approves the advertisement and over almost $10.3 million general obligation bonds it also approves the sale document, which is our preliminary official statement, and this is what is sent out to potential bidders for the city's bonds. This also approves the procedures that will be used to bid on these bonds. Um, the sale will happen on Tuesday, May 4th in the morning and the evening, we'll bring back the results of the bidding to council for approval. Any questions? Teague: No questions. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? Seeing no one, council discussion. Weiner: Always thankful that we have a AAA rating. Teague: 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 April 19, 2022. Page 29 16. Social Justice and Racial Equity Grants — Resolution Adopting the Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant Allocations for Fiscal Year 2022. Teague: Item number 16 a Social Justice and Racial Equity Grants. This is a resolution adopted in the Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant allocations for a fiscal year 2022. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Bergus: So moved Bergus. Alter: Second Alter Teague: And we're going to welcome our Human Rights Commissioner Chair, Jason Glass. Welcome. Glass: Thank you- Thank you, Mayor and Council. Um, as mentioned I'm Jason Glass with the, er, Iowa City Human Rights Commission. Uh, the info on- on all the grants is in your packets. I'll highlight a couple of things in there. Um, In 2017 the City Council created the Social Justice and Racial Equity Grants to assist community-based organizations in building ca- capacity to address Social Justice and Racial Equity needs. $75,000 has been allocated yearly for the grants, uh, since fiscal year 2019 and I will make note that it's- it's in the packet as well, that we-, er, that Human Rights Commission has recommended to City Council to increase that amount, uh, to $100- to $150,000 in future years. There are many worthy- very worthy projects that we are not able to recommend to you each year, um, um, because we are limited by that funding. So it'd be a great way to continue to- to uh, push our racial equity and, uh, agenda here in the Iowa City. So, uh, the grant is available for, um, Iowa City -based organizations to fund programs, activities, and services that eliminate inequities in the community. Uh, the- they were elbow- eligible to apply. Any- any organization is eligible to apply from December 1st of 2021 until January 7th of 2022. Now it's after a lot of, uh, educational, uh, s- sessions that are put on by, uh, the city- that both city staff and the commissioners and working with those, uh, um, in, um, organizations that are interested in applying. Um, seven of our nine commissioners, uh, then read through 19 grants that we had this year, which all are several pages long. So it's- that's our- our homework in January is to read through many of these grants. Um, two of our commissioners had direct relationships with a few of the grantees so had to abstain from doing that so seen of us read through all those- scored those and then in our, uh, February 22nd meeting, we reviewed our cumulative scores, uh, and then discussed all of those- all those grants, uh, resulting- by the way, those 19 gra- um, requests were for a total of $240,000, we have $75,000 to allocate. Um, so, um, the- the- both the full list of, uh, grant applications and their amounts are in your packet as well as the- the- the ones that we are now recommending to you. Um, there are s- some brief synopsis of each of the proposals in your- in your packet as well. So I'll let you read those. Uh, but the, uh, grantees that we are recommending are the Multicultural Deve- Deve- Development Center of Iowa for $10,000, Open Heartland for nine thousand dollars, the Center for worker justice for $18,000, Great plans- Great Plains Action Society for 5,000, uh, Iowa City Compassion for 15,000, Houses into Homes for 15,000, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 30 and the Iowa City Area Chinese Association for three thousand dollars. So, uh, there i- m- most of those are very near fully funded for what they requested, we did shave off a few dollars on a few of those grants from what they requested so that we can grant one more full grant to, uh, to- to one more application. So, with that, I will, uh, entertain any questions you have and, uh, encourage you to approve the- the grants as we've- as- as we have recommended. Taylor: Thank you, uh, Jason for, uh, your presentation and all of the material you've sent. Uh, I- I appreciate your- the work of the Commission to do this, It's not an easy task. I'm sure every year but you- you do it and- and you come forth with some, uh, excellent rationale, uh, and I wondered if you know when you're, uh, proposing the bumping it up, uh, is that so that you might be able to give it two more of these, like the 16 or so that are left or increase the amount that you are able to give to each group or kind of a combination of that incr- increase the number and the amount? Glass: Uh, It's a great question my- my -my first priority is to- is to grant more- the- a larger number of grants. Taylor: Uh-uh right. Glass: So in fact, uh, we- we- we- we- we tend to prioritize grants are very specific amount. We- the- the grant- the- the most that any one organization can apply for is $25,000. There are some grantees that- that request that amount, um, but yeah I think we actually give some priority to- to organizations that have a very targeted specific amount because that's usually tied to a very specific project as opposed to you know something that's more jagged like they're in general funding. So- so- so- so I'm not opposed to either [LAUGHTER] but certainly, we would like to include more organizations and what we are able to grant. Taylor: Thank you. Harmsen: Certainly echo that. Just thank you to you and- and the commission for going through all of this process, uh, sorting through all that evaluating from and trying to make judgments from so many worthy causes and that's- that's- that's a tough- that's tough thing to do. So thank you for doing that for [OVERLAPPING]. Glass: It's a lot of reading, but it's a labor of love and it makes it all worth it when the grants get, uh, issued and we get to see the reports back of all the great work that gets done. So-. Bergus: And I think it mentioned in the packet that there were- of seven organizations that were granted, five of them had not been funded by this grant before, does that sound correct? Glass: That's correct. Bergus: Okay, that's cool. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 31 Glass: Yeah. So there's- there's two repeats in there, yeah, which are still very worthy projects. Obviously. Uh, but we- we make a conscious effort to try to steer money towards organizations that have not received city funding before or aren't receiving funding from maybe some other sources that we- that- because it means they were probably projects that would not otherwise happen if not for this grant. So- Bergus: Thank you. Weiner: I am impressed by the breadth of the- of the organizations and the- and the differe- the different communities that will be impacted. Thomas: I- I too will say just thank you for doing the work then the commission doing the work. This is not an easy task and you know to be able to narrow it down and I appreciate your suggestion that I think it's just based on what you're seeing being submitted that there are a lot of- there's a lot of good work out there that just didn't the funding wasn't there to provide for them. Um, but it does reveal how rich you know the community is in terms of being able to respond to this grant program and that's exciting. Glass: Agreed so yeah, we're blessed with- a lot of great organizations are doing great work so. Teague: Any other questions from Council? Thank you so much. Glass: Thank you. Teague: All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? Seeing no one, council discussion. Alter: If I'm understanding this correctly, we've got sort of two things for discussion, correct? Didn't- has the money been approved for 150,000? Multiple Councilors: No. Fruin: No there's $75,000 for these awards, um, your next year's budget. Alter: Oh it's recommendation from next year. Fruin: We did bump to a 100,000 next year. Alter: Okay. Fruin: So that's the approved budget. So next time we have a cycle, they'll be a 100. Alter: Got you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 32 Fruin: If you want to fund more than the 75,000 tonight, we'll have to find alternative revenues in the budget. Alter: That was kinda my question. Fruin: I can help you navigate that. Alter: Yeah. Fruin: If- If you want to get into that discussion but the vote tonight is just on the 75,000. Alter: Okay, I'm sorry, I misunderstood because I understood as well that there was a unanimous recommendation for 150,000 from. Taylor: Each from HC DC. Weiner: But it's not on our agenda. Fruin: Yeah. Alter: It's just par- okay never mind. I had a moment there. Teague: I think the work of, um, the commission has been great as described, and it's always a hard thing to try to determine, you know, which- which agencies you're going to grant some funds to when you have so many great applicants. Some that you- you still know could utilize the help, but, you know, the end of that process stops here. Um, I know we won't get into- well, I mean, it is an agenda item, and they- and the- and they have their, ah, recommendations to council. I- I- I do think, you know, in the future- near future, this council could entertain, you know, the recommended 150,000 and I think we have, uh, our black lives matter, and 1 million dollars that we can, uh, probably allocate these funds to. Um, and so that's something that I would encourage this council to think about and maybe we can, um, revisit this with our HCDC to see what, you know, um, to see if- if they will also recommend other rem- remaining and all those individuals for the grants. Bergus: The Human Rights Commission, Mayor. Teague: Yes. Bergus: Sorry. Teague: Did I say HCDC. Bergus: Okay. Just want to do clarify. Teague: You know that's our next agenda. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 33 Bergus: Okay, that's the one. Teague: That's our next agenda item. [LAUGHTER] Bergus: Yeah. Thank you. Teague: Yes. Alter: I'm struck by how, um, others have said it, but I am struck by how well the projects are - are actually, um, reaching out to different parts of the community and really, ah, attending to special needs- the particular needs and as Jason you said, the ones that often really, um, hit strongly are the ones that- they've- they've so thoroughly thought through the project and they have such specific and well -articulated, um, sort of scope of what they want to do, and so it's a real pleasure to see the- the amount of, um, you know, scrutiny and- and thought that you all put into it, so, I mean I- I think this is a really representative and rich, um, events of- of awardees- potential awardees. I would support this in other words. 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 April 19, 2022. Page 34 18. Council Appointments 18.a. Housing & Community Development Commission 18.b. Housing & Community Development Commission Teague: Item number 18 is council appointments. Applicants must reside in Iowa city and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated.18.a, is a Housing & Community Development Commission. Housing & Com- Community Development Commission - One vacancy to fill an unexpired term, effective upon appointment through June 30, 2023. We're going to do this together, so we're going to also read 18.b, which is Housing & Community - Housing & Community Development Commission. Housing & Community Development Commission - One vacancy to fill an uninspired term effective upon appointment through June 30, 2024, and we have gender requirements, uh, for these female. Taylor: No. Nope None. Fruehling: No, [OVERLAPPING] its past the gender balance date. Taylor: Just odd, because that's [OVERLAPPING] Past the date. Teague: Both of them? Okay. Awesome. Weiner: It would probably end up appointing two females. Teague: So none. That makes it a little easier. All right. Bergus: I'll just jump in. I like the application from Carol Kratz, uh, and I think- I think she should be one of our appointees. Taylor: I- I agree. Thomas: I- I have- She was on my shortlist here. Taylor: Yeah, I had asterisk by her name also, because I thought, um, she seemed to know a lot about the commission and a good understanding of it, and looked like and sound like she would be a good fit. Alter: I agree. She was also on my shortlist. Weiner: Another person on my shortlist is Elizabeth Maria Cap. I'm not sure how you should pronounce her name but has- she has served on a different city commission before on the Public Arts Advisory Commission seem to me to have a lot of relevant, um, experience that could, uh, that could really benefit HCDC. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 35 Taylor: She was on my shortlist also. I did have a question though since she works, um, through the crisis intervention system is- would that be a conflict of interest at all with the community, if community might receive any sort of support? No, because yeah, I- I liked her resume. Teague: Any other? Harmsen: That's what also on my- my shortlist, so. Alter: I'm not necessarily opposed to Elizabeth Maria Cap, but I just- some previous experience that I've had with HCDC is, um, and similarly, um, actually I brought this up with or we've had discussion about this with the Police Review Board about the nearness of the work in terms of volunteering or of career, and that there might be the potential of having that particular point of view flavor the work of the comm- of that commissioner. Um, so like I- I think she's very qualified, but she's- has a wealth of experience, but I wonder if that would necessarily, um, serve the commission well in all of its facets. Um, certainly one major component and I'm reminded from the chair of HRC, talking about January being grant reading month, it is absolutely that and then some for each HCDC. But that's not the only thing that will- that HCDC does, and a lot of times in the past when I was on HCDC we had some really amazing experienced commissioners. But I feel like there's the potential that, um, some discussions could get flavored a bit much with those particular perspectives with people who are very- very close to the work. It's- it's a- it's a fine type rope, um, so I just offer that up as something for consideration without saying I'm against this person. It's just something to consider, um, in the same way that we talked about the- the closeness, um, to the considerations of a commission when we were talking about it on the Police Review Board. Sorry, and I completely [inaudible] It's okay. Teague: So right now we have two recommendations, Carol and Elizabeth. Are there any other? Alter: I did also have on my shortlist, um, I think it was, um- I cannot remember her first name, but, um, Hallett. Goers: Jennifer? Alter: Yes. Thank you. Weiner: She- she was a third -person on my shortlist as well. I just say- I- I personally think we need to be careful about imputing or sort of assuming what people can do and what they can't do, and you may well be right, but I think that, um, that - that it's- it's not- it's not necessarily our job to make- to make assumptions about what someone who is capable of, how they're capable of separating issues out and- and dealing with them. Teague: One thing I will say is that, um, while there's something to be said about someone being on a commission before, um, sometimes we do look for people on- on a commission depending on what type of commission that is, um, because they may have a little more This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 36 knowledge to jump in and kind help that commission along. We do have two opportunities of names that are being submitted right now that has not been on a commission. Um, and so, I- you know, I think newness is always something that could be welcomed, new perspectives, new ideas. And so, I- I guess for me, I don't know if there's any more nominations, I haven't heard any, um, but I will be comfortable with Carol and Jennifer being nominated. Thomas: Yeah, I am as well. Bergus: Yeah, I am as well. Teague: Okay. All right. So we have a majority for the nominations of Carol Cross and Jennifer Haleit to the Housing and Community Development Commission? Thomas: No. I thought we were talking about Elizabeth [inaudible] That's what I heard. Teague: Oh, I am sorry. I was referring to, Jennifer is- has not been on our commission. Taylor: Right. Teague: But we can take time to step back. [LAUGHTER] Thomas: I was- I was just- I was just under the assumption that those were the-, uh, Elizabeth and Carol were the two we were selecting then. Teague: Okay. So n.1- I'll, uh, I just recommended Carol and Jennifer. So, um, if the council wants to go a different direction, that's totally up to the majority. Weiner: I think what everybody- it sounds to me like everybody has agreed on- on Carol. The question is whether- whether it should- whether it should be Eliz- Elizabeth or Jennifer - Taylor: or Jennifer, right. Weiner: both of whom seem to be well-qualified. Harmsen: Would it make sense to approve the one we all agree upon and then- then work through the second appointment? Teague: I- I [OVERLAPPING] Harmsen: It's just an idea. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 37 Teague: Yeah, no, I- I. [OVERLAPPING] Alter: Sure. Teague: I think what we can do is maybe just look at, um, you know, Jennifer and Elizabeth. I mean, those are our two options and so, if I can just see a show of hands for Elizabeth. [NOISE] Okay. Majority has Elizabeth. So we're going to go with- and- and Elizabeth's last name? Taylor: I think its Marila Cap. Teague: Marila Cap. Taylor: Marila, M -A -R -I -L-A. Teague: All right. Taylor: Cap. Teague: So, um, we're going to appoint Carol Cross and Elizabeth Marila Cap to the Housing and Community Development Commission. Uh, can I get a motion to approve please? Fruehling: Mayor? The terms are different, one ends 23 and one ends -ends 24. Teague: Yes. Bergus: I'll take Carol for the one that ends 24. Teague: Okay. Taylor: Okay. Teague: Agree. Agreed, 24. All right. So can I get a motion to approve Carol Cross with ending term of June 30th, 2024, and Elizabeth for, uh, ending term of June 30th, 2024 to The Housing and Community Development Commission? Bergus: I think Elizabeth is 2023. Weiner: Elizabeth is 2023. Teague: Oh I said 2024 twice. [OVERLAPPING] Yeah. Teague: Yeah, all right 2023 [LAUGHTER]. All right. Can I get a motion to approve? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 38 Weiner: So moved. Bergus: Seconded. Moved by Weiner, seconded by Bergus. [Voice vote.] Teague: Any oppose? Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 39 22. City Council Information Teague: Um, so we will continue on to item number 22, which is city council information. Harmsen: Uh, If I may, uh, one last reminder, next week is going to be the screening of a decent home, a documentary on the mobile home housing crisis in- in the United States with a focus right here in- in Iowa, in North Liberty. There'll be two screenings at film scene next week, both at 07:00 PM. Uh, the first on Wednesday night, the second on Thursday night, uh, and the Wednesday night showing will be subtitled in Spanish, uh, for the entire-, uh, for the entire screening. Um, and I understand tickets had been on sale and- and- and are going quickly, so if you're looking to go probably good to-, um, go online and get your tickets ahead of time. Um, and just, uh, something that I think this is particularly relevant considering our action earlier tonight, helping out another group, uh, from a mobile home quarter in Iowa City as we grapple with affordable housing as a- as a community. Teague: I did see that that's moving across the state a little bit. It will be in Dubuque as well. Harmsen: Yeah. So it's gonna be in a film festival in Dubuque during Dubuque Film Festival, uh, this coming weekend. Uh, there's gonna be a showing at Drake University, um, I think the night before it comes to Iowa City. That's the night after, I forget now which. Teague: Before. Harmsen: Yes. But it- it's showing in a couple of different places around the state, uh, in this coming week, so. That's all I had. Teague: Any more updates? Bergus: Couple of things that I mentioned previously, that the CPRB, the Community Police Review Board public forum is tomorrow evening starting at 6:00 PM on Zoom, so you can register online at icgov.org. Um, and I think the topic is learning about the commission, who they are, and how to get in touch with them. Um, Commissioner Harmsen mentioned the energy bullets that's happening in Lucas Farms neighborhood on Saturday, uh, if they may still be seeking volunteers, also information available on the city website. On Sunday is the South District Neighborhood Association's team up to clean up. You can sign up online on the southdistrictneighborhood.org, I believe is what their website is. Or just show up with your pair of gloves and, uh, we'll hand you a trash bag on Sunday. Teague: What time? Alter: 9:00, please. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022. Page 40 Bergus: 9:00. Okay starting at 9:00, meeting at the mural and deploying from there throughout the neighborhood. It's also a great opportunity just to walk the neighborhood and pick up trash. You don't have to, you know, even check-in with anyone, that's always something folks- folks can do. And then the Electric Bus Bash that was set for Friday afternoon has been moved to May 6th, I believe, um, at Riverfront Crossings Park unless it's raining, and then it'll be in the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp. So make sure folks who had that on their calendar, I want to see the giant disco ball with the electric bus, as shown in the graphic. Teague: I think that's at 2:00 PM on May 6. Bergus: 2:00 PM. Thank you, Mayor. That's all I had. Weiner: We hit all the highlights. Teague: Right, you stole her thunder? [LAUGHTER] All right. Anything else? Alter: I've got one, um, that actually we were all alerted to that the environmental student groups from City, Liberty, and West High, they are going to do, um, an Earth Day celebration, and it was going to be outside at Chauncey Swan. But if it is going to rain, they're gonna move inside the Robert A Lee. And last I knew that still on, right? And that's from 11:00 to 2:00 on Friday. So I'm going to take my child who is off of school and we're going to go check it out. So, yeah, it looks like it should be really cool. Um, live music, free activities and food for sale, so it just seems like- and I just- I love the fact that this is all the high schools getting together and it's the students. I like, that's amazing, so. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of April 19, 2022.