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Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner
Staff Present: Fruin, Jones, Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling, Platz, Hightshoe
Ad Hoc Truth & Reconciliation Commission members Present: Chastity Dillard —
Vice Chair, Daphney Daniel, Clifton Johnson, Kevin John Rivera, Mohamed
Traore
Teague: I want welcome everyone to your City Hall. Uh, it is August 2nd, 2022, and it's
just 4:00 PM. This is our work session for today. Um, we see that we don't have a
quorum yet for our TRC commissioners, but I welcome each of you that are here
now. Um, we will go to the next agenda item and then we'll get back, uh, later.
Johnson County Direct Assistance Program
Teague: So the next agenda item is Johnson County Direct Assistance Program. And so
we will, um, start that, uh, conversation at this point. Um, we, uh, know through
some of the memo that we've received and through communications that, uh, um,
the County has finished, um, the- that process. Um, and then, uh, there were great
opportunities for people in our community that, um, did get awarded some
funding, but there was certainly, uh, some that got left out. And so at this point, I
wanted to just open up the floor to the commun-, um, to the councilors to, um,
maybe just discuss this. There was, um, kind of a memo that we had, but, um, I'll
just open it up now.
Weiner: Okay. Fine. I'll start . The amount. I think the go- the overall goal of the- of the
County project was to make sure that the people who largely but not solely
people who are not eligible, uh, for- for stimulus funds, um, and who had really
worked hard through the pandemic and- and suffered would get something. Um,
the- I don't think that the way the program was constructed was ideal. What, um,
sort of the money we agreed we didn't end up with exactly the deal that we
thought we were getting. However, I would really like to fmd a way to make the
rest of the 319 people whole. Um, if that means we pay a part of it, the county
pays a part of it, whatever we end up with. Basically these- these people have
served everyone, they've worked for everyone, even if they don't live m Iowa
City, we've all benefited from them. Um, it's a one-time thing. Uh, I don't think
Iowa City should bear the full burden. But nonetheless, one way or another, I
would like to see us figure out together with the county and other governments
how to make them whole.
Alter: I would second that Janice just, um, I had said it to some community members, but
I'll just repeat it here that I would very much like to resolve this in a way that
helps those who are excluded and that we help in the way that we began with the
collaboration. Um, and so I certainly hope that we can work something out. I
believe that, um, there- there is a way to do this. Um, and I just- we don't want to
exclude people anymore.
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Taylor: And I'll agree with, um, my two previous councilmembers 'cause to be honest, I
was very disappointed, uh, to learn that there were individuals, uh, who did not
receive any of the funds. Uh, I- I have appreciated the emails and the public
comments about this. But what I don't appreciate, and I've said this many times
before about other things, that being demanded, uh, to do something. And we did
receive, uh, emails that demanded us to fund all 100- 319 of the person's not
funded. Uh, demanding is not the way to go about wanting something. It has a
very aggressive tone to it. Uh, asking or requesting has a much better effect. And I
do believe that those persons who should have qualified for funding should
receive it. But I don't believe that Iowa City should be 100 percent responsible.
We were provided a lot of information regarding the disbursement of the funds,
uh, that included a lot of legal terms. So it's kinda hard to get through all of it. Uh,
but it also stated many times that this was for Iowa City residents. Uh, but after
reading more closely, there is a clause in the sub recipient agreement dated
4/19/22 that mentions, uh, unused funds on page 31 of the information packed it -
packet. Under Item 3, it states that the City may otherwise direct the disposition of
such remaining funds as the City and the sub recipient may mutually agree. So as
mentioned, I- I would hope that we could, uh, agree with, uh, other entities on
what to do with these from our remaining funds. Uh, there are two scenarios that,
uh, I'll just mention that I'd be in favor of and hope the County would agree. Uh,
first, is Iowa City funding those individuals, uh, living in the near fringes of Iowa
City. Um, from what I've been told, there are a number of them that, uh, live in
those mobile home courts so they're just like across the road from- from the Iowa
City city limits. And those folks are already being hit by, uh, being- their trailer
court being bought out by another entity and, uh, possibly having their lot rents
raise. So they're already in dire need of- of extra funds. So I would be in favor of
that. Uh, other scenario would be Iowa City funding 50 percent of those
individuals, um, who were not funded, uh, possibly needing reimbursement to the
County for those Iowa City, uh, residents that were funded, potentially giving
additional, uh, resources back to the County for disbursement. But whatever we
do as the other councilors have mentioned, we- we just can't leave anyone behind,
uh, struggling, uh, to get their feet back on the ground.
Harmsen: I would like to say that I would be, uh, very comfortable with either one of
those options, um, uh, that are, um, uh, Pauline was just mentioning and- and
agree with- with pretty much everything that's been said, uh, thus far. Um, yeah.
So I mean, I think either one of those, whether we look at, uh, you know,
something in a zone around where- the annexation zone that we already sort of- of
see as maybe future parts of Iowa City or just if we want to just keep it simple,
just, you know, see if the county be willing just to split it and we would reimburse
them for half that number and they could use- use that to, uh, you know, agree to
use that for the other people that, uh, you know, the other half that wouldn't- that
wouldn't need to be done and get that done.
Alter: County residents.
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Harmsen: Yeah. So -
Thomas: I too share the, you know, I think the sentiment of Council, which is that we're
not there yet. We have 319, uh, households, which- which we need to address
and, um, we won't- we won't be complete with this element of the program until
we do that. Uh, I certainly hope we can work, uh, together and- and would expect
in a sense that we- since we've, you know, aspired to work together, um, with -
with the other entities in terms of trying to solve this problem, uh, or problems in
the past that we will apply the same approach to this particular problem. You
know, I might add, um, you know, I'm trying to think of as many scenarios that
we might want to consider and- and explore as possible. In- in addition to the
entities, uh, the City's and the County, you know, I- I would ask the people of
Johnson County as a whole, how can we all, as citizens of this county, as residents
of this county, contribute to addressing the gap that we have in the funding? Uh, I
think there may be some possibilities there. It was, in a sense, used with the
federal funding, um, through, uh, CWJ where, uh, people were asked to
contribute, if they receive that funding to contribute back to CWJ. Um, so perhaps
there's an opportunity for all of us to, in any way we can help bridge this gap, this
funding gap.Um, I personally would feel better if that were the case, that, you
know, we- if we- if we do believe this is in a sense of a kind of a moral imperative
that we all understand that we may have a role to play with this. But I- I am
hopeful that we will in the end be able to resolve this issue.
Bergus: I agree with my colleagues that our intent was to get the money to those who are
eligible for the program and hope that we can move forward to do that. I think for
the sake of trying to, um, come up with something concrete and be able to move
forward quickly. I would just propose that we say 50 percent, um, rather than
having to delineate an area and, you know, select specific applicants within a
geographic area. I think we know what the gap is now. And just, um, if- if the
council agrees offer to fund 50 percent with the understanding that because we
made the commitment to, um, Iowa City residents, that that would mean kinda
back filling a portion, um, so that the county funds could then be freed up for
those unpaid County residents and the Iowa City money could come in, um, for
the Iowa City residents, that would be equivalent to half of the remaining portion.
Teague: Right. Well, um, thanks to all of the councilors that have spoken. And I would
also agree that, you know, at this point we'd certainly have an opportunity that I
think we should navigate. Um, we I do believe that, um, having some agreement
with the county or having discussions with the county or given the county a
proposal to see what their temperament is for this, or, um, I think is a wise choice
at this point, I'm trying to figure out, you know, there's a- a few things that I
heard, um, you know, trying to figure out how many- how we can fund
individuals close to the a- adjacent to the city limits. I heard a 50/50 split. I- I
think if we're going to move forward with, uh, something that we should maybe
direct our staff, um, a little more specifically to have the discussion, um, with
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Johnson County. Essentially, they're gonna- the Supervisors will have to have that
discussion. Uh, but maybe there'll be some opportunities where, um, you know,
we can certainly, um, create a letter on behalf of- I can, you know, create a letter
with, uh, staff support on behalf of the councilors, and just open up the
opportunity for solutions to be created, um, and I, you know, the Supervisors to
meet a little more often than we do. So I think we'll have some time for some
correspondence between but, um, if there- it- it does sound like I've not heard
anything more than a 50-50 split, um, and so my thought is that we would, uh,
move forward, try to figure out what is the- um, what would the County agree to.
I heard, you know the backfill option, um, where essentially we would pay, um,
because the funds have already been allocated to all of the individuals that has
been funded. But essentially the City of Iowa City would pay for, um, half of the
319 Iowa City residents. Um, while half of 319 is what we will pay for, but it will
be credited to Iowa City residents because as everyone knows, our ARPA funds
cannot be used by anyone that is not within our jurisdiction. Um, the other part
that I probably just want to --so does it sound good that will kinda move forward
with drafting a letter, I think, um, and then giving it to the County and then there'll
be some communication between now and then, um?
Weiner: Yeah. I'd suggest that we request that staff be in touch as well too as you- as you
indicated.
Teague: Yes. Yes.
Alter: And that we also tried to fmd a common ground of just let's get this done. As Laura
mentioned, that, you know, with a sense of if not urgency, although I guess
urgency is the right thing, but let's just get it done. We don't need to do the back
and forth and back and forth that- that drew this out painfully for everybody who
is involved. Um, so, you know, we know that they're eligible already, they've met
the criteria. Let's just see what the County can do, um, is willing to do in terms of
a collaboration. Um, and again, the way the lottery happened was not necessarily
ideal, but we did, um, get a large number of people covered and now we just need
to close that gap so that our intention and our actions are the same. So -.
Weiner: And if it turns out that- that there needs to be some kind of special joint media in
order to accomplish this. I'm fine with that as well, whatever- whatever works.
But it'll take you off and move this forward.
Teague: Okay. One thing I did want to just mention, um, you know, when I read through
because we all saw what, um, counselor, um...
Taylor: Taylor?
Teague: ...Taylor, I was going to say Thomas, but Counselor Taylor had just talked
about the resolution. And so when I read through the resolution, I- I do want to
make it very clear in my statements to, uh, the Council, as well as to the public,
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that we lived up to our agreement to a T. The- the City did. Uh, that the agreement
was to, you know, for everyone in the county, this was a county initiative, you
know, go and be a part of the lottery. And then anyone remaining that didn't make
the lottery and they lived in Iowa City would get funded. I also want to say that,
um, the County from my perspective did everything to the letter as well. So they
knew exactly how much money they had, um, and they knew they followed the
direction that was, you know, the information that was given to the public. So we
have a lot to be proud of here. I think we, um, and that's the message that I don't
hear ringing through the community, um, but we have a lot to be proud of. We're
the only one in the entire state that has done this program. So we know that there's
individuals that are haven't been funded and this is an opportunity- the
opportunity that we see Iowa City in my opinion. Again, we don't have any
financial obligations to it, but we will - from the sound of everyone up here. We
will go that extra mile to make sure that we can participate in a resolution. And so
I- I just wanted to make that statement. Again, to everyone that's been funded, I
think the County and the City, we're very happy that we were able to do this.
Thanks to the government that gave us the ARPA funds to make this possible.
Um, and now we're trying to get to the last mile. So, um, I would ask for grace
and patience from the community members while we navigate this opportunity
with the County should they be receptive to it. Anything else on this item?
Joint meeting with the Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Teague: All right. We're gonna move back to our first item on our agenda, which is a
joint meeting with the AdHoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I want to
welcome all of our commissioners, uh, here today. We do have a quorum, uh, so
super excited that you all are here with us today. Uh, the topic that we have on
hand is certainly that of the budget. Um, and so we, um, want to go forth m the
budget. I also want to mention that we know that there's a, um, kind of a hot topic
at hand, um, with one of the commissioners, Amel Ali. What I'm going to ask is
that we focus in on the budget, um, and then, uh, collectively, I think we're gonna
not be able to speak on that topic. Um, One for timing, but also, uh, the council
has different- um, the council and the commissioners have different levels when
it- of authority when it comes down to any commissioners. And so I think that
topic is probably best, um, left out of this conversation at this point. But we do
want to go forth with our, um, what the budget discussion. All of the council did
receive in our information packet, um, the budget proposal. And so, um, I guess
I'll look to our new vice chair to maybe start the discussion. But before we do
that, I just wanted to maybe give the opportunity to all of our commissioners to,
um, just introduce yourself very briefly. I know it's been awhile since we've been
together. Uh, you probably know most of the councilors, at least I know most of
you on a more personal basis, but maybe just give a brief little, um, hello to each
of us and give us your name. And I know some of you aren't in Iowa City, so tell
us where you live.
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Rivera: Hi there. Thank you for having us this evening. I'm excited for us to have this
discussion. My name is Kevo Rivera and I live in Iowa city.
Traore: Mohamed Traore, formerly south district until I think it's February 2021, and now
in Tiffin, Iowa.
Teague: Great.
Johnson: Clifton Johnson here in Iowa City, and thank you for having us.
Dillard: Chastity Dillard, thank you all for having us and I live in Coralville.
Daniel: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Daphne Daniel and I live on the east side
of Iowa City.
Teague: Great. Welcome to all of you. And I think we'll just jump right into the budget
discussion.
Dillard: Awesome. Again, thank you all for having us here, inviting us here to have this,
uh, budget proposal discussion. Um, we went back into the work that you guys all
asked us to do, um, over the last, um, few months and we are excited to present
this proposal to you. Um, we are hoping to have this conversation to unite us all to
be on the same, um, foot so that, um, as we move forward we can start to do the
work, or continue to do the work that we set forth off. Um, so I'm just going to
briefly read what we have that you all already have, and then we do have our
partners here and they are the most knowledgeable so I'm gonna let them answer
all of your questions if that's okay.
Teague: Great.
Dillard: So the proposal that we have is actually a set of four proposals from four
different groups, as you already know, Think Peace, Kearns & West, Three
Native Partners and the Healing Partners team, which is our local team here. And,
um, we recognize that the skills and expertise of these- each of these group
members are interdependent and necessary components to continue the work of
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What we have, uh, decided as the best
or, um, what the proposal is going to present is that we would like a phased
approach, um, giving knowledge that we are, uh, supposed to be ending next June.
Um, so it's a co- uh, it's two- two phases, uh, to co -create a framework and
process the-, uh, a process that reflects intentionality. And it's important to
recognize, um, and include more local partners and have this phased approach
from which you evaluate our progress. Um, the two phase approach is going to
occur in 3-4 month interviews- interviews- intervals. Um, and we will use that
timeframe to evaluate next steps. So we do have some of our partners in the
audiences- in the audience, but we would love whatever questions you all have
started- to start off.
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Harmsen: I know I would be- would love to hear a little bit more how you broke down
the phases and what we could expect under this plan.
Dillard: Could you say it again?
Harmsen: I'm sorry. I would love to hear a little bit more about the phases in little more
detail and what we could expect under this plan.
Dillard: Okay. Um, so I would love to invite our partners that are in the audience to come
explain this in more detail.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Hello.
Teague: Welcome.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Councilors and TRC, wonderful to be here. Um, my name is V Fixmer-
Oraiz and I'm the CEO and founder of Astig Planning. Um, I actually am part of a
team, the- the Local Healing Team. So I have one of my partners here as well and
somebody else who is on vacation because it's summertime. Uh, so I can kind of
go through some of, um, the phases as you asked for. And then we also have
another partner here. So I have Annie Tucker who's on our team, Angie Jordan,
who is also on our like local team, and then, um, we are fortunate to have Dave
Ragland here who is with Think Peace. Um, and I believe Kearns & West is
listening in maybe I'll get a text message. I don't know. Um, so as, you know,
Chastity kind of mentioned, this really is moving at the speed of trust really. Um,
we had kind of gone back to folks, the TRC and city councilors and the
community to hear, you know, after that first and second time, like what would be
something that can actually move forward at a pace that was, you know,
manageable. Uh, because we kind of kept hearing that, that the chunks were too
big. That, you know, it's too- too much, too soon, too fast. So, um, kind of
centering that, we really looked at a phased approach, and this first phase is, uh,
really about education. So TRCs are international, um, there is a lot I think for
really our community to learn and understand when it comes to Truth and
Reconciliation Commissions. What is it? How do they get started? What does it
mean, um, to actually go through the process to, uh, you know, have- what does
it- what does it mean when you're talking about having kind of like public
hearings? Um, why is that important? Er, there are- there are a lot of, uh, really
deep conversations and education that will be, kind of that first phase, as well as,
um, beginning some of that data collection. So we do kind of have another
partner, Kearns & West who will be starting the data collection aspect of things,
you know, working with the city school, you know, our school district, um, the
police, hospitals, you know, all of the groups, non -profits, um, you know, and -
and community members. What is the data that we're looking for? Um, that's
really some of their expertise. And, um, I should say that the education is and the
Truth -Telling team is Think Peace, so then I'll let Ragland- Dave Ragland talk
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about kind of their- their part, um, and their, you know, experience doing that
internationally. Um, but then the- the local kind of Iowa healing reconciliation
team is us and then also Three Native um, uh, Iowans who are actually very
exciting like kind of co -creating what it would mean to do, uh, restorative justice
healing circles that are specific to Iowa. Um, because we recognize that circles,
while they happen all over the world, do have a tendency to potentially, um, have
appropriation. And we want to make sure that we recognize that and really lean
into that. So we- our team has really sought, um, the inclusion of and sort of
leading by, uh, native folks. Um, how can we co -create something that is truly
authentic to Iowa, to here and now in this moment. Uh, so that will be kind of
kicking off and forming that at the same time. So that's that first three phase. And
we have this phase also to provide a pause. So after we kind of do that initial
phase, we would like to come back and have some recommendations for moving
forward to the second phase, knowing that we may need more time , there may be
things that come up, things shift. If COVID has taught us anything like everything
is a draft. So, you know, there's- there's gonna be some things that we may want
to- to shift and- and- and deal with. Um, so that's kind of that pause there,
progress evaluation and then shifting into that second phase, which is a little bit
longer. As Chastity had mentioned, we really want to honor, you know, the- um,
the kind of deadline of, you know, June with the commission. And that second
phase is really looking and digging more into the truth -telling aspects. So
conducting the interviews, the, um, public- you know, the- the- the hearings, um,
and also the- the fact-finding. Um, so digging in even more to that based on what
we find out this first round. What more information do we need? Where do we
need to go, what are we missing? Um, those kinds of things. And then continuing
with the, um, continuing with, uh, the healing aspect of it as well. We talk about
reconciliation. Um, obviously, when people are telling about the harm that has
occurred to them, there is an opportunity for healing, um, in the moment and then
also in- in long-term. Uh, we also have here a Strategic Doing and planning that
would be, um, part of this. And, um, myself and Angie Jordan both trained and
Strategic Doing. And we feel as though that may be a process to really kind of
kick off some of the strategic planning. How do we take all this and move this
into, you know, um, into the community? We recognize that three local partners is
not nearly representative of the amazing talent, experience, and knowledge of
people who live here and, um, their expertise, so while it may be three of us to
begin withm we also encourage, you know, the creation of, you know, other
groups and non -profits that would be included along the way as those expertise
are- are required. So the Strategic Doing would kind of help steer that a bit as
well. Um, that's like a really broad overview, you can kind of see in your packet
more specific breakdown in terms of who's doing what, when. Um, and again, that
phased approach is really meant to take those -those bites and then pause and say,
like what worked. Um I don't know if anybody else wanted to come and talk
about anything, if you have any questions at- at this point.
Harmsen: Real quick. I'm just intrigued by the Strategic Doing. Could you explain that
just a little bit?
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Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, Strategic Doing- um, actually, uh, the Iowa City Area Development
Group is a Strategic Doing hub here in Iowa City. And so myself and Angie
Jordan, we're trained and basically a process that, um, takes the assets and people
in the room that are here and says what can we do with the assets and the people
in the room that we have in this moment to move forward towards a larger goal.
Um, usually it's like an aspirational goal, like, you know, the best public schools
in the country. And then how do we get there? And so then people start
gravitating towards smaller, like low hanging fruit, so to speak, through a
strategic process of, well, what would be like, you know, something very difficult
but also less expensive, or what would be more expensive and less difficult. So
you kinda go through this kind of weighing and measuring of, uh, what do we
have in the room, where are we trying to go, and how do we get there? And from
that, you actually come up with pathfinder projects. And that's where we would
have like community members and groups and commission members, you know,
kind of lead those pathfinder projects. So yeah, it is very kind of specific, but in
the end it's- it's like a- it's like a fancy strategic planning in some sense.
Harmsen: And then it looks like the last part of the phrase, uh, "the recommendations for
moving forward," would that be the- the phase of recommendations to the council
about what's next? Kind of that that will be the end of the TRC ad hoc sort of
mission at that point. Is that co- Am I understanding that correctly.
Fixmer-Oraiz: So I think there's a couple of points of recommendations. So after the first
phase we would have recommendations and then the second phase would have
recommendations. I don't want to weight it too much to be like and here's the be-
all end-all fmal recommendations. But I- I think that's what we will be working
towards is what are the next steps? Because we recognize that, you know,
hundreds of years of harm and, you know having the- the structural racism that
we live within, seven months is not gonna be enough, right? So what is -what is
the long haul here?
Traore: I just wanted to add a note. So Tom Bantu helped me go to the Strategic Doing
training actually last May, um, and I wanted to add that I actually have a few
pathfmder projects that I wrote down at the time and then iterated on over the
year. I can provide those as well for things to start, you know, planning on.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Perfect. Yeah, we're very fortunate in our community that I feel like every
time I say Strategic Doing somebody's like what is it and then somebody who's
like, oh, I know how to do that . So that's- that's great to have that, um, expertise
in our community. Thank you.
Thomas: Do you have a start date when your- or tentative start date on this?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, yesterday. As soon as possible, I think. We're- and I want to stress
that this- the reason why I believe the TRC wanted to make this session was
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because it's a draft. And so we're really hoping to get your feedback to make it
better, to make it. So if you have a suggestion of a start date, you know, those
kinds of things like we're- that's what we're here to do.
Weiner: So the second- the second phase is, as it's currently envisioned, would be the-
the- a lot of the- the- the truth -telling and- and- and that. Because that wasn't -
when I was reading through this- the plan that wasn't completely clear to me.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes, that would be correct. Yeah.
Weiner: Thanks.
Taylor: That was what I was slightly confused about too, was where in this document,
um, did it elaborate on community involvement, you know, such things as, uh,
forums and listening posts and those kinds of things. I wasn't quite sure where
that- where the community fit into those kinds of things.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, we will add that.
Taylor: Okay. Good. Thank you.
Alter: I actually have a question about the education piece. Um, when you talk about
education, it sounds like that is a piece that is both inward, I mean the work that-
that- so that everyone is working from the same understanding. Um, but then also
that it would be frontward -facing and community-based as well to provide
education for, I was wondering about audience, but it sounds like in your
description it's both. Is that correct in phase 1?
Fixmer-Oraiz: That is -
Alter: That that work will be happening as well?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, that is my understanding and- and certainly Think Peace is the one
who's going to lead that and can talk- Dave Ragland can talk more about what that
looks like. My understanding is that it's exceptionally important that the entire
community is as educated as possible. And that really there is, you know, a
collective movement towards racial justice. That it can't just be the commission
that it has to be the community is my understanding.
Teague: I guess questions I have for the, uh, Commissioners, um, during your discussion,
uh, what were some of the highlights that you all brought up as, um maybe some
concerns that you can think of right now?
Traore: Um, the only thing for me is just again, just time constraints, just the
reconciliation process in itself. If the true goal is reconciliation. I just have a hard
time seeing how that's completed at a specific date or time. It's really hard to say
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when someone feels like they've, you know, had a situation remedied to their
satisfaction. So, um, the main thing for me is just some kind of avenue after the
TRC is- is completed to have some kind of permanent commission or some kind
of permanent board that's overseeing this actual reconciliation process. Otherwise,
it ends up being a list of recommendations without any real backing. Um, I'm not
really sure how we can address that ourselves since we can't, you know, say,
"Hey, this commission is going to be permanent." But that's just one main
concern.
Daniel: Something that concerned me and our community partners did take this, um,
concern seriously, was the matter of transparency. We don't want anything that
we do to be seen as this is merely the commission taking upon itself to give a
recommendation to City Council about what we think the community needs and
how we think the community can move forward. Um, I think our community
partners have done a great job, um, and I'm- I mean, you- they were amazing
during the process of discussing this. And I'm sure if there are specific questions,
they can answer them. But, um, one- one way they, uh, kind of dealt with that
question of transparency is providing in the plan opportunities to- for us to- as- as
both a commission and as the council and maybe even as the community to reflect
on what has been done so far. So I believe after phase one, there's a moment
where we kinda pause and reflect on this and then move forward. And I think
that's so important when we're talking about something that not only brings up a
lot of emotions, but could be controversial in some ways.
Rivera: One question that I had brought up, um, and, um, I'm not sure how much progress
has been made on this, was, um, the, you know, I think we have amazing partners
so far, both that are locally based and experts in truth processies and then also
people who can take a lot of data and figure out how to, um, really interpret that
and make suggestions from there. Um, so I see, um, you know, three experts who
can really successfully, um, do three different things. One question that I had was,
"Okay, how do all of those parts talk to each other and how do they communicate
alongside us with the City? And they had kind of answered that, uh, in the
suggestion of a TRC commission coordinator position as it stands in the packet,
um, the suggestion would be that, um, that person could be a part-time employee
of the City, but I just wanted to see if we had any more updates on, um, kind of
what that might look like.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, I don't think we had any further updates per se, but thank you so
much for calling that out. Thank you. Um, so it is imperative, you know, when
you're doing something that you have somebody who's doing the thing. And so,
um, as the work moves forward, having a local person that would, you know,
reside with the City to do that, because it is a City commission, uh, who could
really focus on how do we coordinate all of the things? Um, it can, you know,
currently the commission, if they were to do things separately, you know, like
how who is bringing sort of what we call herding cats? You know, like how do
you- how do you make sure that things are navigated? We have facilitation of
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meetings, we have meeting minute notes. We have like sort of the- I don't wanna
say the not sexy, boring stuff, but like some of it is, you know. Um, and then also
making sure that we're coordinating the where, when, who for the truth -telling, for
the events, for those kinds of things. It can't just be left to a commission when
there's lots of, as we said, if we do this Strategic Doing that will be pathfinder
projects. There will be specific tasks that they aren't, you know, going to be a part
of and- and leading. Hopefully, so the creation of this position, we feel would be
really important and integral to moving forward as, you know, we have seven
months to do this, um.
Alter: If I may, um, I think the, how you've articulated it makes a lot of sense that there
does need to be sort of like a point of contact. Um, and certainly someone who
can, um, facilitate and organize and project manage essentially throughout. I will
be honest that my concern is that this is far more than a half-time job. Um, and
even in going into the specifics of the budget, there were several instances in
which Kearns & West noted assumption is Angie will lead this, right?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
Alter: That there's an awful lot of weight actually put on local partners. While I will also
start to get into the weeds a little bit. That's not reflected in the budget. Um, with
all due respect to Kearns & West and their reputation, I think that their portion
and what they're charging is a heavily bloated. Um, because also they're saying,
"Oh, but we're not going to coordinate that, we're just we're going to"- so those
are some concerns that I have. Um, I very much like the way in which there has
been this true, deep and hard, hardly fought collaboration with a lot of local input
and a lot of listening. Um, I just- I wish that that was more reflected in what we
have because I fear that in fact the bulk of work will fall on local partners. I think
it's going to fall to TRC. I think TRC needs- has an important role to play. And,
um, so I think that that's something moving forward. The awareness has to be
there because right now the budget is not reflecting that at all. Um, I do fear for
the- the fact of the centrality of where this is happening, along with the passion
and the expertise that there will be a lion's share of work done by locals, which is
fantastic, which is what the council- previous council wanted. But that will not be
reflected. And I think that in terms of thinking about equity, that that's something
that really matters.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, thank you so much for bringing that up. In fact, you'll see that there
are no, uh, there's no rate for Angie in our proposal. Um, there are hours allocated
because we didn't feel like we could say what the City should pay that person.
Um, so we- that is a good point to bring up that, uh, when you're looking at our
local partners, uh, we are mostly focusing on the reconciliation aspect of it and the
coordinator position. We wanted to make sure that Angie was still a part of the
process because she has been so integral since day one. Um, so that's why it's not
reflected there. And we didn't know- we don't know the process for her hiring or
we don't know, you know, like all of that kind of logistics stuff. So that's, um,
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that's why that is missing. But, er, I appreciate that you're really bringing that up.
Um, and I will say, you know, in all honesty, having not done a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission process before, we are really trying to stay in our
lane, you know. As local partners, we're saying, "Here's what we can do. We can -
we can hold these healing circles- circles. We have restorative justice, you know,
practices and can certainly convene and help. And then we are going to have to
rely on a coordinator to kinda do the- the herding of cats and and the organizing
and the scheduling and all of that stuff. But, um, so yeah to your point, that is not
reflected in the budget and so that would be something separate. And- and I'm- we
don't know what that is.
Taylor: Thank you V for that explanation as the coordinator position because I- I was a
little confused about that and I- I did have concerns for it because, uh, it- it
seemed as though it sounded more like a facilitator, actual facilitator role. And in
fact, in the description of the position facilitator is mentioned many times. And so
I was wondering why we actually or why you needed a person in addition to that.
But, uh, aside from that, I wanted to thank the Commission and- and the partners,
uh, for this document because this most recent proposal I think is what I wish we
would've seen over a year ago, uh, rather than being given bold proposals over
time, uh, that weren't really very reasonable. Uh, this one is much more specific,
uh, and defines roles which- which is very good. Um, so my- my concern was
about that coordinator position as well as the community involvement. Um, but
this document certainly I think comes closer to what we as a council, I don't want
to speak for my other council members, but, uh, what we were interested in- in- in
seeing, uh, to help get the TRC, uh, back on track to their, uh, original mission.
Uh, but considering the remaining time -frame, uh, it does seem a bit
overwhelming. So that would be my concern too, with the time -frame.
Teague: I certainly wanna, uh, make sure that council recognize we have the opportunity
to speak to our TRC commissioners and TRC, you also have the opportunity to
speak to us, so please chime in. Um, in the support of, you know, the individuals
here. We appreciate you being here. But I also wanna make sure that it's, uh,
makes sure that we have space to interact as well.
Weiner: I would- as part of this, I'd also be interested in hearing from Dave Ragland, who
has a lot of experience in these- with these processes to get a set -his- to get your
sense of how these pieces fit together and wha- and- and how we would move this
forward.
Traore: Um, befor that, I just wanted to ask for clarificate- uh, clarification. So I'm
hearing that, uh, you wish you would have had this proposal like a year ago. What
are the specific parts that made it become more amenable because the Kearns &
West part of it is pretty much the same format?
Taylor: It seemed to be more itemized as far as who all was going to be involved rather
than just this massive facilitator, Kearns & West was going to be responsible for
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the whole ball of wax. But this itemizes and does some more as far as what Annie
and her team would do and what you as- as commissioners would be doing and be
responsible for and the time -frame. Before, I don't think we had much of a time-
frame, it was just sort of this is what we're going to do, so I appreciate that, but it
was spelled out within three months and then within four months. So that's what I
found is as much better and much more helpful.
Weiner: There's a lot of specificity that's very helpful, at least from my perspective.
Teague: Welcome.
Ragland: It's a pleasure to be here and I just wanna honor this Commission, this Council,
for doing this really hard and important work. Um, I think the thing is I wanna to
speak to it is who we are at Think Peace and, um, just sharing that some of our
formative experiences has been working in truth commissions around the world.
Chile, Argentina, Peru, um, also local commissions, we're currently working with
San Francisco Truth commissioner- truth Commission on Prosecutorial
Misconduct. I worked and helped to found the Ferguson Commission with
Congresswoman Cori Bush and some of the other work that we're doing is
working with Portland City Council and the mayor's office there. Um, and so
we're essentially we really want it um- um I think in the last uh, few years, we've
been seeing how necessary it is to defend democracy and to also heal as a nation.
And the reason why we wanted to work with local commissions and have started
working with local commissions around the country is because we wanted to -
provide some of the support that commissionss need to move forward to the next
phase to do whatever they wanted to do. And some of the work that we've done
already is we offered a course on the formal term of truth and reconciliation is
transitional justice. And we offered a course where many other commissioners
attended around what does a process look like from start to finish. Um, and we've
been working with other commissions, providing a hub space so that communities
around the country can be in touch with each other as they do this work as well.
Um, and um, one of the primary things that has come out of this work is providing
technical assistance. When we- the technical assistance, as you see in phase one,
is focused on education. Um, and part of the education is to build capacity in
communities to do this work themselves, right. Because we understand that we're -
we're not going to be her all the time, although we're committed to seeing what
happens here in this community, um, we're committed to uh, this community
sharing its truths and reckoning with this past and present. Um, we know that
there's only so much support that, uh, we can do. And so over the last year, we've
uh, you know spent lots of time talking to commissioners and supporting in
whatever ways, just from uh, professional support of perspective. Um, and the
primary work that Think Peace is doing --and Think Peace is a collaboration of the
truth -telling project of Ferguson, of which I'm the co -executive director. Um and
also um, Think Peace of George Mason University as well as Restorative Justice
for Oakland Youth lead by- or founded by Doctor Tonya Davis and led by other
folks um, who've um, really uh, try to champion truth and reconciliation as a
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process that our nation needs uh, to heal. We need a reckoning we've never
stopped to say where are we. And that's what we're trying to help this community
do. Although this community is already doing important work around that. And so
we're really interested in supporting that capacity building through education and
technical assistance around helping um, lift and move forward to truth -telling
process, which includes public hearings. I think education is a part of that. We
also support ways to organize and ways for this commission to bring other people
in this community into the circle. Um, I think as well um, in the next part of the
first phase and the second phase um- well the first phase also includes fact-
fmding, which is a part of that, and also supporting people who are telling their
stories and truth -telling m that way. Um, and so, um, I can't say much more than
V did, but I'm happy to offer uh, any responses to questions that I'm- as I'm
sweating. So thank you for hearing from me and I'm open to respond to any
questions or are there.
Bergus: Thank you. Dr. Ragland do you have any thoughts on the what counselor Weiner
was talking about as far as the bringing together the pieces and- and kind of
having- when you have different partners working on a larger project and what
that might- might look like?
Ragland: Um, I do- I think that you know already uh, we've been working um, together to
support uh, what's possible. And I think that um, this is- this feels like a large
process with so many moving parts. And number one, I support the- the idea of a
person here to help coordinate. Um, but we'll be here and present and try to help
fill whatever gaps that- that are present to support connection among all the
aspects of this process. Uh, we're committed to this and um- I don't know how
much more I can say about this, if you have some more specifics, maybe that can
help me um, go deeper M.
Weiner: So you would also be providing technical assistance to whoever the coordinator
is so that they can- they can successfully carry out that role, which is obviously a
key role.
Ragland: Yes, definitely.
Thomas: Are you aware of any um, any other example of the kind of structure that is
being proposed here that has, you know, most likely it's not going to be so in
every detail, but I'm always very interested in modeling and understanding
through other precedents that you may be building the foundation of this process
on that you could reference.
Ragland: Sure. There's- there's a number of processes right now around the country.
Some have been more successful, some have uh, floundered. Um, but one- one
example that um, I'm really appreciating uh, right now is the- the international
model, um, which looks at transitional justice as truth -telling or these public
hearings. I use a basic model is truth -telling, um, public hearings, um, truth
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seeking, uh, the data piece, and then commissions go between reparations,
particularly the- the process of transitional justice emerged as a direct response to
gross crimes against humanity. Um, and so many communities needed some kind
of reparations. Um, and many of them include or don't include reparations but
most are focused on truth, um, most are focused on reconciliation as a process.
And so um, I was trying to um, see some other process I can- I can think about
right now but for instance, the state of North Carolina is currently organized to
create a statewide process. And that emerged from the Greensboro Truth and
Reconciliation Process that happen in response to the 1979 massacre, where a
multi -racial group of um, activists were, uh, some were killed and injured. And
the commission came together to try to change the way that the community
viewed that happened. Essentially the people who organized the rally where the
ones who were blamed uh, by the whole community uh, for that. And what this
process looked like was a lot of organizing in the beginning and education using
various forms. They did a play, they have public conversations. Um, there was a
play that happened about the truth, about the 1979 massacre and the community
uh, put question- questionnaires at restaurants all around the city after the play
and that built public momentum for this community to have this process. And that
process looked like multiple avenues for community healing. Um so people were
invited and not just from the core group, but communities all over the city. Um,
and that eventually turned out to some real revelations and some real apologies
about what happened. And I think that's um, probably extremely important to- to
just face up to pass so we can move forward. One of the things that they found in
that commission was that the police have been complicit in sharing the parade
protests route with the KKK and neo-Nazis, which was one of the first time in
American history that those two groups came together. Um, so one of the things
that emerged broadly was recommendations from the city that went to the city,
from the commission that was essentially brought forward by a large community
process of truth -telling and healing and people got a chance to hear sides that they
hadn't heard before. And one of the things I like to think about is how Reverend
Nelson Johnson sat down. Uh, he's an African-American leader who helped
initiate the commission. He sat down with a grand wizard of the KKK to have
meaningful conversations. Um, and it shows that people, uh, for me, it shows that
people who are seemingly on various sides of issues or perspectives can have a
conversation and there can be movement forward.
Weiner: This- this is probably not necessarily the purview of this meeting, but it strikes
me that the- the context in which we're looking at this has shifted since 2020 and -
and become more important- even more important overall for the community as
we- and not just this community, but- but communities in the state at large, as we
see efforts and the state legislature and others to prevent people from thinking
critically or are discussing the role of race or systemic racism. Um, and you can't
move forward without- you can't just put- shove those things or sweep them under
the carpet and be able to move forward as a society. And that the whole effort to -
to get- to basically put a curtain up and say these- these things don't exist really
was not part of the conversation when we started talking about this.
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Ragland: Uh, I mean, I think that we're in a very, um, different political moment since,
uh, 2020, which I think requires us even more to confront what people are
experiencing, uh, to listen, um, and to be- to hear and be heard. And - and while I
do think there are political elements, this- this process is really about healing and
reconciling, um, and transforming who we are as a- as a people, as a city, as a
community.
Teague: Thank you so much.
Ragland: Thank you so much for having me.
Teague: Great- great.
Alter: May I ask a question of the commission? So, um, looking at the proposal, and I
know there's been many hours that have been spent on it, um, two questions. One
is, how confident are you as commissioners about implementing and executing
and knowing full well, and Mohammed, I thought you put it really well before
that. I mean, it doesn't just arbitrarily end the commission as a body might or
maybe it's not. But the work of reconciliation has to go on. And this is- the
purpose is to provide a mapping for steps that, of course, they're gonna grow and
evolve and whatnot, but to- to- to have a framework in place with action in- in the
seven months. Do you feel- as commissioners, do you feel confident in this plan
and moving it forward? And then also, um, what roles do you see yourself as
playing in this?
Rivera: Yeah, thank you for asking that question. I- I really just wanna to start by saying
thank you for your patience as we've been going through this process, right? Um,
there have been a number of periods during our, um, tenure on this commission
that felt like we we're just facing setbacks or pauses or what have you. And I think
that by the end of the my time serving on this commission, I will have realized
that, um, everything took as long as it needed to in order for us to be the best
process possible. That being said, with the very specific, um, plan that's been laid
out, I do have, um, some level of confidence that at least we can start setting up
the frameworks, um, for what can be implemented in this community, um, and in
perpetuity. Um, because reconciliation will not happen on June 30th, 2023, um,
but it will be an ongoing process and I- I hope that we can do a lot of work to, um,
to- to, uh, get the community involved, um, and more knowledgeable about what
those processes could look like and how they can be, um, uh, a- a part of it.
Johnson: I basically, uh, I see things as uh, almost like a farm. We have to make sure that
we tend to it, start it with seeds, and then let it grow. However we can help,
however I can help, I'm willing to it, so- thank you. I have a lot of confidence in
this so far.
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Traore: I have confidence in- in the town with how it's written so far, but with that being
said, I'd also like to say that I also don't feel completely comfortable answering
the question as I don't feel I have, uh, complete information. Again, it's unclear
the amount of these resources that we are asking for that will actually be afforded,
um, if this is the plan that you will accept or if you're looking for an amended one.
So my answer would really depend on the amount of resources afforded and the
level of support that would be of- um, given to us, but also that would remain
throughout the process.
Teague: I appreciate that. And maybe if I can give a few comments, um, maybe that'll
give you a little bit of I think most of the council has talked a little bit about this
plan Sorry about that So for me, um, one, I want to say, thanks to all of the
commissioners that are here and those that aren't as well, um, at the work, um, to -
to present this to us. Um, there's been- I've been- I've been having lots of
conversations and, you know, about, you know, the TRC and- and- and the
mission. The one thing I will say is that I'm- I'm happy to see this proposal in
identifying one what is the charges of the- you know, the three charges. So I
appreciate that. Um, the community partners was the biggest reason that I recall
last year that this council said- uh, the majority of this council said no to the
budget. Um, and the biggest thing that I remember about that is, um, really the
community involvement and earlier this year, um, before you took your vote, I
believe it was in March for your next budget though, the meeting before that, um,
I remember Kevo was talking about phases, you know, for the Commission to,
you know think about some phases. And then, um, also Dr. Wangui, she
mentioned, um, you know, and the community partners are still there. Um, um,
the Healing Partners, as well as the Native Partners. They were- the Three Native
Partners, they were in that proposal. But Dr. Wangui said, you know, how much
engagement have we reached out to the community, um, as a commission. That -
that was her words. And so while I, you know look at this proposal and I think
that there are some, um, some great elements, um, I look at Kearns & West. And I
also hear that there is a, uh, and- and really the need for a Truth and
Reconciliation coordinator position. Um, and I would agree with Mayor Pro Tem
Alter when she said, you know reading through this, it does seem like a full-time
job, um, that that person will be doing. And so when I look at this, thinking about
the role of the TRC coordinator and looking at what Kearns & West do, which in
my- which I read as a project manager, the role of Kearns & West. I almost see
that role overlapping um, in a lot of respects. And so while you know I- I'm- I'm
very happy to see that we're at this point. I wanna make that very clear. Thank
you all for getting to this point. Um, but when I see, you know and it's- I'm not
really, you know if it takes a million dollars to you know process- to do this
process, I'm all for it if it all makes sense, 100 percent. So it's not so much the
money, um, but when I look at a non -community member, you know getting
62.3% of the $388,000 that is here, it- it gives me a little pause to look a little
further. Um, and if we're now going to look at this TRC coordinator position, uh,
someone said they didn't know what the process was. I think there was Chastity
that said that before, you know how do we go through hiring? What is the process
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for hiring? Um, I will just give you a little snippet is that you know, there would
have to be a job description created. Um, this person would have a manager here
you know at the City- City Hall. Um, the other thing is that we cannot- that job
must be posted you know, to everyone and there any- and everyone can apply.
Um, and at that point, you know- you know the selection is made. Um, so when I
look at just what Kearns & West is doing, where we're going and- and as far as
overlapping, I do- I- I would just wanna be very transparent and caution the, you
know TRC to maybe look a little closer at you know how does that project
manager- that's what I see this as as a project manager role, is that something that
you can achieve, um, with- and someone local or within this role. So that's the
only thing that I have. I- I am, um excited, um, you know, um, when I read about
all that Think Peace can do and what they can offer us. Um, our Healing Partners,
I know all of them. And so, um, I'm excited to know that they're a part, there are
local community members that have been highly respected. Um, the Native
Partners I haven't met yet, but maybe when I see them, I'll know them. I- I don't
know who they are. Um, but that's the only thing that I would say. Otherwise, um,
I know that you know people have said, um, there is value in having outsiders.
And I- I hear that. I understand that. There is value in having someone that knows
this process. I hear that and I understand that. But I also know project
management, um, and the things that are there, um, I- I personally feel can be
achieved, um, through another process. But that's all I'll say.
Alter: I can just add on one of the things also that I noted in the Kearns & West was that
actually they're- they're putting the research of these- of the data collection on- on
their backs, right? And so, um, that they would be creating the database and
whatnot. I mean that I would tend to agree, it- it's a specialized skill, but it is
something that I think that portion of the work could be done locally. I think it
may make sense to- to talk with Kearns & West or if they're on the line to- to
consider and, um, that as they do the truth -telling, that they would be more
research -oriented. um -Again, I go back and- and in fact, one of my points of
confusion was looking at honestly, sort of, the- there's a number of meetings and I
didn't know if those were solely of TRC meetings. I'm assuming obviously there's
going to be more meetings than simply commission meetings. Um, but is, sort of,
those seemed to be, a lot of people who are going to be attending these meetings
and a lot of them from Kearns & West. And I don't doubt that they might all have -
be bringing their A game and this person specializes in this and that. Um, but I'm
wondering if maybe be a way to not impede progress and to not slow this up, I'm
mindful that this also has a timestamp on it in the same way that we were talking
about a sense of urgency with the direct assistance. Um, but I'm wondering if
there is a way that maybe Kearns & West could own the content of the fact-
fmding rather than the- the formatting of it all. Um, and I recognize that puts
some more onus on some- some potential other partners. Um, but even the
University of Iowa, like, there- there could be people who I think, who might be
able to be interns do community outreach, work through the Obermann Center or
perhaps at any rate, um, I'm not here to solve, but I do- I don't want to offer
criticism without offering up also a suggestion. Um, so I do agree with the Mayor
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in terms of the- the project management aspect of it because that, on front, that in
a company, that's where there's a lot of billable hours. Um, and I do believe that
they have some, I sound just like the Mayor, I do believe um, but I do that Kearns
& West has a very specialized expert, um, you know, set of skills to be able to- to
do that fact-finding, to do the data work through the, all the different institutions
and amalgamate them and interpret them. I would love for them to be able to do
that work while shrinking their portion of the budget to the, sort of, the logistical
aspects of it.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, I really appreciate that comment. And, um, there's actually been,
you know, this whole process, kind of, to Kevo's point, it's, like, everything has
taken as long as it should have . But we've- we've gotten to know each other very
closely these past six or eight or 10 months. Um, Kearns & West, Think Peace,
and our local partners. And I feel, like, we put this draft, this is a first, you know,
third whatever draft in front of you. And then last week, um, after some input
from the commission, we had another, sort of, like, hey, you're an all white
company, um, primarily men that are taking over 50 percent of the budget. That's
problematic. And I- I want to just credit Dr. Ragland calling that out, because
that's a hard thing to do. We've been working very closely with them. This is very
tenuous. We already put a pause on it and changed the whole thing on them . So
we ask them to go back and change their rates. Actually take the fact-finding
aspect and maybe make it more local. You know, so they're- they're trying to
work through that. Um, we've gotten some preliminary stuff, it was just, timing
wise, we didn't feel, like, we had another full draft to present to you all today. But
I just want you to know that some of those things we are pushing back on,.
Alter: That's great.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Because we need to . It's, like, part of the process is, if you're going to be
doing this truth and reconciliation, it can't look like that. It can't just be
professionalized like that. Um, and we do have a lot of resources here in terms of
fact-finding. We already know that the- the school district does a lot of that
already. So there's, I think some assumptions that they had made, um, that maybe
we can, you know, take back essentially. Um, so- but to the project management,
I think it's a really great perspective to look at this through. And actually it can be
very clarifying. So I've taken a ton of notes to add to and clarify, you know,
community partners and a lot of the items that are listed, time constraints, making
sure that education is clear outward and inward, um, and, uh, community
involvement just needs to be more explicit. I will- I'm adding the project
management aspect to it because I think that's probably actually a good lens for us
to look at our partners and say, you know, if it's going to be this community
coordinator position, this TRC coordinator position, is it enough because it is true
when you look at Kearns & West, originally that was their role. So there may be
some of that still in there. And I think we need to clarify whose land is doing
what, because we- quite frankly want that here. Um, and I know that that's what
they can do, because they are professional organization, a professional company,
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and that's, like, their skill set. But we can do that here too. And so, um, if you just,
you know, give us a little bit more time, you know, it's nothing, like, a fourth or
fifth draft to move forward. But this has been incredibly helpful and, um, really
just want to open the door to if you're thinking of something as you're brushing
your teeth later, like, definitely let us know, um, because we wanted this to be
successful. We want it to be reflective of the work that we can all do together.
And it's completely part of the process.
Weiner: I mean I guess I would say that I- that I think that, I'm glad you've gone back to
them. I'm glad you've made those points. Um, I- I personally, um, as this is
refined, I personally think that we should be giving you- you all, as well as the
commission, um, the space to say, we're going to, you know, the- the amount- the
general amount of the budget is okay. Because I'm just, sort of, sitting down
parameters, like, the possible parameters. And you're going to decide in the end
how the- how the- how that's divided up. So maybe because it takes a while to
hire someone, maybe Kearns & West starts out doing essentially the coordination
and the project management. As someone is hired, they- they- they give- they
hand it off, they hand that piece off so that it is- so that it's local. But then things
have already gotten started in the ball has gotten rolling in this sense with, um,
with the people who have, with- with the people who have the expertise and they
hand that off, um, and then you potentially have- you potentially have a lot of
hours that then don't happen and are shifted to the local level. Um, but I'm- I'm
mindful of time and I'm- I'm concerned, and I'm also mindful of the fact that it's
probably not. I don't view it as our job to micromanage it. Um, I would like- I
would like to see it as our job to set, sort of, overall parameters. And it sounds to
me, like, you all, um, in their various groups have a good sense of- of the need for
diversity and the need for- for the local- for the local element to end up not only
being prominent, but also being paid.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
Weiner: Um, and to, sort of, say find those parameters, um, go forward.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. I think everybody is mindful of the
time and I know Angie Jordan isn't here, Um, I think she's taking some respite
after her finishing up the diversity markets. Um, but I will say that she has said
this, so I feel, like, I can convey this, that she would be willing to volunteer her
time, uh, to ramp that up because she feels very strongly that it should stay local.
Thomas: I guess one- one other little question I would ask is, has staff - have you been in
conversation with staff in terms of, you know, some of these questions regarding
the organizational structure of the role of the project manager and so forth?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Um, we have talked with legal, I think because of any, um, you know
Angie Jordan's husband is firefighter and so there's been legal discussions about
how she could be involved. Um, but in terms of project management, I think I'd
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need more clarity on what we would ask. Like, who's, from the City perspective,
like, who would be a part of that or how we organize ourselves?
Thomas: I'm- I'm just- in terms of the review of the- the- the framework that has been
developed here as a complex organizational structure, you have four- four groups
working- working together on a- on a difficult subject matter, um, but I was just,
you know, staff has generated lots and lots and have reviewed lots of RFPs on
projects. Certainly not TRC, and you know, a truth and reconciliation process, but
are familiar with working on trying to knit together, you know, how- how- how
the- how a team would be structured and how it might be organized in terms of
role-playing- role-playing and so forth.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes we have.
Thomas: It was just a question, but it seemed to me that, you know, they often will
review the city zone consultant contracts. I don't- I was just really asking the
question if they'd been involved in this one in any way?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes. We have had, uh, discussions with Deputy City Manager, um,
Redmond Jones here. In terms of the complexity of having four entities on one
proposal, I know it seems a little strange, but for us it really creates, um, more
flattened playing field. Um, as before, we were all under one house and so we felt
like that, um, needed to happen quite frankly. Uh, so- but we were told that that's
not an issue. But it's not- it's an- it's not super common, but that it's been done
before.
Teague: I do just want to close my comments that I'm super encouraged, uh, by this
conversation today. Um, and looking forward to when you all get back and
deliberate because I know there'll be more conversations that you all have. So I'd -
I just wanted to make sure that you all heard me say I really appreciate what
you've done so far. So thank you.
Harmsen: Yeah. I'd like to echo that. Thank you to the Commission and to local partners
for the work. Uh, it's- it's coming into this, uh, halfway through the movie, I
guess. Uh, I'm just starting on- on the Council in January, It's good to see
something this concrete and this detailed, um, in front of us as, sort of, a draft,
right? So- so we understand that, um, you know, this is, kind of, bouncing this off
and getting some feedback from council. Uh, so as I look at this, I had some of the
similar things wondering about some of the, uh, possible redundancies in- in work
and effort between a local coordinator and, uh, an outside facilitator or outside,
uh, company like Kearns & West. So that would be something that as you go back
and- and work through this, I would- would want, uh, clarification and- and a
solid, you know, rationale to support something like that. Because for all the
reasons have been mentioned, it sounds, like, you know, a little bit of an
imbalance there in terms of the way this budget and- and how it's structured, but
it's definitely represents real progress. Um, very much appreciate, uh- uh, Mr.
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Troare's comments about this is not going to be a seven-month solution. No, it's
not, and I don't think anybody ever expected that but I'm looking forward too to,
um seeing what comes out of this bin. How will, you know what makes sense for
moving forward. And so that's a really good endpoint for, um, you know, this first
big step that the City of Iowa City has taken and- and got underway, you know
before I was sitting up here. Uh, but again, thank you for the work that's been
done. So happy to see some- some concrete stuff and moving- and moving in a
direction we can actually, you know, see some of these things start to happen,
which was very exciting.
Alter: I just have one question. I'm sorry, Laura, you were gonna-
Bergus: I was just - I had a question for the -the commissioners as we've, uh, been around
this table before and do you feel like you have what you need from the council as
far as getting to the point of solidifying a proposal based on feedback so that we,
you know, you haven't voted on this proposal, right? And so kind of getting to
that point of saying, Okay, this is what we wanna give to the Council for kind of
the up or down vote. Are you feeling like you're getting what you need?
Dillard: Go ahead.
Rivera: I will respond with an invitation as you are looking at this proposal more in the
next coming days, please feel free to reach out to us with anything that wasn't
mentioned tonight. I think there was furious note -taking on all of our parts to
make sure that we are clarifying, tightening, and adjusting things as you've
mentioned so far tonight. We meet again on Thursday. I'm not going to say what
the outcome of that meeting will be, but hopefully, uh, if you do have any other
comments, please feel free, uh, to let us know about them so that we can
incorporate those into our discussion.
Dillard: All I would echo is that as much input that you have that you would like to give
us, we would certainly take it into consideration. We want this to work out, so we
really just want to move this forward with you all with us. So thank you all for
having us here.
Johnson: I also would like to say I agree. I think more communication between us only
makes things smoother and I really appreciate your time.
Traore: Uh, I appreciate your time. I would like to agree on the more communication
piece, but also just wanted to say got more clarity on some things but still a little
fuzzier now on some others. It's like the suggestion on bringing the university in.
Uh not really sure how that process would work if the job posting would have to
be underneath the university's umbrella or if it'd be underneath the City or
something.
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Alter: It was processing out loud. I did not mean to muddy waters, not at all. It was- it -it
was processing. It was not a direct suggestion.
Traore: Yeah. Just in terms of the total budget amount. I'm just trying to learn a little bit
more on the number of positions within the actual City. If there's a critical number
of people you're looking for, or if it's more just as long as everything's covered
and the vast majority of the funds are going to people within the area.
Harmsen: As you mention the position thing, I think there's probably a lot of questions
that would make sense to -to hammer out. Is this a position that lasts as long as the
until the final recommendation at the end of the TRC process was intended to be
something longer-term? Is it intended to be 20 hours a week part-time, 10 hours a
week part-time? I mean, there's probably a number of things like that which I
don't have - I don't have a recommendation, but just one of those things as you
consider this. Um, I think one other thing that hasn't been brought up that's worth
considering, and essentially somebody mentioned transparency, which 100
percent love to hear that, that's incredibly important for everything that we do, uh,
but there's also gonna be some sensitive areas when we get to the part of the
circles and the people sharing their stories, um, and so also want the commission
to be mindful to as - as we do stuff that employeess of the City or -or us on the
council, we have certain requirements for open records and open meetings and all
those kinds of things, um, and that's gonna come possibly into some conflict with
people who are sharing stories about their trauma. Er, and we don't want to re -
traumatize and make somebody. So I think that's a solvable problem, but I'm
hoping that you guys probably have already talked about this, but just wanna
make sure that that's something, um, maybe because of my background, the whole
like records and meetings and things like that is -is something I think of
frequently. Uh, so that's something to think about and how that will interact with
somebody who is a employee of the City versus a member of an outside
commission or group. So that's just something to to throw in the mix because I'm
sure he didn't have enough already.
Teague: So one - sorry. One thing that you just mentioned that I don t think that I actually
verbalized, but, um, is what I understand from what you just said now is, you
know, could there be multiple people from the community doing some of that
project management stuff? If I understood you correct, and I think that that is
something that the commission could go back and have a discussion about and,
um, you know, I just had- I took a kind of a position that I just wanted to share
and I think the commission, um, can go back and have those discussions.
Anything else?
Dillard: No.
Teague: Great. Thank you all for being here.
Dillard: Thank you
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Teague: All right.
Teague: I can access the city. I didn't remember. All right.
Clarification of Agenda Items
Teague: Great. We're going to move on within our work session agenda and the next item
is the clarification of agenda items.
Weiner: I just wanted - I just wanted to point out in the -in the agenda 6.a, the -the
Housing Trust Fund Contribution, not to pull it out or anything, but just so that -
this is the one that's, this is the contribution $500 thousand that will hopefully be
a multiplier through the Housing Trust Fund Contribution.
Teague: Alright. July, any other comments about the meeting agenda?
Information Packet Discussion
Teague: We're gonna move on to information package July 14th.
Harmsen: Would this- [OVERLAPPING] Oh, I beg your pardon. Would this be a good
time to get an update on the recent meeting on deer management?
Teague: Yeah? We can?
Fruin: Uh, maybe we- we- we can do that now. There's- there's a- a recap memo in the,
uh, July 28th IP, if you want to wait till that time or we can jump into it now.
Teague: Well -
Harmsen: I have no preference.
Teague: Yeah. Why don't we wait till July 28th so that if someone's pulling it up, they
can get there as well. Any other items from July 14th? We're gonna move on to
July 21st.
Weiner: Yeah. I just want to mention 1P2, which is the- the annual memo on calls for -
from the police chief and fire chief on fireworks calls for service. It's always, you
know, as- as the state has- has loosened the laws, uh, and- it's a- it just becomes
increasingly challenging. And this- I think this points out pretty clearly that large
number of calls, yes, but the ability to actually, uh, to — to access people, the
ability to actually locate the people, um, and at the same time, the- the need to end
up getting more specific information, if possible, through the- through the calling
process as- as we move forward on this. But it's gonna continue to be an issue.
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Alter: Yeah. Uh, it was so hard. I have neighbors. I live in an area wh- where if you look
at the map, there was- we were kinda triangulated among where a lot of, um, calls
were. And- and I just- I had many talks with my neighbors and I sympathize and I
was irritated and I called and- but the problem is, is that this is sort of like having
to know exactly where and when it's going off. Um, and unfortunately, tragically,
this is also an incredibly busy weekend for far more serious calls that I think
anybody in my neighborhood and- and of the folks that I spoke with would say,
yes, the resources are far better put towards, um, attending to more serious crimes,
even while it's a really dis ..... situation. But, um, it's something that, you know,
hard choices have to be made, and- and that was something that I tried to explain
a little bit, but, um, you know, when you're in the middle of things going off
constantly, it's- it's hard to- to- to really have that sink in. But I think that post July
si- 5th, um, when things went down, um, people can- could rest a little more easy.
Weiner: I think it'd also be very helpful in the future if- if we can sort of think as a- as a
group or other people to- to put out. I know that we work on messaging in
advanced, but to really push out some, um, op-eds or messaging on how difficult
this is for animals, how difficult it is for people, for vets, and people with PTSD,
and so- and so- and so many others, and look at it through the, like, the human
lens, ah, a- as opposed to what the state allows or what the state doesn't allow it
and really call on folks to think about that.
Thomas: Yeah. I hope- I mean, I understand there were some specific issues this year
with- with being able to respond, uh, but I- I didn't wan- you know, I looked at the
numbers and I'm sure there's going to be some variation from year to year, but this
year, you know, 57 percent of the calls for service for in five neighborhoods. So,
um, you know, Grant Wood, Lucas Farms, Northside, Wetherby- and, um,
downtown. So- and I would say based on, you know, my own anecdotal
experience, that the- the public parks are often the sites where the most activity
occurs because it's a larger open space. And so, you know, we're talking about
fireworks, not firecrackers. I mean, these are generating, you know, the- the sense
of explosions, um, that are taking place. And so it's- when it's concentrated and -
when it occurs over an extended period of time where it seems like there's no end
to it, um, you know, as we- we got some correspondence on this, so it was pretty
stressful to be in the middle of all that. So, you know, looking forward, I- I would
just hope we can solve this issue of location because it's, um, again, it seemed
clear that where- where we were seeing the most activity were in the common
spaces within the neighborhood. Not- not the only locations, but certainly some of
the more prevalent.
Bergus: Maybe there's some opportunity there with our neighborhood outreach, um,
position and as to the point of messaging, as Janice said, even just the basic fact
that you can purchase fireworks in Iowa City but it's illegal to shoot them off in
Iowa City. I found myself clarifying that for folks numerous times because that's
very confusing. Just hammering that again and again.
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Harmsen: And I think that brings up a point where, like, sort of like a tip of a hat to the
earlier councils. So when- when these fireworks were first legalized in Iowa, ah,
councils, many of you were- who are sitting here now were here then, ah, made it
so that the sales, ah, was illegal to sell except in very certain places in Iowa City. I
know just from my own experience living in Iowa City that the- after that
happened like the following year, the number of, you know, that we were hearing
fireworks and the number of complaints dropped off, it wasn't as prevalent. Um,
and so tip of the hat to the council for doing that and a wag of the finger at the
former mayor of Spillville, Iowa who took it upon himself, the sla- legislative
session, a town of about 300, who was upset that cities like Iowa City had found a
loophole to ruin the right of people to fire off fireworks wherever they want or
buy fireworks wherever they want in this case. Um, and, uh, got that pushed
through and get the governor to sign it. And so I definitely, ah, you know,
certainly our constituents should reach out to us, but I encourage them to also
reach out to the, ah, there- the, uh, people in charge of the Iowa House, the Iowa
Sena- uh, Senate, and the Governor of Iowa for- for, ah, you know, taking away
our ability to try and make our community more peaceful, um, and not have all of
these issues with our pets and people with PTSD and- and all of those kinds of
things. So I think it's important to note how we got here. And it's people who tried
to help that were sitting up here, or sitting up here right now, and the people that,
uh, took our legs out from underneath us again. So -
Teague: Anything else from IP, uh, for July 21st? Going on to July 28th information
packet.
Weiner: And that's where IP6 is the memo about the bow hunt?
Teague: Yes.
Taylor: Yes.
Teague: And we're gonna welcome Rachel.
Kilburg: Mayor and City Council, um, I can provide a quick update on how the listening
session went last Monday, um, and then if you have other questions about that
memo, ah, I can try to answer those as well. So last Monday, um, at 5:30 here in
council chambers we held a listening session. There were several City staff. We
had about nine members of the public attend, and then we had two staff, um, from
the DNR also attend, two wildlife depredation biologists. Um, we had invited
them prior. Uh, we ha- as I mentioned, we had nine pe- nine members of the
public attend, um, and comments and questions and suggestions were shared that
really kind of spanned the gamut of the different strategies that are included in our
deer management program. Um, we had participants who were opposed to the- to
the bow hunt, um, who suggested more promotion of non -lethal methods, and
then we also had, um, other members, especially from certain areas in the
community, who had really noticed that uptake in deer that, um, our data has also
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reflected. Um, and we're just expressing their concerns, um, sharing that they
were hopeful to help the city as much as they could see us be more successful in
our bow hunt program or in our deer management strategies in general. Um, and
then our DNR, um, biologists were also there and able to provide some
perspective about how, um, new bow hunt programs have gone in other
communities in the past. W, um, were certainly one of the, uh, new- most new
communities to have started a bow hunt program, um, and the DNR did provide
some perspective that, you know, it does take some time to gain that trust, that
interest, ah, in a community.
Taylor: Kind of along with, um, Councilor Harmsen's comment about, uh, those folks
that reside in Des Moines and- and make rules and laws and- and the DNR, etc.
We, as a council, had tried over the years to- to have a successful, uh, process for,
uh, culling the deer population. We tried many things. And, uh, from what we'd
heard, the sharpshooting was the most effective. And looking at the numbers now,
it's, like, over the last two years with the bow hunting, only what, four, five, six?
Not very many, uh, were eliminated. And- and it came kinda close to home for
me. Uh, I'd never seen deer before, but I came home actually from a council
meeting one night, late night, and car light shined on the driveway, and I thought
it was a large dog, but it was a deer in my yard. And I'd never seen a deer in my
yard before. So I found the comments interesting that perhaps over time, some of
the folks that maybe were s- uh, uh, slightly against any culling the deers, maybe
are going to see the light and see the increased population when they start seeing
more deer in their yards. I've seen a lot of pictures on, uh, social media. People
like, the- the deers are just very comfortably sleeping in their yard and- and mama
with the babies. And so it- it- it might take a little bit of time, but perhaps we'll
see that or the process. But then we're going to need the state to realize that
perhaps sharpshooting, uh, is- is the better method.
Bergus: Do we have any reason to think that the session that we had and the DNR and
folks who attended would change the minds of those on the Natural Resource
Commission to reconsider our repeated requests to sharpshoot again?
Kilburg: We met with the DNR, um, which I- I think is also included in the memo, um. in
person in March. And then, um, we've- we've kinda stayed in contact the- with
them since then. They have, um, you know, we've kind of suggested that a
sharpshooting option may be something that would work well in our community,
whether kind of another onetime or temporary solution as part of a broader plan.
Um, so we have shared that, um, that suggestion with them. They have also
shared, um, suggestions back to us about how to improve our bow hunt program,
how we might, um, gain more hunters who are interested, um, how we can help
connect hunters with property owners who are interested and have property that is
eligible to be hunted. Um, and then they also connected us with, um, some
contacts from other communities, um, such as Des Moines, a little more urban, a
little more similar to us than maybe some other more rural areas. Um, so I also
met with all of them and kinda got some good feed- feedback and perspective of
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them. Again, that was all kind of focused on how can we make our bow hunt
successful because we know that that's what the- the Natural Resource
Commission, um, has a high priority on- on us ensuring that's an option. So, um,
we're- we're kinda focused on how we can help build that as part of our overall
program.
Fruin: We- we do have- so it's this bow hunt and then next year's bow hunt. And that's the
end of our five-year management plan that the NRC approved. So probably about
this time next year, we're gonna be working on a new five-year plan, uh, to
present to the NRC. And, uh, you know, a couple things. One, I think we have to
show that we are taking the bow hunt program very seriously and doing the best
that we can to attract hunters and- and provide opportunities. And we're making
adjustments each year based on what we learn. As Rachel said, we're trying to
learn from other communities. The biggest difference right now, um, that- that we
haven't addressed is the other communities in Iowa, um, allow hunting on public
ground, we do not. And- and I wouldn't be surprised if that is- is an issue for the
NRC when- when the time comes to go back. But clearly, the- the- the DNR staff
see the numbers, they can see the trajectory, and they wanna help us manage the
deer in our community th- the best way possible. So I think if we're in a position
next year where we have to go back and ask for sharpshooting, I wouldn't- I -don't
think we'll ever get necessarily back to the point where we can do that every year
like we were. Um, but some targeted sharpshooting in certain areas at certain
times, uh, may be plausible as long as we continue to put forth, um, the effort to -
to grow our bow hunt program.
Thomas: I- I agree with that. I- I do think if we show a good faith effort to- to try to make
the bow hunting work, uh, and document what those efforts are, um, that they're -
that we could make the case for reintroducing sharpshooting, uh, at- at some point
in the near future. But, you know, I- so I think it's great. We're doing precisely
what the plan called for, trying to make adjustments, trying to make it work all in
good faith. I- I think we're- we're taking the right course.
Teague: Thank you. Any other item from July 28th? This is, uh, really related to IP1. So
as Mayor, um, so we're all aware, earlier as I mentioned, about the Amel Ali, uh,
situation. And as Mayor, I wanted to just kinda get council, um, if there would be
some support for me placing on our agenda, on our next formal agenda on August
16th, the removal of Amel Ali from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
We cannot discuss it, but, um, I can do it independently, but I would certainly
wanna see at least three people, um, that would support that.
Taylor: I would.
Teague: Okay. And you don't have to- I just need to see shaking of heads. So I will have
that on the next agenda.
University of Iowa Student Government (USG) Updates
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Teague: We're gonna move on to University of Iowa Student Government's updates, and
they are not here today. Uh, they're on vacation, as so many people are.
Alter: Arranging the furniture.
Council updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees
Teague: Yes. The next one will be, uh, council updates on assigned boards, commissions,
and committees. Er, don't hear any. We are going to be adjourned until our 6:00
PM formal meeting. So we'll see you in about 22 minutes.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
work session of August 2, 2022.