HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-09-20 TranscriptionPage 1
Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner
Staff Present: Fruin, Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling, Hightshoe, Knoche, Havel, Sovers, Ford
Others Present: Miglin (USG Liaison), Zeimet (USG Alternate)
Development of the FY23-28 City of Iowa City Strategic Plan with facilitation services
provided by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG)
Teague: All right. It is just after 3:00 on Tuesday, September 20th, 2022. And we're going to
continue our strategic planning session. And so we're going to welcome you all once
again to help get us started.
Kurt: Thank you, Mayor. Um, we're at it again. R3. Uh, so because, uh, I guess this is televised,
we're going to do a quick reboot for anyone that might be watching for the first time with
respect to what we're working on. And so if you want to go ahead Harrison, um, just to
refresh, um, this is a strategic- strategic planning process. The city has had a strategic
plan for many years. Um, so this is not new or unusual. I think what is different this time,
and you had engaged ECICOG, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, uh, to
really look at expanding your time -frame out from a two-year strategic plan to a five-year
strategic plan. Um, and with respect to that, we kind of built-in some additional
components to the plan, uh, with respect to vision and strategies. And so we've been, uh,
in this process since March when we started with individual interviews with the council
members, we've had a couple of more intensive, ah, idea generation sessions with both
the console and staff. And then starting in August, we gave you a bunch of wonderful
action items that we, uh, had in a booklet here. And you did some initial prioritization.
And now we're coming, ah, we came together on September 8th to kind of try and funnel
those ideas down even further, but didn't quite make it through all of our - our segments.
And so we're back together today to hopefully wrap up that portion of the process. And
we may it sounds like need to, um, once we've finished our work today, our goal would
be to - to get all of the changes into the plan, will send it back to staff. They'll be a few
things that they will need to put in with respect to more specific timelines and champions.
Uh, but then to get that plan back out to so then you can see it sort of altogether at once.
And it - it may be necessary to come together one more time and just do the kind of final
sort of refinements to make sure that once you see it in its grand state, that it still feels
realistic and on track with where you want to be. Um, so for today, quick reboot, we'll dig
into economy, um, and then safety and well-being. Um, and then start the resources
section, uh, which has largely been drafted by staff, but we're - they're seeking your input
as well and to that component of the plan. And then hopefully well have a little bit of
time to talk about our next steps and how you want to track your progress. I show this as,
um, I was thinking that we would wrap up at 5:00, but it seems like we're going to wrap
up- we need to wrap up maybe a little bit earlier than that to give you an adequate break
before you - you start your next section, would that be accurate?
Teague: It will be appreciated.
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Kurt: It sounds like you have a busy night ahead of you. Uh, so again, this is the strategy map
that we've been working off of the components of the strategy map. Really components
that existed for the most part in previous strategic plans. They've just been organized
differently. On the left-hand side, we have our values, um, in partnerships and
engagement, climate action, racial equity, social justice, and human rights. And these are
the values that are really guiding the plan as well as kind of the desired outcomes that
you're working towards. Then you have the impact areas which are represented in that
blue box. Um, and that's really how you intend to- the areas in which you intend to
impact your community, kind of reflecting the unique mission that the city has. Um, and
there we had housing, neighborhood - and neighborhoods, mobility, economy, safety, and
well-being. And then the last portion kind of at the bottom where the resources needed to
execute the strategy. Um, and there you see facilities, equipment and technology, people
and financial. And so we had, um, we have specific terms that we're using within the
plan. We talk about vision. What's that in picture of what we're trying to work towards?
And we've already largely made the edits that we wanted to make to the vision for, uh,
each of the plan components. We had our general strategies of how we wanted to work
towards that vision. And then we had the action steps, which is really was the focus of
our work during the last session as well as what we'll do here today. And that's really the
to-do list. You know, what are the specific items we want to tackle that we can check off
a list, um, to help us advance the strategies that are going to get us to this vision. And we
talked about putting our action steps into two phases. Uh, Phase 1 would be action steps
that we want to be completed this fiscal year or in fiscal year 24 or 25. And then action
Steps 2 being, uh, items that would be completed in fiscal years 26 through 28. We had
also oops and I just backup from a- we had also suggested that you focus, um, with
respect to the strategic plan, that you focus the action steps on. Things that are going to
require significant human or financial resources, things that are highly visible or have a
high impact. Things that might require a large degree of collaboration, either within the
city itself or between the city and other organizations. Or lastly, things that are just kind
of take up a lot of council time or community involvement. So in terms of all the ideas
we gave you to prioritize, uh, we tried to capture it. Most of the ideas that were generated
during the brainstorm session, and there may be great ideas in there that may end up
being executed, but they may not rise to the level that we want to actually potentially call
them out on the strategic plan. Last time, we also talked about this idea of the importance
of being realistic and we did a little brainstorm session around that. And just to remind
you again, um, you know, that if - if we're being realistic with our goals, um, in your own
words, that had the potential for a lot of positive outcomes in terms of motivation and
creating trust between the console and - and local government and the public and building
momentum and people feeling heard. On the converse side, if you're setting unrealistic
goals and you're not able to meet most of those, um, most of those goals that have been
set. It can be demoralizing, uh, certainly maybe demoralizing for staff that might
perpetuate government stereotypes and so on and so forth.
Kurt: All right, are you ready to dig in?
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Kurt: [NOISE] So we're starting on Page 20 today, which was the economy section, and I did
pass out. Um, so you should have near you the results of the further prioritization that you
had forwarded tests that we're going to use to guide our conversation today. And the good
news is with respect to economy. It, um, it seemed like there was some consensus with
respect to some items that really stood out to. And, ah, in terms of being significant
amongst a list of a lot of great ideas. And so Harrison, I might have you bring up the
other sheet at this point.
Kurt: Bring up that workbook page again. No, the one that where we actually put it in phase 1 or
phase 2.
Freund: Oh, here.
Kurt: Uh, so we're going to start to go through these similar to what we did last time, um,
perhaps starting with item number 17. Um, and then I'm looking for there council
agreement and whether or not you think there should be in the plan. And then also
whether or not you're thinking it's a phase 1 or phase 2. And as we work through this list,
you'll notice when we get to the bottom, there were some items that were only mentioned
by one council member as - as being super high priority. And I guess I'll leave it up to
you whether or not you want to dig into those items or not based on what's already been
identified.
Kurt: And so if at item number 17 was enhanced access to affordable childcare for all
populations through innovative partnerships.
Kurt: So I'm here - so I'm seeing heads nodding.
Taylor: So I think that's like [OVERLAPPING]
Kut: Phase 1?
Taylor: Yeah, definitely.
Kurt: Yes.
Kurt: Okay. All right.
Weiner: Can I grab like a minute or two of everybody's time and sort of give you- give you a
brief sketch of- of some of the things that at least I've been thinking about and shared
with with Mayor Pro Tem Alter about the bigger vision for this. So I'll try and make it as
brief as possible. I know the city is already doing a little bit of this, some of this with the
county, and they- and we've talked about that before. So it has to do with a combination
of affordability and getting everybody the services that they need and paying people what
they deserve so that you can have actual qualified childcare personnel who then will stay
in their jobs and have a career prospect. And the various elements that I see are one,
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creating a fund which I think is already partly underway to- to help subsidize wages for -
for childcare workers to bring them up to a place where um, it's not- they're not in
competition with fast food or something else. Where it's a decent- decent wage, hopefully
at some point with- with benefits. Uh and you can- we can start that with- with ARPA
funds, for example. Um my- my- if we forget my vision would be to switch that and
some of these other things into lost and use- and pass laws together with the county to be
able to fund that, as well as some other things. Um the other things that I- I think- that I
would think needs to be funded is the gap between what people get in childcare
assistance and what childcare actually costs so that everybody can have access to quality
childcare. Um and as well as working with the school district to expand their current pilot
program, which is- which has this Pre -K with wrap-around care m four different schools.
Um people who can- can afford it paying for the wrap-around care, which is actually
quite reasonable. And those who can't afford it are on free or reduced lunch getting-
getting- just getting the childcare that the childcare portion comp that allows everybody
who wants to have their kids attend pre -K, be able to attend pre -K because they don't
have to transfer them like twice a day while they're at work. It allows everybody- all the
kids to start at an even K through 12 and a much more even scale pla- place so that um,
they have much- there's a much better chance of- of equity in education going forward.
And so that's sort of the- those are the pieces that I would love to see us think as we go
forward. That could be funded first by ARPA and then I would hope by- by lost working
together with the school district and the county so that we can really serve all the kids in -
in the area.
Kurt: Okay. We ready to move on to the next item. Um and that was Number 19, which is
partnering with Iowa City Community School District. I will labor city- center local
trades and other stakeholders to provide meaningful career development opportunities for
your apprenticeship programs, et cetera.
Kurt: So, consensus that should be on- m the plan. Phase 1 or phase 2?
Taylor: Phase 1.
Alter: Phase 1 I think he's like he's doing it.
Kurt: Okay.
Alter: In our packet.
Weiner: But at least part of it.
Bergus: Yes. I wondered about Number 16, which is relating to Kirkwood and adult education. I
don't know if that's combining those is too big of a scope, but I just see sort of a
continuum there that Kirkwood could be one of the other stakeholders, but I don't know if
folks agree with that or not.
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Alter: Well, into the extent actually, the Kirkwood is also working to help with a training
program for childcare workers that um so there's a partnership and that's about to launch.
Weiner: Right. That's part of their regional center.
Alter: Right and- and there is a very specific plan. So I think that- to your point, yes. I think that
we could productively and without oh I say without adding a whole lot of work. But it
seems like Kirkwood should be a partner because there's a lot of overlap in terms of what
they're doing to help with goals that we have in place or that we're discussing.
Weiner: I would agree.
Kurt: So we'll maybe tweak that language um, so that it encompasses 19 and 16.
Kurt: All right, then we had Number 12, um which is using ARPA funds to execute on agreeable
recommendations and the inclusive economic development plan.
Harmsen: I know this is one that- that I've put on there because it seems to reflect something
we're sort of- we're already sort of working in some of these areas with the ARPA funds.
So this seemed like a Phase 1 because we're in that window of using these. So that- that's
why I included it in- in mine so.
Kurt: I see a lot of head nodding. Um there seems to be a general consensus that that would also
be phase 1.
Kurt: And then we had Number 13 which was increasing small business technical assistance.
Teague: I'm happy to see that as a priority because I think small business owners and the
technical assistance is so critical um, for their success. So I- I think it's a good thing that
it is here. And of course we will have to have partners to kind of help us achieve some of
these things, but I'm happy it rose to the top of the list.
Alter: I didn't have on mine, but I'm happy to put it on there and to throw in my lot with saying
yes. This should be a priority because it is something that is so concrete that can help a
lot of people that I know is you know it's a frustration and it's a time suck and it can take
money. And so I certainly do not have a problem with that of others are ready to
prioritize it.
Taylor: Back on. I think anytime we can encourage locally grown and local businesses, it's- it's
vitally important.
Weiner: Let me may be something that's- that's someone like Merge can help with. Organization
like Merge can help with is an incubator, as well as Tracy John's project.
Kurt: Any thoughts on whether that should be a phase 1 or phase 2?
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Alter: I have a question, I guess for- for Geoff and staff. I mean, what would that- what does that
load looking like since we have a couple of big projects already ahead, excuse me, and I
know all of this. The work behind the scenes is more of a lift than a one-liner. So what -
does that seem feasible to- I mean we have a lot of relationships. Is it possible to work
through this without too much blood, sweat, and tears from staff or?
Fruin: I think when- when I look at all three and I guess four items with this one, um I think we
can make a lot of progress in those first three years, but I don't know that you're done
with them in those you know that phase 2. So the technical assistance, I think that's
probably something you'll hear a little bit about tonight with the inclusive economic
development plan. So that's one area. Maybe we start with that effort and then it maybe it
grows beyond that in the out years. So I don't have a problem putting these all in phase 1
as long as the expectations are clear that it's- it's probably a five-year and beyond type of
effort.
Weiner: My sense is that most of these are ongoing. I mean, we're started, so we have this
somewhat artificial division, but it's not going to end.
Fruin: So I think you can put them in phase 1.
Kurt: Phase 1, okay?
Kurt: All right and then Number 2 was about flexible incentives to support SSMID's.
Harmsen: I mean, I think that it's kind of all of these are ongoing sort of things. So working with -
with our Smids is one example of that. And so, I mean, you don't want to say do
everything in phase 1, but some of these are already something I think we're engaged in
and so I don't know if it makes sense to put it in a phase 2 or I'm not sure what.
Fruin: Well, this- so when I read this, you're not only talking about the SSMID's but other
commercial nodes, um, and you're- we're talking incentives. So in my mind, that's largely
financial incentive. I'm sure there- there could be some land use incentives considered as
well. Right now, we don't have very flexible incentives, right? We- we- if we rely on tiff,
that's a very regimented type of process that we- we put somebody through. If you
increase flexibility, we're doing uh probably more grant programs, more one-off types of
incentives. We may be working with a Smid on business recruitment or you know
whatever- whatever item they may be working on. So it's- is changing the way we look at
economic developments. And I was a little bit in my mind, and I don't know what that
looks like yet, but um flexible is the keyword there for me.
Harmsen: I think based on that, that feels more like a longer-term. At least maybe other people
are hearing it differently, but that makes it a picks more sense of a Phase 2 to me.
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Thomas: I'm seeing it is also something of a grassroots. You know it's corning from the SSMID's
are corning from the neighborhood commercial nodes that we- we might hear from them.
You know in terms of how can the city help? You know we- we're envisioning this, how
can we partner with you? I mean, I think it's something that could happen and you know
it would be smart on emerging level perhaps than something that we're sort of
establishing as our own goal to me.
Thomas: But it could be long term if we want to keep it in there.
Alter: What strikes me is what you said, Geoff, that it was- it's kind of re -envisioning. I mean,
it's- it's a shift in- in economic development. So I see that as sort of, what are they going
to come to us with so that it's not all generating from us. And I do see that as kind of
longer-term because certainly downtown district, that's an ongoing thing that had some
asked for some flexibility and, you know, it's ongoing as a relationship. But then with the
south district now becoming, you know, getting all the Ts and I's, they will also come up
with things. So I just- I see this is more of a longer-term without precluding, like things
may come up in the interim. But as far as a real strategic move, I can see it is. [NOISE]
Harmsen: We wouldn't walk away from an opportunity because we had it out at four years
instead of two years.
Alter: Right, exactly. I mean, we play it as it comes, but I can see this more as on our map is
saying, maybe a couple of years from now, we're going to have a better sense of what
those incentives might look at, and we might be able to formalize them or- or offer him as
for instances. That type of thing. So anyway, long-winded way to so phase 2 works for
me.
Harmsen: Is there, um, some natural overlap between some of what we're talking about with that
and, uh, item number 1? So that targeted marketing, um, unique and attractive place to do
business because that item, because I don't- you probably like me don't have these
memorized. Um,
Teague: Okay.
Harmsen: Uh, but in terms of some of that flexible thing, and, you know, having that targeted
marketing, I mean, that would be, you know, if we were doing number 1, we would
probably working with our SSMID's with that. I mean, that can imagine we wouldn't
have them as part of that discussion, although [OVERLAPPING] there are other groups
too.
Weiner: Right. And I'm, um, pretty sure that the lease, the downtown district already does its
own a lot of it- some of it's a- a chunk of its own targeted marketing.
Teague: I had- I had selected number 1 because I thought it was more inclusive. Um, it would
include, as you just mentioned number 2, there was a broader con- I- it was a more
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broader that brought in several, um, of these points. And so, um, I would agree that
number 1 is kinda- it can go into number 2.
Taylor: I agree. I'd- I'd- I'd put it on my list, um, as important too, because we've been hearing
for many years now. And what is Iowa City doing about attracting businesses to the
community. So I think that it's very important to the community for them to see that it is -
it is a priority for us. And, uh, but I could see us phasing into it in- into. The second
would be fine. But I think it is important.
Kurt: So, um, I'm hearing for number 2, phase 2. and for number 1. You're thinking that could be
combined with number 2?
Harmsen: Certainly would overlap. I don't know. They have to be trying to cram it all into one
bullet point. Or maybe, I mean, but there is gonna be some natural like Synergy
[OVERLAPPING]
Sure. Yeah, true.
Harmsen: - right and so. Um, but they could also be- they could
both be phase 2 with the idea that- that, uh, what that Councilor Thomas had said about.
You know, we also want to make sure that we are letting ideas percolate up rather than
us, you know, that need some time to breathe. So I mean to me that makes a phase 2 goal,
but if things come faster than great. That's my thought.
Kurt: So they're complimentary in phase 2, you're kinda complementing.
Teague: I think so.
Kurt: And that's the consensus generally of the- a group. Okay. All right, so now we're into the
ones that just had were forwarded by one individual, um, starting with 23.
Alter: That was mine, um, and I don't feel like I need to strong-arm anyone just so long as I think
that it- I feel fairly confident, there's already some really good work in thinking about
what is the long-term vision for, um, the riverfront. Um, we were told to look for an
outlier. And to me that seemed really interesting. And as a way that could truly, it could
entice, you know, different businesses, certainly could generate some economic
development. Um, I defmitely see that is like a phase 2, um, with an eye on, you know, if
things become available to continue, um, you know, being able to have kind of a- a
longer-term vision and not have it all kinda chopped up with individual owners and what-
not. But I don't know what others think.
Bergus: I think 23 and 24 become much more important if we get that grant that we just applied
for, with the City of Coralville and Johnson County. Um, I don't know that I'd be willing
to, you know, sort of shift significant funding as would be necessary for this kind of
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thing. But certainly if, you know, that vision was very inspiring, and I think the regional
collaboration of it makes it a lot more, um, exciting and important.
Teague: I think for 23 and number 18, I felt like it was- it is already in the pipeline. And so that's
why I didn't give it any -
Alter: Yeah.
Teague: - energy thinking that I can -
Alter: Right. Right.
Teague: - promote some other things that weren't.
Alter: I think it's more just I was like kind of calling it out. [NOISE] Um, so I don't have any
problems.
Fruin: I- I if I can interject. The- the one thing I would say is, um, just because something's in the
pipeline now, you know pipelines got so much capacity in it when you're introducing two
or three other items.
Alter: Might get squeezed out.
Fruin: Something get squeezed out and if- if it's not a stated priority in here, um, yes, we're
gonna con- we're always going to continue to try to chip away at our riverfront and make,
you know, better public spaces and trails and whatnot. But, uh, if that's something that -
that you absolutely want to see happen in these five years, you've- that's a big
commitment to make. Um, that's in the Better Together plan. That's not our plan, but, um,
it's been recognized by the region as an important, uh, strategy, uh, for the larger area.
I'm- I'm not saying it needs to be on here, or it doesn't, but there is meaning to having it
on here. And that goes with any item. When you're putting that at the top or- or one of the
four or five, six things that make a list, your staffs going to focus on that. And especially
come budget time, we're going to prioritize projects that get us closer to that goal. So
there is a shifting of resources, um, that- that happens.
Thomas: Well, I- I certainly, um, I- I- I've- I've- I've been advocating for a stronger rear escape
for a long time. Um, I had a more modest, humble notion of it. I think it was, um,
perhaps, you know, something that could be done incrementally, not necessarily in one -
as one major project. Uh, the notion of a river walk always- has always appealed to me,
which means that that walk needs to be comfortable, interesting and so forth. But we
could- we could implement that, um, incrementally, perhaps using some grant funds to do
it as well. Uh, I feel riverfront crossings park really needs tree canopy, serious tree
canopy, and, uh, some additional seeding. I mean, if so- so- some of these things are kind
of we have existing facilities, but perhaps they need to be improved upon. So I- I think
there needs to be some emphasis. I'm not a big- I'm not an advocate for spending massive
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amounts of dollars on- on the river- improving the river, uh, but at the same time, I think
some work needs to be done there. So if perhaps if it's in the strategic plan as a- and I
think I'm a little bit frustrated with the phase 1, phase 2, I kinda just see this as something
that is in the plan, um, and we need to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. But,
um, I- it is- I think it is a good point of emphasis. We have a lot of valuable amenities
along the river. The art museum is now another, and what I've always felt it's, they don't
link up to one another. It would be interesting to try to create kind of a necklace of
amenities which integrate through a river walk, you know, a corridor experience that- that
people would experience all the way from Hancher down to Riverfront Crossings Park.
Um, so yeah, I would say let's have it in there, but, you know, I don't think it needs. Just
see how it- how it moves forward.
Bergus: So Maybe add 23 to Phase 2.
Teague: Bear with that.
Alter: Or does it make sense? I don't mean to draw this out, but and- I- I actually would love to
have it on phase 2. I am the one that put it out there, and I'm taking my cue from the way
that Geoff described this as like if we want some- to do this, then we need to make sure
it's on there. That said there are several other that are one- offs and maybe doesn't make
sense. I'm going to put myself into your shoes and say, is it too complicated if we were to
actually briefly just walk through what the other ones were to see rather than go through
the list and be like Yep, that needs to go on there. Or -
Kurt: Um, I think, uh.
Alter: Is that- is the most efficient way, the way that we've been doing it. I don't want to add
more time to or to take over your facilitation.
Kurt: Um, I'm open to ideas I don't know whether is a right or wrong way. Um, I think. I know,
uh, we've already dealt with 16. So there was just number 18 and number 11, uh, left on
this list.
Weiner: I think given the- the grant application, that makes sense to put it into phase 2 and the-
the- then see what- see what- see what happens. Because then if we get the grant, you
start working on that, and maybe you can sort of do a- a few, um, things absent the grant.
But I mean, I take Geoffs point that if it's some- if it's something we want for the future,
we- we ought to have it in there somewhere.
Kurt: Why don't we put it on phase 2? It sounds -
Alter: Yeah.
Kurt: like there's a pretty good consensus there.
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Alter: Yeah.
Kurt: Um, and so then that brings us to 18. Seems to tie back a little bit to 17 a bit.
Weiner: Which is already- I think it's already in train, that's what I think the mayor said. He
hadn't put it on his list because it's already in tra for.
Thomas: Yeah, I- I think I had that on my- my list and- and I think it's more- I think I- I added it
in there, um, because I do- I do want to place an emphasis on our strategic plan on the,
um, improving the- the life of our - our young people, and, uh, in that regard, you know
I'm in- interested in seeing the final product of this thing, and, uh, if that's- if that's in here
in some fashion. Um, because Geoff had mentioned, you know, before we started this
exercise, if we had any, uh, thoughts regarding our budget and I'm beginning to see that
there may be things that we- we have in here that may have been some way or another
dropped out, and we- we may wanna consider them to be a budget item. It's not
necessarily a strategic plan item, but it is something, um, that- that might provide an
opportunity for being a project, uh, within the budget. But I'm- I'm, you know I'm fine
with not having it in the strategic plan.
Kurt: So 18. No.
Thomas: I'm okay with not having it.
Kurt: Um, and then number 11 was the last one. [NOISE]
Weiner: Right, I think that was me. I stuck number 11 in because when you look at some of the
empty spaces downtown and some of the thing- places that we have a really hard time
filling, not just downtown, some other places too, there have been some at Pepperwood
Plaza as well. But I- I- right now I'm [NOISE] I'm mindful of the downtown with places
like Active Endeavors that are really big places, um, and the- and the US bank building
which is still sitting there, uh, and- and I was wanting to support and they're just spaces
that probably- that no single business is gonna take on- on their- on their own at this point
if we wanna have a- a vibrant downtown that really, um, attracts businesses and not just -
and not chains and so forth, and not just, I mean, I loved the restaurants and bars, but we
wanna mix- we wanna mix as well. Um, and we're trying to support, um, smaller
businesses, BIPOC businesses, and others. I- I have no- I have no efficient claim to vision
it all as to how this would be done, or who would do it, or who would fund it, but we
have these spaces that are empty because they're too big, um, and if there were some way
to- to sort of investing in splitting them up, then- then we might actually get takers and
more, um, places where a lot of these small businesses could find a home. But I- I don't
have- I don't know if- if you have thoughts on that, but I have no clue how that would
happen.
Fruin: Whether they're largely vacant and then are used because there's a- an economic issue,
right? The private market can't afford to retrofit those and then you know make the
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numbers work. So this item is largely targeted financial incentives to under-utilized
properties, and, um, that can be really exciting. Uh, but it takes a partner as well. You
have to have a property owner that- that also wants to invest with you. Um, so, yeah, as
long as you understand this is probably more of a financial item than- than anything else,
uh, could be- could be land -use. I mean, there could be some land -use changes that might
incentive, um, turnover those properties, but- but I would say largely fmancial.
Weiner: So yeah, I don't feel strongly one way or the other about putting it in, but that's why I
flagged it, um, for discussion.
Bergus: We included number 2, right? I guess that's the longer term, but it seems to me that our
commercial nodes might put forth the idea of how do we retrofit. You know, how do we
make sure vacant spaces are being used? So I think we could- I think it would be
captured likely in, you know, the sort of what we're imagining in number 2.
Alter: Good point.
Taylor: [NOISE] I think it also goes- goes along with number 1, what we- we discussed. I mean,
we've gotta- we've gotta market. Iowa City is a place to- to have your business too, to
grow and- and develop your business. So it really goes along with number 1 also.
Teague: So I think I hear, um, it'd be addressed and it'd be addressed somehow, potentially
naturally -
Weiner: Right.
Teague: as those happen.
Weiner: Hold it in or whatever.
Teague: Yeah. So maybe not including that in number 2, which also wasn't included with
number 1, so -
Kurt: All right. So that was our list then for economy. [NOISE] I think we're ready to transition
to, uh, safety and well-being. [NOISE] There was a fair amount of consensus around
number 8, which is the integration of community Mobile Crisis into 911 dispatch
protocols. So is that a Phase, oner in that -
Harmsen: I think so.
Kurt: Process?
Harmsen: And I think to my comment and there's little asterisk there. Thank you for including
that, by the way. Um, just as I was looking at these and because I had to pick, uh, you
know we- our task was to try and focus in- on a limited number, um, just to get us
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moving. So I cheated, uh, because I think that these three, they all involve community,
uh, mobile crisis in some way or another, you know, in part or whatever. So they seem
very complimentary. Um, and, you know, we probably would, you know, promoting 988.
You know we've heard a lot of these things together anyway, right? I mean, that's kinda
my thought process, um,8,5,and 3, sort of just they seem to be very related to each other.
I don't know if- what the best way to approach it. Maybe it makes sense to have them out
as separate things so we can check those boxes. [NOISE] But in terms of having to pick
four, I- I cheated. So -
Weiner: There was like- I can see putting five and three together. Eight seems to me something
of a standalone simply because of all the different communities, um, and organizations
that have to be- that have to agree and have to work together in order to make that
happen, in order to, um, agree to all the- all the folks who make up the- the Johnson
County Emergency Group and then you'd have to- then you have to have the training and
you have to have- we have to- you have to be at a point where, um, there's sufficient, um,
understanding that the community Mobile Crisis is- is, um, in a good position to go on
calls by themselves [NOISE] without it, well, without it- without being in danger. So that
-sort of all- there's- there's a to- ton of boxes to check. So I mean- I see- I also see it is
phase 1, but it's going to take a while.
Taylor: I think I didn't pick number 8 [NOISE] um, as a priority because it- it seemed as though
we're kind of already doing that, were already in that phase, and- and, uh, utilizing the
community Mobile Crisis with 911 calls and delineating which are appropriate for the
community crisis versus the law enforcement. So I hadn't- I hadn't listed that 'cause I
kinda thought we were already.
Weiner: Yeah, it's not -it's not - it's- it's I mean, it's not happening yet through our 911 operating,
and that's gonna- that's a like much bigger conversation.
Teague: Number 3, where it says what the goal of tripling current coverage in the five-year
period. So Iowa City area is covered. So I'm not exactly sure. If that was like expanding.
Fruin: So this is the mental health liaison position, which is the position that's embedded in our
police department, and right now we have one individual, uh, working approximately 40
hours a week. Uh, obviously police is 24/7, uh, in the mental health calls coming in at all
times of day. Uh, so we've certainly found that resource to be beneficial and it's
something that- that we would like to work towards as staff, but that would be hiring
more liaisons. So you have somebody day night, evening shifts and then eventually
enough to- to cover 24/7.
Teague: Okay. I read- I- when I read this, I just saw the word program. I didn't see Iowa City.
Um, so I thought it was expanding this across the-
Fruin: Gotcha.
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Teague: the county and I thought, well, that doesn't involve us.
Fruin: Yeah, okay.
Harmsen: Already says five-year, uh, periods, so it feels like a natural phase 2 because it's an
ongoing.
Teague: Yes.
Kurt: And so Geoff, are you- would you say these are three distinct items?
Fruin: Um, I think you could- I think three is distinct because it involves our operations, um-
Fruin: In, in five, you could, you could combine. It just depends on how broad you want to be. If
we just wanted to support Mobile Crisis and, and civilianized response in general, you
can lump them all three together. But they all would have very distinctly different action
plans and, and be worked on by different people, both internal and external. So as we get
into the planning phase, your staffs probably going to break them out if you'd like to
combine them here, that's, that's fine too.
Harmsen: Again, I'm not really saying what the fmal version- like this may have just been me
trying to think all three of these. And, and I think the, the phrase that Geoff just used,
civilian response or whatever that, that phrase was, I think that, that kind of was exactly
what the thread that I saw through the all three of them. But, but yes, actioning them out
individually. I mean, I have no problem with that if the rest of the council thinks that
makes sense. It sounds great to me.
Kurt: I think it's nice to be able to show the progress you know with distinct steps.
Weiner: And, and also have some reiteration that this is priority, this as a priority, this as a
priority and we're looking at it in different- and we're looking in different ways.
Alter: Well, it, it creates clarity too about what each piece is.
Kurt: So if we were to back up to number 8, um- and I, I guess I'm unclear if this is in process or
not in process.
Fruin: Uh, it's, it's being discussed.
Kurt: Discussed.
Fruin: I don't think it's um, very far into an implementation phase but it's being discussed.
Fruin: So eight could be a tier 1. Um, we're already doing five a little bit, um- both promotions
and financially supporting. And then three, again, we already started that program- they
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could all be tier 1. If you want to put something in year 2, it's probably the mental health
liaison. That's probably more of a longer-term goal. We might make it halfway there in
the first tier and finish it out in the second tier.
Bergus: While we're on the theme of kind of civilianizing response and, and that, that kind of
thing. Shawn and I both had 28 in there, uh, which I call fun patrol just because it makes
you all laugh. Um, but community, social, and recreational mobile outreach, this could be
primarily directed through the rec department and we have some of those resources
already but imagining something that could be more consistently going out into the
neighborhoods, checking on people, providing different levels of engagement and
interaction. Not just like show up at the park at this one time um, kind of thing. But I
think there's a continuum of interventions that very broadly could be classified as
response that, that would fall into as well.
Harmsen: Well, I think combining those three you know, was sort of my way to include
something like this that is more [NOISE] um, productive community building because
part of our goal m this and it's mentioned m a couple of different ways, um- is this idea of
resiliency and community resiliency, whether it's in terms of fighting you know the
effects of global climate change or whatever that might be so that the healthy atmosphere,
healthy neighborhoods. And Councilor Thomas talks about this way more eloquently
than I do on this concept of- just seems like a way the city could actively engage that. So
that's- that's also why I threw that in there because it is a little bit different from the other
ones that kind of stood out to me but in, in a very positive sort of way so.
Thomas: Number 28, you're.
Harmsen: Twenty-eight, yeah.
Thomas: Yeah, I think if you- if- when I look at 28 which more- is kind of a programming
approach, if we were to combine that with what some of the things I'd been advocating
which was places within the neighborhoods, the 15 minutes city. So you have access to
places in which these kinds of programs would then flourish, that- that to me is sort of a
comprehensive view on how we try to make life more interesting and fun for the kids in
their own neighborhood. That is their world. The kids primarily live in a very- they, they
live in COVID all the time. I mean, they, they don't have unless their parents are willing
to drive them out of the neighborhood. Um- many kids are really- the neighborhood is
their world so how can we make that world more interesting and fun?
Kurt: So I want to backup for just a minute and make sure that we're kind of disposing of these
uh, correctly.
Teague: Okay.
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Kurt: So um- if the, the city manager is suggesting that potentially we put 8, 5 in phase 1 and
three in phase 2. Is there a consensus on that that we can go ahead and drop that in?
Okay.
Thomas: I do like the idea of expanding the, the way Geoff described it of going to kind of a 24-
hour service if I understood on number 3.
Weiner: Right, and I, I would hope that we would get there sooner rather than later doesn't mean
we can't get there.
Thomas: I was gonna say and I think you would we were suggesting it move forward now it may
take longer than three years but I'd like to see it.
Bergus: I think three could be our number 1.
Fruin: Yeah, it, it could. Um -um. Uh, so we have the one position that's funded now, we have a
second position uh- in the budget this current fiscal year, um- that we hope to work with
community on. The third one, um- I guess I was thinking would, would maybe be a little
further out, but um, we could, we could try to bump that up. Um, it's one of those
programs because it's so new, we just wanna slowly work it in. Um- uh, but if you want
to put it in one and just know that that last step may occur in four and five, that's okay
too.
Weiner: That's fine. I mean, that would be fine with me anyway but and I would also love
ultimately for the goal of that one to really be to have the, the funding in and flo to the
community and that is there a person and, and eventually they expand the capacity of the,
the knowledge and the- of their capacity to be able to go out on calls on their own.
Bergus: I agree. And I think it really goes with number 8 which is as the 911 dispatch is going to
include mobile crisis starting with that co -response so that everyone in the system kind of
learns what that can look like. Will probably take a few years and be a transition but I
think ramping up the availability of the liaison will directly facilitate that.
Kurt: All right. So why don't we move on to number 12 which was leveraging uh, ARP funds to
build capacity for non -profits?
Kurt: Heads nod. Is that a -
Teague: Yeah.
Kurt: Phase 1 because it involves ARP funds? ARPA funds?
Weiner: I mean, I think we definitely saw during COVID the- the need for this, um-
Bergus: When we just did a- what, 400,000 or so?
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Fruin: Yeah. That'll come back to you at your next meeting probably and then we have the larger
capital grant program.So the [OVERLAPPING] first one will be less about building
capacity, more operational expanding programs. The second one is more capacity
building.
Weiner: Something like putting the current vision into the strategic plan?
Fruin: Right.
Kurt: So phase 1.
Alter: Uh-huh.
Weiner: Yeah.
Kurt: Number 16 was, uh, neighborhood nests or micro hubs.
Taylor: I had this as important because I was thinking, and it kinda- kinda goes along with my
rationale for Number 30, which is the senior centers. The- the- community includes
people of all ages and- and the safety and well-being. It's- it's all members of the
community, what their age and- and I think the hubs that had been started and the nests
that were started, uh, we got a lot of positive response on that. And I think it's- it's- it's
really important, especially for the teenage kids.
Alter: I- I put this just because I knew, um, all be it in a limited fashion that these were really
successful. And in many ways it overlaps or the compliments for sure, the fun patrol. I
mean, nests during COVID were used initially, and perhaps primarily, um, as sort of a- a
resource for the school district so that kids could have the- the kind of resources,
technological and physical, and whatever, to be able to learn. But we've quickly learned
after that, that it was so much more about being able to be together and that it is a social
thing as well. It was incredibly useful for families. So there's- and they can be tailored to
what the neighborhood is and what the neighborhood needs are, um, and I just think that
it could be a really cool model moving forward, um, outside of, even though we're sitting
here masked, um, but outside of COVID paradigm. But to really think of it as like, how -
how are there ways to bolster, um, people in the neighborhoods? And to that point, um,
this could be something that it's not limited necessarily to teens. I mean, there's- a nest
could be a cohort. If there are people who are seniors near and want to get together that
it'd be difficult to perhaps get all the way downtown to the senior center or whatnot.
[NOISE] Anyway, that's- that's my plug for it. Um, it- it is kind of a big lift. I will say
that because you have to find space and partners who are willing to do that and to be
there to staff and whatnot. So just kind of fair warning, [NOISE] but it is - so my sense is
that if we wanted to put this on it, it would be a phase 2, um, just because it is- it's a
pretty big lift and you need a lot of collaboration. On the flip side, that's precisely what
we were told, maybe to- to focus on big bang for the buck and big collaborations.
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Teague: So the 16 and 28 somewhat commingled together?
Alter: Yeah, what?
Bergus: Yeah. I mean, I think 16 is like physical spaces and 28 is more -
Thomas: It- it speaks again [OVERLAPPING] to what I was emphasizing or was trying to stress
was, great to have the programming and then where will the programming take place?
And so they, you know, and- and frankly, I'm not that familiar with the neighborhood
nest concept, but I- I grabbed onto it because, you know, I- I liked the- the feel of what
it's being described. Um, but, uh, you know -
Teague: So that would be -
Thomas: I think its important -
Teague: - a phase 2.
Thomas: - one way or another that we try to identify a way of- with our strategic plan of
promoting and developing program, as well as locations, places where that program can
be implemented.
Alter: Well, it fits really well, actually, in terms of one of the things that Parks and Rec- I know
that I heard from survey and whatnot, the pool notwithstanding, um, but - about going out
into the neighborhoods. And so this might be a way to- to kind of solve for both if they
were combined. So it'd be the programming from fun patrol, along with trying to find
partners in specific locations in neighborhoods, perhaps. So -
Kurt: I was gonna suggest maybe the- the wording gets tweaked so there's just more flexibility in
how it's approached. That the angle is to meet people where they are .
Bergus: Yeah. Yeah.
Kurt: - and to provide this connection, um, but I'm hearing phase 2.
Bergus: Yeah.
Kurt: So maybe we combine 16 and 28 in - as a phase 2 item? [BACKGROUND] All right.
Number 2, uh, had to do with working with Johnson County to launch a community
violence intervention effort.
Teague: And I think that's underway in, um, and given, you know, I guess the increased, um,
violence on some level over the past couple of years that we've e- experienced, I think,
uh, that partnership and collaboration is pretty important.
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Weiner: [NOISE] I know the county, um, put some ARPA funds into it and, uh, to sort of jump -
to sort of jump start it, uh, as -
Teague: Over a million dollars.
Weiner: I'm- I'm- I'm- I'in in favor of it. And si- and I guess I would put it as if we agree to it, I
guess I put it as phase 1 since it's already started and this- and it's trying to- to get off the
ground. Have you participated in any, Mayor?
Teague: I haven't received any- I- I haven't received a note of when their meetings are, but
they're aware.
Fruin: Yeah. They- they haven't had a meeting since you were [NOISE].
Teague: Yeah. So phase 1.
Harmsen: I think so.
Kurt: Phase 1. Um, Number 7 was, um, considering options such as mailed letters as alternatives
to routine, non -emergent traffic stops.
Thomas: Yeah. I- I had that in there and I- it reminded me, uh, I mean, that- that was something
that had been brought up some while ago and [OVERLAPPING] didn't move forward.
But, um, you know, and I- I- it reminded me also that when I was in our previous
discussions under mobility, that part of my concern with, you know, safe streets had to do
with trying to promote what I refer to as self-regulating streets so they wouldn't require
policing at the same level. So I'm- I- I'm happy to see this in here [NOISE] actually. I
mean, I- we- we went through Black Lives Matter. Policing was really the issue
[NOISE], uh, associated with that whole experience that we went through. So I think it's
important to have something like this. Hopefully, some of the issues I had addressed on
street safety as it pertains to, um, roadway design, will- will work its way in here,
whether in the strategic plan or in the budget. But, uh, the whole thrust of, you know,
was- that I learned from that whole experience was, how can we reduce contact, you
know, either through finding the better professional to deal with certain types of calls for
service, or another way of issuing, in this case, um, uh, something related to traffic law
enforcement through some other means other than the traffic stop, which we know can
blow up in very bad ways. So for both the- the driver and the police officer. So I- I think
that's- I'm- and I- I don't know if that came from staff or from, uh-
Weiner: No, I think we talked about it at the- [NOISE] at the- at the original -
Thomas: Yeah. Anyway, I'm- I'm supportive of it and I'm happy that it made its way onto the
list.
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Teague: So I think of cameras, you know, um, uh, speeding cameras to kinda meet this need, um,
or, um -
Thomas: Cameras are different. Uh, you know, that- we- a previous council, uh, banned them.
We [OVERLAPPING].
Teague: Yeah, because this would- I- I don t think this would be what we want because anybody
[OVERLAPPING] well cameras.
Thomas : Oh, yeah.
Teague: Because everybody would get them and they could be, um, yeah. Okay. So I don't know
what other options there would be outside of -
Taylor: I think, I'm- I'm sorry to interrupt, but I- I think in our original discussion, and John and I
have talked about this is, it's more like the tail light kinds of things. Like, uh, we- we got
so much discussion with the Black Lives Matter too that, uh, perhaps someone was
stopped, uh, and the excuse was that- that your tail light's out, uh, but then they warranted
a search of the vehicle. And I think we were thinking, um, if it's just at that, I know I
shouldn't say just a tail light because that's important to- to maintain your- your car, uh,
but we'd- we'd also talked about even having the law enforcement have some kind of a- a
tail light day where people could come and- and we'd provide the bulbs, uh, free of
charge, and- and maybe these letters could say, "Hey, on such and such. We notice that,
uh, your lights out and on such and such a day, we're going to help you replace it." You
know, I think that's kinda what we're thinking versus speeding and those kind- I don't
know. John, you can [OVERLAPPING] correct me on that, but we have the
[OVERLAPPING] .
Teague; I don't know that we- I don't know that we should get in the weeds, but I might ask our
city attorney to just file in because the state came after we, uh, did that in 2020.
Goers: Oh, I'm sorry. I- I [inaudible] [OVERLAPPING].
Teague: So we, yeah. So in 2020, we have- secondary stops, we kinda said no to and the state
came back and said -
Goers: They came back and said that there can be no policy that dictates [OVERLAPPING] to
police officers that they shall not enforce the law. I- I think that our, uh, response to that
has been largely, look, I mean, as it has always been the case, you know, there are higher
priorities and lower priorities. And I think that's how that's mostly been governed in
dictated by officers.
Fruin: So if- if you move forward, what I or might suggest is, um, you back off of the specific
mailed letters because that's a pass -fail type of situation and I don't know that we know
that that's really doable at this time. But alternative enforcements are, um, alternative to
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traditional enforcement, um, special events, expansion of the bulbs program. Like
something we can work on, wording that would be a little bit more all-encompassing, um,
understanding what your goal is here.
Weiner: I think that's fine, personally.
Bergus: That sounds good.
Teague: I can support that.
Kurt: Uh, was it- what- do you see that as a phase 1 or a phase 2?
Thomas: I- personally a phase 1. Be nice to see some, again, movement on this question of trying
to reduce- find alternatives to, um, police initiating calls for service.
Teague: And I might just remind Council that we're at- right at 4:00 O'clock so -
Kurt: Is there an agreement then on Phase 1?
Teague: I'm okay, yeah.
Kurt: Okay. So Number 7, we'd reword [NOISE] and put on our Phase [NOISE] -
Kurt: Okay. So the remaining items, um, just had one person advance. So I guess I'll leave it up
to you if you want to go through those individually or if you wanna pull out a few for
discussion.
Harmsen: I thought, um, uh, Number 6 was something that contains some things that might be
[NOISE] phase 1 doable and phase 2 doable. It's kinda in- So in terms of like our public
safety applicant pools are diverse through new approaches to recruitment and testing as
well as [NOISE] consideration of expanded residency allowances. So it seems like the
easier lift of those two, and I can [NOISE] certainly be corrected if I'm wrong, would be
looking at some of the expanded residency, you know, uh, footprints and that's something
that I've- I've heard about even before I was- you know, while I was running. Um, but
also then- then looking at some of these other issues might take a- take a little more time,
but I think that diversity in our hiring pool, um, and trying to do what we can at the
policy or the city council level to, you know, help with that process. So some version of
that seems like wa- was one of the reasons why I- I tried to keep that somewhere in my -
my stuff.
Teague: Uh, 20 and 26, honestly, they kinda nestle great with 28 and 16, uh, which is that, um,
kinda the mobile community, social, uh, recreational resources and ness program. So I- I
won't even bring it up at this point for great- for more discussion.
Bergus: So, all right.
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Taylor: I'll just quick speak to Number 14. Probably have a little bias on this and I see Tracy's in
the audience here. And I think she was, uh, really spearheaded this program in
relationship with the College of Nursing and- and it was a very successful program and I
would hope that it would be Phase 1 that we can continue with this because it really
targets, uh, the low income and marginalized populations. Many of whom, you know,
they don't know what their resources are, or they really don't have any knowledge that
this mold in their bathroom is causing flare-ups and their asthma. And these, uh, folks
from the College of Nursing did the education on that and was very helpful. And I- I
think it's- it's very- very important and I would- I would hope we could do Phase 1 and
continue with that.
Teague: I mean, I can support it being in phase 1.
Weiner: I can also support where you were talking about Shawn, the [OVERLAPPING] -
Alter: Yeah.
Weiner: -sort of the- the contiguous. I know the Geoff that- that we've made- that you've made -
we've made substantial efforts to increase applicant pools to -
Taylor: Yeah.
Weiner: - to look- to look for a more diverse applicant pools to consider, you know, offering
some at- some, um, sort of, um, the educational period for us so that somebody could
pass a test -
Alter: Uh-huh.
Weiner: - um, and doing a variety of things. And I- I would- it's probably worthwhile having it in
there to- to emphasize that- that we are- are- that we are looking at these things and we'll
continue to do so as opportunities come along.
Fruin: Yeah that's [OVERLAPPING] -
Weiner: The ideas come up.
Fruin: It- it mean, that's something that's routine. I think what the- uh, I- I think what I'd need to
pull out of this from- from you eventually is whether you wanna set residency policies.
Alter: Uh-huh.
Fruin: Typically, that's been something that's, uh, either bargained or through ad- [NOISE]
admin regulation, is that something you feel strongly about, we'll certainly take your
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direction on- [NOISE] on that, but that's- [NOISE] that being called out specifically, uh,
would- would- would- I think it just wanna some discussion before we move too far.
Alter: Is it something that can be left in as part of the vision or you are saying in terms of support
that [OVERLAPPING]-
Fruin: Yeah, it's just consideration of- of that.
Alter: A consideration.
Fruin: Yeah.
Alter: And then get down to brass tax and- and-
Fruin: Yeah, because obvi- obviously, residency has a greater- there- there's- there's more
implications than just the- the breadth of applicant pool -
Alter: Uh-huh.
Taylor: Uh-huh.
Fruin: -right? That- that can start to affect operations, right?
Alter: Yeah.
Fruin: If people are supposed to be responding to emergencies and they're 90 miles away, or 60
miles away, or 20 miles, and all that makes a difference. And those are just some of the
nuances I'd wanna have a discussion about. And then wherever you're comfortable with,
we could- we could work on the policy side of that.
Kurt: So just working down the list here. So for Number 6, I'm hearing that maybe the- the
strategic plan item is looking at that residency req- considering the residency requirement
for [OVERLAPPING] -
Harmsen: Or maybe -
Kurt: -public safety.
Harmsen: -maybe even a little more general than that, the- ensuring the public safety applicant
pools are diverse through new approaches. To me is the most important part of that
[OVERLAPPING] -
Alter: Uh-huh.
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Harmsen: -item. I don't know how everybody else feels about that. And the expanded residency
allowances is just one -
Alter: Potential means.
Harmsen: -potential means -
Thomas: Other ways.
Harmsen: -so-
Fruin: Yeah. That's fine.
Kurt: So this may end up in the people section of a strategic plan -
Alter: Uh-huh.
Kurt: -just as an FYI. Um, and then maybe staff can consider how to make it more action
specific. Because we- at the end of the day, you kinda wanna be able to check it off the
list, hopefully.
Teague: Right.
Kurt: So, uh- and then 20 and 26, we were saying we're kinda tied enough to the nest fun lab.
Okay. And so then 14 was the nursing program and so I was hearing support for that.
And Phase 1 [OVERLAPPING] -
Teague: Phase 1.
Kurt: -support. [NOISE] Okay. So number 14, Phase 1.
Kurt: And so then I think the only one that we hadn't discussed was 30.
Thomas: I kind of assumed that was something we had already signed off on it.
Taylor: Yeah. on the- the other- the senior center. Again, I go back to saying that I think our
community involves per- persons of all ages and we can't forget the seniors because we
have an aging population. We've been talking about updating the senior center for a long
time. So I think it's very important that we get- we get moving on that.
Kurt: So that's already in process or-
Fruin: Uh, the exterior work is, uh, in progress, at least the- the planning for that. The interior
piece has a limited budget, for we have about 3.5 million budgeted in our CIP. I think the
master plan itself, dreaming big called for about, I don't know, 14 million, 15 million.
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Kurt: Uh-huh.
Fruin: That's probably not gonna be realistic, uh, unless it's a top priority and it's gonna take a lot
of resources from other initiatives. [NOISE] But, um, it's important that we execute, we
find that right -
Kurt: Yeah.
Fruin: -that right -
Alter: Uh-huh.
Fruin: -level to execute at. That- that's our goal. Um, we've already set aside some funds, we
might need to bump that up a little, but we're- we're getting close.
Alter: So I mean, is it possible to reward this a little bit because the- the- the letter of the law, so
to speak, is that it says an execute on the facility master plan recommendations. So first
of all, we can't get that done in five years itself, right? And then also if it's 14, $15
million, I mean, maybe it's- that second part of it could be just rewarded a little bit to,
[NOISE] uh-
Bergus: Continuing progress on that.
Alter: Something like that. Yeah.
Bergus: Yeah. I wouldn't want it to drop [OVERLAPPING] -
Alter: Yeah because that's [OVERLAPPING]
Bergus: -one of our current CIP.
Alter: CIP-
Alter: -like I- like I want it to be-
Bergus: If we don't include it [OVERLAPPING] -
Alter: Yeah.
Bergus: -in our short-term. Right. But I- yeah, I agree. I don't think we can execute the entire -
Alter: Thing in five years.
Alter: Right.
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Bergus: And at least to me, it's not of that level. I'm sure we could if we prioritized it,right?
Alter: Right.
Bergus: But -
Thomas; I mean, there are a lot of things in our CIP which I kinda view this as one that are not
being discussed m our strategic plan -
Alter: Uh-huh.
Thomas: -conversations, but, I don't know, I mean, is it necessary that this be in there to kind of-
Fruin: I don't.
Fruin: I- I don't think it hurts. It's a major project that's going to require significant resources.
Um, so I certainly don't think it hurts to be in there, uh. [NOISE].
Thomas; Okay.
Fruin: Uh, I think we just need to probably word it m a way that, you know, makes sure that the
public expectation that we're setting does not unrealistic, that- that we can't necessarily
achieve the $15 million vision, but we can certainly make some comprehensive
improvements that will enhance that facility.
Kurt: So why don't we put number 30 and phase 1, but maybe we'll work with staff to further
refine that. And then Harrison, why don't you put number 6 on there just as a- a note -
with a note that we will probably shift it to people.
Kurt: And so I think we're wrapped up then.
Harmsen: Can- can I throw just one more? [OVERLAPPING] .
Kurt: On this segment?
Harmsen: I'm sorry.
Okay.
Harmsen: Um, I just could throw like a really- one that's easy. That would not- but there would
be a little bit of staff time, but not a lot as number 18. It annually hold three elected
official listening posts per city council district. And in terms of a very doable goal.
[OVERLAPPING] .
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Bergus: Yeah.
Harmsen: That, you know- that would require some because we have to have some city staffing
for, you know, that make sure that the meetings are open and accessible and stuff.
Harmsen: But-.
Alter: Yeah.
Harmsen: But either in phase 1 or phase 2, depending how we want to work into that. But I think
that's one that was- is a good opportunity for the council to step up and say, you know,
some stuff, city staff, we're going to put some of ours in you know. [OVERLAPPING]
Weiner: It existed in the past.
Thomas: That was kind of- I had initiated this one and the language changed a little bit. I had
described it as a town hall rather than a listening post. I don't know if- meaning that it
would be something there- where there would be a representation by the Council as well
as city staff. So that there'll be an opportunity for questions related to a broader- a broader
range could be- could be raised and addressed at the meeting.
Teague: I will say we've already had two listening posts this year. So we'll have one more.
Harmsen: I think that the nice thing with the listening post is because that is smaller and it's more
conversational. The one that Councilor Bergus and I did earlier this year was- was a
really- was a good experience like, you know, so I mean, I kind of, you know, I like that
model that we had. So I just know that that'd be something we could throw- throw into
there. Something we can- we can- we can do like home check that box and
[OVERLAPPING] .
Taylor: Yeah, I agree, Councilor Hamsen, that it's- that it's important and used to be a regular
thing that we as a Council did, we just plan for them on a quarterly basis and staff
requirement time was pretty much Kellie or the city clerk finding a location and- and
posting, uh, information about it. So I didn't believe that it went to the level of putting it
actually in the strategic plan. It's just something that we as the Councilors should- should
try to do. [OVERLAPPING].
Harmsen: We should do that.
Taylor: But does that- I mean, I know I've been on the council long time, so I should know
whether that's really strategic plan or just plan and part of our duties as a Council
member. I don't know what other folks opinion is.
Thomas: Yeah. We've been doing them as long as I've been on Council since they haven't been
in the strategic plan.
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Taylor: Right.
Teague: Yeah.
Taylor: With COVID, it's kind of fell by the wayside, unfortunately, but -
Teague: I don't think it belongs in a strategic plan, but that's just me. [OVERLAPPING]
Taylor: But it is important. That is important.
Harmsen: That there was some dishonoring.
Taylor: I agree.
Harmsen: I think the other thing is the items 9,10 and 11. I don't know how they- those all
basically just deal with the facility and personnel needs for the police and fire
departments. They have very actionable things. But to me, the common thread was, as the
city grows, are we- are we- and as we try and shift some of the policing into civilian
response and some of those kinds of things. I don't know. Do we want it to just deal with
it outside of a strategic plan. But I think that's something that, you know, in terms of the
five-year outlook, you know, we've got some decisions to make for like, do we build a
new fire station? You know, do we look at the amount of firefighters we have? Do we
look at the staffing levels in our police department and those kinds of things, that's not
really exciting. But I mean, it seems like that's something that- either- whether it's in
strategic plan are not just I felt it was worth a mention that that needs to be on our -
Teague: I think we're going to have to talk about those.
Harmsen: Right.
Teague: But I don't know that it belongs in the- I understand it'll be a financial item. But I don't
know. I don't- I didn't see it as being a major here.
Fruin: There's mention in the resource section on most of those as well.
Harmsen: Okay.
Fruin: Broaden that out if need be.
Harmsen: I'm done, I promise. Thank you for indulging me.
Kurt: All right, so now we're going to shift over to the resources section. Um, and actually, I'm
going to ask Geoff, and or Rachel or whoever else might be appropriate to kind of walk
us through each of the three sub -areas here.
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Fruin: Yeah. So we're starting on page 30 and staff put together this with the understanding that
we're probably going to have to add to this section once the plan is starting to- to come
together because each of your individual items might- might impact the resources that we
need. But as you look at the facility's side of things, facilities, equipment, and technology,
I think you'll see heavy emphasis on just a more comprehensive facilities plan. We have a
number of facility projects in our CIP. You mentioned the senior center. We have Rec
Center updates, City Park Pool, we have landfill, wastewater, we got a lot of- a lot of
projects in the works. Equipment building is in there too. Uh, But we really need to
continue to stay focused and to- to implement that. Probably the biggest thing that we
need to start looking at is this- this- this building here, as both police and fire, um, are -
are really cramped and- and that can impact operations long term. So really looking at
City Hall in- in this kind of public safety headquarters building and refreshing space
needs study and beginning to look at what alternatives can be. Part of that is going to -
Part of this plan then also looks at our vehicles and transition to an electric fleet. So, you
know, we've been doing that as opportunities come up with buses and other vehicles, the
Climate Action Team and public works department are working on a broader electric
implementation plan for vehicles. As we know, those early in on- on electric vehicles,
particularly when you get into the heavier equipment like buses or street sweepers and
things like that, you're probably going to be paying a pretty good premium for those first
out of the market. So those are some of the things early on. Um, as we look towards the
phase 2 action steps that are listed, you see some focus on smart city initiatives and really
trying to actionize a lot of the data that we have here at the city. In a way that's both
helpful offer operations, but also that the public can take advantage of and- and utilize.
So those are some of the highlights for the facilities, equipment, and technology section.
Again, I think the biggest thing is preparing for those very significant facility needs,
particularly in those areas where we're operating in facilities that were really built in the
60s or 70s when our population was quite a bit different. And just thinking that we need
to be planning for the next - next generation of employees and service delivery. The big
thing with that is, it is resource intensive, both from a staff standpoint, but also
financially. Obviously, we're talking about buildings that could cost anywhere from 5
million on a low end to 20 to 30 million depending on what we're- we're building. So the
financial planning is- is big in that as well. On the, uh, people side.
Kurt: [OVERLAPPING] Maybe I'll- maybe I'll stop you here and just see with respect to
facilities, equipment, and technology, I mean, we have the vision, the strategies, and then
some of the action steps. Geoff covered. Is there any council feedback that, on what's
being proposed?
Bergus: What strikes me in looking at this is that the, uh, addressing overlaps and gaps and city
programs and services organization -wide and identifying opportunities for improved
coordination. That takes a lot of time and energy to step back and do that. It also seems
necessary in order to undertake, for example, City Hall redesign. You know, where are
people going to be in, who's in what department, and what is the overall organizational
structure? So I- I don't know if that process can happen sooner or be integrated
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throughout. But it seems to me that, that lots of other things benefit from that analysis.
But I also understand it's very resource intensive.
Fruin: Yeah, good point.
Weiner: You know, I'm very happy to see the- the focus on climate and sort of moving into the
city of the future or where- where we are, where we'd like to be with building, with both
the way buildings are built and, um, and the vehicles that we're using that's -
Alter: I'm not exactly sure how to phrase this, but how in thinking about like th- the City Hall
and public safety headquarter space, you know, th- the particular action item, would you
feel like you're kind of running to catch up. I mean, is this- is this particular action item,
is this something that perhaps should have been started, so how urgent is this? Like I
guess is this most short, I mean, I- I, you know, I've talked about it and I know that, you
know, the facilities themselves, I mean, they're outgrowing the- the departments are
outgrowing the building and the building is older. But I'm just wondering, like how fast
do you need to move to be able to not make this incredibly painful living in this space?
Fruin: Yeah, uh, most of the City Hall is fully- is fully occupied. Maybe we've used, uh, we've
converted file rooms to offices and closets to offices, um, so it's pretty full. The police
side as well, um, it's difficult for us to bring in new people, even civilians or officers just
because we don't have the- the right space. There's very few spaces in which you could
hold large meetings. This room is about- about it and that we have for- for that capability.
So there's some impact to operations. The fireside definitely doesn't impact to operations.
It's just an older model station without modern amenities and it's not laid out as
efficiently as a new station would be so, um, the- I guess the short answer is we're
operating just fine out of there now, um, and we probably we operate just fine. It's not
ideal, but it's also not something that we want to wait a decade to address and so the
planning is that first step, um, and really trying to understand what those needs are.
What's that square footage that we need? How can this space be reconfigured to
accommodate, um, likely have to move some operations off-site as we grow because
we're in a constrained location. So it's studying those issues and then coming back and -
and painting a picture and pushing forward from there. So I see this as an item that does
not get completed in this five-year plan, but I'd like it to be in here so that we can start
that planning process intentionally and really start to focus on a fmancial side of things so
that, um, we don't show up with this urgent need in a decade and not have any money in
any kind of thoughts on what we're gonna be doing.
Alter: Sort of like Laura says, the sooner this planning and work can get done makes sense
because then you can actually know what it is that you need to work towards. [NOISE].
Kurt: All right. Comments. It seems like generally there's comfort with what's been presented
there. So why don't we shift gears to people.
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Fruin: Yes. so on- on a people side, um, you know, clearly we have, uh, a lot of areas, I think in
the environmental scan, if you can think back to that at the beginning of this process, I
talked to you a lot about just staffing at capacity in a number of different areas, um, and
that's something we're gonna continue to have to be mindful of, really making sure that
those core services remain staffed at the appropriate level as our community grows. Um,
we're gonna have to- certainly we gonna have to work on that in this five-year strategic
plan period. But beyond that, a lot of what this focuses on- this document focus on is just
recognizing that workplace expectations are changing and we can't fall behind on that
curve. So we have to look at, um, uh, um, our compensation structure. We're probably
gonna have to do comprehensive benefit reviews to make sure that, um, our benefits are
in line with, with modern expectations for employees, um, and then, uh, I think more of
an internal function for us is just making sure that we're communicating as well as we can
internally and that we're taking advantage of opportunities for departments to work
together and, and really being as efficient as we can with, uh, with our staffing and
resources. [NOISE]. So there's a lot of, a lot of specific things listed here, I can, uh,
answer questions on those, but that's what this focuses on, is making sure we have
enough staff to carry out our core services and then making sure that we're still viewed
as- as an employer of, you know, top choice and that are- that we can attract and retain,
uh, great talent. [NOISE].
Teague: I think in the strategies, um, and on the bottom of the phase 1 action steps, it talks about
diversity, um, and so that is something that I think is Iowa city and I think it should be
reflected in our City Hall.
Alter: Do you have, um, with- thinking of it as, um, you know, through the personnel and the
people who comprise city staff. Do you have sort of like a- a sub strategic plan where-
where- where the team members are looking to like what as our own institution, as our
own organization not carrying out city, but more like on the personnel side, you know,
like heads of department saying, okay, so here's what we want to do for team members or
as a department, you know, does that happen as well?
Fruin: Yeah. At the- yeah department directors will share th- their thoughts r- routinely with us
in the city manager's office, um, and really through the budget process is when we have
the discussions about staffing needs, that's when it's the most focused discussions and so
we'll get, you know, we usually get the department request through the budget process on
what they feel like they- they need for staffing and they're- they're excellent about being
realistic, so they're not shooting for the moon or that ideal situation, but they're good at
saying, this is a need that needs to be addressed before services start to see it, you know,
you see an impact in service delivery levels.
Teague: And staff has an opportunity to come and speak to city manager staff. Um, I forget the
name of [OVERLAPPING]
Fruin: Yeah. We do an annual program where we meet with- with the front-line staff throughout
the summer, so it's above, [NOISE] you know, 25, 30 meetings and, and that's a good
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opportunity for us to hear directly from, uh, those front-line employees on what they feel
their needs are and then we can kind of compare that to what the department director and
supervisors perspectives are and they mostly aligned in terms of what those needs are.
Kurt: All right. So it's feeling like people are generally comfortable with this as well. Um, so
then we'll move over to fmancial.
Fruin: Yeah. On the fmancial side, a couple of things that I would point out, um, really focusing
on, um, the health of our various funds. So we call out our enterprise funds, which are
mostly think of as our utility accounts or parking transit, um, making sure that they're
healthy, they're stable, that they have reserves. Uh, we saw the importance of having
reserves during COVID. And so making sure we don't let those, uh, slip away. And then
of course, from the consumer standpoint, we don't want to be in a situation where we
have to do large spikes, you know, and we've done a very good job. I think the council
has done a good job where you haven't really had to consider a 10 or 15 percent water
hike, uh, water rate hike or sewer. And that's really that careful stewardship and making
sure that, um, those fund balances, uh, are good and that we're generating a good, um,
surplus every year. Uh, the same goes for the general fund. There's some commentary
here about maintaining bond rating, maintaining emergency fund balances, and fit and- in
facility reserve funds. Again, that's all just careful planning for- for the future. I think the
biggest piece there is that facility reserve fund. Um, I think- I think in order for us to
carry out our facility needs, we're going to have to have a substantial amount of- of cash
on hand and we can't rely on- on referendums and borrowing for some of the types of
buildings that- that we're looking at, right? I always tell folks it's- it's very hard to get 60
percent voter support for an equipment maintenance building because it's not something
that people see and they- they touch. Uh, it's different for an elementary school or a rec
center and when they can see themselves experiencing those types. But a lot of our
facility needs, uh, will be in that category where there would be very hard to go to a
referendum and get those votes. So that building of the facility reserve fund, I think it's
going to continue to be a critical strategy for us. We do talk in here about, um, putting
more dedicated resources to grant management, um, and- and working on the state and
federal levels to ensure that we're getting, uh, we're competing for as many grants as
possible. We largely do that with existing staff capacity right now. And, uh, that's hard -
it's becoming harder and harder to step away from operations and pursue those. So really
looking at a dedicated individual or, um, contractor that would be able to help us with
that. That would be a short-term objective for us. And then, uh, on the longer- on the
longer end of things, I do mention local option sales tax. Um, just kinda looking ahead at
what you have in the strategic plan and some of your more ambitious goals. Uh,
Councilor Weiner talked about childcare and we've talked about affordable housing.
We've talked about infrastructure, transit service. There's a lot of high -dollar, um, items
that- that could be considered for local option sales tax. We had put that conversation a
little bit on the back burner because of the ARPA funds and our focus to want to really
execute on those ARPA funds first, but it's something I think the Council should- should
keep in mind long-term.
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Kurt: We need feedback on the fmancial section.
Weiner: Then I think- I- I think the idea of having someone who's really dedicated to grant
writing is an excellent idea because it's a specific skill. And if you have someone who
really knows their way around it, you have a, you know, working with department heads
and others, I think there's a- there's a high- high chance of success.
Kurt: All right. Great. All right, so we're close to wrapping up here. Harrison, I'll have you
maybe just put the PowerPoint up. Good work, everyone. Um, so I wanted to have is
we're building out your plan. Just a quick conversation about how you would envision
tracking your progress with respect to the plan, uh, once it's adopted. Something you
want to look at quarterly, twice a year, annually.
Teague: I think some of it has to do with what- um, well, projects. We'll look at those
individually, um, as they're, you know, coming up. But if we're talking about looking at
the entire plan, certainly I would say we can look at it annually just to kinda get an update
on what's happened. Um, or just for a presentation from staff on where they are. But as
projects come up where we're going to be a little bit involved in that. So I guess I would
say annually while we discuss it as a Council. And then as projects come up, we're going
to naturally be, uh, talking about those and work session.
Alter: I think there could be some value as well as kind of doing like a crosswalk when we're
doing discussions of budget, um, to call out and say, remember, this is something that
was in phase 1 of our strategic plan just because, you know, it's taken us two sessions just
to get through and winnowed down. So I think it will be very useful to have that. I- I
defmitely liked the annual. I'm the type of person who thinks of repetition as being
incredibly helpful. I know that that takes up more time, but maybe the potential of doing
it bi-annual or not bi-annually twice a year, um, just so that it's more in mind. Because
again, I think that probably the- one of the things that I remember from- from the
facilitation as well as some, you know, comments that conversation that we've had with
Geoff is in order to get this work done, we have to be incredibly focused and we have to
be actually fairly disciplined. And so I think actually remembering and keeping top of
mind what those strategic action items are and what we want them to be makes sense. So
annually is fine. I just- I defmitely want maybe reminders in there about if we're talking
about budget, this is tagged as part of our phase one or this is phase 2. This is not on our
strategic plan. Things like that just to help us have some guardrails as far as- as we move
forward through funding these things and sort of prioritizing. So -
Harmsen: I have a quick question. Will we be because being new on the council and this being a
bigger process because we're going from three to five years, but do we normally revisit
and update the strategic plan every year, every two years, what sort of- what do we all
were already going to be meeting. And then what are you talking about something in
addition to that?
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Fruin: So with a two-year plan, really, the council's set it at the beginning, and then staff, we
started off doing quarterly reports, and over the last couple of years, that slipped to
probably twice a year. Um, with the five-year when we had the discussion about moving
to five year, I think the Council all recognize that it's probably something that we can't
just let it sit for five years. So I don't know exactly what that time is. Maybe it's at the
time of an annual report where you have a dedicated check-in. But I do think a couple of
years into this, you should expect that some priorities will shift, right? Well, we'll have
something big come up, opportunities, challenges that may need to work its way into this
plan to keep it fresh and current. So, um, I think it's very healthy to do that after an
election and you get new council members seated. But you may want to do it again
annually with your- with an annual report if that's what you want.
Harmsen: The reason I asked was just like when we talk about these updates, like, uh, somebody
had mentioned doing it every you know, it's part of the budget cycle process. Is an update
which is usually in the spring, those early winter, maybe late winter, early spring, right.
So if we were to do it more than once a year, maybe six months after that, like separated
was just kind of way I was thinking. So -
Teague: I think having this just the annual review right before our typical question in normally as
August where, you know, what are our priorities? I think there will be a good time to do
this annually. And then along with the budget, you know, I think staff is going to be
pointing out and pulling out. These are the things that were discussed. I think there will
be a good plan.
Bergus: Just as far as the format I've always appreciated in the budget book that we get, there's
like the little short introductory narrative sections that always have identified what stra-
strategic priorities. I think- I think with this format, not just for the action items, but kinda
the way that it's framed will be able to maybe make clearer connections. And so I hope- I
look forward to seeing what that looks like in the budget. And then also just if there's on a
project -by -project basis, anytime something is on our agenda, that is an action item, I
would hope that that will be called out and we can kind of honor that in the moment as
well.
Kurt: So I'm hearing perhaps twice a year in August and as part of the budget process that there'd
be kind of conscious check -ins. Um, at that time, would you want any sort of written like
update with respect to specific action items or is that just more of a discussion for you?
Teague: The annual, is that what you're asking?
Kurt: Um, either of the- either the annual or the budget.
Bergus: I think to see progress, we'd want something written.
Teague: Yeah.
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Bergus: You know, I don't know that it needs to be anything super complex, but at least as we're
framing the sort of phase I, phase II action items, I would imagine we would wanna
assess that list.
Weiner: Okay. And I recall it was really helpful, um, with- with the whole the are 16 items or
whatever it is under Bla- Black Lives Matter to have that, um, that graphic that- that
allowed us to see where we were in the process for different items.
Taylor: I agree. I'm I'm kind of a black and white person. I like- I like to see it actually in front of
me that, this is where we are, this is where we need to go yet. I like that idea.
Teague: Great.
Kurt: Okay.
Kurt: Um, so in terms of our tasks yet to be done, we'll finalize the edits that we- we had here
today. We'll- well bounce back with staff, um, and try and identify some of those target
years and champions, um, we're gonna add, um, so a little bit more detail in a couple of
sections. I'm curious if you had to assign a number at this point with respect to, like do
you think we're 95 percent of the way there? You know, what- what percentage would
you assign in terms of how comfortable you are feeling with, uh, if we were to
incorporate the edits that you've- you've suggested today.
Weiner: I think we're really close.
Alter: Yeah.
Weiner: I'm not gonna like assign a number, but I think basically we've- you have facilitated us
doing the work, um, and- and I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like.
Alter: Yeah, I'd say 90, 95 to 98 is just a matter of putting it together, and there might be just
little.
Thomas: Sometimes that five percent takes a little longer than you think.
Alter: I know, it's like- it's like moving, and you think you've packed everything up and then you
look around.
Thomas: Yeah.
Kurt: All right. Um, so we had a few items that, um, we were intending to put in here one day
and alignment crosswalk, which means that for each of your values, we'd take your action
steps and sort of show how it's connecting to your values. And then also we were gonna
show if it was connecting to the altogether plan and, or envision East Central Iowa, um,
because I know you guys mentioned that connectivity was important. Uh, we were gonna
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put the action steps by fiscal year. I don't know. I'm sensing that maybe you guys phase 1
and phase 2 was enough. So maybe we don't need to do that. Um, so we might eliminate
that. There were a few items that we had as- we were gonna put it in as consultant notes.
Um, the- if- I mean, the cool thing about the work that you've done is every year, you
know, you- you do it and you're building on the previous year, building on the previous
year with respect to the strategic plan. So for us, if- if we were thinking about what we
would give as recommendations as to how to get it to the next level, um, we would
suggest perhaps a decision-making framework for when items come up that are not in the
plan that you have to address as a council to make sure that you're not, you know, so easy
to do- to get diverted off in a new direction and kind of forget all this stuff that you had a -
agreed to previously and I said is really important in recognizing that time and staff
capacity is somewhat limited. So we would encourage you to consider developing
something like that. Uh, we had talked about metrics early on, and, uh, the more we
looked at the types of action items you are most interested in, uh, which really have
fundamental community impact. I mean, we think the best advice we would give you is
to think about a community -wide metrics and a dashboard, uh, that you know are really
looking at the community overall and, um, what those markers are that you think you
wanna see, whether it's poverty levels or, um, income levels or, um, that you think would
be signs that your climate- climate markers that you're kind of hitting not just the city but
through the city and it's work with its partners, are kind of taking the whole community
as a whole. We think that might be more valuable. So we kind of stepped back from the
metrics in here. And then we would recommend that kind of when you get to the phase 1,
when you're kind of wrapping that up, um, then it might make sense to do a facilitated
process again. Uh, hopefully the- the vision and the strategies are good. Um, and so it's
really about just you know what are we completed? What's still on the list? And what
new has popped up? And how do we prioritize those things? So I- I don't know that we
need to be nearly as involved as what we went through here, but that would be our
suggestion. So.
Teague: Great.
Kurt: And then we just had our last little slide here, which is, you know, nobody wants the plan
that's going to sit on a shelf, right? That's- that's not what we want to do. On the other
hand, I think to think of plans as these absolute fixed things that never change is
unrealistic as well. And so you want to adhere to it, but your environment is going to
change, and there's always going to need to be some adaptation as you-, as you flow
through it. And obviously the last few years have been a classic example of that with -
with COVID and how that threw a wrench and a lot of things. So, and, uh, with that, a -
any other feedback you wanna to give us before we close out here today?
Thomas: I- I was having one thought and it was kind of triggered by the well- well-being, um,
category. And that was,uh, the- this notion of well-being as it pertains in a way your
community metrics, maybe you were beginning to point in this direction of some of the
ways in which well-being, you know, what- what's the state of well-being of our- of- of
our natural systems, um, in which we live? I mean, there- there's always this in way that
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the strategic plans seem to be creating a reality that was distinct from the natural world
around us which is really the foundation of well-being, I would say. So I- I be- and that's
where I was kind of hoping to see once again the whole- the whole thing together, and
maybe it's in there, but, um, we have climate action as, you know one of our, what's it?
You know, main values that we're- we're- we're aware of in cognizant of. Uh, but I- I just
began, I began to appreciate how climate action itself is in pre- in some ways perhaps a
limited framework in which to understand the well-being of the natural world in which
we live. So, um, anyway, that's- that's just something I was beginning to feel that our- our
plan seemed to be very human centric and not capturing this- this broader sense of the
world in which we live, which is especially with climate change, but you know it's- it's a
biodiversity. It's water quality. It's condition of our soils and so forth that are really the
long term, you know, in terms of our long-term resiliency and well-being, that's- that's
important to consider.
Kurt: And we do hear some of that feedback at our last session, and I know we tweaked some of
that vision language to incorporate that broader ecosystem, um, and the health of that
ecosystem. So that'll be something they'll be able to review.
Thomas: Yeah. Good.
Kurt: Share it back with you.
Taylor: Thank you.
Kurt: Yes, thank you. It's been delightful working with you.
Harmsen: Very much.
Bergus: Thank you.
Teague: All right. It is,uh, almost 4:45 Councilors. I think what we'll do is take a 10 minute
break and come back at, uh, 4:55. And when we return, if I can, I'll just ask that the
University of Iowa students come and give their updates, USG. And then after that we'll
go into the presentation of the inclusive economic- economic development plan for
Johnson County. Does that sound good?
Alter: Yes.
Teague:All right. We'll be back in 10 minutes.
(Break 4:45 pm — 4:55pm)
Tegaue: It is now 4:55, and we're gonna continue in our work session on September 20th, 2022.
And we're going to invite University of Iowa student government USG with updates at
this time.
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Teague: Welcome.
Zeimet: Hi, Council. Uh, so Ellie couldn't make it to the session, so we would like to request, uh,
to give our announcements during public comment.
Teague: Great. And that'll be fine.
Zeimet: Thank you.
Teague: Yep. You just have to keep an under three minutes. All right, we're going to move on to
our presentation of the inclusive economic plan- eco- economic development plan for
Johnson County. And welcome. Yes.
Presentation of the Inclusive Economic Development Plan for Johnson County
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah. Thank you. It's great to see everybody here today. Thank you, Council.
Um, so I'm very excited today to present to you this final draft. I like to say everything is
a draft, so I'm just putting that there again, ah, of our inclusive economic development
plan. And this has been about a year in, um, production, I guess, would be of good way of
putting it. And mouse, sorry, not a touchpad, it's a mouse. Woo. Okay. I'll do this. How
about that? Nope, I won't do that. I'll do this. Okay. Technical difficulties. Here we go. So
I just going to give you some, um, you know, who we are, what we've been doing, what
we've heard, and fmdings and recommendations. I know everybody is really eager to hear
that, but we also want to get some context as to what we've been doing. So, V Fixmer-
Oraiz, CEO and founder of Astig Planning and I'm also joined here by my colleague
Asmita Poudel, um, who has been instrumental in putting this together. We have a lot of
partners. Ah, you can see them here. We've also got a lot of focus group coordinators that
have done incredible work. So I just want to say thank you to all of our sponsors or all
everybody who has been involved so far. So an inclusive economic development plan in
Johnson County, is a county- we'd like to think of it as a collaboration between
everybody that we've been working with, um, that focuses specifically on underestimated
businesses in Iowa City. That is the fundamental difference in this plan. And as you can
see, we talk about uplifting, uh, the existing in ongoing plans. Certainly this isn't
happening in a vacuum, so we want to make sure that we are talking and speaking across
other municipal, um, plans that are happening concurrently. Our process, this whole
timeline really, as I said, it's been about a year. So last November, um, I know we were,
kind of ideating and putting things together and researching and then we, kind of kick
things off. We had our surveys, our focus groups. We worked through the summer, did a
strategic training session and then had been working on putting together this plan ever
since. And when I say that, I don't mean to say that, you know, our team has just been,
like, you know, massaging our keyboards. I mean that like, we were- we were going
back- a- out into the communities and saying, hey, can you verify this? What do you
think about these-, you know, this collection of data? These are the fmdings that we're
finding. Does this resonate with you? So it's not to say that we've just been, you know,
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typing amongst ourselves these past few months, but I've really been trying to verify
things. So who did we hear from? Um, this is just for the survey. We had about 105 total
respondents. And I just want to say briefly that we are talking about underestimated
community, uh, business owners. So those are folks that are actually really hard to get a
hold of. You can't just send an online survey and they take it, right? So we had to do door
knocking, we did translations. We had translators walk with us to businesses. We went
multiple times. We went at different times. We went to every City Council in the county
and asked them if they would help us identify these business owners. So these 105,
respondents they're, like, gold to us. Um, and so it's not to take it lightly. And you can
see there we had about, um, 63 existing owners, 17 emerging businesses, and then we had
24 business support institutions. And those support institutions are obviously, like, our
local governments, but also, um, other non -profits that work in this area. And then, ah,
lenders and funders. I think it's really key that process matters. And so throughout this
plan, we continually asked ourselves, are we being accessible? Are we being inclusive?
And so in order to do that, our surveys, our conversations, our focus groups, we asked
open-ended questions. We let people write things in- and that makes a real difference.
And I think not only when they're taking the survey, but then as you can see the results.
We had 25 different ra- races that were identified, 29 different ethnicities that were
identified. You're just not going to see that kind of robust, um, identification. And as we
know that matters. And so people feeling seen throughout this process was incredibly
important to us. So that's i- it's exciting to see. And you have multi-ethnic, you have
Asian and you have Christian. I mean, just how people are identifying with their- with
their groups- with their people. Some of the outreach highlights and here are some, you
know, fun pictures of our focus groups that we had. Um, we worked with, you know, the
diversity markets, we worked with center for worker justice. [BACKGROUND] And all
different kinds of folks. And so it was great to have people come together. And um, the
collective oedema Harrah's, uh, just to have these sessions in native languages with
interpreters for those that are English-speaking, I just invite every person to have that
experience in their life. And as planners, we felt really fortunate to be able to do so. Um,
it's very humbling, but it also creates a- a- a place of safety and bravery that people can
be more authentic selves, but their culture is seen and heard. So down to the data. One
thing that we really wanted to highlight or to dispel some mythology. So a lot of, times
people say, oh, immigrant owned businesses or BIPOC own businesses. They don't have
a lot of education, not in this county. That's not true. We can see that over 50 percent
have at least undergraduate and then you can even see spilling over into Masters and PhD
degrees. So just trying to dem- demystify some of this as well is really important.
[BACKGROUND] And then the rent cost- the rent cost um, also. When we look at some
of the barriers in Johnson County and this is something that we know across the county,
rent cost are one of those really huge barriers. So typically you don't want to see anything
over 20 percent. I think residential, we think 30 percent rate and I don't know when we're
paying more than 30 percent for rent, but it's 20 percent for commercial. And you can see
how staggering it is that over half of businesses are spending more than that. And so
that's a real barrier. I will also wanted to make sure that we're not just showing you data,
that we're also providing you with some, uh, language. You know, what- what inspired
community businesses to- to want to thrive here? A lot of people talked about wanting to
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be with their children. It's very culturally accepted to have your children around you
while you're at work and other places. And, um, also wanting to serve their people. You
know, having the markets, having the- sharing their culture with Johnson County
residents, um, and building that generational wealth, building that financial literacy. I had
so many parents talk about passing on how to read a checkbook, er, to their kids. Um, so
that- that's some of those reasons right there. In terms of financial resources, this is where
we see some of the differences. So, ah, obviously emerging businesses are going to have
some,you know, higher, um, startup costs and maybe existing businesses, [NOISE] but it
matters where they're looking for that- those resources. And, um, we're also talking about
financial literacy. We're talking about all these kinds of things that really buy into actual
fmancial resources. And so ICAD is seen as that. The business partnership you'll see.
Um, but there is also some- some nuances. So for instance, the Multicultural
Development Center of Io- of Iowa was BIPOC accelerator program. They do offer
fmancial resources and yet- and it's BIPOC, own and lead, and yet not many people
know about it. So it's interesting to see where people are gravitating towards. Obviously
it's a newer program. Um, you're looking to more established, uh, organizations. Um, also
good to know that people are using these resources when they need them. Here's again,
some of those language- the language that people were using. So, um, some people
having to sell their truck to make money for the business. I'll tell you time and time again,
I heard that is lit-, ah, for many cultures just culturally inappropriate to go into debt.
There is just so- there's like a visceral, you can almost see people change their body
when they talk about having to go take out a loan. They will do anything to not do that.
And so um, there's some, you know, financial literacy that needs to go into that, but also a
real understanding of why it takes these businesses so long to get off the ground? And
what they're willing to do and sacrifice in order to make that happen? Uh, so you'll see a
lot of gathering capital, their own accord. But then you'll also see on the flip side of that,
a fear of actually going into those banks, going into the city count-, like, into the city
buildings or county buildings. Uh, because they don't feel accepted. [NOISE] They- they
feel very intimidated. Um, and that could be the documents that they're looking at or the
person that's literally in the desk in front of them, um, just feeling very inaccessible. So
some of those resources that act as barriers, I think, a lot of- this was pretty well, you
know, guessed. But, um, rent costs, as we saw is- is huge access, to money clearly, um,
and then the location, so the- the commercial rental spaces is certainly key. Um, but you
also see things, like, you know, access to, uh, childcare, um, things, like, legal services,
accounting, those types of services that people just literally don't know where to go. Um,
and so that becomes a barrier, um, and- and language and things like that. So when we
look on the other side and when we start talking to our business support institutions, we
asked them, well, are you- um, do you have these programs? And so people say, no, not
only do we not have those programs, but the ones that we do, um, we can't really take that
info- we can't take that type of information in. So, like banks lending information, is not -
is just really hard to have any type of discernible demographic data attached to that. Um,
there's some requirements, but they're very vague. And they're very much so, um,
observational. And so that makes it hard to know where we are if we're not collecting
that data. Uh, but also a lot of these programs have only been around because of COVID.
And so the real sense that people feel is that, no, they're- they're not around. These
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programs don't actually serve underestimated businesses [NOISE]. Um, and do they
provide loans? So obviously, if the programs are there, there's not going to be loans. It's
hard to track. One thing that really stood out to us too is that nobody is doing any
surveying. Nobody even just has like, um, when you're filling out this application, you
now identify any economic data or, um, or racial data, or whatever that may be.
Oftentimes, this is sensitive and we understand that. It just makes it hard for us to do our
job in the end in terms of who is being served and how. Um, where do you people get
information? That's incredibly important. When we look at underestimated businesses
and communities, we really look at people using word of mouth, friends and family,
social media. And when you look at the flip side of institutions, it's like where did they
put that information out? Some of it is social media, but a lot of it is their websites and
people just don't go to those websites. And so what we're trying to show is- there needs to
be a shift- a shift away from just, when we put this on our website so it's good to go and
shifting towards did you print it out and put it in the barbershop? Did you put it in the
[inaudible]? Like did you go and actually get out into the community and ways that
people interact with this? Because that is really the gap. And we kind of knew that, but
now this really shows that that is absolutely the case. And one thing that is a little bit
disheartening about it, is that if things aren't being directly communicated, they're being
communicated through word of mouth and word of mouth can be misleading, and can be,
you know, really, um, hearsay. And so that was another thing that we heard a lot, was a
real desire for that direct communication. Um, so language access is a really big issue.
And you can see that, you know, do support institutions provide information in any other
language? No. Large part, no. I think Iowa City actually does a pretty good job of doing
it. But when you actually look at the languages that are being spoken in Johnson County,
according to ACS data, it's Mandarin, French, and Spanish. And you only currently see
some Spanish in most lending institutions and most of these business support institutions.
So- and also, just want to note that it's not that you just wanna have a document translated
in another language. You need to have that like follow-up person that can answer and
read that and help that person in those ways. So- so we're not just talking about a one and
done. We're really talking about like a dynamic interaction. So- but we can take small
steps. Uh, one thing that was really important, I know, was trying to understand if people,
um, received relief for COVID impacts. And I will say this gets a little bit tricky because
oftentimes, it's about 30 percent didn't know if they even qualified. And I, as a small
business owner, understand why, okay? It was very confusing. If you didn't have an
accountant, there's really no way to know. Um, and so most people just thought, they
didn't qualify. Uh, I even thought I didn't qualify, to be honest. Um, so you have about a
third of people that are saying that they did receive funding, you know, about 60 percent
say no, they didn't. We even tried to say if you didn't receive funding, why? And most
people just said, I don't know, so maybe there wasn't any follow up with them. Um, so
that's that. And then we have some funding that was provided specifically for BIPOC, uh,
businesses that were impacted by COVID, and that was through better together and that
was $50,000 for 33 BIPOC own businesses. I want to characterize that briefly by saying
$50,000 for 33 businesses, I mean, they- it's- there's something, you know, and they were
like $1,000-$5,000. When you look at the millions of dollars that Iowa received for
federal PPP funding, it- it just pales in comparison. So I know that there's certainly
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lessons learned from COVID, and this is certainly a space that can be expanded upon. So
solutions and opportunities, and we defmitely go into this more in the plan, urn, the draft
plan. So one-on-one mentorship was huge when you have underestimated businesses,
they're trying to navigate a sea of, you know, finances and legal terms and things like
that. So having a mentor that was like them, that has been through this is a game changer,
because it's a hand -holding that can really only be done in that same way and somebody
that has experienced those same barriers and workarounds. Um, so that one-on-one
mentorship was seen as very crucial classes, affordable spaces, community grants, having
a sense of community. So, um, Colectivo de Mujeres en Negocios, they recently changed
their names, so I'm still trying to learn it. But what I love about that group is it started out
as a support group for, uh, Latin- Latinx women who wanted to open a business trade.
And you can see how that is so needed because you're completely siloed. As, you know,
business owner wanting to start off, you're just like, where do I go, how do I even
navigate? So it's incredible to see that they knew they needed that community and they
came together. And you'll see that in our recommendations. Uh, so street vending
opportunities came up a lot. And that is really cultural. Street vending around the world
is very different than it is in the United States. And, um, it's not that street vendors don't
want to follow the rules. They do. They just want to know what they are and, of course,
they would appreciate a little bit more flexibility. So- but they're very much so rule
followers. I just want to make that clear. Um, low-interest no- loans, and we have some
descriptors specifically for that. And then again, that consolidated information on permits
and multiple languages, like a lot of consolidated information would actually be really
helpful to kind of get away from that word of mouth. And then access to the community
commercial kitchen. And that carne up literally in every focus group that we talked with.
What I wanted to touch on for a second was this equity perception. So we asked people in
the survey, you know, to create equity and opportunity for all, I believe a greater portion
of resources should go to those who are most in need. And you'll see there's a big swing
to the right, and that is very heartening. It means that most people are like, yeah, I
strongly agree with that. Whether you're a underestimated business owner or you're
support institution. So we're headed in the right direction, literally. Uh, so that's good.
And I think that that showcases the potentiality that we have with this plan. So what we
heard in terms of barriers to be more specific, cost of rent, gaps and resource information,
lack of access or perceived lack of access to financial banking systems, a hostile business
support system environment, lack of access to childcare, short supply of business
mentors, and missing those relationships with business support systems. If anybody has
ever owned a small business or known anybody that's known- owned a small business,
you know that that relationship to that banker, to that accountant, to that lawyer is a
lifeline. There may be questions that come up or a COVID relief that comes through, and
you need to be able to call somebody like a human, not Wells Fargo. And quite frankly,
many people just gravitate towards Chase Bank, because it's just what's out there. It's the
big banks, you know, so that can cause barriers. We did culminate a strategic doing
session and thank you for those that were able to attend. I know you all can't be there at
the same time. Um, so we did have a lot of local government leaders, staff, business
support institutions, lending institution, non -profits and of course, local vendors. And I
have to say that sharing that space with those people in tho- in those four hours that we
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were together, was just an incredible moment to have street vendors who were talking -
who were like at the table with the city administrator, the mayors, um, and vice versa. But
the questions that, you know, City Council may have, there's somebody there who can
answer that like very acutely and specifically. Um, and the aspirational quote, which I
really just appreciate is, imagine a robust entrepreneurial community in Johnson County
that authentically welcomes and empowers underestimated business owners with a sense
of belonging throughout all stages of business and idea development. And that wrap
around is really what we're talking about. We did come up with three Pathfinder projects
and I am thrilled to say that all three of them have moved forward and have been a
success, and that is just very rare so we have a mobile food vendor portal, which Iowa
City is a part of along with Coralville and North Liberty. And so we're moving forward
on trying to get these three cities plus Johnson County Public Health, to have very clear
guidelines and protocols and that they report back so that- that you can click on one and
go to the other. Because oftentimes, vendors are like, well, where do I go to get this
information? So just trying to even make that clearer. The Johnson County inclusive
business education series, they're actually kicking off at the end of October with, um,
financial literacy for, uh, Latinx community. And so they're having a couple of series of
speakers. Uh, and I'm sure they'll be getting information out. So if you'd like to attend,
you can certainly welcome. And then the under- underestimated mentorship program is
also moving forward. Um, MDC Iowa currently has a membership platform. They're
trying to, um, get support around and wrap around to provide to more people. And so
that's BIPOC lead and, um, for. And so that fees- that's really moving forward as well.
So, um, I feel like if anybody's ever done strategic doing, that's pretty amazing. All three
way to go. Our recommendations. So the number 1 recommendation that we have is
creating neighborhood level, multicultural business hubs. And the reason because it
reduces a lot of those barriers. You're in your community, you can just walk or bike to it.
You know those people, you have those experts, people who look like you, talking your
same language, who have professional background or at least can give you access to that
professional knowledge that you seek. Um, and then we also have, uh, you know,
fmancial literacy programs that can happen there. Maybe there's already a commercial
kitchen, um, that people can use. But we really believe in what the model that is a bit
more dis-aggregated with, embedded within the communities. And that also is supported
by the Better Together project. And so that feels very authentic here. We have behind the
scenes support and then we have public -facing support. And, um, I'm going to go into
some of these a little bit more. Um, the plan really goes into a lot of them very in-depth.
And I want to defmitely watch my time here. So I have time for a lot of questions. Um,
but a lot of changes in policies and procedures, internal work, and then bolstering the
entities, um, and organizations that are already doing the work. And then sort of
externally providing those resources, but then also building the infrastructure is generally
how we have this broken out. Um,
Fixmer-Oraiz: I will just say that specifically for Iowa City, we did a very like general look at
what were your upper goals so that we can kind of match some of this. And, um, based
on the public input that you all have received and staff recommendations along with your
strategic plan which you're redoing, but 2020 to 2021 at least, um, it aligns with those as
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well. So when you look at the promoter and inclusive and resilient economy through -
throughout the city. So the recommendations that you've gotten from staff, these were the
four that were provided back a year ago. And so we embedded that with ours. So the
neighborhood level, multicultural business chambers hubs is that physical space. And I
just want to note that when we say multicultural because it's really easy, business
chamber hubs, we don't want to say that every- every chamber is multicultural. We're just
saying that like could be Latinx, could be Hispanic, could be Asian, whatever it is.
Whatever is needed within that community that's what it should be. So I just wanted to
clarify that. But as you can see, it reduces those barriers. You already have that trust, a
centralized information source. Um, and then you can have those mentorship programs
and, you know, increasing those direct access to federal and local funds because we see
this not as a bypass from business support institutions, but literally itself, its own business
support institutions, so it has direct access to those federal and state funds. And then
access to the low or no cost commercial kis- kitchen space. Um, this could also be a place
where there's neighborhood -level access to mobile vendor spaces as well. The second, uh,
recommendation was the youth entrepreneurial and Community Center accelerator
programs. So we really felt like supporting those current BIPOC-led business support
institutions that are already doing this is really where we could see this fitting in and, um,
they're- they're already current programs. There are future programs. There's a lot of
opportunity for the businesses are already do- the organizations that are already doing
this to do more. One thing that would be really helpful is to reduce duplicated
professional service expenses across these support organizations. And really that's
looking at, you know, access to the accounting and customer service insurance liability
providers. Not necessarily saying that the city funds that, but helps sup- set up the system,
because these organizations, I mean, let's be real, we are talking about MDC Iowa, we're
talking about Tracy John, we're talking about CWJ, we're talking about Mazahir. Like
there are just one or two people doing this. They don't have the bandwidth or the capacity
to actually create the system. Um, and then helping assist with transparent and recurrent
evaluations to help do what I just said basically because they don't have the capacity to
help support those partnerships. We do feel that there is, um, certain criteria though,
when we look at which institutions could receive the, uh, fundings to- for current and
future programs and things. This might be helpful and it's certainly a starting point. This
isn't the beyond all, but this is one idea. So if you, um, have just two criteria which is that
you have a proven record of established economic development, the number of years in
service plus good standing with the city, and then two, you actually provide those
services. So, um, you do funding and lending programs or you host the economic
development programs. We really want to stress that these are the current organizations
that we have been talking to you, that we have been working with, but it is not limited to
these organizations. We hope that we can get the opportunity to even broaden that even
further. It's just do the work that we've been doing, this is who we've been
communicating with. We don't know everybody so our hope is that we get to know more
people. Um, the startup and expansion grants so create local government procedures for
funding and loan programs. We found that there were specific things that kept corning up
time and time and time again. That were increasing the borrowing amount, creating more
time before the first payment and no interest in the first year. So whenever people were
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getting funding, they were like, Well, how am I supposed to pay this first payment? I
haven't even got two clients, you know, so it's just the turnaround time was too quick.
The community navigator, um, we really see this as community networking and certainly
could be a person or it could be a system. So improving those networks of support
between those local governments and existing organizations. So that's accountability,
transparent evaluation, and then supporting the evolution of those partnerships, and that
could happen through streamlining that communication. That is to say that like these
mentorship programs getting all of this started and off the ground. We know it's going to
take a person- it gets- it's going to take something to get there. It's not just going to
happen overnight, you know, we need to look at how do we create that system. So that's
community networking. And then we also have behind -the -scenes recommendations. So
that internal work, clear city perimeters, county licensing, and then of course, the more
affordable commercial rental spaces through creative ordinances is potential. Um, the
internal work. So recognizing and legitimizing multicultural planning perspectives. This
black space manifesto is created by black planning professionals and it's clickable, so I
definitely recommend checking it out. And then require anti -racism training that
integrates reconciliation, healing, and learning. So a lot of times people feel like, Oh, I'm
going to be doing this trading and I'm going to have to check the box and then have to
like do the worksheet. That's not what we're talking about. We're really talking about
creating a culture of care that's centered on truth -telling and reconciliation that addresses
harm or trauma in safer, braver spaces. So it's- it's more transformative than just that and
we do have some recommendations in the plan. And then incorporating multicultural and
multilingual design elements in office and public spaces. It's amazing how much of a
difference it makes people feel when there's like multiple- like all the country flags or
like welcome in multiple languages. I mean, these sound very silly, but they're actually
really important, um, and do generate a- at least a- an inkling of something else is
different here. So the more affordable commercial rental spaces through those creative
ordinances, um, you can look at adaptive reuse assessment, uh, and- and- and ordinances
as well as, uh, commercial overlay districts. So there's examples all over the- the country
that can be utilized but really looking at how do we revitalize and rehabilitate some of
these vacant properties, especially post-COVID or post-COVID, but just where we're at
and COVID, there's, uh, certainly opportunity there. And then the clearer city permitting
and county licensing processes so we've already started doing this with the Pathfinder
project, but really wanting to note that street vendors and mobile vendors really feel like
it's a very confusing system and it's not in multiple languages, um, at all so there's, um,
some movement there. What we see as our next steps is continuing to support our
Pathfinder projects that are wrapping up here in the- in the foreseeable future. And then
also offer to create specific action items and steps for cities and counties. Um, we already
did kind of a high-level ARPA funding mashing together, um, but we would love to get
together more robust forms of recommendations after convening underestimated business
owners working with staff saying here's the funding, this is what it could go through, you
know, working through all of the details to actually come up with an actual proposal. So
we feel as though we've done a lot of this initial work. We do have a lot of, uh,
connections and access to these, um, inclusive or I'm sorry, to these underestimated
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business owners. Not that we have to be the ones, but as was stated, just, I don't know,
maybe an hour ago, nobody wants a plan to sit on a shelf and this plan is too important.
Teague: That's important. Yeah.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Thank you.
Teague: Great.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Ready for some questions. [APPLAUSE] Thank you.
Audience member:Bravo bravo. What do you think, Bruce?
Teague: All right, council.
Audience member:You were looking at your computer all the time. I've seen you.
Teague: We can ask questions at this point and give comments. And thank you for the
presentation. And I do recognize that some of the partners are here as well. So thanks, uh,
to you all for being here as well.
Thomas: V is- is it possible to, um, categorize the types of businesses that you've made contact
with?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Well, um -
Thomas: In terms of services. In other words, you know, what sector of the economy are they
coming from?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah. I would say, um, just have it on my head. I mean, sure we could do that in
the focus groups. Our survey was anonymous and we did that to gain trust. I think that
we're hopeful that we can follow up and have- create more relationships but, um, I would
have to say that probably what we heard from was more food service, construction type
businesses, so retail. Yeah.
Thomas: Uh-huh.
Fixmer-Oraiz: That would probably be my guess on that.
Thomas: One- one reason I'm- I was asking is I don't- I don't even know if it's possible to do this,
but, um, if there are a lot of large employers in Johnson County and say the City of Iowa
City, uh, would it be possible for the City of Iowa City to have, you know, incentives in
place to- with its contracts, uh, to be able to provide, you know, to contract with- with
some of the- the businesses, say that you were meeting with where they had, um, you
know, certain advantages with respect to the bidding process, you know. I know that
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some cities have that. I know San Francisco had it. They had local and minority and
women -owned business preferences in their contract negotiations. So that seemed to me,
uh, again, I don't know if that's possible, but having, you know, companies that can
purchase your- your services whatever they may happen to be, uh, seem to me one
another option or potential way of- of promoting these- these businesses.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Definitely, I believe that Quad Cities has done that with their construction
contracts. So that's the closest example that I know of.
Thomas: Okay.
Fixmer-Oraiz: And, um, I believe Redmond was really instrumental in that. So if I would have
some more information on exactly how to do that because they did a study and then the
study was able to backup that they could do it. So there is precedent for that, at least in
the construction.
Thomas: Good. Yeah, construction would be a great one.
Fixmer-Oraiz:Yeah, definitely.
Weiner: Did you have any interaction with the university or any sense of [NOISE] how the
university could be a part of this?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes. So our, um, we reached out to the University throughout the entire process
and they did, uh, they had- they are engaging us in the, urn, strategic doing session in
particular. And so they have had a lot of interaction there. And I think there's always
more possibility with the University of Iowa and we certainly have their ear. So I think
pulling them in would- would not be difficult. Yep
Alter: This is a phenomenal and really thorough dive into this that just peels back layers and
layers and that you didn't rest on the one layer and you're like, okay, what's going on
underneath this, is- is just tremendous and thank you for that. Um, I think we're gonna be
in a much better position to move forward because of this work. Um, one other questions
that I had, um, has to do with, um, sort of having the- the business support, the
multicultural business hubs. And you have again, you said it's not limited to the specific,
um, organizations that you have. Um, but I'm kind of wondering because that they all
have their primary vision and purpose and mission as well, um, do you feel that there's a
pipeline for the- the expertise and the mentorship and the support that is necessary- it
seems to be such a crucial piece to helping, um, you know, these small business owners
go to the next level so that then they, I recognize success breeds success and support
breeds support. And so the very people who might be helped now may find themselves m
a place where they're like, and now I wanna help along. But I'm wondering, from the
outset, is this just sort of one of those things where it will move kind of in a ripple effect
and kind of build momentum or, um, I guess I'm just wondering about this sort of the
ratio of expertise in those people who have been there done that and can help those who
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need that help. But do you feel like there's enough of that within the community or places
where you might be able to seek out additional supports. And maybe where's- where's the
flexibility in that? Because that's the part that concerns me is, you know, like you need to
have the expertise in the success in order to be able to provide that mentorship in that. Or
maybe it is like we'll learn it together, as you said with that group that- that came
together. So anyway, if you can talk a little bit of that.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Absolutely. Now, it's a really great question because it's sort of this like chicken
and egg, right? It's like, do we have, um, BIPOC lawyers in abundance? No. Not really.
Like- but how are we gonna get there? Well, they have to be able to see themselves there.
And we do have a few. And so I think that the answer to your question is really yes. I
think that, um, those resources, those people are in our community, they don't feel valued,
they don't feel seen, and they don't feel like they can get a job working in a place where
they can be their authentic selves. So not to speak for them. I mean, I feel like I can a
little bit, but I think from what I've heard and seen, it's almost like everybody's waiting in
the wings. Like this plan, defmitely reaching out to folks, really, you started to see just
how many people were behind the people in front of you. And it- it I think is really
exemplified and the fact that we have so many organizations that are working in, you
know, multicultural development really. I mean, you have Latinx population, you have
Sudanese population, you have Black population. I mean, that's pretty robust and
Chinese. Um, so we did a- we did a pretty good job of outreach. My team knows, we talk
about this all the time, we can always do better. We didn't reach everybody. In fact,
there's a section in here on lessons learned. We could have done a better outreach to the
Asian community. There's just only a staff of four, you know. So I think that lesson's
learned absolutely, if we get more people involved, if we start rolling down this hill,
we're gonna- we're gonna be a big bolder by the end. Like it's- it's definitely the time.
That's how it feels.
Teague: You brought up, uh, some of the partners, uh, which Mayor Pro Tem just alluded to,
such as the Multicultural Development Center of Iowa, Center for Worker Justice of
Eastern Iowa, uh, just to name a few. And, um, what I do know is that a lot of people,
myself included, get sent there or, you know, someone will call in and say how can I, um,
get assistance for whatever. And typically, those are two of the people that I send them to
because their scope has and their, um, arm has been [NOISE] so broad to assisting
people. So one of the- I think one of my questions is, when this does continue to play out,
how- because there's financial, um, elements to it. Um, there is a grant, you know, grants
because there's agencies that get federal grants or that, um, and there's also, I'm blanking
on the name of when people can become a part of a program, urn, if you're a minority
owned business. Um, but there's programs out there that people can be placed. And so
when you talked about the technical assistance, is that a part of what, um, could happen is
matching them up with some of those are resources that they may qualify?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, definitely. Obviously, I get- I think I know what you're
saying. So we're currently talking about ARPA funding, but there's funding beyond that.
Is that like what you -
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Teague: Yes.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, absolutely.
Teague: Absolutely. Yes.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Oh yeah.
Teague: Yeah. How do you maximize your-
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes.
Teague: You know, the- the funds that- because, um there will never be enough-
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
Tegue: To meet the needs, right?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Correct.
Teague: Um, and then the other question, I'm curious to know how other communities or cities,
municipalities within the county had been receptive to, uh, this, uh, process.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Um, it has varied. And I think that, you know, through this process, really wanting
to honor that every city is different in Johnson County. And so especially when you're
talking about economic development and particularly focusing on underestimated
community members. Um, to be honest, I think there's a lot of education. I mean, I think
that that was one of the first things that we learned was, you know, um, what does that
mean? What does underestimated mean? And, you know, what does BIPOC mean? And
so I think there's some education there that had to happen initially, which, uh, I think
probably made it a little bit harder to- to like, communicate and to understand you know,
what- what we're doing and what we're asking people to do. Which when we went to
cities, we asked them to help us basically, like you're leaders in your community, you
may even be business owners, do you know any people who are women or immigrants or
anybody who started businesses? And I think the vast majority of towns have been like
very curious, which is really all we're asking. And there were a few that were less
curious. So yeah, that's all.
Teague: Thank You.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
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Bergus: You started to touch on that view with the educational component, but what other
challenges did you identify or can you kind of talk us through when we're thinking about
some of these recommendations?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah. I don't think that there really is a sense of, um, like diversity that is felt in
some communities. And so there's not really a valuation of that. And so I don't know how
else to say that. I think that that's some of what we were feeling is that there's a
homogeneity here, that we are just not going to invest in something that we don't see or
that we, you know, it's hard to value what you don't see or understand. And so I think
education is like the first thing. But then also wanting to make sure, um, so my staff and
myself are underestimated people. So like I also have to recognize that they're looking at
us and we're looking at them. We're asking them to really take a hard look at their
community. And so that may just not be what people wanna do. And I think we felt some
of that, if I'm being honest. But vast majority though, let me just really say, vast majority
of Johnson County, very curious, very willing. In- in smaller towns that- you just would
not even anticipate that very welcoming, you know.
Weiner: And- and did you get this sense that that was the case or that there were some
communities that are sort of in transition? They may not have thought about this very
much before, but when they start to think about it, they realize, hey, yeah, we do have
people representing this group, that group, the other group. Maybe we ought to be able to
figure out a way of pressing forward?
Fixmer-Oraiz: There defmitely was that and- and there was others. Like so I think that there's a
gradation. There are certainly people that are just not really- or they're just not there yet.
They're just not there yet. And that's okay. There are towns that are absolutely going
through transition and booming transition. And so, um, very- and curious, like, oh, I
hadn't thought about that. Uh, so that's really heartening. And I think that like I said, the
vast majority of people were interested in what does this mean? What are you talking
about? And I think a lot of times, people are just like, well, what do you want? . And
really all we were asking for, which is access to because we understand as
underestimated people that like, its, you know, who am I corning from Iowa City or, you
know what I mean? Like so we're just hoping to have some buy -in, some like I'm gonna
meet your friend kinda thing. But yeah, I'd say absolutely, there are several towns that are
going through a lot of transition in Johnson County. And so they very much sort of
curious, what does this mean? Yeah.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Great questions.
Harmsen: Echoing everybody else's thank you for- for doing this work. Um, also, could you just
speak a little bit more about- you- you'd said that, uh, as you correctly pointed out,
nobody wants to create a plan, then see it collect dust on a shelf.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
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Harmsen: What do you see as the, you know, next- next round of steps or next things for yourself
or for- for partners on something?
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah, absolutely. So we are going to every cities in the county, but we'd like to
hear back about the plan. Um, and we didn't go to all of the cities, uh, pretty much almost
all of them. And so our hope is that- so it doesn't sit on a plan- on a shelf, is that we get to
return to this with the cities and the county and say, okay, now that we know these
recommendations, now that we know this data, you know, where does this fit with your
funding priorities, with your strategic plans? Like how do we move forward? Because I
think that, um, what's really great is that there is a lot of momentum and interests, and
particularly with ARPA funding, that there is this like, well, what do we do with it now
that we have it? And I'm- we're hopeful that this plan can show like, well, there's internal
work that needs to be done. And also there's a lot of barriers that need to be re- removed.
And the multicultural like chamber, neighborhood level hubs are a- what we- what the -
the amalgamation of all the things that we heard really. Um, but that it could be a direct
funnel for funding, that it can have all of the people that look like them, and you know,
um, also those professional experts, they can walk there. You know, all of these things
were incorporated really truly in that. There's obviously ordinances and there's like all
other kinds of stuff, but that- that is a big one. And recognizing that there's lots of
partners in that particularly in a city like Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty. There's
non -profits, there's community leaders. Um, and I see our team at this point. And again, I
never want to say that like we have to be the only one since we have been doing this
work. We have- where we- we- we convene people. You know, we want- we know folks,
and we'd like to know folks we don't know. And we want to make sure that as many
people as possible are together on this because it is a game changer to have some funding
like this come through on our town and our county and, um, making sure that it's
uplifting in ways that are helpful. So that's what our hope is.
Harmsen: Thank you.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Mm-hmm.
Teague: Well, we really appreciate you being here today-
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
Teague: - and presenting all of this information. Sound like there has been a lot of, uh, work
happening, a lot of work to continue. And, uh, we're just happy to be a part of, uh, this
process, uh, even at this level. So thanks for what you do and-
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yeah.
Teague: - I'm sure we will hear from you some more.
Fixmer-Oraiz: Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much.
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Clarification of Agenda Items
Teague: Thank you. All right. Before we move on, I do see, um, I think we- we should be able to
get through our agenda. We will just trail blaze through. So clarification of agenda of
items.
Teague: So USG get ready.
Weiner: They say they wanted to come at the beginning.
Alter: She's here now. [OVERLAPPING]
Information Packet Discussion [September 8, September 151
Teague: Yeah. All right. Well, I'll move on to information packet discussion for September 8th.
Teague: Information packet, September 15th.
University of Iowa Student Government (USG) -Updates
Teague: And we're going to welcome the USG at this time to give us updates. All right,
welcome.
Miglin: Hi Council.
Zeimet: Hi Council. All right. Uh, to start off, um, we recently had our executives, uh, go to the
Board of Regents meeting, uh, where they discussed mental health, basic student needs,
and the way to incentivize, uh, students to stay in Iowa. At this meeting, it was
announced that one million dollars, uh, will be added to their budget recommendation for
mental health services and this will be divided amongst the other universities in Iowa.
And then our voter registration, today's national voter registration day and Undergraduate
Student Government has partnered with other campus partners to have a voting re, uh,
registration table event and to get more students registered for the November elections.
And then, uh, we just had the Undergraduate Student Government, uh, finishing our
competitive fall nominations, uh, process for senators. We had over 90, uh, candidate
apply and a lot of qualified candidates. But we ended up with 14 new senators who we
welcome the USG and can't wait to see what they'll do.
Miglin: Um, additionally, the IMU is going to be going through major rennovations within the
next few years. Um, so they're currently in the planning stages now, um, following the
projects approval. Um, it's estimated that it will cost around $81.1 million, um, to make -
to expand the IMU into both, um, uh, Hubbard Park as well as based in the area that it is
now. Um, if council would like to contribute, uh, to the feedback of the project, um, now
would be a really great time, and we can share contacts. Additionally, um, programs that
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are based out of the IMU house hotels such as the lease GAP program that we did this
past year, will hopefully be moved, um, and relocated to be hosted by private hotels in
the Iowa City area. Um, and, yeah the IMU house hotel will be shutting down sadly. Uh,
but finally, uh, we hope to still present the results of this year's renter guide- renter's
guide, um, and an upcoming session, um, we had some really great results, um, like over
way more than we had received in the past and a very diverse group of students, um, that
responded. So the analysis is going to be really interesting, I can imagine so. Yeah. Um,
and this is also my last meeting. And it has sincerely been an honor to get to work with
you all. And I hope to continue to in the future, um, with my own research, as well as just
in general, being involved with the Iowa City community has been such an uplifting
experience, and it's tragic to leave early, but I'm- I'm excited to see like for future plans
and stuff like that. So thank you for everything.
Teague: Well, we certainly want to thank you. I think you've been with us since fall of 2020?
Miglin: I- I- yeah, I think so actually, yeah.
Teague: Yes. Fall of 2020. So on behalf of the City of Iowa City, I want to present you with the
certificate of appreciation, uh, to Elizabeth for thoughtful contributions during the 2021
through 2022s year of service as the city council liaison and alternate liaison from the
University of Iowa, Undergraduate Student Government, USG, and for demonstrating
commitment to student participation on this 20th day of September 2022. So if you don't
mind coming up here and getting this [APPLAUSE]
Miglin: Thank you.
Alter: Great.
Teague: Really appreciate the USG and the, uh, city connection here. [OVERLAPPING]
Absolutely. Absolutely. [OVERLAPPING] Yes.
Miglin: Hey, thank you.
Council Updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees
Teague: Awesome. All right. Well, with that, um, I think will save updates and all that stuff for
the end of our formal meeting. So we will be adjourned until 6:00 PM.
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