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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-18 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Thomas, Weiner Staff Present: Fruin, Jones, Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling, Platz, Hightshoe, Gripp, Ford, Seydell Johnson Others Present: Zeimet (USG Alternate) Alter: Welcome. It is Tuesday, October 18th, 2022. Welcome to the Iowa City City Council. My name is Megan Alter, and Mayor Teague is unable to attend, so I ant presiding in his absence. Roll call? [Roll Call] 2 — 7 Consent Calender Alter: Can I get a motion to approve the consent calendar Items 2 through 7? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Taylor: Second, Taylor. Alter: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor. Is there anyone in pu- public who wishes to discuss anything that is on the consent calendar? Is there anyone in council who wishes to bring anything up? Taylor: I just had a quick question, maybe for Geoff can answer this on 5.f, the Curb Ramp 2021. Do you have any idea where we are with the status of the curb ramps in town or do we still have quite a few that we'll need to work on, and put in the budget or? Fruin: Yeah. Thi- this is really a project that- that never, um, never ends because even when you build them over time, especially freeze -thaw cycles in the- in the winter, they can fall out of compliance, the slopes can change, they can be cracked, and damaged. So, um, we do keep an online, uh, map, and inventory showing the status of each, uh, uh, and the focus of these curb ramp pro- projects primarily focused on those older parts of town in which there were no curb ramps when those streets, and sidewalks networks were built. We're- we're pretty well through there. We- we still have, um, uh, se- several areas to address, but, ah, we've made e- exceptional progress. The other thing I would note is this isn't all the curb ramp projects we do in a year, uh, with every road project, every resurfacing project, we also upgrade or install curb ramps at that time. So, um, I think you'll always see these annual projects, um, but in terms of addressing those areas where no curb ramps ex- uh, exist, uh, we are making significant headway. Taylor: Okay. Thank you, Geoff. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 2 Weiner: And I just want to make a quick note on 6- uh, 6.a, that we're setting a public hearing, but, um, take- you can take a look at it at our next meeting. It's- it's like a really cool historic old co- co- cottage goes way back to the 1800s. So it's really great that we don't just retain, and maintain, and create historic landmarks out of big buildings, but some- some small, meaningful ones as well. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 3 8. Community Comment (items on the agenda) [UNTIL 7 PM] Alter: Right. Moving on to Item 8, which is community comment, items not on the agenda. Um, and I just want to make, ah, note for those in the audience. If you are here to talk about the, uh, parks, and rec master plan, that is an agenda item, and there will be time for you to speak, so you just hold tight, and I will let you know when- when that is. Uh, right now public comment is for, um, those who have something to say that is not on the agenda. And please make sure that you write your name, uh, either on the back or, uh, the card, put it in the basket, and then, uh, you have three minutes to speak, um, making sure that you state your name, and your city when you begin. Thank you. Ross: Hi. Brandon Ross, Iowa City, Iowa. Three minutes, 2:59, 2:56. What would it happen? How would we feel if we only had three minutes to live? Well, doctors don't really tell us that, you have three minutes to live. It's hard to get your things in order, isn't it now? But we could have three minutes to live. We all could have three minutes to live if in fact we got word from our government that there was a nuclear war, and, uh, we were in it. Two minutes, and 26 seconds. And so right now, uh, there's a conflict going on, and there's always conflicts in the world. We've had Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia. I mean, I could go on and on, Kosovo, Yugoslavia. But now we're in Ukraine. It's a conflict going on for eight years, it's a civil war. It's the Western of Ukraine, which are nationalists. against the Eastern Ukrainians, who are Russian, pro -Russian. The Eastern Ukrainians wanted to secede, the Western Ukrainians did not want them to do that, they were attacked eight years ago. And as far as we were concerned for eight years, that this was just a civil war that had nothing to do with us, except it did. The US was supplying the people in the West, who were nationalists. The Russians were helping with the people in the East. After eight years Russia interceded and came in to shield the people in the East, who were Russian, and pro -Russian. As soon as they came over the border seven months ago, the United States started screaming all kinds of stuff, and ordered tens of billions of dollars in weaponry to be sent out to Ukraine. Now for seven months, the US, and Russia seem to be the main players in this war. The US is not- does not have a security risk, but Russia does have a security risks, and so too Ukraine. So fighting over right now, whether or not that Donbass area, or Crimea can be part of Russia or not part of Russia, is really the issue. But the real issue is, 22 seconds left, is whether or not we can stop nuclear war, and tell our government to start negotiating. Call your senators, and Congress people, and the White House, and plead, plead for us to stop the war, and negotiate, which is good for everybody. Otherwise, time will run out. Alter: Thank you. Hello. Hiatt: Hi, my name is Temple Hiatt, and I am here today on behalf of the Johnson County Group of Moms Demand Action for Guns Sense in America. Um, I'm here to ask the council to make a public statement or pass a resolution, uh, opposing Public This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 4 Measure 1. Gun safety is on the ballot in Iowa this year as voters consider a constitutional amendment. Iowans of course, have the right to own a gun, and we have the US Constitution that guarantees this. But this amendment doesn't do what it says it does. It's funded by out-of-state special interests who put profits over people, and instead of protecting our rights, this confusing amendment will weaken our current laws, make us less safe, and even put law enforcement in danger. This ballot measure will make it even harder for police, and other law enforcement officers to enforce the law, and do their job. The ballot will read, "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, the sovereign state of Iowa affirms, and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny." Strict scrutiny is not in the US Second Amendment, and strict scrutiny is what makes this amendment very different and very extreme. The gun lobby claims that strict scrutiny amendments restore the right to keep and bear arms when what they really do is threaten public safety laws, forcing judges to apply the highest judicial standard when analyzing firearm -related laws. Only three other states have a similar version, Alabama, Louisiana, and Missouri. All three of these states rank in the top 5 for the highest rates of gun deaths in the US. This extreme approach would invite frivolous litigation, undermine decades of case law in the state courts, and put in jeopardy many moderate commonsense gun laws. Here's what's at stake in Iowa. Iowa's current laws keep felons from having firearms, keep perpetrators of domestic violence from having firearms, keep guns out of schools, keep restrictions on machine guns, and other offensive weapons. These are the types of laws if challenged under this extreme version of the Second Amendment, might be declared unconstitutional. This proposed amendment would also restrict future legislatures from passing future gun safety legislation, like reinstating our permitting laws. The bottom line is this proposed amendment won't make Iowa safer. I encourage voters to text the word Iowa to 64433 to learn more, then turn the ballot over, and vote no." Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Gentry: My name is Donna Gentry, and I'm a volunteer at the Iowa City Animal Center. And I thought youi were going to talk about getting a volunteer coordinator, but I - I'm probably not right. So I'm asking if the City does pay for a volunteer coordinator, um, I would like that to happen. With COVID, and with people moving, there aren't enough volunteers, the staff are tired, the animals are suffering, because there's not enough people to get out there cause no one even knows they needed it because the staff are too busy taking care of the animals. So basically, I can't believe I can't talk for three minutes, but that's really all I have, to get a volunteer coordinator for the Iowa City Animal Center. Thank you. Alter: Thank you. Uh, is there anyone else who wishes to make a comment that is not on the agenda? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 5 Larson: My name is Destiny Larson and, um, I moved here in 2014, and, um, I wanna address the affordable housing. Um, I've been displaced. Um, these people would probably would never know, be shocked to know. Um, since then eight -and -a -half years, and I went through the Shelter House, and they, um, housed me some places, but some- the places was either drug infested or, um, it was just unlivable for me. Um, I just feel that your environment is going to make you healthy or make you sick. And a lot of places they placed me made me sick. So I left for many years here. I lived in and out of my car. I worked, went to, um, Kirkwood College, and- and um, and I still I work now, and I'm still displaced. Staying with a person living in a room, um, bartending for a caretaker. I'm a CNA, I've been a CNA for 32 years. I'm 60 years old, but I'm yet to fmd affordable houses. I left here three times to go back to Georgia, just chaotic crazy. I came here to find peace. When I got here, I was mentally and physically just messed up, uh, really. And I got healing, and I got peace, but I'm yet to find affordable houses where I feel that is healthy for me, and not a room. I have income, I have great credit. I went through the Housing Fellowship, the housing-, uh, Iowa housing fmance, and still not yet to be able to get a loan to buy a house, I work. You know, I mean just don't understand why a person like me with the credit I have, the ability, I volunteer at the Crowded Closet, at the Senior Center, and still cannot find affordable housing. Thank you. Alter: Thank you. Can I please- [APPLAUSE] Excuse me? Ma'am, can I get you also to sign your name and- there's one in the back as well, your name and- and your city. If there's nothing further, we can move on. Or did you - Purdy: Hi. My name is Joseph Purdy, I'm a carpenter, and I just wanted to make a living at the Farmers' Market. I got all kinds of sawdust here. This is box of sawdust. There's maple, there's mahogany, there's pine. It's all beautiful, and ain't going to hurt you. That's all I am, I'm a carpenter, I want to have my spot back. I did nothing wrong. Don't send the sheriff to my mother's house, Geoffrey. Let's all take the time to stand up, put our hands over the hearts, and Pledge Allegiance to the United States of America. Who's with me? Anyone? Come on. Stand up, cross your heart. I pledge allegiance to the United— Anybody? Unknown: To the flag. Purdy: To the flag of United States of America, to the republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible. Unknown: With liberty, and justice for all Purdy: Thank you. Thanks for standing up, City Council, standing up for America, and saying the- saying the oath. Anything else you want me to comment on? Disruption of people trying to take First Amendment right. Why did we take First Amendment rights? It's because we know we're being wronged, and we're not This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 6 gonna si- sit down for it. That's what Americans do. When Americans are wronged, they stand up for themselves, when they stand up for themselves, they stand up for everybody else. Thank you new Mayor, wherever the Mayor's at. Thank you so much for showing up today. UNESCO is on United States soil. UNESCO seems to think that it's on its own soil, but it's still US soil. There are certain liberties, and rights that we as Americans want to protect for the rest of the people that are here. When I stand up, and I say I'm being wronged, I'm being wronged, and if they can do that to me, they can do that to anybody. Any of the vendors at the Farmers' Market can be shot down with no due process, and having a sheriff sent to his mother's house. That's not cool. I've been arrested. I have two citations, that's 900 bucks. I got child support payments, bro. Drop the charges, come on. You never did any due process, you never talked to me, you never asked me why I was threatened with violence, why I- I decided not to move. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 7 9. ARPA Nonprofit Operating Assistance Allocation Alter: We'll be moving on to Item 9, ARPA Nonprofit Operating Assistance Allocation. It's resolution allocating the American Rescue Plan Act Nonprofit Operating Assistance and Workforce Development funds. Can I get a motion to approve? Bergus: So moved, Bergus? Weiner: Second Weiner. Alter: And we have Cassandra Gripp, uh, from staff who will be talking us through this. Thank you. Welcome. Gripp: Good evening. I'm Cassandra Gripp. I'm a specialist with Neighborhood Services. Um, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act as directed by council at the June 21st work session, staff accepted applications from organizations, from July 28th to August 16th to address the needs of non -profits who experienced a negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Council allocated $400,000 in ARPA funding to this non-profit operating assistance funding round, to be used for items such as advocacy, case management, service coordination, counseling, and funding staff to implement those activities. Council had identified four priority categories, including homelessness assistance or housing stabilization, childcare needs services, healthcare, including mental health services, and food assistance. Staff reviewed the 18 applications that were received based on those identified priority categories, and the applications demonstration of the impact of COVID- 19 as required by ARPA. Staff also based their recommendations on whether the funds requested were to be used for operations, whether the project was already funded by other City efforts, and if so, whether a one-time increase in those funds would be proportional to the effects of COVID-19, as well as other Council identified priorities for ARPA funding, such as the applicant's ability to leverage other funding, the demonstration of the sustainability of the project or the demonstration of a one-time need, and then agency capacity, and past performance. One applicant, uh, 4C's Community Coordinated Childcare, submitted a proposal that better suits councils ARPA priority of workforce development, by proposing, recruiting, supporting, and training childcare providers. Thus posit- positively impacting not only the childcare industry, but also Iowa City's workforce as a whole, by increasing the number of providers in the area. As such, staff recommends the funding breakdown provided in Exhibit A, which includes 400,000, and awards in the non-profit operating assistance category, and then an additional 1,000- uh, $100,000 in ARPA funding categorized under the Workforce Development ARPA priority that was previously indicated by council. Thank you. Alter: Thank you. Does council have any questions or comments? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 8 Taylor: I'm very happy to see the funding for the 4Cs cause we've been hearing all along with not only the effects of COVID, but just getting the workforce, getting people to work. Childcare is a big issue, it's an obstacle, and not only because there aren't enough out there, but, uh, the cost and- and getting people trained to be able to do it. So thank you for that. Harmsen: I also think it's nice that, uh, uh, that we are, uh, helping our partners. Uh, the City doesn't do any of these things a- alone, we're very fortunate to have a lot of community partners, and agencies, and concerned citizens that staff them, um, and to be able to- to help them, and use some of these- these funds in those ways is something that I'm definitely feeling good about. Alter: I was going to say that I know that this is only a portion of the non -profits that, um, are in this area, but it is just wonderful to see, there's a robust- a number of, um, agencies that can take part in these, uh, ARPA funds, and hopefully it will help stabilize, um, the impact of what COVID was doing to them. So thank you very much for staffs efforts as well. This was a lot to go through in a short amount of time. So thank you for th- that kind of sense of urgency and making your decisions so quickly. Gripp: Certainly, thank you. Alter: Is there public discussion on this? And council discussion. We kind of got our comments on the way but - Harmsen: Sorry about that. Alter: Okay. Roll call. [Roll Call] Alter: Motion passes 6-0. Gripp: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 9 10. Rescind Affordable Housing Location Model Alter: Moving on to Item 10, Rescind the Affordable Housing Location Model, which is a resolution rescinding resolution number 11-51 that adopted an affordable housing location model and resolution numbers 12-438, and 17-111, that amended the model. Can I get a motion to approve? Thomas: So move Thomas. Taylor: Second Taylor. Alter: And to give us a walkthrough on this is Tracy Hightshoe with Neighborhood Development Service- Neighborhood and Development Services. Thank you. Welcome. Hightshoe: Hello. As many of you are aware, back in the spring we submitted the Affordable Housing Action Plan for you to review. This plan, identified about 30 action steps to address affordable housing in our community. The recommendations are based on existing policies and programs, land use regulations, and then recommendations on additional programs or policies based on household income. One of the recommendations regarding the existing policies and programs was that the discontinuance of affordable housing location model. Now the current model has been in existence since 2011, and it was based on three principles. One was to not put additional families with children that are low- income in areas that had high concentrations of poverty to begin with, to have diverse incomes in neighborhoods, and to get the- the feedback from the Iowa City Community District on affordable housing. Um, like I said, one of the- one of those recommendations from the thing was to discontinue. And under the model, the city financial assistance for housing, uh, was prohibited in areas that met these three conditions. So locations that feed into elementary schools with free and reduced lunch rates over 50 percent, locations that were close to other multiple units of affordable housing, and areas with high crime densities. Um, there were exceptions to the policy, and those are for owner -occupied housing, rental rehab, and for housing designated for elderly or those with disabilities. Due to the overwhelming need for affordable housing and with the recent updates to the model, so much of the land, as you can see in green, weren't- were taken away from, you couldn't locate affordable housing location model. The policy applied both to City assistance like Community Development Block Grant Home Funds, but also the funds you allocated to the Housing Trust Tund of Johnson County. We allocate to them 500,000 plus another 200,000 for, uh, low-income housing tax credit projects. So due to that reason, once again, for the need and how much of the land has been taken out of the- the eligibility that you could- you could place affordable housing, the- the steering committee recommended that we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 10 discontinue the model. So staff will continue to look for ways to encourage and consider incentives to- to scatter affordable housing and make sure that all neighborhoods have affordable housing. But this will be a way that we can encourage affordable housing and in, in the short term as we try to work on ways to encourage housing all throughout the community. Does anybody have any questions about the- the policy or where we go from here? Weiner: So is the, so the affordable housing community as a whole, all the different elements of it, are in support of rescinding this, correct? Hightshoe: Yeah.That was the one recommendation that I think the Affordable Housing Steering Committee also supported. It was their first recommendation if you see in the plan. And we've been working on different steps in those existing policy and programs. And I think in a later council memo I'll update you on where we are with those 30 steps,knowing that we can't implement all 30 immediately. But this is one that we could- we could address right away. Alter: There any discussion or- or comments from the public? Can you please step up to the mic? Larson: Because, um, go back on this one lady about early childhood, I have a early childhood education. Um, along with economics, um, accounting and a lot of experience. And so when she talk about the affordable housing, I'm trying to understand why is it this money goes to the shelter house. And the shelter house put people in places where, uh, people have history with drugs, hominins, and they expect for a person who's working and contribute to the community, I still can't understand where this money is going and why I can't be housed. [OVERLAPPING] Alter: Mum with all due respect, um, and I wanted to make sure that you get your name down so that we can follow up with you. But, um, this particular item is about the rescinding of a policy. So I'm going to ask you to sit. Larson: Um, I'm sorry [OVERLAPPING] I was like, Thank you. Alter: Thank you. Larson: Sony. [BACKGROUND] Alter: Is there council discussion. I would just like to make note, and I believe that most of us, uh, received this email, but there is support for resending this from the Affordable Housing Coalition of Johnson County, um, that basically reiterates what Tracy Hightshoe had said that, you know, very well-intentioned and looking at the best ways to distribute affordable housing throughout the community. However, it didn't really pan out the way that it was intended. So I just wanted to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 11 make sure that the public was aware of this support as well as what we already knew from the email. Weiner: Times change and we need to roll with the times with our policies. Alter: Absolutely. Roll -call. Motion passes 6-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 12 11. Annual TIF Certification Filing Alter: Our next item is Item 11, the Annual TIF certification filing and is a resolution directing the filing of Tax Increment Financing certification under Iowa Code Section 403.19 for the 2022 end -of -year certification of urban renewal projects. And, uh, to give us some insights about this, is Wendy Ford. Fruehling: Mayor Pro Tem, can we get a motion? Alter: I'm so sorry. I skipped right ahead. Motion to approve. Harmsen: So move Harmsen. Weiner: Second Weiner. Ford: Good evening, Council. I'm Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator. And, um, these are documents that we send annually to the County Auditor's Office, and we have to do that by December 1st each year. And they certify the amount of TIF Tax Increment Financing funding to be collected in the coming fiscal year for your previous- previously approved TIF projects. In this item, there are three different forms in the certification. Form 1, in- initiates the collection of tax increment for projects that have not yet been certified with the County Auditor. Form 2, requests a specific dollar amount less than the full amount of available increment. And Form 3 ends the collection of tax increment. Uh, in City University or the downtown urban renewal area we have an example of an urban renewal area that uses all three of these forms this year. Form 1, uh, will initiate the collection of tax increment for one of the energy efficiency grants that you approved earlier, the Lasansky Cooperation, and also some administrative costs that go with that. Form two that is, um, requiring or asking for less than the full amount of the increment available. So in the downtown area, there's a huge amount of increments available. We don't need to collect all that. We just need the very specific amounts that would help pay our GO bond payments, revenue notes, admin expenses, and the ene- energy efficiency grant. And then there's also an example of Form 3 in the downtown uh, urban renewal area. And this reduces the amount of TIF by the amount of hotel tax that was used to be a part of the incentive to the Hilton Garden Inn project that was approved several years ago. Um, and that's basically what this is. Just a report to the county auditors for these expenses. Alter: Questions from council. Are there any questions from the public? Council discussion? No. Roll -call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 6-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 13 12. Annual Urbal Renewal Report to the State Alter: Our next item is Number 12, Annual Urban Renewal Report to the State. That's a resolution approving the Fiscal Year Ending 2022 Annual Urban Renewal Report. Can I get a motion to approve? Bergus: So move to Bergus. Weiner: Second Weiner. Alter: Thank you. And again, Wendy Ford will be walking us through this. Ford: This is a report to the State as opposed to the last one which is a report to the County Auditors. Um, we have to also present this by December 1st with your approval. And it shows the details, the very minute details, of each of our urban renewal projects, uh, that are- that are active. It gives all the details, including fund balances of the urban renewal areas, the projects, the expenses for every re- re- urban renewal project, and the sources for paying for those projects, and the uses of those funds. So, um, that's a 67 or 64, I think, this year, page report. Um, but perhaps more salient than that, um, and certainly easier to digest is the report that I included, um, as a table in your packet that, um, shows the new taxable value that Iowa City has gained by participating in the Tax Increment Financing projects. And the way we show that is, uh, by taking a base value of the projects, uh, at their inception, um, and in this case the base value of all of the pro- the 111- projects 'IFprojects that Iowa City has, um, participated in are $30.3 million. Well, now, those properties are valued at over $222 million. Raising that tax base, raising the amount of property tax dollars that come in, and helping us pay for, uh, the services that go out to our community. Ford: Questions? Alter: Did you say that the value went from 30 million to 222. Ford: 222 million. Alter: Thank you. Ford: Yeah. Those are very round numbers. Alter: Council discussion? Roll -call, please. [Roll Call] Goers: I'm sorry. Do you want to open it up to [OVERLAPPING] public questions. Yeah. Alter: Oh, I apologize. Beginners luck here. Public discussion on this point? No. Motion passes 6-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 14 13. Purchase of 800 S. Van Buren, 804 S. Van Buren & 817 Webster Alter: Our next agend- agenda item is Number 13, purchase of 800 South Van Buren, 804 South Buren, and 817 Webster. This is a resolution approving a purchase agreement for acquisition of properties located at 800 South Van Buren Street, 800- 804 South Van- Van Buren Street, and 817 Webster Street. Can I get a motion to approve? Thomas: So move Thomas. Taylor: Second Taylor. Alter: And Geoff you are going to walk us through this? Fruin: Yes, I will, uh, walk you through this item tonight. Uh, so as, uh, Mayor Pro Tem mentioned, we have 800 South Van Buren, 804 South Van Buren, and 817 Webster. These are two duplex properties, and one single-family property. There's a location map on Page 252 of your packet. Um, generally sits, uh, immediately adjacent to the Iowa Interstate Railroad, uh, yard um, just, uh, uh, west of Oak Grove Park. Um, and so this is, uh, uh, slightly east of, uh, Gilbert Court as well. These three properties are all adjacent to each other, and, uh, the purchase agreement is for 475,000. Uh, the City recently had these appraised as part of this, uh, purchase, uh, process. They appraised at $507,000. So the, uh, purchase price is slightly below the appraised value of these three properties. The City's interests uh, in these properties, uh, is- is very much long term. Um, a- a- as you are aware, um, Iowa City continues to be in Amtrak's plans for future passenger rail. Uh, Amtrak is currently, uh, working with the state of Illinois to build out the Chicago to Quad Cities, uh, leg of that route. And in their recently announced 2021, uh, 15 year vision. Amtrak, uh, again continued to identify this routes extension to Iowa City as a priority. Um, that is, uh, certainly a long ways to go, uh, but we want to, uh, try to be planful, um, as we think about, um, this service arriving, uh, many years into the future potentially. Um, the State, uh, of Iowa has largely done the engineering work on the, um, Quad Cities to I- I- Iowa City extension. And as part of that engineering work, they look at potential, uh, station locations. Um, Originally when this, uh, discussion first started a decade or more ago, uh, it was, uh, thought that the station- the- the old depot station in Riverfront Crossings could potentially be re -used. Uh, after, uh, quite a bit of analysis by the state, uh, noted some- some challenges with that current site, uh, uh, including the- the- the close proximity of the- of the two north -south streets and- and the length of trains and the amount of closures that that, uh, that- that those trains would bring that district, which of course now, uh, has the Johnson County Ambulance Service, uh, just down the street. So a lot of, uh, complications there. As they looked at other, uh, potential locations, uh, this site was identified as a preferred location. It's not decided in stone that this is where it would be, but this is, uh, certainly a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 15 target location. So staff began to, uh, just look at the area, and- and try to anticipate what might be needed- needed should a station, uh, need to be placed there? Again, these three properties sit directly adjacent to that rail yard, and would provide some additional flexibility in locating the station should that day come in the future. Uh, if it does not come in the future, the- the city, uh, can maintain, uh, these housing units in our public housing portfolio, and that's our intention. Uh, in the years, uh, ahead, we will continue to, um, uh, operate these, uh, or manage these, uh, properties as rentals as they are now, and, uh, do so as part of, again, our public, uh, housing portfolio. Um, it also provides, uh, uh, the city in the future, regardless of- of the Amtrak route, the ability to extend Oak Grove Park kind of in a linear fashion along the rail lines, should that be a priority in the future? Um, if you'd look at that area right now, it's a pretty harsh transition between the rail line and the neighborhood. And while we have no intention to extend Oak Grove Park at this time, that would be an option for the council. So, uh, you do have the purchase agreement, so that's what your resolution would approve, would be the purchase of these three, uh, properties. And I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. Weiner: So the- the- any- any current tenants would be able to stay there at this point. Is that correct? Fruin: hat's correct. Yes. Alter: Any questions or comments from the public? Alter: I'll just say actually one question that I had, you anticipated it and answered it. So thank you for, you know, the- this will stay, um, you know, as part of the public housing portfolio. And then if it doesn't come to fruition, it's just- so thank you. Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 6-0 . This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 16 14. Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan Alter: Okay, we have, uh, Item 14, Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan. This is a resolution approving the 2022 Iowa City Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan. Can I get a motion to approve? Weiner: So moved Weiner? Bergus: Second Bergus. Alter: And we have staff comments by Juli Seydell Johnson. Seydell Johnson: Good evening. Juli Seydell Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation. For the public, as you- as the council knows, we had about an hour -and -a -half long presentation during the work session. I don't plan on going into that level of detail, but I can bring up any of the slides that you would like me to review. But what I thought I would do is review the- the parts of the plan that you are specifically looking at tonight as if you accept the plan, this is what it means. Um, and then I have Missie Forbes here who is a member of the steering committee and the Parks Commission to answer any of your questions and- about the Parks Commission actions about this. So accepting the plan means something that may not be clear to everyone in the audience. So I want to make sure we go over this. It's the different areas- [BACKGROUND] the different areas of the plan. First of all, looking at our athletic facilities- our outdoor athletic facilities, it prioritizes the improvements to Mercer ball fields and pickleball courts first. This one you have designed contract in place. We start the kickoff meetings later this week. Future renovations would be of the other athletic complexes in Napoleon, Kickers, City Park. and then continued consideration of Eastside Sports as needs warrant for that. Second part is there was a large part of the plan that addresses our recreation programs and adjustments to that that lead to better equity, that lead to better diversity in our programs. Some of those things have already been implemented as we've received feedback throughout the past year, the plan has a whole lot of other recommendations that recreation staff will be prioritizing and implementing as we go through the plan. It has the concept of decentralizing some of the recreation programs spaces. Um, think of this as building some new indoor park shelters, maybe just a little better than indoor park shelters in locations so that additional recreation programming or community meetings can happen in the outlying neighborhoods, uh, most likely to be first somewhere near the Wetherby Park area, possibly in partnership with a community organization or in City Park as part of the renovations of City Park Pool. City Park Pool. So first of all, we are in- you are not looking at a final concept or a final design at this point at all. Tonight's recommendation would be to fully renovate the pool with the design to be determined in a full design process beginning late '23 into '24 with construction in '25. The plan does recommend that the condition of the pool is such that it should be a full renovation or at least a full investigation leading into a full This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 17 renovation. Whether that design ends up being similar pool that you see there now or something updated from that. That's a future decision. Tonight is the vision and master plan moving us into that design process in the coming years. Mercer Scanlon, and I'm going to put Robert A. Lee up at the same time. Mercer Scanlon looks at the plan which recommended additional adult wellness and activity areas. So it looks at a third gym, a walking track, eventually, a warm water therapy pool, and walk-in hot tub area. The Parks Commission recommends that you think about the aquatics areas of the Mercer Scanlon project at the same time, you consider the future of Robert A. Lee. A future Robert A. Lee hinges on the development of other aquatic opportunities. [BACKGROUND] But then the current um, continuing to count the number of swimmers and report that each month. We've been working with a small group of residents to determine exactly how those will be reported. And you'll see that every month from now on in the Parks Commission packets, so that when you return to this in 2026 or after, you'll have more data in looking at the future of those indoor aquatic centers at that time. The question of why recommend de -centralized recreation facilities, but potentially centralizing aquatic facilities has a lot to do with the resources it takes to operate indoor aquatic facilities, the maintenance, the equipment, the cost of that, and of course, the lifeguarding staff, which we discussed a lot more in-depth in the earlier meetings. And then finally, it has a- a point to monitor the developments on the far west side of the- the community, west of 218, Carson Lake or some other developments out there and look for future recreation needs and opportunities out there. So um, I can turn it over to Missie now or I can answer any other questions you want me to. Weiner: I would appreciate it if you could lay out just a little bit of what you laid out for us in the- in the work session on specifically the equity and accessibility issues. Seydell Johnson: Okay. I will do it quickly . Alright, so this plan is a little bit different than any other recreation plan and it's a new- and we move into a new area of work. Our Top 3 things that we looked at, and we emphasized from the start, was equity, access, and climate change. And I'll go over those in the next slide to talk about what we meant by each of those three things. But we also acknowledged that there has been a worker shortage since the pandemic and a nationwide lifeguard shortage. We really believe the lifeguard shortage is more than a short- term, just trying to entice people to take the jobs now. It relates to our goals at every kid needs to learn how to swim, so we continue to have a base of swimmers who can be lifeguards in the future. But it also a- addresses how we need to think about aquatic facilities in the future. We may not have an endless supply of lifeguards. This acknowledges that fact and says, is there other ways we can assign or organize our programs so we can still have service to the public, but with fewer staff resources in the future? So the items that were some of the difficult or new questions is what does equity mean? And for this particular plan you've heard a lot of things pitch back to you as far as what- what's equity and what's not. We particularly were looking in Phase One at getting information from This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 18 historically underserved populations, from new immigrant families, from lower- income families. And in general, people who haven't felt welcome using our facilities. And that's blended families, people- the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, uh people with caregivers that have the- with them for their activities, and people with maybe specific religious dtress. All of those things feed into what equity means. What does access mean? This plan really looked at access in three different ways. And once again, you've had comments on all three of these, but it looked at, first of all, can the ADA aspects. How do we get bodies into the water and out of the water in the pool or in and out of our facilities? How do we allow that in multiple ways that is independent for the people using either wheel mobility devices are needing ramps? How do we do it without a pool of chair that has to have a staff member help them in? How do we have fully compliant locker rooms and pool decks and have comfort in navigating the various areas and access to the various areas of the facilities and pools? So that's part one of access. Part 2, access to location. This is where we talk about parking, where we talk about traffic, public transit, bicycles, pedestrian access, all of those external access areas for getting to the facilities. And fmally, access through payment and entry fees or program fees. How do we lower barriers so more people to can participate? Then we also talked about the climate action things. And specifically, the things that we looked at are how can we design facilities or activate facilities in the future that require less water use, that require less chemical use and require or allow for other types of, um, alternative energy sources to be used. And I think- did you want me to go through the equity side too? Weiner: I personally found it very helpful. Seydell Johnson: Okay. So the other thing that was different, and probably the different from this plan than any other plan that has been done in the Midwest or maybe even the nation, is we really asked our- our, um, consultants and staff to look at this with an equity lens in Phase 1. So our outreach efforts were targeted specifically with additional outreach to residents who haven't historically used our city rec facilities. So we looked at, once again, disadvantaged, people of color, recent immigrants, people whose language is not English. When we started the process, 14 months ago, our initial press releases went out in five different languages. Uh, we sent emails to all of our current aquatic pass holders and people that were taking programs who are ActiveNet, or registered that way. But we also did a targeted outreach to underserved areas. People in lower-income neighbors, and trying to reach residents who have felt- haven't felt welcome in the past due to a number of reasons. We also looked at collaborating with community groups who successfully serve residents, who identify with these groups. So some of our focus groups were specifically with community groups. Asking what else can we do or do we need to do in our facilities to help make this more welcoming and open to our entire community. Finally, waiting the responses so to- to acknowledge barriers that have quieted some voices in the past. We wanted to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 19 make sure that we asked and we listened during the first phase. Now we'll talk about Phase 2 comments. I'm not saying those weren't important. But in Phase 1, it was specifically targeted knowing that these are groups that maybe haven't had access to the public process or haven't been, don't know how to do that, haven't done it for whatever reason. We tried to lower the barriers so we could get as much feedback in those areas as possible. And then we- taking some action and recommending actions that bring more equity to our services. Things like our Halloween event that's corning up has a special hour hour -and -a -half ahead of time that is just for people that have sensory concerns and want to have a quieter space to bring their families to still experience the event, but experience it in a different way. So some programming things like that. The thing you're seeing in our facilities is we're looking at single -user restrooms and shower facilities so that you would no longer have to necessarily come in a facility and turn to be a male or female area. You have an option that is open to everyone, provides privacy and access to the pool, but without having to jump over that in my male, female or do I identify as something else and everyone is welcome. Weiner: Thank you very much Juli. Seydell Johnson: Okay. I'd like to let Missie um, give us a few... Missie Forbes is, like I said, a member of our Parks Commission and was on the strategic Commission - or the, um, sorry, I'm tired- on the steering committee for this plan. So, I will let you. Forbes: Thank you, Juli. And thank you, Council, for having me. Um, as Juli mentioned, I, um, I'm a member of the Parks and Rec Commission and I also was a part of the steering committee looking at the master plan future steps, and I was able to participate in one of the focus groups. And it was held during the, um, Phase 1 of the Community Engagement. And the focus group that I was a part of was representing non -profits who worked with, um, uh, underrepresented populations in our community. And I think I just want to reiterate, um, what Juli had mentioned that, um, or to put forth, um, in front of everyone that the amount of time and, um, the amount of time taken and the amount of respect that was given to, um, populations that we don't normally hear from. We talk about equity. Um, we want all voices to be heard and why aren't they and things like that. And I was- I- from the very beginning very impressed with the amount of work that Parks and Rec staff as well as City staff did. And even, um, the- the consulting firm, the way that they so thoughtfully went through that process in Phase 1, when you really do hear from those groups, um, that haven't been, um, using- using our facilities or- or our parks and rec, taking those opportunities. And then, um, also in Phase 3, the statistically valid survey. It is a, um, survey that is statistically valid as it states. And I think, um, we need to look at all three of those phases when we collect- when we collected that data and that input. And then also just to point out that what you guys are looking at, as Juli said, their concepts based on the three phases of opinion or- or thought or- the- so when you- when you look at This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 20 the- the concept of the City Park Pool, the consulting firm put Phase 1 comments, Phase 3 comments and Phase 2 comments into those concepts. And so when you're looking at the plan as a whole, you need to look at- they're concept and really the- the only thing that we're even talking about in the near future is the City Park Pool as- and that concept will go in front of the public so that they can help design that. So, um, I just wanted to, um, as a commission member, just to reiterate that that this has been an interesting process to see and a very thoughtful process so that all community voices are heard and not just some. So thank you. [APPLAUSE] Harmsen: Thank you for that and thank you for explaining that. I just think because of uh, by the way. Alter: Can I, wait for just for a second, can I get a motion? Harmsen: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we already had made a motion. Alter: Did I? Goers: Yes. Alter: Oh my gosh.. Goers: Yeah, we have a motion. Thank you. Alter: Sorry, guys. Harmsen: That's okay. It's all right. Um, but anyway, uh, for those who- so I recognize some faces, but if you weren't here for the work session, that should be online sometime in the near future, if it's not already. There was an hour -and -a -half presentation which may answer some questions that people have. I would absolutely recommend, uh, catching that when it's up on the City website, uh, you know, for- for some more detailed information. Uh, question, I had too that I thought would be really helpful is that one of the things we had during that work session was really some more information in a video that showed some of the concrete degradation and things like that in the City Park Pool that are visible now that it's been drained for the season, I was wondering if we could maybe revisit that briefly. And a little bit more details about the water loss situation as it currently stands. Well, not currently because it's empty, but before it was empty. Seydell Johnson: Give me just a minute here. Pull this up. Okay. So if we dim lights. This is about a two -minute video that was taken yesterday at City Park Pool, um, showing the condition after the swim season. Um, there are a number of cracks and different things. You'll see a live video followed by some still photographs. This is probably the best it looks without water because it's the freeze -thaw This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 21 happens through the winter, it'll have more next spring. One of the things we've talked about in the earlier presentation was that we do have an engineering report that was done that talked about reasons for the leak and a large parts of it being the cracks and the caulk joints. Every spring we spend about 2-3 weeks, excuse me, analyzing those, having staff fix those, bringing in a specialized contractor, and repainting every single spring. So we do our best every spring to make this pool watertight, um, and yet at the end of every season, we have conditions that start to look like this. This is where you start to see some of the concrete's spalling under the- that's breaking through the paint, the main drain and the caulk line, especially down to that main drain have moved. So the caulk comes out and we believe there's water leakage through there. You can see the many layers of paint that have been on here. We do chip off the loose parts every single spring, resurface and repaint but it- it comes right back just like this. The recommendation of the report is that no matter what the future design looks like for City Park Pool, that the concrete is reached its lifespan and it's probably time to remove it and start over. Design can be a lot of different things, but if you want it to hold water, uh, we need to address this and we can do shorter things to last another 3-5 years. But if you want, uh, a pool shell that's going to last for the next 30, 40, 50 years, it's probably time to invest in an- in a new- a new concrete pool shell with new subsurface, new piping, everything.The pool this season still lost between 30 and 35,000 gallons per day, more so towards the end of the season. At 35,000, it has a fill- an automatic fill line that is essentially a faucet that fills the pool. It ran nonstop pretty much the entire last month that the pool is open in order to keep the water above the gutters. The question was asked earlier in, uh, tonight about, well, how much would you typically lose in a typical day? About an inch of water through either splash out or- or evaporation. And ours, the loss has been more like 3-3.5 inches on most days. So that's it. Alter: Um, someone might need to help me here. Um, is- public discussion is when there's public comment for this? Yes. Okay. Are there other questions before we open it up for public comment? I actually have one very just sort of oh goodness. Sorry. Um, I have one question about- it was under the- the, um, the scope, accepting the plan like this is what we would be accepting. Um, it's actually that first bullet that you have, the athletic facilities and the ballparks, and that you're already, you know, in process with this. If this plan were not to be approved, what would happen to that portion? Seydell Johnson: Well, that's a good question. We- basically with the plan we looked at, um, approving what- what had been in the capital plan for a couple of years. So it was most- it was.. so far the public input had, um.. I'm lost for the term, but had said the same thing as you had been planning in your capital plans. So because the money is in that capital plan for next year. That's why we had to go ahead with the design. If- if not, we would look at scaling it differently. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 22 Fruin: Yeah, I can- I can comment on that as well. Um, Juli's correct. The Mercer Park ball field, you- you approved that design a- a meeting or two ago. So that- that's well underway and that was largely an uncontroversial widely supported, uh, component to this plan. So we felt comfortable coming forward- forward to, uh, you with that. Um, there is no requirement for a master plan, right? This community's operated without a parks facilities master plan for as long as I've been here, and probably maybe forever, uh, maybe a- at least a couple of decades. Um, uh, the master plan process is intended for us to take a very planful approach to- to our facilities. Um, if- if you don't approve the plan, um, staff is gonna need some direction on how to approach, um, our- our recreation facility. So that question comes back to you and- and we'll- we'll have to sit down and talk with you to see what- what options, uh, you have. Um, the master plan is not binding decisions. And- and Juli gave some examples of this. You see this routinely on your agenda where we have approval of designs for public improvements come before you, uh, and you approve those plans, you approve the bids that come along. It's the same with this process. So you're not approving it, you're not making any binding decisions tonight, but you are setting in motion, uh, some - some, uh, guidance for staff. Uh, we know with the acceptance of this plan that we've got to work towards, uh, for example like consultant selection with City Park Pool. Um, we feel really good that we're in a great spot because we've had excellent public feedback through this process. So we're gonna start that design process in a much stronger spot than we would have had we not done this master plan process. Um, so the- the decision to accept the plan or not is largely giving guidance to staff. And if for some reason you don't find the plan acceptable, we'll have to return to you and figure out what components are not acceptable and how to adjust accordingly so that we can budget and- and plan. Alter: Thank you. Bergus: That does bring up a specific question that I had that, uh, we- just a little bit in the work session, but just as to what the Parks and Rec Commission recommendation is and whether that would change the substance of what's in front of us tonight or not. Seydell Johnson: Sure. And I had that. I read it during the work session, I don't have it with me now. Their recommendation was to move forward with City Park Pool. That's- that's been the recommendation for some time. In the most recent minutes, there were some confusion or questions about what it meant with removing aquatics from, um, the vision for Mercer Scanlon and that's what it was, was saying the agreed with going forward first with the Mercer Scanlon wellness areas, the gym, the walking track, um, fitness areas, those kind of things. But then considering the aquatics portion of it at the same time as Robert A. Lee, where the plan pointed those out more as distinct steps. So when we had the bullet points up here, it said both of them would come after 2026. So essentially at the same time rather than one before the other. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 23 Bergus: Maybe just to ask it a little different way, would we need to amend anything that's m front of us tonight if we wanted to follow that recommendation? Seydell Johnson: No. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Weiner: So if- if- if I understand it correctly, what- what we would be doing with this plan is, um, basically agreeing that- that we would start kick-off a process for City Park Pool that would start at the end of 2023, um, and that they would then have a whole new, um, wave of public input to- to start the actual design. Because what we've been looking at is just a concept, not- not an actual design. So the people would have a ton of input and then council would then have to approve that. And then it would only be after the City Park Pool project were complete that council would then look at both or the rest of the aquatic facilities that are- are Robert A. Lee and Mercer, is that correct? Seydell Johnson: Correct. So the plan actually states to continue with the ongoing maintenance and- and scheduled things like the roof at Mercer and- and some of the smaller repairs at Robert A. Lee. If a tornado or some other catastrophe leveled one of those buildings or made them inoperable I would think that if there was something of that level, you would readdress it in terms of the rest of this plan at that time. But right now it's saying the time frame for that would not be until after City Park Pool is constructed. Weiner: Thanks. Fruin: It may be helpful if we- if we provide an example of master plan to implementation. Um, and I'm gonna move away from parks, uh, for- for a minute. So- so bear with me back in 20- 2012, 2013, uh, the city council adopted a downtown streetscape master plan, recognizing that a lot of our infrastructure downtown was- was old. We have utility lines that are over 100 years old downtown. We had sidewalks that are cracked and heaving and bricks coming up in the Ped Mall. The master plan laid out the vision. It- it helped us identify the priorities on which streets and segments of downtown to address first. And the council accepted that, um, it was a controversial, uh, plan as well, because as you imagine. A lot of people have different thoughts on- on the Pedestrian Mall and - and the other beloved parts of- of downtown. But we were able to set priorities in that plan. And then we turned a couple of years later to Washington Street, and we went through an extensive design process for Washington Street, council was asked to approve those designs and then construction. The next priority was the Pedestrian Mall. We went through another year or two of extensive Ped Mall, um, public input processes. We floated out, uh, a lot of different concepts from the stage that you see there now to a massive public art, uh, piece that was, uh, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 24 planned for Blackhawk Mini Park. If you remember that. Obviously, that didn't come to fruition because of a lot of the public input that was received. Ultimately, we got to a- a design that council felt comfortable accepting. We bid the project, it was completed. Uh, and now we're turning our attention to Dubuque Street with - with the next year or two. So that's an example of a plan that was adopted roughly 10 years ago. And then systematically, we take those priorities and we do our best to adjust the community feedback at the time. And present designs that both the community and the council can find acceptable within whatever budget parameters that we have. This is gonna be the exact same process that we follow with this plan. And so again, starting with City Park Pool, we would select a consultant in late '23. Do robust design, um, public input processes in '24. That could include producing a couple of different, uh, additional designs for- for folks to react to. Uh, it could include a- a design alternative that looks exactly the same as the pool that we have now with some accessibility modifications. We get through that. Ultimately y'all or those that are sitting in the chair- in those chairs at that time have to accept that design, accept that budget and- and- and move us forward. So there's a long ways to go. But this does set that direction. So hopefully that example, it's somewhat helpful. Alter: So, actually, a question that I have, although I think that Geoff, you- he may have helped me through that illustration is, that there is a concern that because RAL isn't named outright as like, here's what the long-term plan for it is, right? It is mentioned that like it'll be a return to in 2026, but it's not outright like here's what the long-term vision is for it. That I've heard from some folks that there's concern that that sort of by default allows that it could just be eliminated. Right. So can you clarify that one. Seydell Johnson: So is in the bullet plates, we commit to, um, attendance counts and reports on those commit to the ongoing maintenance needs of it. But I think that is something you want to consider at that point is -is do you still want two indoor aquatic centers or is it time to transition to one in some way? This report doesn't answer that, but it poses some reasons why you should question needs to be considered in the future. Also, the -the age and condition, we're talking about city park pool being old at 72 years old, Robert E. Lee is 58 now, so in 10 years he's going to be at 68. So you're going to be in kind of that same motive. Is it time to renovate? Is it time to move on to a different rack use? Those are all questions the plan poses as options. And saying there's some- there's some reasons behind choosing any one of them but I think conditions once we get through the other parts of the plan and get ready to move towards that would dictate the final answers. The plan doesn't dictate a final answer. It says it's something that needs to be considered before more investments are made, the larger term investments. Alter: So between that and then what you were describing, what actually happened with the downtown streets, is that there can be things that are either put in there initially that don't come to fruition, and then there can be entire other things that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 25 happen that were not accounted for necessarily and called out as like, here's the plan for it. And actually it's- it's moving through the appropriate processes as they come up for- for more detailed design and- and discussion and input, correct? Fruin: Yeah, that's- that's correct. And- and you should expect that conditions will change during a 10 -year planning period, right? Um, going back to the downtown plan initially started at the Ped Mall was the priority and then we had a massive water main break on Washington and Washington became the priority. Um, in- in the rec world to use an example that's maybe a little less- less extreme. I don't think too many people knew what pickleball was 10 years ago, 12 years ago. You certainly know what it is now because you hear loud and clear from- from the groups that are advocating for- for better pickleball facilities. There could be rec needs that emerge that were not anticipating right now, or facility needs that emerge that we thought we were going to be on, you know, in good shape with a particular facility and that changes. So a plan is just that. It's- it's this moment in time and what we think is- is the future for the next 10 years but we- we have to be able to adapt to change and, uh, that could include changes in usage. And- and hopefully we will see changes, uh, in usage going forward that- that may modify our thinking about how we approach these facility projects. Bergus: I had a- I just want to really put you on the spot, Juli, because I think having Geoff talk about the vision element of it, um, you explained really well in the work session, this very robust methodology to get to this plan. And I'm so pleased that we are, you know, prioritizing equity and access and climate action at the top of that pyramid and understand how that's different from other processes. So we as policymakers, you know, look at this plan and kind of understand those priorities as they fit within our, you know, larger strategic plan and our thinking about those things. So as the staff who's implementing, okay, I just- I want to kind of reflect on this vision piece that- that Geoff was talking about and just I want to, you know, this is what I'm seeing in this plan, which is we want more use of recreation facilities and we want more representative use of recreation facilities. Is that in line with what staff intends with this plan? Seydell Johnson: I want to answer that with yes, but I'm not sure staff intends much of anything with the plan. I think we are here to be the listening board to what the public had to say and report that back to you. But by all means, our goal is to be as inclusive and as open and as welcoming as possible so that the efforts that- that you fund and that we make go towards the entire community. I think we're at a ground level of staff where we see the changing needs of the community and we see a little bit down the road to the future and say, okay, if we can make some changes soon we will have a better idea or a better use or representation in our facilities. Some of those changes are really easy and we've been making them policy changes, things with different languages, things with more inclusive language, more inclusive restroom signage, all those kind of things. But some of these bigger things are recommended in here based on what we heard from that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 26 Phase 1, it doesn't mean we aren't hearing Phase 2 input. But when we went out and specifically asked some of these underrepresented po- populations at first, they don't want to tell us. And when we say please, we want to know, we want to act on it. We'd like a chance to be able to do that down the road too. Bergus: And you already referenced the one of the goals that I think we all share as every child in our community should learn how to swim. And so on aquatic side, we want to orient based on what we know of our community and how it's changing, we want to orient towards that goal. Is that correct? Seydell Johnson: Correct. So the example we used- I used in the work session is that indeed the current design of City Park Pool or mercer for that reason, a fairly deep water lap lanes. Are they versatile for a lot of things? Yes if and a big if you're comfortable and proficient at swimming and comfortable with your kids being out there when you're the parent who maybe can't go out in the middle of that and get them. So looking further ahead, people are worried. I've heard concerns about too much shallow water. Kids won't learn how to swim. I feel like if we don't provide options to get in the water at the more shallow and intermediate levels they're never going to get in the water in the first place and where we had the reason for City Park Pool was a kid, you know, a child drowned and that was the community outcry. I get to take kids are still drowning today, but it's more with these teenagers and that breaks my heart that they didn't learn how to swim and they weren't exposed to this. We wanna make our facilities and our programs and things as- as inviting and inclusive so we get the kids in the water and so that we get the families, even, you know, families who haven't historically been swimming families to give it a try and to feel comfortable coming to the facilities. Do I have the magic to tell you exactly what that design will be? No, and I- I don't know that there is a perfect design, but the full design process, we'll need to look at that again and say, how do we meld the historic and antalgic use for these facilities and the current use with what we're hearing from communities that want to access and don't know how- aren't confident enough to do it right now. That's it. Bergus: Thank you. Harmsen: One thing too you clarified during the, ah,- the, ah, work session was talking a little bit about some of the conceptual drawings. And so maybe you could kind of refresh our memory about where did that- I know a lot of people have a lot of the emails I've gotten and thank you to people for emailing and always- always- it's always appreciated. But been a lot of concern about that picture, that design. Maybe you can explain a bit where it came from and what its use is intended to be in the past. It may be something that you've gained from that I know you- you mentioned something during the- the work session about some things. Just feedback on that conceptual design that is already information being processed for future design steps specifically the number of lap lanes This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 27 Seydell Johnson: Can they- they can quote it for me, I think behind me . I'm sorry, then I have to go through the slides. Harmsen: That's okay. Seydell Johnson: For me to get. Pretty soon You're going to have me at the hour -and -a - half level again, you realize, okay. So City Park Pool the question of how do we come up with this concept? I've heard everything from staff just wanted a new pool to, you know, nobody listened to anything and you just came up with a design. I want to assure you that wasn't the case. So first of all, this was the one area of the Phase 1 plan that we did ask a specific question about a facility. The indoor pools, the indoor Rec Centers the indo- all the other Rec was more generalized. How can we serve you better? We- we distilled down that data to get to the changes. City Park Pool. We'd already had the assessments done by this point and it was looking that indeed we needed to fully renovate. So the question that was specifically asked in Phase 1 through the surveys, through the focus groups was if the money was the same, if the cost was the same, would you rather have us redesign the pool to the same layout, or would you like a new layout? Um, and with that, Phase 1, remember, so this is- this is targeted surveys. The statistically valid survey had as 67% of the population wanting a new design for City Park Pool, with only 17 wanting it to remain- 17% wanting it to remain the same. The events- several of the early events actually happened at City Park Pool, um, and other family events, 63 percent of those participants said they wanted a new layout, and only 32. When we got into the online which was open to everyone who wanted to participate, it changes somewhat in that for- almost 46 percent said renovate with the same layout when we had 40.5 said the new design. You can see focus groups were tilted just slightly other way. So overall of all those Phase 1 inputs, we were at 55.8 percent people saying we'd like to see new layout for the pool. So we took that along with the other feedback we were hearing about what would make the aquatic center more- or the swimming pool more welcoming to you, your family the uses you would like. And if you remember in Phase 1, the biggest thing is were actually shade deck space, space for chairs, and lap lanes. So yes, we got the number of lap lanes wrong. Where's my cheerleader over here yes. We know that. But this is we've got to figure that out in design. Um, but the rest of Phase 1 is really a reaction to the Phase 1 input. And it is a concept design, but it's a concept to show what could fit within the fence line of the current pool, leave the trees, the atmosphere, the deck space, shade, those kind of things that people wanted to keep while updating the types of swimming space available. It was an attempt to keep some traditional elements with the 50 -meter lap lanes and the diving well, but then also to also offer new ways and additional access for people to get into the pool. Right or wrong, that's where Phase 1 came from. There's a lot of debate about when- when it said we were attempting to keep the current aesthetics- of the- aesthetics of the current pool. For a lot of people, that simply means- it seems to simply mean 15 -meter, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 28 950 -meter lap lanes with the current pool basin. The plan took it from more of an altruistic level of what kind of experiences that people have and want when they come to City Park Pool. And that's where we talked about the shade, the deck space, the ability for their families to get in the water without being overrun by more experienced swimmers or the rowdy teenagers we heard sometimes. Good things to have. We want- we want rowdy teenagers at our facilities. Don't get me wrong, but we need to have some quiet spaces for families too. So the design was really meant to look at some of those Phase 1 feedback items and- and put those into a concept. And that's what it was, is a concept, not a full design so - Harmsen: Thank you. Alter: And I think now you're up guys. However, I know, um, in the- thank you so much first of all Juli for taking the time to- to go over those, I think it was incredibly helpful. Um, so we're going to open it up for public discussion. I would love to see a show of hands for those who would like to comment just so that I can kinda parse out uh, how many people might be speaking. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. It looks like we have 10. Um, and so I was hoping to we- let's just go for it. I think three minutes a piece, um, 10 people. Um, just like public discussion goes, uh, just make sure that you sign in and, um, state your name and your city. Read: My name is Mitzi Read and I live in Iowa City. My family made Iowa City our home because of its livable, walkable downtown lifestyle, because of its unique and historic character, and because it is a place of shared values where every person matters. I asked you to reject all portions of the master plan and executive summary related to aquatic at Mercer, Robert Lee, and City Park pools. The plan includes addition of a warm water pool to Mercer as a means to justify closing the RAL pool despite the parks and Rec Commission's decision to exclude Mercer and RAL aquatics from the plan until they are reviewed together after completion of the city park project. Despite the fact that residents prefer RAL downtown location, consider it the most accessible, and that it contributes to a vibrant, walkable downtown. Despite more than two-thirds of respondents who oppose shifting all aquatics to Mercer. Despite the fact that centralized indoor aquatics does not promote geographic equity or accessibility and is not responsive to the Iowa City community. Despite the fact that no alternate use of RAL pool has the broad appeal and lifelong health benefits that swimming provides. Despite the fact that restoring RAL and City Park pools is the fiscally responsible choice and would cause far less than Building 2 new pools. Despite the fact that it ignores all Phase 2 public input, along with over 1,300 signers who oppose closure of the RAL pool, and over 900 signers who support keeping the current design of City Park Pool. Please tell me that this is a city that values preservation and restoration and treasures its history and unique character. A city that cherishes democracy, where all residents have an equal voice. A city where livable, walkable downtown is not just a hollow marketing slogan. Please restore the public trust and reject all portions of the plan related to Iowa City aquatics. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 29 Alter: Thank you. Stapleton: Anne Stapleton, Iowa City, I prepared two minutes worth, so I'm so excited to have an extra minute. The first thing you read in the master plan is executive summary. But the goals are not supported by the findings from consultant survey respondents and community input which Missy said are very respected. Two examples. First, the summary says, "Repurpose the RAL Aquatic Center if dad and community sentiment support such change" and "But nothing in the master plan supports repurposing the pool." Neither the WT group nor buried done suggests this city paid $143,670 for the consultation, one-third of the amount of money needed to repair RAL pool. In fact, the WT group says if repairs are done, RAL pool could "Continue to operate for many years." Appendix D, the Parks and Rec survey found that Iowa City hence don't want RAA- RAL pool repurpose the master plan itself, Frank's aquatics Number 1, above all other programs and downtown central location as prepared- preferred. Third, petition signers do not want RAL repurposed. Over 1,000 Iowa resilience have signed petitions that support maintenance and improvements and oppose Orioles closure. Second summary recommendation in the master plan you have centralize indoor aquatics at Mercer. The indoor pool survey reveals that 68.7 percent of survey respondents, these respected voices do not think that "Shifting all indoor aquatic to Mercer would better serve the communities aquatic needs." Juli said this hadn't been answered yet. It has in their own data. In addition, Mercer's warm water pool design included in the master plan will not accommodate the large number of pool users from RAL. Likewise, City Park Pool's design is opposed. I know it's conceptual, it's in the plan, and my understanding is you're voting on the plan. It's opposed by over 900 people who signed a petition favoring the current footprint. Please reject the master plan's goals and recommendations for aquatics following up with what Missy said, all three pools deserve full consideration and a plan that does not ignore key findings. So I guess I end with a question. Are you voting on the master plan? If so, take the time to revise it to be accurate. I teach writing and reading, critical reading and writing is important if the document is not accurate, fix it. I don't know whether we can- that will not be part of the historical document. Juli's words, perhaps they will, but the master plan will. Please respect those voices that you already have the data, exetra. and reject the aquatics portion of the master plan unless it's truly accurate. Please rely on an accurate master plan if you're going to vote on it. Thank you. Alter: Thank you [APPLAUSE] Kretkowski: Hello, um, my name is Paul Kretkowski, uh, some of you are almost certainly familiar with my wife, Amy Kretkowski, Just regarding the proposed drastic resign of, ah, redesign rather of City Park Pool that's contemplated in the new recreation master plan. Um, I've- I've swam in quite a few places, the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean, Lake Michigan, and even Lake McBride This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 30 and, um, I like City Park Pool a lot compared to those, it's a very elemental place in its own way. It's very stripped down. It's - it's close to swimming in a large body of water as you can get because it's a large body of water. It doesn't have any lap lanes. Um, it's a wide open space, so it's just you, your swimsuit, the sun, the air, the water. And everyone remembers that elemental feeling of swimming when they were a kid, where there were just those few things and you being outside, it's basically nature in the middle of the city. It's a safe, family friendly place. It's functional and nothing is there that doesn't need to be there for you to swim. I would ask you to be aware of just replacing that great, good place with what is on the concept drawing. Please start to think, do you know what you're really getting for all the money that you're being asked to spend in the recreation master plan right now? Um, based on a really nice sketch it's really nice, um, but isn't there an intermediate step that you can authorize along with the current recreation master plan, like the $6,000 it would take to fund an engineering report to really look at all of the dents and dings that Juli was noting earlier and find out what's wrong with the current pool. Um, I'm sure that's going to be part of the process, but it might be nice to have a specific line item in there for that. Uh, then you and we would know what we were getting. Um, Park & Rec of course, would benefit from knowing its options, ah, besides a total redesign. I would want to authorize- authorize, excuse me, millions of dollars as contemplated without knowing whether they're- those dollars were pushing us further away from those pure experiences of swimsuit, sun, air and water. Alter: Thank you [APPLAUSE] Crain: Hi, my name is Carin Crain. I am approaching you tonight as a proud Iowa City - City mother of two boys who just completed Level 5 swimming. They passed [APPLAUSE] They could be future lifeguards, but there's no Level 6. You talked about- you heard about a critical lifeguard shortage. I wanna ask you, what are the Parks and Rec commission doing to grow our own lifeguards? They can't take the next step to Level 6. It doesn't exist, look it up. They can't be junior lifeguards until they do Level 6. I think we're creating our own lifeguard shortage by not adequately supporting aquatics. If you want swim lessons and I'm very invested in this because I have two young swimmers, you have to go online to find the swim lessons. Um, anybody who doesn't have access won't fmd them. Anybody who's not online won't fmd them. Also, if you wanna do adult recreation like aqua size, you'd think you could go to the rec guide and find it. You can't, it's not in here. The city isn't publicizing aquatics and it is starting to atrophy. And that's why I'm still troubled about requesting that the Robert E. Lee pool have usage numbers. What we're being asked to do, we who use Robert E. Lee is count the numbers of people in the pool. I loose the joy of swimming and aqua size and watching my boys swim because I'm counting because we haven't gotten good data from Parks and Rec. We have over 100 people, kids, Monday through Thursday night between 5:00 and 7:00 who are swimming. We have filled pools at other times what we're fighting to be seen, that's why we're here. How many of you are here This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 31 [APPLAUSE] We have over 20 people. We love Iowa City pools. We can be your best allies and adversaries. But we have to be listened to and we don't want contingent recreation. It's not equitable. You've talked about equity. Why is the Robert E. Lee pool the only one asked to count its numbers? The ball field still have to be maintained whether anyone is using them, they still have to be mowed. They still need chemicals. No one's asking them. Now I'm all for ball play. My boys do that too. I'm just saying it's not equitable. And what we're asking is equitable treatment, full staffing, funding, and proactivity with Iowa City aquatic. And we're here to ask you for that tonight. Alter: Thank you [APPLAUSE] Purdy: [APPLAUSE] Joe Purdy again, Iowa City resident, and now in Williamsburg. I was seven years old, and I used to go to the rec center, Robert A. Lee. And I knew, if I didn't have enough money, I could sneak right pass there and get in there. And I think that sometimes that the staff at the- the pool would leave that door to the office open just so us kids didn't have all that money could go ahead and sneak in there and get a swim. I'd like to see the exact same pool we got at City Park. And as a bonus for us, wonderful locals who love this town and love all you, UNESCO folk, we would like to see a Ferris wheel, and the train, and the cotton candy come back to City Park. How about that people? Amen. You all get out of my town. You making too much money. You're auctioning off my- my hometown block -by -block. You're not putting anything in it for the people. You're making the vendors pay their own insurance, and you're violating their civil rights by a simple signature. No one looked at it. Nothing. You got to quit. Quit stomping on the people in this town. We love this town. We love our pools. Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Purdy: [inaudible] Corning in like Godzilla. Mellecker: There's too much stuff up here, sorry. My name is Susan Mellecker, and I'm from Iowa City, and you've seen me before. And, um, I want to first thank Juli and Geoff for an enormous amount of time that they give the Friends of the Robert A. Lee Pool, um, a week -and -a -half or so ago. Um, and also, all of you who have met with the Friends of RAL, I was in some of those meetings early on a few months ago. And not all of them, but thank you for the time that you've taken to hear us. We appreciate it. Um, you know what? I- I keep thinking about - I'm not gonna dwell on- my Friends from the RAL Pool have made great points tonight, and I love the idea of amending the master plan, uh, before you vote on it, uh, because- so it is accurate. But the one thing, uh, you talked about equity, access, and climate change as the three priorities that have been lauded tonight. Um, and the one thing that is not discussed at all, and no one has brought it up that I have seen, I brought it up at the Parks and Rec Commission, and that is- you know, we talked about physical access. We talked about socio and economical This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 32 access, uh, but we're not talking about geographic access when we talk about moving everything to Mercer. And, you know, we have, as Carin just said, um, from- I haven't- don't have the actual numbers, but as Carin just said, there's about 100 kids who take swimming lessons at Robert A. Lee, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There are 20 people- 15-20 people that take aquasice at Robert A. Lee. I'm sorry, they take it at Robert A. Lee. Aquasice, you know, Monday, Wednesday, and hopefully, Friday, if they add the class back in. Um, and then there's like probably another 30 people that use that pool every day, um, in the four hours it's open. And so take those hundreds of people, and drive them over down Bradford Drive past Southeast Junior High, two-lane street, residential area, two access points. I mean, yes, we've got Wade and the Town Cross Streets, but you've got one main access point to Mercer, and you wanna double it in size add a walking track, add a swimming pool, when there's already one here that is far more accessible from a walking perspective, even out of your car from the parking lot into the building. So when we talk about accessibility, I want you to think about that geographic accessibility and those traffic studies that probably have not been done, and how many cars you're gonna increase, you know. Not to mention climate action, you have a 55 percent, you know, goal to reduce, you know, carbon emissions in this city. And yet you have to take two buses to get to Mercer. You have to, you know, not everyone will drive to Mercer, but most people will. And it's- it's attractive because it's got a bigger parking lot, but is that really what we want? And so I would say, please do not move forward with the plan to add another warm water pool at Mercer. Thanks. Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Purdy: What's the real name? You're Russian, aren't you? Katalinich: Good evening, y'all. My name is Dan Katalinich at 418 5th Avenue in Iowa City. Ah, first of all, I wasn't aware you're voting on a master plan tonight, which has got more unknowns than an algebra 2 equation. But be that as it may, whether it's yay or nay, I'm here tonight to urge the council support for the historical preservation commission's unanimous motion recommending that the council explore minimally invasive ways to preserve the existing City Park Pool layout. Um, the October 1 lth press release from Parks and Recreation declare that we love our City Park pool. I believe that, if you love something, you preserve it. You protect it. You look after it. You find a way forward that is positive. And in the renewal of City Park Pool, we must be welcoming, and inclusive, and accessible. And all of these goals are achievable while maintaining the historic main pool feet- footprint, which that is the essence of the City Park Pool. I call it the big water in the oak savanna. Maybe you heard me say that before. But I think that's absolutely essential, ah, regardless of what you determine regarding the master plan this evening. As regards, ah, RA Lee pool, one cannot rationally assert that, ah, that aquatic recreational needs and opportunities for the people of Iowa City are being met when you close half of the indoor pools in Iowa City. It's This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 33 ridiculous. Robert A. Lee's not about mollifying some oldsters who have an aversion to cold water. It's about embracing the fact that the aforementioned goals of being welcoming, and inclusive, and accessible are already happening at Robert A. Lee, and we need that pool. And I just wanna say, please, ah, save the big water and save the tub, as I affectionately call it. Thank you very much. Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] If there are additional people who wish to comment, please feel free to sign in in advance and then you can just come up and speak. DeGraw: Hi, my name is Sharon DeGraw and I live quite close to City Park Pool. And my kids go there and they love the pool. It's really one of the only pools of its size and offers the big wide open Olympic -style size pool. And if that's modified in a way that we have something that's closer to a Coralville size pool with a lot of zero entry, not enough space to actually hone your skills in deep -water swimming. And I feel like we're getting [OVERLAPPING]. Purdy: Hi. Get out of the phone, Geoffrey. Time to pay attention. Alter: You're interrupting her. DeGraw: I feel like we're being asked to choose one or the other where we are being asked to consider making, uh, a pool facility that's inviting to people who may not ever learn how to swim in deeper water and to also go for an eco -friendly pool by using less water in the pool. Or- what I would really wish is to keep the deep- water pool, um, maybe forego some of the- the concern about the eco -friendliness using less water or being concerned about the pool chemicals. Keep the pool the size and dimensions that it is even with a deep- the deepness of the diving well because the kids that use the, I don't know how tall it is, 10 or 15 feet, um, tall diving board, they will go to that pool to jump off of that. Do 360s, show off for their parents. That's a huge asset in that pool. Um, so I don't want to see the- the depth of the pool diminished. And I would rather say that you should expand the pool, perhaps using more space by moving the bathhouse and creating some, um, like the zero -entry pool shape add-on to the City Park pool, um, which is going to cause you to use more water, but I think that you can get, um, reach more people in the type of deep water swimming and people who don't want to go into a deep water pool by just essentially having two pools in that space and pushing the bathhouse out by building a new bathhouse. Thank you. Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Fishbaugh: Throwing mask off if you're okay.. Uh, I'm Justin Fishbaugh from Iowa City. Good evening. I just wanted to point out one of the inconsistencies in the master plan, um, for outdoor facilities- for outdoor athletic facilities. The master plan's executive summary says, this is in quotes, "Take care of the department's existing facilities first, especially those that are aging before developing new." This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 34 That's the end of the quote. So my question is, why not apply the same fiscally responsible and sustainable standards to indoor facilities such as the RAO pool that you're trying to apply to the outdoor facilities. So be- because of so many inconsistencies in this master plan, especially the aquatics, I urge you to reject the entire products part of the master plan. Alter: Thank you. [APPLAUSE]. Seeing no one. I think we will clo- oh. Kretkowski: It's all right. I made it. . Alter: Hi, Amy. Kretkowski: Hi. I made it here in time. Amy Kretkowski, Iowa City. I'll just put the thing you write there. And I just want to urge you to really- really take deep into consideration the historic preservation commission's recommendation to preserve City Park Pool and conserve very valuable resources. I did not hear a lot of what was said earlier at the work session. I heard a little bit. Um, I'd love to, uh, write some rebuttal to a lot of what was said and I will send that to you, but I will ask you to please think about before voting to approve something, do you know what it is you're being asked to approve? [APPLAUSE] Do you know what it is you're approving? Do you know how much it will cost? Do you know what it will look like? Do you know if there are any less drastic measures to be taken? Have any less drastic options being offered to you? What is it that you're approving? I would just ask that you please- please consider that when you're considering the fate of City Park Pool. Thank you. [APPLAUSE]. Alter: Thank you. And I do believe we've got time for one or two more. If there's one more after this [OVERLAPPING]. Purdy: Time for plenty, you guys have been talking all night. Stefaniak: I'll be very quick. My name is Mary Helen Stefaniak. And you all heard from me already because I sent you an email and I won't repeat what I said, you know, in the email. I got a response actually, um, write away from Mr. Harmson, which I greatly appreciate it and perhaps there are more responses coming. That one was just there, uh, right off the bat. Uh, but in any case, um, I was so relieved to hear in his, uh, response that there is no, uh, design for City Park Pool. But being put forward, uh, that this is only, I don't know, I don't think you use the words concept plan, but I- I was shocked to hear that. I've been to the open houses, the op- the open house that one of the- that, um- um, Juli mentioned. I've been to a parks and recreation, a cupboard, uh, meeting and one other one I can't think of right now. And in all of those instances, it seem pretty clear to me that a consulting firm had been hired to come up with a design and the- while it was going to be open to amendments, yes, it never, was it ever, uh, suggested that it was possible that the very appearance and, uh, you know, exist the- the- the City This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 35 Park Pool could still retain its, um, its current form. Uh, and I, uh, I think that looking at cracked concrete in videos, we all know I swim there. I swim every day, even sometimes when it's not the- when I'm the only one- one or two there because the weather is not conducive to swimming like on the first day the pool was open. But, uh, so I know, I mean, I've- my foot has, you know, hit some of those cracks. Those cracks don't make me think that you should, um, uh, throw out this historic and incredibly impressive to visitors for that matter, a pool, in order to turn it into something that is filled with, um, other kinds of features, er, that don't allow for, um, for kids and their parents to play and swim together, uh, in the pool. So I also urge you to, uh, reject the aquatic portion of the master plan because it's not clear to anyone, I think, uh, what it represents. Also, um, the locker room at, uh, the, um, rec center pool route- the route downtown pool is like a United Nations. So don't the- the way- between the languages spoken and the, uh, costumes worn. So, um, don't think, er, that, um, there aren't people of, uh, various types and ethnicities and, uh, abilities, in turn, disabilities using both city park and the Rec center and Mercer as well. Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Downer: Hello folks. My name is John Downer. I'm a competitive swimmer of water polo player. And if you don't know, Iowa City does have a masters water polo club called the Sea Lions, and we use City Park Pool two nights a week. The setup is ideal. It's a 25 yard course. All deep water, we practice m the diving well, that's not just for old guys, it's for- it's a coeducational. Sometimes kids come, sometimes their parents teach them the sport. And it's a really good time. I've been a user of that pool since 1973, so I've seen some ups and downs uh, in the condition of the pool. But the one thing that disturbs me most about the proposed plan is that the lap swimming is being proposed to shrink from nine lanes down to three. Now if you can just imagine the city making an announcement that every residential street would be shrunk down to one-third of its present size. So it's only as big as say, a nature trail or a bike path that isn't going to serve the needs of all the lab swimmers in Iowa City. Be the young or old, and the lap swimming area is used by ICE; Iowa City Eels Swim Club, as well as the girls high school teams in late summer. So a reduction in the size of the lap swimming area is a really, really bad idea. And I would not like to see the water polo area that we use for practicing have come to enjoy, reduced in size either. So I'm thinking maybe the best plan is to add a splash pad at a water park adjacent to City Park Pool and just leave that footprint as it is. Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Alter: Thank you. I think we've reached a point for council discussion. And I just want to say a few words just to kind of frame the way that we might be able to discuss this without curtailing any thoughts. This is- well, it has been a long session, this is the first time that council has actually been able to discuss it. So I want to give everyone, you know the time and the places where you feel the need to comment. But to frame the discussion, I mean, I just want us to keep in mind that what's before us is, does this master plan provide the necessary kind of outlines of the sequence in which staff needs to be able to move forward. We learned a lot about - This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 36 I learned a lot, in fact, about the distinctions between what's design. And in fact, we have gathered even yet today, really good insights about specific design, things that will come. But that's not what this master plan is in fact about. So I just want to find out from council and put before you that what we're voting on potentially tonight is about what is in front of us, what is in the plan. And do we feel that we can move forward with this? And so that's just the question that I want to- to continue us to think about as we discuss. But obviously, we've had a lot to digest and so I leave it open for- for council to begin discussion. Harmson: One quick process question. Is this a one-time vote or is it like an ordinance that requires three readings? Goers: One time vote. Thomas: I'll mention something and it was actually Geoff, in a way, gave an example of what- how I've been thinking about this project. And that is that um, he made the reference to the downtown streetscape master plan as- as another example of how a master plan can be implemented. And the- the framework for that plan was very similar to my own professional experience in terms of how when you're designing a facility, what's the process? And typically, the process involves going through three phases toward completion. A set of construction documents that goes through a schematic plan. It goes, which then leads- it provides the foundation for a design development phase, which is then followed by the preparation of the full working drawings for the contract that would be led to a contractor in the case of the pools. And- and so with the downtown pedestrian plan, what it provided was a breakdown of the streets throughout- throughout the downtown areas, and provided schematic plans to scale of what was being proposed, which included a program of what was constituted in those plans, what the elements were and what the uses would be and so forth. It also included a cost estimate of what the project would cost. And it went through a public engagement process where that proposal was supported by the community. And then it came to council and council approved the master plan. So what my concern is is we've- we've had kind of a - an abbreviated process here. If you were to compare it to what happened downtown. You know we have a concept plan and I know the emphasis has been on it's look, it's just a concept. We will refine it further as we move through it. But I would argue that, you know what we have seen is because it hasn't been the way the process was structured with a Phase 1 and a Phase 2 public engagement process. We really haven't reached consensus on what that design is. And so we are hearing thousands of responses to the current plan because we, we- what - what can one do if one is not supportive of it? Plans are very concrete. You are looking at what is being proposed. And uh, you know, what I think we are seeing, particularly with the City Park pool, which was done in more detail, something which seemed completely contrary to what I think those who petitioned and, uh, have come to speak to us were expecting. I think what we're hearing from historic preservation and what we're hearing from many of the speakers is, if you were to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 37 define any elements of the City Park Pool in terms of what- what's essential to that facility, it would be the- the footprint of the pool set in this woodland, beautiful woodland setting. And what- what we had heard described by staff was - the essence was the shade, the chairs and the deck. It was- it was kind of like a rather profound disconnect there. So- so my feeling is, and this applies to the Robert A. Lee. There's a similar kind of disconnect. It seemed that staff came to the conclusion that you know, it would be best to close the pool down. And in my view with- with that decision, it in effect prevented the community and- and staff to consider, well, what- what might we do to enhance that facility and make it better? Beside from the renovation elements. [APPLAUSE] We will make it a more unique [BACKGROUND] make a more unique and inviting place than what we have now. And given- as an example of that, I'm looking for precedent. You know, what I found is it's not uncommon for municipal indoor pools to include such facilities as a water slide. So there- there would be ways in which, again, looking at this systematically rather than each pool sort of as a separate entity to try to capture at Robert A. Lee some of the features that I think were primarily considered for the City Park Pool rather than anywhere else. If we were to do that, for example, you know, the water slides, as we've emphasized, Robert A. Lee Pool is central to Iowa City. It is located directly, it's geographically centered and that's reinforced by the transit system. If we were to do something that would be unique for indoor pools m Johnson County such as water slides that would also serve the people m- in- m Johnson County and its entirety. Coralville's transit line also uses the downtown as the hub. So you would be able to draw from a fairly large demographic in terms of who might be interested in coming to the Robert A. Lee indoor pool all year round in order to experience some of these unique features. So I think that the- in- in the instances with this plan, what I- what I'm feeling is is that it hasn't had a chance to complete the process essentially. So that would be more consistent with- with the approach that was taken m the downtown streetscape. So- so there- my suggestion at this point would be and I think this was reinforced from what I was hearing this evening, and that is that you know, there's no requirement to have a master plan. There are things in this master plan that are already underway. What I would suggest is I would have no impact on what was described in terms of the process. And I'm happy to hear that the- the planning for uh, the City Park Pool has been moved up. Perhaps the, at least the preliminary planning for Robert A. Lee could be moved up as well, so we could consider more opportunities there. But that we basically differ on this decision. There- there is nothing in my- that I can see other than sort of this contributing to this ongoing distress and mistrust that I'm sensing in the community to sign off on something, which is what we'll be doing. We'll be approving a plan that has been noted, has language m it um, that runs contrary to what I think we are all kind of expecting as this process moves forward. So you know the- the other alternative would be to do a complete scrubbing of the existing plan, you know, revise the languages as was discussed. I'm- I'm personally more inclined to just say let's just leave it. Let's differ on this decision. I don't see why we have to rush into approving it. We understand that these projects will move forward. But I do feel This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 38 that the um, you know, the deferral action would be more reflective of the fact that we- we do have an unresolved condition here that um, needs to be completed before we've really undertaken the master plan and it's full, you know, what is more typically associated with a full process. Taylor: Thank you, Councilor Thomas, and I totally agree with you. And I- I had also been thinking of that if, uh, if that would be possibility for us to diff- differ on this. Um, I have to admit this is like been one of the largest public engagement, uh, processes that I've seen in my 50 years in Iowa City, and I congratulate all of you that- that, uh, have been vocal about it. Uh, thank you for all of your emails. Uh, I- I have to let you know I've- I've read them. And it's- it's impossible, you know, when there's 50, 75, 100 of them corning into, uh, somebody mentioned that, uh, Councilor Harmsen had replied to her, but, uh, it's almost next to impossible. But I assure you that I- I have read them and have listened to them. And of course, a major part of our discussion has been about the pools, but there's more to this master plan than- than the pools, and things that we have to. Then there were some red flags that came up for me. There's, uh, talking there about the Eastside sports complex, which we as a council really haven't talked about. Uh, there's talk in there about the kicker soccer, uh, fields and- and upgrading those and- and monies for those, and, uh, we haven't talked about that either. And I- I just don't know how we can vote on something that we don't have all the details on it. And I- I- I've talked over and over again about we, as a council, our responsibility is- is to listen to our constituents. Um, and I- I was looking at the 2020 version of the Iowa Municipal Policy Leaders Handbook section entitled summary and duties of responsible city councils. And it states that, uh, "City councils provide community leadership by making community decisions by systematically reviewing alternatives, choosing courses of action, and sensing, and transmitting community needs, desires and comments." And so I think we do have a responsibility to our public. Uh, and not just to make a decision based by why we don't need a master plan or yeah, if you don't vote on it, these things are still going to happen because some of them are in the budget. And I think we- we just really need to consider all of these elements, and particularly the pools, uh, 2023,'24,'25,'26 will be here before we know it. And we'll be right back here, uh, talking about these same- same thing. So I just really think that we as a council, need to take some more time to- to really look at this and- and get some of the, uh, wording and items, uh, clarified in- in the plan. Bergus: Um, just before I dig into much for my colleagues, Councilor Taylor and Thomas, who are- are wanting to defer to maybe make some amendments. Do you have thoughts on what changes you would make? John, you mentioned specifically some contradictory language in the plan. What- what- what were you pointing to or what- what would you want to change with that? Thomas: You know, what- what was brought up was, you know, and if- if you look at what is in our packet, there- there remain inconsistencies. Some of the letters we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 39 rec- and emails we received pointed out those consistencies. There's still, um, a really strong bias toward, you know, the plan that is represented and the concept for Ci- City Park Pool. Um, and the same with Robert E. Lee, you know, the idea of consolidating facilities at Mercer. So [OVERLAPPING] What? Bergus: No, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Thomas: Those- those features that- that sentiment is still in the plan. Uh, that's- that's my concern. Bergus: And I think it's- it's appropriate that it is because of the methodology and the Phase 1 input that was received. And I think my- I- I really do- my role is to represent every person in this community. And I'm- I'm worried about the emphasis on those voices that came in the Phase 2 which are absolutely valid and absolutely legitimate. And I also have read all of your emails, responded to only some of them, met with only some of you. Um, but I- it really struck me this evening that the consultant who we hired to undertake this evaluation to come up with concepts, not- not to dictate what will happen, to come up with concepts for how we might move forward as a whole community elevated voices that have never spoken to us before. And- and that is really, really important to me. And I know many of you have never spoken to us before as well. And I take that- I take that seriously, I take that into account because I know that as Councilor Taylor said, this level of engagement is- is kind of- kind of unprecedented, um, on an issue that's- that's sort of narrow like this. Um, but I think, you know, a decision to differ is certainly an option. I think we just have to be honest that that is a choice of inaction that will lead us to many, many more questions as far as what happens next. Um, and so, you know, that- that's a decision the- the majority here could make. I personally think we should move forward with the plan. I- I think we should have a vote this evening. Um, and if we do, I- I would vote m favor of the plan. And I just want to explain why because we're not, um, we're not voting on the layout of City Park Pool. We're not voting to close the Robert E. Lee Pool. We are not voting on that there should be limitations on any of our aquatics. In fact, what I see when I read the entirety of this plan is a vision to make sure every kid m our community can swim. A vision to enhance our facilities, a vision to make our facilities more accessible for people who maybe right now feel like they can't feel like they're not welcome. And this is not a question of minimizing the opportunities for those of you who are here, for those of you who I know care so much and want to continue to use those facilities. We want that too. We want that too and we want to open the doors to people who maybe aren't in that position yet. So that's what I see in this plan and that's why I would be comfortable moving forward because I think this is just the beginning of this public engagement process. And for City Park Pool, we will have an actual consultant who would be hired to undertake a design with a lot of public input process because that has not happened yet. That is something that will happen at the end of 2023, for the design process in 2024 and the construction in 2025.Um, and- and- and I very This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 40 much appreciate the recommendation from the Historic Preservation Commission, which was not saying don't replace the pool. That's not what the recommendation was. It was to explore options for minimally invasive construction, which absolutely is something that- that, um, as we undertake that project we would do because that fits with our climate action goals. I just want to personally apologize for the lack of trust that I see and feel here because we try to make ourselves accessible. We try to explain our actions. We try to help people see how this process can work. And I've heard and I see on your faces now, that some of you are very- very frustrated that you don't feel heard, that you're very upset. And I think when these, uh, when the facilities are rebuilt and welcoming and beautiful and available and invested in by the community and publicized. [OVERLAPPING] In this plan, there are many places where it emphasizes the need to publicize. And I'm really excited for the next several years of working together with those of you who are so engaged to continue. Better ways of getting the word out, better ways of registration, better ways of understanding what opportunities are so that every person can experience what you all have spoken so eloquently to as to the values of and benefits of aquatic exercise, of using our pools, of being someone of any age in any ability that can participate in not just aquatics, but all of our rec programming and use all of our facilities. That's where I'm corning from. Alter: I just want to note, um, there have been already, uh, some incredible comments here, um, and insights. One of the things that actually I'm most struck by both from emails and also from comments tonight is how much input there has been that can be applied, will be applied towards the design phase. And so on the one hand, I feel like so much good has happened actually. And I do encourage everyone who was unable to see the working session, um, to- to- to listen to the presentation. Because in fact, there were a number of, I think, misconceptions that in fact carried over into some comments that- that like that this was the plan for the park, for the pool is already set and- or we could revise it. That's- I asked a question during the working session saying so. The way in which the concept pool was put for City Park Pool was it was taking input from the first phase and from second phase and saying these are elements that we want. And then they said it's like an identikit and they put these things together and said, "Is this what you want?" Clearly, no, it's not. Right? I get that. For what it's worth, I'm an NCAA All-American springboard diver. I understand the importance of an Olympic pool. I love it. But I also, as a Councilor, feel very strongly that we need to make sure that whatever we put into City Park Pool, Robert E. Lee, Mercer, that it is more accessible and more welcoming even than it has been for us. Because we are a growing city, we are a growing, expanding community with many, many different types of cultural backgrounds, experiences, and the world looks very different now than it did when City Park Pool, which for the best of intentions and has served the city so well, it does not- our city is not the same. We need to think about how do we serve our city now and for the future. So the way in which I'm understanding and I guess I'm a little disappointed, I'll be honest, Councilor This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 41 Thomas, that you were sort of reiterating that it felt like there was more mistrust coming. Because I felt like there were some really positive things that actually were between audience of advocates for the pools and different components in which our director said we got that wrong. We're hearing you. We're- you know, these are things that can be accounted for in the design. And I felt like at that moment there was actually some connection and some symmetry and some like, okay, we've been through the trenches together. We're going to come out on the other side, um. My understanding, and I asked many questions very pointedly about, what does this master plan mean? Is there any design element? Are we voting on? Is this how we're going to do or set forth without the opportunity to change? Is that what we're voting on? Absolutely not. It is about- more about giving city staff direction and guidance for the steps that they need to take sequentially over time in a holistic way that takes it almost strategically so that it is not just cobbled together. Let's hit this one first. Let's do this. Oh, now we'll do that. Of course, there's gonna be entities that will- or situations that may crop up that change priorities. But since I've gotten on council, and as I've known councilors who've been on there longer, the idea has been, lets be planful. Let's think about, how do we grow and better our city deliberately and strategically? Not just in, here's a project, here's a project, here's the project. To me, that's what this master plan actually represents, is the ability for something like parks and rec, which the city has so much investment. And when I say the city, look, it's the people. It's those of you who are using it. We would be absolute fools to pass a plan we did not have full confidence that there are going to be so many steps along the way where you get to help shape what it looks like. Right now, this is to give guidance to staff to say, "Here's your own strategic plan of how you need to function- of- of what you will need to do and what you want to do, and there's already been public input. So I'm sorry if I sound like I'm- I'm trying to explain where my thinking is. And I'm just saddened by the fact that it seems like the master plan is still being understood as something that is design -oriented and that it is written in stone. It's not. This is to give- it's a strategic plan for projects so they can be done mindfully. Thomas: I just- I just want to quickly say again. My- my- my hope with the master plan would be that when we adopt it that we- we have an understanding that it has the full support of the community. You know, I'm not sensing that right now. I mean, I know there- there is an acknowledgment that, yeah, we didn't quite get things right with that concept plan. But, you know, what- what we have now, and as I've tried to emphasize, is from a master planning standpoint a kind of unfmished business that, you know, we will- we will proceed and we will fmish that work. But at the moment, we're- we're not there yet. It's- it's all I was trying to emphasize. And that it would be far preferable to acknowledge that we're not there yet and, you know, that we will get there. But for now, we don't have that plan with a budget and consensus that we're- we're voting on. That's all. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 42 Harmsen: Thank you, Councilor. I will say that, um, I actually see that as the whole point of the strategic plan is that we don't have all those details yet. What we're doing is setting priorities. So to me, I- I read this document I think just a little differently. Um, you know, we're making a priority saying City Park Pool has this historic concrete that's leaking like a sieve, um, and at some point that's gonna be a major problem. And if we don't- we can either let it nickel and dime us for a very long time. But we could also run the risk if we don't plan ahead and- and start doing this long-term multiyear planning to get to these details, we can end up in a situation where we'll have to close it for longer than just a construction season, which would be, you know. And I don't think anybody wants that. And I- I know you don't want that. I know nobody here wants that. But I think that's a real risk, and that's what our- our folks are telling us. Um, we're prioritizing. Say, indoor water stuff is important. And in five years from now, when we've fmished with one pro- major swimming- outdoor swimming project, we need to re-evaluate and see, what can we do to make all of these things look better? And the situation is gonna be different m four or five years. I mean, there's gonna be, you know, it- it always is. There's always stuff we can't- can't plan for. I actually think that's the strength is that we don't have all of these things set in stone because the amount of work it would take to set in stone 12, 15 major projects that we can't even possibly fit into a budget all in the same year. I mean, it's gonna take us that many years to work through the- um, they mentioned the CIP project. And for those that aren't familiar, that's just our capital improvement budget process where all of these things still have to be funded. So we could get into this and say, okay, we're gonna prioritize looking at the City Park Pool and that'll- that'll give us the money to go in and do some more of these studies, do more of the design, see more what's going on, look at what's possible in that spot. And it could come back to us and we could be like, you know, we won't, you know, we won't have the money for this kind of plan. Or, you know, we can always do that and then say, well, you know, maybe with this other option we'll be able to make more sense. That's like the next step. What I see with this plan is us telling city staff, "Hey, this is important. You have a limited number- limited amount of resources. We want you to- to devote a percentage of these resources towards pursuing the answers to these questions." Not that they have to have the answers to the questions at this point. I mean, I think that's- I think that's- that's a different kind of approach and least that's how I'm reading it. I mean, I find that to be something that's probably very useful for us to do is say, let's make these our priorities and then as we work through them, which is going to take years that's why it's a long thing. Every one of these will be saying, okay, do we- do we want it? What's the public input? What can we afford? What can we- we bid it out? Does, you know, all of these stages it- it can involve amendments changes. But that's actually I don't think is a weakness. I think that's actually a strength. Weiner: So I would, um, continue on sort of, um, on the same tone, same line that councilor Bergus and councilor Harmsen have. But first, I really wanna thank everyone for their input. I know you haven't all heard from me, you will. Um, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 43 second, I wanna quickly address the issue of lanes, which not everybody may have been- lap lanes which not everybody may not have been here for, which is it's already been made clear that what's in the concept is definitely not what will end up. We underst- We hear the need for many- for many more lap lanes. Um, and the director made that clear and everybody made that clear, um, throughout this evening that it's not just gonna be three lap lanes, and everybody will have enormous input. Second, um, the community of today is not the community I grew up with here. It's not the community of 72 years ago. Um, and so I would submit that maybe, you know, sort of what we end up with may not look exactly the same. To me, um, equity and accessibility mean truly being welcoming to all, um, which is not the case today. I mean, I can give you a small example. I'd just taken a four-year-old there this past summer and seeing that it was tough. Yes, she could play in the little kids pool, but she wanted to get into deeper water. And to get into deeper water, there was no easy way to get into it. She had- either I had to put her in or she had to climb down the steps and I had to get in with her. No- no other options. And if you sort of multiply that- put someone who doesn't- who may have a walker or someone who is otherwise has- has some challenges, or parents who don't, who are not swimmers who want their kids to be able to- to- to supervise their kids and be and have them get used to the water. It's- I love City Park Pool, I grew up with it, and I can see that it needs some change. And I would also like to sort of channel the mayor who's not here this evening by saying that, like when he talks about affordable housing, he says, the- the idea is like you build this big, beautiful building. I don't want- he says- he would say I don't want, um, to- to have fee in lieu. I don't want to go put my apartment somewhere else. I wanna be part of it. I wanna be able to get into that same pool as everyone else and experience it, um, and have the opportunity to enjoy it at the same time as everyone else can- can have deep water and land planes and all the rest of it. So, um, I just come back to the, this is- this is a concept, it's not a plan. I'm- I really would love to build trust. I'm very sorry that the- the sense is out there that- that this is a- this is the final plan when it's not. That- that process would only start, um, like a year from now. Start a year from now. So, um, lot has been said, I will end there. Alter: I just wanted to thank you, everyone for your the- the fullness of your comments and, um, in really recognizing how much people have been fighting for, um, and advocating for what's gonna be best for the community and their perspective and - and for those who are using it. And I do wanna reiterate that, um, your voices count and your voice- I mean I'm taking notes like crazy. I have also read your e- mails. I'm getting like, there's a ton of specific design elements that I think makes so much sense. There's rule for that. Just it- that's not what we're voting on right now. So I just wanted to mention that one thing that um, actually I wanted to mention as well that I think is important as we look for what- what will the pool that's gonna last another 40, 50, 70 years. Is that I think that what was very key about how the master plan evolved and the work that was done initially, which for those who- who didn't hear, um, it- it took- it was an unusual ask to the- to these This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 44 consulting firms because it said we're- we're prioritizing equity and inclusivity and access. And we really want that to be a way in which you build as the foundation. And it reminds me in fact, of an experience that's parallel, um, colleague and I actually started neighborhood nests, which during the, um, COVID was when students were sort of stayed in cohorts, in their neighborhoods, um, in order to get access to, um, technology, help with school, etc- etc. And we worked with the school district to do this which was completely overwhelmed and needed and we're working 24/7 to make things right for students. But we were there to fill in gaps because the plan was done with who the majority. Who's the majority? Most everybody has got technology, they're fine. We don't have to worry about that. Most everybody speaks English. It's fine. And we've got some translation. It's fine. What we found was there were more glitches because the plan wasn't done with working from the margins inward. If we plan for taking care of everyone, if we plan for those who were in Phase 1, for those folks who never feel like or haven't been heard, haven't had a voice. Don't go to the pool because they don't feel comfortable, don't go to rec services because they don't feel comfortable. Without taking that into account and building that in as part of how we think about what our plans for the future are, then we're actually going to cause and have to play catch up later on. This way we're coming from the outset was saying, let's build with the idea of what does accessibility and equity look like? Understanding that is not necessarily gonna be the same thing as what we've grown up with or what we're experiencing now we have to look forward thinking and say, what are we accounting for? So I just wanted to point that out to you and thank you very much, councilor Weiner, because that made me think of it. Are there any additional thoughts? Are we ready to take a vote? Harmsen: Did we move a motion? Goers: Yeah. There's- there's a motion and second it on the floor and presently, yes. Sorry. It's been awhile. I understand. Alters: [Roll Call] Motion passes 4-2. [APPLAUSE] Audience: Good job, Taylor and Thomas. Good job. Thank you for representing us. Purdy: You ain't never had no government cheese [inaudible] This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 45 16. City Council Information Alter: Our next item is city council information, and I open it up to um, council members to report on various meetings, attended upcoming meetings, community events, and items of interest. Taylor: Last um, Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend the um, ADA celebration, the Americans with Disabilities Act, 32 years. It's hard to imagine that it's been that long that since Central Park and we're our own Senator Harkin uh, advocated for that. Um, it was a great event, good vendors, the weather wasn't too bad and uh, it's in conjunction with October being actually the National Disability Employment month. Um, there were many venters and, uh, a lot of speakers talking about what- what disability means to them, or disability access. And one thing that I wasn't aware of was our own, um, county auditor, uh, Travis Wipert who was there and spoke about, um, trying to make uh, voting, uh, access, which is a big topic now easier for folks. And you don't always think about that. Even - even folks that are blind to find one that is blind and- and how um, the auditors offices can- can make it easier for them to vote. And- and that was a great thing. And I think where we talked about our- our non -profits in the area earlier this evening. And- and we're- we're just really fortunate, uh, in- in this uh, county, and this community to, uh, to have so many non -profits that- that uh, work for- for people. Weiner: Um, so like you mentioned voting. I just like to um, continue there, early voting for the general election for the midterm starts tomorrow. Um, you can fmd all the voting information you need at that- the website of the Johnson County, Iowa auditor. But you can vote 8-5 weekday starting tomorrow, either in the auditor's office or drive-through next to the health- next to the Health and Human Services Building. There will also be satellite voting at the Iowa Memorial Union um, tomorrow- tomorrow, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. and at Purpose place this corning Sunday from 9:00 AM. to 3:00 P.M. but there's a full schedule of early voting on the website. And, um, your interesting factoid as Johnson County has fully half of the satellite sites in the entire first district. Harmsen: Wow, . Weiner: Please vote. Burgus: Before- let's see, before our next meeting, we will have a homecoming, as was mentioned by uh, USG. So I understand the city will have some kind of presence in the parade on Friday evening. I'll be excited to hear or see what that is and hope that some of us will be participating. I know I will. Um, and on- I just completely lost my train of thought, getting excited, thinking about the parade. I was seeing that joint entities from last night. So yes we were in this room yesterday evening, um, with the- the joint entities meetings. So it's always interesting because there's This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 46 never- you never really know who's in charge or how those meetings are supposed to work. So thank you to our Mayor Pro Tem for running- running that meeting. Um, and so it was helpful to get information about PulsePoint, which I know has been um, brought up in our meetings as well. So just encouraging folks to, uh, download the app for PulsePoint point um, Response as well as PulsePoint AED and learn more about that program. That was a very inspiring, uh, presentation. And also just that we're hoping to continue conversations about regional mobility and transportation in our area. Alter: I would just like to, um, give an expression of appreciation to the Interfaith Coalition for running the candidate forum that was on Saturday at The Purpose Place. Um, they opened up doors for everyone from- running from federal, state, uh, into county, it was amazing. Deidre DeJear stopped by, Christina Bohannon. Um, a number of candidates in fact, so it was just, it was a fantastic gathering and it also just solidified how wonderful it is that, um, there's satellite voting throughout the city because this is one of the places that they're doing that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022. Page 47 17. Reports on Items from City Staff Alter: Anything else? Everybody is looking at me. Um, okay. So I have more to do. Uh, so staff, do you have any, um, items to report? Fruin: Um, just related to that homecoming parade, which is the 28th of October, it would be helpful for our planning purposes if we knew you were in or out. So if you haven't responded yet, please uh, let me know and uh, we'll get you accounted for. Thank you. Nothing further. Alter: Thanks. City Attorney? Goers: Nothing for me tonight. Thank you. Alter: City clerk. Platz: And nothing from us. Thanks. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of October 18, 2022.