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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-01 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Staff Present: Fruin, Jones, Goers, Fruehling, Ford, Havel, Kubly, Sovers, Seydell- Johnson, Welter Others Present: Zeimet (USG Alternate) Teague: It is now 6:00 PM, and I'm going to call the City of Iowa City meeting to order on November 1st, 2022. Roll call please. [Roll Call] 1. Proclamation 1.a Change your clock, change your battery day. Teague: All right. And welcome to everyone that is here in City Hall. And also those that are virtual as well. Our f-, um, we're going to move on to 1.a, which is proclamations. Change your clock, change your battery day. (Reads Proclamation) And to receive this proclamation as fire captain, Troy Roth. Roth: Thank you Mayor, council for recognizing this, most important day where we perform the fall ritual of changing the batteries in our clocks when we change the time. Uh, last year - every year in the United States, there are around 3,000, uh, home fire deaths and, uh, as you mentioned, two-thirds of these homes have, uh, smoke alarms that are either not working or missing. That works out to 2,000 needless fire deaths. The working smoke alarm is one of the single most important fire safety devices we have in our homes. It is important that we keep the batteries up-to-date and we test them every month. It is estimated that households with inoperative smoke alarms now outnumber those homes with no smoke alarms. And smoke alarms are- most often fail because of dead or missing batteries. So it's vital that we che- test them every month. Um, many new smoke alarms are 10 years sealed units, so you don't have to change the batteries in those, but just remember to test a unit. As you take your smoke alarm off this year to change the batteries, there's a date on the back of each one, 10 years. Uh, doesn't mean they won't work past 10 years, but it's recommended, uh, to change them every ten years. Thank you for this. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 2 2 — 6. Consent Calendar Teague: Thank you. All right. We're going to move on to items two through six. Can I get a motion to approve the consent calendar? Weiner: So moved, Weiner. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: Anyone from the public like to discuss this topic? If you are in- present, please step to the podium. If you're online, please raise your hand and I'll acknowledge you. Seeing no one, council discussion. Taylor: Just wanted to mention item 5.c, the Sturgis Ferry park improvements in Southside recycling center. And I kind of say park tongue in cheek because I've never really thought of it as a park. I've- I've seen a lot of boaters using it, like going on and off the boat ramp, so I was just really pleased to see this because the adding the new amenities that will enhance the park use, uh, such as a pavilion and- and paved parking lot. Uh, I mean this - this has been much needed for a long time and, uh, be a major improvement. So I'm sure everybody will appreciate these improvements. Thank you for that. Teague: All right. Weiner: I also wanted to mention 5.b, it's long past law- it's been long past time that we reclassify the airport manager's pay grade. I think he's been undervalued or under- at least underpaid for some years, so happy to see that. Taylor: Yes. I agree. Teague: All right. Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 3 6. Community Comment Teague: Item number six is community comment. This is an opportunity for individuals within our community to come before our council to speak on any item that is not on our agenda. You have up to three minutes. If you wish to address a topic that's not on the agenda, please sign in or bring, um, a sign in tab from the back podium. If you're online, which I've seen no one at this time, urn, but if someone does come online, you can raise your hand. Welcome. Ross: Hey, how are you guys doing? Uh, my name is Brandon Ross. I live in Iowa City and the clock's not running, so I'm going to go for a half hour. All right. See I blew the whistle on myself. I-, uh, yeah, anyway, I happy autumn and everything. Uh, I do want to work-, uh, speak, uh, just briefly about, uh, that the-, uh, that there's a terrible crisis going on in Eastern Europe right now. Um, my family background is from Ukraine, uh, from Kyiv actually, uh, and right now it's eight months. Um, the US and NATO, uh, are in there and Russia is on the other side. It's East versus West. It's a civil war that has been going on for eight -and -a -half years. Uh, and the US and NATO chose the eastern side of Ukraine and Russia chose the western side of Ukraine and entered the country. Whether you believe this is because of US and NATO aggression and imperialism, or it's because of Russian war crime for entering the country or both. The important thing right now, I would like to say is that we-, uh, is that we write to our congressmen, our senators, uh, and people in the House and the White House, and we please- plead with them to open - be open for negotiations. Those of you who followed probably have heard the State Department say that negotiations are off the table. However, the United States is not really at war with anybody in the area. So for the US to be able to say that negotiations are off the table is a perverse position. Why should I bring this up in an Iowa City Council? Well, you know, they say, uh, act local, think global, and, uh, I do believe that this is a local issue. I do believe it has something to do with Iowa City. I believe that this affects everybody. It affects our economy. Uh, it affects, er, well, our ability to continue on this planet. Right now there are two nuclear pow- powers that are going at it. It's the, uh, the United States and Russia. Ukraine is just a playing field for the two. Right now, US has no soldiers in Ukraine, but Ukrainians are there. Uh, US is not being bombed, but Ukrainians are being bombed. There are Russian people in Ukraine. The Russians actually came in, uh, on one side to shield the Donbas area, which is Russian. Uh, and that was there at least intent, what it became later had a lot to do with us. So please, there are writing campaigns going on across the country. Please plead with the White House and representatives and senators to- to ask for negotiations to be part of our foreign policy and it's a disgrace that the US could say something like negotiations are off the table. And the letter was withdrawn from Congress that was authored by Ro Khanna and 50 others that asks for negotiations to be put- put on the agenda and that was retracted and, uh, that's a complete disgrace. And as- please take 15 minutes and- and work this through right here congress. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 4 Ross: Thank you so much for the city council and everybody here. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Please state your name and the city you're from, and there's also a sign in there. Pieper: Hi, my name is Felicia Pieper, um, and I live in Iowa City. Um, I'm here advocating on behalf of an unhoused, um, mother of four children, um, who cannot be here because she has a lot going on. Um, she, uh, has been in contact with Shelter House since 2021 before her eviction. Um, she moved through the eviction process by herself, um, worked out a deal with her landlord, um, on her own to make sure that she didn't have an eviction on her record. Um, Shelter Houses supposed to be, um, following her through- her through that process. They were not. Um, she did it by herself. Um, she's been on unhoused completely, um, for at least three months now, um, and has continued to get, um, her calls ignored, her texts ignored, and, um, appointments canceled from shelter house. Um, she cares for four children in our school district, um, and I- this is not the first time that I've come to City Council meetings talking about shelter house, I'm also concerned about, um, the cold weather and the fact that I have not heard anything about wi- Winter Shelter. Um, I'm lucky to call some of our own house neighbors, friends, um, who've dealt with the lack of Winter Shelter and those conditions. I think it's appalling that the City of Iowa City does not take accountability for unhoused neighbors and farms that off to a non- profit who's clearly not accountable to the community. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address a topic that's not on our agenda? Welcome. Please state your name and City you're from. Zadeh: I'm Hannah Zadeh I'm from Iowa City. Um, I also want to talk about housing in the community, um, uh, so obviously Shelter House is an extremely important institution in this community, but it's still a private institution, um, and that means it's not held accountable to the public into our community. Um, I don't know how we can continue to say that housing is a human right, will also relegating it to a private non-profit. Um, there's nothing that's more important than housing. Um, you know, what could be more important than keeping our community members out of the cold and Iowa Winters? I'm also really concerned that we have not heard anything about, uh, Winter Shelter yet, um, and, you know, we hear a lot about rents rising in the City and increasingly inaccessible housing market. Um, and more and more- and more and more of members of our community are unhoused or housing insecure and yet we continue to prioritize, um, real estate, uh, companies and landlords, um, in- instead of prioritizing, keeping our members- members of our community and our neighbors out of the cold during Iowa winters, um, and- and giving people access to housing, something that is extremely basic. Um this is part of a larger problem. Public housing needs to be a priority of the Council and of the City, um, where we can democratically and collectively build a community that does not pro- prioritize, um, these, uh, landlords and real estate companies and instead actually prioritizes housing. Um, I agree that, um, we should not be relegating this to, uh, private non-profit. This needs to be a- a public, um, institution that we can, um, deal with democratically. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 5 Teague: Thank you. Welcome. McGovern: Hello. My name is Tara McGovern. I live in Coralville. I'm also here advocating on behalf of our friend that was mentioned first by Felicia. Um, and I'm just here to share some details because she's not here to tell her story today and she asked that we pass this along. You could also go and look at the Board of Supervisors, um, meeting from the last time, um, because our friends showed up at that meeting and was able to tell her story. Um, as far as I know, we're still not getting, um, the support that is needed. So in February of 2021, um, the grant elementary SFA- SFA connected our friend with she - staff at Shelter House, um, and she wasn't able at that time to get support from shelter house because she had some subsidized housing. Um, so all the way back, um, in February 2021, um, and in April of 2022, she -she contacted Shelter House before leaving her- her previous residents. June of that year, um, one of her daughters sadly died. August of that year, um, and- and she was contacting throughout from June and chew- through August, she was working to try to get housing for her family. Um, in August of that year, she was- she had to go to eviction court. The shelter has staff was supposed to be present at the court hearing, but they were not present in the courtroom. Um, August,15th of 2022, Shelter House staff told her that the shelter was full and that- she was going to be put on the priority list. August 15th, 2022, still unhoused. Um, also that month, um, she and her four school -aged children, school- children in this district are- are school district, um, where I had to move to a- a hotel room that has been paid through communities financial assistance program and also through crowdfunding still not a stable housing situation, no transportation being provided for her children to get to and from school other than, um, some of the gas money that has been provided occasionally, um, but then you need to have a car in order to use that. So, um, let's see, September of 2022, the hotel where she had been staying has tried on multiple occasions to kick the family out, um, to make room for football games, um, and the football fans, even though there are some a - arrangements between hotels, um, to try to have discounted rates for fam- for people that are experiencing homelessness. Um, so all that to say, a -as just to follow up on both of what Felicia and also Hannah said, um, we have a problem here. We have a problem with accountability and people are falling through the cracks. Um, we had a person who came and spoke before he had the last City Council meeting. Um, I'd love to know how you followed up to help her as well, um, because we're feeling like, um, we're being passed from one agency to another agency, and justification is being made for nobody doing anything to help. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address a topic that is not on ours- Council agenda? See no one. We're going to move on to item number 7, which is planning and zoning matters. Platz: We have somebody online who wants to talk. Teague: Somehow I don't see them, um, okay, all right now I do see, all right, we're going to welcome Noah. Welcome, Noah. One second please. Welcome, Noah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 6 Petersen: Hello, you can hear me? Teague: Yes. Petersen: Okay- okay, perfect. Um, wanted to reraise the housing issue again that speakers spoke, well [inaudible] speakers spoke. So this is an issue that had years now, you- the City not doing anything about Winter Shelter, which I haven't heard anything about there being a winter shelter. open. I've asked every single one of you it's sitting up there on that dais and only you Bruce and Janice are the only ones to respond to me, which is really sad that you have so little care for the houseless seemed to me that you can't even bother to do anything about it. You- you know, this is a problem and yet you sit m your ass and you- so my question is, when are you going to, uh, put this on the agenda item? Like of how to have a shelter for people that actually works in the winter. Hello. Teague: We're hearing- we can hear you. Petersen: Hello. Teague: Are you done? We can hear you. Petersen: I just don't know what's wrong. Teague: Are you done with your comments?Thank you. Anyone else have any comments that is not on our agenda item? I don't know if you can hear me or not. Anyone else? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 7 7. Planning & Zoning Matters 7.a Rezoning 937 East Davenport Street Teague: Seeing no one, we're going to move on to item Number 7, which is planning and zoning matters. 7.a, is rezoning 937 East Davenport street, ordinance rezoning property located at 937 East Davenport street. From medium -density single-family residential to medium - density single-family residential with a historic district overlay. And I'm going to open up the public hearing. And we'll start with comments from our staff, Danielle, welcome. Sitzman: Thank you, Mayor, City Council. Danielle Sitzman, Neighborhood and Development Services. As you introduced, this is a voluntary rezoning request to a historic, ah, lac - landmark district for 937 East Davenport Street. The owner is here tonight and, uh, will probably speak to you as well. The purpose of the landmark historic designation is overall to ensure the preservation of historic resources and require historic review for exterior modifications after the designation. The difference between a landmark -historic landmark and a historic district is that a historic district is for a cohesive area with several properties included, all contributing significantly to the integrity of the district. A landmark is basically a standalone property. They do use the same, uh, historic criteria though, to be evaluated as to whether they should be designated or not. So we'll talk about that a little bit as we go through this application. The property is currently zoned RS -8, it will retain that zoning. The landmark designation is an overlay zoning, so simply goes on top of that. Um, and so all of the existing use regulations still remain. Once the landmark designation is applied, however, it does trigger historic reviews of exterior changes to the building, as I mentioned. This also makes the property eligible for some special exceptions and additional flexibility in our zoning code and for tax credits from the state. So in regards to this property, it is one of the few intact examples of early Goosetown cottages that show the areas semi agrarian history. This area consists of many long narrow lots with houses located near the street allowing, as they did in the day, for gardens, orchards, and animal grazing even. A large portion of the Goosetown area was home to working-class immigrant populations in Iowa City from Bohemia in Germ - Germany. So this house was owned and built by a Bohemian immigrant who worked as a stonemason and was later occupied by multiple generations of one family and even became starter home and rental property common to the neighborhood. The property was constructed around 1874. And this slide shows the various editions that have occurred over time that have been documented through our historic research into the property. And then the designation tonight. Constructed, as I said in around 1874, it's a simple single - story structure. As you look at the pictures, you think it's not one of those monumental architectural types, but it's defmitely part of the history of this neighborhood. This photo identifies some of those additions I mentioned early visually where they occurred on the building. Before 1882, there was an addition for the basic- basically, the structure growing as a family that occupied it grew as well. And then there's been very few changes since the 1920s. And so it remains, kind of, a great example of the early history of the neighborhood. This shows one of those porch additions. Obviously with a large family in a small house, if anybody's lived that way, you realize you spent a lot of time This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 8 outside. So the porch edition was an important component to that as well. So talking about landmark, um, re -zonings, this is a zoning action. So there's involvement by the Planning and Zoning Commission to evaluate the criteria that we look at for rezoning. Which are essentially compliance with the comprehensive plan and any public improvement pla- plans for the area. And the role of the Historic Preservation Commission, which also recommend- makes recommendations, is to evaluate the historic significance of the property. So in regards to compliance with the comprehensive plan, and the proposed rezoning is complainant- in compliant with the comprehensive plan, which has multiple goals for preservation of historic resources, as well as the culture and history of, ah, Iowa City. Then and also looking, there are no major propos- proposed public improvement plans in the area that this designation would conflict with. Regarding the historic significance that's evaluated by the Historic Preservation Commission. The criteria that are used are a series of criteria. The first two are prerequisites and both must be met, and in this case they are. And then one of the remaining criteria must also be found. And m this case, two additional ones have been found. So for the first two prerequisites that it is a recognizable architectural type, and does significant aspect of the community history. So A, also the property is located m its original location, retains most of its historic materials that defines its historic character and is surrounded by residential properties that are indicative of the original setting of the structure and the way the agrarian immigrant populations established in this neighborhood. Again, going towards C, associated with events that have a significant contribution to broad patterns of our history. Going to the- speaking to the immigrant population and housing types of the day and the living habits of those occupants. When HPC reviewed this, I'm not sure if criteria F had been fully, um, commented on, but we have heard back from the Office of the State archaeologists. That because of the relatively undisturbed nature of this lot, that there may very well be historic archaeological resources that could be found in the hi- in the future if they were to be explored on the lot just because, um, much of the lots undisturbed. So things fell where they fell and they might still be discoverable in the future. Next step, this really is a pretty simple development process, just the initiation of the rezoning. And as I said, this did receive recommendation for both HPC and Planning and Zoning Commission, both rec- recommending unanimously the designation as the landmark. And that concludes my staff report, I'm happy to answer questions. And as I mentioned, the property owner is here tonight. Teague: Great, any questions? Thank you. Alright. Is there a development team that have any - did the property owner wanna- wanna give comments? Slonneger: I'm just here if you would like to ask questions, but, um, I thought that maybe, pardon me. A couple of things could be- I should have added, um, in that little summary. Teague: And just for clarification, I just want to make sure that, ah, everyone knows that I'm opening up public comment. Um, and you'll have three minutes to give your comments. Slonneger: Okay, that's great. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 9 Teague: All right, thank you. Slonneger: So, um, I just wanted to add that this little cottage is, uh, between the 7 and 900 block of Davenport Street, which is parallel to Bloomington, which is the beginning of Goosetown. And there are only a handful of these small cottages left and they're disappearing fast. Two went down the summer, one is being disassembled now, uh, and two more I've been told are corning down within this corning year and others. We have gotten three letters that, um, I remember just since we started this project from developers that wanted to buy the property to take down the house. So I also looked at the records to see if there are any other immigrant houses that would, um, be in this district, that would be similar, that had been preserved. Um, there are two houses on the National Register in Goosetown, or the edges of Goosetown. One is Rose Hill, which is connected to the Irish family. And the other is up on North Reno Street and didn't have anything to do with the immigrant population. So there are no houses that have been set aside to honor this early history and culture of our city. So this is a tiny col -cottage. And also, you know, to me personally, when we're talking about the homeless and people needing a place to stay. This is an example of a tiny house that is, uh, possible for a young family, ah, a young couple to start out in. It would keep it out of landfill, it adds to the historic value of the neighborhood and our history. And so to me, it's uh, an easy, ah solution to some- several problems. So I hope you'll consider that, and I'm here if you would like to ask any questions. Teague: Thank you- thank you. Anyone else from the public would like to make comments? Seeing no one, council discussion. Well, actually, so I- I have to close the public hearing so I wanna make sure that the council, are you all inclined to vote with P&Z? All right. So I'm gonna close the public hearing. Now council discussion. Fruehling: Mayor, can we get a motion? Goers: We need a motion, yeah. Teague: Can I get a motion to give first consideration? Alter: So moved Alter. Weiner; Second, Weiner. Teague: All right. Now, council discussion. It even happens to me. Thomas: Well, kind of as an interesting item to have after our work session discussion, sort of speaks to what I was talking about in the core neighborhood. They have a long history of being a, you know, human settlement and have gone through, um, you know, the- the neighborhoods in which these early settlements, uh, exist have gone through considerable change. Um, and, you know, I'm- I'm personally very, uh, sympathetic toward the idea of preserving what I want- might call everyday architecture. These are not monuments to, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 10 you know, architectural style. They're- they're memorializing a certain aspect and period of Iowa City's history, uh, and as Marybeth mentioned, actually serve a- can serve a practical use as a small home. And, um, she also mentioned that- what's happening in the neighborhood. You know, all the- the other examples of these properties which are, um, being demolished. I- I would be interested to know, I mean, um, and we didn't- I didn't ask staff this question, but I would assume that, you know, the development opportunity on a site like this might be to preserve the cottage and develop a second assessor unit perhaps? Um, it may be too late to have that question answered, but, you know, that's the kind of thing that could happen, um, with properties where we try to preserve certain aspects while acknowledging the opportunity for change within that context. So I'm, you know, very supportive of this. As I said again, it sort of speaks to the pressures that we're seeing, uh, in the core neighborhoods, uh, as we speak. Weiner: I'm just, I'm grateful for the effort to preserve this because I think piece these- different pieces, whether, um, as Councilor- Councilor Thomas mentioned, whether- it doesn't have to be monumental. Not all of our history is monumental, but it's important to preserve these different pieces so that we have, um, a roadmap going forward. Teague: I appreciated the homeowner coming forth and showing support for this, because sometimes that's not the situation that we deal with. So that's very encouraging. And I will be supporting this. Roll call please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 11 7.b Preliminary & Final Plat — McGrath Subdivision Teague: Item number 7.b is a preliminary and final plat, McGrath subdivision. Resolution approving the preliminary and final plat of the McGrath subdivision, Iowa City, Iowa. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Bergus: So moved Bergus. Taylor: Second Taylor. Teague: Moved by Bergus, seconded by Taylor, and welcome back Danielle. Sitzman: Thank you Mayor. This is an application, ah, by the property owner, uh, where Warrior Enterprises LLC, requesting a combined preliminary and final plat of McGrath subdivision. This is land that's been developed without being subdivided previously. Basically to create a 1.94 acre commercial subdivision with two commercial lots. As I mentioned, already developed is 1501 and 1515 Willow Creek Drive. Both properties already contain buildings and parking areas and no further development is being proposed at this time. Um, this shows the preliminary and final plat. This is a combined process that's allowed under our code. Basically, if you satisfy all the requirements for both the applications at once, you can combine them and take care of all of that in, uh, one case. Um, so they- a combination of those steps is the preliminary plat, which is essentially a public hearing process, then the final plat, which is just more administrative. So this plat does show the existing buildings and infrastructure. Um, no- and as I said, no additional development and no public improvements are required. So Lot 1 contains a building that was constructed in the 1980s and Lot 2 contains a building constructed more recently in 2017. For review of the preliminary- preliminary plat, we did look at, uh, all of those criteria and requirements, um, and there are no known zoning conditions so we didn't really need to check back on- on that. Um, our review would be of consistency with a comprehensive plan, essentially, and this is in, ah- uh, the proposed development which is existing development is generally consistent with the- consistent with the comprehensive plan, which is a focus on general commercial development. Um, there is a Southwest district plan also, um, identifying this area as appro- appropriate for the type of development that's already there. Um, we did take a look at the subdivision standards and determined that the preliminary and final- final plat does sati- satisfy the necessary subdivision design standards. Um, there are some things that could be improved and so we've included, um, installation of a eight -foot wide sidewalk as part of the, um, requirements for at the time of redevelopment. Um, basically to fulfill the bike master plan, um, looking to connect the trail that's very near this, uh, to the trail on Highway 6. As was mentioned, no additional improvements for stormwater or sanitary sewer. Um, we did evaluate the existing development and look at its setbacks and dimensional standards and determined that any future development would need to, uh, comply with some additional standards, but at this time, um, no, uh, improvements on behalf of, um, the platting would be required. We did take a look at sensitive areas. This about Willow Creek and that is a regulated blue -line stream and would have a required buffer. Um, the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 12 buffer is being met under the current development. Unfortunately, most- much of that buffer is already, uh, already developed. Um, our sensitive areas ordinance, um, only occurred on began regulating properties in the mid '90s. So because this is existing development, uh, what we're looking to do is improve it as time goes by. So any new development would be subject to the sensitive area standard and hopefully, ah, eventual, um, re -naturalization of the Willow Creek, uh, corridor would be the ideal. Um, at this point, however, well, all we can really ensure is that we're, um, getting a conservation easement in place so that we're prepared for that should that be an opportunity in the future. Um, this is a, as I said, the preliminary and final plat. Um, sensitive areas are, um, minimal and would be reviewed administratively with future site plan, and any building permits, should they occur, would be, again, a staff review. Um, so based on a review of relevant criteria and subdivision codes, staff did recommend with no, uh, conditions. So P&Z concurred with that and also voted 6-0 to recommend it this evening. Um, that concludes my staff report. Happy to answer questions. Bergus: Just a quick question, Danielle. The, um, conservation easement is being added? I see that on- on the plat. Sitzman: Yes. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Teague: All right. Anyone from the development team? No. All right. Public discussion is open. Anyone from the public have anything to say on this topic? Seeing no one, council discussion. Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 13 8. Landfill Cell FY23 Construction Teague: Item Number 8 is landfill cell fiscal year 2023, construction. Resolution, approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the landfill cell, fiscal year 2023 construction project establishing- establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing city clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome. Yes. Welter: Joe Welter, from engineering, to give a brief presentation on this project. So it's located here at our landfill on the west side of town out off of Hebl Avenue. The, ah, cell is located in the northwest side of the site, just southwest of the buildings and the main campus. You can see that in the- in the red area. Um- So this cell is approximately 11 acres depending on compaction rates, the amount of tonnage that we take in each year. This cell is estimated to last nine and 11 years. We will be needing to have this space starting in 2024. So construction of this next year allows us to transition from the current cell, FY18 into this new cell, FY23. The landfill cell involves regulatory requirements, one of which is the liner system ties into the adjacent cells, which are FY02, FY06 and FY18. We also have a series of piping and a liner systems, so we have an under drain system followed by a composite liner system. On top of that, we have a leachate colle- collection system. We also are adding and expanding every time we touch new areas, we're expanding our gas extraction. So those gas extraction improvements will include an extension of the collection lines that we just- we just added this year. We'll be building off about new horizontal, and vertical gas collection wells. Which again helps us comply with our permits and uh, and also will help us ensure that the landfill is operated in a safe way. We're also in proving some stormwater or taking the opportunity because we're so close to the campus buildings. There's some stormwater drainage that currently goes through where we're building the new cell, so we're going to be rerouting some stormwater and improving our stormwater drainage. We're also taken the opportunity to repair some pavement and add some paved area on the campus area, which will allow us to expand some of our programming and to add some more space for the operators to be able to spread out a little bit more, and to be able to serve our customers at the landfill better. The last thing we're doing with this project is realigning our sanitary sewer service, which goes underneath the landfill cell that we're gonna be building, so we're gonna reroute that to get it in a little bit more favorable location for future. So as the cell is built, so next year, we basically have a full year to get ready to use that. So we don't anticipate that will really be into the cell and using it in our normal operations until well into 2024. So we budgeted $3.6 million for the construction. The construction estimate came in at $3.7 million. Pretty good considering the fact that that estimate was probably done two years ago before a lot of things changed with pandemic. We are taking bids at the end of this month, and planning to award the council meeting in December. We would anticipate starting in April with conclusion of construction in October. Like to thank SCS engineers out of Clive. They did the work on the design on this, and did an excellent job working with our staff to fit this very interesting shaped landfill cell in- into our current operations. So any questions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 14 Bergus: I do have a question. Um, what type of solid waste goes into this cell? Is this just refuse or does it handle organics like how do we kind of separate that out? Welter: So the- the initial four to six foot that we'll put in will mostly be out of Packer trucks. And the reason being is we don't want anything to puncture the liner. So we consider that fluffy garbage. That's the term. I don't know why we say that, but any rate we don't want harder things that could puncture that liner. After that point, we would be putting basically anything that we receive. So we have construction and demolition debris. We have um, petroleum soils that we accept. We have uh, our regular garbage, which would include organics in it. If organics have been diverted into people's yard waste and those things, those are going into our composting operations, so they wouldn't be going into the- into the cell in the Derecho and post-Derecho we had- we did- we did have to figure out what to do with some of the wood waste. So every once in a while we end up with some wood waste or some wood chips that we can't really sell or use in another way. So we tried to get creative with how we do that, and then we usually use that to stabilize our hall roads and our rain day pads. But anything that goes in- in doesn't come back out. So - um, so it is a variety of wastes that we have. But the construction- the important thing is the construction demolition debris won't get added until we're well into setting up and facing that- that new cell. Bergus: Thank you. Welter: Yeah. Harmsen: Go ahead. Weiner: I was just going to ask what are- their sort of, a range of how long this solid last, what are things that community can do to extend the life of this new cell? Welter: Well, one of the best things that we did was back in 2018, we introduced the cardboard ban, and that significantly decreased the amount of tonnage that we were receiving each year. So after 2018, we were kind of, in that 135,000 tons a year. We dropped under 130,000 tons for two consecutive years in a row. We had a spike year um, in the middle of the pandemic. A big part of that we believe is pandemic waste. You know, a lot of people did a lot of construction and we had a lot of activity. Plus we had the trade show in the middle of that. So we saw that as a year that was abnormal. This past year which ended it it follows the tonnage follows our fiscal year that everybody in the state does that from July 1st to June 30th, and it jumps back down to that mid hundred and 30,000 range again for this past year. So to directly answer your question, I guess in a sense, it it- we're already doing a lot of things to do that we have a- we have an asphalt shingle recycling program that we reinstated. We have the cardboard band. We've looked at different ways to divert some of our wastes. You know, with methane feasibility study that we did a couple of years ago. We see a good trend already happening. So I don't know that we need to do a lot to do that, and more what we're working on as a staff is getting better compaction rates. So making sure that we're going over the waste in a responsible way, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 15 and making sure that we're building the waste in the cell in a more logical way, those end up, we get better compaction rates and that gets more, more waste in the- you have a fixed volume. So depending on how much you put in and how well you compact it is really how much you can use for that. Harmsen: You answered my question, perfect. Alter: I actually have a question um, it goes back to super basic. Um, are the cell names aligned with the year that they're constructed. Welter: They're very creative in that way. Yeah, we just- we don't want to confuse anybody, but yeah. Alter: So if that's the case, was the FY18 cell substantially less than its acreage or it just you've figured out due to what you just explained about the compaction rates and the type of waste over the past five years. It just- you're at life end of this particular cell, your village, right? I guess I'm just wondering because you're saying that it's like 9-11 years for this next cell, and I'm like this was only five years right. So I'm just- I'm a little concerned. Welter: Yeah. So FY19 is uninteresting cell. First of all, it was a seven less- it was less than seven acres this is 11. Alter: Okay. Welter: Just over 11, so significantly bigger. FY18 is interesting because it's a piece of the original FY09 cell. So after the fire in 2012, we reconstructed FY09 into a smaller footprint. The remainder of that footprint that would have been the original FY09 ended up being a future cell, FY18. So it doesn't always you know, FY98 95, 98, 02, 06, 09. Alter: It's not necessarily chronological in terms of when it ends? Welter: No. And each of them is a little different size, and the ability of what we can maneuver our equipment in there kind of, matters. Plus every cells building into its adjacent cells as well. So we're building into three other cells with the current cell that we're going to be constructed. Whereas 18 was only building into two different cells, the 09 cell and then the 02 cell. And so it was a much smaller footprint. It was very rectangular. This has a little bit more of a square shape to it, which will be a little easier for the operators to maximize the amount of waste that we can get in that area. Alter: Thanks. Thomas: In the long term. What- what is the estimated build -out of the landfill? Do we have one? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 16 Welter: Yes. Yes, we do. So it's likely um, we're working on a facility plan right now, a planning document which has going to inform a lot of those decisions, but it's likely that we're going to be moving into what we call the Northeast expansion after this FY23 cell, which is a crossed our haul road. Again, we're very creative. It's m the Northeast corner of the site. So northeast expansion, we're very, very creative. But we then after that we have a cell that can build immediately North of this FY23 cell. The problem with that area, and why we wouldn't go there immediately is we want to borrow all the soil material out of there, and use that material in our operations for daily cover and for um, final cover construction and those kind of, things. So rather than paying a contractor to do that, our own landfill operators staffs will be borrowing that material and so that takes a little while to get to that. So whereas the Northeast expansion areas pretty much ready for us to start using that. So it's likely we'll flip over to that area and then come back here. Teague: Any other questions? All right, thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic, I don't see anyone online, is that correct? Anyone from the public, please state your name and the city you're from. Purdy: Joe Purdy I'm from Williamsburg, Iowa. I came right here for a quick moment. We could all stand if you want to. I pledge allegiance. Teague: We are on the landfill cell Fiscal Year 2023. Purdy: Don't talk over me, Mr- Mr. Mayor, I'm talking to this public. Teague: No, we- we are on- we are on. Purdy: I pledge allegiance to the flag. Teague: Excuse me. We are on 20, which is the landfill. Okay. So we're going to continue. Anyone else from the public? Anyone else from the public would like to address this topic. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Weiner: So moved. Taylor: Second Taylor. Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor. And council discussion. Weiner: Learned a lot. Teague: All right. Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 17 9. Water Treatment Plant Chlorine Feeder System Upgrade Teague: Item Number 9 is water treatment plant chlorine feeder system upgrade, resolution improvement project manual estimate of the cost for the construction of the water treatment plant. Chlorine feeder system upgrade project, establishing amount of beer security to accompany each bid. Direct and city clerk deposed notice two bidders and fixing time and place where we see the bids. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome. Durst: Good Evening, Jon Durst with the Water Divisions. So this is the Cholorine upgrade - upgrade project. I don't have a presentation for it. I just like to speak about it briefly. So the scope of this project is to replace the chlorine feeder system. The components have reached design end -of -life about 20 years. Plants been open for about 20 years, and also to remove the defunct ammonia feeder equipment. The estimated opinion of probable construction costs is $192,000, design and inspection costs for about $83,000. And the budget for this is in the water fund at $315,000. All drinking water is required to have a disinfectant residual in it before it leaves our treatment facility. Chlorine is the most ubiquitous way of doing that. Chlorine itself is inherently dangerous. And this gaseous chlorine system is actually quite ingenious in its design and it's definitely time for it to be upgraded. The way is fed is through we get it delivered in one ton cylinders, but they actually weigh 3,777 pounds. It's a little trivia fact that they like to give you when you're getting your licenses for this. Uh, but the way it works is cylinder is very robust so that it can't be damaged. From there it goes through a vacuum actuated regulator and then the rest of the system until it is in the feed water is all under vacuum. That's inherently safe. So if there's any puncture to the system, you don't get a full release from that cylinder. The regulator on the tank actually closes itself off because it doesn't sense that vacuum pressure anymore. From there it's ejected into a water stream. That water stream is then modulated into the drinking water where we put the chlorine. And that chlorine is given time to react within our chlorine contact tanks. And then we pump that out of our clear wells into the system with a slight residual and it just in case anything else gets into the system when it's out in the distribution system. So we expect to fmish the formal bidding process yet this year and finish construction early in 2023. Uh, we look forward to having the project complete. Teague: Great. Any questions? From council to Jon? Alter: I just have a question. A. I'm looking at the memo here and the resolution. Sorry. It says the ammonia feed system is not been used recently. So what is that? Number 1 and then number 2, why hasn't been used recently. Durst: Yeah. So ammonia is used to well, chloronaminate. So you can mix the ammonia in with the chlorine, which then creates chloramines which is another form of disinfectant and is used to reduce the amount of chlorine you use, but it also has unwanted side effects with disinfection byproducts and potential corrosion issues in the system that have been linked to lead releases in Washington DC's water systems. So it was installed initially in the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 18 water treatment facility. It was never used as a disinfection system and has since sat unused for these 20 years. And we've scavenged parts from it because a lot of the parts are similar to continue to make the chlorine system function. So at this point it's nonfunctional and won't ever be functional and actually presents more of a hazard as it is, than just getting it out of there. Alter: Thanks. Teague: All right. Seeing no more questions, thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? The water treatment plant, chlorine feeder system upgrade? Seeing no one I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Bergus: So moved Bergus. Weiner: Second, Weiner. Teague: Moved by Bergus seconded by Weiner and council discussion. Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 19 10. ARPA UI Labor Center — Construction Apprenticeship Opportunity Program Teague: Item Number 10 is ARPA UI Labor Center construction apprenticeship opportunity program. This is a resolution authorizing the Merida's sign of state and local fiscal recovery fund grant agreement with the University of Iowa Labor Center to administer the quality pre apprenticeship program. Uh, could I get a motion to defer to the next meeting on 11, 15 2022. Taylor: So moved Taylor. Weiner: Second Weiner. Teague: All right. And this has just been referred- been requested to be deferred so that some final preparation can be made between the City and the University of Iowa Labor Center. Roll call, please? [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 20 11. Public Measure #1, the 'Keep and Bear Arms Amendment' Ballot Referendum Teague: Item number 11 is public measure number 1, the keep and bear arms constitutional amendment ballot referendum. Resolution opposing public measure number 1. The keep and bear arms constitutional amendment ballot referendum. Can I get a motion to approve, please? Alter: So moved Alter. Weiner: Second Wiener. Teague: Moved by Alter, seconded by Weiner, and alright. Who wants to- was there someone planning to lead in this topic of discussion? No. Alright, great. So this is the, um, right to bear arm that is going to be on- on the ballot in November on the general election ballot and I know the council had some discussion about this, and also the- we have the- the resolution, uh, from the council opposing this. What we're going to do is we're going to open this up for public comment and then we'll have the council come and give some, um, discussion after. So welcome. Anyone from the public will have three minutes or less to talk on this topic. Welcome. Hiatt: Thank you. Um, and last time I was here, Mayor Teague you weren't here. Congratulations on your wedding. Teague: Thank you. Hiatt: My name is Temple Hiatt. I live here in Iowa City and since I was here last, I just wanted to pass along to the council that the Iowa City Community School District- School Board has publicly, um, published a letter to the editor in opposition of public measure 1. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution opposing public measure 1. Uh, Janet Lyness has spoken opposition. Uh, the Cedar Rapids Community School District and the Linn County Board of Supervisors both have passed resolutions opposing public measure 1, um, and the Linn County Attorney and the Linn County Sheriffs, uh, co -wrote, uh, a letter to the editor encouraging the public to vote no, so, um, I appreciate the council's time in considering this issue, um, and the importance that it, um- that it has in impacting our communities and, uh, the decisions that -that we can make to, um, keep our schools and communities safer. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Alright. Anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one in-person or online. Council discussion. Weiner: So I appreciate Moms Demand Action activism on this. Um, I would- I- I wanted to say a few things. One of which is the- we- I do not want the state to be in a position where we cannot pass reasonable common sense gun legislation. Um, I would like to us- for us to be able to save the lives of those who are potentially suicidal. I would like us for be- to be able to save the lives of those who are victims of domestic violence. I do not want our This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 21 kids to have to do active shooter drills. I'd rather have them like learning normal things in school, um, so Temple had mentioned the- the- one of the editorial I would quote from - from the two Linn County elected officials. I would just quote a couple of brief passages. Um, they said the passage of public measure 1 would strike down laws on the books that prosecutors used to hold gun offenders accountable. It would prevent our children and grandchildren from passing reasonable gun legislation and regulations in the future. Um, this is not the Second Amendment. We actually already have the Second Amendment from the US Constitution. Uh, the- and the strict scrutiny part of this public measure does not mean stricter gun laws. It means little to no gun laws could be enforced, uh, and fmally, I would quote them where they say the gun Amendment is not about freedom, it's about more gun violence. The gun Amendment is not about embracing rights it's about seizing power from future generations, um, and our sheriff told me that this is- this effort is a solution without a problem. It will do nothing to enhance public safety or make anything better for Iowans. It will likely have a ripple effect that creates a barrier for any future gun laws and jeopardize standing convictions. Taylor: Thank you, Councilor Weiner. I just would like to add- to remind people to flip the ballot over, uh, to be sure to vote no on this. Alter: I don't have any prepared remarks, but, um, I will just say that I am appalled that this is on the ballot given the fact that, um, we already have the Second Amendment so there's no need to do anything more about that, um, and yet, this is on the ballot and it is considered more important to provide more power- more gun power, quite literally, than women and girls have over their own bodies. It appalls me. Harmsen: I wanted to just- to agree with everything that's been said here tonight, uh, and to point out, somebody had mentioned that this is not the Second Amendment and so I think that's- I think that's important for people to know that, uh, when Iowa Republicans were pushing this through, Iowa Democrats actually said, okay, well let's just do the Second Amendment verbatim from the US Constitution and Iowa Republicans felt that that didn't go far enough. So if anybody says this is just codifying the Second Amendment into Iowa law, it is absolutely not that so yes, I- I will be looking very much forward to voting for this resolution, asking people to vote no on this, and thank you of course, to Moms Demand Action and everybody who's taken a stand against gun violence. Bergus: Thank you all for your words and your advocacy. I think this is incredibly important and- and certainly, there's I think, a lot of misinformation about there- out there about what this proposed amendment is and just a reminder that we- we- we do not need this for even those who would want- if you look at what happened a- and the changes in legislation without this amendment, Iowa got rid of you know permit carrying a- gun permits for carrying concealed carry. It's just the restrictions on our ability, for example, to try and control firearms within our buildings. Um, this would go even further and- and limit not just our but as councilor Weiner mentioned the state legislature's ability to have just the most basic common sense regulations that the vast majority of people approve of. So please vote no. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 22 Purdy: What about the police violence? Teague: Any other comments by cou- council? Roll call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0.. Can I get a motion to accept correspondence? Thomas: Moved Thomas. Alter: Second Alter. Teague: All in favor say aye. (Voice Vote) Aye. Any oppose. Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 23 13. Council Appointments 13.a Planning & Zoning Commission Teague: Uh, we're in item number 13, which has council appointments, applicants must reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated. 13.a is Planning and Zoning Commission. Planning and Zoning Commission has one vacancy to fill an uninspired term upon appointment through June 30th, 2023 and it does have a gender requirement, which is male, and we have three applicants which identify as male. Bergus: I'd put forward Chad Wade. Teague: Okay. Taylor: I agree with that. Um, it's been in the Iowa City area for over 43 years. Sounds like and has a very good knowledge of the, uh, P&Z committee. Weiner: I can support that. Teague: I can support it. I will just throw out Ty Bopp. Harmsen: Yes, those were two that both jumped out at me, although I don't have a strong preference one way or the other. Alter: Same. Taylor: I was good. I believe he was one he hadn't been and I was sitting very long though. Uh, so it's interesting that after a short time, he's interested in serving on a commission which is- which is great. Harmsen: I love seeing that. Teague: So sound like Chad has sufficient support. Yes. Alright. So Chad Wade, uh, can I get a motion to appoint to the planning and zoning commission? Taylor: So moved, Taylor. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Bergus. All in favor say aye. (Voice vote) Any oppose motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 24 14. Announcements of Vacancies - New Teague: Item number 14, announcements of vacancies new. Applicants must reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age and less specific qualifications are stated. Human Rights Commission when vacancy to fill unexpired term upon appointment through December 31st, 2022. Applications must be received by 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. Historic Preservation Commission, one vacancy to fill unexpired term upon appointment through June 30th, 2024. Historic Preservation Commission, Woodlawn Avenue, one vacancy to fill unexpired term upon appointment through June 30th, 2024. Housing and Community Development Commission one vacancy to fill unexpired term upon appointment through June 30th, 2023. Library Board of Trustee, one vacancy to fill unexpired term upon appointment through June 30th, 2027. Applications must be received by 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023. Can I get a motion to accept correspondence? Alter: So moved, Alter. Bergus: Second, Bergus. Teague: All in favor say aye. (Voice vote) Aye. Any oppose motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 25 16. City Council Information Teague: Item number 16, a city council information. Any updates? Weiner: A couple of us had- had the pleasure of attending the Human Rights Commission's awards breakfast last week. Really- really impressive group. And it's just -it's fantastic what people do for their local communities on a regular basis and in a wide range of issues from housing to youth to women's health. And- and much more than that. I'm also wanted to remind everyone that there's an election next Tuesday and early voting is going on at the public library the next two days. You can vote early at the- at the auditor's office and drive through all week including this weekend. And there's also early voting that the Coralville and North Liberty libraries this coming weekend. Teague: It is totally inappropriate for you to be playing that during council meeting. Purdy: Sony about that. I'm trying to get Martin Luther King off my phone. Teague: Please. We're- we're- we're- we're conducting a meeting here. Thank you. Comments. Harmsen: I just going to say too, early voting. Just add my voice to that. And did the drive- through voting at the Johnson County auditor's office today, which is one of the early voting options. Um, in and out and five -minutes, it was really nice, really convenient. And that'll be every- every day from now until the day before the election day. I believe. Alter: I may call on Council Bergus to speak to this a little bit more, but there was an incredibly cool event that was a pop-up from a lot of different local food trucks. And yes. And Councilor Harmsen and I just happened to be passing by and see it. But it looks like this is a newish event that hopes to be sustainable. Is that right? Do you guys want to? I just- I thought it was so cool, but I wasn't there for that long. There no both anywhere. Bergus: I just ate a lot of food. So I didn't know about it. Harmsen: No, I believe it was some of our local food truck vendors came together and approached. I'm going to get the old name. I can't remember the new name of the facility. Bergus: Purpose Place. Harmsen: Thank you. Dream City. And they said, yes, you can use our- our- our parking lot and they had a food trucks lined up and it was a great way to fuel up before door knocking on Saturday. Teague: Okay. I have asked you to turn off your device several times. Several times. You are— the rules of the council is that you must be appropriate and respectful. Okay. Purdy: All right. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022. Page 26 Teague: Now, if I have to ask you again, I'm going to ask you to leave [OVERLAPPING]. Purdy: Stay on topic, Mayor Teague. Teague: So please be silent while- while we continue. Thank you. Any other- any other comments? Purdy: No. Redmond. No violence for its picketers, right? Teague: I'm gonna- I'm gonna- I'm gonna- I'm gonna respectfully. [OVERLAPPING] Purdy: I wasn't saying nothing, you guys were talking. Teague: I'm going to respectfully ask you to leave the- the council meeting at this time. Purdy: I accept that. Teague: I'm going to ask you to leave. Please leave. Purdy: What do you want me to put my head down? Like I'm nobody like I'm not somebody. Teague: Okay. Purdy: Or am I somebody that's [OVERLAPPING]. Teague: We're- we're gonna- we're gonna continue. Please. Please. Please, please be silent. Please be silent. Please be silent. We're going to continue. Any other comments? Purdy: [BACKGROUND] Come on, Geoffrey. Make a comment. Teague: Okay. Alright. No other comments. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of November 1, 2022.