HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-05-05 Transcription May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 1
May 5, 2003 Council Work Session 6:35 PM
Council: Champion, Kanner, Lehman, O'Donnell, Pfab, Vanderhoef; Wilbum
Staff: Atkins, Boothroy, Dilkes, Helling, Karr, Kopping, McCafferty, Miklo, Nasby,
O'Neil
TAPES: 03-40, BOTH SIDES; 03-41, SIDE ONE
TAPE 03-40, SIDE ONE
REVIEW PLANNING AND ZONING ITEMS
Lehman/Mr. Miklo.
O'Donnell/That's Miklo, not Michelob. I'm sorry.
Champion/Got beer tonight.
(Laughter)
Lehman/You knew who I was talking to, fight?
O'Donnell/What did you say?
Champion/Michelob, instead of Miklo.
Lehman/I said Miklo.
O'Donnell/I thought you said Michelob.
Lehman/Oh, get out of here.
a. PUBLIC HEARING ON A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE SOUTH CENTRAL
DISTRICT PLAN TO CHANGE THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION
FROM OFFICE PARK / COMMERCIAL TO INTENSIVE OR HIGHWAY
COMMERCIAL FOR PROPERTY GENERALLY LOCATED EAST OF
MORMON TREK BOULEVARD EXTENDED.
b. PUBLIC HEARING ON A RESOLUTION ANNEXING APPROXIMATELY 150
ACRES OF PROPERTY GENERALLY LOCATED EAST OF HIGHWAY 218~
WEST OF THE IOWA CITY AIRPORT, AND BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH OF
HIGHWAY 1. (ANN03-00001, ANN01-00004)
c. PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE ZONING
DESIGNATION OF APPROXIMATELY 6.1 ACRES FROM COUNTY RS,
SUBURBAN RESIDENTIAL, TO CI-1, INTENSIVE COMMERCIAL, FOR
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PROPERTY LOCATED WEST OF DANE ROAD, EAST OF MORMON TREK
BOULEVARD EXTENDED. (REZ01-00017)
d. PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE ZONING OF
APPROXIMATELY 144 ACRES FROM COUNTY CH, C2, R1A, RS & A1 TO P,
PUBLIC, CH-l, HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL, AND ID-RS, SUBURBAN
RESIDENTIAL, FOR PROPERTY GENERALLY LOCATED EAST OF
HIGHWAY 218, WEST OF THE IOWA CITY AIRPORT, AND BOTH NORTH
AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 1. (REZ03-00013)
Miklo/Our first several items, a through d, are all related to the annexation of Mormon Trek
extended area. The first item is a public hearing on an amendment to the Comprehensive
Plan. The South Central District currently shows this area as potential commercial office.
We're proposing to change that to intensive commercial, and the Planning and Zoning
Commission concurred with that recommendation. The reason for the change is the
original Southwest District Plan showed this whole area for commercial office. A large
portion of it was purchased for the airport protection area. This area is proposed for
highway commercial, and this area is proposed for industrial. We feel that the intensive
commercial is compatible with both of those designations and does also allow office uses.
So it's probably the most flexible in that area.
Pfab/I have a---
Miklo/The next item would be the public hearing on the annexations themselves. The entire
property includes approximately 150 acres; six acres were applied for voluntarily by John
Dane a couple of years ago, but because it wasn't contiguous to the City, we weren't able
to forward it. Now that we've initiated the annexation ora much larger area, the Dane
property would be contiguous and we then could proceed. This isn't--the City initiated
this application and met with the property owners and they've all consented and agreed to
armexation. One of the incentives we gave them, well, offered them was the graduation of
the tax, a City tax. Mr. Dane has also asked for that for the property that he voluntarily
proposed annexation of. In terms of zoning, of course, the area owned by the airport
would be zoned P, Public; the areas north of Highway 1, the car dealerships and Berg
Auto would be zoned CI-1, which is similar to the other zoning in the area and
compatible with the existing uses. The Davis property adjacent to the interchange would
be zoned highway commercial; the reason for that is it does allow hotels and encourages
things that, businesses that can take advantage of the interchange. This small area here
south of the drainage way is proposed to be residential as the district plan calls for all of
this to be residential, so this would be a good transition point. And we would anticipate
that as development occurs here, we would rezone that for that, to a specific residential
category; most likely a multi-family or planned development. This is the route of the
extension of Mormon Trek Boulevard and, as I said, we're proposing to amend the
Comprehensive Plan here and also zone this CI-1.
Vanderhoeff Bob?
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Pfab/Bob, can I interrupt you?
Vanderhoef/The dealing with the property owners, there was one thing that I didn't see in there
and I maybe missed it, but when do these properties, in particular, the Danes', have to
connect onto water and sewer and the Wolfe properties?
Miklo/As it would become available or as they develop.
Vanderhoef/But the things that are already developed? The mobile home park?
Pfab/We're not annexing them.
Miklo/Actually, the mobile home park would not be annexed.
Vanderhoef/We're not getting that far north?
Lehman/No.
Vanderhoef/OK. So it would only be the homestead of John and George Dane?
Miklo/Well, actually, no, they--we had the one time were discussing the annexation of those
properties and they chose not to consent to the annexation of those properties at this time.
So I don't believe other than Rock's Roadhouse---
Lehman/There is none.
Miklo/I don't believe there is anything that's developed existing in this area. So this would all
be raw land, and as development occurred, they---
Vanderhoef/And what's this square? Is that where the farmstead is in the white area?
Lehman/Right.
Miklo/Yes, this is the Dane property.
Vanderhoef/Yeah, OK. Got it. You stopped at Dane Road.
Pfab/This is, may not be directly on topic, but how long has thc airport owned that land across
the street? And when---
Lehman/Across the street? Which street are we talking about?
Pfab/Across---
Lehman/Across Dane Road?
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Pfab/Yeah. No?
Kanner/Across Highway 1.
Atkins/Across Highway 1, fight next to the car dealership and Berg's.
Kanner/Oh, I was curious about that, too.
Atkins/I suspect they've had that six or eight years at least.
Pfab/What was that purchased to protect their---
Atkins/Yeah. It was clear zone purchase, correct.
Miklo/Steven?
Lehman/Wasn't that part of the same time that the trailer court was purchased?
Atkins/Yes.
Lehman/For the master plan.
Atkins/The master plan had the Fitzgerald trailer court, oh, that--I think it was called the Hagen
property, that was the name we gave to it.
Lehman/Right.
Atkins/And all of it was the clear zone requirements.
Pfab/Will any of that ever be built on or is there something on there now?
Atkins/Well, the P, Public, will take care of what used to be the mobile home next to the car
dealerships. That can be used commercially. I know the airport is in fact talking--across
the street could be used commercially. Yeah. Low-rise, but could be used commercially.
Lehman/OK.
Miklo/Ready for the next items?
Lehman/Yes.
e. CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM CB-2~ CENTRAL BUSINESS
SERVICE ZONE, TO CB-5~ CENTRAL BUSINESS SUPPORT ZONE, FOR
BLOCK 67 OF T}IE ORIGINAL TOWN PLAT, EXCEPTING TIlE 6,000
SQUARE FOOT PROPERTY AT 130 NORTH DUBUQUE STREET. (REZ03-
OOOO6)
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f. CONDITIONALLY CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM CB-2,
CENTRAL BUSINESS SERVICE ZONE, TO CB-5, CENTRAL BUSINESS
SUPPORT ZONE, FOR A 6,000 SQUARE FOOT PROPERTY AT 130 NORTH
DUBUQUE STREET (REZ02-00021)
Miklo/Items e and fare the rezonings on (can't hear) and Dubuque streets that were deferred
from your last couple of meetings. And staff has no further information on those.
Lehman/Does Council have any questions about this one? Because Item e. requires the
extraordinary majority, having more than 20 percent who have objected to it. If there are
questions that we need answers to, it'd be nice to have them tonight.
Pfab/I will be voting in favor.
Lehman/OK. Go ahead, Bob. Why and incidentally if we don't pass e, then we do not act on f---
Miklo/Correct.
Lehman/...in the agenda, because fwould not be I think legal unless e were passed.
Pfab/Well, if it were legal, I'd rather just on the little one, but is that not legal?
Lehman/That's spot zoning, we've been told.
Dilkes/Well, I'm not going to say it's illegal but I think it raises issues of spot zoning, which is
why we've done it the way we've done it.
Lehman/OK.
g. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM
HIGH DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY / SENSITIVE AREA OVERLAY (RS-
12/OSA) TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT HOUSING OVERLAY (OPDH-
12/OSA) FOR 2.12 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST
CORNER OF MEADOW RIDGE LANE AND NORTH DUBUQUE STREET.
(REZ03-00009) (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Miklo/OK. Item g is the rezoning at Dubuque Street, Foster Road, B'jaysville Lane, and this is
Ridge Subdivision. You've had your public hearing and staff has no further direction on
this.
Pfab/I'm still concerned about the highway noise for those things and I'm wondering if you go
out there sometime that it's really busy, that's extremely noisy and they take away,
they're 30 feet from the second pavement, I agree, but the space in there--is there any
way that that noise can be abated?
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Lehman/Close the street.
O'Donnell/Close the road.
Pfab/Close the road?
Lehman/I don't think, Irvin, we can do anything about noise. If they choose to build there and
want to live with that noise, that really is their business.
Champion/Exactly.
Lehman/I hear what you're saying.
Pfab/Right, but--when we look at the public safety and whatnot of people that are going to be
there, if there's just noise pollution is just wicked, I think we have some obligation---
O'Donnell/How far is the interstate up the road?
Kanner/Well, it's not so much the interstate, Mike. I think it's more Dubuque even. We were out
there after the water plant ceremony and even at 6:00 or 7:00 o'clock at night, it's quite
busy. Bob, are there any standards in urban and regional planning about noise levels that
are recommended, not to have some building or living space at certain noise levels?
Miklo/There are some standards from DOT regarding highway construction or building along
interstates, but there's nothing specific in Iowa City's Codes that address noise from a
street.
Kanner/So, what are some of those standards? What are the decibel levels? And is there any way
that we can measure there? Because it is pretty close and it is a concern and maybe we
might have to require some buffering of some sort, if that's possible at all. Because you
go in to the street to the north and it's pretty well buffered and you don't---
Lehman/I don't think we can require it if we don't have an ordinance.
Karmer/Well, we are doing a rezoning, right?
Lehman/Right.
Kanner/So we can negotiate in there if we feel that it is hazardous and I think it might behoove
us to see if we can measure the noise there and see how it stands up to national standards.
Champion/It's hard for me to believe that it's that intense of a problem since when you go down
any interstate in any city, there are houses built right up to it.
Pfab/Well, see, then they're asking to move it to--what is it normally, a 40-foot setback?
They're asking for 30 feet.
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Kanner/I think 30 to 20 or something.
Miklo/It's 30 feet.
Kanner/Forty to 30?
O'Donnell/Isn't that to save some trees in the back?
Miklo/Right.
Vanderhoef/But that's suffering on a different side.
Lehman/The Sensitive Areas Ordinance requires clustering on this one and when you do that
you can waive some of the requirements, I believe--is that not correct?
Miklo/That's correct.
Lehman/So, we waived the setback in order to save part of the sensitive areas and cluster those
buildings so as not to disturb any more of the property than we have to. I believe that's
correct.
Miklo/That's correct.
O'Donnell/That's exactly right.
Pfab/It seems to me there's a highway---
Vanderhoef/Old Highway 218, which gives---
Pfab/Now the old 218---
Miklo/(Can't hear) there's the frontage road.
Pfab/There would be a way--that's not the one that's causing the problem. The other one is. And
is there a right-of-way or can anything be put in between those?
Lehman/Between the two streets?
Pfab/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/Between Dubuque Street and old Highway 218.
Pfab/Yeah, say like a wall or a sound-bending thing.
Lehman/That's City property, I presume.
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Miklo/It's either City or state right-of-way.
O'Donnell/State property, I would think.
Pfab/Because the location's really nice and it, they're going to squeeze in there pretty tight, and
you know, the location up to the interstate, to get into the hospitals and whatnot, but that
really, that makes me uncomfortable that a family would have to live there with that
much noise that close to the highway without something, some way to protect the
occupants.
Champion/They wouldn't have to live there, Irvin.
Vanderhoef/No, they've got a choice whether they choose to live there.
Pfab/Well, I said, if they lived there.
(Laughter)
Champion/Well---
Vanderhoeff Well, but these are new properties and---
O'Donnell/I think Eleanor wants to say something.
Dilkes/I think what you need to focus on is the variances that are being requested as part of the
planned development. I mean, building could go on on that property fight now, and there
would be no requirement of any kind of noise buffering. And you would still have the
noise issues if they chose not to do a planned development on that property.
Pfab/But if they went back another 30 percent, that would certainly help that.
Dilkes/Yes, if you think--and that's why I mean I think you need to focus on the variances that
are being requested. And one of which is a reduction in the front yard---
Pfab/Right.
Dilkes/...and so, but I'm just, I think you need to direct your focus to those issues.
Miklo/There was discussion with staff and we formulated our recommendation to Planning and
Zoning Commission. The feeling was that 10 feet was not going to really add anything to
a buffer in a case like this.
Pfab/What it does is allows the person, more trees or more vegetation or a wall or something to
go in there.
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Lehman/Well, you can put a wall and trees in 30 feet.
Pfab/Pardon?
Lehman/You can put a wall or trees within the 30 feet. Thirty feet's--
Pfab/That gets awfully tight if you---
Lehman/ Thirty feet is half the width of half the lots in this community.
Pfab/Yes, but you've got a highway right next to it.
Lehman/I know that, but the measurement starts at the highway so there's 30 feet between the
sidewalk and the building.
Pfab/Ah, no, I don't think so.
Lehman/In any event, the issue is that---
Pfab/Well, that depends on whether you vote for it or not.
Lehman/I know that, but the issue is apparently the saving of the sensitive areas in the back is a
greater savings than giving up 10 feet in the front. And obviously the staff and Planning
and Zoning Commission felt that that was a good tradeoff.
O'Donnell/Couldn't this guy, didn't we decide that he could have put 24 units in this same area?
Lehman/I think it's zoned for that.
O'Donnell/It is zoned for 24, so I think he's done a really good job trying to preserve sensitive
areas trees and, Irvin, nobody has to buy there.
Pfab/Well, do we want vacant properties out there all the, upon our entrance to Iowa City?
O'Donnell/! guess I don't think they'll be there (can't hear)
Lehman/There is an issue though that we discussed briefly and I don't know where this is, Bob,
but I do think that even though the intersection of Foster Road and North Dubuque Street
is in the out years of the CIP, that's something that we---and I don't know where we are
on that, Steve.
Atkins/Your question again, Ernie?
Lehman/The intersection of Foster Road and North Dubuque is---
Atkins/That's in our unfunded list. Yeah.
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Lehman/I know, but I'm not sure that we aren't going to have to take another look sooner rather
than later.
Atkins/There seem to be implications that, particularly, I think the Planning and Zoning
Commission suggested that you at least consider that and I suspect you'll want to do that
the next budget go-around sometime.
Lehman/Yeah. OK. OK, sir?
h. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE COMBINING THE LONGFELLOW HISTORIC
DISTRICT AND TIlE MOFFITT COTTAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT INTO ONE
HISTORIC DISTRICT NAMED TIlE LONGFELLOW HISTORIC DISTRICT.
(REZ03-00004) (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Miklo/Your next item, Item h, is first consideration of the combination of the Longfellow and
Moffitt Cottage Historic District. This is the Moffitt District that would be added to the
Longfellow District. Any questions on this one?
Wilburn/Nope.
i. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE FROM NEIGHBORHOOD
CONSERVATION RESIDENTIAL (RNC-12 & RNC-20), ItIGIt DENSITY
MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RM-44) AND MEDIUM DENSITY SINGLE-
FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RS-8) TO CONSERVATION DISTRICT OVERLAY
(RNC-12/OCD, RNC-20/OCD, RM-44/OCD & RS-8/OCD) FOR THE
DESIGNATION OF TIlE COLLEGE IlILL CONSERVATION DISTRICT
WITIlIN TItE COLLEGE HILL NEIGHBORItOOD. (REZ03-00005) (SECOND
CONSIDERATION)
Miklo/The next item is the College Hill Conservation District. There were some questions from
the public at the last meeting. Michael Maharry, the chair of the Historic Preservation
Commission, is here to---
Vanderhoef/Excuse me. I have to leave if you're going to discuss this.
O'Donnell/It's that fraternity, isn't it?
Lehman/She's going out to meet with her fraternity brothers.
(Laughter)
Vanderhoeff Yes.
Miklo/And he could either address those questions tonight or tomorrow night at the public
meeting, whatever you prefer.
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Lehman/I don't recall--my suspicion is those questions will come up tomorrow night.
O'Donnell/Yes.
Karr/You also have correspondence in your packet this evening.
Lehman/Right.
Pfab/There's quite a bit of activity, I think.
Champion/I hate to ask him to come back, but I think we need him.
Lehman/Yeah, I think so.
Champion/Tomorrow night.
Lehman/Tomorrow night.
j. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM
NEIGHBORItOOD CONSERVATION RESIDENTIAL, (RNC-12), TO OVERLAY
HISTORIC PRESERVATION, (OHP/RNC-12), DESIGNATING THE
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 30 SOUTH GOVERNOR STREET AN IOWA CITY
HISTORIC LANDMARK. (REZ03-00001) (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
k. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CHANGING TItE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM
NEIGHBORItOOD CONSERVATION RESIDENTIAL, (RNC~20), TO OVERLAY
HISTORIC PRESERVATION, (OPH/RNC-20), DESIGNATING THE
PROPERTY AT 802 WASHINGTON STREET AS AN IOWA CITY HISTORIC
LANDMARK (REZ03-00002) (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
I. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE ZONING DESIGNATION FROM
NEIGHBORItOOD CONSERVATION RESIDENTIAL, (RNC-20), TO OVERLAY
HISTORIC PRESERVATION, (IHP/RNC-20), DESIGNATING THE PROPERTY
AT 726 IOWA AVENUE AS AN IOWA CITY HISTORIC LANDMARK. (REZ03-
00003) (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Miklo/Items j, k, and 1 are the landmark designations in this same area. This would be second
consideration of those.
P£ab/I think they'll all pass (can't hear)
m. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND AN EXISTING PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT HOUSING PLAN (OPDH-8) TO ALLOW A 64-UNIT
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LOT 255 OF WINDSOR RIDGE, PART
12, A 7.93 ACRE DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT COURT STREET AND
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ARLINGTON DRIVE. (REZ02-00022) (PASS AND ADOPT)
Miklo/Item m is the amended planned development for Windsor Ridge, south side of Court
Street---
Karr/Excuse me, is Dee--yeah, Dee's coming back.
Lehman/Oh, OK. Another short fraternity meeting.
Vanderhoef/A short one.
(Laughter)
Miklo/This is the plan you just tonight had second consideration of, so this would be pass and
adopt.
Lehman/Right.
n. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE VACATING THE NORTHERNMOST 60 FEET OF
THE DEAD-END ALLEY ALONG THE WEST PROPERTY LINE OF 405
SOUTH SUMMIT STREET. (VAC00-00001) (PASS AND ADOPT)
Miklo/The next item regarding the alley vacation, we are recommending that be deferred to June
10th. We still are anticipating an offer from the adjacent property owners.
Vanderhoef/Can we just defer that upfront, Eleanor, since we know we're going to defer the
other one?
Dilkes/Yes.
Lehman/Which one are we talking about?
Dilkes/Rather than moving it and then deferring it, you mean? Yeah, you just can defer it to
June 10th.
Vanderhoef/We aren't supposed to do it if we're not going to do the other.
Dilkes/Items 10 and 11, the conveyances, need to be deferred until June 10th.
Vanderhoef/And that's in our packets so we can, she said we can go ahead and just defer this
one instead of moving it around and then deferring it.
Lehman/Yeah. OK.
o. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY PLAT OF
GALWAY HILLS, PARTS 7, 8 AND 9, A 44-LOT, 19.01-ACRE SUBDIVISION
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LOCATED AT DUBLIN DRIVE.
Miklo/Item o is the preliminary plat of Galway Hills Subdivisions, Part 7, 8, and 9. Something
I'd like to point out on this there are 43 single-family lots and then one large tract, and
our understanding is there had been some negotiations £or the possibility o£ a church or
else the extension of Melrose Meadows Retirement Community onto this property. If
neither one of those proceeded through the zoning process that's required, this can
certainly be subdivided into single-£amily lots. Something else I'd like to point out is this
is the subdivision we're looking at now. We also have a concept plan that shows how
Shannon Drive from the south would connect with Dublin Drive so that we would have a
street that would connect from Rohret Road to Melrose Avenue. It's somewhat circuitous
to not encourage cut-through tra£fic through the neighborhood. Any questions on this
subdivision?
Kanner/Yeah, Bob, why are there no tap-on fees for 9.3 acres on the west side o£the trunk line?
Miklo/I believe that sewer was put in without a tap-on ordinance. It was funded several years
ago.
Kanner/Oh, so it's not allowed to add subsequent to that?
Miklo/That's correct.
Kanner/Can we change that or is there, is that illegal?
Dilkes/Well, there has to be a tap-on fee specific, project-specific tap-on fee ordinance in place.
Kanner/We could have one in the futura; I assume there are other places like this too.
Dilkes/Well, I don't think you can hold up this subdivision plat because of that.
Kanner/Yeah, maybe it's too late, but in the future for other places can we collect tap-on fees?
Dilkes/Well, I think there are a number of things that go into deciding whether to do a project-
specific tap-on fee, which I'm not typically involved in.
Miklo/Generally, or always, tap-on fees are identified as a way of paying for a sewer line that's
not already in place. This is a line that's been in place for a long time and therefore is
available for the adjacent properties to hook into.
Dilkes/We have an enabling ordinance for tap-on fees and you'd have to look at that and see
what it allows.
Kanner/So, when this was put in, the developer didn't pay for that line.
Miklo/No, I believe it was put in a number of years ago to serve a larger area, an identified need
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for much of the west side.
Kanner/So, they're reaping the benefit now, the developer is. So it's something that we can
consider---
Champion/It's not just the developers that are reaping the benefits. It's also the homeowners.
Kanner/Well, the idea is that the developers are pushing for tap-on fees now. They're going to
make a lot of money out of this, and maybe they pass it on to the homeowner. But the
point is that we get typically when you build housing, you don't make it back in taxes.
This is a way to get some of that money back, and it seems that we should be collecting
some of this because there's hidden costs that the homeowner and the developer aren't
paying for.
Dilkes/As a general role, I think those decisions need to be made as part of the financing at the
beginning of the project and as opposed to a sewer that's been in place for a number of
years and then going back and attempting to collect for it.
Lehman/It'd also be rather difficult to start charging in the middle of the subdivision. I mean,
the other part of the subdivision is in; there's still another part to come. My suspicion is if
you're going to have it, you'd want it for the entire subdivision.
Pfab/I think (can't hear) is working something on another point. He's saying, OK, this horse is
out of the barn. But if, to help the City recoup its cost for putting this in, are there any
items out there now that have the potential of being generating tap-on fees?
Dilkes/I think if you want to have a general discussion about financing sewer lines by way of
tap-on fees, then that needs to be done at a different time.
Pfab/Is that something we could put on a---
Champion/ Isn't the sewer though, our--what do you call it when it pays for itself..
Lehman/An enterprise fund.
Champion/An enterprise fund?
Lehman/Right. But that's another discussion.
Atkins/Oh, is the sewer fund an enterprise fund? Yeah, but the developer can still make the
payment into the enterprise fund.
Champion/Right.
Atkins/Just as much as---
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Champion/They're not using general money--~
Atkins/No, we're not using general fund monies, that's correct.
Pfab/OK, so is that something---
Lehman/We're not going to be able to discuss this---
Pfab/No, no, no---
Lehman/ If someone wants to put this on, actually, it would perhaps be helpful, rather than
putting it on for a work session, I mean, if we could have a statement from, is it Rick
perhaps---
Atkins/I'm not so sure---
Lehman/...what our policy is on tap-on fees? Because I think we're pretty aggressive in doing
that now.
Atkins/Generally speaking, we have been over the last number of years---
Lehman/I don't think we---
Pfab/But I guess what we're looking for is there any that---
O'Donnell/Why don't we wait until we get a statement and then we'll know.
Pfab/Right, yeah. That is the question.
Kanner/Yeah, I think that would be helpful.
Pfab/We don't need a discussion. I'm just looking for facts.
Lehman/Do a memo on it.
Atkins/Do a memo on it?
Lehman/Yeah.
Atkins/OK.
Lehman/OK.
Kanner/Just--sorry to belabor it--but where is that west, the 9.3 acres point down here? Were
there not---
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Miklo/I'm not exactly sure, but I believe it's this area down in here, I think drains into a
different sewer than the area to the north, which drains into the sewer that was put in a
number of years ago to encourage the Walnut Ridge development.
Atkins/Yeah. That's correct.
Kanner/Thank you.
p. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY PLAT OF
HOLLYWOOD MANOR PART 8, IOWA CITY, IOWA.
Miklo/Item p is a preliminary plat of Hollywood Manor located just west of Sycamore Street,
and this is Wetherby Drive. This is actually somewhat of a reapproval in that this was
approved back in 1999. Part 6 and 7 are well under construction; the preliminary plat for
part 8 expired; plats expire after a 24-month period to make sure that if there are any new
ordinances or policies, they can be applied. In this case there are no new ordinances or
policies that apply to this subdivision, and the Planning and Zoning Commission staff
both recommend approval.
Karmer/Bob? Two questions on this. It mentions on page 129 of our packet, page 3 of your
report, that fees in lieu of open space will be determined at the time of the final plat. Do
we have a formula of what we expect we'll be getting from that or do you have an idea of
what that might be?
Miklo/I can't give you a dollar figure. It's based on an appraisal of what the raw land is worth.
There is a formula that dictates how many acres or in a smaller subdivision like this it
might actually be a fraction of an acre is required by law, and then if fees would be paid,
based on the value of that same of land in this general neighborhood.
Kanner/But we've been collecting fees for parts 1 through 7?
Miklo/I'm not sure about--no, I believe part 1 through 5 are up here and they were established
well before we had any neighborhood open space ordinance, but parts 6 and 7 would
have paid.
Kanner/So, when we get the final plat we'll be pretty much formulistic of how much they're
going to pay?
Miklo/Right. We could give you a very rough estimate.
Lehman/That's determined by a formula. I mean, that's a mathematical calculation.
Miklo/Right.
Lehman/OK.
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Vanderhoef/It's their percent.
Kanner/And then the other question was, can you show--they mention the term "hammerhead"
or drop-in forced driveways for emergency turnaround.
Miklo/There will be a hammerhead in this location so that a fire truck can maneuver in and turn
around rather than having to back down the street.
Kanner/What is a hammerhead?
Miklo/It's a temporary--it's like a T intersection. It'd be a stub--and it doesn't show up on the
plat itself. There's an easement. This was an earlier version of the plat before it went to
Planning and Zoning. It would be just like a driveway for fire trucks. It allows a large
vehicle to maneuver in and then turn in this way, back up, and then turn out.
Wilburn/Just like a three-point turn.
Miklo/Right.
Wilburn/Yeah.
Kanner/So, they'll just keep that as open space, an easement, you said?
Miklo/Right. Right, it would be on the original Jensen farm, which is here, which is possibly
we'll develop in the future.
Lehman/When that develops, the hammerhead goes away.
Miklo/Right, that's correct. We anticipate it'll be replaced with a cul de sac.
Pfab/Point of privilege. I'm going to be leaving this meeting. I have a family event that I have to
take care of. I may be back.
Lehman/OK.
Pfab/OK.
Vanderhoef/Bob, there was some discussion in there about the Russell, which I take it is the
north and south--I couldn't read it on my map--that one.
Miklo/Right. This is Russell.
Vanderhoef/OK. Then I had it spotted correctly. And that goes through the hydrous soil area?
Miklo/Right. There's some hydric soil in this vicinity.
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Vanderhoef/OK. And where does Russell Drive ultimately go to the north? What does it connect
onto?
Miklo/It intersects--the way we have the location map here, here's Bums and then it goes up to,
I think--it's hard to read on this---
Male/ Sandusky.
Lehman/Sandusky.
Vanderhoef/OK. So that is arterial all the way.
Miklo/Actually, it's a local here. From this point south there will be a collector and we had--
there's also in the south point subdivision there's a portion of Russell, but we are
planning for an offset in this area so that it's not a straight shot through this
neighborhood.
Vanderhoef/OK, and Wetherby is also---
Miklo/That is a collector street and the general plan for the area is that Wetherby, Russell, and
then there'll be another street that will provide access to Wetherby Park, and to the west,
eventually connecting to Gilbert Street, and there may be some tums in between. Again,
similar to what we've worked out with Galway Hill so it's not a straight shot through the
neighborhood.
Vanderhoef/OK. Show me just in general where the south drainage corridor is.
Miklo/I'm sorry this map isn't large enough, but the drainage--South Sycamore drainage way
starts roughly here and works its way down to the Saddlebrook area and it covers mostly
this area but it does include a bit west of Sycamore Street.
Vanderhoef/But the drainage way doesn't go all the way up near the park.
Miklo/Yeah, but I believe it's in this general vicinity. No, it doesn't go near Wetherby Park.
Vanderhoef/And is there any plan to move or to continue that drainage way on up in that
direction?
Miklo/I don't believe so.
Lehman/What direction does this drainage flow? Does it flow towards---
Miklo/It goes south.
Lehman/It does.
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Miklo/This area starts to flow to the south.
Lehman/Yeah, so it's going towards Gilbert.
Miklo/Here's the Iowa River.
Vanderhoef/Yeah.
Lehman/So it doesn't go into the berm water management part that we've got.
Miklo/I think there's a ridge in this general area.
Vanderhoef/This is something that I am interested in looking at. If this property is sort of the
dividing spot between the flow to the east and the flow to the west. But that whole area
down there is still so flat that moving towards more drainage way and taking it to the
river would be something I would hope Council would look at it in the future.
Wilburn/So there is some development that started to the west of it there, because that's where
the trail runs down through. I don't know how much more is already zoned and approved,
but---
Vanderhoef/Yeah, I know we're behind if we wanted to do an all comprehensive and get
everyone on board to connect into it.
Miklo/The regional drainage system we put in does cover this area here so we have a large area
that's now drained by that.
Kanner/That said, it would improve the sewer problems over---
Champion/Sandusky.
Kanner/...Sandusky. Can you show where that is?
Miklo/Actually, in the Bums Avenue area there is some drainage that has been problematic in
these backyards. As part of this development (I'11 see if there's a better picture of it),
there is a swell being installed and it's in up to this point and it will continue and then it
tums into a storm sewer and they are actually rebuilding the storm sewer here to provide
more capacity for it, and our engineers believe that that will greatly improve the situation
for these dwelling units here.
Lehman/OK.
q. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING TItE EXTRATERRITORIAL
PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT OF HARNEY'S HOMESTEAD, JOHNSON
COUNTY~ IOWA.
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Miklo/Our last Planning and Zoning item is a preliminary and final plat of Harney's Homestead.
This is just to the north of Iowa City in the Fringe Area Agreement, area covered by the
Fringe Area Agreement; it will result in two lots, one with an existing farmhouse on it
and then a second lot where they'll be able to build a house and then there's an outlot
that's for agricultural purposes. This complies with the Fringe Area Agreement, and both
staff and Planning and Zoning recommend approval.
O'Donnell/All right.
Lehman/Thank you, sir.
REVIEW AGENDA ITEMS
Lehman/OK. Agenda items.
4.d.(10) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING FUNDING FOR TItE RACK BBQ
FROM IOWA CITY'S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT--
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND AND AUTHORIZING T}IE CITY
MANAGER TO ACT AS CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER AND SUBMIT
ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION TO TItE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
Kanner/In the Consent Calendar, number d. I0, I'd like to remove that from Consent, approving
$25,000, Rack BBQ. I'd like to have discussion and hear reasoning for that.
Lehman/OK. Any other agenda items?
4.b.(4) RECEIVE AND FILE MINUTES OF IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION: MARCH 25.
Vanderhoef/There was something in the Human Rights minutes about a survey that was done
and in it was talking something about one of the three major things that turned up in
comments in the survey was about relations with City government/City Council, and I
didn't understand what that was about and I would like a little update on what this survey
was about and if there's something that---
Atkins/We'll get a memo on that.
Vanderhoef/...needs to come to Council, I'd like to hear it.
Atkins/OK.
Kanner/And as she said in there, it wasn't a scientific survey---
Vanderhoef/No.
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Kanner/...and it was done like at the Human Rights breakfast; that's probably where they got
many of their responses. But in any event, they're starting to pass it out. But, yeah, it's
good to hear some more info on that.
Vanderhoef/And if there's something that they think is discriminatory about the way Council or
City government is working, I think we need to hear about it now.
Lehman/We could ask for a memo from Heather.
Atkins/We will. We'll take care of it for you. Sure.
Lehman/OK, other agenda items?
4. d. RESOLUTIONS: TOBACCO ITEMS (1) - (7)
Kanner/For these fines that we're accepting in Resolution number D, these are not subject to the
new law that was passed when we got a memo from Andy?
Dilkes/A couple of them are.
Kanner/The $1500 ones?
Dilkes/The $1500 ones.
Kanner/So, it looks like it made it easier for the businesses. It gave them more choices.
Dilkes/I think that's right.
Kanner/Yeah.
Wilburn/It extended to a fifth---
Dilkes/Yes.
Vanderhoef/Yes, you're right.
Wilbum/...for the license to do it.
Dilkes/One of the big changes is that for a second violation, there's a 30-day suspension or a
$1,500 penalty, and it's at the retailer's choice.
Kanner/I hadn't even heard about this coming up.
Dilkes/I hadn't heard about it either.
Kanner/How did this slip in? Did anyone hear where, who slipped this in, who sponsored it?
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Atkins/I don't think so.
Wilburod It was an effective lobby.
Lehman/Stuck it on the end of somebody else's bill.
Vanderhoef/To take effect immediately, not even---
Wilburn/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/...not even July 1.
Champion/It's one of those wonderful things our Iowa legislators did this year.
Kanner/One of a few.
Lehman/One of the few things.
Dilkes/You will see these more frequently because we're going to have to pick up the schedule
to make sure we comply with that 60-day deadline or it gets taken to the state.
Lehman/Right.
Vanderhoef/OK.
Lehman/OK.
Vanderhoef/I thought it was interesting the letter that we got, the very nice one about the bike
trails. And then the tag line down below that says, "If ignorance is bliss, why aren't you
all a little happier?" And I thought oh.
Lehman/Made you smile, didn't it?
Vanderhoeff Jeepers.
O'Donnell/OK.
4. d. (9) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND
TItE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST TO THE RELEASE OF LIEN REGARDING
TWO MORTGAGES FOR TI:IE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 903 IOWA
AVENUE, IOWA CITY, IOWA.
Kanner/In the resolutions again, in number D, in the Consent Calendar, I didn't quite follow the
number 9, combining two mortgages into one and then releasing the lien on that. Yes,
please.
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Lehman/I think I understand that.
Kanner/How come we don't have a lien anymore?
Nasby/Actually, we do have a lien.
Lehman/Right.
Nasby/We had two liens on this property. There is no first mortgage. The property owner owns
it outright now. So, we have the first and second position. In order for them to get a home
equity loan on that property, their lender said they would not be a third position, but they
would agree to be in second. So we're combining our first and second into a larger first
mortgage---
Lehman/ Right.
Nasby/...and then the new loan will be a second. And there's sufficient equity in the property.
We've already recorded that mortgage so that prior two can be released. Does that answer
it or does that make it less clear?
Kanner/Well, shouldn't it say that there's a lien?
Nasby/Typically, what we do, what your function is is to release the liens as far as going into
those mortgages, that doesn't take an act of Council.
Kanner/OK.
Nasby/But the comment could be clearer to say that---
Lehman/Yeah.
Wilburn/I see your point.
Nasby/...you know, we've already signed another lien so these, this one can be released. But that
is the case and I can assure you we do have a lien on the property for its.
Kanner/OK.
ITEM NO. 16 CONSIDER A RESOLUTION ADOPTING IOWA CITY'S FY04
ANNUAL ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS A SUB-PART OF IOWA CITY'S 2001-
2006 CONSOLIDATED PLAN (CITY STEPS) AS AMENDED, AND
AUTHORIZING TIlE CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT SAID PLAN AND ALL
NECESSARY CERTIFICATIONS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT~ AND DESIGNATING TItE CITY MANAGER
AS THE AUTHORIZED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
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Vanderhoef/While you're there, Steve---
Nasby/Sure.
Vanderhoef/On 16, which is the minor text changes in the CDBG plan---
Nasby/Yes.
Vanderhoef/...tell me what those were.
Nasby/Let's see, they were very minor. The one HCDC we had to move, there was a paragraph
about shelter house, it was in Public Facilities, paragraph they would like it in the
Homeless Needs paragraph, so we cut and pasted it from one paragraph to another one.
Vanderhoef/Not any policy thing.
Nasby/No, the other amendment was when we had made the amendment to consolidate a plan,
that it was just, it was a Council-initiated amendment to the consolidated plan. They just
wanted that clarification made. So they were very minor.
Vanderhoef/Thank you.
Lehman/OK. More agenda items?
COUNCIL TIME
Lehman/Council time is in the middle of the agenda now. That is because so many times we run
late, we get a little tired, and some of us are ready to leave, and someone has something
important to say. So, is there anything for Council time from anybody?
Atkins/Can I have something important to say?
Lehman/You certainly may.
Atkins/I need a meeting date with you as soon as we possibly can. This is in response to the
state reduction in our aid. We have sort of spent nothing but the last week preparing a
report for you. Depending on how late you keep us tonight, we'd hopefully get this thing
maybe even wrapped up as early as tomorrow with our series of recommendations. But
understand, it has about 30 recommendations for reductions and new revenues as well as
a list of 15 plus options that will need some additional work. If you want to choose some,
so it's a lot of work. And I need to walk you through this in order to respond to the
legislative changes that we had handed to us. So I need a meeting.
Lehman/Well, how about next Monday?
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Champion/Perfect.
Kanner/In the evening?
Lehman/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/What's the date?
Lehman/Well, it would be---
Wilburn/12th.
Lehman/... 12th.
Atkins/You want to wait that long?
O'Donnell/When would you like it to be?
Atkins/I just want you to meet as soon as we can, folks, because it's---
Lehman/Well, when are we going to---
Atkins/...complex enough that you're going to---
Champion/ You must walk us through it.
Atkins/Yeah, I want to be pretty deliberate about it to make sure you understand because there
will be obviously some controversial ones that we have to deal with.
Champion/Well, I'm totally flexible because I'm here working but I can always get away, but I
think Ross and---
Atkins/I need at least a couple of hours, and we may even have to have a second meeting.
Champion/...so maybe people who have more rigid agendas than I should set a time. We can
maybe try to do it this week yet.
Vanderhoef/This week is good for me.
Kanner/It's pretty tough for me. Monday works. Or possibly Saturday in the afternoon.
Wilburn/Is this just to walk us through, not to make any decisions that day or?
Atkins/Well, I would hope, you know, Ross, the sooner we make decisions the sooner we can
implement these and the financial benefit accrues to us that much faster. There are
resolutions, for example, on fee changes that I need to get your blessing to get them
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prepared and get them up in front of you.
O'Donnell/How about Wednesday afternoon?
Karr/Will you have it to Council by Wednesday? What about Thursday morning early?
Lehman/Thursday morning we have a--oh, wait a minute.
(Can't hear)
Lehman/Oh, at 9:00, but I also have a meeting at 11:30.
O'Donnell/Well, let's be here--now I have a (can't hear) radio show since Iowa City cease to
exist.
Lehman/Mike, you're being a smart aleck.
Atkins/Understand if you have this on Wednesday, even ifI gave it to you tomorrow night, that
does not give you--I mean you need at least a day to look at it, to read it.
Wilburn/Yeah.
O'Donnell/How about Thursday?
Vanderhoef/At least.
Atkins/Thursday---
O'Donnell/At 11:00, Ernie?
Lehman/I could meet
O'Donnell/Is an hour and a half enough, Steve.'?
Kanner/Well, Steve, we have to meet at like--I have to be somewhere at 9:00.
Lehman/Thursday afternoon?
Atkins/So, it'd have to be either real early or~--
Kanner/I'm working 9:00 to 5:00. I got something in the evening.
Atkins/OK.
Kanner/Saturday afternoon, for me, is the earliest or Sunday or Monday.
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Lehman/Well, Sunday's Mother's Day, which would not be a good choice. I think Saturday is a
much happier---
Wilburn/Monday then?
Lehman/Monday it looks like.
Wilburn/OK.
Lehman/What time you want? 6:30?
Atkins/In the daytime or evening?
Kanner/6:30.
Lehman/Evening, 6:30--does that work? All right. Monday evening at 6:30.
Vanderhoef/I think so.
Karr/Do we want to, Steve, before they move on, do you want to also see about reserving
Tuesday? You can always cancel it.
Atkins/The following Tuesday?
Karr/Well, I'm saying Monday-Tuesday, if you need to.
Atkins/Yeah.
Kanner/Tuesday or Wednesday work for me.
Atkins/So, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of next week.
Kan:/Yeah, but I think Dee's leaving town Wednesday.
Wilbum/OK.
Lehman/Well, Monday-Tuesday.
Karr/Let's do Monday-Tuesday 6:30. And if you don't need Tuesday, you can always cancel.
Champion/Tuesday I have a commitment with a Kirkwood student group for an hour until 7:00,
so we really couldn't start till 7:30.
Lehman/That would work. That would work.
Atkins/So, we're 6:30 Monday here.
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Lehman/And we'll meet at 7:30 Tuesday.
Atkins/Now, I will try to get this document in your hands tomorrow; if I can't, I will have it
hand-delivered to your home on Wednesday, OK?
Lehman/OK.
Wilburn/OK.
O'Donnell/Thank you.
Atkins/Barfing anything crazy.
(Laughter)
Lehman/Is there anything else? Anybody have anything for Council time?
Champion/Well, I just wanted to let people know that we did, the Jail Task Fome did present our
final draft of our recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and I thought it was very
well received. It will be interesting now to see what they do with it. But except for a few
negative comments, it was actually very well received.
Lehman/Good. And thank you for working on it.
O'Donnell/Good job.
Champion/Oh, it was very (can't hear) actually, fascinating.
Kanner/We had been told that we've made offers and we haven't really gotten a solid response,
do we expect that we'll get the solid request from the Board of Supervisors for some
substantial discussion about some of the issue there?
Champion/It's all in their hands now. They'll have to make the decision about how they're
going to follow up on that.
Kanner/I think it behooves us to keep maybe nudging a bit from our end, too, since we are a
major player in the County as far as jail use.
Champion/Well, we are but I think we got to keep in mind, Steven, that population-wise, it's not
out of proportion.
Kanner/No, no. It doesn't--I'm saying either way, but we are the ones, we're 60 percent of the
County.
Champion/Right. But I'm sure--you know, all that is in there and I think we should just let them.
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It's going to take them a while to go through it and to decide where to even start. I think
the--they're worrying about money to do some of the things we suggested. We suggested
that if they did some of the things they wouldn't haven't to send $400,000 a year up to
Cedar Rapids. But they could probably start with that money. But they were much more
receptive than I thought they would be, because we had such negative comments from the
sheriff (can't hear) Iowa City.
Lehman/Well, it wasn't the only County person that---
Vanderhoef/But, it will, for start-up of some programs, it will cost them money before they start
realizing perhaps the savings. Right; There will be budget issues for them, no doubt.
Lehman/OK. Any other Council time items?
Kanner/Two things. One we did get a memo from Marian and Eleanor, I think. But in any case it
was about the minutes from our meetings and there's nothing that precludes us putting
the complete description of Council activity and work session minutes in the Consent
Calendar agenda for approval. And I think it would be good for us to do that because it
does initiate some action, and I think it would be good for us to approve that. And it
doesn't seem like it's any problem. It's just---
Lehman/Why would you like to do that?
Kanner/Because it was pointed out to me by a number of people that, we've initiated actions in
our informal work session and also in the complete description, there are some times
when it lists actions that are initiated that aren't necessarily put in our other minutes that
we accept. And I think for procedures it's good to be able to officially say that this is
what happened and we accept this as the way the event took place.
Lehman/Would they appear just in the Consent Calendar as just the minutes ofthe---
Karr/The work session minutes right now, as I noted, are included in your information packet
and are also on the website.
Lehman/But I mean if we (can't hear) what Steven would like us to do, it would be a line item
referring to---
Karr/A line item that you could discuss and amend, yes.
Kanner/But it would be like any Consent item. For the most part we would accept it, like we
accept the minutes for the most part, the formal minutes.
Lehman/I don't mind that but if we're going to get into long-winded discussions about what
happened at a work session because it happens to be part of the Consent Calendar, I'll
vote to take it right back out again.
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Kanner/I think that's your prerogative.
TAPE 03-40, SIDE TWO
Lehman/Put it in there?
Kanner/No, because---
Lehman/No, I think that's a legitimate question.
Kanner/No, it's because that I think there are things that are officially happening from our
government, then I think that it behooves us to officially accept that. And if there ever is
a case where something is off, we feel it's off, we correct it. It's not a big thing to clear
the minutes.
Champion/I think Steven is right. We do make a lot of decisions here and give a lot of
directions. And in any organization you belong to, you approve the minutes. I don't have
any problems with it. I think it's probably a good idea.
Lehman/As a line item? Just as any other Board or Commission minutes.
Champion/As a line item. Mm-hmm.
Vanderhoef/Fine.
O'Donnell/I guess I don't see the value.
Wilbum/The net effect is that you're really approving the minutes and one would hope that folks
wouldn't put too much effort into changing the transcript of the minutes.
Lehman/So, what do we do as far as making that part of the--are there a majority that want to
put this in the Consent Calendar?
Vanderhoef/Fine.
Wilbum/That's fine.
Champion/I think it's great.
Lehman/Is there any particular action that we need to take to do this?
Karr/Mm-nnn (negative).
Lehman/We just did it. OK. What's your second item?
Karmer/The second item, just to make note, I saw in our National League of Cities newsletter
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that May 8th in federal court in Seattle they'll hear a suit against the FCC ruling that a
cable modem is not subject to local franchise fees. So I think that's going to be important
to us, the big decision that's happening. I don't think it'll, I don't know too much about it
but I don't hold out too much hope that it's going to go in our favor.
(Laughter)
Atkins/I wouldn't either.
Lehman/I don't either. We're not going to spend the money.
Kanner/No, no, but you never know. That's it.
Lehman/OK. Anything else for Council time?
15. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT TIlE COMPREHENSIVE SET OT
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SCHEDULE OF MEMBERSHIP FEES,
OUTLINED IN PLANNING FOR CHANGE: FY04 FUNDING, OPERATIONAL
AND PROGRAMMING CHANGES AT THE IOWA CITY/JOHNSON COUNTY
SENIOR CENTER, TIlAT WERE DEVELOPED AND APPROVED BY TItE
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION.
Atkins/Ernie, can I just back up for one--I wanted to remind you you and I spoke and that item
15 on the Senior Center policy issue. You were going to move that up tomorrow night,
and you will need a motion of support to amend the agenda. Just with a head's up.
Lehman/Yeah, we've been requested that that item be moved up to the first item after Planning
and Zoning because we may have some folks here. So if one of you would make that
motion as soon as we finish Planning and Zoning we will move it forward.
Wilburn/OK.
FAIR
Lehman/OK. (Can't hear)
Kubby/We're going to need the old-style technology.
Lehman/OK.
Wilburn/Does that work anymore?
(Laughter)
Kanner/Ernie, can you explain for us and the public how this got on the agenda?
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Lehman/Oh, Karen asked me, and you TIFs are a rather controversial sort of thing all over the
state of Iowa.
Kubby/You bet they're controversial.
Lehman/And obviously there's been some controversy within the community and Karen asked
me if she could have 15 minutes at a work session if she could give us some input on
TIFs, and partly because Karen's a friend and partly professional courtesy, we said yes.
Kubby/Thank you.
Lehman/The clock is running.
Kubby/All right.
(Laughter)
Kubby/And really it's not just Karen Kubby, I made the request, but it's really for an
organization called FAIR, which is a kind ora new organization in town wanting to really
focus on local issues and not just in Iowa City, but in the whole county and the region.
And we basically have three tenants. One is that we want to look at things from the
perspective of social, economic and environmental justice, looking at fair and
accountable government and doing things to contribute positively to building our local
community through strengthening democratic processes. So we want to be an active
organization and a positive one in the community. And one of the things the group FAIR
wanted to do was look at economic development issues in general because it's such an
important factor, both for the private sector, the public sector, and the nonprofit sector, if
you really look at all those things, it's really--all those sectors are involved in the
development of the community. And because TIFs have become a bigger tool, not just in
Iowa City, but in Iowa City, we wanted to do some focus at looking at TIFs and what are
the effects of TIFs for Iowa City. Because it's a tool that's being used more frequently,
the effects may be coming more magnified than they were in the past. And so we started
looking at what is the accumulated effect of TIFs, because I know when I was on Council
and we looked at the idea of T1Fs we never said, well, what are we foregoing currently
and what are we going to add in what we're going to forego by saying yes to this and
what does that translate into in terms of City services that people are saying that we need?
So, we just want to look at this in kind of the whole County picture and how Iowa City
contributes to that picture and what is the bottom line dollar that Iowa City foregoes. And
when we first started exploring this, none of the cities, including Iowa City, we could
call--we were calling Nasby to get information. Then he didn't even have the bottom line
number in terms of TIFs for Iowa City. Now the state has asked you to get that number
and so now we have that number. But it wasn't so easy to get. I have to say that the City
staff was incredibly cooperative in getting us information and helping us track down this
stuff. But it's really interesting to look at the overall picture. And one of the things that I
guess I want to stress is that we're not pro-TIF in every instance, and we're not anti-TIF
in every instance. We think it's really important to see how is a new decision about a TIF,
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how does that change the picture that's out there right now and balancing that with
current City needs and state budget cuts and a whole lot of other things. And one of the
things we noticed, too, and this is true about not just TIFs but all kinds of economic
development tools that the City uses is that we tend to assume that if someone is asking
us for that form of public endeavor, that form of public assistance, that they wouldn't ask
for it unless they needed it. And I guess I want us as a community to turn that assumption
into a question and to say, well, I don't assume you need it or you don't need it, but I
want you to show us what the need is and how this is an important part of your overall
formula for this development of the community. So we hope to do tonight is show you
that picture that we see about TIFs, focusing on Iowa City, how it fits into the larger
County picture, and then we have some specific suggestions of how maybe the process of
TIFFing can be more inclusive, have maybe a broader conversation. So this is Colin
Gordon, he's another member of the FAIR Economic Development Action team, and
he's going to talk mostly about the specifics of TIFs in Johnson County in Iowa City.
Gordon/OK, just very briefly, in Iowa, as elsewhere, TIFs came about as a response to the
collapse of federal urban renewal dollars in the 1970s, and they were seen as a way of
accomplishing economic development and community development without that money.
And the idea as this slide suggests was that the district would generate its own revenues
so that the--as you're familiar, the tax revenues are frozen at this point--°
Lehman/You'll need to talk into the microphone, Colin. We're recording.
Gordon/...This example, if the tax revenues are frozen at a certain point, the large shaded area
then behind, because the increment can just float back into the district and then when the
TIF expires at the end of the graph, the overall tax base and tax revenues are much
higher. This is the sort of original notion of an urban renewal T1F, which is in Iowa Code
403. It was accompanied later by an open for economic development TIF, also in Code
403, which doesn't have quite the same threshold for proving conditions of blight. Now,
one of our concerns with TIFs is that this baseline assumption is not always correct. And
in fact, very careful research from Chicago and elsewhere has shown that in fact many
TIFs are granted in areas where property values rebound or grow slowly, in which case
the increment does not redound to the benefit and in fact what you're looking at in the
shaded area at the back is foregone revenues. In this assumption, then that's a natural
increase in market property value. (Save the next one to capital retail.) Now, the current
practice in Johnson County for TIFs, as you know, rests largely on the shoulders of
Coralville, 75 to 76 percent of assessed TIF properties in Johnson County is a result of
the actions of Coralville. Thirty-three percent of the commercial property in Coralville is
currently TIF'd. In Johnson County, as a whole, there is $317 million in property value
that is TIF'd, and this represents a diversion of about $8 million in tax revenue. And what
we're looking at, in mm (just put up the Iowa City one, that one's fine); this gives you a
sense then of the diversion of that revenue and as you can see, the lion's share is being
diverted from the schools and then next from the cities and then the County and then
from other smaller claimants on the tax base. Now, it should be noted that the schools
don't actually lose the $3.4 million, all of the $3.4 million here, because the state is
obliged to make up in backfill assistance what is, on a formula basis, s to about half of
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that money. But, much of the flurry and interest in TIF reform at the state level is driven
by the fact that the state last fiscal year spent $28 million backfilling municipal TIFs in
order to fund schools, and they don't want to do it anymore. What we're also seeing is a
relatively rapid increase in the use of TIFs in Iowa City, which is our immediate concern.
This, of course, is familiar, and I imagine Steve will have roughly the same slide. This
shows the existing TIF districts, the Heinz Road from the north, the ones out the south
side, and then the darker shades are the expansions, the Highway 6 and the Sycamore.
What's I think more interesting is to look at the sort of accumulative effect of TIFs that
have been passed recently in Iowa City. Now this graph shows the taxes diverted by Iowa
City TIFs. These are only the ones that have been approved thus far and as you know,
many of the ones recently approved, the Plastics, Sycamore, the parcel downtown, are
gradually coming online. The net result being that our diversion of tax revenue in the City
alone is going from about $200,000 to well over a million, without including any
properties in the expanded territories that you'll talk about tomorrow night.
Champion/I just want to clear something up here for myself. This is--the million dollars is
accumulative, right?
Gordon/That's the money that will go to all taxing bodies. Yeah.
Champion/OK. It's not just the City, it's all of it?
Kubby/Right. So the City's share would be, what, 40 percent or so.
Lehman/Right.
Champion/Right. OK. Just wondering.
Gordon/So, if we're looking now at about $8 million countywide and the City's share of that is
currently about $200,000, that would increase closer to an eighth or a sixth ora share.
And, you know, we would expect by 2007 based on this trajectory, that assuming you
approve a TIF in the Southgate District and more in the Sycamore, that that line would
actually be much higher. So, we have some general concerns about---
Champion/I've got one more question.
Gordon/Go ahead, Connie.
Champion/I'm sorry. Can you put that back up a minute, Karen? It was a million dollars in six
years--is that what that's telling me?
Gordon/No, this is a million dollars--this is the annual diversion. So, if you go offthe graph in
2003, it'll be about $400,000, 2005, a little more; by 2007, it'll be over a million.
Kubby/Just because you approve a TIF doesn't mean it clicks in right away.
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Champion/OK.
Kubby/Development has to happen. The increment has to be realized. Because of the investment
in the property, the value goes up and then it's realized.
Vanderhoef/And then there's also the fact that even though there are properties in a TIF district
it doesn't mean that annually we will certify the amount in that district.
Gordon/Right. This is the assessed value of actual projects, not the districts.
Vanderhoef/These are actual.
Lehman/Not districts, projects.
Gordon/So we have a number of--there are a number of general concerns with TIFs. There's a
concern with the abuse of the municipal power of eminent domain, which is very much
the focus of the lawsuit in Coralville. There's a concern about the local fiscal impact,
particularly on schools and counties. And there's a concern with the statewide fiscal
impact, which I think is much, is behind House File 686, which is likely to come up again
in the special session. We have some particular concerns that revolve, not around TIFs
generally, but around retail TIFs specifically, which is what we'll be talking about if we
approve the Southgate and the Highway 6. And that is, there's a number of things that
happen in retail-oriented TIFs, which I think make them weaker public policy than TIFs
even generally. First of all, one of, I think, the real weaknesses of TIFs as an economic
development tool is they don't meet the City's own economic development guidelines in
terms of wages. That is, they're typically not scored the same way other economic
development projects are. They don't meet that--sometimes they meet that threshold of
wages. I was here at the meeting where the Alpha Plastics TIF was approved, and the
Council was quite enthusiastic about the fact that they were creating good jobs, but of
course, you can't say that when you're subsidizing jobs in a shopping mall. This, I think,
is especially dangerous given the fact or if we consider what the impact of the TIF is on a
county. Because the county that funds social services locally is the one that mops up after
low-wage employment. They're the ones that provide subsidized before- and after-school
programs, reduced fee lunches, etc., etc. And what happens when you TIF an area is not
only does the County have an increased burden from the subsidy of, the creation of low-
wage jobs, but they have less money because the money's being diverted by the TIF for
five, seven, ten to 21 years. Another particular concern I have with retail TIFs is I think
that there's a tendency to look at a given project like Sycamore and say, well, there's a
success. But I think if you look broadly across the county it's harder to say that. It was
notable that the local paper this morning or yesterday had a front-page story about this
sort of musical chairs played by retail establishments going through these malls. When
they TIF'd Coral Ridge, subsidized retail development there, it sucked development out
of Iowa City. Then you TIF Sycamore and now stores are moving out of Old Capitol.
And Old Capitol will not--which is in an urban renewal zone--will doubtless be the next
property requesting a TIF. So I think overall while you can look at the development ora
particular parcel and the increase in its property value, in fact, the net gain is very little
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 36
because you're really just engaged in local piracy, luring stores from one area to another.
And then finally, as you put, there's a concern with retail property because retail property
tends to depreciate faster than other commercial property. And so there's a real danger
that your TIF will work something like this--that is, you'll generate a spike in the value of
the property, but it will decline over time and by the time your TIF expires, you have no
net increase in the tax base at considerable public cost.
Lehman/You're saying that the appraised value goes down quicker---
Gordon/Yes.
Lehman/...because depreciation value has nothing to do with---
Gordon/Right.
Lehman/...the taxes. OK.
Gordon/There's a cycle in retail development that is more pronounced than a cycle in
commercial development, which makes retail TIFs more dangerous.
Vanderhoef/Can you tell me where you get this idea, I mean--do you have facts that show?
Gordon/I don't have the numbers in front of me, of this, the sort of pattern of---
Vanderhoef/If you're talking about the decline in, if this was, say, the Sycamore Mall getting
dollars, and you think it will decline that much in 20 years---
Gordon/This is just illustrative. I'm not--there's no specific figures behind this graph. I'm just
suggesting that retail property has a tendency to move in a much more pronounced
cyclical fashion than conventional commercial property. And as we all know, this year's
mall ten years down the road, no one goes there anymore.
Champion/It's usually 20.
Gordon/Well, that's the life of a TIF.
Champion/Yeah.
Gordon/Well, yes.
Champion/That's certainly the life of a mall.
Vanderhoef/I guess I sort of object with your schematic there in that it appears to drop off to
even less than it was in 2002, and I don't---
Gordon/It's just a schematic, it's not, I mean---
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Vanderhoef/I know, but if somebody doesn't understand it as a schematic, that is sort of sending
a message, a pictorial message that I don't think is quite accurate.
Gordon/OK. And I'm talking about mall developments particularly, not retail property
generally. They, I mean, the big question behind all of this is what is the public benefit in
basically sort of stepping in, disrupting the normal cycles and flows of the retail property
market? What are you gaining? I don't think you can make the case that you're
substantially increasing the property tax base given the life cycle details. And given the
sort of, the fact that your retail development usually comes at the expense of other retail
development in the same community, you certainly can't make the economic
development case based on building decent wage jobs. And so I think in the long run that
the public benefit is minimal and perhaps even nonexistent in the case of retail TIFs. All
of this is why I think the Republicans in the state legislature have drafted a bill which
outlaws retail TIFs. That the biggest impact of House File 686 which will come up again
in the special session is that retail property is exempted as a class of commemial property
from TIFs. And ! think it's these set of concerns, particularly coming from counties who
are feeling the funding pinch. And particularly from the objections of rural legislators
who feel that relatively well-placed municipalities are essentially jumping queue on state
funding, particularly on school funding through their ability or willingness to TIF. Now,
what follows from all of this are what we hope are a number of more positive suggestions
as to what we think should be done to establish a more stable and transparent accounting
of TIFs at the local level.
Vanderhoeff Before you go on, could I ask you two or three questions about retail---
Gordon/Sure. Sure.
Vanderhoef/...just real specifically? How do you think refurbishing an old strip mall, any mall,
feeds into the whole idea of urban sprawl and developers choosing to go take flatland and
move further out in creating a new strip mall and how that figures in? How does it figure
into the social welfare of our neighborhood and what does that declining piece of
property do, whether it be a Brownfield or whether it be a mall? And what does the cost
of added utilities provided by the City for this sprawl if that mall goes out? I mean, it was
very clear what happened in Coralville, and they had to do a huge amount of
infrastructure to take it out there. So, these are three things I would like you to address
when you're talking about that because those are some of the weighing ideas that aren't
necessarily put into dollars and cents---
Gordon/Correct.
Vanderhoeff ...but I think have a huge impact---
Gordon/Right. I mean, I think the, you know, the sort of first and third of your questions is the
most important one to relating to sprawl. And I think in that respect, it pits a sort of
powerful argument for forming this at the state level, because there's really very little that
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a city like Iowa City can do nestled next door to a community that's willing to put 33
percent of its commercial up for TIFs. I mean, you're not fighting yourself in that sense,
you're fighting with a neighborhood community. In terms of the sort of public benefit of
reclaiming property that's within the City boundaries, I think that's a very important
argument but it has to be weighed against the foregone costs and most powerfully which
is what I'll get to in a minute, the fact that the City is making this choice to do this, but
they're funding it with someone else's money, which is the basic logic of a TIF. That
you're using primarily school money, secondarily county money, and only sort of in the
third instance the City's money itself to fund that.
Kubby/And I guess I would add a few things. That certainly revamping infill and current
commercial development, retail development is part of your Comp Plan is to maintain
current neighborhood commercial areas, and I think that's an important way of reducing
sprawl and revitalizing places that are--where you already have housing, you already
have the infrastructure, you already have some public transportation. But maybe it's not
TIFs that's the way to go, because then you are diverting money from other entities that
then have some financial effects on the backend statewide, if the state didn't have to pay
$28 million for that backfill for the schools, maybe we wouldn't be in the position of
cutting a million dollars from the City budget. I mean, it's much more complicated than
that, but there may be other ways of providing public assistance for that redevelopment
that doesn't have the ripple effects throughout the County for the schools and for the
County government.
Vanderhoef/And I would just add one more thing to my list is when you talk about
neighborhood, which I thought of in the Sycamore Mall instance, is that it does provide
jobs. No, they are not $12 an hour kind of jobs, but they are secondary jobs, they are
beginning jobs for young teens, and it's walkable. It doesn't take all the transportation
and the additional--so those are the kinds of things that still go into planning a
neighborhood kind of area. And I'll shut up so you can-~-
Kubby/And one of the things that you could do, even if you continue to decide to use TIFs as a
strategy for redeveloping retail, is to say what else does that neighborhood need? And to
use some of that TIF money to pay for those neighborhood needs, like improvements to
the Community Center, to make sure that the public transportation is available and
adequate, to make sure there are public gathering spaces. I think in the last one there was
some accommodation for a nonprofit to have space in the retail spot. And so those are, if
you're going to continue that strategy, then how you mitigate some of our concerns are to
make sure that those community needs are met with the money that's being diverted from
other agencies and other jurisdictions.
Gordon/I mean, I think if you want to talk just very briefly about what the sort of elements of
what we would like the City to do, and ultimately like the state to force cities to do,
would be first of all to have stricter guidelines. What we're lacking most powerfully in
Iowa that could be begun at the local level is what in other states is called a "But For"
test. And that is you have a quantifiable test that "but for" the public assistance, this
development would not go forward. As it stands, our "but for" test consists of asking the
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developer if they want the assistance, which is pretty typical across the country, but other
settings have adopted more rigorous tests based upon the ability or the willingness of a
developer to go forward. I am convinced, for example, and I know some people in the
room won't agree with me on this, that the Alpa Plastic TIFs was completely
unnecessary. The company was going to proceed with the expansion, you know, it's a
multi-billion dollar international company, whether we gave them the $300,000 or not.
And so in that case I think what you're talking about is just throwing away school
revenue rather than creating it. So, first would be the "But for" test. The second would be
use in some form of the existing economic development guidelines. Now, it's not
necessary as Dee suggests, I think, to outlaw retail TIFs entirely because they're low
wage. But you need to ask for other things in their place, to ask more of say retail TIFs. I
mean, I know, Mr. Ambrose, to his credit, when he did the Sycamore Mall put in at no
rental space for the lending library, the toy lending library. Those are the kinds of things I
think you can ask for in a retail TIF and get in return and build that into your scorecard.
As it is, there is no sort of systematic scorecard used for those sorts of TIFs. And then the
third point on the guidelines would be, you know, what are called in economic
development parlance, "clawbacks"; that is, you have to be willing to demand that the
taxes be paid in full or some form of penalty if, in fact, wage targets, job targets, or public
service targets aren't met under the terms of the TIF. Under the sort of second category
that I think is tremendously important, there's really just two items here, has to do with
sort of accountability and transparency. I feel that nothing would be lost locally and no
violence would be done to the efforts of this Council or of this economic development
staff if schools and Counties were given a real voice in TIFs. If, in fact, it's in the long-
term interest of schools and Counties to go along with these, then why not have a joint
review board at which schools and Counties get to vote in proportion to their share of the
tax base? So, ifa school says no, it doesn't go forward. And that again was I think the
second major component of the bill before the Legislature which will come up again in
the special session. It essentially allows schools to opt out. I mean, from the state's
perspective, they're doing that because they're tired of providing the backfill assistance.
But I think it makes sense from a local perspective as well, to make sure that the schools
agree. I mean, it's no, it's, I think it's important to note that the money foregone by
schools on an annual basis in this County, for the Iowa City School District, it's roughly
$2 billion. You multiply that by the statutory life ofa TIF, and there's your school bond,
and I think that's important to keep that magnitude. And then the final point on this in
terms of accountability and transparency is somebody, somewhere has to keep track of
these things in terms of their accumulative effect across the jurisdiction, because we
have, you know, different municipalities making decisions that affect two or three
different school districts, that affect the County, and a number of other small claimants on
the tax base. The Johnson County's auditor's office has made a small effort to sort of put
this up on a spreadsheet and show across the board what it costs, but I think this should
be required of any municipality entertaining the prospect of a TIF, that they should be a
sort of single, one-page, no-nonsense memo saying, here's what's being taken off the tax
rolls, here's the diversion, here's what we project to be the increase in the assessed value;
in a sense, here's the cost and here's the benefit. But as it stands, that's not done.
Kubby/So, and we have--we can get you these suggestions in writing, actually, but when you get
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 40
down to the bottom line, what are we talking about? Because to me, sometimes all this is
gobblety-gook until you say what does this mean in terms of City services and translating
that and so, when you take that just over a million dollars and take 40 percent of that, that
million dollars, that was that line that went up. And you take the City's share of that,
realizing that you wouldn't say no to every TIF, but if you'd just to realize the impact of
what this particular tool does in the City, we could have almost six more patrol officers in
the police department. It takes care of 75 percent of the City Attorney's office budget for
the year. It would be almost six firefighters, which is two-thirds of the way to that east
side fire station that we've been trying to put together for a long time. And I almost hate
to say this one, but I need to, it would be seven housing inspectors.
(Laughter)
Kubby/And it would be six park maintenance workers, that as we keep accumulating the
parkland that's been one of the concerns for at least five years of having the maintenance
crew to keep up with that. And so it helps us see, OK, even if we cut all that in half or by
a third, it would still be some of those needs that if we maybe used different tools, it
wouldn't have as great of an impact. And as you're faced with the challenge next
Monday and Tuesday of figuring out that million dollars, we hope you'll keep some of
this information in mind, that maybe there are other tools to use that won't have this quite
of impact on the City. So we very much appreciate your time. We'll make sure we get
this stuff to you in writing and thanks for your time this evening.
Lehman/All right. Thank you.
Vanderhoef/Thank you.
Gordon/Here just is a summary of what we've---
Lehman/Good. It's probably more legible than what I---
Kanner/Point of information. Was the 33 percent you're quoting on the value or on the square
footage for Coralville?
Gordon/Assessed value.
Kanner/Assessed value.
Gordon/And that's just commercial.
Lehman/That's commercial, right.
Gordon/It's still on. I mean the state reform was contemplating a cap at 5 percent of the salaries.
Vanderhoef/Mm-hmm.
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Lehman/OK, guys, we're going to take a break.
(BREAK)
SYCAMORE/FIRST AVENUE AND HIGHWAY 6 TIF DISTRICTS
7. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY 6 COMMERCIAL URBAN
RENEWAL PLAN.
8. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT #1 TO THE SYCAMORE AND
FIRST AVENUE URBAN RENEWAL PLAN.
Lehman/OK, ready?
Nasby/Roll 'em?
Lehman/OK, Steve, shoot.
Nasby/Emie. On the agenda you have the public hearing for the Highway 6 Tax Increment
Finance District and the amendment to the Sycamore district. I'll get to the map. This is
the Highway 6 District as it was proposed. You'll be having, like I said, you'll be having
public heating on it this time and the first ordinance consideration will be at your next
meeting. So, does anybody have any questions? OK.
Kanner/Let me get this. What number is that on our agenda?
Nasby/It is, I think one of them is 7 and one of them is 8. This is item 7.
O'Donnell/Is it 8?
Kanner/So, let's see, Highway 6 urban renewal---
Nasby/Correct.
Kanner/...now the plan is for Southgate to ask for a TIF? They've asked for a TIF or we---
Nasby/They had come to the Council's Economic Development Committee with a proposal to
revamp the Pepperwood Mall area and in order to do the work they were looking at
doing, they had asked the Committee to consider creating a Tax Increment Finance
District. The Committee had that discussion and directed the staff to put together a
proposal. That proposal was brought back to the Council subcommittee, they voted on it
unanimously to approve it, and we had the first resolution (can't hear) it was passed, we
had the taxing joint jurisdictional meeting with the County and the school district and we
set the public heating for tomorrow.
Vanderhoef/What kind of questions did the County and the schools ask at the meeting?
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Nasby/They had asked if we had any projects that we were considering for this. Right now the
Pepperwood project is the only one that's been approached formally on this. They wanted
to know what our intentions were, if there were any, if there was any debt that you were
going to be initiating as a result of this for public improvements such as Gilbert street or
(can't hear) have none. And I said that those were discussions that you had had but there
was nothing on the table at this point in time.
Kanner/Have they filled out the application then for the---
Nasby/They have not. No, Southgate, I presume you're referring to Southgate. They have not.
Karmer/Southgate.
Nasby/Yeah, they have not requested that yet because the district isn't in place.
Kanner/OK. Dee had mentioned before that they were considering doing some infill on the
parking lot as opposed to just fixing up the parking lot. Do you know anything further
about that?
Nasby/The concept plan that they proposed did show an outbuilding on the parcel that's now a
parking lot. It would be to the east of where the bank is located. So if they get that new
entrance, I don't have the fancy pointer that Bob had---
Vanderhoef/It would be east of the entrance.
Nasby/If you can see where the CC-2 is down in the right-hand side, that's Pepperwood Mall.
Keokuk Street is the first street there on the west and Broadway is over on the east side.
Oh, there's the fancy pointer.
Kanner/Moving up.
Nasby/My day can be complete. Southgate has proposed an interchange, or excuse me, an
intersection with the highway, approximately in this area, and if that's something that
isn't approved, that they would then be looking at maybe an outbuilding right in this area,
and this is where Iowa State Bank and Trust is currently located. And then this is the
Pressbox building and they would, once that lease is up there, they did indicate that they
would be razing that building and reorientating the building along Keokuk.
Kanner/So no additional space? It would just---
Nasby/Their current plan is to refurbish the mall as it sits and reconfigure the, some of the
turning lanes and the parking areas, putting in some plantings and some pedestrian
walkways in through there so you can access the mall off of the trail system.
Kanner/But there's no plan to put in additional footage in the parking lot, just to replace
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something that they might tear down?
Vanderhoef/No.
Nasby/No, there is one additional building. The additional building that they are showing, not
initially but in the future, would be in this area.
Wilbum/Right off a possible entrance.
Nasby/Off the possible entrance that they're asking for.
Lehman/Right.
Champion/Which would be good.
Vanderhoef/So, more intensive use of the same land space.
Nasby/Correct.
Karmer/In speaking of what was just presented before, have they outlined at all, I know they
haven't filled out the application, have they outlined their need for the TIF to do some of
these things?
Nasby/The information that they had presented to us estimated that they were going to be
initially investing approximately, I believe it was, $5 million in the renovation of the mall
as it sat. And possibly another million to $2 million if that future building, when that
would come up.
Kanner/And if we do not put the money back directly into developers' pockets but use it for
other things that have been suggested, in some of the minutes, maybe for improvements
on Gilbert Street and other infrastructure, did they say that they would not be able to do
this project?
Lehman/I don't know that we asked them that. I also am a little, you know, I guess, if someone
is asking us for a TIF and we ask them, will you do it without it, my gut reaction is that
most people are going to say no, or ifI do it I won't do it nearly as nicely. Is that
accurate? I don't know. That's a judgment call. It always is.
Nasby/And that's why the development agreements come to you each and every time. Just
because the property is located in this TIF district doesn't mean they automatically get it.
They have to come to you, you have to---
Vanderhoeff Well,---
Lehman/ We would---
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Nasby/We would have to review it and approve---
Lehman/Right.
Nasby/...a development agreement on each and every individual one so you can make that
judgment call on each and every property.
Lehman/And there would be, I'm sure, as there was with Sycamore, requirements as far as
occupancy. You would have to increase the value of the property by a minimum of 15
percent.
Nasby/Fifteen percent is what we had in Sycamore.
Lehman/A timeframe, you know, we saw earlier so many of these TIFs look at 20 years. I think
the longest we've done anything is seven.
O'Donnell/That' s---
Lehman/ Isn't that right?
Nasby/You did a 10-year declining scale one for Seabury & Smith.
Lehman/OK.
Nasby/But TIF graduated percentage, they got low---
Vanderhoef/And that was the---
Nasby/That was the longest one.
Vanderhoef/Mm-hmm.
Lehman/Right.
Vanderhoef/And you can look at this one in two different ways. If we had the TIF district and
the City chose to do the exit off of the highway and reconfigure and do the extra turn
lanes and all that stuff, it would be the same kind of thing that they are doing using the
TIF dollars. So, there is always that possibility that we could do that as a City
improvement infrastructure for that roadway and so forth, and that still would be in
conjunction with the DOT because we have to get permission to do that.
Lehman/But the real issue tomorrow night is the heating on the district.
Nasby/Is the hearing on the district.
Lehman/And not relative to Southgate or anybody else; it's just whether or not this is an
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appropriate area for (can't hear) development.
Kanner/Well, I---
Vanderhoef/And this is an infill area of our City that we're putting into this district, which in my
mind, goes back to the questions that I asked earlier tonight, that what is better for the
City to get denser districts and higher taxes off of the existing land without creating a lot
o£new infrastructure versus someone who might redo a building someplace in that
district or build a new building on vacant land in that district and choose to go out into
the County or go further east on Highway 6. So, those are some of the tradeoff questions
that we have to ask. Now, I know we've got good transportation into this district
presently so anything that we can do there rather than expand our transportation system to
a new area certainly, in my mind, is good use of the City dollars also.
Wilburn/I think also to add---
Kanner/Well, I want to wait.
Wilbum/I was going to say also to add to that is I was just talking to some of the neighbors
around there in looking at the lease site specific to the Pepperwood area, folks wanting to
see some type of activity there and--although I wasn't able to vote--or won't be able to
vote on the item that's being withdrawn, there have been some requests for CDBG funds
for some businesses, and I think a couple of minority-owned businesses in the area--but
one could look at an attempt to try and help those survive to help the area thrive. That's
just another intangible to throw in there.
Champion/Those are really good points, Ross. This is an area that is becoming blighted, and it
really is. And it needs help, and I think Dee asked some really good questions about
revitalizing what's already there instead of taking that and moving that three miles down
the road.
Wilburn/And then just looking at, not necessarily that any, that we, it would open up the
possibility in other parts of the district whether someone were to do some type of other
infill development in there. I mean, the potential is there. Given this portion of the City
and some surrounding portions of the City, there are some folks, you know, based on
some information from the school district, in terms of whether or not some folks are
going to be college-bound or technical trade-school bound. There might be some other
types of job opportunities in that area, so those are some things that could be opened up,
looking down the road. And then just, you know, for information for Council members
who weren't at the Economic Development Committee meeting, we did talk about, and I
think we all were thinking in terms of any requests that came in that tendency to look at a
shorter term TIF and continuing those performance standards that have been with some
of the other TIFs that we've done since I've been on Council.
Vanderhoef/Well, when you talk about---
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Wilburn/Is that fair, what we had talked about?
Vanderhoef/That's fair. And another piece of this is the proximity of Kirkwood and job training
and thc Job Training Center, the Workforce Development Center, all in this immediate
area so that that's more possibilities for the neighborhood to take advantage of these
things.
Wilbum/And then as a, I suppose, as a closer, a tail end to it, I think, Ernie, you'd made the
comment that you know if requests did come in or when a request comes in from
Pepperwood, if some other things start happening in the area, that if there were some
open lots there, not necessarily one that you provided assistance, if it's an area that looks
like it's going to be improving.
Lehman/Well, and we already did that too with Plamor. We did not use the same terms that we
used on Sycamore because it was our opinion, we felt that the need was not as acute as it
was before Sycamore improved. So, if we were to give Southgate a TIF and that becomes
a very prosperous area, my suspicion is that adjoining properties will have a lot tougher
time getting a TIF and certainly to a lesser degree.
Wilburn/And then I guess the only other comment, gosh dam it, I started listening to you again
instead of thinking what I was going to say.
(Laughter)
Vanderhoef/The alternative school also being in the adjacent district is another thing because
they do do work-study kind of activities and they can perhaps find jobs in the area which
allows them to come and go to the school and to jobs.
Wilbum/Ah, I remember.
Vanderhoef/OK.
Wilburn/Thanks for the segue way. And I think the other part of the conversation or when I've
talked to some folks in the area who've been asking when are you going to do something
for, you know, our area, the Pepperwood area. If we do something, you've got to shop
there or you've got to, if it's some other type of arrangement, you've got to work towards
pumhasing it. Otherwise, you do end up with, you know, an area starting to fade again.
You've got to support the, you know, the folks that have been happy about what's
happened at Sycamore Mall. I keep pointing out, it's fine to go to Coral Ridge Mall, but
let's shop here, too. Let's shop downtown. We've got to try to spread it out, otherwise,
you can do all the assistance you want to, but you can end up with an area back to ground
zero.
Vanderhoef/And we've also throughout our Comprehensive Plan, we have been saying we want
neighborhood centers. We want these things available to the neighborhood. We don't
people having to travel far to get services in their neighborhood and---
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TAPE 03-41, SIDE ONE
Lehman/Well, we'll have the hearing tomorrow night. Steve?
Kanner/Since this district was predicated perhaps on, well, not perhaps--it seems pretty clear--on
the fact that Southgate requested a TIF, and then we went, we're going ahead with this
proposal here, I would just suggest again to our Economic Development Committee and
the Council and to our staffthat we look at other things besides putting the money back
into the developer's pocket, that we look at some ideas, perhaps a bus stop in there. We
look at supporting businesses that we build up a fund that could add to our CDBG fund,
that could support small businesses in that area with the same criteria perhaps of CDBG.
But we look at perhaps a child-care center that might be needed for people in the area,
plus business owners in the area, plus people from the alternative school. So that we look
at all these things and we do make a scorecard like was suggested by FAIR
representatives here tonight. And that if we don't have something that's going to give
livable wages, that there's other compensating factors that give it a high mark.
Lehman/Those will all be project specific. I mean, when Pepperwood comes in or if there's
some other project that makes an application from this district, that's the time we address
those issues. Right now we're just establishing the district. The other issue you have
tonight is---
Nasby/Let's see, the other---
Lehman/Sycamore?
Nasby/Yeah. We have an amendment to this district. At the last meeting there was a question on
the graphic, and that it did include the western right-of-way line to Sycamore. And so this
is a corrected graphic showing that it does include that western right-of-way line of
Sycamore.
Kanner/That picture that was---
Lehman/Before you do, let me get my--this is one we've met with P and Z about.
Nasby/This is one you talked to P and Z about, yes.
Lehman/The blue portion is the portion that we are---
Nasby/Adding.
Vanderhoef/Adding.
Nasby/Correct.
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Lehman/That's fine. Thank you.
Champion/That's much clearer.
Nasby/There was also a memo in the packet about you had asked if you could take the
residential---
Vanderhoef/Residential off.
Nasby/...it's permissible but not recommended.
Lehman/Right. OK.
Vanderhoef/Mm-hmm.
Nasby/OK.
Kanner/And actually I think that might be good because again, I think there's going to be
pressures to rezone that to commercial.
Nasby/Do you want that slide back?
Kanner/And I don't think we should add to those pressures and I think, we got the memo that
said it is---
Nasby/Is that the one that you wanted? The picture?
Kanner/Oh, I thought it was of the other one. It doesn't matter.
Nasby/No, this is of the Highway 6 District.
Kanner/Yeah, it's nice. I like that.
Nasby/OK. Very good.
(Laughter)
Champion/We'll make you a copy of that.
Karmer/But I would ask that we consider removing the residential and just make the street--if we
want to do improvements to the street--keep that in. If we think that residential is
important there, which I think it is, it's a good mix in them that we remove that, remove
the pressure.
Vanderhoef/There isn't any pressure to any of those people to sell. So I prefer keeping it in
there. There are lots of possibilities them and I think the people who live there are pretty
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 49
happy with where they live and they'll be fine whether they're in or out of the district.
Lehman/Well, the issue is they can't. They can sell all they want but it can't be changed from
residential unless it's rezoned.
Nasby/They would all have to go through rezoning commission and now there are not TIF
benefits accruing to this in a residential portion because that's excluded from the plan that
you have before you. It's just commercial.
Kanner/Well, same case.
Nasby/OK.
Lehman/OK, you're on a roll.
Nasby/I'm on a roll. OK.
CDBG / HOME ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
16. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION ADOPTING IOWA CITY'S FY04 ANNUAL ACTION
PLAN, WHICH IS A SUB-PART OF IOWA CITY'S 2001-2006 CONSOLIDATED
PLAN (CITY STEPS) AS AMENDED, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO SUBMIT SAID PLAN AND ALL NECESSARY
CERTIFICATIONS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT~ AND DESIGNATING THE CITY MANAGER AS THE
AUTHORIZED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
(Pfab returns at 8:20 p.m.)
Nasby/CDBG and Home funding is on. This is your pass and adopt. Ross, I'm sorry.
Wilburn/All right. A conflict of interest, etc., etc.
(Wilbum leaves table)
Nasby/It is pass and adopt of FY04 Annual Action Plan. You've had the public hearing at your
last meeting. You've had the recommendations for the budget from the Housing and
Community Development Commission. The plan is due to HUD by the 15th of May so
we are asking that you make a decision on it at this meeting.
Atkins/Emie, I need to address the Council on this, too, please.
Lehman/Yes.
Kanner/He's only serious when he comes up to the (can't hear)
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 50
(Laughter)
Kanner/And Irvin---
Atkins/He's going to get up and leave, is that it?
(Laughter)
Lehman/He's going to do a close-up on you.
Atkins/I don't need the fancy pointer thing. One of the major issues you're dealing with in this
CDBG go-round is the issue of the housing inspector. And at the time when we were
proposing the housing inspector, we were responding to the new Nuisance Abatement
Ordinance, which I think we're about to give final reading, as well as the fact that
housing inspection and the requirement for services has grown rather dramatically
basically just because of the number of units that we have to service. And there's been
discussion the HCDC had recommended that you not fund the position, if you are going
to make a decision to fund it, that's very much up to you and you'll have to make
adjustments to the rest of the program to generate the approximately $50,000. Well, then
the state decided to do their thing. And one of the proposals that I have in the upcoming
budget reduction plan, which also includes increases in revenues, one of the proposals is
to increase housing inspection fees to cover the cost of housing inspectors. Now, that's no
new inspectors but we do have a fee proposal, and it amounts to about $90,000 a year in
new income. That would make housing inspection, in effect, self-supporting. And we also
have within our options a fee schedule that would pay for not only the current staffing but
also an additional staff person to be funded by the fees. I hate to throw this at you, but
with those budget proposals that you're going to be seeing those, I wanted you to know
of those ahead of time; I mean, because it is going to be on the list of things you have to
deal with. I'm not real sure how to advise you. You know, if the votes you think are there
to approve the housing inspector's position, that's sort of your call. If it's, and how you,
where you take the monies from, Steve and I will help, you know, go through that
process. If it's not there, just know that it's going to be coming right back to you again in
the next couple of days.
Lehman/Yeah, just to hear you say that if we pass the ordinance, and we add a housing inspector
that we would be able to fund that from inspection fees?
Atkins/Yes. You could. That will be an option that you will be dealing with when you do the
budget reduction plan.
Vanderhoef/Tell me, what kind of increase will it take to do just the present staff to make it self-
supporting?
Atkins/Mm-hmm. There's about $25 per unit per year. That sounds about right. About a dollar
in change per month in additional cost. Yeah. I'm sorry I don't have it in front of me,
Dee.
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 51
Vanderhoef/Per unit?
Atkins/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/So in a multi-family, it's still---
Atkins/It can be expensive.
Vanderhoef/...every---
Atkins/What we're also saying is---
Kanner/15,000 units?
Atkins/I beg your pardon--12,000 units. I don't have the arithmetic in front of me. We haven't
finished it yet. It just kind of gobbles up the process up a little bit with respect to CDBG
and because until the budget I still had intended to recommend to you that we fund that in
response to the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance and the other needs that we have from
CD money.
Champion/Well, I don't know. Are there people here who are willing to take it out of the CDBG
Home Funds? I'm not willing to.
Vanderhoef/I'm not either.
Champion/Well, then, we've answered our question.
Atkins/OK. Then I'll sit down and you'll deal with it.
Lehman/The question then, if I understand it and I think I'm hearing that we will leave the
recommendation intact, as it has been presented to us and certify it to the feds on the
15th.
O'Dounell/Fine.
Lehman/Now the housing inspector issue is another issue which can be--yes, if we in fact, do
the second and third reading of the Nuisance Ordinance and we find that we do have to
hire another inspector we will have to deal with that issue either with increased fees or
there is the possibility of--and let me ask you this, Steve--before we go any further, if the
Council were to choose to fund the inspector either part or in full from the CDBG
Economic Development Fund, could that be done at a later time?
Nasby/You would amend the budget tomorrow on the floor.
Lehman/No, no, we're waiting until after the second reading on the Nuisance Ordinance and we
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 52
suddenly find that we have created a new position for which we don't have funding.
Nasby/Can you, so the question is can you go back after you've submitted the Action Plan to
HUD?
Lehman/Yes.
Nasby/The answer is yes.
Lehman/OK.
Nasby/You can go and amend the Action Plan.
Lehman/So the option, we would have option of funding that inspector in part or in full from the
CDBG Economic Development fund?
Nasby/From the Economic Development fund, most of the, all of the other line items are
earmarked for agencies and that would probably not be the best case to go back after
you've told them they would have X amount of dollars.
Lehman/Oh, no, no, no. I may have misspoken---
Nasby/This is out of the ED fund.
Lehman/No, I'm not talking---
O'Donnell/He's talking the Economic Development fund.
Lehman/I'm talking Economic Development fund only. If we were to choose to take it from
there, we could do that in June, for example?
Nasby/You can amend that Annual Action Plan, yes.
Pfab/Wait, wait, wait. But that includes CDBG funds, right?
Lehman/It is CDBG funds. It's the economic development portion of those funds.
Pfab/I hear you, but I don't think that that's a legitimate use of that money.
Lehman/Well, that's a discussion that we'll have, if we need it. We may not need it.
Vanderhoef/OK. But you said something, Ernie, that I would like to clarify. You're saying that
if we pass the Nuisance Ordinance---
Lehman/ Second and third time, right.
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 53
Vanderhoef/...second and third time, you are automatically, personally, saying that we will have
a new housing inspector.
Lehman/That's right.
Champion/That's what he's saying.
Vanderhoef/That's what he's saying. I am not saying that and that's what I'm trying to---
Lehman/ Oh, OK. Well, we'll deal with that when it comes up.
Vanderhoeff ...clarify and---
Lehman/We've been told rather clearly that if we do pass it, that there's going to be the need for
another inspector.
O'Donnell/That's my understanding all the way through it. If we're not going to---
Vanderhoef/We've had that---
Champion/We can discuss that when we discuss that. We shouldn't be discussing it now.
Lehman/All right. That's another issue. We'll deal with that. Anyway, you've done well,
Steven.
O'Donnell/Thank you.
Nasby/Thank you.
Kanner/You have done well. I want to clarify your memo. You're going to be negotiating with
those entities that requested zero percent interest in declining balance loans and most
likely will enter into those agreements with those options of zero pement interest and
declining balance loans?
Lehman/Right.
Nasby/The confirming memo you had was the zero percent interest loan for the housing
projects. The declining balance loans were for the public facilities projects that were
presented that were not making capital improvements. The one that comes to mind was
the 4-C's was one, Emma Goldman Clinic was another one. They didn't feel that they
were making capital improvements, and you said to go ahead and to negotiate those over
the life of what those improvements would give them, so, yes, we would be doing that.
Kanner/OK.
Lehman/Very good. Thank you.
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Atkins/Emie, can I understand, just to make sure we all understand ourselves? The Council has
accepted the recommendations of the Housing Commission?
Lehman/We will.
Atkins/Is that correct? I mean, that's assuming you'll vote on that---
Lehman/Tomorrow night.
Atkins/...tomorrow night.
Nasby/That's the vote that they're having tomorrow. Yes.
Lehman/That's what I'm hearing.
Atkins/And them is still discussion as to whether the housing inspector position might be fimded
by some CD money, by transferring it out of, obviously, there is a debate amongst
yourselves---
Lehman/Right.
Champion/Economic Development.
Atkins/...and then you understand that I will be giving you a proposal that also fimds that
position through increases in fees.
Lehman/Right.
Atkins/OK.
Lehman/We understand. Now, if you could tell Mr. Ross that it's time to fly.
(Laughter)
Wilburn/Come out of the comer now?
(Wilbum returns to table)
Lehman/Yeah. Come out of the comer now.
Vanderhoef/You can take your dunce cap off, too.
Lehman/OK.
AIRPORT BUSINESS PLAN UPDATE
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Atkins/Where's Ron? Oh, there's Ron.
Ellis/Maybe I could come up.
Lehman/You don't look like Ron.
Ellis/Well, my name is Alan Ellis and I'm the chairman of the Airport Commission and I'd like
to introduce to you, Mr. Michael Hodges, the president and C.E.O. of Airport Business
Solutions. Ron O'Neil is back them also. If you'd like him up hem just so you can see
he's here.
Lehman/I already saw him. That's OK.
Ellis/And I don't know if you want me to make the introductions or go around the table and
introduce you. This is the City Council of the City of Iowa City--Irvin Pfab, Michael
O'Donnell, Dee Vanderhoef, Mayor Lehman, Connie Champion, Steven Kanner, and
Ross Wilburn.
Champion/Wow. Good job.
Ellis/City manager, assistant city manager, city attorney---
(Laughter)
Lehman/We gave him a chart with all of the spots filled in.
Ellis/I think this is just an opportunity for us to present the actual person who's going to start
this process for Strategic/Business planning. Again, it's a 90-day process, so you'll end
up with a first draft. And I think Mr. Hodges will go ahead and tell you a few things
about it and then if you have any questions or--maybe this would be the time and rather
than me in a secondhand way saying this is what the Council wants out of this process,
you can say it yourself or argue with him yourselfi
Lehman/You know, what's probably more important, he probably knows what should come out
of this process far mom than we do.
(Laughter)
Ellis/He's going to be holding our hand. That's what we hired him for.
Lehman/OK. Go ahead.
Hodges/Thank you. We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this process. We work with
airports of all sizes all over the country, and our focus is on general aviation and we have
people in our company who have run FBOs, have run airports, have done virtually all
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May 5, 2003 Council Work Session Page 56
aspects. I'm the outsider of the company. It's my company but I come from a real estate
background. It has been a vital part of what we do is really kind of analyzing some of the
real estate aspects of airports that a lot of communities miss out on some of the
opportunities that present themselves at airports from maximizing the real estate aspect of
the airport property. We're going to look at a lot of different things during this process.
We're going to spend a lot of time on the front end just kind of researching the history of
the airport, what has happened over the past 10-15 years that has kind of led you to this
point, the trends to see how the trends that this airport may or may not have followed, the
trends on a national and regional basis. Some things that, some negative things that may
have impacted, I've gotten a little bit of a background about some past FBOs that the
airport that may have not maximized some of the opportunities for the airport and that's
an important part of especially a general aviation airport because it's really just service
that brings people back. I mean, where you make your money, the most of your money at
airports is selling fuel. Even as the airport operator you're getting it from fuel flowage
fees. And so you need an operator out there that is providing, it's really a service business
that is doing everything they can to bring people into the airport. And then you kind of
grow it from there. The more people that come in, the more demand there is for hangers
and things like that. So we will look at all those things, starting with kind of the history
and how you got to this point. Really, the most important part of the whole process, we'll
evaluate the management of the airport, the management structure, and try to once again
evaluate some of the missed opportunities for the airport. I was talking to Alan and Ron
outside about, I'm really kind of surprised at the limited amount of influence on the
airport that appears to come from the University, based on what they told me. You know,
most college towns, the airports are very active part of the community because the
University takes an active role in it because, I mean, there's a natural base there for
student pilots and people that are--aviation is kind ora glamour type thing for a lot of
people--and so having the access to all the student population in a college town generally
you find airports being much more active. So I want to explore that a little bit about
where that missed opportunity may be, whether it's just a lack of understanding or no
desire to get involved in the airport or whether they just--it's really just a matter of
marketing it to them so that they understand where the benefits can be to them. So we're
going to look at a lot of different things, and you know, the most important part of the
process for us is your input on the front end. I mean, we do not do business plans kind of
in a cookie cutter format. And we have a format that we start out with, but everything is
very much tailored to the desires of our client as far as what they ultimately want to get
out of the process. So, getting your input and getting the community's input as much as
possible, getting as much information as we can on the front end, is the most important
part of the process for us. So, this is a good opportunity for me to kind of get your input,
initial input about what you see, the way you would like to see this process go, what
some of the goals are that you have from this strategic business plan.
Champion/You know, Alan, you said something that really rang a bell with me, because I think
that this is where the criticism from the community comes from and that is it's viewed as
a glamour--aviation is a glamorous. And because we're subsidizing the airport at an all-
time high right now, that we're being criticized for subsidizing it. And I think, I mean, I
think there's a lot of more important things than glamour at an airport. But what I'm
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looking for from this strategic plan is can the airport become more self-sufficient than it
is now? I mean that's really what I'm looking for as a Council Member talking to citizens
about the airport. That's what I'm looking for.
Hodges/Let me just say, when I talk about the glamour of airports, I mean, there's a certain
glamour of aviation, I mean people easily become enamored with flying and aviation in
general. It's kind of a something that really catches your eye. I mean, people, I remember
growing up myself, my parents taking me out to the airport just to watch planes take off
and land. And it can be infectious if you get people involved and get them excited about
getting out there and flying and part of that is the involvement of organizations like
AOPA and NHEA that have these flying programs to attract people to the industry to
flight training at the airport and that's just one of the things that I want to look at because
once again, you've got a lot of potential student pilot base which is going to help grow
the airport.
Vanderhoef/Tell me about marketing to the ROTC program. Do you still have a contract
anyplace where the advanced ROTC students have basic training, flight training?
Lehman/You'll need to talk in the microphone.
Vanderhoef/I'm wondering about a contract per se.
Ellis/I don't know that Jet Air actually has a contract with ROTC, but they do provide the initial
flight training for ROTC cadets from the University. Now, I don't know if it's done on a
individual student type basis or if it's an ongoing contract, but it is the early stages. It's
not advanced.
Vanderhoef/OK. So what I would say is this is an opportunity to continue training on the private
side for that student to continue on.
Ellis/Well, absolutely, and what--the illustration he was using was marketing the airport for
students. Every 40 students that start, about 1 out of 40 is going to buy an airplane. So
that means if you want to sell 10 airplanes, you got to train so many students. It's how
you're marketing your airport. It's an untapped market in this community. That's just one
of the ways to bring in more. There's three basic tenants that asked Airport Business
Solutions to work on. First is revenue. What are our missed revenue opportunities? How
can we maximize our revenue opportunities that we are already employing? And where
can we find or how can we run that airport efficiently on the revenue? Second it
community involvement. How can we either bring the airport to the community or bring
the community to the airport? And let's kind of work on some of that public relations side
that we seem to suffer from. And the third thing is the management issues, that we want,
let's streamline that, and let's see that we're doing it right. Working on what we want to
be in the future, not running it the way that we're running it today. And so those are the
three basic things, and again, the marketing of the airport is partly bringing in the
business, whether that's leasing land to someone to build a hanger, bringing in a
business-based aircraft, or more students. They buy more gas, they use the mechanics,
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they--I think Jet Air has 18 people that work out at our airport right now, that's a pretty
fair amount of employment, and they pay higher than regular wage. I think the average
aviation wage is about $30,000 a year. So that's--you know, the more business we bring
to the airport, the bigger that business gets, more businesses will come in and use the
airport too. Again, that brings in more stuff to the City. But as far as ROTC, I don't know
if Jet Air actually has a contract with ROTC.
Vanderhoeff So that it's a planned revenue that comes in, that can be---
Ellis/ Right. Right now, I think their flight training is just who comes in the door and so they,
like they had an open house Saturday. They had signed up some people for flight
training, and I think that's how they're marketing their flight training. It's not a--they
don't--it's not a steady flow, it's what they can kind of attract.
Lehman/But those things would accrue, the benefits to the City would accrue, or to the airport
itself, would accrue only from flowing fees for fuel because the fees for ROTC and all
that sort of thing goes through the FBO.
Ellis/Well, absolutely.
Lehman/So, it's only if they can sell more fuel where you get a flowage fee that's going to---
Ellis/ Right. On the balance seat equation, all we're getting out of that would be the fuel flowage,
but---
Lehman/Right.
Ellis/...that's not where you're getting your benefit of an airport.
Lehman/No, no, no.
Ellis/Your benefit is to the community.
Hodges/And let me add that, I mean, there's a multi-step process here. You're right. You do
those things and the first step is increase fuel flowage, but the more you can do to bring
people into the airport to see what goes on at the airport through open houses, you invite
the--they have these things called Conununity Fly-ins where you get involved with the
local EAA chapters, Experimental Aircraft Association, and they have, you know, they
come in and they have some airports, pancake breakfasts on Saturdays and things like
that, that what you do you is you get people to come in and initially, you may generate a
little bit more through fuel sales or whatever, but what you're trying to do is to have them
learn about your airport and basically get your FBO and the people on the airport
providing a service and making it to where they want to come back. And it generates
more interest to where maybe you have your first step is maybe you can increase the T
hanger rates and then you create some demand and then you can build more T hangers,
and you know, as the airport grows, then it creates more demand. It's kind of the domino
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effect, so that's kind of what I look at.
Lehman/Irvin?
Pfab/Two things. I like the idea where you basically want to emphasize that it's a service
organization that because of good service you can generate more business. Also, if you're
telling me at the present time there's 18 employees, so there's the potential of more
payroll coming through. So, that's something that's not going to hurt the local economy.
No, I like what I'm hearing.
Lehman/I like what I'm hearing, too, but let me just say this. By the way, Council has been very
supportive for the airport over the years. I mean, there have been rough spots here and
there, but I think the majority of the Council has always felt the airport is a very valuable
asset to the City. But you make all these people feel good about the airport and you take
them up in airplanes and they learn to fly and all that, and all you've done at that point is
make them feel better about us subsidizing the airport. Now, what we're looking it is
somehow to make the airport literally fly. And I think marketing property around that
airport, whether it be sales or leasing, but most of the things, and I absolutely agree that
we need as good a PR as we can possibly get for the airport. In fact, I've talked to Allan
about this and I've talked to the last three or four chairmen of the Airport Commission
about we got this beautiful green area in front of the airport and why the hell it's not a
park, I don't know. Why there isn't picnic tables and whatever, because Lord knows
there's enough people live in that area and there is no green space. So I do think that PR
is very, very important.
Champion/Well, there is that park across the road.
Lehman/Yeah, right. But we need, the airport needs cash flow. And you know we've got the
largest teaching hospital in the world over here; we've got an absolutely premier athletic
department; we've got one of the finest universities anywhere in the country; we've got
some extremely good businesses in this community. And I don't think that we begin to
get those folks to use the airport the way it could be used. It needs to be so important to
them that they can't get along without it. Now, you figure that out and you have got---
O'Donnell/Well, that's not asking much.
Pfab/But that's the idea of good service so people want to come back.
I-lodges/Yeah, I mean, just for example, you know. Understand, I haven't had an opportunity to- -I just flew in this evening. I haven't had a chance to even see the airport.
(Laughter)
Hodges/But I was provided a little bit of information and I was a little concerned that according
to information from the FBO, they only generated 49,000 gallons of jet fuel last year. If,
to me, that raises a big red flag because being from a--I'm originally from Knoxville,
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Tennessee, a college town, and I've worked at some other--we're doing some work at
Auburn University right now at their airport, I've been to a lot of places--I mean, most
airports in college towns generate that just in, on you know, a couple of good football
Saturdays. And part of it is the service--it really gets back to, if you provide the service,
people will go out of their way to buy fuel and to support the FBO because they realize
that if they support them, they continue to provide the service. So, you know, things like
that really jumped out at me initially that tells me that there is a problem, a service
problem, that the FBO is not able to entice more people to buy fuel at this airport.
Vanderhoef/Well, I want to know how we can market the land that we have available. How can
we market to aviation industry, which will bring planes in here whether it be to paint
them or service them or whatever? But that's the draw to me, and I think it's the draw to
the locals that when they have to have the service, if they don't have to fly 200 or 300
miles away to get their planes serviced. So how that marketing goes is one of the things I
want to come out of this as a plan for marketing.
Lehman/You've got your work cut out, babe.
(Laughter)
Lehman/So, it looks to me like what Alan what you said is exactly what we're looking for, too.
(Laughter)
Ellis/We specifically talk about that, about getting---
Pfab/I think the question is are we there yet?
Lehman/Steven?
Kanner/Two questions for you. Will you look at the potential--I would hope you would look at
the potential for increase in the fuel prices now. What's the last City in those fuel prices?
Can the market go higher? Also, will you look at the potential of increasing the hanger
rent income currently than a way not--from reading the minutes of the meetings of the
Airport Commission, there seems to be a lot of demand for those hangers. I don't see any
vacancy in the hangers for the most part, and so it seems that there could be a higher rent
without creating vacancies. Before you even think about building new ones. So hopefully
you'll look at how much you can increase those two items which are the major income
besides the City subsidy. And then, will you also look at can the University actually be a
part owner of the airport? And can we move in that direction, because they do have
potential for a lot of services and they're getting a free ride. And now that they've got the
free ride, it's not going to be likely that they want to take on the burden with all the,
especially with the tax cuts, but maybe a deal can be worked out with them, and I would
hope that you'll examine that to see what the laws are, the federal laws, you probably
know those, and any state laws in that regard. And will you be looking at the previous
discussion to move the airport, which happened a number of years ago which also
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includes some discussion should there be an airport or what the role of the airport is. So
that report came out, what was it 10-15 years ago, Emie?
Atkins/About 10 years ago.
Kanner/Ten or 15 years ago about moving the airport, and is that still relevant actually?
Probably not with all the Master Plan, but I think it would be helpful to look at that also
and see what kind of discussion was going on there. And then two more things: one, after
a lot of nudging finally the Airport Commission is making the meeting rooms open to the
public, but it's still not very accessible price-wise, and I would hope that you would look
at can you make it more accessible and keep in mind the safety concerns. I think it could
be done and I think that would, having people use that meeting room from a broad array
of community groups would be a wonderful PR thing. I know there's a lot of groups that
would like to meet out there, but the price is just too high currently for most groups
unless you're an established group. And then finally in this plan and this is what Emie
and others have said, will you look at, will you give a plan to the Airport Commission on
being self-sufficient within a certain amount of years? I would hope that you do look at
that and make that proposal. I know that's, you're only getting paid $15,000 and then, so
we're asking a lot of you. But those are some concerns that I have.
Hodges/Let me kind of start there and then work backwards. A financial analysis is an integral
part of doing a business plan because you can't do a business plan without assessing the
financial aspects of it. So, we will certainly be looking at that part of what we do is
usually a five- and a ten-year analysis, looking at if kind of the, a best, worst, and most
likely case scenario of, you know, trying to reach self-sufficiency or in some cases, self-
sufficiency is just not realistic in some airports and so you look to minimize the subsidy
that's necessary. But that is certainly an integral part of what we'll be looking at,
probably a five- and a ten-year analysis of revenue and expense opportunities to try to
make it as self-sufficient as possible. On the airport relocation issue, that is not something
that we had talked about any. Certainly, we will as part of the business plan look at what
the airport's role is within this region and what its most likely market is, and things it can
do to maximize its market opportunities. You know, looking at relocating the airport is
kind of a whole different issue. I think our focus is going to be on, you know, maximizing
what you have available to you right now without going out and relocating, you know,
relocating an airport because I don't know about this state issues here, but on a federal
level, the funds that were available to build reliever airports in communities have pretty
much gone away. We were involved in a, what I'll call an airport closure analysis, in
Indiana about a year ago, and that was one of the things that 10 years ago, back in 1990,
they had done a study and at that time they determined to move the, to relocate the airport
because it was sitting in the center of what was now a high-density development area, and
they were going to move it to an outlying area. At that time the federal funds were
available to do that. Well, they elected not to do that and so when the argument came up
again, it wasn't an option because the funds weren't, the federal funds were not available.
So, I don't know if that would be the same situation here if it was 10 or 15 years ago, that
may have been an issue that is kind of moot now. The federal funds would not be
available to relocate the airport. I mean, we're going to focus on maximizing what you
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have to work with right now.
Kanner/Well, I appreciate that information, but I was trying to get at, not so much moving the
airport, but getting the information that people contributed to that report to help guide
you in your plan.
Hodges/The more information, the better, as far as we're concerned. We want to try to get all
that as far as developing a business plan. That's an important part of understanding that
history of the airport to kind of determine how it got to the point that it is today. The
other issues were regarding the rights and fees. You mentioned the fuel prices. I'm
guessing that you're talking about the fuel flowage fees as opposed to the prices because
you really, you have a contract fuel provider out there that you don't really have control
over their fuel prices, I would guess. But you do have a control obviously over the fuel
flowage fee that they pay you. That will certainly be evaluated. As far as the fuel pricing,
we will look at that from the standpoint of that may be what is causing a competitive
imbalance at the airport. If the fuel prices are too high, then that may be why you're not
able to attract more traffic. So that will be a part of it, that particular aspect. As far as the
hanger rents, certainly that is an important part of it as well, making sure that you're
maximizing all your existing revenue opportunities, whether they be T hangers or
community hangers at the terminal building. But one thing you have to understand and
this kind of goes back to my real estate background is that vacancy is not always bad.
There's kind of that fine, that balance, of getting, of maximizing your revenues from and
the occupancy level. Because you're always going to have turnover, especially in T
hangers, so it's not always bad to have a couple of vacant units as long as you're
maximizing your revenues from those occupied units.
O'Donnell/Thank you.
Lehman/You got your work cut out for you. Welcome to Iowa City; it's a great town.
Hodges/Thank you.
Lehman/How long are you going to be here?
Hodges/This trip I'm leaving---
Champion/Tomorrow morning at 8:00?
Hodges/Wednesday morning.
Lehman/Oh, Wednesday.
Hodges/And then Randy Bisgard, one of my associates out of Denver, is probably going to be
here week after next for several days.
Lehman/Well, spend some time; it's a great town.
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O'Donnell/Good luck.
Lehman/It's a great town. Thank you.
Hodges/Thank you.
(Applause)
Lehman/Folks, we're done.
Vanderhoef/Yes.
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