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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-21 Transcription Page 1 Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Thomas Council Absent: Teague Staff Present: From,Jones Kilburg, Goers,Fruehling,Platz, Havel Knoche,Highshoe, Kubly, Seydell-Johnson USG: Zeimet,USG Liasion,LeFevre,Alternate 1. Iowa City Community School District 2024-2025 Preschool Proposal Alter: [MUSIC] Welcome to the Iowa City City Council work session,February 21st, 2023. It is 04:10 and welcome. Um, our fust agenda item is a presentation and discussion by the Iowa City Community School District for 2024-2025 preschool proposal presentation. We're extremely excited to have you and,um,we'll see you at the floor. Degner: Anything I need to do on the computer or will that go ahead. Deb knows what to do. All right. Hi. Good afternoon. Uh, I'm Superintendent Matt Degner and I think I know most of you guys I've met you before. Uh,thanks for having us,uh,here this afternoon. Uh,we wanted to just talk to you a little bit about preschool. Uh,we know that we had a chance at the joint entities meeting to talk about preschool and a little bit about,uh,potential funding source for that. Um, I think what you're going to hear us mostly talk about today is just what we'd like to do around expanding preschool,but where we need some help and why we need some help and what level of support that would require for our community to do that. Uh,we know with,uh,you know, deck-multiple decades long of underfunding of public education and only receiving,uh,halftime for funding per,uh, each preschool student. The district is somewhat limited in what we can provide,uh, for a preschool experience,uh, for our kiddos. And,uh,what is being passed around to you as just one data point that shows really the importance of preschool,uh,when we look at student achievement. And you'll see,uh, some data from our fast bridge math assessment that shows students,uh, in their performance when they've had a preschool experience and then our students performance when they haven't had a preschool experience. And, uh,what we would like to stand up is really a full day experience. And that wouldn't necessarily be a full day- full-the full day full of,um, instruction during that time. Excuse me, It's stumbling over my words. I was thinking about our wrap care. Uh,the other half of the day would be the wrap portion. And the reason that is important is because parents are obviously limited in their ability to pick-up and drop-off kids in the middle of the day whenever that happens. And so that's somewhat stunts our enrollment for the amount of students that we can get into,uh,high quality preschool experience with the district. And so what we're going to talk to you about is what again, it would take to be able to do that. Uh,kind of aware we run into some financial difficulties with doing that to see if we could partner with their municipalities to stand up something,uh, more significant for our community,uh,that we believe it would be a benefit. So with me,uh,this afternoon you see a couple of our board directors. Uh, a few of our board directors,Director Eastham,Director Abraham,Vice President Williams, uh,then we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 2 have our Assistant Director of Special Education,uh,Deb Scott and our Deputy Superintendent, Chace Ramey. So we're all here and happy to answer questions. Deb is going to work,uh,her way through the slides here and do kind of the majority of the logi- logistics conversation with you. Uh,but like I said,we'll, I'll be happy to respond to any questions you might have. So thanks for- for having us. Scott: Good afternoon. And I'm going to walk through the slides that we have. We'll be looking first at our current state so you can get kind of an idea of what our preschool looks like right now, our desired state and then as,uh,Mr. Degner has shared a municipal contribution and key takeaways. So that's what we're going to walk through right now. Currently we offer preschool at 18 of the 21 elementary buildings. There are 29 total sessions, eighteen AM sessions and eleven PM sessions. Our pilot sites are our wrap sites and you can see in bullet four our three wrap sites this year, are Shimek Elementary,Hills and Wickham. Wrap the wrap care is tuition based. However, childcare assistance may be utilized. Our morning sessions run from Monday through Friday and you can see the time there on the slide. Our afternoon sessions are Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday and Friday as well. Transportation is provided by the families at this time unless the child has a speci- specified need on their individual education plan. When we look at our kindergarten classes coming in and they-they register in parents self-report that 280 students in the last school year did not access preschool anywhere. Currently we serve 475 preschool eligible students. In our preschools, 114 preschools are served by our affiliated community partner agencies. Our kindergarten enrollment for our current school year was 1,035 students. We desire as a school and as a community to provide quality preschool offerings throughout the district to serve the maximum number of children,providing ease of access for families at all times. We desire to provide high quality childcare options to increase the access to preschool offerings. And continue to pursue funding opportunities to provide childcare access for all Iowa City families who qualify for free and reduced lunch. We also always desire to manage our operational costs regarding our preschool services. These are some assumptions that we are working towards to achieve this desired state. Cost is based off an assumption of one preschool classroom at each elementary building,that is currently 21 buildings. Each elementary classroom will have both AM and PM sessions, for a total of 42 sessions. Each preschool classroom will have wrap care that is available via tuition for all and free for families who need that assistance. Transportation would be provided still to eligible students. If we look at our funding,we have two columns for you to look at today. First was a conservative enrollment. And this was worked on by our,uh, school district staff to look at historic enrollments previous to COVID-19. So we are making an assumption of 26 per site -per site in our conservative enrollment. But as always we would like to fill all of our seats in our preschools,um, and serve the maximum number of students. And that would be 40 per site given the guidelines for a state preschool. You can see there the numbers difference if we go with conservative enrollment or the maximum enrollment,the total costs. We'll also see a comparison of the district contribution. Special education, of course, is marked with asterix because that would vary from year to year. And we are basing that on what we know right now. Funding from the state is from the statewide voluntary preschool dollars that we receive. And you can see the difference there, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 3 depending on 26 per site or 40 per site. And we are here to let you see that the municipal contributions would need to be that figure in order to make sure that we have our desired state of preschool. Here are some of the operational costs that we are considering. Lead support teachers. We currently have one who supports our preschools now. If we increased our preschool,we are desiring to have two of those staff members. And you can see the cost there and how that is contributed. Early childhood associates are as needed by IEP, so we really can't estimate an additional cost for that because that would be based on student needs. Preschool secretary,preschool IDS, our instructional design specialist. And those folks help our teachers understand how to use curriculum best,how to instruct best at the preschool level. Instructional materials, specifically for preschool, instructional materials for students with special needs, transportation costs. And you can see there are a total cost of 817,275 with a district contribution of 560,000 and special ed contributions as well.You can also see we go on to show you what it looks like if we have early childhood teachers based on our conservative enrollment and based on our full enrollment. Early childhood associate costs. If we increased our preschool sites, locations and number of students,we would want to and desire to have a preschool administrator. Right now that is shared amongst many staff members for Iowa City. Alter: I'm sorry to interrupt. Um, about the teacher benefits and then the childhood associate. Um, can you break that into numbers of actual instructors that you're anticipating or that you were using for the conservative enrollment. I mean, I see 21. I'm assuming that's for the school, correct? Scott: Yes. Alter: So what does that break into for the number of instructors? Scott: 21 is the number of teachers. Alter: Of the actual teachers. So just one? Scott: Yes. They have an AM session and a PM session and with ratios, they can instruct the full AM and the full PM. Alter: Okay. Thank you. Scott: Thank you. Supplemental assistance for wrap care. That is our prediction for the need. Transportation costs, district contribution. And again,we have broken it down and we are looking for that bottom figure from our municipal for contribution.This is provided to you to predict what would be needed and to-to get a locked rate for our municipalities so that we can get our heads wrapped around what it does it actually mean for each municipality. And so because we are in Iowa City's municipality today,we're looking at that middle column. What we were able to do is to give you a look at how many students this school year are enrolled from addresses in Iowa City. So then when you look at 279 students,that's what you're looking at. We do also have that asteria there that this is of This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 4 course varies from year to year. But we did go with the '22-'23 school year. So 59% of our students that are in preschool this year, are Iowa City residents.And then you can see how that will project out costs by students if we were to project out to the 488 students, we would project, and that would be what would happen if we increased our sites.So some key takeaways before our questions. We truly believe that all students deserve to benefit from high-quality preschool services. All students deserve to have their basic needs met. This includes things like food, safe learning space,trusted adults. Students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch will have access to lunch,wrap care, and transportation to and from school if eligible for a reduced or free rate. Families who do not have those needs will still have access to preschool with wrap care at a cost. So that is our presentation and we'll take any questions. Degner: So one thing I might just say to kind of break it down in your thinking a little bit is if you look back to this slide,the supplemental assistance for wrap care if we go back to how we're funded for preschool we receive halftime funding for our preschool students. Does that mean we can pay for the teacher right, for that half-day that's the preschool offering? The other half of the day is really where we need help to keep them on-site and provide them a full-day experience. And that's the part I was kinda stumbling over at the beginning. But if you've noticed those figures basically reflect each other that the asks that we have of you,right, is for that 1.6 to fill in that gap where we need help for the wrap care, for the FRI, students,we would still charge families of means,you know, a- a tuition basis for that wrap care portion. And so this assistance would really provide a free experience then for students that are not able to afford that so they could stay on site for the full day and have access to the high-quality preschool for half the day and then provide the wrap care. And the district has tried to stand up some pilot sites, uh,this year and will stand up two more next year. The problem we're running into as we will see a budget shortfall and being able to do those pilot sites,uh, and so it's really not a sustainable model for us or even if there is an element that can be sustained. It really runs on- on a pretty,uh,thin margin about how we can do that, and knowing that uncertainty we have around our funding in the next five years,uh,that-that position puts us in a little bit of a tenuous spot that if we would receive an across the board cut or zero percent for our growth one year that that could be one of the first things we would have to back away from and that's not a very good guaranteed to our families. So I just- I think that's an easy comparison to say, okay,the supplemental assistance for the wrap care,when you look at that budget line is really matching the ask that we're making from the municipalities. So that's what we're asking for the help to be able to provide. Dunn: Could you switch to the section where it was talking about the payments from each municipality? Degner: Yeah. Dunn: So is this-when we're looking in the middle here,the light blue section in there, are you guys requesting a,uh, continual contribution for three years of nine- of 979,400? Is that what the request is? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 5 Degner: So we kind this-this one I would think about like different scenarios as we've tried to break down about how this cost share works between the municipalities if- if we were to move forward with this or if- if we have support from the municipalities. So the fust one shows current enrollment. Based on that current enrollment,what the number would be, uh, if we just, uh,went based on a per-pupil amount? The second one is more of a percent share and the third one, it would be projecting out almost a cost per student on what we would see that max enrollment would be. I think for your guy's budget planning, it would make sense that you'd want some kind of a lock number for a period of time,recognizing that we would probably have to revisit that number after a period of time knowing that costs are going to increase,um, and distribution of students could also change over the course of time. Dunn: That was kind-my follow-up question was,you know, if we're contributing a maximum number, say this is picked up,um, on mass by-by parents and the district,um,what will you guys do to pick up any shortfalls if we have a- a set limit on our contributions. Degner: Yeah, so that goes back to the district contribution. At the bottom there,we had talked about that 560,000 that we would cover in. So if there were some reason during that period of time that we had locked in with you guys what that contribution was gonna be, you know, our guarantee on this would be that we're going to make it work, right? If we had those-those shares in from the different municipalities at that 1.6 number then the rest of the budget is really ours to make sure we're able to work and deliver on that experience for our students,um, and that,you know, for us as we try to factor this in, there's some variables too for- for ourselves on that with transportation costs and,um, some elements about hiring staff like Deb walkthrough with some of that support staff we'd like to have. So those would all be budget items we'd have to make it work. I hope that answered your question. Bergus: I have a few questions,Matt. Degner: Sure. Bergus:Um, on the share,that's Iowa City just to be very explicit,um, I think you said Iowa City addresses,but it is- it is within the corporate boundaries.Not like an address that says Iowa City, correct? Degner: Right. Bergus: We have a lot of unincorporated Iowa City. Degner: Yeah. Bergus: Addresses. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 6 Degner: Yeah. We geocoded those and pulled the-the students' addresses to make sure they were accounted towards the right. Bergus: Perfect. Um, do you know of any districts in Iowa that are getting funding directly from municipalities for this or for any other kind of program? Degner: We had actually,uh,this was our problem of practice,uh,with the last urban ed network superintendent meeting, and there were some examples,um,where they are- they were talking to us about some of the things we would like to do. Uh, I know,um, Mason City is exploring a similar model. I don't think it's- it's stood up at this point yet. I also believe Council Bluffs receives some municipal contributions. There'll be a couple more I'd probably want to verify and share with you guys. Um,but I know that there's, uh, some that are out there,uh,where they've tried to do a full,uh, experience. Uh, sometimes those are different revenue generators in those different communities about where that money comes from for them to be able to do that,um, for getting the district's name now,but it's- it's one that has a casino. So the casino contributes and then they're able to do,uh, something similar to this. Bergus: Any kind of along those same lines. Does the district care if the money comes directly from the city to the district versus say into a pooled fund that is addressing other childcare needs that might be held somewhere else? Degner: Um. Bergus: Like at a United Way or community foundation or something like that. Degner: I think I'd probably want to talk to her CFO about that,but I'm not sure why that would matter to us. I mean, if we were able to eventually receive those funds and,uh,make sure that we were able to allocate them towards preschool,um, I think that,you know,the important for-part for us is being able to provide the experience for the students now the flow of the money and some of those things I think we could continue to engage in how that looks,um, or wherever the revenue source comes from. But,you know, for us being able to provide the experience for the kids is the bottom line. And so those logistical considerations, I would probably need him to be part of that conversation,but I think we can probably make that work. Bergus: Thank you. Harmsen: How much does this have to be an all-or-nothing or is it an all-or-nothing with the various municipality partners? Degner: Yeah,that's a great question, Shawn. I think that,uh,part of what we'd have to consider is if one of these partners were not in here, obviously,that changes the math,right?We don't really have a good way to project what that math would look like,uh, if somebody wasn't going to contribute or if we would,uh,then revisit it to say, okay,maybe Iowa This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 7 City and,uh, say Coralville decided to go ahead with it. Well,then what is that new equation look like to be able to provide,uh,that wrap care for- for st- students there. It also gets complex a little bit more for us. As you know, our attendance areas are not clean,um,between different municipalities,um,but I- I do think that,um, it makes it a lot more difficult if we have a member or two,uh,the municipalities not do that. Alter: I have a couple of,there non-financial questions um so have parents been I don't know surveyed or have you reached out to the community whose-whose kiddos would be impacted and potentially be using this?Have you talked to parents or gotten- gauge their interests?Um, Degner: Yeah. Our survey data when we ask our preschool parents about why they do or do not access uh our preschool experience oftentimes comes back to the half-day element of it uh and so that's why even the district has tried to stand up those pilots,uh, look for opportunities to do that. And so that data told us that,you know, anything we can do to have a full day experience would fill that need form,that that's their top reason for why they don't select into the district preschool experience. Alter: And do you know of- of those,how many are um, free and reduced lunch or how many are- I'm just thinking of the way and it doesn't matter whether it's the school district or childcare centers and the way that they work. I mean,there's always sort of a juggling act of subsidizing you know the sort of helping to subsidize the free and reduced or the CCA along with full paying. And so I'm wondering about that ratio. If there are parents who would be paying full,but for some reason don't have interest in putting their kids in a larger,uh,building or larger,you know, classroom or what have you. How does- I mean, we've got the municipalities conundrum to work out with the numbers,but I'm wondering then if we actually got enrollments with parents who are paying or not- less paying. I'm just wondering about the gaging of the interests. I mean, certainly there is the question of the-the need for a full day,but I can think of a multitude of other reasons why parents would opt out,right?Unfortunately, some of it might actually be equity on both sides of it. You know,parents were like, I don't want my kid at school yet thinking of it that way. Or,um,who are saying I would prefer my child to be in a more family environment. And so I'm just wondering if some of those factors have been sort of an if then teased out and I realized those are kind of in the weeds. But on the flip side, it would be interesting to see if you've kind of considered some of those combinations,um,because it could impact your numbers and then that could impact sort of how-how we can stand this up,right? Degner: Yeah. So a couple of things. One, I would think about again, going back to the-the most frequent response or the data shows us right,that the reason they're not choosing our experiences,because the full day part, I mean,that's the most compelling reason we get back on that survey data we ask them is because it's not full day. So some of those other things could definitely be contributors for families. But that's the one that we tried to tackle and address as far as the concern. The-the subsidizing part, I think that's what makes it difficult about our pilots. This would definitely provide this model definitely provides the experience for,uh,the non-pay families,right? I mean,your contribution This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 8 would make sure we could provide that experience no matter how many full pay,uh, students,uh,would decide to enroll,uh,we feel confident that,no matter what that number looks like, if we have contributions from municipalities for the non-pay,uh, population of students,we will be able to stand up,uh,this programming,uh, as we go forward. And so I think that that's somewhat addresses that concern,but it is a concern for us is we tried to stand up the pilot sites because we're exactly doing what you're talking about,trying to subsidize the-the no pays based on the folks that can pay. That's our current model. But that's where I was saying that math gets really thin for us or operates in the negative in a hurry. Alter: Where would you get,um, I know the- during the larger presentation to the joint municipalities,um you mentioned of-that there would be an RFP process for getting the- the wraparound services,um. There's only one that I can, I mean,would this be multiple centers or- or educators who would be going to different elementary schools or would this all be done under one-under the auspices of one? Degner: Yeah, I think at this point it should be open to those options right now for the pilot sites. It's been Champions that is able to do that,um. I think we would need to continue conversations with them to know for sure if they'd be interested or able to do all sites, uh. I can imagine that we would have some groups. So in some of our campuses it would also be interested in that. And so some of it would depend on the way we'd write the RFP. Probably some of the feedback we get from the larger provider like Champions about their ability to cover all campuses,uh. Then also just trying to be sensitive to community interests that if we had some other folks that wanted to try to provide the wrap, at some of our sites,how we're also respectful to that conversation as we go along. Because we don't necessarily just need to go with Champions,uh or a large provider across the board, either. Thomas: Matt, do you know the-how private schools in Iowa City are handling this issue? Degner: Well, I think that,uh you know,that's-that's probably a passion point for us a little bit in a- in the public district,knowing that,uh, as we enter a new environment of school choice and it's savings accounts that one of the best things we can do for our public schools to make sure we do have high-quality preschool. Because,uh,private schools, that is oftentimes,uh, one of the first entry points to the private school system is through, um,high-quality preschool that they are able to provide and they stand up. And so,uh, I think that's also created some urgency for us on this conversation,knowing what's changed in the state politic that,uh,we have to do this,right? That we feel really compelled that we have to provide a great preschool experience to our students,uh, so that we keep our students and that they don't start down that path,uh, of private school, obviously I'm biased about,uh,tha-that part of the equation, so I won't hold back on that, but,um, I hope that kind of addresses your question. Bergus: At the joint entities meeting that we talked about,um, conversations may be that the district has had with childcare providers and some specific concerns about,you know, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 9 when three and four year-olds are pulled into this program or four year-olds,I guess in this case,right. Pulled into this program,how that might impact the economics for other providers since we've had awhile since then, can you just update us if anything in-you know,has that impacted the proposal at all?Have there been other conversations or anything further on that concern? Degner: Yeah. I would- I would say no. We haven't had additional conversations and it hasn't necessarily impacted the proposal anyway. Um, I do think back- I think it was,uh, Megan's question talking about,uh,who would provide this type of experience that could,you know, definitely be part of that conversation and how that looks. But I would say we don't really have any kind of a new substantive update around that piece,Laura, uh,Lisa you got some. Williams: Yeah,because I know that this is a really important part about making this all work. Um, I think what's important to note is, and I'm going to show my ignorance with PowerPoint. But,um,what we're looking at when we talk about our current state is we're not serving 280 students. That's-that's the gap that we're missing. This program is really targeted at bringing those 280 kids that are currently not receiving preschool into,uh,the ability to get access to preschool. When you then look at our current maximum ability, maximum enrollment assumes 840 students,which is really between our current enrollment and the kids that were missing. It just adds the kids that were missing. We're not really seeking to go out and disrupt the private preschool system. And we anticipate that some families will stay with their private providers because we see the enrollment in Kindergarten at 1,035. So this model assumes that 200 students are going to stay with their private providers and that's not going to be an economic loss to them. What we're trying to do is target the students that aren't being,uh, served at all by anyone and provide them an option that's full day like Matt said. But also, if cost is a barrier, as it often is, even with private providers, is giving them,uh, an- an option where cost isn't,uh, a barrier. And then also one of the things that Matt,uh,briefly touched on is with our survey data, one of the other top reasons why we don't have students accessing ICCSD preschool now it's transportation barriers. And so this funding model,when we asked for help from the municipalities, it goes towards the wrap,but it also goes towards transportation,uh,targeted towards our free and reduced student- school lunch students, uh,to make sure that they have a way to get to preschool. And so we think that we've put together a proposal that targets those 280 kids instead of kids that are already benefiting from preschool. Because those are the kids you guys that we have to touch I mean that data that you see in front of you, I was blown away. That's not stat-state data or national data. That's right here in ICCSD. And what is incredibly clear is that if you don't have preschool,uh,you are going to be behind in your math benchmark testing and it's not something that you're going to catch up from. Okay? That data is consistent that our no- our kiddos that don't access preschool are behind in kindergarten 1st, 2nd, 3rd,4th, 5th, 6th grade. And so this single program can be a tremendous game changer for those 280 kids that aren't getting services. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 10 Alter: I think it's a very compelling argument, leads me to a question that how are you going to get to those 288?Just knowing that the program exists doesn't necessarily mean, I mean, we learned from COVID that there are a number of families who are already behind and they went further in the gaps and were lost. Right? So- so I don't mean that as a- a warning. I mean it as like this is an opportunity to say absolutely, if this is who you want to reach,that seems to be a really important thing that has to happen to as a really,um, active instrument of- of-of promoting this program. Williams: Yeah and we reach it for kindergarten,right?Because those are kids that come to us for kindergarten. So we know we can reach them. We get them the information about how to do kindergarten registration. We get them into the schools. We get them signed up and we get them in the door. We're just gonna do all those same things that we do for kindergarten one year earlier, for preschool. But I have full faith and confidence that we're gonna be able to find every single one of those families and let them know that if they want it,provided that the funding is there, if they want it, they can access a full day preschool experience at no cost if they qualify. And we'll take them to school and bring them home to if they need help with that. Dunn: So I got a question about what you just said there. Uh, I mean,what is your outreach just out of ignorance for reaching out to immigrant families that you're trying to get involved with kindergarten?And I'm assuming that you would want to use that same kind of strategy,uh, for the- for the preschool program. Con- could detail that for us? Degner: Yeah, sure. So for,you know,kindergarten registration,um,we use a lot of our same methods that we use to communicate with families throughout. And then- and then we have follow-up methods that are a little bit more intense or specific so you're familiar with our student and family advocates. We also have culturally liasons,uh, our ELL teachers that are sometimes going to have a point of contact. The good thing is people know about school. What they won't know about is necessarily preschool,right?And so that's where director Williams said that some of those efforts for us just have to start at then a younger group. And- and I would think our pilot sites are good data points to show,uh,that we do get kids signed up. We are able to advertise that,that people are looking for those options,uh, and that there is a need. And so when we can also couple that with its- it's a free experience if you qualify for- for free and reduced price lunch. Uh, we definitely think that is a game changer,but we've had some good,uh, evidence of success with,uh,being able to reach our immigrant families through those more intentional methods rather than the blast out. I mean, of course,we translate things to our top languages and,uh,we have those different vehicles,uh,to try to communicate with them. But I think it just takes some more targeted,um, follow-up and intentionality around that communication,uh,with them. And I think we've built those bridges and relationships to know where to go and how to get that information out. Dunn: I guess,uh, another thing I'm kind of curious about is,uh,what your feelings are from the other municipalities,uh,who's seeming to be buying. And it's- I think it's certainly too early to say who is buying in,but what are your general feelings? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 11 Degner: Yeah, so I don't want to speak for them,but,uh,we've had a couple,uh,presentations prior to tonight,we will meet with the University Heights,uh, later this evening as well. Um, and- and I think those have been positively received as the best I can tell you. And any of these guys that have been at those meetings can share some more. We've had board meetings overlapping with those, so I haven't actually attended one of those,but I know that feedback coming back to us has been, again,understand the need. They understand the desire,um, and I think this idea of being able to be committed to do something together for our community at a time where public ed is,uh,really having a difficult time doing,uh,positive things or doing new and innovative things. This is something that would be very different and made. It almost goes back to Laura's question about what other districts are doing this,there's probably some examples we can draw on, but I will- I would also feel,you know, supremely confident to be able to tout this as a model. You know, in other parts of the state,this is a community and a public district coming together to do new things,uh, for the folks in their community that hadn't been done before,uh,that they haven't seen. And so I'd love for us to be a model, and to be able to show that,uh,you know, about a way that we can have those partnerships and work together and continue to invest in our public schools that way. So I know it kinda sidetrack there a little bit on you,but I think the reception has been positive. Of course, a lot is going to come down too,you know,how we make all of this work and we'll get into specific logistical details,but,uh,we're committed to,you know,that's-that's just a problem to be solved. That's once the collective commitment is there. Um, again,we feel good about being able to do that part. Alter: Do you feel,um, I know this is-you have been working on this for a long time,um, and that you in part are in the business of childcare because you already have the preschool experience. Um,but I'm wondering if you are in a position that if and as this continues to move forward,you can reach out and work deeply with the childcare providers in the area. And honestly to allow them because their entire careers have been just in this early education space. And understanding the concerns with, I mean,most childcares in the area are not large. They're not Champions,they're not,right?And so if a swath of their staff leaves to go to a Champions because they could,you know,perhaps get a better,you know, deal through it. Um, I know that there are some concerns from childcare providers, but also just people who are working on it. It's like,you guys know, it's an onion. You- you solve one thing and then there's another layer of something that has to be worked through. And I would just hope that there could be some- some collaboration to allow some- some troubleshooting, I think. Because I- I see this as it's an immense and visionary project. But I do worry about the devil's in the details. And I think that there could be ways in which childcare providers and the folks who work in early childhood education blubber and over the county could- could potentially really help bolster this more so that things that were not anticipated could potentially,um,you know,be anticipated,right? Degner: Sure.No, I think that's a,you know,that's a great point and we have some again, I- I feel like our relationships and those spots are good. We do a lot of, ah, community partnering This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 12 with community preschool to that's part of our work,um,you know,with some of the, uh, supplemental weighted funding from the state is to work with those community partners. So we have some go to's for that and what that childcare experience looks like. And- and I would say just in and also trying to disarm them from a little bit just to director Williams point that really what we're looking for is try to serve the kids that aren't being served now. I mean,that's where we're trying to fill the void, is just finding 280 students that are receiving no preschool option.Now we're not trying to take or,you know, steal I mean,really we're just approaching this is we're here to serve kids,right? And we just want to serve all the kids and give them a great experience,uh,so that the gap that's presented there doesn't continue or grow larger, ah,through our system because that's the data point I could show you from 712 is what happens after that,right? Is that that data,you know,that data actually gets worse if you haven't had a preschool experience. Uh,unfortunately,you know, it doesn't necessarily shrink down. So that's kinda the urgency point around it and the fact we're just trying to find the students that haven't had this opportunity yet and make sure they get the same- same,uh, good start. Harmsen: And just so I'm clear,that the 280 that's just the Iowa City part of the district or is 280 district-wide? Degner: That's district wide. Harmsen: Got it. Degner: Yes. Harmsen: Wasn't clear. Degner: It's confusing because then your enrollment is actually right in 280. Harmsen: Yeah,that's what I was looking at that same number. Degner: Yeah. Thomas: You but broken down by school, say,you know,Horace Mann. Do we know how many students at Horace Mann? Degner: I don't know if we've run that exactly,John to know like how many students in the Horace Mann area where we could probably easily break that 280 down and find that out. But we just kinda looked at the district-wide profile on that. Degner: I thought some of you maybe would ask the facility conversation part of this is and we maybe we covered that at- at the joint entities meeting is remember, our sixth graders are going in middle school and so that's gonna generate some- some space,uh, in there. And Deb did a nice job of talking about where we have classrooms now and the ability to have that teacher do a morning and afternoon section. But just from a logistical or space This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 13 consideration, of course,we stated that in some of the assumptions,but I don't want you to feel confident about that aspect too. Alter: I'm sorry. Go ahead. Bergus:No. I was just to say it just to be clear on the logistics, a child would enroll in either the morning or the afternoon and have wrap-around for the other portion of the day. Degner: Exactly. Bergus: So in the classroom, it would be just during the pre-school instructional period and other parts of the building during wrap-around care. Degner: Yeah,we'd probably just use another classroom,uh, for the rap portion. And so one would be the,you know,you'd go to this room for the pre-school instruction,um, and then you'd have your rap care in another classroom. Or maybe the team would tell me it'd be better to leave the same kids in the same classroom all day and we'd flip the staff members. And that could be an option for us too,but given it will be in a classroom space. Bergus: And as long as you have enough who are enrolled in the full day with the wrap-around care,you can allocate between morning and afternoon,right. To spread out. And like they're there the whole day,you can. So it's not ever,you know, 30 kids in one class and 10 in the other? Degner: Yeah. Bergus: Okay. Degner: I'm sure we'll have to work through the parent preference portion of that,but yeah,we would work through that piece. Alter: That actually made me think of,um, one other thing. And I don't remember the ratios for wrap-around care for fourth- for fourth graders for four-year-olds. Is it also just want- what's the ratio of instructor to student? Degner: I don't know the exact ratio. Alter: I mean,would it have to be more than one for wrap-around. Degner: One staff member. Alter: I mean, for like,yeah. For the-. Degner: Yeah. There'll be more one adult. Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 14 Alter: Okay. A1ter.Yeah. Um,but then the other question I had and it's not related to what Laura was just talking about,but it did spark something when you were talking about the facilities. I know that one of the rationales that you-that you have for moving kids, and I totally agree, into middle school, sixth graders into a middle-school experience rather than ju- just seventh and eighth graders in junior high was because of the disparity between kindergarten and sixth grade. You see where I'm going with this?Now you've got f-the same disparity but with your younger and if I remember right also,because I know that, um, it's legal for four-year-olds to be on buses. Is that-is that the way that the transportation would work would they also be potentially with fifth graders? I mean,this is like a group. Degner: Yeah,potentially they will be with those-those with fifth graders. So I wouldn't say that one of our most compelling reasons I'd probably agree with you there a little bit would be the disparity. I think it was more of the similarity you've probably for sixth graders to seventh and eighth graders,the need for,you know,um, a different academic experience, different opportunities, and what the elementary provides. I don't think we necessarily approached it as there was a concern,uh,with the kindergarten and sixth graders be in the bul- same building. It's worked a long time for us. So I think that disparity we're used to in the age gap and doing that, I think it was really more of it, ah,making sure it's sixth graders got the best opportunity to available to them. Alter: Fair point. Degner: Yeah. Dunn: I just want to talk to the comment that Councilor Thomas made. I would be really interested in the school-based,uh,breakdown of this,um, if not just for Iowa City,the entire proposal. Um, I think being able to see things, ah, from a top-down geographic perspective can do a lot to give us,um,more insight to where we have people with great access,where we have people with less access. And could also point to other systemic issues that might need addressing too to lower those barriers. So,um, if at some point you guys get that information, I'd really like to see that. Degner: Yeah,we'll make a note of that. Taylor: I agree with that too. Um,because we've-we've been hearing forever the disparity in the, uh, discrepancy between the free release lunch at the various schools. How some have way more than the others. So I think that that really could make a difference as far as how many of the kids would qualify and how many would be at that school then. Harmsen: Out of curiosity for the age of, do this work in the same formulas, kindergarten depending on when that. For- for kids whose birthday maybe fall in late August, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 15 September, October,where they turn four, sort of,halfway through the school year, would they be eligible when they turn four or would it be, sort of, like the year before they would start kindergarten?Would that be- and does that question make sense? Degner: Yeah. You're basically asking,you know, is the start date now just what, is it clean? Is it one year earlier and I believe it's the same birthday?Yeah-yeah. So it will just be four- year-old by the same date that we would normally look at it for five-year-olds. Yeah. And I would say,you know, I mean,we'll definitely get that data,but just the other, it's odd. I mean,you kind of project out in your head. You're probably pretty familiar with their district demographics about where we have more economically depressed areas in the district,then we have other ones. And the likelihood is that of those 280 students that we're not missing,right? It's going to line up or- or line over,you know,where we would see those trends too. But that is a good follow up and we'll definitely have the team do that. Thomas: Yeah, I was kind of prompted by just seeing,you know,what Hills was like five people. I thought,well, I mean,that you could picture the people,you know, 280 it's kind of just the mass. So I- I thought breaking it down makes it much more real for me. Degner.Yeah. Exactly. Harmsen: May I ask a couple of questions? Degner: Yeah. Fruin: Ah, I appreciate you being here. Thank you. Um, I just wanna make sure I'm understanding some of the math correct. So if you go back to the a couple of slides, Matt to, ah,to the I guess it's the fourth slide overall. If you can't see the numbers just,uh. Degner: It's fust table? Fruin: It's got the one on the top left there. Okay,yeah,that one. Um, so I understand the 280 comes from the previous slide. If I understand it right, the 280 is the number in the current kindergarten class that did not report a pre-school? Degner: Yeah. Fruin: Okay. So if you go back to that the-the next slide,um,your,um,the top two bullets there are your current pre-school connections that-475 that are in your district now and then the 114 that are being served with-with your community partner agencies. Looking at your kindergarten enrollment this year. So we're kind of talking to different populations. I understand that,but you've got,uh, over 1,000 kindergarten students this year and it looks like you're only serving between those top two bullets, about 600. So is there a difference- is there a pretty big difference in enrollment or I'm missing where that 280 gap is? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 16 Degner: Yeah, so the 280 gap really goes to this desired state of where we think we could get to that full enrollment of 840 about what we could serve. Um,that's on this- it's in the top right corner there to talk about,kind of conservative enrollment. And then where we would see full enrollment fill in at. So that's then building off of this. Um, now I'm off the 475 to try to grow that up. We don't- again, assume we would capture everybody but between those community partners. And based on growing the student,knowing that we're missing,you know,roughly 300 students there,that we're gonna be close to that desired state of 800. And that would just kind of build out maxing-maxing those rooms. So again,the intention is to try to grab the students with no pre-school,but we also assuming that other parents, once they do find out about this, are probably gonna wanna send their kid to the same school as their sibling. And so there's some increase accounted for in that way too,probably just beyond the 280 when we look at building that model, does that make sense? Fruin: I- I think I'm following. Maybe I don't understand wha-what's the-what is a community partner agency that's affiliated? Degner: So that means they would serve those preschool students at their site,but they work with us for curriculum planning,progression of lessons. Fruin: So that's different than a private provider. Degner: Right. Fruin: Right. Degner: So it's a private provider that partners with us. Yeah. Fruin: But there's private providers that you don't directly partner. Degner: Yeah,there's other ones that we have no relationship with. Fruin: Okay. Thank you for helping me with that. Um,the-the other question I had,um, is- is more for me just kind of thinking about how this would be funded. Um,the expected cost escalation of- of the municipal contribution per year. I understand maybe you mentioned locking in funding for- for two or three years,uh,which would be a great help,but we know that fourth year would come and there would be an escalator there and we gotta make sure I understand what that would be. It looks like it's a very labor transportation type of investment. So,um, I don't know what you're seeing with your current labor and transportation,but is 5, 6% annually pretty accurate or is that a little high or low based on what you're seeing? Degner: We haven't-we haven't factored that in and I think part of that would be wanting to work with you guys and what that would look like,right. We have a need that we know This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 17 to get it off the ground. But I think,you know, in col-,you know in a collaborative spirit we'd want to say, okay,well,we don't want to propose a number that's probably not sustainable or something you couldn't factor into your budget after that period of time where it's a big shock to the system and the new dollar amount,but that is also,you know,reflective of what increased costs we have. So I think that would be something we would anticipate probably working with you directly onto say, okay,what does make sense?What kind of agreement could we come to?About that looks like and maybe rather than a lottery, it would- it would make more sense over on a yearly basis,right to keep up with those costs. To you, I don't know what that looks like because,um,that can be less of a shock to the system then if there's an incremental increase each year too. So open to any of those conversations, I would say on our end. Alter: On this slide, is the unincorporated is that representing-would that be represented or covered by the county? So that's really all they would be in for? Degner: Yeah. Degner: Yeah. Alter: Are any final questions or thoughts? It's been-thank you so much for this time. It's been very in-depth. And we really appreciate. Degner: The questions are helpful to us too as we continue planning on it. So thank you. Williams: I'm going to end up-to go back to your question about the other municipality feedback that we got. Um, the Daily Iowa wrote a very nice article about the meeting with the board of supervisors. And- and some of the supervisors expressed support from the,um, discussion table. They also expressed a commitment to have an uppper down vote by March 15th. So we expect to have some guidance from the Johnson County Board of Supervisors within the next month. Uh, and so I would just say,you know, stay tuned that-that should answer your question on that about what they're-they're thinking of. And then when we presented to North Liberty last week,we did ask for them to make a up or down decision by April 1st. Uh,we've understand the county meets more frequently than the municipal-pality bodies. Uh,but my understanding is that North Liberty di- did think that April 1 st would be a realistic. Uh,not to have everything in place,but for the have the municipality make a decision, about yes,we do want to go forward with figuring out how to get this done. And so we would hope to have,uh,to continue to have the municipalities,um,march forward-uh again with just making a decision of- of whether or not this is a commitment that we want to commit to,hopefully by April 1st. April 15th would be the timeframe that we would ask. Alter: Can I ask? So it goes back to sort of,uh, suggestions last question, about working with the local childcare provider community and those who have been working on this, for- for years too. Is this like-what you've provided with us is that basically the plan moving This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 18 forward or is there room and time to be able to make adjustments based on feedback from people who've been doing this for a while as well? Williams: Sure again,what Matt said is we have been collaborating with them. Um, the Child Care Solutions Group got the same PowerPoint presentation that Joint Entities did and we've been working with Lynette Jacoby at the County and she-uh, she came to the county presentation as well, and we are certainly continuing to collaborate with them. The decision that we're asking to be made is not to have detail, every single detail in place. And because of that,that provides the flexibility to be adaptable and to continue to work and- and form a plan. What the final version looks like. Alter: Yeah,that's where I was going with that. Williams: Yep. Yep. Bergus: And if the council were to make a determination on that bigger picture by April 1st or April 15th, operationally for minus when you expect to begin. Williams: So we would begin the 24-25 school year. So not next year,but the year after that. And that's why we have so much time. Once we decide if we're going to move forward, why we have so much time to hammer out those details and- and make sure that we are going to stand up the best system that we can?We obviously haven't mentioned Lost once. And that was the focus at Joint Entities. If you all decided that you did want to commit to this and you've Lost as a source of funding,that presents some additional time constraints. But frankly,the school district isn't wed to the-how you all decide to fund this program and where you find that money. I just- I think it's always a terrible idea to come to municipalities and say, "Hey, can we please have $1.6 million and then not have a way to-to-um,have an idea about how to generate that revenue. Um, and that's what Lost was,right? Is a way to say, and if you're worried about how you're going to fund it, here is one way to fund your portion of that. But if you all feel comfortable finding different sources of revenue to support the contribution that we're asking,that's certainly, you know,we're not going to tell you how to spend your money or how to raise it. That's totally within your purview. Um,but we did want to be very clear about what that funding contribution looks like,um, going forward. Uh,but if you can do it at a source that's other than Lost,then that um-that removes that time constraint of the, um, November election. Bergus: Yeah. Uh,just to clarify, then the-what decisions as the district needing to make, or what's your time frame if you hear from us by-by then? Williams: If you're willing to say yes,we're going to,um, support this program with a financial contribution. We may not- so and- and one of the things about this chart,right, is there really three different budgetary methods. And while all of them equal 1.6 at the end of the day and the district isn't really wed to a certain one,that's for the municipalities to agree on. If everyone does agree to support the program,the municipalities would all have to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 19 agree on the same-the same budget process. Um,but that's not even something that would have to be decided by April 1st. What- What we're asking for is a decision saying, "Yes,we believe in preschool,we believe in the transformational opportunity that this presents for our community and we are willing to financially support it using one of these three models."Let's all get together now,those of us who have made this commitment, and figure out how it is going to work. Degner: If you backward plan,we'd basically need be out at this time next year promoting. We're gonna do this in the fall because that's what we're doing right now. So we really have that time period between the figure out all of these logistical pieces. Bergus: Right. Alter: Thank you. Williams: Thank you all so much for,uh, giving us time. I know it's budget season and how busy you all are. And so we really do appreciate the opportunity to come and talk to you all about this. Alter: Thank you. Degner: Thank you all. 2. Aid to Agency Legacy Agency spending recommendations Alter: Okay. Um, our next item is discussion on Aid to Agency Legacy Agency spending recommendations. Dunn: Madam Acting Mayor, I believe we do need a motion to accept correspondence. Alter: Oh,yes. Motion to accept correspondence. Dunn: So moved. Harmsen: I second,uh. Alter: Second. Uh, sorry. Motion by,uh,Dunn and second by. Harmsen: Harmsen. A1ter:Harmsen. Alter: I'm losing last names. Goers: Voice vote is appropriate for that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 20 Alter: Okay. And I do it. Goers: Yes. Alter: Okay. Uh,Dunn. Dunn: Aye. Goers: Uh,you say those in favor yeah. Alter: Sorry. Thank you. Alter: That's right. All those in favor say aye. Council: Aye. Alter:Nay? Okay. Fruin: So, um, are you ready to start with the next item? Alter: Yes. Dunn: Uh, so next item,uh,will probably have something to do with the Center for Worker Justice. As I'm a community organizer and employed by them, I will be stepping out recusing for this conversation. And Any future conversations surrounding them or funding. Alter: Thank you. Fruin: So, uh,Mayor Pro Tem and Council, I just wanted to,uh,point your attention,the public's attention to the,uh,packet on the,uh, 16th,uh, so last week. Uh, IP4 staff provided you some background,uh, on the Aid to Agencies program. A little bit of history there,you know, a little bit about where we're at in the current process. Uh, tried to frame a little bit at the very end of that memo for, ah,how your discussion could go today. I don't plan to walk you through that,but,um,we have staff here that are-are very experienced with this program, and can answer questions,uh, as needed. Alter: Thank you very much. Um, and I think for council, if you are comfortable with this, given that,um,the decision to approve recommendations,we're not- is not going to be before us until later in the spring, I would prefer,uh, it seems to make most sense for us to look at the memo and to consider,um, staffs recommendations for potential action items that- that we have. Um,rather than to get into the specifics of,um, agency dollar amounts and recommendations if that is acceptable. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 21 Taylor: That-that sounds like a good plan. Um, I just want to point out that, um,the final bullet point on page 6 of the report did state that if the council is uncomfortable with the criteria used,uh,to form a recommendation that we should advise the HCDC about. And- and I just wanted to make it clear that I was very uncomfortable with-with how that all fell out. However,we need to do that then,uh,to follow through on that. So be it. Alter: And I think that that fits within the sort of the way I was envisioning this.Not that I'm the sole purveyor of this at all, but,um,that this isn't dealing with recommendations about money,but rather the way in which,um,you know, as staff noted,um,the way that the- the decisions were arrived at. So,um, I will open this up and see if there are other comments or thoughts from council. Thomas: Well I would- I would certainly agree with Councilor Taylor on that last bullet item that,you know,we-we need to revisit that. Um, there-there was a good faith effort there on the part of CWJ and community and family resources and,uh,you know,some computer issues on the other end. But let's- let's set that aside. Harmsen: Yeah, I agree that the,um,you know,the using that particular piece of the criteria,the late-the late submission because it was due to a computer error and not on the fault of the people submitting,but on the,uh,just something that happened on the agency that was handling that on our behalf. Um,that certainly doesn't seem fair to,um, deny funding based on something that was out of the hands of the applicant. Um, I also have noticed to the difference in the,uh, for at least one of the agencies that we're talking about. From November to this last meeting,there was a $15,000 switch,right?From yes to no. And clearly because of that one criteria. As I understand it too,we won't be looking at the final recommendations until April, May, something like that. Um, so realizing that then there's that question about that funding,that 15,000. So I think maybe it would be wise to have that set aside and we could decide that at that time,um, so that that doesn't become reallocated somewhere else or go to something- something different. And then we can make that decision,uh, as a council at that point in time,rather than stepping into the process at this point in time and- and making a final decision on that. Bergus: Yeah, I think from a process standpoint, it might be most helpful to just give that direction to HCDC before we have the final recommendation. And I think,um,my understanding is that the-the late submissions was kind of maybe added later as a- a reason or maybe rose to the top in the discussion when staff wasn't recommending that, that was the reason why they weren't,uh, accepted. Right. So I think we can make if we all agree with that,we can make clear to HCDC that that shouldn't be the criteria. If there are other criteria,tell us,you know, explain yourselves. Um,but that I think, you know, I'm not really comfortable kind of like reallocating the categories for example at this point,just to,you know,to say like the percentages should change based on this one concern. I think we can handle it by saying, okay,that's not a reason to deny funding to an agency so go forward from there and see what we get in May. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 22 Alter: Well, I certainly agree with all here. Um, it seems to me to deny,uh, potential funding based on a technicality. Really it does not, I'm kinda, I'm staring at the circle of our values. I just don't think that that's really serving the community or the,um, agencies who are trying to serve the community. So,um, I would definitely prefer for HCDC to go back and look at these applications again and discount,um,the lateness as a reason. Um, it that just doesn't seem to be in the spirit of how these funds are supposed to be allocated and who they're serving. Alter: I would additionally say that,um, I had been on HCDC and I know this is a, you know, it's a commission that takes its charge very seriously, and there's a lot that goes into it. Um, so I definitely thank them for their work. But I- I do think that in this case,this is an instance where I think looking at the criteria and- and what the legacy agencies are doing, um, is something that is warranted here rather than technicalities. Alter: So are we in agreement to direct or to-to ask advise HCDC to,um, set aside the technicality,the criteria of,um, lateness, and to be able to go back and potentially adjust final recommendations? Fruin: So that would be,uh,just want to make sure we get your expectations correct. We would ask HCDC to,um, kind of say reopen,but,uh, look at the legacy agency allocation again, with that understanding that a technical late submission from those two organizations,uh, in and of itself would not be a reason to disqualify. Ask them to take another vote on the legacy agency allocation, and then they obviously have to vote on the emerging still that'll take place March 30th. And then it comes back to you. Is that-that what I'm hearing? Harmsen: I would even potentially just wanna throw out there again if going that but one step further. Since we actually do have from the November 15th minutes,we do have a decision for one agency of 15,000 that then disappeared by the January meeting and that I think just if not re-reinstating that now,making sure they gets set aside and not reallocated somewhere else because clearly the intention in November was to allocate that funding for that agency. And that intention changed, and both of those votes were one vote off. I forget if they were four,three or four or five. So- so HCDC apparently is also grappling with this. But I think still the-the intention of one case,the majority and one case of bare minority was to fund this agency. And so,um,you know,my concern is if we just say just go back and redo your work,that at that point then we might end up with kind of back in the same place. And since we already,you know,have watched that sort of see-saw back-and-forth,you know, get my fears,we're going to end up back in this having the same discussion here in- in a month. So as opposed to just setting it aside and then just dealing with it as a council. Thomas: So that's the second language here in our memo. Leave- leave a set amount of remaining funds unallocated for city council assignment. Is that what you. Harmsen: Yeah-yeah. That's-that's what I'm-that's what I'm getting at. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 23 Bergus: I think if we're not reviewing the applications, I'm not comfortable making that determination at the end of the process. I mean, if we're going to kind of usurp HCDC's recommendation, I would want us to have some reason for that other than there was a point in time when-when it changed. And I think from my understanding of the-the discussion,this technicality was sort of one of the reasons why it changed. And if we say remove that,you know,they may go back to where they were. So I mean-but I just wouldn't be comfortable saying we're going to set it aside and then we'll decide at the end of the process where that money goes without us evaluating the applications or even knowing this,you know,the really the strength in relativity of all of that. I'm not willing to do that. Alter: I do understand where both of these sides and one of the things actually as I was going through and read the memo that struck me and there was,um, several and some of this was in the memo and then there were some that was in the, I think the resolution itself. But,um,repeatedly, staff noted the program is intended to be a stable funding source for eligible agencies with a minimum of$15,000,up to five percent of the total budget, et cetera. It can be,um,reserve for the emerging ADA requests. Alter: It seems to me and I didn't note it elsewhere but it is in the memo as well as in the resolution that the-the legacy agencies have a certain expectation of stable funding. So- I guess, in addition to encouraging HCDC to discount or to ask them to discount the technicalities is also to look at what the resolution says and what the expectation by legacy agencies may be,um, about what funding they may receive. Um, I think that stability portion is important. And- and yet, I do agree with you for-Laura, for us to simply go and look at one application or potentially all of them is taking away from the work that HCDC has been doing deeply. Um, and that they've been commissioned to do. So- I guess my-my recommendation is just that- Harmsen: I get that. I think part of it-part of it though is to is that no issues have been raised one way or the other with any of the other applications. So while- and on one hand I- I take very-um, I take seriously the idea that we don't want to go in and micro-manage. Um, I would point out that talking about, er,this- this one application um, or- or this one issue only affects a very small percentage of the whole body of recommendations coming from the HCDC on this funding. So-you know,we were going through-uh, I would feel- I would probably agree even more with Councilor Bergus's point about feeling like we're micro-managing if we were going in there and just monkeying with everything that they did, as opposed to having one thing that's sort of had a little bit of a red flag that-that looked like it was probably,you know,that kind of our role to have that oversight and to be the final arbiters of, are we hitting all of our community values that we want to do and doing what's best for the community in general. So that's kind of where I'm coming from with that. Um, and I think it's probably-probably a good opportunity for me to say that, um, I have a great deal of gratitude for the work that HCDC does going through all of these,um,you know, going back through the history uh,that-that,um,to kind of put this whole process into place. And so I do have a great deal of appreciation um, and gratitude This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 24 for the work that has been done. But that in and of itself doesn't mean that if I see something that looks like it's a mistake that I'm not going to step in and- and,you know, say that's kind of,you know,what I was elected to do. Kind of-that we all were elected to do sort of that final stop on the- on the process to make sure even with the best process in the world, if it looks like it's going to have a mistake that we are here to try and correct that error. And I think that's kind of what I'm getting at with that. I'm just trying to make sure that we fully correct the error. We could just send this back with direction of don't use this-this-we don't think this is a fair criteria to use. That's one way to do it. I would be more comfortable even though I said to go in a little bit step further and-with the recommendation-the one possible recommendation of setting aside that 15,000. Um, so I would-that would be my fust preference. My second preference would be the oops-my second preference would be the other option of uh,that the Councilor Bergus was talking about- so. Taylor: Clarify for me then Councilor Harmsen, setting aside that 15,000 and- and going back to what?Uh, Councilor Bergus said,you're not meaning that that was going to be for the council then to decide. You're wanting it to go back to HCDC to decide that 15,000? Harmsen: What? That-that. Taylor: Just clarify-just clarify that. Harmsen: That-that-that is actually what we were-that is the-that is-that is the point of- of disagreement. Alter: Okay. That is exactly- Okay. Taylor: Yeah,that's fine. Harmsen: This is where we think that should go back to. Harmsen: So my-my thing is just set it aside. Alter: Okay. Harmsen: Move it out of the process and then. Taylor: Right. That's what I was confused about which-yeah. Harmsen: Sure. And- and I think Councilor Bergus's was-was-we both-we-we-we all agree that the late thing because it was a technical glitch on our end not their end. Taylor: Right-right. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 25 Harmsen: And so we're all on the same page there. It's like,what do we do with that then? I think we should leave it to be a council decision later just for that little- little part of it. Councilor Bergus thinks we should just send it back to HCDC to take care of So I think that's probably is that a fair summary of just-uh,where we're just on slightly different places. Bergus: It's a maybe for staff. The 15,000 is not set aside and the final recommendation comes to us in May. How hard or easy would it be to- at that point in time say no,we think the 15,000 should go to a different place?Like you said, allocate it proportionately that it would be simple to back it out and-rather than setting it aside,what's the functional difference at that meeting in May, if that money has been set aside or not? Fruin: Yeah, I'm not sure- I'm not sure I'm following but if- if the money is set aside,then what we're going to do before they vote on their emerging agency dollars,we're going to say, instead of 37,000 for you to spend on emerging agencies,you have 22,000 to spend on emerging agencies. And then Council,you'll have 15 to plug wherever you want,uh, within the aid agencies process.Now,keep in mind you've got a resolution that calls for a 95-5 split but you can have-you-you have some flexibility there. Um, so it's really a matter of do you want that decision?Um, on where do we invest that 15,uh, or do you want them to make a recommendation to you?At the end of the day, it's your decision. You have to agree with their recommendations or- or change them. But do you want them to make that early recommendation or do you want us to basically pull that money out of the emerging pot that they're prepping for now? Thomas: Yeah, I would like to honor the work of HCDC but at the same time, I think that one particular item of the 15,000 could be set aside for the council to make the call at- at the appropriate time- at the final award stage. Bergus: Would we not have any recommendation for where that money is going at that time? Is that kind of what I'm understanding then? Fruin: Well,you-you still have the HCDC scoring and the staff scoring of all the applications. That's the legacy agency applications. Um, I need some help here from Erika or Tracy. Do we score emerging?Um, okay, so we don't-we don't score the emerging. So in terms of recommendations to you,you can only probably rely on the application scores. And we put the HCDC score in here. We didn't put the staff score in there but that's something we would convey,uh, in- in May or whenever the HUD allocation is provided. Harmsen: At this point are we- it is obviously,this isn't an action item on the agenda that there would be a vote. Is staff looking for a certain number of people to nod their heads in a certain pathway?What-but you know in terms of how-how do we move forward? Fruin: Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 26 Fruin: Yeah. I think- I think a majority of council will need to give us direction to-relay to HCDC. Harmsen: And especially since we're down to council members. Fruin: Correct. So at this point, I- I fully understand why. The fust communication is the-the- the lateness of the submission should not be a sole determining factor or a- a factor in- in your decision-making. Er, I think the-the-the question is, do you want to go beyond that and- and say to remove the 15 or leave 15 unallocated for- for your final decision? Or do you want them to say, okay,we understand that. We'll take that into consideration and either re-score legacy or invest that in emerging?You know,they've got a whole set of options that they could look at. Goers: The thing I would add there too is that it would be helpful to HCDC to kind of understand,um,you know,what it is that you would like to see them do differently. Now, of course,we already just talked about the don't consider a late application as disqualifying. Okay. Great,that'll be easy. That's clear. We can pass that on but the other part about setting aside $15,000, I mean, I- I'm a little unclear as to what we would tell HCDC about that. That is that-uh, I assume it's not because they changed their mind on anything between,uh,the November meeting and the subsequent meeting and so forth. But is there any additional message you would want to pass on to HCDC about that so that they can make sure that they are acting consistent with your wishes in the future? Alter: I mean, I think this is where I sit,unfortunately, directly in the middle and on the fence, um, is because I think that the agencies that we're talking about that,uh,we'd have that money set aside are doing great good. On the other side of it,though, I don't believe it's council's role per se, although oversight is absolutely there,but this is essentially not saying oversight. It's saying we're taking this amount of money to give to this agency regardless of what you think. And that's the part that puts me very much in an uncomfortable area because it's not about like,well, I mean,that is the message essentially, if we were to set aside $15,000,right? It is so that we can fund an agency. Uh,they're very specific you know. It would be CWJ. And- and I think that the work that they do is tremendous. And I think they are a legacy agency. And I would like to have, um,HCDC do everything possible to look at the totality of this. But I personally am not comfortable ensuring that for CWJ because they have gone through the same process as the other legacy agencies in HCDC and staff. It- it isn't necessarily settled because they had two different,um, one was kind of a penciled in vote and one was the actual recommendation,um. So I'm not comfortable taking that control out of their hands as much as I support the entities of all of the legacy agencies,um, for what it's worth. I- when I was on it and I know that it all depends and it changes. Um, I actually operated under the assumption as an HCDC member that legacy agencies all got something. So, um,this is an uncomfortable thing to-to set aside money because it's very clearly earmarked for one agency. And that does essentially take control out of the process that has been put in place. And while it's only one agency, I'm uncomfortable with that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 27 Taylor: Is there some way that we can work with the HCDC and find out what other criteria they based this on besides the late when application, I mean-. Harmsen: There are the minutes and the video of the meeting as well. So what changed from the 15th to the from November was clearly in the meeting minutes and it was the late. Taylor: Yeah. Taylor: This is clearly just so-. Harmsen: There was nothing. I mean,that was-that was the that was the reason I mean, again, on the earlier meeting,the funding was there and then it was taken away. And the discussion was very-very focused on the- on the what? Twelve minutes late because of a technical glitch on our end. Tayor: It just doesn't seem like it should carry that much weight. It's my opinion. Bergus: And that's why I feel comfortable saying, okay, look at this again, don't consider that as a factor and tell us what your recommendation is and then we'll decide. And Megan, and I really appreciate your comments and totally agree. This should not be about,you know, making judgments about one agencies work or not, or you know that-that I think we really are here to talk about the process and my inability to answer Eric's question of what direction would we give to HCDC to do differently other than don't consider the technicality is what it kind of puts me solidly like. I don't want to set aside that money. Harmsen: So I think-. Alter: So there's two. Harmsen: John and I are sort of on the same place still, I guess. Pauline,where are you with? Taylor: Just really hadn't considered that 15,000 and- and what I would want them to do or not do about it. I have concerns that if it does come down to the final decision made by them and they weigh against this organization again,uh, if you have set aside that 15,000,but it's tough. Uh,because I- I also think that this the CWJ, I'll just go ahead and say at the CWJ is an excellent organization. They've done a lot of good work. We've helped them out a lot over the years. Uh,but I'm sure there-there are other agencies out there that would say,well,you always give them the money. You know why you're always giving them the money. And I don't want agencies to think that. But I it's just that whole. Thomas: But I'm not you look at the-the memo and it doesn't obligate us to-to award it to anyone. It states that it's unallocated and it's for city council assignment to either legacy or emergent agencies at the final award stage. So there's-there's a choice involved there. It's not-the outcome isn't predetermined. My reading on that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 28 Taylor: Okay well,then I would go. Bergus: What criteria would you use to make that determination at that time? Thomas: It would be an evaluation of you know,the circumstances behind the decision. Bergus: Which we'll be making whether we set aside the money or not right? Thomas: Well-. Bergus: I just don't want us to be stuck having to allocate that money. Like we're going to have to decide what the criteria are at that time if we don't have a recommendation for where it's going to go. Thomas: Well, I'm okay with, I view this as a very small amount of the overall amount, and you know I do feel I want given the circumstances of how we've-we've landed at this point, have some control over the outcome. Bergus: Which is that's our vote in May is,right? Thomas: Right. Alter: For You. Harmsen: But no I'm stump- stumped. Alter:No, I was looking at Pauline. Harmsen: Oh,you're looking at Pauline, sorry I know what you mean. Taylor: I'm agreeing with-with that they,um. Although I don't think we, I agree with Laura that we as a council shouldn't be again,back to my argument. We shouldn't be putting the position of saying,well,we've got this $15,000. We're going to give it all to this group because they were faulted by the HCDC in the fust round. Uh, I don't think that's fair but a- again, in that bullet point about,uh, advising HCDC, it said providing them an opportunity to adjust their final recommendations. So we're going to I think that's what I would like them to hear from us is that you need to adjust this and look at it again, and uh,not based solely on the late application. And so they would still have the 15,000- according that it sounds like they would still have the 15,000 in their pot. And hopefully they will see the uh-the worthiness of CWJ to-to receive these funds and that they perhaps were arrant to their decision to base it on the lateness. So yeah. So that's what I would say. Alter: So your recommendation is to send it back to HCDC. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 29 Taylor: For them to adjust their right to to- to really look at this. And- and uh,to kind of dig into their, deep and their souls and say, oh were we influenced by this one person,this one commission member who said,we just got to forget them because they were late. Uh they've got to really dig deep and see why they initially, as Shawn keeps pointing out, voted to give this money to them. Uh,yeah, so that's all I would say and yeah-. Fruin: Okay. So if I-if I understand the majority here,we're going to ask the HCDC to not consider the technical late submission against either of the two agencies, and we'll ask them to essentially reopen both the legacy and the,um, emerging agencies vote. Where they decide to allocate those funds as they're called,you ultimately can adjust those at the end of the day. Um,but,uh,we'll have them-we'll intentionally have them vote on the legacy agency funding again to give them that opportunity to change what they have already recommended. Alter: Thank you. Bergus: Thank you. Alter: Okay. Item 3, uh, clarification of agenda items. Fruin: One second. Alter: Oh I'm sorry, we need to call back Councilor Dunn my bad. Alter: Welcome back. All right. Do we have clarification of agenda items? Okay. Alter: Um, information packet February 9th. Uh,we need to make sure that we have council direction on uh, IP2 memo from the city manager,the strategic plan presentations to boards and commissions,which I think is also my idea. Fruin: So I just uh,wanted to share this thought with you. It's- it's certainly optional,but as you have adopted your strategic plan,your staff is working hard to uh,make sure that your 600 plus staff members are well aware of that plan and- and are carrying out those values. Uh,we think it would be a good idea, a good opportunity for you to take some time over the next several months to visit your boards and commissions and also present them with an overview of the strategic plan also gives you a good opportunity to get in front of him and just say thank you for, for their service uh, on those. So uh, Staff has already prepared kind of canned presentations. It wouldn't take a whole lot of prep,but it would take your uh,time to uh,review those materials and- and appear before those boards and commissions. So I think uh, it would work if each of you would volunteer to take two or if some wanted to do more than that and others less,that's fine. Uh,but in the memo, we've listed out the boards and commissions there. And either here or we can do it offline via email. Uh,we can all - if you'd all sign up for- for a couple of them,uh, Staff would work with you to schedule one at a convenient time. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 30 Alter: I think it's a fantastic idea. It gives us a chance to get to know the commissioners. Well, and - Harmsen: And I have no preference. I'll be happy to go to any of them. So somebody else has a strong preference. I will. Bergus: I would too,but I'd like to do CPRB and TRC if anyone cares. Thomas: TRC and what? Bergus: CPRB community police review since I go to their meetings anyway. But I think in that sense. Dunn: I'd be particularly interested in Climate Action and the Senior Center. Thomas: Well, I'll throw my hat on the Historic Preservation and Planning and Zoning. Taylor: Uh,were you asking one or two- can two of us go? Fruin: Uh,multiple-yeah. I mean, I think if you want to go in pairs,that's fine. But on average, I think we need everybody to,to cover two. Taylor: Because I would also be interested in in the Senior Center commission and perhaps uh, the Library. Dunn: I'd be interested in going into Planning and Zoning as well, if that's an option. Alter: Can I make sure that we get them all covered fust and then we can double. Um, I'm happy to do um,Parks and Rec. Um, I can do any of the others just plug me in. But that would be one. That'd be nice. Bergus: I'm happy to do more than two also. Harmsen: And you know they - Bergus: Say no more than four or five. Harmsen: And you know,the penalty for missing a meeting is you get assigned things. So Bruce's out of luck. Alter: They will- That's right. We forgot about Bruce. Bergus: Sure. Yeah. The Mayor. Alter: Here we go. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 31 Goers: Well, there're-there're 14 boards or commissions listed in seven when full staff of you and that's why I chose two each. Alter: Make sense. Alter: So I guess we can kinda see where it all falls out and. Fruin: Yeah. I'll follow up by email with a list and. Alter: You're just going to put the Mayor's name and all the rest of it. Bergus: Thank you. Alter: Fantastic. All right. Um, are there other items on uh, info packet February 9th? Alter: I just want to note that the uh,memo from the city engineer who was incredibly helpful, uh,kinda giving the whole history of uh,the different possibilities,uh, as well as actually sort of why the eventual solution that's recommended is the one that is going to go forward and how you know the-the actual neighborhood enhancements that it offers as well. Uh, so I just want to say thank you. Thomas: Yeah. I'd like to thank staff on that as well, and I won't be able to attend the next meeting. Well, I think this comes to us. So I- I will mention a couple of things. Uh,you know, I think all of you can guess that I would certainly, in principle, support the idea of narrowing the roadway. Uh, at same time, I am pretty much a case-by-case person, and I feel you know, every circumstance may have its own reasons. Uh,but in looking at this, it does seem like it would be beneficial. I would - I would also note that Teg on the other side of the park is 36 feet wide,which is the, the width of the Abbey Lane, and there are traffic calming um,humps on Teg. So I mean the notion that a wider street can result in higher speeds, I think it seems to. That's-that's one example of a street in the same neighborhood where at the same uh, street width that has the traffic calming features. Uh, the other thing was one other comment I would make was on the it's widening the parkway width from and the staff I don't think talked about what the existing width is you know,based on Johnson County GIS, it looks like it's 10 feet wide. And so I went out and took a measurement of our parkway with on my street of Brown Street. And it's 16 feet wide and it's a- I think it would be beneficial to widen from 10 feet there's- it's-that's a considerable improvement from 10-14, a lot more you can do in that space. Uh, so that and- and I don't know if staff has any I guess in advance of the meeting, any understanding of what some of the traffic related issues are?You know,what-what cre- do we have a sense of what the speeds are on Abbey Lane or traffic counts?Uh- Fruin: I'm guessing no. Just because it-because it's not a through street, I have to imagine it's pretty low and probably hasn't necessitated any review,but- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 32 Havel: Yeah, I'd have to go back and look. But my guess is no,we wouldn't have that information. Thomas; Or parking the amount of parking. Part of this was just seeing some of the public comment,you know,that we're getting a lot of parking for use of Kiwannis and if there's any verification on wha-what we're seeing out there in terms of parking? Havel: Yeah. I'm guessing everybody has their own version of kinda what they've seen out there. But I- I think what we've seen and what we've heard is probably that parking is more of an issue during the summer months. So right now,probably not nearly as much of an issue,but uh I think even the comments we've received from the public have been focused on those times where park activity is- is high. Thomas: Because yeah, it seems- I can't imagine- it seems to me the Teg is really the front door of the park to ah,rather than the Abbey Lane side. Uh, I think it is something to think. One-the one issue that came to mind was where uh,Abbey Lane terminates you know, at the park. So at 36 feet, going to 28,what might happen there?You know, it's not gonna be as wide as it is now. It's not a- it's a cul-de-sac without a bulb,basically. And whether having it at 28 feet uh,poses any problems. I think it would just be something that could be assessed. Havel: And I'd have to go back and check. But I believe we were looking at having it remained full-width right at the park. Uh,there's actually some stormwater intakes right there as well. The entrance that would-we were planning to leave in place. So there'll be a transition from 28, I believe to the 36 right at the end of- Thomas: Okay. Well, then that answers my question. Um, so there's an adjustment at the end point. Good. So those are some of my observations. Alter: We do. I just want to mention,uh, in the same packet, congratulations to the Climate Action Coordinator and the Energy Efficiency Grant Program for installation. It seems like it's a really great program and it's wonderful to see that it's gonna be continued on with,uh,heat pumps as well. Harmsen: It's awesome. Alter: I think this is really fantastic. This is about what climate action looks like in practice. So kudos to staff and for those efforts. Alter: So if I may jump a little bit, I know that we have our February 16th packet,but we also have USG here and I believe we can probably squeeze in their status updates before we break for formal. Is that all right with everyone? Taylor: And we'll go back to the 16th week. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 33 Alter;Yes. And then we'll come- and then we'll return to the 16th after the meeting- after the formal. We'll break for formal. Alter: I'm sorry. Harmsen: And finish the packet. Alter: So, go ahead. Zeimet: Hi, Council. We just have a few brief announcements here. First-off,USG is passing legislation tonight in support of the SEN 119 union,which is compromised of health care workers at the University of Iowa Health Care. They have been involved in ongoing negotiations with the Board of Regents and as of Sunday,February 5th,the boards,uh, offered their initial proposal and then canceled all future bargaining meet-meetings. LeFevre: UI COGS is involved in ongoing negotiations with the Board of Regents and just recently, COGS gave a presentation to them. COGS is wanting a 10 percent raise while Board of Regents is currently going for three percent. The negotiations are continuing and the final closed session meeting is set for the 27th. The University of Iowa is also planning on selling the Mayflower residency hall. Um,by Spring of 2024. The university then is planning to build a new East side dorm closer to the campus. Zeimet: Thank you. Alter: Thank you. I apologize. Harmsen: And thank you again for having us two weeks ago. That was a great experience. Taylor: From the 16th that I want to talk about. Atler: Okay. But we haven't got to the 16th yet. Taylor: What? Alter: We haven't got to the 16th yet. Taylor: That's what I'm saying. You're gonna do that. Alter: After? Taylor: Yes. Harmsen: The regular meeting? Taylor: Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 34 Alter: All right, um, it is 05:46, and so we will adjourn until- Goers: We will recess. Atler: We will recess. Thank you. We will recess until 06:00 P.M,we will take back up with the formal meeting. Alter: All right, welcome back everyone. We're reconvening the work session now and we're going to continue with,um, its Item 4, the info packet discussion for February 16th. Any items? Taylor: I just want to mention IP9,the memo from the Civil Service Commission regarding four individuals that were approved as mass transit operators. I'd like to say congratulations to them and welcome to those persons and hope that this can be a major step in getting our transit system,uh, fully staffed and where it needs to be to continue to provide the quality transportation that we'd like for our community. Alter: Absolutely. Harmsen: I'd like to mention two IP6 with the Forest View and I'm sure others will probably want to chime in on this as well. But let me be the fust to extend a lot of gratitude to city staff,um, city manager's office, and neighborhood services. I think Tracey was here earlier, so unfortunately I wasn't able to have her be here to accept thanks. But amazing when you look at the timeline on this,how quickly this came together and how much work that represented. Should also mention our community partners,the center of worker justice and Mazahir's work to help that neighborhood organize and figure the best possible way out of a bad situation of course. As- as much as glad to see that we were able to help and everybody got the help, it's still a bummer that the project that was a proposal originally,the original proposal didn't go through and this was necessary in the fust place,but-but again,made the best out of a bad situation. Thank you to the city staff for doing that. Taylor: I'll just- excuse me, follow on that and thank the staff for sharing this information with us,uh, and for the time that everybody took to assure that these Forest View residents received the funding they deserved. I had followed that story from the very beginning when they were fust told that they would need to move. I got to know many of them and admired their strength and endurance. What happened to these residents was reprehensible to say the least. I feel the need to say that I'm very disappointed in the developer,the investors, and the landowner for literally abandoning these residents. I was very pleased that the city was able to craft a plan that provided some help for these individuals to find housing. It's sad to see that a number of the families left the city,the county, and even the state. And I wish each and every one of them the best as they move on with their lives. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023. Page 35 Alter: You have anything else on- for February 16th? Alter: Okay. Uh,we just have council updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees. Taylor: I'm going to be happy to have Councilor Bergus join me on the, and I always get it wrong too,the JECC committee,JECC, Joint Emergency Communications Commission. Alter: Actually, this is a perfect opportunity for me because I did just-we have the board meeting for the UNESCO City of Literature and in fact,there is an upcoming event this weekend and it's an awesome one. It's one book,two book and it,uh, celebrates among other things,um,young writers in the area. And it's going to be wonderful to see them on Sunday, although the-there are events on Saturday all day as well as on Sunday. But Sunday has sort of the one close to my heart because actually,um, I used to be an adjudicator of these young writers and right now I have a team of people who took it up themselves at ACT and so writing specialists. It has become actually internally kind of this incre-there's a little huge amount of enthusiasm to-to read these papers and to cheer these kiddos on and to make sure that they want to keep writing. So there will be,um, an award celebration for that at 01:00 at McBride,but the entire weekend has events,um, and for one book,two book. So it should be really,really cool. And once again,the city of-um, literature it's done a fantastic job putting this on. Alter: That's it. Harmsen: So one last thing approach should have noted earlier,but in advance thank you to our city's street department because it sounds like we're beginning for some freezing rain tomorrow. So hopefully everybody out there will stay home if they need to or stay safe, drive slowly and again,thank you for getting that salt and sand on the streets for us if it- if it happens like the weather is forecasting. Alter: And now I can't seem to stop myself. However, I do want to say thank you actually for previous,that dump of snow that we got on Friday night, I and my family came down and we saw that a lot of the,you know,where the parking spaces in the streets were,they were just completely filled with snow. I was back down the next day by 9:00 they were all completely gone. So kudos. I mean,that was very quick turnaround. So God knows, you guys have been going since Thursday when it started, so thank you. Anything else? All right. Well,maybe we'll just end on that. Thank you. We call ourselves adjourned, correct? Goers: Yes. Atler: Thank you for all of your help everyone,helping guide me through this. [MUSIC] This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 21, 2023.