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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-24 Transcription Page 1 Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen,Moe, Salih, Teague Staff Present: Fruin,Jones, Grace,Knoche,Havel, Sovers,Davies, Ogden,Hightshoe,Nagle- Gamin,Lyon,Liston, Seydell-Johnson,Tharp,Carman 1. Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Teague: It is 02:00 P.M. on Wednesday,January 24th.And I'm going to call the City of Iowa City work session,uh,in order. And,uh,we have two items on this agenda. One is the Capital Improvement Projects,CIP,and as we all know it. And we have allotted about two hours for that.And then the second item on our agenda is the review of Monday's budget work session. So we'll kinda jump right into CIP,see where we go.And,uh, as far as breaks,we'll probably plan between the CIP and the Monday's budget work session take a break there.We're gonna get started with our city manager leading us off in the CIP. Fruin:Yeah. Thank you,Mayor. And Council,good to see you again. Appreciate all the time you're spending with us this week to-to go through the budget. We've got a lot to cover,uh,with you today.I'll keep my remarks pretty short.But I wanna just kind of remind us of,uh,some of the- the-the context in which we're budgeting,uh,for this year,uh,particularly as it relates to the Capital Improvement Plan. So on Monday,we spent a lot of time talking about a lot of the headwinds and pressures. And,uh,if I had to kind of try to summarize that quickly,the impact on the-the Capital Improvement Plan is that we're no longer able to rely on the general fund to transfer dollars over to the capital plan at the same amount that it was before. So there's enough pressure on the general fund now to where we got to keep those dollars in the general fund,we can't transfer as m-as much out to the capital plan. So that means,uh,at least if this trend continues,we're going to have to expect to rely more on borrowing if we want to keep the same level of activity,the same kind of volume of projects that we've been doing. So that"s one thing that you just kinda have to keep in mind. We're-we're kind of starting to wean off the general fund funding source,uh,a-at least for- for the time being. The second piece,when it comes to the capital projects,we've had to adjust to the-the rapid inflation,uh,and,uh,you've seen that come through in a lot of the bids,20,30%over-uh,over our estimate is not uncommon or has not been uncommon in the last few years. So,uh,while we're taking away the general fund,uh,and increasing the borrowing a little bit,we actually have to increase the borrowing even more just to kind of get over the hump with some of those inflationary pressures. So,um,as reminder,our proposal is to increase your debt service levy a little bit. The overall,um,property tax rate stays flat,uh,due to reductions in other levies,but we are looking to maintain it.Uh,however more of that property tax will be going towards the debt service side of things. So most of today you're going to be focused on the projects,how we're spending those dollars,uh,but I wanted to give you that context and then,uh,I'm going to tum it over to Nicole who's going to give you a little bit more of that financial picture before we jump into,uh,individual projects. Teague:Right.You know,welcome Nicole. Davies: Hello. So first we'll just kinda go through how the plan gets developed and then,like Geoff said, we'll talk a little bit of the financial highlights quickly before they dive into all of the many projects that they're all in charge of. Um, so first,this process starts and we started a little earlier than normal. As Geoff said,we've had a lot of projects,um,that are coming in over budget. So the first thing they did is looked at anything that was already in the CIP plan,make sure those numbers are still accurate.Did those need to be adjusted any?Um,they submit those forms back This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 2 to us,we update our software. Then,um,after that happened in September,then they did for any new requests for projects. So they put all of those in, send them back to us.We produce a report that has everything in it,um, at that time,which this is usually the end of September. Um,meet with the CIP committee review kind of what the priorities are,what-um,where we need to focus on,what things can be pushed back,what things can be moved forward,um,kind of see what leeway we have.Um,we'll make some cuts to the first round,um,move some things around, send the report back out,um,go through it again, and then same thing. There's usually some final tweaks. And again,we're doing a lot of this without knowing what our property taxes are going to look like. So then again,once we get some of those numbers closer than we'll make the final tweaks and then this comes out with the regular budget. So last week,I think it was that you all received this. Um,just to go into some of the highlight.Big graph up there which looks like you're not going to be able to see all of it,but this is just a summary of what fiinds our CIP plan. Um, as you can see,the largest piece of that is our GO bonds. And I'll talk about that a little bit, um,in a minute. The other big pieces,the revenue bonds that's as we talked about on Monday, um,a couple of the two big wastewater projects. We're looking at revenue bonds,that could be something else. We're also looking at,um, SRF loans through the state so that's to be decided at this point. You can see another big piece is a federal grants,um,that's several airport grants,that's the large compost,um,improvement grant that we just received for the landfill. And then also a large portion of that is the transit facility grant.Another big piece that's in this five year plan is the facility reserve.Right now you can see that's about 22.5 million. As we told you on- on Monday,there's not enough there to cover that. It currently sets out about 17 so as it is right now, that's 5.5 million dollar short. Of what we already have planned. Um,kind of circling back to the GO bonds. Um,I kind of went over this last year too right now. Um, as Geoff said,we're-we're increasing the debt service levy for what we're losing in the general fixed. We really probably anticipate that that will be where we'll move most of that levy if we keep it flat. So if we were to move the 40 cents we moved 6 to the tort levy or 7,so if we move the other 40 cents that we have to decrease to the debt service,then we could support an average issue of about 14.5 million. Right now what we have in the plan is about 14.9 million. So again,we're short there. If we don't move that 40 cents into the debt service levy,it can only support a bond issues of about 12 million,so pretty significantly short of what we would need if we don't kind of up that levy. The other thing is those assumptions are built in with a 3%average growth.We did get over that this year,we have in the last two years, so that has to happen. And also for the interest rates to stay below 5. Um,I think it'll be interesting to see if we do this year,but we do kind of expect interest rates to start going down again so hopefully that will help in that regard. Bergus: Nicole, can- can I just interrupt?Um,what would we need to increase the debt service levy to fund that 14.9? Davies: Good question,um. Bergus: Do we have capacity to do it?Maybe is a easier question. Davies: Yeah,we-we can,right?We would have the capacity to-to up it to that 14.9 and then increase that as a debt levy. Bergus: Thank you. Davies: Definitely have the capacity. I can get you what that sense is,but- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 3 Bergus: It was more a question of why could we? Davies: Yeah-yes,we defmitely could. Fruin:And-and that's one policy decision that you'll have to think about over the next few years. If- if there's a goal to keep our overall rate stable,uh,then we're really just,um,transferring the forced levy reduction that the state is giving us,uh,up to debt service and we end up hopefully about that 14.5 as Nicole said.If there's a desire to push that tax rate up,um,which would be a change from the direction that we've been moving in the past decade,uh,there's plenty of capacity to move that up well north of 14,certainly or 15. Davies: Then moving into the next graph just kind of shows the projects by division,um,again,heavily dominated by streets, and we've defmitely got some large ones in this plan. The Dodge Street, um,the Burlington Street Bridge replacement will be a big one,also Taft. And then just our annual rehab,um,is a large portion of this five year plan.Again,wastewater has a good chunk with our two large projects that are currently in design. And then two with the transit facility and then equipment building which will be a-a joint building. Those are two big pieces. And then also in recreation,the city park pool is- is almost all of that recreation dollar amount. So with that I'll turn it over to Tham to walk through the details. Havel: So we can move into the-the plan of projects here that we have laid out in front of us for the next five years. Uh,just a little bit about kind of the-the overall process here.We'll start off with ongoing projects, so those are the ones that don't show up in the current or the proposed plan,but are currently either under construction or still kind of in the works. So,uh,and then we'll move on to annual projects,and those are the ones that have money every year. Typically,those are for ones that address issues that come up that we really are-are difficult to plan for,but you need money there to-to complete those things.And then we'll move into the individual departments in their projects. And then finally we'll end with on the radar. And those are really those projects, again,that don't necessarily have funding in this five year plan,but they're ones that are out there kind of beyond the plan that we need to be thinking about,or planning for as we look to the future. So with that,we'll start with the ongoing projects. Seydell Johnson: Hi,Juli Seydell Johnson,Parks and Recreation Director,and I'll start with some of the ongoing ones. First of all,we have the Senior Center Facility exterior renovations.And those started this week.We're really excited to see that.Building envelope,windows some on the roof. Just getting that building tight and secure. The next one is the Sturgis Ferry Boat Drop. This is part-parks and recreation,but part recycling. We'll be upgrading the park amenities there with a shelter,uh,but then also adding a recycling area for the public to use as well. We had the Mercer Ball Diamond improvements. This,uh,was started somewhat last year and it was combined with the pickleball tennis courts at the time.Pickleball tennis is-is underway and we've actually replaced the lighting on Field 1 at the Ball Diamonds.But we've been working with the school district as they have kind of a changed interest in that complex,um,of probably adding varsity softball to it. So we're kind of reworking the design and they'll be picking up more of the costs of that to renovate the diamonds a little bit differently than what we had planned. That's why there's a little bit of a delay in that project. The next one is the tennis court renovations. We currently have no tennis courts or pickleball courts. They were all demolished before the snow came and they'll be back first thing in the spring to rebuild those. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 4 Havel: We'll move on to the Riverside Drive pedestrian path. So this is along the west side of Riverside Drive between Myrtle and Benton. There-we installed a walkway there with a barrier between the walkway and-and the traveling vehicles. That walkway is in currently in and usable.We do still have some lighting that needs to occur, so that'll happen this spring,once those light poles and the equipment come in.Next one is Rochester Avenue reconstruction. So,overall,the project was to reconstruct Rochester Avenue from essentially Ralston Creek to First Avenue. We are complete up to just short of the First Avenue intersection. So,this next construction season will include reconstruction of the First Avenue in Rochester intersection.Because we are trying to maintain traffic on First Avenue,we're going to construct it half at a time. So that will include closures of Rochester for whatever half we're constructing.We do expect that that'll take most of this construction season. Alter: Very quickly. That-what is that?Is that March to November? Havel: I would say- Alter: What's that,April? Havel: Probably start-depending on weather,as early as March.Usually we kind of say April 1 is sort of the unofficial start,but that would say then complete by late summer,fall.Kitty Lee Road, functional design. So Kitty Lee Road is west of Highway 218,just north of Highway 1.It's currently a county road. This is a project that we're looking at with the anticipated development that would occur kinda west of Highway 218 between Lee Road and Highway 1,an area we call the Carson Farm area.Uh, as we look at potential development in that area,one of the-the issues that's out there is while we anticipate development occurring kind of from the north, so really more along Lee Road to start eventually that will work south and we'll need a connection to Highway 1.Uh,there's the potential that that would be done by developers and a new connection created. There's also the potential that we would need to create a connection before they're ready to do that. Uh,so we're looking at what it would take for Kitty Lee to be that connection.Um,at this point,it's just a functional design. So we're just looking at kind of the concept and very preliminary design to get that in place.Um,there's currently no construction dollars or final design dollars in the CIP.Muscatine Avenue pedestrian crossing. So for those that have been around for a little bit,this one's been in here for a couple of years.We continue to work to-to move it forward. This will be for a pedestrian crossing,uh Muscatine Avenue,basically just in front of the,uh First Avenue Hy-Vee.It will also include transit and bus stop improvements as well. The-the biggest or the,I guess maybe the most interesting piece of this project is that we are utilizing a previous research project to look at using conductive concrete.Essentially,what that would do is to use,uh an electric current to more or less,uh,melt snow or keep snow from building up in those areas.Um,one of the-the challenges that goes along with that is there's not the normal permitting process and- and process work through to get that approved. So we're working through that process now to figure out what those approvals need to look like,what those requirements need to look like,uh,and we hope to have that ready for construction this season. We're at South Sewer. So this is another one kind of associated with the Carson Farm area. This was to upsize and extend sanitary sewer along Abbey Lane and across under Highway 218 to the west side to allow for future development in that area. This project,the sewer,is essentially complete. We have some restoration work that needs to occur this spring,but,um it would be usable at this point. That is it for the ongoing section,we'll move on to,uh,annual projects. The first one here is fiber infill and cameras,so this is an account that we use for,uh, installing fiber optic cable to kinda continue to build out the city's fiber network. This would be This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 5 used in situations where maybe we have a project or an opportunity that comes up where we would provide a connection or expansion of the city's fiber optic system. Another piece of this would be cameras similar to the ones that shown here. These are pan tilt zoom cameras that we have at intersections. A lot of times these are used to help identify either traffic issues or- or what might be going on at intersections.We can use them. Again,being pan tilt zoom,we're able to-to move those to see kind of what's going on at the intersection in the various legs. Salih: Is this the one that's just now being installed? Havel: So we've started installing them at some of the intersections. They are-I think we're pretty well through there, so I don't know if they are all of them,but they're at most at this point. Salih: And they are not a speed camera. Havel: They are not a speed camera.No. Salih: Okay. Dunn: Clarify also that these are not the automatic license plate cameras either. Havel: The next one is annual storm-water improvements,so similar to what the picture shows here,a lot of times this is used to address sink holes that we observed, so those more immediate needs for the storm water system improves-oh sorry,repairs.A lot of times,either storm sewer,intakes, manholes,that kind of stuff where problems- immediate problems develop and we can get those taken care of right away. Seydell Johnson: Okay. The next one is City Hall other projects. This is an annual fund of 50,000,largely planned over the next few years to help with our heating and cooling systems,and automation control systems.You'll hear more about that when you tour the building in your next-at your February work session. The next one is our parks annual improvement [OVERLAPPING]. Moe: We talk more about like,how that interacts with the current ongoing study of the facility,and what kinds of investments are being made that- Seydell Johnson: Sure. The amounts being spent right now are almost all emergency repairs when one of many of the smaller units go down. I'd like to say that we're getting ahead of the game,we're not yet. So,um,and then of course,that would change with a larger,bigger plan.But right now,it just kind of,I wouldn't say keeps the lights on,but really it keeps a h-it keeps it warm and cool, during current operations right now. Parks annual improvements,this ah,um,is for smaller projects throughout the parks.A lot of the park signage that you've seen being changed out the last few years comes from this fixed benches,other park furnishings,smaller,uh,fixes to shelters or court improvements. And then partnership projects with any of our many different community groups,neighborhood associations,um, and sports associations. Our park annual ADA improvements. Luckily,this one is getting less and less because we've made so many improvements in the parks since the last master plan. The money that's in there right now for 2024 is for a path, and accessible path at Calder Park and this will connect to the new development happening in that area.As well as,that's the one park,one of-well,one of about three parks left that don't have an accessible path to their playground. So that will give us that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 6 Salih: How many-how many park have you done every year? Seydell Johnson:We've done four- four to six each year along with the general park renovations. So with our 50 parks,um,over the last 8 years,we've worked our way through. So we only have seven or eight that we haven't touched yet. Salih: And you said there's only two left? Seydell Johnson:Well,two significant accessibility issues,that would be Calder Park and Reno Street is the other one that comes to mind right off the top of my head. Salih: And since you said annually,like the budget for this,do you think you're gonna be doing less this year thus we're gonna have less like money left or? Seydell Johnson:No-no. I'm saying it used to be one every year,so you would have seen [OVERLAPPING] all of five years having money in that. So this year it's only one year,and that's for this last time- [OVERLAPPING] Salih: I see. Seydell Johnson: -significant project. Salih: Okay. Seydel Johnson: Yeah. Salih: Just trying to figure out to save money. Seydell Johnson: I know. Our inner city bike trails and bridges. This is 150,000 a year. Sounds like a lot. It's really not with our trails.Most of them went in in the late '80s and'90s,and they're-they are quickly coming into the time when we're gonna be-we need to be replacing them. The first action on these is a lot of the bridges, especially on the western portion of the town-of town,and the trails out there. So,we've done one near West High recently. There's one down by the river that needs some work. So a lot of trail bridge work,mostly from this particular fund. Our annual rec center improvement is once again the smaller projects similar to City Hall. The things that come up that just need to be done to cap-to keep the facility operating also includes,like ceiling tile and replacement at Robert A.Lee. Um, some other kind of smaller size projects at both Mercer and Robert A. Lee. Contracted tree planting is next and this is when we've been going out into the neighborhoods and doing infill with the street trees,uh,we've been making our way around the community,and that's been very successful, and very-um,a lot of people have been excited about it when we get to their particular neighborhoods. Harmsen:Juli,does that- sorry,does that include the-just the planting or the planting and then all the watering?Because I know the watering is significant especially the last few summers?. Seydell Johnson: Yeah. Thank you for asking that. This is just the contract to have them planted,and their first year warranty. Which was significant, Scott- Scott Boulevard,we ended up replacing almost all of those that went in a couple of years ago. Uh,but then we take up with watering once it's installed. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 7 Harmsen: Thankyou. Salih: : You mean when you say warranty,it means if like one of them is die,and they gonna replace it during that time or what does the warranty cover? Seydell Johnson: So,the one year is if the tree doesn't-uh,doesn't grow and-and stay alive during that first year? Salih: Yeah,I'd have to. Okay. Seydell Johnson: Does that make sense? Salih: And they are the one who-watering during that time. Seydell Johnson: The contractor,when we contract that tree planting. Salih: Yes. Okay. Havel: Annual traffic signal projects. So this is an account that would pay for either installation of new signals,replacement of old signals,or it could be signal poles that are damaged,or equipment that has just reached the end of its useful life upgrading that equipment. And we have some equipment where it's just to the point where it's not supported anymore, and so we need to replace those as- as needed. So,this account would pay for that type of stuff. Alter: Can I ask a question about that?Um,maybe this goes to MPO.But,I was wondering about like,as you look at sort of the-the aging out or the needs for new ones,or what have you.Um,taking into account,you know,over the past ten years or what have you,the population increased, number of cars. Are there,um,traffic studies done to see about patterns of�um,through ways and timing of signals and things like that?Are those done on a fairly regular basis?Is that part of money that goes toward-does some of this money go towards those efforts or is this a separate thing? Havel: They'll be separate. Alter: Okay. Havel:But they do have,I-I don't know the schedule offhand,but I know they go through and regularly look at,ah,signal timings and that kind of thing for certain corridors. A lot of times making sure- looking at the whole corridor to make sure that they work-work together.But that would be separate from this. This would be more- [OVERLAPPING] Alter: The actual maintenance of- [OVERLAPPING] Havel: Actual maintenance of structures or-or repair work Alter: Okay.And if I did have further questions about those patterns and studies,would that be MPO? Havel: There's-yes,that process goes through that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 8 Alter: Okay. Thank you. Salih: And is that really-does cost the city 1.5 almost a million every year?Or sometime you don't apply them? Havel: So that would be 1.5 million for the five year period. So- [OVERLAPPING]. Salih: Five year period. Havel: 200,000 in 24 and then it bumps up to 300,000 a year after that. Salih: Okay. Sure. Havel: And just for reference,that 300,000 probably gets you one signal if,you were completely replacing it. Harmsen: One signal or one intersection? Havel: Sorry,I said signal,but it would be one intersection. Salih: It's one intersection you mean,yeah. Alter: Yeah. The red one. Havel: The traffic calming project. So this is the account that pays for the actual construction of traffic calming measures,it would also include maintenance of ones that have been inst-installed previously. So you may be aware there's a process that goes through a neighborhood,a based process to go through and request traffic calming, and work through their support for that and surveys,and all of that. If it makes it through that process,then this is the account that pays for actually installing,uh,speed humps or-or other measures. The curb ramp project.Every year we go through and do a project to install new curb ramps or replace old curb ramps,bring those into compliance. This is a project that addresses sites throughout the city,so different locations every year. We typically focus on locations that don't have curb ramps first,and then kind of work our way down the list trying to hit the biggest impact first. Um,but it would be,again,anything from new ramps to replacing old ramps and bringing it into compliance. The pavement rehabilitation project,this is our asphalt overlay program as well as our PCC patching program.Um, so again, we usually have projects every year. That's not to say that we have one of each every year,uh,but this upcoming year,the plan currently is to look at doing an overlay of Park Road,as well as some PCC patching on Mormon Trek Boulevard. The underground electrical facilities project, this is one that we typically use in conjunction with other projects. This is the money that we use to basically work with utilities to go from overhead utilities to underground facilities. Uh,what that process usually looks like is we have them give us a cost for what it would cost for them to relocate to another area location, as well as the cost for what it would cost to go underground,and we are typically responsible for the-the change of the Delta in those amounts,the just-the additional cost for them to go underground. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 9 Moe: Who manages coordination with telecommunications with multiple fiber optics that are now attached to power lines through town?Who-who-how does that happen,and how does that get efficient and better? Havel: Uh,that would be-we would be very interested in the answer to that as well. Moe: Okay. Havel: Um,it's usually kind of a joint effort,you know,we try and coordinate as best we can. Um, it's city staff,it's the consultants we use on our projects,we,you know,it's,uh,utility staff as well, um,it-to be perfectly honest,it's a challenge at times.But- Moe: Do you need anything from City Council to make that a more effective process? Havel: Um,like,I don't know the answer to that right now.I-I think-I don't know if there's something that could be done,um,certainly communication through different channels can't hurt.Uh,I think it's something that we continue to look for better ways to do it. I-I know that we're not alone, as far as communities that struggle with this,um,it's,you know,often just a- a difference in priorities for what people are working on.But,um,certainly can keep that in mind,and-and reach out if-if we think that would help. Fruin: The-the historical trend, especially in recent years,is that the state,uh,is,um,preempting our ability to regulate utilities. So utility is pretty much have a right to go where-wherever they can, our permitting,um,kind of purview is very narrow,and as Johnson mentioned,as I- as we all talk to counterparts in different cities,it's one of the biggest struggles that we have on projects. We felt the-the pain on American Legion,we felt the pain on Rochester,because oftentimes we can't get started on our road improvements until,uh,private utilities have all relocated,and unfortunately,we don't have the-the regulatory authority to say you must be,you know, underground,uh,according to plans by x date. So I'm not sure there's-I'm not sure there's much a city-city council can do from a regulatory standpoint,but certainly just communicating to,um, uh,utility providers that-that you may encounter, and-and continuing to talk about that challenge in the community could help. Havel: The bicycle master plan implementation project. So this is,uh, as you're probably aware,we had done a bicycle master plan,uh,a few years ago, and this is what the account that we used to implement those recommendations at this point. A lot of it has to do with pavement marking, so it's either striping bicycle lanes,um,on street or four-lane to three-lane conversion is another one that we've done in a number of locations. The annual bridge maintenance and repair project, so this is what we use to complete bridge repairs,you know,a lot of times this is what comes out of the findings from our regular bridge inspections to-to make those repairs.But,you know,it can be for making repairs that come about through any number of-of processes. The parking facility restoration,repair,Darian maybe chime in on that one. Nagle-Gamm: Sure. Hi there.Darian Nagle-Gamm Director of Transportation Services. So every five years,we put together a plan,um,which we've just completed in the last year,that helps guide us through the work that we need to do to maintain our parking facilities over the next five years. So that number you see up there at the six million,that's kind of spread out over the next five years. And from that plan comes recommendations for each parking facility, and by year,um,the-the improvements that need to be done. That generally includes a lot of concrete work.Um, it could This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 10 also be mechanicals,um,heating and cooling repairs,electrical, and concrete restoration is a big part of that. So for example,this year,right now we're working on the stairways.We're rebuilding the stairways,um,in,um,tower place. So if you've been over there, stairways are-one side of the building, stairways are currently down.We are,um, essentially,um,stripping down the metal stairways,recoating them,making them more resilient against sand and salt and those sorts of things. Those are some of the things that-that corrode,um,the-the concrete in the facility, so it takes kinda constant-there's constant vigilance.Um,I would say from a cost perspective,costs have certainly been increasing in recent years. Those of you who have been on the council for some time would probably notice that this is an increase from previous years,and that's really due to escalating costs that we're seeing across the board with all of our projects,and then just the age and the condition of the facilities. Fruin:If I can add the-the funding stream that you see there. If you look at 2024,the 525,000 that's pretty much been the norm for the last several years. Um,the increased amounts are dependent on the parking rate changes. If we do not move forward with the parking rate changes,we will be,um, budgetarily constrained to about that half million dollar,uh,level each year,which just means we're going to be creating a deferred maintenance challenge for- for us going forward unless we want to pursue geo bonding or some other fixnding source. Alter: With the projected money starting in 2025,the-the doubling of it,is that projected in alignment with what the recommendation was that we heard on Monday of increasing- of the dollar amounts that you recommended for the increase. Fruin:Yes. We-we estimated about a million dollars that we-we think we could transfer,um,uh,or we think we could put towards this project based on staffs recommendations for parking changes. So you can see that that gets us to about that 2027 funding level,uh,in those early years,uh,we'd be building that fund balance up a- a little bit,and hopefully,over time those revenue lines increase incrementally too, so we think that's a good-a good target to be. Dunn: Sounds like a great topic for conversation after CIP. Nagle-Gamm:All right. The next item is the transit interchange and bus stop improvements, and we've been setting money aside,um,we're very happy this year that we're going to be able to,um,bring a consultant on board to help us look at all of our 500 plus transit stops in the community and develop,not unlike how we,um,develop a plan for our parking facilities,but develop a similar plan for improvements at our bus stops,um,over the next few years. That could include anything from ADA improvements, sidewalk connectivity,amenities,lighting,you know,bus stop shelters,those things that we'll be evaluating each,um,specific bus stop for. So that'll be a lot of, um,inventorying of our current stops and building a plan for the fixture,um,that we hope to engage after we have that plan complete. Bergus: A quick question on the bus stop improvements. Do we have any data on how those improvements may impact ridership?I've just-I've been hearing a lot about the snow and,you know,lack of shelter and that kind of thing,so do we know if accelerating that might enhance ridership? Nagle-Gamm:I certainly believe that making our transit stops more safe and comfortable,I personally believe that that will impact our ridership. I think that's-that's one of our last pieces of the puzzle that we've been trying to put together over the last few years. First,focus on service,um, focus on This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 11 fares, focus on amenities is kind of where we're at.Um,so I-I think there will be an impact,I don't know if I have any statistics I can cite right now. Um,but it certainly when you look at really successful systems,they also have,um,a very successful infrastructure to help support those systems,and I will say,um,in the transit study process,we-we did have the dubious honor from our consultant of-of,uh,indicating that they haven't seen a transit interchange in a community of this size population-wise,that doesn't have outdoor shelter. So we sort of rely on the mall space downtown for shelter,but that's something that we need to look at is how can we make that-that downtown interchange space,along with all of our bus stops,more safe and comfortable for the public. So I think there's defmitely an impact to be made in the fixture. Dunn: Go ahead. Moe: Related to the downtown interchange,is there any indication that our university partners,Coralville partners are at all interested in investing in an interchange that has shelter and functions maybe even better? Nagle-Gamm:Yeah,I mean,I think that-that would be a welcome conversation. Um,I-we-we all use the downtown area as an interchange,um,campus focusing-campus on Washington Street and Clinton Street,Coralville staying mostly on Clinton Street,but everybody drives through the interchange area,so I think there would defmitely be some benefits to reaching out.And that's something that we would look to do when we start to look kind of hard at what improvements we can make at that interchange area. Dunn: So theoretically speaking, if we were to increase the amount,um,that we collect from parking,let's say greater than the recommended amount in the budget currently. Um,do you think that excess funds would be a good investment for,um,you know,transportation infrastructure in this particular way coverage? Nagle-Gamm:Yeah. I think any investment that we make in our infrastructure for transit,I think we would see returns on that. So any-where that investment comes from,you know,has yet to be determined.But I think any- so basically the fimding we see right now,the 125,000 I still don't have exactly a clear picture of what the consultant costs will be,but I suspect the actual infrastructure changes will outpace that dollar amount that you see there. So there will likely be more discussion, and we'll be coming back to you in the fixture with some more hard numbers,I would say,on what that would look like.But I think any investment,if- if transit-if we really want to continue to invest in our transit system,we've invested a lot in our service,and I think we also need to invest in our infrastructure to make it,again a comfortable place,um,comfortable, informative, safe,you know,place that people want to,um,want to visit and want to use,um,in order to get our transit ridership where we want it to be. Dunn: Yeah. And it would seem- seem to me,just as an aside,that it would make a lot of sense for us to- for wanting to disincentivize the usage of cars for so many different reasons. To leverage the funds created from the-that use to invest in transportation infrastructure like you're detailing. That's just my personal thoughts. Havel: And the final project in this section is the annual sewer main replacement. So this is a fund that we use to make,uh, smaller repairs on the sanitary sewer system. Also is,uh,in this account is what we use for sewer lining and manhole lining for, again,sanitary sewer maintenance projects. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 12 Salih: And-and this one,what is going to happen in the'27 and'28,that's why it's not like 500,750 here. Havel: I don't know if there's anything specific, Knoche:just the overall inflation of-of the cost of doing business, so as-as we continue down the road, the-the prices of equipment, and parts and pieces continue to rise. So it's the ability to either maintain,maybe potentially do a little bit more in repair.But it's really just the inflation factor. Salih: Okay. Havel: Alright,with that,we'll move on to the individual department projects. Starting off with airport. Tharp: Good afternoon,Mike Tharp.I'm the Airport Manager. Uh,with the Airport Projects,it's important to keep in mind that our projects are heavily dependent on either FAA, federal funding or state funding. When the FAA participates in a project,they provide 90%of the project cost. When the state,uh,participates in a project,they provide anywhere from 70-85%of the project cost.Without those finds,our projects typically don't move forward. Um,the first one off the bat is our runway 7 environmental assessment. This is the environmental phase of adding about 150 feet of additional concrete to the runway 7 end.Uh,the objective to that is so that we have both ends of our 725 runway to have,uh,over 5,000 feet of landing distance.Uh, 5,000 feet is one of those magic numbers that charter operators like to have,uh, especially their insurance carriers,to operate at an airfield.Um,and all of these projects are coming from,uh,predominantly our master plan,which is a 20-year plan that is also blessed by the FAA. So there's a-an operating plan that we're,kind of,uh,running off of. Uh,the next project,the runway 12/30 threshold displacement relocation. That is the final project of our long running obstruction mitigation and reconfiguration work that we've been doing at the airport.Uh,this short as a displaced threshold on the runway 12 end,which is the north side of the airport. And then adds about 300 feet of concrete on the Southeast end to maintain the landing distances that we have.But it pulls the,uh, protection zones away from that Northwest neighborhood and protects a lot of the trees and en- tree predominantly,that are in the area so we don't have to go in and clear those as obstructions. The airport apron expansion is eh, expansion of our aircraft parking area,ah, as the airport is seeing larger jets and more frequent,ah, activity. Parking is an issue on some occasions, especially high traffic days like football game days and other events where we have a lot of aircraft coming in. So this is,ah,something that the FAA has a formula based on how-how busy you are,how much parking area you need,and this would get us to that level of-of ramp space. The runway 7/25 pavement repairs are a mid year life span of rerouting and resealing of our pavement joints on the runway. Ah,the runway is approaching about 10 years old since it was reconstructed,and it's just time to do that to maintain the-the life expectancy of the runway. And same status with 12/30.Again,ah,routing and ceiling of the pavement joints to provide medium level-payment maintenance. The terminal building remodel and reconstruction. This is when,ah, when Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They provided$1 billion a year for five years for general aviation airport terminal buildings.Uh,this is something that the Airport Commission over the last year look-conducted a space needs study. Um,we are short on space at the airport,ah,and this would give us an ability too,ah,right now,the preferred option is to rebuild the terminal building.But over the next year,we're going to,ah,do an environmental review and also look at possible ways to,um,maintain the current building and/or relocate,or go through an environmental process and a historical review process of-of figuring out the best way to accommodate that space at the airport. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 13 Moe: I have a strong feeling about this building. Tharp: I'm sure a lot of people do. Moe: It's-it's a very important historic asset,and I just can't imagine we could get federal fimding through a Section 106 process for something of that important. I-I really don't think that we want to even consider removal as even part of the capital improvement. I agree you need to improve the building and expand,and we should be taking advantage of that.But any suggestion of removing gives me big pause. Tharp: It's-it's not an easy process to go through.Ah,the airport did go through a similar process when- when they removed the United hangar building about 15 years ago,now maybe 20.Um,but yeah. So right now the fust phase is just kind of getting that plan set to figure out exactly what-what happens and then go after the second phase of- of build money.Both of these are competitive grant programs, so if we don't get them planning money,which we have currently applied for, that announcement is-is planned to be somewhere in the-the end of February this project won't go forward. Alter: Does this actually have historical designation? Tharp: It does not have a hi-a historical designation.It is eligible,the exterior is eligible,but it is not designated. Dunn: Could you- could you talk a little bit about like what makes it eligible?Just ignorance here. Tharp: I don't know the specifics,um,but I can certainly get you some additional information. Ah,mainly it's the architecture-the style of architecture. Ah,Henry Fisk was the architect that designed and, ah,built that building and a number of buildings,including this one that was-that we're in. So it's, ah,the architectural style,um,predominantly.But I'm sure there's a few other things. Dunn: Anything to add Councilor Moe? Moe: Yeah. I mean, it-it was researched by Jan Olive Nash about 25 years ago. The records are in the State Historical Society buildings. It's-it's-we have three really interesting mid century buildings in Iowa City, and-and this is one of them that's been radically adapted, changed,modified so that it's sort of not as important with as much integrity. That's a really cool building and I think that we've seen examples of airports across the country where they see a really cool airport building where you add,you-you modify.But getting rid of it just feels very wrong to me, and I feel like the process of going through the study, shaping that in a way that says it's a value to keep that building,um,and improve would be,I-I think something we should see if the consultants can make that work or make a recommendation for that. Tharp: Um,I think the Solar Power Project is our last project. This is one that,ah,is split into two phases, again coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Funding Phase 1 will provide a solar power array to cover our airfield-airfield lighting and our terminal building and,ah,the care ambulance building where the ambulance company resides.And then Phase 2,a couple of years down the road,will cover the buildings that jet air operates as a maintenance facility and the operator performance lab. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 14 Havel: All right. If there's no other questions,we'll move on to fire. Lyon: Good afternoon,Mayor and Council.Nice to see you guys again. Teague: Good afternoon. Lyon:We'll go and kick off with the,uh,replacement of,uh,fire apparatus replacement program.Um, you see here for a ladder truck Um,though is-this would be to replace a 20,um,sorry 2011 Pierce,uh,fire truck that we currently have.Uh,we kind of discussed this a little bit on Monday that,uh,costs continue to increase on fire apparatus.Uh,I would anticipate a 2%cost increased about every quarter until we order a fire truck.Um,the-the other side that-that we have going on here is that the delivery,uh, for a new ladder truck is about 54 months. So at this time,we're evaluating all options and seeing where we can go from there. Bergus: Chief,at what point do you pay for the apparatus? Lyon:Well,that could be constructed in a couple of different ways. Um,I-I-I know that,uh,we-we could pay half upfront. Is that-is that correct?Or how do we typically do it? Davies: I'm not sure exactly how they've all been done,but I feel like we've paid some upfront and then the rest on delivery. Bergus: So when this is programmed,are we-we're-we're taking that into account or- Davies: I didn't hear the question. What did you say? Bergus: Sorry. When it's programmed at 1.5 million or is that-that's the entire cost of the apparatus,right? Davies:Right. Bergus: So when it's a two-year delivery,we might actually be paying half in 26.5 and 28. Davies:Right. Bergus: Okay. Lyon: Yeah,and- and I think that gets so-somewhat complicated.We start talking about 54 months,um, so that's-that's really difficult to-to-try to figure out. So we-we are evaluating all options as we speak Fruin: Generally what-what we've done with this and some other fleet that have long lead times, especially these last few years,is once we complete the CIP portion of the budget review,even before you adopt it,if we have a sense that the money is safe,you're not-you're not inclined to move it,we'll go ahead and give the operating department,in this case,fire the ability to place that order in April,May, and-and not necessarily wait till July. I know that saves just a few months in a long process.But we're-we're hesitant to-to make those commitments a couple years in advance.Not wanting to presume our financial condition isn't going to change,or that there may be some priority changes,uh, from elected officials. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 15 Alter: And this is for-I mean,obviously,it says for replacement. Um,is-has there been any discussion, sort of blue-skying about looking at those?We were talking about the way in which the fire department operates as first responders, and for them to be able to use smaller vehicles. And has there been any discussion since?I know they're significantly cheaper. And I recognize you need this because this is a 20-to replace a 2011,uh, ladder truck But I just wondered,and you don't need to go down the rabbit hole.It might be a different conversation.But just to have that on the radar about thinking about if there's an ability at some point to be more mobile for medical callouts and to-to get a smaller vehicle,um,the cost is significantly less.But I realize it's a yes and like you must have a ladder truck. Lyon:Right. Alter: And this is an additional expense that Geoff really doesn't want to have me be talking about. Lyon:No,it's okay. Alter:No,I just wondered like to-to put that into the mix. And I don't mean to-to hold up this particular discussion and presentation,but it's just something that is of interest,I think as we move-look forward to the best response. Lyon: Yeah,absolutely. Those-those discussions are ongoing within the fire department right now,um, as- as-as I get a little bit more tenured here and-and understand a little bit better.Um, so look- looking at a variety of deployment models is-is absolutely on the table. Alter: Okay. Salih: And what happens when we replace a truck?What happened to the old truck? Lyon:We-we sell the old trucks. So we have two ladder trucks.We have the one downtown here,that's a great big platform truck,um,that-that services downtown. And the second ladder truck is out at Station 2 on the [OVERLAPPING] Salih: And when we sell it,the-the-the money from that truck will be included on the budget-this budget or how? Lyon:Well,I believe the money comes back into the vehicle replacement fiend,if I'm not mistaken. Uh, unfortunately,by-by the time we're done with fire trucks,uh,they don't bring much money. Salih: Okay. Lyon: They're well-used. Salih: Sure. Lyon: Uh,the next project is ongoing. This is the apparatus bay floor replacement here at Station 1. Um, it is in bad condition.Um,a variety of cracks,crevices,leaks,um,all-all types of things going on there.Um,again,it is in- in progress.And,um,we're hoping to get this underway as- as soon as possible.Um,it will be a complicated repair or replacement,as we will have to do it in phases to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 16 keep one fire truck downtown and then relocate a truck and- and vice versa as-as this program,or this-this replacement gets done. Dunn: Can you explain kind of what the-the impact of it being like this has on like operations or maintenance or what?Like what's the long-term impact? Lyon:Well,I have serious concerns today,uh,as to what is underneath the floor.Um,I-I-I've stood out in the apparatus bay and watched water leak through the,uh-the crevices faster than it's going down the drain. Dunn: Are you worried about sink hole? Lyon: Sure. Dunn: Shit. Salih: I think that's important. Lyon: It's a significant concern. Dunn:Noted. Moe: I suddenly feel like$130,000 isn't enough if we find a giant sinkhole under [OVERLAPPING] Lyon: It's not so bad. Burger: All the City Hall. Dunn: Can we figure out if it's a sinkhole sooner rather than later? Lyon:Well,it's definitely in-in the hands of engineering and,uh,you know,I-I really can't speak to what's underneath the floor. Dunn: I really like to find out what's in there. Lyon: Yeah,as do L I certainly don't want to [OVERLAPPING] Dunn: Does everyone else want to find out what's underneath?I would like to know. Salih: Its gonna be a surprise. Dunn: Yeah. Alter: Significant interest there. Knoche: To point out of this project. This-this project started as a$90,000 project,so what-what you're seeing 130,000 is actually the additional dollars that have been identified as we've been doing the programming for the-for the construction. So this is actually a$225,000 project. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 17 Moe: Okay.Well,in terms of the city budget, it's not that large,but you start to add together projects.Juli talked about- about improving this building where nobody wants to throw good money after old- Dunn: Absolutely. Moe: Bad things. Dunn: Into a sinkhole. Alter: I think that at the same time,there's significant concern,there's significant interest in elevating that. Dunn:No sinkhole,please. I don't like that. Lyon: This is a,uh,project plan here for the,uh,2026,the design,uh, for two fire stations,and in 27,the actual construction. So still-still in the planning phase. Moe: And we talked about this on Monday,but can you explain the-the-the relationships between 3 and 5 improvement,replacement,reconstruction? Lyon: Sure. So,the,uh-we-we have a land out on American Legion Road for an additional fire station, so that would be an all new facility,all new land,all new service area.We also have a land on Cherry Street that would-that would move a fire station from its current location to a new location. Um,as the fire chief coming- coming into Iowa City,I'm-I'm evaluating to-to make sure that-that I'm comfortable with-with some of those decisions.Um,but as far as the current Station 3,uh,down off of Lower Muscatine goes,the-the building,um,does not meet our needs. Um, it's- it's way too small and,uh,rehabbing that structure just does not make sense. Moe: Sure.And the analysis you guys have-outside parties giving analysis,and then you're using-putting it through the lens of what you know about this community to determine. Lyon: Absolutely. So we-we look at response times using GIS data,MPO data,uh,and-and also overlaying risk within the community. Um, so it's,uh-definitely something what we want to get right the first time,we get one good shot at this American Legion Road. That-that will be a-be a huge addition to the fire department. And then whatever we do with Station 3 will also be a huge, uh,huge benefit to the organization. Lyon: Uh,this is a new project. Uh,this is right,uh,down here at headquarters at station 1.Uh,what, what you see there's a, a picture of,of the dormitory sleeping area upstairs. And I know at your works-at your work session we have a,uh,tour coming up.Um,but as it is today,the,the upstairs sleeping arrangement and restroom facilities,uh,just don't meet the needs of the Iowa City Fire Department in 2024. So that is the budget ask,um,a little bit of that is for some station alerting upgrades to alert us to calls,uh,a little,little bit better within the building,but the lion's share of that is,is providing privacy,um,is providing,um,sleeping conditions that are,that are appropriate for,um, for our fire department. Moe: Again,I know you've done this prioritization,but help walk us through the prioritization of the big challenges of one,you don't have to pull through opportunities. There's potentially a sink hole, the living quarters are bad.And 3 and 5 you still think 3 and 5 are more immediate needs than one replacement? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 18 Lyon:Well,I'm gonna tell you this is not a replacement,this is,this is a[OVERLAPPING] Moe: Sure,you're renova-yeah renovating sleeping spaces, fixing cracks versus replacement of other ones. This one is-this is the idea, so this one just continually gets renovated. Lyon: Uh,you know,right now we have the uh,the study going on and I,I think we're,we're waiting to see what the results of that are. Uh,what I can speak to is that the,the upstairs sleeping condition for our firefighters,um,is is certainly not optimal. Moe: Right. Lyon: And,and for me, is a top priority. Dunn: I mean,we have a-we at least one other firefighter in the room. Uh, if we-if it would be possible for him to speak to that I'd be interested in hearing,if you'd be interested. Audience:If it's allowed. Dunn: What? Audience:Is it allowed though. Dunn: Is,is it allowed?Would we be. Teague: I mean,he can certainly come and speak. Is there something specific you want to hear? [OVERLAPPING] Dunn: I just think it'd be interesting to hear from,you know,one of our,you know,on,on duty firefighters directly. He's here. Teague: Okay.I,I guess that's a decision that the council can make in,um. Dunn: I'm good. Salih: Yeah. Teague: Sure. Alter: I am sure he will reiterate what the chief said. Dunn: Sure. Flanzer: Uh,for the record Brandon Flamer live here in Iowa City. Also a,uh firefighter assigned to station 3. So I'm here to answer any questions you may have. Dunn: I mean,what's the,the general feeling about these facilities?You know what are,what are? Sleeping,you know? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 19 Flanzer: They need to be upgraded.I mean,that's,that's the reality. Um,as the chief spoke to the,the rest areas or the sleeping areas,um,we've been getting less and less opportunities to rest while we're on duty. We're getting busier,we're not getting slower. Um, so the importance of us being able to rest when we can while we're on duty is imperative. Um, so these are very important. Again, they're with today's change. The 2024 Fire Department is not what it was in the '70s when the building was built, so we want to make sure that those identify for,um,the firefighters that are currently there. So these changes right here defmitely would go a long way to improving the quality of life,uh,for the on duty members as they go along,um,from the bathrooms to the sleeping areas like we said. Um, again,station 1 is in probably the best spot it can be to serve the downtown area, short of identifying anywhere else that could go. So we are,um, focused on rehabbing that.But with 3s and 5s,um,again,at the chiefs direction of determining where exactly maybe the next-the best location is for one of those stations versus Cherry Street versus Rebuilding in the same area um,those are top priorities as well.Because of the growth of the city and our ability to respond to the certain areas,um,is challenging,to say the least.Um,we're not meeting some of the benchmarks that we would like to meet or,um,not as often as we would like to meet them. And the-that additional station would be a huge improvement to the service of Iowa City. So I guess to answer the-maybe the more poignant question of priority,I think they're all equally important,um, for various different reasons. Dunn: Thank you. Salih: I think the most important the key area set is not even meeting the fire code and if not that's,that's interesting,like in the fire department and not meeting the fire code,you know,this is something important,we have to do it.Yeah. Teague: All right.No other questions for you,thank you. Havel: All right. We'll move on to library. Cannan: Hi there,Elsworth Cannan,uh, library director. Thanks for time today. So we have,uh,two up today.Um,the first one probably doesn't look new to anybody on council. This has been a project that's rolled over a few times. Um,and this is just a sort of replacement of items that are at end of life.Most of the items that we're talking about are from a 2004 renovation or before. So this is just typical wear and tear replacement of materials in the library,um, so carpet and some fixmishing. We look forward to adopting sort of new accessibility nouns and knowledge,but this will not be structural,this will be sort of surface level replacement.And the second is one that we're,uh,working on now. This is,uh,improvements to the board room and meeting room E, which is,um,west second floor meeting room that's available to the public.Again,this is largely replacement of things that were original to this renovation,so some technology,some furniture and then general millwork refmishing and,um,upgrades like that.We're trying to get the most out of the building so we're making very careful choices to,uh,emphasize the things that if we don't repair now,they'll be more expensive in the fixture. Alter: Can you remind me of how long,um,you said with the,the carpeting and fixmishing,you said this is nothing new to us.It's come before us before. Can you talk-sorry,let us know how,how many times this has come before us before. Cannan: This was submitted by my predecessor.Um,so it would have been originally put forward more than five years ago. And,um,I think many,many projects like this were suspended during This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 20 COVID. So all of the rollover has been logical.Um,but I mentioned that just in case it felt like something you've seen before, [OVERLAPPING] it was there before. Alter: Well,I also I was struck by you talking about that this-the original renovation was what?2004? So we're talking 20 years high traffic. Um,it's also sustained water damage,I know.Um, so I just wanted to sort of pull those points out. Cannan: Yeah. Um,I,I will say that the longevity of these fixtures and carpet to me speaks directly to the,um, skill of the facilities department at the library.Amazing maintenance and work,um and work really hard to,to get the most life out of everything. Teague: All right,thank you. Havel: The next up will be the Senior Center. Seydell Johnson: Great and I'll let you know I'm talking about this study,Latasha couldn't be here. Parks and Recreation provides the maintenance and custodial to this building so we're well aware of the project. We already talked about the exterior repairs that are taking place.Now this project is for the interior repairs. This is another one where the needs list is big and the want list is even bigger for things to be done and I have to say that the condition of the boilers and mechanical system will probably need to take the front row seat when we get ready to move forward with this.We're operating um,very carefully right now and on a day to day basis with a lot of temperature changes and fluctuations in that building so there's a lot of needs in this as we move forward. Moe: I just wanted to-I know this building well. And this is a good example of a building that was designed in a time when everything was powered with natural gas,heaters,the air conditioners, and there's a very different cost of renovations that electrify and meet our climate action goals. And so it's important to me in these projects moving forward that we work really hard to align our climate action strategic plan,our strategic plan and climate action goals with these renovations for this building for Robert A. Lee. And I-I realize that's really hard and complicated and it is more costly to do it the right way but these are 30 year investments. If we put a brand new boiler in the building,we need to use it for 30 or more years. And I know you know that,but I just want to say this very publicly that that's a value that I have and I think my colleagues share that. Seydell Johnson: It's also interesting,this facility does not have an building automation system.When we talk about HAS,there is not currently one operating in that building. So whereas we used to have to operate all buildings manually,that's part of the issue,this one has been run hard because we don't have an automation system on it to help control things and keep it running that way. Fruin:First,I love the fact that we're talking so much about public facilities,thank you. We typically don't have as many questions on public facilities,so this is great. One of the big challenges I want to remind Council of when it comes to renovations or constructing new fire stations,um,we are limited on what we can bond per project.Last two decades or three decades,that's been about $700,000 per project. Thankfully,there was a change in legislation that we really led the charge on a couple of years ago and we're scooching that up to where we think it'll be about 1.3 million uh it will be our bonding limits. Outside of that,you have to pay cash or you have to do some creative financing through TIF Districts,which a lot of cities find themselves doing,which I certainly don't recommend,otherwise you have to bond.And so I think that's one of those policy decisions that you all can think about as you move forward.You know,do we want to put a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 21 question like a Senior Center or fire stations to the vote of the public and get the authority to bond from them?Or do we want to put a LOST forward with dedicated funds for something like that. Otherwise,we continue to kind of fmd ourselves in this trap of 700,000,$800,000,improvements and you'll see a lot of that on February 6 when you tour.But that's the-that's the cycle that we're in right now. This is hopefully going to,you know-the budget that we have here which is,I'd say not 100%secured at this point is banking on the facility reserve to be able to fixed that. So and I think,you know,that's fimded with surplus dollars out of the general fund. General fixed tightens up,no surplus to get to the facility,we're back to the original problem. So big picture talk there but it's certainly not as easy of a decision is just saying,let's go to$10,000,000 and do it the right way we'd love to do that,but we're going to have to commit to that funding strategy. Harmsen:Real quick question,when you talk about that limit either at 700 or possibly up to 1.3 is that per project,within a facility or per facility? Frain:No,it's per project so for example,right now with the Senior Center exterior,we actually have two different bond issues fimding that and we actually had to bid two separate projects.You've approved one a second bid project for windows and doors is going to come to you,so you actually have to separate these projects,but it's not per facility. You could do, for example in the rec center we could borrow 700 and improve the pool, and borrow another 700 and improve the gym. They just have to be separate and distinct and bid that way as well. Haramsen: Thankyou. Moe: What's deeply frustrating about that is if you have$1,000,000 project and break it into two projects, it becomes two$750,000 projects,not two$500,000 projects. So there is benefits if we have the appetite for big projects to think about in that way,it's efficient use of our money. Bergus: Just a quick question,Geoff. Since that is a policy decision to take something to the voters,is that-can we expect that that's something that you would recommend?Like would you get to that point of recommending it or are you looking to us to say we think this big project is important enough?Let's talk about taking it to the voters. Frain:Yes,I would look for you to say we would like,in this case,we want to see more,right? So,when we presented the master plan to you,I think there was a price tag to accomplish everything of 14, 15 million and,you know,our budget sits at 3.6 million. We would need some sort of direction from you to say,give some options on how to fixed this not necessarily looking for you to say, let's take this to a vote.I would expect you to say,what are the various options we have?I could walk you through all of those scenarios and ultimately you need to decide which path you see fit. But as it stands right now,we're trying to live within the existing resource means that we have. Dunn: So just kind of sharing some thoughts from the last meeting. Um I at least walked away kind of with an understanding that if not based on consensus,but that a majority of the Council very much understands,and this could be reaffirmed here today,that we really do need to be having a serious discussion after the budgeting season is completed about LOST,about what the situation looks like,how it affects our values,how it affects the bank balances. Um so I just kind of want to reaffirm that sentiment that I feel that we really need to be having that discussion within the next few months. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 22 Moe: I-I agree with you and I actually just saw our auditor,Rob Sand just issued a report about how LOST,excuse me,how property taxes are just as regressive if not more than LOST. So we now know that lower income people pay more in property tax than higher income people so it's-it's interesting to sort of look at that in the context of,I've always been scared of LOST because it's regressive it's been labeled as such and maybe it's not that much different than property tax. Dunn: Well,and we also need to have the discussions about I think the ways that we mitigate the regressive nature. Yeah. Moe: Yeah,agreed to who it serves so yeah. Alter:My suggestion is um,I think that's part of the conversation but as Geoff just indicated,he's like, you know.We could direct him to say,provide us with a number of options so that we can think about this in terms of the largest scope possible rather than saying directly,I mean,absolutely have weighed into it and talk about LOST this Council hasn't and certainly not with the two-you know,with the newest members.But I think it would be helpful to see it in perspective and in context with other options for large stuff just just to have that. That's where I'm at,but the conversation,I'm not in a place to say,well,the conversation would be about whether we decide on LOST or not,it's about to understand it better. Dunn: Yeah,agreed. Teague: Anything else from you,Juli? Seydell Johnson:We'll move on to parks. Teague: Okay.Yeah. Seydell Johnson:Lots of things in parks. Teague: All right. Seydell Johnson: Okay. So we start out with a climate action facility improvement.This is throughout all of our system and different thi-things that make our buildings more efficient.Um,the next one is the Highway six side path,adding another chunk to that trail connection along Highway 6. The next one,City Park Pool replacement. Okay.Buckle your seat belts. We get the first design rough drafts yesterday morning.We're actually looking at a price tag closer to 15-18 million rather than the 10, 8 we were anticipating. And that is to provide a pool that has,kind of,the top three things that the community would ask for. And that would be the 50 meter lap lanes,the activity pool area,and a diving area that includes one meter and high dive boards plus shade and not touching the trees, and accessibility all of those things.But,um,it is much higher than we were anticipating for some pretty basic designs. There's not many bells and whistles in what we've seen so far. Alter: Is that inflation? Seydel Johnson: Inflation,um, Alter: scope? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 23 SeydellJohnson: Yeah. Frain:We're working to understand that a little bit more right now,You know,and we're still at a very- you know,we're not designing a facility yet,right?We're conceptualizing what it could be. So we're still working with some large contingency numbers that are impacting those.Hopefully we could,you know,not see it grow even more.But,you know,it's probably what-what the consultants have advised us to do,an exact kind of rebuild of exactly what we have is closer to 20 million. So even the options that we're looking at,try to take advantage of some efficiencies with some of those conceptual designs.But little-a little early to say,you know what is driving those. Inflation has to be a key factor.But we're going to have some work to do to get this- get this funded because this is one of those projects that we set down a path to essentially pay with cash. We'll bond as much as we can. We'll take advantage of the-the million or so that we can bond for something like this,but this is largely a- a pay as you go project as planned right now. So more to come.It's not all doom and gloom,but we've got some work to do. Moe: Can we-can you talk a little about,we have a large budget with lots of CIP values that will change year by year.If we're off by a matter of five million dollars in this budget,should this proposed budget be updated to reflect that and make the hard choices now or just let it ride?What's the right process for- for- for where we're at in this moment in time? Frain:Yeah. Probably too soon to tell since we're just digesting this. I don't-I don't sense that there's any, Uh made- any corrections in this year's budget.What we're probably looking at is being a little bit more reliant on the facility reserve. Uh,and when I say a little bit more reliant,that probably almost would exhaust that balance. And that just has a ripple effect that we need to think through, right?Because that has-that has an impact on Senior Center project that will have an impact on fire stations. All those-all those facilities that are on that three to five to ten year range will be impacted by the strategy we choose with this one.But one thing I really want to make sure,you- this pool serve this community well for so many decades.We have a responsibility to build something that will serve the community equally as well. So we just-we have to find that balance of right-we don't we wanna-we don't wanna build excessive,but we-we don't want to build something that we-that we immediately regret and say,boy,we should have done it bigger,we should have added this feature or that feature that becomes so much more expensive to do in the fixture.We don't have all those answers right now and we shouldn't be expected to at this stage in the- in the process.But the last thing I wanna do is give Juli direction to say, 11 million's your budget.Figure it out,right?Because we're going to get something that we're not happy with in the community's not happy with. So there will be plenty more City Park Pool discussions ahead of us. But from a financial standpoint,we've got some- some hurdles to clear. Moe: Is-is- is it possible to pay for parts of projects with cash and parts with a public bond?We went to the public to bond. Frain:Yeah. Okay. Certainly. Moe: You don't have to. Frain: Correct. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 24 Dunn: Juli. There was intense dialogue,to say the least about this project and a lot of it surrounded around the particular design of the pool and what could be expected from the consultant. I guess I'm-I'm just,kind of,curious as to you,you know,are there any designs that are close to what we have right now?Did any of them provide anything like that or are we mostly looking about things that are different-pretty significantly different? Seydell Johnson: Pretty similar.I don't think I want to go into all the details. We're at the point of narrowing it down. We're about to five different options and we want to get that narrowed down to three options to show the community. I don't think we'll show them one that is exactly like what we had before because of the high price tag with that. We are looking at ones that at this point include 50 meter lap lanes,varying numbers of them. The diving well,that would accommodate both low dive and high dive and some,kind ol� either activity pool or splash pad at this point. In real general terms are spaces for those three things along with the renovated bathhouse that includes the number of things asked for there. So, similar,yes. The same,no. Dunn: Do you foresee,kind of,like,public explanation as to why the$20 million one would not be utilized?I mean,one of the things that I-I know has been a constant aspect of this conversation has been a lot of mistrust and not saying anything about whether that's warranted or not. It's just to say that that is a very real thing that many people feel. So do we- does the City intend to explain,like,this is double the budget that we were intending to do?The nearly the same thing. We should all just recognize that this is-this is really difficult if we were to proceed. Seydell Johnson: And part of that will be efficiency. As you know,part of the project goals are climate action goals, so figuring out ways to have less water. So the current design has a huge space that is nine feet, 10 feet, 12 feet deep. And so we're looking at ways to make the diving well area smaller and continue to have lap lanes,but probably in that three-and-a-half to five foot range. So you still have the activities happening,but without the mass of water that was needed in the old pool also to achieve the increased accessibility. That makes some of the changes necessary.And as you remember,we wanted to identify ways to operate with varying numbers of lifeguards in the fixture as that becomes an ongoing issue. So we're looking at designs that minimize the number of lifeguards compared to the current design,which is large and expansive. So we're hoping to end up and I think the designs you'll see still provide that feeling of the expansive pool deck and,kind of,the feel that you have when you go to City Park Pool,but without the amount of- of water space and importantly,water depth. Dunn: Yeah. Seydell Johnson: So we're waiting for some calculations to see how that could all play out. Dunn: And I-I understand and appreciate all that. Seydell Johnson:But we also have a pool that-excuse me,one more thing. Has a bather capacity,but we're 1,000 swimmers and we have 250-300 per day. So I think we can provide the space and the activity space in-in a way that's similar but not the same. Dunn: And I-I fully appreciate all that and I-I thank you for providing that.But I guess really the situation that I'm conceiving about in my question was,you know,word gets out that there was an option that was very similar to the current design and it wasn't even given to the public.Right.I'm more so asking,is there going to be a-a good way to communicate to people who are very This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 25 passionate about this issue,as to why that's the case,to understand like this would be$20 million. This is not something that is- is feasible because I mean,everything that you said absolutely right. But I'm-I'm again going back to this whole like concept of trust in the community,you know. So do you have any plans for that?Because I really want to avoid people coming in and- and,you know,talking bad about our Parks Department,because I don't want that to happen. Um,but I can definitely see them saying that there was even a plan and they didn't even look at it.You know. Seydell Johnson: Yeah.We do have the drawing and can show the amount.I think we just got these yesterday so we don't have a formulated plan of how that will be rolled out other than we're committed to the statistically valid survey and a community input meeting still happening before you come back with the-with the recommendation and the choice.I also think that once you see the different designs,not exact,but it just depends on I don't know. Some people will say it's not exact,it's not the same.But I think the majority of people would say it's still going to provide the same experience. And you know,it's- it's got a little different water spaces,but we're still going to be city park pool.It's still going to have a place to lay out,it's still going to have places to swim laps,to dive,to do all the things they want to do. So it'll be up to our leadership as well to-to make sure that we're getting that message out. That we're as committed to making this a facility that the community needs for the next 50 years. Does that mean it looks exactly like it did before? It's looking like probably not,but very similar and very similar in experience and keeping it to the things we heard in the focus groups that were really important to the experience of being at City park pool. Dunn: Yeah. Awesome.Yeah,-yeah I think thats-that all sounds great. I would just just continue to emphasize the importance of community messaging on this and,and just that transparency of decision making. Salih: I-I just want to ask You said you narrow it three-three different design and how you're going to select the final design. Seydell Johnson: So yeah,we're in the process of getting it to three designs that match up as closely as possible to the 10 project goals that we've been working with. Those three designs will then be sent out,first of all,in a statistically valid survey to a random sample of,I heard yesterday we're sending out 6,000 um, surveys to the community probably in mid February. That survey will then also be available as an open version survey online. And we will also have a public open house. I'm thinking it's the last week in February uh,probably at Mercer Scanlon for people to come and meet. The consultants give more feedback that way. So those three things will happen. You'll get all of that information along with the full report that has come from the focus groups and the idea generation sessions that we've already done. Um,you'll get all that information back to make the final choice.We want to make sure the choices that go out to the public though,are um,ones that match the budgets we have for operations have the best chance for success as far as having people come and use them,have the best chance of success for us being able to maintain and operate them with the staff we have to. So that puts some um,boundaries around what we're showing to the public. Um,and we didn't hear any-any real can for big slides or any water park type features,you won't see any of that. That's the other thing to know. Dunn: I just continue to reemphasize. I think it's really important to explain all those details because it's really great for us to hear that here and now.But we know that.I know that,you know,that ah, outreach to the community is really difficult. And the more that we can say,we said it here-we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 26 said it here-we said it here,I think the-the easier it's going to be for everyone to avoid headaches. This is not a criticism whatsoever,just,you know,acknowledgment of this process. Seydell Johnson: And I think it's important to remember that you have several different groups with several different needs still advocating for the pool. One of them is very-it's very organized and you've heard a lot from them,but there are still others looking for the family spaces and looking for other things as well. So in the end,we want the facility,as Geoff said,that's going to last for the next 50 years and serve the community well in that way so. Moe: You have a tough job. Salih: Do you have any like kind of data, like who use that pool,like do you guys keep any so you can reach out to them and invite them to come to the-to select the finals? Seydell Johnson: Sure. And we actually did that with the idea generation meetings that we had in the-in the focus groups we did.Um,and amazing amount of outreach to try to get equity and inclusion included as we did the outreach groups and the focus groups.Um,and that will continue,that's part of why you're seeing a statistically valid survey so that we hear from a statistically valid and random sample of all community members,not just those that have a keen interest in one particular use or another. We-we really have been trying to make this as inclusive and as fair a process um,as possible. Salih: I was in one of the groups.But,do you know the only thing that I-I can say,yeah,it was-it was not like quite diversed. So I hope for the last time is make more outreach to the people. I know language gonna be per year for the people who,and I know a lot of people who their parents speak another language,they come to that pool. So yes.Like maybe another effort of like including everyone in this city. Seydell Johnson: Yeah.And please help us when that word goes out.Put it out through all of your networks too. Salih: Sure. Seydell Johnson: The more-the more help we can get with people saying how important it is for people to participate,the better we'II appreciate that too. Salih: Thanks. Seydell Johnson: All right.Now,the rest of the parks rec projects,if you're okay with that. The next one is a small one-it's a small park development a few years out,Northeast part of the city. We will be getting a land donation. You've seen this before.We've been waiting and waiting for the development to finish and- and have the land donated. So it's waiting until that time. The next one is some money for rec center improvements. This is what are the roofs that we need to do,A Mercer and Robert Lee. So City Hall,Mercer and Robert Lee all need roof work.Um, senior center as well,which is happening. Um,all three in the icy cold days that we've had the last two days have had staff up there trying to mitigate small leaks on all four of our buildings.It's kind of crazy what's being done up there,but this will help alleviate that and get moving forward with that. The next one is money for lower city park shelter and restroom replacements.This will consolidate some of the shelters,so we'll have fewer um,and rebuild the restroom by the new This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 27 playground area. This is in 2028. The money for the upper city park restroom and shelter has been rolled into the city park pool project. And that bathhouse will include an enclosed shelter and the restrooms um,in place of what's in upper city park right now. Moe: Is there a tornado shelter in city park? Seydell Johnson: There is not. And the two-the only building we have that is designated tornado shelter is at Hickory Hill. Moe: Okay. I noticed that one when it was constructed. I was wondering if that was a new-if that was based on a specific pool of federal funding or. Seydell Johnson: It was. There was emergency special FEMA funding for them. Moe: Okay. So that's not going to be a standard for Iowa City. That's just a one off because of a federal program? Seydell Johnson: Yeah.We have-we have told FEMA we're interested if there's more funding available to do additional ones in that- in that way.But there hasn't been success. Moe: I understand there's substantially more expensive than that. Seydell Johnson: Yeah-yeah. Okay.Napoleon Park softball field,through five through eight. This one has been on here and bounced around quite a bit. Uh,it just continues with the safety and playability of those fields continuing so we can have softball out there. Terrell Mill Skate Park is the next project. This one is in design right now. We had some very successful meetings uh,back a week ago Monday uh,with our consultants and the public input. The survey is open right now online for people that want to give more input on this. It's a replacement of the Terrell Mill Skate Park with the addition of a roller park for bikes and other wheeled apparatus or wheeled equipment.Uh,and I didn't understand half of what was said during the public input meetings for the different amenities that are going to go into this park.But it sounds pretty cool.Event facility faci-uh,improvements. This is money uh, for TTRA Lodge,Ashton House,Riverside Festival Stage. This particular funding is for the roof at the net Ashton House.Benton Hill playground replacement. One of the parks not yet uh,touched with our req master plan. So this is uh,the playground replacement at the park We have actually had some initial neighborhood meetings up there uh,just because the neighborhood was really interested and gotten some really good ideas probably leaving the shelter. The treehouse shelter as is with just repairs. Uh,but then replacing the playground and adding some more accessibility where possible there. College Green Park playground is probably the oldest playground we have left in our system.And this would replace the playground and probably do sport court reso,uh,renovations. And that's about it. This is not a full park renovation at College Green,but just playground and basketball court essentially. Moe: As a center point of an historic district,are there special considerations for what's appropriate or inappropriate for park structures or is that? Seydell Johnson:Not so much for playgrounds. Uh,and we had quite a bit of discussion about that. For instance,with Happy Hollow Park,the neighborhood had a little extra uh,input in,interest in it. Uh,but in the end,there's,there's not much that's historic or not historic about playground. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 28 Moe: Park itself.No. Yeah. SeydellJohnson: Yeah. Alter: I do not recommend historic playground equipment.My knees still have scars [LAUGHTER] So yeah let's not go back. Moe: The fine stuff it's the dangerous stuff. Alter: We could ask for a particular colors. There's architectural type things that could be built into it.But yeah it's. Moe: Sorry for the out loud thought,but yeah,no. Seydell Johnson: Uh,the next one is more of the building issues ADA elevator repairs.Uh,the Senior Center one,I believe is being rolled into the Senior Center Interior project.But this uh,would be Robert Lee and here at City Hall getting elevators redone.North Market Square playground replacement. Uh,this one will be in conjunction with the school district. They've already uh,let us know that they have funding for certain parts of pieces of accessible equipment that we will uh,include when we redo the playground at this park,uh, and that's for 2026.And then Reno Street,as I mentioned before,is one of the parks that doesn't have uh,ADA access at the moment. So that will be part of this renovation. Uh,this one the playground is still in pretty good shape. So we'll be assessing that,but the pathwork and some of the other things needed in this park might, might change the scope of how we do that particular park renovation. Uh,the next one,we have some park land on by Shannon Drive kinda by West High.No,I'm sorry. This is wrong,wrong project. This is the one by the Carson Lake uh,Development to do water retention and a park in the fixture. So that's the funding for that one.Next one is replacing the Court Hill Trail from Beach Street to Scott Boulevard.It's an asphalt trail with a lot of tree roots coming up through it right now and so to replace it with a concrete trail. Thombury and Rita's Ranch dog park improvements uh,includes fencing some new uh,pathwork, especially at Rita's ranch,uh,and some upgrades at Thombury. Uh,as we get closer,we'll identify more specifically what each of those things are.Mercer shelter. So the Mercer playground was replaced,uh,about eight years ago,we did not replace the shelter by the playground at that time,and it's one of our older shelters with uh,developing more and more issues. So this is to replace that shelter with one of similar size. Adding up,an additional park storage building is the next one. Uh,the picture shows it at our parks maintenance facility,but we're actually asking that it be uh,a new building or a new shed,basically put out at the Kickers soccer complex for uh,additional storage out there. This part of the Carson Lake Park project would do the uh,the retention basin and the dam,I believe to make the water feature then or retention area that will eventually become the centerpiece of a park area. Uh,Robert A Lee,another uh,structural,not so fun thing,but something that has to be done. Uh,once the Robert A Lee building was constructed,they determined that there was shifting already early on. And Josh may have to jump in and explain this a little better than I can. But uh,there were post construction cables put on the building to hold it into its shape and hold it in place as it is. And that was soon after the original construction. So we've had some of those evaluated.And it looks like at some point soon,we'll have to have most of those cables replaced in order to keep the building integrity as it is. So that's what this project does.Uh,the ones are you can see this is in the lobby area. You can see them. You can see them very uh,easily in the aquatic center part too. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 29 Moe: This building has so many challenges and is also like city park,pool can be a,a third rail because of the pool component. And I know there's been studies in the past on this building.What do we do instead of keep repairing things because there's so many complicated challenges with this building in the way that it was constructed,and all of its many current challenges.What-How do you see it,Juli?What do we do? Seydell Johnson:Let's- let's,that's again, a much bigger conversation. The entire building,as you're right, has,has its challenges. Uh,this is,you know,one thing that's coming up. Uh,we know that all the plumbing is,is older metal or older plumbing that at some point,we'll probably need full replacement as well. You're right.It's a a lot of-a lot of smaller projects coming down the pike to keep it operating. Uh,and I think it's a larger work session or a larger discussion beyond that. Fruin:Yeah,I mean we've certainly thought about this a lot. It came up in the master plan.We,we told the public we were going to focus on city park pool. And then once that was behind us,we were gonna come back and look at all the rec centers. Uh,again I said all the two but,uh,you know, looking in a crystal ball,I would-I would say there's probably going to need to be some pretty intense discussions about uh,major renovations to the two existing,and then uh,the Carson Lake property. Uh,uh,We also planned at least have enough space out there for potential West Side Rec Center. There's really a lack of those types of uh,amenities available on our west side. And that sets up really well,I think for some- some referendum discussions.Right?If we're-we're looking at major renovations,uh,modernization, and a new rec center,we're not going to pay cash for that.Uh,and,and that's something I think could have some uh,real merit towards a bond referendum.But I think we stick to our pledge,we get through City Park. In the meantime,we're going to have to do a a little bit-a little of this work. Salih: Yeah. One by one. Seydell Johnson: Okay. And then speaking of the rec center,the next one is uh,the Mercer uh,Park This one is for some heating and cooling repairs for the main area and the gym area. We had recently uh,replaced the HPAC in the de humification added dehumidification in the uh, swimming pool area there,but this is for the remainder of the building.Uh,cemetery. This is a request to add more calibarium space for Columbains.Um,our current calibarium is about 75%sold out. We estimate about a 6-6.5 year uh,life,lifespan still to go with that. Uh,and this would give us more space for that. Uh,later in February,we will be back with you at a council meeting,our work session,to talk about some of the cemetery policies,uh,and kinda talk about what we see as a lifespan,of how much space is left there.But,the the columbarium and columbains area is one that is a particular need sooner rather than later.Uh,this one is for small park development on the west side by Shannon Drive. Uh,we've been waiting for this land for about 18 years from a development. We finally have it uh,and we have some fimding from neighborhood open space as well as uh,this funding here.It would be a small park similar to like uh,Cardigan Fronldsmiller, Villa park area. So small playground shelter at the most not-not much,but a small area. There's not much in that west area for parkland. Teague: Thank you. Seydell Johnson: And that's it. Teague: All right. Thank you.Now we're gonna move on to the police. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 30 Liston: Good afternoon,Dustin Liston,chief of police.I can't let that much pool talk go by without reminding everyone that I used to work at all those pools in the mid'90s. Um,we just have one project and this is the body camera and in car video system. Our current system is reaching its end of life. Um,we have had a previous project on here which was our digital evidence management system. The way they're going with digital evidence management is in the cloud and it's in-it's incorporating the car and body wom camera. So we're combining those into one project,um,and that's what this one is. Salih: That's it? Teague: Great. Public Works. Knoche: All right. Public Works,Ron Knoche Public Works Director. Our fust project is a Landfill Equipment Building Replacement. So we currently have two equipment buildings at the landfill. They both are at the end of their useful life. Uh,this initial building will be-um,it's programmed right now for about 10,000 square feet.Will include break area for our employees that work both down in the cell and up on top. Um,and then just basically,um, additional storage space for some of the,um,material that we use out on site currently.Uh,the second project is the compost pad improvements and expansion. This is,er,part of the EPA grant,er,is fixnded by the EPA grant that we did receive. Um,the current compost pad has seen some better days and so this will not only improve the surface of that but then also increase the size. Landfill to which,uh,extraction system. So this is taking some of our current wells for our- for gas removal and collection and then also,um, adding a pump in there for removal also. As a part of our master plan,we had some site flow improvements that were identified,um,out at the landfill. So this,uh,would implement some of those improvements.Um,this one is still under review. As we did increase in our last budget year,um,our minimum uh,charge amount on our-on our minimum loads coming into the landfill. It actually reduced quite a bit of the conflict that we had on site and made it a little bit more,uh,user convenience there. So this is one that we're still currently reviewing as the need-as we move forward on this one. The landfill fixture cell. This is Northeast expansion. This really is just setting us up for our next cell expansion.We want to-we just completed a cell.We're actually filling it now.But there again, it's- as our population grows,the amount of material coming to landfill also grows.And so this is just setting us up for that fixture,um,expansion. And then this is basically just the planning money initially for that project. Havel: Moving on to the Rundell Street pump station vault modification. So we have an existing,uh, pump station there. Storm water pump station at out intersection of Rundell and Center. So we need to do some work there to make some repairs, so kind of the-the internal workings of that,er, the vault top and some of the-the hatches also obviously you can see from the picture,are located right next to ADA curb ramp. So we need to make some improvements there to make that ADA compliant as well.River Street storm sewer improvements. So there's an existing drainage ditch on River Street just north of Lincoln School.We get complaints about that area.Also have maintenance challenges with that. So we'd be looking at installing storm sewer there to help address that situation.Peterson Street Storm Sewer Improvements. So this is a section of existing storm sewer. Um,it's old corrugated metal pipe.We've had some spots where it's kind of rotted out and had to make some spot repairs on that. This would be to replace the rest of that line and address the issues there with pipe that just is at the end of its life. Storm sewer asset inventory, so as the city is transitioning to using cartograph for our asset management,part of what we need to do is get all those assets into the system. This would be to have somebody help map-help us map our storm sewer infrastructure pipes structures,all that type of information. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 31 Moe: This is a nerdy question,but do you guys mapping them x,y and z coordinates so you know,depth of everything? Havel: You typically have that information,yeah. Moe: Okay. I know there's hand drawings for some of the older parts of town. Havel: Yeah. Moe: Okay. Havel: Well,I should say that in the instances where we are able to get that information,yeah,some of it may be existing where it's underground,and so we have to kind of estimate that we would just have X and Y for that.Equipment maintenance facility,so this would take the existing equipment building at the comer of Riverside Drive in Highway 6 moved down to a new facility at the Public Works site there at Mcallister and Gilbert Street,just south of the existing Public Works building. This project would be done in-at the same time as the new transit facility. Alter: Can you tell me- excuse me.Are there any plans then for that land once it would be moved? Havel: I believe we talked about selling that once we've kind of- Knoche: And so-and I think there's a lot of potential there.We-I think initially what it will probably end up being for us is the equipment building that's there now will be storage.Because as we do construction on this corner site,there's three quonset buildings that sit along Gilbert Street now, the silver buildings,those will have to be removed. There are stuff in those buildings and so we have to find a place to relocate that stuff,at least initially. Um,but then as we look at the overall kind of master plan for that comer property,um,it could be the potential for redevelopment for other city uses. Um,a majority of that,as you may or may not be aware,is an old city dump. And so obviously the transit facility sits like right on the middle of that,that's why there's so much subsidence that's happening around there,and so,um,a lot of that space would be for,uh,open space,trail extensions in those areas also. Dunn: Approximately how big is the property?If you had to estimate like acres. Knoche: The-the existing comers? DunnL:Existing,yeah. Knoche: I-I don't-is part of the-I-where we're moving from.I don't have a good estimate on that. Fruin:We as part of the space needs analysis that we're doing,we are evaluating whether that site could accommodate a fixture public safety building. Moe: This project is in design right now? Knoche: We are currently developing the RFQ for consulting services,so that'll be joint with the transit facility. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 32 Moe: Okay. Havel: The entrance way improvements project. So this would look at the interchanges of Dubuque Street and Dodge Street with i80 looking at making some improvements there. Get rid of hopefully get rid of some concrete and do some improvements to the median areas. Obviously, from the picture there,you can see that that defmitely has room for improvement. There also would look at some signage in conjunction with the university along Dubuque Street. Dubuque Street reconstruction so this is one that you saw not too long ago. So this will be complete reconstruction of Dubuque Street between Washington Street and Iowa Avenue.Um it came out of the downtown master plan. This would be similar to what we had done along uh Washington Street. It will also include improvements of the alley between Washington and Iowa,and then between Dubuque Street and Lynn Street. Moe: For that intersection of Iowa Avenue then it's also part of one of these CIP projects in the future is that intersection there become more like the Washington and Dubuque Street intersection. That's no stop lights, stop signs. Havel: So the Dubuque Street project will stop basically just short of getting into the intersection. So it'll kind of get up just short of the crosswalks. The Iowa Avenue project that will come up later is really focused more on street patching and then streets cape amenities. So really not getting into that type of thing with those projects. Moe:Not restructuring that intersection. Havel: Correct. Court Street reconstruction this would be the section from Muscatine to First Avenue. This would again include complete reconstruction.New paving sidewalks,new storm sewer,and other utility improvements. The plan-uh our-our current plan is to try and do utility relocations yet this year and have construction over the next two construction seasons so 25,26 is the current plan for that. Moe: Is that plan for a complete closure during reconstruction or partial closure? Havel: So,it'll be phased,it we'll have complete closures,but they'll kind of be phased so that they kind of work their way down with construction. So it won't be the entire stretch during the entire project. Harmsen:And this won't overlap with the final stages of Rochester-Rochester and first. Correct? Havel: Yep.Because the intent is that uh Rochester would be completed this year while we're doing utility relocations on Court Street,and then next year those closures would occur. Harmsen: Thank you. Havel: Yep.Highway 1,Highway 6 Intersection Improvement Studies. This is kind of the South Highway one,Highway six intersection. A couple of things that we're looking at here,anybody that's driven through there in the east,west direction,there's kind of a kink in the intersection looking at making geometric improvements to hopefully address that. Also, a big part of this is going to be looking at what we can do for pedestrian and bicycle accommodations at the intersection. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 33 Currently,there's little to none,um and so we'd be looking at addressing that. Part of what we hope to get out of the findings of this study would be,you know,whatever we're looking for for pedestrian facilities,to determine what's going to be needed for the Highway 6 bridge over the Iowa river that DOT is working on now,so we'll hopefully get those facilities right with that-that bridge project as well. Dodge street reconstruction so this would be the section from uh Governor Street on the north to Burlington Street on the south. It'd be complete reconstruction. This would be, again, full pavement reconstruction and utility work This will be a joint project with the DOT because it's a joint jurisdiction roadway um so that will be a joint DOT and city project. Moe: Does it maintain its one way? Havel: That is currently the plan.We are working with the consultant to start a study to look at potential one way to two way conversion. At least see what those impacts would be.Would anticipate that probably being here in the next several months working through that. Moe: If it were a conversion from one way to two way,would that mean we need to pump in the corollary Governor Street? Havel: So that would definitely,that's part of that study will come back Moe:[OVERLAPPING] Okay. Havel: I think if we were to look at a two way conversion,I would guess that the DOT would look to us to take Governor Street,but we haven't had all of those discussions. Fruin: So what that means is we would be on the hook for future repairs.Right now it's a DOT route and um that's a major-major concession to make or decision to make because uh it would be tens of millions in liability for the next several decades and then just exponentially gets bigger the longer the time horizon. Havel: Along those lines market Street and Jefferson Street. Two way conversion,so looking at converting both market street in Jefferson Street from one way to two way traffic.A lot of this work includes obviously re striping but signal work and geometric improvements at the intersections to make that happen.North Gilbert Street reconstruction. So this is the far north end of Gilbert Street from Brown Street to Kimball. Um that section is in very poor condition from a pavement condition and would be including utility work as well. We'll also be looking at adding sidewalk on both sides of the street there um getting rid of kind of the vertical or improving the vertical and horizontal curve of that street as well through that section. Gilbert Street bridge replacement project. So this is one that's coming up this spring,um would say as early as March they would start working on this. This would be a complete closure of Gilbert Street for most of 2024.As we replaced that bridge uh over Ralston Creek. You have to have any reconstruction. This would be from American Legion Road to Lower West Branch. This would be similar in concept to what we just went through with American Legion Road going from a rural cross section to an urban cross section.Right now we're looking at adding on street bicycle facilities, again,similar to what we did for American Legion Road and utility work as well. Alter: Sorry. Can I backup just a little bit on understanding the Gilbert Street closed for most at 2024 because of the bridge.But then you also earlier several projects back,we're talking about the intersection improvements but um,at Highway 1 and Highway 6? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 34 Havel: Yep. Alter: And how does the timing of those two things work? Simply because since Gilbert's not going to be going passable,there's going to be a lot more people going there to hook onto Riverside. Havel: Very good question.I should have made it clear. So the Highway 1,Highway 6 is really just a study,so at this point Okay. Alter: Thank you. Havel: Include any construction so yeah.Very good question. Alter: I'm going to hold on. Havel: Yeah. Alter: Thank you. Havel: Good thought. Oak dale Boulevard extension. So again,this is another alignment study we're looking at really this would be an update of a previous study that was done a number of years ago with interest in potential redevelopment in this area that kind of comes from time to time. This would be to kind of re look at this situation,make sure what we have planned for Oak dale alignment makes sense for its extension to the east of Highway 1 and basically that just helps anybody looking at redevelopment and their plan for where that right away would need to be located. Burlington Street Bridge Replacement Projects, so this-this will be a big one. This will be-will include removal of both Burlington Street bridges,uh,with that. One of them is owned and maintained by the DOT and one of them is owned and maintained by the city,so we would remove both bridges,go back with a single structure that would-The plan is to have that owned and maintained by the DOT with that being a DOT route.In addition to that,we would also be looking at repair or replacement of the pedestrian bridges that cross Riverside Drive and Grand Avenue,as well as kind of the Melrose,Byington Road,Grand Avenue,sort of the one-way portion of that. All of that going to two-way traffic that would then provide connection of bicycle facilities,sidewalks,all that continuous from Burlington Street to Melrose as part of the- at least the study phase.We'll also evaluate the existing dam,which is a university asset,but just look to see what opportunities might be there for that. Obviously,with the bridges being removed as part of the project,that's probably as good opportunity as you're going to get to-to address the dam. That could be anything from doing nothing to,uh,you know whether it's repairs or some other measure. I can say that,you know,just simply removing the dam most likely isn't an option that provides some of the-the water elevation that's needed for upstream water production for both the university and the city. Uh,so that's the majority of that project. Harmsen:A quick question with the 30 million.Is that the city's share of a shared project?The total cost of the project.Who's picking up that 30 million percentage wise yet to be determined?How does that work? Havel: Yeah, so that-right now is kind of what we're estimating for the total project. I would guess that that will creep up over time, and we're looking at construction probably 28/29 time frame.Uh, we are just going through the process right now of getting a consultant on board or consultant This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 35 selection to get them on board for-to help us figure that out. As far as contributions go,we would anticipate there would be contributions from the university and the DOT. We don't have those dollar amounts figured out yet.We'll also continue to pursue whether it's federal funding, state funding,other funding opportunities to help offset for all of us. Harmsen: : All right. Thank you. Teague: I can't see the bottom of,uh,like I see 2025.Yeah.All right got it. Moe: Didn't want to so didn't want to show-didn't want to see that. Havel:Makes a little bit of a difference. Moe: I'm very-very excited about this project.I think it has a huge opportunity for public safety.First of all,it's scary on a bike,scary by foot,uh, scary in a car at that intersection,and I just hope we can really resolve that. I also would love for us to embrace the Iowa river in a way that people are scared of it and they should be cause that-my understanding is that-that damn kills people like people get sucked into it all the time. So what can we do to get our university partners to get on board with some kind of utility replacement or get rid of that damn dam. Havel: Well,I-I think that's probably something we'll have to see and work through as part of the process. The-the study is-part of the study is intended to look at that,and so I think at this point I don't think we know what their feelings are on it exactly. Again,I-I think we recognize that it's not simply looking at removal,but,you know,at least in the past there's been interest from the university in addressing safety issues as- as best we can,but at this point we just don't know enough about it to know what that really means before to know kind of what their-their stance is going to be. Moe: This is one of the bridges that has the spiral overpasses.Is there any idea of those being reused, maintained,or are those-what is your thought on those? Havel: Yeah,that's going to be part of the project. You know,it's kind of that trade-off,right,where,you know,if you remove them you probably aren't going to be able to put them back because they don't meet current requirements,so you know there's the-do you look at rehabbing that and-and kind of leaving it in place due to its location? That's going to be a challenge. So I-I think we're going to have to look at what our options are as we work through the process to-to address that. Moe: Is access to the river part of this also?Potentially. Havel: That's something we'll look at. I don't know what that looks like at this point,but certainly, something that we've said is part of the overall project goals. Okay. Whispering:Whitewater rafting park? Moe: :Yeah,it should be. Havel: All right. The Riverside Drive Pedestrian Bridge at Iowa Avenue, so this is the other spiral at Iowa Avenue. Looking at a rehab project here,this would be a joint project between the city,the DOT, and the University. We have an agreement for funding of that where it's 50%DOT,25% This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 36 each for university and city. So this would be rehabbing or repairing the existing structure at the Iowa Avenue location. Teague: And that's the total cost.Is that correct? Or is that the city's share? Havel :This will be the total cost. Correct. So typically for this,we show the total cost just because we'll want to kind of work through contracts piece of it,but we would get reimbursement from those other parties. Teague: Yep. Havel: Camp Cardinal Road,Kennedy Parkway,uh,looking at some pedestrian accommodations here,so as development occurs out in this area with development on the west side of Camp Cardinal and a school on the east side of Camp Cardinal and other uses. We've seen an increase in pedestrian traffic at this location,so we're looking at options to,uh,improve those-that crossing for pedestrians. The goal or what we're thinking right now would be a refuge island and- and narrowing up the street there to allow for- for shorter crossings.North Dodge Street ACT circle signalization,so this would be installing a new traffic signal at this intersection. This would also allow for potential addition of a fourth lake if the-that were ever needed for as we work through what the fixture of the ACT site looks like.Iowa Avenue improvement. So this one was mentioned a little bit earlier,so this would be focused on a couple of different things. There would be some pavement repairs that would be needed,so it wouldn't be complete reconstruction, but definitely doing some pavement repairs in certain areas where it's showing some fatigue as well as some streetscape and landscaping improvements as well just to kind of freshen up the corridor and- and basically replace some of those-those things that are starting to show their age. High Street and Southgate Avenue,sidewalk infill. So these are two locations where sidewalk doesn't currently exist, so we'll be adding it. The High Street location is one where we've received a- a number of requests for that,and so we've been installing that,and then along South Gate there is a section where there's sidewalk on both ends,but especially at the-at the railroad crossing sidewalk doesn't exist,so again,both these locations are in field projects to try and,uh, improve the overall sidewalk system in these areas. Camp Cardinal Road Extension Project, so this is Camp Cardinal Road just North of Camp Cardinal Boulevard,um,this is a section that currently is chipsial,uh, see if it looks like it's a little slow,uh,here we go. So,uh,looking at development occurring here likely in the not too distant fixture along both sides of that streets. This project will,sort of,serve to pay for the design of the roadway and then,uh,have construction of that roadway with the intent that the actual construction costs would be reimbursed half each for each of the developments on-on that stretch of the-the roadway. Knoche: All right.Moving down to the wastewater plant. So,you know,we've been on this site for over 30 years and so it's time that,uh,a lot of our- our pieces there are up for some- for rehabilitation and some renovation. So first project is one of our larger,we talked about on Monday which is the digester complex rehabilitation. So this is um,basically looking at uh,rehabbing um,the-the digester complex itself,uh,looking at heat exchanger replacements,um,just equipment upgrades and then also looking at,um,ways that we can deal with high strength waste and how we can,uh, receive some of that when we look at our,uh,R&G project. Uh,Benton Street the trunk sewer improvement. So this,uh,is,uh,a piece of sewer main that actually runs through an apartment complex.Very hard to get to,uh,from a maintenance standpoint. So this is,um,re-relocating that as far as realigning it then also,uh,taking care of some capacity issues that we have in this area. The return activated sledge pump,uh,replacement. So the-these are pumps that are at the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 37 end of the useful life so we're looking at,uh,replacing those. Uh,same with the influent pump station so we're-we're looking at,uh,basically replacing pumps that are the end of the useful life. Uh,Napoleon Lift Station,uh this is renovation of-of that building looking at upgrading the pumps and also looking at HVC upgrades. Uh,wastewater treatment plant roof replacement is exactly what it says,replacing some roofs,uh,in the- in the,uh,plant area. And then the aeration equipment improvements,uh,is looking at upgrading,um,and allowing for some,uh,energy savings in regards to how we,uh,push water into the treatment process.Wastewater treatment facility improvements,um,this is,uh,looking basically,uh,grit,uh,our partial flume,uh,in ways that we can look at measuring our flows that we're coming into the plant.HVAC replacements,we have a-a number of HVAC systems that are at the end of their useful life. Uh,I think we have some HVAC contractors that spend most of their winter down at the plant trying to keep things up and running so- so this is a replacement for those,uh, systems. Uh,primary clarifier repairs,uh,we've-we did a project,uh,earlier in regards to the-to some of the secondary clarifiers,this is doing the same process on the primary clari-clarifiers.As a part of our biosolids uh,process uh,the drum thickeners that we have in place are up for replacement so we're-we're looking at replacing those. Uh,the effluent,uh,water pump s- station,so we currently um,utilize effluent water within the plant itself and then also uh,that-that system is also used to water the soccer fields. Um,we're seeing the pumps that are currently in place at- basically at full capacity. So we need to add additional pump,um,and-and just upgrade that area, uh,as a- as a part of- as the plant continues to grow and then also the use of the,um, soccer parks increase.Uh,wastewater digest gas improvement,so this is,uh,the other large project we-we talked about in regards to the R&G. So this,um,project would,um,increase our ability to-to, you know,collect the-the gas from our digestion system,um,clean it and,uh,create a- a pipeline quality gas that we can re inject into the system. Um,there again,this is a project that,um,is-is- we've identified it through our-our climate action goals and uh, is- is one that we're-we're currently in the preliminary design process on. Um, similar to the-the primary clarifiers we have some additional work that we need to do on the secondary clarifiers on the site. Havel: All right.Moving over to the water side of things,uh,we have a couple of water main replacement projects,uh,and typically these are done in locations where we have a history of main breaks or other maintenance issues. So the first one being Bradford Drive water main replacement,this would be near Southeast Junior High.Next is the high service pump VFD replacements. So this would be, again,replacement of equipment that's reached the end of its useful life.Uh,VFDs,or variable frequency drives are used to help make the pumps more efficient,basically allows them to-to have operate at varied speeds versus having to just be on or off. Highway 6 from Fairmeadows to Industrial Park Road. Again,another water main replacement project. Collector Well Number 2,cleaning and upgrade. So this is a project with,uh,one of the well houses. This would look at,uh,potentially adding additional laterals,um, for collector well Number 2, also looking at potentially uh,cleaning the existing laterals you know,as they operate over time they get,uh,grit and other debris on the screen and so you need to go in there and clean that to-to recover the capacity that's lost over time. Seeing a theme here with roof replacements, so out at the water plants,uh,we've done roof replacement of kind of the main part of the main building. Um,this would be doing a lot of the other facilities out there so the other portions of the main water plant building and then some of the other buildings on the sites. Knoche: So this-we're-we're currently,uh,doing uh,a pro,having a- a report done in regards to treatment processes.Um,this is basically a placeholder,uh,as we look at what those improvements would be into our treatment process at the plant. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 38 Havel: The final water main replacement project would be along Melrose Avenue from Camp Cardinal West to the Highway 218 interchange. The next project is the powerhouse dam rehabilitation. So during one of our most recent inspections of the dam,um,which is a-a water asset,uh,we noticed there was some spots that were in need of repair, so this would be,um,going through and making those repairs. Alter: Doesn't that look like that's in Coralville? Havel: It's right on the border of Coralville,and the Mix area. Alter:Right in the border. A little on West. Moe: So this-is it correct that this is a dam that helps keep the river high enough for the water treatment plant?That it has a fimction.It's not just a relic of-of-of old dams? Havel: Yes. Alter: You really don't like dams? Moe: I really don't like dams. I really want to [OVERLAPPING]. Dunn: Dams suck. Moe:use the Iowa River.I want people to go down there and enjoy it. And,um,I know that other cities have figured out ways to keep water levels high and get rid of their dams, is- is that part of the thinking for these projects? [OVERLAPPING] And I realize this is a small price tag compared to what it would be? Havel: Yeah,this one defmitely would be just a repair project.Um,you know,as far as the Burlington Street project,that's one that we've talked about,that potential being an option.Uh,I know it's been a few years ago,whether it's a Whitewater Park or whatever that might be,there have been some interest in looking at that. Uh,we've mentioned that to potential consultants that we'd be open to exploring that to see if it's an option. I know there's a pretty significant price tag that comes along with that,uh,but that's something we would look at, at least with that project potentially. Again,I-depending on,you know,the feelings of the various players involved there,I don't know how serious of a look that would be,but it's something that we've definitely said is at least on the table to look at initially. Moe: Okay. Dunn: I would just say for the record,I-I also really don't like dams. Uh,they're extremely environmentally damaging and-and very unsafe. So for what it's worth,I'm with you,Councilor Moe. Alter: I just have a question and you don't have to go back and bring it up,but the-when we started Nicole,and when you sort of kick things off and we had everything in the pie chart about the-the different pieces of money for the projects,those were- it was the scope for the five years for all of the projects within each division?Okay. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 39 Havel: GSR upgrade and repairs. So GSRs are ground storage reservoirs, so those are kind of underground water towers. Um, so this-we have a number of these throughout the city, so this would be looking at making some electrical repairs to some of those facilities. Also evaluating and potentially adding additional pumps to some of those facilities. The water plant flow meter replacement,so throughout the water plant in various locations,we have flow meters that are in place. This would be replacing those that are in need of replacement. The peninsula well field antenna. This would be installing a new antenna out at the peninsula for communication with the well houses out in that area. This would allow us to remove the equipment that is on the tower near the North Dodge Hy-vee we're looking at,trying to get off of that site. This would be essentially moving the antenna to the peninsula area to allow for that communication. Then finally,relocating the bulk water station. This would be going from the existing equipment site down to the public work site. This is what is used a lot of times for filling large tanks,either for city use or contractor use for various things. The intent has been that this would be moved down to the public work site for a number of years due to budget constraints for the various products that just hasn't been done yet. So this would be making that move here in the next couple of years. There's no other questions? Teague: I guess I have a general question. Just about,um,are you all seeking any of the infrastructure funds for any of this?When I think when I hear about the Burlington Bridge and getting rid of the dam and maybe whitewater rafting or whatever the case might be,are there-have you heard of any potential infrastructure bills or funding that would,really fund any of these? Havel: Good question.For the Burlington Street Bridge Project,we actually have some federal fimds that are paying for part of the study phase. One of the goals of going after that funding is that they actually have a construction phase of that funding stream as well. So we're thinking that we would be a good candidate for that when that time comes. Teague: Okay. Moe: I know that for like the Summon Street bridge there was because it was an important bridge and it's a very handsome bridge. There was a public input period,it gets planning on that,for the Burlington Street Bridge? Havel: We are. Yeah. That's been one of the components that we mentioned specifically in the RFQ, is to make sure that that public input is part of the process. Moe: Okay. Havel: I think we anticipate that the Burlington Street bridge would be more than just a standard bridge, and just trying to figure out what exactly that might look like. Teague: Alright,We'll go to transportation. Nagle-Gamm:Hello again,Darian Nagle-Gamm with Transportation Services. You're on the home stretch. Only six more items for me and then we'll get to the on the radar section. First and foremost,video cameras for parking facilities. So we currently have video cameras in all of our parking facilities.We use them every day for helping customers.We use them to understand capacity issues. We use them to see if traffic's backed up,if there's a problem at our entrances and exits.But we're looking to expand our video cameras in our public facilities both for safety and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 40 security.Both our customers who are using them and also our staff.We've been working with PD on developing a plan or where's the most strategic locations to expand those cameras and we also, in addition to using them for safety and security and incident follow up,we will also,they'll really be helpful to us from an operational perspective to help monitor how the facilities are performing. Replacing LED fixtures is in-in parking facilities is the next project,and this is a climate action project.Maybe one of the first climate action projects in the city. So,you know, 10, 15 years ago, when we fust installed LED lighting in the parking facilities,it was pretty revolutionary at that time. They're aging out of production. So we have been going through the parking facilities in recent years and just blanket replacing all of the LED lights.We have a few more facilities yet to go,but we expect that to be wrapped up-this round wrapped up this year. Alright,Tower Place drainage modification. So this is an interesting project that's slated for the out years of the five year plan. This might be more of a potentially a resilience projects in terms of climate action.It's- we've been having in recent years flooding events in the lower parking level,because during extreme rainfall events,the stormwater infrastructure on the facility or built with the facility, can't handle really high intense rainfall events. So we are working to design some ways that it can better handle those kind of rainfall events.We're expecting that that is something that will continue,at least from our experience in the recent past. So that is a project in the out years that we're working through. Tower Place Office Remodel. So Tower Place Ramp is the home of the parking office today. And if that remains the location of the parking office,we-we're seeking some funds to bring the facility and the office up to today's standards. It doesn't quite meet the needs today.It was built over 20 years ago. Ultimately,we need to reconfigure both the administrative office space and our customer service space for-to just better meet today's needs for safety,security,privacy,better efficiency,all the things to modernize their office there. Moe: This might be a question more for Geoff. Who-what's the ownership of that parking garage?And I understand there's condos,some of them are private-that specific suite the City owns,but others don't? Fruin:Yeah,that's correct. We own that suite and we own a suite for a communications division up on the upper levels,and then there's other individual owners throughout there. There's a condo association that Darien and her staff get to represent us on. Moe: Okay,All right.But this would be an investment in City owned. Fruin: That's correct. Moe: Condos. Got it. Alter: Darian,did you say,and I apologize if I misheard you said if this remains?Yeah. So-but you're committed to in 2025 renewing it regardless. The fact that it's a condo structure and that this is city owned. Fruin:Yeah. Makes more sense but- This is one of those areas with the space needs study that we brought in. Alter: Okay. Fruin:Because there's definitely possibilities to have them incorporated into a city hall or alongside other city offices. We're looking at that and we hope to have some big picture answers before this This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 41 project would be designed and considered. So if the space needs study leads us to believe that there could be a home somewhere here or elsewhere,then this project probably just gets put on hold. Alter: The funds diverted or held or?Okay. Thank you. Nagle-Gamm:All right. This is perhaps our favorite project in the CIP projects. This is the transit maintenance facility relocation and this we've been talking about for many years.We're thrilled to have been awarded$19 million to help replace this facility in the last federal grant cycle. The reason we're seeking the replacement is because it's- it's a 40 year old facility.It was built in the early '80s. It no longer meets our needs.We're overcapacity as Ron alluded to,there's some serious environmental issues in terms of subsidence on the property.We have feet and feet and feet and feet of asphalt that's laid basically on top of each other every year,just so that we can get the buses in the facility.Because if we hadn't done that,we would need a ladder to get in over the years. So there's some complications with that facility, so we've been really excited to pursue grant fimding. We're turning our attention now that we've received the grant fimding to getting an RFQ out for both design and for a consultant to help us work through the Federal environmental and planning processes that we need to. So we're very excited the new facility will be built with zero emission sustainable transportation in mind. So it's going to be a monumental leap forward in terns of sustainable transportation.And it'll be purpose built,we're hoping to build to lead standards as well. So it's going to be,I think,representative of all of the city's climate action goals in terms of buildings,in terms of providing sustainable transportation. So it's a really exciting opportunity for this community. Salih: Can you just remind me what is the new facility going to be the same area? Nagle-Gamm: The plan is to-and we're working through the process with the Federal Transit Administration,but our-but our plan is to place it on the public works site. So Ron earlier alluded to the Quonset huts that are down there,the rounded huts that have the things that we're going to have to move. It would be generally in that location.Basically across the street from Terry True Blood. Salih: Okay. Nagle-Gamm: On McAllister. All right. Transit bus video system. So we have on all of our buses we have a security video system,um,that,uh,is recording at all times in multiple locations,um, which,um,provides a lot of peace of mind for our staff uh,you know,because they're working independently on the buses,um,every single day. So we use it to follow up on,uh,incidents that occurred,that sort of thing.But again,it's- it's for safety and security.It's reached-our current equipment has reached the end of its useful life like many electronics,but also- [NOISE] especially electronics that are on a moving-moving bus that travel throughout the community throughout the day. So,um,we're-we're seeking funds to replace that system this year. So this is a new item. These are,um,bus driver protection doors. This is,again,we've been on a mission to kind of make our- our work environment for the transportation services staff more safe and comfortable. And one thing that we've heard from the drivers in recent years,and we've had outfitted on our-on our electric buses,which are our newest buses are bus driver door protectio- protective doors. So really,you can't see it very well in this photograph because there's kind of clear glass there.But,um,um, it provides some physical space between passengers. Um,it provides some- in the event of a pandemic,but who could think that could possibly happen?It This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 42 provides some,you know,some closed off air space.Not 100%closed off,but it provides,um, some security and some-some more comfort in that respect. So we have these on all of our electric buses. And the funding we're seeking is to retrofit all of our diesel buses,um,with these driver protection doors,and we will spec all of our new buses going forward with these doors. It's- it's becoming quite standard,not just here but across the country.All right. The last but not least,replacing door to door- door and door closures in our parking facilities. So this is just another aging condition situation. So we have many-so our two oldest ramps,Dubuque Street and Capitol Street ramps,they're early'80s. They were built about the same time as the transit facility. So some of them are original,which is pretty impressive. Some of the doors and some of the door closures,many of them have been updated. We have ADA,um,you might have seen these if you've used the ramps. There's an-there's a-there's a item that you can wave in as you're coming up to the door and it allows for the door to open.It's an ADA access. So those sorts of, um,uh,things are what we're-we're seeking to replace with this project. And some of our doors just due to,you know,settling and age and water damage,that sort of thing. They don't always close and shut as easy as they should. Um, sometimes,you know,we all like a little fresh air,but in the middle of,you know,sub-zero weather,when a door is not properly shutting,um,the-the- um,uh,the customers can really feel the difference in temperature,um,when-when that's happening. So this is a project to help rehabilitate those doors. Teague: All right. Nagle-Gamm:Happy to answer any questions. Havel: Thank you. Great. All right. So the final section is the on the radar section. So again,uh,these are those projects that don't have any funding in the current by-oh, sorry. Bergus:Mayor,I just-I don't know how long this part is,Jason. I was wondering if maybe we could take a quick break now. Teague: Absolutely- Bergus: Okay. Teague: -we can. Um,we're going to take a 15 minute break Do people want 15- five? Dunn: Five. Teague: Five? Dunn:Maybe a little bit more? Harmsen:Maybe ten All right.We're going split the difference. Teague: All right. I hear five-I hear five. Okay.All right. We're just coming back from a break and we're going to continue with On the Radar. Havel: Yeah. So just a reminder that On the Radar products are those projects that don't have fimding in the current five year plan,but just ones we want to make sure you're aware of as we kind of look even longer term at what might be out there. So the first one is the Mcallister Boulevard extension.Maybe. There we go. So this would be,uh,you may remember,a couple of years ago This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 43 we completed an-an extension ofMcallister Boulevard that went from essentially Gilbert Street to Sycamore. This would be that next section from Sycamore to the east to Highway 6. Seydell Johnson: Next one is East Side Sports Complex.Um,there was a master plan done for this in about 2016,2017.Uh,the city does own the land on the east side,kind of south of the new Hoover Elementary School. We've done some tree planting,um,in preparation for screening from the railroad that goes near that site. Um,and it was a master plan for baseball,soccer,and potentially even an indoor facility.Um,the thing to remember with this is the current Kickers Complex sits on land that could eventually be used for the wastewater treatment expansion.And that time,this-they would have to move somewhere else and this would be a potential site for that. So we leave it in there as consideration for that. Moe: Was there an economic analysis done on this? Seydell Johnson: There was.And in the-in the,uh,terms of the baseball complex part,it wasn't quite large enough to,um,make sense for big tournaments. Moe: Okay. Havel: Foster Road elevation. So,uh,as you're probably aware,Foster Road is the sole access to the Peninsula neighborhood and-and areas,uh,on the west end of Foster Road. Uh,we recently completed a fixnctional design for this project. Look at what a-a project might look like to elevate Foster Road,make it more resilient for,uh,flood events in the fixture. We also has been consideration for providing secondary access through a forest view redevelopment of that area. Um, so and I think either one of those options could be viable for,uh,making that access more resilient.But if we decide to move forward with a- a city project with an existing right away,the Foster Road elevation would be one that we-we could look at for that. Bergus: Is this something that if the forest view area is developed sooner,would happen sooner and would be the developer's responsibility? Fruin:N-no.. If-if we sense that they've,um,uh,Forest View area is going to move forward,we might just shelve this because secondary access would be created from Algonquin,uh,kind of bent around to Laura drive and then out to-to Dubuque Bergus: To Dubuque,okay. Fruin: This one is-this has been a tough one for us because with all the starts and stops of momentum up there,we've kind of put this off.Uh,we decided to-to take it through design a little bit further, uh,in case we don't see movement over the next few years,I think we'll have to do this. Our goal is not to do this- Bergus:Not to do it,okay. Thank you. Dunn: What-what flood-um, flood plain is this in?What year? Havel: As far as current or what the proposed would be? Dunn: Ah,yes. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 44 Knoche: So the way that Foster Road was designed at the time. So this was constructed in '99,2000. Um, the-the low point of Foster Road was a-was a foot below 100 year floodplain. Dunn: Uh-huh. Knoche: And so the picture that that's shown there,that's the,um,2008 flood. So that would have been about the 500 year flood- Dunn: Uh-huh. Knoche: -is what you're seeing there as far as the flooding limit. Dunn: And so the mitigation would make it- Havel: I-I don't recall offhand. I feel like it's somewhere in the neighborhood of the 100 year,200 year. Maybe a foot above the one of those elevations. Dunn: Okay. Havel: I know that we looked at going,uh,a foot above the 500 year and that gets to be very impactful. So I think we were trying to find kind of that-that sweet spot of providing as much protection as possible,but not,um,making a crazy amount of changes in the area. Dunn: I guess another question would be like how much of an impact,you know, say we have a similar, you know, 100, 500 year flood.Um,how much impact would the mitigation have to,you know, the flooding of the southern area here? Havel: So it really would do nothing for that area. It would really be mostly focused-or really just focused on keeping Foster Road open as long as possible- Dunn: Okay. Havel: -and providing access to the-to the west. Dunn: Okay. Havel: The Highway 6 Bridge over the Iowa River. Again,this is not our project. This would be a DOT project,but again,we anticipate that it will have an impact on travel in Iowa city. So just wanted to keep that on-on your radar for future project. Like I said,we anticipate right now it's currently in 2028,which is the exact same schedule as the Burlington Street project. So we will be making some adjustments to that,um,but that's to be worked through as we-we work through both those projects. Seydell Johnson: You had two earlier items about the Carson Lake Park area. One was for some of the land acquisition and the other was for the creation of the retention basin or the lake and the dam. Um,this item would take it to become an actual park with trails,picnic shelter,um,small playground,those type of things. Um, similar in scope to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 45 Moe: The ownership of this property right now?It's all privately owned. Havel: Correct. Yeah. One of the projects is for land acquisition for [OVERLAPPING] of the projects. Component of it. Moe: Yes. Havel: It is. Yeah. Kitty Lee Road extension. So this would be basically if we decided to move forward with that project,we would need construction dollars to make that happen. And then finally Taft Avenue reconstruction. As you remember,ah,there was a segment from American Legion Road to Lower West Branch that's included in a fimded year. This is basically the additional segments north and south of that, so would be the segments on the north would be from Lower West Branch up to Herbert Hoover Highway,and then on the south end would be from American Legion Road down to 420th Street. And with that,that's all of our projects. Teague: Well,thank you all for taking us through.How many did you count,Councilor? Harmsen:In the last seven there, 135 projects since 02:00 PM. Teague: So Harmsen: Give or take,one or two? Teague: Yeah. So I mean,that just speaks to all the hard work that you all have done to prepare this. So we really appreciate the time you've spent with us today and also for those of you that was here on Monday,I appreciate you all being here as well. At this time if there's any further discussion on the CIP,I'll just open that up for Council at this time. Fruin:I just want to remind Council that we in early February is when we start to really plan for the GO bond issuance. It's a multi month process,so being able to flag any changes,particularly in the first year,if there's projects in those early years that you were concerned about or things that you wanted to bring in,we really need to get those on the table tonight and try to come up with some solutions,ah,on February 6th.Ah,if not,the charge to Nicole,Angie and-and their team is going to be to move forward with the GO bond prep based on what's presented here. Bergus: The only. Sorry. Moe: I was just getting started with my one concern. I think I articulated pretty clearly about the airport, in the way that-that analysis is structured so that it's,um,we're not saying yes,we agreed to removal of the building,but rather a study of how to re-purpose,reuse,and add to it. Bergus: I was just going to say,I would love for us to consider front loading or accelerating the-the transportation infrastructure improvements. Those were small dollar I think 25,000 a year,um, something like that,but there- Davies:there is money already sitting in there that we've been banking up. Bergus: Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 46 Davies: Darian alluded to,I think there's was like six almost 600,000 in there,so there's finding there once they have a study to start doing some of that. Bergus: Okay. Dunn: Let's do more. But yeah,you know,that was my-what I would say. Fruin:Yeah. So from a timing standpoint,you're-we're looking at,you know,an RFP, and we're not even started on the RFP yet. So the RFP goes out sometime,um,I'll say spring, summer at best.Um, we're bringing on a consultant in the fall. The studies done next year. Bergus: Are we talking about-I'm just talking about bus stops on the routes and benches and. Fruin:Yeah. Bergus: Okay-okay.All right. Fruin: So-so the fust step is really to get some,um,engineering assistance to map everything out,take an inventory of what we have, and prioritize where those first round of improvements will be.Um, and I think that the 600 that we have plus the-and CIP dollars gets us down that path pretty well. I think if there's a-a desire to be more aggressive on the implementation,we can in my view tackle that with the fixture budget.If you want to start to plan for that now,that's-that's fine,you can pre fund that. I just want to kind of set expectations on actual improvements.We're-we're work a couple of years out on actual improvement. Bergus: I think I misunderstood that in terms of how it was laid out over the multiple years that we were saying we were just going to do a little bit each year,but that's not necessarily the case. Fruin:Yeah,I kind of liken it to like our ADA curb ramps,which we-we did do a major inventory of those. We have the prioritized list and then every year we're able to do a study Bergus: Do a few more.[OVERLAPPING] Fruin:based on funding. We're a couple steps behind that process with this.We need to do that inventory, do that study, and then we've got to the point where we can do improvements every year at whatever scale we-we want to. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that. Moe: Related to that the-the program that project. I'm sorry,I don't have the number in front of me. Is looking for the$25,000 collection of projects was separate from a study about the actual terminus of the-of the bus station and the hub. Alter: Is two different projects. Moe: Yeah. I was curious why are those two separate projects?Can the analysis of all issue. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 47 Fruin:I would look to Darian. I think the study would incorporate all of that um. Moe: Okay. Fruin: Okay. The-It's a little trickier,um,the downtown terminus,I don't get too much in the weeds,but it's not all city right away there. That's one of the big hurdles,is that-that the mall ownership,ah, which is changing as well,um,owns a lot of that space that you would think is the public realm. Uh, so that complicates things a bit. Moe: Okay. Teague: All right. So sound like we're pretty good for the CIP on this end for Nicole and Angel to come move forward. 2. Review of Monday's Budget Work Session Teague: All right. We're going to transition over to our work session discussion. So just review of our- our Monday's budget and some of the things that the council wanted to speak to. Dunn: I'd really like to start with the conversation about the fire contingency funds. Teague: Sure. Dunn: Um,I personally have the-I actually at first,I have a few questions for you,chief,if you'd be willing to come up. So I'm just going to ask you some questions that we've already asked you just for the sake of presence of mind. So it's not that they've been forgotten or anything. So,um, could you remind us how much,uh,you requested in terms of additional staffing for the budget period? Lyon: Five personnel,three firefighters,a captain for,uh,the prevention bureau and a civilian,um, outreach person. Dunn: Sure.Um,and can you kind of walk us through,um,what the general timeline would be for,um, you know,the decision is made for you guys to get an FTE equivalent for,let's say,a firefighter. Right.Um,how long does it take for that firefighter to be fully trained and operational within the department?Like in every capacity? Lyon: Sure, sure, in every capacity? Dunn: Yeah. What-what you would want,like you would say,this person is fully trained?They can perform whatever duties I would ask of them on a standard level. Lyon: Okay. Uh,the first thing they would do is,um,complete an eight week fire academy and then from there,um,they would be on a one year probationary period in the station.And soon thereafter, they would go through more training to become an apparatus operator. Dunn: Uh. How long does that all take? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 48 Lyon: Um,I-I would say,um,realistically,um, 16 - 18 months by the time we're-we're done if you want someone to operate in all capacities. Dunn: Yeah. Yeah,I think we do. Lyon: That's a pretty big ask. Dunn: Yeah. Is that generally what you look for,operation in all capacities or? Lyon:Eventually,yes that's-that's where we want to go.Um,everyone on the fire department,um,that gets past the probationary period and,um,eventually moves into the capacity of being able,uh,to drive and-and operate fire apparatus. What we want to prevent is to-to have a junior member driving to their fust significant fire. That's-that's not a good idea. Dunn: Yeah. Why-why would that not be a good idea? Lyon:Well,yeah,um,it's a complicated task and-and experience matters.And,you know,the first really evolution of a fire service professional is learning their job,and their primary function is that of firefighter,um,EMT.Yeah. And once we get some experience,we can move them on forward to the next phase which would be driving and operating fire apparatus. Dunn: How many of our,um,officers are certified EMTs? Lyon:Everyone. Dunn: Everyone of them. Okay. Um, so I guess really where-where I'm at at this point,um,on this item is,and I know it's been a request from the, from firefighters themselves. I-I see that we're kind of put in a,um,a question,a policy question.Um,we have$300,000 worth of contingent funds that are going to go towards,uh,personnel for the,uh,eventual station 5,and we've got three shifts. Uh,what are those shifts?Could you tell me wha-what the day-the day-the day look like? Lyon:E- essentially,what we have right now is we have two shifts that have one more person than-than the other shift. Dunn: Okay. Lyon: If that's what you're asking. Dunn: Okay. That creates a-a- a differing load,um,and- and I know,like you said,um,that one position may not make or break the department,um,and,you know,we're-we're very glad to hear that. But it is a different load no matter what if you're having disparity in staffmg. Um, certainly,um, in terms of morale and-and what is asked of 16 people compared to 17. So that in my mind,um, coupled with you said like around an 18 month lead time to get someone trained to the level that we really want all of our firefighters to be at,right?That to me,um,I think Council should really consider the creation of one FTE,um,position for an additional firefighter.Just because,again,I mean,the-the request was-was five and I don't think the chief makes that request out of,um,you know,no need.Uh,we're seeing increased incidences in the community.Uh,we are,uh, slowly building up capacity for- for that new fire station. Uh, and that time to learn, and that time to learn on the job,I think is incredibly,uh,incredibly valuable for our community and our safety This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 49 capacity. Um,so that's really where I'm at. Uh,I mean,even just putting things in a comparative, I believe our contingency,um,contribution last year was-was 100,000,right? Fruin:Yeah,that-that's correct. Dunn: So if we were to add an FTE estimate that's $110 -$115,000 or so,we would still be basically doubling our contingency,um,year over year in addition to adding one FTE that reminder that these finds are for personnel in the first place.Um,correct? Fruin:I feel like I need to clarify some of the things, if I may. Dunn: Yeah. Fruin: So,um,one's,this-this idea of discrepancy,uh,between the shifts. Yes,there's a discrepancy between the shifts because we added two of these contingency positions last year. So,um,I-I struggle a little bit to-to say that,hey,there's this-there's this-there's this major issue now because we're imbalanced. Well,we're imbalanced because we added two firefighters last year above and beyond our typical staffing. Um, so those two firefighters that we added last year are slated for the new station as well. So yes,it'd be fantastic to add a third,if that's the direction the council wants to go, fantastic.But-but don't-don't do it because if-if you have a perception,um, that we're-we're understaffed compared to-to historically where we have been,if you want to do it just for,uh,parity across all three shifts,uh,that's great. There's no doubt. It- it would be a benefit and it would be a morale boost and all those things. I just want to explain why there's that- that-,um,that disparity between the two shifts. Um, a couple other points I want to make the-the- ,um,the contingency,um,finding,what we're trying to do there,uh, from- from- from the get go was add$300,000 a year.Uh, so the contingency, according to the original plan was-was 300 one year,600 one year,900 one year. We're at 700 this year because we hired the two firefighters,right. So absent us hiring two extra firefighters last budget,this contingency in the budget would be nine.All right. And then ideally we're getting up to that 12 or 15,wherever- wherever we need it to,uh,meet the staffing model that we determine when that-when that firefighter needs to-when those firefighters need to be hired. So I want to make sure that if you- if you decide to,um,hire additional staff,that you just have that background,um,and your- and your understanding of the current landscape.Um,I want to mention too, so the-the question I've received before is,well,why don't we just hire all of them,right?If-if we're going to budget the dollars,why don't we just hire all of them and get as much experience as possible?Uh,and again, I'll go back to the fact that we're-we're-we're operating at a deficit budget right now. We're not presenting you a break even budget. We're presenting you a-a- a deficit budget.Um, and given those headwinds,I'm not sure we're going to crawl out of that budget. I couldn't promise you that we're going to crawl out that deficit,uh,in the next few years. So by budgeting it,we're signaling, uh,and we're preparing for that capacity,um,but we also aren't,um,putting ourselves in a spot where we can no longer afford that fifth station and now we have the operational expense to-to carry,um,going forward. As long as you understand that,um,uh,then I'm comfortable with whatever decision you would make. Dunn: Sorry,I didn't mean to interrupt. Fruin:Yeah. So the final point I wanna make,um,if your goal,um, is to supplement staffing on the fire department. I-I would-I would say,give-give the chief some time to think about the five positions he requested and- and- and let us come back and say,this is where it would be most This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 50 impactful,uh,for the fire department. That's why we hire the chief to do that. Um,it may be a firefighter at the end of the day,it may-we may be right back here,um,but I think you need to lean on that. And if your-,on the flip side,if your thought is to say,um,where could we-if we wanted to invest$100,000,where would that benefit the entire organization the most?Then understand that the fire department is not the only department that asked for new staff. That's the only one that you've heard about maybe.But that's part of my role during the budget process, is to take all the requests,uh, from- from departments and try to prioritize the best that I can. I'm-I'm not perfect and I may not think exactly like you also I have no problem with you,um,going through that,but there's a lot of department heads,uh,who-who-uh,who would,um,benefit greatly from having additional staff and there's a value to having those staff,and-and that's a hard thing to-that's a hard thing to balance.But as you make this decision,I think you need to think through a couple of those higher layers first,is the fire department that-that top priority amongst all other departments?And if so, let's give the chief some- some- some space to think about those five positions and,uh,and at least hear the recommendation on what that might be. Dunn: Yeah,I don't think that's pa-particularly unreasonable,but I do feel very strongly about-about getting that done. And- and that was one of the reasons why you asked,um,at the last,uh, meeting,you know,say you were to be given an FTE. I think you did respond that it would be to a firefighter,if-if I'm correct. [OVERLAPPING]. Lyon: I cannot recall how exactly how I respond to that question. But I-I think,um,I agree with-with, um,and I appreciate the-the willingness to-to consider alternatives. Uh,but-but I do believe that this-this does require something that needs to be evaluated,that the fire department has many needs. Um,it's- it's just not at the firefighter level. Teague: So,um,while I appreciate you bringing this up in. Every year,we-we hear from all of the department heads about the needs for their departments.And what I know is that there is an exercise that,um, Geoff and the-and the department heads go through at trying to figure out,um, what's going to come before the council. And I do believe that,you know,they had lots of conversations on the staffing level,um,and determining how they wanted to present this to council.Before I,you know, commit to,um,a particular department,I would feel most comfortable if we are wanting to do a position of any type,is give this back to the City Manager and all the department heads to figure out what would be most valuable for the entire organization. Uh,last year we got approved through the council,a grant writer,and we found that,you know,the idea behind that was it will benefit the City in so many ways. If we can leverage some money to come in for social service programs,whatever the case may be,that will be a bigger bang for our buck. I believe that,that you know,as it was presented with the you know,the 300,000 that's going in,there is a plan that the-that the fire chief,you know you have in place,um for when their next staff is hired. And so if- if I was to,you know,say anything to this council is if we want to look at a position that we give it back to the City Manager and ask that the entire organization be looked at,and then-and then they present us with a position that we will fmd a lot of value from.Not to say that there is no value from,um fire- fire another person in the fire department.I'm not discounting anyone's needs,but we know every department that came before us talked about their need for staffing. Dunn:Respectfully,Mayor,um I do disagree to an extent,you know,this isn't just,um I guess my request is not just to add another staff member add more fiinds to the budget,it is to use funds for the fire department that are already scheduled for personnel in the fixture, for personnel now. So the-the question as to where can we add,you know,an FTE position that can be most valued in This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 51 the- in the city,is a good question.It's not going to have the same dynamics of things because we are going to have to up people's budget or move things around or we would take from the fire department's contingency fixed,because that's what I'm talking about,the contingency fixed, specifically for fire personnel to be used for fire personnel, and then now instead of in the fixture. So it's not really as much of a trade off as I would think,and I think it's a different question. We have different needs, as I understand it in the fire department,with increasing call volumes, increasing burdens,and ultimately,um you know,we want to have first day of that fire department,ah the station five. We want to have a good mix of folks,and I think that this is a great way,a very small incremental step to use fimds that are already earmarked for personnel to get that going now. Um, so I ultimately think,yeah,it'd be great if we have,you know,a question or a conversation about where else we can have an FTE.But that is a very different conversation than the one that I'm having. Bergus: I think it's fair to frame it both ways. I understand what you're saying,Andrew, and I appreciate what you're saying,Mayor.But you know my two questions we're going to be putting the chief on the spot saying of the five,what would you pick.And then putting Geoff on the spot and saying if you were just going to add a position throughout the organization,what would that be? But I do think,you know,either way,we're looking at it running in a deficit budget. You know, the efficiency of the organization and different services throughout the organization becomes more of a focus when we don't have as much leeway as we've had in the past.And I think,you know,we're planning on having a work session that's talking about response to calls,which is what our firefighters do.Like,we may not have perfect data,but it seems to me that we should be talking about,okay,well,if we feel there's too much burden on the fire department,if we feel there's too much burden on the police department,if we think there's other,you know,things that may be out there,that we assess it in the full context. Uh which I think is what Geoff you were saying on Monday of like bring the chief in on this conversation,um,because it could be that, you know,what would be I understand it's hard to quantify one position in one shift right. And how that might actually play out,but I do think we need to be having a more holistic look,even if it is specifically about the services that the fire department provides. So I guess my request would be, if we're going to entertain that, let's do it in the context of overall call response. Dunn: I think that's reasonable. Alter: And I think,um I'm not sure where my thinking leads into this.I think that thus far I'm in agreement to-to put it in the hands of an expert of the expert,um as far as where if that contingency position was actually fulfilled right. And the conversation about need throughout the organization,I guess it's absolutely a matter of saying I would want to have staff,whether it's department heads and- and the City Manager talking.But there's something also that sits poorly under my skin or just makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable on behalf of that because the need is great throughout each department. And so it's kind of like rock paper scissors among people who all are working hard.I feel like that would need to be a more thought out conversation. And I guess that's truly where the budget conversations that we don't see before getting to us come. Um so it may be that our direction next. Oh my God,what was it? September right.When you said what are our priorities is next September is to say we really want you to look hard at and talk with your department heads about staffmg. I mean,that may be the case,but I guess just right now I'm uncomfortable with the idea of like,so just get in a room and figure it out. It feels very much like kind of Sophie's choice to use a horrible analogy. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 52 Fruin: The-the staffing conversations happen on a regular basis,um its,but I want to kind of paint the different picture for you.We don't really have staffing conversations as a kind of department director group,right.Each-each department has its own unique needs and their own perspective on those needs. They-they come to-to the budget committee and they say,this is-this is my needs. Some of them understand that while they have needs,they don't even ask for a position because I've forewarned them that we're not going to be adding many positions. So,um at the end of the day,I have to make the call. That's what you've hired me to do,is to make that call and present this budget to you on where I think those priorities need to be had.But I have no problem sharing with you my perspective on where the most acute needs are in the organization.But I could also,you know I'm not sure you're going to want to go down this path.I could also very easily get you a list of every department and what their ideal staffing levels would be and circle for you which positions we don't have. And it would be long,and it would be hard for you to work through and really unfair for you to work through because you're not plugged into the day to day operations at the same level that-that are we are as staff. Dunn: I would just again, emphasize that that's not really the question at hand,at least from my proposal. My proposal is a-is a very simple policy question that does not change the budget at all aside from making X$115,000 go towards a staff member and then changing whatever the contingency is to be in alignment for that total 300,000. So this is very much and like well,I certainly respect Geoff,your-your advice and your opinion on this.I want to really emphasize that this is not a drastic change from my perspective.Um again,on money that is already earmarked for personnel that being said,I'm very much in favor of a broader process of looking into what,um that FTE could be if this is something that Council wants to and at the very least,explore. Keeping in mind that exploring does not mean yes. Teague: I-I don't know that I am in favor of continuing the exploration on this topic. When you say that there's not going to be any money expended,there will be money expended right now. The money is kind of deferred in a way. So I personally,um,I'm comfortable with the recommendation that has already come before us and I'm not interested in further exploration. Dunn: Where is everyone else? Alter: I said that I was fine with a-a further discussion. Bergus: I mean,I -I think I'd maybe put even a more uncomfortable point on it,which is when we look at all the services that our department provides and what our police department provides,and talking about,you know,things like mobile crisis,um,one way that I have continually thought about it is the cost of answering a call.Now,calls are very-very-very-very-different in terms of that,right?But what we know is we have a lot,you know,the majority of calls that the fire department answers response to appears,you know,go-goes out to,um,are those medical type calls,if that's correct.And so,um,if-if our overall goal is to match the response to the call,in the most efficient way possible,I-I just think that's like-that's a big conversation and there's lots of different ways we can cut that.But if it's like we know we have X tens of thousands of calls,you know,in a year,the fire department responded to 9,200,police department responded to 64,000, you know,I don't know what Johnson County Ambulance responded to,but like that I think we just should be like putting those all together and- and just if we're going upstream to triage better, let's just make that as efficient as we possibly can. So I understand that that's a very different thing than what you're saying in terms of the department staffing,but,um that's what I would advocate. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 53 Dunn: Yeah,correct. Salih: I-I kind of agree,like what for this concept by looking to the data of the calls and respond and see what is the need exactly at and how we can fixed it. So I agree with you guys. Teague: And I do think we've been-that's been a part of the conversation along the way that we would look at that,but I'm not certain that that comes now a- as a part of this budget. Bergus: Well,when will it come,Mayor? Teague: Oh,well,I'm-I'm just it. Bergus:Because it has been years that we've been talking about it. Teague: Yeah-yeah.I mean,we can still have the conversation but I-but attaching it to the fire staffirg. Bergus: Oh I see. Yeah-yeah. Teague: Yeah. Bergus: I thought you meant this budget cycle. Teague: And like I-I meant specifically attaching that conversation to the fire staffmg. Sorry. Bergus: Understood. Salih: I'm talking to gentlemen. Teague: You're talking. It's a bigger conversation. So that's why,at least specific to the fire,you know, staffirg,that's what I was referring to.But the bigger conversation,absolutely,I think,um,that's- that's- it's a conversation that we need to have. Dunn: So I think that a real potential outcome of this and-and a combination for the desire for changes to public safety and addressing the needs that are required,um,in the- in the community,um,a result of that could be this position. I don't think we can do,you know,mislead ourselves to-to think that it could not. So I think-I think this is a great time to be having that conversation.We- we frequently talk about,um,I said it last time,how this budget is a-is an example of,uh,you know,our values. I think now is the time. We need to spend money where-where it's needed,um. At this point,I-I think that I personally think that it's needed at the-the fire department,but I very much agree with going through a-a process to figure out.You know,if we do- do that,you know,is there other places,right. So I think that that makes sense,um,I think it's prudent,um, and-and I do think it ultimately is also part of this.Because if we-we do that discussion and we decide,yeah,it's going to lead to,you know,a need for an FTE,we're just going to have to do a budget amendment further down the line. So why not do it while we're in the middle of the process? Teague: So,I guess,I just need clarification. It sounds like certainly well,I've heard about that larger conversation that may-you know may tie to that,but as far as having another continuing the fire This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 54 staffirg,I guess isolate it. That is not what we're going to do. We're just going to have a big discussion,and then wherever that leads us is where we land. Is that a fair? Dunn: I think that's a fair assessment. Teague: Okay. Alter: We have the possibility that one-that this role would be funded. Dunn: Yeah. Salih: Yes. Teague: I think with the possibility that a role potentially would be funded. Bergus:Right. That's good [OVERLAPPING]. Dunn: It depends on a lot of things. Salih: Yeah. That's fair enough. Yeah. Teague: Okay.All right. Any other,uh,discussion on that topic because we can move on,um,I know parking fees was also something that we thought we can tackle today,and I'm also- Salih: Water bill,also. Teague: Yeah. I know the-the water bill and,kind of�the-the police,um,position that we were talking about.We were going to come back to that because we asked staff for some additional information. So that we won't tackle today,we'll plan to tackle that on February 6,um,but parking fees is one we can have a discussion on today. And I'm not sure who brought that up. Fruin:Maybe I can just give you a quick recap on what the recommendation is and how much each kind of component creates. And,um,understand that these-these are estimates based on current usage. There is elasticity of demand that,you know,we haven't really-kind of factored in,but the more you raise prices,the less utilization there may be.But,um, so it's kind of a three tier, ah,increase. We're looking at increasing the cost of hourly parking in the ramps. You go there,you park for two hours,uh,the ramps would all go to$2 per hour.Right now,we have ramps that are$1 per hour and ramps that are$0.75 per hour. They would all be equal,ah, at$2 per hour with first hour free. Um,that proposal from staff generates $2.1 million estimated annually. Salih: Can say that again,please? Fruin: $2.1. Salih: From-if you increase it from what to what? Fruin:Right now,the-the ramps are either$0.75 an hour.We have two at$0.75 an hour,and we have four at$4 an hour. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 55 Teague: One-one hour- $1 at an hour. Fruin:I'm sorry. $1 at an hour. Salih: $1 an hour. And is that after the first hour free that we have? Fruin:It's after first hour free. We would maintain first hour free. Salih: Okay. Fruin: So if people change their parking habits a little bit,those numbers could be a little off,but 2.1 million is based on current utilization. Harmsen: 2.1 million total or 2.1 million additional from what it is currently? Fruin:Additional. Salih: If we make it$2,is that? Fruin: $2 per hour,yeah Dunn: Just this one component of the change. Fruin:Just one change. Bergus: Just for the parking ramps? Fruin:Yeah. So of all the proposals,that is the most impactful. Somebody mentioned this,um,about the kind of the transportation background. What you want to be careful is you don't want to make your decks more expensive than your own street. Your premium parking needs to be-you need to pay a premium for your premium parking. So as you push that deck rate up,you really should look hard at moving those meters up,which we've done in our proposal. So the meters,ah,we have three tiers of meters, some are 75 cents an hour,some are$1 an hour,and some are$1.50 an hour,um,and we would be looking to move that to everything is on two tiers,either$1.50 or$2 an hour. Okay. So those meters that are close in downtown,the core of downtown,they're currently$1.50 an hour,those would move to$2. Everything else would move to$1.50 as you kind of grow out from the-the-the downtown. That piece is about$600,000 to do that,and I would argue there's going to be more elasticity in demand on the-on the street,meaning the higher you raise those,you're going to change parking habits more. So$2.1 plus the$600 gets you the$2.7 roughly. And then from a citation standpoint is the third leg of this stool, looking at moving from the most common one would be an expired meter,right?We give you the first one as a warning right now,the next one's $7 and then it kind of escalates up 10, 12, 15, and we would just graduate that scale. So continue with the first warning,and instead of starting at seven, we start at 10,instead of going to 12,you go to 15 and you kind of just go up the ladder there. That's a-um,a- a less impactful change financially,but I think it is important,um,just for the overall operations of the parking system. That generates roughly about$200. Salih: Can I ask a question here? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 56 Fruin:Yeah. Salih: How long is the warning apart,like you give warning every six months,every year? Fruin:Um,let me see here. I- Moe: I think it's annual. Fruin:I think it's annual. Teague: A warning is every-. Moe: I've benefited from it. Teague: A warning is every six months. Bergus: Probably every six month. Teague: It's every six months,yeah. [OVERLAPPING] [INAUDIABLE] Fruin: So every-every year,um,and we would maintain that warning. I think that's-that's-I-I think that's a nice thing we do,especially being a community that,uh,welcomes thousands of new people in every year,kind of allows them to adjust,uh,without getting hit in the-in the pocketbook that first time.But that's a much less impactful,um,we think probably a couple hundred thousand maybe from those citations. The fourth leg,which we're not recommending any change but you should be aware of,is the monthly permits.All right. We're not recommending any change to the monthly permits because we did adjust those upward last budget.Uh,we added$5. Those are$90 a month. Um,every $5 increase is only about$100,000 in revenue raised. So again,that's not part of this.But know if you're going to be contemplating the right mix that you'd like to see as policy makers,that that's also an option. Moe: How many passes are there? Fruin: That's a logical question to ask I can't-I can't answer that off the top of my head. Salih: And you said the-the far away meters are 75 now,how much increase would be that. Fruin: They would go to$1.50,so those would double. And what we're trying to do with both-what- what our recommendation is for both the decks and the meters is to,um,bring them more in line. So instead of having two decks-two different types of decks with different rates,you make it one instead of having three tiers of meter rates,you make it two.Uh- Salih: Oh,you make it two? Fruin:Yeah. Salih: That's good. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 57 Alter: It's easier for the people parking as well. I mean,no,it straight ahead. [OVERLAPPING] Fruin:It's a little simpler messaging.Part of the challenge in-in messaging is,uh,um,you know,when you're trying-how-how much does it cost to park on street?Well,if you're here at 75 cents three years here,it'd be just a lot simpler to package our parking options. Moe: So the proposal-oh sorry,you're done. Fruin:I'm done. Moe: The proposal that's in the budget,that says makes a whole lot of sense for me on a sort of values perspective of the ramp absolutely should cost less than the street,like that some Bergus:But it won't- Dunn: it won't. Bergus: It'll be the same. Fruin:Um,except you-you're not considering the first hour free. The first hour free. Bergus: So the ramps will be less than. Okay. So just for that. Okay. [OVERLAPPING] Fruin:Yeah. So with the first hour free,the ramps are going to be a more attractive option. Moe: We want the ramps to be more attractive. Bergus: Yeah-yeah.No-no. I'm just saying I think the on street maybe shouldn't be$2 an hour. I think it should be more. Dunn: Agreed. Salih: It is 150 an hour. [OVERLAPPING] Teague: I-I would agree. Salih: Oh, 150 an hour would be$2 right? Teague: I would agree. $3. Bergus: I really want to disagree.I mean,I-I-yeah,I just think it's such a good deal for- [OVERLAPPING] Teague: It is. Bergus: For the convenience and I think it would increase turnover which is probably the primary complaint. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 58 Teague: Yeah. Alter: What about the,um-I mean, so I recognize the-the-our values and- and where we're going.I'm also thinking very commonsensically and pragmatically. To come to downtown,sometimes not to be a tourist,not to shop and eat,but say, stop at, [OVERLAPPING]hang on, stop at the library, drop your books off,but all of those are done. So you need like 15 minutes tops,right?And all the parking around there would get up to$3 for a minimum hour. You're not allowed to say-to park-to put in money for,parking meters around downtown is clearly stated,the minimum that you pay for an hour,even if you're only there for 10 minutes. So if it goes up to$3 an hour- Bergus: There's a ramp half a block from the library. Alter: To drop off books and be in and out in 10 minutes?Now you've created like close to,there's 25 minute. Bergus: A bunch of spots right there that are free. Dunn: If you put coins and you can get less an hour. [OVERLAPPING] Alter: I do this all the time.I like the library,the turnover. They're-yes,they're very popular,but- Bergus: They take your chance or you pay your three bucks? Salih:No.But Megan,don't we have-the library have like those take. [OVERLAPPING] Alter: They-they have one.No,they don't have 15 minutes. [OVERLAPPING]. Bergus: They have a whole bunch of- Alter: They don't-they don't turnover in 20 minutes. They say they should,they don't.Maybe that's where the citations come from. I'm not arguing at all with saying like I agree with the recommendations.I'm merely putting in a certain amount of like before we all just go. Yeah, there are some instances in which people want to do some errands where it's like a zip in and zip out and it's taking half an hour to find somewhere to park, somewhere to-to do a five minute errand.And I'm just saying$3 to do a 5-10 minute errand is something that,maybe there could be like one small bank that could of where there's parking where that could be premium, and it is. It's quick turnover and if it doesn't happen,man,there's a citation and it's not a warning. I don't know. But I'm just saying that that's- Bergus: We also want. Salih: I really can't understand what you're saying,Megan,but you know sometime even if we said that the parking by the,you know,library should be less,but all the time,the other people who are not going to the library will be parking there forever.Unless we just said this is for the library use only. Alter: Something like that,whatever. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 59 Salih:But-but this is going-is not going to help if we just,you know,make the whole things-the whole meters less because of the library. Bergus:But we really want to incentivize. Alter:No-no-no-no,I see your point. I see your point fully. Bergus: We want to incentivize changing people's behavior. And I think the driving downtown and stopping somewhere for five minutes or,you know, scooping the loop for 20 minutes to look for a spot is what we're trying to disincentivize. So I-I think,you know,you-you consult- like if we want to minimize the number of vehicle trips,right,then we can do that financially.We can say, well,you know,you're not just going to go to the library. You do need to plan more. So it's worth the$3 because you're going to be doing multiple errands instead of just that one thing. Or,I mean,as someone who's shifted from driving to busing and biking,like,it-it takes a- a change in how you think about coming into the central business district and how you think about,you know,what am I going to do when I'm there. And I think for our library in that spot,we really should be disincentivizing the zip in with your car and zip out. Moe: Can you talk a little bit?I-I just want to get a sense the best I could. So I talked to,of course,the downtown district,about how are the downtown businesses feeling about this and what do they know about it and how do they feel about it.And,you know,there's been a-a long effort to get to this effort as I understand and just discussions with them about they'll buy into the increases that are into the budget and they're actually okay with it because we're getting advanced cleaning downtown because there's-there's-there's some benefits to them. And sort of they feel like they've,you know,they worked hard to get buy in for increases. And I feel like that discussion probably took a while and now we're sort of saying,well,let's just do more and more and maybe we can wait.Maybe we could wait a year. I-I. Bergus: You're not going to be able to lift it again in a year. It's-it's-I mean,that's the political part,right? Is if we're going to do it,we're not going to go back to this well,in a year. Teague: I do wonder if,um,you know,if there is an option for the meter to be calibrated for 30 minute, um,increments. Um,because there are some mornings right where there is not a lot of cars downtown and it's- it's eight o'clock to nine o'clock or something. And you do want to just nun in somewhere quick So that's a question that I think,um,I would be interested in learning if we can,um, adjust,you know,just adjust from an hour to 30 minutes,but still that would be 150. So I-I think,um,well,what I'm saying is if we-if it's in 30 minute increments- Alter: Yeah. Teague: Then it would be 30 minutes per 150. Again,I think our rates are really cheap. People come here and they're like,oh my god,this is great. So-. Salih: Yeah. Teague: And-and again,we're in a tight budget season,uh,we need to figure out how,um,to meet some of our climate action goals which,you know,having the fair free,um,how-how are we going to fund that? So I-I feel like this is-this meet some of those goals that we have. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 60 Salih: Do you mean less than 1 hour, 150 an hour and a half. Teague: Ahalf hour. Half hour Dunn: 150,$3 dollar three is what you he is saying. Fruin: So we-we- Salih: Five minutes that means you are unavailable.. Fruin:We spent a lot of time.I don't remember when we went through the Washington Reconstruction and thinking about meter times.And-and this comes up on a fairly regular basis with businesses downtown.Um,every business would program those meters a little bit differently if it were up to them,right?You might have,um,a- a bank or a law firm that may rely more on quick in and out than say a restaurant. You know,if you're going to go to-to lunch,you know,we hear from a lot of the restaurants that say,boy,it'd be nice to have an hour and-a-half,right?That hour is just a little too short, so it's really hard to tailor your meters to-to meet all the needs. We try to find that happy medium,um, and the other piece that I heard,you know,when it comes to library,um, what is nearly impossible to enforce is,um,parking for a particular use because you have to witness that person go into a different use.I mean,it's really becomes a surveillance exercise with-with enforcement,which we really don't want to do.And that's why those library spaces maybe aren't as effective at turning over as you would hope with-with the signage that they have. So,um,I'm sorry if I'm taking you off,but as you get down the rabbit hole of parking meters,just know that,um,well,I think the downtown district in general is supportive of where we are proposing,um,I understand there's going to be a lot of different viewpoints as-as this starts to surface.And you're going to hear either the whole range from I'm comfortable to,absolutely not, I'm never coming downtown again. Dunn: I'm comfortable with that. Alter: [OVERLAPPING] For what? Harmsen:I guess one question I do have,um- Dunn:Receiving the feedback Harmsen:If we go beyond the proposals in terms of the increases,does that have,uh,any sort of,um, effect two different kinds of effects I just want to know about. I don't really know that would have this,but I'd be curious to know.Uh,one is,again, sort of want to make sure we're not cutting off, you know,doing something negative for the flow of business because that also impacts our-our budget bottom line. The other one, for people that are on a more limited income,uh,you know,if we raise,you know,the-the rates from$2 to$3,that's-I mean,that's-I mean,yeah. At-at what point do we go from just influencing and nudging people to something to making something where maybe they're not on a bus route,maybe they've got accessibility issues,whatever,and making it whatever it might be that would make it price them out, like,you know,or just make it an undue burden. Like it's- [OVERLAPPING] if you see what I'm saying like I don't know that I have the answer to that but those are-those are the things I'm mulling,right?Those are the things I'm thinking about. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 61 Bergus: I think that goes to the mayor's point about how cheap our parking is,right?We have people who come to this community or who live in this community,who go to other communities who understand that. We have a metropolitan downtown where you do all the activities that you would do in a downtown city,and it's very cheap to park And remember,I-my business every day has on street parking right in front of it and I do an hour appointments. So an hour at the meter is not enough,so I get a lot of feedback from people who come into my office every day about the on street parking and I'm very favorable to increasing the rate, and I-it's not-yeah. So I-I didn't realize I felt so strongly,but I do. Salih: I think,if the down-as you said,downtown,mostly buying into this and we don't want to make it super hard,maybe let's just go,it's a propose,that's what I think. Teague: One-one thing I wanted to add is the parking ramps. So I can't remember what event was happening downtown,but there-there was a push for people to go to the Harrison Street parking, um,because it's often available. And- and-an the distance from there to,you know,kind of the- the Ped mall,um,what-what I guess mentally seems like it's so far away is actually really quick. And so I did at one time,and oftentimes,um,I will park over there. If it's a festival or whatever, downtown is easier to get in and out,you don't have to. So again, and we're talking about it is a psychological[OVERLAPPING] and also we have our one hour still free in the park and ramps. I do think that now will be the opportunity for us to kind of do it all at one time than to come back, you know,in a little bit because we have a two year pilot program which is already,I mean,we have to talk budget this-this fall for that. So I think now will be the time. And again,I know that the-we're going a little bit above and beyond the staff recommendation but I would be comfortable with the$2 in the parking ramps after the first hour free,and then$3 on the street parking.But I would like to know if we can do the 30 minute increments for 150. Fruin: So still the hour max,but 30 minute increments. Alter: Is that just a programming situation within the meters themselves? Fruin:Yeah. I mean,I think it gets because at some point the processing fees,you know,start to-to- Bergus: Don't we pass those onto the drivers now? Fruin:We do if you,um,use Park Mobile. If you use a credit card,we do not. Teague: Again,I think we're going up in,you know,rates. So yeah,still the one hour max,but the 30 minute increments? Harmsen:Mr.Mayor,would you still keep the two tier system where the$3 just for the premium spots in 150 or$2 just for the further out ones,or what were you thinking? Teague: Exactly what you just stated. Harmsen: One-fifty or$2 for the further out ones? Teague: For the further out ones,150.I think because it's not-. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 62 Harmsen:I'm-I'm thinking right now over by Lynn Street where you don't have a-a parking ramp handy in-in those spots there by bloom,kind of between Bluebird and Georges,like you know, 150 sounds-I mean,I'm fine with that.I was just curious what you were thinking, so- Teague: If we want to do simplicity in having some equitable numbers just easy across the board,then we can even over there go with$2. Um,I think it's still a reasonable deal,um yeah. Harmsen:I don't have a strong feeling. That's just curious. Teague: Yeah. Moe: I'm convinced actually,by Councilor Bergus saying we're not going to come back to the well on this in two years. So if we can all not come back to the well in two years on this,then I'm on board. Like,let's just be done with it,take the band aid off,and three or four years maybe we have to talk about it again.But what Mayor Teague outline makes sense to me. Dunn: Yeah, same here. Teague: Do-do we want to learn about the 30 minutes,if it can be calibrated,or are people comfortable with that, especially given Councilor Alters,you know,dash in,dash out? Alter: I'm being one of those,I-I recognize what we want to be doing.I'm also feeling it's important simply to point out how there's going to be reactions. Bergus: Absolutely. Alter: And I'm pointing it out because there are going people who are going to be very unhappy about having to pay$3 and I understand the incentivization to not use a car,but I'm also aware of people having very busy lives and trying to run a bunch of errands so that they can pick up their kids,get the groceries,do this. You know,it's like,it's not simply a matter of like,oh,I just feel like dashing here. It's a matter of trying to maximize your time as well. Bergus: [WHISPERING] I know. Alter: I know you know. I'm just saying that I'm just pointing it out because we have aloud chorus,and for the-for very good reasons about saying,yes, let's take the band aid off. Another way to look at it,and I'm fine with-I actually appreciate Mayor Teague's sort of slight modifications. Um,but I was like,the other thing is like,well,if you're a lobster boiling,you don't-you know,if it's incremental,but I-I don't think it's worth having the argument.I am convinced,but I really would like to see if there could be the 30 minutes so that there is an opportunity for some people who don't wish to- Harmsen:No,that makes sense. I mean- Alter: -pay$3 to do what could be an errand. Harmsen:I think at the times I'm doing something fast like that. If I'm coming through downtown earlier in the day and I want to pop in and get a cup of coffee,that's already going to cost me five bucks. I don't know that I wanted to make it$8 but if I have a half hour option,that still sounds okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 63 Moe: So can I add one little?Is it possible that we can sign our meters so that people are really darn clear that the ramp is cheaper? [OVERLAPPING] One of the things I think we keep coming back to is you just want people to drive right to the ramp. Teague: Yeah. Moe: And like you said,leave the premium spots for people who are willing to pay the premium.But- Fruin:You can our experience with-with any signage downtown is that it becomes white noise after a period of time,right?Like nobody reads the-the no wheels on the sidewalk signs anymore that have been up for 15 years,right?And the meters tend to have that.We just put new stickers on the meters,uh,when we replace the heads.And my guess is they're effective for a little bit and then they just want to blend in. Yes. The-the-I shouldn't dismiss it. Yes- Moe:No.No I mean. Fruin:I think you should take that opportunity. Moe: I'm looking at a Park Mobile receipt right now. Can we ask them to include that on the receipt? Teague: Yeah. Dunn: And free buses? Teague: Yeah. I mean- Bergus: Oh,yeah. Teague: I do want to read. [OVERLAPPING] Bergus: And- and we're not talking about-oh,I'm sorry.We're not talking about changing the hours of enforcement,correct? Fruin: Correct. Bergus: So just everyone remember, it is free to park on the street downtown after 06:00 P.M.,and all day Sunday. Alter: The two in the morning. Teague: Yeah. So it does sound like a majority is comfortable.And I guess the-we do want to learn about the 30 minute increments, so maybe we can have that at our next meeting. Um,I do want to get us out of here,uh,soon.Is there-. Alter: I want to make good decisions beyond this. Teague: Yeah. Yep. I think again,we'll pick up some more of our work session items at our February 6 meeting. Anything else for today? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024 Page 64 Salih: If we are going to postpone those two like items?Nothing.No.Yeah. Teague: It's going to come back Staff is bringing us more information on those.All right. We are adjourned. Bergus: Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of January 24, 2024