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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-07-16 Council minutes r •- ®, CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: July 24, 2024 To: Mayor and City Council From: Kellie Grace, City Clerk Re: Council Work Session, July 16, 2024 — 3:30 p.m. at City Hall in Emma J Harvat Hall Council: Alter, Bergus, Dunn, Harmsen, Moe, Salih (via Zoom), Teague Staff: Fruin, Lehmann, Goers, Grace, Kilburg-Varley, Knoche, Havel, Dumachi, Rummell, Ralston, Bothell, Sitzman, Liston, Lyon USG: Monsivais (A transcription is available in the City Clerk's Office and the City website.) 1. City Hall and Public Safety headquarters space need study update City Manager Fruin provided a brief recap of past discussions and steps taken since those discussions. Justin Bishop and Sophie Donta, OPN Architects, presented a PowerPoint on the following: • Process Recap • Design Concepts - Total Replacement - Addition + Renovation • Preliminary Cost Estimate - Option 1 - Option 2 • Next Steps City Manager Fruin noted costs for repairs and patching of the current building. Individual Council members asked questions and expressed their views. Fire Chief Lyon and Public Works Director Knoche provided additional information. City Manager Fruin discussed next steps and timelines. Action: Staff will move forward with engagement with Johnson County to explore mutual interest in a joint public safety facility and will also begin to contemplate Fire Station land acquisition and options for temporary office space needs. 2. Review preliminary study and recommendation on Dodge and Governor 2-way street convers ion Jeff Held, Strand Associates, presented a PowerPoint on the following: • Introduction and Project Background • Data Review - Two-Way Volumes - Typical Section-Existing/Proposed One-Way - Typical Section-Two-Way with on-street bike lanes - Typical Sections July 16, 2024 Page 2 Speeds and the Pedestrian and Bike Environment - Safety: Cash Data shows an Average Crash History - Economic Development/Redevelopment • Jurisdictional Implications • Project Costs and Impacts - Dodge Street Reconstruction Schedule - Summary - Recommendation Individual Council members asked questions and expressed their views. City Manager Fruin provided additional information. Action: Staff will proceed with planning the reconstruction of a one-way Dodge Street with the State of Iowa. No further analysis of a two-way conversion is needed. 3. Update related to the new tobacco permit moratorium City Attorney Goers summarized the memo (IP4) from the July 11 Information packet which laid out regulatory framework and potential solutions, noting Council discussion should be centered around public health aspects and the mitigation of public health harms that come with tobacco use. Individual Council members asked questions and expressed their views. City Attorney Goers and City Manager Fruin provided additional information. Johnson County public Health Educator, Susan Vileta, provided information regarding the public health impact of tobacco sales. Action: Staff will develop a framework for a hybrid approach to tobacco regulations that includes a hard cap at the current number of permittees coupled with 500 ft. distance regulations between permit holders and between permit holders and public/private school sites including both K-12 and higher education institutions. All permittees will be treated the same regardless of their percentage of tobacco sales. Staff will additionally develop an ordinance that restricts the sale of Kratom. (Recess to Formal meeting at 5:45 p.m. — Return to Work Session at 9:35 p.m.) 4. Clarification of Agenda Items — No discussion. 5. Information Packet Discussion rJune 20, June 27, July 3, July 111 June 20 - no discussion. June 27 - no discussion. July 3— no discussion. June 11 1. (IP6 - Memo from City Clerk: Taxicab Regulations — Color Scheme) Councilor Moe asked for Council support for staff's recommendation to remove the color scheme regulation for taxicabs. Councilors supported the removal. Action: Staff will prepare an ordinance that removes the color scheme requirement for taxicabs. July 16, 2024 Page 3 2. (IP5 — Pending City Council Work Session Topics) Mayor Teague noted the upcoming work session topics for August 6th. Councilor Dunn asked if there was interest to add a work session topic to the pending list on food insecurities in the community. Councilors agreed it should go on the next Joint Entities meeting agenda for discussion. Action: Staff will note Council's desire to add 'food insecurity discussion' to a future joint entities meeting agenda. Mayor Teague noted the letter in the late handouts from Escucha Mi Voz regarding the PRO Housing grant and asked Councilors if there was agreement to have the City Manager's office and Neighborhood and Development Services reach out to them and discuss the application that was submitted. Mayor Teague noted that he and Mayor Pro Tem Salih could be present for the discussion. Councilors supported staff reaching out to the organization. City Attorney Goers provided additional information. Action: Staff will work with the Mayor to schedule an outreach meeting with Escucha Mi Voz. Councilor Alter asked if there was interest to discuss Downtown District employee parking discounts. City Manager Fruin provided information on a request for a Downtown evening parking permit geared towards workers that City staff was already looking into. Councilor Alter stated that took care of her question and withdrew her request. Mayor Teague suggested shifting the order of the work session agenda to allow University of Iowa Student Government (USG) updates, Clarification of Agenda Items, and Information Packets to be at the top of the agenda. Councilors agreed to the shift of agenda items. Action: The work session agenda will be restructured to move USG, clarification of agenda items, and IP review to the top. 6. University of Iowa Student Government (USG) Updates. Matthew Monsivais, USG Liaison presented updates. 7. Council updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees No updates. Adjourn 9:47 p.m.