HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-19 TranscriptionPage 1
Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Dunn (6:26pm), Harmsen, Moe, Salih, Teague,
Staff Present: Fruin, O'Brien, Lehmann, Goers, Grace, Knoche, Havel, Sovers, Olson, Yoder,
Willis
Roll Call
Teague: All right. Welcome to the City of Iowa City's Formal,meeting on November 19, 2024. It is just
after 6:00 P.M. I'm going to call this meeting to order. [Roll Call] Welcome to everyone that is,
uh, here present in your city hall. To those,uh, that are virtual, we welcome you as well.
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2. Proclamations
2.a National Apprenticeship Week
Teague: We're going to move on to items 2, which is proclamations. We have 2.a National Apprentice
Week. (reads proclamation) And receiving this is a lot of individuals, uh, that is here with us. Uh,
those that are going to speak, I invite you up at this time.
Eckardt: Thank you. Hi. I'm Cole. Um, I'm currently a first year apprentice with the IBW Local 405. Um,
and I think that apprenticeship program is a great way for people to be able to get paid while they
learn and be able to have, like, a good career that will be fulfilling and will kind of see them into
their adult lives. Um, you know, I originally started out going to college. I went to Kirkwood. I
got a two year science degree. Um, and I started working as a lab technician just to kind of find
that it wasn't really my thing personally. Um, and I kind of wanted to do something that I was
working with more with my hands. And, um, so the pre apprenticeship program, um, that the
Labor Center puts on, uh, really helped, um, guide me in to Union apprenticeship program, and
really helped, um, kind of show me what it was like working in the trades. Um, so I knew going
into it, that it was definitely something that I wanted to do and wanted to pursue as a career. Um,
and even now as an apprentice, uh, graduating the pre apprenticeship program, um, the Labor
center still helps me with their, um, leadership class, uh, Stepping Up for Iowa's Future. Um, and
I am very grateful for the opportunities that it has brought to me. So thank you so much for
funding that program.
Teague: Thank you. Welcome.
Smith: First, I want to say good evening, everybody.
Teague: Good evening.
Smith: My name is Escalade Smith. I'm with Local 263, as well as the stepping up for Iowa City's, uh,
future or Stepping Up for Iowa Future. Um, I also- I was also a part of the, uh, Labor Center
program as well. And, uh, prior to getting into the trades, I just started to work right after high
school and everything. And, um, I kind of just got stuck because I just wanted to be a part of
something that would allow me to advance and give me just, you know, constant opportunities for
evolution. And that's why I got into the trades. And I just want to say thank you because, uh, if it
wasn't for that labor center, I probably would still be working a job that I hate. And, uh, I want to
just say- I want to take this time to just encourage anybody that maybe working a job that they
aren't, you know, the biggest fan of or aren't feeling satisfied from, uh, give the trades an option.
Give the trades an opportunity. Yh, specifically for young kids who may be still in high school,
who may be, uh, or in college, who may be apprehensive on going to college. Uh, I would say,
give the trades a chance as well. And, uh, I just want to say, thank you.
Teague: Great. Thank you.
Washington: Hello. My name is Jasper Washington. I'm a third year out of 1260 here in Iowa City.
Carpenter. Um, I'd just like to say thank you to everybody involved in the program. It's because
of them that, um, I'm able to do something that brings me peace and prosperity and I'm really
grateful for that. So, I encourage anybody who's thinking about it to at least give it a shot. So
thanks again.
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Teague: Thank you.
Garcia: Hi, my name is Jesus Garcia. I'm with the Local 263 Sheet Metal workers. I also want to say
thank you for putting on the Labor center with Robin. She helped us out. Uh showed us the
process of how many trades there are and how many people need- how many companies need
tradesmen. So she gave us an option. So I choose sheet metal. So it's a career that I like,
providing, uh, good wages for me and my family and the benefits. So I want to say thank you for
the day as well.
Teague: Thank you.
Ralph: Hey, I'm Christian Ralph, and I'm a commercial Wireman for Hake Electric, and I'm working on
Steinler, the Orthopedic clinic down in or over in North Liberty. And I always wanted to work
with my hands. And so I kind of always knew I was wanting to be working through the trades.
The pre apprenticeship program brought light on electrician because I've always wondered how it
worked and going to see the JATC center. I was like, yeah, this is definitely what I want to do.
And I made connections that, you know, I wouldn't have made because my family's not part of
any trade. And yeah. I'm very grateful for everything that Robin's done that you guys done. And
so yeah.
Teague: Great. Thank you.
Taylor: Hi, my name is Dayne Taylor. I'm a Union Iron worker for Local 89, and I have the pleasure
working in Iowa City at the Children's Hospital for AWS, and I recently turned out earlier this
year. We have a three year program as an iron worker, and It's been- I'm thankful to be an iron
worker, and the apprenticeship has been amazing. You could have little to zero experience, and
they give you the tools and knowledge to give you a successful career. So any individual that
wants to pursue a career in the Union, uh, apprenticeships are important. I mean, the one thing
that stuck out to me and will last a long time is the safety. Safety is a huge role in my life, and on
the job site because everybody wants to go home safe. So thank you for having us.
Teague: Thank you. Welcome.
Clark -Bennett: Good evening. I'm Robin Clark -Bennett, Director of the Labor Center at the University of
Iowa. And I'm here tonight to join you in celebrating the outstanding Building Trades registered
apprenticeship training centers in our area. I really want to underscore how critically important
the full support and involvement of the Cedar Rapids -Iowa City Building Trades Council has
been in the success of this program. Um, and I want to thank, of course, the City of Iowa City for
support of this quality pre apprenticehip program that links Iowa City residents with these career
pathways. Our pre apprenticehip programs, an exciting multi year partnership between the Labor
Center, the City of Iowa City, Cedar Rapids -Iowa City, Building Trades Council, Dream City and
New Creations International Church. And it has three main components. We conduct year round
outreach with schools, non profits, and entrusted local spaces to ensure that awareness of these
high quality career opportunities reaches across the city, including in communities that are
currently underrepresented in trades. Our 5 year- 5 week apprenticeship readiness course prepares
up to 30 residents a year with the knowledge, connections, and certifications to help them enter
and succeed in registered apprenticehip training programs that can sometimes be highly
competitive. Um, and we provide ongoing support for our graduates to remove barriers to their
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success, helping them with testing, applications, and communication, with apprenticeship, um,
leaders, as well as starter tools from our tool ending library. We're really proud to report we've
had incredible response to this program. Um, last year's five week program had 34 applicants for
a class of 30, 100% were from groups classified as underrepresented in the trades, young workers,
veterans, people of color, um, people with disabilities and women, of 29 who attended the class,
um, 28 of them completed all the requirements for graduation. And I just want to say that's an
outstanding, um, graduation rate for a voluntary five week program, um, you know, that's off
hours without a stipend. Um, and overall, including the previous years program, 42 Iowa City
residents have graduated and our placement rate is 45% and growing. Um, several of our
graduates, as you saw are becoming leaders in their trades and participating in a new leadership
program we, um, have with CWJ called Stepping for Iowa Future, as well as the Iowa Women
and Trades Network. So I'll just say quickly, our next five week course is February 8 to March
13, we're working hard to publicize this opportunity. I want to thank Jack Brooks for the
incredible video and for the people who appeared in it, um, to get the word out. We already have
38 qualified applicants for a goal of 30 slots, and have confirmed 28 of them. So it's an incredible
sign about the strong demand for the program. And I just want to really underscore this would not
be possible without City Iowa City Funding, Pastor Tony Smith and Fred Newell, as critical
community partners, and, you know, the incredible volunteer support of Building Trades unions
and apprenticeship programs, as well as I just want to stop in by commending these amazing
people who any employer is very lucky to have on their job sites. And we're very lucky as Iowa
City residents to have them building your future. So thank you.
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2.b National Injury Prevention Day
Teague: Thank you. And thanks to all of you for attending. Robin, if you don't mind just writing down the
names of all those that spoke and handing it to our city clerk, that'll be so helpful, whenever you
get a chance. Yeah, that works. All right, great. We're going to move on to 2.b, which is National
Injury Prevention Day. And this will be read by our very own Mayor Pro Tern Mazahir Salih.
Salih: (reads proclamation)
Salih: Now, therefore, I, Mazahir Salih, on behalf of Bruce Teague Mayor,of Iowa City, do a humbly
proclaiming, November 18, 2024 to be National Injury Prevention Day in Iowa City. And here to
accept is Pam and Ellen. Ella come pass.
Salih: Thank you.
Hoogerwerf. Good evening. I'm Pam Hoogerwer£ I'm the program director of Pediatric Injury Prevention
and Outreach at the Stead Family Children's Hospital. I feel like I need to give a special shout out
to the tradesman who said he's working on our hospital. You do fantastic work. We thank you for
what you do. Beside me is Ella Meeuwsen, who is a forth- is a senior student here, undergraduate
student here at Iowa, that is going to pursue a career as a physician assistant in her future. And
she's been an instrumental part of helping us with this awareness campaign on National Injury
Prevention Day. This campaign is in its fifth year. We've received other proclamations, so I want
to thank Mayor Teague and the rest of the City Council for supporting this proclamation. This is -
this is a national campaign that's led by many children's hospitals across the country, and we're
leading efforts to hopefully prevent unintentional injury- injuries to kids. As you heard in the
proclamation, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death and disability from birth to 44
years of age. And the sad part of it is is so many of those injuries are- are preventable. Um, and
the- the vast majority of them actually are preventable. And we're not- we're not asking parents to
wrap their kids in bubble wrap, although sometimes that's a great answer, right, and a great
solution, but examples like, put a helmet on your head when -you ride a bike to prevent a
traumatic brain injury in case there- there's a crash. You know, use the right type of car seat or
booster seat or certainly seat belts when you're riding in a vehicle to prevent- prevent an injury,
and then prevent access, um, and store dangers inside of a home securely so that little hands can't
get into those- into those dangers. Our mission is to prevent a family from having to endure -
endure a significant injury or possibly death to a child. That's our main goal at the hospital is
prevent those injuries from happening. Again, we want to thank you for your support.
2.c Transgender Day of Rememberance
Teague: Thank you both. 2.c is Transgender Day of Remembrance. (reads proclamation)
Teague: Now, therefore, I Bruce Teague, Mayor of Iowa City, do hereby proclaim November 20th, 2024,
to be Transgender Day of Remembrance in Iowa City. And I see two individuals here to accept
this proclamation. I see Lucky, as well as Doug, who is over. Um, he is our Human Rights
Commissioner chair. And so I'll invite either one of you up at this time.
Kiche: Thank you for recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance. My name is Lucky Kiche. My
pronouns He,They. I'm a teacher in Iowa City School District, and I'm here on behalf of Iowa
City Pride. The most recent study projects that this year, at least 350 transgender people were
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killed. Last year's total was 321 about this significant increase is detrimental, especially in the
14% increase of murders, 910, 93% were Black and Brown trans people. According to Angelo
Pero Zabala, it is crucial to remember that behind every data point in this report, there is a real
person whose life was cut short because they were simply trying to live their life as their most
authentic selves. We use this day and every day to remember, celebrate, cherish our siblings to
protect trans lives. Immediate action to counter the surge in anti -trans hate speech and attacks will
be crucial as we enter our future. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you. Welcome.
Kollasch: Hi. My name's Doug Kollasch. Pronouns are He, Him. I serve as the Chair of the Iowa City
Human Rights Commission. As the proclamation says, the Transgender Day of remembrance has
existed since 1999. Since that time, there has been a dramatic increase in the violence harassment,
bullying of transgender individuals. Not just at a individual level, but from the government itself,
as stated in that proclamation. In the past month or so, millions of dollars of- were spent on ads
targeting transgender- the transgender community, as I'm sure you all saw on television. The
transgender community at this time is in the cross -hairs and is feeling a tremendous amount of
anxiety and fear. And rest assured we can see that, that trend will continue. We will see more
bills. We will see more violence towards our transgender neighbors. Therefore, it's very critically
important that we work to ensure that everybody in Iowa City is welcome, that all are welcome in
this community. Proclamations are great. They increase awareness, but in the past 25 years, we
keep seeing an increase. Proclamations aren't enough. It's time that we step up and that we show
the transgender community that we will defend their rights, and that Iowa City will be a bright,
shining light for those individuals. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you. And thanks to everyone that came for the proclamations.
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3. Consent Calendar 3-7
Teague: All right. We're going to move on to our consent agenda. We have Items 3-7, but we're going to
do a separate consideration for Item 6.c, but could I have a motion to approve the consent agenda
Items 3-7 excluding 6.0
Moe: So moved.
Harmsen: Second.
Teague: All right. So moved by Moe.
Moe: Moe
Teague: Second by Harmsen.
Salih: Harmsen.
Teague: All right. Anyone from the public would like to address any items that is 3-7 excluding 6.0
Since no one in person or online, Council discussion. [Roll Call] Motion passes 6-0.
6.c So.6 SSMID FY26 Preliminary Budget - Motion to accept the proposed FY26
preliminary budget for the South of 6 Business District, as approved by the South of 6
Advisory Board.
Teague: We are going to move on to item Number 6.c for separate consideration. And can I get a motion
to approve 6.0
Dunn: So moved.
Alter: Second.
Teague: Moved by Dunn, second by Alter. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? Since no
one in person or online. Council discussion. [Roll Call] Motion passes 6-0.
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8. Community Comment
Teague: Okay. We are at item Number 8, which is Community Comment. This is an opportunity for the
public to comment on matters that are not in our regular agenda. We wanted to see a raise of
hands of those that would like to comment on anything during this period. Okay. I see two. Yes.
All right. Well, welcome you to come up. You have up to 30 minutes to speak and just know that
Council cannot reply to you during this time. Welcome.
Ross: Hello, Council, Mayor. Thank you for having us.
Teague: Name and City of your -
Ross: My name is Brandon Ross. I'm from Iowa City. I would like people to just stop for this moment and
consider that our government has just given the okay to- to send weapons, to send bombs into
interior Russia into Moscow. And as we all know, there's been a conflict going on. Some of us
know that it's been going on since 2014. The US has been involved since then. Russia, uh, got
involved in 2022. Negotiations between those two countries were proposed for weeks right after
Russia's involvement, but the US stopped those negotiations. Boris Johnson was sent into Istanbul
in March of 2022 to not accept any conditions. The US has sent in $200 billion worth of arms.
And Antony Blinken said right now between now and the next presidential term, he'll send in
everything he can. Joe Biden signed a way that Ukraine can send bombs into Russia, which is
reckless. It doesn't matter. If you like Joe Biden or you don't like Joe Biden. It doesn't matter. If
we send those bombs in, which we've never done before, we have never bombed Moscow. It will
be US arms, and it will be US technicians and engineers involved, and Russia has said that they
will consider that as a call to war. We will be in World War III. This is important to take this
moment to consider this. It is reckless. There's no reason to do this. It endangers the whole world.
Already, there's a million casualties from both Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine, but it will
get a lot worse if that's allowed to happen. So no matter what side of the ledger you feel like,
you're on, this is one thing that cannot happen. We cannot bomb a fellow nuclear country and
think that everything is going to be all right. It will not be. Game over. So I plead with people.
This is the time to call the White House. I don't care whether you're Republican or Democrat. To
call Congress. It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican and protest this action and
stop the potential destruction of the world.
Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from?
Wiedemeier: Audrey Wiedemeier: Iowa City. Good evening, Mayor, Council members, and City staff.
2023 has been a big year for the bike library. We've expanded our staff. We've expanded our
reach and our impact. And this December, we're celebrating a major milestone, our 20 year
anniversary. To honor this occasion, we're commissioning some artwork where we got our start at
the John Wilson Sporting Goods Store, where the Chauncy is now. And for the first decade, the
City of Iowa City rented us this space for a dollar a year. We appreciate the city saw our potential
and gave us the opportunity to grow. Today, I'm here to say thank you to the City of Iowa City
and to the Climate Action Outreach staff for your continued support and guidance as we look
forward to the next 20 years. This year, the City of Iowa City named the bike library, a resiliency
hub pilot site, and with it is coming significant funding over the next two years. Some may
wonder why a bike shop as a resiliency hub. There's trans- there's transportation piece, of course,
if all else fails, we can fix your bike and get you where you need to go, uh, but it's more than that.
If you've ever been to the bike library, and I'm sure the city is recognizing this, the way we do
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what we do is fundamentally aligned with the goals of resiliency. A resiliency hub is defined as,a
trusted, public community space that provides engagement and resources in times of need. And
that's exactly the role we strive to play every single day. People are at the heart of everything we
do from supporting our volunteers that make our opera- operations possible to serving patrons
across our community. Our programs and services are designed to benefit everyone, especially
the most vulnerable populations. The city has recognized, again, our potential as a trusted
community resource. This support comes at a critical time for us as we mobilize to tackle some
ambitious projects in the coming years, like solar installation, sustainable landscaping, storm -
water management, and, um, developing our educational materials. These projects serve a
functional need for us, but they also will serve as a valuable educational opportunity for residents
of Iowa City. We serve over 4,500 people every year, to show people what it means to build
climate change resiliency because that is not something that we all are that familiar with even
today. So thank you Iowa City for believing in our mission and empowering us to grow into a
stronger, more resilient resource for our community.
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9. Planning & Zoning
9.a Zoning Code Amendment -Tobacco Sales Oriented Retail Uses - Ordinance
amending Title 14, entitled "Zoning Code", to address tobacco sales oriented retail uses.
(REZ24-0006)
Teague: Thank you. Before we move on, I just wanted to acknowledge that, uh, for 6.c Councilor Bergus,
um, had recused herself for 6.c on our consent agenda, and, uh, Councilor Dunn joined the
meeting. So I just wanted to make that note. We're gonna move on to Planning and Zoning
Matters, 9A Zoning Code Amendment, Tobacco sales oriented Retail uses, ordinance amending
Title 14 entitled Zoning Code to address tobacco sales oriented retail uses. This is second
consideration. Uh, can I get a motion to, uh, give second consideration, please?
Dunn: So move. Dunn.
Moe: Second, Moe.
Teague: All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If you're in in -person or online,
please raise your virtual hand. Seeing no one in person or online. Council, discussion. Roll.
Alter: Is this supposed to be, oh, no. Never mind. I
Teague: Yeah. [Roll Call] Motion pass a 7-0.
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10. Regular Formal Agenda
10.a Bradford Drive Water Main Replacement Project - Resolution approving project
manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Bradford Drive Water Main
Replacement Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing
City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids.
Teague: Item Number 10 is our regular, uh, formal agenda. We're gonna go with 10.a Bradford Drive
Water Main Replacement Project, Resolution Approve and Project Manual an estimate of cost for
the construction of the Bradford Drive Water Main Replacement project. Establish an amount of
bid, security to accompany each bid. Directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders and fixing
time and place for receipt of bids. I'm gonna open up the public hearing, and welcome. All right.
Willis: Council, Mayor Teague, Michael Willis with the, uh, Iowa City Water Division, here to speak to,
uh, the, uh, Water Main, uh, revision there. On the screen, you can see that the, uh, water main
replacement on Bradford Drive, uh, will affect Bradford Drive, Louise Street, and Wayne
Avenue. That's about, uh, a four block area. The, uh, scope is to install about, uh, 2,600 linear feet
of water main. Uh, this is replacing about 2000 feet of existing 1950s and 1960s era water main.
Um, there have been a recorded 20 main breaks since 1980, um, working with distribution, I've
been out there on a couple of them, and, uh, it makes quite a mess on Bradford there, which
inhibits the ability of people to walk safely across the street to get to the school or even to the, uh,
the Mercer Aquatic Center. Um, as we go through, we'll also update and, uh, add ADA sidewalk
ramps at the affected intersections and, uh, identify service line material and tie over new copper
water line services in the right of way for about 30 residences, which will help to, uh, work
through our- the lead and copper improvements that, uh, are being mandated. Traffic impacts.
The, uh, contract work forbids work on Bradford during the school year. Uh, work will go on in
other areas, but the, uh, Bradford Drive will remain open during the school year. Don't remember
what the exact dates are right now on that. Uh, We're going to work to connect the water main on
Bradford Drive to First Avenue. This will cause a temporary, uh, traffic shift to use Southbound,
uh, dedicated left turn lane as the Northbound lane the, uh- to maintain two lanes of head to head
traffic on First Avenue. During the project phases, impacted road segments will be open to local
residents only. There'll be no through traffic in those areas. The, uh, constructions timeline and
cost, the anticipated schedule is, uh, expected to start spring and summer of, uh, 2025 with
completion by fall of 2025. The estimated construction cost comes in at $1 million., Uh, the
questions of contact information, you can contact myself, Michael Willis, the Assistant Water
Superintendent, and, uh, Alin Dumachi, as the Senior Engineer from the City Engineering. Um,
You can scan the- the QR code, and that'll take you to the Iowa City, uh, projects. Are there any
questions about what's going on?
Moe: Can you- I- I noticed in a previous slide you said that you were gonna identify service lines. I
assume you mean private service lines that connect to the water line, whether they're lead,
galvanized, or copper with lead solder. Can you- can you walk through the process if if you
identify a private service line, what- what happens?
Willis: So yeah. So as we go through, we'll be, uh, excavating the old services at the main. So in the
public right away, uh, we have service line materials, uh, most of the time, if there's a lead
service, it'll be in that section between the public owned water main and then everything after that
is the residents, uh, responsibility. So from the tap to the stop box is, uh, normally where you'll
find the lead at, and then normally that'll tie into galvanized, and all of that is the responsibility of
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the property owner. But with the project, we'll go through and we'll replace that section from the
water main with copper up to a new stop box in the right of way for that service and we'll
annotate if we remove the copper, or if we remove lead or what the material is that we removed,
and what we tied the new service line material, which will be copper up to the stop box, and what
we tied that into whether that's existing copper, existing iron or possibly even existing lead. And
then we'll go through and offer the homeowners an opportunity to, uh, utilize some of the, uh, city
offered programs to replace that lead service line at that time frame.
Moe: Okay.
Alter: I've got a question, uh, that. Sorry. Will First Avenue you- you indicated that will be impacted
some at a certain point in the- when Bradford is being worked on, correct?
Willis: Yes.
Alter: Will First Avenue be impacted when school is in session either in the beginning or near the end?
Willis: No. During the, uh- the April to that will only be impacted after school is out.
Alter: Okay.
Willis: All work on Bradford and- and the First Avenue at Bradford will not be done while school is in
session.
Alter: There will be regular service on First Avenue sort of at the cap of the - the contract.
Willis: Once school is out, then they will be tying in the Bradford main at First Avenue.
Alter: Then another question that may not be for you, it might be for Geoff, um, is I know. That there's
been a not a see change, but there's been more work on the negotiations of the contract. After
we've had some difficulties in past years with getting things done on time, will there be either
penalties or incentives to complete on time for this contract?
Fruin: I'll need some help from either Michael or the engineering team.
Willis: So there will be penalties, uh, for not finishing on time. I'm not aware of an incentive for finishing
early.
Alter: Okay. As long as we've got something in there about on time. Thank you.
Moe: One more question. Do you guys know about? I mean the challenge of these projects has always
been the private utilities that are unmarked. Do you have a sense of how problematic it is in the
stretch of road?
Willis: Having been out there several times, fixing main brakes, the locates that have been turned in are
usually reliable. There'll be utilities- other utilities- to work around during the construction
progress, but they should be clearly marked and shouldn't impact- we shouldn't hit them. The
contractor should be well aware of where they're at and be able to avoid them during the progress.
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Moe: And Nothing needs to be relocated in this project. It's just.
Willis: No.
Harmsen: Not really a question, but thank you for the planning to avoid the school year. My kids are out
of Southeast now, but I have- been I know what that drop off is like on a good day.
Willis: Yes. That was one of the contractual stipulations was that there would be no construction on
Bradford while the schools in.
Harmsen: One thought to help with the enforcement of that is that we will publicize the home telephone
number of the head contractor to the parents at Southeast. If they do try and I think that might go
a long way to make sure everybody stays on.
Willis: That could be very effect.
Teague: Thank you for posing those all in question format because these are questions for the staff. Thank
you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic. If you're online, please raise your virtual
hand. If you're present, please step forward. Seeing no one in person or online. I'm going to close
the public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please?
Moe: Moved Moe.
Salih: Second Salih.
Teague: Move by Moe, second Salih and council discussion. [Roll Call]
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10.b Court Hill Trail — Beech to Scott Replacement Project -Resolution approving project
manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Court Hill Trail — Beech to Scott
Replacement Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing
City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for receipt of bids.
Teague: Motion passes 7-0 item 10.b Court Hill Trail Beech to Scott Replacement Project. Resolution
Improvement Project manual and estimate of costs for the construction of the Court Hill Trail
Beech to Scott Replacement Project Establishme- establishing amount of bid, security to
accompany each bid. Directing City clerk to post notice to bidders, and fixing time and place for
receipt of bids. I'm gonna open the public hearing. Welcome.
Olson: Hi.
Teague: Hello.
Olson: My name is Tyler Olson. I'm with one of the civil engineers on staff with the engineering
department. Today, we're going to be talking about the Court Hill trail replacement project. This
is for a section of the Court Hill trail, uh, that is on the East side of town right across the street
from Scott Park and this is a section of the trail that's between Scott Boulevard and Beech Street.
And with this project, we're intending to replace the existing trail that's there so we're not really
intending to change the footprint or the overall concept that was already there, but we are to
replace the original trail that was installed about two decades ago or so. Just over time, the trail
has shown degradation there and just to keep the trail going for the future there, this section was
selected for replacement. With this project, we're looking at replacing the west half of the Scott
Boulevard crossing, so this will be on the Southbound lanes of Scott Boulevard, and there will be
a detour for that section, uh, then also we're gonna be replacing the connection to Beech Street
and right now, that connection is kind of an awkward configuration where Beech Street kinda
dead ends there, and the trail kinda comes in at the end of Beech Street, and it's a little awkward
to try to get around, uh, to- get onto the sidewalks or onto Beech Street itself. So with this project
there, we're going to rearrange that a little bit. It makes it a little bit .easier to access the sidewalks,
but also to get onto Beech Street itself. So with this project is kind of a little bit more Zoomed in
here. So this is gonna occur for next year, so I'll be going from the time period about March into
probably around, uh, early July, is the time period we're looking at. Uh, so, the early phase of this
project will start, uh, right around March and the intent of that is to do a little bit of tree trimming.
Now, this is not taking out the wooded area or anything. This is mainly to, uh, go after, like the
volunteer trees or the scrub brush that's grown closer to the trail in the last 20 years and that's just
to facilitate the need for getting equipment in there to repave the trail. Uh, when that's done, the
next phase will be going to Scott Boulevard, that's going to be in the early part of this project, and
buring this, this is gonna be a critical closure we'll require the contractor basically to get in and
get out as quick as they can. We're planning on a two week closure there and leading up to that,
we plan to have electronic signage out there to allow travelers who use that corridor frequently to
kinda know ahead of time that that Southbound lane will be impacted. Northbound should not be
impacted, all people can still use that route. The intent is to detour traffic onto Court Street, over
to Taft, and then down to American Legion Road, and then back to the roundabouts, uh, on
American Legion Road, and, uh, Scott Boulevard. It shouldn't be too long, but the intention is to
get about two weeks, but what we need to do that other section there.
After that's completed there, we have the contractor, we likely doing some demolition work
during the time period of Phase 2, but also during Phase 3, they'll be removing the trail. The
intention is that they're going to replace the trail with concrete and right now, the current trail is
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an asphalt pavement. We're going to replace with concrete just for the durability in the long- we
seem to have better luck with, uh, concrete pavements and all these trails. Um, with that, uh, right
now, there's not, uh, much in the line of stormwater management along this trail. Right now, it's
basically you have the creek at the lower end on the photo here and then as you go up towards the
neighborhood, it slopes uphill. And right now, if- if there's a large rainfall or even snow melt, that
water can go up onto the trail. We're looking at doing is create a gentle depression just along the
North side of the trail so that way it kind of captures a little bit of that water to try to keep it off
the trail. That's going to include some, uh, stormwater drainage that's going to have, uh, intakes
that are going to have, uh, pipes discharged to the creek there. The idea is just to try to keep the
trail open a little longer, try to keep, uh, debris from washing up on there, but also try to keep
snow melt from melting onto the trail and creating ice in the wintertime. Uh, so moving over to
the Beech Street connection. Uh, that was kind of an awkward configuration there where the trail
kind of comes up and follows along the back end of Beech Street. We're actually going to
reconfigure that, so we pull it away from the edge of Beech Street. Um, there's been some issues
where the trail currently it's been, uh, changing an elevation relative to the street pavement and
the intakes that are along the back end there, so it's actually creating an elevation difference
where people could potentially trip on that. The idea is try to pull that away, so we don't have that
issue later on. How it's going to be done. We're going to have a little bit more of our gentle curve
along the West side so that makes a little bit easier to use that connection there. Uh, kind of look
at how this trail applies to the City Strategic Plan. Uh, this focuses mostly on the impact area
mobility that's relative to this project. And with those strategies, there's just two major ones that
would apply here. Uh, one is to maintain the complete streets and also have them comfortable and
safe for all users. This project does connect to sections along Scott Boulevard and also Beech
Street, but also just having that safe and, uh, good services to walk on and bike along is important
to meeting that strategy. Uh, those sidewalk connections will be ADA compliance so make sure
we have the curb ramps, so the tech warnings and check the slopes and make sure that they're
compliant with the ADA. Uh, one of the other things we're going to be doing as well is that
currently right now, the trail is about eight feet wide. Uh, we're actually going to expand that to
10 feet wide, that tends to be a little more comfortable for users, uh, just to access the trail and
use the trail. We have two bicycles passing each other. It's get a little more room there so you
don't feel like you have to get off the side of the trail little bit to let somebody pass. Uh, one of the
other strategies there is to grow and prioritize, uh, bike and pedestrian accommodations and with
this trail, it is a beloved trail, uh, just speaking with residents who live there. It's- this is a trail that
some- a lot of people actually use, uh, for on a daily basis and as it sits right now, it's still
passable, but over time it's going to- it's likely going to keep deteriorating and we don't want to
get into a situation where that trail's deteriorated so much, we have to close the trail. This is kind
of a measure here to replace the trail so we can continue to keep using it in the future. Uh, the
trail for the construction costs, we're looking at just a little over $260,000 and we have this
funding available in the Capital Projects Fund. Um, I kind of briefly talked a little about the
schedule there, but I just kind of broke it down a little bit more as what the next steps are on this.
Pending approval of this resolution here to approve the plan- the project manual and the cost
estimate there. We're looking at issuing bid documents starting tomorrow and we're planning on
having the bid opening on December 11 of this year. Depending on what kind of bids we get
back, and if we feel that we recommend to accept an- to award a- one of the contracting bids. Um,
we're looking at the next available city council meeting which be on January 7 of next year.
Moving for the construction there, this will be limited to just next year. Well again, we're looking
at Phase 1, which is doing that tri- trimming and just kind of getting the site ready. That's going to
happen during the month of March. Uh, there will be some periodic trail closures there just to
facilitate a truck in there, but the intention is just that it's kind of more like on a daily basis
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situation. Uh, Phase 2, this is where these Southbound lane of Scott Boulevard will be removed
and replaced. Uh, that's going to be again, it will be a two week co closure period. The intention
is to have the contractor get in, do the repair work and leave as soon as they can. There is going to
be liquidated damages associated with that so if they're late, they do pay a penalty on that. Um,
with the Phase 3, this will be going on simultaneously if the contractor can schedule that in. But
the intent is that there'll be about a two to three month period. where they'll be removing the trail
and also, uh, repaving it and as well as redoing the connection at Beech Street. Uh, we're looking
at a-, uh- so the schedule has the trail being completed, uh, likely in July and that's for being able
to use the trail, uh, given that it's going to end in the mid summer, it's a little hard to do, uh,
reseed the lawns of the grass around the trail. That's going to happen a little bit later in the fall
when weather improves that we just don't have the- the hot days that are going to hurt the grass
from regrowing. Looking at a final completion date, uh, like we have it set for September 30th as
the final date to wrap up this project.
Teague: Any questions?
Bergus: Tyler, you spoke to the,uh, detour for the traffic from Scott Boulevard. What is the plan for
pedestrian bicycle detour if any?
Olson: This one here it's a little bit tricky, since that's the only trail going through that little section there,
but pedestrians can use sidewalks and pathways that go North on Scott Boulevard over to Court
Street and if you go West, you can go down, uh, Peterson. Then you can go over to Arbor and
then come back into, uh, Beech Street. There is a walking path. It's- It's a little bit of a detour
route there for somebody maybe walking, take a little longer, but at this point there, that's- that's
about the only path we have that's, uh, accessible for pedestrian use.
Bergus: Just to know if we do we normally sign those kinds of detours?
Olson: Yes, we can put signs out. We can also have like little letters or- because they kind of try to show
that there is a pathway there just to provide a little more clarity on that.
Bergus: Thank you.
Moe: Kind of a follow up to that. I'm thinking on the same thing. That- that would be to get the detour
you described would be to not take Beech to go around. What if you're coming down Scott during
construction on that wide path? Is that- will there be a pathway to get through there where you
cross the road?
Olson: The critical closure period, the West side of that, uh, crossing at Scott Boulevard, that will be
inaccessible there just because of the reconstruction work. But after that two week critical closure
period, that crossing will then open back up again.
Moe: Kind of go back.
Olson: It will be kind of a little awkward two week period there where you have to go on the East side,
Scott Boulevard to go around, but then after that two week period, in theory should be able to go
on the West side and cross over to Scott Park.
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Teague: Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic, If you're online, please raise your
virtual hand. Seeing no one in person or online. I'm going to close the public hearing. Can I get a
motion to approve, please?
Salih: So move?
Bergus: Second.
Teague: Move by Salih second by Burgus, Council discussion. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0.
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10.c Court Street Reconstruction Project- Resolution approving project manual and estimate of
cost for the construction of the Court Street Reconstruction Project, establishing amount of
bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders, and
fixing time and place for receipt of bids.
Teague: We are on to items, uh, 10.c, Court Street Reconstruction Project. Resolution Approving Project
Manual and estimate of costs for the construction of the Court Street Reconstruction project.
Establish an amount of bid, security to accompany each bid, directing city clerk to post to- to post
notice to bidders and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. I'm going to open the public
hearing. Welcome.
Yoder: Hi. My name is Ethan Yoder. I'm a Civil Engineer for the City of Iowa City and with me, I have
Michael Farr, who is with Foth, who is the design consultant for the project.
Teague: If you can use the mic please. Thank you.
Yoder: Yes. A little background on the project, um, Court Street, it is an important collector street, uh,
that grants lot of access and gets a lot of use from the East side of Iowa City to downtown, as well
as access to City High. Uh, the project limits start just West of Muscatine Avenue at Grant Street
and go to South First Avenue. Uh, the goals of this project are to improve the conditions of the
aging pavement, intersection improvements, including ADA compliant ramps and address the
aging underground utilities. Here, we just have a couple of pictures just kind of depicting the
current conditions, uh, which the pavement is approximately 6-7 inches with a 2-3 inch asphalt
overlay, which is starting to deteriorate. Uh, currently, the sidewalk is also about a foot off the
back of the curb, with the utility poles essentially on the back of curb as well. A little bit of
outreach we've done, we've had three public information meetings. We starting and the first one
was in 2021. We had a second in 2022 and a third in 2024. We do plan on having a fourth
meeting prior to construction just kind of give the residents a little bit more information. Uh,
we've also met with plenty of residents individually to address any of their specific questions to
their own property. Uh, we've also met with the private utilities, I would say, at least 20 times,
just to make sure that they were all on the same page and were able to get their utilities moved
prior to the construction. We've also made sure we met with City High to make sure we have
good coordination for them to get in and out of the school.
Fahrer: My name is Michael Fahrer, I'm the project manager on behalf of Foth. I'll just talk about the
improvements here a little bit and give some information on the construction and the staging of
the project. Overall, uh, like Ethan mentioned, full roadway, uh, replacement here. Uh, that
involves the prep in the subgrade, new sub base, uh, granular material, and then the new concrete
roadway surface. As part of this, uh, the lane width will be reduced out there, which will help
promote some traffic calming measures in that, uh, in that corridor. New sidewalk and pedestrian
facility replacements. Uh, right now, the- the sidewalk is only about a foot or two off of the back
of curb. We're going to have a parkway width of about six and a half feet that, uh, allows for
some snow storage there behind the- the curb. There will be new five foot sidewalk on both sides
of the road, the North and South sides, uh, and then new ADA ramp facilities just to bring things
up to current design standards. We'll also have, uh, a number of retaining walls along the corridor
and the main thing there, there's some yards that are -are pretty steep, uh, that are difficult, I would
say for residents to maintain. We'll have, uh, a handful of those along there. Brand new storm
sewer, uh, along the whole project right now, the- the storms about um, kind of on the- the west
third is all we have for underground storm and it's- it's definitely undersized. We're looking to
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bring everything up to current design standards with that as well, um, and that'll be throughout the
corridor. There'll be sanitary sewer replacements out there, mainly just the structures. We do have
some- some main that will be replaced, uh, as part of the project as well and then, uh, all brand
new water main, that'll be along the project limits. There will also be new traffic signals there at
the intersection of Court with, uh, Muscatine and then Court with- Court with South First
Avenue. Uh, as part of this project, we'll be doing a joint utility trench, which, uh, essentially,
right now, the utilities are overhead on- on poles and we just- we have a lot of conflicts out there,
uh, not only with the poles, just with how close they are to the back of curb, uh, also with
underground utilities. We're doing a joint trench, which will run the, uh, entire length of the
project, uh, and it'll allow a place for all the- the communication facilities to go as well as the
electric. Uh, also, that was- part of that too was we tried to reduce impacts to residents out there.
The- the right of way is very narrow so this was also, uh, something that helped- helped with that.
Uh, as I mentioned, with the- the improvements here, this is just kind of a cross -sectional view of
what the- the project will look like. Uh, we're going down to a-, 11- like, we'll have 11 foot travel
lanes, one each direction and then the- the 1.5 foot curb and gutter section. Uh, it'll be 25 feet
back of curb- the back of curb existing is about 31. Uh, as I mentioned, the six- six and a half foot
parkway width, it'll be on either side of the- the road there. Um, the storm sewer improvements,
the main trunk line will be on the South side. You kind of see the large structure there. Um,
they'll also be- be, uh, lines that will run across the road to intakes, but, uh, I just want to kind of
show the main- where the main trunk line will be, uh, as I mentioned, sanitary sewer, uh,
improvements there with- with mainly the structures. Then also the watermain, you can see, will
be on the North side of the road. The joint utility trench itself will be under the South side -
sidewalk. We have- we've had a lot of communication with utility companies and so we basically
they've worked through their design as to how many conduits they need, uh, and we've essentially
kind of sized that and designed that as part of the project.
Looking at construction here. So this project will be, um, about- well, we consider three years,
but it's about three -and -a -half, sorry, two -and -a -half. Um, the joint trench will start and that'll be
in the- the first year, we're looking to start here in 2025. And the main goal there is to get that
through the entire length of the project here. So it'll start at Muscatine, uh, and head- head east.
And the roadway portion, then we'll kind of start and follow behind that. We're only anticipating
getting from Muscatine to roughly Wales there in that first calendar year. Um, so you can kind of
see that's roughly the- the limits there. And then the detour plan, as we've got shown here, the
primary detour for the majority of the project is going to be south on Muscatine over to south
First. Um, and then that's depicted by the red linework there. And then the- the blue arrows and
the blue linework, that's going to be more of a local access, kind of a local detour. Um, there
won't be a ton of traffic on that that we're anticipating. It's just mainly for while we're staging the
intersection there of, um, Muscatine, we've got to do it half at a time, so just be able to get
residents, um, through there. And we will have- the road will be closed to through traffic, um, for
the entire project. It'll have local access only, basically maintaining access to residents, um, kind
of throughout the- the project here, but, um, you won't be able to go all the way through from
Muscatine to, uh, South First there. The 2026, so the second year of construction here, we'll be,
uh, from Wales down to Second Avenue. So that's kind of a bigger chunk of the project here for
the roadway piece. Again, the detour plan will be, uh, Muscatine to the south there over to South
First. And this chunk, it won't be completed all at one time. We have to stage this, uh, kind of in
two main- main sections, and it's to maintain access there to the school. We've worked with, uh,
City High and kind of make sure that we know what their primary access need is out there and
making sure that we at least have- have that maintained at all times. And then the- the final year
of construction, which is- this is going to be limited to, um, really when school is out during the
summer here. Uh, it's from Second Avenue through south First Avenue. And this will be a full
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closure, um, to complete this work here. Um, as you can see, the detour route for this portion will
be utilizing, uh, Rochester over to Scott and then down to Muscatine. Uh, so that will be- and the
time frame there, like I'd mentioned, is really when school is not in session. So from like that
June- early June to, um, kind of towards the end of- of August there.
Yoder: And then to tie this all back into the strategic plan. Uh, with these updates, it'll help lower
annual maintenance costs. Uh, the narrower streets do help- do aim to help lower vehicular
speeds. Uh, the 88 curb ramps will help with mobility, pedestrians or bicyclists that are using the
area. Um, and the increased parkway width will help increase snow storage, which should help
the sidewalk stay clear. Um, and it should also increase user experience by providing a larger
buffer space between the vehicles and the sidewalk. Uh, the estimated cost for both the Joint
Utility trench and the Roadway reconstruction is $9,600,000. Uh, the Bid letting for this project is
December 18th. Uh, we plan on awarding in January 7th, 2025. Uh, the Joint Utility trench, like
Michael said, is going to start in the spring of 2025 and be completed by fall of 2025. The
Roadway public utilities and the other improvements will start in the spring of 2025 and complete
in the fall of 2027. Are there any questions?
Harmsen: Yes, quick- quick compliment first. I know since, uh, Councilor Alter and I have been on here,
we've and others, uh, having this wait until Rochester was done, cause originally, this was
planned to start sooner. Um, so thank you for that. Um, any lessons learned from the Rochester
project that could be carried forward to help this one go smoother and- and stay closer to on
schedule?
Yoder: Yeah, we actually have an incentive, disincentive as part of this project. Um, I can't remember
exact numbers off top of my head, but if they get it done early, we obviously will try to pay them
extra. But we definitely will- they will incur penalties if they are behind schedule.
Moe: I'm personally very excited about the utility trench idea. It seems like that's very much responding
to some of the, at least, forward looking to some future problems. You- you talked about working
with existing utilities to make sure that they- they have a space in the trench. There's expansion
built in, too, though, right? So future utilities could come and- and they- they lease the space or
whatever from the city or just use it. I'm not sure.
Yoder: Yeah, we actually plan to actually put in some extra conduit as part of this project. So we- if other
companies do want to come in, we're at least somewhat prepared. Uh, that is a limited number,
though, so I don't know how many may potentially join in the future.
Moe: And like when somebody's done using it, like, can you make them take it out? How does that work?
They leave it, abandon it in place, all right. Well, I'm excited about that. I'm curious about the
intersection at Muscatine. I know that when you- as a pedestrian walking through that
intersection, it's weird angles, and it's- is there any improvement to that, or is it really we're stuck
with a geometry that was built?
Alter: It's a lovely characteristic, Josh. I don't know what you're talking about.
Fahrer Yeah. We- so we did look at a lot of different options, you know, to try to fix that. Unfortunately,
for the most part, the geometrics with how those- the road come in is- it's going to be the same.
We do have -the sidewalks, we'll clean that up a little bit. Again, it's going to be- it'll be ADA
accessible right now. There's really nothing that I would say per standard. So, um, we'll be
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cleaning that up, but yeah, the- the box co right there and everything else, that just posed a lot of,
I would say, issues.
Moe: My last item is a little bit of a concern. You talked about adding additional stormwater
infrastructure, which would increase the amount of water. Which is good to keep water off of the
road but. What do you do to mitigate the increased demand on the existing infrastructure that's
there? Like you're dumping into a creek. How do we ensure that we don't flood people's houses or
basements with the new added stormwater? Um, I guess, load that's being added from all this new
better infrastructure.
Fahrer: Yep. Uh, so basically the water right now, I would say it flows on street. So it's still going to that
location. Um, we're just capturing it, so you don't have, like when you're driving out there, you'd
have a gutter spread where the road would probably be completely covered under a big rain
event. So it's just basically getting it under, um, underground there.
Alter: And just, I'm sorry, did I cut you off. I go ahead. Uh, two questions. One is, I know that you
mentioned early on that you've had, you know, meetings, public information sessions, and
meetings, um, with the neighborhood as well as many other stakeholders. Um, did you A.,
introduce the notion that there would be retaining walls, and then B., was there any push back on
it? Sorry. I just do not want to revisit this.
Fahrer: Yeah, we- we've had a lot of conversations out there. We- we kind of went, um, So with- with the
outreach we had with the public information meetings, we did show that. We showed, uh, that
some pictures. We kind of had a rendering, like, a fly through of the project. And, um, so when
we- we kind of ran through that at one of our meetings, and it just gave people an idea of what it's
going to look like.
Alter: So they- they know what's coming up and then-
Fahrer: Yeah.
Alter: Okay. My second question, also, and I obviously doing like a Google image doesn't really help a
ton. Um, but given the current situation of how close, what you're going to have to do to- to get
this all in place, um, was there discussion about how many mature trees would have to be cut
down? Um, is that a concern? Is there a plan in place? I don't know if that then carries over into
Parks and Rec to replant or, um, so I'm just curious if you can speak to that.
Fahrer: Um, so as far as the tree impacts, we had the- the city's arborist went out there and actually looked
at all the trees in the corridor. Some of them, uh, just with the Duratio they had gone through, and
some of that, some of them actually weren't in the greatest shape. So we had identified- we do
have trees identified for removal out there. Um, and some of- some of those trees were part of
that, that were okay, these are not good. You know, there's no real issue, I would say, with them
being removed. The trees that were identified as critical that we don't want to remove them. We
did what we could there to make sure that we're saving those and not taking down some large
overhead, uh, trees out there.
Alter: Am I going to regret asking how many trees you're thinking they're looking at to remove, needing
to remove?
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Fahrer: So there's about 40 trees out there. I think it was 43 trees, I believe, uh, seven of which are in the
city. I'd say they're in the city's right of way. Um, so with the project, those would, um, they're not
on private property.
Alter: Okay.
Dunn: So is that seven that we were considering for all this or seven that are going to be removed or
seven that were impacted?
Fahrer: The seven is part of the 43, sorry.
Dunn: Yeah. So but I mean, in- in terms of the 43 or what's going to be removed?
Fahrer:Yeah.
Dunn: Oh. Okay.
Bergus: You mentioned seven or in the right of way, sorry. Uh, but on a very early slide, you showed
existing right of way, the 50 feet width. Are we acquiring additional property, expanding the right
of way?
Fahrer: So the right of way out there is staying at 50 feet. We have some acquisitions just at intersections.
It's mainly for the ADA sidewalks. Um, so it's pretty- it's pretty limited, I think we had, let me
just look at the number here. There were 15 parcels we had to obtain acquisitions from out of the
71 temporary easements, so it's a pretty small amount. That was kind of, you know, definitely a
consideration of the project. We didn't want to, um, you know, impact right away. So it was really
limited to the intersections.
Bergus: And it sounds like that what you said, six, seven feet of roadway is where a lot of the additional
parkway is coming from? The narrowing of the roadway?
Fahrer: Yes.
Bergus: Okay.
Fahrer: And also the sidewalks will get shifted back a little bit closer to where the actual right of way is.
Um, so that also has a little bit of extra room out there.
Bergus: Okay. Thank you.
Moe: Sorry. One more question. I'm looking at this cross section and wondering, this is the place where I
think I see people ride bikes on the sidewalks a lot just because Court streets so busy. Is- is five
feet like okay for a bike and a pedestrian or is that?
Fahrer: Um, five, so -
Moe: Just that's kind of what we got.
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Fahrer: Yeah. I mean, the- I would say, if you're talking about a multi use trail, no, I mean, this is mainly
a sidewalk facility.
Moe: Okay.
Bergus: That's why we mark Friendship. as, uh, the bike way, I think.
Moe: Okay.
Fruin:We talked with the last project of 10 expanding from 8-10. That's typically what we would have for
kind of purpose built trails. I think our standard for new construction is six. Is that five? It is five.
Okay. Five.
Moe: I know that this size is just constrained here. I know that- I know this neighborhood well, and you
see bikes on the sidewalks a lot.
Harmsen: I am happy to see the extended, you know, the parkway there because that is so many kids
walking to school, and there's a ton of ton of our newest drivers in the community also on that
same roadway, and I think having a little extra space between those two factors, I like that. I'd
like to see that in design.
Knoche: Ron Knoche Public Works. I wanted to go back to the comment in regards to the bicycles. Um,
as Councilor Bergus mentioned, our Friendship is- is identified in our bicycle master plan as kind
of the throughway through here. And we also have the Court Hill trail that parallels also. Um, so,
you know, when since we were- we've kind of constrained ourselves to stay with in the existing
right away. And once we start creeping outside the existing rightway, there's a lot of impacts that
happened with the residents in the neighborhood. That's why we- that's why we didn't provide for
an official bicycle pedestrian or, you know, that improvement there in the corridor.
Moe: Understood. Thanks for that clarification on that.
Bergus: I do have one other question now that you've given me more time to think. Um, so the utility
trench will be happening all in the coming year, is that right? So does that mean all the overhead
utilities will be undergrounded at that time?
Fahrer:Yep.
Bergus: Okay. So the poles will be coming down at that time. Does that mean pedestals or what will -
what will residents expect in their yards to replace the utility poles?
Yoder: Um, I know a couple of the companies they will be putting pedestals up. Um, we also will have a
couple of handholes throughout the corridor. Um, for electrical, there will be some larger
transformers and switch gears that will need to go in. So everybody is able to get the power.
Bergus: Okay. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you both. All right. Anyone from the public like to address this- this topic? Seeing no one
in person or online, I'm going to close the Public Hearing. Can I get a motion to approve, please?
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Moe: So moved Moe.
Salih: Second Salih.
Teague: Moved by Moe, second by Salih. And council discussion.
Harmsen: It's overdue.
Teague: All right.
Alter: It' a lot.
Teague: [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0.
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11. Council Appointments
11.a Climate Action Commission- Three vacancies to fill three-year terms, January 1,
2025 - December 31, 2027 (Terms expire for Michal Eynon -Lynch, Gabriel
Sturdevant, John Fraser).
Teague: We are moving on to Council appointments, which is item 11 -1 La. So what we're going to do is
go through each one of these separately. So we're going to go through 1 La climate action
Commission. Three vacancies to fill a three year term, January 1 st, uh, 2025 through December
31 st, 2027. And we'll just, um, have council discussion.
Dunn: Emma Bork stood out to me.
Harmsen: I'm sorry?
Teague: Yeah say that louder please.
Dunn: Emma Bork is a candidate that stood out to me, as well as I think I believe, Katie Byriel.
Alter: Yeah. I had Katie Byriel, um, Nadja Krylov, was another one.
Harmsen: I had both of those.
Bergus: Yep, me too.
Alter: Um, and I - I'm by no me, I - I - there are a lot of names, and there are a lot of people who are
qualified. So I'm just reading out my list, and if people are there with it, that's cool, but I'm not
pounding my fist. Uh, the other person that I had are other two as considerations were Robert
Traer and possibly Jinks. Although I do understand as well that her partner, I believe, is on
Climate Action Commission as well.
Teague: Yes.
Bergus: Do not know that- that's the one they are ending.
Teague: But I think they are ending.
Alter: The end, yeah, okay. Then, uh, so anyway, I had a list of several.
Teague: Yeah - yeah - yeah. I didn't write down all -
Alter: No- no.
Teague: With your list because I was.
Alter: I think we're all just kind of tossing up names.
Harmsen: We're looking for three.
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Moe: Yeah.
Dunn: And I think you do have 4 - 4, um, Katie Byriel and Emma Bork.
Bergus: I - I didn't have Emma on my list.
Dunn: Okay. Katie.
Bergus: I had Katie and Nadja and, uh-Jinks.
Harmsen: I had Katie, Nadja, and Robert, so that's.
Dunn: I can go for most —
Harmsen: mostly overlap.
Dunn: Yeah.
Teague: So it sounds like Katie and Jinks, which I - I -
Alter: Nadja.
Salih: Nadja, Katie.
Taegue: Did you just say Jinks?
Alter: I did.
Teague: Okay.
Alter: I said as a possibility.
Teague: Got it, okay, all right. So what are names that have been repeated? And I can support Jinks, but -
Dunn: Katie.
Teague: Katie. All right?
Alter: Nadja.
Teague: Nadja, yes.
Harmsen: Robert Traer, right?
Dunn: He was a possiblity. All three of those, I can support. Yeah.
Moe: An - And I don't have any problem with any thing - any name that's been mentioned, so.
Teague: Yeah. I can support, um, the three Katie, Naja, and Robert are there.
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Moe: Yes.
Teague: People good with that, all right. Could I get a motion to approve for, uh, the Climate Action
Commission„ uh, Katie Byriel, Nadja Krylov and Robert Traer.
Dunn: So moved
Alter: Second.
Teague: Moved by Dunn second by Alter, all in favor say aye.
(Voice Vote)
Teague: Any opposed? Motion passes 7-0,
11.b Human Rights Commission- One vacancy to fill an unexpired term, upon appointment -
December 31, 2024, plus a three-year term (O1/O1/25 - 12/31/27) (Anya Schafer -Van Houtte
resigned).
Teague: 1 Lb. Human Rights Commission one vacancy to fill a - an unexpired term upon appointment
through December 31 st, 2024 plus a three year term. And any - so this is unexpired plus. So-
Harmsen: We're going to read that one first and then we'll do the other ones?
Teague: Correct. We'll do a separate, yes.
Salih: Um, I mean, like, Emily Harkin.
Alter: I had her as mine. I like her.
Salih: but Emily Harkin now.
Harmsen: Yes, I - I also had a - depending on what do we - wherever we end up putting, we have the
same basic it's the same list.
Moe: Yeah.
Harmsen: So I yet, somewhere in my mix, um, Emily Harkin, also thought that, uh, Kelly Bramel, I
thought was - was, uh, interesting to me, um -
Alter: She is a possibility.
Harmsen: And, uh - uh, and is - is it Janine Care also was a little bit of I thought also had - I mean - I
mean, there was a lot of good people.
Salih: So a lot of good people. Lubna Mohammed, Megan Hills and.
Moe: Allison Tippy she's on my list.
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Alter: Allison Tippy?
Moe: She was on my list, addition to the ones that you mentioned, so.
Alter: I was interested. She might be if - I'm Estella. Uh, I can't read in my own writing.
Dunn: Ruhrer-Johnson.
Alter% Ruhrer-Johnson.Yes.
I remember.
Alter: Steel.
Teague: So, we have a lot of names right now.
Harmsen: Huge list.
Teague: So, um, maybe if a- what for Emily Harkin.
Bergus: Emily Harkin.
Alter: I think Emily Harkin did have.
Teague: So Emily Harkin?
Alter: Yes.
Harmsen: Okay. All those. Yes. Which one?
Teague: So this will be for the one vacancy to fill an unexpired term upon appointment through December
31 st plus a three year term.
Harmsen: Yep.
Moe: I see.
Dunn: Yeah.
Teague: Yep. Can I get a motion to appoint Emily Harkin?
Dunn: So moved.
Salih: Second.
Teague: Moved by Dunn, Second by Sarah. All in favor, say aye.
(Voice Vote)
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Teague: Any opposed motion passes 7 to 0.
11.c Human Rights Commission- Human Rights Commission - Two vacancies to fill three-year
terms, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027 (Terms expire for Jahnavi Pandya & Doug
Kollasch).
Teague: 1 Lc is Human Rights Commission two vacancies to fill a three year term, January 1st, 2025
through December 31st, 2027. And there are quite a few names that we just finished mentioning.
So-
Salih: Lubna Mohamed.
Dunn: I think I can support Lubna.
Bergus: Yeah, me too.
Moe: Sorry, I didn't hear.
Teague: And Lubna- Lubna is on our Truth- Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but as we know,
that'll be ending really when this kind of starts, so I can certainly.
Alter: Okay.
Dunn: Yeah.
Teague: So I can certainly support Lubna. Yeah. So I think we have four for Lubna. Any other
recommendations?
Dunn: This is just for one. Right?
Teague: What's for two?.
Alter: Again, Estella Pas.
Moe: Estella, yeah.
Alter: Sophia Heller.
Bergus: Allison Tippy.
Moe: Yeah, I have Allison and Estella on my list, but
Dunn: I can go for Allison.
Salih: I have Donna Harris.
Grace: Mayor. Just to this was the one that had one additional name on the two year.
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Teague: Yeah. The everybody has it, yeah.
Grace: Period.
Teague: Yeah.
Grace: That's currently serving an unexpired term.
Teague: Yeah.
Salih: I have also Allison on my list. I have Donna Harris.
Dunn: Okay one second.
Moe: They're all, Allison Tippy looks good.
Teague: Yeah. So I'm hearing Allison Tippy.
Salih: Allison Tippy.
Harmsen: Yeah, I could go with that.
Teague: So could I get a motion to approve Lubna Mohammed and Allison Tippy?
Salih: So move.
Bergus: Can I just.
Dunn: Yeah.
Bergus: I'm sorry. Okay. So do I understand correctly there different lists on- I just looked at the first list,
assuming they were the same.
Grace: Correct. The second list has one additional current member that his unexpired term is ending Doug
Kollasch.
Alter: Okay.
Grace: Uh, that is on the second list.
Dunn: Yeah. You just give us a second.
Bergus: So he did apply for reappointment?
Dunn: Yeah.
Grace: Yes.
Bergus: Okay.
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Moe: Thank you.
Grace: But since he's already on there, he can't really qualify to expired-
Bergus: To fill the unexpired term.
Grace: Yeah, plus.
Dunn: All right.
Bergus: Um right. Did you just say he was filling a partial term?
Grace: Yes.
Bergus: Okay. So he's not yet had a full term.
Moe: He is as a chair person. Yes. Seems like-
Bergus: I think Lubna and Doug.
Dunn: Yeah. I agree -
Moe: I agree. So thank you.
Teague: Any other sound like Lubna and Doug hearing majority?
Alter: Yes.
Teague: Okay. All right.
Alter: With the just general thing too, anyone who's listening. This was such a tremendously difficult.
Teague: A lot of great.
Alter: I was absolutely riveting to read all of them engagement and activism that is represented here. So
thank you all.
Salih: Yes, there's a lot of good people here. And I think I encourage them to apply for another
commission.
Alter: Yes.
Teague: Yes.
Alter: Well, I mean, it was the entire every commission had strong people, but that's really good. Wow.
Teague: Yeah.
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Salih: Yeah, but those people, they can apply also to an not only like focusing on the human right.
Alter: Hundred percent.
Teague: Yeah.
Salih: Yeah.
Teague: And, um, so, could I get a motion to approve Lubna Mohamed and Doug Kollasch.
Salih: Moved Lubna Mohamed and Doug Kollasch.
Alter: Second.
Teague: So moved by Salih, second by Alter. All in favor, say aye.
(Voice Vote).
Teague: Any opposed motion passes 7-0.
11A Parks & Recreation Commission- Parks & Recreation Commission - Two vacancies to fill
four-year terms, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2028 (Terms expire for Aaron Broege &
Alex Hachtman). Correspondence included in Council packet.
Teague: I Ld Parks and Recreation Commission. Two vacancies to fill a four year term January 1 st, 2025
through December 31 st, 2028.
Dunn: Go for it. Jeff Mallory and Michael Gaunt.
Moe: I had Jeff Mallory on my list.
Bergus: I had Jeff Mallory.
Alter: And who?
Moe: Jeff Mallory was on my list. I think we heard that three or four people four people that's four.
Alter: Yep. Yeah, and I agree. Like I mean, I liked all three. Again, but I went with Michael Gaunt. I
thought that was an interesting set of experience.
Dunn: Yeah. Okay.
Teague: So I'm hearing the majority for Jeffrey Mallory and Michael Gaunt.
Salih: Yes.
Teague: Can I get a motion to approve, please?
Dunn: So moved.
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Moe: Second.
Teague: Move by Dunn, second by Moe. All in favor, say aye. (Voice Vote) Any opposed motion passes
7-0. Could I get a motion to accept correspondence?
Moe: So moved.
Alter: Second.
Teague: Move by Moe, second by Alter. All in favor, say aye.
(Voice Vote)
Teague: Any opposed, motion passes 7-0.
11.e Public Art Advisory Committee- Public Art Advisory Committee (At -Large) - One vacancy
to fill a three-year term, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027 (Term expires for Rachel He
Kinker).
Teague: 1 Le is Public Art Advisory Committee One vacancy and this is at large, one vacancy fellow
three year term, January 1 st, 2025 through December 31 st, 2027.
Alter: Is two. I think this was very difficult.
Moe: We need to recuse myself for this discussion.
Teague: Okay. So, Councilor Moe is recusing himself from this discussion item?
Bergus; Kellie, is it right that- so I like Rachel Kinker. She's currently serving a partial term. Looks like
she started in just January of this year? No, sorry, April of this year. Is that right? According to
the attendance?
Grace: Yeah. Typically, if when terms are expiring or for the unexpired ones, if it's more than six months,
we have-
Bergus: We'll do it again.
Grace: We have folks apply.
Bergus: Okay.
Grace: So that's why it seems like she just applied, and she didn't got appointed, but it was over six
months. So-
Bergus: Thank you for that.
Grace: I mean, we have to redo it.
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Bergus: Clarification.
Dunn: But I could support her.
Teague: So Rachel Kinker? Hearing. Okay. Can I could I get a well, so we have only one opening. Yes.
all right.
Alter: Oh I see.
Teague: Yes. Can I get a motion to appoint Rachel Kinker to the Public Art Advisory Committee.
Bergus: So moved.
Harmsen: Second.
Teague: Moved by Berger seconded by Harmsen. All in favor, say aye.
(Voice Vote)
Teague: Any oppose? Motion passes 7-0.
Goers: 6-0.
Teague: 6-0.
1Lf Senior Center Commission- Senior Center Commission - Two vacancies to fill three-year
terms, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027 (Terms expire for Ross Elwin Taylor & Lee
McKnight).
Teague: All right. We're going to move on to item number 111, Senior Center and Commission. Two
vacancies to fill a three year term, January 1 st, 2025 through December 31 st, 2027. And -
Alter: This is one where we only have two apps.
Teague: Yep. So just wanted to give people thoughts. We have one that is unexpired term seeking
reappointment.
Dunn: Sounds good.
Teague: And are folks okay with Katherine Milster?
Harmsen: Yes.
Moe: Yes. No objection.
Teague: All right. Can I get a motion to appoint Lee McKnight and Katherine Milster to the Senior Center
Commission.
Moe: So moved.
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Alter: Second.
Teague: All right. Moved by Moe and seconded by Alter. All in favor, say aye. (Voice Vote) Any
opposed? Motion pass 7-0. All right.
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14. Report on Items from City Staff
Teague: We're going to move on to Item Number 14, reports on items from City staff, City Manager's
office.
Fruin: Well, I'd like to take a moment and just introduce our new Deputy City Manager, Chris O'Brien.
Sitting next to Kirk Lehman over there. So, uh, Chris joined the team last week and came back
this week, thankfully, is in Week 2 here, and excited to have him back on board. Chris worked for
the city for about 20 years before, uh, leaving for private sector work in 2017. So excited to have
Chris back and anxious for you to get a chance, uh, to work with both him and Kirk going
forward.
Teague: Welcome. All right. City Manager at City Attorney's Office.
Goers: Thank you, mayor. I was able to attend the Iowa Municipal Attorneys Association Annual
Conference, a one day affair in the Des Moine area on Friday, which is great. It's very focused in
the work that they do, and so that's well appreciated, and it's great to be able to refresh
relationships with colleagues there. I brought with me Eric Bigley, the attorney who just joined
our office, and we've been coquily called the Eric's now in our office for lack of a better
nickname.
Teague: Great. All right, City Clerk office.
Grace: Well, I can't say nothing after those two. Um, well, as you see a new face in the audience, she's not
new to the City, uh, but Connie McCurdy is the Administrative Secretary in my office, uh, and
she actually, finalizes all the documents after the meeting. So she kind of wanted to see the front
end process. So decided to come to a meeting and check it out.
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15. Adjourn
Teague: Welcome. All righty. On to Item Number 15. Could I get a motion to adjourn from our formal
meeting, where we will go into our work session.
Alter: So moved.
Moe: Second.
Teague: Moved by Alter, second by Moe cause you were the first beyond the other two. All right all in
favor say aye. (Voice Vote). Any opposed motion passes 7-0
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