HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-22 TranscriptionIowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
(audio and video recordings can be found at httl2s:llcitychannel4.com/city-council.html)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription through Verbit: AI -Based
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[00:00:21]
[MUSIC] Well, good afternoon, everyone.
[00:00:22]
It is Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025. It is 2:00 PM. And this is the City of, uh, Iowa City Works session
agenda, um, and we're gonna be doing capital improvement projects. Um, and so I just wanted to,
again, welcome everyone, and we'll get started. Turn it over to our City Manager. Oh, we're gonna turn
it over here.
[00:00:43]
1 think we can just jump right in. Ron's gonna start us off.
[00:00:45]
Great.
[00:00:46]
Mr. Mayor, Council, good afternoon. Uh, I'm Ron Knoche, Public Works Director. Today, we're happy to
present the proposed 2025-2029 Iowa City Capital Improvements Plan. We will use the Esri storybook or
story map platform for presentation. I would like to thank engineering division and in particular, Killian
Laughead for producing the final presentation. The Capital Projects Fund can be found in the proposed,
uh, budget document starting on page 500. Today, we have five objectives. First, Jacklyn Fleagle, our
assistant finance director will go over the plan development process and the fund summary. Second,
staff will discuss the ongoing projects. There are 14 major projects that are not included in the CIP.
Third, staff will discuss the 17 annual projects in the CIP. Fourth, staff will discuss the 104 projects that
are identified in the five-year program. The projects may not be presented in order that they do appear
in the budget document. And the final objective, staff will discuss the projects considered to be on the
radar. There are six projects staff believe Council should be aware of. As we go through the
presentation, you will hear the impacts of the pandemic, the supply chain issues, the availability of
equipment and labor and inflation have had on our projects. We have had to extend schedules and
rebuild projects to be able to move forward. These impacts are not limited to our projects. They are also
been impacts on the private utility companies as they try to relocate before our projects are under
construction. We appreciate this opportunity to present the proposed 2025-2029 CIP, and I will turn the
presentation over to Jacklyn.
[00:02:15]
Okay, so first, we'll go over the CIP timeline. Um, to- to kick the process off in August, the- the forms for
requesting CIP projects are sent out to all departments. Those forms are then due back to the Finance
Department mid September, where we compile and produce a preliminary report. Um, then September
19, uh, CIP Committee reviews the projects and amends the preliminary reports. Uh, then starting in
October, those amended- those changes are compiled into an amended report. Um, the Committee
meets again throughout October, um, and then starting in December, those adjustments, um, and final
reports are then inte- integrated into the budget document, which is then submitted to Council in
Page 1
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
(audio and video recordings can be found at https:llcitychannel4.com/city-council.html)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription through Verbit: AI -Based
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January. Uh, this slide is the funding source summary. Kind of to- to highlight some of the bigger areas,
the largest funding source for our projects is, um, the GO bonds. It's over two types, so it's gonna be
your, um, essential and the general purpose. Both of those together are- for our FY25 bond issue is
estimated to be $14,000,290. Um, for the entire CIP plan, which is FY25-29, the average iss- issuance is
$15,000,250. Um, their current debt levy, it can support, uh, $14,600,000, and that's with the
[00:04:02]
levy increasing $21.07 more.
[00:04:06]
Um, with the assumptions baked in of a 2% increase in taxable growth over the next two years, 3% after
that, averaging 1.6%. We have averaged 1.66% growth over the last four, um but it has been over 2%
the last two years. Um, another assumption baked in with the debt levy is an effective interest rate of
5%. Um, options if we don't meet or exceed our assumption would be to raise the debt levy, scale back
the scope of projects or delay or remove projects. Um, so that kind of makes up the- the GO bond
portion. The next largest portion is going to be our federal grants. Um, that's $47.8 million. Um, the
largest chunk of that being the transit facility at $18.2 million, the airport terminal building of, um, $7.3
million, which is, um, not technically funded yet, is my understanding. Um, and the Burlington Street
bridge replacement of $7.3 million also not funded, Um, the next largest federal grant being four million
dollars for the compost facility. Um, then the next largest area for funding is the facility replacement
reserve at $31.2 million, um, in the CIP plan. Um, however, $16.2 of that is the City Park Pool, um, which
is about the current balance of the facility replacement reserve fund. Um, the rest is for fire station
number 5. Um, no funds are planned to be available considering the current balance is $16.4, and City
Park Pool is budgeted to use $16.2.
[00:05:51]
Can you, uh, just explain how we- where the original funds came, um, how- how they got to the, uh,
facility replacement reserve, what funding source did we use?
[00:06:041
Those would have come from the general fund surpluses. Um, so over the last handful of years, um,
we've been fortunate enough to come in under budget, um, with conservative budgeting practices. And
so any surpluses that we had, um, we were transpering- transferring to both this facility reserve and
some to the emergency fund also.
[00:06:26]
Thank you.
[00:06:27]
Just to add a little bit to that Mayor, the- we started that process in fiscal year'19, if memory serves me
correctly. And we built the facility reserve, uh, annually through fiscal year'23. We did not have enough
surplus funds to make transfers in '24. We're not anticipating being able to make any in this fiscal year
Page 2
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription through Verbit: AI -Based
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'25, and we don't have any budgeted [NOISE] in the proposed '26 budget. So that- that entire
accumulation occurred between fiscal'19 and'23.
[00:07:00]
Thank you.
[00:07:06]
This next one is category summary. So it's just breaking out all of the projects for the FY25 through FY29
plan across the different departments. The- the largest category being streets over 33.6% of the budget,
um, budget expenses, I should say, at $79 million, um, $79.6 million. Some of the larger projects to call
out from there would be the Dodge Street reconstruction, which is $20.1 million. Um, the Taft Avenue
reconstruction at $12.2 million and the annual pavement rehab of $11.9 million. The next largest
category would be transportation services at $21.68 million. Most of that is the transit maintenance
facility, which is $21.4 million. Um, and then on top of that, you would also need to add in the
equipment, um, building, which is an additional $12 million, um, because this will be done together. Um,
the next largest category would be water at $18.77 million. [NOISE] Um, the largest project from there
would be the East Elevated Storage at $7.5 million. And then finally, recreation is our next largest
category at $18.2 million with $17.5 million of that being the City park pool. Something like that.
[00:08:31]
All right. If there's no questions, uh, we'll move on to the project portion of the presentation.
[00:08:43]
Good afternoon.
[00:08:45]
Good afternoon.
[00:08:45]
Just quickly, I know you all saw this already last night, but we are getting new windows and doors at the
Senior Center, so we're very excited about that. And- and this will allow us also to work towards our
sustainability goals, um, by being able to kind of keep some of the cold out when necessary and heat in
when necessary, like, right now. Um, and so that's what we have coming up. This is phase 2 of our, um,
master plan for the exterior project.
[00:09:10]
And we know you very well, but for the public, will you introduce yourself, please?
[00:09:13]
Oh, I'm sorry. [LAUGHTER] I thought
[00:09:15]
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Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription through Verbit: AI -Based
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was famous. I apologize.
[00:09:16]
[LAUGHTER] LaTasha DeLoach, Senior Center coordinator. My apologies. Any questions?
[00:09:24]
No questions. Excited about that, uh, the renovations.
[00:09:28]
Yes.
[00:09:30]
Next project is the Landfill Equipment Building. So this is, uh, a new building out at the landfill to allow
for, uh, covered storage for equipment. Uh, it's currently underway. The concrete is in, so we're kind of -
we're waiting for delivery of the building. Anticipate that construction will finish up later this year.
[00:09:48]
Hey, Juli Seydell Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation. Next one is Rec Center improvements. And
these are projects like the roofs of the Rec Center structural cables, tuck pointing, um, different things
that need to be done for the facility, um, to keep it operating well. Terrell Mill Skatepark design is nearly
complete. Uh, we are waiting because we have received a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund
grant, and it needs to be signed off on by the National Park Service before we can proceed. Uh, we're
probably a couple months away from that actually, so still happening. Um, so it will likely have
construction, uh, late summer, early fall of next year. The Mercer Ball field improvement is now a
combined project with the Iowa City Community School District. This is improvements to Field 1, which
is now the varsity baseball field for City High, and then changes to Field 4, which will become the varsity
softball field. Improvements to the public areas and the common spaces between the fields, ADA
improvements, entry improvements, a shelter, a lot of small miscellaneous things just to make that
cleaner, better facility.
[00:10:591
Can you describe the, um, sharing of resources to construct that between the school district and the
city?
[00:11:05]
Sure, I don't have the exact dollar amounts with me. We are paying for only the, uh, central area that
comes up the pathway between the diamonds. We're paying for the common area around the- the
concession area, the restrooms. The school district is completely paying for everything having to do with
Field 1 and Field 4 renovations. Next one is College Green Park. This has been bid with construction.
We'll start as soon as we have good spring weather. It has a black and gold basketball theme with a new
basketball court and a black and gold playground that we place there. Court Hill Trail has also been bid
and will take place in the spring. This is from Beach Street to Scott Boulevard as replacement. The new
Page 4
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription through Verbit: AI -Based
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park development is on Shannon Drive, and as you remember, we named this the Adelaide Joy Rogers
Park, a small purple playground going in out there, along with a shelter and a small circular path that will
take place this spring.
[00:12:13]
The next project is the Annual Pavement Rehabilitation for 2024, that included Park Road, which we
wrapped up this fall. Uh, the remaining section is a portion of Benton Street just east of Gilbert Street.
Looking at completing that here this spring once the weather turns. Onto Dubuque Street
Reconstruction. The majority of that product is complete. Really the outstanding items there are the
lighting. We actually received some of the poles. They were- had some issues with the paint, and so we
had to get those repainted. That's currently in process. Uh, we expect to have the poles back in, uh, our
possession here probably early February with the goal of having that constructed or- or installed by the
end of February. Muscatine Avenue pedestrian crossing. So this is one that's been around for a little bit.
This is you may remember, uh, a project where we are, uh, coordinating with Iowa State University to
install conductive concrete. Um, and so with that, we've been working through that process. It's a- a bit
of a unique situation and a lot of kind of back and forth as we've worked through that process, the goal
would be to have that constructed, uh, here in 2025.
[00:13:29]
Next project is the digester complex rehabilitation. So this is the work on the digesters, uh, which are
original to the plant. And then the next project is the digester gas improvements. So that'll be, uh, the
renewable natural gas component where we'll clean the gas and inject it into a pipeline.
[00:13:48]
And the final project in this category is Fire Station 2 roof replacement. So that's one that we anticipate
getting underway here later this year. With that, we'll move on to the annual section. So these are those
projects that have regular money each year within the program. The first one being the fiber infill and
cameras project. And so this is, uh, an account that we use to take advantage of opportunities we have
for either our projects or partnering with other projects to install fiber optic cable or cameras in
locations that we've identified there's a need. The annual stormwater improvements. This is an account
that we use to repair existing storm, uh, stormwater infrastructure, typically intakes, uh, pipe, that kind
of thing. Usually, it's in locations where we've identified sinkholes or other, uh, needs that come up
throughout the year.
[00:14:47]
Next project is City Hall other projects. Uh, the smaller projects. So here within City Hall, the next two
years is all about heating and cooling systems and the computer system that make those function
correctly, um, and eventually, um, some improvements to the employee fitness room a few years out,
but primarily HVAC and BAS improvements. Park annual improvements is next. This is what money we
have for smaller projects. Uh, the new park signs that have been put out in the parks in the last three or
four years have all been done through park annual improvement. We also use it for matching funds for
partner- small partner things such as projects with the youth sports associations and other things that
Page 5
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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arise throughout the year. Intra-city bike trails and bridges. This one is one that has grown, as you'll see
in the budget numbers here. We are at the point where a lot of our trails and bridges are at that 2020
plus year mark. We found a lot of bridges that need, uh, cons- considerable amount of work quickly. So
this will be looking at some of those bridges and trails that just need to be built- rebuilt where they're at,
no new trails, just replacement and refurbishments.
[00:15:55]
Annual Rec Center improvements similar to what I said before. A lot of things like tuck pointing, uh, the
roofs, uh, things that happen that just keep the building envelope stable for the building. Annual tree
contract plan- planting, this is a little lower than it has been in other years, but we have planted about
1,000 trees per year for the last several years. Keeping those growing, keeping them maintained is one
thing. So it's a little lower this years. We have filled in a lot of the areas. We're still concentrating in
areas where trees have been taken out due to emerald ash borer or construction projects, but it- it's a
little bit less this year.
[00:16:35]
The annual traffic signal projects, this is what we use to replace aging signal equipment that just reached
the end of its useful life or no longer supported. We also use this if we need to install new signals, um,
so again, it kind of depends on need there in- in the given year. Traffic calming, this is the money that we
use to install traffic calming, uh, installations that go through that community prog- program and kind of
work their way through all of that- those steps through the MPO. Once those are approved, then we use
this money to actually install those measures. Earlier this year, we discussed there's some sort of
procedural changes for how traffic calming measures are implemented. Um, we still intend on doing
traffic measures where just the process is different and the budget remains the same. Am I
understanding that correctly or?
[00:17:25]
Yes, we have a backlog of projects that have been previously approved, that have gone through the old
process, and so we've cut off applications for new. So a lot of the funding that you'll see go out the door
in the next year is just looking back at what's already been approved. And then the MPO staff, along
with the engineering staff are developing new program criteria that's probably going to emphasize, um,
different approaches than strictly speed bumps, um, and- and the pillows and things like that. So more
pedestrian accommodations. I should- should note, too, the MPO, we as a region did get a safe streets
for all grant, which is going to give us a complete kind of evaluation of the road network in Johnson
County. That'll help us prioritize, um, where those improvements.
[00:18:16]
Does that grant focus on, uh, vehicular safety, pedestrian safety, or both?
[00:18:22]
1 believe it's all modes. Does that sound right? I- I think it's all modes of traffic. Yeah.
Page 6
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[00:18:27]
1 guess I'll ask the question. Is there any opportunity to look at some of the ones that have been
improved if we learn new information and have some new opportunities where we could re -approach
that?
(00:18:41]
Sure. You know, there's- those were all the result of neighborhood driven kind of, um, initiatives. So we
would have to go back and explain why we might be changing our approach. But, um, we haven't- we
haven't bid those out yet.
[00:18:56]
Yeah, I think for me, it would be up to staff to- I would like staff to review them, and then based, um, on
new information from the grant, maybe we can revisit some of those and find better solutions.
[00:19:09]
Okay. The next one is our curb ramp program. So this is what we use to go into locations and replace
either or, I guess, install ramps where there's not ramps or replace ramps that don't meet current
requirements. Um, so our focus- our primary focus is to install ramps where there are no ramps, and
then we kind of work our way down to replace those that may have ramps, but just aren't up to
compliance. The annual pavement rehabilitation. So this is our overlay program, but also includes our
PCC patching program. So really, it's more of a kind of just street rehab and repair program that we use
annually. Underground electrical facilities. This is the money that we use typically in- in coordination
with other projects to move utilities underground. We work with MidAmerican. There's kind of a
program or a process that we work through with them to move their lines underground as well as
communication lines and other lines that are hanging on those poles. Like I said, typically, that's in
conjunction with some of our other construction projects, typically.
[00:20:24]
Jason?
[00:20:251
1 was going to ask, I know Dodge Street as it gets reconstructed, there's been, you know, requests for us
to bury lines. Does that end up coming out of this fund or actually out of Dodge Street reconstruction
fund?
[00:20:36]
There is- I don't know how finance always does it. A lot of times I've seen it where we'll take money
from this account, move it into the project account to cover those expenses.
[00:20:46]
1 just had a question about the over the five years, some of the budgeted amounts are escalating, like
the pavement rehab, and I appreciate that based on the pavement condition report we've gotten and
Page 7
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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how that's all been mapped out over time. But I'm just curious about how sometimes like this one, it's
just the same amount over five years and how that doesn't just sort of trap us into as prices increase,
you know, we're doing less every year.
[00:21:15]
1 could take a stab. At- at this one in particular, I believe this is a- a percentage of, uh, our utility
franchise fee, which is pretty stagnant. So this is just an estimate as that revenue source remains
stagnant, that contribution to the undergrounding is also stagnant. But you're right, we lose- we lose
kind of purchasing power over time with that one. For the other ones, uh, it's really just an annual
evaluation of what is needed. So, for example, we're going to get to the bicycle master plan next. Uh,
we've accumulated a larger fund balance in there because we haven't needed to spend all of that
money. So we might scale that back for a little bit to draw down that fund balance, whereas other
projects are spending all those dollars, like the- the pavement rehab could be an example of that. When
it comes time to- or when we talk about rec center improvements or park improvements, um, if we
know that there's expenses coming up, we'll try to grow those. Otherwise, we just have to look at the
big picture with all the projects in there and make some tough decisions when we're building our
recommendation.
[00:22:28]
One more question about this. Um, I'm really excited to see how the Court Street Reconstruction works
with a shared underground utility conduit. Um, is this fund also- do we rely on this fund also to do any of
that work, or is that sort of a novel experiment right now to create shared pathways for fiber optic
cables to avoid some of the extra disruptions?
[00:22:52]
1 believe this would contribute to that, um, you know, the joint utility trench is something we've done in
other locations. This one's a little different in that we're the ones kind of leading that- that charge. Part
of that is due to lessons learned on past projects, maybe not so much from our end, but from the utility
side of things. In the past, they kind of took the lead and apparently learned that they didn't like the lead
on that. And so I think we like the idea- I think we think it's a good idea. And so in order to do that- in
order to facilitate that, we've had to take the lead on the Court Street one. So it's the first one we've
done in that way, but it's not the first joint utility trench we've done.
[00:23:29]
Do those have any potential for actually being minimally revenue generating or at least self-sustaining,
where your lease value is something that the utilities pay for and that supports the next project and the
next project? Is that- is that a possibility?
[00:23:45]
So typically the way it works is that we the- the utilities that use the- the ducks immediately will pay for
the cost of it. So they'll pay their portion of the project to cover kind of the ducks that they're going to
use. We typically install some extra ones, and so how we use those, you know, will probably just depend
Page 8
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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on future need and what opportunities might be there. There would be a potential to lease those or- or
other options.
[00:24:08]
So it's a one time cost. It's not a recurring cost to use the- the raceway or conduit pathway?
[00:24:16]
For the utilities that are in there? Right away. Correct.
[00:24:18]
Because they just pay once, and it's theirs to use.
[00:24:20]
Essentially, what we're saying is you need to relocate. We're willing to- to do the work for you, but you
need to pay us back for it, so it- it becomes their conduit immediately.
[00:24:30]
One question when- when Council Burgess asked her question, and I heard Jeff's response of, let's
purchase some power. So for the total budget amount for this item, only this current budget that we're,
um, considering for funds in 2026, only 217,000 is what's in this current budget that is allocated. And,
for- I guess for- to clarify my question, for 2029, that does- actual money of 217 will come up in that
discussion during 2028 or I guess it would be actually 2029 in January. So the money for 2029 has not
been, even though it's expected a part of the budget, the total budget there, it won't really be in the
budget until that year. Okay. I wanted to make sure I understood that correctly.
[00:25:32]
The other thing I'd like to mention with the undergrounding of electrical facilities, this is a- this- this is a
revenue stream that's dedicated specifically for that, but we spend far more, uh, per year on
undergrounding than is reflected in here. So when you see a Court Street or a Rochester where we're
undergrounding those utilities, some of those costs could be incurred by the geobonds that we're
issuing to support that project. So this is really a supplemental fund that allows us to do a little bit more,
stretch our dollars a little bit further. Um, but it's not representative of the cost of truly undergrounding
all that we do in a given year.
[00:26:08]
And my question really wasn't specific to this. It was just to the funding sources and when we actually
allocate that, whatever that year's budgeted amount is.
[00:26:21]
All right. The bicycle master plan implementation. So this is an account that we use to essentially
implement those products that were outlined in the master plan and do that annually. The annual
bridge maintenance and repair, like the name says, you know, this is what we use to repair bridges. Um,
Page 9
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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you know, we've used this funding to do some replacement bridges as well. So, again, just kind of
depends on need- needs that are identified in a given year.
[00:26:56]
Your dots on Iowa Avenue. Are we fixing Iowa Avenue?
[00:27:01]
So that is one, um, that will be probably under consideration here in the coming years. I- we don't have
anything identified specifically at this time.
[00:27:13]
Good afternoon, Darian Nagle-Gamm, Director of Transportation Services. The first item I'm going to
discuss is the parking facility restoration and repair, and this is the fund that we use to perform repairs
and ongoing preventative maintenance for our parking facilities. We do a five year study. We have a
contractor come in and do a deep dive into our facilities and set a five year plan basically for
improvements. Again, both repairs and preventative maintenance, and we also use this fund to, uh,
address more emergent repairs that come up. This year, we're going to be working on Capitol Street
Ramp. You're going to see, um, some closures and some creative detouring within that ramp, um, over
the next four months or so as we repair some T-stems, so those are in the ceiling. Those are things that
were not on our radar when the original five year plan was developed. But again, with the age and
condition of our facilities, we are having things pop up kind of in between the actual study periods. As
part of that regular occurring repairs- scheduled repairs for this year, we're going to be working at
Dubuque Street. And again, that's anything from joint repair to concrete sealant, some of that
preventive maintenance to help them last longer. All right. The next item is the transit interchange and
bus stop improvements, and this has been an ongoing project that we're getting underway this year, but
we have been setting money aside to begin to focus on our transit infrastructure. So what the users
expe- what our customers experience when they go out to the bus stops and also focusing on the
downtown, as well. So, uh, our plan is to do a formal survey to have one of our consultants assist us with
doing a for- formal survey of every bus stop in town. So we're going to get a sense for what facilities we
have out there currently in terms of ADA, in terms of accessibility and in terms of connectivity, in terms
of transit amenities, um, you know, things such as shelters and trash cans and that sort of thing. And
we're going to build a plan to improve all of our stops across the community. Not every stop will have
every amenity, but this will be a process to help us understand what types of amenities are best suited
for which bus stops and develop a plan so that we can come back in the future, and use some of this
funding to help- to help make those infrastructure changes that we need to- to make our- our stops
more comfortable for the public.
[00:29:43]
The main interchange is, I mean, the city of Iowa City's, but also CAMBUS uses it, as well as Coral Hill. Do
they have budgeted money to participate in improving the main interchange?
[00:29:54]
Page 10
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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I am not aware if they have budgeted money, but I do know that we have begun to have conversations
with our transit partners about the potential for shared improvements in that area. It's certainly one
that we all use a little bit differently. We stage a little bit differently, but certainly having some
concerted effort to make the transit interchange better for all three systems, I think would be wise. So
that's something that we are look- hoping to start those discussions. I think the broader Iowa City
specific community bus stops are what we're tackling first. I think the interchange is going to be a
bigger- bigger project, potentially.
[00:30:34]
Just so maybe related to Mayor Teague's question, if we were to get sort of allocations from other cities
towards a project, it would show up as an expense in this budget, but it would be a capital inflow
showing up elsewhere. Is that how we would see that or he's only our expenditures?
[00:30:49]
Wanted to describe how governmental contribution-
[00:30:53]
Yeah, it depends on how the agreement is written, but generally, it would be an expenditure on our
side, and then you'd see it as a contribution or intergovernmental revenue in other cities.
[00:31:11)
Then finally, the annual sewer main replacement project. So this is what we use to repair, uh, the
existing sanitary sewer system, you know, pipes, manholes, those kinds of things. We also do our, uh,
pipe lining project out of this. So that's a way to- a cost effective way to extend the life of pipes that are
in- still in relatively good shape. If there's no questions on that, we'll move on to airport.
[00:31:41]
All right. Good afternoon. I'm Mike Tharp. I'm the airport manager. Uh, the Airport Individual Projects
begin on page 523. And to start with, I think it's important to understand how the airport projects are
financed. We really have three main pots of money that we're dealing with. We have, uh, the FAA,
which when they participate in projects, provide 90% of the project costs. We have the state Iowa DOT,
when they participate in projects, they provide anywhere from 70-85% of the project costs, depending
on the project and the- the type of project that it is. And then we have our local match funds, which is a
$100,000 that we get from the General Levy Fund. Um, uh, if we do not get grant funds in a given year
that we're expecting or trying to go after, these projects do not move forward. Uh, we do not have the
cash to replace, uh, missing grant money. Uh, with that, our first project up is Airport, uh, Apron
Expansion. Uh, based on FA formulas and our traffic and busy day operations, uh, we have a formula
that tells us, uh, we should have a parking apron about three times the size that we currently do now.
Uh, so this is a project to get that apron up to that kind of dimension. Uh, go ahead. The next one is
Runway 7/25 Pavement Repairs. This is kind of mid life, uh, pavement repairs where we go and route
the joints out, reseal them, uh, patch up any cracks in the runway panels, uh, just in general patent -
pavement maintenance to make sure our runways are in good condition and continue to be in- in good
Page 11
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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condition for, uh, aircraft. Uh, Runway 12/30 pavement repairs, same process, just different runway and
broken out so that we're, uh, expecting from the FAA two different grant programs. Uh, our terminal
building and remodel and reconstruction. This is one that came from the bipartisan infrastructure law
that Congress passed in 2020. Uh, within that program, there is a, uh, dedicated fund for airports to, uh,
modernize, do things with, er, airport terminal buildings. We have tried to utilize that fund and go after
grant funding the last couple of years and, uh, have been unsuccessful so far. There is one more
opportunity we're anticipating this fall. Uh, and so for now, that project still shows up, uh, but we'll see a
couple of projects down the road. We're anticipating, uh, doing things with the existing building,
expecting the existing building to be around for a while. Uh, the Airport Solar, this would actually be
phase 2 of our solar project. Uh, phase 1 is online and running. Uh, we're real happy about that. Uh, this
phase would, uh, turn our, uh, maintenance hangar and our research hangar that is operated by the
university and, uh, being the last couple of buildings that are, er, occupied, uh, on a regular basis and -
and yeah, turn those utilities over to solar power. Uh, Taxiway Maintenance, crack and sealing repairs.
Again, same thing, kind of midlife, uh, pavement maintenance, uh, type activity where we're crack
sealing, uh, taking care of pavement panels that might be cracked or damaged and, uh, just making sure
we have good pavement for another decade or two. Uh, HVAC Upgrade. This is one of those projects
where, again, assuming we do not get money for the terminal building as a whole, uh, we have a
wonderful 1951 building that has all kinds of 1951 issues. Uh, so one of the first things we're going to
start tackling is trying to do some HVAC upgrades to get better efficiencies and, uh, trade out some old
technology for our current standards. Uh, Fuel Storage, uh, Tank Fill Cabinet Replacement, this is one of
the- the cabinet infrastructure is about 30 years old and, uh, just kind of due for replacement. Uh, it also
houses our fuel filters. So when we get loads of fuel from, uh, delivery trucks, it goes through that
system, and we're hoping to clean up that a little bit and make it a little bit simpler and, uh, more
effective so we have good fuel. Uh, the Wildlife Assessment. You may recall this fall, where we had, uh,
an elk in the area, uh, running around town. It also made an appearance at the airport and caused a
little bit of- of a conundrum. Uh, we weren't exactly sure how to handle it at first. Uh, thankfully, we
were able to chase it off with a truck and let it go do elk things not at the airport. Um, uh, but this is an
avenue. What happens is, we'll have a USDA Wildlife inspector come in for about a year at the airport.
They'll monitor all of the animal activity that happens at the airport, and it sets us up for better grant
opportunities to help ma- manage that wildlife, uh, activity and- and deter wildlife from coming onto the
airport in the first place.
[00:36:30]
Does our insanely high deer population in Iowa City help you get grants?
[00:36:33]
Uh, it- not so far, but it- it -it continues to be a- an area of concern. And then the tractor broom, this is a
piece of equipment that we want for our new tractor, and we've actually got on order already, uh, in
days like this where we get dustings of snow that's just enough to slicken everything up, but not enough
to really throw plows at. Uh, it helps us clean the runways and other pavements so that aircraft can, uh,
utilize normal landing distances as opposed to adding more, uh, safety margins to their operations. And
that is the Airport CIP Program.
Page 12
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[00:37:18]
All right. Up next is fire?
[00:37:28]
1 just have a general question that may be what my colleagues are asking. Um, these, uh, that are slated
as 2025, is that calendar'25 with the first half of fiscal year'26?
[00:37:42]
Correct. You could- you should be thinking calendar- calendar year when you see these numbers.
[00:37:45]
Thank you.
[00:37:46]
Okay. That's great.
[00:37:49]
Good afternoon, Council. Scott Lyon, Fire Chief. Uh, the first item, uh, that you have up there is a
replacement of, uh, one of our ladder trucks. It's a quint. Uh, it lives out at Station 4. Uh, it is, uh, at the
point where it's- it's, uh, beyond its useful life in- in need of repair. Uh, Station 5 and Station 3, uh,
Construction and Replacement. Uh, I believe this is an item that has been tabled, um, pursuant to the,
uh, earlier budget conversations. The rehab of the sleeping area and fire station alerting at Station 1.
Happy to report that this project is, uh, kicking off as we speak. Uh, we've reloaded -relocated some staff
already, and, uh, really look forward to, uh, improving the, uh, living conditions for our staff, and should
get done hopefully around July. And then, lastly, we have the flooring and furniture at Station 1 on the
first floor. Uh, the- the carpet is beyond help at this point, and, uh, it needs to be replaced, uh, as does
the office furniture, um, on the first floor of the building.
[00:39:13]
Uh, regarding the fire Station 5 and 3 replacement, I know we learned that five is sort of off the table
basically, uh, but three is still something that needs to be replaced and one. Are that- is that will we
eventually see that z4411 be- be reallocated to Fire Station 1 and 5, is that the expectation?
[00:39:36]
Yeah, so the, uh, the funding source behind the- the Fire Station 5 and 3 that you see right there, it's
slated in the facility reserve, which, a- again, does not- is projected to have zero balance after the City
Park Pool project. And with the budget the way it is, we are not running any surpluses. Uh, we don't
anticipate running surpluses, so the facility reserve is- is probably going to be a- a dormant fund for a
while, uh, which means if we want to pursue a project like this, we're looking at a referendum, a- a, uh,
vote to get the- the, um, borrowing capacity to- to be able to do that. Um, with- with the budget, uh,
conditions projected kind of as is for the next several years, uh, the chief and his team are gonna have to
Page 13
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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really, uh, start thinking about how we can best serve the community in the forestation model, and that
may include, uh, the- the rehab of three, uh, but it also- uh, and- and also will include the relocation of
one. Uh, we've got some work to do to find the property to- to be able to do that. But I would say
Station 1 is kind of rising to the top of the priority list now. Um, the decision whether to- to rehab three
in place, um, I- I'm not sure. I'm quite ready to- to tell you what the best option is because if- if budget
conditions do change and they do improve, we might revisit this 3,5 combo, but if they don't, um, it
probably lends itself to a rehab type situation. I'm sorry, Chief. Did?
[00:41:14]
No, uh, that's completely accurate.
[00:41:16]
Okay. And one is probably ahead of three, and should it show up within five years under capital
improvement?
[00:41:24]
Uh, we don't have a funding source for it, we also don't have the land for it. So typically, we wouldn't
put anything in with that level of questioning. Um, but, um, it- no, we probably wouldn't put it in. Um, if
we were to identify land and we were comfortable moving to a referendum, that's when you would
start to see it move in there.
[00:41:52]
Yeah, thank you.
[00:41:56]
Library is up next.
[00:42:08]
Hello. Thanks for the time this afternoon. I'm Elsworth Carman, the library director. Uh, this project
looks familiar to most of you. Uh, it's, uh, was first introduced by the previous library director Susan
Craig in 2017, um, and is to replace the carpet and some sort of integrated furnishing- built in furnishing
at the library. Um, the replacement cost in 2017 was estimated at 700,000. I've sort of built that up over
the years of this request, um, and requested 940,000 this year. You'll see the current funding is at 805,
which includes 55,000 from gift controlled funds at the library. Um, so that may mean, uh, scope
change, but we'll- we'll make that money go as far as we can, and we're really excited to have this
project happening. It's replacing, um, original carpet from 2004, and we've had around 13 million people
in and out of the building since then. So it has served its purpose, it's been well maintained, um, but
should be a relatively straightforward project once it gets kicked off. So we're- we're really excited that
it's coming into fruition.
[00:43:20]
Page 14
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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Do you, um, anticipate continuing to serve the public while putting in the carpet, 'cause I know that
that's kind of laborious?
[00:43:28]
It's a really good question. It, uh, the intention is to do both the first and second public floor areas,
which would probably mean a stage closing of certain- certain areas while the work is being done. Uh, if -
it depends on sort of what the- the contracted vendors prefer as far as, uh, moving the materials. But I
think there's a pretty good chance that we would still have things accessible, even if that meant staff
retrieving items for the public. Uh, with our size facility, uh, if we- if we didn't have a floor accessible, we
would be able to have the staff available to do that- that running. So I think that the physical disruption
would be relatively significant, uh, while the work was being done, but the material access we could
probably maintain.
[00:44:15]
And do you have a sense of how long the project would be, I mean, has- has that been scoped out?
[00:44:21]
1 think it would be- my guess would be as far as disruptive work could be two or three weeks at sort of
on the longer end, but it depends on a few different factors. Um, our preference is to go with, like, tile
carpet instead of broad loom carpet, which makes the installation a little bit quicker and so there are
certain things that I think we would opt for that would make that more seamless.
[00:44:44]
Thank you.
[00:44:45]
Do you know if there's currently tiled carpet there now?
(00:44:48]
Most of it is not. No, it's not tiled.
[00:44:54]
Great. Thanks. Next is Senior Center.
[00:45:05]
Good afternoon, again. LaTasha DeLoach, Senior Center coordinator. Um, you'll see two phases here,
um, and some of that is kind of a budgetary way in which we're paying for this, but it's looking mostly at
our interior work that's needed. For instance, we have areas in our building, um, where the carpet
hasn't been replaced in 40 years, um, to just mechanical plumbing, uh, things. We just haven't had this
level of- of renovation in the 40 something years we've been there, 44 exactly this year. Uh, so we
haven't had some of these major changes. So it's painting, there's also, uh, putting in some, um, work
into our historic areas like the lobby, uh, just maintaining some of those things, bringing down wallpaper
Page 15
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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that's kind of already coming down, but getting it all the way down and cleaned up and painted. Um,
also way finding. As you all know, as we work more with older adults, as there's diminished capacity.we
need to have things a little bit more color coded, as well as its signage a little bit clearer so that people
can navigate the building as that happens throughout time. So we also want to look at different projects
from the ADA, um, a- a study that we had, um, in the master plan to just implement those different
things to kind of help us to be able to better serve not only seniors, but also the public that utilizes the -
the space.
[00:46:25]
Questions?
[00:46:26]
1 was going to ask about the kitchen, but I wasn't sure whether- which one that was, Phase 1 or Phase 2.
[00:46:311
It probably would go- we're going into Phase 2 versus we have more of those mechanical plumbing type
things that need to- the- the project that people won't see as much but they'll feel, those projects will
need to go first as a priority, just, ah, for comfort. And then probably later on in that process, we'll see
what we can do with the kitchen. We have a couple of ideas with our master plan of things we can do,
but we'll have to revisit that and see, um, how that might look, given that there's so many comm-
community kitchens coming out now, but ours was more looking at it being a learning space in a way to
be able to, uh, better serve our seniors. As you all know, we have a large pantry, so it may be some
opportunities to make some adjustments there to, kind of, better house, um, some of our pantry items
that we get as we ta- partner with Table to Table.
[00:47:19]
Just a couple of notes on the senior center. The master plan, which would have been presented to you
probably three years ago, maybe, um, those expenses that were estimated, uh, to meet all project goals
were probably closer to 15 million. So this is a very slim budget for a facility of this size. Ah, it'll be
difficult to stretch these dollars, but we- we certainly will do the best we can, and I know that, ah,
there's a lot of generous people that probably will step up to- to help support from a private fundraising
to- to help us stretch it even further. Um, but as you can see from some of the pictures that were
presented, and if you've just been in the facility, you- you do know the carpet is probably 20 years past
its life, and, ah, that some of just the- the basic needs are going to have to be addressed prior to, ah,
some of the more ambitious goals that we had set for this facility. Um, we still have a 1.3 million dollar
limit on what we can borrow for this project, um, and that's why there's two distinct projects. So, ah,
you can see the- the funding source in both of them are- are higher than that amount. But the way we
plan to finance this is to bond the full amount for each project, Phase 1 and Phase 2, 1.3 million, and
then, ah, utilize TIF. So we would essentially, um, have to amend the urban renewal plan to include the
rehabilitation of the Senior Center as a goal of the- that urban renewal plan. And then we would utilize
tax increment financing dollars from the larger district, ah, to supplement what we can bond to- to get
Page 16
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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more aggressive than that, ah, similar to the fire station would require a community referendum and
60% voter approval. The next category will be parks.
[00:49:25]
All right, Juli Seydell Johnson, Parks and Rec Director, we start with, um, another trail segment along
Highway 6. We've been gradually building the trail along Highway 6 piece by piece. This is the next
segment. The next one, City Park Pool. We are eight days away from final plans and they'll be here a
week from Friday. It is the three pool concept. We do- we plan to set the public hearing at the first
Council meeting in February and take bids later February, ah, with a bid date in mid -March. Fingers
crossed. It's exciting to get this far, but fingers crossed on many things with that project. The Palisades
Park development is a small area of neighborhood open space that we've received at the- we haven't
received yet, but are expecting to receive on the- kind of the north side of the community, a very small
park up there. This would develop it with a small playground and shelter. City Park Shelters and
Restroom Replacement. This is kind of a full -on reser- renovation of both upper and lower City Park. A
lot of the shelters are older and reaching the end of their serviceable life. So we will be taking most of
those older ones out and replacing them, consolidating them- consolidating some of the restrooms,
replacing some of the restrooms and others will be going away. There's kind of a full plan with that.
With the City Park Pool project, the upper City Park restrooms will be attached to the pool building. So
lots of changes happening there. Napoleon Park Softball. This is renovations of fields 5 through 8 to
make them safer and more playable. This is laser grading them. This is working on, ah, kind of
renovating all the, um, dugouts and areas- public areas around that.
[00:51:04]
Juli?
[00:51:04]
Yeah.
[00:51:05]
Will you- is there any possibility or talk of, um, expanding restroom facilities so they're not all in that
one. That's all the way, you know?
[00:51:17]
At City Park?
[00:51:18]
No- no. Napoleon.
[00:51:20]
Oh, Napoleon. There's two, right- there's.
[00:51:26]
Page 17
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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Perhaps.
[00:51:27]
Yeah, we had- we had actually proposed a capital improvement project to- to do restroom renovations,
that's not included in this 5 through 8. It was- it's on the unfunded list at this point, but that's when that
would be addressed both at looking at Napoleon and then City Park baseball as well, looking at
renovating those restrooms eventually.
[00:51:46]
And I will say it's actually been a few years since I've been at Napoleon, but I just remember that there
was essentially like, if you were at field, you know, up closest by the animal shelter, then you had to
walk all the way down to-
[00:52:01]
Yeah. So-
[00:52:02]
That was a couple of years ago, so- I digress. I'm glad it's on the list.
[00:52:05]
It's on the list. It's not funded yet, but on the list. Event Facility Improvements. This is the fund that we
use for both Terry Trueblood Lodge and the Riverside Festival stage. This particular project would just
fun, believe it or not, just this restaining of that building. Very pretty building, but very expensive to
maintain. You have to restain it approximately every five years. We have not done it yet. The building is
probably 10 or 15 years old and hasn't been done yet, so we're playing a little catchup out there with
that. Benton Hill, the next park is the playground replacement. This is one of about five parks left to be
renovated as part of the 2017 park master plan that we talked about during the operating budget. So
we're just about done with fulfilling all of our list of park renovations, but Benton Hill is one of the next
ones. You've already- already had a few neighborhood meetings with neighbors in that park, that very
active group out there. So we've done some tree planting and some kind of things intermittently in that
park, but this would take care of the playground and ADA accessibility to it.
[00:53:09]
1 believe we spoke about this earlier this year the sort of challenges of Benton Hill Park and there's no
sidewalks there. Is there any planning to- to work on that, or is that something we've said, no, it's just
too complex.
[00:53:21]
So the sidewalk along Benton, there's issues with the topography and the safety of the sidewalk, if I
remember correctly. So not along the south side of Benton Street there.
[00:53:34]
Page 18
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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Yeah, that sidewalk would be pretty tough to get in there. I mean, especially with the grades, you'd
probably be talking quite a bit of retaining walls and whatnot to- to do that.
[00:53:45]
And loss of trees. There's a lot of big mature trees right along there. Okay. The next project is ADA
improvements to our elevators. This is both Robert A. Lee Rec Center and at City Hall. Um, nothing too
glamorous here, but braille voice commands, other things that'll make it more accessible in the elevator
systems. North Market Square is another one of the parks that has not yet been touched by the 2017
master plan. There's interest with the school district to partner on this, um, this project, ah, with some
of the playground equipment. Obviously, the school right next door uses it for their- a lot of their recess
time, and the neighborhood is very active there, too. So I'm sure this will be a very interesting project as
we move forward with that.
[00:54:29]
Juli, I'm sorry, I have one more question. Thinking of the fact that, um, there was earlier discussion
about the, um, with the baseball diamonds that the school district was helping because of the shared. I
mean, if this is something that the man is using as part of, you know, for their kiddos, is there any
contribution?
[00:54:53]
They've, um, indicated they will be paying for some of the new equipment that we place in.
[00:54:57]
Okay.
[00:54:57]
Especially some of the more adaptive and inclusive equipment. We haven't really gotten that far in the
conversations beyond that.
[00:55:04]
Okay. No, that sounds like that's a good start.
[00:55:09]
Reno Street Park is another one that- this is one of the last ones that does not truly have the ADA access
from the street up to the playgrounds- up to the playground area or the shelter. So that's one thing that
will happen there, likely a playground replacement, although it is not as old as some of our others, ah,
and some improvements to the community garden space would be included in Reno Street renovations.
Westside Park, this is the part of the land acquisition for Carson Lake, I believe. The Carson Lake area in
that park. Mercer Shelter. This is simply the replacement of the park shelter next to the large
playground at Mercer. Park storage building. This is a pool building, ah, likely going to be placed at the
soccer complex. It's not heated. It doesn't have plumbing. It'll just be very much a winter shelter -type
area for our parks equipment. Um, pretty simple, but something that we lack for getting all of our
Page 19
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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equipment indoors during the winter. The next one is the actual building of the park. You just saw the
land acquisition, and this is actually building the park area around the Carson Lake retention area, um,
that we had to.
[00:56:27]
This would actually be for the actual lake construction.
[00:56:31]
We have like three projects on the site so excuse me. Okay, the next one's coming later. I thought it had
a different picture. That's why I was confused. Robert A. Lee, this is structural cables. So Robert A. Lee
after it was built, my understanding is it shifted the building itself. So they had to come back and put
structural cables around the outside. And you can see that when you're over there, you see them in the
pool. We've had them evaluated. There's a few that- especially in the pool area that will need to be
replaced sooner rather than later. So this will replace the ones that need to be replaced. This is what
holds the building from shifting any further. Maybe Josh can elaborate more on what it does.
[00:57:07]
This is not, uh, conventional in any way. We have never seen it anywhere else. And the idea of a metal
cable in a chlorine -rich environment is really peculiar, so.
[00:57:20]
The next one is more of our HVAC replacements. At Mercer, we have worked on the- the indoor pool
area. We've worked on the gym area, but that leaves the center area, the lobby, the meeting rooms, the
fitness room. This is HVAC replacement there. And then at Robert A. Lee, the re- replacement of the
gym heating and cooling unit.
[00:57:41]
For these HVAC replacement projects, Juli, what- are they typically one -for -one whereby if we have an
existing gas -fired units, we replace them with gas -fired units, or are there provisions for upgrading to
fully electric for any of these?
[00:57:57]
It has been typically one -for -one, but we are more and more looking at the options for doing all electric.
In fact, I don't know if we've mentioned that, but City Park Pool- the pool building itself will have all
electric heat for the water heating and- and the heating of the community room, not the pool water or
the- the filter house area, but- so it's something we look at with each and every project now.
[00:58:20]
And it's always the goal to get there if the council budgets appropriate amount of money, or is it more
nuanced than that?
[00:58:27]
Page 20
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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I think it's a little more nuanced than that. It- it's probably more than I know about it, actually so. Next
one is a Columbarium. So at the cemetery, this is where we inter the cremains, and we are quickly
selling out of our current area that we have for this. So this would expand it, nearly double it in size. So
we have more spaces to sell for that. Another part of the Robert A. Lee roof. Ah, we started a project. So
we looked at Robert A. Lee, we looked at the Mercer roof, and we looked at City Hall roof. At this point
in time, we finished the Mercer roof over the gymnasium, and we finished, ah, parts of the City Hall
roof. The parts that needed the repair are the worst. We hope the next project will be to go back and do
the pool area over Mercer. That leaves Robert A. Lee as this fund- funding in this line for that, um, those
repairs there. This project would add a new and better disinfectant system to our two indoor pools. It's a
UV disinfectant system. It- it kind of amps up chlorine and what chlorine does at the pool becoming
more and more widely recommended by health departments across the nation as we deal with things
like cryptosporidium and some other nasty bugs in the water. So this would look to upgrade those in the
two indoor pools. Not necessarily going to do it at the new city park pool, though, however, because
sunlight does it more at the outdoor pools than the indoor ones.
[00:59:571
Is this something that the swimmers would see or something that the water travels through pipes that-
that-
[01:00:01]
It happens- it happens internally in the pipes, back in the filter room. The salespeople will tell you the
water will feel more silky and smooth. I don't know if anyone can actually feel that or not, but.
Tuckpointing at Mercer Scanlon is- is the next project. Just exterior renovations there. And then, um,
another roof project at Mercer Scanlon. The next one is the, as I said, the area over the center. We had
the HVAC on the central area, the locker rooms, the lobby. This is the roof over that particular area. Next
project here in- in City Hall and the police station is a small office remodel. Ah, you have a cubicle space
there, but that will, I believe, turn it into a full office space with walls around it. City Hall fire alarm and
strobe updates. So we had a fire alarm test recently and realized that it wasn't working in all areas of the
city hall at all times. So we've done some necessary repairs to make it safer right now, ah, but also
realized that it did not always have- did not have strobe and, um, the- some of the alarms in certain
areas, either. So this project will make it all better throughout all areas so everyone can see and hear
when the fire alarms go off in this building. Harlocke Hill is a very small playground we have, um, kind of
behind the Hock's Nest, is that right? Yeah, the Hock's Nest student housing area. Um, just a small
playground that- that needs replaced and then ADA access.
[01:01:38]
Park paving improvements. We've mentioned earlier that our trails are aging. We've got a couple big
parking lots that are also aging, too. The first one being as you're looking here at Mercer Athletic, um,
we've done some work on the smaller parking lot closer to the Rec Center building, but that athletic
parking lot has not had that, um, area. The other one that we're looking at is Scott Park. We found that
may- we may have a different- that may come up differently before we get to it in two- 2029. We had
some neighborhood open space funds become available in that area. Um, but we have that. We also
Page 21
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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have paving of the roads in Lower City Park that needs to be addressed, um, and eventually the parking
at Terry Trueblood, so any place you see a big parking lot, that's something that we haven't necessarily
planned very well for that we're trying to bring online, um, for the planning in the capital projects.
[01:02:29]
Are those resurfacings, or reconstruction?
[01:02:32]
Some of them are reconstruction, so we would resurface first, if possible, but some of them have
reached the point that that's probably not going to be an option. I would look to these smart individuals
next to me to answer those questions.
[01:02:44]
Yeah, I think it's just going to be based on condition. And obviously, if we can rehab it, it'll be a good
candidate, that would be preferred, but there's just some that are probably to the point where
reconstruction is the only real good option.
[01:02:55]
All right. And from a cost perspective, that's not good news, but from, uh, maybe designing them to
manage water better is a very good thing, because I know that older parking lots don't manage water
well, so-
[01:03:10]
This is a big one you may not have expected. Um, we have a lot of issues with keeping the Ped Mall
fountain operating. With the renovations to the Ped Mall a few years ago, it was somewhat addressed
but not completely. Um, and so our government building staff spent a lot of time just trying to keep it up
and running. This project will look at rebuilding it, not only the internal parts, but the other part is that,
the tiles on the upper level are set in sand, and so you get a lot of vehicular- vehicular traffic through the
Ped Mall with deliveries and construction and not different things crack the surface. We notice there's
lots of cracked things. So we're going to look at some different options for paved or stamped concrete
or some other things to make that a better situation, and make the search tank probably larger. Part of
what we have burns out the motors quite often, just doesn't have the recall of the water that it probably
should. So a lot of different things to happen, um, but pretty much a full rebuild of a fountain to make it
look similar and very similar to what it looks like now, but just operate more efficiently and better.
[01:04:13]
Is that the right spot for that fountain? I know it had been there for years, and Ped Mall was
reconstructed around that, but it's always felt strange to me that it's right where the stage is and it's
right where people would drive if they need to do maintenance. Like, is that- is there a study to sort of
confirm that that's the right spot? I mean, I think I see people use it and they love it, but it also seems
like a long term problem in that exact location, and also programmatically strange where, it's right at
that stage location.
Page 22
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:04:47]
And do you know how many times in, um at least the past 30 years has been, um, uh, like,
reconstructed?
[01:04:54]
It- it- it just- yeah. I don't know, though. At this point, we're obviously not going to design it up here. I
just- like it sort of feels-.
(01:05:061
Realize there's a vault under the grant underground for the- for the equipment there, and there's, you
know, water service and electric already there. So moving it would be pretty substantial. That'd be my
only concern.
[01:05:19]
Sure.
[01:05:19]
And we would have looked at that during the Ped Mall design. We went through a master plan for the
entire downtown, and then we would have zeroed in on all the individual projects, including the master
plan of the PIED Mall and, um, boy, the- there may have been some really early discussions on whether
that was the right spot, but we quickly landed on, uh, leaving it there. Uh, it is- I mean, anytime the
stage is used, we have to turn it off, but, um, I don't think that's been overly burdensome for us. The
connectivity with the playground is really nice. Kids can go back and forth. The proximity to the library, I
think, is nice. Um, so I think it works- I think it works well.
[01:06:04]
Breaks all the time where it's at, too, though, and that's-
[01:06:07]
Well, we had some challenges. Do you want to jump in and run and kind of just explain the difference
pre and post renovation there?
[01:06:14]
And I think- so I think the issue- the issue that we're still trying to work through is, um, as we were
entering into the Ped Mall reconstruction, um, the- the- we quickly learned that the state treats these
types of splash pads as pools. And so as a part of our project, we had to do a change order that actually
upgraded the chlorine system as far as the disinfection system. And so it was kind of a quick fixed to
that, uh, location. Um, and I think we're still trying to work through what impact that chlorination
system has on the tiles and the mortar system that's there in the- in- in- in the actual splash pad. And so
I think we're still trying to work. That- that's what- that's what we're trying to figure out is you know Is-
is, you know, is it really the- the chlorine, and- and is that attacking the mortar in between the tiles?
Page 23
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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That's, you know, the granite tiles, that's actually creating the issue with allowing them to move. You
know, I mean, it- it performed very well for a long period of time. Um, you know, and- and- and we
didn't have any issues. And when we changed the disinfection system is when we really started seeing
the issues that are there today.
[01:07:28]
Thanks for the background now, that I just keep questioning whether it's the right spot. I- I- I will tell you
when my kids were little, that that was a wonderful triple threat between that right next to the
playground, right next to the library with the library bathrooms. And, uh, especially when I was flying
solo and had two kids to watch, I could be in one place and watch them both, so, uh, and have a
concrete wall to sit on at the same time. So- so- so there are some functional advantages to that spot,
and some happy memories now that my kids are a little old for the splash fountain. But-
[01:07:59]
Now they can watch you.
[01:08:07]
The next one is another trail project along Highway 6, generally from Gilbert Street to Orchard Street.
[01:08:16]
So this one really is meant to kind of partner with the DOT'S bridge project. So they will be replacing the
Highway 6 bridge over the Iowa River in 2028, 1 believe. Um, and so what this will do- as part of that
bridge project, they'll be putting new pedestrian accommodations on the bridge, and so this will provide
trail and sidewalk connections to essentially tie that into the surrounding pedestrian network. So there'll
be a trail on the South side of Highway 6 making those connections as well as some, uh, needed
sidewalk connections at the various intersections. With that, we'll move on to police.
[01:09:04]
Good afternoon. Denise Brotherton captain with the police department, and I have the new Chris here,
which is Devin. I've- you have met Devin before she was one of our animal control officers. Uh, we really
don't have anything too new. Our body cameras and in -car video systems, I know we've spoken about in
the past, but that's just an upgrade to that, um, to- a lot of that to get us on the cloud to free up storage
and prove our efficiency and our communications with, uh, the county and city attorney's offices. And,
uh, the generator has been an ongoing project. That's just been taking some time to get in the correct
parts, and Devin will speak about the training annex, but we also then had to look at a generator that
could also cover that additional area.
[01:09:561
Hello. The generator project is due to start here this spring. They're hoping to start some stuff in
February on the internal wiring and then get it going in March or April. Hoping to have it done by the
end of the summer. Uh, the training annex is an addition funded by Friends of the Animal Center
Foundation. They've started a campaign to raise the 1.2 million that it's guesstimated to take to build it.
Page 24
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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It will be a multipurpose room. So more or less an open room with drains and HVAC, all of the things
that we would need that if we had another large scale impound, we could utilize it as more area for
cages or kennels. We can use it regularly as an enrichment room. During the cold like this, when the
dogs can't spend the time outside, we can use that for those. It can be vent room. You will also have an
overhead door that allows the animal control officers to pull their vehicles in and secure themselves
inside the building before removing animals, which is especially helpful when it's problematic animals or
things like that, that risk- have a higher risk of escaping.
[01:10:58]
Nice job, by the way, with the big rescue operation. Was that- was that a year ago already?
[01:11:03]
A year ago, last August.
[01:11:04]
Yeah. In the standby generator, is that like in case of storms? Is that a backup generator, kind of a thing?
So-
[01:11:10]
Yeah, the facility did not have a generator when it was built, and we've had issues in the past when
we've lost, obviously, power during heat or cold. And they've really had to get creative to keep the
critters, even with their fur, they need to be warm, and they do get snakes and iguanas and other things
like that, that- that need to be taken care of during those times. So we're pretty excited to finally- to
finally get this down there. That's a real stress inducing, obviously, thing when you know that's
happening and how to care for those animals.
[01:11:46]
Great. Thank you.
[01:11:47]
So you mentioned with the training annex that that's a fundraising. Is it 100% planned as, um, fund
raising?
[01:11:54]
Yes, they're funding it 100%. The building of it.
[01:12:07]
All right. Moving on to public works, starting out at the landfill, the compost pad improvements and
expansion. So this would look at providing a paved surface for an expansion of the area for compost
operations. The dual extraction system expansion. So again, this would be looking at addressing leech 8
and landfill gas, um, expanding on the existing system. Site flow improvements. This is a project that will
add additional signage out there at the landfill, as well as relocation of the oil shed for better flow on the
Page 25
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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site. The future landfill cell, as it says, will be preparing for the next expansion of the landfill in the new
cell that will occur next. And then moving on to the horizontal gas collectors. So this would be installing
these in the current cell, so the FY'23 cell, installing that for gas collection. Uh, we're looking at future
potential for an added, uh, refuse route. So this would be a fleet expansion, uh, for a refuse truck. And
then, uh, we are looking at an early upgrade for one of our rear load packers and turning into an
automated truck. Uh-
[01:13:40]
Next step. I'm curious about the landfill cells. How quickly- how often does the city need to build new
cells? And is it pretty predictable for when we have to build them, or is- do we see major fluctuations in
usage?
[01:13:52]
It- it- so from our- from- we continue to see the normal use increase, unfortunately, we've kind of- it's
kind of been ebbs and flows, but it's maybe 5% up, 5% down year to year, as far as the garbage. The
major impacts that are there are the natural disasters. So if we have a large flood event, we have a
tornado where we start getting a lot of C&D debris coming in, um can have a major impact on what that
time frame is. Uh, next project is looking at the potential for a recycling transfer station. So currently, we
use a local vendor, we haul all our recycling there, and then they transport that to Scott County, and
they do the- the major recycling there. Um, t his would be looking at the concept of us actually, um,
doing that somewhere, whether it's at the landfill or in town, and then hauling that ourselves to that
other vendor. So basically, um, looking at efficiencies and operations. We've seen a large increase in the
fee that our third party vendor is charging us, and so we're just trying to determine if there is a better
option for us to do this work.
[01:15:02]
You mentioned it in terms of efficiencies and certainly cost is one of them. Do you see that potentially in
terms of efficiencies of time and effort to do it ourselves?
[01:15:16]
Correct. So- and I think that's what we would have to so, um, you know, we would look at this both for
Iowa City and also for the other folks that come at Coralville would also be a potential participant in this
as we move this forward. Okay.
[01:15:31]
Be interesting to see how that comes about.
[01:15:35]
Yeah, the sign changes out at the landfill. I know we just recently talked about some policy changes in
hours of operation, some other couple tweaking some policies. Is that site flow related to some of those
policy changes, or was that- There's some discussion about lines out there and where people would
have to go that might be different with who has to go across the scale and that kind of Right.
Page 26
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:15:56]
So we would so when we look at the- the potential policy change on how we handle yard waste, as folks
would then have to come across the scale versus being able to bypass the scale. So we'd be looking at
those types of signage changes.
[01:16:12]
Thank you. Out on Rundell Street, we have an existing pump station that has some equipment that's its
useful life, so we'll look at replacing that. In addition to that, you can see here the vault top is in the
pedestrian path, and so we need to make some improvements there to make that ADA accessible. On
River Street, we have a section that actually has a ditch that is an ongoing maintenance issue for us. So
we'll look at a project here to replace that with storm sewer in that location. Out on Peterson Street, we
have a section of storm sewer pipe that has been a similar an ongoing issue for us. We've tried to do
some spot repairs that hasn't addressed the issue fully, so we're looking at doing a larger repair project
here for an existing line of storm sewer. The equipment maintenance facility replacement. So this is the
partner project with the new transit facility. So these will relocate together out to the public works site.
[01:17:29]
Entrance -way improvements, looking at softening up the interchanges of Dubuque Street and Highway 1
or Dodge Street with 180. In addition, there's the potential for some signage along Dubuque Street, kind
of a welcome Iowa City sign type. This is one of the big ones Court Street Reconstruction. So this is one
that is we plan to start here, probably here in the next couple of months. So this will be a two plus year
project, so probably 2.5 years. This is for reconstruction of the section of Court Street from Muscatine
Avenue through First Avenue. Dodge Street Reconstruction. So this will be a partner project with the
DOT. So this will be a reconstruction of Dodge Street from Burlington Street to Governor Street, similar
to the other reconstructions. I include not only pavement but also utility improvements as well. Market
Street and Jefferson Street, two-way conversion. So this will be converting them from one-way streets
to two-way streets. In addition, it includes some money to add outlets and electrical improvements
along Linn Street to the pedestrian lights in that location.
[01:18:52]
Michele, I have a question for Jeff. Can you remind us? I- I remember the conversation about converting
it to two-way. And I'm just wondering for refresher on the logic behind it. I know that the downtown
District was a big promoter of this, I think, in part to help with retail, you know, and accessibility to the
different retail on both sides of market. But were there additional factors that were going into that, and
can you just remind me of them?
[01:19:21]
1 think it's largely the um, what you- what you noted, the downtown district in the North Sides advocacy
for that to get two-way traffic helps just build exposure to that business district. There's also thought
that it could reduce speeds, right? When you've got two paths going in the same direction, you naturally
will have a little bit higher speeds when you're coming at each other in a two-way situation, you can
Page 27
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 202S
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hopefully slow those down and could potentially also improve the bicycle network. We've got enough
right of way there to- to build nicer East West connections there. All those things kind of come together.
I think we still have some study to do on where that ends. I don't know that um, we're comfortable right
now saying we'd take that past Clinton Street.
[01:20:13]
We can't get City University owns that?
[01:20:15]
Correct. Because you can crossing it on a two-way is different than crossing on a one-way, right? You're
looking both ways as opposed to looking one-way. So when you get the really high pedestrian volumes
like you have with the Cleary walkway, it maybe best to keep that one-way. So there's some further
study that's- that's needed with this to determine the- the project extent.
[01:20:38]
Yeah.
[01:20:38]
Oh, sorry, at present, it's what from Dubuque to.
[01:20:45]
Well, it goes all the way to Madison.
[01:20:48]
Oh, okay- okay.
[01:20:50]
And the- I just to say the East End, too, I assume, is being studied, because I know there's a really bizarre
Rochester connection that confuses me and I live there, so yeah.
[01:21:011
1 know this can.
[01:21:02]
Anything else with this one? I know that we've talked about the- the signals are probably 1970s vintage
signals. So that's driving a lot of this higher cost is replacing all of the signals. Signals are built for one -
ways they need to be reconfigured to two -ways.
[01:21:18]
1 know the study is important, but practical- like, practically, I don't know how you can have one street
that's a one-way. I think that would be difficult. Even when we see around the county building- the Jeff's
County building, we- I often see people going the wrong way. And that's been for years. Um, since that
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Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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has been there now, when we used to have even over here on Washington Street one-way, it took a
while, but people figured that out. But I think that would be a very challenging change of course um, if
you just had that one street one-way in. And I would imagine I don't know what the university stand is
on that, you know, on that one block, if they would consider it, but I- I think if we're going to be doing
the study, certainly we would be assessing if one that one block should be um, converted, as well- as
well as Ask University, what their- if they- if they would be amendable to that. A lot of that is more
pavement painting than I think doing any other changes.
[01:22:32]
Is- I didn't realize that they controlled the street.
[01:22:36]
But they own that street.
[01:22:38]
From- I know.
[01:22:39]
So we own and maintain the right of ways through the University campus, at least in that area. But we
would still need to coordinate with university. You know, so, yeah. So, you know, Madison Street to
Market and Jefferson, those are all city streets.
[01:22:58]
Okay.
[01:23:00]
So the university just explain what their um, decision making would be there?
[01:23:08]
So since it goes through the heart of their campus, I think that's the coordinating piece that we'd have to
work through. The TN Cleary walkway, you know, obviously, is the- is the major- major spine, you know,
for pedestrian access to their- to their campus. And obviously, has a major impact on- on how traffic
flows both on Jefferson and Market.
[01:23:30]
So with this project schedule, we're really looking at um, maybe'26 starting the study, probably mostly
in 2027. So we're a couple of years away, but this is definitely on the downtown District's radar as well
as the University's radar. So everybody's anticipating some- some planning discussions with this one.
[01:23:50]
And the $27 are just really the study design component?
Page 29
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:23:55]
Correct.
[01:24:01]
The next one is the North Gilbert Street reconstruction. So this is the one that we brought to you last
night. So this will be reconstruction of Gilbert Street from Brown to Kimball. Taft Avenue reconstruction.
So this is from American Legion Road to Lower West Branch. This would be similar to what we did on
American Legion Road, where we went from a rural cross section to an urban cross section, adding
storm sewer, as well as adding on street bicycle lanes. Oakdale Boulevard extension alignment study. So
this will be updating the study that was done a number of years ago. As we've entertained potential
redevelopment in this area, that's one frequent question is, what does that alignment need to be? And
so this will be updating that study just to make sure we have the- the right idea of what that alignment
should be. Burlington Street Bridge replacement. So this would be replacement of both of the existing
bridges over the Iowa River, as well as looking at the pedestrian overpasses over Riverside Drive and
Grand Avenue. It also will look at getting rid of potentially the one-way section there and making two-
way traffic from Burlington Street to connect to Melrose. As part of the project, we're also looking at
options for rehab or potential removal of the dam. And that study phase has kicked off. And so we are
underway there, been meeting with a lot of stakeholders here recently. We actually have our first public
meeting on the 30th January.
(01:25:36]
1 think you've mentioned this before, and I just can't remember the budget numbers that are up there, is
that the project budget that would be part of it would be DOT or is that just the city contribution to the
project DOT will add to that?
[01:25:48]
Yeah, so that's sort of the city contribution at this point. We've secured some federal funding as part of
the- the study phase and- and later phases, we'll also be looking for additional outside funding to help
fund that project. We anticipate the university and DOT contributing as well. We haven't really gotten
into any detailed discussions about that yet.
[01:26:10]
Thank you.
[01:26:10]
So I think what I heard you say a lot of good stuff. I'm excited about but um, is it possibility that Grand
becomes the- the west of the river changes to a two-way street?
[01:26:22]
So, essentially, Grand up to Burlington and then Burlington to Melrose, so I guess, the section of
Melrose and Burlington that's currently one-way would go to two-way traffic. And so that way, you'd
Page 30
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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have a two-way connection from Burlington Street to Melrose, hopefully be able to continue those bike
lanes and make those connections, make it a smoother connection than it is today.
[01:26:431
Yeah, I'm glad to hear that it's sort of expansive in the study, so.
[01:26:53]
Camp Cardinal Road, Kennedy Parkway, pedestrian accommodations. So this
[01:26:57]
would be looking at that intersection,
[01:26:59]
getting rid of the right turn lanes and basically using that space to provide a pedestrian refuge island in
the middle for crossing of Camp Cardinal. North Dodge Street and ACT Circle. This would be adding a
new traffic signal at this location. Also would be anticipating a future fourth leg to the intersection for
the ACT redevelopment. Iowa Avenue improvements. So this was one section that was included in the
downtown streetscape master plan. This project would include more in the way of repairs, so pavement
repairs, also curb ramp and sidewalk repairs and upgrades, as well as some utility improvements and
repairs as well. Pedestrian refuge Island project. So this is a project to look at installing pedestrian refuge
islands at a number of locations. So this would be able to provide some protection for pedestrians as
they're crossing streets. I think there's seven locations included in the project. Friendship Street, Evans
Street, and Manitou Trail, sidewalk infill. So we used to have sort of a general sidewalk infill project that
was- had annual money. We've kind of changed that, and now we are funding specific locations. So
these are three locations where there are short stretches of sidewalk that are missing. So what we've
been aiming to do is those areas where we can provide connections, make a continuous path in- in
neighborhoods. So this is three locations where sidewalk is missing, and it'll be filling in those gaps.
Benton Street trunk sewer improvements. So this is a- a section of sewer that is in need of repair. At the
same time, we'll actually change the alignment. Right now, it- I believe it goes under a building and very
close to it. Um, so this will be moving it a little bit to get it into more of an open area that's a little easier
to- to maintain.
[01:29:13]
Confused by the- the image of the map. And is that Benton Street?
[01:29:21]
That's Benton Street. Yep, so it's just north of Benton Street, kind of there between Emerald and West
gate.
[01:29:261
Oh, I know. Oh, sir.
Page 31
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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(01:29:27]
1 got it- I got it. Sorry. I'm sorry, I caught up everybody else.
[01:29:32]
As the creek there.
[01:29:35]
Next project is some improvements at the Napoleon lift station. So equipment there is- is getting to the
end of its useful life. So looking at doing some renovation in that building, aeration equipment
improvements, also original equipment to the aeration train. So looking at updating that equipment,
making it more energy efficient. The wastewater treatment facilities improvements, this- this project is
already under construction. This is additional dollars to finish that project off. We also have HVAC
updates that'll be done at the wastewater treatment plant and then replacement of the rotating drum
thickeners, which is a part of our sludge processing. The equalization basin is- is an HMA liner on it,
needs to- there's getting some UV decay in that, and so we need to do some upgrade on that, basically,
overlay it potentially and helps keep the water in the equalization basin. Let's see here. For the, you
know, we currently use the effluent water from the wastewater plant to um, irri- irrigate the soccer
park. And so this is addition of some pumps to help with that process. The- the digester gas
improvements. So this is the project we talked about earlier. So this is looking at the high strength
receiving station and getting that infrastructure in place. We have secondary clarifier repairs that need
to be done down there also. So we have a- we have a plant that's, you know, long term, needed some
maintenance, and so we're getting those pieces done for that plant.
[01:31:32]
Moving over to the water side of things, the Bradford Drive water main replacement. So this will be
replacing existing water main that's reached the end of its useful life there along Bradford Drive and
some of the other side streets in that area near Southeast Junior High. High service pump VFD
replacement, another project you saw last night that'll replace equipment up there at the water plant
related to the- the VFDs. Collector well- well, number 1, reconstruction. So as it- it says there, that it'll be
reconstruction of the collector well. This is one that has seen diminishing returns and now I believe is
not producing. So this will install new laterals to allow for that well to start producing water once again
and make some other improvements.
[01:32:19]
Jason, I'm sorry. I just want to give one point of clarification. The Bradford Street um, water main
replacement, that's the project that's slated for this summer, correct?
[01:32:27]
Right.
[01:32:27]
Yep, thank you.
Page 32
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:32:27]
Yep. Next is some roof replacements out at the- the water plant, similar to some of the other roofing
projects you've seen. The treatment process updates. So as the- the treatment methods have evolved at
the water plant, this will look at installing some new improvements as well as taking some of the- the
equipment offline that is no longer being used. Next one is installing- replacing existing water main
along Melrose. This would be between Camp Cardinal and Highway 218. It's another location that has a
history of water main breaks. The Power house dam rehabilitation. So this is one that- a project that'll
be replacing or sorry, repairing the existing dam. This is one that's been in the works for a little while, so
it'll be basically replacing those defects that have been observed during- during some dives.
[01:33:31]
This- this bridge is wholly owned by the city of Iowa City now, correctly- correct? And it's needed for our
water treatment. That's what it's functional. It actually does something for us because it's not just a
dam.
[01:33:45]
Yeah.
[01:33:45]
It basically provides the water elevation for upstream for water production. The next one is repairs at
the city's GSR, so ground storage reservoir. So this is where we store water at various locations. So this
would be upgrading the electrical and other components within those. Next project will be replacing
some of the flow meters at the water plant. You can see here that these are some of the larger diameter
pipes here with 12 inch through 36 inch meters replaced. The American Legion Road, PRV integration
and Peninsula Antenna. So the city's been working towards an east pressure zone within the water
system. So this is another portion of that. So the PRV is the pressure- pressure reducing valve. And so
that is one that was installed as part of the American Legion Road project. We're also going to be
replace- installing an antenna on Peninsula, which will allow us to get rid of one of the existing antennas
up at the North Street- North Dodge Street HyVee.
[01:35:01]
The bulk water station relocation. So this will be taking the existing water station from the transit and
equipment location and moving it down to the new public works site. A water rate study. So with the
pressure zone and some of the other improvements that are planned here in the coming years, this will
be to kind of take a look at what our water rate should be and how we can accommodate those future
improvements. The next project would be to install elevated storage, um, for water out on the east side
of town, again, getting- uh, contributing to that east pressure zone. So the city long, long ago,
understood, moved to underground pressurized water as opposed to these elevated, is- will this be the
first? It seems like a very different strategy, which is I would love to learn why we're changing strategies.
[01:36:01]
Page 33
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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And I'm not certain that we're completely changing strategies yet. So basically, this is a placeholder for
GSR, so it could be still ground storage, or I guess it's- it's water storage, whether it's elevated or ground
storage, uh, is kind of yet to be determined. Um, I think when you looked at the time when we- when
we replaced and went to the ground storage reservoirs, I think there was a lot of concern, um, with
terrorism at that time. And so, um, that was the decision to go with the ground storage, um, in the
system. Um, but as we look at the efficiencies that obviously are there by pumping up and having
elevated storage and not having to pump that, you know, I think that's- that's what we're looking at now
from an energy efficiency standpoint. Thanks.
[01:36:49]
And then the final project here is out at the Rochester GSR, uh, and improvements associated with that.
Um, this would kind of partner with the previous project being able to provide the location for filling
that, uh, additional storage and making improvements to this location. With that, we will move on to
transportation.
[01:37:10]
I'm gonna- and- and in regards to the as- as we look at the topography on the east side of town and the
elevation of it, elevated storage may be the only way that we'll be able to have higher pressures,
especially in the Churchill Meadows and as we continue to expand to the East on Herbert Hoover
Highway.
[01:37:26]
Is the East side of town uphill or downhill from the water treatment?
[01:37:30]
Uh, it- it's uphill.
[01:37:31]
Okay.
[01:37:351
All right. Darian Nagle-Gamm with transportation, we are on the home stretch here. Uh, eight more
items to go through them or turn it back over to Jason to finish things up. Uh, Tower Place Drainage
Modifications is the first project. This has been in the CIP for the last few years. This is a project to
modify the storm water, um, handling at the Tower Place parking ramp. All the storm water currently
flows inward, um, to the lower level, and there are times during extreme rainfall events where it
exceeds the capacity of the pipes to actually discharge that storm water. So we're looking at modifying
the storm, um, and creating, uh, an exterior, um, uh, supplemental storm water, um, structure to help
support it. We do have a lower level that is occasionally flooded. We did have two extreme rain events
earlier this year, where we did have water in the lower level. It did not. Um, we have blocked off the
parking spaces that are most affected by it, um, so that's good news, but it is a consistent and persistent
problem. We have those 15 minute extreme rainfall events. All right, second item is the transit
Page 34
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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maintenance facility relocation. So this is a project to construct a new transit facility at the existing
public works campus. We're very excited about this project. This was, um, heavily supported with a
federal grant of over $18 million. Um, we- our current facility is at the end of its useful life. It's over 40-
years-old, it's aging condition. Um, and the conditions of the ground around it preclude us from
expanding at that site. Um, additionally, we are out of space. We- we park- um, we park some of our
buses in the bus wash at night because we simply don't have any other room for them. So uh, it's both in
terms of need, in terms of age and condition and then also that capacity. So this is a project we have
already kicked off. Uh, we're working through the design process and getting the, um, federal clearance
that we need at the public works site to relocate there. So we will be providing updates as this, um,
exciting project moves on. All right. The next project is to replace door and door closures in our parking
facility. So this is pretty simple, just what it sounds like. We have, um, some doors that are original to
these facilities, and some of these facilities are over 40-years-old. So that's- that's remarkable in one
respect. Um, you know, just on Monday, we had a situation where the doors during the extreme cold
weather do not like to auto close as well as they do during warmer times. So we had to, you know, send
staff out to- to help address, um, some issues at the Capitol ramp. Um, we're also doing some work
currently at the- um, at the Tower Place ramp. So this is just an on- this is a kind of an ongoing need to
make sure that all of our doors, and therefore, the HVAC of the systems that they're attached to, um,
are functioning properly. All right. Wayfinding, sign refresh. We're pretty excited about this one. So we
have a variety of different wayfinding strategies in our ramps depending on when they were built. Um,
and I think our parking ramps, you could say that they are not always super intuitive in general. So
having good wayfinding is really important. And some of our wayfinding such as the sign here, their -
their age. Um, we have some that are painted onto the facilities. We have some that are- that are, uh,
manufactured and placed on the facility, and we would like to refresh them all, um, give them a new
look, make them easier to- to comprehend and make it consistent throughout all of our facilities to help
with that legibility. And understanding how to navigate the ramps. On street parking meter,
replacement is the next project. We are a few years into our current, um, meter replacement. The- the
lifespan has been about 8-10 years if we're very lucky. So this is planned for an out year, um, but we are
already at the point where we can see, you know, down the road, we're going to need to do, uh, a
refresh, um, either of our smart meter equipment or evaluate a multi -space system. Whatever that is, at
some point, um, at the end of our CIP calendar around 29, we're gonna need to consider, um,
replacements for on street parking.
[01:41:44)
Can you return to the signage parking signage? I fully agree. Our parking garages can be very confusing,
and they're all different it seems like. Um, is this static signage, or you- does this include the dynamic
signage where, like, you get appendant and says occupied space, unoccupied space? Is that- is that- is
that- does this budget support any of that, or is that?
[01:42:03]
The budget may support looking into that. I'm not sure if it would support fully funding that. I think the
intent was definitely with the static, but also look at what could we potentially do from an info -
information standpoint? So there are a lot of parking ramps you'll see in other communities. Bigger
Page 35
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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cities, especially might have an information board that tells you what the status is parking availability for
that facility, whether it's a red or a green dots, something that simple.
[01:42:28]
Yes.
[01:42:29]
And other nearby parking facilities. So you could see as you're leaving or see as you're entering, okay,
this one may be full, but this ramp has got space, and this ramp has- uh, this other ramp has some
space. So that's something that- that we'd like to start looking into.
[01:42:43]
Okay. A real quick question on the, um, I just happened to notice I parked at the city lot there between
Bluebird and Linn Street recently and was using the- my app, and maybe it's always been like this, and
just noticed it because maybe it was salient because we talked about it somewhat recently. But it gave
me like 12 minute increment options, which was really nice. Has it always been like that?
[01:43:04]
So prior to the parking rate and citation fine changes this summer, yes, that was- um, that was part of
our- that's part of our app setup. We have some flexibility with the app that we don't necessarily always
have with the actual programming on the actual meters. So um, we- uh, after- and then when we went
through the parking rate change, we realized that were not- those did not carry over. So we've recently
re -updated those. So you should see a four minute four. You said a 12 minute?
[01:43:35]
1 thought it 12- 1 mean, I thought it was 12. It's a couple of days ago so.
[01:43:37]
It should be- it should be 12. It's dependent on the rate that is charged at the actual- of the actual area
or the lot. So it might vary slightly across the community, but we are trying to at least in the app, allow
parkers to park using the smallest increment that's divisible by the overall hourly charge.
[01:43:55]
Sure.
[01:43:55]
And that's all the parking meters around town or just to that?
[01:43:59]
Yes.
[01:43:59]
Page 36
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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Thank you.
[01:44:01]
1 also saw the city note- uh, note about using the key ask at the, I'll call it the Old Mill. Are we gonna use
a key ask at the Old Mill site?
[01:44:11]
So there is not a key ask at the Old Mill site. There is, however, park- it's a park mobile parking lot. So we
had- so we weren't entirely when we did the last parking meter purchase of all the new parking meters,
we were not sure that we'd be hanging onto that lot for very long, and we did not purchase
replacements. They are on 3G technology, which really is what inspired all of the meters to be replaced.
So the communications are- we basically left them in that lot as long as we could, and the
communications were essentially going to get cut off. They're basically aging out. So we have
transitioned that parking lot, um, over to a park mobile only lot. So you use the app to pay, essentially
when you come in. So there's signage across the parking lot 5, 6, 7 signs that we have that- that tells you
how to pay in that- in that particular lot.
[01:45:03]
Got it. I think I incorrectly used the key ask term. It's literally just a sign with a QR code.
[01:45:09]
It says, use an app.
[01:45:11]
Yeah.
[01:45:11]
Okay.
[01:45:15]
All right. Tower Place HVAC replacement. So this is another project where we have the HVAC system at
our Tower Place, not only the parking ramp, but the entire power- uh, tower place, um, uh, structure. So
there is- it's a multi use structure there. It's a condo out structure. And so this would replace the- the
heating and cooling equipment in the facility. The city per the condo agreement, um, the city would be
responsible for a little over 27% of that cost. So that's really, um, little over 250,000 ultimately. So um,
this is a project that's been, um, in the hopper for the last few years, and we've just got the discussions
going with the- with the condo owners. So we're still working through exactly what the- what the
project is going to look like, but this is our- our placeholder to get this moving. So Capitol Street Ramp
North Stairwell Lobby Remodel. So this is the lobby that is adjacent to the Old Capital Town Center, um,
and the various lobbies on each floor. So this is just a project to, um, to modernize these facilities. We
need to replace the tile. The lighting systems are not all, um, functional, um, all the time. And uh,
repainting window trim, ceiling surfaces, they just- they need a refresh. Transit automatic passenger
Page 37
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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counters. So this was really born from the Bloomberg Harvard Data Analytics training that we went
through, and it really drove home how important it is to have, especially in transit, to have consistent
and reliable data and understanding about where people are getting on and where people are getting
off. And we just haven't had that. Technology in terms of automatic passenger counters have come a
long way. Um, they've been around for a bit, but they haven't really been as reliable as they are today.
Canvas has, um, piloted on multiple buses, and they're expanding to their entire system today. Um,
we're looking to do so, too, so that we can- we can do that really fine granual transit planning that we've
really needed to for a long time to help us, um, better understand how our users are using the system
and better understand how we can create the system of tomorrow. And that's it. All right, turn it over to
Jason.
[01:47:41]
All right, thank you. All right. So the final category are the on the radar projects. So as a reminder, these
are the projects that don't have funding within the plan, but still projects that are important and want to
keep in mind as we- we look forward. The first one is the Gateway trail segment. So this is the trail
segment there. North of Park Road would tie into the University's pedestrian bridge there. Um, the -
when we did the gateway project, there actually was a dead end for the trail. Uh, like I said, just north of
Park Road, ready for that to extend. All right, South Park Road. So just had my picture flipped here.
[LAUGHTER] Across from Hampshire. Next one is McCollister Boulevard Extension. So this would be the
section just East of the one that we completed here a few years ago. So this would go from Sycamore
Street over to Highway 6.
[01:48:411
Next one is East Side Sports Complex. We have the land, um, on the east side of the city for this one.
This has been on your on the radar, I think, for eight of my nine years here. So um, space for more
athletic fields, possibly an indoor facility, but uh, earmarked for athletics. The next one is the slide I tried
to talk about an hour ago. So this is the development of the Carson Lake Park. So we have a basic park
master plan developed. It looks a lot like Terra Tubod in that it's a lake with a nice path around it and
some natural, um, low impact recreation areas around the park.
[01:49:20]
The Highway 6 Bridge. So again, this is the project we talked about- about a little bit ago. This is the
DDT's project to replace the Highway 6 Bridge over the Iowa River. And then finally, is Kiddie Road. So
this is actually partially in the city, but mostly in the county. So this is a road. We've done a functional
design on this. There's no construction dollars, but we've just looked at what the reconstruction this
might look like, should it be needed as development occurs in this area. Um, so we are currently
finalizing that functional design. Hope to have that done here in the next couple of months. Um, but
again, no construction dollars currently in- in the program. You know, that- that's what we have.
(01:50:06]
We haven't spent a lot of time talking about the Carson Lake project. It came up when we were doing
our comprehensive planning in that area and developing the foreign based code. But just to make sure
Page 38
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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the Council understands that this- this is where we put the sewer underneath 218 a couple of years ago
to prep for development. And the lake piece is really a regional storm water, uh, um, strategy, as
opposed to building individual subdivisions, each with their own storm water ponds. This is, uh, one
that'll serve a larger region, and we- we feel is- is, um, going to best serve the community on this side.
So then- then it's looking at how do we, um, kind of turn that into an amenity, um, and Julie and team
have done a nice job just with some conceptual plans here. But um, the- the CIP includes funds to
purchase the property. We don't own this property, right? So as the owner decides to move forward
with annexation, we'll have to, uh, negotiate that, uh, necessary property acquisition. And then the first
priority, uh, which was also a funded piece in the- in the CIP, is just building the storm water piece. Um,
the- the park piece will come probably in phases as there's development in this area. But I expect that,
you know, the- the Council will probably start to, um, see more of the Carson Lake concept in, uh,2025
and into 2026 as- as, um, property, uh, begins to as we start to field more inquiries on annexation out
here. So um, if you got any questions, let us know. Otherwise, just know that this one's, uh, got a long
ways to go, and we're still at that very initial land acquisition step.
[01:51:54]
All right. Well, thank you all for the presentations. Any other questions by council or comments at this
time, uh, related to the CIP?
[01:52:05]
1 do, but it's a procedural question, and I think I know the answer. Um, so, um, if we have something in
mind or have heard from people who are interested in- in things that would qualify as CIP, but are not
included in any of this, does that become something where we go through the pending work topics, uh,
process to get it on to talk about it for council? Um.
[01:52:31]
I- I think you can have that conversation now.
[01:52:33]
Okay.
[01:52:33]
Um, and- and just to understand some projects we can be nimble on, uh, and others may take years of
planning or- or design. So- but let us know what you're thinking and- and we can-
[01:52:46]
Well, I would actually direct, um, council to- Maurice Davis sent, uh, with- he's the Executive Director of
the South of 6 mid, and he sent a letter on Monday, um, essentially recommending a couple of, um,
pedestrian and road changes, um, on Keokuk. So a mid -block pedestrian crossing with a refuge island
near the Kwik Star, um, a crosswalk at Keokuk and Southgate, and then, uh, uh, an additional pedestrian
crossing potentially with a refuge island on Broadway. Now, you know, whether that's, like, that we do
things hard and fast, you know, I just think it- it raises- he has some good suggestions, and it would be
Page 39
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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interesting to talk about them and to see- to get staff to weigh in on their thinking about this. I'm sure
that some kind of a study would be necessary, etc, but, um, these are new to me, and I think that, uh,
especially, I'm on both of those streets all the time every day. And there is definitely, um, some merit in -
in thinking about some pedestrian safety in those additional. So I just wondered-
[01:54:00]
The- the pedestrian refuge on Keokuk is actually identified.
[01:54:03]
Is- it isn't.
[01:54:03]
It's- it's-
[01:54:04]
Okay.
[01:54:04]
One of the areas that was identified in the seven, so- so that one will be under-
[01:54:08]
Okay.
[01:54:081
That one will be under, yeah
[01:54:09]
1 was looking through, and I was like, why am I missing it? And he even noted. He was like, I see this is
there-
[01:54:12]
Yeah.
[01:54:12]
And I- so my apologies on that.
[01:54:13]
Yeah. So- so- that one- that one could be included in the plan depending on how- how-
[01:54:17]
On the -
Page 40
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:54:18]
Things are prioritized in- in that project.
[01:54:20]
Okay.
[01:54:20]
Um, you know, the Southgate, uh, Keokuk, uh, crosswalks, the challenge that's there at that location is
there's two driveways on the-
(01:54:30]
1 know.
[01:54:30]
East side of Keokuk-
[01:54:31]
Yeah.
[01:54:32]
Where the, uh, where- where the crosswalks would- I mean, both there's- there's-
[01:54:36]
It's right there. Yeah.
[01:54:36]
Curb ramps there, but they both end in the driveway. So, um, looking at that, we- we'd have- we would
have to work with the property owners on the East side to relocate their driveways to actually formalize
a- a crossing there. Um, the Broadway, uh, crosswalk, we'll have to figure that- that was- that's was one
was a new one to us, so, um, we'll have to look at that and see how that could fit into that- that quarter.
[01:54:59]
Okay. Well, just to have the conversations, and I do apologize because he referenced that the- the very
first suggestion of the, um, the refuge, um, by the- on Keokuk was part of it, and I just- so- but yeah, I
mean, as long as it's on your guys' radar and we can kind of talk about the possibilities, I think that
they're decent suggestions to- to see what- what degree they make sense to- to implement.
[01:55:25]
Yeah, and you received a couple other letters. I think one was from the Grant Wood PTA about a similar
project. That's also in that same project line.
[01:55:32]
Page 41
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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Okay.
[01:55:33]
And then-
[01:55:33]
The Borlaug too.
[01:55:34]
Yeah, the Borlaug one, that's the Kennedy, uh, crossing that Jason also covered. That's a shared project
with Coralville.
[01:55:40]
Okay.
[01:55:41]
Yeah.
[01:55:41]
Uh, on that intersection. So several of those are already included, um, and we- we can look at the other
South to 6 request. And then we have had- [NOISE] we have had some conversations with the South -
South of 6. If you recall, we gave them a quarter million dollar ARPA grant, and they're still working
through their priorities for that grant, but I know the- the Keokuk Broadway, uh, stretches have come up
in those discussions, and- and clearly they could utilize those funds, uh, for some improvements there if
our budget's trailing behind- [NOISE] trailing behind [NOISE] due to other priorities, but I think we'll at
least be off to a good start with the initial one that's in the budget here.
[01:56:20]
Awesome. Well, thank you -all for your patience and saying, and yeah, that's already in there.
[01:S6:25]
I have- I'll limit myself to three wish list items. Um, one very much related to the South of 6 would be
just pedestrian vehicular safety, and that would be the South of Burlington area Riverfront crossing has
been wildly successful, but crossing Burlington from downtown is- is problematic. It's unsafe, and I think
it warrants a study for how we can help people, especially a very large student population traverse that.
Um, I don't have anything in my head, um, what that would be exactly, but I- I see all kinds of crazy
people running across the street, and it just feels like there's an opportunity for, uh, improved design to
help people cross. And I don't know whether it's bridges or islands or whatever, but, um, the other thing
that I- I took down a note is- is that we have- it looks like six or seven HVAC replacement projects, and I
kind of mentioned this about how I would like us to prioritize electrifying when possible. And I fully
understand that that adds initial costs, but to sort of make good on our- our climate action plan and to
work hard towards getting electrification for these systems when we can, and that might mean not
Page 42
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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being able to do as many as we want or allocating more money, but I- I would like that. Uh, and then the
third thing would be, um, [NOISE] Iowa River, um, making this major investment in- in the Burlington
Street Bridge, and I think it's going to be really improve vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian safety. And
hopefully, maybe ties people to the river, but I think that there's a broader University of Iowa and Iowa
City master plan that goes all the way from Highway 6 to the arts campus, and how that- how that- how
we interact with the university and where we- our trails and their trails connect. And I see pieces of that,
but as far as I'm aware, there's not a comprehensive master plan that involves both the university and -
and the city. Um, and I think there's opportunities to make that a- are really remarkable amenity for our
city.
[01:58:23]
And to Coralville, I mean, I'm thinking about the- the Pedal Paddle-
[01:58:26]
Yes.
[01:58:27]
Initiative, if there are pieces of that other than the, um, what we did with the pump track and the Terrell
Mill park aspects. Those are the ones that I'm just thinking of off the top of my head, but I think if there
are any, like, bringing us back to that comprehensive vision, just to know what folks are talking about or
think if- if staff needs more intergovernmental conversations that we can help with, that's something
maybe just to bring to us.
[01:58:58]
Yeah, the university is- is currently doing some internal planning along the river. Uh, they've shared with
us a little bit of insight into, uh, some of what they're- what they're thinking along their campus area.
Um, other than the Pedal Paddle, uh, grant application, which wasn't successful, um, we don't have any
formal master plans. There's probably bits and pieces in the Riverfront Crossings plan or the city park
master plan, uh, but nothing cohesive. And then there's no identified funding source or funding
priorities for, um, for those projects, so.
[01:59:341
We just passed a conservation bond that Iowa City voters strongly supported.
[01:59:40]
Good alignment there. Absolutely.
[01:59:45]
Um, it is a strategic plan item, if I remember correctly, to study that. Kirk?
[01:59:51]
Yes.
Page 43
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[01:59:51]
Would we expect to see that study as a CIP expenditure or a general fund expenditure?
[01:59:57]
Uh, I don't know what that scope would be. My- my guess it would be a general fund, uh, operating
expense. Uh, I don't have the strap plan up in front of me, but I think that was a '27, '28 type of year.
[02:00:11]
The sooner the better.
[02:00:131
Well, that's- I mean, you -all can reprioritize that if you- on any of these items, you know, [NOISE] so if
you'd like to see us introduce these things sooner, uh, we can do that. There's- there's capacity issues,
which I know you all understand. There's, of course, financial capacity to do more, there's also staff
capacity to- to do more, so you- you park something else and you push this up. But any one of those
things could be prioritized. The- the Burlington project is probably the most complicated of all those. It is
a [NOISE] state highway, and, uh, would require considerable study before a solution's identified.
[02:00:52]
Yes.
[02:00:52]
A little off -topic, but who is managing the conservation bond funds? Like, how would we collaborate if
we wanted to, like, and how do we identify projects in Iowa City?
[02:01:06]
So that would be the- the county is managing those, and we would meet with the county, and we have a
meeting with the county scheduled, I think, uh, next week, uh, or this-
[02:01:14]
Friday.
[02:01:15]
This week- this Friday. Uh, we're meeting to talk about, uh, potential projects in- in Iowa City.
[02:01:24]
Thank you.
[02:01:24]
I'll note the river, uh, interest, uh, there.
Page 44
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[02:01:281
Great.
[02:01:31]
Is that one of the project is like potential cooperation for affordable housing?
[02:01:35]
For- I'm sorry, for what?
[02:01:371
For like affordable housings?
(02:01:39]
Uh, probably not the conservation bond. That was really mostly designed for environmental protections
of property, um, and anything along the river is probably not going to be, uh, suitable for- for the
housing project.
[02:01:51]
1 don't mean that, like for the potential meeting with them, is this only for that?
[02:01:56]
It's only for the conservation bond planning, yes.
[02:02:04]
All right. Any other comments about the CIP? All right, we'll go on to, um, just any other budget
discussion at this time. Again, we'll have, uh, opportunities to continue our budget, uh, discussions on all
of our work sessions, um, through March.
[02:02:27]
Mayor, can I- can I ask one? I'm going to put, um, Jacqueline on the spot and just ask her to repeat
herself, for which- part of the introductory remarks because I think this is really important for capital
planning going forward. And that's- Jacqueline, if you could just walk us through where we are from the -
the debt service levy standpoint. So kind of where the debt service levy is now, we have to make some
assumptions on growth. This is how much we can bond each year. Um, and one of my big messages to
you during the- during the budget proposals, we have to keep expanding that capacity because we are
losing purchasing power, so could you run through those numbers for us again, Jacqueline?
[02:03:051
Yeah. Um, so what we're planning to bond for this year, uh, to start off is $14.29 million. Um, the current
CIP plan, as it stands for the five years, the average issuance would be a total of $15.25 million. Um, and
then if you go into our current debt levy and assumptions baked in there, uh, we could support -
Page 45
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[02:03:291
Could you just speak to the mic because we can't hear you?
[02:03:321
Sorry, I'm quiet. Can you hear me now?
[02:03:35]
Oh, yeah.
[02:03:36]
Okay. Uh, do you want me to start at the beginning or? Okay. Uh, so starting back at the beginning, the -
the FY25 bond issue is 14,290,000. Um, the current CIP plan as it stands right now would account for an
average issuance of 15.25 million. Um, with our current debt levy, baking in a few different assumptions,
um, we could support up to 14.6 million, so there's a gap there of, you know, $650,000. And that
assumption of getting it to that 14.6 million would be with increasing the levy by 21.7 cents more. Other
assumptions baked into that would be, uh, assuming that we have a taxable growth of 2% over the next
two years, and then after that, 3% growth every year. Um, uh, the last four years have averaged 1.66%
growth, um, but then before that it has been, I guess, over the last four, it's been 1.66, but over the last
two years, it's been 2% average growth. Um, and then also with our debt levy and debt issuance, we
have to factor in interest rate, obviously, so we're assuming a 5% interest rate, and that could go up or
down, right, based on market. Um, so then with that current gap, if we- if we don't meet or exceed our
assumptions to make up that gap, we would need to either raise the debt levy, uh, beyond the 21.7
cents scale back the scope of projects or delay projects.
[02:05:16]
What's the total capacity available in the debt service levy?
[02:05:21]
So we can, um we can levy as much as we have available, I guess.
(02:05:26]
There's not a limit, [OVERLAPPING] there's not an upward
[02:05:27)
1 think 15% of the state limit is where we're at, uh, if I'm remembering [OVERLAPPING] the budget
correctly?
[02:05:34]
Yeah, we have a pretty big-
[02:05:36]
We could increase it by dollars like you say.
Page 46
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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[02:05:38]
Oh, yes.
[02:05:38]
Okay. All right.
[02:05:39]
Yes, you could. Yeah, you could- [OVERLAPPING]
[02:05:401
Got it. I don't know, but I understand that- that impacts our rating and all that.
[02:05:44]
Yeah.
[02:05:44]
Okay.
[02:05:45]
So I guess the- the big takeaway is this budget anticipates that we're going to increase our debt levy 21
cents. We also know we have to decrease our general fund levy as well. So we see this kind of working in
concert to try to keep a- a stable rate. Now obviously, you guys can direct it differently, um, but even
going up 21 cents, if our assumptions don't- even if our assumptions hit, we're still a little short, but if
our assumptions, uh fall short, um, we could be, uh, having to raise that even more. So um, just want to
give you that picture in terms of how much we have into this plan. Um, it- it doesn't from staff
perspective, it's- it's pretty status quo in terms of the volume and the expensive projects, um, but it's
getting harder to continue to- to do the same number of projects when their cost keeps increasing quite
a bit, and we're only getting that 1.66% growth. So um, I think the debt service levy is something we're -
we're definitely going to be talking about with you over the next 4-5 years. And hopefully, between good
growth and the $0.21 that we know we have to add we'll- we'll be okay, but there's a chance that, um,
we could need more than the $0.21.
[02:07:04]
Really obvious question. The $0.21 increase takes into account the fact that we're no longer, um saving
into or having surpluses that are in the, um, facility replacement fund?
[02:07:17]
Um, correct. Yes. Um, and we're not-
[02:07:23]
We're having to borrow more [OVERLAPPING]
Page 47
Iowa City City Council Budget Work Session (CIP) of January 22, 2025
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(02:07:24]
We're going to borrow more.
[02:07:24]
Because we have less cash in the bank-
[02:07:26]
Yes.
[02:07:26]
That we're accumulating.
[02:07:26]
We have less cash, and if you look at the trend of general fund transfers, uh, into the CIP, so that, um,
the funding source there, do you see the general fund is on the bottom right-hand side, that- that 3.7
million? Prior to the last round of property tax reform, we were- we were transferring about a million
dollars per year was our goal into the- into the capital program. And, um, by the end of the five years
here, we're down [NOISE] with the $630,000 transfer, so we're starting to scale from transferring a
million of general fund into transferring at the end, again, 630,000, so about a 40% reduction in what
we're transferring, and that's just probably going to continue to have to go down, maybe even at a
quicker rate than we've projected. That puts more pressure on borrowing to your exact point.
[02:08:24]
Thank you. I just wanted to recap that.
[02:08:25]
Yeah, I think that's important.
[02:08:26]
Okay.
[02:08:29]
All right. Any other comments by council? Hearing none, we are going to be adjourned. Enjoy the rest of
the afternoon. And thank staff for being here.
[02:08:43]
Yes. [MUSIC]
Page 48