Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-04 Council minutesCITY OF 1 O WA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: February 12, 2025 To: Mayor and City Council From: Kellie Grace, City Clerk Re: Council Work Session, February 4, 2025 — 4:00 p.m. (following the 4:00 p.m. City Conference Board meeting) at City Hall in Emma J Harvat Hall Council: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Moe, Salih, Teague Staff: Fruin, O'Brien, Lehmann, Goers, Grace, Havel, Sovers, Lyon, Hightshoe, Sitzman, Bristow, Russett, Trumbull, Thul, Davies, Ogden, Barker USG: Monsivais, Martinez (A transcription is available in the City Clerk's Office and the City website.) 1. Clarification of Agenda Items • (IP7 — Memo from Neighborhood Services Coordinator: Revised A2A Program Policies) Mayor Pro Tern Salih noted she would recuse herself from discussion for IP7 of the 1/30 Information Packet. • Councilor Moe stated he would recuse himself from discussion for work session item 5, 21 S. Linn Street and item 10.b Joint law enforcement facility study from the formal agenda. • [10.a]... Charter Amendments... Councilor Moe asked for clarification regarding collapsing the readings if there was no public input and no request was made to collapse. City Attorney Goers provided information. 2. Information Packet Discussion [January 23, January 301 y January 23 — No discussion. January 30 (IP6 — Memo from City Manager's Office: Housing Information) Mayor Pro Tern Salih asked for clarification on the Housing Choice Voucher waiting list and which counties the list covered and if staff knew the exact number of Iowa City residents on the list. Councilor Alter raised concerns about landlords not accepting housing vouchers, making it difficult for recipients to find housing. Neighborhood & Development Director Hightshoe provided information. Councilor Moe asked when the HUD Point - in -Time homeless count is made available. City Manager Fruin provided information. The public housing wait list and the plans to convert public housing units to Section 8 vouchers was also discussed. Action: Staff will provide the number of Iowa City residents on the Housing Choice Voucher and public housing waitlists. These figures will be shared in a future February 4, 2025 Page 2 Housing Information Packet item. Staff will attempt to gather the preliminary Point in Time homeless count numbers from January 2025 for a future Housing Information Packet report. 2. (IP7 — Memo from Neighborhood Services Coordinator: Revised A2A Program Policies) Councilor Alter advocated for restoring 4C's funding to last year's level, noting it serves immigrant communities and trains caregivers and raised concerns about agencies receiving more than requested and the difficulty of redistributing limited funds. City Manager Fruin reviewed what staff direction was needed from Council and discussed the merger of DVIP and RVAP and the impact on funding. Individual Council members expressed their views. Action: Councilors concurred with the Information Packet memo language on the approximate 50 / 50 split for the distribution of Aid to Agency funds between the direct funded agencies and the competitive pool of agencies. This includes the flexibility to go up to a 60 / 40 split in either direction. Staff will be issuing a final set of recommendations and reporting those to Council along with partial year metric reports for FY 2025. 3. University of Iowa Student Government (USG) Updates. Matthew Monsivais, USG Liaison and Ava Martinez, USG Alternate Liaison presented updates. 4. Annual Historic Preservation Annual Report Presentation Historic Preservation Planner Bristow presented a PowerPoint on the Annual Historic Preservation Annual Report and discussed the following: ➢ Certified Local Government 2024 Annual Report ➢ Background ➢ Iowa City Historic Preservation ➢ Historic Preservation Commission 2024 General Information ➢ Registration/nomination projects in 2024 Locally designated properties in 2024 ➢ Historic Preservation planning activities for 2025 ➢ Assistance provided on preservation projects Issues, Challenges and/or Successes Partnerships formed or continued Individual Council members asked questions. Historic Preservation Planner Bristow provided additional information. 5. 21 S. Linn Street Discussion Discussion was deferred until after the formal meeting. 6. FY26 Budget Discussion Councilors debated whether to restore the $200,000 to the affordable housing fund and explored different sources to cover the amount. Individual Council members expressed their views. City Manager Fruin proposed restoring the $200,000 while staff reviews the best way February 4, 2025 Page 3 to allocate it without disrupting other commitments. Finance Director Davies reviewed the budget timeline and process. Action: Staff will add $200,000 in additional General Fund expense for the affordable housing fund. Prior to the start of the fiscal year, staff will prepare a recommendation on how to utilize the $200,000 and share that with the City Council for final approval. There will be no offsetting reduction in expenditure noted in the budget. 7. Council updates on assigned boards, commissions, and committees Council members reported on various assigned boards, commissions, and committees. (Recess to formal meeting 5:35 p.m. — Returned to Work Session 7:17 p.m.) 5. 21 S. Linn Street Discussion City Manager Fruin presented a PowerPoint on the following: • Project Background • RFP Summary • Response Summaries - Grand Rail Development - Iceberg Development - Salida Partners • Discussion using a Quick Reference Table • Next Steps Individual Council members asked questions. City Manager Fruin and City Attorney Goers provided additional information. Action: Staff will coordinate schedules with all three 21 S. Linn teams and schedule presentations for an upcoming Council meeting. The presentations will be limited to 20 minutes per team with up to 10 minutes for clarification questions from the City Council Adjourn 8:15 p.m.