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Home My WebLink About2025-10-23 Info Packet1k 00 ®, Mgo CITY OF IOWA CITY City Council Information Packet Council Tentative Meeting Schedule IN. City Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Draft Minutes IP2. Library Board of Trustees: September 25 IP3. Historic Preservation Commission: October 9 October 23, 2025 October 23, 2025 City of Iowa City Item Number: IP1. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT October 23, 2025 City Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Attachments: City Council Tentative Meeting Schedule r City Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Subject to change CITY OF IOWA CITY October 23, 2025 Date Time Meeting Location Monday, November 3, 2025 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, November 18, 2025 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, December 9, 2025 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, January 6, 2026 8:00 AM Special Formal (Organizational Meeting) City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, January 6, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, January 20, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Wednesday, January 21, 2026 2:00 PM Budget Work Session (CIP) City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, February 3, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, February 17, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, March 10, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, April 7, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, April 21, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, May 5, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, May 19, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, June 2, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, June 16, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, July 14, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, August 4, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, August 18, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, September 1, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, September 15, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, October 6, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, October 20, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Monday, November 3, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, November 17, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, December 8, 2026 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Item Number: IP2. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT October 23, 2025 Library Board of Trustees: September 25 Attachments: Library Board of Trustees: September 25 Iowa City Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes September 25, 2025 2nd Floor — Boardroom Regular Meeting - 5:00 PM DRAFT Robin Paetzold - President Bonnie Boothroy John Raeburn Joseph Massa - Vice President Ellen Fox Cory Schweigel-Skeers Claire Matthews - Secretary Kelcey Patrick -Ferree Kalmia Strong Members Present: Bonnie Boothroy Ellen Fox, Robin Paetzold, Kelcey Patrick -Ferree, Joseph Massa, Claire Matthews, John Raeburn, Cory Schweigel-Skeers, Kalmia Strong. Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Olivia Backes, Anne Mangano, Jason Paulios, Angie Pilkington, Victor Resendiz, Jen Royer. Guest Present: D. Kapatsila. Call Meeting to Order. Paetzold called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm. A quorum was present. Approval of September 25, 2025 Board Meeting Agenda. Raeburn made a motion to approve the September 25, 2025 Board Meeting Agenda. Strong seconded. Motion passed 8/0. Patrick -Ferree entered the meeting at 5:02 pm. Paetzold introduced Fox as a new trustee and Mangano as the new director. Trustees and staff then introduced themselves. Public Discussion. None. Items to be Discussed. Continuing Education: Intellectual Freedom & Library Values. Paetzold said continuing education is a requirement for trustees. Mangano prepared a presentation on intellectual freedom. Mangano said the topic of intellectual freedom is currently discussed nationally If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Jen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or Jennifer-rover@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. and statewide, particularly who has access to what in a library. It will most likely be a topic for debate when the legislature convenes in January. Mangano shared she wanted to explain intellectual freedom processes at Iowa City Public Library (ICPL); it is a value here and at public libraries in general. Mangano shared intellectual freedom is "the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction" as defined by the American Library Association. Mangano said it is the freedom to read, and freedom to explore ideas and engage with them. Mangano said it is a right guaranteed by the first amendment of the constitution. The State Library of Iowa's Handbook says that the role of a library board member is to "protect and defend intellectual freedom". Mangano said it is also a professional value of the staff that work at the library. Mangano said intellectual freedom has manifested at ICPL as access and privacy. One of ICPL's values is access, and we believe quality library and information resources should be readily available and equally accessible to all. Mangano said the collection is one of the first things we think about with access, but it is also programming, meeting spaces, displays, the community bulletin board, who can get a library card, and what they can and can't check out with it. Mangano said our call to action is to provide access and expand access as much as possible. Mangano said the other tenet is privacy, noting for people to seek and receive information freely, they should be able to do that without scrutiny. The state recognizes that through Iowa Code, Chapter 22.7, confidential records. Mangano said we as an institution we work hard to collect the information we need when we need it, and when we no longer need it, stop storing it. Mangano said the library has a privacy policy, and a privacy page on the website that goes through every record we collect. It states how long we keep it, when we get rid of it, and why we keep it. Mangano said the privacy page was created based on input from the Library Board, and that is the kind of impact trustees have to make ICPL better. Intellectual Freedom is a cornerstone of having an informed citizenry. The state library trustee handbook says, "If people are restricted from obtaining information from all points of view, their ability to be informed citizens is diminished, and thus they cannot exercise self-government." Mangano said that intellectual freedom is constitutionally protected, and there are several Supreme Court cases ruling that citizens have a right to give ideas and to receive ideas. Mangano said the most consequential case is Stanley v. Georgia (1969). Thurgood Marshall wrote the court decision, "It is well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas." Mangano said that Iowa significantly contributed to the importance of intellectual freedom in libraries. In 1938, Forrest Spaulding, Director of the Des Moines Public Library (DMPL), presented the idea for a Library Bill of Rights to his board. Spaulding worried about censorship going into WWII. He had lived through WWI and as a library director removed materials from the shelves based on the directive of the federal and state government. The American Library Association (ALA) also condoned removing materials during WWI. Spaulding was not willing to remove materials going into WWII and he wanted to guarantee specific rights to patrons of the DMPL, and Library Bill of Rights was adopted by their board. A fellow librarian then brought it to the next annual ALA conference in 1939. The Library Bill of Rights specifies that librarians should maintain a diverse collection that meets the needs of the community they serve, materials should not be removed because someone disagrees with them, we should challenge censorship, work to ensure free expression and free access to ideas, If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. everyone should be able to use the library, everyone should have the right to use the meeting rooms or display spaces regardless of what they're trying to discuss or show, and privacy and confidentiality need to be protected. Mangano said there are often challenges to intellectual freedom and they can come from any group or individual regardless of where they sit on a political spectrum. They come from a variety of topics and because our society is complex and diverse, people feel passionate about the issues that are important to them. Those passions can be opposing, even in a specific community. Mangano said we often talk about certain types of materials, but we see challenges from across the political spectrum. Mangano said that book challenges are discussed the most, noting last year the ALA tracked 821 attempts to challenge 2,452 unique titles across the country, which is a drop from 2023. Of these challenges, 72% were initiated by board members, elected officials, or administrators within the institutions. Mangano shared there are other forms of challenges such as meeting room use, programs, displays, and internet use. When facing challenges policies are very important, and it is why they are reviewed every three years. Library policies state the parameters of access and use; it's important to know them, follow them, and keep them up to date. Policies that involve intellectual freedom include Collection Development, Programming, Circulation and Library Cards, Bylaws, Meeting Room Use, Community Displays, Internet Use; it's an extensive list. Mangano said the Collection Development policy is up for review in November. This policy provides the mission and purpose of the collection and gives general guidelines on collection development. In this policy we view collection development as the ongoing process of assessing materials available for purchase or licensing and making decisions on their inclusion and retention. Mangano said our collection reflects the general needs and interests of the Iowa City community with a wide variety of subjects, views, and formats. Our collection needs are current and include popular materials and formats; it is not an archive. The single most important factor for inclusion in the collection is use. If the books are used, they are on the shelf and we'll buy more of them. It is taken into consideration when purchasing and when items are weeded (removed). Materials are removed from the library on a regular basis, and it is because they are not used. Mangano gave the example of the nonfiction collection and said each title that hasn't circulated for three years is reviewed. Mangano then explained what happens when someone disagrees with something in our collection. In many public libraries there is a specific process to handle a materials challenge. A patron might question why something is in a specific collection, or they might want a book or movie completely removed. These complaints are often shared through a reconsideration form and reviewed by the board of trustees, where the patron and staff advocate whether the book should be included in the collection. Mangano said that is not how the Iowa City Public Library operates according to the Collection Development policy. Our policy states,"The library recognizes that any given item may offend some patrons, but, because the library follows accepted principles of intellectual freedom, it will not remove specific titles solely because individuals or groups may find them objectionable." Mangano said when a challenge is received, like any complaint, staff are respectful and kind, thank the patron for their input, and the item is reviewed. If staff determine that it meets the purchasing guidelines, we let the patron know. If that doesn't resolve the issue, they are welcome to talk to the Library Board during public sessions, like any other complaint. That process is a longstanding policy at ICPL going back to the 1970's. It is a standard that other libraries are starting to adopt, including North Liberty. Mangano said If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. most importantly, inclusion of materials in our collection is not an endorsement of its contents. Intellectual freedom challenges can be hard and contentious but eventually resolve, and our goal is to protect ICPL and intellectual freedom. How we respond makes our organization stronger and builds our community's trust in the organization. Raeburn asked what titles have been challenged. Mangano said we haven't received a formal challenge, but she has had questions on whether something belongs in a specific collection. Paetzold said there had been a discussion on science books that weren't bound to scientific theory, specifically about vaccination, that were shared because they are of public interest. Mangano said there was a question about whether antivaccination materials should be allowed because the information could potentially harm people. Mangano said those books inform state and national policy and they are of public interest. Paetzold said there have been questions about the use of our meeting rooms for library programming or by political groups. Paetzold said the concerns are diverse. Boothroy said the ALA had data about the number of reconsiderations dropping and asked if Mangano knew Iowa's data. Mangano was unsure if Iowa's data was dropping but noted the heightened years were from 2022 to 2023 for reconsideration. Matthews said she guessed it would be lower because of changes to state law. Mangano said school libraries have felt this more than public libraries. Matthews said some schools followed the letter of the law and some took a broader approach. Paetzold asked for feedback on training sessions at future meetings. Mangano suggested training on digital collection pricing, digital media lab offerings, or early literacy programming. Schweigel-Skeers asked if ICPL had informal material challenges such as patrons reshelving books on their own or interacting with displays in unwarranted ways. Mangano agreed that it happens and shared often people check out books with the intent not to return them. Budget Discussion. Mangano said next month the FY27 operating budget request would be reviewed. Mangano said the FY25 end of year financial reports were included in the packet, the FY25 ICPLFF statement of financial position report, and the FY25 receipts and expenditures by fund (which shows the balance of the Library Board controlled funds). Mangano said the CIP request to replace the HVAC system on the roof was also included. Mangano said there are eight rooftop HVAC units, and one was replaced this past year with operating budget funds. There are seven other units that are close to end of life, of which two have already received significant and costly repairs. Mangano said there is a change in the chemicals that can be used in HVAC systems, and at some point, we won't be able to maintain the current units because we won't be able to get the chemicals. Mangano said the city has already consolidated the project request to one year and scheduled it for 2030. Mangano would prefer that the HVAC system not be an emergency purchase. For perspective, Mangano shared the library's HVAC request is one million dollars and is only 1% of the entire city's CIP requests for that year. Mangano said if you take all the requests from 2026 to 2030 the library's HVAC and carpeting requests combined are .6% of all department requests. Mangano said there is a meeting tomorrow to discuss the CIP projects with department heads. Paetzold asked if the city took into consideration the cost of the project in 2030. Mangano said the city slightly increased the request. Mangano said emergency replacements are also more expensive and noted ICPL's HVAC units are very large and require a crane or helicopter for installation which add to the If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. expense. Mangano said this is a big project and shouldn't be handled as an emergency project. Paetzold said this would affect library operations and the ability to be open. Mangano said the HVAC units are used for cooling and heating the building, noting it could take 8 weeks, if lucky, to get units on site. Paetzold noted there is also a threat of mold or mildew to the library collection if the HVAC fails. Matthews asked if ICPL is a warming or cooling center. Mangano agreed it is. Boothroy asked how the HVAC replacement would be paid for if it was an emergency purchase. Mangano said she would ask the city, and noted the city has emergency funds. Massa asked if we knew the brand and model of the HVAC. Mangano said staff got a quote for the CIP request and put forth a best estimate. Policy Review: 401 Finance. Mangano said there were no significant changes to policy except to clarify wording, and the policy was reviewed by accounting and legal. Schweigel-Skeers appreciated the updates. Massa made a motion to approve the changes to the policy. Schweigel-Skeers seconded. Motion passed 9/0. Staff Reports. Director's Report. Mangano said there would be an open house celebration on October 22nd at 5:30 pm in Meeting Room A. It will be an opportunity for patrons to meet Mangano as the new library director. Mangano shared there were new computer stools in the children's room and thanked the trustees for their budget approval. Departmental Reports: Adult Services. Schweigel-Skeers asked for clarification if the data in Paulios' report was for one consultation or repeated involvement with patrons. Paulios said it is up to the staff to determine when a question is resolved. Paulios said staff sometimes receive general questions that end up turning into other questions. All data is dependent on staff clicking a button. Paulios noted the page station is staffed by hourly staff. Paulios shared that any staff member can answer a reference question, and it is important everyone knows they get reported to the state. Schweigel-Skeers noted the page station stats and asked if they were closer to FY19. Paulios said they were closer and said FY19 was the last good year of data before COVID-19, however they are also from five years ago and things have changed drastically. Matthews said the state used to ask for reference questions and directional questions and asked if they no longer track the directional questions. Paulios said he doesn't believe they report that anymore. Paulios said the statistics are due to the state in October. Paulios said the data doesn't share the time spent on a question. Patrick -Ferree said she was curious about live chats and noted the report that staff don't prefer it and have good reasons for not preferring it. Patrick -Ferree asked if Paulios was developing a system for dealing with chats since patrons are moving that way and we answered more than last year. Paulios said there are canned responses in the software such as 'just a moment while I check on that'. Paulios discussed the time involved answering chats and not knowing how the user feels on the other end. Paulios said in chats sometimes they request the users contact information so staff can reach back out to them with the answer. Mangano said as the building study progresses, and we work with patrons it would be interesting to see if we need a more robust chat service. Boothroy asked where the chat If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. software fits with the new ILS software. Paulios said it is totally separate from the ILS software (which is for the catalog and circulation). Paulios said chats run through a separate content management system. Boothroy asked if there is a more robust chat software that we should be looking at. Paulios said it is part of ICPL's telecommunication software. Chats end up as tickets which are very useful to see the communication history and when the chat is completed it also provides a transcript. An hour later the patron can respond again if needed. Boothroy asked if Paulios was satisfied with the software. Paulios said he hasn't explored other chat options. Community & Access Services. Helmick absent. Pilkington said the library is participating in the homecoming parade and was entry number 26. Pilkington invited Library Board members to join and shared there were AC/DC themed library shirts available. Pilkington said the ICPL Bookmobile was off the road last Friday and this Monday, the transmission line had a recall on it, and it broke. Pilkington said the Iowa City Police Department helped block evening traffic on Burlington Street. Pilkington thanked the City Fleet. Development Report. None. President's Report. Mangano and Paetzold met with new city council candidates to explain what the library does and why we're different than other city departments. Paetzold shared the Collection Services Coordinator position is open and Mangano will be looking at candidates soon. Paetzold said Helmick would be giving a virtual ALA presentation directly after the Library Board meeting as ALA President. Paetzold said next Monday there will be a meeting with the public to hear how they use the library's facilities. Paetzold shared she would be unable to attend but asked trustees to go and listen. Announcements from Members. Foundation Updates. Matthews asked if the world language collection included children and adult materials. Mangano agreed. Pilkington said they are located where the readers used to be. Advocacy Updates. Matthews said there was no formal advocacy statement to share yet. Patrick -Ferree said City Council came out with a statement in the meantime. Patrick -Ferree, Matthews, and Strong are working to see how ICPL might respond with other community groups to the Iowa Historical Society changes. All three trustees contacted various organizations to see what their plans were or if they aspired to do something. Patrick -Ferree said the working group was planning to write a statement to present to the Library Board for feedback, however City Council put out a statement first that went in a different direction than they were imagining. Patrick -Ferree handed out a copy of the City Council's statement in support of not closing the State Historical Society. If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Matthews said of the organizations she reached out to, none of them wanted to lose the materials, and they also didn't want them to be moved to Des Moines and then subsequent organizations. Matthews talked to the Johnson County Historical Society, and much like ICPL, they want to protect the materials but didn't know how to budget it or where to put them. Matthews said we must assume for future collection growth. Matthews said many of the organizations were surprised by the timeline and lack of transparency. Matthews said the library's advocacy working group thought they could push for transparency in what the state is doing and when. Matthews learned the Historical Society will close its doors in December and the materials will be moved the following June. Matthews said there is one person employed at the State Historical Society to work on this and they also must look for anotherjob. Matthews said it is an ambiguous process, and it is uncertain where the State Library falls on this. Matthews said there are multiple tiers of involvement, the land is owned by the University of Iowa, the building belongs to the state, and the materials were donations that are legally bound to a collection. Matthews said there are a lot of factors and asked who the players are, and what is ICPL's role? Matthews felt ICPL's role was to speak on behalf of transparency and the importance of the materials. Strong said since Strong, Patrick -Ferree, and Matthews met, there was a new page on the State Historical Society's website with more information. Paetzold asked if they were asking the Library Board to act. Matthews said no. Paetzold asked if the group was worried about time. Patrick -Ferree shared concern in making a statement that was not consistent with City Council's statement and hadn't had a chance to discuss it with the working group. Patrick -Ferree said asking for transparency isn't inherently conflicting with keeping the Historical Society but is unsure if the Library Board should make a statement that might be seen as conflicting with city council. Paetzold noted City Council's letter and asked if there was any timeline for the state to respond, noting it could be the end of December when they read the letter, and the time would have passed. Paetzold clarified she was not asking for action from the working group but asked if time was burning. Paetzold said the Library Board's only action may be to witness this. Patrick -Ferree said City Council's letter didn't request a timeline for response from the state, only to change their minds by the end of December. Patrick -Ferree said the community organizations they've contacted are interested in saving the State Historical Society and keeping it in Iowa City, but they don't know where or how financially to make that work. Patrick -Ferree said the current budget for the State Historical Society is so much smaller than if each group were to take on a piece of it. Matthews said it is not a large operating budget. Patrick -Ferree said repairing the roof of the building is the real issue. Matthews said there is also a legal document from 1983 that states the land for the building is leased from the University of Iowa until it is no longer of use, which is ambiguous. Matthews said some of the materials are owned by a not -for -profit, and materials obtained before a certain date are owned separately. Mangano met with the Iowa Urban Public Library directors and asked them to discuss their involvement in archives. Mangano said none of the urban public libraries have archives. Des Moines Public Library has a minimal photograph collection. Ames and Cedar Rapids Public Libraries have museums housing their community's local archives. Paetzold summarized that it's a wait and see situation and said the working group would come back in a month to present. Matthews agreed that was a fair assessment. There was further discussion about the working group's process. If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Communications. News Articles. None. Consent Agenda. Matthews made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Strong seconded. Motion passed 9/0. Set Agenda Order for October Meeting. Paetzold said the October meeting would have a budget discussion, 1st quarter statistics and finances, and departmental reports. Paetzold asked for volunteers to work on reviewing the bylaws. Schweigel- Skeers and Raeburn volunteered. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 6:11 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jen Royer If you will need disability -related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contactlen Royer, Iowa City Public Library, at 379-887-6003 or iennifer-royer@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. :`.i% IOWA CITY rjW PUBLIC LIBRARY Board of Commissions: ICPL Board of Trustees Attendance Record Name Term Expiration 10/24/2024 11/21/2024 12/19/2024 1/23/2025 2/27/2025 3/27/2025 4/3/2025 4/24/2025 5/22/2025 6/26/2025 7/24/2025 8/28/2025 9/4/2025 9/25/2025 Boothro , Bonnie 6/30/2029 X X X OE X X X X OE X X X X X Fox, Ellen 6/30/2027 X Johnk, DJ 6/30/2025 X X OE OE X X OE X X OE TE TE TE TE Massa, Joseph 6/30/2027 X OE X X X X X X OE X X X X X Matthews, Claire 6/30/2023 X X O X X X X X OE O X X X X Paetzold, Robin 6/30/2023 X X OE X X X X X X X X X X X Patrick -Ferree, Kelce\r 6/30/2031 X X X X Raeburn, John 6/30/2027 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Rocklin, Tom 6/30/2025 X X X X X X X X OE X TE TE TE TE Schwei el-Skeers, Cor 6/30/2031 1 1 1 X X X X Shultz, Hannah 6/30/2025 X X X OE X OE X X X X TE TE TE TE Stevenson, Daniel 6/30/2027 OE X X X X OE X X X OE X R R R Strong, Kalmia 6/30/2031 1 X X X X KEY: X Present O Absent OE Excused Absence NM No Meeting Held R Resigned TE Term Expired Item Number: IP3. a CITY OF IOWA CITY "QR T-4 COUNCIL ACTION REPORT October 23, 2025 Historic Preservation Commission: October 9 Attachments: Historic Preservation Commission: October 9 MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 —5:30 PM —FORMAL MEETING E M M A J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Margaret Beck, Kevin Burford, Austin Curfman, Andrew Lewis, Deanna Thomann, Nicole Villanueva, Frank Wagner MEMBERS ABSENT: Carl Brown, Ryan Russell STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Andy Martin, Frank Durham, Alex Andino CALL TO ORDER: Lewis called the meeting to order at 5:30 p m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. CONSENT AGENDA — CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: HPC25-0054: 622 North Van Buren Street - Brown Street Historic District (rear deck demolition and door to window alteration): Bristow stated she emailed everyone about how a consent agenda works. This project will not be presented in order to keep things moving. This is a project where it complies with the guidelines completely, so we can answer any questions but otherwise the Commission will make a motion, discuss if needed, and then vote. MOTION: Thomann moves to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 622 North Van Buren Street, as presented in the staff report, which includes the removal of the rear deck and staircase and the replacement of the associated door with a window. Villanueva seconds the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: HPC25-0030: 317 Fairchild Street- North side Historic District (metal roof replacement and Yankee gutter removal): Russett stated this is a proposed roof replacement project on a house that was built between 1907 and 1912 and incorporates aspects of the Queen Anne style and the American Foursquare style. This project is a replacement of a deteriorated metal roof with architectural asphalt shingles and the removal of internal gutters and their replacement with external gutters. Russett shared some photographs to show the deterioration of the roof. In terms of the guidelines, the guidelines recommend repairing original built in gutters but there is an HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 2 of 16 exception in the guidelines to remove original gutters that are unable to be repaired. In terms of mass and roof lines, the guidelines recommend preserving historic trim, and in terms of metal roofs they are recommended to be repaired, but on a case by case basis, the Commission can consider their removal and replacement with an approved alternative material due to deterioration, which is the case here that the roof was determined to be too deteriorated to be repaired by Pardekooper Construction and they recommend replacement. Mr. Pardekooper has experience painting and repairing metal roofs, but he took a look at the roof and said it was too far gone to repair. Russett noted the removal of metal roofs will remove the internal gutters, which cannot be constructed in the same way with new roofing materials, even true for a new standing seam metal roof. The interior gutters on the rear portion of the house will be removed with the roof material and external gutters would be installed and staff finds that the removal of the internal gutters on the rear projection does not impact the historic character of the house. The internal gutters on the east projecting bay and front porch will not be removed. Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 317 Fairchild, which includes the replacement of a metal roof with architectural asphalt shingles and the removal of the internal gutters on the rear of the house through the use of an exception. MOTION: Wagner moves to approve for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 317 Fairchild Street, as presented in the staff report, which includes the replacement of a metal roof with architectural asphalt shingles and removal of the internal gutters on the rear of the house through the use of an exception to the guidelines to allow the removal of the internal gutters. Villanueva seconded the motion. Thomann understands these are old roofs and they get beyond repair, but it does make her sad and she feels like a lot of these gutters could be repaired. She acknowledged they are going to a different material, so this gutter is not going to function the way it may be originally did, but it makes her disappointed. However, because staff is recommending approval, she is comfortable with that. Burford stated he is happy that it's in the rear of the of the property. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. HPC25-0050: 721 Grant St - Longfellow Historic District (rear demolition and new addition): Bristow stated this house is a bungalow and a couple of years ago they had gone through an approval process for an addition on the back of the house. The house was built in 1923 as a side gabled roof with a shed roof dormer on the front. On the back, is a similar shed roof dormer as well as an addition from about 1960 with an entryway to that area that's been enclosed. The plan is to remove both the addition and the enclosed entryway and to create a new addition on the back of the house with a stoop and step that is no longer enclosed. Bristow noted one of the main points with this particular project is they have a very large old oak tree, and similar to the previous project that was approved, the goal is to avoid disturbing the roots of the tree and not damage it so that it would have to come down. Therefore, this addition will not have a typical foundation and instead it will be constructed on helical piers that will be screwed into the ground, and that basically distributes the weight through the piers and helps to avoid damaging the roots. Bristow stated one of the exceptions that was approved in the past, that staff recommends approving here as well, is to create a foundation that appears similar to the house instead of matching the foundation on the house, and that's to protect the oak tree. Bristow shared images of the house plan and the portion that will be removed and the new addition. She noted it is basically a kitchen addition with a couple pairs of windows on the west wall and a couple HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 3 of 16 pairs of windows and a door on the north wall, as well as the stoop and step. The roof will tie into the down slope of the rear portion of the gable and it'll come up just a little higher on the wall of the dormer than the existing addition, but it will match the slope of the dormer roof above. Bristow pointed out the stoop and step are not covered by the roof, the roof overhang is 2' and the stoop and step will project beyond that. Bristow shared the site plan details and elevations noting a big two car garage and that all of the area up against the house is paved. Bristow pointed out in the staff report that most of the windows are individual on this house, the front pair is a pair of windows which makes it more architecturally significant. On the south side of the addition they have proposed to not have any windows, on the west facing wall they have proposed two pairs of windows and will retain the window in the back wall of the house. On the north elevation they can see the stoop and step, the entry door and one of the pairs of windows, and again on the south wall of the new addition they're not proposing any windows. Bristow stated there are numerous guidelines that relate to this project, there are guidelines about the stoop and step and the baluster and handrails, there are guidelines about adding new door openings and trimming them to match the existing ones and also there is a guideline about the material for doors, and typically they don't approve metal doors, they approve either a wood door or a fiberglass door that could be painted in replacement for wood. Mass and roof line guidelines recommend preserving the original roof pitches and spans which will be preserved in this case and preserving the original walls and vertical corners that define the massing of a building, which will also be preserved here. For siding the applicant has proposed a cement board or LP and the house has mitered corners in the siding so staff worked with them so that their drawings include aligning the lap and the addition will also have those mitered corners. Regarding windows the guidelines recommend matching the overall appearance of the historic windows, which is what the applicant has proposed, adding new windows in a location that's consistent, using wood or metal clad wood, and then there is a guideline about the simulated divided lights. Matching key horizontal lines in the building is one guideline that is reviewed in additions and they look at the eave line, window heads, windowsills, etc. Bristow shared more guidelines about additions, making sure that the wall areas and the roof pitches and spans are all consistent with the existing building. In this case the addition's roof line will match the slope of the dormer above. Constructing roof overhangs and soffits and eaves so that they match. She stated it is noted that one of the things that is disallowed is leaving large expanses of wall surface uninterrupted by windows and doors and that's because a lot of modern homes have windows on the back and in the front and nothing on the side, but that is not the case in a historic house, historic houses have windows on all sides in order to take advantage of natural light, being able to look across backyards, and in order to avoid having a large expanse of wall that is completely unadorned. Bristow stated there are two exceptions they need to utilize for this addition, and they were both also used for the previous approval. First is the one about foundations, where it's acceptable just to match the color and in this case they would be using a material to make a fake stucco to be similar to the stucco foundation on the house. The other exception allows for additions on the back of a house to not necessarily replicate all of the trim details but would still expect them to have the basic details like frieze boards at the top of the wall. However, this house actually has brackets and they're not proposing to add that here because it is just a one story addition and the brackets seen on the house are up on the main roof and on the dormers. Staff does recommend moving the north wall in so that the stoop terminates before the corner, partly because of the big two car garage and a bunch of pavement, and that the pavement goes right up to the house, but also to avoid having that stoop and step project beyond the side of the house. Also, currently the drawings show the eave height of the addition is higher than the eave height on the main roof so staff would recommend that it was dropped slightly so that the eave fits with the window head and everything is similar to what is on the main house. Staff also recommends that the south wall incorporates a window or two. Bristow also noted all of the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 4 of 16 windows that are shown on the addition are paired windows and on the house they only have one paired window on the front, which is architecturally significant, but the rest of the house is all individual windows, so staff would recommend that that window patterning is what is matched in the addition to comply with the guidelines. Bristow stated the staff recommendation includes conditions that would alter the project to comply with the guidelines so the Commission can pick and choose or do however they wish with those conditions. Andy Martin spoke as the contractor on the job and admittedly it may not be the way things were done 150 years ago or whatever, but the floor plan is driven by the internal workings of the house. So in order to get the space they needed in the new kitchen they had to push that window over towards the driveway side and then also that's the reason they don't have windows on the south wall, because it would really disrupt the floor plan and the way they intend to use the house. Martin also noted the new addition will stick out another foot or two from what the old addition but from the street they're not going to see this addition and that's why they were hoping to get some leniency on this, again it will greatly affect the way they can use their home and the floor plan that they've laid out. Martin stated he doesn't think it's going to affect the character of the neighborhood, all the neighbors directly to the south will be able to see that, but they've been looking at that view for 65 years or whatever and have seen an addition with no windows on it, so it's not going to be a major change for them. It'll actually be an upgrade because there'll be a nicer space, the siding will look better and the structure will be nicer, but it won't severely impact what they're used to seeing. Lewis asked if putting a window on the south side, to not have just a blank wall, how would that influence how they use the space. Martin confirmed it would due to the way the kitchen is laid out. If they were to put a window in there, they would have to move the stove, and that would probably affect the island and would take away some cabinet space. MOTION: Beck moves to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 721 Grant Street as presented in the staff report through the use of exceptions to the guidelines for the foundation and simplified trim with the following conditions: • The north wall is set in so that the stoop and step terminate before the corner of the house. • The eave height is lowered to match the house. • Windows are added to the south wall of the addition. • Windows are revised to reflect the window patterning on the historic house. • Window and door product information is submitted for review. Villaneuva seconded the motion. Thomann noted they've had projects that have used a fake window before Villanueva stated to her it is not that big of a deal if that south wall doesn't have a window, if it's possible to do fake window, she is all for it but out of all these adjustments that one is very low on the list. Burford stated it is offset by the fact that there would no longer be the two skylights, which are not historic and not terribly esthetic, so there's a tradeoff there. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 5 of 16 Wagner noted going back to the number of windows, there are now four windows and if they reduce the two on the west side to one each, down to two total, and put one on the south side, they'd have three windows instead of four, which would free up wall space for cabinets. He noted the concern about what is seen from the street, that eave height in the back might not be such a big deal to match the house, because they really might not see but the window patterning, and the window on the south wall, he thinks they'd want to have a window in the south wall for morning light, especially since they are getting rid of the ones that are in the ceiling. Lewis agrees that it's not super visible from the street and they make a lot of judgments based off of that. He questions the stoop and step and is there anything in the guidelines that says the stoop and step must be set or is this just a concern of visibility. Bristow noted generally if they have an addition, they want the whole thing set back so that they aren't seeing a tiny portion of it projecting beyond the house. She can think of an addition on College Street that was approved, but that was case where there was no driveway and they had an alley garage, but that addition was set in maybe 18 inches and then they had a stoop and step that projected out. She acknowledged they have approved additions or stoop and steps that project in the past. Lewis stated as long as the main part of the addition is set in, but the stoop and step aren't, and if it doesn't actually violate the guidelines, it's okay. Villanueva noted the concern would be when they walk past it, what would they see. For her it wouldn't bother her if she was walking past and saw a stoop and step hanging out a little bit. Thomann asked what balustrade or railing would they see from the side. Bristow stated it would look just like any stoop and step that is approved, the railing would need to follow the guidelines and under the stoop there would be a post aligned with the railing post above. Thomann asked if there would be a roof covering. Bristow noted on the drawing they're putting on the new addition a 2' overhang to match the main one on the house so it would cover a portion, but it won't cover the whole stoop and step. Villanueva asked if they did not approve the exception, would the stoop and step have to be 2' smaller. Bristow stated they would have to move the wall in 2' because code wise they couldn't make the stoop smaller. Bristow stated typically, they would require a post in the railing, even though it is not drawn that way, and they would also require that there's a corresponding post below that, and the space would be enclosed with skirting, which is required to match the skirting on the front of the house. Those are all parts of the guidelines that go with stoops and steps. Lewis stated then the major concern would be the window on the south side of the house, and the windows overall because one of the conditions is to make them single windows instead of twin windows. The Commission discussed the conditions on the motion. Beck amends the previous motion to remove the first two conditions. AMENDED MOTION: Beck moves to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 721 Grant Street as presented in the staff report through the use of exceptions to the guidelines for the foundation and simplified trim with the following conditions: Windows are added to the south wall of the addition. Windows are revised to reflect the window patterning on the historic house. Window and door product information is submitted for review. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 6 of 16 Villanueva seconds the amended motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. HPC25-0056: 415 Clark Street- Clark Street Conservation District (new aaraae): Bristow sated this is a regency style home, which is actually very rare in Iowa City, it has a low, moderate hipped roof. It has quoins, which historically would be stone and are meant to reinforce the corners but here it's just for style. There's lap siding below a smooth pseudo stucco kind of finish on the second floor. On the upper level there are some arched wall dormers, two on each wall all the way around the house, and the entryway has a little copper hood. This house does have a historic garage that was built at the same time, but it's just a small one car garage, and the applicant is wanting a larger garage. Bristow explained it is not possible to expand the existing attached garage to the north, because the property line is much closer than the fence that is there. She stated they always in preservation like to try to keep the historic garage if possible, so the proposal is to leave it and retain it as a garage and to build a second garage in the backyard. In 2005 the Commission approved an addition, it has a similar hipped roof and while the house has a very small eave overhang which is very indicative of this Regency style, the addition has a little bit larger overhang because they like to build overhangs in modern properties for shade and to prevent as much water from running down the wall. The plan is to add a curb cut and driveway that goes along the south side of the property and to place a garage in the back corner of the property. Bristow stated they typically don't necessarily approve a second curb cut on a property and tend to prefer to have one or have a garage entered off an alley. However, in this location there is no alley and the only way to save the existing garage is to add a second curb cut. Bristow also noted putting the garage in the back corner of the property will minimize its impact on the neighborhood as it's a large lot. The proposal is a two story garage, they plan to have a recreation space above, the bump out on the north side is where the stairs are to the upper level. The garage will include wall dormers to match the house. She stated it has a complicated roof, with the bump out, but staff will support that design decision because it helps minimize the size of everything and won't compete with the house. Bristow shared the rendering of the garage noting a very wide eave overhang shown so staff does recommend that it is reduced, not to the point where it matches the lack of overhang on the house, but at least reducing it down so that it's similar to the other addition, or even smaller, which will help with the gutter situation and the downspouts and how they come out. The existing historic garage has a flat roof with a terrace on it, which is an alteration, the new garage will be sitting down a little bit lower than the house which helps minimize its presence. They've included three wall dormers on the front facade of the garage, which is more complicated than the house, which only has two, so part of the recommendation is to reduce it so that they're not competing with the house and making something that's more elaborate. The products they will be using for the new garage are a smooth Hardie board siding, the lap would match the house, which is fairly wide, it would be mitered at the corners. They have chosen an overhead door configuration that is generally approved. It would have composite overlay squared windows, the windows are on this project are a vinyl window and because this is a conservation district, there is an exception to the guidelines to allow a vinyl window on an outbuilding in a conservation district. Bristow stated one of the things included on the back of the garage are two pairs of sliding windows and sliding windows are actually a modern window type that is disallowed in the guidelines. Also, on the drawings they have shown a door that looks like a craftsman door and that's not considered appropriate for a Regency style home, it's more in the Colonial Revival style of architecture. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 7 of 16 Bristow shared some examples from a reference book of some typical Colonial Revival styles and what staff would probably recommend, a crossbuck pattern in the lower portion for a garage. Another thing they typically approve for garages is a basic historic back door, which is a half-light two panel door, and that is very similar to what they are proposing, only this would be glass with two panels instead of one. The guidelines state matching the trim, substituting wood, and the same with the siding. Regarding the site and landscaping and the parking and curb cut it talks about making sure that they're parking back behind the house and this project would comply with these guidelines. The second curb cut is the only thing that's not something normally approved but is recommended here. Bristow did point out there is a limit on how wide a driveway can be until back behind the house, a maximum of 8' to 10' wide. Windows are generally relatively small and rectangular, but in this case they're making something that's more similar to a carriage house, and so they're matching the windows on the house. Again, staff would like to see the front facade reduced to just two wall dormers instead of three, if they wanted more light staff would approve a skylight on the garage. Also, the guidelines disallow the use of modern window types so staff recommends that on that west side those two bands of sliding windows are changed to either the typical rectangular garage window, which could be fixed or operable, depending on if they want, or just match the other windows. Staff would also need to approve the vinyl windows through an exception, and that exception is written into the guidelines. Staff recommends reducing the eave overhang to 1' or so instead of what they have and also changing the passage door from a craftsman door to more suitable Colonial Revival door. Staff recommends approval a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 415 Clark Street as presented in the staff report with the following conditions: • The vinyl -clad windows are approved through an exception to the guidelines. • The west -facing windows are revised to windows that comply with the guidelines. • The eave is revised to a 1' overhang and reduced to two dormers in the front fagade. • The passage door is revised to a Colonial Revival Style. Burford asked what the advantage of vinyl clad windows is it simply cost. Bristow replied, initial cost because they wouldn't last as long. Thomann noted they don't consider the interior but is the top space a recreational area or is this an accessory dwelling unit. Bristow stated they have not given any indication that they are going to do an accessory dwelling unit, but they probably could and go through a zoning code review to do so. MOTION: Wagner recommends approval a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 415 Clark Street as presented in the staff report with the following conditions: • The vinyl -clad windows are approved through an exception to the guidelines. • The west -facing windows are revised to windows that comply with the guidelines. • The eave is revised to a 1' overhang and reduced to two dormers in the front fagade. • The passage door is revised to a Colonial Revival Style. Burford seconded the motion. Villanueva stated this house was in the Parade of Homes a few years ago and it was gorgeous on the inside. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 8 of 16 Lewis noted the front of the house has two dormers and a circular window, would it be possible to mimic that in the new garage, they would still get three windows but only the two dormers. Bristow thinks they would not want that because they would want it to be simpler than the house. The staff recommendation is since they have a very large elaborate carriage house to simplify it so that it avoids competing with the house. The guidelines state to always have the garage or carriage house to be subordinate to the house. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. HPC25-0060: 332 North Johnson Street - Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District (rear porch demolition and new addition): Bristow stated this is a very old house built in the 1880s and originally it was just a portion of the size it is now, it was basically what was called a hall and parlor type of house, it had two rooms and that's it. They added an addition behind the north half at an unknown date, and then before 1899 they added another addition per the Sanborn Historic Fire Insurance Maps, a very Victorian addition. They basically had a very simple Goosetown cottage, and they added a hip roof Victorian addition to it. On the back of the house there used to be an open area that was an open porch but that was enclosed by 1899, and then someone added a poorly constructed open porch on the end of that and didn't have proper support for the columns, and the columns aren't really the right style, etc. Bristow stated this house is clad in asbestos siding, and after staff got further photos to review, she thinks that it might be the case where this house actually does not have siding under the asbestos, which would be rare. She noted the reason for that thinking is because of the relationship between the trim and the asbestos, the trim still projects beyond the asbestos, similar to the way it would with the original siding, meaning that maybe there's not room for siding under there. Bristow noted with an addition they always like to match the historic siding on the house, and they will be removing some of the asbestos in order to do this addition, so staff has the general recommendation to match the historic siding however, if there is none, then they would just follow the guidelines, which ask for a three to five inch lap siding, and corner boards and typical trim. They would probably be able to tell what was on the house once they see the nailing pattern and stuff underneath, it could have been a shingle siding or something and maybe that's why they removed it, if they did. Bristow stated they are changing the layout, removing a wall and that porch, and expanding to make it into a sunroom with a new roof over the whole thing. The sunroom would have two windows on each side and a passage door and the addition would have a flat roof matching the eave height of the existing roofs. This is again the same guidelines as for other additions. Of note is the fact that this was enclosed by 1899 and there is a historic corner of the house still there, typically with an addition they are looking at retaining those corners and will set the addition in. However, to do that on such a small house would mean that they would have to shift the whole hallway over and lose important space on the inside, so staff does recommend that guideline about retaining the corner in this case is allowed to not be complied with, basically because it is such a small space. Regarding the guidelines about siding and windows Bristow reiterated the analysis on this is basically allowing it to align with the corner, knowing that they will match a historic siding if they can, and use a three to five inch lap siding if there is none. Also, instead of trying to match the existing roofs staff is recommending a flat roof on this addition which will allow all of the roofs to drain out towards the east. This house has individual windows, the Victorian addition has some paired windows on the front, because this is very small house and they're creating a sunroom, staff does recommend that they allow the windows on each side of that sunroom to be paired. The applicants originally had a craftsman door but staff recommends a half-light, two panel, HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 9 of 16 basic door and they have revised their drawings to show that. Staff recommends approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 332 North Johnson Street, as presented in the staff report, with the following conditions: The door is revised as a half-light door. The flat roof is membrane is gray. The trim condition matches the existing house. Bristow noted the top condition has already been met, so they don't need to include that condition to revise the door. Thomann asked why the roof is gray. Bristow explained this house has some shingles and some metal roof. It's in a conservation district and they don't review changing roofs in conservation districts. The owners do plan to re -roof the entire house but that's not something that staff would review because it's a conservation district. For the new roof they're using a roof membrane that comes most often in a white color, and staff doesn't recommend using white because of how reflective it is and how it stands out, instead recommending using either a gray to match what a metal roof would look like, or black because it tends to not draw attention to itself. MOTION: Burford recommends approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 332 North Johnson Street, as presented in the staff report, with the following conditions: The door is revised as a half-light door. The flat roof is membrane is gray. The trim condition matches the existing house. Villaneuva seconded the motion. Lewis noted a concern with saying it's small so therefore let's not follow a guideline. Burford noted the additional windows seem appropriate for a sunroom, it makes sense. Thomann likes that it's going to be a sunroom but is still following the guidelines of adding the more historic windows. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. HPC25-0064: 409 South Summit Street - Summit Street Historic District (roof cladding replacement and Yankee Gutter removal): Bristow stated this is a Victorian house built in the early 1890s with a front porch that wraps around and a high gable roof. Similar to the earlier project, they have what's basically called a Yankee gutter which is a gutter that is built out of the metal roof material in the slope of the roof. If they were to replace this roof with modern materials the only way that they could make this kind of gutter would be a very labor intensive stainless steel, hand soldered, welded together pieces and it would be very expensive and complicated, therefore staff has determined that it's not possible to make a Yankee gutter in modern roofing materials that's cost effective anymore. In addition to the Yankee gutter, which is all on the historic portion of this home, this project is also about the crown molding that is at the eave edge. Bristow also pointed out they do have an internal gutter on the flat roof of the front porch, but that is a HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 10 of 16 more traditional internal gutter that can be repaired, they can replace the pans or put a membrane roof over them as a temporary, or short life span repair. On the back of this house is a two story flat roof addition which ties in with some of the metal roof. Staff has been working with this owner for quite a few years, tracking down people who might be able to repair or even replace this roof with a matching material and it was just completely not cost effective. Bristow shared photos of the house and roof and noted the damage and deterioration over time as the water gets in and has been running into the roof framing and into the crown molding and the fascia. This project proposes to retain the porch roof gutters per the guidelines. Again, this is a situation where they do not have the option of maintaining metal roofs rather than replacing them. All of these roofs were wood shingles before the metal roofs became popular and were used so Bristow is sure they're going to find multiple layers of wood shingles under this metal roof when they take it off. The existence of the wood shingles is part of the reason why they do allow an asphalt shingle roof as a replacement for a metal roof, and that is what is proposed here. The applicant proposed adding some roof vents in the gable end but staff recommended against that as the main gables have fish scale shingle, so the contractor is going to put vents in the slope of the roof instead. The guidelines state to repair historic wood elements rather than replace them and only replace any damaged wood with new or salvaged wood components that match. It is only allowed to substitute a material if it can be worked like wood and painted, and it is disallowed to remove historic wood elements such as trim, porches and cornices and decorative elements. Bristow stated it's disallowed in the guidelines to take off the cornice or the brackets or the crown molding unless it is deteriorated beyond repair and replaced with matching material. It is also disallowed to substitute a material in place of wood that does not retain the appearance, function and paint ability of the original wood. The owners want to use the architectural asphalt shingles, staff would recommend a brown or gray to be similar to a wood roof. Staff finds that removing the internal gutter on the main roof will not impact the historic character of the home, because it is just a gutter in the slope of the roof, it's not something with an elaborate eave condition creating an internal gutter, and also because it's not possible to make a new roof with that same type of gutter. Staff does find that the applicant requesting to remove all of the crown molding and replace it with an Azek material that is a similar profile would not comply with the guidelines, and they should retain the historic crown where it's not deteriorated, and what does need to be replaced, replace it with a wood that matches the same profile. Staff recommends approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 409 South Summit Street, as presented in the staff report, with the following conditions: The roof shingle is a brown or gray, and the porch roof membrane is gray. The crown molding removal is limited to the deteriorated portions and is replaced with wood to match. Burford stated with the crown molding, to match it can be difficult, when he did his own house, they had to custom make molding to fit. Bristow acknowledged the contractors had reached out about this. First of all, they can determine what the existing profile is using a contour gauge and staff also know of a number of carpenters and contractors in town who have made replacement molding for various houses, some of them have machines and the knives that cut them set up to do that, but they can also make knives that could make that molding. Staff is confident that they can find someone who could do it right. Burford noted his concern was due to how hard it is to find craftsmen to repair metal roofs and was it difficult to find craftsmen who could do crown molding. Thomann thanked staff for explaining the relationship between the metal roof and the gutters as metal roofs are a mystery and she often forgets that a lot of them came after wood shingles. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 11 of 16 Frank Durham (409 South Summit Street) stated their main question is going to be about how much wood and how much non -wood materials are required for the crown molding, but they won't know that until someone comes and really looks at it. Alex Andino (contractor) has been working with the homeowner, Frank Durham, on this project for the restoration of his roof. With regards to the crown molding, they found contacts and appreciate staff's showing them a list of people that they can contact about this crown molding. The plan is to just replace the crown molding in the areas there are damage. MOTION: Villanueva moves to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 409 South Summit Street, as presented in the staff report, with the following conditions: The roof shingle is a brown or gray, and the porch roof membrane is gray. The crown molding removal is limited to the deteriorated portions and is replaced with wood to match. Wagner seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Bristow noted they had two projects on this agenda that had the same issue, a Yankee gutter in the roof slope. A few years ago, they had the first one, and then that followed up with a second one so these are three and four. If the Commission is interested staff would be open to the idea of saying specifically Yankee gutter removal is something that could be approved as a minor review in the future. It would then just be brought to the Commission as a staff review COA. The Commission agreed to that discussion and Bristow will put it on a future agenda. Villanueva asked if they should look at all internal gutters, because they're really struggling to find people that can rebuild internal gutters. Bristow stated she has been working on the list, a couple years ago they only knew one person and now they know of six and are continually expanding that list of people. The list has some people who make new pans, some people who just line them with EPDM, there are two people now who repair them with fiberglass, one has been doing that for 25 years in St. Louis and now is doing it here. The Commission can certainly take it up but with most internal gutters staff finds that if they were to approve removing them it would substantially impact the architectural character of the of the building, and so that's why the guidelines disallow removing them. Bristow added that's why it is really important for people to reach out to City staff because they do have lists of experienced contractors and are continually updating them. Bristow also stated she wouldn't recommend having it be staff approvable regardless because of the fact that it can really impact the historic character. With the Yankee gutters it's just not possible to build them again in the same way. REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect- Chair and Staff Review: HPC25-0059: 810 North Johnson Street - Brown Street Historic District (partial foundation wall replacement): Bristow noted they've had a few projects because this house went up for sale, in this particular project HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 12 of 16 they are replacing the foundation wall on the north side and it won't be visible because it's at grade. HPC25-0062: 431 South Summit Street - Summit Street Historic District (window repair): Bristow stated this is Villanueva's house and there are some windows that will be repaired. Villanueva noted they did use one of the new contractors that staff recommended. HPC25-0067: 1022 East College Street- East College Street Historic District (porch railing repair): Bristow stated this railing is deteriorated enough to need replacement. Minor Review - Staff Review: HPC25-0042: 624 North Johnson Street - Brown Street Historic District (window sash replacement): Bristow stated these windows were modern and they're replacing sashes. It is on the back of the house in the kitchen, but the windows are not the same age as the front windows of the house. HPC25-0052: 528 East College Street - College Green Historic District (roof shingle replacement): Bristow stated the roof shingles are being replaced. HPC25-0057: 813 Ronalds Street - Brown Street Historic District (Rear deck replacement): Bristow noted this is actually a key property in the Ronalds Street Historic District that has changed hands and they did a little work on the porch earlier, now they're replacing the deck. HPC25-0061: 525 & 601 Oakland Avenue - Longfellow Historic District (shared garage roof replacement): Bristow explained 525 and 601 Oakland Avenue share a garage and it needs some overall repair. This project they're just replacing the roof shingles but there might be more work coming up on this in the future. HPC25-0065: 447 S Summit St - Summit Street Historic District (new mini -split HVAC units): Bristow stated they are getting some mini splits, all the units all in the back. Intermediate Review— Chair and Staff Review: HPC25-0051: 1046 Woodlawn Avenue - Woodlawn Historic District (replacement of stairs and decks): Bristow stated this is a 1960s style ranch house duplex and it has two little entry decks on each side that are going to be replaced. HPC25-0055: 404 E Jefferson Street - Jefferson Street Historic District (foundation wall ventilation alteration): Bristow noted this is the St Paul's Lutheran chapel and they have been working through some HVAC issues over time. This project is something that looks like an egress window in the foundation wall, but it'll be a vent, probably with a grate over it. It is on the Jefferson Street facing side but it'll be down below grade and hopefully not visible. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 13 of 16 HPC25-0063: 748 Rundell Street - Lonafellow Historic District (shinale replacement oroiect): Bristow stated this little brick bungalow has shingle siding in the gables so while they're re -roofing this they're going to put wood shingles back on the walls of the gable like it would have originally had. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR AUGUST 14, 2025: MOTION: Thoman moves to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's August 14, 2025, meeting. Burford seconded the motion The motion carried on a vote of 7-0. COMMISSION INFORMATION: Bristow stated all commissioners are required to do a training regarding open meetings, once completed you will receive a certificate and will need to give that certificate to the clerk's office. COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Iowa Highway 6 Bridge Mitigation Project: Russett stated that Bristow spoke on this several months ago, but as a reminder this bridge has to be demolished, so it's creating a need to mitigate the impact of the demolition of this historic bridge. When the Commission discussed this last time there were three mitigation projects that were identified, the Summit Street monument, doing a survey for Oak Grove Park, and the third one was survey of the Lucas Farms/Kirkwood Avenue neighborhood. Staff has been in contact with the DOT throughout this project and they reviewed the three options and determined that the Oak Grove Park survey would be the most appropriate based on their time and resources. Russett shared the draft language that they are proposing for the MOA and wanted the Commission to have an opportunity to look at the language, and if there are any comments, to share those with staff so they can send those back to the DOT. The DOT will do a survey of the park and surrounding residences. The Commission will then have an opportunity to review the survey. The DOT will be hiring the contractor and the architectural historian to do the survey and managing the project. Bristow stated this is the park next to the railroad tracks that is believed to have a history as a Mexican barrio. The Mexican immigrants who worked on the railroad lived in boxcars along the railroad, then eventually the boxcars were replaced with a row of tiny homes that are now gone. Historic Preservation Awards - Save the Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Lewis stated the committee will get together soon to discuss ways to promote it and get nominations. Letter from the University of Iowa related to the Cannon -Gay House and Sanxay House: Russett noted there's the letter from the University in the agenda packet, the background is this is the Cannon -Gay House that the University owns. There was a City right of way, an alley next to it and the University requested that the alley be vacated and the City agreed to that but that the University needs to protect the house. The University agreed so there is a deed restriction that protects this Cannon -Gay House. Circumstances have since changed and there's a lot of development that's going on in this part of the campus. There's also an effort to make Byington Road a two way street, and that's going to coincide with the Burlington Street Bridge Project, the roadway will need to be realigned which could impact the front yard of this house. Therefore, the University is proposing is to protect the home at 109 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 14 of 16 East Market Street, the Sanxay-Gilmore House in exchange for the demolition of the Cannon -Gay House. There were earlier discussions around protecting the Sanxay-Gilmore House and moving it over to the City -owned surface lot, and the City was going to give the lot to the University to do that. However, once the costs came in on the house moving, it was over budget and that effort failed to protect that house. So, this is an opportunity for the Commission to weigh in on this situation, it will be a decision of City Council but any comments that this Commission has will be forwarded to Council. Bristow added if members of the Commission want to attend the Council meeting and they happen to have any time for members of the public to speak, Commissioners would be able to speak. Thomann asked if the house that's along Market Street is occupied, it appears empty when she walks by. Russett replied she doesn't think it's occupied or that the University is currently using it. Lewis noted concern that they've developed enough over by the Cannon -Gay House that it's kind of lost and the context of it doesn't really work but then in in a year or two are they're going to get another letter saying they'd like to destroy the Sanxay-Gilmore House and they will protect something farther away or whatever. Thomann noted what's stopping Tippe from right across the street coming in with a huge donor. Wagner stated that's the whole reason they have that big green space there, those were homes that the University bought and the intention was to get rid of 107 and 109 Clinton Street and make that whole section part of something to do with the College of Business. That house really should be moved and saved because both the exterior and interior integrity is quite good. At one time Lutheran Campus Ministries owned it, the English Lutherans, Gloria Day, and they rented it and then they sold it to the University. The other one, the Cannon -Gay House, while it looks really nice on the outside, the University used it for offices and they clobbered the inside, there's not one thing inside that is salvageable. He took a tour of it with the hopes that maybe there's stuff to salvage but there was nothing in that one that he could salvage. Thomann is thankful for that context, because to look at that house it looks magnificent, but it is not so much. Wagner stated his understanding is the University could go in tomorrow and just knock everything down. He has spoken to Rod Lehnertz at the University about 107 and 109 Clinton Street and that 109 Market should not be destroyed. Lewis noted the business school is also expanding into Gilmore Hall. Wagner stated that vacant lot, that's the next site for University development, so the house will need to be moved. The question is where, but it can be done. Thomann stated the University is doing a lot around there, they tore down a couple of houses on Dubuque and Bloomington. Wagner reported that a window from one of those houses got reused on a garage on College Street. Bristow noted another interesting thing is the fact that the Cannon -Gay House was listed in the National Register and then was locally landmarked it in 1996. South of that is the Melrose Historic District that's also listed in the National Register. However, because there are so many University owned houses along Melrose in that district the City did not locally designate that district and part of it was because HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2025 Page 15 of 16 they had the Cannon -Gay House that they agreed to locally designate. She added they also do not have any local or national registered designation on the Sanxay-Gilmore House. Bristow stated when it originally was going to be taken down a few years ago there was a push to save it and to have it locally landmarked was discussed, but since it was owned by the University, and the City doesn't regulate the University properties in the same way, that discussion didn't go any further. Russett stated that why the with the Cannon -Gay House there's a deed restriction, it's not a rezoning like what would typically be done for a landmark designation. Lewis asked if the City Council agrees to this and they shift the deed restriction to the Sanxay-Gilmore House does that mean if they want to change something they have to go through City Council. Russett confirmed yes and the Board of Regents because the Board of Regents will probably the ones be signing the deed restriction. The Commission discussed the Cannon -Gay House and generally agreed that since it is unsalvageable they are okay with the proposal. Thomann asked if there was any way to encourage that if this is demolished that any salvageable pieces go to the salvage barn or other outlets like that. Bristow noted they are always looking for historic bricks, but depending on how it is demolished they may not be able to salvage the bricks. It also has stone keystones over some of the windows, though it's also not going to be a simple salvage, they would need a mason to salvage instead of just a demolition contractor. Bristow stated they could include a comment that suggests that they provide an opportunity for salvage, that has been done that in the past when they took down Quadrangle and the house that used to be the Women's Resource and Action Center. Curfman noted there was a neighbor that wanted the front door. Bristow stated the house at 1011 Woodlawn that caught fire a while ago had a really elaborate pair of doors so the idea is that these doors could go to that house. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:20pm. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2024-2025 TERM 10/10 11/14 12/12 1/9 2/13 3/13 4/10 5/8 6/12 7/10 8/14 10/9 NAME EXP. BECK, 6/30/27 O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X X MARGARET BROWN, 6/30/26 X X X X X X O/E O/E X X O/E O/E CARL BURFORD, 6/30/27 X X X X O/E X X X X X X X KEVI N CURFMAN, 6/30/2028 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X O/E X AUSTIN LEWIS, 6/30/26 X X X O/E X X X X O/E X X X ANDREW RUSSELL, 6/30/27 O/E X O/E O/E X X X X X X X O/E RYAN SELLERGREN, 6/30/25 X X X X X X X X X JORDAN THOMANNN, 6/30/26 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X DEANNA VILLANUEVA, 6/30/25 X X X O/E O/E X X X X X X X NICOLE WAGNER, 6/30/26 X X X X O/E X O/E X O/E O/E X X FRANK WELU- 6/30/25 O/E X X X X X O/E X X REYNOLDS, CHRISTINA KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E= Absent/Excused --- = Not a member