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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-01-14 CorrespondenceCity of iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: December 30, 1996 To: From: Re: City Council Martin Haynes, Chair Design Review Committee Courtesy Review of the Design of the Proposed Biology Building Skywalk over Dubuque Street At its meeting of December 9, 1996, the Design Review Committee held a courtesy review of the design plans for the proposed Biology building skywalk over Dubuque Street. Given that the review was a courtesy review, the Committee is not forwarding a formal recommendation but is forwarding some general comments regarding the project's design. First and foremost, the Committee questioned why the University felt it imperative to have a link between the new structure and Biology II. As a result, the Committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing with the University's representatives and Architect the functional need for the skywalk and how much it would be used. As articulated by Gary Gussin from the Biological Sciences Department, the bridge would provide an enclosed pathway for temperature sensitive research materials to be transported between labs located in the new building and the older biology facilities. It was stated that programmatic and functional adjacencies and the physical space available dictated that all labs that shared research activities could not be located on the same side of the street. It was also noted that usage of the bridge for the purpose of transportation material would be limited to 6-12 trips per day, but others would also use it to move between the two buildings. The Architect for the University stated that other alternatives had been investigated, such as a tunnel or using carts to cross the street. Each proved to be either functionally or economically impractical. The Committee is sensitive to the University's desire to create a bridge between the buildings to facilitate the ongoing research efforts of the Biological Sciences Department. The Committee does not support the use of skywalks in the downtown area. It is pedestrian traffic that brings the life and energy to the street. The Committee recognizes that the University's situation is unique and that the location is at the periphery of downtown. As long as the proposed skywalk is 'one of a kind' and not part of a more extensive system, the Committee believes its use is acceptable. Feeling that the use of the skywalk was justifiable the Committee reviewed its design. Design of Skywalk. The Schematic Design Report prepared by the Architect that was distributed to the Committee stated "...the skywalk connection...gives the City of Iowa City an opportunity to enhance the processional entry through the campus into the downtown." The Architect explained that this was achieved in the following manner. As one approaches the bridge and passes under it the view of downtown is first framed, then compressed. Once past the bridge, a full view of the downtown then opens up before you. The Architect commented that this gave the skywalk the ability to act as a gateway to the downtown. At the same time, the Architect stressed that the proposed skywalk was designed to be as transparent as possible with minimal visual impact. These two ideas seem somewhat contradictory to the Committee. The Committee feels that for the skywalk to successfully serve as a 'gateway' to the downtown that the gateway concept must be more dramatically expressed. The Committee agrees that the potential for the bridge to convey the message of gate or entry is certainly there, but the proposed design does not achieve this. The Committee challenged the University and their Architect to design a gateway to downtown Iowa City which incorporates the bridge function. Only then will the Committee endorse the project. Design of the Buildin.a. In addition to reviewing the design of the skywalk, the Committee also reviewed the design of the building. The general comment from the Committee is that the building design is compatible with the surrounding university buildings and the downtown buildings, while at the same time the building conveys the high tech nature of the activities that would take place within the building. In fact, the Committee greatly appreciated that the exterior reflected the buildings function and encouraged the architect to further emphasize it. cc: Dick Gibson, University of Iowa f,'\drc\pedbrid2 December 20, 1996 Robert G. Dostal 326 Douglass St. Iowa City, IA 52246 The Iowa City Council Naomi Novick, Mayor Civic Center Iowa City, IA 52240 Honorable Councilors: There is no merit in debating whether or not City Manager Arkins or Police Chief Winklehake should remain on the municiple staff. The inadvertant slaying of Eric Shaw climaxed a succession of uncomely police actions that myself and some 50,000 others witnessed without a peep. Waiting until a catastrophy and 'then blaming the authority figures is not responsible citizenship. The persons who are eminently qualified to rectify police tactics are the men and women of the Iowa City Police Department, under the aegis of the City Council. I do not see where a commission would have anything to offer In Guns, Crime, and Freedom (PP 170-174), author Wayne LaPierre reports that in Switzerland, where armed households are the norm and firearms are freely sold and possessed, homicides and burglaries are rare. This is consistent with the drop in burglaries after the death of Shaw: if lead is going to fly, bad guys are going to be shy. The fact that the homicide rate in the U.S. is eight times that of Switzerland is probably influenced by the lopsided nature of America's gun laws: we seek %o deny arms to bad guys without requiring possession of arms by good guys. It would make sense if householders and business owners were trained, armed, and told to look after their premises while police keep order in the streets. Very truly yours, Tel.: 338-8789 cc: Press-Citizen RECEiVEQ. JAN 0 ? ~.cCl' . ,'-old . ioh~t. ' , She .;~Keel.' ~'.Eve lost ....;, ~. ~'~, .. :Fa ~.~aav to ~re t atto '~ .....febrote ~e /.: Off his ptstot c~y~o~med, so . ' ew ear:T? gu~j?~,~¢tn r* }[ · he went ba~ ~, m~' dangler · ~ ~ ~id, ~, ~2;~ing will be A Too~v ~re ' I aio eyre ~ ~, ' ~- ' - ~ ~er ~a~ s~e ~ust O~ · .'. ~ m~ WaS m~- ~- es and ,,~ ~ve her m me ~ I amuni- ' w~ ~ ~mt to hold her when . ~ born; I w~ ~e l~t,~ne off. g sh~ ....... hen she died, he :o open to nol~a~'2~',~a freed a~er ~id. ~arm~ ,,~ could ~' posing a $2,000 bo~d. He ~ face 10 yearn in prison. Grace J Trifaro 902 N Dodge S~ Ap~ A11 Iowa City IA 52245-5913 ?$ 5281 Wapsi Avenue, E.E. Lone Tree, IA 52755 December 30, 1996 RECEIVE? 1997 Iowa City City Council 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Councilmembers: What instructions, assistance, and or cooperation, has the city provided to the insurance company which will settle the claim the Shaw family has filed against the city regarding the wrongful death of their son, Eric? If the city's responsibility regarding the claim is a maximum of $100,000, no matter what the final settlement figure is, why would the city have any obligation to assist the insurance company in this matter? Especially, in the words of County Attorney, J. Patrick White, when it was a death that resulted from the negligence of a city employeeand should not have happened. Certainly no settlement will be for less than $100,000, which means the city's obligation will have to be met whether the final settlement is $100,001 or $3,500,000. Is there concern that a high settlement figure, or one in which a 'good fight' is not put forth, will affect the city's future premiums with its current carrier or with another insurance company? Since there is no pending litigation on the matter of the death of Eric Shaw (there being only a civil claim), why is the city keeping its meeting of February i--one dealing with the policies and procedures of the police department--under wraps? Will part of the city's position in settling the claim be to have the Shaw's forfeit any right to sue in the future? Why would the Shaws have any desire to pursue further action if the city did two things: one, direct the insurance carrier to settle for the full amount or else go it alone, and two, do what the Shaw's ask and get to the bottom of this matter so that those who are responsible are revealed and punished. Please give Jay and Blossom Shaw credit for being the fine and decent people they are, understandably seeking truth, accountability, and therefore justice, regarding the death of their child. How can the city, in good conscience, offer any defense regarding a matter for which it is entirely culpable? Accepting responsibility is the only con'ect thing to do. And, accepting responsibility is after all, the message of our times, one that is being preached in all other areas of our complex society. Councilmembers, the law is one thing; ethical, moral behavior often quite another. I will attend a fot~nal meeting of the council in January so I can receive answers to these questions from the Council. Thank you. Sincerely, Carol deProsse 629-4304 Copy to PC Copy to CRG Copy to DI Copy to ICON Copy to DMR 5281 Wapsi Avenue, S.E. Lone Tree, IA 52755 January 8, 1997 Iowa City City Council 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Councilmembers: I am concerned about a message that appeared on Johnson County News e-marl on December 20, 1996, by Richard Fishel. It concerns me because I believe it has relevence to a generally perceived attitude of our city administration. Tl~ portrayal is one which some Iowa City taxpayers, including myself, believe is often inappropriate. If you leap to the conclusion that my letter is an attempt to criticize Mr. Arkins, you are correct. During this time of assessment regarding his and Chief R,J. Winklehake's responsibility in the wrongful death of Eric Shaw, other incidents need to be brought to light that can have bearing on your making a fair evaluation of the way Mr. Atkins performs his job. I realize that the working relationship between members of the council and the city manager should not necessarily be charged with suspicion, but it is clearly your responsibility to see that you maintain a working relationship that does not cause a loss of objectivity in difficult times, and we are certainly in one of those difficult times at the moment. Mr. Atkin's action in writing to the Governor's office about Mr. Fishel, based partly on an apparent personal aversion to what Mr. Fishel had to say when he appeared before the council, is inappropriate. I have talked with Mr. Fishel, and I have read the ICON article about Napoleon Park. There are serious questions about what went on concerning the archeological significance of the site, serious enough that no one ~s probably going to want to delve into them. Given the current nervous climate of the community, my concern about Mr. Atkins' action regarding the transmission of lhe attached correspondence deserves your studied consideration. This climate is responsible for citizens finding it difficult to believe that the City Councfi is on top of how the city, and particularly the police department, is managed. Additionally, I am not under the impression lhat when I come to add my voice io the public record that I am addressing Mr. Aikins, or that I care what he thinks of what I am saying. I am coming lo speak io the City Council. Is Mr. Aikins writing letters about me to someone? I tend to doubt it, but fend to doubt it is the best I can do, given Mr. Fishel's experience. Did the councfi direct Mr. Atkins to write to the Governor's office about the sewer project and to additionally note his opinion of Mr. Fishel's presentation to the councfi ? Or did Mr. Atkins assume the authority to write his letter in the absence of councfi direction? I respectfully ask councfimembers io ponder Mr, Atkin's motivation for his correspondence. I believe there is reason to suspect that it was a mean-spiriled attempt to intimidate, perhaps even to have punished or fired, someone who might be getting too close to the truth of an issue that Mr. Atkins did not want discussed by the Council or argued about within the community. According to Mr. Fishel, because of what was said in Mr. Arkins' correspondence the letter was referred by the Govemor's Office to the Board of Regents. From there the matter filtered down to Mr. Fishel's bosses at the University, where the parts referencing Mr. Fishel were concluded to be without significance. For such a chain of events to have been set in motion by Mr. Atkins is serious and deserves the council's scrutiny. When people have been in a position of authority for a whfie, c~nd Mr, Arkins has been in such ct position, if cc~n happen thctt they begin fo assume a posture fhctf is not theirs fo assume, As Mr, Arkins boss, I hope you are interested in preserving the reputations of cilizens who ¢ippec~r before you, I request that this letter and the accompanying enclosures be made a part of the public record, Thank you. Sincerely, Carol deProsse 629-4304 April 1, 1996 Robert Rafferty Governor's Office State Capitol Des Moines, IA 50319 CITY OF I0 WA CITY Dear Mr. Raffe~ty; Chuck Schmadeke, the Iowa City Director of Public Works, advised me of conversation~ he has had with your office and other representatives of the Governor's office concerning p~oblems and issues associated with the Iowa City sanitary sewer project, a portion of which is being constructed at the City's Girls' Softball Fields - Napoleon Park. As you may know, the City will be connecting our two wastewater treatment plants under state DNR direction in order to reduce the ammonia portion of our wastewater effluent. The total project cost will be 925 + million when complete. .There have been many issues, most of which are regulatory in nature, associated with the Office of the State Archaeologist, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Army Corps of Engineers, and the State DNR. We believe we are moving toward resolution of these issues to avoid further project shutdown. We believe we are making every effort to fully satisfy the environmental, archaeological and related cultural resource policies of the State of Iowa. Chuck indicated to me you were interested in our ongoing work effort and, i0 particular, the, somewhat eleventh hour nature of the histc, rical and archaeological isst]es and how it ha~ affected our relationship, as a local government, attempting to comply with a variety of state agencies and their rules, regulations and missions. While we will likely never be able to identify, nor should significant effort be pu[ toward, who said what to whom [he mo~t important factor in this issue is its resolutior~. The efforts on the part of the Governor's office are appreciated. Thank you. We now have an early draft report which was prepared by the Office of the State Archaeolo- gist concerning the Napoleon site. Copies of the reporL although more detailed reports are to follow, will be provided if you wish. I do have a concern that one of the authors of this re.p.p_r_t,_a-State.~mployee, .app_eared =b, efor,.eI t~e-~'it"~ [;oun~--cil'--on M.a.~rc b._.2__6_,..~ c0'~-' p~/-oT~' ~;'r-~:~en s~atement (//1) read by Mr'. Ri~i~a~ci ~:~l~61'~'[~i:iF:16.~6'~l'~"~-~-'~;~'~'~-~he c~v~r page (//2) from the report I mentioned earlier. Mr. Fishel indicafed he wa~ a private citizen. At the City Council meeting, I felt obligated to challenge the statements and allegations made by Mr. Fishel. While t do not wish to perpetuate this debate further, comments were made which were ~imply not true. Whether It be in his capacity, ~s a private citizen and/or representative of the state of Iowa, to indicate that there were protestations from, for example, the City's Historic Preservation Commission, is not only untr,.le, but unfair to the whole policy process of attempting to satisfy the historic, archaeological, and cultural resource in question. I did 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET o IOWA CITY, IOWA S2240-1826 o l~19) ~S6.$000 · FAX I~JlOl 356-:100t Robert Rafferty April 1, 1996 Page 2 confirm with the City's Chair of our Historic Preservation Commission that there were no such protests on our handling of this project. We, in fact, as a city government supported a grant application of the State Archaeologist and the City's Historic Preservation Commission issued its favorable recommendation for such a grant. FUrthermore, in his comments he indicates that "misinformation" had been supplied to the Corps of Engineers. I believe this to be the most extreme statement and represents a State official alleging the Iowa City government intended to deliberately deceive. Further accusations of protestations by the archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Office follow in his written comments. I have enclosed a letter (#3) from the State Archaeologist which indicates his opinion of the City's effort to date. I recognize there is not much you can do, but such public condemnation by a state employee or an agent of the state is most unfortunate,. particularly when the City has engaged that agency for help and consultation.' We do not further historic and cultural resource efforts by either public and private institutions if the very agency intended to protect or preserve these matters can freely condemn and do so in a fashion that distorts the actual circumstanc- es. This type of action and subsequent debate brings the State's environmental and cultural policies into conflict. Napoleon Park serves many of our citizens as our community's girls' softball complex. It also is evidently the site of some possible historic and cultural issues, and the site of the route to address a major environmental issue in our state and community - that is, ammonia removal from the Iowa River. I would hope the State recognizes the important balance of policies here and proper credit and weight is given to the importance of each of these policies. The ~Jite of Napoleon Park was apparently evaluated by the State Archaeologist's office in 1978 and 1988, and yet the state chose to take no action on these reports. It has continued to be a local recreational site during those many years. In Mr. Fishel's comments, we are criticized for failure to investigate, yet the State has had more than ample opportunity and notice to pursue archaeological review. There has been no effort to my knowledge to pursue the site for its archaeological evaluation purposes, that is, a commitment of state resources. It was not until such time that the City chose to pursue the construction of a sanitary sewer facility that actual historic site work could be accomplished. As you can see, this cost Iwhich is estimated to be ~200,000 to 9300,000) will be borne by the local government as we try to eat state rules, regularruns and pohcms. ~ FmbeUurther alleges we reluctantly agreed at n_~o _c. ost to have arc..~_haeolog[sts review- another complete miss~',~-~'~"0~ ~a(~-~.. seem to make sense that if these sites are so identified, the state has some obligation to pursue financing of the archaeological, historic and cultural activities. Again, and I do not mean to criticize other than show the importance of a balance in policy and avoid the eleventh hour crisis. ! certainly hope that this issue does not occur again. Iowa City is also planning to build a new water plant at an estimated cost of ~50 million. This will be built under the obligations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and ultimately be administered and directed by the state DNR. An example of the State historic activity to datb on the proposed water plant site is also of concern, as you will see in a letter dated December 15, 1995, from the State Historic Preservation Office (#4). Much of the information is inaccurate and the accusatory, condemnlng tone will be clear to you. A simple phone call could have resolved these issues. Robert Rafferty April 1, 1996 Page 3 My letter (#5), which is admittedly defensive in the face'of the apparent accusations by. the state offices, I also think will be obvious. My concern is not so much the accusatory or defensive nature of the correspondence, but the fact that I do not want this type of issue ever occur again. We have not received a response from our letter dated the 29th. I have enclosed a recent (3-30-96) news article (#6) whereby the State is now asking that construction be halted. There must be better way. My office has not received the proposed State shutdown request. I apologize for this somewhat long and rambling letter. There is always the potential for conflict as represented by official commentary, and we will work to resolve those conflicts in a positive fashion. I can assure yo.u we will do everything that the state directs us to do to fulfill the obligation of the policy direction to not only clean up our environment, but to attempt to preserve historical and cultural artifacts. As an aside, i did inform the State Archaeologist some time ago that if thls site is, in fact, found to be of some archaeological significance and it is important to not only our local government and the state government, the City would be pleased to pursue some sort of designation in the form of actually providing a signing and other proper notification of the site importance. We have also offered to set up lighting to allow archaeologists to work around the clock. They have not, as of yet, taken us up on the offer. If asked, this could have been done many years ago. Again, thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, City Manager cc: Chuck Schmadeke Encs. bj~raffert¥ , ~ .... December 29, 1995 Kathy Gourley, Archeologist Community Programs Bureau State Historical Society of Iowa 600 E. Locust Des Moines, IA 50319-0290 CITY OF'IO WA CITY Dear Ms. Goudey: In your letter of December 15, you have assumed as facts some statements that were made to your office about the actions and intentions of Iowa City in regard to our efforts to construct a new water plant for the City. Some of the statements made were blatantly false. I would like to present to you our actions regarding this project and assure you the City of Iowa City has always had every intention to comply with any State or Federal law. The City is undertaking a significant project to provide a new water treatment plant for Iowa City which will ensure clean, safe drinking water and remove our treatment plant from the threat of flooding. To this end, we have acquired two parcels of land, one north of 1-80 that consists of approximately 230 acres and another parcel south of 1-80 which consists of 115 acres. The 230 acre parcel was purchased with local revenues. The 115 acres was purchased with CDBG Flood Hazard Mitigation funds provided by the federal government after the 1993 flood event. The pdmary purpose for the purchase of the 115 acres was to remove the land from potential development. A secondary purpose to which we will put this land will be alluvial wells for our water supply. Contrary to the information given you, no earth moving has been undertaken by the City on either of these sites. We have dug test wells and done soil borings, as anyone would do before investing in hundreds of acres. We have contacted your office, that is, the Office of Historic Preservation. A call was made by Scott Kugler, an Associate Planner, to Ralph Christian in the early part of November to determine whether the water plant project required a Section 106 review. Mr. Christian informed us that such a review was necessary and we proceeded to instruct our consultant, H.R. Green, to proceed with a cultural resources survey. I know you are aware that we are proceeding with this survey, since you indicate in your letter Ihat you have been contacted by H.R. Green representatives. Likewise, we inquired of HUD officials on September 27, 1995, as to whether we would be required .'.o undertake an environmental impact statement for this project. They informed us that our responsibility was to do an environmental assessment pursuant to Community Development Block Grant regulations. We had undertaken such an assessment pdor to acquiring the floodplain land in the area south of 1-80. Although not required, we are pursuing an environmental assessment under contract with RUST Environment and Infrastructure for both parcels of land. We are also pursuing a 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers. The Department of Natural Resources is fully aware of our undertaking, since we have been in contact with them regarding this project for some time. We have made every attempt to inform the appropriate agencies, and acquire the necessary permits for this project. We would expect that as we pursue the necessary permits, any state or federal agency will let us know if we have not complied with the law in any manner. Oecember 29, 1995 Page 2 You apparently received your information from someone who has a number of lawsuits against Iowa City because he believes his property is being wrongfully condemned for this public project and that he is not being compensated enough for his ½ acre of land. He and the owners of the site north of 1-80 have operated a sand and gravel pit on the site for a number of years. They carried ~ut an estimated $50,000 worth of grading on this site and thereby altered the topography just pdor to completion of the condemnation proceedings. Your apparent source of information. removed a heavy equipment storage building from the site by excavating around and digging out the foundation, not simply removing it. The previous owners of the site left the Butler residence to deteriorate with fallen limbs on the roof, a hole in the roof, a collapsed porch and broken windows. Your source of information obviously has more concern for the site after its disposal than when they had a vested interest and the ability to protect it. I find it regrettable that you did not feel it appropriate to place a phone call to me or another City official for more accurate information, or at least our side of the story, before sending your letter of December 15 to me and to all the agencies you copied. Iowa City is trying to provide a public water supply in an environmentally sensitive way and respond to the Safe Drinking Water Act. We will comply with all necessary review and permits. We are undertaking a 106 review, a separate architectural evaluation of the Butler house to stabilize and protect it, an environmental assessment of both parcels of land, and pursuing all necessary permits. We do not expect to begin any grading until spring 1996, after these reviews should be completed. We plan to continue to pursue test wells and production well construction so that we can complete this essential water project by the year 2002. Since you are aware, through the contact of your office by our consultant H.R. Green Company, of our intentions to complete 106 review, it is unclear to us what your expectations are of how we are to proceed. If anything stated in the paragraph above is not consistent with State or Federal law as you understand it, please advise. As you state in your letter, Iowa City does have a reputation for being concerned about our histodc properties. I believe the facts presented in this letter demonstrate our continued concern. Sincerely, City Manager ~p1-1 Don Klima, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Patricia Ohterking, Acting State Histodc Preservation Officer Ralph Christian. Histodc Preservation Officer James Blanchat, Chief, Regulatory Functions Branch, Rock Island District Corps of Engineers Dudley Hanson, Chief, Operations Branch, Rock Island District Corps of Engineers Greg Bevirt, U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development Dennis Grams, Regional Director, Region VII, Environmental Protection Agency Larry Wilson, Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources Ralph Russell, Engineer, Howard R. Green Co. Douglas Russell, Chairman, Histodc Preservation Commission, City of Iowa City Sod'ofF of Iowa S te torica] The Historical Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs December 15, 1995 Steve Atldns, City Manager City of Iowa City 410 East Johnson Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear Mr. Addns: Our office has been informed that a project in Iowa City (in parts of several sections in T. 79 N. and T. 80 N., R. 6 W.) has been initiated, and that the project's effects on historic properties (including both archaeological and historical resources) has not been assessed. It appears to us that this project constitutes one or more federal undertakings, and as such, must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Regulations implementing Section 106 (36 CFR Part 800) set forth procedures for consulting with the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regarding such undertakings. The City of Iowa City has not notified our office about these undertakings, yet we understand that earth-moving activities have been initiated. From the information we have received, it appears that the various undertakings may encompass about 430 acres in an area which contains several previously recorded archaeological sites and at least one standing structure. The area is adjacent to the Iowa Riyer ~.and ~appears to have a h!gh potential to contain additioml °,a:chaeo!og:.c~ sites ...... It also appears that at least three federal agencies may be involved in aspects of this project, as follows: First, we understand that federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds were used in land acquisition. Land acquisition is considered a federal undertaking. By statute, HLrD has delegated Section 106 compliance responsibility to local governments as recipients of its grants: therefore, the City of Iowa City serves as the federal agency for the HUD project. According to a copy of City Council meeting minutes, this land acquisition was approved in July 1995, yet the City has not contacted our office about this undermki~.g. Second, the City is developing a water treatment facility on land in this area. This development apparently will require some permits from the Corps of Engineers, again triggering our office's review pursuant to Section 106. We have notified the Corps that this area has a high potential for archaeological resources (copy enclosed). [] 402 Iowa Avenue I~ 600 E. Locust Iowa City, Iowa' 52240-1806 Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0290 (319) 335-3916 (515) 281-6412 [] Montauk Box 372 Clermont, Iowa 52135-0372 (319) 423-7173 Mr. Steve Atkins December 15, 1995 Page 2 Third, the water treatment' facility presumably must comply with federal water quality' standards. The Environmental Protection Agency has delegated the monitoring of these water quality standards to the state Department of Natural Resources. Amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act in t992, stipulate that · undertakings include ~those subject to State or local regulation administered pursuant to a delegation or approval by a Federal agency~ [Section 301 (7) (D)]. We have asked the EPA for information regarding this project's'stams as an undertaking (copy enclosed). Other federal or state agencies may also be involved with work in this area. we understand that a bike trail is planned (or has been built?) in this area. developments may be subject to cultural resource regulations. For example, These There are clearly a number of federal involvements in this project area. In our opinion, the acquisition and development of tbi,~ entire tract is potentially subject to the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. We have requested the opinions of the various federal agencies. Until this matter is resolved, we strongly recommend that no earth-moving, well installation, or any other activity take place in this area. Yester.day, ..a representative of Howard R. Green Company' contacted ,o~ office to.obtain . :- information on lmw to initiate an archaeological survey for a project in the Iowa City area. This proposed survey apparently is associated with the water-treatment facility, although we have had no formal notification about the project from the City or its consulting engineering f'n'm. We were happy to learn that a survey was planned, and have tried to provide information to Howard R. Green Company regarding survey guidelines. Any survey that is initiated should encompass the entire area that may be within the "Area of Potential Effect" as defined in 36 CFR Part 800, and will need to include not only archaeological resources, but also any standing structures or any other properties that may fall within the definition of "historic properties" [36 CFR 800.2(e)]. The City of Ioq,'a Ci/y has a reputation for being concerned about its historic properties. Before proceeding with any more work, we encourage the City to initiate a comprehensive Mr. Steve Arkins December 15, 1995 Page 3 survey df the cultural resources within this 430-acre tract of land, so that it can adequately assess the effects of its various projects. Sincerely, Kathy Gourley, .Archeologist Community Programs Bureau Don Klima, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Patricia Ohlerking, Acting State Historic Preservation Officer James Blanchre-, Chief, Regulatory Functions Branch, Rock Island District, Corps of Engineers Dudley Hanson, Chief, Operations Branch, Rock Island District, Corps of Engineers Greg Bevirt, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Dennis Grams, Regional Director, Region 7, Environmental Protection Agency Larry Wilson, Iowa Deparunent of Natural Resources' Ralph Russell, Engineer, Howard R. Green Company Karin Franklin, Planning Director, City of Iowa City Charles Schadeke, Public Works Director, City of Iowa City Douglas Russell, Chairman, Historic Preservation Commission, City of Iowa City . Jim Glasgow, Jim Glasgow Construction, Inc. THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA EOEIVECl MAR 2 0 1996 March 20, 1996 Mr. Stephen J. Atkins, City Manager City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 Dear Mr. Atldns: In this letter I wish to thank you and other City staff members for assistance in our efforts at Napoleon Park and I wish to clarif3/a couple of points that may have been missed in the hubbub of the last few days' events. l. I thank you and Chuck Schmadeke and Tim Randall of the Engineering Divison for permitting and helping to arrange for my office's monitoring of construction last week. Your efforts were instrumental in helping us arrange monitoring and data retrieval with the construction contractor. 2. I am very grateful to the City Historic Preservation Commission for reviewing our Historic Resource Development Program (HRDP) grant proposal, for holding a special meeting at short notice, and for endorsing the proposal. I also thank you for your own endorsement of that proposal. 3. Finally, I want to thank the City Planning and Community Development Department for originally notifying us of the impending construction. Our initial inspection of the cleared and grubbed pipeline route and subsequent monitoring of the early stages of construction last week led to: (1) confirmation of archaeological site 13JH250, (2) mapping of concentrated deposits of artifacts, and (3) recovery of approximately 700 prehistoric and historic-era artifacts. We have nearly completed cataloging these specimens, and we will prepare a report which we trust will be of u.se to the City and its archaeological consultant. This report and our upcoming ISTEA-sponsored survey of the Sand Road area, combined with the City's work along the pipeline route, should contribute to a greater appreciation of the area's prehistoric and historic resources. As you know, we conducted field work, archival research, and grant preparation at no cost to the City. We did this because we were informed the pipeline project had no federal involvement and hence required no compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. Had I been aware of the Corps permit, I would not have prepared the HRDP proposal and I would have immediately urged the City to contact the State Historic Preservation Office and the Corps. Apparently when the SHPO learned of the federal involvement (ironically, through your letter of endorsement) they cancelled approval of the grant and notified the Corps, which set off last Thursday's events. Office of Re State AJv. haeologtst -303 Eastlawn Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1411 319/335-2389 FAX 319/3352776 I am glad a procedure has been agreed upon for cialmral resource work which is acceptable to the Corps and the SHPO and which allows construction to proceed. By copying this letter to the individuals listed below I am extending my thanks to others with whom we have worked, as well as my continued offer to cooperate in any way that the City might find helpful. : Sincerely, .. William Green State Archaeologist Chuck Schmadeke and Tim Randall (Iowa City'Engineering Division) Karen Franklin, Charlie Dermy, and Scott Kugler (Iowa City Planning and Community Development Department ) Linda Woito (iowa City City Attorney's Office) Doug Russell (iowa City Historic Preservation Commission) Ron Pulcher (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Kathy Goufiey and Doug Iones (State Historic Preservation Office) Derrick Marcucci and John Hotopp (Louis Berger and Associates, Inc.) RECEIVED HAR 2 7 1996 Damage Assessment and Data Recovery at Site 135H250, a.k.a..The Napoleon Townsite, Section 22, T79N-R6W, Johnson County, Iowa by Richard L. Fishel, Maria F. Schroeder, and John F. Doershuk John F. Doershuk and Stephen C. Lensink Co-Principal Investigators Contract Completion Report 489 Office of the State Archaeologist The University of Iowa Iowa City 1996 The recent tempest created by the City of Iowa City's decision to place a sewer line through the former location of the town of Napoleon and the first courthouse in Johnson County, both now situated within Napoleon Park, raises an interesting question: Who is responsible for the preservation of the history of Iowa City? For those City officials unaware of the history of this area, and based upon the transpiring of events in the last few weeks this number is quite large, a brief history lesson of this area is in order. The Napoleon Townsite has long been recognized as the historically important site of the first meeting of the Territorial Commission charged with determining the location of the first seat of Iowa government. The Napoleon Townsite was conceived by none other than John Gilbert, the first non-Indian settler in Johnson County. Gilbert was allowed by the Mesquaki chief Poweshiek to erect a claim cabin within the area now known as Napoleon Park, adjacent to the village of Wapashashiek, another Mesquaki leader. At that time, Gilbert also began construction of the first County Courthouse in Johnson County, which was completed in 1839. The first post office in the county was also established this same year in Napoleon. There are other events associated with the Napoleon Park area. The McCollister farm, which Napoleon Park was formerly a part of, supplied the timber used in the stairways and trim of the Old Capitol Building. The only lynching in Johnson County occurred within Napoleon Park in 1858. Irving Weber has published more than 20 articles pertaining to the history of just the park itself. In addition to the recent historical events associated with the park listed above, Napoleon Park also contains materials from an earlier Indian village that dates between 2000-1000 years ago. In applying for the nationwide permit from the Army Corps of Engineers needed to complete the sewer project, the City failed to notify the Corps of the historical significance of Napoleon Park, a direct violation of the nationwide permit procedures. Based upon the misinformation supplied to them by the City, the Corps granted approval to the City for the completion of the sewer project. When the Corps was notified of this serious omission by the State Historical Preservation Office in Des Moines, the Corps rescinded the permit and halted construction. Besides apparently being in violation of Federal regulations, the City chose to by-pass its own Sensitive Areas Ordinance, passed in December 1995. One of the purposes of this ordinance is to regulate "development of lands which contain archaeological sites" and to "help assure that sites which contain information regarding the community's prehistory and history are identified, studied, protected, and\or properly excavated when appropriate." Despite protests from the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of the State Archaeologist, and the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission, the City chose to ignore the Sensitive Areas Ordinance and commence with the construction activities without taking into consideration the historical and archaeological significance of the area. After numerous conversations with the above listed State and local agencies, the City reluctantly agreed to have archaeologists on-site, at no cost to the City, to monitor the destruction of the Park. Unfortunately, the archaeologists were not notified that this construction had begun until after the upper two feet of the park within the construction corridor had been removed by bulldozers and belly scrapers. What historical information was contained within this area will never be known. Also unfortunately, monitoring heavy equipment operation is not the most beneficial means to assess a historical area. I do not know how much one of the belly scrapers or bulldozers used in the construction process weighs, but after this machinery runs over a 150-year old glass bottle or a 2000-year old Indian clay pot, nothing can be done but pick up the pieces. I charge that the City, during this, the sesquicentenrdal of Iowa, is not concerned with its own history. The City had more than ample opportunity to investigate the park area before the construction began but chose not to do so. The City has passed a Sensitive Areas Ordinance but chose not to abide by it. What will be the next historically significant building or archaeological site area within the city to fall victim to the insensitivity of City officials. Will the Old Capitol Building be replaced by a parking lot? You may think that this would be absurd, but I would have thought the destruction of a historically si~iflcant area such as Napoleon Park in the 1990s would also be absurd. City officials have been cited in the March 16 edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette as saying they "didn't think interest was high enough to merit exploration of the [Napoleon] site." If the City is not interested in one small area that contains the locations of the first courthouse in Johnson County, a 150-year old Mesquakie village, and a 2000-year old Indian village, what are they interested in.* Past city administrations have honored John Gilbert by naming one of the main streets within Iowa City after him. The current city administration has chosen to honor Gilbert by potentially destroying the town he founded more than 150 years ago. A city who destroys its cultural heritage loses its identity. And without an identity, we are nothing. I restate my opening question: Who is responsible for the preservation of the history of Iowa City? Richard Fishel 1316 Muscatine Ave. Iowa City, IA 52240 December 20, 1996 14:14 User CDIETERL Printer RMT79 Received: from YOSEMITE.LEEPFROG.COM by. UiAMVS.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU (Soft*Switch Central V4L40P1A); 20 Dec 1996 10:19:11 GMT Received: by yosemite.leepfrog.com (1.38.193.4/16.2) id AA26475; Fri, 20 Dec 1996 11:20:42 -0500 Received: from ns-mx.uiowa.edu by yosemite.leepfrog.com with SMTP (1.38.193.4/16.2) id AA26470; Fri, 20 Dec 1996 10:20:39 -0600 Received: from rfishel.state-arch.uiowa.edu by ns-mx.uiowa.edu (8.7.5/1995030~o~ on Fri, 20 Dec 1996 10:19:30 -0600 id KAA34110 with SMTP Message-Id: <2.2.32.19961220162048.00690444@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu> X-Sender: rfishel@blue.weeg.uiowaoedu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Uersion 2.2 (32) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 ]0:20:48 -0600 To: jcnews@yosemite.leepfrog.com From: Rich Fishel <Richard-Fishel@UIOWA.EDU> Subject: JCNEWS: anonymous posts Sender: jcnews@yosemite.leepfrog.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: jcnews@yosemite.leepfrog.com The question of anonymous posts is a real stickler. I can see both sides: Are these the speculative rantings of someone with no basis in fact, or is the person afraid of persecution from higher authorities for bringing certain elements to light? I can relate to the latter. A week after I appeared before the City Council on March 26 asking questions about Napoleon Park (see this week's ICON), City Manager Steve Atkins wrote a letter to the Governor's office chastising me for speaking my mind. He claimed, among other things, I was acting as a state agent (solely based on my job with UI, even though I appeared before the Council as a private citizen representing no one else but myself) and that I had destroyed the relationship between Iowa City and the State of Iowa. One can only speculate as to the intent of Mr. Atkins letter; I'm sure he was not trying to get me a pay raise, however :). And why he chose to bypass my employer with his accusations and take them straight to the Governor is also beyond me. You do have to be careful with what you say; Big Brother is always listening. Richard Fishel 1316 Muscatine The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. However, should they read them, I'm sure they would agree with them. :- :- December 18, 1996 Even if parents tend to be regarded as semi-hysterical or somewhat addle-brained concerning their students' safety on this issue, please at least give careful and thoughtful consideration to the remarks of this professional driver. It is true that our students are inexperienced drivers. It is also true that there are many other factors to be considered - mature and experienced drivers in a hurry to get to work or preoccupied with work issues, drivers coming from a higher-speed interstate situation into town, weather road considerations, and even the angle of the sun which is blinding as your car comes over the hill just west of this intersection. There must be a way that the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Community School District can compromise on the answer for a safer intersection situation, rather than just each taking a stance and refusing to budge from it. Please use your best compromise skills to solve the problem. A "smart light", an up-to-date technological marvel of the type in operation at the intersection of Hwy. 6 and Rocky Shore Drive, which "senses" the traffic approaching it and responds accordingly, would seem to be a solution. During the day, when the Melrose Avenue traffic is light, the light would remain green, not impeding the major east-west flow of traffic. During those two crunch times, the light would operate at cyclic intervals and allow for safe passage from all four directions. The temporary light which was installed there before was unfortunately not such a light, having a fixed and invariate routine. This was a frustration to all users from all directions, but still safer than no light at all. I am confident that board and council members alike possess great skills of compromise. This is the time to put them into action and stun the community with your powers of wisdom! !! Thank you! MalaGa tz~'~'~~ 214 Woolf Avenue Iowa City, Iowa 52246 338-4406 parent, one current WHS student, one former WHS student, and one up-coming WHS student Dennis Smith, 805 Bowery St.~ is employed by Iowa City Coach Co., and has a son in the Iowa City public schools. By Dennis Smith After months of construc* tion and delays, Melrose Avenue between West High School and Highway 2t8 has"reopened to traffic. What have we gotten for our money? I 'drive a school bus formthe MY TURN Iowa City public schools. For me and my fellow school bus drivers there is nothing more important than the safety of our passengers and the children in and. around school bus loading zorfbs. But ensuring the safety of students is something we 'can't do edone, and we depend upon police, traffic engineers and the motoring public to hel~' us do our jobs. Nowhere is the need for icooperation more evident these days than around West High School. If you had been at the Melrose driyeway entrance to West High any time around 8 a.m. the week after the Thanksgiving holiday, this is what you might have seen: 1. A line of cars and school buses extending half a mile in the left lane from this entrance back to Mormon Trek Drive, all waiting to make a left turn into West High. 2: A nearly constant stream of eastbound cars pouring over the hill on Melrose just west of the school, frustrating the efforts of cars and buses in the westbound lane to make the left turn into West. Many of these eastbound vehicles were cruising well above the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour - not surprising since many are either being driven by students, or have just gotten off the highway, and have not yet adjusted their speed to city traffic. 3. Impatient drivers cutting off westbound traffic in the turning lane, either from the right-hand westbound lane, or from Hawkeye Drive, where they have a stop sign. These drivers not only usurped right-of-way from the left-hand turners off Melrose, but played a dangerous game of sa e y business the eastbound traffic coming over the hill. The situation is only aggravated by the many westbound drivers who, wishing to avoid the growing Dennis traffic snarl, Smith go over the Drives hill, make a bus U-turn, and approach the school entrance in the eastbound lane. 4. City buses making scheduled stops in the right-hand lane on Melrose to discharge students, thereby temporarily gridlocking the entire avenue due to the frozen westbound lane. I saw about a dozen students leave a city bus just in front of me, and begin crossing the active right-hand traffic lane. They then filtered through the slower moving vehicles in the westbound lane, relying upon the skill and alertness of these drivers not to run them over. THESE ARE the things that I saw; others may have witnessed equally dangerous situations. I needn't comment on the potential for tragedy here, whether to pedestrian or auto · traffic (the number of buses, trucks and other high-proFile vehicles obstructing the view of cars and pedestrians in this situation is considerable). And unless something is done to regulate traffic in this situation, tragedy is not just possible but inevitable. Significant als0 are the delays students experience getting to school. I spent nearly 15 minutes standing in traffic on this half-mile stretch of Melrose one morning, as did a number of other buses waiting to deliver students to West. Many of these buses must pick up and deliver elementary students after their junior high and high school routes. In addition to delivering my West students late, my students ibr Penn Elementary got to school ten minutes after the tardy bell rang -- all due to the Melrose situation. The city is to be commended for recognizing the potential for dispatching a police oirlcer during the morning rush to regulate traffic at West. However, this is at best only a temporary expedient, as it compromises the safety of the olrmer at the scene, as well as diverting costly police resources to routine traffic management. According to news reports, the Iowa Department of Transportation has determined that mechanical traffic regulation -- whether in the form of traffic lights or additional stop signs -- is not needed at the intersection. Yet this conclusion is challenged by the fact that lately the city has felt it necessary to dispatch an officer each morning to clear West High traffic. More distressing is the possibility that this dangerous situation may not be properly addressed due to liability issues between the city and the school district, should traffic lights be installed. It is understandable that both tile city and the schools might feel a responsibility to protect their potential financial interests in determining liability issues. However, I hope that both city and school officials would agree that the protection of our children far outweighs any such legal considerations, and that they will help to make the streets and sidewalks around our schools safer for all concerned. 3 January 1997 City Council City of Iowa City Civic Center Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Members of City Council~ As residents of a home near West High School, we are well aware of the traffic problems surrounding the entrance into the school. We have both been involved in near accidents or a minor accident due to the morning congestion of traffic on Melrose Avenue as it intersects with the West High entrance and Hawkeye Drive. Without a light, some of our concerns include~ the number of people turning left who take dangerous chances trying to beat the eastbound traffic; the number of people coming from Hawkeye Drive who dart between left-turning traffic and eastbound traffic; the number of people who continue west on Melrose and make U-turns at the future road that will go into Galway Hills. With the light, we were concerned with the number of people who ignored the temporary light altogether at off-peak traffic times; the number of people who sat unnecessarily at a red light; the number of people who stopped and then went through an unnecessary red light; the backup of traffic going eastbound on Melrose while stopped at a red light to yield to westbound traffic turning left. While the last problem may have been eliminated with the improvement of Melrose, we urge you to find a satisfactory resolution to the many past and present traffic predicaments surrounding this intersection. Specifically, we urge safe travel for all directions of traffic during the busy morning and afternoon hours when school is in session and safe traffic flow that is not impeded during the off-peak hours. Thank you for your consideration and creativity in resolving this important matter that not only affects those using the entrance into West High, but also those passing by this entrance. Sincerelu. ~ Richard and Nancy Perkins 29 Acorn Court Iowa City, IA 52246 Iowa City City Council 410 East Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear Ms. Holecek, As a current property owner in the area of 930 & 928 Iowa Avenue I would like to voice my support in the matter of the one foot encroachment that is being considered for this property. The majority of the homes in this neighborhood have similar extensions. Many of the porches are nearer to the city street than even this proposed porch. There are two factors to consider. First, since many of the homes in this neighborhood already encroach into the easement this would result in poten{ial problems for all these property owners whenever the porches needed restoration. Secondly, due to existing ruling Iowa Avenue already has a longer easement than other Iowa City streets. Due to these factors I do feel it would be to the public good to issue this temporary license agreement and wish to grant my support in this matter. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Sincerely, - RECEIVED DEC I 3 1996. 100 Mayflower Hall # 114 Iowa City, Iowa 52242 December 12, 1996 Iowa City City Council Civic Center Iowa City, Iowa COMPLAINT ON PARICING NOTICE 52422 Dear City Council: This letter is in regard to a complaint that I have with Officer ¢¢33 and Supervising Officer Presteard. This morning at 4:12 a.m., I pulled my car from arom~d the Mayflower Hall parking lot to the fi'ont of the building to load arty clothes to take home. (I have an eye appointanent this morning, so I decided to bring home most of my stuff for Christmas this trip so I wouldn't have to make another um~ecessary hauling trip back home.) My room and door is facing Dubuque Street on the first floor. I was out in front of Mayflower for less than two minutes, when Officer #33 pulled-up behind my car. As he was behind my car, I was loading staff back-and-foa~h from my door (less than fifteen yards away). When I brought my last basket ..fi:!l of stu.ffto my car, he said, "Do you want to take ~.s, or do you want me to put it on your windshield?" I asked him what it was, and he told me it was a parking ticket. I explained to him, vet5 politely, that I was loading stuff to my car fi'om the door fifteen feet away so I could bring it home for Christmas. I told him it was my last load of six, and I had been there for less than two minutes. I explained to him that I was just about to move my car. He said that he didn't care and pointed to the sign. I asked if he was kidding, and he said he wasn't. I took the ticket, not being confrontational. I immediately went into my room and called the Police Department's Routine Business phone number at 356-5275, and when the dispatcher answered the phone, I asked to speak with a supervisor. She asked what the problem was, and I told her I had a serious problem with Officer ¢¢33. She said that the supervisor was busy, and the supervisor would call me within a half-hour. At around 5:00 a.m., I called the dispatcher back to ask what was the delay. She told me that she put the info in the supervisor's car computer, and that the supervisor would call me when he got back in his car. At 5:12 a.m., Officer Presteard returned my call. I explained the entire situation to him, yet he still refused to budge. I told him I knew that he has to back his fellow officer, but this is a unique circmr~stance. I asked him if he is going by the spirit of the law or the letter of the law. He said, "Obviously, the officer was going by the letter of the law." I thanIced him for his time and told him I was going to write to the city cotmcil. My main complaint is how unreasonable these two officers were. It was 4:12 a.m. on Thursday when I was parked out in fi'ont of Mayflower. The officer clearly saw that I was loading stuff fi'om my room to my car, yet he still gave me an tinreasonable ticket. I can see that my parking there would be a problem if it was 7:30 a.m. when the buses were rmming, but at 4:12 a.m.? I lmow that it is not my job to interpret the law, but I never thought that this would even be a problem considering there are cars out in front of Mayflower loading stuff all the time. I guess I question whether or not there are going to be officers there giving tickets on a consistent basis when parents are picking-up their kids and the kids' stuff for the Christmas break. For some reason, I seriously doubt it. My problem is not the petty $5.00 ticket, but the lack of reason frolI1 these two officers. I am submitting this letter as my formal appeal. I would hope that our city council is not as mn'easonable as these two officers are, and this ticket will be overturned. Very tinhappy citizen, Michael R. Davis University of Iowa Student enclosure cc: The Daily lowan December 16, 1996 CITY OF I0 WA CITY Mr. Michael R. Davis 100 Mayflower Hall, #114 Iowa City, IA 52242 Dear Mr. Davis: This letter will acknowledge receipt of your complaint directed to the City Council with respect to parking notice 52422. I have directed your letter to the Police Department and instructed them to prepare a report and response. I will provide you with that information upon completion of a review of your letter. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact my office. Sincerely, City Manager cc: R.J. Winkelhake jw/davis.sa/doc 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (3 9) 356-5000 · FAX {319) 356-5009 '!'0_WA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT 410'I~WASHIIgGTON STREET, IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240 ..... "~ .......¢~9) ~6-~27s · ~AX # 0~9) Michael Davis 100 Mayflower Hall #114 Iowa City, IA 52242 Dear Mr. Davis, I was given a copy of your letter to the City. Council and spoke to Officer Fortmann about this matter. Officer Fortmann's account is somewhat different than your letter. Officer Fortmann states that he first observed your vehicle parked in the No Parking Zone, without anyone around the vehicle, as he drove northbound on Dubuque Street. Officer Fortmann actually drove. past your car and turned around to c0me.back behind your car: Officer Fortmann, next checked the tow listing 'for the plates of yo.u._r car and the' car.in frontof yours. After checking the. tow li~ti.. he then wrote ti'bket~ f0~:iY~ ,ur~car,~ aS ·.Well as the car parked in front of yo~rs..At the time he was placir~g'th6"ticke!s~:'~n: the cars was the first time he'saw any movement around'the cars. Officer Prestegard does not have the ·authority to.dismiss the parking ticket so there. wa.sn't any a.ct!0n ~h.e could. take.i?_~.~,~,:,,,matter.::iThe cjty. does~.have a . parking bcket administrative rewew proce'sd~ .~ s~:~.~?::these matters.and.your parking ticket has been put into ~he system fo'~:~'~ '~" ~;'--'"~rev~e 'v?i;'?i-11:¥:~ii~.i .~.i.~:~'-i?" '..?'/'~ I have discussed the matter of parking ti'~i~ts:'W..ith Officer'Fort'mann and have reviewed his use of discretion with parking tickets at 4:00 a.m. when the driver appears at the location of the parking vi~iatio~. ' The Parking Ticket Administrative Review Board will advise you of their decision. If I can be of any assistance, feel free to contact my office at 356-5275. Sincerely, l~ke Chief of Police WE WAN1' To: Iowa City City Council, - Iowa City City Council From: Gerald A. Carroll, Citizens Against Cable Abuse (CACA) Fax Phone Number: (319) 341-8171 Date: Wed, Dec 18, 1996 o 5:37 ?i.~. WGNg dnesday, December 18, 1996 5:24 PNI - Page 1 of 1 WE TVAP,:T VH--' ! WE WANT DOWN WITH TCiB DOWN WITH JOHN CACA, 1! 26 Essex St., Iowa City IA 52240, phone (319) 354-2433 Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 21:37:53 -0600 From: john arthur nesbitt <john-nesbitt@uiowa.edu> To: kkubby@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu Cc: bakerl@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu, mkarr@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu, ajrocca@aol.com, gimmeni@aol.com, denise.maier@mercyic.com, wanda-ottar@uiowa.edu, jacqueline-heinle@uiowa.edu, thomas-weingeist@uiow.edu, pkealey@surgery.uiowa.edu Subject: Recent Wyrick Proposal Ms. Karr, please pass copies of the letter to Mayor Novick and Councilor Norton Letter To: Councilors Baker, Kubby, Norton, Mayor Novick copies to Mr. Beck, IC Press citizen (Mr. Beck, not for publication) Fire Chief, Fire Marshal Re: The Fireworks in City Park Recent Wyrick Proposal Which: 1. Jeopardizes public safety, and 2. Violate city and state fireworks safety code. 1. Please read the legal, lawful, ordinance and code, Iowa City and State of Iowa law, on the distance that the Public Class B Shooters should be from the Spectators. That is the law. The purpose of the law is to protect the public, especially children and adolescents. 2. Since the early 1980s the 4th of July Class B Display in City Park has probably been in VIOLATION OF CODE. It was popular to hold the display in City Park, no spectator had been killed or seriously hurt (by serious, for example, I mean amputated finger, one-or-two eyes blinded). 3. It is only after the'injury or death bursts on the scene that everyone starts pointing fingers and asking, "How could this happen." But, afterwards is to late the things that City Government will contrive to address the problem ex post facto will probably be as a bad the supposed solution in advance of the problem. 4. In the late 1980s I made a point of observing the Class B Display in City Park and I found about 10 hazardous, high risk, unsafe conditions on a continuing basis. These have been described by the Solon Shooter, the Fire Marshal, etc. (Report on Hazards at Iowa City Class B Fourth of July Display will be made available on request.) 5. On one visit when the adolescents were shooting bottle rockets by the shooter fence a Bottle Rocket, shot from about 25 feet away, missed hitting directly into my right eye by about 12 inches. 6. The City Park flooding provided a change to get out of City Park and to a safe location -- the airport. 7. As reported the 1996 Airport display was safe on about 10 points. Report available. The important thing here is that the City Councilors draw on their a. experience at the City Park FWS Displays, the Airport FWS Displays, b. their interviews of: i. IC Police and IC Fire Fighters, ii. the IC Fire Chief and iii. the IC Fire Marshal. iv. Dr. Weingeist,' UIHospital Eye Dept. Dr. Kealy, UIHospital Burn Center. Victims of fireworks. The professional shooters who are at risk. N.B. At the 1996 FWS display one of the mortars went off low to the ground. The separation of 1,000 feet of shooters from audience assured audience safety. THERE SIMPLY MUST BE DISTANCE. 9. I am sure that our city Councilors are in touch with what is happening on the ground in this matter but reflecting on "a and b-i,ii, iii ..." above will serve to remind them of what is at stake. 10. Re the victims, even the most macho, rip roarin' latent demolition expert who gets hurt with fireworks will swear off fireworks. I learned that in an interview with a 30-year old male who had a bag of fireworks purchased in MO go off in the cab of his pickup truck. The 21 days in the burn unit in Des Moines made him an advocate of the Iowa fireworks ban and safety. Or, interview the victims injured but someone else's macho behavior with fireworks, or interview a man deafened for 50 years of his life by fireworks, or interview the children with burns, amputations, etc. 7. Be assured that when someone gets hurt in City Park that the public will ask the City Councilors, "On what did you base your decisions that allowed the general welfare of the public (see Iowa City City Charter) to be put at risk." 8. On a lighter side, the breakfast conversation at the Wyrick household will be interesting to hear the morning after one of son-Wyrick's fireworks rockets lands on father-Wyrick's new building. "Gee, Dad, I never dreamed that one of those 8-inch mortars would land on your building." How will the family line up "pro and con" fireworks after that 4th of July mortar lands on Dad's roof. 9. Again, on the lighter side, City Councilors must not forget the admonition of the Mayor of River City in the "Music Man." "Get that man's credentials." when you are approached by anyone who intends to jeopardize public safety with fireworks. 10. Personally, I think that an artistic Fourth would be great -- symphony band playing the "1812," patriotic tunes, a laser light show (like in Waterloo), etc. It would be a natural for the Wyricks to organize that. Best wishes to the City Council in managing this situations. Coralville Central Elementary School Mrs. Sobocinski's Class 501 6 St. Coralville, IA 52241 Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 RECEIVED DEC 2 3 December 10, 1996 Dear Council Members, My name is Melissa Golmon. I am currently a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in elementary education. For the past semester, I have had the opportunity to work with a group of sixth graders from Mrs. Sobocinski's class at Coralville Central Elementary. We have been working on a service learning project concerning the deer population in the Iowa City area. My students selected this topic because it is something many of them care about a great deal. As a part of this project, the s~ud~nts decided thI~:~. they wanted to send letters to you about their concerns and possibly some solutions they would like you to consider. Please look over the letters and any responses would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Melissa Golmon Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa Dear Council members; My name is Stephanie. I'm from Coralville Central Elementary. My class mates and I have some concerns about the deer population. In our class we have be studying deer and what happens to the Farmers, the Hunters, and the deer, when the deer are over populated. Our concerns are that the farmers aren't going to produce their crops because the deer eat them for their food, but then again we can't let the hunters make them an endangered animal. After all the crops are the deer food source just like the cow is ours. I don't think that deer, or any other animal should be killed to be hung on a wall for decoration. They should only be killed for food, that way I think it would be fair to the deer, but what about the hunters and the farmers? We don't want people to think that killing deer is UN called for in any matter, because it is part of natures course in life and that is one of the animals main pm'pos~. We would love to hear your ideas about the farmers and hunters conflict so please call or write. Thank You! Sincerely, Stephanie Schnake Iowa City Cotmcil Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Waslfington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Cmmcil member: My name is Maureen Ki'eso. I am a sixth grade student at Coralville Central Elementary. I an writing you because the deer in Iowa are over populated. This is a problem because the deer are eating our crops, and getting in accidents with cars. Whi'ch hurts both the people and the deer. Our class has been learning about the :deer 'm Iowa, and we learned some interesting facts: Tlre deer in Iowa ate over 62 million dollars in crop last year. And over 97,256 deer were harvested last year. I have some suggestions Ilkat will help solve some of our problems with deer, here are some of them: We could put out lure crops that are meant to _be rtfined, for the deer to eat. (New York thed this idea and it saved some of their crops.) We cotfid try to bring back some of the deer's natural predators. (L/ke the coyote or the wolf) We could put up signs that give an optical illusion to the deer near roads so that we would not have as many accidents, We could.still htmt deer with the,same reg~flafions, Or we could change hunting regulations so that with _every license you could shoot two deer per season so that we would not have as many deer. I hope that you will consider maybe some of these ideas for future use. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, (Maureen Kieso) Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, !996 Dear Council Member; My name is Trey Wagner. I'm a student at Coralville Central Elemantary. I feel we sould have better control of the population of deer in Iowa. Here are a few of my concerns and ideas... I think that lure crops might help. These crops are meant to be eaten and trampled. We could plant these crops out of town. This would help the situation that farmers are in. I also think that putting up salt-licks out of town would be a good idea. I feel that hunting sould be allowed but with stronger restritions, like it would be harder to get a lisence to hunt. There are many other ideas but the main topics are in this letter. Please look over our ideas and help us look for solutions. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Trey Wagner lowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 4'!0 E Washington St~ Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Council Member: My name is Ryan Dirks. I'm a sixth grader at Coralville Central Elementary I thi~ a good solution to the deer population problem would be to make designated areas, or zones for 'Farmers, hunters, and deer. The zones for deer would be hunting-free, and be away from farms, homes, and main roads to prevent deer-caused death. Hunting zones would be for legal hunting and be away from residential areas, main roads, and farms to prevent hunting accidents. The farm areas would be in areas -with tots of farms, or big farms. These areas could be changed in case offi!ture developments, and be adapted to fit the needs of many people and the enviromnent. Sincerely, Ryan Dirks Iowa city council Iowa city civic center 410 E. Washington st. 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Members: My name is Richard Thompson I am concerned about the deer population in Iowa. ! think their are to, many hunters getting a license and killing more than one deer and letting them go off and die for vultures and coyotes to eat. The reason I do think we should kill deer is to keep the populat,,ion steady so the deer wor{t get over populated. I think their should be a certain amodt of hunters only. Thank you for your time, Sincerely, Richard ThOmpson.. Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center Washington St Iowa City IA 52240 Nov. 25, 1996 Dear Council Member: My name is Adam Louvar, We are doing a unit on:'~eer population in Iowa. This letter is to give you idea's on what to do about the population. My idea is to lower hunting, because if lots of people hunted deer it could hurt the e¢o system. But if we dont hunt deer they would be over populated and then there will be more accidents. Therefore some hunting is required in Iowa but I think it should remain outside of city limit. Sincerely, Adam Louvar Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington ST. Iowa City IA, 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member; My name is Marni Brown I am in sixth grade at Coralville Central. My class has been studying the deer population. Many interesting facts came up during some of our studies, such as: Iowa has an over population of deer. Which is why my class and I have decided to write a letter to you and share some solutions for the problem. Here is one solution that we came up with in a class discussion. Hunting should be permitted with restrictions. Such as~so many deer can be shot in one month for each person. Or. you could have certain days where you can go and hunt a limited nu~nber of deer. Sincerely, Marni Brown 11/26/96 Dear Council Member: My name is Gabe Vasquez. This letter is concerning the subject of the deer population. In class we discussed this subject. One of our ideas was relocation to send the deer to another state but transportation would cost money, be hazardous to the deer and deprive them of their natural habitat. We could plant extra crops out side of town so the deer could eat and trample them, that too would cost extra money and it's telate in the year. Another option is to higher the limit on deer killed in Iowa and make the season last longer. Sincerly, Gabe Vasquez Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member; My name is Andrea Siefers. I go to Coralville Central Elementary. I am in 6th grade. I am writing to tell you my concerns, solutions and ideas about the deer population. I think there is too much hunting and the deer aren't dying their natural deaths. Some of my solutions to the problem are: 1. We could reintroduce the wolf or coyote to Iowa. 2. We could get more lure crops for the deer. 3. Very limited hunting. 4. Optical illusion signs so the deer won't cross the road or go into fields. The problem with reintroducing the wolf or coyote to Iowa is that they would also feed on the farmer's livestock. The deer are eating so many crops the government has to pay for them and there isn't enough money for everything else. This is why a lure crop just might work. Sincerely, Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center Washington St. iowa City, IA 52240 Nov. 25, 1996 Dear City Council; My name is Matt Cretzmeyer. i am a sixth grade student at Coraiviiie Central. w~ oLe this letter because our .......- u,ass is doing a project on deer ~,u~ our Service Le-am;r~g teaci~er. i ug~ee ......yuu [hu~ ti~e population uf uee~ is uu~ ur uunuu~ and WlLII ti~at it should be controlled. 'Here are a few ideas to reduce the population: - h~boduoe rnore wolves and coyotes to iowa so riley could reduce the population more safely - Export them to different countries like Canada - Have the Governr~ent make more iure crops that are r~eant to be destroyed I hope these ideas will work or have other ideas branct~ off of them. Hopefully, soon, ti~e population will be back to normal. /~i~eiy, , Matt Cretzm_~ Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington st. Iowa City., Ia 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council; I am Todd Lauderbaugh from Coralville Central. I think the deer of Iowa should be controlled for several reasons. 1 .farmers lost 4.5 % of crops to deer last year. That's equal to 6.9 million dollars. 2.On average,there is one deer/car accident each day in Johnson County. A way to stop the deer from eating crops is to put more salt licks in the woods, so it lures the deer into the woods and give the hunters a chance to shoot them. Of course we could introduce wolves or coyotes into Iowa and allow hunters to shoot them after a number of years. Please consider these choices and make a decision and write back. Sh~cerely, Todd Lauderbaugh Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member: My deer. name is Jason Wells. I think that we should be allowed to hunt for But you would have to get a license to hunt and a limit of two deer a hunting season. The reason why we should hunt is that the population will keep on rising and deer w~11 over populate. Another reason is so that the population is just right. I think that there should also be illusion signs to keep the deer away from the road. I also think that we should make lure crops for the farmers and the deer. It gives deer food and it gives farmers their crops. Some people think that we should bring wolves and coyotes into Iowa but they might attack humans and ldll us ! Sincerely, Jason Wells Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center Washington St. Iowa city, IA 52240 Nov. 25, 1996 Dear Council member: My name is Sara. My class has been talking about the deer population. Here are some of our ideas. You could bring in animals that use deer as food. The only problem with that idea is the predator might attack humans. You could also move some of the deer to places were the population of deer are not doing well. Some of the other ideas to keep population down and keep farmers happy are: Lure crops, to attract deer away from farmers fields. Hunting with restrictions Optical illusion signs to keep deer away from roads and fields More salt licks I hope you will consider some of t~ese ideas. Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member: I'm Jonathan Feldick from Coralville Central in Coralville. I think that we should control the population of deer by having a limit on killing each season. We should not kill as much as we did before. But, if we don't kill the deer they wiil over come our cities. Each hunter will be allowed to kill one deer per season. If they do kill a deer they will have to use it for a good reason. Sincerely, Jonathan Feldick Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa city, IA 52240 Nov. 26, 1996 Dear Council Member, Hi! My name is Erin Platz and I live in Coralville. Our class is studying deer population. I am worried for the deer because most deer deaths are caused by head on collisions with cars and deer! I don't like to see deer getting killed by hunters, but I rather see deer getting killed by guns than drivers! Maybe we should put more "deer crossing" signs up on the roads! Sincerely, P.S. Thank you very much for your ? Iowa City Council Iowa Civic Center 410 E.Washington st. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26,1996 Dear Council Member, Hello my name is Maria Perez. I'm in sixth grade at Coralville Cente'~l. We have been studying the problems of deer overpopulation at school and we are concerned about deer population at in Iowa city. I want to say that I can give you one idea to help solve the deer population problem There is a hunting season for people that like to go hunting but I now that you need a license to go hunting. So why don't you set a special day when hunters with only one or two shells can shoot two deer. And in that way you can control the deer population and people can still go hunting. Thank you,for your time. Sipce, rely.,.~ Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member Hi, my name is Britt Stierler. I am in Sixth Grade at Coralville Central Elementary. I am writing this letter to you to give you my ideas to solve the deer population problem. I think we should reintroduce wolves and coyotes back into Iowa. To keep deer away from crops we could plant lure crops away from houses and farms. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Britt Stie Iowa City Council Iowa City Civic Ceter 410 E. Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 November 26, 1996 Dear Council Member: Hi! My name is Ashley Ham and I live in Coralville Iowa. We are studying deer population in our class. I'm very concerned about the deer population. My class and I have come up with some solutions as a class. Like you should have a limit of deer hunting in a week. Some other ones are like you should be hunting one or two days a week. I think that on the roads they should put more crossing signs up for people to watch out for deer. 'iowa City Council ~,cy Civic Center Washington St. Iowa City, !owa 52241 Dear City Council members, My name is ~,,o;,,~ Kiely. l'm a sixth grade student at Coralville Central. I would ~alty like it if we could put a limit on how many deer we shoot a year. i~. /I_..L_ !--. . ~wuyuu we could pass a ~uw that -~:-' ~u we could expor~ deer from America and import them into other countries were we are sure they can live. Or if that doesn't work we can put them in a national · ..'.1~1 I:~-- vv,,u ,,,u park. So they can't be L.._~ I lUl 'L,. Or maybe we could take the meat that we get from them and give it to people who are less fortunate than us. Sincerely, ~--~-~ .~ Thomas Kiely P.S. ! have printed up a paper and highlighted it for you. It has some really interesting facts. Deer, common name for certain hoofed, artiodactyl mammals, ...... , ............... ¢ bony, often hr~nr, hincm antlers that are shed and regenerated annually. Deer range through the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Noah Africa. The largest populations occur in on mountains, and on no~hern tundras. Deer species range in size from the European elk, or moose (see Elk), w~Jch may reach 8 shoulder height of 2.35 m (7.7 ft), to the South American pudu, which can be as little as 25 cm (10 in) high at the shoulder. The first deer appeared in the early Oligocene epoch in Asia, about 38 million years ago. Characteristics Deer commonly have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrai13:. They are also excellent. swimmers. Their lower cheek teeth have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. The animals are ruminants, or cud chewers, and have a four- chambered stomach. Neady all deer have a facial gland, in front of each eye, that contains a strongly scented substance, or pheromone, used to mark its home range. The males of many species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer except the musk deer have a liver without a gallbladder. The musk deer, along with the Chinese water deer, also differs from other species in that it has no antlers and bears upper canines that have developed into tusks. Antlers Unlike the hollow, permanent horns of other ruminants, the antlers of deer are -~,~,~ and bony. ~,,,-,~n+ in the caribou antlers form only on males and their growth is controlled by the male sex hormone. Arising from the frontal bones and nourished by a highly vascularized, fine-haired skin, called velvet, antlers complete their growth, which requires great amounts of calcium, within a few months. Circulation is then cut off, and the resulting dead skin is s!oughed off as the animal rubs its antlers against trees. Antlers are used to slash territorial markings on trees or bushes, to make threatening displays, and to combat other males. Usually the fighting is stylized and harmless, but occasionally males of large species lock antlers and die of exhaustion or starvation. Moose antlers reach a width of 1.8 m (6 ft) and a weight of 20 kg (44 lb); those of an extinct giant fallow deer spread more than 3 m (more than 10 ft). Antlers in a given species may vary in size from one population to another, depending on the quality and quantity of food. In overpopulated areas that are heavily browsed, the deer usually have small antlers. Behavior Many deer species group into families around the female, with the male often becoming solitary; others, such as the musk deer and Chinese water deer, live mainly in pairs. The red deer, which are gregarious, associate in small to large herds, each led by a mature female. Caribou migrate between the forest and the treeless tundra in herds of a thousand or more. Deer forage on twigs, leaves, bark, and buds of bushes and saplings and on grasses and other plants, feeding most actively at twilight. The female gives birth once a year, usually to one or two fawns. The gestation period lasts from 160 days in musk deer to ten months in roe deer; this long gestation in roe deer is accounted for by a delayed implantation. Fawns are kept hidden in thickets, camouflaged by their usually dappled markings. in the United States, where deer now have few natural predators, they often overbrowse their territory and may die of starvation,-especiaily during winters of deep snow. Hunting seasons are adjusted accordingly. Kinds and Importance The white-tailed deer, or Virginia deer, with tined antlers and a tail with a prominent white underside, is found in most parts of the United States as well as from Alaska to Bolivia. The mule deer and the black-tailed deer, now considered of the same species as mule deer, are confined to the ~.....ern United -qt*t,~- The American elk, or wapiti, of southern Canada and the northern United States is called red deer in Europe and Asia. The moose ranges through northern North America; in northern Europe it is known as elk. See also Fallow Deer; Muntjac; Sambar. Musk, which comes from a gland on the abdomen of the musk deer, is used in medicines and perfumes. Deerskin is used for shoes, boots, and gioves, and antlers are made into buttons and knife handles. Deer are hunted for sport and for their meat, which is called venison. The Saami of Scandinavia and. the Kola Peninsula of Russia and other nomadic peoples of northern Asia use reindeer for food, clothing, and transport. The caribou, a reindeer variant in North America, is .not domesticated or herded as is the case in Europe but is nevertheless important to the Inuit. Most commercial venison in the United States is imported from New Zealand. Deer were originally brought there by European settlers, and the deer population rose rapidly, causing great enviro'nmental damage. They were controlled by hunting and poisoning until the concept of deer farming arose in the 1960s. Deer farms in New Zealand number more than 3500, with more than 400,000 deer in all. Scientific classification: Deer make up the family Cervidae of the order Artiodactyla. The European elk, or moose, is classified as Aices aices. South American pudus make up the genus Pudu, and musk deer the genus Moschus. The Chinese water deer is classified as Hydropores inermis~ and the caribou, or reindeer, as Rangifer tarandus. The red deer make up the genus Cervus, and the roe deer the genus Capreolus. The white-tailed deer, or Virginia deer, is classified as Odocoileus virginianus; the mule, or black-tailed, deer as Odocoileus hemionus; and the American elk, or wapiti, as Cervus elaphus. 1 1 "Deer," Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Miero~oft CorporatiOn. All rights reserved. © Funk & Wagnails Corporation. All rights reserved. 12/16/96 To: The Iowa City CounciI From: Concerned Citizens Re: The closing o~ Seaton's Dear Council ~embers: RECEIVED DEC Please accept the enclosed document, a petition in support of a local business. As no action is possible, those who signed simply wish the Council to know that the closing of $eaton's was distressing, disturbing, and disappointing. We live in bureaucratic and highly political times. It gets harder for ordinary people to follow their bliss. We can only encourage our Council to help the community adjust to inevitable changes as sensitively and ethically as possible. Respectfully, Friends and Neighbors · _THE .~3~Y_~L~]~ATIC OPPRESSION OF i.~ FAHILY-OWNED ~'~.- 13 31 MUSCATINE I~ ·CITY, IOWA AVENUE The citizens named below wish the Iowa City Council, our local goverrnnent leaders, to know that we ~re distressed, disappointed,'and disgusted by the 'heavy- handed, un~easonable, and hypocritical governmental' acti0n's'~'~at"have~lead to the forced c10sing"o~- a multigenerational, popular, and responsib!~' small business that has served this community with a pride, a charm, and a special dignity future generations will not find in the prodigious, sterile, and artificial "super" food markets. It is a sad'day for Iowa Citians when a business that does a first-rate job with a touch of old fashioned class is killed by a.gross, indiscriminate, add cowar~ly"'bureaucracy that hides behind policies and regulations rather than realizing that it is possible to tolerate diversity in the market while still protecting the public health. The bureaucrats' pious, self-serving, and phony rhetoric is as despicable as the act of closing Seaton's, for it fosters an attitude of fatalism, mistrust, and even cynicism in the.verypeople the bureaucrats supposedly serve. Whose interests are really served by the closing of Seaton's? Our names are written in testimony against this shameful act, and ournameshare written in support of the family, the workers, the friends of the Goodname of Seaton's. 2 c 2 T_a~t N~me 2 2 :/ First. BIar~. A~tl~ess .. 2 Last Name First Name 2 DECEMBER 17, 1996 CITY OF I0 I/VA CITY TO: RE: The. Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - ASSOCIATE PLANNER We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Associate Planner. Douglas Ripley Hired: 1/6/97 IOWA CITY CIVIL COM1ZISSION Mi'~/ha~el~'W. K~e nedy SERVICE Chair ATTEST: Marian Karr, City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 356-$000 · FAX (319) 356-$~ DECEMBER 31, 1996 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Community Service Officer. Don Strand Hired: 1/13/97 IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE ~c~ael W. Kenne~ Chair ATTEST: r, City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 DECEMBER 6, 1996 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - MAINTENANCE WORKER I - STREETS We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Maintenance Worker I - Streets. Mike Brady Hired: 12/9/96 IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Michael W. Kennedy, Chair ATTEST: Mar'lYan Karr, City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY. IOWA 52240-1826 · {319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 DECEMBER 6, 1996 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - MAINTENANCE WORKER II - STREETS We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Maintenance Worker II - Streets. Marcus Oxley Hired: 12/9/96 IOWA CITY CIVIL CO~SSI~ M c/h/ael W. Kennldy, SERVICE Chair ATTEST: Marian Karr, City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 ~, (319) 356-5000 ~, FAX (319) 356-5009 DECEMBER 31, 1996 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: RE: The. Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - PARKING CASHIER We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Parking Cashier. Don Gentry Hired: 1/21/97 IOWA CITY CIVIL CO~n~ISSION ~ SERVICE Chair ATTEST: City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 DECEMBER 6, 1996 CITY OF I0 W/I CITY TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - SRMAINTENANCE WORKER - STREETS We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of St. Maintenance Worker - Streets. Brian Michel Hired: 12/2/96 IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Michael W. Kennedy, Chair ATTEST: City Clerk 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 35fi-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: To: From: Re: December 17, 1996 City Clerk Jeff Davidson, Transportation Planner "~J/ Stop sign on Escort Lane at the intersection of with Naples Avenue As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after January 15, 1996. Action Pursuant to Section 9-1-3(A)(5) of the City Code, signage will be installed indicating STOP on Escort Lane at the intersection with Naples Avenue. Comment This action is being taken at to indicate to motorists that traffic on Escort Lane must stop before proceeding onto Naples Avenue. Escort Lane is the cul-de-sac in the recently annexed area adjacent to the south quadrant of the U.S. 218/Highway 1 interchange. jw/escort.jd City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: December 31, 1996 To: City Clerk .From: Jeff Davidson, Transportation Planner Re: Prohibition of on-street parking on one side of Sterling Drive As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after January 15, 1997. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3(A)(12) of the City Code, signage will be installed on the north side of Sterling Drive indicating NO PARKING ANYTIME. Comment: Investigation of this action originated with a complaint from the neighborhood that Sterling Drive ils too narrow with parking permitted on both sides of the street. Investigation determined that Sterling Drive does not currently 'comply with the Uniform Fire Code, which requires a 20-foot wide unobstructed passageway. The establishment of the No Parking zone on the north side of Sterling Drive is according to a neighborhood survey which indicated this preference. bcl-3JD December 31, 1996 Sterling Drive Neighbor CITY OF I0 WA CITY Re: On-Street Parking on Sterling Drive Dear Resident: The City has completed its survey of Sterling Drive residents regarding the prohibition of parking on one side of Sterling Drive. You will recall from my letter of December 3 that we need to prohibit on-street parking on one side of Sterling Drive in order to ensure that there is an adequate passageway for emergency vehicles. At the present time large Fire Department vehicles may be impeded on Sterling Drive when vehicles are parked on both sides of the street. Our investigation of this matter was triggered by a complaint from a resident of your neighborhood that Sterling Drive is too narrow with parking allowed on both sides of the street. It is generally the City's policy to allow neighborhood preference to determine on which side of the street parking is allowed. The results of the Sterling Drive neighborhood survey were: 10 residents in favor of no parking on the north side of Sterling Drive, and 7 residents in favor of no parking on the south side of Sterling Drive. Accordingly, the establishment of no parking on the north side of Sterling Drive will be on the City Council's agenda at their January 14 meeting, and signs will be erected shortly thereafter. There were several comments in the returned questionnaires, and I would like to take the opportunity to briefly address what seemed to be the major concerns. Question: Why is Sterling Drive being singled out when there are other streets in Iowa City that are less than 30 feet wide and have parking on both sides of the street? Sterling Drive is not being singled out in having parking removed from one side. In fact, at the January 14 City Council meeting we will be taking a similar action for Edingale Drive, a street in west Iowa City. As we receive comments from other neighborhoods that streets are too narrow due to on-street parking, we will investigate each one and may enact additional parking prohibitions to ensure that there is an unobstructed passageway that complies with the Uniform Fire Code. Comment: "1 do not want anyone parking in front of my house." We occasionally receive comments from persqns who are unhappy that their neighbors park vehicles in front of their house. The street in front of your house is public property, and if on-street parking is permitted, it may be used by any member of the public. However, there are rules governing how long one may park a vehicle on-street, how large the vehicle may be, how close to the corner a vehicle may be parked, etc. Call the City if you ever have-any questions about these rules; the Police will ticket violators. Comment: "A resident of Sterling Drive is p~rking vehicles related to his business on the street, and this is what causes congested conditions in the evening." As stated in the comment above, an individual 'is entitled to park vehicles on a public street as long as those vehicles comply with the City Code. If you have any reason to believe a vehicle parked on your 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240.1826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 2 street is not in compliance with the City Code, you should contact the Iowa City Police Department and a Community Service Officer will ticket the vehicle if it is in violation. Comment: "Parking should be eliminated on both sides of the curve on Sterling Drive because it is especially narrow." The Fire Department has indicated that an adequate passageway will result if parking is eliminated from one side of the curve as proposed. Comment: "1 do not want on-street parking in front of my house because it will block my mailbox." Curbside mailboxes are typically placed adjacent to driveways to ensure they will not be blocked and the postal service can deliver mail. If a vehicle parked in front of your house extends past your driveway opening, it is in violation of the City Code and you should contact the Police Department. Keeping in mind that on-street parking is provided for the convenience of the neighborhood, it is possible for a neighborhood to petition the City to have on-street parking eliminated entirely, which would eliminate any mailbox conflicts. We regret any inconvenience the elimination of parking from one side of Sterling Drive causes, and hope you understand the public safety concern. I can be contacted at 355-5252 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Jeff Davidson Transportation Planner cc: Fire Department Police Department bcl-2JD City of iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: December 31, 1996 To: City Clerk From: Jeff Davidson, Transportation Planner Re: Prohibition of on-street parking on one side of Edingale Drive As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after January 15, 1997. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3(A)(12) of the City Code, signage will be installed on the north side of Edingale Drive indicating NO PARKING ANYTIME. Comment: Investigation of this action originated with a complaint from the neighborhood that Edingale Drive is too narrow with parking permitted on both sides of the street. Investigation determined that Edingale Drive does not currently comply with the Uniform Fire Code, which requires a 20-foot wide unobstructed passageway. The establishment of the No Parking zone on the north side of Edingale Drive will allow the maximum amount of on-street parking to be provided. bcl-4JD December 31, 1996 Edingale Drive Neighbor Re: On-Street Parking on Edingale Drive Dear Resident: CITY OF I0 WA CITY The City has completed its survey of Edingale Drive residents regarding the prohibition of parking on one side of Edingale Drive. You will recall from my letter of December 3 that we need to prohibit on-street parking on one side of Edingale Drive in' order to ensure that there is an adequate passageway for emergency vehicles. At the present time large Fire Department vehicles may be impeded on Edingale Drive when vehicles are parked on both sides of the street. Our investigation of this matter was triggered by a complaint from a resident of your neighborhood that Edingale Drive is too narrow with parking allowed on both sides of the street. The results of the neighborhood survey were two residents in favor of no parking on the north side of Edingale Drive, and two residents in favor of no parking on the south side of Edingale Drive. We have decided to establish no parking on the north side of Edingale Drive for the following reasons: 1. The fire hydrant for Edingale Drive is located on the north side of the street. There are fewer platted lots on the south side of Edingale Drive, and therefore fewer driveways. This will allow more on-street parking on the south side of Edingale Drive. The establishment of no parking on the north side of Edingale Drive will be on the City Council's agenda at their January 14 meeting, and signs will be erected shortly thereafter. In your questionnaire comments, some of you asked if Edingale Drive was being singled out for this action. In fact, at the January 14 City Council meeting we will be taking a similar action with Sterling Drive in east Iowa City. As we receive comments from other neighborhoods that streets are too narrow due to on-street parking, we will investigate them accordingly and may enact additional parking prohibitions to ensure that there is compliance with the Uniform Fire Code. We regret any inconvenience this action causes, and hope you understand the public safety concern. We occasionally receive comments from persons who are unhappy that their neighbors park vehicles in front of their house. The street in front of your house is public property, and, if on-street parking is permitted, it may be used by any member of the public. However, there are rules governing how long one may park a vehicle on-street, how large the vehicle may be, how close to the corner a vehicl~ may be parked, etc. Call the City if you ever have any questions about these rules; the Police Department will ticket violators. Call me at 356-5252 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Jeff Davidson Transportation Planner CO: Fire Department Police Department bcl-lJD 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319 356-$009 City High School 1900 Morningside Drive Iowa City, IA 52245 (319) 339-6811 The School That Leads Trudy Day, Ed.D. Principal Shirley J. Fouts Associale Principal Dear City Council Members, t)~[,L"~ City High School has a long tradition of excellence in the fine arts. Our committment to an outstanding program of arts in our school has resulted in the recent development of a Fine Arts Council. Our stated mission is "... to enhance and secure fine arts opportunities for City High students, ensuring that all have comprehensive and fair access to explore and experience artistic expression." As a friend of City High and the arts, we would like to share our schedule of fine arts events for the winter months. We extend an invitation for you and your family to join us for any of these programs. Sincerely, Principal Candace Wiebener Fine Arts Council Co-chair CITY HIGH FINE ARTS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Dec. 14 (Sat.) 17 (Tues.) Jan. 23 (Thurs.) 30 (Thurs.) Feb. 1 (Sat.) 6 (Thurs.) 19 (Wed.) 20 (Thurs.) Mar. 4 (Tues.) 13-15 18 (Tues.) 4th Avenue Jazz Winter Show/Jazz Ensemble (Cost $4.00/tickets sold at door) Opstad Symphony Orchestra & Concert Choir Concert Opstad Aud. 7:30 Winter Band Concert Concert Orchestra & 9/10 Choir Concert Opstad Aud. 7:30 Opstad Aud. 7:30 Jazz Showcase City High Cafeteria (Cost $4.00/purchase ticket ahead from music office) One-Act Plays Little Theater 7:30 Concert for Elem/SE students by City High Symphony Orchestra at 10:00 a.m. (Per. 1-3) (Open to the public) Opstad Aud. Orchestra "Potpourri Concert" Art Show & Sale Musical "West Side Story" Mid-Winter Band Concert Opstad Aud. 7:30 Art Room 105 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Opstad Aud. 7:30 Opstad Aud. 7:30 "The SchoolThatLeads" January 14, 1997 Dear Mayor Novick, Attached to this letter are some questions gathered by our group in the matter of last August's shooting of Eric Shaw by an Iowa City police officer. We are submitting these to you per your call to the citizens of !owa City to submit questions to the City Council in this matter. Please see that the other council members receive a copy. Thank you. Sincerely, Citizens for Justice and Accountability in the Death of Eric Shaw Copy to: J. Patrick White January 14,1997 Page 1 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw To: The Iowa City Council Following is a list of questions from the citizens of Iowa City compiled by the Citizens for Justice and Accountability in the Death of Eric Shaw. These questions also pertain to any policies and procedures that were in effect pdor to August 31, 1996. Police Procedures What is the chain of command in the Iowa City Police Department? How does each police officer report his/her daily activities? a. To what extent is each police officer accountable for their work time? Who tracks the daily activities of each police officer? To what extent are each police officer's daily activities reviewed? Januaw 14,1997 Page 2 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 5. To what extent is Police Chief R.J. Winklehake aware of what happens in the Iowa City Police Department and with the police officers each day? a. Does he know where the police officers are? b. Does he know what the police officers are doing? c. Does he know how much each officer has worked in one day, one week, or one month? d. Does he know which police officers are working overtime and how much? e. To the extent that Police Chief R.J. Winklehake is not aware of the above particulars, who is? 6. Who is responsible for determining that an officer has worked so many hours that his/her judgement might be impaired? 7. Was Officer Troy Kelsay being paid overtime on the night of Eric Shaw's death? a. If so, who authorized this overtime? b. If not, was Officer Troy Kelsay donating his time to the city ... on the night of Eric Shaw's death? 8. Who decides when and how much each police officer will work? a. Can individual officers decide when and how much they will work on duties such as burglary patrol? January 14, 1997 Page 3 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw Are police officers required to file a report of any kind when they have pulled their guns? If yes, under what circumstances must a police officer file such a report? In all cases? Or just under specific circumstances? 10. a.1. Is the report written or verbal? a.2 Is there any kind of review of such reports? a.3 Is there a procedure in place for determining when a gun has been correctly or incorrectly used? a.4 Is there a procedure providing for a reprimand when a gun has been incorrectly used? b. If no, why not? When asked if he prepared a police report concerning the death of Eric Shaw, on September 12, 1996 Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie said: "They haven't asked me. They sent me home that night and since then they haven't asked me to prepare a report." ao Why wasn't Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie asked to prepare a police report concerning the death of Eric Shaw? Isn't it standard procedure to ask involved officers to prepare a police report when force is utilized? January 14, 1997 Page 4 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 11. On August 28, 1996, Earl Baugh, Jr. had guns drawn on him by Iowa City Police Officers while those officers were investigating a burglar alarm set off by the police on Baugh's own property at the Dodge Cleaners. Why did it take one week for Police Chief R. J. Winklehake to hear of this incident? Did Sgt. Sid Jackson, as Patrol Supervisor for the late night watch, know of this incident? b.1 When did Sgt. Sid Jackson learn of this incident? b.2 What did Sgt. Sid Jackson do with this information, when and if, he had it? b.3 If Sgt. Sid Jackson did not know of this incident, why not? Who is informed, of incidents such as the one at Dodge Cleaners on August 28.1996, if the Chief of Police is not? c. 1 Are such incidents so ordinary that they go unnoticed? 12. d. Has the investigation of the incident at the Dodge Cleaners been completed? d.1 What are the findings of this investigation? Are police officers ever given random drug tests? a. Why weren't Officer Troy Kelsay, Officer Jeffrey Giitaspie and Officer Zacharias given drug tests on the night of Eric Shaw's death? January 14, 1997 Page 5 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 13. What is the philosophy of the Iowa City Police Department? a. Is this philosophy written down? 14. We understand that the Iowa City Police Department's training policies are based on the Quad Cities model of policing and believe that that model is an aggressive and urban oriented approach that is not suitable for Iowa City. Is it true that the Quad Cities model of policing is an aggressive and urban oriented approach? if this is true, why is the police department not using a less aggressive and less urban oriented approach that is geared more towards the particular problems of our city? Januaw 14,1997 Page 6 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 15. In January 1996, Police Chief R. J. Winklehake made changes in police policy concerning open door procedures. a. What exactly were the changes in policy? b. Have police officers been trained in this new policy? c. Did City Manager Steve Arkins approve these changes in policy? 16. Did the City Council approve these changes in policy? In an interview on September 19, 1996 with Lt. Ron Fort and Lt. Sellers, Officer Troy Kelsay seems to imply that he only became aware of the new policy after the death of Eric Shaw. Officer Troy Kelsay said in this interview: '1 would do the same things that I did. I think that they were appropriate. I had only known about the new policy from what was reported. But I think we met many of the criteria that the policy lays out." e.1 Why was Officer Troy Ketsay unaware of the policy changes concerning open door procedures? What other changes have been made to police policy since Police Chief R. J. Winklehake was hired? R.J. Stika/Retired 1990, is quoted in the September 14, 1996 Press Citizen as saying: "These younger guys are more aggressive that we were." Have there been changes in hiring practices relating to age and experience? January 14, 1997 Page 7 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 17. How are citizen complaints against the Iowa City Police Department handled? a. Who is informed about these complaints? Does the City Council get reports on citizen complaints against the iowa City Police Department? 18. Does the Council get reports from the City Manager about what is happening in the Police Department? a. How often? Legal Concerns 19. What is Linda Woito's role as legal advisor to the city in the matter of Eric Shaw's death? a. Is the city using any outside counsel, as well? 20. Does the City Council think, either collectively or as individuals, that Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White's questioning of Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie about the death of Eric Shaw was 'soft' and not thorough? 21. What documents concerning the death of Eric Shaw have not been released to the public? 22. Of the documents concerning the death of Eric Shaw that have been released to the public, where are the missing portions? a. Will the missing portions be made public? b. When will the missing portions be made public? January 14, 1997 Page 8 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 23. Why is Officer McMartin still on the Iowa City Police force? Has Officer McMartin received any kind of 'sensitivity' training? 24. How does the McMartin settlements and the Gillaspie, et. al., incident, affect the city's relationship with it's insurance carrier? If we don't investigate the Police Department thoroughly and one more such incident occurs, will the city continue to be able to secure insurance? 25. What is the city's contractual obligation to the insurance carrier regarding the civil claim filed by the Shaw family, other than being responsible for the deductible of $100,0007 Does the insurance policy require to city to participate in a settlement of a claim? For instance, to provide a defense of such a claim, or other legal assistance? a.1 If it does, where in the policy does it say that? The events surrounding Eric Shaw's death 26. Who, other than Johnson and Wyss, knew that Officer Troy Kelsay was going out on burglary patrol the night of Eric Shaw's death? 27. Did Officer Troy Kelsay have to get authorization from anyone in order to go back to work on the night of Eric Shaw's death? a. If so, from whom? January 14, 1997 Page 9 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 28. On the night of Eric Shaw's death, Officer Troy Kelsay had apparently encountered two open doors prior to reaching Eric Shaw's place of business. Why did he grow nervous about the open door at Eric Shaw's place of business and not about the other two open doors? What was different about the open door at Eric Shaw's place of business? Was Officer Troy Kelsay doing as he was trained in this situation? 29. c. What exactly was he doing? What occurred between Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie and Officer Troy Kelsay concerning how to approach the door to Eric Shaw's place of business? Do How did they communicate with each other?. By conversation? Or by pointing to the door, nodding and gesturing? How did they decide to pull their guns? Whose idea was it to pull their guns? How, in such a short period of time (approximately 40 seconds), was the determination made to use two officers, one trainee and three guns for an open door with a light on? Did any officer on the scene question whether or not a gun, much less three guns, were necessary to control the situation? January 14, 1997 Page 10 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 30. Why was Officer Troy Kelsay allowed to remain on the scene on the night of Eric Shaw's death? 31. Was Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie doing as he was trained on the night of Eric Shaw's death? 32. Why was Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie forced to quit if he was doing as he was trained? On October 3, 1996, materials released by the Johnson County Attorney included one page summaries of relevant information from the DCI Interviews on August 31, 1996 of Officers Jeffrey Gillaspie, Troy Kelsay and Zacharias. Where are the full, unsummarized texts of DCI interviews from August 31, 19967 As the first officer on the scene, why wasn't Sgt. Sid Jackson interviewed by the DCI on August 31, 19967 b.1 If Sgt. Sid Jackson was interviewed by the DCl, where is the text of that interview? 33. Has anyone investigated any possible connections between Eric Shaw and the police officers who were involved in his death? Januaw 14,1997 Page 11 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw The City's response to the death of Eric Shaw 34. How did members of the Iowa City Council find out that Eric Shaw had been killed by an Iowa City Policeman? a. Who first informed Council Members? b. Who talked to whom first? c. What was said? 35. 36. How did the council members differ in opinions? When did Council Members first meet to discuss the death of Eric Shaw? 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. Did any of the council members meet privately with the City Manager or the City Attorney and talk about Eric Shaw's death with an intention of formulating a response? a. If so, when did they meet? What decisions were made about the position that would be presented to the community? Was there talk about litigation by either the City Attorney, the City Manager or any members of the City Council very soon after Eric Shaw's death? (i.e.: within minutes? within hours?) Does anyone have records of the conversations between the City Attorney, the City Manager or any members of the City Council concerning Eric Shaw's death? What responsibility does the City Attorney have for the way the City Council responded? January 14,1997 Page 12 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 42. What responsibility does the City Manager have for the way the City Council responded? 43. What role did City Manager Steven Atkins have in shaping the City's response? What role did City Manager Steven Atkins have in shaping citizen response? What psychological/sociological impact does the Council think might result if City Manager Steven Atkins, when at civic meetings, or social gatherings, were to say things like: "Yes, it was a terrible thing that happened. An awful mistake. We have to work to see that it doesn't happen again" or "With Gillaspie's resignation we need to move ahead, restore trust in the Police and heal the wounds of the city." or "It was one of those unfortunate things that can happen in a city of this size." or any comment that implies that it is over. Did the City Council give Steven Atkins any instructions about what to say or what not to say?. 44. Except for Karen Kubby, Council Members have either been mute or adamant about not considering the possibility of relieving Steven Atkins of his duties as City Manager because of his possible lack of oversight of the Police Department, his possible role in approving policies and procedures that led to Eric Shaw's death, or his role in trying to influence public and City Council opinion on Eric Shaw's death. Is this silence intended to reflect an endorsement of Steven Atkins and his work? January 14, 1997 Page 13 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw Additional Concerns for the City Council 45. Soon after the death of Eric Shaw, the Press Citizen called for an independent investigation. Are the citizens of Iowa City being asked to believe that the DCI, Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White or the city's insurance carrier are independent? 46. Why, in Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White's review of the death of Eric Shaw, did he take, in effect, the attitude of a defense lawyer, looking only at the moment the trigger was pulled? Why didn't J. Patrick White expand the time frames as a prosecutor would, to include what happened (at the very least) just prior to Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie's going in the door? 47. In the first few days following Eric Shaw's death, when few details were offered to the public, the city and the media repeatedly spoke of a rash of burglaries in the area. What exactly constitutes a 'burglary' according to the Iowa City Police Department? How many burglaries occurred within 5 blocks of Eric Shaw's place of business in the month preceding his death (in August 1996)? How many burglaries occurred within 5 blocks of Eric Shaw's place of business in the month before that (July 1996)? How many burglaries occurred within 5 blocks of Eric Shaw's place of business one year ago in the same month (August 1995)? January 14,1997 Page 14 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw Why was this rationale of a 'rash of burglaries' offered to the public? 48. Is it known whether or not burglars normally leave doors open and lights on when committing a burglary? 49. In Iowa City, how often in the past 20 years has a burglar been caught in the act, regardless of whether a door was open or a light was on? 50. What is the frequency of burglaries in Iowa City? a. Where is the supporting documentation of this frequency? 51. What is the frequency of armed burglaries in Iowa City? a. Where is the supporting documentation of this frequency?. 52. Has anyone considered the possibility that Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie might be the fall guy for bad policy or for poor oversight of the Police Department? 53. Has anyone considered the possibility that Office Jeffrey Gillaspie might have been set up by Officer Troy Kelsay's incompetence? 54. What does Officer Zacharias have to say about the death of Eric Shaw considering that Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie might be the fall guy for the whole, bungled operation? 55. Has anyone of authority asked Qfficer Zacharias questions with the intent of determining his truthful assessment about whether the events on the night of Eric Shaw's death occurred according to his training? Since Officer Zacharias was being trained by Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie, does Officer Zacharias believe that what happened on the night of Eric Shaw's death was ok? January 14, 1997 Page 15 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 56. Would anyone involved say something else, or reveal relevant information if they were being questioned under oath in front of a Grand Jury? 57. Please consider the following statements: "The officers acted correctly according to departmental procedures." -- Police Chief R. J. Winklehake, September 9, 1996. "Simply replacing him (Winklehake) accomplishes little in my estimation, especially when his ideas and policies are so beneficial to the community." -- City Manager Steven Atkins, September 12, 1996. "Officer Gillaspie went from situation risk assessment to use of deadly force. This was done without justification." -- Lt. Ron Fort and Lt. Sellers, September 27. 1996. "1 believe Jeff Gillaspie was negligent. I believe he was engaged in malpractice. I believe Eric Shaw's death was what the law would call a wrongful death. He should not have died. Some one is responsible for it." -- Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White, October 3, 1996. "He was acting in a manner he was trained to act." -- Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White, October 3, 1996. January 14,1997 Page 16 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw a. Who does J. Patrick White believe is responsible? Does J. Patrick White believe Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie was properly or improperly trained? b.1 On what does J. Patrick White base his assessment of Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie's training? b.2 Has J. Patrick White actually asked about Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie's training? How can the citizens of Iowa City be asked to move forward when confronted with such an unbelievable and confusing set of statements from their public officials? 58. Why did City Manager Steven Atkins begin to frame the issue of a Citizen Review Board with input from Police Chief R.J. Winklehake, as he clearly implied at the September 10, 1996 meeting of the City Council, not withstanding his later denial? 59. The City Council asked Officer Jeffrey Gillaspie to give a reason why the city should not end his employment. Karen Kubby asked for a reason why the city should not end the employment of Police Chief R.J. Winklehake and City Manager Steven Atkins. Why is Karen Kubby being criticized for this question? January 14, 1997 Page 17 Questions regarding the death of Eric Shaw 60. Why has the City Council not issued an open call to the public to submit reports of incidents in the last few years where police officers have drawn their guns? Without such a call, how does the City Council presume to know if charges of excessive force by the Police Department are the venting of a frustrated few, or the tip of an iceberg revealing systematic problems within the Police Departmbnt? 61. What does the City Council mean by 'healing'? January 14, 1997 Page 18 January 14, 1997 CITY OF I0 WA CITY Sally Stutsman, Chair Johnson County Board of Supervisors 913 S. Dubuque Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Re: CZ9656. Rezoning Request for Property Located on the North Side of Highway 1 West, West of Landon Avenue. Dear Sally and Members of the Board: An application has been submitted to Johnson County by Douglas & Yvette Yansky and Daniel & Jeanne Berg to rezone approximately 40 acres from A1, Agricultural, to RS-10, "Suburban Residential. This property is located within Fringe Area C on the north side of Highway 1 West, west of Landon Avenue. At its December 19, 1996, meeting, the Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the City Council forward a comment to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending approval of the requested zoning, but noting that no more than one access point for the property along Highway 1 will be permitted at the time a preliminary plat is submitted to the City for approval. The Commission concluded that the proposed rezoning is in conformance with the policies of the Fringe Area Agreement for Area C. However, consistent with City policy regarding City arterial streets and arterial streets in other portions of the 2-mile extraterritorial review area, the Commission intends to minimize the number of access points to the extent possible along Highway 1 West as property in this area develops. Council agrees with the recommendation from the Commission and respectfully recommends that the Board approve the proposed rezoning, recognizing that the number of access points along Highway 1 West will be limited to no more than one at the time a preliminary plat is submitted to the City for approval. Sincerely, Naomi J. Novick Mayor shared\pcd\¥ansky.doc 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET * IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 City of iowa City ME! 1ORANDU! ! Date: December 19, 1996 To: Planning & Zoning Commission From: Scott Kugler, Associate Planner Re: CZ96§6. Yansky-Berg Rezoning Request on Highway 1 West Johnson County has received a request from Douglas F. & Yvette L. Yansky and Daniel N. & Jeanne M. Berg to rezone 40 acres of an approximate 190 acre parcel located on the north side of Highway 1 West, west of Landon Avenue, from A1, Agricultural, to RS-10, Suburban Residential. A concept plan submitted with the application indicates that the parcel is to be split into four 10-acre lots. This property lies within Fringe Area C, but outside the City's currently adopted growth area. The Fringe Area C policy for property outside of the growth area states that rezonings to RS-10 will be considered, and that rezonings to RS-5 will be considered if 80% of the property is set aside for open space or agriculture. In this case, the applicant has elected not to take advantage of the cluster incentives contained in the Fringe Area Agreement. The proposed rezoning appears to be consistent with the policies of the Fringe Area Agreement for Area C. However, staff has concerns about the concept plat submitted with this application. The concept plan submitted with the application indicates that four 10-acre lots are to be created. One lot would be accessed from Landon Avenue, and two of the lots along Highway 1 would share an access, according to the concept plan. The result would be two new access points along Highway 1. There are already a number of access points to Highway 1 in this vicinity. By clustering the proposed building lots, the number of access points to Highway 1 could be reduce to one. The applicant should be advised that when the preliminary plat for this property is submitted, staff will recommend that access al.ong Highway I be restricted to one access point. This would be consistent with the City's policy for City arterial streets, as well as past recommendations along arterial streets within the fringe area. Although the Iowa Department of Transportation has approved the two access points based on sight distance, it typically does not take the cumulative effect of many individual accesses into consideration. The policies of the Fringe Area Agreement were recently changed for much of Fringe Area C to allow development at RS-5 and RS-10 densities. If multiple access points are granted for each property as the area develops, the capacity of Highway 1 in this area will be unnecessarily restricted. As a result of this pending recommendation, the applicant may wish to add additional acreage to the proposed rezoning area to accomodate a single access via a private street if it becomes necessary. The County has indicated that the paved surface of a roadway would have to be subtracted from the overall acreage in calculating the number of lots permitted on the property. The proposed Highway 965 extension is to intersect Highway 1 approximately ¼ to ¼ mile west of this property. While the exact alignment of this roadway has not yet been determined, it appears that there will be adequate room for the construction of this roadway in the future. The County, pursuant to an agreement with Iowa City and Coralville, will preserve the Highway 965 corridor in this area as surrounding property develops. It does not appear that the development of this property will impede the future extension of Highway 965. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending approval of CZ9656, a request to rezone approximately z~0 acres on the north side of Highway 1 West, west of Landon Avenue, from A1, Agricultural, to RS-10, Suburban Residential, but that the number of access points along Highway 1 will be limited to one at the time a preliminary plat is reviewed for this property. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Location Map. 2. Concept Plan. Approved by: Robert Miklo, Senior Planner Department of Planning and Community Development' D D n~ January 16, 1997 Sally Stutsman, Chair Members of the Board of Supervisors 913 S. Dubuque Street Iowa City, IA 52240 CITY OF I0 WA CITY Dear Sally and Members of the Board: The City Council has received a request from Clyde and Lenora Seaton to rezone 2.75 acres of a 10 acre tract from A-l, Agricultural, to RS, Residential, for property located on the north side of American Legion Road, approximately 1.7 miles southeast of Iowa City, in Scott Township. The remaining portion of the 10 acre tract would retain its A-l, Agricultural designation. Concurrent with the re7oning proposal, the applicant proposes to resubdivide the 10 acres into two lots of 6.03 and 3.97 acres with one house on each, including the existing house on this property. There are currently four platted non- conforming lots fronting on American Legion Road on this property, which would be dissolved if the property were resubdivided into two lots. At its December 19, 1996 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the rezoning be approved. The Commission acknowledges that the proposal to resubdivide this 10 acre tract into two lots with one residence permitted on each would be counter to the strict letter Fringe Area Agreement for Area B. However the Commission has recommended approval with the understanding that the spirit of the Fringe Area Agreement would be observed by reducing the potential number of buildable lots from five to two. This recommendation for approval is due to the unique characteristics of the prop- erty in question and should not set a precedent for future rezonings in Fringe Area B. The Council concurs with the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation and advises that the request to rezone 2.75 acres of this property from A1, agricultural, to RS, residential, be approved. Sincerely, Naomi J. Novick Mayor Im\nn1223,doc CIVIC CENTER a 410 E. WASHINGTON ST. IOWA CITY IOWA 52240-1826 PHONE (319) 356-5000 FAX (319) 356-5009 I/,3 Januaw 14,1997 Sally Stutsman, Chair Members of the Board 913 S. Dubuque Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Supervisors CITY OF I0 WA CITY Dear Sally and Members the Board: The City Council has receiw tract from A-l, Agricultural Road, approximately 1.7 10 acre tract would retain its applicant proposes to each, including the existing fronting on American Legion resubdivided into two lots. a request from Clyde and Lenora Seaton to rezone 2.75 acres of a 10 acre RS, Residential, for property located on the north side of American Legion ~outheast of Iowa City, in Scott Township. The remaining portion of the 1, Agricultural designation. Concurrent with the rezoning proposal, the the 10 acres into two lots of 6.03 and 3.97 acres with one house on on this property. There are currently four platted ~n~on-conforming lots on this property, which would be dissolver the property were At its December 19, 1996 meeting, be approved, subject to a shared curb of rezoning approval. The Commission into two lots with one residence Agreement for Area B. However the the spirit of the Fringe Area Agreement lots from five to two. This erty in question and should not set a prece, has noted it would not recommend expressed concern about a prolifera' travel at high speeds. Planning and Zoning Commis recommended that the rezoning ~t being required for the t if they are subdivided as a result ges that th )osal to resubdivide this 10 acre tract ed on each wo be counter to the strict letter Fringe Area has approval with the understanding that by reducing the potential number of buildable is due to the unique characteristics of the prop- ;e for future rezonings in Fringe Area B. The Commission )roval if a shared curb cut not required. The Commission y curb cuts, especially in areas where vehicles The Council concurs with g and Commission's recommendation and advises that the request to rezone 2.75 ae of this property ~1, agricultural, to RS, residential, be approved, sub- ject to a shared curb being required for the tw lots if they are subdivided as a result of rezoning approval. In absenc( a requirement for a shared cut the Council would not consent to approving a rezoning that is n strict compliance with the Frin Agreement. Sincerely, J. Novick ¢or Im\jy1223.doc 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240- 826 · (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 3~6-5009 City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: December 19, 1996 To: Planning & Zoning Commission From: John Yapp, Associate Planner Re: CZ9657. Clyde and Lenora Seaton Rezoning Request-American Legion Road The applicants, Clyde and Lenora Seaton, have submitted an application to Johnson County requesting the rezoning of 2.75 acres of a 10-acre tract from A1, Agricultural to RS, Residential, for property located on the north side of American Legion Road, approximately 1.7 miles southeast of Iowa City. The 10-acre tract currently contains one residence, and four platted non-conforming lots. These lots were downzoned to A1, Agricultural, in 1966, but are still platted, and could potentially be sold and built on as non-conforming lots. Concurrent with the rezoning proposal, the applicant proposes to resubdivide the 10-acres into two lots of 6.03 and 3.97 acres, with one house on each, including the existing house on this property. The land surrounding this property is predominantly zoned RS, with RS zoning to the north and west, and a mixture of RS and A1 to the south and east. According to the Fringe Area Agreement Iowa City has the right to review and comment on the proposed rezoning, but because the proposed subdivision is less than three lots, subdivision approval lies solely with Johnson County. The property is located within Area B, outside of the city's adopted growth boundary, but within the two-mile extraterritorial review area. The policies of the Fringe Area Agreement for property in this area state that agricultural uses are preferred, but that consideration will be given to applications for single-family residential development at a density of RS-10 (one dwelling unit per 10 acres). The rezoning of 2.75 acres from A1 to RS, and the proposed subdivision to allow two lots of less than 10 acres each would be counter to the Fringe Area Agreement. However, the proposed rezoning and subdivision would actually reduce the potential number of buildable lots from five to two. The four non-conforming lots would be dissolved. Because the rezoning and subdivision would decrease the potential density of the property, it meets the spirit of the Fringe Area Agreement. Part of the intent of the Fringe Area Agreement is to discourage development in areas difficult to service, preserve the fringe area's natural resources, and to preserve agricultural uses where appropriate. Although allowing the proposed rezoning and subdivision to occur would be counter to the strict letter of the Agreement by allowing two residences on lots of less than 10 acres, it would meet the intent of the Agreement by reducing the number of lots from five to two, and preserving slightly more land for open space. Because the 10-acre property is surrounded by predominantly residential uses, it has little chance of becoming a significant agricultural resource. An additional house would not be out of character for the area. If a recommendation of approval is given, it should be noted that it should not set a precedence for future rezonings in Fringe Area B. This application for a rezoning is unique in that the proposed subdivision would be reducing the number of lots, and the property is surrounded by primarily residential uses. With a recommendation for approval of the rezoning, staff recommends that a shared driveway be required for the two lots resulting from the proposed subdivision. A shared driveway for the two lots would result in no increase in access points along American Legion Road, thus reducing the number of potential conflict points. If this were an arterial street within Iowa City, no driveways would be permitted to access directly on to American Legion Road. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending that CZ9641, a request to rezone 2.75 acres of a 10-acre tract from A1, Agricultural to RS, Residential, be approved, subject to a shared driveway being required for the two lots if they are subdivided as a result of rezoning approval. Attaohments: 1. Location Map 2. Subdivision Plat Approved By: Robert Miklo, Senior Planner DePartment of Planning and Community Development II '3AV ISdV/~ i '1 ZONING LOT #1 Commencing at the Northeast corner o! Lot #22 at North High Point revised plot; thence S22'36'15"W along the East line of said Lot #22 and {is extension thereel o d~stonce of 233,87 feet more or less Io a point on the centerline of ^marlcon Legion Road Southeast; Ihence $67'25'00"E along said csn[erllne o distance of 2~8.97 feel more or less; thence N10'23'25"E o die[once of 33,77 rest more or less to the point of beglnnlng of this description; thence continuing NI0'23'25"E o distance of 420.84 feet more or less; thence S79'36'35"E o allstance of 173.20 feet more or less; thence S10'23'24"W o allstance of 45.3.13 feet more or less to apelot on the Northerly right of way line at American Lag~on Road Southeosl; thence NG7'23'O0"W along said Northerly rlgh[ of way line a distance of 177.22 feet more or less 1o Ihe point of beginning containing 1.75 acres more or less. ZONINC LOT J~2 Commencing at the Northeast corner of Lot #22 of North High Poin[ revised plat: thence S22'36'18"W along the East line of said Lot #22 and its extension thereof o distance of 233.87 feel more or less to o point on the centerline of Amerlcon Legion Road Soutlleost; thence S67'23'O0"E along said centerline o diMonce of 2,96.20 lest: thence NI0'25'24"E o dis[once of 198.68 feet more or less to the point of beginning of this descriRtion; thence continuing NlO'25'24"E o distance of 208.29 feet more or less; thence S82'.~g'38"E o allstance of 191.43 feet more or less to o point on Ihe West line o[ Lot A of North High Point Port 2; thence $00'O5'O6"W along sold West line and the West line of Lot #1 of the Resubdlvislon of Lot #1 of Sweating Subdivision o diMonce of 208,29 fee[: thence N83'OO'IS"W o dislance of 528.82 feet [o [he point of beginning contoinMg 1.00 acres more or less. ZONING EXt-11131T SEATON SUBDIVISIONXX part of the Northwest 1/4 of Section 21-7g-5 $cole 1" = 1130' PROPERTIES %/o / 20~.~¢ 320¢. INC. I I o'~. i ~. ,',-) ©-, ok. ,~,~ BUILDING TO BE REMOVI //ZONING LOT 1 1.75 ACRE ZONING LOT 2 ~.00 ACRE Z.L.#2 ~// /I ~.~./ PROPERTIES /...,~- INC. / ~ ~// / / / ~er/~o0 / ~ ~ ~ ~ E/ . & ,-~ / ~ / ~ . ~ ~ ~ 'n, ~11 / %SOUTH HIGH POINT ~ // WELL ASSOC. OENE ~ ROSALIE HANCOCK o~ ~ro I,_ / / 8~u%/ "''-,..z~.~-, , I ELVIRA .,. 'J,,, ,L~- ! SWEETINC "%,**'-.', -- I BRAVERMAN '-- ~. I PROPERTIES I INC. PLAT PREPARED BY: OWNER & SUBDIVIDER: ATTORNEY: HART-FREDERICK CONSULTANTS P.C. CLYDE & LENDORA SEATON RALPH 902 EAST SECOND AVENUE 5092 AMERICAN LEGION RD S.E. 119 WRIGHT CORALVILLE, IOWA 52241 IOWA CITY, IA 52240 IOWA CITY, (319) 551-6709 SINCE 1944 DUNCAN ° MATHESON · LEHMAN,Nc. REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS I am representing the Seatoh's on the sale of their property off the American Legion Road. The Seatoh's and the Buyers are requesting a separate driveway access to the 3.74 acres. The proposed driveway access would be in the middle of the lots 25 and 26. Lots 25 and 26 would have their own driveways if they were being sold separately. The Buyers are going to combine the lots and build only one house. There are currently thirty five plus homes with their own driveways in this area. There is adequate vision in both directions. We realize there is an agreement between County and City protecting this area and have been told the council will give a recommendation to the county. We are asking you to allow the property to have its own driveway. Thank Tim Lehman See Plat 321 E Market St., Suite !01 · Iowa City, Iowa 52245-2176 · Phone 319/354-5444 · Fax 319/354-5268 destrip J~r,, t h gr~C.u con[inumg ' 208 ~9 feel mo~c a~ less: tango of 191.43 lout more or loss nc of Lot A of North High PoinL 5"W along said West llna and the c Resubdivlsion at Lot ~1 of · ,',anco of 208.29 foot; thence ' 228.82 feet to the point of ocres morc or less, AVERMAN 3PER-IllES /....,%- .~ ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / i i !~n" RICK t "')' o' It oo CERNY C) // Dear City Council We are trying to buy Lots 25, 26 and other land to the north from the Seatoh's. Our plans are to build a home on the new Lot 2. We would like to have our own separate driveway off the American Legion Road. The driveway would be located almost in the middle of the east and west lot lines. Please allow us our own separate driveway. Sincerely, Don and Sara Schumacher We the neighbors of Clyde and Lenora Seaton have no objec- tion to another driveway onto the American Legion Road from the property they are selling. We have not experienced any traffic problems entering or exiting our driveways onto the American Legion Road. Please allow this access so Seatoh's may sell their property and the buyers may have a private drive.