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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-04 Correspondence Low Prices & Quality Foods Eagle Food Centers, Inc. P.O. Box 6700, Rock Island, Illinois 61204-6700 Executive Offices & Distribution Center: Rt. 67 & Knoxville Road, Milan, Illinois 61264 · 309 787-7700 · Fax: 309 787-7895 ~ July 23, 2003 ¢- --q r"' "T'[ Mayor or Highest Elected Official ~ City of Iowa City ~' ~ 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Re: Notification Pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C.§ 2101 et seq. and Applicable State Law Dear Mayor or Highest Elected Official: Eagle Food Centers, Inc. ("Eagle" or the "Company"), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United State Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (the "Bankruptcy Court"). The Company, together with its creditors, has been reviewing Eagle's financial situation and the Company's various options, including the sale of all or some of Eagle's operations. The Bankruptcy Court has approved procedures for the Company to evaluate offers for all or some of Eagle's operations. To the extent the Company determines one or more offers are acceptable, it anticipates seeking approval from the Bankruptcy Court on or before September 5, 2003. Assuming that a sale or multiple sales are approved at that time, it is expected that such transactions would begin to close as early as September 2003. In connection with the sale process, the Company anticipates that it will be terminating all of its administrative office employees and permanently closing the office. The Company expects that such terminations will occur on September 23, 2003 or within 14 days thereafter. Eagle will continue to employ a limited number of employees who will be notified of their retention in advance of such date. Alternatively, ifa sale does not take place, the Company anticipates that it will need to restructure its operations, which will include significantly reducing the Company's current staff at its administrative office. Under such circumstances, the Company expects that employee terminations will occur on September 23, 2003 or within 14 days thereafter. Eagle will continue to employ a limited number of employees who will be notified of their retention in advance of such date. Page Two July 23, 2003 These terminations will be permanent and will affect employees in all job titles. No bumping rights will be applicable to these terminations. While this notice may not be required under applicable law, it is being provided to you at this time in order to give as much advance notice as possible to everyone affected by this development and to fulfill any obligation that Eagle might have pursuant to the federal Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and any similar state statute that may apply. Due to the potential impact of these developments, we felt it necessary to inform those affected by these developments as soon as possible. As this situation develops we will keep you informed. If you have any questions please contact me (309) 787-8077. We appreciate your patience and continued efforts during this challenging period. Sincerely, Jill Cirivello ~-< r-- t-l"l Vice President Human Resources = General Counsel .J~ Marian Karr From: Roxann Bennett Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 10:06 AM To: 'adamsck@mchsi.com' Cc: Rick Fosse; Andy Matthews; Lisa Mollenhauer; *City Council; Nell Voeller (E-mail) Subject: RE: Problems with Qwest Clark, I apologize for the delayed response, but I have been on vacation. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. incidents like this often go unnoticed by the City, and can be burdensome to property owners and property managers. We appreciate your input and concerns. Upon visiting this site on July 29, I am in agreement with you regarding the condition of this work area. The littering of any type should not occur at any phone sac or pedestal site, much less any other area. After talking with Nell Voeller and Scott Clemens of Qwest this morning, they were also in agreement that this should not happen. Qwest has assured me that this area will be cleaned up and that this will not occur again. If this incident does by some chance happen again, please contact Nell Voeller with Qwest immediately. Nell can be reached at 319-356-5356 or 319-330-1873 or nvoelle@qwest.com. If Nell is not available, you may reach Scoff Clemens at 319-356-5332. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns. Roxann Bennett ROW/Utility Technician City of Iowa City 319-356-5438 roxan n-bennett@iowa-city.org ..... Original Message .... From: Clark Adams [mailto: Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 3:44 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Problems with Qwest I manage Cambridge Place Apartments on Melrose Ave in western Iowa City. For 6 years now I have been getting the runaround from Qwest Communications about this problem. Qwest has a phone demark on the right-of-way property on westgate st between our apartment complex and Golf View Apartments. Qwest workers who work on that demark are CONSTANTLY leaving wires lying on the ground around this demark. It is disgusting to me to have to clean up after their workers and also really upsets me when I have to dismantle our lawn mower to remove wires that have become tangled up in it. I have called Qwest on numerous occasions, and their customer service always gives me the same EXACT answer. "You are not a Qwest customer, so it is not our problem, you need to call your phone company (McLeod USA) and have them take care of it. I tell them that it is Qwest's workers making the mess. They say they will take care of it, but nothing ever happens. I trust that you will forward this to the proper city authority that can handle this problem. Thanks. Clark K. Adams, manager, Cambridge Place Apartments, Iowa City 319-430-2868 Marian Karr From: Clark Adams [adamsck@mchsi,com] Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 3:44 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city,org Subject: Problems with Qwest I manage Cambridge ace Apartments on Melrose Ave in western Io City. For 6 years I have been getting the runaround from Communications about problem. Qwest has a phone demark o~ right-of-way property ate st between our apartment and Golf View Apartments workers who work on that are CONSTANTLY leaving wires ~g on the ground around this It is disgusting to me to have clean up after their worker! also really upsets me when I have dismantle our lawn mower remove wires that have become tangled in it. I have called on numerous occasions, and their omer service always me the same EXACT answer. "You are not ,west customer, so is not our problem, you need to call your company (McLeod and have them take care of it. I tell them t it is Qwest' workers making the mess. They say they will take of it, but thing ever happens. I trust that you will to the city authority that can handle this problem. ?hanks. Clark K. Adams, manager, Cambridge Place Iowa City 319-430-2868 pi~ e.?s 4tn oj remorks Festiva On behalf of the Iowa CJty/Coralville Jaycees we would like lo personally thank you for your support of our 2003 F~eworks Festival This 40+ year tracftion is an important symbol of pride in our country and commu~rty. The ,laycoes is a non.proFit orga~ation, which relies on the volunteer time of members and donations of local bushesses and citizens to continue its community activities. Thank you again for your support, and we look forward your support on our future projects. The ~.ooj IC/Coralville Jaycees' ~treworks Committee Dan Arthur ' Ra!l ~ovick Co-Chair Co-Chair Marian Karr From: Lisa Mollenhauer Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 2:07 PM To: 'Morgan Hoosman' Cc: Marian Kart Subject: RE: Community Forum: Creating a Safe Community Ms, Hoosman, The City Council receives correspondence on their Formal Agenda Consent Calendar - the next distribution date is August 14. Because your event is prior to that date, I suggest you contact Council Member via telephone if you are interested in their attendance, You can access contact information at: http://www.icgov.org/citycouncil.htm Lisa Lisa Mollenhauer Administrative Assistant to the City Manager City of Iowa City 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 356-5010 ..... Original Message ..... From: Morgan Hoosman [mailto:uaysafeplace~yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 1:52 PM To: council~iowa-city.org Subject: Community Forum: Creating a Safe Community Dear Iowa City Council Members: My name is Morgan Hoosman, and I am an Americorps volunteer at United Action for Youth in Iowa City. One of my goals this year is to bring more community awareness and involvement to the Safe Place program. Safe Place, a project of United Action for Youth and Youth Homes, is sponsoring a community forum on safe community. The forum will take place on Thursday, July 24. Our panel of speakers will include representatives from the Iowa City Police Department, Mercy Hospital, Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, Youth Homes, and Domestic Violence Intervention Program. We are hopeful that this broad panel will help us become more informed about community safety, homelessness, runaways, discrimination, and abuse and what steps we as a community should take in approaching the issues. Please join us to discuss and learn more about the Safe Place program, and how we can work to make the Iowa City/Coralville area a safer community for youth and families. We also hope that you will be present to respond to questions from the community. Will you please consider attending, and will you encourage other members of the City Council to do so, as well? Here are the details: Community Forum Creating a Safe Community 7/17/03 Page 2 of 2 Thursday, July 24, 2003 7:00-9:00 p.m. Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room A Iowa City Thank you for taking time to consider my request. I look forward to hearing from you about whether you will be able to attend. Do you Yahoo! ? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! 7/17/03 Marian Karr From: Veronica. Lotkowski@act.org Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 12:11 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: public transportaion Dear Iowa City Council: I recently moved to ICIA from Toronto, Ontario (I arrived June 24, 2003) to work as a senior research associate at A~T. I do not own a car nor do I plan to purchase one. I have always relied on public transportation. I have been quite pleased with the service here in IC but I sincerely think that the service could be improved and that such an improvement would attract ridership and bring more people downtown to spend their money and help keep the core alive. I think it is a great dis-service to this city that the buses stop running so early on Friday and Saturday and offer no Sunday service. The weekends are when people like myself want to go out to the theater, to movies, to a concert, a book or poetry reading and /or out for dinner. But because the buses stop running so early we cannot attend these functions. Therefore, we are not downtown spending our money in restaurants and cafes and supporting businesses. If you want the core to survive and for more up-scale shops and cafes,and restaurants, otc to move into the core you have to make public transportation available and user friendly. I live out at Schrader and Washington and I walk to work in the morning but I take the bus home in the evening because after work I like to go into town, visit the university, the shops and cafes. I then take the bus home. This does work well for me. Except if I want to stay downtown later in the evening, then I cannot get home unless I take a taxi. Furthermore, now that First Ave. extends up to ACT and more and more people are living in that area, it would make sense for a bus line to go up First Ave. to ACTand to serve the area. Public transportation makes good sense. It keeps the roads free of congestion, cuts down on accidents and deaths, reduces pollution and time spent commuting in heavy traffic. I would HATE to see this beautiful city go the way Toronto is going - cuts to public transport, smog due to heavy commuter traffic into the city and endless congestion and unhappy drivers. You are in the enviable position to make improvements and to increase your ridership, attract more people and more upscale businesses into the core and keep this city alive and healthy. Don't cut back on service, expand service!!! Provide transportation and the public will use it. A healthy public transportation system will support a healthy downtown business and cultural life and vice versa. The two can work harmoniously together and that should be your aim. I sincerely hope that Council will act postively and with conviction on this issue. I would appreciate hearing from members as to how I can be of help in supporting better public transport. Sincerely, Veronica A. Lotkowski, Ph.D. Senior Research Associate ACT, Inc. {319) 337-1451 Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship opening the doors of Iowa City 1700 South First Avenue Suite 25B Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 358-9212 July 16, 2003 Mayor Emie Lehman City Council City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 RE: Housing Discrimination Complaint filed by Wanda and Phillip Daniel against Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship Dear Mayor Lehman and Members of the Council: The Board of Trustees of Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship asked me to send you the attached letter from the HUD determining no reasonable cause and dismissing the complaint of discrimination filed by Wanda and Phillip Daniel of 2519 Clearwater Court. As you may recall, the Daniel's appeared before council last fall regarding flood damage to their basement. We are pleased with this determination. We are also pleased that HUD administers the Fair Housing Act in a diligent manner in order to address discriminatory practices in housing. Sincerely, Maryaun Dennis Executive Director Cc: Chair, HCDC ~ * U~L]~. ~ U.s. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 1111111o2 ~NS~MISSOURI STATE OFFICE OFFICE OF FAIR HOUSING & EQUAL OPPORTUNI~ ~4N 0~v Gateway Tower II, Room 2~ 4~ State Avenue Kans~ CiW, KS 66101-2406 HUD Home Page: dUN 0 M~ ~ De~s, Executive D~recto~ ~_. ~eate~ ~owa Ct~ ~o~ing F~llows~p IT00 ~ 1~ S~eet, ~to 25B De~ Ms. De~s: Complainant(s): DANIEL V. Respondent(s): SARATOGA SPRINGS LP, ET AL Case Number: 07-03-0239-8/4/D & 07-03-240-8/4/D DETERMINATION OF NO REASONABLE CAUSE The DepatUnent of Homing and Urban Development (HUD) administers the Fair Housing Act (the Act). The Department has completed its investigation of the subject complaint which was filed under the Act. Informal efforts to resolve the case during the investigation were unsuccessful. Based on the evidence obtained during the investigation, the Department has determined that reasonable cause does not exist to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred. Accordingly, the aboVe-referenced complaint is hereby dismissed. A summary of the evidence on which this determination is based is enclosed with this letter. Notwithstanding this dismissal by HUD, the Fair Housing Act provides that the complainant may file a civil action inan appropriate federal district court or state court within two years after the occurrence or termination of the alleged discriminatory housing practice. The computation of this two-year period does not include the time during which this administrative proceeding was pending. In addition, upon the application of either party to such civil action, the court may appoint an attorney, or may authorize the commencement of or continuation of the civil action without the payment of fees, costs, or security, if the court determines that such party is financially unable to bear the costs of the lawsuit. The Department's regulations implementing the Act require that this dismissal be publicly disclosed, unless the respondent requests that no such release be made. Such request must be made by the respondent within thirty (30) days of receipt of this determination to the Regional Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the address given below. Notwithstanding such request by the respondent, the fact of this dismissal, including the names of all parties, is public information and is available upon request. The Final Investigative Report on this case is available by writing to me at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kansas/Missouri State Office, Kansas City Fair Housing HUB, 400 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101-2406. On behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Region VII Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Enclosure Marian Karr ~ From: Bob Thompson [thompbobson@mchsi,com] Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 10:13 AM To: City Council Subject: Historic Preservation Guidelines Dear Councillors, I'm glad to hear that a review of the Historic Preservation Guidelines is currently underway. This issue has been a concern of mine since the Svensen-Tyler survey came out in 2000. I attended a neighborhood meeting at Preucil School shortly thereafter, where a map was shown of the Goosetown-Northside conservation districts that were recommended. I was struck by the massive amount of real estate they wanted to take charge of, and this concerned me enough to spend some time analyzing the Guidelines. As a contractor who does a lot of restoration work, this would impact me, my customers, and neighbors in Goosetown. As a side note: It's not too difficult to find the Guidelines on the web, but I still don't see a copy of the map generated by the survey on the City's website. With the HPC currently talking about the rather massive Goosetown and Northside conservation districts, wouldn't this be a good thing to place on the web? Upon analyzing the Guidelines insofar as how they would affect conservation districts, I became even more concerned; so concerned that I wrote a small analysis of how this would impact various old-house repair/renovation projects in conservation districts. This I sent to the HPC, and indicated my intent to make this little paper available to all my Goosetown neighbors, should the HPC ever seek to bite offa chunk of this neighborhood. They were concerned enough about my concerns that they invited me to a meeting, and it seemed a fruitful discussion. My primary concern is the additional cost burden this might impose on homeowners, if implemented in my neighborhood. It's one thing to impose these restrictions on places like Woodlawn or Summit St., it's quite another to impose them on working class families and the elderly in a neighborhood like Goosetown. Another concern of mine (as many have since discovered), was that most people seem in favor of historic preservation, but until they have to apply for a "certificate of appropriateness," they have no idea of how the Guidelines would limit their options and increase costs. At the time, some Commissioners indicated their willingness to be flexible with some of the Guidelines, and also acknowledged that that the guidelines were new, and hence some anomalies had not yet been ironed out. For example, it appeared that some aspects of how the Guidelines jibed with building code had not been adequately considered (this is a good area for input from the building inspectors). They also expressed willingness to make the Guidelines flexible enough to adapt to the different needs of different neighborhoods. For example, one Commissioner suggested that for lower income homeowners, the addition of a "hardship clause" might alleviate concerns about the high cost of historically appropriate renovation. Generally, I favor education and furthering appreciation for the artful manner in which many of these old houses were put together, rather than regulation. However, regulation being the rule of the day, historical appropriateness at least needs to be regulated with an eye towards pragmatic and financial realities. Below, I've pasted my analysis of the Guidelines, a slightly revised version of what I sent to the HPC in 2000. I haven't spent much time to get back up to speed on the issue, so this may contain some errors and out-of-date information. It's my hope that it might be helpful to the HPC and the Council as they decide how to change things. And I still intend to inform my neighbors of what to expect if Goosetown is rezoned as a conservation district. Bob Thompson 7/15/03 Page 2 of 8 thompbobson~mchsi.com 337-3543 1004 Church St Iowa City IA 52245 Issues Concerning the Iowa City Historic Preservation Guidelines and the Proposed Goosetown and Northside Conservation Districts I'm a contractor; I do primarily restoration work. I live in Goosetown, within the boundaries of the proposed conservation district. A lot of my business is done in this neighborhood. Over the years, I have become intimately acquainted with Goosetown's historic construction methods and typical maintenance concerns. I've seen the guts of a lot of these old houses, and dealt with their problems for years. Business-wise, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain if Svensen-Tyler's recommendations are ultimately approved by the City Council. Adoption of the stringent standards of the Historic Preservation Commission would likely be a boon for business. I work primarily with wood; I don't do vinyl or aluminum siding. I usually counsel people to repair rather than replace components whenever feasible. I have nothing to lose personally by the adoption of these recommendations. We're not planning on making any significant alterations to our property, other than what has already been done (or at least started). It may seem strange to some that I'm compiling a large list of seemingly discouraging words concerning historic preservation; I have no self-interests at stake in doing so. I'm doing this because I feel that most people are not taking all the pertinent concerns into account in their assessment of this issue. At first glance, the issue seems a no-brainer; of course we should preserve our historic homes! It is my contention that it's not that simple. I am well aware of a large number of pragmatic concerns that are almost certainly not being taken into account by the majority of people who will be affected by this decision. My main concern here is not, "Should we preserve historic homes"; but rather, "What are we getting into here? What is actually going to happen if this goes into effect?" I feel that my neighbors need to be informed about the nuts-and-bolts issues that most are not technically knowledgeable enough to discern themselves. I feel that those concerned need to make an informed decision as to where they stand on this issue, rather than a hasty one. Those who might have long- range plans for renovation of their property need to know precisely what they can and cannot do under the Commission's guidelines (this paper only deals with isolated aspects of this topic). Even those who have no intention of making major changes to their property need to know how this is going to affect their budgets in the long run. I hope that my motives are clear; I am not writing this to squash an admirable civic accomplishment, but to inform others of the long-term consequences of this proposal. Goosetown is a hodge-podge of architecture; there are some very nicely built homes, some not-so-nice, and everything in between. Most of the houses in this area probably fall into what realtors call "starter homes": lower-priced houses that are within the budget limitations of first-time buyers. This is not an area that is comparable to Summit St. or other previously defined historic districts, where 6-figure incomes are common, and money is no object. Though it has been increasingly populated by folks in a higher income bracket, it is still largely an affordable neighborhood, by Iowa City standards. There are a lot of rentals, a lot of older, long-time residents, and a lot of working-class homeowners. If Svensen-Tyler's recommendations are approved, it seems 7/15/03 Page 3 of 8 likely that some people in the neighborhood will be affected adversely; both by the limitations the Guidelines might impose upon their ability to adapt their property to their needs, and the high cost of restoration. Though the City has done a remarkable job of providing financial assistance for residential repairs, it would be nice to have some solid statistical assurance that there will be enough money to defray any hardships imposed by implementation of the recommendations. It would certainly create an additional need for financial assistance. I'm no stranger to the historic preservation movement; I'd feel less uneasy about all this if the preservationists were talking as fervently about the needs of people as the houses they occupy. Issues In order to keep this paper at a reasonable length, I am only going to deal with some of the issues that might affect "contributing" properties within the boundaries of conservation districts. I am basically going down the list in the Iowa City Historic Preservation Handbook, which can be viewed at http:llwww.icgov.orgldocumentslHPChandbook,pdf. This page contains the guidelines approved by the City Council in June 2000 that will affect the designated areas if approved. The last time I checked, the official maps of the areas were not available, though that is of critical interest to anyone who might be affected by this issue. I saw them from an overhead projector at a meeting at Preucil. I'm assuming that the reader of this paper has read the Handbook, and has a copy on hand for reference. Again, this is because I'm trying to keep this at something less than the length of War and Peace. Mtg note; met with commission on Oct 12, 2000 and discussed my points. Some of my fears were alleviated, others were not. Generally the commission expressed a willingness to be flexible with many areas of the guidelines, and some of the points here will not be enforceable; the commission only has authority over jobs requiring a permit. Acknowledged that many of my points were valid, changed my viewpoint on others somewhat. Since the proposed districts are considered individually, the possibility exists to "customize" them to meet the needs of specific districts. This is an important negotiating point, though I'm not sure how it works; not sure they know either. Foundations Covering exposed brick, stone and rusticated masonry foundations with a cement plaster or stucco is disallowed. This is probably only a potential problem for owners of "contributing" structures (old houses in a close-to-original state) with a brick foundation. Almost all of the "historic" brick foundations/exteriors on the north end of town were manufactured (if that's an appropriate term) in the old brickyard that was located at Happy Hollow Park; these are soft bricks, with a very thin outer crust protecting the vulnerable inner core. After a century or so, these bricks are starting to show their age; spalling (when the outer crust falls off, exposing the soft, vulnerable core) is a common problem. Spalling will typically occur in areas most susceptible to frost damage; i.e., above and slightly below grade, or where exposed to excessive moisture (i.e., below a leaky gutter). Below that, you don't know what's going on with the foundation, and unless your house is falling down, you probably don't want to know. These old bricks are extremely absorbent: they soak up water like a sponge. When the water freezes, the brick starts to fall apart. Prevention (as the Commission so astutely notes) is the best remedy; make sure your gutters aren't clogged, make sure that soil slopes away from the foundation, etc. Unfortunately, prevention wasn't always necessarily deployed when it would have been wise to do so; maybe 70 or 80 years ago. Consequently, some of these brick foundations have spalled. Once this happens, the brick starts to crumble. Replacement of spalled bricks is very difficult and time consuming. The cheapest solution by far is the forbidden one, to "apply a cement plaster or stucco". This stops the damage, assuming that the initial cause of the problem (water) is remedied, and that 7/15/03 Page 4 of 8 the prep job was done competently. I don't do masonry work, unless it's a very small part of a larger job; I am not an expert on this particular topic. It's impossible to give any sort of estimate as to the difference in cost that the proposed City requirements would impose. This will depend on the extent of the problem, on a brick-by-brick basis. I have seen horrifying techniques, such as sandblasting and repointing with a modern masonry mix, deployed by some "experts" in the field. The Commission wisely forbids such practices. There may be economical remedies that I'm not aware of; new restoration techniques are being invented all the time. But coating the entire surface of the exposed foundation to maybe a foot below grade provides a very economical solution to a potentially fatal problem. It certainly doesn't look bad on the foundation of a wood-frame home. The alternatives are to do nothing, or to replace the individual bricks, a very time-consuming and costly measure. And where do you find matching bricks? Matching the color of the mortar is another problem, which is seldom done correctly, which you've probably noticed if you've ever driven around town looking at masonry repairs. To my knowledge, they're not making handpacked, soft, red Iowa clay brick anymore. There might actually be historic-looking brick available commercially. Mtg note: The hardness of brick doesn't need to be matched, according to comm., check code; this repair may not require permit-not enforceable. Mortar removal by electric grinders will not be disallowed, contrary to the guidelines at the time I read them. Siding Vinyl and aluminum siding is disallowed. The cost of a decent exterior paint job in this town has really skyrocketed in the last several years. It's typical to get bids from competent painters of $7,000 or higher for a moderately sized house. If exterior wood is in need of paint removal, repair or replacement, expect the figure to be much higher. A lot of these old houses are approaching the age when just painting will no longer do: much of the siding is cooked to the point where it won't hold paint for more than a couple of years. Cracked siding allows water to get underneath, and needs to be replaced. Old paint is continuously flaking loose. Paint doesn't bond to weathered wood. Prices for clear, radially-sawn redwood clapboards are out of this world; I can't keep track of the increases (smooth Hardiplank siding is an excellent material, but doesn't look right when used for patching wood siding). Nails rust out and need to be replaced; on a 100 year-old chunk of siding, renailing requires a good "feel" for what kind of abuse the board will take without splitting. It's probably best to avoid heavy-handed scraping, as that can damage the wood. One can expect a paint job on an old house to last 5-7 years; if more drastic prep methods are deployed (such as grinding or heat stripping) the paint might last 10-15 years; but these methods are dangerous, releasing lots of lead into the atmosphere, and heat guns can easily cause a fire. Paint removal is also quite expensive. Larger structures can be amazingly costly to maintain. On one such job, I spent considerable time making repairs to the exterior in preparation for the painters; I don't remember what my bill was, but it was well over $3,000 (and I was working cheap!). That was just random replacement and renailing of damaged soffit, siding, window trim, etc. The painter's bid came in at something like $14,000. The painting bill for one prominent old Iowa City house recently came to $30,000. New Iowa laws concerning lead-based paint removal have recently gone into effect. I haven't had a chance to check this out yet; I don't know how it will affect the cost of a paint job. I have heard that it is expected to put a crimp in the City's Rehab budget, as all paint jobs done with this money must conform to a stringent set of guidelines. Fake siding easily encapsulates the lead problem, rather than spreading it all over the neighborhood. If you've ever seen footage of lead abatement techniques on 7/15/03 Page 5 of 8 the east coast, you were probably appalled by the scene; the entire yard is tarped, and dozens of guys in space suits laboriously scrape the house down to bare wood. Years ago, the average cost of lead abatement for a residence on the east coast was $25,000. The truth is, a house that costs $4,000-5,000 to paint will likely cost $7-8,000 to reside with vinyl. Even if the vinyl could only be expected to last 20 years, as opposed to 7 for the paint, it is clear that vinyl is by far more economical: if the paint lasts 7 years, the average cost/year (for a $4,000 job) is about $570 (assuming that paint is all that's needed!); if the vinyl lasts twenty years, the cost/year is $350 (@ $7,000). That's not factoring in savings in exterior repairs and increased energy efficiency. This informal cost comparison is quite generously biased toward painting; vinyl will probably last longer, and paint might not. I don't like fake siding: I don't like the way it looks and feels; I don't like its vulnerability to hail, high winds and snowballs; I don't like the fact that the underlying foamboard can trap moisture from humid interiors blown into stud bays by forced-air furnaces; I don't like the fact that it can conceal serious structural problems; I don't like the fact that it's impossible to match when making repairs or renovations. But it's clearly the winner in terms of affordability, and to the best of my knowledge, it hasn't actually destroyed any old houses. It's also covered by most insurance policies. Anyone who wants to go to the trouble can remove fake siding, and restore an old house to its original state. Many people have done this, and I commend them for it. It is not a job to be undertaken by anyone who is short on time or money, however; and it should not be done if there are small children in the household, because of the lead hazard. Mtg note: fears not alleviated. No sign of any flexibility here, except possibility of a "hardship clause". Commissioners suggested that hardiplank might not look so bad, "fingerjointed" in. need to look into Iowa lead law, and how it will affect rehab money; talk to rehab people. Discussed the issue of vinyl siding as lead abatement; it is considered lead abatement by HUD. Need to assemble questions on avail of rehab money, and lead laws, and interview rehab people. Need to get up to speed on code, and how it affects the validity of these guidelines in certain situations. Windows Installing modern types of windows including sliding, awning, casement, and bay windows when they were not original to the building is disallowed. Installing metal or vinyl storm windows is disallowed. When we moved some walls around in our upstairs, the city required us to install egress windows. The building inspection people view any bedroom remodeling as a good time to upgrade fire safety features. An egress window is a window that provides a minimum openable area of 5.7 sq. ft.; a single pane window, such as a casement, must have a minimum of 20" of width clearance and 41" of height clearance; while a double hung must have a minimum 34" width clearance and 24" minimum height clearance (the minimum dimensions multiplied do not satisfy the 5.7 foot area requirement). For us this became a choice of whether to maintain the overall proportion by installing casements, or maintaining the original style of window by installing wildly disproportionate double-hungs. The option of installing huge double hung windows is not recommended, but nevertheless allowed by the guidelines; however, to my eye, it would be better to go with a casement window that maintains the general proportions of the existing windows. This is disallowed by the guidelines. This seems to be somewhat of an aesthetic conflict when viewed with the building inspection department's policy on fire safety upgrades. If we had been subject to the Guidelines when we remodeled, we would have had no choice but to install gigantic windows that would have looked ridiculous, rather than merely historically inappropriate. Our only other option would have been to leave the upstairs as is; it was standard-issue Goosetown configuration, with three adjoining rooms and no hallway. You had to walk 7/15/03 Page 6 of 8 through the first two bedrooms to get to tho third; in realtor's terms, this means that a three-room space can only be legally considered one bedroom.. We were able to turn it into a useful space, with three separate bedrooms, a bathroom, and a laundry area. The use of egress casements was an architectural compromise, but seemed a reasonable alternative to wildly exaggerated window sizes. This part of the Guidelines seems to have the unintended effect of discouraging some homeowners from making an important fire safety upgrade. Aluminum storm combination windows (prohibited under the Guidelines) start at around 20 bucks, and last indefinitely; wooden combos start at around twice that, and the frames are finger-jointed white pine, which isn't exactly known for its weather resistance. You can have the old fashioned kind custom made, starting at around 90 bucks per window. Obviously, you don't have to paint the aluminum ones. While the folks on Summit street probably have no problem with that kind of cost difference, it's going to be a budget concern for some 'of my neighbors. Fortunately, most of these old houses already have aluminum combos installed, and this requirement will only become an issue when windows are replaced. Mtg note; comm. Has no jurisdiction over storm windows. Comm. Assured me that they are flexible on this issue. Suggested that casements, though disallowed on paper, might be acceptable with addition of a fake center muntin. Doors Installing flush entrance doors or other modern door styles is disallowed. Blocking down door openings to accommodate standard door sizes is disallowed. Installing a double garage door where two single doors are possible is disallowed. Entrance doors come in a vast range of styles and prices. When most of us poor folks need a door, we're probably going to go with a standard prehung steel entry door; they can be had for $125.00 - $250.00. I'm a little confused by what is meant by "other modern door styles" here. Perhaps the commission would allow molded steel doors with fake panels. Or is this a prohibition of all steel-clad doors? If so, the most economical choice by far has been eliminated. They are more energy efficient, and more resistant to weather damage (aside from the cheesy finger-jointed brick mold casing, which I usually replace prior to installation). The prohibition against blocking down will greatly increase the cost of replacing a 7' or 7' 6" door: these are no longer standard sizes. These can be special ordered; I don't have figures as to the difference in cost. I'm not at odds with the aesthetic principles behind this rule; shortening a door might sometimes interrupt the continuity of lines. It should be noted, however, that this is bound to affect the cost of maintenance for some people. Incidently, most people who go to the salvage barn to buy an old entry door probably don't realize this, but it is illegal to install an entry door that has conventional glass; the UBC requires that an entry door have either safety glass or plexiglass. From a strict preservationist's view, the Commission is probably already making a concession in allowing two-car garages at all; most ancient garages were single stall, cheaply built, structurally questionable shacks. Their stated preference is that accessory structures match the predominant styles of similar "historic" structures found in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, they do allow two-stall garages, but not double doors. Here I'm not sure how much latitude they're allowing themselves; three-stall garages are not specifically prohibited; but would plans for one be approved? They are to be commended for recognizing modern human needs by allowing two and three-stall garages at all; however, I don't see a big difference in ugliness between two single garage doors and one single. 7/15/03 Page 7 of 8 Standard garage doors are inherently ugly, but they've become an inexorable feature of the American standard of living. Double doors are certainly more convenient; and when Dad slides into the flimsy center post between the single doors in January, it's going to get really ugly. Mtg note: Commission has allowed double garage doors when singles were impracticable. Forgot to discuss safety issue of two single doors. Gutters and Downspouts Altering roof slope near gutter is disallowed when covering old built in gutters. The Commission's stated preference is to use EPDM rubber roofing to restore the original built in gutter. This will work if the gutter is in good enough shape for the glue to adhere. It usually isn't. Built in gutters are no longer a good idea. Maybe they were way back in the days when labor was cheap, and when there were people who could solder the tin without burning the house down. The best solution, pragmatically speaking, is to eliminate them. This rule makes this option difficult on a Iow pitch porch roof. The roof slope is usually sloped backward into the gutter at the edge of the roof. The only two options (when eliminating the built-in gutter) are to: change the pitch of the lower part of the roof (or preferably, the entire roo0 slightly by spanning the old gutter with new sheathing from the roof edge to a line somewhere above the gutter; or to cut back and lower the roof edge, maintaining the pitch of the larger area of the roof. This will involve narrowing the fascia considerably, which might end up looking stupider, unless the soffit and fascia can be rebuilt. The most economical option is eliminated by the Guidelines. Mtg note: no flexibility here. Built-ins may be elim'd, but roof stays same. Only solution allowed is to keep pitch as is, repair with metal or rubber. Chimneys Removal of prominent chimneys is disallowed. With the advent of power vented furnaces and water heaters, the need for chimneys is rapidly disappearing. Most houses in this neighborhood never had fireplaces; they were originally heated by gigantic coal furnaces. Most people now opt for power venting when installing a new furnace. It is a much more practical option; the whole run of the vent is easily accessible, run out the side of the house. Anyone who's run a new vent stack down an old chimney can really appreciate this. If the vent stack is allowed to deteriorate, acids in the exhaust will destroy the brick. This is a big problem, because you usually can't inspect the condition of the stack inside the chimney. Power vented water heaters are becoming more popular now as well. As more homeowners switch to these, chimneys will rapidly become useless appendages. The vast majority of these old chimneys cannot be used for fireplaces; they don't have flues. Conventional chimneys are tremendous sources of heat loss. They are also a frequent source of roof leaks, as many roofers don't bother to flash them properly. Many of these old chimneys are in very poor condition; they take a tremendous beating from the weather. They are expensive to repoint, reflash or rebuild, and dangerous if they are not attended to; I know a guy who once leaned on a chimney during a roofing job, and knocked it over. It's much easier and cheaper to eliminate a chimney that's not in use than it is to repair it. 7/15/03 Page 8 of 8 Chimneys are also frequently in the way in the living spaces of these old houses; the chimney in at least one old house here in Goosetown sits in the middle of a stairwell, leaving only about sixteen inches of space to get around it. When we remodeled our upstairs, moving all the interior walls around, we had no choice but to remove both chimneys; they were the only thing standing in the way of turning the second floor into a useable space, with three bedrooms and a bath. The old standard- issue Goosetown configuration necessitated walking through the first two bedrooms to get to the third. The chimneys were smack-dab in the middle of everything. Mtg note: comm. Expressed flexibility with chimneys; if can show that chimney is relatively insignificant or removal is unavoidable to accomplish objective. Cited example of Moffat houses with prominent chimneys. Comm. Has power to decide what "prominent" means. Concluding Thoughts Thus far, historic districts in Iowa City have been limited to areas in which the residents are generally in a higher income bracket than is the case in these proposed districts. It's one thing to impose these stringent requirements on a doctor or tenured professor; it's quite another to impose them on young families, the elderly, and rental properties. Iowa City seems to have an excellent rehab program for homeowners who aren't financially prepared to deal with costly repairs and maintenance; but if these new, lower-income districts are approved, a lot more people are likely going to be falling through the cracks. Can the system handle the additional burden imposed by compulsory historic restoration of this much real estate in lower income neighborhoods? In a more philosophical sense, it seems unfair to impose a financial burden on a minority of property owners, when the stated motivation for doing so is that it is for the good of the community as a whole. If it is really in the best interests of the taxpayer to preserve old houses in their original state, then the taxpayer theoretically shouldn't have a problem with subsidizing the additional costs imposed on owners of old homes, rich or poor (to an extent, this is already being done, through tax abatements, etc.; but I'm not sure how much difference it would make to the average owner of a "contributing" structure). If that were presented as part of the package, I think we'd get a much better idea of just how strongly John Q. Taxpayer feels about historic preservation. It's easy to support the preservation movement when it doesn't really affect you (or even if you really aren't aware of how it's going to affect you). To impose a substantial increase in the cost of living for a minority of citizens for the alleged benefit of all citizens seems to run counter to the principles of most people in this community. If historic preservation is for the good of all, it should be subsidized by all. Ultimately, that's the only way that I could truly reconcile myself to imposing these standards in a working-class neighborhood. I'm happy to engage anyone in conversation in any form (except shouting matches or hate mail) pertaining to these issues. I can be reached at: thompbobson(~mchsi.com 337-3543 (ask for Bob) Bob Thompson 1004 E. Church St. Iowa City IA 52245 7/15/03 Marian Karr From: charlottewalker@webtv, net Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 6:43 AM To: council@iowa-city.org; Steve-Atkins@iowa-city.org Cc: Sen[orsOnGuard@webtv.net; charlottewalker@webtv, net Subject: Johnson County Task Force on Aging - second try (I forgot to add my telephone number and address on my first try at sending this message that I sent yesterday. That information is included this time.) Greetings to all City Council Me~bers and City Manager: This year, I am on the Membership committee of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging. I would like to ask your help on suggesting possible new minority and iow income persons for membership on the JC Task Force. At this time, the 24 member Task Force {plus 24 non-voting ex-officio members) has 0 minority members and until this month had only 1 iow income members on the Task Force. The second iow income person will begin at the July 14th meeting. The 2004 Task Force membership committee will be making a more active effort this year to try to ease the legitimate criticism that the Task Force is mainly an upper income white only group. If you know of any minority or iow income person who is concerned enough to help on senior citizen issues, including the needs and problems of lower income and minority seniors, please let us know the names and contact information. We are especially looking for people capable of independent thought and the courage to express their opinion. Someone on the Task Force will then call on them to give them more information. (The Task Force Members do not all have to be of senior citizen age.) Thank you for your time. Charlotte Walker, member of the Membership Committee Johnson County Task Force on Aging Home address: 320 S. Dubuque Iowa City, IA 52240 Home phone: 354-2123 and Co-Director of Seniors On Guard PO Box 1865 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 http://members.tripod.com/~seniorsonguard/index.html Seniors On Guard Mic~American Energy 3500 104th Street OBSaS$~VELy REL~NTLESSLYAT yOUR SERVlCE~* U bandale IA 50322 Honorable Emie Lehman ~ ? Mayor, City of Iowa City <:'~ .~ 902 Wylde Green Road .~ Iowa City, Iowa 52246 ~z> Dear Mayor Lehman: Enclosed please find a reprint of a letter from Mr. Brad Davis, General Manager, Gold- Eagle Cooperative to the editor of the Eagle Grove Eagle. Mr. Davis is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ag Processing Inc. (AGP) with operations in several different communities throughout Iowa. I thought you would find it both interesting and informative to read his perspective on municipalization and in particular the three municipal electric utilities where AGP has operations. IfI can be of further assistance to you or answer any questions you can contact me at 515-281-2790. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Chuck Conrad CC: Marian K. Kart, City Clerk Enclosure Published in the Eagle Grove Eagle, June 25, 2003 Concerns over City and each individual City CouncilI ~ r"-r"x City will be purchasing from MEC is formation of municipal member, but to date, have not bel~'ff[L~L,J 15 years, so I have not included electricutility tbeseSUCCeSSfUlelectricinincreases.getting any relief from depreciation expense as the Letter to the EditOr: A~l oftbe communities c~a'~ [ ~4 AM, ,~l~S~5am)~izationyears°ftheand isl°anexpensedI calculatedyearly.iS On behalf of Gold-Eagle budgetary restrictions, thus limitati0ns At the very least, payroll would Cooperative, I would like to express in service or repairs. One comm~,r/ CLERKinclude a manager, 2 support staff our concern over the Council's recent has voltage regulation probl~dClT~' lOWAmbers, meter reader/maintenance decision to move forward with a we continually have clcctrid'~n'o't'oi's labor, and a fully equipped 2-man feasibili~ study on the formation of a burn up. They have a substation maintenance crew. I believe payroll, municipal electric utility. As a problem and no funds to repair the benefits, computer/software mature- taxpayer and major employer in Eagle problem. Another community has nance, office supplies, postage, and Grove, we believe an accurate' ~;afcty issues they are unable to operational costs for the support feasibility study will clearly show that address that could have tragic vehicles would cost about $400,000 forming a municipal electric utility consequences someday. A third annually. Contracted or leased utility wii!:have the opposiU~ effect of what community undercharges for sewer, crew backup to help on large projects, the city is trying to obtain, but not all water and garbage services and and replacement supplies for yearly abbreviated feasibility studies are subsidizations come from their repairs and maintenance willprobably accurate and they often lead to more electricity charges, run an additional $250,000 per year expensive studies to Clear up ihe gray Gold-Eagle Cooperative will not depending on the City maintenance areas identified in the previous study, expand our services in these policies that are put in place and the I understand the Council's communities because of high mood of Mother Nature. I have fiduciary responsibility to the Eagle. operating costs and we have already always wondered if the Halloween icc Grove residents they represent and I eliminated some of our services in storm we had several years ago hit 1 believe it is unreasonable to think the these communities, million dollars by the time everything Council should be or can be Eagle Grnve will be no different for was repaired and back to normal in knowledgeable about every subject several reasons, but the main issue Eagle Grove. In addition the city brought before them. That is why will be debt incurred by the City. The will need to collect $120,000 annually there are investigative processes and · following is what I believe will be the for property tax replacement. that is why a consultant was hired for ou~ay of cash if the City proceeds: When you break these yearly this investigation. My purpose for this Eagle Grove has a total volume of expenses into a coat p~r kWh and then communication is to share my about 43 million kilowatt hours (kWh) add. them to the ,cost 'of wholesale experience with municipal utilities, per year, Current wholesale costs ~ electricity, it'totals 8.57 'cents per share what I have found in my limited about 5.25 cents per kWh. However, kWh. Currently, the average retail investigation, and give you as much there are no ]pug term agreements cast'for electric power being supplied insight as possible so the consultants (over 5 y~s) available and contracts to Ea~le Grove residen¢~ do not lure you into additional studies are very restrictive. Purchasers 'of busineSses is 5.90 cehts per kWik. The that will never give the City any return power must guarantee and pay for difference does not appear to he big, on the money they would spend for minimum usage if used or not and but this difference would force the the additional studies, purchasers arc'severely pefialized for City to raise electric rates currently Gold-Eagle Cooperative operates using more power than specified in the being charged in Eagle Grove facilities in nine communities. We are contract. (Remember the problelils in $1,148,100 just to break even. Again, supplied power in three of these California?) Thus, in a perfect world this 45 percent increase wo~ld be to communities by municipal electric of steady usage 94 hours per day, 7 simply break even. services. These three communities are days per week, total, wholesale power Certainly there are other costs to where we e~perience our highest coat costs to the city would be $2,257,500 add that I have not mentioned 'like of electricity. In fact, we experience per year and most certainly could be additional liability insurance costs, outrageous rates in some of these higher since it is impossible to predict setting up a reserve for an act of God communities. Municipal electric future usage. As you know, Eagle (.wind, ice, lightning, etc), employee u(ilities are not regulated by the Iowa Grove electric usage will change trainings and certifications, and Utilities Board, and the wholesale because ol~ current business volumes obviously the main point of this, power the City utilities purchase is not growing or shrinking, new businesses adding a margin to the electricity for regulated by thc Iowa Utilities Board. coming to town, business closings, economic development. Personally, I The Cities can legally charge any growing populations, shrinking would set up an additional $100,000 amount they wish for their services populations, hot weather and air per year and place it in the City's and in most cases, they have no choice conditioner usage, and cold weather savings account just for acts of Ged, but to charge higher rates for their with the use. of furnace fans and thus with the other costs could easily services because oftbe increasing cost electric blankets, total more than $250,000' per year. If of the whole,ale power they purchase The expenses would first include my assumptions are correct, then the and because of their dependence on debt repayment on the 6.6 million increase ~ould need to be 58.24 outside contractors for most utility dollar investment. I have assumed a percent. maintenance work. In one of the 15-year amortization at 5.75 APR, communities where we operate, we thus $657,685 per year for interest and have had the City increase their principal payments. I am assuming electric rates at our facilities over 400 the remaining life on the assets the percent in a single year. We sued the Obviously, I had to get a couple of numbers from MEC to do all of these calculations. I also had my numbers Fll reviewed b.y others more familiar and more knowledgeable in this subject matter than me. The point-I want to make is the process, the numbers, and the concerns are very real. and reasonably accurate and are believed OITY CLERK to bo"best case scen. o." IoWA CIT'(, IOWA Of additional concern lo me is the consulting company. If I was a consultant, for the few dollars being spent on the initial study, why won't I push for the next step in the investigation process? I would admit this was a very limited study and without additional work, I could not guarantee the accuracy or that all of · , " -- the gray areas have even been $400,000 .Cost for second feaSibility stud)'. This study must be completed in great detail identified, and ~ll-be used to l~li~ the costs of: I.. Wholesale power I can'l criticize the Cit'y for this 2. Suggest retail prices first step, but I hope I have. covered 3. Cost to purchase assets - poles~ lines, meters, transformers, etc. this issue in enough detail that 4. Cost to purchase trucks and equipment to maintain assets i regardless of what the findings, 5.. Cost for billing services, service order system, meter reading equipment, estimates, or recommendations of the outage managemant systen~, ete~ consulting company are, you have 6. ConsU'uct an operatiag I~dget including debt structure and repayment enough information to understand the s~hudule labor pool, pr°fitub lityanalysis, otc risks and challenges if you go forward. ' 7. Conduct meetings with the public and prepare the City for voting on the I believe we need a strong and propus~/I active economic deyelopment group in , Eagle Grove to help existing business $ 100.000 Cost for next pha~e if vote pa~es. Consultants must review and update all tha. t may b~ challenged and to provide information so it can be presented to the Iowa Utilities Board. If their numbers incentive packages to companies that .. are not in line for the initial presentation, they will probably be turned down by are looking for a community to locate the Iowa Utilities BOard. This fee is also assuming they have realistically valued in.' . ~sets currently owned by MEC, thus additional funds have not been assigned ,defend proposed valuationS. With no risk to the City or to the · residents of Eagle Grove, I would $100,00b . ' 'l assume the City will'be tumed down by the iowa Utilities Board the first time recommend the City place an excise because the sub-:,tatlon feeding Eagle Grove also feeds, many area farms and the - tax on the electric bills currently beh~g City of Goldfield. '.1 believekarea farmers and certain y res dents and businesses ia billed by MEC. With the huge base Ooldfield, ineludingGold-EagleCoonsrative, willaggresslvelyprotesttheCityof volume of 43,000,000 'kilowatt hours Eagle Grove being in charge of their source ofpowe?. City utility manpower. being billed per year in Eagle Grove, a equipment, and expertise to cover this large customer base will probably be the very minuscule excise tax such as 1/8 weak link that will steer the Iowa Utility Board towards donving their request. of a cent per kWh would provide ' , ' ' revenue of pearly $55,000 per year. $6,000,000 . 'If the pro~:e~s gets to this point, it gets extremely interesting. This astimated cost This excise tax would amount to about is let the purchase of the MEC hard assets, $750,000 for a new substation to a 2.0 percent increase. As I would eliminate Goldfield and Eagle Grove area farme~ from the Eagle Grove C ty hope everyone knows, MEC has · utility, purchasing equipment and building the infrastructure to service the City frozen their electric rates through the uti ty If th s number s erroneous, it is on the side of conservatism in my ye.ar 2010, so the excise tax could opinion! It does not include any sunk ~enerations costs, h could also be several expire in 2010 and then be revisited million higher depending on the negotiation skills of each pan?' involved. after MEC communicates their intentions on any rate changes at that ffoine in .time. ' Cenain,ly food for thought! "Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for taking it under advisement prior to any decisions you make down the road on this issue. Brad Davis General Manager Gold-Eagle Cooperative Marian Karr From: Caroline Dieterle [caroline-dieterle@uiowa.edu] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 8:49 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: USA Patriot Act To the City Council: I am hoping that the Council will finally screw UP the courage to join the other 142 communities and 3 states who have passed pro-civil rights resolutions protesting the USA Patriot Act and calling for revision of it and/or limits to be placed on it.. See below (bold emphasis mine). Caroline Dieterle Walnut St. Iowa City ............... Text of forwarded message ............... From: American Civil Liberties Union <ACLUOnline~aclu.org> Reply-to: ACLUOnline~aclu.org To: caroline-dieterle~uiowa.edu Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 21:02:28 GMT Subject: ACLU Online: Congress Takes Aim at the USA Patriot Act and New ACLU TV Ads Status: July 24, 2003 [] lbaaOe5.jpg MARK YOUR CALENDARS On Thursday, July 31, the ACLU will be hosting a live online chat discussing the FBI's broad new surveillance powers under the USA PATRIOT Act. Hear about the Fourth and First Amendment defects to a provision in the law that allows the government to obtain records or personal belongings from any person or entity, including public libraries, upon the mere showing of "relevance" to a terrorism investigation. Ann Beeson, ACLU Associate Legal Director, will be answering questions about the USA PATRIOT Act from 1-2pm Eastern Thursday, July 31. Just visit www aclu,org to join this important discussion. 7/26/03 Page 2 of 4 i[] 1baal 2b.ipg In a huge victory, the House voted on Tuesday evening -- by an extraordinary margin -- for an amendment to this year's Commerce, Justice and State funding bill that would bar federal law enforcement agencies from implementing "sneak and peek" search warrants. In one of its most controversial provisions, the USA PATRIOT Act allowed government agents to execute so-called sneak and peek warrants and search homes, confiscate certain types of propetty and essentially "bug" computers without notifying the subject of the search that it is happening. Conservative Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R-ID) offered the amendment, which passed by a vote of 309 to 118, with 113 Republicans voting in favor. The amendment still has to clear the Senate and the President before it becomes law. The Otter Amendment is the first unequivocal indication that lawmakers are taking seriously a broad, grassroots backlash against excessive government powers, which has grown exponentially in the past several months. To date, at least 142 communities and three states, encompassing more than 16 million people, have passed pro- civil liberties resolutions that speak out against the PATRIOT Act, many of which call for specific fixes to the bill though we applaud Rep. Otter and h s fellow patr ots, there ~s now more to be done," said Timothy Edgar, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "The PATRIOT Act is replete with similar unnecessary and un-American surveillance, detention and investigative powers that must be repealed before we can really begin to restore civil liberties protections to where they need to be in America." Learn more on the ACLU's campaign to keep America Safe and Free. TAKE ACTION! Click here to send a FREE "Thank or Spank" fax to your Representative! Much more needs to be done to alleviate the worst provisions of the PATRIOT Act and we need to let our Members of Congress know that we are watching} lEVI lbaala3.jpg School may be out, but lessons in civil liberties are continuing in the ACLU's new national television advertising campaign featuring schoolchildren who question the government's restrictions on basic freedoms in the name of national security. In two new 30-second advertisements the ACLU depicts the shocked reactions of students who learn about new restrictions on their rights. 7/26/03 Page 3 of 4 [] lbaaldf.jpg "If the government has its way, our children will be growing up in a world where the lessons in their civics classes will be about freedoms we have lost rather than the freedoms we hold dear," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Who berter than children to deliver the message that we must act today, because, as the ad says, freedom can't protect itself." The advertisements focus on provisions of the now-notorious USA PATRIOT Act and other government policies that go beyond fighting terrorism and stray into the suppression of basic constitutional rights. The advertisements will air from July 16 to September 5 on cable networks as well as on some local television networks in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The advertisements are part of "Keep America Safe and Free: The ACLU Campaign to Defend the Constitution," which aims to promote public debate about proposals and measures that violate civil liberties without increasing our security. View the ads and learn more on the Safe and Free Campaign. You are currently receiving the graphics-enhanced ACLU Online If you would prefer the text-only version, or want to change your personal settings, please click here You will not need a password at this time -- if you want to change your personal settings, you will be asked to choose a password so you can access your inthrmation in the future To unsubscribe, click here. Congress Takes Aim at the USA Patriot Act New ACLU Television Ads Dramatize Post-9/11 "Lessons" in Civil Liberties News: Title IX Upheld Voting Rights YOU CAN HEL? PROTECT OUR BASIC FREEDOMS by joining wi~h nearly 300,000 card-carr~ing members of the ACLU. Our rights as individuals -- the very fonodation of our great democracy -- depend on our willingness to defend them, a~d as an ACLU member, you'll be doing your part. Click now to safeguard our Bill of Rights by becoming an ACLU member. 7/26/03 Page 4 of 4 I r~ 1baa276 iuc~ ACLU HALLS REAFFIRMATION OF LANDMARK CIVIL RIGHTS LAW The ACLU is hailing a Department of Education letter that clearly reaffirms the 31-year-old "Title IX" civil rights law, the fate of which had been uncertain after the Bush Administration signaled it might seek to alter the measure. Title IX is a key component of America's civil rights framework. Passed in 1972, it barred discrimination based on sex in all federally funded educational activities, including athletics, which had historically excluded female participation. And, although women remain underrepresented in high school and college athletics, Title IX has done more than any other piece of legislation or federal policy to equalize athletics in America. Learn more about Title IX and Women's Rights can on the ACLU web site. FLORIDIANS TAKE ACTION TO RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS! On Saturday, July 26th, the ACLU and other member organizations of the newly formed Florida Rights Restoration Coalition will be working to correct Florida's unjust voting ban against people with past felony convictions. The Coalition will host ten simultaneous workshops across the state to assist people with past felonies in completing the application for restoration of their civil and voting rights. The workshops are a wake-up call to all Floridians that Florida's voting ban -- which permanently strips the right to vote from more than a half million people in the state -- constitutes a civil rights crisis, and that the time has come for it to end. If you live in Florida and would like to help make these workshops a success, please consider volunteering your time to assist people with the restoration of civil rights application on the 26th. No experience is necessary, we will provide all the training you will need. Find the location of the workshop nearest you. Do you know somebody who would be interested in getting news about the ACLU and what we're doing to protect civil liberties? Help us spread the word about ACLU Online -- forward this newsletter to a friend. [] lbaa2a8.jpg Questions? if you have any questions about this message or any other American Civil Liberties Union issue, please click here Policy This mail is never sent unsolicited You, or someone on your behalf, bas subscribed to receive this information from American Civil Liberties Union To review our Privacy Policy, click here Unsubscribe and HTML Settings If you would like to unsubscribe from ACLU Online, click here, or to review your subscriptions and HlML/text preferences click here eSafe scanned this email for malicious content IHPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 7/26/03 Marian Karr From: Lisa Mollenhauer Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 9:09 AM To: 'crummelhart@yahoo.com' Cc: Karin Franklin; Jann Ream; *City Council; Bob Miklo Subject: FW: Please Allow the Englert Theater Sign to Operate as Historically Intended Mr. Rummelhart, It is true that our current sign ordinance would not allow for an "animated" sign; however, there is a provision for historical signs. The Board of Adjustment has the authority to grant an exception from the provisions of the sign code for historical signs. To our knowledge, no one from the Englert Theater has contacted the City regarding the Englert sign. When and if they do, they will be directed to the Board of Adjustment. Lisa Lisa Mollenhauer Administrative Assistant to the City Manager City of iowa City 410 E Washii~gton Street iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 356 5010 ..... Original Message ..... From: Chad Rummelhart [mailto:crummelhart@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 8:15 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Please Allow the Englert Theater Sign to Operate as Historically Intended Dear Members of the Iowa City City Council: First, let me say, "Thank you" for your support both monetarily and in moral support to revive the Englert Theater as a showplace and centerpiece of Iowa City's Downtown District. I'm sorry to say that I was not one of the grassroots members who pushed for its refurbishment, but as the excitement grows for its successful rebirth, I'm looking forward to having a venue to attend that is not a downtown bar. I have heard my grandparents and parents in Iowa City often talk about going to the movies at the Englert when it was a popular place to spend an evening or afternoon. Being in my early thirties, I never experienced seeing the Englert sign's classic neon signage blinking in a syncupated rhythm, summoning people to the excitement of entering its doors for a nice evening downtown. Many older residents of Iowa City have mentioned to me what a unique effect the old neon signs created for businesses and theaters. The signs were as much a part of downtowns, as the traffic and assortment of home-owned stores. Whenever my family has attended Broadway shows in New York City or theaters in downtown Chicago, we always have felt uplifted walking toward the theaters with the neon marques blinking. A special atmosphere is created when a theater sign is intermittantly is creating a "rolling" effect with the neon lit tubes. The times I have seen the Englert's sign on, it appeared sterile, as a result of the sign ordinance adopted in the 1970s. I encourage you to fully show your support for the Englert's full transformation back to the way it was, by granting an exception as a historical piece of Iowa City, and allowing it to have its marque sign operate as originally intended. (Did you know that several cities in the United States have placed old signs on the historical lists?) Previous councils have granted exceptions for other signs. For example, the sign ordinance, as implemented, has not allowed front lit signs lighted by floodlights or spotlights. Signs were to be lit from the inside, using flourescent tube lighting. However, the council did allow Wal-Mart on Highway 1 West to have its non-back-lit flat sign to be placed on the property, while the council disapproved a classic neon sign expensive sign for the Red Lobster restaurant that would not have had the ugly flat navy blue background with the glarish flood bulbs shining on it. So, exceptions have been approved previously as precedents. I don't see why exceptions cannot be granted for the Englert now that we know it will be brought back to life as a place Iowa Citians can point to as THE place to go for first-class entertainment, and a step back in history--the way it 7/28/03 Page 2 of 2 used to be. Even though I have not lived in Iowa City for some time, I do care. Iowa City is a unique city that everyone seems to like for one reason for another. If the Englert Theater is truly to be brought back to its historical appearance, may I highly encourage you to allow the switch to be flipped that will allow the neon tubes to "roll" in the exciting, uplifting fashion they did for previous generations of Iowa Citians and visitors. In doing so, you will be adding the "frosting on the cake" on the refurbishment of the Englert, and honoring the long-time Englert family of Iowa City. I know Miss Edna Englert will be thrilled by your actions in granting the sign marque to be lit as it was "back in the good o1' days". Respectfully, Chad Rummelhart 7/28/03 ~%%% 3~3[' ,~ ~ la: ~q 07/23/03 Council Members ~0~ ~" 410 E. Washin~on S~eet Iowa City, IA 52240 Council Members: I am impressed with the idea of the Vision Iowa Funds. Iowa does need to find ways to attract younger people to the state. Theproblem is Iowa does not have any large-scale attractions that set it apart from other states. Iowa's beauty is not in its mountains, in its lakes, in its world-class cities, in its beaches, in its wealth of old architecture, or its huge corporate skyscrapers. Young adults are attracted to cities. The challenge is to make Iowa's cities attractive places foryoung singles and families to live. I have noticed that many worid-class cities have walking and biking paths that are showcases for the attractions of that city and wonderful visual focal points. Chicago has the boardwalk along Lake Michigan, New York has Central Park, and St. Louis has a running and jogging path around the arch. I used to livein Philadelphia. Philadelphia has a running and biking path that begins at the Philadelphia Art Museum and follows the Schuylkill River past Boathouse Row where_you can watchpeople sculling in the river. Philadelphia also has the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that leads from the Art Museum to CRy Hall. The Parkway is lined with beautiful fountains and sculptures. These are wonderful examples of old, public art that make the city a beautiful and interesting place to live. I understand that Des Moines has received fundin~g to create The Principal Riverwalk. I read about the proposed plan, and I think it's a great idea. The proposed bridge will add some beautiful architecture to downtown Des Moines. Des Moines needs something distinctive to set it apart from other cries. It needs something on the scale Lake Michigan or the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and The Principal Riverwalk is an excellent step in the right direction. Not every city in Iowa can afford something on the scale of The Principal Riverwalk. What can we do to make these cities attractive? How can Iowa's cities compete with other world-class cities throughout the United States? I think that people are attracted to beauty. Jobs are important, but they are not the only deciding factor. People also want to live in a place that is interesting and attractive. Where people congregate, jobs and ammenities follow. The success of Minneapolis shows thatpeople will move to a colder climate when an attractive city is located there; .. How can we attract people to Iowa's cries? I think we can do this by making Iowa a beautiful place to live. To find Iowa's beauty, we need to look to its past. Iowa's beauty was in its wild flowers and native ornamental~grasses. Wildflowers once covered this state. The word Iowa means beautiful land. This beauty stemmed from Iowa's prairies. When the word prairie is mentioned, most people imagine acres ofB~g Bluestem and Indian Grass, but this is an incomplete picture of what constitutes a prairie. Actually, there are over 240 species of prairie wildflowers that were once found across the state of Iowa. These flowers are our birthright as Iowans, but many of our citizens have never seen them. So how can Iowa's wildflowers help to attract people to the state? I would like to use Des Moines as an example, because it is our capital3 and it is using a bikin~g and runnin_gpath as a focal point for the city. However, there are many other cities across the state where bike paths are under construction or have already been completed. Iowa City is agreat example ora city with a biking and running path already in place. In Des Moines, portions of the Principal Riverwalk could become showcases for Iowa's wildflowers. I am sure, under the current plan, there are sections of the path that will be mowed. These areas could be restored to their natural state. There m~ht actually be a variety of habitats along the river. In some areas, prairie plants would be appropriate; and in other areas, marsh plants, woodland plants, or savannaplants would be ap,propriate. For each one of these habitats, there are many species of wildflowers. Using native plantings would be distinctive. I do not know of another city in the United States that has a Prairie Walk located in its downtown area. Iowa could be the first. Masses of wildflowers can compete with the beauty of Lake Michigan or the~grandeur of the Philadelphia Art Museum. They can definitely create a beautiful place to exercise, and an attractive focal point for the city of Des Moines or any other city in Iowa. There are several advantages to this proposal. Prairies are inexpensive to maintain. Lawns are boring, and they have to be mowed on a re3ular basis. Ima~gine both sides of the path along the Des Moines River planted with a natural prairie flower garden that is easy to maintain and changes with the seasons. Butterflies flutter across thepath, and dra~gonflies dart to and fro. Our state bird, the goldfinch, sings as people walk by and you might spot a wild Rose, our state flower. Prairies remain interesting and enga~ging throughout the seasons, because they change with the seasons. They have a constant succession of wildflowers and colors throughout the s)rin~g, summer, and fall. These changes mean that each time you walk the path, there are new things to discover. Prairies are an inexpensive alternative to other options for revitalizing a city. Public art can be expensive. The bridge that will be built along the waterfront is an architectural wonder, but it will cost an incredible amount of money to build. Prairie could be.planted at a fraction of the cost of the new bridge. Flower gardens are beautiful, but they require watering. Prairie wildflowers are adapted to the environment. They do not require watering or re3,ular mowing. This would also create an incredible educational tool for children and the community right there in the downtown area. With the Botanical Center within walkin~g distance and the Science Center relocated to the downtown area, a native prairie located nearby on The Principal Riverwalk could serve as another educational resource. There could be scheduled prairie tours that would teach people about our native Iowa pl~. and ,',, how they were used by Native Americans and early settlers. I want to reemphasi _z~ Iowa could, to my knowledge, be the first in the country to have a bike path that ut~i~s native plantings. This is important. If Iowa isgoing to compete with other states, it needs to remain innovative. This idea could actually be expanded to the rest of the state. Iowa could become known as the Prairie State. Instead of being an indication of backwardness, this could become our greatest asset. What we need to create is a regional association. Much as Tuscany is known for its beautiful countryside, Iowa could become known for its abundant wild flowers. Most towns and cities have areas between the sidewalk and the street that are presently mowed. Prairie could be planted along the street sides. If prairie was notplanted in these areas, wildflower gardens and native ornamental grasses like the Drop Seeds and Little Bluestem could be planted. They would not require watering. Weeding would be the only issue, and weeds could be discouraged with wood chips or some other ground covering. Pella .uses this area to plant their tulips during Tulip Time. It is always an enjoyable experience to drive through Pella in the spring and see all the varieties of tulips. It also attracts many tourists to Pella in the spring. Pella is one of the communities in Iowa that is growing. Many city parks have areas that are not used for recreation and are presently mowed. These areas can be converted to prairie, and walking paths can be mowed through them. This would lend beauty to our parks and cities and create another way for people to enjoy our parks while simultaneously cutting down on maintenance costs. Some towns may even have resources they have not discovered yet. Newton, for instance, has an original prairie within it's city limits that after thousands of_years in existence is being lost to trees because of neglect. There has been a wonderful development recently in Iowa that lends itself to this proposal. Iowa's highway and interstate roadsides are experiencing some limited prairie restoration. Roadsides are another area that could be greatly enhanced by wildflowers, and it's beginning to happen. More needs to be done though. Many wildflower species need to be reintroduced and in the areas where prairie plants have been reintroduced burning needs to occur on a regular basis to encourage theprairie plants and discourage the normative species that presently dominate our roadsides. Some things to remember. Prairies take about tenyears to establish. This is a long-term project, and it needs to be approached that way. The first several years, the prairie looks like a weed patch, but in the third or fourthyearprairieplants really begin to appear. Prairies need to be burned regularly. Once they are established, burning once every five years is sufficient. However, until th~ are established prairies need to be burned once every year. We have a large number of normative, invasive species that dominate the landscape in Iowa. Prairies require agreat deal of labor intensive weeding because of these normative species until they become established. Once prairie is establish~ it is able to crowd out most of these nonnatives because of its deep root system I wi~ld~ suggest planting Little Bluestem, the Prairie Drop Seeds, and some o~r the ~ther~ prairie grasses; because they allow for more wildflowers. B~g Bluestem and In~3ra~ tend to crowd out the majority of prairie wildflowers. I would also suggest getting some help. There are prairie experts in the state who could be a~pproached about consultin~g. Tom Rosburg at Drake University, Daryl Smith at The University of Northern Iowa, Paul Christiansen at Mt. Vernon College, Karl Kurtz at St. Anthony, IA and Dean Roosa former State Ecologist are some of the top experts in the state on prairie restoration. Arnold van der Valk at Iowa State University is an expert on wetland restoration. If you do any savanna restoration, Carl Delong from Grinnell, IA is an expert in this area. Economic development is so often based on attracting businesses to our state. While that can work, it is a difficult process, and businesses often like to play states offagainst each other to see who will offer them the best economic incentives. What we really need is for young people to stay in and move to our state, and a regional identity can provide the catalyst. If we can accomplish this, businesses will be attracted to the bright, young labor pool in Iowa. I hope that someday Iowa will be a beautiful land again. Sincerely, J. Paul Kessler J. Paul Kessler 4224 20th St. Grinnell, IA 50112 1801 South Rivemide Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Office Phone (319) 356-5045 Memorandum To: Emie Lehman, Mayor, City of Iowa City From: Alan Ellis, Chair, Iowa City Airport Commission ~-~ Date: July 11, 2003 Re: Airport Budget The Airport Commission is committed to providing Iowa City with a prudently operated and fiscally viable asset that serves the entire community. The Iowa City Airport Commission, at the June 12, 2003 meeting, voted to offer two items to reduce the FY 2004 Airport budget, in addition to those budget reductions asked of all enterprise funds. The Airport Commission would defer the improvements planned to make the Terminal Building conference room a more valuable commercial use space and return those funds. The Commission is also asking to reduce the vehicle replacement fund by half, if that is a viable option, and extend the times scheduled to replace airport equipment. The Commission would like to thank the Council for their support of the airport and we look forward to working with the Council in the future. Cc: Steve Atkins, City Manager Ron O'Neil, Airport Manager Airport Commission 07/29/2003 11:09 FAX 212 255 $450 Tiff:; ROSEN GROUP Organic S yle July 29. 2003 Honorable Mayor Led'nnan Attention: Marianne Cart City of Iowa 410 East Washington St. Iowa City, IA $2240 Dear Mayor Lehman, On behalf of Organic Style magaz/ne, it is lny pleasure to share some exciting news with you. The September/October issue of Organic Style features "America's Healthiest Cities" and Iowa City topped our Midwestem division and ranked 25th overall. The magazine considered 5,500 pieces of data mad a battery o£highly subjective culture.and- style tests to find the health/est cities in tho country. According to our research, Residents of Iowa City are an environmentally aware healthy bunch, and the hospital is one of the country's best. We heard that people may have come to Iowa City for the free dance lessons, but they stay for thc quiet, open spaces and the do-it-yourself spirit of thc countryside. We are proud to name Iowa City one of Organic Style',* Health/est Cities. We would be grateful for a Mayor's Proclamation to reco~i~e Organic Style magazine and the status earned by Iowa City. We hope you will consider tiffs request and we would be honored for your designation. S_'mcerely, ~ Arlyn Davich 212-2554455 arlyn~rosengrouppr, com Marian Karr ~ From: Tom Aunan [twa42@mchsi.com] Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 7:17 PM To: ecu nell@iowa-city.crc Subject: Please add a left turn lane ASAP! Dear Council, One more thing to add to your list of high priority items.....please consider! I wrote first to Karen ........ she directed me to Jeff Davidson ......... He directed me to you ......... so here you go! Thanks for your consideration! Tom Aunan 2235 Cae Drive Iowa City, IA 351-8997 My First Person I addressed with my concern Karen, 1 am going to U3.' and call someone also about this concern but xvill start with you to see if I'm starting with the right person'?? l live by Mormon Trek (2235 Cae Drive) and have an increasing concern about Mormon Trek needing a left turn lane added from Cae/Rohret light to the north entrance exit to the mini mall north of U of I Credit Union. I drive it daily and I see almost an accident a day ....... one for sure yesterday, and now one more today! As one heads south and tries to turn left onto Cae from Mormon Trek at the light(headed south) the far lane is a blind lane lFa car is facing you and also turning left(they are headed north) onto Rohmt Road! I see this as a much more immediate need than the Dane extension.....it is highly dangerous, and seems to becoming much more so; and needs some immediate, serious fixes. It should be a city priority' in my mind ......... In fact the street would have been better designed given the volume of traffic to be 3 lane(with the third able to be used as a left turn lane in this area) But what do I know? Tom Karen thought I should write Jeff ....... so .... TOlII: I am going to forwm:d your note ltd Jeff Davidson who heads up Transportation Plamring for reply. We have done some work on this and Jeff' can tell you all the detail. Karin Then Jeffs reply ......... Hello Tom Aunan. Yon are correct that there is an existing capacity deficiency on Mormon Trek Blvd that would be alleviated by the addition ora center lef~t turn lane in the corridor between Abbey Lane and Melrose Ave. 7/29/03 Page 2 of 2 Or you could add left turn lanes at the major intersections. We would expect such an improvement to reduce rear end collisions in the corridor, and improve overall traffic service. Such a project is estimated to cost $4 million, and is on the City Council's unfunded list of capital projects. Eve~ year at budget time they determine what projects are to receive funding for the next few' years, and this project has not been judged a h~ enough priority yet. I encourage you to contact the mayor and City Council and voice your opinion on the importance if this project. A tbur lane to three lane conversion can xvork in certain instances if the overall traffic volume is not too high, say, 12,000 vehicles per day or less, m~d you have a lot of left turning movemenls. The volume on this section of Mormon Trek is already at 16,000 vehicles per day, so I'm not sure that is the best solution for us. I think the addition of turn lanes to the existing four lanes is ottr best overall strategy in this corridor, 7/29/03 Marian Karr From: Eve Casserly [casserly@ia.net] Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 5:57 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Senator Grassley coming to Iowa City Hello ... We wanted to let you know that Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, has accepted the invitation of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging to address the topic of MEDICARE AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS at a Town Meeting on Friday, August 29th. This will be at 3:30 PM. The Town Meeting will be held at 3:30 at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center at 28 S. Linn in Iowa City. There will be an opportunity for persons/groups to ask questions and present concerns relating to the proposed legislation and to offer suggestions for change. This will be the last opportunity prior to the Senate reconvening. For further information, please feel free to call Task Force chair, Bob Welsh, at 354-4618. We hope that you will be able to attend. Eve Casserly Budget, Program and Planning Committee the Heritage Johnson County Task Force on Aging 7/31/03