HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-01-15 Info Packet CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET
CITY OF IOW*\ CITY January 15, 2004
www.i¢§ov.or§
IP 1 Board of Supervisors Informal Meeting: January 21,2004
IP 2 Memorandum from OC Group, D/B/A Old Capitol Town Center: TIF Application
IP 3 Memorandum from the City Clerk: Annual Legislative Day
IP 4 Letter from Dee Vanderhoef to Representative: Metropolitan Congestion Relief
Act (H.R. 3611)
Memorandum from Director of Planning & Community Development: Indoor Soccer
Proposal [Document in packet; not listed on original cover sheet]
IP 5 Iowa City Police Department Monthly Liquor License (OFF PREMISE SALES)
Report: December 2003
IP 6 PATV Board of Directors Meeting: January 15, 2003
IP 7 Letter from Nancy Spalj, Director of Health Services: Donation Acknowledgement
IP 8 Letter from Carolyn Cavitt and Jim Clayton, Co-Coordinators of The Stepping Up
Project: A Matter of Degree (AMOD) Advocacy Initiative.
Memorandum from Director Parking & Transit: Library Request for Reserved Parking
[Distributed at 1/20 Work Session]
Memorandum from City Manager: FY05 Budget [Distributed at 1/20 Work Session]
Council Decisions (Budget): [Distributed at 1/20 Work Session]
PRELIMINARY/DRAFT MINUTES
IP 9 Iowa City Telecommunications Commission: December 15, 2003
IP '10 Senior Center Commission: December 15, 2003
~~.. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET
CITY OF IOWA CITY January 15, 2004
www.icgov.org
MIscE,,,.Eous iTEMS
/
IP 1 Board of, ;upervisors Informal Meeting: January 21,2004 /
IP 2 MemorandL from OC Group, D/B/A Old Capitol Town Center://TiF? Application
/
IP 3 the City Clerk: Annual Legislative Day/
IP 4 Letter from Dee V; ;f to Representative: Metrop¢litan Congestion Relief
Act (H.R. 3611)
/
/
IP 5 Iowa City Police De Monthly Liquor Licen~/e (OFF PREMISE SALES)
Report: December 2003
IP 6 PATV Board ng: January 11
IP 7 Letter from Nancy Spalj, -tealth S Donation Acknowledgement
IP 8 Letter from Carolyn Cavitt and Jim of The Stepping Up
Project: A Matter of Degree (AMOD) 1 Initiative.
PRELIMIN MINUTES
IP9 Iowa City Telecommunicat~l/s Commission: D~mber 15, 2003
IP 10 Senior Center Commissioj~: December/15, 2003 ~\\ \~
lJohnson County
Terrence Neuzil, Chairperson
Pat Hamey
Mike Lehman
Sally Stutsman
Carol Thompson
JOINT MEETING WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS OF
IOWA CITY, CORALVILLE, AND NORTH LIBERTY,
IOWA CITY SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND
JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Boardroom - 2na Floor
Johnson County Administration Building
913 South Dubuque Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Agenda
INFORMAL MEETING
1. Call to order 4:00 p.m.
2. Discussion/update of the following:
a) Any new developments regarding 12th Avenue.
b) League of Women Voters/Regional Government Presentation (City of Iowa
City).
c) I. Partnerships- (Iowa City Community School District).
1). CDBG Block Grant -Wood School
2). North Corridor Elementary
II. Housing - (Iowa City Community School District).
d) Legislative priorities (Johnson County).
e) Jail update (Johnson County).
f) State funded tax credits (Johnson County).
g) Date and time of next meeting (April 21, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.).
h) Other
3. Inquires from the public
4. Adjournment
913 SOUTH DUBUQUE STREET, SUITE 201 * IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-4207 , PHONE: (319) 356-6000 * FAX: (319) 356-6036
MEMORANDUM
To: Joint Meeting with City Council Members of Iowa City, Coralville and North
Liberty, Iowa City School Board of Directors and Johnson County Board of
Supervisors
From: Bob Welsh and Linda Severson
Re: Community Assessment
Date: January 21, 2004
As shared with you on April 23, 2003 the Community Assessment Task Force has as its
goal: to gather information to help service providers and decision makers make the
Johnson County community even more aging friendly.
This report is to provide you an update on our work.
We mailed out 2,000 surveys to randomly selected seniors. The areas we surveyed were:
Health and Supportive Services, Housing, Transportation and Mobility, and
Opportunities to participate in work, leisure and other activities. We had over 1,200 of
the surveys returned.
We are now t'malizing plans to send out 530 surveys to organizations that can assist in
making Johnson County an even friendlier place for seniors to live. We are now working
on surveys to be mailed to the following groups.
Health Services Providers
Owners of Rental Properties
Realtors
Builders
Employers
Faith Based Organizations
Leisure Providers
Transportation Providers
Transportation Planners
Hopefully these surveys will be ready to be mailed before the end of next month.
The third phrase of this project will involve focus groups to look at the data and fill gaps.
We will share the findings of this Community Assessment with you in the hope that it
will help you in making decisions that will make Johnson County an even friendlier place
for seniors to live.
For further information contact: Bob Welsh welshbobO?aol corn or Linda Severson
Ii nda- sever son~i~wg_-cit~v, org
Projected Homestead Credits For FY 05 By Taxing Authority
Based on Homesteads for FY05 and FY04 Levies
1/21/2004
Apportionment per City Apportionment per School Distdct Apportionment per Township
Homestead School Homestead Homestead
City Credit Distdct Credit Township Credit
Coralville 191,382.76 Clear Creek 62,572.00 Bi~ Grove 1,918.86
Hills 5,626.10 College 69,691.61 Cedar 219.55
iowa City 859,356.42 Highland 2,227.06! Clear Creek 636.78
Lone Tree 20,429.86 Iowa City 1,019,703.62 East Lucas 347.95
North Liberty 79,154.09 Lisbon 2,913.54 Fremont 358.53
Oxford 16,820.44 Lone Tree 31,975.69 Graham 397.26
Shueyville 2,272.69 Mid Prairie 25,919.31 Hardin 309.14
Solon 6,781.73 Mount Vernon 147.79 Jefferson 2,851.43
Swisher 13,134.23 Solon 117,958.88 Liberty 203.42
Tiffin 32,199.62 West Branch 13,626.12 Lincoln 136.81
University Hei~lhts 14,128.69 West Liberty 1,167.74 Madison 374.42
West Branch 1,417.17 Williamsbur~l 548.95 Monroe 648.78
Total 1,242,703.80 Total 1,348,452.33 Newport 1,708.05
Oxford 411.06
Penn 2,567.28
Apportionment- Misc. Appodionment- Area Sch. Pleasant Valley 203.47
Taxing Homestead Area Homestead Scott 627.78
Authority Credit School Credit Sharon 388.81
County 664,695.76 Area IX 53.90 Union 490.85
City Assessor 10,419.16 Area X 68,663.39 Washington 552.54
County Assessor 20,179.69 Total 68,717.28 West Lucas 35.20
A~I. Extension 6,475.25 Total 15,387.97
State 404.70
Total 702,174.58
L Grand Total .[ 3,377,435.96J
01/14/04 PiED 15;49 FAX 319 338 $?$3 OLD CAPITOL TO~ CENTER
IP2
OLD'.CAPiTOL
OC Grout), LC.
City of Iowa City
MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 14, 2004
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Marian K. Karr, City Clerk
RE: Annual Legislative Day
Attached is information on the League of Iowa Cities Annual Legislative Day scheduled
for Wednesday, February 18. Please let me know if you are interested in attending, and if
you need a City car.
League's annual Legislative Day
The most effective advocates fur Iowa are elected and appointed officials from the 950 cities visiting one on one
ship have been invited to make presentations on their legislative agenda and to answer questions from delegates. After lunch,
delegates will board shuttle buses to the Capitol to visit with lawmakers. Don't miss this opportunity to make a difference! ·
Legislative Day 2004 Registration
Event Date: Wednesday, February 18, 9:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
City
~ Address Zip
Phone( ) Fax( )
Please list names as they are to appear on badges.
~ Name
Name
I Title
Title
Attach additional names a.nd titles to this form
Fees: League members at $40/person =
Nomnembcrs at $50/person =
[..I This is ~ny first time attending the League's Legislative Day.
Contact name Phone ( )
Registrations received after February 13 are subject to a $10 late fee. Full refunds will be issued on allcanccllations made
prior to February 13. If a cancellation is made after February 13, a parqal refund will be made up to 48 hours prior to
Legislative Day. Call the League if you need special accessibility or dietaw accommodations. Please return this registration
form and appropriate fee by February 13 to:
Iowa League of Cities
PO Box 84
Des Moines, IA 50301-0084
Dear Representative:
As Council Member Iowa City, Iowa, and member of National League of Cities
Transportation Steering Committee, I am writing to urge your support of H.R. 3611, the
Metropolitan Congestion Relief Act (MCR. A), which will provide localities with
resources and authority necessary to strengthen the nation's transportation infrastructure.
As you know, local elected officials are under constant pressure to ensure that
transportation systems adequately meet the needs of residents, businesses, and freight
providers. However, an overwhelming growth in traffic and freight movement has placed
a strain on finite transportation resources. Existing programs do not provide enough
flexibility at the local level to address these problems.
HR 3611 allocates funding from existing TEA-21 programs, including the Surface
Transportation Program (STP), the National Highway System (NHS), and the Congestion
Mitigation and Air Quality program (CMAQ), to local governments. The'legislation
~ncreases the level of funding for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
nationwide, and creates an incident management program to address one of the major
causes of congestion on our roadways.
I appreciate your continued support of programs that keep our communities strong and
vibrant. HR 3611 will help local elected officials meet the needs of residents and
businesses alike by providing the necessary resources to preserve and enhance local
transportation infrastructure.
Thank you for your consideration.
Dee Vanderhoef
At-Large Council Member
Iowa City, IA
319-356-5497 (FAX)
Metropolitan Congestion Relief Act
(HR 3611}
To help combat Urban Congestion in the nation's metropolitan areas, this bill proposes a seven-part approach.
1. Creates a New Metropolitan Congestion Program
Funded at $2 billion/year - Total $12 billion
Formula progran~ based on factors that rate congestion including:
· Travel Time Index (developed by Texas Transportation Institute)
* Passenger Miles Traveled in Urban Areas (combination of VMT and transit ridership)
Eligibility
· All current STP eligibilities, including highways, transit, enhancements, ITS, etc.
This funding would be suballocated to MPOs.
2. Targets More Surface Transportation Program (STP) Spending to Metro Areas
Currently the STP program formula distribution requires:
· 10 % set aside for Enhancements
· 10% set aside for Safety
· 62.5 % of the remaining 80% is distributed to Urbanized Areas over 200,000 population and other
areas of the state at a ratio of urbanized population/total state population
· 37.5% of the remaining 80% is left to the state's discretion
HR 36I 1 STP recommendations:
· 10% set aside for Enhancements
· 10% set aside for Safety
· 80% distributed by the current STP formula that suballocates to MPOs in Urbanized Areas over
,~ 200,000 population and all other areas of the state at a ratio of urbanized population/total state
population. Also provides for the suballocation (including obligating authority) of STP funds to all
MPO's.
3. Allocates Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) to Metro Areas
Increases funding for the CMAQ program to meet the growing needs of existing eligible communities and the
expected 300 new non-attainment counties. Changes the current law to require the allocation (including the
obligation authority) of CMAQ funds to MPOs in non-attainment and maintenance areas.
4. Targets More National Highway System (NHS) Spending to Metro Areas
Requires states to spend NHS funding in Urbanized Areas using a formula that recognizes both the number of
NHS lane miles and vehicle miles traveled on the NHS system in Urbanized Areas.
5. Targets More Minimum Guarantee Spending to Metro Areas
Under current law, each state's share of the first $2.8 billion of Minimum Guarantee funds are administered as
STP funds except that the requirements for suballocation to Urbanized Areas and set-asides for Enhancements
and Safety do not apply. To target more funding to urban areas for congestion relief, the bill requires the
amount of Minimum Guarantee funds allocated to States as STP monies be subject to the Urbanized Area
Suballocation formula.
6. Creates a Transportation Operational Improvement Program
One of the main causes of congestion is incidents -- accidents and broken down vehicles -- that block lanes of
traffic. HR 3611 creates a new Transportation Operational Improvement Program to provide grants to states,
metropolitan plarming organizations, and local governments for projects to improve the operation of the
nation's road~vays. These grants can fund incident management projects, deployment of intelligent
transportation systems technology, and demand management techniques.
7. Increases Metropolitan Planning Funding
HR 3611 increases the Metropolitan Planning (PL) funding takedown from 1 percent to 2 percent in Title 23,
Section 104 (f) -- in fact doubling planning funds for MPOs.
Date: January 9, 2004
/
To: City Manager
From: Karin Franklin, ~r~[anning & Community Development
Re: Indoor soccer proposa~
At the Council's formal meeting on January 5m, Chris Arpey, President of the Iowa City Soccer
Club, requested a temporary variance for use of the former R.M. Boggs building on Industrial
Park Road as an indoor soccer facility. Mr. Arpey requested the variance for 60-120 months, or
up to 10 years.
The Council does not have the authority to grant variances. Variances are granted by the Board
of Adjustment. A variance becomes a part of the land use regulations for a piece of land and is
in place until violated by an action of a landowner and acted on by the City, or superceded by a
subsequent action of the Board. A variance must meet certain tests, under the law: There must
be unique attributes of the land such that the land cannot be used for the purposes for which it
was intended under the Zoning Ordinance; denial of the variance must take away all reasonable
use of the property; the granting of the variance must be in the public interest; and the need for
the variance must not be of the property owner's making. All of these tests must be met.
In conversations with Clint McChesney of the soccer club, the planning staff explained that a
variance would not be an appropriate avenue since ail of the tests could not be met. Mr.
McChesney was advised that the appropriate remedy would be either the rezoning of the
property to a zoning designation that allowed commercial recreational uses, or the amendment
of the industrial zone to allow commercial recreational uses.
The staff determined the use contemplated would be a commercial recreational use since Mr.
McChesney stated that in addition to the soccer club using the facility, it would also be leased to
others to use for other recreational activities. Commercial recreational uses are not permitted in
the I-1 (Industrial) zone. Such uses are permitted in the C1-1 (Commercial Intensive), CC-2
(Community Commercial), and the downtown zones of CB-2, CB-5 and CB-10. The staff also
advised Mr. McChesney that the staff would not support this rezoning in the industrial zone due
to our concern for the availability of industrial opportunities and the problems which can arise
with such a mix of commercial auto and semi traffic. We did advise that he and his associates
could pursue a rezoning with the Planning & Zoning Commission and the City Council.
cc: Bob Miklo
Eleanor Dilkes
Indexbc\memos\3-1KF.doc
This memo was not listed on your cover sheet for the information packet of
January 15; but was included on page 9.
Date: January 9, 2004 /
/
To: City Manager r~//~l~
From: Karin Franklin,'l~r~[anning & Community Development
/
Re: Indoor soccer proposal'
At the Council's formal meeting on January 5th, Chris Arpey, President of the Iowa City Soccer
Club, requested a temporary variance for use of the former R.M. Boggs building on Industrial
Park Road as an indoor soccer facility. Mr. Arpey requested the variance for 60-120 months, or
up to 10 years.
The Council does not have the authority to grant variances. Variances are granted by the Board
of Adjustment. A variance becomes a part of the land use regulations for a piece of land and is
in place until violated by an action of a landowner and acted on by the City, or superceded by a
subsequent action of the Board. A variance must meet certain tests, under the law: There must
be unique attributes of the land such that the land cannot be used for the purposes for which it
was intended under the Zoning Ordinance; denial of the variance must take away all reasonable
use of the property; the granting of the variance must be in the public interest; and the need for
the variance must not be of the property owner's making. All of these tests must be met.
In conversations with Clint McChesney of the soccer club, the planning staff explained that a
variance would not be an appropriate avenue since all of the tests could not be met. Mr.
McChesney was advised that the appropriate remedy would be either the rezoning of the
property to a zoning designation that allowed commercial recreational uses, or the amendment
of the industrial zone to allow commercial recreational uses.
The staff determined the use contemplated would be a commercial recreational use since Mr.
McChesney stated that in addition to the soccer club using the facility, it would also be leased to
others to use for other recreational activities. Commercial recreational uses are not permitted in
the I-1 (Industrial) zone. Such uses are permitted in the C1-1 (Commercial Intensive), CC-2
(Community Commercial), and the downtown zones of CB-2, CB-5 and CB-10. The staff also
advised Mr. McChesney that the staff would not support this rezoning in the industrial zone due
to our concern for the availability of industrial opportunities and the problems which can arise
with such a mix of commercial auto and semi traffic. We did advise that he and his associates
could pursue a rezoning with the Planning & Zoning Commission and the City Council.
cc: Bob Miklo
Eleanor Dilkes
I ndexbc\memos\3-1K F.doc
Iowa City Police Department
Monthly Liquor License (OFF PREMISE SALES) Report
December 2003
YEAR 2002 Monthly Total Year to Date Totals I Arrest/Visit
Business Name A B~ ~~_B~,~._.~ YTD
~AR-"~-2153 ACT ClR- 1 -- ~' '~' ~-~
AAJAXXX L QUOR STORE ' § O 0.00
BIG KMART-HOLLYVVOOD BLVD -- ;;;: 0 I 0.00
CUB FOODS i 2 0 ~ 0.00
DAN'S SHORT STOP CORP 1 1 0 ~ 0.00
DELIMART- E. BENTON 3 -- 22 0 0.00
DELI-MART- MORMON TREK - ' 18 0 O_00
DELIMART-HWY 1 ' ' :'~ " ' 11 i 0 0.00
DELIMART-LWR MUSCATINE 1 6 0 0.00
DOC'S STANDARD , , I 0 0.0o
DRUGTOWN ,, ' O ~ 0.00
EAGLE FOOD CENTER N.DOD. j .... 0
- 0 00
FAREWAYSTORES INC ' : 2 , ~ 0.00
GASBY'S- S. GILBERT ~ "; 9 '";';i,; 0 ~ 0.00
GASBYSEAST-2303MUSCAT 1 , 10 ;, 0 ~ 0.00
HANDIMART-DUBUQUEST. 3 :; 16 ';';:': : 0 ~ 0.00
HANDIMART- N.DODGE 8 0 ~ 0.00
HANDIMART-WILLOWCREEK , ' ' 5 0 ~ 0.00
HARTIG DRUG- MORMONTREK 4- ~ O.00
HAWKEYE CON ST - Commerce ; 8 0 m 0.00
HAWKEYE CON ST-K RKWOOD 2 ; 5 0 ~ 0.00
.......... o oo
HY-VEE- S 1ST AVE ; I 1 ~ 0 00
HY-VEE- WATERFRONT ' ' '; 6 : ~ 0.00
JOHN'S GROCERY NC ' 3 : ~ 0.00
KUM&GO-GILBERT/BURL 2 49 ; ; 0 i 0.00
KUM & GO- MORMON TREK 18 ~ 0.00
KUM&GO-S RVERSIDE I 15 ~ 0.00
KUM&GO-W BURLINGTON ST 2 ; 24 ;,, 0 ~ 000
L&M M GHTY SHOP NC 2 ; 22 0 ~ 0.00
L QOUR HOUSE 1 : ;,; 9 ',' 0 ~ 0.00
LINN STREET CAFE : ,, 0 ~ 0.00
MN MART ,,,, 0 ~ 000
NEWPONEERCOOP ' ";' ~ ·
.... 0 00
NORTH DODGE EXPRESS " 5 i '~ 0.00
ON THE GO CONV. STORE INC. 1 0 ~ 0.00
Column A is the number of times a license holder is visited specifically checking for underage sales.
Column B is the number of people charged with possession under the legal age. Note this is not the total number
of charges.
Iowa City Police Department
Monthly Liquor License (OFF PREMISE SALES) Report
December 2003
YEAR 2002 Monthly Total Year to Date Totals I Arrest/Visit
Business Name i A I--~1 q AI IB I YTD
OSCO DRUG ! 0 ~ 0 00
; / 0 000
PANCHEROS , 0 ~ .
PETRO-N-PROV SONS 7 0 ~ 0.00
PIZZA PALACE i 0.00
RUSS' AMOCO SERVICE I 0.00
SUBURBAN AMOCO 2 14 0 ~ 0.00
SUBURBAN AMOCO-KEOKUK 17 0 ~-- 0.00
T&M MINI MART 6 0.00
TOBACCO OUTLET PLUS- S. RIV 1 0 ~ 0.00
WALGREENS ; u ~ 0.00
TOTAL 22 336 0 W 0.00
Column A is the number of times a license holder is visited specifically checking for underage sales.
Column B is the number of people charged with possession under the legal age. Note this is not the total number
of charges.
IP6
AGENDA
PATV BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, January 15, 2003
7:00 pm
PATV - 206 Lafayette Street
1. Call meeting to order
2. Consent agenda
3. Board Recruitment
4. Approval of December minutes
5. Old business
6. Short public announcements
7. New business
8. Reports
· ICTC
· Committees
i. Building & Grounds
ii. Outreach & Fundraising
iii. Search
iv. Refranchising
· Treasurer
· Management - Iowa Shares
9. Board announcements
10.Adjournment
If you have additional agenda items or cannot attend the meeting, please contact
Ren& at 338-7035.
ANNUAL NEEI-[NG OF PATV GENERAL NEMBERSH[P
PATV - 206 Lafayette St.
8:00 PM
1. Welcome:
Tom N. welcomed the general membership of the annual meeting and
introduced Brad L. who made an announcement on behalf of the Board
of Directors.
Brad L. presented that beginning next year the Board of Directors has
decided under the rules of the Constitution and Bylaws to begin an
annual membership fee for PATV membership. There was a question
and answer session where members of the Board and Director Rene P.
explained the general idea in this and the economic need. Details
were not yet possible to any depth as the program is still being
developed.
2. Nominees:
Nominees were to be presented for an election by the general
membership of a new member of the Board of Directors following the
reappointments which leaves one additional place open on the Board.
Greg T. nominated Attorney Theresa Seeberger. She presented her
background history and a few ideas for her involvement at PATV if
elected to the Board.
The Board recommended ]on Van Allen as decided prior to this general
membership meeting. ]on V. spoke giving his background history and
a few ideas for his involvement at PATV if elected to the Board.
Nike P. of the Board of Directors announced that the vote count
resulted in the election of Ion Van Allen as the new member of the
PATV Board of Directors from this vote by the general membership in
attendance of the annual meeting.
3. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:38 PN.
Notes by SN
PATV Board of Directors I~leeting
Thursday, 20 Nov 2003
6:00 PI~I
PATV - 206 Lafayette Street
1. Call meeting to order: I~leeting began at 6:04 PI~I
Present are Tom N., I~like P., Sing L., .lack F., Brad L., Carrie W.,
and present from the public is Greg Thompson.
2. Approval of October minutes: Approved.
3. Old Business:
Partial Director's Evaluation presented by Phil P. and accepted.
4. New Business:
* Presentation of 2004 Draft Budget
The dratt budget was submitted by Rene P. for 2004 projections.
The drat~ budget was discussed at length with Rene P. and was
approved by the Board.
~ Board appointments, reappointments and recommendations
Tom N. accepted Greg T. interest in working with the committee for the
selection for a new PATV Director should that committee become
formed.
Mike P moved and Brad L. seconded the motion to reappoint Sing L.
and Phil P.
Vote was unanimous.
Then Tom N. asked Theresa S. for an interview and there was
discussion amongst the Board members as to if she or Jon V. should be
put up as recommended by the Board.
The Board elected to place Jon Van Allen for our recommended
nominee whom had already attended a meeting in September
expressing interest and submitted the application which was reviewed
and approved last meeting.
The Board/Staff Retreat meeting will be Sunday, December 7th from 3
to 6 PI~I at the ~lill Restaurant.
5. AdJournment:
Brad L. moved to adjourn at 6:40 and 2nd by Carrie W. and the vote
was unanimous.
IP7
~~--~' Tfie]oanBuxton$chool~Thtldven's~M~nd
509 South Dubu~e 5eeet
lora ~i~ 1~ 52240
January 8, 2004 ~/~
City of IC Employees ~ ~
City of Iowa City Civic Center
410 E Was~ngton
Iowa Ci~ IA 52240
Dear Friends:
On behalf of the Joan Buxton School Children's Aid Fund we would like to thank you
for your generous donation of cash, ~ttens, hats and underwear. Your generosity will
help us meet the requests for warm clothing during the winter months still to come.
Thank you for thinhng of the School C~ldren's Aid F~d and the students who will
benefit in the Iowa City Co~ty School District.
Sincerely,
~ Services
An a~scr~cy of Johnso~ Cou~y Unit.¢_~ Way
TO REDUCE THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF HIGH RISK DRINKING
www. uiowa.edu/~stepping
Executive January 12, 2004 ~
Members
Iowa City-City Clerk
410 E Washington Street ~ --
Susie Beederman Iowa City, Iowa 52240 ~ ~.~
Shelly Campo Dear Sir or Madam,
Carolyn Cavitt
Co-coorc~nator On behalf of the Stepping Up Coalition and the University of Iowa, we are pleased to be
able to provide you with the recently published report on the A Matter of Degree (AMOD)
LaShelle Christensen Advocafy Initiative.
Carolyn Cavitt
Co Coor~nator ~ Matter of Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High-risk Drinking Among College Students began
Jim Clayton in t996 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program addresses
Co-Coordinator the issue of high-risk drinking and its negative consequences on individuals as well as
communities, by fostering collaboration between universities and the towns in xvhich they
Sam Cochran are located.
Carolyn C olvin
The Advocacy Initiative was a two-year effort by the MMOD national program office at the
Nate Green American Medical Association to provide intensive training and technical assistance in
Sarah Uansen corflrnurLity orgamZing, strategic planning and media advocacy to four select AMOD
coalitions. The Stepping Up Coalition was one of those selected.
Dale Helllng
WillJennings Coalition activities focused on changing elements of the campus and community
environment that contributed to high-ink drinking. The Advocay Initiative helped Stepping
plfilllp E. Jones Up's efforts to change aspects of the alcohol environment in Iowa City that play a role in
Mary Khowassah high-risk drinking by young adults.
Chai~erson
Emie Lehman The enclosed report chronicles the experiences of the Stepping Up campus/conununity
coalition with theAdvocafylnitiative. The case history of the Stepping Up Coalition -More
Steve Parrott Bar~ than Street/ightJ;. Stepping Up Changes Both Streetscape and Mindecape - begins on page 38 of
the complete report. We hope that you will take the opportunity to read this section about
Lane Plugge
our efforts to improve the quality of life on our campus and in our comanunity, and ~ve
GiRian Rosenberg invite you to join US as we continue our work to make the University of Ioxva and Ioxva City
David Skorton a healthier and safer place for everyone.
Bryan Stacy Sincerely,
Nan Trefz ~t ~ " '
Andrew Walters t j
Co-Coordinator C~-Coordinator
Enclosed: A Matter of Degree: Advocacy Initiative
zoo Stanley Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 55242 (3z9)353-2529
A Matter of Degree Advocacy Initiative:
Case Histories in Reducing High-Risk Drinking Among
College Students
Universities and community groups can work together to
change local public policies to reduce alcohol problems. This
book presents the case histories of how four campus-
community coalitions in Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska and
Vermont worked in 2000-02 through media advocacy,
strategic planning and community organizing to help
change policies and the community environments that
affect student high-risk drinking.
~ To view entire book (pdf file - 2.1 MB)
Or to view individual chapters:
I~ Table of Contents (pdf file - 65 KB) cb
I~ Acknowledgements and Preface (pdf file - 69 KB)
I~ Executive Summary (pdf file - 176 KB)
I~ A Matter of Degree: Setting the Stage for Change ~~-'-:
by RichardA. roa~, PhD(pdf file- 240 KB) --
I~ A Matter of Degree: The Advocacy initiative
Brief Overview of the Initiative's Purpose and Planning (pdf file - 190 KB)
) The Advocacy InitiaUve Model and Emerging Themes (pdf file - 202 KB)
CASE HISTORIES:
) Who Will Solve the Problem of High-Risk Drinking in Our Community?
All of Us
University of Delaware and the City of Newark (pdf file - 378 KB)
) More Bars Than Streetiights: Stepping Up Changes Both Streetscape
and Mindscape
University of Towa and Iowa City (pdf file - 376 KB)
NU Directions Advances on Solid Foundation and Solid Data
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the City of Lincoln {pdf file - 260 KB)
Improving the Quality of Life in Burlington
University of Vermont and the City of Burlington (pdf file - 353 KB)
Appendices A, B, and C:
Pointers for What Funding Agencies, Consultants, Grantees, Advocates and Universities Need to
Know About Conducting and Advocacy Tnitiative * individuals Interviewed for the Advocacy
initiative Case History Report · Resources for Campuses and Communities. (pdf file - 144 KB)
To obtain free hard copie.~ of the ca.~e historie~ call (312) 464-451~ or email: Tina Mo~lev~ama-a~n. oro
http://www.alcoholpolicysolutions.net/press_room_mk_case_histories.htm
FOUNDAT'~N.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
2 A MATTER OF DEGR[[
The A Matter of Degree (~OD) Advocacy Initiative was a two-year project designed by National Program
Office (NPO) staff members Lisa Erk, Richard Yoast and Sandm Hoover, with the assistance of a national
technical resource group. The Advocacy initiative's goal was to help the ten campus-community paflnerships
of AMOD more effectively test the environmental management model to prevent high-risk drinking among
college students. This model seeks to alter the physical, social and economic enviromnents that influence
student drinking decisions through policy and enforcement measures. Four of the ten grantees w~ere chosen
to receive sustained, on-site technical assistance and training to broaden coalition members' understanding
of the model and expand their capacity to achieve its objectives.
A key leaming of this project is that a specific set of profe~ional skills is vital to the success of a coalition's
effort to change community policies and normative beliefs that create and exacerbate the entrenched and
complex problem of college binge drinking. These skills include community organizing, media advocacy and
strategic planning, which are discussed in greater detail in this report. The American Medical,Msociation's
.....? (AMA) Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, the national prograna office of &MOD, contracted with Pan
.a-.. ~ American Set,aces (PAS) to provi& this technical assistance and training.
~- '.~'--~ fin important goal was to help each coalition develop and implement strategies to broaden public
L.L~r ~ t.~ awaren~ and un&rstanding, not only of the problems associated with high-risk drinking, but also of policy
~ ~ sohiUons based on an an s of those factors in the campns-commun environment that encourage
/...L. ~ 7~ c~ young people to drink to excess.
"~ C..) ~/~ The AMA also contracted with Fenton Communications to create a national media strategy, designed
~ specifically to provide national media coverage from which local media "hooks" could be developed to help
~ ~ drive policy change at the coramunity level. ~ major r~ational media campaigns garnered more than 1,000
combined print and broadcast stories and catapulted the AMA into the headlines as a national leader in the
effort to reduce high-risk and underage drinking. As paxt of these campaigns AMA chair J. Edward Hill, MD,
was featured on the "Good Morning America" show declaring college binge drinking as a "major public
health problem." Most importantly, this n~-'dia coverage helped pave the way for do.zeus of local media stories
in AMOD campus communities.
This case history report recounts the experiences of the following campus-community collaborations:
· University of Delaware and the city of Newark, Delaware
· Unive~si~,' of Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa
· University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the city of Lincoln, Nebraska
· University of Vermont and the city of Burlington, Yermont
This report is a journalistic account of the experiences of the four campus-community collaboratons.
The case histories a~e based solely on interdews with campus and community representatives at all four sites
conducted in fall 2001 and fall 2002 and interviews with AMA and PAS staff, as well as a review of written
repo~, meeting minutes, public documents and press accounts in national, local and campus media.
Appendix B lists the nantes all of those inten'iewed for the case history report. All throe inte~ewed agreed to
be audio taped and quoted. In addition, the report compilers provided all those inter/iewed the opportunity to
review and comment on the manuscript to ensure that it accumtely reflected their accounts.
Under a separate grant from The Robert wood Johnson Foundation, the Harvard School of Public Health
College Alcohol Study (CAS) is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the AMOD initiative. Additional
informaiion on that project is available at ww~hsph.harvard.edu/cas/.
ADVOCACY IN[TIA~flV£
The Robert WoodJohnson Foundation decided to ,, Citizen, including youth, empowerment through the
FOR CI'~I~i{~I~ address college binge drinking alter revie~ng a orlpnizing of coalitions or partnerships
Foundation-supported 1~)3 H~w,'ard University ~hool ,, Media md policy advocacy and public awaceness to
of Public Health College Alcohol Study of more thru highlight problems
17,000 students at 140 four-year callege~, The highb, · Policy adv~acy of research-b~sed solutions
publicized results of this study, responsible for placingconcerning alcohol price, se~ces and availability';
the issue of college binge drinking on the nation's accexs by youths; and advertising, promotion
radar screen, found that 44 percent of students surveyed and sponsorship
were binge drinkers (binge drinking is defined as the · Public activities augmented by targeted media
consumption of at least five drinks in a row for men or strategies that influence norms supportive of
four for women in a single sit~ng during the two weeks poliey changes and healthier behaviors
before the survey). Binge drinking is also referred to asThe Foundation's initiative, called A Matter of
high-risk drinking in this report. Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High-Risk
These binge drinkers were at substantially' increased Drinking Among College students (~lOD), started
risk for alcohol-related problems such as getting in 1996 as an $8.6 million, scven-year program.
behind in schoolwork, engaging in unplanned sexual The national program is funded by The Robert
activity or getting injulL:<L The survey also showed Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by' the
that hinge drinkers created pmblems for classmates American Medical Kssociation. Working with ten
who were not binge drinkers. Students at schools with university-community coalitions, together they are
higher binge-drinking rates were more likely than leading a nalional effort to reduce high-risk drinking
peers at schools with lower binge rates to experience among college studen'~s. AMOD is designed to foster
problems such as being pushed, hit or assaulted, collaboration between participating universities
experiencing an unwanted sexual advance, or having and their surrounding municipalities to address the
study or s cep ntermpled Newspaper reports also important public health issue of high-risk drinking and
indicated higher levels of alcohol-related problems in its adverse con.sequences for college students, and to
communities surrounding these colleges, impmve the quality of life for all community tesidenis.
The Foundation also found that a growing ~ of The program is being evaluat~l independently by the
mseareh demonstrated that the common use of alcohol Ifac~axd University ~hool of Public Health College
education as the n~n premntion strategy, was costly and Alcohol Study. Reports from this multi-method,
only produced insignificant outcomes. Other research, multi-year study evaluation, which track the ~IOD
however, indicated that changing the policy environment experience fmm its inception in 1996, are forthcoming.
st'a~red the gamiest potential for snecedully reducing AMOD awards were offered through an invitational
underage drlnking and related problems. That rescm'ch pmcess in which universities and their local municipal
is summarized in tho 2002 Nalional Institote on Alcohol representativ~ were asked to apply on several criteria:
3buse and Alcoholim~ panel reports on high-risk drinking o Participation in the national Hap,ad University
in college (vac~collegedrinkingprevention.gov) and the ~honl of Public Health College Alcohol Study of
2803 Institute of Medicine reportgeducing Underage randomly selected schools
Drinking:A Collectit. ega~sibil~. (wx, m. tom.edu/ · ttigh rotes of student binge drinking
report.asp?id= 15100). The sdentific literature pointed · willingness to publicly address their campus's
toward a number of combined key, featu~ integral to this alcohol-related pmblems and student
public berth appmach: drinking behaviors
· Explicit project support from the chief campus through a range of policies and actix~ties designed to
administrator and high-level community prevent and reduce hama.
rep~sentativcs (for exan}p]e, mayors and police chiefs) · Formation of broad based campus-community
· Demonstrated history, of campus activities designed to coalitions and coll~orations can create [ong-lesting
reduce alcohol problems environmental changes to support healthy lifestyle
· Active student participation in the proposed pmjeot choices and di<unrage exc~.~ive alcohol consumption.
Six grants were awarded in 1996 four in 1998. The By the end of year two (the first year that plans were
kMOD sites are the following: implemented), each campus reviewed and revised
· Florida State Unive~ity--The City of Tallahassee, ils alcohol policies and procedures and increased
Florida enforcement for greater consistency and eflbctiveness.
· Georgia Institute of Technolo~- The City of Atlanta, Canipus literature, recruitment and communications
Georgia
· Lehigh University The City of Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania
,, Louisiana State University--The City of Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
· University of Colorado~The City of Boulder. Colorado
· University of Delaware--The CiD' of Newark, Delaware
· University of lowa--lowa City, Iowa
,. UniversiW of Nebraska-Lincoln~The City of Lincoln
Nebraska
· University of Vem~ont--The City of Burlington,
· [Jniversity of Wisconsin~e City of Madison,
Wisconsin
MI AMOD grants are overseen by campm divisions of
student affairs and have e'&~' access to the university president
or munteq0ast Structurally, the parmemhips am organim:l
as shared campus-connn~mity commit, ecs or as bmod-
basal campus community coalitions. Participants ,typically
include high-le,'el city and university' officials and law
enforcement, campus fsoalb; neighborh[xxl associatioos,
stuart mid .school district leaders, local pr'emotion agencies,
local ~md campus healfl~ care professionals, and, frequently,
~epmsentatives of state goveruna~nt, liquor enforcement were changed to reflect an intentional theme: Students
authorities and local alcohol retailers. Staffing includes who want to learn mid enjoy all the canapus and
a project manager teamed with a high-level university community offered would be sou ght--b ut students
administrator, communications staff'and a project evaluatorlooking primarily for a party school need not apply. This
The ~IOD programs are governed by two message was repeated in s~t' education, letters to parents
and interactions with alumni and media.
underlying principles:
· Environmental factors such as alcohol advertising Most projects addressed campus issues first and thus
and marketing, institutional policies and practices, helped convince skeptical community' members that the
and local ordinan~ven ~x;ial aid cultural universities were ,~rious about change. Early actions
beliefs and hehavior,:~converge to encourage high- to share campus police, emergency room, health care
risk drinking, but those factors are subject to change and other data and procedm~ fostered the idea of
SETTING
S,E'rT~i~i TI~ S'li~-a~ r-o~ O~ · ¢o ntinued a tree campm<ommuni~, parlnership. Lehigh. prejects (via a listson; training events and an annual
Vermont and Iowa stildents and neighborhood groups mectiug): among the projects and national advocac5-
began to develop projects to get to know each other. ~oups; and with law enforcement (for example, ciD'
to communicate expectations and to jointly address and campus police, highway patrol and liquor-licensing
concerns. The Delaware project staff and Newark's au hot ies), which all gmntee.s recognized as playing a
mayor increased their shared planning ac v ties key role in project activities and success
Although the grants were awamled tn the university, nvers t es provide ready made nfras mctures
funds were commonly allocated to address community for discussion and prnblem solving and can serve as
needs and student needs for alcohol-free special events, bases from which to speak out and effect change. Each
,social activities and housing, campus has sophisticated communications, planning
Most of the campuses also tx,ok steps to aa~d political resources with easy access to the mass
· develop ne, v student-faculty interactions to support media and government officials. ~.,XIO D extended these
better student integration with aspects of the campus resources into the community. Campuses typically have
a gmat deal of control over their internal environments
and student life. ~IOD projects are thus able, to a
great emnt, to negotiate the terms and rotes of
change. The mom politically and socially complex
off-campus environments addressed bi,' the projects
have been primarily limited to the immediate
can~pus vicinity with additional major impact on
the entire communib:
The campus admh~istrations often moved cautiously
at first so :ts not to alienate their constituencies and. in
part, to establish a credible long-term commitment to
addressing alcohol-related problems. They were able
to integrate the projects into institutional strategic
planning. Their activism increased as the}' had success
in campus areas where they had the mnst contm[. They
saw that it worked.
community m~d culture not focused primarily Collaboration with Law Enforcement
~: on drinking; In the )MOD sites, campus and community police
· involve Greek chapter leadership to bring were encouraged to be active partnem and often
fraternities back to their original missiou of becmne leaders. Pmiect staff consulted with those
academic achies'ement, fellowship and commuuity in enforcenlent to asseks and alter campus policy.
__..J service; and Coordination of campus police and communitj
~' · use social marketing campaigns to counter police was quickly identified as necessary to effective
pro-bingeing social pressures and pm-consumption enforcement. Ci~~ and canapus participants supported
messages, the coordination by broadcasting new policies and
Establishment of Coalitions enforcement measures to all key audiences. The
All the projects devoted much of the first year to universities bmnght parents onto the enforcement
' ' building coalitions, developing action plans a~d team pare ~ts of en pay the bills, are legally
cementing working relationships among participants, responsible for children who are minors and, most
In almost eveq~ case, campus, local and stal~, pollO' importantly, care about their children's well-being.
change opportunities arose during this planning phase. Parent orgtmizations were invited to join policy
This prompted new connections an~ong all of the )MOD discussions. ~me campuses informed individnal
IOA UAITEn o~ O~C~t
parents of policy changes, campus expectations and a son the presence of large numbers of bars surrounding
or daughter's infraction. Other steps streamlined student campus and the availability and promotion of cheap
}udicial and disoiplinarf procekses and supported staff alcohol As the project progressed, staff members began
implementation of alcohol policies, to see change effected through polics' and enforcement
Through the ~'IOD collaborations, the community
and can~pm police forces began regular meetings to sham
informa~on about incidents and tiffractions, coo~nate
activities and explore ways to make their reporting
mechanisms more compatible. Several universities vere thus
able to hold students accoun~le for off-canlpus alcohol
infractio~x,~4mowing that the city police would sham the
information. Others explored whether camptt~city police
}urisdictienal divisions ~re effective or counterproductive.
~ ~ community enforcement of laws barring service and ~es of
--
r'-", -- =;: (-'3~ alcohol to minoel. This helped reduce student opposition to
[.j._; _~_~ enforcement l-ecmse tl'~y no longer felt ~ngled out or tre~ed
~ ~ - -~ ;-- unequally while ser,'ers of minors went unpunished. The
-- ~'- camptt~s aim began to bring lhoir concerns (such as about
~ CD~ bars se~ng minors or the negallve impact of liceusing large
,==, 0 numbers of alcohol-serving establishments dose to camptts)
~ to local alcohol control authorities. Local merchants who
support project goals have been helpful in providing insights
about how hr:,t to have their clerks and se~rs comply
slate and local lay.5. A major chmlge experienced in all the
communities and universities has been a new recognition
that alcohol-related problen~s, ~lutions and prevention
am shared mutualbc
A Renewed Understandin~t of the
University as a Social Chancje Agent
The AMOD policy partnerships set the stage for a renewed
consideration of the univenity as social change agent and
leader ~s one would expect, until recently most campuses
addressed alcohol pmble~m INough small group and peer
educ~on, aveareness campaigns and student counseling
serdces. The university was perceived as a reactor or
observer, limited to using peisuasion and not fimdarnentaily
connected to lhe sources of student alcohol problems. Most collabomtious of coucemed people and through the
campusos and surrounding cities treated alcohol problems universi~ creating oew exI~ctatious. For the first
separately as a campus-student problem or as a time campus adininistrators appeared before local
city problem, liquor-licensing authorities to express what they had
The/CLOD environmental model was ail eye-opener It learned about the impact of liconsing decisions on their
illustrated how the university was affected by and could students. Many community ~nembers welcomed their
influence external factors, such as parental expectations, new collaborations mad worked with studeats to reduce
continued COllflicts between students and older neighbors. An techniques and how the local media work in order to
often overlooked facet of university life also came get coverage of alcohol issues from their perspective
to the fore~aniversity staff live in the co~nraunity, rather than the adversarial persl~Ctive that often
raise childien mid have the same concents ever)'one marks public discourse in surroundiug conramnities.
else has. Similarly, university admil~tstrators have Second, universities need to have community
also recognized that they can play a raore active roleorganizing skills, rauch iii the sarae way that
in shaping the public health euvironment on mid off student personnel ueed to have student personnel
their campuses, skills to deal with students. They lieed to understand
The ~IOD model erophasizes the university as a that eon~nunities are systems with dynanlics
dynamic coramunity force--one that can positively different from their campuses. This requires greater
or negatively affect the health of its students, its staff knowledge of state and local public policy formation
and the wider conmranity. Change is found to co ne and advocacy.. Both sides need to gain a be~r
not just through discussion and persuasion but from understanding of how to collaborate in order to avoid
active, purposeful changes iii environmellts. But the finger-pointing that so often ,',,rises when it comes
fime spent listeoing to the conununity and engaging to pmbleras of student drinking.
in dialogue with concemed msideuts has been a Universities have a tremendously po~fful
neeessar./preeumor to identifijing probleras mid plaffoml to challenge the status quo and call for
setting explicit shared goals and strategies to reducereforms. The AMOD project has seen what can occur
or prevent problems. If uliiversities are to successfully when universities actively paaicipale in changing the
engage with the comanunity in addressing these envirolwnenis surrounding student drinking, beth on
problems, they need to reorganize how they think and off campus. The lesson we have leanled ttunugh
about what tl~? do and the skills that they need to the ~MOD experience is that we can v<oneeive the
bring to these collaboratious. They have to raove role of the university in society and be an effective
from siraply observing comraunity life to being activepartner for social ohange. In fact. universities mid
para,ers and leaders. For universities this is as muchcommunities rautually benefit frora such a role.
a trm/sformafion process as it is an attainment of a
specific goal. The AMOD expetienee has transformed RichardA. Yoast, PhD. is the director of the Offic~
the nniversity from being an outside observer to an of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse at theAmertcan
active political force in its coramunity. MedicalAss~ciation and director oftheAMOD
The experience has also required that in National Program Office.
non~ademic activities the university needs to be
willing 'to openly discuss and engage noncampu$
actors in problem anal,woes and so ut o ~s Although
campus and city achninistrators still have distinct
areas of concern and responsibility, they have agreed
to regularly mid actively work together to solve
bi bott f
pro ellis ill I realros. The colnllloll r',unework is
now that alcohol-related prableras are not soen as a
student or a city or a campus problera but a shared
problem and responsibiliW.
A clearly defined set of needod skills and
t~nderstandiogs has emerged from this process.
First, universities have had to learn media 'advocacy
MORE BARS THAN STREETLIGHTS:
FILED
CIT CLERK
IOWA CI-F'f IOWA
Iowa
I
1996 Unimrstty ~ Iowa rece~A Mat~' oft)eojeeifive-yem- gram, engagingJulie Phye as tint prelect
di~ r. Ph~/~fl~ ~:from U~V~ity and Iowa City principals, invites others from campus and
Sixty-two bars and nightclubs mmmunitrto serve in thc Stepping Up ~on.
c{usterad in thc compact Iowa
Citydowntown sitwithin one 1997~ Unlvuisiiy:tnlrudoces a~don-eanrpUsjuifiativesluptun~alcohot-froe leisure4ime options
mile of the University of Iowa and reduce availability and cOnSumption ofalcohbt.
Memorial Union. This abundance
of drinking establishments does
more than allow for a choice
of where to drink on Saturday
night. It contributes to a drinking
culture and changes the character
of dova~town. The Stepping lip
Coalition unites community'
and campus leadership to alter
both the physical and cultural
environment through alcohol-free
leisure activities and enhanced ,,lying the city
enforcement of alcohol sales
and mn'ice practice.s; through
the enlistment of parents, local
businesses, student organizations 200Z ~ice~ UP enforcement~underage ~and z'r&e lav~ in the downtown aroa. combining
and police; through strategic use ~c~mom ~th conSilltation to cavn~ !regan:lifig,imptoved praCtio~.
of the media; and through help l~Alcotiolic Ik, verages t)ivision issues whitepaper on college and univelsity alcohol issues.
from the state alcoholic beverage ~..Initiative concludes inAugust:
control authorities.
40A MATTER OF DEGREE
~ i The [!niversity of Iowa grew up around the historic, attitudes that it's not the bar's restxax~ibility to monitor what
PROBLEM? 162-year-uld Iowa State Capitol building, anchoring happens to alcohol that has been sold to legal drinkers.
the southeastern edge of campus fight whepe it adioins ksonethird-yearstudenttoldIbeDaiiylowan (June
downtown Iowa City. When the capital of lowa pelocated 21.2000), "It's a problem, lt's extpemely easy to get
to ~ Moines in 1857. the old Capitol building became alcohol. Bartenders and people who check IDs arm't
the first permanent stmctupe for the new university, that strict."
The campm and the downtown have ccexisted Replicating national studies, Iowa faculty member
since then. Mope recently, however, economic forces Peter Nathan and students in his psychology classes
common in many U.S. cities have led to retailer flight tohave conducted suneys of student drinking and its
subtuban malls and an in-filling by businesses able to consequences, tis reported nationally by the Associated
operate on a lower margin. Pressin 2000, Nathan found that three out of five
In t{owntown Iowa ~ty, many of those businesses Iowa students who consumed high levels of alcohol
have been bars. In Iowa the minimum legal drinking (five or more Oinks for men and four or mope drinks
age ~s 2 . However: it s up to cdies to my whether 18.. for women) in a single ocoa.sion sa~d that the episode
19- and 20-yearmlds can enter the ppemises. Iowa led them to engage in behaviors they subsequently
City permiis patnms betma~n t8 and 21 to frequent regpelled, such as having unplanned sexual elations
its licensed premises. Even though they can enter [he or fighting.
bars. the law expecB those under 21 to abstain from Students aren't the only victims of excessive drinking.
tt~ consuming alcoholic beverages. The entire community, is affected. The local daily, the
--
~ ../-- Iowa City barn not only permit under-21 .year-old PrussiC/t/zen. said in a September 23, 2002. editorial
~ ::t: ?~ patronage, they market for it. Ads from downtown barn evidence mounts for the 21 law: "Our multi-million
~ '~: ~.. and restaurants that may also s~,ve alcohol appear dollar pedestrian malt is routinely disfigured with vomit.
~ o-~ ~.~ :-- with fpequen~ in the UniYerSity of Iowa's student urine and waste by people who choose to drink to the
~_. ~ ~ ~ he.paper, 7/~e Dal~y/ott~'n.iouting low ptita~ and point thai ffey disrespect other people's proper ty
-m other attractions, public and private."
~, ~{~ '*II~epe are mom bars on East College S~t in*Iowa The police have long recognized the problems
e,~ Cty than atpeethghts, Stepping [/p newsletlar reporter cpealed by large crowd.s of young adults concentrated
Amy Riekena wrote in 2002. late at night and early in the morning with plenty of
New ban coming into the dmmtown area mean mope alcohol on hand. Michael Brotherton. the Iowa City
outlets competing for Custornem The ~ult is price Police Department's public information officer and a
discounting. Lynn Walding, administrator of the stale 2q-year veteran, said: "Most people in town probably
Alcoholic llevemges Division (ABD), said: "what was don't realize what goes on downtovm after midnignL
happening in lo',va City was a lot of new bars. When The~e is quite a bit of fighting and public mayhem. If
they open and try to attract clientele, they market cheapwe were not down there to control things, it would
alcohol to students. Once they build a base. th~,can prew wild and crazy."
go from there. But established licensees were having to "The clear cold reality is that Iowa City downtown
match those kmer prices in order to compete, ~tttug is in trouble because ifs nothing but one bar after
off a market war with consequences adverse to the another after another Busines,s~s are closing. The only
public interest." ones thriving downtown are the bars. Downtown has
Mvecdsing for drink specials dnem't discriminate un the been declining anBvay because we have this huge
baslsof at~ Students over and under 2t yearsof age pearl mall outside of the adjacent city of Comlville. which
71.,e Dar/3/ou~z and ape exposed to such ads. If pelice has attracled a lot of bmines.C' Iowa's Student Health
eperts are any. indication, un&r-2 l~year-olds managed to~Mces director Mary Khowassah said.
obtain and consume alcohol In many. downtown prerma~.
whether due to crov0ded conditions, dim lighldng or owner
CASE HISTOR ES
20,500 undergraduates and 6,000 on-campus
residents--to do?
Nor are downtown bars the only sources of alcohol
for the University of Iowa student bod'~: Students
can find plenty to drink at parties hosted by social
fraternities, at ~lgate parties on football game
day~ and at private parties on and off campus. Iowa
students rank high in national studies of alcohol
consumption and adverse consequences.
Leaders ~*rere concerned. ~ when The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation (RWJF) invitation came in. it
was well received. Iowa City's maFor, in 1995, agreed
to enter into a coalition with the University of towa
to examine ways of addressing problems associated
with drinking. That year also marked the university's
appointment of Mary Sue Coleman as president.
Ph p Jones, vice president for student se~ces~ who
was instrumental in securing the RWJF grant, said:
"We were very concerned about the problems we
were seeing in our student justice sy,'stem related
to alcohol prior to the surveys [by the Harvard
University ~hool of Public Health and Iowa's
oYm Student Health ~r~ces]. The surveys, of
coume, gave us hard data. We were clearly
aware of the number of bars we have within
a mile of our residence halls. It all came
to a confluence because about the time we
got word for applying for the grant ~ve had a death
on campus. A student in a fraternity situation died of
asphyxiation resulting from alcohol. He passed out
"We know what it used to be like and and vomited in his sleep and died."
what it could be like again. It doesn't have to be bar,Se'ttin~l the Stacoe for
bar, bar," said Sarah Hansen, also with the campus Community Change
health services. Stepping Up proceeded, from 1997, to develop
Any talk of changing the law runs into criticism, campus-community relationships and pursue a
Students say there's nothing el~ to do and near- comprehensive mission consisting of multiple
campus bars provide convenient venues for objectives and strategies.
,socialization, music and dancing and are safer settings Secondary effects became the priucipal argument
than private parties without any supervision that are advanced for changing the environment. Stepping
located farther away from campus. Up used su~ey data from Harvard University and
Civil libertarians say that the government already Iowa faculty to emphasize high-risk drinking
overregulates too much of people's lives. What's a consequences for others, even nondrinkers. The
city~,O00 in Iowa City and another 40,000 in coalition used media to build support for an Iowa City
the adjacent Johnson County suburbs--with a large noise and nuisance ordinance.
university population of nearly 30,000 students~
Hansen outlined the challenge in adjacent · Potential policies that received support from a
residential neighborhood.s: "People in this community minority of the respondents were registration of
were not making the connection that why every Sunday beer kegs, police "sting" operations, creating
morning they' had to pick up trash off their lawn or why alcohol-free areas near the university's football
Saturday nights were never restful was not just because stadium, lowering the blood alcohol standard for
they lived by students per se, but because those studentsdrank driving, and prohibiting underage patrons
were using alcohol in a high-risk manne~" from remaining after 10 p.m. in establishments
i'~leanwhile the university; for its part, adopted serving alcohol.
measures to make the campus environment less · There was little public support for policies aimed at
tolerant of problematic drinking, as detailed at the restricting alcohol-related advertising or price breaks
· tepp ng Lp Webs te (wx,~v.u owa.edu/-steppmg/): such as all-you-can-drink specials, happy hours and
· Funding of late-night social e~nts. The Pre. s~- two-fur-one specials.
Citizen cited the university for enhancing student Steve Parmtt, the university director of community
leisure-time options on campus in an April 20, 2002, relations, described how these sarvey results prompted
editorial calling for action from the city muncil on the group to.seek media attention to help educate
the 2l-and-over law. "There are and will be things the public and policy-makers on secondary, effects
for throe students to do besides drink, but they won't "Alcohol use by college students was recognized by a
do them so ong as alcohol is so readily available." lot of people as a problem in Iowa City. However, there
· Mini-grants to student groups to assist them in was no majority of support for actually taking action.
paxlucing their own alcohol-free social events. It was the classic case of 'alcohol use is a matter of
· Stepped-up enforcement of the poliey against personal responsibili¢' We tried a number of different
underage drinking for students, especially thin.speaking to civic groups, writing editorials,
during orientation, pushing these ordinances---that got the whole issue
· Outreach to parents. Stepping lJp is now a regular into the ne~. I think we were successful in showing
feature of orientation and finds that parents (many people that it truly is a problem that affects not only
of whom accompany their first-year students) are those who drink but those who don't. We also said that
quite interested in potential restrictions at Iowa people who drink too much shouldn't be given free rein
Cit~ bars to limit patronage to those 21 years of age to do whatever they want to the rest of us."
and older t]ndeterred by prevailing community perceptions
Corn m unity Attitudes About and buoyed by on-campus policy and enforcemen
Alcohol Poi icy successes, Stepping tip also focused its early efforts
Early on, Stepping Up Coalition members determined on supporting an anti-nuisance ordinance favored by
to get a sense of how the community perceived both neighborhood groups. This victory became the impetus
the extent of alcohol-related problems and the tTpos for further efforis.
of environmental measures to which they were Stepping Up representatives spoke in favor of a
committed. The results were mixed, according to city council ordinance to allow police to inte~ene in
the summary released in 1999, and underseored the loud parties without having to identi~' the neigh~r
uphill battle facing Stepping Lip in pursuit of its policy who called in the complaint. Before the ordinance,
objectives. Among the findings were the following: neighbors, fearful of retaliation, were of~n reluctant
· Relatively few respondents attributed student to contact the police about large and bothem~me
drinking to the leniency of bar owners toward gatherings often featuring copious amounts of alcohol.
underage drinking, the number of bars or Each fall, Stepping Up also conducts a door hanger
comentence stores selling alcohol, or low-priced campaign. Stepping Up staff and volunteers place
promotions of alcoholic beverages by bars. complimentary information packets
CAS~ ~ls*o~s 43
u~a~'~a~-an~Sw~o~ · continued about alcohol laws on doorknobs in areas where longer," Clayton said, as the university communicated
-'*.. ~ students live. clear expectations that such conduct would not
'"" ~ c~ be tolerated.
L.~ ~- Environmental Assessment at the
EL "~ Lz.~ Beginning of the Advocacy Initiative Howeveh the coalition of campus and community
~.! o-> CD ~-- Fall 2000 representatives was still limited at the time. The project
~ '~- ~ ~ When Pan American Services (PAS) began providing had a 16-member executive committee made up of
-- <r technical assistance to the University of Iowa in city and university officials, students, law enforcement
.~r .~. and business owners, which acted in an advisory
~~ 0 November 2000, the Stepping Lip pmjeet was already
~ involved in policy-based environmental prevention, capacity to the project. Four task forces--accessibility,
The project had published a stoq' about its wo~k and enforcement, outreach, and social activities--also
underage drinking in Iowa City in the April edition advised the project on policies and activities. But little
of Parent/~mes, a UI publication, which mentioned effort had been made to expand the coalition inn the
that minors were allowed in bars in Iowa City. When community, and executive committee members acted
concerned parents began calling the StepPing Up as spokespeople for the pmject.
office, they were encouraged to express their concerns Applied Data
to city council members and through letters to file Iu addition to the 1999 communit7 survey,; the
editor in the local papers, coalition also used data collection to support policy
Parents proved ~ be strong advocates, once efforts. The police depaament widely publicized the
mobilized. Downtown business owner and, since 2002, number of citations for tmderage possession of alcohol,
co-program coordinator Jim Clayton described the particularly in bars, which supported the notion that
results of parents taking note of the easy bar access, the city needed to do something about underage
"~ h '
e ad a ve~ stmng campaign on the part of parents drinking. This information contributed to the debate
writing to the city council saying, what ase you idiots about whether minom should be pemtitted in bars and
doing down there? 1 send my kid to school. I send led to pmposed measures to restrict drink specials and
thousands of dollars along with him and you let him penalize barn for serving underage patrons.
go in the bar. But he is only 19 years old so don't let Progress Dorin~ the Advocacy Initiative
hmn. It's the la~ he can't drink tmtil he is 21. He The policy objectives vcere now well defined and the
doesn't have a fake ID, he just gees up to the door, issues were vigorously debated in the community. PAS
pays his money and goes inside and his friend buys also helped the project identify, potential coalition and
him a drink. You can't do that to me.' The city counc conununity members who would take an active role
listened to that."
in nev/smaking.
City administrators and city, council members Sepping Up's project director at the time, Julie Phye,
considered measures that,~uld address these described the results of PAS's technical assistance.
problems, such as banning minors from haps, banning "They were great in helping us write opinion pieces for
drink price specials and penalizing bars for serving the newspapers and helping us define what we want to
underage people. But because there was neither focus on toward reaching our policy goals. They helped
the political will nor perceived public support for us do background work on zoning as well as alcohol
prohibiting minors in bars, the Iowa City Council and crime and the iuterplay between the two."
decided to consider an ordinance that would ban Fmm November 2000 through May 2001 PAS staff
drink price specials and impose civil penalties on bars helped identify media advocacy opportunities for
because there were no effective penalties on ba~ for frmtuug the issues of underage and binge drinking
selling to underage or intoxicated drinkers. The projectand tile need for policy solutions and worked with
adopted these measures as its policy goals, the project director to place related media advocacy
Up until then, for some students, "paCt of pieces. The project developed a plan of actiun that
orientation was going out and getting drunk. No included all op~d and letter to the editor focusing on
[~_ i ~ l.~.i downtown economics (written by PAS staff). The plan To prepare for the forum and cilv council hearing,
~ i c.'> ,._~3 ~ also included generating other letters to the editor, staff developed a plan of action that included
EL_ ~ ;:- ''--~ ~tify. ing at the state ABD hearing, holding a news eds, letters to the editor, press advisories, message
~ I--- .~. event on the public heaIth costs of underage and binge development for framingthe underage and high-risk
-~ c.D ..- drinking, creating a radio call-in show, and pitching drinking ~sue, a radio call-in show. and strategic
~ -- a TV nows story on activity downtown at midnight on planning assistance for thee efforts, kssisted by P&q
a weekend, staff, pmiect staff and volunteers from the university
During this period progress on the proposed polices and community, testified at both the hearings and
moved lanyard. The Iowa City attorney provided a forum, along with representatives from Iowa State
draft ordinance to the city council that was reviewed atUniversity and the University of Northem Iowa.
a work session in January 2001. Although there was no The testimony focused on the number of s~tes with
public testimony at the meeting, it did generate some laws regulating drh~k specials, the kinds and numbers
We h ~ d a ye ry news coverage that focused primarily on tl~ content of of drink specials offered in college towns, the outlet
the ordinance, which would prohibit &nsity in Iowa City,, and the need for a state law to
~trong ca,"nl3a~r~ on · selling two or moredrinksforthepriceofone, restrictbarentrytothct, eover age 21. Opposition
· selling unlimited servings for a fixed price, testimony came from two local bar owners and a
'cEe p a ct o~c pa r e uts · pouting alcohol directly into a person's mouth, representative from the Miller Brewing Company.
· increasing the quantity nf alcohol in a serving The forum was widely covered by local media. At
v~ r }tin g to th e city without proportionately increasing the price, that meeting, University of Iowa President Mary Sue
· holding any contests in which alcoho s a prize, Coleman aim testified that she supported requiring
eau ncii saying, wha~ and people who enter bars to be age 21 or above, as did one
are you idio~s Odin9 · selling more than oneserving--inchding barowner Thelocal IowaCitynowspaper also weighed
pitehen--q)f alcohol to one penon at one time in with an editorial supporting a local cit3.' ordinance
down there i send unless an employee verifies that the poople drinking asthepmfermdoption.
are of legal age. The City Council Acts
my kid to 5c.qooi. I Theordinanee also, for the first tirne, authorized lnearlyAprilthedtycouncilconducted the first
the city to enforce the state law that penalized bars for reading on the proposed ordinance. The council
send thousands of selling to underage and intoxicated patrons, amended the ordinance during a previous work
In early Febmar~ 2001 the city counc scheduled session to allow the purchase of two drinks rather
~oi!ars aionc4 with the firstpublichearingonthepmposedordinanee, than one drink at anyonetime by any one porson. In
and a.second hearing was scheduled for later that the final vote the city council approved it on the first
him and vou let h~m month. Representatives fmmthe universig,.and readingby avote ofsevento zero The secund reading
c3o ~*q 'rD~ r>a~. communitypmvidedtestimony. Stepping Up pmject on the ordinance was scheduled for mid-April.
staff members were quoted in articles about the Responding to concerns raised after the first heating
hearing in the local press, about the impact of drink specials on drinkers of legal
ks a result of thee discussions in Iowa City, the age, the ci~ council removed from the ordinance
lowa AIIB began debating the need for a state law to happy hours and reduced drink prices as mgutated
limit drink specials so that there would be uniformity, price specials. The city attorney also recommended
in the state. In mid-February, the ABD conducted a that the city council take no further action on the
public forum in Iowa City to hear comments on the ordinance until it was in its final form.
scope of underage alcohol consumption and public ks a result, the city council voted four to three to
intoxication on college campuses and on the merits of postpone further action on the ordinance until new
local ordinances versus the need for a state statute to language could be drafted. At the same time, two city
regulate drink price specials, councilors said that they would no longer support the
CASE HISTORIES
IOl~&~ ed ordinance becan~ they believed that an ordinance through May the political climate in Iowa Cit%seemed
.... C3 banning minors from bars was needed. The ordinance to be changing in favor of a measure to restrict
· '~ '--- ---.~.. was rewritten, and on ~,lav i, the ciW councilminors from entering bars. ~lthough bars had been
-~- -~ considered the revised ordinance at a second hearing, cited for violations of the drink specials ordinance,
~ CD
~ -- The third reading of the ordinance was held June questions were being raised about the effectiveness of
12 and it was approved by a vote of four to three. The the ordinance in reducing underage and high-risk
drink special ordinance without a ban on minors drinking, Moreover, several minors were injured in a
entering bars took effect August 1, 2001. downtown bar fire related to an alcohol stunt.
Another Local Opportunity Suddenly Stepping Up was becoming more vocal in its
Arises~Saving Pearson's support of a policy to raise the age for admittance to
A large corporation, the Hy-Vee grocery chain,bars to 21 and made outreach efforts to neighborhood
announced plans to turn Pea~on's Drag Store, which associations to garner their support. The project was
is located just off campus, into a Regal IJquor store, also interesiM in supporting city efforts to limit the
Stepping Up formed an alliance with the Northside number of bm downtown through zoning. During
Neighborhood Association to protest the plan, and spring and summer 2002 the project engaged in
President Coleman issued a personal plea asking discussions with neighborhood associations about
Hy-Vee to abandon its plans. Protest letters to Hy-Vee their concerns related to high-risk drinking and how
officials caused the corporation to rethink its options, they could collaborate with Stepping 1¥ to resolve
Hy-Vee spokespenon Ruth Ivlitehell told The Daily these problems. There was also discussion about how
lowan (August 27, 2001), "After receiving 70 letters local data could be used to support limiting outlet
and e-mails, in particular the one from Mary Sue densig`' downtown and restricting minors in bars.
Coleman, ~ decided to take a step back and revisit the ~me opinion pieces supporting these two policies
whole situation." A local bnsinessperson subsequently were developed for local newspapers.
took over Pearson's, preserving its deli and fountain This use of media advooacy and data to
service, and the coalition notched a victory, support pmposed policies and collaboration with
New Policy Concerns neighborhood residents signaled a change in focus
by Stepping Lip. The new focus would help the project
with the success of the drink specials ordinance and advance these policies and increase public support
saving Pearson's, in mid-2OOI the project shifted its
focus to eliminating neighborhood problems related for use of environmental prevention strategies in
to high-risk drinking and restricting the growth Iowa Cig,:
of 'alcohol outlets downtown. The project director Project Assessment at the End of the
developedabm:~,derstrategtecommunication Advocacy Initiative August 2002
plan that included objectives to reduce .access to Increased communiq' awareness leads to communib'
alcohol by minors and related secondhand effects, to mobilization. One of fl~e key successes resulting from
increase social activities for students, mad to increase file technical assistmtce provided through file a&ocacy
knowledge 'about the proiect and support for its work. prolect was the groundwork laid in the con. unity by
The executive committee adop~d flits plan. At this Stepping I/~p about the problems of high-risk drilffdng
point it was agreed that technical assistance would and potential solutions. Because of this work groups
be used to help develop a timeline, specific strategies like the Northside Neighborhood Association were ~le
and media'advocacy, opportunities and to identify to mobilize around the Hy-Vee liquor store proposal
responsible persons to carry out the plan. and elevate it in the ~es of both the public and policy-
In Febnsary 2002 project director Julie Phye moved makers to make positive changes in their community.
to a different position within the university. The "We've seen a general raising of community
coalition executive committee chair, Carolyn Cavitt, awareness about the problem of binge drinking and
assumed the mle of interim director From February high-risk drinking. More and more people are aware
of it through all levels of the community. 1 belong
to two or three organizations. Some of them are
recreational, Some of them are social service
obligations. People want to talk about it.
That wasn't the case e,,en a year ago," said
Jim Clayton.
stepping Up has gained media savvy
with help from Steve Parmtt, director of
University Relatiom, and PAS'sDennis
Alexander, supported by. his backup staff
in Bo~xman, Montana.
When the American Medical
Association released its parent survey
results at the beginning of the
fall 2001 school term, Stepping
Up was ready It simultaneously
issued a media release designed
to capitalize on the national
media coverage and to place
the Stepping Up pmiect
in the broader context of
a problem affecting
other universities. The 2 million U of
releme, tiffed "National ~mgram to reduce
Poll Supports Local has had
Effo~s to Reduce no significant affect on
Harms From Excessive Drinking," habits,"
began as follows:
"IOWA CITY, Iowa--National poll results released t letter
today by the A Matter of Degree (AMOD) program to the editor to set the record straight. Although not
of the American Medical Association (AMA) support published, the Stepping Up response pointed out the
actions taken by the Stepping Up project, a community multiple ways in which the campus and city, were
and campus coalition to reduce the harmful effects of altering the envirounaent to offer leisure options
excessive drinking in Iowa (;iD' and on the University, for stu&nts and reduce underage service by Iowa
of Iowa campus." Ciff bars.
Carolyn Cavitt said: "When I became interim Media attention, prompted by a steady flow of letters
director, Dennis Alexander was an invaluable resource from parents, op-ed contributions from Stepping
to me. We talked f~quently. He did a lot of background Up Coalition members and media releases from the
research for me. When we had a bar fire we were on campus, has altemcl the eommunity's mindscape
the phone the next day figuring out strategies. He about the problems associated with high-risk drinking.
helped the coalition write opinion pieces and letters to Media coverage has led not just to small triumphs,
the editor" such as the preservatiou of Pearson's fountain in
When the Des Moines Register carried a major lieu of a liquor store, but also to readiness for larger
article ("Binge Drinking Alive and Well at U of 1," achievements, such as the growing interest by the Iowa
November 23, 2002) on Iowa's efforts, saying, "The
CASE HISTORIES 47
IJ~IVI~MffY O~ IO~gt · continued Cid' Council to transform dowmown's environment Policy changes can take time,
into a more attractive landscape, perhaps with fewer and economic interests can
u-~ bars than streetlights, create resistance.
-.:r.. ¢ Parent power can help Stepping L'p has nut lost sight of the proposed 2 l-
---~ "/ move a policy agenda, year-old minimum en~ requirement for bars. Its
~ -~z ~ C) membe~ see a shift on the city council, favorable
LJ_] ~ c.~_1 -- Stepping Up quicldy recognized parents as allies in
-__,~ c~ ,_~;-~! ~'~- supporting policy change., in part because of President media coverage, and the results of heightened police
~-- ~ ~-~ Coleman's communication with them which was enforcement as encouraging, lb of the councilors
'< ~-- ~r. backed up further by what parents leamed during who rated against the 2001 compromise drink
--~ Q) ~ orientations. The coalition produced the winter specials ordinance as not strong enough were handily
~:~ CD m-elceted that vear. The city counc I has asked for
c-.., ~ 1999-2000 Parent 7~mes quarterly newsletter .
with an overview of the downtovm bar scene and a report in 2003 on the need for POSSible additional
secondary drinking effects and advice for parents, city regulation of bars Stepp ng Up's board approved
The university's Website continue~ to provide alcohol- another community survey during its September
related tips for parents, meeting, with findings to be availab e n 2003
The university now communicates about alcohol Stepping Up has met with suspicion and outright
concerns with parents of incoming students during hostility from local bar owners, although the lack of
the summer bebveen high school graduation and a cohesive trade group has dampened some of the
first-year fall semester A Stepping Lip leader bluntly opposition. One bar owner publicly threatened to take
desofibed that fi~t letter in summer 2000: "Mary Sue any proposed 2l-year-old admission ordinance to a
Coleman wrote a letter to the incoming students and public vote via referendum and to lead recalls against
their parents in June or July alter they've graduated consenting council members. Privately, however, man2,'
from high school. The message was if you are owners express support for restricting drink specials
planning to come here and drink, don't bother. That's and reducing downtown bar density since the current
not what we ave about." proliferation huns their profits.
In fall 2002 the university started sending out "Some bar owners wouldn't mind seeing that
letters to notify' parents of students who violated kind of ordinance passed because it would level the
alcohol rules. "The reason we chose to use that playing field for them. They've said many t roes
method of communication is that we are beginning that if it is voluntary it will never work because
to get complaints from parents about the safety, of the there will always be somebody who is willing to
youngsters in bars. We want to let them know that let in the underage people to make the money,"
the university does not have the ability to enforce said Parrott.
laws in those situations, and they need to talk to their"Most bar owners actually favor certain bar
youngsters ahead of time," ¥ice President Jones said. restricttons like outlawing all-you<an-drink
Local media coverage of the new policy was specials. But given the free market economy we
favorable. "Parents of more than 100 University of have, if a competitor does it, they have to do it. So
Iowa students had received letters stating their child they were all asking us tbr a level playing field. Just
had been cited for underage drinking on can~pus. Let's as long as everyone plays by the same set of rules
see, classes started about a month ago. The university they didn't have a problem ' said Walding.
better start saving up for more postage" (Pres's- Will downtown broaden its appeal and provide
C//;~en, opinion, September 23, 2002). for a wider variety of social and recreation venues
for all ages? Twenty-year downtown bus ness
proprietor and Slepping Up Coalition member
Jim Clayton sees a gradual effort to reduce outlet
density, building upon city and owners' interest in
~.~, ,,<c ~_~ downtown renewal by imposing minimal distances "The)'were finding that roughly 50 percent of
~ ov .~-,~ between bars and the libra~.,, churches and sehoo s retailers were selling [to underage youths] ," said the
:rz ~:~ '- ~ can t I m t the number of hcenses, bu we can same official.
"> r.(...) ~ limit the use of the land and say that we are going to ABD administrator Walding is now seeking
~ ->- allow 1 l [bars] per acre, and if you close your businexs additional external funds to make statewide
c~ -- it is reduced to ten per acre, nine per acre, whatever enforcement possible. "I am a big believer that
If you sell your business to somebody else. nothing enforcement equates to compliance," he said.
happens. The buyer gets to operate as ong as t's a Walding's division also provides administrative
continuous use. But if you abandon it for a year and support to the state s ABC As Stepping I p became
the license is lifted, we reduce the number by one more visible and began regular communication
until we get down to our goal of a limited number of with waldin g, the commission became interested
alcohol licenses," Clayton forecasts, in university communities across the state. The
Mos~. io,~ r When the downtov,,n Englert Theatre had been commission convened a series of public hearings, took
proposed for conversion into another downtown bar testimony and released a report with recommendations
owt~er5 actL~all¥ before the council, with the urging of Stepping Up, in early 2002. A number of these recommendations
an arts group stopped in. Dale Helling, assistant city incorporated the ideas generated by Stepping Up.
favor certain bar manager, recounted that the city supported restoration One of the six recommendations is that some of
of the theater for live musical and theatrical the state monies that already go to local governments
restr*ct~or~ s performances and had invested $18 million in ($12.9 million annually, or 20 percent of revenue
downtown libra%' expansion. The city is experiencing derived from ABD operations) and the profits the
iike otitlawmcj a growing market for downtown residential spaces state makes from alcohol sales should be used
and recently approved plans for a 14-stot7 hotel and toward enforcing alcohol laws. "We am generating
ai}-vou<an, dr*t~k convent on center Hellmg s~ud:' ' "If we can change the , a lot of money off this business. I think that it's not
sDecia is. identity from one of a place where students go to drink,good public policy to not divert some of that money
to one of where you can take your family, you can find toward regulating that business. The consequences of
entertainment, you can find good restaurants, that will ignoring regulation am too important," said walding.
bring people downtown." Meanwhile, in Iowa City the local police department
After a policy is passed, enforcement is is the only agency looking at bar compliance with
the next problem, underage dnnking laws. Stepping t p s pressure
Local enforcement of state alcohol regulations is multiple-year consideration of regulato~ ordinances
virtually the only enforcement now taking place, by the city council, significant media coverage and the
^ state official noted that recent fiscal challenges involvement of the parents of lc, wa sludents have led
precluded the IowaABD from enforcing anything other the police department to embrace this role.
than underage tobacco laws, for which special federal In April 2002 Iowa City police stepped up underage
funding exists, drinking enforcement, citing both minors in
"We used to do actual enforcement. But with the pussession and licensees who sell to underage decoys.
[state's] budget crisis, we got rid of our alcohol agents. Arrests for minors in possession went up by 70 percent
And so at this point in time we don't have it. But during the first half of 2002 compared with the
that's a function we may restore at some point, if the prior year "For the same six-month period, vehicle
economy ever tums." accidents involving underage youth who had
A one4ime federal grant did permit the state's been drinking has dropped 42.5 percent, from 120
l)eparm~ent of Public Safety, encompassing state to 69, records show," the Press-Citizen reported
policy, narcotics and gan~bling enforcement, and (}uly 22, 2002).
criminal investigations, to carry out compliance Bars am getting the message and fewer are selling
chec~ar checks and underage ar. cess~at alcohol to decoys, although there is a great disparity between
retailers for three months in 2002. c A S E H I S T O R I E S ~9
in the Press-Otizen: "The troth is that Iowa City bars
now am paying more attention to the age of their
. ' customers I:ecause police have begun enforcing
~ ~. a law that they could have been enforcing--ar
%~ enforcing more aggr~sively---several years ago."
The police dep~ment credits Stepping
Up tbr its support in the current enhanced
~ enforcement, according to Sergeant Kelsay:
"We get support for our efforts kom the mt
~ of the coalition and the individual people
that make up that coalition. It's been
Perhaps more important, what is
what is the status now? ;las that lack of
political will now turned around? Will
the council take steps recommended
· z by Stepping Up and the/'ress-
Ca/zen? State ^BD ',dministrator
'//tiding credits Stepping Up
· ~ ':' for changing the political
climate in Iowa City. "1 think
Stepping Up has done a
- ~ '. ' great jobofgettingthe
council to recognize that
&cs°':''*¢''' there is political support
,Oi,,i~, in that community
for enforcing it [the
~; t minimum drinking
J~ , age law] ."
x'~'4~'~x ? In May 2003 the
ci~ council voted to require
a minimum age of 19 to enter the bars to
see if such a restriction would work or whether further
es~blishments, measures would be necessary.
Sergeant Troy Kelsay, Did the Advocacy initiative Make
the officer in charge of the downtown a Dif'ference7
bar beat, ticked off a list of good operators, some of The coalition demonstrated its vitality in the policy
whom pay bonuse~ to staff if police decoy operations and enforcement changes being sustained on campus
come up empty-handed, while other bars continue and in the growing political support for city council
to account for a dispmportionate sham of violations, action on downtown bar deusity and for restricting bar
Police communicate in writing with bar owners and ent~ for all under age 21.
conduct follow-up decoy visits to gi~e feedback to Iowa City Police Department's Michael BrotheCton
owners about impmving procedures, describes the difference 1 ~nt to the university here
Further evidence of change comes from the police and graduated. And over the years, particularly since
department, as indicated in an October 2002 editorial the Stepping Up Coalition was established, 1 have
seen better collaboration, better communication, an · Development of a strategic plan, talking points,
establishing partnership and more attention drawn spokespe~n preparation and other details in
to the problem. It has gained momentum. All the support of coalition participation in state and
agencies am involved and are making a more local hearings
conscious effort to do their part We ,am doing more * Fulfillment of requests to provide research to
enforcemen to make the ba~ more accountable." support policy passage on the following topics:
But the most telling testimonials come from the two relationship between outlet density and crime,
top leaders, the Iowa City mayor and the university's zoning and alcohol outlets, economic impact of 21-
outgoing president, whose comments also reflect the plus semce restriction, and impact of price specials
progressive nature of these efforts. Neither claims thatKey Learnings
a final outcome is at hand or even feasible. Changing · Raising public awareness of alcohol issues enables
the landscape, just as the mindscape, s always a work community members to speak out and act on
in progress, probleros (such as a liquor store location)
Mayor Emie Lehman told the Press-Citizen and encourages policy-makers to consider
(February, 1, 2002) that a University of Iowa student policy solutions.
recently said students under 21 are finding it "a littie· Effective community organizing helps build
tougher to get a drink than it had been,' and that relattonships with community members and
"judging from some of the calls l've had froro some broadens public support for changing public policy..
of the bars, I don't think there's any question there's a * Supplying policy-makers with iiffommtion and data
le,'el of caution that is significantly greatee Overall, I about the problem helps to support their decision
think we've gotten the attention of the bar owners." making and sustain long-tem~ policy solutions.
Interviewed at the Urae of her mid-2002 · Parent power can help move a policy agenda.
appointment to preside over the Universily of Michigan
system, Mary, Sue Coleman was asked about her role
in alcohol problem prevention at Iowa. She responded:
Have ,ae had success. Well, I th nkwe ye changed
the public poreeptlon. People view it as a much more
serious issue than before. This is a national problem
and it has to be viewed as systemic. And we're going
to have to keep working at it" (Christian Science
Mon/~, July 23, 2002).
Components of lechnical Assistance
Provided Durin~ the Advocacy
Initiative
PAS provided the coalition with the following:
· Assis 'tance in developing a strategic plan to support
policy objectives
· Recommendation on strengthening project linkage
to the community to identify and increase support
for policy objectives
· Training and werkshops on media advocacy,
working within a political system and spokesperson
training
· Identification of media opportunities and the
drafting of media roatertals such as op-eds and
letters to the editor CASE HISTORIES
Resources for Campuses and Communities
American Medical Association's A Matter of Degree
'~xvw. alcoholpolicysolutions.net
This extensive website includes information on all the AMOD sites and archived materials from the initiative,
including policy briefs, pn~ss releases, polls, studies and papers. It also has direct links to all the A,MOD sites
as veil as a number of other resources, such as alcohol control boards, the Center for Mcohol Marketing and
Youth and the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drag Prevention.
Building Responsibility Coalition of the University of Delaware and the City of Newark
,v~.udel.edu/brc/
Stepping Up Coalition of the University of Iowa and Iowa City
ve~.uiowa.edu/~ s~pping/
NIJ Directions of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the City of Lincoln
~w~nudirections.org
Coalition to Create a Quality Learning Environment of the University of Vermont and
the City of Burlington
a~v. ns~n.edu/- ccqle
Other Resources
U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and
Other Drug Prevention
College Mcohni study, Harvard School of Public Health
ww~hsph.harvard,edu/cas/
College Drinking: Changing the Culture
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
wwcollegedrinkingpm~ntion.g0v
January 16, 2004
To: Steve Atkins, City Manager
From: Joe Fowler, Director Parking & Transit
Reference: Library Request for Reserved Parking
Overall the operation of the Iowa City Parking Division has shown an incrcase in usage.
Usage of the system is up 125,000 hours or three percent. While there has been an
increase it has not met the division's expectations following the opening of Tower Place.
The Capitol Street Ramp continues to have high occupancy and Tower Place is exceeding
daytime occupancy projections. Chauncy Swan hourly parking is below projections and
has never fully recovered from displacing the hourly parkers during the construction of
Tower Place. The Dubuque Street Ramp has had a decrease in usage as a result of policy
changes.
During the fall of 2001 the City Council directed several changes to the parking system to
provide additional parking for Library users. These changes included removing fifty
permit parkers from the Dubuque Street Ramp and removing the all day maximum
charge in the facility. The removal of the permits decreased the occupancy of the facility
by 8%.
Hourly parking in the facility is down and it has been attributed to the removal of tlae all
day maximum charge. Occupancy numbers were checked for October and November
2003. Below are the available spaces at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. These
times were selected because the give a quick view of the facility's daily usage.
10:00a.m. %vacant l:00p.m. %vacant 4:00p.m %vacant
October 254 41 231 37 277 44
November 289 46 284 45 329 53
There are 225 permit holders in the Dubuque Street Ramp. These permit holders are
restricted to levels 3, 4, and 5. This saves the lower levels for hourly parkers. A
comparison between FY02 and FY03 of the hours of paid parking shows a decrease of
130,776 hours or a decrease of 21%.
The revenue implication of these changes is substantial. The decrease in hourly parking
represents a loss of $78,465. The decrease in per,nit revenue represents a loss of
$36,000.
I have gone into greater detail on the Dubuque Street Ramp because of the recent request
by the Library Board for additional policy changes that could result in a further decrease
the facilities usage and increased cost to the Parking Division. Reserving between 100
and 120 of the lower level parking spaces for a maximum stay of two hours creates
several problems. The major concern is the public resistance to reserved space within a
public facility. This is similar to the problem we encountered for years with the no
parking 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. in the Capitol Street Ramp several years ago. Issuing
a parking ticket within a facility that you are charging to park resulted in much negative
publicity for the City. An additional concern is the ability of the current Parking Division
staff to enforce the reserved spaces.
There are some possible alternatives to reserving space in the ramp. One would be to
increase the hourly parking meter fee in the area of the Library. If on street meters were
increased to one dollar an hour ($1.00) this would discourage some users and create more
opportunities for Library users. A second option would be to enforce the meter-feeding
ordinance in the area. Currently this ordinance is enforced on the 100 block of Linn
Street. This area could be increased to include the 200 block of Lirm and the 300 block
of College Street. Parking Enforcement Attendants report that there are a large number
of vehicles that park beyond the time limit in this area. This would increase turn over in
these arcas. A third option would be to increase the hours of enforcement on the meters
in the area of the Library. The problem the third option would present would be staff to
enforce any extension of enfomement hours. A forth option would be an education
campaign to Library users to inform them that Chauncy Swan is one block away, free
after 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday, and less expensive than the Dubuque Street Ramp could
result in some users relocating.
Two other factors should be taken into consideration when discussing parking division
policy. First the total waiting list for parking permits is currently over 800 names. There
are often duplicates as people place their name on more than one waiting list. The actual
number waiting for a monthly permit is probably between 275 and 300. The second item
is the Court Street Transportation Center. The facility will be complete by the spring of
2005. While the exact number of parking spaces is not know at this point there will be at
least 375 parking spaces added within a block and a halfofthe Library.
I would be glad to meet with you or Council to discuss reserved short term parking in the
future if you wish.
l-~ l
_~._:~.. CTY 0 F I 0 WA C I TY
EMORANDUM
M
DATE: January 20, 2004
TO: City Council
FROM: City Manager
RE: FY05 Budget
Attached is a list of projects from the unfunded list of capital projects in your FY05 budget
document. The staff performed a review and believes these may be worthy of your
consideration for additional Road Use Tax funding.
The most important element I believe in having these Road Use Tax monies available is to
assure that the State Legislature preserves the Road Use Tax formula. Therefore, before any
final work is initiated on our part, I would hope that we would wait until the adjournment of the
current legislative session.
Attached
CAPITAL PROJECT
CURRENTLY UNFUNDED OPTIONS
(NOT IN RANK ORDER)
420~h Street Improvement $1,056,000
Waterworks Park Development $ 200,000
Sycamore Street - Burns to City Limits $2,000,000
Dubuque- Park and Church $ 800,000
Lower Muscatine Road $1,000,000
Pedestrian Bridge- Rocky Shore $ 800,000
Sandusky Storm Sewer $ 495,000
Gilbert/Bowery/Prentiss Intersection $ 420,000
Hwy 6 - Lakeside to 420th Street $2.3~5500,000
Selected Engineering ?
1. 420TM STREET: $1,056,000
The project reconstructs 420th Street from Highway 6 East to Independence
Road. Reconstruction includes building the road to City standards and
geometric changes at the intersection with Highway 6. This project is
intended to enhance development of the industrial park.
2. WATERWORKS PARK DEVELOPMENT $200,000
This funding would allow for the completion of this project unless the Council
should decide further park development is necessary in future years. Some
of this funding would be used to supplement an $84,000 REAP grant received
from the DNR in order to complete the prairie grass plantings. The remaining
funds would be used to construct nature trails in the wooded areas of the
park, a fishing dock on the large pond, two additional park shelters, improved
access to the river for canoes/kayaks, and perhaps restrooms.
3. SYCAMORE STREET - BURNS STREET TO CITY LIMITS $2,000,000
This project will extend the existing four-lane cross section south to the
Lakeside Drive/Wetherby Drive intersection. A three-lane cross section will
be built south of this intersection to the City Limits. The improvements will
include storm sewer and four-foot and eight-foot sidewalks.
4. DUBUQUE STREET/PARK ROAD INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS
$500,000
This project will add a southbound right-turn lane on Dubuque Street and an
additional eastbound left-turn lane on Park Road to improve intersection
capacity. This intersection is currently subject to significant congestion and
delay during peak traffic periods. The dual left-turn lane involves removal of
the bridge median for installation of the second left-turn lane. The streetlights
which are currently installed on the median would be relocated to the outside
of the bridge. This project includes $150,000 to remove and replace settled
and cracked approach pavement on the West End of the bridge, and the
removal and replacement of the bridge expansion joints.
DUBUQUE STREET/CHURCH STREET INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS
$3o0,000
This project will construct left-turn lanes on the north and south approaches of
Dubuque Street. This will allow protected left turns by the traffic signal, which
are not currently desirable with the existing lane configuration. This project
should reduce cut-through traffic through the Northside Neighborhood on
Gilbert Street. This project will also improve the overall intersection geometry
for bus turning movements. Existing buses must frequently come to a
complete stop and let vehicles clear before they can proceed with turning
movements because of constrained intersection geometry.
5. LOWER MUSCATINE ROAD $1,000,000
This project addresses the stretch of Lower Muscatine between DeForest and
First Avenue and includes reconstructing Lower Muscatine to three-lanes with
a left-turn lane, installing sidewalks on both sides of the street, and providing
a crosswalk at the entrance to Kirkwood Community College. This is part of
capital projects to enhance the Sycamore/First Avenue commercial area and
enhance pedestrian circulation with Kirkwood, the new Alternative High
School, and the Mall.
6. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE - ROCKY SHORE TO PENINSULA $800,000
This project entails the construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the
Iowa River to connect the existing Rocky Shore sidewalk/trail with the
Peninsula Parkland trails. This would then provide pedestrians and bicyclists
several options...they can head south on Rocky Shore to hook up with the
Coralville Connection trail; they can head toward City Park and hook up with
the Iowa River Corridor Trail in the park and continue all the way to Napoleon
Park; and access will be provided from Rocky Shore to the new Iowa River
Power Dam and Bridge, to the new Peninsula neighborhood, and to the trail
along Foster Road.
7. SANDUSKY STORM SEWER $495,000
This project will improve the storm sewer to the area along and south of
Sandusky Drive between Pepper Drive and Taylor Drive to reduce ponding in
the storm water management basin and the street that has been problematic
for the residents in the area. Much of the new storm sewer would be
constructed in the public right-of-way. The plan proposed in the 1990's had
all of the storm sewer improvements in the back yards, which was not popular
with some residents.
8. GILBERT STREET/BOWERY STREET/PRENTISS STREET
INTERSECTION TURN LANES $420,000
This project will construct left-turn lanes on Gilbert Street, and will also
include storm sewer improvements along Prentiss Street to Ralston Creek.
The lack of left-turn lanes on Gilbert Street at this intersection is currently the
cause of a relatively high collision rate at this location. A Traffic Safety Fund
grant will be applied for to partially fund the improvements. This project will
not modify the offset intersection geometry between Bowery Street and
Prentiss Street.
9. HIGHWAY 6 WIDENING LAKESIDE DRIVE TO 420TM STREET
TOTAL PROJECT $2,300,000 CITY SHARE $500,000
This is a joint project with the Iowa Depadment of Transportation. This
project will widen Highway 6 to a three-lane cross section from Lakeside
Drive/Industrial Park Road to east of 420th Street. The three-lane cross
section would consist of eastbound and westbound through lanes and a two-
way left turn lane. This would also include additional turn lanes on Scott
Boulevard and Lakeside Drive/Industrial Park Road.
10. SELECTED ENGINEERING ?
Select projects for engineering/design in order to prepare for potential future
opportunity, such as a future Federal earmarking.
COUNCIL DECISIONS
(NOT IN PRIORITY ORDER)
MORMON TREK - N/S RUNWAY
Policy of keeping N/S runway open until other runway is complete. Will
delay completion of Mormon Trek extended.
AIRPORT - SUBSIDY/GENERAL OPERATIONS
Respond to ABS report. Discuss issues of future governance.
MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC SYSTEM
Currently no formal policy by Council as to the direction of the idea of a
municipally owned electric distribution system. Budget? Further study?
Litigation? Referenda?
PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN
The Parks and Recreation Commission proposes financing a master plan
from Parkland Acquisition Fund. Cost $75,000-$$0,000. Not budgeted for
05.
ROAD USE TAX FUND - ADDITIONAL PROJECT(S)
Finance an additional project(s) from Road Use Tax reserves.
Approximately $1.5 million.
MAY/JUNE 03 REDUCTIONS / REVENUE INCREASES
Interest in review of previous budget reductions made in response to State
elimination of financial aid. FY05 was balanced assuming the
reductions/revenue increases were permanent.
DOWNTOWN ALLEY CLEAN-UP
Confirm Council wishes to see a formal proposal to clean up alleys.
Schedule work session discussion of proposal.
FINANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Increase ICAD funding by way of the Hotel/Motel Tax. Rate likely
increase in the tax revenue with opening of: Plaza Towers.
SPECULATIVE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING-AVIATION COMMERCE PARK
Schedule discussion at work session. Cost $1,000,000
SAND ROAD WATER RECREATION AREA
Schedule discussion at work session. Cost unknown.
JOINT DISPATCH / EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
Outline issues for discussion at work session.
MINUTES DRAFT
IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2003 - 5:30 P.M.
CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY
MEMBERS PRESENT: Brett Castillo, Terry Smith, Jim Pusack
MEMBERS ABSENT: Saul Mekies, Kimberly Thrower
STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Andy Matthews, Dale Helling
OTHERS PRESENT: Phil Phillips, Rene Paine, Kara Logsden, Susan Rogusky, Jon Koebrick
RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL
None at this time.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
Logsden reported that the equipment bid for the Library's new video equipment will be completed
soon. It is anticipated that the new equipment will be installed in April, 2004. Koebrick reported that
2 new channels are likely going to added to the digital tier. No channels will be lost. Shaffer said that
the letter to Mediacom regarding the cable TV drop audit is nearly finished and waiting on a few items
to fall into place. Shaffer reported that negotiations on a rate settlement agreement are continuing and
a settlement is very close. Koebrick said that there is an agreement in principle and only a legal review
is pending. Shaffer reported that some initial meetings regarding franchise renewal have been held
with Koebrick and Randy Brown. At this point some of the options for the process and timeframes are
being looked at. The Community Television Group had submitted a proposal to dedicate all of the
annual $17,500 pass-through allocation to the Senior Center for part-time staffing for the next three
years. Rogusky said that funds have been cut from the Senior Center Television (SCTV) to cover
other costs in the wake of the City's budget cutting. Smith said that the City's funding issues are year
to year at this point. Smith said he has a concern making a three-three commitment to provide funds to
SCTV given the number of variables that may come into play over the next few years. Castillo noted
that it is likely that a new franchise will be in effect in February, 2006 and the three-year request
overlaps that period. A 2 year or less period makes more sense. Pusack said that other access channels
may have an emergency of some sort in a three-year period and it would be best to have some
flexibility to determine the use of the pass-through funds at that time. Smith moved to approve
$17,500 in pass-through funding for the Senior Center for FY 2005. Castillo seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously. Smith noted that there has been a steady decline in the number of callers to
InfoVision due, in part, to it being available to fewer viewers. Smith asked if there is a good utilization
of channel 5 and noted that video on demand (VOD) is planned for the channel in the future. Smith
asked if it had been a good choice obtain a separate channel for InfoVision and if it might best serve
the community to return it to Mediacom for other programming needs. Hardy said that issue would
best be asked next year after VOD service is operational. Smith said that the Commission should give
the VOD plans and other projects a chance to develop, but in the long run the Commission needs to
evaluate if channel 5 is being optimally utilized given that it rarely recieves more that 3 calls per hour.
Smith also noted that the library channel plays virtually all replays.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Smith moved and Castillo seconded a motion to approve November 2003 meeting minutes. The
motion passed unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS
None.
SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
CONSUMER ISSUES
Shaffer referred to the complaint log in the packet and noted that there were only 2 complaints.
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT
No representative was present.
PATV REPORT
Paine reported that PATV recently held a board/staff retreat.
SENIOR CENTER REPORT
Rogusky distributed the December Senior Center TV program guide. Elaine Beck, one of the two part-
time staff has left. The work load will be assumed by the other staff member. Paine noted that Beck
wrote an article in the Alliance for Community Media's publication.
IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT
No representative was present.
LEGAL REPORT
Matthews said he had nothing new to report.
LIBRARY REPORT
Logsden reported that the equipment bid for the Library's new video equipment will be completed
soon. It is anticipated that the new equipment will be installed in April, 2004.
K1RKWOOD REPORT
No representative was present.
MEDIA UNIT
Hardy reported that the Community Television Service (CTS) will be taping the Iowa City Federation
of Labor Awards program, which will include a talk by University of Iowa president David Skorton.
The CTS also recently taped a legislative forum hosted by the Johnson County Task Force on Aging.
The CTS will also be producing a public service announcement for the Rape Victim Advocacy
Program on date rape drugs. The Media Unit recently cablecast a program live from the Senior Center
on violence and bullying. A tour of the new waste water plant will be the subject ora future video.
The water division series of programs continues to run. The current program deals with winter water
issues.
CABLE TV ADMiNISTRATOR REPORT
Shaffer said he has been busy working on the negotiated rate settlement, which will be discussed later
in the meeting.
MEDIACOM REPORT
Koebrick reported that 2 new channels are likely going to added to the digital tier. No channels will be
lost. Mediacom may ask the city to waive the 30 public notice if negotiations proceed as quickly as
anticipated. Because the additional channels and any channel movements will impact only digital
customers, a scroll along the bottom of subscribers' televisions can be used to inform them of the
changes.
CABLE TV DROP AUDIT
Shaffer said that the letter to Mediacom regarding the drop audit is nearly finished and waiting on a
few items to fall into place.
RATE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Shaffer reported that negotiations are continuing and a settlement is very close. Koebrick said that
there is an agreement in principle and only a legal review is pending. Koebrick had hoped he would
have final approval in time for this meeting. Charlie King, Mediacom's division vice-president wishes
to extend a thanks to the City for working together in a spirit of cooperation.
The Commission agreed to hold a special meeting to make a recommendation to the City Council on
the rate settlement agreement on Friday, January 2, 2004 at 5:00 at the City Cable TV Office.
FRANCHISE RENEWAL UPDATE
Shaffer reported that some initial meetings with Koebrick and Randy Brown have been held. At this
point some of the options for the process and timeframes are being looked at. Smith said the
Commission may wish to appoint several members to participate in those discussions. Smith has
participated in some of those discussions as they overlapped with the rate settlement agreement
discussions. Smith and Castillo volunteered to participate on franchise renewal discussions. Smith
moved to appoint Smith and Castillo to work on renewal issues. Castillo seconded the motion, which
passed unanimously.
COMMUNITY TELEVISION GROUP PROPOSAL
The Community Television Group had submitted a proposal to dedicate all of the annual $17,500 pass-
through allocation to the Senior Center to fund parat-time staffing for the next three years. Rogusky
said that funds have been cut from the Senior Center Television (SCTV) cover other costs in the wake
of the City's budget cutting. Smith said that the City's funding issues are year to year at this point.
Smith said he has a concern making a three-three commitment to provide funds to SCTV given the
number of variables that may come into play over the next few years. Smith said he agrees in concept
but it may be best to revisit this issue each year. In this year's budget the City took $100,000 from the
City Cable TV Division budget. The Council may decide to do so again or even increase the amount.
Rogusky said SCTV has always used part-time temporary employees and a three-year commitment of
funds for the position is not necessary for staffrecrnitment or retention. Castillo noted that it is likely
that a new franchise will be in effect in February, 2006 and the three-year request overlaps that period.
A 2 year or less period makes more sense. Pusack said that other access channels may have an
emergency of some sort in a three-year period and it would be best to have some flexibility to
determine the use of the pass-through funds at that time. Pusack noted that the CTG proposal mentions
SCTV seeking a stable funding source and asked what this might be. Rogusky said that she has
discussed the possibility of getting funds through the refranchising process. Smith moved to approve
$17,500 in pass-through funding for the Senior Center for FY 2005. Castillo seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
CABLE TV DIVISION THREE-YEAR REPORT
Shaffer referred to the report in the meeting packet. The report shows several trends. The move to the
new facility impacted productivity for a period of time. There has been a trend of less contact with the
City itself, but an increase in contact with the community. There continues to be a large demand for
CTS services. There has been an expansion in what InfoVision has been doing and the division web
site.
Smith noted that there has been a steady decline in the number of callers to InfoVision due, in part, to
it being available to fewer viewers. Smith asked if there is a good utilization of channel 5 and noted
that video on demand (VOD) is planned for the channel in the future. Smith asked if it had been a
good choice obtain a separate channel for InfoVision and if it might best serve the community to return
it to Mediacom for other programming needs.
Hardy said that issue would best be asked next year after the VOD service is operational.
Pusack noted that a VOD service will mean fewer opportunities for community members to access
either InfoVision or the VOD service. Measuring the number of people accessing such a system may
not be the best metric to apply.
Hardy said the VOD service should be up and running within 60 days.
Smith asked Koebrick what Mediacom might do if the Commission decided that it was willing to
return a channel. Koebrick said that one idea being considered for other communities is a 24 hour local
weather radar channel. This would be a different chanel from the Weather Channel. Coralville would
likely desire to show their channel on the Iowa City system. Bringing back TBS on the basic tier
would also be an option.
Smith said that the Commission should give the VOD plans and other projects a chance to develop, but
in the long run the Commission needs to evaluate if channel 5 is being optimally utilized given that it
rarely recieves more that 3 calls per hour. Smith aslo noted that the library channel plays virtually all
replays. It doesn't seem like a good use of the community's resources.
Logsden said the primary mission of the library channel is to preserve local history and many of the
programs playing on the channeI deal with local history. The survey conducted by the University of
Io~va Social Science Institute showed the community wanted more programs on local history and the
library is attempting to meet that need.
Pusack noted that one goal for FY 04 is to re-establish the CTS Advisory Committee and asked if that
has been accomplished. Hardy said the CTS guidelines are being modified and prepared for review by
the Committee. Pusack said an Advisory Committee could be helpful in thinking about the future
plans for channel 5 and VOD.
Castillo asked if there are any plans to run VOD segments on multiple channels and not just channel 5.
Hardy said that is an idea worth considering.
Smith said a question for the Commission is if the community is best serviced by the number of
channels dedicated to local access. The lack ora weather channel on the basic tier, for example, may
be a consequence of the number of charmels dedicated to local access.
ADJOURNMENT
Smith moved and Castillo seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Adjournment was at 6:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Drew Shaffer
Cable TV Administrator
IPIO
MINUTES
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 2003
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jay Honohan, Betty Kelly, Allan Monsanto, Charity
Rowley, and Deb Schoenfelder
MEMBERS ABSENT: Lori Benz
STAFF PRESENT: Michelle Buhman, Linda Kopping, Susan Rogusky
and Julie Seal.
GUESTS: Jo Hensch and Nancy Wombacher.
CALL TO ORDER
MINUTES
Motion: To approve the November minutes as distributed, Rowley/Kelly. Motion
carried on a vote of 5-0,
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
None
REPORT ON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JOHNSON COUNTY- Honohan
Honohan distributed draft copies of articles of incorporation and by-laws for a non-profit
corporation called the Iowa Seniors Fund, Inc. (documents attached). The intent of the
non-profit corporation would be to facilitate participation of the Center in the Community
Foundation of Johnson County and thereby initiate a long-term source of operational
revenue. Honohan reminded the Commissioners that the City Attorneys office will not
review the articles of incorporation or by-laws because the non-profit corporation will be
a completely separate entity from the City of Iowa City. Honohan gave a brief summary
of the by-laws and the Articles of Incorporation.
Commissioners and staff discussed the documents focusing on how the corporation
would be managed and how the funds would be distributed.
Honohan will incorporate recommended changes to the documents and they will be
discussed further at the January meeting of the Commission.
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE UPDATE- Kopping
Betty Kelly, Jay Honohan and Linda Kopping met to discuss the Center's Iow-income
scholarship policy. Monsanto was unavailable for this meeting. A draft of the Iow-
income scholarship program developed at this meeting was distributed to
Commissioners (attached).
In essence, the policy stipulates that the Center will forgo all revenue it would ordinarily
obtain for fee-based classes. For example, the Center will waive 100% of equipment
and material fees it charges (e.g. copying costs and Center sponsored computer
classes), and 25% of the class fees charged by independent contractors who offer
courses at the Center. This is the portion of the class fee collected by the independent
MINUTES DF~AFT
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 2003
contractor that is paid to the Center as reimbursement for the use of space and
equipment while instructing the class.
It was noted that while the new policy is likely to work for the majority, fees accessed by
independent contractors still might present a financial hardship for some participants.
Commissioners expressed concern related to the potential costs associated with
alternative policies.
Seal will pursue a variety of options for offering an exercise classes with a Iow or no fee.
Motion to approve the proposed scholarship policy, Rowley/Monsanto. Motion
carried on a vote of 5-0,
JOHNSON COUNTY OPERATIONAL FUNDING- Kopping
Kopping reported that the Johnson County Board of Supervisors signed the agreement
to pay the $75,000 for FY04. Funding for FY05 has not been agreed upon at this time.
Honohan will be going to the Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 18, 2003 to request
funding for FY05.
SENIOR CENTER UPDATE
Operations- Kopping
Kopping offered information related to the operational costs of the meal program that are
paid by the Center. She reported that in FY03 the Senior Center operational budget
paid $8,613 for kitchen maintenance. So far in FY04 $2,100 has been spent with an
additional $9,000 projected for equipment repair or replacement. This is a concern
because these are unplanned expenses. Moreover, most of the equipment in kitchen is
old and will need to be replaced eventually. MWlII Craig Buhman gave Kopping a
general estimate of annual utility costs, estimating between $11,000-$15,000 for gas and
electric.
The most recent service report from the dining program indicates that about 34% of the
meals prepared in the kitchen are served at the Center; the rest of the meals are going
to satellite sites and home delivered meals in Iowa City and throughout the Johnson
County.
Kopping will compile a written summary of this information for distribution and discussion
at the next Commission meeting.
A person called wanting to join the Senior Center with his wife who is not yet old enough
to join (50 years old). Kopping will review the policy pertaining to family and will
distribute a draft policy at the January meeting.
Kopping reported on the progress made by the 100-year-program committee. Sponsors
for the programs created by this committee include the University of Iowa Community
Credit Union, Hills Bank the United States Post Office, US Bank and ColorWorks
Professional Imaging.
Kopping distributed a letter from June Braverman and the response to the letter from
Steve Atkins.
MINUTES DRAFT
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 2003
Kopping reported that Irene Crutchley has accepted the Clerical Assistant position.
Kopping will be working on creating a HACAP position for additional staff coverage at
the reception desk.
Programs- Seal
Seal distributed a list of classes and events scheduled to start in January. For a
complete list of activities see the January Post: Spring Program Guide.
Volunteers- Rogusky
Rogusky reported that a segment of the Red Hat Society has been created at the Senior
Center. Rogusky will be talking to the group about becoming a Senior Center activity
group and let them know that in order to get Senior Center staff support they will need to
become members of the Senior Center.
A new activity group on Model Trains has been created with six members attending the
first session. The leader of the group will continue to recruit more members and plan
activities for this spring.
Glenn Jablonski will be retiring from his volunteer position as the director of the Voices of
Experience at the end of December. A volunteer group comprised of a few members of
the Voices of Experience is working with Rogusky to locate a new director.
A memo from the Community Television Group (CTG) was distributed to the
Commission. Rogusky is working with this group to secure funding for the temporary
SCTV staff.
Rogusky distributed copies of the volunteer hour report from October.
Membership and Fundraising-Buhman
Buhman reported that as of December 15, 2003, 697 people have registered as Senior
Center members. Donations in the amount of $3,983 have been collected for the
Operational Budget.
COMMISSION DISCUSSION
Post article report from this meeting - Kelly
Post article of the next meeting- Jan. 20, at 2PM.
City Council -
Board of Supervisors- Honohan
Motion to adjourn. Motion carried on a vote of 5-0, Monsanto/Schoenfelder,
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
OF
IOWA CITY SENIORS FUND INC.
a non-profit Iowa corporation
(Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 504A. 29 of the Iowa Corporation Code)
The undersigned have this day associated themselves for the purpose of forming a non-profit
corporation under the laws of Iowa and adopt the following Articles of Incorporation.
1. Name. The name of this corporation is Iowa City Seniors Fund, Inc. The duration of the
corporation shall be perpetual.
2. Tax-Exempt Status. The tax exempt purposes of this corporation shall be to receive and maintain
a fund or funds of reai or personal property or both and, subject to the restrictions and limitations which
are hereinafter set forth, to use and apply the whole or any part of the income from the principal of the
fund or funds exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes intended to promote
the health and welfare of persons over the age of fifty (50) years, either directly or by contributions to
organizations that qualify as exempt organizations Under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its
regulations as they now exist or any may hereafter be amended or to invest its funds for the benefit of the
Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Articles of
Incorporation, this corporation shall not conduct or carry on any activities not permitted to be conducted
or carded on by organizations described in §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations
as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
3. Tax-Exempt Status for Educational Association. This corporation shall not directly or indirectly
perform any act or transact any business that will jeopardize the tax-exempt status of the corporation
under §510(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations, as such section and regulations now
exist or may hereafter be amended, or under corresponding laws and regulations hereafter adopted. No
part of the assets or the net earnings of the corporation, current or accumulated, shall inure to the benefit
of any private individual.
4. Purpose of Non-Profit Corporation. The purpose of this corporation shall be as follows:
to use and apply the whole or any part of the income from the principal of the fund orfunds
exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes intended to promote the health and
welfare of persons over the age of fifty (50) years, either directly or by contributions to organizations that
qualify as exempt organizations under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations as
they now exist or any may hereafter be amended or to invest its funds for the benefit of the Iowa
City/Johnson County Senior Center.
5. Powers. In furtherance of its objectives and to provide funds therefor, this corporation shall have
the capacity and power to do any and all things necessary and appropriate to their accomplishment,
including but not limited to:
a. To hold, manage and administer any and all real and personal property of every kind and
description acquired by the corporation; to use and apply the whole or part of the income therefrom and
the principal interest thereof exclusively for charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational
purposes, either directly or by contributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under
§501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be
amended.
b. To accept and receive by gift, devise, bequest or otherwise for the uses and purposes of
this corporation, any property -- real, personal or mixed -- of any kind, nature or description.
c. To acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise; to own, hold, maintain and improve; to sell,
exchange, mortgage, license, lease or otherwise dispose of, such real and personal property as may be
necessary to further accomplish this corporation's purposes.
d. To invest and reinvest its funds and assets, subject to the limitations and conditions
contained in any gift, devise, bequest or grant; provided, however, that such limitations and conditions
are not in conflict with the provisions of §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations as
they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
e. To make and enter into contracts and agreements of every kind and description necessary
to further the purposes of this corporation and to apply for, receive, contract, administrate, and perform
gifts, grants, awards, contracts, and programs to accomplish its purposes with any and all governmental,
charitable, educational, or scientific organizations.
£ To lend its funds upon adequate security and to borrow for its corporate purposes and
secure the same by mortgage or pledge of any and all its corporate real or personal property or both.
g. To exercise all rights and privileges appurtenant to any securities or any property held by
this corporation, including, but without limitation to, the right to vote any share of stock which may be
held by this corporation.
h. To act as trustee of funds for trusts created solely for charitable, religious, scientific,
literary or educational purposes as shall be in furtherance of the purposes and objectives of this
corporation.
i. To do any and every act or thing, and to engage in any other activity or undertaking
necessary or convenient to the fulfillment of the purposes of this corporation which a corporate body may
lawfully do or perform; provided, however, that only such acts or things shall be done and such activities
or undertakings engaged in as are in furtherance of the tax-exempt purposes of this corporation and as
may be done or engaged in by an organization exempt under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereaffier be amended.
j. No substantial part of the activities of this corporation shall be carrying on propaganda or
otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and this corporation shall not participate in (including the
publication or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public
office.
k. To hold meetings, lectures, and other educational, business, and social programs, to
engage speakers, to compile and distribute information, and to provide printed material, forms,
recordings, and other presentations or materials for the benefit of the members and/or the public.
I. To collect dues, to engage in fund-raising activities, and to borrow money and to issue
notes and other evidences of indebtedness and obligations from time to time for any lawful corporate
purpose or objective, and to mortgage, pledge, and otherwise charge any or all its properties, rights,
privileges, and assets to secure the payment thereof.
m. To establish terms and conditions of membership in the corporation.
n. To do any and every act or thing, and to engage in any other activity or undertaking
necessary or convenient to the fulfillment of the purposes of this corporation which a corporate body may
lawfully do or perform; provided, however, that only such acts or things shall be done and such activities
or undertakings engaged in as are in furtherance of the tax-exempt purposes of this corporation and as
may be done or engaged in by an organization exempt under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
6. Non-Profit Status. This corporation shall be a non-profit corporation and shall have no capital
stock, and no dividends or pecuniary profits shall be declared or paid to the directors, officers, or
members thereo£ No part of the net earnings of this corporation shall inure to the benefit of any director,
officer, or member of this corporation or any private individual, provided, however, that reasonable
compensation may be paid for services rendered to this corporation in the furtherance of its purposes.
7. Directors: The number of Directors constituting the initial board ofdiectors is seven (7).
8. Reeistered Agent. This corporation appoints Jay H. Honohan, who has been a bona fide resident
of the State of Iowa for at least three years, as its Registered Agent in and for the State of Iowa. This
appointment may be revoked at any time by the Board of Directors authorizing and directing the filing of
a statement with the Iowa Secretary of State.
9. Known Place of Business. The known place of business of the corporation shall be: 28 S. Lima,
Iowa City, Iowa 52240 and at such other places as from time to time may be selected by the Board of
Directors.
10. Board of Directors. The number of directors of the corporation shall be fixed and may be altered
from time to time as may be provided in the by-laws. In case of any increase in the number of directors,
the additional directors may be elected by the directors or by the members at an annual or special
meeting, as shall be provided in the by-laws.
The names and addresses of the members of the initial Board of Directors, who shall serve until
their successors are qualified according to the by-laws, are:
Lori L. Benz
Charity Rowley Jay H. Honohan
2012 Dun/ap Ct. 519 Park Rd 1510 Somerset Ln
· Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Betty Kelly ' Nancy Wombacher Josephine Hensch
1108 Sunset St. 3644 Elgin Drive 3107 Balfour PI
Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Sarah Maiers
4010 Will Ct. SW
Oxford, Iowa 52322
The Board of Directors shall have full power to adopt, alter and amend the by-laws of this
corporation and to make proper rules and regulations for the transaction of its affairs.
11. ~ The names and addresses of the undersigned incorporators are:
Lori L. Benz
Charity Rowley Jay H. Honohan
2012 Dun/ap Ct. 519 Park Rd
Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Iowa City, Iowa 52246 1510 Somerset Ln
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Betty Kelly
Nancy Wombacher Josephine Hensch
1108 Sunset St. 3644 Elgin Drive 3107 Balfour PI
Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Sarah Maiers
4010 Will Ct. SW
Oxford, Iowa 52322
All powers, duties and responsibilities of the incorporators shall cease at the time of delivery of
these Articles of Incorporation to the Iowa Secretary of State for filing.
~', ~Officers Directors Emnlo ees and A ents. Sub' .. .
role, the co~~ ~.ect to the provisions of this
'fY ~ a d all ~o ~"~""8 ~mu former a~rectors, officers, employees
and agents against all expenses incurred by them and each of them including but not limited to legal fees,
judgments, penalties and amounts paid in settlement or compromise which may arise or be incurred,
rendered, or levied in any legal action brought or threatened against any of them for or on account of any
action or omission alleged to have been committed while acting within the scope of services or
employment as director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, whether or not any action is or
has been filed against them and whether or not any settlement or compromise is approved by a court.
Indemnification shall be made by the corporation whether the legal action brought or threatened is by or
in the right of the corporation or by any other person.
Whenever any existing or former director, officer, employee or agent shall report to the president
of the corporation or the chairman of the Board of Directors that he or she has incurred or may incur
expenses, including but not limited to legal fees, judgments, penalties, and amounts paid in settlement or
compromise in a legal action brought or threatened against him or her for or on account of any action or
omission alleged to have been committed by him or her while acting within the scope of his or her
services or employment as a director, officer employee or agent of the corporation, the Board of
Directors shall, at its next regular or at a special meeting held within a reasonable time thereafter,
determine in good faith whether, in regard to the matter involved in the action or contemplated action,
such person acted, failed to act, or refused to act willfully or with gross negligence or with fraudulent or
criminal intent.
If the Board of Directors determines in good faith that such person did not act, failed to act, or
refused to act willfully or with gross negligence or with fraudulent or criminal intent in regard to the
matter involved in the action or contemplated action, indemnification shall be mandatory and shall be
automatically extended as specified herein; provided, however, that no such indemnification shall be
available with respect to liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933 and provided further that the
corporation shall have the right to refuse indemnification in any instance in which the person to whom
indemnification would otherwise have been applicable shall have unreasonably refused to permit the
corporation at its own expense and through counsel of its own choosing, to defend him or her in the
action.
13. Amendment of Articles of Incorporation. These Articles of Incorporation may be amended by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of this corporation at a meeting called for that purpose;
provided, however, that in no event shall the purposes of this corporation be changed, and Articles 5 and
12 hereof shall not be altered or amended in any manner or way whatsoever.
WE THE UNDERSIGNED, for the purpose of forming a not for profit corporation under the laws of the
State of Iowa, certi~ that the facts herein stated are true, and have accordingly hereunto set our hands
this date:
LORI L. BENZ CHARITY ROWLEY
JAY H. HONOHAN BETTY KELLY
NANCY WOMBACHER JOSEPHINE HENSCH
SARAH MAIERS
BY-LAWS
of
IOWA CITY SENIORS FUND INC.
an Iowa non-profit corporation
Eff'ective Date of Incorporation:
State of Incorporation: Iowa
Fiscal Year End: December 31
Part One
Introduction
1.1 References to Articles. Any reference herein made to the Articles will be deemed to refer to its
Articles bflncorporation and all amendments thereto as at any given time on file with the Iowa Secretary
of State, together with any and all certificates theretofore filed by the corporation with the lowa
Secretary of State pursuant to Iowa law.'
1.2 Seniority of Laws~ Artlcles~ by-laws~ Policies and Resolutions. The governing law relevant tothe
conduct of this corporation shall be the laws of the United States, laws of the State of Iowa, the Articles
of Incorporation of this corporation, the by-laws of this corporation, and the corporate policies and
resolutions that are passed from time to time by the members and directors. If there is any inconsistency
between these controlling bodies of law, then any inconsistency is to be resolved in favor of the senior
body of law and the junior bodies of law are deemed automatically amended. The officers, directors and
members of the corporation shall make every effort to generally amend the junior bodies of law whenever
necessary so that inconsistencies will be corrected. However, whether or not these inconsistencies are
corrected, the senior body of law will still prevail until such correction is made. The priority of the
governing bodies of law are as follows: (a) laws of the United States; (b) laws of the State of Iowa; (c)
Articles of incorporation of this corporation; (d) by-laws of this corporation; (e) policies of this
corporation; and (f) resolutions passed by this corporation.
1.3 Policies. In addition to the Articles, by-laws and resolutions, the directors or executive committee
may adopt, from time to time, certain "policies." These policies shall be considered as controlling
regulations for the conduct of the corporation and shall be permanent until amended. It is contemplated
that the by-laws of this corporation shall contain those permanent legal provisions which are required by
statute or some legal and parliamentary custom, are not subject to frequent change and are usually
prepared upon the legal advice of a lawyer; whereas policies are adopted by the management of the
corporation to conduct the non-legal affairs of the corporation and will not require the presence or
concurrence ora lawyer or other professional adviser.
The purpose of setting up a distinction between the by-laws and policies is to reduce the amount
of involvement of the attorney in the day-to-day affairs of the corporation and to give the corporation the
leeway to adopt policies of all types without creating complex and lengthy documentation which must be
reviewed by corporate counsel, the corporate certified public accountant on an audit, or by tax auditors
of the government. Wherever possible, the policies of the corporation shall be kept in a separate policy
book so as not to confuse them with the by-laws and Articles. Whenever it is apparent to any member,
director, officer or adviser that any of the policies are inconsistent with the laws of the United States,
laws of the State of Iowa, Articles of this corporation, or by-laws of this corporation, they shall forthwith
be amended.
An up-to-date copy of all policies which have been adopted by the board of directors or
executive committee shall be kept by the president and no policy shall be deemed in effect until it has
been placed in the policy notebook of the corporation with the signature of the president on the policy
and the initials of the president on each page of the policy. The purpose of this signing and initialing
requirement is to eliminate any doubt as to which policies are in effect and which policies are not. The
effective date of each policy shall be designated at the end of the text of each policy when it has been
adopted and should a page of the policy be amended from time to time, the corporation shall place the
effective date of the change on that replacement page, indicating the date of the amended page, that it is
an amendment, and the signature of the president. Should any person of the corporation desire to
ascertain the then existing policies of the corporation, he may contact the president and make copies of
the duly'signed and initialed policies of the corporation.
Part Two
Members and Certificates
2.1 Classification of Members. This corporation shall have the following classifications of members:
Charter, Benefactor, Patron, Life, Sponsoring, Sustaining, Active, Honorary and Advisory, as well as
such other classes as the Board of Directors may from time to time establish. The designation of each
class and the qualifications and rights of each class shall be as follows:
a. Charter. Charter members shall be the members of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior
Center who attended the first organizational meeting of the corporation. Charter members shall each
have the right to cast one vote at all duly held meetings of the members of the corporation. Charter
members shall serve a term equal to their term on the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center
Commission. Charter members whose term expires shall be replaced as Charter members by the newly
appointed member of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center Commission. It is the intent of these
By-Laws that the only voting members of the Iowa City Seniors Fund Inc. shall be the duly appointed,
qualified, and acting members of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center Commission.
b. Benefactor. Benefactor members shall be those persons interested in the purposes of the
corporation and desirous of furthering its goals and who contribute at least $500.00 to the corporation.
Each benefactor shall have the right to attend all meetings of the members or board of directors and such
additional rights and privileges as shall from time to time be determined by the board of directors, and
these rights and privileges shall continue for the life of the Benefactor.
c. Patron. Patron members shall be those persons interested in the purposes of the corporation
and desirous of furthering its goals and who contribute at least $100.00 to the corporation. Each Patron
shall have the right to attend all meetings of the members and board of directors and such additional
rights and privileges as shall from time to time be determined by the board of directors, and these rights
and privileges shall continue for the life of the Patron.
d. Life. Life members are those persons interested in the purposes of the corporation and
desirous of furthering its goals and who contribute at least $1,000.00 to the corporation. Each Life
member shall have the right to attend all meetings of the members and the board of directors and such
additional rights and privileges as shall from time to time be determined by the board of directors, and
these rights and privileges shall continue for the life of the Life member.
e. Sponsoring. Sponsoring members are those persons interested in the purposes of the
corporation and desirous of furthering, its goals and who contribute an annual donation of at least
$250.00 to the corporation. Sponsoring members shall have such rights and privileges as shall from time
to time be determined by the board of directors.
£ Sustaining. Sustaining members are those persons interested in the purposes of the
corporation and desirous of furthering its goals and who contribute an annual donation of at least
$100.00 to the corporation. Sustaining members shall have such rights and privileges as shall from time
to time be determined by the board of directors.
'g Honorary_. The board of directors may give recognition to persons in the community who
have assisted the objectives and purposes of the corporation by electing them as Honorary members.
Honorary members may receive special certificates of recognition and shall be entitled to attend the duly
held meetings of the Board of Directors but shall not be entitled to vote at those meetings.
h. Advisory. The board of directors may from time to time appoint Advisory members to the
corporation, who shall be persons with expertise in areas of knowledge which affect the objectives and
purposes of the corporation. Advisory members may receive certificates honoring their participation and
shall be entitled to attend the duly held meetings of the board of directors, but shall not be entitled to vote
at those meetings.
2.2 Membership Certificates. The certificates for membership in the corporation shall be in a form
not inconsistent with the Articles of incorporation and shall be prepared or be approved by the board of
directors. The certificates shall be signed by the president and secretary.
2.3 Membership Records. A membership register shall be kept by the secretary, in which shall be
accurately recorded the issuance of each certificate of membership, the date of issuance thereof, and the
name and post office address of the member to whom issued.
2.4 Transfer of Membership. Membership in this corporation is not transferable or assignable.
2.5 Replacement of Mutilated Certificates. A new membership certificate may be issued in lieu of
any certificate previously issued that may be defaced or mutilated, upon surrender for cancellation ora
part of the old certificate, sufficient, in the opinion of the secretary, to fully identify the defaced or
mutilated certificate. Where sufficient identification is lacking, evidence satisfactory to the board may be
required.
2.6 Replacement of Lost Certificates. A new membership certificate may be issued in lieu of any
certificate lost or destroyed upon the member thereof establishing its loss or destruction by evidence
satisfactory to the board.
2.7 Record Date. The board of directors may close the membership books in their discretion for a
period not exceeding 40 days preceding any meeting, annual or special, of the members.
2.8 Election of Honorary Members. Honorary members shall be elected by the Board of
Directors. An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the directors shall be required for election.
2.9 Votin~ Rights. Charter members only shall be entitled to vote at the annual members' meeting
for the election of directors and for other matters which have a permanent or long-lasting effect on the
operation of the corporation.
2.10 Termination of Membership. The board of directors, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of
all the members of the board, may suspend or expel a member for cause after an appropriate hearing and,
by a majority vote of those present at any regularly constituted meeting, may terminate the membership of
any member who shall be in default in the payment of dues for the period fixed in these by-laws.
2.11 'Resignation. Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the secretary, but such
resignation shall not relieve the member so resigning of the obligation to pay dues, assessments, or other
charges theretofore accrued and unpaid.'
2.12 Reinstatement. Upon written request signed by a former member and filed with the secretary,
the board of directors, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the board, may reinstate
such former member to membership upon such terms as the board of directors may deem appropriate.
2.13 Membership Application. All persons, firms, associations, foundations and corporations
interested in the welfare and objectives of this corporation shall be eligible for membership upon payment
of donations as herein provided and upon approval of the president or board of directors. With the
exception of Honorary members, each applicant for membership shall sign an application for membership
in such form as may be adopted or required by the board of directors.
Application by new members shall be accompanied by checks for the stated membership dues
and prorated dues for the balance of the fiscal year of membership.
2.14 Death of a Member. Upon the death of any member, the membership certificate shall
automatically expire unless the board of directors votes to certify the spouse, child or other heirs or
relatives as a member to take the place of the deceased member.
2.15 Compensation and Expenses to Members. Members shall not receive compensation or expenses
for attendance at any meeting of the members. No member shall receive any salary for services rendered
to the Corporation.
Part Three
Members' Meetings
3.1 Regular and Special Meetings; Place of Meetings. The annual meetings shall be the only
regular meetings of the members. Special meetings of the members may be held when called as
hereinafter provided. Any members' meetings may be held within or without the State of Iowa, but shall
always be held at the time and place fixed in the call for such meeting or in any resolution adjourningthe
same. If no other place is designated in the resolution adjourning such meeting, the adjourned meeting
shall be held at the place designated in the call for the meeting.
3.2 Annnal Meeting. The annual meeting of the members for the election of directors shall be held
on a date in the week that falls two months after the end of the corporation's fiscal year. If, for any
reason, such meeting shall not be held or a board of directors shall not be elected at such meeting or at an
adjournment thereof, a board of directors may be elected at a special meeting to be called by the board of
directors then in office or upon their order.
3.3 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the members, for any purpose or purposes other than the
election of directors as hereinabove provided, may be held at the call of the chairman of the board, the
president of the corporation or the board of directors, and shall be called by the president at the request
of the holders of one-tenth of all the members of the corporation entitled to vote at the meeting.
3.4 'Quorum. Except as otherwise provided by law, members attending a meeting qualifying for
votes which equal a majority of the total aggregate votes to which members are entitled, shall constitute a
quorum at any meeting.
3.5 Notice. Notice of all members' meetings shall be in writing, signed by an officer of the
corporation. A copy of such notice shall be sent by mail not less than 10 calendar days nor more than 50
calendar days prior to the date of the meeting, unless a longer period is required by law, to each member
of record entitled to notice of such meeting, at the registered post office address of such member as it
appears on the records of the corporation. Such notice shall state the time and place of the meeting and
the purpose for which it is called, so far as is known at the date of the notice, and if the call be for an
annual meeting, the notice shall so state. Such notice shall be sufficient for such meeting and any
adjournment thereo£ Any member may waive notice of any meeting either before, at, or after the
meeting.
3.6 Informalities and Irregularities. All informalities or irregularities in any call or notice of a
meeting, or in the areas of credentials, proxies, quorums, voting and similar matters, will be deemed
waived if no objection is made at the meeting.
3.7 Lack of Quorum. If a sufficient number of voting members constituting a quorum is not
present, the presiding officer may adjourn the meeting to a date and hour fixed by the officer, provided he
gives reasonable notice in writing or be telephone, telegram, personal visit, or other appropriate means of
the date and time of the continued meeting.
3.8 Informal Action. Any action which under any provisions of the Iowa Non-Profit Corporation
law may be taken at a meeting of the members may be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing,
setting for the action so taken, shall be signed by two-thirds of the persons entitled to vote with respect to
the subject matter thereo£ Such consent shall be filed with the secretary of the corporation.
3.9 Waiver. When the members entitled to vote shall be present or expressly waive their presence
at a meeting, and shall sign a written consent thereto on the record thereof, all the acts of such meeting
shall be binding, regardless of the manner in which the meeting is called.
3.10 Presiding Officer. A chairman elected by the members, shall preside over the meeting of the
members, and the secretary of the corporation, the corporate attorney, or a secretary designated by the
members shall be the recording secretary for the meeting.
3.11 Business to be Transacted. Any question may be considered and acted upon at an annual
meeting, but no question not stated in the call for a special meeting shall be acted upon thereat except by
the consent of a majority of the aggregate votes that the members of the corporation are presently
entitled to.
3.12 Voting. Charter members shall be entitled to one vote each and only Charter members will be
entitled to vote.
3.13 Order of Business. The order of business at meetings shall be as follows:
a. Call to order
b. - Reading of minutes of previous meeting
c. Receiving communications
d. Reports of officers
e. Reports of committee heads and committee members
f. Unfinished business
g. New business
h. Election of directors
j. Adjournment
The order of business may be altered or suspended at any meeting by a majority vote of the
members present.
3.14 Inspection of Records. The books of account and membership records of the corporation shall
be available for inspection at reasonable times by any member of the corporation.
Part Four
Board of Directors
4.1 Number and Eligibility. The board of directors shall consist of seven (7) members. The
Board of Directors shall be the duly appointed Commission members of the Iowa City/Johnson County
Senior Center Commission.
4.2 Annual Meeting and Election of Members of the Board. Immediately at, er the adjournment
of the annual meeting of the members, the board of directors shall convene an annual meeting and shall
elect a chair from among its number, who shall hold office for a period of one year or until his or her
successor has been duly elected and qualified. It shall be the duty of the chair to preside at all meetings of
the members and board of directors, and to insure compliance with the laws of the state, the Articles of
Incorporation, and the by-laws as herein set forth, and to perform such duties as may be delegated to him
and prescribed by the board of directors.
4.4 Election of Officers. At the annual meeting of the board of directors, the board shall elect the
officers of the corporation as follows: a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, and such
other officers with such titles and with such powers and duties as may be deemed necessary by the board
of directors. The officers must be members of the corporation.
4.5 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the board of directors may be held from time to time
upon call issued by the chair, the president, a majority of the directors, or two-thirds of the members of
the corporation. Such meetings may be held either within or without the State of Iowa, and may beheld
by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons
participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in a meeting pursuant to this provision
shall constitute presence in person at such meetings.
Attendance of a director at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except
where a director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business
because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.
Notice of special meetings of the board shall be signed by the person or persons calling the same
as aforesaid, or by someone designated and so authorized and instructed by the person or persons calling
the same, and shall be sent by mail to each director at his post office address of record with the
corporation not less than five calendar days and not more than 20 calendar days prior to the date of the
meeting. Such notice shall state the time and place of the meeting and the purposes for which it was
called.
4.6 Quorum and Waiver of Notice. A majority of the members of the board at the time holding
office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No special meeting of the board shall be
valid unless notice of thc meeting has been mailed to each member of the board as provided in paragraph
4.5 above, or the giving of such notice shall have been waived in writing.
4.7 Voting. Each director present shall be entitled to one vote at each directors' meeting. The act
of the majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the
Board of Directors.
4.8 Presumption of Assent. A director of the corporation who is present at a meeting of the board
of directors or of any committee, at which action is taken on any corporate matter, will be presumed to
have assented to the action taken unless his dissent is entered in the minutes of the meeting, or unless he
filed his written dissent of such action with the person acting as secretaEf of the meeting before the
adjoumrhent of the meeting, or forwards his dissent by registered mail to the secretary of the corporation
immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. The right to dissent will not be available to a director
who voted in favor of the action.
4.9 Filling Vacancies. Any vacancy in the board of directors or in the officers of the corporation
caused by the death, resignation, removal or other disqualification of a director or an officer may be filled
by a majority vote of the remaining directors, even though not constituting a quorum, by the election of
some other person who shall hold such office of director or officer by like tenure for the unexpired term.
However, prior to such action by the board, the members shall have the right, at any special meeting
called for that purpose, to fill any vacancy occurring in the board. The members, by a vote of two-thirds
of the voting power of all members at any special meeting called for the purpose, may remove from office
any one or more of the directors, notwithstanding his or their term of office as yet unexpired, and may
forthwith at such meeting proceed to elect a successor or successors for the unexpired term.
4.10 Tenure. The directors shall hold office as long as they are Commission members of the Iowa
City/Johnson County Senior Center Commission or until their successors are duly qualified.
4.11 Compensation for Non-Profit Corporate Directors. Neither the officers, directors nor
members serving on committees shall receive any salary or compensation for services rendered to the
corporation,.
4.12 Powers. The business of this corporation shall be conducted by the board of directors, and the
board shall have the right to prescribe the duties and powers of all officers.
4.13 Action by Resolution. The board of directors shall, except as otherwise herein provided by
law, have power to act in the following manner: A resolution in writing, signed by all the members ofthe
board of directors shall be deemed to be action by such board to the effect therein expressed, with the
same force and effect as if the same had been duly passed by the same vote at a duly convened meeting,
and it shall be the duty of the secretary of the corporation to record such resolution in the minute book of
the corporation under its proper date.
4.14 Lack of Quorum. Ifa sufficient number of directors constituting a quorum is not present, the
chairman so presiding may adjourn the meeting to a date and hour fixed by the chairman, provided he
gives reasonable notice in writing, by telephone, telegram, personal visit, or other appropriate means of
the date and time of the continued meeting.
4.15 Informalities and Irregularities. All informalities or irregularities in any call or notice of a
meeting, or in the areas of credentials, quorums, voting and similar matters, will be deemed waived if no
objection is made at the meeting.
4.16 Executive Committee. The Board of Directors, by resolution adopted by a majority of the full
board, may designate two or more of its members to constitute an Executive committee. The designation
of such committee and the obligation thereto of authority shall not operate to relieve the Board of
directors, or any members thereof, of any responsibility imposed by law.
a. Authority. The Executive Committee, when the board of directors is not in session, shall
have and may exercise all the authority of the Board of Directors except to the extent, if any, that such
authority shall be limited by the resolution appointing the Executive committee and except also that the
Executive Committee shall not have the authority of the Board of Directors in reference to amending the
Articles of incorporation, adopting a plan of merger or consolidation, recommending to the members the
sale, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all the property and assets of the corporation
otherwise than in the usual and regular course of its business, recommending to the members a voluntary
dissolution of the corporation or a revocation thereof, or amending the by-laws of the corporation.
b. Tenure and Oualifications. Each member of the Executive Committee shall hold office until
the next regular annual meeting of the Board of Directors following his designation and until his
successor is designated as a member of the Executive Committee and is elected and qualified.
c. Meetings. Regular meetings of the Executive committee may be held without notice at such
times and places as the Executive Committee may fix from time to time.
d. Quorum. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business at any meeting thereof and action of the Executive Committee must be
authorized by the affirmative vote ora majority of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum is
present.
e. Action Without a Meeting. Any action that may be taken by the Executive Committee at a
meeting may be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so to be taken,
shall be signed before such action by all the members of the Executive Committee.
e. Vacancies. Any vacancy in the Executive committee may be filled by a resolution adopted by
a majority of the full Board of Directors.
f. Resignations and Removal. Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed at any
time with or without cause by resolution adopted by a majority of the full Board of Directors. Any
member of the Executive Committee may resign from the Executive committee at any time by giving
written notice to the president or secretary of the corporation, and unless otherwise specified thereof, the
acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
h. Procedure. The Executive committee shall elect a presiding officer from its members and
may fix its own rules of procedure which shall not be inconsistent with these by-laws. It shall keep regular
minutes of its proceedings and report the same to the Board of Directors for its information at the
meeting thereof held next after the proceedings shall have been taken.
4.18 Special Committees. The board of directors may also, from time to time, appoint any
otherspecial committees deemed by it expedient, and refer to such special committees any special matters
with instructions and/or powers to act. All such special committees shall keep regular minutes of the
transaction of their meetings and make such minutes available to the board of directors at the next
meeting thereof following the proceedings of the special committee.
Part Five
Officers, Powers and Duties
5.1 Officers. The officers of this corporation shall consist of a president, a vice president, a
secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers with such titles, powers and duties as may be prescribed by
the board of directors.
5.2 Tenure. All officers shall hold office from the time of their election until the next annual
election of officers or until their respective successors are elected and qualified, provided, howevel-, any
officer may be removed from office by a majority vote of the directors at any legally held meeting of the
board.
5.3 Bonds and Other Requirements. The board of directors may require any officer to give bond
to the corporation (with sufficient surety and conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his
office) and to comply with such other conditions as may from time to time be required of him by the
board.
5.4 Removal of Officers. If the majority of the board concurs, the board of directors may at any
time, with or without cause, remove any officer or agent of the corporation and declare his office or
offices vacant or, in the case of the absence or disability of any officer or for any other reason considered
sufficient, the board may temporarily delegate his powers and duties to any other officer or to any
director.
5.5 President. In the absence of the chairman, the president shall preside at all meetings of the
members and board of directors. The president, along with other authorized officers, shall sign for and
on behalf of the corporation, or in its name, all certificates of membership, deeds, mortgages, contracts
and other instruments in writing, except that contracts may be signed with like effect by any other officer
or employee of the corporation specified in these by-laws or designated by the board of directors. While
actively engaged in conducting the business of the corporation, he or she shall be charged with all the
duties and have all the authority customarily performed and exercised by the chief executive of a
corporation organized under the laws of Iowa, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed
by the board.
5.6 President Elect. The board of directors may elect a "president elect" who shall be designated to
succeed the president after the expiration of his or her term, when the board of directors deems it
advisable, for purposes of continuity, to name the next succeeding president. When a president elect is
elected, his or her duties will be to become familiar with the duties of the president and to prepare a
written report of the observations of the previous year and the recommendations as to objectives,
standards, amendments, changes, or other action that he or she proposes to take upon the beginning of
his or her tenure as president.
5.7 Vice President. The vice president shall have and may exercise such powers and shall perform
such duties as may be delegated by the board of directors or the president of the corporation. The vice
president shall, in the event of the death, absence, or other disability of the president, perform all the
duties and exercise all the authority of the president.
5.8 Secretary. It shall be the duty of the secretary to record and keep the minutes of all meetings of
the members, the board of directors.
5.9 Treasurer. The treasurer shall be the custodian of all moneys belonging to the corporation and
shall hold all funds of the corporation subject to the order of the board of directors or persons thereunto
authorized by the board of directors. He or she shall deposit the funds of the corporation with such bank
or banks as the board of directors may approve and designate. At each annual meeting of the members,
and at each annual meeting of the directors, and whenever called upon at any other directors' meeting, he
shall make a complete and correct report of his accounts and disclose the true financial condition of the
corporation. He or she shall submit the books and accounts for audit when so requested by the board of
directors.
5.10 Compensation for Non-Profit Corporate Officers. The officers shall not receive any salary or
compensation for services rendered to the corporation.
5.12 Vacancies. A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or
otherwise, may be filled by the Board of Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.
Part Six
Corporate Seal
6.1 Description. The corporation shall not have a corporate seal.
Part Seven
Contracts, Deposits and Withdrawals of Corporate Funds
7.1 General. All moneys of every kind belonging to the corporation shall be deposited to its credit
in a bank or banks designated by the board of directors, and no moneys shall be withdrawn therefrom
unless the checks or other orders evidencing such withdrawals are signed by such officers or employees
of the corporation as may be designated by resolution of the board of directors duly adopted.
7.2 Contracts. The board of directors may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents ofthe
corporation, in addition to the officers so authorized by these by-laws, to enter into any contract or
execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority
may be general or confined to specific instances.
In the absence of such determination by the board of directors, contracts must be signed by the
president and secretary of the corporation and initialed by an attorney licensed in the state where the
contract is executed.
7.3 Checks, Drafts, Etc. All checks, drafts, orders for the payment of money, notes, or other
evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers,
agent or agents of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by
resolution of the board of directors. In the absence of such determination by the board of directors, such
instruments shall be signed by the treasurer or an assistant treasurer and countersigned by the president or
a vice president of the corporation.
7.4 Deposits. All funds of the corporation shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the
corporation in such banks, trust companies, or other depositories as the board of directors may select.
7.5 'Gifts. The board of directors may accept on behalf of the corporation any contribution, gift,
bequest or devise for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the corporation.
7.6 Loans to Corporation. Should any of the members be asked to lend money to the corporation
in the form of either promissory notes or bonds, these loan shall be executed in writing in the usual form
for promissory notes or bonds, and shall bear the maximum rate of interest which the law permits an
individual to pay for money that the corporation may borrow. This provision applies to all tenders of
money or assets which a member may transfer to the corporation with the intent that it be treated as a
loan.
Part Eight
Amendments
8.1 Vote Required. These by-laws may be enlarged, amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of
the Charter members of the corporation at any regular meeting of the members or at any special meeting
of the members called for that purpose, or by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors at any meeting
of the board of directors called for that purpose.
8.2 Meetings for Adoption. Such amendment, enlargement or repeal may be adopted at anyannual
meeting of the members without previous notice, but if contemplated at a special members' meeting,
notice thereof shall be given in the call for the meeting.
Part Nine
Fiscal Year
9.1 Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the corporation is set forth on the caption page of these by-laws.
Part Ten
Miscellaneous
10.1 Exempt Activities. Notwithstanding any other provision of these by-laws, no member, trustee,
officer, employee, or representative of this corporation shall take any action or carry on any activity by or
on behalf of the corporation no permitted to be taken or carried on by an organization exempt under
§501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be
amended, or by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under §170(c)(2) of such Code
and Regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
10.2 Election of Chairman Pro Tem. In the absence of the chairman, the president, and any vice
president at any members or directors meeting, the members or directors present shall elect a chairman
pro tern, who shall preside at the meeting and exercise the same powers as the chairman, the president, or
the vice president could if present.
10.3 Parliamentary Law. When not in conflict with these by-laws, Robert's Rules of Order,
Revised, 75th Anniversary Edition shall establish the rule of procedure at all members and directors
meetings, and the provisions of that publication are incorporated by reference herein as the ruling law for
this corporation.
10.4 Corporate Minute Books and Membership Records. The minute books of this corporation
shall be placed in the office o£the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center Co-ordinator.
10.5 Non-Liability of Members, Officers and Directors. The members, officers and directors of
this corporation shall not be individually liable for the corporation debts or other liabilities, and private
property of such individuals shall be exempt from corporation debts or liabilities.
10.6 Indemnification of Officers. The corporation shall indemnify every person, his heirs, executors
and administrators, against all expenses reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any action,
suit or proceeding to which such person may be made a party by reason of that person being or having
been a director or officer of this corporation, or by reason of that person being or having been a director
or officer of any other corporation of which this corporation is a shareholder or creditor, and from which
other corporation such person is not entitled to be indemnified, or by reason o£ such officer or director or
former officer or former director becoming a party to any such action, suit or proceeding at the request of
or at the direction of this corporation or any successor hereto; provided, however, there shall be no
indemnification in relation to any matter as to which such person shall be finally adjudged in such action,
suit or proceeding to be liable for negligence or misconduct. In the event of a settlement of such action,
suit or proceeding, indemnification of such person shall be provided only in connection with such matters
covered by such settlements to which the corporation is advised by counsel that such person to be
indemnified did not commit such a breach of duty. This right of indemnification shall be exclusive of
other rights to which such person may be entitled. As used in this by-law, expenses shall include, but
shall not be limited to, amounts of judgments, penalties or fines and interest thereon for reasonable
periods of time, rendered, levied or adjudged against such persons, costs of the action, suit or
proceeding, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees and amounts paid in settlement by such persons, provided
that such settlement shall have been or is thereafter approved by the board of directors of this
corporation. This by-law is made a part of these by-laws to comply with and to take full advantage of
Iowa laws governing such indemnification.
10.7 Authority to Sell Corporate Assets. With the consent or ratification in writing or pursuant to
the vote of a majority of members entitled to vote thereon, the board of directors will have the powers
and authority to lease, sell, assign, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of the entire property of the
corporation, irrespective of the effects thereof upon the continuance of the purposes of the corporation
and the exercise of its franchise; but the corporation may not be dissolved except as provided by the laws
of the State of Iowa.
CERTIFICATION
We, the undersigned, the duly elected and acting Directors of, a non-profit Iowa corporation, do
hereby certify that the within and foregoing by-laws were adopted as the by-laws o£that corporation on,
and that the same do now constitute the by-laws o£that corporation.
1N WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto subscribed our names and affixed the seal of the
corporation this date:
LORI L. BENZ CHARITY ROWLEY
JAY H. HONOHAN BETTY KELLY
NANCY WOMBACKER JOSEPHINE HENSCH
SARAH MAIERS
APPROVED BY SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
01 / 15/04
Financial Support for Senior Center Services and Programs
Purpose
1. To ensure the ability of Iow-income elderly to participate in Center programs and
services, the following financial aid programs are offered.
a. Subsidized Membership Fees
b. Subsidized Parking Permit Fees
c. Scholarships
Eliqibility
1. Eligibility requirements for subsidized memberships, parking permits, and
scholarships include the following.
a. 50 years of age or older;
b. One or more of the following must apply:
1. Current participant in the City Utility Discount Program;
2. Recipient of Medicaid benefits;
3. Recipient of Food Stamps;
4. Participant in the City of Iowa City assisted housing Program with an
annual household income at or below 30% of the median income of Iowa
City;
5. Recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
6. Participant in the State Elderly and Disabled Property Tax Credit Claim or
Rent Reimbursement Claim Program; or
7. An annual household income at or below 30% of the median income of
Iowa City. The 2003 qualifying income levels are:
Household Size 30% Median Income
1 $14,650
2 $16,750
3 $18,850
4 $20,950
2. Verification of eligibility is not required, but the applicant agrees to supply verifying
information if it is requested.
Cost of Subsidized Membership Fees, Parkinq Permits, and Scholarships
1. $10 membership fee, regardless of residence, for each person registering.
a. $5.00 to replace missing membership (proximity) cards.
2. $10 fee for an annual parking permit.
a. $5.00 to replace missing parking permits.
b. All recipients of subsidized parking permits must be current members of the
Senior Center or documented participants in the nutrition program who come
to the Center only to dine.
APPROVED BY SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
01/15/04
3. The Center offers two categories of fee-based classes that are available to
qualified participants interested in taking advantage of the scholarship program.
a. The first category has fees intended to cover costs incurred as a direct result
of sponsoring the class. These fees, generally between $5 and $35, pay for
supplies, equipment replacement costs, and other miscellaneous expenses.
100% of the fees for this type of fee-based class will be waived for qualified
individuals and classes.
b. The second category of fee-based class is offered by independent
contractors who provide instruction in specialized areas. These instructors
set and collect their own fees and then pay the Center 25% of their gross
revenue as compensation for the use of space and equipment. Class fees for
independent contractors typically run $3 to $3.50 a session.
25% of the class-fee for this type of fee-based class will be waived for
qualified individuals and classes.
c. All recipients of Senior Center scholarships must be current members of the
Senior Center.
d. To be eligible for scholarship funding, the fee-based class must be sponsored
by the Senior Center.
e. Locker or room rental, Trips and Tours programs, and supplies or books that
are purchased from the class instructor or local merchants and used in
conjunction with the class are excluded from the scholarship program.
Access
1. Membership and parking permit subsidizes will be processed at the time of
registration by the Senior Clerk Typist or a professional level staff member.
a. All registrants will be asked about their eligibility at the beginning of the
registration process and subsidies will be offered in accordance with the
responses provided.
2. The Senior Center Coordinator or his or her designee will handle requests for
Senior Center Scholarships.
a. Participant eligibility for the scholarship program will be verified by the Senior
Center Coordinator or his or her designee.
b. Qualified individuals will receive a voucher to present at the time of class
registration. The voucher will specify a padicular class and the amount of the
appropriate discount. Fees not covered by the voucher will need to be paid
at the time of registration.
Confidentiality
1. All the information acquired by Senior Center staff members as a result of the
financial aid program will be held in confidence with only the involved parties privy
to the information.
2. Recipients of financial aid will never be identified by name.
Fundinq Source
1. Financial aid programs will be funded through the Gift Fund or through donations
specifically designated for the support of the financial aid program.
2