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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-09-09 CorrespondenceS~p-O2-g? o3: 37 FRON : BRINES MRNP~MENT P.01 ~ug. 30 1997 01:~GPM P2 'P.O.. Box 64 - , Robyn Parks 917 Dearborn St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 AU6 2 8 ]997 OFFICE August 26, 1997 Dear Mayor Novick, Counselors Baker, Lehman, Kubby, Norton, Thornberry, and Vanderhoef: I attended a portion of tonight's city council meeting, for the specific purpose of hearing others' opinions regarding the First Avenue extension. I appreciate the listening you did, yet I am disappointed that the council was unable or chose not to have a conversation with the community members. Listening to your assessments as to why the five council members voted in favor of putting the extension in its beginning stages would have been beneficial for me. As it now stands, without the opportunity to hear why you voted the way you did, I continue to exhort all of the council to support Scott Boulevard as the arterial extension, not First Avenue, it was intended to be. I wrote to Mayor Novick, and Counselors Lehman, Thornberry and Vanderhoef last week asking them to not give their support to this proposal. I was not aware that Dee Norton was in favor or I would have written to him as well. I thank Dee Vanderhoef for calling me regarding the letter I sent. She was informative and explained her position. Unfortunately, as I understand it, there is no further opportunity to have a conversation with the council as a whole. I am distressed that there is no chance to speak with you as an decision making body. Clearly there needs to be a time to close discussion, yet it seems this is not the time, as many of the community are just becoming aware of the issue. On Friday, you will speak to one another and I will listen. It is my hope that you will give the council a two year extension to further hear from the community and study our needs and wants. If this is not possible, then I will work to support the referendum for the November election. Sincerely, Robyn Parks Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 14:03:14 -0600 From: "D. Beard" < dbeard@aoc.nrao.edu > To: council@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu Cc: dbeard@zia.aoc.nrao.edu Subject: First Ave. Extention 8-27-97 Dear Iowa City, City Council, We have of late seen rising descention among Iowa Citians concerning the extention of First Ave. They are asking that they have a vote or at least some say in the situation. After some discussion and eventually careful consideration my friends and I have concluded in our own personal theory concerning the problem and offer this theory to you to use as you our own personal theory concerning the problem and offer this theory to you to use as you may. We believe the problem lies in a general discontentment of the population as a hole. Thoughs of us who are natives or whom have lived here for at least 10 years have noticed the oppressive growth and expansion of Iowa City which in and of itself is not healthy and causes the discontentment. One does not need a PHD in Human Relationships to know that growth is not good. Bigger is not better. For example, a casual city crossing used to take 5 to 10 minutes. Now, due to the higher vehicular Icad, construction site detours, slow moving construction vehicles, more stop lights, below average speed limits, etc. the same trip takes from 10 to 20 minutes. This makes people unhappy. The closer community of 10 years ago knew almost every police officer by name. Those officers had time to chat and lend a hand if need be. Todays officer count is many and few of us know their names. They are young and have to prove themselves. This makes people unhappy. No matter what you do in this town you must stand in a line. If you go to the bank you must stand in a line. If you go to an automatic teller you must stand in a line. If you go to the grocery store you must stand in a line. After parking at HyVee one can walk 1.2 blocks for a quart of milk and of course stand in a line. If you go to the Quick Trip for a pack of gum you must stand in a line. People who want to get into Iowa City and if you want to leave Iowa City you must stand in a line. This makes people unhappy. The average citizen having average intelligence believes that only a handful of people in this town, not including business owners, are benefiting from this fast growth which is much to the demise of the quality of living. This make people very unhappy and they subconsciously desire some kind of control. You may be seeing the tip of the iceberg and if extreme slowing if not stop growth is inacted, that iceberg may extend it's exponential head. Thank you for listening Yours Truly D.J. Beard Iowa City Native 151 Ravencrest Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52245 August 27, 1997 Iowa City Civic Center City Council Members 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear City Council Memebers: We listened %o the Open Meeting by the City Council last night. I am writing to express our opinion. These people seemed to be book educated buy do not seem to under- stand basics. They blamed this Council for changing the promise of the past city council. Do they not realize that Iowa City is growing and along with population growth MUST come growth of roads too? And so therefore laws must change also. We feel Iowa City will and does need more that just one enterance (Dodge Street) to Interstate 80. First Avenue and Scott Streets are the very best choices and will certainly be better than just one street. The semi truck are now using Scott Street and then West Branch road. Would it not be better to have them go directly onto Interstate 80? If the City Council were to open up Scott Street then First and Dodge Street would be open to cars to go directly to Interstate 80. They also stated that the noise would ruin the quiet and peace of the park. Plant a row of Evergreens along the very narrow piece of Hickory Hills park. No one will ever realize there is a road there. and people on the road will never realize there is a park located there. We feel these very same people will enjoy using First Avenue to get to Interstate 80 more than anyone else that were doing all the complaining. Another thing, we want to compliment these people for doing such a good job of advertising Hickory Hill park. We have never been there, but will now be going there. We did not realize it was such a nice park. Sincerely, Bob & Helen Ramer 358 Magowan Iowa City IA 52246 27 August 1997 Iowa City City Council 410 East Washington Iowa City IA 52240 To the City Council I recommend that Hickory Hill Park be not interfered with by road construction. The pm'k is a unique resource for the city and deserves preservation. Sincerely, R. Lakes 1552 Prairie du Chien I/d. Iowa City, IA 52245 (319) 339-7330 August 25, 1997 City Council of Iowa City Civic Center 410 E Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear City Council, I am writing to you to alert you to a problem that exists in Iowa City and to request action on your part to rectify this situation. I have resided in Iowa City for four years. One year ago, I adopted a dog, Maggie, from a family in Cedar Rapids who was no longer able to care for her. In the past year, Maggie and I have established a walk as part of our daily routine. These walks have been an invaluable part of our time together, as they afford an opportunity for training, socialization with unfamiliar people and places, as well as a time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. However, over the past year, I have become increasingly aware of the lack of observance of Iowa City's leash laws by many of Iowa City's dog owners:J,n our neighborhood, I can count on seeing a dog off its leash at least thirty percent of the time. In other words, if I walk Maggie seven times a week, we will see a dog off leash at least twice. While this may not :seem like an extreme problem, it has become ve~y problematic for us as Maggie has been approached four times this summer by dogs who have come out of their owner's property. Three of these incidents involved the other dog approaching her aggressively; one of these three--the most recent--resulted in Maggie requiting veterinary care for bite wounds. The problem of owners not observing the leash law is compounded, however, by the fact that most people (including myself) are home with their dogs (and thus when many dogs are "let out") in the evening and on weekends, at which time there are no Animal Control officers on duty. I have spoken with the police department about their authority over animal control in the evening, and was advised that unless my dog or I am attacked or threatened, they cannot be of assistance. However, when Maggie was attacked earlier this month--on a Sunday evening--I called the police and was advised to call Animal Control the next morning, as the dog's owner had already put the dog back in his house and so the dog no longer posed a threat. I called Animal Control the next morning, and they have thus far been unsuccessful in their efforts to meet with the man who owns the dog who attacked Maggie. They have been to his house several times, but he has either refused to answer the door or has not been home. The officers at Animal Control are doing everything they can to rectify this situation, but the lack of availability of Animal Control officers in the evenings and on weekends has meant that more than three weeks after the attack, the dog and the owner responsible have gone unpunished, and the situation remains unresolved. It means that we have virtually no protection at the times we most need it. Please note that I am not saying that all dog owners in my neighborhood are not observing the leash laws, as many of them are. Nor am I saying that the problem exists only in my neighborhood. We have also experienced "encounters" with dogs off-leash when walking in City Park and on the University walkways near the river. However, I do want to maize clear the urgent need for stricter enforcement of city leash laws. Maggie and I no longer feel safe walking alone in Iowa City. When on a walk, Maggie becomes extremely agitated and anxious at the sight of another dog and I am constantly on my guard for dogs running loose. Because we don't feel safe, we now take wallcs only when accompanied by at least one other person, and I carry a wooden broom handle for protection. While this may seem extreme, our experiences this past summer attest to the need for some form of protection against roaming dogs. It seems wrong that I and other law-abiding citizens should have to take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of themselves and their dogs in order to take a simple walk. And so, I am urging you to take action to tighten enforcement of the city's leash laws and to increase the hours during which animal control officers are available for "routine" animal control complaints. Animals and their owners should have the same protection on evenings and weekends as they have during the day. Thank-you in advance for your consideration of this issue. Sincerely, Beth Shields September 5, 1997 City Council City of Iowa City HAND DELIVERED Greater Iowa City Cultural Alliance c/o Peter Sims 351 Willowind Place Iowa City, IA 52246 (319) 354-7401 Dear City Council Members: I understand you will soon be discussing the proposal for an Iowa City Public Art Program. In this regard, ! wish to inform you of a recent vote by the membership of the Greater Iowa City Cultural Alliance to endorse the proposal. The Alliance mission statement and paid membership to date is listed below. SincErely, Peter N. Sims Mission statement: The mission of the Greater Iowa City Cultural Alliance is to foster cooperation and dialogue among arts and cultural organizations and to increase quality opportunities for self-expression, research and participation in arts and cultural activities in the greater~Iowa City, Iowa area. The Greater Iowa City Area Cultural Alliance Paid Membership Arts Iowa City The Barn Collections Center Space/Shirley Wyrick City High Arts Council Hancher Auditorium Iowa Artisan's Gallery Iowa Arts Festival Io~va Barbershop Chorus Iowa City Chamber of Commerce Iowa City Community Theatrer Iowa City/Coralville Convention & Visitor's Bureau Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center Iowa City Public Library Iowa City Recreation Division Iowa State Bank & Trust Co. Naomi J. Novick Julia J. Peterson Preucil School of Music Public Access Television, Inc. Nancy Purington Riverside Theatre University or Iowa Museum of Art West Music Company, Inc. Women's Caucas for Art IT¥ MANA i 'S OFFIC August 22, 1997 Mayor Novick and Members of the City Council, I think the redesigning of Iowa Avenue is a good idea, since Iowa City was the first capitol of Iowa. It would be an asset to our City, reflecting how it looked 80 years ago. But how will a skywalk fit into this concept? It would also detract from the downtown area. First of all, the skywalk is not absolutely necessary. Why can't the students, researchers, etc. walk or push carts with their materials across a 4-lane street that has traffic lights at an intersection that is not that busy? The University will be pushing for a skywalk as an art project. If the University has money for an art project, let them put it somewhere else on the campus and in the art complex on the west side. The tunnel would be the best answer if a walkway has to be made. I heard it would be too costly. Has this been really looked into? I don't know how it could be more costly than an overhead walkway that would have to be maintained all the time. Besides, if the tunnel were constructed, the University would not have to pay the artist's fee. This is our town and the citizens, businessmen and Council should let the University know about our concerns for Iowa City and the downtown area. Very truly yours, Mrs. Kathryn ~eeley 301 Woodside Drive Iowa City, Iowa 52246 cc: Planning & Community Development Chamber of Commerce Downtown Association September 5, 1997 CITY OF I0 WA CITY Ms. Kathryn Keeley 301 Woodside Drive Iowa City, IA 52246 Dear Ms. Keeley: Thank you for your letter. I am pleased to know that you are supportive of our project to improve Iowa Avenue. We have consultants working on this, and we expect to hear their recommendations at Council's September 8 work session. (Seven o'clock, if you would like to attend.) The University of Iowa's skywalk decision does not have to be approved by the City Council. We did tell them that we prefer a tunnel and that we prefer a different type of skywalk. Part of the reason for hiring an artist was the City Council's concerns about the first skywalk plan. We all understand that fragile organisms need to be protected from heat and cold while transported between buildings. So your idea to cross at street level would not be as easy as it sounds. I am sending a copy of your letter to Richard Gibson, Director of Facilities Services Group. He is pleased to receive comments from the public and will give them to his committee members. Sincerely, Naomi J. Novick Mayor cc: Richard Gibson City Council jwAtr/nn-skywk.doc 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET · IOWA CITY, IOWA $2240-1826 ~ (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 a) 0 --i .-~ ITI 0 Z J rrl