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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-05-12 Correspondence MAY 0 7 1998 CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ,~ _ ',,I Bui ding on a May 6, 1998 lowa City City Council Service ' Dear Council, The Library Board has followed Council discussions regarding the referendum for expanding the Library and building the community cultural center, including possible allocation of funds and wording of the ballot for a sales tax. We are pleased that the Library has remained an important component of your discussions. If a November referendum is anticipated, we need to have a firm decision from you very soon regarding these ballot issues. In less than 6 months this complicated proposal could be before the voters. Time is needed to form a campaign committee and for them to urge the community to support these issues. We understand that, although Iowa City can call a vote on the sales tax issue, Coralville may prefer to wait until early spring of 1999. Our preference is to move the process along as quickly as possible, but ifa short delay is necessary and in the best interests of the project, it should be taken. We are very excited about finally putting our project to the voters and working with the CenterSpace supporters as they do the same. We hope you can make a firm commitment very soon. Jesse Singerman Chair, Library/CenterSpace Building Committee 123 SOUTH LINN STREET IOWA CITY, IOWA 5224.0 SUSAN CRAIG, DIRECTOR INFORMATION 319-356-52OO BUSINESS 319-356-5206 FAX 319-356-5494 130 Ferson Avenue Iowa City, IA 52246 April 28, 1998 APR 3 0 1998 .... Mayor Emie Lehman and Councillors Iowa City Civic Center Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Mr. Lehman and Councillors: It is difficult for me to understand why a proposed parking ramp on Iowa Avenue is even being considered. The relatively new ramp at Chauncey Swan Plaza is not fully utilized, so there is parking available and it should be used before another ramp is built so nearby. Residents of the Senior Center and the Eucumenical Towers would both have not only an unsightly building but the inevitable noise and exhaust fumes of car motors constantly. Linn Street would lose what I have always considered to be a very pleasant appearance with the building on the comer, the restored Senior Center building and that great addition to downtown Iowa City, The Cottage. The Iowa Avenue median at the intersection with Dubuque St. is quite lovely right now with the trees in bloom (as is the case in the rest of the downtown area). Recent letters to the Editor of the Press- Citizen have made these points eloquently and I hear much discussion to this effect all about me. If the ramp is built I am sure it will be welcomed by students as it is closer to classes than the ramp at Washington and Gilbert. But if need be, they will park in the existing ramp as they have filled the federal lot at Clinton near the post office for many years. That lot is even further away than the Chauncey Swan Plaza ramp. Probably, ira ramp were built, as the previous council planned, south of Burlington, the students and others would park there. This would have the additional advantage of requiring the students to walk past downtown shops on the way to their cars. I lay the poor planning for student parking on the heads of the university since there is no parking shortage in downtown Iowa City when the university is not in session. I fail to see why it is not up to the university to provide more parking and lure the students to it by a discounted rate over downtown parking rates. Does the new shuttle bus now stop at the Washington and Gilbert parking ramp and if not, why not? That should appeal if there are those who consider the two blocks to the heart of downtown too far to walk. Please reconsider your thoughts of building a parking ramp at Iowa Avenue and Linn Street. Begin the growth of downtown south of Burlington with an attractive ramp (if such a thing exists) there as previously plannned, if a ramp is needed, and do not destroy the unique aspects of downtown Iowa City which are what make it a special destination for business and pleasure. Sincerely yours, Lesley H. Meuninger April 25, 1998 Dear City Council, The Neighborhood Associations are a valuable resource for the community bringing issues of importance to and feedback from the neighborhoods. Just as the city population is diverse in backgrounds, ages, involvement, and interests, so are the neighborhoods. This letter hopefully will provide some insight into what our small neighborhood has been doing since we were created. Over the years we have spent many hours trying to help our neighbors with issues they present as important. Most issues are brought up informally at our social gatherings. Some problems are created due to capital ~ ..........+o ~ ..... ,,,,~,,,.,,,~,,,~,,,o ,,, ,.,,.,, area. Some problems are ....*'-'~ ~"' *~ method or wording of city actions. I will try to list some of what we have done as a neighborhood (but not in chronological order). We are grateful for the help provided by the neighborhood coordinator such as suggestions about who to contact and how to organize. Our neighborhood was established when a new development and park land were proposed. The platte would have provided for future joining of both Aber Avenues. The resulting connection would have created a shortcut from Mormon Trek to Sunset through residential areas instead of main streets and eliminated a park (see newspaper article). Over 40 people attended a meeting and slide presentation about natural areas as parks in anticipation of the Danes donating a park at the end of Abet Avenue. This meeting was followed by many ,,,~,,,,~o, then renting a plane to photo the proposed park land (see "'~'~'*"~ ""'~ ....... plans for the park (see photo). Neighbors collected tires to earn money for buying seeds for Kiwanis park. One recent neighborhood meeting featured a safe driving video and the City Engineer presenting information about the proposed north/south sewer through Kiwanis Park. We timed various lights around town for comparison and then asked for increased time crossing the street at with the light at Benton and Mormon Trek to allow for children and elderly to cross. We organized a family softball game where the fire truck came and the firefighters graciously joined us and allowed children to tour the truck. We have organized yearly neighborhood wide garage sales. This past Christmas we organized caroling between houses with over 40 attending. Most attending were new to the area and enjoyed meeting others with children. We submitted a Pin Grant application of $5,000 for plantings in Kiwanis Park and collected 12 quarts of wildflower seeds. This had to be canceled when we found out about an East/West sewer line to go through the park, some of the seeds have been donated to other neighborhoods who are ready to plant now. Another Pin Grant joined with 3 other neighborhoods to sponsor a walkway connecting the trail to the other side of West High. Hours were spent with the school district, First, City, condo manager, and staff trying to negotiate locations, easements, type of walk, etc. We plan to provide refreshments for the ribbon cutting sometime this June. Many hours were spent communicating with the City and requesting traffic counts for installation of a temporaw light needed at Rohret/Cae and Mormon Trek. The City said we did not have enough traffic yet but was finally persuaded to install the light. The effect has also been a decrease of speed and 18 wheelers on Mormon Trek at that location. Another major issue was organizing, petitioning, printing, and hand distributing weekly information updates regarding issues of Mormon Trek Village. Many attended meetings with staff, council, developers, other neighborhoods. The meetings helped define topics so fewer people spoke, taking less time at council meetings although they were there in support. We tried to keep to the issues, have documentation, and not just become emotional. We appreciated the council willing to come to see the sight with us. The final result was reduced density of development and a large holding pond for runoff. We provided a central collection site in the neighborhood to transport items to toxic waste Cleanup day. We generated letters, calls, and attended meetings with city, county, and DOT, about adding a light at Hwyl and Mormon trek. We encouraged annexation of light locations. (see newspaper article) We sponsored meetings with neighbors on Aber Avenue to help the city decide to rename our street instead of the other side of Aber which would affect more people. Surveys were created and a name suggested to the City of Abbey Lane. Unfortunately, the assessor office, phone company, some City offices, and the post office did not receive official notice and we spent over three years trying to convince governing entities we were the same street. Some entities finally accepted a copy of the city letter agreeing to the new name change. We spent many hours working with the city on information and surveys to determine a location of the new sewer line down Abbey Lane instead of down the creek behind Plaen View. We joined other neighborhoods in sponsoring Music in the Park at Willow Creek Park, and are doing this again this year. We had numerous potlucks at Willow Creek Park which facilitate and help maintain neighborhood relationships. At one we displayed the latest sewer and Kiwanis Park maps. One meeting we invited the fire truck and HAZMAT truck. Within neighborhoods as small as ours there are a variety of needs and issues, The comments in newsletters try to help address common issues such as writing your address on garbage cans so they can be returned after strong winds blow them down the hills or streets. We sponsored a Neighborhood Watch program and Abbey Lane decided to create a watch program. Jema Court added to the neighborhood after a request from the residents as presented by the neighborhood coordinator. The neighborhood council opened a dialogue with a University forum for Mary Sue Coleman to present new issues which might effect our neighborhoods. Just as our neighborhood is evolving, so are the neighborhood associations and their connections with the city staff. The new District concept only for internal staff might eliminate projects beginning without other pads of the staff being informed. The neighborhood coordinator acts as liaison who recognizes projects the neighborhoods may want information about. An example of the need for internal District meetings is the Willow Creek Sewer being planned and a survey without knowledge of parks or the neighborhood coordinator while plans were being made to build Kiwanis Park the same season in the same location. The neighborhood noticed the surveying and found out and notified the city about the conflict before staff was aware of it. An example of the need for a neighborhood coordinator in the Staff District meetings is the current flood plane map problem. The wording about a "new" flood map that was added to our newsletter by Staff was interpreted as now placing all Abbey Lane in flood plan. I had already sent out a copy of a city letter stating that none of the houses needed flood insurance. I received some confused calls from neighbors. The actual changes I saw after getting a map copy were showing flooding down the street and between two houses. Unfortunately the flooding goes further down the street and between different houses, not the ones shown. Neighbors were shown the map and asked to add changes and pictures to help have the map redrawn again. In a later discussion with the Shive-Hattery representative who drew the map I found he had asked for contact people in the area. But, he was not given any of our neighborhood representatives name. The neighborhood coordinator would have been able to provide contacts. An example of the need for the neighborhood council is the support for parkland for Weber/Harlocke as it is evolving. The council is a useful arena for information, solutions to common problems, and mentors to newer groups. Ty'n Cae Neighborhood Judy Pfohl, President Marcia Akeson, Vice President St ht request in jurisdiction jam ! Residents ask for light on Highway 1 By Lynn Tefff News correspondent IOWA CITY -- While the responsibility for the inter° section of Highway 1 and Mormon Trek Boulevard is JOHNSON COUNTY tossed back and forth between the City Council and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, resi- dents in the area are still calling for a stoplight. Judy Pfohl, 2229 Abet Ave., represented a neigh- borhood group at the super- visors' meeting Tuesday. "As members of Johnson County interested in safety, we are requesting a traffic light in the area," she said. Pfohl said she wants a light installed because cars attempting to enter the highway from Mormon Trek are a traffic hazard. She added that many peo- ple avoid the intersection altogether, which increases traffic flow on surrounding streets. SEVERAL supervisors questioned the county's obligation since Waffic tights are traditionally installed by the city, but Pfohl said city staff mem- bers told her to take her concerns to the board. County Engineer Doug Frederick urged the board., to consult Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White about who is responsible for the intersection. "I would guess it would be the city's responsibility," board Chairwoman Patricia jVIeade said. She pointed out that the county doesn't remove snow or perform other maintenance at the intersection. "Someone else is taking care of the land," she said. City Manager Steve Atkins said the city per- formed a traffic study on the area after talking with' Pfohl and forwarded the results to the county. He said only one part of the intersection is within the city and therefore the responsibility for tralTlc sigo hals lies with the county. "The signal appears to be warranted," Atkins said. "But the property is not within the city limits." He added however, that the city would be willing to help pay for a signal chosen by the counW. Meanwhile, Pfohl and others in the area are still waiting for someone to do something. "It makes sense," she said. "It's a lot of money for the county, but maybe they can cost-share with the city." The board decided to postpone any decision until White can investigate. .htdv Plbhl and her .~'rm, Mike, stand in an area where the propoxed trail will develop. By Lisa Swegle 77w Pr¢,~,~-Cm~cn Judx Pfohl ha, a vision of creaUng a bike trail and nature area adjoining Wilhw, Creek Park Pfohl. 2229 Aber Ave.. lives bx an open patch of 40 acres. south of Willov. Creek Park. that is in the midst of being developed into Park West subdivision. Propert)' owner John Dane said he plans to give about IO acres of the land to the cid in January. When Pfol~l learned about the land donation. she began organiz- ing her neighbors to develop a park. In August. Pfohl coordinated and became president of the Ty'n Cae Neighborhood Association. a group of about 150 neighbors on West Aber Avenue. Burr)' Street. Cambria Court. Cae Drive and Dolan Place. The neighbors decided the5' v, amed develop a bike trail and prairie gras,, area. Wildflowers and three-foot-tall prairie grass could be planted next year. A crushed rock or blacktop 13ike trail could be built around the creek and adjoin the Willow Creek bike trail. "Have a place to go where people feel they' are really far away from the city. but they're really in the city'.:' Pfohl said. "This s~de nt town is getting so ,revealed h', pan of making peo- ple feel got4 when they have green space around them." Another possibilit3 would be to build a bird blind. a three-sided structure that allox~.s people to Trail from lB Willow '~ Wil~w Creek Park '%Creek ~' ~ 0 .25 ~ ~: miles ~ Proposed :'~- '~ park area NEIGHBORHOOD Avenue , 3LAZING A Willow Creek plan would incorporate new bike trail watch birds without being seen. Pfohl said she did not know how much the 'total project would cost, but the neighborhood would solicit donations and coordinate a vol- unteer effort. Parks and Recreation Director TerD' Trueblood said the city will work with the neighborhood in developing the park. He said there are many benefits when neighbors projects. but this is the first park project she has tackled. She is presently attending the University of Iowa to become a ~ience teacher. "It's better now because we ha'.c anetv. ork of Ix'opic. so I work together. "There's a lot more ownership involved. People care more for it. They're more willing to keep it up and keep an eye on it." he said. Pat Gingrich. 2035 Abcr. lives next to the proposed park area. Her family often sits on their back porch across from the field. Her three children have seen foxes, deer. herrin, aud animal that Coralvil[~ Press-Cmzen looked like a woodchuck. "It's quite a little refuge for animals. h's hard to believe it with all of the hodses and highwin, around it. It's nice to think th~ animals will be able to stay," she said. Gingrich said her neighbors are excited about gaining a neigh- borhood park. ".Judy has been wonderful. She has been the real energy behind this." Gingrich said. Pfohl said she has completed many landscaping and nature See TRAIU2B it to be .lUSt my idea and that's what 1 was worried about." Pfohl said the park would be very accessible to bike riders, walkers and bird watchers in the area bounded by Highway I, Mormon Trek Boulevard. Mel- rose Avenue and Sunset Street. "An awlul lot of people ride their hikes and walk to get through here t(, Wmlh,~ ('reck." son, Mike, I0. enjoy taking fan)- ily bike rides through Willo~ Creek and the surrounding streets. They wish Iowa City had more bike trails because il is difficuh to ride bikes (m the busy streets, she said. "We go up to Cedar Rapids to use their bike trails. It would bc fun to do something here st) you have a place to go with veto hikes." she said "h's jusi ~o .rI¢il ,idjolnill~ ~dlow Licck I'.lf k Pfohl, 2229 Aber Ave., lives by an open patch of 40 a~tes, south of Willow Creek Park. that is in the midst of being developed into Park west subdivision. Property owner Mhn Dane said he plans m give .~bout 10 acres of the land to the city in January. When Pfohl learned about the hind donation. she began organiz- ing her neighbors to develop a park. !n August, Pfohl coordinated .red became president of the Ty'n Cae Neighborhood Ass(x:iation, a group of about 150 neighbors on West Abet Avenue, Burry Street. Cambria Court, Cae Drive and Dolan Place. The neighbors decided they wanted develop a bike trail and prairie grass area. Wildflowers md three-foot-tall prairie grass could be planted next year. A crushed rock or blacktop bike trail could be built around the creek and adjoin the Willow Creek hike Irail. "Have a place to go where people feel they are really far away from the city. but they're really in the city," Pfohl said. '"Fhi,~ side of town is getting so crowded. It'q par~ of making peo- ple feel good when they have ~reen space around them." Another possibility would be to build a bird blind, a three-sided ',tructure that allows people to Trail fro~ lB NEIGHBORHOOD _ RAIL Willow Creek plan would incorporate new bike trail watch birds without being seen. Pfohl ~id she did not know how much the total project would cost. but the neighborhood would solicit donations and coordinate a vol- unteer effort. Parks and Recreation Director Terry Trueblood said the city will work with the neighborhood in developing the park. He said there are many benefits when neighbors projects, but this is the first park project she has tackled. She is presently attending the University of Iowa to become a science teacher. "It's better now because we have a network of people, so I don't feel like I have to do it all myself." she said. "I don't want work together. "There's a lot more ownership involved. People care more for it. They're more willing to keep it up and keep an eye on it." he said. Pat Gingrich, 2035 Abet, lives next to the proposed park area. Her family often sits on their back porch. across from the field. Her three children have seen foxes, deer, herrin, and animal that it to be jusl my idea and that's what I was worried about." Pfohl said the park would be very accessible to bike riders. walkers and bird watchers in the area bounded by Highway I, Mormon Trek Boulevard. Mel- rose Avenue and Sunset Street. "An awful lot of people ride Proposed "' "~ park area /roar Avenue . t"°rm~detail i Lre a"-~--~-] Press-Cil~zen looked like a wo(~lchuck. "It's quite a little refuge for animals. it's hard to believe it with all of the houses and highway around it. It's nice to think the animals will be able to stay," she said. Gingrich said her neighbors are excited about gaining a neigh- borhood park. "Judy has been wonderful. She has been the real energy behind this," Gingrich said. Pfohl said she has completed many landscaping and nature son. Mike, 10, enjoy taking fan)- ily bike rides through Willroe' Creek and the surrounding streets. They wish Iowa City had more hike trails because it is difficuh to ride bikes on the bus3, streets, she said. "We go up to Cedar Rapids to use their bike trails. !t would be fun to do something here so you their bikes and walk to get have a place to go with your through here to Willow Creek," bikes." she said. "It's just so she said. much more exciting to go through Pfi~hl. her hH,,bamt. Bruce. and the woods." See TRAIL/2B 629 Melrose Avenue May 1, 1998 Iowa City City Council Civic Center Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Council Members: I am writing to you for two reasons: to respond to Mayor Lehman's request for information concerning our neighborhood association's accomplishments in recent years, and to express my views about the proposed neighborhood services office reorganization. As a member of the Melrose Avenue Neighborhood Association, I can say with confidence that many in the group believe our most important accomplishment to be the successful negotiation of the now-reconstructed Melrose Avenue employing a design that was unquestionably in the best interests of the neighborhood but also, we sincerely believe, in the best interests of the city as well. We also believe that our neighborhood's efforts to become involved in the reconstruction decision-making process contributed significantly to the creation of a more efficient process by which neighborhood input is gathered by the city on capital improvement issues, to the city's improved working relationship with neighborhood groups, and perhaps even to the establishment of the neighborhood services coordinator position itself. I think we have good reason to be proud of what was accomplished. In terms of other, more predictable kinds of neighborhood activities, there is less to take credit for. We have made attempts in the last few years to combat the fairly widespread problems of front-lawn parking and over-occupancy and to address specific instances of nuisance behavior, i.e., unmowed grass, poorly-contained garbage, etc. We have also tried to organize an annual summer picnic at Brooklyn Woods Park. All of our efforts have met with varying degrees of success. As I mentioned to Mayor Lehman a couple of weeks ago, the fact that our neighborhood association does not have a long list of past achievements to point to has less to do with the group itself than it does with what has happened to the neighborhood. Given the University's encroachment, the conversion of single-family homes to other uses such as daycare facilities (there are now six), and the preponderance of renters and other short-term dwellers such as visiting faculty, it should be fairly obvious why we have had problems gamering significant neighborhood support for the activities we have undertaken. This is not to say that people in the neighborhood are uninterested in issues affecting them. One need look no further than the large turnout for the meeting a few weeks ago with Jeff Davidson and Doug Ripley concerning the Melrose Court signal to understand that there are still matters that neighbors care deeply about. Which brings me to my second point. The meeting with the neighborhood association provided an ideal forum for discussing the Melrose Court signal matter, as it has for so many other similar matters in the past. Since I have always subscribed to the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" philosophy, I am opposed to the restructuring of the neighborhood services office. It has been suggested that this restructuring is necessary because neighborhood associations have failed to live up to the city council's expectations, especially as they relate to the dissemination of information from the city to the community. I would argue that it is the expectations that were at fault, not the groups themselves. Neighborhood associations must be viewed as having a purpose beyond that of being a conduit for city news, if for no other reason than the fact that so much of the city is not included in a formal association. Moving to district associations may make the delivery of information easier, but it certainly will not improve the quality of the activities undertaken, since it is so difficult to find a common denominator among neighborhoods. Many issues are simply too neighborhood- specific to cut across association divisions. And while it may be true that the restructuring would not preclude individual neighborhood associations from continuing their activities, as a practical matter, I know of very few individuals who would have the time and the energy to expend on more than one group. If forced to choose between the two, the most active group members would, I believe, continue to work at the neighborhood level. As for the office of neighborhood services coordinator, I think it would be very difficult for associations to operate without someone like Marcia Klingamon to call on for assistance. Quite simply, she knows how to get things done. For instance, when I tried to schedule the April neighborhood meeting at Roosevelt School, I was told by someone both at Roosevelt and the school district office that we would have to make the building-use request in writing as well as produce evidence that the group was insured. One call from Marcia, however, and the meeting was scheduled the same day. As another example, last fall there were concerns in the neighborhood about a very large all-day party to be held one football Saturday. Marcia not only suggested whom I should call before the party but also recommended some things to consider if our group wanted to try to prevent such a party from occurring in the future. Finally, I want to express my disagreement with the suggestion that the city's support for neighborhood associations should be tied to things like the frequency of newsletter mailings and attendance at the neighborhood council meetings. It seems to me that even a minimally-functioning association is better than none at all. At best, it may' one day succeed in bringing together neighbors interested in addressing common issues. At the least, there will be an organizational structure in place to act as an intermediary between the city and the neighborhood, should the need arise. Our meeting with city staff is a good example of how effective this can be. Because we had an organization in place and thanks to the city's help with the flyer, we were able to secure a meeting place, notify everyone in the neighborhood and hold the meeting, all in about two weeks' time. I question whether this could have occurred so quickly absent our organization. Additionally, it is worth noting that less active neighborhood groups like ours ask very little from the city--perhaps only the mailing of a flyer or newsletter once a year. And it is precisely these groups which are most in need of the city's financial support, since they are the ones least able to finance their own activities through garden walks, T shirt sales, etc. I hope you will reject the proposed changes to the neighborhood services office and instead agree to maintain the office of neighborhood services coordinator and to continue to support the various neighborhood associations as needed. I think there is little to be gained but much to be lost by implementing the proposed restructuring. Truly yours, Michaelanne Widness City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: May 4, 1998 To: From: City Clerk Doug Ripley, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner~/ Re: New Madison Street Parking Meters As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after May 26, 1998. Action Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(17) of the City Code, 6 parking meters will be installed in the existing loading zone on the west side of the 100 block of North Madison Street. The loading zone designation will be removed. Comment This action is being taken at the request of the University of Iowa Memorial Union. The meters will be designated as 30-minute meters. The City will initially install, maintain and regulate the meters. Im\mem\dr5--4-2.doc City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: May 5, 1998 To: From: City Clerk Doug Ripley, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Tow Away Zone on Grand Avenue Court As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after May 19, 1998. Action Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10) of the City Code, signage will be installed indicating "TOW AWAY ZONE" on the existing "NO PARKING" signs on both sides of South Grand Court. Comment This action is being taken at the request of the Iowa City Police Department due to the high parking demand in the area, the standard $5.00 violation is not working as a deterrent for illegal parking. South Grand Court is narrow with no sidewalks and sight distance restrictions. On-street parking creates additional safety concerns. Im\mem\drS-4.doc City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: May 6, 1998 To: City Clerk From: Doug Ripley, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Stop Sign Installation on Otto Street at WooIf Avenue As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after May 21. 1998. Action Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(5) of the City Code, signage will be installed indicating traffic on Otto Street must stop at the intersection of WooIf Avenue. Comment This action is being taken to provide consistency in traffic control at the intersection relative to similar intersections in the area. WooIf Avenue is a collector street and Otto Street is a local street, so it is appropriate for Otto Street traffic to stop at the intersection with WooIf Avenue. Im\mem\dr5-5.doc April 22, 1998 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - TREASURY CASHI~ We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Treasury Cashier. Jennifer Broghammer IOWA CITY CIVIt. SERVICe. CO~,~ SION Mi/c~e~11~ Chair ATTEST: Mar~ian Karr, City Clerk April 20, 1998 TO: RE: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council Civil Service Entrance Examination - MAIL We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following na~e~ person(s) as eligible for the position of Mail Clerk. Rebecca Kennedy ~ow~ e~:w ezvv. s,n~wcz !~~i~chael~edy, chair ATTEST: Mai>xan Karr, City Clerk May 7, 1998 oseto v.n To: Mayor Ernest Lehman and other members of the Iowa City Council From: Carl H. Klaus, Goosetown Representative Subject: Goosetown's Contributions to the City of Iowa City Goosetown has been a separate and independent neighborhood for approximately ~0 years, as documented in the stories of Irving Weber, the Goosetown Archives which are on file at the Johnson County Historical Museum, an exhibit about Goosetown that was displayed at the Iowa City Public Library during September 1994, and a feature article about Goosetown that appeared in the Summer 1995 issue of The Iowan magazine. Throughout its long existence, the neighborhood has actively contributed to the well-being of its residents and the life of the city at large through a wide variety of activities and projects, ranging from band concerts and fraternal organizations to ice-cream socials and potlucks to neighborhood cleanups and welfare projects, to the creation of the first neighborhood-built park in the state of Iowa, namely the Reno Street Neighborhood Park. For the past twenty-seven years, hundreds of Goosetown neighbors have actively been involved in creating, funding, building, and maintaining Reno Street Neighborhood Park. The unprecedented significance of this project was first recognized by The Des Moines Register, which published a four- page feature article about the project, written by Larry Eckholt, in its Sunday Magazine section, November 19, 1972. Detailed records of our park project are on file at the office of Terry Trueblood, who you might also wish to consult about our neighborhood's long-standing and continuing commitment to the maintenance of this unique park. During the past twenty-seven years, thanks to a wide variety of sales and individual donations, the neighborhood has raised more than $15,000 to create, support, and maintain the Reno Street Neighborhood Park. These funds have been used to purchase and plant trees, to build a gazebo and play equipment, and most recently during the summer of 1997 to build a limestone patio and construct a neighborhood news kiosk in the park. Neighborhood volunteers have donated their time to all of these major projects, as well as to the regular cleanup and planting projects that take place every spring and summer in the park. During the past five years, the Goosetown Neighborhood Association has carried on a number of other important activities, ranging from its historic preservation projects, such as the Goosetown Archives, and its major role in the Heritage Trees Project, to its neighborhood welfare projects, its spring potlucks and fall bratlucks, its (fundraising) Goosetown Sweatshirts and T-Shirts, and its Goosetown newsletters (published and disseminated without any funding from the City). The Iowa City City Council 214 E. Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear City Council: May 11, 1998 Mary Lewis Grant Wood Neighborhood Assoc. 56 Regal Lane Iowa City, IA 52240 ~ _--~ I am writing in regard to recent discussions to limit or cut the support from the City to the Neighborhood Associations. Recently, several discussions have taken place about the purpose (or perceived purpose) of these associations. Suddenly the City has taken a narrow view of the function of Neighborhood Associations. I have been with the Grant Wood Neighborhood Association since 1990. I would agree with the suggestion that most Neighborhood Associations are started because of an issue. That's how we started, but I would like to point out that with the support of the City and the direction we have received from the Neighborhood Services Office, we have been able to do much more for the neighborhood. Below, I have listed a few of these projects: Installation of a walk light at Fair Meadows Blvd. and Highway 6. (A major project, as some of you might remember) Meetings with Hollywood Blvd. residents to discuss traffic issues, resulting in more police surveillance, more speed limit signs, traffic checks · Meetings with residents bordering the soon-to-be-built Meadowlark Apartments, resulting in neighborhood input in the design of the apartments to make them more appealing to the surrounding neighbors · Meeting with these residents and various City officials to prohibit the opening of California Street to Meadowlark Apartments - resulting in the installation of breakaway barriers · Several meetings with City Council incumbents allowing the residents of our area to meet them and get to know their stand on issues specific to our area before elections · Implementation of an additional City bus route on the East side of town. The City bus used to run only east and west, resulting in a one hour trip to go from our area to City High School. Now a bus runs, with standing room only, to and from the southeast side to the northeast side without going downtown first. · Two fund raisers for families in need in our area · Two picnics in the park which has become an annual event · Neighborhood improvements including: Curb cuts Water fountain in Fair Meadows Park Sidewalk repair assistance Playground equipment in Fair Meadows Park Bike rack in Fair Meadows Park Butterfly Garden at Grant Wood School Trees and Shrubs for the Grant Wood Prairie and Safety Village Pet pick up bags in Fair Meadows Park At Whispering Meadows Wetlands Park: Neighborhood support for the park Education for the neighborhood about the park Installation of a bat house along with an information session about bats Support of maintenance of the park Installation of signage in the park Planting of over 100 trees and shrubs Park clean-ups Adopting the park Suggestions of installation of picnic tables, bike racks, trash cans We are currently in the process of applying for PIN funds to install more play equipment in Fair Meadows Park (four units), planning for our 1998 Picnic in the Park, planting ten more trees in Whispering Meadows Wetlands Park, among many other projects that are still in the planning stages. IF there is a way to add up all of the volunteer time contributed to the projects above, and to place a dollar value to these hours, you would have to agree that the funding support from the City to the Neighborhood Association has been a very worthwhile investment. I know that some of you feel several neighborhoods have not been active or have only been active because of an issue they are fighting. Well, that's how we started. With the opportunity for continued support from the City available to neighborhoods, several have continued to improve their neighborhood as well as become an outlet for communication between the City and the neighborhood. It has been said the Neighborhoods aren't doing their job. Particularly when it comes to the issues surrounding First Avenue extension. Suddenly Neighborhood Associations are viewed as primarily an outlet for City information. In reality, Neighborhood Associations' value to the City is not as an information outlet for City projects, but rather an enhancement for the people living in Iowa City as well as a forum for communication. Neighborhood Associations offer much more than an outlet for information. Please consider alternative methods of disseminating information and continue to fund and support the Neighborhood Associations of Iowa City. Sincerely, Mary LevOs President, Grant Wood Neighborhood Association GREGORY KOVACINY Advocacy Chair Bicyclists of Iowa City, Inc. (BIC) 521 Clark Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-5617 voice: h.319-338-0655 League of American Bicyclists Certified Effective Cycling Instructor #531 May 12, 1998 Dear Members of the City Council of the City of Iowa City, I am disappointed that Council has decided to move ahead with the College/Linn angle parking pffo3~ect by requesting Planning to work on changes to the current test design. I do not anticipate that the limited changes available to Planning will solve the problems which have developed since installation. I am writing to present my thoughts and first-hand observations. I also speak for Bicyclists of Iowa City in my capacity as Advocacy Chair and nationally certified Effective Cycling Instructor. During an interview by the Press-Citizen at the time of installation I reserved final judgement until the spaces were in place longer. I did express what I saw happening. After riding these streets usually 5 days a week on my daily bicycle commute to downtown, throughout the winter, I can make these general and specific observations. The narrowness of the lanes combined with angle parking including the "neck-down entries" from Burlington onto Linn and Gilbert onto College encourage and contribute to poor and often dangerous behavior by motorists. During various times of the day, early morning, mid morning, lunch, afternoon, dinner, and after 9PM, (all times I have ridden my bicycle to and from work or been on the pedestrian mall), I have seen motorists: Make U-turns to park in angle OR parallel spaces on College; pass bicycles dangerously or illegally on College from Gilbert to Linn, or on Linn Street from Burlington to College; seen southbound motorists dart into the Linn St. alley by the old library to grab an angle space; honk and verbally shout at cyclists who were riding properly. A list of specifics follows this letter. I do not have much trouble with motorists when I ride my bicycle--because I operate my bicycle as a vehicle, and most motorists seem to recognize that. I should note I have national certification on teaching vehicular style "Effective Cycling," one of 700 in the U.S. and 3 in Iowa City/Coralville. It seems however, that this configuration is prompting motorists to do things that are illegal, foolish and dangerous. I have experienced more problems in this area in the past 6 months than in nearly all the years I've ridden downtown combined. I bicycle commute these streets for a relatively short period of time--to get into work and to get back home, with shopping trips here and there. If I am seeing this many violations at various times during such a short time-frame, I am curious and concerned how many other violations and situations are occurring throughout the rest of the day and night. I have seen bad motorist behavior in this area when I myself have been a motorist, and there were no bikes present in the problem corridors. Take bicycles OUT of the mix here, and there are STILL problems which make this area a hazard-by-design. Widening the corridor through repainting angle stripes or bring spaces closer to sidewalk will probably not significantly change this problem behavior. On the positive side, with the angle parking by the Senior Center, I do not note the same feverishness of drivers. The street is wider, and there is probably a smaller ADT count at any given hour vs. Burlington/Linn/College/Gilbert. The design is not perfect, but doable at the Senior Center. Burlington to College could *possibly* sustain safer angle parking if the parking was pushed much closer to the sidewalk on the west side of the old library. When traffic is present, these corridors are now unfriendly to bicyclists who previously found them not particularly unfriendly, although busy. They are unfriendly but manageable (barely) to even experienced cyclists operating as "Effective Cyclists", as the design seems to encourage poor motorist behavior, varying from rudeness to dangerous actions. Less experienced cyclists will probably be inclined to hug far to the right, with the increased possibility of running into the left rear bumper of angle-parked car which might be protruding a few inches more than the others--or get caught without any maneuvering room by a car backing out from the space. When I do drive a car downtown, it is rare I can't find a parking place within 1 to 1.5 blocks from downtown, often right in town. This is again at various hours weekdays or weekends. I have only parked in the angle parking once (Linn Street west-side of Old Library). It also seems to add some extra challenges to the motorist when they are backing out of the space with the possibility of backing into the southbound lane. I am told the accident rate in the area has not increased. (Although I heard this afternoon about a headon accident in that area which occurred some time ago). Unfortunately, observations of "near misses", or "dangerous situations" have not been made (except perhaps by citizens such as myself), in which case I think Council would be upset at the findings. My apologies for the length of this letter--I felt you should know of these repeating situations which threaten the safety of both bicyclists and other motorists. I urge you to reconsider this issue and decide to restore parallel parking in this now difficult area of College and Linn Streets. Yours truly, * Gregory K"~aci~Advocacy Chair,?.~,~lists of Iowa City CC: Steve Atkins Jeff Davidson John Yapp Chuck Murphy-BIC President League of American Bicyclists President June E. Thaden League of American Bicyclists Executive Director Jody Newman http://danenet. wicip. org/bcp/bic/angle.html GREGORY KOVACINY Advocacy Chair Bicyclists of Iowa City, Inc. (BIC) 521 Clark Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-5617 voice: h.319-338-0655 League of American Bicyclists Certified Effective Cycling Instructor #531 May 12, 1998 ADDENDUM TO LETTER TO CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY FROM GREGORY KOVACINY, BICYCLISTS OF IOWA CITY SPECIFIC OBSERVATIONS IN THE "NEW ANGLE PARKING CORRIDORS COLLEGE/LINN STREETS" Seen a car make a "U-turn" from Westbound College very near the intersection of College and Burlington to pull into an open angle space (have seen this at least 3 occasions various times of day/night). Seen motorist going east on College through Gilbert intersection, then immediately making a U-turn by the bus Depot back across Gilbert to get an open parallel space by the Church. Seen a car which was parked "tail-in" at the angle spot nearest College/Gilbert intersection. It had just received a ticket 5-11-98 about 8:20AM. Seen a car pass left of the solid lines northbound on Linn almost immediately north of the intersection of Burlington. Seen a car pass a cyclist left of the solid lines northbound on Linn within 3 car lengths of the stop sign at College/Linn. Seen a car nearly cutoff a cyclist when southbound motorist on Gilbert made a right turn west onto College and turned wide into the oncoming lane. Seen a westbound car nearly hit an eastbound cyclist on College when motorist straddled the middle of the road nearly until the Old Library entrance before fulling returning to their proper westbound lane. Had motorist behind me honk (long honk, indicating irritation) when I take the entire lane on my bicycle (the proper place in this circumstance) from USWest building stoplight--south of Burlington on Linn Street northbound through the narrowing channel of Linn to the College Street intersection. A cyclist cannot generally safely travel on this corridor unless they are very near the center of the lane and taking the full lane, to avoid any cars backing out of the spaces, or from being forced into the parked cars by a car squeezing by left of the cyclist. I I I Building Creating Harmony & Consistency Between Builders & the City of Iowa City 1) Iowa City Building Process & How it affects building 1) Plan Review committee takes too long to review plans. Typically takes 5 to 10 days and if you want to start eady wibh a foundation permit, it will cost you an additional $75.00. In addition, they typically miss many essential issues, descrepancies and never call to discuss the plan in details on items in question. In addition, they need to provide supported documentation on any disputed issues. Plan review should take 24 to 48 hours and the site & foundation plan approved in 24 hours max. Adds anywhere from 8 to 10 days to building process at $50.00 per day 2) Energy audit should be done by City of Iowa City if they wish to enforce it like many other towns & cities. Adds 1 to 3 days and can be done with no cost by City with a computer program 3) Utilities should be given the trust and professional courtesy to hook up temporary's on new construction site without a city release. Adds from 1to 5 days in the building process 4) Rough in inspections should be held separately by the individual inspectors and upon request should be preqnspected on the frame before any mechanicals being installed to insure initial frame acceptance. Adds 2 to 4 days and many times more. 5) Inspectors should respond to any failure in codes by listing the code violation, code interpretation and remedies. These items should be supported in literature written by the municipalities, United Building Codes Handbook for interpretation or any other publications supporting the interpretation. City should bdng out plan review document (plan) that were approved to insure any modification to structure conforms to code and if any additional information or documentation is necessary for approval. Prevents major delays at dosing and occupancy situation delays in 1 to 10 days. 7) Inspections & re-inspections need to be done in a prompt and efficient manner within a 24 to 48 hour pedod of call in or writing, or automatic approval is granted. 8) Inspectors should not be making engineering calls not related to the building process. These are just some of the items that effect our flow and cost us up to 30 days in the construction process. This not only adds additional cost to the project but reduces the possibilities for a builder to successfully perform, complete projects timely and to take on more projects. Our City should be providing business's with the greatest potential to succeed within a reasonable period of time. Let's remove the barriers that have no building or safety impact on the consumer but provides a positive building process for the Builders of Iowa City. 2) Inconsistency of Upholding of Codes 1) Interpretations made by Iowa City will not be made in writing upon request or demand, which causes lack of the trust relationship. 2) Notification in change of interpretation, enforcement of interpretation, and or codes is not given to builders before violation. 3) No communication system is set up to inform, consult, or educate builders on City & Ubc code interpretations. 4) Interpretations not being held consistent with all builders. 5) No attempt to problem solve or modify to fit a code of classification. 6) The City tends to provide the strictest interpretation & classification vs. the most flexible interpretation which is what the code is intended to provide. 7) The process within the levels of the building & safety does not create results or provide answers but only barriers and more problems. 8) Their inconsistency causes unpredictability thus creating an inability to propedy price homes, increasing cost and reducing affordability. Iowa City Cleanup & Transfer, Inc. "Service Is Our Salesman" · commercial · municipal · apartments · residential : ' May 12, 1998 Dear Mayor and Council Members: My name IS Tim Wolfe. My wife, Roxann, and our daughters own and operate Iowa City Cleanup and Transfer, Inc. We have been a locally owned and family operated business in Iowa City for 23 years. I would like to have a moment to explain a problem we have with the Iowa City Landfill. One'of our competitors has purchased three Brothers X Series Transfer Trailers and soon will be leaving the Iowa City Landfill to dispose of his refuse at a BFI landfill in Milan, Illinois. The way these trailers work, is the back end of the trailer spreads apart, you then back the truck up to it and dump directly into the trailer. Since the I]'ansfer of the refuse is from t~Jck to truck, the Iowa DNR does not consider this a transfer station, and no permit is required. The problem this poses is that he will be paying a fiat rate of $20.00 a ton, compared to $48.,50, and $53.,50 per ton at the Iowa City Landfill. If you figure in transportation cost and equipment cost, it ~11 comes in at under $3,5.00 per ton. In order for us to compete, we will either have to transfer our refuse to Illinois, or the City of Iowa City will have to lower its landfill fees to $35.00 a ton, or lower. This is not unheard of. A lot of landfills have had to lower dump fees to compete with high volume privately owned landfills. The City of Dubuque recently lowered their dump fees 40% because the major hauler in the area threatened to take their refuse to Milan, Illinois. We are a local company. We buy local, and support the idea to spend your money locally. I understand that the three large haulers in the area account for about 40% of all the waste going into the Iowa City Landfill. I am concerned with what will happan to the Iowa City Landfill if it loses 40% of ils income. Of course, the life of the landfill will be lengthened, but the only people using the landfill would be the city itself. I would really like to have the city consider lowering its dump fees to be competative. Other landfills in the area ~harge an average of $30.00 to $37.00 per ton. How can they charge lower prices and survive? Example-City of Musealine has an $8,000,000 transfer station and only charges $37.00 per ton. At the current time, our compe'dter is ready to go vv~h his system and we have an engineer working on a system for our company. The landfill has already lost one of ils major accounts, and we will do what we have to do to be competative. We would like to have the council look at this as soon as possible. Tim Wolfe President · industrial (319) 358-9000 2401 Scoff Boulevard · P.O. Box 3268 · Iowa City, Iowa 52244 CUSTOM DES'IGNED SOLID WASTE TRANSFER ~GO Series - Light Weight Durable Steel Open Top Live Floor Model ,~:V':." ,i. 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