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Home My WebLink About2005-04-19 Bd Comm minutesIOWA CITY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVED MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2005, 3:30 P.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Charles Felling, Rick Fosse, James Hemsley, Mark Seabold, Rick Fosse, Terry Trueblood Members Absent: Emily Martin, Emily Carter Walsh Staff Present: Karin Franklin, Marcia Klingaman Visitors: Ruth Baker (Miller Orchard neighborhood resident), Garry Klein Call to Order Seabold called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. Public discussion of any item not on the a.qenda There were none. Consideration of the Minutes of February 2, 2005 Meetinq MOTION: Felling moved to accept the minutes as submitted. Helmsley seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Presentation of materials and colors for Benton Hill Park proiect by artist Prescher displayed a sample board of concrete chips with different colors for the committee to view. He said he would be starting on the columns the following week. He displayed both color stains and dyes, and said he plans to use a dye in a solid color. He said he would email variations in color schemes to Franklin. Franklin asked Prescher what colors he had chosen from the concrete samples. Prescher indicated his choices for the color of the concrete, as well as for the archway span. The concrete will be a natural stone or beige color, as neutral as possible, while the span will be a dark green, which is the original basic color scheme. He said that he will be working with the components of the bronze casting, and will perhaps tone down the yellow in that area, making it darker. Franklin reported that the neighborhood has chosen the phrase suggested by the artist, "Walk in Beauty", for the arch. She asked Prescher if the project is ready to go into production at this point. Prescher said yes. The sun and moon cast pieces will be ready to go to Omaha soon, and he spoke to someone recently about the pillars and worked out some production issues. Those will be starting very soon, possibly in the next week. He noted that he would be contacting Fosse to discuss details with the concrete. Prescher photographed the committee for documentation purposes for the project. He said the photos will be posted on his website. Seabold asked if Prescher would be making a positive of the columns. Prescher said yes, carved out of insulation board. It will be a fiat sandwich mold. Trueblood asked for confirmation that the piece will be installed in May, since it needs to be coordinated with the park dedication. Franklin confirmed that May 1 is the target date for installation. Prescher left at this point. Seabold asked Fosse if he had comments on the project specifications. Fosse asked if he should comment directly to Jane Driscoll. Franklin said yes, but to let her know if there are any areas of major concern. Fosse said the footings of the columns should be extended four inches to be full four feet below the grade. Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2005 Page 2 Presentation of "ART by the YARD" concept Klein distributed updated copies of the proposal. He explained that the idea was inspired by a discussion at an Arts Iowa City gallery walk, with Art by the Yard being public art in people's yards· This might be a way to expand the scope of the Arts Festival out of the down town area into the city parks and neighborhoods. He noted that the proposal is not to begin the project this year, but to begin investigating it with the guidance and input of the committee. He reviewed the written proposal, and suggested some organizations that could be involved, such as the Johnson County Cultural Alliance, Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood Services, Chamber of Commerce, the School District, and the University. He added that he is looking for feedback from the committee whether this project is interesting and something they would like to pursue. Trueblood asked if there was a reason for the size limit of 3'x3'. Klein explained that 3' is a yard, and smaller pieces would reduce the materials costs. Fosse asked if the pieces could be 3-dimensional. Klein said yes. Klein said that a decision would need to be made whether the show should be juried, and if so, how. Franklin noted that having the activity juried would take it to a different level, especially if children are involved. Klein said it would help to have some definition for the entries, and it would help with screening. Franklin confirmed that this would be similar to a citywide gallery walk, but not limited only to galleries. Klein agreed, and said galleries could be involved, and he would encourage them to be involved. Franklin asked what costs would be incurred with the project. Klein said publicity, and if the materials were possibly provided through Parks programs. Franklin asked if there are funds available from the Parks and Recreation Department to purchase materials, similar to the summer programs. Trueblood said yes, though not for projects like bronze sculptures· Franklin agreed that is not the type of materials this activity would target· Seabold said the project would be temporary, like a day or weekend activity. Franklin suggested not providing funding for the piece itself, since this would be an event rather than an acquisition. Klein agreed that one option would be to create ad on the spot during the event, in a tent perhaps. Klein said it would make sense to coordinate this event with Arts Festival, since children create art throughout that weekend. Another activity could be to have an art walk where people have an opportunity to talk to the owners or creators of the art in their yards. Klingaman said that would be similar to a garden walk. Franklin noted that might increase community involvement· Klein also suggested a bus tour to various homes for a fundraising activity. Klein said a smaller group would need to discuss the scope and logistics of the project. He is not able to unilaterally spearhead the project. Franklin asked if Klein would be willing to assume a leadership role in the group. Klein said yes. Franklin suggested that a representative from the Public Art Committee be in the group; Emily Martin was mentioned as someone who might be interested in this type of activity. Others to contact included Josh Schaumberger, Joyce Carroll from Parks and Recreation, Jim Griffin with the Chamber, and Bob Goodfellow with Arts Festival. Report on Poetry in Public Klingaman reported that the committee met on February 14 to review and select poems. They received 51 adult submissions, and 37 children's submissions from elementary schools· She noted that not as many professional writers were involved this year, and added that it is good to offer a venue where non-professional writers can be showcased· She said the submissions were overall of very good quality. In response to a comment from Fosse, Franklin noted that the International Writer's Workshop has asked the City Council to make Iowa City a City of Asylum, for people who have been exiled from their home countries because of their writings. Other cities involved in that are Santa Fe, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, and one other. Klingaman said that 21 adult and 16 children's submissions were selected. They will be created soon and displayed around Iowa City similar to last year, though new locations are considered every year. The poems will also be available on the web. Franklin said a press release should be written to announce the new poems and the writers. Schedulinq of parks tour for Art in the Parks proiects Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2005 Page 3 Franklin suggested scheduling the parks tour for the next meeting, which would be April 7. She said the committee members would likely need to get out and walk around the parks. Five parks were targeted by the Parks and Recreation Department, which are spread throughout the city, so the tour might require two trips. Trueblood noted that the committee could evaluate other parks as well. Franklin said the five already suggested are a good place to start. Franklin said the committee members should meet at City Hall, and will ride together to the different locations. Hemsley asked for confirmation that the purpose of this tour is so the committee members are able to view the parks and have a frame of reference. Franklin said yes, because the next step would be to consider what sort of piece should be commissioned for a particular park. Additional visits or photographs might be needed later during a brainstorming session. Discussion of activities for Arts Fest Seabold reported he discussed the Cowger sculpture dedication activities with Bob Goodfellow, who said everything sounded fine. Seabold also asked about the feasibility of building a temporary display or structure near the sculpture pad. Goodfellow recommended coordinating with the library around their schedule, though that area is typically unused. Franklin asked if the center area of the pedestrian mall needs to be left open because of the fire lane. Fosse said that the fire lane could be blocked temporarily. Seabold said the time for the dedication ceremony needs to be decided, whether Friday night or Saturday. Pancake breakfast is Sunday morning. Seabold asked if a PA system is available to do an announcement. Klingaman said no, she arranged one for the dedication for Dorothy. Franklin said the ceremony needs to get into the festival program, and be advertised beforehand. The piece being present, along with a display, will be the biggest exposure. Seabold said the display should be up over the whole weekend. Franklin asked if Seabold had heard of Canstruction, which was done in Des Moines, and one is also scheduled for Cedar Rapids. Seabold said yes. Franklin explained that pieces are created out of canned goods, and usually architects and engineers participate. She noted that it might not be an Arts Fest event, since it needs to be inside. An entry fee can be charged, which could go into Public Art funds, while the food could be given to the Crisis Center. Trueblood asked how long the pieces are displayed. Seabold said for a few days. Seabold asked about a display for the Public Art program, whether images of different public art projects or images of Cowger's other works could be displayed. Franklin suggested it highlight the Public Art program, and could involve a down town walking tour of nearby pieces. Seabold suggested supplying brochures, as well as displaying images of art pieces around the city. He said he would look into construction of the structure and bring an estimated cost to the next meeting. Report on Court Street Transportation Center proiect; consideration of amended contract Klingaman said students in the elementary school originally did the tile art project on paper. She said the project went very well. The artist spent two days in the school with the students, and did an excellent job of explaining the project. She added that the tiles need to go to Des Moines to be fired. Fosse and Seabold both said they are going to Des Moines. Trueblood also offered to assist. Klingaman said she would talk to the artist about when the tiles can be delivered, and get back to Fosse and Seabold. Franklin explained that in the elevator lobbies of each level, the wall with the elevator door would be tiled. There will also be a 3'x4' mural with the concept that the artist has taken from what the students have done. It will also incorporate a color, the number of the level, and a word, to act as location cues. The mural will be placed in a field of tiles on the wall and will have random placement of reproduced tiles from the students. The original tiles will be scanned, so the students will have their tiles back. There will also be provision for a mylar screen on the glass wall to the ramp on each floor, with the scanned image incorporating the color, level, and word. Franklin noted an error was made in the original contract. There are two towers in the project, and the estimate of $2500 per floor was for one tower. So one tower will cost $15K, which includes design, as well as production of all the tiles. Installation is done by the contractor. The second tower will cost an additional $12.5K, since it does not have the design aspect. Because the project is under an 80/20 FTA grant, 20% of the additional money would come from Public Art Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes March 2, 2005 Page 4 budget. She asked if the committee wants to spend the additional $3000 for the second tower. The committee members present agreed to amend the contract for the additional amount. Franklin said she would amend the contract. Committee Time/Other Business Trueblood asked for an update on the status of the peninsula project. Klingaman reported that the contract was signed, and work was being done on the sculpture. She needs to discuss the status of the project, and will also contact the artist for an update. Franklin asked if there was any current activity on the peninsula area. Fosse said no, contractors were waiting for the river to go down. Seabold said he would visit the artist and see how things are progressing. Adiournment There being no further business to come before the Committee, Fosse moved to adjourn and Felling seconded. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m. s:lpcdlminutes/PublicArt/2OO51artO3-O2~5.doc Public Art Advisory Committee Attendance Record 2005 Term Name Expires 1/06 2~02 3/02 4/07 5/05 6/02 7~07 8/04 9/01 10/06 11/03 12/01 Emily Carter Walsh 01/01/08 CW X O Charles Fellin9 01/01/06 CW X X James Hemsley 01/01/06 CW O/E X Emily Martin 01/01/08 CW X O/E Mark Seabold 01/01/07 CW X X Rick Fosse CW O/E X Terry Trueblood CW O/E X i Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting CW = Cancelled due to Weather ..... Not a Member MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MARCH 17, 2005 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Beth Koppes, Dean Shannon, Bob Brooks, Ann Freerks, Jerry Hansen MEMBERS EXCUSED: Don Anciaux STAFF PRESENT: John Yapp, Mitch Behr OTHERS PRESENT: Tom Gelman, Victoria Concha, Regina Alatalo RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL:. Recommended approval / no change to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement items #5, #7, #8 by a vote of 5-0. Recommended approval of modification(s) to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement items #2 and #3 as listed in Staff Report of 3/11/05 by a vote of 5-0. Recommended approval of modification to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement item #1 that the developer/sub-divider will fund 100% of the cost of the north leg of Naples Avenue and 100% of the cost of turning lane improvements on Highway 1 into the development; the public will fund 100% of the cost of the south leg of Naples Avenue and 100% of the cost of turning lane improvements related to the south leg of Naples; the developer/subdivider will fund 100% of the cost of traffic signal improvements at the Naples venue / Highway 1 intersection by a vote of 3-2. Shannon and Brooks voted against. Recommended approval of modification to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement item #4 as listed in Staff Report of 3/11/05 by a vote of 3-2. Koppes and Shannon voted against. Recommended approval of modification to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement item #6 as listed in Staff Report of 3/11/05 by a vote of 3-2. Koppes and Shannon voted against. Recommended approval of modification to REZ04-00030 Conditional Zoning Agreement item #9, "In lieu of a sidewalk being constructed along the Highway 1 frontage, the developer/subdivider will pay for the paving cost of a four-foot sidewalk flit is instafled within lO-years" by a vote of 4-1. Brooks voted against. CALL TO ORDER: Brooks called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. REZONING ITEM: REZ04-00030; Reconsideration of an application submitted by James Davis for a rezoning from County A-1 to CC-2, Community Commercial (approximately 16.05 acres), C1-1, Intensive Commercial (approximately 20.22 acres), CO-1, Office Commercial (approximately 10.92 acres) and RR-1, Rural Residential (approximately 2.83 acres), for property located north of Highway 1, west of Highway 218 and east of Kitty Lee Road. Yapp said at the 2/17/05 meeting the Commission had recommended.approval of the annexation and rezoning of the MWD Davis Addition property item ANN04-00001/REZ04-00030. subject to a Conditional Zoning Agreement (CZA). Subsequent to that meeting, representatives of the applicant had approached City staff with a request to modify some of the recommended conditions for the CZA. The applicant's attorney and City staff had reached an administrative agreement on some of the requested modifications. Other requested modifications or deletions required the Commission's review and vote. Yapp said there Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 2 has been no request submitted to change the zoning pattern, only the conditions recommended in the conditional zoning agreement associated with the zoning. Yapp presented an item by item review of the conditions of the CZA. 1. Naples Avenue / Highway t Intersection: There is no dispute about the design of the improvements, just about the funding responsibilities for the reconstruction/modifications to the intersection. Yapp said the staff recommendation for a 90% / 10% cost sharing of certain improvements to the intersection was based on traffic projections made in the traffic impact study upon build-out, approximately 90% of the turning traffic will be turning north into or out of the Davis development, and approximately 10% will be turning into or out of the south leg or Naples Avenue. The turning traffic caused the need for the traffic signal, not the through traffic. Without the Davis property being developed, no traffic signal would be warranted at this intersection. Hansen asked if the need to line up the traffic lanes at the intersection could have been accommodated differently in the design of the development so the intersection lined up better. Yapp said he thought through the subdivision design process, the developer would line it up as best they could. Currently on the south leg of Naples Avenue there is l-lane in and l-lane out. The reconstruction would ultimately result in a 5-lane cross-section with three lanes coming out of the property and two lanes going into the Davis property. The lane out and the lane in would be wider or farther apart which meant on the south leg of Naples some widening would be needed so the through lines would line up. Hansen asked if total cost estimations for the reconstruction were available. Yapp said no cost projecting or design had been done yet. 2. Access Points & Cueing Space - Naples Avenue design and access: The applicant and Staff had reached an administrative agreement regarding the applicant's requested verbiage changes to this item. 3 Kitty Lee Road Improvements: The applicant and Staff had reached an administrative agreement regarding the applicant's requested verbiage changes to this item. Yapp said it was a City wide policy that the City typically paid the oversized costs between a local and a collector street. Any improvements recommended by a traffic study (approved by the City) to predict turning movements related to the proposed land use of Lot 1 must be completed prior to an occupancy permit being issued for any property using Kitty Lee Road or access. The use of that property is unknown at present. 4.Kitty Lee Road funding: Yapp said the applicant's representatives object to this condition. Staff continues to recommend that the developer/subdivider pay for 50% of the reconstruction costs to reconstruct Kitty Lee Road to a city local street. The Davis property is proposed to be rezoned from agricultural to an intensive commercial use. Having the property owner pay for these costs will avoid these costs being incurred by the public or by the property owner on the west side of Kitty Lee Road in the future. Freerks asked if a drive was proposed to be placed along the path based on the zoning. Yapp said Kitty Lee Road was considered a local street and there would typically be no access restrictions placed. Yapp said that north of Lot 1, no access to Kitty Lee Road is being proposed, but could be proposed in the future. Hansen asked if it would be possible to throw that out as a condition and replace it with a condition which stated that no access would be allowed to that street. Freerks said that had been discussed at the informal meeting. The Commission had decided that they didn't want to restrict access due to the possibility of different use in the future that the zoning woutd be the same but the Commission would want to allow an access point. 5. Landscaping: No changes are proposed to this section. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 3 6. Fencing: Yapp said the applicant's representatives object to this condition. Yapp said this was also related to buffering and making sure there was an appropriate transition to the agricultural rural properties on the west side of Kitty Lee Road which were shown as future residential in the District Plan. Staff continued to recommend that the design of the fence be approved as part of a site plan approval. Iowa Code allowed cities to impose some reasonable conditions on granting of rezoning requests, over and above existing regulations in order to satisfy public needs directly caused by the change. Given the location that the proposed C1-1 zoning is adjacent to a street that currently provides access to a residential area and is across the street from an area that may develop for residential uses in the future, staff feel that requirements for a buffer and design considerations as part of the site plan are reasonable. 7. Access Control: No changes are proposed to this section. 8. Sanitary Sewer provision: No changes are proposed to this section. 9. Highway 1 Sidewalk: Yapp said the applicant's representatives object to this condition. Yapp said staff is recommending the applicant will pay for only the cost of sidewalk pavement for a 4-foot wide sidewalk. They will not pay for any grading, drainage facilities or associated costs that might be needed. City Code requires sidewalks to be constructed within the public right-of-way frontage. In the past on a sporadic basis the City has sometimes waived this requirement for commercial properties along Highway 1 west of Riverside Drive. Commercial properties in other parts of Highway 1 and Highway 6 such as Riverside Drive, Dodge and Governor Streets have been required to install sidewalks. Given the public's expressed demand for sidewalks and trails the City has been installing them at the public's expense. Because there currently is not a sidewalk network in this area, staff continues to recommend that the applicant pay for the paving cost but not be required to install the sidewalk at this time. A sidewalk would be constructed by the City as a public project at a future time. 9. Kitty Lee Road / Highway 1 Streetlight: Yapp said staff had learned that MidAmerican Energy installs streetlights. Once this property is annexed to the City, the City will have MidAmerican Energy install a street light. Hansen asked how the intersection at the Lodge Development was financed. Yapp said the City and the developer each paid 50% of the traffic signal and the Lodge developer paid for the turn lane into their property which had been determined as necessary by the traffic study. This was due to traffic estimates that showed approximately 50% of traffic would use the south versus north legs of the Ruppert Road intersection with Highway 1. For the Westport Plaza traffic signal [VVaI-Mart, Cub Foods, Staples] the developer had paid for 100% of the signal and improvements to that property because there was just a single-family house on the north-end of that intersection. The existing Menards intersection had been a t-intersection with Sunset Street. As part of the 1996 Conditional Zoning Agreement for that property, the property owner/developer had agreed to pay for all improvements to the intersection including a left turn lane, a right turn lane and a traffic signal. Brooks asked if there had been any improvements required on Sunset BIvd as part of that reconstruction. Yapp said there was an existing small left turn lane for traffic turr~ing onto Sunset Blvd. that later the City had improved. Shannon asked for the Naples Avenue traffic counts that had resulted from the traffic survey. Yapp said counts had been done during peak hours. The morning peak hour count was approximately 250 vehicles north- and south-bound combined. Evening counts had been approximately 240 vehicles per day. These counts were used in the traffic study. Freerks asked Yapp to elaborate with respect to the sidewalks if Staff and the City planned to handle all things along this corridor. Freerks asked if this was a policy change. Yapp said staff was recommending sidewalks, whether it became a policy change remained to be seen. Sidewalk requirements have been waived in the past for properties with frontage on Highways 1 or 6. Staff Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 4 learned through the district planning workshops that sidewalk connections are a priority for people who walk to the businesses along the highway. Hansen asked if it was correct that the City received requests for sidewalks on one side or the other of Highway 1. Yapp said that was correct. Hansen asked if it was the City's intent to run the City trail system on the north or south side in the future. Yapp said currently in the Capital Improvements Program was a proposal to install a sidewalk along Highway 1 west of Riverside Drive, but it does not specify which side of the highway the sidewalk would be on. Koppes inquired if it would be possible to modify CZA item ¢fi4 to indicate that "if an access point is granted, at that time the developer will be required to pay 50% of the costs of reconstructing Kitty Lee Road. Behr said he thought there would be a way to do meet Koppes' objective. Freerks asked how that proposal would work with how other developments had been funded. Yapp said this was a unique situation. Lower West Branch Road was a collector street, and the adjacent property owners had agreed to pay 25% of the reconstruction costs versus 50% because it was a collector street. When reconstructing to collector street standards, it was more expensive and the street serves a larger area. In another example, the developer had entirely reconstructed a segment of Hummingbird Lane and had paid 100% of the costs. Brooks asked if the Comprehensive Plan forecasted changes in the status of Kitty Lee Road once more development took place. Would it change from a local to a collector street. At present the developer indicated no access from Lot 2 onto Kitty Lee Road. If in the future they wanted to gain access, they would have to get a curb cut permit to get access. What criteria would the City use in granting that permit if Kitty Lee Road had not been improved beyond its current condition. Yapp said if the Commission agreed to what was proposed in the CZA, it would be required that Kitty Lee Road would be reconstructed to the northern most commercial driveway. Yapp showed on an overhead that what was proposed in the District Plan was a collector street would veer to the northwest along a ridgeline. Low density residential development was proposed for the area north on Kitty Lee Road. Behr said if the Commission were not to require any funding for the northern part of the commercial portion and someone came in at a later time requesting access, from a legal standpoint if they anticipated wanting an access granted using additional curb-cuts they were much better off requiring road improvements at the zoning stage instead of waiting for it to be imposed at a curb-cut permit. Brooks said he was trying to understand the sequence of events for reconstruction of Kitty Lee Road. Yapp said he would suggest that if the Commission were to propose a modified condition that it stipulate that a commercial property shall not have access until Kitty Lee Road was improved to City standards. Brooks said they had done something similar on Sycamore Street in the subdivisions where no access had been allowed onto Sycamore Street until it had been improved. Yapp clarified that reconstruction of Sycamore Street must be in a funded year before additional access is permitted. Brooks said he was concerned about allowing any kind of access onto a local street that had not been improved to standards. Koppes said she'd like to see this go one step further to say if they wanted access they would have to pay for the road to be reconstructed before access was granted. Public discussion was opened. Tom Gelman, attorney for the property owners, said of the 10 proposed CZA conditions, they were basically talking about only four (4). He'd spoken with City Staff about the other requested deletions and/or modifications. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 5 Gelman said CZA item #1 placed heavy reliance on the traffic study which was misplaced reliance. The study had not been done for reasonable allocation of expenses and did not look at build out of the properties along Naples Avenue south of Highway 1. It was just a traffic study to determine the impact of this particular area's development on the traffic needs. He said it was not a good basis to utilize for allocating costs. He said what needed to be looked at was the circumstance - Naples Avenue going northerly wa~ a cul-de-sac and its development was fin)te. Naples Avenue going south went out into the county and had development potential, it was subject to future expansion. (Ge~rnan distributed aerial photos of the area. Gelman said he would make the argument that the total cost of the traffic signal should be borne by the City as the developer had incurred other costs to make this development possible. He had been involved in connection with the Lodge's agreements and a reasonable precedent had been used, where the City and developer shared costs of the traffic signal 50%/50%, so it would be reasonable to use that precedent here too. CZA item #4 - Two tracts were likely to have access onto Kitty Lee Road. The furthest north lot which would likely be used for residential would need to have indirect access. Gelman said with respect to t[~e rest of the roadway he would proposed one of two scenarios: (1) no access at all permitted except the two areas mentioned, or (2) no access until Kitty Lee Road is improved. Gelman said at the time of improvements being made the lot owner should work with the City to arrange cost sharing. To require funding now was premature. Gelman said a second problem with the proposal of the owner paying money now was where did that money go and what would happen to the developer's money if Kitty Lee Road were never improved. He said he didn't think this could legally be done. For road improvement it could be done one of a few clear ways, but this was not one of the ways that was apparent to him in the City Code or the state law. Gelman said the normal ways road costs are obtained are: 1 ) Special assessments which show that the property is particularly being benefited. 2) Impact fee, would require a specific benefit to that property. Gelman said he thought they could solve this particular problem by restricting access in one of the ways that the Commission had discussed, either one of which would be acceptable. If a segment of Kitty Lee Road is not being used for access, the property owner should not have to pay for it to be improved. CZA item #6 the fencing design issues were resolved because of the intense landscaping that was planned for that area. The fence would be 95-feet from the road right-of-way. A gas line easement was going to be located in the right-of-way in addition to the intense landscaping plan plus a 95-foot planned buffer. Gelman said the requirement that fence design was to be approved without any clarity of what guidelines or design standards would be used was not workable. It would simply be up to Staff's discretion as to what the fence would look like because there were no design standards that could be utilized. The only problem Gelman could see was the wait period for the trees and vegetation to grow which actually was a short-term problem. Gelman said it was inappropriate for Staff to decide an appropriate fence design without set design standards. The redundancy of the fence issue did not make sense to him. It appeared to be an open ended requirement that the fence was subject to subsequent approval. The landscaping required by the City would screen the fence, which will be 95 feet setback from the right-of-way. Koppes asked if landscaping was proposed along the south end of the property where the road had been removed. Gelman said he didn't know. Freerks said that area would be lot one or an intervening lot, it would not make sense to landscape it if it were to be developed in the short term. Gelman said the Menards fence would be 12 to 14-feet high. It would have to be a sturdy fence because it was going to be used for inside storage. It would be landscaped and buffered. CZA item #9 - Gelman said this would be a sidewalk to nowhere. The closest residential neighborhood was close to over ~ mile away. Besides the Iowa River Trail there were no sidewalks. Requiring payment was not a requirement that the sidewalk be installed, this was a requirement that the dollar amount be paid to the City to maybe install a sidewalk sometime if ever in the future. There was no legal basis for this item, it was not a sure thing that the sidewalks would even be installed. Gelman said the solution was if and when a sidewalk were installed that the charges should be assessed to that property owner for the cost of the sidewalk. They were asking for a pragmatic and practical approach, such as when the sidewalk is installed then the City should ask for a remedy such as an assessment of the costs. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 6 Victoria Concha, 4086 Kitty Lee Road SW, asked for a clarification regarding which two lots were being discussed with respect to CZA item #4 and access. Gelman said it would be the lot at the far north end and the far south end. Yapp indicated the lots on the development lot/site map. Concha said the neighborhood had had multiple discussions regarding a fence and fencing requirements. It would take a long time for the big rows of trees to grow. Currently there was an ancient dilapidated barb wire fence behind the residential lots. She'd mentioned at all the previous meeting that when there had been cows in the area behind their homes, the cows had always walked through that fence and into their yards. The existing neighborhood felt that any type of fencing between the commercial property and the residential properties was essential. Concha said the gate that had been across the private drive was no longer there. It had been installed by some of the neighbors. Concha asked that a CZA condition be required and the developer guarantee that no construction trucks would drive on or utilize the private drive. Yapp said he was not aware of any fencing proposal behind each commercial lot by the developer. It would be as each lot was developed. He doubted that Olde Oak Lane would be used for access by construction traffic. A condition regarding construction traffic would be difficult for the City to enforce. Yapp said Olde Oak Lane was in the County and was privately owned. Gelman said Concha's concerns were very reasonable and he would relay them to the owners so they could be sensitive to these issues as well. Re.qina Alatalo, 3671 Olde Oak Lane SW, said she and Jim Davis each owned ½ of Olde Oak Lane. Three houses along Olde Oak Lane had paid over $8,000 to have it improved. It had been very difficult to get the money from some of the neighbors when the improvements had been made. If any construction trucks or non-owners of the private lane used it, she would take them to small claims court. Alatalo said if the adjoining lot developed first, there would be no other way to access the last lot. Lot #7 was a swamp, it would be unthinkable to build a house there. She requested that an additional condition be added to the CZA as to how access to Lots #7 and #8 would be provided. Alatalo said she would propose that it would be more sensible to install a sidewalk along Kitty Lee Road and not along Highway 1. The west side of Kitty Lee Road would eventually be residential anyhow so it would be more reasonable to require a sidewalk be installed there. She said the fencing item was an issue, having a fence installed between the commercial property and their back yards was a big issue. Neither Alatalo or any of her neighbors wished to have people walking from the commercial property through the trees to their homes. It was a safety concern for their children as well. Behind the Deli-Mart was a fence and trees as well. Alatalo said at minimum it needed to be a chain- link fence to make it safe for everyone. Public discussion was closed. Freerks said as a CZA condition, the Commission frequently asked for funds for future sidewalks and/or road improvements. Where did the money go? Behr said the funds are set aside into an account and ultimately applied to that improvement. They could legally add provision in the CZA item that if a sidewalk was not built in 'x' numbers of years that the money would be returned to the developer. The details could be worked out in the papers of the CZA. However this should not be a stumbling block for Commission. The concept the Commission should consider was whether they wanted the payment to be borne by the developer or not. Freerks said she disagreed with Gelman, she did not see the sidewalk as a sidewalk to no-where. This was part of a plan for the future. There would be pedestrian traffic using a sidewalk as soon as it was installed and at some point in the future a pedestrian crossway over the highway would have to be installed. Hansen said he was perplexed about the sidewalk issue. There was proposed to be a trail system at sometime, but at present they didn't know if it would be on the north or south side of the highway. To install Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 7 a sidewalk on the north side, was that the correct side? He wondered if making a cost assessment if the sidewalk became necessary wouldn't be a better option. He wanted to see a sidewalk installed at some point in the future as part of a trail system. There was a large calling for a sidewalk beside Highway 1 now. He frequently saw people walking on the shoulder of Highway 1 now. Freerks asked how had this been done in the past, assessment versus sealing it into a timed condition. Behr said the City had not done special assessment in a long time but it could legally be done. Hansen asked if they could have it as a condition in the future if it became necessary the developer would pay for the cost of the sidewalk. Behr said it would be very difficult to do because it would be placing a lien on the property. It would be a monetary obligation that went with the property with no definite point at which it would take place. He suggested the Commission consider either 1) a special assessment in the future or 2) tie it to a definite date with the rezoning. Freerks said she saw more potential on the north side of the highway for a trail system and walking improvement. The Commission needed to address this CZA condition at this time. Freerks said 900-feet of fence the equivalent of approximately 3 city blocks was important. The fence needed to be something that would blend, especially since eventually there would be residential on one side of it. Freerks said since Olde Oak Lane was still in the county, she was not sure that the City could address the construction traffic issue that had been raised. Shannon asked Behr if it was his final thought on the sidewalk that the City get the money now or the probably never would get the money. Behr said that was not his final thought. There was a legal basis for the Commission to require the payment if they wished to do so. The other proposal made to put an obligation on the land would be difficult to do. Freerks asked about escrow funds. She would be comfortable if the City obtained the funds for construction of a sidewalk now and the funds would revert back to the developer if a sidewalk was not installed in 'x' number of years. Shannon asked what if the Kitty Lee Road property didn't need or want improvements but things moved further north and development occurred so improvement to the Road had to be done as a whole. Even though they had not asked for access to Kitty Lee. Behr said not unless the City was going to special assessment; more than likely the City would bear the cost of the whole improvement if that owner had never requested access. Brooks said the Commission had the option of 1) make no changes to the recommendations already made on this project; 2) recommend approval of the annexation and rezoning subject to an agreement as presented on the memorandum dated 3/11/05; or 3) recommend approval of the rezoning with changes to the conditions as requested by the applicant's representatives or as otherwise determined by the Commission. Motion: Freerks made a motion to reaffirm CZA items #2 and #3 as recommended by Staff in the staff memorandum dated 3/11/05, no change to CZA items #5, 7, 8, and to note that MidAmerican Energy would install street lighting at the intersection of Kitty Lee Road and Highway I as soon as the property is annexed to Iowa City. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 5-0. Motion: Koppes made a motion that the developer/sub-divider will fund 100% of the cost of the north leg of Naples Avenue and 100 % of the cost of turning lane improvements on Highway 1 into the development; the public will fund 100% of the cost of the south leg of Naples Avenue and 100% of the cost of turning lane Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 8 improvements related to the south leg of Naples; the developer/subdivider will fund 100% of the cost of traffic signal improvements at the Naples venue / Highway 1 intersection. Freerks seconded the motion. Freerks said the traffic counts showed that improvements to the intersection were needed with development of the Davis property. Shannon said he agreed with most of the motion. However he felt a 50% - 50% split for the traffic signal would be fair. The southbound traffic would increase at some time. It was a win-win for the City. Currently the City was getting zero percent for property taxes for this area. Hansen said he felt the traffic signal was 100% for the developer. It would not be warranted if no development were to occur on the Davis property. Brooks said he agreed with Shannon. He felt a 50%-50% split were reasonable. He did not support the developer having to fund 100% of the cost of the traffic signal as the southern area would become more attractive and grow. Hansen asked if it was expected that the City would incur the expenses so that the developer could develop his property. Freerks said that is not how it had been done in the past. Hansen and Freerks said they could not support the City paying for the developer/subdivider to improve his land. Koppes said she saw the motion as a compromise. The motion passed on a vote of 3-2, Shannon and Brooks voting in the negative. Motion: Hansen made a motion to keep CZA item ff~, requiring the developer/subdivider to pay 50% of the cost of future reconstruction of Kitty Lee Road, as initially recommended by Staff with no modifications or changes to it. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 3 -2, Koppes and Shannon voting in the negative. Motion: Freerks made a motion to keep CZA item #6, requiring the design of a fence along the north and west sides of the Davis property being subject to staff approval, recommended by Staff with no modification or changes to it. Hansen seconded the motion. Freerks said three city blocks would be a long fence. She was confident that Staff would recommend a reasonable design, nothing outrageous. With potential future development to the west, it was important to look at the fence and have a good transition. Koppes said she agreed with the developer as the fence would be 95-feet from the right-of-way and have lots of landscaping. Shannon said he could not support this motion. Hansen said it was important to consider how long it would take the landscape and trees to mature. The fence could potentially be rotted and gone by then. Brooks said the existing Menards fence faces the airport. This fence will face a public right-of-way and will be visible from Highway 1. He requested staff and the developer to work together to utilize the landscape to soften the fence and make it as appealing as possible. The motion passed on a vote of 3-2, Shannon and Koppes voting in the negative. Koppes asked Behr what a reasonable time line would be return of the developers funds. Behr said 10 years was typical for escrow funds. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 9 Motion: Koppes made a motion to keep CZA item #9, requiring payment for a future sidewalk along the Highway 1 frontage as initially recommended by Staff with the modification that if a sidewalk was not installed within 10-years the funds would be returned to the developer. Brooks said he felt without an already adopted City plan that showed a future sidewalk and or trail, it would be hard to ask the developer to put the money in escrow for something that may or may not happen in the future. He supported the need for a pedestrian biking and walking trail. Brooks said without a master plan with sequencing of funding he could not support tying up the developers funds or requiring the developer to pay funds. Hansen asked if an overhead pedestrian overpass would be installed over Highway 218, who would maintain it? Yapp said the City, not the DOT, maintains pedestrian facilities in state highway rights-of-way. Freerks said she was in favor of safety. If a sidewalk was not developed or installed within 10-years, then the funds should be returned to the developer. Behr said City Staff could work with the applicant's representative(s) with respect to funding and whether it would be payment upfront or some other mechanism. Hansen asked if interest was paid on escrow funds. Behr said typically not. Staff would try to work it out so the money was not just sitting there. What the Commission needed to deal with was the concept that the developer needed to pay for a sidewalk installed or not; and installed within a certain period or not. Amended Motion: Koppes made an amended motion "In lieu of a sidewalk being constructed along the Highway 1 frontage, the developer/subdivider will pay for the paving cost of a four-foot sidewalk if it is installed within 10-years". Freerks agreed to and seconded the amended motion. The amended motion passed on a vote of 4-1, Brooks voting in the negative. Yapp said the Commission's recommendations would be forwarded to City Council. OTHER ITEMS: None. CONSIDERATION OF THE MARCH 3, 2005 MEETING MINUTES: Motion: Hansen made a motion to approve the minutes as typed and corrected. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 5-0. ADJOURNMENT: Motion: Koppes made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 pm. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 5-0. Elizabeth Koppes, Secretary Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill s:lpcdlminutes/p&z/200513*17-O5.doc Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes March 17, 2005 Page 10 Iowa City Planning & Zoning Commission Attendance Record 2005 FORMAL MEETING Term Name Expires 1/6 1/20 2/3 2/17 3/3 3/17 4/7 4/21 5/5 5/19 6/2 6/16 7/7 7/21 8/4 8/18 9/1 9/15 10/6 10/20 !1/3 11/17 12/1 12/15 1). Anciaux 05/06 X X X X X O/E B. Brooks 05/05 X X X X X X B. Chait 05/06 X O X X O .... A. Freerks 05/08 X X X X X X J. Hansen 05/05 X X X X X X E. Koppes 05/07 O/E X X X X X D. Shannon 05/08 X X X O/E O/E X INFORMAL MEETING Term Name Expires 1/3 2/14 2/28 3/14 4/1 4/18 5/2 5/16 5/30 6/13 7/4 7/18 8/1 8/15 8/29 9/12 10/3 10/17 10/31 11/14 11/28 12/12 D. Anciaux 05/06 CW X X O/E B. Brooks 05/05 CW X X X B. Chalt 05/06 CW X O .... A. Freerks 05/08 CW X X X J. Hansen 05/05 CW X X O/E E. Koppes 05/07 CW X X X D. Shannon 05/08 CW O/E O/E X Key: X Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused N/M= No Meeting ..... Not a Member CW = Cancelled due to Weather MiNUTES FINAL IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005 - 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. L1NN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKiNG FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Pusack, Terry Smith, Saul Mekies, Brett Castillo, Kimberly Thrower MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling, Bruce Heppner- Elgin OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Hoyland, Perry Ross, Beth Fisher, Josh Goding, Cindy Smith, Susan Rogusky, Jon Koebrick, Phil Phillips RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Goding reported that PATV will offer a new workshop, pre-productions techniques, beginning February 6. A chili supper fundraiser will be held February 10 at Old Brick. A producer's forum will be held March 10 from 7-9 p.m. Hoyland reported that the school district has received quotes for the cost to incorporate power point or other computer-generated presentations. Ross said the school district allocated $6000 for improvements, of which about one third went towards new audio equipment. It is hoped that the new production facilities at West High will improve video quality. Pusack said that the school foundation could write a grant for equipment upgrades. Fisher reported that two students from the University of Iowa are taking a practicum with the library channel. The WSUI radio program "Big Brain" will broadcast a show from the library, which will be cablecast on the library channel. Hardy reported that the Legislative Forums featuring local state legislators and sponsored by the League of Women Voters will again be cablecast on the City Channel. The Community Television Service has taped or will tape the Free Medical Clinic's fundraiser, the Ag Breakfast series, an AARP forum, and the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council lectures. Interactive Channel 5 will carry the Charter Review Commission public heating live. Shaffer noted that there has been some talk in Washington DC ora revamp of the 1996 Cable Act. Castillo reported that regarding the franchise extension the franchise and ordinance are being reviewed for language that needs to be updated to meet current conditions. Castillo said he has made a list summarizing the changes in the new franchise and will distribute it for the Commission to review. Shaffer said it appears that the negotiations are finished. The draft franchise and ordinance will be provided to Commissioners well in advance of the public hearing. After reviewing the tasks remaining, the Commission meeting schedule, and considering spring break it was decided to review the franchise documents at the regular February 28 meeting, and to hold a public hearing as the first item for the March 28 meeting. If there are no additional considerations arising out of the public hearing a recommendation could be made at the March 28 meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Smith moved and Thrower seconded a motion to approve meeting minutes of December 2004. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS None. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer referred to the complaint reports included in the packet and noted that there were 5 complaints in the last month. There was one complaint about a digital box not working, one wanting competition, one wanting a paper receipt when a bill is paid on Mediacom's website, one wanting to tell ifa bill has been paid available on Mediacom's web site, and one that service was not cancelled as requested resulting in continued billing. All complaints that could be resolved have been. MEDIACOM REPORT Koebrick reported that Mediacom is going over the documents relating to the franchise extension and anticipates getting back to the City with their review by the end of the week. Castillo asked about Mediacom delivering the Fox channel's high definition (HD) signal. Koebrick said that while the Fox channel has yet to install an HD transmitter, Mediacom has a direct fiber link to their studio and can send their HD signal. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT No representative was present. PATVREPORT Goding reported that PATV will offer a new workshop, pre-productions techniques, beginning February 6. A chili supper fundraiser will be held February 10 at Old Brick. A producer's forum will be held March 10 from 7-9 p.m. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky distributed the SCTV program schedule and reported that nine new programs have been produced in the last month. IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Hoyland reported that they have received quotes for the cost to incorporate power point or other computer-generated presentations. Pusack said that the Community Television Group makes an annual grant for equipment and said that may be a source of funds for improvements. Hoyland noted that the audio system has been improved, but the lighting still has room for improvement. Ross said the school district allocated $6000 for improvements, of which about one third went towards new audio equipment. It is hoped that the new production facilities at West High will improve video quality. Hardy said that it would take about $25,000-30,000 to match production quality of City Council meetings. Pusack said that the school foundation could write a grant for equipment upgrades. LEGAL REPORT No representative was present. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported that two students from the University of Iowa are taking a practicum with the library channel. The WSUI radio program "Big Brain" will broadcast a show from the library, which will be cablecast on the library channel. The library channel will cablecast the annual spelling bee held next month. There was an equipment failure that has now been fixed. KIRKWOOD REPORT No representative was present. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the Legislative Forums featuring local state legislators and sponsored by the League of Women Voters will again be cablecast on the City Channel. The Community Television Service has taped or will tape the Free Medical Clinic's fundraiser, the Ag Breakfast series, an AARP forum, and the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council lectures. Interactive Channel 5 will carry the Charter Review Commission public hearing live. The video on demand service continues to grow. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported that two seats on Telecommunications Commission will be up at the end of March and encouraged anyone interested in applying to do so. Shaffer said he is working with Jon Koebrick to get program listings for the Interactive Channel 5 on the TV Guide channel. Shaffer noted that there has been some talk in Washington DC of a revamp of the 1996 Cable Act. Promotion for the refranchising public hearing is being planned. Spots on the access channels, ads in the newspapers, a notice on the City web site, and spots on WSUI and KSUI will be utilized. REFRANCHISING UPDATE Castillo reported that the franchise and ordinance are being reviewed for language that needs to be updated to meet current conditions. Koebrick said that he just recently had a chance to review the proposed franchise. Castillo said he has made a list summarizing the changes in the new franchise and will distribute it for the Commission to review. Shaffer said it appears that the negotiations are finished. The draft franchise and ordinance will be provided to Commissioners well in advance of the public hearing. Smith clarified that first the franchise and ordinance need to be finished in final form and distributed to Commissioners for review. Next, the public hearing will be held. After the public hearing the Commission will need to discuss and make a recommendation to the City Council. SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING EXTENSION OF FRANCHISE BETWEEN MEDIACOM AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITY. After reviewing the tasks remaining, the Commission meeting schedule, and considering spring break it was decided to review the franchise documents at the regular February meeting, February 28 and to hold a public hearing as the first item for the March 28 meeting. If there are no additional considerations arising out of the public hearing a recommendation could be made at the March 28 meeting. Shaffer will request that the City's consultants, Rice, Williams, be available for the March 28 meeting. Rice, Williams will be asked to be available by phone for the Feb. 28 meeting. It was agreed to videotape the public hearing and to cablecast it live. ADJOURNMENT Smith moved and Mekies moved to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator MINUTES FINAL IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2005 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. L1NN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Pusack, Terry Smith, Saul Mekies, Brett Castillo (by phone), Kimberly Thrower MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Hoyland, Susan Rogusky, Jon Koebrick, Jean Rice (by phone), Don Williams (by phone) RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Koebrick said a notice for a rate increase in the Family Package has been sent to subscribers and the City. The rate increase will take effect April 1. Shaffer reported that the public hearing on the franchise extension will be publicized using press releases, video spots, ads in the newspaper, a crawl on the weather channel, city web sites, InfoVision, and sponsorship announcements on WSUI and KSUI. The topic for the next Avatar program will be winter in Iowa City. Regarding the draft franchise agreement Williams said he thought it was a good franchise agreement and is satisfied with the results. Williams said he was satisfied with the state-of-the-art language, funding for the access channels and the lack of restrictions on how those access channel funds are spent, and the access channels placement in the channel lineup. The Commission went over the franchise agreement section by section. Smith noted that the agreement is for 13 years. Thrower asked if these franchise terms would apply if another company acquired Mediacom. Rice said that a new company would assume the obligations of the franchise. Pusack noted that the system capacity was increased from 550 MHz to 750 MHz and asked about the significance of that. Williams said that for every 6 MHz an additional analog channel could be added or even more digital channels. The current state-of-the art is 860 MHz. Koebrick said the current system is built to 860 MHz and is operated at 750MHz. Pusack said that the number of subscribers per node was decreased from 600 to 500. Pusack noted that Mediacom is offering cable modem service for each school. Smith said it might not be wise to contractually specify that seven access channels be provided. The consumer survey done to gather input for the franchising process indicated that subscribers are interested in lower rates and better programming on the basic tier. Smith questioned if those interests are being met by mandating another access channel in the basic tier. Smith said that he is concerned that the franchise will tie the hands of the City in the future if it wishes to consolidate any of the access channels. Language that gives the City the right to release the obligation for an additional access channel may be needed. Rice said that according to federal law that an unused channel can revert to use by the cable operator. Koebrick said that language from the Cable Act could be inserted in that section to clarify the issue for future Telecommunications Commissions. There was consensus among the Commission to include that language from the Cable Act. Smith said that in regards to Section XI B that the consumer survey indicated a desire for lower basic tier rates, yet the pass-through fee is being increased 10% and by 20% in 5 years. Pusack noted that the desire for better local programming indicated in the survey might be better met by the pass- through fee increase. Rice said the goal of the increase was to keep pace with inflation. Helling noted that a 20% increase would be about 14 years out from the original initiation of the pass-through fee and does not likely quite meet the rate of inflation over that period. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Smith moved and Mekies seconded a motion to defer approval of the meeting minutes of January 2005 as a delay in mail delivery prevented the draft minutes from arriving prior to the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS None. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Hoyland reported that he had nothing new to report. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer reported receiving two complaints about billing problems and that they have been resolved. MEDIACOM REPORT Koebrick reported that he has been busy working on the franchise extension the last month. A notice for a rate increase in the Family Package has been sent to subscribers and the City. The rate increase will take effect April 1. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT No representative was present. PATV REPORT No representative was present. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky distributed the SCTV program schedule. Grant applications are being prepared with assistance from personnel from the University of Iowa to secure funding for equipment and staff to stream video over the Internet. Any additional funding will add to a small grant received last year. LEGAL REPORT No representative was present. LIBRARY REPORT No representative was present. KIRKWOOD REPORT No representative was present. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the Media Unit taped a program sponsored by the League of Women Voters on mental health parity. The Community Television Service has accepted three interns from the University of Iowa. During their internship they will assist with productions and produce a public service announcement for a local nonprofit organization. Interactive Channel 5 will be can'ying the League of Women Voters Legislative Forums live. InfoVision has re-activated an old category, You Tell Us that will be gathering input on InfoVision and the video on demand service. InfoVision staff continues to work towards the transition of the database to a Mac platform. When finished it will offer Internet browsing capacity with direct links to selected web sites. Hardy reported that he toured the Iowa City Community School District's video production facilities and will be preparing a report to help them improve the quality of their signal. Hardy has held initial discussion with North Liberty officials regarding carrying the North Liberty City Council meetings on channel 4. CABLE TV ADMiNISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported that the public hearing on the franchise extension will be publicized using press releases, video spots, ads in the newspaper, a crawl on the weather channel, city web sites, InfoVision, and sponsorship announcements on WSUI and KSUI. The topic for the next Avatar program will be winter in Iowa City. REFRANCHISING UPDATE Shaffer thanked Castillo and Smith for their work on the franchise agreement on behalf of the Commission. Shaffer also thanked the City's consultants, Jean Rice and Don Williams, Dale Helling and Andy Matthews, as well as Mediacom's representatives, Jon Koebrick and Randy Brown. Shaffer said the process went much faster than in past years. A few appendices that was not included in the draft franchise agreement but will be available at the public hearing and the City Clerk's office. The business and repair hours will remain the same as the present franchise agreement. The cutover process for any upgrade will also remain the same. A construction manual has been provided to Rice, Williams and a copy will be coming to the City. Existing access channel placements will be added shortly. Williams said he thought it was a good franchise agreement and is satisfied with the results. Williams mention the state-of-the-art language, funding for the access channels and the lack of restrictions on how those access channel funds are spent, and the access channels' placement in the channel lineup as specific areas in which he was satisfied. The Commission went over the franchise agreement section by section. Smith noted that the agreement is for 13 years. Mekies asked why 13 years was chosen. Rice said the deal was for 12 years and there is one year left on the current franchise. A 12 year period was negotiated with the additional origination points in mind. Mekies asked why a five year term might not be better. Williams said that because the agreement is better than most franchises negotiated recently that a longer term is in the City's interest, particularly with an uncertain regulatory structure in the future. Rice said that the flexibility with regard to the funding for public access operations benefits from a longer term franchise. Thrower asked if these franchise terms would apply if another company acquired Mediacom. Rice said that a new company would assume the obligations of the franchise. Pusack noted that the system capacity was increased from 550 MHz to 750 MHz and asked about the significance of that. Williams said that for every 6 MHz an additional analog channel could be added or even more digital channels. The current state-of-the art is 860 MHz. Koebrick said the current system is built to 860 MHz and is operated at 750MHz. Pusack said that the number of subscribers per node was decreased from 600 to 500. Pusack noted that Mediacom is offering cable modem service for each school. Smith noted that Section XI refers to seven access channels and Appendix N mentions six. Kirkwood is not included in Appendix N. Smith said it might not be wise to contractually specify that seven access channels be provided. The consumer survey done to gather input for the franchising process indicated that subscribers are interested in lower rates and better programming on the basic tier. Smith questioned if those interests are being met by mandating another access channel in the basic tier. Smith said that he is concerned that the franchise will tie the hands of the City in the future if it wishes to consolidate any of the access channels. Language that gives the City the right to release the obligation for an additional access channel may be needed. Rice said that according to federal law that an unused channel can revert to use by the cable operator. Koebrick said that language from the Cable Act could be inserted in that section to clarify the issue for future Telecommunications Commissions. There was consensus among the Commission to include that language from the Cable Act. Pusack said that the language that specifies channels for specific entities, such as Kirkwood, might be too specific. A reference to merely an educational channel may be preferable given the uncertainty of what may be desired over the next 13 years. Koebrick said that typically access channels are specified for a particular use be it public, education, or government. Pusack said that the specific naming of Kirkwood was likely a result of them being added to the current franchise. Smith said that in regards to Section XI B that the consumer survey indicated a desire for lower basic tier rates, yet the pass-through fee is being increased 10% and by 20% in 5 years. Pusack noted that the desire for better local programming indicated in the survey might be better met by the pass-through fee increase. Rice said the goal of the increase was to keep pace with inflation. Helling noted that a 20% increase would be about 14 years out from the original initiation of the pass-through fee and does not likely quite meet the rate of inflation over that period. In regards to Section XIII H Pusack said the language provides for refunds for periods over 4 hours and up to 14 days and asked why there was a limit to 14 days. Rice said that after 14 days the issue becomes one of complying with the franchise to offer service rather than a temporary outage. Pusack said the language would be confusing for subscribers. Koebrick said that if there were an outage of 14 days that Mediacom would refund subscribers for a full month. The 14 day language was offered by Mediacom as it is typical of many franchise agreements, but Mediacom has no objections to it being removed. Rice and Williams said they have no problem with removing the 14 day language. Pusack said that subscribers are still required to request a refund. Williams said that is standard industry practice. Mekies asked about the City's ability to affect the placement of channels. Is it possible to cluster together channels of a similar type of programming? Rice said the City lacks authority to do so. Those decisions rest squarely with the cable company. Smith asked what the Commission needs to do with regard to the ordinance and if it will be a subject of the public hearing. Rice said that there were only minor changes to the ordinance and that it may be addressed at the public hearing. Castillo noted that there were some minor changes to Appendix H, which deals with programming categories. SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARiNG REGARDiNG EXTENSION OF FRANCHISE BETWEEN MEDIACOM AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITY Shaffer said that Rice and Williams are planning on attending the public hearing. Pusack noted that two Commissioners are scheduled to go offthe Commission at the first meeting in March and that if the public hearing were to be held March 28 as previously discussed that technically their terms will would have expire. Pusack asked ifa legal opinion is needed on this matter. Shaffer said he would contact the City Clerk and the City Attorney for an opinion. Mekies moved to accept the draft franchise document with the discussed changes for the public hearing. Castillo seconded. The motion passed unanimously with Thrower being absent. Helling said that the Commission might need to hold a special meeting to set the public hearing for a specific date and time. The Commission agreed to set a public hearing for March 28 and to make an amendment to change the date and time if that is necessary. Smith moved and Mekies seconded a motion to hold the public hearing on March 28. The motion passed unanimously. CITY CABLE TV BUDGET Smith moved to table the agenda item on the City Cable TV Division budget. Mekies seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Smith moved and Mekies seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:46 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator MINUTES FINAL IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETiNG TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2005 - 2:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARK1NG FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Pusack, Terry Smith, Saul Mekies, Brett Castillo, Kimberly Thrower MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING EXTENSION OF FRANCHISE BETWEEN MEDIACOM AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITY. Commissioners discussed options for a date and time to hold a public hearing to gather input regarding the draft franchise agreement with Mediacom. Castillo moved and Thrower seconded a motion to move the public hearing from March 28 to April 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the Iowa City Public Library Room A. The motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Smith moved and Thrower seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 2:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator MINUTES FINAl, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION FEBRUARY 16, 2005 MEMBERS PRESENT: Craig Gustaveson, Judith Klink, Margaret Loomer, Ryan O'Leary, Matthew Pacha, Phil Reisetter, Sarah Walz, John Westefeld STAFF PRESENT: Terry Trueblood, Mike Moran, Terry Robinson FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Pacha~ seconded by Loomer~ to approve the December 8~ 2004 minutes as written. Unanimous. Moved by Reisetter~ seconded by Pacha~ that the Rugby Club's request to continue hosting the annual Ducks Sevens Rugby Tournament on park property be denied. INTRODUCTIONS Mike Moran introduced Mindy Cheap to the Commission. Mindy has assumed the position of Aquatics Supervisor for the Iowa City Recreation Division. Gustaveson welcomed Phil Reisetter to the commission; introductions were made. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Karen Kubby, spoke on behalf of the Creekside Neighborhood Association expressing their support for the Court Hill Trail proposal. Karen discussed some of the neighborhood concerns regarding drainage with regard to snow and ice removal. The neighborhood would not recommend any additional lighting be added along the trail as they feel that the lighting at the crosswalks would be enough. There is one neighbor that is not in favor of progressing with the trail, however, this member did not attend the last meeting. Kubby, on behalf of the Creekside Neighborhood group, requested that funding for this trail be moved up on the priority list and that they would like to be involved in the next phase. Trueblood assured Kubby that as the City gets closer to concrete plans for project, the neighborhood association will be informed, and invited to participate. O'Leary stated that as he lives in the Creekside Neighborhood, he is very pleased to see this project on the list of long term goals. He feels that a trail is a safer option for walkers and that creek maintenance would be improved as well. He too would like to see it moved up on the priority list. FRIENDS OF HICKORY HILL PARK Bob Sessions and Mike Fallon were present on behalf of the Friends of Hickory Hill to discuss their interest, roles and relationship with the city. Sessions presented some history regarding the Parks and Recreation Commission November 10, 2004 Page 2 of 5 group stating that it has grown to approximately 300 members. Their focus has now changed from being concerned about preserving boundaries to being concerned about what is going on inside the park. They are making an attempt to get more people involved in caring for and enjoying the park. Their goal is to not cost the city any money, but to benefit the park through fundraising. Sessions announced that they are working on an area to bring back the native prairie. Fallon discussed their awareness of the politics involved with the use of herbicides and they will be approaching this as legally and proficiently as possible. The group hopes to work in tandem with the city to bring funding to the projects where the city may not have funds available. Sessions distributed an "Adopt-A-Park Report" to the commission for their review. Reisetter asked for clarification from Trueblood regarding City's liability for injuries sustained by the volunteers, etc., working on these projects. Trueblood stated that they are covered under the City's umbrella policy. Westefeld praised the group for the work that has been done by the Friends of Hickory Hill. Gustaveson expressed his appreciation of the cooperation between Friends of Hickory Hill and the Parks and Recreation Staff. RUGBY CLUB REQUEST TO HOST 2005 TOURNAMENT · Jeremy Freerks, President of the Iowa City Rugby Team, made an appeal to the commission to allow the club to host their Ducks 7's annual tournament on the soccer fields of Iowa City. Freerks distributed a packet of letters, etc., supporting their request to the commission for their review. Freerks discussed the history of the sport of rugby with members of the commission. Freerks mentioned the revenue that is brought in to the City of Iowa City by the 300-500 team members and spectators. While admitting that alcohol has been a problem at these events, Freerks stated that he would like to work something out with the city in regard to this issue-- perhaps something similar to what Shakespeare Theatre has in place now allowing them to sell beer as a concession item. Trueblood presented to the commission the staffs concerns regarding past tournaments, and why they denied the clubs request. He stated that since 1989 it has been necessary to send letters of reprimand regarding parking and alcohol issues to the club following every tournament, reminding them of the 1200 beer cans that were disposed of along with broken glass that had to be cleaned up from the parking lots at the soccer complex. Trueblood reminded Freerks that in 2004 they were allowed to have the tournament with two stipulations; 1) $500 deposit be paid prior to the event and 2) that an uniformed police officer be present at the event. They did not abide by the second request, to have an officer present. Discussion regarding the lack of an officer took place between Freerks and the commission. O'Leary stated that he had been approached by a friend who had expressed his concerns of losing the tournament. O'Leary planned on encouraging the commission to find a solution allowing the tournament to go on. O'Leary felt that because there was no specific plan of action brought by the club to the commission he could not support nor oppose a decision at this time. Therefore he would abstain from the vote. Parks and Recreation Commission November 10, 2004 Page 3 of 5 Gastaveson made note that while these types of events are usually welcomed by the city, in the event of past experiences he would have to support the stafl's recommendation to deny their request. Moved by Reisetter, seconded by Pacha that Ruby Club's request to continue hosting the annual Ducks Sevens Rugby Tournament on parks property be denied. Commission informed the club that if they would like to discuss this again for future tournaments to be sure to present the commission with a detailed plan of action. REPORT OF SNOW REMOVAL ISSUES & RESPONSIBILITIES Terry Robinson reviewed a list with the commission of snow removal locations for which the Parks, Forestry and CBD divisions are responsible. He noted that this list has grown to 37 areas that are neither in nor adjacent to parks. A recent example that surfaced is a walkway that was established between homes and is not connected to any parks but has become our responsibility for snow removal. Walz asked if there is a way to proactively deal with this issue. Trueblood noted that Planning staff is aware of this and knows that these issues need to be taken care of at the initial planning stage of a development. It is felt that the homeowners associations or adjacent property owners need to be responsible for these areas. DISCUSSION OF ISSUES/PROJECTS AS DIRECTED BY CITY COUNCIL Tmeblood reviewed a memo from the City Manager dated 1/20/05 regarding the council budget decisions for FY06. items are as follows: #7) Proposed National Guard Armory project on county property off of Melrose Avenue: Commission asked their thoughts on pursuing this plan. Commission unanimously supports this idea. #8) Restroorn/Shelter sketch to be prepared for City Park Festival Stage area. City Manager has given approval to go ahead with a concept plan and cost estimates. We should have · this plan within two to three weeks. #9) Prepare a list of smaller Parks and Recreation Projects: Council wants to know if there is a potential for fundraising. Trueblood stated his concerns regarding the time that would be involved in this effort. Commission to suggest ideas for fundraising. #12) An expanded downtown cleanup policy to be referred to the alcohol advisory board as well as a work session discussion on how we might choose to proceed. Not sure yet if this will involve Parks and Recreation. #17) Distribution percentage policy for hotel tax revenue: 27 1/2% to Parks & Recreation is the same as it has been in past years. Parks and Recreation Commission November 10, 2004 Page 4 of 5 COMMISSION TIME Walz announced that there will be a "Prairie Preview" event on March 8. Friends of Hickory Hill would like to distribute a postcard (or something of that nature) to people that they can fill out and send to City Council in support of park projects. Pacha praised Mike Moran and staff for their continued efforts and success with ball field maintenance. CHAIR'S REPORT No report DIRECTOR'S REPORT Trueblood discussed Sandhill Estates on South Gilbert. Trueblood and Robinson are scheduled to meet with a representative from the Iowa National Heritage Foundation who has acquired land that they are interested in selling to the city. It is 20+ acres in size and located adjacent to the sand prairie area already owned by the City. Trueblood will be meeting with the Weeber-Harlocke Neighborhood Association to start planning for their mini-park. Trueblood is working with Friends of Hickory Hill who would like to place a commemorative stone in the wooded area of the park honoring the woman who submitted the name of the park. She passed away a couple of years ago. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Parks and Recreation Commission November 10, 2004 Page 5 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2005 TERM NAME EXPIRES 1/12 2/16 3/9 4/13 5/11 6/8 7/13 8/10 9/14 10/12 11/19 12/14 Craig Gustaveson 1/1/07 NM X Judith ]~link 1/1/07 NM X Margaret Loomer 1/1/08 NM X Ryan O'Leary 1/1/06 NM X Matt Pacha 1/1/05 NM X Phil Reisetter 1/1/09 NM X Sarah Walz 1/1/07 NM X John Westefeld 1/1/06 NM X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum .... Not a Member