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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-04-19 CorrespondenceDate: March 24, 2005 To: City Clerk From: Anissa Williams, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for April 5, 2005 City Council meeting: Removal of NO PARKING 8 AM - 5 PM MON - FRI signs on the south side of Oakcrest Street between Sunset Street and George Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), removal of NO PARKING 8 AM - 5 PM MON- FRI signs on the south side of Oakcrest Street between Sunset Street and George Street. Comment: This action is being taken as a result of a neighborhood survey indicating a majority of the residents would like the signs removed. There is not a significant safety issue with parked vehicles on this street. See attached staff memo for additional information. mcjrlagdlaw-oakcresLdoc a.z//ge 1 of 1 Subj: parking Date:' 4/17/2005 1:41:47 P.M. Central Standard Time From: kjsg!s520@yahoo.com To: treker300@aol.com To Iowa City Council In regards to the parking on Oakcrest Street I would like to see it reinstated simply for the covenience of having access to parking somewhere other than private driveways. Since we already pay taxes for this access it seems only reasonable that we have that option available to us in some form. Some residents have narrow driveways with either older residents or students that find it difficult to shuflle cars around all the time. I would think that would increase the number of times someone would be likely to be in accident. I do think that those who choose to park on the streets not impede on any driveway accesses or face penalty fees to discourage that from re-occurring. I think there is already some minimum clearance in place,or should be for what is allowable without impinging on private driveways. As a possible means to limit parking issues The city could control the # of non-owner parking permits for nonowners in that block area. However, seEing this up or policing this may prove to be awkward. Thank you Jessy Stingley Do you Yahoo!? Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides! http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelg uide Sunday, April 17, 2005 America Online: TREKER 300 City of Iowa City City Council We have owned a house on Oakcrest Street since 1978 and parking has always been permitted on the street until the recent restriction of no parking between 8am-5pm weekdays. There was never a problem with the former street parking and we would like to see it re-instated for the following reasons: We have a single driveway, two vehicles, and my spouse and I have different schedules on a daily basis. This necessitates moving one vehicle in order to get another one out much of the time. When we have company, there is nowhere for them to park except on the grass. This destroys the lawn and should not be necessary if street parking were permitted. Many of the current houses in the affected area have multiple residents with multiple vehicles and they to are forced to park on the grass on a regular basis in order to abide by the "no street parking." We pay taxes in this area and feel that we should have some options for parking other than on the grass. The homeowner who initiated the no parking moved shortly after this was approved, leaving the rest of us to deal with something we didn't really want in the first place. Another homeowner has parking in the driveway of an unoccupied house and therefore isn't interesting in seeing street parking re-instated. The concern of some about people who don't live on the street using the parking does not seem very relevant. We who live here are not able to park on the street as it is. We would at least have the benefit more of the time if parking were allowed regardless of who else parks there. Many residents work late at night and could park in the street when they come home and not worry about having to get up early to move the car. Also their ears being in the street early in the morning would~};' eliminate those from other areas parking there before work. ': >'~-, Please reconsider this restriction on parking and give some relief to those of us who live in the area and pay taxes here. tl~ beolefi ~parking outweigh the concerns. - No~rn a Jett ~ April 17, 2005 To whom it may concern: As owner of a house on Oakcrest, I would like to see full-time parking restored to our block. I have three roommates that live with me, and having only a one-lane driveway is a definite hassle with four cars. As students, we do not have the regular 8-5 working hours that the no parking signs adhere to. Three of us do not drive to school, which means our cars sit in the driveway even when we are not at home, and if one of us needs to get out, we must move everyone else's cars-which is quite a task for only one person and not being able to park the cars on the street. Having no parking on the street helps no one. Yes I agree that if parking is restored full-time, people will most likely park on the street who work at the hospital or who are not tenants or friends of tenants. We would however at least have the opportunity to park on the street. If parking is reinstated, it would help the community as a whole, and perhaps even help improve Iowa City's "parking is a hassle" image. Sincerely, Mari Asper Co-owner, 1314 Oakcrest St City Council Iowa City, Iowa To Whom It May Concern: I own a duplex at 1015-1017 Oakcrest with 5 residents who own 5 vehicles. This creates a problem with the current restrictions on street parking between the hours of 8am-5pm weekdays. There is not enough room for the residents to park and when they have visitors, there is nowhere for them to park except on the grass. This results in an unsightly lawn and would not be necessary if street parking were allowed. We did not have problems with street parking before this recent restriction was imposed and the majority of the people living on the street would like to see parking allowed as it was previously. Most of the people opposing the street parking have adequate parking or only one vehicle so the no parking does not effect them. Please make a decision that affects the most people on the block and you will find that street parking needs to be re-instated. Betty ~ckenfels / April 13, 2005 City of Iowa City To Whom It May Concern: We are three of the residents on Oakcrest Street who live between Sunset Street and George Street. Not too long ago parking was limited on our street during the weekday. This was due in large part to a former resident of our neighborhood. Since she has moved away, a number of us residents have tried to have parking re-established on our street. This is another such attempt. We need this parking both for our convenience and often for regular use. Many of the homes in this area are zoned for multiple-family use and, as such, require more parking than is available in their respective driveways. Further, we and others who have friends and family members in the area need the parking spaces to accommodate these people when they visit, which is frequently. It has always seemed an unreasonable restriction on our parking for it to be completely eliminated when the problem with the parking was that we were not able to use it. Nobody being able to use does not solve that problem. Moreover, it seems unreasonable that parking might be restricted in a close, one-time vote, while numerous attempts to re- establish the parking in a similar way are insufficient. For these reasons we ask that parking be established on our street in the same or similar manner as it was prior to it being taken away. Michael J , 1 e J~oseph Mitros: To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this letter to address the issue of no parking on Oakcrest Street between Sunset and George Streets. The fact that no parking signs went up some month ago is of great concern to me for two main reasons. First, when friends, relatives, or guests visit, there is no convenient place for them to park. This especially presents a problem for elderly family members, who are then forced to walk a distance to our home. Our friends who visit are forced to park three and four deep in our driveway, which makes the area look congested. This is the least serious of my concerns, however. My greatest concern is being able to get out of my own driveway should there be an emergency with a family member. My fianc6e drives a manual transmission vehicle, which I am unable to drive. If that vehicle was parked behind me, and I needed to leave, I would be unable to do so. Since there is a lack of parking on Oakcrest, neighbors often park three deep in the driveway next to us. This makes it especially difficult to back a car out of the driveway when there is a three-foot deep snowbank on one side of our car. There have been numerous occasions on which we have had to ask them to move their vehicles so that we can get out. I only hope that if an emergency ever arose, they would be home to move their cars. Otherwise, we would be out of luck. I feel that restoring parking to Oakcrest would help remedy this situation. It is my hope that parking on Oakcrest will be restored. It will make this neighborhood a much safer and friendly place to live. Sincerely, 620 Sunset Street April 16, 2005 City of Iowa City City Council I own a house on Oakcrest Street between Sunset Street and George Street. Recently parking was limited on the street to after 5:00P.M. on Mon-Fri. This has created an inconvenience to my daughter who lives in the dwelling and her roommates. We need parking on the street. My property only has a single lane driveway and there is no other alternative. Because of the restricted parking they are forced to park in the from lawn and that caused damage to the yard. Also, because of their differem schedules they are forced to constantly maneuver their vehicles in the driveway so that they can go to work or classes. One of the reasons that I purchased this home was because of the availability of on street parking. The request to limit parking was made by a former resident who has since moved. As a taxpayer I am requesting that the restricted parking be lifted on Oakcrest Street. -/ Ma~6 Smith/Owner Emily S~ .... Brad Y/alOich Sunday, April 17, 2005 To Whom It May Concern: It has come to our attention that an opportunity has arisen for parking to be reinstated on our street. When we moved into our residence one of the attractions was ability to have on street parking. This was especially valuable to us as we desired to have a house open to hospitality at all times. Unfortunately parking was taken away during day hours. Being unable to offer our home as a place for luncheons and other engagements has been hard on our desire to serve others. We can not even offer our driveway for one or two guests to use because of space. During day time hours we are leaving and arriving at different times and with four cars in our driveway it is often difficult to make it to work on time when we must, "car swap". Often the other people living in our home are not able to help and so on our own this can take up to 15 minutes to pull all of the cars out and then all back in. We understand that there have been concerns about allowing parking back on to our street. One of these concerns has been with the bus system. The transit has been questioned and they have said that parking is not problematic but they would rather if we reinstated parking that it be on the north side of the street. The transit system has dealt with on street parking for many years without any qualms but we would be happy to oblige their wishes. Also, other residences on our street have been concerned about whether employees close by would try to park on our street. We do not understand what the issue is if the residence are not benefiting from parking now what it would matter if other people could use the street. What a simply way to silently encourage other people by allowing them to park close to where they work. We understand that our requests are self-seeking in our desires for easier transportation and hospitality but each side of this argument is going to be selfish for their own reasons. We appreciate the energy you are taking to bring resolution to this issue. Perhaps our insight will help make the right decision. Sincerely, The residence of 1314 Oakcrest To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this letter to address the issue of no parking on Oakcrest Street between Sunset and George Streets. The fact that no parking signs went up some month ago is of great concern to me for two main reasons. First, when friends, relatives, or guests visit, there is no convenient place for them to park. This especially presents a problem for elderly family members, who are then forced to walk a distance to our home. Our friends who visit are forced to park three and four deep in our driveway, which makes the area look congested. This is the least serious of my concerns, however. My greatest concem is being able to get out of my own driveway should there be an emergency with a family member. I drive a manual transmission vehicle, which my fiancfe is unable to drive. If I were parked behind her, and she needed to leave, she would be unable to do so. Since there is a lack of parking on Oakcrest, neighbors often park three deep in the driveway next to us. This makes it especially difficult to back a car out of the driveway when there is a three-foot deep snowbank on one side of our car. There have been numerous occasions on which we have had to ask them to move their vehicles so that we can get out. I only hope that if an emergency ever arose, they would be home to move their cars. Otherwise, we would be out of luck. I feel that restoring parking to Oakcrest would help remedy this situation. It is my hope that parking on Oakcrest will be restored. It will make this neighborhood a much safer and friendly place to live. Sincerely, 620 Sunset Street Council Members 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Council Members: I am writing with a suggestion in response to an incident I personally experienced recently. A couple weeks ago I found that I lost my wallet somewhere downtown. Though it is impossible to avoid situations of the sort altogether, I think it would be helpful to put together a sort of protocol for businesses to follow if they find lost property or have lost property turned into them. With the large number of businesses in such close proximity, an item found outside, such as in the ped-mall, would likely be turned into a restaurant/bar/business other than a place the owner of the lost property actually went into. Though it is not a pressing issue that demands immediate attention, I think that if businesses cooperated with the police station by turning over all found property to them after a set period of time; it could make retrieving lost property less of a game of run- around. Knowing that all property would be turned into the police after a certain period of time could allow the individual missing property to go to one place rather than going business to business without luck. This obviously isn't failsafe as some found property isn't turned in anywhere at all, but I think it would help in some circumstances as well as be fairly simply implemented. Thank you very much for your time. Mischa Andersen 522 E. Burlington #8 Iowa City, IA 52240 March 24, 2005 City Council City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, la. 52240 Dear Council Members, It is a fact that we as a nation are the biggest consumers and the most wasteful people in the world. However, Iowa City can be a leader and help curb the tide of over- consumption by developing a new recycling program, one that offers incentives to people that do their part in recycling. The city could afford to do this by selling back the post- consumer material to be reused again by packaging and production companies. The average American consumes 120 pounds of materials a day, and if everyone in the world used as much as the people of North America, we would need 4 earths and 9 atmospheres to sustain our world. We need to drastically alter our lifestyle as a people, because maybe we won't see the consequences to earth in our lifetime but our children and their children certainly will. This is one great way that we can begin to help. It not only helps to minimize waste, but it reduces the need to produce more new products and packaging. Something as simple as a reduction in refuse rates in turn for recycling would greatly motivate people to begin recycling in earnest. Another way is that certain items being recycled would have a set price, for example 5 cents for a milk jug. If everyone did their part, it would make a big difference. Let Iowa City be a model for other places. Thank you for your time and consideration of this very important issue, and remember, "we don't own this earth, we are simply borrowing it from our children." Sincerely, Brent Itarmeier Student, University of Iowa 811 S Van Buren Iowa City, IA 52240 March 24, 2005 Mayor Ernest W. Lehman 410 E Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Mayor Ernest W. Lehman, I have recently noticed an obscene amount of garbage and debris littering this city. Every day I pick up trash that is blown into my yard. Perhaps more trashcans are needed sporadically along sidewalks for those too lazy to hold on to their trash until able to dispose of it properly. Another solution entails those sentenced to community service hours for various law violations to be able to work offhours picking up trash and making this city more aesthetic. Any step towards a cleaner Iowa City is a step in the fight direction. Thank you for your time, Anthony J. Scanlan Brandon Hofeldt 417 Grant St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Ernest W. Lehman 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Ia 52240 Mayor Lehman: This letter is regarding the issue of traffic and pedestrian congestion in downtown Iowa City. The campus of the University of Iowa needs to be improved to accommodate bikers and walkers better than it does now. There are very few bike lines and walking in some downtown areas can be difficult and even dangerous. There has been a movement in other cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco to slow motor vehicle traffic and increase the use of bikes and walking. Not only would these changes to a more people friendly environment make the city more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but it would also cut down on pollution fi.om vehicle exhaust and make the people in the community healthier. The city and university are very old and they've been stuck in the past for too long. It's time to make a change to a new layout and a new look that is both safe for and appealing to pedestrians. By changes I do not mean a complete restructuring of the city, just a few minor adjustments such as bike lanes, turnabouts to slow vehicles down, better upkeep of sidewalks, and a longer time for people crossing at crosswalks. Students at Iowa would be very pleased with a safer easier walk to class and the burden put on those who have to drive wouldn't be very large. I think this issue needs to be investigated more than it is now and something needs to be done. Iowa City is a great college town, but if we don't keep improving we will see it mm into a smog filled, congested city. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Brandon Hofeldt Marian Karr From: mark & Sharon Kline [smilleric@bigplanet.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 2:01 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Workers Urinating in Public N. Dodge Council Members My name is Mark S. Kline. Living at 710 Kimball Ave. We are right behind the construction on N. Dodge St. I have 2 concerns. The first being the constant outdoor urination by workers at the construction site. Ive been witness to this on several occasions, and have contacted the police. I would think an outdoor port-a-john would be in order? The second concern is the dirt that is being piled up close to the edge of the ravine. The owners of the property finally did put in a silt fence. Which has since started to fall down. I would like to respectfully request that a new silt fence be erected to contain the ever growing pile of dirt which is located in the 1000 blk of N Dodge St. Myself and the fellow property owners of this ravine. Would like to keep it from being silted in. Thank you in advance for your resolution to my concerns. Have a great day. Sincerely Mark S. and Sharon B. Kline 4/6/2005 /-'p ,...~('(o) Pagelof2 Marian Kart From: Dale Helling Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 3:02 PM To: 'smilleric@bigplanet.com' Cc: *City Council; Steve Atkins; Ron Knoche Subject: FW: Workers Urinating in Public N. Dodge Dear Mark and Sharon, Thank you for your recent email to the City Council regarding the construction on North Dodge Street. I have attached a response I received from Ron Knoche, the City Engineer, addressing his follow-up with the contractor. We will continue to monitor that situation as best we can. However, please do not hesitate to contact me or Ron directly if you observe workers urinating in public or other inappropriate behavior. Ron can be reached at 356-5138, ?on-knoche@iowa-city,org' and I can be reached at 356-5013 'da!e-helling@!owa-city,org' Hopefully, these problems are resolved and will not recur in the future. Dale Helling Assistant City Manager cc. City Council City Manager City Engineer ..... Original Message ..... From: Ron Knoche Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 9:25 AM To: Dale Helling Cc: Rick Fosse Subject: RE: Workers Urinating in Public N. Dodge Dale, The contractors have been talked to about the issue of urinating in public. This will be a weekly topic to make sure everyone on the jobsite understands that they are in town. The property owner next to the ravine on the Dodge Street side has told the contractors to get off of his property. The contractors were negotiating with him but apparently the negotiations have broken down. That is according to a certified letter that I received from him. The contractors will need to restore the site as necessary. Ron ..... Original Message ..... From: mark & Sharon Kline rmailto:smilleric@bigplanet.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 2:01 PIq To: cou ncil@iowa -cit'y.org Subject: Workers Urinating in Public N. Dodge Council Members My name is Mark S. Kline. Living at 710 Kimball Ave. We are right behind the construction on N. Dodge St. 4/15/2005 Page 2 of 2 I have 2 concerns. The first being the constant outdoor urination by workers at the construction site. Ive been witness to this on several occasions, and have contacted the police. I would think an outdoor port-a-john would be in order? The second concern is the dirt that is being piled up close to the edge of the ravine. The owners of the property finally did put in a silt fence. VVhich has since started to fall down. I would like to respectfully request that a new silt fence be erected to contain the ever growing pile of dirt which is located in the 1000 blk of N Dodge St. Myself and the fellow property owners of this ravine. Would like to keep it from being silted in. Thank you in advance for your resolution to my concerns. Have a great day. Sincerely Mark S. and Sharon B. Kline 4/15/2005 Marian Karr From: Katie Jarrett [KtJarrett@ARKAero.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 12:12 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Hangar resolution Honorable Councilmembers, It is with sorrow that I see your contemplation of the destruction of the old United Hangar rather than it's relocation. This hangar is a piece of your history as well as a piece of airline history, lit is unique in that it was designed as o sort of "drive-thru" structure that would allow the disembarkement of plane and cargo under protection of the elements. :It is the forerunner of what we now call jetways. Yes, it might be more expedient to just knock it down and dispose of it, but, os one of only 7 original post office hangars, it behooves you to save this piece of history. I would urge you to join the local pilots who are working to get the building listed on the Notional Historic Register. In the next few years, as we approach more centennial anniversaries of aviation firsts, the building will increasingly become on historical asset, particularly in light of the roles of the Post Office and Iowa City Airport in the development of commercial aviation. There are many ways you could use this to your advantage. Since the move will be paid for by the FAA, your only obstacle is the time it tokes to move the structure. Hasty actions are very often followed by regret. Please toke the time to relocate and save the hangar rather than destroy it. Once demolished, this piece of history can never be replaced. Sincerely, Katherine .Tarrett. 4/6/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Bill and Sharon Tinkler [silvaire@comcast. net] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 9:26 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Save our Historic AirMail Hangar Please do not destroy your National Treasure - one of the 7 remaining Air Mail hangars in the country. It stands as silent witness to the birth of our current Air Line system! The FAA will pay to have it moved to another location. Please vote to have it moved to another location on the field instead of torn down. Sharon Tinkler 4/6/2005 Dear City Council member, The proposed change to the zoning ordinance regarding the RS-8 zone is troubling. We have just completed a new duplex (photo attached) and have just started building another duplex, both in the 1100 block of E. Washington St. With the adoption of the proposed ordinance change these brand new structures will immediately become non-conforming. This simply is not right or fair. The non-confom,ing status would have serious and long temi ramifications. Here is an example: Currently these new duplexes are three-bedroom condominiums. If one of these units is sold to a family with three children and they seek to obtain a building permit to "finish off" the currently unfinished basement into a bedroom they will be denied a building pemfit to do so. This is in spite of the fact that these buildings meet current building code and already have escape and rescue windows installed in the basements (which is required by the current building code). This is the interpretation of the building department. I have personal experience with this exact issue. To take brand new buildings and have them become non-confomfing by adopting this new ordinance is grossly unfair and unethical. The non-conforming status of a property seldom reveals itself until a property owner attempts to obtain a building permit. The effect of this proposed change will render the vast majority of duplexes (both owner occupied and rental) in existing RS-8 zones non- conforming. Will the planning department inform all affected owners that their properties will become non-conforming ~h thi~ proposed change? The devil is always in the details. ~,--~--~: ~.c-"' -,~ The non-conforming issue is the most important issue but I also ha-ye:fourth,:( :: other related issues regarding this proposed ordinance change. :> -- 1. Redeveloping a property to its highest and best use is beneficial to the community. In our case we demolished a 100 year old existing duplex and a single family home nearly that old. The duplex was poorly constructed and poorly maintained. The new duplex that is now in its place will quadruple the property tax for this property and it is a much more attractive building. 2. The level of fire safety and occupant safety is significantly improved in new buildings. One cannot make cost effective improvements to an existing building to meet current building code requirements. These code requirements are easily met during the process of new construction. This includes smoke detection, escape and rescue windows, fire separation walls, and electrical issues. 3. Both of these new duplexes have geothermal heating and cooling. Even though these new buildings have over six times the square footage of the razed buildings they will use a fraction of the energy the old buildings used. It is not cost effective to achieve the level of energy efficiency for an old structure that can easily be achieved with new construction. 4. Most people argue against "urban sprawl." Orderly redevelopment can help to reduce urban sprawl by using existing developed land. Increasing the tax base for existing parcels, fire safety, energy efficiency and reducing urban sprawl are good arguments that run counter to the changes that are being proposed in this ordinance regarding the existing RS-8 zone. I have no problem with "design review" for redevelopment of existing properties. I would be glad to discuss this matter at anytime. i~erely, 1 3 I"E. Washingt6fi Iowa City, IA 52245 ykli felt (~ I ~ar ne er ao .corn March 30, 2005 Marian Karr From: Dale Helling Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 11:09 AM To: 'Mary Dias' Cc: *City Council; Steve Atkins Subject: RE: CITY GOVT COSTS Ms. Dias, With regard to the graphic information you forwarded to the City Council, we cannot verify the accuracy of the representative figures for iowa City. The number used was not provided by iowa City and we have no way of knowing what variables were taken into account in calculating the comparative figures presented on the graph. You indicate that the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce sent out this information. ! would suggest you contact them regarding the document. They may be able to provide for you the information you are seeking. Dale Helling Assistant City Manager cc. City Council City Manager ..... Original Message ..... From: Mary Dias [mailto:lVlDias@coe.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 10:06 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: CITY GOVT COSTS ! am from Cedar Rapids and we are in the stages of setting up an election for a change of govt from our current commission form to a part time mayor/city mgr. The attached copy of a postcard sent out by the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce shows that it costs Davenport $5.47 per capita for salaries, benefits, and support of city officials. Can your govt verify this information that was sent out to the citizens of Cedar Rapids in yesterday's mail? What is your population? Thanks, Mary Dias 3230 Lindsay Ln SE Cedar Rapids IA 52403 saiddan@systemsfirst,com home email mdias@coe,edu work email *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IHPORTANT: De not epen attachments from unrecegnized senders *** 4/5/2005 ICost per capita for salarie benefits and support of el~:~ted city officials. is M 424 1 st Ave, NE PRSRT STD US Postage Cedar Rapids, IA 52401-1196 PAID VICTORY Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 4:11 PM To: Marian Karr Subject: FW: the city planners should be involved. ..... Original Message ..... From: Steve Atkins Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 8:41 AM To: Kathryn 3ohansen Subject: FVV: the city planners should be involved. ..... Original Message ..... From: Barker, Joyce A [mailto:joyce-barker@uiowa.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 7:46 AM To: steve_atkins@iowa-city.org; Coimie-champion~iowa-city.org; mike-odonnell@iowa-city.org; Regenia Bailey; dee- vanderhoef~iowa-city.org; ross-wilburn~iowa-city.org Subject: the city planners should be involved. Dear Iowa City Council. I am writing because many things have caught my eye recently. I have been told that you have no direct say but have noticed that you do have some indirect control of this matter. I noticed on the Shelter's web site, this is a direct quote. The Shelter House Board of DireCtors is currently planning the construction of a new building. This facility will offer housing to twice as many people and larger rooms to accommodate the increasing number of families. Since the creation of Shelter House in 1983, the population of Johnson County has increased by over 35%, but the shelter's capacity has not been able to increase at all. The current facility is a single-family home that was never intended for such a purpose, and each month ShelterHouse must turn away 100 men, women, and children due to lack of space. While the first paragraph is true of the proposed building in the second paragraph they argue that they have not been able to increase in their current location. That they turn away 100 men, women, and children due to !ack of space.., so tell me how a 46 bed addition will help an influx of 100. I know you will say that is per month but I would lay odds on the fact that most in the shelter stay at least a month. It takes that long to find a job, apartment and get deposit lined up in this town. The proposed site is locked. They can never grow. I noted this from one of your JCCOG Board meeting: JCCOG URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003- 4:00 P.M. 5.b. Update on recent activities. Severson reviewed recent activities of the Human Services Planning Division. Severson reviewed activities dealing with the Common Fund and the Consultation of Religious Communities. Severson stated an update JCCOG member agency roster was available, and distributed copies. Stutsman asked about Shelter House locating their new facility. Severson stated it was her understanding that the location initially selected had been rejected because it was in the floodplain and not suitable for HUD funding. Pfab asked if JCCOG and City of Iowa City staff were helping enough to find a location for the new Shelter House facility. Severson stated that a realtor would fikely be a more appropriate resource for Shelter House to use. Potter stated that 4/13/2005 Page 2 of 2 the fill Coralville had placed adjacent to Clear Creek had resulted in 15 hemes in Tiffin having increased flood exposure. I agree that a realtor xvould be more helpful but I know from calling a realtor and asking questions here in town that they blew me off. I had someone else call and they blew them off....I have talked to the head of the Shelter house board and she said that realtors have not been able to help them..."they have not found them anything". Money drives most realtors in this town.., this will not yield them much money so they are not interested. I think the city needs to step in. That will solve so many issues. It will solve the diversity of the school divisions. It will better serve the volunteers and sponsors who donate their money for such a needed project to make sure it is done with forethought, insight and planning for the future. You are the ultimate stewards of this city .... Please help guide this town. Sincerely, Joyce Barker Service is the rent we pay for living on Earth. -- Shirley Chisolm. 4/13/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 2:55 PM To: 'Barker, Joyce A' Cc: *City Council Subject: RE: question for the city council Dear Joyce: Thank you for your e-mail message to the City Council. Council members do not receive their e-mails directly and your message will be forwarded to them as official correspondence. If you wish to communicate with Council members, please contact them individually. Council member names and phone numbers are listed on our City website. Go to www.icgov.org. Click the blue link for Departments then select City Council. Thank you for writing. Sincerely, Kathi Johansen Administrative Assistant to the City Manager ..... Original Message ..... From: Barker, 3oyce A [mailto:joyce-barker@uiowa.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 11:49 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: question for the city council As a resident of Iowa City, I am writing to inquire about your feelings on the proposed placement of the new Shelter house? As with the current items in the news about their policies and people on the state sex offender registry, I am wondering where our council members stand on this being built next to a neighborhood with 85 children and a day care center. Sincerely, Joyce Barker Service is the rent we pay for living on Earth. -- Shirley Chisolm. 4/5/2005 Marian Karr From: John Neff [iohn-neff@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 8:02 PM To-' council; Peter J. Hansen; ICCBG@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Fwd: MidAmerican assessed value] Another data point The assessed value of MidAmerica electric distribution system in Iowa City is used to compute the property tax replacement paid to Iowa City. This is another data point to be used in determining the market value of the system. The email below is a technical explaination of the excise tax and procedure used to make an equitable distribution of property tax replacement funds among the various tax districts. ........ Original Message ........ Subject:MidAmerican assessed value Date:Wed, 6 Apr 2005 09:58:03 -0500 From:Harding, Alan <Alan,Harding~idrf. stateja,us> To :'j ohn-ne ff~uiowa,edu' <j ohn-neff~uiowa, edu> MidAmerican is assessed pursuant to Chapter 437A Code of Iowa. Their tax is an excise tax versus a property tax. However, DOR does assess MidAmerican for allocation purposes of the excise tax by a cost less depreciation book value pursuant to section 437A.19. This does not represent the market value of these assets. The Johnson county auditor has the assessed values and you can obtain these figures from the 2004 certificates of assessment mailed to the Johnson county auditor. Alan Harding Iowa Department of Revenue Property Tax Division (515) 281-4782 a!an. ha rd ing@idrf.state.ia, us The figures I obtained from the Johnson County Auditors Office are; Tax District Assessed Value Taxable Value Iowa City/Iowa City Sch $35,280,934 $32,090,690 Iowa City/Clear Creek Sch $61,219 $55,749 Total $35,343,153 $32,146,439 John Neff 4/7/2005 Marian Karr From: rareinhold@hillsbank.com Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 5:04 PM To: council@iowa-city.org; steve-atkins@iowa-city.org; karin-franklin@iowa-city.org; jann-ream@iowa-city.org Cc: Marty_Maiers@hillsbank.com Subject: Sign Ordinance and EMCs Members of the City Council and City staff, Hills Bank strongly supported changes to the City's sign ordinance that allowed the installation of electronic message centers (EMCs) in Iowa City, and we'd like to thank the City Council, City staff and the Planning and Zoning Committee for their unanimous support for those changes to the sign ordinance. We have no issues with the size restrictions recommended for EMCs (40% of total allowed sign face), however, we believe the limitations on animation and the frequency of changing the message on an EMC are unreasonable (once per hour). Since most EMCs will only be visible to motorist for 15-60 seconds, depending on the intersection, the one hour limitation seems unreasonable and unnecessary. The clean, crisp appearance of an EMC is much more appealing compared to the variety of changeable copy signs installed in our community. EMCs provide information in 'a more easily readable format and the ability to program or change the message quickly through a PC inside the office, eliminating the need for an employee to stand outside in bad weather or windy conditions in order to change the message. The competitive market environment that we all operate in makes it necessary to be able to provide information quickly and the ability to change that information frequently. Electronic message centers are one of the many tools we utilize to accomplish our marketing goals and have proven to be very effective in other communities. Hills Bank currently has 12 offices in 9 eastern Iowa communities. We currently have 4 offices with electronic message centers (EMCs); Cedar Rapids Southwest, Lisbon, Marion and North Liberty. We've seen significant benefits from the EMCs at these offices. We're currently finalizing plans to install EMCs at our lC Gilbert Street and Mount Vernon offices, and will pursue other office locations in the near future. We're aware of some concerns regarding the safety of EMCs, however, it's our understanding there's a lack of studies or other documentation that support the safety concerns regarding EMCs and vehicle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the United States Department of Transportation and the Iowa Department of Transportation support the use of EMCs for highway traffic safety warning systems and the Amber Alert System. We believe the visibility of the EMCs actually improves traffic safety since they're visible from a further distance than a changeable copy sign. If a driver can read the EMC from several hundred feet away, that should reduce the need to read it when they approach a busy or dangerous intersection. We encourage the City Council to consider rewriting the amended sign ordinance to allow the installation and operation of fully functional EMCs in Iowa City. We would be happy to work with the City Council and Staff in developing the revised sign ordinance. Thank you for your support and consideration of this request. Sincerely, Randy Reinhold 4/7/2005 Page 2 of 2 Facilities & Security Officer Hills Bank and Trust Company A Century Of Se~ice ... A Commitment To The Future Phone: 319-679-5566 ext. 5348 131 Main Street Fax: 319-679-2116 PO Box 70 Toll-Free: 866-866-8875 Hills, Iowa 52235-0070 rareinhold@hillsbank.com www.hillsbank.com 4/7/2005 March 23, 2005 Council Members 410 East Washington Street Iowa City;, IA 52240 Dear Council Members, I am opposed to smoking in Iowa City restaurants and feel that smoking in such public establishments should be prohibited. There are a several strong reasons for this. First, between 70% and 90% of non-smokers in the American population, including children and adults, are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Only 15% of cigarette smoke gets inhaled bythe smoker while the remaining 85% lingers in the air for everyone else to breathe. If a nonsmoker were to spend more then two hours in a room where someone is smoking, the nonsmoker inhales what would be equivalent to four cigarettes. Second, smoke contains over 4000 chemicals including more then 40 cancer causing agents and 200 known poisons, making it the third leading preventable cause of disability or early death in the United States. Secondhand smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine per unit volume as does smoke inhaled from a cigarette. It also contains 3 times as many cancer causing agents. For every eight smokers who die from smoking, one innocent nonsmoker will die from secondhand smoke. Third, over the past years, medical research has shown that non-smokers suffer many diseases often associated with smoking. About 3000 people who do not smoke die ever year from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is also linked to nasal sinus cavity cancer, cancer of the cervix, breast cancer, and bladder cancer. Also, an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 deaths are caused from heart disease in people who are not current smokers, but who are exposed to secondhand smoke. Pregnant women who ingest secondhand smoke pass it on to their unborn baby Women who are exposed to secondhand smoke during their pregnancy have higher rates of miscarriages and stillbirths and have an increased risk of low birth-weight infants. They also have children who are born with decreased lung function and have children who are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from asthma, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, and other lung diseases. They are also more likely to suffer from middle ear infections and sinus infections. Secondhand smoke is a serious issue and should be of concern to an~ne who breathes it in. Ventilation systems and designated smoking sections do not protect patrons from secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke should be prohibited in public restaurants; while secondhand smoke may not kill as many people as smoking does, it is still a killer. Respectfullg ( Jgy'Alberti . 131 EAST DAVENPORT STREET IOWA CITY, IA 52245 sean Goro 512 S. Dubuque St. #10 Iowa City, IA 52240 Mamh 24, 2005 Council Members 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Sir or Madam: My name is Sean Goro and I am cumentiy a student at the University of Iowa and a resident of Iowa City. Recently I was fortunate enough to spend my Spring Break in Daytona Beach, FL. Although the weather was not what I was expecting I slill managed to have a nice and retaxing recess. When the sun was not out my friends and I were forced to spend the day indoors in the local restaurants and bars. Unlike Iowa City, Daytona Beach and the entire s[a~e of Florida ban smoldng in these public places. My friends and I noticed the difference dght away. Our meals were more enjoyable and the a~;-~sphere was flesh and pleasurable without the disturbance of secondhand smoke. I believe the Iowa City Council needs to seriously consider an ordinance that would ban smoking in public dining areas across Iowa City. The action of Iowa's 6t~ largest city would garner statewide attention and cause other cities to ponder its stance on a smoke-free dining act. I think it is unnecessa~j to give my personal opinions on the subject and simply report the facts. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention approximately 3,000 non-smokers die annually from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke and about 35,000 non-smokers die annually from heart disease caused by secondhand smoke. Also, as indicated by Amedcan Cancer Society, nonsmokers regularly exposed to 30 minutes of secondhand smoke suffer death rates 30 percent higher than that of unexposed nonsmokers. In addition, a half hour of exposure to secondhand smoke dramatically increases a person's short-term dsk of heart attack. These are a few simple statistics that show not just how unpleasant but how fatal secondhand smoke can be. Hopefully I have given you a topic to deliberete and I expect you will seriously consider my request to ban smoking in public restaurants and bars. Sincerely, Sean Goro ~' .... University of Iowa Student ~: ~ ;. · March 24, 2005 Cotmcil Members 410 Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 To Whom It May Concern: On behalf of myself and other patrons, I am writing in regards to the current regulations on smoking in the bars and restaurants of Iowa City. With the knowledge of the detrimental health benefits of smoking in mind, I am concerned with the extreme amount of second hand smoke that is present in the local establishments. The average establishment, in downtown specifically, is a deceiving image of our community. While our citizens are having a good time and enjoying the highlights of our city, they are also exposing themselves to harmful toxins and potential illness; whether they choose so or not. The recent addition of a smoke free bar has been a step in the right direction; however the rest of the city needs to follow. I feel this problem has risen to a larger extent over the past three years, and I propose the smoking codes be brought to the council's attention for reassessment. Thank you for your time and consideration. Respectfully, Alaina Smith To Whom it May Concern: I have been given an assignment in class to write a community action letter. After I thought about it there is one thing that really bothers me. There should be a law that eliminates smoking in all restaurants in Iowa City. Even when there is just a smoking section, most of the time it still makes the whole restaurant somewhat smokey. It would also be nice to have at least a few non-smoking bars downtown. I hate coming out of the bar and always smelling like smoke. Those people who are smoking are effecting other people and not just themselves. Second hand smoking is not good for our health either. I'm sure there are others that would enjoy a non- smoking bar as well, why doesn't Iowa City come up with a non-smoking policy in restaurants or have at least a couple non-smoking bars. I think it would he a really good investment for the city, I also think it would go over really well with the community. Sincerely, Kae Weis To the Active Members of the Iowa City Council: Dear Members, ?:" - '~ ,!ii : f~ Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. This is ~!~!~s~ue in 01ar ~unity that I do feel strongly about. The city of Iowa City abides by a code enfoming no one under the age of nineteen years old to be allowed in an establishment that serves alcohol from 10 PM to close. The only exceptions are: 1. When one that is an employee of permit holder and is on the premises during work hours. 2. The person under nineteen years of age is with a guardian over nineteen years old. 3. The person is in an establishment that does serve alcohol where the establishment has greater than 50% of their gross sales from something other than alcohol The fine for a person under the age of nineteen is $250.00. The fine for being nineteen or twenty and drinking in a bar is $147.00. What is the reason for one being more expensive than the other? Isn't the point to simply cut down on underage drinking altogether? If this is the reason, someone being in a bar and not drinking at the age of eighteen should not be a bigger fine than someone that is nineteen or twenty and drinking. For those college students that are eighteen years old and want to go enjoy themselves with their fellow classmates, they can't. Why shouldn't they be allowed the same privileges as the rest of the freshmen? The downtown area thrives off of the bars. They are the moneymakers when it comes to the ped mall. They are where the college students go in their free time. That is because there are not many other places for them to go. The majority of the businesses that can afford the high rent downtown are the bars. It would have been great if Planet X would have been able to survive the high rent so there was a place for underage students to go and enjoy themselves. Unfortunately they couldn't which removed a place with an opportunity. Taking away the opportunity to go into a bar and socialize with your friends at the age of eighteen is ridiculous if a human can get drafted into the army, go serve his country, and seriously get injured or die. The object for the city of Iowa City was to eliminate underage drinking but instead you have just created a way for the city to collect more money by fining people that aren't even drinking. You are fining them for having a good time past 10 PM. Again, thank you for taking the time to read my letter of concem. Sincerely, Katie Marian Karr ~ From: morgan forde [MRGNFRBZ@peoplepc.com] Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 10:08 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: parking in residential neighborhood City High students I feel compeled to write after receiving my Real Estate Assessment Roll for Iowa City. My assessed value went up $23,000.00. This is fine since I hope to sell my house someday, and move out of my current neighborhood. I have taken more notice of the swarm of students that infiltrate the neighborhood every day now that I am home recovering from a work related injury. Every day these students, come in to our residential neighborhood looking for parking. They don't care where they park, no parking areas, fire hydrants, ect. I have called the police to ticket these cars on numerous occassions and have become frustrated at the need to call and when I do or others in the neighborhood, I have seen officers ignore other cars that should be ticketed and only ticket the one called on. I on a daily basis pick up trash left or thrown out. I have picked up used condoms, underware and pantyhose. I have witnessed students in their cars having sex or walking to school smoking cigarettes and small pipes. Most days will you see a crowd of students on the street smoking in a group. Not only does this go on I cannot provide a parking space for visitors or service trucks. Every available space is taken. This is the most maddening. I live in a residential area and cannot provide parking, because it is taken up by students who have parking offered at their school but due to lack they park in my area. If there is no parking available they should not drive, or the school should provide adequate parking so the neighborhoods are not succumbed to this on a daily basis. I urge you to spend an hour every morning and afternoon in my neighborhood when the students are coming and leaving. Why do we have to put up with this? Please place residential parking signs in residential areas, we are paying for residential homes. Or insist the school address this problem or send an officer to ticket everyday. I am tired of walking outside everday and telling a student they cannot park in that no parking area or I cannot get out of my garage. If you decide to come into our neighborhood and see what it is like I am located on Lowell and High. One block down from City High. Thank you, Morgan Forbes 4/11/2005 Lauren Rizzo 221 Iowa Ave. Apt. 1935 Iowa City, IA 52240 March 21, 2005 Council Members 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 To Whom It May Concern: I am a student at the University of Iowa. I wanted to address some concerns about parking in Iowa City. I believe currently that the parking situation is very poor at this time. I am aware that the parking around campus is scarce but I believe there are aspects that can be improved. Majority of the parking which is short term meters is concentrated in the core of the downtown area. These meters are only one to two hours; I know that the intentions of these spaces are intended for shoppers use but majority of the spaces that are used by students. I believe that time of the parking should be increased. Not many students are as lucky as I am and live as close as I do, but nonetheless I believe that parking poses some major issues. Iowa City is known as a college town and the city is the campus, and one must consider the difficulties one might encounter with parking. Also, the parking garages I believe should be less expensive or should provide discounts for students. A lot of students at the University are from out of state and have vehicles. With high expenses with just being a student at the University, it is difficult to afford some of the luxuries that some of the apartments provide like parking in their own garages because the cost is extremely high. I believe this would benefit both parties, the students would be able to afford and have access to parking and the city would be increasing their profits because of the high demand for parking. I hope that you will take my concerns and suggestions into consideration. I know that I am not fully aware of all the situations and/or issues that occur in Iowa City but I just wanted to make sure some issues are brought to someone's attention and are advocated. appreciate your time and thank you. Sincerely, Lauren Rizzo Page 1 of 2 Marian Karr From: Jeff Davidson Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 10:36 AM To: 'M RGNFRBZ@peoplepc.com' Cc: *City Council; *City Manager's Office; Matt Johnson; Anissa Williams Subject: FW: parking in residential neighborhood City High students Hello Morgan Forbes. Your message below was forwarded to me for response. We have periodically received requests from your neighborhood to prohibit on-street parking so that City High students cannot park on-street in your neighborhood. The City Council has not approved these requests because the effect would be to move the City High student parking further out onto other neighborhood streets. The City does not have the ability through the zoning code to regulate the amount of parking the school district provides for students. The school district did build a new parking lot between Court Street and Morningside Drive a few years ago, but this obviously hasn't stopped students from parking on- street. If you observe illegally parked vehicles or other illegal behavior I encourage you to contact the Police Department at their routine business number, 356-5275. If you have an enforcement issue with a particular patrol officer, you may contact Captain Matt Johnson for clarification. I will copy this message to him so that he is aware of your concerns. Jeff Davidson, Traffic Engineering Planning. ..... Original Message ..... From: Dale Helling Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:17 AM To: Jeff Davidson Subject: FW: parking in residential neighborhood City High students ..... Original Message ..... From: morgan forde [mailto:MRGNFRBZ@peoplepc.com] Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 10:08 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: parking in residential neighborhood City High students I feel compeled to write after receiving my Real Estate Assessment Roll for Iowa City. My assessed value went up $23,000.00. This is fine since I hope to sell my house someday, and move out of my current neighborhood. I have taken more notice of the swarm of students that infiltrate the neighborhood every day now that I am home recovering from a work related injury. Every day these students, come in to our residential neighborhood looking for parking. They don't care where they park, no parking areas, fire hydrants, ect. I have called the police to ticket these cars on numerous occassions and have become frustrated at the need to call and when I do or others in the neighborhood, I have seen officers ignore other cars that should be ticketed and only ticket the one called on. I on a daily basis pick up trash left or thrown out. I have picked up used condoms, underware and pantyhose. I have witnessed students in their cars having sex or walking to school smoking cigarettes and small pipes. Most days will you see a crowd of students on the street smoking in a group. Not only does this go on I cannot provide a parking space for visitors or service trucks. Every available space is taken. This is the most maddening. I live in a residential area and cannot provide parking, because it is taken up by students who have parking offered at their school but due to lack they park in my area. If there is no parking available they should not drive, or the school should provide adequate parking so the neighborhoods are not succumbed to this on a daily basis. I urge you to spend an hour every morning and afternoon in my neighborhood when the students are coming and leaving. Why do we have to put up with this? Please place residential parking signs in residential areas, we are paying for residential homes. Or insist the school address this problem or send an officer to ticket everyday. I am tired of walking outside everday and telling a student they cannot park in that no parking area or I cannot get out of my garage. 4/15/2005 Page 2 of 2 If you decide to come into our neighborhood and see what it is like I am located on Lowell and High. One block down from City High. Thank you, Morgan Forbes 4/15/2005 Marian Karr From: Reece Conrad [RConrad@hawkeyecollege.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 2:11 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: The watertower It should have a tiger hawk on it. Reece Lea Conrad This e-mail, including attachments, is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, is confidential, and may be legally privileged, lfthe reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error please notify us immediately at the e-mail address listed above. Thank you. 4/11/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Paul Forbes [Paul. Forbes@mchsi.com] Sent: Thursday, March 31,2005 9:47 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: The Water Tower I there a tiger hawk painted on it yet? Paul A. Forbes 319 365-4127 Paul,Forbes~mchsi.com http://home.mchsi.com/-paul,forbes/hawks~htm *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IHPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 3/31/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Paul Forbes [PauI.Forbes@mchsi.com] Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 10:34 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Water Tower logo Is the Hawk logo scheduled to be painted on the water tower yet? It needs to be done by Iowa's first game this year. Think what a great message that will send to fans and opponents alike... Just do it! Paul A. Forbes 319 365-4127 PauI,Forbes@mchsi,com http;//home, mchsLcom/~pau!.forbes/hawks.htm *~* eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: De not epen attachments frem unrecognized senders *** 4/8/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Dale Helling Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 4:21 PM TO: 'Paul Forbes' CC: *City Council; 'larry-wilson@uiowa.edu'; 'kyle.collins@mchsi.com'; 'BCourtois@aol.com'; 'RCon rad@hawkeyecollege.ed u' Subject: RE: Water Tower logo Dear Mr, Forbes, Thank you for your recent email messages to the City Council suggesting that the water tower near Kinnick Stadium be painted with a tiger hawk, Please be advised that the water tower is the property of the University of Iowa and that the City has no control over its operation or maintenance. A University official has advised that the University office of Campus Planning would be the appropriate contact for you. Emails should be addressed to Larry Wilson, Campus Planner. His email address is 'larry-wilson@uiowa,edu' Several others have written to Council echoing your suggestion. I am copying them with this message as well, in addition, I will send copies of all these communications to Larry Wilson. Thank you. Dale Helling Assistant City Manager cc, Kyle Collins Brian Courtois Reece Lea Conrad ..... Original Hessage ..... From: Paul Forbes [mailto:Paul. ForbesCo~mchsi.com] Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 10:34 AM To: co u ncilCob iowa-city.o rg Subject: Water Tower logo Is the Hawk logo scheduled to be painted on the water tower yet? It needs to be done by Iowa's first game this year. Think what a great message that will send to fans and opponents alike... Just do it! Paul A. Forbes 319 365-4127 Pau!.Forbes@mchsi.com http://home,mchsi.com/~paul.forbes/hawks, htm eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** 4/12/2005 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Jilek, Ben [bjilek@fowlerwhite.com] Sent: Friday, April 01,2005 7:12 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Water tower near Kinnick stadium City of Iowa City: I am an alumnus of the University of Iowa practicing law in Florida. It occurred to me several years ago that the water tower near the football stadium is very unique to college football and has the potential to be a great symbol of school spirit and landmark for Iowa City. I, along with countless of other alumni and fans who attend the games, am very much in favor for painting the water tower to have a huge "tigerhawk" on the side. Ben Jilek, Esq. Class of 1999 Tampa, FL DISCLAIIVlER: This e-mail message and any attachments are private communication sent by a law firm, Fowler White Boggs Banker P,A., and may (:ontair] confidential, legally privileged information meant solely for the intended recipient, If yoLi are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, disseFnJnation, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited, Please notify tile sender' immediately by replying to this message, then delete the e..mail and any attachments from your system, Thank you, 4/1/2005 Marian Karr From: Fredrick Peel [sfcpeel@mchsi.com] Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 10:16 AM To: councii@iowa-city.org Subject: Paint Itt Prease paint the water tower. Thank you! Low Prices at What Cost? Wal-Mart Facts: 2003 Revenues Wal-Mart sales clerks made an average of $8.23 an Wg-Ma~ 258.6 billion hour~r $13,861 a year-in 200 I. That's nearly $800 below the federal poverty line for a family of three. ~ 195 ~ Sourc~ Business Week ~ Reliance on public assistance programs in California by ~c t30 ' Wal-Mart workers costs the state's taxpayers an ~ : - estimated $86 million annually, i~ Source: UC Berkeley Study '" 65 In Georgia, Wal-Mart employees are six times more likely to rely on state-provided health care for their 0 children than are employees of any other large (~ .~.~_~. / :/~. tl~'e first decade after Wal-Mart arrived in Iow~,-;he'~ ·/'i ost SSS stores, hardware stores, , ~! building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women' I 2003 Revenues ~,ap, p, arel s,tores, 153 shoe stores, II 6 drugstores, and/ Charitable Giving .,~ ~ ~ men s and boys' apparel stores. So~ce: I:_.Z~o s~,~e Uni~,~,. st~, Every year Wal-Mart purchases $15 billion worth o'f products from China. ~- 26,250 Source: Washington Post Today Wa-Mart uses over 3,000 Chinese factories to ~ 17,500 produce its goods--almost as many factories as it has stores in the U.S. (3,600). Source: LA. Times ~,750 All else being equal, U.S. counties where new Wal-Mart stores were built between 1987 and 1998 experienced 0 ~at~s Ford higher poverty rates than other U.S. counties. Foundation Fotmda~Jon Foundation Foundation Join the campaign to spread the facts about the world's largest compa,~y www.purpleocean.org/walmart Full Sources: Anthony Bianco and Wendy Zellner, "Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?" BusinessWeek~ October 6, 2003; Nancy Cleeland, Evelyn Iritani, and Tyler Marshall, "The Wal-Mart Effect: Scouring the Globe To G ye Shoppers an $8.63 Po o Sh rt." Los Angeles Time.L November 24, 2003; Peter S. Goodmm~ and Philip P. Pan, "Chinese Workers Pay for Wa -Mart's Low Prices" Washington Post, February 8, 2004; Andy Serwer, "Tbe Waltons: lnside America's R chest Family," Fortune Magazine, November 22.2004, Kemper ~ Stone, Iowa State University, Impact of Wal-Mart Stores and other Mass Merchandisers in Iowa 983- 993 "Economic Developn ent Review Spring 1995; Ar ndraj t Dube and Ken Jacobs "Hidden Costs of Wal-Mart Jobs" UC--Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Educat o L August 2, 2004; Andy Miller, "Wal-Mart stands out on rolls of PeachCare -- Retailer's sign-up ratio far exceeds other firms. TM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 27, 2004-, Stephan I. Goetz and t Iema Swaminathan, "Wal-Mart and County- W de Poverty "Pennsylvaifia State University, October 8.2004;TbeFoundationCenteral~dForbe~'s(2OOl),WahnartFacts.com. Marian Karr From: James Surratt riamessurratt55@msn.com] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 7:26 AM To: council Subject: Yahoo! News - Minneapolis Seeks Citywide Wireless Internet there any reason why Iowa city and Coralville couldn't do the same here? http : //news, yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u= /cmp/2OOSO4 :t 4/tc cmp/160702521 4/14/2005 Marian Karr From: NewsFrom NCJ P,S@ncjrs.org Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 3:34 PM To: council@iowa-city.org@ncjrs.org Subject: Online Discussion on Sexual Assault Victims Rights: April 27 To coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Office for Victims of Crime {OVC) will host a Web Forum discussion with Prof. Doug Beloof on April 27 at 2 p.m. (eastern time).. Prof. Beloof is an active litigator and creator of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, which provides assistance to attorneys who provide legal services to victims. He is regularly consulted by attorneys litigating victims' sexual assault issues and has a wide variety of experience in this area, including prosecuting sexual assault offenders, working on antiviolence against women legislation, and litigating cases concerning rape, including the definition of rape and confidentiality issues. Cited by the Senate Judiciary Committee as a leading expert on victim laws, Prof. Beloof has testified before the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees and published what continues to be the only legal textbook on crime victims' rights-Victims in Criminal Procedure. This year, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales honored Prof. Beloof with a National Crime Victims' Rights Week Award for professional innovation in victim services. Visit the OVC Web Forum now at http://ovc.ncjrs.org/ovcproviderforum to submit questions for Prof. Beloof and return on April 27 at 2 p.m. (eastern time) for the live discussion. OVC's Web Forum allows you to tap into a national network of people facing the same challenges and experiences that you are. It's the perfect place for crime victim service providers and allied professionals to gain peer insight and support related to best practices in victim services. Make connections. Share ideas. Change lives. Visit the OVC Web Forum today at http://ovc.ncjrs.org/ovcproviderforum. ******************************** VICTIMS FIRST. OVC shares your mission and has a wide range of resources to help you accomplish it. Visit the National Criminal Justice Reference Service online at www.ncjrs.org to register for services or call 1-800-851-3420 (TTY 1-817-712-9279 ) to find out If you no longer want to receive periodic e-mail notifications from NCJRS or our sponsoring agencies, please go to: http://puborder.ncjrs.org/optout and follow the instructions. student liason to Council ~ i 1 Marian Karr From: Eleanor M. Dilkes Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 11:00 AM To: 'McCarthy, Lauren F'; Shore, Jason G Cc: Steve Atkins; Marian Kart; Kresowik, Mark K; *City Council Subject: RE: UI Students for City Council Liaison Hi Lauren, We will include a motion on the City Council's April 19 agenda appointing Jeremy Schreiber as liason and Austin Baeth as alternate in accordance with UISG's recommendations. In case you don't have a copy of the Council resolution establishing the student liason, I have asked the City Clerk to send you a copy electronically. This resolution establishes the basic qualifications of the liason and requires that the appointments be made by the Council. You may want to send the Council a letter introducing the liason and alternate, explaining the selection process used by UISG and assuring that the conditions in the resolution (e.g. Iowa City resident) are satisfied. If you choose to do such a letter you can send it to Marian Karr, City Clerk, for inclusion in the Council's agenda packet. The deadline for that packet is tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Eleanor M. Dilkes City Attorney City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52245 Email: eleanor-dilkes@iowa-city.org Phone: (319) 356-5030 Fax: (319) 356-5008 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email, and any attachments hereto, contains information which may be confidential and/or attorney client privileged or work product. The information is intended to be for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please reply to the sender that you have received the message in error, then delete it and any and all copies of it from your computer. Thank-you. ..... Original Message ..... From: McCarthy, Lauren F [mailto:lauren-mccarthy@uiowa.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 6:35 PM To: Shore, Jason G; Eleanor M. Dilkes Cc: Steve Atkins; Marian Karr; Kresowik, Mark K Subject: UI Students for City Council Liaison Dear Ms. Dilkes, Mr. Atkins, and Ms. Karr, My name is Lauren McCarthy and I'm the new Vice President of UI Student Government, replacing Jason Shore. I recently chaired the UISG Nominations Committee, which determined our selections for the City Council Non- Voting Student Liaison and alternate. The Liaison will be deremy Schreiber and the alternate will be Austin Baeth. Please let me know what information you need about Jeremy and Austin. My committee was extremely impressed with the caliber of both of these young men, and I'm certain you will be, too. Best regards, Lauren 4/13/2005 student liason to Council Page 2 of 2 Vice President University of Iowa Student Government 48 Iowa Memorial Union cell: 319.430,3088 4/13/2005 Marian Karr From: McCarthy, Lauren F [lauren-mccarthy@uiowa.edu] Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 1:48 AM To: Marian Kart; eleanor-dilkes@iowa-city.org Cc: Schreiber, Jeremy D; Baeth, Austin T; Shore, Jason G Subject: Letter for City Council from UISG ICCCLe~erApr 14.doc Dear Ms. Karr and Ms. Dilkes, I have attached a letter for the members of the Iowa City City Council introducing Jeremy Schreiber and Austin Baeth as the newly appointed City Council non-voting student Liaison and Alternate. Please include it in the Council's agenda packet. Please let me know if you need more information from me about UISG's role in the process. Best regards, Lauren McCarthy Vice President University of Iowa Student Government 48 Iowa Memorial Union Iowa City, IA 52242 www.uiowa.edu/~uisg From: Marian Karr [mailto:Marian-Karr@iowa-city.org] Sent: Wed 4/13/2005 11:38 AM To: McCarthy, Lauren F Cc: Eleanor M. Dilkes Subject: Resolution The City Attorney asked that I send you a copy of the attached resolution. Please contact me if you can not read the attached. *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *** Lauren McCarthy 48 Iowa Memorial Union Iowa City, Iowa 52240 319.335.3859 April 14, 2005 Iowa City City Council 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Dear Members of the Iowa City City Council: It is an honor and a privilege to introduce the inaugural non-voting student City Council Liaison and Alternate, Jeremy Schreiber and Austin Baeth, respectively. Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Baeth were selected on Monday April 11, 2005 by the University of Iowa Student Government Nominations Committee, which I chaired as the Vice President of UISG. Eight qualified applicants were interviewed, but Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Baeth stood out for their exceptional leadership qualities, maturity, political involvement, and depth of knowledge regarding ongoing Iowa City affairs. I am certain that you will be as impressed by their integrity, intelligence, and passion as my committee was, and we look forward to a fruitful relationship as this new position develops. To clarify that both students qualify for the requirements established in the City Council resolution, I am including their local addresses, as well as their phone numbers: Jeremy Schreiber Austin Baeth 121 E. Davenport St. Apt. 21 414 S. Gilbert St. Apt. 834 Iowa City, Iowa 52245 Iowa City, Iowa 52240 319.351.0525 515.971.0190 Additionally, just as the City Council will confirm the appointments of Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Baeth, the UISG will also confirm their appointments at its Student Assembly on April 19. Both Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Baeth, barring unforeseen problems, will attend the City Council meeting, also on April 19. On behalf ofUISG, I thank you in advance for approving this new position. It is our fervent desire that the City Council Liaison will become an active, positive representative and contact person between our two governing bodies, ensuring improved communication and a stronger relationship. Best regards, Lauren McCarthy Vice President University of Iowa Student Government Marian Karr From: austin-baeth@uiowa.edu Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 11:04 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city, org Subject: City Council Liaison Alternate Austin Baeth City Council Liaison Alternate 404 S. Gilbert St. #834 Iowa City, IA 52240 (515} 971-0190 Dear Members of the City Council, What an awesome opportunity the students have received to influence the city we live in! Thank you very much for your willingness to work with us. was there in City Hall the night that you approved the installment of the Student Liaison position. At that moment, I knew that an unprecedented privilege had been given to the students of the University of Iowa that could potentially give the university and community the cohesion that they desperately need.. I say 'potentially' because I acknowledge that, as the Mayor said, the ball is in our court now. I believe this position will be what we make of it. That is why, as the City Council Liaison Alternate, I will strive to make this a position that is not only effective and valuable for the university, but for the community as well. I am a second-year Junior from Des Moines, majoring in Pre-Medicine and Exercise Science and completing minors in Political Science and Spanish. I have been a Senator in the UISG since the beginning of my freshman year. I am also a Presidential Scholar. I have campaigned for politicians, both Democrats and Republicans alike, on the state and national level. And as often as I can, I volunteer at the hospital and in the community through my church. I take pride not necessarily in my political experience, but in my experiences with working with people. I hope to make full use of my skills and experiences when working in this new role. I will do everything within my capability to successfully mediate between the university and the city. I recognize that the installment of the Liaison position has come at a critical time, when division and animosity exist between the school and the community. Much of my efforts will go towards promoting a more symbiotic relationship between the two bodies. Unfortunately, due to past quarrels over the proposed 21 Ordinance, I'm afraid that the student body is perceived by this community as one that only cares about government when it tries to take away its bar privileges. But this simply isn't true. That is why one of my goals is to show the community that we are a student body that cares about a multitude of issues. I will work with the council to exchange ideas between the students and the community to find ways to improve this city. I would also like to help foster greater student involvement in the city government by finding students to serve on boards and commissions. I am prepared to devote as much time and energy as it takes to successfully carry out all of the duties of the City Council Liaison Alternate. I will attend the university for at least another two years; therefore, if given the opportunity, I will step up to the full Liaison position on May 1st of 2006. I enthusiastically look forward to working with you. Sincerely, Austin Baeth Jeremy Schreiber ~2~ E. Davenport St. Apt. 21 Iowa Ci.ty Iowa 52245 Phone: (847) 903-1316 E-mail: jeremy-schreiber~uiowa.edu Co-recipient of America Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) Duke Rudman Award for AWards received: outstanding campus activism nationwide. Early admittance to the University Honors Program Chosen as one of four student athletes in a high school of over 2000 to act as student facilitator at the North Suburban Conference Athletic Leadership Conference. Work experienCe: June-August 2004 America Israel Public Affairs Committee Summer Intern Midwest Regional Office · Recruited both old and potential new donors to attend annual events in cities around the Midwest. These events were attended by a number of United States Senators, Congressman, and other prominent experts in the field of Foreign Affairs. · Sought out potential untapped resources for membership and donors. I organized the information into databases and reported back my findings to my superiors for further engagement. ex.' June - August 2002 and 2003 Fisk Kart Katz and Regan, Ltd. Chicago, Illinois & >.~ ?, Summer Law Intern :~z ~ -~2 · I helped acquire tax information relating to properties represented by the firm by [.j.~. c~_ ~ i ?:: contacting county assessors across the state by phone as well as searching at the ~ ~. ~2 Cook County administration building. ~.~_~: ~ :~-~ · Organized similar information on condominiums into Excel spread sheets to be used ;-2~ by the attorneys in representing clients residing in said units. , ': · Updated case files with current data 1996 - Present Ravinia Green Country Club Riverwoods, Illinois Honor Caddy · Served as the highest level of caddy, providing members with advice on the intricacies of the course as well as establishing a rapport with them in order to make their round more enjoyable. EduCation: University of Iowa School of Business 3.35/4.00 GPA Finance Activities: · University of Iowa Liaison for AIPAC I am in charge of overseeing the Iowa delegation of AIPAC. This includes making sure all members of the campus activist group carry out their assigned tasks and helping to carry out the: objectives wherever it is necessary. I am also responsible for communicating with our National Field Organizer through a weekly formal report and informally whenever necessary to update he on current projects. · Member of Nominations Committee My duties at this position were to interview dozens of applicants for various committees at the University of Iowa including the Lecture Committee, Student Elections Board, Student Judiciar: Board, etc. After the interviews, the other members of the panel and myself appointed the approximately 25 positions based on qualifications deemed from said interviews and resumes submitted. · Campus coordinator for Caravan for Democracy at University of Iowa I worked with a national field organizer in bringing Mark Regev, the chief spokesperson for the embassy of Israel, to speak at Iowa. Specific tasks included securing a venue and security from the University, advertising for the event, and contacting local media. DRAFT TENTATIVE AGREEMENT POLICE LABOR RELATIONS ORGANIZATION OF IOWA CITY AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITY The parties hereby agree to the following changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for Fiscal Year '06: 1. Amend Article XXVII to provide for a one-year agreement for FY '06. 2. Amend Article XXVIII, Section 2, first paragraph, first sentence, to read: Commencing the effective date of the compensation period as defined in Section 1 of this Article, the City shall increase the pay of all officers by three percent (3%) at the beginning of fiscal year 2005-2006. 3. Amend Article XVIII, Section 1, second sentence, to read: Employees who elect to obtain family coverage will pay five percent (5%) per month of the monthly (prorated for part-time employees) toward the cost of such coverage subject to a cap of $40.00 per month. All other terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement remain unchanged. For the PLRO-IC For the City of Iowa City Date: Date: TENTATIVE AGREEMENT POLICE LABOR RELATIONS ORGANIZATION OF IOWA CITY AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITY 'The parties hereby agree to the following changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement for Fiscal Year '06: 1. Amend Article XXVII to provide for a one-year agreement for FY '06. 2. Amend Article XXVIII, Section 2, first paragraph, first sentence, to read: Commencing the effective date of the compensation period as defined in Section 1 of this Article, the City shall increase the pay of all officers by three percent (3%) at the beginning of fiscal year 2005-2006. 3. Amend Article XVIII, S~ction 1, second sentence, to read: Employees who elect to obtain family coverage will pay five percent (5%) per month of the monthly (prorated for part-time employees) toward the cost of such coverage subject to a cap of $40.00 per month. All other terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement remain unchanged. For the~/~ For the City of ~wa/~ity/ Date: 0~-, ~ °r-.)~ Date: