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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-10-20 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1998 - 5 P.M. CIVIC CENTER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINAR' Subject to Approval MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Bender, Lowell Brandt, Kate Corcoran, Bill Haigh MEMBERS ABSENT: T.J. Brandt STAFF PRESENT: Melody Rockwell, Sarah Holecek, Tracy Wagner OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Hileman, Deb Wendoff, John Mummey, Stephanie Nowysz, Paul Anderson CALL TO ORDFR: Chairperson Haigh called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. ROLL CALL: All Board members were present for roll call except for T.J. Brandt. CONSIDERATION OF THE AUGUST 12, 1998, BOARD MINUTES: MOTION: L. Brandt moved to approve the August 12, 1998, Board meeting minutes as submitted. Corcoran seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEMS: EXC98-0018. Public hearing on an application submitted by McDonald's Corporation for a special exception to permit an auto and truck-oriented use, that is a drive-through lane and window, for the McDonald's restaurant to be established for property located in the Community Commercial (CC-2) zone at 804 S. Riverside Drive. Rockwell noted that the property in question is about one acre in size and is located at the intersection of Benton Street and Riverside Drive or Highway 6. The McDonald's restaurant on this site was closed this year. However, the McDonald's Corporation would like to remove the existing building and build a new McDonald's restaurant on the Riverside Drive site that includes a drive-through order and pick up lane. She said the requirement for a special exception approval of auto and truck-oriented uses, such as drive-through facilities, is related to concerns about the increased traffic that may be generated by these uses. She said compatibility, aesthetic, traffic circulation and nuisance issues of a proposed drive- through facility must also be considered. Rockwell said the McDonald's site plan shows that the vehicle queue storage area for the fast food restaurant is approximately 165 feet in length before the stacking lane begins to directly interfere with vehicles in the parking spaces and parking aisle south of the building. She pointed out on the site plan that this allows for approximately eight vehicles in stacking spaces that are 20 feet in length; this meets the minimum queue storage for a drive-through facility for a fast food restaurant. She said staffs main concern is that the use being proposed on this site is too intensive for this size of site at this particular intersection. She said the proposed site plan crowds the required parking and the drive-through lane together on the site. She noted that most other restaurants with drive-through facilities have their drive-through lane separated from parking Iowa C~ty Board of Adlustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 2 spaces, so no traffic would be backing into the drive-through lane. She said the proposed configuration of parking spaces and the drive-through lane increases the probability that vehicles using the site during peak periods will disrupt traffic circulation within the parking lot, and this could create potential traffic conflicts on Riverside Drive. Rockwell said staff also had concerns regarding the intensity of the use proposed for the site in that it could create traffic problems on Benton Street. She said there will be vehicles parked on the east side of the lot backing toward vehicles in the drive-through lane. She said there is no physical separation between the drive-through lane and the parking aisle and, in fact, a portion of the drive-through lane overlaps with the parking aisle. She said because people have a strong tendency to take the shortest route to their destination, those entering the site from Benton Street may be unwilling to drive around the entire restaurant building to access the drive-through lane, which they can see a few feet in front of them when they first enter the site. People in a hurry, which is to be expected at fast food restaurants during peak periods of usage, are likely to drive a short distance the wrong way on a one-way parking aisle to have a more direct way to get to the drive-through lane. This on-site traffic conflict could result in vehicles stacking out onto Benton Street. Rockwell said with the construction of the River Corridor Trail during the next two years, pedestrian traffic to this type of facility can be expected to increase. She noted that no pedestrian access to the building is currently marked on the site plan, and there is no clear separation of the drive-through traffic from potential pedestrian access routes between the sidewalk and the building. She said this is particularly the case where vehicles would be exiting the drive-through lane. She said in looking at the general standards, staff notes that establishing a drive-through facility for a fast food restaurant on a site at the intersection of two major arterial streets in Iowa City raises public safety concerns. She said national standards indicate that peak hour traffic is approximately 22% higher for fast food restaurants with a drive-through facility than for those without a drive-through. She said it is not prudent to approve a use that will increase turning traffic conflicts on a street that had a higher accident rate in 1996 than the state average for pdmary streets in municipalities, and where due to these accidents $23,640 of damage was reported. Rockwell said she discussed this issue with the City traffic engineering planner, who reported that this intersection was a Level of Service - F, arid it has been upgraded to a Level of Service - D because delay was decreased due to changes in signalization. She said even a "D" level is not good, because there are still delays, and if this special exception is approved, staff feels those delays could be increased and the Level of Service would return to an "F." Rockwell said in 1996, the McDonald's restaurant was operating without a drive-through facility, and the curb cut on Riverside Drive was designed to be used only as an entrance, not an exit. She said the proposed site plan design with the drive-through facility promotes the use of the Riverside Drive curb cut as an exit as well as an entrance. She said at times of peak traffic on the adjacent streets, which is likely to coincide with peak traffic at the fast-food restaurant, vehicles are stacked up past the Riverside Drive curb cut for each south-facing red light at the Benton Street/Riverside Drive intersection. She said turning conflicts and increased driver aggression are likely to result. She said if the Board is inclined to approve the requested exception, staff recommends that the safety concerns associated with the proposed use be addressed by requiring that the Riverside Drive curb cut be closed and the site be redesigned to facilitate on-site circulation, safe pedestrian access and improved landscaping. She said that 73 parking spaces, which is the minimum number of required spaces, have been shown on the site. She noted that Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 3 some required revisions may have been made, but she could not tell from the fax she received if the site was now in compliance with the parking area design requirements. She said there needs to be adequate separation of the parking, access and drive-through portions of the site to facilitate on-site traffic circulation. She said to improve the aesthetics of the site and to clearly demarcate areas within the parking lot, staff suggests that landscaped islands be installed. She said pedestrian access can be enhanced by providing textured, connecting walkways within the paving between the sidewalks along Riverside Drive and Benton Street and the McDonald's restaurant. She said to shorten the crossing distance across vehicular lanes, landscaped islands could be planted on either side of the vehicular traffic lanes. Rockwell said incorporating a drive-through facility into the site plan has resulted in diminished pedestrian connections and landscaping. She said the former McDonald's site design without a drive-through facility had more buffered landscaping, less concrete and safer pedestrian access than what is now being proposed for the site. She said the way the site is currently configured with the former restaurant building closer to the sidewalk and the parking situated behind the building is more in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan design guidelines for commercial development than the proposed site plan that juxtaposes the drive-through facility between the sidewalk and the building. Rockwell said staff views EXC98-0018, a special exception for an a.u. to and truck-oriented use to permit a drive-through facility to be established for a fast food restaurant for property located in the CCo2 zone at 804 S. Riverside Drive to be too intense a use for the site and poses public safety concerns. She said staff feels the Board cannot be expected to consider seriously the establishment of a drive-through facility at this location until the applicant makes major revisions to the site plan to address the safety and access issues raised by this special exception request. She said it may be that even with such changes, the proposed use will simply be too intensive for this size of site at the intersection of two major arterial streets in Iowa City, Rockwell noted that the Board had received a letter from Alan Saltzman in their packet, and that she received calls from Saltzman indicating his concerns about traffic in this area. She said John Mummey, who operates the tavern to the east of the McDonald's property, stated some serious concerns about traffic and drainage of the property. She noted the fax she received from Jim Hileman of McDonald's and that it was given to Board members at the beginning of this meeting. Corcoran asked how a person entering from Benton Street would have to circumvent the restaurant building. Rockwell illustrated this using the overhead site plan. Corcoran said that would mean that customers would have to deal with people coming out of the drive-through as well as people who might be entering from Riverside Drive. Corcoran asked if McDonald's, with regard to the curb cut on South Riverside Drive, was presupposing that people would be turning left and right exiting onto Riverside Drive. Rockwell said practically speaking, during peak periods of traffic there would be no way to turn left onto Riverside Drive. Corcoran said she thought that was the case for most any time of the day. Rockwell said she understood that with the former McDonald's restaurant, people would exit on the Benton Street side and come around through the Benton/Riverside intersection to go south on Riverside Drive. Brandt asked if the property owner to the east was more specific about his traffic concerns. Rockwell said Mummey was in attendance and might prefer to speak for himself. Brandt asked how the new restaurant compared to the previous restaurant in terms of size and the amount of parking provided. Rockwell said the new restaurant is slightly smaller. Brandt Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 4 noted that the east parking on the site plan looks to be less than what is currently there. Bender said if people will drive through, they don't need to park their cars. Brandt asked if any previous special exceptions had been dealt with on this property. Rockwell said no. Public hearing opened. Jim Hileman. Project Manager in the McDonald's Construction Department, said the revised site plan has incorporated comments from the September 4, 1998, staff memo regarding specific site plan requirements. He said they have provided the required parking for the proposed building size; the building is 3,648 square feet and McDonald's will provide 74 parking stalls. He said they changed the parking space dimensions to comply. He noted that the proposed vehicular movement will be in a counter-clockwise direction, as people would enter from Benton Street. He said a customer could not get to an order point if they entered from Benton Street and did not drive around the entire building, so going against the one- way traffic would not be a problem. Hileman said they increased the size of the triangular island to prevent unpermitted access to the drive-through window. He said people entering from Benton Street would be required to circumnavigate the site to get to the order/queue area. Hileman said there is sufficient stacking for six cars between the presentation window and the menu board, and quite a bit of stacking space between the menu board and the order point. Hileman said they modified the length of the parking spaces to conform to code. The diagonal parking spaces are now 20 feet long, the aisle in front is now 24 feet wide, the perpendicular spaces on the west side are now 18 feet long, the aisle is 24 feet wide, the perpendicular spaces across the south side of the site are 18 feet long, there is another 24- foot wide aisle, the diagonal parking spaces across the east side are 20 feet long, and there is a 23-foot wide drive aisle, all of which meet the minimum standards. He said they put in permanent paved parking delineators and eliminated the "striping only" delineation. He said they also changed the erosion control note to say "as needed" instead of "at the end of every day." Hileman said he submitted a letter to Rockwell regarding historical and expected transaction counts at this location. He said counts at this restaurant were particularly high 8-10 years ago, but the current level is lower due to other restaurants and the construction of a McDonald's on Mormon Trek Boulevard. He said they do not expect to meet the transaction counts. they once had at this location. He-noted they have reduced the building size from 115 seats to 75 seats, and have increased the number of parking stalls from 68 to 74 to help aid in access. Hileman said they could address pedestrian access by delineating walkways to the restaurant, but he felt that 99% of McDonald's restaurants have drive-throughs that accommodate pedestrian traffic without any unusual design details. He said people walk to their restaurants all the time without getting run over. He said at the Mormon Trek restaurant, they connected to the restaurant with a striped walkway for pedestrian access. He said they could incorporate some lot striping, but he thought people would take the route they chose to. Hileman said they do not see this facility as ever reaching the kinds of traffic they once had or becoming more intense, because over the years the number of total transaction counts have been reduced. He said they have added "entrance", "exit" and "drive-through" signage with arrows to get drive-through customers to use the Benton Street exit. He said they would like to preserve Riverside Drive as an entrance for the benefit of the customers on Riverside Drive. He felt they would be greatly impacted with the removal of that entrance. He said Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 5 customers would figure out ways to exit a site through trial-and-error. He said "entrance only" signage at this entrance should be sufficient. L. Brandt asked if the new restaurant would be smaller. Hileman said yes, in terms of seating, building square footage and the expected number of transaction counts. L. Brandt said although McDonald's meets the minimum requirement of eight spaces for stacking, anything beyond that would impact available parking. He said, for example, a vehicle waiting by the menu board would be blocking the parking spaces available on either side of them. Hileman said they have sufficient width to provide both drive-through queuing and additional drive-by traffic, so people in the drive-by lane could get into the parking spaces even if cars were stacked back by the entrance. He said the aisles are nine feet wide, and 10 cars could probably fit before they get to the menu board. Corcoran asked if care pulling out of those parking spaces or wanting to park in those spaces would be able to maneuver around the cars stacked by the exit. Hileman said there would be room for those cars to go around and exit. He noted they have the same drive, stacking and parking arrangements at the Sycamore Mall and Mormon Trek McDonald's restaurants, and they have not experienced problems with people being in the drive-through lane and others not being able to enter and exit parking spaces. Haigh asked about the table included in the packet. Hileman said it shows drive-through times from order to pickup, and indicates the average amount of time it takes from the time a customer orders until they receive their food at various times during the day. The table shows data from a variety of restaurant locations. He said the other numbers are the average time for the day and the total number of cars that drove through in one day. He said that this information shows that McDonald's typically beats the national averages on drive- through times, and since some of the drive-through queuing standards are based on national averages, he thought McDonald's did better because they got more cars through in less time, He said they feel that they can accommodate more cars with less queuing and stacking spaces than what the national averages indicate are needed. Corcoran asked why a decrease in the number of seats would require an increase in the number of parking stalls. Rockwell said more parking spaces are required now than were previously required. Hileman said the previous Riverside McDonald's restaurant was built 20 years ago. Bender asked about the size of the driving area to the south of the building. Hileman said it 'is 24 feet between parking spaces, and they found that to be sufficient for entering and exiting parking spaces while still providing drive-through space. Bender said she was concerned about traffic entering from Benton Street going in that counter-clockwise motion, rounding the southwest corner and keeping away from people entering from Riverside Drive. She said she was concerned about how cars were going to converge at that corner of the building. Hileman said there will be a confiuence there, and they could post a "yield" sign to prevent conflict there. He noted that they have the same situation in hundreds and hundreds of other restaurants, and they have not had problems because cars are traveling slowly enough through the parking lot. Bender said she was not as concerned about people familiar with the site and other local people as she was with visitors who would not be familiar with that site and who might not understand that traffic could enter from Riverside Drive. She said in addition, people would be backing out of parking spaces on that same corner. Hileman said they would be concerned about placing any significant landscaping there in order to keep sight line free. Hileman said by introducing the drive-through facility at this location, McDonald's is trying to further the access and enjoyment for the people in Iowa City. He said they found that Iowa C~ty Board of Adiustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 6 customers use dnve-throughs and enjoy their benefits, and the restaurant would be better able to senze customers with a drive-through. He said McDonald's has so many other restaurants of a similar design that do not have traffic or pedestrian access problems. He said they have not experienced the kinds of problems that staff suggested be addressed or eliminated, but they are willing to address those concerns the best way they can. Corcoran asked if those restaurants were situated at two major thoroughfares like Benton Street and Riverside Drive. She said the setups at Mormon Trek and Sycamore restaurants are completely different, because there are not entrances on two different roads and they are not on a highly-trafficked corner. Hileman said this situation is unique, and he could not think of another restaurant in town just like it, but they also expect volumes and transaction counts to be lower than their other restaurants in town. Corcoran asked what the basis was for the transaction counts; if they were considering things like how the Riverside restaurant was managed in the past or how long it took people to be waited on, or if they were purely looking at numbers. Corcoran said she used to go to the Riverside restaurant, but she stopped going because it always took a long time to get her food. She said that McDonald's might be pleasantly surprised at the transaction counts, because of the great location. Deb Wendorf. McDonald's Field Operator, said there were some operational concerns with the previous Riverside restaurant. She said McDonald's is making some estimations based on how it thinks transactions at this site will increase or decrease. She noted they estimated a 30% increase with the drive-through from where the Riverside restaurant was when it closed its doors, and that is a high estimate. She said an increase in sales or volume could also come from a new efficient building, a brighter interior with a greater look and better management. She said it is difficult to find quality applicants to work in the older stores, and they do take all of those things into consideration when laying out sales projections for a site. She said the 30% increase is a high-end estimate and the 12.75%, which came off an impact study concerning diversion of transactions from Riverside Drive to the new Mormon Trek Boulevard restaurant, is a low-end estimate. She said while they cannot give an exact figure, their figures are accurate 75-80% of the time. Hileman said concerning stormwater management for this site, McDonald's currently sheet drains this property. He said the new grading and drainage plan will delineate the entire property with curb and gutter and direct all runoff to catch basins and into the City's storm sewer system. He said he hoped that would address any drainage concerns of adjoining property owners. Bender asked what percentage of McDonald's total sales would be from the drive-through. Hileman said typically 50% of total volume is drive-through purchases. Brandt asked if Hileman thought there would be a problem with people trying to exit onto Riverside Drive. Hileman said when the light is red during high traffic times the intersection is blocked, so there is a problem exiting onto Riverside Drive during peak traffic hours. He said they want to show people through signage how to exit from the site. L. Brandt asked if Hileman thought that customers who have gone all the way around the restaurant to pick up their meal would be prepared to go around the building again to exit. Hileman said the customers will let them know, and if they are not willing to do that, McDonald's will not get the kind of drive-through business they are hoping for. John Mummey. owner of Mumm's tavern, said when McDonald's cleaned their parking lot it is washed into his parking lot. He said if the lot is cleaned the way Hileman previously described, his concern about drainage would be taken care of and he would withdraw his objection to this proposal. He said that he thought the traffic issues were the Board's problem to deal with, and noted that the Board granted Mr. Thornberry his drive-through Iowa C~ty Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 7 over on Boyrum Drive, which is a complete disaster because you cannot get through that street at noon no matter what. He said his concern was with the water problem, and if the drainage is there he withdraws his objection. Brandt asked if Mummey had any traffic concerns. Mummey said his tavern does not open until 3 p.m., so the noon traffic issues do not concern him. He said he suspects traffic issues would be greater on Riverside Drive than on Benton Street, because Benton is a pretty wide street and there is room for a lot of traffic on that street. Public hearing closed. MOTION: Brandt moved to approve EXC98-0018, a special exception for an auto and truck-oriented use to permit a drive-through facility to be established for a fast food restaurant for property located in the CC-2 zone at 804 S. Riverside. Bender seconded the motion. Bender asked Rockwell about the September 4 memo that Hileman referred to. Rockwell said a memo was sent to the applicant to point out technical deficiencies in the site plan. Bender said for the record that she has been on the Board for four years, had never heard a Burger King application and Dean Thornberry did not sit on the Council at the time the Board considered his application. Brandt said the primary concern is whether approving a drive-through facility will cause traffic problems on Riverside Drive. Corcoran said a lot of the people who will come into the restaurant from the north on Benton Street are coming from the east, so they would cross over the bridge and get in a queue to turn left. She asked if the proposed McDonald's entrance from Benton Street is the same one that was used for the previous restaurant. Hileman said yes, but the new entrance would be slightly wider. Corcoran said she could remember trying to turn left from Benton Street into the restaurant site. She said there is a lot of traffic there. L. Brandt said he thought there would be more customers trying to exit onto Riverside Drive, and they would have a heck of a time doing it. Bender said they would not do that if they had ever tried it. Corcoran said customers who frequent the restaurant will not try to do that, and Riverside Drive will take care of itself because it is so impossible to use during times of high traffic. She said there are cars at least three or four deep sitting at the Riverside Ddve stoplight at most any time of the day that would block an exiting car. L. Brandt said that being the case, the concern then would be more of the stacking of cars trying to get in, and to what degree that would back up traffic on Riverside Drive. He said if people do not exit onto Riverside Drive, customers will be driving around to the exit and using up some of the pass-through lane. He said that would have some impact on the parking on the south side of the building. Corcoran said exiting customers would be trying to turn left onto Benton Street, because they want to get back onto Riverside Drive, and other customers would be trying to turn left from Benton Street to enter the restaurant parking lot. Bender said she did not think that turning left out of the restaurant onto Benton Street is a problem. She thought a lot of traffic was coming from the west instead of the east. She said she never used Riverside Drive to enter or exit this site and she did not see that exiting on Benton Street or entering the restaurant lot from Benton Street would be too much of a problem. She said she was concerned about the stacking out onto Riverside Drive, because she was concerned with public health and safety. She said sometimes it is difficult to exit and turn right in a big hurry from any of the businesses on Sturgis Corner Drive, because so many cars are backed up, but she said people could do it, because there is the light there. She said the traffic control people could alter some of that in how they set the stoplight. She said it would not be blocked indefinitely, because there are lights at that intersection and that alleviates some of her concerns. Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 8 Bender said she was concerned about pedestrian traffic, and would be inclined to offer a friendly amendment to the motion that if the Board approves the special exception, they add some language about the pedestrian walkways. She said she wanted something that would set that area apart from the rest of the concrete. She said with regard to the concerns about vehicle flow within the parking lot, the applicant is willing to do a great deal with signage that would help alleviate some problems. She said that maybe a "yield" sign on that southwest corner of the building would also help. She said that she could think of a similar situation at Sycamore Mall and there should be some sort of signage there. Bender said she almost wished that this application had a special exception to reduce the number of required parking spaces. She said she would not park in the nine spaces adjacent to the south wall of the building, because it would be difficult to back out into the drive-through lane and in the path of people that are circling around to exit the lot. Brandt said if the Board approves the special exception, there will probably be no parking in those spaces anyway in terms of how useable those spaces are. Bender said she would feel more comfortable if a parking reduction had been included, but she was not sure how practical that was. Haigh said the employees need to park somewhere. Rockwell noted that the handicapped access is at the south side of the building, and some parking spaces will be delineated for that type of parking in the area the Board feels will be unusable for parking at peak periods. Bender said those are not spaces she is concerned about. She said those spaces are probably in the safest place in terms of the queuing, the traffic coming around the corner of the building or entering from Riverside Drive. Bender said she could support this application, because obviously McDonald's does this all over the world, and she does not dispute their expertise in how to set up parking lots. She said she was impressed that McDonald's seems willing to compromise with the City, and that they have submitted a revised site plan. Amendment to the main motion: Bender said she would like to include the friendly amendment regarding signage and pedestrian striping. Brandt accepted Bender's friendly amendment that read, "McDonald's will provide signage, striping and articulated pedestrian access that meets the approval of City staff." Brandt said he did not know if the proposed McDonald's drive-through facility would make the existing traffic situation on Riverside Drive worse than it already is. He said if this is not approved, he assumed that makes the practicability of McDonald's continuing to operate a restaurant on that site a problem for them. He said the Board may be de facto forcing some decisions on them. Bender said she would think so given the competition. Brandt said that is how it has to be if there is a significant safety issue to consider. He said it is a bad intersection, but he did not know if it would be worse than what they have previously allowed there. Haigh said before there was not a drive-through so there was not as much vehicular traffic at a given point in time. He said he did not believe that people would go into the drive- through, get their food and go all the way around the building to go out on Benton Street. He said he thought people would try to go out on Riverside Drive, and they would not go all the way around the building twice. He said that he did not know of another place with a traffic circulation set up like that. Corcoran said she also had concerns similar to staffs that this may be too intense a development for this particular location and the size and shape of the lot. She said it was a real health and safety issue. She said the way they currently have parking there, a customer Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 9 can come in off Riverside Drive and there is parking on the south and east sides of the restaurant, but the customer doesn't go all the way around the site. Corcoran said she agreed with Bender about the issue with the number of parking spaces, and said she did not know why there were 74 parking spaces required for 75 seats in the restaurant. Bender said required parking is based on building square footage. Corcoran said that Hileman estimated that 50% of their volume would be in drive-through purchases. Rockwell said when the application was received, there was some discussion about designing the site with a reduced number of parking spaces to allow more flexibility for traffic circulation and opportunities for landscaping. She said staff felt the applicant could likely demonstrate to the Board that much of their business would be related to the drive-through facility and those folks would not require a parking space. Corcoran said the previous restaurant had 115 seats and no drive-through, so 100% of their customers had to walk up or park and they had 68 parking stalls. She said they will now have 75 seats, one-third less, but they have an almost equal number of parking places and they are thinking that 50% of their turnover will be from drive-through business. Bender said that many west-side residents used the previous restaurant as a drive-through, but they had to go in and get their food to take it home. L. Brandt said one option is to make it more obvious that the Riverside Drive entrance is really just an entrance, not an entrance and an exit. He asked if that alleviates any concerns that they were discussing. He said the curb cut could be made smaller and clearly marked as an entrance only, and that would force the traffic out on Benton Street. Corcoran asked if any members had comments regarding Alan Saltzman's letter. She said Saltzman said he would prefer some sort of cooperative look at a traffic policy or plan for that area. She said he feels that increased development and greater traffic from this drive-through will impede development on his two lots, and scare away potential tenants. Bender said she did not buy that. She said she was concerned about L. Brandt's suggestion, because she thinks the Board is so focused on traffic during peak times. She said this restaurant would operate at 9 p.m., 10 a.m. on Sundays and other times when Riverside Drive is more accessible. She said she would probably not try to exit to the left onto Riverside Drive, but she might consider exiting to the right at times other than noon. She said to totally restdct exiting onto Riverside Drive might defeat the purpose of trying to improve traffic circulation on the site. Haigh said that he anticipates that there will be a traffic problem, but McDonald's may have to be willing to accept that if there is a problem, it will just hurt their business. Bender said she did not think McDonald's would purposely set out to do something that would hurt their business, but she said the Board does need to try to minimize any problems given those two busy streets. She said she felt that the Board had done that. L. Brandt asked if the Board were to approve this special exception and if McDonald's sold the building, would the special exception stand and could the Board limit the building to fast food use only. Holecek said yes. Brandt said he would support the motion and is prepared to vote. The amendment to the main motion was approved by a vote of 4-0. Corcoran said she has problems with this, and is worried about increased accidents. She said for her the problem is Benton Street. She said as Haigh pointed out, if this becomes so problematic that customers cannot get in and out of the site at certain times of the day, they will choose another alternative. She said on that basis, she was prepared to support the motion. Iowa C~ty Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 10 Bender said that she has seen a marked improvement in the traffic on Benton Street since the light has been installed at City Carton on Capitol Street. Corcoran said that made her feel better. Bender said that light has vastly improved the movement, flow and speed of traffic on Benton Street. She said that points to the fact that the City is really on top of that kind of thing. The amended motion was carried by a vote of 4-0. EXC98-0019. Public hearing on an application submitted by Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc. for a special exception to permit an auto and truck-oriented use, that is a pharmacy drive-through service, to be established for property located in the Community Commercial (CC-2) zone at 812 S. First Avenue. Rockwell said when the Hy-Vee store opened for business, the pharmacy drive-through facility also began its operation without having applied for a special exception. She said to rectify the situation, Hy-Vee is requesting that the Board retroactively approve the establishment of the pharmacy drive-through facility that is currently operating at 812 S. First Avenue. Rockwell said a drive-through pharmacy is considered an auto and truck-oriented use. She said requiring a special exception for auto and truck-oriented use in the CC-2 zone is due to concerns about the compatibility of such uses with adjacent properties, particularly if they are residential properties. She said potential traffic circulation problems, aesthetic concerns and nuisance factors should also be evaluated. She said staff looked at the separation of the drive-through area from adjacent pedestrian and vehicular use areas, the vehicle queue storage area that is available on the site and the compatibility of the drive-through facility with nearby residential areas. She said in looking at the separation issue, staff has noted that the drive-through lane for the Hy-Vee pharmacy loops around on the east side of the building. She said it is separate from the pedestrian sidewalks and parking areas for the Hy-Vee store; vehicles can enter and exit the drive-through lane for the pharmacy without crossing any pedestrian walkways or parking lot aisles. She said the drive-through lane is accessible from a main drive, a primary vehicular traffic flow area within the Hy-Vee complex, and is a considerable distance from the public streets that provide access to Hy-Vee store property. Rockwell said the vehicle queue storage for the Hy-Vee pharmacy accommodates three vehicles, and experience has shown that this is sufficient for the type of use that a pharmacy drive-through service experiences. She said if there should be increased usage and vehicles begin to block the main drive of the Hy-Vee parking area, there are alternate routes to travel through the parking lot and no real need other than accessing the pharmacy drive-through window to be driving in the northeast part of the parking area. She said the pharmacy could consider moving the drive-through window further to the north to allow for additional queuing room and/or introduce signage that cautions vehicles not to queue back into the main drive. She said such a decision would be most appropriately made by the private property owners, because insufficient vehicular queuing space in this case will result in blocking traffic circulation only on the private commercial property. She said it is highly unlikely to affect the public streets, which are located at a considerable distance from the pharmacy drive- through lane. Rockwell said the residentially-zoned property adjacent to the drive-through facility contains a cemetery. She said the raised berm and wooded area north of the drive-through facility and the distance of the facility from actual residential areas in the vicinity provides a Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 11 sufficient buffer for the low-intensity auto and truck-oriented use. She said the use appears to be accommodated without compromising public safety, and should produce minimal to no effects on neighboring residential properties. She said in staffs view, the requested special exception for a pharmacy drive-through lane and window provides for a health-related service for the community with no discernible adverse effects on neighboring property owners or municipal streets. Public hearing opened. Paul Anderson. MMS Consultants, said that he thought this site was dramatically different from the previous case because it is well sited, and the pharmacy has a track record that shows the drive-through is operating without conflict with other activities on the site. Public hearing closed. MOTION: Corcoran moved to approve EXC98-0019, a special exception to permit an auto and truck-oriented use, that is a pharmacy drive-through lane and window, for property located in the CC-2 zone at 812 S. First Avenue. Bender seconded the motion. Bender said she thought this was a straightforward request, because public health and safety are not jeopardized and there will be a minimal number of vehicle trips involved. She said businesses feel a need to provide drive-through services for their clientele. She said queuing and compatibility needs are met and the pharmacy drive-through facility will not negatively impact that site or the neighborhood. She said she would support the motion. Corcoran said she agreed. She said the pharmacy drive-through facility is sufficiently separated from the parking lot, and is really self-contained. She said the pedestrian lanes will not be crossed, and since it is next to the cemetery, no houses will be affected. She said she agreed with the staff report that there will be minimal to no effect, so she would support the motion. L. Brandt said he would also support the motion for the same reasons Corcoran and Bender stated. Haigh said he would also support the motion. He said he had no problems with the application meeting the general standards, but he did have a problem with drive-throughs in pharmacies because he is philosophically opposed to medications being dispensed in such circumstances. He noted, however, that that is not the issue the Board is here to decide. The motion was carried by a vote of 4-0. FXC98-0020. Public hearing on an application submitted by Dr. Stephanie Nowysz for a special exception to permit a setback modification to enable replacement of an existing sign for property located in the Neighborhood Conservation Residential (RNC-20) zone at 611 East Burlington Street. Rockwell said this is a case of Dr. Nowysz asking to replace a sign that has been in place for 17 years with a new sign that advertises her clinic, Classic Smiles. Rockwell said the right-of-way width in the 600 Burlington Street block is 80 feet. She said this is not inappropriately wide given that it is a major arterial street and near the downtown. She said the structures in this area are closer to the street than would now be permitted if they were built at this time, which is a peculiarity of this case. She said the new sign will be similarly- sized to the previous one that was there for 17 years and it will be set back 17 feet from the curb, five feet from the sidewalk and one foot from the front property line. Iowa City Board of Adiustment Minutes September 16.1998 Page 12 Rockwell said the requirement is that the monument sign should be set five feet back from the front property line; an 80% reduction in the setback requirement is being requested. She said that seems substantial in terms of percentage of encroachment, but in terms of effect, it should have a very minor impact, if any. She said the requested exception would allow the new owner to advertise the location of her dental clinic in an unobtrusive way. Rockwell said it would be feasible to move the limestone base back four feet and mount the sign on the relocated base, but she was not sure that anything would be gained from that and it would create a problem of limited maintenance space and would require the removal of existing shrubbery. She said staff feels that the interests of justice would be served by granting the requested exception. Rockwell said in looking at the special exception review standards, it appears that the proposed sign location and orientation will not create a detrimental effect for neighboring property owners. She said the Comprehensive Plan policies advocate that both commercial and residential structures be placed closer to the street with parking provided to the rear. She said the location of the structure and the parking on the 611 E. Burlington Street property is consistent with this policy that is intended to promote pedestrian access and neighborhood interaction. She said having a sign set back five feet from the sidewalk instead of nine feet should not impede pedestrian access or the perception of neighborliness along this urban streetscape. She said that staff views EXC98-0020, a special exception to reduce the setback requirement from the front lot line from five feet to one foot for a six-foot wide monument sign for property located in the RNC-20 zone at 611 E. Burlington Street to be a reasonable request for maintaining appropriate signage for a small dental clinic in a fairly densely populated urban area along a heavily-traveled street in Iowa City. Public hearing opened. Dr. Stephanie Nowysz, said she was there to answer any questions about replacing the sign. She noted with tongue in cheek that in light of the previous two cases considered by the Board that she was not asking to establish a drive-through dental clinic; no root canals on-the-go. L. Brandt asked if the new sign would be lit. Nowysz said the existing sign is lit from above and already has an electrical outlet. She said that the new sign would be lit from within. Public hearing closed. MOTION: Brandt moved to approve FXC98-0020, a special exception to reduce the setback requirement from the front lot line from five feet to one foot for a six-foot wide monument sign for property located in the RNC-20 zone at 611 E. Burlington Street. Corcoran seconded the motion. Haigh asked if Nowysz sold the business and the new owner wanted a new sign, would the special exception process have to start over. Rockwell said no, the special exception would go with the property over time so there could always be a sign at that location on the property, unless the ordinance was changed in the future. Corcoran asked if there was a sign ordinance when the first sign was put up. Rockwell said yes, that the original sign permit was issued in error. Brandt said he would support this application, because it appears to meet all the necessary standards. He said it is a substantial exception using the formula that is typically used to Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 13 calculate encroachments into setback areas, but the overall impact is faidy small. He said Nowysz would be replacing something that is already there and is fairly unobtrusive. He said it would probably be nicer from a business standpoint to have a sign that stood out more, but from a streetscape standpoint, it is more compatible in an area that still has some residential character to it. He said he did not remember seeing the sign there until he drove by to look for it. He said in looking at any substantial change or detriment to the neighborhood, he felt that the sign had been there for 17 years, so nothing is being made worse. He said the alternatives to allowing the sign are not as favorable as letting it be replaced where it is. Corcoran said she agreed, and for the reasons that Brandt stated, she felt it was the just thing to do. Bender said she did not think that there was a feasible alternative. She said moving the sign to within a foot of the existing building could cause maintenance problems and not be of much benefit for Nowysz to advertise her practice. She said she would also support the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 4-0. OTHER: Haigh noted that the 15th Annual Human Rights Commission breakfast would be October 22 at 7:30 a.m. at the Iowa Memorial Union. He said tickets are $10 and must be purchased by 5 p.m. on October 16 at the Human Rights Coordinator's office. He said the Commission is taking nominations until September 25 for someone who had done outstanding Human Rights work, and said that this year is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. declaration for Human Rights. Haigh asked if there were zones in Iowa City that permitted auto and truck-oriented uses without a special exception. Rockwell said the C1-1 Commercial Intensive zone and the industrial zones do. She said the new McDonald's on Mormon Trek Boulevard is located in the C1-1 zone, so that is why McDonald's did not have to come before the Board to have that drive-through approved. BOARD OF ADJUSTMFNT INFORMATION: Rockwell said the November Board meeting is scheduled for the 18tb. She also noted that Haigh's term would be ending as of the December meeting. She said the Council has advertised Haigh's seat on the Board and is hoping to make an appointment by November 3. She asked Board members to let people know about the Board position, and if they are interested to encourage them to apply. She said applications for the seat are due the Friday before that meeting. Haigh asked who was responsible for listing neighboring landowners for the applications. Rockwell said the applicant/landowner is, but a City intern compiled the list for the McDonald's application, because its listing was incomplete and inaccurate. Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes September 16, 1998 Page 14 AnJOURNMFNT: MOTION: Bender moved to adjourn the meeting. Brandt seconded the motion. The motion was carded by a vote of 4-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m. William Haigh, Chairperson Melody Rockwell, Secretary Minutes submitted by Traci Wagner. pl;x:ladnVmirtrooag-16.dO(: ZOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUS TA4ENT A4EETIIV6 MIEDNESDA Y, 5EPTEA4tlER 16, 1998 - 5:00 P. A4. Civic C~nfer Councff Chorebets SI6N IN 5HEE T Nome Address Phone 7. 10 13. 16 17 ,4 pt...,x6v'~ d Y~.pr. ,a F, IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES August 24, 1998 Meeting COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Dickerson, Pat Harvey, Joan Jehle, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Art Vincent, Jan Warren COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Ann Shires, Mettie Thomopulos, STAFF PRESENT: Heather Shank, Kaci Carolan CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Harvey called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Warren moved to approve the July minutes; Martin seconded. All in favor; no opposed. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. OLD BUSINESS: Update: Amendments to By-Laws: Harvey requested an update on the changes to the by-laws. Shank reported that she needs to determine when the next Rules Committee meeting is and attend same. After that, a resolution must be written to be placed on the agenda for passage by the entire Council. She will keep the Commission updated Iowa Civil Rights Commission Meeting on Fall Retreat: As discussed at the July meeting, the ICRC had agreed to place the issue of adding sexual orientation to the state civil rights code on the agenda for their regular monthly (August) meeting, so the Commissioners could discuss whether this was an issue they wished to consider placing on the agenda for discussion at their Fall Retreat. Shank spoke to Don Grove, who indicated that they intended to take a poll Tuesday to determine how many of the state Commissioners were going to attend the August meeting (scheduled for August 28). Shank reminded the Commission that Flora Lee (state Commissioner) had said she felt this was something the full Commission needed to discuss. Harvey sent Ms. Lee a letter thanking her for her motion to place this on the agenda, and indicating that the ICHRC hoped the discussion could move forward even if they didn't have full attendance at the August meeting. Warren asked for a copy of this; Carolan agreed to put it in the September packet. Warren asked when ICRC had last had a meeting with full attendance. Shank indicated it had been over a year. Human Rights Breakfast update: Carolan reported that about 20-25 people have bought tickets already, but we have only one nomination so far. Martin asked for a list of past winners, which Carolan agreed to e-mail to her and Warren. Shank suggested that the Commission might wish to reassess its absolute ban on past winners, and limit the ban to a certain number of years. Warren suggested that in the newspaper articles, we might mention last year's winners so the community can see that these are real, your-next-door-neighbor-type people. Shank indicated that all three papers have already run the nominations piece. Dickerson and Jehle agreed to talk to Dottie Ray and Roy Justice. Dickerson has already done a PSA for the Government Channel. At Warren's request, the flyer posting list of businesses was reviewed and re-assigned among the Commissioners. Shank has a community service person and a volunteer coming in to post ~yers as well. Carolan provided tickets Human Rights Commission August, 1998 Minutes Page 2 to Commissioners who wanted them at this point. She reminded everyone that they need to keep track of not only how many tickets they sell, but to whom. The Commission decided on this year's Nomination subcommittee: Martin, Jehle, and Warren. At Warren's request, Shank agreed to provide the Nominations subcommittee with the wording from the award plaques, so they can draft wording for the special International Award. Accessible Caucus Sites: Martin is going to follow up with Mr. Roark (the person who was supposed to respond on behalf of the school system). That information represents the lion's share of the data needed. There was some discussion of the most efficient way to assemble the data once we have it all. It will then be disseminated to all the political parties, the newspaper, and a copy placed at the library, along with a cover letter strongly urging the parties to utilize the accessible sites. Harvey stressed that the compilation needs to be done by someone other than Shank or Carolan. There was discussion of whether the information for each site could be condensed to one page; Martin said she would do this. Community Outreach: Harvey asked the Commissioners for suggestions and ideas for public/outreach projects for 1999. Keeping in mind that Shank and Carolan's time needs to be focused on investigations, she asked that Commissioners think realistically about what they want to do. Approach should also be considered--should certain projects go into subcommittee, should they plan out a full 12 months of activities, etc. She stressed that the Commission needs to be realistic about how much time various projects will take, whether the time commitments are really feasible, and given those limitations, where the Commission wishes to expend its efforts. Suggestions for outreach included: movie series; annual display at the library; responsive display/activity to an occurrence (like last year's hate crime display); Awards Breakfast; some sort of joint project with the school system; panel discussions; celebrations (MLK, Gay Pride, Women's History month; Black History month; Cultural Diversity Day; Organization Day at the Mall; ADA; Native American celebration); informational tables (Major suggested Coral Ridge Mall~ven though we don't have jurisdiction out there, it might be beneficial in terms of disseminating information); DiverseCities/Town Meetings; update the sexual harassment panel/video. Shank reported that Marian Coleman at ICCSD had expressed interest in doing a project with the Commission and the City. Warren reported that the DiverseCities planning committee is meeting next week to set a date for the next big D-Team meeting. Harvey asked if Shank or Carolan could get a calendar that shows all the various celebration months. Harvey noted that the first time the Commissioners take responsibility for any of these proposed events, it'll probably require a lot of assistance from Shank and Carolan, but subsequent to that, their input should be minimal. Several Commissioners expressed interest in mapping out a whole year's worth of events. In thinking about where efforts should be focused, it was discussed that panel discussions reach a broader audience than, say, the film series--since the videos of the panels air repeatedly on the Government Channel, whereas the film showings are a one-shot deal. It was also noted that while some of the film showings have drawn huge audiences, others have been very poorly attended--although Martin pointed out that this shouldn't necessarily be determinative, given the mission of the Commission. Harvey asked the Commissioners to think about anything else they'd like to see as a category, and then start ranking them, both in terms of priority and amotmt of time/funds/involvement required. Commissioners should also consider which projects might be best in subcommittee. Warren pointed out that another approach would be to assign subcommittees not by event but by task--a Human Rights Commission August, 1998 Minutes Page 3 subcommittee to find and schedule speakers, another to do the PR/advertising. This division could also allow Commissioners to play to their own strengths, and take on the sort of tasks at which they excel. Shank also noted that there is a fair amount of money in the education budget for just these sorts of projects. The money we receive from the ICRC for case resolution goes into this account. Warren asked if these monies could be used for speaker honora~ums; Shank said yes. Harvey requested that this matter be placed back on the agenda for September. NEW BUSINESS: None reported. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Warren: Asked how everyone felt about her proxy (via Carolan) request that the October meeting be moved up a week. With no objections, the meeting was changed to October 19, 1998. Harvey: Vincent had informed her that he was going to be delayed getting to tonight's meeting, but that he wished to report on his trip to the Regional Civil Rights Conference and discuss his written report (which was included in the packet). Since Vincent was not present yet, Harvey said there couldn't really be much discussion and it would have to be deferred until September. She indicated that personally she wanted to know what Vincent meant when he referred to other "commissioners [who] exercise a greater measure of both authority and responsibility in policy- making and operational areas" than the ICHRC. Martin said she thought Vincent might be referring to some of the Commissions in smaller towns who do not have staff, and consequently the commissioners themselves do the actual investigations. Harvey also noted that she had previously questioned, off the record, whether it was worth the time and money to send someone to this conference. Vincent's report noted that he felt it would be more appropriate to send the Coordinator, Investigator, Chair or Vice-Chair. Harvey said she'd like to know why Vincent felt that way. Major concurred in these questions. Harvey requested that this matter be placed back on the agenda for September, and specifically asked Commissioners to bring the written report with them next month. Warren: Noted that in the current PFLAG newsletter, there's a reference to a web site that lists bible verses to counteract and counterargue those usually cited by the anti-gay contingent. Warren noted that she has not checked out the site herself and was therefore not endorsing it, but merely passing along the information. Dickerson: Shank had asked him for some information on autism, and he provided that to her. He said this got him thinking about how so many of the employment cases seem to involve employers who simply aren't well educated about racial issues or disability issues, or whatever. Harvey noted that since the majority of our cases are in the area of employment, that perhaps that' s where efforts should be focused in terms of public education. Shank suggested the Commission could sponsor a panel with someone speaking on the new sexual harassment laws, and someone else addressing disability law, especially the areas where Iowa law isn't particularly protective, but federal law might allow a claim. Major: reported that he heard Bruce Williams' program on the radio, which explored allowable and disallowable questions in job interviews/applications. Major said he had thought he Human Rights Commission August, 1998 Minutes Page 4 himself was pretty sharp on the topic, but he leamed a number of things. This could be another topic for public forum. Harvey said she had often thought, while reading cases, that if only there were documentation about performance issues, that would help, and perhaps that subject could be covered as well. Vincent: Commissioner Vincent arrived and discussion about his report followed. In answer to Harvey's question, Vincent confirmed that he had been referring to commissioners in smaller communities where commissioners conduct the actual investigations. This particular conference focused on investigative and mediation techniques, in which ICHRC doesn't engage. The only portion of the conference where Vincent felt on par with the other attendees was the section where commissioners discussed what's going right with their agencies. Otherwise, he didn't feel that commissioners such as IC's gained that much benefit from attending. Harvey indicated that she had considered this and agreed--that the topics are very important for communities where the commissioners are responsible for investigations, but ICHRC fortunately has staff to handle those responsibilities. Harvey did ask why Vincent thought the Chair or Vice-Chair would be a better choice to attend? Vincent indicated that it was his understanding that the Chair and Vice-Chair worked more closely with the staff than the rest of the Commission. Harvey indicated she didn't believe this was the case, except for specific issues that required a swift turn-around, like the letter regarding the homophobic assault last month. Individual Commissioners may have more contact with staff in a given month depending on the project the Commissioner is working on, but as a general rule, the Chair has no more contact than anyone else. Vincent said he feels the Commission needs to have someone at this sort of conference, but that it should be someone in a visibly leading position. Harvey said she understood that, but she wouldn't want to sit through a discussion on, for example, intake procedures, since our Commission simply doesn't do that. Vincent said in order to have some effect on a state level, he felt the Commission needed to make it a priority to be in attendance even at those things which aren't within our purview of authority. Harvey acknowledged that view, and suggested that next year we review the agenda with an eye to both applicability and availability. Major disagreed with a sentence in Vincent's report vis-h-vis policy-making authority. Vincent conceded that since the Commission holds sway over the Human Rights Ordinance, perhaps policy-making was an inaccurate term--but certainly in terms of operational aspects, the ICHRC has less responsibility than those commissions who do their own investigations. Vincent asked if anyone in town did employment testing. Shank indicated we didn't do that. Vincent noted that other commissions do. Shank said we've asked for funding for employment and housing testing in the past, and have been turned down. The EEOC provides money to the State for this purpose. Vincent said the facilitator who spoke on this topic at the conference said money is tight everywhere in this area. STATUS OF CASES: There has been one Probable Cause successful conciliation and closure. There were two No Probable Cause closures. There are two investigative summaries pending. There are two cases down in legal. There is one administrative closure awaiting transfer to legal. There were three administrative closures. There were two successful mediations. There is one mediation scheduled for next week. One mediation that had been pending broke down, and will revert to investigation. One predetermination settlement fell apart, but the parties may still go to mediation. Human Rights Commission August, 1998 Minutes Page 5 Martin asked a question as follows. Most of our cases are in employment. The complainant is always different, but inevitably some of the employers end up with more than one case against them. Where in our various processes is education most likely to take place? Shank said mediation tends to do more in that regard, since both parties are present and each relates their own version of the events and then engages in discussion. In conciliation, the complainant is not present and there isn't "discussion" per se. In predetermination settlement, the staff is really just conveying settlement offers back and forth. Opinion letters certainly set out a great deal of information, but again, it's not the interactive process that mediation is. NEXT COMMISSION MEETING: The September meeting will be September 28, 1998, 7:00 p.m., in the Civic Center Lobby Conference Room. Martin will not be able to attend. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjoumed at 8:20 p.m. Warren/Dickerson. 08/26/98 transcribed by kkc IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES September 28, 1998 Meeting COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Dickerson, Pat Harvey, Joan Jehle, Charles Major, Ann Shims, Mettie Thomopulos, Jan Warren COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Diane Martin, Art Vincent STAFF PRESENT: Heather Shank, Kaci Carolan, Dale Helling GUESTS PRESENT: Joyce Carman CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Harvey called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Warren moved to approve the August minutes; Jehle seconded. All in favor; no opposed. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. GUEST PRESENTATION: Joyce Carman addressed the Commission on behalf of Hmnan Rights Global Focus 98. Ms. Carman was asking for the Commission's endorsement of an initiative to involve high school students in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Ms. Carman is proposing a competition with monetary awards in the areas of essays, drama, dance, poetry, and visual arts. Ms. Carman discussed her proposal and answered questions from Commissioners. At this point, Ms. Carman is asking only for the Commission's general endorsement/sponsorship of the project; the question of donations of time and/or money will be taken up later. Ms. Cannan would like to announce the competition within the next two weeks, with the competition being judged and winners presented in the spring of 1999. Shires moved that the Commission endorse and sponsor this project; Jehle seconded. All in favor; no opposed. Cannan will report back to the Commission as the project takes shape, so the Commission may consider how best to participate. OLD BUSINESS: Update - By-Laws Revision: The changes to the by-laws have been accepted, and a new copy of the by-laws was in the packet. Harvey reminded Commissioners to remove those and keep them for future reference. Iowa Civil Rights Commission Meeting on Fall Retreat: The packet also included a Monday Morning Fax from the ICRC, which indicated the result of the vote on discussion of the additional of sexual orientation as a protected category. The vote was 4-2 against such discussion. Human Rights Breakfast update: Carolan reported that there were 59 tickets sold so far. The nominations committee has the packet of nominations; Shank and Carolan asked that the winners' names be forwarded by this coming Friday, October 2. Carolan collected money from Commissioners for direct ticket sales. Once the winners are chosen, Shank will get new posters printed and mail them to Commissioners. Commissioners will be responsible for posting these in the areas and businesses as previously divided. Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 2 Carolan asked the Commission to consider something vis-h-vis next year's Breakfast. She noted that in past years, she and Shank have sometimes really had to scramble to get sufficient nominations for the awards. Even with their efforts, and Commissioners personally soliciting nominations from citizens, sometimes there has been only one nomination in certain categories, and sometimes no nominations at all (or functionally so, since often past winners are nominated, but are ineligible). Carolan asked the Commission to consider whether or how it might want to re-vamp the awards breakfast--perhaps making it every other year. Jehle noted that each award needn't be given every year; on the other hand, Shank pointed out that the Breakfast takes such a huge amount of staff time, resources, and money, that it might not make sense to make those expenditures for only one or two awards. Dickerson suggested that the Commission solicit nominations throughout the year instead of just in the months leading up to the breakfast. It was further suggested that we have nomination forms (for 1999) available at this year's breakfast. Jehle suggested someone comment at the Breakfast on the fact that award winners are just everyday folk, your next door neighbor types, and not necessarily chairman of this, or president of that. Shank asked which Commissioners planned to actually attend. Warren, Jehle, Dickerson, Thomopulos, Major, and Harvey all indicated they would be there. Commissioners are asked to be there by 7:15 or so. Accessible Caucus Sites: The packet contained a copy of a letter to Brad Roark, thanking him for his assistance in compiling this information for the ICCSD buildings. Harvey moved that this letter be approved and mailed; Warren seconded. All in favor; no opposed. Carolan handed around the packet of compiled data. Shank asked the Commissioners to review this document for approval, and then she'll send it to the political parties. Community Outreach: Shank reported that Joe Wilson had approached her to ask if the Commission had any programs planned for World AIDS Day on October 1. Shank indicated the Commission hadn't, in large part because the Breakfast falls in October and that's been our primary focus. Joe Wilson will come address the Commission at a future meeting to discuss whether the Commission wishes to sponsor a program for 1999. Len Sandler at the Law School has offered to appear on a panel to discuss discrimination against gay/lesbiardbisexual/transgendered persons. Harvey led extensive discussion planning out the Commission's programs for 1999. January: The first question was what, if anything, the Commission wanted to do in connection with MLK week. While it was agreed that this is important, it was noted that the University plans so much, it's difficult to plan something that a) doesn't duplicate something already planned, and b) doesn't get lost among the University programs. Warren suggested perhaps planning something in February (African-American Heritage Month) instead. February: has the University Cultural Diversity Day, where the Commission generally has a table. The Commission. indicated they wished to continue to staff a table at this event. March: None. April: None. May: None. This is Older American Month. In 1998, the Commission presented an informational panel at the Senior Center. The Commission may wish to consider something similar in 1999. June: Gay Pride Parade. The Commission indicated they wished to continue to staff a table at this event. Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 3 July: August: September: Community Days (though we haven't been invited the last few years) October: Awards Breakfast November: none December: none Harvey noted that future Town Meetings are on hold until we see how the D-Team does taking them over. There had been discussion of a panel or other program on ADA. Jehle said she felt it was important that the Commission continue to do a library display; they get a lot of notice, and they're low cost/low time. Carolan agreed to contact the library for availability of the big display case in front of the A/V desk. Jehle also indicated she fell it was very important that the Iowa City Commission continue to lobby the State Commission to add sexual orientation as a protected category. This should go on the calendar for June, as that's the meeting at which ICRC generally starts to discuss topics for their Fall Retreat. The Commission concurred. The Commission's general feeling was that the movie series simply didn't have sufficient attendance to warrant the time and effort that it requires. The panels are much better attended, and by virtue of showing on the Government Channel, they reach many more people. There was discussion of doing a general informational panel on the Commission--who we are, what we do, etc. It was noted that this might not draw much of an audience, but would be perfect for the Government Channel. It was proposed that we do the panel strictly for video, with no audience (aside from other commission members/staff feeding questions to the panelists). The panel will consist of: Thomopulos, Major, Dickerson, & Martin (Warren suggested Martin, who was absent. Warren also noted, however, that if Martin was unable to participate, she would take Martin's spot.) These four individuals will function as a subcommittee, and will work out scheduling with Shank and Jerry Nixon. Harvey also suggested an evening library panel, perhaps a more detailed employment one, geared toward employers and the law. Tentatively she suggested May or June for this. Warren also suggested that the Commission do something for Women's History Month (March). Warren also suggested a panel on racism in housing~enial of rental, disparity in home loans, segregation in terms of low-income housing, etc. This could be a Town Meeting, depending on what the D-Team does. (The D-Team is meeting on October 13. There will be five small groups, with individuals volunteering to lead those groups for the evening.) Another idea was racism and parenting--how to proactively deal with racism and their children. Madan Coleman has in the past indicated she would like to do some sort of joint project with the Commission. Warren said she would call Ms. Coleman to explore the possibility of having students write essays (for African-American Heritage Month, Women's History Month, etc.), with perhaps a book prize. Next year, Shank also wants to update the sexual harassment video. Both Carolan and Shires agreed to help as volunteers. Several Commissioners indicated their approval of Warren's prior suggestion that subcommittees be formed by task (pr, posters, organization) rather than by event. Harvey asked that this topic be placed back on the agenda for October. Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 4 NEW BUSINESS: Human Rights Investigator Resignation: Kaci Carolan will be resigning as the Human Rights Investigator as of October 2, 1998. Commission Appointments: To complete attendance and appointment records requested by the City Council, Carolan asked the Commissioners to provide her with the dates on which they were appointed to the Commission. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Major: Just got back from a political convention, where they emphasized immigration issues. Apparently there was a fair amount of contention and hostility surrounding this topic, especially among California, Florida, and the Southwestern states. Jehle: Pointed out that the Lutheran Pastor in Ames lost his appeal and is consequently out of a job. Jehle has also joined the Southern Poverty Law Center, and has received all sorts of information. She offered to share it with any of the Commissioners who might be interested. Warren: Asked that a newspaper article (on discrimination in housing lending) be included in next month's packet. Warren: Reported that on November 6 and 7, there's a conference at the law school on Critical Race Feminism. Jehle: asked Warren to relate a story she had conveyed at a prior Commission meeting regarding a student athlete's conversation with Govemor Branstad regarding gay/lesbian rights in Iowa. STATUS OF CASES: Team B has two cases. There's one case in Legal, and four awaiting transfer down to legal. There were 2 Administrative Closures for Non-Compliance. There is one mediated settlement where we're awaiting final paperwork; we received final paperwork in a second. Two cases went out on Right to Sue letters. NEXT COMMISSION MEETING: The October meeting will be October 19, 1998, 7:00 p.m., in the Civic Center Lobby Conference Room. Shires will be unable to attend. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Shires/Dickerson. 10/02/98 transcribed by kkc IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES September 28, 1998 Meeting COMMISSION PRESENT: Tom Dickerson, Pat Harvey, Joan Jehle, Charles Major, Ann Shires, Mettie Thomopulos, Jan Warren COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Diane Martin, Art Vincent / Heather Shank, Kaci Carolan, D~ Helling GUESTS PRESENT: Joyce Carmen CALL TO ORDER: Harve) to order at 7:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: moved to approve All in no opposed August minutes; Jehle seconded. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: GUEST PRESENTATION: Joyce Carmen Global Focus 98. Ms. Carmen was asking for involve high school students in the celebration Human Rights. Ms. Carmen is proposing a drama, dance, poetry, and visual arts. Ms. from Commissioners. At this point, endorsement/sponsorship of the project; up. later. Ms. Carmen would like to competition being judged and Commission endorse and sponsor report back to the Commission to participate. is uestion the presented in the project; Jehle seconded. All project takes shape, so the Commission on behalf of Human Rights 2ommission's endorsement of an initiative to 50m Anniversary of the UN Declaration of monetary awards in the areas of essays, her proposal and answered questions only for the Commission's general of time and/or money will be taken the next two weeks, with the of 1999. Shires moved that the favor; no opposed. Carmen will may consider how best OLD BUSINESS: Update - By-Law The changes to the by-laws have been a epted, and a new copy of the by-laws was in th q Harvey reminded Commissioners to remove ffi se and keep them for future reference. ~~ .... : ' sexual orientation a protected categoS. ~e vote w~ 4-2 against such disc Hm~ Bre~f~t updme: C~ol~ reposed ~at ~ere were 59 tickets sold so fa. The nominations comiRee h$ the packet of nominmions; Sh~ ~d C~ol~ ~ked ~m ~e ~ers' n~es be fo~ded by this coming Friday, October 2. C~ol~ collected money from Comissioners for direct ticket sales. C~ol~ ~ked ~e Co~ission to consider some~ng vis-h-vis next ye~'s Bre~t. She noted ~m in p~t ye~s, she ~d Sh~ have sometimes reply had to scr~ble to get sufficiem Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 2 nominations for the awards. Even with their efforts, and Commissioners personally soliciting nominations from itizens, sometimes there has been only one nomination in certain categories, and sometimes no nom ations at all (or functionally so, since often past winners ~e nominated, but are ineligible). Carolan ked the Commission to consider whether or how it m' ht want to re-vamp the awards breakfast--pe aps making it every other year. Jehle noted that e award needn't be given every year; on the othe hand, Shank pointed out that the Breakfast take such a huge amount of staff time, resources, and mon y, that it might not make sense to make tho e expenditures for only one or forms (for 1999) available at 's year's breakfast. Jehle su :1 someone comment at the Breakfast on the fact that award winn s are just everyday folk, next door neighbor types, and not necessarily chairman of this, or esident of that. ThomopSuhloa~s, ' ' ' planned attend. Warren, Jehle, Dickerson, Accessible Caucus Sites: for his assistance in compiling this letter be approved and mailed; Warren the packet of compiled dam. Shank and then she'll send it to the Community Outreach: Shank Commission had any programs Commission hadn't, in large part focus. Joe Wilson will come Commission wishes to sponsor a appear on a panel to di: Harvey led extensive January: The first with MLK week. While much, it's difficult to doesn't get lost among February (. February: has table. The Commissi, March: April: May: N informational p 1999. June: Gay Pride Parade. at this e;ue August: a copy of a letter to Brad Roark, thanking him the ICCSD buildings. Harvey moved that this All in favor; no opposed. Carolan handed around to review this document for approval, the for that Joe Wilson had approached her to ask if the AIDS Day on October 1. Shank indciated the falls in October and that's been our primary at a future meeting to discuss whether the Len Sandler at the Law School has offered to sexual/transgendered persons. :out tli~Commission's programs for 1999. was what, if anything;.,,the Commission wanted to do in connection that this is important, it was noted that the University plans so that a) doesn't duplicate something already planned, and b) programs. Warren suggested perhaps planning something in Month) instead. University Cultural Diversity Day, where the Commission generally has a indicated they wished to continue to staff a table at this event. This is Older American Month. In 1998, the Commission presented an at the Senior Center. The Commission may wish to consider something similar in The Commission indicated they wished to continue to staff a table September: Community Days (though we haven't been invited the last few years) Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 3 October: Awards Breakfast November: none none them over. important that low cost/low of the A/V desk. continue to go on the calendar their Fall The The attendance to warrant the virtue of showing on the There was discussion what we do, etc. It was noted the Government Channel. It (aside from other commission consist of: Thomopulos, Major, Warren also noted, however, that These four individuals will be noted that future Town Meetings are on hold until we had been discussion of a panel or other program Commission continue to do a library display; Carolan agreed to contact the library also indicated she felt it was very Commission to add sexual une, as that's the meeting at which general feeling was that and effort that it Channel, they 'doing a general this might Warren also suggested a panel segregation in terms of low-income the D-Team does. (The D-Team individuals volunteering to lead groups how the D-Team does taking ADA. Jehle said she felt it was get a lot of notice, and they're of the big display case in front that the Iowa City Commission as a protected category. This should generally starts to discuss topics for movie series simply didn't have sufficient The panels are much better attended, and by many more people. panel on the Commission--who we are, much of an audience, but would be perfect for proposed we do the panel strictly for video, with no audience questions to the panelists). The panel will & Martin (Warren suggested Martin, who was absent. was unable to participate, she would take Martin's spot.) and will figure out scheduling with Shank. in housing~enial of rental, disparity in home loans, etc. This could be a Town Meeting, depending on what on October 13. There will be five small groups, with 'the evening.) NEW BUSINESS: Human Rights Investigator as of October 1998. Lgnation: Kaci an will be resigning as the Human Rights REPORTS OF C( \~ Warren: A: how everyone felt about her proxy (via Carolan) request that the October meeting be moved week. With no objections, the meeting was changed to October 19, 1998. Harvey: Vi had informed b, er that he was going to be delayed getting to tonight's meeting, but that h wished to report on his trip to the Regional Civil Rights Conference and discuss u t b indicated that ~personally she w~ted to how what Vincent me~t when he refeEed to other "co~issioners [who] exercise a greater me~ure of both authority ~d responsibility in policy- Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 4 making and oF to some of the commissioners questioned, off the record, conference. Vincent's Coordinator, Investigator, that way. Major concurred in the agenda for September, and them next month. Warren: Noted that in the lists bible verses to counteract and Warren noted that she has not checked merely passing along the information. Dickerson: Shank had asked him her. He said this got him thinking about employers who simply aren't well educated Harvey noted that since the majority of our where efforts should be focused in terms of could sponsor a panel with someone speaking addressing disability law, especially the federal law might allow a claim. Major: reported that he heard allowable and disallowable questions himself was pretty sharp on the to topic for public forum. Harvey were documentation about covered as well. Vincent: C answer to Harvey's question, smaller communities than the ICHRC. Martin said she thought Vincent mi , be referring ions in smaller towns who do not have staff, and the actual investigations. Harvey also noted that it was worth the time and money to noted that he felt it would be more Vice-Chair. Harvey said she'd like to questions. Harvey requested that tically asked Commissioners to PFLAG newsletter, ue those the site some So the previously someone to this to send the why Vincent felt be placed back on the written report with a reference to a web site that by the anti-gay contingent. was therefore not endorsing it, but on autism, and he provided that to the employment cases seem to involve issues or disability issues, or whatever. the area of employment, that perhaps that's education. Shank suggested the Commission new sexual harassment laws, and someone else Iowa law isn't particularly protective, but he learned a had often thou issues, that would s' program on the radio, which explored Major said he had thought he of things. This could be another while reading cases, that if only there and perhaps that subject could be Vincent arrived and confirmed that he had commissioners conduct the conference focused on inv,6stigative and mediation techniques, The only portion of the/(:onference where Vincent felt on par about his report followed. In referring to commissioners in investigations. This particular ICHRC doesn't engage. the other attendees was the section where commissioners discussed what's going right with their Otherwise, he didn't feel that commissioners such as IC's gained that much benefit from a ending. Harvey indicated that she had considered this and agreed--that the topics are very import t for communities where the commissioners are responsible for investigations, but ICHRC fortun tely has staff to handle those responsibilities. Harvey did ask why Vincent thought the Chair or ice-Chair would be a better choice to attend? Vincent indicated that it was his understanding tha the Chair and Vice- le~er reg~ding the homophobic assault l~t mon~. Individual Co~issioners may have more contact with staff in a given month depending on ~e project ~e Commissioner is working on, but ~ a general role, the Chair has no more contact th~ ~yone else. Vincent said he feels the Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 5 Commission needs to have someone at this sort of conference, but that it should be someone in a visibly leading position. Harvey said she understood that, but she wouldn't want to sit through a discussion on, for example, intake procedures, since our Commission simply doesn't do that. Vincent said in order to have some effect on a state level, he felt the Commission needed to make it a priority to be in attendance even at those things which aren't within our purview of authority. Harvey acknowledged both applicability and policy-making authority. Rights Ordinance, perhaps operational aspects, the investigations. Vincent asked do that. Vincent noted that employment and housing testing in money to the State for this purpose. conference said money is tight STATUS OF CASES: There has been one Probable Cause Probable Cause closures. There are two inve., in legal. There is one administrative administrative closures. There were two succes: next week. One mediation that had been predetermination settlement fell apart, but the' Martin asked a question as follows. always different, but inevitably some of the Where in our various processes is do more in that regard, since both parties and then engages in discussion. In "discussion" per se. In predeterminatio back and forth. Opinion letters interactive process that mediation is. and suggested that next year we review the agenda with an eye to Major disagreed with a sentence in Vincent's report vis-h-vis conceded that since the Commission, holds sway over the Human cy-making was an inaccurate term"' but certainly in terms of less responsibility than those c6mmissions who do their own one in town did employment t hn ets<' g. Shank indicated we didn't :ommissions do. Shank ~id we've asked for funding for past, and have been ed down. The EEOC provides said the 'fbae~ who spoke on this topic at the in this area. likely and the the set out a great and closure. There were two No pending. There are two cases down transfer to legal. There were three There is one mediation scheduled for down, and will revert to investigation. One still go to mediation. cases are in employment. The complainant is up with more than one case against them. take place? Shank said mediation tends to relates their own version of the events ~lainant is not present and there isn't really just conveying settlement offers of information, but again, it's not the NEXT COMMISSION in the Civic Center Lobby The September meeting Room. Martin will not be September 28, 1998, 7:00 p.m., to attend. ADJOURNMENT: The me adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Human Rights Commission September, 1998 Minutes Page 6 08/26/98 transcribed by kkc MINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLI:~" LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETIN...~ ,.....:!i!e!!i!!~!i'':'' MEETING ROOM"~~''''' "'e~'~:'~'~"' "" THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 "::~:~:~:~:~;~:~::.. Members P~,::;:;~fi: b;'da Dellsperger, Mark Martin, Lisa S::r-.rmcr, Winston Barclay Parker, Jesse Singerman, Anne Staff Presont: Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Larry Eckholt, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Marlha Lubaroff, Liz Nichols, President Singerrnan called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm Singerrnan welcomed new member Winston Barclay to the Board of Trustees. Board members introduced themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A typographical error was noted. The word anatomically was corrected to automatically. Minutes were approved as corrected after a motion by Parker/Spencer. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Update on sales tax discussion. Craig distributed to the Board a memo from the City Manager with alternative language for the Sales Tax ballot proposition. Craig explained that at last night's Council meeting, there was still concern that some of the language could be misleading to voters. In particular, the description of the portion of the tax that would be designated for direct property tax relief and capital expenditures was not clear. The City Manager will put this back on Council discussion for the next informal discussion October 5. Craig will notify Board members of the time of the discussion. There continue to be discussions regarding the timing of the project although Craig feels at this time that the Council is not interested in further delay. NEW BUSINESS FY00 Budget Development. Craig reviewed the timeline of the budget process as far as the City's deadlines are concerned. Tonight, Craig will review for Trustees the proposals from staff. Once Craig receives guidelines from the City, she will combine those guidelines with the proposed budget and have them ready for the special Board meeting on October 8. Personnel expenses will be affected by twenty-seven pay periods in FY00 and not twenty-six. The City calculates the cost for employing permanent staff. The proposal includes costs for three (2.25FTE) new permanent staff in the Maintenance Department to replace contract cleaners. Craig walked Trustees through the spread sheet. A 13% increase in supplies is due to an increase in cleaning supplies associated with hiring our own maintenance staff. The 8000's are charges and services. Craig explained the increase in the OCLC which is a cataloging database. This was based on '98 expenses. An increase for postage reflects a new proposal for the WINDOW. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 PAGE 2 Under capital expenditures, there is a budget request to repair and fix bricks. Craig would also like to bring the computer and av replacement equipment funds up to about ,~50,000. The budget reflects a 4% increase, however Craig anticipates she may be off in personnel costs. Craig then reviewed the proposed project sheets. A discussion took place regarding the hourly wage scale. Craig had proposed an increase of 5% to bring the level of starting wages to a more competitive level. Currently we start hourly employees at ~5.80/hour. Parker suggested raising it even more. Trustees recommended a 10% increase. The next project reviewed was the one designed to reward hourly paid staff for longevity. It was felt that a bonus could be an acceptable way to handle this. Craig's proposal would allow for a ~200 bonus after 3200 hours of work and then a ~200 bonus every 1600 hours thereafter. The City is talking about bonus-type rewards for some of their temporary employees. Project sheet for permanent cleaning staff. Craig explained to the Board that working with the contract cleaners is not satisfactory. When bids were let in July of 1997 there was limited response. The first contractor lasted several months before being let go. The second, now in place, is acceptable, but barely so. There is a need for constant reminders and follow up when tasks are not completed or not done at all. Compared to other city buildings, our building is not as clean. Dellsperger suggested that perhaps one of the contract cleaners be here through the day to clean the building. Craig explained that we would then be supervising employees that were not ICPL staff. The proposal is to hire three people or 2.25 FTE. They would work a combination of shifts from early morning until after the building is closed. Martin raised a concern about what could be accomplished during the day and how effective they would be while the library was open. He also had a concern about the ongoing expense for supplies and replacement of janitorial equipment. Part of the funding being asked for would be to upgrade the Building Manager's position so that he would be responsible for supervising, hiring, evaluating, etc. We would contract separately for furniture and carpet shampooing. Craig and Arensdorf feel that ten hours of janitorial cleaning available every day we're open would be reasonable and allow for proper cleaning of the building. The extra time would allow for illness, vacations, etc. Martin pointed out that the numbers of hours do not equal what we currently have with the contract cleaners. This project will cost ~22,000 over and above what we now pay for the contract cleaners. Craig compared her estimate of time to the seventeen hours/day at the Rec Center which includes locker rooms. Craig says we are not getting high quality cleaning help now and she and Arensdorf have little control over the situation because there is no competition in the marketplace. Cleaning a building that receives heavy use 359 days a year is a difficult undertaking for contract cleaners. Trustees supported the project however suggested that Craig increase the figures for supplies and cleaning equipment. A project sheet that described anticipated charges for the origination of ICN conferences in the new ICN meeting room was reviewed. There are administrative and educational training fees charged for the origination and each remote site. Currently there are no fees associated with the use of the library's meeting rooms. Craig anticipates looking at that when the room is up and running. The Meeting Room policy comes up for review in April and at that time the Board could decide to charge fees to defray this expense. This is an estimate of what it will cost to put on programs in this room if the Board does not choose to charge. The room will be up and ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 PAGE 3 running by January, 1999. Moving up the review of that meeting room policy is not recommended by Craig since Barb Black, the Coordinator responsible for meeting rooms, is making a lateral transfer into the Technical Services Department. Martin suggested that it would be easier to begin with a policy that charges rather than institute charges later on. Singerman would prefer not holding off on reviewing the policy until the room is up and running. Parker would be in favor of discussing it before the room is open. The policy will be reviewed in December. WINDOW distribution project sheet: The amount of this project, at ,~5,000, is double what we spend now for postage for the newsletter. We would actively recruit subscribers to the library newsletter and mail to additional subscribers in an effort to grow the list that has been restrictive in the past due to distribution costs. The increased cost is due more to postage than printing. Some suggestions were made for distribution through the schools as an alternative to mailing. Craig stated that only 25% of the households have school age children. A question was raised about the patron database. The new software has more capabilities and could be a good source for subscribers. Targeting frequent users might be an appealing way to grow the list. Various ideas were brain stormed for alternative methods to distribute the WINDOW other than mailing. Eckholt will follow up. Technical Services furniture project sheet. Dellsperger asked about the meeting room furniture which was to be purchased with the funds raised at the Spelling Bee last April. Barclay asked whether ergonomic considerations were considered at the time furniture was purchased. Craig responded that we have worked with physical therapists if an employee reported a problem. Singerman asked if there was any more feedback or questions on the budget. Since the budget seemed straightforward the question was raised as to whether or not we need the special meeting on the 8th. Craig felt it was needed since she hadn't yet gotten the City guidelines. Request to support Hospice Road Race team. As one of the team co-captains, Clark asked for $200 to cover the expense of refreshments the day of the race.. Dellsperger made the motion to approve the request. Parker seconded. All in favor. Motion carried. Labor Union contract. The last contract was for three years. Negotiations haven't taken place for some time. The present contract expires in June of 99. Parker moved that we enter into contract negotiations. Spencer seconded. All were in favor. Staff Reports The book drops are coming. There will be one on the West side at the vacant drive through lane at Mormon Trek UI Credit Union Drive up. The East side location will be at the pharmacy pick up drive- through at the new Hy-Vee on First avenue. Innovative Information Systems contract has been signed. A timeline is being worked on. Negotiations with the phone vendor are moving along. The vendor chosen is Digital Communications The federal e-rate discount process has been delayed although Nichols thought we might get reimbursed for some ongoing expenses but not initial purchase. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 PAGE 4 Development Office report: The BookEnd is up and running. Eckholt reported that it did $1600 in business the first weekend. He said they need to average ~50.00 each open hour in order to break even. Trustees were reminded one last time that they could sign up for the Iowa Library Association conference. New furniture was purchased for the Children's Room. Two computer stations for Internet and multi-media access are being installed. The computers are funded from the Gates grant. Intellectual Freedom activities were described. Trustees were encouraged to attend. COMMITTEE REPORTS Building Committee has had two meetings. Singerman reported much interest on the part of the people who attended the four informational meetings hosted in several homes. She felt it was looking positive for the formation of a committee. Martin agreed with the assessment that progress was being made. They were making an effort to look for a balance in community leadership that represented different constituencies. DISBURSEMENTS Review VISA expenditures. Approve disbursements for August. Dellsperger moved to approve disbursements. Seconded by Martin. All in favor. A special budget meeting is scheduled for on October 8, 1998. SET AGENDA ORDER FOR OCTOBER MEETING Approve FY00 budget ADJOURNMENT: At 6:30 pm a motion was made to adjourn. Parker/Martin MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 MEMBERS PRESENT: Barbara Endel, Ken Fearing, Judith Klink, Bruce Maurer, Matt Pacha, Rex Pruess, Allen Stroh, Kathy Wallace, Ross Wilburn STAFF PRESENT: Terry Trueblood, Mike Moran, Marilyn Kriz GUESTS PRESENT: Jody Hovland and Ron Clark (Riverside Theatre); Tim Ansley and Howard Villhauer (Boys' Baseball) FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Klink, seconded by Wallace, to approve the July 8, 1998 minutes as written. Unanimous. Moved by Endel, seconded by Fearing, to support the Riverside's Theatre proposal to construct a permanent sta~e in Lower City Park. Unanimous. Moved by Wilburn, seconded bv Maurer, to approve the Boys Baseball's proposal to construct a Dress box at City Park. Unanimous. Moved bv Stroh, seconded by Endel, that the N.O.S. requirement be calculated for this phase of the Country Club Estates/First Addition, but reserved for use in another phase of the development, as determined by the Commission when future phases are DroDosed. Unanimous. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Wilburn, to pursue land in the Lake Calvin development to comDlete a trail in an adequate manner to connect to the planned regional north/south trail and the remainder of the required land to be conti~uous to the proposed South Sycamore Regional GreensDace Pro~ect Trail. Unanimous. Moved by Stroh, seconded bv Endel, to acceDt fees in lieu of land in the Silvercrest Development. Unanimous. RIVERSIDE THEATRE'S "SHAKESPEARE 2000" PROPOSAL Jody Hovland and Ron Clark addressed the Commission with respect to Riverside Theatre's proposal to construct a permanent stage on the west side of Lower City Park near the entrance, for the purpose of producing an annual outdoor theatre event in Iowa City. A picture of a similar stage located in Spring Green, Wisconsin and an artist's concept of the proposed stage were shown. An estimated materials budget to construct a stage and a preliminary operating budget were distributed. Moved by Endel, seconded by Fearing, to support the Riverside's Theatre proDosal to construct a permanent sta~e in Lower City Park. Unanimous. Parks and Recreation Commission September 9, 1998 Page 2 BOYS BASEBALL PROPOSAL Tim Ansley, President of Iowa City Boys Baseball, addressed the Commission with respect to Boys Baseball's proposal to construct a press box above a portion of the current clubhouse at City Park. All costs for the construction of this addition would be covered by Boys Baseball. It will be used almost exclusively for;tournament play on two fields. Moved by Wilburn, seconded by Maurer, to supDort the Boys Baseball's DroDosal to construct a press box at City Park. Unanimous. NEIGHBORHOOD OPEN SPACE ITEMS Country Club Estates. Trueblood noted the location of the proposed development and the neighborhood open space (N.O.S.) requirement of .25 acres. The N.O.S. deficit in this area is approximately 1.3 acres, and the total N.O.S. requirement for the overall subdivision would be approximately 2.5 acres. The objectives in the N.O.S. action plan are development of trails and the Hunters Run property. Staff recommends that the N.O.S. requirement be calculated for this phase, but reserved for use in another phase of the development. Pruess noted a sign posted by the developer at the site that indicates there will be bike trails. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Endel, that the N.O.S. requirement be calculated for this phase of the Country Club Estates/First Addition, but reserved for use in another phase of the development, to be determined by the Commission when future phases are proposed. Pruess noted he did not like these small parcels coming in because a comprehensive plan for the area cannot be completed. Unanimous. Lake Calvin. Trueblood noted the location of the proposed development and the South Sycamore Regional Greenspace Project (a drainage, wetlands and trail proposal). The N.O.S. requirement for this development is approximately 6 acres. He noted an area the City is considering buying as the area is developed because they feel it would be cheaper to do so rather than to deal with the development issues surrounding it. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Wilburn, to pursue land in the Lake Calvin develoDment to complete a trail in an adecruate manner to connect to the planned reqional north/south trail and the remainder of the recFuired land to be contiquous to the DroDosed South Sycamore Regional Greenspace Proiect Trail. Unanimous. Silvercrest. Trueblood noted the location of the proposed development and the N.O.S. requirement of approximately 1.3 acres. The development will consist of housing for elderly and assisted housing, and considerable private open space will be provided on the site to serve the occupants. Pruess noted that American Legion Road is used heavily by bicyclists and the need to keep the area bicycle friendly as the area Parks and Recreation Commission September 9, 1998 Page 3 is developed. Stroh stated the IDOT is adopting a plan to require bicycle lanes as a part of road projects and felt JCCOG would also adopt such a plan. Moved bv Stroh, seconded by Endel, to accept fees in lieu of land in the Silvercrest Development. Unanimous. Klink expressed her desire that the developer include sidewalks throughout the elderly housing area. Streb & Streb (Hiqhway 6 & Sioux Avenue). Trueblood noted this development is in its preliminary stages, and there is no N.O.S. proposal at this time. The Planning staff would like to obtain the Commission's preliminary recommendation. The development is proposed to consist of a mobile home park, apartments and commercial. He noted if the total development occurred as set out in the current proposal the total N.O.S. requirement would be approximately 7 acres. Stroh felt it was important to obtain easements for a north/south pedestrian trail, with Pruess noting the need for land for trail connectivity and a playground. The consensus of the Commission was that its preliminary feeling is to accept land as opposed to fees. MILLER/ORCHARD NEIGHBORHOOD LAND ACOUISITION As a follow-up to the last Commission's meeting, Trueblood noted the property owners in this area and the topography of the area. A parcel located on Benton Street adjacent to the Ruppert parcel is owned by Mace Braverman and consists of two acres. Approximately three years ago, the Buss family offered to donate some property in this area, but Trueblood noted it does not connect to the Braverman parcel and access is a problem. Klink noted she would like more information on the Benton Street widening project and the possibility of a pedestrian bridge across Benton Street near Roosevelt School. Trueblood stated the neighborhood open space deficit is approximately 7 acres. The consensus of the Commission was to contact Braverman to determine if he would be interested in donating or selling his property. WINDSOR RIDGE PARKLAND Trueblood reported conditions were set that prior to the City's acceptance of the open space in this development (approximately 20 acres), the developer had to construct a trail, plant a number of trees, have the turf in a mowable condition, and construction completed on 90 percent of the lots abutting the parkway. These conditions have nearly been met and the City will likely be accepting the open space sometime in the near future. Parks and Recreation Commission September 9, 1998 Page 4 RIVERFRONT & NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION REPORT Fearing reported: concept plan for the peninsula parkland was reviewed; Larry Wilson was present to discuss the Clear Creek trail; they would like the Sensitive Areas Ordinance expanded to include the Floodplain Management Ordinance; Brad Neumann indicated the City would like to purchase additional land in the floodplain when funds become available; and the Elks Club has not sent in a land survey for the proposed driving range. COMMISSION TIME Wilburn reported on the positive activity taking place in the neighborhood around Wetherby Park, with several meetings held, a task force and steering committee established. Trueblood reported money is budgeted in FY2000 for further development of Wetherby Park, with the planning process to begin sometime this winter. Fearing stated there are a lot of elderly in his neighborhood next to City Park and they would not be happy with the things possibly planned for City Park - skateboard park, Riverside Theatre's proposal, Boys' Baseball Press Box. Klink noted area residents have quite a few benefits living near City Park. Klink commended staff and those involved in planning and maintaining the beautiful downtown concrete flower planters. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Trueblood reported on the following: Park Maintenance Facility. Planning continues, but a recent delay was caused due to a last minute engineering "curve ball" which would have added an estimated $100,000 to the project. Construction, originally planned to begin sometime in October, is now planned to begin in late Winter/early Spring. City Plaza Playqround EcruiDment. The committee interviewed representatives from six companies to supply the play equipment and safety surfacing. They will meet on September 11 to make a selection, with installation anticipated to occur next Spring. Waterworks Park and Peninsula Park. Plans are progressing, and will hopefully be presented to the Commission at its October meeting. Cemetery ExDansion. The survey of the Phase I area has been completed. Kiwanis Park DeveloDment. The bridge on the east side will be installed this Fall. Plans are to do some preliminary in-house development this Fall/Winter and the bulk of the contract out for bid this Winter, with work to begin in Spring. Parks and Recreation Commission September 9, 1998 Page 5 Sturgls Ferry Park. The large quantity of dirt in the park came from the Scanlon Gymnasium project. Plans are to fill in some sink holes, to do some mounding and landscaping on the north end in order to hide the recycling areas and to provide for a more attractive entrance to Iowa City. Staff will be developing plans to complete this project by next Summer. Storm Clean Up. Staff is not entirely finished with clean up efforts from the June 29 storm; most of the early efforts were on City streets as opposed to parks. Elks Club Proposal. It'is unknown at this time whether or not the Elks Club plans to pursue their proposal to utilize part of the peninsula parkland property for a driving range. Scanlon Gymnasium. The project is progressing nicely, although with the extremely wet Spring/early Summer it is likely the project will not be completed by March 1, 1999 as originally scheduled. It is more likely that the project will be completed mid-April to early May. A grand opening/dedication ceremony will be planned. Napoleon Park Development. Work continues on this project. The parking lot is complete other than landscaping the islands. The section of the Iowa River Corridor Trail running through the park is under construction at this time. Plans are to have a playground area, park shelter(s), more landscaping, restroom improvements, and other miscellaneous items completed by next season. Soccer Complex. Work is progressing on installation of an automatic irrigation system. Plans are to have a maintenance facility and restroom/concession facility, improved surfacing on the parking lots and roadways, more landscaping, and other miscellaneous items completed by next Summer. Mercer Park. Staff is rebuilding the infields of the two Babe Ruth diamonds and are considering plans for converting field #3 into a Babe Ruth diamond. Riverview Place ADartments. The proposed apartment complex near Terrell Mill Park, which the Commission discussed at its July meeting, was not approved. A question has been asked as to the possibility of applying for a REAP grant to purchase this property. Other REAP grant possibilities are the Waterworks and Peninsula park areas and other parkland areas. The Commission will be asked for its input into these and other REAP grant possibilities at a future meeting. Natural Areas Manaqer. There is more momentum on the department's and Public Work's plan to create and hire a new position - natural areas manager. Staff would like a person to manage, maintain and develop properly the city's natural areas (i.e., Peninsula Parkland, Waterworks Parkland, Hickory Hill, Ryerson's Woods, Whispering Meadows and other small areas). Staff will be developing a job description and salary range for such a position. Parks and Recreation Commission September 9, 1998 Page 6 Private Swim Lessons. A new procedure for registering for private swim lessons was implemented. Moran reported the time (and cost) of the lessons was cut in half to accommodate more students, regular registration began on a Wednesday, with private swim lesson registration beginning the following Friday, and private swim lesson registration was limited to no more than two sessions per individual per registration visit. It appeared to work well, with very few complaints received and no long registration lines. Staff will continue to monitor. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Wilburn, seconded by Fearin~ to adjourn. meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Unanimous. The POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - September 22, 1998 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair P. Hoffey called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE CONSENT CALENDAR Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, P. Hoffey, M. Raymond, and J. Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel D. Russell and Administrative Assistant S, Bauer. Motion by M. Raymond and seconded by P. Farrant to adopt the Consent Calendar. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL · Receive PCRB Public Report #98-15 COMMUNITY FORUM Community forum on October 27, 1998 will be held at the Newman Center, 104 E. Jefferson St. Draft copies of the notice were reviewed and recommended changes were noted. Discussion followed regarding its circulation, noting a preference for. distribution the week prior to the forum. PCRB BROCHURE POLICY REQUESTS A draft brochure was distributed. After discussion, Motion was made by J. Watson and seconded by M. Raymond to adopt the PCRB brochure as amended. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. The new complaint form and the brochure will be distributed at a future date yet to be determined. The method for review of Police Department policies was discussed. The Board agreed to request the policy on building searches, with a presentation from the department at its next regular meeting, October 13, 1998. Direction was given for a letter to go to the Chief requesting the same. 2 ANNUAL REPORT Chair P. Hoffey, together with L. Cohen, reported on the status of the annual report, to include: e m Proposed changes to the ordinance..Legal Counsel D. Russell was directed to draft language fo~ these recommendations. The annual report will be based on complaints, which have been concluded, although the number of pending complaints will be noted. Inclusion of a 'concerns" paragraph, pointing out any problems. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by L. Cohen and seconded by P. Hoffey to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11 ) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 8:23 P.M. Regular meeting resumed at 9:18 P.M. Motion by J. Watson and seconded by P. Farrant to approve PCRB Public Report on #98-15 and forward it to the City Council. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present· PCRB #98-12 was assigned to the report-drafting committee. The Board also acknowledged receipt of 9/22/98 correspondence from Chief Winkelhake regarding PCRB Complaint #98-12. The Board is still awaiting information requested in #98-11, #97-14 and #98-16. Receipt was acknowledged of 9/11/98 correspondence from City Attorney regarding these complaints. MEETING SCHEDULE BOARD INFORMATION STAFF INFORMATION , Special Meeting September 29, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting. October 6, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting October 13, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. (Election of new officers & ICPD policy review) · Special Meeting October 20, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting October 27, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. None D. Russell was contacted by the City Clerk who received a copy of a letter from a local attorney, which had been forwarded to the City Clerk for delivery to the PCRB by the Johnson County Attorney. The contents of the letter included allegations of misconduct against a named police officer in the context of a criminal case. It is the opinion of legal counsel that this letter was not sent to the PCRB by a person authorized to file a complaint. Mr. Russell contacted the local attorney who stated he had not intended to send the letter to the PCRB. Rather than have the PCRB receive the letter, the attorney asked to have the letter returned together with a PCRB complaint form. The letter created a problem in that it could have been a public record if it was received by the PCRB, but it contained the type of information that the Board is required to keep confidential. ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by L. Cohen and seconded by J. Watson. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 P.M. PCRB PUBLIC REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL IRe:. "inVeSt~atiOn.of~"".Cenplaint.PCliB, 98;!'5" ...... ' ........ . This is the Report of the Police Citizens Review Board's (the 'Board") review of the investigation of Complaint PCRB 98-15 (the 'Complaint"), BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, Section 8-8-7 B, the Board's job is to review the Police Chief's Report ("Report") of his investigation of a complaint. The City Code requires the Board to apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review to the Report and to "give deference" to the Report" because of the Police Chief's...professional expertise." Section 8-8-7 B(2). While the City Code directs the Board to make "findings of fact," it also requires that the Board recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify his findings only if those findings are "unsupported by substantial evidence," are "unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious," or are "contrary to a Police Department policy or practice or any Federal, State or local law." Sections 8-8-7B(2)a, b, and c. BOARD'S PROCEDURE On July 27, 1998, this Complaint was received at the Office of the City Clerk. As required by Section 8-8-5 of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Police Chief for investigation. The Chief completed his Report and submitted it to the Board on August 26, 1998. The Board voted to review the Complaint in accordance with Section 8-8-7 B. 1 (a), which means that it chose to review the matter on the record before it without additional investigation by the Board. The Board met on September 1, 8, 15 and 22, 1998, to consider the Report. 2 FINDINGS OF FACT Four police officers arrived at the complainant's residence to serve an arrest warrant on the complainant's son. Two officers, Officer 670916 and Officer 950829, went to the front entrance of the residence and two officers, Officer 891023 and Officer 970106, went as directed to the rear entrance. The complainant informed Officer 670916 that his son was very upset about returning to jail and was in the kitchen with two knives threatening to kill himself. The complainant agreed to take Office 670916 to his son. When Officer 891023 and Officer 970106 entered the rear door, the complainant and the complainant's wife became more upset and fearful for their son's safety. At some point the son cut his hands with the knives and was bleeding. Officer 67091 6 directed the complainant to remain on the back porch with Officers 891023 and 970106. The complainant attempted to re-enter the house but was barred from doing so by Officer 891023. The complainant stated that he needed to re-enter the house because it was time to take his medication, but was told he could not go into the kitchen. Eventually the complainant returned to the house and assisted Officer 670916 in persuading his son to surrender. At some point the complainant took his medication. As a result, the complainant made the following allegations against Officer 891023 and/or 970106. Allegation 1: The complainant was treated improperly and rudely by the officers. Allegation 2: The complainant was not allowed to take his medication. Allegation 3: The court and police erred by not informing his son of the outstanding warrant when he was in court that morning. (This allegation was not part of the original complaint, but was made during the course of the investigation.) The investigation by the Chief included interviews with the complainant and the four officers, and a review of the arrest warrant. CONCLUSIONS Allegation 1: Improper and rude treatment. The officers attempting to serve the arrest warrant on the complainant's son were faced with a highly volatile situation. The complainant and his wife were visibly and audibly upset. The son was threatening to kill himself and, in fact, had cut his hands. The officers acted to de-escalate the situation. The Board finds that the conclusion in the Report, that the officers did not act improperly or rudely, is supported by substantial evidence and is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. Accordingly, Allegation I is NOT SUSTAINED. Allegation 2: Not allowed to take medication. Officers stated that the complainant was not prevented from taking his medication, but was barred from obtaining the medication by going through the kitchen. The Board finds that the conclusion in the Report regarding Allegation 2, that the complainant was not prohibited from taking his medication, is supported by substantial evidence and is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. Accordingly, allegation 2 is NOT SUSTAINED. Allegation 3: Not informed of the outstanding warrant. The investigation does not address the question of why the complainant's son was not informed of the warrant when he was in court that morning. However, the Board finds that the conclusion in the Report regarding Allegation 3, that the warrant was valid and the officers were assigned to serve it, is supported by substantial evidence and is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. Accordingly, Allegation 3 is NOT SUSTAINED. DATED: September 23, 1998 POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - September 29, 1998 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair P. Hoffey called the meeting to order at 7:0E P.M. ATTENDANCE CONSENT CALENDAR Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, P. Hoffey, M. Raymond, and J. Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel D. Russell and Administrative Assistant S. Bauer. Motion by M. Raymond and seconded by J. Watson to adopt the Consent Calendar. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL None COMPLAINT FORM & BROCHURE The new PCRB complaint form will go into effect on October 13, 1998. The PCRB brochure will be distributed at the same time. ANNUAL REPORT Chair Hoffey reported on the progress of the annual report. Areas of discussion included: · Recommendations for ordinance changes; · Concerns of the Board; · Plans for fiscal year 1999. A draft of the annual report will be included in the next meeting packet. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by L. Cohen and seconded by P. Farrant to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federa! law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11 ) personal information in confidential personnel records of public 2 bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 P.M. Regular meeting resumed at 8:35 P.M. MEETING SCHEDULE Special Meeting October 6, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting October 13, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. (Election of new officers & ICPD policy review) · Special Meeting October 20, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting October 27, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. BOARD INFORMATION Paul Hoffey reported on a telephone call from a reporter from Champagne, IL, where a citizens review board is being considered. During that conversation, the reporter told of Professor Samuel Walker at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, who has studied and written of 90 citizen review boards around the county. At the Chair's direction, S. Bauer contacted Professor Walker. Subsequently, he agreed t0 send this information to the Board. M. Raymond volunteered to have research done regarding what makes citizen review boards work. STAFF INFORMATION Paul Hoffey was also contacted by Jan Williams, who reported she received a police solicitation by phone. If she agreed to contribute to the cause, she would receive a sticker which could be placed on her front door,thus identifying her to other police officers that she contributed. Ms. Willjams stated she felt intimidated by the request. None ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by L. Cohen and seconded by P. Farrant. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 P.M. 10-20-98 I 4b(8) POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - October 6, 1998 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair P. Hoffey called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE CONSENT CALENDAR Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Hoffey, M. Raymond, and J. Watson. Board member absent: Farrant. Staff present: Legal Counsel D. Russell and administrative assistant S. Bauer. Motion by M. Raymond and seconded by L. Cohen to adopt the Consent Calendar as amended: (e) ICPD Use of Force Report for September 1998. Motion carried, 4/0, Farrant absent. Chair moved Item 3 on the agenda to Item 6. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL · Approve the PCRB Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Motion by L. Cohen and seconded by P. Hoffey to send the PCRB Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines to the City Council for approval. Motion carried, 4/0, Farrant absent. ANNUAL REPORT Draft of the annual report was discussed. Staff was directed to provide a second draft for the October 13 meeting. Motion by J. Watson and seconded by L. Cohen directing the Chair to send a letter to the Police Chief (1) requesting that there be a cross-reference showing the PCRB complaint number on the Police Department I.A.I Internal Investigations Log, and (2) the Board believes there may be an omission of an officer's name on the Internal Investigations Log, I.A.I 97-4. Motion carried, 4/0, Farrant absent. 2 PUBLIC DISCUSSION None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by L. Cohen and seconded by M. Raymond to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts. Motion carried, 4/0, Farrant absent. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 P.M. Regular meeting resumed at 9:05 P.M. MEETING SCHEDULE Regular Meeting October 13, 1998 - 6:30 P.M. (Election of new officers & ICPD policy review) · Special Meeting October 20, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting October 27, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting November 3, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting November 10, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting November 17, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. BOARD INFORMATION Paul Hoffey: reported two media contacts. John Watson: reported a media contact. STAFF INFORMATION D. Russell: reported a media contact. S. Bauer: there will be a public hearing on the Disorderly House Ordinance on October 20, 1998. ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by M. Raymond and seconded by L. Cohen. Motion carried, 4/0, Farrant absent. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 P.M. POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - October 13, 1998 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair P. Hoffey called the meeting to order at 6:33 P.M. ATTENDANCE CONSENT CALENDAR Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, P. Hoffey, M. Raymond, and J. Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel D. Russell and administrative assistant S. Bauer. Motion by L. Cohen and seconded by P. Farrant to adopt the Consent Calendar as amended: (f) 10/13/98 correspondence from Chief Winkelhake. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL · Receive PCRB Public Report #98-12. · Receive PCRB Annual Report ELECTION OF OFFICERS Chair Hoffey recommended that the method of voting prescribed by the Board for election of officers be verbal nominations from the floor and voting by voice with majority vote. Motion by M. Raymond and seconded by J. Watson to accept this recommendation. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. J. Watson nominated L. Cohen as Chairperson; seconded by M. Raymond. J. Watson moved to close nominations; seconded by P. Farrant. Motions carried, 5/0, all members present. P. Hoffey nominated J. Watson as Vice-Chairperson; seconded by L. Cohen. M. Raymond moved to close nominations; seconded by P. Hoffey. Motions carried, 5/0, all members present. The Board expressed their thanks to outgoing Chair, P. Hoffey. 2 Media inquiries regarding specific complaints shall be directed to Chair L. Cohen. Chair L. Cohen now presiding. ANNUAL REPORT COMMUNITY FORUM Motion by P. Hoffey and seconded by J. Watson to approve the PCRB Annual Report, as amended, and forward it to the City Council. After discussion, Motion carried, all members present. S. Bauer was directed to reschedule the Police Department presentation of the issue on building searches to the meeting on November 10, 1998, as the October 27 meeting is the community forum. DistributiOn of the notices for the community forum was discussed. Staff will contact local newspapers, and distribute notices to JC News, City buildings, buses, and UI residence halls. P. Hoffey will contact TV and radio stations for PSA announcements. Notices will be provided at the next meeting for Board members to distribute at local businesses. The Board expressed that an attempt be made to keep comments at the forum to five minutes or less. The PCRB annual report will be made available at the forum. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by P. Hoffey to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 7:18 P.M. MEETING SCHEDULE BOARD INFORMATION STAFF INFORMATION ADJOURNMENT Regular meeting resumed at 9:45 P.M. Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by J. Watson to approve PCRB Public Report on Complaint #98-12, as amended, and to forward it to the City Council. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. PCRB #98-11 was assigned to the report-drafting committee. PCRB #98-14 was assigned to the report-drafting committee. PCRB #98-16 was assigned to the report-drafting committee. · Special Meeting October 20, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting October 27, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting November 3, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting November 1 O, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting November 17, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. Paul Hoffey: Received a telephone call from an individual who lives in Cedar Falls, regarding an assault that happened in Iowa City. S. Bauer: The distribution of new complaint forms will be completed once the PCRB brochure is printed. Motion for adjournment by P. Farrant and seconded by P. Hoffey. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Meeting adjourned at 9:55 P.M. PCRB PUBLIC REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL IRe: InVestigation of .COmplaint PCRB 98-12' This is the Report of the Police Citizens Review Board's (the "Board") review of the investigation of Complaint PCRB 98-12 (the "Complaint"). BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, Section 8-8-7 B, the Board's job is to review the Police Chief's Report ("Report") of his investigation of a complaint. The City Code requires the Board to apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review to the Report and to "give deference" to the Report" because of the Police Chief's...professional expertise." Section 8-8-7 B(2). While the City Code directs the Board to make "findings of fact," it also requires that the Board recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify his findings only if those findings are "unsupported by substantial evidence," are "unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious," or are "contrary to a Police Department policy or practice or any Federal, State or local law." Sections 8-8-7B(2)a, b, and c. BOARD'S PROCEDURE On June 12, 1998, this Complaint was received at the office of the City Clerk. As required by Section 8-8-5 of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Police Chief for investigation. After requesting and receiving a 4E-day extension of time to complete his report, the Chief submitted the report to the Board on August 26, 1998. The Board voted to review the Complaint in accordance with City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(d), which means that the Board may request additional investigation or request police assistance in the Board's own investigation. The Board requested and was granted a 45-day extension of time from the City Council. The 2 Board requested additional information from the Chief on September 3, 1998, which was provided in a letter received on September 8. The Board met on September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and October 6 and 13, 1998 to consider the Report. FINDINGI; OF FACT The complainant, who is black, was driving in her two-door car with her nephew and son, who are both teenagers, at approximately 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday evening. The nephew was seated in the back, and the son was in the front passenger seat. Officer 950828, driving an unmarked vehicle, pulled the complainant over on South Gilbert Street. There is some dispute over whether there was a legitimate basis on which to stop the vehicle; the complainant did not believe that she had violated any traffic laws, while officer 950828 claimed that she ran two stop signs. While officer 950828 was approaching the complainant's car after stopping it, he saw the complainant's son pass a shiny item, approximately three inches long, to the complainant's nephew. To the officer, the rear seat passenger appeared to be nervously concealing the item. Officer 950828 immediately approached on the passenger side of the car, opened the door, and demanded to see what the two boys had been passing between them. He ordered the nephew out of the car. The complainant and her nephew both say that the officer used profanity, which the officer denies. According to the officer, the nephew slid across the back seat away from the officer. Officer 950828 then grabbed the nephew by the arm and tried to pull him out of the car. Both the complainant and the officer agree that the son then gave some resistance to the officer's removal of the nephew from the car, though they disagree about exactly what happened; the complainant says that her son was holding on to the nephew with one hand, while the officer says the son punched the officer and threatened him. The officer decided to arrest the son and attempted to handcuff him; he also threatened to use "mace" to get the son to cooperate. At this time, officer 950901 arrived and assisted officer 950828. All in all, 84 seconds passed from the time officer 950828 stopped the vehicle until the time the first backup officer arrived on the scene. Other backup officers, 891023, 960826, and 670916, arrived on the scene later - the chronology of their arrivals is not clear. The son was removed from the car and taken down to the ground. The nephew was also required to get on the ground. The complainant's son, while only 15 years old, is described as 5'1" and 220 pounds. At this time, the complainant's dog got loose from the car. When the complainant tried to retrieve the dog, one of the backup officers put her arm up her back, told her he would retrieve her dog, and told her to get back in the car. One of the officers did retrieve the complainant's dog and it was returned to her. The back-up officers searched the complainant and her car. No contraband was found. The item in question, which the officer saw passed between the two boys, turned out to be a crucifix. The complainant received a citation for running one stop sign and a warning for the other claimed violation. Her son was charged with assault and interference with official acts. The complainant was permitted to take her son home after he was cited. The complainant objected to the way officer 950828 handled the encounter, believing it to be harsh, vicious, and unnecessary. She believed that the officer overreacted and was out of control. She complained that profanity was used and complained that her son was unjustly accused of assault as a result of the incident. The Chief's investigation included interviews with the complainant, her nephew and her son, as well as interviews with officers 670916 and 960826. While the report does not expressly state that officers 950828, 4 891023, or 950901 were interviewed, it contains references to statements that are claimed to have been made by those officers. CONCLUSIONS Allegation 1: The Chief articulated the complainant's first allegation as being that the officer's initial contact with the occupants of her car was done in a vicious and violent manner. The Board asked the Chief to consider, as well, whether the conduct of the officer had been unnecessary. The Chief concluded that, even taking this claim into account, the complaint was unfounded. In his view, the officer's conduct, in response to the furtive movement he saw in the complainant's vehicle while he was making the traffic stop, was a reasonable response to what he saw, because swift action was necessary to avoid potential destruction of evidence. The Chief concluded that the officer's actions were reasonable under the circu instances. We find the Chief's conclusion, that the officer's conduct in this case was acceptable, to be unreasonable. The Chief determined that the officer was responding to the furtive movement he saw within the car, noting that the officer said he acted to prevent the destruction of evidence. However, there was little danger that the evidence the officer saw - a shiny metallic object - would disappear while the officer was watching the complainant's vehicle. Moreover, the officer's response to the situation was to grab the back seat passenger in a two-door car where both front seats were occupied by persons of substantial size, and evidently to try and pull him out of the car. There was no way this tactic was going to produce the desired result. On the contrary, it unnecessarily escalated the situation. Not only was it poor procedure (the policies on traffic stops submitted to us by the Chief recommend waiting for a back-up officer or supervisor to assist even with the arrest of a traffic violator who refuses to sign a traffic citation, let alone a situation in which the officer suspects evidence of crime to be in the car), it creates a hostile and adversarial climate for law enforcement. These citizens, even though suspected of wrongdoing, deserved to be given a reasonable opportunity to comply with police orders. We do not dispute that the officer believed that the object he saw exchanged might be evidence of a crime. Though it turned out to be innocent, an appropriate attempt to secure the evidence and the scene would not have been improper. Pursuing that evidence was part of the officer's job. But proceeding as the officer did here was not appropriate. Accordingly, the Police Chief's conclusion that the officer's conduct was acceptable is unreasonable. The first allegation of the complaint is SUSTAINED. Allegation 2: The complainant alleges that the officer used profanity extensively during this encounter. Her nephew and son confirmed these reports, while the officer denied that he used profanity. The Chief concluded that the investigation failed to provide sufficient evidence to support this allegation. In a circumstance where it is the word of a complainant and her family members against the word of an officer, we cannot say that the Chief's determination that the officer was truthful, in one such isolated instance, was arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, or unsupported by substantial evidence. We note, however, that such conclusion might be progressively more questionable in the face of multiple allegations of such conduct; it will not always be "reasonable" for the Chief to accept the word of his officer over the word of a citizen. In this case, the Police Chief's conclusion that the officer did not use profanity is supported by substantial evidence and is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. Allegation 2 of the complaint is NOT SUSTAINED. Allegation 3: The complainant alleges that the assault charges filed against her son were unwarranted. The Chief concluded that there was sufficient probable cause to file the charges against the complainant's son. The merits of that claim will be determined elsewhere. The Chief's conclusion is supported by substantial evidence and is not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. Accordingly, allegation 3 is NOT SUSTAINED. COMMENTS We question the appropriateness of using plainclothes police officers in unmarked vehicles for traffic enforcement. DATED: October 13, 1998 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD September 10, 1997 to September 30, 1998 GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES The Police Citizens Review Board was created by Ordinance No. 97-3792 of the City of Iowa City on July 15, 1997. The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough and accurate, and to assist the Police Chief, the City Manager and the City Council in evaluating the overall performance of the Police Department by reviewing the Police Department's investigation into complaints. The Board is also required to maintain a central registry of complaints and to provide an annual report setting forth the numbers, types and disposition of complaints of police misconduct. To achieve these purposes, the Board shall comply with Chapter 8 of the Iowa City Code, the Board's By-Laws, and the Police Citizens Review Board's Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines. ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998 PCRB (Board) Establishment Five Board members were selected by the City Council for staggered terms and took office on September 1, 1997. An administrative assistant was hired through the City Clerk's Office to provide support with administrative and clerical duties. In compliance with the ordinance creating the Board, an independent legal counsel was hired on September 25, 1997 to furnish legal advice and guidance. The City Clerk afforded initial assistance, which was vital during the early period of Board familiarization with procedural rules and regulations. Beginning in September 1997, all Board members and the administrative assistant attended the Iowa City Citizens Police Academy for a twelve-week program to better understand police policies, procedures and practices. The Board began its schedule of business meetings on September 10, 1997. PCRB Annual Report 10/98-] PCRB By-Laws By-Laws governing the conduct of the Police Citizens Review Board were drafted by Board members and staff in October and November 1997, and adopted November 6, 1997. The City Council approved the By-Laws on December 4, 1997. Standard C)perating Procedures and Guidelines The Standard Operating Procedures & Guidelines for the Police Citizens Review Board were approved by the Board on September 15, 1998. The document covers procedures for the complaint process, formal mediation guidelines, protocol for Board meetings, the complaint review process, the process of the review of police policies, procedures and practices, and the content of the annual report which is submitted to the City Council. The Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines have been forwarded to the City Council for approval. Public Forum The ordinance provides that the Board may hold general informational hearings concerning Iowa City Police Department practices, procedures or written policies, and such hearings will be public. On July 14, 1998, the Board held its first Community Forum at the Iowa City Public Library, which was attended by nearly seventy persons. Of that number, sixteen chose to address the Board with comments regarding police department activities. The Board also received written correspondence from eight individuals. A second public hearing is scheduled for October 27, 1998, at the Newman Center. Various issues raised at the Forum have helped the Board to determine its direction in bringing forth police policy matters for further study and public discussion at regular monthly meetings. Professor David Baldus, University of Iowa, College of Law, appeared before the Board on September 8, 1998, to discuss methodologies in the development of studies of police issues such as use of force and age and race-based traffic stops. The Board plans to proceed with further study of these issues. Board Meetings The second Tuesday of each month was selected by the Board for its regularly scheduled meetings. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson or shall be called by the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson at the request of three or more members. PCRB Annual Report 10/98-2 Due to the number and complexity of the complaints which have been or are now before the Board, and the additional time sometimes necessary for more information to be received from the police department, the Board decided to schedule special meetings for every Tuesday of each month through the end of 1998, for which a regular meeting was not already scheduled. During its first year of operation, the Board has held forty-three regular and special meetings generally averaging two to three hours in length. This number does not include the twelve evening sessions at the Iowa City Citizens Police Academy. Improving Access: The Board believes the complaint process must be simple, understandable and accessible for the system of citizen review of the Police Department to work, and for the Board, the City Council and the community to receive a clear picture of the actions of Iowa City police officers. To that end, the Board has: 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Revised the complaint form to make it simpler; Created a PCRB brochure to help educate the citizens; Established standard operating procedures and guidelines; Established mediation procedures and guidelines; Prepared form letters to facilitate regular correspondence; Agreed to accept written correspondence regarding Iowa City Police Department policies, procedures and practices, including anonymous correspondence; Recommended that the City Council change the period in which complaints may be filed from 60 days to 90 days from the event complained of. Complaints Received: Types and Number of Allegations A numbering system for complaints was adopted using the last two digits of the calendar year and the number of the complaint in the order received. For example, the first complaint received in 1997 would be designated 97-1. The Board has received twenty-four complaints, seven in 1997 and seventeen to-date in 1998. The Board has issued its public report on nineteen of these complaints, and five complaints are pending. The following data is based on the nineteen complaints for which the Board has completed its review. Twenty-two types of allegations have been listed on the citizen complaint forms. Because a complainant may make several allegations on a single complaint form, the sum total of allegations is not PCRB Annual Report 10/98-3 REVISED necessarily the same as the total of complaints actually reviewed by the Board. Harassment 15 Denial of Human Rights 5 Verbal Abuse/Profanity/Slander 4 Violation of Civil Rights (videotaping) 4 Denial of Right to Live in Peace 4 Excessive Force 3 Malicious Prosecution 3 Illegal Stop without Probable Cause 2 Property Damage 2 Attempt to Incite 2 Inappropriate response to a citizen complaint 1 Unlawful arrest 1 Improper/Unlawful Search/Seizure 1 Abuse of Power 1 Trespassing 1 Failure to Forward/Respond to Written Correspondence 1 lllegal Investigation 1 Unreasonable Traffic Stop 1 Officer Misidenti~ed Himself 1 Considered Improper to Take Breath Test 1 Not Allowed to Take Medication 1 Improper Procedure 1 56 Complaint Resolutions Complaints of misconduct of police officers are investigated by the police department. The Police Chief submits the results of the investigation (Chief's Report) to the Board, indicating whether the allegations are sustained or not sustained. If the complaint is against the Police Chief, the City Manager conducts the investigation and submits the report. Upon receipt of the Chief's or City Manager's Report, the Board reviews it and the citizen's complaint. After review, the Board finds the allegations are sustained or not sustained and forwards its report to the City Council with copies to the Police Chief, the officers involved, the City Manager and the complainant. Of the fifty-six allegations listed in the nineteen citizen complaints, one was sustained and the remainder were not sustained. PCRB Annual Report 10/98-4 necessarily the same as the total of complaints actually reviewed by the Board. , Denial of Jman Rights 5 Verbal Abu,/Pn ,fanity/Slander 4 Violation of 'vii Rights (videotaping) Denial of Right to Live in Peace 4 Illegal Stop withou Probable Cause 2 Property Damage 2 Attempt to Incite 2 Inappropriate respc to a citizen co laint 1 ; · Improp r/Unlawful h/Seizure 1 Unlawful arrest / Improper/Unlawful ~/ 1 Abuse of Power ,/ 1 Trespassing ,.."' 1 Failure to Forward/Res Written Correspondence, 1 Illegal Investigation / 1 Unreasonable Traffic Stzo/P 1 Officer Misidentified H~mself 1 Considered Improper/to Take h Test 1 Not Allowed to Ta/k'e Medication 1 Improper ProcedUre 1 /./ 56 / Complaint Resoluti/6ns Complaints of m~sconduct of police officers are department. The Police Chief submits the results / (Chief's Rep,~rt) to the Board, indicating whether th sustained .~ not sustained. If the complaint is a City Manager conducts the investigation and submits tated by the police the investigation ations are the Police Chief, the ~ report. Upon r~'ceipt of the Chief's or City Manager's Report, reviews it and the citizen's complaint. After review, the Board finds ~e allegations are sustained or not sustained and forwards its report to the Cil Council with coljies to the Police Chief, the officers involved, the City er and the complainant. Of the fifty-six allegations listed in the nineteen itizen complaints, one was sustained and the remainder were not sus' ined. PCRB 10/98-4 Recommendations for improvement in police policy, procedure or conduct were made in four of the Board's reports to the City Council. One of the recommendations was contained in a report by the Police Chief and three were the result of the Board's review. PCRB # 97-1 PCRB #97-4 and #97-6 The Police Chief expressed the intention to (1) include as part of routine training the recommendation that officers need, whenever possible, to inform other officers of the cause of a particular pursuit, and (2) to train supervisors and others dealing directly with the public in the appropriate objective manner to take complaints from the public. The Board recommended: "The Department may wish to consider the preparation of a guideline or policy clarifying under what circumstances videotaping is necessary or appropriate." PCRB #97-5 The Board recommended: "The Department might consider further clarifying the policies and procedures governing the arrest and transport of persons cited for public intoxication. The Department should seek assurance that persons released to the custody of the Johnson County Jail routinely receive adequate and appropriate treatment." Name Clearing Hearings The Board is required by ordinance not to issue a report critical of a sworn officer's conduct until after a "name clearing hearing" has been held, consistent with constitutional due process law. The Board is required to give notice of such hearing to both the police officer and the complainant so that they may testify before the Board and present additional relevant evidence. During the course of the year, the Board scheduled two name-clearing hearings. One was held with the officer in attendance, and the other was not held because the officer did not attend. Mediation Formal mediation is available to the complainant and police officer at any stage of the process until the Board adopts its public report; the request for mediation must be consented to by all parties involved. During the period PCRB Annual R~ort 10/98-5 covering this report, mediation was requested seven times, but no mediation was completed because: complainant chose not to follow through, or · complainant withdrew from the process, or · request came after the Board completed its review. Mediation was requested by the individual who filed complaints in #97-2, #97-3, #97-7, #98-2, #98-5, #98-8, and #98-9. Level of Review The Board decides, by a simple majority vote, the level of review to give each Police Chief's or City Manager's report, selecting one or more of any of the six levels of review in the City Code. For this reason, the number of levels of review does not correspond to the number of complaints filed with the Board. Decisions regarding levels of review were as follows: Level a - Level b - Level c - Level d - Level e - Level f - 10 On the record with no additional investigation. 3 Interview/meet with complainant. 1 Interview/meet with named officer. 4 Request additional investigation by the Police Chief or City Manager, or request police assistance in the Board's own investigation. 6 Performance by Board of its own additional investigation. 0 Hire independent investigators. Requests for Extension of Time The Board's report to the City Council must be completed within thirty calendar days of receipt of the Chief's or City Manager's report. The City Council has the authority to grant requests for extensions to this deadline when good cause is shown. The Board requested extensions of time on five complaints for the following reasons: · The Board did not have process and procedure in place. · The complainant expressed an interest in mediation. · One individual filed several reports in a short period of time. To give adequate attention to each complaint, the Board needed further time. · Additional information was being requested from other sources. PCRB Annual R~port 10/98-6 Complaint Histories of Police Officers The City ordinance responsible for establishing the Police Citizens Review Board requires that the annual report shall not include the names of the complainants or officers involved in complaints which were not sustained, and shall otherwise be in a form which protects the confidentiality of all the parties while providing the public with information on the overall performance of the police department. In an early meeting, the Board decided it did not wish to use the names of officers or complainants in cases where the complaint was sustained. For this purpose, all officers, with the exception of the Police Chief, have been assigned number codes by the department. The number in the left-hand column is the number code of the officer, and the numbers on the right-hand column are the numbers of the complaints in which the officer's conduct was complained of. Number Code of Officer Complaint Number 950828 #97-1 710416 #97-1 970414 #97-2 780911 #97-3, 970309 #97-5 900129 #97-7, #98-13 970308 #97-7 950829 #98-1, 670916 #98-1, 880919 #98-1, 830701 #98-6 770411 #98-6, #98-9 780912 #98-7 950830 #98-8, #98-9 890327 #98-13 970106 #98-15 891023 #98-15 #97-4, #97-6, #98-8, #98-9 #98-8, #98-9, #98-15 #98-8, #98-9 #98-2, #98-8, #98-9 The Police Chief(no assigned number) was namedinfourcomplaints- #98-3, #98-4, #98-5, and #98-7. DEMOGRAPHICS: The following demographic information provides information from the 19 complaints for which the Board has submitted its report to the City Council PCRB Annual Report 10/98-7 (12 complaints are from one complainant, who answered demographic information only once). Because demographic information is provided voluntarily, we have incomplete information to report. Of the nineteen complaints, eight complainants provided some demographic information. Age: Under 2 1 Over 2 1 complainant 18 complainants (1 complainant over 21 filed 12 of these) Color: White - 18 complainants (1 white complainant filed 12 of these) Unknown - I complainant National Origin: US - 1 individual who filed 12 complaints Unknown - 7 Gender Identity: Male - 12 (1 male filed all of these) Unknown - 7 Sex: Male Female complaints were filed by 1 male) Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual - 13 (one heterosexua| filed 12 complaints) Unknown 6 Marital Status: Married Unknown 13 ( 1 married individual filed 12 of these) 6 Mental Disability: Yes 1 No - 13 ( 1 complainant filed 12 of these complaints) Unknown - 5 Physical Disability: No 14 ( 1 complainant filed 12 complaints) Unknown - 5 Religion: Unknown - 19 R ace .' White/Asian 1 Unknown - 18 Some in the of the of the demographic information reported was not necessarily provided demographic area of the complaint form, but rather from the first page complaint form which identifies the complainant. PCRB Annual Report 10/98-8 REVISED ~c/b (._c)'~ RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORDINANCE CHANGES: Section 8-8-3 D provides "All complaints must be filed with the Board or the Iowa City Police Department within sixty (60) days of the alleged misconduct." The Board recommends that the City Council amend Section 8-8-3 D to allow more time for the filing of complaints to read as follows, "All complaints must be filed with the Board or the Iowa City Police Department within ninety (90) days of the alleged misconduct." Section 8-8-7 B(6) provides, "The Board's Report to the City Council shall be completed within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the Chief's or City Manager's Report." The Board recommends that the City Council amend Section 8-8-7 B(6) to allow more time for the Board to complete its investigations and reports and to make it unnecessary to request extensions of the current deadline as often as in the past. The amended Section 8-8-7 B(6) should read, "The Board's Report to the City Council shall be completed within forty-five (45) calendar days of receipt of the Chief's or City Manager's Report." CONCERNS OF THE BOARD: There now exist two distinct methods for a person to file a soreplaint about the Iowa City Police Department. The first is to fill out an ICPD complaint form and file it with the ICPD. These complaints do not come to the PCRB for review. The second is to fill out a PCRB complaint form and file it with either the ICPD or the PCRB. These complaints do come to the PCRB for action. Both forms are available at the ICPD; which form is given to a complainant or filled out and filed, is completely outside the control of the PCRB. The PCRB has no knowledge of how many complaints are filed on the ICPD forms, and so has an incomplete picture of the number of complaints filed concerning the ICPD. Accordingly, its annual report to the City Council must be presumed to be incomplete and may be misleading as to the overall number of complaints about the ICPD. The PCRB will be better able to determine the pattern of allegations of police misconduct and to more accurately fulfill its duty to report to PCRB Annual Report lo/98-9 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORDINANCE CHANGES: 1. Section 8-8-3 D provides "All complaints must be filed with the o~rard or the Iowa City Police Department within sixty (60) days of the alleged misconduct." .,. he Board recommends that the City Council amend Section 8-8-3 D t, allow more time for the filing of complaints to read ,al follows, "All daints must be filed with the Board or the Iowa City Police Dep :ment within ninety (90) days of the alleged ,.~sconduct." Section -8-7 B(6) provides, "The Board's Rep shall be ed within thirty (30) calenda Chief's or y Manager's Report." to the City Council ays of receipt of the The Board 8-8-7 B(6) to investigations extensions of the c amended Section City Council shall be c, receipt of the chief's or !nds that the City C~ amend Section more time for the ard to complete its ~rts and to ma it unnecessary to request rent deadline often as in the past. The B(6) read, "The Board's Report to the forty-five (45) calendar days of ler's Report." CONCERNS OF THE BOARD: There now exist two dis' hods for a person to file a complaint about the Iowa City Pc e Depar The first is to fill out an ICPD complaint form and fi it with the PD. These complaints do not I h either ICPD or the PCRB. These complaints do co~ne to the PCRB for m. ? Both forms are: available at the ICPD; complainant or filled out and filed, is com the PCRB. form is given to a :ely outside the control of The PCRB has no knowledge of how many ICPD forms, and so has an incomplete picture o' complaints filed concerning the ICPD. According to the City Council must be presumed to be misleading as to the overall number of complaints / he PCRB will be better able to determine the police misconduct and to more accurately fulfill its dut, Maints are filed on the number of its annual report lete and may be the ICPD. f allegations of :o report to PCRB AXnual Report 10/98-9 the City Council if a procedure is implemented to give the PCRB access to the total number of complaints filed, whether on an ICPD or a PCRB complaint form. The ordinance imposes very limited authority on the PCRB. The PCRB does not review complaints; it reviews the Police Chief's investigation of those complaints· The ordinance requires that review to be deferential· The PCRB can only recommend changes in the Chief's reports if it concludes that those findings are unsupported by substantial evidence; are unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious, or are contrary to law. The PCRB has some concerns about its ability to review complaints in light of community standards given its deferential standard of review. The PCRB will continue to monitor this situation. The Board believes it is important to receive adequate information from the Police Department's investigation to allow it to track the allegations of misconduct concerning particular (individual) officers. To this end, it attempts to chart this information in its own reports to the City Council. The Board considers it essential that it continue to receive detailed reports from the Chief identifying officers by code number. PLANS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999 2. 3. 4. 5. Continue systematic review of Police Department policies, procedures and practices. Continue to investigate complaints and issue public reports to the City Council. Pursue resolution of the issues related to the existence and use of two distinct complaint forms. Continue to hold community forums, including forums at neighborhood centers and schools, to identify community standards and concerns. Continue to review the ordinance establishing the PCRB, and consider recommendations to the City Council for modification. COMMISSION MEMBERS Paul Hoffey, Chairperson Leah Cohen, Vice-Chairperson Patricia Farrant Margaret Raymond John Watson PCRB Annual Report 10/98-10