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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-06-30 Info Packet CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org June 30, 2005 JULY 5 SPECIAL COUNCIL WORK SESSION ITEMS IP1 Council Meetings and Work Session Agendas IP2 Memorandum from JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner: Proposed traffic calming for the 300 block of 4th Avenue IP3 Memorandum from the City Clerk: Review of Police Citizens Review Board IP4 Letter from the City Manager: Acting Chief of Police IP5 Letter from the City Manager to Michael Pugh: Local building permit fees and annual administrative expenses IP6 Memorandum from the Fire Chief to the City Manager: Badge Pinning Ceremony IP7 Letter from Mark Patton: Old Navy Work Day IP8 Letter from Edward J. Ogorzaly to Mayor Pro tem Wilburn: Thank you from BLICK Art Materials IP9 E-mail from Transit Manager to the City Manager: Manville Heights Bus Route IP10 Memorandum from JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner to the City Manager: Update on the petition from residents in Longfellow Neighborhood concerning Court Street IPll Memorandum from the Community and Economic Development Coordinator: City Council Business Visits IP12 Memorandum from the Public Works Project Coordinator to the City Manager: Agenda Items IP13 Letter from the Director of Parking & Transit to Thomas H. Gelman: Bus Service to The Lodge IP14 E-mail from Thomas E. Conway to the Planning and Zoning Commission: 225 N. Gilbert Street rezoning consideration IP15 EClCOG Meeting Thursday, June 30, 2005 [submitted by Mayor Pro tem Wilburn] IP16 E-mail from Jillian Helscher: Sports Marketing Presentation 7/7/05 IP17 Minutes [Final/Approved]: Economic Development Committee: March 31, 2005 June 30, 2005 Information Packet {continuedI 2 E-mail from D3ug Elliott: Public Leadership Group Meeting )istributed to Council in mailboxes on 6-22] I PRELIMINARY DRAFT/MINUTES I IP18 Telecommunications Commission: May 23, 2005 IP19 Police Citizens Review Board: June 14, 2005 IP20 Parks and Rec'eation Commission: June 8, 2005 11321 Airport Commission: June 9, 2005 IP22 Economic Dev,;Iopment Committee: June 21, 2005 IP23 Telecommunications Commission: May 23, 2005 June 30, 2005 Info 'marion Packet /continuedl 2 \ IP18 Telecommuni( ~s Commission: May 23, 2005 IP19 Police Citizen,, 3oard: June 14, 2005 IP20 Parks and Re( ission: June 8, 2005 IP21 Airport Commission: June 9, IP22 Econo une21, IP23 Telecommuni¢:ations Commission: .~_~-~.~=_L~-=f~_ City Council Meeting Schedule and CITY OF IOWA CITY Work Session Agendas June 29, 2002 www.icgov.org · MONDAY, JULY 4 Emma J. Harvat Hall Independence Day - City Offices Closed JULY 5 SPECIAL COUNCIL WORK SESSION ITEMS · TUESDAY, JULY 5 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00p Special Council Work Session [No Dinner] · Planning and Zoning Items · Council Appointments · Proposed Traffic Calming for the 300 Block of 4th Avenue · Police Citizens Review Board · Council Time · Agenda Items · Schedule of Future Pending Items 7:00p Regular Formal Council Meeting I TENTATIVE FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS I · MONDAY, JULY 18 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Special Council Work Session · TUESDAY, JULY 19 Emma J. HarvatHall 7:00P Regular Formal Council Meeting · MONDAY, AUGUST 1 Emma J. Hah/at Hall 6:30p Council Work Session · TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00p Regular Formal Council Meeting · MONDAY, AUGUST 15 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Council Work Session · TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00p Regular Formal Council Meeting · MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Emma J. Harvat Hall Labor Day - City Offices Closed · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 Emma J. Harvat Hall TBD Special Council Work Session Regular Formal Council Meeting Date: June 20, 2005 To: City Council From: Anissa Williams, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for July 5, 2005 City Council work session: Proposed traffic calming for the 300 block of 4th Avenue We have been approached by residents of the 300 block of 4th Avenue to be considered for the City's Traffic Calming Program. Upon evaluation, the 300 block of 4th Avenue qualified for the Traffic Calming Program based on traffic volumes in excess of 500 vehicles per day on a residential street. After meeting with the residents, speed humps were the traffic calming device the neighborhood agreed to try to calm traffic on 4th Avenue. A neighborhood survey was conducted and sent to 14 households with property adjacent to the proposed streets for traffic calming. City High School also received a survey postcard because they use this block of Fourth Avenue to gain access to their south parking lot. Nine households returned the survey and two were returned by the postmaster due to vacant residences. The neighborhood response was 8 in favor and 2 opposed. That is a 80% majority which exceeds the traffic calming program requirement of 60%. If City Council agrees to proceed with the traffic calming request, a formal resolution authorizing the installation of speed humps will be on the agenda for the July 19, 2005 City Council meeting. Prior to formal City Council consideration, we will forward any comments received by Fire, Police, Transit, Streets, and Johnson County Ambulance as per Traffic Calming Program requirements. We will immediately post signs on 4th Avenue with information on the date and time of the formal City Council consideration. Please advise us at your July 5 meeting on how you would like to proceed. Mgr/agd/aw-300bl4th.doc Date: June 27, 2005 To: Mayor and City Council From: Marian K. Karr, City Clerk Re: Review of Police Citizens Review Board In July of 2001 the City Council initiated a Council review of the Police Citizens Review Board by including the following language in Ordinance 01-3976: "On or before August 1, 2003, and every two (2) years thereafter the city council shall evaluate the effectiveness of the board in light of goals and principals set forth in section 8-8-2 of this chapter." A copy of City Code Section 8-8-2 is attached, along with Board's Annual Report. 8-8-2: INTENT, GOALS AND GUDING PRINCIPLES: gage I et I 8-8-2: INTENT, GOALS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES: ^. Investigations into claims of inappropriate conduct by sworn police officers will be conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough, and accurate. B. An annual reporting system regarding complaints against sworn police officers will be established to give the city council sufficient information to assess the overall performance of the Iowa City police department in these matters. C. Citizens may make a formal written complaint to either the board or the Iowa City police department. In accordance with this chapter the board shall process only those complaints filed with the board but will receive reports from the police chief briefly describing the nature of the allegations made in formal written complaints filed with the police department and the disposition of the same. D. The board will: 1. Oversee a monitoring system for tracking receipt of for-mai complaints lodged against sworn police officers with either the board or the Iowa City police department: 2. Provide oversight of police investigations through review of such investigations; 3. Provide the opportunity for a hearing to the police officer if the board's findings on the complaint to the board are critical of the police officer, as required by constitutional law, and give the police officer the opportunity to present testimony and evidence; 4. Issue a final public report to the city council on each complaint to the board which sets forth factual findings and a written conclusion which explains why and the extent to which the complaint is either "sustained" or "not sustained". E. The board shall have no authority over police disciplinary matters because only the police chief or city manager may impose discipline under iowa law. F. No findings in the board's report shall be used in any other legal proceeding. G. The board shall only review the conduct of sworn police officers and shall only act in a civil, not criminal, capacity. The board is not intended to be a court of law, a tort claim process or other litigation process. No action of the board shall be deemed to diminish or limit the right of any person to file a claim or a lawsuit against the city. H. A complaint to the board may be filed by any person with personal knowledge of an incident. "Personal knowledge" means the complainant was directly involved in the incident or witnessed the incident. If the person with personal knowledge is underage or otherwise unable to complete a complaint form, the complaint may be filed by such person's designated representative. The city manager, the police chief, the city council, or the board may file a complaint to the board based upon a reasonable belief that police misconduct has occurred regardless of personal knowledge. http ://66.113.195.234/IA/Iowa%20City/11008000000002000.htm 9/3/2003 8-8-2: INTENT, GOALS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES: Page 1 of 1 I. In order to assure that people feel confident in the complaint process, nonpolice city staff shall be available at a public location other than the police department to receive complaints, although complaints may also be filed at the police department. Formal mediation shall be available to the complainant(s) and the police officer(s) at any time during the process. J. The board shall not interfere with or diminish the legal rights of sworn police officers, including those rights protected under the union contract, civil service commission, and state and federal law. Similarly, the board shall respect the rights of privacy and freedom from defamation shared by complainants and witnesses, as well as those same rights enjoyed by police officers under the law. K. The city council finds that internal accountability within the police department is a valid legislative purpose, and one method of accomplishing such internal accountability is to have the police do their own investigations into claims of inappropriate police conduct. If a complaint is asserted against the police chief, the city manager will investigate the claim and report to the board and the city council. L. Investigation of all formal complaints to the board is a mandatory duty of the police chief, and a repod of each complaint investigation shall be given to the board. Such reports to the board shall include the factual findings of the police chief as well as a written conclusion explaining why and the extent to which a complaint is either "sustained" or "not sustained". However, such reports shall not include discipline or other personnel matters. If the police chief and the City manager find the police officer's actions constitute misconduct and discipline is imposed by the police chief or city manager, the internal affairs investigation may become a public record to be released by the city attorney to the extent provided by law. M. In order to assure external accountability of the actions of the police department, the police chief shall provide the board with a report at least quarterly of all formal complaints filed directly with the police department, which report shall state the date and location of the incident and a brief description of the nature of the allegation and the disposition of the complaint. N. External accountability will further be provided by the board's maintenance of a central registry of all formal complaints. In addition to the central registry, the board shall provide an annual report to the city council, which report shall be public and shall set forth the general types and numbers of complaints, how they were resolved, demographic information, and recommendations as to how the police department may improve its community relations or be more responsive to community needs. O. The board shall review police practices, procedures, and written policies as those practices and procedures relate to the police department's performance as a whole, and shall report their recommendations, if any, to the city council, city manager and police chief. (Ord. 01- 3976, 7-10-2001 ) http://66.113.195.234/IA/Iowa%20City/1 lO08000000002000.htm 9/3/2003 POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES Established in 1997, by ordinance #97-3792, the Iowa City Police Citizens Review Board (PCRB) consists of five members appointed by the City Council. The PCRB has its own legal counsel. The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner that 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 investigations 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. It may recommend that the City Council hold public forums and/or hearings designed to encourage citizens to provide information, recommendations, and opinions about police policies, procedures, and practices. To achieve these purposes, the Board complies with Chapter 8 of the Iowa City Code and the Board's By-Laws and Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines. ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005 Meetings The PCRB holds monthly meetings on the second Tuesday and special meetings as necessary. During FY05 the Board held 9 meetings, each lasting up to two hours. Three meetings were cancelled, one was due to lack of a quorum and two due to lack of board business. ICPD Policies/Procedures/Practices Reviewed By PCRB The ICPD regularly provides the Board with monthly Use of Force Reports, Internal Investigation Logs, Demographic Reports and various Training Bulletins. The Department also provided various General Orders for the Board's review and comment. A senior member of the Police Department routinely attends the open portion of the PCRB meetings, and is available for any questions Board members have regarding these reports. Presentations None. Board Members John Stratton's term ended in September and Beth Engel was appointed for a four-year term. Loren Horton was re-appointed to the Board for his second four-year term. Horton was also nominated as Chair for a second year with Greg Roth as Vice Chair. COMPLAINTS Number and Type of Allegations Five complaints were filed during the fiscal year July 1, 2004 - June 30, 2005. Two public reports were completed during this fiscal period, and two complaints were summarily dismissed. The two completed public reports involved 3 allegations. Allegations Complaint #04-01 Summarily Dismissed PCRB Annual Report FY 2005 - (Approved 06/14/05) - 2 Complaint #04-02 1. Excessive use of force. 2. Failure to inform. Complaint #04-03 1. Excessive use of force. Complaint #05-01 Summarily Dismissed Level of Review The Board decided, by simple majority vote, the level of review to give each report, selecting one or more of the six levels specified in the City Code per complaint: Level a On the record with no additional investigation 2 Level b Interview or meet with complainant 0 Level c Interview or meet with named officer 0 Level d Request additional investigation by Chief or 0 City Manager, or request police assistance in the Board's own investigation Level e Board performs its own additional investigation 0 Level f Hire independent investigators 0 Complaint Resolutions The Police Department investigates complaints of misconduct by police officers. The Police Chief summarizes the results of these investigations and indicates in a report (the Chief's Report) to the PCRB whether allegations are sustained or not sustained. (If complaints are made against the Chief, the City Manager conducts the investigation and prepares and submits the reports.) The Board reviews both the citizen's Complaint and the Chief's Report and decides whether the allegations should be sustained or not sustained. The Board prepares a report which is submitted to the City Council. Of the 3 allegations listed in the two complaints for which the Board reported, none were sustained. The Board made comments and/or recommendations for improvement in police policy, procedures, or conduct in two of the reports: Complaint #04-02 PCRB finds that the ordinary procedures specified in ICPD general orders and standard operating guidelines for use of force and for explanation of reason for arrest were adequately followed during the incident, which occurred July 7, 2004. PCRB encourages the continued training of officers in each of these matters, and counseling of officers to inform a person under arrest of the criminal charges, except when the person to be arrested is actually engaged in the commission of or attempt to commit an offense, or escapes, so that there is no time or opportunity to do so. Complaint #04-03 It was noted by the Board that the two complaints originally made by the complainant were contained in one allegation in the Chief's report..The Board found this condensation of allegations to be consistent with the complainant's original complaint and concerns. Name-Clearing Hearings The ordinance requires that the Board not issue a report critical of the conduct of a sworn officer until after a name-clearing hearing has been held. During this fiscal period, the Board did not schedule any name-clearing hearings. PCRB Annual Report FY 2005 - (Approved 06/14/05) - 3 Mediation Officers and complainants are notified by mail that formal mediation is available to them at any stage in the complaint process before the Board adopts its public report. All parties involved must consent to a request for mediation. No mediations were convened this year. Oornplaint Histories of Officers City ordinance requires that the annual report of the PCRB must not include the names of complainants or officers involved in unsustained complaints and must be in a form that protects the confidentiality of information about all parties. Complaints were filed against two officers in the two complaints this report covers. ICPD Internal Investigations Logs The Board reviewed the quarterly ICPD Internal Investigations Log, provided by the Chief of Police. COMPLAINT DEMOGRAPHICS The following is demographic information from the five complaints that were filed in this fiscal year. Because complainants provide this voluntarily, the demographic information is incomplete. Category/Number of Complainants A,qe: National Oriqin: Color: Over 21 3 US 3 White 2 Unknown 2 Unknown 2 Unknown 3 Sexual Orientation: Gender Identity: Sex: Heterosexual 2 Male 3 Male 3 Unknown 3 Unknown 2 Unknown 2 Marital Status: Religion: Mental Disability: Single 2 Christian 1 No 1 Married 1 Quaker 1 Yes 1 Unknown 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 3 Physical Disability: No 1 Yes 1 Unknown 3 BOARD MEMBERS Loren Horton, Chair Greg Roth, Vice Chair Roger Williams Candy Barnhill John Stratton/Beth Engel clerk/Annual Report 04~)5.doc CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER June 28, 2005 Stephen J. Atkins City Manager steve-atkins~iowa-city.org Dale E. Helling Effective Midnight, July 1, 2005, Matt Johnson, Captain of the Iowa City Police Assistant City Manager dalc-helling~iowa-city. OrgDepartment, will be acting Chief of Police. This appointment is effective until further notice. City Manager cc: City Council City Attorney City Clerk Department Directors News Media mgr/johnson.doc 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 356-5010 Fax: (319) 356-5009 CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov,org June 27, 2005 OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Michael Pugh Home Builder's Association Stephen J. Atkins 11 S. Gilbert Street City Manager steve-atkins~iowa-city.org P.O. BOX 3396 Iowa City, IA 52244 Dale E. Helling Assistant City Manager dale-helling~iowa-city.org Deaf Mike: In response to your May 31 letter requesting information concerning "local building permit fees" and "corresponding annual administrative expenses", I believe the enclosed information will satisfy that request. Please note we have included in the detail all of the various fees, not just building permit fees, generated by the Division of Building Inspection. The corresponding audited expenses and budget is also included. Many of the revenues require notes, and those are so indicated. We did not incorporate into the expense side of our Building Inspection operations the General Fund support. Some of those include the cost of general liability, property and workers compensation insurance; utilities; administrative charges such as Accounting, Central Services, City Attorney, Personnel, Administration, etc. We consider our Division of Building Inspection a component of our General Fund budget, rather than an enterprise fund whereby all of these costs would also be charged against an operating budget. We will be able to provide you the end of the year FY2005 in about a month. We expect the revenues to be down dramatically. As always, if you need some additional information ~lease let us know. Sincerely, Stephen d. Atkins City Manager cc: City Council Sue Dulek Doug Boothroy Tim Hennes Leigh Lewis 410 E. Washington Street mgr/Itrs/bldg-info.doc Iowa City, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 356-5010 Fax: (319) 356-5009 Building Inspection Revenue to Expenditure Comparison FY1998 - 2004 Description FY98 FY99 FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 Liquor License Inspection 2,666 3,281 3,247 3,161 3,340 3,534 3,512 Sign Permits 8,916 14,805 10,097 8,153 11,019 11,785 11,364 Electricians License 13,510 14,915 15,171 15,335 15,620 28,250 26,760 Plumbers License 7,165 9,450 9,450 9,425 9,865 16,600 15,305 Fire Sprinkler License - 800 4,483 Fire Alarm License - 1,000 1,525 Misc. Licenses & Permits 900 775 770 675 2,420 7,414 1,845 Building Permits & Inspection Fees 189,885 205,663 237,476 198,592 268,571 274,575 512,053 Plumbing Permits & Inspection Fees 34,150 36,433 45,969 41,182 55,439 76,696 98,693 Electrical Permits & Inspection Fees 60,353 66,760 62,420 82,536 99,279 111,914 136,156 Mechanical Permits 23,826 28,760 25,601 37,733 77,484 58,223 71,264 Temporary Use Permit 825 625 1,100 825 900 700 1,425 Fire Alarm Permits 50 5,080 House Move Licenses & Permits 65 385 425 465 165 185 105 Property Maintenance Fees 349 3,380 2,711 16,749 2,250 3,573 10,192 Plan Checking Fee 111,055 139,446 155,454 127,0t9 173,505 202,368 382,815 Code Update - Class Fees - 1,067 - - Housing Appeals Fee 480 270 240 360 420 30 900 Special Police Services - - 60 32 90 Entry Fees - - 2,205 Code Book & Ordinance Sales 1,437 3,709 1,553 855 1,590 3,157 1,726 Miscellaneous Other (2) 9 443 2,274 3,813 Total Revenue: 455,581 528,655 57t,693 544,575 724,200 800,885 1,291,311 Total Expenditures: (3) (369,574) (367,651) (424,899) (469,799) (474,221) (489,876) (516,420) Total Revenue Net of Expenditures: 86,007 161,004 t46,794 74,776 249,979 31t,009 774,891 Building Permit Revenue as a % of Total Expenditures: 123% 144% 135% 116% 153% 163% 250% Notes: (1) The last fee increase for Building Permits was effective July 1, 2003 (FY2004), which affected Plan Checking Fees as well. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permit fees remained the same. (2) Two large projects were started in 2003 which continue to impact fee revenue in FY2005:100 Hawk Ridge Drive (The Lodge), valued at $25 million and 221 E. College St. (64-1A), valued at $20 million. (3) The Full Time Equivalents (FTE's) budgeted within Building Inspection have remained unchanged at 7.0 I- 1 Es throughout this time pedod FY1998 - 2005.  11 South Gilbert P.O. Box 3396 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 Phone: (319) 351.5333 E-mail: hbaofic@cs.com www. iowacityhomes.com HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION I Advocale,~ for hotlteowttership by promolittg stattdards for quality ~t~l ~ffq4'qab~l~ ~ lvlay 3 1, ZUUD Mr. Stephen J. Atkins City Manager Civic Center 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Steve, The Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association is currently in the process of compiling historical information regarding local building permit fees. To assist us in this effort, we are requesting our local governing bodies provide financial information on the revenues generated by building permit fees for fiscal years 1999 through 2004, together with the corresponding annual administrative expenses incurred in issuing the building permits. We appreciate your assistance in this matter and respectfully request that this information be provided to the HBA within 30 days. Please do not hesitate to contact our local HBA office should you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Sincerely,~jO, //~~ Mike Pugh President Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association 002469 t 5.DC~.flliated with National Association qf ltome Builders & Home Builders Association qf Iowa IP6 Iowa City Fire Department "Serving with Pride and Professionalism Since 1872" DATE: June 29, 2005 TO: Stephen J. Atkins, City Manager FROM: Andrew J. Rocca, Fire Chief RE: Badge Pinning Ceremony Please join us as we welcome firefighter recruits Dan Reade and Tim Bell to the Iowa City Fire Department. A swearing-in and badge pinning ceremony will be held on Friday, July 1, 2005, at 11:00 AM, in the Emma J. Harvat Hall. AJR/bdm cc: City Council Civil Service Commission Dorothy Maher Lyra Dickerson William Cook Marian Karr, City Clerk Sylvia Mejia, Personnel Administrator Jerry Blank, Captain Larry Kahler, Captain Ken Brown, Lieutenant Brian Greer, Lieutenant Dan Reade, Firefighter Tim Bell, Firefighter Stations 1, 2, & 3 FIRE DEPARTMENT * 410 E. Washington Street * Iowa CIO,, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 356-5260 FAX.- (319) 356-5263 www.icfd, org Office of the Fire Chief Office of the Fire Marshal Battalion Chiefs Fire Traiaing HazMat Public Education Fire Administration Fire Prt'vention Bureau Station l Station I Station 2 Station 3 (319) 356-5256 (319) 356-5257 (319) 356-5262 (319) 356-5258 (319) 356-5266 (319) 356-5265 IP7 IowaValley P.O. Box 1241 Habitat lows Oity, IA. 52241-1241 for Humanity® 319.337.8949 '~e excitement is building' www,ivhfh.org · June 16, 2005 To: Iowa City City Council Members Steve Akins Re: Old Navy Work Day Dear Council Members and City Manager Atkins: As you may have seen in the June 15, 2005, Press Citizen more than 130 Old Navy store representatives converged on Iowa City to help Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity build a home and clean up areas of southeast Iowa City. They mulched trees and painted shelters in Wetherby, Mercer, and Fairmeadows Parks, picked up litter on 2 miles of public walking paths, painted fences at the HACAP transitional housing units on Broadway, did yardwork for the Neighborhood Center on Broadway, moved a donated swing/playset, weeded the prairie and flower beds at Grant Wood School, mulched and cleaned at Safety Village and sided a Habitat home on Aster Ave. Whew! But they were thrilled to do it and said they will be back in August to work again! I want to thank Terry Trueblood and Terry Robinson and their staff for helping organize the park work. They were very cooperative and supportive of all phases of the project. Terry Robinson went above and beyond and is to be commended for his organizing skills. Ross Wilbum filled in for the Mayor to greet the crew. Thank you Ross for your willingness to welcome the visitors. More than one commented that it was nice to be welcomed by someone in an official capacity. Much good can come from cooperation, pooling of resources and sweat. We appreciate the City's willingness to work with us. We look forward to making life better for all folks and your on-going/~upport of work helps immensely. Thank you. Mark Patton -- Executive Director Submitted by Mayor Pro tem Wilburn D CK BL CK RETAILt INC. Renaissance Place 1849 Green Bay Road Suite 310 Highland Park, IL 60035 Phone 847-681-6800 Fax 847-266-8803 Wednesday, June 15, 2005 The Honorable Ross Wilbum Mayor Pro Tem City of Iowa City Dear Mayor Wilburn: I would like to perSonally thank you for the support BLICK Art Materials has received from your office and the City of Iowa City. Regrettably, I cannot be there to thank you in perSon; a project related to our recent acquisition of The Art Store chain requires my attention, and cannot be postponed. I am hoping to be able to arrange a visit to Iowa City within the next month to see the new store, and visit my wife's Alma Mater, the UniverSity of Iowa. As a Hawkeye, she is lookingfarward to hearing what has changed and what has remained the same since her 'college days. One thing hasn't changed, and that is the support the City of Iowa City has given to BLICK art materials over the past 15 years. We appreciate it, and look forward to 15 more years of success at our new location on Clinton St. Very truly yours, EdwardJ. Ogorzal~ ~ -~/ x,~ President Dick Blick Retail, Inc. IP9 Steve Atkins From: Ron Logsden Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 12:04 PM To: Steve Atkins Cc: Joe Fowler Subject: Manville Heights Bus Route We are making a change to the Manville Heights bus route in an effort to keep it on schedule during the construction at Dubuque and Foster Road. The outbound portion of the route will remain the same, but on the inbound portion after we depart Forest View Trailer Park we will take Dubuque St. to Market St. and back to downtown rather than going back through Manville Heights and by North Hospital. We plan to continue this reroute until the intersection of Dubuque St. and Foster Rd. reopens, however if we find that this reroute works well, we may propose making it a permanent change to take some strain off the Manville/Court Hill route pair which is very tight under normal conditions. Thanks, Ron To: Steve Atkins, City Manager From: Anissa Williams, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Update on the petition from residents in Longfellow Neighborhood concerning Court Street In response to a petition received by the City Clerk from the Longfellow Neighborhood Association on June 6, 2005, JCCOG is collecting traffic data including traffic volumes, speeds and crash history on Court Street between Summit Street and Muscatine Avenue. After data has been collected, we will evaluate the results and discuss how to proceed. Marcia Klingaman, Neighborhood Services Coordinator and Matt Johnson, Iowa City Police Captain will be included in our discussions. We will report the data collection results and recommended strategies to you after the analysis is complete, which should be by the end of July. Let me know if you have any questions. cc: Jeff Davidson Karin Franklin Marcia Klingaman Matt Johnson Jccogtp/memo/courtstlngfupdate.doc MEMORANDUM DATE: .lune 28, 2005 TO: City Council /_~,~ ~ FROM: Steven Nasby, Community and Economic Development Coordinator RE: City Council Business Visits In 2003-2004 the City Council Economic Development Committee visited approximately 100 ]owa City businesses. The primary purposes of these visits were to build or enhance relationships between the private sector and the City Council and to solicit information on how well the City is serving the needs of the business community. At their 3une 21 meeting, the Council Economic Development Committee decided to start a second round of business visits that will begin with Iowa City employers having over 100 employees. The Council Economic Development Committee will be making the majority of these one-on-one visits, but requested that all of the City Council members be provided an opportunity to also make some of the visits. If you are interested in participating or have questions please contact me at 356-5248 after .luly 13. City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: June 28, 2005 To: Steve Atkins From: Kim Johnson~,2 Re: Agenda Items The following are costs associated with the Capital Improvement Projects being presented for acceptance at the July 5th Council meeting: 1) Oakland Cemetery Sewer Separation Project Contractor: Tschiggfrie Excavating Co. o.'* Project Estimated Cost: $ 64,000.00 o**o Project Bid Received: $ 53,988.10 o**o Project Actual Cost: $ 58,831.13 June 23, 2005 Thomas H. Gelman 321 East Market Street Post Office Box 2150 Iowa City, IA 52244-2150 Dear Tom, We have reviewed your request for 30 minute bus service to The Lodge. Two options have been discussed. The first option is adding an additional bus to increase service. Currently our operating cost is $62.00 per hour. Increasing service to The Lodge from hourly to 30 minutes would cost the City $341.00 per day or $1,705 per week. As our routes are designed in pairs the total expense to the City would double as the bus would be used on another route the second half of the hour. This is an expense the City can not assume at this time. The second option is to drop the other route from the current Westport route pair and operate back to back 30 minute service to your area. While this might result in an overall increase in ridership it would require removal of transit service from an area of the City that currently is served. The City Council has shown a reluctance to do this in the past. For that reason we do not consider that a viable option. We recognize that the southwest area of the community continues to grow but we can not at this time justify the additional expense of expanding transit service to the area. We will continue to monitor the overall demand for service in this area and may make changes in the future. Joe Fowler Director Parking & Transit Cc City Council ~ City Manager Transit Manager 410 EAST WASHINGTON STREET ° IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-1826 ° (319) 356-5000 · FAX (319) 356-5009 225 N. Gilbert Street Iowa City, Iowa To the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission; I own and live in thc stru~ur¢ at 225 N, Oillx~t Str~¢t that, I understand, is being considered for rezoning. I strongly object to it. When I moved here twenty years ago, I was surrounded by homes or apartments. Today, I am the only person living in the half block around me. There is a bookstore on one side of me, a vacant house one the other side and offices in back. The former owners of the property, North of my home, tried to sell their property as a residence. I talked with a number of people that considered this. Most were turned offby the lack of parking, traffic, zoning regulations etc. This is a commercial area. I cannot see any positive reason why by half block on one side of the street was chosen. I do know that adding new restrictions on what I can do with my property will greatly reduce it's value. Thomas E. Conway cc: Iowa City Council ECI Submitted by Co Member Wilburn. u~ EAST CENTRAL IOWA I ~,,""'~" J COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS YOUR REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY - MEMORANDUM ' DATE: June 22, 2005 TO: ECICOG ~ad ~ctors FROM: Doug Elliott,~d~ive Director SUBJECT: Next Meeting - Thursday, June 30; 2005 tfit isn't one lhing, it's another...please not[ that the ECICOG Board of Directors meeting will again be held at the Linn County Administrative Office Building~ 930 First Street SW~ Cedar Rapids, t :00 p.m., on-Thursday, Jnne 30, 2005. Current efforts to improve plumbing in our building make it inconveni ~ent to meet there ~his month. Thanks again for your hard work during the strategic planning session last month. I'll give an overview of the process from here at Thursday's meeting. An agenda for the meeting and minutes of the May 26th meeting_are enclosed. Other items are highlighted below: Item 2.0 Routine Matters: Financial statements for the month of May are enclosed. Items 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, & 3.8 Community Development,'Housing, Circuit Rider, & Solid Waste Reports:-~taffreports are enclosed. Item 3.8 Tra.nsportation Report: The board will be asked to take action on FY 2006 Service Contracts for East Central Iowa Transit (ECIT). The board will also be asked to authorize expenditure of Regi0nal Transit Funds for advertising the system in area directories. The policy establishing the fund requires board approval of fund exp?nditures. Items 3.4 & 3.5 Transit Operators Group & Solid Waste' TAC: Minutes from the mos[ recent meetings of these advisory bodies are enclosed. Item 8.0 Next Meeting: Traditionally, the full board has not n~et during the month of July. Instead, the board usually auflaorizes the executive committee to meet in its place to Conduct that month's busindss. The enclosed agenda assumes that will be the board's pleasure again this year, pending your concurrence at this month's meeting. Please review the remainder of the enclosed materials, and contact us if you have questions before the meeting on the 30th. Enc. 108 Third Street SE, Suite 300 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 319-365-9941 FAX 319-365-9981 www. ia.net/~ecicog East Central Iowa Council of Governments Board Me. eting Notice 1:00 P.M. June 30, 2005 I LINN COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE BUILDING 930 First Street SW, Cedar Rapids TEL 365-9941 FAX365-9981 pages 1.0 CALL TO ORDER · 1 Recognition of Alternates .2 Public Discussion .3 Approval of Agenda 2.0 ROUTINE MATTERS 1-2 .1 Approval of Minutes (May 26, 2005) 3-5 .2 Preceding Month's Budget Reports/Balance Sheets 3.0 AGENCY REPORTS .1 Chairperson's Report .2 Board Members' Reports .3 Director's Report 6-7 .4 Community Development Report 8-10 .5 Housing Report 11 .6 Circuit Rider Report 12-26 .7 Transportation Report · FY 06 Purchase of Service Contracts for ECIT · Consider renewing ECIT advertising contracts 27 .8 Solid Waste Report 4.0 COMMITTEE REPORTS · 1 Transit Services Review Committee 28-29 .2 Solid Waste Technical Advisory Committee - information only 30-32 .3 Transit Operators Group - information only 5.0 OLD BUSINESS · 1 Approval of Expenditures 6.0 NEW BUSINESS 7.0 NEXT MEETING: August 25, 2005 ECICOG is the Region l O planning agency serving local governments in the counties of Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Washington. Community Development Report Date: June 30, 2004 From: Chad Sands, AICP, Planner Lisa ]. Treharne, Planner Lisa-Marie Garlich, Planner Amy Peterson, Program Administrator Eric Freese, Housing Inspector Status of Planning Projects · The City of Anamosa has asked for a service proposal to update the City's Comprehensive Plan. Staff will present the proposal on June 27th. · Work is continuing on the Benton County Comprehensive Plan. Monthly work-sessions with the Planning and Zoning Commission have focused on development tools to assist in managing the rapid growth in the County. In particular, the Commission is reviewing a proposed Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) program. · The City of Fairfax has hired ECICOG to prepare an update to the City's Comprehensive Plan. Work will begin in June and is expected to last approximately eight months before the plan's adoption. · Work on the Johnson County Land Use Plan review has begun. Staff will present review findings to the Board of Supervisors in July. · Jones County has begun work on updating their subdivision and Ag-land Preservation Ordinance with the assistance of ECICOG staff. Work is expected to be completed this fall. In addition, the County has adopted a sign ordinance prepared by ECICOG staff. · The City of Lone Tree has asked for a service proposal for the update of the City's zoning and subdivision ordinance, and comprehensive plan. · The City of North Liberty's update of their comprehensive plan has been completed. The Council held a public hearing in June before adopting the plan. · The City of Springville's zoning ordinance is complete. The City Council adopted the zoning ordinance in February. Work on the subdivision ordinance is nearing completion. The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing in June and recommended the ordinance to the Council. In addition, a planning and zoning training session will be held after both ordinances have been adopted. · The City of Washington has asked for a service proposal to update the City's Urban Renewal Plan. · ECICOG is providing site plan and development review services for the Cities of Bertram and ShueyVille. Staff represents the City of Bertram on the Linn County Technical Review Committee when reviewing conditional use applications outside of the City of Bertram. There were no conditional use permit reviews during the month of April in Bertram. Eric Freese Grant Updates Ext. 24 Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program Grants Washington County applied for a Federal Home Loan Bank grant for single-family Lisa-Marie housing rehabilitation in April. We should have word by _luly 5th if it has been Garlich funded. Ext. 33 I Housing Rehabilitation Projects Amy Peterson Ext. 21 Anamosa Rehabilitation TI[. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 10 houses. Twelve homes are completed. One home is being inspected. The City should complete a total of 13 homes once the project is done. Three homes Lisa Treharne were deemed ineligible. Ext. 29 Grant: $379,850 Local Match: $10,000 T[F Funds: $52,120 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund Upcoming Grant Deadlines: Anamosa RehabilitaUon TTT. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 10 houses. This activity is limited to households whose incomes are at or below the CAT 50% median county income limits. The process for environmental and historical 7/1/05 should commence soon. A meeting with the Housing Committee is being scheduled. REAP Grant: $412,790 .Local Match: (T[F Funds) $25,000 Source of Funds: 8/15/05 HUD/]DED Housing Fund Brighton Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 9 CDBG houses. Seventeen applications were received. Six homes are complete, one is Water/Sewer in construction, and two homes are in the verification process. 1:[/22/05 Grant: $370,600 Local Match: $14,000 Source of Funds: HUD/[DED Housing Fund CDBG Housing Lone Tree Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 8 :[2/7/05 houses. Filteen applications were received. Five homes are complete. Two are under construction and one is in the bidding process. Grant: $320,312 Local Match: $8,000 Source of Funds: HUD/[DED Upcoming Housing Fund Workshops/ Marion RehabilitaUon. City of Marion was awarded funds to rehabilitate 10 Conferences: affordable single-family, owner-occupied units. Funds have been released. GEM Grant Three homes are currently under Construction. Two homes are in the bidding Symposium process. The next three homes are being income verified and inspected. 23 8/18/05 applications were received. Grant: $396,790 Local Match: $40,000 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund IA Downtown Summit Martelle Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 8 houses. 8/23-24/05 Nine homes are completed. Close-out will commence soon. Two homes were deemed ineligible. Grant: $307,986 Lodal Match: $8,000 Source of Funds: HUD/ID£D iA League of Cities Housing Fund Annual Conference 9/14-15/05 ECICOG Housing Report 3une 2005 Page 2 of 2 Olin Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 10 houses. The City had additional funds to complete thirteen homes. Twelve homes are completed. The 13th home is currently under construction. Eight homes have been deemed ineligible. A waiting list has been established. Grant: $379,850 Local Match: $10,000 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund Wellman Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 10 houses. All ten homes are complete. The final home is completing the bidding process. Additional funds may be left to .do more homes. Two homes were deemed to be infeasible. The other applicants are on a waiting list. Grant: $379,850 Local Match: $17,000 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund Solon Rehabilitation. The City was awarded funds to rehabilitate 8 houses. The City is beginning the process for environmental, historical and Release of Funds. Applications have been disseminated and will be accepted until July, when ranking will begin. Grant: $288,295 Local Match: $20,902 Source of Funds: HUD/I[DED Housing Fund JFederal Home Loan Bank Projects .lohnson County Federal Home Loan Bank [:[[. ECl[COG received a third round of funds on behalf of the ,~ohnson County Housing Task Force for the rehabilitation of 20 homes. Twelve have been completed, one is in the construction phase, two are waiting on bids and three are in the verification stage. Grant: $107,500 Local Match: $101,820 Source of Funds: Federal Home Loan Bank Washington County Federal Home Loan Bank [. EC[COG received funds on behalf of Wa.shington County to assist 10 homes. There are 9 homes that have been completed and i that is in the construction phase. .Grant: $53,750 Local Match: $50,910 -Source of Funds: Federal Home Loan Bank 3ones County Federal Home Loan Bank. EC[COG received funds on behalf of Jones County to assist 10 homes. Applications are being accepted and processed. The verifications are complete on one home and they are getting bids. Grant: $55,000 Local Match: $50,000 Source of Funds: Federal Home Loan Bank Flood Buy Out Projects Marion Flood Buy-Out. The City was awarded funds to acquire and demolish three homes flooded by the .lune 04, 2002 rains. The City closed on one home. The Demolition is completed. The second home was able to get an extension: the extension has been granted until August 2005. Asbestos and Demolition work is being approved by FEMA. The third home chose not to participate. Grant: $ 264,117 Source of Funds: FEMA/State of Iowa/City 14onticello Flood Buy-Out. The City was awarded funds to acquire and demolish two homes flooded by the June 02, 2002 rains. Both homeowners have closed on their homes. The Demolition is completed. The other home was sold by the city and relocated out of the floodplain. Close out is completed. Grant: $133,599. Source of Funds: FEMA/State of [owa/City ' ECTCOG Housing Report June 2005 Page 3 of 3 Rental Rehabilitation Project Village of Troy f4ills/Linn County Rental Rehabilitation. The County was awarded funds for adaptive reuse of a vacant school to four units of senior housing. All grant funds have been expended and construction is still on-going. Grant: $122,807 Local Match: $98,633 Source of Funds: HUD/[DED Housing Fund Homeownership Assistance Projects Vinton Homeownership Assistance. The City was awarded funds to assist at least 10 applicants with homeownership. Nine (9) applicants are complete or near complete. One more is in verification. ~It is estimated at this time, that there will be almost enough grant funds left over to assist an eleventh applicant. Applications are being taken once again. Grant: $317,573 Local Match: $10,000 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund Washington Homeownership Assistance T:[. The City was awarded funds to provide down payment assistance to 5 households. Five homes have been purchased and are completed. There is money to complete a sixth home and that applicant is being verified at this time. Grant: $198,845 Local Match: $5,000 Source of Funds: HUD/IDED Housing Fund MINUTES EAST CENTRAL IOWA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS Solid Waste Technical Advisory Committee (SWTAC) :t:t AM~ 3une 9, 2005 Moor's Salvage and Recovery, Kieler, WS VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT Benton County: Myron Parizek :iowa City/]johnson County: .]on Thomas CR/LC SW Agency: Floyde Pelkey, Marie :iowa Waste Exchange: ]john Koch DeVries STAFF PRESENT :[C/]johnson County: Brad Neumann ]jennifer Ryan Kristin Simon Toured Moor's new white goods processing facility. Pelkey thanked ]julius Moor for hosting tour, providing meeting location and making arrangements for lunch. MINUTES: Minutes from the May 2005 meeting were approved. Local Updates- Iowa City / 3ohnson County. Neumann and Thomas reported: · A public meeting regarding Chamness Technologies zoning request for a composting facility is scheduled for ]june 16~. · Applied to participate in the DNR waste characterization study. · Recycling survey regarding current curbside service was mailed to :lC residents last week. · Preparing a RFP for new cell construction. Benton County. Parizek reported: · DNR inspected landfill in May. Cedar Rapids / Linn County Solid Waste Agency. Pelkey and DeVries reported: · The Agency is a sponsor of Freedom Fest again this year. · Lending recycling and waste containers to area event organizers. · The Gazette is running articles about the environmental benefits of composting. · The bioreactor will be deconstructed and data analyzed in the coming months, as the six- year study comes to an end. · The projected closure of Site #! and reopening of Site #2 is August of 2006. Staff is reviewing several site improvement plans for Site #2 submitted by HDR consultants. · The DNR will not review the Agency's permit application until the courts have decided jurisdiction. · Selling record volumes of compost this season. 3onesCounty, Ryan reported: · The SW commission has decided to build a sub-title D cell on the 60 acres to the south of the current landfill. Iowa Waste Exchange. Koch reported: · There was an article regarding :[WE in Trash Talk magazine. Regional update. Ryan reported: · SWAP Form- E o Anamosa Prison is re-applying for SWAP funding to re-build their composting structure. ACTION Ti'EM: M/S (DeVries/Parizek) Form - E was approved. · DNR Update: o Handouts from the Sub-Title D workshop are available on the DNR website. Discussion followed. o Copies of the US EPA response letter to DNR about the October 2007 closure deadline was distributed and is also available on the DNR website. o DNR will hold the next ICN Client Contact meeting on .lune 22® at 10 am. Also, 3une 22® from 1 - 4 pm a Tire Use Workshop will be held. o DNR will host the bi-annual RCC meeting on .luly 22®. · Contracts o The tire-processing contract expires December 30, 2005. There is a 2-year extension clause. o The white goods processing contact expires .lune 30, 2006. Discussion followed. o A regional electronics-processing contract was discussed. · Education o Simon discussed the summer reading schedule for each county. o .1ones County schools are purchasing recycling and storage equipment. The educational component will begin in the fall. o The iRA newsletter deadline for articles is June 20th. Adjourn 1:20 PM · Next meeting: Thursday, .~uly 14, 2005 at 1PM location TBA. Marian Karr ~ From: Jillian Helscher [jillian@iowacitycoralville.org] Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 10:18 AM To: Mayor Ernie Lehman; council@iowa-city.org; steve-atkins@iowa-city.org; khayworth@ci.coralville.ia.us; jschnacke@ci.coralville, ia.us; HCH319@aol.com; jweihe@ci.coralville.ia.us; tgill@ci.coralville.ia.us; jlundell@ci.coralville.ia, us; jfausett@ci.coralville.ia, us Subject: Sports Marketing Presentation 7/7/05 Good morning, The Iowa City/Coralville CVB has been exploring the idea of branching out into the sports market to promote the Iowa City/Coralville area as a sporting event destination. During the past 9 months, the CVB has been working with four outstanding graduate students from the U of IA Health and Sports Studies Department. The students have recently completed a Sports Marketing Feasibility Study focusing on the different types of athletic venues in the area and researching how these venues could accommodate tournaments on a state, regional, and national level. During the last CVB board meeting, these students presented their findings to the CVB board. The board was very impressed with their findings and are excited about the possibility of taking the next step to promote the area as a premiere sports destination. We have asked the students to make a second presentation for both Iowa City and Coralville representatives. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, July 7, 2005 at 3pm. The presentation will be held at Coralville City Hall. Please RSVP to Jillian Helscher at jillian@iowacitycoralville.org or 337-6592. Hope to see everyone there! Thank you, Jitlian Jillian Helscher Director of Convention Sales & Servicing Iowa City/Coralville Convention & Visitors Bureau 900 First Avenue Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-6592 or 800/283-6592 Fax (319) 337-9953 jil!ian @iowacitycoralville.org www,iowacitycoralvi!!e~org What's happening in Iowa City/Coralville this week? Visit http;//www.cuitura!corridor, org Important: Privacy Notice-This message and any accompanying documents are intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from the disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this transaction is strictly prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please notif~ the sender immediately and destroy the original transaction. 6/28/2005 IP17 MINUTES APPROVED CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 31, 2005 CITY HALL, LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM Members Present: Ernie Lehman, Bob Elliot, Regenia Bailey Members Absent: NONE Staff Present: Steve Nasby Others Present: Tom Walz CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairperson Lehman called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bailey moved to approve the March 17, 2005 minutes as submitted. Elliott seconded. Motion passed 3-0. DISCUSSION OF REQUEST FOR CDBG ASSISTANCE - EXTEND THE DREAM FOUNDATION Nasby noted that the Council Economic Development Committee had discussed this proposal previously at the March 17 meeting. He said that the Housing and Community Development Committee (HCDC) had met on March 17 and making the following recommendations to the City Council regarding funding for the Extend the Dream project: Economic Development portion of the project $88,000 Housing portion of the project $75,000 Nasby said that these funding recommendations by HCDC would go to the City Council as part of the FY06 Annual Action Plan that will be considered for approval on May 3. He added that the proposed project by Extend the Dream Foundation was asking for a total of $245,000 from HCDC and had been recommended for a total of $163,000. Elliott asked what was the remaining funding gap. Lehman asked if Walz had looked at other funding options. Walz said that he had talked to a private lender about financing the balance of the project at 1% interest for 30 years. He said that Extend the Dream would prefer not to have a large loan on the project because debt service would consume the small amount of cash flow the project may produce and he was hoping the project could be self-sustaining or generate a little income. Walz said that Extend the Dream has already done fundraising for this building and their main efforts were directed towards the production of a video. Walz said that about $20,000 was to go to the renovation of the 912 2n~ Avenue building. Lehman said that Bailey had discussed this as an economic development and public service project at the last meeting. Bailey replied that was correct and she is interested in funding the project in some amount. Lehman and Elliott agreed that the Committee's intent was to fund the project. Lehman asked if Bailey had an amount in mind. Bailey said she could do $34,000. Lehman said that Extend the Dream had asked for a Conditional Occupancy Loan for these funds and he was comfortable with that request. He also suggested that any funding received from HCDC, through the City Council, could also be a Conditional Occupancy Loan. MOTION: Elliott moved that Extend the Dream be allocated $34,000 from the CDBG Economic Development Fund in the form of a Conditional Occupancy Loan and that the Committee recommend that any other federal funds for the project also be in the form of a Conditional Occupancy Loan. Bailey seconded. Motion passed 3- 0. Lehman thanked Walz for his efforts and wished him well with the new project. Bailey and Elliott concurred. MOTION: Bailey moved to adjourn. Elliott seconded. Motion passed 3-0. Minutes submitted by Steve Nasby Council Economic Development Committee Attendance Record 20O5 Term Name Expires 02/01 02/17 3117 3/31 06/21 00/00 00/00 Regenia Bailey 01/02/08 x x x x Bob Elliott 01/02/08 x x x x Ernest Lehman 01/02/06 x x x x Key: X = Present 0 = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = NolVleeting ..... Not a IVlember Mar an Karr ~"/~ Frort Gina P ~ters [gina.peters@ecicog.org] Sent Wedn( sday, June 22, 2005 4:29 PM To: Doug; ~,rnold-Olson & Assoc.; Brian James; CasieKadlec; Connie Evans; Dale Stanek; DeeVa ~derhoef; Don Gray; Doug Kamberling; GlenPotter; Gloria Jacobson; Hills; Howard R. Green; IA Environmental Education Project; J. Patrick White; Jan lesHouser; Jane Tompkins; Jeff D~ vidson; JeffSchott; Jo Hogarty; John Nieland; KellyHaywo~ th; Larry Dauenbaugh; Linda Langst ~n; LuBarron; Marian Karr; Mary K Mitchell; MichaelLehm~ n; Mike Goldberg; Mike Sulliva l; NancyBeuter; Pat Harney; Patrick Murphy; PaulPate; P~ ula Freeman-Brown; Priority One; F andyH. Fours; Rick Elliott; Rod Sullivan; RozenaMcVey; S ally Stutsman; Sharon Meyer; ShelleyAIlison; Steve Atkins; Tawnia Kakacek; Terrencek euzil; Thomas C. Patterson; Tom S/oboda; William Cooper; William Voss Cc: louise[ ob@mchsi.com Sub ct: Next P Jblic Leadership Group Meeting GmL Agenda.doc Dire~ions.doc (76 23 KB) KB) The ~genda for the next Public Leadership Group meeting is attached. The meeting is Wedresday, June 29, 2005, beginning at 5:30 p.m. South Slope Communi.~ations Cooperative has graciously provided t?e use of their facility in North Liberty f,)r the meeting. Directions to the site are also attached. We ~re pleased that Susan Judkins of the Iowa League of Cities and J,)hn Easter of the Iowa State Association of Counties will be in attendance to present their perspectives on the most recent legislative session. We also encourage you to bring news and information about you~ community for the berefit of the group during the local community updates. Because we are meeting at 5:30, a light dinner will be served. I'd r~ally appreciate it if you would RSVP to Gina Peters at gina.peters@ecicog.org, so we can ptan appropriately for dinrer. Loo~ing forward to seeing 'ou on June 29th. Dou¢las D. Elliott Exe[utive Director ECI(OG 108 Third Street SE Suite 300 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 (31~ 365-9941, x22 (voice (31~ 365-9981 (fax) www.ecicog.org *** eSafe scanned this em~ .1 for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not oper attachments from unrecognized senders ** * NO Info Packet on 6/23. IP18 MINUTES DRAFT IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005 - 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. L1NN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Hagen, Brett Castillo, Kimberly Thrower, Saul Mekies MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Hoyland, Susan Rogusky, Phil Phillips, Josh Goding RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Goding reported that PATV will start producing the Open Channel programs, which had been discontinued. The program offers an open mic to any member of the public for anything they would like to cablecast. The program will be from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesdays. A producer forum will be held June 2 at 7:30. Logsden said during the summer months there are about 100 programs planned. A program with poet Marvin Bell was recently taped. The library recently cablecast live a reading by Linda Sue Park, a prominent author. Students from the Junior Highs were able to attend live and the 5th and 6th graders watched the cablecast. The event was quite successful and school officials are interested in holding similar programs in the future. Hardy reported that the Comanunity Television Service recently taped a city council candidate forum and two programs for the Friends of Historic Preservation. A program with the Chamber of Commerce is planned. The next Avatar program will be an introduction to the arts and cultural ~vents taking place this summer in Iowa City. Hardy referred to the memo included in the meeting packet regarding what equipment improvements might be made to improve the quality of the school district channel, particularly the programs taped in the board room such as the school board meetings. Castillo said that if the school district is interested in keeping the channel, they need to consider investing in staff. If the schools are indeed interested in utilizing the channel and interested in funding from the Community Television Group equipment enhancement funds and other possible sources of funding, then a staff position to manage the channel's operations is needed. It may be an option to consolidate the programming of the education channel with another access channel. Shaffer said that the Cable TV Division sends out informational packets to known overbuilders and others who would most likely to provide a competitive cable TV service on a regular basis. Shaffer said that Commissioners should be aware that the lack of competition is not due to inaction on behalf the City. Regarding the franchise extension Castillo said the City Council deferred the first consideration of the ordinance and continued the public hearing. Several Councilors thought the length of the franchise was too long. One Councilor mentioned the need for more "consumer value." Castillo was unsure what that phrase meant. The City Council needs to be informed what can and cannot be included in a franchise agreement. Don Williams will come to the City Council work session to help them gain a better understanding of the issues and process. Regarding the length of the franchise Castillo said that a longer franchise period is in the interests of the city given the de-regulatory environment. The franchise has a state-of-the-art clause contingent upon a 10 cost recovery period. If the franchise were for 3 years there would be no obligation for system improvements. The options listed in the Press Citizen editorial are not options. Qwest is not willing to offer cable service over DSL lines, allowing overbuilders to serve just sections of the City such as new subdivisions is illegal. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Hagen nominated Mekies for chair. Castillo seconded and Mekies was elected unanimously. Castillo nominated Hagen for vice-chair. Thrower seconded the nomination and Hagen was unanimously elected. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Castillo moved to approve the corrected April 25, 2005 minutes. Hagen seconded and they were approved unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Castillo reported that he attended the most recent PATV board meeting and talked about the franchise extension. Castillo will also attend PATV's June meeting. Hagen said he will be touting PATV in the near future. Castillo said he is working on a response to the recent editorial in the Press Citizen and will focus on what the options are regarding the franchise extension and competition. Mekies said that the recent Press Citizen editorial was unfair to the City and Commission. The answers to the questions they asked were available if they had done their job and made inquiries. The public is misinformed about the franchise extension and the Press Citizen is at fault. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer reported receiving 8 complaints. All that could be resolved have been. There was 1 complaint about frequent outages, 3 about high rates, 1 about having to call 4 times to get information, 1 about not get a deposit returned for 4 to 5 months, 1 about not receiving a refund for an outage, and 1 about an incorrect billing statement. MEDIACOM REPORT Shaffer reported that Koebrick called him to say he would be unable to attend the meeting. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT No representative was present. PATV REPORT Goding reported that PATV will start producing the Open Channel programs, which had been discontinued. The program offers an open mic to any member of the public for anything they would like to cablecast. The program will be from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesdays. A producer forum will be held June 2 at 7:30. Thrower asked if there were ground rules for the Open Channel program. Goding said the only ground rules are that speakers must sign a form stating that they, not PATV, are responsible for the content in the section of the program in which they appear. Mekies asked about restricting profanity. Goding said that there is no way to interrupt the live feed and that there have been no problems in the past. Mekies said he is concerned that the program will start at 8 p.m. and that it might be better to start later in the evening. SENIOR CENTER REPORT No representative was present IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Hoyland reported that the end of the school year generates more new programs such as graduations and music concerts for the channel. LEGAL REPORT No representative was present. KIRKWOODREPORT No representative was present. LIBRARY REPORT Logsden reported that June 12 is the one-year anniversary of the opening of the new library. During the summer months there are about 100 programs planned. Prominent among those is the summer reading programs. A program with poet Marvin Bell was recently taped. The library's Intemet classes will be taped for playback. The library recently cablecast live a talk by Linda Sue Park, a prominent author. Students from the Junior Highs were able to attend live and the 5th and 6th graders watched the cablecast. The event was quite successful and school officials are interested in holding similar programs in the future. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the Community Television Service recently taped a city council candidate forum and two programs for the Friends of Historic Preservation. A program with the Chamber of Commerce is planned. InfoVision has been doing some intermittent testing on the new Macintosh platform which should help make InfoVision more attractive and useful. The Media Unit will be taping many of the outdoor events and festivals scheduled during the summer. The next Avatar program will be an introduction to the arts and cultural events taking place this summer in Iowa City. Hardy referred to the memo included in the meeting packet regarding what equipment improvements might be made to improve the quality of the school district channel, particularly the programs taped in the board room such as the school board meetings. The sound quality has improved due to the purchase of some new audio equipment but could be improved more by people simply speaking into the microphones. The cost to improve the camera quality is around $15,000-20,000. The board room also has poor illumination. It is also difficult for one person to produce the programs by themselves. Equipment purchases could be phased in to spread the cost of improvements out. Thrower asked if it is necessary for the school board to meet in the board room and suggested that they might try meeting in the library meeting rooms, which have better video equipment. Hoyland said the board members are becoming aware that the quality of the video equipment is having a negative impact on the public's perceptions. With the district engaged in a number of new construction projects there is an opportunity to include video production equipment in those plans. Letters to the board may help promote that idea. Hoyland said Hardy's memo has been forwarded to his supervisor Perry Ross, Director of Curriculum. Ross forwarded a copy to Superintendent Plugge, and Paul Bobek, the budget director. Mekies said that at least the chair of the board of directors should also get a copy. Hoyland said that the Commission might wish to contact the school board with their concerns. It would be out of place for Hoyland to contact the school board. Hagen said the issue appears to be in the hands of school administrators at this point. The Commission should give the school district a chance to make some decisions. If it appears that nothing is going to change, then the Commission can step in and consider further action. Castillo said he is interested in staffing for the education channel. $34,500 (the top amount in the memo) is small when looking at the school district capital budget. If the school district is interested in keeping the channel they need to consider investing in staff. If the schools are indeed interested in utilizing the channel and interested in funding from the Community Television Group equipment enhancement funds and other possible sources of funding, then a staffposition to manage the channel's operations is needed. It may be an option to consolidate the programming of the education channel with another access channel. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer thanked Thrower for her service on the Commission. Shaffer said that the Cable TV Division does send out informational packets to known overbuilders and others who are would be most likely to provide a competitive cable TV service on a regular basis. Shaffer said that Commissioners should be aware that the lack of competition is not due to inaction on behalf the City. Castillo asked how many packets are typically sent out. Brau said around 15 are typically sent out. The recipients will vary slightly depending on the current market conditions. Thrower asked who the informational packets are sent to. Brau said it varies from company to company. Efforts have been made to identify the appropriate person in each company. The larger the company, the more likely there is a person other than top management with such responsibilities. The CEO is typically the packet recipient at smaller companies. Thrower asked if the City receives any acknowledgement that they received the packet. Brau said that he has received both telephone calls and letters responding to the packets, usually informing him that they are not currently looking to expand in the area and thanking him for the City's interest. Shaffer noted the chart included in the meeting packet that listed the costs of cable service around the state of Iowa. The chart indicated that Iowa City rates are about average. Hagen asked how many of the cities listed have access channels. Shaffer said that he has requested a list of access channels from Koebrick but has not yet received it. Hagen said that it might be instructive to see how educational channels are functioning in other cities and what might be learned from them. Shaffer noted the chart in the meeting packet on the use of InfoVision. Use has gone up dramatically due, in part, to the addition of the video on demand (VOD) service. REFRANCHISING UPDATE Castillo said the City Council deferred the first consideration of the ordinance and continued the public hearing. Several Councilors thought the length of the franchise was too long. One Councilor mentioned the need for more "consumer value." Castillo was unsure what that phrase meant. The City Council needs to be informed what can and cannot be included in a franchise agreement. Don Williams will come to the City Council work session to help them gain a better understanding of the issues and process. Regarding the length of the franchise Castillo said that a longer franchise period is in the interests of the city given the de-regulatory environment. The franchise has a state-of-the-art clause contingent upon a 10 year cost recovery period. If the franchise were for 3 years there would be no obligation for system improvements. Some people have made comparisons to Muscatine, who purchased their system from Mediacom and operate a system through their public gas, electric and water utility company. Muscatine charges $2 more the basic tier. Muscatine's basic tier has 3 fewer access channels, fewer broadcasters and several more general interests cable channels. Muscatine charges $38.75 for the expanded basic, which has a fairly comparable channel line-up. Muscatine does not offer any high definition channels. There are no planned upgrades or high speed Intemet service. The options listed in the Press Citizen editorial are not options. Qwest is not willing to offer cable service over DSL lines, allowing overbuilders to serve just sections of the City such as new subdivisions is illegal. TELECOMMUNICATINS COMMISSION PUBLICITY Mekies said the Commission might wish to be more proactive in regards to informing the public of their work and the work of city staff. Increasing public knowledge that there is a city office to resolve complaints is needed. Shaffer might go on the morning radio talk shows, for example. Thrower asked if Shaffer's phone number is on subscriber bills. Shaffer said it was, but is in rather small prim. ADJOURNMENT Castillo moved and Thrower seconded a motion to adjoum. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 7:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 12 MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD 01/01/03 to CURRENT Meeting Date KJmbcrl¥ Saul Meikes Brett Castillo Terry Smith Jim Pusack Thrower 6/2/03 x x x x x 7/28/03 x x x x x 8/25/03 x x x x o/c 9/22/03 x x x x o/c 10/27/03 x x x x o/c 11/24/03 x x o/c x x 12/15/03 o/c o/c x x x 1/2/04 x o/c x x x 1/26/04 x x x x x 2/23/04 x o/c x o/c x 3/22/04 x x x x x 4/26/04 x x x x O/C 5/24/04 x x O/C x x 6/28/04 x x x o/c x 7/26/04 o/c x x x x 8/26/04 did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet 9/27/04 X X X X X 10/25/04 X X 11/04 Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet X X X X X 12/20/04 1/24/05 X X X X X 2/28/05 X X X X Gary Ha~len 3/8/05 X X X X 3/25/05 X O X X 4/25/05 x o/c X X × 5/23/05 X o x vacancy × (X) = Present (O) = Absent (O/C) = Absent/Called (Excused) DRAFT POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - June '14, 2005 IP'I 9 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Loren Horton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Candy Barnhill, Beth Engel, Loren Horton, and Greg Roth MEMBERS ABSENT: Roger Williams STAFF PRESENT: Legal Counsel Catherine Pugh (7:05p.m.) and Staff Kellie Turtle OTHERS PRESENT: Captain Tom Widmer from the ICPD and John Haman from the Daily Iowan. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by Engel, seconded by Roth, to adopt the consent calendar as amended. · Minutes of the meeting on 05/10/05 · ICPD General Order #89-04 (Civil Rights) · ICPD General Order #89-05 (Radio Communications Procedure) · ICPD General Order #00-03 (Less Lethal Impact Munitions) · ICPD General Order#00-07 (Police Cyclist) · ICPD Department Memo #05-19 · ICPD Use of Force Report- April 2005 Motion carried, 4/0, Williams absent. OLD BUSINESS The Board discussed minor changes to the draft of the annual report. Motion by Roth, seconded by Engel to adopt the annual report as amended. Motion carried, 4/0, Williams absent. NEW BUSINESS The two year Council review is coming up. The next two Council meetings are July 5th and July 21st. Horton can not attend and requested Roth to attend. Roth indicated he would be available for the meeting on July 5th, Horton reminded the Board of the two vacancies coming up on September 1st and that applications need to be turned in by July 13th. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None. BOARD INFORMATION Barnhill asked Captain Widmer if there should be a Policy Statement on General Order #89-05. Widmer thought that it was just an oversight because it was an older General Order and would check into it. STAFF INFORMATION None. EXECUTIVE SESSION Not needed. PCRB - Page 2 DI~FT June 14, 2005 MEETING SCHEDULE · July 12, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Lobby Conference Room (Meeting Cancelled) · August 9, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Lobby Conference Room (Moved to August 16th) · September 13, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Lobby Conference Room · October 11, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Lobby Conference Room Horton commented that there will be no old business because the annual report had been adopted and the Chief's report is not due until August 3rd, leaving nothing on the agenda for July 12th. Motion by Roth, seconded by Engel, to cancel the July 12th meeting due to a lack of business. Motion carried, 4/0, Williams absent. Horton and Barnhill will not be able to make the August 9th meeting. It is unsure whether Williams will be able to attend. Tuttle will also be out of town on the 9th. The Board agreed to move the meeting to the 16th. Horton and Engel will be out of town. If Williams is unavailable the meeting will be cancelled. The meeting packet will be mailed as usual and the Chief's report is expected to be filed by then unless otherwise notified. If the August meeting is cancelled, a draft report on Complaint #05-02 will be prepared for the Board to review at the September meeting. Motion by Barnhill, seconded by Roth, to move the August 9th meeting to August 16th due to quorum issues on the 9th. Motion carried, 4/0, Williams absent. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Engel, seconded by Barnhill, to adjourn. Motion carried, 4/0, Williams absent. Meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2005 TERM 1/11 2/8 3/8 4/12 5/10 6/14 7/I~ 8/1~' 9/1'3 10/11 11/8 12/13 NAME EXP. Candy 9/1/07 NM X X NM X X Barnhill Elizabeth 9/1/08 NM X X NM X X Engel Loren 9/1/08 NM X X NM X X Horton Greg Roth 9/i/05 NM X X NM X X Roger 9/I/05 NM X X NM X OrE Williams KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting .... Not a Member IP20 MINUTES DRAFT PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION June 8, 2005 MEMBERS PRESENT: Craig Gustaveson, Margaret Loomer, Jerry Raaz, Phil Reisetter, Sarah Walz, John Westefeld MEMBERS ABSENT: Judith Klink, Ryan O'Leary, Matt Pacha STAFF PRESENT: Terry Trueblood, Mike Moran GUESTS PRESENT: Jim Larew, Elaine Ditsler, Bruce Walker, Ron Grasse FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Walz requested that the minutes be changed on page 2, last paragraph as follows: Walz asked if local parents could make a request for a different type of memorial other than the angel statue. Moved by Reisetter~ seconded by Westefeld to approve the May 11~ 2005 minutes as amended. Unanimous. Moved by Walz~ seconded by Raaz~ to investigate the possibility of approaching the Walnut Ridge Neighborhood to determine the feasibility of acquiring land and dependine on that, consider a plan to acquire land from Cardinal Ridge and gain permission from the University to eventually construct a connector trail to the Clear Creek Trail. Unanimous. PUBLIC DISCUSSION No public discussion. PRESENTATION BY "CITIZENS FOR PUBLIC POWER": Jim Larew and Elaine Ditsler spoke to the commission on behalf of the Citizens for Public Power. This group is advocating for City ownership of electric utilities. Their purpose is strictly to inform the Commission of the benefits of such ownership as it relates to Parks & Recreation. Ditsler gave several examples of city owned utilities such as Ames, Pella, Cedar Falls and Ames. In each of these instances, the main collaboration is with the parks and recreation departments. Some of the ways mentioned were sharing equipment to improving public parks through lighting and other electrical projects. Larew stated that there will be two referendum issues related to the establishment of municipal utilities on the November 8 ballot. 1) Whether City Council should be authorized to establish a municipal electric company, or 2) whether an independent board of trustees of five members Parks and Recreation Commission June 8, 2005 Page 2 of 5 should be that body that would run the municipal electric utility. If the vote is yes then a detailed business plan would be developed. The Board of Trustees or the City Council would then determine if the plan is feasible. If not, the plan would not go forward. If they decide it is feasible they would then take it before the Iowa Utilities Board in Des Moines. Larew & Ditsler distributed a packet showing the electric utility rate comparisons. The report shows that a municipal utility company would provide more funds via payments in lieu of taxes to governmental agencies, as well as charging 10-25 percent less for electricity. Information item only. No action necessary. CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR BOCCE BALL COURTS: Bruce Walker and Ron Grasse presented their proposal to place a Bocce ball court in one of the city parks. Walker gave a brief description of how the game is played and what the placement of a court would entail. The game is played on a flat surface made of crushed rock, limestone or sand. Court size is similar to a horseshoe court. Walker stated they would like to see one court placed in Iowa City and then perhaps more depending on the use. Grasse distributed cost estimates for a 12'x60' court. Total cost is estimated at $2000, but this can vary depending on size and materials. Trueblood had also included information in the packet relative to the game and court details. Reisetter stated that he supports this request and thinks the group should proceed with their proposal. Other Commissioners concurred. Trueblood stated that Parks & Recreation staff will work with the group to gather information on cost, location, etc. Walker and Grasse were asked to develop a specific proposal to bring back. DISCUSSION OF NEIGHBORHOOD OPEN SPACE ISSUES: Wild Prairie Estates: Located west of Hunters Run Park. The Commission, some time ago, accepted property in this subdivision as a future trail connection into Hunters Run; therefore the neighborhood open space requirement has been met. The developer (Jerry Hilgenberg) would like to sell us another parcel (outlot A). This parcel is approximately 2 acres in size and is located adjacent to the property previously accepted. He is asking $100,000 for this property. It was the consensus of the Commission that we not pursue purchasing this property at this time, especially in an area that does not have a neighborhood park deficit. Cardinal Ridge Subdivision: Located on the far west side of Iowa City, North of Melrose Avenue and east of Highway 218. The Commission briefly discussed this at the May 2005 meeting. It was decided at that time that the Commission needed more information before they could make a recommendation. The developer is not suggesting that we accept this land as neighborhood open space, but is tentatively planning on paying the fees in lieu of land. The estimated fee for this is approximately $40,000. They would be required to dedicate between 2- 2.5 acres. The $40,000 would have to be expended within that area of town and has to be used for acquisition or development, not for maintenance. Trueblood said he is concerned that we would be required to expend that within five years and does not know where the city could Parks and Recreation Commission June 8, 2005 Page 3 of 5 legitimately spend that amount in this part of town. Trueblood met with Planning staff and discussed the possibility of building a new trail through this development to connect with the recently completed Clear Creek Trail (running from Coralville to West High). To do this, however, Trueblood mentioned three issues: 1) The developer may not be interested in this proposal and prefer to pay fees. 2) The City would need to acquire land going through the Walnut Ridge Subdivision. As this is an established development the Walnut Ridge Homeowner's Association would have to be in agreement. 3) To connect with the Clear Creek trail, it would have to cross University property. During the Walnut Ridge development there was talk of a trail going through University property, which was not a problem then but needs to be considered as another possible issue. Moved by Walz, seconded by Raaz~ to investigate the possibility of approaching the Walnut Ridge Neighborhood to determine the feasibility of acquiring land and depending on that, consider a plan to acquire land from Cardinal Ridge and gain permission from the University to eventually construct a connector trail to the Clear Creek Trail. Unanimous. COMMISSION TIME Reisetter mentioned that he was biking through City Park and noticed a storage building located behind the ponds. He stated that the gutters on this building were in pretty bad condition. Trueblood will pass this information on to Parks Maintenance Staff. Loomer asked about the progress of the disc golf course proposal that was discussed at the May 2005 meeting. Trueblood included copies of e-mail exchanges from the group in packet. Nothing new at this point. Walz stated that she had a chance during the past week to work with a group of students from West High School at Hickory Hill Park. Terry Robinson provided mulch for that project and Walz expressed her appreciation. She hopes that everyone gets a chance to look at the rain garden located at the Blooming Street entrance of Hickory Hill Park, as it is quite spectacular. Westefeld stated he was very impressed with the Waterworks Park. He said that it appears to be very well utilized. DIRECTOR'S REPORT City Council has agreed to loan DogPAC money for the dog park. The roadway and sidewalk should be underway this summer. Parks and Recreation Commission June 8, 2005 Page 4 of 5 No new information regarding the Angel Statue. Trueblood hopes to include this item on the July agenda. Trueblood sent a letter to Michael Brothers with the Iowa National Guard inquiring about the possibility of forming a partnership with the City as they formulate their plans for their new armory. He has not received a response from them as of yet. Trueblood included in the packet a letter to Lane Plugge, Superintendent of the Iowa City Community School District that also included an invoice and itemized list of expenses for the Mercer Park baseball project. There have been some displeased neighbors regarding the red windscreen that was placed by City High. This will come down once the City High season is over. Overall this project has gone smoothly. McCollister property we purchased by Sandhill from the Iowa National Heritage foundation is officially ours. The Parks & Recreation Department is working with the Document Services Division to improve our website to make it much more user-friendly and easier to navigate. If anyone has any suggestions for improvement please send to Terry Trueblood. The City Park Rides opened up for the season on Memorial Day weekend with a huge turnout. Running smoothly to date. Trueblood announced that Bill Blanchard, Parks and Recreation Department Sports Supervisor, will be honored with a Hershey's Track & Field Hall of Fame Award at the meet this year on June 18. Weeber Harlock neighborhood has been asked for suggested names so that we may place a sign in that area. Benton Hill Ribbon Cutting ceremony has been rescheduled for early August. Trueblood announced that City Park will be 100 years old in 2006. He has been discussing ideas for activities with staff. Invited Commission to submit some ideas as well. With regard to the letter sent to City Council with Commission views on the idea of fundraising for small park projects, it has been clarified that the City Council's intention was not to ask Commission to perform large-scale fundraising, but to address companies and organizations such as service clubs, asking for their financial support of these small projects. The Commission will discuss this further at the July 2005 meeting. Walz mentioned that the Commission should look at reactivating the Foundation. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Walz, seconded by Reisetter to adjourn the meeting at 6:40 p.m. Unanimous. Parks and Recreation Commission June 8, 2005 Page 5 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2005 TERM NAME EXPIRES 1/12 2/16 3/9 4/13 5/11 6/8 7/13 8/10 9/14 10/12 11/19 12/14 Craig Gustaveson 1/1/07 NM X X X X X Judith Klink 1/1/07 NM X X X X O/E Margaret Loomer 1/1/08 NM X X X X X Ryan O'Leary 1/1/06 NM X X Of E X O/E Matt Pacha 1/1/05 NM X X O/E X O/E Jerry Raaz 1/1/08 ...... X X X X Phil Reisetter 1/1/09 NM X X O/E X X Sarah Walz 1/1/07 NM X X X X X John Westefeld 1/1/06 NM X X X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum .... Not a Member MINUTES DRAFT Iowa City Airport Commission June 9, 2005 Iowa City Airport Terminal - 5:45 PM Members Present: Randy Hartwig, Chair; Carl Williams; John Staley; and Dan Clay (advisory member) Members Absent: None Staff Present: Sue Dulek Others Present: Dave Hughes, Earth Tech; Michael Tharp, Intern; Ron Duffe; Dennis Gordon; John Yeomans DETERMINE QUORUM: Chairperson Hartwig called the meeting to order at 5:57 PM. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MAY 12, 2005 MEETING: Chairperson Hartwig asked if there were any additions or changes to the minutes of the May 12, 2005, meeting. Staley moved to accept the minutes of the May 12, 2005 meeting as submitted; seconded by Williams. Motion passed 3-0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: John Yeomans, Committee for the Big Kids Toy Show, reported on the May 20th-22nd show at the Airport. He stated that they had a good turnout at the breakfasts, as well as the shows, and he thanked Jet Air for their support. He stated that his committee will be meeting again soon to discuss next year's show, and that they would like to reserve the airport for the same weekend next year. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: A. Runway 07 Project - Earth Tech - Dave Hughes, Earth Tech, was present. They continue to work on the design and specs for the box culvert and grading and are getting closer to submitting this to the DNR. Hartwig moved to bring Item K- Jet Air, Inc. Lease with Hertz, to this position on the agenda. Seconded by Williams. Motion passed 3-0 K. Jet Air, Inc. Lease-Consider Grant-Consider Amending Nature/Scope of Project - Ron Duffe introduced Mike Miller of The Hertz Corporation, and stated that Hertz was interested in setting up an office at the Iowa City Airport. Jet Air and Hertz have reached an agreement; however, he wanted to speak with the Commission regarding what will be needed to be done (i.e., parking, office space, sidewalks, etc.). Clay noted that two things come to mind: is there going to be increased traffic in the area, and if so they do need to replace that surface area; and who would be responsible for renovations to the existing structure. Duffe noted that the inside of the hangar they are considering is already set up with an office area. Clay asked Miller how much space they would need for parking of the cars that Hertz will be leasing at this location. Miller stated that with the ability to move cars around between the various Hertz locations that he is overseeing, he shouldn't have more than 25 to 40 cars allocated for this location. He also stated that their hours will be Monday thru Friday, 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Saturday 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon; and closed on Sunday. Miller stated that at first he plans to have 3 to 5 employees, and that he will always have an employee on- call to handle off-hour emergencies. Hartwig noted that they need to decide what all is needed, and get some final paperwork drawn up. Dulek noted that they would have until the next Commission meeting, July 14th, to get everything finalized. Miller will check with Hertz to see if they have a standard agreement form, and he will be in contact with Dulek regarding specifics. The discussion turned to paying a monthly fee, versus a percentage of income. The cost of similar leases at other airports was also discussed. The issue of insurance coverage as discussed, as well, and Dulek stated that she would check with the City's insurance carrier to see what is required. Hertz will also be putting up a sign on the side of the hangar, and would like to find out if they can also put one at the Airport's entrance. Dulek will check on this, as well. B. Aviation Commerce Park - Hartwig noted that Realtor Harry Wolf was not present this evening, but that the Wal-Mart project was moving ahead with the City Council's 4 to 2 approval at their last meeting. Clay noted that at the Commission's last meeting they talked about developing a land-use plan for the remaining areas of the Airport that could potentially be used for sale or lease, mainly the south end and the southeast comer. C. Airport Budget - Hartwig noted that there wasn't anything specific to report. He did note that he met with Deb Mansfield, City staff who handles the budget, and she explained the discrepancy in the Revenue account. Williams asked about the "City Vehicle Replacement" account. Hartwig noted that he couldn't answer Williams' question, but that he will check with Mansfield for clarification. Staley asked about the "Repair and Maintenance" account, and members asked if they could use some of this money for needed repairs. Hartwig noted that there is money for asphalt work. He will, however, check with Steve Atkins, City Manager, to see how they can spend this money. D. Airport Management - Hartwig noted that the present arrangement of management at the Airport seems to be working well. He further noted that he would envision a continuation of this setup, with possibly a temporary employee (TAPE ENDS) being hired to help out. Hartwig stated that he met with Sylvia Mejia, Personnel Administrator, recently to put together a job description for this position. This position would need to handle the daily mail, completing check requests, handling the daily bookkeeping duties, and basic office management duties. Clay noted that this person could also handle the Commission's meeting agendas and packets, instead of having Dulek handle this task. Hartwig noted that he himself would like to see the Commission members more involved in the Airport operations. Clay stated that he would like to see the Commission make a decision to continue with the current management system, for at least the next year, so they can report to the City Council that they have made this decision and give some closure to this issue before moving forward: It was noted that the FBO's contract to provide Airport Manager services is up at the end of June, and then it will go month-to-month. Duffe noted that they definitely are interested in continuing their contract. Staley moved that the Commission proceed under the assumption that the negotiations with the FBO be consistent with the development of this new position and give Itartwig the authority to work with Iluman Resources to create a job description and advertise for this new position; seconded by Williams. Motion passed 3-0. Clay then commented that the people at the University of Dubuque have been very pleased with the opportunity for their students to participate in the internships at the Iowa City Airport. Clay noted that Elizabeth Freiburger, one of this year's interns, has left for a full-time position elsewhere. He further stated that the University of Dubuque has asked for some feedback on this program, and has also asked if the Airport would be interested in taking more interns. Clay will be meeting with Mike and Elizabeth, and he asked the members to give him any feedback on the intern program. Tharp noted that he would be interested in this new position. E. T-Hangar Leases - Hartwig recused himself from discussion on whether to increase the rent due to a conflict of interest (he is a t-hangar tenant). Williams noted that his feeling was that they keep the rates the same on the older hangars, as they need to do some repairs before any increases are made. Tharp gave the members some feedback on what other airports charge, and what is included in their monthly fees. He stated that he felt they could make increases on the newer hangars, I, J and K. The discussion continued with members giving their feedback on this issue. Dennis Gordon stated that the need for more T-hangars is great, and they should address how they could build more hangars. Clay noted that the Airport's debt is more of an issue, and once that is taken care of, they can then consider new hangars. Staley moved that they increase the rate on Hangars I, J and K by $10/month, and to keep the rent 'as is' on the older hangars; seconded by Williams. Motion passed 2-0 with Itartwig recusing himself. Hartwig noted that these rates would not go into effect until October 1st, so he would like to see repairs done before then. He then asked if members felt there was anything else in the lease itself that needed changed. Discussion centered around the addition of a date or time frame when there is a sold airplane and an open hangar. It was suggested to add the wording: The Commission shall have the option to exercise termination of the lease 90 days after the sale of the airplane, if the hangar is still empty. (TAPE ENDS) The discussion turned to the issue of people painting in the hangars, and the problems that have been encountered with this. Dulek noted that they could add wording to exclude painting in the lease. Dulek will work on this wording. F. T-Hangar Waiting List Policy - Hartwig noted that he and Tharp worked on this policy, and that he feels it is important to adopt such a policy. Williams moved to adopt the proposed "Hangar Waiting List Policy"; seconded by Staley. Motion passed 3-0. G. Obstruction Mitigation Project - Stanley consultants - Hartwig noted that there wasn't anything new to report. H. Airport Viewing Area - Clay noted that Freiburger was working on this project. Clay currently is adding details to the plan regarding the shelter (i.e., height, etc.). Williams asked if they had a revised cost on this project. Clay will check with Freiburger on what she found out. It was also noted that grant money is available for the fencing in this project. I. Building H - Hartwig opened the public heating on the Hangar Use Agreement with the University of Iowa for Space in Building H. No one came forward to address the Commission; public heating was closed. Staley asked if the simulator was still working, and he read from the agreement where it states this space is for the simulator. An addition to the wording was discussed, where it would state, "The use of this space is for aviation research." Staley moved to approve the resolution approving the Hangar Use Agreement with the University of Iowa for Space in Building It, with the addition to the agreement to include "for aviation research"; seconded by Williams. Resolution A-05-10 passed on a roll call vote, 3/0. J. Iowa Department of Transportation Grant z Consider Amending Nature/Scope of Project - Hartwig noted that this involves putting hard-surface floors in buildings B and C. This money cannot be used to fix the roof on building K. The Commission authorized the Chair to move forward with the grant. K. (see above) L. Consider motion to adjourn to closed session to discuss imminent litigation - Itartwig moved to adjourn to closed session; seconded by Staley. Motion passed 3-0 on a roll call vote. Commission adjourned to closed session at this time. Commission reconvened in open session. Williams moved that Dulek proceed and file court actions, if necessary, to evict the t-hangar tenant and to obtain money judgment for unpaid rent; seconded by Staley. Motion passed 3-0. REPORTS OF CHAIRPERSON, COMMISSION MEMBERS, AND STAFF: Hartwig noted that they received a questionnaire from the State concerning WAAS instrument approaches and Hughes commented on this, stating it has to do with "environmental impacts". Williams noted that he would like to have something added to the agenda - the emergency plan. He said they next need to invite all of the people who would be involved in this, and have a "day of emergency" or drill. Williams will make some contacts and will let members know what he finds out. Clay again thanked Intern Freiburger for her help this past year, and he wishes her well in her new position. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR JULY 14, 2005, at 5:45 PM. ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM. Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2005 ~vleetl~ g TERM 1/13 2/10 2/16 3/10 4/14 5/12 6/9 I NAME EXP. Daniel Clay 3/1/08 O/E X X X X ...... Randy 3/1/09 X X X X X X X Hartwig Michelle 3/1/07 X X X X X O O Robnett John Staley 3/1/06 X X X X X X X Carl 3/1/10 X X X X X X X Williams I I KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting .... Not a Member MINUTES PRELIMINARY CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE TUESDAY, JUNE 21,2005, 11:00 A.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL IP22 Members Present: Ernie Lehman, Bob Elliot, Regenia Bailey Members Absent: None Staff Present: Steve Nasby Visitors: CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Lehman called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Elliot moved to accept the minutes as written. Bailey seconded. Motion passed 3-0. DISCUSSI©N AND SCHEDULING OF BUSINESS VISITS Nasby said that the previous Council Economic Development Committee had wanted to start a business visit program as a means to build and enhance the relationships between the City and the private sector. He noted that ICAD does synchronicity visits, which is a list of prepared questions to gather data and note trends. The business visits made by the City Council and staff are designed to be less formal. Lehman noted the committee is asking the businesses to grade its (the City's) progress, and the response in the past has been very positive. Elliot said he would like the businesses to take the lead, but also to have an agreed-upon area of interest, so that the committee members have similar approaches to the visits. There may be certain questions all of the businesses are asked. For example, if there are any things the businesses would like to change, and whether it would be beneficial to have meetings between City Staff and/or Council and representatives of the commercial interests in the city. Bailey said her understanding from Lehman's explanation is that these meetings are regular check-in visits similar to what occurs regularly with non-profit organizations, so the approach and topics are individually tailored to each group. Lehman agreed, but added that in the past the committee has tried to gather information about how things could be improved, particularly with businesses that have done work such as improvements and construction. Feedback is needed on their perceptions about how the city staff addresses their needs. He added that the businesses have been fairly open and candid in past meetings. Elliot said there can be different perceptions between citizen commissions and staff. For example, from his previous work with ACT in their expansion, there were very negative comments regarding Planning and Zoning, and but very positive help from staff. Lehman said in that instance there was a rough point regarding the planned location of the street, which was moved after ACT had planned around its first location. At first there was no dialogue or discussion, but then negotiations opened up later and resolved the issue positively for all parties. Elliot said that as Bailey has noted in the past, there is interest in the process, how well the different parties work together. Lehman said it is a public relations activity. Bailey asked Nasby if he attends the meetings. Nasby said he went to all the meetings last time, which helps build relationships with staff, and facilitates a point of contact. Bailey and Elliot agreed that it gives contact and visibility to the staff, though it takes up a lot of time. Lehman suggested sharing the visits with some of the Council members, because of the nature of the visits. He said it is important for all of the Council members to understand what these visits are about. Also, since they are public relations meetings and Nasby will be involved, it might be beneficial for more Council members to be involved. Elliot asked if Lehman is suggesting Council people also do visits. Lehman said yes. City Council Economic Development Committee Minutes June 21,2005 Page 2 Elliott noted that there are a lot of contacts for the three people on the Council Economic Development Committee to cover. Lehman said three people have done it in the past, but it would be good for the Council members to hear what the committee members hear. Elliot agreed, and suggested having the committee members get together for a debriefing. Lehman suggested that staff take notes on the comments received, and then could do a synopsis, both on strong points and those that need improvement. Elliot said he agrees that it would be good to involve Council members who would like to do it, and those who do not wish to be involved would not be required to make visits. Bailey said the committee should do the bulk of the visits, but the Council members could be invited to be involved. Bailey asked what the criteria were to get on the list. Nasby said the cutoff was the number of employees. Bailey asked if there are smaller businesses that are growing that should be on the list. Nasby said that last time, the committee started with the large-employer list, then moved to other tiers, completing about 100 visits in all. Elliot asked how the meetings were set up. Nasby said last time he set up the meetings based on dates designated by the committee members. He sent out letters and followed up with phone calls to set the meeting dates and times. Elliot asked if meeting with city staff should be addressed. Bailey said that Nasby will be present, and having a staff point person provided who people can go to with questions or concerns should be sufficient. Lehman agreed, and added that a council contact should be given as well. That should be fine as long as there are no major issues of concern. Elliot asked if the meetings will be taped, and whether Nasby will be taking notes. Nasby said they will not be taped, and he will take a small number of notes, specifically relating to concerns with the city and things that need to be addressed. Elliot said that the more the meetings seem recorded, the more reticent the feedback might be. Nasby said it is a conversation about how to provide better services. The committee members reviewed the list of businesses and chose who would contact each company. Lehman will do City Carton, Four Oaks, General Mills, Heartland Express, the School District, Menard's, McComas-Lacina, The University of Iowa, and Wal-Mart. He suggested including Joe Raso in the exit interview with General Mills. Bailey will do Buckle Down, CEC, Hills Bank, Press Citizen, Iowa Interstate Railroad, Loparex, Noel- Levitz, Oral B, Proctor & Gamble, and UI Hospitals. Elliot will do ACT, Bankers Advertising, Fresh Foods Concepts, Iowa State Bank, Mercy Hospital, NCS, Oaknoll, and United Natural Food. Council members will be invited to visit Cub Foods, Goodwill, Hy-Vee, Knutson, Lear, MCI, Moore, Seabury & Smith, MECCA, Quality Inn, Sheraton, USPS, US Bank, and Worley. Nasby said he would send out letters to the companies, then call to follow up and get some possible dates for the meetings. Then he will contact the committee members. He would like to start the meetings after July 15. Bailey said she would be on vacation August 3-12. Lehman said he would probably be gone the first 10 days of August. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE ISSUES Nasby said some interest has been expressed about a discussion regarding the movement of freight in Iowa City. For example, Lear has 90 semis going in and out per day, and that is only one company, so there are a lot of trucks moving in and out of the industrial parks. He added that there is also rail traffic, but not at the level of the vehicle traffic. Elliot asked if the issue was specifically freight, or traffic in and out of their facilities, including cars. Nasby said the issue was brought up under freight (including railroad cars), but could also be the beer trucks downtown. Lehman said trucks are different than cars. Bailey said there is a difference between industries, with companies like ACT who have a lot of car traffic having similar concerns. Elliot noted that some companies like P&G have both types of traffic. Nasby asked if there is interest in having a larger meeting to talk about the issue. Bailey asked what the question or issue is. Nasby said movement of freight, whether or not there are problems with it, and if so, City Council Economic Development Committee Minutes June 21,2005 Page 3 what are they and how can those issues be resolved. Bailey suggested seeing if that concern is raised in the business visits. Lehman agreed that could be included in discussion with companies in the industrial parks. Lehman added that he does not think the downtown deliveries issue falls under the purview of this committee. Bailey said that Council should address downtown delivery issues should. Elliot said that discussion should include input from the merchants. Nasby confirmed that the freight question will be postponed until after the business visits. Nasby said the other issue is wireless Internet (wi-fi). He said that the Library had been offering wireless Internet within their building, but recently antennas were added so that the signal reaches the pedestrian mall as well. Currently this type of internet service is being promoted by the James Gang and cultural corridor groups, but there is interest among private providers as well. The question is how to facilitate allowing these groups to provide service. Bailey said the committee should start talking about telecommunications infrastructure and future needs with the businesses during the visits. She said this is fundamental economic development infrastructure. Nasby noted there is a growing need for this type of data capacity. Elliot said it should be investigated, but caution is needed because technology improves and changes so much. He added that he is interested in having wireless access in various places downtown, perhaps the pedestrian mall and the Pentacrest. Bailey suggested all the parks. Nasby said that from an economic standpoint, the issue could be addressed in the business visits, but it will also be a policy question at some point. Bailey said that some education would be needed for the members of the committee, so that everyone is on the same page. The discussion can begin in the visits, but perhaps at the larger meeting a presentation could be given about telecommunications technology, and implications for policy makers. Lehman agreed. Elliot noted he heard different views on the question of wi-fi depending on who he talked to. Nasby said one difference would be between monitoring the system versus simply installing the equipment. Elliot agreed that educating the committee members would be beneficial. Elliot said he spoke to Lisa Spellman and Jeff Koenig about the increasing number of consulting companies. He said creating a point of contact for these companies would be beneficial, to loosely organize them. Lehman asked for clarification. Elliot suggested meeting with the known consulting companies after doing the first round of business visits, to learn about their concerns and suggestions, and help coordinate them. Lehman asked what would be coordinated. Elliot said to let them know who in the city to contact, especially if they are new to the area. Lehman asked where consultants fit into ICAD. Nasby said he thought they would fall into the realm of retail business. Bailey suggested partnering with the Chamber of Commerce, to give a networking opportunity that is geared toward small businesses and consultants. Nasby said the Chamber was working in this area with the SEED initiative. Bailey said networking is a vital component for small business. Lehman agreed that could be facilitated. Bailey said the host would present information resources and answer questions. Elliot and Lehman agreed. Elliot said he would like to meet more frequently. Nasby suggested planning to meet once per month, and meetings could be cancelled if nothing is pending. STAFF UPDATE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES Nasby said the CEBA deal with Lear is almost done. The state is finalizing the agreement with them. He noted that the City's agreement is signed. Also, TIF rebate checks were given out a week ago. Graham Packaging, Seabury-Smith and Sycamore Mall were the ones that went out. Elliot asked if the rebate is the required process, rather than not having the companies pay the taxes. Nasby said that there are options on using TIF, but for property tax rebates this is the way it is set up in state law. If the companies did not pay, that would be a tax exemption rather than a rebate, which would City Council Economic Development Committee Minutes June 21, 2005 Page 4 fall under a different section of the Iowa Code. Lehman said the process allows use of the city's numbers, so there is no dispute about how the totals are figured. Nasby noted that the process in place works well. Nasby said that the brochure sample in the packets was for companies that wish to locate in Iowa City, to give out when people inquire about locations, available land, or other information. He said that discussions with the ICAD office are planned to get the same information on the web as well. Elliot asked about the availability of all the listed properties. Nasby said the information is about the current owners, whether or not they have plans to develop the land. Nasby said there are three brochures, the 1-80 Office Park, included in the packets, plus the southeast industrial park by Scott Boulevard and the Mormon Trek extension by the airport. Bailey agreed that it would be very useful to put it on the web. Nasby said that he is working with a couple retailers and a manufacturing company that are looking to expand or locate in Iowa City. Nasby noted the advertisement for the CDBG loan program ran, a copy of which was included in the packets. Bailey asked if there was any response. Nasby said he has had a couple phone calls and expects applications. Bailey asked if there would be participation in the Diversity Network started by some people from Rockwell-Collins. Nasby said he was not aware of the event. Bailey said there will be a meeting, and said she will gather more information. SET NEXT MEETING DATE Next meeting was set for 9:00 a.m. for Tuesday, July 19. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned. s:lpcdl~nuteslecodev120051edc06-21-05.doc City Council Economic Development Committee Minutes June 21,2005 Page 5 Council Economic Development Committee Attendance Record 2005 Term Name Expires 02101 02/17 3/'11 3/31 06/2'1 00/00 00/00 Re~lenia Bailey 01/02/08 x x x x X Bob £11iott 01/02/08 x x x x X Ernest Lehman 01/02/06 x x x x X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting ..... Not a Member MINUTES DRAFT IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005 - 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. L1NN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Hagen, Brett Castillo, Kimberly Thrower, Saul Mekies MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Hoyland, Susan Rogusky, Phil Phillips, Josh Goding RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Goding reported that PATV will start producing the Open Channel programs, which had been discontinued. The program offers an open mic to any member of the public for anything they would like to cablecast. The program will be from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesdays. A producer forum will be held June 2 at 7:30. Logsden said during the summer months there are about 100 programs planned. A program with poet Marvin Bell was recently taped. The library recently cablecast live a reading by Linda Sue Park, a prominent author. Students from the Junior Highs were able to attend live and the 5th and 6th graders watched the cablecast. The event was quite successful and school officials are interested in holding similar programs in the future. Hardy reported that the Community Television Service recently taped a city council candidate forum and two programs for the Friends of Historic Preservation. A program with the Chamber of Commerce is planned. The next Avatar program will be an introduction to the arts and cultural events taking place this summer in Iowa City. Hardy referred to the memo included in the meeting packet regarding what equipment improvements might be made to improve the quality of the school district channel, particularly the programs taped in the board room such as the school board meetings. Castillo said that if the school district is interested in keeping the channel, they need to consider investing in staff. If the schools are indeed interested in utilizing the channel and interested in funding from the Community Television Group equipment enhancement funds and other possible sources of funding, then a staff position to manage the channel's operations is needed. It may be an option to consolidate the programming of the education channel with another access channel. Shaffer said that the Cable TV Division sends out informational packets to known overbuilders and others who would most likely to provide a competitive cable TV service on a regular basis. Shaffer said that Commissioners should be aware that the lack of competition is not due to inaction on behalf the City. Regarding the franchise extension Castillo said the City Council deferred the first consideration of the ordinance and continued the public hearing. Several Councilors thought the length of the franchise was too long. One Councilor mentioned the need for more "consumer value." Castillo was unsure what that phrase meant. The City Council needs to be informed what can and cannot be included in a franchise agreement. Don Williams will come to the City Council work session to help them gain a better understanding of the issues and process. Regarding the length of the franchise Castillo said that a longer franchise period is in the interests of the city given the de-regulatory environment. The franchise has a state-of-the-art clause contingent upon a 10 cost recovery period. If the franchise were for 3 years there would be no obligation for system improvements. The options listed in the Press Citizen editorial are not options. Qwest is not willing to offer cable service over DSL lines, allowing overbuilders to serve just sections of the City such as new subdivisions is illegal. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Hagen nominated Mekies for chair. Castillo seconded and Mekies was elected unanimously. Castillo nominated Hagen for vice-chair. Thrower seconded the nomination and Hagen was unanimously elected. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Castillo moved to approve the corrected April 25, 2005 minutes. Hagen seconded and they were approved unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Castillo reported that he attended the most recent PATV board meeting and talked about the franchise extension. Castillo will also attend PATV's June meeting. Hagen said he will be touring.PATV in the near future. Castillo said he is working on a response to the recent editorial in the Press Citizen and will focus on what the options are regarding the franchise extension and competition. Mekies said that the recent Press Citizen editorial was unfair to the City and Commission. The answers to the questions they asked were available if they had done their job and made inquiries. The franchising process took over a year during which time the City Council and the Press Citizen could have asked the questions now being raised. The Commission held a well-publicized public hearing at which neither the Press Citizen or any Council members attended. The public is misinformed about the franchise extension and the Press Citizen is partially to blame. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer reported receiving 8 complaints. All that could be resolved have been. There was 1 complaint about frequent outages, 3 about high rates, 1 about having to call 4 times to get information, 1 about not get a deposit returned for 4 to 5 months, 1 about not receiving a refund for an outage, and 1 about an incorrect billing statement. MEDIACOM REPORT Shaffer reported that Koebrick called him to say he would be unable to attend the meeting. UNWERSITY OF IOWA REPORT No representative was present. PATV REPORT Goding reported that PATV will start producing the Open Channel programs, which had been discontinued. The program offers an open mic to any member of the public for anything they would like to cablecast. The program will be from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesdays. A producer forum will be held June 2 at 7:30. Thrower asked if there were ground rules for the Open Channel program. Goding said the only ground rules are that speakers must sign a form stating that they, not PATV, are responsible for the content in the section of the program in which they appear. Mekies asked about restricting profanity. Goding said that there is no way to interrupt the live feed and that there have been no problems in the past. Mekies said he is concerned that the program will start at 8 p.m. and that it might be better to start later in the evening. Hagen said he supported the idea of the Open Channel program and encouraged public participation. SENIOR CENTER REPORT No representative was present IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Hoyland reported that the end of the school year generates more new programs such as graduations and music concerts for the channel. LEGAL REPORT No representative was present. KIRKWOOD REPORT No representative was present. LIBRARY REPORT Logsden reported that June 12 is the one-year anniversary of the opening of the new library. During the summer months there are about 100 programs planned. Prominent among those is the summer reading programs. A program with poet Marvin Bell was recently taped. The library's Intemet classes will be taped for playback. The library recently cablecast live a talk by Linda Sue Park, a prominent author. Students from the Junior Highs were able to attend live and the 5th and 6th graders watched the cablecast. The event was quite successful and school officials are interested in holding similar programs in the future. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the Community Television Service recently taped a city council candidate forum and two programs for the Friends of Historic Preservation. A program with the Chamber of Commerce is planned. InfoVision has been doing some intermittent testing on the new Macintosh platform which should help make InfoVision more attractive and useful. The Media Unit will be taping many of the outdoor events and festivals scheduled during the summer. The next Avatar program will be an introduction to the arts and cultural events taking place this summer in Iowa City. Hardy referred to the memo included in the meeting packet regarding what equipment improvements might be made to improve the quality of the school district channel, particularly the programs taped in the board room such as the school board meetings. The sound quality has improved due to the purchase of some new audio equipment but could be improved more by people simply speaking'into the microphones. The cost to improve the camera quality is around $15,000-20,000. The board room also has poor illumination. It is also difficult for one person to produce the programs by themselves. Equipment purchases could be phased in to spread the cost of improvements out. Thrower asked if it is necessary for the school board to meet in the board room and suggested that they might try meeting in the library meeting rooms, which have better video equipment. Hoyland said the board members are becoming aware that the quality of the video equipment is having a negative impact on the public's perceptions. With the district engaged in a number of new construction projects there is an opportunity to include video production equipment in those plans. Letters to the board may help promote that idea. Hoyland said Hardy's memo has been forwarded to his supervisor Perry Ross, Director of Curriculum. Ross forwarded a copy to Superintendent Plugge, and Paul Bobek, the budget director. Mekies said that at least the chair of the board of directors should also get a copy. Hoyland said that the Commission might wish to contact the school board with their concerns. It would be out of place for Hoyland to contact the school board. Hagen said the issue appears to be in the hands of school administrators at this point. The Commission should give the school district a chance to make some decisions. If it appears that nothing is going to change, then the Commission can step in and consider further action. Castillo said he is interested in staffing for the education channel. $34,500 (the top amount in the memo) is small when looking at the school district capital budget. If the school district is interested in keeping the channel they need to consider investing in staff. If the schools are indeed interested in utilizing the channel and interested in funding from the Community Television Group equipment enhancement funds and other possible sources of funding, then a staff position to manage the channel's operations is needed. It may be an option to consolidate the programming of the education channel with another access channel. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer thanked Thrower for her service on the Commission. Shaffer said that the Cable TV Division does send out informational packets to known overbuilders and others who are would be most likely to provide a competitive cable TV service on a regular basis. Shaffer said that Commissioners should be aware that the lack of competition is not due to inaction on behalf the City. Castillo asked how many packets are typically sent out. Brau said around 15 are typically sent out. The recipients will vary slightly depending on the current market conditions. Thrower asked who the informational packets are sent to. Brau said it varies from company to company. Efforts have been made to identify the appropriate person in each company. The larger the company, the more likely there is a person other than top management with such responsibilities. The CEO is typically the packet recipient at smaller companies. Thrower asked if the City receives any acknowledgement that they received the packet. Brau said that he has received both telephone calls and letters responding to the packets, usually informing him that they are not currently looking to expand in the area and thanking him for the City's interest. Shaffer noted the chart included in the meeting packet that listed the costs of cable service around the state of Iowa. The chart indicated that Iowa City rates are about average. Hagen asked how many of the cities listed have access channels. Shaffer said that he has requested a list of access channels from Koebrick but has not yet received it. Hagen said that it might be instructive to see how educational channels are functioning in other cities and what might be learned from them. Shaffer noted the chart in the meeting packet on the use of InfoVision. Use has gone up dramatically due, in part, to the addition of the video on demand (VOD) service. REFRANCHIS1NG UPDATE Castillo said the City Council deferred the first consideration of the ordinance and continued the public heating. Several Councilors thought the length of the franchise was too long. One Councilor mentioned the need for more "consumer value." Castillo was unsure what that phrase meant. The City Council needs to be informed what can and cannot be included in a franchise agreement. Don Williams will come to the City Council work session to help them gain a better understanding of the issues and process. Regarding the length of the franchise Castillo said that a longer franchise period is in the interests of the city given the de-regulatory environment. The franchise has a state-of-the-art clause contingent upon a 10 year cost recovery period. If the franchise were for 3 years there would be no obligation for system improvements. Some people have made comparisons to Muscatine, who purchased their system from Mediacom and operate a-system through their public gas, electric and water utility company. Muscatine charges $2 more the basic tier. Muscatine's basic tier has 3 fewer access channels, fewer broadcasters and several more general interests cable channels. Muscatine charges $38.75 for the expanded basic, which has a fairly comparable channel line-up. Muscatine does not offer any high definition channels. There are no planned upgrades or high speed Internet service. The options listed in the Press Citizen editorial are not options. Qwest is not willing to offer cable service over DSL lines, allowing overbuilders to serve just sections of the City such as new subdivisions is illegal. TELECOMMUNICATINS COMMISSION PUBLICITY Mekies said the Commission might wish to be more proactive in regards to informing the public of their work and the work of city staff. Increasing public knowledge that there is a city office to resolve complaints is needed. Shaffer might go on the moming radio talk shows, for example. Thrower asked if Shaffer's phone number is on subscriber bills. Shaffer said it was, but is in rather small print. ADJOURNMENT Castillo moved and Thrower seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 7:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 12 MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD 01/01/03 to CURRENT Meeting Date Kimbcrl¥ Saul Meikes Brett Castillo Terry Smith Jim Pusack Thrower 6/2/03 x x x x x 7/28/03 x x x x x 8/25/03 x x x x o/c 9/22/03 x x x x o/c 10/27/03 x x x x o/c 11/24/03 x x o/c x x 12/15/03 o/c o/c x x x 1/2/04 x o/c x x x 1/26/04 x x x x x 2/23/04 x o/c x o/c x 3/22/04 x x x x x 4/26/04 x x x x O/C 5/24/04 x x O/C x x 6/28/04 x x x o/c x 7/26/04 o/c x x x x 8/26/04 did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet 9/27/04 X X X X X 10/25/04 X X 11/04 Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet X X X X X 12/20/04 1/24/05 X X X X X 2/28/05 X X X X Gary Hagen 3/8/05 X X X X x 3/25/05 X 0 X X X 4/25/05 x o/c X X X 5/23/05 X o x vacancy X 6/27/05 James X x Vacancy x Ehrman (X) = Present (0) = Absent (O/C) = Absent/Called (Excused)