Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-11-12 Info Packet~ i ~~~®r~'~ ~III~ ~ „~®~°~ -~a..~_ CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET November 12, 2009 NOVEMBER 16 COUNCIL WORK SESSION IP1 Council Meetings and Work Session Agenda IP2 Memorandum from the Interim City Manager: Neighborhood Safety and Community- Related Issues IP3 Memorandum from the Interim City Manager: Legislative Priorities for 2010 IP4 Summary of Pending Work Session Issues MISCELLANEOUS IP5 Memorandum from the Interim City Manager: Gifts/Naming Policy IP6 Memorandum from the City Clerk: Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee IP7 Memorandum from the Director of Public Works and the Director of Planning and Community Development: Update: Flood-related activities IP8 ECICOG publication: Garbage Grapevine Fall 2009 Edition IP9 Invitation: Legislative Open House November 17, 2009 DRAFT MINUTES IP10 Economic Development Committee: October 20, 2009 IP11 Housing and Community Development Commission: October 22, 2009 IP12 Youth Advisory Commission: November 1, 2009 1 = 1 ' '~®'~~ City Council Meeting Schedule and -•....__ CITY OF IOWA CITY Work Session Agendas November 12, zoos www.icgov.org • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Special Work Session - OrientationlJoint Meeting • Outgoing and Incoming City Council • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Regular Council Work Session • Planning and Zoning Items "c,d,e,f,g" ^ Council Appointments • Agenda Items ^ Neighborhood SafetylCrime Related Issues (ref IP2 & agenda 4e(8)] ^ Legislative Priorities (ref IP3] ^ Information Packet Discussion (Nov 5 & 12] • Council Time ^ Budget Priorities • Schedule of Pending Discussion Items (ref IP4] • Upcoming Community EventslCouncil Invitations • Discussion of Meeting Schedules • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:OOp ,Regular Formal Council Meeting TENTATIVE MEETING SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p Regular Council Work Session • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1 Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:OOp Regular Formal Council Meeting • MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 Emma J. Harvat Hall 5:OOp Meeting with Legislators • MONDAY, DECEMBER 14 Emma J. Harvat Hall TBA Regular Council Work Session 7:OOp Special Formal Council Meeting (Continue Work Session if necessary) • MONDAY, JANUARY 18 Emma J. Harvat Hall Martin Luther King, Jr. Day -City Offices Closed • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20 North Liberty 4:OOp Joint Meeting r IP2 ^~_,;;,®~,~ CITY OF ICJ WA CITY ~~~oR~ Date: November 12, 2009 To: City Council From: Dale Helling, Interim City Manager Re: Neighborhood Safety and Community-Related Issues Time has been reserved on your November 16 work session agenda to discuss Neighborhood Safety and Crime Related Issues. As part of that discussion you will also receive feedback from staff on the Davenport, Iowa neighborhoods initiative. Included in your information packet is a copy of the report from Council Member Amy Correia regarding the Chamber of Commerce sponsored visit with Davenport Police Corporal Mike Berger, Crime Prevention Specialist. Council Member Correia, along with Neighborhood Services Coordinator Marcia Bollinger and Iowa City Police Officer Steve Fortman represented the City of Iowa City on that trip. Secondly, I have included below a summary of neighborhood initiatives and activities that City divisions and staff are involved with, particularly in the Southeast Iowa City area. I hope that you will find this information helpful as you address this matter further at your work session. Iowa City Police The Police Department continues to record and monitor occurrences of criminal activity in the southeast Iowa City area, as well as the entire community. Over the past five or six years, many types of criminal activity have increased in the southeast Iowa City area, while some others have remained fairly constant or even decreased. The Police Department's Special Crimes Action Team (SCAT), which focuses its efforts on areas where problems demand a higher level of police attention, has devoted considerable resources to the Southeast area, particularly in recent months. Chief Hargadine and his staff were involved in discussions leading to the development of the "Curfew" and "Standing, Loitering, and Obstructing" ordinances, the latter having been adopted by Council on October 6, 2009. Additional officers are routinely assigned to either foot patrol or motor patrol in the Southeast Iowa City area and the evening watch minimum staffing has been raised by one officer in order to increase officer availability for this assignment. In addition, late night watch officers are restricted in their use of accrued time off on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. As always, November 12, 2009 Page 2 the consistency of deployment of these officers in the Southeast area can be affected by demands for police services in other areas of the community at certain times. Since the reinstatement of the Crime Prevention Officer position on August 17, and the appointment of Officer Jorey Bailey to that position, Officer Bailey has made presentations or participated in at least 22 meetings and events through the end of October. Most of these relate directly to the southeast Iowa City area. He has resurrected the Neighborhood Watch program and is in the process of scheduling meetings. He has begun to document incidences of graffiti, is pursuing regular notification to schools of police-involved incidents relating to their students, and is working to enhance communications between the Police Department and the Iowa City Housing Authority and other rental housing providers. Officer Bailey is involved in numerous meetings with individuals and entities such as FASTRAC, Boys Lunch, Boys to Men, and Neighborhood Association meetings. He also represents the Police Department with such organizations as the Johnson County Restorative Justice Board, the School Attendance Taskforce, the Suicide Prevention Work Group, and the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors Work Group. Neighborhood Services The Neighborhood Services Coordinator has been working with Neighborhood Associations in southeast Iowa City to facilitate their reorganization into one Neighborhood Association to be known as the Southeast Neighborhoods Collaborative Association of Iowa City. That group has established a website and intends to survey area neighbors to determine their interests. Crime statistics for the entire city are being compiled for future comparison purposes. The Neighborhood Services Coordinator is participating in that effort. The United Way has granted $1,450 to the Grant Wood Neighborhood to implement a "Skate and Soar" project. This money will be used to purchase 10 pairs of roller skates (added to those purchased last June with a City P.I.N. Grant), and to fund workshops focusing on life skills, computer literacy, family management, and job hunting opportunities. The children of those attending the workshops will have an opportunity to participate in supervised roller skating. The neighborhood has recently learned that it has been awarded a $6,000 grant from HACAP to provide new computers and software for use by neighborhood residents for computer training related workshops. Rachel Carter, Community Development Specialist with HACAP, has been November 12, 2009 Page 3 very helpful in providing grant writing and program implementation assistance over the past few months. The Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Marcia Bollinger, has assisted in facilitating the Neighborhood Clean-up, with Reclaiming Roots, on October 24 and the Harvest Party on October 17. Recreation staff and neighborhood representatives will soon be establishing a schedule of workshops and other activities that will occur at Grant Wood school this winter and spring. Ongoing cooperative efforts continue with the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors (Good Neighbors, Safe Neighborhoods), Henri Harper (FasTrac and The Coalition), the Grant Wood PTO, the Broadway Street Neighborhood Center, and other resources. Marcia has recently received initial approval from MidAmerican Energy for the use of its $250.00 Community Grant to Iowa City to provide Motion Detector Adaptor Kits to residents in the Southeast Iowa City area at a discounted price. Kits are expected to be available as soon as December at a unit cost of $5.00 (a $17.00 value) through ACE Hardware on Mall Drive. The City will provide matching funds to allow more neighbors to participate. Marcia is also working with the Iowa City Human Rights Coordinator to assist a Conciliation Specialist with the Community Relations Service of the US Department of Justice, who is interested in assessing how that agency might provide assistance locally. Housing Authority Since 2005, the Housing Authority has maintained daily contact with all Johnson County law enforcement agencies and routinely exchanges information with the Sixth Judicial District Department of Corrections and with Juvenile Court Services. Housing Authority staff cross- matches names and addresses of active participants with Law Enforcement arrest dockets, the Johnson County Jail log, police reports and other available information in helping to monitor for illegal activities on the part of assisted housing clients. Each month a list of all active participants and family members, sorted by city and physical address, is sent to the above law enforcement agencies. Many officers email, call or report criminal activity in person to Housing Authority staff. In addition, the Housing Authority has a 28-E agreement with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which allows for the exchange of information and the ability to use those agencies' investigators, as needed, to conduct investigations for the Housing Authority. November 12, 2009 Page 4 The Housing Authority Administrator stresses that policies are applied fairly, firmly, and uniformly to all program participants. It should be especially noted that the vast majority of participating families successfully meet their program expectations and requirements. Housing Authority staff remain available at all times to help these families succeed. Family responsibilities (see attached form) are covered extensively at the mandatory family briefing and are reinforced at each family's annual recertification. The head-of-household certifies in writing that these regulations are understood and that they will abide by their family obligations. Families at the top of the waiting list for assisted housing are subject to a national criminal background check for the previous five years. Screening focuses on prior drug, violent, or other criminal activity as well as fraudulent acts or inclusion on any sex offender registry. The Housing Authority is the only landlord and provider of affordable housing opportunities in Johnson County and in the State of Iowa that conducts a national criminal background check through the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Housing Authority Capital Improvement Grants fund ongoing efforts to improve the overall appearance and wellbeing of public housing units owned by the City. These have involved such initiatives as the installation of landscaping features, the pending installation of a significant amount of bollard lighting in the front yards of many public housing properties, and the planned installation of motion detection lighting on some units as well as the possible installation of downward casting yard lights in some rear yards of properties on Whispering Prairie Avenue. The Iowa City Housing Authority also offers the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. The goal is to help low-income families bridge the economic gap by building assets, improving employment opportunities, and transitioning from renters of units to owners of homes. Workshops focus on financial literacy, credit repair, job seeking skills, and computer literacy. The Housing Authority also offers the Affordable Dream Homeownership program, the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership program, and the Public Housing Tenant-to-Owner program. The Housing Authority also provides a Homebuyer Education program in partnership with the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors Fair Housing Ambassadors. This program focuses on how to attain and sustain homeownership and focuses on a variety of topics intended to educate prospective homeowners in that regard. November 12, 2009 Page 5 The Housing Authority and the office of Neighborhood Services continue to promote the "Good Neighbors -Strong Neighborhoods" initiative that was launched in 2008. This initiative involves partnering with neighborhood associations to develop strategies to promote the peaceful enjoyment of a neighborhood for all residents. Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department The Parks and Recreation Department is involved in many activities at Grant Wood School and the surrounding neighborhood, many of which are directly focused on activities for residents of that neighborhood. For example, the Recreation Division provides Youth Basketball programs in the fall, winter, and spring. In addition, the Grant Wood Gymnasium is utilized for Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County after-school program, Grant Wood Neighborhood Association special events and classes, the Urban Dreams/Police Athletic League activities, City High boys and girls basketball camps, and more. The playground program at Fair Meadows Park is conducted annually and a free lunch program is provided in cooperation with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County. Beginning next summer the Parks and Recreation Department will also operate the splash pad in Wetherby Park. That is a $180,000 project funded cooperatively by the City, CDBG funds, P.I.N. Grants, private donations, and fundraising by the neighborhood associations. Housing and Inspection Services Enforcement of the City's Nuisance Property Ordinance began on September 1, 2003. Since that time, 1,151 cases have been addressed, with 209 or 18% of those cases having involved properties in the area bordered by Highway 6 on the north, Heinz Road on the east, South Gilbert Street on the west, and the City Limits on the south. One hundred-sixty of those cases were either from the Broadway Street area or Dolphin Lake Point Enclave (aka, Lakeside Apartments). There have been six instances where tenants have been evicted from their residence in the above-described area during that time. In recent weeks, the Senior Housing Inspector has conducted several southeast side neighborhood survey inspections, primarily looking for potential Housing Code violations. He notes that his observations are of a neighborhood that takes great pride in maintenance of its housing stock and landscape. However, there remain a handful of rental properties that are not well tended to, as well as their neighboring owner-occupied homes. Rental housing inspectors will be advised to give special attention to these properties when performing their inspections. November 12, 2009 Page 6 Planning and Community Development Department Representatives from the PCD Department, including the Neighborhood Services Coordinator, continue to be involved in a variety of initiatives focusing on southeast Iowa City. In addition to those previously mentioned, such as the Grant Wood Neighborhood clean-up day, and the Harvest Party, staff has facilitated the Community Development celebration at Wetherby Park, fund raising for installation of the Wetherby Park splash pad, Community Development projects involving CDBG/HOME funds that impact that area, the Whispering Meadows wetlands clean- up, Party in the Park events, and PIN grants. I have attempted to summarize for you the scope of activities we are involved with in the Southeast Iowa City neighborhoods. Certainly this is not an exhaustive list, and future initiatives are in the works as well. mgr/asst/mem/neighborhoodsafety11-9-09.doc IOWA CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY SECTION 8 PROGRAM FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES I. A family must give the ICHA a minimum 30-day written notice to vacate a unit. The family must give notice to the landlord in accordance with the lease. 2 Increases in household income must be reported in writing within 30 days of the change (Examples: employment start date; benefit eligibility date; when money is earned, not paid). 3 Newborns-you are required to report changes in family composition in writing within 30 days of the change. All other additions require prior approval from the ICHA before move in. 4 The family will not allow anyone to use their address to receive mail. If the family allows this, the ICHA will presume the person is an unauthorized family member. The client will always have an opportunity to refute this by showing proof of residence for that person. DENIAL OR TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE (24 CFR 982.552 & 982.553) The ICHA may deny assistance to an applicant or terminate assistance to a participant because of the family's action or failure to act as described below: *if a family is evicted from housing assisted under the program for serious violation of the lease *if any member of the family fails to sign & submit necessary consent forms *the family must submit required evidence of citizenship or eligible immigration status *if the family violates any family obligation under the program *if any member of the family was evicted from federally assisted housing in the last five years *if a PHA has ever terminated assistance under the program for any member of the family *if any member of the family commits fraud, bribery or any other corrupt or criminal act in connection with any Federal housing program *if the family currently owes rent or other amounts to the ICHA or another PHA in connection with Section 8 or public housing assistance *if the family has not reimbursed a PHA for amounts paid to an owner under a HAP contract for rent, damages to the unit, or other amounts owed by the family under the lease *if the family breaches an agreement with the PHA to pay amounts owed to a PHA, or amounts paid to an owner by a PHA *if the family has engaged in or threatened abusive or violent behavior toward PHA personnel *if any member of the family commits violent criminal activity at the subsidized unit or elsewhere *if any member of the family commits drug-related criminal activity at the subsidized unit or elsewhere. Tenants denied assistance by the ICHA are ineligible for rental assistance for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years pending the determination of the ICHA or the Hearing Officer. Signature of Head of Household Date Signature of Spouse/Co-Head Date The Violence Against Women and Justice Department Reauthorization Act of 2005 protects qualified tenants and family members who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking from being terminated from housing assistance based on acts of such violence against them. If at any time your assistance is in jeopardy and you feel it is due to a domestic violence situation you may notify the ICHA. A HUD form is available or you may provide other documentation you believe supports your situation. * Previously distributed as IP3 of 10/29/09 Info Packet MEMO Date: October 28, 2009 To: City Council From:- Amy Correia Re: Visit to Davenport Police Department On Wednesday October 7, 2009 I participated in a visit to the Davenport Police Department that was planned and coordinated by the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce. The following persons from Johnson County attended: myself, Rebecca Neades (Chamber of Commerce); Marcia Bollinger (Iowa City Neighborhood Services); Steve Fortmann (ICPD); Tracey Mulcahey (North Liberty); and Barry Bedford (Coralville PD). Cpl. Mark Berger, Crime Prevention Specialist, with the Davenport Police Department hosted us and provided materials and information about efforts underway in Davenport to support neighborhood safety and stability. Cpl. Berger shared information about three specific programs: Crime Prevention Unit (Staffing: Cpl. Berger & two crime prevention officers) The Crime Prevention Unit serves the entire city of Davenport and consists of two elements: 1. Landlord Education Assistance Program (LEAP): This is Davenport's nationally certified "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program." Cpl. Berger primarily operates this program. There are two basic components of this program: a. Landlord education: There is now a city ordinance in place that requires every landlord to attend afull-day 8 hour course as one requirement for maintaining a rental license. It costs $25 to attend in person. The City of Davenport has collaborated with the community college to make the course available on-line for $12.50. Property owners or their designated property managers are required to attend. Cpl. Berger provided copies of the training manual to us. Topics include Crime Free Multi Unit Housing Program, "Active' property management, Assisted Housing, Housing Code/Fire Safety, Eviction process, Nuisance Abatements, Civil Rights, and Drug and Gang Awareness. b. Criminal background checks. The Davenport PD offers to landlords free criminal background checks to landlords for rental housing applicants. The city has an extensive volunteer program (NIPS: volunteers in police service), and they have 25 volunteers who perform the background checks, which includes: arrest record; Iowa Courts check; Rock Island courts check; and will call employer and current landlord. The city ordinance requires that landlords perform criminal backgrounds checks. They do not make recommendations on if the landlord should rent to these individuals. The police department has afull-time civilian volunteer coordinator. 2. Crime Prevention efforts including Neighborhood Watch; community presentations on home burglary prevention, graffiti hotline, etc. NETS unit (Neighborhoods Energized to Succeed): (Staffing: 1 Sergeant & 6 officers) This is a community policing effort that started in one neighborhood (with 2 officers originally) and has expanded to five neighborhoods. The NETS officers are assigned to specific neighborhoods and build relationships with residents and landlords. They work cooperatively with other city departments and utilize the Davenport nuisance ordinance to abate nuisances in neighborhoods. For example, as officers drive through neighborhoods they notice abandoned cars, high grass, burned out street lights, etc. and take appropriate action to mitigate the nuisances. The city has one full-time attorney devoted to nuisance abatement cases. Officers are on bikes in the summer and on foot to build relationships with residents. Landlords as well as owner occupants will be fined by the city if there are a significant number of police calls to specific their homes. Patrol officers also have the capability to determine rental property owners from their computer in their patrol cars and contact that owner immediately after they are called to respond to problems at rental properties. In the Heatherton Neighborhood, there has been a 40% decrease in calls for service from 2007 to 2009. Cpl. Berger stressed that it is important to select community- minded officers that have skills in building relationships. NETS officers have cell phone and give their phone numbers to residents in the neighborhoods they cover. Cpl. Berger shared that the program has resulted in increased inter-departmental cooperation within the city. For example, the police are communicating with housing inspections regarding nuisance abatement and public works regarding graffiti on public property. There has been additional cooperation with community groups. United Neighbors and community corrections supports the police department to assist with graffiti clean-up on private property. Juvenile Detective Bureau. (Staffing: 1 Sergeant, 4 Detectives, and 1 Liaison civilian officer). The Bureau was established about 4 years ago and includes 4 detectives and a community liaison position. As in the community policing positions, it is important that the officers in this unit have specific skills and abilities in working with youth and their families. Other information shared: Rebecca asked about the role of business in community efforts to reduce crime. Cpl. Berger said that the neighborhoods selected for inclusion in the NETS programs are primarily residential. However, he did share that businesses can support crime prevention efforts by considering no loitering or no trespassing policies on their property and refocusing pedestrian traffic. Additional environmental strategies for crime prevention were mentioned, including: analyzing on-street parking policies -where is parking allowed, does parking block the ability for the police to see what is going on in a neighborhood? Overall, the visit provided significant information to consider as Iowa City continues to discuss efforts to reduce crime in neighborhoods. I appreciate the time Cpl. Berger spent with the Johnson County delegation, and thank Rebecca Neades for coordinating the visit. I look forward to discussing this visit with the Council, ICPD, Neighborhood Services and other City departments to determine any strategies Iowa City might consider moving forward. ~,! r®~ CITY OF IOWA CITY 1P3 E~C~R M Date: November 12, 2009 To: City Council From: Dale Helling, Interim City Manager Re: Legislative Priorities for 2010 Below is a revised outline of legislative priorities based on your follow-up discussion at your November 2, 2009 work session. 1. Funding support for Passenger Rail initiatives: a. Commuter Rail b. Extension of AMTRAK to Iowa City from the Quad Cities 2. Tax non-owner occupied condominiums as commercial properties 3. Hotel/Motel Tax -increase maximum tax option from 7% to 9% 4. Tax Increment Financing - no changes or further restrictions. 5. Alcoholic beverages a. State statute to restrict price specials and related promotions that encourage excessive consumption. b. State examination of the cash-only business of cover charges -there is local concern about underreporting revenue, as well as the concern that this is essentially a charge that supplements below-cost drink specials, thereby encouraging excessive drinking. c. Increase fees for liquor and beer licenses. 6. Increase fees for cigarette licenses (have not increased in over 20 years). 7. I-JOBS -support another round of funding of at least the same amount as last session - $118.5 million. 8. Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System -work with Iowa League of Cities to contain future cost to employers under this system. 9. The City supports the legislative priorities set forth by the Iowa League of Cities for the 2010 legislative session. With your concurrence, the above will be incorporated into a resolution to be placed on your December 1 regular meeting agenda, and then forwarded to area legislators in advance of your meeting with them on December 7. mgr/assUmem/legislative_priorities2010.doc IP4 SUMMARY OF PENDING WORK SESSION ISSUES 11/12/09 Priorities for 2010 Legislative Issues Trip to Washington, DC (NOVEMBER 30) ICAD Presentation - "Minding Our Own Business Report" (DECEMBER 1 Formal Meeting) City Steps Presentation (DECEMBER 14) Site Options for Proposed Justice Center (NOVEMBER/DECEMBER) Inclusionary Zoning and Scattered Site Housing (JANUARY/FEBRUARY) Meet with Historic Preservation Commission re: energy efficiency/green issues (after guideline revisions are drafted) (JANUARY) Nuisance Enforcement Site of New Animal Shelter (after FEMA final decision) Taft Avenue -Land Use Designations for Adjacent Areas Flood Response & Mitigation Update (PERIODIC) Alley Inventory (SPRING `10) Backyard Chickens (SPRING ' 10) ~.! r®„ CITY OF IOWA CITY IP5 ~' ='' ~~~ ~EN[C~R Date: November 12, 2009 To: City Council From: Dale Helling, Interim City Manager Re: Gifts/Naming Policy Outlined below is a policy guideline that I hope reflects Council's consensus with regard to the naming of public facilities. No public structure or any part thereof, public feature, or other public facility may be named strictly in recognition of, or in exchange for, a monetary donation or other gift made toward the funding of said facility by an individual, organization, business or corporation, or other entity. Appropriate recognition for a philanthropic act may be made in the form of a plaque, engraving, or other suitable form of recognition in acknowledgement and appreciation of a specific gift. 2. Public facilities, with the exception of buildings, may be named after an individual in honor/recognition of their service or contribution (non-monetary) to the community that is of historic significance. Such naming should not occur until the ten years or more after the individual's death. 3. All City Boards and Commissions, Departments and other City entities shall take into account these policy guidelines when conducting fund raising campaigns, naming facilities, or making naming recommendations to the City Council. (The City Attorney is look into how this may apply to the Library Board and the Airport Commission.) Clearly these are broad guidelines included, they can be incorporated appointed boards and commission City's gifting/naming policy. . If there are more specific things that Council wishes into the above. I recommend that you send this to your s for their input before finally adopting it as part of the cc. City Attorney City Clerk _~ r -~ ~;"'' ~~''r'~.~ A ~®/~~ ~~~ IP6 CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM DATE: November 6, 2009 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Marian K. Karr, City Clerk RE: Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee City Council directed staff to include minutes from the criminal justice coordinating committee. Attached is the report and discussion from the October 7, 2009 meeting with the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. Another meeting was held November 4 and those minutes will be included in an information packet after they are distributed. U:criminafjustice memo MINUTES OF THE JOINT INFORMAL MEETING OF JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COMMITTEE: OCTOBER 7, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Report on Activities of Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Coordinator ............................ 1 Report from Alternatives and Treatments Subcommittee ............................................................... 1 Report from Public Information/Outreach Subcommittee .............................................................. 3 eport from Funding/Grants Subcommittee ................................................................................... 3 Report from Facilities Subcommittee .............................................................................................. 4 Recommendation to Authorize a Cost Comparison Study ................................................. 4 Recommendation to Send a Letter to the U.S. General Services Administration Offering 150 Parking Spaces in Return for GSA Property ....................................................... 11 Additional Comments from Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Members ....................... 11 December Meeting Schedule Due to Conflict with Johnson County Council Of Governments g ........................................................................................................................ Board Meetin 11 Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building at 4:30 p.m. Members present were: Supervisors Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan; County Attorney Janet Lyness; County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek; Iowa City Representative Connie Champion; Department of Corrections Supervisor Jerri Allen; MECCA Executive Director Steve Estes; Bar Association Representative Jim McCarragher; Judge Douglas Russell; and Citizen Representatives: Professor Emeritus John Stratton, Iowa City Public Library Adult Service Coordinator Kara Logsden, and Consultation of Religious Communities Representative Dorothy Whiston; absent: Public Defender John Robertson. Also present: Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Coordinator Bob Elliott. The group decided that Harney would be the Chair of this committee and would run the meeting. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COMMITTEE COORDINATOR Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Coordinator Bob Elliott said the subcommittees have met and will be giving a report today so he doesn't have much to report. REPORT FROM ALTERNATIVES AND TREATMENTS SUBCOMMITTEE County Attorney Janet Lyness said they met and reviewed the report that was updated in March 2009. They continue to have many of the alternatives in effect. She said the electronic home arrest work release is still in effect but it is not being used a lot because Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 2 of the cost. The mental health screening and diversion is still going strong and they are regularly seeing people. Lyness said they switched the substance abuse evaluations from five days a week to seven days a week. It has been successful and the number of people that are having that done at the Jail has increased considerably. She said those screened are indigent at their initial appearance and are required by the Court to have a substance abuse evaluation as part of the charge against them. Lyness said this has helped because people who don't receive their evaluations cannot receive sentencing. She said a lot of people were coming in for contempt of court because they were not getting the required evaluations. Lyness said they met for a year to expedite cases on probation revocations. They have decided not to continue meeting. They were reviewing everyone that was in jail on a probation revocation and they found that people who were in jail and stayed in jail were people who needed to be in jail because of the type of violation or the level of offense they were in for. The ones who didn't need to be in pending their probation revocation were getting out quickly without them having to meet. Lyness said reduction of sentencing ratio for time and electronic monitoring has been discussed but there are not enough people on electronic monitoring. She said Drug Court is running and they have 14 individuals now. They are hoping go receive more referrals to Drug Court. Lyness said the DOT Court is going very well. That is for people who were driving under suspension or cases where people didn't pay their fines. She said in this court there is a representative from the DOT, a defense attorney, and a prosecutor from the County Attorney's Office so they are able know immediately from DOT what the person needs to do to pay their fees or get their license back. The DOT Court prevents people from getting future consequences that will amount to a lot of time in jail. Lyness said discretionary reward and incentive programs for inmates has to do with good time and is being used some at the Jail. Iowa City Representative Connie Champion asked what good time means. Captain David Wagner replied that anyone who is sentenced to 30 days or more in jail can apply for good time sentence reduction. He said provided they don't have any major rules of jail policy violations he approves it and sends it to the judge. If the judge agrees, the inmate can earn up to 20% off of their sentence and be released early. That is roughly six days off of a 30 day sentence. County Sherriff Lonny Pulkrabek said the sentenced people are not plugging up the Jail. The pre- trial detainees are the population that is difficult to manage and are housed out-of-county Lyness said they are evaluating other strategies to expedite cases and get people out of jail quicker if warranted. She will be meeting with the Public Defender's Office soon because they have someone assigned to work on pre-trial cases. Lyness said a low level Drug Court was suggested for informal deferred prosecution. They are considering that for alcohol offenses. Considering alternatives to incarceration, Lyness said they will continue to investigate utilizing more community services where appropriate. Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 3 Lyness reported on ongoing activities. She said there is a high risk unit at the Department of Correctional Services who will be monitoring the high-risk jail population. She said this going well and is enabling more people to get out of jail more quickly. Lyness said is a greater use of summons. She said the Jail is already using this for certain offenses and they have talked about increasing the number of the kinds of charges where once someone is booked on certain offenses, they are released from jail and told to return at 8:00 the following morning for their initial appearance. Lyness said some of the other options they are considering will involve more money and time. Elliott asked if electronic monitoring is something not done because of the expense, and could a private citizen who is incarcerated pay to do that. Pulkrabek said electronic monitoring has been in place for a long time. They have seen a huge decrease in the number of people that have applied for work release and electronic monitoring. He said they have lowered the fee. Originally the goal of this program was to get more people out on work release. Some people have been denied because they would be deemed a high risk. Pulkrabek said they had to raise the fee to cover the expense of the program. With the company they use now, the charge is $10 a day for either electronic monitoring or the GPS. Elliott asked if it is available at the discretion of the authorities and for a charge. Pulkrabek said yes. Champion asked how electronic monitoring changes the length of the sentence or jail time. Pulkrabek said two days of electronic monitoring accounts for one day in jail. Lyness said they feel that if they are getting out of jail there should be some additional consequence so that is does not just favor people who can afford it. Pulkrabek said the electronic monitoring to jail time ratio can be set by the judge. REPORT FROM PUBLIC INFORMATION/OUTREACH SUBCOMMITTEE County Bar Association Representative Jim McCarragher said the Public Information/Outreach Subcommittee decided they would need to add more members. They also decided to document the pros and cons of a joint facility for both the Jail and Courthouse. They started to discuss what public information dissemination resources they want to develop which included civic groups, political groups, and neighborhood groups. Neuzil said he wants to make sure the subcommittees are balanced. The members of the Public Information/Outreach Subcommittee looked at possibly adding some individuals from the City of North Liberty, the City of Coralville, the School District, the Public Defender's Office, or the Chamber of Commerce. There should be representation from a number of groups because these individuals will eventually be responsible for getting the message out. Neuzil said members of the subcommittee talked about restarting a discussion with the Vernon Research Group. After the cost comparison study is completed, he thinks they are back on message as far as their direction. REPORT FROM FUNDING/GRANTS SUBCOMMITTEE Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 4 Sullivan said the Funding/Grants Subcommittee has met one time. The members don't believe there is a need to meet again until there is more direction on the project. He said the subcommittee includes County Auditor Tom Slockett, County Treasurer Tom Kriz, and Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne. Those three people are probably most imminent with the County budget, and each of them expressed concern that money isn't set aside in the County's budget for anything related to a justice center. Sullivan said he was assured by Kriz that they could come up with $1.5 to $2 million if necessary, but he would prefer to have something budgeted. Sullivan said the subcommittee wants to recommend to the Board to set aside $1 to $2 million in the upcoming budget to have available if needed. If that money is not spent, they can add it to the reserve. County Auditor Tom Slockett said the amount in the reserve affects bond ratings so it would be to the County's advantage to have more in the reserve to get a higher bond rating. Elliott asked if the County will possibly be able to get a grant to help with the funding of the justice center. Sullivan said Emergency Management Director Dave Wilson is on the subcommittee, and he said there were grants from the stimulus package for similar projects. However, those people already had plans, and the County is not in that position. Elliott said he wondered if there is anyone involved who is comprehensively knowledgeable about potential grants. Sullivan said Wilson is knowledgeable regarding grant sources. However, Wilson told them they aren't yet in the position to be looking for grants because they need to be more set in terms of plans. Slockett said it may be advisable for the County to identify shovel-ready projects and have them ready to go in the event money becomes available. REPORT FROM FACILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE Recommendation to Authorize a Cost Comparison Study Harney said members of the Facilities Subcommittee met with Hodge Construction Owner Mike Hodge and Project Coordinator Kevin Digmann to discuss their thoughts regarding the Press-Citizen facility. Currently, the Press-Citizen has 7,000 to 10,000 square feet that they need. They have agreed to allow the Press-Citizen to use that space until developers decide they need the space or they rent it to other entities. Harney said Hodge and Digmann have a six month commitment during which they can determine whether or not the facility will meet their needs. If it doesn't they can get out of their contract with the Press-Citizen. Harney said Hodge and Digmann told them they would be willing to hold the facility for the County for approximately 7% of the purchase price while the County decides whether or not they want the facility. Harney said he would not recommend that, and the Subcommittee did not discuss it. Harney said that Hodge and Digmann also offered to build the facility to meet the County's needs and sell it back to them. Harney thinks that type of decision should be put before the public rather than being made solely by the County. Harney said the Subcommittee is recommending the authorization of a cost comparison study by Novak Design Group regarding the cost of building the facility at the Press-Citizen site versus a downtown site. The downtown site could involve either the General Services Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 5 Administration (GSA) lot or awrap-around of the Courthouse. The members of the subcommittee are also recommending that the Board of Supervisors send a letter to the GSA to initiate a process by offering them 150 parking spaces within a one block area of the present GSA facility. GSA would then have an opportunity to respond. Pulkrabek said University of Iowa Associate Director of Campus Planning Larry Wilson made a document that goes through the different steps they are looking for from this study from Novak. It does not just include the Press- Citizen. There were several things they all agreed were necessary to provide some additional information. The document is well-prepared and fairly comprehensive. Elliott asked if Pulkrabek is saying that the exploratory study would need to be done whether or not the Press-Citizen property was involved. Pulkrabek said yes, and they have been told that it will cost $15,000 to look at both the Press-Citizen and the existing Courthouse. It would look at the additional needs of the Courthouse and fill in some gaps from the Durrant Study. Champion said they should all keep in mind that Hodge and Digmann are not going to hold the Press-Citizen property until the County decides to put a jail in it. If they get renters, that possibility will be eliminated. She said most of the members of the Subcommittee agree that there should be a justice center in one location. However, they thought the study was not a bad idea but should be kept as reasonable as possible. The study will be important in the future because the citizens might ask why they didn't use the Press-Citizen building. They should also keep in mind that use of the Press-Citizen property will require rezoning from the Iowa City City Council, public hearings, and compliance with State rules. She said she is not so sure that is going to happen. Iowa City Library and Community Representative Kara Logsden said they are hoping the cost of operating a split facility versus the cost of operating one facility will be addressed in the study. The last time the bond referendum came up, there were a lot of questions regarding the operational costs. Sullivan said he agrees that was something they said was needed, but they also said it will come primarily from the Sheriff and not from the architects. Logsden said the information should come from the Sheriff and be incorporated into the study. Elliott said that the options mentioned at the last meeting were a combined facility downtown, a split facility at the Press-Citizen and downtown, or a combined facility at the Press-Citizen. He said the recommendation that came from the CJCC was to at least look at a split site. Elliott said that recommendation did not include mention of a combined site but only that the CJCC prefers the Courthouse operation always be in the downtown area. Neuzil asked if the study would be focusing on either a justice center downtown or a jail at the Press-Citizen and an enhanced Courthouse downtown. Elliott said that is their recommendation, but the Board can do what it deems appropriate. District Judge Douglas Russell said the Board of Supervisors voted last November that it would be a joint facility and it would be downtown. This study is to explore an alternative as a cost benefit analysis and to show voters that all possible cost saving alternatives have been explored. Neuzil asked if the Subcommittee discussion went Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 6 beyond the idea of money when they talked about cost. He said that in the past it has been discussed that it may be cheaper to build a jail at one location and to enhance the Courthouse, but there also may be inefficiencies and security issues associated with split facilities. Harney said they did, and they also discussed that the Sheriff would provide information regarding the cost difference. Elliott said there are many things to consider other than cost. If it is determined that there is a cost savings of $5 million to $10 million, the Board will need that cost figure to determine what other considerations there are regarding security, safety, efficiency, or operational costs. Logsden said they also talked about amortizing that cost over the life of the facility. Champion said when they decided it would be a joint facility downtown, it seemed final to her. She wonders if factors such as the Iowa City sales tax and the flood have given them more time to prolong making a definite decision. She thinks they should make a decision and start working on what they are proposing. She said that it wouldn't be bad to make a decision now and start promoting it, particularly in the rural areas. Neuzil said they did make a decision after the Durrant Study and that is why he has been very frustrated with this process. They agreed upon the justice center being downtown, and when the option of the Press-Citizen became available, they lost six to nine months because of the split in opinion. He said that in terms of this cost comparison study, they need to decide if they are going to continue to move forward to allow the split and use up more time. Neuzil said there is also a process to determine whether or not they officially authorized the study. He said that there are some issues that need to be solved very quickly. Harney said he doesn't think they have set it back six to nine months. A facility came up, and it looked like they could convert it cost effectively. He thinks they need to determine whether or not it will work for the County over time. If the Press-Citizen doesn't work out, he thinks they should look at a wrap around of the current Courthouse and work with the GSA for parking space in their lot and possibly a future expansion. Sullivan said that is not what the Board voted on after the Durrant Study. They voted on trying to pursue the GSA lot. If they are desperate and have to go that route, they can. He thinks they need make a decision because another property might become available in two months. He asked if they would then stop and study that property. Harney said if there is a setback, the Board can take responsibility for it because they haven't pushed along to get it done, and they need to do that. He said it is going to take a minimum of two years to get the GSA lot. Harney said with the wrap around, they could get things done and utilize the lot in other ways or as an addition in the future. He doesn't think they need it to start working. Sullivan said they should not have wasted the past six months if they are that concerned about two years. Stutsman asked if the Subcommittee recommended going ahead with the study. Harney said yes. Stutsman said she is taking the recommendation of the Subcommittee to move ahead with the study. Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 7 McCarragher said if they haven't explored whether or not the City is willing to make a change in the ordinance, why are they spending $15,000 to look at a site they don't even know they can have. He said that they have talked to GSA and have determined they might be about to get it. He asked if there has been any discussion with the City regarding whether or not they will rezone the Press-Citizen property. Harney said they can not legally do that. Champion said it would have to be a City Council decision. Neuzil said McCarragher has a good point. Neuzil would also like some assurance that the new owner of the Press-Citizen would wait until the study is done before renting the space if the County is going to spend money to study the location. He doesn't think the owner would be willing to do that. Pulkrabek said Hodge and Digmann told them they will be out of the contract if they can't get a number of renters in the next six months, so it may become available. He thinks part of the initial attractiveness of the Press-Citizen property was that they thought the County could buy it below the asking price, which would help on the other end. He thinks regardless of that, it has been enough of an issue that they need to forget about it. The study may help them put it to bed or ask the developer what it would take. Elliott said he doesn't think there is anyone who would prefer to have a split site, but he thinks the bottom line for the Subcommittee's recommendation was that an experienced and knowledgeable person from the justice system in the County indicated that there was a possibility of a $13 million savings. As a taxpayer and a voter in Johnson County, his first question is why they did not even investigate it if there was a reasonable estimate of savings up to $13 million. Sullivan asked where that estimate came from. Pulkrabek said it came from him. Sullivan asked if the group can at least agree not to investigate other sites after this one. Harney said it won't be a total loss even if they don't take the Press-Citizen. He said that part of it has to be done so they know what they are going to build compared to what they were told in the past. Sullivan agreed but said they need to decide not to go through the process of looking at more sites. Lyness said one way to do that would be to get in touch with the GSA and pursue an agreement. The Committee members have not contacted them since the GSA said they wanted a plan, and they haven't used their Congressional or Senatorial staff to try to push to get the GSA to make this agreement. She said the Committee members need to be doing that at the same time they are doing a study. If they don't do that, they won't know, and they won't have started the two year time frame. Lyness said that needs to be a priority. Champion said she agrees that needs to be done, and they are going to want the City to work with them on that. Pulkrabek said he would like to work with the GSA to get some time shaved off of the two year time frame. Harney said he talked to them about doing that. It may help to get legislators involved, but they were involved with the Cedar Rapids issue and it took over two years. Champion asked who he talked to and if he remembers who worked with the Federal Government in Iowa City when they did the Tower Place Parking Ramp. Harney said those individuals are no longer working there. Sullivan asked if they need to vote on the two issues. Harney asked if there is consensus to follow the recommendation Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 8 to authorize the cost comparison study. Neuzil said he is not interested. He said that although there is value in doing a cost comparison study, he thinks adding the element of the Press-Citizen property complicates the process rather than moving it along. He asked if the Subcommittee is making the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Harney said the Subcommittee is making the recommendation to the CJCC. The recommendation has to come from the CJCC to the Board. Elliott said the CJCC made a formal recommendation to the Board to explore the possibility of a split site. Neuzil said when the CJCC made the recommendation, there were three options. The options included a justice center downtown, a justice center at the Press-Citizen, and a split facility. Harney said those are still the options. Neuzil said that was the discussion in front of the Board from the CJCC, and he knows that has changed now. Elliott said the Board obviously has the authority to do that. Neuzil said he is not interested in that, but he is just saying that is what was discussed at the last meeting and is documented. Elliott said the CJCC formally recommended to the Board that they spend the money to explore the possibility of a split site where the Courthouse operation would remain downtown and the jail would be somewhere else. Harney said they are discussing two different things. Harney said he is talking about what the Subcommittee decided at the last meeting when they made these recommendations. Elliott said he is just saying that the CJCC made a recommendation, and they received it this summer. Pulkrabek said they were able to get a quick look at the Press-Citizen as a jail and courthouse. When Novak looked at that location, they said a 350 bed jail would fit and provided the cost estimates. Novak determined it would be approximately $1 million cheaper than the downtown site. Neuzil said if it is officially down to two options, then that is what they have in front of them to consider. Pulkrabek said there are still three options. The options include a jail at the Press-Citizen with an annex on the current Courthouse, a center downtown that includes the GSA lot, or a center downtown that involves a wrap around. Neuzil said he thinks one reason the issue was brought back to the CJCC is that they now have a full committee. Neuzil said at the time of the last meeting, the Board didn't move forward because the Press-Citizen had just been sold so there was a need for further discussion and for the subcommittee to talk to the developer. Neuzil said the CJCC would now need to make an official recommendation to the Board. Sullivan said they can put it on an agenda. Stutsman said nothing will get done because it will be a two to two vote right now. Russell said the purpose of this meeting is for the CJCC to make a recommendation to the Board. He said that the fact that the Board may be deadlocked at the next meeting is not the issue today. He said that the recommendation should be part of the public record, and the Board should be forced to decide, and if there is a stalemate, so be it. Sullivan said he doesn't think assumptions should be made regarding how individuals will vote, and he agrees with Judge Russell. Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 9 Consultation of Religious Communities Representative Dorothy Whiston said she is confused because the information they have includes an option for a courthouse and a jail at the Press-Citizen. Harney understood that was included in it. Neuzil said that was on the list. Facilities Manager Dave Kempf said when they made their recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, they talked about coming up with a list of questions they would like to have answered if they do this study. At that time it was said they needed to look at having everything at the Press-Citizen. He said the Board asked the Subcommittee to determine if their recommendation had changed in any way after learning of the potential sale of the Press-Citizen property. They determined that their overall concept of their recommendation had not changed. Kempf said it is up to the CJCC to decide if it moves on to the Board. That is how the option of moving everything out to the Press-Citizen property got on the list. Kempf said he doesn't think Elliott was there. Elliott said since the CJCC has been reconfigured since that time, he thinks the Board would want a recommendation from this Committee. Neuzil asked if they can do that and to let everyone know what they would be voting for. He asked if there are four things on the list. Champion said she in not in favor of it. Neuzil said the four things are a justice center downtown, a justice center at the Press-Citizen, a split facility with a jail at the Press-Citizen and the Courthouse in its current location, and a justice center downtown using only the current Courthouse property. Wilson said when he did the outline, he thought there was a possibility of three sites and that is why three sites were listed. He was not recommending three sites. He said what he is suggesting is that the process would be the same. He thinks the wrap around is going to cost a lot more because of the proximity to the Courthouse. If they want to find that out, they could add it to the cost comparison. Wilson said the outline was concerned with location and the comparison of locations. Whiston said if they are going to consider the wrap around at some point, they should get the estimate included in this study, if they are going to go ahead with it. Sociology Professor Emeritus John Stratton said the Supervisors have the right to add things or take things out of the study to satisfy their concerns. Harney asked if the cost of the study included everything in it. Kempf said the estimate was at a discounted price, and Novak is okay with having the price in that area. Lyness asked what the recommendation is from the Facilities Subcommittee to the CJCC. Harney said it is what Kempf said. Elliott said it was his understanding that no one was interested in moving the Courthouse away from downtown at the last meeting. Champion agreed. Kempf said that was the general consensus. Champion said she doesn't think they will get support for moving the Courthouse. Harney asked if they are changing what the Subcommittee is recommending. Champion said they did not discuss all of these things. Russell said the committee recommended exploring the cost of splitting the facility or having everything downtown. Lyness moved that the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee recommend to the Board of Supervisors that they do a study to determine the difference in cost between having one facility downtown utilizing the current Courthouse versus have a jail at the Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 10 Press-Citizen lot and doing something to expand the Courthouse at its current location. Stratton seconded the motion. Whiston asked if they want to know the different in cost between the wrap around and the GSA property at this point. Harney said he thinks they should. Neuzil said that would be a part of Lyness's recommendation of exploring one location downtown. Harney said the reason for the study was to compare apples to apples, either a joint facility at the Press-Citizen or downtown. Stutsman said she thought there were three options. Harney asked why they would even do a study if they are not comparing anything. Sullivan said they should not do one then and should just vote. Logsden said there were two meetings. She feels like they stepped away from the option of having one facility at the Press-Citizen property at one of the meetings. Champion said she doesn't think the community ever supported moving everything out to the Press-Citizen. Kempf agreed and said he thinks that direction came from the Board of Supervisors during an informal meeting. Whiston said she is fine with the recommendation other than wanting to study both alternatives for a joint facility downtown. Her concern is that they are going to get one study done and have to do another study because they haven't looked at both options. Lyness said she thinks the study is going to be looking at space. Kempf said they would be looking at square footage rather than configuration. They will be ensuring that they would have adequate space for the Courthouse and the jail and also studying whether or not having a split facility would result in cost savings. Whiston said she understood they would want a cost comparison between using the GSA property and doing a wrap around before actually moving forward. If so, she thinks that should be done at the same time. Champion asked if they have some rough estimates for that already. Kempf said yes, they just need to compile it in a format that compares apples to apples. One of the reasons the cost of the study will be low is that Novak has already done a lot of the work and would just need to change the format of the information. Logsden said for this phase they are going to say there is X amount of square feet to be built, and they are going to estimate X number of dollars per square foot whether it is a wrap around or they use the GSA. If it goes to the GSA, they will add the cost of acquiring the property. Harney and Kempf agreed. Whiston said she thought she heard someone say that the cost per square foot would be greater with the wrap around option. Harney said he thinks there may be an additional cost involved in excavating behind the Courthouse. Sullivan said there would be a number of details and variables to be worked out within the option of a downtown site. Kempf said there would be a cost per square foot for renovating the existing Courthouse. Harney said there is a motion on the floor and asked all Committee members in favor to say aye. Stutsman, Sullivan, Lyness, Pulkrabek, Champion, Allen, Estes, Stratton, Logsden, and Whiston voted aye. He asked for the nay vote. Russell, McCarragher, Neuzil, and Harney voted nay. Harney said the majority of the vote was aye. Neuzil asked if it seems reasonable to put it on next week's Formal Meeting agenda for a vote. Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 11 Stutsman asked if they should wait until they have another Supervisor. Sullivan said they should put it on and vote. Champion agreed. Recommendation to Send a Letter to the U.S. General Services Administration Offering 150 Parking Spaces in Return for GSA Property Sullivan moved to send a letter to the U.S. General Services Administration offering 150 parking spaces in return for the GSA property. Lyness seconded the motion. Neuzil asked who is sending the letter. Harney said it will be sent from the Board of Supervisors, and they will have the Chair sign it. Neuzil said if the CJCC is comfortable moving it forward, they will put it on a Board of Supervisor's agenda. Stutsman asked where the 150 parking spaces are. Harney said they don't know and that is the issue. It could be in a City parking ramp or if they build a facility next to the justice center, it would be within a block of the GSA lot. Lyness said they talked about doing it within two blocks. Harney asked for the aye votes in favor of sending a letter. The motion was approved unanimously to send a letter to the GSA. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Whiston asked why the CJCC isn't on the website for the public to view agendas and minutes. Harney said there has been reorganization and asked Johnson if they could do that with the Board's approval. Whiston said she is representing the Consultation of Religious Communities. Harney said they will change that. DECEMBER MEETING SCHEDULE DUE TO CONFLICT WITH JOHNSON COUNTY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS BOARD MEETING Harney said the JCCOG Board meeting conflicts with the December meeting of the CJCC. Neuzil said the next meeting is November 4, 2009 at 4:30 p.m., and the conflict is with the following meeting. Stutsman said she wonders if they will need another meeting. Harney said if they are waiting for the study, they might not need it. Harney said they can tentatively schedule it for December 9, 2009 at 4:30 p.m., and they can cancel it if they don't need it. Whiston asked if there is a timeframe for getting the study done. Kempf said the timeframe is 30 to 45 days. Adjourned at 5:48 p.m. Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor By: On the day of , 2009 Informal Minutes: October 7, 2009/ page 12 By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary Sent to the Board of Supervisors on November 5, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. ~~,®~ CITY O F I O W R C I T Y IP7 ~ ~~ll~~~ M E~~ Date: November 12, 2009 To: City Council From: Director of Public Works Director of Planning and Community Development Re: Update: Flood-related activities Engineering Division • EDA additional information gathering • Constructing structures for siphon sewer • West Side Levee preliminary approval of floodway redelineation • Met with Crandic Railroad Identified RFQ requirements for Wastewater design • Writing extensions for FEMA property acquisitions project worksheets • Finishing design for Sandusky storm sewer • Identifying ROW and design for sidewalk infill by Rochester • Demolition of 3 more 404 HMPG Flood buyout homes • Bidding Asbestos removal for 8 more HMPG properties Water Division Continued working with Engineering & Howard R. Green (HRG) for design on replacement of two 12" river crossing repairs (Old Plant and Hwy 6) 1. HRG is under contract to provide design, specifications bid documents and inspection for the two projects -approved by Council on 10-6-09. 2. Confirmation of FEMA staff changes and continued funding for this project was received from Deb Mansfield. 3. A meeting with City staff and the U. of I. representatives will occur next week to review design. The HRG Hazard Mitigation Study is complete. 1. Projects and cost estimates from this report were used to define the scope and cost estimates for the Peninsula well field site and will be used to apply for additional mitigation funding. • The PW and Hazard Mitigation Plan for CW 3, CW 4, SW 4, JW 2 and the respective electrical systems has been `obligated' by FEMA. • We have completed our review of a draft design, bid, and inspection contract for the Hazard Mitigation projects for CW 3, CW 4, SW4, JW 2 and the respective electrical systems from HRG. A contract proposal will be submitted to City Council for approval. November 12, 2009 Page 2 The HRG Hazard Mitigation Study is being used for additional funding request for hazard mitigation for plant site well houses. We are currently working with Dave Purdy. 1. We have submitted information to FEMA for the Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) to ascertain our eligibility. 2. We received communication from FEMA that the BCA looks favorable. Final information needed to complete the application should be submitted by the end of this week. • Kevin Slutts presented a program on the Flood of '08 efforts at the Water Division at the Iowa American Water Works Seminar in Des Moines on 11/6/09. PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT The City received notice that two CDBG public infrastructure grant applications were funded. Iowa City received $5 million to assist with the moving of the north wastewater treatment facility and $6,596,300 to assist with the construction of a pump station and stormwater outlets as well as two flood gates to protect the Rocky Shore Drive/Highway 6 area. The City also received notice that the CDBG funded buyout program was awarded $11.7 million to acquire 52 properties in the Park View Terrace neighborhood. The CDBG program adds to the HMGP funded buyout program for the acquisition of 40 flood damaged homes. The City expects to hear about the status of the CDBG applications for the raising of Dubuque Street and the replacement of the Park Road bridge project along with the three levee projects in the near future. Staff continues to review Jumpstart applications for disbursing State Jumpstart 2 and State Jumpstart 3 funding for housing rehab/repair, down payment assistance and interim mortgage assistance. A total of $1.42 million in State Jumpstart funding has been used to assist 65 flood-impacted residential households and $802,000 in Federal Jumpstart funding has been used to assist 17 households. Doug Ongie attended the Case Management Subcommittee meeting on Friday, October 6. Four staff members from the Iowa Department of Economic Development spent three days in the Planning Department and Accounting Department last week monitoring and reviewing the CDBG funded project files. A group affiliated with the EPA Smart Growth funded Riverfront Crossings project is in town this week for a series of planning workshops on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the Johnson County Human Services building. The first three homes are now occupied as part of the Single Family New Homes program. This is a CDBG funded program to replace homes lost to the flood. A total of 40 homes will be constructed, three are now occupied and three more will be occupied by the end of this week. Over one-half will be occupied by Thanksgiving. E~ I \r~ ~ ~'°e~s 8~p~ in0 Will Re~y~lin9 "Same the Earth? " Musings from Kristin on the education circuit Short answer.. . NO, of course not. Solid waste is one of many current environmental issues and recycling is one tool to manage waste. Recycling is part of the solid waste hierarchy, better known to most of us as the 3R's-reduce, reuse, and recycle (see figure below). The hierarchy became law when Congress passed the Resource Recovery & Conservation Act in 1976. The order of the "R's" is significant and notice that recycling comes in third on the list. It is, of course preferable to start at the top or reduce. Waste reduction is a difficult thing to do in today's consumer society. After all, consumption and waste are directly connected and go together like ... alcohol and a hangover. Advertising encourages us to consume and we are told buying products helps "keep our economy strong." Whether or not this is true, eventually a "hangover" of too much stuff sets in. The key is to question the usefulness of every purchase before you buy. When too many things start to take over, the next best management option is reuse. An example of reuse is the traditional practice of "hand-me-downs." The success of websites like eBay and Craigslist seem to show a renewed interest in reuse and frugality. What if reducing or reusing are not options... Does recycling help? YES, of course it does! All residents in our region have available recycling programs. Some have curbside recycling--very convenient. Others have drop-off recycling locations--takes more effort, but well worth it. Page two has information regarding what materials your program accepts. Recycling saves natural resources, reduces energy and water consumption, and prevents pollution. DIRECTLY IMPORTANT TO YOU... recycling diverts material from your landfill. Protecting landfill space saves you money. Recycling creates local jobs and supports local industry. For more details on the economics of recycling in Iowa go to: http://www. iowadnr. gov/waste/recycling/ecoimpacts.html Solid Waste Staff Jennifer Ryan Lead Planner Jennifer.ryan@ecicog.org Ext. 131 Kristin Simon Planner Kristin. simon@ecicog. org Ext. 126 Iowa Waste Exchange Ext. 121 ECICOG 700 16th Street NE, Suite 301 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 319-365-9941 House File 826 created the Comprehensive Recycling Task Force to develop a report by January 1, 2010 for the Governor's Office and the Iowa General Assembly. The report will present findings and recommendations related to creating and enhancing comprehensive sustainable recycling programs in the state that address wastes generated from the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The legislation also describes specific waste streams that must be considered in this initiative. The Task Force is made up of representativesfromtwenty-four different organizations including government, solid waste and recycling professionals, retail organizations, beverage distributors, environmental organizations and agriculture interests. Task Force co-chairs designated by the Office of the Governor are Tom Hadden, Executive Director of Metro Waste Authority and Teresa Kurtz, Executive Director of the Iowa Recycling Association. The facilitator is Doug Whittle, Whittle Consulting Group. For more information go to: http://www.iowadnr.gov/waste/sw/taskforce.html Solid Waste Hierarchy Eco Iowa City Area's First Pharmaceutical Collection Event ECO Iowa City held the areas first Pharmaceutical Collection Event on Saturday, September 26 in the Sycamore Mall parking lot. During the three-hour event, ECO Iowa City accepted expired and unused pharmaceuticals from 94 people and collected 135.8 pounds of drugs -enough to fill eight 5-gallon buckets. Watch for information regarding a pharmaceutical collection next spring on the west side of Iowa City! Join the group on Facebook or visit their website: http://www.icpl. The Practice of Reduction and Reuse Ed's Old Stuff Me~hani~s~ille 563-43Z-1749 Artfully refurbished found and reused furniture Short Bits • Need a program for your service club or group? Try "Tap or Bottle: We're Talking About Water" a twenty minute program that will fit your schedule along with being fun and educational. Call Kristin to schedule a program. • Kristin will be at Clear Creek Amana Elementary School in, Oxford, November 20th at 12:30. Kristin will be giving three natural resource and recycling lessons. pates to Remember Technical Advisory Committee Meeting (TAC) November 12th at 1PM in Anamosa December 10th, Call for location Celebrate America Recycles Day, November 15th ECICOG Legislative Open House November 17th at 4PM Coralville City Hall, 1512 7th St, Coralville _~ Beyond the Bin Opportunities Appliances: $12.50 per appliance $30 per crushed appliance $1 per cubic ft. for commercial appliances 0' Electronics: ______ __ $5 per monitor/TV < 18 inches $10 per monitor/TV > 18 inches ._.._ 25 ¢ per pound bulk e-waste (inclnding monitors) $2 minimum charge Hazardous Materials Accepted At No Charge! Our homes generate hazardous materials? Yes, any product that is: toxic (mouse bait, bug spray, weed killer), corrosive (drain cleaner, oven cleaner), reactive (drain cleaner, solvents), or combustible (gasoline, nail polish remover) is considered a hazard. The Iowa City Landfill is a Regional Collection Center (RCC) for Household Hazardous Waste. The RCC serves Iowa City, Johnson County and the cities of Kalona and Riverside. The RCC accepts hazardous waste to PROTECT: • Your families. Once these materials are properly removed from your home/ community your risk is eliminated. • Sanitation/landfill employees. Keeping these material out of the waste stream reduces the risk of fire, burns, and toxic fumes. This keeps our workers safe. • The environment. Proper disposal protects your air, soil and water. That's a good thing. We'll Come to Your Community! Would your community like a Hazardous Materials collection? The Iowa City RCC has a mobile collection program. Make proper disposal as convenient for your residents as possible. Schedule a collection TODAY! Call 356-5185. For more information go to: www.ic~ov.or~/documents/ichmbroc.ndf IP9 Marian Karr From: Doug Elliott [doug.elliott@ecicog.org] Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:37 AM To: ECICOG Express Recipients (E-mail) Subject: Reminder: Legislative Open House on November 17 Attachments: open house 11-17 REMINDER1.pdf We hope you'll be able to attend the Legislative Open House on Tuesday, November 17, at Coralville City Hall. Information is attached. Douglas D. Elliott Executive Director ECICOG 700 16th Street NE, Suite 301 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402 319.365.9941, ext. 122 319.365-9981 (fax) www.ecicog.org 11/10/2009 Time to meet with legislators informally and enjoy refreshments is provided from 4:00 to 4:30. Aformal program follows, which allows legislators the opportunity to give their views on the upcoming session and includestimeforquestions and answers. City and county officials and members of the general public are encouraged to attend. Please feel free to forward this invitation to others. This event is cosponsored by ECICOG, the Iowa League of Cities, the Iowa State Association of Counties, and the City of Coralville. 2008 Legislative Open House IP10 draft MINUTES CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OCTOBER 20, 2009 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, 8:00 A.M. Members Present: Regenia Bailey, Connie Champion Members Absent: Matt Hayek Staff Present: Wendy Ford, Jeff Davidson, Bob Miklo, Christina Kuecker Others Present: Joe Raso, Nancy Quellhorst RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: CALL MEETING TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Bailey at 8:02 A.M. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 15. 2009 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING: Champion moved to accept the September 15, 2009 meeting minutes as submitted. Bailey seconded the motion. Motion carried 2-0; Hayek absent. Champion moved to recommend that the Feasibility Study for the Downtown Business Incubator be done by hiring the Regional Business Center out of the University of Northern Iowa. Bailey seconded the motion. Motion carried 2-0; Hayek absent. CONSIDER DOWNTOWN BUSINESS INCUBATOR STUDY RECOMMENDATION: Ford noted that a request for proposals was sent out in September and that they received four proposals in response. She noted that one is from the Regional Business Center out of the University of Northern Iowa, the same entity they worked with to write the grant to the EDA for funds to do the feasibility study. The other proposals, Ford stated, are from New Economy Strategies in Washington, D.C.; the Claggett Wolfe Associates from Auburn, California; and Greenwood Consulting Group in Florida and Colorado. Staff is recommending the proposal from the University of Northern Iowa for several reasons. She added that the UNI people have good experience in working with this type of project and noted that they are relatively local, compared to the other submissions. Bailey stated that she believes this is a good choice, as well. Ford noted that the Regional Business Center would start this study immediately, if approved, and that the study will be wrapped up sometime in late January or February. Champion moved to recommend that the Feasibility Study for the Downtown Business Incubator be awarded to the Regional Business Center out of the University of Northern Iowa. Bailey seconded the motion. Motion carried 2-0; Hayek absent. Economic Development Committee Meeting October 20, 2009 CONSIDER UPDATED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES FOR 2009-2010: Ford addressed the Members, stating that last month they reviewed the strategies and policies that had been in place for the past two years or more. She noted there has been more emphasis on reaching out to the business community including more one-on- one meetings with businesses, especially to our larger employers. Ford pointed out a desired change to the fourth objective for the Committee. The fourth objective would change from being simple "Workforce Development" to "Work to improve the safety of business neighborhoods to a) maintain our ability to attract and keep businesses and b) keep the workforce safe". Strategies to achieve this objective include working with employers and/or business landlords. Staff hopes to learn of specific issues in the areas where the City can provide assistance. Through evaluation of City infrastructure, such as lighting, they hope to find ways to improve public safety. Ford asked Members to discuss these strategies in order to provide ongoing direction for staff. Champion asked why the emphasis on public safety, and noted that this seems somewhat negative to her. Bailey stated that Hayek brought up this concern at the last meeting, due mainly to concerns on the southeast side of town. Ford added that there is similar concerns downtown. Bailey noted that Towncrest also has some safety concerns. The discussion turned to having primary sector businesses noted in this objective. Bailey noted that items like sprinkler systems and alarm systems also need to be part of the safety issue. A discussion ensued on how detailed they want to make these strategies and objectives as the City already has codes and regulations that businesses must follow. Champion moved to recommend that the Strategies and Policies for Economic Development be recommended to Council for adoption. Bailey seconded the motion. Motion carried 2-0; Hayek absent. TOWNCREST REDEVELOPMENT PLANS: Ford noted that staff has been working on concept plans for this redevelopment. They have had numerous meetings with stakeholders in the area, including neighborhood and one-on-one meetings with business owners. Davidson noted that staff believes that although this area has been in decline, it has great potential to make a come back. He stated that they have taken the time to get a lot of input from residents and businesses. Miklo then addressed Members, noting the various meetings they have conducted over the past year. From these meetings, Miklo noted that they were able to come up with some guiding principals for the plan they have developed. He highlighted some of the main issues in this plan, noting that this can be done in a phased-in manner versus all at once making these changes. Visually opening up the Towncrest area to First Avenue is one of the major focuses. This was due to the feedback concerning visible accessibility to the area. Another concern was better visibility from Muscatine Avenue. Miklo noted the addition of a boulevard-style street to address this concern. Short and long-term parking was noted as another key element to this plan. Miklo briefed the group on the types of businesses operating in the area, Miklo noting that there are still a fair number of physicians and medical-related offices. The plan aspires to build on this core, with the possibility of adding more retail or restaurant businesses. Integrated residential units on the second, third, and possibly fourth floors would be looked at as well, if the parking Economic Development Committee Meeting October 20, 2009 issues can be appropriately addressed. Miklo stated that a popular request from the neighborhood was a desire to redevelop the Town and Campus Apartments. In order to assure quality in this redevelopment, there will be a need for policies regarding architectural and landscaping standards. Kuecker then addressed the Members, sharing some preliminary layouts for this redevelopment. She responded to Members' questions regarding how the street system would be altered to better open up the three-block area. Kuecker then shared plans for a bi-level parking structure for the area and how it would fit in to the overall strategy. Davidson then noted that what they are hoping to do, through some public investment is to establish a character for the area that future development would then follow. He noted that this would be similar to what Coralville has done in the River Landing area. Davidson then asked Kuecker to share preliminary planning for multi-family housing. She noted that new buildings would be suggested versus rehab of the Town and Campus Apartments, with a more adequate design and parking being key issues. Davidson noted that all of the public infrastructure is already in place as this is an established neighborhood, so this is one less issue to deal with, making it an efficient urban renewal area. Miklo noted that they still have several public meetings planned in order to gather even more input before they have an unveiling of a proposed plan. Bailey asked for a timeline on this project, and Davidson noted that once they get the plan finalized and the public input process finished they will then return to Council to have the plan adopted. STAFF TIME: A. Preference for presentation on ICAD's Minding Our Business report -Ford asked Members if they would like to have this report presented at their next Economic Development Committee meeting, a work session, or at a formal City Council meeting. Champion stated a presentation at either a work session or a formal meeting would be fine with her, and Bailey agreed. After a brief discussion, it was decided to have this presentation at a formal Council meeting. B. Possible scheduling of EDC meeting in November to coincide with South Gilbert St./River Rail EPA workshop -Ford stated that they would like to have an Economic Development Committee meeting during the time of this workshop so Members could be brought up to speed on this issue. She suggested November 12 or 13 as a possibility for this joint meeting. Bailey stated that she is unavailable on the 12th. The 13th was then chosen as a meeting date, with an 8:30 start time instead. Ford will check with Hayek on this date/time. COMMITTEE TIME: Champion asked if staff had heard anything from local businesses regarding the franchise fee proposal. Ford stated that she has heard from businesses that say an increase in their utility bills will be very burdensome. Bailey said she's heard the Chamber has been hearing this same thing too. Ford noted that they are working with ICAD to get better numbers on these types of impacts, and she will share that information once they have a clearer picture. Members then discussed the possibility of specific entities being exempt from this franchise fee, with Bailey noting that she does Economic Development Committee Meeting October 20, 2009 not believe they can do this. Champion added that she is not willing to lose businesses due to implementation of such a franchise fee, and she believes they need to look into this more. ADJOURNMENT: Champion moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 A.M. Bailey seconded the motion. Motion carried 2-0; Hayek absent. Economic Development Committee Meeting October 20, 2009 Council Economic Development Committee ATTENDANCE RECORD 2009 TERM -~ cn rn ~ ~ o NAME EXP• N o N ~ ~ cn N ~ W o ~ cn ~ N 0 Regenia 01/02/10 X X X O/E X X X Baile Matt 01/02/10 X X X X X X O/E Ha ek Connie 01/02/10 X X X X X X X Cham ion Key: X =Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused 11-12-09 LIP11 MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION PRELIMINARY OCTOBER 22, 2009 - 6:30 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Andrew Chappell, Andy Douglas, Charlie Drum, Holly Jane Hart, Brian Richman, Rachel Zimmermann Smith MEMBERS ABSENT: Jarrod Gatlin, Michael McKay, Rebecca McMurray STAFF PRESENT: Tracy Hightshoe OTHERS PRESENT: Shane Ersland RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action): None. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Brian Richman at 6:36 p.m. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 24T" MEETING MINUTES: Chappell offered a correction to the minutes. Chappell motioned to approve. Hart seconded. The minutes were approved 5-0 (McKay, Gatlin and McMurray absent; Zimmermann Smith not present at time of vote). PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: No members of the public wished to comment. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: Andy Douglas stated that he had recently attended a lecture given by Andrew Greenlee, a PhD in Planning and Urban Development who has analyzed the relation between Chicago's Public Housing programs and the perceived transplantation of low-income housing residents from Chicago to Iowa City's southeast side. Douglas said that one point Greenlee had made had really stuck out to him. Greenlee pointed out that only three Section 8 rental assistance vouchers have actually transferred into Iowa City from Chicago. Douglas cited this statistic as HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009. PAGE 2 of 9 supporting the idea that the idea of an influx of low-income residents from Chicago moving into southeast Iowa City with vouchers or government assistance may be more perception than reality. Hart noted that the statistic may also be somewhat misleading. She pointed out that residents might move from Chicago to Iowa City, apply to the Section 8 waiting list, and become residents of the city during the time that they are waiting for their name to come up on the list. In such instances, the household would be considered a resident of Iowa City, not a transfer, even though their primary purpose in moving to the area might have been to obtain a voucher. She noted that in tearing down much of their public housing, Chicago was attempting to disperse and remove from their own subsidized housing rolls a number of problem tenants who had made the projects unlivable. Hightshoe said that she, Steve Long, and Steven Rackis (Iowa City Housing Authority) had had an opportunity to meet and talk with Greenlee prior to his lecture. She said that regardless of the perception, Greenlee pointed out that 70-75% of vouchers issued by the Chicago Housing Authority stay close to home and within their jurisdiction, and that a number of residents who initially "port" (vouchers are portable to other jurisdictions) out of the area, wind up porting back in. Rackis noted in that meeting that a number of communities that do not have residence preferences for their waiting lists do wind up serving clients who move to the area just to immediately port back out of the area. Iowa City's Housing Authority has a preference on its waiting list for residents of Johnson County. Hightshoe said that though the perception may be that people from Chicago are moving to Iowa City in order to receive a voucher and move back to Chicago, in reality only 35 Iowa City vouchers are actually active in Chicago presently. Hart noted that those statistics might not be reflective of the situation either because vouchers that have been absorbed by the receiving housing authority may not show up in that statistic. Douglas said he thought it was interesting that, according to Greenlee, a number of clients that port out of a bad neighborhood or living situation do not actually wind up living in better neighborhoods or housing conditions in the cities to which they transfer. NEW BUSINESS: REVIEW THE DRAFT 2011-2015 CONSOLIDATED PLAN (a.k.a CITY STEPS): Hightshoe explained that the draft before the Commission was a rough draft, and that Staff would return this document to the consultants with comments and corrections in early November. At that point, the consultants would quickly implement the changes and return the document for a public comment period from November 13, 2009 through December 14, 2009. Hightshoe said she had requested that the consultants zero in on specific priorities as it can sometimes be difficult to identify main focal points. Richman advised Commissioners to send typographical and minor corrections to Hightshoe, and to spend the meeting talking about the priorities outlined in the CITY STEPS plan. Hightshoe said there would be another chapter with strategic plans in it in the November draft of the document. Zimmermann Smith asked about the allocation of funding and whether there were specific percentages of money that had to be spent on certain areas of concern during the funding process. Hightshoe explained that HOME funds have to be spent on housing activities, and that CDBG funds can be spent on economic development, public services and facilities, or housing activities. CDBG money is more flexible than HOME funding. She said that applicants apply for HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 PAGE 3 of 9 CDBG/HOME funds in the same process and do not necessarily know which pot their funding will be from. Zimmermann Smith asked if the Commission was required to use census data to determine their funding priorities; because the most recent census is now almost ten years old, she suggested a more recent information source might be helpful. Hightshoe said that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires census data for its purposes and reports, but that internally the Commission could be guided by other sources of information. Hightshoe said that for a fee 2007 population projections data could be obtained, though it would not be as detailed as census information is. Richman stated that the document being discussed is intended to be a summary of findings and recommendations. He noted that the "Housing Needs" identified in the document listed three priorities: 1) housing for the non-student renter, 2) housing for those at risk of homelessness, and 3) more owner-occupied housing units. Richman noted that some the figures in the document clearly include the student population when assessing areas of need. He asked Hightshoe if it would be possible for the document to clearly indicate when students were being included in the calculations and when they are not. Richman asked Hightshoe if removing students from some of the equations gave a clearer, more realistic picture of census tracts and where pockets of poverty or high concentrations of minorities are. Hightshoe said that in some cases traditional students can be removed from the data by removing those households consisting of non-related people under the age of 24. Chappell noted that the HUD definition of a "concentration" is 10% or more above the average for the rest of the city. Zimmermann Smith said that in the previous meeting the idea of setting an internal definition for the purposes of guiding decisions had been discussed. Hightshoe said the Commission was permitted to do that if they wished to do so in order to target resources. Drum asked why it would be necessary or beneficial to pull the students out of the statistics, noting that they are, after all, a huge part of the housing market. Chappell explained that according to the current formula a student that has parents paying for all of their expenses is being counted in the exact same way that an unemployed single mother of four is being counted. Drum contended that the students are still in the community, influencing the housing market. Chappell said that many students have significantly more buying power than others in their same "low-income" bracket. Hightshoe said that HUD does count students when calculating the city's entitlement funds, and that more money is allotted to affordable housing needs based on those students. Zimmermann Smith noted that the apartments in the downtown census tracts were too expensive for anyone other than students to live in, and yet, according to the current formula, that area would be considered just as "low-income" as areas in the southeast side of Iowa City. Hightshoe acknowledged that many efficiency and one- bedroom apartments in the downtown area had disappeared in recent years due to developers building four and five bedroom units geared towards groups of students living together. Richman noted that the consultants indicated that approximately 1,200 households in the city have housing affordability issues, and that because of this, non-student housing is a top priority. Hightshoe acknowledged that it may make sense to focus more of the CDBG/HOME resources toward rental units as owner-occupied units can be subsidized in a number of different ways from a number of different sources. The City has GRIP (dedicated to owner-occupied rehab. with general obligation funds), the Single Family New Construction Program and the UniverCity project that all assist owner-occupied housing within the next planning period for CITY STEPS. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 PAGE 4 of 9 Richman noted that it could be a very useful tool to have a compiled summary of the various resources in Iowa City for housing and what those resources are spent on. He said this could help ensure the Commission's decisions are not made in a vacuum and take into consideration the needs and resources of the city as a whole. Hightshoe noted that before the flood CDBG/HOME funds were essentially all that were available; it is only since the flood and the Stimulus programs that we have substantially more funds coming in for housing programs. Staff will email commission members the City's anticipated revenues for 2011-2015 and indicate if they must be used for a special purpose such as new construction of owner occupied housing, etc. Richman asked Commissioners if they had identified any housing priorities other than those the consultants had listed. Hart threw out the idea of exploring the concept of limiting rents rather than constantly subsidizing them at high rates, a modified rent-control model. She noted that single-income households had serious affordability issues in this town and often fall through the cracks of subsidy programs aimed at the elderly, disabled, and families, but now at lower- income working people. Hightshoe agreed that there was a need for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) and one-bedroom units in the city. Hart said she believed there was also a problem with the concentration of ownership for rental properties, saying she would like to see support for smaller-scale landlords and more zoning for multi-family units. Richman said he felt there is a non-student demand for one bedroom and efficiencies. Douglas asked if there were rent-control systems in place anywhere in Iowa. Hightshoe said she thought it was more practical to concentrate on subsidizing units enough on the front end to allow for lower rents. Chappell asked how deeply the University's impact on the housing market had been explored. He asked what would happen if the University built another dorm or two and required freshmen and sophomores to live on campus. He said he imagined this would have a big impact on the market. Hightshoe said she imagined that it would drive rents down if student demand is less. Living close to the university would probably still demand a higher rent than in other parts of the City. Chappell asked if any consideration had been given to subsidizing other issues affecting housing affordability. He asked if anyone had studied the effects on housing prices if one subsidized childcare or transportation rather than rent. Hightshoe said that would be difficult to do with the funding available to the Commission. Only 15% of the City's CDBG entitlement can be used for public services. Salary, operating expenses, taxi vouchers, and similar activities are considered public services. Hart asked if the housing market analysis indicated how much of the housing was actually available. She said there is often a practical difficulty to finding an affordable apartment that is actually unoccupied. Hightshoe said that Iowa City's vacancy rate is about 1 % (depending on the zone in Iowa City); a typical vacancy rate for a healthy rental market is more like 5%. Richman noted that there is an initiative from the Provost Office at the University to increase student enrollment by 100 students per year and to increase retention by 5%. He said that if these initiatives were successful it could have a notable impact on housing. Drum pointed out that there probably were no dollars available to actually promote and actively bring that goal to fruition. Richman noted the need for affordable transportation and asked if it was possible to use CDBG funds to purchase a bus for the City's fleet. Hightshoe said that would not be allowed as it would be considered an operational use, as well as personal property. She said CDBG funds HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 PAGE 5 of 9 cannot be used to purchase anything portable or for personal property (vehicle is considered personal property). You may be able to purchase through public services, but funding is limited and the use of the bus/van has to be for LMI persons which you would have to document. It can't be for general use. Richman noted that both Iowa City and Johnson County showed incredible population jumps between 2007 and 2008 according to the plan. He asked Hightshoe to investigate it as it is likely an error. Hart asked if the figures given on page 27 had been adjusted for inflation and to reflect current costs, which led Richman to ask why the Commission was using a Housing Market Analysis with ten year old data. Zimmermann Smith added that previous discussions had indicated that just because HUD requires the census data for their purposes, the Commission does not need to use it internally. Chappell asked about an incongruity on page 29 which seemed to have redundant categories for different types of households. Chappell noted that Iowa City is not considered high growth in the report, merely high cost. Chappell said he was surprised to see actual data in this report that supports the idea that Iowa City is truly contracting. Hightshoe said that Iowa as a whole is losing population. She said that when the 2010 census numbers come out, there will be a lot of money at stake based on those population gains and losses. She said that there is already a lot of lobbying going on as to how entitlement calculations should be done when the new census comes out. She said the 2010 census results should be summarized and available by 2012. Chappell asked if Iowa City would consider doing a special census if the numbers did not go in their favor. Hightshoe said that process is expensive, but the City would consider if the numbers don't appear realistic. Douglas asked how the rankings of low, medium and high would be allocated to priorities and if the consultants would be in charge of it. Hightshoe said that the consultants would be guided by Staff and Commission input. Hightshoe noted that the Commission would see a major influx of dollars in 2011 based on the financing arrangements for Aniston Village, a Housing Fellowship project. Hightshoe explained that essentially the City would receive $2.9 million in CDBG money. She said once the money came in it would have to be spent quickly so the Commission should begin the process of thinking about priorities for that money now. Richman said that an amount of money that large would likely be heavily directed by City Council's needs and priorities. Zimmermann Smith noted that the public comments listed housing/resources for seniors and people with disabilities as a high priority. She said that this is not reflected in any of the priorities listed by the consultants. She said that adding some language might alleviate that discrepancy. Hightshoe explained that the survey results were mixed and often contradictory. Zimmermann Smith suggested that if there was a question of the validity of the survey data then the City should do another one; if the survey was deemed to be valid, then its findings should be included. Hightshoe said there was some question as to whether survey takers actually understood the questions in context. Zimmermann Smith said that giving a survey and then simply ignoring its results was not good policy. Richman asked if there was data beyond the survey and the public comments that influenced the formation of the priorities. Hightshoe said the comments of service providers were given consideration. Zimmermann Smith said that if the City seeks community input, it should take it into account. She said the City Council HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 PAGE 6 of 9 deserves to have a Commission that is guided by more than just a focus group with service providers. Chappell agreed that the priorities needed to in some way reflect the public comments in the survey and the forums. He suggested simply adding language that reflects the public concern about housing for the elderly and disabled. Drum said he too believed there was a middle ground wherein the survey results are neither ignored nor dominant. Hart said she was wary of relying heavily on a dubious survey. Zimmermann Smith noted that focus groups are also not scientific; she said that if the Commission is going to discount data, then it cannot in good faith do so selectively. Hightshoe stated that staff and commission members should not discount survey results, but to make decisions and set priorities based on the survey results, service provider feedback, input from low-to-income residents, department input, and studies such as our recent Housing Markey Analysis. Richman concluded that it is possible that the three priorities listed by the consultants are indeed those that the Commission will settle on (with some language changes) but that it was good to have a thorough discussion of the matter. Hightshoe said that it is always difficult to prioritize non-housing community development activities. Upon reviewing the survey data, the consultants were under the impression that some of the survey takers understood the questions to mean that the City would be directly providing the service as opposed to funding local agencies addressing certain areas such as child care or mental health. Hightshoe said some of the responses stated that they didn't' feel that it was the city government's responsibility to solve the problems associated with homelessness. Hightshoe said that respondents consistently said they wanted to see more done about the problems associated with homelessness, but also consistently said they did not feel the City should be responsible for alleviating those problems. Hightshoe stated that we shouldn't ignore survey results, but consider them as well as all the other ways the City gathered information and input. Drum said he was thrown by the fact that respondents placed the removal of "vacant and deteriorated buildings" as a number two priority. Drum asked where these vacant and deteriorated buildings could be found. Hightshoe said that narrative comments overwhelmingly concerned securing help for the Broadway area. Zimmermann Smith said these comments ought to be incorporated into the priorities. Richman agreed that the priorities should reflect public comment. Hightshoe pointed out that the priorities being discussed were the basis for how the Commission would be spending its money over the next five years. A common comment in the Broadway neighborhood was a need for a police substation; however buildings for the general conduct of government are not an eligible CDBG or HOME activity. She said that it did not make sense to put priorities in the Plan that could not be funded under CDBG/HOME allocation rules. Chappell said it was important to at least explain that rationale, acknowledging the importance of some of the public priorities but the inability to fund them through CDBG/HOME finds. Hightshoe said that this could be done in the narrative of the plan. Richman noted that ultimately the Consolidated Plan is a HUD report on how CDBG/HOME funds will be spent. Richman said that the consultant's priorities for the funding of public facilities were not helpful at all. Hightshoe suggested that one priority could be the funding of public facilities in the Broadway area. Zimmermann Smith noted the necessity of affordable daycare that operates outside of standard business hours. Richman said the recommendations as currently stated are useless and that some guidance needs to come out of the document; he said that without some guidance either by type or geography the City is not getting its money's worth. Zimmermann Smith said that it would be ideal to have public facilities dollars that work toward family self- sufficiency such as daycare, life skills, health care, etc. Richman said that perhaps the most useful thing to do would be to look at the types of projects funded in the last five years. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 _ PAGE 7 of 9 Hightshoe said that homeless shelters, subsidized daycare facilities, after-school care and drop- off daycare are all worthy public service priorities. Hightshoe noted that CDBG dollars could pay for the bricks and mortar of a daycare if some other agency actually ran the center. Richman said that substance abuse, assistance for the disabled, and mental health issues come up repeatedly. He asked Hightshoe to direct the consultants to revisit the priorities. Richman noted that having firm priorities will make the allocation process both easier and more difficult. He said it would put more of an onus on the Commission for justifying why they do not fund something. Drum asked if the consultants were relying solely on the survey when setting priorities. Hightshoe said they were also relying on focus groups with the public, service providers, input from our public needs hearing last May and meetings with various City departments such as the Housing Authority, Police, Parks and Rec., Planning as well as the 2007 Housing Market Analysis. Hightshoe said she will send the Commission/Staff comments to the consultants and will distribute the updated draft to Commissioners as quickly as possible. Richman noted that something needed to be added to the document that addressed the procedure for the Commission reconsidering an allocation when a change in terms is requested. UPDATE ON FY10 PROJECTS -CDBG/HOME PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT ENTERED A FORMAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF IOWA CITY: Hightshoe noted that most agencies have entered agreements within 90 days of the beginning of the fiscal year. Hightshoe said that three or four of the funded projects are actually already completed. She said that Dolphin Point Enclave is a concern. She said that they have until December to make a decision on what it intends to do regarding the first round of funding that they were allocated. She said that MECCA has not entered an agreement but that is due to their accounting practices and funding cycles; she said she expects a signed agreement by the end of the week. She said that the FY08 Blooming Garden project has not proceeded and the agreement required the homes to be done by the end of October. She said that project will probably be on next month's agenda. UPDATE ON THE HCDC-SPONSORED AFFORDABLE HOUSING EVENT: Douglas said that he expects to have flyers next Wednesday. He said the event is being publicized by the Eco-Iowa City Initiative. He said free winter weatherization kits will be handed out at the event. Hightshoe said that there is a $50 procurement that can go toward refreshments. Douglas said he is making an effort to reach out to area builders and real estate people, and that the message is that building/selling "small and green" is good. He said that he hopes the Commission will continue to do small events in the future concerning other affordable housing issues. MONITORING REPORTS: IOWA CITY FREE MEDICAL CLINIC -OPERATIONS (McKAI~ (McKay e-mailed his report to Hightshoe who shared it with the Commission.) The Free Medical Clinic was allocated $5,000 to assist in paying for a pharmacy technician to dispense medications; the clinic is transitioning to an electronic system which should help with efficiency. The clinic has finalized the purchase of their building. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OCTOBER 22, 2009 PAGE 8 of 9 ISIS INVESTMENTS LLC -RENTAL HOUSING (McKAY): ISIS was allocated $150,000 and has already purchased three homes for rental housing on Prairie du Chein, Plaen View and Shrader. Once the final unit is occupied, their project will close and the compliance period will begin. FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH-HOME TIES ADDITION (McKAY): There have been some delays with this project due to changes in plans and the securing of permits, however, the project has broken ground. FY09 HACAP -TRANSITIONAL HOUSING (DOUGLAS): Hightshoe reported that HACAP purchased a property for transitional housing on Village Green Road. The project is closed and the compliance period has begun. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m. z O ~_ O U H Z W a O W W ~_ Z 0 U Z Q Z O O U w W ~ U° Z Q N O Z W H a i i i i i i N c r X X X ~ X ~ ~ X X N X x X x X X >C X X o X X o X o o X X N ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X X ~ X ~ X X X ~ X X X X X X X ~ ' uJ O X ~ X X X ~ ~ ~ X N ~ X X ~ X X ~ X ~ X X X M M ~ X X ~ X X X X ~ ~ X X ~ ' ' W ~ X X x x X x x X N o N ' ~ Z ~ Z ' Z Z Z Z Z Z Z X X ~ ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X X N ~ N o ~ ~ O ~ N o O ~ r- ~ ~ ~ O ~ N ~ ° O ° O o O 0 a W `X ~ ~ .- O ~ r- O ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ ~ O ~ ~ O ~ ~ O ~ N ~ •- ~ O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O W Q U 1- ~- ~ Z ~ Z J ~ O ~ Q ~ ~ J Q m ~ Z Q oc ~ N Z ~ Q ~ W > J W Q Q J Q ~ Q Q J = U } m Q W t- U J a ~ ~ 2 U ~ Z O = L ~ ~ ~ Z Q ~ J ~ W U Z ~ W ~ W G. U' ~ J H ~ ~ _ ~ U ~ Q Q Q Z = U O ~ ~ O Q O Q = ~ ~ ~ ~ U ~ ~Q N~ m ~ ~ U _ cn ~ ` ~ ~ X ~ ~, W +_' N c~~~ ~N~c~ ~QZ° Z II II II II w~ Y X O Z IP12 MINUTES YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION NOVEMBER 1, 2009 - 6:00 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL Members Present: Zach Wahls, Hannah Green, Jerry Gao, Luan Heywood Members Absent: None Staff Present: Marian Karr, Ross Wilburn Others Present: None CALL TO ORDER: PRELIMINARY The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. Hannah Green chaired the meeting. MINUTES: Karr noted that the "Youth Only" clause in the draft minutes under "Youth Forum" final bullet "Open Mic" should be deleted. Heywood motioned to approve the minutes of November 1, as amended. Wahls seconded. The motion passed 4-0. BUDGET UPDATE AND FY11 APPLICATION: The YAC reviewed the submitted budget proposal. Heywood questioned the provision in the Recognition Scholarship that the scholarship be awarded to one male and one female, noting that had not been discussed. Wahls and Gao replied that it had been referenced in earlier discussion but did not have any problem with removing the clause at this time. An amended summary page will be submitted. YAC reviewed a section describing the advertising budget, but made no changes. YOUTH FORUM WRAP-UP: Wahls distributed a summary report of the forum he had compiled, and noted the Commission has recommended it be presented to the City Council. There was discussion of what should or should not be included in the summary. Wilburn recommended sharing the entire report as presented, even what ICPD Officer Jeremy Bossard had said. Karr recommended that the summary include a reference to all individuals that spoke. It was agreed that the summary of the forum will be distributed to the City Council in their packet of November 12, well ahead of the December 1 scheduling of the curfew ordinance. YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION November 1, 2009 Page 2 of 5 The Commission noted the costs of the event, noting the cost of making seven CDs was only $54.25, $7.75 per CD. There was brief discussion on improving the attendance by more direct face-to-face invitations and better advance publicity next time. GRANT APPLICATION FROM REGINA: Wahls and Gao reviewed the Youth Empowerment Grant request from Regina. Green abstained from discussion as a result of her participation in the planned event at Regina. Wahls noted that the group had asked for $900 in funding, but the Commission could only allocate $500. However, no other group has asked for a youth empowerment grant, so Wahls and Gao recommended an award of $500 and encourage them to reapply for the other $400. Wahls motioned to approve the Youth Empowerment Grant Application. Gao seconded. The Commission voted 3-1 to approve the application. (Green voting "no") MEETING SCHEDULE: The next meeting will be December 6th at 4:30. ADJOURNMENT: Heywood motioned to adjourn. Wahls seconded the motion. The Commission voted 4-0 to adjourn. Meeting adjourned 7:15 PM. Z O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ V ~. OWa~ °: ~ W N ~ V ~ C 0 Z Q ~ 0 Z ~ ~ Q W H F- Q O X X X ~ ~ X N X ; ~ X X ; X ; ti ti f~ x x o x x X ~ ~C X X ti !C X X X X ~( >C ~ X X x 0 x ~ X X x N X X X x X X X X ~ X X ~ X r M X >C X X X ~N.. ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ i i N N `~ ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ ~ ~ ~ Z r r ~ r ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ~ Z ' ' ' ~ Z ~ ~ W ~ a >C W O o N r- O 0 N ~ O 0 N ~ O N ~ O N ~ O N r- O N •- O N •- W a Z .~ ~ ~ 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~" ~ ~ ~. -. 7 O 3 d ~ O v?~ >~ W r y ~ ~ ~ ~ d ~ c0 N N a`Qaz°z° II II ~ II II XOpZ w Y Z 0 U } ~o ON p~~n Q ~ o = v > > rn ~z°a Z O ~0 ~~ ~O O W w ~°/. V ~ o p ~ V ~ _ OZ Q G Z } ~ Q W H H Q O r r X ~ X X ~ X N ~ O r X ~ ~ X X ~ ~ W_ O ~ i c X ~ X X X o X ~ ~ X X ~ X rn X ~ ~ X X ~ X N X i i X X ~ X ~ ~ ~ d W X F- W rn o M N r- rn 0 M N ~ rn 0 M N ~ o M N ~ o M N ~ ~ M N .- 0 M N ~ 0 M N ~- W ~ ~ _ ~ --~ C ~ - ^ .,_, ~ .~, ~ -~ .-. Z C~ 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c~ ~ ~ ~ "' ~ ~ E L Q m ~ 0 ~Z m ~ ~~ W ~+_-,, ~ ~.+ ~, ~ N ~~m~~a N N aaaz°z° II II II II II X 0 Q Z ~ } W `1 Youth Advisory Commission Neighborhood Safety Forum October 24, 2009 Chairwoman Green opened the forum with some words. Presentations. Officer Jeremy Bossard of the ICPD shared that the ICPD has increased its foot patrols; local apartment buildings have hired private security companies to increase safety. He also said that the police department generally favors the curfew, as it's another tool that the department can use to get youth to talk about these problems. Henri Harper of The Coalition reported that he's primarily seen a change in attitude in Iowa City youth, specifically an increase in hopelessness, desperation and general irritability. He's also observed flaws in the system of blame. He wants to make sure that there are solutions implemented whether or not the curfew resolution carries. He says that people on the southeast side feel that the curfew will be targeting black youth. However, he also noted that individuals who are breaking rules don't' care if the break one more rule. He thinks that it's ironic that youth are not really being engaged at all in this conversation. He said the Coalition would be implementing programs during the summer, as this is the time when kids have the most free time and are most apt to get in trouble. Marcia Bollinger, Iowa City Neighborhood Association Coordinator spoke first. She outlined her responsibilities as the ICNA coordinator and provided a background of the Grant Wood neighborhood, the largest neighborhood on the southeast side of Iowa City. Therese McKenzie, the Grant Wood Neighborhood representative, spoke about the rise of crime in her neighborhood. She said that it started with a lot of little things, stolen bikes, etc. But over the summer, it became a much larger problem. In her words, there exists extensive fear, whether based in reality or otherwise. We need to be proactive. She thinks an increased police presence would save money in the long run, akin to preventative medicine. She wants to focus on working through police channels and having crime prevention. Her key area, however, is positive events. She reported that there is a great gym at the Grant Wood School and is definitively underutilized. She'd like to see programs there every day after school. She's said that she's had lots of interactions with kids who have really good ideas about community development and thinks that we really need to engage the youth. She really wants to push the importance of volunteering in the community and tutoring programs for all grades in the neighborhood. Open Mic: Staci Porter: Give us thins to do Brennan Bogert: We need goals and community role models. Youth Advisory Commission Neighborhood Safety Forum October 24, 2009 Page 2 Jim Knapp: School Involvement, Parental Involvement, and Children Involvement Parental assistance /education Kids want feedback and recognition Give kids hope and ambition University of Iowa students helping with tutoring programs Big Brothers/Big Sisters Tae-Kwon Do Marching Drum Corps Harper: Provide opportunities and change programs that don't work, we know what they are and we need to stop throwing money at them. Get involved with the elementary schools! Give them goals, dreams, hopes and structure. Change of mindset. There needs to be an impetus for social change. McKenzie: Empower teenagers to make differences in their community. They know that in working with adults in other groups, they can actually affect change. She affirmed that kids want to be a part of the community, but don't want to be told what is or is not good for them. She noted that kids have their own ideas and they should be allowed to roll with it, because that's how you get kids wanting to be involved. She thinks we need to stop reacting tomini- riotsand stop reacting to gangs of kids and look at the big picture as a whole. Bollinger: Neighborhood groups starting to work together. There are a lot of groups with common goals and they're finally starting to come together. Charlie Eastham: His kids grew up on the eastside. Comments regarding the use of policing children. The ICPD is very good at catching criminals who commit serious crimes. 35% of black youth in Johnson County have been arrested at least once. Let's have the race discussion. Circe Stumbo: She noted that she'd seen a number of themes throughout the discussion. One big thing that she's seen and thinks is really important is the notion of community service. She'd very much like to see kids step up and volunteer. She also wants people to acknowledge that racism is alive and well and we all need to be extra careful in our behavior and thoughts. Joyce Barker: Mrs. Barker used to be a daycare teacher and experienced firsthand parents who dropped off kids and expected the daycare staff to basically "fix" their kids. She explained how parents who don't have expectations for their kids lead to kids not having expectations for themselves and that we can't just keep trying to fix the kids when the kids aren't the problem. She reiterated Mr. Harper's point about kids needing attention.