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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-03-07 Correspondence 03_g:!7_01~ -~LFE8 ~ 2 825 S. 7th Ave. Iowa City, IA 52240 February 25, 2000 City Council Members Civic Center 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Re: Locating Skateboard Park At Terrell Park Dear Council Members: We support locating the skateboard park at Terrell Park for the following reasons: 1. Central location 2. Giving those who skateboard a place of their own choosing-- letting them know government can be responsive to their voices 3. To encourage young people in developing this space for their use, as well as other types of recreational activities for other community members in the future Thank you. Sincerely, Chuck & Margaret~elling ~ 03-07-00 4f(2) , ,J~ FEB 2 5 2000 _' iowa c ty cound CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE 4 t 0 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 De,at Councilon: I am writing express my support for a local orclharmce which would allow only those of minimum legal drinking age into drinking establishments. 'High risk underage drinking costs our community dearly in both the economic and social realms. Such an ordinance would save the City in enforcement and dean up costs and increase the q-aLity of life downtown for all citizens. Iowa City is one of very few communities across the state and nation that allows people below the minimum legal drinking age to enter bats. Despite the best intentions of bar owners, it is urnrealistic to expect that under-age patrons will refrain from alcohol consumption once allowed entrance to the establishment I feel we must do all we can to assist our young people in making healthy choices and allowing 18 year old access to bars is inconsistent with this philosophy. Iowa City prides itself on being a diverse and inviting comm,mity. Restricting access to under-age drinkers would ckive a vital new late night market for a population of approximately 10,000 University of Iowa students under the age of 21. It is time for Iowa City to do the right thing and promote healthy choices for our young citizens. Please restrict access to bars to those ofrni/~imum legal drinking age- Sincerely, iC 5zz~ Marian Karr From: J ud eminer@aol .com Sent: Friday, February 25, 2000 10:21 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: auto-free day NOTICE: The Mayor of Bogota, Columbia, proclaimed Feb. 23 as an AUTO-FREE day for his city, taking the bold initiative to change traffic patterns. "We're showing ourselves and the world that we can build on our dreams and create a more livable city." Citizens got to work by walking, bikes, taxis, busses, roller blades .... and the environment in that part of our planet is one day cleaner. I hope the Council of Iowa City will be forward-looking and proclaim an auto-free day for our city. Sincerely, Judy Miner 713 S. 7th Ave. Iowa City, IA 52240 te1:339-0280 Marian Karr From: t. stabenow [tstabeno@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu] Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 11:18 PM To: cduffy@co.johnson.is.us; jjordahl@co.iohnson.ia.us; cthompson@co.johnson.ia.us; sstutsma@co.johnson.ia.us; mlehman@co.johnson.ia.us; council@iowa-city.org; joe_bolkcom@legis.state.ia.us; mary_mascher@legis.state.ia.us; minnette_doderer@legis.state.ia.us; richard_myers@legis.state.ia.us Cc: daily-iowan@uiowa.edu; gazedit@fyiowa.com Subject: Homelessness and Intoxication (fwd) Dear elected officials, I am writing concerning the Daily Iowan article (attached at bottom) on homeless people in Iowa City. I'm sure many people, like myself, found the article to be very disturbing. The fact that these people are being thrown out into the cold should outrage all of us. The city and state could fix this problem if they focused their energy on the situation. The solution may not be more shelters --we may simply need to utilize and make available the government facilities we already have. If anyone bothered to read the Legal Matters of the very same paper(Thursday's), they would see that the homeless man that was quoted on the front page, Jesus Chararia, was also arrested for public intoxication the night before. As a matter of fact there were two homeless people arrested for this crime under the Gilbert Street Bridge. The article quoted officer Krei as saying that "the homeless are only arrested if they bring attention to themselves." Mr. Chararia agreed and said that "the police don't bother us much." I wonder if this article was written before or after the police arrested the two men for public intoxication. Public intoxication is arbitrarily enforced in Iowa City. I know this because, like many students, I was charged for this particular offense. I pled not guilty to public intoxication in November and on February 7th a jury of my peers agreed that I was correct in doing so. While defending myself against this charge I realized that this law is unjust. First of all, no one is hurt by anyone else being drunk. If they are disturbing the peace, arrest them for that. If their conduct is disorderly the police should arrest them for that. The reason the police don't arrest people for these offenses is because, tylDically these people are not breaking those laws AND because public intoxication is a much easier crime for the state to prove. The young man that prosecuted the state's case against me agreed that the law is overly vague and arbitrarily enforced. This causes people that are "processed" under this statute to become cynical of the criminal justice system. If the average citizen were to read this law, they would not even know when they would or would not be violating the statute. The law does not even define intoxication. It states that officers can use a breath test to enforce the law, but it does not say what one needs to blow on a breath test to be violating the statute. The problem is most STUDENTS do not know this information so they simply plead guilty. Iowa City has over 1300 public intoxication charges a year---that's a lot of money at 155 dollars a pop. Most people would rather pay the fine than spend the time fighting it because the case usually comes down to a he said she said testimony--with most people placing more credibility with the police. Also, most, if not all, students that are walking around at 2 a.mo would be unable to pass a sobriety test. The state could focus on solving crimes that help the community--such as vandalism, arson, murder and rape. So, how does all of this relate to the Mr. Chavaria, you might ask. Well, he is a victim just as anyone that is arrested under this law is. If he was arrested under this charge for being drunk in public than that is wrong because his home is in public. Or maybe it was because he was drinking alcohol in a public place. Essentially, we would be saying 1 to the homeless that they cannot drink, or at least not enough to be considered intoxicated. If Mr. Chararia was arrested so the police could simply give him a place to sleep, then that is wrong as well. No one should have to plead guilty to a crime just to get a warm place to sleep. This man, and any homeless person for that matter, should be able to sleep in the jail without being considered a criminal. I'm sure that Mr. Chararia and his friends weren't bothering anyone while under the bridge at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday. So either the police were bothering the homeless, which is the opposite of what officer Krei was quoted as saying earlier, or they were trying to give them a place to stay. In the second case the police have their hands tied. Evidently there was plenty of room in the jail but I'm sure the police can't allow anyone to sleep there unless they are charged with a crime. This would need to be addressed by the the state legislature or possibly the county. Something else that should be considered is where does the city think the homeless are going to get the money to pay for this 155 dollar fine. If they had that much money on a daily basis they could almost afford rent. Two or three convictions a month would be enough money to live on. So my question is, are we really helping these people by charging them with a crime, as opposed to simply allowing them to sleep in the jail? What we need to do is reevaluate our laws so that they help society and its people. We need to do away with the public intoxication law and we need to make it so that homeless people can stay in pubic jails (if space is available) without being charged of a crime. This would help us address more meaningful problems that we have in our society. Let us not forget these are people's LIVES we're dealing with here and let us not be afraid to make bold changes to help our fellow Americans. Sincerely, Tony Stabenow UI Senior Political Science 755 Oakland Ave. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 (319)354-6795 This can also be viewed on line at http://www.dailyiowan.com/ Despite the best efforts of the Emergency Housing Project, some still call a bridge a home. By Anne Huyck and Nicole Schuppert/The Daily Iowan When winter nights approach, the homeless are often caught in a predicament. The lucky ones get a spot in the shelter, while some might end up in jail, and others try to create a home outdoors. Turning people away from the Emergency Housing Project, 331 N. Gilbert St., is an everyday occurrence because safety codes only allow space for 29 residents at a time, said Crissy Canganelli, director of the project. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, eight people had been turned away from Johnson County's only general-use homeless shelter because of the lack of space, she said. "I would like to put a member of the City Council in my position and let 2 he~ or him say, 'I know it's cold out there, but sorry, there's no room'-- it's devastating," Canganelli said. "Every time we do that, I feel like we're compromising our mission." James Quarles, a 39-year-old Iowa City resident, has lived at the shelter for two months and plans to move back into his own home next month. Prior to coming to the shelter, he lived in his car for a month after falling behind on bills. "I lost my home and didn't have anywhere else to go," Quarles said. "This place has helped me to turn my whole life around and see things I didn't see before." Within the next couple of years, Canganelli said, she hopes to help more people like Quarles by adding a facility that could accommodate 50 or more people. The new facility, which would require a capital campaign and would be established in an existing site in Iowa City, could be acquired in 2001 to provide shelter for single men and women. The housing project would keep the current facility to use for families. Some people say they choose to remain homeless rather than sharing the space of the shelter or following the house rules, which includes a no-alcohol policy, Canganelli said. At 10 p.m. those not staying the night at the shelter must leave while the residents go to sleep, Canganelli said. Guests have to be out of the house by 8 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends. They are required to either be working or looking for a job during the day, unless they are ill or work third shift. While some homeless persons prefer a night at the project, others prefer to sleep to the sounds of cars crossing over the bridge, in the colder but less-congested "camps" that can be found in several places around Iowa City. Jesus Chararia and a fluctuating number of others live under the bridge on the 500 block of South Gilbert St., where white beans that leaked out of a ripped bean-bag chair are scattered on the raked dirt floor. The housing project is not an option for Chararia and his friends because they would rather live on the streets than in a shelter. "I am used to being in a home but "Chararia said. "I have skills and could work. This is where I belong today. Tomorrow, I could be in Texas or California." In order to remain in the shelter, residents must make an effort to become independent by having a job and saving 75 percent of their earnings to put toward a place to live, Canganelli said. If the shelter is full, Canganelli said, crisis centers in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Davenport are contacted. Free bus vouchers are offered to the homeless if there is room at a center and the person is willing to travel there, 3 she said. If the crisis centers are full, Canganelli said, "we're basically sending them out on the street." Generally, the homeless are only arrested if they bring attention to themselves, said Iowa City police Sgt. Brian Krei. Chararia agreed with Krei. "Cops don't bother us much," he said. The shelter tries to reserve a small fund for situations in which the shelter and crisis centers are full in order to provide families with a couple nights' shelter in a hotel until space opens up, Canganelli said. The project has between 15 and 20 volunteers who help with fund-raising events, office work and tasks around the house. Volunteers are still needed to help with maintenance, repairs, errands and donations. Residents can remain in the shelter for up to 90 days until they "get back on their feet," Canganelli said. Three months may sound like a long period of time, but it isn't always long enough, she said. "Sixty percent of the homeless people in the nation have mental problems and have no access to care," she said. "Ninety days is not long enough to work through a substance-abuse problem or a mental-health problem or both." Despite understaffing and the lack of space, the shelter is making do with the resources it has in order to help as many people as possible, Canganelli said. DI reporters Anne Huyck and Nicole Schuppert can be reached at: City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: February 24, 2000 To: City Clerk From: Jeff Davidson, Acting JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Removal of Parking Meter and Designation of No Parking Zone on South Capitol St. As directed by Title 9, Chapters 4 and 5 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after March 8, 2000. Action Pursuant to Section 9-5-2 of the City Code, Parking Meter CA 619 S will be removed from its existing location in the 600 block of South Capitol Street, and pursuant to Section 9-4-1(A)(19) of the City Code, signage will be installed indicating "No Parking Here to Driveway." Comment This action is being taken at the request of the University of Iowa. A metered on-street parking area was recently established around the new University Services Building in the Near Southside neighborhood. One of the metered parking spaces causes restricted visibility from an entrance into a parking lot on University properly. This metered space will be removed and signage erected indicating "No Parking Here to Driveway" in order to improve visibility. jwtmenVjd-capitol .doc Whereas disabled perple get very limited input to the City Council about the accessibility of public equipment, such as kiosks and play-ground equipment, to be installed in downtown Iowa City~ be it resolved that there should be an advisory committee appointed from people with a wide variety of disabilities to advise the City Council about accessibility before new public equipment is installed in downtown Iowa City. Dee Vanderhoef ~~' From: ruebush@avalon .net Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 8:50 AM To: stephen_atkins@iowa-city.org; connie_champion@iowa-city.org; ross_wilbum@iowa- city.org; dee_vanderhoef@iowa-city.org; mike_odonnell@iowa-city.org Subject: Slothower Rd. I live at 74 Durango Place in southwest Iowa City. There is a new development west of us in Country Club Estates at the extension of Phoenix Dr. Does the city have future plans for the connection of our neighborhood to Slothower Road? It would give us a more direct access to Melrose Ave. and reduce some of the traffic along Morman Trek. It seems like a logical direction for the traffic to go. Jim Ruebush