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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-02-13 Correspondence I! 1 f~'~~'t -":::":;'~~a11I~ .....~ CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM ~ Uaill.J Date: February 2, 2006 From: City Clerk ^ . I ( Anissa Williams, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner ()J.I'"' Item for February 13, 2006 City Council meeting: Installation of NO PARKING ANY TIME signs on both sides of Taft Speedway To: Re: As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 38 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), install NO PARKING ANY TIME signs on both sides of Taft Speedway between Dubuque Street and the westernmost driveway of Parkview Church parking lot. Comment: This action is being taken due to the narrow width of the street. With parked vehicles on the street, it can obstruct emergency vehicle access. The pavement is chip seal. Vehicles are parking and driving off the edge of the pavement, creating a potential maintenance issue. jccogadm/agd/taft.;.dubuq we-signs.doc o ~O )>--; CJ--< :=ifj <!';-- -':" ~~ ", -"n '::J= ~/' );; ~ C5 "" .." ['Tl <;;0 I N 11 I hl o ;po ::It ? U1 -l City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM ~ ~ Date: February 3, 2006 To: City Clerk and City Council From: John Yapp, Acting JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner )J( ~ Re: Item for February 13, 2006 City Council meeting: Install two YIELD signs on Iowa River Corridor Trail at Taft Speedway As directed by Title 9, Chapter I, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(5), Install two YIELD signs to control north- and south- bound Iowa River Corridor Trail traffic at Taft Speedway. Comment: YIELD signs for trail traffic are required to assign right-of-way at the Iowa River Corridor Trail/Taft Speedway intersection. The trail was recently extended north of Taft Speedway to Foster Road. ,.., 0 "'" = <:r' ~O ..., :;>:::::J rn 11 0-< co I - ,- ::::j0 -.l iT1 _..../ r- ~ ...... rn :> 0 C) Xi :x '--7' '!? ~ N co City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM 4 3 Date: February 3, 2006 To: City Clerk and City Council From: John Yapp, Acting JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner ) ~ I <1.v- Re: . Item for February 13, 2006 City Council meeting: Install NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign on Iowa River Corridor Trail west of the dog park parking area. As directed by Title 9, Chapter I, Section 3B ofthe City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(l), Install NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign on Iowa River Corridor Trail west of the western terminus of Foster Road, west of the dog park parking area. Comment: The Iowa River Corridor Trail continues west beyond the terminus of Foster Road. The NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign will clarify that motorized vehicles are not permitted west of the dog park parking area on the trail. Authorized vehicles will continue to be permitted for trail and park maintenance, and water plant related activities. 0 "" = c-", ;25,0 "" r>- -" -" --..J CT'J C) ....,< co 'T1 :.:.jO I - -J r ~~'<i m m :>:... 0=0 :x i:J -s;:/' If? ~ +- <0 City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: February 3, 2006 To: City Clerk and City Council From: John Yapp, Acting JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner jdjy Re: Item for February 13, 2006 City Council meeting: Remove ROAD CLOSED and ROAD CLOSED AHEAD signs at west end of Foster Road As directed by Title 9, Chapter I, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(l), Remove ROAD CLOSED and ROAD CLOSED AHEAD signs at the west end of Foster Road. Comment: Foster Road is now open to allow access to the dog park parking area at the western terminus of Foster Road on the Lower Peninsula. A NO OUTLET warning sign will be posted in place of the ROAD CLOSED sign. The Iowa River Corridor Trail and IRP Darn pedestrian bridge are open for public use on the Lower Peninsula Park. o :2:0 J>-j 0-< =:(C~: ~=: g~ O--~ :::;E/' )> ~ 4 4 ....~ = = "'" ..,., rT1 a:> I -.l 11 . [ll .c-l \....J ;po ::J: ..0 N CD Marian Karr ~ ~ From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Rosenbaum, Marcy [marcy-rosenbaum@uiowa.edu] Wednesday, February 01, 2006 7:36 AM council@iowa-city.org steve-atki ns@iowa-city.org Support for the Summer of the Arts Dear Council Members: I am writing to urge you to approve the $50,000 budget request to support the newly formed Summer of the Arts (SotA) organization. I think the combining of our seminal summer arts events (Iowa Arts Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, The Friday Night Concert Series and The Saturday Night Free Movie Series) under one management umbrella is an excellent idea and deserves strong support from the city. I am a long term Iowa City resident and have enjoyed these Iowa City summer arts events since the inception of the Iowa Arts Festival over 20 years ago. I travel extensively for both work and personal business and when responding to questions about Iowa City, one of the first things I note is the amount and quality of free, public cultural events, especially during the summer. Friends and colleagues around the country and world are always impressed by the community support for these events. It is definitely one of the main features that puts our community on the map. My family's choice to live in Iowa City, on the near northside, rather than moving to a dream house in the country, is strongly colored by our desire to have access to the summer arts activities. We have friends who travel to Iowa City every year from out of state to attend these activities and spend their money in our town. One of the most striking aspects of these activities is that it brings our whole community out to share in the experience of family-friendly, alcohol-free, diverse cultural entertainment and education. The summer of the arts events attract a diverse audience with community representatives of all ages, ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. These events celebrate what helps our community actually feel like a community. The importance of having the city contribute a more substantial amount to SotA than they have to the individual festivals cannot be overstated. With the formation of SotA, we have the opportunity to build a strong infrastructure allowing for continued quality programming and expansion of this programming beyond the summer months. Providing funds to support the establishment of this centralized infrastructure, will create a structure that will be able to attract large scale donors, grant funding and more tourist dollars to our community. Thus, in helping to build a strong foundation to SotA, the city will be contributing to the organization's potential to attract increasing dollars from other sources in the future. I appreciate your consideration of this proposed budget item. A strong contribution from the City in support of SotA will represent a crucial investment in the sense of community and creativity that we all value in our town. Sincerely, Marcy Rosenbaum, PhD 314 Fairchild Iowa City, Iowa 1 Executive Members Shelly Campo LaShelle Christensen Jim Clayton Co-Chairperson Sam Cochran Ben Darhro Geri Garvey Sarah Hansen Dale Helling Michael J. Hogan Will Jennings Phillip E. Jones Mary Khowassah Co-Chairperson Mark Kresowik Ernie Lehman Lauren McCarthy Bill Nelson Steve Parrott Lane Plugge Angela Reams Coordinator Nan Trefz Ralph Wilmoth Erick W olfmeyer :t ...~ The IT;;] :.~ STEPPING UP FILED .,. w~ PrOlect 2006 JAN 31 P~l 3: 15 , To Reduce the Harmful Effects of High Risk Drinking CITY CLEI=1K January,!, 2006 IOWA CiTY IOWA City Council of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear Mayor and City Council: The Iowa City Alcohol Advisory Board (ICAAB) recently released its plan outlining recommendations for three key stakeholders in the community: The University of Iowa, the City Council of Iowa City, and the Iowa City Police Department. The guidelines and recommendations included more alcohol-free events, increased compliance checks, profiles of "problem bars", a late-night fee for businesses, and others. Sarah Hansen, Stepping Up Executive Committee Member, and Angela Reams, Stepping Up Coordinator, met with Leah Cohen and Brian Flynn in November to discuss their recommendations and any commonalities between our respective coalition objectives. We are pleased to report that we agreed to support several key initiatives: . Increased compliance checks on alcohol establishments and constant enforcement of alcohol-related laws. Specifically, during our conversation, we discussed directives to increase compliances checks to one per month and to build compliance checks into the City/Police budgeting process. As you may know, the Stepping Up coalition provided $1,000 to fund a compliance check in November, 2005. However, making this a budgeting priority is essential for further success. . Require TIPS training for all servers in Iowa City . A late-night fee for businesses in certain districts, generating monies to support additional policing and clean up . Creation of guidelines or profiles identifying "problem bars" Several of the education-related ICAAB suggestions are already in place or in the process of being expanded. The University of Iowa already provides alcohol awareness programs, has created a 1-credit hour academic course on "Alcohol and Your College Experience", and is in the process of developing other alcohol-related educational opportunities for students. We will continue to pursue avenues for.collaboration. Likewise, The Stepping Up Project has provided over $180,000 in funding for non-alcohol events over the past four years. We look forward to continuing our sponsorship of these events with support from the ICAAB and bar owners. The ICPD enforces alcohol-related laws and performs compliance checks as their staffing permits. TIPS training was utilized this year by some establishments. Each of these stakeholders are working to do their part and will continue to have their respective coalition goals, but by working together on these recommendations we hope to make even more progress toward the goal of reducing high risk drinking and its related harms, as well as creating a safer and healthier downtown environment. Sincerely, fl=,~ Co-Chairperson /11<:t0L15z,(1m17 Angt;la Reams 'S Project Coordinator )llf~H~~ Dr. Mil'ry Khowassah Co-Chairperson 100 Stanley I--tall, The University ofIoWJ, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Phone: (3 I9)->S3~2529 Fax: (319)353-2527 En;ail: stcpping(4Juiowa.edu 1/20/2006 Dear City Council Members, We are writing to you regarding the ICAAB Comprehensive Plan that was submitted to you a few months ago. The ICAAB would be happy to meet with the Council concerning any thoughts or questions you may have about any or all of the content we have submitted. We were very pleased to learn of University President Skorton's willingness to work with the ICAAB on some of the issues and ideas that were presented. The ICAAB is looking forward to hearing from you regarding the issues that we have addressed. It is the unanimous opinion of this Board that with the support of the City Council, the Iowa City Police Department, and The University that we can enact some positive changes in the downtown area. However, it is also the opinion of the ICAAB that without the public support of the Board's efforts from the Council, we will not have the ability to perform in the most effective manner possible. The unity that has been created by the ICAAB amongst the downtown establishments has been very positive and with your continued support and effort we will remain diligent in our efforts regarding excessive and underage drinking. Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon. Regards, Brian Flynn ICAAB Co-Chair Leah Cohen ICAAB Co-Chair ....., 0 = = CT' :2:0 <- )>::::j ",.. 11 ../ % ~ ' N ~ ~ ~. -C 0 ~r' -0 ill .--, -:JJ ::n: "0 ~;A ~ )> 1.0 ~ ~ Marian Karr From: kbleohr [kbleohr@mchsi.com] Sent: Monday, January 23, 20067:37 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Drinking by high school and college students I have read and watched the conversations about the drinking problem in Iowa City. I must tell you as a mother of a 17 and a 19 year old Iowa City is not a place to raise kids with this kind of controversary always hanging out at your meetings and in the papers. 1. Are you aware of the mass drinking problem by our high school students. It involves someone in every sport! music activity etc. Rich kids/poor kids. 2. Are you aware there our parents that buy and accept that teenagers drink?(oh well kids will be kids) 3. Are you aware that parents allow it in their homes? 4. Are you aware that adults will buy for the kids only to be resold by the teenagers. 5. Are you aware of parties in homes that allow drinking tell the kids to go home after they have been drinking. This is for high school. 6. Parents that have no clue their kids are drinking and other things Now for college students. 1. FakelD 2. bouncers at the doors that are not responsible. 3.adults buying for minors 4.bar owners that are trying but no matter what they try it will always be a problem as long as the source is there. My point:.As long as we permit alcohol to run our lives and the students it will. Stand tall council members. Students will always be students and we will always have irresponsible adults so we as a community need to be the parents and say enough is enough. It has been long enough now start taking the resources away. Let's restrict the number of bars. We have too many. Restrict the sell so many miles away from campus. Make people sign for booze with name and address especially when they are buying kegs, multiple 12 packs etc. Limit the amount bought. Many more suggestions around the corner. Do we really want to be known as the party school/town like Colorado is to Boulder? /Iove Iowa City, I have been here since 1976 but / have to tell you it is scary raising teens here right now. Too much is at stake for the teens now and too costly. The only ones who can benefit are the many rehab programs, DOT for the fines for driving and Paula fines for the city. It is not like the old days when kids were taken home to mom and dad by the police. Charges ,records, attorney fees, insurance rates etc. Help us parents who are trying to raise kids to be responsible adults. Help those parents who send their kids to Iowa to get an education and who are trusting Iowa City to keep their kids safe. Please don't bury your head in the sand. Bar owners have had there chance. It is not working. Start taking away the source of the problem.. Look at how signing for the cold medicine has helped with meth. Think about. Tobacco???? Thanks for your time and your energy. I know all of you will do the right thing for our kids. Again, it is for our kids it is for our future to help these kids. Kathy Leohr 18 Durham Ct Iowa City 1/23/2006 L;(8) I Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Wednesday, February 01,20063:38 PM To: 'Mary Ann Mille~ Cc: 'City Council Subject: RE: PLEASE RECONSIDER PROPERTY TAX INCREASE!! Dear Mary, Thank you for your email message to the City Council. Council members do not receive their email messages directly. Your communication will be forwarded to them as official correspondence and will be included on their next Council agenda scheduled for February 13, 2006. Thank you for writing. Sincerely, Kathi Johansen Administrative Assistant to the City Manager From: Mary Ann Miller [mailto:mims37@mchsl.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2006 1:0S PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: PLEASE RECONSIDER PROPERTY TAX INCREASE!! Importance: High This is the first time I have contacted the council after having lived and paid property taxes in Iowa City since 1977! I read today in the Press-Citizen that during a work session last evening you are raising property taxes! I want to give input regarding what I consider to be a poorly thoughtouttax increase simply to add more police and a fire station! The police force here is good enough---they spend most of their time dealing with college student related problems downtown. This is not Chicagol DesMoinesl Our crime rate is low so why more police? We have a really sad record of helping the homeless, feeding the hungry, working on health care for children, housing. If you do increase the tax rate, please use it for some good, not more police! i am with Councilor Vanderhaden, you are forcing out lower income people such as me! I live in a basic bungalow home in Goosetown and have recently retired with fixed income. Ironically, our State legislators today are working on eliminating taxes on social security and pensions to help seniors stay in Iowa while you are increasing property taxes to move us out! I am pleased to see those councilors for whom I voted have the same values I do! Please reconsider. Please let me know if you have received this message so I can make phone calls if you did not. Mary Ann Miller 1131 Fairchild St Iowa City, Iowa 52245 email: rolms37@.mchsl.com 2/1/2006 Public safety ~ ~ Marian Karr From: Radosevich, Stephen J [stephen-radosevich@uiowa.eduj Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 9:48 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Public safety Dear Council Members, It was very gratifying to read in Wednesday 2/1/2006's Press-Citizen that the council will at last do something about increasing the number of police officers in our community. Along with building and staffing a north side fire station these are things are have been in need for the further safety and protection of our city/citizens. The grand scheme on taxes has been for tax cuts at & payments from the federal level, so that local communities (who are supposed to be more aware of their needs) could direct and fund the local needs. I hope this is happening at last. Our city needs to realize that if the basic needs of public safety, fire, water, sewage, and trash disposal are not met, everything else is cosmetic to the needs of the citizens. I realize there is no glamour in meeting these needs but since they are the essential requirements of government they need to be met at a level that is more than just a minimum. Sincerely, Steve Stephen J. Radosevich 107 SHL IIHR - Hydroscience & Engineering The University of Iowa Iowa City, lA., 52242 ph: 319.3355933 fax: 319.335.5238 2/2/2006 ""~~~"'. :' ~~ilJU~~ '\ \: nlll~1 *j '9ot,(....on\'.'-O~ G:rJ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT WASHINGTON, D.C. 20410-7000 OFFICE OFTIfE ASSISTANT SB:RErARY FOR COMMUNITI PLANNING AND DEVF1..OPMENT January 16,2006 "" 0 = = 0' The Honorable Ross Wilburn ~O '-- ).> =' ~ -11 Mayor of Iowa City ~ ;;;:. .,.-.,,-" N .-- ~ , 410 E. Washington St. -- ,---. w m --I "_ ) _/r- Iowa City, IA 52240 ' ---h'. -0 ,........, --1 ::K ',-J 0-"-' Dear Mayor Wilburn: :2:7 U1 )> ....... I am pleased to inform you that the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget has been enacted and signed by the President. This letter provides your FY 2006 allocations for the Office of Community Planning and Development's (CPD) formula programs: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG); HOME Investment Partnerships; the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI); Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPW A); and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG). These programs provide funding for housing, community and economic development, and assistance for special populations across the country, HUD's budget is included in the FY 2006 Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (P.L. 109-115). Funding amounts in this bill were subsequently impacted by the FY 2006 Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act (PL. 109-148), which dictated an across-the-board Government- wide rescission of one percent. According to the la~, the Department is required to reduce each program contained in all funding bills by that amount. CPD's formula programs are not exempt from this cut. The FY 2006 allocations below have already been reduced to reflect this requirement. Also, the amounts include reallocated funds in the CDBG and HOME programs. The allocations reflect the level of funding available for these programs in your community. The following amounts represent your FY 2006 allocation(s): Community Development Block Grant HOME Investment Partnerships American Dream Downpayment Initiative Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Emergency Shelter Grants $680,249 $637,222 $0 $0 $0 HUD continues to emphasize the importance of effective performance measurement in all of our programs. Last year HUD participated with national public interest groups in a joint working group, and developed a framework for a performance measurement framework for CPD formula programs. This framework was proposed for comment in a June 10, 2005 Federal 2 Register Notice titled, "Notice of Proposed Outcome Performance Measurement System for Community Planning and Development Formula Grant Programs; Request for Comments." This performance measurement framework is based on the reporting of objectives, outcomes, and indicators for each activity that is funded by the CPD formula grant programs. The objectives, which closely mirror the statutory purposes of the programs, are: Suitable Living Environment, Decent Housing, and Creating Economic Opportunities. The outcome categories, which reflect the result that the grantee is seeking to achieve from each activity, are: A vailabilityl Accessibility, Affordability, and Sustainability (Promoting Livable or Viable Communities). The indicators are the outputs realized for each specific activity. Combining objectives, outcomes and indicators will enable HUD to produce statements that uniformly describe the activity's impact and enable HUD to demonstrate the benefits and success of the CPD formula grant programs. Additional information on the implementation of the performance measurement framework will be disseminated later this winter. Although there will be some changes made to the final framework provided in the June 10, 2005 Federal Register Notice, it is expected that the fundamental premise and format will remain unchanged. In addition, HUD expects to incorporate this performance measurement framework into the existing CPD Integrated Disbursement and Information System (lDIS) in the spring of 2006. CPD formula grantees should now consider how the performance measurement system may impact their local administrative practices, including deciding the objectives and outcomes of activities that are funded. I look forward to continuing our partnership to assist lower income residents in your community. As always, HUD is available to provide any assistance you require in implementing your programs. If you or any member of your staff has questions, please contact your local CPD Office Director. Sincerely, ~~ -H'~ Ce', PC 0 Pamela H. Patenaude Assistant Secretary o ~O ,:> -- - -; C)-< :::;(""; ~-.( ;-: rq "'-u.'" '-",! - , ~X ):> ,~" = ~ k ;;z" l\) c..> ::n - -- I ill '---' ''-.J ;:;g - '. en "-oJ Marian Karr ~ From: Sent: To: Subject: Karen Kubby [kubby@pobox.com] Tuesday. January 24, 2006 12:37 PM council@iowa-city.org citizens summary of the budget City Council, I attended the budget teach-in hosted by FAIR' and conducted by Regenia Bailey and Amy Correia (and attended by Bob Elliot!). My kudos and admiration to Amy for knowing so much about the budget with just three weeks of city council time under her belt. For years, I have felt that the Citizens Summary of the budget is not really serving its purpose and want to put my time where my mouth is. I believe the intent of this summary is to make the information more accessible to the citizens of Iowa City. If this is the case, I don't believe it is doing its job. Maybe what we need is a "primer" or "guide" instead of a "summary". As an educator, and as someone familiar with the budget framework and process, I would be willing to spend a bit of time in brainstorming how to create a popular education piece about the city budget. The Finance Department can than put together the details for the budget numbers to ensure the accuracy of the information. I believe that other members of FAIR! might also have an interest in investing time and energy in this direction. This could be done now to be implemented for next years efforts. If you have any interest in moving in this direction, please contact me as a volunteer who would be interesting in participating in such a project. Karen Kubby 1111 Clark Court Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 337-2112 days =====privacy Statement===== ATTENTION: This electronic document may contain confidential information and is intended for use by the addressee and/or their intended representatives only. Review by unintended individuals is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not read, transmit, copy, disclose, store or utilize this communication in any manner. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your computer. Thank you. 1 ~ Memo: Council Members January 27, 2006 FILED zoos JAN 30 PM I: , 2 Market Considerations for Funding to Senior Center C17\/ ,." "''''( ~I r! i,-,LCtit IOWA CiTY, IOWA Forward: There are 23,000 seniors In Johnson County. Currently 4% of all seniors are members of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center. Here are issues which should be addressed and understood in order to allocate funds appropriately. 1. Define the "senior" market In Iowa City, Johnson County . How many seniors between ages 50 and 60 60 and 70 70 and over . What Is the percentage of frail elderly, poor elderly, rural elderly . Where do they live What demographic hNltures 0' this market should be considered when we talk about mndlng? 2. What Is the competition for the senior market in this area? For example: .00 resIdents at Oa/moll, Melmse Meadowsllnd other residences partake 0' In-house activitl.s for the most part sInce most have exercIse 'acllltles and a variety 0' pmgrammlng? .00 younger senIors already belong to health, service and social clubs? .00 active senIors already volunteer thmugh RSVP, churches, clubs or schools? 3. What are the NEEDS & INTERESTS of the 50-60, 60.70, 70 & over groups 4. What Is the COMPETITION for this market share in other PUBLIC SECTORS,PRIVATE SECTOR? . Membership Fee . Location . Instl'Uctors . Tuition .Parklng Example: The Grey Hawks charge no membership fee and their classes are available to all seniors. The class fees are always $30 and frequently their class sites have free parking. 5. We are learning that many of the boomers and the new younger seniors will elect to continue working rather than retire. Do we have any kind of handle on that demographic In our area? What Impact would that have on planning and funding for "new seniors"? 6. We read In the .January 26 Press Citizen that over 1000 seniors In .Johnson County are back In the workforce (4%) . If flex time, partial benefits and opportunities were more available In our area what impact would there be on senior programming? (Back to work skills such as writing, computer skills?), on daytime attendance at places like the Senior Center? These few market considerations Illustrate the need for substantive data to justify budget requests. For example: if the Senior Center were to add a staff person, stay open evenings to attract younger seniors would that attract younger seniors who already belong to and attend fitness centers, take fitness classes through *Kirkwood or at our City recreation centers or those who take a variety of classes through Kirkwood Community Education In local schools where there Is ample free parking? What data Is offered to support this request? Funding considerations are made on more than "if we have It, they will come" notions. This Is not the Field of Dreams. *Klrkwood partners with the North Dodge Athletic Club to offer fitness and sport programs for all age groups '. ../ ----7 !../ '. ,~ J;5 A.A:U<-L.l:.A<1l-Ci. '--<-- .J~ne Braverman, Ph.D. "" 0 = = ~o c:>' <-. )>=:; l<> } :z: 11 C)~. w r- --{ C) 0 .:-<1'--- fTl rTl -0 -:0 ::E: 0 O-.~ ~^ - .. ):> N r:I Marian Karr From: Kathryn Johansen Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 2:47 PM To: 'Allen, Cheryl' Cc: 'City Council Subject: RE: Hello Cheryl, Please visit the Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program's website at www.mavorsvouthemflQwermentpfQgri'lm.cQD1. Here you will find a list of programs they have to offer along with their contact information and calendar of upcoming events. Thank you for writing. Sincerely, Kathi Johansen Administrative Assistant to the City Manager From: Allen, Cheryi [mailto:ALLENCE@ihs.org] Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 12:59 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: I need information on what exactly the 'Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program' is, what benefits it provides, and if it also has housing facilities available to adults with special needs. This information or website information will be appreciated as soon as possible!!!!!!!!! Thank you, your assistance is appreciated. Cheryl E. Allen Iowa Health System CBO Des Moines, IA 50309 Ph: 515-362-5049 Fax:515-362-5055 ******************************************** This message and accompanying documents are covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 V.S.C. SS 2510-2521, and contain information intended for the specified individual(s) only. This information is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in error and that any review, dissemination, copying, or the taking of any action based on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately bye-mail, and delete the original message. ********************************************* 1/30/2006 r:J 517 Grant Street Iowa City, IA 52240 r-.> 6 = = ~ :2:0 ..., ::r>--, m 11 -, crJ -< - () - I - .=tCJ N ill :<i -0 III r-'! ,-=::::0 ::::; '-.J ~.-- l)? <C/~ ~ Ul Ul Februal) I, 2006 Dear Council Members: After appearing before you at the beginning of November, I decided to wait until the Council reviewed the guidelines before proceeding to resolve my gutter problem. The December snow storm and accompanying freeze caused additional damage to the gutter on the south side of my house and significant water damage to the interior of my home. I had water trickling down the inside of dining room windows, around the window frame, and from new cracks along the wall directly above the window as well as the wall above the bay, as well as heavy dripping from a new crack in the ceiling of the bay in which the window sits. At one point, I had to leave the house for about two hours and upon my return found that a container I had placed under this latter drip had collected about a half-gallon of water. At that point, I called The Maintenance Company to see whether anything could be done in the way of an emergency repair to stop the immediate water infiltration. They sent someone out and informed me that with the weather conditions, there was nothing they could do at that time. After ringing out towels and empting drip-catching containers for four days-the dripping stopped during the nights when everything froze and started again during the days as the sun hit the snow causing some melting-I decided I could no longer wait for the Council to act before making the necessary repairs to prevent additional damage to my home. I called the contractor and asked him to come back to complete the work he had begun in late August/early September. He was reluctant to complete the work for fear of being found in violation of code. I contacted Jarrn Ream, explained the situation, and asked for a letter that would assure my contractor that I would be held solely responsible for any violation that might be charged and that the City would not pursue the contractor. After I received the letter I had requested, I contacted the contractor and he agreed to add my gutter enclosure to his work schedule and told me he should be able to get to it in January'. In mid-January', Sunil Terdalkar called me to schedule a meeting with representatives of the HPC to discuss possible resolutions to the "gutter problem." After a couple of attempts, we were able to find a time that fit the schedules of all concerned. That meeting was set for 9 AM, Thursday, January 26 at my home. At 7:30 that morning, I received a call from the contractor informing me that he would be coming back to complete the work on the gutters later that day. I told him I would be meeting with HPC representatives that morning, but that he should plan on continuing with the original plan because my primary concern and obligation was to protect my home and ensure that it would be watertight before the next storm, whenever that might be. At 9 AM, Sunil Terdalkar, Richard Carlson, and Justin Pardekooper arrived at my home and I immediately told them of the developments with the contractor. I then proceeded to show them the damage my house had sustained as a result of the delay in fixing the gutter problem. After they had looked at cracks, stains and flaking paint, we went outside to look at the gutters themselves. Justin Pardekooper first went up on the north side of the house and examined the work that had been started and interrupted in the fall. He determined that there was no framing. He also noted that %" plywood had been used-a thickness that can be used to span 2 feet. The distance spanned was less than 2 feet-the board is only 18" wide. After he came down, he answered questions posed by both Sunil Terdalkar and Richard Carlson in my presence. During this exchange, he expressed the opinion that what had been started would be a "long-term solution," not a "short-term" one. He also explained why it is not a good idea to enclose the gutters with a horizontal board (one of the options recommended by the guidelines). More significantly, to my mind, he expressed the opinion that "code aside," this was a good solution to the problem. We then moved to the south side of the house, and Justin Pardekooper went up to look at the still open gutter on that side. After examining it, he said that he would have to agree with Emerson Andrishok that the build up of material used for repairs over the years (which he characterized as having been well done) would make it ineffective as a long-term solution to simply recoat or add a membrane to the existing gutter liner (the other option recommended by the HPC). He also expressed the opinion that the water infIltration and/or the age of the house made it a distinct possibility that there would be underlying damage that would have to be addressed as part of a repair to maintain the open gutters. He stated that it was possible to repair the gutters, but that such repairs would be "costly." In a refreshing bit of self-directed humor, he said, "It would be costly because carpenters are expensive, and I should know because I am one." I did not ask him to attach a number to the term "costly." It was clear from the context that it would be significantly more than the cost of what I was attempting to do. To my mind, he confirmed evef)thing I had reported to the Council in my first letter. I saw no new options coming out of this meeting. As I eXplained in my letter to you on September 26, the estimate I had been given by Emerson Andrishok was $3,000 if there were no underlying damage. (In the case of finding underlying damage, he had mentioned $5,000 as a ballpark figure.) While all this was going on, the contractor's crew arrived and began to unload the scaffolding materials. One of the men walked up to me as I was speaking with Richard Carlson and asked whether I still wanted them to start the work in the afternoon and I answered in the affirmative. (As I pointed out at the time, I certainly cannot be accused oftf)ing to hide anything.) At that point, my meeting with Sunil Terdalkar and the two HPC members had convinced me that the only long-term solutions open to me were to complete the work that had been started almost 5 months earlier immediately, or to try schedule a different contractor to repair/rebuild the gutters. The latter option would not only be far more expensive, but would also leave my home exposed to the likelihood of sustaining additional damage before that work could be completed. ,...., The work was done Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. On Saturday I received ~citatio.g in the mail, but at least my house was dry as the rain was pouring down outside. Acco~o ili&; letter that accompanied the citation, the City will not move to enforce the citation until lIi'"e -J (;} Council decides what modifications, if any, it will make to the guidelines. CJ -<, I -10 N I believe what I have been put through-including the damage sustained in December ~"a~. ~ new "violator" status--while tf).ing to repair my home (in a manner that is consistent w~~at N has been done throughout the historic district for years) is an outrage. There is a reaso~hy mog; of the homes in the historic districts have had built -in gutters enclosed in exactly the same way I U1 have now enclosed mine. Cost is certainly a factor, but beyond that, even rebuilding the gutters, would still leave my home (and any other home that has a bay that protrudes from the main wall of the house) with a gutter running directly above an interior space. Although "built-in" gutters -n r iTl o are usually part of the overhang, there is no overhang over the bay. For this reason, the gutter becomes the de facto "roof" of the bay-this is not a good idea! I urge you to modify the guidelines and to do so as sOOn as possible. Not only am I seeking relief for the unreasonable burden placed upon me by the current guidelines, I am also seeking to prevent having other law-abiding, tax-paying propelty owners subj ected to what I have been made to endure. In closing, I would like to ask you to consider the following question as you review the guidelines: What kind of commitment to historic preservation mandates the preservation of gutters even at the expense of the walls that support them') Respectfully:, 'i"~ I . . I ... _ -...-.-..... ", - ......-....--....... --."--- ..~-.. Maria A. Duarte ~.o >-1 ()-< =-\(~) .<1'-- - IT1 --n 0"'''' .;;'^ ); ,..., = = "'"' .." M 0:> I N -n -" :l: ~ c.n c.n - ,- 'm o ~ Marian Karr From: Alan Nagel [mailto:alan-nagel@uiowa.edu] Sent: Friday, January 27,20062:49 PM To: Kathryn Johansen Cc: janet-ashman@uiowa.edu; Idykstraicl@aol.com; patriciaJarrant@act.org; harold-goff@uiowa.edu; mpcjones@ia.net; pete- sidwell@uiowa.edu; peter-jochimsen@uiowa.edu; Gene Szymkowiak Subject: Deer & Public Health--article I attach a copy of the NY Times article mentioned earlier today. I shall provide hard copy if prefer. Would you please distribute it to Council members and to any task force member who would like a hard copy (or to us all eventually, if that is policy). . Alan H* eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT; Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders H* *H ....J 0 = = "'" 2:0 '- )>- ",.. Il --j :z 0-' I'-) ;(~-; -.J 1'""11 ~i"- ""D t I I IT] ~-.1 ~:o ::E: U ~^ <:? ~ 0 1/27/2006 To: Iowa City Council; Deer Task Force From: Alan Nagel (deer task force member) Date: Jan. 27, 2006 Re.: Deer and Public Health The article below summarizes a report published in the journal Science today. Chronic Wasting Disease had not been observed in Iowa deer as of a year ago, though it has spread from Wisconsin game farm animals to wild deer in Wisconsin and Illinois, down to the Rock Island area. Not observed to date in humans CWD may be transmissible; research continues. The article speaks to an increase in risk, and warrants ever more rigorous dttention to controlling urban deer herds. --AFN Study Finds Wider Tainting of Deer Body From a Disease .By SANDRA BLAKESLEE .Published: January 27, 2006 The meat of deer with chronic wasting disease has been found to contain the infectious prions that spread the disease, according to a study published today in Science. Until now, state and federal health officials have reassured hunters they will not be exposed to the disease as long as they do not touch or eat an animal's brain, spinal cord or other nervous tissues, where the infectious prions have been known to lodge. There is no evidence that chronic wasting disease, which is similar to mad_cow disease, has been passed to humans, although it has spread to deer and elk in 11 states and two Canadian provinces. The paper in Science, by Dr. Glenn Telling, a prion expert at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and colleagues, reports that the prized haunch and leg meat of infected ~r is clearly contaminated. Other muscle meat may also be infected, Dr. Telling @id. ~ ~O 'i;; "Fortunately, th~re i~ no evidence that humans have ever contra~ted chronic w~t1iik ~ disease from eatmg mfected ammals," said Bruce Mornson, chairman ofthe N~Q!lal -J Chronic Wasting Disease hnplementation Team and assistant director of the Wi1dW:e ;:2 Division at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "1 hunt, and I'm not wo~" c..J 'if:/" ., ..::: 0 States where the disease is found routinely warn hunters to have deer and elk mla! frozen while the head is tested for prions, Mr. Morrison said. Il - - I r,-n i'-, '-./ He added that as a simple precaution no part of an infected animal should be eaten. The new findings are not likely to change such warnings, he said, although each state will decide. "This study is very important," said Stanley Prusiner of the University of California, San Francisco, who won the 1997 Nobel in Medicine for research on prions. "It's frightening that there should be so many prions in the muscle meat of deer." Recent studies have found prions in the flesh of infected mice, cows, sheep and humans, Dr. Prusiner said, "so why not deer and elk?" Why anyone would eat an animal that has not been tested for prion disease is beyond comprehension, he said, "and that includes cows." Prions exist in normal form in mammals, and become disease agents when they are misfolded. Like mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease is caused by misfolded prions in nervous tissue and now, it seems, other parts ofthe body. While cows have become infected by eating infected feed, no one knows how deer and elk transmit the disease, although saliva, urine and feces are suspects. To explore prion biology, Dr. Telling has created several types of transgenic mice. He and his co-workers knock out the gene responsible for normal prions in fertilized mouse eggs and insert the prion genes of another animal. In this way, they have made mice that have normal human prions, mice with normal cow prions and mice with normal prions found in deer and elk. None of these prions cause disease in their normal form. In the study reported today, Dr. Telling pulverized the leg meat and brain tissues of five deer in the terminal stages of chronic wasting disease and injected them into the brains of mice that had the deer and elk gene. Having the mechanism for normal deer and elk prions may have set the animals up for susceptibility to the misfolded prions. Every animal contracted chronic wasting disease. Because brain tissue tends to have more prions, it led to the disease faster than meat tissue. The study is alarming because it shows how easily prions get into meat, said Patrick Bosque, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado Denver Health Hospital who studies protein folding diseases. More research is needed to find out if the prions are in the muscle cells or in the nerves that thread throughout muscle tissue, Dr. Bosque said. Meanwhile, epidemiologists have been looking for signs of brain wasting disease among deer and elk hunters, Dr. Bosque said. Hunters occasionally develop a human prion disease, called sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but not in abnormally high numbers. And even if people did contract chronic wasting disease from eating infected animal meat, it is not clear what the disease would look like, he said. One reassurance for hunters is that chronic wasting disease does not transmit into mice with human prions, Dr. Telling said. And oral transmission ofprions is always less efficient than injecting prions directly into the brain. 0 g ""'.- 0"'> In coming months, Dr. Telling said, he and his team plan to inject mice who h~~eer~ and elk prions with the saliva, feces and urine of infected deer to see if they can:Bolve ~ Il riddle of how the animals pass the disease to one another in the wild. ,--d ~ ::: !--n -- -T' :x Cl O::i=l ~ ~^ w )> 0 ~ Marian Karr From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Anissa Williams Friday, January 20, 20064:07 PM , robert-h i99 i ns@uiowa.edu' 'City Council; Kathryn Johansen; Mall Johnson; Jeff Davidson RE: South Linn & Court Streets Bob Higgins, Your message was forwarded to me for response. I have checked the collision history at this intersection in the last three years and there is not an apparent safety issue. There would need to be 5 left turn or broadside collisions to justify a stop sign in a 12 month period. There have only been 3 left turn collisions in the last year and none the previous two years. We have specific criteria that need to be met as mandated by the Federal Highway Administration to install a four way stop. This requires fairly high volume of traffic on all approaches. This intersection will not meet the volume criteria. If an unwarranted stop sign is installed, vehicles tend to "roll" through the stop sign creating a unsafe situation for a pedestrian who expects the vehicle to stop. I will ask the police to do some spot speed enforcement on Court Street. This is the most effective way to reduce speeds. Thank you for your request. Anissa Williams JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 356-5254 -----Original Message----- From: Higgins, Robert 0 [mailto:robert-higgins@uiowa.edu] Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:59 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Cc: ron-knoche@iowa-city.org Subject: South Linn & Court Streets Dear Council- I would like to bring to your attention a safety concern in regards to the intersection of South Linn and East Court Streets. (Near St. Patrick's parish) The intersection is currently a two-way stop, with the east and westbound traffic (Court St.) not required to stop. We have many students living south of Court St. that use S. Linn as their way home from class and downtown. (Similar to Dubuque St.) It is often a very difficult intersection to cross safely. It is especially difficult to cross during the mid afternoon hours (4-6pm) when the light is becoming poor and high levels of traffic are present. The largest problem are cars 'sprinting' down the steep incline heading east on Court St., and pedestrians and cars trying to cross. We have stop signs at Clinton, Dubuque, and Gilbert, but not Linn as you know. While these stop signs help slow traffic enough to let people cross, I think it encourages people driving faster to get down to Gilbert often times. i.e. when people are in a hurry; which is when most accidents would occur. I know in the past we have had too many accidents involving pedestrians around campus, and I would hate to see another one occur on the street I walk each day. I would advocate making this intersection a four way stop. I have thought about this intersection many times before, however two 'close calls' in this week alone have prompted me to write you. I understand we don't need four way stops on every corner, but this intersection seems like it could really use one. On an average day I think it would really help. The only issue I could foresee would be on Sundays with so many cars and traffic trying to exit St. 1 Patrick's. It would be worth investigating I believe. Keep in mind I am part of a group who is often criticized for lack of participation in local government. If a student like me is willing to take the time to write you about a safety issue, it must be a pretty valid concern. I would be happy to work with you or answer questions if necessary. Thank you for your consideration. I'll be looking forward to hearing back from you. Bob Higgins Student, University of Iowa 517 S Linn St. Apt. 2 (319) 530-4646 2 G:1[J Marian Karr From: Advance Moving [advancemoving@mchsLcom] Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 1 :33 PM To: terry-robinson@iowa-city.org Cc: council@iowa-city.org; steve-atkins@iowa-city.org; eleanor-dilkes@iowa-city.org; 'Cyndi Ambrose' Subject: Claim on Tree branch Davenport Street, September 22, 2005 February 3, 2006 Terry Robinson Department of Forestry City ofIowa City Dear Mr. Robinson, I just received the official response from Crawford Claims Management Services regarding my claim of September 22, 2005. I have few questions for you regarding this matter. (I) Besides people calling in and complaining about branches or other City workers reporting problems, do you have any active program in maintaining the trees in Iowa City? For example, I envision a vehicle with a telescopic antenna 15' 6" high where branches like the one that hit my truck can be identified and trimmed? (2) Do you keep records of people calling in about branches? If so, I would like to come to your office and inspect these records. (3) Can you envisage a scenario where you can be liable for a tree branch? (4) Has the City ever paid out any compensation that you know of, for an accident involving a tree branch? If so, please furnish information regarding such case. I estimate the age of the branch which hit my truck to be 15 years old. According to your investigation, you went out and measured the branch and found it to be 12' 2" high. This means that this branch is more than one (I) meter below what it is supposed to be. By any stretch, this is a huge sum for vehicle clearance purposes. And if you're unable to identify a branch this thick and that low, then you can't claim that you are maintaining the trees ofIowa City properly. And we also need to consider that E Davenport. Street is one of the major streets in Iowa City. You also stated in your report that no one else ever reported this branch before. Request: Please count the number of rings in the branch when you or your workers trim it. I visited this branch on January 28, 2006 and discovered that it has not been trimmed yet. I am troubled by the City's rejection of my claim. Here is why I am troubled: If the City is immune from claims, then you have no incentive to trim any branch except when someone complains. This is a prescription for accidents, property damage and personal injury. If you assume the responsibility of maintaining the trees which lie between the sidewalk and the street, then an active program of identifying trouble branches must be established. Even if you had 2/3/2006 Page 2 of 5 an active program which covers the city over a five year period, a branch like the one that hit my truck would have been identified long time ago. Stating that it is my responsibility to watch for low branches is, in my opinion, a classic case of "blaming the victim". I am in the process of gathering more information to help me understand your position clearly. Your help in this matter is appreciated. Basically, I would like to do a field visit to your office to check the records of complaints about branches and to really see how the department of Forestry conducts its day to day operation. Thank you and I look forward to your response. Mike Josephson Advance NW Moving Iowa City, Iowa 52240 319-351-2030, Fax: 319-351-3020 2/3/2006 Page 3 or 5 2/3/2006 Page 4 ors 2/3/2006 Page S ofS ^ ~- "* (~Safe sCJnrl(~d Lhjs emJi~ [or DJlicluus LM20R7AN'r: Do not opell aLtac1me~]ts from c~un t ~rl L .\- -!c-... -Ie -J-.;.- . ~llrc'cog;--~ 1 ~CE-"C senGers .--A 2/3/2006 c:J Marian Karr Attachments: Steven Nasby Tuesday, February 07, 2006 5:49 PM .harvs@email.arizona.edu. 'City Council; Steve Atkins; Karin Franklin; Kathryn Johansen U of A school project - Sarah Harvey Steven Nasby (Steven-Nasby@iowa-city.org).vcf From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Sarah: The City Manager's office forwarded your e-mail to my division for a reply. As you note, the Iowa City area does have a well developed non-profit community which includes a wide array of services. In response to your question about areas that could be improved upon I met with the Johnson County Human Services Coordinator and the Associate Planners in the Community & Economic Development Division. We identified the following four areas that could be developed, enhanced or expanded within our metropolitan area. The four areas are as follows: 1. Newcomers Center - language translation _ information about the community and area - networking _ acclamation to the community and educational system _ sign ups for activities (e.g. services, rec programs, children's events) _ support for cultural celebrations or events _ understandings of laws/expectations/norms/customs _ public education about diversity 2. Transportation _ expanded night and weekend routes and hours _ fixed 'employment' routes and schedules - wheels to work (cars and bikes) _ expansion or creation of employer-assisted programs 3. life Cycle Housing _ promotion and implementation of universal design - visit-ability - aging in place _ adaptation of existing structures 4. Arts - live\work units _ support\maintain the arts community _ enhance\support creative economy efforts Once you or your student team has completed its work on this project, as it pertains to the City of Iowa City, our office would appreciate it if you could share that work product with us. If you need information about Iowa City the City's web address is as follows: www.ICaov.ora. In addition, I can be reached at 319-356-5248 or via e-mail at Steven- Nasby@iowa-city.org. Sincerely, Steve Nasby Community & Economic Development Coordinator -----Original Message----- From: harvs@email.arizona.edu [mailto:harvs@email.arizona.edu] Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 11:10 AM To: council@iowa-city.org 1 Subject: U of A school project? Dear council members, I am been My name is Sarah Harvey and I am a senior at the University of Arizona in Tucson. taking a communication class, Applied, Organizational, Communication, and we have assigned your city as our group topic. Our assignment is to develop a non-profit organization that we feel the city (Iowa City) needs. We are to develop the organization and then competing for a (imaginary) $1 million grant to start our if you could give me a little insight on your city and if three to five areas you feel your city could improve on? seems to be doing very well and even received an "A" from but never had the chance to visit your city. Hope to hear from you soon, Sarah City of Iowa City Steven Nasby, Community & Economic Dev't Coordinator 410 East Washington Street lowa City, 1A 52240 319-356-5248 (telephone) 319-356-5217 (fax) www.icaov.ora lbl Steven Nasby Steven-Nasby@iow., 2 present it to our classmates, organization. I was wondering you could .maybe tell me the top From what I've found, your city CFED. I grew up in Minnesota, Clear Day r:J Karr From: Young, Vershawn A [vershawn-young@uiowa.eduj Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 10:27 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Racism Dear Council Members: On a number of occasions the Iowa City Police have stopped me for no reason. This morning, Saturday, at 830am, as I walked down Clinton toward my University office in EPB, three officers and cars approached me, asking me to stop, saying they got a call that a black man wearing a blue sweatshirt has a warrant for his arrest. I asked them about the description and they said a black man with a blue sweatshirt. And with that little description, they stopped me and detained me. This has, as I mention above, happened before. Now I'm writing, asking for any assistance you might be able to render in preventing this from happening to faculty of color. Thank you. my Vershawn Ashanti Young, Ph.D, M.Ed., MA Assistant Professor Rhetoric and African American World Studies 164 English Philosophy Building University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Office: 319-335-0186 Fax: 319-353-2392 H* eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders *H .!< * * 2/6/2006 ~ Marian Karr From: Mark Penno [alexpenno@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 12:56 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Neighborhood Watch Dear City Council Members, Galway Hills had a very well attended Neighborhood Association meeting on Saturday, February 4th, with an informative and beneficial presentation from Captain Tom Widmer. Initial contact was made with Captain Widmer in fall when our neighborhood experienced the presence and activity of a convicted sex offender. He explained that due to recent budget cuts the Neighborhood Watch Program was no longer "manned" due to cuts in personnel. However, he was willing to come on his own time to meet with us and direct our neighborhood on how to "reactive" the Neighborhood Watch Program in our subdivision that continues to see growth. I am requesting that serious consideration be made to the budget that has been presented, but still has not been finalized. Iowa City is a fabulous city to call home, and we feel that providing personnel to establish and oversee programs that are proactive, the community will be safe and desirable to live in. Thank you, Bonnie Penno Neighborhood Representative of Galway Hills Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail- it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail. 2/6/2006 G:J 1033 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 February 6, 2006 Mayor Ross Wilburn Iowa City City Council 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Mayor Wilburn: I've joined the efforts of Iowa City Stop Wal-Mart because I believe that allowing a superstore to locate here will have many deleterious effects on our community- particularly on locally-owned, independent businesses. Wal-Mart has also set another bad example of corporate neighborliness with its policy of allowing free and unregulated overnight camping in its parking lots. I've enclosed a recent article from the New York Times to give a you an example of the kind of treatment you can expect if you try to tell Wal-Mart to obey your rules. I hope you will reconsider the council's decision to fight our lawsuit and that you'll join us in telling Wal-Mart that we can do just fine without them. Sincerely, Jdoll;;: L/jim Walters ,...., 0 = = :;Eo "'" ...., >--; ,.., 11 -, co ,~,--"'< I r- : C-J -J _:-<r m rr~ > ~, ~.-.:l ::lI: \...J O~ ~^ CD )> W ..... R V. Owners Skip Camp And Park FILED At Wal-Mart 2006 FEB - 7 By ono I,'OHL AM 8: 37 SHERlDAN, Wyo.~ Frank~ 'skIJr~ surveyed the W~Martpark~ . ClfY (', ER< tng lot near his R.V.-campgrplPld on A_~ 11 'arecent atternoon.''The1'ii are'six~of IOWA 'y[V IOWA ,Jhemtoday."he said; .counting ,the l-,; if -rigS that ,he ',figured WOUld 'not, be spending any time or money at his :campgrolindthat night "And that's a 'slow night... ' R.V. camPground owners like Mr. Sharpski, co-owner of the -Big Horn Mountain KOAKampground here, say they are increasingly feelbigf1~ Dandal pain; caused, by thegrowlqg popuIarJtyofparklng R.V.'sat na- tlonw1de chains'like Wal'M:arlJt is a debate pitting - RoV.' owners against R.V. campground operators that is 'played out on vast expanses'oLas- plWt, a controversy ftieled by rtsm,g gaspr1cesandintens1fied,by.tt.V._~ _' " ',_ _ ", ,_," " : __ ..' _ _ _,' _ _ - ,'_ _ " _,,-SlIti'woo<1lvrTheN...,Yoot.T1QM$ oriented Intemetchat sites: . _ An R V. with engine trouble 8penta~n'tnight n~-to the-\\i'al-Mart parking ~ot~n BiIli~, Mont., cl~piteposted8ignsthat prohibit@mpl,n",. R.V.,tamplng l$the:nationisfast., '_ - '" ,J" " , . 'est-growingtourism segmen.tand is , ,',' ",' ," ," ' ' ",,', \',' ," ,', ' " :'expectedto groW strongly as baby suggested that parking-lot ,camping "W~MartLocator."" lngbegan,as'earlyas 1999, when the are not, a campgrtnmd ,and haven't boOmers retire; There are now seven shpuldbeb&nned. " .' ,Whenever res4'ictions loom, an Escap,e:es'Web site exc:ortated ,up- claimed to be. Being able to have 'million R V's 011 the roads and that ' "Would you, shut, down gnx;ery R~V\ownen,~oup,caUed theEscap-posedlyrestnctive~plng policies RV:ers park:~emight is simplY'3 number is 'expected tO~tinue to "toms if the,y ~re' pu~ting res$- ees ~ps its' 35,OOOmember~ 'by~e.IIlinoIsCampgrowtdO\li'De.fs' customer convenience." . 'grow, indUstry grOups say. ' ,rants out of :busmess?, a . camper, abre;astOfdevelopmentson its' }Veb A!;Sodat;1on' and encouraged mem- ,In BllliIigs, Mont;', a crackdown on . W.Mart lsnot'the' only. chain MarvinBoehme.askedhitn., ,stte, WW'\\'.escapees.com,and by an, bers to avoid any campground that parkinS-lot catJ;lplngbegan -lnJuly storeallowJng free_ovemightRN. Phyllis!JOO Tom Force emerged e-~~~ews1etter,Comn:tunitiescon- belong~,tothegro)JP,\ ',,' when , complalnts about the large . camplng'-Kmart,Costco and Fly- from their 26-foot Flatr R.V. to add sldelinBa crackdown are often bar- ,"weJ:lover800negattvee-mails; numbers ofR.V..'s at the loealWaI- 'inK J truck stops do as.welt' _ but thelroplni~. '. " ~aged,wtth-e-mail mesS{lges threat. it, was ,ally miserable," says Cratg Mart spurred ,the city into enforclnJ ,Wa1-M.artrem~, the 'IIiOSt popular ,"You woi.alclh.~t have to be out here enInga boycott l>Y R.V.owners., . Weber, co-owner-of~e, 'Geneseo a 1960's-era parking ordinance. Seen- '~sUnation. Campgrowlds.,cbarge if people, liked your' camp," Mr; Chuck Woodbury, edltor of free- Campground,ln Gene~, 'lll., whose, rlty'offlcers hiredby Wal~Mart now betweeD,$25 and $40 a night. . , Force.toldMr.Sl'1-arp~ ' wife, Sbart,.was president of, the handf1ierstoR.V~dr1verswhopullin The growlngnumber of R.V. OWn~ Mrs. Ror~ was more practical. ~campground'owners' Usociation at for the night. Complaints from the era looking 'for 'a place to spend the "The other' dayI,needed ahairtut .. the time. '"I'here'w~re threats saying R.V~ community have, been swift night has helped foru1he issue,lnto so I wenjln and gotone,'~ sb~ s$.ld Campground owners th~y. .wo\lld colIle :to.. our camp- ''It'sbeen a tempest," say~ Nicole the public debate in cities including "Can'tdothautaKOA.",..' ...... grounds, plug up our tolIetsandset ,Cromwell. the supervisor In:charge Fa1rbanks.AIaska;'Rapi4C1ty,-S.D.:; . Most- Wa1~Marts ,provide only accuse,retadets of our;ga:rj)ageDu:mps~sonffre'" of enforcing'city codes. Ms. Crom. and Bur:Ungtoil. Wis. Prompted by spacefortbe R.V.'stopark,notelec-' .... " . .' . . Lori Vavak, the ownerof~e nou,. well said the city hadreceive.d hun- complaints from campgrounds and trical hookups or .dumping sta~ons. unfair com'petItIon. ble DJceRVPar~ in E,Iko, Nev~, has dteds,of protest e-mail messages, "others, ,several communities have The, company says itslnvitation to' -', ,decided to fight badtln , conrt. Ms. and the local newspaper had pub- peclded to begin actively enforcing R.V.'s;which has been in place for y~vakisSumg th&:Cl(y of:Elko for llsheda steady stream of letters . laws,blllU1ingpaJ'ktDg-lotcampln& decade!!, Is.-oot predatorycompet!- . . . refU!Mgtoenfo~'anord1naricethat about,thecontllct. In SheI1dan, .however, Mr. Sharp- tion, "It Is very simply an extension campgrowtds.com, believes 'that bans overnight parking.lotcampiilg. Ken Stellmacher, a spokesman for ski's efforts to restrict ,the practice of ~tonierservlce,"sald-Sharon Wal-Mart.hl5 tlecom.e. tbelargest She-Is suing, for' Sl milliori. seeking KOA,saldbiscompanywouldprefer ran straigbtinto-the inf1uen,ce of Wal- Weber,a-spokeswoman. .' .' R.V.campgroundintlJe~untry~Itls relmblirsep1entfor ,1l;JSt business, topeacefully"coextst. "We'Ve extend- Mart. he said. . Many R. V.owners agree, and Wal- impossible to confirm that tJaim be- which she:' -estimates at $2.50,000 a led an oUve'branch!to Wal-Mart to see "It was like banging my' head Mart campb;1g has drawn an lnfor- cause. WaI-Martldoes not k~ tracJt camping season fQr the last four sea- if we can find common ground," Mr. against a wall/' he,s8id of a mee$g malbut-enthuslasticfollowiI1g. .'. of the number ItV:s Pilrkiligln 1ts sons. Shemust,qmplywith37'rides SteUmachersaid. last year wtth the ChamDer of Com- Many belong to WaI~Mart Bound lotS, but it wOl.!ld only take about to 'retaln her'campgrowtd license, ltls unelear-that any olive branch merce to encourage enforcement of International; 81)' RV. club whose three R.V.'s a night at each of, Wal- she says'fUldbelieves:'thatany(meof- could resolve the lsS\le, however, and existing parking ~trictions. only requirement formembersbip is Mart's roughly 4,000 North Amerl- fe~ ~amping_sJ1ouldqo the-same: so the battle continues. And ,that 15 ''They'1'e not going to step on Wal~ having camped In at least five Wal- call sto~ ,10 st1lJl8SS.the industry's .' "We ~e hapPY tc1~mpe,te'Witb Ie- notllke1y to change an~lme soon. Mart's toes." Man par1dn$ lots. To help these, so- bi88esteampg':rtlund chain,' KOA; gal coPlpetltiOp," Ms. Vavak Said. sald Mr, Woodbury 0 freetamp- . Mr.Sharpskididnotgetawarmer called Wally worlders flnd tbenear. whk:b_baS450-tocat:tonsln the United "We c~t c;oJPpete with 'free, Ille- gfoUndcom..' ,~UontheotberdayfromtheR.V.est W'al.Mart,a CbUPl~tromGarJs- StateSari<lCanada. . ': galcom~". '. . ..' , . .... . "'Ibese people have a ltlt of tiriU;l OIl :~~ at,~ ~~~~~:,~,' .~~~.~:'_~~~.~~~~. '~~ate~tWa1'Martcam~ Ms.W~,r~,wi1.MartSald: "We their'handS,"'WsaidOf,htilre~ers. '........... ' "'. _____,_,_--,--"_,,,',____, '''___'........ '_..,''',___ _____ I ~.._.-',.~~.__,.,;_.___-.._~_~_.ft"-'--_~'_'.___'.~'_'~-__'_-----~------'. ----..--- N Y/'"i/<1e..5 9/11/05 ! ~I Marian Karr From: Jeffrey Fields Ocdemaction@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 8:24 AM To: jfausett@ci.coralville.ia.us; tgill@ci.coralville.ia.us; jlundell@ci.coralville.ia.us; jschnake@ci.coralville.ia.us; jweihe@ci.coralville.ia.us; h herwig@ci.coralville.ia.us; cityh ills@netins.net; cou ncil@iowa-city.org; eslaughter@lonetreeiowa.com; kbrown@lonetreeiowa.com; sbrown@lonetreeiowa.com; hlemley@lonetreeiowa.com; david. franker@northlibertyiowa.org; mbahl@southslope.net; gkuhlap@aol.com; james. moody@northlibertyiowa.org; tasalm@terracon.com; james.wozniak@northlibertyiowa.org; rickjedlicka@solon-iowa.com; seballantyne@aol.com; jim. brumwell@solon-iowa.com; mark. krall@solon-iowa.com; ksamek1@juno.com; sshulista@msn.com; swisher2@netins. net; louise-from@university-heights.org; chris- anderson@university-heights.org; erl ing -and erson@university-heights.org; stan-Iaverman@university-heights.org; brennan-mcgrath@university-heights.org; patricia-yeggy@university-heights.org Subject: My support for a Johnson County Human Rights Ordinance Dear Mayors and City Councilors, I'm writing to voice my support for enacting a Johnson County Human Rights Ordinance that includes protection against discrimination based on age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Johnson County should pass a law that clearly states that discrimination of all kinds will not be tolerated in Johnson County and that we support equal opportunity for every person in our county. I request that at the your meeting, your City Council pass a resolution in favor of Johnson County creating, and your Council cooperating with, a committee to investigate the need and feasibility of such a Human Rights Ordinance. Such an investigation will not cost the County or your City a dime, but will provide the information necessary for you, your colleagues, and the Board of Supervisors to make decisions about cooperating to enact a Johnson County Human Rights Ordinance. Cooperation between the County and the various cities will be more likely to lead to a cost effective plan for providing Human Rights protections to every person in our county. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to a press release announcing your Council's support for sllch a committee. Jeffrey Fields JClJemAs:;tion@JIahoo.c;om Listserv: http://groups'Yllhoo.c;omlgroIlP/JClJemA-Teaml .".___.__._._._.____....___._________._.____m______~___m....______._____..___....___.__.__._____ Yahoo! Auto"s. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, & more on new and used cars. 2/7/2006 d'-5'/ 2/1/1#.5 FIr I.tj~~) 1._. ED . 09 February 2006 2006 FEB -9 PH 6: 04 CITY ('I CR'l,l< . ,-'_1- I lOW/,\ ury IOWA Eric Numberg, President International Association of Firefighters, Local 610 1629 Spruce Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 The Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Council Members, As the time approaches to close debate on the FY 07 budget, please allow me to strongly urge your reconsideration on items pertaining to the safety of our community. Nearly five years have passed since plans regarding construction and staffing of a fourth fire station were indefinitely suspended. Even in that short time span, our city has witnessed stunning growth. I respectfully submit to you that our growth is measured not only in terms of population increase, nor the hundreds of new structures that are erected every year. The growth of Iowa City should be measured also in terms of the increased demands placed on our public safety entities, and further defined by the protracted response times that citizens must endure as a result of the geographic spread of the city. Nowhere are these statistics more staggering than within the Iowa City Fire Department. In 1972, the Iowa City Fire Department served our citizens with 51 sworn personnel from 3 fire stations. At that time, Iowa City's firefighters responded only to fire-related emergencies, which generally numbered fewer than 500. In 1975, for example, the fire department received 498 emergency calls for service, of which 263 were actual fires. These firefighters protected a population that still had not reached 45,000, and enjoyed a reasonable response area from 3 fire stations. The Iowa City Fire Department of today has seen radical change in some areas, and very little in others. According to the Iowa Data Center at the State of Iowa Library, the daytime population ofIowa City, not including University students, is at least 79,000. Literally thousands of structures stand within the city limits where once there were none. Not only does the ICFD respond to the same number of structure fires as in 1975, the total call volume now eclipses 3,500. While the City Council of 1975 felt 51 professional firefighters were needed to mitigate only fire-related events, today's firefighters are charged with being experts in structural firefighting, emergency medical services, natural gas emergencies, hazardous materials, high- angle rescue, confined-space rescue, trench-collapse rescue, swift water rescue, ice rescue, automobile extrication, and heavy rescue disciplines related to both structural collapse and industrial machinery. The fire department of today does all of those things - and they do it with only 5 more members than the fire department of more than 3 decades ago. Response times are critical, as well. Chief Rocca has ordered his department to arrive at the location of an emergency within no more 6 minutes of receiving an emergency call for service. He has done this because when 911 is dialed, seconds can absolutely mean the difference between life and death. In the case of house fires, timely anival and aggressive attack guarantee the best chances for both lives and homes to be saved. With the protracted response to portions ofIowa City, the firefighters are faced with a job that is more difficult and more dangerous. Iowa City firefighters are also well-trained emergency medical technicians, and respond to all medical emergencies. In cardiac arrest cases, a patient's chances of survival decrease by 12 percent for each minute that cardiac defibrillation (a special "shock" delivered by EMT's) is withheld. It is plain to see, therefore, that time is of the essence in protecting the citizens of the city. Unfortunately, you have been advised that some neighborhoods and commercial areas ofIowa City can experience a 10 minute response time. These protracted response times make it increasingly difficult for Iowa City's firefighters to provide any meaningful protection to people in these areas. While Iowa City's firefighters will respond to any emergency in these areas as quickly as possible, and with unquestioned resolve, it remains a simple fact that their effectiveness will be hampered by time. These areas are populated by taxpayers who are presumably paying for the delivery of progressive, high-quality emergency services, at the same time they are told that the provision of adequate protection is not fiscally feasible. Now is the time to act. I respectfully urge you to make the protection of the citizens ofIowa City your very highest priority. Please implement an aggressive plan that will guarantee first-class fire protection to every citizen ofIowa City. Respectfully, Eric J. Numberg President IAFF Local 610 ..., Q = = cr- <'::0 -., ,.,., -n y"=:\ OJ - / - ,--.., . I .- =::0 ..0 ',"ll ../ " e ',T' -0 0 _-c' 3 0-""; ~7Z q: ~ 0 ~ \j (~l.\ ) Marian Karr From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Hughes, Lauren S [Iauren-hughes@uiowa.edu] Monday, February 13, 2006 1:47 AM council@iowa"city.org Hughes, Lauren S Speaking Request Greetings, I have somewhat of an unusua~ request for a City Council member, so if this is not the best place to direct my question, please let me know who I may contact. I am a second-year medical student here at the university and am currently co-teaching a first-year elective called Community Health Outreach, where we introduce students to health care issues that various populations in the Iowa City/Coralville area face and connect them to organizations that are actively working to meet the needs of our residents. We are staring a new unit on health policy this coming week. I am writing to see if a member of the City Council may be available to speak to a group of 15 students this coming Monday, February 20th, from 12:30 - 1:20 p.m. at the MERF medical student building on the health sciences campus. As course directors, we would like the speaker to share which health issues come before the City Council, how city policies are changed/created based on health needs, and how students can become actively engaged in shaping local health policy. This does not need to be a formal presentation at all; sharing perspective and experience would be ideal. As I make this request, please accept my apologies for the rather late notice. We had Representative Jim Leach scheduled for a school-wide visit during this time (for which our class of 15 students were going to attend), but we learned on Friday he is no longer able to make the session due to scheduling changes. Please feel free to contact me at this e-mail address (lauren-hughes@uiowa.edu) or at (319) 621-8273. Thank you very much in advance for your assistance and consideration! Sincerely, Lauren Hughes, M2 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine 1 Page I of I 11 J (:<S) Marian Karr From: Joysmi@aol.com Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 11:40 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: RE: Central District Plan Dear Council Members, We are aware that the Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended that developing a plan for the Central District be deferred in favor of attending first to the Southeast District of the city. As property owners in the Central District and residents of Goosetown, we urge you not to defer Central District planning. We believe a Central Plan is essential for the following reasons: D Development on Gilbert Street south of Highway 6 means that Gilbert Street is increasingly a corridor into our city. Development and redevelopment on Gilbert Street should be planful and needs attention. D We hear repeated concerns about the response time for emergency vehicles that most often must travel through the Central District. Careful planning might reduce vehicle response time. D Infill development in the Central District requires less new infrastructure than the development of undeveloped areas. This is a cost saving to the city in times of tighter budgets. D Most importantly, the long-term stability of our downtown area and our city's oldest neighborhoods depend on a comprehensive plan for the Central District. Iowa City's Central District gives our entire community a sense of place. This area has been ignored too long in favor of other development priorities. For the past two years city officials have assured us that the Central District was the next planning priority. Please make good on those assurances. Joy Smith and David Rust 2/13/2006 City of Iowa City Council Report July 1,2005 through December 31, 2005 Number of youth served through the MYEP Youth Employment Services 28 individuals Males 21 Females 7 Caucasian 21 African American 6 Pacific Islander 1 Ages Under 14 3 14-17 13 18-21 12 Exploratory 6 Employed 20 Subsidized 17 Non-Subsidized 9 Not employed 3 Practice applications Practice interviews/appropriate dress Resume assistance Non-Subsidized job retention for 3 months or longer 28 28 12 8 COlC Allocation $20,000 Jul-Sept 05 allocation Oct-Dec 05 allocation Total to date $ 5,000 $ 5,000 $10,000 $10,000.00 7,976.42 610.20 - 620.06 $ 793.22 100% 80% 6% 6% 8% youth wages youth fica staff wages/fica left in the 6 month budget ffS &,5.). &/(ie-- fk'-~rd) 100% 100% 43% 89%