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Home My WebLink About2006-04-13 Info Packet 1=1 ~~~~Ilt -..;;;:.... -L:I....m-i..... ..,.- ~ CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET April 13. 2006 APRIL 17 WORK SESSION ITEMS IP1 City Council Meetings and Work Session Agendas [Revised schedule posted 4/14] IP2 Memorandum from the Planning and Community Development Coordinator: Work Session Items . Southgate Development Presentation of the "Crossing" . Historic Presentation Plan . Near Southside Redevelopment Plan IP3 Memorandum from the Director of Parking and Transit: Late Night Shuttle Bus IP4 Memorandum from the City Manager: Housing Policy Discussion MISCELLANEOUS IP5 Letter from Mayor Wilburn to Swen Larson: Proposed Franchise Agreement [Swen Larson's letter dated April 4, 2006 is included] IP6 Email from Police Captain Matt Johnson to Police Chief Sam Hargadine: Noam Chomsky - Englert Theatre IP7 Email from Marcus Nashelsky to the Traffic Engineering Planner: Temporary suspension of Court Street truck embargo [Staff response included] IP8 Police Department Use of Force Report - March 2006 IP9 Invitation from Leigh Boehmer: 2006 Johnson County Relay for Life June 10-11. IP10 Email from Susan Rogusky: Iowa City Senior Center + Intermedia Launch ICSC TV Online April 21, 2006 IP11 Email from Jeffrey Fields: Invitation - April 21 Lunch with Dems IP12 ECICOG Express March - April 2006 IP13 Approved Minutes: Deer Task Force March 28, 2006 I = j f~~~1lf: -.;::.... -lIa'mi- ---.- ~ CiTY OF IOWA CiTY www.icgov.org CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET April 13, 2006 APRIL 17 WORK SESSION ITEMS IP1 City Council Mee 'ngs and Work Session Agendas IP4 Memorandum from the City Mana r: Housing Policy Work Session IP2 Memorandum from t e Planning and Community Development Items . Southgate Deve pment Presentation of the "Crossi . Historic Presenta 'on Plan . Near Southside Re evelopment Plan IP3 Memorandum from the Directo of Parking and Transit: IP5 Letter from Mayor Wilburn to Swen L.: rson: Larson's letter dated April 4, 2006 is includ d] Franchise Agreement [Swen IP6 Email from Police Captain Matt Johnson to I' e Chief Sam Hargadine: Noam Chomsky - Englert Theatre IP7 Email from Marcus Nashelsky to the Traffic Temporary suspension of Court Street truck embargo IP8 Police Department Use of Force Rep IP9 Invitation from Leigh Boehmer: 2006 ohnson County elay for Life June 10-11. IP10 Email from Susan Rogusky: 10 a City Senior Cente + Intermedia Launch ICSC TV Online April 21, 2006 IP11 IP12 ECICOG Express March - :A.pril 2006 IP13 Approved Minutes: Deer ask Force March 28, 2006 \ April 13, 2006 Information Packet (continued) 2 PRELlMINARYIDRAFT MINUTES IP14 Historic Preservation Commission: March 16, 2006 IP15 Housing and Community Development Commission: March 23, 2006 IP16 Youth Advisory Commission: March 30, 2006 . = J. =--...14'.... !~~i!!:'"!. ,,"' .....t, --- CiTY OF IOWA CiTY City Council Meeting Schedule and Work Session Agendas April 14, 2006 www.icgov.org . MONDAY, APRIL 17 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p City Council Work Session Storm update . Planning and Zoning Items . Southgate Development Presentation of the "Crossing" . Historic Presentation Plan . Near Southside Plan . Lexington Avenue - Gate . Late Night Shuttle Bus . Housing Policy Discussion . Council Appointments . Agenda Items . Council Time . Schedule of Pending Discussion Items . TUESDAY, APRIL 18 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall TENTATIVE FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS ~ . MONDAY, MAY 1 Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:30p City Council Work Session . TUESDAY, May 2 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, May 15 6:30p City Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, May 16 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JUNE 12 6:30p Special Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, JUNE 13 7:00p Special Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JUNE 26 6:30p Special Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, JUNE 27 7:00p Special Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JULY 17 6:30p Emma J. Harvat Hall Council Work Session . TUESDAY, JULY 18 7:00p Emma J. Harvat Hall Formal Council Meeting ,;: ! ~~~~~8t ~' ....,~ --~ CITY OF IOWA CITY City Council Meeting Schedule and Work Session Agendas UlJ April 13. 2006 www.icgov.org . MONDAY, 6:30p PRIL 17 Emma J. Harvat Hall City Council Work Session Planning and Zoning Items Southgate Development Presentation of the "Cross' Historic Presentation Plan Near Southside Plan Lexington Avenue. Gate Late Night Shuttle Bus ousing Policy Discussion C uncil Appointments . Ag da Items Coun il Time Sched e of Pending Discussion Items Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, APRIL 18 7:00p Formal Counc TENTATIVE FUT . MONDAY, MAY 1 6:30p Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, May 2 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, May 15 6:30p City Council Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, May 16 7:00p Formal Council Meetin Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JUNE 12 6:30p . TUESDAY, JUNE 13 7:00p Special Forma Emma J. Harvat Hall Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JUNE 26 6:30p Emma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, JUNE 27 7:00p Speci Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall . MONDAY, JULY 17 6:30p Council Work Session mma J. Harvat Hall . TUESDAY, JULY 18 7:00p Formal Council Meeting Emma J. Harvat Hall ,~ I ::;~-....~.... ~~Wit:~ "'-....... ~.r., ....,..- CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM ~ Date: April 12, 2006 From: City Council Karin Franklin, Director, Work session agenda items--April To: Re: There are three items on your work session that require a brief explanation. All of these items are for the Council's information; no action is required. The Crossinq Southgate Development will be presenting a refined concept of development of the area encompassed by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) adopted by resolution May 21, 2002 by the City Council. (A copy of the original MOU is available on the City's website under Documents, Council, Meeting of 5-2~-2002, Resolutions, p. 20, or in my office.) This area was known as the Clear Creek Master Plan. It was on the basis of this plan that Iowa City, Coralville and Southgate Development Company implemented a cooperative project to construct Camp Cardinal Boulevard. Southgate Development wishes to update the Council as to their most recent thoughts on the future development of the property in Iowa City. As plans proceed, the Council will be presented with rezoning and platting decisions to carry out this concept. Historic Preservation Plan The Historic Preservation Plan was adopted in 1992. The Commission, with the Council's approval, has commissioned Marlys Svendsen of Svendsen Tyler, Inc. to update the plan. Marlys will give a brief overview of the process being put in place to complete the update. A recent news release is attached. Near Southside Redevelopment Plan In 1992, the City Council adopted the Near Souths ide Redevelopment Plan for the area south of Burlington Street, west of Gilbert, north of the railroad tracks, and east of Madison Street. The construction of the Court Street Transportation Center was the first major public investment in this area. This Center will act as a catalyst to further development south of Burlington Street. In addition, the County has been having discussions of changes on the federal lot near the Courthouse and jail. Since none of the current Councilors were on the Council at the time the plan was adopted, we would like to present this adopted policy for your use as you respond to development projects and work through any collaborative efforts with the County. Cc City Manager . - Historio Prosorvation Plan UpdatO- What's Noxt for Iowa CRy's Past? In 1992 the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission prepared an Historic Preservation Plan to shape policies and guide planning efforts for older neighborhoods and landmarks. Much progress has been made since then. Neighborhoods were studied, new historic and conservation districts were established, protective ordinances were adopted by the City Council, and dozens of buildings and districts were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fifteen years have passed and it's time to look again at how to protect and plan for the future of Iowa City's past. So, what's next? Join us at a Neighborhood Meeting where Marlys Svendsen, the planning consultant involved with the 1992 Plan, will share the Historic Preservation Plan Update process. Identify your neighborhood's problems and offer solutions. ![;!I Wednesday, April 19th from 6:30 - 8:00 PM - gym at Horace Mann School, 521 N. Dodge for residents of the Northside & Goosetown neighborhoods ![;!I Thursday, April 2o'h from 6:30 - 8:00 PM - media center at Longfellow School, 1130 Seymour for residents of the College' Green, Longfellow, Morningside & Oak Grove neighborhoods ![;!I Thursday, May 2!1h from 6:30. 8:00 PM - St. Thomas More Church, 108 McLean St. for residents of the Melrose and Manville Heights neighborhoods Questions? Contact Marlys Svendsen (715/469-3300 or svendsentyler@centurytel.net) or Tim Weitzel, Chair, Historic Preservation Commission (354-5290 or timwendy@avalon.net) or Sunil Terdalkar, Preservation Planner (356-5243 or Sunil-Terdalkar@iowa-city.org). ,.. 410 ellll Washington street, Iowa CIty, IA 52Z40 Ph: (319) 356-6000 Plan for the future of Iowa City's past to be updated; public input invited RELEASE: Thursdav. Aori/13. 2006- 3:00 a.m. Originating Department: Urban Planning Contact Person: Sunil Terdalkar Contact Number: 356-5243 The plan for the future of Iowa City's past is being updated and Iowa City residents are invited to attend upcoming neighborhood meetings to help identify neighborhood problems and offer solutions. Iowa City's Historic Preservation Plan, nearly 15 years old, has helped to shape policies and guide planning efforts for older neighborhoods and landmarks. Residents are encouraged to attend the meetings and help shape the plan update, says Marlys Svendsen, historic preservation planning consultant from Sarona, Wisconsin. Svendsen of Svendsen Tyler Inc., is lead consultant for the plan update; she was also involved in the 1992 plan. Three neighborhood meetings are set: . Wednesday, April 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the gym at Horace Mann School, 521 N. Dodge, for Northside and Goosetown neighborhoods . Thursday, April 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the media center at Longfellow School, 1130 Seymour, for College Green, Longfellow, Morningside and Oak Grove neighborhoods . Thursday, May 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. Thomas More Church, 108 McLean St., for Melrose and Manville Heights neighborhoods. Another meeting is scheduled for the Downtown area on Tuesday, May 23 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Emma Harvat Hall, 410 E. Washington St., Iowa City. Svendsen says progress on reaching the plan's objectives has been remarkable. During the past 15 years, neighborhoods have been studied, new historic and conservation districts were established, protective ordinances were adopted by the Iowa City City Council, and dozens of buildings and districts were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Svendsen will summarize work on the Historic Preservation Plan Update and answer questions at the City Council work session on April 17 at 6:30 p.m. The Historic Preservation Plan is a component of the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan. Matt Goebel and Bohdy Hedgcock with Clarion Associates of Denver, Colorado are coordinating a review of Iowa City's historic preservation ordinance. For more information, contact Svendsen at 715-469-3300 or at svendsentvler@centurvtel.net or contact Sunil Terdalkar, Iowa City preservation planner, at 356-5243 or sunil-terdalkar@iowa-citV.ora. City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM rnJ April 10, 2006 e>>l1/r/,)p ~ To: Steve Atkins, City Manager From: Joe Fowler, Director Parking & Transit :::1"..-- Reference: Late Night Shuttle Bus I have prepared an estimate of the cost to operate a shuttle bus on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 9:00 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. The service would operate twenty-eight weekends per year. I preparing this estimate I made the following assumptions: To operate the service the driver/bus would operate 6.5 hours per night. This includes the time necessary to get the bus from the facility to downtown and returned at the end of the shift. A supervisor would work the same hours the bus operated. A second driver is necessary to make bus switches in the event of a mechanical problem or spillage on the bus. AFSCME has indicated they will request this person be a supervisor in the event there are problems that arise during the shift. Work hours would have to be added to the night crew to fuel and clean the bus at the end ofthe shift. SEATS would be required provide service during the same hours. The combined operating cost is projected at $904 per night, $2,712 per three day weekend. Yearly cost for the twenty-eight weekends CAMBUS offers service is projected to be $75,936. Cc Ron Logsden, Transit Manager I ~ j !~~~tt .....-::::.... ..lID.' ....... .. CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM crrl Date: April 10, 2006 To: City Council From: City Manager Re: Housing Policy Discussion - April 17 Work Session At our regularly scheduled work session of Monday, April 17, we have planned an item for discussion, that being housing policy and related issues. Attached is a copy of an outline and discussion material. Attachment mgrlmemlhsg policy.doc City Council Work Session Housing Policy Discussion Outline April 17, 2006 Scattered Site Housing Task Force (SSHTF) -Charge from the City Council (see resolution) Read the October 11, 2005 recommendations of SSHTF (copy attached) Reaffirm City involvement as it pertains to Housing policy 1) There is a role for local government(s) in housing policy, primarily as it pertains to those citizens in need 2) City will continue to serve as administrative agent of federal and state housing funds and related programs 3) Housing policy as strictly private sector - has not worked. While demand exists, production of housing products (without subsidy) to meet demand has not occurred. 4) Housing policy is interwoven with City economic development policy grow the tax base job development expand basic sector employment support related economic development initiatives, e.g., retail, downtown Who are we trying to help? (see income guidelines) Who are our partners? . Read Housing Authority Annual Report . Other partners: . DVIP . Johnson County Housing Trust Fund . CDBG/Home . The Housing Fellowship . Private developments . Homeless Council (Churches) . Shelter House . Other governments . Human Services agencies Review of SSHTF recommendations Select those to pursue further ./ ClW Prepared by: Sieve Nasby, Comm. & Eco. Dev. Coordinator, 410 E. Washington St., Iowa Cily, IA 52240 (319) 356-5248 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE SCATTERED SITE HOUSING TASK FORCE WHEREAS, the Iowa City City Council has identified the need for a review of existing assisted housing and policies or practices regarding the distribution, location and types of assisted housing in Iowa City; and WHEREAS, the Iowa City City Council has detennined an ad-hoc, citizen task force is the most appropriate body to study the existing distribution, location and types of assisted housing in Iowa City; ana WHEREAS, the task force is defining assisted housing as any housing development or acquisition for low-moderate income households (including rental, homeownership, transitional housing and residential facilities) receiving any public assistance or support, including federal, state, city or county funding; and WHEREAS, this task force may also study policies or practices implemented by other jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, at the request of the Iowa City City Council, the task force could recommend pOlicies or actions, as appropriate, regarding the disbursement, location and type of future assisted housing. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA: 1. The Iowa City City Council has identified the need for a review of existing V assisted housing and policies or practices regarding the distribution, location and types of assisted housing in Iowa City, 2. The Scattered Site Housing Task Force will be comprised of eight (8) individuals representing the indicated categories: One - Neighborhood Council; One _ United Way of Johnson County; Two - Iowa City Community School District; One _ Planning and Zoning Commission; One - Johnson County Board of Supervisors; and Two - Housing and Community Development Commission Members. 3. Members of the Scattered Site Housing Task Force will serve until the Iowa City City Council receives a final report, at which time the Task Force will dissolve. Iowa City Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Final Recommendations for City Council 11 October 2005 INTRODUCTION The Scattered Site Housing Taskforce ("Taskforce") was created by the Iowa City City Council by unanimous vote on April 6, 2004. The Council's instructions to the Taskforce were to "study the existing distribution, location and types of assisted housing in Iowa City" and "recommend policies or actions, as appropriate, regarding the disbursement, location, and type of future assisted housing." The Taskforce consisted of eight individuals from the community who volunteered their time and talents to the inquiry: . Don Anciaux - Chair, Iowa City Planning & Zoning Commission . Jerry Anthony - Vice Chair, Housing and Community Development Commission . Darlene Clausen - Representative, Iowa City Neighborhood Council . Matthew Hayek - Chair, Housing and Community Development Commission . Jan Leff - President, ICCSD Board of Directors · Jan Peterson - Executive, United Way of Johnson COWlty . Sally Stutsman - County Supervisor, Johnson County Board of Supervisors . Joan VandenBerg - At-RiskIYouth and Family Coordinator, ICCSD Between April 2004 and October 2005, the Taskforce toured much of the community's assisted housing infrastructure, conducted 24 open session meetings, and held two public hearings. Numerous individuals and organizations were invited to present data and opinions. Ofthe 17 organizations that presented, 11 were providers of assisted housing. Others presenters included housing-related departments at the City, University of Iowa experts, residents, developers, and so on. The Taskforce reviewed over a thousand pages of written material submitted by these organizations and individuals. Following this exhaustive review, the Taskforce began a process of deliberating the issues at hand. This report (I) summarizes some of the trends identified by the Taskforce and (2) offers a number of policy recommendations for consideration by the Council. Page I of8 Iowa City Scanered Sile Housing Taskforce final Ro;:ommendations forCilY Council II October 2005 TRENDS The Taskforce identified numerous trends that need community attention. The more salient trends include the following: (I) Demand for housing assistance is on the rise. [n 2000, the waiting list delay for Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8) vouchers through the Iowa City Housing Authority was zero. An individual or family could apply for housing assistance and, if qualified, receive a voucher immediately. By 2005, the waiting list has grown to more than 2,650 names. An individual or family applying now for housing assistance faces an approximately two-year wait for a voucher. It should be noted that Iowa City is by no means unique in this regard; other metropolitan areas and even smaller communities within the state have witnessed this very trend in recent years. The influx of low-moderate income populations likely stems from housing policy shifts in major metropolitan areas as well as demographic and economic changes. Iowa City is a particularly attractive place to live due to job opportunities and a broad array of services such as health care, human and social services, education, and public safety. (2) Local housing costs are among the highest in the state. Whether renters or owners, Johnson County households face among the highest housing costs in Iowa. In fact, Johnson County has the highest proportion of cost-burdened households statewide. While the cost of housing within Iowa City drives the countywide average, this dynamic is changing as Coralville now has a higher median price for single-family units. The Taskforce found that numerous members of the community whose incomes are modest are unable to pay market rates to rent or purchase housing. Land prices continue to rise. (3) Assisted housing tends to be concentrated. The Taskforce found that certain census block groups contain a disproportionately high number of assisted housing units, while other block groups contain few (and often no) assisted housing units. Census block groups are the smallest geographic measurement for which reliable statistical data are available. This fact makes it very difficult to gauge the concentration of assisted housing within: for example, a single square block or a portion of a single street. Without a doubt, large multi-unit assisted housing complexes result in an even higher concentration in the immediate vicinity. (4) Emergencv and transitional housing is even more concentrated. Within the spectrum of assisted housing, emergency and transitional housing (i.e. housing for the homeless or nearly-homeless) is especially concentrated. One area in particular stands out in this regard. Block group 18-2 presently contains 41 percent of all transitional housing and 69 percent of all emergency housing. If the local homeless shelter is relocated pursuant to current plans, block group 18-2 could end up with 100 percent of all emergency housing. The Taskforce believes this situation merits special attention. (5) Poverty and mobility pose a challenge to our schools. The school district has witnessed marked changes in its student population. Poverty levels at certain schools, measured by Page 2 of8 Iowa Cily Scanered Sile Housina Taskforce Final Reconunendations for City Council II October 2005 the percentage of students receiving a free or reduced price lunch, are on the rise. By way of example, 26 percent of Mark Twain Elementary students received a free or reduced price school lunch in 1995; by 2004, the figure was 61 percent. This contrasts sharply with other schools in the district, where rates were as low as 2 percent. The district wide average was 21 percent. A chart summarizing the 2004 free/reduced lunch numbers of alllCCSD elementary schools is attached as Table I. Other data are likewise alarming. Rates of student mobility (the likelihood that a student will not star! and finish an academic year at the same school) are on the rise. At Twain, the mobility rate exceeded 60 percent by 2003, while elsewhere in the district the mobility rates were as low as 8 percent (Lincoln Elementary). Teachers who addressed the Taskforce noted the difficulty of providing quality educational outcomes to high- poverty, highly-mobile student populations. The district targets higher-poverty schools with considerably more resources (up to ten times the amount targeted to lower-poverty schools) in the areas of guidance, reading, class-size reduction, ESL, special education, before-and-after school programs, family resource centers, and the like. Despite this, however, educators from the classroom to the central administration office shared what they described as a growing crisis for education within the community. Notwithstanding the commitment of additional resources, Twain and Grant Wood are the two ICCSD elementary schools at risk of being placed on the federal watch list. The Taskforce is concerned with what it regards to be increasingly disparate school environments within the same public school system. Due to confidentiality restrictions on school data, the Taskforce was unable to examine links between poverty and mobility on the one hand and assisted housing on the other. However, it believes the City, the school district, and other relevant organizations should research this issue further and explore appropriate responses. (6) Local service providers face increasing demand. The Taskforce heard from numerous agencies and non-profits that provide housing and/or services to low-moderate income populations. The message from these entities is that their workloads continue to increase and that many of them face barriers to meeting demands for hOUsing, social and human services, and the like. As budgets for these services are reduced by the federal and state govemments, additional burdens are placed on local government, the agencies themselves, and private donors. (7) The Universitv onowa impacts local housing. The Taskforce found that rental units of all kinds (both assisted and unassisted) are found mostly within a third ofIowa City's residential census block groups, and mostly near the University of Iowa, This is due to zoning as well as market demands. The total current enrollment at the University of Iowa is 29,745. Only 20 percent of University of Iowa students live on campus. The remaining 80 percent live in private market rental units. Of the total enrollment, 15,765 (53 percent) live in private market rental units in Iowa City; 1,785 (6 percent) live in private market rental units in Coralville. As a result, individuals and families compete with college students for rental housing. The college students can often pay higher rental rates and/or find roommates to share rent expenses, placing low-moderate income individuals and families at a disadvantage. Page 3 of8 Iowa City Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Final Recommendations for City Council 11 October 2005 (8) Federal funding for housing DrOgramS is decreasinl!. City staff and the presenters discussed the declining levels of support for housing, jobs and services for low.moderate income persons. Drops in CDBG, HOME and Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8) funding have diminished the federal resources available for local housing needs. RECOMMENDATIONS The Taskforce urges the Council to consider two sets of objectives: General DoUev obiectives: (1) Iowa City should strengthen its commitment to assisted housing and increase opportunities for affordable housing generally. (2) Iowa City should adopt a scattered site policy to ensure a fair share distribution of assisted housing throughout the community. Specific DoUev oblectives: (3) The City should launch a campaign to educate the community about the importance of affordable housing, the impact of allowing the status quo to continue, and the degree to which housing and development decisions must involve all segments of the community. (4) The City should enlist other municipalities, as well as the county and area school districts, for purposes of collective action to address affordable housing and services. The issues of housing and poverty cannot be solved by the City alone. (5) The City should make land available for emergency and/or transitional housing throughout the community. The City should neither encourage nor support additional transitional or emergency housing within census block group 18-2. At present, 41 percent of all transitional housing, and 69 percent of all emergency housing, is located within census block group 18-2. The new Shelter House facility will result in the location of 100 percent of all emergency housing within census block group 18-2. (This recommendation is not intended to impact plans for the new Shelter House facility. The Taskforce recognizes the difficulty to date associated with finding a location for the new shelter.) (6) The City should commit resources to encourage future assisted housing to be placed in underrepresented census block groups identified by the fair share matrix provided with these recommendations. This means committing additional funding (Le. beyond current expenditures and beyond the CDBG/HOME funding stream from HUD) to providers of assisted housing to offset the increased cost of developing housing in such areas. Page 4 of8 Iowa City Scanercd Site Housing Taskforce Final Recommendations for City Council II October 200.5 (7) If the City commits sufficient resources to scatter assisted housing without causing a reduction in current rates of supply, it should not support additional assisted housing in census block groups identified as significantly overrepresented. (8) The City should encourage affordable housing within the private market. This may involve changes in zoning and code regulations; permitting smaller lot sizes, row housing, and the like; and exploring creative approaches to housing and development policy. (9) The City should ensure that the needs of our assi"sted housing population are adequately met by the community's service providers. The City should avoid imbalances between the level of need and the ability to meet that need through human and social services. The City should collaborate with public and private partners on comprehensive services to those in poverty. Assistance in the areas of transportation, child care, counseling, education, and employment can help individuals and families become and remain self sufficient. (10) The City should encourage low- and medium-density rental housing (such as duplexes, town houses and the like) to be developed in currently-underrepresented areas' of the community. At present, most rental housing is confined to only 10 of 31 census block groups. Such a policy would disperse rental housing away from the University of Iowa student areas and make it easier for families to compete with students for such housing. (II) The City should take additional steps to increase sustainable home ownership among its population earning less than 80 percent of area median income. (12) The City should develop a mandatory inclusionary zoning policy with incentives for new housing developments. An inclusionary zoning policy holds great promise for affordable housing at minimal cost to taxpayers. [Adopted 6- J; Hayek voted against; Anciaux abstained.} (13) The City should expect owners and managers ofall rental housing to manage their facilities adequately. The Taskforce encourages vigorous enforcement of existing policies. Much public opposition to assisted housing results from deficient maintenance and management of unassisted tenant populations. As a mere 1,150 of the approximately 15,000 rental units in Iowa City are assisted, it is important to monitor all rental facilities. (14) In conjunction with its review of the Consolidated Plan (CITY STEPS), the City should provide for a yearly review of fair share data so that the matrix provided with these recommendations is updated as conditions within block groups change. The Taskforce recommends that City staff and HCDC coordinate this annual task. (15) The City should conduct a comprehensive review of any scattered site policies at five- year intervals. The City should consider a sunset provision to ensure that such policies are closely monitored. Page 5 of8 'OWI City Scanered Sile Housing r.sk{OftC Final Rccommc:ndalions for City Council 11 October 2005 {Recommendation nos. 1-11 and 13-15 were adopted 7-1; Anthony voted against them. Recommendation no. 12 was voted on separately (see above).] FAIR SHARE MATRIX As described above, the Taskforce concluded that concentrations of assisted housing are a growing problem for the community and should be addressed as a matter of policy. At the same time, the growing need for both affordable and assisted housing requires a continued commitment. How best to address concentration and housing demand is the challenge we face. After considerable analysis and deliberation, the Taskforce decided to establish a "fair share" matrix (Table 2) (see also the attached map showing census block groups within the community that lack assisted housing). For this, each of the 31 applicable census block groups was assigned two numbers. The first number is the present amount of housing units (both assisted and unassisted) within a given block group as a percentage of all housing units in the community. The second number is the present amount of assisted housing units within that block group as a percentage of all assisted housing units in the community. This approach demonstrates how a given block group compares to other block groups in terms of its share of assisted housing. Additionally, the taskforce wanted the matrix to be easy to understand, employ readily available and reliable data, and permit efficient updating as new building occurs within the community. The fair share matrix demonstrates that the total current number of housing units within a given block group may be as low as four and as high lis 2,945. Similarly, the fair share matrix demonstrates that the total current number of assisted housing units within a given block group may be as low as zero and as high as 392. The basic premise of the fair share matrix is this: Jor a block group to contain its 'fair share" of assisted housing relative to other block groups, its percentage of all assisted housing should approximate its percentage oj all housing. The Taskforce believes this approach provides the most equitable means of improving the distribution of assisted housing. It should be noted that the fair share matrix does not - and cannot - answer all questions or account for all variables. For example, zoning constraints within certain block groups preclude medium- or higher-density apartments and condominiums, discouraging the even distribution of such housing. However, after considering various different approaches and data sources, the Taskforce concluded that the fair share matrix represents a fair, logical way to measure the assisted housing landscape. While the fair share matrix was selected as the primary means by which concentration or lack of affordable housing opportunities should be gauged, other data were considered and are worth mentioning. The Taskforce reviewed the following data and discussed their merits and faults at great length. Consensus was not reached regarding the use of these data, and as such they were not included as criteria in the fair share matrix. However, the Taskforce believes these and other factors should be considered in any scattered site policy. Page6of8 Iowa City Scattered Site Housing Ta,kforce Final Recommendations for City Council II October 200S . Data regarding the Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as the Section 8 program) . Data regarding assisted housing by type (elderly viz. disabled viz, individuals/families) and by block group . Data regarding assisted rental housing as a percentage of all rental housing per/within each block group . ICCSD free/reduced lunch data . ICCSD mobility data . ICCSD test scores data . Poverty, median housing price data . Location of human/social services data . University oflowa - Field Problems Project List of Presenters Habitat for Humanity Shelter House Domestic Violence Intervention Program City of Iowa City Housing Authority City of Iowa City Community and Economic Development Office City of Iowa City Urban Planning Office Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship Successful Living, Inc. Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Bums & Bums, L.C. Mid-Eastern Council on Chemical Abuse Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County Iowa City Neighborhood Council Wells Fargo Bank (private lender representative) University of Iowa - Residential Services University oflowa - Urban and Regional Planning Home Builders Association oflowa City Iowa City Area Association of Realtors (invited but declined to present) Iowa City Community School District Page 7 of8 IOWI City Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Final Recommendations ror City Council II Oc'obe< 200S S.S.H.T. Meeting Dates April 29, 2004 May 12,2004 Bus Tour May 17,2004 June 7, 2004 June 21, 2004 July 12, 2004 July 19, 2004 August 2, 2004 August 16, 2004 August 30, 2004 September 20, 2004 October 4, 2004 Public Hearing at Twain Elementary School October 18, 2004 November 8, 2004 November 22, 2004 December 6, 2004 December 13, 2004 January 3, 2005 January 24, 2005 January 31, 2005 February 14, 2005 February 28, 2005 March 28, 2005 April 4, 2005 Public Hearing at the Senior Center April 25, 2005 May 26, 2005 (cancelled) October 3, 2005 Page 8 of8 Table 1 Table 1: Percentage of K.6 grade . studentlln F&R programs by school Year School 2004 61% 54% 45% 44% 41% 32% 29% 27% 23% 21% 18% 15% 11% 8% 5% 4% 2% 15% 14% 21% 22% n.a. 21% 1995 26% 30% 19% 37% 35% 16% 13% 15% 18% 19% 7% 20% 7% 5% n.a. 5% 7% 7% 8% 14% 13% 44% 14% Twain Hills Wood Mann Roosevelt Kirkwood Lucas Coralville Central Penn Longfellow Lemme Weber Hoover Horn Wickham Lincoln Shimek City High West High Northwest junior high Southeast junior high CEC Total for lCCSD Source: tCCSD data presented to the Taskforce TABLE 2 Fair Share Assisted Housing Units Based on Percentage of All Housing In Each CnBG All Assisted Units (OWner and Renter) Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 Column 7 Column 8 Column 9* Cons... Block 2000 Census 2000-2004 Bldg Total Number of Percent of All Housing Number of Percent of Assisted Over\Under T.... GroUD All Housina Units Penntts f. of units) Houslna Units Units In CT\BG AssIsted Units Units In Cl\BG Fair Share 1 1 935 88 1023 3.56% 4 0.39% Under 1 2 1018 90 1108 3.85% 38 3.43% Under 4 1 2327 486 2813 9.79% 392 13.94% Over 5 1 4 0 4 0.01% 0 0.00% Under 5 2 2652 293 29045 10.25% 21 0.71% Under 6 1 1812 7 1819 6.33% 9 0.49% Under 11 1 833 8 841 2.93% 30 3.57% Over 11 2 929 18 947 3.29% 14 1.48% Under 12 1 398 2 400 1.39% 14 3.50% Over 12 2 499 5 504 1.75% 4 0.79% Under 13 1 681 59 740 2.57% 13 1.76% Under 13 2 523 3 526 1.83% 9 1.71% Under 14 1 281 0 281 0.98% 6 2.14% Over 14 2 713 26 739 2.57% 90 12.18% Over 14 3 909 144 1053 3.66% 28 2.66% Under 15 1 709 2 711 2.47% 10 1.41% Under 15 2 572 8 580 2.02% 16 2.76% Over 16 1 1602 73 1675 5.83% 15 0.90% Under 16 2 1372 3 1375 4.78% 81 5.89% Over 17 1 455 1 456 1.59% 21 4.61% Over 17 2 346 2 348 1.21% 3 0.86% Under 17 3 545 11 556 1.93% 13 2.34% Over 18 1 1794 420 2214 7.70% 102 4.61% Under 18 2 1389 123 1512 5.26% 162 10.71% Over 21 1 14 0 14 0.05% 0 0.00% Under 21 2 612 139 751 2.61% 104 13.85% Over 23 1 430 30 460 1.60% 1 0.22% Under 23 2 784 2 786 2.73% 0 0.00% Under 23 3 5 0 5 0.02% 0 0.00% Under 104 4 627 0 627 2.18% 0 0.00% Under 105 1 ill ~ 931 3.24% 76 8.16% Over Iowa City Totals 26083 2661 28744 100.00% 1276 4.44% Note: *Assisted" units include rental and owner.oa:upied housing units that received public funds. This does not indude Housing Choice Voucher Program (a.k.a. Section 8) units. . The 'Over\Unde( Fair Share in column 9 is determined by the data in columns 6 and 8. If the percentage in column 8 is greater than the percentage in column 13 then the census block group is 'Over' its Fair Share and if the percentage in column 8 is less than the percentage In column 6 the census block group is 'Under' Its Fair Share and is lacking assisted housing opportunities. i I @@[fooUwfiCU@ I I I , I I I I ! I ! I j,1 g Scattered Site Housing Task Force October 3, 2005 ~ Areas that ara unders<<Ved wtth affordabla housing opportunllJes I , I '] i / (- \ \ ~OO I '~? " I l' _ I I I I ~- i I , "",,; '" (j) 4~ ' I j', / / , . f '\ ;'--Ui ,} , (h.' '~>, t~ . -=;"'1,,'1, '_" ,~. . ., r /-__ ..".' ,_ L\':> r.';. L"" --. L '~J~ 'f-Y' ~ " ' ;- ~ -'~ '" _,J:' -~ .....\~- - I L I I \ f. l,.\.z"'. I // \<(jj-~ \ I "- I REVISED FY07 Location Map I \.1"-' r Iowa City - City Council November 14, 2005 ~ Areas identified for additional ) ~ affordable housing opportunities '" \ I , 10 October 2005 Dear Council Members: The following are some supplemental thoughts concerning the recommendations of the Scattered Site Housing Taskforce. I. The recommendations before you were the product of deliberation and negotiation between eight citizens who lent their time and energy to the task, as well as certain agencies and individuals who advocated a number of policy outcomes. The recommendations reflect a compromise of opinion. 2. The specific method of scattering assisted housing chosen by the Taskforce is, from my perspective, less critical than the need per se to avoid such concentrations. In other words, the fair share matrix offered with the recommendations mayor may not be the best approach. The City's own planners are well-equipped to advise Council in this regard. 3. If housing in Iowa City is to become more affordable for more people, the private market is essential. . Even if additional public funds are dedicated to assisted housing programs, the nel increase in assisted housing units throughout the community will pale in comparison to the amount of housing generated by the private market. In realistic terms, I would estimate the ratio of future assisted housing to future private market housing to be no greater than I :20. This fact underscores the importance of working with the private market to encourage and incent affordable housing. Density of housing (lot sizes, row housing, etc.) is, in my opinion, a good place to start. 4. Greater promotion of home ownership among low-moderate income individuals and families is important. Home ownership carries financial and other benefits that most of us take for granted. It offers more options for consumers and can scalier housing more effectively. It merits as much support as this community can provide. 5. I do not support mandatory inclusionary housing for two reasons. First, I believe the City should experiment with voluntary, incentive-based inclusionary zoning before taking the more drastic step of requiring it. Second, I believe the specifics of any inclusionary zoning policy (regardless of type) should be crafted by City planners after careful study. Ideally, any such policy would cover most or all of Johnson County to avoid imbalances or unanticipated impacts to Iowa City. 6. Regional planning will become more important - and hopefully more viable- with time. Affordable housing, concentrations of poverty, and increasing demands on social services are issues that Iowa City's neighbors are starting to face. I believe area municipalities and school districts will be more likely to conclude that they, too, have a role to play in these issues. Collective, well- planned action promises to benefit all communities in Johnson County. Sincerely, ~~ Matthew J. Hayek Scattered Site Housing Taskforce OCT 1 0 q fD SUDDlementarv Note and Critiaue- Jerry Anthony. member Housinl! and Community Development Commission of the Citv of Iowa Citv The recommendations of the Scattered Site Housing Taskforce have several features and some shortcomings that if overlooked in any scattered site policy adopted by the City may lead to serious legal challenges. 1. Problems because of the lack of evidence The Iowa City Community School District's letter to the Council (dated November I I, 2003) implied that students living in assisted housing are the prime cause of low school test scores. As explained in paragraphs a), b) and c) below, there is no evidence to support this contention. a) The Taskforce asked Iowa City Community School Districi (ICSSD) to provide test scores of students based on where they lived (assisted housing versus non-assisted housing). Citing data confidentiality reasons, ICSSD did not disclose this information. Thus, no evidence to back ICCSD's claim was presented to the Taskforce. b) Students living in assisted housing are often assumed to be more likely enrolled in free and reduced price lunch programs than students living in non-assisted housing. Yet if ICCSD data on students enrolled in free and reduced price lunch (F&R) programs is examined one does not find clear support for this assumption. As the Table I (on the next page) shows, the percentage of F&R students in Wood and Twain (two schools that are often presumed to draw many students from assisted housing developments) are not dramatically different from those of Hills, Mann and Roosevelt (that are commonly presumed to have far fewer proportions of students living in assisted housing). c) Students enrolled in F&R programs are often assumed to have lower scores on standardized tests than other students. Yet data from ICCSD schools presented to the Taskforce do not support this assumption. In ICCSD elementary schools in 2003 there were 826 students in grades 3-6 who were below proficiency levels on standardized tests: of these, the majority (454) were not enrolled in F&R programs. Assisted housing comprises a mere 4% of the total rental housing stock in Iowa City. Since children living in non-assisted rental housing are likely to be as mobile as those living in assisted rental housing, ascribing all problems from mobility (if any) in the ICCSD to those children living in assisted rental housing is incorrect. In summary then, there is no evidence at all linking students scores with living in assisted housing, there is no indication that there is a greater percentage of students on F&R programs in areas that have more assisted housing units, and no definitive trend linking enrollment in F&R programs or high mobility with low test scores in ICCSD. Therefore, to blame students living in assisted housing for poor school test scores without any evidence to that effect is clearly wrong. And if poor test scores is used as an argument to support a scattered site housing policy, such a policy may be easily overturned upon legal challenge. 1 Table 1: Percentage of K.6 grade students in F&R programs by school School Year 1995 2004 Twain 26% 61% Hills 30% 54% Wood 19% 45% Mann 37% 44% Roosevelt 35% 41% Kirkwood 16% 32% Lucas 13% 29% Coralville Central 15% 27% Penn 18% 23% Longfellow 19% 21% Lemme 7% 18% Weber 20% 15% Hoover 7% 11% Horn 5% 8% Wickham n.3. 5% Lincoln 5% 4% Shimek 7% 2% City High 7% 15% West High 8% 14% Northwest junior high 14% 21% Southeast junior high 13% 22% CEC 44% n.3. Total for ICCSD 14% 21% Source: leCSD data presented to the Taskforce 2. The danger of inappropriate policy intervention The issue as framed in the ICSSD's letter to the City Council (noted above) tends to pit the school district's interests against those ofIowa City families wanting to pay affordable rents and prices for housing. Based on overall test scores, the ICCSD is one of the best perfonning school districts in the nation and perhaps the best in the state. On the other hand, Johnson County has the absolute worst affordable housing situation in the state. Since new policy interventions should enhance community welfare, it is imperative that new policies not exacerbate current problems. Therefore, attempting to address the school district's concerns about low-test scores (a worthy goal) by exacerbating the affordable housing crisis, regardless of whether scattering could actually improve test scores, may not be a wise, legally-defensible strategy. If the City considers implementing a scattered site housing policy, hopefully this point will be kept at the forefrontof all deliberations. Parenthetically, one wonders whether the ICCSD has explored other options for improving school test scores within the school system, such as busing some students from enrollment areas of school with low-test scores to schools with higher scores. 2 3. The Fair share matrix has significant shortcomings The Fair share matrix is based on the notion that every part of the city should have its fair share of the assisted housing units. While the concept is simple, it has a significant shortcoming: zoning disallows location of assisted or affordable housing in many parts of the city (for example, multi-unit apartments and high density single-family units can only be built in a select few areas of the city). Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for all parts of the city to have a fair share of the city's assisted housing. The matrix itself has three major shortcomings: a) One, it disallows construction of assisted housing for elders (who do not have any children in schools) in certain areas of the city. b) Two, it disallows construction of new assisted housing in areas that have developable land while encouraging construction in areas that do not. c) And finally, it uses a definition of concentration that is vastly different from the one the City has always used without providing any reason for the change in definition. Use of the matrix to implement a scattered site policy will likely lead to multiple legal challenges about its appropriateness. 4. Problems in process Deliberations of the Taskforce were seriously compromised by several lapses of due process that could invite legal challenges. For the sake of brevity, only one example is provided here: the Taskforce did not include any member who either built assisted housing or lived in itm thus excluding an important group from the deliberations-while including two members of the organization that leveled charges against assisted housing. Guidelines for policy intervention, Given the plethora of legal challenges possible, should a scattered site policy be implemented and if so how? If the City chooses to implement a scattered site housing policy, committing additional funds (from new sources, rather than from CDBGIHOME and other existing sources) will help ensure that the current supply of affordable housing is not adversely affected by a desire to scatter. Implementing a scattered site policy after the new sources have been identified will further reduce legal challenges. That said the Fair Share matrix in its current form, may still expose the City to some legal challenge. The City should consider using the definition of concentration that it has always used in the past or prepare a less flawed Fair Share matrix. Ideally, the City should adopt a mandatory inclusionary zoning policy as recommended by the Taskforce. This would provide a steady supply of affordable housing units, in scattered locations and at no-cost to the City. Ultimately, as Taskforce members concluded, a mandatory inclusionary zoning policy is the only financially feasible and sustainable solution to offset the location of assisted housing units in only some areas of the city. 3 ~/P .:L MEMORANDUM DATE: October 14, 2005 FROM: City Council Steven Nasby, Community and Economic Development Coordinator ~ Scattered Site Housing Task Force - Clarification of Votes TO: RE: To avoid any confusion on the votes taken by the Scattered Site Housing Task Force (SSHTF) regarding their recommendations, trends and fair share matrix the following is a summary of the votes from the October 3 meeting. 1. Motion to accept alt'recommendations' as revised, excluding recommendation # 12 (inclusionary zoning). Motion passed 8-0. 2. Motion to approve recommendation #12, that the City should develop a mandatory incluslonary zoning policy with incentives to new housing developments. Motion passed 6-1-1 (Hayek voting against and Anciaux not voting). 3. Motion to approve the revised Fair Share matrix. Motion passed 7-1 (Anthony voting against). 4. Motion to accept the 'trends' as revised. Motion passed 8-0. 5. Motion to accept the whole SSHTF report as revised and previously voted upon. Motion passed 7-1 (Anthony voting against). For additional information please see the 'preliminary' minutes for the October 3 SSHTF meeting that were also in the October 13 Council Information packet. If you have any questions, please contact me at 356-5248 or via e-mail at Steven-Nasbvtlillowa-citv.ora. Matthew Hayek, SSHTF Chair A Sample of Entry Level Wages in Johnson County: -Rental Housing- Teacher: $27,645 Fact: The fair market rent (as determined by HUD) of a three I Police Officer: $32,000 bedroom unit in 2005 was $944. I Clinical Lab Scientist: $30,000 * According to the figures provided, households between 51-80% of area median income can afford a three bedroom unit at fair market In order to spend no more than 30% of their monthly income for rent. However, Iowa City has reported that in 2000, 15% of all I I housing telated expenses, the workers above should spend between renter households within that category eXperienced a cost burden I $700-$800 a month for rent/mortgage and utilities. higher than 30%. I I Many workers in Johnson County make much less than the salaries * A household at 30% of area median income should pay $545 per I listed above. month toward housing expenses. This is well below the fair market I -Homeownership- rent for even a two bedroom unit ($648) in Johnson County. I Fact: The average price of all homes sold in Johnson County *In 1998 Maxfield Research, Inc. did an analysis that projected the I during 2005 was $185, 280. In 2000, the average sale price was future housing needs in Iowa City and the surrounding atea. The I $125,641. The average price of single family homes in 2005 was following chart shows the projected need, versus the actual i $253,461. production as of 2004: 1998-2005 1998-2003 Assume the family has monthly debt of Proj. Demand Permits Issued I I $500, has $5,000 available for a Subsidized: 500 91 I downpayment and spends $200 per I Affordable: 580 0 month for utilities. Market Rate: 285 1,145 * A family at the median income could afford to buy a $190,000 -Homeless and Transitional Services- home. * A family at 80% of median income could afford to buy a home for Johnson County currendy has approximately 110 beds/units of $147,000. transitional housing and approximately 64 beds for emergency I shelter, not including youth and substance abuse programs. Public . As of March 1st, www.realtor.comlisted 31 single family homes officials and service providers report a need to increase this capacity in Johnson County communities priced at $150,000 or less with as well as provide additional funding for services. The shortage of 3 or more bedrooms, 1.5 baths and 1200 square feet of living affordable rental housing poses a major obstacle for individuals I space. trying to transition to more stable living environments. i . If the search is expanded to include condominiums and townhomes, there ate 119 listings, the majority of which are new Sources: units in North Liberty. *Households at 50% of area median income and below could not Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae mor~ge calculator, Iowa afford to purchase a home in Johnson County. City Area Assoc:ia.tioo of Realtors, www realtot'.com CitySttpr, 2006-2010, City ofIowa City, Area employers, U.S. Bureau oELabor Statistics, www.iobs.uio\ml.edu. ! What might be done? The City should enlist other municipalities, as well as the county and area school districts, Jor purposes of colkctive action to address afJordable housing and services. The issues of housing and poverty cannot be solved by the City alone. Iowa City Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Final Recommendations, October, 2005 The League believes that a public/private partnership is the best entity to find solu- tions to the problems of providing afJordable housing in the area. Such a partnership should endeavor to involve all local governments... Private sector representation Defining "Affordable Housing" in Johnson County should include the financial community, the religious community, housing organiza- tion!, the housing and construction indu!try, realtors, and other interested individuals and organizations. League of Women Voters of Johnson County, Local Posi~ * Affordable housing is defined by household income, not by the tions, May, 2003 cost/ rent of the housing unit. IF aitingJor opportunities to act will not sufftc< because solutions to the workJorce * The general standard is that a household should have to pay no housing challenge require a broad-based, proactive approach. By the time a workforce housing afJordability probkm begins to affect the bottom line, the Jorces that contrib- more than 30% of its income for housing expenses, including ute to high housing costs have long been in plac< and are difficult kJ reverse. For the utilities. housing and hI/sines! cOMnlunities to forestall stich an outcome, they must establish a * While "affordable housing" could be defined by ANY working relutiollship characterized by respect, tmst and an awareness of each others household income, the main concern is for households at or illterests. They must have access to inJormation about the causes of the afJordability below 80% atea median income. problem and data that demonstrate its effects. Report from a national forum co~ Assume a family of four: sponsored by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2004 The median income for a family of four A dialoglle is a Jomm that draws participants from as ma"Y parts of the community in Johnson County is $72,600. The chart as possible to exchange iriformation face-toface, share personal stories and experi- below calculates the amount households enCeI, bonesf!; express perspectives, clarify viewpoints, and develop solutions to (0111- at defined levels should pay for their muniry concerns. The President's Initiative on Race, 1998 housing costs. Housing Summit Task Force: Level Annual 30% of uAffordable" Income Income monthly ex- Andy Johnson, Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County Dense Connie Benton-Wolfe and Jan Peterson, United W'!Y of Johnson County Area Medi.n In- $72.600 $21.780 $1.815 corne (AMD Doug Elliot, East Central Iowa Council of Governments 80%* $58,000 $17,400 $1,415 Maggie Grosvenor Mowrey, The LG Group 50%" $36,300 $10.890 $907 . Steve Rackis, Iowa City Housing Authority 30% $21,800 $6.540 $545 *HUD defines "low income" as that which does not exceed 80% For more information, contact Andy Johnson AMI. at 358-0212 or httjc@avalon.net. STARTING SALARIES--CITY OF IOWA CITY FY06 Custodian $25,771 Maintenance workers 26,540 Clerk/typists 28,392 Bus drivers 30,347 Housing Assistant 33,425 Housing Inspector 34,403 Police Officer 35,380 Firefighter 37,914 Librarian 38,355 Engineer 42,931 Minimum wage job ($5.15/hr) 10,712 Annual Income Guidelines for federal housina proarams & potential month Iv housina payments: Household Size 30% 50% 60% m median One person $15,250 25,400 30,480 40,650 50,800 ($318)* ($635) ($762) ($1016) ($1,270) Four persons $21,800 36,300 43,560 58,100 72,600 ($545) ($907) ($1,089) ($1,452) ($1,815) *($XXX) = monthly housing payment (rent or mortgage/ins./tax) assuming 30% of income Annual Report Annual Report . . 410 E. Washington Street 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City' Iowa' 52240.1826 Iowa City. Iowa. 52240. J 826 We provide: To improve quality of life, the Iowa City Housing Authority aas as a community leader for affordable housing, family . Information and education, self-sufficiency, and homeawnership opportunities. . Housing assistance, . Public and private partnershiP opportunities. Phone: (319) 356-5400 FAX: (319) 356-5459 Web: www.icgov.org/icha Date: OS/21/2006 Page 20 Annual Report Iowa City Housing Authority Customer Service Specialist Jennifer Greenleaf Table of Contents Housing Program Assistant Robin Buder New Initiatives - Homebuyer Education I Funding 2 Housing Program Assistant Denise Kinnison Analysis of Housing Choice Voucher (HeY) program 3 Analysis of Public Housing 4 Promoting Self-Sufficiency 5 Housing Program Assistant Carri Fox-Rummelhart Promoting Home Ownership 6 Family Characteristics 7 Housing Program Assistant Stephanie Hubler Working Families 8 Housing Choice Voucher Waiting list 9_a_ Housing Program Assistant Kym Stevenson I Public Housing Waiting list 9.b. Executive Summary 10 Housing Program Assistant Diana Huff I Program Coordinating Committee Members II ! Partners and Other Community Collaborations 12 Office Manager Virginia Stroud Self-Sufficiency Programs Mary Copper I Coordinator ! Public Housing/Homeownership Deb Briggs Coordinator Housing Choice Voucher Program Heidi Wolf Coordinator I I Housing Administr3tor Steven J. Rackis Page 2 Page 3 I I I Iowa City Housing Authority I Annual Report I I I. New Initiatives - Homebuyer Education 2. Funding The United States Congress allocates funding , and passes laws for all housing programs. The The Iowa City Housing Authority operates three (3) Federal Department of Housing and Urban Homeownership programs. Before commencement of . Development's (HUD) role in the locally homeownership assistance, a participating family must administered housing programs is to allocate attend and satisfactorily complete a pre-assistance money to the local housing authorities and to homeownership and counseling program. . develop policy, regulations, and other guid- ance that interprets housing legislation. The The Housing Authority created a curriculum and initially Actual Funds Received for FY05 and utilized other non-profit and quasj.governmental agen- Projected funding for FY06: cies to provide the classes. After meeting with mixed performance results, the Housing Authority conducted Housinp Choice Voucher Prouam FYOS the classes in-house. Most recently, the Housing Author- ity entered into a successful partnership wtth the Iowa City Area Association of . Annual Contributions Contract = $6,534,711 Realtors Fair Housing Ambassadors. . Self-SufficiencylHomeownership Grant = $114.240 As in many stories, "the rest is all history", The Iowa City Area Association of Public Housin~ FYOS Realtors Fair Housing Ambassadors now conducts a four (4) week Homebuyer Education class, not only for Housing Authority participants, but for all families Rental Income = $181,316 ! in the community who are interested in pursuing homeownership opportunities_ . . Capital Funds Program (CFP) = $185,422 The first session was February 81;/1 - March I, 2006. Eighty.one (81) families par. . Performance Funding System Operating Subsidy = $207.763 ticipated; Seventy-four (74) completed the program, receiving a "Certificate of . Resident Opportunities Self-Sufficiency Grant = $83.333 Mortgage Readiness"; Seventy-five (75) Housing Authority participants attended; I four (4) of these families signed purchase agreements; with fJVe (5) others "Pre- T ami Housing Authoritv Funding FY 2005 = $7,306,785 Approved" by a local lender and looking. To address the credit issues identified by some of the attendees, the Housing Authority scheduled a "Credit Repair" Housinv Choice Voucher Renewal FY06 I workshop that Iowa State Extension Services will conduct on March 23, 2006. . Annual Contributions Contract = $6.488.367 I The Homebuyer Education curriculum includes: .. Self-Sufficiency/Homeownership Grant = $114,753 I . Is Homeownership Right for Me? Public Housin~ FY06 t . Financial Management. , , Shopping for Your Home. I . Capital Funds Program (CFP) = $182.573 . . Shopping for Your Loan. . Closing on Your Loan. . Operating Subsidy = $165,911 I . Taking Care of Your New Home. . Resident Opportunities Self-Sufficiency Grant = $83.333 . Predatory Lending. . Fair Housing. HOME Funds FY06 {Tenant Based Rental Assistance) = $159,564 I . Glossary of Terms I T oml Housin, Authoritv Fundin, FY 2006 = $7,194,501 I I Page 5 Page 4 I I Iowa City Housing Authority Annual Report 3. Housing Choice Voucher Program 4. Public Housing The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HeY) is Public housing was established to pro- funded by the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with the intent of increasing vide affordable, decent and safe rental affordable housing choices for low-income families. housing for eligible low-income fami- the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Families , lies, the elderly, and persons with with a HeV voucher choose and lease safe. decent. disabilities. The US Department of and affordable privately owned rental, housing. All Housing and Urban Development barticiponts must be income elifible and have no incidents of violent or . (HUD) distributes federal subsidies to dru, related criminal activitY for the 90st five (5) years. the Iowa City Housing Authority (ICHA), which owns and manages the T atal number of available HeV vouchers:;;;: 1,213. housing. HCV Economic Impact for the City of Iowa City: The City of Iowa City owns eighty-five (85) public housing units; the For FY05, the Housing Choice Voucher program paid approximately ICHA serves as the landlord and rents these units to eligible tenants. . They are low-density units scattered throughout Iowa City and were $3,700.000 in Housing Assistance Payments to landlords/owners of rental constructed to conform and blend into the existing neighborhood arch i- properties in the City of Iowa City. I . An additional $2,075,077 was 'paid to all other landlord/owners of rental tecture. properties participating in our HCV program (ie. North Liberty. Coralville). I Unit type Number of units: HCV Voucher Utilization (Vouchers v. Population)- February 28, I 2006: Single Family 36 I Duplex/Zero Lot 37 I City # of Active % of Active City %of Multi-Family 8 Vouchers Vouchers Population* Johnson Row House 4 I County Incorporated Public Housing Economic Impact for the City of Iowa City: I . The 8S Public Housing units represent .005% of the total number of Iowa City 724 64% 63,027 68% rental units in the City of Iowa City. Coralville 241 21% 15,123 16% . The total rental income from our Public Housing properties = North Liberty 72 6% 7.224 8% $181,316. Johnson N/A N/A 92.111 County . Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) paid to the Johnson County As- Incorporated sessor for the Public Housing properties in FYOS = $18,118. I Total 1.128 100% . In FYOS, the Housing Authority paid approximately $300,000 to Vouchers private sector Iowa City contractors for the capital improvement. general maintenance. and repair of the Public Housing properties. I * Sources: Iowa City Community Profile 2004; see subtitles 1& 2; page 20. Page 7 I Page 6 I i ! I i I I I I Annual Report I Annual Report I I 5. Promoting Self-Sufficiency Promoting Self-Sufficiency (Continued) I . Fonned liaison with Liberty Bank and leveraged commitment to have the I The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program: I bank finance an educational workshop in 2006 (or the Housing Authority. ! Promotes self-sufficiency and asset development by Approximate commitment is $1.200. i providing supportive services to participants to . ! increase their employability. to increase the number . Formed liaison with Montessori School and leveraged commianent to be of employed participants, and encourage an increase recipient of funds to finance a Bridges out of Poverty workshop in 2006 (or in savings through an escrow savings program. Housing Authority participants. Including instructor and childcare expenses, . the approximate commitment is $1.300 to $1,500. I Resident Opportunity Self-Sufficiency i (ROSS): Resident Opportunity Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) is a grant-funded pro- Workshops: gram that provides participants with resources to improve their employment i skills through job coaching and educational opportunities. The program also . February 2005: "Understanding Your Credit Report. presented by ISU I links clients to resources to meet such needs as child care, transportation, edu- Extension. I May 2005: "Money Smart". I cation and job training opportunities, employment, money management and . I ! other similar needs necessary to achieve economic independence and self- . August 2005: "Understanding Your Credi~ Report," presented by ISU Ex. i sufficiency. tension. . September 2005: "Bridges out of Poverty" training. Leveraging resources: . October 2005: "Empower Yourself' workshop. . December 2005: "Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft," presented by . Iowa City Junior Service League donated $2000 to the Housing Authority ISU Extension. to assist in the payment of utilities for Katrina families' housed in Housing Enrollment Data: FSS Authority Public Housing units. . Liaison with the University Of Iowa School Of Social Work resulted in two . 106 families participating in FSS. Masters of Social Work (MSW) student placements, doing an advanced . 75% have established escrow savings accounts. practicum. . Average monthly escrow savings deposit = $307 . Average escrow savings account balance = $2,231 . Secured donations from Iowa Women's Foundation, F&M Bank. Iowa State . Highest escrow savings account balance = $14.893 Bank and Regions bank of $1,000 for Money Smart workshop as well as staff time to present workshop. Also secured donation of Kirkwood facili- Enrollment Data ROSS ties and technical equipment as well as the director of student life and cus- todial staff time. Total Current enrollment = 30 . . Collaborated with the Women's Resource and Action Center (WRAC) to . Employed =20 present, empowerment workshop for Housing Authority tenants and se- . Employed full-time =6 cured from WRAC donations to cover child care, transportation and food . Employed part-time = 12 and beverage costs. . Temporary employment =2 . Unemployed = 10* . Acting as referring agency for the Wheels to Work program resulted in 30 more cars for Housing Authority participants through FSS/ROSS referrals. * Unemployed participants are engaged in job seeking skills training. career ex- ploration activities, or GED completion andlor-other short term skill enhance- . Networking with director of the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors ment training/certification (e.g., computer, forklift. etc.). Fair Housing Ambassadors resulted in securing free Home Buyer Education Series beginning February 8th to March I, 2006. This is an ongoing activity. Page 8 Page 9 >- ~~~o~ I: !' . , - " t;:::::lI .. - 41 0_ ....q ~ L .>.,,~~,s C .. o .. lI' 0 l}I ~!-8~ ~ " .c o 0 C C .. ... 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'-'I: .J:: -S V .- C f CU 0.. 0.. " '" 0 41 " .... -- 0 E c i.!!oo .. %1- 'ful~~L..DO:3>~O QI I'd == ~ E 4-1 0 4100 .0.." .c " n; E E C ns L.. CU "-' .g 0 E U 0" .t: :> ,- ~'" "C.g-olD ..u 0 U[!'-o..(l)EL.. L..'i:I(l)U~ ._ c: E C f 4-1 U I-~ 0_ c: :> e >E t1.c "t1"-'_.o c: u. ~~ m 0.0; -~..( Ir. L.. CLI ._ W'iij - c: u f 2'; 0.0 ~ ] -5 :i .9- E:E i;- ~ 5 ~.t~]g 00-0':": 1'0 c: lelt;c:E :. <( c.. :r DO 0.. 0...= > I'd f 0.. ~ ~ ~ E ::l U . . cl:<(-2-l!! . "~_. I I Annual Report Iowa City Housing Authority 7. Family Characteristics a.Working Families i ICHA Participant Characteris- i tics. Definition of Participant Businesses employing 10 or more Housing I (participant family): A person or family that has been admitted to the t Authority Participants. Iowa City Housing Authority's HeV or Public Housing program and is ~ currently assisted in the program. O~ Head of Household Characteris- tics (1,204 Total Families as of 2128/2006)(Totals do not add up to 100% because individuals can be counted in multiple categories): . Elderly. Disabled and Working =88% Goodwill Industries of SE Iowa 66 . Able-Bodied, Non-Elderly. and Working =n% University of Iowa including Hospitals & Clinics S8 . Female Head of Household =n% Iowa City Community School District 26 . White Head of Household =68% Reach For Your Potential 22 . Elderly and/or Disabled =58% Hy-Vee 20 . Working = 51% Systems Unlimited IS . With Minor Children =49% ACT, Inc. 13 . Disabled =47% Access Direct 12 . Single-headed household = 36% Employment Systems 12 . African American Head of Household = 30% NCS 12 . Elderly = 11% Staff Management II . Disabled and/or Bderly and Working = 15% Windmill Manor 10 Income Sources (All Family Members)(Some Families Have Multiple Sources of Income): . Social 5ec;urity (55)/Supplemental Security (551) =58% . Employment =45% . Family Investment Program (FIPlWelfare) = 12% I . With any Other Income = 21%' * Child Support, Self-Employment, Unemployment Insurance. Other Non-Wage I Sources. Page 12 Page 13 i I I Annual Report Iowa City Housing Authority , 9. a. Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List 9.b. Public HousingWaiting List i February 28, 2006 February 28, 2006 I # of families % of total families # of families % of total families Waiting list total 3.009 Cr..;:i,'...t.......... Waiting list total 1.805 .;.,:"" ... I . , Extremety low income 2.754 92% Extremely low income 1,685 93% <=30% AMI <=30% AMI Very low income 214 7% Very low income 101 6% (>30% but <-50% AMI) .6% (>30% but <=50% AMI) I Low income 18 low income 6 .3% (>50% but <80% AMI) (>50% but <80% AMI) Families with children 2.012 69% Families with children 1,182 65% Elderly families 131 4% Elderty families 65 4% Families with Disabilities 839 28% Families with Disabilities 514 28% Racelethnicity-Black 1,815 60% Racelethnicicy-Black 1.097 61% Race/ethnicity-White 1,059 35% Racelethnictty-White 633 35% Race/ethnicity~Asian 31 1% RaceJethnicity-Asian 19 1% Racelethnicity-AII Other 32 1% Race/ethnicity-AII Other 16 1% Characteristics by Bedroom Characteristics by Bedroom Size Size IBR 1,302 43% IBR 796 44% 2 BR 1.011 34% 2BR 640 35% , I 3 BR 534 18% 3 BR 252 14% i I 110 4% 4% I 4BR 411R 76 j 5 BR 5 BR I I 5+ BR 28 1% 5+ BR 22 1% Note: These lists represent the distribution of applicants by program. Applicants Combined waiting list geographic distribution: are allowed to apply to both lists. Because of the resulting duplication. the actual Iowa Residents = 53% (1,595 families) number and type of families waiting for assistance is best demonstrated by the Johnson County Residents = 43% (1.294 families) Illinois Residents = 41 % (1,234 families) statistics displayed on the Hey waiting list. All other States = 6% (181 families) I I Page 14 Page IS Annual Report Iowa City Housing Authority 10. Executive Summary Executive Summary (Continued) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY 2005 (PL 108-447) funding Iowa City Housing Authority provided immediate assistance to 25 eld- provisions for the Federal Depart- erly and disabled families. Using our HUD approved baseline of 1,213 ment of Housing and Urban Develop- families as a bench mark, the combination of HCV and TBRA vouchers ment (HUD), transitioned the funding increased lease-up rate to 99%. for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCY) program from a Cost Based Calendar year 2006, is the third consecutive year of a budget-based to a Budget Based system. HUD and funding system, which has lead to fewer families leased and increased Housing Authorities no longer recon- rent burdens on the low~income families we serve. The Iowa City Hous- cile at Fiscal Year End and adjust iog Authority will continue to seek opportunities to reduce costs and budget allocations to account for maximize our resources to house low-income families in safe, decent. I actual Fiscal Year program costs. This act also transitioned funding from and affordable rental units. We are again pursuing Fiscal Year 2007 a Fiscal Year to a Calendar Year basis. HOME funds to expand our TBRA program to mitigate the HCV fund- I ing shortfall. I i The Iowa City Housing Authority faced a unique challenge as the new I funding formula did not take into consideration the following factors: On a more positive note, the Peninsula Apartments came "online" in I July 2005. Lease-ups occurred immediately and we currently have 8 of I . The cost of the Enhanced Vouchers managed by the Iowa City the 10 units leased. I Housing Authority as a result of the Cedarwood Apartments Opt- I Out which began in August 2003; i . Escrow savings account impact on total Housing Assistance Pay- I ments (HAP); I . Impact of the University of Iowa on the Johnson County. Iowa, I I rental market. I In Calendar Year 2005, after installing several cost reduction policies i and procedures the Iowa City Housing Authority HCV budget could I only support leasing up to 97% of our HUD approved HCV baseline i units. These budget constraints and low program turnover pushed our I applicants' wait for assistance out to 2Y2 years. ! I I The receipt of $159,564 of HOME funds to operate a Tenant Based I I Rental Assistance Program (TBRA) somewhat mitigated the impact of I Federal budget reductions in the HCV program. With these funds, the i I I Page 16 Page 17 I I ! ! I I Annual Report Iowa City Housing Authority I I II. Program Coordinating Committee - 2005 12. Partners and Other Community Collaborations Advisory Board for the Iowa City Hous- Iowa City Housing Authority ing Authorities' Self-Sufficiency Programs: Family Self-Sufficiency (FS5), Resident Programs and Services: Opportunity & Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) University of Iowa School of Social . pee Mission Statement: Work. To ensure wide access of supportive services . Women's Resource and Action that enable (ami/ies to achieve sel(-suffidency Center (WRAC). by securing commitments of public and pri- . Montessori School. vote resource. . Union Planters Bank. . Goodwill Industries of SE Iowa. Amy Correia, Social Services Director, . Farmers & Merchants Bank. Johnson County; . Iowa City Area Realtors. Rebecca Turner ,Iowa Women's F~undation; . Iowa State Univ.ersity (ISU) Extension. i Pat Meyer,Johnson County Neighborhood Center; . Habitat for Humanity. I I Laurie Nash, Early Childhood Specialist, Johnson County Empowerment; . Iowa City Junior Service League. I Dr. Adam Introna, Coralville Chiropractic; . liberty Bank. Suzanne Becker, ABWA member, . Experience Works. Michael Shaw, Grant Wood Family Resource Center Coordinator; . Iowa Women's Foundation. Jon Weih, Student Life Director, Kirkwood Community College; . Hawkeye Community Action Program (HACAP). Michele Hankes, Director, Community Coordinated Child Care (4C's); . STAR Program. Karla Fay, Fanners & Merchants Savings Bank; . Iowa State Bank Candace Peters, Department of Community and Behavioral Health, The Uni- . Foster Gran~parents Program versity of Iowa College of Public Health; Current Homeownership Programs Lender List: Laz Pittman, Attorney, INS Immigration; Christy Fehlberg, VP, Iowa State Bank Home loan Center; . Iowa State Bank j Angel Colvin, Mortgage Loan Originator, Union Planters Bank; . American Bank & Trust Lyndsey Ma~cher, Clinical Supervisor, Mid-Eastern Council on Chemical . liberty Bank Abuse; . Hills Bank Dawn Ealy, Lepic Kroeger Realtors; . West Bank Linda Severson, Human Services Planning City, JCCOG; . University of Iowa Credit Union Goodwill Industries of SE Iowa: . Countrywide Home Loans . Farmers & Merchants Bank . Amy Blessing, (ROSS Grant Employment Specialist); . Cornerstone Mortgage . John Posey, Wheels to Work Program Coordinator . United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) . Habitat for Humanity Page 18 Page 19 ,: I ~~~'Ilt -.;::.~ --'i'!ri- --- ~ CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org ~ CITY COUNCIL April 12, 2006 Ross Wilburn Mayor Swen Larson, President Home Builders Association 11 South Gilbert Street PO Box 3396 Iowa City, IA 52244 Regenia Bailey Mayor Pro Tern Connie Champion Amy Correia Bob Elliott Mike O'Donnell Dee Vanderhoef Dear Mr. Larson: Thank you for your letter of April 4 concerning the proposed franchise agreement between the City of Iowa City and MidAmerican Energy. It is the City Council's position that we intend to await the results of the Des Moines lawsuit as it relates to franchise fees before proceeding with any further discussions with MidAmerican. Our thinking is it would be unfortunate to conclude an agreement where both parties have worked toward a mutually beneficial package, and have some legal circumstances as a result of the Des Moines case change that relationship. We are aware of your interest and other community interests in proceeding with these negotiations, and will consider franchise discussions upon conclusion of the Des Moines case. ~cJJL-- Ross Wilburn Mayor mgr/ltrs/r'nidam-franchise.doc council@iowa-city.org 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 356-5010 Fax: (319) 356-5009 HBA 11 South Gilbert P.O. Box 3396 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 Phone: (3191351-5333 Fax: (3191358-2443 E-mail: joan@hbaofic.org www.iowacityhomes.com HOME BUILOERS ASSOCIATION Advocates for homeownership by promoting standards for quality and afJordablility April 4, 2006 Mayor Ross Wilburn Iowa City City Council Member City ofIowa City 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 c~~ ~ Dear Mayor Wilburn Councilor: I am writing to you regarding the proposed franchise agreement between the City ofIowa City and MidAmerican Energy. The Greater Iowa City Area Home Builder's Association and the Land Development Council strongly believe it is in our membership and the community's best interest for the City to renew their franchise agreement with MidAmerican. MidAmerican Energy has been a stand-up corporate citizen and an active member ofthe Iowa City community for many years. Along with their participation in civic and volunteer associations, MidAmerican has partnered with the Home Builders to promote energy efficient homes by awarding builders with financial awards totaling more than $1.5 million since the program's inception in 1997. MidAmerican provides reliable energy services and has agreed to hold rates steady through the year 2010. Further, the citizens ofIowa City have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed alternative in last year's fall elections. MidAmerican has made clear their commitment to the Iowa City community and our association believes the City should renew its commitment to them. Again, thank you for your time and attention to this very important matter. Please feel free to contact our offices if the Home Builder's Association can be of any further assistance in this regard. Sincerely, ~ .-::;::::> ~/ /r Swen Larson President Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association Affiliated with National Association of Home Builders & Home Builders Association of Iowa ~ Steve Atkins From: Matt Johnson Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 200612:17 PM To: Sam Hargadine Cc: Steve Atkins Subject: Article in the Dltoday (letter to the editor) ..................mm....................m...........................................;p.. WJ'd&1V This letter to the editor was in today's DL Sgt. Lalla's explanation of our role follows the letter. Creative resolution. FYI only mcj Lecture support I attended the Noam Chomsky talk held at the Englert Theatre Monday evening, and, as a volunteer, I was aware of the reason so many people where turned away. The theater was at capacity, and the turning away of persons wasn1t the fault of the Englert but rather that of the UI and the departments that sponsored this event, which underestimated Chomsky's popularity. I think a great deal of thanks needs to go to the Englert management and staff, as well as the Iowa City police for facilitating the public-address system broadcast for the people stuck outside of the theater. It wasn't the university that took care of the hundreds of persons turned away at the door; it was the Englert staff and a couple of Iowa City police officers who made the p A broadcast possible. In fact, there was no representative from the university outside the theater at all; it was the theater staff who had to inform the disappointed crowd that they could not enter the theater and then set up the makeshift P A system I will say that, once things settled down and as I stood at the doors of the theater and watched the hundreds of people from all walks of life sitting on the sidewalk or standing shoulder to shoulder listening to the words of the professor, I was reminded just how freedom works in America and how, in this instant, for these several hundred persons who choose to stay and listen, it was the local police and the Englert staff that trwnpeted the freedom of speech that Chomsky's lecture demonstrates so eloquently. William Barbour Ul graduate student Captain, The folks from the Englert called for our assistance when the overflow crowd of about 200 disappointed people started to become rambunctious. Officer Huberresponded and then called me to see if it was ok for the Englert to use their PA system to broadcast the presentation to the crowd outside even though they didn't have a sound permit. I decided that it was better to allow the broadcast than deal with a potential donnybrook. We made It clear that if we got any noise complaints they'd have to turn it off. I went by a few minutes later and discovered that the crowd had become pacified to the point that they were sitting on the ground blocking the entire sidewalk. Officer Huber and I got out and asked people to move enough to keep the sidewalk open, then once we accomplished that, Matt stayed on scene to maintain our walkway. Thanks, Vicki 4/12/2006 Page 1 of2 ~'l . . Marian Karr From: Anissa Williams Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 9:38 AM To: 'Marcus Nashelsky' Cc: Joan Nashelsky; 'City Council Subject: RE: temporary suspension of Court Sttruck embargo Marcus Nashelsky: You are very welcome for the advance notice of the detour. We will be conducting a follow up study sometime this spring to evaluate the effectiveness of the truck embargo and police enforcement strategies on Court Street. There are not currently any other measures planned for traffic calming on Court St. This portion of Court Street exceeds the allowable traffic volume for our formal traffic calming program. Unfortunately, the traffic issues you raise are concerns in all of our neighborhoods. There is no way for the City to control the behavior of each individual motorist. We will continue to evaluate strategies, but ultimately individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions. Hopefully the truck embargo and police enforcement strategies are having some effectiveness in your neighborhood. Thank you for your email. Sincerely, Anissa Williams JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 (319) 356-5254 From: Marcus Nashelsky [mailto:mnashelsky@mchsi.comj Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 9:40 PM To: Anissa Williams Cc: mnashelsky@mchsi.com; Joan Nashelsky; *City Council Subject: temporary suspension of Court St truck embargo Dear Ms. Williams, Thank you for the heads up and explanation of the upcoming traffic detour on Court Street. We appreciate your courtesy by making us aware of this temporary change in traffic pattern in our neighborhood. I'd like to use this opportunity to ask of the status of traffic calming measures on Court Street between Summit Street and Muscatine Avenue. There has been occasional law enforcement presence on Oakland Avenue near the Oakland/Court stop sign, and this strategy probably yields a very short term improvement in driver observance of the stop sign. We are grateful for this effort. Are there other measures under consideration? I ask because it is very clear to those of us living on Court Street that the east-bound (downhill) drivers are sorely tempted to exceed the speed limit, and MANY dol And some west-bound (uphill) drivers thrive on the sensation of aggressive acceleration on a steep incline. This causes both higher than allowed speed as well as noise pollution. It is unfortunate that our street is just barely wide enough (with parked cars) to allow a sort of perfectly straight "drag strip" for drivers. If only we were a bit 4/1312006 Page 2 of2 narrower, such as Sheridan at the other end of the Longfellow area, the danger of higher speed might cause many drivers to slow. Court Street is a neighborhood is the most true sense: mostly owner-occupied homes, diverse age and background of residents, and great pride in our small community embedded within the Longfellow area. The proliferation of traffic on Court Street in conjunction with widespread driver neglect of the speed limit and the stop sign are dangerous and worsening realities of our lives on Court. Ms. Williams, I respectfully ask for your expertise and advice in how our city of Iowa City may attempt to calm and reduce traffic on Court Street between Summit and Muscatine. Thank you in advance for your response. Regards, Marcus Nashelsky 1177 E. Court SI. mnashelsky@mchsi.com 4/13/2006 Marian Karr ~ From: Marcus Nashelsky [mnashelsky@mchsLcom] Sent: Tuesday, April 11 , 2006 9:40 PM To: Anissa Williams Ce: mnashelsky@ chsLcom; Joan Nashelsky; 'City Council Subject: temporary suspe sion of Court St truck embargo Dear Ms. Williams, Thank you for the heads up and exp nation of the upcoming traffic detour 0 ourt Street. We appreciate your courtesy by making us aware of this t porary change in traffic pattern in 0 r neighborhood. I'd like to use this opportunity to ask of th tatus of traffic calming meas es on Court Street between Summit Street and Muscatine Avenue. There has en occasional law enforce ent presence on Oakland Avenue near the Oakland/Court stop sign, and this strateg probabiy yieids a very ort term improvement in driver observance of the stop sign. We are grateful for this effort. Are there other measures under consideration? I very clear to those of us living on Court Street that the east-bound (downhill) drivers are sorely te ted to exc d the speed limit, and MANY do! And some west-bound (uphill) drivers thrive on the sensation of gressi acceleration on a steep incline. This causes both higher than allowed speed as well as noise polluti I s unfortunate that our street is just barely wide enough (with parked cars) to allow a sort of perfectly str t "drag strip" for drivers. If only we were a bit narrower, such as Sheridan at the other end of the Longf w area, the danger of higher speed might cause many drivers to slow. Court Street is a neighborhood is the most true sen : mostly 0 ner-occupied homes, diverse age and background of residents, and great pride in our s II community mbedded within the Longfellow area. The proiiferation of traffic on Court Street in conjuncti with widespre driver neglect of the speed limit and the stop sign are dangerous and worsening realities of 0 r lives on Court. Ms. Williams, I respectfully ask for your exp ise and advice in how ou city of Iowa City may attempt to calm and reduce traffic on Court Street between Su mit and Muscatine. Regards, Thank you in advance for your respon Marcus Nashelsky 1177 E. Court St. mnashelsky@mchsi.cQm 4/12/2006 OFFICER 12,31,09 52 81,58 44,13 18 31,09 r;:] ~/ .' J . ~~~ IOWA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT USE OF FORCE REPORT March 2006 DATE 030206 030306 030806 031006 031806 031806 INC# INCIDENT 10179 Warrant Service 10434 Injured Animal 11223 Suicidal Subject 11669 Traffic Stop 12785 Trespass 12794 Fight in Progress FORCE USED Subject was wanted on an arrest warrant and attempted to run from Officers. Officers used control techniques to prevent the subj ect from running and place them in handcuffs. Once handcuffed the subject then assaulted Officers by kicking and biting them. Officers used control techniques to place the subject in leg restraints to prevent further assaults. Officer used sidearm to dispatch an injured opossum. Subject attempted to harm themselves. Officers used control techniques to place the subject in handcuffs to be transported. Once handcuffed the subj ect then assaulted Officers by kicking them. Officers used control techniques to place the subject in leg restraints to prevent further assaults. Subject resisted a search of their person incident to an arrest. Officers used control techniques to secure the subj eet and complete the search. Subject had been placed under arrest and put in handcuffs. Subject then refused to take a seat in a squad car to be transported. Officers used control teclmiques to escort the subject into the squad car. Subject was involved in a fight and assaulted an Officer trying to disperse the disturbance. Subject was placed under arrest and resisted handcuffmg efforts. Officers used control techniques and exposed the subject to a chemical irritant to place them in handcuffs. 20 031806 12795 Public Intoxication Subject was placed under arrest and put in handcuffs. Subject refused to be seated in a squad for transport. Officers used control techniques to escort the subject into the squad car. 12,25 031906 12944 Public Intoxication Subject had been placed under arrest and handcuffed for public intoxication. Subject resisted a search of their person incident to this arrest. Officers used control techniques to complete a search of the person. Subj ect then refused to be seated in a squad car for transport. Officers used control techniques to escort the subject into a squad car. Once at JCSO subject then refused to exit the squad car. Officers used control techniques to escort the subject out of the squad car. 37 031906 12969 Robbery Officer drew sidearm when responding to a report of a robbery in progress. Subject was taken into custody without incident. 16 032406 13722 Warrant Service Officer drew long weapon to take a subject into custody that was wanted on a felony warrant and trying to evade arrest. Subject was taken into custody without incident. 51 032506 13879 Criminal Mischief Subject fled on foot during a criminal mischief investigation. Officer used control teclmiques to direct the subject to the ground and place them in handcuffs. 33 032506 13967 Domestic Subject fled on foot during a domestic assault investigation. Officer used control teclmiques to direct the subject to the ground and place them in handcuffs. 35 032906 14567 Disorderly Conduct Officer drew expandable baton and used control techniques to prevent a subject from assaulting another. Subject was taken into custody without incident. April 04, 2006 Ross Wilburn, Regenia Bailey, Connie Champion, Amy Correia, Bob Elliott, Mike O'Donnell, and Dee Vanderhoef 410 E. Washington Sl. Iowa City, IA 52240 Subject: Relay For Life Dear Council Members: We all know someone who has been touched by cancer. Relay For Life is a fun-ifilled ovemight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for cancer research and programs coordinated by the American Cancer Society. Relay offers something for everyone, from the newly diagnosed, to caregivers and friends, to long-term survivors. Today, more than three million Americans participate in Relay events nationwide. Come join the fun and be a part of the 2006 Johnson County Relay For Life. The event will be held on June 10-11'" at the University of Iowa Francis Cretzmeyer Track in Iowa City. The Relay will begin at 6pm on Saturday evening and last until 7am on Sunday moming. Please help show your support in the fight against cancer by joining us for the Relay or, even better, starting your own city council team. Take a minute to take action. You'll be glad you did! Please feel free to contact me for more information on how you and your community can get invoived. Hope to see you there, C1.!te~~ Community Coordinator Johnson County Relay For Life Planning Committee boehmerl@yahoo.com 319-331-9984 ....... " RELAY FOR LIFE . .-'> = - = 9 0' 2.:.0 ~ -n 'j>~ :;:C - -(.- I ...- () 0' 'm ':::::j '" ~<~ ~ r-' \. '-.J o dol - Z/' - ., N )>> r-> I American Cancer 'f Society . r 1.800.ACS.2345 www.cancer.org Hope.Progress.Answers,. C2003,American Cancer Society, lnc. 09KJ3_No.7543.58 rnrJ Marian Karr From: Sent: To: Subject: Susan Rogusky Tuesday, April 11 , 2006 11 :30 AM 'City Council Iowa City Senior Center + Intermedia Launch ICSC TV Online! on April 21, 2006 We write to invite you to the launch of "ICSC TV Online!," a media project by Iowa City Senior Center Television [ICSC TV] and The University of Iowa School of Art & Art History Intermedia Area. We are planning a reception at the production studios of ICSC TV [at the Senior Center] on Friday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to noon. We are delighted to announce the launch of "ICSC TV Online!," a collaborative media project by Iowa City Senior Center Television [ICSC TV] and The University of Iowa School of Art & Art History Intermedia Area. The project 'goes live' on Friday, April 21. "ICSCTV Online!" will feature ICSC TV programming, available worldwide, on demand, in two streaming formats and three bandwidth sizes. Unique productions, created specifically for the Internet, will also be showcased. Project Director and Intermedia Area Head Jon Winet comments, "The launch of ICSC TV Online! signals a new era of collaboration and technology research for Intermedia and the Center. We are delighted to bring this new dimension to the Senior Center's media offerings." ICSC TV Director Jonathan Rattner, a graduate student at The University, adds, "With ICSC TV Online! we are interested in exploring the potential of time-based media online, as well as push the boundaries of communication and community." The launch follows two years of research and development by Intermedia and the Center's television staff. Streaming technology is provided by The University's ITS-Academic Technologies. "ICSC TV Online" can be found at .<http://www.uiowa.eduHnterartlicsctv beginning April 21. Susan Rogusky Volunteer Specialist Senior Center 28 S Linn St Iowo City, IA 52240 (319) 356-5224 susan-rogusky@iowa-city.org fax: (319) 356-5226 www.icaov.ora/senior 1 ~ Marian Karr From: Jeffrey Fields Oeffrey.fields@yahoo.coml Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 20069:20 AM To: jfausett@ci.coralville.ia.us; tgill@ci.coralville.ia.us; jlundell@ci.coralville.ia.us; jsch nake@ci.coralville.ia.us; jwei he@ci.coralville.ia.us; h herwig@ci.coralville.ia.us; cityhills@netins.net; 'City Council; 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; rick.jedlicka@solon-iowa.com; seballantyne@aol.com; jim.brumwell@solon-iowa.com; mark.krall@solon-Iowa.com; sshulista@msn.com; swisher2@netins.net; louise-from@university-heights.org; chris- anderson@university-heights.org; erling-anderson@university-heights.org; stan- laverman@university-heights.org; brennan-mcg rath@university-heights.org; patricia- yeggy@university-heights.org; toni.cilek@iccsd.k12.ia.us; liz.crooks@iccsd.k12.ia.us; patti. fields@iccsd.k12.ia.us; gayle.klouda@iccsd.k12.ia.us; jan.leff@iccsd.k12.ia.us; aletia. morgan@iccsd.k12.ia.us; pete.wallace@iccsd.k12.ia.us; robert-upmeyer@uiowa.edu; jmillerssb@gmail.com; dschwab@avalon.net; pardini_scsd@southslope.net; patrick- smith@uiowa.edu Cc: Jennifer Hemmingsen Subject: Fwd: April 21st Lunch w/Dems Dearest Mayors, City Councilors, and School Board Directors, Each month, usually on the 3rd Friday of the month, Johnson County Democrats hosts Lunch with Dems at a restaurant in Johnson County. The location changes every month. There are no speeches, no requests for donations, and no pressure. Just a chance to meet concerned Dems and elected officials. Everyone buys their own meal, and usually between a dozen and three dozen people attend. Consistent with JCDems efforts to include more Mayors, City Councilors, and School Board Directors in our events, we're extending an invitation to each of you to be included in this event and our monthly invitations. Because you have been elected to a nonpartisan position, and because not all of you are Democrats, YOU MUST RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL TO RECEIVE FUTURE INVITATIONS. If you do not respond, I will not include you in the monthly e-mail invitation that goes out to elected officials. That being said, are any (OR ALL!!!) of you available for Lunch with Dems on Friday April 21 st at David's Place on the comer of Washington and Linn Streets in downtown Iowa City? Please RSVP if you are available, and I will include your name in the reminder e-mail I send next week to the various listservs. If this is not the best e-mail to reach you at for Dem business, please let me know. Ifit appears that I have missed anyone, please let them AND me know. I have cc'd our County Chair Jennifer Hemmingsen. If you have questions about Lunch with Dems or the Johnson County Democrats in general, please feel to direct them to Jennifer or me. 1,000 Thanks, Jeffrey Fields Jeffrey.Fields@yahoo.CQm 4/12/2006 Page 2 of2 319-339-0994 Jeffrey Fields <jeffrey.fields@yahoo.com> wrote: Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 06:19:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeffrey Fields <jeffrey.fields@yahoo.com> Subject: April 21st Lunch w/Dems To: Yahoo harrt <harrt@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo icprogressive <icprogressive@lists.riseup.net>, Yahoo iowademocrat <iowademocrat@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo JCDemA-Team <JCDemA-Team@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo jcdfa <jcdfa@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo jcfair <jcfair@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo mcdcc <mcdcc@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo nolteforiowa <nolteforiowa@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo rapidresponse _ia <rapidresponse _ia@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo scottdems <scottdems@yahoogroups.com>, Yahoo usdemocrat-iowa <usdemocrat-iowa@yahoogroups.com>, jcdems-announce@unifex.dyndns.org April's Lunch with Dems will be Friday April 21 st from II :45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at David's Place on the comer of Washington and Linn Streets in downtown Iowa City. Please join your fellow Dems for a chance to meet elected officials and candidates in a less formal environment, with no one asking for contributions, and to enjoy an excellent new restaurant!!! Invitations will go out today to elected officials and candidates, and we'll update you next week as to who has RSVP'd! Please contact me if you have questions. Jeffrey Fields Jeffrey.Fields@yahoQ.com 319-339-0994 4/12/2006 ECIC~G ~~-;6 I MARCH-APRIL 2006 SERYJNG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN SENTON.IOWA, JONES, JOHNSON, LINN AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES FOR MORE THAN 30 YEAR~d~_ Iowa Mobility Action Planning Workshop May 3 In conjunction with the Iowa Transportation Coordination Council, local tr<lnsportatioll planning agencies will sponsor a day-lung planning meeting on May 3 at the SOLlth Slope bcilitics in North Liberty. ECICOCi, the Linn County Regional Planning ('olTImission and the Johnson County' C:oullcil of Governments arc hosting the workshop. ^s one in a series acing held across the state, the purpose of the \vorkshop is to gather input for a statcvvide action plan to rurther coordination in the provision of public transportation. Among those encouraged to attend are representatives li'olll area agencies on aging, human service agencies and providers, daycarc providers, Central Point of Coordination stare medical and public health organizations, other transportation providers, puh]ic officials. and interested citii'.ens. The \vorkshop \vill begin at 9:00 a.lll. The South Slope facilities are located ut 980 North Front Stn:et in NOlih Liberty. Registrations available on the [DOT wehsite at hup:/ Iwww.iatransi1.comlregul ations/map _ workshop.asp. There is no cost to attend. Members of the lovva Transportation Coordination Council inelude the 100va DepaJiments of Education, Elder Affairs, Human Rights, Human Services, Public] !calth, Transportation. Veterans Athirs, and Workforce Development, plus the ]O\va League of Cities and the ]o\va State Association of Counties. For ndditional informntion, contact Mary Rump (cxt. 28) or Rohyn Jacobson (e:\1. 34) at EC]eOe;. Doug Morgan, City Admillistrator, acceph. the award Oil belta(loftlte City ofKalolla. AI.wJ pictured (I-r) Alar.}! Lawyer, Director IDE/); Dot/g Elliott, ECICOG; and Terr.}! Vestal, IDED. Recent Funding Awards In March, the 100va Department of Economic Development (11)1])) announced awards for the Community Development Block (irant and I lousing Fund programs. Four communities assisted by ECICOG \vere mvarded funds. The Cities ofKalona and Cora]ville \vill provide rehabilitation assistance to six homeowners in each of their communities. lo\\.'a County \,,'il1 assist the unincorporated community rfConroy in hooking up to the Po\vcshiek Rural \Vater system. The City of Mt. Auburn will make improvements to the \vaste\..vater t~'eatment facility. [CICOG congratulates the City of Victor. which also received funding through the I lousing Fund. Cities that applied but were not funded shoulJ consult LCICOU for reapplication in the next funding round. ~ Funding ',~~ Grantee PJ"Oject Award i ~ Agenc~ " ~; lo,",'a County Rural Water $268,000 IIn:1l Cit), of Sanitary Sc,",'cr $133,300 IIlEIl "'It. Auburn City of Coralville Housing $197,855 IIlEIl Rehahilitation City of Kalon3 Housin~ $220,234 III Ell Rehabilitation Total $819,389 You.re Invited! Open House The EOCOG Boord of Directors and stoff would like to invite you to 0 publi'c open house 01 the new agency offices. 700 16th Street NE, Suite 301 Thursday, April 27, 2006 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Consult the agency websife at http://www.ecicog.org/page6.html for driving directions. Refreshments will be served. Calendar April I] April 27 May 11 May 25 May 29 SWTAC Meeting, ECICOG or/ices, 700 16th Street NE, Cedar Rapids. 1 :00 p.m. ECICOG Board of Directors Meeting. LCICOG offices. 700 16th Street NE, Cedar Rapids. 1 :00 p.m. Region 10 RJl^ Policy Board rvlccting, ECICOU offices, 700 16th Street Nt::, Cedar Rapids, 2:00 p.m. ECICOG Open House. ECICOG offices, 700 16th Street NE, Cedar Rapids, 3:00- 5:00 p,m, SWTAC Meeting. Location TBA, I :00 p.m. ECleoe; Board of Directors Meeting, ECleOG oflices. 700 16th Street NL Cedar Rapids, 1:00 p,m, ECICOG offices closed in observance of Memorial Day holiday EClCOGwasestablished in 1973 to promote regional cooperation and provide professional planning services to local governments in BL-'Ilton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington Counties. ECICOG also provides solid waste planning services to Tama County and transportation planning services to Cedar County. Members of/he Be/COG Board of Directors: Richard Cicala LcoCook Bill Daily Alice DeRycke Gary Ed\vards Jennifer Fischer Don Gray Dennis Hansen Pat Harney Ann Hearn Henry Herwig James Houser Linda Langston Don Magdefrau Charles Montross Randy Payne Ed Raber Dee Vanderhoef David Vcrmcdahl (Chair) Larry Wilson ECICOG Staff EXT Doug Elliott, Executive Director 22 Gina Peters, Administrative Assistant 20 Mary Rump, .Transportation ,-Services 28 RobynJacobson, Transportation Services 34 Chad Sands. AICP, Camm. Development 27 Lisa Marie Garlich, Comm. Development 33 Lisa Treharne, Planner 29 Eric Freese, Housing Services 24 Jennifer Ryan, Solid Waste Planning 31 Kristin Simon, Solid Waste Planning 26 East Central 1m-va Council of Governments 108 Third Stree' SE, Sui'e 300 Cedar Rapids. Iowa 52401 (319) 365-9941 Fax: (319) 365-9981 e-mail: ccicog@ecicog.org www.ccicog.org ECIC~G EAST CENTRAL IOWA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS YOUR REGIONAl PlANNING AGENCY {'(pros is a bimonthly' electronic rublicatiot1 ()flh~ EilSl Central Iowa Council of Governments ~ MINUTES DEER TASK FORCE MEETING MARCH 28, 2006 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM - CITY HALL FINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Farrant, Chair; Harold Goff; Jan Ashman; Martin Jones; Peter Jochimsen; Pete Sidwell; Linda Dykstra STAFF PRESENT: Kathi Johansen, Sue Dulek CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Farrant called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: APPROVE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2005, MEETING: Farrant asked if there were questions regarding the minutes. Goff noted that under "Set Agenda and Time for Next Meeting," in the last sentence, the word "discussed" should be changed to "made". Motion was made to approve the September 27, 2005 minutes as amended. Motion passed 7 to O. Johansen noted that another group would need the conference room at 7:00 P.M. this evening, so they will need to wrap up their meeting by 7:00 p.m.. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: White Buffalo, Inc. 2005-2006 Summary Report - Johansen noted that she has yet to receive the remaining statistics from Coe College that will complete Table 2 of the summary report but once this information is received it will be forwarded to the Task Force members. Farrant opened the meeting for discussion by the members. Ashman asked about page 3, table 3, the zones and districts - she stated that she was looking at some old maps and asked ifthere have been any changes in the zones. Johansen will provide a map at the next meeting for members to review. Ashman also commented that every year, under Future Program Adjustments, they have a statement such as, "... by avoiding males, it will begin to compromise our long-term efficiency. . ." and wondered how hard it would be to get the State to change this. It was noted that bucks feeding at the bait sites do tend to keep does away. Johansen mentioned the DNR's number of antlerless deer to be removed was 192 and White Buffalo removed 150. Johansen further stated that in White Buffalo's Summary Report, it is mentioned there are areas that are not legally accessible because they are in the county, which would account for the difference in the DNR's numbers and White Buffalo's numbers. Farrant clarified that we need to make certain the zones are all within the City's jurisdictions. Discussion continued with members noting how the continued developments around the City, as well as the University's land being inaccessible, have combined to increase the movement of deer to other areas. Johansen noted that the University ofIowa is planning to discuss the City's desire to have access to University property for next winter's deer kill. She noted the letter to the DNR would likely include a request to schedule the next deer kill during the University's winter break. I 2005 DeerN ehicle Strikes - Statistics for 2005 were provided to Task Force members. Johansen stated the map from the Police Department which places each accident on the map will be provided at the next meeting. Ashman asked who provides the vehicle damage estimate on the report. Dulek responded the police officer estimates the damage at the scene. Jones asked how the 2005 numbers compare with previous years and mentioned it appears accidents may have gone up. Johansen will provide deer/vehicle strike statistics from prior years at the next meeting. Deer Reflector System - Johansen noted this item is a carryover from last year's agenda. Johansen spoke with Jeff Davidson, Transportation Planner, about the deer reflector system. Davidson noted it appears the Dubuque Street reflectors located south of Taft Speedway are still in place. However, the reflectors on Dodge Street were removed due to construction. Davidson mentioned many of these reflectors were in poor condition and probably not suitable to be reinstalled. Therefore, the Task Force will need to decide how they wish to proceed with the deer reflector system. Johansen stated she spoke with the City Manager earlier in the day and if it is the decision ofthe Task Force to continue with the reflector system the City will maintain them. In addition, if the reflector system is continued, Johansen suggested that the Task Force may wish to ask a member ofthe Police Department to attend a meeting to discuss what it will take for the police officer to collect information about deer/car collisions in the vicinity of the reflectors. Discussion continued with the use of light as a deterrent for deer and at first light is effective but the animals tend to adapt and are no longer startled the more they are exposed to it. Goffprovided handouts and mentioned a web site to the members called www.deercrash.com. where information on deer management can be reviewed. He asked the members to review this site so they can further discuss these issues. The deer reflector issue will be placed on the next agenda for continued discussion. COMMUNITY COMMENT: None. OTHER BUSINESS: Farrant made reference to the Deer Task Force Annual Schedule of Activities. Farrant stated the first thing that needs to be done is the Annual Report of the 2005-2006 Iowa City Deer Task Force. Johansen stated she would begin preparing this report. Farrant noted at the next meeting they would need to review the long-term plan. Members then discussed the City Manager's memo dated March 22, 2006 regarding sharpshooting for next winter. Johansen noted in order to stay on task with the DNR's deadline and continue communication with the University, the City Manager is simply preparing the preliminary work to proceed with the next deer kill. The City Council will make the final decision on what method is used. Members of the Task Force questioned what their role is. (TAPE ENDS). . . .discussion continued whether or not changes are going to take place in the south part of the City in regard to the number of deer. The discussion turned to sharpshooting versus other means of deer kill with Goff stating that would be a discussion for another time. A suggestion was made that the Deer Task Force issues be turned over to the Animal Control Department, as some members feel that the City has already made its decision. Goff asked that they receive a clarification of the Task Force's responsibilities. 2 SET AGENDA AND TIME FOR NEXT MEETING: It was decided the Task Force would meet within the next week or two. Johansen will pull together the requested information and set the time and date ofthe next meeting. ADJOURN: Farrant asked for a motion to adjourn. Jones moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:03 P.M.; seconded by Ashman. Minutes submitted by Laura Berardi 3 Deer Management Task Force Attendance Record 2006 3/28 J. Ashman X L. Dvkstra X P. Farrant X H. Goff X M. Jones X P. Sidwell X A. N a2el OlE P. Jochimsen X G. OlE Szvmkowiak Key: X Present o = Absent OrE = i\bsent/Excused NM = No Meeting = Not a Member 4 MINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM PRELIMINARY ~ MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Carison, Michael Gunn, Michael Maharry, Mark McCallum, Jim Ponto, Tim Weitzel ' MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Brennan, James Enioe, Justin Pardekooper, Jan Weissmiller STAFF PRESENT: Sunil Terdalkar OTHERS PRESENT: Suzanne Bentler, Steve Long, Helen Burford, Russ Garrett, Don Otto CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Weitzei called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: 335 North Clinton Street. Don Otto introduced himself as a green homebuilder and the owner of DPO Construction in Iowa City. He said he is very concerned about sustainability, green construction, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, etc. Otto said he noticed today that there is a notice of demolition on the house at 335 South Clinton Street, to the northwest of the post office. He said he is opposed to the demolition of that building. Otto said the house was beautifully built by craftsmen in 1881 and is a solid home that has been beautifully maintained. He said it is a beautiful part of this town, and to see that building go would be a really unfortunate thing. Otto said he understands the right of an owner to do what he wants with his own property, as long as it fits within the rules, but in this case, he believes the building is part of the City. He said that as a citizen of this town, he thinks the town will be diminished if the house is removed. Regarding the green effect, Otto said that the best thing to be done for green would be to not build this again. He said the money would not have to be spent twice, and the fuei for construction would not have to be wasted twice. Otto said the building is certainly serviceable. He said the owner has a right to income, but Iowa City wouid be lessened if the building were removed. Maharry recommended that Otto speak about this at the City Council open forum session. Otto said he did not know much about the history of the buiiding but said it is a beautiful part of the City and is in a very public, central part of the City, and in that sense, it is a public building. Terdalkar said the next City Council meeting would be held on Tuesday. Terdalkar said for a historic property there is a 60-day hold before a demolition permit is issued. This permit application was submitted on March 14th and the as the property is not a registered historic property the hold is only for 7 days. Burford said that Tom Bender contacted her and would like to see the house moved. Weitzel said that the developer/owner would like to move the house, but Weitzel did not know if that would be feasible. Otto said the house is not a registered landmark property and is not in a historic district. Weitzel said the house is at least potentially eligible. Maharry said that per City ordinance, the homeowner would need to give consent for the property to have landmark status. McCallum asked if there are other buildings around this one to be razed. He said that the buildings around it are not really historic. McCallum said if this is a landlord situation in which the owner is combining lots to maximize that corner, it would be difficult to salvage this property. He said this gets back to incentives - if the house is being torn down on its existing, small lot, why would the developer be redeveloping that and would he get the same density. Weitzel said the lot is commercially zoned and has a fairly high commercial density. Terdalkar informed that it is zoned CB-5. Weitzel said that if the City had a nearby lot to trade, that might be a feasible solution to keeping the house. He said, however, that the open lots near this location are privately owned. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes March 16, 2006 Page 2 Weitzel asked Burford if she had spoken with the University about the lot across from the President's house. Burford said she made two inquiries, but with President Skorton leaving, no one wanted to make a commitment regarding that lot. Svendsen asked if the building is to be razed and then new construction put on the lot. Otto said he had heard that the owner intends to construct a six-story building, but he was not certain of that. Burford said the owner has offered $10,000, the equivalent of the demolition costs, to put toward moving the house. Burford said the movers she discussed this with in Washington County had given an estimate of $100,000 to move the house to within a one-mile radius. Svendsen said one of the issues here is that to allow the future owner in a new location to be able to take advantage of the federal investment tax credits for the property, it would be a good idea for the Commission to go on record and offer an opinion as to the property's eligibility in its current location. She said the property has not been surveyed. Maharry said that moving the house would therefore require an empty lot within one mile of the site. McCallum said that he has an empty lot at 819 College that could be used, if the City would give him an occupancy permit for the building and give him higher density. Weitzel stated that there are two options: keep the building in place or try to move it. He suggested that the Commission come to some conclusion about the eligibility of the property and then discuss the two options. Carlson said he walks past the property every day, and it appears to be in perfect condition. He said that in his opinion, the building is absolutely eligible for National Register under Criterion C for architecture. Weitzel said that because the building is across from the Courthouse, there also has to be some kind of local history related to the property. Svendsen agreed with Carlson and said that under Criterion C, it doesn't matter who lived there. She added that the house meets the true definition of a landmark property. Weitzel said he agreed with Carlson regarding eligibility. The consensus of the Commission was that this is a significant structure. Carlson asked if there would be any chance to speak with the owner to delay demolition of the house. Burford said that the owner contacted Friends and the Johnson County Historical Society when this issue came up. McCallum said the owner is a realtor. Weitzel said the Commission should assume that the owner will not delay demolition but added that the owner should still be contacted. The Commission expressed support to the efforts of Don Otto in saving the structure. Summit Street House. Russ Garrett said that he is a contractor in Iowa City. He said he has a potential client who would like to put an addition on the back of a house on Summit Street. Garrett said that the rules state that the deepest one can be on Summit Street from the back of the curb to the back of the house is 125 feet. He said the rules state "street," and he believed that referred to the curb. Garrett said it is unclear whether this actually refers to the curb or the sidewalk. Weitzel said that he thought it would have to be from the front of the lot line. He said it is ambiguous, but he thought that legally, one would have to go from the front of the lot line, because that is where setbacks are determined from. Weitzel said that the sidewalk is almost always within the City property. Garrett said that he would have to locate the lot line, but that would solve his first problem. Garrett said he also would like an opinion on the addition so that he could present it formally at the next meeting. Weitzel suggested that Garrett work with Terdalkar and then fill out an application. Update on Preservation Plan. Svendsen [the historic preservation planning consultant working on the Historic Preservation Plan Update] said that she spent Tuesday in Des Moines talking with the State Historic Preservation Office staff about Iowa City and its many different perspectives. She said it was felt that the Commission is doing a good job, although there are a few areas that need to be worked on. Svendsen said she received some commitment from the State staff to work on elements of getting the plan updated. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes March 16, 2006 Page 3 Svendsen said she has already conducted some interviews. She said she and Weitzel discussed a variety of issues relating to the operation of the Commission, the ordinance, and getting the Montgomery-Buller House National Register nomination completed. Svendsen said she has spoken with other City staff people, including the person referring Section 106 cases, and also spoke with Burford. Svendsen said she Is in the process of scheduling the neighborhood strategy meetings and Is considering the last two weeks in April and the last two weeks in May. She said there will be four meetings, beginning with three residential neighborhood meetings to be held at Longfellow School, Horace Mann School, and Lincoln School. Svendsen said that the fourth meeting tentatively scheduled for May 17'h would be held in City Hall. She said the meeting would be held for downtown property and business owners and others with an interest in downtown and would be held from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Svendsen said that the meeting would be held during a three-day visit by the Colorado consultants. She said the meeting would include discussions on the difference between a National Register district and a local ordinance district. Svendsen said that because the downtown area has already been certified as a cultural and entertainment district, it would behoove property owners to consider having the area become a National Register district to take advantage of the tax credits at the state and federal levels. She said that other financial incentives would be discussed at the meeting, and information would be disbursed and gathered. Svendsen said she would be preparing a presentation about other communities to show what has been done successfully. Svendsen said that when the consultants are visiting, they would hold a session with the Commission, tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 15'0. She said there would also be an evening social event while the consultants are visiting. Svendsen said she is still looking for more interview subjects. She asked Commission members to e-mail her with the contact information of people to whom she should speak. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION: Certificates of Appropriateness: 520 South Governor. Terdalkar said this is an application for the replacement and relocation of windows and the installation of some new windows to the house at the back, which appears to be a second addition to this house. He showed where windows would be moved and added and where three large windows would be installed and a new door installed. Long said that there is a good-sized backyard here with a grotto that was built in the 1960s. He said the purpose of the project is to open the house to the backyard to enjoy the backyard more. Long said the project involves renovating the kitchen and turning a bedroom into a sunroom off of the kitchen. He said they would be using identical windows. Carlson said that where the three windows are proposed for the sunroom, one drawing shows a one over one sash, but the other sketch shows two over two. Long said that they would be using the divider. MOTION: McCallum moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the application for 520 South Governor Street, as proposed. Ponto seconded the motion. Carlson said he had a slight discomfort with the row of three windows there when there is nothing similar to that on the house. He added however, that he understood that this is an addition, and therefore more leeway could be allowed. Carlson said he would be happier with two windows, but if three windows are acceptable to other Commission members, he would be okay with that. Ponto said that three windows would be acceptable to him and added that the windows give the feel of a sunroom. Maharry asked if the windows would go all the way up to the roofline or if there would be headers as on the other windows. Bentler said they would have the same molding on the top as the other windows. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes March 16,2006 Page 4 517 Grant Street. Weitzel said he would recuse himself from voting on this item. Carlson took over as Chair of the Commission for this application. Terdalkar stated that the packet contains the two memos and a letter from the applicant as well as the applicant's ieller to the City Council. He said that all of the information should be considered as part of the application. Carlson said that the Commission discussed the general issues regarding this item at its last meeting, before he sent the Commission's memo to the City Council. He said he .got the impression then that, although there was some reluctance, the Commission was more or less willing to go along with the kind of compromise that was proposed, to retroactively approve a certificate of appropriateness, given the nature of the circumstance, which invoived confusion on the part of Commission members as to the exact interpretation of guideline 4.11, which the Commission is now working to clarify. Carlson said that for the purposes of 517 Grant Street, the Commission seemed to agree that it could be said that what is there now is not so different from what it would have approved anyway. He said the Commission seemed willing to agree to let this one go, knowing that in the future with a similar case, the Commission could be more specific. Maharry suggested that the Commission emphasize that the finished project may have not been distinct from what the Commission would have approved. Weitzel said, as a point of information, that a lot of details were presented to the City Council that the Commission never had the advantage of being able to discuss at the first meeting regarding this property. Terdalkar said that the applicant sent the leller to the City Council and not to the Commission. Maharry suggested that it should have been forwarded on to thlol Historic Preservation Commission, knowing that the leller had to do with historic preservation. Weitzel stated that Svendsen is going to look at these types of work flow issues, as this was in the RFP that Terdalkar submilled. Weitzel said the CLG is still there for supplemental funding for other parts of this project should it run on. Carison said the Commission has not yet applied for the CLG grant, and Weitzel confirmed this. Weitzel said the application would be due in August; however, the grant cycle begins in April. Maharry asked if there were a certificate application before the Commission. Carison confirmed this, stating that it basically consists of the original application, the iellers sent to the City Council, and Carlson's memo to City Council. Terdalkar said he called the applicant, but she was not ready to apply. He said that he proposed to apply for her, and that was acceptable to her. Carlson stated .that because the final result is not much different from what the Commission probably would have approved with a lower pitch of some kind, because the project did not actually involve moving historic material but merely covered over historic material, and because the Commission was internally divided as to the exact interpretation of Section 4.11, he felt that in this narrow case, the Commission could make a special exception. MOTION: Maharry moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 517 Grant Street, as discussed at the Commission's previous meeting and reiterated at the present meeting and for the reasons discussed by Carlson, with the comment that he is disappointed that the applicant did not direct the correspondence involving the Commission to the Commission. McCallum seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0-1. with Weitzel abstainina from the vote. Weitzel again took over as Chair of the meeting. MINUTES FOR FEBRUARY 9. 2006 AND FEBRUARY 22. 2006 MEETINGS. Februarv 9.2006. Carlson said that he had typographical corrections, not substantive changes, to the minutes of February 9th and would submit them to Terdalkar. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes March 16,2006 Page 5 MOTION: Maharry moved to approve the minutes of the February 9, 2006 Historic Preservation Commission meeting, subject to typographical corrections to be submitted by Carlson. Ponto seconded the motion. The motion carried on,s vote of 6-0. Februarv 22. 2006. Weitzel stated that on page three, in the first full paragraph, the last sentence should be changed to .....from the beginning, his concern was because of the potential to set a general precedent." He said that on the same page, in the fourth full paragraph, the last sentence should be changed to, .....this instance is something most architectural historians..." Carlson said that on page three, in the eighth paragraph, the second sentence should be clarified to read, 'Weitzel said the proposed CLG grant request that the Commission is talking about doing in the future, that was specified in the HRDP, was designed to look at those kind of staffing/work flow issues." Weitzel said that in the last paragraph on page three, the second sentence should be changed to read, .....and the Commission's action could be to take no further action, but the Commission..... Carlson stated that on page four, in the ninth paragraph, the fourth sentence should read, .....that the Commission should not trouble the owner for another application." MOTION: Carlson moved to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2006 Historic Preservation Commission meeting, as amended. Ponto seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. OTHER: Historic Preservation Awards. Burford said that in preparation for this year's awards, 56 properties were reviewed by the Chair, Terdalkar, and herself. She said she also contacted most of the painting contractors in Iowa City and Johnson County, as well as past winners, to see if they had properties done during the past year that they would want considered. Burford said she also contacted people in the Melrose District to see if there would be a nomination. She said that there were also word-of-mouth referrals for these nominations. Burford distributed a chart showing the categories of awards that have been presented since 1993. She stated that 201 awards have been given in the last 13 years, 49% of which were given for painting and exterior finishes, although the Iowa City Historic Preservation Handbook does not regulate painting or color choice. Burford said the Commission may want to consider making some guidelines and establishing a method for securing nominations for future awards to make them more objective. She said that Svendsen has discussed on numerous occasions what color schemes may be appropriate for different styles of houses, and some of her comments are on tape so that there is a body of evidence for the Commission to use as a reference tool. Maharry said that he felt that awards are inherently subjective. He said that otherwise there are simply criteria, and if the criteria are met, one receives an award. Weitzel added that there are guidelines for historic paint colors that could be made available on the website. He said people then have the option of following the guidelines, and if the guidelines are followed, then the Commission has the option of granting an award. Maharry said that in the past, some people have felt snubbed, because they weren't given an award when they applied for one. He said that now, everyone who applies pretty much receives an award. Burford stated that there should be a definition to separate stewardship from rehabilitation. She said that it is difficult to find people who actually make an investment in stewardship, in really taking care of a place. Burford suggested the Commission encourage stewardship by recognizing people who take on big projects. Weitzel said he feels that stewardship implies a long-term, continued maintenance of a property, although it does not necessarily involve a rehabilitation, for example a house that has been kept up over a long period of time. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes March 16, 2006 Page 6 Burford said that the addresses of the past award winners are clustered in specific areas, which shows that one project can affect another. Weitzel agreed. Burford said the Margaret Nowyscz Award has not been presented since 2001, when it was given to the Englert Civic Theatre Group. She stated that in the past the award has been given to Commission members, architects, and community activists. Burford said she could not find a definition or criteria for the award, although she thought she had come across it at one time. Burford said that, after reading past programs, there was a category called historic landmarks added three years ago. She said that each of the approved districts and properties that had received national or local recognition was listed on the program. The Commission looked at the list of properties provided by Burford, and Commission members discussed additional properties as well. Maharry stated that the landscaping category had been added without being announced in any press reiease so that people did not have a chance to apply for that award. Burford said there are currently 29 people on the list, with two more added by Commission members. She stated that a previous presentation of 20 awards took about one hour. The consensus of the Commission was to try to keep the awards down to a reasonable number to keep it competitive. Weitzel said the comment was made at the last presentation that people in Friends of Historic Preservation, the Commission, and City staff should not receive the awards. Maharry agreed and asked to have his property removed form the list under consideration. McCallum pointed out that recognition of good work also has the effect of seeding neighborhoods. Maharry and Weitzel agreed. Weitzel pointed out that the awards would encompass all of Johnson County this year, instead of just the City of Iowa City. Maharry suggested that Commission members drive by properties still under consideration and discuss them at the next meeting. He pointed out that the selection process is ahead of schedule this year. Burford said that there would be a significant number of activities in May regarding national historic preservation. Terdalkar said that the awards presentation would be held on Thursday, May 11'h, which is normally the Commission's regular meeting night. Burford said the awards ceremony would be held at Old Brick. Terdalkar asked jf the Commission would need to hold another meeting in May, and Maharry said he thought there would probably need to be another meeting. Terdalkar said that Svendsen and the consultants would be in Iowa City during the third week in May. Weitzel suggested the Commission hold a meeting on the third Thursday in May to meet with Svendsen and the consultants and also consider certificates of appropriateness after discussions with the consultants. Elliott Memo to Carison. Carlson said he distributed this memo for the Commission's information. He added that Elliott, as a private citizen, had sent the memo to Carlson, as a Commission member. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte s:fpcdJrninutes/HPCf2006l03-16-06.doc I I I Historic Preservation Commission I Attendance Record I 2006 ! i i I Term Name Expires 1/19 2/9 2/22 3/16 M. Brennan 3/29/08 X X OlE OlE R. Carlson 3/29/07 X X X X J. Enloe 3/29/06 X X OlE OlE M. Guon 3/29/07 X X X X M. Maharry 3/29/08 X X X X M. MeCallum 3/29/06 X X X X J. Pardekooper 3/29107 X X X 0 J. Ponto 3/29/07 X X X X J. Weissmiller 3/29/06 0 0 0 0 T. Weitzel 3/29/08 X X X X Key: X = Present 0 = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2006, 6:30 P.M. IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, ROOM A PRELIMINARY U[] Members Present: Jerry Anthony. William Greazel. Matthew Hayek, Kelly Mellecker, Brian Richman. Michael Shaw Members Absent: Thomas Niblock Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Public Present: Ron Berg, Jesse Burns. Mary Chval, Maryann Dennis, Marla Edwards. Tracy Falcomata, Beth Koppes. Suellen Novotny, Mark Patton. Sandy Pickup. Steven Rackis, Bill Reagan. Stephen Trefz RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: Housing and Community Development Commission Funding Recommendations: FY07 CDBG\Home Projects PROJECT NAME Housing - Home Eligible Activities Habitat for Humanity*- Homeownership ICHA - Tenant Based Rent Assistance FY07 HOME funds not allocated HCDC RECOMMENDATION REQUESTED AMOUNT $220.000 $200.000 $89,409 $220.000 $368.064 Public Facilities, ED, Non-HOME Activities Arc of Johnson County - Fac. Rehab. $2,852 CMHC- Facility Rehabilitation $18.280 DVIP - Facility Rehabilitation $6,400 Four Oaks - New Construction $200.000 Grant Wood Elementary - Playground $56.437 MECCA - Facility Rehabilitation $22,000 $2.852 $18,280 $6,400 $200.000 $56,437 $22,000 Public Services and Planning Compeer - Director Extend the Dream Foundation - Oper. Free Medical Clinic - Case Mgmt Shelter House - Outreach Coordinator VNA - Mental Health Home Care $1.000 $1.000 $4.900 $4.900 $2.500 $2.584 $2.250 $21,000 $10.000 $10.000 * Includes $25,031 in CDBG funds Consideration of minutes from February 16, 2006 MOTION: Greazel moved to accept the minutes as submitted. Hayek seconded, and the motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Public Comment Dennis distributed a letter to the commission members withdrawing The Housing Fellowship's application for CDBG funds for preservation of housing units. She said the city is willing to consider a $250K general obligation bond for the project over twenty years. She asked if the commission would provide a letter of support for the Housing Fellowship's request for a general obligation bond when it is considered by council. Anthony asked if there was consensus or discussion from the commission members about support for the Fellowship's request. Greazel said he was supportive. Hightshoe said a formal vote for that request could be put on the next meeting's agenda. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 2 Discussion of FY07 CDBG/HOME Funding Requests MOTION: Greazel moved to begin discussion with the Public Services category, then move to the Public Facilities category, and discuss the Housing category last. Shaw seconded, and the motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Hightshoe asked all the commission members to speak up so the visitors in the back of the room will be able to hear them. Anthony noted that most of the commission members did not allocate all available funds. He said he is concerned about this, and will have comments on the issue of holding funds back that he would bring up when appropriate. The comments may not influence discussion about Public Services, so he would wait until later. MOTION: Greazel moved to fund the Shelter House Coordinator at $2,250. There was no second, so the motion died. Hightshoe said that the bylaws indicate the commission has nine members, so five votes are needed in support for a favorable recommendation. Richman said most members were recommending between five and ten thousand for the Coordinator application, so the two groups should talk about why they funded at each level. Shaw said he would be comfortable with giving this project a lower amount if the funds were spread to other projects. He did not allocate to the other projects because with full funding to the Coordinator application, he would have had less than $1K for the others. He added that funding the Coordinator position would be used to match federal funds, which is why he funded it at a high level. Mellecker said everyone funded this project at some level, so it should be a higher priority. MOTION: Greazel moved to fund the Coordinator application at $4K. Hayek seconded. Richman asked if it would make sense for the commission to come to some consensus on the amounts for all the projects and then vote on the overall allocations, or if people preferred to go line by line. Anthony said he preferred line by line. Hayek asked for confirmation that allocations could be changed later with future motions. Anthony said yes. Mellecker said looking at the whole category would be the better way to go. Hayek said it is hard to keep track of what has been proposed for each line. Greazel noted that Long would keep track of the numbers on the projection screen. Anthony said he is more comfortable with going line by line. Then the commission members could debate each issue, and go back to amend previous decisions as needed. Hightshoe said the applications are ordered on the spreadsheet by the average priority ranking of the commission members. Richman said he would like to go higher with the allocation for the Coordinator application, such as $4,500. Shaw said he also wants to go higher, and noted the application had the highest priority for the majority of the commission members. Hayek said there are other applications that fulfill an immediate need. He said he could not go higher because of funding for Free Medical Clinic (FMC). Anthony said he definitely also wants to go higher for Shelter House. A lower level of funding would not adversely affect Free Medical Clinic (FMC) as much as Shelter House (SH). He agreed that both SH and FMC meet real immediate needs. However, funding SH gives more leverage for outside funding because of the federal match. Those additional funds would help many agencies. The commission voted against the motion with a total of 4 in favor and 2 against. Mellecker asked how much higher would the SH allocation need to be to gain support of the dissenting members. MOTION: Shaw moved to allocate SH at $6K. No second, so the motion died. MOTION: Shaw moved to fund at $5K, and Mellecker seconded. The commission voted against the motion with two in favor and three against, with one abstention. Richman said that $5K is a high amount considering the available pool is only $14K. He added that everyone wants to go higher for all the projects, but the funds just are not available. Hayek suggested $4,500. Shaw said he could support that if more money were put into other projects. He asked for confirmation that the other SH project would not be funded. Richman suggested considering the funding level for the other SH project at this point. There was general consensus to discuss both SH projects together. Greazel said he would agree to fund $4,500 for the Outreach Coordinator if no money were allocated for the Security Deposit. Shaw said the Security Deposit is important for renters and helps fill a strong immediate need. It is Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 3 difficult to choose between the two applications even though SH expressed a preference for funding the Outreach Coordinator. Richman said the commission should respect the preference of the applicant. Richman suggested again looking at the whole category before making a motion. Anthony said that would be fine. Richman suggested tentatively that SH Outreach Coordinator be funded at $4500 and asked for input about funding for FMC. Mellecker said FMC should be funded about equal to SH because it is one of the two that all the commission members funded. Richman suggested $4,500. Hayek said he would support that amount. Greazel said he would like more funding for FMC. Shaw asked about the Security Deposit. Greazel said he can support $4,500, but the total funding for SH should be no more than that. He said the commission should focus its efforts. Shaw asked if anything under $2K would be face-saving number for VNA. Greazel said he would rather focus. Mellecker suggested looking at VNA next because it has the next highest average allocation. Shaw said $4K would be high. Hayek said he suspected applicants could still use $1 K or less. Richman asked for confirmation that Hayek thinks funding at lower amounts is still worthwhile. Hayek said yes. Hightshoe asked if there were any agencies the commission would not be funding. Shaw said NCJC was not funded except for Hayek. Hayek said he did have some concerns with the report issue, and would agree to not funding the project. Shaw asked for feedback about the concerns with Compeer's administrative controls. Anthony asked whether Compeer was also off the table. Shaw said it might be a lower priority. Hayek said he does not consider them a lower priority. He noted since the group operates on such a low budget, even $1 K would make a big impact. Hayek asked for clarification about the concerns with Compeer's ability to manage the funds. Anthony said the issue was with income and population reporting in the past. Hightshoe said the organization said they could improve that. Hayek noted that would be a question of data rather than managing money. Anthony said if the money is intended to serve a certain income population, then the issue could be with both. Hayek asked what qualifications are needed to receive Compeer services. Hightshoe said the organization must keep client income information in their files. The client may refuse to provide it, but they must document their efforts. They have received federal funding in the past, but the concern at the last meeting was that income information and time records should be kept. She added there were some problems that revolved around time records, but those issues were resolved. Hayek asked if Compeer has clients that do not fall within the income parameters of this funding. Hightshoe said the majority of their clients are most likely low to moderate income; the problem was the organization was not maintaining documentation one way or another. Richman asked who would support $1K for Compeer. Four commission members agreed. Two members supported $0 funding. Anthony suggested looking at the average allocation for each application and trade money back and forth within the category. Hayek said that would remove all that have less than $1 K in average allocation. Anthony said that would be one way to do it, though not the only way. Richman suggested continuing as before. Hayek agreed. Greazel said he could support $1K for Compeer. Mellecker suggested $1K for Compeer, $2500 for VNA, and $1K for Extend the Dream. Those amounts would fund those projects above the average allocation recommendation. Shaw asked whether the $800 remaining would go to SH Security Deposit. Hayek said it should go to the Coordinator application and allow SH to internally allocate the funds. Richman suggested dividing it between SH and FMC. MOTION: Shaw moved to allocate the Public Services category with $4,900 to both Shelter House Outreach Coordinator and Free Medical Clinic, $2,500 to VNA Mental Health Home Care, $1,000 for each the Compeer Director and the Extend the Dream Foundation Coordinator, with $0 allocated to the Shelter House Security Deposit and the NCJC Newcomers Network. Greazel seconded. Anthony said he would like to increase the SH Outreach Coordinator allocation even more. The average allocation for FMC is lower than what is on the table. He recommended giving $4,700 to FMC and putting the rest into SH. Hayek said he would support the $200 shift. Richman said he preferred the numbers already proposed. Mellecker noted that FMC.asked for twice as much as SH. The commission voted on the motion as proposed. It carried on a vote of 5-1, Anthony voting against. Anthony said at the last meeting when the commission members discussed holding back some funding in reserve, he initially saw some merit in that approach. Next year there might be some good projects that could be funded. However there could also be less desirable projects next year, which the commission would have to fund because the money needs to be allocated within two years. So he does not feel that reason is very strong. Also, if there was a specific project being considered, that would provide a concrete reason to hold onto the funds. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 4 However, Anthony noted there are fewer applications for funding this year, and after talking to current and past applicants, and city staff, he believes there are two reasons for the lower number. The reasons are the scattered site policy limiting the location possibilities, and also the new city investment policy significantly limiting grants and changing interest rates. He is opposed to both policies, and initially thought this might be a chance to take concerns to council. Holding back money and pointing out the lower number of applications could bolster arguments against those policies. However, he realized the cost of holding back is staggering, so he supports spending all funds. Anthony asked whether the other commission members who support holding funds back considered the cost of that approach, or if they decided those costs were outweighed by benefits. Greazel asked what the costs are of not spending the full funding. Anthony said there is a cost involved with holding back, and the question is whether those costs outweigh the benefits. Shaw said one cost is that fulfilling some housing needs will be delayed. However, the benefits he sees are both what Richman discussed at the last meeting, but also the argument that it is important for the HCDC to discuss priorities during the next meetings, which would make decision-making easier in the future. Mellecker asked where the funds go if they are not spent. Hightshoe said the commission has two years to allocate the funds after they enter the city's line of credit on July 1. The funds are available to use, but are not drawn upon. The funds could wait until next year or there could be a mid-year allocation. Greazel said one message that not fully spending might send is that the commission cannot spend the money it already has, which could generate a bad image for the commission and bad feelings about the process amongst the applicants. Those are two obvious negative outcomes from not spending. However, he agreed he does not like the direction things are going and would like to change the policies. The question is how. Anthony pointed out that funds are decreasing, and with this approach the commission is voluntarily decreasing it even more. HUD looks at CDBG allocations periodically, and Iowa City could be the only community that has not fully spent. No community in the nation has not fully spent the funds because of the uncertainty inherent in the funding. HUD could come back and claim it. Hightshoe said HUD could not claim it as the city has two years to commit the funds to a specific project. She noted it is also possible to have a mid-year allocation; however HUD can't recapture the funds if the City is following the applicable HOME restrictions. Hayek said there is still time to allocate it before the deadline. Anthony said there are immediate benefits of housing vouchers and increasing housing opportunities, families who might not be homeless if a little more support was given to the projects. He cannot support holding money back because it would be irresponsible and cruel to expect people to suffer in a difficult situation now versus helping as much as possible. These are not numbers but people, so he strongly recommends spending all the funds. Mellecker said her concem is that the same thing will happen next year, but funding would likely be lower. The idea that there is only a 50 percent chance that projects will be better next year is not valid because the same organizations would be applying for funds. Anthony said future projects may be of the same quality. Richman said the idea to hold back funds also requires effort to work with the city and community to discuss ways to address long-term solutions to the housing situation. It does not make sense just to hold the money back for no reason, but requires the commission to take on some responsibility for moving the discussion forward. He agreed there is an immediate need for housing, but a long-term solution is needed. Anthony said he agrees a long-term solution is needed and that the city needs to be proactive in finding a solution and increasing affordable housing. However, there is no advantage to be gained in that discussion by holding money back. The discussion could be held on the topic either way, and it would be a disadvantage to have money held back when asking the city for more money. Shaw said if there is a discussion and there is a strategic plan and the commission is actively engaged with specific priorities, then the $100K held back is being put in place to be used in the future, and the commission is in the process of using them well. Anthony said his concem is how having money held back would change the nature of the discussion. Last year, funding was over one million dollars, while this year there is only $830K to spend. Having funds left over after allocation would undermine the argument that more support is needed. Hayek said he could see the merit in that point. However, he disagrees with the suggestion that not allocating all the money is cruel. The commission is charged with setting policy and determining the most prudent and efficient use of the funds. If that involves a decision to hold back and wait for better options, it is a question of effectively applying the funds. However, the question of whether holding funds back undermines the commission's position with the council is a good one that should be considered. Anthony said if there were only a moderate level of housing problems, the commission would have the luxury of strategizing. He is not against strategizing and making policy decisions. The commission has not been proactive for the past 20 years and he would like to change that. However, the situation in Johnson County is more similar to an Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 5 emergency room than out patient care. Emergency room treatment means treating the immediate problems, while out patient care situations allow deferring treatments if needed. Greazel said when considering whether to hold funds back, he did not do it arbitrarily, but instead looked at the projects and criteria. He said the commission is not throwing money at just anyone because it is available, but looking at the projects and determining whether it meets the commission's goals. The commission could tell the council that they hope at mid-year or next year there will be projects proposed that they feel very confident about and will use the money efficiently. Anthony said there are enough projects to use the money well. He believes the commission should be proactive in the community and with the council, and not rely solely on federal money, and then the additional funds gained locally could be used on an additional allocation. Richman said the housing situation is both chronic and acute, and to address it solely as a short-term problem will not solve long-term problems and fulfill the commission's obligation to the community. He does not think holding back money is a matter of strategizing, but instead is an attempt to address long-term problems. Long-term problems need more than money, but also to have policy issues addressed. Until those policy issues are addressed, it is difficult to spend money in a fashion that best meets the long-term problems in the community. Mellecker said she agrees with Richman, that the commission is looking at making prudent financial decisions and allocating in the best way possible. Having money set back to use towards policy objectives shows dedication from the commission to actively engage in a policy discussion. Anthony said this would be the first commission to look at policy issues. In his memo to the commission at the beginning of the year, he laid out three initiatives that the commission should try to address. He said he is deeply committed to housing and has been active in this area for many years, including going before council to ask for additional funding, and going before the planning and zoning commission to ask for support for affordable housing. With his experience, he sees no merit in holding money back, since it would not improve the strength of the commission's argument in a discussion about policy. Hayek said he does not view holding money back as making a statement or sending a message. He said he thinks there could be significant changes at the council level in the next year on some of these issues, and there could be a completely different council outlook on these policies in one way or another. If that is the case, there might be some new projects proposed that would respond to those changes. He is not thrilled with the current projects, so he hopes to hold some money back to see whether other projects materialize. If not, the money would be allocated to similar projects as the ones proposed this year. Anthony said if better projects are not proposed, the money has been held for no purpose. Greazel noted that the topic had been thoroughly covered, and suggested moving on to discuss Public Facilities. Richman said the Housing Fellowship has withdrawn its application. Anthony said that means there is more money to give to other projects. Long said there has been a change to the amount requested by ReStore to $107K. Richman asked how much remaining funds are available in each category. Hightshoe said there are $484K in HOME funds and $331 Kin CDBG. Richman asked for clarification that HOME funds could be held back in reserve, while CDBG funds cannot be deferred. Also, CDBG could be put into land acquisition. Hightshoe said yes, in the Habitat and Harmony projects, the land acquisition would be eligible for CDBG funds. ICHA - Tenant Based Rental Assistance would not be eligible. Hayek recommended funding full amounts to DVIP and Arc, since all the commission members supported them. He suggested continuing with the practice of evaluating the whole category. Anthony agreed. Richman asked Long to fill in $2,852 for Arc, and $6,400 for DVIP. Hightshoe said she emailed the construction estimate information for Four Oaks to the commission members prior to the meeting. Habitat for Humanity submitted revised budget information that was distributed before the meeting. Greazel asked if there is support for $107K for ReStore, since it received a lot of support. Hayek said support was split in half. Shaw said he was able to fully fund everything else if he did not fund ReStore. Mellecker agreed. Greazel suggested fully funding the Grant Wood playground and ReStore. Hightshoe said the ReStore project has changed from property acquisition to facility rehabilitation since the application was submitted. The city would purchase the building and Habitat for Humanity would lease the space. The lease would have to be approved by the council. The council must approve the below market lease and show the public purpose or benefit. When asked, Patton stated there was council support of the project. Shaw asked what the advantage is to the revised plan. Hightshoe said it would be a larger lot and would be able to offer many services such as an east side recycling area. The furniture project and the salvage barn could possibly relocate there as well. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 6 Hayek asked how likely it is that the plan would be approved by council. Hightshoe said there is support. Patton said council is supportive of the general concept. Richman said though he is supportive of Habitat for Humanity, he feels there is too much in flux with the ReStore project for him to feel comfortable funding it. He does not know whether it will go through, and does not know as much about the cash flows of ReStore. He said he is more comfortable with the Four Oaks project. Mellecker said she also favors Four Oaks over ReStore. Shaw asked if the ReStore project would go forward if it were not fully funded in its new form. Patton said the sprinkler system in the building is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. Otherwise the building needs to be converted from a garage into a place that is more comfortable for customers. He does not know how much volunteer labor will be available. Greazel said he supports fully funding DVIP and the Arc, and recommended fully funding Grant Wood as well. He asked for feedback about Grant Wood. Shaw said the average allocation for this project is skewed by one recommendation for $0. Mellecker said the five middle projects were almost all fully funded. If all of those are fully funded, $225K is left over. Richman said fully funding Grant Wood is fine. Anthony asked about funding for MECCA. Greazel said he would support full funding. Shaw asked if the commission could recommend a cooperative eftort between the applicants. Anthony said yes. Greazel said that MECCA would be fully funded then. Shaw said he is more strongly committed to fully funding CMHC than MECCA because the repairs are more an issue of safety. If MECCA is fully funded, then he thinks CMHC should also be fully funded. Greazel said the discussion is now down to Four Oaks and ReStore. Mellecker said that $225K remains to be allocated. Richman said the funds could be spent in this category or put into land acquisition for Harmony or Habitat. Shaw suggested 75 percent of requested amount to Four Oaks and 50 percent to ReStore. Richman said he is not sold on ReStore. Greazel said he would prefer to fully fund Four Oaks. Anthony said if Four Oaks is given $200K, then that leaves $25K. He asked if any of the HOME funds could be applied to this category. Hightshoe said no. Mellecker said she thought this would be a good opportunity for savings, freeing up $50K by allocating $175 to Four Oaks and $0 to ReStore. Richman noted CDSG funds must be fully spent this year. Greazel suggested $150K to Four Oaks and $75K to ReStore. Richman said he does not think that $150K to Four Oaks would carry the project. Chval said the project would have to be reworked if funded at that level. Greazel said he would prefer to avoid reworking the project so they could do it without cutting corners. Richman said it costs more in the long run to build at a lower cost, so the lowest he would go for Four Oaks is $185K. Shaw said the issue is what to do with the money that is left over. Richman said it should be spent on Habitat or Harmony land acquisition. Greazel asked whether there was a required amount necessary for the ReStore project. Patton said the greatest need is for the sprinklers, and they would not turn down any amount. However, the project would go forward regardless and funding would be found. Shaw said ReStore does not have an income requirement for using their service, so when considering whether to fund the project, locating the fumiture project there had a significant impact on his opinion. Having the furniture project located on the east side would be a significant improvement on that service's availability. Greazel said this is another organization with two requests, so he suggested giving more money in the HOME funds. Richman said ReStore is in flux, and that he is more comfortable funding the Habitat land acquisition application. Greazel suggested giving Four Oaks $200K and increasing the Habitat land acquisition allocation accordingly. Richman confirmed that would mean $0 funding for ReStore and leave $25K in CDSG funds to be spent in land acquisition. Anthony said ReStore is a good project, and it would go forward regardless, so he could live with that plan. Mellecker said the Habitat land acquisition application is better, since there is more information available and the situation is settled. Shaw suggested looking at the Housing applications and then reviewing the Public Facilities applications again. MOTION: Greazel moved to accept funding allocations for the Public Facilities category with full funding requested amounts for Arc, CMHC, DVIP, Four Oaks, Grant Wood, and MECCA, and $0 for Habitat ReStore. Shaw seconded. Hayek said he has some discomfort about the ReStore project. He asked whether that application came before the commission last year. Anthony said yes, and he recommended against funding then. However, now he feels the project is really flying, so thinks it should be funded at some level. He is not concerned about the project this year. Richman said he is not yet prepared to support the current motion until he sees how the funding in HOME funds works out. Anthony suggested voting on the motion and coming back to this category later. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 7 The commission voted against the motion, with three in favor and three against. Anthony asked whether reducing $200K would work for those opposed. Hayek said everything is fully funded in the Public Facilities categories except for Four Oaks and ReStore. He asked whether moving $25K out of Four Oaks to ReStore would be effective. Anthony confirmed that would be $25K more than the $25K already allocated, taking it to a total of $50K. Mellecker said $25K might not do anything, so her preference is to do $0 and put the money somewhere more effective. MOTION: Hayek moved to allocate $175K to Four Oaks and $50K to ReStore, with full funding to the other Public Facilities projects. Greazel seconded. The commission voted against the motion with four in favor and two against. MOTION: Richman moved to allocate $200K to Four Oaks and $0 to ReStore, with a commitment to put the extra $25K into Habitat's land acquisition after allocating the HOME funds. Greazel suggested not deciding on the Public Facilities category until the HOME funds have been determined. There was no second, so the motion died. Greazel suggested $180K for ICHA, based on the average allocation recommendation. Anthony said he would like it to be higher. Mellecker said she would like it higher as well. She suggested focusing on a few projects and not funding Hanmony. After focusing on some of the projects, the leftover amount did not seem like very much. Shaw asked whether the Harmony project would scale back if not fully funded, or if it would go through at all. Bums said it is not a simple yes/no answer. Tax credit projects need to have a certain magnitude to go forward, either in the number of units or cost per unit, to generate enough tax credits. Considering the millions of dollars leveraged in previous projects through federal and state programs, he estimated a project similar to Whispering Gardens would be possible at a lower level. That would require review vis-a-vis the scattered site policy, however. The reason the Hanmony request is at its level is because of the land cost for compliance with the scattered site policy. He estimated they could do a project similar to Whispering Gardens with $150K and still have enough to leverage state funds. They cannot apply for state HOME funds without a certain commitment from local funds. He estimated that $150K minimum would be needed to do the project. Greazel asked where the money would come from if Burns did a project in another community that did not have HOME funds. Burns said it would be made up with state HOME fund requests. They also have used enterprise zone benefits for some projects, though that has not been approved in Iowa City. Hightshoe said if the project is not in an entitlement city, they could apply for funds competitively through the state. Anthony said since Iowa City is an entitlement city, funding must be provided through the city allocations. Hightshoe added that while some projects have received both state and entitlement funds, it does not happen often. Shaw said that the developer has served the city well. Greazel said everyone has done well with the money they have received. Anthony said he likes the project because it brings funding into the community through state funding and investment. His concern was with the cost per unit, but that might be based on tax credit project guidelines raising the rates. If comparing funding $200K to Harmony versus $200K to Four Oaks, Hanmony would bring in additional funding whereas Four Oaks would not. However, he noted that is an example only and not a fair comparison since it looks strictly at financial benefits, since Four Oaks provides an essential service and Harmony does not. He said additional funding is a big plus in his consideration. Richman suggested $150K for ICHA. It is an important program that helps people right away. Shaw asked whether this is the only project that involves rental housing. Richman said that Hanmony is rental housing. Mellecker said she thinks giving the tenants options on where they live through housing vouchers is a better plan than creating a few housing units of a specific type. Greazel said he is looking at the number of people the programs will impact. Anthony said that is a valid point, and that the ICHA program is a good program. He said as the application was originally submitted, the funds could be used outside of Iowa City. However, Rackis said the commission could specify funds given to the ICHA be used only in Iowa City and he would make it work. Greazel asked whether there was support for $180K for ICHA. Hayek said he is willing to discuss it but would like to see how the other projects work out. Greazel said that leaves $84K plus $25K from the Public Facilities category. He said he would support the funding currently on the board, which includes not funding Hanmony. Anthony said he would like to fund Hanmony. Burns is the only developer from the private sector that has provided affordable housing. The average allocation for Hanmony was $64K, and he suggested increasing it to $110K. Shaw said that would be the $84K plus the $25K from the other category. Richman said if $200K is allocated between Four Oaks and ReStore that leaves $25K to go into land acquisition. Anthony said with the plan as it stood, Hanmony could get $11 OK. Greazel asked what that amount would do in terms of project viability. Burns said he was mentally comparing numbers to Whispering Garden, which is the basis for his estimate for $150K. He said a lower interest rate might be possible, though it is already pretty low. Shaw Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 8 asked if Harmony would come back next year with this application. Anthony said they would be back regardless of whether funds are held back or not. Shaw said it is possible that Hanmony would come back next year with a project the commission could more fully fund because of holding back money this year. Anthony said there is no guarantee since nothing would be in writing. Shaw agreed. Hightshoe questioned if commission members were interested in HOME projects that could repay the City as that was the point of the Financial Investment Policy. Greazel noted that Habitat's project is 100 percent taxable, while Harmony is Section 42 and not fully taxable. Burns said the amount that is taxable is based on the income approach in the application. He estimated these units would be around 50 cents on the dollar. He added that since the project would pay money back, those funds could also be reused for future housing projects. Greazel agreed that is a good point. Anthony noted that Habitat does great work, but Harmony would bring in more funding from outside of the community. Greazel pointed out that even if the funding were not used in Iowa City, it would be leveraged elsewhere. Iowa City is very affluent, and a poorer community could also benefit from those funds. Anthony said many of the poorer communities do not have the same housing problem since while they have low incomes, they also have affordable housing. Per the census, Johnson County has the highest percentage of people with an affordable housing problem. Richman said that Habitat would also leverage funding through in-kind donations. Anthony said that Habitat should receive full funding, but also that Harmony should be funded at some level. Hayek noted the commission is running up against the issue of holding back money. Richman said he is willing to fund Harmony, though then discussion is needed about amounts for the other projects. Hayek said he is leaning toward holding funds back for the future, and that he thinks more private developers should be involved in providing affordable housing. It is a complex area, which might be why others are not involved, but there is room for private developers. Richman suggested funding Habitat at $175K, ICHA at $150K, and Hanmony at $75K. Shaw asked whether Richman was changing his opinion about holding funds back. Richman said no, just reducing Habitat and ICHA and putting that $75K into Harmony. Anthony asked how $100K was decided as the amount to hold back. Hayek said that was what he ended up with during his calculations. Mellecker said her concern is that if funding is split between three projects; all would be crippled versus making two of them viable. Richman said he could support what has been proposed at this point, $200K, $200K, and $0. Rackis said he would like to clarify that ICHA money goes to the landlord and is fully taxable in the private market unless it is going to a tax credit project. The money goes back into the community. Mellecker suggested $200K for ICHA and $220K for Habitat. Greazel said he could support that. Hayek asked how much support there is for funding Hanmony, since three people allocated $0 and the others were varied. Shaw suggested voting on Harmony alone as a line item. Anthony asked if Mellecker, Greazel, and Shaw are still recommending no funds for Harmony. Mellecker, Greazel, and Shaw said yes. MOTION: Richman moved to put $200K to ICHA and Four Oaks, $220K to Habitat, and the other numbers as they currently stand. Mellecker seconded. Mellecker said that would leave $89,409. Shaw asked what would be done with the held back funds. Richman said the commission could ask they remain in the City's line of credit while the commission worked with developers and the community to create good long-term solutions to the housing problem. Hayek said he would like to fund Harmony, and he also wants to hold money back. He suggested reducing funds for Habitat and ICHA and using the balance for Hanmony. Richman said he would support funding Four Oaks at $190K. The commission members voted against the motion with four in favor and two against. Richman asked how much Hayek would like to put into Hanmony. Hayek said he does not know, though he originally had the project at $100K. Richman suggested reducing Habitat and ICHA and funding Hanmony, which would still leave money held back. Mellecker asked where that would put Harmony, and if it would be viable. Greazel asked how much a $10K reduction would impact the ICHA project. Rackis said the request was based on a per unit cost of $426 per month, so $200K would support 40 people for one year or 20 people for two years. Richman asked if a good estimate is $5K per unit per year. Rackis said yes. Greazel noted that Hanmony is only six units, and it comes down to the number of people who would benefit. Hayek said the impacts of the two projects are impossible to compare. Rackis said what needs to be evaluated is the long-term benefits. In those terms, the two projects could be compared. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 9 Anthony said the average amount held back is $43K. He suggested holding $50K, then putting the other $39K elsewhere. Shaw said there was agreement to increase the land acquisition allocation for Habitat since ReStore was not funded. Mellecker said there were two recommendations to hold back $0, which skews the average. Hayek asked how many commission members would support holding back $100K. Five members agreed, with Anthony against. Mellecker said $150K would need to be pulled from other projects to fund Harmony. Anthony suggested holding back $50K, plus reallocating from the other projects. He noted he originally recommended holding back $0 but has come up to $50K. Richman said he originally wanted to hold back $120K and has come down to $90K. Hightshoe asked if the commission could come to a consensus if after setting priorities during the next year, the city puts in an application based on those priorities. Anthony said no that would not alleviate his concern, since the city could make a proposal even without having funds held back. Hayek said he could support $75K held back. Anthony asked how the other funds would look at that point. Hayek said $25K into Harmony plus some from Four Oaks and the other Housing projects. Greazel said he wants to give Four Oaks full funding so they can do the project as proposed. Hayek said taking $25K from each category would give Harmony $100K. Richman said he could do $75K for Harmony, but cannot find $100K for the project. Shaw said he would like to fund Harmony, but it seems like so much more could be done by strongly funding the other projects. Mellecker agreed. Anthony said he would be able to support Hayek's numbers, though he would prefer more money for Harmony. Richman said that would leave $40K to be held back, which he could not support. Greazel said he would like to put the extra $25K back into Public Facilities, to make it easier to keep track of. Hayek asked if the two Habitat projects could be considered together. Anthony said no since the ReStore project is a partnership project that leases a space in collaboration with other groups, while the land acquisition project is a stand-alone project. Richman suggested making final decisions about the Housing category before deciding what to do about ReStore. Shaw noted $60K more is needed to make $100K hold back. Mellecker said she thinks ICHA and land acquisition are too low. Greazel agreed, and the only place he can find the money is from Harmony. Anthony said he could support the current numbers. Mellecker asked for confirmation that Harmony would not be viable if funded under $150K. Shaw said that Burns was comparing that amount to another project, but that does not mean $100K would not be helpful. Burns said they would take $1 OOK if that were the amount available. Anthony said if the commission does not allocate the funds, they are giving up the authority to determine where the funds should go. Richman noted the council could do anything they want with the funds, since the commission only offers recommendations. Anthony clarified that if the commission holds back $50K, for example, the council could allocate the held back funds as they wished. Mellecker said that argues for holding back a higher amount, and that $100K sends a more solid statement about the commission's commitment and intentions. Hightshoe asked for clarification on what statement would be expressed by holding funds back. Hayek said he thinks some changes are coming up in the next year, and having additional funds might give the commission the opportunity to respond to projects that work with those changes. He noted he is not thrilled with any of the projects currently on the table. Hightshoe said a justification memo needs to be written that includes why those funds were held back and what the commission wants the council to do with them. Richman said he agrees with Hayek's statement about not being thrilled with the projects on the table. However, the bigger issue is the desire for the commission to work with the council and community to create a better balance between the short- and long-term needs, which are currently funded through short-term funds. Hightshoe noted that both the intended statement and reasons behind it need to be clear when the statement is made to the council. Greazel said $100K would be more valuable next year, since the funding might go down again. Having an extra amount of money held back might make a project viable that otherwise would not be. Richman suggested funding Harmony at $75K, Habitat Land Acquisition at $170K, ReStore at $0, ICHA at $165K, and hold back $100K. Greazel noted that allocating to Habitat at that level would be less than half of what they requested. Richman said they are still receiving the highest percent of funding from the commission. Mellecker said she thinks the $75K for Harmony could be used elsewhere more effectively. Shaw said that narrows down the discussion and asked if it is all about the $75K. Hayek said he could support those numbers. Anthony said Habitat's Land Acquisition amount is too low. Greazel and Mellecker said they were in favor of $0 for Harmony and higher funding elsewhere. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 10 Anthony asked how many lots $220K would get for Habitat. Patton said four lots at $55K each. Shaw said $170K would then fund three lots. Mellecker said Harmony's lots are $60K each. Richman asked how to resolve the disagreements. Greazel said he does not agree with the current suggestion. Anthony agreed. Hayek said he could live with it. Greazel said he would reduce the hold back amount before allowing ICHA go that low. Hayek said he would leave Public Facilities as it stands, leave the hold back amount at $100K, and either take the Housing category as it stands or do something with Harmony. Shaw confirmed that Hayek would choose holding back over Harmony. Hayek said yes. Richman agreed. Anthony suggested not holding back funds and distributing the $100K evenly amongst the three housing projects. Shaw said the money would come from either Harmony or deferred funds. Hayek said he would like $100K held back. Greazel said he is unhappy with having ReStore at $0 if the Land Acquisition amount is so low. He added if Habitat does not get full funding for the lots, they will not have the funds to shift around as needed, so he would need money to be put into ReStore. Anthony asked why the amount held back is $100K, rather than holding all the HOME funds back. Richman said he thinks it would be unwise not to fund any affordable during this allocation. Hayek said the number is arbitrary, and that he decided on $100K because it is a sizeable amount of money that could have a beneficial impact on future projects. He said he does not see projects that capitalize on densities the change in zoning code was supposed to address, such as townhouses. Anthony said next year there might not be a scattered site policy, which would open up more areas for housing. Richman said holding funds back is about balancing long and short-term needs and goals. Anthony said in his experience with affordable housing issues, he believes a $100K commitment is not going to change council opinions or policies in any way. He agrees that the commission should try to change policies, but recommended maximizing the current funding to meet current needs, and then have the discussion about addressing those long-term concerns and policies during the next year. Mellecker said there is a very good chance funding will decrease next year, and $100K could make or break a project. Anthony said holding back funds might result in next year's allocation being lower. If there is a cushion, the push for lon\l-term changes might not be as strong. Mellecker said she thinks it would be easier to change policy than get additional funding. Anthony disagreed. Hayek said he does not look at holding back funds as a way to change policies. The policies will change one way or another, and having the extra funds next year could help fund a project that takes advantage of those changes. Long pointed out that the council could put the held back funds somewhere else. Richman said the council could do any1hing they want, including change the allocations for all the projects. Anthony said the commission is responsible for recommending allocations to the council for the full amount, and if the commission cannot decide, it defaults to the council. He said he thinks the commission is capable of allocating the funds. Shaw said the final say would default to the council either way. Greazel said if the commission allocates it, the council does not change it very much. Anthony agreed, as long as the full amount is spent. Shaw asked when the last time money was held back. Anthony said never, and for gg percent of communities, money is not held back. Mellecker suggested funding Harmony at $0, Habitat Land Acquisition at $220K, ICHA at $200K, ReStore at $0, which would leave $90K held back. Anthony said he would support $50K held back, and split the remaining funds between the two Habitat projects and Harmony. $25K for ReStore would bring Harmony up to $100K. Greazel said he agrees with Mellecker's suggestion. If Harmony were funded, he would take money from the hold back funds before reducing other funding. Hayek said if that is the choice, he would agree. MOTION: Greazel moved to accept funding in the Public Facilities and Housing categories with Harmony at $0, Habitat Land Acquisition at $220K (of which included $25,031 in CDBG funds), ICHA at $200K, ReStore at $0, Four Oaks at $200K, and fully funding the requested amounts for Arc, CMHC, DVIP, Four Oaks, Grant Wood, and MECCA, which would leave $89,409 held back. Richman seconded and the motion carried on a vote of 5-1, with Anthony voting against. Anthony asked for two volunteers for the committee to write the justification memo for the funding decisions. Given his strong position against holding funds back, he asked for someone who was strongly in favor of the position. Hightshoe said the justification letter is needed by March 31. Richman and Greazel volunteered to assist. Anthony said he would email them. Anthony noted for the record that he strongly objects to holding back any funding and views it as an abrogation of the commission's responsibilities as established by the council. He said he feels it would be acceptable if the Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes March 23, 2006 Page 11 commission had a specific project in mind for the funding, but otherwise it is irresponsible not to allocate all the funds available. There being no further business to come before the commission, Hayek moved to adjourn. Greazel seconded, and the motion passed on a vote of 6-0 to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. ! i I I Housing & Community Development Commission I Attendance Record I 2006 I Term Name Expires 01119 02/16 03/09 03/29 Brian Richman 09/01/07 X X X X Jerrv Anthonv 09/01/08 X X X X Kelly Mellecker 09/01/08 OlE X X X Lori Bears 09/01/07 X OlE X -- -- Matthew Hayek 09/01/07 OlE X X X Michael Shaw 09/01/06 X X X X Thomas Niblock 09/01/08 X X X OlE William Greazel 09/01/06 OlE X X X Yolanda Spears 09/01/06 -- -- X -- -- -- -- I Key: I I X = Present I 0 = Absent i OlE = AbsentlExcused i NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member i I i I I ~~;-~ \ MINUTES Youth Advisory Commission (YAC) March 30, 2006 - 7:00 P.M. Harvat Hall, City Hall DRAFT Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:00 P.M. Members Present: Abboud Kamps, Ziegenhorn (7:05), Bleam, Subramanian, Stubbers, Nelson, Keranen Members Absent: None Others Present: City Council Liaison Correia; UISG Student Council Rep. Schreiber Staff: City Clerk Karr, and Temporary Staff Joelle Osterhaus (Intern) Recommendations to Council (effective onlv after seoarate Council action) None Aooroval of Minutes Moved by Bleam, seconded by Kearnan, to approve the minutes. Motion carried unanimously, 6/0, Ziegenhorn absent. Election of Temoorarv Chair (Ziegenhorn arrived) Council liaison Correia explained that facilitating the meeting is not something that the liaison or staff should continue to do. Until the by-laws are adopted, by the Commission and City Council, a temporary chair should be elected. City Clerk Karr explained the process of nominations and voting. One may nominate others or themselves, and then everyone has a vote after the nominations cease. Subramanian nominated Kearnan, Bleam seconded. Kearnan nominated Subramanian, and Subramanian seconded. No other nominations were made. City Clerk Karr explained that it would take four, a majority of those present to elect a temporary chair. City Clerk Karr called for a vote on the nomination of Kearnan as temporary chair, and announced the vote, 6/0, with Bleam, Abboud Kamps, Ziegenhorn, Stubbers, Subramanian and Nelson voting in the affirmative. City Clerk Karr called for a vote on the nomination of Subramanian as temporary chair, and announced the vote as Kearnan voting in the affirmative. City Clerk Karr declared Kearnan temporary chair. Chair Kearnan now presiding. Discussion with Citv Attornev City Attorney (CA) Eleanor Dilkes stated she was open to questions throughout the discussion. CA Dilkes explained that as Iowa Law states the business of government is to be done in the "open", with some limited exceptions. She explained that all City Boards and Commissions, including Youth Advisory Commission, is a government body Youth Advisory Commission March 30, 2006 Page 2 and therefore is subject to those laws; and documents as well are also to be public documents, with limited exception. The City Attorney distributed two handouts "Open Meetings, Open Government" from the League of Cities, and her memo "Open Meetings, Public Records and Commissions Meetings". CA Dilkes explained that open meetings are generally anytime when four of the commissioners are talking about business, then it is subject to being an open meeting and that means that it is illegal for commissioners to have that conversation unless the public has been given "notice of meeting, right to attend, and minutes have been kept. Subramanian asked about if they met at school and talked, would that be a problem. Dilkes explained that it cannot be business related at all; no problem if it's social. Dilkes explained that emails pose a problem because it is so instantaneous and responses can be done quickly and therefore can be problematic. She advised to avoid using email communication where there are, or could be, four of you talking simultaneously. City Clerk Karr asserted that she was overly-careful with Council emails aRd often cuts and pastes multiple times to avoid the potential or the appearance of sending or receiving a response from four members. CA Dilkes encouraged commissioners to use the safest route and rather than email amongst each other, just email once directly to City Clerk or. staff because when communication goes through the Clerk there's a record and can respond to the inquires. In response to Kearnan, CA Dilkes explained that a quorum was a majority of the body. For the Y AC four would be a quorum. You can't have a meeting without a majority; and a majority of those present, or a majority of a quorum is needed to pass something. UISG Student Council Rep. Schreiber encouraged commissioners to read Robert's Rules of Order because it is a good guide for order of a meeting. CA Dilkes explained that the State Code will be the starting place for the commission by-laws and then Robert's rules will be the second place. Robert's Rules are handy for an issue or procedure that we are unsure about and looks to the Rules for guidance, however, some things about it just make sense like not interrupting others, majority for a meeting, and so on. CA Dilkes and City Clerk Karr shared a copy of "I Move That ...." , a booklet on parliamentary procedure published by Iowa State University, and stated copies could be made available if requested. CA Dilkes explained that public records were anything in writing, generated in any form, and is a public record which has to be provided to any person who requests it. She suggested that a good way to keep track of emails is to make a folder for all Y AC items or not retain them. Also Dilkes said it was a good idea to put at note on your emails, if you're communicating with the public about YAC matters, that emails to and from you are subject to the Open Records law as well. City Clerk Karr explained that unlike a phone call, an email is a document. The City Attorney noted that there are different City boards and commissions, and as the name suggests, the Y AC is here to make recommendations to Council on matters within Youth Advisory Commission March 30, 2006 Page 3 their purview. Some commissions have more independent roles from Council established by Iowa Law, but all are subject to the open records laws. CA Dilkes explained the public discussion item on an agenda was a time when the public can come and make a comment or suggestion, but it is not a time for the commission to discuss that item or issue because the public has not had notice of that discussion and would need to be put onto another agenda. The Chair should ask commissioners at that time if they were interested in discussing the item at another meeting and if it looked like there was interest, than they could put it on an upcoming agenda. City Clerk Karr suggested if approached about a potential YAC item recommend they come to a meeting or submit something in writing that can be submitted and shared with the commission. Bv-Laws Subcommittee Report Commissioners Bleam and Stubbers passed out their first draft of by-laws and explained their process. Changes were made as follows: 1. Commission could choose to put a nickname, "YAC", in by-laws 2. Language of resolution would be used as the mission and then specific purposes added 3. Membership section was revised to reflect four individuals, ages 15- 17; and three individuals, 18-21, all serving 2 year terms. See resolution for clarity. 4. Council liaison assumed as ex-officio members so does not need to be included, but may be included as a source of information. 5. Meeting section changed quorum number to four. Notice of meetings changed in accordance with Iowa Code. Strike last paragraph. The date, location, and time changed striking all after City Clerk and kept section e as a mechanism if the chair is out of town, ill, etc. Section f, strike "at least monthly unless otherwise indicated" as it sets a minimum. Part e also changed to chair or two members. 6. Elections section changed new year to read January 1 and majority vote of the commission 7. Officers section changed chair appointing committees or public relations persons to approval of the commission. A part of their duties of the vice-chair will include acting in the absence of the chair 8. The duties of the secretary would be limited to the preparing minutes, forwarding them to the clerk, and assisting the chair and vice-chair. The City Clerk will handle records, correspondence of commission, announcements, distribution and posting of minutes and agendas, and so forth. 9. Resignation shall be given in writing to the City Clerk. Absences will be seen as excused if notice is received by the City Clerk prior to a meeting. In addition, processes for recommending dismissal will be discussed by the commission, and voted upon and in cases of a super/extraordinary majority (2/3 of the commission, or 5) voting in agreement forwarded to the City Council for cases of unexcused Youth Advisory Commission March 3D, 2006 Page 4 absences, misconduct, and other instances that may arise not mentioned here, when seen fit. The final decision on dismissal will be up to the City Council. 10. Committees section changed Board to Commission for consistency.' No more than four changed to three for serving on a committee. 11. Amendments section changed that amendments would be submitted to the commission (not the chair) at least 30 days or one month prior to adoption. 12. Clerk Karr and Liaison Correia brought up electronic meetings and voting and the Iowa Code which already covered that. Must show impractically or impossibility of participating in person to be admissible. Also cannot have quorum of members present via electronics. Commissioners determined not to clarify that any further. It was noted that there should be plenty of notice to the City Clerk so as to set-up for such meetings. 13. CA Dilkes said individual commissioners should be careful about when they say they are representing the commission or just their individual opinion. The Commission as a whole should be consulted if a commissioner signs correspondence as a Commissioner. CA Dilkes commended YAC for writing their own by-laws and taking ownership of that rather than asking her to do it as other commissions have done. Commissioner Bleam will make an updated draft for the next agenda and staff will put the motion to approve them on the next agenda. Schedulina introductions with Citv Council After discussion Commissioners agreed to direct City Clerk Karr to prepare a proclamation for National Youth Service Days. YAC members would introduce themselves to the City Council at the Council meeting of April 18, and accept the proclamation. Commissioners should arrive at 6:45, fifteen minutes ahead of the meeting, for a brief reception with Council. Discussion of five top themes/proiects Subramanian indicated that she thought the commissioners could interact with community more by going to volunteer activities, like the Ronald MacDonald House run. She felt it would put them out there for improved communication. Stubbers said she'd also had that on her list. Kearnan noted her idea about working with Mecca's alcohol awareness media campaign as another way to volunteer. Nelson noted he'd made a top five list. The first item was creating a mini-grant program that the commission could facilitate so youth could be supported in a long lasting manner. He then mentioned that he thought the teen center was a great idea. He was also interested in expanding the live music events downtown to later hours or more Youth Advisory Commission March 30, 2006 Page 5 frequent to be more accommodating to youth. Indicated he was very in favor of the on- line digital drop box as well as cleaning up the Iowa River - at least in some way. Kearnan asked about the teen center definition and asked if it would be different than UA y teen center as more of a night club setting, or a cafe. Subramanian and Liaison Correia mentioned that a group could came to talk later about issue areas, recreation opportunities, and so forth. Liaison Correia also mentioned getting Parks and Recreation in as another resource. Kearnan noted that she thought that although the cleaning of the river was a lofty goal, action by way of recommendations now would still gain them a louder voice sooner rather than later. City Clerk Karr suggested researching more of the logistics about certain projects to see what is already being done in those areas of interest. Subramanian recalled that the UAY was a major component in initiating this commission and their coordinator there, Janie Jeffries, was wondering how UA Y could be incorporated into what the commission does. Kearnan noted that the UAY was fundraising and thought that might be a way to help them out. Stubbers thought that this could be another part of getting involved in the community. Members noted this was a way in which the commission would be recognized in the community. Name tags or t- shirts were mentioned for Commission visibility. Commissioners expressed an interest in developing a logo for a more professional presentation on letterheads and so forth when soliciting help from people, etc. Kearnan noted that the City's logo, while great, might not represent the goals of this group. It was agreed that it be discussed at the next meeting. Clerk Karr mentioned that the City Manager wished to be a resource and would be available to speak to the Commission. Liaison Correia suggested he could present information on many aspects of city government. Stubbers and Bleam requested that a top five list of things to accomplish in the next year be done as soon as the by-laws are finished. Kearnan summarized and said that with the by-laws, concrete ideas, a logo, and getting out in the community, they'd be well on their way to that. Public Discussion None Set next meetina time Majority agreed to meet in two weeks, 6:30 p.m., April 13. Liaison Correia stated she could not attend. This meeting will be right before the introductions to the Council and therefore the commissioners chose to prepare for that by including it on their next agenda. Prepared by Osterhaus and Karr Youth Advisory Commission March 30, 2006 Page 6 Youth Advisory Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2006 (Meetinl! Date) TERM 3/23 3/30 NAME EXP. Audrey 12/31/07 X X Keranen Sarah 12/31/07 X X Zieeenhorn Subha 12/31/06 X X Subramanian Elyse 12/31/06 OlE X Abboud Kamps Maison 12/31/07 X X Bleam Jacqueline 12/31/07 X x Stubbers Michael 12/31/06 X X Nelson KEY: X = Present o = Absent i OlE = Absent/Excused I NM = No meeting I I --- = Not a Member ,