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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-07 TranscriptionSeptember 7, 20]0 City Council Work Session Council Present: Bailey, Champion, Dickens, Hayek, Mims, Wilburn, Wright Staff Present: Helling, Dilkes, Fosse, Karr, Rocca, Davidson, Goers, Craig Others Present: Higgins, UISG Fire Strategic Plan: Page 1 Hayek/ All right, why don't we get started here so we can try to pack everything in before, uh, 7:00. First up is Fire Department, strategic plan. Chief? Rocca/ Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, Members of City Council and City staff. Uh, it's really a pleasure to be with you tonight to speak about the Fire Department's new strategic plan. Um, I'll give you a quick overview, but before I do, I really want to thank the community because we had about 75 external stakeholders contribute to this process and that's phenomenal! Uh, CPSE, the Center for Public Safety Excellence, tells us they've been in many metropolitan areas where they couldn't get 75 participants. So our community was well engaged in this process and, you know, a few of you were in the process as well. So I do want to thank the public for that. Getting on then, uh, we'll talk a little bit about...we contracted with the Center for Public Safety Excellence on our new strategic plan. We engaged the 75 external stakeholders that I spoke to you about, and they had opportunity as you saw...as you've looked through the plan, uh, to look at the Fire Department, talk about what their expectations are, what some of their concerns are, uh, and general comments, as well. While many of them were quite favorable, as you noted, a lot of them called out staffing, facilities, training, equipment. Some of the things you would expect them to do. We also had an opportunity to engage 32 internal stakeholders, all levels of the Fire Department were represented, and we had an opportunity to go through the...the SWOT analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And as you can imagine, we found, uh, internally the strengths and weaknesses since we know the operation, 24/7 nature that it is, but the opportunities and threats, those are the external things that we were trying to forecast and be prepared for, and that's how we arrived at a five-year plan. Through that SWOT analysis, we identified those critical issues and service gaps, again, you saw those in the plan if you've had the opportunity to...to review it, as well we retooled our mission, vision, and values, and I think they'll serve us well for the next five years. From the process we also were able to establish six goals and the following objectives and critical tasks. While I won't go into all the objectives and critical tasks, I did want to just speak briefly about each goal and then give you an opportunity to ask any questions that you might. Training, our first goal is to develop a comprehensive training initiative. Uh, we are who we are and everything revolves around the training that we do, whether it's hands-on, practical, classroom, technical rescue, EMS, haz-mat, and the list goes on. It's really important that we have the facilities and resources to conduct this comprehensive training initiative, and so essentially that's...that's goal one, and that would include facilities, with the Riverfront Crossings development you know we are looking for a... a new home for the training facility potentially. Goal two, in order to ensure uninterrupted service delivery, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 2 uh, improve internal communications and foster management consistency for better organizational effectiveness. Um, we have, uh, given our 24/7 nature and three shifts, internal communications issues that are just kind of unique to a 24-hour operation, with our shifts of personnel. So we're looking at ways to line up our practices to make sure they are consistent from one shift to the next, through SOG's, through training, uh, through emergency response, all those things, again, for improved and better organizational effectiveness. Goal three, to develop and implement a marketing and communications plan to provide a clear understanding of agency activities and service offerings. Uh, a lot of people know the Fire Department for its basic core mission -the fire department. A lot of people don't realize we provide EMS in this day and age, or that we're technical rescuers, or that we provide public education in fire prevention activities, so we really think it's imperative to get out there with a good marketing plan, to let the community know what it is we do, all the services we offer, how they can engage with us as a department, and with us as a city. Goal four, maintain ahigh-quality level of service to the community to the maintenance and acquisition of physical resources. This includes apparatus equipment, tools, and facilities. I mentioned this, and it came up multiple times in our external stakeholders, they have concerns about our equipment, our facilities, and as you'll see later, our people as well in terms of numbers and their training, but we are going to maintain to the best of our ability within the resources allocated to the Fire Department our apparatus equipment, tools, and facilities. Goal five, to provide ahigh-quality service for the citizens of Iowa City. The Iowa City Fire Department should develop and implement a human capital workforce plan. This, uh, initiative is fairly large, and will encompass essentially looking at each position within the Department, looking at the numbers of positions at each level, the work that those positions do, the reporting relationship, um, is there enough...is there not enough people, um, should some of that work be, um, reallocated to different areas in the organization, are there gaps within the service delivery that we're providing that perhaps we need to look at, uh, additional positions -all those kinds of things, to include special skills, knowledge, and abilities will be part of that workforce plan, that human capital workforce plan. And lastly, to ensure, goal six, ensure our core programs meet jurisdictional and regional service delivery demands and needs. These core programs that I'm talking about would be fire suppression, EMS, technical rescue, haz-mat, fire investigation, public education, code enforcement -all those core services that we provide daily, we want to make sure that...that continually we are at least meeting, if not exceeding, our customer, the citizens' expectations, very routinely. That's a very quick overview, and I wanted to give you opportunity to ask any questions that you might have, um, I know you're kind of confined in terms of your time tonight, but I'll be glad to entertain any of your questions related to our strategic plan. Champion/ Um, Chief, explain to me a little bit about the equipment. I thought you pretty...kept our equipment pretty modern and up-to-date. Rocca/ I thought we did too, and we have a capital replacement plan, and our fire apparatus is in there, um, you know, we are routinely replacing our fire apparatus over the life of about 14 or 15 years, uh, facilities, we've kind of just come into our own here. We've remodeled one. We added on one. We rebuilt one, and we're about to build an This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session additional one. Um, so maybe that thought, Connie, is a little pre, uh, the last two or three years, I mean, we do take good care of the equipment... Champion/ Yeah, I thought you did too (both talking) I was kind of surprised to see that... Rocca/ ...nonetheless, it is a concern from an external stakeholder, saying make sure you continue to do that if nothing else. Champion/ Okay. Thank you. Page 3 Bailey/ (mumbled) goal number three, which I...I'm glad to see a marketing plan there. How do you anticipate that that would fall into the broader marketing and communications plan of the entire organization, and how will it be, I mean, it'll be different because it'll be focused on your department, but how will that all fit together? Rocca/ Well, that's a good question, and uh, one I'm not sure that I'm prepared to answer fully, but uh, you know, the Police Department, they have a person that is dedicated to dealing with the press. We would see our person dealing with the press like that, uh, as well in large events, natural disasters, being another resource that we could draw on for communication with the, uh, with the community as well. Bailey/ Okay. Thank you. Rocca/ Uh-huh. Any other questions (noise on mic) address? Wright/ I'd just like to commend you for, um, thorough analysis you did here and of the engagement you had in the community, which I think was tremendous! Rocca/ Well thank you! It was quite a process and uh, our previous plan was about aten-year plan and we just didn't think that we could forecast very accurately out there that far, so the...the three to five-year range seems to be more prudent. It's our intent to take this plan and we'll be tracking it within the course of the next year and three to five years, uh, but it' 11 be updated annually, you know, things will fall off, new things will be added. This will become a living, breathing, dynamic document that...it's not going to sit on the shelf. It needs to...to continually have our involvement and uh, we'll be updating it, so um, with that I...I thank you for your time tonight, as you look to approve our strategic plan and uh, I'll stay here for the balance of your meeting when you talk about the plan, if you have any other questions for me I'll address them at that time. But I thank you for your, uh, for the opportunity to address you tonight. Hayek/ Thanks, Chief. Very nice document! Roccal Thank you. Agenda Items: This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Hayek/ Okay. Agenda items? Page 4 ITEM 7. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 4, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, CHAPTER 5, PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS, SECTION 8, PERSONS UNDER THE LEGAL AGE IN LICENSED OR PERMITTED ESTABLISHMENTS, SUBSECTION B, TO ADD A NEW SUBPARAGRAPH 6, AND TITLE 4, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, CHAPTER 5, PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS, SECTION 8, PERSONS UNDER THE LEGAL AGE IN LICENSED OR PERMITTED ESTABLISHMENTS, SUBSECTION C, TO ADD A NEW SUBPARAGRAPH 5, TO ALLOW THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO APPROVE SPLIT-PREMISES SPECIAL EVENTS IN LIQUOR LICENSE ESTABLISHMENTS, PERMITTING ENTRY BY THOSE UNDER LEGAL AGE INTO AN ALCOHOL-FREE PORTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, WHILE STILL ALLOWING THE SERVICE AND POSSESSION OF ALCOHOL TO THOSE OF LEGAL AGE IN A SEPARATE ALCOHOL-PERMITTED PORTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Dickens/ Are we going to look into the split venue thing a little bit...tonight? Hayek/ Yeah, I...I'd like to get into that a little bit. Um...I think I've talked to, uh, all of you. Um, we have, uh, a, uh, a proposed ordinance on the agenda for split venue. We have a communication from The Mill with another idea, and as I expressed by telephone, there's yet another idea that may, uh, combine the best parts of several policy options, um...and I...I would encourage us to have some discussion about that, but the...my...my fear about the, uh, split venue, uh, ordinance, it's well written and it does comport with what we were talking about a few weeks ago, but I'm worried that it's going to prove impractical and...and ineffective. Um, and you know, we...when we passed 21, one of the things we said we wanted to do, um, was look at ways to...to protect and enhance the...the live music scene, and I think we have an opportunity to do that. I think the split venue idea was a good faith effort in that direction, um, I personally have some concerns that it won't be well received, and it won't be utilized, and... and won't be worth it. Dickens/ There is a provision right now that they can take all the alcohol off the entire place and do...do they have to have a permit to do that on a certain day or... Dilkes/ They have to have a plan approved by the, um, Police Chief. Hayek/ Yeah, that's...that's agood point. I mean, there are already ways to do this. You can get the plan approved by the Police Chief for analcohol-free, all ages show. That's on the books; you can do that now. If you have the, uh, the exemption based on non-alcohol sales, you don't have to worry about this either. Bailey/ Well, and I'll just jump in. I don't...I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I really liked, um, the proposal that came from The Mill, the direction that that's moving to...to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 5 have an exemption, or to have a special classification for entertainment venues, um, with really, really strict standards, and um, with...with the intent to motivate and promote and to support, um, the kind of scene that we really want to see, and um, and so I would like to discuss how we might move in that direction more than, um, this ordinance, which I...I agree is going to be difficult, um, for many, many places to implement, and this just has a little bit more...I...to me it's exciting, it's innovative, I think...I think it would be interesting to go down that path... see how far we could get! Wright/ I think that's something, uh, that's basically a shell I think we could work with on that one, um, it needs a little more meat on it. Bailey/ Oh sure! Wright/ Uh... in order to... in my opinion, avoid undercutting what we've done so far with the ordinances, um...I know you don't think so. Bailey/ Not as concerned! (laughter) Mims/ I agree with you, Mike! Wright/ Um (several talking) ordinance that's in the packet is pretty much what we did ask for. Bailey/ Oh, abso...without...I do not disagree with that! Wright/ ...we might be able to go in a different direction than...than that. Bailey/ ...well, and I think we all know that, you know, you go down one...sort of one path, you ask for an ordinance, you see it drafted, and then you begin to think of how it will be applied and that's when you begin to say, well, maybe we should try something else. So, yes. We were clear. I just don't think that that's the direction (several talking) Wright/ ...at the time, relatively few venues were going to be able to...to do that, at least existing ones. So... Hayek/ I don't know that I'm interested in...in the 18-year-old aspect of that. Um, and that's...you know, present in The Mills' proposal, um, and I'm not sure that the entertainment venue concept as presented is...is perfect, but there are certain elements in terms of creating, setting a criteria to define that kind of venue, that have a lot of merit, and you know, I think if we can craft something that is narrowly defined so you can't drive a truck through it, in terms of exceptions, um, and...and also, uh, puts their feet to the fire and says, look, even if you meet these...these strict criteria to define your venue, you also have to show that you're very responsible about prevention of, uh, underage consumption or possession. And we could determine that by application of the PAULA rates, um, which we are free to do because this is not a liquor license issue. This is an internal policy. Um, and...my sense from talking to the people in the music industry is what they really need is...is, they don't need to go unti12:00 A.M. What they're This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 6 interested in is some more time in the evening beyond 10:00 P.M. to get, uh, a realistic show in. Mims/ Yeah, I would be very supportive of that. I think...I think we all sat here and thought, yeah, maybe the split venue thing, since that had been talked about at one point, was...was feasible and I think the more you say, you know, we see the ordinance and you start looking at it and you start hearing from people, it's like this is not a real feasible way to really address the concerns of the music scene and the music venues, and um, I like the idea of taking what The Mill has given us and working from that as a starting point, and I agree with what Matt has said. Something that is narrowly crafted enough, tightly crafted enough, that, um, it really is for specific music venues, that that really is not a karaoke machine sitting in the corner kind of thing. Um, it may not have all those elements; it maybe able to have some additional ones that are not in there now; and the ability to really kind of hold their feet to the fire in terms of PAULA or any other criteria that we might decide is relevant in terms of showing that they really are, uh, doing a good job in terms of keeping...keeping the alcohol, uh, out of the hands of the underaged, and I would also agree on not going to 18. I would say let's stick with the 19, which is, uh, what...they still have the option of...of locking the alcohol away if they want to do an all-ages show. Um, so I'd be interested in seeing what we can do in that regard, uh...and whether it means more input from any of the venues or whether, you know, staff feels like they've got some kind of a direction from us that they can start with again. Dilkes/ One...one specific question I would have is whether this exception for an entertainment venue is going to be available to a new business, one who does not have a PAULA rate. (several talking) Um, one of the concerns we have for instance about the existing exception is that...uh, there's asix-month temporary exception available to any new business, uh, as long as they file a business plan saying they likely would have goods and services other than alcohol in excess of 50%. So I think that's a major decision that you're going to have to make with respect to the entertainment venue, and one we're going to need direction on. Hayek/ Uh-huh. (noise on mic) Mims/ I mean, I guess I would be...I personally think I would be willing to give somebody that six months on a new business, assuming they meet all of the other criteria that we lay out to really define themselves as a music venue. Um, and whether it's all the things that...that The Mills' proposal had or not in terms of permanent stage, permanent lighting, booking agen...agent, etc., um...at the same time maybe it's written that, you know, we give `em six months with the caveat that if something major happens we can pull it, I mean... Champion/ We can pull it any (several talking) Wright/ ...we'd want that for any of them...a single major violation of any of the alcohol ordinances it would be (several talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 7 Dilkes/ You need to understand then that you will...you could potentially get applications for exception for an entertainment venue from every existing venue, as long as they make a change in the ownership. (several commenting) I mean, that's what I'm saying. Champion/ That's a problem! Dilkes/ Okay, existing business downtown sells to...A sells to B, B puts in a stage, says it's going to give 50% to, you know, the performing artists, etc., etc., etc. Has a plan saying...it would be easy to look at the ordinance and say what your plan is. Um, and then you would be required to grant them an exception as an entertainment venue, and you need to be prepared for that, if that's what you're going to... Bailey/ No ability to apply anything that's happened before at that location, correct? Because it's a new business. Dilkes/ It's a new license. Bailey/ Okay. Dilkes/ Now...because as an exception, I suppose you could choose to use the PAULA rate of the...the old business, um...since we're not really talking about a license. We're talking about an exception, but that would be...I mean, that would be (both talking) Bailey/ ... if a location has a reputation, of a particular place where it's easy to get alcohol, I could see that that...that thinking would be, even if it changes hands and tries to change its approach, it would be very difficult, um, to retrain people who are accustomed to...the customers. So I mean, I would... if we could, I would want to take that kind of thing into consideration. Wright/ I would honestly rather have a track record. Rather than making it available to any...any brand new business. I'd like to see how they're operating before we just start going (both talking) Bailey/ ...this is a huge, I mean, if...like, let's...just take this for example, this is a huge investment, and um... Hayek/ But it would be for anyone, a new entity or an existing entity. Bailey/ Sure! Hayek/ Because, uh... Bailey/ But should I invest if I'm not going to get this exception...because my business model... Wright/ Well, should you invest if you're not going to run your business responsibly is the other question. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 8 Bailey/ Right... Hayek/ The thing...the thing about this is that, you know, if we have a...a strict PAULA policy, for example...go into this eyes open, eyes wide open that...that, you know, they...they have to control, strictly control possession and consumption, and they could lose it like that. Bailey/ And I wouldn't only just use the PAULA. There have to be other...other items under that, I think. Hayek/ It could be, sure. Bailey/ (several talking) well yeah, and...and... Hayek/ Eleanor's not...she's concerned. Dilkes/ Yeah, I'm not sure this a huge investment. Bailey/ Okay. Dilkes/ Um...8 by 6 stage... Bailey/ Well, it's an employment investment as well. You have to hire somebody who will do this. Dilkes/ Okay, I'm just...I'm...you know, you really have to look beyond the face of these things. We have been dealing with these kinds of things for years and years and years, and there will be, believe me, there will be 8 by 6 stages made out of plywood. There will be sound and lighting that's permanently installed, kind o£ I mean, you have to...you really have to think beyond the surface of this...because we have tried so many things and...and...and it's very tough from an enforcement perspective, and...and it's your decision to make to do that, but I just want you to go into it with your eyes open. Hayek/ Well, and maybe what was...the set of criteria proposed by The Mill is...is not adequate, that we need more. Bailey/ You do need more. (several responding) Dilkes/ I mean, $1,500 when you're talking about cover charges, you can make up $1,500 in cover charges in a night. Champion/ Oh less than that! They're now charging $25 (both talking) or two months ago. Dilkes/ ...and so...and so if you want to go down this route, I'd like you all to give some real thought to how, you know, how strict you want to be, what kind of investment you're This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 9 talking about, whether you want to allow it for businesses who do not yet have a track record and a PAULA rate on which we can base it. I think you have to have some discussion with the PD about PAULA enforcement because I think we're shifting away from PAULA enforcement at this point to under-21 enforcement, and I'm not sure we're going to be getting as consistent a figure, so it's just something I think we...you have to give a lot of serious thought to. Bailey/ Right, but the thing that we will want to motivate is these kinds of businesses versus the other kinds of businesses we've seen. So, we have...I think we have to come up with something that provides that balance, because we would like to see more of...entertainment venues downtown. That's a good business model. I mean, provided they're operating it, you know, well and... and all those sorts of things. That's a good business model. We have to come up with something that can motivate that level of investment and that level of commitment. Dilkes/ I don't...I don't have any quarrel with that, and if I was dealing with The Mill, I wouldn't have a problem, but that is not who we're going to be dealing with. Bailey/ I...I agree with you, but I think that we can strike a balance. Wilburn/ I think the main point is, eyes wide open, because as Eleanor's indicating, um, when we legislate, we're legislating across the board for anyone who's going to apply, and it's nothing against, uh (both talking) Dilkes/ I mean, I'm dedicating almost full-time person in my office to alcohol issues. Hayek/ To what? Dilkes/ To alcohol issues. Between my...half of my time and half of another assistant's time, and it's just so much of it is just this kind of stuff and I'm really worried about heading down another road to another...with another exception that is not...does not have a high enough bar that it's just going to swallow up the rule. Wright/ I'm wondering if we should just defer what we have on our agenda and put this back on a work session (several talking) substantial discussion of it. Wilburn/ Well, I'm still curious about the timing in terms of the ballot issue, I mean, that will...that will, certain questions will be answered at that point and that would... Champion/ ... major question that needs to be answered before the ballot issue if we can. We might not be able to because I understand what Eleanor's saying. I mean, there are some bars downtown that are big enough to put a stage in that every Friday and Saturday night could get a band in there and call themselves a music venue. And these are not establishments that we care to have, uh, 800 minors in. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 10 Bailey/ We could also...we could limit it to bars of "X" capacity. I mean, we can do pretty much anything, right, because it's...I mean, as long as it's fairly... Dilkes/ I think we can...we have a good amount of flexibility with the conditions. And I think maybe that would be one way...that would be one way to look at... Bailey/ Because in my mind, I think of a smaller venue rather than a large, all out, hard to manage, I mean, we could do staff-audience ratio requirements. We could do all kinds of things. I mean, it might once again be like this ordinance and make it impossible, but... so if we defer it, I think we can talk about this in greater detail. Hayek/ So why don't we defer the split venue item, and then...and provide staff adequate time to...to work on this, and try to get it on our work session, uh...work agenda, work session agenda, soon. Wright/ I think that's a good plan. Hayek/ Is there...okay. Mims/ Yeah, I mean, I...the only thing I would add to that is I...assume that what you're saying is for them to bring back maybe specific ideas and concerns, not afull-blown ordinance at this point in time. I mean... Champion/ Just fill in the blanks by now. They have so many alcohol (laughter) Wright/ We're not ready for the full-blown ordinance. I think we have to finish our discussion (several talking) Dilkes/ I...I think what I could do is give you a list...and we can brainstorm and give you a list of questions that we...need answers to (several talking) and...and then we can go from there. Mims/ And criteria that you think we could use. Dilkes/ ...brainstorm about criteria and see what you're interested in and...(several talking) Bailey/ ...not easy, but clear...clear to enforce criteria, that's what we're going to need. Dilkes/ For instance, I like much better the idea about the occupancy load as opposed to employees per number of people. You know, those kinds of things are so hard to enforce (several talking) Mims/ That would be helpful for us too. Good! Karr/ So we defer indefinitely? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Hayek/ Yeah. Champion/ No! Hayek/ Well, the split venue is what we're deferring. You all right with that, Connie? Champion/ I don't want to defer it indefinitely. Wright/ Well that just means we don't have to have...we're not setting a date. Champion/ I know, but it sounds like we're not interested to the public then. Hayek/ Well it's either that or...or ... Bailey/ You can make that comment when we (several talking) Page 11 Dilkes/ Now...now I know The Mill had asked for, um, a split venue, uh, one in October, I believe, and because their PAULA rate is below .50 under this ordinance that is in front of you tonight, I believe that there would be a good possibility that they could hold that event in October, um, so...might want to think about that too. Hayek/ We could...we could pass the split venue, and consider (both talking) not mutually exclusive. Dilkes/...no, they're not, or you could down the road tweak the split venue one, if you came up with an entertainment venue that you were happy with, or something to that effect, but I do...I think the on the split venue thing was not completely accurate because it did not note that, um, because The Mill had a...a ration of .5, less than .5, there was flexibility built into the split venue ordinance that would allow them to have their, um, proposed thing done in October, assuming they got the clearance from...from HIS, etc. Hayek/ Well, we've got three minutes before the formal starts with... Champion/ (several talking) I have problems passing an ordinance that we're not going to keep. Helling/ Following up on what Eleanor said on it, and I think somebody mentioned it before, you have the option...you, the split venue thing may not be financially feasible for most bars, but it still may be for some of the larger ones who want to have that type of thing, a band that's, you know, observable from both sides of the wall, whatever it might be. It's an option, it's an alternative. You might want to leave it in there just in case somebody would want to use it. If they don't, they don't, but...it could be at least something that's permitted. Dilkes/ And remember, there's...there's, again, there's flexibility built into that ordinance so that those...those places that have low PAULA rates can take advantage of that flexibility and perhaps offer one of those...events. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Hayek/ Or we could do first consider... is it? (several talking) Dilkes/ It's an ordinance. Hayek/ Yeah (both talking) Dilkes/ ...first consideration on it. Wright/ I'm fine with that. Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/ What do you all think? Page 12 Wright/ I'm...it feels a little bit squishy like we're basically doing this for one business but... Champion/ We are! Wright/ They have a physical layout that's minimal to doing something like that. Dilkes/ Well, I don't, you know, I don't know if there are other...there are a number of venues that are less than .5. I don't know what all their physical makeups are so it's possible. Hayek/ Yeah. Higgins/ I just want to recommend that you guys do pass this split venue. Um, I think that there's no harm in it. I think that it is flexible, um, it might just be for The Mill, but um, I mean, I think other businesses could take advantage if opportunity presents itself. I just don't see any negatives in...in going ahead and passing it. Hayek/ Well...yeah, I think we're going to have to pause in the work session so we can start the formal in a minute, and then we'll just resume afterwards. Mims/ But we're going to get to that on the agenda. Hayek/ Well, we'll either defer it or vote on it, I mean, we'll see what comes from you all (several talking) All right, well, we've got one minute so... (BREAK TO FORMAL) Hayek/ We will go back into the work session. You folks comfortable, uh, just going...just getting it over with now? (several responding) Dickens/ Where did we leave off? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 13 Hayek/ Oh we were... Wright/ We were in agenda items, I thought. Hayek/ Little late to bring anything up on that! (laughter and several talking) Wright/ I did want to just ask in terms of correspondence. Did anybody from staff, um, address the woman who wrote us about City properties on Whispering Prairie? Helling/ Which, Mike? Bailey/ Whispering Prairie (several talking) Wright/ The correspondence? Champion/ About the trash and... Hayek/ 3.d.1. ITEM 3. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS PRESENTED OR AMENDED. d) Correspondence 1. Carol Kula: On-going concerns with City housing properties in our neighborhood. Helling/ Yes, I believe so, but I'll check and make sure. Wright/ Okay. Hayek/ Anything else from that? ITEM 3. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS PRESENTED OR AMENDED. d) Correspondence 3. Donald Baxter: Burlington/Madison intersection New UI CRWC. Wright/ I just should mention that under 3.d.3., uh, we have a letter from Donald Baxter about the intersection of Madison and Burlington, and uh, I'd gotten some correspondence, uh, from another individual, which I forwarded to Dale, Chief Hargadine, and uh, John Yapp with JCCOG, indicating there are quite a few problems with that intersection, and I think folks (mumbled) Chief of Police indicated they'd be, uh, monitoring the intersection for tickets, uh, JCCOG's going to do some traffic count analysis so... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 14 Bailey/ Well...and I just want to build on that. I think we're seeing a lot of red light runners at a lot of intersections. I mean, I can't even tell you how many times at Gilbert and Washington that happens and... so maybe that's something we should look at. I mean, I'm not proposing red light cameras or anything, but...um, there's a lot of it happening. Wright/ ...J000G last year a little bit. Bailey/ Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of it happening. Champion/ Well I don't...I think...just a couple things, and I'll leave it to the Police Department, but there certainly should not be any turns on red lights there. There's a lot of pedestrians crossing there. Bailey/ Good point! Champion/ And, I don't know...because if we can't get one of those pedestrian all-red lights while pedestrians cross, because it's a highway you might not be able to do that, but we need to work (mumbled). There's a lot of pedestrians, and of course...we pedestrians aren't always very mindful of the lights either. So, um, we also need to be reminded. Dickens/ Some of `em aren't long enough. I don't move as quick as I used to sometimes so... Bailey/ Do we have countdown timers at that intersection? (several talking) Helling/ And those signals are all synchronized, you know (several talking) and so if you had, uh, a, um...a separate walk, you know, all-way walk that would really mess up the system. Um... (several talking) Bailey/ ...reason you run it. If it's synchronized you want to hit it and you know you want to hit all the lights all the way up the hill. Helling/ Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't (both talking) eliminate where you hit all the red ones and... Bailey/ Right, but I think that that's... Wright/ I wonder if we should look at a consideration of no turn on red at a lot of intersections in the downtown area. Champion/ A lot of them downtown you can't turn on red. Wright/ No, but for example, you can at Burlington and Madison. Champion/ Yeah, I think you can there. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 15 Wright/ And the other...the two times that I've almost been creamed by a car as a pedestrian was when it was...the driver was making a right turn on red and they weren't looking for pedestrians. They were looking at the oncoming traffic. Bailey/ Well (both talking) there is that sign, I mean, and I'm not saying that it necessarily helps, but it always reminds me at the corner of Dubuque and Park that said something about when you're turning look for pedestrians. I mean...there's also that option as well. Wright /Yeah. Mims/ I would tend... Helling/ Well I know Traffic Engineering is looking at that, and I'm sure (several talking) but I'll confirm that with them just (several talking) Champion/ We all just think we're traffic engineers! (laughter and several talking) Right! Dickens/ Cause that was brought up in the long term about putting a middle down there all the way up and down the street to reduce. Bailey/ A median. Champion/ It's not the jaywalking that's causing the problems there (several talking) This is legal crossing. Bailey/ It's the conflict. Between the modes of transportation. Information Packet Discussion: Hayek/ Anything else before we move onto the info packet? Info packet then. There's only one, this is the September 2nd packet. Anything on that? Okay, I'll move on. Council time? Council Time: Bailey/ I did get a call about, um, moving ahead on some... something with Sunday transit solutions in the meantime while we do...I don't know if others, the way we do the comprehensive study. Karr/ I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I can't...could you... Bailey/ I got a call... Karr/ Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 16 Bailey/ ...regarding Sunday transit solutions while we move ahead on the...the comprehensive study. And we had talked about doing something in the meantime, perhaps. Is that something that others are interested in pursuing? I mean, Susan brought up the idea of vouchers. Mims/ That's the only thing I'd be interested in, possibly considering in the meantime and I don't know what that would look like and how (both talking) how hard that would be... Bailey/ I just indicated to the constituent I would bring it up to Council and see if there was interest, and I mentioned that it would probably be in the voucher direction cause that's the only thing we really talked about. Wright/ If we want to do something in the interim between the time...between now and the time of a...recommendations from a study coming back, I...I'd be interested in taking a look at the vouchers. Dickens/ But then you get into who qualifies and... Bailey/ Well, sure! Wright/ You'd have to set up some pretty, uh, specific criteria (several talking) Hayek/ You're also spending money we haven't determined is...is there, I mean, part of the problem is that we've got, you know, various ways we could enhance the system, and budgetary constraints, and I thought the review is to try and figure those out and come up with a best approach. Bailey/ Chris didn't indicate...unlike alot of departments, didn't indicate as many constraints as money, where do we best spend it, because there is money in the Transit fund because of the Court Street Transportation Center. It was just where is it best... Champion/ And that's why I want to wait to spend it. I want to spend it the best way I can. Bailey/ I mean, we continue to have a gap of...of service and so I'm hoping that that study will not take... study and decision making will not take a long time. Champion/ I think the gap in service, I mean, that might be the best way to serve it, but I also think if the buses ran more frequently, you would have more people riding buses. Bailey/ I agree! Champion/ I mean, so I think this is money that...I can't wait to spend, but I want to make sure we're (noise on mic) service that is going to benefit the most people. Bailey/ Well I just wanted to pass that along. I told a constituent I would. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 17 Champion/ Yeah, I had a few phone calls too. Bailey/ The same thing, the same people? Champion/ Yeah, and I told them what I just said now. (laughter) Bailey/ And then another thing, um, I did bring up the comments I've received on Farmers Market. Will there be a debrief after this season to see if the street closure will continue and if we're going to expand anything? I've had some questions too about, um, waiting lists and other sorts of things. Helling/ Yeah, uh, typically I think they do that each year, after the market, and I'll find out what.. . Bailey/ Could we get that report, uh, in an Info Packet? Helling/ Yeah, I would assume there's some sort of report. We could turn it into one with the information we have. I think it's important to get the information that you just talked about to them as well, so I'll find out how they're going to do that and then let...let you know. Bailey/ And the specific question about waiting lists, I mean, how does somebody get on a waiting list, but are we prioritizing farmers and local food, um, if they're on the waiting list, that sort of thing. Thanks. Hayek/ Any other Council time items? Champion/ Well, I forgot I was going to say...um...another problem I've noticed downtown is...just at rush hour. I know it's only 20 minutes long, but at rush hour people actually block intersections on Burlington. Bailey/ Yeah. Champion/ They don't stop when the traffic stops at the intersection. If their light is green, they block the intersection and about three times a week when I'm leaving, Linn Street to go home, you can't get across Burlington...because it's...your light is green but the cars are blocked. I think we ought to have a big fine for blocking intersections...like they do in Chicago. Okay, and then...(laughter) I...I'm...I'm glad to see that the police are giving citations for, um, disorderly houses. I think that will help correct some of that. I...I do think we have a lot of intoxicated young people running around town. On Friday and Saturday night my daughter's house was actually broken into and somebody tried to break into mine. By somebody who was so intoxicated they had no idea where they were at. They were just looking for a place to sleep. Um... Wright/ Some of us have had that happen before (several talking) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 18 Champion/ I had it happen maybe one time five years ago. Dickens/ Connie, take the bed and breakfast sign down! (laughter) Champion/ Well, I... at least because my house is being painted there's no furniture on the porch. They can't sleep there anymore. But, uh, I mean, I'm glad to see they're giving citations. It's, um...I know kids, young people, want to party and I think they should be able to, but they have to do it in a more, nice manner, I guess. Bailey/ Well, and it's not just at night. That's...that's kind of the problem too. It gets pretty loud in the morning. Champion/ In the morning? Bailey/ Yeah. Champion/ At 6:00? Bailey/ Yeah, in our neighborhood. Champion/ Buy good storms. It keeps all the sound out! Bailey/ I sleep with my windows open. I mean, yeah, it's pretty loud. Hayek/ Any other Council items? Mims/ I would just comment on Friday night I took the time to, uh, spend some time driving in the neighborhoods south of Burlington, um and...and then since then have talked to some of the people who live down there, and it appears that this weekend, both Friday and Saturday nights, were relatively quiet. Um, and you know, hopefully it will continue, and like Connie said, I piggyback on appreciating the Police Department's, uh, citations where appropriate with the disorderly houses and loud parties, etc., and hopefully that will, uh, kind of reinforce to people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and uh, getting along with their neighbors and some good things happening. So, um... Wright/ I would concur. I talked to a number of folks in the neighborhood south of, uh, Burlington about the atmosphere over the weekend, and you heard the same thing - it was substantially quieter. Hayek/ I did too. I spoke with Suzanne Bentler who was the woman who addressed us a week ago, um, and she reports that her area was considerably improved, uh, or much quieter and thought the citations were having an effect and was appreciative, so I...I know staff's been under a lot of pressure with the new ordinance and new semester and home football games and all to...to clamp down on this stuff and...and uh, but it is appreciated in the community and uh, just wanted to pass that on. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Page 19 Bailey/ And I think it needs to be maintained. Mims/ Definitely! Wright/ Yes, definitely maintained (several talking) Helling/ Also the...most of the PAULAs that are being written now are on the street, rather than (several talking) Bailey/ Is there anything that happens during the day, with house parties, um...neighborhood stuff? Because I'm kind of...I'm serious about parties that go on on game day. Champion/ On game day, of course, right. Mims/ In the police blotter there was one that was like at 8:20 on Saturday morning. Bailey/ That's when I was talking to people (several talking) Wright/ I've seen them in the blotter all through the day. Bailey/ Okay. Helling/ Yeah, typically they're going to be more at night when people are trying to sleep and that. You're not going to get as many complaints during the day, but... Mims/ And the police are probably so busy on game day they're having (both talking) Bailey/ ...understanding what is neighborhood standards happens at both ends of the spectrum, early morning as well as late...early morning as well as early morning. Hayek/ Okay, any other Council items? Budget? Anything on that? (mumbled) Helling/ Nothing yet! Pending Work Session Issues: Hayek/ Pending work session issues? Anything on that? Helling/ We'll obviously be adding the, um, the discussion on split venues and entertainment venues. Champion/ Is it possible to get that music venue on the next work session, along with this other ordinance? I don't know what your plans are. Wright/ I think that's what we talked about having that conversation at that work session. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010 City Council Work Session Champion/ I think it'll be important'for your understanding that we are going to seriously address this issue, and not just let it not happen. Dickens/ That's a separate work session so we'll have plenty of time to (several talking) Mims/ The deferral ended up being to the 21St so that would be the next (several talking) Wright/ That should provide us with a...a full, vibrant discussion that night. Helling/ 21St, or 20th Dickens/ And hopefully we get (noise on mic) venues. We've heard from one. Hayek/ Yeah, that's the disappointing part of this. Dickens/ It's been out there for everyone (several talking) Page 20 Wilburn/ ...shouldn't revisit t his again after...this discussion was held (mumbled) suggesting maybe it should wait (mumbled) Upcoming Events: Hayek/ Any other work session issues? Upcoming events? Council invites? Meeting schedules? Okay. Champion/ Oh, I have a question. Can we have Council time back again? (laughter and several talking) Well, you know (several talking) well because we haven't talked about it, and maybe you've made arrangements for it, um, but the last time we did City Manager interviews we went over what kind of questions they wanted to ask and when are...how are we going to do that? Bailey/ Are we doing that at the work session on the 20tn~ Karr/ No, we're taking a look at a proposal that we'll submit to you. Champion/ Okay. Great, thank you! Hayek/ Anything else? Okay. Thanks everyone. Have a good night. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session meeting of September 7, 2010.