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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-18 TranscriptionJanuary 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Council Present: Hayek, Bailey, Dickens, Mims, Wilburn, Wright Council Absent: Champion Staff Present: Markus, Helling, Karr, Tharp, Craig, O'Malley, Moran, Kopping January 18 Budget Presentations: Page 1 Hayek/ Well, welcome everyone to our Board and Commissions Budget Meeting. Connie Champion will not be here with us this evening, but we've got the rest of us here and since we are on a tight schedule why don't we go ahead and launch in. Riverside Theatre Hayek/ And Riverside Theater is our first to throw to the wolves (chuckles). Clark/ Good evening. Hayek/ Welcome, Ron. Clark/ Thanks, thank you for having us here. Uh, I'm Ron Clark and I'm here along with my colleagues Jennifer Holan and Jody Hovland. Um, and we appreciate this opportunity to request funding from, uh, for the Riverside Theater Shakespeare Festival from, from you, so thank you. Um, we intend to show you how Riverside is a unique element of Iowa City's cultural community and demonstrate that we are deserving of the city's support. Because now it's a cold and snowy January day we thought it might be fun and hopefully evocative and informative to transport us all down to the Festival stage -not literally, that would not be pleasant on this evening -but imaginatively, let's all go on a nice, warm tranquil June evening. There's a light breeze blowing, no worry about the temperature. You have a comforting beverage in your hand. Dusk is fallen, the lights are making magic on the stage. There are beautiful costumes. And we see Phebe from As You Like It. Panfilio/ Think not, I love him, though I ask for him. He's but a peevish boy. And he talks well, but what care I for words? Yet, words do well when he that speaks them pleases those that hear. But it is a pretty youth, not very pretty. In short, he's proud, yes, yet, he'll make a proper man. The best thing in him is his complexion and faster than his tongue did make offense his eye did heal it up. He's not very tall. Yet for his years he's tall. His leg is but so-so and yet `tis well, there may some women, had they marked him in parcels as I did would have gone near to fall in love with him. (Laughs.) But for my part, I love him not, nor hate him not. Yet, yet, I have more cause to hate him than to love him for This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 2 what has he to do to chide in me. He said my eyes were black and my hair black and now I am remembered scorned at me. I marvel that I answered not again. That's all one. What matters in my head. And in my heart. I will be bitter with him and passing short. Go with me. Thank you. (Applause) Hovland/ Cristina Panfilio is here with us for a production of All My Sons and has done the four previous Shakespeare Festivals with us. She represents all of the first-rate professional performers and other artists that makes up our festival company each year. Through the years, the City of Iowa City has been our valued partner. However, you may not know that we are the only professional outdoor theater festival in the state, or in a 200-mile radius; or that we produce two classic plays each June and July, 18 performances at the festival stage and City Park, which, of course, was launched by a unique partnership between the City and Riverside Theater; or that this year is our twelfth annual festival. Holan/ We work to ensure that our shows are economically accessible for all. We offer discounts, including everyday reduced price tickets for students and seniors, rush tickets for students and people of all ages, and Family Nights during which up to two adults accompanying a youth can get into the festival for the youth price. And we provide free green-show performances -the 20 minute versions of the evening's play. Clark/ And we enlist corporate support for our, uh, Wi1lPower Tour. It's a free educational outreach program that is tied to the festival. We bring a team of four actor/teachers into eighth grade classrooms around this corner of the state, reaching roughly 1,400 to 1,500 students every year. Our festival patrons come from all over Iowa and neighboring states, spending dollars in our community. Each year we employ roughly 40 festival company members who, again, are spending salaries here in Iowa City. And a portion of our ticket sales are paid back to the City for use of the facility. Hovland/ You probably know that when local businesses are hiring and University departments are recruiting, they talk about Iowa City's cultural community and the arts. And with 30 years and nearly 200 produced plays under our belts, Riverside Theater is an important and lasting part of that community. Holan/ During 2008, like most, many local businesses, we were affected by the flood. Since that low point, we've seen gradual improvements in attendance, but we still haven't returned to pre-flood levels. Patrons are booking tickets later and our recent rainy summers have made ticket sales more difficult. Last year's festival revenue was $10,000 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 3 short of our goal. The festival represents 40% of our annual earned income, and nearly 40% of our total marketing budget. So this shortfall is critical. Clark/ Our staff and our board are working hard to sustain Riverside Theater while planning for and securing our future, and we ask for the City's support too. Funds from the City will help us as we continue to rebuild our audience; they' 11 help us continue to bring in professional artists, like Cristina; they'll help us continue to produce the high quality professional productions attended by local and non-local patrons; and, help us continue to be a source of pride for all of Iowa City's residents. That concludes our presentation and we are happy to take questions. Even Cristina. (Laughter) Hayek/ Who has questions for Riverside? Dickens/ Where is most of your advertising and marketing budget going? Holan/ It's, it's a combination of local, spending with local papers, the Press Citizen, the Gazette, um, local TV stations, KCRG, uh, primarily, and also some, uh, some monthlies that do reach outside of the immediate area. Um, we, we do a publication called Vacationland and uh, um a magazine called Itineraries, which we try to attract group- sales through. So it's a combination of those sorts of media. Bailey/And you indicate that your patrons for the festival come from throughout the area, but do you have a sense of the breakdown: local, corridor, 100-miles, 200-miles? Holan/ You know, I, uh, I think, we work with tracking that is probably less than perfect- Bailey/ Mm-hm. Holan/ --and I don't have a breakdown that can be tied back precisely to numbers. Um, we do know that people come, we can tell from the postcards that we mail, we mail out of state, we, people who have previously attended, so I, I can describe anecdotally that I see addresses from all over the state and into the, the states that surround Iowa. But I can't actually give you a, a hard breakdown of those numbers. Bailey/Okay. Thanks. Hayek/Any other questions for Riverside? Yes, thank you. Fantastic way to start your presentation. Hovland/ Thank you so much for the opportunity. Wright/ It was terrific. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 4 Clark/ Thank you so much. Hayek/Appreciate it. (Inaudible) Community Supported Agricultural Fair Hayek/ On to the next one, which is Community Supported Agricultural Fair. Dowd/ Hi, I'm Laura Dowd, the founder and the executive director of Local Foods Connection, um, to ask about funding for the Community Supported Agriculture Fair. Um, every year since 2005, we have offered a CSA Fair to the Iowa City community. Um, the fair, um, invites farmers to come into town and set up a table with information and photographs about their farms. And people can come to the fair and talk with the farmer. These farmers are, in particular, community-supported agriculture farmers. Community- supported agriculture is a type of marketing technique for farmers where they sell directly to consumers and the consumers pay for a season's worth of produce in advance in January, February or March. And then, in exchange for that commitment the farmer, um, prepares a box of produce for them every week for about four to five months starting when the growing season starts. Farmers like to advertise, um, and recruit their members at this time of year, so the fair would be, um, in February, March, April of 2012. We also produce a CSA guide that lists all these farms with their description. The fair and the guide are provided at no cost to the public or the farmers. And the fair, um, is probably going to continue to be held at the Recreation Center. And we have anywhere from six to ten farmers attend. Um, and the attendance has been anywhere from 40 to 150 people from Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Um, the CSA Fair is rather unique in this region of the state and maybe in the state as a whole, so we have people come, I've even had people come from the Quad Cities area. Um, some of our farms do serve multiple areas, they do serve Cedar Rapids and, and those, and the other areas, um, east of, east of here. Um, we are partnering with the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation Center and Development Office now. We've inspired them and they held their first CSA Fair in Cedar Rapids last year. Um, and this year they want to partner with us on the Iowa City fair, um, to help us out like we helped them out. Um, the guide we give out at the fair, we also have it in town, um, at food stores and restaurants, also at the Iowa City Public Library. Last year, the library went through over 1,000 copies of the fair, of the guide. Um, we provided about half of those for free, and then we got a grant from Eco Iowa City for the other half. Okay, I'm ready to take questions. Bailey/ Do you have a sense of how many of these farmers are also involved in our Farmers Market? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 5 Dowd/ Um, all of the farmers, yeah, that come to the fair. There are CSA farmers that don't go to the Farmers Market and they don't come to this fair either. Either they're social or they're not, pretty much. (Chuckles) Wright/ How did you fund this, uh, previously, if you hadn't made, if you hadn't got the Eco Iowa City grant? Dowd/ Mm-hm. Uh, that was for like, um, 500 or 600 CSA guides. Um, that all came out of our, the Local Foods Connection, just general operating budget. So, and we're anon-profit agency. We enroll low-income families in CSAs. Um, CSAs have a large up-front cost because the farmers prefer that the payment be made in full at this time of year and so that's, um, anywhere from $300 to $700, which excludes the low-income. So, we, we pay that cost for them and then we provide them with education on nutrition and cooking. Um, but we also, our mission also is to, we support the, um, earth-friendly, small family farmer. So we do the CSA fair and the guide for the farmer's benefit. Of course, our clientele are invited to the fair too. Hayek/ Have the several, uh, that you've done so far all been held at the, at the- Dowd/ No. It started out at the New Pioneer Co-op Coralville store mezzanine. Um, and it moved to the Prairie Table, and then, um, the last three have been at the Rec Center. It gets a little bigger every year. Hayek/Do you, do you plan on doing one this March? Dowd/ Um, yes, it's scheduled for Saturday, March 26th from 1:00 to 5:00. Bailey/At the Rec Center? Dowd/ Uh-huh. In the social hall. Hayek/Any questions for Laura? Dowd/ Okay, thank you for your time. Hayek/ Thank you. We appreciate it. Landlocked? Landlocked here? Need to jump forward to the airport. Airport Commission Hayek/ Airport guys want to jump ahead in line here? Horan/ Sure. Hayek/ Need to make sure our tech turns back on. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 201 1 City Council Work Session Page 6 Horan/ Hi, Howard Horan form the Airport Commission. Um, glad to, uh, work on it again. Um, we have been successful in keeping our budget to the $100,000 target, and seem to have been able to, uh, operate the airport quite effectively with that. Um, I think, uh, one of our big challenges for the, uh, for the coming year is, uh, of our $100,000, $11,000 is committed to the City's economic development efforts, so that money never really sees the airport. I think one of our goals needs to be, uh, to develop ideas so that we can more effectively partner with Economic Development and get some attention to the airport. Uh, Minnette Gardinier is going to be the Chair for, uh, well, beginning in March, and she has the really good news. Gardinier/ So, I'm Minnetta Gardinier. I've been on the, uh, Airport Commission now for, I guess this is my second, second year, third year maybe. Um, and as we've kind of eluded to over the last several months, uh, Iowa City is going to host a national event come June and it, this is the Air Race Classic. I've just got a, two-three, uh, four slides actually, uh, just to introduce. The Iowa 99s is a group of women pilots here in Iowa, the state of Iowa, we're a chapter of the International 99s, uh, historically, which goes back to the days of Amelia Earhart who formed the, the group, uh, back in 1929. The Air Race Classic is the outcome of the first air derby that was held in 1929, so it's gone through, this is the granddaughter of the Air Derby, if you will. Um, we'll be hosting the 35t" Annual Air Race Classic. And as you can see, it starts up in Iowa City and it goes up through the Dakotas and, uh, Wyoming, and down through the central part of the U.S. and it will end up in Mobile, Alabama. It's about 2,700 miles that the, uh, racers, that the airplanes are on there, those will be people descending on Iowa City starting around the 16t" of, uh, June. So, um, this logo up here in the top left corner, um, I think is going to be the official logo, we're just, uh, just gotten it from the graphic designer. And, uh, so that's how we'll be promoting this over the next several months. Um, the racers are going to be arriving here on Thursday, June 16t". They' 11 be here for that weekend, up through Tuesday, June 21St, which is when they'll, they'll leave Iowa City en masse. Uh, the picture down in the lower right corner is a picture from a previous air race. Uh, that number four is the plane that I have hangared here in Iowa City. Um, I've raced in this, uh, participated in this race, uh, starting in 2008 in Bozeman. Um, and I think that, that experience gave me the idea to bring the race here to Iowa City. I just thought it would be a great place to start the race, uh, because the planes, basically they're going to come in, they're going to arrive, start arriving Thursday, um, up through Sunday morning. Uh, the racers are pretty much here to enjoy their time, um, and so I hope, I'm going to have them down at the Sheraton here in Iowa City, and, uh, I think you'll be seeing them wander around the ped mall, and, um, take advantage of some of the, a lot of the businesses that we have here in the, in the downtown area. Um, I'm looking forward to them, uh, maybe being able to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 20] 1 City Council Work Session Page 7 partake of a Friday night Concert right out in front of the Sheraton too. Um, and then Friday evening we'll have what's called a, what I'm calling an early arrivals party. All the racers, they have to be here by, uh, noon on Saturday. Uh, most racers come in a day or two early so that they can relax, and, uh, sort of unwind before the race begins. So, uh, Friday evening we' 11 have sort of an unofficial voluntary, uh, optional, um, reception for them and that's going to be out at the Iowa Children's Museum at the Take Flight exhibit that's out there. And then, um, uh, Saturday evening, when all the racers will be in town we'll have the, uh, what I'll call the, uh, it's just a hangar barbecue, uh, out at the Iowa City Airport. Both of these events, we'll sell tickets, and it will be open to the public to attend and be able to meet the racers. Uh, what you see in the upper, uh, right, yeah right corner is, uh, a shot, obviously from the Children's Museum, and what you see in the, um, lower left corner is a shot from a previous air race with the Girl Scouts. They typically have a youth engagement, usually trying to connect with the Girl Scouts. I've been trying to connect with Deb Dunkhase at the Children's Museum, and I had lunch with leaders from the eastern Iowa and western Illinois Girl Scouts group. Um, and they're going to work, putting together a package that will be an overnight museum, and then probably Saturday girls will come out to the airport and, uh, have a picnic lunch, in the viewing area we hope, and, uh, hopefully good weather. But they'll also be able to go out to the ramp and, and, wander around the planes, with racers, meeting racers, um, and then the EAA Chapter, which is the local pilots group, the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area is going to offer Young Eagle flights, which are free flights for the, uh, any of the girls that might be interested in going up in a plane, obviously with a parent, parental permission. But anyway, that's, uh, a great event that will include the public, and uh, we hope be able to get a lot of people out there. Um, obviously, you'll be getting invitations, uh, we hope you'll come out and enjoy some of the event. Um, and lastly I just want to take a couple of minutes just to thank the sponsors for this. Um, there's a start fee that's associated with this that (inaudible) has provided for this event, um, as well as our lead sponsor which is Rockwell Collins at this point. Uh, the Iowa Aviation Promotion group is a state group that supports and promotes aviation across the state. Uh, the North Central Section is a group of about, uh, eight Midwest states, and they've also made a contribution towards this, and then Jet Air, and then we have many other sponsors and they're still coming up, so, um, I think this is going to be a great event for the airport (inaudible). Thanks. Hayek/ Thank you. Any other Wright/ Mike's next. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 8 Tharp/ Thank you. Just a couple of final quick comments to wrap up the budget. Um, we have alluded to, Dale and myself, a couple of times during budget discussions about having a future work session, combined meeting where we discuss a commerce park and some of the proceeds from sales going toward paying down or eliminating the airport debt. I know the Airport Commission is, is certainly in favor of those conversations, and would like to have them some time in the near future, when you, when it's convenient for Council. Also in your packet was the 2010 Annual Report. Um, traffic numbers really are, are picking back up at the airport. We've, uh, the last couple of years we've undergone a number of reconstruction and, uh, runway improvement projects. Uh, those are completed and the projection for 2011 are on pace to meet, uh, pre-20081evels, so we're looking pretty good for activity at the airport again. Hayek/ These, these, uh, numbers in your, in your report, um, the 25% reduction in fuel sales and stuff like, stuff like that, are these, uh, complete numbers for all of 2010? Or is that- Tharp/ Um, primarily it's for the fiscal years. Uh, so that would be fiscal year 2010, uh, since we're half-way through FY11, uh, the projections are on pace to meet what we had in 2008. Um, on average, the airports sold about 200,000 gallons of fuel, um, and it was split pretty evenly between, um, aviation gasoline and jet fuel. We're hoping not only to meet, you know, go back to the 20081evels where we were at 200,000 gallons, but to, uh, start seeing an increase in jet fuel as the biggest business, as jet traffic is utilizing the airport more. Hayek/ So, thus far in this fiscal year, how do we compare over the previous? Tharp/ It's looking to be an increase back to about $20,000 off of, uh, fuel sale commissions. Whereas last year I believe it was $18,000, maybe $17,000. Hayek/ So, slight increase? Tharp/ Yeah. Hayek/ Any questions for the airport? Bailey/ Well, I'm just really impressed that you've worked so hard to bring this event into Iowa City, and I'm hoping that there are other opportunities like this, to do these kinds of .things to feature our airport and feature our community because I think it lends itself quite well to it, um, lots of good community partners. Gardinier/ Yeah, I mean, it's a great facility that we have here. I know when I- Hayek/ Can you get a little closer to the mike please? Sorry. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 9 Gardinier/ Oh. When I first pitched it to the, um, to the Air Race, it was just kind of verbally and they didn't know Iowa City and then I had one of the racers and, uh, stop in on their way to Oshkosh. I took them out to lunch at the Saloon up on the ped mall and we were sitting outside on a nice summer day and her comment to me was, yeah--- Bailey/ Yeah, why not? Gardinier/ ---this would be a great place to bring the race. So I think, I think it's really going to be a good fit, and actually, um, the Girl Scout events that I've been to so far for this race have only been maybe a couple of dozen Girl Scouts. Um, in my discussions with Deb out at the Children's Museum and with the two leaders that I talked to this past week, they're saying they're going to get 100 girls there. The goal is to get 99 girls there, basically. Bailey/ Yeah. Gardinier/ And I think, I think they're going to make it happen. So, I mean the kids are getting to camp out overnight at the museum, they'll do the activities at the flight exhibit, and then they'll come out. I've already talked to the EAA; they're on board. So I think it'll be a great youth event. And also, I think it's a lot of fun. Atlantic, Iowa hosted the terminus two years ago in 2009, and, uh, that was kind of like a town party for them. Um, and a lot of the public came out for things like the, you know, the hangar barbecue type stuff. So, um, we're going to try to promote that and obviously get some of the public out there. So. Bailey/ I think it'd be great to see other events like this out at the airport, um, bringing in some people from across the country. I think it's just a great idea. Hayek/ Do you know what these host communities get in terms of total numbers, uh, of people? Gardinier/ Of people that come in? Hayek/ Yeah, you know, soup to nuts: Girl Scouts, locals? Gardinier/ Uh, it's a little hard to, every one is different. The first one I did, uh, the Bozeman one, uh, not too many of the locals there, but in Mansfield, Massachusetts which is south of, uh, Boston, um, they had every one of the racers go out to a home for dinner, um, when we got in, and they actually had like a, a little ancillary air show, antique car show out at the airport and so I would say there were probably several hundred that were associated with that, that event. Um, and Atlantic was the same way. I mean that was a really big deal for them and, so I would say it's you know, probably, it, it can be as many, I would say, a few hundred, definitely, that are coming in specifically for the events and it just kind of depends what you tie into it. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 10 Hayek/ Okay. Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Thank you for your presentation. Mary, you want to join us? Yeah. Landlocked Film Festival Hayek/ Come back to Landlocked here. Blackwood/ I'm sorry for, um, not being earlier. Hayek/ Don't worry about it. Blackwood/ I was at another meeting. I came here. And, and I don't have a slide presentation for you this year because I've only got five minutes, so, I'll make it quick. Um, for those of you who don't know, my name is Mary Blackwood. I'm the, um, president of Landlocked Film Festival. And we're coming up on our, uh, our fifth year. We've had an amazing four years up 'til now, um, but this year, this past year, August 2010, even we who have been running Landlocked were stunned and really thrilled by how many film professionals actually came from L.A. to come to Landlocked. Um, we figure we had probably at least 20 people coming from L.A. or New York, uh, bringing family and friends also. And we think there were about 80 film professionals, including the people from the Midwest and Iowa also. Um, just to tell you some of the, some of the, who the people are, and of course I love these people because they're the ones that make the films, you know, they aren't names you'd know necessarily because they're not actors and we're working on that too. But, um, Dave Crabtree is, uh, he's been the lead editor for the TV show "Psych" since its inception, and he now directs episodes based on the fact that he was able to make a small Indie film, he brought it to Landlocked; he's won some awards and now the producers of that show let him direct. And, he is excited about maybe coming back to give an editing workshop, uh, next year. Um, there's amulti- ward winning Indie feature called Ashley's Ashes that we received, and it's full of well- known faces, character actors you've seen over and over, including um, as usual, a Baldwin brother. And it seems like every Indie movie has one of those in it, including a few that we've had. But the star of that one, Googy Gress, another one you'd probably know if I showed it to you, he came, his director Chris Hutson came at the last minute one of the other actors who's really wonderful, Shahe Koulloukian, came from Chicago because he was nearby, getting really excited about it. Um, David Story is a field producer and has been for many years for non-fiction TV like "Ice Road Truckers" and he made a great rugby film that was shot in Kansas City and Scotland. And a lot of the actors from Kansas City and their families all came. Um, this year, In Vetro were able to report to us this year that film-makers and their family members stayed in over 50 hotel rooms, and those were just the people who signed up through the link on the Landlocked website that went to the Sheraton and the In Vetro. There were a lot more people around. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 1 l Um, we were talking to people who came for the whole festival from L.A., New York, Kansas City, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Chicago, um, I think we had some people from, from Texas also. And amazingly, two of our filmmakers came from overseas: uh, one from South Korea and one from Australia. And they came just to come to Landlocked, and to, to talk with our audiences about their films. Everybody had a great time, um, we, we're, we keep making more friends in these places. And, um, again, this is, this is a milestone for us. We feel great about having the fifth annual Landlocked. Um, film festivals actually get started up all the time in the United States. They, they're started up with great enthusiasm. There're a lot of them that don't necessarily make it through a few years, so we feel lucky and we have to say that the financial support of Iowa City has been absolutely incredible in helping to sustain us and to help us grow. And, so we're asking again, for this year, for $3,000 in support from the City. Um, and, so I, because I have some show and tell, you know about a month or two after the festival was over and we'd all had a chance to breathe a bit, and, uh, basically my Moviemaker magazine showed up in the mail, you know, and I, this is, this is one of the few magazines that is really out there and it really caters to the film enthusiast, people who go to film festivals. And I was just looking through it. In the "Festival Beat" section I found this: it says, "Of Sea-side Cities and Landlocked Locales." And they're talking about our Landlocked! They, they stole a picture of the Englert off our website; they did not call me; I didn't know this was going to be in here. They, they contacted some of our film-makers and talked to them. And so we're one of the festivals that got covered and, you know, obviously they understand our name because they wrote, uh, "Landlocked Film Festival located in downtown Iowa City proves that you don't need any pesky ocean views to put on a great festival." So we feel really thrilled about this because this is national exposure for us and we're really thrilled to bring the fifth annual Landlocked Film Festival to Iowa City, and to all of Iowa, and the Midwest. So, thank you. Hayek/ Thanks, Mary. Blackwood/ Mm-hm. Hayek/ Who has questions about this application? Do you know what your number was last year? Total attendees? Blackwood/ Again, you know we're- Hayek/ I know it's probably hard to track--- Blackwood/ ---probably saying 4,500, as unique individuals, um, we, we don't, uh, we sell some tickets, it's not even that though, some people go to more than one movie. We figure about 9,000 movies are watched, so to speak. Like one person might see five, some person might go to only one, so that's kind of what we're going with. We're trying as we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 12 go along to, you know, try and figure out better ways to get data. I guess it is, it is anecdotal. Well, not totally anecdotal. When the Englert fills up with people we know that they're there. Hayek/ I think that's it. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Blackwood/ That's it? Well, thank you very much. And thank you for coming to the festival because I've seen some of you guys there. Wright/ Would you be willing for, would you be willing to, uh, submit that to a, to be put in a Council packet? Blackwood/ Um, this is my only--- Wright/ Just the, just the article itself? Blackwood/ Yeah. It can- Hayek/ Why don't you scan it and e-mail it to the Clerk? Blackwood/ Yes. Yeah, that's what I'll do, yes. I'd love to--- Wright/ Yeah, I didn't mean for us to take it. (Inaudible) Blackwood/ I'm not going to. (Laughter) Hayek/ Thanks, Mary. Parks & Recreation Commission Hayek/ Okay, if the Parks and Rec Commission is ready, we're a couple minutes early but if you're ready we can proceed. Claussen/ I'd like to than the Council for inviting us here this evening. We're glad to be here. Uh, I'd like to introduce our members. Uh, John Westefeld has been here before. He's a former chair and current commission member. Uh, Lorin Ditzler is our current Vice -Chair. And I am Clay Clausen and I am the current Commission chair. Also, in the audience, I think you all know Mike Moran who is the Director of Parks and Recreation. Uh, what is Parks and Recreation? Lorin is showing a chart. Most residents think of us as the Robert Lee and Mercer Rec Center, uh, park areas and recreation and sports leagues for youths and adults. We are those but we also have considerable additional duties and responsibilities as displayed by the poster here. We do take care of the CBD, the Central This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 13 Business District, maintain the area between Burlington and Iowa Streets and Clinton and Gilbert Streets, also the cemetery, forestry, trees and landscaping on all city property including public streets, as well as government buildings, so the Rec, the Parks and Rec Department takes care of the Civic Center. So, we'll clean up when we're all done this evening. The Parks and Recreation Department has been very fortunate to have offered our citizens the following new programs, uh, cooperative efforts, and continuing policies. Number one, we've opened the Wetherby Park Splash Pad on the south-east side. And that was a cooperative effort from CDBG funds, and neighborhood associations; developing the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area with the cooperation of Johnson County Board of Supervisors, state grants of $200,000 from REAP, and $1.6 million from Vision Iowa, and the Council's support. We consider this an economic development project for the Iowa City area and for our department, because it should generate revenue over the long haul. Uh, maintaining the department's self-imposed constraint of bringing in at least 40% of our budget in revenues and not asking for more than 60% in property tax support. We're proud to continue that. We're developing many trail opportunities around the city to enhance and expand the existing system, successfully operating and enhancing two dog parks in the community through the assistance of DogPAC, Council, and the Department; and working hand in hand with our affiliate groups through-out the city to provide first class opportunities and services to our citizens. Now, we greatly appreciate the support of the Council through your attendance at the annual parks tour. And thanks to Susan for attending that this year as a representative of Council. Uh, your commitment, continuing commitment to the Terry Trueblood Recreation area, support of establishing a master plan to help guide the Department through the next several years - we think that's very important, that we have a vision and we can reach that vision. We'd like to share a live visual aid tonight for your education and enjoyment. With her height, Lorin represents the acres of parkland maintained by Parks and Recreation in 2001. So, Lorin is 881.8 acres. With his height, John represents the acres that will be maintained in 2011, with an increase of 476.4 acres to a total of 1,358.2 acres. Now this workload, this increased workload has been absorbed by the department with no additional, full-time staffing over that ten year period. So the, the responsibilities have grown, but the staffing has stayed the same. And I think Mike and the folks in the department have done a tremendous job there. Uh, we couldn't find any 24-inch heels for John, so we had to settle for the stepstool tonight. And I'd like the Council to note that this was a gender and age neutral presentation this evening, so. (Laughter) Knowing full well that the budget it tight, we will work with the Council in exploring innovative alternatives to continue to provide quality services at the lowest, regional cost. Possible options include: but are not limited to cost-sharing with other This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 14 organizations and departments; researching contract services; decreasing select service levels with minimal disruption. For example, uh, longer intervals between mowing, and reduction in the, um, snow removal from trails or lessening what we do would be a cost lessening, uh, potential cost savings. We continually seek assistance for staffing for the care of existing facilities, for ongoing maintenance that takes place with other land areas, for example the Iowa DOT areas, and additional mandatory parkland from new development. There are some developments that have gotten to the point where they are ready to have land, um, donated to the City for park development. And that will be coming up soon. We are mindful of ever-changing budgets and are trying to walk that fine line of challenging staff to stretch resources to do more with less without compromising the quality of work and services delivered to the community. Uh, we appreciate your time tonight. Do you have any questions for us? Hayek/ The, uh, the uh, the increase in the last decade of parkland. Is that a 50% increase? Claussen/ It's getting close. Yeah, it's, it's almost that much, yeah. I have a breakdown of what it is. Yes, but that's been done without any increase in- Hayek/ It's a 50% increase in, in parkland. Claussen/ In acres -now, realize that not every single acre has to be maintained, but- Hayek/ Right. Claussen/ But, uh, it's out there, and then we're going to be, you know, the increase in activity, uh, at Terry Trueblood, I know that Riverfront Crossings, I'm, uh, excited to come to that presentation next week, uh, so there are some good things on, on the agenda in the future too. It's a good place to be. Iowa City is a good place to live in. Hayek/ Yes, it is. Claussen/ Thank you. Any other questions for the Commission? Hayek/ Any other questions? Thanks for your service. We really appreciate it. Claussen/ Thank you. Senior Center Commission Hayek/ Mmm, I see Mr. Honahan is here from the Senior Center Commission. Honohan/ Well, Ithought Iwould --- Oops, I broke the mike. Does that count against my time? (Chuckles) Hayek/ Seven seconds. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 15 Honohan/ My name is Jay Honohan. I'm a member of the Commission. I would first like to thank the Council and the administration for the continued support of the Senior Center. The participants, and I think the community at large, appreciate that very much. Uh, this is a, one of the, this is the first year that I think I haven't come down here pleading for extra staff. We would like an extra staff, but I know with the way the budget is that we're not going to get it so I won't cry and whine and ask for another participant helper. I, I would like to point out that we're, we're being somewhat successful lately in in getting younger people into the Senior Center. We now have approximately 10% of the participants at the Senior Center between the ages of 50 and 60, 26%, I think, approximately 26% between the ages of 60 and 70. So we're real pleased that we've been able to do that. A lot of that has been because of some of the, uh, facilities that we offer and the exercise that we offer and the exercise equipment and things like that. A lot of it is because of the, the dance programs that we have in the evening. The tango is still open, Matt. Or if you like you could go Irish, Irish dancing too -- a little Bohemie like you, it would be good for you. Um, we're very pleased in general with the cooperation and the support, uh, if you look at the report to the committee there you'll see the City, uh, contributed approximately 75% of our budget in 2010, and the County about, uh, a little under 10%. And then the participants and some of the funds that we received from the, our foundation, contributed about the balance, approximately 15%. I, I guess, uh, since we're, we recognize that the budget is tight and that, and we're not asking for anything, I, I guess what I'd like to do is if you have any questions, or anything you want to explore with me, or Linda, because she's here to correct my mistakes, I'd like to do that. I know you're busy and I don't want to take up a lot of your time unnecessarily. Hayek/What questions do, uh, Councilors have? Wright/ How many members of the center, er, uh, let me try it all over again. How many members does the Center have this year? Honohan/ Our best guess is about 1,300. Wright/ Participants or members? Honohan/ Uh, it's same thing. I call participants "members." People that pay uh, the, uh, participant fee. Wright/ Okay. Kopping/ Uh, you don't have to be a member to participate in many activities--- Wright/ Right. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 16 Kopping/ ---so, the membership is not a complete picture of the community members who use the Senior Center. Bailey/ So how many members? Kopping/ We have, Jay's right, we have about 1,300 members. Bailey/ 1,300, then you have additional people who participate in the program .. . Kopping/ That's correct. Bailey/ Alright. Thank you. Honohan/ They can participate, for instance, in the volunteer lawyers and things like that and not be members. I know quite a few that I, that I counseled in that are not members, as such. Bailey/ What are the hours right now of the Senior Center? Or does it just go with the programming? Kopping/ It's, it pretty much fluctuates with programming, but we've really expanded our nights and weekend programming. We have dances or something going on there every weekend. Um, and I'd say every night of the week we've got classes and stuff like that going on, like tango practices, and we have a salsa practice, we have a band that meets there, travelogues, uh, right now we're open to the community theater for, uh, um, they're practicing for a play. Um, we try to make the building as best we can. Bailey/ So, how, how, what would you call your hours that are generally available to the public, the broader public? Kopping/ We are open to our members from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM from Monday through Friday. And then, um, when a community member calls and asks for, uh, the use, to use the Center after hours we' 11 make a, make an agreement with them, make sure that because we don't have any staff there, um, they, they have received the proper safety instruction in use of the building and then because everything's programmed we'll open it up for them. Bailey/ And you, you still charge for your meeting room space, right? In those instances? Kopping/ Um, yes, we do charge, yes. Hayek/ Do I understand that your endowment kicks off about $19,000 or $20,000 a year in income toward your operating and budget? Kopping/ At least $20,000. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 17 Hayek/ At least. Okay. Honohan/ That doesn't include, uh, funds that we have brought from the endowment in approximately $120,000 - $125,000 over the past five years in which we have purchased, uh, state of the art exercise equipment, uh, the, all the furniture in the assembly room has been purchased with funds. That cost us about $60,000 that came from the foundation. Hayek/ That's on top of the annual kitt--- Honohan/ That's correct. Yep. Hayek/ ---funds into the kitty, basically. Bailey/ And, and what does a membership cost? I know that you have some discounts. Kopping/ It, it depends upon where you live because of our, the--- Bailey/ Iowa City residents. Kopping/ Iowa City residents pay $25 per year. Low-income scholarships brings that down to $10. Um, our policy is not to turn anyone away though, so, um, at times we'll go ahead and provide memberships at no cost, just so people can access the facilities and the classes. Bailey/ And then county residents pay? Kopping/ County residents pay $40 a year. There's also, they are also eligible for, um, the low income discounts. Um, and then out of county residents pay $60 a year, um, we do have, um, out of county members. And they would also be eligible for low-income discount. Dickens/ And then second person in the same household is--- Kopping/ That's a--- Dickens/ ---$15 isn't it? Kopping/ Yeah, I think it's a 60% discount from the, um,--- Honohan/ No, it's $15. Kopping/ Right, but it's .. . Honohan/ Well, okay .. . Kopping/ A 60% discount off the $25. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 18 Dickens/ I will say that the exercise equipment's incredible. I have been down to use it and my wife goes on a regular basis. It's a very nice facility and it's, I know you have people down there to help. So, it's a good, good project. Kopping/ Thanks you. We're really happy to have it. Wright/ One last question for you. How's the breakdown of your members between folks in Iowa City and living in the county? You don't have to have the exact number... just, just .. . good guesses. Honohan/ Uh ... 10% .. . Wright/ Is it in your manual? Bailey/ Yeah, it's on page five. Kopping/ Uh, Iowa City residents are about 83%. Wright/ Okay (inaudible). Kopping/ Um, we don't have a really refined method for tracking. We're looking at new software right now. So, I can tell you that, um, outside of Johnson County, is 2%, and Johnson County excluding Iowa City is 15%. Wright/ Thank you. Mims/ Has there been any discussion or thought on requiring membership for more participation in activities at the center? I mean there's a lot of things that people can come in and participate in and yet not pay a membership fee. And as we look at, you know, the issue of budgets and, and raising funds, I mean, do you have any idea, you know, looking at the total number of visits, and I realize, you know, you're double-counting people as they come in for multiple kinds of activities, is, is there any, any idea of their percentage of actual individuals who use the facility that are actually paying the membership fee versus those who aren't? Kopping/ No, I have no, no, I don't know that. I just had the duplicated counts and then the individual memberships--- Mims/ Memberships. Kopping/ And there of course would be other options for increasing fees. Um, we charge for classes, uh, some classes, and there has been some thought to charging a, um, uh, fitness room access fee. Mims/ Mm-hm. Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page ]9 Kopping/ But, we haven't really pursued that. Mims/ Okay. Thank you. Kopping/ Sorry. It's, it's a pretty reasonable deal, $25 a year for complete access to that is a, is a bargain. Dickens/ Be worth it. Mims/ Reasonable, yes, very. Hayek/ As you can tell, I think that's the trend we're going toward with municipal finances the way they are. Any other questions? Linda and Jay, thank you very much. Honohan/ Thank you. Kopping/ Thank you. Hayek/ Appreciate your time here tonight. Library Board Hayek/ A little ahead of schedule but if the Library Board's ready ...(Inaudible) Tom, you're up. Martin/ I didn't even have time to get nervous. Thank you for waiting, I guess. If I'm late, I'm sorry. Hayek/ No, no, you're eight minutes early. Martin/ Okay. Hayek/ Timing is perfect. Martin/ Fast. Okay. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Tom Martin, president of the Iowa City Public Library Board. I want to thank you, the Council, and the City officials, on behalf of not only the Board of Directors, the managers, the director, the staff, but most importantly, I want to thank you for the, from the patrons and the entire community for supplying the resources that allow us to provide our community with an outstanding library. We are able to provide not necessarily the best library in the state - I'm not presumptuous enough to say it's the best-but I would say we're second to none. (Laughter) But I will say, and brag, you know that great St. Louis baseball pitcher and old philosopher said, "If you done it, it ain't braggin'." Well, it ain't braggin' when we say we are still the busiest public library in the state of Iowa. And we done it, so we ain't braggin'. The library had, from July, this is the last six months of July, uh, December, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 20 July through December of 2010, right at 750,000 people --- is that correct?--- go through the door. That's about a million and a half for the year, so that'd be 750,000, go through the door. That's a lot of people. To put that in perspective, that's ten sold-out football games at Kinnick Stadium in six months, go through the door. I haven't got that calculated down to the day, but it's a lot of people every day. And I'll come back to that in just a moment or two. In FY12, what we refer to as the new building will be, believe it or not, seven years old. This was the first year of our three year strategic plan that calls for us to start addressing several issues. I'd like to mention those issues tonight, uh, just, for a couple of reasons, but the one issue, first issue is, with the changing environment and patrons needs, we are in the process of hiring a facilities consultant for an overall review of what we might have to do to continue providing excellent service in this changing environment. And we could talk for another, for the next hour about that changing environment. All you folks have read enough about libraries in the last couple years to know of the changing environment libraries, and I'll mention two words and that's all I'm going to say and you'll know what I'm taking about: libraries digital. Libraries digital. That's the huge changing environment we're in right now. We have hired, or we're going to hire a, uh, consultant to look at our facilities, after seven years they're not brand new anymore, they're seven years old, to look at our facilities to see what we need to maybe do to bring those facilities up to speed in this changing environment. Another issue I'd like to mention is safety and security. And I don't have to say too much about safety and security in a public venue. We're all aware of what the safety and security issue is in public -anywhere as far as that's concerned - in public venues. It's an increasing concern with us at the library. With that in mind, we would ask that you reconsider our request of $20,000 for expanded security cameras. Again, today's modern venue and conditions that's not a lot of money for safety and security. Another thing I'd like to mention, and I've alluded, I'm going to allude back to, the traffic that goes through that place in a year, in a day. We all know, if we, if we're owners of facilities of any kind that have carpets on the floor and chairs to sit in and tables to sit at, what happens when they get used as much as that facility gets used., they wear out. So we are having to seriously look at our carpet and furniture, uh, situation, and maybe some other things, but just, just to name a couple that jump out at us. We're going to have to start addressing those issues. We can't let them just go on forever and then have a huge problem. We need to, as anybody does, address those issues as they come up year by year. So we're requesting that you, er, review again and give, give some thought to our request fora $46,680 increase in our replacement fund. We're going to need those funds sooner or later. And with 750,000 people every six months, it's going to be sooner rather than later probably. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 21 And of course our last, my last thought tonight as we request, uh, it's almost an annual request, I guess, for aquarter-time maintenance worker. And we'd like to have you reconsider the $10,000 request for that, uh, I, I think that's all I've got for comments. Uh, if you have any questions, we'd be happy to try to address them. We've got, um, quite a few of my associates here, I'm sure somewhere in the crowd we can come up with some answers, if you've got any questions for us tonight. Bailey/ Just a comment. Um, I hear from a lot of libraries across the state, um, Vision Iowa funds a lot of libraries across the state and I, I am always so proud to be from Iowa City because our numbers are just incredible compared to the other libraries, and we really show people the way, um, to go digital. I know that you're, you're pushing it, but to, to really serve the citizens and, and I'm really very proud of our library. Martin/ I, I thank you for that and I'll follow that up with a comment. I'm on that, as you may or may not know, on the Iowa Library Commission. This library in Iowa City is extremely well respected among the library community in the state of Iowa and the Midwest, and our director is very well respected by that same group. And as Lisa can talk about things and mention numbers, some of the numbers that I talk about, such as the one I just mentioned, and I'm not going to get into the volunteer hours, which is unbelievable, that go into this library from the community. But, uh, my associates around the state just, like you, they can't believe the numbers, they can't believe it could possibly, how could you have seven -ten Kinnick Stadium sell-outs go through that place in six months. So we really do have, uh, when I first went on the Board one of your associates said, "Tom, that's the crown jewel there, and you better take care of it." So, we're trying to take care of it. Thank you very much again, not only from our, uh, staff that's here, and director and board, but really from the patrons and the community for all the resources you provide to the library to keep it what it is. Thank you very much. I'm sorry I'm late. Craig/ I'm going to say one thing, Tom. You did exaggerate just a little. That 750,000 is more like a year's worth, you were, 750,000 circulations in six months, between 750,000 and 800,000 people a year. Martin/ I'm sorry--- Craig/ It's still more than anybody else. Martin/--I get ...oh, we're first in that area. Second to none. (Laughter) I always get those numbers mixed up. It's 1,500,000 in items go in and out the door, and 750,000 people. I'm sorry for the mistake, but, okay. Thank you very much. Hayek/ No problem. Congratulations on your, on your retirement, Tom. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 22 Martin/ Hey, it's everything it's cracked up to be too, Matt, I want you to know. (Laughter) Summer Of The Arts Hayek/ Alright, uh, we're a little ahead of schedule, but if SOTA wants to come up. Don? Don and the gang? Thompson/ Did the library use all their time? Because I'd like to say something about the library. Martin/ Do we get more time? I didn't realize ... (Laughter) Hayek/ Get out of here .. . Thompson/ You know, and I have to confess, I served on the Friends Foundation Board, and I'm an avid library user, but, I wandered in the other night with my iPad and I couldn't figure out how to download a book on my iPad. And I walked up to the fiction desk and I said, "How do I do this?: And she said, "Just a minute." And she got on the telephone and she said, "I found somebody who can help you," directed me upstairs, where, a, a fellow spent ahalf--hour with me, walking me through, step-by-step how to download books on my iPad. Now I can do it. Now I can teach anyone to do it. I mean, there are a lot of treasures in that building, but I, I think the staff that Susan has hired and maintained is just phenomenal„ and it's just, it's just a great place. Um, so I'll talk about SOTA. (Inaudible) (Laughter) Barnes/ We love having you guys open late on Fridays. Thompson/ We do. My name is Don Thompson, for those of you that don't know me. I'm an attorney with Bradley and Riley PC. I've been a board member with Summer of the Arts since its inception. Um, the other thing I want to really start with is the idea of investment because I know many of you make investments every year and I just made, a few minutes ago, what I know will be my best investment of 2011. I know that I'll have the greatest return on that investment because I handed her a check to contribute to Summer of the Arts 2011. And I mean that honestly. There's no dollar that I will spend this year that I will get more back from than the dollars I gave today to summer of the Arts. This city has been a phenomenal investor and supporter in Summer of the Arts. We couldn't exist but for your support. We wouldn't exist but for your encouragement to come into being and the incredible amount of support we get, not only financially, but from your staff in making it possible for us to do the impossible every summer -and that is to transform downtown Iowa City into an incredible festival site. Uh, we're very, very pleased and thankful for that support, and again, we couldn't continue without you. Last year when I appeared before you, I talked about three different things: SOTA's role in economic development in this area, uh, that was the first thing; and then I talked about This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 23 the direct economic impact we have on this community; and then the final thing was the social impact that we had. And I felt really fortunate because as I talked about those things I saw members of the Council shaking their head in affirmation, and I think that people understand very well that SOTA contributes a great deal in those areas. But this year I want to report or talk to you a little bit differently. I want to talk about some different things. I want to talk about first, in terms of a report of where we are as an organization. Second, I want to talk to you about the challenges that we face as an organization. But third and most importantly I want to talk to you about what our vision is for the future and how the City's investment in SOTA will help us, uh, achieve that vision. Where are we today? Five years - am I right? Five years into our existence? And you,most of you know our history. We were, uh, a group of different festivals, different organizations struggling mightily to survive in a very tough environment. Um, we have established a very strong board of directors, uh, in those five years. Uh, especially this past year, I am really pleased because this is my last year on the board; many of us who were in that initial board of directors -we're all leaving, we're all passing on; we have term limits. And, and I think that's a healthy thing--- Barnes/ But they're going to stay on the committees. Thompson/ Yeah, we're going to stay on the committees. We're not disappearing completely. But we really made an effort to go out into the community, as we do each year, uh, to attract new board members, but this year we made an extra effort and attracted many, many strong new board members. So we're very pleased where we are there. You've, most of you know our, our talented and dedicated staff, we've never had the luxury we have today, and that is the board knowing that we have a staff that can do the job and do it with, uh, almost no guidance and prodding, although they do keep us in the loop certainly with what they're doing. We have a great staff. Our volunteer, uh, pool in this community has grown, and you've been to the festivals, you've seen the things that we do, you know that you can't do that with a staff of two and apart-time person and a board of 20-30 people. It's just not possible. We have great, great volunteers. We've also, I think, established -and it hasn't been easy-but we've established a very strong culture of fiscal responsibility. We are as, I think, disciplined as any for-profit business in looking at our budget each year, developing it, sticking to it, and making sure that we don't over-spend our income. And I'm very proud that we've made that transition. It's taken us time to get to that point but I think we have a very strong fiscal discipline. We also have a proven track record of successful events. Uh, you look at last year, the year before, the year before, over the past five years we've done a, I think, a terrific job of putting on great festivals, great entertainment opportunities in downtown Iowa City. Not just one, two three times a summer, but week after week after week. And we also had, or This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 24 experienced significant growth during this five year period in programming and, and events. Uh, I'm 4sure last year you noticed e had music downtown on Saturday night. We added Sand in the City. We've added events and will continue to do so as long as we're financially able. So I think we're in really good shape right now, in terms of where we've been and where we've arrived at. Second, though, I want to talk to you about challenges, because there are challenges. I've been involved in, uh, raising money for SOTA since it began, and before that raising money for the Jazz Festival. And, I guess I'm a little bit slow because it finally just hit me over the past couple of years, you know, this community has a very limited number of for-profit businesses with local control or local ownership who can reach into their pocket and write a check for anything over $10,000. And the ones who can write a check for $10,000 are a limited number. We have called on all of them. We have received support from almost all of them, Each year we see one or two investors drop out, two or three investors come on. But that's just a reality. In other words, there was a time when I thought, gosh, are we doing our job? Are we raising enough money? I think we are. I think we're doing a really good job of raising money in the community, but because of the makeup of this community it's not an easy task and you just sort of hit a ceiling at times in terms of what you can raise in the, in the community. Now, that doesn't mean that we won't continue to be successful in doing that. I think every year we're surprised at our success and we have our eyes on a couple of businesses who have not contributed in a significant way in the past, who we believe can and will in the, in the coming year. But, uh, that is a challenge and it's something that, you know, we really have to talk about. The reason for that is because without the City of Iowa City's significant investment in this organization we wouldn't continue. We wouldn't exist. Um, so we not only appreciate it. We want you to know that we are dedicated to doing what we can to continue to justify and earn your investment. Third, is the vision and the City's role in that vision. We've asked this year for the City to increase its contribution or investment in Summer of the Arts. Um, let me get it right, from $60,000 to $75,000. And, and why are we doing that? You know, again, it's because of that reality that I've spoken to you about, in terms of our business community. Um, we won't give up -and we never will give up, and I'm not suggesting to you that, that our private support is shrinking. It's not shrinking. But it does reach a point where we know for the hours and effort we put in, our return gets less and less, in terms of, uh, doing that. What do we think we can do to justify your continued investment and your increased investment? Well, downtown Iowa City, as you know, is in a state of transition. Um, everybody's scratching their head - what's it going to be? What are we going to be in five years? In ten years? I don't have the answer for that. I don't know. I do know that it's changing, and I do know that it will continue to change. And I think that makes Summer of the Arts more important than ever. Uh, we provide free programming and entertainment in downtown Iowa City, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 25 primarily in the summer, spring, summer, and early fall months. Um, we provide an alternative to, and I don't want to step on anybody's toes, and I'm not talking about your toes but other toes, we provide a real alternative to the bar-culture in downtown Iowa City, which I have to tell you, I don't find very attractive. And I'm really happy that we provide that kind of alternative to, to that culture. And we're going to do everything we can to provide a return for the City for its investment in our programming in helping the culture of downtown Iowa City to change from something that hasn't always been the most attractive to something, anytime you walk downtown on a Friday night concert, or Saturday night music, the Jazz Fest or the Arts Fest, that's something we can really be proud of, in terms of what we're creating. We hope to play a significant role, uh, with the help of members of the Council and the staff, in working with the City and the University in making that transition happen -and making it happen in a very positive way. That's what I have to say, and again, thank you for your continued investment. Um, and, and for the support that you give vocally, and the support that you're staff gives us. And I \'d be glad to answer any questions. Uh, Lisa Barnes, our Executive Director is here, and has a little b it different perspective on things that I think I'd like you to hear. But I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have. Barnes/ Do you want me .. . Hayek/ Why don't we, can we hear from Lisa, and then .. . Barnes/ Um, a couple of things that I just wanted to add is, a Don mentioned, Summer of the Arts has now been around for five years, and things have definitely changed since Summer of the Arts was formed in 2006. I discovered this very quickly, a year ago when I came back and realized how much was going on per staff person at that time. We went from one full-time Executive Director to now we actually have two and a half people on staff. Um, myself, Shane Schemmel who is our Assistant Executive Director and in December we hired ahalf--time person to work on volunteer and sponsor relations. So, our staff has expanded. That's not all that's expanded. In 2006, our first year, we had four primary festivals that occurred during the summer of 2006. With those festivals we offered over 125 hours of free, family-friendly entertainment. In 2010, we had expanded to six large festivals that occurred over the summer, bringing our total hours up to 160 hours of free programming throughout the summer. But that's not all. As Don mentioned, we started in 2008 expanding our programming to year-round programming. Last year we brought The Big Read to Johnson County, and that program occurred from the end of January into April, where we were able to collaborate with the Iowa City Public Library, Coralville Library, libraries in Johnson County, Kirkwood Community College, City High and West High. There were so many groups involved with that. We distributed over 2,000 copies of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 to encourage leisure reading. So, we're This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 26 expanding our programming. We also collaborate with other groups. We work with the Downtown Association on Celebrate the Season. We're actually currently working with, um, Coralville, on their Winter Fest, we've been involved with that for a couple years doing a little bit of outreach there. Uh, we also helped bring Wayland Jennings to the Englert Theater in October. So, we're broadening our presence within the community throughout the year with the additional programming. And, also, in the five short years, we have expanded the number of volunteers who get involved with our festivals. That first year, it was about 300. This past year, it was over 400 volunteers contributing over 2,000 hours of service to Summer of the Arts. So we feel that that's very important because part of our mission is to build community by bringing people together, and that's one of the ways they do that, is by volunteering for Summer of the Arts. The support that we receive from the City is essential to our growth, as Don mentioned, and we really do appreciate everyone we work with. Marian, so much fun doing fireworks, you know, especially the day after, but--- (Chuckles) Barnes/ ---everybody is fantastic. We get so much support from all the different departments and it's really a pleasure for our staff to work with the City staff in planning all of these festivals. So, I just want to thank you for your continued support. And, I love my job. I told Don that's why I came back. This is the best job I've ever had, and I love Iowa City, and it's so much fun every year to be planning these events, seeing what new and exciting things, and how we can expand arts and culture in the Iowa city area. Hayek/ In terms of your outdoor, downtown programming, what are the calendar bookend dates? When does it start and when do you conclude? Barnes/ For 2011, we'll be starting on May 20t". We always start the third week of May, with the City High/West High Jazz Ensembles as part of the Friday Night Concert Series, and we have to avoid graduation, so that's why that is usually that weekend. We will be finishing up this year, Labor Day weekend will be the last Friday Night Concert Series. So, we'll still have 13 weeks. In the past, we've had 14, but from a staff point of view, it's going to be much easier for us in planning our end of year recognitions, budgets for the next year, all that has to occur in September. Bailey/ When do you announce your line-ups? Thompson/ Soon. Barnes/ Usually, it's the end of March. I actually received an e-mail from Joyce Carroll saying, "I need the info for the Summer Rec book," and I said, `I don't have it yet." So, I think probably in February we'll have most of the information. And if I can do the announcement sooner, I will. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Bailey/ It would be fun to know. Barnes/ Don may have some insights but he can't say .. . Thompson/ Well, I can't say... (Laughter) Barnes/ He knows more than I do. Dickens/ Major sponsors for the Jazz Fest? Do you have .. . Page 27 Thompson/ Well, I mean, that is obviously one of our challenges. We're very fortunate to have Cedar Rapids Toyota as--- Barnes/ Iowa City. Thompson/ Iowa City! Why did I say Cedar Rapids? Losing my mind. Well, you know I live in both communities professionally, and sometimes I get confused. No, we were very fortunate to have Iowa City Toyota, uh, Toyota of Iowa City as a sponsor, and they're going to remain a supporter, but not at that level. Barnes/ They are going to be the main stage sponsor at the Jazz Fest, so they're still having a very significant presence. Thompson/ And I think that really illustrates the challenge that I was talking about. Arts Fest to me, is, is almost the easiest sale for sponsorship because it has such a broad appeal. In the, in the five years we've been in existence we've never been able to attract at the $25,000 to $30,000 level, and believe me we've tried. We've worked really hard at it. Mims/ When I look at, let me talk in the mike here, when I look at your numbers, um, for last year and this year just to make it, you know, as we look at it and, and for the community looking at this, it appears that last year, uh, you came out with approximately $80,000 surplus. Thompson/ We did. Mims/ Okay. And your budget for this year is estimating about $15,000 surplus. I just want to make sure I'm reading the numbers right and that's ...report ...okay .. . Thompson/ You're correct. And, if I may follow-up on that a little bit--- Mims/ Mm-hm. Thompson/ --that $80,000 surplus wasn't created without a great deal of pain. Mims/ I'm sure. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 28 Thompson/ Um, I can tell you that in the years preceding that we had deficits. And I became president of the board and I had two major goals, three major goals. One was to make sure that we put on the stages, put in downtown Iowa City, maintained a certain level of quality. That was number one. Number two was to recruit strong, new board members. But number three was to guarantee that no matter what that we would operate at a surplus. Mims/ Okay. Thompson/ And that meant we had to say no constantly to this woman who was working as hard as she could. It meant we cut back on things. It meant we got very creative with, for example, we're paying no rent, which is wonderful thing. I think I may have mentioned that last year. We can't do that again because we, we disappointed a lot of people to accomplish that. Um, if you're a, if you're a serious music fan, you may have noticed that what you saw on the stage wasn't quite the same as you had seen in other years. But instead of taking that surplus and saying we're going to immediately spend it, we're not going to do that. We have a, a fiscal plan of raising our budget, our expenditures on a gradual level to get back to where we want to be--- Barnes/ The entertainment portion. Thompson/ The entertainment portion--- Mims/ Okay. Thompson/ ---because we just simply can't afford to be in that position. And, and we see that in the context of what we think is a desire by the community for us to grow, and to increase what we're doing. And, and I'm really serious about the partnership with the City and the University -- which will cost money, I mean, there's just no way around it. And we don't yet know how or if the University can provide the kind of investment to make that happen. Barnes/ And the way that we generated that surplus was, as Don mentioned, you know, we were very, very tight, uh, one of the first things I did was I was able to talk to Marc Moen and get our office space donated. That saved us $7,000 right there in rent. Uh, we looked at other ways to bring in income; we looked at ways that we could get more in-kind; we had some golf carts donated this year, so, you know, any little thing that we could do that was going to save us money, as well as other creative ways that we could bring in money from selling Pepsi products, selling ice cream products, you know, we did a lot of different things at the festivals to try to increase our receipts at the festivals. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 29 Mims/ You know, I appreciate it: I just think that as people looked at this and, and see that you're here asking for more money, to really have an understanding of the history and the fact that you were running some deficits and, and the effort that you're making to be as efficient and frugal, yet quality, yet maintain the quality, I think it's important for people to understand that as they're looking at what the City is investing here. Thank you. Hayek/ Thanks to both of you. Thompson/ Thank you very much. Dickens/ Thank you, Don. Hayek/ Congratulations on, on coming to an end on your Commission service. You've played a huge role in the success of this organization. Thompson/ Thank you. No, I, I really envy Tom. Hayek/ Okay, do you guys want to take a quick one? Okay, we're going to take a quick two or three minute break here. (Break) Backyard Abundance Hayek/ Okay, Backyard Abundance, correct? Meyer/ Okay, my name is Fred Meyer, Environmental Director of Backyard Abundance, Environmental Education, anon-profit based here in Iowa City. Thank you so much for supporting local events and local organizations. In the next few minutes I want to tell you about Backyard Abundance and why it is we do what we do, and what exactly it is that we've been doing in the past, and what we're going to be doing this year. So, our mission is to improve the vibrancy of our community by creating environmentally friendly landscapes that feed us and create habitat. So why do we do this? Well, there's a lot of reasons, I'll go over a few of those, but one of the main reasons a lot of our food is imported into Iowa, and of that it travels a long ways away, and this wouldn't be such a big deal except we know that that is, that, uh, fossil fuels, oil specifically is what brings that food to us. And that wouldn't be such a big deal except statistics are showing, research is showing that last year was when we had actually extracted half of all of our oil from the ground, and that means that oil prices are going to start going up. Our entire food system is based upon having cheap oil. That means our food supplies are going to start going up as well. And so that's a great concern to our organization. So, that's one of the reasons we are, we exist. Another reason is just waste. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 30 We generate a ton of waste and we want to find ways to reuse that waste, reroute that pollution in our community. And, of course, there's climate change as well. We're all concerned about that, and our community is very concerned. When McKibben came here in mid-October the line to see him stretched way pas the Jefferson building. But McKibben isn't the only messenger that we have. Over the past few decades we've had a lot of messengers. They all have basically had different messages, but if you listen very closely to what they're saying there's a pattern that emerges. They're all saying we have a set of priorities that we really need to focus on. And, uh, the top three priorities are really food. We really need to focus on food, from what I was talking about before, specifically local food. We need to learn how to grow a lot of our food locally, rather than bringing it in from the outside. And obviously, energy is a concern. Our entire infrastructure is built upon cheap fossil fuel energy. And communication is going to be paramount as well. We need to be able to quickly learn from each other in the community and outside the community. So that's what all these messages are saying, kind of the same thing. So, a lot of folks, when they are presenting with these upcoming problems that are on the horizon, they do a few things. They' 11 screw in the compact florescent light-bulb, maybe use water a little bit less, maybe make fewer trips in the car. But after that, people are left kind of scratching their heads, not really knowing what the next steps are. That's where Backyard Abundance tries to help. We try to show them things that they can do right in their own backyard, by showing them that their environment is their backyard, and if we look a t the principles and patterns that are rooted in nature, those principles and patterns that have been tested for billions of years, and apply them to the ecosystem that is our economy, that is our community, we'll find new ways, new creative ways to solve some of those problems. But, we all know we have to change. Things have to change, and humans tend to follow, we don't change readily, we actually have a process that we go through when we change, and Backyard Abundance is emulating that process in our long-term strategy. So, the first phase of our strategy is awareness. This is the first phase that we go through when we want to change, is awareness that there is a problem and trying, then we, trying to figure out how to solve that problem. The next phase, once we understand that there's a problem we want to educate ourself to understand what that problem exactly is, and what we can do about it. Once we understand that, our next phase in order to change is taking action, doing something, and that's a big part of our strategy as well. And once we've taken that action, made changes in our life, then we step back, evaluate, and see if additional changes are needed, and the cycle stats over again. So this represents how people tend to change, but it also represents our long-term strategy. So I'm going to go through what we did in the past to raise awareness. We have found folks in the community who have consciously designed their landscapes to benefit our This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 3l environment, and then we open it up for yard tours. And this raises awareness with those folks, or raises awareness in the community that it is possible to help our environment right in your own backyard, wandering through neighbors' yards, seeing what they have done, and inviting experts in to show what those environmentally, what those environmentally friendly features are and what people can do in their own yards. So that's the awareness phase. But, after a few years of doing yard tours, people started asking the question, well that's great, now I'm aware, what's the next step, what do I actually have to do? That's when we started entering our education phase, which took place two or three years ago. So we do things like have film screenings, we have workshops, and we, uh, we also, last year we, uh, launched a series of events that's called "Seeds of Sustainability" at the Pomerantz Center. Over 200 people attended. We invited an author, Dave Jacque, in; he's an ecological guru who's designed entire communities, to help educate folks. And they went through a series of, of workshops. And then we carried through those workshops with weekend workshops throughout the year, and we called that Create an Abundant Landscape, and people just learned how to actually design these landscapes, these beautiful landscapes that actually provide food and create habitat. One of the, uh, one of the landscapes we designed was the New Pi administration building. So one of the classes, a couple of classes, designed the landscape, and we not only designed it, but we also learned how to plant it, uh, plant it with these plants. So, here you can see at the New Pioneer administration building, which is just down the street, they're planting an ecosystem that, that mimics, mimics a woodland. So, this type of, um, landscape provides food, but in very low-maintenance ways; it's got very few energy inputs, will require very little water, and this is the type of systems that we need to start creating, and, inside and outside of our community. The rec Center asked us to come up with a plan for their area to engage kids, help them learn how to connect to nature specifically around food. The original idea was just kind of till up the area and plan an annual garden bed, and we said, we can probably do better than that. So we came up with a design for them as well, and then we helped oversee the implementation of that design, worked with Jeff, Joyce Carol to find volunteers to do that. And, now, it's about half-way planted. We'll finish the planting through workshops in the spring, but you can see we took it from something that wasn't very functional --it didn't do a whole lot--- into something that is very engaging for kids, helps connect them to nature, and hopefully, as adults visit that space too it will help them engage in the space too. That is, uh, one engaged kid. (Laughter) This isn't a new idea. Des Moines has launched a project called "Digging Deeper," and they, uh, are implementing edible landscapes in public spaces for the exact same reasons that I'm talking about. But it goes deeper than just trying to solve our environmental and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 32 social problems that are on the horizon. A lot of people see landscapes as a way to express their personal values. We, uh, had a, met a, a couple that was thinking about leaving Iowa City. They had this large acreage on the outside of town and they were thinking about leaving Iowa City, but, uh, because they didn't really like where they lived. They didn't really like their land; they had to mow it all the time, and so they asked us to work with them to create a landscape on their two acre property and, uh, so we came up with a landscape that would both feed themselves and their neighbors and also create habitat for wildlife. And now they're in, they've decided to stay and they're in the process of implementing that landscape. So, we're all about local food, obviously, creating local food, but, uh, we're all about local materials as well and sourcing that pollution that I was telling you about, sourcing that waste and rerouting that to something that is useful. One of our, our members learned this fall that the City got all these leaves, had all these leaves, well she asked them to dump them on her property rather than taking them to the outskirts of town. So, that saved the City money because it doesn't have to pay for fuel, it saves carbon from being expended into the atmosphere. And she also let New Pioneer know about it as well and they ended up rerouting six or seven truckloads out to Earthsource gardens, uh, community gardens out there. And so, we're trying to do more things like that, to route waste from going outside the community and use it as a resource within our community. And really we're about local everything. We want to create a very resilient community and the way we create resiliency, the best way to create resiliency in an eco-system is to link it to its self, to link it to its self, and that's what we want to do with our local economy and our local eco-system that is our community as well. We're teaching community members how to think like that. So it gives us new ideas, or it gives them new ideas for ways they can help our community. Last year we held over 50 events, hosted over 50 events, and reached over 1,400 people through those events. This year, 2011, our strategy is action. Really focusing on transformational landscapes. One of the landscapes we're thinking about working on is the Normandy drive area. We've been working with mike Moran, Parks and Rec Director to, uh, look at public landscapes that might be good candidates for transformations, and this one's rising to the top, so we're going to start working with the, uh, neighbors there to see what they would like to have implemented there. So we're going to have more hands-on workshops; we're working with the, uh, the Farm to School program to implement edible schoolyards. We'll have more presentations, of course, more yard tours, more connections between people, people meeting other people and learning from, from them, and really we're just trying to create solutions in our community that people actually come up with themselves. So rather than looking to you or the government for those solutions, they'll look to themselves, their community, for those solutions. And really it's about creating landscapes that enrich our lives, not just turf-grass. With that, do you have any questions? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Hayek/Any questions for Fred? Fantastic presentation. I do appreciate it. Meyer/ Thank you. Hayek/ I learned a lot. Thank you very much. Iowa City Book Festival Hayek/ Okay, the Iowa City Book Festival is next on the 1 ist. Page 33 Greg/ You know, we debated putting a Power Point together. Decided not to, but I can see the, the value of it now. Bontrager/ Yeah (Laughter) Greg/ I did write out my remarks, so that's something at least. Um, well my name is Greg Prickman and I'm here with Kristi Bontrager, and we're the co-directors of the Iowa City book Festival. Uh, we also both work in the University of Iowa Libraries. Um, the Iowa City book Festival began in July 2009, uh, when the University of Iowa Libraries decided to inaugurate a new event for the city and the state. Uh, at the time, that was in, uh, the idea was to recognize, um, the acquisition of our five-millionth volume in the University libraries, which is a notable achievement. Um, and at the time we also wanted to do something, some kind of public community event to thank the community for all of the assistance that we received during the flood, um, which was very important to us that there was such a large volunteer effort to help us out, uh, in, in that situation. So, our first festival, uh, it was held at the UI Libraries, and it was modest in size, uh, but it did generate a great deal of interest. Last year, uh, was the second Iowa City Book Festival. We managed to quadruple our attendance and we expanded the festival to include events throughout Iowa City. Um, so the festival consists of author appearances and signings, uh, book-sellers and other vendors, children's activities, uh, book arts demonstrations and panel discussions on a whole range of literary topics. Um, and all of this is free and easily accessible, um, and just this past year in 2010 the Convention and Visitor's Bureau named us Attraction of the Year. Um, so we're, we're a new event in the city still. And, and our goal is to create a new kind of festival that we hope will fit right alongside existing Iowa city events without duplicating efforts. And, so we aim to this in two ways. First, uh, we highlight the best of the University, which we do by hosting readings and activities for all ages at the University of Iowa main library. Second, we highlight the best of Iowa City by now adding a second day to the festival that talks place throughout downtown Iowa City. And on that day we work with business owners to host readings and other events inside their businesses, which we hope drives new traffic to them and, uh, while also offering out of town visitors a convenient way to get a good feel for all of the different stuff that the City of Literature has to offer. Each year, uh, so far, our, our This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 34 authors form a dynamic mix. We have local writers and, of course, I think we can say with some confidence that we have the best local writers of pretty much any city in the country here. Uh, to that we then add nationally touring authors who satisfy a wide range of tastes and topics. So, the Iowa City Book Festival has been growing rapidly, largely on the strength of our programming. Um, and that has been supported by the university, by Humanities Iowa, uh, and other partners. To build on this effort, we need the resources to effectively market our programming. So, Kristi will now speak to how we plan to accomplish this. Bontrager/ Mm-hm. So, the Iowa city book Festival, as Greg mentioned, our primary goal is to become a regional literary event. And, I think that here in Iowa City we have the opportunity to do that. The kind of event I'm talking about is similar to the Decatur Book Festival, which is in Atlanta, Georgia. I was, uh, I was happy enough to go there this year and it was a wonderful program. Um, they, in their fifth year -they're only five years old, we're coming up on three-in their fifth year they draw tens of thousands of people to Decatur, Georgia. Now, granted, they do have a major metropolitan area to deal with, uh, to draw from, but they don't have something that we have. We're the UNESCO City of Literature. Authors want to come here. People want to come here to see authors and writers in their natural habitats, and see, become a part of our literary culture. So, we think that we really can grow this festival. Now, one way for us to do that is to get the word out more. Um, our marketing efforts to this point have been largely grass roots efforts. Uh, we, last, in the last two years we visited all of the libraries and bookstores in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and the Quad Cities. You know, because we're a librarian, so we go and we talk to librarians that we know. We pass out bookmarks. We pass out posters. We have the librarians talk to their people. And that's worked out pretty well for us. We've also, this last year, we were able to, like Greg mentioned, partner with businesses in Iowa City and Coralville. And we had a great response from local businesses. Our only printed advertisement, well our primary printed advertisement was our program that was distributed through the Press Citizen. We didn't do any print advertising in Cedar Rapids. We didn't do any print advertising in Des Moines, or in the Quad Cities. And so, our exposure in Cedar Rapids, which is only 30 minutes away, not that far for somebody to come down for the book Festival, I would say, was a little more limited than it could be. The reason we did that is that we couldn't afford it. We had a minimal marketing budget. We spent just under $10,0001ast year on our marketing budget. Um, and so for the nominal amount that we are asking Iowa City for, $2,500, you can see how that's going to make a huge difference in our marketing. It's going to be able to allow us to help grow this festival into the kind of regional event that we think it can be. So, we welcome any questions that you have. We have bookmarks, of course, with us, if you all want one. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 35 Dickens/ Have we considered partnering with the Downtown Association by any chance? Bontrager/ We worked with the Downtown Association a bit last year, yes. Um, Nick Arnold has been tremendous to work with. He helped us secure, you know, our downtown partners gave us all kinds of goodies for our author gift bags. Uh, he helped us connect with other downtown businesses to have our events on Sunday. Bailey/ So what's your marketing plan -besides to intensify it. Have you worked with somebody? We have great experts here right at the University, and at other places. Bontrager/ What we're doing in terms of our marketing plan is we are, basically we're taking this grassroots thing and we're trying to build, to grow it outside. Um, you're right, we do have experts here and so one of the things, and, and we're a teaching institution so we have a couple of interns that are helping us with this, um, we're giving them a learning opportunity, and we're, and also, you know, we've got some feet on the ground there which is nice. Um, we'll be doing, we've been doing a lot more social networking. We're building our, our website is much more elaborate, and, um, interactive than it had been in the past. Um, and we will be doing more, I think that we're definitely going to have to do some more print advertising and more connections with newspapers, and specifically their online advertising as well. Bailey/ Because, I mean, honestly, your marketing budget isn't growing that much. It's only growing by $5,000, so that doesn't buy you a lot more print. Bontrager/ It doesn't buy us a lot more print, so, but, I think that if we target our print in a couple of places, that's going to help us a lot. Bailey/ And who do you see as your target market? Bontrager/ Our target, primary target market, uh, I mean I want to, this is going to sound ridiculous but we really are, open it, we want, I mean we're librarians so we're about access. We want people to come. We have programs for children. We are adding more programming this year for teens. Because we looked at our programming last year and realized that the teenagers weren't coming because they don't care that Clifford the big Red Dog is there. Um, we have all kinds of readings for, um, adults and people in the community, but it's a wide range of literary tastes. It's not, it's not just the literary elite that are going to be coming to The Book Festival. Bailey/ I mean, why, I mean why, I mean, I know that you featured some popular authors last year, is that why you say it's not just the literary elite? Bontrager/ Yeah. Because we want to have some mainstream--- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Prickman/ It, It's not meant to be an academic .. . Bontrager/ Right. Bailey/ Right. Prickman/ ---with the association .. . Bailey/ Which, I'm sure you face a challenge with the association with the university. Bontrager/ Right. Yeah. Prickman/ Exactly. Exactly. Bailey/ Got it. Page 36 Prickman/ I think part of the idea is that here in Iowa City, we're very familiar and comfortable with the idea of, of the literary life and, and all the opportunities that come with that. And the idea is to have an event that will appeal to people in other cities around the state and ultimately our goal is to attract that same audience from the region network of big cities: Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis - to be a regional event where we can share what that is like with people in those communities who don't have access to the literary culture that we, in some cases almost take for granted every day around here. Bailey/ Mm-hm. I thought the festival was fun last year and, um, and I think it has a great, great potential for being something much bigger, and you can see that growth, for sure. Bontrager/ Yes. Good. Well, thank you for coming. Hayek/ You, you, uh, you list $20,000 in sponsorships, is that private sector sponsorships, is that grant? Bontrager: It's a little bit of both, um, we get significant sponsorship from Humanities Iowa, um, but we also have been, we just received a modest sponsorship from the Community Foundation of Johnson County; that one specifically was for our teen programming. We're doing some--- Prickman: Iowa Arts Council--- Bontrager: Iowa Arts Council. Mm-hm. Prickman: ---provided a grant. So we, we've gone out and tried to focus on specific grant opportunities that, that will support various activities. So, um, one of the nice things about having a variety of things going on at the festival is that people support different things. So we got a grant, um, to support some of the book arts activity. We had a private This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January l8, 201 l City Council Work Session Page 37 donation from a company to support children's activities. So people can kind of pick and choose some of those opportunities. Um, but it's been a mix of, uh, identifying specific grants and then going out and trying to, uh, generate some of that support. Hayek/ Any other questions? Thank you for being here tonight. Prickman/ Thanks. Bontrager/ Thank you so much. Free Art School Hayek/ Okay. Free Art School. Engelbrecht/ Hi. Oh, I'm sorry. Hi, thanks for having us. We, uh, didn't prepare a slideshow either, and we barely prepared our written ... (Laughter) ... as you might, uh, deduce from, our, the name of ours, we're, we're quite a different than, than a lot of, uh, the names on this list. Uh, I'll give you a little background about us. Uh, I'm, uh, my name is John Engelbrecht, I'm director at Public Space One, this is Eric Asboe, he's art director at our space. Um, about, uh, I guess it was a year ago, um, we received a grant from the community Foundation of Johnson county to put on um, this wild, somewhat utopian idea of a thing called, uh, Free Art School. And, um, we have kind of spent the last year trying to figure out exactly what that was. We knew what we proposed and we knew that it was a large, developing thing, um, and we've made a lot of discoveries over the year in, in putting this on, um. Uh, I guess, uh, kind of what I'd like to do is just kind of read, kind of re-read the firs, uh, line of the application because that kind of sums up, um, our thoughts on it in, in a way. Uh, Free Art School is an initiative in egalitarian learning and creative community building. Before you get misconceptions from the name we should say we define the term "art" and "school" very loosely. "Art" in our case is defined as the expression, the expressive extension of human skill and imagination in any endeavor, and applies as much to painting as carving pumpkins or cleaning up a creek. "School" we define more like a school of fish; a community traveling a certain path together. "Free" we use literally, meaning there is no cost to attend our classes. The general idea of free art school is defined by its emphasis on the social, creative, and collaborative community as it looks towards a, new ways to excite people and get them involved in the community. Um, and, and, a lot of those words, some of, some of the vents we had, we had, we had kind of three types of events over the year of putting on Free Art School. Um, the first was, was more of kind of a skill building session where we would have um, a project idea and have people come in, uh, and, and work on this project together in kind of a, a fun community, uh, meeting of sorts, a gathering of sorts. Um, the other events, uh, we had a couple of events that were more socially based, which were about, um, kind of, uh, you know getting people, uh, out and about, doing something that maybe they, uh, wouldn't This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 38 normally think to do. Like, we had a, we had a, a large pumpkin carving, uh, session, where we had a lot of, um, kind of, University age and kids age, some, uh, you know, older people from the community, uh, joining us to all, uh, just carve, carve pumpkins and kind of enjoy, enjoy the season. Um, the, the, the third part is kind of the direction that we feel um, that we're more, where we'd like to head more in the future. And that is more of a structured, um, uh, longer based, uh, curriculum, that's more about regular meetings, um, and that's what I proposed for, um, the, for the City money, is, uh, an evening alternatives, um, programming, which would be, uh, you know, keeping with the same structure that anyone in the community could, could propose a class, but it would be on, on longer terms and, and meet, um, more regularly than, than just doing these kind of one-off events that we've done in the past. Um, a good example of that is, is that we've started doing, uh, a Free Art School Opportunities class, um, about two months ago, and that has kind of grown into this incubation group that's um, kind of following in the footsteps of some other cities where, um, we're looking at, um, pop-up galleries and using storefront galleries as, um, as, as another place for artist's expression. Um, and that was, that was something that, um, is kid of ending its research phase and going into the next step, but that started from just, um, having this meeting happening once a week. Um, I've kind of rambled on now, um, I don't know if you have anything to add, Eric. Asboe/ Uh. Yeah, the ide of free school, and specifically fee school within an art context is nothing new, it happens all over the country and has been happening for a number of years. Uh, one of the best benefits that we've been able to see directly is that not only are we able to get new people to Public Space One, which has been a great alternative since, um, the 21-ordinance has passed, and we've been able to have, all of our events are alcohol free, and we do a number of events at night and we've been able to organize both high school and college-aged kids to come down to the space to do a number of things - whether it's a Free Art School or not. But it's a great way to encourage the local art economy. Um, having the money from the Community foundation of Johnson County was a great, um, resource to be able to, um, catalyze the energy that was already latent in the community and be able to financially support the artists that live in town, both through the University and local artists generally. Engelbrecht/ Um, yeah, I guess we, if you have any questions. Hayek/ Any questions for this group? Public Space One is a great downtown venue. Engelbrecht/ Thanks. Hayek/ And a lot goes on in that space as well. Well, if there are no further questions, we appreciate your time. Engelbrecht/ Yeah, thanks so much. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 39 Asboe/ Yeah, thank you. Hayek/ Okay, thank you very much. Youth Advisory Commission Hayek/ Okay, Youth Advisory Commission, hello. Tamerius/ Hi, I think I'm a little short. Okay, um, I'm Alexandria Tamerius, I'm currently a junior at City High School and I've completed one year on the Youth Advisory Commission. This year we decided to decrease our budget from $5,000 for the last fiscal year to $3,250 this year. Last year we spent $1,000. We budgeted for $1,000 on forums which was unused because we didn't feel that it was needed for any of the current issues. So we decreased that number to $500, in case a forum was needed. Then website and advertising we had also budgeted for $1,000 and not all of that was used either, and just decided to cut that back to $250. The youth, the Empowerment Grants, which we give out to encourage youth to get involved in projects that they might not be able to finance just on their own, that money went all to projects, and that was all completely used so we decided to keep that at the $2,000. Three of the, the three projects that were awarded money were the Regina Present Projects for their, the needy families during the holidays; the Summer of Solutions, which unfortunately was not very successful, and we were only able to award them $100; the GLO Suicide Prevention Project which provides t-shirts in order to spread awareness about gay and lesbian, transsexual, and bi-sexual students and helping let everyone know that there are people there that support them and that they're not alone. And that was awarded almost $900. The last thing on our budget was the recognition grants, which we just recently were able to award them to two students and so we've decided to keep that at its $500 mark. And that's for two junior high students that live in Iowa City who have written an essay and gotten two recommendations and show quite a bit of leadership. Any questions? Bailey/ I really appreciate your attention to your budget and your adjustments based upon your track record. I think that's really, um, show a lot of, um fiscal responsibility. So thank you. Tamerius/ The deficit's definitely been a concern for me. I don't know about the rest of the Commission but it has been for me. Alright. Any other questions? Hayek/ Very good presentation. You have fantastic poise to come before this group. I congratulate you. You did a nice job. Tamerius/ Thank you. Thanks for your time. Hayek/ Thank you. Thanks for your service to the group. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 40 319 Music Fest Hayek/ Okay, 319. Freeman/ And how excited we are to be last and the greatest, I'm sure. (Laughter) Um, I'm Sue Freeman. I'm with Neighborhood Centers and Ryan and Colette are joining me. They, they are VISTA, um, members this year, and our, some of our co-planners here at 319. We do have ahand-out we'd like to pass out, um, full of pictures and just the joy of 319. Um, I think forme to describe why 319 and the importance of 319 I need to go back to mother's Day 2009, when the headlines were "Mother's Day Riot Hits the southeast Side." And it led Iowa City, it led discussion after discussion on a whole new course. Um, we really had to step back and take a look at what are we, what are our values, what do we want to do, what are we believing in, and it really motivated a lot of folks to make change. Um, at Neighborhood Centers we worked closely with local, local adults, AmeriCorps, um, school leaders; we did adoor-to-door survey that fall; we, um, hit about 250 households on the southeast side and really asked the questions, "What do you want from your community? What do you want from your neighborhood? What will make you feel safer?" And through that survey, we found that folks wanted more security. They want more lighting. they want what most neighborhoods have, but they also wanted to get to know their neighbors. They wanted to get to know the person next door. They wanted avenues. They wanted parks benches. They wanted more barbecue pits. They wanted very simple, basic, um, neighborhood building. And, um, we set out in February of 2010, I think it was, we pulled together acommunity-wide planning. We had about 88 folks come and, um, we had people from the neighborhood; we had, some of you were able to attend, um, school leaders, uh, city planners, and so on. We pulled together groups4 and said, uh, what are we going to do> We want to look a t safety. We want to look at neighborhood building. We want to look at positive youth involvement. And out of this strategic planning in February, there were eight strategic plans that were made. And one of them was really looking at promoting connection building on the southeast side, and promoting positive press on the southeast side; promoting ways to get folks together and maybe dispel some of the myths. And, um, we did not jump into that thinking, "Great. Let's do a music festival!" Um, that sort of rolled out and, and took a life of its own, but a year after the Mother's Day Riot, that weekend, we held the 319 Music Fest. And, um, it could not have been a colder day. It was frigid. I believe my children had hypothermia. Um, but that aside, it was amazing. And, um, it brought folks from all over Iowa City to the southeast side who said, "I didn't even know Wetherby Park was here. Oh, my gosh, this is an amazing place." And our local musicians were, they were just fantastic. We, um, auditioned local musicians, our professional musicians, and we also auditioned local youth from City, West, and the junior highs. And so all of our professional musicians agreed that they would mentor our local youth, and they brought them up on stage - This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 41 there's some photos of some of the kids up on stage. Um, we had a young violinist who, um, did a duet with Dave Zollo. We had, and this is a third grader, up on stage, so we had, their agreement in participating is that they would mentor youth. Um, I think a really good story of this, I, there's millions of stories but a couple that stand out, um, my, Dave Zollo went to Preucil, and um, he was a Preucil graduate. And one of my neighbors up the street, I didn't know she was a neighbor because I'm adog-walker and I'm out all the time but she sees me crazy-dog walking, um, showed up and said,. "You're my neighbor." And I said, "I didn't know that." And she said, "I, I teach at Preucil, and, um, I'm here to see Dave Zollo, and, and, this is amazing, I think we need to give more kids scholarships from this area and how can we do more to support this?" And she ended up all summer long coming back to Wetherby with groups of students. I, I suppose my final story, in saying why do we need to continue festivals like this; why do we have to go out on Mother's Day year after year and keep saying let's have a good summer, let's kick off the summer, is a young man who's in the photo, he, he was up on stage, he, um, was sort of a local rapper, um, City high kid and he was brought up on stage by one of the - Eunophonics? This is just, this bands out of my league, and um, he was at the Mother's Day Riot. Not arrested, but there. And over the course of the year he had been working with staff at the center on laying tracks and laying sound and he auditioned for and was accepted as one of the youth performers. And the Unifonics brought him up on stage where they performed together. And they've since worked together. And he's laid three tracks now and has performed at the open mike night at the Yacht Club, and has really, you know, sort of feeling like he's turned his life around. And so this music fest may be, you know, the symbolism of holding it a year from mother's Day I think is also saying there's a way that local musicians give back that are, we can foster the arts on the southeast side; that the southeast side is an amazing place to go and be with your kids and bring your kids and family. And so, we're looking for ongoing support. They get to, um, piece together a budget again this year. Um, because it will be, mother's Day weekend we'1 have, um, 319 again, but we would love to not have to be quite so , um, piece-meal with, with our budget, so, that's what we're looking for. And we encourage you all to come out. Bailey/ It'll be warmer, right? Freeman/ Oh, dear Lord. I, I do tell people it was very warm Mother's day 2009, which was why all the kids were playing football. I like to remind everyone of that. Hayek/ Without, uh, too much detail, how, where's your budget come from? Freeman/ Um, these are the expenses from last year. Um, the stage is, uh, a stage that, um, city of Iowa City and Coralville own together, and um, that was that rent, that's the cost of that. Everything else is pretty much based on last year's budget. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Hayek/ And where did the funding for that come last year? Freeman/ Nickel and diming everybody in this community. Hayek/ Okay. Freeman/ Again and again. Hayek/ Yeah. Understood. Freeman/ Anything else? Okay. Thanks everyone. Hayek/ Thanks to your VISTA volunteers .That's important community service. Freeman/ They're great. General Budget Discussion Page 42 Hayek/ Okay, that opens us up into sort of a more general budget discussion. Um, before we take up anything that goes beyond boards and commission issues, there was a request from, uh, Connie, whether or not to .. . Karr/ Connie was unable to be her this evening because of a family emergency. And she did request that, um, she was very supportive of course of the, um, funding the pot of monies, or the bottom line, but she would appreciate if she could participate in the individual discussions of the actual allocations. So I was wondering if you couldn't perhaps tonight decide on that pot but not divvy it up without her input. And I said I would pass that request on. She suggesting adding it to, not do a special night just for it, but potentially add it to another work session. Um, just noting that your next work session, um, Terry won't be her on the 24th, and you would have to decide that lump sum for the budget so that we could go ahead and set the public hearing the following week. Hayek/ Well, uh, so we sort of rob Peter to pay Paul in terms of, uh, Council participation if we do that. I, I don't, I don't think we should schedule a special meeting in a two month period where we've got a ton of them already, to accomplish this specific goal. I'm open to going on the 24th, but .. . Karr/ But we gain Connie and lose Terry. Hayek/ (Inaudible), yeah. What do you, what do you guys think we should do? Bailey/ We're still scheduled for next Thursday, right? Karr/ At this point you're still scheduled for the 27th This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 201 l City Council Work Session Page 43 Bailey/ Are you going to be there the 27t"~ Dickens/ If we do this tonight we don't, there might not be as much, or the need for the 27t". And we've all been here. Hayek/ Well, it's tonight, the 24t", or the 27t". And presently the 27t" is not something we may need. Do you guys agree that the 27t" is .. . Dickens/ We're never going to ask her. (Laughter) Hayek/ I mean, we have the 27t", we've got it as a placeholder in case we need it, but it appears that the direction we're taking thus far may make the 27t" unnecessary, but I could be wrong. Mims/ I'd rather just move ahead with it tonight, rather than... I mean if it means we can get away without having the 27t" and going between now and Monday night is just trading Connie for Terry. Otherwise, to get both of them we have to keep the 27t" on the calendar. If that's the only thing, I mean if we're going to have everything else pretty well resolved, I'd rather have it done than have that meeting just for this, personally. Dickens/ Most of our notes are fresh in our minds right now. Mims/ Yeah. Dickens/ We've seen who's presented. We've got a good idea of how much money we're going to be playing with and .. . Hayek/ Then why don't we take it up... why don't we do it now, Connie, Connie will understand, and Terry had the benefit of the presentations and she did not. Uh, which, is a factor. Okay. Bailey/ Can I just ask, if we're going to take this up now,--- Hayek/ Yeah. Bailey/ Um, Marian, could you talk a little bit about fireworks because that wasn't, um, there wasn't an amount in our, in our--- Karr/ Right. Fireworks, uh, in the revised page I handed out to you this evening is incorporated in there. We budgeted, um, we're asking $27,500. Um, we, this has been budgeted through the community events in the past. Uh, this is based on, uh, costs, ordering it early and the discount price. Um, again we look to your direction. The fireworks is something the JC's has not funded the last two years. Uh, we have done a partnership with the Summer of the Arts, and last, the last couple of years were able to do it, uh, the, as a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 44 finale to their events. This year the fourth is a Monday, and their finale would be Sunday. So that would be one issue. But right now we do have, um, the same vendor ion hold for both nights. So the sooner that we can get back to him and order -we do get adiscount- farther back we order, the bigger the discount. So, if it's something that you're so inclined to fund, the sooner we have that information we can proceed. Hayek/ If the $27,500 a quote or a bid? I mean is that the number it will take to secure fireworks? Karr/ No, it is not. It's a, uh, benchmark based on an increase --until you actually order the specific fireworks and put them together and do a show, um. Last year we budgeted $25,000 and actually spent $22,500, so we had a little bit of a savings. Sothis year was just a, uh, a cost, just an inflation figure based on the same materials. It may fluctuate a little bit. It may mean we'll have to cut back a little bit. It may mean if we order early enough we can do the same type of show. Bailey/ Does location make any difference in cost? I mean we've been doing it downtown, uh, you know, years and years ago--- Karr/Not generally. I think the-- Bailey/ Yeah. Karr/ ---same type of--- Bailey/ Is it a safety, uh, additional safety concern? Karr/ ---the same type, there's some trade-offs to both locations, and for what we trade for some we gain it in another. As long as we can count on the, the excellent cooperation we've had in the past with the University, um, we'd be able to use the, uh, we have checked, the orientation has been somewhat of a problem because we certainly use that Hubbard, Hubbard Park a lot, but there is no orientation that week so either date would work with them. And we have those on hold as well. So, no. Bailey/ I've really liked it downtown. I know that this isn't a funding thing, but I've really liked it downtown and I've really liked it in conjunction with the Jazz Fest. But, I mean< I think it really, it really addresses some of the broader traffic issues and brings more people downtown to hang out. I mean, they stayed longer, and I think that's beneficial. But, okay, thanks .. . Hayek/ Okay, well, the proposed budget is the same as last year's, $110,162. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 45 Karr/ Matt, may I just note one other thing. The Youth Advisory commission, the $4,000, it is not budgeted, um, across, there is noted. I've incorporated that into my budget, into my department budget. So whatever allocation you wish to do is in the budget, incorporated in my department -rather than community events since it's an ongoing board or commission. Bailey/ Which I think makes sense. Karr/ We've incorporated it like we do with all the other boards and commissions. That's why there's not a line item there. Hayek/ Okay. So that's not part of our decision process tonight? Karr/ That's correct. Dickens/ That's the best place for it. Bailey/ Yeah, I think so too, since it's ongoing. Hayek/ Well, the requests exceed the budgeted amount by about $25,000. This is where the ala carte occurs. Wright/ Well, should we just step through each request then? Hayek/ Could. We've got some new requests. We've got some usual suspect requests that we have a relationship, organizations that we have a relationship with. Are there any general thoughts before we go to the list? , Mims/ I, I would take the Power up Your Preschool off entirely. One, they weren't here to present, and two, there are a number of schools that are not even in Iowa City, as I recall from that list. Not saying it's not a good program, but .. . Bailey/ Well, and that's, I agree with you. Hayek/ Yeah, I agree with you. Bailey/ There are lots of good programs that come to us for funding. When I look at these, I mean, just my perspective, I tend to look at things that sort of advance some of the things that we're trying to advance, some economic development and some leverage, getting people, for me, downtown, and then, um, community building activities, which they all generally fall into, the what, what is more on the edge of that continuum, the higher edge of that continuum. And so that's kind of the general approach that I try to take with this. Those are my general thoughts. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 20l 1 City Council Work Session Page 46 So, I'm interested din continuing some level of support for Summer of the Arts. I'll just throw that out there. Mims/ Mm-hm. Dickens/ I think that that's probably .. . Wright/ Absolutely. Bailey/ And their request for an increase makes sense to me. I don't know if we're going to be able to. Mims/ Well, I guess first of all, I guess maybe where I would start at is, are we committed to staying with what we've budgeted? I mean are we going to stay with that $110,162? So, does that mean we're going to find, out of those funding requests we're going to find roughly $25,500 to cut? I mean, to me that's the first question we need to ask ourselves. Bailey/ Well, since we've made some dramatic cuts, or are headed in the direction of making some, I think, serious cuts in the budget, I would be hard-pressed to increase this bottom- line. Are you suggesting lowering it? Mims/ No. I'm just throwing out the question. I'm comfortable with staying with what it was for 2011 and what's been budgeted for 2012. Bailey/ And I have that expectation as well. Wright/ Yeah, that's, that's what I was going to say. Dickens/ Yeah. Bailey/ I mean, it would be -these are great things--- Hayek/ Yeah, we can't. Bailey/ ---without question. Mims/ I just don't see that we can increase either. I just think that that's where we need to start, is agreeing on what's going to be our--- Bailey/ Not with what we're looking at with the other budget areas. No way. Hayek/ Well, conversely, is there interest in .. . Bailey/ Reducing that to $100,000? Hayek/ Reducing. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 47 Dickens/ I'm good with this figure. Bailey/ I'm comfortable with $110,000. I think. Hayek/ Consensus on that? Mims/ Yeah. I mean, I went through just real quickly the numbers that are here and looked at, looked at which ones were increase, either new or increases from last year and, um, you know kind of, particularly some of the new ones, tried giving them like half of what they asked, um, gave Summer of the Arts only $5,000 more. Gave Shakespeare Theater only $2,500 more„ etc. So kind of, kind of spreading the pain so to speak. Dickens/ Up to about right? Mims/ Nah, I'm only about $16,000. I still got another $10,000 to cut. Bailey/ I know. It's hard. Mims/ Because I left, I did leave in 319 music. Oaky, I did not cut that one, I gave preliminarily as I ran through it I gave them their whole $4,000. Bailey/ I would like to try to support that to the degree as possible. I think I was there last year. It was a, it's a great festival and it has a great potential and um, it--- Mims/ What I'd like to see in the future is can we get any economies by moving that under Summer of the Arts. Are there something's that with, you know, just with volunteers, and coordinating volunteers and then the other kinds of, moving that summer of the Arts out into the community even more, and helping with some of those events, but that's a discussion for the future. Bailey/ Yeah. Hayek/ I'd like to support 319 as well. I think it's been a success. Just starting out at $4,000 is a little high relative to the others with whom we have a track record or who started at lower levels. Bailey/ Mm-hm. Hayek/ I could see going with $2,000 or $3,000. Dickens/ I put $2,000 down for that. Bailey/ $2,500? Hayek/ I put $2,500. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 48 Wilburn/ I think also they have several in-kind contributions they did not include in their presentation, the, the staff time from the Neighborhood Centers the VISTA volunteers that, that you know, give them all that time, so. Hayek/ Yeah. We can try, you know, just preliminarily $2,500 for that and see how, you know, that stacks up. Bailey/ Yeah. Hayek/ Alright. Why don't we run through this list real quickly? Bailey/ I think that's the only way you're going get the--- Hayek/ Backyard Abundance, request from $800. They had a request for us last year I believe, and we did not fund. Dickens/ We just didn't add anybody new last year. Bailey/ Well, the advantage with Backyard Abundance, if they're doing some partnerships with the City I think that that, that might be the area to, I don't know, expand. Dickens/ Do more in-kind than actual dollars? Bailey/ I can't find them. I can't find any of these. Wright/ Could we give them 500 bucks? Dickens/ Yeah, that's half of their ... $400 or $500.. . Hayek/ Let's just put in there. Mims/ I did four. Dickens/ $400. Bailey/ I didn't fund them again. Mims/ Well, I'm not sure I will either, Regenia, like I say, I mean, I'm still nine grand short on my cuts--- Bailey/ Yeah, exactly. Hayek/ Yeah. Mims/ ---from my first run through, and so, I gotta figure out where we're going to find another nine grand. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 49 Hayek/ How about the CSA Fair? I think we are, we comped them the, uh, use of the facility. Dickens/ Yeah. Hayek/ Which is separate from their request. Bailey/ And we would end up paying for what, printing, printing, they've got printing .. . Wright/ Yeah, there's (inaudible) Bailey/ Yeah. Hayek/ CSA Fair. Bailey/ The printing, the pay for farmer's samples. Hayek/ Yeah, yeah the CSA guide and the samples. Mims/ Mm-hm. That's fundamentally what we cover. Wilburn/ Part of, part of what I, just throwing this out in the mix too, just kind of looking at Regenia how you look at returning what we're getting, uh, whether it's economic development, the connection with different, you know, I guess also another way to look at it is kind of niche', niche', and I saying that right? Bailey/ Mm-hm. Wilburn/ Niche', niche', however, however we say it, um, and while I can see some of the differences between the, uh, the Ag Fair and then the, uh, what was the other one? Several/ Backyard Abundance. Wilburn/ I don't know that you're necessarily getting a different component there, uh, and then trying to just separate out what we get by having the Farmer's Market here in general, I, I... Bailey/ Mm-hm. Mims/ Do they, do they do anything at the Farmer's Market in terms of advertising the CSAs? I mean... Wright/ Individual farmers do, but.. . Bailey/ I think, I think they do but that gets to be like, I mean, Laura's right, a CSA wants a, I mean, the whole premise is getting your money up-front so you can afford--- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 50 Mims/ Mm-hm, right. Bailey/ ---so, by the time we're starting Farmer's Market, that's, I don't, they might have their people all lined up, basically. Hayek/ For the season. Bailey/ For the season. Mims/ I'm just wondering if they're educating people, you know, like for the next year, in terms of--- Bailey/ Oh, you know, I don't know. Mims/ ---buying into a CSA for the following year. Bailey/ I don't know. I mean, I think, I think like Ross said individual farmers do. Mims/ Mm-hm. Bailey/ And I know our, our farmer does, but.. . Hayek/ Kind of with Ross on this. Mims/ So what are you thinking? One, one of them, or like only half of one of them or neither of them or .. . Wilburn/ I'm actually thinking neither, neither of them. Mims/ Okay. Bailey/ I don't think we're going to get there, if we .. . Mims/ Yeah, I, I don't know how we get there if you add new ones. Hayek/ Well, let's, let's proceed just with that assumption. Wilburn/ Yeah, and I think you're, even if you're, they're not, um, there's stuff that the Ag Fair could be doing at the existing Farmer's Market to help themselves for the next year, and... Wright/ I think actually they've been doing pretty well on their own. Wilburn/ On their own, yeah. And, the folks that participate in the Farmer's Market have a interest in, I mean, there is access both, they do the farmer's market here, the one out at This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 51 Sycamore Mall, so there is access in that type of environment separate from something like the New Pioneer co-op type of thing, so.. . Hayek/ Okay. Disability Awareness Month Kick-Off. Mims/ I took that one off as well. I mean, again, you know looking at new ones and, I don't know if there was a reason they weren't here to present tonight. Bailey/ That's unusual. Helling/ I, um, I don't know, only thing I can tell you is I got a phone message that I picked up late in the day from somebody at Access, um, what is it? Hayek/Independence? Helling/ Yeah, Access to Independence, asking when this particular thing was. Um, to the applicants we send out a notice that, of the hearing so they can come in if they want. They, we didn't receive an application from them, um, that's anything that you see with a zero there, there was no application received. Wright/ They had asked for funding last year, as I recall. Did we, uh? I think they did and we didn't. Mims/ I think so too. Bailey/ We funded--- Helling/ The ADA Celebration. Bailey/ ---yeah, we funded the ADA Celebration, but not this new one. Wright/ They're not requesting this year. I'd put them at a zero. Take this one out. Hayek/ Okay. Uh, Extend the Dream Foundation, Ralston Creek Fair and Flea Market. They're a repeat, uh, recipient and I can't remember if they showed up last year or not. Bailey/ I don't remember them. Mims/ I, yeah .. . Hayek/ Tom Walz is usually the guy who ...the face .. . Bailey/ Yeah, mm-hm ... I don't remember them .. . Wilburn/ They did the year before. I don't remember about last year. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Hayek/ Where the heck are they here? Bailey/ Yeah, where are they? Dickens/ I think they're the first one. Mims/ Yeah, they're the first one, right after .. . Bailey/ Oh good, thanks ...What's their budget? Page 52 Wright/ Their, their only revenue is the vendor space rental and what the City ...plans on kicking in. Bailey/ Well .. . Hayek/ I know Tom, they do, he does a great job of scraping together whatever can be found, making ends meet, but, you raise a good point, they haven't sought other funding sources either. Bailey/ Yeah, and that's ...for as long as it's been occurring, it surprises me that they don't have a few sponsorships. Wright/ Right, and as small as the amount is that they're dealing with, I think they should be able to space some of that out. Bailey/ Mm-hm. I would think so too. Especially that weekend for that event, I mean .. . Mims/ I guess --- Bailey/ That's a large, I mean, I don't know what they're doing for advertising but certainly, it just seems like a high percentage of their budget is advertising. Mims/ I think it's print. Wright/ Yeah, I think they go the Press Citizen. Mims/ Yeah. Bailey/ And, you know, you know once you do print, I mean, like I was saying to the Book Fair, I mean, you don't buy a lot more, I mean, you can increase your budget by quite a lot and not get, I mean, it's expensive. Mims/ Yeah. Bailey/ I, I would like to encourage them to find some other sponsors this year. I'm with you on, on that Mike. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 53 Wilburn/ Well, with some of the businesses around that little area you would think they would be able to get something with folks coming around. Hayek/ Is there interest in, uh, dropping, but not cutting them out of this altogether? Mims/ Cut them in half, or are you talking about taming them out entirely? Hayek/ Cut them in half. Bailey/ No, I took them out entirely. I mean, I was pretty harsh. We, we just have such a small amount. I mean, that's where I started. Hayek/ Are there four people who want to allocate zero? Wright/ I was close to zero. I was saying $250. Dickens/ I would just cut them out. Hayek/ I hear one, two, three people to cut them out, all, to zero. We got a $500--- Mims/ I'm not, no, I'm not sure I'm cutting them to zero--- Hayek/ Oh, okay. Mims/ I just, yeah, I mean .. . Bailey/ Well, can we just come back and see what we have, if you're, if you're down to $250? Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/ Okay. Okay. Wright/ (inaudible) Dickens/ Uptown Bill's has moved down to that area now. It was on Gilbert Street before, so .. . Bailey/ Well, and I wonder how that will effect this too. Dickens/ Right. Bailey/ Will it even .. . Hayek/ Alright. Well, let's come back to it. Um, but it sounds like we'll either reduce, we probably won't altogether zero it out but there will be a reduced number. Okay. Free Art School Evening Alternatives. Wright/ I love the idea but I, I took it out. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 54 Mims/ I wish they had something a little bit more concrete. I mean, a little, the idea of evening alternatives, I really like. Wright/ Yeah, I did too. Mims/ Particularly with the 21-ordinance, but the lack of a real business plan is .. . Wright/ It's a little loose. Mims/ ... is concerning to me. Hayek/ Are there four for zero? Higgins/ Well, I just would like to say, I understand that concern, but I just, it feels to me like that, that, that's the type of organization. It is kind of free-flowing, so I wouldn't, I mean, I just encourage you guys not to get too caught up on the fact that they're not as business- like as, you know, other, other people asking for funds. Hayek/ That's a fair point. Dickens/ I know he spends a lot of time there. He volunteers a lot of his personal time. I see him there all the time. Hayek/ Who does? Dickens/ Uh, Engelbrecht. Wright/ Oh, yeah. That's right. Dickens/ He's right downstairs from us, so I do see him. I thought he was living there for a while. (Laughter) It just appeared that way. You could put ablank--- Bailey/ You could reduce it and--- Mims/ Let's try him at a thousand and maybe start--- Bailey/ That would cover promotion and materials for example, I mean, we don't have to designate but .. . Wilburn/ Well, and they've been awarded funding for, from the Community Foundation, so .. . Mims/ Try them at a thousand, see where we shake out, maybe come back to them? Bailey/ Mm-hm. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 55 Hayek/ That's a little high for my liking, but I'll put it in there for, on my notes. See what, see what it looks like. Dickens/ Roughly 40% of their request. Hayek/ Iowa City Book Festival. Bailey/ 1 think this event has a real potential. Dickens/ If we are the City of Literature... I don't see fully funding it but .. . Bailey/ The challenge is I'm not sure that this is the absolute venue to partner with the University on the event, because it is a funding of the University, because it's not a separate non- profit. You know what I'm saying? Seems like there are other opportunities, or those kinds of things. I don't know... but I do like the event. I think it has a lot of potential. Dickens/ If they're going to, I think continue to grow--- Bailey/ I think so too. Dickens/ The potential for more involvement in the downtown. You know it just started last year with their first involvement--- Bailey/ Mm-hm. Dickens/ ---not everybody could do it. They think it will grow. They will get some more sponsorships there. Bailey/ Yeah, that's true. Mims/ You know, that's a really good point, Regenia. It is a little funny for us to be giving money to the university for this, I mean .. . Bailey/ Well, and that's why I went back and looked to see if they had organized separately and I thought, oh wow, that's an interesting, especially when we look at some of these other organizations, um--- Mims/ Yeah. Bailey/ ---but I do think we should be participating in some way. Mims/ Mm-hm. Oh, I agree. I think it's a great event and has quite a lot of potential and to bring more people and good publicity to the community, but .. . Hayek/ Is the University's contribution essentially the staff time? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 201 I City Council Work Session Page 56 Bailey/ ---staff time? Wright/ It's just the staff ...and, well, to a certain extent the facilities, the facilities. Dickens/ But I do think they could do a better job with their marketing using, using the, uh, existing websites that are downtown--- Bailey/ Mm-hm. Dickens/ ---linking, linking to some of those--- Bailey/ Right, and I--- Dickens/ ---little or no cost. Bailey/ ---and I meant to ask them if they've worked with the CBB? Matt, do you know if they've worked on promotion, I mean, that seems a natural. Hayek/ Oh, I don't know. They were recognized at the CVB (inaudible) .. . Bailey/ I know they were, but I mean, what's that part, I mean .. . Hayek/ So, I don't, I don't know. Bailey/ The advantage of increasing their marketing is it increases the visibility of the community, fundamentally. But .. . Hayek/ So does someone want to throw a number out? Bailey/ $2,000. Mims/ I wouldn't go that high. Wright/ I would say fifteen. Bailey/ Okay ...okay. Hayek/ Should we try $1,500 as a placeholder there? Bailey/ Mm-hm. Hayek/ String Orchestra? Bailey/ I love this organization. Okay, I really like this organization. I gave them their $400. That Englert full of kids listening to orchestra is, it's too great. Feel free to argue me out of it, but... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Wright/ I'm not sure they need us. Bailey/ They might not but .. . Mims/ What page were they on? Bailey/ They're like .. . Hayek/ What's page one of three? (Laughter) Bailey/ They're after Backyard Abundance in my book. Page 57 Mims/ Okay. They didn't present so I didn't have a page number down. That's why. Okay. Thanks. Hayek/ I'd like to give them, I mean, I'd be comfortable with $400, but at least something. I mean, they just, year after year .. . Wright/ Their, their budget is coming in below their revenue. They have, they have a silent auction fundraiser. They raised 400 bucks, and I, I think it's a good organization too, but... Bailey/ That's, that's predicated on if we give our full amount. You mean, you're looking at, are you looking at last year's? Oh, I was looking at proposed. I'm sorry. Dickens/ Yeah, $10 over. Mims/ $10 over. Hayek/ $200? $300? Bailey/ $250? $200? Mims/ Let's go two. Hayek/ $200? Alright. Fireworks? Bailey/ Oh, let's have fireworks. Wright/ Can we say $25,000? Bailey/ Yeah. Wright/ Like last year? Mims/ That's what I .. . This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Dickens/ Yeah. Hayek/ That's what I would think. Can we do that? Karr/ Yes. Bailey/ So, we're staying at $25,000. Wright/ Just one less spider. Mims/ Oh, does it have to be one less spider? Karr/ We'll work on it. Page 58 Hayek/ We'll work on it. Dickens will bring down a couple of Roman candles (inaudible) .. . Wright/ From Missouri .. . Hayek/ Landlocked? Wilburn/ Yes. Dickens/ Definitely. Bailey/ At their amount. At their requested. Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/ I think they're --- Bailey/ It's amazing what they've done--- Wright/ Iwas surprised they didn't ask for more, but--- Bailey/ Iwas really surprised--- Dickens/ It's great. Just the people you see downtown and .. . Bailey/ Yeah, they're, I mean they're really bringing in a lot of people from outside Iowa City. Wright/ It's pretty amazing. What they do with what, with what their budget is. Hayek/ Shakespeare? Bailey/ Yes, let's have Shakespeare. Wright/ I had $6,000. I had briefed it a little bit. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 59 Bailey/ I had seven ---$7, 750. Wright/ Hm. Bailey/ I split their increase. Mims/ Yeah, I'd kind of split it but I'm not sure I'm, I mean as I keep adding up numbers .. . Bailey/ Where are we? Mims/ Well, I don't know. I'm not sure, I'm just trying to go back and figure out where we were. Bailey/ See, I hadn't funded some of these people, so I was okay .. . Dickens/ Well, let's put, let's put $7,000 an earmark and see if we have to go back, we can--- Bailey/ Okay. Hayek/ That sounds good. Which brings us to the big enchilada. Mims/ Kevin's over there with his calculator, so hopefully ... (Laughter) Wright/ You got a pret' near number? (Inaudible from the audience) Bailey/ Oh, so then we can fund Summer of the Arts at about 70,000?--- Karr/ I mean, can't, we can't. I'm sorry, just not hearing either one of you. Bailey/ You can't do that Kevin, she hates that. Karr/ So what did you come up with? $115,000? Hayek/ You have to be in front of a mike or pass a smoke signal .. . Karr/ Yeah, thanks. Even that's hard to record. Bailey/ Not audible. O'Malley/ I'm not sure if I caught all your recommendations but if you fully funded the Riverside, I came up to a $115,600 with what I thought I heard. Bailey/ We didn't fully fund them. Karr/ River---, Riverside Theater was seven, O'Malley/ Seven. I mean the, the Summer of the Arts. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 60 Wright/ Summer of the Arts. O'Malley/ I just jumped ahead to ... I had, uh, $40,600 before you got to Summer of the Arts. Bailey/ I got to $105,000. What did we.. . Wright/ Can you call them up .. . O'Malley/ I mean ... I may not have heard everything you said. I don't have a spreadsheet. (Inaudible: several speaking at once.) Karr/ I had $40,200, so we're close. Hayek/ Okay. Could we, alright, let's just confirm our numbers here, where we were. Okay, everybody want 319 Music Fest at $2,900? Bailey/ Mm-hm. Wright/ Mm-hm. Hayek/ Backyard Abundance at $400? Wright/ Right. Hayek/ Uh, CSA Fair zero? Bailey/ Okay. Hayek/ Disability Awareness, I think that was a zero? Wright/ Zero. Bailey/ Yep. Hayek/ Uh, Extend the Dream, uh, Fair and Flea Market, I'm not sure we decided on that--- Wright/ We didn't decide. Karr/ You didn't. Bailey/ Fine. Hayek/ Free Art School, $1,000. Book Festival, $1,500. String Orchestra, $200. Fireworks, 25 grand. Landlocked, three grand. Riverside Theater, $7,000. O'Malley/ Forty-four five? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Wright/ What was the number, Kevin? Bailey/ Forty-four five. O'Malley/ Forty-four five. Dickens/ Forty-four five. O'Malley/ No, that can't be right. Bailey/ No, I don't think so. O'Malley/ Can't be right. Hayek/ This guy's in charge of our budget. Wright/ I was just thinking the same thing. Mims/ I was getting real nervous there too. Thanks for saying that. (Laughter) Bailey/ I don't think he calculated--- Mims/ Thirty-nine six, I think. Oops. Wright/ I was thinking if we put in the Summer of the Arts at seventy--- Bailey/ Yeah. Mm-hm. Wright/ ---and then chose to plug something in for, uh--- Wilburn/ Ralston Creek, we haven't .. . Wright/ Ralston Creek. We're there. Bailey/ Mm-hm. Dickens/ Yep. Do we want $500 for them? Hayek/ Yeah, let's see what that looks like. Bailey/ What is it? Wright/ We have $621eft over. Bailey/ Oh, let's not spend it. Page 61 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 62 Dickens/ But it's a contingency. Bailey/ That's right. Hayek/ He, Dale, these guys raise a question, uh, didn't mean to but some (inaudible) is that, we had some money left over from last year's event. Is that included in this $110,000? Helling/ That was a contingency, and it was, ultimately it was given to the, uh, um, Mission Creek Festival. Bailey/ Oh, that's right. Hayek/ But did they get it? Did they actually come in and fill out that stuff? Helling/ Yeah. Karr/ Well, it's, it's--- Helling/ Yeah. There was some indication that they had sent us an e-mail that day of the deadline. Karr/ No, he's talking about whether you allocated the contingency. He's, he's agreeing with how you got there. Helling/ Yeah, okay. Yes, and my understanding is it's been, um, paid out, or--- Hayek/ Okay. Helling/ ---at least Kathy had the paperwork for that. There was a check request, it wasn't, it was signed by me, and I can't remember the date, back in November, I think, right after Council said go ahead and do it. Hayek/ Okay, so they got that balance. Helling/ They should have it, yes. Hayek/ Alright. Helling/ Now, their event comes up in April, so they're, they're one of the few whose event hasn't happened yet for FY11. Hayek/ Okay. Thank you. Karr/ What did you come up with, Kevin? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 63 O'Malley/ Um, excuse me, I came up with $40,600. That's $2,500, $400, $1,000, $1,500, $200, $25,000, $3,000, and $7,000. Karr/ And then add $70,000 to it and you--- Bailey/ I got $109,950. Karr/ And you come up with $110,600. Is that right? O'Malley/ Sounds right. Karr/ $77,000. Because you had, $40,600 included seven, Kevin, or did not? O'Malley/Did not include, included the $7,000 of--- Karr/ Okay, so you had seventy. O'Malley/ Okay. Karr/ Which is the tentative Summer of the Arts, which brings it up to $110,600. If that's correct. Right? Yes. And the budget is $110,162. Bailey/ I added up numbers that got to $109,950, so I must have added something wrong. Wright/ Well, these two have us at $110,000, so .. . Bailey/ Yeah, but see, I had us below budget. Hayek/ And you do not have $500 for the Ralston Creek included in that? Karr/ No. Bailey/ No. Mims/ So if we go $70,000 for SOTA, we're over. Bailey/ Yes. Wright/ Then we have to take a little off of some place. Bailey/ So if we go about $500.. . Wright/ We could go--- Mims/ If we take, if we take them down to $69,000, then that gives us a little bit of wiggle room. Wright/ Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 64 Bailey/ Let's go through again what we're funding. Backyard Abundance, oh wait, nine, 319.. . Karr/ I'm sorry. Could we speak up? Hayek/ Yeah, will you guys speak louder, we' 11 .. . Bailey/ Oh, I'm sorry. Dickens/ Start with 319. Bailey/ What are we, what are we funding again? Karr/ Thank you, Terry. Hayek/ Okay, we're at $2,500, 319 Music Fest, $2,500. Bailey/ Okay. Hayek/ Backyard Abundance, $400. Bailey/ Okay. Hayek/ Then you drop down, uh, nothing for the CSA Fair; nothing for Disability Awareness month kick-Off; we have not decided Ralston Creek yet; uh, Free Art School--- Bailey/ $1,000? Hayek/ ---there's a proposal for $1,000; Iowa City Book Festival, $1,500. CS --uh, String Orchestra, $200; $25,000 for Fireworks; $3,000 for Landlocked; $7,000 for Riverside; and something just shy of $70,000 for Summer of the Arts. Bailey/ Okay. Hayek/ I'd like to see us give something to the Ralston Creek Fair, I just don't, they've been consistent, they've, they've been consistent and I think they do need to get others sponsorships and outside funding, but to go to zero would be a little steep I think. Dickens/ Yeah. Mims/ Well, if we go $69,000 on Summer of the Arts--- Hayek/ Yeah. Mims/ ---that gives us about $500. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 201 I City Council Work Session Page 65 Bailey/ Well, and, also we've always been involved with Disability Awareness Month, so, I'm a little, I mean, I think this Access to Independence is switched to asking for money specifically for that event. Hayek/ They, uh, yeah, I couldn't tell. They swapping one for the other? Bailey/ Well, that's kind of--- Hayek/ Dale? Bailey/ Dale do you have a .. . Helling/ My, my, in the phone message I got the ADA Celebration was mentioned, so I don't know. I don't know. Bailey/ Well, it is a different time though, because, isn't, ADA, ADA is usually in July, right? Helling/ Right. Bailey/That's the anniversary. This is in October. Okay. They aren't switching them out. Helling/ They're, they're not the same. Bailey/ Right. Okay. Wright/ They didn't, they didn't ask for anything for that. Bailey/ So they must be switching their event. Never mind. Helling/ Well, either that or they just didn't get their application in on time. Mims/ I think they alluded to that last year. Helling/ Hm. Might. Bailey/Yeah. That's right. Wright/ Yeah, they didn't ask. Mims/ They did allude to it. Wright/ The Disability Awareness Month .. . Helling/ Yeah. Wright/ ...asked last year and we didn't fund them, and .. . Bailey/Okay, that, never mind I withdraw everything I just said. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 20l 1 City Council Work Session Wright/ Okay. Hayek/Can I get, can we get $500 for Ralston Creek? Mims/ Yeah, if we go $69,000 on SOTA. Bailey/ Yeah. Wright/ Susan's got the, numbers there. Karr/ So $500 for .. . Wilburn/ Yes. Wright/ Ralston Dickens/ Ralston Creek. Karr/ $500 or $1,000? $500. Bailey (and several others)/ $500. Mims/ And we're left with an extra $62, I think? O'Malley/ That's correct. Bailey/Then maybe if 319 needs it. Wright/ We could buy sparklers for the Fourth of July fireworks. Bailey/Actually, we did pretty well with keeping the budget flat. Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/ 62 bucks going to contingency, or Book Fest? How about the book Fest? Bailey/ How about 319? I think 319 is going to take a little bit more. Dickens/ I'd give it to 319. Hayek/ Yep. Mims/ That's fine. Karr/ So it's $2,562? Wright/ Yep. Page 66 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Bailey/Leave no dollar unspent (laughs). Hayek/ Okay, does that zero out the dollars? Bailey/ Think so. Hayek/ That's it. Dickens/ Spent it all. Hayek/ Spent it all. Mims/ But we didn't go a penny over. Hayek/ Right. Wright/ We're very good at that. Hayek/ Okay. Bailey/ We are. Page 67 Hayek/ Anything else we need to do on these allocations? We all good with it? Alright. Thank you. Dickens/ Matt, will you call Connie and tell her? Hayek/No, I'm going to have you do it, um (laughter) .. . Bailey/Can we do rock, paper, scissors for that? Dickens/ I' 11 call her from Phoenix. Hayek/ What do we need to accomplish in other budget. areas tonight, if anything? Dickens/ You good? Hayek/ I'm good. Mims/ What about all the commissions and stuff, where, I mean, this is only my second time through. I'm sorry I forget where we're at on that. I mean, we had them present tonight, so where are we at with those decisions and, I mean, that's already built into the budget and so that's .. . Wright/ They're pretty much (inaudible) at this point. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 68 Hayek/Yeah, I ...well, you take for example the airport, they've got their capital projects, and then they've got the City subsidy of the operating, um, which is a perennial discussion point. Mims/ Right (several at once). Wilburn/ I think traditionally those have been either reaffirming their request, or they come and ask for additional--- Mims/ Additional stuff. Wilburn/ ---things that they were denied. For example, the, the staffing request that came through, so .. . Mims/ Right. Wilburn/ So, unless somebody wants to play with that then. Hayek/I mean they really are, I mean, the commissions have gone through avetting--- Mims/ The same budgeting as everyone else? Hayek/---the same process as everyone else. These events, they have not. They come directly to us. Dickens/ I think you ought to give the Youth Commission more money (chuckles). Hayek/ Yeah, that was fantastic. That was very good. Bailey/ She did a very good job. Dickens/ I have to recuse myself. My nephew's on it (laughs). Wright/ Although, the, the performance that Riverside did was .. . Bailey/ I don't know if we're going to start doing based upon presentation -well, and then we had, you know, the step stool. Mims/ Yep. Wright/ Very creative. Bailey/The thing that I will say about the Library Commission's request is, I, I mean, the point about the furnishings and, you know, the maintenance that we're going to have to attend to at some point. You've, I know you've probably all been in the building but it gets This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 69 incredible use and it is becoming apparent. And I don't think any of us want our City facilities to look like, we want them to be used but not well-worn. Wright/ We don't want them to look like the University Library is what you're saying. Dickens/ You can say that (laughter). Bailey/ (Laughing) I, I don't know. I, I don't think I can say that. So, that's something to think about. I don't know if it, if we're going to think about it now, but it's something to, it's coming up--- Wright/ It's going to have to, it's going to have to happen. Bailey/ -- just as the, just as the Park and Rec. That's coming up. Dickens/ As economic times improve. Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/Do we have, are the materials in our facility, uh, sufficiently durable? You know, for example, the use of carpet versus a longer lasting floor surface. I throw that out there, you know, just remembering that the old library, I think, had a hard floor (laughs). Bailey/You mean the Carnegie Library? Hayek/ Yeah. Bailey/ Yeah (laughs). Craig/ You want an answer to that? Hayek/ Sure. I mean, you know, or is there--- Bailey/I think the Carnegie is (unintelligible) Mims/ Well, certainly sound is one of the--- Hayek/ Yeah, you have sound issues--- Craig/ If I had hard-surface floor in the whole library I would be asking for more than aquarter- time maintenance person. Carpet is the easiest thing to take care of. Hayek/ Really? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Page 70 Craig/ Carpet is the easiest thing to take care of. Somebody has to mop that lobby, that black lobby every day, and those stairs, this kind of weather. I'd need more maintenance people without carpet. Hayek/ Carpet's better. Wow. Bailey/I guess I did notice .. . Wilburn/ Then somebody will slip on the mopped surface even though the sign's out and hurt themselves. Bailey/ Yeah. Dickens/ (Unintelligible) Mims/ Yeah. They have some pretty incredible carpeting these days. It holds up really well. Wilburn/ that's what the airports use. Mims/ Yeah. Dickens/ And it can replace squares as they go bad. Hayek/ Yeah. Okay. Bailey/Well, it's nothing I'm suggesting that we have to discuss tonight, but it is something that I think we've all noticed. Wright/ It's looming. Hayek/Needs to be on the radar. Bailey/It's definitely looming. Hayek/ Okay. Anything else? Okay. Well done. Thanks for your time. Anything else, staff? Karr/ I was just questioning, the 27th still on if needed? Mims/ What time is that Riverfront Crossings thing? Hayek/It's five. Karr/ Five. Mims/ Five? Dickens/ Five to seven. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011. January 18, 2011 City Council Work Session Mims/ I just got that invitation, so (inaudible). Dickens/ That came in the mail today? Mims/ Yeah. Hayek/ Yeah. Karr/ We've just got the schedule going out, so this is would be .. . Page 71 Hayek/ Well, we' 11 defer to you guys. Do we, do we, do you want to determine whether we need the 27tn~ Markus/ I don't think we do at this point. Kevin? O'Malley/ No. Wright/ We can leave it there for the time being, but it doesn't sound like we're going to need it. Mims1 But we cancel it on Tuesday night? Karr/ Sure. Bailey/ For Monday night. That would feel so good. Karr/ Or you could cancel it Monday or Tuesday, it's just the schedule comes out Thursday. Hayek/Alright. Let's keep it in place and then we can, we can cut it out at the next, at the next meeting. In case something comes up and then we got to have a rigmarole getting it back on. Karr/ Getting it back on. Okay. Hayek/ Okay. Thank you for your hard work tonight, and we' 11 see you soon. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council Special Budget Work Session of January 18, 2011.