HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-02 TranscriptionOctober 2, 2012
Council Present:
Staff Present:
Others Present:
Agenda Items•
Iowa City City Council Work Session Page I
Champion, Dickens, Dobyns, Hayek, Mims, Payne, Throgmorton
Markus, Fruin, Knoche, Dulek, Karr, Long, Davidson, Bentley, Havel
Uttermark, UISG
Hayek/ All right, why don't we get started. Everyone, welcome to the October 2, 2012, work
session. First item is questions from Council regarding agenda items. Anybody have
anything?
ITEM 3d(2) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT AND
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND THE CITY CLERK TO
ATTEST A CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC
WORKS - FUEL FACILITY PROJECT.
Karr / Mr. Mayor, I'd just like to note that we will be deleting from the Consent Calendar Item
3d(2), awarding the contract for the Public Works fuel facility and asking it be deferred
until October 23rd. So we'll just adopt the Consent Calendar as amended with that
change.
Hayek/ Correct. (mumbled) cover that Susan?
Mims/ (mumbled)
Hayek/ Okay.
ITEM 8. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE NOVEMBER 6,
2012, JOHNSON COUNTY BOND REFERENDUM TO BUILD A
JUSTICE CENTER.
Throgmorton/ Does ... does anybody else have anything they want to bring up? I ... I do have one
(mumbled)
Hayek/ Go ahead!
Throgmorton/ First I want to thank Rick for couple phone calls over the weekend. I appreciate it
very much! Well, uh, if I'm reading correctly ... I just opened this, um, one of the agenda
mi ... items is the resolution supporting the bond referendum...
Champion/ Right.
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Throgmorton/ ...about the Justice Center. I ... I didn't know it was going to be on our agenda
until ... I don't know, Sunday when I started reading the agenda cause I'd been out of
town. Uh, maybe all of you are in full agreement that it ought to be supported. I'm not
sure what I think. Uh, I feel like I'm in a position right now of saying I don't know how
I'm going to vote on it. So ... you know, what I would want to do, I think, is first of all
hear each of you, if you're up for it, uh, and then secondly, say I ... I would prefer to
abstain but I ... at this moment on the resolution, but I understand abstain equals a yes
vote, uh, nonetheless, I would articulate reasons why I would abstain and then know it's
going to be counted as a yes vote, but...
Champion/ (both talking) I will be happy to spend some time with you when I get back into town
next week, since I've been on the ... (both talking) coordinating committee for 14 years
(laughter)
Throgmorton/ Right, understand!
Champion/ Soon to be off! (laughter) Uh, but I'd be glad to spend some time with you, and talk
to you about why the jail is needed, and what we've gone through to ... try to get it
developed properly and what we've done to keep people out of jail.
Throgmorton/ Right.
Champion/ And those kind of things that we worked really, really hard on, and we have some
excellent programs going on. Excellent programs!
Throgmorton/ Right. I understand that, and I ... I've no doubt but that, uh, additional beds and
renovation of the... additional beds in the jail, and renovation of the Justice Center are
necessary. I ... I think that's very clear. Uh, and it'll cost money to do that.
Champion/ Yes it will.
Throgmorton/ Uh, what my ambivalence is about concerns arrest rates — who's getting arrested
for what reasons. That's the first thing. Second thing has to do with, uh ... um, my own
discomfort about the design of the building and its relation to, uh, our plans to redevelop
the area south of downtown. Uh...
Champion/ (both talking) using land that's already theirs.
Throgmorton/ Uh, well ... I ... I understand where, I mean, I don't have any problem with where.
think it's best to be done in that area. So I'm not objecting to the location. I'm objecting
to the phys... not objecting. I have questions about the physical design, and I've Dwi...
talked with Dwight, uh... uh about it, uh, in his office, you know, to make sure I
understand, uh, what the architectural thinking is. I'm just saying these ... these are the
topics that are, uh, make me ambivalent at this point, as a voter.
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Champion/ Well I... you and I have had this conversation before at City Council meetings. I
don't think it's our prerogative to judge the design of a building. I ... I don't think we
have the right to say we like a design or we don't like it, as long as...
Hayek/ Your ... you need to hook up.
Champion/ Oh! (noise on mic) And as far as who spends time in jail, that's (noises on mic)
readily available, and it's not drunk college students, by the way. Their average length of
time there is less than four hours.
Throgmorton/ I understand that. I've studied a lot (coughing, unable to hear) What I ... what I
haven't seen is ... is ... uh, other data that is of concern to me.
Champion/ Okay. Well I'd be ... I'm sure that, uh, the Sheriff would be happy to spend some
time with you too, cause I think it's important that you understand, um, who is in jail.
And that there really are criminals in jail.
Dobyns/ And you may be discussing, too, I mean ... and I'm very much for it. I'm glad to see it
on there. Um, but yeah ... and I could understand why it's got to go on now with the early
voting. If we were going to make a statement, you know, it's time to do that. Uh,
whenever the (mumbled). I was thinking about that last night during the presentation,
um, for the, uh, new district. And I was thinking, you know, whoever steps forward first
gets to sort of, um, inform the narrative of the architecture and the planning down there.
Um, you know, I was trying to conceptualize how all this will happen.
Throgmorton/ Uh -huh.
Dobyns/ And, um, you know, the needs of the County, um, are very real, and so if...are they
going to put in something there that in about 10 or 15 years, as we further develop other
areas that we'll feel badly about. (mumbled) Jim, because it is adjacent to the, uh,
University of Iowa part, um, not really with the City of Iowa City part, so it's not like it's
in the central, um, area of the district. So that did ameliorate some of my concerns as
well. But, you know, you gotta start somewhere! Um, someone's got to jump in there
first and um, you know, you can't worry about, at least from my point of view, what you
put in there first, thinking, well, maybe we'll come in second, or third, or fourth! There's
going to be dissident with it, and that's ... so that's what I was ... so I was thinking the
same thing last night but I ... that's how I mollified my own concerns.
Throgmorton/ Uh -huh. Uh -huh.
Dickens/ I liked the fact it was on the backside because that's always been kind of a nice one, the
backside of that building anyway, but to keep an historic courthouse up in front. So, it
looks like it'll add to that area so when somebody puts something across from it, they're
going to have to do something equally as nice. It just... that's... that's the interpretation I
took from it, and after seeing last night all the ... the, uh, the plans and hopefully they
come to fruition. I ran into (mumbled) after the meeting, I was walking up the street. He
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couldn't get in, it was so packed in here and he ... I just said go to the web site. All the
information's there and he plans on looking at that.
Throgmorton/ Uh -huh.
Dickens / And he's ... he's in the entertainment venue area and he's very excited about that area,
and it's something that he's looking at too.
Hayek/ You know, I'm not enamored of...of the design either. I ... it's functional, um, and it
doesn't detract from the historic courthouse itself, um, but I think what drove that was by
and large, uh ... uh, a pretty constrained budget, uh, in terms of the capital dollars being,
um, estimated, projected, to construct a facility like this. You know, and it ... um ... what
has our society come to when we can build a workout facility next store for about twice
the cost of a combined jail and justice center, um, that serves a far more important need
in our ... in ... in the community, but... that's... that's how it goes. Um...
Dobyns/ You don't like the lazy river? (laughter)
Hayek/ I love it! Um ... uh ... but you know there is a critical, critical issue regarding safety,
security, space, uh, down there and... and I think... and you know, by state, by our
Constitution or... or our state code, it's the responsibility of the County to pay for, uh,
these kinds of facilities. It doesn't ... the money doesn't come from anywhere else. Um,
and, um, the ... the situation down there is dire and, I mean, I think, and I've been to a lot
of courthouses around the state, I think the ... the, sort of the ratio of quality and size of
facility to amount of usage is the most extreme, that I'm aware of, anywhere in the state.
Maybe Polk County, uh, beats us. Um, but it's a... it's a serious situation, not only for...
for uh ... uh, members of the public but also people who, you know, work professionally
with the courthouse, accused defendants, uh ... uh, themselves and everybody in between.
Um, and it's ... it's a very serious issue. Uh, and Connie's been the liaison for ... for well
over a decade to the group and has been very frustrated over time with ... with the lack of
progress, and finally we're seeing something and ... and finally it's being put out to a vote
for the public. Um, so you ... and I ... I ... there are multiple diversion programs...
Champion/ Yes!
Hayek/ ... and... and... (both talking)
Champion/ They've done a really good job of that, and mental health screening and alcohol and
drug screening and getting people out of jail and to the right treatment areas ... I think
they've done an excellent job, um ... of trying to keep people out of jail that don't really
belong there.
Hayek/ And Amy Correia from the Yes for Justice group is ... is going, uh, to take up five
minutes of public discussion time to ... to lay out their arguments... why it's a good idea, if
you ... and if you still are ambivalent or ... or not comfortable with it, you know, I think
you need to do what your conscience tells you to do.
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Throgmorton/ Maybe Connie could answer a question, uh, that came to me from a conversation I
had this morning, and it had to do with operating costs basically.
Champion/ Uh -huh.
Throgmorton/ So it costs, I don't know, $1.5 million per year to transfer, uh, inmates to other
jails, right?
Champion/ Right.
Throgmorton/ So we'd be saving that (both talking)
Champion/ Right!
Throgmorton/ ...I get that, and that's a good thing. But what I don't know is what the increase
in operating costs would be.
Champion/ It will take only one more employee, um, and I'm sure that ... and I'm sure I'm right
about that, uh, because it's going to be so much more efficient than the jail that's there
now. I think it will take a little more kitchen help, uh, cause you're going to be feeding
more people. Um ... but it'd be the ... the operating costs are going to be somewhat more,
and I can't remember the exact number. I would have those notes at home.
Mims/ But nowhere near proportional to the increase in number of inmates because of the
increase in (both talking)
Champion/ ...because of the increased efficiency.
Throgmorton/ Per capita operating costs (several talking)
Dobyns/ ...transportation to other facilities.
Mims/ Yeah.
Hayek/ I mean even (several talking) across the street from the jail to the courthouse involves
logistics that ... you know (several talking) yeah! And they have these tickets and these
work orders and they have to coordinate everything.
Champion/ And you're using a lot of extra, uh, deputies to do the things that we're having to do
because of the situation with the unsafeness of getting, um, prisoners to the courthouse,
with the ... how unsafe it is to be transporting them around in cars, and um, so the ... the
extra amount of people needed is going to be a lot less than you might think.
Mims / And I went on a tour of the facility and you know talked with County employees when
they did those tours, and, you know, asked lots of the questions I think that you're talking
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about, Jim, and ... I mean, I'm convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that it needs to be
done, and whether I like or don't like the design I think is irrelevant, like Matt said, I
mean, that's ... and you said, Connie, I mean it's, you know, we're here to ... my opinion
as a voter, I'm going to support it because I think it's something this community needs to
do, and ... um ... just ... we've just got to do it and I think it's... financially it's going to be
better, and certainly the safety is a huge issue.
Champion/ And I also think that they've done an incredible job with the use of that old, outdated
facility that they have, and I used to tease Lonnie that maybe needs to let it get a little bit
dirtier (laughter) they really keep that thing spotless (laughing) that more look more like
Ft. Madison (laughing) get a little dirtier! (laughing)
Payne/ Have you went on a tour, Jim?
Throgmorton/ I've not, but I've talked with Lonnie, um ... talked with several Supervisors. I've
talked with Amy, um, you know, I ... I've read lots of literature that's available but...
Dobyns/ A picture's worth a thousand words!
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Payne/ It to... it really opened my eyes going on a... on a tour to see exactly the conditions that
are ... the (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Right, so ... so just to be clear, I ... I recognize the need for additional beds. I
recognize the need to renovate the courthouse, okay? I think those needs are very clear.
All right. My concern has to do with the ... uh, the numbers of people who are being
arrested and ... and uh, the reasons for which they are being arres ... arrested.
Champion/ Well that's the justice system you should be dealing with and not our County jail.
Throgmorton/ Uh, well ... uh, I ... yeah, but you know, you build a jail to accommodate what the
justice system is doing. So, that's what I'm ambivalent about. I'm not making a big
claims one way or the other.
Champion/ And I think also the inefficiency of the current location and the buildings is one of
the reasons that people have to spend more time in jail! Because there's a ... there's not
enough courtrooms and it takes a lot of time just to transport people and so even the
efficiencies of a new justice center will probably eliminate a lot of days in jail for people
who are there for legitimate reasons.
Payne/ I guess I don't think that because we're going to build something that maybe will house
more people, it's a build -it- and - they - will -come. I mean, it's not going to increase the
crime rate to have a bigger jail. That, I mean, I don't think those two things correlate at
all.
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Throgmorton/ Uh -huh.
Hayek/ And I think even, you know, even if... if something were done that resulted in fewer
arrests, if there were a change in... in prosecution standards and what not, I mean, you
still have the basic safety and space, uh, issues to ... to contend with and ... and you know,
right now if you're a public defender or a court clerk or a newborn baby up for adoption,
you're standing in a totally unsecured area next to, um, you know, potentially dangerous
people. Um, if you're a juror, uh, you ... you face that, and ... and the security level at this
courthouse doesn't even come close to what you see elsewhere, um, Linn County is in a
much better position, urn ... and so you know that ... that's an ongoing issue and knock on
wood, we ... we've avoided anything significant. But I ... I just don't see that as an option
going forward so ... anyway, I appreciate your ... your ambivalence and concerns. Other
agenda items? Going once ... going twice ... okay, why don't we do the strategic plan
update.
Strategic Plan Update (03):
Fruin/ Okay, just kind of like last time, we're gonna, uh, I'm going to run through the major
priority, uh, points for the strategic plan, just give you a quick update on ... on some of the
highlights in terms of progress we've made, particularly focusing on the last three to four
months, but I'll touch on some things from the ... the first update as well. Um ... feel free
to jump in at any time and ... and ask questions. We've got some staff here that can, uh,
get, uh, more detailed responses if you ... you have some questions. And, uh, we'll start
with the economic and community development priority, which is on page ... we'll start,
uh, page 9 is the progress to date. So again, the way this document is structured it...it
kind of builds, uh, on itself every ... every few months when we update it. For the most
part, the ... the document stays the same, with the exception of the progress to date
section, so as you keep this for a resource going forward, I would encourage you just to
refer back to that progress to date section, and that's all I'm going to cover today unless
you want to get into some of the other areas that we've previously talked about. So on
the economic and community development priority, what we did here is lay out, uh, very
specific geographic areas in the community that the Council identified as ... as target
areas, and then we've got some other ... other projects or initiatives that are going on that,
uh, that all come together for this, uh, objective. So we'll start with Town ... Towncrest.
And uh ... as the Council's aware, uh, there's been several projects already put together
and ... and are currently in some phase of, uh, of development right now. The Free
Medical Clinic building, uh, completed its fagade renovation, uh, we did acquire the
Kerr -McGee property on First Avenue and Muscatine, and we're getting ready to, uh
...uh, finalize the closing on that and get that marketed out to the private sector. And
then, uh, the ... the Hodge office building, the medical office building on Williams and
Muscatine, that, uh, development agreement was approved and we're working with the
developer on some site plan issues there and ... and hope to get that project going here
very quickly. Um, recent development, uh, that's not in this plan right now, uh, but there
is a filing that was made this week on a ... a senior housing development just north, I'm
sorry, just south of the, uh, proposed medical office building and uh, that'll be making its
way through Planning and Zoning here and then ultimately, uh, up to you. That's
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uh ... again, a senior housing project that would replace a, uh, an old office building, uh,
that doesn't have much value in terms of the character it adds to that area. So we feel real
good about the ... the uh, project that's proposed and ... and look forward to trying to see
that one through. Any questions on the Towncrest initiative? In conjunction with the
medical office building and the ... the proposed senior housing, uh, we're looking at the
streetscape enhancements that are, uh, that were contemplated in the Towncrest master
plan. Sycamore Mall and First Avenue, um, I think we're all aware of the road projects
that are in some, uh, phase, uh, right now. Of course we had the Lower Muscatine,
Sycamore flip -flop this year. Uh, we're going forward with the Sycamore project; uh,
that's underway, and uh, we're hopefully, um ... uh, soon to get the plans finalized or get
the bids, uh, I guess, awarded for the Lower Muscatine project. Uh, we also have started
some of the early work on the grade separation project, uh, for the rail crossing, and uh,
are working with the state for the repaving of Highway 6 in that area. So a tremendous
amount of capital improvements that will benefit that area. It'll be ... it'll be a tough
couple of years with the work .... with the road construction there, but long -term that's
very positive for that area. We continue to work with the, uh, ownership group and
general manager at Sycamore Mall, and they, um, are working to put together a plan,
anticipating the departure of Von Maur, uh, next year. So, uh, we're kind of waiting for
them to come back to us. They've approached us several times with different ideas and
concepts, and, uh, I think we're comfortable with the way that they're, uh, they're going.
Uh, they just need to tie some things up on their end and ... and bring those back to us. So
hopefully that's, uh, something we'll see yet this fall, uh, through the winter months. The
Highway 6/Highway 1 area that's listed next, um, this primarily deals with the relocation
of the public, uh, facilities, or Public Works and Transit facilities, uh, to the new location
on Riverside, which would free up this, uh ... um ... what I would consider prime, uh, real
estate for the ... for the private sector. So we're working on, uh, not only doing some
environmental work to prepare for that, uh, but also looking at ways we can expedite
moving those current operations off that site and onto Riverside. Um, and there's, you
know, one small example of that is the ... the fuel facility relocation which was pulled
from this, uh, this particular agenda, but we expect to bring back to you for your next
meeting. The larger issue, of course, is the ... is the major operations still out there —
Streets and equipment and Transit and uh, we're working on a plan, have some of those
discussions during our budget preparation, and hopefully have a more detailed plan for
you at that time. Okay, the next, uh ... item is the Moss Office Park and uh ... I believe that
is now Moss Ridge Campus, is that right, Jeff? Okay, so it's changed its name again.
Moss Ridge Campus — hopefully is the one that'll stick — uh, going forward here and uh, I
think you're all pretty familiar with, uh, what's been going on there. We're working on
the access issues with, uh, Pearson and the other adjacent land owners there. Um, and we
can certainly go into ... to more detailed, uh ... uh ... work there. Yeah, the ... the, uh, you
have a couple items on your agenda tonight on that — the, uh, the rezoning, is that on
tonight? (unable to hear person away from mic)
Davidson/ The zoning and some temporary access easements for the surveying.
Fruin/ So we can do the survey work. Thank you, Jeffl Uh, so that's, uh, you know, that's a
project that right now we've got several, uh, areas of our staff — Legal, Public Works,
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Planning — working really hard to ... to pull this together as quickly as we can,
understanding some of the, uh, the time constraints that are facing the developer
and ... and some of the, uh, prospects that they have that want to get in there right away.
So ... that is at the, uh, certainly at the top of our list right now. The industrial park, uh,
no...no significant updates from the last one here. The rail spur project, urn .... is
certainly a... a key component. We did get the shovel -ready designation, uh, what we're
doing right now is looking at the way the property is being marketed and... and
considering some alternatives, um ... that perhaps will give it some greater exposure, uh,
so that's, uh, probably something you'll hear back from us on in a few months when we
do this update again. Okay, the rest of the, uh, the items here, urn ... are away from the
targeted areas, and I thought I'd just highlight some of the additional economic
development efforts. Uh, earlier this year you, um, approved code changes, uh,
pertaining to the redevelopment of non - conforming properties. We felt that was a real
positive step forward. I do want to give you a heads -up that we're currently looking at
some additional tweaks and refinements to that, as it's been in place for a few months,
uh, we think there's some refinements that can, uh ... um, further enhance those ... those
code changes that you considered. And, um ... I think today was the first meeting of the,
um ... Ad Hoc group that's looking at our commercial zoning, uh, classifications. Is that
correct, Jeff? Okay. So we, uh ... um, pulled together five or six, uh, members of the
community to look at our commercial zoning designations, just to see how they play with
each other and see if there's efficiencies that can be done, changes to any of the
classifications, uh, that might, uh, make things a little bit more intuitive for the
development community, a little bit more efficient. We don't know where that's ... where
...what will come of that, but we think the discussions certainly very healthy. Any
recommendations that they put forward we'll ... we'll, uh, place that on the P &Z agenda
and let that work its way through its process, back up to you. Any other questions on the
economic development? I skipped a few things again that I think you're aware of that
we've covered in previous sections. Jeff, anything that I missed there that you want to
add?
Hayek/ (mumbled) but I want to recognize, I know you're not going over `em, but ... but they're
in the report. The, um ... the cross - departmental team that you formed to ... to vet
commercial projects, uh, or any sort of projects on a .... on a faster basis, um, I think is
great. Um... and... and I think staff should get... should get credit for that. Um, and
...and you know, some of the efforts to address tax levy rates and streamline things, and
... and make this a... a more pro - growth environment, you know, consistent with our
values but ... but more responsive and ... and forward- thinking, I think are really important,
and ... and that's getting play out in the community. You're hearing about that.
Fruin/ Yeah, I think right now, um, our ... our staff is working really well together and we've
got ... we've got some, you know, the key people at the table and ... and uh, the
communication seems to be very good right now, so ... um ... that's a, certainly a very
positive thing. Okay, jumping into the, uh, the downtown goal and uh, this'd start on
page 15 of the, um, of the plan document. Um, boy it's been really busy with the IC, uh,
the Iowa City Downtown District and certainly with Nancy coming on board, um, that's
going ... that's going to push things even, uh, faster than they ... than they were going, but
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that, uh, that group's been incredibly busy. We've talked with them on a multitude of
issues, everything from, uh, taxi stands to signs to, um, public safety, um ... you know, our
maintenance practices. We've started the discussion on our parking policies and rate
structures, so there are a lot of, uh, balls in the air, so to speak, uh ... uh, on ... on
downtown policy issues. We feel real ... really good about these, and I would expect over
the next, you know, six months or so you're going to see several, um, tweaks or changes
to policies, um, in the downtown, you know, pedestrian mall area come before you and
those will certainly be, um, you know, joint recommendations from the District and from
staff, places where we ... where we all feel comfortable we can move, um ... to ... to create
a, you know, a healthier business environment in there or more, um ... uh, more vibrant
type of feel that we're all wanting to get down there. Um, I won't go over a lot of the
District's successes. They've done a good job of articulating those, um, certainly we've
...we talked about the Washington Street two -way conversion. We're still monitoring
that to see how it works, but by all measures I think it's been very successful, so we're
... we're happy with that.
Champion/ I was just going to bring up now that you're... mention the two -way street, which I
think has worked out fine. But somebody told me, uh, oh, the UPS guy actually
(laughing) that trucks were having a really hard time making a right -hand turn onto
Washington from, um ... Clinton? No, what is that. (several responding) No ... what's
the, is that Clinton that the Mall's on? (several responding) On Clinton and actually
sometimes have to wait through two or three lights because the cars are in both lanes
now, and they can't wait until the person in the ... right-hand lane leaves enough space for
`em to turn, and we didn't do a curb cut there like we did on the other side of the street.
So it's just something to keep in mind. I don't think it's a daily problem. I think it was a
problem when we had a lot of people in town, and there was a lot of traffic.
Dickens/ We have a lot of pedestrian traffic (several talking) slows things up.
Champion/ Right (both talking)
Dickens/ ... sitting there through a couple lights (several talking)
Champion/ And people are so impatient. They can see this truck is trying to turn and they just
won't give `em an inch!
Fruin/ We can certainly check into that, Connie. (both talking) Yep!
Champion/ I just think it's ... it just was mentioned to me; I've not witnessed it. So ... I don't
really know what a problem it is.
Fruin/ No, that's great, thanks for mentioning it. Um, in terms of operations, a couple things,
um, you approved the acceptance of a, uh, grant from the U.S. Department of Justice,
which is going to allow us to put a walking beat, uh, in downtown, and we hope to do that
either, uh, later this fall and the winter, perhaps at the latest in the spring, and we think
that's going to have a real positive effect to have that constant presence throughout the
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day there, five days a week. Uh, will be a ... a very good, um, thing for the District, and I
know the ... the Downtown District's very supportive of that and they're contributing
financially for that position, as well. Um, we're also, um, just looking at some of our
maintenance and cleaning practices and policies and uh, I think we're ... we're, um,
working with the District on ... on perhaps a new, um, approach to that, a more visible
approach, a more coordinated approach that you'll see, uh, launch in the spring, likely
with the, uh, we do a big hiring in April of temporary employees that work through the
...the warmer months, uh, in the ... in the ped mall and downtown area. So you'll see
some changes to operations there that I think'll be very positive. In terms of projects,
um ... just saw some pictures yesterday of the ... of the Vito's, uh, building. That, uh,
that's coming along very nicely and I think if you get a chance to see that, uh, you'll be
very pleased with ... with what's being done there and ... and we're anxious to get that, uh,
those spaces occupied and, uh, that'll hopefully serve as a model, uh, going forward
downtown of how we can kind of re- invent these, uh, these spaces, uh, over time as those
opportunities come up. I think everybody's seen the big crane for the Park at 201
building, so that's well underway. Um ... we've had a number of small businesses receive
assistance through the City, through one of our programs. Those are listed on here —
Busy Co- Working, the Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Molly's Cupcakes, Prairie Lights — those
are all very positive investments in the local business community here. And as, uh, was
reported earlier today in the EDC meeting, uh, we did receive 10 proposals for the
College and Gilbert, um... site over here, which was, uh, certainly very encouraging to
have that many responses to that. So, uh, Jeff Davidson and John Yapp are currently
going through those and uh, will be, uh, kicking off a review of those, uh, here in just a
week or two. So we hope to be moving on that this fall. Uh, the Riverfront Crossings,
several of you were at the, um, unveiling of the master plan last night, uh, it was a
standing room only crowd, people sittin' on the floor, uh, people watching on the screen
outside, uh, of the ... of the lobby, uh, just a tremendous turnout and uh, from everything
that I heard, very positive reaction from the folks in the room. So, that's a ... that's a
really big milestone, to get that master plan under ... under your belt, and for the
community to rally around that. So, uh, we're hopeful that that'll work its way through,
get integrated into the Comp Plan, and that we can really start working with the private
sector and get some ... get some things moving pretty quickly down there.
Throgmorton/ Geoff, if I could interrupt for a second with regard to that, I'd like to praise Tom,
Jeff, the consultants, uh, who did the work. It was a really exciting presentation that they
made. I too got all sorts of positive feedback about it, and uh, everything I saw about it,
um ... basically excited me. I think it's just a really good plan and we know it's going to
be complicated to really try to cant' out because you don't do everything all at once. So
things'll happen incrementally and some things won't turn out so well and all that, uh,
but the vision is a really good one, so praise to those involved.
Fruin/ Yeah, I think Tom and I probably wish we could take credit for that, but a lot of that work
(laughter) most of that work, if not all of it, was done before our arrival. So that's to, uh,
to the, uh, Planning staff here primarily, but I agree with you, Jim. It was very well done.
And uh, at your last Council meeting you, um ... uh, started the, um, urban renewal
extension, uh, or ... or amendment process so that'll be considered. You basically, um,
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have established a date for the, uh, for the public hearing on that, uh, so that's in the
works. And um, of course in the news lately there's been, um, the ... there was a mention
of the Kinseth hotel project there, so we're working with that group to bring that project
to fruition here and hopefully get them started this, uh, this coming year on that, uh, on
that project (noise on mic). We talked about the County Justice Center, the Voxman
Clapp, there's a lot of other projects that are in the mix, uh, under consideration, um, that
will certainly lead to, uh, the type of development that we'd like to see in ... in Riverfront
Crossings area. Anything on downtown, Riverfront Crossings? Jump right in to, uh,
everybody's favorite — neighborhood stabilization. All right! This is one, um ... as I ... as I
go through and update this every few months, um, you know, I think, um ... I think there's
been a lot of activity on this and ... and hopefully this report does a good job of
articulating all of the steps that have ... have been taken after you've set this goal. Uh,
that's not to say that ... that we're done or that there's not more work to be, um, to be done
here in both the short and the long -term, but I think ... I think you should be very pleased
with the, um, the progress that we've made and ... and just the, um, you know, nine or so
months since you set ... you set this, formally set this goal. So, what we've done is we've
...we've broken out the neighborhood stabilization into several categories. The first one
being land use regulations, um ... the big ... the big push was early this year with land...
land use reg ... regulations when we had the zoning changes. There was three significant
zoning changes that ultimately the ... the Council pushed forward, uh, those are very
significant changes to the zoning code and those types of changes, uh, to the zoning code
take a long time to take effect, but don't be, um, you know, don't underestimate the
impact that they will have over the long -term. Those are ... those are significant changes.
Um, we are ... we're not stopping with those three, uh, the Planning staff has been
working hard on, um, a number of other, uh, land use regulations, doing research, uh, the
one that they're currently focusing on that they're getting ready to wrap up deals with,
um, density bonuses for let's say, uh, private dormitory -type of, uh, overlay on the zoning
map and... and they're working through getting examples from other communities. I
think they're pretty close, and Jeff could probably speak to that if you ... if you want to get
into that a little further, but what we're trying to do, and this was part of the Riverfront
Crossings plan, is identify areas in the community where we can have, uh, well - planned,
high- density student housing that has appropriate, uh, protections in place, provide a
higher quality, um, standard of living for the students, while still isolating it from the
neighborhood to avoid those, uh, conflicts, uh, that we've seen, uh, in some of these, uh,
neighborhoods close to ... close to the campus area. So what we'll do with that is when
we get to the point where we're comfortable with that, um, we'll ... we'll roll that out, uh,
publicly, just like the ... the zoning changes were and that'll go through a very public
process and they'll be opportunities for input from both the development community and
the neighborhood, but ultimately we think that this is a very key component to take
pressure off of those neighborhoods, um, so that the ... the beds are built, uh, in those
areas that aren't again going to spill over into the neighborhoods. Um, you have...
Throgmorton/ Um, Geoff, are you moving to a new topic now?
Fruin/ Go ahead!
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Throgmorton/ (both talking) on neighborhood stabilization?
Fruin/ Yeah, yeah.
Throgmorton/ Well why don't you go ahead and then I'll...
Fruin/ Okay. We have ... we have a couple of historic district proposals that are working their
way through the process that will likely come before you. That's a, again, a key
component is identifying areas that you want to protect as historic. So we've got, uh...
uh, being ... those being considered and some areas along Melrose Avenue and on
Jefferson Street, um, just a few blocks from here. And uh, currently at the, uh, at the
Planning and Zoning level, uh, there is a Comprehensive Plan amendment, um, for the
north Governor property, that was a subject of some, uh, neighborhood concerns earlier
this year. So we've, um, taken that Comprehensive Plan amendment to the P &Z. That'll
eventually work its way, uh, to you, which, uh, will guide the development community
in... in what we expect to see in that area. And... and hopefully it will represent more of
what the ... the neighborhood articulated that they hope to see in that area. The other thing
I want to talk about with land use regulations, I'm going to ask Steve Long and Jeff
Davidson to come up. They were recently at a, uh, Planning conference in Madison and
had an opportunity to look at some, um, types of development that ... that we think, uh,
would be very, um, fit very well in some of the in -fill areas around, uh, campus. So, Jeff
and Steve, take it away!
Davidson/ Yeah, thank you, Geoff. Um, we happened to, uh, Steve and I were in, um, Madison
last week for a... a professional conference, part of our continuing education
requirements, and uh, as we were leaving town it was a lovely day and we decided to
scope out a couple of neighborhoods that we'd heard presentations on, and found some
great in -fill projects and we mentioned to Geoff and Tom that we'd taken some pictures,
and they said, well, we're going to talk about neighborhood stabilization. Why don't you
bring `em, and the purpose here is to illustrate, uh, there was an area of a block or two
that looked like it had been completely in- filled with new development, and this is an
area, if you know Madison, it was kind of north and slightly east of the capitol, you
know, maybe four or five blocks, so definitely student - housing neighborhood, reminded
us very much of the northside neighborhood. Uh, the real ... the more student- intensive
portions of it. And as you can see what we think they did really successfully, uh, and
... and a mix of owner- occupied and rental, uh, units are new units that are very much in
the scope and scale of the older units that were there. Um, we've ... we're all very aware
of the new in -fill proposals we've had that have at least been judged by some people to
be out of scale, and these are an example of, uh, projects and there were a couple of `em.
We'll click through just real quickly here. Uh, note a couple things for you, that uh, we
think are good illustrations of how you can, uh, I mean, you can see here, look at the...
the streetscape, the setback, uh, the scale of the units, the use of porches, uh, the ... the uh,
parkway area and uh, right -of -way trees, uh, there's actually a five -foot sidewalk there
which is interesting because you'll recall last time we changed our subdivision
regulations we went from a four -foot sidewalk to a five -foot sidewalk. This is an
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illustration of a five -foot sidewalk, which provides a much better two -way traffic, uh, in
the area.
Long/ And there's a mixture ... it's nice, it's a mixture of duplexes, three - plexes, and four - plexes
(mumbled) go through.
Davidson/ Yeah, these... correct me if I'm wrong, Steve, these are attached units that we're
looking down the row here at, uh...
Throgmorton/ Another appealing thing about that, Jeff, is ... is the variability of the street front,
right, so that you don't have a uniform fagade all the way down the block.
Davidson/ Yeah, the units are varied. Uh, they did a good job of mixing and matching things so
that you don't have kind of a cookie -cutter kind of a... a look to the block... (mumbled)
click through them. And uh, this is one we wanted to note for sure. This is the backyard
area and you can see they've managed through kind of a courtyard effect to create some
open space, which is something that's identified as a ... as a strategic goal. Here's another
... and ... and you can see, it's ... it's well used, I mean, we had a drought this year and the
grass is kind of worn out, uh, and then kind of a rickety old, uh, picnic table there, but...
but a really nice, I mean it was late afternoon when we were there and it was very
peaceful and quiet, and you could see the balconies there, uh, and we just thought it made
a very, a very nice effect. Uh, here you can see a walkway between two buildings.
Long/ (mumbled) quarter block to a half a block that they took out to do this.
Davidson/ Uh, again, this is the back courtyard area showing... there was kind of a parking lot in
the middle with some relatively large open space on either side. Uh, again, showing the
streetscape, and here you can see the, uh ... uh, the attached units.
Long/ This is actually across the street.
Davidson/ Right, across the street from the one we were just looking at. Uh, and ... and this was
something interesting — I don't know if I can get the pointer here ... but you can
see ... well, let's see. If I put it on this thing ... that right... well... right there is a house,
well, just up there ... right there's a house number and then right there's a house number.
So, this is ... this unit in between ... I can't control this thing.
Long/ That middle unit is about 10 -feet wide, we figured 10 to 12 -feet wide.
Davidson/ Here we go! Here we go, I've got control of it now (laughing) We ... we, that's about
10 or 12 foot wide unit right here, with its own house number, tucked in between this unit
and this unit. Um, and so very, very small scale. These couldn't have been more than
600 or 700 - square feet, uh, units. And this was a little upper scale, it appeared to us, um,
our speculation was these are maybe owner - occupied units (mumbled)
Long/ ...right across the street ... in that same area.
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Davidson/ Same ... same block, uh, but a little more elaborate. Here's a ... here's an alley view.
You can see there's parking underneath, uh, didn't seem to be ... we ... we parked easily
on- street so as oppos ... uh, unlike some areas in the north side where it's, you know,
during the day there's never a... a vacant parking space. Uh, again another unit. Uh, this
back to the other side of the street then, and ... and you can see the right -of -way trees
between two units. Uh, again, in back, uh, here's another courtyard area that we saw.
Long/ I think what it shows is the ... the range of housing styles and the options that are available
within a block was pretty amazing.
Davidson/ So here's three units, basically a three -plex, that when you saw that, the streetscape
view up here to be individuals... single- family type units.
Long/ This (laughing) this we took off of a presentation. It didn't turn out very well for a
PowerPoint, but this is an example in Minneapolis actually where they took a narrow
street and made it into a parkway and covered the paving in a park -like setting.
Davidson/ So there's a parkway now with sidewalks on either side, and then ... go back to that
slide, Steve. And then there's alleys in ... in back of each row of houses, so...
Long / And... and the sidewalks in front are wide enough for fire trucks. (mumbled)
Davidson/ This was kind of an interesting project in the green... Greenbush -Vilas neighborhood.
I believe I'm pronouncing that correctly, which is as you ... as you come in on Fish
Hatchery Road, before you get to the University, this is the neighborhood that's right
there, very close walkable, and it's kind of an interesting idea, because what they did is
these were three 60 -foot lots across here. So a ... a typical lot, but ... but deep —150 -foot
deep, and we have lots of exactly that dimension here in Iowa City, and what they did is
they tried to come up with a strategy that ... that addressed how scared neighborhoods get
when you go vertical or you go with attached units, that they perceive that as being out of
scale and inappropriate for the neighborhood, and I think we've had instances of that
here, and so what they did is they ... they created a situation where they put two houses
facing the street, and then kind of a ... um, alley -way or ... I can't remember what the
dimension was that went through the middle here, and then basically put five more
houses on these lots... small units, I mean, they ... they said single people, maybe a couple,
at most couple with one child, uh, committed to 50% of the units having a car, um, and
that is ... is in a off-site ... they do have covered parking, uh, down the alley in an off -site
garage, but ... but it's not the kind of thing where everybody who lives in this
neighborhood can have two cars or it doesn't work. Uh... so you find people who are
committed to that, um, very little space between the units, obviously, but they are
detached, individually owned and occupied units, and again, this was seen as a strategy
for introducing additional density into the neighborhood, but in a manner that would be
perceived as more consistent with the neighborhood. So we thought it was a ... an
interesting proposal, actually a former may ... mayor of, um ... uh, Madison, and I know
I'm not pronouncing it ... Cieslewicz?
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Long/ Mayor Dave they call him (laughter)
Davidson/ Yeah, Mayor Dave (laughter) Polish name that is unpronounceable, but at any rate, he
actually made this presentation and I believe is working with the development team on it
right now, so...
Long/ (mumbled)
Davidson/ You can talk (mumbled) (laughter)
Long/ Through this end (laughter) sitting outside, uh, downtown Madison, this is right in the
capitol square and this is actually powered by 10 people on like bicycles and they're
going around the square.
Davidson/ Those people are all pedaling... there as they ... as they went around the capitol square
(several talking and laughing) Initially we thought they were drinking beer, but we're
(several talking and laughing)
Long/ It is Wisconsin! (laughter)
Davidson/ ...and it was powered totally... powered totally by those people pedaling so ... (several
talking and laughing) Just some interesting ideas that might have some extrapolation for
... for us here.
Fruin/ Yeah, what we wanted to show there is ... is that, um, you know, we're certainly keenly
aware of the sensitivity to some of the in -fill development sites, and we're ... we're
actively looking for those good examples out there and seeing how we can, uh, facilitate
that type of development in ... in those in -fill areas. So, uh, that's what we really wanted
to ... to convey to you, that, um, we're not done with looking at land -use regulations.
There's still a ways to go and we're still committed to ... to looking at that going forward.
Hayek/ And to that I would add, I think ... my sense is that there's interest in Council ... on
Council in looking at some of the things on the bullet point, on the top of page 19, you
know, the, uh, land assembly, subdivision, open space requirements, things of that nature,
which I think go to the photographs you ... you showed us.
Fruin/ Yeah. What ... what we've done is try to prioritize which ones are most important. That's
why the first three came to you, then the private dorm, that's... that's kind of our prior
...prioritization.
Hayek/ And then on ... on the nuisance side, I ... you know, you've got listed one of the things that
will be examined, or is a possibility, is amortization of non - conforming uses.
Fruin/ Yeah.
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Hayek/ That intrigues me. And, um, and I've ... I've talked to you about that before, and ... and I
know other people have talked about it, but... hopefully we'll get a chance to get some
input from staff on ... on a possibility like that.
Fruin/ Yeah.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, we need ... we would need a little clarity about how it works too, at least
some of us would.
Hayek/ Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Fruin/ Yeah. So moving on from land regulations, the next topic was, uh, public infrastructure
and open space, and what we did is we listed several, um, projects that are currently
either just finished up or in the planning stages or in some phase of construction. Those
are the types of projects, the North Market Square Park, um ... the, uh, Miller Orchard
sidewalk project, the Dewey Street brick replacement, those are the types of things as we
put together this budget for next year, and present that to you in, uh, in the coming
months, that's ... those are going to get a higher priority based on your strategic plan here.
So, um ... we'll come ... we'll come with a full complement of...of these types of projects
and ... and you'll be able to, um, you know, decide if that's the right mix that you want to
pursue going forward.
Throgmorton/ Geoff, if I could spin off that very briefly. Uh, I went through a ... the Benton, uh,
Benton Hill Park several days ago and walked all around the various trails and ... and then
looked to the south at the sort of meadow that leads south from it. I see enormous
potential with that park and how it could connect with surrounding neighborhoods and
strengthen those surrounding neighborhoods, so that's one thing. The second thing,
cause I don't know where you are in this neighborhood stabilization thing, is that we, uh,
received a request from our friend Mike ... Mike Wright, uh, many days ago about
considering, uh, adopting a moratorium on development in core neighborhoods, and uh,
I'm not sure what I think about the idea to be honest, but ... but I ... I think it might ... it's
the kind of thing that we oughta at least talk about, uh, about whether we want to
consider it and uh, you know, perhaps have a work session discussion on it. Uh, so I
don't know how the rest of you, uh, feel but um... out of respect to Mike I think, uh, it
should be brought up.
Fruin/ Well if... if it would make it... if that makes that discussion easier, I can go through the
rest of the neighborhood stabilization cause I think it's important that you see the big, you
know, everything that we're working on, because there are various pieces to this puzzle.
It's not just zoning regulations. It's not just public investment. There's a whole list of
things and they all have to work together. So, um, we can go through this and I can tell
you what we're working on from a staff level and you can have that conversation. The,
uh, private building stock, um, this is recognizing that it's ... it's critically important that
not only the public investments are made, but we're doing things to facilitate private
reinvestment in the existing building stock. Um, so that things don't become devalued to
the point where they're only, um ... uh, functional for ... for rentals or they fall into a state
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of disrepair where it's ... it's, um, you know, tear down -land assembly type of situations.
So the UniverCity program that you're all certainly very familiar with that, um, we put
that program I'd say, uh, we did enough to continue that program through this fiscal year,
and I ... I can assure you when we come back to you with a budget proposal, you'll see,
um, a ... a .... a beefed up UniverCity program, um, we did only four houses this year,
compared to I think, uh, 26 the ... the previous year. We had some state grant funds to...
to do that so ... there uh, there'll be a, uh, proposal to ... to push that up, uh, a little bit
higher. Uh, we continued with the, uh, general rehabilitation improvement program.
This is our GRIP rehab program, uh, we uh, rehabilitated 13 homes and have funds
committed for another 11. That's almost a ... a half - million dollar investment there. And
then, um, as part of the CDB action plan, uh, Steve Long and his staff put together a new
targeted, uh, neighborhood improvement program. This is a brand -new, um, rehab, uh,
exterior building or exterior house, uh, fagade, uh, type of program, and it was ... it was
wildly successful. We had, uh ... uh, enough funds -- $200,000 — to assist 12 households
this year. So, even with the UniverCity program scaled back, we made nearly three -
quarters of a million dollars investments in the private building stock. That's... that's a
considerable amount of money to put back in, um, to the private, um, private building
stock. And as we look ... as we go forward, we'll certainly look to continue the GRIP and
the ... and the targeted rehab, and we're going to beef up the, um, UniverCity, so I would
expect that that three- quarters of a million is going to go up when you see the next budget
proposal, but that's a lot of money, and you think about the various uses. Now some of
those are CDBG funds, um, but they can be used for a number of things, and we're, you
know, we're using those for ... for that particular purpose, which I think speaks a lot to
your commitment to the neighborhoods. The, uh, next topic is open stakeholder
communication, and uh, there's been a, um, you know, an effort on staffs' part to make
sure that we're hearing... we're trying to get feedback from neighborhoods and the
development community so that we can, uh, try to find, um, ways in which everybody
can work together. A good example of that was I ... I believe last week our HIS, um, staff
went on a driving tour with several members of the Northside Neighborhood and ... and
just talked about some ... some different problems that they saw in the neighborhood, you
know, things like, uh, screening of... of, uh, your waste containers and, uh, problem
properties where there's suspected over - occupancy, that type of thing. But that's... that's
the good kind of collaboration and communication that we want to ... we want to build
upon. Uh, there's probably certain, uh, there's probably... improvements that can still be
made to enhance that communication but it's ... I think it's getting better as we spend
more time on these neighborhood issues. The nuisance part, uh ... uh, the Mayor, uh,
mentioned that earlier. That's certainly a very important thing is to be able to, uh,
mitigate and hope... hopefully eliminate, uh, nuisances, um, that impact the quality of life
in these neighborhoods. So, there's ... a number of things that we listed in here that... that
I think get at that. The ... certainly probably the most fresh in everybody's mind is the
disorderly house provision, um, that recently passed. That's going to give us another tool
to address, um, properties that are causing nuisances in the neighborhoods, and again,
that's not only just the short-term nuisances and correcting problems as police approach
them, but that gets people in the rental, uh, permit sanction process, and to address that's
more important in our eyes is to address those properties that are, um, week after week or
several times within a... a couple month period, um, having a negative impact on the
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neighborhood. We'll be able to address those, um, more with ... with the tool that you
afforded us through the disorderly house, uh, code changes there. You can see a number
of the other things that, uh, that we've been ... that have already changed. Uh, most of
those are operational type things and our staff, um, just tweaking the way that they do
business in order to ... to better address those nuisance issues. Um, hopefully this fall,
maybe within the next 30, 45 days, we'll roll out a new mobile app, um, specifically, um,
targeted for nuisance reporting. So, um, that's going, you know, for instance you'd be
able to snap a... a photo on your i -phone or mobile device and send that directly to the
City. It could be, uh, trash and debris; it could be overflowing dumpster; it could be
pothole, sidewalk issues; uh, it could be a number of things but again, that goes back to
the communication thing. Make it easy for people to communicate with us, show us what
you're talking about, um, without having to make ya come in to City Hall or set up an
appointment, uh, remember to call when you get back to your home or your business. So,
um, that's a ... that's a good thing that we have coming out. That's going to be kind of a
pilot project for us, uh, in terms of mobile apps and uh, we hope it goes well and ... and
assuming it does, we'll broaden that out to other aspects of the organization. That's kind
of the bigger picture on ... on the ... the, uh, neighborhood stabilization. All those pieces,
again, whether nuisance, land use, private /public investments — all those fit together if
you really want to stabilize the neighborhoods, and again, we feel really good about the
progress that's been made. Still quite a bit more to do, but... we're... we're pretty
comfortable with our progress right now.
Hayek/ You know, Jim, to ... to answer your question, urn ... I ... I think ... from my perspective,
um, this ... this Council has elevated neighborhood stabilization to one of our top two or
three priorities, uh, and it's clear from this report, and from what we've been through
over the last eight plus months, that ... that this area is receiving an incredible amount f
attention from both Council and... and staff, um, with engagement from the
neighborhoods and, uh, when I look at the ... the variety and breadth and depth of the
things we're looking at, some of which we've already adopted, some of which is, uh, you
know, being worked out and will come to us, um, and some of which is being explored,
apropos the, you know... the... the trip to Madison last week, um, I feel like there...
there's a lot of progress, um, occurring presently. Um, we're going to accomplish some
good things, some smart things, uh, and my ... my concern with, uh, setting a ... a
discussion on a work .... work session for should we... should we pursue a moratorium is,
um, I don't think it's likely to ... gain much traction with the Council, and I worry that it
would be...it would send a message, an antagonistic message, uh, that might be counter-
productive to the many, um, smart planning initiatives that, uh, have come before us. So
that's my concern about it, and I talk to Mike fairly regularly and ... and others from...
from the neighborhood associations and ... and I'm, you know, absolutely sympathetic to
the concerns and, you know, um ... hope we can channel a lot of their good ideas into
what we do, and I know that that's occurring and there's a good dialogue and constant
communication, but ... but to take that extra step, I'm not ... I'm not sure would be wise.
That ... that's where I sit.
Dobyns/ And I have nothing to compare with not being on Council that long, but my sense is that
neighborhood stabilization, the amount of time staff and Council's spending on this is
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probably more, um, in the last year than previous to that (mumbled) I'm not ... I'm not
sure. I was just actually asking a question.
Hayek/ Yeah, I think that's fair.
Dobyns/ Cause I think of moratorium as a extreme measure that I'm willing to consider, but it
just seems, um, you know, dissonant with the acceleration of discussion about
neighborhood stabilization, um, over the last year or so. And it just seems to me to be a
strong word, urn ... that's just ... doesn't seem consistent with, you know, all the planning
we've heard about (mumbled). We seem to be going the right direction, and we seem to
be accelerating in that direction.
Hayek/ Anyway, just thought I'd have that response. Do you want to (mumbled)
Fruin/ The, uh, the next one should go by pretty quick here. The financial, um ... oh, strong and
sustainable financial foundation is the next, uh, strategic plan goal, and certainly earlier
this year we had Moody's reaffirm the triple -A bond rating, which was, uh, of course
something we want to protect, uh, going forward. Um, the ... the one update that I'll share
with you here, and ... and Kevin O'Malley talked about this at your last meeting, um, was
that the, uh, the year -end close, um, that happened as June 30th of this year, we had a...
uh, approximately $3 million surplus and that's a surplus above the 25% reserve level
that the Council has set as ... as what's being prudent for the City. So what we were able
to do with that, uh, surplus is pay down some ... some debt, um, internal loans from the
Landfill, uh, namely, which have a direct impact on not only the Landfill account but on
the ... the General Fund too. So, if I recall correctly, that was about a, uh, quarter of a
million dollar annual relief to the General Fund because of that surplus, and um, you
know, what you attribute that surplus to, a number of things probably, uh, you know,
conservative budgeting, uh, by Kevin and his staff, um, I think our department directors
and staff are all keenly aware of the financial pressures, uh, right now, so they're
...they're much more, um, conservative in the way they approach their operations. All
those things come together and ... and that's a very positive, uh, position to be in, and
we're ...we're happy to be able to pay off those internal loans. So, that's all I wanted to
mention with the, uh, financial condition, unless folks had questions.
Champion/ Do we still owe money to the Landfill?
Fruin/ Not through the General Fund. I believe there may be a few loans outstanding with some
of the enterprise funds, the Airport (both talking)
Champion/ Right, right!
Fruin/ ...and, urn ... maybe one, uh, Transit is maybe paying off a couple of loans, but by and
large, those have been paid off now. Coordinated communication and customer service
was the next, uh, next thing. Um, July 1 st we had a staff reorganization here. We
eliminated a division in the Finance department and created a Communication division,
and that's still ... we're still gettin' the, you know, things pulled together on that. The
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organization's gettin' used to a new centralized communication, uh, model but I ... I feel
really good about where that's going, and I think, um, you've seen some of the early
results. We have a much bigger social media presence. We're on social media now.
What I mean by that (laughter) so we're utilizing those things that ... that are really critical
in getting the word out in this day and age, that we were really underutilizing or not
utilizing at all prior to that. We've done some tweaks to the web site to make that a little
bit more user friendly and appealing. Um, that's just kind of the start of things there.
When it comes to customer service aspects, what we're really trying to do is look at all
the transactional occurrences that happen, so when people come into City Hall, when
they call, what are they looking for, what's their experience, are they having to go
between multiple departments. We're trying to identify those ones where we think we
can streamline things, and we're getting that, uh, we're startin' to make some
improvements there. I listed some examples on the ... in the report that you can look at if
you want to, uh, note some of those things. We are getting ready, um, in two weeks to
kick off our, uh, new software deployment, and that's going to be about a two -year
project. That's a contract that you approved, uh, about a month ago with Tyler
Technologies out of Dallas, and uh, that's going to be a huge undertaking, but that's
going to afford us a lot of opportunities to become a little bit more efficient, uh, with
some of ..just our internal processing and ... and uh ... uh, handling of...of customers;
utility bills, that ... that type of thing. Last, uh ... certainly not least, is the organizational
effectiveness. This gets at, um, two items, our succession planning, uh, which we are in
the midst of, and there's a little update on that for ya, and uh, our partnership with state
and federal officials, and what we've done is, um, we've laid out all the ... all the state and
federal grants that we've received, um, since this report was started about nine or ten
months ago, and I think you'll see a pretty impressive list of...of grants, um, that have,
uh, have been awarded. We continue to look out for those opportunities and ... and apply,
um, when we feel that we have a good project fit. At your next work session, we're
going to have the, uh, our lobbyist from Davis Brown Law Firm come and give us kind
of a ... an introduction to the upcoming, um ... uh, legislative session and some of the
issues that we can expect to see that ... come up there. That'll help really start the
discussion of identifying your legislative priorities for the ... for the coming year. So, that
is scheduled for October 23rd. With that, um, the last part of the report is just kind of for
your reference. It lists out the major, uh, capital projects that, uh, are ongoing right now;
gives you kind of a status report; and lets you know what Council decision points are
going to be coming up. So I'd encourage you to refer back to this document as ... as you
think about capital projects and where they're at. Um, that's hopefully a good reference
for ya.
Hayek/ Thanks, Geoff!
Mims/ Geoff, is this whole thing on the web, just for the public's...
Fruin/ Yes, it's under the City Council section of the web site, and I'm glad you brought that up,
um, one thing that ... that we're learning as we have a 50 -page document here, I don't
think it's reasonable to expect that anybody from the public's going to download this and
read it cover to cover. What we're ... what we need to do now is take this information
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and... and put it into a page or two, or make a brochure that clearly articulates what your
priorities are and some of the key actions that have been taken. So, we'll work on that,
um, over the winter and see if we can get something that's a little more digestible for the
public.
Mims/ Okay. Thank you.
Hayek/ Great! Why don't we move on to the, uh, dis ... distribution of electronic late handouts
discussion. It's at IP4 from the September 27th packet.
Electronic Packets (04):
Karr / What you have is, uh, a memo in your packet, listing some possible options, but basically
identifying the fact, certainly electronic handouts are something staff is more than willing
to accommodate and provide, and I think it becomes more of a discussion of when and
how you as a Council wish to receive them and utilize them. In other words, do you wish
them as a second one packet or routinely, or do you want a deadline so you know that as
of noon on Tuesday... you're going to get them. With that type of direction we certainly
can proceed.
Mims/ I guess as I read through these, I'm not particularly interested in option #1.
Payne/ I would agree with that!
Mims/ I mean, where everything comes directly to us ... I mean, and we see it even before staff
has a chance to respond, I think it's just going to make more effort on everybody's part,
cause we see something and then we're going to pick up the phone and say, should...
staff should respond to this. Well, staff's already in the process of taking care of it. So,
my thought was scratch option #1.
Payne/ I would agree. That was my thought too.
Dickens/ That was ... I was mainly going toward #3 because there's time for staff to make a
response, but I would like to have it maybe cut off a little earlier so like 3:00, so we still
have time before we come to the work session.
Hayek/ Can ... can you distinguish between options #2 and #3?
Mims/ Thank you! (laughing)
Payne/ (mumbled) (several talking and laughing)
Karr/ Sure! Um, option #2 basically is a second packet. You determine when you want your
second packet; it's self - contained. Okay, it is just another info packet, as it were, or
another agenda packet.
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Throgmorton/ And we would get it when?
Karr/ Well, that would be up to you. You tell us when you want your second (both talking)
Throgmorton/ ...3:00 in the afternoon or something like that.
Karr/ Absolutely! It's all self - contained. Option #3 is ... is a much more, as we get that staff
response, it comes out to you. And as we get that ... so it's ... that's the major difference.
Payne/ (mumbled)
Hayek/ But another option, option #4, to do nothing and stick with what we have.
Karr/ Of course!
Hayek/ Right?
Karr/ Of course.
Dobyns/ Thank you for describing the range of options (laughter) even though they're bad!
(laughter)
Karr/ Well ... again, they all have their advantages, um ... they all have ... an integral part is, as
staff, we spend a great deal of time getting that information to you, and we want you to
be able to digest it in a way that's best suited for your needs, and if it isn't late handouts
hard copy -wise, then how do you wish us to do it electronically.
Dobyns/ I had a further clarification between #2 and #3, Marian.
Karr/ Okay.
Dobyns/ Um ... in option #3, let's say someone submits something as correspondence on a
Tuesday morning, um ... and does it get held if option #3 were to get held, in time for
relevant (both talking)
Karr/ No, in all of the options if there is something submitted that's an agenda item for you, you
would get it. It's simply a matter of whether you get it as a hard copy, late handout
Tuesday night at the meeting, or whether you would get it electronically.
Dobyns/ But if it was submitted at like 10:00 A.M. on a Tuesday morning, and it was relevant to
a... an agenda item that evening, it would probably (both talking) without staff response
cause there wasn't (both talking)
Karr / Right. The only option would be in, if we're looking at #2 and #3, in that example the
option would be probably that second packet would be out by that time, and you would
get a hard copy when you came in.
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Throgmorton/ So...
Mims/ I get...
Throgmorton/ I need to ask a clarifying question, cause I... am puzzled by the, uh, what seems to
be the fact that, uh ... uh, communications are directed to the Council, and yet we don't
see them until sometime after others have already seen them. I don't understand that. I
think if it's directed to the Council, including, I mean, apparently there have been emails
that have been dir ... uh, sent to the Council that I haven't seen until they appear in the
packet.
Karr/ That would ... that would be correct. All Council correspondence is archived in the packet.
At the present time, that's the Council policy. It is all archived. It's a matter of when
you would see it.
Dobyns/ And I don't necessarily think we need to give primacy to email, Jim. I mean, there are
15 ways to contact me, some better than others, uh, I don't, I mean, if someone wants to
get a hold of me, they really need to get a hold of me now, it doesn't necessarily have to
be by email, as a matter of convenience (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Well, sure, but what I mean is if something's addressed to the Council, I would
think the Council would get it, and that Council would get it (several talking) I know, but
we don't get it. Somebody else gets it before we get it. I don't understand that.
Hayek/ Well, I think somebody else gets it before we get it so that, you know, if...if 25 pieces of
correspondence via email, or otherwise, are sent to the Council, we don't get them as
each one arrives instantaneously. We get them as a chunk, and so when we begin our
review work individually for a meeting, we have everything that came in in one setting,
as opposed to the piecemeal arrival of things, which I think is ... is...
Champion/ Time consuming!
Hayek/ ... it's ... well, you might miss it, you might overlook it, it might go into your junk file, it
might, who knows what happens. You might just forget about it, and I, you know, I don't
monitor Council emails ... I don't even monitor my City Council email, you know, all the
time. I ... I wait for the packet; I know I can focus on it; and it's everything that we're
going to discuss. You know, there's a cut -off period and that's what we're discussing is
the 1 lth hour stuff, uh, but I like having everything encapsulated into a ... into a format
that I know represents everything.
Karr/ If...if I could follow up, I think both of you have summed it up exactly the reason we have
the policy, is that as we've evolved through the technological age and more people being
more... comfortable looking at emails when they had time, rather than... ongoing, many
Council Members, as Matt had said, indicated they wanted to know it was in one spot, in
case it was overlooked, in case they didn't get to check on it, it could be in one spot, and
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at the same time, during that, if you will downtime that you indicated, we as a staff could
respond back. So in addition to getting the Council correspondence, you also had a
response and what happened in the meantime. Now, we may have reached the next level
if there's an interest by the majority of Council to get it in a timely fashion, being
immediately. That would be option #1. With that comes some other challenges. We
want you to know that as we get it right now, it is dealt with by staff, assigned, and then
the goal is to have an update or a response in the packet coming back to you, whether that
response needs further action certainly would be up to you.
Throgmorton/ Well I do know a... a complication that I think we all experience, and you tell me
if I'm wrong, is that, um, we come in and find a small packet, uh, with material in it,
and... and we usually really don't have any time to think about whatever's in it.
We ... we might not even see it, I mean, you pick it up and you go through it really
quickly. So... so if we could get electronic versions of that, um, by say, I don't know,
3:00 P.M. or 2:00 P.M. or something like that on the day of the meeting (several talking)
Karr / And see that's why ... we want you to tell us when that packet should come to you because
we certainly can do it. The time it takes staff to scan it and send to you versus... assemble
the hard copy is, you know ... but it is of no use if it's not coming to you in a timely
fashion you can use it.
Dickens/ It used to be the cut -off was on Thursday at 3:00 before the...
Karr/ The packet cut -off time now with some wiggle room is 9:00 A.M. on Thursdays. Uh,
we... with electronic packets, we stretch that a little bit, but if we stretch it too far
beyond, then the special needs of working with the color copies and things, but then
anything that comes in after that point, then becomes technically a late handout, um...
Payne/ So that's like what you handed out tonight.
Karr/ Uh -huh.
Payne / Anything that came after 9:00 last Thursday.
Karr / And I want to make the other distinction that the web site is ... is very clear when an item is
addressed to Council as a whole, when they get it, versus to individual Council Members.
Anything going to your individual emails we don't see.
Payne / And another thing, Jim, if...I think if when somebody sends an email to the Council, and
it went to all of us, if we did a reply to all, now we have some meeting... problems. So, I
mean, I think there is problems with doing, seeing that. (several responding)
Throgmorton/ Well, yeah, I ... I agree with that.
Mims/ Well I think if the ... I think if the web site is clear, that if they address it to Council we get
it in our packets, if they address it to individuals then we get it immediately, then that, if
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people are astute enough to use emails, they should be astute enough to understand the
difference in terms of how they address their emails and when we will get them. I don't
know, I have a concern with the deadline. I mean, you know, at some point you have to
just cut things off and people just have to understand if...if it isn't in by 9:00 by
Thursday, the chances of us getting it and having a reasonable amount of time to really
read it and digest it (several talking) becomes really slim, I mean, the majority of us work
full time, okay? You're lucky, you're retired (laughing) but I can give absolutely no
guarantee that anything that comes to me on Monday morning ... I'm going to have much
of any chance to look at before Tuesday night meeting. I mean, I just ... I can't guarantee
what my schedule's going to be through those two days, and even Monday evening, that
I'm going to have time to read it.
Payne/ Well I ... I would come here and read it before the meeting. Just like I do today!
(laughing) You know, you come 15, 20 minutes early and look through your stuff and...
Mims / Right. So I mean I, you know...
Dobyns/ 4:45 on Tuesday is better than 5:00 on Tuesday. I just haven't had any time to read my
packet. And so...
Dickens/ Stick with the original cut -off date and...
Karr / And retain hard copy handouts? (several talking)
Payne/ Like we do today.
Karr/ Like you ... no change.
Payne/ No change is what you're suggesting.
Mims/ I mean, I don't care if it's electronic or hard copy. I ... I guess my preference would be
electronic, but again, if it's after that Thursday package, if...I'm not going ... I can't
guarantee that I'm going to have time to read it before, 10 minutes before I walk into this
meeting.
Dobyns/ But I just want an opportunity to read it, if...in case I do, even a half hour before the
meeting.
Mims/ So would you prefer it electronically or hard copy or do you...
Dobyns/ Electronically. Cause then I can access it without (several talking)
Payne / And having it before noon on Tuesday before the meeting and you could read it at lunch!
Dobyns/ Or something (laughter and several talking)
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Throgmorton/ I guess that raises a question about people who would, you know, try to get stuff
to us after the noon deadline. Yeah, so there's gotta be a firm deadline, right?
Hayek/ Well, and we have one now. The question is do we push it back, basically over the
weekend. You know, and ... and Susan's point is ... is well taken. I mean, I guess my
preference would be either do nothing, or... have a... a final packet but... you know, no
later than Monday at some point. The ... the problem with that though is it raises the
expectation that we will have reviewed that part of the Tuesday meeting (several talking)
and that's not always a reasonable assumption.
Payne / And if somebody brings something in on Tuesday, we're still going to get a hard copy
(several talking) Yes!
Hayek/ ...just less of it.
Throgmorton/ ...better off leaving it like it is.
Hayek/ Maybe we are.
Mims/ Well, or leave it, I mean, we can still leave the same deadline but go to electronic if
people coming to that, so you walk into the meeting and Marian has a red sticker on our
spots up here that (laughing) says look at your ... you do have a packet, it's not hard copy;
it's on your i -Pad.
Hayek/ Oh!
Mims/ So you're not going to have any more notice, I mean, it's still going to be when you walk
into the meeting, basically.
Dobyns/ 5:00 on Tuesday (both talking) ... available for us to get electronically.
Mims/ Or 4:30. Some of us might walk in at (both talking)
Dobyns/ ...I'm not asking for a lot of lead time. It's just more than just 5:00 (several talking)
Dickens/ ... stick with a solid deadline, and then anything that comes in afterwards may or may
not.. .
Mims/ May or may ... we may or may not have a chance to view it. I mean...
Hayek/ Would it be possible to do a final .pdf posting, urn ... you know, late afternoon on the
Tuesday of a meeting?
Karr/ Sure. I mean, the time it takes to do the .pdf scanning is no different, probably less, than
the time it takes to make multiple copies of the hard copies.
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Champion/ I think that's ... that sounds like a good idea.
Karr/ So you ... then are back, we're doing then option #2 in essence (several responding) We're
doing a second packet at a time you're going to tell me when that cut -off is, and anything
that comes in after that, then becomes a hard copy handout.
Hayek/ Well if somebody brings you in a hard copy anything, at any ... prior to the meeting on
Tuesday, I mean, you may be running... your office may be running around making
copies...
Karr/ We do now with the emails.
Hayek/ ...before, yeah, I mean.
Karr/ Be the same thing. So, am I hearing that there's a majority who do want the second packet
electronically on ... noon Monday? Are... tell... because we don't want to post multiple
second packets, cause then you have a second packet, a third packet...
Hayek/ Why not just do a catch -all really close to the meeting (several talking)
Dobyns/ Like 3:00 P.M.
Mims/ Yeah (several responding)
Karr/ Okay, and the majority... okay, that's fine for me — 3:00 (several talking)
Hayek/ ...no hard copies so we're saving the paper.
Karr/ Well, and no hard copies, correct, we would not do hard copies.
Throgmorton/ Even if somebody sends you something like between...
Karr/ No, I don't think ... I'll have to defer to our Counsel, but I don't think legally we can deny
anybody ... if they want to be part of a public hearing, and they send a comment, we have
to receive it between 3:00 and 5:00.
Payne/ Can it go to the next packet though?
Karr/ No, if it's part of a public hearing you're having that night, you'll need to receive it. It will
certainly cut it in half drastically (several talking)
Hayek/ It will go to the next packet...
Karr/ No, it'll be part of the public hearing (both talking)
Mims/ You'll get a hard copy that night.
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Karr/ You'll get a hard copy.
Hayek/ Right, but it ... won't it ... it'll end up electronically somewhere at some point.
Karr/ Part of the meeting that night, the public hearing. (several talking) All of your late
handouts are archived into the meeting folder.
Champion/ Right.
Karr/ Same thing.
Hayek/ All right.
Karr/ So it'll cut down on that, and you have a two -hour window.
Throgmorton/ I don't care strongly one way or another, but I think why not just leave it the way
it is, but I don't care one way or the other (laughter)
Hayek/ What ... what do you all want to do?
Payne/ I'm okay with option #2 and whatever time you want em to come out, that's fine, and
then just knowing we might get a few pieces of paper when we get here.
Mims/ Yeah, I think I'd rather go with the electronic because ... then at least I still have it. If I get
it in hard copy, chances are when I walk out of here at night, I give it to Marian to shred
because ... if it's something super- important I take it with me. If it's not, I give it to her to
shred and then I don't even have a record of it. At least if it comes electronically I still
have a record of it on my i -Pad.
Karr/ Okay, so we go with option #2, the second packet, 3:00 on Tuesday and any handouts
between... anything submitted between 3:00 and 5:00 becomes a late handout and we
continue the process and we tweak as needed.
Champion/ Yes.
Mims / And we don't publicize this at all (laughter) I know, we're at a public meeting!
(laughing) My point is, if people ... I don't want people to start thinking that because we
have a 3:00 deadline that we're going to be reading (several talking)
Karr/ We won't change our deadline on the web site or anything of that nature. However, once
people see the second packet and know it's all correspondence, could be...it could be an
occasional memo update from staff, but the majority of it will be correspondence. I think
word'11 get out.
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Mims/ Well, and I think ... we may just have to keep reminding people that if they don't meet that
Tuesday, or the Thursday deadline, that the chances of us having time to really read and
digest it before the meeting is very slim.
Throgmorton/ Marian, is that clearly stated on the web site ... for (both talking) for members of
the public who want to send us stuff.
Karr/ Yeah, but you see what happens is people react to your packet coming out.
Hayek/ Sure!
Karr/ So they see the packet (both talking) and it comes in after the packet comes out.
Hayek/ ...this encourages procrastination. (several talking)
Karr/ Well, they don't have the information. The packet isn't released. So for instance ... if I
may, the resolution of support of the Justice Center. No one knew that until it came out
Thursday. So anyone who wanted to write a letter couldn't possibly write the letter until
after the packet came out.
Champion/ Oh, right.
Hayek/ Well let's try it.
Mims/ Okay.
Karr / And we can always change it. Thanks. (several talking) Got it.
Hayek/ Every ... we're getting rid of our i -Pads and we're going back to (several talking and
laughing)
Champion/ How about a chalk board?
Information Packets:
Hayek/ All right. Let's, uh, get through the rest of this. Info Packets, uh... September 200h info
packet. Anything on that? We have the KXIC, you were going to grab one of mine.
Payne/ Yea, Marian, I'm going to go to KXIC on the 10th rather than Matt. Can you let them
know so they're not disappointed that the Mayor didn't come?
Hayek/ They will be ... pleased as punch to have you join the conversation.
Dickens/ I'm tomorrow so ... I am tomorrow.
Payne/ I'm the 10th
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Hayek/ Okay. (several talking)
Throgmorton/ Reminds me, I went to a St. Louis game ... four days ago or something like that
and saw them beat the Washington Nationals. It was very exciting!
Mims/ I had a quick question on, uh, package from ... packet from the 20th on ... okay ... how to
explain this. The ... the whole urban renewal amendment ... urn ... in the debt section where
it says that the estimated City cost is ... $4.8 million. It's been estimated in that range,
then it goes on to say ... in no event will the City Council exceed this estimated amount of
indebtedness without amendment to this plan.
Dobyns/ Where are we, Susan?
Mims/ Section 9, it's, um, in the packet, it's page 9 ... of the packet. And so I guess I don't
understand the process well enough. We're required to put an estimate of the debt in the
document, but then we can't exceed that debt level without amending the document?
Fruin/' Yeah, this is based on the projects on the previous page that we've listed. So during this
amendment process we've ... we've listed out projects that we think could be TIF eligible.
They're not committing the Council to ... to (both talking)
Mims / Right.
Fruin/ ...using TIF funds but things that ... that could possibly be used, that we know of right
now. A lot of things that will come up like we aren't going to be known, they're going
to, you know, maybe deal with private sector projects. So what the, uh, section that
you're referring to, Susan, does ... is, um, looks at those projects and looks at the ... the
debt that would be needed. (unable to hear person responding away from mic)
Mims/ But then we would have to amend this again if we were to exceed that $4.8 million?
Fruin/ Yeah, any variation of those projects, you're going to have to amend.
Mims/ Okay.
Fruin/ Yeah.
Davidson/ What Eleanor, uh, encouraged us to do was put in anything that would be a possible
project.
Mims/ Okay.
Davidson/ That's what ... we did.
Markus/ (mumbled)
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Davidson/ Yeah, all the urban renewal (both talking)
Mims/ ... under the new law?
Davidson/ ...this is part of the new law.
Mims/ Okay. Thank you, I just ... had an estimate and then we had to amend so I just...
Champion/ But we're not obligated to use all that.
Mims/ No! No, understand that. I just wanted to make sure I understood the ... thank you.
Fruin/ Yeah, by ... by creating the urban renewal area you're not committing this...
Mims / Right.
Fruin/ ...the City to using TIF funds for any project at all.
Mims/ No, understand that. Thank you! That's all I had.
Hayek/ Anything else on the September 20th? Okay, the September 271H
Payne/ Did ... did you read, Jim, cause I'm sure ... I think you probably...
Throgmorton/ Can I read?
Payne/ Did you read (laughter) the whole ... the, um, minutes for the Ad Hoc Committee?
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Payne/ Do you think they have a clear direction what they want ... we want them to do by reading
their minutes? I ... I, that's what my biggest concern, they don't have a ... I don't ... maybe
I'm just reading something into it that I shouldn't be, but it seems like ... I don't know.
Did you get the idea they were floundering?
Throgmorton/ I ... I think it... go ahead, Tom.
Markus/ Yeah, I think ... I think that they're... challenged as to their direction but I think ... that's
not unusual with an ad hoc committee in my opinion, and I think they're going to find
their way.
Payne/ Okay.
Markus/ Um ... I think they were a little frustrated by some of the information that they dealt
with, and ... but I think that they'll figure it out.
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Payne/ Okay.
Markus/ Um., they've got plenty of time to figure it out and I think that they'll just keep drilling
down, um, they've asked me to weigh in on some of these issues going forward, and I
think we'll get it there.
Payne/ I just didn't know if we should give them some more direction, but obviously you're
doing that!
Markus/ I don't ... I don't think they really need ... if...if they need more direction I think they'll
seek it out from you.
Payne/ Okay.
Hayek/ You know and I ... I had, uh, lunch with Kingsley Botchway, the ... the Chairperson of the
group last week and we met for a long time about it. Um, and... and um, you know, he
...he didn't indicate that they needed more direction. He had questions about how
meetings were being run and ways to channel the conversation and... and whatnot. It
was a really good meeting. Um ... uh, but ... a request for more direction, um, wasn't
...wasn't part of that.
Payne/ Okay!
Hayek/ And you know, uh, we have, you know, Tom and Marian and Eleanor have been at, uh,
many or most or all of these, uh, meetings, which is a you know serious utilization of
...of top staff for this, and I think they've been helpful, and I encouraged him to engage
them or request more help from them.
Payne/ Okay.
Hayek/ They're going to get their sea legs.
Payne/ Good, good! Thanks, Tom.
Mims/ The only other thing I had on that packet was we had an invitation from the Parks and
Recreation Commission to do a park tour, and if my calendar is right, that conflicts
directly with our next MPOJC meeting. So, I was going to shoot an email back to Mike
Moran...
Hayek/ You could get ... you could get one of those bicycle carts (laughter) check out the parks,
go for some transit funding (several talking and laughing)
Mims/ That'd be fun!
Hayek/ Well done!
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Throgmorton/ I ... I agree. I wanted to go on that (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, I went my first year on the Council and (several talking) it was really good but I
was going to respond yes and I looked at the calendar and it's a direct conflict with the
MPOJC. So...
Markus/ I think some of your alternates would like to go on that park tour. (laughter)
Mims/ Some of our alternates? (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Matt, could I bring up something about the September 20th packet. I ... I
(mumbled) I'll be very brief. Just about repurposing Roosevelt School, as an education
center. I'm .... I'm pretty excited about that. I think it's a good initiative on the part of
the School Board. Uh, I'd like to praise them and thank them for doing that.
Dickens/ That was one of ... I was on that original committee and that was one of our options
and ... and I'm glad they did look seriously at that because there was quite a few things
thrown around over six months there that ... tried to narrow it down, what the
neighborhood would like and what the Schools would like, and what the City could
...could deal with so...
Council Time:
Hayek/ Thanks for that comment, Jim. Anything else? Okay, uh, Council time.
Mims/ (mumbled) save it for the formal meeting.
Hayek/ Okay.
Mims/ Unless it's urgent!
Pending Work Session Tonics:
Hayek/ Pending work session topics. Ending ... uh, sorry, meeting schedule, upcoming events,
Council invites, uh, October Fest this Saturday.
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) mention that now.
Hayek/ Yeah, well if you've got more detailed information, why don't you mention it.
Throgmorton/ Well I don't. I ... it's going to be at North Market Square Park. That's my detail
(laughter)
Hayek/ Yeah.
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Throgmorton/ There's that, but the Human Rights breakfast on October 12th
Karr/ I'll be happy to handle any reservations that might want to make for that.
Throgmorton/ There's also a ... a, some people at the University are sponsoring a Latino Midwest
Conference on October 11 through 13. I don't have details about it. I don't know
specifically where it's being held, uh, on campus, uh, but it's a two -day event, and uh,
you know, the very title indicates its relevance.
Payne / When was the Human Rights breakfast, Jim? The 12th? (several talking) Oh, is it in that
packet? Okay. I didn't get a chance to read the whole thing.
Dobyns/ Susan, was that, uh, conflict with the Parks and Rec, was that on the l Ot' of October?
Mims/ Yes, yes.
Dobyns/ Okay. Yeah, and there's a Shelter House program at the 7:30 as well, so as usual
everything seems to be on the same night.
Hayek/ You mentioned the Div, or the Latino Conference, um, and that made ... that reminded
me, um, couple of weeks ago there was a scheduled meeting that ... the Immigrant Voices
project had requested a meeting with the Police Chief and with me, um, to go over some
things, and uh, Chief Hargadine and I showed up and ... they didn't. I think there was a
glitch in communications so we're rescheduling that but ... but there will be a meeting
with this immigrant group. They ... they had requested some time with the Police Chief
and that was set up so try it again!
Throgmorton/ Uh, are we on the verge of, uh, terminating now?
Hayek/ Yes.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. Are some of you here from Ken Brown's class? No? No? Okay, never
mind. I thought maybe you were.
Markus/ (mumbled) some of them were shaking their head.
Payne/ Yeah, some of (both talking)
Karr/ We're going ... we're going to have several different classes to ... tonight, so some could be
and some not.
Throgmorton/ Okay. Good.
Hayek/ Okay, anything else? All right, we'll end the work session and we'll start the formal in
half an hour.
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