HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-23 TranscriptionPage I
ITEM 2. PROCLAMATION
ITEM 2a. Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery Day — November 4
Hayek: (reads proclamation)
Karr: Here to accept the proclamation from our Fire Department is Lt. Rick Childs and
Firefighter Clint McFarland. (applause)
Hayek: Thanks a lot, guys. Appreciate your work! Thanks a lot!
Childs: Just say a few things here, um ... on, uh, Mr. Mayor, City Council, citizens of Iowa
City, on behalf of Iowa City Fire Department, Station #3, uh, fire prevention
station, uh, we accept the proclamation. Like you, uh, stated, November 4th is...
change our... change our clocks, change our batteries. It's something that's very
important to us. Uh, over 66,000 people last year nationwide was, uh, involved or
killed in fire, uh, reta ... related, uh, residential structure fires. Over half of them
had non - working smoke detectors. So this is something that's very important to
us. Our safety slogan this year that we taught, uh, the elementary students is
`finding two ways out.' That's also something that's very important, uh, to also
us adults, uh, so spread that around with your co- workers, family members, uh,
and ...and uh, make sure that we have two ways out of our family, uh, residential
homes. So, thank you on behalf of the Iowa City Fire Department. Thank you
very much!
Hayek: Thanks, Lt. Appreciate it!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 2
ITEM 2. PROCLAMATION
ITEM 2b. Outstanding Student Citizenship Awards — Mark Twain
Elementary
Hayek: Uh, we have three Tigers in the crowd, but don't worry — they're from Mark
Twain Elementary and they're the student leaders, and I would ask them to, uh,
come forward at this time and I'll meet you around front! Welcome, guys! I just
met you just a few minutes before the City Council meeting started. Again, I'm
Matt Hayek, the Mayor, and this is the City Council standing behind you and we
just want to welcome you and your families and your teachers and ... and the other
people in your lives who are here to support you to ... to our City Council meeting,
and you're the first school this year that we ... that we get to, and what we do
every year is recognize student leaders at the elementary schools throughout Iowa
City and you get nominated by your teachers and, urn ... uh, and we want to bring
you here to recognize the great things you're doing, uh, at... at Mark Twain. Um,
and uh, show the community, uh, what our young people are up to, but I... but
before we get to, uh, the ... the pieces that I know you're going to read to us, I just
want to point out that we have some Twain Tigers here, up here at... at the City
Council level. Uh, Terry Dickens, uh, who is a prominent local businessman and
a Member of the City Council is a Mark Twain, uh, graduate, um, or at least ... no,
you graduated (both talking and laughing)
Dickens: I got (laughing)
Hayek: You never know with Dickens! (laughter) And ... and Adam Bentley, uh, is a
Mark Twain, uh, graduate and he works in the City Manager's office. So you can
see that ... that your school is already pretty well represented down here at City
Hall. So, I'm going to read you the award but first I'd like you guys to just tell us
a little bit about yourselves, and I can hand you the mic or you can hold it —
however you'd like!
Herrera: My name is Jussein Herrera and, urn ... well ... at school I just play a lot, be fair
(laughter) be kind to everybody. I have good sportsmenship and....
Hayek: That's good! That's great! (laughter)
Chavez: Hi, my name is Magdalena Chavez. Some people call me Mags for fun.
(mumbled) (laughter) I'm in sixth grade in Miss Anderson's from Mark Twain
Elementary. The reason why I'm getting this award is because I helped out my
community by cleaning up the playground, giving hot chocolate to my school. I
was a conflict manager so my partner and I helped out with any problems. I
started conflict manager in fourth grade. I helped some kids with Spanish
translation. I want to thank my parents, my brothers, and my teachers for
teaching me to be a good leader. Thank you!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
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Murphy: Hi, my name is Mackenzie. I go to Mark Twain Elementary. I'm in sixth grade,
in Mr. Meers class. I help my school by doing conflict man, oh ... the reason why
I am receiving this award is because I help my school by doing conflict managers.
Conflict managers is going to another younger grade recess and helping them
solve problems when there is a conflict. I started conflict managers in fourth
grade. I also like to help others when they are stuck in ... on work in the
classroom. I want to thank my parents for helping me be a school leader. Thank
you. (applause)
Hayek: Looks like a piece of paper just appeared! I think you ought to read it! (laughter)
Herrera: My name is Jussein. I am a sixth grader. I go to Mark Twain and I have been
here since kindergarten. I think I have been selected to be a representative
because I have done a lot of good things for my school and my family in Iowa. I
thank the teachers for letting me be a representative for the school. I have been a
conflict manager since fourth grade. Conflict managers spend one recess to help
third and fourth graders. I rake leaves and shovel snow for my family. It's hard
but I'll still do it. The way I help Iowa is to pick up litter and throw it away.
Thank you all. It's been a great honor.
Champion: (laughing) Good job!
Hayek: Those (applause) those are fantastic! Congratulations! And you know, as I said
before, we ... we bring student leaders from all of the elementaries down to our
City Council meetings so that we can recognize you and also, uh, publicly thank
your ... your families and your teachers and the people who play an important role,
uh, in your lives. But, you know, you guys are an example and... and uh, you're
...you, uh, you show the rest of the community what you can do at a young age,
and uh, I think you set a good example for others to look up to, and we just hope
that you keep it up and ... and work hard, and some day maybe you'll, uh, sit up
here, uh, and ... and be part of the City Council. That would be fantastic! So, we
have an award — it's called the Citizenship Award. Um, and I'm going to read it;
it reads as follows: For his or her outstanding qualities of leadership within Mark
Twain Elementary, as well as the community, and for his or her sense of
responsibility and helpfulness to others we recognize you as an Outstanding
Student Citizen. Your community is proud of you. Presented by the Iowa City
City Council, October 2012. (mumbled) Congratula ... I gotta shake your hands,
guys! That's my job here (applause) Congratulations! Now you guys can stick
around and watch us if you'd like, or go home and do your homework. It's your
call! (laughter) (applause) Congratulations!
i ms represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
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ITEM 4. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA).
Hayek: Uh, this is an op ... the opportunity we, uh, provide to the public at each City
Council meeting for members of the public to address the Council regarding items
that are not on the agenda. So if there's something that you would like to bring to
our attention this evening that is not on the agenda, I invite you to step forward,
uh, we'd ask that you sign in and also verbally give us your name and limit your
comments to five minutes or less.
Roberts: Good evening, Mayor Hayek, City Council Members. My name is Cindy Roberts
and I'm here as a Representative from the Grand Wood Neighborhood
Association. Because of City PIN grant funds that you have provided our
neighborhood association, I felt it was important that you heard an update from
me concerning some recent developments of our Friday night skate night. I do
take receiving those funds very seriously and I ... I wanted you to hear the update
from me. I regret to inform you that our weekly skate night has been temporarily
discontinued, and I do want to emphasize the word `temporarily.' Because we are
working toward resolving some issues that we've had with skate night, which did
start late last season and for your information I wanted you to have this
background. Select skate night issues came to our attention late last season from
Grant Wood Elementary staff, teachers, area parents who expressed concern to
both me and Marsha Bollinger about student behavior at skate night, skate night
supervision, and behavior on the Grant Wood playground. We have worked to
address those issues that we have direct control over which resulted in us revising
our check -in policies for skate night and also our code of conduct. Marsha
Bollinger and I met with skate night supervisors and if, um ... you may recall that
part of our PIN grant funds is to in fact quite a bit of our PIN grant funds is to,
um, provide the salaries of Parks and Rec staff, who directly supervise ka... skate
night, so I wanted to just clarify that. Marsha and I met with skate night
supervisors this fall before skate night began to emphasize the importance of
consistency in supervision and following our code of conduct. As any of us
know, whether you're a parent, teacher, or an individual who works with children,
the importance of .. even in the best case scenario, if your... if your guidelines are
not consistent and you're not providing supervision in a consistent way, problems
can occur, and that has been one of our issues. Even at its best, supervising skate
night is challenging. I mean, when you have between 20 to 50 individuals, many
of them young children on skates in a gym, things will happen just accidentally.
As you may, um ... I want to ... I really can't emphasize this enough that 99% of
the kids or teens who come to skate night are there just to have fun and cause
absolutely no problems. It is the ... the very small percentage that sometimes can
prompt issues. And that's part of what we have been dealing with. Both Marsha
Bollinger and I visited skate night several times this fall. In fact I was there every
Friday night after I got my supper after work and I would go sit at skate night, just
to kind of see how things were going. The decision to discontinue skate night
came down to two concerns: those being inconsistency in supervising staff
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
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following certain guidelines. And the second was on -going behavior on the Grant
Wood playground which basically we have no control over. Please keep in mind
that our skate night staff ...are not hired to supervise the playground. They are
hired to supervise skate night. They actually have no authority over the
playground, uh, nor do they have the time to address any of the issues on the
playground. Their responsibilities need to exclusively be in the skate room, or in
...in the gym at Grant Wood Elementary. Unfortunately some of the ... some of
the behavior that was developing on the Grant Wood playground resulted in
police calls for service from area neighbors, uh, because it is ... Grant Wood
Elementary's in the mixed of, uh, of a residential setting. Some of those calls, not
necessarily during Friday night skate night, but it could also happen on other
nights, but yes. When it happened during Friday night skate night, one of our
concerns as a neighborhood association was safety. Um, we need to ensure the
safety of students who are part of skate night in the building. We cannot ensure
the safety of those who are outside the building. Excuse me ... the goal of skate
night has always been ... to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.
Parents, students, teens... everyone! And for the most part we've been able to
accomplish that. Um ... but we cannot guarantee a safe experience on that
playground. I think there is some solution here that can be looked at, but as a
neighborhood association we need to concentrate our efforts on those things that
we have control over, and we do not have control over what's happening on that
playground. Um, I remain very hopeful because, um, I'm an optimist. I'm a
realistic optimist — that we will make this work. Um ... we're looking at the
possibility of just changing the venue of skate to let's say a Saturday or Sunday
afternoon. Uh, we're actually checking on availability of the gym. The gym is a
very busy place, which is good. That's the way we want it. Um, so we're...
we're not quite sure about the availability. We also have to address the, uh, the
topic of supervision for skate night. We know what needs to happen and um...
and ... and how that needs to happen. Well, we're not quite sure about the how
part. We just know what needs to happen. And um, we have requested, we
meaning, um, Marsha and I have worked very closely together on this, and I can't
emphasize enough the ... the invaluable support that Marsha Bollinger has
provided in this, whether refining our guidelines... it's just ... we couldn't
accomplish a lot of what we do in our neighborhood without her. Um ... I was
getting ready to say we have contacted area parents, um, teachers at Grant Wood
to get their feedback, to get their ideas, um, suggestions, just whatever, because
it's going to take a variety of things that we need to look at. We are hoping to
return skate night, um, by mid - January. If at all possible, sooner, but quite
realistically I don't think that's going to be possible. We will not return to a
Friday night venue. I don't see that happening at all, in the future. As always, the
Grant Wood Neighborhood Association appreciates tremendously the support that
you've given this event for the last three years. We will make this happen again,
and I will make a point of giving you an update concerning that. If you have any
suggestions or questions, I'm here to ... to respond to that. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you, Cindy. Thank you for coming and giving us that report.
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Geerdes: Good evening, um, my name is Greg Geerdes. I live at 890 Park Place in Iowa
City. I was present during your work session and I want to wholeheartedly thank
you for your thoughtful comments and uh, questions and ... I uh, want to thank
staff for laying out the problem and what I saw... in what I thought was a very
objective manner. As we go forward on the Taft Speedway issue, I want, um, to
ask for ... for some more information and to also make a few requests of, uh, of, uh
...nature to you involving what I think you should consider. First question I have
is ... what is going to be the effect of the increased velocity of the water? I heard
the hydrologist kind of waffle when he was asked, how confident he was in his
projections and what he thought was going to happen, and he ... said that there
wasn't going to be much of an increase in the profile of the water. Profile means
height. Not much. I don't quite know what that means, but more importantly
perhaps is...what about the speed of the water? He said that it was going to
increase. When that increased velocity hits houses along Taft Speedway, that are
on the wet side of the proposed levee — are those houses going to be structurally
damaged, whereas in the past all that they got was wet. Big difference there!
And what is going to be the effect on the riverbank downstream from ... the...
proposed levee site? I'm thinking of that fraternity house, which is along
Dubuque Street, very near the intersection of Park, which sits on the outward
bend of that curve there. And what is going to be the effect... on the riverbank
there and all the way down to the Dairy Queen location? I was disappointed in
the study because it doesn't address that issue. And I think that's something that
we need more information about. Also I want to ... point out respectfully that the
`do nothing' option to me sounds more appealing as we get along. We've got the
whole issue of whether or not we've got HUD money to pay for this project and
whether or not we've got an immediate need. More importantly, it's important to
remember that doing nothing does not mean that we're abandoning Idyllwild and
letting them fend to their own, as best they can. As pointed out, there is the
option of flood insurance, which I'm thankful that they now have. They also
have, as many of their residents have chosen to do, is to rent their ... their units out
... if they do not want to live there themselves. In the last week or ten days there
was a letter to the editor, opinion piece, published in the Press - Citizen by a person
named, uh, Mr. Leighton, who is apparently a member of the ... board of, uh, of
uh ... home ... of the homeowner's association for Idyllwild. Mr. Leighton
purchased his units in Idyllwild after the flood. I ... I'm glad that he's moving
back. It's certainly an attractive area. Wish him well. Purchased it for $220,000.
It's a matter of public record. You have all ... the resources of your staff available
to find out who purchased the properties after the flood, and I would respectfully
point out that when we have a... a resale market like that in this community, we
have an active rental market where those units are being rented for $1,500 per
month. That we're not dealing with a crisis. There are other options available for
the residents there. Finally, um ... there's going to be a chance for others to weigh
in and I'm sure that you'll hear more from myself and others, so I'm not going to
belabor your time. Um, and Mr. Throgmorton, I... especially want to thank you
for clarifying what a 500 -year flood means as far as the percentage, and then it's
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
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....an every year thing and there's a .02 chance but let's also look at it the other
way. There's a 99.8% chance that that 500 -year flood won't happen next year.
99.8% chance that it won't happen the year after that. For a 100 -year flood,
there's a 99% chance that it's not going to happen. Um, those are PowerBall
odds! So let's ... make a prudent use of our money. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you.
Wilcox: Good evening. (clears throat) I'm Cathy Wilcox. (clears throat) Excuse me!
And I live at Taft... 119 Taft Speedway Street and I too would like to thank the
Council for taking the time and asking such good questions during the work
session. I'm here tonight to urge the Council to really think about the overall, uh,
I guess deciding whether you're going to accept the funding or not. Um ... I guess
I'd like to encourage you to vote no, to do nothing, and to see about, uh,
reallocating the funds to the other ... I think it's three or four projects that could
possibly be, um, that the funds could possibly be utilized for. Um, I would also
like to point out that, um, it's been stated that the people in Idyllwild had a very
emotional time. But I'd also like to point out that others did too. Uh, we on Taft
Speedway (clears throat) and those in Parkview Terrace. And I'd like to point out
that in 1993 we were out there, we were flooded. We had a one - year -old infant
and had to quickly mobilize to get things moved, um, our entire first floor was
totally damaged. In the process we had to call my in -laws from Des Moines to
come and pick up my son ... because there was no way that we could take care of
him while we're trying to deal with the, um, emotional and the ... just the physical
thing of getting things moved away from the flood. So I feel that, you know, I'm
quite an expert in this. It is emotional, but would also like you all to think about
the other people who were affected, not just those in Idyllwild. In the packet of
materials that you receive, there were letters from Idyllwild residents. And there
were letters that they were ... that were sent to Senator Grassley, and he forwarded
it to you. The letter stated that (clears throat) they felt that the function of
government is to protect the safety, welfare, and well -being of its citizens. And
therefore the floodwall should be built for them. I too as well as a lot of people
think that that is the purpose of city government. But I think that it should be to
look after the well -being of all citi ... of all citizens, not just a few. Part of the role
for the city in order to provide the, um... safety, welfare, and well -being of all its
citizens comes down to some financial things. And, I think that... residents expect
City staff to make sound fiscal decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent.
And it's for this reason that I'm asking you to think about, um, doing, um,
requesting that nothing be done ... for the floodwall. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Would anyone else like to address the Council?
Bailey: Good evening! Regenia Bailey, Iowa City, um, I appreciated seeing that report.
It's been a long - time coming! Um, and I'm here to encourage you to really
consider staying the course that we set shortly after the flood in 2008. Um, I
understand there are ... there have been many discussions. It's, you know, it's four
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years past and given the drought this summer, the flood seems very, very distant.
But, um, one of the things that I think you all know that you must consider is not
only the stories and the emotional impacts to those neighborhoods, but the direct
cost and the opportunity costs that natural disasters have on a community. And I
think we felt that very, very harshly after the flood. There were things we put off.
We had to attend to those kinds of things. So taking care of the business of
protection now when it seems in the distant future makes sense as leaders of our
community. So I urge you, and I know that you'll make a careful, consider ... um,
you'll care... consider this very carefully. You've set up a great process for this
decision, and I know that you'll weigh all the information as it comes in very
carefully, but, um, we did set a direction in 2008. We saw the impact. Um, the
levee seems to make sense, um, it provides some opportunities for the ... the
residents to increase the height of it, um, so it provides some real good
opportunities for protection. So I encourage you to, um, consider it very carefully
as I know you will, and consider the opportunity cost to the entire community of
natural disasters, not just two particular neighborhoods. Thanks!
Hayek: Thank you, Regenia. Would anyone else like to address the City Council? Okay,
we will move on to Item 5, Planning and Zoning Matters.
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ITEM 5f REZONING 1.1 -ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 2225 MORMON TREK
BOULEVARD FROM INTENSIVE COMMERCIAL (CI -1) TO
COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL (CC -2). (REZ12- 00020) [Discussion only at
formal meeting]
1. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. I will open it at this time. (bangs gavel) And uh,
initially are there any ex parte communications to disclose? (several responding)
Okay. Mr. Davidson!
Davidson: Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council. I'm Jeff Davidson,
the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Iowa City.
Uh, the item before you on your agenda is a request from Terry, Lockridge, and
Dunn Financial Services for a rezoning of their property from CI -1, uh,
Commercial Intensive to CC -2, Community Commercial. Uh ... this will allow a
variety of retail uses to be used, uh, on the property that are not currently allowed
under the existing zoning. The location of the property is 2225 Mormon Trek
Boulevard and it is approximately 1.1 acre in size. Uh, you see the location here,
uh, on Mormon Trek Boulevard adjacent to West Side Park. Uh, West Side Park
was subdivided in the early 80s and the intent at that time, and when I say West
Side Park, I'm talking about the ... the entire larger area here was for, uh,
commercial intensive and even light industrial uses initially were ... were planned
for the ... the property. Subsequently a completely different development plan
came in and everything from Mormon Trek Boulevard here to the north, uh,
excuse me, from this line to the north was zoned, uh, for multi - family residential
as you see here, and then commercial zoning, uh, left out here along the arterial
street. And, uh, over the years, because a more retail and office -type, um ... uses
have been established in the area, there have been various rezoning from CI -1 to,
as you see here, commercial office, commercial office. This is the most recent
one, which you as Council did, uh, for the expansion of the McDonald's here and
establish CC -2 zoning. The request for this property then is consistent, uh, with
the more retail character that has been established in the area. The, just for your
information, the specific, uh, the specific desire for this property is to establish the
Wolf Eye Clinic, uh, in... in the location. It's not currently allowed. Would be
under the proposed CC -2 zoning. Uh, the Comprehensive Plan has also been
revised from the initial, uh, the initial vision here for the, uh, the commercial
intensive and light industrial, uh, type of application, uh, to ... to reflect the more
retail uses, and so your proposed, uh, the proposed action before you is consistent
with the, uh, Comprehensive Plan. Uh, staff and Planning and Zoning
Commission recommend approval. Are there any questions?
Dickens: The car dealerships on the corner at this, uh, CI -1, what's right next to that?
Davidson: Uh ... I'm sorry, Terry. The ... there's obviously car dealerships here.
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Dickens: Right. What's right next to it (both talking) between the two?
Davidson: Uh ... I believe that's also a car dealership property. There... there're actually two
car dealerships here. There's the what used to be Honda and is now Ford, I
believe, and then this used to be Pontiac and GMC, and I believe it's all under one
ownership now, and...
Dickens: Okay. I just didn't know if there was something right next to it.
Davidson: ... and I think you're aware, we have a... a commercial zoning subcommittee right
now that's hopefully going to result in some actions that you could take that
would lead to fewer of these coming before you, so...
Dickens: Okay.
Davidson: ...hopefully have that shortly.
Dickens: Thank you.
Davidson: Any other questions for me?
Throgmorton: Jeff, could you elaborate a little bit, like what's directly across the street and to
the north, uh, what's directly to the west ... I ... I (both talking)
Davidson: ...this is the Lepic Kroeger building and I believe this is the fitness place and this
is the Farm Bureau, Jim, I believe are the three uses right here. Uh, and this as...
as mentioned, this is the, uh, car ... the Ford car dealership, uh, here as well. Uh,
and then of course the interstate, uh, excuse me, Highway 218 comes through
here. This ... this property backs on to Highway 218 and the interchange here.
Menard's is ... over here.
Throgmorton: Thanks.
Davidson: Actually Menard's I think is right there. Any other questions?
Hayek: Any other questions for Jeff? Thanks for the presentation. Anyone, uh, from the
public on this item? Okay, I will close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Champion: Move first consideration.
Dobyns: Second.
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Hayek: Moved by Champion, seconded by Dobyns. Discussion? Roll call, please. First
consideration passes 7 -0.
ITEM 5g CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REZONING APPROXIMATELY .034
ACRES LOCATED AT 518 BOWERY STREET AS AN IOWA CITY
HISTORIC LANDMARK. (REZ12- 00014) [Discussion only at formal
meeting] (PASS AND ADOPT)
Mims: Move adoption.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by, uh, Payne. Discussion? Uh, any ex parte, uh,
communications between the last reading and this? Okay. Any further
discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 6 -1; Dobyns in the negative.
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ITEM 5h CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE CONDITIONALLY REZONING 172
ACRES OF LAND FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT — RESEARCH
PARK (ID -RP), PLANNED DEVELOPMENT — MIXED USE (OPD -MU),
PLANNED DEVELOPMENT — RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PARK
(OPD -RDP), AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENT — OFFICE RESEARCH
PARK (OPD -ORP) TO APPROXIMATELY 15.8 ACRES OF PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT — HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL (OPD- CH -1), 27.97
ACRES OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PARK(RDP), AND 129.12
ACRES TO INTERIM DEVELOPMENT — RESEARCH PARK (ID -RP)
FOR PROPERTY LOCATED WEST OF HIGHWAY ONE AND NORTH
OF INTERSTATE 80. (REZ12- 00005/REZ12- 00006) [Discussion only at
formal meeting] (Moss Ridge Campus formerly known as Moss Green Urban
Village and Moss Office Park) (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended. That the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Champion: Second.
Hayek: Motion to collapse from Mims, seconded by Champion. Discussion?
Throgmorton: I voted no on the, uh, the underlying issue, uh, last time and I intend to vote no
tonight, but I don't see any reason, uh, to obstruct, uh, expedited consideration, if
the rest of you folks want to do that. So...
Hayek: Uh, further discussion on this first motion? Roll call, please.
Mims: I move that the ordinance be finally adopted at this time.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Pass and adopt moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Roll call,
please. Uh, so the motion to collapse passes 7 -0; pass and adopt passes 6 -1 with
Throgmorton in the negative.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Throgmorton: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
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Hayek: You know what I didn't, uh, ask ex parte and I think I should do so. So, is ... has
there been ... have there been ex parte communications between the last reading
and (both talking)
Throgmorton: I ... I had a brief conversation with Charlie Eastham, uh, and he asked, uh, why I
voted no on it. I briefly explained, just as I did in public, uh, in our previous
meeting.
Hayek: Any other disclosures to be made? Eleanor, are you comfortable with me cart-
horsing it on this one? (laughter) Sorry about that! I made the note, I just didn't
do it (several talking)
Dilkes: I had the note on mine too and (laughter and several talking)
Champion: Cart before the horse!
Hayek: Okay! We'll move on then.
Karr: We have a motion to accept correspondence. We have the motion; we don't have
the all ayes.
Hayek: What's that?
Karr: We have a motion to accept correspondence.
Champion: Second.
Karr: (several talking) ... all those in favor.
Champion: Oh, all those in favor! (laughter)
Hayek: Yeah, who made the ... well, you can't make the motion.
Karr: No, we have a motion on the floor!
Hayek: (several talking and laughing) Okay! (several talking) Further discussion on
that? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 7 -0. Slogging
through this slowly but surely!
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ITEM 5i CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING A PRELIMINARY PLAT OF
MOSS RIDGE CAMPUS, IOWA CITY, IOWA (SUB12- 00003).
Mims: Move approval of resolution.
Champion: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Champion. Discussion?
Davidson: Uh, Mr. Throgmorton during the work session asked for just a (sneezing,
coughing — unable to hear) run through on this and I'm happy to do that. Uh...
here is the... preliminary plat and as I outlined for you before, there are five lots,
uh, which are ... which would be zoned RDP and be allowed to develop, uh, for
office, uh, type uses here, and then there are four lots which would be zoned, uh,
planned development- highway commercial, which would be established for office
research park type commercial uses that would be compatible, uh, and
complimentary to not only this office park but Pearson and the other office parks
in the area. And then the large outlot here would be interim development RDP,
research development park, which'll allow for eventual development, uh, for
office type uses. Obviously the other things that jump off the page here, uh, if
you read the Planning and Zoning Commission report, we had hoped to bring in
the, uh, Lowellen parcel, which is right ... I can outline it here for you ... right here.
Uh, for uh ... we had hoped to bring that in as an outlot, uh, the ... the Lowellen
people and the bank were very much in favor of that but we just simply timing
wise weren't able to get that done. So... so basically the little piece of the access
road here will be an off -site improvement, in addition to the piece across the
Pearson property, uh, certainly that, uh, issue of the establishment of this road
which we are, uh, underway and trying to get resolved will be required before the
final plat and the actual development, uh, of... of buildings, uh, on the site here.
But what this does allow, your action this evening with the zoning and the plat,
does allow the preliminary plat does allow the permits to be obtained, which then
will allow the developer to, uh, grade the site, and that is the imperative for a, uh,
location decision on one of the lots. They need to begin, uh, grading this fall, and
this would, uh, enable them to do that. The preliminary plat then will need to
have the road issue resolved, and then in the long term, as you see here, Oakdale
Boulevard, uh, will provide not only arterial street access across north Iowa City
and Coralville, uh, as called for in the MPO, uh, arterial street plan, but it will
then provide, uh, access to the northern part of the subdivision, which will be
developed in subsequent phases. Any, uh, questions?
Throgmorton: Uh, I do.
Hayek: Yeah .... Jim.
Davidson: Oh! I'm sorry, Jim.
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Throgmorton: Sorry, Jeff! Urn ... I noticed there's an east -west road near the southern edge of
the, uh, the platted, the area that will be platted.
Davidson: This road here?
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Davidson: Okay.
Throgmorton: Uh, and I know its relationship to the, uh ... um, the ... the discussions we've had
previously about having a road extend along the southern part of Pearson NCS,
right? So, I ... I want to know if whether our adoption of this plat tonight in any
way implies a commitment on the part of the City of Iowa City to building that
road on the southern edge of the Pearson's NCS, even if they do not want it.
Davidson: It does not.
Throgmorton: All right. Thank you.
Davidson: Any other questions for me?
Hayek: Any questions for Jeff? Okay. Thanks, Jeffl
Davidson: Okay, thank you.
Hayek: Are there any, uh, input from the audience? Council discussion? Great to see this
move! It's great to see this move (several talking)
Champion: Been a long time!
Throgmorton: I guess I want to say given the, uh, prior vote that we just made, uh, 6 -1, and
given the, uh, the vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission, I don't see any
reason to oppose the platting so I'll vote for it too.
Hayek: Okay. Any further discussion by Council? Roll call, please. Item passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 6. DETERMINING THE AREA ADDED TO THE CITY - UNIVERSITY
PROJECT 1 URBAN RENEWAL AREA TO HAVE CONDITIONS OF
BLIGHT SUCH THAT THE REHABILITATION, CONSERVATION,
REDEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT, OR A COMBINATION
THEREOF, IS NECESSARY IN THE INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC
HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE; DESIGNATING SUCH AREA AS
APPROPRIATE FOR AN URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT; AND
ADOPTING AMENDMENT NO. 10 TO THE CITY - UNIVERSITY
PROJECT 1 URBAN RENEWAL PLAN THEREFORE.
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. Public hearing is open. (bangs gavel) Wendy.
Ford: Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council. My name is Wendy
Ford. I'm Economic Development, uh, Coordinator for the City and I'm here to
talk a little bit about the, uh, pending, uh, Amendment No. 10 to the City -
University Urban Renewal Plan. And you see a slide of the area above. I think
I'll just walk you through, um, the ... the parts of it. First of all, there's our mouse.
This area here in this shading was the original urban renewal area that was
adopted in 1969. Next to that, to the east, is this kind of upside -down L- shaped
piece that was adopted in 2001, and then this larger area ... that stretches all the
way down to the, uh ... the Public Works and Transit facility area here at Highway
1 and Riverside Drive and all the way up to the Burlington Street dam here, and
including, uh, this corner here of, uh, immediate attention — the corner of College
of Gilbert Street is all included in the area, uh, that you are going to be
considering for Amendment No. 10 ... to the City- University Plan. Um, the
original plan encompassed a core area of about 14 square blocks and that was the
core area of downtown, which at the time in 1969 needed a lot of work. Well, a
lot of work was done and we have a lot of potential ahead of us and in 2008 when,
after the floods, uh, receded we were able to get some, uh, planning help from the
EPA and others. We began to consider the larger picture of the Riverfront
Crossings area as it relates to downtown, and uh, came up with a master plan for
the area that does marry in fact very well with our downtown. And the fact that it
goes, uh, as jigsaw puzzle pieces sometimes do so closely together, merited
putting the two of those pieces together. Critical to the, uh, renovation of the
Riverfront Crossings area that was so affected by the flood is the ... first the
decommissioning of the north waste water treatment plant down in the area which
is ... I always look for the ... the circles down here, uh, near the corner of Highway
6 and the river. The north wastewater treatment plant, uh, was in ... inundated and
as you are well aware is being decommissioned and, uh, I guess re ... the facilities
are being recommissioned for use at the other ... at the other facility. Well that
will open up a great opportunity and what we're thinking of will be a catalyst for,
uh, development to occur from this particular corner upwards and outwards in the
greater area, and that will be a... a public park and facilities that will really help us
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turn our attention to the river in... instead of away from the river as they have
been for decades and decades. Uh, a key to that will be obviously the removal of
the north wastewater treatment plant, um, but also a return to the greater area with
trails, public amenities, easier access to the river, safer access to the river,
and... and other, uh, recreational type activities that can happen because we no
longer have that barrier to the river. Um, the recommendation then, um, is to
accept this plan, which, uh, the urban renewal plans, now because of the TIF
reform that was passed this summer by the State Legislature include having to list
specific projects in that plan, and as you read through the ... the proposed
amendment, you'll notice that those are called out. Those particular plans
include, among other things, the acquisition of the Rock Island, uh, railroad depot;
the Burlington and Clinton Street intersection improvements; and central business
district improvements, all with dollar amounts that combined with, um, the
College and Gilbert Street demolition and some other planning and professional
fees, add up to a little over $4.6 million. Now this is not a commitment for us to
spend $4.6 million. I want to be very clear on this now. What this does is make
the, um, the use of tax increment financing possible, should you agree to each and
...each one of these projects individually. So this really does set the stage for us
to be able to begin to follow the plans that are laid out in our Riverfront Crossings
master plan. Um ... let's see... additional projects, I think this is worthy of note too
and this is different because of that TIF reform. Additional projects should... that
should happen in the future, whether they be next year or five dear ... five years
down the road will also require similar amendments to the urban renewal plan. In
other words, every single project that you consider using TIF financing for in that
area will have to be amended into the plan and I know there's been specific
concern that there hasn't been enough public awareness made of each of these
projects, and this should allow for that to happen. Then, um, because of that, uh,
amendment process we have to use the whole entire adoption process just as we
did with this. Whereas you first consider a resolution of necessity for adopting an
amendment to an urban renewal plan and at that time you set a, um, a public
hearing just as you did about almost a month ago or so on this. Similarly, that
sets into motion staff having to, um, have a consultation with the affected taxing
entities, which is also another, uh, publicly, um ... uh, announced meeting and um,
allows for, uh, public input back and forth on behalf of those entities, as well.
And then obviously there's the public ... the final public hearing or uh, a public
hearing. I shouldn't necessarily count my chickens before they hatch, but a public
hearing, uh, where you would then adopt that plan. So, I think what this means is
you will have a much clearer sense of what is going on in the district, what is
coming up in the district, what plans are there, and the public will certainly have a
better vehicle for being able to stay on top of those projects as they come up to
the, uh, up to the surface and as they're getting ready to be considered, and that's
what I would consider those that are listed in ... in the plan that, uh, you have
before you. Uh, let's see, I don't think I had any other points about this. Uh, it
might go without saying that staff recommends that you adopt this, uh, urban
renewal, uh, Amendment No. 10, um, and if you have any other questions I'd be
happy to answer those.
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Dobyns: I do have a question. Uh, Wendy, it sounds like there are several opportunities for
other taxing entities to make comment on potentially things that could become tax
increment financing. Um ... were there any concerns on this first opportunity, on
October 5tn.
Ford: No, there were not.
Dobyns: Okay
Throgmorton: Th ... this is the meeting with, uh, Rod Sullivan and the Board of Supervisors?
Ford: Yes. Yes.
Throgmorton: And no ... and no one from the School District attended, right?
Ford: That's correct.
Hayek: Well to ... to be clear was the meeting held here or just across the hallway, right
(several responding) to which the (both talking)
Ford: ...held in the City Manager's conference room. The Board of Supervisors, or
their designee, uh, were invited, or I should say and their designee were invited
and Rod Sullivan attended.
Throgmorton: An ... and ... and during that meeting Rod did not ex ... express any,
um ... hesitations about, uh, or caveats or whatever about this particular action?
Ford: No, he did not.
Markus: I would just interject that I think he expressed support for our approach in terms
of making these a project -by- project basis, and that each project, uh, supports
itself and that the, uh, timeframe to retire the debt created for a particular project
is based on that project, not the district at large, and so, um, Wendy expressed that
to him and he was complimentary of that approach.
Hayek: Thank you, Wendy!
Ford: Uh -huh.
Hayek: This is a public hearing. Is there anyone from the audience who would like to
address the Council? Okay, I'll close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
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Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
Throgmorton: Well you know the, uh, Tom just, um, made a reference to something that I was
going to bring up, so I might as well raise it and ... as I have done before. It seems
to me that, uh, creation of ..of this urban redo ... renewal district is, um, well, not
creation — amending the ... the boundaries of the district and so on, uh, is an
extremely important action. I'm going to,support the action, uh, and ... and I think
we need to do it in order to provide alternative means of financing to make what
we want happen actually happen. Uh, that said, as I've stated before, I think it has
to have a sunset. I don't understand why we would create a district that has no
conceivable end date to it. And, you know, there's a way of putting this, um...
uh, if the area remains blighted or in need of economic development, then the
projects would not have succeeded. If it does not remain blighted, then the
project would no longer be needed. So, why don't we adopt a sunset date. So,
Tom, help me understand why we don't do that.
Markus: Well, the ... you're correct. The ... the statutory provisions provide that you have
an unlimited period of time to ... to deal with slum and blight conditions, but...
what some jurisdictions do is use the increment created across the whole district
to retire the debt for the, you know, for an improvement on a particular project.
Our approach has been that we will take project -by- project. We will evaluate,
um, that particular project and determine an amortization schedule for that
particular project. That's very different than what happens then in just using the
increment that occurs across the district. In fact it makes it much more difficult,
um, to accomplish some of the things we want to accomplish, because you have to
look at the merits of each particular project and the increment created by the
particular project has to be su ... sufficient enough to sustain and amortize the cost
of that particular improvement. When you look at a project, like what we're
dealing with, or an area like what we're dealing with, and knowing that the area
south of Burlington is not going to really take off immediately, I think you need to
leave that time horizon open. The difference is we're going to be looking at each
of those projects on a project -by- project basis. You know, as ... as you attended,
uh, a number of the meetings, this is a long -term, uh, investment commitment for
this area, and some of those projects aren't going to start for five, ten years. So if
you ... you were to put a 20 -year time limit on the whole district you would not be
able to accomplish a number of those projects, and so by saying that each one's a
project -by- project basis, the merits of the individual project are going to be the
financial determinants of what pays that project off, and I think ... that's different
than what other jurisdictions do. I think it's responsible, but I can tell you, and
Wendy'll tell you this as well, we just looked at a project here recently and we
said, you know, the numbers don't work. The, you know, you can't get this all
done and ... I know in some places it would have been tempting to use the
increment for the whole district to have gone after that project. But we chose not
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to do that. And so then the issue becomes how many years are you going to allow
for a realistic amortization of that project. And we'll be looking at each one of
those, and you'll have an opportunity to comment on each of those.
Throgmorton: Good! That ... that's very helpful. Thank you, um, and you remind me of one
other thing, uh ... you know, I've had various conversations with people as I'm
sure the rest of you have, uh, in which they have said, um, you know, they kind of
made claims about ho ... how we're just kind of throwing money around at...at
various wealthy people and so on, uh, and yet, uh, it's my understanding that there
are substantial number of proposals that do come to the staff. St... staff sorts
through them and rejects many of them, and ... but we don't have any sense of
how many those are or ... you know, and that kind of thing.
Markus: I ... I think what happens in that process is that you evaluate them and then you
adjust the parameters so the likelihood of totally kicking out a project is probably
not as good as the potential for adjusting the numbers to make sure that the
amortization works. I can tell you, uh, we had a hotel project, um, that was
submitted to ... for our review, and it didn't ... it didn't meet the criteria under any
circumstances. Uh, it was rejected and they proceeded with building the hotel.
Um ... you know with a larger discussion in the south part of the corridor about
these projects I would say to you that, um, I think we're pretty conscientious
about, um, how these projects do support themselves, and we do ... we do vet `em
pretty carefully about what we're willing to provide, urn ... but I can tell you that I
...I'm pretty confident that a number of these projects wouldn't happen but -for,
so we're kind of creating our own but -for language which was one of the issues
that we tried to roll into the State law here last year but... didn't quite make it.
Throgmorton: Uh -huh.
Markus: Um ... we look at that kind of criteria ourselves. Would this project happen, uh,
but -for this, and I think we're getting some very solid advice and review by our
outside consultant, uh, by name, Tom Jackson, who takes a good look at these and
really helps us vet these projects and make sure that, um, they do need the support
that we offer and provide.
Hayek: You know, Tom, you ... you discuss the distinction of our practice being, uh, to
not draw from the entire district, um, to, uh, retire debt for specific project. I
think another distinction is that with respect to the project itself, it continues to be
our policy, urn ... uh, to ... draw from the geographic footprint, if you will, of that
particular project and ... and retire the debt as quickly as possible. Um, and then
release it to the taxing entities, and not use the taxes as an ongoing ATM machine
for other purposes. That's a second distinction that I think set ... sets us apart.
Champion: I think it makes us very different and very responsible toward the School District
and the County. We're ... and ourselves too! But it's a ... we're very careful about
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that and I've always been proud of the way we've handled TIFs and I'm glad to
see we're continuing on that path.
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 7. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN
AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST AN OPERATING AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY AND THE IOWA CITY
DOWNTOWN SELF SUPPORTED MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT.
Payne: Move resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by, uh, Payne, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
Markus: I would point out that, uh, Miss Karen Kubby is in the audience, and I don't know
how many people have been introduced to Nancy Bird, uh, Nancy is our new
Director, and uh, why don't you just stand so everybody can identify you. Um,
she's hit the ground running and we are very fortunate, we believe in our
community, to have her aboard and uh, participating in our Downtown District,
so...
Kubby: Thanks! I'm very excited to stand before the Mayor and City Council to
encourage you to agree to this operating agreement. Uh, Nancy's going to present
a little bit about kind of our vision, mission and things we're doing currently and
in the near future that we're looking to do. Then I'll come back up to talk about
money and how we're getting money for the district as income and how in our
current fiscal year budget 2013 we expect to expend those funds. Nancy Bird.
Bird: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council, Tom! Um, I actually have a handout, so if
you don't mind I can approach and...
Throgmorton: Do you need a motion?
Karr: At ... at some point, yes. Can be now if you'd like.
Throgmorton: I move that we accept correspondence.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Throgmorton, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? All those in favor
say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries.
Bird: Uh, thank you all very much for having me tonight. Thought I'd um, real quickly
just speak through a few, um, points to ... to bring you up to date on the progress
of the Iowa City Downtown District and what we're doing. I've been on the job
for about a month right now so trying to get my legs underneath me. There's a lot
going on downtown. It's a really exciting time! Uh, last month, or last week, um,
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the Board and um, key members within the District met to discuss our mission
and goals. So I thought I'd, uh, you know, just give you a little progress report on
that. Our mission is to champion downtown Iowa City as the progressive,
healthy, and vibrant, um, urban center of the region, and in doing that there's a
number of things that we, um, want to ... our role within the community, we're
excited about, number one, championing, uh, a vision and a leadership for that
vision, and I'm glad that we're following on the heels of Wendy because, um, in
reviewing the, um, Downtown and the River, um, the Riverfront Crossings master
plan and the vision that's encaptured in there about the downtown. We're excited
to implement that. And we see a lot of steps there moving forward. Um, we hope
to be a partner in strategic alliances across the region. A convener of diverse
interests, as there are many in Iowa City, um, and a steward, um, as far as you
know, uh, convening.... um, persistence and character, and making sure the form
and how we grow is something that the community has input to. There's a larger
community conversation here and I understand that the ... the City Council and the
City in general is looking for more public input into that process so that it feels
like a real, solid community process moving forward and uh, the Iowa City
Downtown District, uh, we hope to be a strong leader in that, um ... uh, public
engagement. Uh, the goal development process that we went through last week,
um, there are a number of things I thought I'd bring to your attention as far as our
goals. They're in progress right now; our Board hasn't vetted them, but um, we
hope to enhance downtown Iowa City's image as a regional destination, um,
ensure downtown is inviting for all; clean and safe; increase ... we would like to
increase downtown's economic competitiveness, um, and there's a number of
tools that we understand the City's working on; we hope to partner with you on
those. We would like to expand the downtown's base of informed and engaged
members and a living laboratory. That was a really big, um, conversation piece
for our Board members. There's a lot of very exciting conversations that take, uh,
take place downtown as sort of the third place for the community. So we hope to
continue to provide a place for that. We'd like to expand our cultural footprint.
There's a number of huge events that, um, occur within the downtown and
citywide and we want to help contribute to those. Uh, we'd like to enhance
accessibility in a number of different ways, um, not only physical, um, but also
social, and health and sustainability were brought up as important features. Uh, in
the handout I provided a few examples of our early successes and you guys have
probably heard all about these going on downtown but um, number one, uh, in the
next month or so if you haven't seen some of the wrap projects on the fence
downtown, we have a new.marketing campaign that says, you know, you are here,
and it will cross beyond ... it'll go beyond downtown, although it'll hit downtown
in some of the parking garages to remind you, um, you know, you're ... where you
are at, where you can be, and if you're somewhere else, why you should be back
downtown. And we're also connecting to other cities that have, um, where this
... if we have a neighboring or a, um, another sports event, uh, trying to connect
with those cities like Nebraska when they come in. How do we connect with
Nebraska fans to come on downtown and enjoy the setting. Our holiday lights,
um, we're going to enhance those this year. You'll see more than just a trickle of
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holiday lights. Trying to expand it across the district to improve our impact there.
So those are some of our ... the things we're working on right now, but in the
future one of the ... the things that we've already talked with City staff about is the
con ... the consolidation of services to help the small businesses. There's a lot of
things that the small business owner has trouble doing, getting national pricing,
um, as a small business, as well as the consolidation of services related to solid
waste, cleaning, uh, snow shoveling the walks. A lot of things that, you know, the
power of one can do a lot to help provide services at a discounted rate if we do it
collectively. So we're starting to talk to business owners about that, um ... as well
as the private sector to let them know there's a demand for that kind of service
and how we can bridge that. Um, small business Saturday is another thing we're
trying to advertise and uh, let folks know that Black Friday isn't just for the big -
box retailers, but come on downtown on Saturday. There's a lot of specials for
the small businesses, um ... and then again we want to advance larger agenda,
working with the City, as well as other partners on the implementation of the
downtown and river ... Riverfront Crossings master plan. We thought the ... the
plan was really strong. There's a lot of opportunities for our involvement, as kind
of a one - stop -shop, you know, you can stop in and talk to us anytime and we can
represent the District. So, we're looking forward to it. Um, Karen's going to talk
a little bit about our budget and how we, uh, intend to proceed for the next year.
Hayek: Thanks, Nancy, and welcome!
Kubby: We've had a lot of activity that's very volunteer - based. It's been great having
Nancy here and having two full -time staff to help us coalesce all our volunteer
energy, and we are just going to continue to be at this pace for a while, because
we're a fastly- evolving organization with lots of energy and ownership, and um,
the major part of our income for the District is from the SSMID levy, $280,000 is
projected income if 99% of taxes are collected, but that's really just over half of
what we project our income to be. With the University's stellar contribution for
the four years of the SSMID of $100,000 a year, it shows their commitment to
making sure downtown remains vital and interesting, um, but we have $157,000
from sponsorships, events, partnerships, and that's really important to note. Our
special events committee deserves a special call -out. They are committed when
we have new events like benchmarks, like tree - huggers, to get sponsors to help
pay for those events, and I think that's part of our gitty -up and go. That's an
important feature of our success, and our sustainability, um, here to note that
almost half of our income is coming from other sources other than property tax
dollars. In terms of our budget, we have a category called `membership
engagement and external partnering.' That's a little over $49,000 of expenses for
annual meetings. We're committed to doing public forums so that members of
the District, but also anyone can come, find out what we're up to, provide
feedback, and have input as to how we conduct our own business. It also includes
membership development and a legislative program. We have $127,000 for
events, uh, we're committed to continuing our events and growing the events and
that includes everything from `second Saturday,' to `tree- huggers,' to
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`benchmarks,' to `taste of Iowa City, top chef.' In the future it... it, uh, it also
includes sponsorship of events like Oktoberfest, which is not at this point a
District event but it certainly is within the District and we, uh, played a big role in
sponsoring that event. When we first were talking about the SSMID, we were
talking about $30,000 to $50,000 for marketing. Our potential membership at that
point said, `not enough; if you're going to do this we need our marketing budget
to be larger.' So at this point it is $100 and ... almost $134,000 for marketing, and
our strategy is to really stay local with our marketing for the short-run, except for
that exception of doing a lot of targeted social marketing to Lincoln, Nebraska
folks so when they're here in November they know what's up in downtown Iowa
City, and they'll have lots of motivation to come down. Uh, but it will over the
years become more regional. We are a destination community and we are a
destination district within our destination community. Business programs are a
little over $51,000 of expenses, which includes park -n -shop. There may end up
being changes to that ... that would change income and expenses, but it includes
also the downtown property inventory, which was a big part of our motivation for
the SSMID and the ... and the, uh, on the offset. Little over $91,000 for clean and
safe activities, which includes all of our infrastructure activities, um ... but it also
includes the camera system, the video system that's in partnership with the
University of Iowa. It also includes the $10,000 per year over the next three years
that we committed as a District to the City of Iowa City for a, uh, police officer to
be ... have the District be its beat, that person's beat. And then finally, there's
$83,000 in office space, uh, and administrative expenses. And, because things are
evolving so quickly for us as a young organization, we knew that we needed to...
we couldn't have everything slated as a line item. We needed some contingency
dollars because we're creating new opportunities for ourselves all the time and
people are bringing us new opportunities. So when the special events budget, and
the infrastructure budget, and the marketing budget, and in the administrative
expense budget, we all... we had some contingencies built in in different layers so
that we aren't strapped with our first ideas, that we have a little bit of wiggle room
to take those new opportunities. So we do have a balanced budget of 5...
$537,238 for our FY13 budget, and we will be before you again very shortly with
our 2014 budget. So we're going to have to be very foresightful, and I suspect we
will need to come in with changes for that budget when we do present it to you.
So Nancy and I are here, uh, we're happy to answer any questions you might have
about our activities or funding of those activities. And I hope you'll vote yes on
the operating agreement. (laughter)
Hayek: Any questions for Karen? Okay.
Mims: Just exciting to see things really starting to move, and I keep getting those emails
of where are you, why aren't you here. So those are, I think, very effective!
Bird: Very good! Thank you!
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formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 26
Hayek: Great, thanks! Council discussion? Yeah, I ... I think there's an absolute buzz
downtown, uh, right now. Um, and the Downtown District plays an essential role
in ... in that, I mean, and I would add to that the various projects you see — the new
restaurants, the ... the things we have assisted and ... and not assisted, and what the
University's planning on doing. So I think ... I think the Downtown District has
formed and its leadership is ... is coming into play, at...at precisely the right time
to take advantage of all these changes and... and the good energy downtown. And
the economy's coming back so ... this is good. Further discussion on the actual
vote, the operating agreement itself? Roll call, please. Item passes 7 -0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 27
ITEM 8a. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING AUTHORIZING AND
DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AND THE CITY CLERK TO
ATTEST A JOINT DEFENSE AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY AND V.J.
ENGINEERING IN THE MATTER OF JUDDS BROTHERS VS. CITY OF
IOWA CITY.
Dobyns: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by, uh, Dobyns, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Roll call, please.
Item passes 7 -0.
i ms represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 28
ITEM 8b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING, AUTHORIZING AND
DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AND THE CITY CLERK TO
ATTEST AN AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF IOWA
CITY AND SIMONS, PERRINE, MOYER AND BERGMAN TO PROVIDE
LEGAL SERVICES IN THE MATTER OF JUDDS BROTHERS VS. THE
CITY OF IOWA CITY.
Payne: Move resolution.
Dobyns: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Payne, seconded by Dobyns. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item
passes 7 -0.
i ms represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 29
ITEM 10. COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS. Applicants MUST reside in Iowa City and be
18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated.
Hayek: We didn't get to this this evening because our work session ran over. Um, there
aren't any appointments other than to our Economic Development, um,
Committee. Do we want to not take action on this and just take this up at our
work session and vote on it at a future meeting?
Champion: Yes, that'd be fine.
Hayek: Can we do that, or would you rather we hold (both talking)
Karr: That's entirely up to you and if you're ready ... that's up to you.
Hayek: Well I'm not sure we are. We haven't had a discussion. So...
Throgmorton: I like your idea.
Hayek: If it's all right we'll just move on and take that up as part of our work session and
then place it on a future agenda.
Karr: So we'll just defer it for future agenda.
Hayek: Yeah. Do you need a motion or... okay.
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formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 30
ITEM 12. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION.
Hayek: Why don't we start down with, uh, you, Rick.
Dobyns: None!
Payne: None for me either.
Dickens: Nothing.
Mims: Um, I would just like to remind the public that the Landlocked Film Festival is
starting this week, Thursday, October 25 through Sunday the 28th. Lots of
activity downtown, um ... just an outstanding film festival. If you haven't been to
it you should give it a shot, and if you want to get information it's at
landlockedfilmfestival.org on the web and you can get their schedule.
Champion: That's a great thing to tell people! Cause it's fun. It's great!
Mims: Yeah, and I think a lot of people don't necessarily know a whole lot about it or go
to it, but just (both talking) lots of free activities and (both talking) lots of great
films.
Champion: I don't have anything new.
Throgmorton: Nothing here!
Hayek: That is excellent information. Thank you, Susan.
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formal meeting of October 23, 2012.
Page 31
ITEM 13. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF.
a) City Manager
Hayek: City Manager?
Markus: Uh, couple things. Eleanor and Marian, you can help me with this. The Diversity
Committee is planning their public forum on...
Karr: No, it's a public information gathering session.
Markus: Public information gathering (laughter). We had a discussion about that, and that
date is...
Karr: Thursday, November 15th at the Public Library at 6:00 P.M., and there'll be
information coming out.
Markus: Um, the other thing, uh, I wanted to report is that we are beginning our review of
the nine proposals for the, uh, College - Gilbert site. Um ... and the other thing I
wanted to report on is we have been named to another, uh, one of those great
charts that we get named to, as one of the top communities for livability, um, in
the United States and the, uh, comment is as college town Iowa City is full of
smart citizens; home to the University of Iowa; Iowa City was ranked by
Kiplinger's; Personal Finance rated Iowa City number 10 on its list of the top 50
smart places to live; Livability named Iowa City one of the top towns for book
lovers and children's libraries; but this city isn't just good for reading! Forbes
rated it as one of the best small metro cities for business and career, so ... we keep
racking up notification around the country! (laughter and several commenting)
And Geoff Fruin isn't here this evening because after almost a year living with
relatives he's moving into his new house here in Iowa City! (several
commenting)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 23, 2012.