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ITEM 2. STUDENT CITIZENSHIP AWARDS — Shimek Elementary
Hayek: Are there any Sharks from Shimek, and if so (laughter) would they please come
forward!
Champion: Where are they?
Karr: They're here! (several talking)
Hayek: Don't be shy, come on up! How you guys doing? Why don't you stand right
there ... great! Well, welcome! I'm, uh, Mayor Hayek and this is your City
Council behind you, and we want to welcome you to City Hall. Um, one of the
things we do throughout the school year is recognize student leaders from the
elementary schools around Iowa City, and, um, and the ... it's the thing we do at
the beginning of each meeting. I gotta tell ya, Shimek, uh, is an especially great
one for me to, uh, participate in because Shimek was my school. I don't know if
you knew that! Uh, and I went there kindergarten through, uh, sixth grade. I was
captain of the safety patrol and I have a lot of great memories, and I, uh, Mayor
Pro Tem Mims' kids went there and the City Attorney, her kids went there, and
there are a lot of great ties to Shimek. So, anyway, uh, we're glad you're here.
Uh, we see that each of you has brought a piece of pa ... paper to read. That's the
first step (laughter) That's the good thing, and so what I'll do ... can I just hand
you the microphone and tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Roach: Yeah. Hi, my name is Griffin. Thank you for this recognition. As a good citizen,
I help my neighbors whenever I can. I walk and care for my ne ... for my
neighbors' pets and shovel driveways of my elderly neighbors. I also contribute
as a citizen at school, as I am the afternoon patrol captain. As a captain, I must
make sure that everyone is safe and the patrol members are doing their job
thoroughly. For the holidays I plan to donate to various homeless and animal
shelters so those that are less fortunate than I can have a joyful holiday season.
Thank you. (applause)
Sartini - Rideout: Hi, my name is Azzurra Sartini - Rideout and I am in sixth grade at Shimek
Elementary. I serve my community by doing a reading buddy, safety patrol, and
having concerts that help get food for shelters. To me, being a good citizen
means you won't do anything that might harm others around you or being a bad
influence for younger people. My goals for becoming a more active citizen
includes volunteering at the ... at the shelter to walk the dogs there. I think this
will really help our community. (applause)
Stolpen: Hello, my name is Franz Stolpen and I am in sixth grade at Shimek Elementary. I
serve my community by participating in service activities as a Boy Scout like
collecting food and clothing for shelters, ringing bells for the Salvation Army, and
cleaning our parks. At school, I'm involved in safety patrol and reading buddies.
That lets me get to know younger kids. To me, being a good citizen means
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understanding our history and being involved locally and globally. My goals for
becoming a more active citizen include donating monies to charity and going on a
missionary outreach program. Thank you. (applause)
Hayek: Well those are fantastic. You guys are up to a lot of good things at school, in
addition to all the hard work you do in your courses. Um, and... and that's why
we bring you down here, because we want to show you off to the community, and
we also want to thank your parents and teachers and the other people, uh, in your
lives because we know they're a big reason why you're standing up here. Um,
but ... but we do this because we want to show young Iowa Citians, uh ... uh, a
great example and ... and that's what you guys are — you're a great example and
we hope that the community, uh, sees this and ... and that other kids see this, as
well. Before I let you go and before I read this I gotta tell you a quick story. Do
you know that the Shimek Sharks used to be the Shimek Squirrels?
Hayek: (laughter) When I was at Shimek, uh, the Principal at the time thought that
Sharks were a little too predatory and violent (laughter) and so for a little period
of time we became the Shimek Squirrels, but we protested and we didn't like that.
We didn't think that was a very good mascot, and so we went back to the Sharks
and I think they've been the Sharks ever since. That's a good thing! (laughter)
Anyway, we have an award. It's called the ... a ... a Citizenship Award and there's
one for each of you. It reads as follows: For his or her outstanding qualities of
leadership within Bohumil Shimek 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, December 2013. (away from mic) I want to shake
your hands, as well, to congratulate you! You're welcome to stick around or go
home and do homework. It's your choice! (laughter) Thank you so much!
(applause)
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ITEM 2. SPECIAL PRESENTATION.
Hayek: Okay, uh, we have a special, uh, presentation, uh, that proceeds the Consent
Calendar. Um, and I'm going to take some liberties here. Uh, Connie Champion
is finishing 16 years of service on the City Council, and um, I knew that if I asked
her in advance (laughter) she would refuse so I made no mention of this and
worked with Marian and others, um, and we have a proclamation that I would like
to read, and it reads as follows: (reads proclamation) (applause)
Throgmorton: All right! (applause)
Hayek: We also have...
Champion: Money? (laughter) Oh my gosh! (laughter and several talking) I didn't die!
(laughter)
Hayek: We have a bouquet for you and a uh ... and a very beautiful print of Iowa City...
Champion: Thank you!
Hayek: ...that Marian procured and ... and...
Champion: Thank you very much.
Hayek: ... and there are a couple other people here who I want to say, uh, I know want to
say a few things but ... uh, Connie, you are ... we ... we can't fill your spot!
Champion: Thank you. Thank you!
Hayek: And you are truly one -of -a -kind! (laughter)
Champion: That's really nice! Thank you so much. It's actually been a real, real (mumbled)
Hayek: This is hilarious, cause she never (several taking and laughing)
Karr: To the end! (laughter)
Champion: It's been my pleasure to serve the City and I'm thrilled that people actually voted
for me. I was always amazed when I won, um ... but I've never lost an election,
even in high school. I didn't want to test the waters again, so (laughs) I wanted
to have that clear record to brag to my children about but I appreciate... this is
really, really sweet of you. Thank you so much. Thank you everybody! I've
really enjoyed it. I've worked with mostly great Councils (laughs) and it's been
very rewarding. Thank you so much!
Hayek: Um (mumbled) do you want to ... John Yapp has a ... presentation.
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Yapp: Uh, just a short one, Mayor Hayek. You're a hard act to follow! (laughter) Uh,
but on behalf of the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County, uh,
Connie also served on that board for 16 years, including, uh, as Chair in 2003.
Uh, I'd like to present this Certificate of Appreciation.
Champion: Thank you! (applause) Wow! There's no brie cheese and wine! (laughter)
Hayek: Put your microphone on so we ... (laughter) What a riot!
Bailey: And, Connie, um, I would like to say congratulations. I look very forward to
celebrating Connie Champion Day tomorrow, and um, hope it is a smooth
meeting, although sometimes with you, it's not always so smooth for your last
Council meeting, and it was a pleasure serving with ... with you, and thank you for
your service to the City.
Champion: Thank you, Regenia.
Hayek: You guys can reserve your comments for later if you'd like. (laughter) Anyway,
okay, let's move on ... to Item 3, which is consider adoption of the Consent
Calendar as presented or amended.
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ITEM 3. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS
PRESENTED OR AMENDED.
Mims: Move adoption.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion?
Throgmorton: Matt, uh, I'd like to say something about Item 3a(l). So that's ... has to do with
the strategic plan, uh, that we are on the verge of adopting for the next two years.
I want to draw the public's attention to that item. It, uh, so it's a draft of the, of
our plan for the coming two years. The section about priorities for the next two
years states that we intend to foster, this is a quote, "A more inclusive and
sustainable Iowa City." And then, "Through a commitment to healthy
neighborhoods, a strong urban core, strategic economic development activities, a
solid fund, uh, financial foundation, and enhanced, uh, communication and
marketing. The report notes that the emphasis on inclusivity and sustainability is
intended to filter through all the City's activities, and thus were not listed as a
single isolated priority in the strategic plan. New initiatives in the strategic plan
concern affordable housing, diversity, working with the School District and other
governmental entities, as well as some new strategic economic development
activities." So praise to Tom and uh, Geoff and staff and... and Jeff Schott and
others for putting it together, uh, but I wanted to make sure the public knew that
that item is available for review, uh, on uh... on our information packet for the
formal meeting.
Hayek: Thanks, Jim. Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 4. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA).
Hayek: This is the opportunity at each City Council meeting for members of the public to
address the Council on items that are not on the agenda. So if there's something
that's not on tonight's agenda that you'd like to bring to our attention, we invite
you to step forward. We ask that you sign in and also verbally give us your name
and limit your comments to five minutes or less!
Weiler: Good evening. My name is (clears throat) excuse me, Tony Weiler, and I'd like
to introduce two of our members of the Peninsula area group, Amy Pretorius who
is Project Manager at the Peninsula, and Carl Baker who is, uh, in charge of his,
uh, homeowners' program at, uh, Mackinaw Village, and I think Carl will speak
when he has the opportunity in a few minutes, and I don't know whether I should
call this sus ... safe or second layout, but a group of us who ... from the Peninsula
area, this encompasses White Oak Place, Elk Run Condominiums, Mackinaw
Village, the Peninsula Neighborhood, and even the Elks Club have met to discuss
the problem that could occur during the next flood and the impact of how to keep
from being evacuated from our homes. There's only one way in and out of the
Peninsula, as many of you know, and Foster Road provides that vehicle access.
In 2008 a low section of the bottom of Foster Road flooded and removed the
access to our neighborhoods, and this forced all residents, almost without any
notice, to evacuate their homes for a week. In 20...2013 the water rose but didn't
get close enough for a repeat of 2008. And since 2008, the Peninsula area has
experienced enormous growth. If any of you have come out on your bicycles,
gone to the dog park, or just drive through the area, uh, there's almost a thousand
people out there now in those, uh, different associations that I mentioned, who
would be impacted today if such an event would occur in the future. We have
two major concerns. First, we do not want anyone to be forced to leave their
homes again. Second is the issue about emergency vehicle access, per ... to protect
homes and save lives. We support the Gateway Project and the raising of
Dubuque Street and Park bridge. However, the Gateway Project, we feel, is
designed to improve transportation and may not completely protect the entry onto
Foster Road from flooding and allow us to remain in our homes. This brings up
the issue of safety and security for an expanded Peninsula population from back
from 2008. We're not here tonight to propose a solution as to how the safe or
second way out can be created, but rather to ask the Iowa City Council to act
sooner than later to help us remedy the problem before we have another flooding
event. And I thank you for your attention to our request.
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Baker: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Carl Baker and I am on the
Board of the Mackinaw Village Housing Association on Foster Road. There are
two Mackinaw Village associations. Ours is one that consists of 28 condos. We
front on Foster Road and Rock, uh, Arch Rock Road. We are directly across the
street from the Elks Golf Course, um ... I didn't live here in 2008. 1 moved here in
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2011. But I was here during the, uh, flood event of 2008. I assisted a friend in
moving his belongings, uh, out of a condo located in Idyllwild and I also met
individuals who had to evacuate the Peninsula because of the flooding. Um, I
agree with, uh, Mr. Weiler's comments concerning the ... the safety issue and ...I
also would urge the Council to develop a solution which would allow flood -free
access to the Peninsula, as well as, uh, egress from the Peninsula if a flood event
occurs. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you.
Ross: Hi, I'm Brandon Ross. Um ... before I ... before I say what I'm going to say, I...
would like to also, uh, celebrate Connie's, uh, all her service, uh ... uh, often times
Connie and I would... would ... I would not be in agreement with Connie's
decisions. It would have been nice if I agreed with maybe even one (laughter) but
uh ... but I've always found in Connie to be a very respectful person. A person
who was open. Even though in disagreement she was always, uh, always
talkative and respectful and open, uh, which, uh, in politics it's hard to find
somebody who's open, and I know that Connie always voted with her code of
ethic and, uh, and her heart, so I appreciate that. Thank you so much! Uh... now
I'd just like to delve into just a couple things and uh, not delve because I have
four minutes as of now but ... first of all I'm in disagreement with, uh, with Iowa
City's underfunding of affordable housing. Uh, at the last meeting, um, things
were professed that I think are wrong. I think that we need more affordable
housing, not less, and I think the amount of money, uh, that was withheld from
affordable housing is ridiculous. I think that Iowa City has, uh, has frequently
been called a `lighthouse' community, but I see it sliding and I think that that is
one of its areas that needs to be looked into. Uh, we are making decisions about,
uh, lessening affordable housing and uh ... we are eliminating the commons.
Moving people around who are poor on the pedestrian mall and other areas. Um,
we are eliminating SEATS, uh, funding, which I find to be horrible. We are
eliminating jobs, uh, I heard a Councilor say, uh, months and months ago that
we're not in the business of hiring in the city. It's not our job to create jobs. We
have to balance our books. Well I think that's wrong! I think it is our, uh, our
business of creating jobs and that the number one hirer of people in this country is
the government, and this is the city government, and if we can't hire jobs, we
need to look into hiring jobs. All this while giving tax breaks to ... to wealthy
people who are building highrises in this town with absolutely no inclusionary
housing for those who don't have the big money. (mumbled) people who are in
those highrises now are from the upper 10, 20 %. Many of them are from our of
the country who are part of the 5 and 10% in places like China, India, and I don't
think that that helps us if we don't also include housing for people, inclusionary
where there are, uh, amenities for people in the downtown area. I don't think we
can just put all our affordable housing off into the southside. As far as the jobs,
and I'll just only allude to this, the whole, uh, situation with the Landfill, uh,
creating .... uh, taking away jobs, I think, is absolutely wrong. Um ... and I think
that ... that a lot of this can be seen in places like Washington Street where the
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that ... that a lot of this can be seen in places like Washington Street where the
(can't hear) Building replaced, uh, four historic buildings that had affordable
housing and affordable businesses, about 12 or 14 businesses, and they do not
have affordable apartments now and they ... those businesses on Washington
across from the Co -Op, they do not have affordable businesses or housing, and I
think that's a black eye! I think that's the wrong way to go! You know ... uh ... I
think we're giving a lot to those who have. I think the Council is not been
considering, uh, the working class. The working class is the majority in this town.
And those are people who are working. Those are people who are not
manipulating capital. They are not trading in real estate or stocks or bonds.
They're people who are working at Hy -Vee and Pearson's and ACT and pizzerias
and ... and all those places in town that basically build up the wealth of this town.
In the 1860s, Abraham Lincoln in a letter said, he said between capital and labor,
he said that labor is more important. The Republican President said, he said that
without labor you can't have capital, and he said that you need to concern
yourselves ...we need to concern ourselves more with label ... labor than with
capital, and I think that stands foremost, because basically the majority of the
people in this town are those people. And I think that we can do a better job of
that, and I think that just being in a society where our concern is only for material
gain, and building, you know, and building highrises and giving money to the ... to
those who have money, without consideration for ... for the community, uh, in ... in
greater way, I think, is wrong. I think it's completely wrong. And I think the
Council can do better. And I thank the Council for its time, but I think the
Council needs to dig in a little bit more. You need to put your heels in, and this is
not an individual criticism, but I think that in our economy right now, of all the
developed nations right now, we're about 23rd. Only Singapore is before us in
equality and ... a great book I just read, called "The Spirit Level." Why greater
equality make society stronger. Just came out by Richard Wilkinson and Kate
Pickett. Uh, it talks about just these issues. The more inequality that you have,
the more problems that you have and I'm almost done. Thanks for your patience
and basically, some of the problems that you have when you have an unequal
society, that you don't have so much when you have an equal society, level of
trust, mental illness, life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity, children's
educational performance, teenage births, homicides, imprisonment rates, social
mobility. Is this City Council only an arm of the Chamber of Commerce or is the
City Council a government of the people, and we want more of it to be a
government of the people. Thank you so much!
Hayek: Thank you for the comments! (light applause)
Honohan: Jay Honohan, 1510 Somerset Lane. I'm a Member of the Senior Center
Commission. I didn't know about the presentation about Connie. I was just
thinking that she's the only one up here that beats me in the number of years I've
been on the Commission!
Champion: (laughs) I'm amazed! (both laughing)
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Honohan: And, Connie, I ... I just don't think next year it'll be an official Council meeting
without ya! I'd like to make a short comment or two about the Senior Center.
Uh, recently, uh, Richard Moody, who was an Art, uh, Director for the State of
Iowa happened to visit the Senior Center in Iowa City cause he made a
presentation at the University, and he stated, and this is almost a quote, one of the
best senior centers he has ever been in. And I want to thank the City Council for
its support all the years, all the years Connie and I have been together, for its
support of the Senior Center. Connie remembers, we started out when we went to
participant fee. We had approximately 500 members. Now we've got over three
times that. Connie remembers when we started the Foundation, the Friends of the
Center. We had approximately 300,000 to 400,000 in the Foundation,
contributions from seniors and uh, some community members. We now have
over twice that and we have spent over $200,000 from that Foundation for capital
improvements and operating expenses of the Center. We have approximately
each year 44,000 hours of volunteer hours. The staff has help from the Steering
Committee, the Program Committee, the Outreach Committee, and the
Membership Committee. I like to brag about the Center and I apologize that I
come down here to harass you with these kind of reports all the time, but it's one
of my pet projects and I'll be around next ... for the next three years and I'll be
here! (laughter) Thank you very much!
Hayek: Thanks, Jay! Anyone else? Okay, we will move on to Planning and Zoning
Matters, Item 5.
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ITEM 5. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS.
ITEM 5b SCHOOL DISTRICT REZONING ON SYCAMORE STREET —
REZONING 15.78 ACRES FROM COUNTY RESIDENTIAL (R) ZONE
TO NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC (P -1) ZONE AND 29.07 ACRES FROM
COUNTY RESIDENTIAL (R) ZONE TO INTERIM DEVELOPMENT
RESIDENTIAL SINGLE - FAMILY (ID -RS) ZONE FOR PROPERTY
LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF SYCAMORE STREET. (REZ13-
00023) [Discussion only at formal meeting] (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Mims: Move second consideration.
Champion: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Champion. Discussion? Any ex parte since he
first reading?
Throgmorton: Uh, no, but I'd like to say something but you know, is it timely?
Hayek: Yeah!
Throgmorton: Yeah, okay, well I'm going to vote for this again, as I did last time, but I want to,
uh, emphasize that I strongly believe this ... the Planning staff, the Planning and
Zoning Commission, and the Council should be taking a much more active role in
...in shaping the design of the new neighborhoods down by, uh, this school and
the one on the east. So ... but I'll vote for it, of course.
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 5c SCHOOL DISTRICT REZONING ON AMERICAN LEGION
ROAD — REZONING 15.14 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED ON
AMERICAN LEGION ROAD NEAR THE INTERSECTION WITH
BARRINGTON ROAD FROM COUNTY AGRICULTURE (A) ZONE TO
NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC (P -1) ZONE. (REZ13- 00025) [Discussion only
at formal meeting] (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Mims: Move second consideration.
Payne: Second!
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Any ex parte since the first?
Any further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 5d REZONING CARDINAL RIDGE, PART 4 — REZONING 3.77 -
ACRES FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT SINGLE FAMILY (ID -RS)
ZONE TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY — LOW DENSITY
SINGLE FAMILY (OPD -5) ZONE LOCATED ON CAMP CARDINAL
ROAD SOUTH OF KENNEDY PARKWAY. (REZ- 00024 /SUB13- 00018)
[Discussion only at formal meeting] (PASS AND ADOPT)
Dobyns: Move adoption.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by, uh, Dobyns, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Any ex parte since the
previous reading? Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 5e CARDINAL RIDGE, PART 4 — APPROVING PRELIMINARY
PLAT (SUB13- 00018)
Hayek: Let's get it on the floor first.
Mims: Uh, move adoption.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Jeff!
Davidson: Uh, good evening, Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council. I'm Jeff
Davidson, the Director of Planning and Community Development. Uh, here you
see the location map for Cardinal Ridge Part IV, uh, located south of Kennedy
Parkway and east of Camp Cardinal Road ... Camp Cardinal Boulevard, excuse
me. Here you see the aerial. Uh, and here are ... is the, um ... 24 lots that will be
established. Uh, it's kind of laying on its side from the previous view that you
saw, but it'll basically be in this area right here, uh, connect up, uh, with the
stubbed street right here, and basically bring the lot around. Twenty -four lots, uh,
similar to, uh, the platted lots that are out there already. Are there any questions?
Thank you!
Hayek: Anyone from the public? Council discussion? Roll call, please.
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ITEM 5f GENERAL QUARTERS, PART 2 — APPROVING
PRELIMINARY PLAT (SUB13- 00023)
Mims: Move approval.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion?
Davidson: Uh, here you see the ... see the location map of General Quarters, 59 lot
subdivision, east of, uh, Sycamore Street and south of Sherman Drive. Uh, here's
an aerial. It's been in agriculture. Uh, and here you see the street layout. There
will be an intersection with Sycamore Street. We'll pick up the stubbed street
that's right here and have a nice interconnected neighborhood, uh, also up in this
area, and then we'll stub a street down here, uh, for connection to the next
subdivision to the south. Uh, the Sycamore Greenway, uh, runs through this area
here, an existing trail through there. Hopefully you all have had the opportunity
to be out on it. There will be a street, uh, that crosses the greenway, uh, we'd like
to keep those to the absolute minimum, but there will be one to try and get the
neighborhoods interconnected in this area. It will actually be constructed by
Whispering Meadows, Part IV, over here when that is, uh, platted and
constructed, but there will be a sign posted, uh, this was a desire of the Planning
and Zoning Commission, have a sign posted here just notifying people who buy
lots in this subdivision, uh, that the street eventually will be connected, uh, in
order to get that neighborhood connectivity that we're looking for. We'll have
some single - loaded lots here, which I think will be very nice. It'll look out on the
greenway, no lots backing on to the greenway, which I think is a nice design to
kind of preserve the open feeling, uh, of the greenway. Are there ... uh, a number
of fees that will be paid in conjunction with the platting of this. Oh, there's the...
there's a photograph of what the property looks like right now. And that's it!
Any questions?
Payne: Can you go back to the plat, Jeff? Um ... my question is is ... it, go back a couple
slides. You can see the lots on the other side.
Davidson: Uh huh.
Payne: On the other side of the street the ... that road kind of goes up and we don't have a
cul -de -sac. Why do we end up with a cul -de -sac on this one?
Davidson: Uhhh...
Payne: Like right, right in there, yeah, see how that kind of goes up and then ... so there's
no cul -de -sac at the end of...I can't read that road name.
Davidson: Hemmingway Lane?
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Payne: Right, and then in this new subdivision we have a cul -de -sac. I ... I thought we
were trying to get rid of those tight little cul -de -sacs.
Davidson: We ... we are trying to limit cul -de -sacs where possible. Basically it's a trade -off
here, Michelle, with ... we ... you can see there's a ... a, uh, cul -de -sac up here in the
earlier addition of this, uh, subdivision. Basically we were trying to trade -off
having connectivity to the arterial street, um, and ... and limit the number of cul-
de -sacs. Um, there was even discussion of having this be a cul -de -sac. We felt
that there should be some connectivity to the arterial, but we didn't want to have
two intersections. Basically every time you have an intersection on an arterial, it
becomes a conflict point — a place where, um...
Payne: But I'm ... I'm not asking about an intersection with Sycamore. I'm saying why
doesn't that road just go straight north and intersect with that main road that's
intersecting with Sycamore?
Davidson: Uh...
Payne: Like it does on the other side of the street.
Davidson: Okay, I'm sorry, Michelle. I'm just not following you here. Which street are you
talking about on this side?
Payne: Hemming ... Hemmingway Lane.
Davidson: Hemmingway Lane.
Payne: See how it goes around and curves to the north?
Davidson: Right.
Payne: Why doesn't this street do that instead of the cul -de -sac on the end?
Davidson: I do not have a good answer for that!
Payne: That would eliminate the cul -de -sac, I mean, it would eliminate a couple lots
obviously, but...
Davidson: Well that right there might .... may have been the answer.
Dickens: How much farther south is McCallister than this project (both talking)
Davidson: Uh, I think...
Dickens: (both talking) ...may go through there.
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Davidson: ...the aerial doesn't go quite far enough south, Terry.
Dickens: (both talking) ... quite a bit farther south (mumbled)
Davidson: Um ... it's ... it's down in this vicinity here. And this is of course where we
do ... uh, as from the discussion we had when you gave first consideration to the
school site down here, we do see some multi - family, uh, housing development, as
well as a commercial node down in that area, and also some institutional uses.
Dickens: All right. Thanks!
Dobyns: Michelle, you recommending for this vote or for future consideration?
Payne: Well I think that if we're trying to eliminate cul -de -sacs, I mean ... I'm not a
planner, but I could see that we have that same thing on the other side of the
street, so why didn't we build it that way to start with. I'm not saying this... we
shouldn't approve this. I'm just saying there was another opportunity to eliminate
that cul -de -sac.
Davidson: There was a lot of discussion with the developer, the ... the developer of this
subdivision. It has since sold and it's not the same person we were working with
before, and I apologize, Michelle, I was not personally part of those discussions,
but I'm sure that was something that was negotiated with the developer and ... and
as you say, the ... the desire to create two more lots, that could have certainly been
the motivating factor.
Throgmorton: Michelle, I'd echo your concern about the cul -de -sacs, uh, mainly because there's
a lot of literature that says if you have cul -de -sacs it just for ... forces people, uh, to
drive through a subdivision and then onto an arterial, which enhances or increases
traffic congestion on arterials. I believe it's an outmoded way of thinking about
traffic engineering and traffic design. And there's a... a lot of literature about, uh
...um, what ... what somebody just showed me a book sometime in the last few
days about, uh ... um, I don't know, good city streets. I don't remember the exact
title and I don't remember who it was that showed me. Some staff person, I think,
but ... I ... I think it's a mistake to keep building subdivisions that have cul -de -sacs.
All right? So that's a concern I have. I have three other things I'd like to bring
up, three questions, but I don't want to ... maybe somebody else has (both talking)
Hayek: Go ahead, Jim!
Throgmorton: ... uh, so, um, Jeff, how far from the prop ... I ... I don't know if kids who live in
this new subdivision will go to Grant Wood Elementary or the new south school, I
mean, who knows. It depends on the District (both talking)
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Davidson: We would anticipate those boundaries being adjusted when the new school is
built.
Throgmorton: Yeah, yeah, but what I find myself wondering is how far from the proposed...
let's assume that it's the south school, how far from the proposed south school
will the homes in the subdivision be and what routes would children take to get to
them?
Davidson: Yeah, this ... this property is roughly ... it might be slightly closer to Grant Wood
School, but it's roughly halfway (both talking) between the two schools, and there
will be, um, between the trail system and the sidewalk connectivity, which is
very, very good in this neighborhood, I think it would be walkable to either
school, uh, by children in this neighborhood, certainly the older children.
Throgmorton: Where would they cross Sycamore?
Davidson: Um, we ... we work those details out with the School District, Jim, to ... because
certainly on an arterial we would expect some type of control with a ... a crossing
guard, typically it's an adult, but sometimes we work those out with student
crossing guards, but we'll work that out and then the school will publicize, there
will be a designated system for, uh, walking to that school from this
neighborhood.
Throgmorton: Uh, and what other non - residential uses will be located within a reasonable
walking distance of the homes in this subdivision? Of course I mean a quarter to
at the most a half -mile.
Davidson: Yeah, and as I pointed out, that arterial will come through down in this vicinity
and ultimately (laughs) all of you will control what type of development
ultimately occurs in that area because it will require rezoning actions in order to
implement the Comprehensive Plan features that we have for a mix of multi-
family, commercial, and institutional uses, which would all be walkable from this
subdivision.
Throgmorton: Thanks!
Davidson: Any other questions? Thank you!
Hayek: Further Council discussion?
Throgmorton: Yeah, I think it's both interesting and instructive to see this application arrive just
two weeks after have ... we had an extensive discussion about the design of the
neighborhoods around the new south and east schools. I'm guessing we're going
to see several others in the very near future. Don't know for sure, two or three
maybe, or whatever. As I tried to say in the last meeting, I'm going to try to
address something that you asked me about last time, Rick. I ... I think we should
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be making a transition away from conventional subdivision design, based on
outmoded zoning concepts. We should be moving instead toward building
sustainable neighborhoods that are at a scale which is appropriate for Iowa City,
more compact, more walkable, served by public transportation, containing a mix
of uses, and a mix of housing types and costs, which means a mix of incomes,
household incomes, and which facilitates civic life and face -to -face community.
In such a neighborhood, a new school would be placed on a preferential building
site so that it can symbol ... can serve as a symbolically and physically important
landmark for the neighborhood, marking it as a distinctive place. I don't think
this preliminary plat gets us there, so I'm going to vote against it.
Hayek: Yeah, I'm gonna ... I'm gonna vote for it, and ... and you know, I guess I would say
this, that we ... we're going to have a chance at...at appropriate junctures to take
up zoning requests. Um, and I anticipate a... a full discussion, uh, when we get to
those, uh, points, but you know, and ... and what you're talking about is a little
more sort of the ... of the Peninsula variety, which ... which worked, but involved
heavy ... heavy City investments, um, and ... and may or may not work in a setting
like this, but I think it's important for us to be consistent. I mean, we just voted
on Cardinal Ridge, uh, which is very near a school, uh, called Borlaug and we
approved the rezoning, we approved the preliminary plat, and I can't tell for sure,
but I suspect the lot sizes on that subdivision are larger than what we're seeing
down here, and in fact I think from the (both talking)
Throgmorton: Oh, I bet they are!
Hayek: ... from the General Quarters' application, I think the lot sizes are the absolute
smallest they can be under RS -5, which is 8,000 feet, which suggests as modest a
lot size as you can get for that zoning designation, um, and I think the housing in
that area is pretty moderate. Um, we've struggled to get housing, uh, growth in
that area of town. We're getting it now, thanks to the School, thanks to Terry
Trueblood Park, thanks to some other amenities, um, but it's ... it's gotta work and
we ... and we'll have these discussions but ... but you know I think this is a good
project, um, and I think it's going to add to some important growth, which has
long -term benefits in terms of balance, uh, in term ... numbers and whatnot, not
only at the School District but ... but otherwise. Um, but ... but, you know, this...
this strikes me as, I mean, it's RS -5, and you can take issue with that. It is in a
suburban setting, but it's as modest an approach to an RS -5 setting I think as you
can come up with.
Payne: And I ... I do agree that it fits into the neighborhood, but if we're going to try to
eliminate cul -de -sacs, this is a prime area where we could do that, and they didn't
do it. So ... what's going to happen with the next section and the next section and
the next section? Are they going to say well that's what it looks like to the north?
At some point in time you have to draw the line and say, "No, this is how we want
it developed."
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Hayek: And ... and my issues not whether there's a cul -de -sac or not and I know we try to
avoid it, and I think staff has indicated that ... that this was the best they could do,
but... but... but the broader issue and the one that Jim's raising (both talking)
Payne: Yeah, that's a...
Hayek: That's a diff...
Payne: We ... that needs a work session! (laughs)
Dobyns: (mumbled) cause I'm going to vote for this, but I would like an answer ... if
enough of the Council would agree at the next work session to have the
appropriate City staff explain why in this particular parcel, a cul -de -sac was put
down, for future considerations. Jim, I know this isn't addressing your issue,
though that has a lot of merit. But it's addressing Michelle's and, um, just... just
to move this along, but if that would be okay if we could have that brief
explanation (both talking)
Markus: ... yes.
Dobyns: That'd work? Okay. Thank you.
Champion: Well I ... I'm going to support it. I think these are small lots, will probably have
very moderately priced houses on them and be available to a lot of people who are
making, um, a decent living. Um, sometimes you can't avoid cul -de -sacs because
of the way the land is contoured also. I mean, so they're not going to be totally
avoidable. But I think this is a really good project, and I like the size of the lots
and I think the ... I think it's what this area could really use.
Dickens: I'll be supporting it as well, and to Jim's thing, we ... I ... if I understand what
you're trying to get, but getting people to invest in it may be a little tougher, and
that's ... I know we can control the zoning, but getting the people to actually invest
in these things may be a little harder. I know we could ... upzone everything but...
I ... it just is a matter of getting people that are willing to put up the money to build
these things and it may take time. It may take longer to get this done but ... I ... I'd
love to see the walking too but it's what the market will bear a little bit so...
Throgmorton: I understand Terry's point, uh, your point, Terry, about, uh, market feasibility, but
what we need to be doing collectively in our city is investing in places that people
will love for decades and decades to come.
Hayek: Any further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 6 -1, Throgmorton in the
negative.
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ITEM 7. UNIVER -CITY SALE, 430 SOUTH LUCAS - AUTHORIZING
CONVEYANCE OF A SINGLE FAMILY HOME LOCATED AT 430
SOUTH LUCAS STREET.
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. The public hearing is open. (bangs gavel) This is
another one of those UniverCity partnership, uh, projects which we are ready to
convey to an owner! Public hearing is closed.
b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
Champion: I ... I just have a little comment to make on this. I mean, I love it, you know I love
it, but I drove down Lucas and I ... I hope there'll be other possibilities for us to
purchase some properties on Lucas. That ... that street is just about gone (laughs) I
think as far as... as preserving it as a real neighborhood. So, uh, I'm really excited
about this particular house, and I hope maybe some more of those houses will
become available. That's all (mumbled)
Hayek: ...you mentioned the other day, that was Dodge wasn't it? Where the...
Throgmorton: Yeah (several responding)
Champion: Yeah, that's going to ... that's just a huge empty space (several talking) Yeah!
Mims: Yeah!
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 8. FLOOD MITIGATION SALES TAX INCREMENT FUND -
AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF IOWA CITY TO USE SALES TAX
INCREMENT REVENUE FROM THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF
REVENUE FLOOD PROJECT FUND.
Mims: Move approval.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Mr. Purdy!
Purdy: You have a question? Just explain it in general?
Throgmorton: Well, so, Dave's going ... yeah, so what ... what I'd asked by email, uh, of Tom
and ... and now you earlier today was to help us understand how this, um, how this
is structured. Where the sales tax funds are coming from, how they're being
allocated. You know, is this a statewide program, or is it somehow focused on,
only on Iowa... sales tax generated within Iowa City, and so on. Just help us
understand how the program works.
Purdy: Sure. Yes, it's set up strictly for Iowa City. And so the way it's set up is they
establish a base year, say uh, for example fiscal year 13 and say Iowa City's is,
uh, $50 million, and so they use that as the base year. Um, Iowa City had to
project the amount of sales tax increase we thought we were going to incur in the
fu ... or get in the future. We had very conservative estimates. It was less than
1 %. Uh, looking back it, you know, it ranged from 2 to 3 %. So we said, okay,
1 %. 1% of $50 million is $500,000. And so, um, if the sales tax increases that
much, then we get to keep 70% of the difference between $50,500,000 and $50
million. And so that would be $350,000. And so it continues on year to year, so
for example the sales tax we collect in the second year, it raises up to $51 million.
Then we get to collect 70% of the difference between $51 million and $50
million. And so it just continues each year, so they're using a base year, rather
than a percentage of increase from year -to -year. They're using a base year and
you get to collect 70% of the difference, based upon what your projections were.
Throgmorton: So the increment is the amount over the base year, correct?
Purdy: Exactly!
Throgmorton: Yeah. Okay, and it's focused... geographically limited to sales taxes generated
within Iowa City, right?
Purdy: Yes!
Hayek: And this is the ... this is a DNR program, state program, that ... that allows cities to
do this if they adopt it, to pay for flood projects.
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Purdy: Right, and so we got our award at the beginning of December and immediately
the Department of Revenue then set up a separate account, um, at the... at the
Iowa Department of Revenue for flood mitigation projects ... for the flood
mitigation project that we applied for and was awarded.
Throgmorton: In our last meeting we briefly discussed two separate programs, one's the flood
mitigation program and the other was something called "reinvestment district
program." And I was (both talking)
Markus: I'll have Geoff explain that if you want that as well.
Throgmorton: Well, yeah, and I spoke pretty critically about the reinvestment district thing but
that's not what this is.
Markus: That's not what this is. That's not before you at this time.
Throgmorton: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't ... I don't know if it's necessary for Geoff to do that
right now, but it ... the clarification helps me, I know that! Yeah.
Mims: I would just say, I went to Des Moines when, uh, with staff members when the...
the Commission was looking at this and there were presentations by, oh, what'd
we have, Geoff, eight that day, eight or nine cities that day when we were over
there and they went from I think Cedar Rapids was $260 million or $280 million
(both talking) um, and uh, Coralville was there. I think they got about $9 million.
Dubuque was there and so you know as Dave said, it's everybody's projections
are based on the increase in sales tax revenue collected in their own city, but the
State has a cap on it over a certain number of years, so in other words, the State's
only willing to give up so many millions of dollars over the next twenty... twenty
years.
Fruin: Twenty years, and so the cap is $30 million a year statewide.
Mims: Yeah (several responding) So they're not letting everybody, but what was
interesting was in this first round, there was more money than there was
applicants, and so everybody out of this first found got fully funded. So it was...
they decided it was a first -come, first - serve, uh, operation and so we got fully
funded, which will certainly help with the decommissioning of the north
wastewater treatment plant so (both talking)
Markus: But we'll have to front the ... the funds for this...
Mims: Right!
Markus: ...uh, we'll take the, uh, increment and use that to retire the bond issue, uh, that's
used to take out the plant and ... and make the improvements to that site. So...
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Champion: Just, uh, for the public's knowledge, this has nothing to do with our I% sales tax
that was voted on for the public. I think it'd be confusing for them. (several
talking)
Mims: ...good point. It is not an increase.
Champion: Right!
Throgmorton: Great! Thanks, Dave!
Hayek: Thanks, David. And, Susan, you and staff did do a fantastic job.
Mims: I just showed up (laughter)
Hayek: Anyway ... so, any further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 9. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES — RECOMMENDING
FIBERIGHT, LLC AS THE PREFERRED CONTRACTOR FOR THE
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS ISSUED JULY 15, 2013.
Mims: Move approval.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion? I think we're going to get a
staff presentation first. I know there are people from the audience who would like
to address us and we will have time for that.
Throgmorton: So, Matt, I'm going to make a motion (both talking) but do I need (both talking)
Hayek: Do you want to do that now?
Throgmorton: Get it out of the way, right?
Hayek: That'd... that'd be fine. Why don't you hang tight, Rick, uh, Jim wants to...
Throgmorton: I ... I move we defer, uh, this item, uh, for ... til our next meeting.
Hayek: Is there a second? Okay, I think your motion fails for lack of a second (laughter)
(both talking) and we'll ask Rick to get back up to the podium.
Fosse: Thank you! So as you've mentioned, the ... the agenda item on the floor right now
is, uh, a resolution that would designate Fiberight as the preferred contractor in
the request for proposal process, uh, for solid waste management services, and
what I want to do is just lead off with a little bit of background on the process and
how we got to this point, uh, where we are this evening. And it begins back in the
spring of 2012 when Fiberight approached Iowa City as well as, uh, areas in Linn
County, uh, to talk to us, uh ... uh, and share their process and their technology and
talk to us about the potential of being a waste supplier, uh, for their process to use
municipal solid waste to produce, uh, ethanol. And um... one of the things that
Tom recognized right away is this is the ultimately a decision that the City
Council will need to make, and there will be a significant amount of interest
amongst the public for that. So what we did was invite Fiberight to come back at
a formal Council meeting that was televised and ... and make a presentation to you
all about their process, which they did on August 21St of... of 2012. And at that
time there was signific ... or sufficient interest to pursue this further. Uh, so the
next step in the process was to wait for Fiberight's, uh, pilot plant in Virginia to
be operational, which it did in the fall of 2012 and Dave Elias, our Landfill
Superintendent and I went out to look at that process, and verify that it did the
things that they said it was going to do, and then also to look at that process to
see, uh, what component's, uh, all or part of it, might be an appropriate fit for our
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landfill. And, uh, we ... we liked what we saw out there and we ... we saw that
some of the components would indeed be a good fit at our landfill. After we
returned to Iowa City, uh, we ... we talked amongst the staff on what's the best
procurement method to use for something like this, and what was concluded is
that we really need to do a ... a request for a proposal to put Fiberight in a ... a
competitive mode with the other technologies that are out there, and ... and
pursuing waste -to- energy and alternative, um, landfill waste management
techniques. So we ... we got the nod from you all on March 19th to draft that
request for a proposal. We engaged a ... a, uh, engineering firm that specializes in
this sort of thing, and then on August 6th we returned to you, August Oh of this
year, we returned to you, uh, with the draft request for a proposal so that ... that
you could see what it consisted of and one of the ... the points that we talked about
that night, which brings us here this evening, is in the middle of this process we
have a check -in point where we declare a preferred contractor, and the reason that
was put in there was because of the potential to have, uh, significantly divergent
technologies submit on this, and when we had our pre - submittal, uh, conference,
our meeting out at the Landfill, there were 14 different companies there,
representing as near as we could tell five different technologies, uh, at that pre -
submittal meeting. In the end we only got one submittal, and that was from
Fiberight. Um ... and that brings us to where we are tonight, and that is to ... to
make a decision on the status as preferred contractor. Uh, there are concerns out
there, uh, regarding the details of the technology, and the process that ... thatthey
use, and ... and how it might impact the ways that we collect and process our solid
waste. In other words, there's concerns out there about the environment and
about jobs, and...and those things are important to all of us, and we're going to
need to vet this ... this, uh, project in a way that addresses those things, but I will
point out that technology change is a part of our business, especially in solid
waste. We're currently in a transition from two - person garbage trucks to one-
person garbage trucks, and we're phasing that in over time, working with
retirements so that there are no layoffs there. So technology changes don't
automatically equal layoffs and so that's just one of the job issues. Um, so this
evening, staff recommends that we approve the resolution this evening, and
we ... we make that recommendation based on four points. Uh, the first is is this,
the approval of this resolution is the necessary next step in the request for a
proposal process to allow us to begin to talk with Fiberight in more detail and
begin to negotiate about the process so that we can answer some of the questions
that are out there. It's a ... it's a way of getting additional information. Um... the
second point is that once we're engaged in this process, we can have Fiberight
conduct public forums, so that they can, uh, begin to address the questions about
their technology and ... and answer folks directly and get the word out about the
things that they're doing, and speak directly to those issues. Uh, the third point is
is this is a ... a no-risk .... or no -risk item tonight. That is that it doesn't obligate or
commit us into entering into a contract with Fiberight. It only, uh, signifies the
beginning of a negotiation process, which may or may not end with an agreement
that comes back to you, uh, ultimately for the City Council to approve if... if we
get to that point, and one of the things that Rick brought up at...at the Rick
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session of this, if we do get to that point, we certainly need to give enough heads -
up so that people have the opportunity for public inpoint... input, at that point in
the process. Uh, the fourth reason is that there is risk to not moving forward in
this, in that if .. Fiberight is moving forward elsewhere, uh, specific up...
specifically up in the Linn County area and also in the Blairstown area and if
they're successful at what they're doing, and ... and the indications are that there's
a good chance that they can be successful at this, it will change the ... the face of
solid waste management around here, and being on the outside of that is not an
advantageous place for us to be as ... as a landfill operator. Uh, if we are not
engaged with Fiberight, there's nothing to prevent them from, uh, contracting
directly with those who haul to our landfill, and have that go to their ... their
processes elsewhere. So, those are the four reasons we recommend approval and
I'll be happy to answer any questions that you have at this time or later in the
discussion.
Hayek: Thank you, Rick. Okay, there are members, uh, from the audience I'm sure want
to address us. Ask you to, uh, go ahead and sign in and uh, just give us your
name, please.
Taylor: Good evening, I'm Todd Taylor and I'm here to speak on behalf of AFSCME
Iowa Council #61 and our members who work for the City of Iowa City. Refuse
and recycling workers have one of the highest public approval ratings among city
departments here in Iowa City. Our workers have proven that they get the job
done well. They are professionals that the City has invested significant expense
in training over the years. We should not outsource what they do to a for -profit
corporation with no track record. What if this corporation cannot make its ex
... experimental process profitable and goes broke? Iowa City would be left
holding the bag without the workers necessary to do the work. Safety in the
landfill is a very serious matter. Different kinds of trash cause injuries or
environmental threats or public health threats. Extensive training is required to
handle the many types of waste present in Iowa City's Landfill. Inviting a
company with no real sanitation track record into our Landfill is risky. Who
would be liable if one of the workers gets hurt? Who would be liable if they
made a mistake that required a massive environmental clean-up? These questions
have not been fully studied. This process is moving very fast with very little
public input. We encourage the City Council to oppose the proposed outsourcing
of these public services. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for your comments. (light applause)
Dieterle: I'm Caroline Dieterle and I hardily agree with the former speaker; however, I'm
here also to caution you about the fact that according to what I hear, um, and I
will try to find the, uh, relevant... link that maybe I can send you via an email, um,
which shows that these processes such as this, if it's the ones like ... what usually
are done to make ethanol out of garbage, um, is ... is very water -use intense. And
in Iowa we're beginning to have a lot of problems with water anyway in terms of
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having enough, and uh, if you're going to have a process to change your waste
into ethanol, it uses a lot of water. You need to know where the water is going to
come from that you're going to use. Is this going to come out of our aquifers,
which are already falling at a greater rate than they can be replenished, uh, we're
into drought mode around here, um ... rivers tend to run low, um, and so you know
people waste water profligately in Iowa. And I don't think that that can continue,
you know, indefinitely because we aren't going to have enough of it, and you
know, this would be just one more drain, literally, on the amount of water that we
have at our disposal, and I think that this could prove to be a real mistake, simply
from that standpoint, without even looking at the other problems with it. So,
please, you know, look at that carefully before you enter any ... into any kind of,
uh, waste to ethanol, uh, scheme, uh, because it comes with a cost. You know,
when you read about, oh we can take the waste and turn it into ethanol! It's like
turning corn into ethanol, uh, they've now realized what, you know, what they
should have realized right at the beginning, that there's more energy input to
create the ethanol than outgo to get the ... from the ethanol, and that's the laws of
physics right there, and you know, when you add into it the scarcity of the water
resource that you're using, in the process, it becomes even more stupid thing to
do. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for your comments.
Moore: Curt Moore, 3169 Dubuque Street NE. I actually live in the county. And that's
one of my concerns is if you're changing your ... your dump, there's other cities
and the county people use your dump, and if you ... if you have a ... a, if you're not
in on the ground floor, you don't get on this and all of a sudden it fails, you...
you've already lost your equipment and you're paying for this out here, the
county and the rest of the people are going to pay more. Uh, 30 years in the
Department of Corrections. It's a dirty job; somebody had to do it, but by God,
you got people that work for you at a job, but it's a dirty job, with a smile on their
face and the public actually sees them, as opposed to a correctional officer, so you
should take a serious look at your people and what they're doing for you, and they
do an excellent job.
Hayek: Thank you.
Carsner: My name's Tom Carsner. I am the Chair of the local Sierra Club, but I'm not
speaking, uh, for the group. Rather I'm speaking just, uh, personally tonight. Uh,
this proposal I think is not ready for prime time. It's a fine, bureaucratic solution.
It tidies up the balance sheet. Trims employees. Reduces waste at the Landfill,
and it, uh, produces ethanol at the end, but I think it comes at a very high price.
And there's many prices. I actually am a union member myself, and I agree with
the statements that have already been made, but I want to speak to, um ... the near,
the elimination or near - elimination or at least significant reduction of, uh, of the
recycling stream. Uh, for many people in town, uh, many people across the
country, the effort that they put into separating their recyclables and knowing that
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they are, uh, not going into the Landfill and are being, uh, used for, uh, to
produce, uh, other products, that's as close as they get really to a good
environmental ethic in many ways, and in many families, it's a teaching moment,
uh, for children where uh ... the recycling ethic is something that you can learn
very young and uh, continue the rest of your life. Uh, I have been around here
long enough to remember the first time that we had curbside recycling, and I
would think that it would be a tragic loss and it would be a very high price to pay
to lose, uh, that citizen participation that comes from the curbside recycling and
all the benefits, uh, that it brings. We should be in fact expanding our curbside
recycling, uh, getting more into compost pickup and other types of things.
Diverting it to Fiberight would be a poor choice, I think. Let's not undo 30 years
or more of progress in just a few months of consideration. And I think that, um,
the environmental effects as well as others will speak about tonight, the additional
pollution caused by, uh, trucking materials around eastern Iowa, uh, the end
disposal of...of Fiberight's waste product, the loss of good union jobs, other
unknowns. There's all sorts of good reasons to say that this is an offer that Iowa
City can afford to say `no' to. There are better alternatives out there and I urge
you to seek those out. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Hayford: Good evening, Council, my name is Ali Hayford and I'm the Vice President of
Sales and Marketing at City Carton Recycling here in Iowa City. I'm here tonight
on behalf of City Carton to ask the Council to delay the motion to designate
Fiberight as the preferred contractor. City Carton Recycling is the Iowa City base
current vendor for the City of Iowa City recycling program. Since its inception
and an industry expert in processing recycling commodities for over 47 years.
We also ask the Council to create a committee of local stock... stakeholders and
subject matter experts to evaluate the solid waste management services proposal,
and make all information transparent to residents and businesses of Iowa City.
City Carton suggests the City of Iowa City take an environmental position. This
could include exploring options such as single - stream recycling, which has shown
a substantial, um, improvement of recycling rates throughout the country. Also to
strengthen our recycling initiatives and better support our businesses and
residents, and finally, implement material controls at the Landfill to help divert
more recyclable products from the waste stream. The request for proposal gives
the control of the City of Iowa City recycling program to the contractor, allowing
the recyclables to go to a one -time use cycle. Undoing the current recycling
programs would be detrimental to the ongoing successful initiatives that the
citizens of Iowa City and the Public Works Department have accomplished so far.
Recycling is accepted globally as the highest and best use for fiber. For every ton
of cardboard not recycled, 17 trees will be sacrificed to replace that fiber. City
Carton Recycling believes the request for proposal to be environmentally and
economically risky because of the unproven scalability of this process. In closing,
City Carton Recycling would like to ask the Council to delay the motion to
designate Fiberight as the preferred contractor and create a community task force
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of local stakeholders and subject matter experts to evaluate the risk and affect for
the City of Iowa City. Thank you for your time!
Hayek: Thank you.
Carberry: Mike Carberry, 2029 Friendship Street, Iowa City, and I'd, uh, also like to thank
Connie for her service. I've known Connie for a long time and, uh, when you can
do public service with a smile on your face like Connie has all this time,
considering all of the blow -back, she ... the Council gets on a regular basis, it's
truly appreciated by, uh, some of the people that are giving her that blow -back
so ... (laughs) urn ... I've been a professional environmental advocate for about 15
years and um ... one of the things about this proposal that, uh, I just kind of wrote
down here and I've got some other things that I've prepared, was that the ... we
were talking about the, uh, strategic planning tonight and Jim mentioned that there
was a portion in there that talked about Iowa City's commitment to sustainability
and to openness in the ... in all of the ... these processes, and um ... I'd like to
remind the, uh, the Council about this commitment to sustainability. Also like to
remind the Council that in 2007, the Council, uh, had the foresight to be one of
the first cities in the state of Iowa to be named a "Cool City" by the State of, or
excuse me, by the Sierra Club, and that entailed, uh, the City's commitment to
reducing its carbon footprint and to, uh, to burn less, uh, and less greenhouse
gases. And I would like to remind them of that when they look at this proposal,
uh, this RFP, uh, and designating Fiberight as the preferred, uh, contractor. Um,
so is Fiberight right for Iowa City and the environment? Is this `waste to energy'
pro ... process or is it `waste of energy?' Trash to ethanol is normally referred to
in the industry as trashanol, and this process is very new and it's very unproven.
And do we want Iowa City and Marion to be the guinea pigs for this process? It's
financially and environmentally risky. Ethanol has a very bad financial and
environmental history here in the state of Iowa, and it's getting worse. It's not
commercially viable without massive federal subsidies, which are on the
chopping block as we speak or have already been axed. Who holds the bag if this
deal goes bad? Is it Iowa City? Is it Fiberight? Trashanol uses risky
ge... genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. These GMO enzymes that melt
all organic material used in this process, what happens if they're released or
leaked or stolen? It's a biohazard. Do we want to risk that? Trashanol is dirty
and polluting. Municipal solid waste carbon footprint is the dirtiest of all ethanol
feed stocks, including sewage sludge and automobile tires. We can do better,
can't we? Burning trashanol contributes to global warming. Iowa City has
experienced two 100 -year floods in the last 20 years that have been fueled largely
by the burning of fossil fuels. Do we really want our Landfill waste to exacerbate
the problem of climate change? Many new waste streams (noises on mic) of
trashanol will be created. Iowa ... Iowa already has the worst water quality in the
country, thanks to indus ... industrial agriculture and its list for corn-based ethanol.
Do we really want to add to these problems with all the additional wastewater and
other wastes from these processes? There are ... excuse me, there are better
alternatives. Upstream solutions exist, that find the highest and the best use for
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our solid waste. Zero waste plans divert over 90% of solid waste from going to
landfills and are working in communities like Austin, Texas, and Oakland,
California. Can't Iowa City be added to that list? Too many questions, not
enough answers. We need to slow this process down. We need to ask the right
questions. We need to get the correct answers, and we need to get more expert
and public opinion, and to move forward only if it's prudent. So I ask you to slow
this down, please kill it if you can, but definitely slow it down, give us the input
that this so richly deserves. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Hadjis: Good evening, my name is Demetrios Hadjis and I represent Green -R -You. For
the past three years our company has developed relationships with dozens of area
businesses that are interested in source separating food waste for the purpose of
composting. (clears throat) Our company has seen exponential growth during
this time, uh, we have been hauling this waste stream to area compost sites, and
we are able to keep it out of landfills. One of the sites that we bring food waste to
is the City of Iowa City compost site. While Green -R -You welcomes any new
practices that, uh, could minimize landfill waste, we believe that composting is a
tested and true measure of diversion. We support the Iowa Recycling Association
and we're proud to have a Green -R -You representative serve on its board of
directors. We're concerned that the years of educating Iowans on the best
practices of recycling and repurposing could be at risk if an alternative method of
diversion is introduced. And only ends up failing. We're also concerned about
the economic impact that this process could have on other companies like ours
that also recycle and repurpose waste streams. After the City of Iowa City issued
the RFP, potential bidders were given a very short, 10 -day notice for a mandatory
meeting (clears throat) on a bid that would require millions of investment dollars.
It appears that the documents, specs, may have been so broad, so costly, so risky
and untested that only one bid was submitted. This calls into question how open
the process may have been to other ideas, proposals, and technologies. As Iowa
City explores these new waste management solutions, Green -R -You only asks
that you move carefully and meticulously toward any decisions, and certainly
minimize the risk of a short-term gamble. Thank you!
Hayek: Thank you.
Norbeck: Hi, uh, my name is Martha Norbeck. 906 S. 7th Avenue. Um, I first want to say
thank you, uh... Councilman Throgmorton for your comments regarding, uh, the
development around the school districts. I am very concerned when I look at
things like Camp Cardinal where the very first thing that crosses my mind is,
okay, my kid is eight. How is he going to walk to school safely, and I can't figure
it out! How is that kid gettin' to Borlaug, and then you look at General Quarters,
which is substantially better, but you still have the same issue again and again. I
live on the end of the street. Am I going to go around this U just to get to school
and walk three times as many ... far and then everyone has their privacy fence and
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they can't get through? I don't even see required sidewalks for pedestrians and
bicycles as cross access through... through these routes.
Hayek: Martha, you (both talking)
Norbeck: I understand this is not the topic, but you didn't have an opportunity for public
discussion then so I'm saying this now, and then I will move on to...
Hayek: Martha, you need to move on to ... to this agenda item.
Norbeck: Yes, yes, well you did not have an opportunity for public discussion, and so I
want to make clear that this needs more discussion, and you did not allow for
discussion on that topic.
Hayek: I didn't see you out there and had you...
Norbeck: You did not say public comment. Anyhow moving on (laughter) otherwise I
would have stood up! I assure you, Mr. Hayek! Um, anyhow ... um, lot of good
points have been made. I want to note that, um, the RFP did state highest and best
use is a priority, and I'm sure this is going to be a first comment that comes back
regarding all these recycling comments that highest and best use of...of materials
coming into the Landfill will have to be addressed first, which according to the
EPA protocol, I will start out by saying that countries that do use high levels of
incineration average about 30% recycling rates, and countries that have
aggressive recycling campaigns and no incineration are more at 45 to 65%
re ... diversion. So there is a track record for countries using incineration and
cities using an incineration where they have lower recycling rates. So even if
you're still recycling, the rates are not the same. And, as Tom so eloquently
stated, um, recycling is a gateway drug to environmentalism. It's how most of us
got started. It's how I got started. And encouraging that is a very important
opportunity. Currently the City does not require construction waste recycling.
There's a huge volume of construction waste that is not required to be diverted.
Commercial businesses are not required to recycle. Apartments are not required
to recycle. They're not required to compost. There's huge opportunities available
for diversion from the Landfill, and I understand your long -term concerns in
terms of the expense of opening up another cell at the Landfill. That makes
sense! But there's other alternatives. Incineration not only... concentrates toxins
in the burning process, it also takes relatively inert chemicals and turns them into
toxins, and Fiberight is producing their own data on toxicity. There's not a third
party, from what I can tell, representing their toxicity information and ... and their,
um, carbon cycle information, and I think a lot more study is going to need to be
required by a third party, a lot more research about the true environmental impact
of turning trash in... into ash, rather than all the other alternatives available. I urge
you to be ... I urge you to do what everyone else has encouraged you to do, is to
take this slow and do more research. Thank you!
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Hayek: Thank you!
Fitzpatrick: My name's Larry Fitzpatrick, uh, I ...115 Montrose Avenue. I've been a
treatment plant operator for the City of Iowa City down at the wastewater
treatment plant since ... for the past 10 years and I'm also currently the President
of, uh, AFSCME Local #183. We represent Iowa City's permanent, hourly
employees. You know, I should be here talking to you about, you know, I'd hate
to see employees lose jobs but I know that, you know, the budget's tight, and I
think ... I see more holes in this proposal than, uh, just losing a few jobs. The
recyclers, um ... that we employ and the refuse employees, they have over a 90%
approval rating in the last, uh, customer survey... conducted by the City. I see,
you know, employees of that quality they aren't going to have a hard time finding
a job anywhere, you know, even though there are jobs here in the city, or out in
the private sector, I mean, they are do ... they're working hard at what they do. I
see the big problem with, uh, you know, this proposal, our Landfill nets $3
million a year, uh, profit. If we enter into agreement with Fiberight, we're going
to lose at least two- thirds of that. And we know we're going to have a budget
shortfall in the next, uh, 10 years and $50 million from just property taxes. So I
see that, you know, it doesn't make economic sense to do this (clears throat) and
besides, they're going to pick up our garbage here, they're going to haul it to
Marion, sort out the crap they don't want, give it to Marion to process it, haul it
clear to Brar ... Blairstown, then come back here for a load. Uh, it's going to take
a lot of trucks. It's going to be a lot of traffic on our roads out at the Landfill.
You know, that's something we need to consider. Lot of energy being used up.
We have, uh, I see a lot of things that aren't answered. And uh, you know, the
...um, proposal, that when we put it out for bid, it was written so narrowly around
Fiberight that no one else could see a way to make a proposal on it, so why... why
do we need to make em a preferred bettor? You know, we have plenty of people
here in the community that want to recycle. We throw a million dollars worth of
cardboard and, uh, metal into our landfill now that we could recycle if, uh,
claimed it. We should be expanding, uh ... recycling within the City instead of,
uh, farming it out somebody else. We have lots of smart people working for us. I
know ... in the 10 years I've been here, they were talking about, uh, re ... doing
more recycling, keeping stuff out of the Landfill 10 years ago, and we have a
recycling coordinator now. We have lots of people here that could, uh, help us
with our problem. Please put your faith with us and not with Fiberight. Thank
you.
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Ockenfels: See if I can make it up here today! Hi, I'm John Ockenfels and I'm the past
President and CEO of City Carton Recycling here in Iowa City. And we've got a
number of operations, uh, around the state of Iowa and we are quite familiar with
what we're ... with this kind of industry. City Carton's been in business for almost
47 years now. We've been running MRFs for the last 20 years. We're familiar
with the process. The biggest MRF we have is our Cedar Rapids facility where
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we handle all of the solid, or I'm sorry, all of the recyclables coming in, uh, from
east central Iowa. That kind of puts us in the process of having a clue as to what
we're talking about. One of the things that we hear about is the type of equipment
that's going to be used for the collection and processing. I can tell you I don't
know diddly -squat about how they turn it into ethanol, but I do know an awful lot
about how to collect it and how to transport it, how to sort it, and how to get it to
what they need to have it be. And, when the term dirty MRF comes up that's
something that just burns my ears! Because that's a technology that's been
around for 20 -plus years and went away because of the problems involved with it.
The City of Chicago used to do what they called a blue bag program. And the
blue bag program sounds suspiciously similar to what we hear here. And that is,
they're going to put all the recyclables in a heavy plastic bag and throw them in
with the rest of the garbage, which is then going to go to a collection center and
it's going to be sorted out. I don't know if any of you have been on the floor of
the so- called dirty MRF and seen what happens when you bring in garbage trucks
and dump them on that floor and start sorting. They go up conveyor belts, they go
through assemblies, there ... it is a mess! It's rancid. It's raunchy, and it's not fun
to be in. I've been in a lot of `em. I worked in one for a couple weeks learning
the process. Don't go there, I mean, that's my advice on that ... on that topic. Uh,
I have not yet seen one that's working and then last ... as I said, they're moving
away from them. We've heard several times tonight that this material will be
transported from Iowa City to Marion to Blairstown to other places. Also sounds
an awful lot like ... well, let's see, we did this with BFI in Minneapolis a number
of years ago too, where by the time they go done transporting it, they spent
hundreds and hundreds of dollars per ton to move recyclables around before they
finally got to the ... to the final area. The more work you put into moving it, the
more labor, the more cost, and even though this may be a golden apple for the
City and it's being given to you for free, you still have a lot of exposure and risk
involved in here. I'm concerned that the Council is being asked to approve
Fiberight as preferred contractor, primarily due to the lack of transparency in the
RFP. I agree with the statements that we heard earlier. It is my believe, strictly
my own belief, that this RFP was written by a consultant working in the industry,
specifically so that there could only be one final vendor, and that's Fiberight.
Who else in the region, the Midwest, or anywhere you can think of has access to a
bio plant to make this into ethanol? That was a requirement. In 10 days or 50
days or whatever timeframe you put out there for this, it's impossible to bring that
together, unless you already have an inside track on the ... on the process. There
are items in the proposal that completely change the scope of recycling in the
Iowa City area. It's a given. We've heard it ... we've heard it spoken about a
number of times tonight. And what bothers me is that whoever gets this proposal,
by nature of app ... being approved for the RFP, will automatically be first on the
list for the recycling program for the City of Iowa City. And that means that all of
the material collected in the recycling program, for Iowa City, will automatically
go to Blairstown ... to be converted into ethanol. None of it will be made back into
recyclables as far as the fiber's concerned. I mentioned the dirty MRF. I watched
Fiberight's, uh, programs on YouTube and a couple other locations, and they
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Fiberight's, uh, programs on YouTube and a couple other locations, and they
show these nice, clean plastic bottles and nice, clean tin cans. Folks, when it
comes out of a dirty MRF, it doesn't look like that. Okay? It is as contaminated
as you can imagine. They're very proud of the fact in here when they ... when
they do their public statement that they even take dirty diapers! Guess who has to
handle that? People do. Okay? That will still be sorted by people and
machinery. So ... yeah, I'm not a fan. I have never been a fan of dirty MRFs,
especially after having been out there. I'm not aware of any (can't hear) ethanol
production plants successfully operating at this time, especially in a production
mode. One of the things an engineering friend of mine reminded me of is that it's
very easy to put something to scale in a test. Or to blend something up out in a
small area. But to take that up to a production scale isn't linear. It takes a lot
more cost, a lot more equipment, a lot more time, and a lot more magic that we
just don't know what it is yet. It'll just kind of mysteriously appear therein the
mix and make it all good. I don't have a lot of faith in the outcome of Fiberight's
desire to do all this, based on what I've seen nat ... nationally for, uh, these type of
processes.
Hayek: (both talking) Okay, your time is up!
Ockenfels: Yep! In the negotiation process with Fiberight, last question, have any of the
published RFP requirements been waived or modified ... to this point? Okay?
That's a question that I would like you guys to ask. I'll close by asking the City
Council to delay the motion to designate Fiberight as the preferred contractor and
create a community task force of local stakeholders, and as we said earlier,
subject matter experts to evaluate the risk and the effect to the City of Iowa City
and its constituents. Thank you. I appreciate your time.
Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Okay. Alec?
Bramel: Yep! Council Members, Mayor Hayek, uh, Alec Bramel, City Council Liaison
with UISG. Um, I just wanted to ... I was going to leave this little talk til the next
work session, and I was actually going to talk about it, um, at this work session
but we didn't really get a chance, um, and I was just going to be, um, mainly
about ... well, recycling and Fiberight, and exactly what we're doing with it. I ...I
wanted to echo some of Jim's comments how, um, sometimes we tend to, when
we get the ball rolling on things, um, it...it comes out and we ... and we go with it,
and I know, Rick, you said that, you know, that doesn't make sense. Some ... we
...we don't do that. We have an option when the, uh, proposer comes to the table
to say `yes' or `no.' Um, but I ... I'm ... I tend to lean towards, uh, Jim's idea of
that. Sometimes when, uh, in these ... at least in the Council from what I've seen,
when we ... we go with something and we give the ... it to staff, it goes and it
comes back to us and makes it a little bit harder choice if everything's ready to
go, and uh, and rolling. Um, so here's my question. First question, which is
about recycling in general is one, why are we doing this? In the ... what's the
angle, um, that we want? Um, and so that ... that really brings to the question is,
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maybe we should focus more on the resources that we have here, uh....uh, in
town. We have a university here, uh, which made ... which has made our, you
know, city's phenomenal. We have a lot of green resources, um, people, uh,
products, things we already use — City Carton for example. Um, that we could
utilize. Um, so I'm not necessarily here to argue, but ... against Fiberight. What
I'm saying is that perhaps we should instruct staff to in addition to the Fiberight
proposal, look into other alternatives, or perhaps instruct them to, uh work with
local stakeholders, recycling stakeholders, um, maybe form task forces, as was,
um, previously uh .... um, proposed, and what not, and look into other alternatives,
because maybe Fiberight is, uh, you know, an easy way to go about it, um, but
maybe it's not long -term. It could be. I'm not going to say it is or isn't. I don't
have those facts. What I'm saying is that maybe we should have a couple
alternatives or options on the table when we get to, uh, the decision for Fiberight
in the future, because next spring ... it goes really fast! It really does, and I feel
like the worst thing we could do is to have this proposal, just the Fiberight
proposal, come to us and if we say ... if we say `yes' then it goes on its way...
merry way. If we say `no,' we're not really left with much. We're kind of ..have
to start this whole conversation over, and so ... (mumbled) boils all the way back
to the beginning, why are we doing this? Um, and so I think the best thing we can
do is instruct staff to look into all, uh, different alternatives and (mumbled) and
I'm ... will ... would be willing to work with `em. So I would like to be in those
conversations and what not but I think that's what we need to do. Um, that's all I
have. Thanks!
Hayek: Thanks, Alec! Okay, I'm going to close it down to Council discussion at this
time. There's a pending motion on the floor.
Dobyns: You know, I'm no fan of the, um ... corn to gasohol industry. Um, my sense of
that subsidization, it's sort of an embarrassment for the state and it's like putting
lipstick on a pig. Um, you know, I have a strong feeling about that, so the end-
game of this, I understand that. Um ... there's also a, sort of a saying in my
business that if a new medicine comes out, you don't want to be the first person to
use that but you also don't want to be the last. I don't think there's any risk of
being the last person to use this emerging technology, and I agree there might be a
problem that we might be a little bit premature, and uh, jumping on the
bandwagon of this. That being said, everything that I've heard tonight is
compelling, which makes me think in a position of fairness, that I need to give
also equal time to other compelling arguments that might be on the other side.
Um, from my understanding of how Council makes decisions, that's the best way
to do that is to have this proceed. I will be voting yes on this tonight because I
think that's what we need to get. We need to get more compelling information,
um, what side it might be notwithstanding. So I'm going to be voting yes for this
tonight.
Mims: Well, I'm going to also, but ... I. want to ... I really want to say to the public,
number one, I want to thank everybody who has come tonight, because I think
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there have been some very, uh, compelling points made that for me, give me some
additional questions that I want to ask of...of staff and ask of any potential
agreement that we might get with Fiberight. So I think with your comments and
questions tonight that you've, you know, said, you know, please ask these
questions or here's information. I think that has been very beneficial for me, and
I would guess for a lot of the Council Members. I think it also probably gives
staff maybe some ideas they didn't have, in terms of things that we have to look at
very, very carefully in moving forward. From my perspective, this is an
absolutely no -way a done deal simply because we start a negotiating process. I
think all the issues of what does this do to our recycling stream, does it ... does it
actually discourage people from recycling. I think those are all incredibly serious
considerations that we have to look at. Um, I think by moving forward it gives us
the opportunity in a negotiating environment to get some very specific answers
out of Fiberight that we maybe can't get from them at this stage of the game, and
so to be able to get those specific answers and weigh those against alternatives, I
think, is a benefit for the Council and for the city. One of the things that people
have mentioned tonight, and I would be interested in... in hearing what other
Council Members have is while this negotiating process is going on, uh, the idea
of putting together some sort of community group to give us proposals that are not
the same as Fiberight, but other options that people think would be beneficial, and
again I think ... you know, going back and asking what is the end goal here? What
is it that we truly are trying to accomplish and based on that, are there other ways
that would be better, so that we really have some... literally it's going to be apples
and oranges comparison because they're going to be very different technologies,
very different procedures, uh, but I think as Alec said, if we start down the
negotiating path and aren't looking at any other options, and we do decide `no,'
Fiberight's not what we want to do in ... four months, six months from now, we're
kind of starting the conversation all over. So I'd ... I'd be interested to see, you
know, to hear what other Council Members think, and staff, about looking at
putting together some kind of, uh... group with stakeholders who might be able to
bring us some more concrete information.
Throgmorton: I think it's a good idea, but I'd like to elaborate. I mean, uh, at ... at, you know, I
made the motion to defer and we talked about it briefly in the work session, but I
want to kind of elaborate on a few of those points so you can be clear about why I
made that motion. Uh, as I said during the work session, I ... I believe it is never
appropriate to make a major decision with, uh, such as this one, without making
sure that affected residents, employees, and stakeholders understand what's being
proposed. Have a chance to express their views. And have a chance to influence
our decisions. So we've gotten some of this tonight, and you know, the
testimony's been really excellent, and thank you all for coming, for sure. And
one of the things I definitely hear, which I think is a ... a very good idea, is to
create a committee of local stakeholders and experts, so I ... I'm on board with
that. But I do have several specific con ... concerns which ... that I want to make
sure Rick hears and ... and uh, and that, you know, we get into them, into a
conversation. Uh, one of my biggest concerns is that the proposed system tends
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to promote a culture of consumption, which I think others have already referred
to. So rather than focusing exclusively on technologically efficient waste
disposal, we should — if we're serious about sustainability — be reducing
consumption and reducing waste generation. All right? So that's something such
a committee could be looking at. I'm also concerned about the risk associated
with turning an essential public service over to a private entity. What would we
do if the company goes out of business? This is just a question. I don't know
what the answer is. What would we do if the company goes out of business after
we stop separating recyclables at the curb, after we stop drop -offs, after we stop
doing all that kind of stuff. What's Plan B? If the company goes out of existence.
Also, in order to manage the risks associated with hauling and handling garbage, I
think we probably need to see a plan in place about how Fiberight would handle
storm and waste water, vermin, vectors, proper daily management, and so on, and
you know, I'm gettin' this mainly from conversations with, uh, somebody I know
who's really very expert in solid waste management. So (laughs) plus what I've
heard tonight. So I ... I think that's of considerable concern. I'd also want to see a
funded plan in case of an accident, spill, explosion, or disaster, uh, when, you
know, it involves Fiberight. I'm also obviously concerned about employees. In
our previous discussions, I don't remember us talking about how many City
employees might be affected. So, I'd want to know, and I'd like to know whose
jobs are affected, would be affected, you know. So that ... that needs to be, um,
brought into the mix. I'm also, as, uh, Jon Ockenfels just said, I'm ... I'm not yet
confident, or expressed in his own way, I'm not yet confident that Fiberight has a
proven track record at the proposed scale of operation, and I'd like to know ... I'd
like to be convinced (mumbled) before we hop into this, if we do, that they've
successfully operated similarly sized facilities elsewhere, cost - effectively, and
environmentally efficiently. Uh, and I don't think they're there yet. So what
happens if, and if, you know, there's going to be shipping the ... the stuff
somewhere. What happens if that plant doesn't operate the way that they say it's
supposed to be operated, or that it won't... doesn't operate as effectively or as
efficiently as they say it would. So, I ... I'm going to quote this friend, and I'm not
going to name the person because that would I think be inappropriate, but... as my
friend said, privatizing even a portion of that public waste disposal responsibility
should be done so with the same instruction one considers when contemplating
matrimony.
Champion: (mumbled)
Throgmorton: No, that'd be undertaken reverently, discretely, advisedly, soberly, and perhaps
even in the fear of God. So (laughter) It's a great quote! (laughter) Um,
anyhow, I ... I see all sorts of reasons to worry about this. I completely agree we
should slow down, but if...if we proceed, you know, if the vote is to proceed,
please address these questions, please construct a committee that brings people on
board so that they understand what's happening, and if...have a chance to
influence ... the process, the decisions, and so on.
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Champion: Well I just (both talking)
Payne: Sorry!
Champion: I just want to say that when I heard about Fiberight and when we had a ... we've
had a couple presentations, I thought I was very impressed, but I'm more
impressed with the people here tonight. I didn't know enough about this to even
ask the right questions, and so that's one reason I'm going to approve this thing
tonight, is that is going to bring their proposal forward and all these questions can
be asked, and um, right now I don't know enough about Fiberight to ask the
questions, or to even bring up what you've brought up here tonight. But I'm very
impressed with what you ... what you did bring up, and so I'm sure that we'll be...
I also agree, I'm in favor of some kind of task force to look at our solid waste
depo ... disposal and how we can lessen it, cause that's the purpose of this is to
lessen what's going into the landfill. I think that's what the real purpose is. Uh,
and ... and to save money, of course. But so I hope we ... the Council will decide to
do a task force of different people, not just all of you out there. Some other
opposite people too. And ... and to look at ... and to look at what we're doing and
how we can better address it, and then when this proposal from Fiberight comes
back, then maybe we'll have the right questions to ask. And that's what we're
probably going to need. Thank you for coming!
Payne: I want to say, Jim, I ... I agree with what you've said, all your questions you have,
and I think the only way to get those answered is to move forward with this
conversation between us and Fiberight. So I ... so I guess I echo Connie's
comments and Susan's comments, and if we're gonna go anywhere, we need to
get those...those things answered, and it would have to be part of the contract,
you know, who's going to pay for a economic cleanup or ... or econom ... not
economic, an environmental cleanup. Um, things like that have to be part of this.
So I think to ... that step is the next step if we're going to do anything. If we say
`no' to this, it's done. You know, it's... we're... we're going to have to do
something totally different so...
Dickens: I think we're kind of all in agreement that ... that this is a step to move forward,
but I'm not ... you know, I'm not a big fan of Fiberight right now. I don't know
enough about them, that after listening to all the people that are here locally that
are ... have been doing all this, that I think if we can ... learn from this and ... and
proceed forward with this, that the ... I think we do need as much local input as
possible, because we have some great recycling companies here and our... our
plant out there is ... is a wonderful plant so ... are we trying to improve something
or ... I ... I'm still at a loss (mumbled) where we're at, but I think this will help us
move in the right direction so that we can all make a good decision. You know,
Fiberight right now is ... is ... is just an illusion for me, and ... and uh, I think this is
a process that we have to go through to get farther along and that's the only
reason I'll vote for it because I'm not really in favor of Fiberight right now.
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Payne: And I ... I just want to make one more comment to ... to the public that's here is,
you guys have opened my eyes. I was really naive, so everything that you have
said, it's like, `Oh, that makes sense,' but I didn't think of it so thank you all for
your comments. It's very, very helpful when trying to make decisions.
Hayek: You know, I ... Iowa City, there's always more to do, but I would suggest that
Iowa City stacks up very well to other communities in terms of our sustainability
with respect to, uh, environmental operations and the like; one of the first place in
the state to do an assessment of all of our, uh ... uh, community and environmental
impacts and... and what not, and the list goes on and on of what we have done
over the last 20, 30 years to become a greener community, and I think the ... the
intent is always to, uh, add to those accomplishments and ... and push us in a more
sustainable direction as a city operation and as a community. Um, this may or
may not be the answer to that. Um, but I don't feel by ... by approving this tonight
that we are even... even a step, uh, more obligated to go with this if it turns out to
be a bad decision. We simply can't make that judgment call tonight, and it has...
has been said, you know, we need questions to a lot of answers. Jim, you raised
the issue of matrimony. My wife always accuses me of sweeping out too many
corners. We need to sweep out a lot of corners along this, and ... and, but I do
view this process and an affirmative vote of this, uh, resolution as a way for us to
ask those hard questions, to sweep out those corners, and to get answers to would
have been ... to ... to what I would describe as have you as ... as excellent questions,
you know, what are the unintended consequences, what are the externalities, uh,
and so forth. I don't view this as ... as some sort of ulter ... ulterior motive to ... to
stick it to labor, but I ... I don't view that in any way, shape, or form. I think ... I
think what's behind this is ... is a ... is a clear desire on the part of staff to ... to
explore the possibility of ... of something that could be a good idea and ... and do
things for us, uh, on the issue of sustainability, but that doesn't mean it's the right
thing for Iowa City. Um, and there are all sorts of things we need to answer. So,
uh, I appreciate the ... the voices we heard this evening. I intend to vote `yes.' Uh,
clearly staff has ... has been a part of this and we have, uh, a lot of questions to
answer in the ... in the coming months.
Throgmorton: Matt, could I add one brief thing? I think it's crucial for all of us to recognize,
and I think we do, that we're not talking about purely a technological process.
We're not talking about a flow chart. We're talking about people who have a
recycling ethic that they've grown up with and live with and then suddenly a
system would be put in place that makes it irrelevant. And we've got firms and
jobs built around recycling and ... and so on. Uh, so we've got community values
at stake, as well. So it ... it's not just a technological flow chart we're talking
about.
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 6 -1, Throgmorton in the negative.
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ITEM 11b RELOCATION APPROVAL LETTER- SUBMITTAL OF A LETTER TO
THE IOWA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY APPROVING
THE RELOCATION OF CONNECTFIVE TO CORALVILLE, IOWA.
Mims: Move approval.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Payne. Discussion?
Markus: Do we have somebody here from ConnectFive? (speaking away from mic)
That's fine!
Nolte: Uh, Mark Nolte, Iowa City Area Development Group, Mayor, Members of the
City Council, we'd, uh, asked a member of the company to come. I don't know
what had happened. ConnectFive is a small software company located in the
Terry Riley Law Firm building, uh, on Highway 6, uh, just a few yards from the
Coralville border. Uh, they approached us last spring, indicating that they were
growing, looking for additional space. We worked with them; they met with the
Iowa City Downtown District. They worked with City staff. Uh, through the
course of the process they were not able to identify suitable office space, uh, at a
price range and a floor plan that they could afford, uh, in Iowa City. Uh, they
were able to locate some office space in the City of Coralville, pursuant to State
Code, um, the ... the State of Iowa can't, um, offer any financial assistance to a
company relocating in the state of Iowa without the written consent of the city
that they are leaving. So uh, want to make it very clear that this was not a case of
anyone involved in the City of Coralville doing any recruiting or offering any
incentives for this. The local match component that is, uh, typical for a project
that is funded by IEDA, uh, is being filled by the Linn County REC and SIPCO
who own the property. They'll be providing some tenant improvements, uh, with
a forgivable loan, partial forgivable loan, that is the local match requirement for
this project. So, uh, want to make that clear, but urn ... the City of Coralville has
also offered a reciprocal letter saying that at any time if the company wants to
move back to Iowa City, uh, they would have their permission to do so. They
would not argue that in any way, so ... uh, at the end of the day, this is not a
fortunate situation for the City of Iowa City. There's no additional tax base being
created in Coralville, but this is how the process is supposed to work, uh, two
communities are supposed to work, uh, collaboratively in an open environment to
do what's best for the company and the overall economic health of the area. So
would ... we're respectfully request your permission to submit a letter indicating
that Iowa City approves this move.
Champion: Are they leasing from a private person or company?
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Nolte: Uh, Linn County REC and SIPCO, uh, own a prop ... own the property, the
Myriad Plaza Building on the Oakdale Research Park. That's who they'd be
leasing from.
Markus: So explain why there's no tax increase in Coralville, because it's already existing.
Nolte: It's an existing property, they're moving into existing leased space. So the
issue...
Markus: So the potential is if this company grows, we tried to extract a letter, which we
did, that said that they can come back, and that we wouldn't have this problem
where they could object if they, you know, if they grew at such a pace that we
could find a home for `em to come back. You know, we'd prefer to have `em
located here in Iowa City, but we certainly... if that can't happen, we want them in
the region, and ... and at this part of the region. So...
Hayek: Well, I think, uh, I mean, I think we've got to be gracious about this, um, but...
Champion: I don't want to be!
Hayek: But I ... but I think it goes to the ... the stock of commercial office space (several
responding) in Iowa City and it... and it suggests to me that there is more to be
done, uh, to encourage that kind of, uh, commercial growth, uh, so that these
opportun... situations don't, uh, repeat!
Payne: Absolutely!
Hayek: Okay, thanks for coming down, Mark! Any further discussion? Roll call, please.
Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 15. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION.
Hayek: We'll start with you, Jim.
Throgmorton: I usually blather on about stuff, but I don't want to do that tonight. I want to talk
about Connie (laughter) Uh... Connie and I met 27 years ago on Summit Street.
My sons grew up with several of her children. I can remember sitting on the front
porch talking with her about a variety of personal things that we aren't going to
talk about right now (laughter) and I ... I like her a lot, even though we disagree
about this and that, I like her a lot! I deeply respect your ... your years of work, of
public service, Connie, and I just absolutely wish you the best.
Champion: Thank you!
Mims: It's been fun! (laughter) It's been fun! (laughs)
Champion: It has been fun.
Mims: Uh, certainly have enjoyed the four years I've had to serve with you, had the
opportunity to serve with you. I didn't mean that I had to serve (laughter and both
talking) Um, no, and again, I want to thank you for all the service you have
provided to this community, both on the School Board and the City Council. Um,
it's always nice to work with somebody, uh, who is a straight- shooter and will...
will tell it like they see it and that is you, Connie, and uh, very much appreciate it.
Um, one other thing I think Rick is going to go into a little bit more detail but had
the opportunity yesterday to, um, tour the ... 30 S. Clinton, uh, you know, Grossix,
uh, with Vera Gross' building and the changes there and the two apartments
upstairs on the second and third floor are just absolutely gorgeous for somebody
who, uh, wants that downtown lifestyle, overlooking the ped mall, um, just ... the
sort of thing that we need to keep working on to utilize our second and third floors
downtown. So, just great!
Dickens: I thought you were going to give her the keys to one of those apartments!
(laughter) It's been an honor and a privilege to serve with you the last four years,
and it's not like we're not going to see you on a regular basis cause I seem to run
into you wondering the streets of Iowa City on a regular basis.
Champion: Me and Bill Nusser, I think we're on the streets most of the time!
Dickens: Yep! So...it...it has been a great pleasure so...
Champion: Thank you.
Payne: I also want to say that I've only had the opportunity to serve with you for the last
two years, Connie, but um, I have learned quite a lot from listening to you talk
and you typically have a ... a great, from my perspective, a great... you... like
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Susan said, you're a straight- shooter! So it's... you... you say the things that some
of the rest of us wish we could say! (laughs) (several talking) Thank you very
much for the opportunity! (several talking)
Dobyns: Before I say something about, uh, Connie, I want to mention what Susan talked
about, and the fact that downtown Iowa City has a lot of historic buildings that
really are looking to be repurposed. Um, and the (mumbled) we're talking about
is between Pancheros and Ewers Clothing store. Um, and what is being is that,
uh, this March there's going to be a furthering of some of the, uh, clothing
opportunities in downtown Iowa City. Tailgate Clothing will be opening, which
is going to be a, uh, new kind of athletic ware. Um, I look forward to, you know,
watching Terry Dickens run up and down the street in their new, uh, refurbished
clothing (laughter)
Hayek: He won't be running! (laughter)
Dickens: Walking briskly maybe! (laughter)
Dobyns: But the upper stories, like Susan mentioned, were fantastic, um, and I think it
really is, um, sort of bringing a whole lot of new opportunities to downtown Iowa
City. Um, you know, it's something really I'm looking forward to seeing. And,
Connie, uh, you know that your whole family is very special to me. Your
husband, Craig, um, taught me so much of what I know, uh, as a physician, and to
be able to work with him at the beginning of my career, and now to be able to
work with you is, uh, two fantastic bookends. Um, I have a little story about
Connie, was back in my 21- ordinance days and I was in front of her store and I sat
down with a friend of mine and we were trying to, uh, lobby her regarding the 21-
ordinance. Those were back in the days when Connie was still on the other side
and (laughter) you know, I was petitioning her maybe a little bit too hard. She
finally looked at me, she raised her hands, and goes, "Rick, Rick, we're done!"
(laughter) So, uh, that taught me a lot (laughter) but I ... I appreciate the time and
I'm really glad that I at least got to spend two years with you Connie. Thank you.
Champion: Thank you. Gosh, you're all ... you are being nice to me tonight! (laughter) It's
great!
Throgmorton: We'll snap out of it! (laughter)
Hayek: Um ... Friday at, uh, 5:30 there is a Hawkeye Wrestling Club meet - and -greet at the
Englert Theatre, followed at 7:00 by a documentary on the Iowa Wrestling
Program. Uh... and uh, obviously with a lot of local actors, uh, in the
documentary, but it's ... it's great for the community, great for the Athletic
Program, I encourage people to go to the Englert, um, Friday. Which brings me
to Connie! (laughter) Connie, I ... I can't underscore enough how much this
group admires you and how... how... how... the strength of staff's feelings for you,
in a positive way! You are ... you are, uh, one -of -a -kind, and when you look at
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your 25 years of service, 16 on the Council and another nine with the School
Board, and those of us up here who go to the meetings and do the reading, when
you think about the thousands of hours that represents in dedication, uh, to one's
community, it's ... it's staggering. So, um, Iowa City really does owe you a debt
of gratitude, and we are going to miss the heck out of you! No doubt about it!
Champion: I'm not going to come see you very often! (laughter)
Payne: Well, we have lots of openings on commissions! (laughter)
Champion: Maybe I'll do that Airport Zoning one! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Never have to go to a meeting! (laughter)
Champion: They only meet like every 10 years don't they! I might be dead by then. Well,
thank all of you. It's been ... it really has been a pleasure. It really has. I ... I will
miss it but not as much as I thought I would. I mean I think I'm really ready...
I'm done! I'm done! (laughter)
Hayek: Good for you!
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ITEM 16. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF.
a) City Manager
Hayek: City Manager?
Markus: Thanks for hiring me, uh, Connie! (laughter) And you know, I actually did have
to work with you! (laughter) It's part of the deal! (laughter) It's, uh, I think
it's ... you've been a refreshing, uh, Member of Council. You're always candid,
and you're not afraid to change your mind! Sometimes three or four times on the
same issue! (laughter) You know, I ... no, I enjoyed working with you. It's been
great! Thank you.
Champion: Thank you! Thank you! (laughs)
Fruin: I think refreshing's a good way to put it. It's been a short time working with you,
Connie, but it's been a pleasure!
Champion: Thank you. Great!
b) City Attorney
Dilkes: It's been a great, great number of years (laughter)
Champion: Almost... you're about one year longer than me.
Dilkes: Me? Uh, 16 years (mumbled)
Champion: 17 or 18? I can't ... it doesn't make any difference.
Dilkes: ...not much! I don't think you hired me but...
Champion: No. Uh huh, you were here.
C) City Clerk
Throgmorton: And then there's Marian!
Champion: Marian's been here longer than me.
Karr: Yeah, I have. I have. It's been a pleasure. We'll miss you!
Champion: Yeah, I'll miss all of you too, and ... and thank you so much. I ... it really has been
a great experience. But I'm going to do some other things!
Hayek: Good for you!
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Champion: The Board of Supervisors are afraid I'm going to run for Supervisor! (laughter)
Hayek: Well that's a capital idea! (laughter) Have to think about that! Need a motion.
Payne: Motion to adjourn.
Hayek: Moved by Payne.
Mims: Second.
Hayek: Seconded by Mims. (noises on mic) (several talking)
Payne: Oh, we should have.
Hayek: You have to second it!
Payne: You should have made the motion!
Champion: Second!
Hayek: All right, moved by Payne, seconded by Champion! (several talking)
Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. We are adjourned.
Have a good evening. (bangs gavel)
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