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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-17 Correspondence� MEMORANDUM Date: December 6, 2013 To: Tom Markus, City Manager From: Geoff Fruin, Assistant to the City Manager Re: Iowa City Downtown District FY 2015 budget submittal The operating agreement between the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD) stipulates the process for City approval and incorporation of the district's annual budget. The ICDD submitted their FY 2015 budget to the City for review and I have found it to be in compliance with the terms of the original petition, enabling ordinance and operating agreement. It should be noted that budget contains the ICDD's projections for property tax income. However, the district has communicated that they intend to collect the maximum amount generated by the authorized SSMID levy. Therefore, if property tax income exceeds the ICDD budget projections, staff will proceed in transferring the full amount entitled through the enabling ordinance and operating agreement. It would be appropriate for the City Council to consider a motion formally accepting the FY 2015 ICDD budget, and directing staff to incorporate the corresponding figures into the City's budget. Cc: Dennis Bockenstedt, Finance Director December 2, 2013 Geoff Fruin Assistant to the City Manager City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 RE: Preliminary Draft ICDD Operating Budget for FY 2015 Dear Geoff, On behalf of the Iowa City Downtown District, I would like to submit our Preliminary Draft Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 (June 2014 — July 2015) to the City of Iowa City per our May 2012 Operating Agreement. I will be working with the ICDD Board of Directors to refine this draft budget over the 1St quarter of 2014 for a final Board vote in June 2014. We strive to keep a relatively consistent budget framework for tracking purposes and year -to -year comparisons. Please note that the major income and expense categories remain the same as our current budget. I encourage you, other City staff, or Council who wish to discuss the ICDD preliminary budget or our overall 2015 agenda to feel free to give me a call or email. The City of Iowa City is an extremely important partner and we are very heartened with the progress we have made together since the Downtown District was formed in 2012 and very grateful for your assistance. Your staff has been positive and helpful in every way. I look forward to working with you more on the Streetscape Update process and motivating real change and legacy in 2014. Best Regards, Nancy Bird, AICP Executive Director December 2013 IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN DISTRICT FY 2015 Operating Budget Summary— PRELIMINARY DRAFT University of Iowa Contribution $100,000 Property Tax Assessment $280,000 Sponsorships, Programs, and Events $189,200 Total Income $569,200 Programs & Initiatives* Events* District -Wide Marketing* Membership & Community Outreach* Legislative* Office Space & Administrative Expenses Total Expenses Notes: *Includes staff time and contingency $148,573 $177,940 $127,620 $36,760 $11,920 $66,387 $569,200 Marian Karr From: Jeff Davidson Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 11:57 AM To: 'karenreisetter @gmail.com' Cc: *City Council; "City Manager's Office; Marian Karr Subject: City Council correspondence Hello Karen. -Ld-1 1-1,3 3f(1) Your message below to the City Council was forwarded to me for response. The issue of whether or not there should be a vehicular access between the Peninsula area of Iowa City and First Avenue Coralville was discussed when the Peninsula development plan was put together in the late 1990's. It was ultimately determined by the City Council at that time that the access should be pedestrian /bicycle only. My recollection is that the City of Coralville did not advocate for such a connection. As you note, this creates an issue with Foster Road being the single means of access into the Peninsula. At the present time the point of single access occurs at the intersection of Foster Road and No Name Lane. At some point in the future Laura Drive will be extended through the Cole and Arn properties so that the point of single access will move to the intersection of Foster Road and Mackinaw Drive. This will greatly reduce the number of residences on the Peninsula with a single means of access, and also provide a route to the upper Peninsula that is not susceptible to flooding. There are limitations on the number of residential units placed on all of the Peninsula subdivisions because of the access constraint. The City has an unfunded capital improvement project to extend a pedestrian bridge across the Iowa River into the Peninsula from the intersection of Park Road /Rocky Shore Drive. This could be expanded to a vehicular bridge, but there are no plans to do so at the present time. Thanks for your message. Jeff Davidson, Director Department of Planning and Community Development The City of Iowa City, Iowa From: Karen Reisetter [mailto :karenreisetter @ gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2013 10:35 AM To: Council Subject: Build a bridge, physically and mentally! The traffic on Foster is getting excessive. It appears obvious that a secondary road is necessary to relieve congestion and follow City Code for 2 access roads to all developments. A road through mobile home area or raising Foster will not accomplish that. The foot bridge area needs an actual road to relive Peninsula and Foster Rd congestion. A road to connect Coralville to Peninsula area will encourage completion of residential and commercial development planned for the Peninsula, thus increasing Iowa City tax base. Residents living off of Foster on White Oak PI and the Peninsula are getting frustrated with the round -a -bout work and shopping drives required. The dog park traffic blocks Foster at the busiest time of day. It would also demonstrate the City of Iowa City's commitment to work with Coralville in a more cooperative way than in the past. It is time for the two cities to accommodate the residents of each city in a mature and future oriented way. z Marian Karr From: Simon Andrew Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 4:54 PM To: 'wells.christina319 @gmail.com' Cc: Council; Tom Markus Subject: Study of Fair Hiring Practices - Cemetery Manager Attachments: Study of Fair Hiring Practices - Response letter.pdf Dear Ms. Wells, Thank you for your inquiry sent December 4. Please find attached information from the City Manager regarding your specific questions. Feel free to call or email with any additional inquiries. Have a great evening. Best regards, Simon Andrew Administrative Analyst City of Iowa City 410 East Washington St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 (319) 356 -5010 simon- andrew @iowa- city.or From: Marian Karr Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 4:44 PM To: Tom Markus Cc: Simon Andrew Subject: FW: Study of Fair Hiring Practices - Cemetery Manager From: Christina Wells [ mailto :wells.christina319 @gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 3:21 PM To: Council Subject: Study of Fair Hiring Practices - Cemetery Manager Dear Council: One aspect of my professional interest lies in the area of fair hiring practices in public employment. I noticed communication in the council agenda of 12 -3 -13 from Ms. Theresa Deatsch. I am studying policies to discourage favoritism and cronyism in hiring practices of mid -size to large cities in the United States. When I read about the new cemetery manager coming from the same small community where the Iowa City personnel director resides, a town of 1,000 population 60 miles to the south of Iowa City, I thought it merited additional attention. Could someone from your staff provide the following information: 1. Was the cemetery manager position advertised externally, and if so, could you provide dates and where published? 2. Was the position published in any professional newslettersibulletins or other publications specifically related to the cemetery management field? If so, what were they? 2. How many individuals applied for the cemetery manager position, both internal and external if applicable. 3. How many individuals were interviewed? 4. How many people were on the interview team and what are their position titles? 4. How many years of cemetery management experience does the successful applicant possess? 5. What is the annual salary of the cemetery manager position? Thank you in advance for the information to be supplied. Christina Wells CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Thomas M. Markus City Manager tom- markus @iowa- city.org Geoff E. Fruin Assistant to the City Manager geoff -fruin @iowa- city.org Simon Andrew Administrative Analyst to the City Manager simon-andrew@iowa-city.org 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 356 -5010 Fax: (319) 356 -5009 December 9, 2013 To: Christina Wells From: Tom Markus, City tPra er ,lei Re: Study of Fair Hirinices ;—Cemetery Supervisor Thank you for your email. The information requested in your December 4, 2013 email to City Council regarding the City's hiring process with regard to our 2012 Cemetery Supervisor vacancy is provided below. 1. Was the cemetery manager position advertised externally, and If so, could you provide dates and where published? Internal posting 11/21/12 — 11/30112 External posting 12/21/12 — 1/4/13 (following internal interviews) Advertising: Cedar Rapids Gazette 12/23112, 12/30/12 Iowa City Press Citizen 12/22112, 12126/12, 12/29/12, 1/2/13 Iowa City Patch 12/21/12 — 1/4/13 City of Iowa City jobs Facebook page 12/21/12 — 1/4/13 Iowa Parks and Rec Association 12/21/12 — 1/4/13 City of Iowa City website 12/21/12 — 1/4/13 Email sent to all City of Iowa City jobs notification subscribers 2. Was the position published in any professional newsletters /bulletins or other publications specifically related to the cemetery management field? If so, what were they? Iowa Parks and Rec Association 3. How many individuals applied for the cemetery manager position, both internal and external If applicable. 14 Internal applicants 59 External candidates 4. How many individuals were interviewed? Internal: 8 External: 3 (4 selected but 1 withdrew) 5. How many people were on the interview team and what are their position titles? Parks and Recreation Director Human Resources Generalist 6. How many years of cemetery management experience does the successful applicant possess? While the candidate hired did not have management experience specific to cemetery operations, he possessed a combination of skills and experience desired in an effective manager and has proven to be effective in the role. 7. What is the annual salary of the cemetery manager position? $54,329.60 The Human Resources Administrator had no direct involvement in the hiring process for this position. Per our standard hiring procedures, the decision to recruit externally and final selection of the candidate hired were made at the Department level. In this case, the Parks and Recreation Director was responsible for the hiring decision. I hope you find this information useful. Marian Karr 3f(3) From: Johnson, Michelle < Michelle .Johnson @USCellular.com> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 10:54 AM To: Council Subject: Emergency access to the Peninsula Neighborhood. To whom it may concern, I am writing today to urge the council to please consider a plan for additional access to the Peninsula Neighborhood. My name is Michelle Johnson and I live at 719 Walker Circle. I did not live here during the floods of 2008, but did experience minor inconvenience with the flooding of this past summer. It has recently been brought to my attention that my neighborhood was evacuated for seven days while Foster Road was flooded in 2008. To me this is seems like an unnecessary and unrealistic hardship. I would not take kindly to being barred from my home in the event of a natural disaster like during the events of 2008. I would not feel comfortable leaving my home and my personal belongings at risk. I thought we were approaching a solution with the raising of Taft Speedway. But now that this plan has fallen apart, I believe the residents of our neighborhood deserve some consideration. We did our due diligence when we chose to build our home here. We are virtually immune from flooding at our neighborhoods elevation. But to learn that I could face a mandatory evacuation is something that scares and disappoints me. Please look into other options for access to my neighborhood. Whether it be a natural disaster or access for emergency vehicles, a plan is truly needed. Thank you for your time and consideration. Michelle Johnson Facilities Manager - Real Estate Services US Cellular 3301 Armar Drive Marion, IA 52302 Facilities Help Desk: 800 - 316 -1184 0: 319.861.4827 C: 319 - 329 -0320 F: 319 -538 -0330 Marian Karr From: Chad Johnson <chad.johnson @istate.com> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 10:21 AM To: Council Subject: Emergency access to the Peninsula Neighborhood. To whom it may concern, I am writing today to urge the council to please consider a plan for additional access to the Peninsula Neighborhood. My name is Chad Johnson and I live at 719 Walker Circle. I did not live here during the floods of 2008, but did experience minor inconvenience with the flooding of this past summer. It has recently been brought to my attention that my neighborhood was evacuated for seven days while Foster Road was flooded in 2008. To me this is seems like an unnecessary and unrealistic hardship. I would not take kindly to being barred from my home in the event of a natural disaster like during the events of 2008. I would not feel comfortable leaving my home and my personal belongings at risk. I thought we were approaching a solution with the raising of Taft Speedway. But now that this plan has fallen apart, I believe the residents of our neighborhood deserve some consideration. We did our due diligence when we chose to build our home here. We are virtually immune from flooding at our neighborhoods elevation. But to learn that I could face a mandatory evacuation is something that scares and disappoints me. Please look into other options for access to my neighborhood. Whether it be a natural disaster or access for emergency vehicles, a plan is truly needed. Thank you for your time and consideration. Chad Johnson I Branch Manager I Interstate Power Systems 5701 16th Ave SW I Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 P: 319-396-41111 F: 319- 396 -4144 1 C: 319 - 389 -6959 www.istate.com "Pride in Service" Marian Karr From: Tony Weiler <arw @aweiler.net> Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 3:18 PM To: Council Subject: Second Way Out To Iowa City Council, As new residents of the Peninsula area, my wife and I are concerned that a flood next year could cause us to be evacuated from our home. We view the Gateway Project as important but probably not the whole answer to keep flood waters from reaching Foster Road which is the entry to our neighborhood. We need to have a "Second Way Out" when flooding occurs and not have to wait several years for resolution of this problem. Evacuation means that our homes could be exposed to vandalism and other criminal activity. Flooding would mean that public services like fire, police and rescue vehicles could not address these issues. Please help us with an answer to this problem. Regards, Kay & Tony Weiler 770 Barber Place Iowa city, IA 52245 804 7610778 Office 972 767 1867 Fax arw(,aweiler.net Mll Marian Karr From: Susan Rew <rews @live.com> Sent: Friday, December 06, 2013 11:10 AM To: Council Subject: housing issue Attachments: Letter to Housing about rent.docx; Scan0001.pdf Good Morning Council Members, This email is from Terry and Susan Rew, long time residents of Iowa City. Terry operates a drivers education business, TWR Driver's Education, Inc. and Susan works for Grant Wood Area Education Agency. We are writing you about an issue our family faces with Section 8 Housing. Our son, Corey, age 30, has applied for Section 8 Housing and has been denied because he doesn't make enough money. That's right, his income is NOT high enough to qualify for Section 8. Corey has traumatic brain injury from Shaken Child Syndrome- -which occurred at age 4. We adopted Corey after he was placed in our home as a foster child. His prognosis was bleak with doctors predicting he would not regain skills to be functional and would require 100% care the rest of his life. As often happens with brain injury, he progressed beyond expectations. He holds a part time job as a courtesy clerk (bagger) as HyVee, volunteers at the library and is living in his own apartment. The problem with Section 8 Housing is the rent to income ratio. Corey has received Section 8 Housing in the past when he lived in a group home supported by Systems Unlimited. Corey made so much progress in this setting that in the fall of 2011 we felt he was ready to leave the group home setting and live in the community in his own apartment. We knew to make this work the apartment would have to be handicapped accessible (Corey has a physical disability) and it would need to be very close to our home. We decided to wait until we could get an apartment in the Arbor Hill complex which is one block from our home and accessible. Because of the wait, Corey lost his Section 8 Housing assistance and his name had to go back on the waiting list. He now is eligible again but has been denied because he does not make enough money to live in an Arborhill apartment. The rent is too high according to the formula of income to rent. But Corey has shown that he can financially live there for the past year and a half, by sharing the apartment with a non - disabled room -mate and being an incredible penny pincher! Corey is a disabled adult who has beat the odds and is successfully living in the community with minimal supports. We don't see him moving from this situation and hope this can be a permanent residence for him. It seems to us Corey is exactly the kind of client Section 8 should support. He has shown financial responsibility and he will be a life long member of this community. As we understand it, we have four options. 1. Corey just doesn't receive Section 8 assistance. 2. Corey moves to an apartment with lower rent. 3. We can ask the landlord to put together a lease for a lower rent for a couple of months to get him approved for Section 8 then the rent returns to the current rate or 4. We show more income such as saying an extended family member pays him monthly for chores. We are writing you because we would rather be on the up and up about this and not manipulate the situation to qualify. We felt it was more honest to have an exception made to the rules than fudge numbers to fit the formula. So we tried this. The letter to housing is attached and the denial for the exception attached. What do you suggest we do? We would appreciate your perspective on why a program which is designed to help those of limited income and disabled can not be flexible to meet these individuals needs. Thank you for your time and interest in this issue. Sincerely, Terry and Susan Rew December 2, 2013 Terry and Susan Rew 2519 Princeton Road Iowa City, IA 52245 Dear Diana, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to request an exception to the percentage of income requirement for the housing subsidy. Let me tell you a bit about Corey and how we came to making this request. Corey came to live with us when he was five years old following a traumatic brain injury caused by shaken child syndrome. The University of Iowa Hospitals planned to send him to an institution for care due to the severity of his brain injury. They felt it would be difficult to place him in a foster home. But Corey improved and continues to surprise us and the doctors at the level of independence he has achieved considering the extent of his brain injury. Corey has received housing assistance in the past when living in a group home situation through Systems Unlimited. In the fall of 2011, we decided Corey should have the opportunity to live in the community with supports but in his own apartment. We have always had the goal that Corey could live on his own with non - disabled room -mates just as if he had not had the brain injury. We knew that if this was to be successful he would need a handicap accessible apartment, live close enough to home to be able to walk home if support staff did not show up to work with him and close enough for us to get there quickly if there was a problem. We found an apartment in the Arbor Hill complex, one block from our home that fit these criteria. We waited purposefully for an apartment to open up in Arbor Hill for Corey. We knew if he could live on his own, this would be the place. Because of the wait for an apartment, we lost Corey's housing subsidy. Corey moved into Arbor Hill in June of 2012. We reapplied for housing assistance. We understand the guideline of rent to income ratio but ask that you adjust the ratio to allow Corey to receive the assistance. We have been able to make the higher rent work for Corey with careful budgeting. This has been proven because we renewed the lease in May of this year! We hope that Corey will be able to live at Arbor Hill for many years because of its location and accessibility. We do not believe we can find another apartment that meets the rent requirements and the location Corey needs to be independent. We feel that providing rent assistance to Corey is investing in the community. Corey is fully included in his neighborhood, he is able to get to work, volunteer and receive minimal support to maintain his independence. Pretty amazing for a little boy whose prognosis was institutional life! Please consider our request. Thank you. Sincerely, Terry and Susan Rew E- HOR#TY December 3,; 2013 Mr. & Mrs.. Terry Rew 2519 Princeton Road Iowa City, TA 52245 Dear Mr. & Mrs. Rew: Phone: (319) 35,6-5400 .FAX: (319) 356.5459 ? DD: (319) 356.5404 410 E. tlashington Sttaet -Iowa G!t Iowa 52240.1826 I am writing today to advise that we are in receipt of your letter dated December 2, 2013, requesting the Iowa City Housing Authority make an exception to the percentage of income used to calculate rental subsidy for Corey Rew. We regret to inform you that we are unable to make any adjustments to the Housing and Urban Development regulations. The rent formula we use for participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program are regulatory and our agency has no authority to vary from these calculations. In particular, regulation 24 "CFR 982.305 states that participants must not pay more than 40% of their monthly adjusted income toward rent at the time the family initially received tenant -based assistance. Enclosed for your review is a copy of this regulation. I apologize that we could not be of assistance in this situation. Should you have questions please feel free to contact me at 319= 887 -6070. Sincerely, q��D Heidi Wolf Section 8 Coordinator L.JI�►1. 111....1 �1,.{ t....lh�di�.da.. +1111�..d6.u.IN Marian Karr From: Steven Rackis Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:51 AM To: 'rews @live.com' Cc: *City Council Subject: Housing Issues Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Rew: My name is Steven J. Rackis, Housing Administrator, Iowa City Housing Authority. I have been asked to respond to your recent correspondence to the City Council for the City of Iowa City. The Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV, or often called "Section 8 ") is a federal program governed by U.S. Law and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development ( "HUD ") regulations. I realize that federal law and HUD regulations can be confusing and frustrating at times, but I want to address some points you made. First, you said that your son has been "denied because he does not make enough money to live in an Arbor Hill apartment ". I would like to first clarify that your son, Corey Rew, has not been denied a voucher. He is in fact eligible for the HCV program and currently holds an active voucher. The voucher was issued on 10/10/2013 and will remain active until 2/7/2014. Second, what the Housing Authority has denied is approval of a particular rental unit. Just as persons must be eligible for a unit so must the unit be eligible. For example, it must pass inspection. Also, the rent on the unit cannot exceed 40% of the tenant's monthly adjusted income (often referred to as the "40% rule "). The unit Corey has chosen is too expensive under federal law because the rent exceeds 40% of his monthly adjusted income. The accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing. Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered, by HUD, cost burdened and therefore may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. To expand affordable housing options in the private market and ensure that participants are not rent overburdened, Congress passed a law (42 USC Section 1437f (o) (3)) that sets the initial lease -up limit to 40% of the family's monthly adjusted income. 42 USC Section 1437f (o) (3) states: "At the time a family initially receives tenant based assistance, under this section with respect to any dwelling unit, the total amount that a family may be required to pay for rent may not exceed 40 percent of the monthly adjusted income of the family ". Based on Corey's reported income, the rent and utility information, your son's maximum gross rent for the unit located at 11 Arbor Hill Circle #31 is $438 (i.e., $438 is the 40 %). The landlord's rent of $475 is greater than $438 and because it exceeds 40 %, the unit is ineligible. I realize that you disagree with the 40% rule. However, the Housing Authority does not have the power or the discretion to make any adjustments to federal law. I understand your desire to keep your son in the unit located at 11 Arbor Hill Circle #31; however, unless the landlord agrees to lower the rent we cannot approve this unit and remain compliant with federal law and HUD regulations. If you have any questions, I can be reached at 319- 887 -6065. ��� CITY OF IOWA CITY Up) ..,.r._ MEMORANDUM Date: December 4, 2013 To: City Clerk From: Kristopher Ackerson, Acting Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for December 17, 2013 City Council meeting — parking prohibitions on Emerald Street in front of Horn Elementary School. As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9 -1 -3A (10), remove NO PARKING ANYTIME BETWEEN SIGNS on the west side of Emerald Street opposite Horn Elementary School; and install NO PARKING 2AM TO 6AM TOW AWAY ZONE and LOADING ZONE 15 MINUTE LIMIT 6AM TO 5PM on the east side of Emerald Street north of the new mid -block crosswalk, which will be constructed approximate 300 feet north of Benton Street. Comment: This action is being taken to allow parking on the entire west side of Emerald Street, a 30 -foot wide street, between Benton Street and Melrose Avenue. This action is also being undertaken to establish a loading zone for parents to pick -up and drop -off students at school.