HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-04 TranscriptionMarch 4, 2014 Iowa City City Council Work Session
Council Present: Botchway, Dickens, Dobyns, Hayek, Mims, Payne, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Markus, Fruin, Bockenstedt, Ford, Dulek, Karr, Fosse, Goodman,
Davidson, O'Brien, Yapp, Morris, Moran, Long, Andrew, Rackis
Others Present: Bramel, McCarthy (UISG)
Agenda Item Questions:
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Hayek/ Okay, let's go ahead and get started with the work session. Welcome, everyone! First
bullet point is questions from Council regarding agenda items. Anybody have anything?
ITEM 4f(8) Ginalie Swaim, Chair Historic Preservation Commission: Noise
Regulations
Throgmorton/ How `bout Item 4f(8), which is ... uh, an email from Ginalie Swaim on behalf of
the Historic Preservation Commission., uh, concerning noise. Uh, I would agree with her
that it needs to be looked into, so I... don't know if Tom or the rest of the staff have had a
chance to...think about that or anything, but ... seems like it's appropriate to look into it.
Markus / What's the issue? I was ... (both talking) ...communicating with somebody else.
Throgmorton/ The noise point that Ginalie Swaim and the Historic Preservation Commission
raise, uh, concerning, uh, a nearby building... basically, but noise in general, I think.
Markus/ And the request to look into it?
Throgmorton/ Yeah, uh, the Commission, uh .... ask ... asked the City Council to review
ordinances related to noise, especially for areas where commercial uses are located
adjacent to residential areas.
Markus/ Yeah. Let me ... let me talk to the Planning staff and we'll come back with a (both
talking)
Hayek/ Yeah, I ... I agree, I think it's a legitimate concern, um, especially as we look at ... our
zoning and uh ... and these, uh, fragile neighborhoods. Uh, when you've got an
intersection of commercial and residential, this can be a concern. I think it's a reasonable
thing to look at. Other agenda items? By the way, Item, uh, Item 6a and 6b, that's the
Walden Square rezoning and the Comp Plan change. Uh, the applicant has requested that
we defer till March 25, I believe, so I think I will open the public hearing on the ... for
both items essentially and then if there's anyone here to address the Council, give them a
chance to speak. We're not going to have a staff presentation. We'll save that for the
25th, but if someone's here to talk, we can hear them out and then we'll continue the
public hearings; handle it that fashion. Anything else on the agenda?
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ITEM 12. REVISIONS TO TAXI REGULATIONS — ORDINANCE AMENDING
TITLE 5, ENTITLED "BUSINESS AND LICENSE REGULATIONS,"
CHAPTER 1, ENTITLED "GENERAL LICENSING PROVISIONS," AND
CHAPTER 2, ENTITLED "TAXICABS," AND TITLE 9, ENTITLED
"MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC," CHAPTER 4, ENTITLED
"PARKING REGULATIONS," TO REQUIRE DRIVERS TO MAINTAIN
MANIFEST LOGS, TO REQUIRE SOME UNIFORMITY OF RATE
CARDS, TO REQUIRE NOTIFICATION WHEN A LICENSE PLATE
NUMBER IS CHANGED, TO ELIMINATE TAXI STANDS, TO ALLOW
TAXIS TO BE PARKED ON RESIDENTIAL STREETS, AND TO
AUTHORIZE THE CITY TO SUSPEND A LICENSE. (SECOND
CONSIDERATION)
Bramel/ I had a quick question. Um, I neglected to mention this at our last meeting but
concerning on Item 12, uh, concerning taxicab regulations and whatnot. Um, (mumbled)
comment section, there are currently no taxi stands and the provision for such will be
eliminated. I guess I'm a little confused on the, um, the idea behind that or um, what
that ... what we mean exactly by taxi stands specifically and I guess why we're, uh,
eliminating those (mumbled)
Karr/ Taxi stands in the past have been those that are a designated parking spot that has been
taken out of.. out of parking spot and a price paid by the companies to ... to do that space.
We have not (mumbled) had such a request in some time and have not honored it, so
we've taken it out of the provisions.
Bramel/ For... for... in case there's future...
Karr/ That's correct.
Bramel/ Okay.
Karr/ To avoid confusion. Correct.
Bramel/ ...to avoid confusion, okay, thank you very much.
Throgmorton/ Since Alec brought that up, I ... I want to note that, uh, that Marian placed in the, in
our agenda, the formal meeting agenda packet I guess, the, uh, the abstract and
conclusions from the master's thesis that I referred to in our work session discussion last
...two weeks ago. I want to thank Marian for doing that. I ... I hope y'all had a chance to
look at it.
Hayek/ Any other agenda questions? Okay, let's move on to reviewing the downtown
streetscape plan and discuss implementation and funding strategies.
Review the Downtown Streetscape Plan and Discuss the Implementation and Funding
Strategy (IP4 of 2/27):
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Fruin/ All right, well good evening! Uh, my name is Geoff Fruin from the City Manager's office
and uh I'm going to give a brief introduction, uh, to our streetscape plan, uh, today.
We're gonna plan to take about, uh, 30 minutes or so of your time to, uh, review the plan
with you, but before I get started, I just wanted to acknowledge several groups that
played an instrumental role in getting to where we are today. Uh, we had a Project
Steering Committee and a Project, uh, Technical Committee that comprised of, uh, City
staff members, um, Councilman Throgmorton was on that committee, and we had
representatives from ... from various stakeholder groups in the community. I want to
specifically recognize, uh, the University of Iowa, Summer of the Arts, and uh, the Iowa
City Downtown District for their participation throughout this process, and we had a
number of other various groups that, uh, provided valuable input, uh, the Student
Government was ... was there at every public meeting and groups like Project Green and
Think Bicycles were very, uh, instrumental in getting some of the ... the thoughts and
concepts, uh, in front of us, in front of the planning team. So the first, um, I want to ...I
want to start with kind of the history and why we undertook this plan. Uh, in your 2012
CIP budget we had about $850,000 budgeted for deferred maintenance items downtown.
Uh, these were to address some of the issues, uh, such as, uh, the heaving and the paving,
uh, some of the planter separations that we were seeing. Uh, it was to address some of
the electrical, um ... uh, capacity issues that we were experiencing, and uh, just as soon as
we approved that budget, uh, it happened to coincide with the time that the Iowa City
Downtown District was forming and they were going through some of their initial
strategic planning sessions. Uh, those sessions included, uh, representatives from the
City and University, as well. And I think we all kind of came to the realization that
before we sink nearly a million dollar... million dollars, uh, excuse me in the, uh, deferred
compensation needs of the downtown, we really need to be asking the question, is the
space function... functioning as... as well as it could today. And we also wanted to make
sure that any investments that we were making in the public space, uh, were done in a
... a .... a cohesive and well - planned manner. So, uh, with your approval we took a step
back and we hired a ... uh, planning and design team to ... to help us through a process, and
Genus Landscape Architects, uh, are here today to give an overview of that ... of that
process and that planning effort. Uh, and I would say it was a ... a pretty, uh, robust
effort. We had a lot of public participation, a lot of ideas, a lot of feedback, and I think,
uh, I think the group, again, led by Genus did an excellent job in ... in trying to, um,
develop a... a plan that the community... community can rally around and support going
forward. So, uh, what we want to do tonight, there's certainly, as you know in looking at
the plan, there's a lot of individual recommendations and thoughts in the plan. We can't,
uh, go through all those with ya tonight. We want to just hit the highlights and make sure
you understand, uh, the process that we undertook, and then we'll come in at the end of
the presentation and talk about the implementation plan going forward and make sure that
we, um, are on the same page with you as we ... as we progress with our 2014 plans. Uh,
we're not asking for you to adopt the plan tonight; however, um, depending on how this
discussion goes with you tonight, we will, uh, seek your approval of the plan at your next
Council meeting, uh, in late March. So, with that I'm going to turn it over to the Genus
team, Angie Coyier and Brett Douglas are here, uh, from Genus Landscape Architects out
of Des Moines and they're gonna walk you through!
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Coyier/ Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to come today. This has been an especially
rewarding project and fulfilling to work in a community like Iowa City with your, um,
commitment and appreciation to the public artwork, um, successful events, your vibrant
public spaces, and a very engaged public. Um, this ... the plan and today's presentation
reflects the work of a very committed team, and I want to just briefly mention our
collaborators. We are urban, uh, planning and design partner with StudioINSITE out of
Denver. We also worked with, uh, ArtHOUSE Design out of Denver on way - finding and
branding. Um, civil engineering services were provided locally by MMS. Um, lighting
and electrical by KCL, and our online engagement effort was guided by Mindmixer out
of Omaha. So, um ... today's presentation, we'd like to keep it informal. Please feel free
to question or ask questions along the way. I will step through items number 1 and 2, the
overview and process, and site assessment, and then turn it over to Brett, um, for 3 and 4,
and then, um, back to Geoff. The, um, study area comprises 16 blocks, or 65 acres. It's a
large geographic area with diverse stakeholders, and over the years six different planning
documents have guided the study area, and as a result, conditions vary considerably
across the streets and public spaces. These documents also date from the 1990s. So
conditions are starting to show their age and there are visible signs of deteriora...
deterioration. Our charge from the beginning was to update and unify, um, the planning
documents and to define a comprehensive approach to guiding capital investments in the
streetscapes. And also as Geoff mentioned, to lay ... lay the groundwork to ensure that fu
...future projects are well coordinated. Over the past year, we've worked with a variety
of stakeholders. Um, as Geoff mentioned, the Steering and Technical Committee
provided great guidance, helped us define goals and objectives, and provided key insight
with the existing infrastructure. They also, um, reviewed proposed planning concepts.
We also came and observed use during three different events and could better understand
how the spaces functioned during periods of very high pedestrian volume. We reached
out to the bicycle community to better understand how and where we could further
support Iowa City as a bicycle - friendly community, and we also held a sustainability
workshop with Project Green, um, the Iowa City Climate Advocates, U of I reps, and the
Steering and Technical Committee. To ensure the plan meets the needs of the larger
community, um, the plan developed was significant public input. Three public meetings
were held, um, last year with a combined attendance exceeding 400 persons. We reached
out ... reach out during the site assessment phase, um, and presented alternate concepts
and then came back to the public in November with a final concept. Some of the things
that we learned from the public, um, they strongly desire an improved lighting
framework, um, enhanced bicycle accommodations, and improved walkability are very
important, as well as the ... there were many comments about the north pedestrian mall
entry and how that particular space is failing ... is not realizing its full potential. Also, in
an effort to reach the broadest possible audience, the public was able to submit comments
throughout the entire process on the project website, InspireDowntownIC.com. We saw
strong participation. We had almost 400 active participants, and about 5,500 visits. This
parallel... paralleled the offline effort where they were able to contribute during each of
the different phases and also respond to any posted con... concepts. We, as I mentioned,
came to see where there are gaps or how spaces are functioning during periods of...of
high pedestrian, uh, volume. And this proved to be a very valuable experience. We
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could come and see the street closure, vendors set up, um, talk informally with the
different vendors and understand, um, how we could make it a more successful
experience for them. The ... contr ... our contract included a thorough site assessment
process, which included a combination of field analyses, stakeholder engagement, as well
as, um, review of mapping and other information provided by the City. We completed a
street -by- street assessment and pedestrian mall assessment, looking at how the different
spaces fit within the larger context and what makes them distinct, um, what is their
classification, is it more residential or more commercial. And then we inventoried all of
the ... all of the components looking at paving materials, condition of sidewalks, um, way -
finding and identity elements. We took a close look at the lighting, um ... as well as the
trees. What did we find? We found of course many strengths. And a very strong starting
point for the project. Um, this is a dynamic destination for not just the community, but
the region as a whole, and really celebrate the pedestrian mall and its, um, place where
people of all ages and demographics can come together. You have a unique mix of retail
and restaurants, mem ... memorable public art that's often celebrates Iowa City's unique
literary history, and many landmark destinations with Englert, Prairie Lights, the Library.
But as a simple byproduct of time, some of these components and aspects are starting to
age and show signs of deterioration. You can see in the images there are a number of
poles that are corroding and showing, exhibiting peeling paint and surface rust. Geoff
mentioned the limestone planters that are separating. Um, tree grates that are heaving
and need to be updated. Enhancements are needed at the public realm. You have the
tremendously popular, uh, play structure at the Library, but the surfacing is starting to
separate from the edge restraint, it's uneven, creating some tripping hazards, and basic
streetscape amenities are lacking along many of the streets, or gaps in the tree planting
program, benches are missing within key destinations, um, and it ... making it seem a little
bit more pedestrian unfriendly than it should. There's also, as we talked about, uneven
surfacing throughout the ped mall. The existing downtown lighting identity is ... is
limited. Uh, there's a range of inconsistent design styles, the kind of multi - layers that are
typical to a contemporary destination are off ...often missing. The, um, safety is
compromised in certain locations because of inadequate illumination. And the identity,
or way- finding framework is generally lacking. The existing kiosks feel a little bit over-
sized. They have, um, no longer meeting their intended purposes with the pay telephones
and ... and newspaper vending, and many of the bases are in a state of disrepair. As I
mentioned earlier, there's been six different planning documents guiding this ... this study
area. So there are inconsistencies in the basic kind of streetscape (mumbled) parts which
can sometimes make the spaces feel a little bit confusing or cluttered. And your ... the
tree canopy contributes to the character of downtown, but we have, um, noticed that
many of the trees are of questionable health and this is often, um, because of urban
conditions are not friendly... friendly to trees ... for a number of reas ... reasons. Um, there
are needs for thinning and pruning of some of the trees. At times the pedestrian mall
feels actually darker than it should, just because of the need to kind of thin the canopy.
And there needs to ... the ash tree blight needs to be addressed. The Emerald Ash Borer
has been confirmed in eastern Iowa and part of our recommendation includes a detailed
inventory of the ash trees. The festivals are tremendously popular and impact... have
local, statewide impacts, we ... hosting over 100,000 people, but there is ... there is a real
need for enhanced electrical capacity to better support the events. Power is an ongoing
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problem. There are power shortages and running cords, um, temporary generators set up.
So we feel that there is a real need to improve that condition throughout downtown, but
specifically along Iowa and Clinton. In an effort to better understand existing
infrastructure, the utility (mumbled) analysis included an examination of sanitary sewer,
water, storm, electrical, uh, natural glass... natural gas, excuse me, and fiber, um, optic
IT. We worked with, uh, the local utility companies, mapping provided by the City, as
well as interviews, um, with key reps from the City, and we considered projected demand
for these utilities into the future. We found the infrastructure is aging and is not meeting
current demands. As an example, the image shows the water main break along
Washington last summer which caused significant disruption. So our recommendation in
... include, um, consideration given to replacing utilities wherever significant street
paving... pavement is considered. So this, um, information informed key
recommendations which will ... I'll pass over to Brett!
Hayek/ Thank you!
Coyier/ Thank you.
Douglas / And really building off of the site assessment that Angie walked through, uh, I'll try
not to be redundant here. But the ... there were seven goals that were created as part of the
project, and those were initially formed by the Steering Committee and the design team,
and then routed through the stakeholders and the public, and so those went through
several iterations, keeping in mind that each one of these goals has a set of objectives tied
to it in the Master Plan report. The seven are enhance the public realm, and that's really
about urban place making. There are a lot of things that go into that, uh, from streetscape
components, and that's your site furnishings and lighting (coughing, difficult to hear
speaker) everything that you see in that public right -of -way, uh, getting the scale right,
getting the texture right, making that feel safe, livable, and walkable. Build on the
existing strengths, Angie mentioned that, uh, as much as any community that we've had
the opportunity to work with, you guys have tremendous urban character and strengths to
build on, and I think that was a fundamental piece of the entire planning effort. Address
the aging infrastructure, and that's the utilities and all of the amenities. Enhance our
environmental stewardship and become a green downtown, and this is probably one of
the goals that I would say needs the most handholding as we move forward. In the
Master Plan report you'll find a number of what we'll call `low hanging fruit' items. Uh,
there're also some more ambitious items as part of the plan, and I think as the different
projects move through detail design those elements will need to be shifted through and
...and budgets, uh, thoughtfully appropriated to ... to hit the target here. Strengthen town -
and -gown image, number 5. We see this as a really phenomenal opportunity to marry the
image of the University and the downtown. We think that's something that's been
lacking, uh, in ... over the last couple of decades. Some of that is physical improvements,
uh, we think there's some consistency between elements that could happen, uh, and I'll
touch on that in a moment here on Clinton Street. Angie mentioned develop a multi -
layered, flexible lighting framework, and that covers everything. First and foremost we
start with functional lighting. So your streetlights, uh, making sure things are safe, uh,
making sure that we're maximizing energy efficiency with the transformation to LED,
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uh, then we move into pedestrian lights, and then we move into, uh, ambiance lighting for
places like the ped mall where we can uplight tree canopies and work with more specific
lighting opportunities on public art, and then even make recommendation on private
property, al ... albeit not a public expense to do storefront lighting to enhance retail
environment. And the last one there, enhance wayfinding network. I'll cover a couple of
plan highlights, uh, the first one being the wayfinding network. Uh, working with our
team, led ... led by this part, uh, ArtHOUSE Design out of Denver, I think they did a
phenomenal job of coming up with a ... what I'll call a timeless and elegant solution for,
uh, wayfinding and identity throughout downtown. Uh, it's a beacon of light that would
work both as a gateway element and a signage piece. Uh, additional design needs to go
into that, but in the Master Plan report you'll find a series of locations throughout
downtown that'll help ... both visitors and residents navigate downtown. Transportation
enhancements, uh, few highlights here. There are a number of pedestrian enhancements,
crosswalks and intersections, many of those require upgrade. The appropriate time to do
that generally is when you're making a streetscape improvement, uh, there's logical and
sequencing there in terms of removing pavement and putting in the appropriate ADA
warning strips and safe crosswalks. Traffic modeling, uh, is another recommendation as
part of the planning effort. Uh, and that really... as mentioned here before the following
comments related to Clinton, Market, Gilbert, and Burlington. There are a number of
traffic, uh, calming recommendations, a number of navigation recommendations in the
report, but I want to preface that with all of that needs additional study through traffic
modeling. So there isn't anything that's set in stone in terms of recommendation at this
stage. We really don't have enough information to ... to make definite recommendations.
Bicycle enhancements, you're challenged in a few ways in that you don't have a lot of
right -of -way, uh, throughout your downtown on some of your streets, um, but we did find
opportunities to propose dedicated bike lanes on Clinton and Gilbert, as well as sheltered
bicycle parking, uh, possibly with photovoltaics and new bicycle racks throughout the
downtown in strategic locations. I think the bike, uh, community was very instrumental
in kind of moving this plan forward. There may be opportunities to ... to further this
vision, uh, down the road but I think we've got a good start. A few of the streets, uh, key
streets in the core area — Washington Street, uh, we looked at what we feel Washington
Street is right now and how it functions. Uh, there are a lot of positives to that, but we
think some amenities can be put in place to make Washington a hub street, and that's
really where everyone comes together from the University filters down into the core of
downtown and into the pedestrian mall.
Dickens/ Have you taken into account, uh, the possibility of repurposing Hotel Jefferson, how
that would affect the plan?
Douglas/ That has been a discussion item. I believe that came online ... near the end of the
planning study. So it hasn't really been factored into the plans. And here's a sample
(coughing, unable to hear speaker) section of Washington Street, uh, number of
opportunities, uh, enhance sidewalk paving, more energy efficient lighting, um, cafe
amenities. Uh, we think there're opportunities for bio- retention, collecting, and cleaning
storm water on Washington Street. It's a good candidate for that. Uh, wayfinding and
identity, uh, opportunities at Washington and Dubuque. And driving some of these
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improvements, certainly, are utility modifications. If we need to upgrade the water main,
that's a logical time, as I mentioned before, to go in, take out the street section, upgrade
the water main, and replace pavement. And in this case I think we would envision a
building face to building face, uh, repair. Dubuque Street is one of those, uh, streets that
kind of got lost in the planning study at the beginning. We walk through it, it's right in
the core, but it really didn't have an identity, and we see that, uh, as one of those streets,
particularly this one block section, that should be a street that has an indelible image
associated with it. Both as a gateway when you come into town, and its direct association
with the ped mall, both looking into the ped mall and coming out of the ped mall. It
would be nice to develop a pedestrian scale and feel to that materials. The image here,
uh, the sketch, uh, shows some overhead lighting proposed, and we have a series of, uh,
archways, and those are really developed, uh, off of historic photo from downtown Iowa
City. Not sure of the age of that ... the circa of that photo, but they were built off of that
character, and we see, you know, larger monument style, uh, columns that would hold up
those lights, uh ... possibly limestone in (noise on mic) materiality. Uh, again, repetition
of streetscape elements, uh, new paving on the sidewalk and the streets. And then
Clinton is really that opportunity to become a seam street, and we don't feel that it ... it's
successful in that endeavor right now. Uh, there are opportunities for, uh, what we'll call
pageantry, so we think there should be elements that are appropriate to the scale. We
have a wider right -of -way on Clinton, so it might be larger light columns and banners, uh,
make it feel more walkable, possibly, uh, a road diet or a shift of some of the traffic lanes
to narrow the crosswalks, make that more safer, have bump -outs at the intersection.
Again, making it more safer and possibly widening, uh, the pedestrian sidewalk section
on the east side of Clinton. And one key recommendation would be to relocate the bus
queuing that is on Clinton over to Washington, to the west side of Clinton, to get those
buses off of...off the side there. As we move into the ped mall, it really became a
process about selective editing. Uh, it was clear very on from the Steering Committee
this wasn't a project that was about... removing what you have and putting in a new $15
million space. There are a lot of things that are working very well. You've got great
character, great bones. How do we make the most of what you have now, and that really
drove the entire process. Starting on the thresholds, which you have three, uh, it's about
consistency and identity through the banners and the columns, uh, cleaning the tree
canopy up to allow light where we feel like there needs to be more sunlight, uh,
establishing healthy vegetation throughout, and that's trees, vegetation, shrubs, possibly
irrigation to develop that ground plain. Uh, we have some heaving bricks. We have
some chipped pavement, some areas where the pavement is not doing well. Uh, we've
budgeted in the cost opinion to, uh, repair those pavement areas but it's not an entire redo
of...of the plaza. Making, uh, amenity upgrades in the weather (mumbled) area, uh, is
something we heard a lot about. Folks would like more seating, more comfortable
seating. Uh, when you have events, uh, there's a desire to have a stage structure possibly
with a canopy on top of it. Something that would be in line with similar type of facilities
across the country that allow you to plug in for an event, and not have to run extension
cords across your main plaza space. Something that might have lights that could work in
concert with that stage or that event. Need playground, uh, surfacing. Uh, needs
upgraded. I believe that's identified as a `quick start' project, and there are a number of
what we'll call `destination zones' in the ped mall that we're recommending. And those
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are really geared towards allowing folks an opportunity to spend more time. So we're
extending that visitation time in the ped mall, for all ages. So it's extending it ... play
opportunities, uh, teenage, uh, 20s, 30s, and up. We've giving a variety of spaces for all
users. And last but not least, Black Hawk Mini Park on the north side of the space. This
was arguably one of the most discussed elements of the entire project, and I think it came
down to folks were extremely passionate about the quality of space and what it meant to
them, uh, that was in place, and ... probably safe to say it was the most discussed item in
our Steering Committee. And one that we really struggled and I think we started to get
there towards the end, of getting some consensus about what this space should become.
And these two sentences here I think summarize it pretty well — create a prominent,
welcoming, and flexible public space that builds off Black Hawk Mini Park's history, and
looks to the future. That's not an easy thing to do, but we think it's important to build off
what was successful, um, but also be progressive and make it a space that ... that feels
right in 30 years. And establish a threshold to the ped mall that is memorable and
thoughtfully designed to become an iconic destination for residents and visitors. And that
was a very... involved discussion, what that should look like when you're coming down
Dubuque Street. How does that feel, how iconic is it? Uh, is the ped mall the `there' of
downtown? Or ... is it the threshold, or is there something new in Black Hawk Mini -Park
that becomes the `there.' So we think in the concept plan right now, uh, there's flexible
seating; there's possibly movable seating. There's a public art element. Uh, there's a
small element of play for children. Uh, and a public art piece that's very meaningful to
the community.
Fruin/ Okay, so we're gonna wrap up and just talk about, uh, implementation, and again, I know,
uh, we spent, you know, just five to ten minutes there on the plan itself and ... and
honestly we could ... we could spend a whole day or more talking about the ... the
individual components, so we want to make sure that, um, if you saw something when
reviewing the plan that we can answer those questions and uh, certainly between now and
the time we ask you to adopt the plan, um, you can contact me and I ... I'll help you, uh,
or I'll answer your questions, uh, that you have. Um, I had a cover memo in the packet,
uh, that um, tried to .... to briefly explain how staff views a master plan and what we...
what it is and what it isn't. Um, this plan is nothing that we can go out to bid on
tomorrow, uh, we ... we can't go and start these projects. Uh, the plan is a vision. It's
meant to ensure that, uh, for the next 10 or 15 years, which is the anticipated shelf life of
a plan like this, that we're moving forward in... in a, um, a well - planned manner and one
that's rooted in ... in public input. Uh, we conduct streetscape projects every year
throughout the entire, uh, community. Um, usually they don't get as much attention as
...as, um, the ... the ones that happen in the urban core do because people are very, uh,
attached and passionate to ... to downtown Iowa City. Um, and sometimes you need a
... sometimes a... a master plan is... is (mumbled) great importance, and other times you
don't necessarily need a master plan, and I gave a couple examples in the memo. Uh, we
went through and we'll be finishing up actually Lower Muscatine Road this spring, um,
but that's a ... that's a streetscape project very similar to, um, some of the projects that are
... are being recommended in here. You're seeing tran... change in the transportation, uh,
structure. You're seeing new sidewalks introduced. You're seeing new lighting, new
banner elements, and things of... of that nature. Um, we didn't need a master plan for
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Lower Muscatine Road. It was a small enough geographic area, um, and there wasn't a
...really a diverse set of stakeholders to work with on there, so we can roll that just into
the design work. Uh, on the other hand, I ... I compare this to the ... the Towncrest
neighborhood plan, um, which we did do a master plan for, and that's how I really want
to ... want you to think about this, uh, consider how we've used the Towncrest plan. That
was adopted, um, four or five years ago I suppose, and over time, as opportunities have
presented themselves, we've ... we've pursued projects, uh, within that plan. We started
programs like the fagade grant program there, um, and just, you know, last year, um, as
the two new medical office buildings were being constructed, we took that opportunity to
begin some of the streetscape projects here, and that's really what we look to with this
plan is we want to be opportunistic, and we want to be, um, sure that when opportunities,
uh, do come forward that ... that we again have that unified vision that we can move
forward on. But there are some, uh, certain things, um, that, uh, that I think that, um,
need some addressing, uh, fairly quickly that we'll want to discuss with you. So through
the plan, uh, and ... and Brett and Angie talked about the goals and the site assessment.
There was a prior ... a prioritization of projects, and this is largely due, uh .... um, stem
from the existing conditions, uh, from the opportunities that were identified, uh, through
the site assessment process, and through the input that we heard from the public. So you
see three tiers here, and these aren't, uh, necessarily ranked within each tier, uh, but
you'll see the ... the top priorities that the ... the Steering Committee and the design team
identified, were ... were the pedestrian mall, Dubuque Street, Washington, and Market
Street, and then, uh, you can see, uh, how that progresses, uh, how that progresses
(coughing, unable to hear speaker) and ... you know, I don't think that there's, uh, too
many surprises here, at least there weren't surprises, uh ... uh, to me, but we can certainly
dive into any one of these streets and talk about, uh, you know, why it ended up in the
category that it's in. So again, um, the ... there are ... the major projects that were listed on
that prior slide, um, those aren't ready to be bid out today, um, but that doesn't mean that
we can't begin implementation of the plan in 2014, and uh, what we've ... what we've
identified in the plan are several quick -start projects that can get us started, uh, keep the
momentum going on the plan, um, and these are ... these are projects that won't
necessarily be, uh, undone, uh, by ... by any future projects that, uh, that come up. So,
there's a ... a few different categories that I would place these into. Uh, one, uh, there's
some ... there's some maintenance needs (mumbled) we identified this several years ago.
There are some deferred maintenance things that need to be addressed right away. So,
uh, that list is a little ... little hard to read. It is ... in the ... in the plan too, but items such as
sidewalk repair, replacement of certain tree grates — those are things that we really need
to be taking care of now, um, but with this plan we can do so in a way that will, uh,
dovetail very nicely with ... with future larger -scale improvements. There's some items
that the...that the public was really, uh, supportive of that we feel that we can move
forward on right away. Uh, a couple examples of that, uh, would be enhanced recycling
in the, uh, particularly in the pedestrian mall but throughout the downtown. That's one
thing that we're lacking right now is a success ... a successful recycling program, uh,
sheltered bike parking, uh, and this image shows on the lower right, uh, shows an
example with the use of photovoltaic cells, uh, to provide some ... some lighting, uh, for
evening hours. Um, and there's some public art opportunities in the quick -start list, as
well. We also want to get moving on the design of what we feel are some of the more,
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uh, critical needs for downtown, and so there's some projects in here that will help
inform, uh, the design team, uh, as we move forward. Uh, an example of that, uh, you
...you would see on the top left slide there, and that's the ... uh, what we've dubbed as the
plant rail, uh, mock -up in the ped mall. Uh ... you know, one example that we've seen,
and this is I believe Boulder, uh, Colorado, is that they successfully used, uh, plant -rail
fencing like that to, uh, keep people from trampling the vegetation, um ... we're not
convinced that that would work in Iowa City, but we think it's worth it, and we think it's
worth a shot. Um, Boulder has much of the same environment and they've... they've
found some success there, um, but what that does if you're able to, uh, protect those
vegetated areas a little bit more you can introduce more color and more interesting, um
...uh, plantings into the ped mall. So, before we recommend to you that we do that
throughout the ped mall, and we've had, you know, these discussions at length, um, you
know, we thought we'd ... we'd give it a try this summer and ... and just see how it works.
So there's some of those projects in here. There's some lighting mock -ups, as well. We
can get a flavor of what works and what doesn't, uh, before we embark on a larger, uh,
project. We are recommending that, uh, we begin design work on the pedestrian mall,
uh ... uh, this year, uh, in 2014 and, um, that's not necessarily, uh, with all the bells and
whistles, uh, that are ... that are listed in the ... in the plan document, but we're
recommending that we go forward with a design, um, that is really, uh, one that's, I
would say, foundational for the ped mall, that addresses the utility needs, that addresses
the paving needs, the lighting needs, uh, the basic infrastructure needs, um, and also one
that we can layer on top of in the future. So we can go back in and ... and add the eco -lab
component, if that's desired by the, uh, community, uh, at a ... at a future date, and we'll
talk a little bit more about the ... the ped mall design in a couple of minutes. Um, there are
some City policies that were identified that ... that need, uh, review too and we plan to do
that with the, uh, downtown business community and other stakeholders this year. So
looking at our signage, um, policies, our dumpster policies, um, some of those, uh,
policies can really help change the ... the, uh, the built environment down there. So it's
worth a review and ... and we'll tackle that this year with these quick -start projects. Uh,
the ped mall and ... and what you're seeing here is the image for the kind of the north
entry that, uh, Brett and Angie talked about. We would like to start the design work, uh,
on that this year. That's included in the, um, budget dollars that you'll be asked to
approve tonight so ... as a, um, reminder to you, there's a ... a million dollars worth of
General Obligation bonds in your FYI budget that were appropriated for the ... the
maintenance needs and the beginning of...of the implementation for this plan. So with
2014, uh, there's a couple of particular elements I want to talk about again. Uh, we
would treat that as kind of a foundational project for downtown, uh, for the ... the
downtown ped mall, but there are a couple of elements, um, that we may not have con
... construction funding for, but that greatly influence what that space will become, um,
and one is the public art piece. You can see the ... the, uh, translucent white box, uh, and
the image in the, uh, corner of Black Hawk Mini -Park right there. Um, the public really
expressed a desire for a ... a significant public art piece at that location, um, however,
that's undefined what that is and so that needs to be, uh, part of the design package. Uh,
certainly if that becomes a fountain, the space may be designed in one way. If it's a
sculpture, it may be ... may be designed in a ... in a completely different way. So, we need
to, uh, figure out, uh, exactly what that piece is going to become, and that'll be part of the
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design, uh, again, not necessarily part of the, urn ... construction award that takes place but
uh, it... it, at minimum needs to be part of the design. The other item, uh, that Brett
mentioned is the permanent sha ... uh, stage structure that would be over weather down...
weather dance fountain. Um, we would like to design that element because we think that
that, uh, certainly would help shape what that, uh, part of the ped mall would become.
Uh, that's an item that, again, we might look to private fundraising for or seek additional
grant dollars for, um, but if we don't include it in the design, it'll be hard to come back at
a later stage and ... and add that in. The, uh, budget before you tonight, um, has the one
million in FY15. It does not have any funding in FYI and beyond, uh, for these
projects. Um, and, urn .... we need ... I need to be clear that you're not making any
funding decisions, uh, tonight for the construction of the ped mall or Washington Street
or any of these other major plan components. We would have to come back to you, um,
either at your next budget work session, come next fall or winter or at some date prior to
that and discuss with you what the updated cost estimates are and have ... you would have
to weigh those, you know, certainly with all the other community needs that we ... that we
have, um, but again, you're not being asked to make that, uh, de ... decision tonight.
However, certainly as you know if we begin the design work on the ped mall, uh, there's
a public engagement process about that, and as we continue to move that forward, uh, we
all know there'll be increased, um, pressure and expectations to move forward on that
plan. So, um, we wouldn't be recommending that, uh, we go forward with the design if
we didn't feel like it was, um, a strong need in the community, urn ... but urn ... it's, be
clear, it's not in the budget right now. We'll have to figure out a way to work that in, or
to ... to phase that in in future years. Uh, the other projects that we would look to to move
forward with, uh, in the next, uh, few years, uh, potentially, again, depending on
budgetary considerations and ... and other things would be Dubuque Street and
Washington Street. Um, I think it's worth exploring, uh, doing the, uh, the block of
Dubuque Street while the Gateway Project's going on and traffic's already disrupted on
that corridor. That may make some sense to do that. Um ... you know, but we wouldn't
want to make that decision until we know, um, you know, the cost of the Gateway Project
and ... and the other community needs at that time. There's a lot of...lot of balls in the air
before we can make that decision, but I think that that, uh, consideration needs to be
made. And lastly, Washington Street. Um, we all know the condition of the water main.
We experienced that this past summer. Uh, your ... your CIP budget does include money,
uh, next year to replace the water main, uh, at...at Washington Street. Um ... that in and
of itself is a very disruptive project. That would close the street for likely a couple of
months. Um, it would require the replacement of service lines to all the buildings. So
significant sidewalk and ... and street repair. Uh, at this time, uh, for ... for a multitude of
reasons, we feel like we should ... we should look to ... to delay that project, urn ... it is the
most disruptive project, and the last thing we want to do is go in next year and replace the
water mains, only to come back in another year or two and tackle a streetscape project, or
see a significant, um, street interruption with the Jefferson Building project or anything
else that might come on that corridor. So we like the Jefferson project. We'd like to see
where that goes, uh, in this next year, um, and ... and certainly, uh, want to avoid a
situation where we're double- dipping in that street. Uh, we do have to, however, realize
the risk that that decision... that comes with that decision and uh ... uh, relying on that
water main for ... for another few years, but that's our recommendation. Uh, and I
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mentioned, we want to be opportunistic, um, and that's not only with these projects but
with other projects throughout, uh ... uh, in other parts of the plan as we look at some of
the other development projects that are kind of up in the air right now, um, those may
prompt us to move forward or fast -track other components of this plan and we'll... we'll
look to do that, uh, as we move forward. Things like the traffic modeling that we're
doing may also lead us to ... to shift these around, but that's really what this master plan
project is about, uh, giving us the flexibility to do that as ... as time changes. So you'll
see, um, kind of what our plan is for going forward. We just want to keep ... we feel like
we've got, uh, a good strong, uh, community support, uh, certainly there's not support of
every recommendation, but overall we feel that there's strong community support. We
want to keep the positive momentum going and get started with the pedestrian mall
project, uh, we'll come back to you with the ... the funding decision. So, um ... I think
we're ... we probably went a little bit long. Thanks for your patience, uh, we'll answer
questions, uh, now.
Dobyns/ Geoff, the, um ... large question that the footprint of the ped mall was not decreased nor
increased, um, I was wondering if you could sort of talk with that (mumbled)
Fruin/ It ... it came up pretty early on in the planning process as we expect and there was people
that felt we should extend it, uh, east on College Avenue or maybe north on Dubuque,
um ... but for, you know ... there was a lot of passion, both ways, uh, on both sides, and uh,
we made the decision pretty early on, uh, not to ... not to pursue that, but it's certainly
something that ... uh, interests, uh, a lot of the community's interested in. There's, again,
a lot of the community would, I think, fight that tooth and nail. So we just made that
decision early not to ... not to pursue that.
Dobyns/ I assumed it came up. I just wanted to (both talking)
Fruin/ It came up (both talking) What you do see in the plan though if you really look at the
details, what we tried to do is extend the character of the pedestrian mall onto the streets.
So, uh, you'll see you know the ped mall, uh, there's maybe a brick, uh, intersection, uh,
going up on Dubuque and then, uh, through uh, maybe some brick pavers actually on
Dubuque to kind of carry that character forward, but ... but not extend the ped mall itself.
Payne/ I have three... things.
Fruin/ Okay.
Payne/ The first thing is is I noticed in some of the actual photos and then the ... images of what it
could look like, actual photos have overhead electric lines. The image of what it could
look like the overhead electric lines are gone, but I didn't see in the dollars any dollars in
there for overhead to underground conversion of those lines. Is that just because you
didn't get that from MidAmerican?
Fruin/ No, we ... we have those numbers and those are in the detail... there's a, um, I believe
that's in the appendix, isn't there? There's detailed cost estimates, uh, what you see in
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the plan is just a summary and that may not have worked into a particular line item. It
may be lumped into utility upgrades, uh, but there's, uh, several corridors that we looked
at. Gilbert probably being, um, the one that we identified as having the largest impact,
but uh, Market Street and ... and maybe north Linn were also identified.
Payne/ Um, then the next thing is... on Gilbert, making it a... a, two lanes each way, with the bike
lanes and the center turn lane. It's just a really busy road and it seems like that would
impede traffic, and they're going to go someplace else and does that mean that someplace
else is not downtown? To travel?
Fruin/ That's why we can't make the recommendation on that tonight. We think that, uh, just
based on traffic volumes that it's possible that that could work there, um, but I can tell
you, um, Rick Fosse and Ron Knoche, you know, have some heartburn over that, as well
(laughter) particularly with the ... with the queuing of cars, um, at the intersection with
Burlington and how that might, um, per ... perhaps back up and block the intersection with
College. We just don't have good enough data right now to ... to make a ... a strong
recommendation on that, but ... but we do think it's ... it's worth study and it's certainly a
possibility, urn ... we'll come back to you on that!
Payne/ And then the last one was Market, the ... the same thing on Market, making it a ... a two -
way instead of a one -way.
Fruin/ Yeah. Um, and I'd give you the same answer on that. We ... we need to look at not only
the automobile traffic there but pedestrian traffic, bicycle traffic, transit traffic, and try to
understand how that change, um ... uh, would ... would help that area. Um, it's something
that we see, you know, we're seeing all over the country. We had a very good experience
with it on Washington Street here. We think it's worth further review, um. ... but couldn't
really tell you what the impacts were from a traffic point right now.
Payne/ So it's more like a recommendation that hasn't been studied yet. At this point.
Fruin/ Yeah, you can do some ... you can do some baseline, uh, analysis with the information that
we have, just basic traffic volumes, um, but we really need to get out and do more
pedestrian counts and understand particularly when classes are letting out at the
University and people are walking, uh, from the downtown, through the north side, uh...
uh, neighborhood, you know, understand how those volumes, uh, would change with
two -way traffic and where they might go, what are the ... what are the crossing times they
might expect, um, all those sorts of things.
Payne/ Thank you.
Hayek/ Geoff, uh ... yeah, I would ... I would describe this as a fantastic product, um, it's ... it's
thoughtful, it's uh ... it's comprehensive, it's ... um, it's ambitious, uh, and it ... kudos to
those who were ... were part of this process. I only have two quick comments. One is that
you know we've talked about in terms of wayfinding, incorporating multiple languages
into our wayfinding, not necessarily the iconic stuff, but the practical wayfinding that...
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that a lot of our international community relies upon, and so I just want to make sure
we're keeping that in the back of our minds as we move forward on that issue, and then
the second thing is really more apropos what ... what Michelle said, and that's to
underscore that this, you know, this is an aspirational document. It's not gospel. It's a
set of guideposts, um, and ... and there are some items that are more or less no brainers
that you know we ... we, there won't be much controversy about, but others, uh,
will ... will open up a broader conversation and you know in particular the road diets and
the conversion to two -way streets and those sorts of things, um, you know, remain to be
discussed, and they may or may not make sense. I don't know, um, but I think we as a
Council need to understand, and the public, that, uh, we're not committing to anything
like that. We are committing to looking at those things, and that's about the extent of it,
but this is a very good ... very good piece.
Mims/ Yeah I would just ecu ... echo what Matt said. Michelle, I thought you were going to say
MidAmerican was going to donate the cost of (laughter and several talking)
Hayek/ ...that's what Michelle said before the meeting! (laughter)
Payne/ Yeah, right!
Mims/ ...um, no, I think this is a great document, and again, it's a great vision and certainly as
we get into some of the details, um, as we know in this community there will be lots of
different opinions on certain aspects of it, and so we will have, um, lots of discussions
and challenges probably as we go through implementing. Um, so I won't get into any of
the details of those things. One thing that I was thinking though as you were talking, you
were talking about money and this may be totally new for a municipality, but I would
encourage the City and the Steering Committee to consider the possibility of breaking
some of these things down into specific elements that might be very, um, interesting and
very highly supported by the community and see if there's any possibility of doing any
crowd - source funding for certain elements. I don't know if municipalities have done that
or if...maybe you've already talked about it. I don't know but...
Fruin/ Yeah, they... municipalities are ... are more and more getting into that type of, uh, effort
and we've talked about that, uh, it's something that, uh, Brett and Angie have stressed,
that they've seen work in other communities (both talking)
Mims/ Okay good!
Fruin/ And I think there are a few of those, um, elements of the plan, whether it's public art or
the stage, um, that ... that may be fairly attractive, uh, to outside donors.
Mims/ Okay. Thanks!
Throgmorton/ My turn! So ... as y'all know, I served on the Steering Committee for this, and I
want to praise Geoff. He's done an absolutely superb job on it and in managing and
organizing the whole endeavor. So bravo to you...
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Fruin/ Thank you.
Throgmorton/ ...uh, Geoff. I also want to praise Brett and Angie and the whole team that
worked with you. Uh, you ... you really focused our attention. You were very responsive
to all the questions and concerns and all that that we brought up, and I know some of the
members of the Steering Committee are out there too and I'm sure they would agree —
Bill and ... and Nancy and some staff members and so on. Uh ... uh, but you also did a
really superb job of involving the public in all the ways that Geoff outlined, or maybe
you did, Angie, I can't remember who ... who actually did that. So, uh, well done! I ... I
want to emphasize that point. Uh, as Geoff knows, my main concern has to do with
making sure that we don't either substantively or in appearance, uh ... uh, focus too much
attention, spend too much money on the downtown at the cost of not spending money on
other parts of the city. So, this is, you know, an issue that's always present and is
something that I think we're just going to have to be constantly aware of as time goes on.
Uh, I want to bring up one other point, in response to your point, Michelle, uh ... I ... I
would say (mumbled) completely reasonable questions and I know there are a whole
bunch of people in the city who would ask them as well, so ... completely reasonable, but
we won't be able to enhance the quality of downtown as a place unless we calm the
traffic. We won't be able to do it. So that's a crucial thing and ... uh, that means in large
part, turning the streets into places that people want to be, want to be sitting along, want
to be walking along, want to be looking in stores as they walk along. We ... we've got to
enhance the quality of the streetscape in that way, rather than keep them as thoroughfares
that people want to hurry along ... in their cars. So that ... that's a really crucial point and
it's one, you know, involves values and stuff like that. So we'll just have to work our
way through it.
Payne/ Yeah and I totally agree with you, but we don't want to do it to the point where people
don't want to drive there because it's an impediment.
Throgmorton/ I would agree (both talking)
Payne/ ...there's a fine line!
Throgmorton/ I would agree, and I think if...if the place is attractive enough, people figure out
how to get there and they'll want to be here.
Botchway/ So I guess I'm last in line, um ... I mean, everybody has great comments and
obviously being last it stinks, so to speak, because everybody said everything you want to
say, um, but just echoing Jim's comments, you know, just being careful about how we
spend money compared... downtown compared to all the other areas of Iowa City, as
well, I think people are really focus on, um, that specifically when we're talking about
downtown. Urn ... love the alleyway use, I mean, like Matt said you know, the plan is a
really great plan. I love the, you know, trying to use as much space as possible and
talking about the lighting and different things that you can do, and that kind of reminded
me of, um, something I think I brought up about, um, you know, the Omaha and their
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district and stuff they ... the stuff they kind of do there as well. Um, the ... one question I
did have was about the, uh, electrical expansion or talks about that. Was that more along
the lines of incorporating, um, you know, better use for some of the Summer of the Art
programs, um, and stuff like that. One of the things I, well, I guess answer that question
first and then I'll continue (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah, there's, uh, it's really... especially along Iowa and Clinton, um, trying to upgrade
the facilities there to, um, provide a more enjoyable experience for those festivals.
You're not having wires and generators, um .... um, at...at multiple locations, but there's
also a strong need in the ped mall to, um, and that's for, you know, some of the other
maybe smaller events that take place there, urn ... uh, and you know for things like holiday
lighting, um, that we really struggle to do a very good job of right now, and it's not for,
uh, anything but lack of infrastructure to support that. So those are the main three areas.
Botchway/ Okay, and then kind of um, I guess added on to that, I think we talked about at the
last meeting some of the mobile vending, um, that we might be looking at those policies.
I'm hoping that, you know, the kind of electrical designs and stuff maybe thought about
that, as well, um, because that would be, you know, really cool and kind of echoing Jim's
comments as well, bringing more people into kind of a nightlife kind of theme or
different type of theme of not used to in downtown, and making a place you want to go,
um, so we can have a lot of these, you know, wonderful things being built, so...
Fruin/ I ... I think what the ... what the improvements will do, if we do it right, will provide a
flexible space downtown. So as policies change and as we want to go into, uh, go to
different areas, we have that ability to ... to kind of be fluid with our programming down
there. So, I think, uh, if that's the outcome, you know, or the direction that we go, the
space should be flexible enough to accommodate that.
Botchway/ The only thing that was missing was the, uh, the rotating restaurant (laughter) on top
of one of the buildings (laughter) We can talk about that in the details!
Fruin/ (laughs) Yeah!
Hayek/ Okay, and... great idea on... on some jumpstart or quick -start, I think, items as you... as
you referenced it. To have some tangible achievements and ... and, you know, boost that
public, uh, interest level. So, good job! Thanks for ... for being here.
Bramel/ I guess I just wanted to say real quick, um, Geoff, uh, thank you very much for
everything that you've been doing working on this and all the outreach you've done.
Thank you very much to the design team. Um, being part of all those public meetings
was phenomenal, and I was really happy to see a lot of undergraduates and even grad
students, um, there participating in the very interactive meetings I thought were
phenomenal. Never have I seen meetings, uh, that were so interactive, uh, where you
could, uh, put stickers on boards and talk with, uh, the staff right there and get answers
right up front, so that was, um, very, very well done and I ... I'm ... I was really happy to
see, um, that the community came out and um, supported such, um, things that, um,
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students have been looking for for years, such as like increased lighting, um ... uh, you
know, pedestrian walkways and uh, bicycle lanes and whatnot. Phenomenal things so I
just want to say thank you very much again to you, Geoff, and the staff, so ... awesome
experience. Thank you!
Fruin/ Thank you all.
Information Packets:
Hayek/ Okay, let's move on. Info Packets from February 20 and 27. Let's take up the February
20 packet.
Throgmorton/ IP #9, the minutes of the January 27 meeting of the Telecommunications
Commission, uh, the Commission discussed ... uh ... said a residential broadband survey
had revealed that consumer satisfaction with Mediacom is quite low. Uh, they discussed
a possible consumer education initiative and so on, and Bob Hardy said he would, uh,
he'd talk with Tom about that possibility and then get back to `em about it. I don't know
if Tom's had a chance to ... engage in that conversation or, you know, just... wondering
where things stand.
Markus/ No, we ... we ... it was a brief conversation, but I think that there is a desire to pursue that
kind of, uh, community involvement in terms of surveying and... and further determining
what needs to be done, and then engaging our supplier to make sure that corrections are
made. So ... there's some transitions being, coming forward in terms of personnel so
we're going to have to work that into the changes.
Throgmorton/ Right.
Payne/ On IP8, at our last, um ... Johnson County, um ... Emergency Services Commission
meeting, it was brought up that, um, when we had the, uh, boil advisory, we didn't use
reverse 9 -1 -1, and people asked why we didn't use reverse 9 -1 -1 to let people know
quickly. So I ... I don't need an answer. I was just letting you know that people brought it
up (laughs)
Markus/ Right, and we've had that communication I think amongst the staff and I think we will
be able to accommodate that going forward.
Payne/ Thank you.
Dobyns/ Can you comment... reverse 9 -1 -1 I assume is just a call out to all known phone
numbers? Okay.
Payne/ It's a text message.
Dobyns/ Uh huh.
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Hayek/ Anything else on the February 20 packet? Okay, the February 27 packet.
Throgmorton/ I ... I'd like to have us discuss IP7, the memo from our outstanding Finance
Director, Dennis Bockenstedt (laughter) uh, requesting establishment of the local option
sales tax Exploratory Committee that would be a staff committee plus one Council
Member. I ... I think having a staff committee generate recommendations about how the
revenues should be used is putting the cart before the horse. It's like putting the cart
before the horse. How the revenue should be used is a political, in my judgment, a
political, that is a policy, uh ... um, question or judgment that the City Council should
answer, not ... not the staff. Uh, seems to ... our job is to make policy, and deciding how
the revenues should be spent should we proceed, and should the voters approve, is a
policy question, one we need to resolve. So what I want to suggest is that ... the Council,
uh, appoint two, I don't know committees or subcommittees, of Council Members, three
Members each, to discuss, uh, possibilities and ... and share their ideas and whatever
about how potential revenues, uh, should be allocated, uh, and then get back together in a
public meeting, work session presumably, to discuss ... what the committees have
generated in ... in the way of ideas. I would imagine the staff could have a parallel
committee doing something similar, but ... seems to me it's a policy question and we
ought to be doing it.
Mims/ I would agree with you, Jim, on the fact that it's a policy question. Um, structurally
though, I agree with the recommendation in terms of forming a committee that is staff
and one Council Member. From the standpoint that I think staff brings, um, a lot of
expertise to it that we don't have, and time that we can basically direct them to spend
(laughs) um, investigating you know the legalities of various things, um, but ... but what I
would agree with you is if we were to reformulate it simply to the extent of saying, rather
than coming back with a specific recommendation that what we would ask this
committee to do is come back with some various options and some pros and cons that
they would see, to those various options, and then we can have that policy discussion. I
would ... I would strongly disagree respectfully with the idea of two three- member council
committees, cause to me that absolutely flies in the face of open government, which I thin
is very, very important to the people of Iowa City. You start getting two committees of
three Council Members that are not subject to open meeting laws and I think you're
getting an awful lot of decision making made ... before you get those committees back
together, that is out of the light of the community, and so I ... I don't think that ... I think
our community would have a fit (laughs) to put it in very simple language if we did that,
and so, um, I support the ... the format of the committee, but rather than a formal
recommendation, coming back with, uh, again maybe some options for the ways that we
might use it and what that committee would see as pros and cons, and then the Council as
a whole should take that up in a very formal, or a very public format, um, to discuss.
Throgmorton/ If I could respond to one part of that, uh ... the thing I don't understand is how one
Member of the Council could share the full Council's views about how sales tax revenues
should be spent, as part of a staff committee. I ... I don't see how (both talking)
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Mims/ I don't ... I don't see ... I don't see the point ... you were just on the ... the downtown, you
know, committee, okay, in terms of that.
Throgmorton/ Uh huh.
Mims/ You did not share, in that role, you did not share the views of the Council. You shared
your views and (both talking)
Throgmorton/ But here we're talking about how to spend ... what, what's the amount of money
involved? I mean (both talking)
Markus/ Oh it could... it could approach $10 million.
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Mims/ But ... still, you're ... to me what you're doing is you're asking the committee (several
talking) take out the recommendation part and say here are various options for how to
spend that money and here's are some ... and here are some of the very, you know,
objective and /or political pros and cons that the ... that the committee sees. You're not
asking or requiring that Council Member to represent all the views of the Council any
more than you were representing the views of the Council for the downtown streetscape
committee or any more than Rick or somebody else would be representing all of the
Council views on an ad hoc committee looking at senior issues. It's giving, you know,
one more input, one more communication back, but I don't see that as actually
representing the view of the entire Council.
Dickens/ I'd like to expand it to more than one Councilor though. I think more than one. Just to
get varied views, cause we all have different views on it. But I think it would help not
just to have one Councilor on that.
Markus/ You know the ... the sequence of events that will occur is that a committee, however it's
comprised, will evaluate the legalities, the ... the finances, the (several talking) the
potential uses of it, um ... we have to talk to our neighbors because there's provisions
where this gets voted on by the urban mass in this particular case. It would then progress
back to the City Council. The City Council would make the determination as to policy,
how they wish to divvy up whatever LOST, uh, program we proposed, and then that's not
even the end of it. It then goes to a vote of the public (several talking) and in fact it's a...
it's basically a referendum for the public to decide whether this is an up or down, and so
our intent is not to come back to the City Council with a (mumbled) the particular uses,
um, that we would, uh, you know, hard recommend in terms of how you spend the
money. The fact is you could divide up into a committee at the stage that we return our
report, but I think there's legalities, there's, uh, practical considerations, there's
budgetary considerations, which quite frankly, um ... you need certain expertise into ... to
consider and... and if you look at the make -up, it's Legal, Financial, uh, management, uh,
the Clerk's Office, and one representative of Council. Again, we don't presuppose to
determine how the money is going to be spent. We ... we would come back with a, you
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know, a list of potential things that would make some sense, um ... but that's based on our
limited view of those things. Uh, at some point when the Council gets this back, the
Council could establish their own policy- making type committee for a subsequent
recommendation, as well. But, this goes through a lot of public scrutiny, and it's going to
take a lot of, you know, discussion, uh, amongst our own community, but also with our
neighbors because the vote gets, you know, throughout the urban core, uh, is part of the
voting. So we'd like to lay things out in terms of here's all the things that you have to
consider in doing this, uh, taking this kind of approach. I think the strategic plan will
guide our recommendations. I think the budget policies that we already in ... in ... have in
place will guide our recommendations. Um... and with property tax reform in place, I
think it was very ... you know, we had a very open discussion about this during the budget
process, that we would come back and consider alternative sources of revenue, um, to the
whole property tax, urn ... considering what we're going to be facing over the next two,
three, plus years, uh, with the declines in property tax revenues. So ... from my
perspective, it's just the preliminary write -up. We haven't even ... we fixed a date by
when we would come back with a report, but we haven't targeted a particular election for
this to move to. Um ... even though there were some that suggested, well, you take an
election date and then you back into it. We said, no, let's not do that. Let's come back
with the staff report. You then have greater information, background information. You
can then decide how you want to proceed. And at that point, Jim, I'd say to you, if you
wanted to have a study committee made up of more Members of Council, that would be
the time to do it. The fact of the matter is, I can initiate a staff committee right now! The
only thing that's different about this particular committee is we've invited a Member of
Council to sit in and keep an eye on us! (laughter) And I think that's more transparent!
So ... the reality is, we don't have any preconceived notions about how this ... this can be
spent, and you can suggest ideas about what the money can be spent on. There's certain
things that are barred from, you know, the use of LOST funds. So, we would go through
that kind of analysis, get that kind of, um ... determination and history, and factual data
pulled together for you so that I think you would be better informed at that point to kind
of as a group decide what you think is the right, uh, mix of items, if you even want to
pursue a LOST. Um ... I think all of that would be beneficial information because the
...the reality is you may decide we're not ready for a LOST this year. But thanks for the
information so that a year later when we know more about what the State's gonna do in
terms of backfill, we can then have that discussion.
Throgmorton/ Well I think you're completely right about the need for a good technical, legal,
and financial analysis — absolutely! I totally agree with that! I'm just simply trying to
make the point that it's our job (laughs) this City Council's job to determine how we
should ... it's a val ... you know this, Tom, as well as do, the distinction between values
and ... and facts, you know, it's a basic principle of city management and (both talking)
Markus/ And ... and ... and it's so basic in fact that I have no intention of ... of telling you what the
mix of things that should be funded should be! I'm going to give you a list of things that
are potential, and I'm going to give you some ideas why we think one might be better
than the other, but I clearly believe it's a policy decision. It's ultimately your decision. I
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...I have no desire to pre -empt that! It's... it's... it's basis to our form of government! So
you are the policy makers. I ... I'm not trying to usurp that!
Hayek/ (both talking) it's the ultimate poll ... policy decision, because not only do we have to
decide whether to pursue it, but the public has to decide whether to support it.
Throgmorton/ Sure, right.
Hayek/ And ... and I don't think any one of us up here has any particular expertise that would,
um ... accomplish a better result than ... than input from ... from our professional staff on
this. I don't even want to touch a policy issue like this until I have information! Um, so
I ... I have no problem with ... with this set up, and ... and we will have a lot to discuss,
whatever emerges from this internal study group, um...
Botchway/ And I would add, Matt, just ... as long as it's along the lines of what Susan was talking
about and having those various options or having that list. I know that, I know, in my
you know small amount of time on Council, some of the recommendations that are put
forth usually there's one recommendation, you know, that's said to be what we're
looking towards, and again, kind of echoing Jim's points, because this is a policy
decision, seeing all of them and you know having maybe that, you know, one that comes
up a little bit and says, you know, hey, staff is really supporting this, but the other ones
equally vetted as well, uh, puts me in a better position to make, you know, a decision that
I think the community would really support or not support. Um, the other point I was
going to make was, and I know we're going to have ... you know, this is a long process,
there's going to be a lot of times where the public has some type of influence or at least
some input. If there was any way, and you know this might be a silly situation, but
mimic whatever, um, the, uh, downtown district plan did and have some type of, um...
you know, uh, input kind of along those preliminary lines when you're going through that
initial recommendation process. I think that would be great, and ... the web site, you
know, inspiredowntownic, I think did a great job of doing that, you know, I didn't get to
be on it as much as I would have liked but it gave a lot of different ideas and input form a
lot of different people from the Iowa City community that we wouldn't necessarily get,
you know, in our short timeframe of having people come up and speak for five minutes.
Markus/ I ... I would say to you, I think that the stage in the ... in the committee that I'm
recommending at this time is really more technical than policy. And I would say to you
that I think we would like to pull together the technical aspects of this, give you the ideas
about when you can hold elections, give you the ... the legal parameters of what you can
consider. Uh, there's a lot of that type of information that's there, and the other thing that
we're guided by, like I said before, is the strategic plan in terms of, um ... where your
priorities are in terms of spending. The ... the other thing that I would tell you about is
that in the legislature right now there's a ... at least one bill that's kind of working its way
through the legislature that... starts to inform and ... and change the way, um, communities
can proceed with this and we have some very serious concerns about, um, the changes
that could occur to, um, the local option sales tax basis, so we would want to be, you
know, providing that (both talking)
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Hayek/ As in the formula?
Markus/ (both talking) ...yes, as in the formula and as in the, uh...
Throgmorton/ ... surprise is it? (laughs)
Markus/ No, it's not, and it's ... and it's been something I think I've cautioned you about in the
past that we have to keep an eye on, not only in the formula but also in the, uh, way a
community can resurrect... or... or can create a, uh, a local option sales tax. Now the
three communities would have to vote on it, um... and in the... in the alternative process,
the single community could ... could take the issue up. So we're monitoring those issues
and ... and would want that there. So, Kingsley, to be specific to what you commented on,
I would say to you, what we intend to do at this time is get to the technical aspects of it.
We might even advise that the next step is a, you know, another committee of the
policymakers and at that point, suggest a ... a public involvement process, uh, for that kind
of discussion, but what I really want to get to is to appoint where this whole table has the
same understanding of how all of this works as the City staff does, and again, we are
informed, um, in what our recommendations will be by the strategic plan, and by the
budget policies that the Council set. So policy is going to dictate, uh, to a large extent
what we come back with, as well as what's already ensconced in the law.
Hayek/ You know, and there will be strategic determinations, as well, we have to make, you
know, if...if the State distribution formula changes or is at risk of changing, that changes
the calculus for us in terms of whether this is worth pursuing. If there are, uh, issues that
... that ... that are regional in nature, and an example is housing, you know, uh, and, you
know, whether... whether our neighboring jurisdictions are committing to use of proceeds
for that kind of a thing in addition to what we're doing, that's a strategic consideration for
us. All of this will come back to us, and we'll hopefully have more information by then.
Markus/ Yeah, and I think the other thing too is, what drives this right now, I was, you know, we
let ... we let it expire without the intent of resurrecting it. But as you know with, um,
property tax reform, we've come back to you and we said we have to do two things. We
have to look at the expense side of how we're operating and see if we can't be more
efficient if we can't operate more streamlined and still provide the same level of service.
And on the other side of it we have to look at our revenues. And we have to determine if
there's better ways of going about, uh, paying for those services that we want. And so to
me, this is ... this is an exercise in evaluating one revenue stream, an alternative revenue
stream, to what we already have in our mix of revenues. So, you know, we let it expire,
um, we don't have ... at the end of this, it's a ... it's a, in my opinion, a flip of the coin
whether the Council's going to go for another LOST or leave it ... and leave it in the ... in
the bag of potential uses in the future! But I think this is more of a study type thing. I
don't have any foregone conclusion that we're going to actually get to another LOST, or
even a LOST vote at this stage! That's purely up to the Council.
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Hayek/ Okay, so, um ... unless there's more discussion we're running out of time, so I want to
keep us moving through our agenda. We do need to put someone, uh, on this.
Mims/ I would be very interested in being on the committee.
Hayek/ I'd have no problem with that.
Dobyns/ I'm not interested. (laughter)
Mims/ Well you handle senior (both talking and laughing)
Hayek/ Everybody all right with that?
Dobyns/ Thank you, Susan!
Mims/ Yep!
Dickens/ Yep.
Hayek/ Okay, um ... I just ... there's the Downtown District's here. I don't think we need to
discuss it but I ... I'm glad to see this Friends program...
Mims/ Uh huh!
Hayek/ ...uh, that's at IP, uh, 6 of, uh, the packet. I think it's an exciting initiative and ... it's
getting a lot of good feedback so far, as far as I can tell. Are there any questions about
that?
Mims/ Nope, looks good!
Hayek/ Anything else from the Info Packet? Okay... Council time!
Council Time:
Mims/ We don't have any! (laughs)
Botchway/ Just a quick thing about, um, I think it was, uh, I know this is going back to one of the
Information Packets, but the discussion about affordable housing. I think we just really
need to, you know, think about it, get on the ball with it. I know we have a lot of
different projects coming up with, uh, the Riverfront Crossings district and other things
coming. I just don't want us to ... lose focus on, you know, the affordable housing and
how that ties into, you know, downtown, and how it ties into a lot of different projects
that we're currently putting forward. So I ... I don't think it's for ... on a work session or...
I thought we ... I mean I know we had talked about it during the strategic planning session
but, um ... I mean, I would like some more discussion as far as affordable housing on a
pending work session. I kind of went through `em and the other (mumbled) other work
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session topics that we had and ... didn't see anything that kind of spoke to those or spoke
to that particular issue but ... if anybody else is interested, that'd be great.
Throgmorton/ Well I think we're going to have to talk about it more, especially with regard to
the form -based code, uh, once it gets to us, uh, and ... but that's in the context of the larger
regional... regional situation. So, at some point we absolutely do need to discuss it more
thoroughly.
Mims / Right, and we've, I mean, we have actually fairly recently and ... and we have, you know,
we've talked about it also at MPOJC...
Botchway/ Right.
Mims/ ...you know, recently and I guess the other thing I would say is, given that we have had
quite a bit of discussion within the last year, and the length of our pending work session
topics, I'd like to see us work our way through some of those, um ... as well.
Throgmorton/ Yeah.
Mims/ We (both talking)
Hayek/ We're up to 10 or 11 already.
Mims/ Yeah, we ... we need to find a way to knock some of those off. I don't know at some point
if it means an extra meeting or what it does but... they're... that list is expanding too fast
(laughs) too rapidly! (laughs)
Throgmorton/ Matt, with regard to Council time, I want to tell you about my trip to Tacoma,
Washington, but in the interest of time I'll ... I'll do that during the formal meeting.
Meeting Schedule:
Hayek/ Okay. Meeting schedule. I'll do KXIC at 8:00 tomorrow.
Throgmorton/ 8:00?
Hayek/ Remember the new time! (laughs)
Mims/ Yeah.
Dickens/ I did (several talking)
Throgmorton/ We should rebel! (laughs) Except for Rick!
Dobyns/ I've set my schedule through this ... my current term. (laughter)
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Karr/ It'll be out next time!
Dobyns/ Good!
Mims/ Yep.
Pending Work Session Topics:
Hayek/ Pending work session topics.
Dickens/ Got a... got a couple things. The ID card, I did go to the Center for Worker Justice of
Eastern Iowa had a meeting Friday night and uh, I know several people from the County
got up and talked and I just want to make sure that we're working with the County or
however we're going to do this. I know Geoff had put a statement out that we're trying
to figure out who, where and why. I know it's probably another work session thing but
that ... it, yeah, I know it's kind of in the forefront right now a little bit. Also the, uh,
Fiberight stakeholders. I keep hearing from a lot of different people. We need to get
that, you know, whether it's just a meeting with those people to tell `em where we're at,
uh, or get more information. I know we've got a postcard here for Fiberight speaking at
the Marion, uh, annual luncheon. So it might be something to go to and get more
information too.
Throgmorton/ I ... I want to agree with Terry. I think we do need to be connecting more
aggressively with the stakeholders involved in anything having to do with the Fiberight
proposal, and we should do it earlier rather than later! Uh, and so here's a suggestion that
you might think about. I ... item 3 is on the pending list is recycling opportunities for
multi - family housing, and I know Alex is, uh, drawn our attention to that. Perhaps we
could, um, link that with the Fiberight Advisory Committee topic and ... figure out how to
proceed. But anyhow, I ... I agree with Terry that we should ... we should be moving
ahead on that.
Dobyns/ Geoff, I asked the question last time when the Fiberight would probably be coming up
to, uh, either work or public session. (mumbled) I thought you thought maybe April, late
April, or Rick?
Markus/ Part of the, I think part of the problem is ... it's not unlike the LOST discussion. We're
trying to, um ... give, uh, Fiberight enough time to get further advanced in the Marion
discussion so that they can, uh, refine what they're actually considering here, uh, because
from the very beginning the project keeps evolving. And so rather than get into a
situation where, uh, we just rush something back here and they're talking about what they
currently have, um, I've actually, um, suggested that they take their time and pace this.
This is not ... it's not imminent at this point, and I think they need to get through some of
the issues that they're dealing with in Marion, uh, before they can come back here and
say specifically what they're going to do here. Uh, Rick, do you want to add to that or do
you have anything different to say about that?
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Fosse/ No, I ... I think that sums it up pretty well. You know, the ... the thing to remember about
this is it's not been implemented on a commercial scale anywhere in the United States.
It's ... it's a new process, uh, it...it is evolving and changing, and ... and sometimes it's, as
Tom's pointed out, it's good to be number two. We'll let Marion work through some of
the bugs and ... and see if it's the right move for us.
Dobyns/ See I'm just ... asked a simple question but I think Tom kind of answered it. I ... I'd like
to know when the test is so I know when to start studying for it.
Fosse/ Uh huh.
Dobyns/ Um, so my sense is that this is because (both talking)
Markus/ You're going to go to summer school! (laughter)
Dobyns/ Okay! (several talking and laughing) Okay! All right.
Markus/ (several talking) ... and it's not like we haven't been communicating with certain
stakeholders. Um, I think, Geoff, you met with the Ockenfel's today. Um, I met with
Michael ... (several talking) Carberry. Mike's been a ... up talking to all of you. I told
Mike, uh, very clearly that, um... our, again, our recommendation that comes back to
Council is not a fate accompli kind of recommendation! It's ... I suspect that when we get
to the point we have something closer to what their specific... specifically proposing,
Council's going to break down into some sort of communi ... you know, a work session or
something to further, uh, review what the impacts of that particular proposal are. But...
the longer we go into this, the more things change. State law again is being addressed
during this whole process by those ... vested stakeholders, those stakeholders who may be
a part of the current waste stream, are involving themselves, I think to some degree, in
the legislative process and so that may alter what can or can't be done. So I would say to
you that, um, and that mi ... that is my quote to Rick. It's okay to be number two. Let this
play out in... in Marion further before it gets back to us.
Botchway/ But we have a ... don't we have a timeline as far as the Fiberight, you know,
discussion or how we're going to come about with making some type of decision, or
them coming towards us and talking about it?
Fosse/ We've not established a hard timeline for that. Because of the evolving nature of it.
Botchway/ Okay.
Fosse / And ... and to rush it may compromise our outcome.
Botchway/ All right.
Markus/ Look ... I can assure you this staff is as leery, urn ... as those who have a stakeholder
interest and those who may have a out and out conflict stakeholder interest in this. We
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...we have a conflict stakeholder interest in this. We have an existing Landfill that we
need to make sure that is still around if in fact we go down a different path and that path
doesn't work itself out. Which means it's an additional cost burden. Your staff has all
sorts of questions which is why we would like to see somebody else be number one and
have them figure out some of the pitfalls before we get too far down that process, and the
company we've ... went back and told the company just that! And the company said... we
get it! We understand. It's okay! So ... we have slowed it down, okay, deliberately. But
that doesn't mean we should put a stake in it right now! Okay? I don't think we should
do that.
Dickens/ There's just so many questions and that's... that's what we're ... by slowing it down I
think we'll find out more, especially from Marion, where and what and if it's something
for us.
Council Invitations / Upcoming Community Events:
Hayek/ Let's ... let's move on. I...1, cause we're ... it's not an agenda item and I don't want to
focus too much discussion on ... on that. Um ... thanks! Rick. Any other, uh ... work
session topic items? If not, any Council invites, upcoming community events? Okay!
Good work session. We'll adjourn and come back at 7:00 for the formal!
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