HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-07 TranscriptionPage 1
ITEM 2. PROCLAMATIONS
a. Fire Prevention Week: October 5 -11
Hayek: (reads proclamation)
Karr: Here to accept the proclamation is Fire Lt. Brandon Smith. (applause)
Hayek: Lieutenant!
Smith: Thank you, Mr. Mayor!
Hayek: Thanks for being here!
Smith: Mr. Mayor, Honorable Council Members, the Iowa City Fire Department would
like to thank you for the time, uh, to recognize this very important time of year. It
was on October 9, 1871, that storytellers say it was Mrs. O'Leary's cow that
kicked over the lantern (laughter) in the barn while being milked that led to the
great Chicago fire. In that fateful event, over 300 people were killed, over 17,000
buildings were destroyed, and over 100,000 people were left without their homes.
This year we recognize October 5 — 11 as Fire Prevention Week. This year's
slogan is "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives." We ask the citizens of Iowa City
to test their smoke alarms, at least once a month. Replace the batteries when they
change their clocks, and replace any smoke alarms that are greater than 10 years
old. Thank you!
Hayek: Thanks, Lieutenant!
Smith: Thank you very much!
Mims: Thank you!
Hayek: There is a second proclamation for National Hispanic Heritage Month. We don't
have anyone here to accept it this evening, so it's part of the packet. I just want to
draw the public's attention to it.
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ITEM 3. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS
AMENDED.
Mims: So moved.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Roll call, please.
Throgmorton: I think somebody wanted to (both talking)
Hayek: Oh! I'm sorry!
Schlechter: Thank you! I'm Barbara Schlechter with the Iowa City Climate Advocates and a
100 Grannies, and I ... I am here to say, first of all, uh, good evening and thank
you for this opportunity. We probably all know or should know that on
September 21", perhaps as many as 400,000 people marched in New York City to
call attention to world leaders and people all over the world about the realities and
the dangers of climate change. We also marched here in Iowa City, and part of
our mission was to deliver to each of the governing bodies — the Board of
Supervisors, the, um, City Council, our congressional representative Dave
Loebsack and um, Sally Mason as President of the University, a list of
respectively ... respectfully submitted demands, and we know that you've received
those and we thank you for being willing to consider those. We, um, want to, um,
especially, uh, thank Brenda Nations who has responded, um ... to our, um,
concerns, and we would like to urge the Mayor to sign the updated Mayor's
Climate Protection Agreement. That looks like a nod! Okay! And to encourage
the Council to appoint a citizens' advisory committee to help the City staff devise
a climate mitigation and adaption plan within one year. So I would like to also
recognize my colleague here who might like to add something to that.
NeuCollins: Hi, uh, my name is Mark NeuCollins and uh ... have a few things to say, uh, to
Honorable Mayor and Council. Um, global warming can no longer be denied. It
is a clear and present danger. The only question that remains is how we react to
it. Are we going to mitigate its damage and adapt to its new realities? Uh, U.S.
policymakers have a vital role in charting our direction forward. You can ignore
the problem, uh, or you can make policies that lead to a safer and more secure
future. The alternative is to create immense challenges for our children and our
grandchildren. On September 21, as Barbara mentioned, Iowa Citians joined in
spirit with the more than 400,000 marchers in the People's Climate March in New
York City. Many more than this were around ... many more participated all
around the world. Our role was to deliver the list of demands to our local
government offices. Each list included demands that were within the purview of
the office that we delivered them to. Uh, these demands were delivered to you,
both in person and in your email, and I'd just like to briefly summarize what some
of them were. One is to create, uh ... uh ... uh, a, uh, commission to ... that includes
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citizens, to ... create a mitigation and adaption plan within one year. We ask you
to review City codes in order to accommodate this commission's
recommendations. We would like you to consider creating incentives for all new
buildings to exceed the State energy code by 40% and to deny... buildings that,
deny funding for buildings... public funding for buildings that do not achieve this.
We'd like to see you change the waste code in order to require that all dwelling
units, including apartment buildings, have and promote a recycling system. And,
there are a couple overs ... others that we includes, but we feel that these are really
common sense, not a ... big demands that are within your power to enact ... that
will help us, uh, address the climate issue. Thank you!
Hayek: Thank you for the comments. Anyone else on the Consent Calendar?
Discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 4. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA). [UNTIL 8
PM]
Hayek: This is the opportunity at each City Council meeting for members of the public to
address the Council on items that are not on the agenda. So if there's something
that you would like to bring to our attention that is not on the agenda, we invite
you to come forward. We ask that you sign in. Also verbally give us your name,
and to limit your comments to five minutes!
Gravitt: My name is Mary Gravitt, and um, I don't know if I'm going to have problems
with this thing again. Um ... how do I get these to come up here? I had a very bad
experience at the Ad Hoc Committee, Senior Ad Hoc Committee. I was told at
the Ad Hoc Committee if I did not stop making personal attacks that ... the
Committee's budget would be screwed. Now I don't remember making a
personal attack, but if...but all I remember was coming here and talking about
ethics, and I'm trying to get this thing to come up if it'll come up, and show you
what it was all about. (several talking away from mic) It was about this letter that
I received from the Mayor. On the letter it said that Dr. Dobyns was a good man.
I never said that he was a bad man! I'm just ... I came here to criticize how he was
selected for the Committee. It was ethics, and then what was so remarkable about
this ... this letter is not on Iowa City letterhead. No! It's not on plain letterhead.
It's on the law firm's letterhead. So when I opened the letter, and I looked at it
first and I laughed and I thought it was funny! But then I didn't think it was
funny anymore because my First Amendment rights were being spoken against.
Now, I'm going to read you something that freedom of expression, the right to
express one's view freely, is another privilege guaranteed in both our state and
national Constitution. Freedom of speech and of the press is necessary for a free
government. If people were not allowed to criticize the work of their officials'
harmful acts would pass uncondemned and unwise policies would continue to
injure society long after free criticism would have brought them to an end. In
other words, I made a criticism, and under the First Amendment I'm allowed to
make a criticism. I don't care if this man is good or bad. I'm talking about
ethics! Ethics has nothing to do with good or bad, but I'm saying I will not be
intimidated, and if you think a letter will intimidate it, it just ... I had forgotten all
about this. He's a wonderful man! I don't care! My thing was the way he was
selected from the February 18, 2004, when you had on there a member of the City
Council had to be on there. What are we too old down at the Senior Center, that
we can't select our own people? And then the way it...it was about ethics!
Nothing else except about ethics! Like I said, I don't care if he's good, bad, or
indifferent! It's got nothing to do with me! But what has to do with me is ethical
conduct, and if a citizen has to be intimidated by this letter, you know what I
mean, uh ... writing this. When I first got it I said, who wants to sue me? I don't
drive. I didn't run over anybody! Then I get this letter! Like I said, his being
good, bad, or indifferent does not matter to me, and ... if the ... the budget for the
Senior citizens Center is to be chopped in half because I made a legal complaint,
what am I supposed to think? You know (mumbled) she said that Ikeman wasn't
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a bad man! He was just a bureau... bureaucrat! So I'm not saying that he's good,
bad, or indifferent. I'm just saying that I ... cannot be intimidated, and I'm going
to speak the truth all the time! Now if you don't want to hear the truth, that's just
you! But I don't appreciate trying to be intimidated because like I said, it's not on
plain letter ... head. It's on the law firm's letterhead. So go ahead and sue me for
trying to take advantage of my First Amendment rights. Thank you!
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Beardsley: Uh, Doug Beardsley, I'm at, uh, I live at 681 Sandusky. I'm also the Director for
the County Health Department. I just wanted to come back here. I know
sometimes you don't get thanked for the things that you do and you make hard
decisions, uh ... uh, my Health Educator and I came here at a work session. We
introduced some, uh, an issue. The City Council did take action on that; you
passed a resolution about electronic cigarettes on City property. I just thought it
was ... I would be an ungrateful person if I didn't come and say `thank you.' That
was a leadership. Uh, we have a lot more work to do, uh, on this issue in the
County with other municipalities and we'll be coming back here, but I just wanted
to take a ... a moment to thank you for your leadership, uh, and your willingness to
listen. So ... appreciate it!
Mims: Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you for the comments (several talking)
Ross: Page I! No, I just want to come here and speak to an issue that I think concerns
the community. My name is Brandon Ross. Uh ... as of October 15, uh, the, uh,
The Wedge downtown will be closed, and uh, a lot of us go there. In fact I've
even seen a few Council Members there. Uh... from time to time. I think that The
Wedge is a, uh, is a great place. It's been there for years. It is, um ... has been a
profit - making business in town. Uh, hires 30 to 40 people. Um ... it's an
affordable place to eat. It supplies local businesses. Uh, local farmers and uh,
local foods. Uh, it's got a great diversity of customers. One of the great things I
think about is it brings everybody together. Uh, you will find seniors, students,
uh, moms and dads who are outside at the, uh, play structure come in. Friday and
Saturday night, uh, music events. You always see, uh, people come in there. It
does a great business that way. People from out of town come there, uh, to go to
the downtown Wedge. It's, uh, it's one of the most popular breakfast places.
Who'd have thought that a pizzeria from Boston. I never thought that you would
have breakfast in a pizzeria. That's completely against code, my code! Uh, but
uh, but my family goes there to eat breakfast. Um, scrabble club, chess club,
community meetings. It's kind of like a commons within a commons! And uh,
it's closing on the 15t ". It's kind of a place where people can gather and do a lot
of things, and yet ... uh, you don't feel like you're bothered in there. They're
making a profit every year; they pay taxes; they pay insurance. Uh, I believe the
owner's, uh, has paid off the loan, and he's been a good, uh, city business. He's
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been a good partner, and I feel like I should speak because I feel like the City did
not, uh, did not come to an agreement with him and I think it's ... it's too bad. Uh,
I think that he is a good businessperson. It is good for the downtown. It is
affordable food. It is community bringing together. Um, and I think it does a lot
of what the City Charter and what ... what we really believe in, and uh, he was not
able to come to an agreement with the City about, uh, a lease and... all the City
Councilors are privy to this, I know, uh, and your purviews may be what they are,
but I still think that we're losing, uh, a great place that is a community place that
is a commons, and when 1, you know, I think that it's terrible thing to have to lose
that place. In the wintertime you get warm, you eat, you know, it's a great place.
In the summer you go in to get cool. They have homemade lemonade and ... and
tea and boy, what a walking advertisement I am for that place. You must think
that I'm under their, uh, payroll, but I'm not. But it does bring to ... to mind that
the City, I feel like, has not been completely successful in, uh, partnering with, uh,
with local small businesses enough, and that we can do a lot better, uh, with these
things. It's an economic issue. A lot of people, you know, 60% of...of our
people here are basically working class or... or maybe not even, and a place like
that is great for them, but it's great for everybody! And I think that to lose that
place in a way ... it reminds me a little bit of losing all the sixteen businesses that
we did on Van Buren and Washington, which used to be the Red Avocado, etc.,
uh, there were sixteen businesses. Now there's one! And there's been empty
space there for, uh, a year and a half, and the City does say, uh, in accordance
with a good planning, uh, objective that you should have businesses where you
have apartments, and that's a good thing. That's multi - purpose. That's good for
everybody, but unfortunately the City doesn't say that, uh, the business space
should be affordable enough, uh, so that businesses can actually be there, and so
what we have is a lot of apartment buildings with unaffordable businesses spaces
that lay empty, and I think of as a black eye to our ... to our city, which ... which
should be better than that! Um, and it also connects with, uh, the fact that
affordable housing, if you look at it in the economic way, that The Wedge is a
small business privately owned, supports local businesses, uh, supports people
who are in that economic structure. Let's say the 50% that really love to go there
and eat! I think you're looking at the same kind of problem that we have when
we don't have enough... enough or any affordable housing going up, uh, in the
community. Those structures are going up, $1,200, $1,500 one - bedroom
apartments that only, uh, Chicago suburb, wealthy Chinese students coming in, or
Indian students coming in, completely leaves out the majority of our population.
So I bring up The Wedge as ... as a community issue for the City Council to
consider that, uh, losing that is ... is a great ... is a great problem and businesses like
that, and we hope if there's anything that can be done. I know it's the 9th hour or
the 10th hour. How many hours do you get? The 23`d hour! If anything can be
done, uh, Steven Harding, the owner of that business, is probably the most
popular business owner with his staff that I've ever met, and he's a great person
and anything that he can be given in that, uh, consideration would be great, and in
the future, please... City of Iowa City, please consider that even your private
businesses, some of them are good and some of them are not good. You want to
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go to a nice place where they won't bother you, can eat cheap food without
having to get booze, you want to be around where there's people of
senior... citizens and students and things like that, you want in a nice realm like
that to be able to relax ... that's a great thing right in the middle of town! So, that's
my concern. Thank you so much for listening, and I hope that, uh, I hope that
maybe something can be done as a result!
Hayek: Thank you for the comments.
Buss: Well I'm losing my voice! Lucky you guys! I have provided you with a handy
little book. It's really easy...
Hayek: Could you verbal... give us your name too? Just for the record.
Buss: I'm sorry? Oh, it's Anna ... sorry! It's ... I presume everybody always knows me!
It's Anna Buss, 525 W. Benton Street, and will those who do not know me please
stand up! Anyway, um, what I'm coming to you tonight about is ... that I have put
together this photo book, and it's going to cover a lot of issues in a short time. I
try to keep my properties in very good condition and when people rent from me,
they get a clean, well- maintained home inside and out. But, not everyone has this
same ethic. The City owns a property at 924 Hudson. That's pictures 2, 3, and 4.
1 as well as my tenant at 922 Hudson have called and complained about this
property and the tenants many times. Their children are disrespectful of the other
neighbors' properties, and their junk is always all over the neighborhood. It
blows everywhere, and it's left to the other neighbors to pick it up. (sniffs)
Excuse me, I have a cold. Um ... now I may be losing a tenant because of the
next -door neighbor's tenant, and I invite you to drive down that street and look at
some of the houses. I called the City Assessor to get a property tax comparison
on this property that you guys own, and I was told that there's no property taxes
being paid on it, and I thought how can that be when you guys collect rent and
you don't have to pay property taxes? That makes a good profit margin. So I
think you'll have the money to clean it up. I have also called so many times, way
too many times to even count, about the property at 819 Hudson, as well as the
property at 927 Hudson. Eight ... 819 has a hoarder. All you have to do is just
drive by and if it ever catches fire, I guarantee that my house to the south and my
neighbor's house to the north are goners if there's a wind! Now when I called
down before about all of this stuff that was on the front porch at 819, 1 was told
by Housing Inspections that all they had to do was hang something over it so it
didn't show. Well, I'm sorry but ... it shows! The property at 927 is so awful that
I feel bad for Mr. and Mrs. Gerard who live to the north. Their house is always
impeccably neat. Their yard always looks wonderful. At 921 Hudson the fence is
falling over. All you have to do is look at the photos. The weeds and the junk
have completely taken over the property, yet no one seems to be able to do
anything about it. The same is with 819 Hudson. These photos do not adequately
show the full extent of what we see and deal with every single day. When the
Housing bus tour was out and about, I didn't see them in our neighborhood or
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over at Hollywood. I'd included other rentals in the area, not just mine, but others
that take great pride in their property. The one (mumbled) just one example is the
property at 915 Hudson. That property has always looked wonderful. It's always
mowed and there's no junk in the yard! The properties... I'm sorry. The
properties that I have talked about earlier, let's call them `nuisance properties.'
The City, if I'm not mistaken, has an ordinance covering nuisance properties and
that's what these other two properties are. When I was at the P &Z meeting
recently, I found out as it was stated that ... one of the people quoted was that our
development coming to the Miller Avenue area will bring owner- occupied
stability to an area with so many rentals. Well, I want you to know that I take a
personal affront at that statement. Many of the rent ... many of those rentals are
mine, and I spend a lot of money, as Hills Bank and Trust can tell you, on my
properties. I live in the area. I want to keep my property values high, and I want
to have my areas when people drive by they know that I have a nice property.
Buying houses on Miller, Benton, and Hudson, I've been doing it for a very long
time. When I started, they were very run down. I have included before and after
pictures with those photos. As a landlord, neighbor, I am committed to the
quality of the housing in this area. My reward for keeping up my properties are,
oh, I get to pay higher property taxes and have a really potholed street. I also
purchased a very distressed property and that's an understatement in 2011. Mr.
Markus and Connie Champion got to come out and do ... a tour of the property and
see what I was dealing with. I was able to have the police on call almost all the
time to help me clean up the property. The problem was not necessarily the
property itself, but the neighbors. But by having the police and a presence over
on Hollywood and with the police station over there, it helped a lot. The response
time was truly wonderful.
Hayek: Miss Buss, you'll have to finish up. You're... you're at five minutes now (both
talking)
Buss: I'm just about done! So in closing, what I would ask is that you drive around
some of these places that you're talking about and some of the places that you, the
City, own and compare `em to what we're inspected and our standard that we're
to keep up. I thank you for your time.
Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Anyone else? Okay, we'll move on to (both
talking)
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Payne: So moved.
Dobyns: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Payne, seconded by Dobyns. Discussion? All those in favor say aye.
Opposed say nay. Motion carries.
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ITEM 6. APPEAL OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION DECISION - DECIDING THE
APPEAL TO CITY COUNCIL OF THE DECISION OF THE HISTORIC
PRESERVATION COMMISSION DENYING A CERTIFICATE OF
APPROPRIATENESS TO REPLACE THE WINDOWS AT 220 E.
JEFFERSON STREET, AN IOWA CITY HISTORIC LANDMARK
LOCATED IN THE JEFFERSON STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT. (ST.
MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH)
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: Item 6, uh, I'll read it but then we need a motion to defer, uh, until November
18th. (reads Item 6)
Mims: Move that we defer to November 181H
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Just for the public's
information, the applicant has requested a deferral to our November 18th meeting.
Any further discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion
carries 7 -0.
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ITEM 7. 2014 STORM SEWER IMPROVEMENTS — APPROVING PLANS,
SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF CONTRACT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 2014 STORM SEWER
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID
SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK
TO PUBLISH NOTICE TO BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE
FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS.
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. The hearing is open. (bangs gavel) For the public's
information, the estimated construction cost is $200,000 and will be funded with
storm sewer revenues. Anyone from the audience? Hearing is closed. (bangs
gavel)
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ITEM 8. PARK AND COMMUNITY GARDEN - RESOLUTION APPROVING A
PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND TRUST UNDER
THE WILL OF FRIEDA A. CHADEK FOR 5.02 ACRES OF VACANT
LAND AT THE INTERSECTION OF FRIENDSHIP STREET AND 5TH
AVENUE.
Mims: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by, uh, Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? Mike!
Moran: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Members of Council. Mike Moran, Parks and
Recreation Director. Uh, for a point of reference I just wanted to go through and,
uh, outline where this property was at and the benefit, uh, to us as well. Um, just
to put it in perspective, this is Court Street, uh, and First Avenue. Uh, this is 4th
Avenue and this heads into City High School, uh, off of Court, and then down
here is Friendship Drive. That's the far version, and then the closer version here
is Friendship, 5th Avenue, and this is a alleyway and this was, uh, an extension of
B Street, uh, when the Chadeks owned the property, through that. This is the
south, uh, west corner of the property and the most open part of the property, uh,
of the five acres. There are ... there's more land, we'll see, behind, uh, this
treeline, and there's a lot of history with that that went on and I don't know if
Jeanette's up to that tonight, but I've listened to it several times and can tell you
that if you want to ... want to go into the history pages of what was on the ... on the
land. This is standing at the ... the 4th Avenue entrance, uh, and this is the roadway
that you saw in the earlier pictures, and then the southern view of the property.
And this is standing in the northwest corner, the opposite corner. This is 5th
Avenue and showing the ... the open space in here, as well. This is, um, also on
the 4th Avenue, uh, exchange with 5th Avenue, bordering in 4th Avenue behind us
and then this is the north property line that comes across, uh, with these houses,
uh, that border 4th Avenue and A Street. Uh, this is the southeast corner. Uh, this
is Friendship Street that comes through here, and the significance of this is this is
just another, uh, just turning ... oops! Turning just a little bit ... from here, and to
here. This was where, uh, Carl and his family did their community garden. So
that was where you've heard a lot about the Chadeks and the community garden.
This is where they've done all ... all that. I think that's it. I just wanted to give
you a point of reference, um, with anything that you had. Any questions for that?
I'm sure after you do the vote, Jeanette wants to come up and say just a few
words.
Hayek: Thanks, Mike!
Throgmorton: So, Mike, it would be a garden and park, uh, can you elaborate on that any?
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Moran: Well I ... I can't because, uh, we're going to make an attempt to have that but, uh, I
don't want to be committed to it because we may want some flexibility to do
some other things there. We have no structure planned for that park right now.
Uh, as we normally do with all our park processes, we go back to the
neighborhood and so at some point in time after this has been said and done,
probably next year, we'll have a neighborhood meeting and ... and just sit down
and talk about what they'd like to see and what they don't like to see ... don't like
to see and get a feel for what they want to have done.
Throgmorton: Well I ... I definitely think it's a good idea so I'm certainly going to support it but
what it makes me think of is, uh, what a lot of biologists say, which is that we're
in the midst of the sixth great mass extinction of life on earth, and that, uh, as E.
O. Wilson puts it, world - famous biologist, we're entering a bottleneck where we
need to figure out a way to make it through this ... this pressure of...of
disappearing bio- diversity. So it seems to me, and this sort of echoes something
Tom said during our work session, we need to begin thinking about how to have
something like a bio - diversity... preservation plan, uh, for ... for the City, so that
we can enhance the, uh ... uh, the opportunities for diverse forms of life to live, to
survive through this bottleneck and through this, uh, extinction that we're
experiencing. So ... parks (laughs) and gardens, uh ... uh, like you know, Rachel
Carson, world ... world-famous writer who published Silent Spring in 1961, I
guess. When she died, her ashes were tossed into the Atlantic Ocean, and right
where her ashes were tossed in is a plaque on a rock that ... the last words of which
are most of all her words, most of all I remember the monarchs, meaning the
monarch butterflies which we know are disappearing (laughs) uh, so ... we can
plant milkweed and maybe help the monarchs survive and so on, so I ... I
just ... I'm all for the idea of doing this park but the ... for bigger reasons!
Moran: Okay! Thanks.
Hayek: Thanks, Mike. Does the family say anything?
Moran: I think they want to wait and make sure you accept (laughter, unable to hear
speaker) come up afterwards.
Hayek: I have a feeling we will! (laughter)
Throgmorton: (mumbled) ... forgot ... public discussion. (mumbled)
Hayek: Yep. You know, why ... yeah, why ... why don't we go ... is there any further
Council discussion? Let me ... I just want to say, I think this is a great opportunity
for the City. It goes to so many of our objectives, whether it's neighborhood
stabilization or, uh, promotion of the environment, um, I think it'll be great for
this area. I think this neighborhood has ... has an exciting future. I've talked to
many of you about that. Uh, and... the... the broader area, but including this area,
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as well, and I think it's a good ... it's a very good development. I think the price is
fair, uh, and I'm pleased to see this come together.
Throgmorton: Totally agree!
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0. How bout this, since the next
item is the, uh, is the naming of the park, would you ... would you like to come up
during that and speak to us, ma'am? Or you can just do so now. This'll... that's
...that's fine!
Fulton: Um, my name is Jeanette Chadek Fulton. I live at 614 3rd Avenue in Iowa City.
I've lived on 3rd Avenue almost my entire life, except for the first year when we
lived on 2nd Avenue (laughter) and the first time we were married we lived on
Prentiss Street for a little ... not even quite a year, or a little bit more than a year.
Um, my folks lived in this house at 515 3rd Avenue. They moved there in....late
in 1937 when there was the big fire of the factory that was in the back. The F. W.
Main factory that had seed corn that burned, and as you check in your history
books, it smoldered for six months and melted shingles on houses in the nearby
area. Uh, my father bought... and mother bought the what we called Lot A. I
think it was in like (mumbled) 1941 and incorporated that into part of the Carl
Chadek Trucking Service operation. Uh, in the 50s he added the railroad right -of-
way that's in the north part of the lot, and that was a little bit more than an acre of
land. So it totals 5.02 acres of land. Um, as some of you know, my father had...
and mother had Carl Chadek Trucking Service for many years. Uh, he is serving
many, many generations, and at the present time, my son and I own and run the
business, and um... so this property has a lot of meaning to us. I drive by... it's on
my beaten path to go places, to drive by it all the time. So I really appreciate it
going to be a park, and my sisters, Carolyn Mathias who lives in Wisconsin and
Lorna Fessler who lives in Iowa City, and I would like to thank the Council for
their approval and to thank the many people who spent endless hours working
together to make Chadek Green a reality. It was the dream of our parents, Carl
and Freda Chadek, to have their land used for a park and a community garden.
This will be a nice addition to the neighborhood and will add enjoyment to the
lives of people of all ages. Um, the F. W. Main Factory I didn't know I was going
to be asked to give some history on (laughter) on that but I, out of my memory I
remember that they had perfume bottles and they had jewelry. They had buttons.
They had model airplanes, and they had, of course they had the corn that they had
when it burned, and it might have something in between, but I ... I didn't bring my
notes on that (laughs) Uh, I'd like to thank you again for making this dream come
true and when I learned that it was going to be called Chadek Green, along with
my sisters and my son, Mike, we were just shocked because my father used to
have green trucks and we called them Chadek Green (laughter) so it had a special
meaning to us as a family. I thank you!
Hayek: Thank you!
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ITEM 9. CHADEK GREEN PARK - RESOLUTION NAMING THE PROPOSED
PARK CONSISTING OF 5.02 ACRES OF VACANT LAND AT THE
INTERSECTION OF FRIENDSHIP STREET AND 5TH AVENUE AS
" CHADEK GREEN."
Mims: Move the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dickens. Discussion?
Mims: Happy to see it happen!
Dickens: My grandmother lived across the street. My cousins grew up in that area and it
was a great place to ... we got chased off there once in a while (laughter)
Throgmorton: What'd you do there, Terry? (several talking)
Dickens: Well there was dirt piles and ... it was a lot of fun there! (laughter) But it's a neat
area and I think the neighborhood really appreciates it, so thank you!
Hayek: Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 10. ASSESSMENTS - RESOLUTION ADOPTING AN ASSESSMENT
SCHEDULE OF UNPAID MOWING, CLEAN -UP OF PROPERTY, SNOW
REMOVAL, SIDEWALK REPAIR, AND STOP BOX REPAIR CHARGES
AND DIRECTING THE CLERK TO CERTIFY THE SAME TO THE
JOHNSON COUNTY TREASURER FOR COLLECTION IN THE SAME
MANNER AS PROPERTY TAXES.
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Payne: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by, uh, Botchway. Discussion? Is there anyone here
from the audience who, uh, is here to contest, uh, an assessment under Item 10?
Anyone here to contest, uh, an assessment under ... under Item 10? Doesn't look
like anyone's here so ... uh, with that, any further discussion from the Council?
Roll call, please. Passes 7 -0.
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ITEM 14. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION.
Hayek: I think it's our turn to start down with you Dr.
Dobyns: No thanks!
Payne: Nothing!
Dickens: Uh, Brew Fest was a week or so ago. I saw Kingsley there. It was very well
attended.
Botchway: Wow! That was a call -out (laughter)
Throgmorton: Saw me too!
Dickens: You were there!
Hayek: I was there! Where's the credit? (laughter)
Dickens: Uh, 4 ... 4,000, close to 4,000 people. Weather was beautiful, uh, just a great
event. It just keeps growing. Uh, went to the Englert last night to Home Free,
vocal group, uh, a cappella country group. There was people from 3 -years -old
into their 80s there last night. So it was a ... a great family event and I thank the
Englert for putting on events like that!
Dobyns: Saw Kingsley there that night too, didn't you? (laughter)
Dickens: Kingsley's everywhere!
Dobyns: Cause it's arts! It's culture! Yeah!
Mims: Nothing!
Throgmorton: My turn?
Hayek: Yes!
Throgmorton: Yeah, I want to mention that, uh, as I did during the work session that on ... what
date is it? On October 16th, from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M., Dr. James Hanson, former
Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and probably the best -
known climate scientist in the United States, uh, will be speaking about climate
change, and he's going to be doing it at ... what, in the main lounge of the IMU.
So, uh, it's a great opportunity for people to, uh, attend and learn, uh, what this
particular renowned scientist has to say about where we stand.
Hayek: Thank you, Jim. Kingsley?
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Botchway: Um, just wanted to say, uh, I really appreciated, um, you know, the co ... the
Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, as well as, uh, the Housing
Fellowship, as well as I think the Johnson County Housing Trust Fund, and
whoever else was, um, instrumental in putting that type of event together for the
housing, affordable housing bus tour. Um, I thought it was a really good event. I
think there were, um, a lot of beautiful homes that we saw, uh, that again, you
know, the ... the running joke that one of the people who was presenting said was,
you know, try to pick the ... pick out the affordable home, or at least that was the
game we were supposed to play but didn't, um, and you couldn't tell. I mean at
least I couldn't tell and it's a lot of different... lot of different types of buildings
that you wouldn't necessarily consider and I think it really does a good job of
dispelling the myth that I think a lot of people, um, might have regarding
affordable housing, and so, um, if you have any questions about that, I, you know
urge you to ask those different organizations, um, because you know there's...
there's a lot of good stuff out there.
Throgmorton: Yeah, I ... I totally agree with what Kingsley says, and I know there were one or
two other Council people on the bus, but Sally Scott did an amazing job of
organizing that and Maryann Dennis and Mark Patton and the other people who
spoke just did a terrific job. So it was...and Tom, you were on the bus too
and... Geoff, were you there? I really don't remember. Yeah. Great learning
opportunity!
Hayek: Thank you. Uh, three items — first, uh, congratulations to International
Automotive Components, IAC. Um, they are one of the top ten employers in
Iowa City. They've been around for quite a long time. Uh, and (unable to hear
other person speaking) about, yeah, on their... thanks, Tom! I was congratulating
them on their 50th anniversary. They employ about 800, uh, workers, um, and
they supply the auto industry, and they, uh, do incredible work. I've taken several
tours of their plant. But... Governor Branstad was here yesterday and stopped at
the plant and congratulated their ... their leadership, uh, but they're a valuable
employer here in the community and a good partner to the City. Secondly, um,
our, uh, Finance Department, the City of Iowa City Finance Department, has for
the third consecutive year received the National Distinguished Budget
Presentation Award, which comes from the Government Finance Officers
Association which is a professional organization in North America, and we're one
of only a handful of cities throughout, uh, the ... the North American area that
receive this and it's based on, uh, excellence in budgeting, excellence in ... in
municipal budgeting, and um, this is our third consecutive year of getting it. I
think it indicates the ... the transparency and ... and the excellence, and the
professionalism of our budget process, and uh, kudos to our budget team, Dennis
and everyone else who plays a role in ... in our budgets, and then lastly the ... the
Book Festival was this last weekend. Jim, you mentioned that earlier this
evening, but um, there was a wonderful event Saturday morning, uh, where we,
uh ... uh, met at the Old Capitol in the ... in the, not the Old Capitol Mall, but the
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actual Old Capitol, in the Senate Chambers, a beautiful, uh, facility and there was
a proclamation that I read on Iowa City's 175th, uh, anniversary and then some
readings by, uh, Ron Clark and Jody Hoveland of Riverside Theater, and it took
you back to when Iowa City was, uh, was envisioned in the 1830s, late 1830s, and
actually created to move the seat of government, uh, from Burlington where it
was at the time. It was just a territorial government. To Iowa City and the
cornerstone of the Old Capitol was laid and ... people started talking about this, a
concept of a public university which became, of course, the University of Iowa,
and it was a beautiful event, and it was part of the Book Fest, and, uh, presented
to us, and I'll make sure that the City gets a copy of this, was a ... a book called
Town ... A Town Stitched by R... by River, and uh, it came from, uh, a group of Irish
writers at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and Chris
Merrill, uh, for the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature program and Allen
Hayes representing the Dublin, Ireland, uh, City of Literature program, a sister
city for us, and the International Writing Program at Iowa put together this
compilation of pieces and they re ... they read some from it. In fact there's a piece,
uh, about and for Iowa City that's just beautiful and I encourage you to ... to check
it out, and then our own Sheri DeGraw who, uh, does, uh, book work and binding
work on the north end. She lives on Brown Street; I know her; put it together.
It's a beautiful product, uh, so it was just a great celebration of Iowa City's
history and our long -term partnership with the University and the prominence of
writers in our community. It was a good day for Iowa City (several talking)
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ITEM 15. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF.
a) City Manager.
Hayek: City Manager?
Markus: Yes, uh, a couple announcements. Tracy Hightshoe will replace Steve Long and
Jason Havel, uh, will replace Ron Knoche as City Engineer.
Throgmorton: Congratulations to both!
Hayek: Yeah! (several commenting) Great people and big shoes to fill!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 7, 2014.