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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-11 Council minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY CITY COUNCIL MEETING WITH JC BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DECEMBER 11, 2014,7:30 A.M. HARVAT HALL — CITY HALL City Council Present: County Board Present: City Staff Present: County Staff Present: Others Present: CALL TO ORDER Susan Mims, Matt Hayek, Kingsley Botchway, Terry Dickens, Michelle Payne Janelle Rettig, John Etheredge, Rod Sullivan, Terrence Neuzil, Mike Carberry (elect), Pat Harney Tom Markus, Geoff Fruin, Eleanor Dilkes, Marian Karr, Simon Andrew, Alec Bramel, Brenda Nations Janet Lyness, Travis Weipert Mark Patton, MaryAnn Dennis, Tracy Achenbach, Rebecca Neades Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek called the meeting to order at 7:30 A.M. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS To begin the meeting, Mayor Hayek asked everyone to introduce themselves. He then congratulated John Etheredge on his years of service and welcomed Mike Carberry to the Board of Supervisors. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE FOLLOWING: a. Sales Tax — Spr. Chair Neuzil began the discussion noting that the Board hopes that meetings such as this will result in additional meetings and opportunities, as well as ways that the two entities can work together on topics of interest. The first item addressed was sales tax. He noted that outcomes were close in the last election, and that there is likely a desire by the City to initiate a sales tax. The County is therefore asking what type of timeframe might be involved in this, and if the City wants the County to be a part of any discussions on this topic. Mayor Pro tem Mims responded that she was on the committee that worked on this issue initially. Since the election, she noted that they have had a couple of meetings at which they discussed this very issue. At the committee level, she noted that it is an issue of `when' the sales tax should come forward again, not `if it should, but that there were diverse opinions among the committee members. Mims spoke to the need for other entities to support this issue when it does come back before the community. Supr. Sullivan asked if they could add a County staff person to this committee and if that would help at all. Mims replied that at this point the committee i needs to do some outreach with the County and the municipalities involved in this issue, in order to discuss how they might move forward. Supr. Sullivan asked if the committee will plan to come to the other municipalities and the County with a fully formed plan. Mayor Pro tem Mims stated that the Council would still need to weigh in on this issue, and at present it is just the internal committee dealing with the issue. She further explained that there are limitations in terms of when this issue could go on the ballot, and other such issues that would need to be looked into first, as well. Supr. Sullivan stated that he would urge the committee to involve people from all involved entities now in this issue, so as to garner the support needed to put it on the ballot again. Mayor Pro tem Mims agreed, noting that the longer they wait the longer before they can get the issue back on the ballot. Supr. Chair Neuzil stated that what he was hearing was some disconnect in regards to the sales tax issue, particularly between Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty about identifying an opportunity for working on some specifics. He added that he hopes the City will look at some of the MPO projects, especially some of the long-term potentials on the list, that would benefit all of the metro area and Johnson County. Supr. Chair Neuzil noted that this list is long with infrastructure projects. Mayor Pro tem Mims stated that the suggestion is definitely worth looking at, but she noted the hit that Iowa City will be taking with the property tax reform and the long list of projects that they themselves need to tackle. Supr.— elect Mike Carberry spoke to the proposed 10% for affordable housing that Iowa City had suggested for the sales tax. He asked if there would be a chance of reconsidering this, and giving more of the money towards this issue, or if the City were fairly locked in on this amount. Mayor Pro tem Mims stated that these types of questions really need to come before the committee and the full Council, but that from previous discussions, this 10% was difficult to arrive at. The discussions before centered on what would most likely pass with the citizens. She explained how some will vote `no' with any affordable housing component, and that going above 10% would cause even more to disagree. Supr. Sullivan asked if any polling has taken place to see if this is truly the case. Mayor Pro tem Mims responded that they have not done any official polling. He suggested that it might be something to consider the second time around. Council Member Botchway stated that he thinks they need to be careful in throwing out comments about sales tax being a regressive tax. He noted that it's not that he doesn't agree, but that when the topic is discussed, it is framed that poor people are going to be hit the most. He questioned how many people in that situation were asked, that those he talked to stated they were happy about the 10% for affordable housing coming from the sales tax. Supr. Sullivan stated that his point was that there were many assumptions being made and that the more opinions you can get at the table, the better your product will be in the end. Supr. Rettig stated that you don't need a poll to know it's a regressive tax. She added that Iowa Policy Project has done a lot of study on this, and when 50% of it went to tax cuts for the rich, that's what the poor heard — that the rich were trying to raise taxes on the poor in order to cut taxes on the rich. Mayor Pro tem Mims stated that when you look at the state of Iowa, groceries are not taxed, rent is not taxed, and utilities will not be taxed. She does not believe the LOST to be as regressive as many people perceive it to be. Mayor Hayek summarized there have been some internal discussions on the issue, but that nothing has yet come to Council for review. Once things move forward, he noted that there will be a lot of outreach done. Supr. Sullivan again urged them to bring people in now and not after the decisions have been made. Mayor Pro tem Mims then asked if the Board of Supervisors had any thoughts or positions on how soon this issue should come back. Supr. Chair Neuzil stated sooner rather than later. Supr. Harney agreed, stating that this issue has to be addressed at some point. He added that in his opinion, taxes are regressive no matter what. b. Addressing jail and courthouse needs, including joint law enforcement authority and vacation of Harrison Street — Supr. Harney stated that they are currently doing some repairs in the County Jail and he quickly detailed what some of these are. During about a two-year period there will be a lot of shifting of people as these projects are completed. As for the Courthouse, Supr. Harney noted that some type of security has to be installed. Also of concern is the lack of space. He stated that all of these improvements are going to cost money and taxpayers are going to be paying more this next year, but that something has to be done about security. Supr. Harney brought up that there really needs to be a joint effort on the Courthouse and/or Jail between the County and the cities within Johnson County. He suggested that other entities may have needs that they could collaborate with the County on in regards to this effort. Another part of the Courthouse expansion is the Harrison Street vacation, which Supr. Harney noted they still need to address. Council Member Dickens asked if they hadn't already vacated this, and it was noted that the discussion had taken place but that nothing was firmed up at that time. Supr. Chair Neuzil noted that the stipulation at that time was if the Courthouse issue had passed, then they would move forward with the vacation; but the County is interested in acquiring the ROW at this time. Supr. Harney added that they would also be open to other ideas or locations, should the City have any. Mayor Hayek stated that he believes the joint authority is worth exploring. Supr. Rettig noted that previously the City was not ready to move Police or Fire out of their present location at City Hall. She added that this may be something they need to discuss with staff, as far as what that timing may be for more space, and whether joint authority at that time would make more sense than it previously did. Mayor Hayek agreed, noting that staff can follow up on this. Supr. Sullivan then asked how they could get this conversation going. Mayor Hayek noted that they should contact the City Manager's office regarding this matter. C. Affordable housing — Supr. Sullivan noted that at the November joint cities meeting, everyone agreed to go back and have an internal discussion regarding affordable housing. They then agreed to report back out at the next joint cities meeting. He stated that the Board has not yet had their official discussion of what they can and cannot do, and he asked if the City had had their discussion yet. Mayor Hayek noted that they have 4 this planned for early January. Supr. Sullivan stated that he looks forward to getting these reports back from everyone. He then stated that the County has had some experience with affordable housing in the unincorporated areas that has gone very poorly. There has not been adequate sewer or water, for example, and a lack of adequate transportation, as well. He stated that they may want to speak with Iowa City and other municipalities as well, regarding the possibility of collaborating on financing projects. d. Climate change/sustainability efforts — Supr. Rettig spoke to the issue of climate change, noting that the County was presented with a list of climate change demands, as was Iowa City, the University, and Congress. She noted that at their meeting yesterday, the Board worked on their response to this and added that they would be happy to share this with the City. She added that the City has been doing a lot of work on climate change with its staff, as has the County, but that neither of them has talked much about it. Supr. Rettig brought up the Cool Cities initiative from the past, noting that there was an MPO committee that was about climate change. This committee disbanded as each of the different entities brought on staff. Supr. Rettig stated that while occasionally their respective staffs get together to talk about issues, their leaders do not. She asked if this type of committee should be reactivated, in order to help them work together on the issues once again. Supr. Rettig then spoke to the installation of the County's first solar array at their secondary roads facility. This will be a `power purchase agreement,' which was shown to be better for the County than owning this outright. She stated that the County would be happy to share the mathematics of this. The company from North Liberty will actually own the solar array, and the County will then purchase energy from them. This will then allow the company in North Liberty to take advantage of renewal energy tax credits. The County hopes that this is the first of many solar projects. They have considered wind projects in a couple of locations, but the cost benefit analysis has not come up favorable yet. Supr. Rettig then spoke to the issue of containment levels and air quality. She stated that there is something `brewing' at the Environmental Protection Agency on ozone. She is unsure how this will affect the Johnson County urban area, but she believes that this could be very dangerous for them, and could put their area out of containment levels. Mayor Hayek asked if she means `bad' in a regulatory way and Supr. Rettig responded yes, that it would be bad if you wanted to build a business with a smoke stack, for example. She stated that one of the reasons this area is problematic is due to having a coal-fired plant in town. While they are using less coal, they are still using coal, according to Supr. Rettig. There are also two interstates in the area and a lot of idling traffic. Therefore, attainment levels are very problematic in this area. Supr. Rettig stated that perhaps they should re-establish the MPO committee on this issue, at least a leader committee to begin with. Supr.-elect Carberry noted that in the past these committees started out quite well, but that several communities fell behind and it became evident that everyone wanted to work at their own speed. He added that he believes it would be a good idea to reform this committee and work together on a countywide basis again. 5 Mayor Hayek then asked where they are on their response to the Climate Change March, and he then asked the City's Sustainability Coordinator Brenda Nations to speak on this issue. She noted that one of the requests was to have a Climate Mitigation Plan for the City. Currently, Nations noted that staff is working on a Climate Adaptation Plan along with several other communities. The grant for this initiative will be completed in March. After this, Nations noted that they will need to begin work on goals to reduce emissions. This involves a seven-year plan of communitywide greenhouse gas emissions. If there is to be a reduction goal, Nations noted, then they will need to work with some of the big players in the area. She further explained how some of these goals can be reached. As for the response to the Climate Change March, Nations noted that the City would like to see what the County has on this issue, as well. Supr. Chair Neuzil noted that the County's perspective is one that is very detailed and laid out, and should be of help to the City as they are most likely doing a lot of the same things. Mayor Hayek stated that it sounds like they are aligned on this issue and that hopefully they can collectively lead by example in the region. Supr. Rettig noted that she believes Supr.-elect Carberry's version of what happened is how she remembers it, as well. Basically the County and the City of Iowa City were on- board, but the other entities were not. At that point the meetings just stopped and everyone went off to do their own thing. She noted that the problem with this then is they do not have public buy -in to what they are attempting to do. The public does not see anything happening and does not see the issue brought up at public meetings. Supr. Rettig noted that they need to get the public more involved in these issues. Mayor Pro tem Mims stated that the positive of moving forward in this manner is that it may help the other municipalities who have not done much yet. Supr. Rettig stated that she is not sure what the format should be for this, but she asked that everyone give some thought to it. e. Community ID program — County Atty. Lyness spoke to the issue of a community I.D. program, noting that it would be issued locally and would be valid in Johnson County. This I.D. would give individuals a picture I.D., in the event they are unable to obtain one through the Department of Transportation. The goal, according to Lyness, is to allow people to identify themselves, especially with law enforcement. She added that it could also allow individuals to open bank accounts, sign rental agreements, and to take part in other activities where identification is needed. A group has been working on this program, and Lyness noted that after elections things slowed down somewhat but that they plan to move forward with asking other communities who would be interested in using this program, as well. She gave some examples of the types of incentives they might use in helping this program move forward. Continuing, Lyness noted that Police Chief Hargadine was the first to talk to her in support of a community I.D. several years ago. Right now they just need to figure out the specifics of such a program, what it will cost, what type of equipment would be needed, what kind of add -ins they might want to have in the software program for things they want to embed in the cards, i.e., serves as a library card. Lyness noted that they will also need to have trained staff who can tell that documents are real and not computer- generated. Supr. Rettig stated that cities were asked at the staff meeting/city manager N meeting what they wanted on the card, as well as what they were willing to have on the card. She stated that entities were supposed to get back to this I.D. committee, as this would determine what type of equipment would be needed. Supr. Rettig added that they had hoped to get this information before they completed their budgets. Lyness stated that they need to reach out to the cities to make sure that they have asked for all of this information and to be very clear on what the County needs from them. Supr. Rettig spoke again to budgets and the possibility of requests from the various entities to help fund this project. Supr. Sullivan noted that the Center for Worker Justice has identified around 700 individuals who would like a community I.D. He stated that once they get through this initial wave, it would most likely be a much less onerous process for anyone to take on. Lyness noted that the committee discussed these types of issues and had noted that most likely they would train quite a few individuals and have the program run over numerous days so that everyone can get their I.D. done. Once the initial groups have come through, the process could probably be done once a month or by appointment. Mayor Hayek asked if the group has decided yet what the process will be in regards to the degree of documentation that will be required. He noted that this will inform how reliable the I.D. will be to third parties and whether they accept or reject this. Lyness stated that they are looking to other cities and counties that have the I.D. to see what requirements they have. The next step will be training for staff, so that they are able to identify the necessary documents. Lyness also spoke to the fact that there will need to be a nominal fee for the I.D. to help pay for the cost of actually making it. Lyness reported a number of groups have suggested uses for the card and indicated that the more things you can do with card the more expensive it gets. Supr. Rettig noted that the internal committee agreed that the auditor's office is most likely not the place to house this function, but that they could possibly have election staff perform the initial process and use one of the large conference rooms in that department. After this initial wave, they could then find a more permanent home for the I.D. process. Supr. Rettig added that a couple of the area libraries have offered space for this. Supr.- elect Carberry noted that at a recent meeting of the Libraries of Johnson County, there was talk of having libraries becoming Department of Transportation driver's license stations. There will be an actual machine in the libraries that allows pictures to be taken and licenses made, which will then be mailed to the individuals. He stated that a conversation with the libraries regarding community I.D.s would be a good idea, especially if they are going to be producing driver's licenses. E Future meetings/other opportunities for communication — Supr. Harney spoke to the group about future meetings, noting that the Board thought it might be nice to have more frequent gatherings, but on a more casual basis, where they could have discussions about what is going on in each of the communities, what problems there are, etc. They could then take any pertinent matters back to the group as a whole for discussion. The goal is to have more open communication among all of the entities. Supr. Harney asked for any other ideas on how to foster open communication. 7 Council Member Botchway noted a meeting/visit he had at Northwest Junior High where they discussed various issues. He stated that people kept talking about why there is no agreement between the cities and the county about letting each other know of any possible effects one of their own decisions or polices may have on another entity. Council Member Botchway stated that this may already take place at some level, but that there needs to be a public showing, so that the citizens are aware of the issue. He added that perhaps it is a publicity issue or a communication issue that needs to be addressed. Supr. Sullivan stated that one of the problems they run into is that each form of government is different; the City has one City Manager and the County has five. He spoke to why the Board of Supervisors finds this type of meeting to be valuable, as it helps to open that much needed communication between the County and the City. Mayor Hayek agreed that this definitely gives merit to the inter -governmental collaboration aspect, but that the distinction between the forms of government does influence communication. He stated that the Council allows the full-time staff to do much of the City's work for them. He agreed that they do need to find a way to better accommodate this communication between entities. Supr. Harney agreed that everyone is busy, but that these informal types of meetings can be very valuable. He agreed with Mayor Hayek that the staffs of both the County and the City continue to work well together when needed. He added that he believes there are other things they can do, however, to enhance this communication. Supr. Rettig stated that the Board had hoped they would have at least annual meetings with the various city councils. She explained how as they have done this more and more, they have seen good outcomes, especially from the informal meetings where more talking seems to take place. Supr. Rettig noted that the entire Board of Supervisors did meet with City staff to discuss the Poor Farm area, and she thought this was an extremely helpful meeting, except that none of the Council was present. She stated that it would have been nice to see one or two of the Council Members. Supr. Rettig stated that the Board would like to repeat today's meeting in six months, or at least a year, where they can talk about different topics, perhaps something the City would like to discuss. Mayor Hayek stated that for most substantive issues, the Council looks to the staff for their input and guidance. The discussion continued, with Supr. Harney noting that as the urbanization of the entire area changes, everyone is finding they need to work closer together. Supr. Rettig noted that she is a big proponent of regionalization and Supr. Sullivan added that as changes take place, they are going to have to have these types of conversations. Supr. Rettig again stated that while the Board and County staff have a good relationship with City staff, they would really like to meet with the City Council once or twice a year. They believe this would enhance their relationships. Council Member Dickens agreed, stating that the joint meetings with all of the cities are too busy and that these smaller meetings could be more productive. g. Other issues of mutual interest, including: Road and trail projects, SEATS, CAT grants, Animal Shelter, opportunities for collaboration — Supr. Etheredge spoke about areas of mutual interest. He added that working with City staff was phenomenal for him, from working on the walking trail out at the Poor Farm to Hunters Run Park. He 0 spoke of other projects they have been discussing together, such as connecting the trail under Highway 218 to Hunters Run to get even better access to the Poor Farm area. Supr. Sullivan noted that the conservation money from the bond issue that passed could be a potential leveraging thing for the City, as well. He noted that they may be able to collaborate on some of these projects. Supr. Chair Neuzil noted that there are three potential trail projects, as far as connectivity goes, one being the Poor Farm and another the Herbert Hoover area. Mayor Hayek noted that Liz Ford has been hired for the Animal Services Director position. The shelter is planned to be opened in August or September of 2015. Supr. Rettig stated that she has a concern about a piece of art, which are actually some pipes that have grown into the trees, that is along the Iowa River Trail that she believes got there accidentally. She stated that she calls it `stretch,' and she asked that it not be removed. A brief discussion ensued about this, with Supr. Rettig stating that she will let City Manager Markus know more about the issue. OTHER BUSINESS None. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:29 A.M.