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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.