HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-19 TranscriptionMay 19, 2015 Iowa City City Council Work Session Page 1
Council Present: Botchway, Dickens, Dobyns, Hayek, Mims, Payne, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Markus, Fruin, Dilkes, Voparil, Yapp, Morris, Boothroy, Moran, O'Brien,
Knoche
UISG Present: Neal
Others Present: None
Questions from Council re: Agenda Items:
ITEM 3d(7) UNITE PRIVATE NETWORKS LICENSE AGREEMENT -
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND THE CITY
CLERK TO ATTEST AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY
AND UNITE PRIVATE NETWORKS, LLC TO USE A PORTION OF CITY
STREETS AND PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR THE INSTALLATION,
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A FIBER OPTIC NETWORK
Hayek/ Okay! Let us convene our, uh, work session. This is the May 19, 2015, work session.
Welcome, everyone, to Harvat Hall. We've completed the City Conference Board
meeting and now the next bullet point is questions from Council regarding agenda items.
There's that fiber optic, um ... uh, agreement, uh, it's 3d(7). It's a consent. I assume there
are no staff concerns about that. Looks like we've got an out if we need it, etc., but...
Knoche/ (mumbled) Unite ... (mumbled) license agreement, um, yeah, they're ... um, it ... it's just
giving them the opportunity to use the right-of-way, um, in town.
Hayek/ And if we need it...
Knoche/ (both talking) Right! Exactly! It's... we're... we're preserve our ... the rights to remove
them if need be.
Hayek/ Okay. All right. Thanks, Ron.
Payne/ I... Ron, I have a question too. Um, as part of the agreement, they're required to become
a member of Iowa One Call. But nowhere does it say that they have to call in a locate
when they're going to dig. Is that part of the right-of-way, uh, permit?
Knoche/ It's ... yeah, it's part of the excavation permit.
Payne/ Okay!
Hayek/ It's also in the code.
Payne/ Well I know it's law for 80, Section 480, but ... I, that doesn't mean they're going to
follow it (laughs) but if we have another stick, it would help!
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Hayek/ (several talking) Go ahead!
Botchway/ No, go ahead, I mean I just can't find it now. I feel like I'm lost. There ... wasn't
there something on the agenda about ... maybe it was an email. Did anybody get the email
from Harry about the, um...
Markus/ ADA?
Botchway/ Yeah! I thought there was something on the, um, agenda that spoke to it, but maybe
I'll wait till (both talking)
Hayek/ That might have been the last meeting, um...
Botchway/ Okay! I'll wait till Council time. That's no problem.
Hayek/ Him ... his appreciation on, I think it was the 50,000...
Botchway/ No, that was talking about ... um, Cedar Rapids being audited, um...
Markus/ That's what you're referring to tonight?
Botchway/ That's what I'm referring to (several talking) Yeah. But I can wait until Council
time. I'll wait!
Hayek/ Yeah. Okay!
Markus/ (mumbled) anything on.
Throgmorton/ I ... I'd like to ask a question about when to talk about a particular topic, uh, and
I ... my ... my question has to do with the ... the schedule of activities after our decision
tonight on zoning. You know, if...assuming that there ... a zoning is, rezoning's
approved. We have that schedule of decis... actions to take. When should we...
Hayek/ Yeah..
Throgmorton/ ... talk about that?
Hayek/ Well, um..,I'd just as soon start the conversation now if we can and you're just talking
about scheduling... based on the ... (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Right, given those three (both talking)
Hayek/ ...the options from staff, but I would defer to Eleanor and Tom on that.
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Dilkes/ I think ... I think staff's thought was that you would do it ... once you knew whether you
needed that many meetings.
Hayek/ Okay.
Throgmorton/ So it'd be better to wait till the formal meeting.
Dilkes/ That's kinda of what I think staff was (several talking)
Hayek/ Okay!
Throgmorton/ ...have some sense of that.
Hayek/ You want to do it during that ... I mean the ... we will ... how will this work? If...if there is
support and we defer... and we continue the public hearing and defer first consideration,
would you want us to take up ... scheduling right after that or ... like under ... re...
reconvene to a work session or... (unable to hear response) Right afterwards? Okay!
Dobyns/ So we're going to discuss... schedules in a public meeting then. Okay.
Dilkes/ I mean you could ... if you want to wait and do it (unable to hear) I ... I just think it should
come after the zoning discussion.
Dobyns/ Well...
Dilkes/ If you... if you want to wait and (both talking)
Markus/ This evening's discussion.
Dilkes/ (both talking) ...reconvene the...
Markus/ This evening's discussion. On zoning.
Dilkes/ Right!
Dobyns/ Will it occur in public session or in a work session, part two after the public session is
closed? (unable to hear response) Okay.
Mims/ But we can do it in the public session right then?
Dilkes/ I think you could do it either way.
Mims/ I think that would be the best, from the standpoint the public is going to be very interested
in what that schedule is. (several talking)
Dobyns/ Okay.
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Mims/ And to do it ... in the most public way that people on TV and everything else can know
what our schedule's going to be going forward I think would be best. (unable to hear
response) Okay.
Hayek/ Trying to make a note to myself to do that, but if I forget, please... remind me! So what
else we have here?
Mims/ I'm not hearing much on the agenda.
ITEM 3d(3) EAST HARRISON STREET RECONSTRUCTION — RESOLUTION
AWARDING CONTRACT AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND
THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST A CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF
THE EAST HARRISON STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Voparil/ Item 3d(3) the east Harrison Street reconstruction, there was a revised comment on that.
Hayek/ Yeah.
Voparil/ It went out with late handouts yesterday.
Hayek/ Yeah we have not only the late handouts but an agenda item on ... 3e(2) which is the, uh,
setting a public hearing on that fiber (both talking)
Voparil/ Fiber infrastructure.
Hayek/ Just FYI. (mumbled) want to introduce our new person, uh, you could do it during the
formal or right now.
Neal/ Um, sure! I'll do it right now.
Hayek/ Depends on ... his stomach for, uh, controversy and ... (laughter) publicly (laughter)
television cameras.
Neal/ So our new Vice City Council Liaison is Jacob. Jacob! If you'd like to come up here and
tell a little bit ... about yourself, what you're studying.
Simpson/ I am going to be a sophomore next year and I am majoring in biology and ethics in
public policy.
Hayek/ And is from Clinton!
Simpson/ And I'm from Clinton, Iowa. Sorry! (laughter)
Hayek/ We were talking before the meeting! Anyway, Jacob, we look forward to working with
you (both talking)
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Simpson/ Thank you. I'm very (both talking)
Hayek/ ...relationship with UISG over the years and it's ... it really, uh, adds a ... impact here
with ... with this body.
Simpson/ Thank you very much!
Mims/ Welcome!
Payne/ I have a, uh, friend who lives in Clinton and she tells me the follies of city council there
all the time! (laughter)
Hayek/ Okay, any other ... agenda items? Okay! Info Packets. First is May 7t'.
Information Packets (May 7, 14):
Mims/ Just thank the City Manager for two, uh, very good, interesting articles on, uh, when cities
and suburbs work together and ... the, uh, guiding principles from Greater Omaha
Economic Development Partnership.
Payne/ I thought that the ... the article, um ... about the suburbs working together was quite
interesting and there was a sentence in there that caught my eye that says, `People have to
want to behave at the highest level of ex ... ethics provided the guy next door does too.'
So ... it doesn't work if everybody doesn't want to work together.
Throgmorton/ So I was wondering about one particular fact having to do with the guiding
principles, and ... and, Tom, you probably ... or Geoff, remember (both talking)
Markus/ Geoff would probably be better; he attended.
Throgmorton/ (both talking) Have all of the relevant cities in the Omaha region signed that?
Fruin/ As I understand it, that particular agreement's with the economic development authorities,
uh, in those, uh, eight -county region I believe it was, but the ... the partners are listed at
the top of that document. Um, it's unclear ... at least I don't know if the cities, um, have
their own separate agreement, um, but from the ... the, um, conversations that we had with
Omaha officials, it certainly sounds like the city economic development projects get
funneled through this system, as well, so ... um, my limited understanding of it ... I would
say that it probably applies to cities, whether they're ... um ... uh, whether they've signed
on the agreement, uh, themselves or not, I don't know.
Markus/ Rebecca, do you have any ... thing to add? (unable to hear response)
Mims/ The ... the thing that was interesting in what was presented to us when we were there was
that ... Omaha does not have a separate, um, economic development organization from
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their Chamber. It's all one. And .... these various counties and cities ... have asked to join,
and those that do ... pay the wages and benefits to a staff member who is housed in the
Omaha Chamber of Commerce office, and is involved in the economic development. So
when a project comes in, all of these people get to see it and review it, and it gets
assigned to somebody, kind of as the liaison, who takes this company out, let's say, and
shows `em all the possible sites in the region, um, and I think ... I think maybe that sharing
of personnel in such a large region may be one thing that has really helped them work
together because ... you know, I've got somebody sitting inside the room making sure that
we actually know what's going on kind of thing. They have not tried to, urn ... invite or
coerce anybody to join. It ... from what they indicated; it's...if people want to join, you
know, we're happy to have `em and they need to sign on to these agreements, and I'm
sure part of that has worked because... Omaha is big enough and has probably kind of
been the elephant in the room that... everybody wanted to be involved because they didn't
want to be left out. So ... but they seemed to have a really, really good working
relationship. So...
Hayek/ Anything else on the May 7t"...packet?
Botchway/ So ... oh, never mind! I'll wait!
Hayek/ Okay.
Botchway/ Sorry!
Hayek/ How bout the May 109
Throgmorton/ Well, um ... IP5, the diversity implementation update and status on racial equity
and diver... diversity initiative. Uh, I found that to be a tremendously informative, uh,
memo from Stefanie and uh, it looks like a great deal of work is being done. Uh, I
admire that a great deal. Uh, so in brief, bravo to that! Think maybe there was
something I was wondering about as well, um, I noticed that the staff will be creating a
new DIF, diversity implementation form. Uh (noise; unable to hear speaker) understand
why, uh, and, uh, I also understand that there will be an effort to make it more user-
friendly to the community. I think that's a very good idea and will be a very positive
step. So, I ... I don't know if others had anything that they wanted to say about that (away
from mic)
Mims/ I just ... I thought it was great to have it kind of in one document, um, so you can really see
what's going on. I think a lot... it's... it's a good way to be able to show people that the
City is doing a lot of things. Um, we obviously have a lot more to do over time and
hopefully will add various programs over time, but, um, I think it shows the direction that
we're moving, um ... kind of puts in one place all those different things. So it's ... it's easy
to communicate to people.
Hayek/ And I think it also shows the breadth of departments and personnel who are involved in
this. I mean, you've got multiple departments. You got staff working with the boards
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and commissions. Um ... got the Council! And ... and other stakeholders ... you just see
how ... how widespread this is throughout the City operation. So it's nice to have that
concisely reported in one place.
Mims/ Uh huh.
Botchway/ The only thing I would say is, um ... whether or not there's the ability to, and I think
I've talked about this before, from a communication's standpoint, having ... you know,
some press coverage. I know that doesn't necessarily speak to our particular body as a
city, you know, getting that press coverage from the media and such, but and I'm looking
at the media in the back room typing furiously away, but um, if there's a .... ability to, you
know, kind of get that information out there because, you know, while this report is great,
we read it and you know the individuals that, um, you know, pay attention to City
business or read it as well, um, and I'll try to tweet it out, you know, as much as
information as possible, that ... that information doesn't get out in any type of meaningful
way past that and I think at times that is where we have some of the issues, because then
we're just explaining ... I think we talked about before, I mean, stuff that we're already
currently doing, but there's been no, you know, broad media coverage about it and so it's
basically like it `hasn't happened,' which I think does a disservice to, obviously you
know Stefanie who's worked on this, but obviously all the other departments that you
were talking about.
Payne/ Is it on the web site too, I mean, of... in a place other than on the Council packets?
Fruin/ It ... it is on the web site under the Human Rights, um, Division and we'll be relaunching a
new web site here in June and ... and hopefully it'll be easy to find for the user. Um,
really quick regarding communication and ... and your comments, Kingsley. Um, we are,
uh, we've had two equity roundtables at the staff level and I think they've been very
positive and at the last meeting we prioritized our issues, um ... uh, those topics that we all
want to discuss and make progress towards, and communication was the first one. So,
beginning with our next roundtable, we'll be discussing communication strategies with
those agencies that we're meetin' with and ... um, I'm sure some good things will come
from that.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, the challenge is to get it down to the ground level and ... and, you know that
every bit as well as I do. It's ... it's a big challenge!
Fruin/ Yeah, it's ha ... it's really hard for us to do that, but ... but hopefully we're working with
some of the agencies, um ... that ... that are around the, um, table with us. Um, we can get
down, um, to that ground level.
Dobyns/ Jim, speaking of the ground level, it was about three years ago that you and 1 started to
have the discussions that we brought to the Council that led to the Ad Hoc Diversity
Committee and then Kingsley jumping on his chair. Um, I'm just wondering if we had
looked at the two of us, at this document in terms of what, uh, ensued over the next three
years, are you seeing any gaping holes?
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Throgmorton/ Well, I ... none that leap out at me, I mean, I'm very pleased with what's in the
report. And that's... that's easily the most positive way I can put it. So whether there...
there's something that's sort of missing, I don't know. What ... what do you think?
Dobyns/ Well I think there' a whole lot here. I mean, there was a lot of things here, um, in terms
of what we've done and my ... you know, what I always find myself doing, okay ... what
actually... began... two and three years ago, and what was an already existing City, um...
operation that was ongoing, and my memory wasn't clear enough to remember, you
know, how much of this ... I guess, um ... perhaps Geoff, Tom...
Markus/ This is expansive beyond what the (both talking)
Dobyns/ This is .... this is basically near ... 95 to 100% is all new since the Ad Hoc Diversity
Committee?
Markus/ And we kind of expected that it would keep growing and evolving, and I think it has
and ... I think we're ... we're getting smarter about how to involve the community and get
involved in the community, and so ... some of these ideas came from the Council
Members.
Botchway/ I will also say that, you know, while ... and I'm not trying to ... I mean (mumbled) kind
of piggybacks off of...not piggybacks off of, but kind of speaks to what we were talking
about, um, and maybe Jim's question is ... in regards to other cities, urn ... I ... I guess I just,
I mean I see what we're doing and I think it's great, but I ... I also hope that, you know,
other cities, um, jump on board from a regional perspective as well, uh, because that was
something that did come up in the Ad Hoc Diversity Committee as we were talking about
different ... and maybe, correct me if I'm wrong, I know you (mumbled) I was looking at
you, but um ... just what police you're talking about, as well, and as I'm hearing
comments, you know, there's University Heights, there's North Liberty police, there's
Coralville police, and so...
Markus/ University Police.
Botchway/ Yeah, I mean there's a lot of different police, um, departments and while I think it's
great, um, what the City's doing, I just want to make sure that, you know, this is one of
those things where it has to happen at a regional level because the boundaries between
the cities are quickly overlooked when it comes to, you know, dealing with these
particular issues.
Hayek/ Yeah, we have what... six departments in this metro area?
Markus/ ...you start adding the State police and the County sheriffs and the three communities
and the University and... and then University Heights, you can get up to seven or eight I
suppose pretty quickly.
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Hayek/ But I mean with the exception of the University, which has its own constituency I
suppose, you know, each .... each department, each community is going to react to
pressures from its constituents and until that occurs at those places...
Botchway/ Right.
Markus/ I can tell you that... (both talking)
Hayek/ I don't know what's going to happen!
Markus/ ....that the media tends to identify us...at times when it's another department, and I
observed that in a ... television show out of Des Moines and it wasn't till the end of the
whole discussion, they had a panel discussion, that they identified the arresting officer as
a University police officer, and all the dialogue was about Iowa City police and then the
record got corrected in the last 30 seconds of the taping. So it was ... it was a bit
frustrating to have to watch that, but...
Hayek/ Yeah.
Markus/ ...so it ... it's ... there's those distinctions. Um, you know, from a regional standpoint
though, I think one has to ask, `Why do we have that many departments?' (several
talking) That's another conversation (several talking)
Throgmorton/ I ... I'd like to respond a little more thoroughly to Rick's question now that I've
thought about it a little bit more, uh, and I don't mean anything critical of anybody, uh,
about this, but I ... there is a hole, and it has to do with the really hard thing, and that is...
uh, dramatic differences in income, wealth, access to jobs, that kind of thing. There is a
very big gap there that, uh, ideally we would be able to do something about.
Dobyns/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ And ... and this particular update doesn't, you know (laughs) doesn't go there! But
it's tremendously hard.
Dobyns/ Uh huh.
Markus/ And sometimes we don't go there to issues and ... and I'm speaking to Kingsley's
employer, but ... you know, the decision the City Council made to involve themselves in
the boundary issue ... kind of addresses part of what you're talking about, and that's
equity in education, and that's one of those bigger picture items that's really (unable to
hear) in this whole discussion about fairness and equity. So ... and it's kinda ... stepping
outside of our comfort zones as ... as a city to jump into another jurisdiction and have that
conversation, but if you are going to make a difference it likely will start with young
people.
Hayek/ Other questions regarding the May 14th Info Packet?
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Payne/ I have a question on IP4, which is the pending Council work session topics.
Hayek/ Uh huh.
Payne/ There were 10 items and now there's nine. Affordable housing is not on there.
The ... item that Kingsley, Jim, and I asked to have on there. So it's gone. (several
talking)
Throgmorton/ Looks like an accidental omission to me.
Fruin/ We ... we ... that item actually was left on accidentally. The ... the ... I think it was item nine
or 10 originally was to review your memo. We had that meeting where your memo was
reviewed. You've given staff direction and we'll return with that item. We typically
don't ... list everything on pending that we know is going to come back to you. For
instance, the inclusionary zoning task force — that's going to come back to you; it's not
listed on here. Um ... we anticipate when we get a chance to go through the points in your
memo, we'll bring that back too.
Payne/ So this is the order of our voting? These are listed in order of (both talking)
Fruin/ No, that is not ... the order of your voting. No.
Payne/ Or whatever you would call (both talking)
Fruin/ There's no rhyme or reason to one through nine right there (both talking)
Payne/ ...that we gave to Marian.
Hayek/ I don't think that has come back to us in the form of a (several talking)
Payne/ ... a priority list. (both talking) Okay, this is not prioritized.
Fruin/ That's not prioritized. There's no rhyme or reason to ... (laughs) the sequence there.
Payne/ Okay!
Markus/ And it ... and it will be difficult to ... to build a rhyme or reason out of the ranking that
you gave us, as well. (laughter and several talking) It's kinda all over the place,
depending on (several talking)
Dobyns/ Little warning there, uh, Tom? (laughs)
Markus/ Yeah! Yeah! It's kinda bouncing all over the place in terms of priorities. (several
talking)
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Payne/ Well mine's the only one that counts so ... (laughter)
Dobyns/ Clearly! That has been communicated! (laughter)
Markus/ Then it's easy ... as long as you get everybody else to ... acquiesce to that position.
Throgmorton/ Matt, on IP #9 ... uh, it ... it's a Board of Adjustment minutes...
Hayek/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ ...one of their meetings. I don't want to discuss the minutes, but they used a ... a
common phrase in .... in their minutes, and the phrase is `green space.' And I wish we
could get away from that term, because it's basically meaningless. What... because I...I
would just suggest that `green space' is actually potential life space, habitat for diverse
species. So whenever we're thinking about green space, we really ought to be thinking
about places where critters can live. Or ... life can live. Uh, so maybe ... to just put that
thought out there. We don't have to talk about it, but ... just want to...
Hayek/ Critter space? (both talking) Critter space?
Throgmorton/ (laughs)
Markus/ Flora and fauna space?
Hayek/ Flora and fauna.
Payne/ That's why green space is just generic. It means it all!
Throgmorton/ Yeah but green ... well all right! Green space can mean, uh, sprayed with
pesticides, uh, where life doesn't live, except for a few particular species. So...
Hayek/ I don't know if that's everyone's interpretation of green space.
Payne/ Uh huh.
Hayek/ I think it's... it's like... (both talking)
Payne/ Park is green space, yes. I ... and I agree with you, Matt. It's ... it's like a generic term
kinda... for a park or...
Hayek/ I think a term that is broadly interpreted, but can mean... a place where critters live or
where grass is mowed or where critters live on mowed grass. (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Right, exactly. I think we ought to be thinking about life space for diverse
species.
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Hayek/ Yeah. Point taken! Uh, anything else on the mi ... on the Info Packet? Okay, Council
time?
Council Time:
Botchway/ So I was going to bring up on page ... cause I missed it on the, uh, the agenda part of
it. Um... for 141 on the regular meeting agenda.
Hayek/ Page 141 ?
Botchway/ Page 141. I think we're missing the rest of it.
Throgmorton/ It stops mid -sentence.
Botchway/ ... stops.
Throgmorton/ Are those minutes? I don't know what those are.
Markus/ What's it referring to?
Mims/ But sometimes they don't give us the whole minutes. They just give us the section of the
minutes relative to the topic that it's under. Is that the case here?
Botchway/ Well I would say so, but then it stops the sentence. Like it ... there's no end to the
sentence. It just stops.
Payne/ Did it go onto the next page of what ... and they just didn't give us the next page? Well...
Botchway/ It... yeah! I mean (several talking)
Dilkes/ What topic are we talking about?
Payne/ What IP is it?
Botchway/ Uh, IP #...
Payne/ Or item is it?
Hayek/ Yeah, Susan's right though. That ... that, because the bottom half of that page starts a
completely different rezoning item (several talking)
Throgmorton/ So it's ... it's really irrelevant.
Botchway/ Oh, okay! I just wanted to make sure. All right (both talking)
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Mims/ Yeah, they just ... they just give you the section of the minutes that's relevant to that
particular topic ... that particular item. So...
Hayek/ You know I had, uh, a Council item I wanted to bring up, and this ... this came up during
the, um ... uh, the uh ... listening post that Susan and I attended at...at the Library, and...
somebody brought up a very interesting point about, um ... on -street parking in the areas
near downtown and... um, the pressure on on -street parking from commuters, from
students, from ... you know, the residents in a rooming house type, single-family
residence, uh, etc., and whether the City should be looking at either an expansion of, uh,
the meters into streets, um, beyond where they are currently or some sort of zone or
permit structure like you see in other cities. Um...
Dickens/ I know Chicago does (both talking)
Hayek/ Anyway, I...
Botchway/ Explain it, I mean what's the ... what's the issue? Just...
Hayek/ The ... for people who live close to down ... like within the University impact area. The
closer you get, the tighter the parking becomes, urn ... in part because of the rental
demand, in part because people are commuting downtown, um...
Markus/ And so people tend to, if they want to avoid paying in a meter they'll filter out into a
nearby residential area. Some of the techniques across the country that get used are to
create residential permits for the individuals living in those neighborhoods, and it's a
permitting process run through the City. It's signed for permit parking only, and so it...it
kind of gives a preference to the users or the people that live on those particular blocks
for that purpose.
Botchway/ Well the ... the reason why I was is because I heard it from another person, maybe it's
along those same lines about, um, the fact that in some off-street ... or on -street parking
situations, you know ... between 2:00 to 6:00 or something like that or 2:00 to 5:00, uh,
you're not allowed to park there. Um, and that being a... a situation where it could be
problematic for an individual, um, that's been drinking or whatever the case may be, that
they have to ... the individual was talking about having to move their car than having...
being given a choice as far as whether or not they needed to move it. They would love to
just have left the car there and then ... um, you know, take a taxi home, but for the fact
that they were going to leave their car and possibly get a ticket, it was problematic.
Payne/ Cause it has to be moved to the other side of the street the next day probably.
Botchway/ That's one part, but the other part is the 2:00 to ... 2:00 to 5:00 timeframe.
Hayek/ So I'm gonna just tamp this down a little bit cause I raised it and it's not an agenda item
and...
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Botchway/ Oops, never mind! Sorry! (laughter and several talking)
Hayek/ ...probably have all the answers that we need but, uh...
Botchway/ Sorry! I'll ask afterwards!
Hayek/ ...with our, uh, Counsel here. Urn ... (several talking) Is this something people want to
look at?
Dilkes/ The City looked at that! My memory is that ... we did a whole look at that, whole permit
issue.
Markus/ Why don't ... why don't you let us ... let us explain what exists right now, based on what
you said. I'm sure Chris is fully capable of giving you kind of the summary of what
exists.
Hayek/ He's written half of it in his mind already I think (laughter) That would be good! Maybe
we just start with a memo and then we can decide if we want to do anything about it, but
I thought it was an interesting... suggestion from a... from a resident.
Mims/ I did too.
Botchway/ The other thing I would bring up ... that's just a part of Council time is, um, I just
want to commend staff and I know that we do it on a frequent basis or when we can or
when we remember to, um, but as I've been working in... in, I think I've now worked in
every entity... or (laughter) except the City, or I guess I am working for the City (several
talking and laughing) um, it's commendable how, you know, at least my feeling as far as
how staff and the Council interaction is, um, even when it's, you know, a very
controversial topic or... along those lines, and it's been tough, um, in both of my
previous, um, or in ... in current job and my previous occupation, um, with that kind of,
um, back and forth rhetoric and just the kind of level of understanding and so I just
wanted to say that, cause it's ... it's greatly appreciated that it's not necessarily all the time
that I have to be at that level, so...
Hayek/ Well I think it's a fair point, and it's something... sometimes we take for granted, but we
have a very good ... um ... relationship, I think, um, within Council and between Council
and staff and things get heated, obviously, the issues are tough, but... we're... this
institution is marked by a degree of civility that you don't always see in local
governments.
Throgmorton/ Spinning off of the comment about the School Board, uh, I ... I just wanted to
mention that on the 12th I attended the ... the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty
High School. And while I was out there, I had a really good conversation with Steve
Murley and with several of the Board Members. It was a very fruitful and constructive
conversation. Just wanted to report that!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2015.
May 19, 2015 Iowa City City Council Work Session Page 15
Hayek/ Other Council time? Meeting schedule.
Meeting Schedule:
Payne/ So the meeting for June 90' is just tentative, depending on if we need it? We got an email
from Marian on that.
Botchway/ Oh ... I missed that one!
Payne/ Is that correct?
Mims/ Yeah, she'd asked us to...
Payne/ Pencil it in as tentative.
Mims/ If we needed it. Yeah, I remember getting that email.
Payne/ Okay. (several talking)
Markus/ What ... what specifically is that referring to?
Voparil/ Um, she ... she doesn't have anything down on June 9`h, so I believe it was tentative. It
depended maybe...
Dilkes/ My guess is she just wanted ... wanted you to pencil that in so that it's there is you decide
on that schedule after your Chauncey discussion (several talking)
Markus/ It relates to one of the optional schedules (several talking)
Payne/ That's what I was wondering.
Botchway/ Oh I... golly! Okay. I can't be there.
Hayek/ All right. Pending work session topics.
Pendine Work Session Topics:
Payne/ Already brought that one up. Sorry!
Hayek/ Yeah, you're out of order! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Nobody wants to add one?
Hayek/ I don't know, Jim! (laughs) You want to add one? (laughs) I just ... I just flirted with
one; I did not, uh, get you guys to add one! (laughter)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2015.
May 19, 2015 Iowa City City Council Work Session Page 16
Dickens/ Did three people agree with you? (several talking)
Uacomin2 Events / Council Invitations:
Hayek/ Okay! Upcoming events? Okay! Gonna have an hour here! (several talking) Yeah,
okay, anything else for the good of the order?
Throgmorton/ Hold on for one second, please ... yep, misplaced here.
Botchway/ Well we have EntreFest that's coming up ... this week, right? (several talking) And
Iowa, um, oops, I'm just a little bit further out. I think the, uh, Iowa Summer of the Arts,
or the Art Festival is June ... 6th and 7t' maybe. I think it's coming up as well. Or I mean
it's a little bit further out but...
Hayek/ Why don't you make a plug at the formal for EntreFest, cause that's this week.
Botchway/ Okay.
Hayek/ And we can do Arts ... you can do Arts Fest if you want but that's ... out a little ways.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, good things. I wanted to mention, I'll be going to prison again ... on
Thursday night. (laughs) Keep going back to prison. I don't know why! (several
talking) Yeah, uh, my wife, you know, sings in the Oakdale Community... Prison
Community Choir so, uh, Barbara will be singing and I get to listen to them sing and it's
a great experience! So, be doing that.
Hayek/ Okay, anything else? All right, we'll end the work session and we'll come back in an
hour for the formal. Thank you!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 19, 2015.