HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-02-02 TranscriptionPage 1
ITEM 2. STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
ITEM 2a Grant Wood Elementary
Throgmorton: We have ... two students from Grant Wood Elementary and two from Weber
Elementary, so we'll start with Grant Wood! (mumbled) (several talking) Okay,
just trying ... all right, I've never done this before, so uh... I'm kinda nervous. Are
you all nervous? (laughter) All right! So, I have a proclamation I want to read,
urn ... concerning both of you, and then I'll ask you to read your statements, okay?
Incidentally, I'm your Mayor (laughter) It's so nice to see you! So .... Student
Leadership Award (reads award) So would you read your, uh, statement please?
Marquez: My name is Kimberly Marquez. I am in Mr. Glenn's sixth grade class at Grant
Wood Elementary. I am in student council where I represent my class and one of
the first grade cl..classes. I am responsible for checking my classes' reading logs.
Also I'm in a group called Many Mentors, a program that matches older students
with younger students. We play games, do learning activities, and we learn about
each other. I am involved in after-school activities, as well. I belong to the Strong
Girls Read Strong Books book club. Our club (mumbled) where we practice for a
5K. Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me, and for Mr. Glenn
for choosing me for this honor. (applause)
Throgmorton: Beautifully done! (applause) Okay, Student Leadership Award (reads award)
Here you are! Um, maybe you could read your statement too.
Bonilla: Hi, my name is Ashley Bonilla. I'm a sixth grader in Miss Grigsby's class at
Grant Wood Elementary. One of the activities that I'm involved in at school is a
program called Many Mentors. We meet every Tuesday with our (mumbled) We
(mumbled) with them, play games with them, and help them with their work. Our
objective is to model for them what it is to be a successful student. In my
classroom, I'm a team leader, and a team leader is someone who is in charge of
their table group. I help my team by making sure they are focused. They are task.
They're following directions, and making sure our group is the best. I always try
to do my best when I'm managing the team and when I do any kind of
school ... work at school. An activity I'm involved in after school is Strong Girl
Book Club. What I do there is read about a strong girl in a difficult situation and
discuss weekly with professors from the University of Iowa. By doing this, not
only am I becoming a strong reader, but I aim ... but I am figuring out for myself
what makes a girl strong inside and out. Finally, another activity I do outside of
school is soccer. I always try to do my best when I'm playing or practicing. My
dad is the coach of my soccer team, and even though I'm his daughter, he ... he
always encourages me to practice. My dad encourages me because he loves me
and he always wants the best for me. The best will happen for me if I try harder
with the team and on my own. I am prepared. I am very thankful for this
amazing award and this opportunity. I would like to thank my family, friends,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 2
and my teacher Miss Grigsby for picking me for this amazing award. I also want
to thank the City Council for giving this award to me. (applause)
Throgmorton: Beautifully done! (applause) Okay, thanks, kids. You ... you're doin' great, uh,
keep up the great work. Uh, we're very proud of you! So ... you can go on back
and ... what's the joke that Matt always used to say?
Markus: Homework (several talking)
Throgmorton: Do your homework or, uh, you can stay (laughter and several talking) watch the
rest of the next five hours of our meeting (laughter) All right.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 3
ITEM 2. STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
ITEM 2b Weber Elementary
Throgmorton: Two more kids from, uh, in this case Weber School and .... can you open those for
me? (several talking) Trying to do this left handed. Nathan Smithey, is that
right?
Smithey: Yep!
Throgmorton: And Nicholas McDonnell. All right, thanks. Got it! All right, Student
Leadership Award (starts to read award) You know, I'm just gonna read this
once, but...and then I'll mention both of your names (reads award) So, Nathan,
would you read your statement, please?
Smithey: Hi, I am Nathan Smithey and I am a sixth grader at Weber Elementary. I am in
Mrs. Spencer's class and I am a safety patrol captain. This means that I am in
charge of a post at school and a part of the school compound. I am in charge of
making sure people get to their classes safety, as well as ... as before and after
school. When my parents first told me that I had won this award, I was both
shocked and excited. I try to do a lot of things to help out Weber School, as well
as the surrounding community. In my opinion, the best we can do is to strive to,
as my dad says, do everything a little bit better today than you did it yesterday.
Anyway, I just want to thay... say thanks to all of you for this recognition.
(applause)
Throgmorton: (mumbled) advice from your father!
McDonnell: Hi, my name is Nicholas McDonnell. I am a sixth grade ... (laughs) I'm in Mrs.
Williams' class at Weber Elementary. I was pleased to be chosen for the Student
Leadership Award by my school. I have been asking myself what makes a good
leader. I think a good leader doesn't tell people what to do, but they demonstrate
what to do so that other... others will want to follow their example. I try to do this
by giving back to my school through service. For example, I am a conflict
manager. People who help at recess with younger kids having conflicts and ... and
they try to solve the conflicts. I am also a safety patrol ... um ... wait, where am I?
(laughter) Sorry! I lost my spot! Safety patrol, media helper, and I work at the
school store. I ... I will continue to lead through service. (applause)
Throgmorton: Excellent! (applause) (unable to hear; away from mic) Congratulations to both
of you. Beautifully done; keep up the great work. You know, we need some
conflict management kinda... conflict resolution kinda help and ... (laughter) in
public office, so you know (laughter) Talk to me afterwards! (laughter) All
right, congratulate 'em! (applause) Thank you! I've just been informed by a
knowledgeable person that Nathan Smithey's father is one of our police officers.
(laughter and several talking)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 4
ITEM 4. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA)
Throgmorton: For any item, uh, not on the agenda, so we ... what we'd like you to make sure you
do is not take more than five minutes to speak. We're going to make one
exception with regard to the second presentation, having to do with ICAD. So,
Harry, you would be first I guess.
Olmstead: Good evening. First I'd like to congratulate all those on their election and we
appreciate your commitment to our community. Also those that are continuing
on, we certainly appreciate their commitment. You received, or should have
received from Marian this afternoon an email that I sent regarding Housing
Choice Voucher. I just want to reiterate that I support that. When I was on
Human Rights Commission, I supported it last February, and uh, as a new
member of the Housing and Community Development Commission, I support it
and brought it forth as a motion at our last meeting.
Throgmorton: Harry, this is an item that's on our formal meeting agenda. Maybe you need to
leave before we get to that moment, but uh...
Olmstead: Who knows! (laughs) I have a couple other things. Also I was here for the work
session and a couple of observations. One, um, I appreciate that you're looking
for ... (mumbled) interim city manager and I know the fine work that both our
assistant city managers do. I have worked with both of them, but I also wanted to
remind you that we have a lot of good senior staff, and in particular women and
minorities that you may want to consider, if they're interested. The second thing
is, the book mobile that you talked about regarding the budget. And an idea
flashed in my mind during that discussion, because we're always looking for
opportunities to work closely with the University. The University has a graduate
program in Library Sciences, and ... we may want to approach them to see if this is
a project that they might want to take on to whatever degree... because that would
certainly, uh, alleviate some costs to the budget. Thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Harry.
Nolte: Good evening!
Throgmorton: Good evening, Mark!
Nolte: Thanks for giving us the opportunity. I'm Mark Nolte. I'm with the Iowa City
Area Development Group. I'm joined by Kate Moreland who is our Director of
Community Relations and, uh, Collaborations and Andre Wright, who is our
Communications Director. Uh, we just wanted to give you a quick update on ... on,
uh, the activities and our metrics. We'll kind of run through it quickly and then
leave you any time for questions, but, uh, just for those, uh, unfamiliar with our
work. So, uh, the ICAD group works to grow the inter -state commerce sector of
our economy. So these are businesses that can locate anywhere. So that, uh, that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 5
is a company as big as ACT, P&G, Oral-B, down to a two -person start up that
might be working in the Co -Lab. So, uh, some companies have to be in the local
area to serve the local economy — restaurants, that sort of thing, um, but some
businesses can pick up and move and our job is to encourage more of those
companies to move here and keep the ones that we have from moving away.
So ... uh... we were started 32 years ago, um, we work in five-year funding
campaigns. We are, uh, in the fourth ... we are starting the fourth year of our five-
year campaign, uh, and (mumbled) to date, uh, with our ... our end of this campaign
ending in July of 2017. Uh, thus far we've worked on 36 successful projects and
helped to create, uh, 1,352 new jobs for the area. So, we're proud of our efforts,
but we know we've got a lot of work to do, so that's why, uh, we're happy with the
addition of Andre to our team. He's helping us, uh, rethink our communications
reach of new markets and we just recently brought on a new, uh, Director of
Business Development, Tom Banta, who was with the Blue Zones Project. So
he'll be helping us go after, uh, more projects on the recruitment side and really
dedicating his energy there. We use a ... an existing industry survey tool called
Synchronist. Uh, it's used by economic development groups around the country.
It allows us every year to go in and meet with the CEO, the plant manager,
whoever the top person is at the local interstate commerce company and do an
evaluation. It's about 105 different questions that we do, and it...it allows us to
then compare ... we can compare between the communities we serve, look at our
region versus the state and national average, so this is just kind of a snapshot of
some of the information that we ... we've gathered thus far, and once we're done
with this year's round of surveys, we'll prepare a full report and provide that to
staff and ... and the Council for review, but ... right now, uh, the blue line are Iowa
City companies, and some things to note of this, uh, of the companies we've
talked to right now, 100% of the companies have launched new products and
services in the last two years, uh, and 100% plan to launch new in the next two.
87% of these companies plan to expand. That's either brick and mortar or new
head count, or capital investment. So, the bottom line here is Iowa City
companies are outpacing all of their peers at the local level, at the national level,
and the state level. So, very upbeat about, uh, what we're seeing, despite some of
the national trends. Some of our largest employers have proven to be very
resilient. One of the things about our economy is the diversity, from the
manufacturing to the educational services. So, when one industry might be
having a downturn, there's usually another industry there to pick up the slack. So
one of the things that makes this economy so strong is the nature of the companies
that we have, and we're always trying to add to that. Workforce is the biggest
challenge right now, and..and really when we talk about workforce, we need to
think of it in terms of population, cause that's the challenge. We talk about
workforce, but it's really ... we've gotta grow the population and we've gotta align
better the skill sets of the folks that live here, so we can move people from
unemployed to employer, and from underemployed to ... to gainfully employed.
Um, one of the things you're seeing, the companies in Iowa City are showing the
lowest satisfaction in their abil... availability of finding talent, really speaks to the
nature of some of the companies here and advanced manufacturing in some of the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 6
tech sectors, and we'll dig into the workforce in a little bit more, but um, overall
this area continues to outpace national norms when it comes to things like
productivity and stability in the workforce, but ... the, and the quality, but the
availability is becoming more and more of a concern, and we'll talk about what
we're doing, uh, with our partners to overcome that. There's a more detailed, uh,
analysis of this, uh, in the report I gave you, but the thing I wanted to highlight —
the, uh, governmental services, the ... the second from the end, uh, I can assure you
nine years ago when I started doing this, that's not where Iowa City was. Uh, I
think it really speaks volumes to the ... the administration and the staff. Uh, there
really has been a change in culture over the past few years. Tom and his team
have done a remarkable job. Uh, the companies now feel that the City of Iowa
City is behind them, that they want the companies to succeed, that they're there to
solve problems with them, um, and it...it really speaks volumes to the leadership
here, and I'm still mad at Tom for leaving, but ... (laughter) um, it's been a pleasure
to work with him, um, and we look forward to working with Geoff and the rest of
the staff, but that number has increased... has continued to grow and ... and we hope
that that stays strong, uh, in perpetuity, because that ... that relationship between
what the employers think and ... and how the community works together is critical
to our success moving forward. Again, these companies have options. They get
recruited by cities across the globe now. Uh, we need to make sure that they're
happy, that they feel the com... the City is behind them and supporting their
continued growth. So, kind of a quick SWOT analysis of what we're seeing. The
strengths of the area con ... continue to be the quality of life. You hear these
comments from both the employers, the human resources, and we ... we like to talk
to some, kind of the front-line folks wherever we go, whenever possible. Quality
of life; the schools are good — I think there's room for improvement there. As
you've heard me say before, it's a safe community, educated workforce, overall
cost of doing business compared to what we're seeing on the coast is phenomenal,
uh, again, community support for business, uh, strong signs with diversity — that's
improving. We're hearing more and more signs of, uh, you know, feedback from
employers about how much more welcoming the community's being and they see
that as a ... as a strong positive. The weaknesses continue to be the ... the alignment
of...of skills with the jobs that are available. So there are, uh, at the time of
survey there were 306 unfilled positions and companies want to add another 1,150
jobs. So that's phenomenal. That's a great opportunity. Uh, but we still have this
issue of we don't have ... our population growth is not keeping pace with the needs
of the companies, and then we've got this kind of misalignment — what we're
educating a lot of our young people for does not... articulate to what the needs of
the companies are, and so these are some things we're trying to address at the
regional level with ... with both the University, with Kirkwood, with our K through
12 system. Uh, some of the other gaps that continue to come up year after year,
uh, the cost of housing which I know you addressed in work session. You're
going to address more. Lack of, uh, second -shift childcare continues to be a
obst... a big barrier, uh, for a lot of...our manufacturing companies are running two
and now three shifts, uh, having that childcare from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. kind of is
that magical window that we're having a hard time filling. Uh, and then gaps in
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 7
public transit. So ... getting people through the different systems continues to be a
barrier, uh, when you've got someone that may live in Iowa City but work at
General Dynamics, uh, out in Coralville. Uh, it's about an hour and 20 minutes on
the bus each way out there. So, lot of opportunities. Some of the things we're
looking at continue to be education technology, you know, with the University,
with ACT, Pearson, and there's a lot of spin-off companies, uh, you know,
companies like Meta Communications, HLT, there's a lot of companies in that
space. We think we can grow a lot more of those companies, as well. Uh,
advanced transportation, uh, some of the autonomous vehicle technology,
especially when we look at trucking. Uh, we have a hot bed of research and
activity for that, so we're doing all our things. That's ... Andre's spending a lot of
his time right now marketing heavily into those sectors, trying to make leads for
Tom. Uh, he'll be out meeting with, uh, a lot of those folks in the ... in the coming
month. He'll also be at a natural organic foods conference called Expo West, uh,
where he'll be using that ... that Iowa die cut piece in your packet to market and try
to bring some of the young companies that are making either a shelf -stable frozen,
uh, or refrigerated product, something that has a life span that can be
manufactured here. We've got companies like United Natural Foods that have a
distribution center here. So we ... we have a lot to offer these young companies so
that they can plug into our system, uh, the supply chain around P&G can be used
for a lot of these young companies too, so ... putting that whole story together and
selling it is ... is really our job, and so that falls now to Tom. Cyber security is
another big growth industry that we've talked about. Uh, the problem is we're not
teaching the coding at our schools, and so those are some of the threats that I see.
Um, certainly the global economic downturn, uh, can affect us. We've been very
insulated over the years, but we have to be ever mindful of shifts in the global
economy and how we react to that. Uh, inability to solve our housing issues, and
it's really a diversity of housing stock and different price points. If we're not able
to attract and keep those young workers, someone else will. You look at what
Des Moines' been able to do over the past 10 years. Cedar Rapids has a lot of
things coming out of the ground right now. We need to make sure that the Iowa
Riverfront Crossings is, uh, really the biggest opportunity. What we do with the
northside neighborhoods, uh, to ... to provide that kind of housing stock, cause over
and over we hear it's live -work -play. People want to be able to live without a car
and so ... some of the things we talked about — lack of office space. Some of those
things are coming online, but really that ... that housing and we know ... our
developers have ... have really lived off student housing for a long time. We need
to diversify beyond that. Um ... and then, you know, failing to create our good to
great moment I think is really our ... our critical issue. Things have been so good
here for so long that ... but we..we've got an opportunity to make it great, uh, and
that's ... I hope we don't miss those opportunities. So we're ... we're trying to do all
we can. I think we could be the center of the earth for innovation and education,
you know, and declare our intent and say 'that's what we want to be,' and have that
ripple from our pre -K through the University and beyond, and really turn this
community into a ... the ... the entire community into a living environment, you
know. That ... those are the things we're going to need to take some bold ... bold
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 8
chances and really tell the world what we want to be about in the future.
Otherwise things will be good for a while, but... again, the global pressures are
going to cause some changes. Um, we were talking about the ... the change in the
State budget, and so ... we want to be a partner for ... for making those advances
with you. Uh, regional workforce, there is a regional plan, and ... and as the
regional plan was coming together, it became abundantly clear ICAD was doing
some things. The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance was....were doing
some very similar things, and ... there are some duplication. There was, uh, some
repetition, and ... and so smarter heads prevailed and said let's ... let's figure out a
better way to do this, to allocate resources, uh, and solve some of these problems
at the regional level and really market ourselves to the world in a little different
way and so, uh, that's where the joint venture that was formed that will be an
entity under ICAD and the Alliance, we will lease ... Delane Williamson who's our
workforce, uh, Business Services Director to that entity. They will lease some
staff to that, and that will hopefully help a collaboration and allow us to do some
things regionally. It is not a ... you know, we are not advocating all things to that.
You know, we're still going to fight like crazy to bring projects to the south end,
but we know if we purport ourselves out to the world as one entity we'll have
more opportunities for success long term. Um, and then better collaboration with
our partners — the Chamber, the CVB, the Downtown District, um, we've got great
partners there. We're gonna continue to do everything we can, uh, to support each
other and make sure that we're doing every .... you know, I look at what Des
Moines did around the caucus, as an example, and I think we could have probably
worked to ... together to collect a little bit more of that ... that buzz and some of that
energy that they just had, so... Examples like that, I think we're going to be better
about trying to work on. Uh, one of the products, uh, we talk about this
regionalism, is the new regional web site, creativecorridor.co. Uh, encourage
people to check it out. It's really a ... a calendar and kind of a ... starts to tell the
story about what's going on in the whole region, uh, telling that story better. The
MERGE space, which we again appreciate your partnership on, and the
University. Uh, this will be at the former Wedge space and the floor below that
that is currently being used by the UIHC for training people on Epic, they're
moving out to a new building, so ... uh, we really want to turn that into the
epicenter for innovation, uh, in this area. So we're gonna do everything from
running kids in the door to teach them coding, to helping people prototype and
create new products — biomedical devices, wearable technology, you name it. Uh,
this partnership, this ... this town/gown partnership, is ... is something we've not seen
in our research anywhere else, so ... really excited about what ... what this will bring
and really, uh... um, really thrilled that the University's really being a true partner
and wants to collaborate, uh, so it's been a lot fun. We're getting to the ... the point
where we're finalizing the design phase. We'll start construction here hopefully as
soon as possible, and ideally be in there July/August to ... have the doors open.
So ... that's the plan right now, but we know how construction goes and everything
else. I'm going to turn this over to Kate and have her do the last two slides and
talk about some of the things she's doing to make the community more
welcoming.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 9
Moreland: Thank you, uh, there's several things I think our community has to offer
and ... things that we're really working to make sure that the rest of the world
knows, and that's that we have great resources and it's an easy place to connect.
And so I think we need to capitalize on ... on that, and some of the efforts that
we've been doing to allow for that are the Corridor Connector program. I meet
with professionals that are either wanting to move to this area or ... or are trailing
spouses that are here looking for opportunities, and help connecting them to
people and opportunities. Um, we ... we're getting great feedback on that, and
that's a partnership with the Chamber and Diversity Focus. Um, with, uh, Tom's
leadership through the International Welcoming Task Force we launched the
WelcomeICArea.org web site, which brought together all the resources for our
international population and really anyone moving new to the area. We met with
our international population. We heard what was difficult to locate and then we
brought it all together under one umbrella, and that was a great exercise in ... in
learning, um, all the wonderful resources that are out there. So that task force is
continuing to work on making sure we are providing a welcoming atmosphere.
The global community is really our future, and we're ... we're ahead of the game
right now. I just want to see us stay there. Um, I think communities that
embrace, uh, that diversity and ... and the global nature of the communities will be
successful economically. You have a list of all the things that our team is
involved in. We're a small but mighty team. There are seven of us, and your
support really allows us to be engaged in a lot of different programs, boards,
activities, in the hopes of really, you know, moving the needle on lots of different
initiatives. So this was just an example of....uh, between the seven of us, all the
things we're involved in. I won't go into detail, but we wanted you to know, and it
was good for our team to also list it all out, to really think about the impact we're
having and ... and where we're making a difference. So I just want to thank you for
your support and, um, we look forward to going forward and making great
progress, so thank you!
Throgmorton: Great! Thank you, Kate.
Nolte: (mumbled) ...throw at you. We're happy to answer any questions or...
Throgmorton: I ... I would like to arrange a follow-up conversation with you, Mark and Kate and
Andre, uh, so ... let's get together by email about that.
Nolte: Any time!
Throgmorton: Yeah. Fabulous. Um ... thank you (several talking) presentation. Lot of terrific
work. I ... I just want to explain to the public that we, uh, the normal pattern is to
provide five minutes maximum for each individual speaker during the public
demon ... uh, discussion period. We've provided an exception in this instance
because our ... normally Mark and others at ICAD make this presentation during
our work sessions, but we've had such a busy, full set of topics to work through
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 10
that we haven't been able to schedule that time. So, we thought it'd be good to do
it, uh, right now. So, I bet your indulgence for that. Would anybody else like to
speak to us during this public discussion period?
Ross: Hi, I'm Brandon Ross and, uh, I would like to speak to the issue of, um ... of space
in Iowa City, the commons, and uh, availability of that space to ... to its people.
Uh, interestingly we had the Connector, uh, project spoken about just now.
Um .... uh, one reason I think that's interesting for what I'm bringing up is that, uh,
it replaced a business which, uh, many people might consider an entrepreneurial
support, uh, area already, which was a small business called The Wedge, uh,
where business people did go there. Uh, people did meet. Uh, chess players did
play. Elders did go. Families from out of town, in town went there. It was
affordable. It wasn't a beer hall. Lot of people came in there. It felt very
friendly. And, uh, the accessibility was to everybody. Um, it was big space and it
was, uh, run by a fellow who, uh, who's considered a great boss, which seems to
be something that's gone out of our currency of language lately. You don't hear
that too often. Hired 40 people; made great food; and the food was affordable.
This is nothing against the Connector in general. I think, uh, it's a good idea. But
just thinking about that space and who actually gets to use it, I think, is important,
and important because I think in the last 15 years we have lost public space ... to,
uh, things that are more paid for, things that, uh, people who are upper middle
class, wealthy, can make use of, but uh... the people who are in the middle
working classes... let's just say the working classes, uh, which includes the poor
and the handicap, uh, don't have access to. I would bring up, uh, another example
of this, which, uh, which seems subtle to some, but many parents, uh, of which I
am one, have had a complaint about, uh, the downtown Recreation Center, which,
uh, which has been a recreation center. Brought my daughter, who's 14 there, for
many years. Had, uh, a main room which you probably are familiar with, filled
with ping pong tables, uh, table soccer, other games, pool tables. Seats, seating
area, television for, uh, college games. Things of that nature, where kids could
hang out and, uh, was often filled with kids. But, um ... no longer. Because it is no
longer a recreation center. In that sense it is a fitness center. In the place of the
games rooms, where the kids could come in, especially during the winter time
where there's hardly any place to go, they've placed a weight room. So you have
pretty much young men, young women, lifting weights and, uh, the aesthetics of
which, I don't know about the improvement. The grunts and groans and uh... you
know, the muscularity of the people. I still think that it looked better with the
children in there aesthetically, and now the children don't have a .... a place to go.
And, uh, we're talking about a lot of people, and ... where can the children go
where they don't have to pay for something? They don't have to pay to become
part of a club, uh, basketball team or whatever it is. I have nothing against those,
and um, when asked, and I ... and I did ask, because a lot of our friends are
concerned about this. We've been going for years. It's one of the great places to
go in town. Uh, why did this actually happen, and it got ... it kind of passed under
the radar. It passed through Council, but I don't think that the Councilors really
saw what was coming with this. Is that, uh, people who work there said that the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 11
person who was in charge, uh, of the transformation, he said that one of the
complaints that he had was there were ... people just sitting around, and some of
them ... some of them were homeless. Some of those people were homeless
people. Just sitting there watching... sporting events on television. And I heard
this three times, from people who work there. So I know this is probably one of
the big concerns. Conversely I would say, where do these people go but where do
the children go? My child had seen these people for years. A dozen years she
went in there and saw these people as ... human beings. We even watched some of
the games. I think we sat down in those chairs and shared and watched some of
the college games too. So my overall comment, that particular issue, I think, is a
major issue, because where in this town, if you have children, can you go without
paying for something, and I will not only go from the downtown area but look at
the south side. I think the south side has been, uh, neglected. And I think that
that ... we can do things that can help so that people feel more community. And I
think we've made a lot of those decisions where the public space has been
eliminated, made smaller. The panhandling ordinance. The building of rises in
the downtown. The putting in of the new building has a bowling alley there, but
there's a ... there's a bike library there now. That's... accessible. The bowling alley,
I don't know ... there gonna be lots of bowlers? Jim's givin' me the eye.
Throgxnorton: Yeah.
Ross: Givin' me the evil eye. Thank you so much, uh, I hope your caucus came out the
way you wanted it. (laughter)
Throgmorton: Thank you, Brandon! Would anyone else care to speak? No one else? Okay,
we'll move on to Item 5, Planning and Zoning Matters.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 12
ITEM 7. ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AMENDMENT # 3 - RESOLUTION
ADOPTING IOWA CITY'S FY2016 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
AMENDMENT #3, WHICH IS A SUBPART OF IOWA CITY'S 2016-2020
CONSOLIDATED PLAN (CITY STEPS), AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO SUBMIT SAID PLAN AND ALL NECESSARY
CERTIFICATIONS TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
a. PUBLIC COMMENT
Throgmorton: Uh, I want to open a public comment period (bangs gavel) and I wonder if
someone from staff could briefly explain what this is all about, uh, cause that was
pretty incomprehensible to me when I read it. I mean, we've read text but nobody
out in the public's really seen it.
Fruin: I don't think Tracy Hightshoe's here but I've been involved in this project, so I
can, uh, walk you t hrough this. This is, um, amending our action plan to shift
some funds around with our Community Development Block Grant, so in short,
every year, uh, we set forth an action plan that tells the federal government and
the general public how we're going to spend our CDBG dollars. Uh, we did that,
and in this case, uh, we're looking to do a mid -year amendment to the plan. Um,
if you recall, or for the new Council Members, we do a set-aside amount, uh, with
our CDBG allocation. We set aside $75,000 for neighborhood improvements and
that's a fairly new policy. I think that was adopted last year. Uh, in this case,
we're suggesting that we take $25,000 of that $75,000 pot and put it to Highland
Park. Um, Highland Park received some renovations this past year. There's an
active neighborhood association that's raising funds for some additional
improvements and a $25,000 will supplement their efforts and really complete the
renovation of that park. It is in an eligible census tract, and so staff is
recommending approval.
Markus: To be eligible you have to be in a .... a CDBG qualified neighborhood for low to
moderate income. So as Geoff indicates, this particular census tract meets that
qualification, uh, before it could even be considered for funding like this.
Throgmorton: Great. Thank you! Uh, anybody want to speak to this topic? Seeing no one I'll
close the comment period (bangs gavel) Is there a motion to adopt this, uh,
amendment?
b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 13
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? I'd just like to say I
appreciate seeing the improvement that will take place at Highland Park. I think
this'll be a terrific addition.
Mims: Think it's also important to note that this was unanimously, uh, approved by the
Housing and Community Development Commission.
Throgmorton: Uh huh. Okay, any further discussion? Roll call.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 14
ITEM 8. ICDD FUNDRAISING - RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE IOWA CITY
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT FOR FUNDRAISING EXPENSES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE ART WORK PORTION OF THE NORTH
PEDESTRIAN MALL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AT A NOT TO
EXCEED COST OF $50,000
Botchway: Move for adoption.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Uh, at...at this moment, I'd like to
invite anyone who would like to address this topic (both talking)
Mims: ...Marcia first though?
Throgmorton: Yeah, uh, I'm sorry. Marcia, it's part of our intention to have Marcia provide us
with a little bit of background information first. Thank you, Susan, and ... and then
there'll be ample opportunity for others to speak. Hello, Marcia! Good evening.
Bollinger: Good evening. Um, I am Marcia Bollinger. I sort of have a dual role at the City
of Iowa City. I am the Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator, but I also, um, staff
the Public Art Advisory Committee, who somewhat oversees the public art
program that we have, but I am here with that second hat on tonight. Um, I
thought it might be worthwhile to spend a little bit of time just talking through
how we have gotten to where we are ... with, specifically with, um, with Balmond's
sculpture. Um, and more about how it relates to ... (several talking) Sorry about
that! (laughter) Um, to run through quickly, um, the steps that were taken, um,
since the inception of the concept of a signature art piece, um, for the Black Hawk
Mini Park. Um, it pretty much started ... um, through the process that, um, is
known as the street... downtown streetscape project. Um, there were a number of
meetings that occurred during that process (coughing, difficult to hear speaker)
public input meetings that we have listed up there, primarily kind of the
brainstorming sessions that Genus Landscape, um, who was contracted to do the
work, um, held with public, uh, members of the public, and um, invited input, the
public open houses, then took those ideas and kind of formulated them, um, into
something that people could take a look at and comment on. I'm simplifying this
a lot, but it...it just kind of gives you some outline. Within that process, um, it
became very evident that ... and there was much support for the concept of having,
um ... public art in the Black Hawk Mini Park location, and as part of the master
plan, um, these two images were included (mumbled) section, um, on Black
Hawk Mini Park for public art, and you can see the, um ... um ... the plat of the same
area, to give you a better reference. Um, John, you had asked that this particular
one be a ... that is included on the end, so...
Thomas: Oh this is adequate too.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 15
Bollinger: Um ... the Public Art Advisory Committee was surprised from the very beginning
on this concept of having public art, and the first discussion occurred in April of
2014. Um, the Public Art Advisory Committee also helped formulate what was
later accepted as the request for qualifications that went out, um, and I've listed on
here just a number of different venues that we sent it out through, to, not only,
um, and encourage participation by our local art community, but on a nationwide
basis. Um, some of the ... the cafe, the art deadlines, those are more web site
based, uh, call to artists, opportunities that (mumbled) we did receive several
proposals from those ... from those web sites. Um, during that time there was
discussion, um, occurring about who might be on a committee, other than the
Public Art Committee, that would be an artist Selection Committee, cause we
wanted to broaden the participation of who was involved in there. Um, so we did
end up with, uh, three members of the Public Art Advisory Committee, um, who
offered to be involved. Um, the University Art Museum, Shawn O'Hare, was
active throughout that. Um, the Iowa City Downtown District Board was
represented. Um, City Council Member and, um, there was also a local artist, um,
Shirley Wyrick who was on the committee. Um, their RFQ went out in
September of 2014 and there were 28 submissions that were received, um, for
that. I kind of went through and just did a ... a run down of where they came from.
I thought that was kind of interesting. Um, six from Iowa. We had a variety.
Nineteen others from other states. We had one from England who was Cecil
Balmond. Another from Spain, and another from Switzerland. Um, through...
the Selection Committee was involved throughout the whole review process for
these submissions, and um, there was a number of meetings that were involved.
Um, each, um ... we went through first all of the artists that had submitted and there
was a, um, selection process that paired it down to three artists that the Committee
wanted to talk with further. There were phone or Skype conversations that
followed that, and these are the three candidates — Vito Acconci, Hans Breder,
and Cecil Balmond were all both, uh, spoken with via either phone or Skype.
Hans Breder lives in town, so he came in person, and um ... then at that point it was
decided rather than make a decision, they really wanted the community to have an
opportunity to listen to ... to these artists and to see what they had to say, and so we
set up a series of open houses, um, all occurring at the Library, um, for artists to
come into town to meet first too with the steering committee and with staff to
learn a little bit more about what the vision was and to get a little bit of history
about the streetscape project. Um ... but they all presented, uh, presentations. The
public was invited. Those presentations actually are still on the City's web site if
you want to see them. Um, and those occurred through ... from November through
December of 2014. Shortly after that, the Selection Committee convened
and ... and selected Cecil Balmond as the artist, to ... to develop a concept, um ... uh,
design for the downtown ped mall art project, and at that point then, um, there
was a contract that was, uh... entered into between the Genus Landscape and
Design, um, to ... to complete the, um, for the design services of the ... the, uh,
pedestrian mall, the design but it also included a 25,000 art design fee, um, that
they would then work with Cecil in order to be able to develop this design, that he
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 16
eventually ended up, um, showing to the public, um, in October of 2015. There
were a couple other, um, receptions that occurred at that point in March of 2014.
There was a reception that we held to introduce Cecil Balmond to, um, downtown
business owners, to ... to the art community in Iowa City, um, Downtown District
representatives, that type of thing. Urn ... and then the design committee also
participated and came in separately to have separate conversations with Cecil, via
Skype typically, to kind of run through just what some of the design ideas he had
and he did a couple little previews along the line. Um, these are some of the
sketches that came from that design. This series that you're looking at here came
from the Balmond Studios. And you'll... you'll notice that they're very focused on
the actual art sculpture. There's very little attention paid to the rest of the
downtown streetscape project, and I can bring these back up as you might want to
see them. Um, these images were, uh, created by Genus Landscape and they ... did
incorporate the landscaping, so you get a better sense of really, uh, how it fit onto
the site and ... and what the other, um, elements that would ... would contribute to
the project. Um, I'm going to ... move to ... we also have a short animation that the
Balmond Studios provided to us. It'll give you a better sense too, I think, of the
scale of the project. Um, that is all I have. Do you have questions or ... did, um,
anything in particular you'd like to see in terms of...John, did you want to have
your ... that's what I had here ... (mumbled) (several talking and laughing) Yeah, I
wanted that (mumbled) Go ahead!
Throgmorton: Are there questions for Marcia?
Botchway: I have two questions, and so, um, the relative height to the, um, the, kind of
lowest building that's closest. What's the height there? So there's (both talking)
yeah, the lowest height building in that area. I think it's to the left (both talking)
so to the left.
Bollinger: The lowest height building is likely the Artisans Gallery building or .... or, I don't
know the exact name, um, and the estimate was that it would meet pretty much
the top, like the top windows. That's about 30 -feet at that point.
Throgmorton: Yeah, so it's approximately three stories in height.
Bollinger: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: Correct? Yeah.
Bollinger: (mumbled)
Thomas: Marcia, if I understand then the way you described the process, the um. .... the
artist was selected based on their ... their own work (both talking)
Bollinger: Their qualification.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 17
Thomas: Their portfolio and qualifications.
Bollinger: Uh huh.
Thomas: No one publicly ... the actual proposal wasn't developed until after the, uh, artist
was selected.
Bollinger: Exactly. Uh huh. It's very similar to the way the City hired their consultants.
Um, it's based on their capabilities, on their experience, and ... and with artists
particularly you ... you are looking at their ... their previous works. You're talking to
them about their observations of the area and ... and what they might be able to add
to the location. I ... I don't think ... it was very unanimous by the artist Selection
Committee that Cecil Balmond had a very good grasp of -well, the history of
Iowa City. He was very prepared when he first came and, um ... and just really had
some, um, wonderful ideas to be able to continue to use the Black Hawk Mini
Park space and ... as it had been (mumbled) years and respect its history.
Botchway: My question surrounds the trees. Is there any ... was there some type of artistic
design as far as why there's ... the reduction of the trees compared to the, kind of
the first concept, and then now?
Bollinger: Um ... if Af you watch his presentation, um, the concept process more than
involved the use of the space initially, and then he kind of works his way through
on how he's going to work with that space and ... and best utilize what's available.
Um, I ... I'm not ... I'm not an artist and, um, but he did a very good job in ... in
running through that and his presentation is available on the web site, as well.
Fruin: If I could add to that (clears throat) excuse me, I was involved in the master
planning process, uh, more so than Marcia so I can give you some history on, um,
how we ended up with the image that we did in the ... in the master plan. Um, this
was by far the most difficult part of the master plan, determining how Black
Hawk Mini Park should... should look, um, and how people should experience that
space. Um, we probably went through half a dozen, um, different iterations of
what that space could look like, and we floated several of those to the public in
different open houses, and frankly, um, none of them were overwhelmingly, uh,
supported. There was always just a feeling that we're missing something, and so
this ... idea of an anchor piece of at, um, really started to ... to resognate with
people,um, and we realized as a ... as a committee we can't really design a space
and then fit an anchor piece of art in it. It really has to work the other way
around. So what you see in the master plan, quite candidly, and I think we ... we
expressed this to the Council at the time, was a placeholder. We knew that we
had to at first develop the art piece, and then design the landscape around it. So,
um, while we did put the image, um, that you have in the master plan, um, we
didn't put a whole lot of stock into it, because frankly that piece wasn't defined. If
you look in the master plan, um, under the public art section, there's I think seven
or eight different concepts or ideas of what ... I shouldn't even say concepts, but
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 18
um ... uh (mumbled) examples of what that art may be. Everything from a fountain
to a structure to interactive art. We had no clue when we went forward with that
master plan. So, I think that's why you see the drastic change. The space around
the Lens here, um, was designed ... in collaboration between the artist and the
landscape architects.
Cole: I have a question about the $50,000, because that's what we're here to decide
tonight. Obviously I think that could have an impact about the project, but when
was that first proposed? Because that has not been clear to me; and two, um, part
of the information I think has been sent out to the public is this is 100% gonna be
privately funded. Not one penny of public dollars is going to go to support that,
but that's not actually true in my view. It's a partially funded public project, and
insofar as we have a $50,000 fundraising request, it is going to require public
funds. So what was the precise time period in which the $50,000 was first
proposed?
Throgmorton: I think Geoff can answer that (both talking)
Fruin: That was at your last meeting.
Cole: Okay. So it'd never been proposed until two weeks ago?
Fruin: Yeah, whenever... whenever that last meeting took place, yeah, approximately two
weeks ago.
Throgmorton: Do ... do, do we have other questions for Marcia?
Cole: Well I thought she'd be able to answer that (mumbled)
Throgmorton: Yeah. Thanks for walking us through that process, Marcia.
Bollinger: Okay, no problem!
Throgmorton: As you know, I've been involved in some of that, so it's ... a lot of it is pretty
familiar (both talking)
Bollinger: ...anybody wants to (mumbled)
Throgmorton: Okay, I think there are several people out there who would like to address this
topic as well, so please come forth.
Bird: Good evening. My name is Nancy Bird. I'm the Executive Director of the Iowa
City Downtown District, and first thank you very much for, um, having this
conversation about public art. I'm glad we're actually having it. We want to be
deliberate about what we do, and we certainly want the Council's support. Um, as
I've mentioned in the past, the Downtown District works very hard at tackling
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 19
items of consensus, and during the 2014 streetscape planning process, um, there
was actually a very strong call for public art as a visual ankler ... anchor for
downtown, as Geoff mentioned. There was many iterations and there just was
always something missing and the committees and the, uh, the public that came,
no one could ever quite put their finger on it, but public art was the call. Um, so a
visual reflection that downtown is a cultural center for the community and the
region was very important. (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) home to the
historic Englert Theater and Riverside Theater. We have a new Film Scene and
the future locations of the University of Iowa School of Music and Art Museum.
We wanted a real reflection of what that is for downtown. You know, there are
other areas in the region that are starting to distinguish themselves. We really
need to make sure that we're known for that cultural entity that we are. Um, in
response to the, um, the—the public feedback, the City staff was really challenged
to make up and broaden the conversation to include stakeholders at the University
of Iowa, and within the local art community. The selection of the public art was
left to a committee of local Iowa artists and residents, and we a testament to the
City's promotion of the process and we at the District did our very best to ensure
that we had as many people participate as possible. The feedback by residents
that we have heard from has reflected some concerns with the scale, but the
majority of the feedback has been mostly very, very positive. Uh, in response to
the fundraising mechanism that you will vote on tonight, I wanted to bring a
couple of things to your attention. A professional fundraising will be necessary to
raise the capital to get it built, I mean that's just the way things are ... are done these
days. There isn't anyone really that I know of in a professional setting that is
raising a large sum of money without some professional support. The return on
the City's investment couldn't be better for a $500,000, uh, piece of art for
$50,000, and it's well documented through the National Endowment for the Arts
that communities that invest in the arts, see upward of a 1 to 10 ratio in the
reinvestment from the private sector. So it's a really ... it's a good investment, um,
and it's a good reflection of who we are as a downtown and the kinds of things
that I think this community supports. Um, so just to ... to really call it out, if the
votes this evening don't support the mechanism to fund it, um, I ask you to help us
lead us to the solution that will fulfill and respect the public engagement process
that has already been conducted. I mean, it's not that, um, you know, you go
through these processes and at the end you assume that ... that the plan you're
working on is going to have support from the City. So to get this far along and
then not to have that support, whether it's, uh, fundraising or anything else, it...it
leads the public to get a little frustrated. Um, there were thousands of people
involved in the streetscape update, and if you want the public to trust the Council,
these processes need to be respected. To go back would require additional staff
time and consultant resources to fill in the design hole left in the north ped mall.
So if you're trying to save the $50,000, um, you may end up spending it anyway
by changing the process at this point. So we appreciate your consideration of
those points and really hope that you support the project. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Nancy.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 20
Eastham: My name is Charlie Eastham. I live at 953 Catherine Street in Iowa City. Um,
again, the issue before you, as Rockne I think has stated, is whether or not the
City should use up the $50,000 to pay for a fundraising effort for this public art
piece on public property. Uh (clears throat) I don't want to talk about the public
art piece, um ... it may or may not be good. I don't know anything about art, so I
don't know. Uh (clears throat) the, uh... but I do want to talk about the
fundraising, and I (mumbled) the fundraising, the request for $50,000 to pay for
professional fundraising, and the context of the Englert Theater. Back in the
1990s, maybe. My memory's a little shaky nowadays, uh (clears throat) a group
of citizens, which included local downtown businessmen, and myself and my wife
to some very small extent, uh, got together to raise funds and provide labor for
renovating the Englert Theater into the public space it is today. I don't recall
(clears throat) and I was at least tangentially involved in the decisions about how
to do that fundraising. I don't recall Iowa City contributing $50,000 for us to
have ... to engage a professional fundraising. I think all that fundraising was
making a bunch of goof -balls like me getting together and, uh, doing the
fundraising ourselves, and that fundraising was done on a community basis.
There were elementary school classrooms who raised ... money on their own to
contribute to saving and renovating the Englert Theater. There was a young child
living on Summit Street who in the summertime set up her own lemonade stand,
specifically for the purpose of raising money to contribute to saving the Englert
Theater. Now if there is community support for this art piece in this place, in the
downtown mall, things like that can (mumbled) what will happen? The ... folks
that want to have this happen can easily form themselves into a fundraising group
and see if there is widespread community support. We don't need to have ... we
don't need to pay for professional fundraising for this. We need community
fundraising, uh, for this piece, because of its location and place. And, uh, it's, uh
.... a ... a place in the City's future. So I hope you'll just revisit, um, what happened
to the Englert and how that came about. Thanks.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Charlie. Hi there!
Davisson: Hi there! My name's Sheila Davisson. I live at 6 Brickwood Knoll. I also own a
business in the downtown ped mall, Revival. I've been on the ped mall about
eight years now, and I'll also just joined the Downtown District Board this past
fall. So I'm kinda coming on to some of this new, as well, but um .... one thing
that I just really wanted to ask you guys to support this resolution because there
already has been a process in place, and there's been, um ... decisions made about
it. It's really not about the art ... the ... the project itself, but I'd just like to see it go
forward and I'd like to see the Council support the existing businesses that are
down there, but also ... just support the downtown as a community, as a place to
gather, and really invest in that, and let us provide this really, you know, pivotal
place for people to come and gather. So ... thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Sheila. When did you say you moved to Iowa City?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 21
Davidson: Well I moved to Iowa City ... I grew up here in Iowa City, but I moved ... my
business has been downtown for eight years.
Throgmorton: Yeah. Thanks.
Lechay: Uh... hi, I'm Dan Lechay. I live at 528 Clark Street, and I would like to thank you
first of all for delaying your decision about this project at your last meeting. I
hope you've been able to revisit the ped mall, as you consider the pros and cons,
and I ask that you now reject this proposed sculpture. I wonder I could ask you to
swivel your chairs around and look behind you, at the line where the back wall
meets the ceiling. Just turn your chairs around and look up there. That line is 15 -
feet high. 15 -feet ... from the floor. The sculpture would be 15 -feet higher, 30 -feet
high, and also 30 -feet wide. I hope you will keep those dimensions in mind, let
them loom in your thoughts, as you deliberate the fate of a little plaza where we
go. That plaza is an intimate and beautifully proportioned place, space. Its
neighbors are mainly two and three-story buildings, many of them 130 to 150 -
years -old. Many a European city would love to have this space. Imagine it filled
with trees, plantings, chairs, tables, shaded by multi -colored umbrellas and food
carts offering fare from around the world. You've seen the proposed sculpture.
Short of actual violence, could there be a more aggressive takeover of public
space? To me this is something you'd expect to see in the courtyard of some
Trump Towers somewhere, maybe Las Vegas on your way to the casinos. It
doesn't ennoble or inspire, it doesn't express who we are or what we aspire to be.
It doesn't draw you in to contemplation or meditation, or happiness. What it does
have is sheer power, shock and awe. It is arrogant, brash, and vulgar. It is
Donald Trump! Recently the City of Iowa City posted photos of the proposal on
Facebook, along with some puffery about how famous Balmond is, how lucky we
are that he's designing a sculpture for us, and so on. It even claimed Balmond has
Midwestern roots, as if that made the sculpture more relevant. All this made me
think one person was right when she wrote on Facebook in response to a post of
mine: It would make us a waffing stock, evoking the image of Iowa as the home
of country hicks, and Iowa City as pretentious in its attempt to copy large cities
with huge sculptures. The ped mall, really? The City's Facebook site couldn't
control the public's responses to its post. By my count just four people shared the
official enthusiasm. All the other responses ranged from questioning to appalled
to various obscenities. So the City can put the best face on it, but the project is by
no means wildly popular with the people of Iowa City. I have seen some of the
supportive letters in your Information Packet and I've heard these, uh, supporters
just now speaking. I notice they say we must keep Iowa City moving forward.
They talked about our traditional support of the arts. They say art always inspires
controversy. But no one has said "I wuv it. It's beautiful." "It's moving." "It's
inspiring," and that's because it's not. Thomas Dean has written, 'It consumes the
entire space, replacing the park with a site installation.' Whether that installation
becomes a beloved symbol of community identity or a monstrous half million
dollar white elephant remains to be seen. That's Thomas Dean. The imminent
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 22
retired professor Carl Klaus wrote to the Press -Citizen: It is monstrously large. It
will dominate the pedestrian plaza and diminish opportunities for the lively and
varied social interactions that now transpire there. It's tyrannically large lens will
not enrich our lives. A few more quotes from Facebook: Looks like a gigantic
egg sh... egg slicer. Bad public art. Formally, conceptually, culturally,
historically it is just a misfit to Iowa City. It's way too big. Completely out of
scale. Way too large. Here's more: Hideous sculpture. Here's another: To me
this looks like a giant device for burning ants. Fugly. Here's another: The eye
will look at you with the trick of the light. The eye will look at you, and that's not
from the critic. That's a quote from Balmond himself. No wonder a writer for
Architectural Review wrote, `Balmond's practical skill is beyond reproach, but
his visual taste raises doubts." So don't believe the hype that Balmond is a
revered artist. He isn't. He's best known as an engineer, not an artist, and for
working with Anish Kapoor on a tower and steel icon so called "For London" that
is generally loathed.
Throgmorton: Dan ... Dan ... Dan (both talking) Could ... could you wrap it up, please?
Lechay: Yeah! One more half a minute. One critic wrote in Art and Auction: Kapoor's
design, everybody's seen is very keen to repeat, will be 72 -feet taller than the
Statue of Liberty. I quote this to suggest that super -sizing seems to be what they
use when genuine insp... inspiration fails. So why aren't more people here
protesting if people don't like it? Maybe it's political burnout, but I think of it like
most Americans, Iowa Citians lack faith in the political process. They believe
that Balmond is a done -deal. They believe that the billionaire class runs America,
and the multi -millionaire class runs Iowa City. They think Iowa City's business
interests are intertwined with City Hall and that you can't fight City Hall.
Whatever you decide tonight, I know you have the best interest of Iowa City at
heart. Still, I hope you will prove the critic ... cynics wrong. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Dan.
Ginsberg: Well (mumbled) in Chicago's Millennium Park attracts millions, just FYI.
Urn ... also, I was involved with Dick Summer ... I'm Mark Ginsberg. I have a
business in downtown Iowa City. I've been here, um, back in Iowa City for 30
years. Um ... the Englert Theater, I remember, uh, approaching Kip Pohl when he
wanted to turn that into a dinner theater and a bar, um ... it was Dick Summerwell,
Jim Harris, uh, Daryl Woodson, myself who approached him, and by the way, the
City gave $700,000 to initially loan the money to the Englert before we got the
money from the State. So, there's that! Anyway, my thought is ... let death be
what takes us, not a lack of imagination. So let me introduce myself. I consider
myself a philanthropic capitalist. I'm not going to provide you a pro forma
explanation of why you should support this particular investment in art, rather I'm
going to provide you my philosophical perspective. I believe that our community
grows as a result of public and private investment, and partnerships. I think we
all agree that this town would not be the same without the University of Iowa and
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 23
it's 30,000 -plus population, but those of us who have decided to move here, raise
a family, grow a business, improve and participate in the quality of life have every
right to expect that the public looks to leverage private participation and the
private looks to leverage public participation. Let me highlight a few examples.
It's because of public and private investment that we have the Englert Theater.
The gallery walk. Friday Night Concert Series. Iowa City Jazz Festival. Iowa
City Arts Festival. Saturday Night Free Movie Series. Film festivals. Friday
Afternoon Music Series. Mission Creek Festival. Riverside Theater. Film Scene.
Iowa Youth Writing Program. The Book Festival. Destination as UNESCO City
of Literature. Pianos in the Street. And the newest is Open City, which is a pop-
up performance, just to name a few. All of these have taken a combination of our
private community and our city's participation. All of us here have consistently
been proactive, challenging to educate, engage, attract, entertain, and provoke
Iowa City, the State, this country, and ... our entire shrinking world. It's because of
this culture that I was attracted back to raise my family, begin a business, hire
employees, pay a fair wage, and why others are looking and attracted to Iowa
City. It is our culture that creates the increasing diversity, and it is that diversity
that also creates our community's challenges. We want a strong economy to
afford the basics such as food, shelter, clothing. We want to feel safe. We want
to participate in each other's lives. We are not looking to silence our differences,
we are trying to understand and embrace 'em without fear, and so what does this
have to do with investing in public art? Let me turn the page, I'll tell ya (laughs)
I can't be in any other community and stand next to a piano and listen to Verde
one day, ragtime the next, and gospel the next. I can't meet Roy Haynes, Paquito
D'Rivera, or T.S. Monk Jr. I can't stare north on Dubuque Street from downtown
at a proactive (can't hear) bridge without discussing it with anyone standing next
to me. And most important, I can't meet new cultures or ways of thinking that
stretch my personal understanding and comfort. I can't meet Chad Simmons,
Henry Harper, Nancy Bird, Caroline Dieterle, Andre Perry, Andy Stohl, Kingsley
Botchway, Rockne Cole, or Karen Kubby. You know what allows us to create
these new neighbors is this culture. This art. These events that continue to
perform without prejudice of skin color, religious preference, sexual preference or
social economic condition. They all exist for us to enjoy without a barrier to
entry. And why? Because our city, families, children, and businesses have given
these programs, public art, festivals, and series that chance at life. We're not
asking the City to invest more than what we think is fair. We want to continue to
provoke and promote this alter ego that we call Iowa City. We ... the community...
remain in Iowa City to encourage engagement and participation and our
community government should love that. We have to ask ourselves, what is it
that attracts us, our families, and our businesses to an area. I would suggest it's
many things. There's not just one answer. But one powerful attractant is our
culture. Those things that distinguish us from other areas. That is ... our people,
customs, recreation... in a word, our art.
Throgmorton: Mark, could you please wrap it up?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 24
Ginsberg: I will wrap it up! What defines us and makes us unique is what makes our life
exciting and creative, not surprising this is also has the ability to attract visibility
in humans wanting and willing to engage. Henry Moore the sculpture once wrote
the secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to.
Something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life,
the most important thing is it must be something that you must ... you cannot
possibly finish. But we keep on working towards that goal for the next
generations and it is because of this that we are all here. I ask that you support
this investment. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Mark. We have people who care greatly about this, I know. Um,
please try to stay within five minutes out of respect to everybody else (mumbled)
(several talking and laughing) I know! I know! (mumbled)
Jain: My name is Ritu Jain. I live at 829 Kirkwood Avenue. I also have a business
downtown for the last 25 years. I've been on the ped mall, and I'm also the
President of the Downtown District, and I'm here to ask you to support this
measure because I think this is an important piece for the downtown and for the
city. I don't think downtown stands separate from the city and we shouldn't think
of it as that. I grew up in Iowa City. I've been here since I was 4 -years -old.
Downtown has always been where I go for entertainment, for anything. As a kid I
went to the comic book stores, the Library, and college. I spent a lot of time
downtown doing what college students do, and now ... I have a business there and
that's where I spend most of my time, and I think making a stronger downtown in
the city makes the city stronger. I've seen other cities trying to develop
downtowns, where there aren't any. We have a great downtown, a thriving
downtown that I think... highlights Iowa City and we should do what we can do
make it better, and I think this art piece would be, maybe the Bean of Iowa City.
It's ... it's, I think Balmond's vision was ... to have it an iconic piece. This is what
people will identify Iowa City with. So ... I ... I hope you'll support this proposal. I
think it would be a beneficial one for Iowa City. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Ritu.
Olmstead: I'm still Harry Olmstead! (laughs) Um, I wasn't going to speak to this, but as I
sat there listening, it dawned on me about the merits that we're talking about and
our values. I appreciate art. And I'd love to see a sculpture downtown. But I also
value humanity, and those that have suffered in our community. People through
DVIP, Shelter House, the Food Bank, the Crisis Center, and I could go on. They
could use that money as well. And I know I'm just joining the Housing and
Community Development, uh, Commission, that we couldn't give everybody the
money they wanted. So I ask you to vote your conscience and your values in this.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Harry.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 25
Dieterle: Um, I am Caroline Dieterle. (clears throat) I guess one of the questions that
occur to me right away is is there anyone besides (mumbled) representatives of
the downtown that really want this? Um ... public support of public art is a concept
that's gained a lot of strength here, particularly in recent years, and I've been one
of the supporters of it. I know people who are artists and I know that they are
usually not flush with a lot of money, and I think that we need to encourage them
to follow their instincts to produce art and not say, oh it's not worth it; I can't ever
get anything out of it; I ... I better just go work for (mumbled) We need people
who ... to stay in art; however, I think that this ... this, um, project if it goes through,
particularly with $50,000 of public money, um, is going to give this support for
public art a setback. Because if we support public art, will we always have, uh,
projects of this ex ... expensive example given to us? Will none of the less
ex ... expensive things get considered? Um, was there a budget proposed at the
beginning of this project? Originally no public funds were to be raised, and this
was publicized several times. And I think that this probably led many, like me, to
not either participate or because I .... I was afraid it would be something in the way
it is, or ... because I felt that I had no right to really object since it wasn't any of my
money. It was part of...to go up on some of what I would like to consider my
space, as well as all other Iowa Citians' space, and I was very sorry when it came
out that it was going to be this huge thing. I mean it is going to so dominate the
downtown that I don't think anybody will have eyes for anything else. And all of
the nice things that were enumerated by the pre ... one of the previous speakers
are ... is going to be minimized by this overwhelming, large thing looming over
everything. And the idea that they couldn't worry about where trees could be or
places for people to sit, um, you know I think is extremely concerning. I don't
think that that's going to bring people downtown. And if they're having trouble
getting donations, it indicates to me a lack of desire on the part of the general
public to see it installed. The 1105 project raised, uh... I think about $1.5 million,
and um, I talked with the person who was, uh, in charge of getting the funds, and
she said that she was not paid and that they had no paid staff to try to ... to raise
that huge amount, and yet they were able to do it because people wanted that.
They felt sympathy for the people who now use the 1105 project and they, you
know, thought it was well worth it, pitching in their little donations. (clears
throat) And so ... I'd like to know how much has been raised so far, and how many
donors were there? And what were the, what was the, uh, minimum donation, as
well as the maximum donation? Because this might tell you something about the
acceptability of the project. The other thing is is that I lived in Iowa City a very
long time and (clears throat) at some time in the dim past, which is now faded into
the sands of time, the City Council decided to put a sculpture in what is now, uh,
Chauncey Swan Park. And I don't know whether any of you remember it, it was a
large piece. It wasn't anywhere near the size of the Lens, but I would say that it
had to be ... oh at least as high as the ... as the upper frame of that door. And
probably, um, maybe twice as wide as the ... height of the door. And it was
basically two large saucer -like pieces of metal that were copper colored, sitting on
a base, and the town (laughs) started calling it the 'golden koozie.' And, um,
eventually we were happy to find it disappeared off that park, and the park is far
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 26
more aesthetically pleasing without the golden koozie (clears throat) than it was
when it was there. And I don't know what people will start to call the Lens, but to
me it looks like, um ... a giant spare tire that somebody has left in the middle of our
dear downtown. And I hope you do not put public money into this.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Caroline.
Ross: I would add, uh, Brandon Ross, I would say that, uh, there were a lot of good
points brought up. Um ... I think that, um ... that Iowa City provides a lot of art and
uh, we should provide more, and that Caroline Dieterle's point about, uh, funding
artists who do not have the money is ... is a good thing. I take a lot of heart at
what, uh, Dan Lechay said about the aesthetics, uh, especially I myself came her
to go to the Writer's Workshop. Uh... I've been a physical artist and a musician.
So I have an aesthetic. Um ... I will insert here just this ... this thought that this
morning I looked on my computer for some news and noticed that there was a
photograph that had sold for, uh, a million dollars and I looked at it and I thought,
oh, it must be...it looks like ... it's kinda like the moon or something, there's this
dark background and this sphere, and I thought ... wow, um ... it turns out it's a
potato, uh, sold for a million dollars. Picture of a potato, um ... and it, uh, kind of
reminded me cause as I look at this structure I do see something that's very large
in power and inspiring, but does not feel very community inspired. And, uh, one
of the pictures, uh, showed these people who were at the top of the steps looking
through the bars and for some reason all I could think of was jail. And that we
seem to have a culture that's, uh, that's a little bit heavy in jailing people, and it is
something that would appear maybe in a power place, like a New York City, a
Trump Tower area. It is! It ... it basically is. It fits that. And so aesthetically to
me it's the big potato. Uh, to you, uh, I think that you have to use your ... your
judgments as to whether or not you like it. Uh, is this what represents Iowa City?
Um, someone here who spoke, uh, just a little while ago who's native from here,
uh, and I really appreciate that, she ... she wants the City to have a kind of emblem,
but I ... I'd prefer not to have an emblem, you know, say like the Nike, uh, emblem
or something that's ... that stands for Iowa City. I ... I don't want to be emblemized.
I don't want to, um, brand us with some kind of large thing. Uh, so
personally... I'd rather not go with the big potato!
Wyrick: I'm Shirley Wyrick. I'm a sculptor and I'm also ... I was on the committee for the
panel sele... or the panel that was selecting the artist, and I have written to the City
Council. I don't know if you've all read, because I came in a little later, but for the
audience's ears, I had a few points I didn't want to belabor this, but I do ... I want to
start at the end of what I said, because after watching that moving video, or Power
Point, I had not seen that and that is a beautiful piece of art. That if you can
imagine ... had all sorts of views to go around there, and it's gorgeous! It's also
sitting in Black Hawk Mini Park, which is ... we tried as a committee to ... help Mr.
Balmond to understand the background of this work, or the ... of the area, the
whole idea ... of the Black Hawk Mini Park, which is to de ... design, to have
speakers within it, people... people who bring concerns, demonstrations, all of
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 27
those things circulate. There is seating around this. There's a speaker's platform,
and that's very important to the whole concept. The fact of the ... large piece,
which is mass ... not massive, but monumental, is working because I've made some
tall sculptures too and ... I'll tell you the reason it works is that it's not invading the
surface, where people are walking around, first of all. But what I see in that
sculpture is I ... a very large circle. This very large circle to start with, and I see it
as ... having extensive meaning as a circle, which is universal and ancient,
symbolic meanings, cyclical movement just as our town has cyclical movement
within it, and .... and I think this is, that Cecil has hit the nail on the head as far as
seeing into our community. The eye inside, for instance, represents our unending
search for truths. The Lens being tilted allows (mumbled) to focus on that area
that is for... gathering, for ... for demonstrating, for protesting and whatever you
want, but ... it isn't obstructing. If you get ... if you were taking a good look at what
this sculpture is doing, it is not invading the ... walking level. The Lens is allowing
us freedom to speak, to demonstrate, to discuss, and the cladding of the circle is
so a stone and ... and the color of it is pipe stone. Very much related to the
works ... work to the original concept of Black Hawk Mini Park. Black Hawk
himself was a protester. The Lens allows light to pass through its several struts
and it connects the work to the universe, and allowing that light to pass through
those sev... several struts and it makes, as the sun makes its rounds, you have a lot
of different shadow patterns, fascination! You're going to have that. That's all
I've read into it before I saw that. I see so much more in that sculpture and I think
other people are going to. Now I will go back to the fact that I did the work for
the County building called The River, time is a river without banks, in 1986, and
I've had everyone ... I've had people from all walks of life who find out I did that
work and they offered me their ideas of what that work is about. And believe me,
I didn't even know that I'd put some of those things into the work, but that is the
beauty of an abstract piece, that you ... it expands and you can't ... I mean, other
meanings are attached, continually, to a work of art. I believe Cecil has created a
fantastic downtown piece and, uh, a good ... good thing, and if you go back and
look at that. Now I will speak to one other thing and (both talking)
Throgmorton: (both talking)
Wyrick: I have a little tied to the ... to fundraising (both talking)
Throgmorton: Shirley, excuse me. Could you please wrap it up?
Wyrick: I will! But I have a little tie to fundraising. My husband was a master fundraiser
for the University of Iowa Foundation. $50,000 would help you to ... tap the
community and ... then you can decide whether you want to add more to it, but I
hope you'll... you'll go with this and try to expand on this idea. It's easy to say... I
can do it myself, but it isn't so easy anymore.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 28
Throgmorton: Thank you, Shirley! Are there other people who would like to speak to this topic?
Well I don't see anybody else, so .... let me, it's been a while since we were at this.
Have I already, have we already done a motion?
Karr: ...have a motion on the floor.
Throgmorton: Okay. Discussion?
Mims: Well I'm going to support this. Um, I, again, I think the process that has been
involved from the very beginning, um, is incredibly important. The ... the interest
by the public in general, um, strong support by the public in general for artwork in
the downtown area. Um, I think there's been a long process, uh... uh, Marcia went
through that in terms of public engagement, public input, um, and the issues
they've done there. I would also (laughs) kind of echo what Shirley just said — I
think the times have really changed and the ability to fundraise, um, has changed
over time. And I think the ... the comment on the Englert was interesting, that, um,
you know, maybe they didn't pay professional fundraisers, but to really jumpstart
them, the City made a huge commitment and certainly that has ... has paid off for
us. I think ... along with what Nancy Bird said, I think we've ... the amount of public
engagement and long process that has been involved here for us to not take this
next step and leverage hopefully a 10 to 1 return on our money for this is really a
setback to the public in terms of what is the City's commitment to projects of this
type. I mean, we committed $25,000 about a year ago, uh, to commission just
the, you know, the ... kind of a general idea with Balmond of what might be done.
Um, I agree there is no question that there are plenty of, uh, demands for public
money in this community. More than we can ever possibly fund. But I think that
doesn't mean that we just ignore other things, and I think particularly what is most
powerful for me here is the leveraging of this public money with private money
on a 10 to 1, and so I'm definitely supportive of it. Let me make one other
comment. Lot of people have talked about whether they like or don't like the art.
Irrelevant! That (laughs) you know, like it or not, the decision, as you said
earlier, Rockne, that's not what is before us right now, whether we personally like
or dislike. Public process, people to select the artist, work through all of that —
what we're here to make a decision on whether we will put forward that 50,000 to
leverage 500. (several talking)
Cole: Well, we've talked a lot about process and I think what concerns me is that part of
that process, we did not articulate from the get -go that the City would be making a
$50,000 commitment. Um ... that, as I understand, Geoff, that was two weeks ago
that came up for the first time, um, but I think if we're talking about a transparent
public process, we need to identify that at the front end. Um, I am not supportive
of this, um, I think that it does not mean the project can't go forward. Um, I
wouldn't categorically rule out reconsidering this in the future, um, but I guess I
have more confidence in the community, uh, essentially 15 years ago ... we're not
talking about 1925. We're talking about 2000 with the Englert process. And if
we can't leverage I think a $5,000 process to essentially a ... a 550, um, I think we
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 29
need to re-evaluate this. So I'm ... I am not supportive of it. And one final
comment, um, I think as we have these healthy debates, um, we can have these
discussions about what sort of things we can (mumbled) but I think in terms
of...to the extent you're trying to persuade someone on the fence, it doesn't seem
to be particularly helpful to me to sort of say, well, one side of the community
gets it and the other part doesn't. These are healthy discussions that we should
have. I think we need to keep an open mind about that. It's true, um, certain
public art processes have been criticized and have been wild successes, the most
obvious one being the Eiffel Tower. Second one to be the Statue of Liberty.
They have been very controversial and they were very successful, but there's an
equal list of public art projects that have been disastrous failures, as well. Um, I
think of for example the Boston City Hall (mumbled) I think was the one that
designed that and people think that's a great public space. So I don't think it
follows that if we have great public art, we're automatically going to have a
wonderful public realm. Um, people can disagree with me about that, but I think
we just need to have this conversation where we might accept that other people in
the community have a voice too, and it's not a function of not getting it. It's a
function of a different point of view. So I'm not going to support this.
Botchway: You know, I was actually going to say I disagree with Susan, um, you know,
after ... after hearing some of the debate that occurred, um, in relation to just art
pieces, um, I actually think it's a cook piece. Um, I was not, um, excited about the
piece before this, but, um, after seeing that rendering as, um, I can't remember
your name, but the sculpture talked about (several talking) Shirley, I apologize, I
actually feel totally differently, um ... that being said ... I think it's the coolest piece.
There's other pieces of this I'll kind of quickly go through. You know I remember
the process being pretty extensive. I nec... I wasn't necessarily, um, a part or
paying attention as much as I probably should have to the process, so I do
apologize to the community for that, but I did Tweet about the fact that, you
know, these things were going on and so, um, hopefully as I'm asking for more
Twitter followers, people will pay attention to that, um, because it is important to
make sure you're paying attention at all times. The height doesn't necessarily, um,
make me excited about, um, the particular art piece, but you know, in relation to
the rendering that I saw, it isn't as, you know, ghastly as I initially thought. The
tree's discussion, I think Geoff mentioned, um, a little earlier. I was a little
concerned about the fact that, you know, it had removed a lot of the trees but, um,
again, after seeing the renderings of the piece, after kind of the conversation as far
as, um, you know, kind of the level of discussion or debate or healthy protest that
can occur there, I'm, you know, I feel differently about it. Um, the ... the one point
that I think Rockne brings up, and I think it's a great point, is the actual money,
which is the $50,000, and ... and I would agree with the fact that, you know, for the
fact that it's only been two weeks that it's brought to Council's attention, um, you
know it's something that made me think about it. I will say that, uh, I do
remember an individual at the last meeting, um, discussed that it was discussed at
the public meeting that money may have, um, be something that was going to be
brought up later on. So it might not necessarily have been brought up from a
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 30
Council standpoint, but at the actual public input meetings or actually after the
open houses, there may have been some discussion as far as the City providing
some type of dollars and some type of funds, and so I ... I don't want us to say that
it never came up at all because it could have came up .... or I think that he talked
about it coming up at that particular point. I ... I worry that, you know, um, in
supporting this cause I am supporting this. I'm just giving my reasons why. Um,
that people won't think that I'm, you know, very supportive of, um, giving money
to the hunger, homelessness, and affordable housing, and I ... I worry, you know,
along those same lines as you were talking about, of how we can sometimes
polarize the debate and state that, you know, while, um, one side is interested in
this, they're not interested in the other, and ... and I worry about that because I ... I
do think that, you know, I care very deeply about a lot of those things and ... and I
don't want my support of this to take away from it. Um, a question and also a
statement. I do believe that, um, there's escalators attached to this particular
money, like as far as ... is there escalators attached to this particular money?
Fruin: No, it would be structured as a'not to exceed,' so it's not necessarily going to be
50, but that would be the cap.
Botchway: The cap, okay. So ... that's just another point of reference to talk about. And then,
um ... lastly I'll just mention, you know, um, or two things I'll mention. There was,
you know, talk about City funds not necessarily given for certain things. 1105
project was mentioned. Um, the County actually, you know, put some, you know,
type of money towards that, I mean, um, the Englert was already mentioned. The
homeless shelter, albeit temporary, was also mentioned, and that was something
that the, um, City gave money towards. That was kind of done not necessarily
from a public debate standpoint, but more ad hoc as far as, you know, we should
do this and it was kind of given forth. And then the last part, you know, I've
looked in some different areas, um, I was actually trying to look up the, uh, the
public funding or the funding around some of the Des Moines art pieces that I've
literally driven to Des Moines just to be, um, participate in. I think this is a piece
that I will, you know, use a lot. I was thinking about my son, you know, possibly
hurting himself on some of the steps, but still enjoying it to a certain extent, and
so I'm going to be supportive of this project for those reasons and again, I ... to
Rockne's point, I hope that this, my particular support of this project doesn't mean
that I'm not, um, excited about supporting hunger, homelessness, and some of the
other things that obviously I feel like are important to the City as well. Sorry that
was long.
Throgmorton: It was all right! John, Pauline?
Thomas: Um, you know as Rockne said the, uh, this was, this request for $50,000 was not
something that was ... raised through the whole life of this project until, um, two
weeks ago. Um, I view this project as a private/public partnership. The City is
contributing just in the current five-year capital plan over $13 million toward ped
mall. That's 6.6 million. Uh, Washington Street is, what, 5.2 million. There are
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 31
projects on Burlington Street that exceed $2 million, and we're not even half way
through the downtown, um, in terms of the streetscape improvements. So the City
as a partner, and they truly are a partner. Geoff mentioned on the, uh,
Washington Street project, the City is contributing to the ... to the reconstruction
and repair and waterproofing of the vaults below grade, which are really the
responsibility of the property owner, um, to help with that particular effort. So
it...it truly is a joint public/private partnership. Urn ... so ... so from my standpoint,
you know, it seemed that this $50,000 if...if there was intention for the City to be
part of that, it should have been brought up earlier on. Um, I had always assumed
that there was almost that implicit understanding that given the amount the City
was putting toward improving the downtown, that those who are advocating for
the art enrichment, uh, were ... were going to cover that, and again, the ... the site
development around the sculpture will be done by the City. That's estimated right
now at $2.2 million. Uh, the other comment I would make is on the public, uh,
planning process. Urn ... and Geoff mentioned, and I ... I hope you all can remember
that image that was up there, that ... that was the stage at which the public
participation and in forming the concept for the ped mall and Black Hawk Mini
Park culminated. Now 1, you know, my background is in landscape architecture,
so I understand the fact that whatever that design consisted of in terms of it being
a placeholder, it might change, but I think it has certain qualities there and had
qualities, uh, in reading the summary on ... in that report it talked about intimate
seating areas, defined by trees and ground covers, a range of seating types, and it
even included a small children's play area in the program for that space. So ... so
that was from the public, at that point the public comment in terms of the
programming and character of that space stopped, and the art enrichment process
took over. And I think what seemed to happen to be, regardless of the details,
was that the ... the notion of that sculpture as a contributing element to the ped ... to
the Black Hawk Mini Park tr... was transformed into the art piece being the ... the
sum and substance of the mini park, and I think that was a dramatic change in
terms of the concept. We didn't, unfortunately, see that art until, uh, last fall, you
know, because the artist, uh, Cecil Bal ... Balmond was selected as an artist. We
did not see his proposal until last fall. I ... I've been involved in public art
enrichment projects where the finalists actually submit their proposal before the
selection is made. I, in retrospect and we're looking at this in hindsight, I think
that might have been a better approach, so we saw what the artist was thinking
about and how they were going to address the site before selecting the artist. You
know, that wasn't the way it was done, but, urn ... in the end I do think the ... what
I'm getting, and this is, you know, since last fall, is there is a mixed reception to
the piece, and that's unfortunate. Um, you know, I love the Bean. The Bean is a
fantastic piece, love ... love the whimsy of it and the sculptural character of it. I'm
personally not feeling that from ... from the Lens. So I've begun to view the .... the
fundraising as a way in which we can truly measure the community support for
that piece. Um, if...if we can't, as a community, raise that $50,000 that the City
would be contributing, I would say we're not in support of it. So ... so I'm not in
support of the $50,000.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 32
Throgmorton: Pauline?
Taylor: Well I would echo what Kingsley said that, uh, seeing the video, uh, it really
made the, uh, piece look beautiful. The color changing and etc., but I do have
concerns about the size, which has been mentioned, uh, because it does seem
overwhelmingly large to me. Uh, but as has also been said, uh, over and over, the
process has already happened and I would say, uh, that the support from the City
has been there throughout the process, even looking at the slides it looks like the,
uh, members of City (mumbled) were on board throughout the process, but I don't
believe a professional, uh, fundraiser is necessary, and certainly would not
support an agreement to fund $50,000, uh, to pay for a fundraiser. But I don't see
that as not supporting downtown. We have many, many projects in the budget
and our strategic plan, uh, that do support the downtown area. Uh, John
mentioned the Washington Street project. That's like millions of dollars and it's
going ... it's going to be just absolutely beautiful when it's finished. It's going to be
tedious, and uh, during the process, but it's going to be absolutely beautiful when
it's finished. So I don't see this as not supporting downtown. It's just, uh, being
fiscally responsible with our money.
Throgmorton: I hear three votes, uh, against the motion, two in favor. If...if it's three to three the
motion fails, is that correct? Yeah. So, uh... let me just express some views about
this, and then maybe suggest a way out (laughs) Uh, so ... I gotta find ... I want to
read some notes here so I can be clear about what I want to be saying here. So...
first of all I want to thank everybody for speaking on this topic, especially those
of you who have strong, passionate commitments. To be blunt, I'm feeling, very
personally, very divided about this, uh, and I think how I'm feeling inside myself
kind of reflects, uh, the broader community, uh, so ... as noted previously, I
participated in the Streetscape Design Committee and on the Artist Selection
Committee. Throughout both of those processes, I emphasized the widespread
concern that City government spends too much money on the downtown. Now I
know we've talked about this before. People can disagree, but I know there's
widespread, um, concern about that. With regard to the art project, I also
emphasized how important it is to have the project fit well into its physical,
historical, and symbolic context. I think anybody who was sitting in on those
meetings would.... would, uh... would agree that I made those points over and over
again. In my view, uh, a successful project would have to recognize the
historical, symbolic importance of Black Hawk Mini Park as a site that emerged
out of the struggles over urban renewal, as a community gathering spot for the
City's diverse publics, and as a focus ... locus for local political demonstration and
debate, and we're livin' it out right now! Political debate about what we want our
city to be and who we are. Having participated in the artist selection process and
having spoken with the artist, uh, Cecil Ba ... Balmond at length, and having
observed the process by which he took the physical, historical, and symbolic
context into account, I came to conclude that he had proposed a brilliant design.
I've said it in public and to friends in private, some of those friends are present in
the room right now. They know I've said this. And yet I am fully aware that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 33
people often disagree strenuously with regard to public art projects. And this is
the primary reason why I thought it was necessary to defer action in our last
meeting. I wanted people, people of this city, to know that they would have a
chance to express their views and have those views taken into account, and I hope
you've heard from ... my fellow Council Members that we've been paying attention
and trying to take what you've said into account. The potential for disagreement
is greatly increased by the historical and symbolic significance of the site. It rubs
us raw. It's important to us. So given the significance of the site and the
magnitude of the private fundraising effort, my sense is that to be successful any
private effort to raise $550,000 for this project would need strong support from
the Council. Strong support. It's not present. I mean, it's ... we're divided.
Moreover, despite my own appreciation for the artistic design, the question boils
down to this, I think, in the end — would the project be good for the people of the
city as a whole? In other words, would it advance the common good. And I ... I
think it's not quite clear that that is the case. We've heard many expressions of
support tonight, various people have highlighted the extensive process that we've
gone through and it's exactly right. We have. Uh, and they, especially Shirley, I
mean, Shirley, I was deeply affected by what you wrote, and you and I have
talked about this, uh, about how we feel about the project and what we ... how
we .... how we think it works artistically. You made a very strong case. But we've
also heard many reasons why the City should not support this project. So, it's
clear that the project has strong supporters and my sense is that it would be a very
positive asset for downtown businesses. I'm not persuaded that the broader public
supports it sufficiently for us to move ahead. Moreover, I recognize that the
Council itself is clearly divided over the question. I think this project needs
widespread public support from the community ... in order to move ahead. So ... the
motion's going to fail because of what we already said. There are already three
votes against it. So the ... we could ... we could defer indefinitely on this. That's a
possibility anyhow. So here's my question to supporters: if...if we def ..and you
can't answer this, I think, at the moment, but if we defer indefinitely, could you
come back to us with proposals about how to connect with the broader
community and find ways to, um ... generate funds from ... from ordinary people,
throughout the city, in the way that, Rockne, I guess you talked about with ... and
certainly took place with regard to the Englert. If we could see some evidence
like that, it seems to me, we could say yes. We'll do $50,000 to help with further
fundraising, but at the moment, uh, the support's not there. So ... I'm willing to
support ... uh, how would we do this? Uh, legally, if I want to get a motion to defer
indefinitely?
Dilkes: If...you ... you need to put the motion on the floor, get a second, and...
Throgmorton: Okay, so I ... I would like to make a motion... sorry!
Cole: Don't we have to get a finding on the original motion?
Throgmorton: Well I don't know; that's what I'm asking about.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 34
Dilkes: No, I think the motion to defer takes ... takes priority over (both talking)
Throgmorton: Okay, I'd like to move we defer on this indefinitely, with the caveat that I just
tossed out, and ... uh.... is there a second?
Taylor: Second.
Throgmorton: All right there's ... Throg... moved by Throgmorton, seconded by, uh, Taylor, uh,
that we, uh, defer indefinitely. Discussion?
Cole: I would like to decide tonight, Jim. I ... as I said in my comments, I could
reconsider in the future, um, but I don't think the case has been made so far, so I'd
like to make a decision tonight, um, maybe it's sort of six of one, a half dozen of
another. I'm not categorically ruling that out. I think we do have very articulate
spokespeople in favor of this project, but I ... I think we need to just decide no at
this particular time.
Throgmorton: I understand.
Botchway: Yeah, I would actually agree, as well, you know, um, you would be telling
people ... I mean at least from my perspective that, um, you know, the entire
process that you did previously, um ... didn't matter and that you need to go forth
and do more, um ... I just worry about the ... what we're stating, um, by saying that
and so I..1 would say if we're going to make a decision, we just might as well
make it tonight. That also being said, I ... I guess, cause I didn't get a chance to talk
about it before we moved to the next motion, um, I do worry about this from a
process standpoint cause there are a couple of different things that come to us,
um, from a, um, from a public perspective as far as what we need to give dollars
for, and if we're stating simply that, um, we may not like how, uh, particular
things happen in the process, I just want to make sure that we make clear ... every
time, ahead of time, exactly how that process should be, um, because I don't want
us to kind of pick and choose, um, from that standpoint because to me it just ... it
doesn't seem fair, it doesn't seem right.
Cole: But we're part of the process too. (several talking)
Botchway: I totally agree. No, I totally agree.
Throgmorton: (mumbled) in favor or opposed to the motion?
Botchway: Opposed, yeah, like I said I was opposed.
Throgmorton: Okay, two against. So...
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 35
Mims: I don't think I'm in favor of deferring because I'm not confident that we've got the
support from this Council if, no matter what they go out and do, that this
Council's going to support $50,000 down the road. So, I mean, if everybody here
would unequivocally say, yeah, if they raise X number of dollars and came back
to us, then we'd support the 50,000, then I'd say defer, but I ... don't sense that
there's necessarily that support here. So ... unfortunately I think we need to give
'em a decision tonight and people are going to have to figure out what they want
to do.
Cole: I ... I think we've stated, we're not, in my view we're not, at this point, stopping the
project, um ... and ... you know, as I said previously, this is a project, uh, and ... and
we ... we're giving examples of others that ... uh, inspire the community to the extent
that the fundraising took place. Um, so ... yeah, I'm not sure we gain by deferring.
You know, in the brief time I had in the two weeks, I talked to as many people as
I could, and I was not seeing strong support.
Throgmorton: Okay. Well ... there's clearly not support for the motion, uh, so I withdraw the
motion.
Karr: You're withdrawing it?
Throgmorton: Is that all right with you, Pauline? Since you seconded it. Okay, so there's a
motion on the floor...
Fruin: Mayor, can ... can I make a quick comment (clears throat) just in terms of where
the project goes from here. I think there needs to be, um, some direction at some
point, if not tonight, some point in the near future. This is in our capital
improvement plan for 17. There is additional design work that's needed, um,
to ... to carry this forward. Uh, frankly I can't speak for the Downtown District, but
the whole reason the $50,000, or request, was forwarded to you is because that's
what, um, they really felt they needed to engage the community in a fundraising
campaign. So I ... I don't expect, and I'll have conversations with ... with Nancy,
um, tomorrow or later this week, but I don't expect that they're going to, um,
enthusiastically kick off a fundraising campaign without the support of the City
Council. So at this point, um ... we can say that the project is ... is not dead or is still
alive, but I think ... I think there needs to be some more conversation about that.
Mims: Can I ask a question before we move on?
Throgmorton: Sure!
Mims: What is the... limitation on the City Manager's authority for expenditures without
City Council approval?
Markus: For a contractual amount?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 36
Dilkes: It's 6...I believe it's $60,000 for a consultant.
Fruin: Yeah. I ... I think we were well within the City Manager authority, but again,
knowing that this is going to come to a ... point in time (both talking)
Mims: (both talking) ...leaving, Tom, go ahead and do it! (laughter)
Markus: You know, I was going to make a couple other points. You talk about fundraising
and ... and hiring fundraisers, the Library has a full-time employee who's a
fundraiser. We just approved a fundraiser for the Senior Center. Both of those
are tax supported organizations that we have fundraising for.
Mims: Yes.
Markus: The 1105 project got mentioned. The City kicked that over the top with $100,000
challenge grant.
Mims: Yes.
Markus: So ... using some of those examples as reasons not to do this, I think ... I think the
facts have to be out there on those things, and I (both talking)
Cole: Well I'd be happy to do a subsequent work session, but tonight our answer is no.
Urn ... so I think we're just gonna have to decide what we want to do in the future
on that, and I would hope that, you know, our administrative staff would respect
the votes of Council on this matter.
Markus: But it ... isn't a matter of respecting it. We have to respect 'em. The other thing I
was going to say is that if you ... if the group came back and had raised $200,000,
they wouldn't need $50,000 for a fundraising effort, because they would have
already raised that much money. So ... maybe that wasn't such a bad challenge on
your part, Mayor. Follow?
Throgmorton: Yep. All right, there's a motion on the floor. Roll call. (several talking and
laughing)
Mims: (laughing) No, let him go!
Throgmorton: I know exactly what I'm (both talking)
Dilkes: Okay!
Throgmorton: Yes is my answer.
Cole: Wait a minute, what are we ... (laughter)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 37
Throgmorton: All right! The motion on the floor is whether to approve the, uh, the resolution
concerning, uh, providing $50,000 in support.
Cole: Okay, cause I thought we had this deferred.
Throgmorton: No (several talking)
Dilkes: Motion to defer was withdrawn, so we're back to the original motion (both
talking)
Cole: Okay.
Dilkes: ...which is ... and Jim has stated it correctly. We're, uh, so ... (continues roll call)
Throgmorton: You already got (both talking)
Dilkes: I got Kingsley, yeah.
Throgmorton: The motion fails by 3-3 vote. So ... (several talking) All right, so moving on!
(starts to read Item 9)
Karr: Sorry, Mr. Mayor, can I have a motion to accept correspondence? (both talking)
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. (returns to Item 9)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 38
ITEM 9. WASHINGTON STREET RECONSTRUCTION MARKETING
EXPENSES - RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
CONTRIBUTE $17,750 TO THE IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN DISTRICT
FOR MARKETING EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE
WASHINGTON STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND TO
OFFER A SUBSIDIZED PARKING AND TRANSIT PROGRAM FOR
BUSINESSES DURING THE PROJECT
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Anybody want to address this topic?
Nancy!
Bird: Hi, Nancy Bird of the Iowa City Downtown District. I just wanted to thank, uh,
Council for supporting the ... these extra concessions to help let the community
know this major project's happening and ... we need to let people know just through
communications and fencing that, um, our businesses are open and it's an
important part of the project. So thank you for your consideration.
Throgmorton: (mumbled) Thank you! Anybody else like to speak to this topic? All right.
Discussion?
Cole: I ... I just wanted to indicate on the record that I'm a downtown business owner.
I'm not gonna be seeking any funds in connection with this, and renounce all
ability to participate in any benefits flowing from this. I'm not recusing myself,
um, but I just wanted to make that statement.
Throgmorton: Okey doke.
Cole: But I think this seems like a measured response to some of the concerns that were
raised by the downtown stakeholders.
Thomas: Yeah, I'd like to thank staff on developing this proposal.
Throgmorton: Other comment?
Taylor: I agree.
Throgmorton: Roll call. All right, Item #10.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Botchway: So moved.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 39
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Uh, all in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 40
ITEM 10. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER - ORDINANCE AMENDING THE
DEFINITION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SOURCE OF INCOME TO
INCLUDE HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER SUBSIDIES AND SIMILAR
RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAMS AND TO CLARIFY THE DEFINITION OF
"HOUSING TRANSACTION." (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Throgmorton: Can I have a motion (both talking) first consideration.
Botchway: Move first consideration.
Cole: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Cole. Uh, are there any people who would
like to speak to this topic?
Hunnicutt: Hello, my name is Sarah Hunnicutt (both talking)
Throgmorton: Hi, Sarah!
Hunnicutt: ...and I'm the, one of the Housing Coordinators at the Domestic Violence
Intervention Program, and I just want to, uh, thank you for your support, just
generally as a Council and as a City for our efforts over the years. Um ... I've
prepared a little blurb (laughs) Um, as a Housing Coordinator for Domestic
Violence Intervention Program, I work with clients who have experienced
domestic violence, who are in need of housing in the Iowa City area. The Section
8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is a wonderful program which allows people
who otherwise could not afford housing the means to find a home. My clients
have told me of landlords who hang up on them when they mention having a
voucher. They tell me of landlords being very nice and friendly on the phone,
right up until they mention a voucher. Then the landlords are rude and
dismissive. They tell me of ad after ad of apartments and houses that say 'no
Section 8.' Landlords denial based solely on someone having a Section 8 voucher
stems from a lack of understanding about who gets vouchers, and a misconception
that the people with vouchers are somehow less worthy than people who do not
have vouchers. The playing field needs to be leveled. If a landlord wants to deny
a perspective tenant for legitimate reasons, that is his or her right. But to deny
someone housing, or even to advertise that it's not an option because of a Section
8 voucher does nothing to help our community. Please pass this. It would help so
many. Thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Anybody else like to speak?
Eastham: My name is Charlie Eastham, uh, again, 953 Canton Street in Iowa City. And, uh,
I'm here to speak in support of passing this, uh, this ordinance. First I just wanted
to engage in a little history, and to give ... thanks and, uh, recognition to people
who have gone before us and started the movement in Iowa City to provide fair
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 41
and equal housing for all. In August 18, 1964, 52 years ago, about ... the Iowa City
Council, under then Mayor Richard Burger adopted a Fair Housing Ordinance and
thus became the second city in the State of Iowa to adopt such a law. 1964 as I'm
sure many of you remember is four years before ... the adoption by the federal
government of the Fair Housing Act. The Press -Citizen, uh (mumbled)
researched a lot of this stuff a long time ago, so ... the Press -Citizen of that time,
uh, described (clears throat) the ordinance this way: In general terms the
ordinance makes it against public policy to discriminate in the leasing or sale of
property on the basis of race, color, creed, or national origin. The Press -Citizen
editorial that followed immediately after this Council's adoption of Fair Housing
law started off as follow... follows: Iowa City is a better place today. It is a better
place for black and other minority groups who can be assured that the force and
influence of the City government will be brought against any effort to
discriminate against them when they seek a place to live. Dr. Philip Hubbard, I'm
sure many of you remember Dr. Hubbard (clears throat) was in my view and as
reported by the Press -Citizen of that time, the leading community advocate for
adopting the Fair Housing Act in Iowa City. Dr. Hubbard was then a member of
the University of Iowa, um ... uh... give me a .... I can't remember the name, exact
name of the committee, but it was a ... basically a human rights committee
(mumbled) (clears throat) and the Press -Citizen also reported from that period that
Dr. Hubbard, uh... gave a speech to the Kiwanis Club, of all places, to talk about
fair housing at that period of time. And in the speech, Dr. Hubbard is quoted to...
telling the people at the ... in the audience at the Kiwanis Club at that time to 'get
behind this ordinance. Assure your Council women and men that you will
support it after it is passed, and then proceed to do just that. Dr. Hubbard, in my
view, is a legendary (clears throat) and honorable... honored advocate for civil
rights in the local community. Many of you ... at your various campaigns for
office, and especially for the ... in the last election, have vowed to support Iowa
City becoming a 'just city.' I am sure that in the next few minutes all of you will
write (clears throat) will vote to approve this, uh, this measure and we will be
happy for that, people in this community who appreciate your doing so. Thank
you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Charlie. Any other, ah, here we go! Hi!
Perteit: Good evening, my name is Bronis Perteit. I live at 8 Gleason Drive, Iowa City,
Iowa. Um ... I am here speaking in favor of you guys adopting this ordinance. I
have, um, I work for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. I'm a director
there and I've worked with many clients who have seeked... or who have, um,
sought out housing in this community and have been discriminated against
because they have a Housing Choice voucher. And so I just want to extend my
support, our agency support for adopting this, to kind of level out the playing
field. Um..yeah, that's what I have to say! (laughs) Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Bronis.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 42
Scott: Hi, I'm Sally Scott. I live at 205 Black Spring Circle and I'm representing the
Johnson County Affordable Homes Coalition. And we've had a number of
discussions, um, about this issue and our members feel very strongly in support. I
don't feel I can add much to what, uh, Sarah and Bronis and Charlie have said,
except this is about leveling the playing field. It's not about getting any particular
advantage to one ... group of people or another. It's about people who have
Housing Choice vouchers being able to, um, rent on an equal basis with
everybody else, and to me that's the..epitome of civil rights is equality before the
law. Um, and lack of discrimination. So, um, extremely happy. I'd really like to
congratulate the, um, staff members who worked on this. I think they did a great
job, uh, Stefanie and Steve and, uh, before he leaves I'd really like to thank, uh,
City Manager Markus, who's supported a number of affordable housing, um,
efforts and uh, we really appreciate that and we hope to invite you back to a
conference in Iowa City that we're planning in June on affordable housing policy,
cause I think you have, um, some real wisdom to share. So ... thank you. Um, so I
hope you support the ordinance.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Sally.
Jackson: Hi, my name is Laura Jackson. I'm at 740 Wes Drive. Um, I'm just here to speak
as a concerned community member. Um, so I have spoke with or heard the
stories of numerous people who have had to use, um, Housing Choice vouchers to
better their situation, and I just know that, um, I'm fortunate to not have been in
that situation, but when I hear these people talking about these experiences and
saying, you know, that they either couldn't even go look at apartments because it
says right on the web site, you know, no we don't accept this or ... they get there to
look at an apartment, only to be told that, no, we don't take that. It just seems like
kind of a slap in the face when you're facing so many barriers already. So, I really
hope that you support this ordinance, urn ... I just think it's the right thing to do.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you.
Youde: Um, my name is Emily Youde and I live at 47 Valley Avenue. Um, I'm a master's
student in the Urban and Regional Planning Program and the reason I bring that
up is because I studied writing as an undergrad, and so I didn't start out in
planning and found housing actually was in the community of Iowa City involved
with Sudanese and other families, um, from many different countries, and um, just
through observation was seeing people are having a lot of barriers, um, dealing
with housing in the city. Didn't know Section 8 was a thing until I met someone
who was, um, using that support system. Um, and so it's actually really exciting
for me to be, um, on the Housing and Community Development Commission and
then standing here, um, today just to say I'm so in favor of...of this step, and um,
really confident in the people in our community who work in housing, who work
to support people who are facing barriers in housing to overcome any logistic
issue that could come, um, as a result of this. Uh, we had a very long discussion
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 43
in the Housing and Community Development Commission, that's also why I want
to state, uh, stand here and give additional confidence to my decision to vote, uh,
or say yes to it. Um ... I think it's an issue of rights and equity before it's an issue
of logistics, (mumbled) considering that we have people in this community very
well equipped to handle any issues (mumbled) forward, so, I think as a Council,
um, I ... I love that we've had a really great open discussion today, but you can also
be confident that, um, the impact will be a good one.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Emily.
Endsley: I'm Jeremy Endsley. I'm speaking as a ... a concerned citizen. I'm also a volunteer
at the Shelter House. Um ... it's disheartening, um, like many have said before, um,
to be helping someone try to find housing only to see, you know, no Section 8 in
this ad and so they can't proceed any further with that application. Um, but I
think that, urn .... what the Council should think about is that this is a source of
income, um, dis... discrimination (mumbled) a choice about whether one type of
income is better than another type, and Section 8 voucher is a great help, but
um ... but it's not the only income that, um, someone has to have in order to get
housing. So, so you have to think about a person that's working, um, that has, you
know, put in a lot of work to find a job, to get past the barriers that they've, um,
had, that they've experienced in their life. So ... so to say that their Section 8
income is different than ... their earned income is, I think, um, wrong and should be
remedied.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Jeremy.
Porter: Hello everyone, good evening. Royceann Porter. 136 Appanoose Court, Iowa
City. Um, I just would like to say at work ... at working with Shelter House, and
before working with Shelter House working with, um, many people in the
community, um ... housing, affordable housing we already know. It's not here.
People working two, three jobs just trying to pay, and then those ... what you need
to understand, those people that do receive a Section 8 voucher, it's not ... they're
working, a lot of 'em that receive the vouchers are working, and they're not ... it's
not where they're paying zero rent. Some people are working making a certain
amount. Therefore, they might have to pay 700, Section 8 might have to pay 200,
but it's just gettin' these landlords to understand. We have landlords that just
literally, no, we're not taking Section 8, and then we've ran into some who don't
really know the process of Section 8, and when you explain it to 'em, they say,
well I heard. It's all about what they've heard about the Section 8. But the people
here that receives the Section 8, just don't get a chance with landlords. You've got
so many landlords that just, number one, say no. I've even had a conversation
with Steve Rackis as to how we can get landlords to accept people with Section 8,
and just trying to change a phone conversation, but by the time you mention that
Section 8 voucher, I mean, you can do a whole interview over the phone and sell
yourself, and that person, that landlord, will be ready to see you until you say you
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 44
got that Section 8 voucher. It don't matter. They don't care. They don't want it.
So I just think it's something that needs to be done in our city. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Royceann. Anyone else? I ... I'd like to ask one clarifying question of,
uh, Stefanie Bowers, please. Uh, Stefanie, I know we discussed this during the
work session, but the one particular question I want to ask is, when would this
ordinance go into effect?
Bowers: (mumbled) so if, um, the amendment passes all the, uh, required readings, uh, we
are asking that, um ... it's ... go into effect June 1St
Throgmorton: Right, and what will happen in ...in the period after, presuming we adopt it, in
between the period of adoption and that date?
Bowers: Um, so City staff, um, from the Housing Authority, um, from the Human Rights
Office, um, and probably, um, several other City departments that look at housing
and, uh, work with landlords will do outreach and education on what this new
amendment is, how it works, um, we'll also do outreach with, uh, persons who,
um, currently are using Housing Choice vouchers, and then community members
in general.
Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you! All right, uh... no other comments from the public? Seeing
none, discussion?
Botchway: So I just wanna come out first and say I'm very supportive of this particular, um,
motion. Um ... I've talked with a lot of folks who have had some of the situations
that Royceann had talked about and all ... all the other folks have talked about it as
well. Um, I had a situation recently when I recent ... or when I, um, moved from
my apartment to my, uh, current townhome now where, um, a woman was trying
to move into the apartment complex that I had, uh, you know, just vacated, um,
and was not able to ... um, get into the apartment complex because, um, the
landlord would not allow for, uh, Section 8 or Housing Choice voucher. Um, I
was very upset. I actually talked to Tracy, um, afterwards to try to figure out, you
know, what we were doing in this particular way and she said there are a lot of
folks that were on this issue already and so, um, moved it forward. Um, I will
simply state, um, that I feel like this is blatant discrimination, um, I'm not sure,
um, why, um, we haven't done this sooner. Um, not to disagree with, um, you
know the staff and the proposal they put forward. I would actually want to move
this forward immediately, I mean, after it was considered for the third time, but I
understand there's more things at work and education is important. Um, and you
know there's been some concerns that have been shared with me as far as, you
know, providing more opportunity for landlords to have more discussion on this.
Maybe talk about it, um, I am, uh, unconvinced that, um, there's any need to have
any further discussion. There was ample opportunity to, um, to not only discuss
with staff, um, but also just to, you know, if there were other landlords that had,
um, maybe a particular thought or feeling against Section 8, um, the vouchers that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 45
um, they had the opportunity to discuss it at the time for years. Um, so again, as
I said before, I feel like this is, you know, blatant discrimination. I'm glad that we
were able to move forward on this, uh, assuming that we're all in agreement, and
uh, like I said, I'm very supportive and excited about this particular Council, um,
motion.
Cole: And I ... and I echo Kingsley's concern. You know, one of the ... or statements,
strong statement in support. Um, you know one of the issues that's really come up
in our partnership with the School Board is it's often said, you know, in terms of
the socioeconomic diversity in the neighborhood, School Board always kind of
throws it back to us and say, well what are you doing, the City. I think this is
really an important first step. We're finally starting to address that issue.
Um ... you know, so I'm really glad that we're also going to have that education
process too, because there will be some logistical details to ... to implement, but I
think the first thing is the problem that we're trying to solve, and I think it is an
important first step, and I think it's going to really open up these opportunities,
where we'll really be able to start to get socioeconomic diversity throughout the
community. I think that's been a key goal, and I also (mumbled) appreciate the
important homework that the staff did in raising and ... and responding to a lot of
the issues that were raised by the landlord. I thought it was a very thorough
response and I really commend them for that. So I'm ... so I'm gonna support it.
Mims: I'm going to support it as well. I think this is really, uh, really important and see
absolutely no reason not to support it. Um, I would just add one other comment.
I would ... uh, technicality. I guess I would disagree with you, Rockne, I don't see
this as a first step. I think the ... I think the City's been doing a lot over the last few
years in terms of increasing, uh, the economic diversity in housing around the
city. I'd say this is an additional step, and I think we will continue, uh, to make
more steps, but certainly it's not the first.
Thomas: I'll be supporting this as well. I, um, this is kind of an area that I didn't have as
much (laughs) background in as the land use planning parts of our work. And it
was interesting reading about it, um ... but in reading staff s report, which I thought
was really well done, it mentioned that, you know, currently over 400 landlords
participate in the Housing Choi ... Choice voucher program. So it's ... it is well
practiced, um, as ... as you have said it, you know, we need to level the playing
field. That's probably the simplest way of putting it and that's all that this would
do, uh, and hopefully we'll ... my understanding is that other cities in Johnson
County — Coralville and North Liberty — do not have ... such a, uh... uh, an
ordinance and so I'm hoping that this will help, um, because I think the ... the
solution is of course better if we can expand the envelope for it.
Taylor: I'm supportive of this as well. Uh, I do know a lot of landlords in the area and I
can understand that they have, uh, some concerns and ... some perceived risks, but
I ... strongly believe that refusing to rent to a person with a rental subsidy is not a
practice that supports, uh, the overall values of the inclusiveness that we'd like to
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 46
see in our community, uh, so I think the bottom line is that we have to, uh,
remove those, any housing barriers to people who use those, uh, vouchers and I
would be in favor of, uh, amending it to include that in the definition.
Throgmorton: I agree with what's been said. Roll call. Motion passes 6-0.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Uh, all in favor say aye. All opposed.
Motion passes.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 47
ITEM 15. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION
Throgmorton: We'll start with Pauline.
Taylor: Well I was excited to see that we did, Iowa City did get accepted for the UCI
Worldcross (several talking) biking thing, um ... applaud Dr. John Meehan for all
his efforts. I mean he traveled all the way to Belgium, uh, to present the proposal
and, uh, obviously our community looked good to them and it's going to bring a
lot of folks, lot of folks and a lot of world attention, uh, TV coverage, uh, to the
Iowa City area. So I'm looking forward to that. Exciting!
Throgmorton: John!
Thomas: I'll repeat what, uh... Pauline just said. I think (laughter) that was good news. It
was good to hear that.
Mims: Yes, and City Manager Tom Markus was part of that group that went.
Taylor: Yes, that's right!
Mims: Thank you!
Throgmorton: Yeah, gave..gave us a great report on that. Thank you, Tom for doing that.
Susan?
Mims: No, go ahead.
Throgmorton: Kingsley!
Botchway: Um, there's a ... February 1St was the beginning of Black History Month. There's a
lot of different activities. I just got it today and so I plan on sending it out, um,
for the packet, um, next time, and so I'll repeat it again. Just a, there's six events,
five events actually — sorry! Art expression at UAY on February 12th from 4:00
to 5:30, express yourself through arts while learning about historical moments and
people with music, poetry, and art. Soul food dinner and entertainment at City
High School, uh, on Friday February 19th from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Um, I'm hoping
that Royceann will be there and make some of her famous, um, spaghetti. A
living museum with the Dream Center at the Rec Center down the road. Uh,
doors open at 5:30, activities from 6:00 to 8:00. Mobile health clinic,
neighborhood centers, on the Broadway site, um, will be Thursday, February 25th
from 5:30 to 7:00. And then Unity Concert at New Creations International Center
would be Sunday, February 28th at 3:00 P.M. And I will send that out
to ... everybody else.
Mims: Jim ... I'm sorry! Could I ... I forgot one. Um, Thursday night, this Thursday,
February 4th, 7:00 P.M. at 100 Phillips Hall is 'Home Grown, Milwaukee's Social
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 48
Justice Challenges and the Role of Urban Gardens.' (several talking) Okay
(several talking and laughing) Uh, we got an email today. I think it was today I
got it. Um, look ... Tim McCollow, Project Manager for Milwaukee's Home
Grown Initiative is going to discuss their urban food mer ... urban food movement.
So again, it's this Thursday the 4h at 7:00 P.M., 100 Phillips Hall on the
University of Iowa Campus.
Cole: And related to local foods, on that same evening, February 4t' at the Johnson
County Fairgrounds there's going to be a conference on alliances, rediscovering
our local food system — that's going to be from 5:00 to 8:30. I strongly encourage
everyone to go to it. It's going to be an awesome event, and ... I'll urge you to
maybe cut it short and go to that (mumbled) Susan had talked about. Essentially
Milwaukee is one of the leaders in urban agriculture. Will Allen is not going to
be there but I imagine his name is going to come up. He's one of my heroes and
one of my goals is hopefully we'll be able to get him to Iowa City. So ... hope to
see you at both events.
Throgmorton: Great, thank you all. Uh, I'm conscious that we have other things to do after this
meeting, and so I'm not going to mention anything. Tom, do you have anything?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 49
ITEM 16. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF
a) City Manager
Markus: Just a couple quick things. You did mention, uh, the Cyclocross World Cup site.
I think it is a hugely, uh, major event for Iowa City and the state of Iowa to be
hosting a world cup, of any type, but, you know, to have that designation, and I
think the thing that, um ... I think bodes well for us is you have an existing track,
uh, down on the fairgrounds, and, uh, it is recognized as a very, um ... a
challenging track. I can tell you having gone to Koksidje, uh, Belgium, uh, our
track compares very favorably. Uh, there will be some investment, and as you
know during the budget discussion, we did plug some money in to help this event.
The return on this particular event is they expect that this event will generate
about $1.2 million to our local economy. They expect about 15,000 spectators,
but the amazing part of this is there'll be cameras at every turn and every
interesting nuance on our track, and that will be broadcast live to Europe,
where... millions, literally, will watch this event. It is an enthusiastically
supported sport, uh... in Belgium, the Netherlands, and across Europe, and
so ... we're really excited to get it. Um, I figured if I didn't get it I'd be accused of
going on a junket but now I can say that I actually ... I got a return on our
investment. The other thing that, um ... I kinda want to report out on is the, uh,
CIT, uh, Crisis Intervention Team. We went down to San Antonio. Uh, it
included Janelle Rettig, Rod Sullivan, uh, and I don't know if you folks know this,
but we have a jail alternatives coordinator working out of the Sheriffs office. Her
name is Jes... Jessica Peckover. This person has incredible energy and enthusiasm
and she's coordinating a lot of activities to deal with that sort of thing. Janet
Lyness was there. Uh, Prelude Behavioral Services, Ron Berg; Shelter House
executive Chrissy Canganelli; Crisis Center, um ... uh, Keri Neblett; ICPD, uh,
Chief Sam Hargadine; and myself. In addition we had four officers that were
there for the whole week taking a 40 -hour training, and I can tell you that, um, the
initial indications back on some video I saw out of San Antonio is our officers are
really picking it up and understanding the advantage of this kind of training. The
first incident, um, that kind of led to this CIT, um, program was in, uh, Memphis,
Tennessee, in an individual with a mental illness was shot and killed by police,
and ... so they started to look for different ways for police officers to have that
interaction with ind... individuals, um ... that may be suffering in ... in a crisis
situation due to behavioral disorders, developmental disorders, and (coughing,
unable to hear speaker) issues. Um, it's actually a safer way for police to interact,
uh, with individuals that may be in a crisis of this sort. So the first day we
listened to San Antonio police officers basically tell us how the program works,
the kind of interaction they have, the connections the multi -agency collaboration
that they have. The second day we went to the Center for Health Services, and
they literally take these individuals that they are able to secure and ... and take to an
alternative site, instead of running them through the criminal justice system, to a
facility that can deal with emergency treatment, uh, can start to deal with some
behavioral disorders, and then right across the street from this facility they had
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.
Page 50
another place called the center, uh, which is the Haven for Hope, and there they
have more permanent housing, job placement, job training, education, mental
health services, and substance abuse recovery. It's like a small village. Now
granted, San Antonio (mumbled) about 1.8, 1.9 million people. Uh, Johnson
County in total is right around 150,000, so we have to do some scaling, right, to
make this work, but this kind of intervention or, uh, interaction with, uh,
individuals that are suffering this kind of crisis ... I'm convinced this is a much
better way to go, and I'll tell you, San Antonio police officers told us that the
same sort of, kind of...the police weren't real receptive to begin with and this had
to kind of evolve with'em, but I think this is going to spread across this country.
Um, the one thing I think that's kind of critical for you to think about is, of all the
places that have gone through major police interaction crisis in the last ... four or
five years, San Antonio isn't on that list. Every new recruit coming out of the
Texas, uh, police training academy has to go through 40 hours of CIT training.
Has to be certified in that program. And ... and if you...if you're a.. just hardened to
any of these types of different approaches to law enforcement, even the most
conservative people are on board with this, because it saves money. It's cheaper
to get these people into treatment, um, than it is to incarcerate. And so ... uh, the
jails are filled with individuals that are suffering from different illnesses like this,
so this is a heck of a program. I hope it's something that, um, we keep moving
forward here. I'll be passing on the information to the ... to the administration here,
and I think it's going to move forward. The Chief and I had a very good
conversation about it so I think you'll see a lot more of this, and the other thing I
said in my report to you is that if you get the chance, go down and take a look. I
think you'll really be impressed with the folks that are running these programs.
The inter ... the inter -departmental, you know, from the judiciary to the prosecutors
to the police department to the first responders to the health providers to the
hospitals — they're all connected, they're all talkin' from the same page, and it's
really impressive to see a major metropolitan area get their ... their arms around
something like this, and really make an impact on how our police interact, and
when you think about we've had how many failed referendums on our jail. This is
a diversion program, so we should have built-in support for this type of thing in
our community from the get -go, because this diverts people away. It's diverted
peopled away. They have an officer in San Antonio — that's his job! To divert'em
away from jail, and he's measured on his success. Everything here is metric
driven. It's performance based. And so this is a program that ... you know, is
going to really make a lot of sense for us, and so where I'm going, they've already
gone down this path. They're starting to do these things. We need to be right
there with'em. This is going to be a good program for Iowa City.
Throgmorton: Right! Geoff?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of February 2, 2016.