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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-03-17 Info Packet= 1 �CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET —•ti.as� CITY OF IOWA CITY March 17, 2016 www.icgov.org I131 Council Tentative Meeting Schedule SPECIAL MARCH 23 WORK SESSION IP2 Work Session Agenda IP3 Domestic Violence presentation IP4 Pending City Council Work Session Topics MISCELLANEOUS IP5 Article from City Manager: How America Is Putting Itself Back Together IP6 Email from City Manager to Peggy Slaughter: Frantz Community Investors IP7 Memo from Development Services Coordinator and City Engineer: Topsoil Preservation Administration IP8 Email from Neighborhood Outreach Planner: Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association Newsletter IP9 City Council Schedules Two Listening Posts IP10 Letter from Mid America Energy Company: Iowa City Community Report Calendar Year 2015 IP11 Community Police Review Board Community Forum Email from Kurt Hamann to Mayor Throgmorton: City dump -road pick up (Staff response included) [Distributed as late handout 3/22/16.] Iowa City Police Department: Read Program with Public Library ) [Distributed as late handout 3/23/16.1 Star Communities: Sustainability Tools for Assessing & Rating Communities [Distributed as late handout 3/23/16.] CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION PACKET CIN OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org March 17, 2016 IP1 \Council Tentative Meeting Schedule SPECIAL MARCH 23 WORK SESSION IP2 Work 5'Qssion Agenda IP3 Domestic iolence presentation IP4 Pending City ouncil Work Session Topics MISCELLA OUS IP5 Article from City Manag : How America 1 Putting Itself Back Together IP6 Email from City Manager to eggy Sla hter: Frantz Community Investors I137 Memo from Development Se Coordinator and City Engineer: Topsoil Preservation Administration IP8 Email from Neighborhood utreac Planner: Newsletter IP9 City Council Schad s Two Listening sts IP10 Letter from Media om: Iowa City Communit F IP11 Community P lice Review Board Community Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association Calendar Year 2015 LO3-17-16City Council Tentative Meeting ScheduleSP1 Subject to change March 17, 2016 CI F IOWA CITY Date Time Meeting Location Wednesday, March 23, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Special Formal Meeting Tuesday, April 5, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, April 19, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Monday, April 25, 2016 4:00 PM Reception Emma J. Harvat Hall 4:30 PM Joint Entities Meeting Tuesday, May 3, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, May 17, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, June 7, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, June 21, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, July 5, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, July 19, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall 7:00 PM Formal Meeting Tuesday, August 2, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall Formal Meeting Tuesday, August 16, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall Formal Meeting Tuesday, September 6, 2016 5:00 PM Work Session Emma J. Harvat Hall Formal Meeting W� CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 (3 19) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org *NOTE: DIFFERENT MEETING DAY City Council Work Session Agenda *Wednesday, March 23, 2016 Emma J. Harvat Hall - City Hall 5:00 PM ■ Questions from Council re Agenda Items ■ Domestic Violence presentation [IP # 3 Info Packet of 3/17] ■ Strategic Plan - Initiate public dialogue about the meaning and importance of a walkable neighborhood and how to achieve it ■ Information Packet Discussion [March 3, 10, 17] ■ Council Time ■ Meeting Schedule ■ Pending Work Session Topics [IP # 4 Info Packet of 3/17] ■ Upcoming Community Events/Council Invitations L THE fil UNIVERSITY OF IOWA February 23, 2016 City Council of Iowa City 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Previously distributed as 4f(3) 1P3 on March 1 Consent Calendar `1LE 2016 FEB 24 AIS I I: 18 CITY G' Fi4S IXWe"% CIT Y, 't`►#'r'r1 CoPID V7 COLLEGE OF LAW CLINICAL LAw PROGRAMS Re: Iowa City Resolution to Establish Freedom From Domestic Violence as a Fundamental Human Right Dear City Council of Iowa City: We at the University of Iowa College of Law Legal Clinic (the "Legal Clinic") along with our client, the Domestic Violence Intervention Program ("DVIP"), have been working together to create the attached Iowa City Resolution to Establish Freedom From Domestic Violence as a Fundamental Human Right ("Resolution"). We now ask the City Council of Iowa City to review the proposed Resolution, and place it on the March 23' agenda with the intention of voting on it on that day. Across the nation, other municipalities have passed similar resolutions. For example, cities such as Chicago, IL, Albany, NY, and Austin, TX have adopted resolutions recognizing freedom from domestic violence as a human right. It is time for Iowa City to join as a leader in this movement. We hope that this Resolution will raise awareness of domestic violence in the Iowa City community and inspire other communities to adopt similar measures. Members from the Legal Clinic and DVIP would like to attend the City Council's meeting on March 23, 2016 to briefly present this Resolution and respond to any questions or comments that the Council may have. The Johnson County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Johnson County Local Homeless Coordinating Board, the Consultation of Religious Communities, the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, and the Iowa City Human Rights Commission have voiced their support and are co -sponsoring this Resolution. We very much hope the Council will choose to adopt this Resolution. If you need additional information, we would be more than happy to provide it. Thank you for your consideration. Since ly, e C Persephone A. Eglaine Clinic Law Student Lois K. Cox Clinical Professor of Law 380 Boyd law Building Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1113 319-335-9023 Fox 319-353-5445 law-legal-clinic@uiowa.edu if 4L ED 2016 FEB 24 AM 11: 18 Director, International Legal Clinic Arielle M. Lipman Clinic Law Student CC: Domestic Violence Intervention Program Attn: Bronis L. Perteit, Director of Client Advocacy Services 1105 S. Gilbert Court Iowa City, IA 52240 Iowa City Human Rights Commission Atm: Stefanie Bowers, Human Rights Coordinator 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 UI Center for Human Rights Attn: Adrien Wing, Director of the UI Center for Human Rights 1120 University Capitol Centre The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa, USA 52242 The Consultation of Religious Communities Atm: Charles Eastham, President P.O. Box 2025 Iowa City, IA 52244 Johnson County Local Homeless Coordinating Board Attn: Crissy Canganelli 322 E. 2nd St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Johnson County Coalition Against Domestic Violence Attn: Scott Stevens 410 E Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 CITY CLE"r-K i0ii Cl 17 {o F Prepared by: University of Iowa Law Clinical Law Program on behalf of Domestic Violence Intervent#n j 1105 S Gilbert Ct #300, Iowa City, IA 52240 RESOLUTION NO. 2016 FEB 24 AFS 111: 18 IOWA CITY RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH FREEDOM FROM DOM�lig; -"" VIOLENCE AS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT WHO/HOW DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFFECTS WHEREAS, domestic violence is a human rights concern that affects individuals of every gender, race, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and economic status; and WHEREAS, domestic violence includes various forms of abuse not always apparent to members of the community, nor do victims or perpetrators of domestic violence fit into any particular category or stereotype associated with the issue; and WHEREAS, domestic violence can take many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological or economic abuse, intimidation, isolation, and coercive control by intimate partners or family members; and WHEREAS, 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household; and WHEREAS, traumatized children are often the silent victims in homes where domestic violence occurs; this trauma has detrimental effects upon a child's cognitive, emotional, and psychological development, significantly increasing an exposed child's risk of developing behavioral problems during childhood as well as the potential for becoming an abuser or engaging in criminal violence as an adult; and WHEREAS, children are always negatively impacted by violence in the home, whether they are physically or verbally abused themselves or witness the violence; and STATISTICS WHEREAS, relationship violence is chronically underreported, and statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence show that only 1 out of 3 cases is ever reported; and WHEREAS, in the current year, Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) responded to 436 calls for service related to domestic assault, stalking and relationship -oriented harassment by October; this figure represents an increase from 405 calls by October in 2014; and WHEREAS, in the current year, ICPD reports 288 arrests related to domestic assault and (relationship -related) harassment by October; this figure represents an increase from 170 arrests by October in 2014; and WHEREAS, the ICPD reported 1,833 domestic violence related incidentsetivUm� and 2014; and ���� 2�t�{ ;{1 i 1 � 18 WHEREAS, the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP)Ve%ff465 adult�ivictims of domestic violence in 2014; DVIP helped 363 children in 2014; and Y c,L , Y. IJ WHEREAS, domestic violence victims made 12,595 calls for assistance to the DVIP crisis hotline or other resources in 2014; and WHEREAS, 301 victims of domestic violence needed overnight protection at the DVIP battered women's shelter in 2014. The average length of stay was 29 nights, totaling 8,729 nights of shelter provided in 2014; and WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies in Iowa City reported 579 victims of domestic violence in 2014; and WHEREAS, 208 women and men in the state of Iowa died as a result of intimate partner homicide between 1995 and 2014; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Department of Justice reports that domestic abuse has led to murder by methods that include stabbing, strangling, shooting, beating, drug overdosing, deliberate car crashes, and burning to death in the home; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Department of Justice reported that, of the 174 women killed between 1995 and 2014 in domestic abuse murder, 67 women were known to have left or been leaving their partners at the time of their death; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Department of Justice reported that 282 daughters and sons survived these murdered women. 167 of the surviving children were minors at the time of their mothers' deaths and 62 of the surviving children witnessed the domestic abuse murders; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Crime Victim Assistance Division reported that 622 people filed for Protective Orders for Domestic Abuse in 2014; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Crime Victim Assistance Division reported that domestic abuse programs across the state served 23,301 domestic violence victims in 2014; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Crime Victim Assistance Division reported that $555,923 of compensation payments were made due to domestic abuse in 2014; and WHEREAS, Iowa domestic abuse programs statewide offered 2,729 people 74,242 nights of shelter in 2014; and WHEREAS, there are more than 20,000 phone calls per day placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide; and WHEREAS, intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime in the United States; and WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than one in three women and more than one in four men in the United States will experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by intimate partners during their lifetimes; and WHEREAS, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States; and WHEREAS, every 9 to 15 seconds a woman is battered in the United States, and every 2.5 minutes someone is sexually assaulted in the United States; and WHEREAS, domestic violence problems disproportionately impact women and children of color, women and children with disabilities, women and children with low incomes, and immigrant women and children; and WHEREAS, 44% of African American women, 37% of Hispanic women, and 35% of white women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, and 39% of African American men, 27% of Hispanic men, and 28% of white men have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the Centers for Disease Control; and WHEREAS, almost half of the teenagers in the United States report having a controlling partner and 80% report knowing someone who has been controlled by a partner, and WHEREAS, 11 % of high school students and 6% of middle school students throughout the United States report being physically abused by a date sometime in their lifetimes; and SURVIVORS WHEREAS, survivors of domestic violence have the fundamental right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and WHEREAS, survivors of domestic violence face many challenges, some of which directly or indirectly relate to the availability of services provided by the City of Iowa City; and WHEREAS, survivors of domestic violence endure physical injuries, long-term psychological and emotional damage, financial and career instability, insecure or inadequate safe housing, and social stigma; and N r , Co Uri Fr .. U0 I I-1,111 �Z WHEREAS, the Center for Disease Control estimates that the cost of intimate partner violence in the United States exceeds $10 billion per year, including medical care services and productivity losses; and WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies, courts, cities, social service agencies, and other local government entities incur significant monetary costs due to domestic violence; and LOCAL WHEREAS, law enforcement departments, courts, cities, counties, towns villages, social service agencies, and other local government entities constitute the first line of defense against domestic violence; and WHEREAS, by recognizing that freedom from domestic violence is a human right, the City of Iowa City seeks to raise awareness of domestic violence and enhance domestic violence response and education in communities, the public and private sectors, and within government agencies; and WHEREAS, there is one domestic violence shelter in Iowa City, 30 local domestic violence crisis hotlines throughout Iowa, and one statewide domestic violence hotline; and UNITED STATES WHEREAS, millions of domestic violence incidents occur in the United States every year; and WHEREAS, political leaders of the United States recognize that domestic violence is a human rights concern; and WHEREAS, in 1988 the federal Office of Victims of Crime was established, and in 1995 the federal Office of Violence Against Women was established, and these federal initiatives led to state initiatives that govern the local protocols in place today; and WHEREAS, the Violence Against Women Act applies to all victims of domestic violence, irrespective of their gender; and WHEREAS, in 2013 President Barack Obama reauthorized and extended the Violence Against Women Act to advance the cause of security, justice, and dignity for mothers and daughters in the United States; and C tete 7 -< CJ -C, r `��'Y7 Ss -r y Z INTERNATIONAL WHEREAS, domestic violence is a global problem and the United Nations and other international organizations have recognized that freedom from domestic violence is a human right and that governments have a responsibility to prevent and respond to such violence; and WHEREAS, domestic violence is a violation of the human rights guaranteed by international law, including: the (1) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and (2) the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the United States has ratified through coordination and consent between the Executive Branch and the Senate; and WHEREAS, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has stated that "violence against women is the most pervasive human rights violation" and that responses to violence should recognize human rights as a premise; and WHEREAS, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women recognizes the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity, and dignity of all human beings; and WHEREAS, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has stated that the United States' "lack of substantive protective legislation at federal and state levels, and the inadequate implementation of some laws, policies and programs has resulted in the continued prevalence of violence against women and the discriminatory treatment of victims, with a particularly detrimental impact on poor, minority and immigrant women;" and WHEREAS, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women identified several deficiencies in the regulation of domestic violence in the United States, including the need to explore more uniform remedies for victims of domestic violence; the need to re-evaluate existing mechanisms for protecting victims and punishing offenders at federal, state, and local levels, given that calls for help often do not result in either arrests or successful prosecutions; and the need for additional public education campaigns that condemn all forms of violence; and WHEREAS, the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights found in Jessica Lenahan (Gonzalez) v. United States that the United States' failure to protect women from gender-based violence constitutes discrimination and a human rights violation and urged the United States to enact law and policy reforms at all levels to protect survivors of domestic violence and their children; and IOWA SUPREME COURT AND IOWA LEGISLATURE WHEREAS, the Iowa Supreme Court has acknowledged that domestic violence rarely involves a single isolated incident. Rather, domestic violence is a pattern of behavior, with each episode connected to the others; and ti o a a *"77 �y °7 : 1 Copy WHEREAS, the Iowa Supreme Court has recognized a compelling interest in preventing domestic violence and protecting the psychological and emotional needs of victims; and WHEREAS, the Iowa Legislature has acknowledged a compelling interest in preventing domestic violence by enacting and continually amending Iowa Civil Code 236 and Iowa Criminal Codes 708.2A and 664A. PURPOSE WHEREAS, promoting the recognition of domestic violence as an issue of human rights will raise public awareness, encourage family -violence education in communities, and enhance public welfare; and FINAL RESOLUTION NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF IOWA CITY, this Council joins world leaders and leaders in the United States in recognizing domestic violence as a human rights concern and declares that the freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council recognizes that Iowa City departments and agencies already have protocols in place that acknowledge and address the multiple problems that arise from domestic violence; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council strongly supports the continuation and expansion of their efforts to eradicate domestic violence in our community and uses those efforts to continue to be informed by domestic violence survivors' voices and needs; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall serve to assure the citizens of Iowa City that all government bodies bear a moral responsibility to secure this human right on behalf of their residents; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, this resolution shall serve as a charge to all local government agencies to incorporate these principles into their policies and practices. Passed and approved this day of , 20 MAYOR d .r N UJ MAYOR ATTEST: Approved by CITY CLERK City Attorney's Office v l b ya r I = 1 �► `mom '� CITY OF IOWA CITY UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE PENDING CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION TOPICS March 9, 2016 Apri15, 2016: IP4 Consider creating two new City Council committees with a focus on (1) the sustainable built environment and (2) social justice and racial equity. Consider assigning additional strategic plan related topics to these committees Apri119, 2016: • Presentation from St. Ambrose University's Dr. Barnum regarding the ongoing Police Department disproportionate minority contact traffic stop study Strategic Plan / Budget Related Topics: 1. Review and consider amending the City's Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Policy (Economic Development Committee to make recommendation to full Council) 2. Consider amending the City's Annexation Policy to require the provision of affordable housing in new residential/mixed-use areas 3. Evaluate the implementation of a Form Based Code in one or two parts of the community 4. Provide timely and appropriate input on the ICCSD's planned 2017 bond referendum 5. Significantly improve the Council and staff's ability to engage with diverse populations on complex or controversial topics 6. Evaluate and consider implementation of a plastic bag policy 7. Undertake a project in FY 2017 that achieves a significant measurable carbon emission reduction 8. Set a substantive and achievable goal for reducing city-wide carbon emissions by 2030, and create an ad- hoc climate change task force, potentially under an umbrella STAR Communities committee, to devise a cost-effective strategy for achieving the goal. 9. Identify and implement an achievable goal to reduce disproportionality in arrests 10. Identify a substantive and achievable goal for the provision of affordable housing in Iowa City and implement strategies to achieve this goal 11. Determine scope of Council identified on/off street parking study 12. Determine scope of Council identified housing market analysis of core neighborhoods 13. Determine scope of Council identified complete streets study 14. Determine use of affordable housing funds resulting from the sale of the Court / Linn property Other Topics: 15. Discuss marijuana policies and potential legislative advocacy positions 16. Discuss formation of staff /citizen climate adaptation advisory group 17. Review downtown traffic model final report 18. Review of Downtown Streetscape Master Plan 19. Permanent City Manager 20. Review the Child Data Snapshot (IP2 2/18) and discuss related strategies with local stakeholders How_.i crieca Most Americans believe the country is going to hell. They're wrong. What a three-year journey by single-engine plane reveals about reinvention and renewal—and about how the Second Gilded Age might end. From the -City Manager IP5 Is Puttin4 ttErr NEWS sxoxE late last yearofamass shooting in San Bernardino, California, most people in the rest ofthe country, and even the state, probably had to search a map to figure out where the city was. I knew exactly, having grown up in the next-door town of Redlands (where the two killers lived) and having, by chance, spent a long period earlier in the year meeting and interviewing people in the unglamorous "Inland Empire" of Southern California as part of an ongoing project of reporting across America. Some ofwhat my wife, Deb, and I heard in San Bernardino fore the shootings closely matched the picture that the non- La op news coverage presented afterward: San Bernardino as poor, troubled town that sadly managed to combine nearly MARCN 3016 TM6 ,ITGANTIC every destructive economic, political, and social trend of the country as a whole. San Bernardino went into bankrupt in zotz and was only beginning to emerge at the time of t shootings. Crime is high, household income is low, the do town is nearly abandoned in the daytime and dangerous at night, and unemployment and welfare rates are persistently the worst in the state. So if you wanted a symbol of what conservative politician like Donald Trump or Ted Cruz mean when they talk about American decay, what liberal writers like George Packer or Robert Putnam mean when describing America's unraveling, San Bernardino would serve—and it did, in most ofthe reportg after the shooting. But that was not the only thing, or even the most interesting By tself Back TogethcrFALLO, WJAME 1 -r thing, that we saw during our time there. If "news" is what you didn't know before you went to look, the news of San Ber- Oardino, from our perspective, was not the unraveling but the reverse. The familiar background was the long decline. The surprise was how wide a range of people, of different genera- tions and races and political outlooks, believed that the city Inas on the upswing, and that their own efforts could help speed that trend. For instance: Last spring we met a group of San Bernardin- ians in their zos and early 30s who called themselves Gen - ration Now—San Bernardino. They were white, black, and tino. (The city is about 6o percent Latino, 2c,percent white, e rest black or Asian.) Some had finished college, some were still studying, some had not gone to college. They worked F. as artists or accountants or in part-time jobs. But all were involved in what you could call a raveling -up of the town's tat- tered social fabric. "I was just pissed off," an artist in his los named Michael Segura told us. "Bythe time Iwas old enough tovote, everything was in such terrible shape in San Bernardino. We just heard all the time that it's a city of losers. We'd had enough." in early 2013, just after the city declared bankruptcy and appeared to be at the depth of its hopelessness, he and a handful of friends began efforts to engage the city's generally disaffected resi- dents in improving their collective future. Voter -turnout rates were among the lowest in the state, especially in poor and heavily Latino precincts; Generation Now members encouraged their neighbors to show up for Photograph by ADAM VOORBES THE ATLANTIC MARCH 2016 59 civic sessions and register to vote. The numerous foreclosed homes and shuttered storefronts gave great stretches of San Bernardino awar-zone look; artists in the group covered some of the buildings with murals. Other members organized park - cleanup days, removing needles and trash, and replanting bushes and grass. Soon, neighborhood kids were following them around, cleaning up alongside them. From a distance, the San Bernardino story is ofwall-to-wall failure. From the inside, the story includes rapidly progressing civic and individual reinvention. One illustrationis aprosperous Air Force veteran turned aerospace engineer named Mike Gallo. Five years ago, he decided to run for the board in charge of the city's chronically troubled, low -scoring schools. Why? "These kids deserve a better chance, and we can help them get it," he told me. It sounds formulaic, but teachers, students, and poli- ticians said that Gallo's hard -charging, Teddy Roosevelt -style energy and effort had helped the schools begin a turnaround. He is now the board's president. Another illustration is his colleague Bill Clarke, who worked as a trainer and manager for General Dynamics and then had a career teaching manufacturing skills in local public schools. Five years ago, when he retired, he and Gallo set up a nonprofit technical school for unskilled locals, and intensified training programs in the pub- lic schools, whose students are mainly from poor households. In these programs, the students learn to use and repair the machinery that defines the advanced - manufacturing age: 3-D printers, robots, and enormous CNC (computer numeri- cally controlled) machine -tool systems. "We're training them on real machines, with real national -level certification, for good real-world jobs that really exist," Clarke told me in the machine shop at his nonprofit school, beneath a banner say- ing WE ARE MAKING AMERICA GREAT IN MANUFACTURING AGAIN. Since 2010, he said, more than 400 students had passed through the school "right into the high-tech manufacturing world." This was going on in the same city that was blanketed by reporters from around the world for several weeks. They did a thorough job on one particular story in San Bernardino, but more was happening. As a whole, the country may seem to be going to hell. That jeremiad view is a great constant through American history. The sentiment is predictably and particularly strong in a presidential -election year like this one, when the "out" party always has a reason to argue that things are bad and getting worse. And plenty of objective indicators oftrouble, from stag- nant median wages to drug epidemics in neral America to gun deaths inflicted bylaw -enforcement officers and civilians, sup- port the dystopian case. But here is what I now know about America that I didn't know when we started these travels, and that I think almost no one would infer from the normal diet of news coverage and political discourse. The discouraging parts of the San Bernardino story are exceptional—only five other U.S. cit- ies are officially bankrupt—but the encouraging parts have resonance almost anywhere else you look. Mike Gallo and Bill Clarke are politically conservative and, as I heard from Clarke in particular, they share the current GOP pessimism about trends for the country as a whole. But they both feel encouraged about the collaborative efforts on education reformunderway right now in their own town. What is true for this very hard -luck city prevails more generally: Many people are discouraged by what they hear and read about America, but the closer they are to the action at home, the better they like what they see. What Americans have heard and read about the country since Deb and I started our travels is the familiar chronicle of stagnation and strain. The kinds of things we have seen make us believe that the real news includes a process of revival and reinvention that has largely if understandably been overlooked in the political and media concentration on the strains of this Second Gilded Age. "In scores of ways, Americans are figuring out how to take advantage of the opportunities of this era, often through bypassing or ignoring the dismal national conversation," Phil- lip Zelikow, a professor at the University of Virginia and a director of a recent Markle Foundation initiative called "Re- work America," told me. "There are a lot of more positive narratives out there—but they're lonely, and disconnected. It would make a difference to join them together, as a chorus that has a melody." This is the alternative melody we would like to introduce. MANY PEOPLE ARE DISCOURAGED ABOUT AMERICA. BUT THE CLOSER THEY ARE. TO THE ACTION AT IIOME, THE BETTER THEY LIKE WIIAT 711117V CFR 60 MARCH 3016 S96 ATLANTIC 'N EARLY 2013, Iplacedashortitem on The Atlantic's Web site asking for advice from readers about cities of a certain type. We wanted to hear about cities whose recent dramas might reveal something about the economic and cultural resilience of the United States. I asked about cities that had suffered some kind of economic, political, environmen- tal, or other hardship during the financial crash or earlier, and whose response was instructive in either good or bad ways. I said we were looking for "smaller" cities, by which I really meant anything less famous than the big stylish centers of the East and West Coasts. I also said thatwe definitelywere not lookingforthe merely "quaint," the kitschy touches of Americana such as the little town show- casing the world's largest ball of twine. Nor were we looking for "undiscovered gems" or entries on alist ofideal low -budget retirement sites. Ratherwe hoped to treat seriouslyparts of fly- over territory that usually made the news only after a natural or man-made disaster, or as primary -campaign or swing -state locations during presidential -election years. In the end we got more than 1,000 responses—nearly 700 within a few days,—including several hundred making an ex- tended case for the significance of what had happened in the writer'stown. Suggestions have keptcoming in. The knowledge that I cannot possibly ever see most of the places I've now read about makes me surprisingly sad. But we've been steadily visit- ing as many as we can. So farwe have had extended, repeat -visit exposure (usually totaling 10 days to two weeks) to two dozen cities and towns all around the country, and shorter sessions in two dozen more. There is a high-toned tradition of road trips as a means Photographs by MARK PETERMAN f •r' J i. ` SAN BERNARDINO REINVENTION Clockwise, from tr tr^ e top left. Tay DuBois (with his daughter), - _ an artist who has ,. p� • IE,� .f<t,. 1,�' worked with Genera- u•�* tion Now, a group of young activists who have created murals and are cleaning and replanting Darks; Gloria Macias Har- .,...r rison at the Garcia- Center for the Arts,' - on whose board she - k serves; Mike Gallo, who as school -board president is helping change the city's --- low -scoring schools; Elizabeth Flores, of it - Generation Now, on one of the group's murals; Bill Clarke, At h f' -- ---- w o runs a nonpro t school teaching ad- vanced manufactur- ing skills; a gallery at the arts center. Bl t .5 WN Wvu;�L_�4 9 W14 Wn., a,, 6 of "discovering" America, from le �� 1 Lewis and Clark and s, John Lein through John Dos Passos, John Stein - beck, and William Least Heat Moon (whose Blue Highways made its debut i in these pages). Apart from other ' obvious points of contrast, our proj- ect was different in that rather than going by car (or wagon, or pirogue), , we've gone from city to city in our family's small single-engine propel- ° ler airplane, a Cirrus SRzz. This was a decision made for convenience, for beauty, and for edification. The convenience comes from the simple fact that almost any settlement in America is within close range of a place where a small airplane can land. Some 5,000 public airports, many of ht tr them built for military purposes dur-fall,and James, with a , . ing and after World War II, are scatanother two dozen, co, - tered about the U.S., making many longest swing was frat in West Virginia, KentL remote hamlets more easilyreachable returned via Montane, by air than by other means. The beauty comes from the privi- lege and unending fascination ofwatching the American land- scape unfurl below as you travel at low altitude. At the dawn of powered flight, a century ago, it was assumed that writers and painters would want to become aviators, and vice versa— Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and Ernest K. Gann were fliers who wrote; Beryl Markham, Antoine de Saint-Exup6ry, and Anne Morrow Lindbergh were writers who flew—because of the unique perspective on civilization and nature offered by the aerial view. The late novelist James Salter, who was a Korean War fighter pilot and retained his passion for fight, was a mid-century example; William Langewiesche, a longtime Atlantic writer (and the son of Wolfgang Langewiesche, whose Stick and Rudderis the flying world's equivalent of The Elements ofStyle) is a current one. A coast-to-coast drive across America has its tedious stretches, and the teeming interstate corridors, from I-95 inthe eastto I-5 in the west, canlead to the despairing conclusionthat the country is made ofgas stations, burger stands, and big -box malls. From only 2,500 feet higher up, the interstates look like ribbons that trace narrow paths across landscape that is mostly far beyond the reach of any road. From ground level, America is mainly road—after all, that's where cars can take you. From the sky, America is mainly forest in the eastern third, farmland ELEVEN SIGNS A CITY WILL SUCCEED By THE TIME we had been to half a dozen cities, we had developed an informal checklist of the traits that distinguished a place where things seemed to work. These items are obviously different in nature, most of them are subjective, and some of them overlap. But if you tell us how a town measures up based on these standards, we can guess in the middle, then mountain and desert in the west, before the strip ofintense development along the California coast. It's also full of features obvious from the sky that are much harder to notice from the ground (and difficult topick out from six miles up in an airliner): quarries atthe edge ofmost towns, to provide gravel for roads and construction sites; prisons, instantly identi- fiable by their fencing (though some mega high schools can look similar), usually miles from the nearest town or tucked in loca- tions where normal traffic won'tpass by. I never tire ofthe view from this height, as different from the normal, grim airliner perspective as scuba diving is fromtraveling on a container ship. The edification comes from lessons in history, geography, urban planning, and environmental protection and despoliation that are mescapablyobvious from above. Whyis St. Louiswhere it is? Ah, of course! It's where the Missouri and Mississippi Riv- ers come together. Why were mill towns built along the fall line ofthe Appalachians? Because ofthe long north -to -south series ofwaterfalls. As youcross South Dakotafmm east towest, from the big city of Sioux Falls at the Iowa and Minnesota borders toward Rapid City and the Black Hills and beyond, you can see the terrain change sharply. In the East River portion of the state, between Sioux Falls and the Missouri, you see flat, well - watered farmlands and small farming towns. Then past Pierre a lot of other things about ft. In midterm elections of 2014, then our experiences, these things while the Supreme Court was I were true of the cities, large or ruling on same-sex marriage small, that were working best: and Obamacare, and then as the 2016 presiden- ODlvlslve national tial campaign was polities seem gathering steam. distant concern. We �' Given the places first traveled during we were visiting,I the run-up to the bitter _. imagine that many 62 6fwnca zw16 Tae wTtwa Trc Illustrations by CHELSEA BECK you reach West River, with rough, dry badlands, some grazing cattle, and very few structures. Everyone who has looked at a map "knows" about the effect oftopography and rainfall, but it means something different as it unfolds below you, like a real- world Google Earth. You can also see the history of transportation in the way towns are settled. Even in South Dakota's fertile East River, you can easily trace from low altitude what the railroads ushered in 15o years ago, and how their impact has ebbed. As we flew along one of the east -west lines that brought settlers into these territories and carred crops out to markets, we would see little settlements every few minutes. In the 1800s they were set up at roughly to -mile intervals, anefficient distance when farmers were deliveringtheirharvests bywagon. Nowit seems that four out of five of those towns are withering, as farms are run with giant combines and crops are hauled by truck. Iwould love for more people to know how this country looks from above.I would love for America's sense ofitselfto include more ofwhat we've seen on the ground. DESPITE THE "BIG SORT," TALENT DISPERSAL IS UNDER WAY America is egalitarian, and snobbish. The city looks down on the countryside, the north on the south, the coastal meccas on the flyover interior—and ofcourse each object ofdisdain looks back with its own reverse snobbery. A version of today's hier- archical awareness is the concept of the "big sort." This is the idea that ifyou have first-rate abilities and more than middling ambitions, you'll need to end up in one of a handful of talent destinations. NewYorkfor finance; the San Francisco BayArea or Seattle for tech; Washington, D.C., for politics and foreign policy. Ifyou can make it there... This sorting is real. Through my working life, as a California patriot I have waited for the time when the news -media base would shift to the West Coast. I am waiting still. But nearly everywhere we went we were surprised by evi- dence of a different flow: of people with first-rate talents and ambitions who decided that some- place other than the biggest cities offered the best overall opportunities. We saw and documented examples in South Carolina, and South Dakota, and Vermont, and the central valley of California, and central Oregon. I'll talk now about northern Minnesota and inland Southern California. Duluth, Minnesota, has become one of the country's aerospace centers largely because the two brothers who founded Cirrus Design, Alan and Dale Klapmeier, decided that they wanted to of the people we interviewed were Donald Trump supporters. But the presidential race just didn't come up. Cable TV was often playing in the background, most frequently Fox News; if people had stopped to talk about what was on, they might have disagreed with one another and with us. But overwhelmingly spend their working lives amid the same Upper Midwest land- scape and outdoors opportunities with which they had grown up. And now another generation of entrepreneurs is choosing Duluth. The Benson brothers, Dave and Greg, grew up in Min- neapolis and went to college in the early 19gos at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. If you saw them in Southern Califor- nia, you might think they were surfers—shaggy-haired, rangy, weathered. Their sports were instead the northem-plains vari- ants: skiing, ice-skating, and skateboarding. Soon after college, in 1997, they founded (with a friend, Tony Ciardelli) a company called TmeRide, which became a successful manufacturer oframps, half -pipes, and other ingre- dients of outdoor skateboard parks. They started the company in Minneapolis but moved to Duluth because it was so much more affordable. They also liked Duluth's livable scale, and what locals consider its year-round recreational opportuni- ties. (Year-round if you enjoy the cold: When we visited the Bensons' manufacturing plant, a week after Memorial Day in 2014, the last ice floe on Lake Superior had just melted. But, proving the locals' loyalty, that same week residents were out- voting people from the likes of Asheville, North Carolina, and Provo, Utah, to win Outside magazine's online poll to choose America's "Best Town.") The skateboard parks that TmeRide sold were made of expensive plastic and composites. The Bensons didn't like how much scrap was left over after they cut out the big sections for their skating ramps. They formed first a kitchenware company called Epicurean, then a furniture works called Lou, to make chairs, tables, cutting boards, and other products from the material they had been discarding. On a wooded hillside outside Duluth, some of the compa- ny's design and manufacturing offices are housed in a building that had once been a factory producing cement burial vaults and then was closed as a hazardous brownfield site. The city and state governments agreed to help clean up the site if the Bensons based their businesses there. As you approach from the back, you think, "This is what a Depression -era burial -vault factory would look like." Once you step inside the door, you're in an environment that the hippest firm in San Fran- cisco or Brooklyn would envy: recycled timber, taken from the frigid depths of Lake Superior, for the walls, staircases, and beams; other structures made of the companies' own sleek plastic; one whole wall of glass, looking out on the woods. From this building, Loll and Epicurean ship their products to customers in 61 countries. As Dave Benson showed us around, employees went off to the focus in successful towns was not on national divisions but on practical problems that a community could address. The more often national politics came into local discussions, the worse shape the town was in. ©You can pick out the local patriots. A standard question we'd ask soon after arrival was "Who makes this town go?" The answers varied widely. Sometimes it was a mayor or a city -council member. Sometimes it was a local business titan or real-estate de- veloper. Sometimes a university president or professor, a civic activist, an artist, a saloon- keeper, a historian, or a radio personality. In one city in West Virginia, we asked a newspaper editor this ques- tion, and the answer turned out to be a folk musician who was also a civic organizer. What mattered was that the question had an answer. And the THE ATLANTIC MARCH 1016 63 jog on lunch breaks; in the winter they ski or skate. Racks just inside the front door hold their sporting equipment. The Duluth area has new funis in aerospace, medical equip- ment, environmental tech, and other fields. "Ten years ago there weren't many start-ups," Dave Benson told us. "Now it's buzzing." Ifyou saw this operation in San Francisco or Seattle, you would think:Ofcoursel Where else could you combine the product -design talent that can appeal to a worldwide market, the emphasis on sustainability that has made the firm a leader in recycling techniques, and the production skills necessary to create a rapidly changing line of items? But you find it in Duluth—"because we just like the quality of life here," Dave Benson said. And you find it in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Greenville, South Carolina; Burlington, Vermont; Louisville, Kentucky; Bend, Oregon; and Davis, California. And in larger but noncoastal cities like Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. And in Redlands, neighbor of now -notorious San Ber- nardino. When Iwas growingupthere, inthe Baby Boom era, its economy rested on the orange -growing business, the neighbor- ing Norton Air Force Base, and a medical community serving the nearby desert area. Now the orange groves are nearly gone, the Air Force base is closed, and the desert communities have their own doctors—but the city has been transformed by the presence of a tech firm that by all rights should be in some big- ger, fancier place. This company, Esri, is a world leader in geo- graphic information systems, or GIS. These are essentially the industrial -strength counterparts to Google Earth, which gov- emments and companies around the world use for everything from tracking pothole repairs to monitoring climate change. Esri, which now has more than to,000 employees world- wide and 2,500 in Redlands, "should have" been based some- where near Harvard; that is where its founder, Jack Danger - mond, did his original work in GIS in the late ig6os. But he and his wife, Laura, had grown up in Redlands (where I knew them), and preferred it. "We fundamentally felt more comfort- able starting out, living, working, and operating our business in a place that was sort of off the grid, where we could actu- ally get things done," he wrote in an e-mail. Instead of going to where the tech talent pool already was, they chose where they wanted to be and recruited talent to join them there. Not every computer programmer wants to live in a less expensive, family -friendly city rather than in the BayArea, but enough do to make the company a success. The Dangermonds still own the company, which is valued in the billions, and have taken on a role as smaller -town counterparts to Warren Buffett: per- sonally unflashy, doing internationally successful work from an out-of-the-way location, and behind the scenes support- ing the town's philanthropies, especially conservation efforts. more quickly It was provided, the better shape the town was in. Public-private pari ner- ships"are real. Through the years I had assumed this term was just another slogan, or a euphemism for sweetheart deals between Big Government and Big Business. But in successful towns, people can point to some- thing specific and say, This is what a partnership means. In Greenville, South Carolina, the public -school system includes an elementary school for engineering in a poor neighbor- hood. The city runs the school; local companies like GE send in 64 MARCN 3016 THE ATLANiIt (Jack Dangermond's parents, Dutch immigrants, ran a nursery in town, and his original training was in landscape architec- ture.) The Esri campus in Redlands, like Lon and Epicurean's in Duluth, is just what you'd expect to find in a famous tech center, exactly where you wouldn't expect to find it. Where you wouldn't expect, that is, except we have seen so much of this nearly every place we've gone. America thinks of itself as having a few distinct islands of tech creativity; I now see it as an archipelago of start-ups and reinventions. John Deane, a co-author (with CourtneyGeduldig) of Where the Jobs Are, argues that new -business formation is the single most important guide to future employment trends. This is because of the unlikely -sounding but true economic observa- tion that, over the decades, all the net new job growth within the U.S. economyhas come from firms in their first five years of existence (and mainlyfrom fast-growing ones in theirvery first year). Big, established f rms—Wahnart, McDonald's—employ a lot of people. But the increase in jobs, overall, statistically comes from new firms, as they go from no employees to the first dozens or hundreds. The Kauffman Foundation annually engineers to teach and super- vise science fairs, at their own expense. In Holland, Michigan, the family-owned Padnos scrap -recycling company works with a local ministry called 700 Life Recovery to hire ex - prisoners who would otherwise have trouble reentering the workforce. In Fresno, California, a collaboration among the city, county, and state govern- ments; local universities; and several tech start-ups trains high-school dropouts and other unemployed people in computer skills. The more specifically a community can explain what their public-private partnerships mean, the better off the city is. ranks the "start-up density" ofinetro areas: the number of new firms divided by population size. It covers larger metro areas than most we visited, but San Francisco is not even in the top to of the 2015 ranking (it's No. tz). Miami, New York City, and Orlando are the top three, followed by Austin, Denver, and Tampa. Columbus, Ohio, showed the greatest increase in start-ups from the preceding year. In 2ot5 both New York State and Florida made the list oftop to states in start-up density, at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. The rest were flyover states—North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota, Colorado, Vermont, and Nevada. North Dakota and Wyoming might be downplayed as energy -boom outliers, but the rest reflected "normal" business growth. A great, underappreciated advantage of "every- where else" in America: The real estate is cheap. In New York, in San Francisco, in half a dozen other cities, everything about life is slave to hyper - expensive real estate. hr Sioux Falls, South Dakota; in Allentown, Pennsylvania; in inland California; across the south, costs are comparatively low. This OPeople know the civic story. America has a "story," which everyone under- stands even if only to say it's a myth or a lie. A few states have their guiding stories—California as either the ever -promising or the sadly spoiled frontier, Ver- mont as its own separate Eden. Successful cities have their has an effect—on how much you have to work, on what you think you need, on the risks you can take. Every calculation— the cash flow you must maintain, the life balance you can work toward—is different when a very nice family house costs a few hundred thousand dollars rather than a few million. "HOPELESS" PLACES ARE BUSILY REINVENTING THEMSELVES Apart from San Bernardino, the hardest -pressed place we vis- ited was the area of northeastern Mississippi, close to the Ala- bama border, that hasrebranded itself asthe "Golden Triangle." This is rolling, wooded country rather than the bottomland of the delta, but it is nearly as poor. The cities that make up the triangle are Columbus, Starkville, and West Point. During the slaveholding era and afterward thiswas a cotton center; Colum- bus still has a rich endowment of antebellum homes. In mod- ern times the region has had an economic base consisting of the campus of Mississippi State University, in Starkville; an Air Force pilot -training base outside Columbus; some catfish farms; and low-wage, low-tech factories. Nonetheless, the long-term trendwas downward. A quarry and workshop in Columbus that supplied marble headstones for the military and that thrived during the Vietnam War closed. The low-wage, low-tech facto- ries that had come to the area after World War II—a toilet -seat plant, cut -and -sew garment workshops, a meatpacking plant owned by Sara Lee that once employed r,000 people—closed one byone. Alittle more than halfofthe 120,000 or so residents ofthe Golden Triangle are white; most ofthe rest are black. The median household income last year was about $35,000, versus about $54,000 for the country as a whole. Ifyou wanted a vista of American hopelessness, you might think to start in Mississippi. But here again we heard that though the country as a whole was in trouble, things at home were moving in the right direction. The main economic turnaround of the region is generally traced to an organization called Golden Triangle Development Link and its leaders, awhite man from Arkansas named Joe Max Higgins and a black woman from Mississippi named Brenda Lathan. Over the past decade they have negotiated, cajoled, and otherwise persuaded a series of international manufactur- ing firms to build new factories in an industrial zone surrounding the new Golden Triangle airport, equi- distant from the three cities. What is remarkable is less the details ofthe negotiations than the sense and pace of progress, in yet another corner of America where you'd hardly expect it. When we first visited early last year, Joe Max Higgins took us to the most modem "mini -mill" C1 stories too. For Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that it's just the right size. big enough so that people who have come from the smaller -town prairie can find challenge, stimulation, opportu- nity; small enough to be livable and comfortable. For Columbus, Ohio, which is several times larger than Sioux Falls, that it's big enough to make anything possible; small enough to actu- ally get things done. For Bend, Oregon; or Duluth, Minnesota; or Winters, California, that they are in uniquely attractive locations. For Pittsburgh, that it has set an example of successful turn- around. For Eastport, Maine, or Allentown or Fresno or Detroit, that they are in the process of turning around. As with guiding national myths, the question is not whether these assessments seem precisely accurate to outsiders. Their value is in giving citizens a sense of how today's efforts are connected to what happened yesterday and what they hope for tomorrow. THE .ATLANTIC MARCH 1016 65 for producing steel in North America, in the Golden Triangle industrial zone. This "mini" structure is what most lay ob- servers would consider to be unimaginably vast. Ladles that appeared to be the size of 747s transported burbling loads of molten metal. The cooling line for the endless stream of new sheet metal stretched thousands offeet, under one roof. Moun- tains of scrap metal, from recycling shops and auto junkyards, sat outside the mill, raw material for the new steel to be made inside. This was the closest I have come in the United States to the experience of major factory life in China—and it was in mral Mississippi, where a racially mixed workforce of almost 7oo earned a median wage of more than $8o,000. A Russian - owned company invested more than $1.5 billion to build this plant starting in zoos. Steel Dynamics, based in Indiana, bought it two years ago and is expandingproduction. Now it is only one ofseveral major high -wage manufacturers in the area. Several times over the past three years, Deb and I have flown, low, over the factories of the Golden Triangle. They look as if they were laid out in an instructive diorama. Near ©They bove a downtown. This seems obvious, but it is probably the quickest single marker of the condition of a town. For a "young" country like the United States, surprisingly many cities still have "good bones," the classic Main Street - style structures built from the late 1800s through World War Il. In the mall -and -freeway decades after the war, some of these buildings were razed and many more were abandonedor disfigured with cheap aluminum fronts. Most of the cities we 66 ...R." 3 , iXE dT L.�NTrG the older, smaller Lowndes County airport in Columbus are the all -but -abandoned toilet -seat works, the shut -down gar- ment factories, the headstone works, and other sad -looking remnants of an old economy. Ten miles west, a few minutes' flight, isthe large, modem runway ofthe Golden Triangle com- mercial airport, with the sprawling steelworks on one side, and helicopter and truck -engine plants nearby. A few minutes to the north, just past some catfish farms and cattle -grazing land, is a scene of industrial ruin: the derelict Sara Lee meatpacking plant in West Point, which was being picked apart by wreckers on our first visit early last year. When we flew over the same area again three months ago, a $300 million Yokohama Tires factory had just opened, with the company's most modem pro- duction facilities in the world. THE ASSIMILATION ENGINE MOVES EVER FORWARD Almost every place we went, the changes in America's ethnic makeup were obvious. Almost no place did this come up as visited were pouring attention, resources, and creativity into their downtown. The Main Street America project, from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has coordinated downtown -revival projects in some 2,000 communities. Of the downtowns we saw, Greenville's and Burlington's were the most advanced, studied by planners around the world. But down- town ambitions of any sort are a positive sign, and second- and third -floor apartments and condos over restaurants and stores with lights on at night an economic, cultural, or political emergency, or even as the most pressing local issue. Based on everything we could see, the problems of immigration that presidential candidates have seized on for political advantage were largely another "rest of America" problem. That is, people generally saw things as manageable or improving locally, but believed they were fall- ing apart everyplace else. In 2014, a nationwide Gallup poll found that immigration had "modestly below-average importance to registered vot- ers"; on a list of 15 challenges facing the nation, it came in at No. 9. In 2015, Gallup found that 65 percent of Americans thought levels of immigration should stay the same—or go up. In California, the state most dramatically affected by immi- gration, a 2015 poll reported that 59 percent of voters viewed immigration as a "positive force." If you hadn't heard the speeches and read the stories about an immigration -driven crisis in America, you might conclude city by city that the American assimilation machine was still functioning. We saw this shift all around the country: older people suggest that the downtown has crossed a decisive threshold and will survive. OThey are near a research university. Research universities have become the modern counterparts to a natu- ral harbor or a river confluence. In the short term, they lift the economy by bringing in a stu- dent population. Over the longer term, they transform a town through the researchers and profes- sors they attract: When you find a Chinese or German physicist in the Dakotas, or a Yale litera- ture Ph.D. in California's whiter, younger people darker. One version of what hap- pens next is familiar to anyone who's ever read a newspaper. Richer, whiter people think that public schools, public places, center cities are no longer for "people like us" and withdraw themselves, their children, and their tax support to the sub- urbs or private schools. We did see cases of that. But we also saw the opposite. One example: The little town of Holland, Michigan, got its name because so many Dutch people congregated there. A generation ago, its population was overwhelmingly white, mainly Dutch, and generally affiliated with sects of the con- servative Dutch Reformed Church. In high-school graduation photos from the 1970s, nearly all the faces are of blue-eyed blondes. Since then, Michigan's surprisingly important agricultural industry, including a large Heinz pickle factory right in down- town Holland, has drawn a substantial Latin American popu- lation, and strong Holland -area manufacturing and design companies have drawn immigrants from around the world. By zoos the public -school population in this famously white town was mainly nonwhite. In 2010 the superintendent of Holland's public schools, Brian Davis, who grew up in a white fanning family in Michi- gan, began a campaign to get major new bond funding for the schools. This was in the depth of the financial collapse, in a hard -bit state, in the same election cycle inwhich the Tea Party made its debut—and Davis was asking a mainly white elector- ate, most ofwhom did not have children in the public schools, to refinance the schools. And they did. The new programs and facilities paid for by the bond, according to Davis, helped reverse a decline in public confidence in the schools. "We have children who come from homes with $1 million -plus annual income, and ones who come from homes with incomes under $20,000," Davis told me in 2013. "Just under to percent of them are considered homeless." He reeled off some ofthe 20 native languages ofhis students. "Ofcourse Spanish, but then Japanese, Russian, Tagalog, Korean. We've got more Garcias than Vans"—Van being the shorthand for standard Dutch names. "We're what the future ofpublic education looks like." This is the reality as we heard it in many other cities. Another example: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It would be easy to take this city as an example of the ways in which American ethnicity is not changing. Sioux Falls is nearly 90 percent white. But a very noticeable part of the Sioux Falls street scene are people who obviously did not come from Spearfish, or Bis- marck, or the other farming towns of the Great Plains. Some are American Indians from Pine Ridge or other reservations; Central Valley, that person probably works for a university. Research universities have become powerful start-up incubators. For instance: Clemson and the array of automotive - tech firms that have grown up around it in South Carolina, or UC Davis and associated agro-tech ventures. Riverside and San Bernardino were similar -size cities with similar economic prospects at the end of World War II. Their paths have diverged, in part because in the 1950s Riverside was chosen as the site of a new University of California campus. THE ATLANTIC MARCH 2016 67 some are Latino or Asian migrants as in any other city; but a substantial number are Somalis, Sudanese, or people from Nepal or Burma or other sites of recent turmoil. The U.S. State Department manages the resettlement of refugees across the country, working mainly with religious groups. Sioux Falls, despite being relatively "nondiverse" and remote, is a citywith one of the best records of absorbing refugees (Burlington, Ver- mont, is another). The civic and business leaders ofSioux Falls we spoke with, most of them white, seemed proud rather than beleaguered about their city's new role as a melting pot. As always, there were problems and challenges. Refugees from Sudan and Somalia had to be instructed not to offer bribes if stopped by the police—and the police had to be told not to throw the book at the refugees. A boy from Africa had never used an indoor toilet and had to be shown how. Sioux Falls is reviving its down- town district, but most ofthe area is laid out in typical freeway - era American sprawl. Many refugees don't have cars (or can't drive), and they can't rely on the shaky public -bus system. So on hot days in the summer andverycold winternights, youcan see groups of Somalis or Sudanese trudging along the road- ways to and from their jobs at factories or shopping malls. The most dramatic display ofthis era's assimilation process is at a huge pig slaughterhouse, one of the dominant features of downtown Sioux Falls' cityscape. The plant was set up in the early 19oos by the John Morrell company; for many years it was the city's largest employer, and it still employs more than 3,000 people; eventually it was sold to Smithfield and All ERICA in 2013 to the Chinese firm Shuang- OF ITSEL, hui (which hoped that American -raised HAVING and -processed meat would be popular among Chinese customers wary oftainted- food scandals). Through the zoth century, the Morrell plant was a site of represen- tative struggles in American society: the violent efforts to unionize the workforce in the 193os and the corporate efforts to de -unionize it in the 198os, as wave after wave of newcomers arrived from overseas or farm towns to work "at Morrell's" as their entr6e to urban life. University professors, bankers, newspaper reporters, and tech workers in Sioux Falls told me that their families had first moved to the city to work at the plant. The workers at the slaughterhouse are now largely immi- grants and refugees. The safety and work -Hiles instructions are posted in 30 languages. The workers on the line, cutting up pig carcasses, include Muslim women from Sudan or Somalia, saving money to send their children to college. Deb met two young sisters from Darfur, one ofwhom was in high school and had joined ROTC there. Her main regret was that she was not allowed to wear her ROTC uniform to school on dress days, because ROTC rules forbade wearing the uniform with a head scarf. (Yarmulkes were acceptable, since they fit under the uni- form cap.) We heard a few months later that the rule had been waived. The young woman wore her ROTC uniform, with her head scarf, to school. AN ARTS REVOLUTION IS TRANSFORMING SMALL CITIES I am a philistine, who has not really cared about the state of the arts. Give me research centers and "makerspaces" with 3-D printers, plus a factory or two, and I'll tell you how i feel about a town. Perhaps the topic on which I've most changed my mind through our travels concerns the civic importance of local arts, and the energy being devoted to them across the country. Almost every place we visited offers an example: Bend, Oregon, whose Art in Public Places project has installed large sculptures at zo traffic roundabouts; Bethlehem, Pennsylva- nia, which has converted the ruins of a Bethlehem Steel plant into a concert center and arts space; Riverside, California, with life-size sculptures of prominent leaders of all ethnici- ties throughout its new downtown mall; Rapid City, South Dakota (the closest city I'll I I N F S to Mount Rushmore), with its life-size AS sculptures of all the American presidents FEW spaced throughout its downtown; Winters, California, with its springtime Plein Air Festival, for which it invites artists to visit and portray the area in paintings, sculp- ture, or photographs. Three examples of what is happening elsewhere are in the largish city of Pittsburgh; the smallish city of Fresno, California; and the tiny town of Ajo, Arizona. Pittsburgh's late-zoth-century trans- formation from dirty, dying steel center to chic tech hub is probably the best-known American turnaround story. Parts of it are instructive for cities elsewhere, notably the emphasis on universities as centers of new -tech growth. Parts are unique. "Pittsburgh feels as vibrant as it does—museums, opera, res- taurants, but not much traffic—because we're living in an infrastructure built for twice as many people as live here now," Dutch MacDonald, the CEO of the design firm Maya, told me. ISLANDS OF TECH CREATIVITY; 1 NOW SEF, ITAS AN ARCIIIPEJ,AGO OF STA RT- U11S. OThey have, and caro about a community Not every city can have a research university. Any ambi- tious one can have a community college. Just about every world - historical trend is pushing the United States (and other countries) toward a less equal, more polarized existence: labor - replacing technology, global- ized trade, self -segregated residential -housing patterns, the American practice of unequal district -based funding for public schools. Community colleges are the main exception, potentially offering a connection to high -wage technical jobs for 68 MAGCN I"r6 iNE Ai LANTrC people who might otherwise be left with no job or one at minimum wage. East Mississippi Community College has taken people who were jobless or on welfare and prepared them for work in nearby factories that pay much more than the local median household income (for instance, some $80,000 in the steel factory, versus a local median income of about $35,000). Fresno City College works with local tech firms and the city's Cal State campus to train the children of farm work- ers (among others) for high- tech agribusiness jobs. Obviously, this does not end inequality, and badly run That is exactlythe formula that ledto devastation in Detroit: lots of space and buildings, not enough people. In Pittsburgh, by all accounts, the dif- ference is the extraordinary density of rich, locally rooted philanthropies set up by the titans of the robber - baron era and still committed to the city's development. The Mellon, Heinz, Carnegie, Frick, and other charities support Pittsburgh instim- tions in a way any city would envy but few can imitate. The arts initiative that struck us in Pittsburgh was bottom-up and frugally operated, rather than a big foundation project. It is known as the City of Asylum project, and its goal is to revive a run-down area of Pittsburgh and make it a haven for persecuted writers from the rest of the world. In the 199os Henry Reese, the founder of local tele- marketing and coupon -book firms, and his wife, an artist named Diane Samuels, became inter- ested in the cause ofoppressed novelists, poets, and journalists. By 2004, they had organized and opened the only indepen- dently funded U.S. branch of the City of Asylum movement, which was already strong in Europe. (There are two other such cities in the United States, but they are tun by universi- ties; Pittsburgh's is on its own.) They put up some oftheir own money, and ran fund-raisers and recruited donors for more, so they could buy a series of rowhouses in the once -seedy Mexi- can War Streets district of Pittsburgh (the streets are named for battles and generals from that war) for their writers and artists to stay for periods of months or years. One ofthe first was a long -imprisoned dissident poet from China. He decided to tum his house into public art, covering it with poems in large Chinese characters. A Burmese writer and her family came, and painted the exterior of their house with landscapes and "dreamscapes." Strolling down the streets is like being in a graffiti -covered part of town, but one where the style, palette, and theme vary building by building, and the decorations have been done carefully and proudly rather than on the fly. The program has steadily expanded, still locallyfunded; inthe past decade more than25o poets, writers, musicians, and artists from around the world have put onpub- lic performances in Pittsburgh. They have, through the arts, community colleges can make things worse by loading stu- dents with debt without improv- ing their circumstances. Nation- wide, only about 40 percent of those who start at a public com- munity college finish within six years. But we saw a number of schools that were clearly forces in the right direction. The more often and more specifically we heard people talk about their community college, the better we ended up feeling about the direction of that town. They have unusual schools. Early in our stay, we would ask what was the most distinctive school to visit enhanced the city's international reputation and, more important, given it an expanded conception of itself. Plus, the Mexican War Streets district has become a tourist draw. In Fresno, Heather Parish, the publicity director of a successful arts festival called the Rogue, said that cheap real estate would be the basis for the city's artistic future. "Fresno is the bohemia of California," she told us when we visited. "That's because you can afford to live here! And the pace of life is such that you can have a full -tune job if you need to, but not be so stressed out or have the 9o -minute commutes of L.A. You can afford the garage as your studio, if you need it, which you can't do in San Jose anymore." Of all the cities we visited, my mind changed most about Fresno—in part because I'd heard about it all my life as one of California's least hip cities, and in part because of the spark that the Rogue festival brought to the businesses in the artsy Tower District. Last February, on the opening evening of the 2015 Rogue, the capacity crowd fil- ing into the restored TowerTheater passed bellydancers, men on stilts, fire -breathers, mimes, and acrobats; inside they saw strictly timed two -minute performances by more than two dozen dramatic, musical, and stand -up -comedy artists who would be part of the festival. Nothing about it said small-town talent show. Instead it said, "There is more going on, in more places, than you imagined." The tiny -town example is Ajo, far south of Phoenix. Ajo's economic existence, like the Camegie-era version of Pitts- burgh's, once depended on heavy industry. In the early lgoos, a mining company decided to exploit a major high-grade cop- per deposit in Ajo, where Spaniards, Mexicans, and American Indians had dug small mines for manyyears. From the opening of the company's mine and an adjoining rail line just before World War I until a bitter labor dispute in 1985 that led to the mine's closure, everything about the town depended on the copper business. The ugly remnants ofthose days are a vast crater, more than l,000 feet deep and a mile across, and a mountain of mine tail- ingsvisible from 25 miles away. But thepeople mmningthe mine had cultural and artistic ambitions, and they left a beautiful at the K-12 level. If four or five I technical training, like Camden answers came quickly to mind, County High School, in Georgia that was a good sign.I Some were statewide public The examples people boarding schools, like the South suggested ranged Carolina Governor's widely. Some were School for the Arts "normal" public and Humanities, and schools. Some were the Mississippi School charters. Some em- for Mathematics and phasized career and 4* Sciences. Some were THE ATLANTIC MARCH 2016 69 legacy as well. The manager, John Greenway, was a Yale gradu- ate and a Rough Rider at San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt. His wife, Isabella, was a lifelong friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. A century ago the Greenways laid out an elegant, expansive plaza that would be admired in any Spanish town, and a comparably stately school. They lived in a white -stucco -walled, red -tile - roofed house on the highest point in the town. From there you can look, and I did, down on the lovely formal architecture ofthe town center, with the white -stucco arcades, under red -tile roofs, ofthe plaza that the Greenways built. When I first saw the plaza last year and imagined the remoteness ofAjo when it was built, I thought ofthe grand opera house that rubber tycoons had built in the Brazilian jungle, in Manaus. For years Ajo eked out an existence from what Gabrielle David, the editor of Ajo Copper News, called "blue-collar retir- ees," who came in RVs orwithtents to stretchpensions as far as they could go. Ajo is the closest town to the spectacular Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which we decided was given that name only because another reserve was already called Saguaro National Park. The dominant plant in Organ Pipe is the towering, stately saguaro, with shorter, multibranch clumps of (aptly named) organ -pipe cacti in between. But most ofthe park was closed after drug gangs murdered a park ranger in 2002; it reopened, drawing visitors, only recently. In 1992 a woman named Tracy Taft, who had once taught philosophy at Bryn Mawr College and had then been a com- munity organizer in the Northeast, visited Ajo and was so struck by the austere beauty of the Sonoran desert that she bought a house that same day. She moved there to live in 20oo, and in a collaborative process that resembles what we have seen elsewhere, she has raised money, enlisted allies, become part of nationwide city -improvement networks, and used her city's potential as an arts center as the basis for its economic revitalization. Taft is now the executive director of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance. It has collected government and foundation grants and investments to tum the "good bones" of Ajo's architecture into an arts community and destination resort. First it renovated the stately Curley School, converting it into affordable -rent apartments for painters, sculptors, pho- tographers, and others. Thenthe alliance remodeled the down- townplaza, which is a mixture ofstill-shuttered storefronts and occupied restaurants, shops, and public offices. Last year it opened the Sonoran Desert Conference Cen- ter in former schoolrooms redone in a hip style. This is designed to attract conference traffic and host "tri - national" events involving the United States, Mexico, and the nearby native Tohono O'odham Nation. "We religious or private schools. The common theme was intensity of experimentation. They make themselves open. The anti -immigrant passion that has inflamed this election cycle was not some- thing people expressed in most of the cities we visited. On the saw artists revitalizing urban inner cities and wondered if we could make ithappen intentionally in a small town," Tafttold us. The city's vitality now comes from determined use ofthe arts. THE END OF THE SECOND GILDED AGE? Everywhere we went, Deb and I saw the imprint of the great national efforts of the past. An astonishing amount of the pub- lic architecture of2rst-centuryAmerica was laid down in a few Depression -era years in the 193os, by the millions of people employed by the Works Progress Administration. The small airports we landed at were the result of mid-century defense - and -transportation building projects, as were the interstates we flew above. The grid -pattern fields ofthe farmland Midwest had been laid out by the rules of settlement from the earliest days of the republic. The practices that made them the most productive farmland in the world were crucially spurred by land-grant universities and agricultural -research schools. The wildlands and ecosystems that have escaped development did so because oftheir protection as national parks or monuments. To seize the opportunities, and cope with the failures, of this moment in American history, national efforts of the kind that more recently underlay the creation of the Internet, the GPS network, and DNA decoding might again be best. But for now, even if most parts of the complex American "system" work better than their counterparts in the rest of the world, our national politics works worse. Thus the United States has a harder time taking the steps that would make adjusting to this era less painful and more productive. As the technological and economic contrary. Politicians, educators, businesspeople, students, and retirees frequently stressed the ways their communities were trying to attract and include new people. Cities as different as Sioux Falls, Burlington, and Fresno have gone to extraor- dinary lengths to assimilate refugees from recent wars. 70 mwa cx mors rxe wrewxr�c The mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, asked us to listen for how many different languages we heard spoken on the street by business visitors. Every small town in America has thought about how to offset the natural brain drain that has historically sent its brightest young people elsewhere. The same emphasis on inclusion that makes a town attractive to talented outsiders increases its draw to its own natives. 0 The"eve bigplans. If I see a national politician with a blueprint for how things will be better 20 years from now, I think: "Good luck!" In fact, imperatives pushing toward a "gig economy" erode the pro- tections of the corporate -employment model—more side income via Uber and Etsy, fewer guaranteed pensions or health benefits—national policy could respond, as it did more than a century ago when the industrial age eroded the protec- tions of the family -farming era. Then, the response took the form of safety legislation, child -labor laws, union rights, and the minimum wage. Now it could take the form of extensions of health-care cover- age and other safeguards harder to obtain without career -long jobs. Technology - friendly economists like Laura Tyson, of UC Berkeley, and Lenny Mendonca, of McKinsey, have laid out just such pro- grams. As automation and world trade eliminate, or immiserate, some of today's jobs, schools can helpprepare students for other kinds—as happened a century ago with the creation ofhigh schools and then again after World War II with the GI Bill. But that won't happen soon. Whichever party wins the presidency, the other will hold enough of the Congress to make comprehensive measures of any sort very hardtopush through. That is whylocal resilience and adaptabil- ityofthe kindwe have witnessed deserve nationwide attention. It's now commonplace to observe that the United States is living through a Second Gilded Age. The distortions of that first age—the extremes of wealth and welfare, the sudden dis- locations due to technology and trade and ethnic change, the dismay about corrupt and plutocratic politics, the shunting of populist concerns toward racist outbursts—all have their clear counterparts now. Sadly, history is not so mechanistic that we can say: Things turned out all right the last time around, so let's wait for the reforms to happen again. But when we think about the shift from the original Gilded Age, in the late 19th century, to what came after, three elements can show us what to anticipate and what to seize on right now. The first, unpredictable element is the national shock that galvanizes effort. For me the central document in American political psychology is William James's 1910 essay "The Moral Equivalent of War." America is capable of almost anything when threatened militarily, James argued; think what it could do if it could musterthe same detenninationwithoutthe threat. The sin of commission for the United States after its greatest recent shock, the 9/11 attacks, was the invasion of Iraq, with the consequences it will entail through the decades. The sin of omission may have been worse, to miss the opportunity for real national improvement. Consider how Dwight Eisenhower used the then -terrifying "Sputnik shock" of the late 1950s: mainly as a spur to technological and educational investment. The second element is one that Paul Starr, of Princeton University, stresses in a 2015 American Prospect essay called "How Gilded Ages End." Democracy, he argues, finally de- pends on and is defined by the ability ofpolitical power to con- trol strictly economic forces. Otherwise you're talking about a nationwide corporation, not a country. American history of the era that began with J. P. Morgan and ran through the New Deal was about political power re- asserting its preeminence. "Behind the myriad of specific reforms" that consti- tuted the early-zoth-century Progressive movement, Starr writes, "was a common recognition—a collective revulsion against the privileges of great wealth allied with great power." He argues that the coun- try is due for such an adjustment again. Through the past generation -plus, this struggle has been cast as a Republican - versus -Democratic issue. From Nixon onward, the modem GOP has channeled resentment about intellectual and cul- tural elites, and racial minorities, into support for the business elite. Thus white voters in West Virginia or Kansas support tax policies that disproportionately benefit financiers in New York and San Francisco. Despite their obvious differences, the discontents propelling Donald Trump's campaign and that of Bernie Sanders could signal a change. SIOUX FALLS, DESPITE BEING "NONDIVERSE," IS A CAI'Y WITH ONE OF THE BF,ST RECORDS OF ABSORBING REFUGEES few national politicians even pretend to offer a long-term vision anymore. When a mayor or city -council member shows me a map of how • new downtown resi- dences will look when completed, or where the new greenway will go, I think: "I'd like to come back "Cities still make plans, because they can do things. They have craft brew- erfes. One final marker, perhaps the most reliable: A city on the way back will have one or more craft brewer- ies, and probably some small distilleries too. Until 2012, that would have been an unfair test for Mississippi, which effec- tively outlawed craft beers by setting maximum alcohol levels at has even more. A town that has craft breweries also has a certain kind of entrepreneur, and a critical mass of mainly young (except 5 percent. Now that for me) customers. law has changed, You may think I'm jok- and Mississippi has ing, but just try to find .Cf 10 craft breweries. Cf an exception. Once -restrictive Utah 2L — James Fallows THE ATLANTIC MARCH 2016 71 THE LIBRARY CARD By DEBORAH FALLOWS OS WE TRAVELED around the U.S. reporting on the revival of towns and cities, we always made the local library an early stop. We'd hit the newspaper offices, the cham- ber of commerce, city hall, and Main Street for an introduc- tion to the economics, politics, and stresses of a town. The visit to the public library revealed its heart and soul. The traditional impres- sion of libraries as places for quiet reading, research, and borrowing books—and of librarians as schoolmarmish shush-ers—is outdated, as they have metamorphosed into bustling civic centers. For instance, Deschutes Public Library in Bend, Oregon, now cooperates with dozens of organizations, from AARP (which helps people with their taxes) to Goodwill (which teaches resume writing). A social worker trains staff to guide conversations about one of the most frequent questions people trustingly bring into the library: Can you help me figure out how to meet my housing costs? There are three areas where libraries function as vibrant centers of America's towns: technology, education, and community. TECHNOLOGY Many people rely on librar- ies for their computer and Internet use. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center report, more than a quarter of Americans who had visited a public library in the past year had used a computer, the Internet, or a WiFi connection there, with the usage num- bers higher among minorities and low-income groups. More ambitiously, libraries have also begun offering "makerspaces"—shared workspaces that provide technological tools and are designed to facilitate col- laborative work. I recently toured the makerspace at Washington, D.C:s flagship Martin Luther King Jr. library. An eclectic group of hobby- ists, entrepreneurs, and a mom with her homeschooled preteens were learning about tools like 3-D printers, laser cutters, and wire benders. Ben Franklin, who conducted some of his experiments with electricity in the public spaces of the Library Com- pany of Philadelphia, would surely appreciate today's public -library makerspaces. Miguel Figueroa, who directs the Center for the And the third element that marked the end of the first Gilded Age was fertile experimentation with new approaches and possibilities. Louis Brandeis's famous claim that the American states, rather than the central government, were the real "laboratories of democracy" came in a Supreme Court Wiling in 1932. For several decades before that, states and cities across the country had experimented with new school systems, new tax and spending schemes, new ways of providing public services, new public-health programs, new regulatory approaches, all toward the goal of responding to the crises of that age. "In Cleveland, Toledo, across the Mid- west and plains states, you saw these dedicated reformers," Michael Kazin of Georgetown University, a historian of the Progressive era and a biographer of William Jennings Bryan, told me. "Some were Socialists, some Democrats, some Republicans—they were all trying something new." One of Bryan's goals, Kazin said, was to let the politically disparate 72 MARCH 2016 l'Ne ATLANTIC Future of Libraries at the American Library Association, says makerspaces are part of libraries' expanded mission to be places where people can not only consume knowledge, but create new knowledge. EDUCATION In my conversations with librarians around the country, the most urgent topic was the education of America's youngest children. Patrick Losinski, the CEO of the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan library system, told me that when a 5 -year-old walks into kindergarten, takes a book, and holds it upside down, .you know there is no reading readiness there" I heard of many projects like Books for Babies, which is run by Friends of the Library in tiny Winters, California: Volunteers scour birth announcements and go stroller -spotting, offering each new baby a box with a T-shirt, a cap, two books, and an application to join the library. In Charleston, West Virginia, despite recent fund- ing losses that severely cut library staff, librarians still provide materials to teachers all across the 900 -square - mile county. In Columbus, Mississippi, the library gives high-school students access to Civil War -era archives— slave sale records, court cases, and secrets of the community—making real the racial history of their state. In Redlands, California, the program attracting the most volunteers is one-on-one literacy tutorials for adults. And many adults use public libraries as their access point to postsecondary online courses. COMMUNITY The library in West Hart- ford, Connecticut, offers conversational -English classes for immigrants. The library in Seattle provides citizenship classes. The library in Duluth, Minnesota, has a seed -lending program for local gardeners. The library in Washington, D.C., offers tango dancing on Sat- urday afternoons. In libraries, I have practiced yoga and tai chi, sipped lattes in coffee shops, and watched Millenni- als with laptops arrange their virtual start-up offices at long reading -room tables. Libraries serve as anchors in times of distress: The library in Fergu- son, Missouri, kept its doors open even when schools were closed, and libraries in New Jersey became places of ref- uge after Hurricane Sandy. If these seem like devia- tions from libraries' historical role as lenders of books, con- sider that, around the start of the 20th century, the earliest Carnegie libraries included bowling alleys, music halls, billiard tables, swimming pools, and gymnasiums. but actively experimental reformers in one state know about parallel efforts elsewhere. When the national mood after the first Gilded Age favored reform, possibilities that had been tested, refined, and made to work in various "laboratories of democracy" were at hand. After our current Gilded Age, the national mood will change again. When it does, a new set of ideas and plans will be at hand. We've seen them being tested in places we neverwould have suspected, by people who would never join forces in the national capital. But their projects, the progress they have made, and their goals are more congruent than even they would ever imagine. Until the country's mood does change, the people who have been reweaving the national fabric will be more effective if they realize how many other people are working toward the same end. M James Fallows is an Atlantic national correspondent. Copyright of Atlantic is the property of Atlantic Media Company and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listsery without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. iPs L Marian Karr From: Tom Markus Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 8:42 AM To: Peggy Slaughter Cc: Wendy Ford; Geoff Fruin; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Rockne Cole; Jim Throgmorton; Susan Mims; Mike Frantz; Tom Frantz; Steve Long; *City Council & All Dept Heads Subject: Re: Frantz Community Investors Ms. Slaughter: The staff has met and discussed your drafted resolution. The consensus of staff is that the resolution does not translate into any meaningful action. Further, My understanding from the conversation I had with Mike Franz is that he was going to proceed to closing without the condition of a TIF approval. In other words he portrayed that that he was going to waive the purchase agreement TIF condition. We had an extensive conversation about gap analysis. TIF, property value, the value added due to the city investment of just shy of 5 million dollars and the need for the developer to present a project with a private property investment that created an increment that would amortize a TIF project. After that conversation you presented your draft of a TIfF resolution to council member Mims. Our TIFs are project driven and issued on a rebate basis. We do not create resolutions that suggest or even hint that a TIF is being promised or even offered. Obviously, your clients will be treated like every other developer and may apply for a TIF when they have a specific project for the city to evaluate. If the project meets our TIF policy criteria, the request and our analysis would be forwarded to council for their consideration. The council retains final authority over each TIF review. In other words the council does not have to approve a TIF just because a project meets the criteria. Your resolution appears to create an obligation on the part of the City to induce your clients to move forward on the sale closure of the Moss property. Staff is not willing to recommend the resolution because we do not wish to create any impression that a TIF is promised or otherwise assured. Further, it should be clear that we are not wishing to be characterized as inducing the property to closure through a suggestion that TIF is in the offing. We will gladly reschedule the oft delayed final plat for the March 23 agenda but your resolution will not accompany it for the reasons stated herein. Tom Sent from my iPhone On Mar 16, 2016, at 7:53 AM, Peggy Slaughter <slau ter.peggy(d)gmail.com> wrote: Hi Tom, I am writing on behalf of Mike Frantz and Tom Frantz, FCI. We are looking for follow-up communication on the TIF Resolution that was sent to staff via Susan Mims. Our hope is that the Resolution can make the agenda packet on 3/17/2016 to be presented by staff at the March 23rd Council Mtg. We are also hoping to re -instate the final plat approval at the same Council Mtg. 3/23/16. With that said, the agenda items must be in this order. The TIF Resolution first, then the Final Plat Approval. We can not move forward with the Final Plat Approval without the TIF Resolution. We are working diligently to forward this transaction to a closing. We look forward to your reply. Thank you again, for your time. Peggy Peggy Slaughter Mid -West America Commercial Realty 808 5th St. Suite 105 Coralville, IA 52241 319 594 0617 Cell 319 688 3000 Office 319 688 3001 Fax slau ter.peggy(rD,gmail.com Licensed in the State of Iowa <RESOLUTION APPROVING TIF FUNDING FOR FRANTZ COMMUNITY INVESTORS (1).pdf> CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: March 15, 2016 To: Tom Markus, City Manager From: John Yapp, Development Services Coordinator �r Jason Havel, City Engineer Re: Topsoil Preservation Administration _�l Introduction: Development Services and Engineering staff have recently been discussing topsoil preservation standards, and how best to administer topsoil preservation requirements. The requirements have been evolving: In 2012, the State adopted the '4" rule' which mandated a minimum of 4" of topsoil except where less than 4" existed prior to development activity. In August, 2015 the `4" rule' was struck from the Iowa Administrative Code and replaced with an 'unless infeasible, preserve topsoil' rule. This rule requires preservation of topsoil on-site, unless it is technologically infeasible. Background: In Iowa City, topsoil preservation requirements are administered through the Grading Ordinance and Construction Site Runoff (CSR) Ordinance, and construction site inspections. Two City Divisions are responsible for plan review and inspections, depending on the stage of the development process. Engineering Division staff review grading plans associated with the construction of infrastructure, and conduct inspections during the infrastructure construction process. Acceptance of public infrastructure requires that disturbed soil be stabilized with vegetation. Building Division staff administer Construction Site Runoff (CSR) permits for individual residential and non-residential development sites. Points of inspection include ensuring there are perimeter erosion controls on site, ensuring construction fencing is in place if necessary, and ensuring topsoil is re -spread on the site. Discussion: While we have not observed local issues with topsoil being sent off-site, we have adjusted our procedures to better administer state requirements. Engineering staff have amended administrative rules and inspection protocols to include inspector verification that ..either a topsoil stockpile has been stabilized with vegetation and/or topsoil has been re -spread and seeded. over the affected site during the infrastructure phase. Building Division staff has revised CSR ,permit applications to include a schedule for stockpiling topsoil, and to require topsoil piles,are separate.from subsoils excavated for foundations/basements. Inspections include verification that topsoil .has been stockpiled on-site, has been re -spread and seeded post -construction, and temporary sediment controls have been removed. Next Steps: To ensure that developers and builders fully understand the regulations, staff is administratively adopting a self -certification process for contractors to affirm they met the topsoil preservation requirement (see attached example) — the self -certification process is also being used in other Iowa cities. The self -certification form, which would be distributed at the beginning of the permitting process, is a means of documenting and informing contractors of topsoil preservation regulations. Because staff constraints do not allow for staff to be on-site during soil -spreading and sodding activities, the self -certification is important. We noted the self -certification process in a recent meeting with the local Homebuilders Association, and intend to publicize the self -certification process with local builders and contractors in the coming weeks. Staff will continue to review plans and conduct inspections, including a final inspection for soil stabilization prior to closing a CSR permit. More detailed information on topsoil rules and regulations is attached in the memorandum from Julie Tallman. Al NOR i CITY OF IOWA CITY UNESCO CITY OF UTERATURE NPDES General Permit No. 2 Certification Plat or Project Name Lot Number or Address I certify, under penalty of law, the requirements of NPDES General Permit #2, including topsoil preservation requirements, have been met on the lot(s) listed above. I understand that the City of Iowa City, Iowa Department of Natural Resources or the Environmental Protection Agency may do additional verification of compliance with General Permit #2 on the lot(s) listed above. Any violation of the General Permit #2 requirements may result in fines or penalties as allowed by law. Owner's Signature Owner's Name (printed) Title Date Topsoil Preservation Requirements in GP#2 CITY OF IOWA CITY UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE TO: Tom Markus FROM: Julie Tallman, John Yapp DATE: 4 March 2016 RE: Topsoil Preservation Requirements on Construction Sites You had requested information on how Iowa City administers topsoil preservation requirements on construction sites. These requirements have evolved since EPA added a requirement to "minimize soil compaction and, unless infeasible, preserve topsoil' on construction sites that are regulated by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. This memo summarizes current topsoil -related regulations and makes recommendations for improving our administration of the rule. Introduction Construction projects that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of land are required to obtain coverage under the NPDES General Permit No. 2 (GP#2). The primary purpose of this permit is to regulate storm water discharges associated with construction activities; however, it also includes a post -construction topsoil preservation requirement. Recent changes to the language in GP#2 have led some communities to review their local topsoil preservation practices and code administration. Background GP#2 initially focused on controlling the sources of pollution from construction sites (sediment and concrete wash-out being the most prevalent) and specifying Best Management Practices (BMPs) for their containment. As the program matured, it incorporated post -construction pollution control measures for long-term water quality. Post -construction BMPs ranged from engineered and permanent storm water management facilities to the use of permeable pavers and soil quality restoration for storm water infiltration. To that end, in 2009 Congress adopted new construction and development effluent (discharge) guidelines with an effective date of 1 February 2010. The guidelines, found in 40 Congressional Federal Register (CFR) Part 450 Subpart B, included this language: (7) Minimize soil compaction and, unless Infeasible, preserve topsoil. The entire text is available at your request. With permit re -authorization in 2012, the State of Iowa GP#2 was amended to comply with 40 CFR Part 450 and went further in specifying how much topsoil would be preserved. A minimum of 4.0 inches of topsoil was the targeted depth, except in instances where less than 4.0 inches of topsoil existed prior to the beginning of soil disturbing activities. Topsoil Preservation Requirements in GP#2 According to Joe Griffin, Environmental Specialist in the NPDES Section of IDNR, the 4.0 inch standard was adopted to satisfy the many stakeholders who wanted a definitive baseline depth of topsoil. But after it was adopted, there was vocal opposition to the standard - primarily from the building industry - and many communities were struggling to provide staff and develop methods of inspecting to comply with the standard. In December 2014, Griffin issued a Notice of Intended Action that the Environmental Protection Commission would consider implementing the recommendations of an Executive Order stakeholders' group. The stakeholders' recommendation to the Commission was to remove the 4.0 inch specification and instead require the preservation of topsoil "unless infeasible ... not technologically possible, or not economically practicable and achievable...". Public hearings were held by IDNR in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport, and public comments were accepted by IDNR through 1 April 2015. The language specifying a 4" minimum topsoil requirement was struck from the Iowa Administrative Code in June 2015 and the new, less prescriptive standard became effective in August 2015. The text of the revised rule is available at your request. Iowa City's Procedures for Compliance with GP#2: Review and Inspection The City of Iowa City enforces GP#2 topsoil preservation requirements through our Construction Site Runoff Control Ordinance, and our Construction Site Review and Inspection Program. The ordinance gives the City authority to issue Construction Site Runoff (CSR) permits and enforce compliance with GP#2. The review and inspection program requires City staff to ensure all GP#2 requirements are implemented and involves two departments: the Engineering Division of Public Works ("Engineering"), and the Building Inspection Service of Neighborhood and Development Services ("Building"). Engineering is responsible for inspecting the installation of public improvements (e.g. subdivision infrastructure) and capital improvement projects (e.g. public street improvements). Building is responsible for inspecting all other construction projects that require coverage under NPDES GP#2 (e.g. residential and non-residential building sites). Those subdivisions that were platted after October 1�, 2012 are subject to the topsoil preservation requirement in GP#2. Engineering and Building have incorporated additional submittal requirements on Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) and revised application materials to reflect the topsoil preservation requirement. Engineering and Building staff also participate in contractor training events sponsored by Iowa Stormwater Education Program (ISWEP) to discuss methods for preserving topsoil on construction sites. What are Other Communities Doing? After the language specifying a 4" minimum topsoil requirement was struck from GP#2 in June 2015, communities responded in a variety of ways. Some communities continued their practice of having inspectors take soil probes to measure topsoil depth, and others adopted a self -certification process requiring builders to sign an affidavit, certifying that they preserved pre -development topsoil on-site. Some communities that had earlier adopted Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) 2 Topsoil Preservation Requirements in GP#2 standards for topsoil continued to require the SUDAS minimum 8" topsoil depth, and a few communities also required a minimum percentage of organic matter that was then verified by soil testing. Other communities ceased taking field measurements of topsoil depth, and relied on their observations to ensure that pre -development topsoil did not leave the site throughout the construction process. The range of practices reveals how some Iowa communities that invested in soils training for their inspectors are continuing to utilize that investment in measurable assessments. Others scaled back and adopted observable (but not measurable) qualitative measures. To meet our GP#2 permit obligations, Building and Engineering staff are amending inspection practices and permitting requirements to ensure that where land is disturbed, pre -development topsoil remains on-site. Iowa City Iowa City zoning (14-51 Sensitive Lands and Features) has preserved existing land cover since 1995 by requiring no -development buffers along the Iowa River and its tributaries; preserving varying percentages of woodlands and requiring no -development buffers around preserved woodlands; requiring no -development buffers around jurisdictional wetlands in excess of Army Corps of Engineers regulations; limiting land disturbance on slopes 25% and steeper; and prohibiting land disturbance on natural slopes that are 40% or steeper. Iowa City has a rigorous enforcement policy. The Building Division inspects sites with CSR permits quarterly and in response to citizen complaints, and Notices of Violation are issued within 24 hours for those sites that are not in compliance with the approved SWPPP. When builders do not correct Violations, they are served with citations and fines that begin at $250 and escalate to $750 for repeat violations. In some instances construction has been halted until pollution prevention measures were restored. Staff from Public Works respond to complaints about illicit discharges into the municipal stormwater conveyance, when those discharges are not associated with permitted building activity. The City has a Stormwater Quality BMP Program that provides financial assistance to property owners for projects that will help manage stormwater runoff and/or improve stormwater quality. Examples of these soil quality restoration projects include rain gardens, bio -retention cells, pervious pavement, and deep -tine aeration. Iowa City funds up to 50% of project cost, with a maximum cost -share of $3,000.00. In FY 2015 there were two applications for soil restoration projects and only one of those projects was actually completed. So far, there have been 14 applications submitted for consideration in FY 2016 - all of them for deep -tine aeration projects. Recommendations City staff feels that the basic premise of the current post -construction language included in GP#2 is adequate (and is in practice not different from previous versions). However, in order to more transparently administer the topsoil preservation requirement of GP#2, staff has incorporated new specifications for required information on development plans, and additional inspection protocols. Topsoil Preservation Requirements in GP#2 Engineering Division Engineers in the Public Works Department review subdivision plans for grading associated with the installation of infrastructure and other public improvements. The grading plan set can include an additional specification that prohibits the transport of topsoil off-site. The developer can then spread the topsoil evenly across all disturbed areas after public improvements are installed. Public Works inspectors are on-site during the installation of public improvements and can easily determine if topsoil is being trucked off-site. City acceptance of public improvements already requires that disturbed areas be stabilized with permanent vegetation. Staff will amend administrative rules for accepting public improvements, and inspection protocols can be widened to include inspector verification that the topsoil stockpile has been stabilized with permanent vegetation, and to require verification that stockpiled topsoil has been spread evenly over disturbed areas prior to seeding. Building Division Application paperwork for a CSR permit already includes an approximate schedule of construction. This schedule has been revised to include a line item for scraping and stockpiling topsoil. On the SWPPP, we now require that an applicant show the topsoil stockpile in a location that is separated from sub -soils that are excavated for basements/foundations. Our CSR inspections assess whether pollution prevention measures are in place and properly implemented. The initial inspection is required prior to building permit issuance, to verify that perimeter controls are in place. Subsequent inspections (footing, wall, etc.) include visual verification that topsoil has been stockpiled in a location that is separate from excavated sub -soils. Building inspectors can easily observe if the topsoil stockpile is trucked off-site over the course of construction. Prior to closing out a CSR permit on a building site, we inspect to confirm that all disturbed areas are stabilized with permanent vegetation and temporary sediment controls are removed. Building staff are already fully engaged in administering CSR permit applications and routine inspections, as well as investigating citizen complaints and taking enforcement actions when necessary. In order to maintain this level of service, staff is recommending that we adopt a self -certification process for builders to affirm that they are meeting the topsoil preservation requirement of GP#2. CSR permit applications include the following certification: I certify under penalty of law that I understand the terms and conditions of the NPDES GP2 that authorizes the stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the construction site as part of this certification. Further, by my signature, I understand that I am becoming the permittee or a co -permittee, along with the owner(s) and other contractors and subcontractors signing such certifications, to the IDNR NPDES GP2 for "Stormwater Discharge Associated with Industrial Activity for Construction Activities" at the identified site. As a permittee or co -permittee, I understand that I, and my company, am legally required under the Clean Water Act and the Code of Iowa, to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) developed under this CSR/NPDES permit and the terms of this CSR/NPDES permit. We recommend that the last sentence of this certification be amended to include "... including the preservation and re-application of pre -development topsoil." In this approach, builders will be 4 Topsoil Preservation Requirements in GP#2 informed of their obligation to comply with the topsoil preservation requirement at the very beginning of the application sequence for a building permit. Staff will continue to be engaged in ensuring compliance with the updated GP#2 during their review of the CSR application and SWPPP, and throughout routine CSR and building inspections. A final inspection for stabilization will still be required prior to closing a CSR permit, though staff constraints do not allow for a comprehensive survey of the site to assess whether pre -development topsoil was evenly spread prior to sodding or seeding. For that assurance, we are recommending the adoption of self -certification. As with any State or Federal regulation, these regulations are subject to revision. EPA is currently seeking comment on regulatory modifications subsequent to a 2003 court case where the 9h Circuit Court determined that EPA failed to require states ("permitting authorities") to publish notices for public review and comment, and provide the opportunity for a public hearing, prior to issuing General Permits (GP2s) to Small MS4s. The court also found that EPA failed to require states to review Notices of Intent (NO1) from Small MS4s prior to issuing GP2s, and determine if Small MS4s were engaging in Best Management Practices (BMPs) that would reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable. Iowa City is a Small MS4 community with a GP2 from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). While the burden of the court's decision is on the EPA to revise their rules, the impact of EPA's revisions will be primarily on IDNR practices which will then determine submittal requirements in Iowa City's NO/s. 5 IP8 Marian Karr From: Marcia Bollinger Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 1:39 PM To: jennifer.hemmingsen@gmail.com; 'Alicia Trimble; ann-freerks@uiowa.edu; Cecily Gabel; Chuck and Margaret Felling (mcfelling@mchsi.com); Cindy Roberts; Creekside Neighborhood Association (creeksideneighborhood@gmail.com); delholland@aol.com; Derek Johnk; docnyren@aol.com; E. Hakan Duran; Eric Jones; Erica Larson; Erin Irish; Fran Albrecht; Helen Burford (hsburford@gmail.com); 'hlweber77@hotmail.com'; icarusjj@gmail.com; jennifer I baum; Jennifer Jordan; Jerry Hansen (dansk@mchsi.com); Jim Walters (jcmwalt@infionline.net); Joyce Barker(waterfrontneighborhood@gmail.com); Katie Roche; Lorraine Bowans; Lucas Neighborhood; marilyn rosenquist; Mark Anderson; Mark Cannon; Mary Murphy; mary_knudson@msn.com; mbslonn@mchsi.com; melvin-cannon@uiowa.edu; Nancy Carlson (nenancy47@gmail.com); Nancy LeaVesseur; Northside NA; Pam Michaud; Paula Swygard (pswygard@gmail.com); Rachel Zimmermann Smith (rzimmerm@co.johnson.ia.us); rdorzweiler@juno.com; sandraarmbruster@msn.com; Sarah Clark (sclark52245@gmail.com); sdakken@gmail.com; Tim Weitzel (tweitzel.email@gmail.com); 'timgholson@gmail.com'; Ty'nCae Neighborhood; walkersic@yahoo.com; Wendy Stevenson; Wilcox, Catherine F; WiIIT@aol.com; Carol Sweeting; Chris O'Brien; Council; *Crime Prevention; Derek Frank; Doug Boothroy; Doug Hart; Eleanor M. Dilkes; Geoff Fruin; Henry Harper; Jason Havel; Jodi DeMeulenaere; John Grier; Jorey Bailey; Marian Karr; Patricia MacKay; Rob Cash; Roger Jensen; Ron Knoche; Sam Hargadine; Shannon McMahon; Simon Andrew; Stan Laverman; Steven Rackis; Tom Markus; Tracy Hightshoe; Ty Coleman; Zac Hall Cc: Brian Greer Subject: Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association Newsletter Attachments: NewsletterSpring2016 4.pdf Hello — Uncommitted PIN grants were designated by staff to assist in the printing and mailing of a neighborhood newsletter for FY16. Lucas Farms was interested in participating as they had a number of events/activities to promote and wanted to encourage neighbors to keep up with news on their Facebook page. I have attached that newsletter FYI. Thanks. Marcia Bollinger City of Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature www.icgov.org 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 522-40 319-356-5237 Z° W S -° Cc:) ° �WNE 3 OE�pOTrnLL 09 N i UJ J C- O C d O �°OJ co: -50- N P. 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CA a>'al3co� a`zIn as aZW `05 r�aa ` a uc be A TC O O T0> o rm - 0 2 a a r c 3 m 0 c� a LL m3 �-En a'_oc2a _ tLL0-Ta==42a t>dL 33aa3a�=5>' C4 p o> >- T 0.0 m C C N K aa a O „�a=�€��voN 3 vOi a t o m Z! o 41 m Eli c F !_^ a 2 _a O L T 0 ors _a0 o u o 0 0o a acE j x�c--ago c Q Ea_�'3ma3o- o N = m v `a m F o� 3:,.O E E °o J cEQ;>M - a o LL m2 5<n o> 2U O ;z�aax=" -= aa o > O m CJ uao, �'LL352m Q C4 No, N � N Q Za�L Q Q N C 0u Zu7 N �N aox o � 3 MZ LL 3 L,o r a "c oV')-„s2 a> o �a'�"uvcv0 3 o N LL r _ a_ anLY nTa w3co 0 2!.E 'Ov 33n n N a ? v 0 O Q a (o - aaE �c �MEM-09.-.Ev �am>mU'Y8.0tN �tc0 m 0 > o W MW _ c� - Oo -rn —oc �Ea LLn ` 3 a❑��M. -> Z. c o T W C �dc Etv� a 3'o N n -__ _' Ea M. 3 a- !_^ v 3 c m a �c a- N a3U C : t� T9 C Q O a T La�a rn 2! lb . 'c a3 �-Q 0 LLi y`ILL LLd a �E >30 _ c Q ego=aU� _ a3 m E- w a a- c am- avlo ac 7 7---c�m'N ov >� vac ya _- ->o5'c ego O Q o"=-==sa_NO_ v �a--a Q COI_ • • �3o N LL.22 w ZFLL du FQ dinU aO aox o � 3 MZ LL 3 L,o r a "c oV')-„s2 a> o �a'�"uvcv0 3 o N LL r _ a_ anLY nTa w3co 0 2!.E 'Ov 33n n N a ? v 0 O Q a (o - aaE �c �MEM-09.-.Ev �am>mU'Y8.0tN Marian Karr From: City of Iowa City <CityoflowaCity@public.govdelivery.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 9:21 AM To: Marian Karr Subject: City Council Schedules Two Listening Posts O SHARE Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. 10WACITY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 16, 2016 Contact: Marian Karr Phone: 319-356-5041 City Council Schedules Two Listening Posts The City Council of Iowa City has announced two listening posts in April. The first will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 1 at Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center, 2651 Roberts Road. The second listening post will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20 at the University Capitol Centre (Old Capitol Town Centre), 200 S. Capitol Street, room 2520D on the 2nd floor. Two Council members will attend each listening post and will report back to the full Council. Members of the community are encouraged to stop by and meet with Council representatives to discuss any community item. No formal agenda or presentation is planned. For additional information, questions, or suggestions on future locations for listening posts, please contact City Clerk Marian Karr at Marian-Karr(a)Iowa-citv.org, 319-356-5041; or Equity Director Stefanie Bowers at Stefanie-Bowers(a)iowa-citv.org, 319-356-5022. I ! >A^ 1 Questions? .w.6_ Contact Us CITY OF IOWA CITY STAY CONNECTED: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: MidAmerican ENERGY. March 7, 2016 Ms. Marian Karr, City Clerk City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Ms. Karr: rm IP10 MidAmerican Energy Company EconomicAdvantage® 666 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309-2580 515-281-2287 Telephone 515-242-4395 Fax As part of the MidAmerican Energy Company — Iowa City electric and natural gas franchises approved in November 2007, please find the enclosed annual report to the Iowa City Council. The report summarizes the community contributions and involvement of MidAmerican Energy and its employees within the Iowa City community during calendar year 2015. Please let me know if you or any of the council members have any questions. Sincerely, eA-V� �W- ;��/ Kathryn M. Kunert Vice President Economic Connection and Integration N O O\ c.n Iowa City Community Report Calendar Year 2015 This report is being submitted in accordance with the electric and natural gas franchises agreements between the city of Iowa City and MidAmerican Energy Company. The report voluntarily summarizes the support which MidAmerican Energy, the company's Foundation and employees have contributed to the community for calendar - year 2015 and the preceding three years. All figures are submitted in good faith and are accurate to the best of MidAmerican Energy's knowledge and record-keeping. The following sections outline key donations made by MidAmerican to Iowa City organizations and programs last year. Property Taxes MidAmerican is one of the largest property tax payers in Iowa City. For the tax year ending June 2015, the company paid $1,693,648 in property taxes, broke down as follows: city of Iowa City - $726,575; public schools -$605,226; Johnson County - $301,233; and other -$60,614. For the tax year ending June 2014, the company paid $1,686,676 in property taxes, broke down as follows: city of Iowa City - $731,295; public schools - $599,813; Johnson County - $295,127; and other - $60,441. For the tax year ending June 2013, the company paid $1,696,935 in property taxes broke down as follows: city of Iowa City - $738,016; public schools - $601,201; Johnson County - $295,868; and other - $61,850. For the tax year ending June 2012, the company paid $1,762,644 in property taxes: city of Iowa City - $770,579; public schools - $628,062; Johnson County - $301,165; other - $62,838. The combined property tax total of the four years covered by the report is $6,975,146, with the city receiving $3,040,528, the schools $2,483,888, the county $1,205,832 and other $244,893. Economic Development and Community Involvem*nl MidAmerican recognizes a key component to keep a community Mable i§`throi%, planned economic growth and community involvement.�- r-n Page 2 of 7 Iowa City Community Report Company and economic development staff actively support Iowa City Area Development Group, Inc. by providing support funds, time, expertise and experience to the organization. A company representative has continually served on the ICAD board of directors since its founding. In addition to its annual monetary contributions to ICAD, MidAmerican brings additional resources ICAD would not otherwise have. These resources include project support, marketing underwriting, Location One Information System (a tool used to help promote available buildings and sites in Iowa City which may attract new businesses to locate in the city), EMSI (a tool to provide economic modeling assistance) and Synchronist (a tool used to help retain and expand existing businesses). The total amount contributed to ICAD during 2015 was $35,350, which included support for the 2015 Annual Meeting. In 2014, the company contributed $38,990, up from the 2013 contribution of $37,070. In 2012, financial support totaled $38,077. There are about 80 employees working and living in the Iowa City region. Many of those employees are active in civic and community organizations and projects, including service on boards such as the Home Builders Association. Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency provides significant economic benefits to Iowa City residents, businesses, the City and the University of Iowa. MidAmerican offers several programs and projects that impact residents' homes as well as numerous commercial and community projects. The City of Iowa City, like it has in the past several years, received a20,000 donation through MidAmerican's Trees Please! program. f Residents and businesses benefit from the company's energy ecie id-lin cy rebateIT - programs in two ways. First, they receive either financial incentives =or lovtere„st financing for incorporating specific types of energy-efficient building eq*tfi1enf'•and/or N ,1 r -n materials, e.g. insulation, high -efficiency furnaces and air conditioners for new construction or remodeling. Second, because they have more energy efficient homes and Paw 3 o 7 Iowa City Community Report businesses, less energy is being used on an annual basis resulting in lower overall energy costs for many years to come. One of the most popular and helpful programs has been home energy audits. To be eligible for a home energy audit, a house must be more than 10 years old. Last year, 262 homeowners and 24 business owners in Iowa City took advantage of MidAmerican's energy audit offerings. For the preceding year, 298 homes and 39 businesses took part in the programs. In 2013, 179 homeowners and 18 businesses had energy audits completed. That compares to 202 homeowners and 16 business owners in 2012. In total, 941 homes and 97 businesses in Iowa City have taken advantage of the program over the past four years to improve their energy efficiency, reduce their carbon footprints and save money. MidAmerican continually encourages all eligible home and business owners to take advantage of this energy efficiency program. During 2015, Iowa City residents and businesses received $4,235,240 in energy efficiency incentives. In the previous four years, energy efficiency rebates totaled $1,992,914 in 2014, $1,356,768 in 2013, and $1,237,892 in 2012. For the four years covered by this report, the total for residents and businesses is $8,822,814. In addition to those energy efficiency benefits, the University of Iowa continues to net positive results from using MidAmerican's energy efficiency incentives. For 2015, the University of Iowa collected energy efficiency dollars totaling $2,600,947, which was more than $200,000 higher than the previous year's amount of $2,391,323. For the n: preceding years, those totals were $2,057,587 in 2013, and $1,705,567 in,2012. 'die four ---- year total for the university is $8,755,424. Based on those two programs, MidAmerican's energy efficiency program &.- contributed $17,578,238 into the Iowa City economy for the most recent four year period.`,'.'' Examples of energy efficiency success stories are illustrated by MidAm scan's Commercial New Construction Program incentives which paid off handsomely for several local projects in 2015. The city's new Animal Adoption Center received a $21,300 check Paw 4 o 7 Iowa City Community Report for energy improvements as part of the long-standing partnership between Iowa City and MidAmerican. Additionally, an incentive check of $269,000 was presented to the Iowa City Community School District during construction of Alexander Elementary School and renovations at Penn and Twain Elementary Schools. MidAmerican staff continue to work with school district personnel in accordance with its 10 -year, $300 million facilities' master plan. Another $24,000 rebate check was presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for a LED lighting project at the jail. United Wav MidAmerican and its employees back United Way in many ways. In addition to employees volunteering for various United Way committees, the company makes a matching pledge corresponding to overall employee donations. In 2015, the combined employee and company pledges of $24,708 was the highest raised in the past four years for the United Way of Johnson County. That compares to $21,600 in 2014, $14,522 in 2013, and $15,522 in 2012. ICARE ICARE is an energy assistance program that helps customers who are unemployed, living on fixed or low incomes or experiencing a family crisis. The program provides assistance by helping these customers pay their heating bills or making their homes more energy efficient. ICARE funding comes from donations by employees and customers with a percentage match made by the company. The ICARE program is annually advertised to customers through quarterly newsletters, billing inserts or messages on customer bills. The ICARE program also is supported internally by employees through the company' JCARE — WE CARE campaign. All donations are administered in Iowa City by Hawkeye Area Commuuty Attiong Program, Inc. (HACAP). To qualify, customers must meet the state's Low-Kdme Hom 3 w '4; Energy Assistance Program guidelines. The 2015 donations from Iowa City custorii rs ark the company's match totaled $28,579. In 2014, that total was $28,885. In 2W, ther- mount was $30,063 and it was $31,206 in 2012. Page 5 o 7 Iowa City Community Report To ensure all the donated funds can be used for their intended purpose, the company also pays administrative fees to HACAP. Budget Billing MidAmerican assists customers by offering a budget -billing program. Customers sign up for a levelized, payment plan based on past usage to allow for consistent payment; thereby, helping household budgets during the peak heating and cooling seasons. At the end of 2015, 11,480 customers were participating in the program, compared to 11,635 in 2014, 11,411 in 2013 and 10,183 in 2012. Matching Gift Program and Global Days of Service The company's Matching Gift Program encourages and supplements financial support for eligible charitable organizations and educational institutions. This program is made available to eligible employees through the MidAmerican Energy Foundation. MidAmerican's Foundation provides $100,000 annually to match donations by employees. The funds are used to match gifts by eligible persons on a first come, first serve basis during the calendar year. Eligible organizations include most public or private colleges or universities; alumni foundation or association of an eligible institution; a tax-exempt foundation whose purpose is to support public or private elementary and secondary education; or a tax-exempt organization providing cultural or general community benefits and located in communities within the company's service territory of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The aggregate total for the four years covered by this report is $66,604 in donations by the company and employees through the Matching Gift Program. MidAmerican encourages employee volunteerism around the world, a,.nd the company's Global Days of Service program allows employees to make oury comriunities better through personal volunteer work. �- The company has a $250,000 matching fund to recognize employee, v6l7unteer activities. These dollars are used to match efforts on behalf of organizations servnTg our , communities. The fund is divided among the organizations, based on the number of -hours that employees volunteer. Pae 6 of 7 Iowa City Community Report All organizations considered charitable or educational are eligible. For example, any 501(c)(3) group or educational institution may receive funds. In addition, to recognize the importance of volunteer fire departments and other public safety organizations to our communities, these organizations are eligible regardless of 501(c)(3) status. For 2015, nearly 700 volunteer hours were submitted by MidAmerican employees in the Iowa City area, with a donation total of $3,680. In the previous year, 120 volunteer hours were submitted by MidAmerican employees in the Iowa City area with a donation total of $780. In the previous year, 113 volunteer hours were submitted and $569 was paid to eligible organizations. During 2013, about $415 was disbursed, and $250 was issued in 2012. Charitable Giving MidAmerican donates charitable giving and in-kind services to support a wide range of community events and activities. Contributions included: • $10,000 sponsorship to the Summer of the Arts festival • Financial support for the Iowa City Noon Lions Club Christmas event • More than $6,310 to the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce for membership dues and sponsorship of the 2015 Annual Dinner • $500 each to the Bur Oak Land Trust and the University of Iowa's Robotics Club • $350 to the Iowa City Soccer Club= • And financial donations to three after -prom activities for Iowan ity, Vv st an d Regina High Schools. MidAmerican also assists environmental clean-up efforts through f e don�4on of work gloves and bio -degradable trash bags to various organizations. Miscellaneous Information Pae 7 of 7 Iowa City Community Report MidAmerican is No. 1 in the nation in ownership of wind -powered electric generation among rate -regulated utilities. Since 2004, MidAmerican has invested over $2 billion to expand its wind generation portfolio in Iowa — the largest economic development project in Iowa's history. At year-end 2015, MidAmerican has approximately 3,500 megawatts of wind generation capacity in the state — enough to power the equivalent of more than 1 million average households. The company also plans to begin construction in spring 2016 on winds farms in O'Brien and Ida Counties which will add up to 522 megawatts of wind generation capacity. The expansion is being constructed at no net cost to the company's customers and will help stabilize electric rates over the long term. Company officials project that by the end of 2017 the wind turbines will generate an amount equal to 57 percent of clean, non -carbon energy. Construction of MidAmerican's wind projects over the past decade has spurred economic development in the state, creating thousands of construction jobs and almost 200 permanent jobs in rural Iowa. Over the next 30 years, the company's wind projects will generate more than $1.5 billion in lease payments to landowners and property tax payments to schools, cities and counties. MidAmerican's commitment to wind also has helped Iowa attract energy - intensive businesses to locate and expand facilities, enhancing the state's economy. C;Y' M cn COMMi TY POLICE REVIEW COMMUNITY FORUA The Community Police Review Board will be holding a Community Forum for the purpose of hearing views on the policies, practices and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department. QUESTIONS & COMMENTS: Send your questions or comments you'd like addressed at the forum to the following by Tuesday, April 12, 2016: Please include full name and address. (All correspondence is public) [GUN 3 City of Iowa City 410 E Washington St Or e-mail to CPRB staff: kellie-tuttle@iowa-city.org 06A PM t? 44 Ong Offi CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa Oty. Iowa 5 2240- 182 6 (319)356-5000 13191 356-5009 FAX w'w.icgomorg LATE HANDOUTS: Information submitted between distribution of packet on Thursday and close of business on Tuesday. CONSENT CALENDAR: Resolutions and Motions ITEM # 3d(1) Email from Atty. Joe Holland, representing the applicant, requesting deferral to April 5: Churchill Meadows Parts Two and Three Correspondence ITEM 3f(14) Douglas Hills: Newspaper distribution REGULAR AGENDA: ITEM 5c - REZONING SCOTT BOULEVARD AND LOWER WEST BRANCH ROAD (PINE GROVE) Correspondence from: Monica Maloney-Mitros; Linda Farmer; Gaby Cardenas; Lorena; Maggie Keyser; Ted Weiler; Thomas Stevenson; Rosemarie Scullion; Ann and Greg Muilenburg; Chester Woodman; Kevin Keyser. Memo Dev. Services Coordinator. ITEM 8—TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES (UBER) Correspondence from: Bob Long; Harry Olmstead; Roger Bradley ITEM 10h — PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Correspondence from: Harry Olmstead ITEM 12c HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION One vacancy to fill an unexpired term ending January 1, 2017. (Ali Ahmed resigned) Correspondence included IP10: (Revised title only) Letter from Mid America Energy Company: Iowa City Report Calendar Year 2015 IP12: Email from Kurt Hamann to Mayor Throgmorton: City dump -road pick up [Staff I response included] Late Handouts Distributed Marian Karr From: Tom Markus — z, Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:03 PM To: Marian Karr (Dale) ;-,1 P12— Subject: Fwd: city dump -road pick up.. Info please Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Chris O'Brien <Chris-OBrienQiowa-citv.org> Date: March 17, 2016 at 3:57:28 PM CDT To: "'kmtohamann(a),enail.com"' <kurtnhamannQgmail.com> Cc: Jim Throgmorton <Jim-Thmgmorton(rdiowa-city.org>, Tom Markus <Tom-Markus(@,iowa- ci .o >, Geoff Fruin <Geoff-FruinQjcnva-citv.ore> Subject: FW: city dump -road pick up.. Mr. Hamann, Mayor Throgmorton forwarded your concerns and I wanted to reach out to you directly and outline our plan to address this issue. We currently have three major clean up events scheduled for litter along IWV to be taken on by Iowa City Aerohawks. The first one is scheduled for April 9, 2016 with additional events taking place on July 23, 2016 and November 5, 2016. Since last spring, the Landfill has gone through some restructuring and we will be addressing both Hebl and IWV differently than we have in the past. In addition to the three major clean-up efforts we schedule with the Aerohawks, we will also be addressing Hebl and IWV on a weekly basis in order to stay on top of any litter that has gathered. Our hopes are to get away from major clean-ups beyond the one we will have to go through after the first one of the spring following the melting of the snow. If you wish to discuss this further or wish to get together to discuss any other issues, feel free to reach out to me directly. Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. Chris O'Brien Director of Transportation and Resource Management City of Iowa City (319)356-5156 Chris-obrient@iowa-city.org From: Kurt Hamann <kurtohamann(a),gtnail.com> Date: March 17, 2016 at 8:38:04 AM CDT To: <iim-thro mg ortonaiowa-citv.ore> Subject: city dump -road pick up.. greetings. Help.... Melrose ave.. extension to the city dump needs help west of 1380. its a mess. Im told that the RC club is paid to pick it up twice a year. This is not enough.. Perhaps quaeterly would be better. In any case, do what you can to improve trash pick up. Perhaps multi groups, convict labor, haulers, etc. I look for improvement many thanks. ps..ha.. lets see what the new city admin. can do.. many problems and concerns, but trash pu, should not take a committee, or a year to resolve. va �m c b C N 9 — C - A N n e q �vd va �m 6 x �n n 0 9 H P rt N H n M rt 0