HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-04-25 Council minutesJoint Meeting
Johnson County Board of Supervisors — Iowa City Community School District — City of Iowa
City — City of Coralville — City of North Liberty — Other Johnson County Municipalities and
School Districts
April 25, 2016
Harvat Hall, City Hall, Iowa City
Minutes
Call to order
Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton called the joint meeting of Johnson County entities to order at 4:30
P.M. Elected officials present:
City of Coralville — Mayor John Lundell, Jill Dodds, Laurie Goodrich
City of Iowa City — Mayor Jim Throgmorton, John Thomas, Pauline Taylor, Rockne Cole,
Terry Dickens
City of North Liberty — Mayor Amy Nielsen
City of Hills — Mayor Tim Kemp
Johnson County — Janelle Rettig, Pat Harney, Mike Carberry
Iowa City Community School District — President Chris Lynch, Brian Kirschling, Tom Yates,
Phil Hemingway
City of Tiffin — Mayor Steve Berner
City of University Heights — Mayor Wally Heitman
Discussion/update items
• Rose Oaks and affordable housing update
Interim City Manager Geoff Fruin presented an update on the Rose Oaks (formerly known as Lakeside
and Dolphin Pointe) situation in southeast Iowa City. He noted that there are 400 units in this complex,
with currently 125 of them occupied. There are 50 occupants that have stated their willingness to take
the incentive being offered by the owner/management group and are either waiting for a unit to open up
or are looking for units elsewhere. The management has stated that anyone with an expiring lease will
be allowed to stay on the premises until August 1". Management is also working on allowing 40 to 60
households to stay on the premises during the renovation phase. Sixteen of the buildings will be
renovated completely, and four buildings and the clubhouse will be demolished and rebuilt. Fruin
noted that site plan approval has not yet been given for this project. Tenants are being given help in
finding suitable housing by Shelter House and other organizations in the area, with the City of Iowa
City providing some federal dollars to assist residents, along with funds from the Rose Oaks'
management group.
Fruin also touched on the affordable housing issue, noting that the Iowa City City Council has a June
21" work session planned to discuss strategy for the coming years on this topic. He invited anyone
with ideas to share to contact the City Manager's office. Mayor Throgmorton invited anyone with an
interest in this topic to attend the June 21" work session, as well.
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April 25, 2016
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• Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and related services
Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Janelle Rettig spoke to the CIT training that she and others attended in
San Antonio recently. She stated that there was a large meeting of those who have attended the
training, where four different subcommittees were put together in order to address the various issues.
The Crisis Intervention Training subcommittee is planning to offer local training beginning
next year, with the first training scheduled for March of 2017. The goal is to offer three training
sessions per year in Johnson County. Rettig also spoke to the County's jail alternative program and
how this ties in with the CIT training. She mentioned that a group will be headed to San Antonio next
week for CIT training, with other sessions planned for August 15 and November 14a'. Coralville in
regards to how many hours of training are required, Rettig noted that for law enforcement to receive
their CIT certification they will need 40 hours of training.
• Forevergreen Road interchange
North Liberty Mayor Amy Nielsen noted that IDOT area engineer Newman Abuissa would be
providing an update on this topic. Abuissa said the project involves an interchange of Forevergreen
Road and Interstate 380. This will help to alleviate some of the congestion in the area of 965 and
Forevergreen Road. Abuissa spoke to the goal of completing this project by 2020 and what other
projects need to occur in order to make this happen. The project will consist of a five -lane bridge over
Interstate 380, which will also include a pedestrian sidewalk on the north side and a 10 -foot trail on the
south side. The interchange project is estimated at approximately $20 million. A public hearing will be
held in North Liberty on May 19a' regarding this project.
• Attendance Zones and Facilities Master Plan
Chris Lynch, ICCSD President, spoke to the District's attendance zones and facilities master plan.
Since the January meeting, he noted that they have approved the construction contract on Hoover East
and have broken ground there. Contracts were also approved for the renovations at Weber and Lucas
Elementary Schools. Lynch noted that they have been collecting community/neighborhood input
regarding attendance zone changes. He added that they should be able to provide some type of update
at the next joint cities meeting.
• Hunger Task Force Report
Mike Carberry with the Johnson County Board of Supervisors spoke to the Hunger Task Force report.
He noted that they have met several times, with a Task Force of around 60 individuals from the area.
They recently released a 25 -page report that is quite extensive, showing that the hunger needs of
Johnson County are above the state average. Carberry noted that this is due, in part, to the affordable
housing problem in Johnson County. Speaking to food insecurity, Carberry stated that there are
approximately 18,600 individuals in Johnson County who are trying to deal with this issue. Some of
the solutions noted in the report include farm stands in `food desert' areas; a mobile pantry for both
`rural' areas and `food desert' areas, as well as food pantries in secondary schools; expanded outreach
on food resources; and additional food storage for local pantries. The report, in its entirety, is available
on the web site: www.johnson-county.com/ss. Board of Supervisor Member Janelle Rettig added that
it was Iowa City Councilor Botchway's suggestion initially to form a county -wide task force.
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• Minimum Wage Update
Mayor Jim Throgmorton asked if the County could provide an update on this issue. Johnson County
Supervisor Mike Carberry stated that May 1st is when there will be a 95 -cent increase, bringing the
minimum wage to $9.15/hour. John County Adm. Andy Johnson then shared a handout, stating that it
details the makeup of the committee that has been working on this. Johnson County Supervisor Janelle
Rettig added that several of these issues are tied together — hunger, affordable housing, and wages. She
also noted the problem with Iowa's minimum wage in certain counties being lower than Illinois' and
Missouri's minimum wage.
• Update of the County land use plan
Johnson County Supervisor Pat Harney spoke briefly to the County's land use plan. He stated that they
have contracted with East Central Iowa Council of Governments to review the present land use plan
and will be developing their comprehensive plan, as well as updatin� the land use plan, based on what
this study finds. There will be a town hall -style meeting on June 14 to review the comprehensive
plan.
• Transportation Renewal
ICCSD President Chris Lynch provided an update, stating that they have been looking at eliminating
discretionary busing, with the exception of neighborhoods where transportation would be a barrier to
attendance. He also spoke to the appeals process and how they have simplified this. The topic of
walkability in neighborhoods was also touched on briefly, with Iowa City Mayor Throgmorton noting
that Iowa City will be having a few guest speakers to talk about walkability. Johnson County
Supervisor Rettig stated that guest speaker Bill Nesper with the League of American Bicyclists will be
in the area May 9 and 10 to speak to this issue as well.
• Use of Pesticides and Herbicides
Iowa City Councilor Rockne Cole spoke to the group regarding the use of pesticides and herbicides.
He stated that this is a major public health issue and one that he receives a lot of comments on. He
noted that Iowa City has gone `chem free' in all of its City parks and playing fields. Cole asked if the
ICCSD would share where they are with their policy. ICCSD Board Member Phil Hemingway stated
that they have had a task force working on this issue for about a year now.
• Bell Schedule
Chris Lynch, President of the ICCSD, stated that they have closed on their bell schedule, with
elementary schools starting at 7:55 next year and secondary at 8:50. He reminded everyone that this is
a research -based bell schedule, one that was approved in February after a great deal of input.
Other Updates
Coralville City Councilor Jill Dodds spoke about their `playvolution' initiative that they sponsored last
September, noting that research has shown this is a good way for kids to learn and is also a positive
thing for adults, as well. For a week they were renamed `Playville,' and events such as a community
meal in the park were offered to residents. The event is again planned for September, and Dodds stated
that they are hoping to include other communities in Johnson County. She asked for volunteers to join
the steering committee to help plan this year's events.
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Janelle Rettig with the JC Board of Supervisors spoke about the Jingle Cross and World Cup event that
will be taking place later this year. She noted that this cyclo -cross event will be broadcast live all over
Europe. With this important event coming, Johnson County is planning some renovations at the
Fairgrounds. Another event, Grand Gable, has moved to Labor Day and will include the Tour of the
Cities of Johnson County, a biking event that includes all 11 cities in Johnson County.
Rettig continued, noting other Johnson County projects that are being worked on. One is the affordable
housing issue, which the County has put together $600,000 towards. They will be working with the
Housing Trust Fund on this. Sustainability is another big issue, with Rettig noting they have two solar
arrays out on the west campus. Two more solar arrays will be coming soon, with one at the County
Administration building and the other at the Health and Human Services building. There will be a new
ambulance, medical examiner building on the site of the old one. Rettig also spoke to the financial
assistance for non -profits to become more sustainable with things like LED lighting, solar projects,
new windows, and other such changes. Road projects for the County include Ely Road, IWV, and
Mahaffey Bridge, as well as several trail projects. There is also a roundabout project planned near
Solon. Courthouse renovations will begin soon, with the 1970's third -story courtroom getting torn out
and completely rebuilt. The Poor Farm is also seeing several projects, including Grow Johnson County
and Table -to -Table, and the addition of restrooms later this year.
• Public comment
Audience Member Sally Scott spoke briefly to the Rose Oaks' issue, noting that it is important to
acknowledge the role of The Center for Worker Justice and the Black Voices Project for advocating on
the part of residents.
Audience Member Bill Gerhardt noted that there is a film premiere tomorrow night at 7:00 P.M., at the
School of Public Health, a documentary entitled "A Days Work," which is about a temp worker who is
killed on their first day of work.
Audience Member Bob Welsh gave his thanks for what he considers the best he has ever felt about
Iowa City and Johnson County, and surrounding communities, for working together on important
issues, such as affordable housing.
ICCSD Board Member Phil Hemingway spoke briefly, noting that there will be several temporary
structures available for use by any of the municipalities in Johnson County. These structures can be
moved and placed most anywhere.
Schedule next meeting
The next joint meeting will be July 18, 2016, and will be hosted by Coralville.
Adjourn
Mayor Throgmorton adjourned the meeting at 6:05 P.M.