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ITEM 2. PROCLAMATIONS
ITEM 2c National Gun Violence Awareness Day— June 2
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation)
Karr: Here to accept the proclamation is Rebecca Traszkowski, representing Moms
Demand Action. (applause)
Throgmorton: Hi! It's good to see you again. Hi! Great to see you again! Hi! Okay!
Karr: You want a picture? (several talking)
Throgmorton:...very exciting! (laughter) Who's the camera man? There he is! All right!
(mumbled) Thank you!
Traszkowski: I just want to introduce my colleagues first. I have Shelly Kerr is our, uh,
survivor engagement lead and Vicki Sievers is the legislative lead, um, and we
just wanted to say thank you so much, uh, Mayor Tbrogmorton and the City of
Iowa City for supporting us in this work. Um, Moms'll be holding events across
the country and here in Iowa City we'll have an event, um, from 11:30 to 1:00 and
we would love to have you all attend. Thank you so much! (applause)
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regular formal meeting of May 17, 2016.
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ITEM 3. STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
ITEM 3a Lincoln Elementary
Throgmorton: Uh, both of our students are from Lincoln Elementary. Uh, Moesha, is that right?
Moesha, uh, Ch .... Chhatlani? Chhatlani and Lohman Provorse. Would y'all
come up? All right! We've meet before, haven't we? Yeah, just out here. Okay;
so these are identical, uh... uh, awards, so the text is identical. So I'll just read it
one time, but then give it to you separately, okay? So, Lohman, you'd be first.
(reads Student Leadership Award) So, I'm gonna give this to you (mumbled)
(applause) What the heck, it's a short, uh, piece so I'll read the same thing to ya.
(reads Student Leadership Award) (applause) So ... I know you both
bought... brought something to read, so, uh... I'll help you out with that. (both
talking)
Provorse: Hello, I'm Lohman Provorse from Lincoln Elementary. First of all I would like to
thank the City Council for this award. I would also like to thank my parents and
teachers for teaching me and supporting me each and every day. At school I show
citizenship by being part of the school safety patrol, reading buddies, band, and I
was also elected the school student council president this year. I also try to set a
good example in my classroom. Outside of school I volunteer at our church by
packing noodles for kids in need. On my soccer team I work hard and try to set a
good example for my teammates. I think it's important for people to support the
community that they're part of, whether it be school, town and neighborhood, or
team. Being a good role model and citizen is important to me. Thank you!
(applause)
Chhatlani: Hi, I'm Moesha Chhatlani from Lincoln Elementary. I'd first like to thank the
Iowa City Council for giving me this great opportunity, the staff from Lincoln for
nominating me, and my parents for being great role models. I show leadership at
school by being a member of safety patrol. I'm secretary of student council, and
(mumbled) a kindergarten reading buddy. I'm a good leader because I help my
community in many ways, such as keeping it clean and trying to help everyone. I
(mumbled) everything I love which includes taekwondo, ice skating, school -
socially and academically, and practicing my flute. I believe that if everyone
works hard enough they can reach their goals. Thank you. (applause)
Throgmorton: So I have a question for you. Uh.... I was, uh, at Lincoln Elementary about a year
ago for a Blue Zones' event. Were you there? No, you weren't. Okay, you
weren't, but you were, Lohman. Yeah, I thought it was really exciting. It was a
great event. I loved being there! So anyhow... terrific school, terrific students.
I'm sure there's some proud parents out ... oop, there they are right there (laughter)
and back there, very proud parents. So congratulations to you as well. All right,
thank you (mumbled) (applause)
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ITEM 4. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS
PRESENTED OR AMENDED
Throgmorton: So the next item on our agenda is Item 4, which is the Consent Calendar, but first
of all I'd like to welcome all of you to, uh, your Council Chambers and City Hall.
Uh, it's been a pretty darn good day in many respects, so anyhow, thank you for
coming. I also want to make a quick comment about the incident that occurred
downtown on April 30 ... April the 30a'. As elected representatives of the people of
Iowa City, this Council strongly condemns hate crimes of any type committed
against any person in Iowa City. I address these words especially to our African
American residents, who have been shaken by the April 30 ... April 30a' incident
involving a young black man. We in Iowa City government are determined to
make sure that Iowa City is a safe and welcoming place for all of its residents. I
and really we have remained quiet up to now because I needed to give our Police
Department time to investigate the incident. As many of you know, the
Department held a press conference in this room earlier today. After investigating
the facts carefully, after interviewing witnesses, and after viewing videos, they
concluded that no hate crime had been committed. The incident had instead
resulted from a combination of alcohol, bad judgment, and other factors. I want
to praise our officers for investigating this incident so carefully and so thoroughly.
It's really easy to make mistakes when one is young. I should know. I can
remember making mistakes. Still make `em for that matter! I wish the best for
the young man, uh, involved, and for his family. So ... thank you, and now, uh, we
can turn directly to Item 4, consider adoption of the Consent Calendar as
presented or amended, minus Item 4d(13), which has been renumbered to become
Item 5a.
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Which moves us to Item 5 ... no, wait a minute. Yeah, moves ... no that's not right.
We do community comment, urn ... community comment's going to be Item 5b. 1
mean (both talking)
Karr: That's correct! Item 5a will ... we'll do 5a next.
Throgmorton: All right, so we'll move to Item 5a, and .... Rockne Cole and I are going to recuse
ourselves from Item 5a, but, uh, we can stay here and just be quiet.
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ITEM 5a. CHAUNCEY SWAN PARKING LOT PARTIAL RELEASE -
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PARTIAL RELEASE OF A NO -BUILD
EASEMENT ON LOT 6, BLOCK 43, IOWA CITY, IOWA
Botchway: All right, Item 5a reads (reads item description) Need a motion.
Mims: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Botchway: Uh, motion by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carnes 4-0. Moving on to the next item... community comment!
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ITEM 5b. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA)
Throgmorton: For any item that's not on the ... the published agenda, so if anybody would like to
speak to any item not on the, uh, agenda, please feel free to do so. Uh, looks like
there's not too many people here tonight so I won't give big warnings, but uh,
keep it less than five minutes. Charlie! (laughs)
Eastham: Thanks, uh, I feel very special (clears throat) (laughter) Uh, my name is Charlie
Eastham. I live at 953 Canton Street in Iowa City and I'm here tonight, uh, on
behalf of the, uh, Center for Worker Justice and the Rose Oaks' tenants
association to give an update on the events that have happened at lo ... at Rose
Oaks that we know about over, uh, that have taken place over the last, uh, week or
two. I have, uh, copies of photos that I want to hand out to each of you and I'll
bring those up if you don't mind. (several talking in background) And I'll get to
the, uh.... to the photos in just a few minutes. Uh, less than five minutes.
Karr: Charlie, excuse me, there's just one photo?
Eastham: Yes, just one photo (mumbled) and I have ... gave you enough copies to give one to
the City Manager also. Um (clears throat) my report's in three ... three parts, uh,
two parts about, uh, residents that have been, uh, living in Rose Oaks for a while
and are having to, uh, to move and um, and then another part about asbestos. Uh,
the first part is about the first resident who's a five-year resident of Rose Oaks.
His lease expired in April on his two-bedroom unit, uh, he's currently ... has a
move -out deadline of, according to Rose Oaks' management, of August 1". Uh...
he moved internally to a renovated two-bedroom apartment recently. He says the
apartment is in better condition than his original apartment, although the rent
increase from $699 a month to $720 a month, we're not quite sure why Rose
Oaks' management is causing rent increases on internal moves, uh, for units that
are going to be demolished or renovated. (clears throat) and, uh, he was told that
he will have one month with no rent. Uh, this resident's looking for another
apartment. Just wanted to go over what is happening to him. He works at Procter
and Gamble, so he wants to find another place nearby. He doesn't have a pho... a
vehicle or transportation. He's made six phone calls to apartment managers,
using the, urn ... apartment reference list provided by the Shelter House. He's not
eligible ... he is not eligible for any of the apartments, although he's been searching
for ... and he's been searching for about the last month. His major barrier is his
credit score, which, uh, is not meeting the eligibility requirements for the places
he, uh... uh, made inquiries to so far, and he's not received the letter of reference
from lo ... from Rose Oaks which actually was one of the Rose Oaks' owners
promises, uh, three or four weeks ago for resi... to residents. So he's looking ... he
needs to have that letter of reference provided to him. Um ... he expects.... says he
expects to pay about $800 in deposits, $700 for ... in first month rent, and he needs
a moving truck. Looking at the Shelter House report in your packet, they
estimated moving costs including a truck were in the $350 range, so I see that he's
has a total of about $800....$1,850 in moving expenses. His present Rose Oaks'
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deposit is $400, so he will need to raise some $1,450 to, um (clears throat) in
order to enable him to move. He has attempted to see Shelter House and other
service, uh... uh.... and other service agency reps at Rose Oaks. None were
available last Friday, but uh... this, uh, Monday, yesterday, he did see a
representative from the Salvation Army and their representative said they could
help him with up to two application fees, uh, though he may have more
application fees than two, uh... uh, two, and he applied to have first month rent
paid, also through the Shelter House program. Uh, this resident said to me
personally he does not really feel that he's being helped by that program, but he'll
wait to see what happens. So he has an application period to go through and I'll
probably have more information later on. Uh, the second resident is, uh, has a
lease that expires in late 2016, so she has a current lease. Uh, she had been
making rent installment payments with the previous Rose Oak management and
she believed that she had an agreement to have her rent payments made, uh, in
installments because of her, um, the way she gets paid from her job. (clears
throat) but, uh... that, uh, agreement, uh, somehow hasn't filtered into the Rose
Oaks' management system, so they are threatening her now with, uh, eviction
because she hasn't made her full May payment. She has some back payments in
April that she hasn't made yet, but she believes that she will be able to make full
payments for both April and May in the near future, and then hopes to be able to
get a payment plan with Rose Oaks for future payments. But right now she is
under a threat of eviction. Um ... she's going to go with a local minister to talk to
the Shelter House representative and try to work out a payment agreement and,
uh, a way of avoiding immediate eviction. This resident also says that she's being
hurt by a lack of on-site laundry facility, which, uh, Rose Oaks apparently stopped
providing in the last couple of weeks. Uh, I assume that the laundry facility is a
part of all the, um (clears throat) uh, effective leases for residents now. She also
mentioned that the, uh, water has started tasting funny, in her words. Um ... the
third item has to do with asbestos. As you can see from the photo I handed out to
you, it shows an asbestos disposal container that the first resident I talked about
that, uh, took just yesterday. Urn ... (clears throat) talk of asbestos in renovated
apartments, or apartments being... buildings being renovated now and their
disposal methods, um ... (clears throat) has been an active topic of discussion
among Rose Oaks' res ... Rose Oaks' residents. They're very concerned about it.
Uh.... (clears throat) right now they have, um, they haven't been ... as far as we
know, they... residents have been given no information about current asbestos
(coughing, difficult to hear speaker) uh, removal procedures. They've been given
no information about any hazards they might be, uh, subject to. If buildings that
are being dem... that will be demolished also contain asbestos and how asbestos,
um, hazard will be, uh... uh.... uh, handled in those situations. They haven't been
gi... given information about that, and they're concerned about it, rightly so.
Um ... I do notice that the, uh, staff report for this meeting, and I think for previous
meetings, have, uh, not indicated.... have indicated only in ... in passing I think that
asbestos, uh, was in some of the buildings or in all the buildings, and will be an
element in the renovation plans, uh, really appreciate it if that information could
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be distributed to residents and they could be assured that they will or will not be
facing personal hazards from asbestos in the remaining buildings. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Charlie. Uh... Geoff, it sounds like several of these items can be, uh,
followed up on. Would you please make sure... connections are made and...
Frain: Yes!
Throgmorton: Yeah ... thanks.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Uh, moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. All opposed.
Motion carries. Uh, anyone else?
Norbeck: Good evening, uh, Martha Norbeck, 906 S. Seventh Avenue. Um, I'm here this
evening wearing two hats — one is the pink bicycle's hat and then the other is the
hat I never take off, which is the green architect hat. Um ... and I was encouraged
by the discussion during the work session regarding, uh, the traffic study that was
done in the Downtown District and encouraged to hear, uh, this report of the, um,
proceeding with, uh (coughing, difficult to hear speaker) four to three -lane
conversion of, uh, Clinton, Madison, and I wanted to point out a ... a few things. I
was serving on the Fairfield city council when, uh, we went through the process
of a four to three -lane conversion for Lincoln Street there, and uh, there were a
handful of business owners who were very, very concerned about how that would
affect, um, their businesses and, uh, to put it mildly, they threw a pretty big stink,
and we brought in, um, someone from the DOT, uh, who gave this amazingly
concise and compelling presentation and ... I know Kent knows who this is (laughs)
I can't recall his name, um, but one of the things that was really striking to me
from the DOT studies that were done on four to three -lane conversions around the
state and not the ... just the state of Iowa. Not even talking nationally, but just in
the state of Iowa, when you look at the re ... resistance and concerns and ... that
people had prior to the conversion, they're very high concerns. A lot of stress
about it, and then ... and then they were do the surveys afterwards and people were
like `Oh, that's pretty cool, we like it!' And... and... and all, you know, the ... the
majority of concerns just dissipated, and the traffic study concerns in terms of
collisions, dramatic drops in terms of the collisions. So I definitely encourage
looking at the traffic studies in terms of the benefits of those conversions and,
um ... and then the other big piece here is ... is we're talking about our core, and
right now our core is kind of a split. We've got campus and then we've got sort
of this sea of concrete, of Clinton and Madison, where ... where as a pedestrian that
is a long walk across four lanes of...of traffic and ... and there is sort of this
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disconnect between the Pentacrest and all those businesses along Clinton, and
when you look at the ... the streetscape proposals for that conversion,
they... suddenly it's like Clinton becomes an exciting, delightful place to be, that
feels like it's safe to go back and forth across there. It ... it takes that chasm and
makes it into sort of like `Oh, yeah, sure I can get across there!' And it will ... I
believe it will transform how we experience the downtown by doing those
conversions. Um, and... and in addition to that, um, you know, maybe ... maybe
this idea of, well we're gonna have traffic congestion downtown is the wrong way
to think about it. Yeah, we already have traffic congestion downtown, and part of
the reason for that is people are feeling compelled to drive downtown when
maybe there's other alternatives, and when we're looking at reducing our ... our,
uh, community's CO2 emissions, making biking and walking a more compelling
alternative in the downtown area is really critical to making our downtown area
more vibrant when we talk about the downtown not just being a place to eat, but a
place ... to engage in a broader community life and commerce and shopping. You
know, we've lost a lot of those things, and... studies have shown that commerce
improves in places where they've had those conversions. So I'm very excited
about proceeding with that, and I feel incredibly optimistic about the potential for
converting Gilbert. I recognize there are some serious challenges, especially at
Burlington. I ... I totally acknowledge that. I've looked at that study in depth. I get
that, but I think we can solve this. It's a design problem. It's not ... it's not a deal
breaker, but it has to be solved. Just like the issue with the buses has to be solved,
but these are just design problems. And I think if you look at those DOT studies,
you'll be like `Oh my gosh! Wow, look!' Those people were just like
transformed overnight in terms of their opinions, and this happens in city after
city after city, people are like `Oh my god! (mumbled)' and then it happens and
they're like `Oh! That's pretty cool! I like it!' So I ... I encourage you to ... to,
uh... um, perhaps even bring ... the City could bring in this gentleman, as part of
the private/public outrage, because I ... I tell you, we were gobsmacked when he
came and talked to us and we had a public meeting in Fairfield because people
were worried and .... everyone shut up except for maybe like three guys who
couldn't stop, you know, saying no because they were so committed to that voice,
and even they were like a little like...'Oh, okay, well yeah.' Um, so very
compelling studies and I definitely encourage you to look at those, so thank you!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Martha. Good evening, Roger!
Knight: I'll just leave that up there. Um ... hi, my name's Roger Knight. Um ... I'd just like
to ... mention a few little things. Um, I know Moen wants to build something...
spun around that way ... where the houses came out. Um ... but let's make sure, like
I said before, it helps the actual Iowa City. He's built two skyscrapers. He's
workin' on a third here soon, which is fine, whatever. But ... once again, they're
high ... high rent. There's no way it's helpin' out anyone from ... uh, Rose Oaks.
They can't afford it, to live there, and ... downtown. Trans... transportation is an
issue and all that, and I also want to say, um ... I'd like to make a call to action ... for
the Police Department. I don't know what needs to be done. Hire more cops, get
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rid of some cops that don't seem to care as much for the city, urn ... it's two fights
now .... we've had downtown. I don't know anything more about the new, or the
last poor victim. Um ... but I don't feel safe in this town. If I'm, you know, if
somethin' were to happen, I'm in a wheelchair. This thing ain't very fast. I can't
get away. I feel like if I were to call the Police Department, sure they'll come...
when they're ready. Not necessarily... any (mumbled) you know, they're not
gonna be there very fast. Ask the Fire Department. The Fire Department's
supposed to have a police officer go to ... medical calls. Every one of 'em ... to help
out, make sure everything's cool, no matter where it's at. You're not gonna have
a big fight or whatever at a senior center or ... somethin' like that, but they should
still go just to make sure there ain't somethin' outside going on. And I don't feel
like the Police Department really cares too much, or if they don't have enough
officers or whatever the problem is, something needs to be done. Thank you.
Tbrogmorton: Thank you, Roger. Would anyone else like to address any topic not on the
agenda? Seeing no one, uh, we'll move on to Item 6a, Vacation of Waterfront
Drive.
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ITEM 8. SYCAMORE STREET AND LOWER MUSCATINE ROAD LANDSCAPE
IMPROVEMENTS - APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM
OF CONTRACT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYCAMORE STREET AND LOWER
MUSCATINE ROAD LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT 2016,
ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY
EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO PUBLISH NOTICE TO
BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS
a. PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'm going to open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) I think we're going to have a
presentation by some staff.
Panos: Good evening, uh, my name's Dave Panos. I'm with, uh, I'm a Senior Civil
Engineer with the Iowa City Public Works Department. I'm here to introduce, uh,
Keith Billick. He is with Shive-Hattery. Keith, uh, assisted us with developing
the plans and specs for the project and he, as he said, has a ... has a short
presentation to give and...
Throgmorton: Great!
Panos: ...and we can answer questions certainly at the end.
Throgmorton: Welcome, Keith!
Billick: Thank you. Good evening. Let me get this up and running here. He's using a
Mac. It's so different using a .... (laughter) Uh, again I'm Keith Billick with the
Cedar Rapids' office of Shive-Hattery. I'm a Landscape Architect in the state of
Iowa and uh, worked with ... with Dave Panos on this project and I just want to
give you a little bit of, uh, of information about what the project is and ... and then
answer any questions you might have. Um, so, uh.... as it says, this is a project
for a landscape and streetscaping planting along Lower Muscatine and Sycamore.
On Lower Muscatine it runs from Kirkwood Boulevard to First Avenue. On
Sycamore it runs from Lower Muscatine down to Lehman, and includes the two
roundabouts there on the south side of Sycamore. And within that, uh... I'd like to
thank Dave, uh, it was a great working relationship. Worked very closely with
him, as well as with Zach Hall and Tyler Baird, and with, uh, Julie Talman, to get
a project that I felt, uh, I think we all came to terms and came with a project that
met the budget, and the design intention of the project. (coughing, difficult to
hear speaker) creating diversity within the corridors, uh, getting plantings, uh, a
diversity of plantings so you can see we've got a variety of 12 different species of
overstory trees. We've got four species, different species of evergreen trees
within the corridor. We also have six species of ornamental trees, five species of
shrubs, a variety of perennials and grasses, as well as some spring fow... or spring
flowering bulbs within the roundabouts, and so within that ... what that does is it
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really helps to expand the tree canopy within the city of Iowa City. You can see
we add, uh, about 365 trees, about 171 shrubs, and about 8,200 perennials,
grasses, and bulbs and those are within the roundabouts. So again, a large
diversity. What I'd like to do is just show you a couple areas that we focused on.
One of those being at the, uh, Kirkwood and the Mid America, at the intersection
of Sycamore and Lower Muscatine, where we worked with Julie to make sure that
we got the screening on those parking lots, and then additionally supplemented
the street trees along the corridors there. You can see the light trees in this image
here, those lighter trees are the existing trees. The darker trees are the proposed
trees. So you can see how we worked within the corridor to work with the
existing trees as well as ... existing improvements such as, um, the pavements and
the significant amount of utilities in that area. Uh, additionally one of the other
areas that we took a look at is ... this is on south Sycamore. This is down by the
Oak Brook Subdivision, um, so we, again, we're working with ... with Julie and
with Dave to come up with a screening plan that was, uh, approved as part of that
subdivision and then complementing the street trees, as well as the ... the existing
trees that are on the private properties to start to get a ... a tree canopy along these
corridors. This represents kind of more of the (mumbled) you'll see at ... a .... a
fairly even spacing of trees, but what we did is work closely with Zach and Tyler
to come up with a ... a diversity of trees. So instead of having say... entire corridor
of all elm trees or ash trees, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with what's
happening now with the ash trees and know what happened maybe with the elm
trees, um, this diversity that ... that Zach and ... and, uh, Tyler worked with us on is
going to eliminate in the future so that we won't have whole street tree, or whole
corridors of street trees, disappear. And so then within that, uh, this
represents... and I've also got a printed version of that that we can, uh, for you
guys to display in a ... in a public setting or a public place, that if somebody would
like to come in and see what we're proposing for the plantings within the
roundabouts, uh, we've got that. This is also document.... this document here, but
it, uh, shows the diversity. So what we have within the roundabout is a short
retaining wall made out of the same materials that's done elsewhere along the
Sycamore corridor, and then complementing that with some trees in the middle, as
well as a variety of native flowers and grasses, and like I said, the non-native
flowering bulbs. But, uh, looking to make sure that those intersections and those
roundabouts have year-round interest and year-round color, and uh, year-round
excitement within them. Um, and become an asset to those (coughing, difficult to
hear speaker) within those neighborhoods as those areas develop. Uh, with that,
I'll take any questions and, uh, again, thank you for the time and ... and, uh, interest
this evening.
Throgmorton: Questions for Keith or Dave?
Mims: I just have one. The trees in the roundabouts, are those gonna be .... I'm thinking
visibility, in terms of the roundabout. That's kinda my question. So how ... I mean
is it going to be like a tree trunk and then the canopy up here so you still
have ... (both talking)
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Billick: Yep, and they are actually ... the trees are raised on the ... the raised part of the
island.
Mims: Okay.
Billick: And they're outside of the visual tri... triangle, so we did work with the engineers,
uh, both in-house as well as with staff, to make sure that ... that within the
roundabout we are meeting all those spatial triangles.
Mims: Great! Thank you.
Botchway: I have a question in relation to that, and I just want to make sure that you
understand I know nothing about trees. I just like them, and so I say that to make
sure you have a clear understanding what my question may be. But, I remember
looking at pictures downtown where we're had some, you know, trees and again,
um, some retaining walls that have kind of buckled, um, as they've grown. Are
you doing anything along those lines to ensure, you know, 10 to 15 years down
the road that that same thing doesn't happen or is that just clearly a maintenance
issue that we kind of have to continually upkeep as it goes on.
Billick: So specifically within roundabouts or along the ... the corridors (both talking)
Botchway: Well just with the roundabouts that you're talking about here.
Billick: So they will have a, uh, essentially a weed barrier, uh, fabric that goes around the
inside. That will help keep the roots and direct the roots down. Also as you
noticed within the drawing, um, we have put the trees well inside of the circle,
and so over ... over time it's not expected that ... that those with the combination of
the placement of the trees and the ... the weed barrier that would be on the inside of
the wall, that there wouldn't be any problems with those roots damaging or ... or
impacting that wall (mumbled) and again this is a ... a fairly short wall too.
Panos: Short wall, it's approximately 18 inches tall (both talking)
Billick: Yeah...
Panos: It's a pretty short wall, just enough to give it a little height, uh, on the inside.
Thomas: What is .... what again is the extent of the tree planting on ... uh, Sycamore Street?
Where is ... from where to where?
Billick: From Lower Muscatine on the north, all the way down to, uh, the Lehman
roundabout, all the way on the south side, so it...it covers that entire corridor.
Um, and I wouldn't ... I would say it's not consistent because of a lot of existing
trees (mumbled) north end of Sycamore, and then also as you cross Highway 6,
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on the ... the west side there, we had very, very narrow areas between the sidewalk
and the curb, and then we had some steep banks coming up on the sidewalks. So
again, that area was an area that we didn't do. So we .... when we took a good
look at existing conditions, and tried to maximize and make sure that we were
putting the right tree in the right place that it has that longevity and that ... that
long-term benefit to the city.
Throgmorton: I remember I ... I think it was a couple years ago when ... Ron Knoche, uh, came in
and talked to us about the Sycamore Street improvements and the—he said
something about we'll get to the landscaping in another year or so. So, here we
are! It's good to see. Glad to see it, uh, it's going to enhance that part of our city
in a ... in a very positive way. Yeah. So, thanks, Keith! Thanks, Dave! Uh, so...
uh, let's see, where are we? Um ... we need a motion to approve.
Mims: We're still (several talking)
Throgmorton: Oh, that's right! Anybody else want to speak to this topic? Hearing none I'm
going to close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move the resolution.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Seconded by Thomas. Discussion?
Thomas: It's great to see! (laughter and several responding)
Cole: Excited to see more roundabouts too! So...
Throgmorton: Yes! (several talking and laughing) Because you're sitting in Michelle's seat!
(several talking and laughing) No, she was in this one (several talking) Yeah.
All right. Okay, uh.... hearing no more discussion, roll call. Motion carries 6 — 0.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carnes.
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ITEM 9. ICPL BOOKMOBILE FUNDING - RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE
IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY TO UTILIZE FUNDS BUDGETED IN
FY 17 FOR THE PURPOSE OF CARRYING OUT A NEW
BOOKMOBILE SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
Botchway: Move resolution.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Susan, did you want to
address this topic? You don't need to. All right. I see nobody wants to really
speak, so we have a motion on the floor. Discussion?
Botchway: I just want to say I appreciate, you know, Geoff facilitating, and obviously Susan
and her work and kind of working through the process. I kind of spoke to Susan
briefly before the meeting and just stated that, you know, as we've been ... you
know ... just having the type of, you know, uh.... I would say a community
member, community group coming to us with, uh, you know, they asked for
funding or you know, just kind of. ... making ... making us have additional thought
on our process and whether or not we can, um, really think of a community/city
partnership. I appreciate us going through that kind of deliberative effort, um, and
then coming back with, um, with something. I think ... I ... I wouldn't have felt
comfortable without this and that's why I appreciate, you know, kind of that
documented feeling that, you know, we're ... we're doing what we can in the city to
make sure that we're looking at all options and all opportunities. So, thank you
both for that work, and all staff that were associated with that as well.
Taylor: I also, I was very encouraged by, uh, the information we received from Geoff
regarding your meetings with the Antelope folks and, uh, very hopeful with that
and hope that your, uh.... uh, positive collaboration continues with them. I'm very
excited to see that.
Cole: Well it sounds like some of the concerns were addressed, but there were some
ongoing issues maybe they had, but for the most part ... they're not here so I'm
assuming that ... um .... there was some resolution then, at least I gathered that from
your memo.
Fruin: Yeah, I feel so. I ... I, you know, both sides came to the meetings with ... with a
great attitude and ... and energy for collaboration, and once we kind of decided
what the, uh... um, kind of the boundaries were, the ideas were ... were flowin'
pretty good between the two groups. So, um ... it may not be everything that either
group wanted, but I think both groups are ... are pretty happy with the way it turned
out, and frankly I think both groups will benefit from ... um, the meetings and ... and
hopefully the ... the discussions that'll continue past, um, this action tonight.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 10. $8,795,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, SERIES 2016A. -
RESOLUTION DIRECTING SALE OF $8,795,000 GENERAL
OBLIGATION BONDS, SERIES 2016A
Throgmorton: Now just for those of you in the audience, you should know we have a whole
series of bond type votes here, so .... (both talking)
Cole: (mumbled)
Throgmorton: ... we'll move right along. (reads Item 10 description)
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Mims: Dennis, there's no way we can combine these, is there?
Throgmorton: You didn't get a chance, did you? I'm sorry! (several talking and laughing)
Bockenstedt: No, Marian already checked.
Throgmorton: Let me open (several talking)
Mims: I figured that you had tried it! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Uh, where are we? We just did a roll call, right, so, uh, motion carries 6-0. !
apologize, Dennis. I was ... being faster than you were, and that .... that's not
usually the case! So, Item 11 you can make all your general comments here.
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ITEM 11. $8,795,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, SERIES 2016A. -
RESOLUTION APPOINTING US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, TO SERVE AS PAYING AGENT, BOND
REGISTRAR, AND TRANSFER AGENT, APPROVING THE PAYING
AGENT AND BOND REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT
AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE
AGREEMENT
Botchway: Move the resolution.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. Discussion?
Mims: I think Kingsley's going for the record on motions! (laughter)
Botchway: I am! (laughs)
Bockenstedt: I'll try to be brief. (several talking) This is ... addresses Items 10 through 23
(laughter) It's a ... an unusual number of items where we had four separate bond
sales this morning at 10:00 A.M. and so I just want to give you a summary of
how, uh, those sales went and ... and kind of which items pertain to those actions.
Um, but our ... our issue 2016A, which is our tax exempt GO bond issue for the
$8,795,000, um ... we received three bids on that particular issue and the winner
was Robert Baird out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Uh, that was a l0 -year issue,
and the interest, uh, rate we received on that was 1.41 %, uh, which we were really
thrilled about. I think that's the lowest 10 -year rate we've received in the last four
years, and they've been pretty low. So ... um, and Items 10 through 12 address, uh,
the adoption of the necessary, uh, actions and resolutions to ... to issue those bonds.
Uh, 2016B which was a one-year taxable GO bond, uh, we ... selling that at
$620,000, uh, received three bids. Uh, the winner was Hutchinson Shockey Erley
& Company out of Chicago, Illinois, and we got .98% on that one-year issue, and
we received... also received a premium on that, uh, so it lowered the principle
amount from $620,000 to $610,000. Items 13 through 15 address, uh, the
necessary actions for that particular issue. Uh, 2016C, which was our
seve... sewer revenue refunding bonds, um ... we received six bids on that particular
issue. We were selling those at $10,215,000. We also received a premium on
that and were able to reduce that premium to $9,360,000. So quite substantially.
Uh, US Bank Corp, uh, out of New York, uh, won that bid. That was a five-year
issue and we received a 1 % interest rate on the five-year ... on the five-year bonds.
To give you an idea of what kind of savings we'll achieve on those, uh, over that
five-year period we'll have a total.... interest savings of $1.68 million with a net
present value of $1.1 million. To give you an idea, that's about $280,000 a year
in interest that we're gonna save in the next five years on the sewer fund. 2016D
was our water revenue bond issue. Uh, that was being sold at $4,025,000. Uh,
eight-year bonds. Uh, we also received a premium on those which reduced our
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bond principle amount to $3,650,000. Uh, received three bids on those bonds,
and Hutchinson Shockey Erley & Company out of Chicago also won that bid, and
for the eight-year rate on that was 1.31 %. So very favorable. Uh, the action items
on that are 20 through 23, and to give you an idea on how much we're saving on
that particular issue, uh, the total, uh, interest savings over the eight years is
$640,000, with a net present value of about $486,000 of savings. So we were
very pleased, um, we didn't get a ... a large number of bidders, uh, most of `em
received three bids, but ... uh, we're extremely happy with the bids that we did
receive, so ... urn ... and you can see there's quite a few actions on the agenda to ... to
approve those, so ... um, I'll try and answer your questions if you have any.
Otherwise I'll .... let you move on!
Throgmorton: Brilliantly done, Dennis! Susan, you're our financial expert. Why don't you just
rave on here about (laughter) (mumbled)
Mims: Well, I would .... I mean, we just got the notices. You put all the stuff out the
other day that we got our Moody's triple-A bond rating renewed, again, um, I
know staff had sent that out in a press release, etc., and again, I mean ... been
sitting here doing this for six years and I just, um ... can't begin to compliment our
staff enough, uh, from the City Manager's office to Dennis, um, the fantastic
work they do in keeping track of the finances of this city, um, being very ... very
strategic, uh, very thoughtful, um, some of the refunding of bonds that have saved
us interest, um, helping us stay on track so we keep our triple-A bond rating;
again, we're only one of only two cities in the state of Iowa that have the triple-A
bond rating, and ... I was just kind of chuckling to myself and smiling to myself
as ... as Dennis was reading these numbers off, because... these are just fantastic,
folks! (laughs) These are absolutely fantastic interest rates and ... then when you
look at getting premiums on some of these, um, which means, as he said, it
reduced the bond amount on some of these, and the incredible savings we're
get... getting, um, you couple this with the bids coming in lower than expected on
some of our really big projects lately, and ... you know, as Geoff said, this gets
our ... our bonding back down to ... a level that we're more comfortable with,
um ... and I say that only that we are more comfortable not to give anybody any
idea that we should be spending more money (laughs) but that ... back to a level
that we really are more comfortable with in terms of what that does, and I ... and I
think if you ... I think it's also important for Council Members, um, when you're
new to some of this, to actually take the time to read the Moody's report, because
there are definitely places in there that there are cautions for us, um, that we need
to be careful going forward. We are ... and as we've been told this repeatedly, we
are not a typical triple-A bond rated city, and so there are things that we have to
pay very, very close attention to, like our fund balances and things like that, as we
go forward and ... um ... you know, Dennis and ... and Tom when he was here and
now Geoff I think are just excellent, excellent stewards of the money and
excellent resources for us, and ... can't say thanks enough to all of you.
So ... appreciate it all!
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Botchway: Just wonder whether or not we could use the fact that it's been like 31 years as
part of my own like interest or like when I get a credit card or something like that
(laughter)
Bockenstedt: Afraid not! As the City Attorney (laughter and several talking)
Throgmorton: Any further questions for Dennis? Well, brilliantly done, Dennis, and
congratulations, Geoff, and uh.... like, uh, I just won't repeat what Susan just said.
Well done! Okay, we actually are on Item 11, just to be clear about that for all of
us and we have a motion on the floor, so ... we've had a discussion. Further
discussion? No? Roll call. Motion carnes 6-0. So I want to ask a question about
the next 10 items or so. Can I read what's in red or do I have to read what's in
black also? Do I, you know...
Karr: I ... I think you can just read the red part because (both talking) the black is giving
notice, the full title.
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Karr: But...
Throgmorton: So I'll try one time and if Eleanor screams I'll know something (both talking)
Dilkes: I'm ... I'm good with the red! (laughter)
Mims: Shorter the sweeter! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Oh, funny! (laughter)
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ITEM 18. SEWER REVENUE REFUNDING CAPITAL LOAN NOTES, SERIES
2016C - RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING A FORM OF
LOAN AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZING AND PROVIDING FOR THE
ISSUANCE AND SECURING THE PAYMENT OF $10,215,000 (DOLLAR
AMOUNT SUBJECT TO CHANGE) SEWER REVENUE REFUNDING
CAPITAL LOAN NOTES, SERIES 2016C, OF THE CITY OF IOWA
CITY, STATE OF IOWA, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CITY
CODE OF IOWA, AND PROVIDING FOR A METHOD OF PAYMENT
OF THE NOTES
a) motion approving Tax Exemption Certificate
b) motion approving Continuing Disclosure Certificate
c) resolution
Botchway: Move the resolution.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Are there separate ... I see...
Karr: No, this resolution authorizes the exemption certificate, the continuing disclosion,
and approves the (both talking)
Throgmorton: It does all those things, huh. So we have a motion by whom?
Mims: Kingsley.
Throgmorton: Kingsley, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion
carries 6-0.
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ITEM 24. AMENDMENTS TO TAXICAB REGULATIONS - ORDINANCE
AMENDING TITLE 5, ENTITLED `BUSINESS AND LICENSE
REGULATIONS," CHAPTER 2, ENTITLED "TAXICABS," TO
ELIMINATE A LOCAL OFFICE, 24/7 SERVICE, AND INSPECTION OF
NEWER MODEL VEHICLES AND TO ALLOW A SURCHARGE FEE ON
CERTAIN DAYS AND NEMT SERVICES
Mims: Move first consideration.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? If there's anybody in the
audience who would like to address this topic, this would be a good time. Hi,
Dennis!
Doderer: Hi, folks! Um, my name is, uh, Dennis Doderer. I drive for ... City Cab. I brand
myself as Cab Dennis for purposes of survival. I would like to speak out
against... these ... I sent you guys a ... a very voluminous, uh, communication. I hope
you read it. Uh... I'd like to thank you for acknowledging that ... some of these
things need to be changed, but it's way too little and it's way too late. I really
need to emphasize this. There really needs to be some more thought. In a matter
of two weeks, you've pretty much killed the traditional cab business. I'd like to
think that wasn't your intention. But if I look at the actions of the City Council
over the last .... three or four years, it's been a slow... steady continuum towards
that point and in comes Uber which in this case is not ... uh... doesn't have to deal
with the same restrictions that the traditional cab companies. They're way
undercutting us, and the model that they're using is they're gonna undercut us and
raise the prices as soon as they run all of us out of business. Anybody who's ever
studied the economic history of the United States and the concentration of wealth
and inequality in the country has to recognize this. Uber is practicing the same...
uh... predatory capitalistic, uh... procedures that... that... that the robber barons of
the ... of the last century did, and it...it...myrevenue, and I was a very popular cab
driver! My revenue has gone down precipitously, probably ... to the point where
it's ... I've lost 70% of my business in two weeks and I don't think that was your
intention! But you've got to do something more than this, because Uber is
essentially an unregulated business. So the kids go `Uber, god they're so cheap.
They're so great,' but they're functioning under a completely unequal and
different set of rules and ... and Marian Karr, my friend, told me `It's not supposed
to be equal.' But aren't we supposed to get equal protection under the law? The
Constitution? I'm saying go back to the drawing board. I will help you with this!
You know, have a ... a subcommittee. Let's really examine these things. You
haven't dealt with a lot of issues like... driverless cars for example. Haven't even
addressed that! Uber's going to bring in driverless cars. We're already ... uh,
going towards an economy where workers are going to be put out of business.
There's going to be nobody to buy anything! And so ... you know, I mean this
Travis Kalanick is worth ... $10 million right now. His corporation is assessed at,
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the latest was, uh, $55 or $62 billion now, I believe, and they've gone into
different communities across the country and really run everybody out of
business. And I'm saying, a progressive town like Iowa City, a town that's trying
to become a... all-American city really, really should put some thought into this,
and I don't think, you know, I thought you rushed to judgment the last time, and I
told ya so, and if I sound like I'm mad, it's because I am! I'm really ... and I don't
think ... the biggest opponent of the cab companies thought they could do as much
damage as has been done in the last two weeks. You know, there's a number of
things, and I'm not even going to list `em right now, but ... I'm startin' to think that
the only way there can really be any remedy is to make this a national story! To
call Tom Brokaw, who's a, you know, an illustrious .... city of Iowa City, uh, you
know, to come into town, see what's going on. What's happening in Iowa City is
a microcosm of what's happening in the United States, and it's not good! Tell me
when I'm takin' my time cause ... I only (several talking in background) Okay, one
minute (laughs) So I'm ... I'm here tonight at the behest of, uh, City Cab because
(mumbled) or Aladdin as we affectionately, uh, could not make it, so he asked me
to say a few words. So, I'm hoping everybody has read, uh, what I sent them, and
I've sent `em two more articles. The articles all over the country about how Uber
is destroying the business is ... are .... they're .... they're all over the place. I'll send
you some more. I just didn't want to inundate you with ... with everything. So
thank you very much. Please, let's put some more time into this and some more
consideration, cause you're offering alms to the poor right now, and I mean poor!
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Dennis. Would anybody else like to address this topic? Uh, seeing
no one else, do we have a motion? Can't remember if we've done that already
(several talking) All right. Discussion?
Cole: Is there any way we can combine readings? Would this have to be three
readings? Or....
Karr: We can combine it into two. Historically we've given the first consideration and
collapsed the second, and ... so we can recommend the next time.
Cole: (mumbled) Okay.
Karr: Uh huh.
Throgmorton: Then that's what you're suggesting?
Cole: (both talking) Yeah (mumbled)
Karr: I think that works well also with the licensing year, as well.
Cole: Okay.
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Karr: June 1 would get us to the licensing year and this would be effective that next
week.
Throgmorton: Yeah, so we can plan on doing that. Any other discussion? Well you know
Dennis raises all sorts of important questions. I ... I've had lengthy conversations
with Dennis over the years and uh, he's a very thoughtful guy who knows ... knows
the taxi cab business. Um, but I don't think we can go back and revisit what
we've already done, Dennis. I think what we have to do is try to fix things as best
we can for the taxi cab, uh, companies, and speeding things up is a ... a good step
and adopting these particular amendments is a good step, as well. It's not going
to solve the problem you've laid out, but ... but we'll see how it goes.
Cole: And if I could just say one thing too.
Throgmorton: Sure!
Cole: And I ... I just want to directly comment to Dennis. I hear where you're coming
from. You know I think your point about the robber barons and people have
talked about this being the 21" century, I think the 19a' century is a good century
to think about as well, um, and I had some concerns about what Uber is doing, but
I think we found ourselves in a situation where ... there was this overwhelming
support for it. We did want to evaluate this, and we all felt very strongly about
doing the best we possibly could to make these regulations as fair as we possibly
could. So I hope, we'll see how they work, but I hope that you'll come back to us
with .... with additional suggestions or ... or the taxi cab companies, but this is the
best we can do at this particular time. So I'm gonna support these.
Botchway: I support `em as well. I think that, um, you know, Dennis, I appreciate you
sharing that information. Um, I'd like to have some conversation with you about
it. Um, I have some information as well that said, you know, Uber has worked
well in some cities. I also have seen some cities, Austin I think in particular has
gone back... recently has gone back on Uber (clears throat) however, with that,
you know, as I talked about kind of during the Council discussion was, um, New
Orleans where they've found a kind of good balance between taxi cabs, um, and
um, and Uber. Um, I do think that, you know, from a market perspective and by
no means am I an economist by any means, so I think that, you know, you have
the kind of flash -pan situation where a lot of students are using this service. I
think as we move back into, um, the new year and everything else, I think that it
will change —just like a new restaurant for me, where everybody attends the new
restaurant but then after a while everybody goes back into, um, you know, their
same old restaurants and everything else, but I'll be willing to have that
discussion with you at any time, and for anybody else, I know that there was a
letter in the packet that was addressed to me as well. Um, I was able to reach out
to that individual via Facebook and, you know, kinda go back and forth at times
and, uh, it was a good conversation, so I appreciate having those conversations in
the future.
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Taylor: Well as people probably recall, I was kind of against the ... the Uber. Uh, and one
main reason was the disparities in the rules and regulations, taxi cabs versus the
Uber, so I saw this as a ... a good move at least in the right direction as far as
balancing that out.
Tbrogmorton: Any further discussion? If not, roll call.
Karr: Motion to accept correspondence.
Botchway: So moved.
Throgmorton: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: All in favor say aye. All opposed. Motion carries.
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ITEM 28. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION
Throgmorton: Uh, why don't we start with ... uh, John Thomas!
Thomas: Uh, could you start with someone else (laughter) All right, I found it! I found it!
Uh... let's see ... some upcoming community events, um ... I just wanted to announce
that on, uh, June 12a ...that's a Sunday, at 2:00 P.M. at North Market Square Park
the, uh, Iowa City Community Band will be playing. Uh...
Throgmorton: Why?
Thomas: (laughter) This is why I'm announcing it! (laughter) So, you know, it's ... it's sort
of an unusual venue for the Iowa City Community Band, so that's one reason I
wanted to emphasize it, and I would certainly encourage... those in the audience
and anyone watching to ... come by and maybe picnic and have a good time.
Throgmorton: What time, John?
Thomas: 2:00 P.M.
Throgmorton: All right! Is that it?
Thomas: That's it for me!
Throgmorton: Uh, Susan?
Mims: I was going to mention in the work session and it's on the agenda, but I'll .... I'll
just briefly, um. ... had the opportunity to go down to San Antonio, um ... for the
CIT ... we had officers down there doing the 40 -hour training. There were actually
23 of us from the area, um, that went down that were not doing the training but
had the opportunity to see the various facilities, urn ... can talk a little bit more
briefly maybe as we go back into the work session. Really looking forward to,
um, that discussion moving forward. I know they've got four basically
committees that are working on things now and trying to figure out how to move
forward, but the work that they're doing down in San Antonio is... is inspiring. It
is amazing, and obviously they are much, much bigger, um, area than we are, but
I think we figured they're about 12 times as big as Johnson County is, population
wise. Um, but the services they have from low barrier drop off for the police
officers, which includes a sobering unit and includes a mental health unit, and
then the services that go from there so that they hopefully are not picking these
people up the night ... the next night or two nights or three nights later, um,
extensive shelter facilities for the homeless, um ... very, very, uh, interesting. As
we were talking down there, one thing that ... that I think they may propose is
bringing one or two of the people up here to do a day or two presentation, um, for
community members rather than taking more .... people down that aren't actually
going through the 40 -hour training. I ... some of us were sitting around, looking
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at ..... thinking about how much money the various municipalities and county was
spending on that one trip. As I say, there were 23 of us total that were not going
through the 40 -hour training, and said you know what, maybe we've had that,
um .... that core group, you know, enough that has gone down that now we can
expand that information, but also bring the people up here who actually started it.
Um, and maybe be more efficient with our money going forward. So I think
they're... they're starting to look into that, but ... um .... it ... it's an incredible
program. We certainly can't do all of it here and we can't do it all at once, but to
begin to get those pieces in place that can save our officers time, save money in
many different aspects of the community — from the City to the County to the jail
to .... the hospitals, etc., to coordinate some of those social services better, to
expand some of those social services that we need, um ... to provide, you know,
better network of care for people who have... particularly people with mental
health issues, um, I think there's lots of opportunities to really, really learn from
what San Antonio, um, has been doing, and... and has done. The guys who started
it are still there. Um, so they can certainly help us through what some of those
growing pains are, uh, where the priorities should be on the front end, um, so
very, very interesting trip. I ... I put ... I can't remember, 10 or 20 pages of
documents in the packet. I've got more, folks (laughs) So if you want to see
more, I can ... put more in the packet. Uh, there is a lot more. I just didn't want to
inundate everybody on the first go, so...
Throgmorton: We could have a CIT reading party! (laughs)
Cole: Yeah!
Mims: We could, yeah, or at some point if we want we can just (mumbled) agenda if we
want at some point, but ... but we need to have that with the other municipalities in
the county and have those broader discussions, so...
Throgmorton: Great, thanks! Kingsley!
Botchway: Um, I just want to make a brief statement on a couple of things. Um, while it was
fortunate that the Marcus Owens assault was not deemed a hate crime, think
commendable of our Police Department for taking the issue very seriously and
working through the process. Uh, this has (mumbled) many students, um,
(mumbled) forward and, um, to speak up about their experiences (mumbled)
demand action, not only from, uh, the City of Iowa City, but also from the
University. Um ... for a more inclusive environment I encourage those folks to not
feel, you know, silence and from the, uh, news that they heard, um, you know,
you are being heard. Please continue to speak up and ... and don't feel scared or
alone for speaking up (clears throat) Um, the other thing I want to mention is, uh,
couple fun things. A ci... city paddle boarding, uh, downtown Iowa City's
happening from 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. this Saturday. Try to make it out. It's
going to be interesting. Um .... bring my son as well, so that'll be interesting too.
Uh, civil rights, urn ... HBCU tour fundraiser is happening at the Clarion Hotel this
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Saturday, 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Um, this is .... Henry Harper's, he says this is
his final go at doing the civil rights tour.
Throgmorton: When's it going to be?
Botchway: Uh, this Saturday, 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Um, Henry Harper says this is his
final go at it. I don't believe him, but um (laughter) but it is, urn .... uh, it has
transformed into more of an inclusive event, where parents have been asked to
also participate, um, with their students and it'd be more of a ... kind of a
community and educational experience. Know that the School District is
also ... um, going to possibly, um, have it on a, um, on an agenda for them to report
out at, and also possibly have like a ... a walking tour museum where they bring
pictures and other things along those lines for, um, different high schools and
junior highs and elementaries to see. Um, Inside Out Re -Entry summer concert is
2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., um, this Saturday. Can't remember where it is, but it's
happening. Um .... five, I'll be on KXIC at 7:15. That's always interesting,
especially when it's in the early morning cause you never know what I'm going to
say, especially that early. Um, I did participate in Get Moving for Healthy Kids,
uh, which was an amazing event. I will say that I beat Tim Dwight, um, he was
hurt, but I beat him (laughter) and urn .... the event raised $67,000 for the health,
um, clinic center associated with the School District. My running time was
actually, uh, 6 minutes and 47 seconds. That is with, um...
Mims: Hundred yard dash?
Botchway: No! (laughter) That was a mile ... that was a mile! (laughter) I came in third and
um, it was very surprising cause I didn't train and I ate what I normally eat, which
is a lot of terrible foods, but good foods from my perspective, um, so that was
really good. And then last but not least I do want to kind of highlight or end on a
good note, um, and a somber note, um, Ily Ringer, um, memorial was last night at
6:00 P.M. at Parkview Church. Um, she was a student over at (both talking)
Throgmorton: Very sad!
Botchway: ...Northwest, uh, Junior High School, uh, it was amazing to hear about all of the
things she did. She was not only, um, an avid singer, but she also played the
guitar and, you know, it's one of those rare people, um, that consistently, um, was
smiling, consistently (mumbled) and I know you say that, you know, a lot of
people say that and I understand that as well and I think it's great for people to
say that, but ... um ... she was definitely somebody who was always smiling, um, at
all times, even when, um, you know, situations didn't necessarily warrant
(mumbled) conducive for that, and so, um, if you do see the parents, you know,
obviously share with them your condolences. It was an amazing event obviously
to see, um, the Parkview Church, which is relatively large packed with people that
were really, um, willing to, you know, share kind of the memorial of her and
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so...just wanted to share that out as being kind of an amazing event that I
attended. That's it!.
Cole: This week is Bike to Work Week, so I encourage everyone to try to bike to work
at least once or bike down to City Hall. Um, on Monday there was an event from
essentially the Coralville Public Library to the Iowa City Public Library.
Throgmorton: Who won?
Cole: Uh, Rod Sullivan won, but he had a car. So he beat me. Um, but I was really
close! It was only by about two minutes and Ann Dugan led us along essentially
Highway 6. We got caught behind a bus (laughter) so if it weren't for the bus we
would have won. Uh, but it was a really great event and I think one of the things I
really want to emphasize with that particular event is that I wore my tie and my
doc... and my pants, um, you know to basically illustrate that you don't have to
wear spandex (mumbled) commuting infrastructure, you know, so I think
sometimes we get the ... the sense that not everyone can bike, but that's what I
really wanted to emphasize, and even I got number two. I will beat the bus too.
We were faster than the bus, so that was a real fun event and I really want to
commend everyone, um, that helped organize that particular event. Urn ... and then
tomorrow is essentially Old Pi and New Pi at the New Pi (mumbled) Pioneer Co -
Op, essentially at 5:30 and they're going to have a nice little event at the end of
that at the new New Pi in Coralville and I encourage everyone to go to that as
well. (mumbled) the CIT, in my experience in Iowa City to have an event and
have a .... a program where there's that universal support, I haven't heard anyone
have any negative comments about that, and so it's really nice to see that sort of
convergence. It grew out of our cus... discussion of the County jail. Um, I think
some of the opponents of that really viewed that there were alternatives to
incarceration. I don't think that was looked at for a long time, so I just really
want to commend that out of that process, there was this really good solution. I
know that Terry had talked about taking that training, so I think if those guys
come up here, I think it'd be great for every single one of us to ... to attend that
here in Iowa City, and so hopefully we will be able to find a way to bring them up
here, so just ... it's really good to hear that particular program, so....
Throgmorton: Good deal! Okay, Pauline!
Taylor: I was excited to hear that the press release went out today about a group that I've
been a part of for the last, uh, several months called Invest Health, and, uh, it's a
very exciting program, and uh, Iowa City was selected among 180 teams across
the country, over 170 communities, and they only, uh, selected 50 cities to receive
a $60,000 grant, uh, to study healthcare disparities in particularly low-income
communities, and it's a very exciting program, uh, from the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation and the reinvestment fund, and, uh, we're, uh, our group is
particularly looking at disparities in asthma, depression, and behavioral health
concerns in children and adults that live in low-income households, and someone
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from the Robert Wood Johnson, uh, Foundation, the press release said that public
officials, community developers, and many others have been working in low-
income neighborhoods for years, but they haven't always worked together, and
the aim is to align their work and help neighborhoods thrive by intentionally
incorporating health into community development. So I think, uh, it's going to be
an 18 -month program where we'll just look at what can be done, and we're
meeting, um, in June. Our first meeting in Philadelphia with the other 50
communities, we're all meeting together and we have like six meetings where we
meet together. There's one other town, or one other city — Des Moines — in Iowa
that was selected, so it'll be exciting to meet with them and see what... what, uh,
their plans are for this. So that's exciting! Uh, as far as the community goes, uh,
this ... this Saturday the Senior Center has a fun event. It's at 2:00 at the Englert,
uh, there're two choirs — the Family Folk Machine and Voices of Experience. It's
an inter -generational, uh, concert, they say, from age four to 85, so that should be
interesting. Uh... their Hard Times Come Again, No more — songs of struggle and
hope. Uh, it's... again it's at 2:00 at the Englert, and then they have an open house
at the Senior Center following that.
Throgmorton: Is that it? With regard to the Senior Center, they're having their annual meeting
tomorrow, the 18'', at 2:15 P.M. I want to mention two other things. On the 24°i
of this month, Dan Parolek will be speaking in Room A of the Public Library
about something he has ... been calling the Missing Middle. I won't go into detail
about that, but he'll also be talking about ways to increase the supply of housing
through good design, which is in part what the missing middle's all about. So I
encourage all sorts of people to attend that particular event. And lastly, on a
personal note, on the 24th of this month my step -daughter, Zoey Eckstein, will be
graduating from City High (sighs) She'd hate hearing me say this, but I'm
terribly proud of her. She's done beautifully, really beautifully.
Mims: Congratulations! (several responding)
Throgmorton: Well she gets ... she deserves the congratulations for sure! All right!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 17, 2016.